to perceive
ta.am denotes tasting food and, in a smaller set of contexts, perceiving or evaluating something.
The dominant use concerns tasting or refraining from food, whether honey, bread, or food generally. A smaller group extends the term to perception or evaluation: Proverbs 31:18 concerns recognizing the pleasant quality of profit, while the precise contribution is less visible in the APB renderings of 2 Samuel 19:36 and Psalm 34:9.
Senses in use
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Taste or abstain from food · dominant
The Qal forms occur with food or drink restrictions and consumption. In 1 Samuel 14:24 the APB renders the people as having tasted no food; in 1 Samuel 14:29 and 1 Samuel 14:43 Jonathan reports tasting a little honey. Job 12:11 and Job 34:3 place the palate with food, while 2 Samuel 3:35 and Jonah 3:7 use the term in vows or commands not to take food.
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Perceive or evaluate · occasional
In Proverbs 31:18, a Qal perfect feminine singular form occurs in the statement that she perceives her profit to be pleasant, showing evaluation rather than eating. Psalm 34:9 has a Qal imperative plural in an exhortation, but the APB renders the verse as “Fear the LORD,” leaving the term's particular contribution unexpressed; 2 Samuel 19:36 likewise contains a Qal imperfect whose contribution is not isolated by the translation.
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the food contexts, the APB uses “tasted,” “taste,” and “tastes,” including prohibitions against tasting anything. In Proverbs 31:18 it renders the clause with “perceives,” while Psalm 34:9 and 2 Samuel 19:36 do not visibly isolate the term.