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Balm of Gilead

March 03, 2023

For other uses, see Balm of Gilead (disambiguation).

Balm of Gilead was a rare perfume used medicinally, that was mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, and named for the region of Gilead, 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.[1]

Plant considered to be the basis of the balm of Gilead, exhibition in Jerusalem

History

Hebrew Bible

 
Commiphora gileadensis, identified by some as the ancient balm of Gilead, in the Botanical gardens of Kibutz Ein-Gedi
 
Branches and fruit of a Commiphora gileadensis shrub

In the Bible, balsam is designated by various names: בֹּשֶׂם (bosem), בֶּשֶׂם (besem), צֳרִי (ẓori), נׇטׇף (nataf), 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. 37:25). When Jacob dispatched his embassy into Egypt, his present to the unknown ruler included "a little balm" (Gen. 43:11). 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 27:17, balm was one of the commodities which Hebrew merchants carried to the market of Tyre.[2] According to I Kings 10:10, balsam (Hebrew: bosem) was among the many precious gifts of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon.[3]

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).[2]

According to Josephus, the Queen of Sheba brought "the root of the balsam" as a present to King Solomon (Ant. 8.6.6).[2]

In describing Palestine, 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.[2]

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).[4]

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.[4]

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 gripes[5] (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.[6]

Rabbinic literature; Talmud

The terms used in rabbinic literature are different from those used in the Hebrew Bible: קׇטׇף (kataf), בַּלְסׇם (balsam), אַפּוֹבַּלְסַמוֹן (appobalsamon), and אֲפַרְסְמוֹן (afarsemon).[3]

In the Talmud, balsam appears as an ointment which was a highly praised product of the Jericho plain (Shab. 26a). However, its main use was medicinal rather than cosmetic.[7][clarification needed] Rav Yehudah composed a special blessing for balsam: "Who creates the oil of our land" (Ber. 43a).[8] Young women used it as a perfume to seduce young men (Lam. R. 4:18; Shab. 26b). After King Josiah hid away the "holy oil" with which the kings of Judah were anointed, balsam oil was used in its stead (Ker. 5b). In the messianic era, the righteous will "bathe in 13 rivers of balsam" (TJ, Av. Zar. 3:1, 42c).[3]

Christian

The Christian rite of confirmation is conferred through the anointing with chrism, which is traditionally a blend of olive oil and balsam.[9] Balm seems to have been used everywhere for chrism at least from the sixth century.[10]

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),[dubious – discuss] in a garden which all the old travellers, Arab and Christian, mention with deep interest.[6]

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 Palestine 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.[11] 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.[6]

Modern

The German botanist Schweinfurth (1836–1925) claimed to he have reconstructed the ancient process of balsam production.[3]

At present the tree Commiphora gileadensis grows wild in the valley of Mecca where it is called beshem. Many strains of this species are found, some in Somalia and Yemen.[3]

Lexicon

Hebrew tsori

In the Hebrew Bible, the balm of Gilead is tsori or tseri (צֳרִי or צְרִי). It is a merchandise in 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.[12] The Hebrew root z-r-h (צרה) means "run blood, bleed" (of vein), with cognates in Arabic (ﺿﺮﻭ, an odoriferous tree or its gum), Sabaean (צרו), Syriac (ܙܪܘܐ, possibly fructus pini), and Greek (στύραξ, in meaning).[13] The similar word tsori (צֹרִי) denotes the adjective "Tyrean", i. e. from the Phoenician city of Tyre.[14]

Many attempts have been made to identify the tsori, but none can be considered conclusive. The Samaritan Pentateuch (Gen. 37:25) and the Syriac bible (Jer. 8:22) translate it as wax (cera). The Septuagint has ῥητίνη, "pine resin". The Arabic version and Castell hold it for theriac. 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, Junius, Tremellius, Deodatius), and the Authorized Version (except in Ezek. 27:17, rosin) have balm, balsam, Greek βάλσαμον, Latin opobalsamum.[2]

Hebrew nataf

Besides the tseri, another Hebrew word, nataph (נׇטׇפ), 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.[4]

Hebrew bosem

Another Hebrew word, bosem (בֹּשֶׂם), Aramaic busema (ܒܣܡܐ), Arabic besham (بشام), appears in various forms throughout the Hebrew Bible. It is usually translated as "spice, perfume, sweet odour, balsam, balsam-tree".[15] The Greek βάλσαμον can be interpreted as a combination of the Hebrew words baal (בַּעַל) "lord; master; the Phoenician god Baal" and shemen (שֶׁמֶן) "oil", thus "Lord of Oils" (or "Oil of Baal").[2]

