In the Biblical narrative, we read of honey. It existed and locals such as Jonathan and Samson ate it (1 Samuel 14; Judges 14). But was it wild or cultivated honey? Ask tour guides in Israel and they point to “silan” or date syrup, which could be considered a type of honey.
Minus the bees.
A honey wannabe.
However, archaeology tells us more, leaving clues which lay out a clear scenario. During a dig at Tel Rehov, ancient beehives were uncovered at the Jordan Valley site, in the middle of a town with a population once upon a time of about 2,500.
Wow. One can only imagine what the price of real estate would be… right… next… to… 180… hives! About 2-1/2 feet long and one foot in diameter, mud brick clay pots looking like stacked pipes had caps at one end and a small opening for the bees at the other. Lead investigator and now Professor Emeritus at Hebrew University Ami Mazar found residue of honey and beeswax… from 3,000 years ago! Some of the dead bees pointed to Turkish origins.
So we have archaeological evidence of 1) cultivated hives with 2) imported honeybees. Researcher Guy Bloch, also of Hebrew University, states that Tel Rehov was the first site to point to what wall paintings and writings depicted regarding Ancient Near Eastern wax and honey production. Until this discovery, there was no archaeological corroboration of that fact.
Which only goes to show that occasionally, archaeology takes a few thousand years to prove its point! Just because a site or a feature has not been located, yet….
Throughout the Bible, honey serves as a literal and figurative reference to sweetness. Also, from what we know in modern times, a daily dose of raw honey possesses positive properties used in healing from the inside out. Antioxidants, fighting off disease and free radicals.
Bam! Take that!
(Maybe we should smear some sweet honey on radical-radicals, not just free radicals. Could do some good… you never know….)
God’s word is likened to sweetness, changing and healing from the inside-out all those who partake of it. “They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:10).
Welcome to a sweet treat… that’s actually good for you!
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