The Book of Enoch

Enoch (also: 1 Enoch) is canonical scripture for the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church. The only complete copy of an early version of Enoch is available in Ge’ez (Classical Ethiopic), here used with permission by the Bible Society of Ethiopia.

The translation into English used here: 1 Enoch: The Hermeneia Translation. Translated by George W. E. Nickelsburg & James C. VanderKam. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2012. with editorial alterations by Abraham Haile and additional translations by Haileyesus Woldemariam.

myrrh

The Greek and Hebrew that is translated as “myrrh” in English is translated as “bitter medicine” in Michoacán Nahuatl and as “myrrh perfume” in Tzotzil (source: Ronald D. Olson in Notes on Translation January, 1968, p. 15ff.).

In Mark 15:23, Usila Chinantec translates it as “the herb myrrh which is useful so that one not feel pain in his body.” (Source: B. Moore / G. Turner in Notes on Translation 1967, p. 1ff.)

 

Myrrh is probably the most precious spice in the Bible. It was worth more than its weight in gold. Our experts agree that the Hebrew word mor refers to the resin of one of the Commiphora genus, either myrrha, abyssinica or schimperi, all of which grew in what is now Yemen, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Madagascar. Other kinds of myrrh may have come from India (Commiphora erythraea, Commiphora opobalsamum). A more difficult question is the meaning of the word deror in Exodus 30:23. In the other places where it occurs it means “freedom” or “liberty.” This is the basis for the word “liquid” in some versions, but there is no certainty that “free” means “liquid.” The fact that myrrh was sometimes mixed with wine may suggest that deror means “liquid” here, but on the other hand, the weight of the myrrh is given in dry measure rather than liquid measure, which argues against it.

The myrrh plant is a bush or shrub with thick thorny branches that project and bend at odd angles. The leaves come in sets of three. The fruit is oval like a plum. The wood and bark have a pleasant smell. The gum oozes naturally from the branches, though some harvesters incise the branches to increase the flow. The sap or gum is clear or yellowish brown when it comes out, but gets darker as it dries. The taste of the gum is bitter (note the similarity of mor to the Hebrew word mar meaning “bitter”). In markets the gum is often found mixed with that of the kataf bush (bisabol).

God prescribed myrrh as an ingredient of the holy anointing oil (Exodus 30:23), and it is used as perfume in Esther, Psalms, Proverbs, and eight times in Song of Songs. It was brought as an expensive gift by the Magi to the new King (Matthew 2:11). As Jesus was dying on the cross, sympathetic bystanders may have offered it to him mixed with wine (Mark 15:23; see the parallel account in Matthew 27:34). Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes to prepare Jesus’ body for burial (John 19:39). In ancient Egypt myrrh was burned on the altars of the sun god, and in Persia it was attached to the crowns of kings when they appeared in public. Romans burned myrrh at funerals and cremations, which helps to explain its inclusion in the list of spices in Revelation 18:13. Today it is used in perfumes, lotions, and even in toothpaste.

Varieties of myrrh grow in the Horn of Africa and Madagascar, so people from those areas should have no difficulty finding words for it. As to whether the myrrh in Exodus 30:23 was liquid or solid, there seems to be no consensus, and the translator may be forgiven for simply ignoring the Hebrew word deror . Possible transliterations are Hebrew mor, Arabic mar, French mireh, and Spanish/Portuguese mirra.

Harvesting myrrh, Wikimedia Commons

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)

See also mixture of myrrh with aloes.

frankincense

The Hebrew, Ge’ez, and Greek that is translated in English as “frankincense” is translated in Lokạạ as ebạạm yạ insẹnsii or “sap of incense.” (Source: J.A. Naudé, C.L. Miller Naudé, J.O. Obono in Acta Theologica 43/2, 2023, p. 129ff. )

 

Frankincense Boswellia sacra is a yellow or reddish gum produced by one of the fifteen aromatic species of Boswellia. It was probably imported into Israel from Arabia, Africa, or Asia. Egyptian pictorial records indicate that Queen Hatshepsut travelled to a place called “Punt” (possibly Somalia or even India) and brought back specimens that look like Boswellia trees, planting them in her palace garden. Some people call frankincense olibanum (a Middle Eastern word meaning “incense”), but it is possible that olibanum may properly refer only to Boswellia serrata from India, which has a lemon/lime smell as opposed to the orange smell of true frankincense.

Today the best frankincense is reputed to come from Oman, but Yemen and Somalia also produce a lot of it. The name olibanum may come from the Arabic al-lubán (milk) or from the equivalent of “oil of Lebanon.” The Hebrew word levonah can mean either “white” or “Lebanese.”

Boswellia trees are actually shrubs reaching 3 meters (10 feet) in height, with multiple trunks coming from the ground. They have pinnate leaves and small greenish or white flowers. The gum of Boswellia trees comes out by itself in little drops from the branches and twigs, but it can also be extracted by cutting through the bark of the trunk. The resin appears in globs and hardens.

Frankincense was an ingredient of the incense burned in the Tabernacle of ancient Israel, and it was prescribed as part of their cereal offerings.

A classifier will be useful if available (for example, “resin of”). Transliterations of the word for frankincense from Hebrew (labona, lebonahi), Greek (libano), French (bosweli, olibán), or Arabic (akor, mager, mogar) will be more readable than those from English (firankinsensi).

Boswellia sacra, Wikimedia Commons

Source: Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible (UBS Helps for Translators)