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H3293b H3293b
Prep-b  |  3× in 1 sense
honeycomb (containing honey), wild honey in the forest
A noun denoting honeycomb filled with wild honey, distinct from the more common word for 'forest' (though possibly etymologically related). Found in three memorable passages: the difficult text of 1 Samuel 14:25-26 where Jonathan's eyes brighten after tasting honeycomb despite Saul's oath (the MT is obscure, but versions confirm honey/honeycomb); and Song of Songs 5:1 where the lover says 'I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey.' The term captures wild honey still in its natural comb, as opposed to extracted honey, suggesting sweetness in its most natural and abundant form—a rare delicacy in the ancient world where sugar was unknown.

Senses
1. sense 1 The honeycomb structure containing wild honey, discovered in forests or rocky areas. Jonathan's encounter with forest honeycomb (where 'the bees had departed,' per LXX) portrays honey as providential sustenance in wilderness contexts. In Song of Songs, eating honeycomb with honey intensifies the imagery of sweetness and satisfaction. The term appears in settings where wild honey represents unexpected blessing or sensory delight beyond cultivated provision.
PLANTS_AGRICULTURE Plants Forest Woodland
AR["الـ-غَابَةِ", "بِـ-الـ-غَابَةِ", "يَعْرِي"]·ben["-বনে", "-সেই-বনের", "আমার-মধুচাক"]·DE["[יערי]", "der-forest", "hinein-der-forest"]·EN["into-the-forest", "my-honeycomb", "the-forest"]·FR["dans-le-forest", "le-forest", "mon-rayon-de-miel"]·heb["ב-יער", "ה-יער", "יערי"]·HI["अपना-छत्ता", "जंगल", "जंगल-में"]·ID["hutan", "ke-hutan", "sarang-maduku"]·IT["bosco-mio", "dentro-il-foresta", "il-foresta"]·jav["ing-alas", "sarang-madu-kula"]·KO["그-숲", "내-벌집-을", "숲에"]·PT["meu-favo", "no-bosque", "o-bosque"]·RU["в-лес", "лес", "соты-мои"]·ES["el-bosque", "en-el-bosque", "mi-panal"]·SW["msitu", "msituni", "sega-langu"]·TR["balimi", "ormana"]·urd["جنگل", "جنگل-میں", "میرا-شہد-کا-چھتا"]

Related Senses
H3754 1. vineyard, cultivated grape plot (92×)H0730 1. cedar tree or wood (73×)H1612 1. vine, grapevine (55×)H3293a 1. forest, wood, thicket (55×)H5560 1. fine flour (53×)H5193 1. plant vegetation (48×)H2232 1. sow seed, plant crops (41×)H1715 1. grain, cereal crop (40×)H7114b 1. reap, harvest grain (36×)H2132 1. olive tree (34×)H8184 1. barley (34×)H2406 1. wheat (grain crop) (30×)H7070 1. reed, cane (plant) (30×)H7848 1. acacia (28×)H8328 1. root of a plant (28×)H8384 1. fig tree (25×)H5488 1. reeds, rushes (in 'Sea of Reeds') (24×)G0290 1. a vineyard (23×)G2325 1. reap, harvest a crop (21×)G4687 1. sow seed, plant (21×)

BDB / Lexicon Reference
† II. יַ֫עַר n.[m.] honeycomb,—abs. יַעַר 1 S 14:25, 26; sf. יַעְרִי Ct 5:1;—honeycomb, containing honey 1 S 14:25 (where read וְיַעַר הָיָה עַל־פְּנֵי הַשָּׁדֶה with 𝔊 We Dr Kit in KauAT, instead of v. as in MT); וַיָּבוֹא העם אֶל־הַיַּעַר 1 S 14:26 (‖ דבשׁ v 25) and when the people came to the honeycomb behold its bees had departed (v. 𝔊 We Dr Kit VB); אָכַלְתִּי יַעְרִי עִם־דִּבְשִׁי Ct 5:1; v. also i. יַעֲרָה.