Proverbs 5:3

Hebrew Bible

1 My child, be attentive to my wisdom; pay close attention to my understanding, 2 in order to safeguard discretion and that your lips may guard knowledge. 3 For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey, and her seductive words are smoother than olive oil, 4 but in the end she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. 5 Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave.

Song of Solomon 4:11

Song of Songs
Hebrew Bible

9 You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride! You have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes, with one jewel of your necklace. 10 How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine; the fragrance of your perfume is better than any spice! 11 Your lips drip sweetness like the honeycomb, my bride; honey and milk are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments is like the fragrance of Lebanon. 12 The Lover to His Beloved: You are a locked garden, my sister, my bride; you are an enclosed spring, a sealed-up fountain. 13 Your shoots are a royal garden full of pomegranates with choice fruits: henna with nard,

 Notes and References

"... As the favorite sweetening ingredient of most foods, honey became synonymous with sweetness. Thus “honeyed words” could mean eloquence, and the Psalmist could sing, “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth” (Psalm 119:103). On the other hand, the honey could be tantalizing and dangerous. Proverbs warns that the “lips of an adulteress drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil” (Proverbs 5:3). Yet, in another place, the wise writer also notes that it is a natural pleasure to enjoy: “Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste” (Proverbs 24:13). Like all good and natural things, one can indulge it to excess: “If you find honey, eat just enough—too much of it, and you will vomit” (Proverbs 25:27). King Solomon loved the imagery of honey, using it famously in his great wedding song, the Song of Solomon: “I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh with my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk.” Then he invites the other guests to join him (Song of Solomon 5:1). In fact, his favorite description of his bride is that her “lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb ... milk and honey are under your tongue” (Song of Solomon 4:11) ..."

Tischler, Nancy M. All Things in the Bible (pp. 64-65) Greenwood Press, 2006

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