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Selected Verse: Job 20:17 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Job 20:17	Strong Concordance	He shall not see [07200] the rivers [06390], the floods [05104], the brooks [05158] of honey [01706] and butter [02529].
	King James	He shall not see the rivers, the floods, the brooks of honey and butter.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
floods--literally, "stream of floods," plentiful streams flowing with milk, &c. (Job 29:6; Exo 3:17). Honey and butter are more fluid in the East than with us and are poured out from jars. These "rivers" or water brooks are in the sultry East emblems of prosperity.

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

floods--literally, "stream of floods," plentiful streams flowing with milk, &c. (Job 29:6; Exo 3:17). Honey and butter are more fluid in the East than with us and are poured out from jars. These "rivers" or water brooks are in the sultry East emblems of prosperity.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
He shall not see the rivers - That is, he shall not be permitted to enjoy plenty and prosperity. Rivers or rills of honey and butter are emblems of prosperity; compare Exo 3:17; Job 29:6. A land flowing with milk, honey, and butter, is, in the Scripture, the highest image of prosperity and happiness. The word rendered "rivers" (פלגה pelaggâh), means rather "rivulets small streams - or brooks," such as were made by "dividing" a large stream (from פלג pâlag, to "cleave, divide"), and would properly be applied to canals made by separating a large stream, or dividing it into numerous watercourses for the purpose of irrigating lands. The word rendered "floods," and in the margin, "streaming brooks" (נחלי נהרי nâhârēy nachalēy), means "the rivers of the valley," or such as flow through a valley when it is swelled by the melting of snow, or by torrents of rain. A flood, a rapid, swollen, full stream, would express the idea. These were ideas of beauty and fertility among the Orientals; and where butter and honey were represented as flowing in this manner in a land, it was the highest conception of plenty. The word rendered "honey" (דבשׁ debash) may, and commonly does, mean "honey;" but it also means the juice of the grape, boiled down to about the consistency of molasses, and used as an article of food. The Arabs make much use of this kind of food now, and in Syria, nearly two-thirds of the grapes are employed in preparing this article of food. It is called by the Arabs "Dibs," which is the same as the Hebrew word used here. May not the word mean this in some of the places where it is rendered "honey" in the Scriptures? The word rendered "butter" (חמאה chem'âh) probably means, usually, "curdled milk." See the notes at Isa 7:15. It is not certain that the word is ever used in the Old Testament to denote "butter." The article which is used still by the Arabs is chiefly curdled milk, and probably this is referred to here. It will illustrate this passage to remark, that the inhabitants of Arabia, and of those who live in similar countries, have no idea of "butter," as it exists among us, in a solid state. What they call "butter," is in a fluid state, and is hence compared with flowing streams. An abundance of these articles was regarded as a high proof of prosperity, as they constitute a considerable part of the diet of Orientals. The same image, to denote plenty, is often used by the sacred writers, and by Classical poets; see Isa 7:22 : And it shall come to pass in that day That a man shall keep alive a young cow and two sheep, And it shall be that from the plenty of milk which they shall give, He shall eat butter For butter and honey shall every one eat, Who is left alone in the midst of the land. See also in Joe 3:18 : And it shall come to pass in that day, The mountains shall drop down new wine, And the hills shall flow with milk, And all the rivers of Judah shall flow with water. Thus, also Ovid, Metam. iii. Flumina jam lactis, jam flumina nectaris ibant. Compare Horace Epod. xvi. 41. Mella cava manant ex ilice; montibus altis Levis crepante lympha desilit pede. From oaks pure honey flows, from lofty hills Bound in light dance the murmuring rills. Boscawen. See also Euripides, Bacch. 142; and Theoc. Idyll. 5,124. Compare Rosenmuller's Alte u. neue Morgenland on Exo 3:8, No. 194.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

He shall not see the rivers - That is, he shall not be permitted to enjoy plenty and prosperity. Rivers or rills of honey and butter are emblems of prosperity; compare Exo 3:17; Job 29:6. A land flowing with milk, honey, and butter, is, in the Scripture, the highest image of prosperity and happiness. The word rendered "rivers" (פלגה pelaggâh), means rather "rivulets small streams - or brooks," such as were made by "dividing" a large stream (from פלג pâlag, to "cleave, divide"), and would properly be applied to canals made by separating a large stream, or dividing it into numerous watercourses for the purpose of irrigating lands. The word rendered "floods," and in the margin, "streaming brooks" (נחלי נהרי nâhârēy nachalēy), means "the rivers of the valley," or such as flow through a valley when it is swelled by the melting of snow, or by torrents of rain.

