MILK AND HONEY IN THE BIBLE

This ubiquitous combination in the Old Testament refers, of course, to the Promised Land of Canaan. Although we commonly think of honey as coming from bees, in the OT setting it was more likely to refer to a thick syrup prepared from grapes, pomegranates or figs. As to “milk,” that usually referred to goat milk.

Olivier says the following regarding the combination of the two terms: “The expression reflects the wealth and natural fertility of Canaan. Both milk and honey are the best products of a land rich in natural vegetation. Since debas also refers to sweet syrup, i.e., the epitomy of the agricultural yield, and milk that of animal husbandry, it has been argued that the expression represents the different ways in which people subsisted in the Promised Land in contrast to peoples in Egypt and Babylonia. The expression 'a land flowing with milk and honey' forms an integral part of Israel's credo and constitutes the symbol of God's favor.”

As to the complete phrase, we first encounter it in Exodus 3:8 where God also promises Moses that he will deliver his people from bondage and take them to “a good and broad land.” The offer of this land of milk and honey is to be communicated to the elders of the people (Exodus 3:17).

The next time the description is utilized is in the context of the institution of the Festival of Unleavened Bread (Exodus 13:5). But there are additional occasions in which it pops up when God institutes various commemorations of special events: the First Fruits celebration (Deuteronomy 26:9), when the words of the law are inscribed on a stone monument after the Jews first cross over the Jordan River into the Holy Land (Deuteronomy 27:3), and when all the males are circumcised upon entering the land (Joshua 5:6).

Then there are those occasions when some of the Israelites rebel against Moses' leadership. After judgment falls on the offenders, God takes the opportunity to reassure the remainder of the people that His promise still holds. This happens in Exodus 33:3 where God adds the proviso that from that point on, He will not be leading them personally.

And when they actually are on the border of Canaan but get cold feet, Joshua and Caleb plead unsuccessfully with the people not to turn back (Numbers 14:8) This defection on the part of the Israelites was due to the mixed report from the spies, who not only brought back examples of the abundant fruit of the land (source of “honey”), but also scared them with exaggerated stories of the strength of the inhabitants.

Later, Dathan and Abiram lead a rebellion against the constituted leadership, presenting an interesting slant on the “milk and honey” theme by telling Moses that he had not only taken them from Egypt, “a land of milk and honey,” but had not kept is promise to lead them to such a land. (Numbers 16:12-14)

We should also remember that, despite what some theologians claim, the promise of this land was not really a unilateral one, but contained stipulations for the Israelites which some commentators tend to downplay. Thus, this gift of a land of milk and honey was contingent upon the Israelites obeying God's statutes “so that the land will not vomit you out.” (Leviticus 20:24)

And in Deuteronomy 6:3, Moses repeats that adherence to God's rules is necessary in order that “it may go well with you and you may multiply greatly. Similarly, these are the conditions “so that you may live long in the land.” (Deuteronomy 11:9)

And toward the end of the Pentateuch, in Deuteronomy 31:20, God instructs Moses to write the song recorded in Chapter 32 and recite it to the people. It contains the prediction that the Israelites will turn to foreign gods after they have occupied this land of milk and honey and will suffer the inevitable consequences.

But the prophets continue to use the phrase “land flowing with milk and honey” to remind the Israelites of their past and present failings. For example, Jeremiah (11:5) is told by God to repeat to the people of Jerusalem that He had told them to obey the provisions of the covenant when they began to live in the land, but they refused to listen. Therefore they should not be surprised at their future fate at the hands of their enemies. Similarly, God recaps for Ezekiel (20:6, 5) the checkered history of the Israelites in the wilderness and warns against future rebellious behavior.

Other Occurrences

But this does not exhaust all those cases in the Old Testament in which the combination of milk and honey (or similar wording) appears. And these may or may not be subtle reminders of the Promised Land.

In Samuel 17:29 we learn that King David and his troops beat a hasty retreat, crossing the Jordan River to the eastern side in order to elude Absalom's advancing army. In a way, this is a reversal of the time when the Israelites first entered the Promised Land by crossing the Jordan in the opposite direction. And just as the phrase “milk and honey” was mentioned prominently on that earlier occasion, as David arrives on the other side, he and his followers are greeted by sympathetic landowners who shower them with “honey and curds, sheep, and cheese.” The only difference is that instead of milk, the related dairy products of curds and cheese are waiting for them.

Turning to the Poetic Books of the OT, we come across Zophar's somewhat exaggerated notion that God always brings an earthly punishment to the wicked: “They will not look on the rivers, the streams flowing with honey and curds.” (Job 20:17) Pope notes, “Oil, butter, milk, and honey were for the symbols and substance of plenty.”

And going even further afield, the lover in Song of Songs 4:11 describes the heroine using the following words: “Your lips distil nectar, my bride, honey and milk are under your tongue.” Commentators have had a field-day with this statement, as they have with practically every verse of this difficult book. And, somewhat surprisingly, several scholars seriously connect the comment with the “land flowing with milk and honey.”

“Canaan was a land of milk and honey (cf. Exod. 3:8). It was a land of joy, blessing, and satisfaction that God graciously provided for the nation of Israel. It was a land of sweetness to a people who had been enslaved for over four hundred years. Solomon found immeasurable joy in the deep, long, and intimate kisses of his bride.” (Akin)

Snaith feels that it “is however, is possible that sweetness of speech is intended.”

“The reference to her lips dripping sweetness and the milk and honey under her tongue could be alluding to her speech. Her words are sweet, gentle, mellifluous and even seductive...But it is more likely that the reference is to the lovers' deep kissing...Of course, 'milk and honey' are standard symbols of the land of Palestine. The land to be possessed was a 'land flowing with milk and honey.' Perhaps this theme of anticipation can be traced in their kissing together.” (Gledhill)

Pope: “'Honey and milk' is perhaps a reverse echo of the characterization of the Land of Promise as flowing milk and honey.”

“These two liquids seem to indicate luxury, wealth, and abundance...It is doubtful in the extreme that the reader is to think of Israel as they read this description of the woman's mouth.” (Longman)

I have left the two most difficult passages for the last. In Isaiah 7:15 is the famous prediction of a coming son named Immanuel: “He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good.” This is followed in Isaiah 7:22 in which a time is described where everyone left in the land shall eat curds and honey. All this was predicted at a time when the land was under attack by Israel's enemies.

Besides the controversy regarding the exact identity of the child and the historical and theological significance of these statements, is the question as to whether it is a positive or negative oracle. Oswalt concludes: “To be sure, curds and honey are not the bread and wine of a cultivated land, but they are still a desirable food. Although Ahaz, through his policies dictated by human wisdom, will have plunged the land to disaster, nonetheless God is still with his people, and the survivors of Ahaz's act, few though they be, will be provided for.”

And Blenkinsopp says that curds and honey are “choice fare, difficult to obtain during a siege; by the time the child is weaned (two or three years) the northern allies will have been totally defeated and the land (of milk and honey) will return to the prosperity it enjoyed under David and Solomon.”