Balm of Gilead was a rare perfume used medicinally that was mentioned in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Gilead Gilead or Gilad (, ; ''Gilʿāḏ'', , ''Jalʻād'') is the ancient, historic, biblical name of the mountainous northern part of the region of Transjordan.''Easton's Bible Dictionary'Galeed''/ref> The region is bounded in the west by the J ...

, where it was produced. The expression stems from

William Tyndale William Tyndale (; sometimes spelled ''Tynsdale'', ''Tindall'', ''Tindill'', ''Tyndall''; – October 1536) was an English Biblical scholar and linguist who became a leading figure in the Protestantism, Protestant Reformation in the year ...

's language in the

King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by ...

of 1611 and has come to signify a universal cure in figurative speech. The tree or shrub producing the balm is commonly identified as '' Commiphora gileadensis''. However, some botanical scholars have concluded that the actual source was a

terebinth ''Pistacia terebinthus'' also called the terebinth and the turpentine tree, is a deciduous shrub species of the genus '' Pistacia'', native to the Mediterranean region from the western regions of Morocco and Portugal to Greece and western and ...

tree in the genus '' Pistacia''.Groom (1981)

History

Hebrew Bible

In the Bible, balsam is designated by various names: (''bosem''), (''bessem''), (''tẓawree''), נָטָף (''nawt-off''), which all differ from the terms used in

rabbinic literature Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, is the entire corpus of works authored by rabbis throughout Jewish history. The term typically refers to literature from the Talmudic era (70–640 CE), as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic ...

. After having cast

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

into a pit, his brothers noticed a caravan on its way from Gilead to Egypt, "with their camels bearing spicery, and balm, and

myrrh Myrrh (; from an unidentified ancient Semitic language, see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a few small, thorny tree species of the '' Commiphora'' genus, belonging to the Burseraceae family. Myrrh resin has been used ...

" ( Gen. ). When

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

dispatched his embassy into Egypt, his present to the unknown ruler included "a little balm" ( Gen. ). During the final years of the

Kingdom of Judah The Kingdom of Judah was an Israelites, Israelite kingdom of the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. Centered in the highlands to the west of the Dead Sea, the kingdom's capital was Jerusalem. It was ruled by the Davidic line for four centuries ...

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

asks "Is there no balm in Gilead?" ( Jer. 8:22). Still later, from an expression in

Ezekiel Ezekiel, also spelled Ezechiel (; ; ), was an Israelite priest. The Book of Ezekiel, relating his visions and acts, is named after him. The Abrahamic religions acknowledge Ezekiel as a prophet. According to the narrative, Ezekiel prophesied ...

, balm was one of the commodities which Hebrew merchants carried to the market of Tyre. According to 1 Kings 10:10, balsam (

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

: ''bosem'') was among the many precious gifts of the

Queen of Sheba The Queen of Sheba, also known as Bilqis in Arabic and as Makeda in Geʽez, is a figure first mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. In the original story, she brings a caravan of valuable gifts for Solomon, the fourth King of Israel and Judah. This a ...

King Solomon King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a constitutional monarch if his power is restrained by f ...

.Feliks (2007)

Greco-Roman

In the later days of Jewish history, the neighborhood of

Jericho Jericho ( ; , ) is a city in the West Bank, Palestine, and the capital of the Jericho Governorate. Jericho is located in the Jordan Valley, with the Jordan River to the east and Jerusalem to the west. It had a population of 20,907 in 2017. F ...

was believed to be the only spot where the true balsam grew, and even there its culture was confined to two gardens, the one twenty acres in extent, the other much smaller (

Theophrastus Theophrastus (; ; c. 371 – c. 287 BC) was an ancient Greek Philosophy, philosopher and Natural history, naturalist. A native of Eresos in Lesbos, he was Aristotle's close colleague and successor as head of the Lyceum (classical), Lyceum, the ...

). According to

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

, the Queen of Sheba brought "the root of the balsam" as a present to King Solomon ('' Ant.'' 8.6.6). In describing Judaea,

Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. Tacitus’ two major historical works, ''Annals'' ( ...

says that in all its productions it equals Italy, besides possessing the palm and the balsam ('' Hist.'' 5:6); and the far-famed tree excited the cupidity of successive invaders. By

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey ( ) or Pompey the Great, was a Roman general and statesman who was prominent in the last decades of the Roman Republic. ...

it was exhibited in the streets of Rome as one of the spoils of the newly conquered province in 65 BCE; and one of the wonderful trees graced the triumph of

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

in 79 CE. During the invasion of

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September AD 81) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor ever to succeed h ...

