Contracted from Bal'sam, a general name for many oily or resinous substances which flow or trickle from certain trees or plants when an incision is made through the bark.

(1.) This word occurs in the Authorized Version (Genesis 37:25; 43:11; Jeremiah 8:22; 46:11; 51:8; Ezek. 27:17) as the rendering of the Hebrew word tsori_ or _tseri, which denotes the gum of a tree growing in Gilead (q.v.), which is very precious. It was celebrated for its medicinal qualities, and was circulated as an article of merchandise by Arab and Phoenician merchants. The shrub so named was highly valued, and was almost peculiar to Palestine. In the time of Josephus it was cultivated in the neighbourhood of Jericho and the Dead Sea. There is an Arab tradition that the tree yielding this balm was brought by the queen of Sheba as a present to Solomon, and that he planted it in his gardens at Jericho.

(2.) There is another Hebrew word, basam_ or _bosem, from which our word "balsam," as well as the corresponding Greek balsamon, is derived. It is rendered "spice" (Cant. 5:1, 13; 6:2; margin of Revised Version, "balsam;" Exodus 35:28; 1 Kings 10:10), and denotes fragrance in general. Basam also denotes the true balsam-plant, a native of South Arabia (Cant. l.c.).

1. (n.) An aromatic plant of the genus Melissa.

2. (n.) The resinous and aromatic exudation of certain trees or shrubs.

3. (n.) Any fragrant ointment.

4. (n.) Anything that heals or that mitigates pain.

5. (v. i.) To anoint with balm, or with anything medicinal. Hence: To soothe; to mitigate.

BALM

bam (tseri, tsori; Septuagint rhetine): The name of an odoriferous resin said to be brought from Gilead by Ishmaelite Arabs on their way to Egypt (Genesis 37:25). It is translated "balm" in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American), but is called "mastic," the Revised Version, margin. In Genesis 43:11 it is one of the gifts sent by Jacob to Joseph, and in Ezekiel 27:17 it is named as one of the exports from Judea to Tyre. The prophet Jeremiah refers figuratively to its medicinal properties as an application to wounds and as a sedative (Jeremiah 8:22; Jeremiah 46:11; Jeremiah 51:8). The name is derived from a root signifying "to leak," and is applied to it as being an exudation. There is a sticky, honeylike gum resin prepared at the present day at Jericho, extracted from the Balanites Aegyptiaca grown in the Ghor, and sold to travelers in small tin boxes as "Balm of Gilead," but it is improbable that this is the real tscori and it has no medicinal value. The material to which the classic authors applied the name is that known as Mecca balsam, which is still imported into Egypt from Arabia, as it was in early times. This is the exudation from the Balsamodendron opobalsamum, a native of southern Arabia and Abyssinia. The tree is small, ragged-looking and with a yellowish bark like that of a plane tree, and the exudation is said to be gathered from its smaller branches. At the present day it grows nowhere in Palestine. Dr. Post and other botanists have sought for it on the Ghor and in Gilead, and have not found it, and there is no trace of it in the neighborhood of Jericho, which Pliny says is its only habitat. Strabo describes it as growing by the Sea of Galilee, as well as at Jericho, but both these and other ancient writers give inconsistent and incorrect descriptions of the tree evidently at second hand. We learn from Theophrastus that many of the spices of the farther East reached the Mediterranean shore through Palestine, being brought by Arab caravans which would traverse the indefinitely bounded tract East of Jordan to which the name Gilead is given, and it was probably thus that the balm received its local name. Mecca balsam is an orange-yellow, treacly fluid, mildly irritating to the skin, possibly a weak local stimulant and antiseptic, but of very little remedial value.

Alex. Macalister

BALM OF GILEAD

The people of Jericho today prepare for the benefit of pilgrims a "Balm of Gilead" from the zaqqum (Balanites Aegyptiaca), but this has no serious claims to be the balm of antiquity. If we are to look beyond the borders of modern Palestine we may credit the tradition which claims that Mecca balsam, a product of Balsamodendron Gileadense and B. opobalsamum, was the true "balm," and Post (HDB, I, 236) produces evidence to show that these plants were once grown in the Jordan valley. Yet another suggestion, made by Lagarde, is that the tsori = sturax, and if so then "balm" would be the inspissated juice of the Storax-tree (Stytax officinalis), a common inhabitant of Gilead.

See also BALM.

E. W. G. Masterman

GILEAD, BALM OF

See BALM OF GILEAD.