A flood, a rapid, swollen, full stream, would express the idea. These were ideas of beauty and fertility among the Orientals; and where butter and honey were represented as flowing in this manner in a land, it was the highest conception of plenty. The word rendered "honey" (דבשׁ debash) may, and commonly does, mean "honey;" but it also means the juice of the grape, boiled down to about the consistency of molasses, and used as an article of food. The Arabs make much use of this kind of food now, and in Syria, nearly two-thirds of the grapes are employed in preparing this article of food. It is called by the Arabs "Dibs," which is the same as the Hebrew word used here. May not the word mean this in some of the places where it is rendered "honey" in the Scriptures? The word rendered "butter" (חמאה chem'âh) probably means, usually, "curdled milk." See the notes at Isa 7:15. It is not certain that the word is ever used in the Old Testament to denote "butter." The article which is used still by the Arabs is chiefly curdled milk, and probably this is referred to here. It will illustrate this passage to remark, that the inhabitants of Arabia, and of those who live in similar countries, have no idea of "butter," as it exists among us, in a solid state. What they call "butter," is in a fluid state, and is hence compared with flowing streams. An abundance of these articles was regarded as a high proof of prosperity, as they constitute a considerable part of the diet of Orientals. The same image, to denote plenty, is often used by the sacred writers, and by Classical poets; see Isa 7:22 :

And it shall come to pass in that day

That a man shall keep alive a young cow and two sheep,

And it shall be that from the plenty of milk which they shall give,

He shall eat butter

For butter and honey shall every one eat,

Who is left alone in the midst of the land.

See also in Joe 3:18 :

And it shall come to pass in that day,

The mountains shall drop down new wine,

And the hills shall flow with milk,

And all the rivers of Judah shall flow with water.

Thus, also Ovid, Metam. iii.

Flumina jam lactis, jam flumina nectaris ibant.

Compare Horace Epod. xvi. 41.

Mella cava manant ex ilice; montibus altis

Levis crepante lympha desilit pede.

From oaks pure honey flows, from lofty hills

Bound in light dance the murmuring rills.

Boscawen.