, two battles took place at the balsam groves of

, the last being to prevent the Jews in their despairing frenzy from destroying the trees. Then they became public property, and were placed under the protection of an imperial guard; but history does not record how long the two plantations survived. According to Pliny ('' Hist. Nat.'' 12:54), the balsam-tree was indigenous only to Judea, but known to

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

(3:46) as a product of Arabia also. In Palestine, praised by other writers also for its balsam ( Justinus, 36:3;

, '' Hist.'' 5:6; Plutarchus, ''Vita Anton''. c. 36;

Florus Three main sets of works are attributed to Florus (a Roman cognomen): ''Virgilius orator an poeta'', the ''Epitome of Roman History'' and a collection of 14 short poems (66 lines in all). As to whether these were composed by the same person, or ...

, ''Epitome bellorum'' 3.5.29;

Dioscorides Pedanius Dioscorides (, ; 40–90 AD), "the father of pharmacognosy", was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of (in the original , , both meaning "On Materia medica, Medical Material") , a 5-volume Greek encyclopedic phar ...

, ''

De materia medica (Latin name for the Greek work , , both meaning "On Medical Material") is a pharmacopoeia of medicinal plants and the medicines that can be obtained from them. The five-volume work was written between 50 and 70 CE by Pedanius Dioscorides, ...

'' 1:18) this plant was cultivated in the environs of Jericho (

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo, Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-si ...

, 16:763; Diodorus Siculus 2:48; 19:98), in gardens set apart for this use (Pliny, ''Hist. Nat.'' 12:54; see

, '' Ant.'' 14.4.1; 15.4.2; ''

War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

'' 1.6.6); and after the destruction of the state of Judea, these plantations formed a lucrative source of the Roman imperial revenue (see Diodorus Siculus 2:48). Pliny distinguishes three different species of this plant; the first with thin, capillaceous leaves; the second a crooked scabrous shrub; and the third with smooth rind and of taller growth than the two former. He tells us that, in general, the balsam plant, a shrub, has the nearest resemblance to the grapevine, and its mode of cultivation is almost the same. The leaves, however, more closely resemble those of the

rue ''Ruta graveolens'', commonly known as rue, common rue or herb-of-grace, is a species of the genus '' Ruta'' grown as an ornamental plant and herb. It is native to the Mediterranean. It is grown throughout the world in gardens, especially for i ...

, and the plant is an

evergreen In botany, an evergreen is a plant which has Leaf, foliage that remains green and functional throughout the year. This contrasts with deciduous plants, which lose their foliage completely during the winter or dry season. Consisting of many diffe ...

. Its height does not exceed two

cubit The cubit is an ancient unit of length based on the distance from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger. It was primarily associated with the Sumerians, Egyptians, and Israelites. The term ''cubit'' is found in the Bible regarding Noah ...

s. From slight incisions made very cautiously into the rind (

, '' Ant.'' 14.4.1; ''

'' 1.6.6) the balsam trickles in thin drops, which are collected with wool into a horn, and then preserved in new earthen jars. At first it is whitish and pellucid, but afterwards it becomes harder and reddish. That is considered to be the best quality which trickles before the appearance of the fruit. Much inferior to this is the resin pressed from the seeds, the rind, and even from the stems (see

, '' Hist. Plant.'' 9:6;

16:763; '' Pausanias'' 9.28.2). This description, which is not sufficiently characteristic of the plant itself, suits for the most part the Egyptian balsam-shrub found by Belon in a garden near

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. The plant, however, is not indigenous to Egypt, but the layers are brought there from Arabia Felix; Prosperus Alpinus has published a plate of it.

(''

'') attributes many medical properties to balsam, such as expelling menstrual flow; being an

abortifacient An abortifacient ("that which will cause a miscarriage" from Latin: '' abortus'' "miscarriage" and '' faciens'' "making") is a substance that induces abortion. This is a nonspecific term which may refer to any number of substances or medications, ...

; moving the urine; assisting breathing and conception; being an antidote for

aconitum ''Aconitum'' (), also known as aconite, monkshood, wolfsbane, leopard's bane, devil's helmet, or blue rocket, is a genus of over 250 species of flowering plants belonging to the family (biology), family Ranunculaceae. These herbaceous perennial ...

and snakebite; treating

pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity (Pulmonary pleurae, pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant d ...

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

cough A cough is a sudden expulsion of air through the large breathing passages which can help clear them of fluids, irritants, foreign particles and Microorganism, microbes. As a protective reflex, coughing can be repetitive with the cough reflex fol ...

sciatica Sciatica is pain going down the leg from the lower back. This pain may go down the back, outside, or front of the leg. Onset is often sudden following activities such as heavy lifting, though gradual onset may also occur. The pain is often desc ...

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of Non-communicable disease, non-communicable Neurological disorder, neurological disorders characterized by a tendency for recurrent, unprovoked Seizure, seizures. A seizure is a sudden burst of abnormal electrical activit ...

vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

, and gripesOsbaldeston (2000) (sharp bowel pains). In the era of

Galen Aelius Galenus or Claudius Galenus (; September 129 – AD), often Anglicization, anglicized as Galen () or Galen of Pergamon, was a Ancient Rome, Roman and Greeks, Greek physician, surgeon, and Philosophy, philosopher. Considered to be one o ...

, who flourished in the second century, and travelled to Palestine and Syria purposely to obtain a knowledge of this substance, it grew in Jericho and many other parts of the

Holy Land The term "Holy Land" is used to collectively denote areas of the Southern Levant that hold great significance in the Abrahamic religions, primarily because of their association with people and events featured in the Bible. It is traditionall ...

Rabbinic literature

The terms used in rabbinic literature are different from those used in the Hebrew Bible: (''kataf''), (''balsam''), (''appobalsamon''), and ('' afarsemon''). In the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

, balsam appears as an ointment which was a highly praised product of the

plain. However, its main use was as a

topical medication A topical medication is a medication that is applied to a particular place on or in the body. Most often topical medication means application to body surface area, body surfaces such as the skin or mucous membranes to treat ailments via a large ...

rather than as a cosmetic. Rav Yehudah composed a special blessing for balsam: "Who creates the oil of our land". Young women used it as a perfume to seduce young men. After King Josiah hid away the

holy anointing oil In the ancient Israelite religion, the holy anointing oil () formed an integral part of the ordination of the priesthood and the High Priest as well as in the consecration of the articles of the Tabernacle ( Exodus 30:26) and subsequent temple ...

, balsam oil was used in its stead. In the messianic era, the righteous will "bathe in 13 rivers of balsam".

Christian

The Christian rite of

confirmation In Christian denominations that practice infant baptism, confirmation is seen as the sealing of the covenant (religion), covenant created in baptism. Those being confirmed are known as confirmands. The ceremony typically involves laying on o ...

is conferred through the anointing with

chrism Chrism, also called ''myrrh'', ''myron'', ''holy anointing oil'', and consecrated oil, is a consecrated oil used in the Catholic Church, Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox, Assyrian C ...

, which is traditionally a blend of olive oil and balsam. Balm seems to have been used everywhere for chrism at least from the sixth century.

Arab

The balsam, carried originally, says Arab tradition, from

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

by the

, as a gift to Solomon, and planted by him in the gardens of

, was brought to Egypt by

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Thea Philopator (; The name Cleopatra is pronounced , or sometimes in both British and American English, see and respectively. Her name was pronounced in the Greek dialect of Egypt (see Koine Greek phonology). She was ...

, and planted at Ain-Shemesh (Ain Shams), in a garden which all the old travellers, Arab and Christian, mention with deep interest. The Egyptian town of Ain Shams was renowned for its balsam garden, which was cultivated under the supervision of the government. During the Middle Ages the balsam tree is said to have grown only there, though formerly it had also been a native plant in Syria. According to a Coptic tradition known also by the Muslims, it was in the spring of Ayn Shams that

Mary, the mother of Jesus Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

, washed the

swaddling clothes Swaddling is an ancient practice of wrapping infants in blankets or similar cloths so that movement of the Limb (anatomy), limbs is tightly restricted. Swaddling bands were often used to further restrict the infant. Swaddling fell out of favour i ...

of the latter on her way back to Judaea after her flight to Egypt. From that time onwards, the spring was beneficent, and during the Middle Ages balsam-trees could only produce their precious secretion on land watered by it. The story is reminiscent of Christian legends about the Fountain of the Virgin in Jerusalem. Prosper Alpinus relates that forty plants were brought by a governor of Cairo to the garden there, and ten remained when Belon travelled in Egypt, but only one existed in the 18th century. By the 19th century, there appeared to be none.

Modern

The German botanist Schweinfurth (1836–1925) claimed to have reconstructed the ancient process of balsam production. At present the tree ''Commiphora gileadensis'' grows wild in the valley of

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

where it is called . Many strains of this species are found, some in

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

and Yemen.

Lexicon

Hebrew ''tsori''

In the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Gen. 37:25 and Ez. 27:17, a gift in Gen. 43:11, and a medicament (for national disaster, in fig.) in Jer. 8:22, 46:11, 51:8. The Hebrew root ''z-r-h'' () means "run blood, bleed" (of vein), with cognates in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

(, an odoriferous tree or its gum), Sabaean (), Syriac (, possibly ''fructus pini''), and

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

(, in meaning). The similar word ''tsori'' () denotes the adjective "Tyrean", i. e. from the

Phoenicia Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...

n city of Tyre. Many attempts have been made to identify the ''tsori'', but none can be considered conclusive. The

Samaritan Pentateuch The Samaritan Pentateuch, also called the Samaritan Torah (Samaritan Hebrew: , ), is the Religious text, sacred scripture of the Samaritans. Written in the Samaritan script, it dates back to one of the ancient versions of the Torah that existe ...

( Gen. 37:25) and the Syriac bible ( Jer. 8:22) translate it as wax (''cera''). The

Septuagint The Septuagint ( ), sometimes referred to as the Greek Old Testament or The Translation of the Seventy (), and abbreviated as LXX, is the earliest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible from the original Biblical Hebrew. The full Greek ...

has , "pine resin". The Arabic version and Castell hold it for ''

theriac Theriac or theriaca is a medical concoction originally labelled by the Greeks in the 1st century AD and widely adopted in the ancient world as far away as Persia, China and India via the trading links of the Silk Route. It was an alexipharmic, ...

''. Lee supposes it to be "mastich". Luther and the Swedish version have "salve", "ointment" in the passages in Jer., but in Ezek. 27:17 they read "mastic". Gesenius, Hebrew commentators (

Kimchi Kimchi (; ) is a traditional Korean side dish (''banchan'') consisting of salted and fermented vegetables, most often napa cabbage or Korean radish. A wide selection of seasonings are used, including '' gochugaru'' (Korean chili powder), ...

, Junius, Tremellius, Deodatius), and the

Authorized Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV), is an Early Modern English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by ...

(except in Ezek. 27:17, ''rosin'') have ''balm'', ''balsam'',

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

Hebrew ''nataph''

Besides the ''tsori'', another

word, ''nataph'' (), mentioned in Ex. 30:34, as an ingredient of the holy incense, is taken by Hebrew commentators for ''opobalsamum''; this, however, is perhaps rather '' stacte''.

Hebrew ''bosem''

Another Hebrew word, (), Aramaic (), Arabic (), appears in various forms throughout the Hebrew Bible. It is usually translated as "spice, perfume, sweet odour, balsam, balsam-tree". The Greek βάλσαμον can be interpreted as a combination of the Hebrew words (בַּעַל) "lord; master; the

n god

Baal Baal (), or Baʻal, was a title and honorific meaning 'owner' or 'lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The ...

" and ''shemen'' (שֶׁמֶן) "oil", thus "Lord of Oils" (or "Oil of Baal").

Greek ''balsamon''

authors use the words (

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

) for the balsam plant and its resin, while

Nicander Nicander of Colophon (; fl. 2nd century BC) was a Greece, Greek poet, physician, and grammarian. The scattered biographical details in the ancient sources are so contradictory that it was sometimes assumed that there were two Hellenistic authors ...

and the

Geoponica The ''Geoponica'' or ''Geoponika'' () is a twenty-book collection of agricultural lore, compiled during the 10th century in Constantinople for the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. The Greek word ''Geoponica'' signifies "agricul ...

consider it an aromatic herb, like mint. The word is probably Semitic. ὁπο-βάλσᾰμον (Theophrastus) is the juice of the balsam tree. βαλσαμίνη (

) is the balsam plant. Palladius names it βάλσαμος and also has βαλσαμουργός, a preparer of balsam. Related are ξῠλο-βάλσᾰμον (

) "balsam-wood", and καρπο-βάλσᾰμον (Galen) "the fruit of the balsam".

Latin ''balsamum''

authors use ' (

, Pliny,

, Scribonius Largus,

Celsus Celsus (; , ''Kélsos''; ) was a 2nd-century Greek philosopher and opponent of early Christianity. His literary work '' The True Word'' (also ''Account'', ''Doctrine'' or ''Discourse''; Greek: )Hoffmann p.29 survives exclusively via quotati ...

Columella Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (, Arabic: ) was a prominent Roman writer on agriculture in the Roman Empire. His in twelve volumes has been completely preserved and forms an important source on Roman agriculture and ancient Roman cuisin ...

, Martialis) for the balsam tree and its branches or sprigs, as well as for its resin, ''opobalsamum'' (Pliny, Celsus, Scribonius Largus, Martialis,

Statius Publius Papinius Statius (Greek language, Greek: Πόπλιος Παπίνιος Στάτιος; , ; ) was a Latin poetry, Latin poet of the 1st century CE. His surviving poetry includes an epic in twelve books, the ''Thebaid (Latin poem), Theb ...

Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ; 55–128), was a Roman poet. He is the author of the '' Satires'', a collection of satirical poems. The details of Juvenal's life are unclear, but references in his works to people f ...

) for the resinous juice of the balsam tree, and ''xylobalsamum'' (Pliny, Scribonius Largus, Celsus) for balsam wood, all derived from Greek.

Plants

Assuming that the ''tsori'' was a plant product, several plants have been proposed as its source.

Mastic

Celsius The degree Celsius is the unit of temperature on the Celsius temperature scale "Celsius temperature scale, also called centigrade temperature scale, scale based on 0 ° for the melting point of water and 100 ° for the boiling point ...

(in ''Hierobotanicon'') identified the ''tsori'' with the mastic tree, '' Pistacia lentiscus'' L. The Arabic name of this plant is or , which is identical with the Hebrew . Rauwolf and Pococke found the plant occurring at Joppa.

Zukum

and Rosenmüller thought that the pressed juice of the fruit of the ''zukum''-tree (''

Elaeagnus angustifolia ''Elaeagnus angustifolia'', commonly called Russian olive, silver berry, oleaster, or wild olive, is a species of ''Elaeagnus'', native to Asia and limited areas of eastern Europe. It is widely established in North America as an introduced specie ...

'' L.) or the '' myrobalanus'' of the ancients, is the substance denoted; but Rosenmüller, in another place, mentioned the balsam of Mecca (''Amyris opobalsamum'' L., now '' Commiphora gileadensis'' (L.) C.Chr.) as being probably the ''tsori''. Zukum oil was in very high esteem among the Arabs, who even preferred it to the balm of Mecca, as being more efficacious in wounds and bruises. Maundrell found ''zukum''-trees near the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea (; or ; ), also known by #Names, other names, is a landlocked salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east, the Israeli-occupied West Bank to the west and Israel to the southwest. It lies in the endorheic basin of the Jordan Rift Valle ...

. Hasselquist and Pococke found them especially in the environs of

. In the 19th century, the only product in the region of Gilead which had any affinity to balm or balsam was a species of ''Eleagnus''.

Terebinth

Bochart strongly contended that the balm mentioned in Jer. 8:22 could not possibly be that of Gilead, and considered it as the resin drawn from the

. The Biblical terebinth is Hebrew ''eloh'' (), ''

Pistacia terebinthus ''Pistacia terebinthus'' also called the terebinth and the turpentine tree, is a deciduous shrub species of the genus ''Pistacia'', native to the Mediterranean region from the western regions of Morocco and Portugal to Greece and western and s ...

'' L.

Pine

The

word ''ῥητίνη'', used in the

for translating ''tsori'', denotes a resin of the

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

, especially '' Pinus maritima'' (''πεύκη''). The

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

''tserua'' () has been described as the fruit of '' Pinus pinea'' L., but it has also been held for '' stacte'' or ''

storax Storax (; , ''stúrax''), often commercially sold as styrax, is a natural fragrant resin isolated from the wounded bark of ''Liquidambar orientalis'' Mill. (Asia Minor) and ''Liquidambar styraciflua'' L. (Eastern US, Mexico, Central America) (A ...

