Bee

Bees are mentioned several times in Scripture, reflecting their abundance in ancient Palestine. The danger of wild bee swarms is evoked in Deuteronomy 1:44 and Psalm 118:12, where enemies surround the speaker like bees. Samson found a swarm of bees and honey in the carcass of the lion he had slain—the basis of his famous riddle (Judges 14:8–18). Isaiah 7:18 uses the bee as a figure for the Assyrian army summoned by God's whistle: armies from Assyria will swarm over the land like bees. The promised land described as flowing with milk and honey (Exodus 3:8) implies the abundant presence of bees throughout Canaan.