See also Euripides, Bacch. 142; and Theoc. Idyll. 5,124. Compare Rosenmuller's Alte u. neue Morgenland on Exo 3:8, No. 194.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
17 He shall not delight himself in streams, Like to rivers and brooks of honey and cream. 18 Giving back that for which he laboured, he shall not swallow it; He shall not rejoice according to the riches he hath gotten. 19 Because he cast down, let the destitute lie helpless; He shall not, in case he hath seized a house, finish building it. 20 Because he knew no rest in his craving, He shall not be able to rescue himself with what he most loveth. As poets sing of the aurea aetas of the paradise-like primeval age: Flumina jam lactis, jam flumina nectaris ibant, (Note: Ovid, Metam. i. 112, comp. Virgil, Ecl. iv. 30: Et durae quercus sudabant roscida mella; and Horace, Epod. xvi. 47 Mella cava manant ex ilice, montibus altis Levis crepante lympha desilit pede.) and as the land of promise is called in the words of Jehovah in the Thora, "a land flowing with milk and honey," the puffed-up prosperity to which the evil-doer has attained by injustice is likened to streams (פּלגּות, prop. dividings, and indeed perhaps of a country = districts, Jdg 5:15., or as here, of a fountain = streams) of rivers, of brooks (two gen. appositionis which are co-ordinate, of which Hupfeld thinks one must be crossed out; they, however, are not unpoetical, since, just as in Psa 78:9, the flow of words is suspended, Ew. 289, c) of honey and cream (comp. cream and oil, Job 29:6), if נהרי נחלי is not perhaps (which is more in accordance with the accentuation) intended as an explanatory permutative of בפלגות: he shall not feast himself upon streams, streamings of rivers of honey and cream (Dachselt); and by אל־ירא (seq. Beth, to fasten one's gaze upon anything = feast one's self upon it), the prospect of enjoying this prosperity, and indeed, since the moral judgment and feeling are concerned in the affirmation of the fact (אל, as Job 5:22; Psa 41:3; Pro 3:3, Pro 3:25), the privilege of this prospect, is denied. This thought, that the enjoyment aimed at and anticipated shall not follow the attainment of this height of prosperity, is reiterated in a twofold form in Job 20:18. Job 20:18 is not to be translated: He gives back that which he has gained without swallowing it down, which must have been ישׁיב; the syntactic relation is a different one: the Waw of ולא is not expressive of detail; the detailing is implied in the partic., which is made prominent as an antecedent, as if it were: because, or since, he gives out again that which he has acquired (ינע only here instead of יגיע, Job 10:3 and freq.), he has no pleasure in it, he shall or may not altogether swallow it down (Targ. incorrectly ולא־יגמר, after the Arabic blg, to penetrate, attain an object). The formation of the clause corresponds entirely with Job 20:18. All attempts at interpretation which connect כּחיל תּמוּרתו with משׁיב, Job 20:18, are to be objected to: (he gives it back again) as property of his restitution, i.e., property that is to be restored (Schlottm.), or the property of another (Hahn). Apart from the unsuitableness of the expression to the meaning found in it, it is contrary to the relative independence of the separate lines of the verse, which our poet almost always preserves, and is also opposed by the interposing of ולא יבלע. The explanation chosen by Schult., Oet., Umbr., Hirz., Renan, and others, after the Targ., is utterly impossible: as his possession, so his exchange (which is intended to mean: restitution, giving up); this, instead of כּחיל, must have been not merely כּחיל, but כּחילו. The designed relation of the members of the sentence is, without doubt, that כחיל תמורתו is a nearer defining of ולא יעלס, after the manner of an antecedent clause, and from which, that it may be emphatically introduced, it begins by means of Waw apod. (to which Schult. not unsuitably compares Jer 6:19; Kg1 15:13). The following explanation is very suitable: according to the power, i.e., entire fulness of his exchange, but not in the sense of "to the full amount of its value" (Carey, as Rosenm.), connected with משׁיב, but connected with what follows: "how great soever his exchange (gain), still he does not rejoice" (Ew.). But it is not probable that חיל here signifies power = a great quantity, where property and possessions are spoken of. The most natural rendering appears to me to be this: according to the relation of the property of his exchange (תמורה from מור, Syr. directly emere, cogn. מהר, מחר, and perhaps also מכר, here of exchange, barter, or even acquisition, as Job 15:31; comp. Job 28:17, of the means of exchange), i.e., of the property exchanged, bartered, gained by barter by him, he is not to enjoy, i.e., the rejoicing which might have been expected in connection with the greatness of the wealth he has amassed, departs from him. Jerome is not the only expositor who (as though the Hebrew tenses were subject to no rule, and might mean everything) translates Job 20:19, domum rapuit et non aedificvit eam (equivalent to quam non aedificaverat). Even Hupfeld translates thus, by taking ולא יבנהו as imperfect = והוּא לא בנהוּ; but he, of course, fails to furnish a grammatical proof for the possibility of inferring a plusquamperfectum sense. It might sooner be explained: instead of building it (Lit. Centralblatt, 1853, Nr. 24). But according to the syntax, Job 20:19 must be an antecedent clause: because he crushed, left (therefore: crushed by himself) the destitute alone; (Note: The Targ. translates: because he brought to ruin the business of the poor (עזב after עזּבון in Ezekiel); and Parchon: because he brought to ruin the courts of the poor (after the Mishna-word מעזיבה, a paved floor); but עזב, according to the Masora on Isa 58:2 (comp. Kimchi, Michlol, p. 35), is to be read עזב as a verb.) and Job 20:19 the conclusion: he has pillaged a house, and will not build it, i.e., in case he has plundered a house, he will not build it up. For בּית גּזל, according to the accents, which are here correct, is not to be translated: domus, quam rapuit, but hypothetically: si (ἐὰν) domum rapuit, to which ybnhw wl' is connected by Waw apod. (comp. Job 7:21); and בּנה signifies here, as frequently, not: to build, but: to build round, build additions to, continue building (comp. Ch2 11:5-6; Psa 89:3, Psa 89:5). In Job 20:20 similar periodizing occurs: because he knew not שׁלו (neutral = שׁלוה, Pro 17:1; Ew. 293, c), contentment, rest, and sufficiency (comp. Isa 59:8, לא ידע שׁלום) in his belly, i.e., his craving, which swallows up everything: he will not be able to deliver himself (מלּט like פּלּט, Job 23:7, as intensive of Kal: to escape, or also = מלּט נפשׁו, which Amo 2:15 seems to favour) with (בּ as Job 19:20) his dearest treasure (thus e.g., Ewald), or: he will not be able to rescue his dearest object, prop. not to effect a rescue with his dearest object, the obj., as Job 16:4, Job 16:10; Job 31:12, conceived of as the instrument (vid., e.g., Schlottm.). The former explanation is more natural and simple. חמוּד, that which is exceedingly desired (Psa 39:12), of health and pleasantness; Isa 44:9, of idols, as the cherished objects of their worshippers), is the dearest and most precious thing to which the sinner clung with all his soul, not, as Bttch. thinks, the soul itself. (Note: Hupfeld interprets: non fruitur securus ventre suo h. e. cibo quo venter potitus erat et deliciis quas non salvas retinebit (or also Job 20:20 as a clause by itself: cum deliciis suis non evadet), but without any proof that ידע בּ can signify frui, and בטן metonymically food, whereas the assertion that שׁלו cannot be equivalent to שׁלו, and cannot be used of rest with reference to the desire, is unfounded. In Hebrew the neuter adj. can be used as a substantive, just as in Greek, e.g., τὸ ἀσφαλές, security, τὸ εὐτυχές, success (comp. e.g., the combination בתמים ואמת), and שלח signifies release and ease (Arab. followed by ‛n), without distinction of what disturbs, be it danger, or pain, or any kind of emotion whatever.)

