Greek word · G1099

γλυκύς

glykys

sweet

'Sweet as honey' was a stock comparison for the most pleasing thing imaginable. Honey (wild or date honey) was the chief sweetener of the ancient Mediterranean and Near East.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

γλυκύς, -εῖα, -ύ,

[in LXX chiefly for מָתוֹק ;]

James 3:11, 12; opposite to πικρόν, ἁλυκόν, Revelation 10:9, 10.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Revelation 10:9

Range of meaning

'Sweet as honey' was a stock comparison for the most pleasing thing imaginable. Honey (wild or date honey) was the chief sweetener of the ancient Mediterranean and Near East.

Against the English

Every English version translates it accurately. What English readers usually miss is that it is a quotation.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezekiel 3:3 (Hebrew כִּדְבַשׁ לְמָתוֹק, 'like honey for sweetness'; LXX ὡς μέλι γλυκάζον). Psalms 19:10 and 119:103 call God's judgments and words sweeter than honey. Jeremiah 15:16: 'your words were found and I ate them, and your word became to me a joy'. In later Jewish custom, attested in medieval sources, children were given honey on their first day of Torah study. That practice is later than Revelation but shows how lasting the image was.

From the study of James 3:12

Range of meaning

Sweet in taste (honey, Rev 10:9–10). Used of water it means fresh and drinkable, as opposed to salty or bitter.

Against the English

KJV and YLT have "sweet" in 3:11 and YLT keeps it in 3:12. Modern versions say "fresh." "Fresh" is correct for water. "Sweet" keeps the contrast in taste, but a modern reader may think of sugar.

How it drifted

In English, "sweet water" for fresh water has mostly died out, so the literal rendering now sounds odd.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX Exod 15:25: at Marah, bitter water "became sweet" (ἐγλυκάνθη), i.e. drinkable. The same water vocabulary appears in Greek writers on springs and wells.

From the study of Revelation 10:10

Range of meaning

Γλυκύς: sweet, pleasant to the taste, and by extension delightful or welcome. Μέλι: honey, the ancient world's chief sweetener and an image of what is most desirable.

Against the English

English 'sweet as honey' is accurate. The thing to notice is the scriptural echo, which English readers easily miss.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX Ezekiel 3:3: 'it became in my mouth like sweet honey' (ὡς μέλι γλυκάζον), which John's wording closely follows. Psalm 19:10 (LXX 18:11) calls God's judgments 'sweeter than honey and the honeycomb', and Psalm 119:103 (LXX 118:103) says 'how sweet are your words to my palate, more than honey to my mouth'.

Where it appears

James · 2

  1. James 3:11 γλυκὺ [both] fresh

    Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?

  2. James 3:12 γλυκὺ fresh

    My brothers, can a fig tree grow olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water.

    Here: Used of water it means fresh and drinkable, as opposed to salty or bitter. The same word appeared in 3:11 (fresh against bitter).

Revelation · 2

  1. Revelation 10:9 γλυκὺ sweet

    And I went to the angel and said, “Give me the small scroll.” “Take it and eat it,” he said. “It will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be as sweet as honey.”

    Here: Pleasant to the taste. Here it describes how good it is to receive God's own word.

  2. Revelation 10:10 γλυκύ· sweet;

    So I took the small scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. But when I had eaten it, my stomach turned bitter.

    Here: 'Sweet', describing the honey. It stands opposite the 'bitter' at the end of the verse.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.