![]() ![]() The terms used in rabbinic literature are different from those used in the Hebrew Bible: קׇטׇף ( kataf), בַּלְסׇם ( balsam), אַפּוֹבַּלְסַמוֹן ( appobalsamon), and אֲפַרְסְמוֹן ( afarsemon). 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. ĭioscorides ( 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 (sharp bowel pains). 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. 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. Much inferior to this is the resin pressed from the seeds, the rind, and even from the stems (see Theophrastus, Hist. That is considered to be the best quality which trickles before the appearance of the fruit. At first it is whitish and pellucid, but afterwards it becomes harder and reddish. 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. ![]() From slight incisions made very cautiously into the rind ( Josephus, Ant. The leaves, however, more closely resemble those of the rue, and the plant is an evergreen. 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. 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. 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). 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. In Palestine, praised by other writers also for its balsam ( Justinus, 36:3 Tacitus, Hist. 12:54), the balsam-tree was indigenous only to Judea, but known to Diodorus Siculus (3:46) as a product of Arabia also. 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. 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. 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. 5:6) and the far-famed tree excited the cupidity of successive invaders. In describing Palestine, Tacitus says that in all its productions it equals Italy, besides possessing the palm and the balsam ( Hist. Īccording to Josephus, the Queen of Sheba brought "the root of the balsam" as a present to King Solomon ( Ant. 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). According to 1 Kings 10:10, balsam ( Hebrew: bosem) was among the many precious gifts of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon. Still later, from an expression in Ezekiel 27:17, balm was one of the commodities which Hebrew merchants carried to the market of Tyre. During the final years of the Kingdom of Judah, Jeremiah asks "Is there no balm in Gilead?" ( Jer. When Jacob dispatched his embassy into Egypt, his present to the unknown ruler included "a little balm" ( Gen. 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.Īfter 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. Branches and fruit of a Commiphora gileadensis shrub ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |