When the people had come to the forest, behold, honey was dripping, but no one put his hand to his mouth; for the people feared the oath.
Parallel Translations
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When the people had come to the forest, behold, honey was dripping, but no one put his hand to his mouth; for the people feared the oath.
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And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath.
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And when the people were come unto the forest, behold a flow of honey; but no man put his hand to his mouth; for the people feared the oath.
Cross-references (1)
Passages linked to 1 Samuel 14:26 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Ecclesiastes 9:2 All things come alike to all. There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the good, to the clean, to the unclean, to him who sacrifices, and to him who doesn’t sacrifice. As is the good, so is the sinner; he who takes an oath, as he who fears an oath.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (11 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain That is, the punishment, if they break their oath.
That is, the punishment, if they break their oath.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 1Sa 14:26 And when the people were come into…
1Sa 14:26 And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath.
Ver. 26. Behold, the honey dropped.] Hence Canaan is so oft called "a land flowing with milk and honey."
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But no man put his hand to his mouth.] It argued there was much power in that oath, when no man dared to touch one drop of this honey: so, to resist a strong temptation, argueth strong grace. Pliny mentioneth a certain country where the honey is poisonous, because sucked out of poisonous herbs. Such is the pleasure of sin; sweet, but deadly.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The honey dropped. It hath been observed by many…
The honey dropped. It hath been observed by many travellers and writers, that bees do ofttimes settle themselves, and make their hives and honey, in the trunks of trees, or clefts of rocks, or holes of the earth; and this in divers countries, but eminently in this of Canaan; as may be gathered from Deu 32:13; Psa 81:16; whence it was called a land flowing with milk and honey.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And when the people came into the wood, behold,…
And when the people came into the wood, behold, the honey dropped,.... Either from trees, which produced it; so Diodorus Siculus (t) speaks of trees in some countries which produce honey; or from the sugar canes, as Jarchi; or rather from the honeycombs which were framed in trees by bees; so Hesiod (u) speaks of bees making their nests or combs in trees. Ben Gersom thinks that bee hives were placed here in rows by the wayside, from whence the honey flowed; or "went" (w), or there was a going of it; perhaps the combs being pressed by the Philistines as they fled: the land of Canaan was a land flowing with milk and honey:
but no man put his hand to his mouth; that is, took not any of the honey and ate it, though it was so near at hand, and there was plenty of it:
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for the people feared the oath: Saul adjured them by, or the imprecation he made on the person that should eat any food that day.
(t) Bibliothec. l. 17. p. 548. (u) Hesiod, Theogon. ver. 230. Vid. Diodor. Sic. ut supra. (Bibliothec. l. 17. p. 548.) (w) "ambulatio mellis", Montanus; "itio mellis", Drusius; so in Ovid. Metamorph. l. 1. fab. 3. "----jam flumina nectaris ibant".
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Honey - Bees often make their hives in the…
Honey - Bees often make their hives in the trunks of trees, or clefts of rocks, or holes of the earth; and this in divers countries, but eminently in Canaan.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 26. The honey dropped] It seems to have…
Verse 26. The honey dropped] It seems to have dropped from the trees on the ground. Honey dews, as they are called, are not uncommon in most countries; and this appears to have been something of this kind. I have seen honey in considerable quantity on the trees and long grass in the fields, and have often eaten of it.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain The honey dropped - Rather, “Behold a stream of…
The honey dropped - Rather, “Behold a stream of honey.” The same thing may be seen in Spain, where in woody and rocky ground copious streams of honey are often found.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 26. The honey dropped — Kitto quotes Mr. Roberts…
26. The honey dropped — Kitto quotes Mr. Roberts as saying: “Bees in the East are not, as in England, kept in hives; they are all in a wild state. The forests literally flow with honey; large combs may be seen hanging in the trees as you pass along, full of honey.” Dr. Thomson says: “I have explored densely wooded gorges in Hermon and in southern Lebanon where wild bees are still found both in trees and in the clefts of the rocks.”
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 26. behold, the honey dropped] Lit. behold a stream…
26. behold, the honey dropped] Lit. behold a stream of honey. Palestine is literally “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exo_3:8). Wild bees settle in vast numbers in the clefts of the limestone rocks and in the trees. Compare the statement of a traveller in India, where “the forests literally flow with honey, Large combs may be seen hanging in the trees as you pass along, full of honey.” Cp. Mat_3:4. See Tristram’s Land of Israel, p. 83. Kitto’s Bible Illustrations, p. 190.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (26) Behold, the honey dropped.—Literally,. Behold, a stream of…
(26) Behold, the honey dropped.—Literally,. Behold, a stream of honey.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain The honey dropped. More correctly, "Behold, a stream (or…
The honey dropped. More correctly, "Behold, a stream (or a flowing) of honey."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.