Myrrh
MYRRH
A precious gum yielded by a tree common in Africa and Arabia, which is about eight or nine feet high; its wood hard, and its trunk thorny. It was of several kinds, and various degrees of excellence. The best was an ingredient in the holy ointment, Exo 30:23 . It was also employed in perfumes, Gen 2:12 Psa 45:8 Son 4:6 5:5,13; and in embalming, to preserve the body from corruption, Joh 19:39 . The magi, who came from the East to worship Christ, offered him myrrh, Mat 2:11 .In Mar 15:23, is mentioned “wine mingles with myrrh,” which was offered to Jesus previous to his crucifixion, and intended to deaden the anguish of his sufferings. It was a custom among the Hebrews to give such stupefying liquors to persons who were about to be capitally punished, Pro 31:6 . Some have thought that the myrrhed wine of Mark is not the same as the “vinegar mingled with gall” of Mat 27:34 . They suppose the myrrhed wine was given to our Lord from a sentiment of sympathy, to prevent him from feeling too sensibly the pain of his sufferings; while the potation mingled with gall, of which he would not drink, was given from cruelty. But the other explanation is the more probable. See GALL.
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
myrrh
(Hebrew: mor)
Gum resin used as an ingredient in incense and the oil of Extreme Unction. In ancient times it was extensively used as perfume and was presented by one of the Magi to the Infant Jesus as emblematic of suffering. It was also used for embalming and for an anodyne.
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Myrrh
Myrrh. An extract from a stiff-branched tree with white flowers and plum-like fruit. After myrrh was extracted from the wood, it soon hardened and was valued as an article of trade. It was an ingredient used in anointing oil ( Exo 30:23), and was used as perfume ( Psa 45:8; Pro 7:17; Son 3:6), in purification rites for women ( Est 2:12), as a gift for the infant Jesus ( Mat 2:11), and in embalming ( Joh 19:39). According to the Gospel of Mark (15:23), the drink offered to Jesus before His crucifixion was “wine mingled with myrrh.” Matthew, however, has “sour wine mingled with gall” ( Mat 27:34).
The reference to myrrh in ( Gen 37:25) and (43:11) is thought to be ladanum, sometimes called onycha, from a species of rockrose and not the true myrrh. Also see Onycha.
Fuente: Plants Animals Of Bible
Myrrh
is the rendering in the Auth. Ver. of two Heb. and one Gr. term. ‘The following account is a collective view of the subject:
1. or , mnor, , doubtless from a Shemitic root (signifying to flow, or else from another expressive of its bitterness), though some of the ancients traced it to the mythological Myrrha, daughter of Cinvras, king of Cyprus, who fled to Arabia, and was changed into this tree (Ovid, Art. Am. 1:288). Myrrh formed an article of the earliest commerce, and was highly esteemed by the Egyptians and Jews, as well as by the Greeks and Romans (Pliny, 13:2; Athen. 15:688; Dioscor. 1:73), as it still is both in the East and in Europe. The earliest notice of it occurs in Exo 30:23, “Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels.” It is afterwards mentioned in Est 2:12, as employed in the purification of women; in Psa 45:8, as a perfume, “All thy garments smell of myrrh and aloes and cassia;” also in several passages of the Song of Solomon, “I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense” (Psa 4:6); “My hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh” (5, .); so in Psa 45:13, in both which passages, according to Rosenmuller, it is profluent myrrh. We find it mentioned in Mat 2:11 among the gifts presented by the wise men of the East to the infant Jesus, “gold and frankincense and myrrh.” It may be remarked as worthy of notice that myrrh and frankincense are frequently mentioned together. In Mar 15:23 we learn that the Roman soldiers “gave him (Jesus) to drink wine mingled with myrrh, but he received it not” (see Hutten, De potu felleo, etc. [Guben. 1671]; Pipping, De potu Christo prodromo [Leips. 1688]). SEE GALL.
The apostle John (Joh 19:39) says, “Then came also Nicodemus, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred-pound weight.” for the purpose of embalming the body of our Saviour. Herodotus (3:107) mentions Arabia as the last inhabited country towards the south which produced frankincense, myrrh, etc.; Theophrastus (Plant. 9:4) describes it as being produced in Southern Arabia, about Saba and Adramytta; so Pliny (12, 33), Dioscorides (1:77) and several other Greek authors (Strabo, 16:769, 782; Diodl. Sic. 5:41; 19:95). But others have not so limited its production. Celsius (Hierobot. 1:523) says it was produced in Syria, Gedrosia (Arrian, Exped. Al. 6:421), India, Ethiopia, Troglodytica, and Egypt; in which last country it was called bal (), according to Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride, page 383 (Kircher, Prod. Copt. page 175). Plutarch, however, was probably in error, and has confounded the Coptic sal, “myrrh,” with bal, “an eye” (Jablonski, Opusc. 1:49 [ed. te Water]). Accordingly bol is the name by which it is universally known throughout India in the present day; and the Sanscrit name is bola, which occurs at least before the Christian aera, with several other names, showing that it was well known. But from the time of the ancients until that of Belon we were without any positive information respecting the tree yielding myrrh: he supposed it to be produced in Syria (so also Propertius [1, 2, 3] and Oppian [Halieut. 3:403]), and says (Observat. 2:80) that near Rama he met with a thorny shrub with leaves resembling acacia, which he believed to be that producing myrrh (Mimosa agrestis, Spr.). Similar to this is the information of the Arabian author, Abu’l Fadli, quoted by Celsius, who says that mour is the Arabic name of a thorny tree resembling the acacia, from which flows a white juice, which thickens and becomes a gum. The Persian authors state that myrrh is the gum of a tree common in the Mughrub, that is, the West or Africa, in Room (a general name for the Turkish empire), and in Socotra.
The Arabian and Persian authors probably only knew it as an article of commerce: it certainly is not produced in Socotra, but has undoubtedly long been exported from Africa into Arabia. It is reported that myrrh is always to be obtained cheap and abundant on the Sumali coast. Bruce had indeed long previously stated that myrrh is produced in the country behind Azab. Mr. Johnson, in his Travels in Abyssinia (1:249), mentions that “Myrrh and mimosa trees abounded ill this place” (Koranhedudah, in Adal). The former he describes as being “a low, thorny, ragged-looking tree, with bright green trifoliolate leaves; the gum exudes from cracks in the bark of the trunk near the root, and flows freely upon the stones immediately underneath. Artificially it is obtained by bruises made with stones. The natives collect it principally in the hot months of July and August, but it is to be found, though in very small quantities, at other times of the year. It is collected in small kid-skins and taken to Errur, whence the Hurrah merchants, on their way from Shoa, convey it to the great annual market at Berberah, whence great quantities are shipped for India and Arabia.” When the Portuguese first entered these seas, gold dust, ivory, myrrh, and slaves formed the staple commerce of Adal. As early as the time of Arrian, in his Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, we find myrrh one of the articles of export, with frankincense, from the coast of Adal, styled Barbaria. The Periplus mentions the myrrh of this coast as the finest of its kind, and specifies the means of conveying it to Yemen, or Sabea. There the first Greek navigators found it, and through their hands it was conveyed into Europe under the name of Sabean myrrh. Though there is no doubt that the largest quantity of myrrh has always been obtained from Africa, yet it is equally certain that some is also procured in Arabia. This seems to be proved by Ehrenberg and Hemprich, who found a small tree in Arabia, near Gison, on the borders of Arabia Felix, off which they collected pieces of myrrh, which, when brought home and analyzed, was acknowledged to be genuine (Nees v. Eisenbeck, Plant. officin. tab. 357). This is the Balsamodendron nyrsrha of botanists, which produces the myrrh of commerce; it belongs to the natural order Terebinthacece, and is a small tree found in Arabia Felix, allied to the Amyridaccece or incense-trees, and closely resembling the Amyris Gileadensis, or Balsamodendron Gileadense. SEE BALM. Its stunted trunk is covered with a light gray bark, which, as well as the wood, emits a strong balsamic odor. The characteristic gum-resin exudes in small, tear-like drops, at first oily, but drying and hardening on the bark, and its flow is increased by wounding the tree. When collected it is a brittle substance, translucent, of a rich brown color, or reddish yellow, with a strong odor and a warm, bitter taste. Myrrh, it is well known, was celebrated in the most ancient times as a perfume and a fumigator (Martius, Pharmakogn. page 382 sq.), as well as for its uses in medicine. Myrrh was burned in temples, and employed in embalming the bodies of the dead. The ancients prepared a wine of myrrh, and also an oil of myrrh, and it formed an ingredient in many of the most celebrated compound medicines (see Penny Cyclopcedia, s.v. Balsamodendron). We read in Son 1:13 of a “bundle of myrrh,” as our Auth. Ver. has it; but the word (tzeror), used for a purse or bag of money (Gen 42:35; Pro 7:20, etc.), may rather indicate a scent-bag, or smelling-bottle, such as is sold by modern perfumers. Mason Good, who has “casque of myrrh,” observes that a casket of gold or ivory, containing some costly perfume, is still worn by the ladies of Persia suspended from their necks by an elegant chain. The terms “pure myrrh” (, mor deror’, Exo 30:23) and “sweetsmelling myrrh” ( , mor ober’, Son 5:5) probably represent the best, or self-flowing kind (Sept. ; comp. Plin. 12:35; see Dopke, Comment. v. Hopest. page 165). (For the ancient notices, see Celsii Hierob. 1:520 sq.; Bodaei a. Stapel, Comment. ad Theophrast. page 796 sq., 974).
