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Biblical Beehives Uncovered
Archaeologists digging south of Beit She'an in the Jordan Valley have uncovered, for the first time ever, beehives from the period of Israel's kings.
... The discovery of the beehives was made this past summer, and "it is the earliest beehive complex currently known," Prof. Mazar says. "It is dated to the 10th–9th centuries B.C.E." - around the time of King Solomon.
The beehive complex was found to contain three rows of beehives, for a total of 30, and another 70 are believed to have been there as well. Each beehive, 80 centimeters (32 inches) long, is shaped like a cylinder 40 centimeters in diameter, and is made of clay and dried straw.
Present-day bee keepers who visited the site estimated that a half-ton of honey could be raised each year from the area that was excavated.
The city of Rehov, while not mentioned in the Bible, is listed in Egyptian writings from the times of Pharoah Shishak, mentioned in the Bible during King Solomon's times (Kings I:11,40).
The discovery of the beehives may also give new meaning to the frequent Biblical phrase, "Land of milk and honey." It is customary to understand "honey" as referring to that which is produced from dates and figs, but scholars increasingly believe that the Land of Israel was one of bees' honey as well.
"This find is unique," Prof. Mazar says, "in that never before have beehives been found in the Ancient East on such a scale. A complex so organized and large has never been found before. We have found clay vessels that were used to raise bees, but never have we found beehives."....”
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