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

17 He shall not delight himself in streams,

Like to rivers and brooks of honey and cream.

18 Giving back that for which he laboured, he shall not swallow it;

He shall not rejoice according to the riches he hath gotten.

19 Because he cast down, let the destitute lie helpless;

He shall not, in case he hath seized a house, finish building it.

20 Because he knew no rest in his craving,

He shall not be able to rescue himself with what he most loveth.

As poets sing of the aurea aetas of the paradise-like primeval age: Flumina jam lactis, jam flumina nectaris ibant,

(Note: Ovid, Metam. i. 112, comp. Virgil, Ecl. iv. 30:

Et durae quercus sudabant roscida mella;

and Horace, Epod. xvi. 47

Mella cava manant ex ilice, montibus altis

Levis crepante lympha desilit pede.)

and as the land of promise is called in the words of Jehovah in the Thora, "a land flowing with milk and honey," the puffed-up prosperity to which the evil-doer has attained by injustice is likened to streams (פּלגּות, prop. dividings, and indeed perhaps of a country = districts, Jdg 5:15., or as here, of a fountain = streams) of rivers, of brooks (two gen. appositionis which are co-ordinate, of which Hupfeld thinks one must be crossed out; they, however, are not unpoetical, since, just as in Psa 78:9, the flow of words is suspended, Ew. 289, c) of honey and cream (comp. cream and oil, Job 29:6), if נהרי נחלי is not perhaps (which is more in accordance with the accentuation) intended as an explanatory permutative of בפלגות: he shall not feast himself upon streams, streamings of rivers of honey and cream (Dachselt); and by אל־ירא (seq. Beth, to fasten one's gaze upon anything = feast one's self upon it), the prospect of enjoying this prosperity, and indeed, since the moral judgment and feeling are concerned in the affirmation of the fact (אל, as Job 5:22; Psa 41:3; Pro 3:3, Pro 3:25), the privilege of this prospect, is denied. This thought, that the enjoyment aimed at and anticipated shall not follow the attainment of this height of prosperity, is reiterated in a twofold form in Job 20:18.

Job 20:18 is not to be translated: He gives back that which he has gained without swallowing it down, which must have been ישׁיב; the syntactic relation is a different one: the Waw of ולא is not expressive of detail; the detailing is implied in the partic., which is made prominent as an antecedent, as if it were: because, or since, he gives out again that which he has acquired (ינע only here instead of יגיע, Job 10:3 and freq.), he has no pleasure in it, he shall or may not altogether swallow it down (Targ. incorrectly ולא־יגמר, after the Arabic blg, to penetrate, attain an object). The formation of the clause corresponds entirely with Job 20:18. All attempts at interpretation which connect כּחיל תּמוּרתו with משׁיב, Job 20:18, are to be objected to: (he gives it back again) as property of his restitution, i.e., property that is to be restored (Schlottm.), or the property of another (Hahn). Apart from the unsuitableness of the expression to the meaning found in it, it is contrary to the relative independence of the separate lines of the verse, which our poet almost always preserves, and is also opposed by the interposing of ולא יבלע. The explanation chosen by Schult., Oet., Umbr., Hirz., Renan, and others, after the Targ., is utterly impossible: as his possession, so his exchange (which is intended to mean: restitution, giving up); this, instead of כּחיל, must have been not merely כּחיל, but כּחילו. The designed relation of the members of the sentence is, without doubt, that כחיל תמורתו is a nearer defining of ולא יעלס, after the manner of an antecedent clause, and from which, that it may be emphatically introduced, it begins by means of Waw apod. (to which Schult. not unsuitably compares Jer 6:19; Kg1 15:13). The following explanation is very suitable: according to the power, i.e., entire fulness of his exchange, but not in the sense of "to the full amount of its value" (Carey, as Rosenm.), connected with משׁיב, but connected with what follows: "how great soever his exchange (gain), still he does not rejoice" (Ew.). But it is not probable that חיל here signifies power = a great quantity, where property and possessions are spoken of. The most natural rendering appears to me to be this: according to the relation of the property of his exchange (תמורה from מור, Syr. directly emere, cogn. מהר, מחר, and perhaps also מכר, here of exchange, barter, or even acquisition, as Job 15:31; comp. Job 28:17, of the means of exchange), i.e., of the property exchanged, bartered, gained by barter by him, he is not to enjoy, i.e., the rejoicing which might have been expected in connection with the greatness of the wealth he has amassed, departs from him.