2. or , lot (so called, perhaps, from covering, being used as a cosmetic or pomatum; Gesen. Thesaur. page 748; Sept. , and Vulg. stacte), occurs only in Gen 37:25, Behold, a company of Ishmaelites came down from Gilead with their camels bearing spicery (nekoth), and balm (tsori), and myrrh (1ot), going to carry it down to Egypt;” and in chapter 43:11 Jacob directs his sons to take into Egypt “of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm (tsori), and a little honey, spices (nekoth), and myrrh (lot), nuts (botnim), and almonds (shekadim).” In this enumeration, in one case of merchandise, and in the other of several articles intended for a present, and both destined for Egypt, at that time a highly civilized nation, it is evident that we are to look only for such substances as were likely to be acceptable in that country, and therefore not such as were produced there, or as were more easily procurable from elsewhere than from Syria, as was the case with myrrh, which was never produced in Syria, and could not have been an article of export from thence. This difficulty has been felt by others. and various translations of lit have been proposed, as lotus (comp. Burckhardt, Arab. Spriichen, page 334), chestnuts, mastich, stacte, balsam, turpentine, pistachio nuts (Michaelis, Suppl. 4:1424 sq.). Junius and Tremellius render it ladanum, which is suitable, and appears to be correct, as an etymological connection may be traced between the words. Ladanum, or gumn ladanum, as it is often called, was known to the Greeks as early as the times of Herodotus (3:112) and Dioscorides (1:128), and bore the names of ledos and ledanon (, ), which are very closely allied to ladun, the Arabic name of the same drug. A Hebrew author, as quoted by Celsius (Hierobot. 1:281), describes it as “an aromatic substance, flowing from the juice of a certain tree.” Ladanum is described by Herodotus (3:112) as particularly fragrant, though gathered from the beards of goats, where it is found sticking.
This is explained by referring to the description of Dioscorides (1:128), from which we learn that goats, after browsing upon the leaves of the ladanurm plants, necessarily have this viscid substance adhering to their hair and beards, whence it is afterwards scraped off. Tournefort, in modern times, has given a detailed description ( Voyage, 1:79) of the mode of obtaining ladanum, and relates that it is now gathered by means of a kind of rake with whiplike thongs, which is passed over the plants. When these thongs are loaded with the odoriferous and sticky resin, they are scraped with a knife, and the substance rolled into a mass, in which state it is called ladanuma or ladanum. It consists of resin and volatile oil, and is highly fragrant, and stimulative as a medicine, but is often adulterated with sand in commerce. The ladanum which is used in Europe is collected chiefly in the Greek isles, and also in continental Greece. It is yielded by the Cistus, known in Europe by the name of Rock Rose. It is a native of the south of Europe, the Mediterranean islands (especially Candia or Crete, whence the principal kind has derived its modern name), and the north of Africa. There are several species of Cistus, all of which are believed to yield the gum ladanum; but the species mentioned by Dioscorides is in all probability identical with the one which is found in Palestine, viz. the Cistus Creticus (Strand, Flor. Palaest. No. 289). The C. Itdanijferus, a native of Spain and Portugal, produces the greatest quantity of the ladanum; it has a white flower, while that of the C. Creticus is rose-colored. Species are also found in Judaea; and C. Creticus in some parts of Syria. Some authors have been of opinion that one species, the Cistus roseus, is more likely than any other to be the Rose of Sharon, as it is very common in that locality, while nothing like a true rose is to be found there. Ladanum seems to have been produced in Judaea, according to writers in the Talmud (Cels. 1. c. page 286). It is said by Pliny (12:37), as long before by Herodotus (3:112), to be a produce of Arabia, and as by this is probably meant Syria (comp. Pliny, 26:20), it was very likely to have been sent to Egypt both as a present and as merchandise. See Celsius, Hierobot. 1:280 sq.; Rosenmuller, Bib. Bot. page 158; Pococke, Morgenl. 2:333 sq.; Penny Cyclopedia, s.v. Ladanum.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Myrrh
Heb. mor. (1.) First mentioned as a principal ingredient in the holy anointing oil (Ex. 30:23). It formed part of the gifts brought by the wise men from the east, who came to worship the infant Jesus (Matt. 2:11). It was used in embalming (John 19:39), also as a perfume (Esther 2:12; Ps. 45:8; Prov. 7:17). It was a custom of the Jews to give those who were condemned to death by crucifixion “wine mingled with myrrh” to produce insensibility. This drugged wine was probably partaken of by the two malefactors, but when the Roman soldiers pressed it upon Jesus “he received it not” (Mark 15:23). (See GALL)
This was the gum or viscid white liquid which flows from a tree resembling the acacia, found in Africa and Arabia, the Balsamodendron myrrha of botanists. The “bundle of myrrh” in Cant. 1:13 is rather a “bag” of myrrh or a scent-bag.
(2.) Another word _lot_ is also translated “myrrh” (Gen. 37:25; 43:11; R.V., marg., “or ladanum”). What was meant by this word is uncertain. It has been thought to be the chestnut, mastich, stacte, balsam, turpentine, pistachio nut, or the lotus. It is probably correctly rendered by the Latin word ladanum, the Arabic ladan, an aromatic juice of a shrub called the Cistus or rock rose, which has the same qualities, though in a slight degree, of opium, whence a decoction of opium is called laudanum. This plant was indigenous to Syria and Arabia.
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Myrrh
Hebrew mor from maarar “to drop,” and lot. An ingredient of the holy anointing oil (Exo 30:23), typical of Messiah’s graces (Psa 45:8) as well as the church’s through Him (Song of Solomon). In Son 1:13 translated “a scent box of myrrh.” The mowr is the Balsamodendron myrrha, which yields myrrh, of the order Terebinth aceae. The stunted trunk has a light gray odorous bark. It grew in Arabia around Saba; the gum resin exudes in drops which harden on the bark, and the flow is increased by incision into the tree. It is a transparent, brown, brittle, odorous substance, with bitter taste. The “wine mingled with myrrh,” offered to but rejected by Jesus on the cross, was embittered by it.
As it stupefies the senses He would not have that which mitigates death’s horrors, but would meet it in full consciousness. It was one of the three offerings of the wise men (Mat 2:11). Nicodemus brought it to embalm His sacred body (Joh 19:39). Bal is its Egyptian name, bol the Sanskrit and Hindu. Lot is not strictly myrrh but ladanum, the resinous exudation of the Cistus (“rock rose”) Creticus, growing in Gilead where no myrrh grew, and exported into Egypt (Gen 37:25; Gen 43:11). “Odorous, rather green, easy to soften, fat, produced in Cyprus” (Dioscorides i. 128); abounding still in Candia (Crete), where they gather it by passing over it an instrument composed of many parallel leather thongs, to which its gum adheres.
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
Myrrh
MYRRH (, Mat 2:11, Joh 19:39).A gum-resin, the exudation of a shrub (Balsamodendron myrrha) and some other allied species of shrubs growing in the dry regions of Arabia, in Somaliland, and in certain districts bordering on the Red Sea. The myrrh shrubs are of a low stature, unattractive, rigid, spiny, with scanty foliage and minute flowers and small oval berries. Myrrh exudes from the bark, or is obtained by incisions made in the bark, and appears in resinous, yellow drops, which gradually thicken and become harder. The smell is balsamic, and the taste bitter and slightly pungent. Myrrh has been known to mankind from the remotest times, and was among the most precious articles of ancient commerce. It is used in medicine as a tonic and stimulant, and was much employed by the ancient Egyptians in embalming. It is collected in great quantities to-day by the Somali tribes and sold to traders. There has been considerable controversy as to the real nature of the ancient myrrh, and particularly as to the regions from which it came; but the of NT appears, on the whole, to have been the substance described above.
Myrrh was one of the gifts brought by the Magi to the Infant Christ (Mat 2:11), and it was used, along with aloes, by Nicodemus to anoint the body of Christ before burial (Joh 19:39). All the ancient commentators affirm that each of the three giftsgold, frankincense, and myrrhoffered by the Magi is replete with spiritual significance. Thus it was widely accepted in early times that the myrrh was emblematic of the death of Christ, inasmuch as myrrh was used for embalming. It was offered to Christ as to one who is about to die for all (Aug. ad loe). Others regarded it as setting forth His true human nature, and therefore as teaching the mortification of the flesh by abstinence. The well-known ancient hymn, part of which refers to this, says:
Gold, a monarch to declare;
Frankincense, that God is there;
Myrrh, to tell the heavier tale
Of His tomb and funeral.
