1 Samuel 14:26

1Sa 14:26 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.

Ver. 26. Behold, the honey dropped.] Hence Canaan is so oft called "a land flowing with milk and honey."

But no man put his hand to his mouth.] It argued there was much power in that oath, when no man dared to touch one drop of this honey: so, to resist a strong temptation, argueth strong grace. Pliny mentioneth a certain country where the honey is poisonous, because sucked out of poisonous herbs. Such is the pleasure of sin; sweet, but deadly.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

That is, the punishment, if they break their oath.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 26. The honey dropped] It seems to have dropped from the trees on the ground. Honey dews, as they are called, are not uncommon in most countries; and this appears to have been something of this kind. I have seen honey in considerable quantity on the trees and long grass in the fields, and have often eaten of it.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(26) Behold, the honey dropped.—Literally,. Behold, a stream of honey.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26. behold, the honey dropped] Lit. behold a stream of honey. Palestine is literally “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Exo_3:8). Wild bees settle in vast numbers in the clefts of the limestone rocks and in the trees. Compare the statement of a traveller in India, where “the forests literally flow with honey, Large combs may be seen hanging in the trees as you pass along, full of honey.” Cp. Mat_3:4. See Tristram’s Land of Israel, p. 83. Kitto’s Bible Illustrations, p. 190.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when the people came into the wood, behold, the honey dropped,.... Either from trees, which produced it; so Diodorus Siculus (t) speaks of trees in some countries which produce honey; or from the sugar canes, as Jarchi; or rather from the honeycombs which were framed in trees by bees; so Hesiod (u) speaks of bees making their nests or combs in trees. Ben Gersom thinks that bee hives were placed here in rows by the wayside, from whence the honey flowed; or "went" (w), or there was a going of it; perhaps the combs being pressed by the Philistines as they fled: the land of Canaan was a land flowing with milk and honey:

but no man put his hand to his mouth; that is, took not any of the honey and ate it, though it was so near at hand, and there was plenty of it:

for the people feared the oath: Saul adjured them by, or the imprecation he made on the person that should eat any food that day.

(t) Bibliothec. l. 17. p. 548. (u) Hesiod, Theogon. ver. 230. Vid. Diodor. Sic. ut supra. (Bibliothec. l. 17. p. 548.) (w) "ambulatio mellis", Montanus; "itio mellis", Drusius; so in Ovid. Metamorph. l. 1. fab. 3. "----jam flumina nectaris ibant".

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

The honey dropped - Rather, “Behold a stream of honey.” The same thing may be seen in Spain, where in woody and rocky ground copious streams of honey are often found.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

The honey dropped. It hath been observed by many travellers and writers, that bees do ofttimes settle themselves, and make their hives and honey, in the trunks of trees, or clefts of rocks, or holes of the earth; and this in divers countries, but eminently in this of Canaan; as may be gathered from Deu 32:13; Psa 81:16; whence it was called a land flowing with milk and honey.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

26. The honey dropped — Kitto quotes Mr. Roberts as saying: “Bees in the East are not, as in England, kept in hives; they are all in a wild state. The forests literally flow with honey; large combs may be seen hanging in the trees as you pass along, full of honey.” Dr. Thomson says: “I have explored densely wooded gorges in Hermon and in southern Lebanon where wild bees are still found both in trees and in the clefts of the rocks.”

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The honey dropped. More correctly, "Behold, a stream (or a flowing) of honey."

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Honey - Bees often make their hives in the trunks of trees, or clefts of rocks, or holes of the earth; and this in divers countries, but eminently in Canaan.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

And behold there was a flow of honey. Which was flowing from the canes.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.