Bible Dictionary: Perfumer

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Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) One who, or that which, perfumes.

2. (n.) One whose trade is to make or sell perfumes.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

PERFUME; PERFUMER

pur'-ium, per-fum' (qeToreth qaTar literally, "incense"): The ancients were fond of sweet perfumes of all kinds (Proverbs 27:9), and that characteristic is still especially true of the people of Bible lands. Perfumed oils were rubbed on the body and feet. At a feast in ancient Egypt a guest was anointed with scented oils, and a sweet-smelling water lily was placed in his hand or suspended on his forehead. In their religious worship the Egyptians were lavish with their incense. Small pellets of dried mixed spices and resins or resinous woods were burned in special censers. In the preparation of bodies for burial, perfumed oils and spices were used. Many Biblical references indicate the widespread use of perfumes. Songs 7:8 suggests that the breath was purposely scented; clothing as well as the body was perfumed (Psalm 45:8 Songs 3:6; Songs 4:11); couches and beds were sprinkled with savory scents (Proverbs 7:17); ointments were used in the last rites in honor of the dead (2 Chronicles 16:14 Luke 24:1 John 19:39). The writer has in his collection a lump of prepared spices and resins taken from a tomb dating from the lst or 2nd century A.D., which was apparently fused and run into the thoracic cavity, since an impression of the ribs has been made on the perfume. Its odor is similar to that of the incense used today, and it perfumes the whole case where it is kept. The above collection also contains a small glass vial in which is a bronze spoon firmly held in some solidified ointment, probably formerly perfumed oil. Perfumes were commonly kept in sealed alabaster jars or cruses (Luke 7:38). Thousands of these cruses have been unearthed in Palestine and Syria.

Perfumes were mixed by persons skilled in the article In the King James Version these are called "apothecaries" (raqqach). The Revised Version (British and American) "perfumer" is probably a more correct rendering, as the one who did the compounding was not an apothecary in the same sense as is the person now so designated (Exodus 30:25, 35; Exodus 37:29 Ecclesiastes 10:1).

Today incense is used in connection with all religious services of the oriental Christian churches. Although there is no direct mention of the uses of incense in the New Testament, such allusions as Paul's "a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell" (Ephesians 5:2 Philippians 4:18) would seem to indicate that it was used by the early Christians.

The delight of the people of Syria in pleasant odors is recorded in their literature. The attar of roses (from Arabic `iTr, "a sweet odor") was a wellknown product of Damascus. The guest in a modern Syrian home is not literally anointed with oil, but he is often given, soon after he enters, a bunch of aromatic herbs or a sweet-smelling flower to hold and smell. During a considerable portion of the year the country air is laden with the odor of aromatic herbs, such as mint and sage. The Arabic phrase for taking a walk is shemm el-hawa', literally, "smell the air."

See INCENSE; OIL; OINTMENT.

James A. Patch

Strong's Hebrew

7546. raqqach -- ointment maker, perfumer
... ointment maker, perfumer. Transliteration: raqqach Phonetic Spelling: (rak-kawkh')
Short Definition: perfumers. ... From raqach; a male perfumer -- apothecary. ...
/hebrew/7546.htm - 6k

7548. raqqachah -- (female) ointment maker, perfumer
... 7547, 7548. raqqachah. 7549 . (female) ointment maker, perfumer. Transliteration:
raqqachah Phonetic Spelling: (rak-kaw-khaw') Short Definition: perfumers. ...
/hebrew/7548.htm - 6k

7543. raqach -- to mix or compound oil or ointment
... raqach. 7544 . to mix or compound oil or ointment. Transliteration: raqach Phonetic
Spelling: (raw-kakh') Short Definition: perfumer. Word Origin a prim. ...
/hebrew/7543.htm - 6k

Library

On the Sinful Woman.
... Then hastily went she forth in sadness to the perfumer. The perfumer ... 5. These
things spake the perfumer, in wisdom, to the harlot. The sinful ...
/.../ephraim/hymns and homilies of ephraim the syrian/on the sinful woman.htm

Who is She that Goeth up by the Wilderness, Like a Pillar of Smoke ...
... CHAPTER III. 6. Who is she that goeth up by the wilderness, like a pillar of smoke,
from the incense of myrrh and frankincense and all powders of the perfumer? ...
//christianbookshelf.org/guyon/song of songs of solomon/6 who is she that.htm

Among the People, and with the Pharisees
... alabaster boxes. The trade of perfumer was, however, looked down upon, not
only among the Jews, but even among heathen nations. But ...
/.../edersheim/sketches of jewish social life/chapter 13 among the people.htm

Chapter iii.
... 6. Who is she that goeth up by the wilderness, like a pillar of smoke from the incense
of myrrh and frankincense and all powders of the perfumer? ...
//christianbookshelf.org/guyon/song of songs of solomon/chapter iii.htm

