Exodus 30:34

sweet spices In the Heb. one word, sammim(plur.), from the same root as the Arab. shamma, to -smell," not the one rendered -spices" (besâmim) in v.3, and, to judge from Exodus 25:6 (- besâmimfor …, and for the incense of sammim"), a narrower term than that: used exclusively (but only in P and Chr.) of the materials of which the incense was made, and mostly in the expression -incense of sweet spices" (sometimes rendered -sweet incense") v.7, Exodus 25:6; Leviticus 4:7; Leviticus 16:12 al.; 2 Chronicles 2:4; 2 Chronicles 13:11 (both passages written by the Chronicler himself). It might be rendered for distinctness (cf. EB.iv. 4746), fragrant powders.

stacte Heb. nâṭâph†, from nâṭaph, to drip. Some fragrant oil or resin is evidently meant; it is uncertain what. -Stacté" is a transliteration of LXX. στακτη, Vulg. stacte, meaning also something that dripsor trickles. Stacte was the Gk. and Lat. name of a very fragrant and costly kind of myrrh (σμύρνα), variously described by the ancients as an oil -dripping" from crushed myrrh, either alone (Theophr. Odor.29; on the text, see Schneider's note: cf. Diosc. i. 77) or mixed with a little water (Diosc. i. 73), or as prepared from crushed myrrh dissolved in oil (Theophr. l.c.), or as exuding spontaneously from the tree (Plin. H.N.xii. 15, § 68). Myrrh-oil would be a clearer rend. Lucr. (ii. 847) mentions the -blandum stactaeque liquorem"; and Plautus (Truc.ii. 5, 23) speaks of it as burnt on the altar to Lucina. This rend, of LXX. seems probable: still we do not knowthat it is right: it may be founded merely on the agreement of meaning between nâṭâphand -stacte." Ges. (Thes.) identified nâṭâphwith the gum of the storax tree (NHB.395 f.), a beautiful perfumed shrub, abundant on the lower hills of Palestine, the gum of which (Diosc. i. 79) is still used in Syria as a perfume. The Rabbis identified it with ẓŏri(EVV. -balm"), and said that it was so called because it -dripped" from the tree called ḳeṭâph, i.e. (Kimchi, Book of Roots, s.v.) the balsam-tree: hence, no doubt, RVm. opobalsamum(-juice-balsam," as opposed to xylobalsamum, -wood-balsam," the scented twigsof the balsam-tree), an aromatic gum obtained (Diosc. i. 18; Plin. H.N.xii. 25, § 116, cf. § 118) from the Judaean balsam-tree by incisions in the bark. If however the môrof v.23 (see the note there) was really the juice or gum of the balsam-tree, it is hardly likely to have been called here by a different name.

onycha Heb. sheḥçleth†; LXX. ὄνυξ, Vulg. onyx, whence EVV. onycha(cf. Sir 24:15); i.e. unguis odoratus, the -operculum," or closing flap, called ὄνυξ from its resemblance to the nail, of certain molluscs, which, when burnt, emits a strong aromatic odour 1 [214]. Onycha is still gathered along the coasts of the Red Sea; and is largely used as an ingredient in the perfumery of Arab women (EB.s.v.); it is also said to be the principal component of incense in India and elsewhere (Kn.).

[214] Cf. Diosc. ii.10, as cited by Röd. in Ges. Thes. p. 1388: Ὄνυξ ἐστὶ πῶμα κογχυλίου ὅμοιον τῷ τῆς πορφύρας, εὑρισκόμενον ἐν τῇ Ἰνδίᾳ ἐν ταῖς ναρδοφόροις λίμναις (and also, he adds, though of a different kind, in the Red Sea): ἀμφότεροι δὲ εὐώδεις θυμιώμενοι, καστορίζοντες ποσῶς τῇ ὀσμῇ.

galbanum Heb. ḥelbenâh†; LXX. χαλβάνη, Vulg. galbanum. This was the resin of an umbelliferous plant, used by the ancients medicinally, and also, from its pungent odour, when burnt, to keep off insects (Plin. xix. 58 al.), to expel serpents from stables (Verg. G.iii. 415 - Galbaneoqueagitare graves nidore chelydros"), and revive sick bees (ib.iv. 264 -Hic iam galbaneossuadebo incendere odors"). Diosc. (iii. 87) and Theophr. (ix. 7) speak of galbanum as obtained from a Syrian νάρθηξ : but in modern times it seems to be almost entirely a product of Persia (EB.).

sweet spices, with (even) fragrant powders, and. But probably the tautologous -fragrant powders" is merely repeated by error from the previous line.

frankincense Heb. lěbônâh(-whiteness," with reference doubtless to the milky form in which it exudes from the tree), a fragrant gum-resin, obtained, by means of incisions, from trees belonging to certain species of the genus Boswelliana. These are now found mostly in Somali-land; but the most famous growth in ancient times was in the mountains of Shĕbâ, or the Sabaeans, in S. Arabia (EB.s.v.: cf. Bent, S. Arabia, 1900, pp. 89, 91, 234 f., &c.: comp. Jeremiah 6:20 (-frankincense from Shĕbâ"), Isaiah 60:6; Verg. G.i. 117 -solis est turea virga Sabaeis," Aen.i. 416 f. -centumque Sabaeo Turecalent arae"). Frankincense is mentioned first in Jer. (Jeremiah 6:20; Jeremiah 17:26; Jeremiah 41:5); elsewhere only in P (here; Leviticus 2:1 f., Leviticus 2:15 f., Exodus 6:15 as a concomitant of the meal-offering, cf. Exodus 5:11; Numbers 5:15; Leviticus 24:7 as placed on the Presence-bread), II Isaiah (Isaiah 43:23; Isaiah 60:6; Isaiah 66:3), 1 Chronicles 9:29; and, for its fragrance, Song of Solomon 3:6; Song of Solomon 4:6; Song of Solomon 4:14. The epithet pure, or better, clear (zakkâh; LXX. διαφανῆ), is meant probably to denote the superior kind called by Theophr. (ix. 4) καθαρὸν καὶ διαφανῆ, -pure and transparent," and said by Pliny (xii. 32) to be that gathered in autumn. Knobel states that he had some incense prepared according to this receipt in the laboratory of a colleague at Giessen, and that its odour was -strong, refreshing, and very agreeable."