Deuteronomy 32:13

Hebrew Bible

11 Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, so the Lord spread out his wings and took him, he lifted him up on his pinions. 12 The Lord alone was guiding him, no foreign god was with him. 13 He enabled him to travel over the heights of the earth, and he ate of the produce of the fields. He provided honey for him from the cliffs, and olive oil from the hardest of rocks, 14 butter from the herd and milk from the flock, along with the fat of lambs, rams and goats of Bashan, along with the best of the kernels of wheat; and from the juice of grapes you drank wine. 15 But Jeshurun became fat and kicked; you got fat, thick, and stuffed! Then he deserted the God who made him, and treated the Rock who saved him with contempt.

Psalm 81:16

Hebrew Bible

12 I gave them over to their stubborn desires; they did what seemed right to them. 13 If only my people would obey me! If only Israel would keep my commands! 14 Then I would quickly subdue their enemies, and attack their adversaries.” 15 (May those who hate the Lord cower in fear before him. May they be permanently humiliated.) 16I would feed Israel the best wheat, and would satisfy your appetite with honey from the rocky cliffs.

 Notes and References

"... There are 68 references in the Bible to bees, honey and honeycomb (Root, 1975:66-69). Honey is regarded as essential and delicious food that nourishes and sustains life. “Honey from the rock” is used explicitly in Deuteronomy 32:13 and Psalm 81:16 as a figure of speech. This suggests the strength and triumph (compare Deuteronomy 33:29) of God’s people carried by Yahweh’s loving care. God led His people during their travel through the desert resulting in providing abundant sustenance in the land of Canaan. The people had access to the produce of the field, honey, from the rock, and oil from the flint rock (Merrill, 1994:415) ..."

Stubbs, Guy Honey from the Rock: Poverty Alleviation from a Missio Dei Perspective (p. 9) Northwest University, 2019

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