''.Löw (1881), pp. 58–59 The Greek is a species of

Pinaceae The Pinaceae (), or pine family, are conifer trees or shrubs, including many of the well-known conifers of commercial importance such as Cedrus, cedars, firs, Tsuga, hemlocks, Pinyon_pine, piñons, larches, pines and spruces. The family is incl ...

Rich.

Cancamon

The lexicographer Bar Seroshewai considered the Arabic (), a tree of Yemen known as () or (), Syriac (), Greek , Latin '' cancamum'', mentioned by

(

1.32) and Pliny ('' Hist. Nat.'' 12.44; 12.98). Cancamon has been held for '' Commiphora kataf'', but also as '' Aleurites laccifer'' (

Euphorbiaceae Euphorbiaceae (), the spurge family, is a large family of flowering plants. In English, they are also commonly called euphorbias, which is also the name of Euphorbia, the type genus of the family. Most spurges, such as ''Euphorbia paralias'', ar ...

), ''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family (biology), family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few spe ...

'' spec. ( Artocarpeae), and '' Butea frondosa'' ( Papilionaceae).

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

''kunkuma'' () is

saffron Saffron () is a spice derived from the flower of '' Crocus sativus'', commonly known as the "saffron crocus". The vivid crimson stigma and styles, called threads, are collected and dried for use mainly as a seasoning and colouring agent ...

(

Crocus sativus ''Crocus sativus'', commonly known as saffron crocus or autumn crocus, is a species of flowering plant in the iris family (biology), family Iridaceae. A cormous autumn-flowering cultivated perennial plant, perennial, unknown in the wild, it is ...

Balm of Mecca

Peter Forsskål (1732–1763) found the plant occurring between

and Medina. He considered it to be the genuine balsam-plant and named it ''Amyris opobalsamum'' Peter Forsskål, Forsk. (together with two other varieties, ''Amyris kataf'' Peter Forsskål, Forsk. and ''Amyris kafal'' Peter Forsskål, Forsk.). Its Arabic name is or , which is identical to the Hebrew or . James Bruce, Bruce found the plant occurring in Ethiopia, Abyssinia. In the 19th century it was discovered in the East Indies also. Carl Linnaeus, Linnaeus distinguished two varieties: ''Amyris gileadensis'' L. (= ''Amyris opobalsamum'' Peter Forsskål, Forsk.), and ''Amyris opobalsamum'' L., the variant found by Belon in a garden near

, brought there from Arabia Felix. More recent naturalists (John Lindley, Lindley, Robert Wight, Wight and George Arnott Walker-Arnott, Walker) have included the species ''Amyris gileadensis'' L. in the genus Protium (plant), ''Protium''. Botanists enumerate sixteen balsamic plants of this genus, each exhibiting some peculiarity. There is little reason to doubt that the plants of the Jericho balsam gardens were stocked with ''Amyris gileadensis'' L., or ''Amyris opobalsamum'', which was found by James Bruce, Bruce in Abyssinia, the fragrant resin of which is known in commerce as the "balsam of Mecca". According to Antoine Isaac Silvestre de Sacy, De Sacy, the true balm of Gilead (or Jericho) has long been lost, and there is only "balm of Mecca". The accepted name of the balsam plant is '' Commiphora gileadensis'' ( L.) Carl Christensen (botanist), Christ., synonym ''Commiphora opobalsamum''.

Cedronella

''Cedronella canariensis'', a perennial herb in the mint family, is also known as Balm of Gilead, or Herb of Gilead.

Flammability

Balsam oil was too volatile and flammable to be used as fuel. In the

, a case is cited of a woman planning and carrying out the murder of her daughter-in-law by telling her to adorn herself with balsam oil and then light the lamp (''Shabbat (Talmud), Shab.'' 26a). According to the 13th-century (?) ''Liber Ignium'' (''Book of Fires''), balsam was an ingredient of ancient incendiaries akin to Greek fire.Berthelot (1893)

References

Bibliography

;Encyclopedias, dictionaries, lexica *CBTEL – *EI – *EJ – *GEL – *HEL – *NCE – *OLD – *SED – ;Other works * * * * * * * * *

External links

* {{Commons category-inline Incendiary weapons Perfume ingredients Traditional medicine Resins Biblical archaeology Ethnobotany Gilead Queen of Sheba