Balm of Gilead

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

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

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]

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), נָטָף (nataf), which all differ from the terms used in rabbinic literature.

After having cast

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

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

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

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]

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

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

King Josiah hid away the holy anointing oil, balsam oil was used in its stead.[11] In the messianic era, the righteous will "bathe in 13 rivers of balsam".[12][3]

Christian

The Christian rite of confirmation is conferred through the anointing with chrism, which is traditionally a blend of olive oil and balsam.[13] Balm seems to have been used everywhere for chrism at least from the sixth century.[14]

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

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 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

Sabaean (צרו), Syriac (ܙܪܘܐ, possibly fructus pini), and Greek (στύραξ, in meaning).[17] The similar word tsori (צֹרִי) denotes the adjective "Tyrean", i. e. from the Phoenician city of Tyre.[18]

Many attempts have been made to identify the tsori, but none can be considered conclusive. The

Latin opobalsamum.[2]

Hebrew nataf

Besides the tseri, another

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".[19] 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

Dioscorides, Strabo) "balsam-wood",[24] and καρπο-βάλσᾰμον (Galen) "the fruit of the balsam".[25][clarification needed
]

Latin balsamum

Martialis) for the balsam tree and its branches or sprigs, as well as for its resin,[26] opobalsamum (Pliny, Celsus, Scribonius Largus, Martialis, Statius, Juvenal) for the resinous juice of the balsam tree,[27] and xylobalsamum (Pliny, Scribonius Largus, Celsus) for balsam wood,[28]
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

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

terebinth.[6] The Biblical terebinth is Hebrew eloh (אֵלׇה), Pistacia terebinthus L.[29][30]

Pine

The

Pinus pinea L., but it has also been held for stacte or storax.[33] The Greek ῥητίνη ξηρά is a species of Pinaceae Rich.[34]

Cancamon

The lexicographer

Papilionaceae).[37]

Sanskrit kunkuma (कुनकुम) is saffron (Crocus sativus).[38]

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]

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.[39]

Cedronella

Cedronella canariensis, a perennial herb in the mint family, is also known as Balm of Gilead, or Herb of Gilead.[40]

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).[41]

According to the 13th-century (?) Liber Ignium (Book of Fires), balsam was an ingredient of ancient incendiaries akin to Greek fire.[42]

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. ^ Shabbat 26a
  8. ^ "Cosmetics". EJ. Vol. 5 (2nd ed.). pp. 229–231.
  9. ^ Berakhot 43a at sefaria.org.il
  10. ^ Lamentations Rabbah 4:18; Shabbat 26b
  11. ^ Keritot 5b
  12. ^ Jerusalem Talmud Avodah Zarah 3:1 (42c)
  13. ^ Turner, P. (ed.), "Confirmation", NCE, vol. 4, pp. 84–92
  14. ^ Gratsch, E. J. (ed.), "Holy Oils", NCE, vol. 7, pp. 34–35
  15. ^ Becke, C. H. "Ayn Shams". EI. p. 788a.
  16. ^ "צֳרִי", HEL, p. 863
  17. ^ "צרה", HEL, p. 863
  18. ^ "צֹרִי", HEL, p. 863
  19. ^ "בֹּשֶׂם", HEL, pp. 141–142
  20. ^ "βάλσαμον", GEL, p. 274
  21. ^ "ὁπο-βάλσᾰμον", GEL, p. 1063
  22. ^ "βαλσαμίνη", GEL, p. 274
  23. ^ "βάλσαμος", GEL, p. 274
  24. ^ "ξῠλο-βάλσᾰμον", GEL, p. 1019
  25. ^ "ξῠλο-βάλσᾰμον", GEL, p. 745
  26. ^ "balsamum", OLD, p. 224
  27. ^ "opobalsamum", OLD, p. 1254
  28. ^ "xylobalsamum", OLD, p. 2124
  29. ^ "אֵלׇה", HEL, p. 18
  30. ^ Löw (1881), pp. 68–69
  31. ^ "ῥητίνη", GEL, p. 1361
  32. ^ "πεύκη", GEL, p. 1207
  33. ^ a b Löw (1881), pp. 58–59
  34. ^ Langkavel (1866)
  35. ^ "κάγκαμον", GEL, p. 718
  36. ^ a b "cancamum", OLD, p. 264
  37. ^ Dioscorides (Berendes ed., 1902), p. 76
  38. ^ Williams (1872), SED, p. 232b
  39. ^ Hanuš et al. (2005)
  40. ^ Plants for a Future website
  41. ^ Gruber & Rabinowitz (2007)
  42. ^ Berthelot (1893)

Bibliography

Encyclopedias, dictionaries, lexica
Other works

External links

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