An aromatic gum resin similar to myrrh, produced by certain Asian and African shrubs or trees of the genus Commiphora.
[Middle English, from Latin, from Greek bdellion, variant of bdolkhon, of Semitic origin; akin to Akkadian budulhu.]
|
Results for bdellium
|
On this page:
|
An aromatic gum resin similar to myrrh, produced by certain Asian and African shrubs or trees of the genus Commiphora.
[Middle English, from Latin, from Greek bdellion, variant of bdolkhon, of Semitic origin; akin to Akkadian budulhu.]
The noun has one meaning:
Meaning #1:
aromatic gum resin; similar to myrrh
Bdellium (Hebrew bedolach) was an aromatic gum like myrrh that was exuded from a tree. It has been identified with the species Commiphora wrightii, now called guggul, although bdellium was also used for the African species C. africana and at least one other Indian species (C. stocksiana).[1] Bdellium was an adulterant of the more costly myrrh; guggul is still used as a binder in perfumes.
The word occurs only twice in the Hebrew Bible. The first is Genesis 2:12, where it is described as a product of the land of Havilah; the context has led some readers to link bedolach with pearls or other precious stones.[2] Bdellium is mentioned again, as something familiar, in Numbers 11:7, where manna is compared to it in colour:
Bdellium appears in a number of ancient sources. In Akkadian, it was known as budulhu.[3] Theophrastus is the first classical author to mention it, and Plautus the second in his play Curculio. Pliny the Elder describes it as a "tree black in colour, and the size of the olive; its leaf resembles that of the oak and its fruit the wild fig" (N.H. 12.19). It was an ingredient in the prescriptions of ancient physicians from Galen to Paul of Aegina, and in the Greater Kuphi.[4]
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
Join the WikiAnswers Q&A community. Post a question or answer questions about "bdellium" at WikiAnswers.
Copyrights:
![]() | Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more | |
![]() | WordNet. WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. Read more | |
![]() | Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Bdellium". Read more |
Mentioned In: