John the baptist's "wild honey" and "honey" in antiquity

Greek, Roman and Byzantine Studies

Volumn 45, Issue 1, 2005, Pages 59-73

  Kelhoffer, James A ^a  

^a SAINT LOUIS UNIVERSITY   (United States)

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EID: 61249387252     PISSN: 00173916     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
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References (112)

1. E. Crane, "History of Honey," in Honey: A Comprehensive Survey (London 1975) 439-488, at 453;
2. S. Krauss, "Honig in Palästina," ZDPV 32 (1909) 151-164;
3. D. Simonsen, "Milch und Honig: (Eine Erwiderung)," ZDPV 33 (1910) 44-46;
4. H. Hänsler, "Noch einmal 'Honig im hi. Lande,'" ZDPV 35 (1912) 186-199;
5. L. H. Silbcrman, "Honig," in B. Rcickc and L. Rost (eds.), Bibluch-historisches Handwörterbuch: Landeskunde, Geschichte, Religion, Kultur, Literatur II (Göttingen 1964) 747;
6. M. Schuster, "Mel," RE 15 (1931) 364- 384, esp. 364-366; LSJ s.v.
7. E.g. Gen 43:11;
8. Exod 16:31; Jer 41:8;
9. Ezek 3:3; 16:13, 19;
10. Pss 19:10; 119:103;
11. Prov 5:3; 24:13; 25:16; 25:27; 27:7;
12. Song 4:11; Ar. Ach. 1130;
13. Ep. Aristea 112;
14. Philo Det. 115, 117, 118;
15. 4Q372 f3:5; 4Q378 (4Qapocr Joshuaa) fl1:6;
16. 4Q386 (4QpsEzekb) 2:5; 11Q.19 (11QTa) 60:9;
17. Jos. AJ 2.118, 3.28, 14.124 = BJ 1.184; Rev 10:9.
18. 4 (London 1859) 18: "there is no need to suppose any thing else meant but honey made by wild bees";
19. 3 (London 1913) 6;
20. 4 (Leipzig 1922) 133;
21. F. I. Andersen, "The Diet of John the Baptist," AbrN3 (1961-62) 60-74, at 62-64;
22. W. D. Davies and D. C. Allison, Jr., A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew I (Edinburgh 1988) 296;
23. C. S. Keener, A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (Grand Rapids 1999) 119;
24. Joan E. Taylor, The Immerser: John the Baptist within Second Temple Judaism (Grand Rapids/London 1997) 34;
25. J. H. Charlesworth, "John the Baptizer and Qumran Barriers in Light of the Rule of the Community," in D. W. Parry and E. Ulrich (eds.), The Provo International Conference on the Dead Sea Scrolls (Leiden 1999) 353-375, at 367- 368. Additionally, BDAG discusses both possibilities under the entry for, but not in the ent for.
26. 6 (New York/London 1884) 76-77;
27. 8 I (New York 1906) 13;
28. Otto Böcher, "Ass Johannes dcr Täufer kein Brot (Luk. vii. 33)?" NTS 18 (1971-72) 90-92;
29. R. A. Guelich, Mark 1-8:26 (Dallas 1989) 21;
30. M. Tilly, Johannes der Täufer und die Biographic der Propheten: Die synoptische Täuferüberlieferung und das jüdische Pro-phetenbild zur Zeit des Täufers (Stuttgart 1994) 38.
31. So W. Michaclis, in Kittcl, Theol.Dict.N.T. IV 553-554: rules out both the honey from beekeeping and fruit honey which comes from human labour."
32. H. Chouliara-Raïos, L'Abeille et le mied en Égypte d'après les papyrus grecs (Ioannina 1989) 19-31;
33. E. Neufeld, "Apiculture in Ancient Palestine (Early and Middle Iron Age) within the Framework of the Ancient Near East," UF 10 (1978) 219-247, at 232-233;
34. G. Kuény, "Scènes apicoles dans 1'ancienne Egypte," JMES 9 (1950) 84-93;
35. 2 (London 1951) 2-5.
36. Chouliara-Raïos, L'Abeille 65-95.
37. Crane, "History" 454;
38. cf. 439-453 on the uses of bee honey in prehistoric times; Crane, Archaeology of Beekeeping (Ithaca 1983) 19-39;
39. A. Mayor, "Mad Honey! Bees and the Baneful Rhododendron," Archaeology 48.6 (1995) 32-40, esp. 33, 38.
40. Beekeeping: Ncufeld, UF 10 (1978) 238-239.
41. Arist. HA 533b, 623b, 626a-b, 627b;
42. GA 760a;
43. cf. [Arist.] Mir. ausc. 831b-832a;
44. Fraser, Beekeeping 13-28.
45. Cato Rust, 76 (on "good honey" [mellis boni] as part of a recipe);
46. Varro Rust. 3.16.13-14, 26-28;
47. Plin. HN 11.32-33;
48. Columella Rust. 9.4.7;
49. Apul. Met, 1.5;
50. Ael. NA 5.42;
51. Palladius De vet. med. 2.18, 3.27, 7.11, 11.14;
52. Geoponica 15.7 (10th cent.?);
53. cf. Andrew Dalby, Siren Feasts: A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece (London/New York 1996) 65, 136, 208-209, 250.
54. See Varro Rust. 3.16.2-38;
55. Columella Rust. 9.2-16;
56. Pliny HN 11.11-70;
57. Palladius De vet. med. 5.7, 6.8, 7.7, 11.13, 12.8;
58. Geoponica 15.2-9. Likewise, Aelian's work on the characteristics of animals understandably has more to say about bees than their honey (NA 1.9-11, 1.59-60, 2.53, 2.57, 5.10-13, 5.42, 11.37, 17.35; cf. Cato,Rust 76-84).
59. See further R.J. Israel, "The Promised Land of Milk and Date Jam: The Problems of Bees and Honey in the Bible and the Talmud," National Jewish Monthly (Washington) 87.3 (1972) 26-30, at 26;
60. E. Firmage, in Anchor Bible Dict. VI 1150.
61. E.g. Exod 3:8, 17; 13:5; 33:3;
62. Deut 6:3; 11:9; 26:9; 26:15; 31:20; Josh 5:6;
63. Ezek 20:6, 15;
64. Sir 46:8;
65. Jub. 1.7. Cf. Israel, National Jewish Monthly 87.3 (1972) 27: "In Ezek. 27:17 we have a whole list of fruit syrups-one of them is honey ⋯ What the land was really flowing with was milk and date jam";
66. R. Blum, "Imkerei im alten Israel," Bienerwater 76 (1955) 334-336;
67. CD 12:1 lb-15a: "[11b] No-one should defile his soul [12] with any- living being or one which creeps, by eating them, from the larvae of bees to every living [13] being which creeps in water. And fish: they should not eat them unless they have been opened up [14] alive, and the[ir blood poured] away. And all the locusts, according to their kind, shall be put into the fire or into water [15] while [they are] still alive, as this is the regulation for their species";
68. Heb. and transl. (modified) F. García Martínez and E. J. C. Tigchelaar (eds.), The Dead Sea Scrolls, Study Edition (Leiden 1998) 570-571.
69. Charlesworth, in Provo 367-368.
70. Euscb. Praep.Evang. 8.11.8; text and transl. F. H. Colson et al., Philo (Loeb) IX 440-441. The whole of this fragment describes the habits of the Essenes.
71. Mishnaic references to "honey" without specification: m. Ma'as. š 2:1, 5:13;
72. m. Hal., 1:4;
73. m. Bik. 1:10;
74. m. šabb. 8:1, 12:5, 22:1;
75. m. Gidd. 2:2;
76. m. B. Qam. 10:4;
77. m. šebu. 3:3;
78. m. Tehar. 3:2; m. Makš 5:9;
79. cf. m. Sotah 9:12 (honey of "supim").
80. M. šeb. 10:7;
81. m. 'Abod. Zar. 2:7;
82. m. Ned. 6:9;
83. m. Makš 6:4
84. (honey from bees and honey from hornets);
85. m.'Uq. 3:10.
86. M. Ter. 11:2-3;
87. m. Bik. 1:3, 3:9;
88. m. Ned. 6:8-9.
89. Ned. 6:8-9. Translations of the Mishnah are from J. Neusner, The Mishnah: A New Translation (New Haven 1988);
90. Hebrew: C. Albek, Shishah Sidrei Mishnah (Jerusalem/Tel Aviv 1952-59).
91. Jos. BJ 4.468; transl. (modified) Thackeray (Loeb).
92. For this phenomenon, both in antiquity and among the pre-Columbian Yucatecan Mayans in South America: J. Ott, "The Delphic Bee: Bees and Toxic Honeys as Pointers to Psychoactive and Other Medicinal Plants," Economic Botany 52 (1998) 260-266.
93. For a more popular treatment of the subject see Mayor, Archaeology 48.6 (1995).
94. [Arist.] Mir.ausc. 831b, transl. Hett (Loeb). Cf. Ael. NA 5.42, who seems to paraphrase this passage.
95. There is no such ambiguity, however, when Strabo paraphrases Aristobulus' description of a tree in India whose pods are "full of honey", 15.1.21); cf. 15.1.20, 16.1.14.
96. HN 21.74 (transl. Jones [Loeb]). Pliny further notes concerning this honey: "The signs of poison (venenati signa) [in the honey] are that it does not thicken at all, its color is mostly red, its smell is strange and at once causes sneezing, and it is heavier than harmless honey" (75).
97. HN 11.32: "It is always of the best quality where it is stored (ubi ⋯ conditur) in the calyces of the best flowers. This takes place at Hymettus and Hybla in the region of Attica and of Sicily⋯ and also on the island of Calydna."
98. HN 11.15.41. Arist. HA 626b describes spring and autumn as the seasons for making honey and likewise states that "the spring honey is sweeter and paler and in general better than the autumn honey."
99. In HN 11.15.42 he also mentions harvesting only one-third of this honey, so the bees can cat the rest during the winter months.
100. Columella Rust. 9.4.7 (transl. Forstcr and Heffncr, Loeb).
101. Ti. 59E, (transl. Bury [Loeb]).
102. Theophr. Sens. 84. See further Ep.Aristea 112; Verg. Ecl. 4.29-30, Georg. 1.31;
103. Or.Sib. 3.741-746, 5.281-283;
104. En. 8.5-6 (J);
105. Ael. NA 15.7;
106. Gal. De alim.fac. 3.39 (VI 739-742 K.).
107. HM 11.41; cf.Jos. BJ4.468;
108. m. Med. 6:8-9.
109. However tentatively, with Meyer, Matthew 76-77 Weiss, Matthew-Mark 13; Böcher, NTS 18 (1971-72) 91-92;] Guelich, Mark 21;
110. Tilly, Johannes 38.
111. See n.32.
112. An earlier version of this article was presented to the Central States Meeting of the Society of Biblical Literature in March, 2004. The author's thanks arc due to Jörg Frey and Clare K. Rothschild.