Greek balsamon

Greek authors use the words βάλσαμον (Theophrastus, Aristotle) for the balsam plant and its resin, while Galen, Nicander and the Geoponica consider it an aromatic herb, like mint. The word is probably Semitic.[16] ὁπο-βάλσᾰμον (Theophrastus) is the juice of the balsam tree.[17] βαλσαμίνη (Dioscorides) is the balsam plant.[18] Palladius names it βάλσαμος and also has βαλσαμουργός, a preparer of balsam.[19] Related are ξῠλο-βάλσᾰμον (Dioscorides, Strabo) "balsam-wood",[20] and καρπο-βάλσᾰμον (Galen) "the fruit of the balsam".[21][clarification needed]

Latin balsamum

Latin authors use balsamum (Tacitus, Pliny, Florus, Scribonius Largus, Celsus, Columella, Martialis) for the balsam tree and its branches or sprigs, as well as for its resin,[22] opobalsamum (Pliny, Celsus, Scribonius Largus, Martialis, Statius, Juvenal) for the resinous juice of the balsam tree,[23] and xylobalsamum (Pliny, Scribonius Largus, Celsus) for balsam wood,[24] all derived from Greek.

Plants

Assuming that the tsori was a plant product, several plants have been proposed as its source.[2]

Mastic

Celsius (in Hierobotanicon) identified the tsori with the mastic tree, Pistacia lentiscus L. The Arabic name of this plant is dseri or dseru, which is identical with the Hebrew tsori. Rauwolf and Pococke found the plant occurring at Joppa.[2]

Zukum

Ödmann [sv] and Rosenmüller thought that the pressed juice of the fruit of the zukum-tree (Elaeagnus angustifolia 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. Hasselquist and Pococke found them especially in the environs of Jericho. 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.[2][4]

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 terebinth.[6] The Biblical terebinth is Hebrew eloh (אֵלׇה), Pistacia terebinthus L.[25][26]

Pine

The Greek word ῥητίνη, used in the Septuagint for translating tsori, denotes a resin of the pine, especially Pinus maritima (πεύκη).[27][28] The Aramaic tserua (ܨܪܘܐ) has been described as the fruit of Pinus pinea L., but it has also been held for stacte or storax.[29] The Greek ῥητίνη ξηρά is a species of Pinaceae Rich.[30]

Cancamon

The lexicographer Bar Seroshewai considered the Arabic dseru (ﺿﺮﻭ), a tree of Yemen known as kamkam (ﮐﻤﮑﺎﻡ) or kankam (ﮐﻨﮑﺎﻡ), Syriac qazqamun (ܩܙܩܡܘܢ), Greek κάγκαμον, Latin cancamum, mentioned by Dioscorides (De materia medica 1.32) and Pliny (Hist. Nat. 12.44; 12.98).[29][31][32] Cancamon has been held for Commiphora kataf,[32] but also as Aleurites laccifer (Euphorbiaceae), Ficus spec. (Artocarpeae), and Butea frondosa (Papilionaceae).[33]

Sanskrit kunkuma (कुनकुम) is saffron (Crocus sativus).[34]

Balm of Mecca

Peter Forsskål (1732–1763) found the plant occurring between Mecca and Medina. He considered it to be the genuine balsam-plant and named it Amyris opobalsamum Forsk. (together with two other varieties, Amyris kataf Forsk. and Amyris kafal Forsk.).[4] Its Arabic name is abusham or basham, which is identical to the Hebrew bosem or beshem.[6] Bruce found the plant occurring in Abyssinia.[2] In the 19th century it was discovered in the East Indies also.[4]

Linnaeus distinguished two varieties: Amyris gileadensis L. (= Amyris opobalsamum Forsk.), and Amyris opobalsamum L., the variant found by Belon in a garden near Cairo, brought there from Arabia Felix. More recent naturalists (Lindley, Wight and Walker) have included the species Amyris gileadensis L. in the genus Protium.[4] Botanists enumerate sixteen balsamic plants of this genus, each exhibiting some peculiarity.[6]

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 Bruce in Abyssinia, the fragrant resin of which is known in commerce as the "balsam of Mecca".[2] According to De Sacy, the true balm of Gilead (or Jericho) has long been lost, and there is only "balm of Mecca".[6]

The accepted name of the balsam plant is Commiphora gileadensis (L.) Christ., synonym Commiphora opobalsamum.[35]

Cedronella

Cedronella canariensis, a perennial herb in the mint family, is also known as Balm of Gilead, or Herb of Gilead.[36]

Flammability

Balsam oil was too volatile and flammable to be used as fuel.[clarification needed] In the Talmud, 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 (Shab. 26a).[37]

According to the 13th-century (?) Liber Ignium (Book of Fires), balsam was an ingredient of ancient incendiaries akin to Greek fire.[38]

References

  1. ^ Groom (1981)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Gilead, Balm of", CBTEL, vol. 3, 1894, pp. 868–869, retrieved 21 October 2021
  3. ^ a b c d e Feliks (2007)
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Balsam", CBTEL, vol. 1, 1891, pp. 628–629
  5. ^ Osbaldeston (2000)
  6. ^ a b c d e f g "Balm", CBTEL, vol. 1, 1891, pp. 627–628
  7. ^ "Cosmetics". EJ. Vol. 5 (2nd ed.). pp. 229–231.
  8. ^ Tractate Berakhot 43a at efaria.org.il
  9. ^ Turner, P. (ed.), "Confirmation", NCE, vol. 4, pp. 84–92
  10. ^ Gratsch, E. J. (ed.), "Holy Oils", NCE, vol. 7, pp. 34–35
  11. ^ Becke, C. H. "Ayn Shams". EI. p. 788a.
  12. ^ "צֳרִי", HEL, p. 863
  13. ^ "צרה", HEL, p. 863
  14. ^ "צֹרִי", HEL, p. 863
  15. ^ "בֹּשֶׂם", HEL, pp. 141–142
  16. ^ "βάλσαμον", GEL, p. 274
  17. ^ "ὁπο-βάλσᾰμον", GEL, p. 1063
  18. ^ "βαλσαμίνη", GEL, p. 274
  19. ^ "βάλσαμος", GEL, p. 274
  20. ^ "ξῠλο-βάλσᾰμον", GEL, p. 1019
  21. ^ "ξῠλο-βάλσᾰμον", GEL, p. 745
  22. ^ "balsamum", OLD, p. 224
  23. ^ "opobalsamum", OLD, p. 1254
  24. ^ "xylobalsamum", OLD, p. 2124
  25. ^ "אֵלׇה", HEL, p. 18
  26. ^ Löw (1881), pp. 68–69
  27. ^ "ῥητίνη", GEL, p. 1361
  28. ^ "πεύκη", GEL, p. 1207
  29. ^ a b Löw (1881), pp. 58–59
  30. ^ Langkavel (1866)
  31. ^ "κάγκαμον", GEL, p. 718
  32. ^ a b "cancamum", OLD, p. 264
  33. ^ Dioscorides (Berendes ed., 1902), p. 76
  34. ^ Williams (1872), SED, p. 232b
  35. ^ Hanuš et al. (2005)
  36. ^ Plants for a Future website
  37. ^ Gruber & Rabinowitz (2007)
  38. ^ Berthelot (1893)

Bibliography

Encyclopedias, dictionaries, lexica
Other works
  • Berthelot, Marcellin (1893), La chimie au moyen âge, vol. I, Imprimerie nationale, pp. 101–107
  • Dioscorides (1902), "Kankamon", in Julius Berendes (ed.), (PDF), PharmaWiki.ch, archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-24, retrieved 2014-11-18
  • Feliks, Jehuda, "Balsam", EJ, vol. 3 (2nd ed.), p. 95
  • Groom, Nigel (1981). Frankincense and Myrrh: A Study of the Arabian Incense Trade. Arab background series. London and New York: Longman, Librairie de Liban. pp. 41, 126. ISBN 978-0-582-76476-7. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  • Gruber, Mayer Irwin; Rabinowitz, Louis Isaac, "Oils", EJ, vol. 15 (2nd ed.), pp. 395–396
  • Langkavel, Bernhard (1866), Botanik der späteren Griechen, Berggold, p. 98
  • Löw, Immanuel (1881), Aramäische Pflanzennamen, Engelmann
  • Hanuš, Lumír O.; Řezanka, Tomáš; Dembitsky, Valery M.; Moussaieff, Arieh (2005), "Myrrh - Commiphora chemistry", Biomed. Papers, 149 (1): 3–28, doi:10.5507/bp.2005.001, PMID 16170385
  • Osbaldeston, Tess Anne (translator) (2000). . Johannesburg: Ibidis Press. p. 1.18. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. {{cite book}}: |author= has generic name (help)

External links

  •   Media related to Balm of Gilead at Wikimedia Commons

March 03, 2023
balm, gilead, other, uses, disambiguation, rare, perfume, used, medicinally, that, mentioned, hebrew, bible, named, region, gilead, where, produced, expression, stems, from, william, tyndale, language, king, james, bible, 1611, come, signify, universal, cure, . For other uses see Balm of Gilead disambiguation Balm of Gilead was a rare perfume used medicinally that was mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and named for the region of Gilead 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 1 Plant considered to be the basis of the balm of Gilead exhibition in Jerusalem Contents 1 History 1 1 Hebrew Bible 1 2 Greco Roman 1 3 Rabbinic literature Talmud 1 4 Christian 1 5 Arab 1 6 Modern 2 Lexicon 2 1 Hebrew tsori 2 2 Hebrew nataf 2 3 Hebrew bosem 2 4 Greek balsamon 2 5 Latin balsamum 3 Plants 3 1 Mastic 3 2 Zukum 3 3 Terebinth 3 4 Pine 3 5 Cancamon 3 6 Balm of Mecca 3 7 Cedronella 4 Flammability 5 References 6 Bibliography 7 External linksHistory EditHebrew Bible Edit Commiphora gileadensis identified by some as the ancient balm of Gilead in the Botanical gardens of Kibutz Ein Gedi Branches and fruit of a Commiphora gileadensis shrub In the Bible balsam is designated by various names ב ש ם bosem ב ש ם besem צ ר י ẓori נ ט ף nataf 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 37 25 When Jacob dispatched his embassy into Egypt his present to the unknown ruler included a little balm Gen 43 11 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 27 17 balm was one of the commodities which Hebrew merchants carried to the market of Tyre 2 According to I Kings 10 10 balsam Hebrew bosem was among the many precious gifts of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon 3 Greco Roman Edit 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 2 According to Josephus the Queen of Sheba brought the root of the balsam as a present to King Solomon Ant 8 6 6 2 In describing Palestine 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 2 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 4 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 4 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 gripes 5 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 6 Rabbinic literature Talmud Edit The terms used in rabbinic literature are different from those used in the Hebrew Bible ק ט ף kataf ב ל ס ם balsam א פ ו ב ל ס מו ן appobalsamon and א פ ר ס מו ן afarsemon 3 In the Talmud balsam appears as an ointment which was a highly praised product of the Jericho plain Shab 26a However its main use was medicinal rather than cosmetic 7 clarification needed Rav Yehudah composed a special blessing for balsam Who creates the oil of our land Ber 43a 8 Young women used it as a perfume to seduce young men Lam R 4 18 Shab 26b After King Josiah hid away the holy oil with which the kings of Judah were anointed balsam oil was used in its stead Ker 5b In the messianic era the righteous will bathe in 13 rivers of balsam TJ Av Zar 3 1 42c 3 Christian Edit The Christian rite of confirmation is conferred through the anointing with chrism which is traditionally a blend of olive oil and balsam 9 Balm seems to have been used everywhere for chrism at least from the sixth century 10 Arab Edit 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 dubious discuss in a garden which all the old travellers Arab and Christian mention with deep interest 6 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 Palestine 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 11 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 6 Modern Edit The German botanist Schweinfurth 1836 1925 claimed to he have reconstructed the ancient process of balsam production 3 At present the tree Commiphora gileadensis grows wild in the valley of Mecca where it is called beshem Many strains of this species are found some in Somalia and Yemen 3 Lexicon EditHebrew tsori Edit In the Hebrew Bible the balm of Gilead is tsori or tseri צ ר י or צ ר י It is a merchandise in 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 12 The Hebrew root z r h צרה means run blood bleed of vein with cognates in Arabic