Jerome is not the only expositor who (as though the Hebrew tenses were subject to no rule, and might mean everything) translates Job 20:19, domum rapuit et non aedificvit eam (equivalent to quam non aedificaverat). Even Hupfeld translates thus, by taking ולא יבנהו as imperfect = והוּא לא בנהוּ; but he, of course, fails to furnish a grammatical proof for the possibility of inferring a plusquamperfectum sense. It might sooner be explained: instead of building it (Lit. Centralblatt, 1853, Nr. 24). But according to the syntax, Job 20:19 must be an antecedent clause: because he crushed, left (therefore: crushed by himself) the destitute alone;

(Note: The Targ. translates: because he brought to ruin the business of the poor (עזב after עזּבון in Ezekiel); and Parchon: because he brought to ruin the courts of the poor (after the Mishna-word מעזיבה, a paved floor); but עזב, according to the Masora on Isa 58:2 (comp. Kimchi, Michlol, p. 35), is to be read עזב as a verb.)

and Job 20:19 the conclusion: he has pillaged a house, and will not build it, i.e., in case he has plundered a house, he will not build it up. For בּית גּזל, according to the accents, which are here correct, is not to be translated: domus, quam rapuit, but hypothetically: si (ἐὰν) domum rapuit, to which ybnhw wl' is connected by Waw apod. (comp. Job 7:21); and בּנה signifies here, as frequently, not: to build, but: to build round, build additions to, continue building (comp. Ch2 11:5-6; Psa 89:3, Psa 89:5). In Job 20:20 similar periodizing occurs: because he knew not שׁלו (neutral = שׁלוה, Pro 17:1; Ew. 293, c), contentment, rest, and sufficiency (comp. Isa 59:8, לא ידע שׁלום) in his belly, i.e., his craving, which swallows up everything: he will not be able to deliver himself (מלּט like פּלּט, Job 23:7, as intensive of Kal: to escape, or also = מלּט נפשׁו, which Amo 2:15 seems to favour) with (בּ as Job 19:20) his dearest treasure (thus e.g., Ewald), or: he will not be able to rescue his dearest object, prop. not to effect a rescue with his dearest object, the obj., as Job 16:4, Job 16:10; Job 31:12, conceived of as the instrument (vid., e.g., Schlottm.). The former explanation is more natural and simple. חמוּד, that which is exceedingly desired (Psa 39:12), of health and pleasantness; Isa 44:9, of idols, as the cherished objects of their worshippers), is the dearest and most precious thing to which the sinner clung with all his soul, not, as Bttch. thinks, the soul itself.

(Note: Hupfeld interprets: non fruitur securus ventre suo h. e. cibo quo venter potitus erat et deliciis quas non salvas retinebit (or also Job 20:20 as a clause by itself: cum deliciis suis non evadet), but without any proof that ידע בּ can signify frui, and בטן metonymically food, whereas the assertion that שׁלו cannot be equivalent to שׁלו, and cannot be used of rest with reference to the desire, is unfounded. In Hebrew the neuter adj. can be used as a substantive, just as in Greek, e.g., τὸ ἀσφαλές, security, τὸ εὐτυχές, success (comp. e.g., the combination בתמים ואמת), and שלח signifies release and ease (Arab. followed by ‛n), without distinction of what disturbs, be it danger, or pain, or any kind of emotion whatever.)

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
See - Not enjoy that abundant satisfaction and comfort, which good men through God's blessings enjoy.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
He shall not see the rivers - Mr. Good has the following judicious note on this passage: "Honey and butter are the common results of a rich, well-watered pasturage, offering a perpetual banquet of grass to kine, and of nectar to bees; and thus loading the possessor with the most luscious luxuries of pastoral life, peculiarly so before the discovery of the means of obtaining sugar. The expression appears to have been proverbial; and is certainly used here to denote a very high degree of temporal prosperity." See also Job 29:6. To the Hebrews such expressions were quite familiar. See Exo 3:8; Exo 13:5; Exo 33:3; Kg2 18:32; Deu 31:20, and elsewhere. The Greek and Roman writers abound in such images. Milk and honey were such delicacies with the ancients, that Pindar compares his song to them for its smoothness and sweetness: - Χαιρε Φιλος. Εγω τοδε τοι Πεμπω μεμιγμενον μελι λευκῳ Συν γαλακτι· κιρναμενα δ' εερς' αμφεπει πομ' αοιδιμον, Αιολισιν εν πνοαισιν αυλων. Pind. Nem. iii., ver. 133. "Hail, friend! to thee I tune my song; For thee its mingled sweets prepare; Mellifluous accents pour along; Verse, pure as milk, to thee I bear; On all thy actions falls the dew of praise; Pierian draughts thy thirst of fame assuage, And breathing flutes thy songs of triumph raise." J. B. C. Qui te, Pollio, amat, veniat, quo te quoque gaudet; Mella fluant illi, ferat et rubus asper amomum. Virg. Ecl. iii., ver. 88. "Who Pollio loves, and who his muse admires; Let Pollio's fortune crown his full desires Let myrrh, instead of thorn, his fences fill; And showers of honey from his oaks distil!" Dryden. Ovid, describing the golden age, employs the same image: - Flumina jam lactis, jam flumina nectaris ibant; Flavaque de viridi stillabant ilice mella. Metam. lib. i., ver. 3. "Floods were with milk, and floods with nectar, fill'd; And honey from the sweating oak distill'd." Dryden. Horace employs a similar image in nearly the same words: - Mella cava manant ex ilice, montibus altis; Levis crepante lympha desilit pede. Epod. xvi., ver. 46. "From hollow oaks, where honey'd streams distil, And bounds with noisy foot the pebbled rill." Francis. Job employs the same metaphor, Job 29:6 : - When I washed my steps with butter, And the rock poured out to me rivers of oil. Isaiah, also, Isa 7:22, uses the same when describing the produce of a heifer and two ewes: - From the plenty of milk that they shall produce, He shall eat butter: butter and honey shall he eat, Whosoever is left in the midst of the land. And Joel, Joe 3:18 : - And it shall come to pass in that day, The mountains shall drop down new wine, And the hills shall flow with milk; And all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters. These expressions denote fertility and abundance; and are often employed to point out the excellence of the promised land, which is frequently denominated a land flowing with milk and honey: and even the superior blessings of the Gospel are thus characterized, Isa 51:1.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826

