Opobalsamum

Balm of Gilead was a rare perfume used medicinally that was mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, where it was produced. The expression stems from William Tyndale's language in the King James Bible 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 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.

After having cast Joseph into a pit, his brothers noticed a caravan on its way from Gilead to Egypt, "with their camels bearing spicery, and balm, and myrrh" ( Gen. ). When Jacob 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, Jeremiah asks "Is there no balm in Gilead?" ( Jer. 8:22). Still later, from an expression in Ezekiel , balm was one of the commodities which Hebrew merchants carried to the market of Tyre. According to 1 Kings 10:10, balsam (Hebrew: ''bosem'') was among the many precious gifts of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon.Feliks (2007)

Greco-Roman

In the later days of Jewish history, the neighborhood of Jericho 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).

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

In describing Judaea, Tacitus 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 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 in 79 CE. During the invasion of Titus, two battles took place at the balsam groves of Jericho, 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 (3:46) as a product of Arabia also. In Palestine, praised by other writers also for its balsam ( Justinus, 36:3; Tacitus, '' Hist.'' 5:6; Plutarchus, ''Vita Anton''. c. 36; Florus, ''Epitome bellorum'' 3.5.29; Dioscorides, ''De materia medica'' 1:18) this plant was cultivated in the environs of Jericho (Strabo, 16:763; Diodorus Siculus 2:48; 19:98), in gardens set apart for this use (Pliny, ''Hist. Nat.'' 12:54; see Josephus, '' Ant.'' 14.4.1; 15.4.2; ''War'' 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, and the plant is an evergreen. Its height does not exceed two cubits. From slight incisions made very cautiously into the rind (Josephus, '' Ant.'' 14.4.1; ''War'' 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 Theophrastus, '' Hist. Plant.'' 9:6; Strabo 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. 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.

Dioscorides (''De materia medica'') attributes many medical properties to balsam, such as expelling menstrual flow; being an abortifacient; moving the urine; assisting breathing and conception; being an antidote for aconitum and snakebite; treating pleurisy, pneumonia, cough, sciatica, epilepsy, vertigo, asthma, and gripesOsbaldeston (2000) (sharp bowel pains).

In the era of Galen, 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.

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, balsam appears as an ointment which was a highly praised product of the Jericho plain. However, its main use was as a topical medication 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, 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 is conferred through the anointing with chrism, 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 by the Queen of Sheba, as a gift to Solomon, and planted by him in the gardens of Jericho, was brought to Egypt by Cleopatra, 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, washed the swaddling clothes 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 where it is called . Many strains of this species are found, some in Somalia and Yemen.

Lexicon

Hebrew ''tsori''

In the Hebrew Bible

HOME


Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne


Consider donating to Wikimedia



As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases