μέλι
honey
Definition
In the New Testament, μέλι (meli) refers to honey, a natural sweetener produced by bees. It is used literally to describe the food of John the Baptist in the wilderness (Matthew 3:4, Mark 1:6). In Revelation 10:9-10, honey is part of a symbolic vision, where the apostle John eats a scroll that tastes sweet as honey in his mouth but turns his stomach sour, representing the dual nature of God's prophetic word—initially sweet to receive but sometimes bitter in its implications or fulfillment.
Biblical Usage
The word appears four times, always in the nominative or accusative case. Its usage is split between literal, historical description and vivid, apocalyptic symbolism. In the Gospels, it describes the ascetic diet of John the Baptist (Matthew 3:4, Mark 1:6). In Revelation, it is used metaphorically within a prophetic action to describe the taste of a scroll containing God's message (Revelation 10:9, 10:10).
Etymology
The word μέλι (meli) is a native Greek noun of ancient origin, related to the Mycenaean Greek 'me-ri'. It is cognate with Latin 'mel' (hence English 'molasses') and the Sanskrit 'madhu', meaning both 'honey' and 'sweet drink'. Its meaning remained stable, consistently referring to bee honey.
Semantic Range
While a common food, honey gains theological significance in Revelation 10. Its sweet taste symbolizes the desirability and joy of receiving God's word (Psalm 19:10; 119:103), while the subsequent bitterness highlights that divine revelation can also involve judgment and difficult truths. This enriches the reading of Revelation by connecting the sensory experience to the complex reception of prophecy.
In the ancient Near East and Greco-Roman world, honey was a primary sweetener before widespread sugar cultivation. Wild honey (as in John the Baptist's diet) was foraged from bees' nests. Honey was valued for nutrition, healing, and preservation. Its use symbolized abundance and blessing (e.g., 'a land flowing with milk and honey'). The symbolic use in Revelation draws on this cultural association of honey with pure sweetness and desirability.
No direct synonyms for 'honey' are used in the New Testament. For the concept of sweetness, one might consider: γλυκύς (glykys, G1099) — an adjective meaning 'sweet', used in James 3:11-12 for sweet water.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Dodson Greek-English Lexicon, a concise public-domain resource suitable for introductory word study. Brief glosses are supplemented by STEPBible TBESG data (CC BY 4.0). For advanced research, standard scholarly references include BDAG (Danker, 3rd ed.) and LSJ.
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