He shall not see the rivers - Mr. Good has the following judicious note on this passage: "Honey and butter are the common results of a rich, well-watered pasturage, offering a perpetual banquet of grass to kine, and of nectar to bees; and thus loading the possessor with the most luscious luxuries of pastoral life, peculiarly so before the discovery of the means of obtaining sugar. The expression appears to have been proverbial; and is certainly used here to denote a very high degree of temporal prosperity." See also Job 29:6. To the Hebrews such expressions were quite familiar. See Exo 3:8; Exo 13:5; Exo 33:3; Kg2 18:32; Deu 31:20, and elsewhere. The Greek and Roman writers abound in such images. Milk and honey were such delicacies with the ancients, that Pindar compares his song to them for its smoothness and sweetness: -

Χαιρε

Φιλος. Εγω τοδε τοι

Πεμπω μεμιγμενον μελι λευκῳ

Συν γαλακτι· κιρναμενα δ' εερς' αμφεπει πομ' αοιδιμον, Αιολισιν εν πνοαισιν αυλων.

Pind. Nem. iii., ver. 133.

"Hail, friend! to thee I tune my song;

For thee its mingled sweets prepare;

Mellifluous accents pour along;

Verse, pure as milk, to thee I bear;

On all thy actions falls the dew of praise;

Pierian draughts thy thirst of fame assuage,

And breathing flutes thy songs of triumph raise."

J. B. C.

Qui te, Pollio, amat, veniat, quo te quoque gaudet;

Mella fluant illi, ferat et rubus asper amomum.

Virg. Ecl. iii., ver. 88.

"Who Pollio loves, and who his muse admires;

Let Pollio's fortune crown his full desires

Let myrrh, instead of thorn, his fences fill;

And showers of honey from his oaks distil!"

Dryden.

Ovid, describing the golden age, employs the same image: -

Flumina jam lactis, jam flumina nectaris ibant;

Flavaque de viridi stillabant ilice mella.

Metam. lib. i., ver. 3.

"Floods were with milk, and floods with nectar, fill'd;

And honey from the sweating oak distill'd."

Dryden.

Horace employs a similar image in nearly the same words: -

Mella cava manant ex ilice, montibus altis;

Levis crepante lympha desilit pede.

Epod. xvi., ver. 46.

"From hollow oaks, where honey'd streams distil,

And bounds with noisy foot the pebbled rill."

Francis.

Job employs the same metaphor, Job 29:6 : -

When I washed my steps with butter,

And the rock poured out to me rivers of oil.

Isaiah, also, Isa 7:22, uses the same when describing the produce of a heifer and two ewes: -

From the plenty of milk that they shall produce,

He shall eat butter: butter and honey shall he eat,

Whosoever is left in the midst of the land.

And Joel, Joe 3:18 : -

And it shall come to pass in that day,

The mountains shall drop down new wine,

And the hills shall flow with milk;

And all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters.

These expressions denote fertility and abundance; and are often employed to point out the excellence of the promised land, which is frequently denominated a land flowing with milk and honey: and even the superior blessings of the Gospel are thus characterized, Isa 51:1.

Top

¹⁷ And I have said [0559], I will bring [05927] you up out of the affliction [06040] of Egypt [04714] unto the land [0776] of the Canaanites [03669], and the Hittites [02850], and the Amorites [0567], and the Perizzites [06522], and the Hivites [02340], and the Jebusites [02983], unto a land [0776] flowing [02100] with milk [02461] and honey [01706].

