Bee

(deborah). (1:44; Judges 14:8; Psalms 118:12; Isaiah 7:18) Bees abounded in Palestine, honey being a common article of food (Psalms 81:16) and was often found in the clefts of rocks and in hollow trees. (1 Samuel 14:25,27) English naturalists know little of the species of bees that are found in Palestine, but are inclined tn believe that the honey-bee of Palestine is distinct from the honey-bee (Apis mellifica) of this country. The passage in (Isaiah 7:18) refers "to the custom of the people in the East of calling attention to any one by a significant hiss or rather hist ." We read, (Judges 14:8) that "after a time," probably many days, Samson returned to the carcass of the lion he had slain, and saw bees and honey therein. "If any one here represents to himself a corrupt and putrid carcass, the occurrence ceases to have any true similitude, for it is well known that in these countries, at certain seasons of the year, the heat will in the course of twenty-four hours completely dry up the moisture of dead camels, and that, without their undergoing decomposition their bodies long remain like mummies, unaltered and entirely free from offensive odor."--Edmann .

Bee

Although the bee is so small an animal, it is very well known; and many learned men have spent a great deal of time in observing it, and have written many very curious things about it. They tell us that there is in every hive a queen, larger than the rest, whom they all follow and obey; and that if she dies or is carried away, they all leave their work and unless the queen is restored or another one provided, they refuse to eat, and soon die. Only one queen is allowed in a hive at a time. She does not go out to gather honey, but those who attend upon her bring to her cell as much as she wants.

It is very pleasant to watch the bees at their work, for they are quite as busy as the ants, and as they are so much larger, it is more easy to see what they are doing. Every thing about them seems curious and beautiful; their waxen cells, their manner of gathering honey and storing it up, their neatness and order, all are admirable. They are perfectly harmless when left to themselves; but if they are attacked, they fly around the person who disturbs them, in great numbers, and sometimes sting him very severely. David once said of his enemies, " They compassed me about like bees."

Honey is often spoken of in the Bible. When Jacob wished his sons to go down into Egypt a second time to buy food, he said to them, "Take of the best fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry down the man (Joseph) a present; a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts and almonds." God told the children of Israel that he would give them "a land flowing with milk and honey," meaning one that was beautiful and fertile, producing abundantly every thing that would be needed for their comfort. When David had been obliged to flee from Jerusalem to escape his wicked son Absalom, he was in great want of provisions for himself and his followers. After a long and fatiguing march he reached a certain city; and there three rich men who were friendly to him, sent "wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese," besides beds for them to rest on; for they said, The people is hungry, and wary, and thirsty in the wilderness."

Perhaps no man ever loved the commandments of God more truly than king David. He says in the Psalms, "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" and again he says of God's judgments, "More are they to be desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb."

Besides the bees that live in hives, there are many called wild bees, which live in the woods, and put their honey in the clefts of rocks, or in old trees and other similar places. In the fourteenth chapter of Judges Jud 14 you will find this story: There was a very strong man named Samson, and once when he was travelling by himself in a lonely place, a young lion came roaring along in the very path where he was going. Would you not have been afraid? I suppose Samson was, at first, for the lion was very strong and very hungry, and Samson had nothing in his hand to kill him with. But God gave him strength, and when the lion came up, Samson caught hold of him and tore him in pieces, as you would tear a piece of cloth. Then he left him dead on the ground. Sometime after he came back the same way, and thought he would look after the lion that he had killed. He soon found the skeleton, that is, the dry bones without any flesh on them; and when he looked at the parts of the dead lion he found that a swarm of bees had been there, and laid up a great plenty of honey. So he took some of it in his hands to eat as he went along.

You can learn of the little bee to try to be useful, and to resolve in the words of the hymn which I dare say you have learned:

"In works of labor or of skill
I would be busy too;
For Satan finds some mischief still
For idle hands to do."

"In books, or work, or healthful play,
Let my first years be past;
That I may give for every day
Some good account at last."

BEE

be (debhorah; compare Arabic dabr, "a swarm of bees," also Arabic debbur, "a wasp," said to be a corruption of zunbur, "a wasp"; all are apparently from the Hebrew dabhar, "to speak," "arrange," "lead," "follow," or from Arabic dabara, "follow" (compare Arabic dabbara, "arrange"), though the connection in meaning is not apparent): Honey is mentioned many times in the Bible, especially in the Old Testament, but the word "bee" occurs only four times, and only one of the four times in connection with honey in the story of Samson (Judges 14:8). Both wild and domesticated bees are found today in Palestine, but it is not clear that bees were kept in Bible times, although it would seem very probable. The frequently recurring phrase, "a land flowing with milk and honey," certainly suggests that the honey as well as the milk is a domestic product. The hives now in use are very primitive and wasteful as compared with hives that are made in Europe and America. Sometimes a large water jar is used. More frequently a cylinder about 3 or 4 ft. long and 6 inches in diameter is constructed of mulberry withes plaited together and plastered with mud or cow dung. A number of these cylinders are placed horizontally, being piled up together under some rude structure which serves as a protection from the direct rays of the sun. In the passage already cited it is related that Samson found a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion which he had killed on his previous visit. We are not told how much time had intervened, but it does not take long in the dry climate of Palestine for scavenging beasts and insects to strip the flesh from the bones and make the skeleton a possible home for a swarm of bees. The other three passages refer to the offensive power of bees. In Deuteronomy 1:44, in the speech of Moses he says, "The Amorites chased you, as bees do"; in Psalm 118:12, the psalmist says, "They compassed me about like bees"; in Isaiah 7:18, the bee is the type of the chastisement that the Lord will bring from the land of Assyria.

Alfred Ely Day

First mentioned in Deuteronomy 1:44. Swarms of bees, and the danger of their attacks, are mentioned in Psalm 118:12. Samson found a "swarm of bees" in the carcass of a lion he had slain (Judges 14:8). Wild bees are described as laying up honey in woods and in clefts of rocks (Deuteronomy 32:13; Psalm 81:16). In Isaiah 7:18 the "fly" and the "bee" are personifications of the Egyptians and Assyrians, the inveterate enemies of Israel.

1. (p. p) of Be; -- used for been.

2. (n.) An insect of the order Hymenoptera, and family Apidae (the honeybees), or family Andrenidae (the solitary bees.) See Honeybee.

3. (n.) A neighborly gathering of people who engage in united labor for the benefit of an individual or family; as, a quilting bee; a husking bee; a raising bee.

4. (n.) Pieces of hard wood bolted to the sides of the bowsprit, to reeve the fore-topmast stays through; -- called also bee blocks.

1682. deborah -- a bee
... << 1681, 1682. deborah. 1683 >>. a bee. Transliteration: deborah Phonetic
Spelling: (deb-o-raw') Short Definition: bees. Word ... 3). bee. ...
/hebrew/1682.htm - 6k

4125. Moabi -- descendant of Moab
... << 4124, 4125. Moabi or Moabiyyah. 4126 >>. descendant of Moab. Transliteration:
Moabi or Moabiyyah Phonetic Spelling: (mo-aw-bee') Short Definition: Moabite. ...
/hebrew/4125.htm - 6k

3864. Lubim -- inhab. of N. Africa
... inhab. of N. Africa. Transliteration: Lubim Phonetic Spelling: (loo-bee') Short
Definition: Lubim. Word Origin of uncertain derivation Definition inhab. ...
/hebrew/3864.htm - 6k

2900. Tobiyyahu -- "Yah is my good," three Israelites, also an ...
... "Yah is my good," three Israelites, also an Ammonite. Transliteration: Tobiyyahu
or Tobiyyah Phonetic Spelling: (to-bee-yaw') Short Definition: Tobiah. ...
/hebrew/2900.htm - 6k

6163. Arabiy -- inhab. of Arabia
... << 6162, 6163. Arabiy. 6163a >>. inhab. of Arabia. Transliteration: Arabiy Phonetic
Spelling: (ar-aw-bee') Short Definition: Arabian. Arabian ...
/hebrew/6163.htm - 5k

3833. labiy' -- a lion
... << 3832, 3833. labiy'. 3833a >>. a lion. Transliteration: labiy' Phonetic Spelling:
(law-bee') Short Definition: great. great, old, stout lion, lioness, young lion ...
/hebrew/3833.htm - 5k

998. binah -- an understanding
... << 997, 998. binah. 999 >>. an understanding. Transliteration: binah Phonetic
Spelling: (bee-naw') Short Definition: understanding. Word ...
/hebrew/998.htm - 6k

1002. birah -- a castle, palace
... << 1001, 1002. birah. 1003 >>. a castle, palace. Transliteration: birah Phonetic
Spelling: (bee-raw') Short Definition: citadel. Word ...
/hebrew/1002.htm - 5k

999. binah -- an understanding
... << 998, 999. binah. 1000 >>. an understanding. Transliteration: binah Phonetic
Spelling: (bee-naw') Short Definition: understanding. ...
/hebrew/999.htm - 6k

1001. bira -- palace
... << 1000, 1001. bira. 1002 >>. palace. Transliteration: bira Phonetic Spelling:
(bee-raw') Short Definition: palace. Word Origin see biretha. palace ...
/hebrew/1001.htm - 5k