This really is getting O/T now, but never mind.  We've got plenty of evidence 
from the Old Testament of widespread 'cultic  activity' in ancient Israel; 
the prophets would hardly have gone banging on  about it so much if it wasn't 
happening! Jeremiah 44:15-19 gives a glimpse of  the other side of the argument. 
'We used to have plenty of food, and prospered,  and saw no misfortune. But 
from the time we stopped making offerings to the  Queen of Heaven and pouring 
out libations to her, we have lacked everything, and  have perished by the 
sword and by famine.' Evidently, there were two views at  the time; those who 
believed that the worship of many deities was vital, and  those who were 
implacably opposed to it. History tells us which side prevailed.  Since the books of 
the Bible we written long after the time of David and  Solomon, we don't really 
know what views were at that period. What we can say is  that cult objects 
turn up regularly.
 
    When it comes to honey, there's no reason to  suppose that it was ever 
considered 'deviant'. 2 Chronicles 31:5 includes  it in a list of agricultural 
produce; John the Baptist, portrayed as a strict  Jew, is said to have eaten 
it. The Damascus Covenant, which is so strict that it  forbids using 'a ladder 
or rope or other utensil' to pull a man out of water or  fire on the Sabbath, 
bans the eating of bee larvae, implying that contact with  bees was routine. 
Philo of Alexandria, writing about the Essenes, who were known  for their 
strictness, says that some were 'keepers of the swarms of bees'. Bees  themselves 
might be non-kosher, ince they're forbidden 'crawling things', but  honey has 
never, as far as we know, been considered doubtful.  

Regards,

Robert Brenchley,
Birmingham  UK




   

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