ﺿﺮﻭ an odoriferous tree or its gum Sabaean צרו Syriac ܙܪܘܐ possibly fructus pini and Greek styra3 in meaning 13 The similar word tsori צ ר י denotes the adjective Tyrean i e from the Phoenician city of Tyre 14 Many attempts have been made to identify the tsori but none can be considered conclusive The Samaritan Pentateuch Gen 37 25 and the Syriac bible Jer 8 22 translate it as wax cera The Septuagint has ῥhtinh pine resin The Arabic version and Castell hold it for theriac 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 Junius Tremellius Deodatius and the Authorized Version except in Ezek 27 17 rosin have balm balsam Greek balsamon Latin opobalsamum 2 Hebrew nataf Edit Besides the tseri another Hebrew word nataph נ ט פ 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 4 Hebrew bosem Edit Another Hebrew word bosem ב ש ם Aramaic busema ܒܣܡܐ Arabic besham بشام appears in various forms throughout the Hebrew Bible It is usually translated as spice perfume sweet odour balsam balsam tree 15 The Greek balsamon can be interpreted as a combination of the Hebrew words baal ב ע ל lord master the Phoenician god Baal and shemen ש מ ן oil thus Lord of Oils or Oil of Baal 2 Greek balsamon Edit Greek authors use the words balsamon Theophrastus Aristotle for the balsam plant and its resin while Galen Nicander and the Geoponica consider it an aromatic herb like mint The word is probably Semitic 16 ὁpo balsᾰmon Theophrastus is the juice of the balsam tree 17 balsaminh Dioscorides is the balsam plant 18 Palladius names it balsamos and also has balsamoyrgos a preparer of balsam 19 Related are 3ῠlo balsᾰmon Dioscorides Strabo balsam wood 20 and karpo balsᾰmon Galen the fruit of the balsam 21 clarification needed Latin balsamum Edit Latin authors use balsamum Tacitus Pliny Florus Scribonius Largus Celsus Columella Martialis for the balsam tree and its branches or sprigs as well as for its resin 22 opobalsamum Pliny Celsus Scribonius Largus Martialis Statius Juvenal for the resinous juice of the balsam tree 23 and xylobalsamum Pliny Scribonius Largus Celsus for balsam wood 24 all derived from Greek Plants EditAssuming that the tsori was a plant product several plants have been proposed as its source 2 Mastic Edit Celsius in Hierobotanicon identified the tsori with the mastic tree Pistacia lentiscus L The Arabic name of this plant is dseri or dseru which is identical with the Hebrew tsori Rauwolf and Pococke found the plant occurring at Joppa 2 Zukum Edit Odmann sv and Rosenmuller thought that the pressed juice of the fruit of the zukum tree Elaeagnus angustifolia L or the myrobalanus of the ancients is the substance denoted but Rosenmuller 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 Hasselquist and Pococke found them especially in the environs of Jericho 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 2 4 Terebinth Edit 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 terebinth 6 The Biblical terebinth is Hebrew eloh א ל ה Pistacia terebinthus L 25 26 Pine Edit The Greek word ῥhtinh used in the Septuagint for translating tsori denotes a resin of the pine especially Pinus maritima peykh 27 28 The Aramaic tserua ܨܪܘܐ has been described as the fruit of Pinus pinea L but it has also been held for stacte or storax 29 The Greek ῥhtinh 3hra is a species of Pinaceae Rich 30 Cancamon Edit The lexicographer Bar Seroshewai considered the Arabic dseru ﺿﺮﻭ a tree of Yemen known as kamkam ﮐﻤﮑﺎﻡ or kankam ﮐﻨﮑﺎﻡ Syriac qazqamun ܩܙܩܡܘܢ Greek kagkamon Latin cancamum mentioned by Dioscorides De materia medica 1 32 and Pliny Hist Nat 12 44 12 98 29 31 32 Cancamon has been held for Commiphora kataf 32 but also as Aleurites laccifer Euphorbiaceae Ficus spec Artocarpeae and Butea frondosa Papilionaceae 33 Sanskrit kunkuma क नक म is saffron Crocus sativus 34 Balm of Mecca Edit Peter Forsskal 1732 1763 found the plant occurring between Mecca and Medina He considered it to be the genuine balsam plant and named it Amyris opobalsamum Forsk together with two other varieties Amyris kataf Forsk and Amyris kafal Forsk 4 Its Arabic name is abusham or basham which is identical to the Hebrew bosem or beshem 6 Bruce found the plant occurring in Abyssinia 2 In the 19th century it was discovered in the East Indies also 4 Linnaeus distinguished two varieties Amyris gileadensis L Amyris opobalsamum Forsk and Amyris opobalsamum L the variant found by Belon in a garden near Cairo brought there from Arabia Felix More recent naturalists Lindley Wight and Walker have included the species Amyris gileadensis L in the genus Protium 4 Botanists enumerate sixteen balsamic plants of this genus each exhibiting some peculiarity 6 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 Bruce in Abyssinia the fragrant resin of which is known in commerce as the balsam of Mecca 2 According to De Sacy the true balm of Gilead or Jericho has long been lost and there is only balm of Mecca 6 The accepted name of the balsam plant is Commiphora gileadensis L Christ synonym Commiphora opobalsamum 35 Cedronella Edit Cedronella canariensis a perennial herb in the mint family is also known as Balm of Gilead or Herb of Gilead 36 Flammability EditBalsam oil was too volatile and flammable to be used as fuel clarification needed In the Talmud 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 Shab 26a 37 According to the 13th century Liber Ignium Book of Fires balsam was an ingredient of ancient incendiaries akin to Greek fire 38 References Edit Groom 1981 a b c d e f g h i j k Gilead Balm of CBTEL vol 3 1894 pp 868 869 retrieved 21 October 2021 a b c d e Feliks 2007 a b c d e f g Balsam CBTEL vol 1 1891 pp 628 629 Osbaldeston 2000 a b c d e f g Balm CBTEL vol 1 1891 pp 627 628 Cosmetics EJ Vol 5 2nd ed pp 229 231 Tractate Berakhot 43a at efaria org il Turner P ed Confirmation NCE vol 4 pp 84 92 Gratsch E J ed Holy Oils NCE vol 7 pp 34 35 Becke C H Ayn Shams EI p 788a צ ר י HEL p 863 צרה HEL p 863 צ ר י HEL p 863 ב ש ם HEL pp 141 142 balsamon GEL p 274 ὁpo balsᾰmon GEL p 1063 balsaminh GEL p 274 balsamos GEL p 274 3ῠlo balsᾰmon GEL p 1019 3ῠlo balsᾰmon GEL p 745 balsamum OLD p 224 opobalsamum OLD p 1254 xylobalsamum OLD p 2124 א ל ה HEL p 18 Low 1881 pp 68 69 ῥhtinh GEL p 1361 peykh GEL p 1207 a b Low 1881 pp 58 59 Langkavel 1866 kagkamon GEL p 718 a b cancamum OLD p 264 Dioscorides Berendes ed 1902 p 76 Williams 1872 SED p 232b Hanus et al 2005 Plants for a Future website Gruber amp Rabinowitz 2007 Berthelot 1893 Bibliography EditEncyclopedias dictionaries lexicaCBTEL John McClintock James Strong eds 1891 Cyclopaedia of Biblical Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature Harper amp Brothers EI The Encyclopaedia of Islam Vol 1 2nd ed Brill 1986 EJ Encyclopaedia Judaica 2nd ed Thomson Gale 2007 ISBN 9780028659282 GEL Henry Liddell Robert Scott eds 1897 Greek English Lexicon 8th ed Harper amp Brothers HEL Francis Brown ed 1906 Hebrew and English Lexicon Oxford University Press NCE P Turner ed 2003 New Catholic Encyclopedia 2nd ed Gale OLD Oxford Latin Dictionary Oxford University Press 1968 SED Williams Monier 1872 A Sanskrit English Dictionary Clarendon PressOther worksBerthelot Marcellin 1893 La chimie au moyen age vol I Imprimerie nationale pp 101 107 Dioscorides 1902 Kankamon in Julius Berendes ed De materia medica PDF PharmaWiki ch archived from the original PDF on 2015 09 24 retrieved 2014 11 18 Feliks Jehuda Balsam EJ vol 3 2nd ed p 95 Groom Nigel 1981 Frankincense and Myrrh A Study of the Arabian Incense Trade Arab background series London and New York Longman Librairie de Liban pp 41 126 ISBN 978 0 582 76476 7 Retrieved 21 October 2021 Gruber Mayer Irwin Rabinowitz Louis Isaac Oils EJ vol 15 2nd ed pp 395 396 Langkavel Bernhard 1866 Botanik der spateren Griechen Berggold p 98 Low Immanuel 1881 Aramaische Pflanzennamen Engelmann Hanus Lumir O Rezanka Tomas Dembitsky Valery M Moussaieff Arieh 2005 Myrrh Commiphora chemistry Biomed Papers 149 1 3 28 doi 10 5507 bp 2005 001 PMID 16170385 Osbaldeston Tess Anne translator 2000 Dioscorides Johannesburg Ibidis Press p 1 18 Archived from the original on 2014 09 24 a href Template Cite book html title Template Cite book cite book a author has generic name help External links Edit Media related to Balm of Gilead at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Balm of Gilead amp oldid 1137275794, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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