In the Bible, the concept of scent or fragrance is often used metaphorically to convey spiritual truths, divine presence, and human emotions. Scents are associated with offerings, worship, and the presence of God, as well as with human experiences of love and longing.

Scent in Worship and Offerings

The use of scent in worship is prominently featured in the Old Testament, where incense and aromatic offerings are integral to the sacrificial system. In Exodus 30:34-38, God provides Moses with a specific recipe for sacred incense, which is to be used exclusively for worship in the Tabernacle: "Then the LORD said to Moses, 'Take fragrant spices—gum resin, onycha, and galbanum—and pure frankincense, all in equal measures.'" This incense symbolizes the prayers of the people ascending to God, as seen in Psalm 141:2: "May my prayer be set before You like incense, my uplifted hands like the evening offering."

The burnt offerings, which were a pleasing aroma to the Lord, are frequently mentioned in the Pentateuch. Leviticus 1:9 states, "The priest is to burn all of it on the altar as a burnt offering, a food offering made by fire, a pleasing aroma to the LORD." This pleasing aroma signifies God's acceptance of the offering and the worshiper's devotion.

Scent as a Metaphor for Divine Presence

The scent is also used metaphorically to describe the presence and favor of God. In 2 Corinthians 2:14-15, the Apostle Paul writes, "But thanks be to God, who always leads us triumphantly as captives in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of Him. For we are to God the sweet aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing." Here, the fragrance represents the knowledge of Christ and the transformative power of the Gospel.

Scent in Human Experience

In the Song of Solomon, scent is a powerful metaphor for love and desire. The beloved is described with imagery of fragrance, as in Song of Solomon 1:3: "The fragrance of your perfume is pleasing; your name is like perfume poured out. No wonder the maidens adore you." This poetic use of scent underscores the deep emotional and spiritual connection between the lovers.

Scent is also used to describe the fleeting nature of life and the consequences of sin. In Hosea 14:6-7, the restoration of Israel is likened to a flourishing tree with a pleasing scent: "His shoots will sprout, and his splendor will be like the olive tree, his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon." Conversely, in Isaiah 3:24, the judgment upon the daughters of Zion is depicted with the loss of fragrance: "Instead of fragrance there will be a stench."

Scent in the New Testament

In the New Testament, the anointing of Jesus with costly perfume by Mary of Bethany is a significant event that highlights the use of scent in devotion and worship. John 12:3 records, "Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped His feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume." This act of worship and the resulting fragrance symbolize the honor and reverence due to Christ.

Overall, the use of scent in the Bible serves as a rich symbol of worship, divine presence, love, and the human condition, reflecting the multifaceted relationship between God and His people.1. (v. t.) To perceive by the olfactory organs; to smell; as, to scent game, as a hound does.

2. (v. t.) To imbue or fill with odor; to perfume.

3. (v. i.) To have a smell.

4. (v. i.) To hunt animals by means of the sense of smell.

5. (n.) That which, issuing from a body, affects the olfactory organs of animals; odor; smell; as, the scent of an orange, or of a rose; the scent of musk.

6. (n.) Specifically, the odor left by an animal on the ground in passing over it; as, dogs find or lose the scent; hence, course of pursuit; track of discovery.

7. (n.) The power of smelling; the sense of smell; as, a hound of nice scent; to divert the scent.

SCENT

sent:

(1) In Hosea 14:7, "The scent (margin "his memorial") thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon." "Scent" is used for zekher (so Massoretic Text, but the pointing is uncertain), properly "memorial," whence the Revised Version margin. The English translation comes through the Septuagint which took z-k-r as "offering of sweet savor," and so "sweet savor." For the "wine of Lebanon" see WINE. If this translation is not right, the alternative is "memorial" in the sense of "renown."

(2) Job 14:9 Jeremiah 48:11 for reach, "odor." "Scent" of the water in Job 14:9 is poetic for "contact with."

(3) The Wisdom of Solomon 11:18 the King James Version has "filthy scents of scattered smoke," where "scent" is used in the obsolete sense of "disagreeable odor." The translation is, however, very loose, and "scents" is a gloss; the Revised Version (British and American) "noisome smoke."

Burton Scott Easton

3605. ozo -- to (emit a) smell
... to smell, stink. A primary verb (in a strengthened form); to scent (usually an ill
"odor"): stink. (ozei) -- 1 Occurrence. 3604, 3605. ozo. 3606 . ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/3605.htm - 6k

759. aroma -- a spice
... sweet spice. From airo (in the sense of sending off scent); an aromatic -- (sweet)
spice. see GREEK airo. (aromata) -- 3 Occurrences. (aromaton) -- 1 Occurrence ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/759.htm - 6k

7381b. reach -- scent, odor
... 7381a, 7381b. reach. 7382 . scent, odor. Transliteration: reach Short
Definition: aroma. Word Origin from the same as ruach Definition ...
/hebrew/7381b.htm - 5k

7381. reyach -- to smell, perceive odor
... savour, scent, smell From ruwach; odor (as if blown) -- savour, scent, smell. see
HEBREW ruwach. 7380, 7381. reyach. 7381a . Strong's Numbers.
/hebrew/7381.htm - 5k

2143. zeker -- remembrance, memorial
... memorial, memory, remembrance, scent. ... Recollection (rarely if ever); by implication,
commemoration -- memorial, memory, remembrance, scent. see HEBREW zakar. ...
/hebrew/2143.htm - 6k

As Eagles are Drawn by the Scent of a Carcase
... THE FIRST CENTURY 57 As eagles are drawn by the scent of a carcase. As eagles
are drawn by the scent of a carcase, as children are ...
/.../traherne/centuries of meditations/57 as eagles are drawn.htm

A Hint from a Caribou
... She had caught the scent of a human being. ... She called her calf to her, had
it smell the ground, too, so as to get the scent of the man. ...
/.../chidley/fifty-two story talks to boys and girls/a hint from a caribou.htm

How Dangerous this Imperfect Love Is.
... Perfumers, though out of their shops, bear about with them for a long time
the scent of the perfumes which they have handled. In ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter x how dangerous this.htm

But that You May not Suppose this to be a Novel Doctrine Peculiar ...
... But if its root have waxed old in the earth, and the stock thereof be dead in the
dust, yet through the scent of water it will flourish again, and put forth ...
/.../44 but that you may.htm

That to have the Desire of Sacred Love we are to Cut Off all Other ...
... Why do hounds, think you, Theotimus, more ordinarily lose the scent or strain
of their quarry in the spring-time than at other times? ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter iii that to have.htm

A Description of Mystical Theology, which is no Other Thing than ...
... The cleverest and best trained hounds are often at fault; they lose the strain and
scent by the variety of sleights which the stag uses, who makes doubles ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter i a description of.htm

Argument: Christians Abstain from Things Connected with Idol ...
... They Do Not Indeed Despise All the Colour and Scent of Flowers, for They are Accustomed
to Use Them Scattered About Loosely and Negligently, as Well as to ...
/.../chapter xxxviii argument christians abstain from.htm

Letter xxxvii (Circa AD 1131) to Magister Geoffrey, of Loretto.
... 1. We look for scent in flowers and for savour in fruits; and so, most dearly beloved
brother, attracted by the scent of your name which is as perfume poured ...
/.../letter xxxvii circa a d 1131.htm

August 19, 1894
... you. In my dealings with the novices I am like a setter on the scent of
game. The ... anywhere . . . and then its scent is so keen! I ...
//christianbookshelf.org/therese/story of a soul/xix august 19 1894.htm

Whether Choice is to be Found in Irrational Animals?
... For a hound in following a stag, on coming to a crossroad, tries by scent whether
the stag has passed by the first or the second road: and if he find that the ...
//christianbookshelf.org/aquinas/summa theologica/whether choice is to be.htm

Scent (6 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (vt) To perceive by the olfactory organs;
to smell; as, to scent game, as a hound does. 2. (vt) To ...
/s/scent.htm - 10k

Scent-boxes (1 Occurrence)
Scent-boxes. Scent, Scent-boxes. Scented . Multi-Version Concordance
Scent-boxes (1 Occurrence). Isaiah 3:20 the head ...
/s/scent-boxes.htm - 6k

Smell (77 Occurrences)
... or organs of smell; to have a sensation of, excited through the nasal organs when
affected by the appropriate materials or qualities; to obtain the scent of; as ...
/s/smell.htm - 34k

Nose (23 Occurrences)
... organ. See Olfactory. 2. (n.) The power of smelling; hence, scent. 3 ... teakettle.
4. (vt) To smell; to scent; hence, to track, or trace out. 5 ...
/n/nose.htm - 19k

Wind (180 Occurrences)
... 15. (n.) Air impregnated with an odor or scent. 16. ... 21. (vt) To perceive or follow
by the scent; to scent; to nose; as, the hounds winded the game. 22. ...
/w/wind.htm - 45k

Savor (51 Occurrences)
... 1. (a.) That property of a thing which affects the organs of taste or smell; taste
and odor; flavor; relish; scent; as, the savor of an orange or a rose; an ...
/s/savor.htm - 28k

Fault (42 Occurrences)
... 5. (n.) In coal seams, coal rendered worthless by impurities in the seam; as, slate
fault, dirt fault, etc. 6. (n.) A lost scent; act of losing the scent. ...
/f/fault.htm - 23k

Perfume (202 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (vt) To fill or impregnate with a perfume;
to scent. 2. (n.) The scent, odor, or odoriferous particles ...
/p/perfume.htm - 38k

Scene (3 Occurrences)

/s/scene.htm - 8k

Vent (8 Occurrences)
... 13. (vt) To utter; to report; to publish. 14. (vt) To scent, as a hound. 15. (vt)
To furnish with a vent; to make a vent in; as, to vent. a mold. ...
/v/vent.htm - 9k

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Scent: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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