Shmuel Alef 14:25

25 And all they of HaAretz came to the wood; and there was devash on the surface of the sadeh.

Shmuel Alef 14:25 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 14:25

And all they of the land came to a wood
Which lay between Bethaven and Aijalon; by whom are meant not all the inhabitants of the land of Israel, but all that came with Saul and Jonathan, and that joined them in the pursuit:

and there was honey upon the ground;
which dropped upon it, as in the following verse, or where it was produced by bees; for Aristotle ^F18 reports, that bees in some places make their combs upon the ground; this was wild honey, which Diodorus Siculus ^F19 speaks of as common in Arabia, and which perhaps John the Baptist ate of, ( Matthew 3:4 ) . Jarchi says, this was the honey of canes, or sugar canes, which grew in the land of Israel; and affirms from Nathan an Ishmaelite, that in the Ishmaelitish or Arabic language they call honey, sugar; but neither of these can be proved.

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 Hist. Animal. l. 5. c. 22.
F19 Bibliothec. l. 19. p. 731.

Shmuel Alef 14:25 In-Context

23 So Hashem saved Yisroel that day; and the milchamah continued raging even unto Beit Aven.

24 And the Ish Yisroel were distressed that day; for Sha’ul had bound under oath HaAm, saying, Arur (cursed) be the ish that eateth lechem before erev, that I may be avenged on mine enemies. So none of HaAm tasted lechem.

25 And all they of HaAretz came to the wood; and there was devash on the surface of the sadeh.

26 And when HaAm were come into the wood, hinei, the devash was oozing; but no one put his yad to his mouth; for HaAm feared the shevuah (oath).

27 But Yonatan heard not when aviv bound HaAm with the oath; wherefore he put forth the end of the matteh (staff) that was in his yad, and dipped it in a honeycomb of the devash, and put his yad to his mouth; and his eyes brightened.