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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