⁶ When I washed [07364] my steps [01978] with butter [02529], and the rock [06697] poured me out [06694] rivers [06388] of oil [08081];

⁸ And I am come down [03381] to deliver [05337] them out of the hand [03027] of the Egyptians [04714], and to bring [05927] them up out of that land [0776] unto a good [02896] land [0776] and a large [07342], unto a land [0776] flowing [02100] with milk [02461] and honey [01706]; unto the place [04725] of the Canaanites [03669], and the Hittites [02850], and the Amorites [0567], and the Perizzites [06522], and the Hivites [02340], and the Jebusites [02983].

¹⁸ And it shall come to pass in that day [03117], that the mountains [02022] shall drop down [05197] new wine [06071], and the hills [01389] shall flow [03212] with milk [02461], and all the rivers [0650] of Judah [03063] shall flow [03212] with waters [04325], and a fountain [04599] shall come forth [03318] of the house [01004] of the LORD [03068], and shall water [08248] the valley [05158] of Shittim [07851].

²² And it shall come to pass, for the abundance [07230] of milk [02461] that they shall give [06213] he shall eat [0398] butter [02529]: for butter [02529] and honey [01706] shall every one eat [0398] that is left [03498] in [07130] the land [0776].

¹⁵ Butter [02529] and honey [01706] shall he eat [0398], that he may know [03045] to refuse [03988] the evil [07451], and choose [0977] the good [02896].

⁶ When I washed [07364] my steps [01978] with butter [02529], and the rock [06697] poured me out [06694] rivers [06388] of oil [08081];

²⁰ Surely he shall not feel [03045] quietness [07961] in his belly [0990], he shall not save [04422] of that which he desired [02530].

⁹ They that make [03335] a graven image [06459] are all of them vanity [08414]; and their delectable things [02530] shall not profit [03276]; and they are their own witnesses [05707]; they see [07200] not, nor know [03045]; that they may be ashamed [0954].

¹² Hear [08085] my prayer [08605], O LORD [03068], and give ear [0238] unto my cry [07775]; hold not thy peace [02790] at my tears [01832]: for I am a stranger [01616] with thee, and a sojourner [08453], as all my fathers [01] were.

¹² For it is a fire [0784] that consumeth [0398] to destruction [011], and would root out [08327] all mine increase [08393].

¹⁰ They have gaped [06473] upon me with their mouth [06310]; they have smitten [05221] me upon the cheek [03895] reproachfully [02781]; they have gathered [04390] themselves together [03162] against me.

⁴ I also could speak [01696] as ye do: if [03863] your soul [05315] were [03426] in my soul's [05315] stead, I could heap up [02266] words [04405] against you, and shake [05128] mine head [07218] at [01119] you.

²⁰ My bone [06106] cleaveth [01692] to my skin [05785] and to my flesh [01320], and I am escaped [04422] with the skin [05785] of my teeth [08127].

¹⁵ Neither shall he stand [05975] that handleth [08610] the bow [07198]; and he that is swift [07031] of foot [07272] shall not deliver [04422] himself: neither shall he that rideth [07392] the horse [05483] deliver [04422] himself [05315].

⁷ There the righteous [03477] might dispute [03198] with him; so should I be delivered [06403] for ever [05331] from my judge [08199].

⁸ The way [01870] of peace [07965] they know [03045] not; and there is no judgment [04941] in their goings [04570]: they have made them crooked [06140] paths [05410]: whosoever goeth [01869] therein shall not know [03045] peace [07965].

¹ Better [02896] is a dry [02720] morsel [06595], and quietness [07962] therewith, than an house [01004] full [04392] of sacrifices [02077] with strife [07379].

²⁰ Surely he shall not feel [03045] quietness [07961] in his belly [0990], he shall not save [04422] of that which he desired [02530].

⁵ And the heavens [08064] shall praise [03034] thy wonders [06382], O LORD [03068]: thy faithfulness [0530] also in the congregation [06951] of the saints [06918].

³ I have made [03772] a covenant [01285] with my chosen [0972], I have sworn [07650] unto David [01732] my servant [05650],

⁵ And Rehoboam [07346] dwelt [03427] in Jerusalem [03389], and built [01129] cities [05892] for defence [04692] in Judah [03063].
⁶ He built [01129] even Bethlehem [01035], and Etam [05862], and Tekoa [08620],

²¹ And why dost thou not pardon [05375] my transgression [06588], and take away [05674] mine iniquity [05771]? for now shall I sleep [07901] in the dust [06083]; and thou shalt seek me in the morning [07836], but I shall not be.

¹⁹ Because he hath oppressed [07533] and hath forsaken [05800] the poor [01800]; because he hath violently taken away [01497] an house [01004] which he builded [01129] not;

² Yet they seek [01875] me daily [03117] [03117], and delight [02654] to know [01847] my ways [01870], as a nation [01471] that did [06213] righteousness [06666], and forsook [05800] not the ordinance [04941] of their God [0430]: they ask [07592] of me the ordinances [04941] of justice [06664]; they take delight [02654] in approaching [07132] to God [0430].