6875. tsori -- (a kind of) balsam
... tsori or tseri or tsori. 6876 . (a kind of) balsam. Transliteration: tsori or
tseri or tsori Phonetic Spelling: (tser-ee') Short Definition: balm. ... balm. ...
/hebrew/6875.htm - 6k

December 8. "Is There no Balm in Gilead; is There no Physician ...
... DECEMBER 8. "Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there?" (Jer. viii. ...
"Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there?" (Jeremiah 8:22). ...
/.../simpson/days of heaven upon earth /december 8 is there no.htm

Balm in Gilead.
... Homily XII. Chapter XIV."Balm in Gilead. Then said Peter, "What then? Do you suppose,
O woman, that those who destroy themselves are freed from punishment? ...
/.../unknown/the clementine homilies/chapter xiv balm in gilead.htm

Whether Chrism is a Fitting Matter for this Sacrament?
... But the matter, in Baptism, is a simple element, viz. water. Therefore chrism, which
is made of oil and balm, is not a fitting matter for this sacrament. ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether chrism is a fitting.htm

How Our Saviour's Loving Attractions Assist and Accompany us to ...
... the odour of thy perfumes, and I corresponding by my weak consent, and by relishing
thy sweetnesses which strengthen and reinvigorate me, till the balm of thy ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter xxi how our saviours.htm

Healing for the Wounded
... Oh, ye mourners! seek ye a balm for your wounds"let me proclaim it unto you.
Ye ... people. We need not ask, "Is there no balm in Gilead? ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 1 1855/healing for the wounded.htm

On Confirmation
... 169 Q. What is holy chrism? A. Holy chrism is a mixture of olive oil and
balm, consecrated by the bishop. The oil signifies the ...
/.../kinkead/baltimore catechism no 4/lesson 15 on confirmation.htm

How St Francis Commanded Brother Leo to Wash the Stone
... Then said St Francis: "Brother little lamb, wash this stone with balm." And Brother
Leo answered: "O sweet father, how am I to get balm in the wilderness ...
/.../the little flowers of st francis of assisi/chapter xv how st francis.htm

How the vine of the Priest of Rieti, Whose House St Francis ...
... a voice came from heaven, which said: "Francis, if all the earth were of gold, if
all the seas and all the fountains and all the rivers were of balm, if all ...
/.../ugolino/the little flowers of st francis of assisi/chapter xix how the vine.htm

Causes of the Inefficacy of Christianity
... Third Series Sermon 116 Causes of the Inefficacy of Christianity. "Is there
no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? Why then ...
/.../wesley/sermons on several occasions/sermon 116 causes of the.htm

Ciii. Zacch??us. Parable of the Pounds. Journey to Jerusalem.
... considerable. The famous balm of Gilead was cultivated in Per??a, and probably
added considerably to the trade which passed through Jericho. ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/ciii zacchaeus parable of the.htm

Balm (7 Occurrences)
... There is an Arab tradition that the tree yielding this balm was brought by the queen
of Sheba as a present to Solomon, and that he planted it in his gardens at ...
/b/balm.htm - 14k

Gilead (130 Occurrences)
... Abarim, Pisgah, Nebo, and Peor are its mountains mentioned in Scripture.
Gilead, Balm of. ... The Hebrew name of this balm was tsori. ...
/g/gilead.htm - 56k

Embalm (4 Occurrences)
... 1. (vt) To anoint all over with balm; especially, to preserve from decay by means
of balm or other aromatic oils, or spices; to fill or impregnate (a dead body ...
/e/embalm.htm - 8k

Gum (3 Occurrences)
... bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites
was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh ...
/g/gum.htm - 8k

Medicine (4 Occurrences)
... pronouncing the futility of the contest of Neco against Nebuchadrezzar, Jeremiah
compares Egypt to an incurably sick woman going up to Gilead to take balm as a ...
/m/medicine.htm - 11k

Balsam (10 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) A fragrant ointment used as medication; a balm;
a resin containing more or less of an essential or volatile oil. ...
/b/balsam.htm - 10k

Aromatic (6 Occurrences)
... bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites
was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh ...
/a/aromatic.htm - 8k

Spicery (2 Occurrences)
... eat bread: and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a company of
Ishmaelites came from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery and balm and myrrh ...
/s/spicery.htm - 7k

Spices (64 Occurrences)
... bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites
was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh ...
/s/spices.htm - 32k

Myrrh (22 Occurrences)
... bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites
was coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh ...
/m/myrrh.htm - 18k

What is the balm of Gilead? | GotQuestions.org

What is the significance of the land of Gilead in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

Miscellaneous Bible Questions (All) | GotQuestions.org

Balm: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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