His Cheeks are as a Bed of Spices, Prepared by the Perfumers; his ...
... It was indeed a skilful perfumer who chose and arranged them, for it was the Holy
Spirit that ordered the whole internal and external man Christ Jesus. ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/guyon/song of songs of solomon/13 his cheeks are as.htm

Human Arts as Well as Divine Knowledge Proceed from God.
... the senses highly gifted: in hearing, he who is commonly called a musician; in touch,
he who moulds clay; in voice the singer, in smell the perfumer, in sight ...
/.../clement/the stromata or miscellanies/chapter iv human arts as well.htm

Chapter i.
... He who, drawn by the sweetness of perfumes, enters a perfumer's shop, while receiving
the pleasure which he takes in the smell of those odours, perfumes himself ...
//christianbookshelf.org/francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter i.htm

Adam Anointed a Prophet.
... But you should rather have said, If the chrism was compounded by Aaron, by the
perfumer's art, how could the first man be anointed before Aaron's time, the ...
/.../unknown/recognitions of clement /chapter xlvii adam anointed a prophet.htm

Song of Songs of Solomon
... 6. Who is she that goeth up by the wilderness, like a pillar of smoke, from the
incense of myrrh and frankincense and all powders of the perfumer? ...
//christianbookshelf.org/guyon/song of songs of solomon/

A Description of Mystical Theology, which is no Other Thing than ...
... might one say of her, that goeth up by the desert, as a pillar of smoke of aromatical
spices, of myrrh, and frankincense, and of all the powders of the perfumer ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter i a description of.htm

Thesaurus

Perfumer (4 Occurrences)
... perfumes. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. PERFUME; PERFUMER. pur ... OINTMENT. James
A. Patch. Multi-Version Concordance Perfumer (4 Occurrences). Exodus ...
/p/perfumer.htm - 11k

Perfumer's (2 Occurrences)
... Multi-Version Concordance Perfumer's (2 Occurrences). 2 Chronicles 16:14
And they put him into the resting-place which he had made ...
/p/perfumer's.htm - 7k

Blended (5 Occurrences)
... Exodus 30:25 You shall make it a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after
the art of the perfumer: it shall be a holy anointing oil. (See RSV). ...
/b/blended.htm - 7k

Apothecary (4 Occurrences)
... Rendered in the margin and the Revised Version "perfumer," in Exodus 30:25; 37:29;
Ecclesiastes 10:1. The holy oils and ointments were prepared by priests ...
/a/apothecary.htm - 9k

Perfume (202 Occurrences)
... PERFUME; PERFUMER. ... Exodus 30:25 You shall make it a holy anointing oil, a perfume
compounded after the art of the perfumer: it shall be a holy anointing oil. ...
/p/perfume.htm - 38k

Fragrant (30 Occurrences)
... Exodus 30:25 You shall make it a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after
the art of the perfumer: it shall be a holy anointing oil. (See NIV). ...
/f/fragrant.htm - 16k

Perfumery (1 Occurrence)
... Exodus 30:25 and make of it an oil of holy ointment, a perfume of perfumery after
the work of the perfumer: it shall be the holy anointing oil. (DBY). ...
/p/perfumery.htm - 6k

Blend (2 Occurrences)
... Exodus 30:25 You shall make it a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after
the art of the perfumer: it shall be a holy anointing oil. (See RSV NIV). ...
/b/blend.htm - 7k

Confection (2 Occurrences)
... kon-fek'-shun, kon-fek'-shun-a-ri (roqach "perfume," "spice," raqqahah, feminine
"perfumer"): (1) "Confection" is found in the King James Version only and but ...
/c/confection.htm - 8k

Confectionary
... kon-fek'-shun, kon-fek'-shun-a-ri (roqach "perfume," "spice," raqqahah, feminine
"perfumer"): (1) "Confection" is found in the King James Version only and but ...
/c/confectionary.htm - 7k

Bible Concordance

Perfumer (4 Occurrences)

Exodus 30:25 You shall make it a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art of the perfumer: it shall be a holy anointing oil.
(WEB JPS ASV DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 30:35 and you shall make incense of it, a perfume after the art of the perfumer, seasoned with salt, pure and holy:
(WEB JPS ASV DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Exodus 37:29 He made the holy anointing oil and the pure incense of sweet spices, after the art of the perfumer.
(WEB JPS ASV DBY NAS RSV NIV)

Ecclesiastes 10:1 Dead flies cause the oil of the perfumer to send forth an evil odor; so does a little folly outweigh wisdom and honor.
(WEB JPS ASV BBE YLT NAS RSV)

Subtopics

Perfumer

Related Terms

Perfumer's (2 Occurrences)

Blended (5 Occurrences)

Apothecary (4 Occurrences)

Perfume (202 Occurrences)

Fragrant (30 Occurrences)

Perfumery (1 Occurrence)

Blend (2 Occurrences)

Confection (2 Occurrences)

Confectionary