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Bible Dictionaries
Spice, Spices
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or SPICE, SPICES . 1 . bâsâm , Song of Solomon 5:2 , RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ‘ balsam ’; bôsem [once, Exodus 30:23 , besem ], plur. bÄ•sâmîm . In Exodus 30:23 is a list of various aromatic substances Included under the name bÄ•sâmîm . These were stored in the Temple ( 1 Chronicles 9:29 ), and in Hezekiah’s treasure-house ( 2 Kings 20:13 ); they were used for anointing the dead ( 2 Chronicles 16:14 ), and also as perfumes for the living ( Song of Solomon 4:10 etc.). 2 . sammim , Exodus 30:34 ‘sweet spices’; and, along with ‘incense,’ Exodus 30:7; Exodus 40:27 , Leviticus 4:7 , Numbers 4:16 etc. In the first passage the ‘sweet spices’ are enumerated as stacte, onycha, and galbanum (all of which see). 3 . nÄ•kô’th , Genesis 37:25 ‘spicery’ (RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ‘gum tragacanth or storax’), Genesis 43:11 (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘spicery’). The gum tragacanth is the product of the Astragalus gummifer , of which several species are known in Syria. The storax ( Styrax officinalis ), a shrub with beautiful white flowers, also affords an aromatic gum valued by the ancients. Whether nÄ•kô’th corresponded definitely to one of these, or was a generic term for ‘perfumes,’ is an open question. 4. 5 . Gr. arômata ( Mark 16:1 , EV [Note: English Version.] ‘spices’) and amômon ( Revelation 18:13 , RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ‘ amomum ,’ RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘spice,’ AV [Note: Authorized Version.] omits) are probably both generic.
E. W. G. Masterman.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Spice, Spices'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/s/spice-spices.html. 1909.
