Sept 4 : Experts from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem’s Institute of Archaeology have uncovered Biblical proof that documents Israel as the ‘land of milk and honey’.

The term “honey” appears 55 times in the Bible, 16 of which as part of the image of Israel as “the land of milk and honey”. It is commonly believed that the term refers to honey produced from fruits such as dates and figs. Bees’ honey, on the other hand, is mentioned explicitly only twice, both related to wild bees.

The first instance is how Samson culled bees’ honey from inside the corpse of the lion in the Soreq Valley (Judges 14: 8-9). The second case is the story of Jonathan, King Saul’s son, who dipped his hand into a honeycomb during the battle of Mikhmash (Samuel I 14:27).

Now, Amihai Mazar, Eleazar L. Sukenik Professor of Archaeology at the Hebrew University, has claimed to find evidence of the first apiary dating from the Biblical period during excavations at Tel Rehov in Israel’s Beth Shean Valley. Tel Rehov is believed to have been one of the most important cities of Israel during the Israelite monarchy.

Prof. Mazar said the apiary, dating from the 10th to early 9th century BC, is the earliest to be revealed to date in an archaeological excavation anywhere in the ancient Near East.

The archaeological team found three rows of beehives in the apiary, containing more than 30 hives, in the centre of a built-up area that had been excavated since 1997 by Dr. Nava Panitz-Cohen of the Hebrew University, according to an AlphaGalileo report.

Each row contained at least three tiers of hives, a cylinder composed of unbaked clay and dry straw, around 80 centimetres long and 40 centimetres in diameter.

Prof. Mazar said one end of the cylinder was closed and had a small hole in it, which allowed for the entry and exit of the bees. The opposite end was covered with a clay lid that could be removed when the beekeeper extracted the honeycombs.

He said the find was significant, as actual beehives had never been discovered at any site in the ancient Near East, though evidence of fired ceramic vessels serving as beehives during the Hellenistic and Roman periods are well known.

He said the apiary was large enough to yield half a ton of honey each year, adding that the entire area would have contained some 100 beehives. (ANI)