Though we may admit that in the gifts presented there was an unconscious fulfilment of prophecy (Isa 60:6), no symbolism of the nature referred to can have been designed by the Magi. So far as their intention was concerned, they simply offered to the new-born King, whom they came to worship, the choicest and most precious products of their country, and thus expressed their homage.
In Mar 15:23 we are told that there was offered to Christ, probably just before He was nailed to the cross, , wine mingled with myrrh. It was offered, of course, as an anodyne; but as myrrh was often infused into wine to give it a more agreeable flavour and fragrance, it has been held by some that Mt.s expression , wine mingled with gall, is the more correct, because the mingling of gall with wine to render it anaesthetic was a well-known practice. It is, however, possible that the gall of Mt. was the same as the myrrh of Mk., the corresponding Hebrew words being from the same root, and both signifying bitter. The mingling of myrrh with the wine would certainly render it more potent as an anodyne, and we must therefore accept the word given by Mk. as conveying the purpose for which the draught was offered. Such a draught, called by the Romans sopor, was regularly offered to criminals just before their crucifixion. It was provided by an association of wealthy women in Jerusalem, who prepared it for the purpose. But, having tasted it and ascertained its object, He would not drink. This action is in contrast with what He did at a later period of the day; for when, in response to His cry I thirst, one of the soldiers soaked a sponge in vinegar and, holding it up to Him on a reed, gave Him to drink, He received it. This was not to soothe His agony, but only to moisten His parched tongue and lips, perhaps that He might be able to utter with a loud voice His triumphant , perhaps also to sanction and sanctify the friendly office which is often the only one that can be rendered to the dying, and possibly in fulfilment of the prophecy of thirst (Joh 19:28, cf. Psa 69:21). However this may be, His purpose in refusing the draught offered as an anodyne is clear. He would look death in the face, and meet the King of Terrors in full possession of all His faculties. He was dying of His own accord, fulfilling His words, No man taketh my life from me (Joh 10:18). His death was an act of voluntary self-surrender, and He would taste death for every man (Heb 2:9). He endured the cross, despising shame (Heb 12:2).
Literature.Birdwood in Bible Educator, ii. 151; an exhaustive article by Hanbury, The Botanical Origin and Country of Myrrh in the Pharmaceutical Journal, 19th Apr. 1873.
J. Cromarty Smith.
Fuente: A Dictionary Of Christ And The Gospels
Myrrh
MYRRH.1. mr (Arab [Note: Arabic.] , murr), the dried gum of a species of balsam (Balsamodendron myrrha) growing in Arabia and India. It has a pleasant, though faint, smell (Psa 45:8, Pro 7:17, Son 1:13; Son 3:5). It is still used in medicine (Mar 15:23). It was used in embalming (Joh 19:39). According to Schweinfurth, the myrrh of the OT was a liquid product of the Balsamodendron opobalsamum, known as balsam of Mecca. Exo 30:23 and Son 5:5; Son 5:13, where the myrrh appears to have been liquid, support this view. See also Ointment.
2. lt, tr. [Note: translate or translation.] myrrh in Gen 37:25; Gen 43:11, is a fragrant resin from the Cislus or rock rose, a common Palestine shrub. In Arab [Note: Arabic.] , this is called ldhan (Lat. ladanum, so RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ). As a product of Palestine it was a likely substance to send to Egypt.
E. W. G. Masterman
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Myrrh
This aromatic gum is from a tree common in Arabia. The Hebrews called it Mur. It formed a principal ingredient in the holy ointment for anointing the tabernacle and the vessels of the sanctuary, and also Aaron and his sons; and the Lord forbade the use of it in common, or any composition by way of imitating it, on pain of being cut off from his people. Was not this a striking type of the Holy Ghost in his divine offices, and the awful consequence of attempting any thing which bore a resemblance to the holy unction of the Spirit? (See Exo 30:22-33.)
The Holy Ghost hath been pleased to mark out so many things concerning the Lord Jesus under the figure and type of myrrh, that we ought not to pass over a short consideration of some of them at least. Jesus himself is the sweet scented myrrh of his gospel; hence the church saith of him, that he is “a bundle of myrrh,” (Son 1:13) meaning, no doubt, that he is a cluster, a fulness, of all divine and human excellences. Every thing in Christ, and from Christ, is most grateful and full of odour to his church and people; hence his garments are said “to smell of myrrh, aloes and cassia”–all temporal, all spiritual, and eternal blessings are in him for his spouse, his fair one, his redeemed. “I will get me (saith the church) to the mountains of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense, until the day break, and the shadows flee away.” (Son 4:6.)
