וַיְהִי דְבַשׁ עַל פְּנֵי הַשָּׂדֶה

It seems that Yonatan might have come across a wild beehive in the forest (or perhaps some dates oozing with nectar or perhaps a patch of sugarcane). Bees often make their hives in a tree and some of the honey might have dripped down to the ground from the honeycombs. Here are some visuals to help you understand what this might have looked like.

Below: A swarm of bees on a tree.

Swarm of bees

Honeycombs in a hallowed out portion of a tree.

Beehive on tree


The video below shows honey being collected from the wild. Note the naturally shaped honeycombs.



A man extracting honey directly from a honeycomb.




The video below shows the modern process of making honey including how a beekeeper takes honey from the honeycombs.




Last modified: Friday, 20 March 2020, 2:45 PM