honey (from its stickiness) · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
honeycomb
וְנֹ֣פֶתve.No.fet
H5317
a dripping i.e. of honey (from the comb) · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular construct
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 119:72 The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.
Psalms 119:103 How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!
Psalms 119:127 Therefore I love thy commandments above gold; yea, above fine gold.
Proverbs 3:13-15 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
Proverbs 16:16 How much better is it to get wisdom than gold! and to get understanding rather to be chosen than silver!
Job 23:12 Neither have I gone back from the commandment of his lips; I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
Proverbs 8:10-11 Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.
Proverbs 8:19 My fruit is better than gold, yea, than fine gold; and my revenue than choice silver.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 19:7–end
God's glory, (that is, his goodness to man) appears much in the works of creation, but much more in and by divine revelation. The holy scripture, as it is a rule both of our duty to God and of our expectation from him, is of much greater use and benefit to us than day or night, than the air we breathe in, or the light of the sun. The discoveries made of God by his works might have served if man had retained his integrity; but, to recover him out of his fallen state, another course must be taken; that must be done by the word of God. And here,
1. The psalmist gives an account of the excellent properties and uses of the word of God, in six sentences (Psa 19:7-9), in each of which the name Jeho…
The law is described by six names, epithets, and effects. It is a rule, God's testimony for the truth, His special and general prescription of duty, fear (as its cause) and judicial decision. It is distinct and certain, reliable, right, pure, holy, and true. Hence it revives those depressed by doubts, makes wise the unskilled (Ti2 3:15), rejoices the lover of truth, strengthens the desponding (Psa 13:4; Psa 34:6), provides permanent principles of conduct, and by God's grace brings a rich reward.
John Gill on Psalms 19:10
More to be desired are they than gold,.... This refers to all the truths in the word of God; to all the doctrines of the Gospel; which, by good men, are more desirable, and by them more prized and valued, than all worldly riches and treasure;
yea, than much fine gold: more than gold, and the best of gold, and a great deal of it, than thousands of gold and silver; see Psalm 119:72, Proverbs 8:10;
sweeter also than honey, and the honeycomb; or "the dropping of the honeycombs" (h), which is the purest and sweetest of the honey; and what honey is to the natural taste of men, that is the Gospel, and the truths of it, to the spiritual taste of believers, Psalm 119:103; and when the presence of C…
While honey and comb only taste good in the mouth, the judgments of the Lord offer a perfect sweetness for the mind.
… hear the prophet speaking concerning them, and declaring this superiority; "More to be desired are they," he saith "than gold and much precious stone; sweeter are they also than honey and the honeycomb." But to those (only) who are in health; wherefore he has added, "For thy servant keepeth them." And again in another place calling them sweet he has added, "to my throat." For he saith, "How sweet are thy words unto my throat." And again he insisteth on the superiority, saying, "Above honey and the honeycomb to my mouth." For he was in very sound health. And let not us either come nigh to these while we are sick, but when we have healed our soul, so receive the food that is offered us.
Renunciation [is] … the severance of the bonds of this material and transient life and freedom from human concerns, whereby we render ourselves more fit to set out on the road leading to God. It is the unhindered impulse toward the possession and enjoyment of inestimable goods, "more to be desired than gold and many precious stones." In short, it is the transference of the human heart to a heavenly mode of life, so that we can say, "But our conversation is in heaven." Also—and this is the chief point—it is the first step toward the likeness to Christ, who, being rich, became poor for our sake. Unless we attain to this likeness, it is impossible for us to achieve a way of life in accord with the gospel of Christ.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Astronomy — The Hebrews were devout students of the wonders of the starry firmanent (Amos 5:8; Ps. 19). In the Book of Job, which is the oldest book of the Bible in all probability, the constellations are…
Gold — (1.) Heb. zahab, so called from its yellow colour (Ex. 25:11; 1 Chr. 28:18; 2 Chr. 3:5). (2.) Heb. segor, from its compactness, or as being enclosed or treasured up; thus precious or “fine gold” (1…
Honey — (1.) Heb. ya’ar, occurs only 1 Sam. 14:25, 27, 29; Cant. 5:1, where it denotes the honey of bees. Properly the word signifies a forest or copse, and refers to honey found in woods. (2.) Nopheth,…
Poetry — Has been well defined as “the measured language of emotion.” Hebrew poetry deals almost exclusively with the great question of man’s relation to God. “Guilt, condemnation, punishment, pardon,…
Psalms, Book Of — The present Hebrew name of the book is Tehill’im, “Praises;” but in the actual superscriptions of the psalms the word Tehillah is applied only to one, (Psalms 145:1) ... which is indeed emphatically…
Affections · Should be set upon the commandments of God — Should be set upon the commandments of God
Affections, The · Should be set: Upon the commandments of God — Should be set: Upon the commandments of God
Conduct, Christian · Blessedness of maintaining — Blessedness of maintaining
Gold · Most valuable when pure and fine — Most valuable when pure and fine
Honey · Illustrative of: The word of God — Illustrative of: The word of God
Reproof · The Scriptures are profitable for — The Scriptures are profitable for
Psalms 19:10 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
John Calvin on Psalms 19:10-11
Psalm 19:10-11
10. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and the droppings of honeycombs. [457] 11. Moreover, by them is thy servant made circumspect; and in the keeping of them there is great reward.
10. More to be desired are they than gold. The Psalmist now exalts the law of God both on account of its price and sweetness. This commendation depends on the commendations given in the preceding verses; for the many and great advantages which he has just now enumerated, ought justly to make us account heavenly truth the highest and most excellent treasure, and to despise, when compared with it, all the gold and silver of the world. Instead…
(Heb.: 19:10-14) With הנּחמדים (for which, preferring a simple Sheb with the gutturals, Ben-Naphtali writes הנּחמּמדים) the poet sums up the characteristics enumerated; the article is summative, as in השּׁשּׁי at the close of the hexahemeron, Gen 1:31. פּז is the finest purified gold, cf. Kg1 10:18 with Ch2 9:17. נפת צוּפים "the discharge (from נפת = Arab. nft) of the honeycombs" is the virgin honey, i.e., the honey that flows of itself out of the cells. To be desired are the revealed words of God, to him who possesses them as an outward possession; and to him who has received them inwardly they are sweet. The poet, who is himself conscious of being a servant of God, and of striving to act a…
God’s instructions to humans reveal his character and wisdom. God’s instruction is precious and pleasant (119:103). It nourishes the person (Prov 16:24; 24:14) and is of more value than objects of human worth (Ps 81:13-16).
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 19:10
More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
"More to be desired are they than fine gold, yea, than much fine gold." Bible truth is enriching to the soul in the highest degree; the metaphor is one which gathers force as it is brought out;—gold—fine gold—much fine gold; it is good, better, best, and therefore it is not only to be desired with a miser's avidity, but with more than that. As spiritual treasure is more noble than mere material wealth, so should it be desired and sought after with greater eagerness. Men speak of solid gold, but what is so solid as solid truth? For love of gold pleasure is forsworn, ease renounced, and…
Scriptures, The · Described as: Precious — Described as: Precious
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