Myrrh is not only figuratively made use of to denote the sweetness and rich odour of Jesus, in his person, grace, and fulness, but the blessed Spirit uses the figure of myrrh to speak of his sufferings also; yea, the offered myrrh mingled with wine to Jesus on the cross, and which was among the predictions concerning the Lord in that solemn season, plainly testified the bitterness of Christ’s sufferings. And the double quality of this Arabian gum, its fragrancy, and its bitterness, formed a striking union to shew forth how precious a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour was that very death, which to Jesus was gall and bitterness, indeed, in the extreme. (Mar 15:23.) And may we not suppose that the Lord Jesus had an eye both to his own sufferings, and to the sufferings of his faithful ones, who had followed him to glory through persecution and not unfrequently death, when he said: “I have gathered my myrrh with my spice?” for in his own person he trod the wine-press of the wrath of God alone, and may be said to gather the fruits of the labour and travail of his soul when beholding the blessed effects of it in the everlasting salvation of his people. And in their lesser conflicts and exercises, the bitterness of their sorrows Jesus takes notice of and gathers, when owning them for his own, and bringing them home to his Father’s house, he brings them to himself, that where he is there they may be also. Blessed Lord Jesus! come as thou hast said to my house, to my heart, while thine hands are dropping with myrrh, and thy fingers with sweet-smelling myrrh, and be thou “like a young roe or an hart upon the mountains of spices!” (Son 5:1; Son 5:5; Son 8:14.)
Fuente: The Poor Mans Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Myrrh
mur:
(1) ( or , mor; Arabic murr): This substance is mentioned as valuable for its perfume Psa 45:8; Pro 7:17; Son 3:6; Son 4:14, and as one of the constituents of the holy incense (Exo 30:23; see also Son 4:6; Son 5:1, Son 5:5, Son 5:13). Mor is generally identified with the myrrh of commerce, the dried gum of a species of balsam (Balsamodendron myrrha). This is a stunted tree growing in Arabia, having a light-gray bark; the gum resin exudes in small tear-like drops which dry to a rich brown or reddish-yellow, brittle substance, with a faint though agreeable smell and a warm, bitter taste. It is still used as medicine Mar 15:23. On account, however, of the references to flowing myrrh Exo 30:23 and liquid myrrh Son 5:5, Son 5:13, Schweinfurth maintains that mor was not a dried gum but the liquid balsam of Balsamodendron opobalsamum. See BALSAM.
Whichever view is correct, it is probable that the , smurna, of the New Testament was the same. In Mat 2:11 it is brought by the Wise men of the East as an offering to the infant Saviour; in Mar 15:23 it is offered mingled with wine as an anaesthetic to the suffering Redeemer, and in Joh 19:39 a mixture of myrrh and aloes is brought by Nicodemus to embalm the sacred body.
(2) (, lot, , stakte; translated myrrh in Gen 37:25, margin ladanum; Gen 43:11): The fragrant resin obtained from some species of cistus and called in Arabic ladham, in Latin ladanum. The cistus or rock rose is exceedingly common all over the mountains of Palestine (see BOTANY), the usual varieties being the C. villosus with pink petals, and the C. salviaefolius with white petals. No commerce is done now in Palestine in this substance as of old Gen 37:25; Gen 43:11, but it is still gathered from various species of cistus, especially C. creticus in the Greek Isles, where it is collected by threshing the plants by a kind of flail from which the sticky mass is scraped off with a knife and rolled into small black balls. In Cyprus at the present time the gum is collected from the beards of the goats that browse on these shrubs, as was done in the days of Herodotus iii. 112).
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Myrrh
Myrrh is the exudation of a little-known tree found in Arabia, but much more extensively in Abyssinia. It formed an article of the earliest commerce, was highly esteemed by the Egyptians and Jews, as well as by the Greeks and Romans, as it still is both in the East and in Europe. The earliest notice of it occurs in Exo 30:23, ‘Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh (morderor) 500 shekels.’ It is afterwards mentioned in Est 2:12, as employed in the purification of women; in Psa 45:8, as a perfume, ‘All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia;’ also in several passages of the Song of Solomon (Son 4:6; Son 5:5). We find it mentioned in Mat 2:11, among the gifts presented by the wise men of the East to the infant Jesus’gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.’ It may be remarked as worthy of notice, that myrrh and frankincense are frequently mentioned together. In Mar 15:23, we learn that the Roman soldiers ‘gave him (Jesus) to drink wine mingled with myrrh; but he received it not.’ The Apostle John (Joh 19:39) says, ‘Then came also Nicodemus, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound weight,’ for the purpose of embalming the body of our Savior.
Fig. 274Balsamodendron Myrrha
Though myrrh seems to have been known from the earliest times, and must consequently have been one of the most ancient articles of commerce, the country producing it long remained unknown. Some is undoubtedly procured in Arabia, but the largest quantity has always been obtained from Africa. Mr. Johnson, in his recently published Travels in Abyssinia (i. 249), mentions that ‘Myrrh and mimosa trees abounded in this place’ (Koranhedudah in Adal). The former he describes as being ‘a low, thorny, ragged-looking tree, with bright-green trifoliate leaves; the gum exudes from cracks in the bark of the trunk near the root, and flows freely upon the stones immediately underneath. Artificially it is obtained by bruises made with stones. The natives collect it principally in the hot months of July and August, but it is to be found, though in very small quantities, at other times of the year.
Several kinds of myrrh were known to the ancients; and in modern commerce we have Turkish and East Indian myrrh, and different names used to be, and are still applied to it, as red and fatty myrrh, myrrh in tears, in sorts, and myrrh in grains. In the Bible also several kinds of myrrh are enumerated, respecting which various opinions have been entertained.
Myrrh, it is well known, was celebrated in the most ancient times as a perfume, and a fumigator, as well as for its uses in medicine. Myrrh was burned in the temples, and employed in embalming the bodies of the dead. It was offered in presents, as natural products commonly were in those days, because such as were procured from distant countries were very rare. The ancients prepared a wine of myrrh, and also an oil of myrrh, and it formed an ingredient in many of the most celebrated compound medicines, as the Theriaca, the Mithridata, Manus Dei. etc. Even in Europe it continued to recent times to enjoy the highest medicinal reputation, as it does in the East in the present day. From the sensible properties of this drug, and from the virtues which were ascribed to it, we may satisfactorily account for the mention of it in the several passages of Scripture which have been quoted.
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Myrrh
1. lot. This is judged to be a fragrant resinous gum gathered from the leaves of the cistus , or rock rose. Gen 37:25; Gen 43:11.
2. mor, Arabic murr. The true myrrh, so called because it distils its gum as tears, which harden into a bitter aromatic gum. It was an ingredient in the holy anointing oil, and was much prized as a perfume. Exo 30:23; Est 2:12; Psa 45:8; Pro 7:17; Son 1:13; Son 3:6; Son 4:6; Son 4:14; Son 5:1; Son 5:5; Son 5:13. It is identified with the balsamodendron myrrha and other allied species. In the N.T. the same is alluded to under the name of . The Magi presented myrrh with frankincense to the Lord at His birth, and it was used at His burial. Mingled with wine it was offered to Him as a stupifying drink before He was crucified, but He refused it. Mat 2:11; Mar 15:23; Joh 19:39.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Myrrh
A fragrant gum.
A product of the land of Canaan
Son 4:6; Son 4:14; Son 5:1
One of the compounds in the sacred anointing oil
Exo 30:23
Used as a perfume
Est 2:12; Psa 45:8; Pro 7:17; Son 3:6; Son 5:13
Brought by wise men as a present to Jesus
Mat 2:11
Offered to Jesus on the cross
Mar 15:23
Used for embalming
Joh 19:39
Traffic in
Gen 37:25; Gen 43:11
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Myrrh
Myrrh. A gum resin, celebrated for its aromatic properties. It derives its name from the Hebrew word mr, which implies “flowing”or “distilling,” Greek murrha. The Balsamodendron myrrha, of the natural order Terebinthace, is the tree found in Arabia and Africa, from which myrrh is chiefly procured. It exudes from the bark, and is at first soft, oily, and yellowish-white; it afterwards acquires the consistency of butter, and becomes still harder by exposure to the air, changing to a reddish hue. In commerce it is of two kinds, “myrrh in tears” and “myrrh in sorts.” Myrrh is frequently mentioned in Scripture. It was an ingredient in the holy anointing oil, Exo 30:23; it was used in perfumes, Psa 45:8; Pro 7:17; Son 1:13; Son 8:6; in unguents, Est 2:12; Son 5:5; for strengthening wine, Mar 15:23; also in embalming, Joh 19:30. Myrrh was among the offerings made by the eastern sages. Mat 2:11. The best was that which flowed spontaneously from the tree.
