KING JAMES BIBLE DICTIONARY

1. Heb. ya'ar, occurs only 1 Samuel 14:25, 27, 29; Song of Solomon 5:1, where it denotes the honey of bees. Properly the word signifies a forest or copse, and refers to honey found in woods.

2. Nopheth, honey that drops (Psalms 19:10; Proverbs 5:3; Song of Solomon 4:11).

3. Debash denotes bee-honey (Judges 14:8); but also frequently a vegetable honey distilled from trees (Genesis 43:11; Ezekiel 27:17). In these passages it may probably mean "dibs," or syrup of grapes, i.e., the juice of ripe grapes boiled down to one-third of its bulk.

4. Tsuph, the cells of the honey-comb full of honey (Proverbs 16:24; Psalms 19:10).

5. "Wild honey" (Matthew 3:4) may have been the vegetable honey distilled from trees, but rather was honey stored by bees in rocks or in trees (Deuteronomy 32:13; Psalms 81:16; 1 Samuel 14:25-29).

Canaan was a "land flowing with milk and honey" (Exodus 3:8). Milk and honey were among the chief dainties in the earlier ages, as they are now among the Bedawin; and butter and honey are also mentioned among articles of food (Isaiah 7:15). The ancients used honey instead of sugar (Psalms 119:103; Proverbs 24:13); but when taken in great quantities it caused nausea, a fact referred to in Proverbs 25:16, 17 to inculcate moderation in pleasures. Honey and milk also are put for sweet discourse (Song of Solomon 4:11).

General references
Exodus 16:31; 2 Samuel 17:29; Proverbs 25:27; Song of Solomon 4:11; Isaiah 7:15; Matthew 3:4; Luke 24:42

Not to be offered with sacrifices
Leviticus 2:11

Found in rocks
Deuteronomy 32:13; Psalms 81:16

Found upon the ground
1 Samuel 14:25

Samson's riddle concerning
Judges 14:14

Sent as a present by Jacob to Egypt
Genesis 43:11

Plentiful in Palestine
Exodus 3:8; Leviticus 20:24; Deuteronomy 8:8; Ezekiel 20:6

Plentiful in Assyria
2 Kings 18:32

An article of merchandise from Palestine
Ezekiel 27:17

The Hebrew debash in the first place applied to the product of the bee, to which exclusively we give the name of honey. All travellers agree in describing Palestine as a land "flowing with milk and honey," (Exodus 3:8) bees being abundant even in the remote parts of the wilderness, where they deposit their honey in the crevices of rocks or in hollow trees. In some parts of northern Arabia the hills are so well stocked with bees that no sooner are hives placed than they are occupied. In the second place the term debash applies to a decoction of the juice of the grape, which is still called dibs , and which forms an article of commerce in the East, it was this, and not ordinary bee-honey, which Jacob sent to Joseph, (Genesis 43:11) and which the Tyrians purchased from Palestine. (Ezekiel 27:17) A third kind has been described by some writers as a "vegetable" honey, by which is meant the exudations of certain trees and shrubs, such as the Tamarix mannifera , found in the peninsula of Sinai, or the stunted oaks of Luristan and Mesopotamia . The honey which Jonathan ate in the wood, (1 Samuel 14:25) and the "wild honey" which supported John the Baptist, (Matthew 3:42) have been referred to this species. But it was probably the honey of wild bees.

HON'EY, noun hun'y.

1. A sweet vegetable juice, collected by bees from the flowers of plants, and deposited in cells of the comb in hives. honey when pure, is of a moderate consistence, of a whitish color, tinged with yellow, sweet to the taste, of an agreeable smell, soluble in water, and becoming vinous by fermentation. In medicine, it is useful as a detergent and aperient. It is supposed to consist of sugar, mucilage, and an acid.

2. Sweetness; lusciousness.

The king hath found

Matter against him, that forever mars

The honey of his language.

3. A word of tenderness; sweetness; sweet one.

HON'EY, verb transitive To talk fondly. [Little used.]

1. To sweeten.

HON'EY-BAG, noun The stomach of a honey-bee.

HON'EY-COMB, noun A substance of a firm, close texture, formed by bees into hexagonal cells for repositories of honey, and for the eggs which produce their young.

HONEY-COMBED, adjective Having little flaws or cells.

HON'EY-DEW, noun A sweet saccharine substance, found on the leaves of trees and other plants in small drops like dew. It is said there are two species; one secreted from the plants, and the other deposited by a small insect called the aphis, or vine-fretter. Bees and ants are said to be fond of honey-dew

HON'EYED, adjective Covered with honey.

1. Sweet; as honeyed words.

HON'EY-FLOWER, noun A plant of the genus Melianthus.

HON'EY-GNAT, noun An insect.

HON'EY-GUIDE, noun A species of Cuckoo, found in Africa, which will conduct persons to hives of wild honey.

HON'EY-H'ARVEST, noun Honey collected.

HON'EYLESS, adjective Destitute of honey.

HON'EY-LOCUST, noun A plant, the three-thorned Acacia, of the genus Gleditsia.

HON'EY-MONTH, noun The first month after marriage.

HON'EY-MOON

HON'EY-MOUTHED, adjective Soft or smooth in speech.

HON'EY-STALK, noun Clover-flower.

HON'EY-STONE, noun [See Mellite.]

HON'EY-SUCKLE, noun A genus of plants, the Lonicera, of many species, one of which is called woodbine.

HON'EY-SWEET, adjective Sweet as honey.

HON'EY-TONGUED, adjective Using soft speech.

HON'EY-WORT, noun A plant of the genus Cerinthe.