Bible Strands
1 Samuel 14:26
And when they entered the forest and saw the flowing honey, not one of them put his hand to his mouth, because they feared the oath.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Israelite troops enter the forest after Saul's oath and see honey on the ground but refuse to eat it. They abstain entirely because they fear the curse attached to the oath.
The words — הֵ֣לֶךְ (He.lekh) literally means "a flowing of," and דְּבָשׁ (de.Vash) means "honey," describing the natural abundance the soldiers encounter.
The thread — This restraint contrasts with Jonathan's ignorance of the oath in 1 Samuel 14:27, while Ecclesiastes 9:2 notes the common fate shared by all people regardless of righteousness.
Why it lands — The text records absolute obedience to a human oath despite physical need, demanding recognition of how vows can override natural instinct.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And when the people were come into the wood, behold, the honey dropped; but no man put his hand to his mouth: for the people feared the oath.
Cross-references
- Ecclesiastes 9:2 It is the same for all: There is a common fate for the righteous and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for the one who sacrifices and the one who does not. As it is for the good, so it is for the sinner; as it is for the one who makes a vow, so it is for the one who refuses to take a vow.