Bible Encyclopedias
Frankincense

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

fraṇk´in -sens ( לבנה , lebhōnāh , from root meaning "whiteness," referring to the milky color of the fresh juice: Exodus 30:34; Leviticus 2:1 f,15 f; Leviticus 5:11; Leviticus 6:15; Leviticus 24:7; Numbers 5:15; 1 Chronicles 9:29; Nehemiah 13:5 , Nehemiah 13:9; Song of Solomon 3:6; Song of Solomon 4:6 , Song of Solomon 4:14; Isaiah 43:23; Isaiah 60:6; Isaiah 66:3; Jeremiah 6:20; Jeremiah 17:26; Jeremiah 41:5; translated in the last six references "incense" in the King James Version, but correctly in the Revised Version (British and American); λίβανος , lı́banos ̌ : Matthew 2:11; Revelation 18:13 . The English word is derived from old French franc encens , i.e. "pure incense"): The common frankincense of the pharmacopeas is a gum derived from the common fir, but the frankincense of the Jews, as well as of the Greeks and Romans, is a substance now called Olibanum (from the Arabic el lubān ), a product of certain trees of the genus Boswellia (Natural Order, Amyridaceae ), growing on the limestone rocks of south Arabia and Somali-land (Isaiah 60:6; Jeremiah 6:20 ). The most important species are B. Carteri and B. Frereana . Some of the trees grow to a considerable height and send down their roots to extraordinary depths. The gum is obtained by incising the bark, and is collected in yellowish, semitransparent tears, readily pulverized; it has a nauseous taste. It is used for making incense for burning in churches and in Indian temples, as it was among the Jews (Exodus 30:34 ). See INCENSE . It is often associated with myrrh (Song of Solomon 3:6; Song of Solomon 4:6 ) and with it was made an offering to the infant Saviour (Matthew 2:11 ). A specially "pure" kind, lebhōnāh zakkāh , was presented with the shewbread (Leviticus 24:7 ).