Milk & Honey & Goddess
Does the expression "milk and honey" have any connection to the long suppressed feminine face of the Divine?
MILK & HONEY

(ה) וְהָיָ֣ה כִֽי־יְבִיאֲךָ֣ יהוה אֶל־אֶ֣רֶץ הַֽ֠כְּנַעֲנִ֠י וְהַחִתִּ֨י וְהָאֱמֹרִ֜י וְהַחִוִּ֣י וְהַיְבוּסִ֗י אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֤ע לַאֲבֹתֶ֙יךָ֙ לָ֣תֶת לָ֔ךְ אֶ֛רֶץ זָבַ֥ת חָלָ֖ב וּדְבָ֑שׁ...

(5) So, when GOD has brought you into the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which was sworn to your fathers to be given you, a land flowing with milk and honey...

(יג) יַרְכִּבֵ֙הוּ֙ עַל־[בָּ֣מֳתֵי](במותי) אָ֔רֶץ וַיֹּאכַ֖ל תְּנוּבֹ֣ת שָׂדָ֑י וַיֵּנִקֵ֤הֽוּ דְבַשׁ֙ מִסֶּ֔לַע וְשֶׁ֖מֶן מֵחַלְמִ֥ישׁ צֽוּר׃

(13)[God] set them atop the highlands, to feast on the yield of the earth; Nursing them with honey from the crag, and oil from the flinty rock,

(יא) נֹ֛פֶת תִּטֹּ֥פְנָה שִׂפְתוֹתַ֖יִךְ כַּלָּ֑ה דְּבַ֤שׁ וְחָלָב֙ תַּ֣חַת לְשׁוֹנֵ֔ךְ וְרֵ֥יחַ שַׂלְמֹתַ֖יִךְ כְּרֵ֥יחַ לְבָנֽוֹן׃

(11)Sweetness drops From your lips, O bride; Honey and milk Are under your tongue; And the scent of your robes Is like the scent of Lebanon.

BEE KEEPING & GODDESS
It Is The Land of Honey: Beekeeping in Tel Rehov
Amihai Mazar and Nava Panetz-Cohen
Bee hives were first discovered in the north eastern site of Tel Rehov in 2005, dating to the tenth and early ninth centuries BCE, in an apiary that probably held many dozens if not hundreds of hives
The discovery of the beehives at Tel Rehov is unique since
it appears that no apiaries have ever been discovered in the
archaeology of the Old World. It comprises an innovation in
the archaeological study of ancient economies in Israel and its
neighbors during the period of the Israelite Monarchy.....
User uploaded image
..[W]e found an almost complete altar with triangular
windows cut into its facade in association with an open
cult location in Area E at the eastern end of the lower city;
the altar had been found smashed to pieces, possibly as a
deliberate act of derision.... Among the fragmentary altars is part of a very finely made facade with three extant mold-made nude female figurines two of which are shown in the photo.
User uploaded image
GOD OF BREAST

(ג) וָאֵרָ֗א אֶל־אַבְרָהָ֛ם אֶל־יִצְחָ֥ק וְאֶֽל־יַעֲקֹ֖ב בְּאֵ֣ל שַׁדָּ֑י וּשְׁמִ֣י יהוה לֹ֥א נוֹדַ֖עְתִּי לָהֶֽם׃

(3) I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as El Shaddai/God of Breast, but I did not make Myself known to them by My name GOD [יהוה].

It is very likely, as a preliminary hypothesis, that Shaddai was an ancient divine name which was more or less abandoned, but not entirely forgotten, after the literary activity of the early monarchy, only to become popular once again in late texts with definite archaizing tendencies...
As is well known, Asherah was typically depicted as a goddess with prominent breasts, which represent her powers of fertility. She is referred to together with Anat as "the wet nurses of the gods"...
INANNA & LOVE & HONEY
Love Songs in Sumerian Literature
Yitzchak Sefati
From roughly 2000 BCE
Inanna initially loves the farmer, but then falls for the shepherd Dumuzi (an echo of God loving the shepherd Abel over the farmer Cain.) She sings:
"The honey man," "the honey man" sweetens me ever,
My lord, the "honey man" of the goddess, my favorite of his mother
His hand honey, his foot honey--sweetens me ever,
His limbs are honey-sweet---sweeten me ever....
THE HONEY BEE
There are two "Devorahs" or "Honeybees" in the Hebrew Bible, both have connections to special trees---trees, in our tradition, the portal to the Divine feminine.
(1) Devorah, nurse of Rebekah. (Rebekah is perhaps the most strong-minded of the matriarchs, blessed vigorously by her family.) When Devorah dies it is noted and she is buried under a tree.

(ח) וַתָּ֤מׇת דְּבֹרָה֙ מֵינֶ֣קֶת רִבְקָ֔ה וַתִּקָּבֵ֛ר מִתַּ֥חַת לְבֵֽית־אֵ֖ל תַּ֣חַת הָֽאַלּ֑וֹן וַיִּקְרָ֥א שְׁמ֖וֹ אַלּ֥וֹן בָּכֽוּת׃ {פ}

(8) Deborah/Honeybee, Rebekah’s nurse, died, and was buried under the oak below Bethel; so it was named Weeping-Tree.

(2) Devorah, leader of the people, who judges the people while stationed under a tree.

(ד) וּדְבוֹרָה֙ אִשָּׁ֣ה נְבִיאָ֔ה אֵ֖שֶׁת לַפִּיד֑וֹת הִ֛יא שֹׁפְטָ֥ה אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל בָּעֵ֥ת הַהִֽיא׃ (ה) וְ֠הִ֠יא יוֹשֶׁ֨בֶת תַּחַת־תֹּ֜מֶר דְּבוֹרָ֗ה בֵּ֧ין הָרָמָ֛ה וּבֵ֥ין בֵּֽית־אֵ֖ל בְּהַ֣ר אֶפְרָ֑יִם וַיַּעֲל֥וּ אֵלֶ֛יהָ בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לַמִּשְׁפָּֽט׃

(4) Deborah, Lady of Lightning, was a prophet; she led Israel at that time. (5) She used to sit under the Palm of Deborah, between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites would come to her for decisions.

SARAH & MILK

(ט) וַתֹּאמֶר מִי מִלֵּל לְאַבְרָהָם הֵינִיקָה בָנִים שָׂרָה (בראשית כא, ז), רַבִּי פִּינְחָס מִשּׁוּם רַבִּי חִלְקִיָה מִי אָמַר מִי דִּבֵּר אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן, אֶלָּא מִי מִלֵּל, רְמָזוֹ שֶׁהוּא מוֹלִיד לְמֵאָה שָׁנָה מִנְיַן מִלֵּ"ל. רַבִּי פִּנְחָס אָמַר קוֹמָתוֹ שֶׁל אַבְרָהָם אָבִינוּ הָיְתָה יְבֵשָׁה וְנַעֲשָׂה מְלִילוֹת. הֵינִיקָה בָנִים שָׂרָה, הֵינִיקָה בֵן אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן, אִמֵּנוּ שָׂרָה הָיְתָה צְנוּעָה יוֹתֵר מִדַּאי, אָמַר לָהּ אָבִינוּ אַבְרָהָם אֵין זוֹ שְׁעַת הַצְּנִיעוּת אֶלָּא גַּלִּי אֶת דַּדַּיִךְ, כְּדֵי שֶׁיֵּדְעוּ הַכֹּל שֶׁהִתְחִיל הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא לַעֲשׂוֹת נִסִּים, גִּלְּתָה אֶת דַּדֶּיהָ וְהָיוּ נוֹבְעוֹת חָלָב כִּשְׁנֵי מַעְיָנוֹת, וְהָיוּ מַטְרוֹנִיּוֹת בָּאוֹת וּמֵינִיקוֹת אֶת בְּנֵיהֶם מִמֶּנָּה, וְהָיוּ אוֹמְרוֹת אֵין אָנוּ כְּדַי לְהָנִיק אֶת בָּנֵינוּ מֵחֲלָבָהּ שֶׁל צַדֶּקֶת. רַבָּנָן וְרַבִּי אֲחָא, רַבָּנָן אָמְרֵי כָּל מִי שֶׁבָּא לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם, נַעֲשָׂה יְרֵא שָׁמַיִם. רַבִּי אֲחָא אָמַר אַף מִי שֶׁלֹא בָּא לְשֵׁם שָׁמַיִם נִתַּן לוֹ מֶמְשָׁלָה בָּעוֹלָם הַזֶּה, כֵּיוָן שֶׁהִפְלִיגוּ עַצְמָן בְּסִינַי וְלֹא קִבְּלוּ אֶת הַתּוֹרָה נִטְּלָה מֵהֶם אוֹתָהּ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה.

(9)“She said: Who would have announced to Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I bore a son for his old age” (Genesis 21:7).
...“Sarah would nurse children” – “nurse a child” is not written here. Our matriarch Sarah was extremely modest. Our patriarch Abraham said to her: ‘This is not the time for modesty. Instead, expose your breasts, so that everyone will know that the Holy One blessed be He has begun to perform miracles.’ She exposed her breasts and they were flowing with milk like two wellsprings. Noblewomen were coming and having their children nurse from her. They were saying: ‘We are not worthy of having our children nurse from this righteous woman.’ ..