¹⁹ Because he hath oppressed [07533] and hath forsaken [05800] the poor [01800]; because he hath violently taken away [01497] an house [01004] which he builded [01129] not;

¹⁷ The gold [02091] and the crystal [02137] cannot equal [06186] it: and the exchange [08545] of it shall not be for jewels [03627] of fine gold [06337].

³¹ Let not him that is deceived [08582] trust [0539] in vanity [07723]: for vanity [07723] shall be his recompence [08545].

¹³ And also Maachah [04601] his mother [0517], even her he removed [05493] from being queen [01377], because she had made [06213] an idol [04656] in a grove [0842]; and Asa [0609] destroyed [03772] her idol [04656], and burnt [08313] it by the brook [05158] Kidron [06939].

¹⁹ Hear [08085], O earth [0776]: behold, I will bring [0935] evil [07451] upon this people [05971], even the fruit [06529] of their thoughts [04284], because they have not hearkened [07181] unto my words [01697], nor to my law [08451], but rejected [03988] it.

¹⁸ That which he laboured [03022] for shall he restore [07725], and shall not swallow it down [01104]: according to his substance [02428] shall the restitution [08545] be, and he shall not rejoice [05965] therein.

³ Is it good [02895] unto thee that thou shouldest oppress [06231], that thou shouldest despise [03988] the work [03018] of thine hands [03709], and shine [03313] upon the counsel [06098] of the wicked [07563]?

²⁵ Be not afraid [03372] of sudden [06597] fear [06343], neither of the desolation [07722] of the wicked [07563], when it cometh [0935].

³ Let not mercy [02617] and truth [0571] forsake [05800] thee: bind [07194] them about thy neck [01621]; write [03789] them upon the table [03871] of thine heart [03820]:

³ The LORD [03068] will strengthen [05582] him upon the bed [06210] of languishing [01741]: thou wilt make [02015] all his bed [04904] in his sickness [02483].

²² At destruction [07701] and famine [03720] thou shalt laugh [07832]: neither shalt thou be afraid [03372] of the beasts [02416] of the earth [0776].

⁶ When I washed [07364] my steps [01978] with butter [02529], and the rock [06697] poured me out [06694] rivers [06388] of oil [08081];

⁹ The children [01121] of Ephraim [0669], being armed [05401], and carrying [07411] bows [07198], turned back [02015] in the day [03117] of battle [07128].

¹⁵ And the princes [08269] of Issachar [03485] were with Deborah [01683]; even Issachar [03485], and also Barak [01301]: he was sent [07971] on foot [07272] into the valley [06010]. For the divisions [06390] of Reuben [07205] there were great [01419] thoughts [02711] of heart [03820].

¹ Hearken [08085] to me, ye that follow after [07291] righteousness [06664], ye that seek [01245] the LORD [03068]: look [05027] unto the rock [06697] whence ye are hewn [02672], and to the hole [04718] of the pit [0953] whence ye are digged [05365].

⁶ When I washed [07364] my steps [01978] with butter [02529], and the rock [06697] poured me out [06694] rivers [06388] of oil [08081];

²⁰ For when I shall have brought [0935] them into the land [0127] which I sware [07650] unto their fathers [01], that floweth [02100] with milk [02461] and honey [01706]; and they shall have eaten [0398] and filled [07646] themselves, and waxen fat [01878]; then will they turn [06437] unto other [0312] gods [0430], and serve [05647] them, and provoke [05006] me, and break [06565] my covenant [01285].

³² Until I come [0935] and take you away [03947] to a land [0776] like your own land [0776], a land [0776] of corn [01715] and wine [08492], a land [0776] of bread [03899] and vineyards [03754], a land [0776] of oil [03323] olive [02132] and of honey [01706], that ye may live [02421], and not die [04191]: and hearken [08085] not unto Hezekiah [02396], when he persuadeth [05496] you, saying [0559], The LORD [03068] will deliver [05337] us.

³ Unto a land [0776] flowing [02100] with milk [02461] and honey [01706]: for I will not go up [05927] in the midst [07130] of thee; for thou art a stiffnecked [07186] [06203] people [05971]: lest I consume [03615] thee in the way [01870].

⁵ And it shall be when the LORD [03068] shall bring [0935] thee into the land [0776] of the Canaanites [03669], and the Hittites [02850], and the Amorites [0567], and the Hivites [02340], and the Jebusites [02983], which he sware [07650] unto thy fathers [01] to give [05414] thee, a land [0776] flowing [02100] with milk [02461] and honey [01706], that thou shalt keep [05647] this service [05656] in this month [02320].

⁶ When I washed [07364] my steps [01978] with butter [02529], and the rock [06697] poured me out [06694] rivers [06388] of oil [08081];