Stacte

Stacte ( el, στακτή, staktē) and nataph ( he, נָטָף, ''nataf'') are names used for one component of the Solomon's Temple incense, the ''Ketoret'', specified in the Book of Exodus (). Variously translated to the Greek term (AMP: ) or to an unspecified "gum resin" or similar (NIV: ), it was to be mixed in equal parts with ''onycha'' (prepared from certain vegetable resins or seashell parts), galbanum and mixed with pure frankincense and they were to "beat some of it very small" for burning on the altar of the tabernacle.

This incense was considered restricted for sacred purposes honoring Yahweh; the trivial or profane use of it was punishable by exile, as laid out in (KJV).

The Hebrew word nataf means "drop", corresponding to "drops of water" (). The Septuagint translates ''nataf'' as ''stacte'', a Greek word meaning "an oozing substance," which refers to various viscous liquids, including myrrh.

Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel explained, "Stacte is simply the sap that drips from the tapping of the wood of the balsam tree" (Kerithot 6a). It is not exactly clear from what plant ''nataf'' was derived, however, it most likely was a myrrh extract of the highest grade or the light resin which exudes naturally from the myrrh tree before harvest. Alternately it may have been myrrh scented with styrax (''Styrax officinalis'' or ''Styrax benzoin'', a close relative of and of the same genus as ''Styrax officinalis'') or opobalsamum (rare type of myrrh tree mentioned frequently in ancient Jewish writings as "balm" or "balsam").

Contenders for stacte

Myrrh extract

Most ancient sources refer to Stacte as being a product of myrrh. It is variously described as the transparent parts separated or extracted from the myrrh resin, the myrrh that exudes spontaneously from the tree, or the product of myrrh heated over fire.

The ancient Greek botanist Theophrastus described the manufacturing of stacte: "From the myrrh, when it is bruised flows an oil; it is in fact called "stacte" because it comes in drops slowly." The ancient Roman historian Pliny, in ''Natural History'', described stacte as "the liquid which exuded naturally from the myrrh tree before the gum was collected from man-made incisions". Pancirollus described myrrh as a drop or tear distilling from a tree in Arabia Felix, and stacte as a drop of myrrh, which is extracted from it, and yielding a most precious liquid. Dioscorides wrote that stacte was made from myrrh. He recorded that after having bruised the myrrh and dissolved it in oil of balanos over a gentle fire, hot water was poured over it. The myrrh and oil would sink to the bottom like a deposit; and as soon as this has occurred, they strained off the water and squeeze the sediment in a press.

Ben-Yehoshua, et al., write "Stacte, which appears in the Bible in Exodus (30:34), probably refers to the liquid form of myrrh" and states that ancient writers referred to "a naturally flowing gum, called stacte, which sometimes flows from the bark of the tree without any cutting, before the actual harvest."

Stoddart, who lists myrrh as a balm, informs us that "Myrrh—after the almost clear stacte has passed through—is reddish brown ... Stacte is the thinnest moiety of myrrh, the very best of which is forced through tiny holes in the intact bark at the start of spring." Pomet wrote that to obtain stacte one must first gather the myrrh "that flows spontaneously from the tree" and to look for portions of the resin which are "clear and transparent, apt to crumble, light." He says to choose the myrrh "that when it is broke, has little white spots in it." We are told that "stacte is that liquid part which is found in the center or middle of the lumps or clots of myrrh." Pomet also wrote that stacte is that "which is first so gather'd from the tree without force, and also press'd from the myrrh ... there is prepar'd from it, an extract, an oil or liquor of myrrh."

The Gerrhaean tribute to Antiochus III in 205 BC included one thousand talents of frankincense and two hundred of ''"stacte myrrh."''

Cant. 5:5 reads, "I rose up to open to my beloved; And my hands dropped with myrrh, And my fingers with stacte" referring to myrrh and the stacte which seems to have exuded from it. This would seem to agree with Sauer and Blakely who note that stacte was extracted from myrrh.

Abrahams informs that "With regard to the Tabernacle incense, most scholars agree that the term 'stacte' is of Latin and Greek origin, and that stacte represents myrrh." A. Lucas informs us in no uncertain terms that stacte is indeed a product of the myrrh tree. Tucker says that "Common myrrh is obtained from ''Commiphora myrrha''; this is the species from which . . . stacte, was obtained."

R. Steuer, in his scholarly paper Stacte in Egyptian Antiquity, gives a convincing argument in favor of stacte being the product of the myrrh tree in ancient Egypt.

Myrrh Extract scented with Benzoin is a possibility. Myrrh in antiquity and classical times was seldom myrrh alone but was a mix of myrrh and some other oil. Stacte may have been light myrrh scented with benzoin (benzoin is described in section 2.1 below).

According to Rosenmuller stacte was myrrh and another oil mixed together. One definition of "myrrh" in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is myrrh mixed with another aromatic oil. Writers in antiquity and classical times refer often to "mixed myrrh" and "scented myrrh". One kind of myrrh described by Dioscorides was "like the stacte, a composition of myrrh and some other ingredient." Then in another place he wrote that stacte was a mix of two fats (the first natural exudations of myrrh was often referred to as "the fat of fresh myrrh") which included styrax (referred to as storax in antiquity). Dioscordes defining stacte as ''Styrax and another substance'' and in another place as ''Myrrh and another substance'' seems to bring myrrh and storax together.

Although many scholars cite ''Styrax officinalis'' as the biblical storax, it exudes very little resin. This would seem to have necessitated the import of a storax such as ''Styrax benzoin,'' which is chemically similar and could have scented the slight bitter note of myrrh and met the demands of making large amounts of incense described in the Bible.

The book of Ecclesiasticus lists storax as one of the ingredients when alluding to the sacred incense of the biblical tabernacle, speaking of "a pleasant odour like the best myrrh, as galbanum, and onyx, and sweet storax, n antiquity Styrax was referred to as Storaxand as the fume of frankincense in the tabernacle". Either myrrh was treated with storax or by the time of the first temple period a fifth ingredient was added to the ketoret. Myrrh may have been treated with storax or storax oil to further enhance the fragrance. Frederic Charles Cook's commentary on Exodus 30:34 says that it seems by no means unlikely that benzoin was part of the incense of Exodus 30. For centuries, myrrh has been scented with ''Styrax benzoin'', particularly in the Middle East, to scent private homes and places of worship. Myrrh treated with Styrax benzoin exudes qualities similar to that of opobalsamum (Mecca myrrh).

Lucas and Steuer, however, independently insist that stacte is simply a form of myrrh (e.g., a myrrh extract or the light myrrh resin which exudes naturally without harvesting assistance).

Opobalsamum / Mecca Myrrh

Opobalsamum (''Commiphora opobalsamum'' .Engl. Mecca myrrh) is a rare type of myrrh in the genus Commiphora. Some writers believe that stacte was derived from the balsam tree, ''Commiphora opobalsamum'', known as kataf in the Talmud, which grows wild in Yemen, around Mecca, and in Israel. The Revised Standard Version places "opobalsamum" in the margin by Exodus 30:34.

Gamliel said, "Stacte is simply the sap that drips from the tapping of the wood of the balsam tree" (Kerithot 6a). Iluz, et al., write that "researchers (Alpini, 1718; Feliks, 1995; Hepper, 1992; Linnaeus, 1764) have agreed with confidence that balsam is Commiphora gileadensis 1 (=C. opobalsamum), which grows wild today in the dry stony hills around the Red Sea." Ben-Yehoshua, et al., writing about "the most important spices used in religious ritual in ancient Israel" include opobalsamum referring to it as the "balm of Gilead, called also Judaean balsam, Hebrew—tzori, nataf, or Apharsemon (Exodus 30: 34)." Bos, et al., says that stacte is the "oil of the balsam tree, Commiphora opobalsamum, and features in Rabbinic literature."

In Fauna and Flora of the Bible, translators define stacte (nataf) as a resinous, aromatic gum exuding from Commiphora opobalsamum. Van Dam writes that stacte, which many equate with nataf, is a resinous aromatic gum of a balsam tree which he identifies as Commiphora opobalsamum. Some Latin texts of Exodus 30:34 translate stacte as a specie of myrrh, which Abraham states is opobalsamum.

From the genus ''Commiphora'', opobalsamum is a relative of the official myrrh known as ''Commiphora myrrha'' and produces a myrrh resin known as Mecca myrrh. Irenaeus referred to "myrrh called opobalsamum." The juice exudes spontaneously during the heat of summer, in resinous drops, but at other times the process is helped by making incisions in the bark. It historically has produced a very pleasant aromatic resin with many alleged medicinal properties. The resin has a strong fragrant smell, with something of the lemon or citron flavour, a scent of vanilla, and the bitter, astringent aroma of ''Commiphora myrrha''.

Lesser recognized contenders

There are several lesser recognized contenders for the title "Stacte" w