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
Myrrh
Myrrh. This substance is mentioned in Exo 30:23, as one of the ingredients of the “oil of holy ointment:” in Est 2:12, as one of the substances used in the purification of women; in Psa 45:8; Pro 7:17, and in several passages in Canticles, as a perfume. The Greek occurs in Mat 2:11, among the gifts brought by the wise men to the infant Jesus, and in Mar 15:23, it is said that “wine mingled with myrrh” was offered to, but refused by, our Lord on the cross.
Myrrh was also used for embalming. See Joh 19:39, and Herod. Ii. 86. The Balsamodendron myrrha, which produces the myrrh of commerce, has a wood and bark which emit a strong odor; the gum which exudes from the bark is at first oily, but becomes hard by exposure to the air.
(This myrrh is in small yellowish or white globules or tears. The tree is small, with a stunted trunk, covered with light-gray bark, It is found in Arabia Felix. The myrrh of Gen 37:25, was probably ladalzum, a highly-fragrant resin and volatile oil used as a cosmetic, and stimulative as a medicine. It is yielded by the cistus, known in Europe as the rock rose, a shrub with rose-colored flowers, growing in Palestine, and along the shores of the Mediterranean. — Editor).
For wine mingled with myrrh, see Gall.
Fuente: Smith’s Bible Dictionary
MYRRH
an odorous gum
Gen 37:25; Gen 43:11; Exo 30:23; Est 2:12; Psa 45:8
Mat 2:11; Mar 15:23; Joh 19:39
Fuente: Thompson Chain-Reference Bible
Myrrh
whence the name “Smyrna,” a word of Semitic origin, Heb., mor, from a root meaning “bitter,” is a gum resin from a shrubby tree, which grows in Yemen and neighboring regions of Africa; the fruit is smooth and somewhat larger than a pea. The color of myrrh varies from pale reddish-yellow to reddish-brown or red. The taste is bitter, and the substance astringent, acting as an antiseptic and a stimulant. It was used as a perfume, Psa 45:8, where the language is symbolic of the graces of the Messiah; Pro 7:17; Son 1:13; Son 5:5; it was one of the ingredients of the “holy anointing oil” for the priests, Exo 30:23 (RV, “flowing myrrh”); it was used also for the purification of women, Est 2:12; for embalming, Joh 19:39; as an anodyne see B); it was one of the gifts of the Magi, Mat 2:11.
is used transitively in the NT, with the meaning “to mingle or drug with myrrh,” Mar 15:23; the mixture was doubtless offered to deaden the pain (Matthew’s word “gall” suggests that “myrrh” was not the only ingredient). Christ refused to partake of any such means of alleviation; He would retain all His mental power for the complete fulfillment of the Father’s will.
Fuente: Vine’s Dictionary of New Testament Words
Myrrh
, Exo 30:23; Est 2:19; Psa 45:8; Pro 7:17; Son 1:13; Son 3:6; Son 4:6; Son 4:14; Son 5:1; Son 5:5; Son 5:13; , Sir 24:15; Mat 2:11; Mar 15:23; Joh 19:39; a precious kind of gum issuing by incision, and sometimes spontaneously, from the trunk and larger branches of a tree growing in Egypt, Arabia, and Abyssinia. Its taste is extremely bitter, but its smell, though strong, is not disagreeable; and among the ancients it entered into the composition of the most costly ointments. As a perfume, it appears to have been used to give a pleasant fragrance to vestments, and to be carried by females in little caskets in the bosom. The magi, who came from the east to worship our Saviour at Bethlehem, made him a present of myrrh among other things, Mat 2:11.
Fuente: Biblical and Theological Dictionary
Myrrh
Psa 45:8 (c) This type represents the fragrance of CHRIST to GOD in His sacrificial death. His death went up to GOD as a sweet smelling savour, which is most blessed both to GOD and to man. (See also Joh 19:39).
Pro 7:17 (c) This may be taken as a picture or a type of the enticing, alluring schemes and plans of the harlots to attract men to their homes, and to a life of sinful pleasure.
Son 1:13 (c) By this figure we understand the feelings of GOD’s people concerning the loveliness of CHRIST to their hearts. The beauty, the fragrance and the attractiveness of the Lord JESUS are compared to the sweet odors arising from precious spices.
Mat 2:11 (c) This perfume is the third of the gifts mentioned, which were brought to the Lord JESUS CHRIST by the wise men. It typifies the beauty and the value of CHRIST as He gave His life for us.
– the gold is a type of His perfection and loveliness in His prenatal days.
– the frankincense may be taken as a type of the beauty and loveliness of CHRIST during His life on earth.
– the myrrh may remind us of the preciousness and sweetness of CHRIST in His death.