Topic
Frankincense
31 passages cited, from 4 classic reference works.
These works date from 1884–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Isaiah 60:6Easton · Smith · ISBE · Nave Used as an incense
The multitude of camels shall cover thee, the dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; all they from Sheba shall come: they shall bring gold and incense; and they shall shew forth the praises of the LORD.
- Jeremiah 6:20Easton · Smith · ISBE · Nave Used as an incense
To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.
- Exodus 30:34Easton · ISBE · Nave An ingredient of the sacred oil
¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight:
- Leviticus 2:1Easton · ISBE · Nave Used with meat offerings
And when any will offer a meat offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon:
- Leviticus 24:7Easton · ISBE · Nave Used with showbread
And thou shalt put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
- Leviticus 2:16Easton · Nave Used with meat offerings
And the priest shall burn the memorial of it, part of the beaten corn thereof, and part of the oil thereof, with all the frankincense thereof: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
- Leviticus 6:15Easton · Nave Used with meat offerings
And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the meat offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the meat offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet savour, even the memorial of it, unto the LORD.
- Numbers 5:15ISBE · Nave In making an offering of memorial
Then shall the man bring his wife unto the priest, and he shall bring her offering for her, the tenth part of an ephah of barley meal; he shall pour no oil upon it, nor put frankincense thereon; for it is an offering of jealousy, an offering of memorial,…
- Song of Songs 3:6ISBE · Nave A perfume
¶ Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all powders of the merchant?
- Song of Songs 4:14Easton · ISBE
Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
- Isaiah 43:23ISBE · Nave Used as an incense
Thou hast not brought me the small cattle of thy burnt offerings; neither hast thou honoured me with thy sacrifices. I have not caused thee to serve with an offering, nor wearied thee with incense.
- Isaiah 66:3ISBE · Nave Used as an incense
He that killeth an ox is as if he slew a man; he that sacrificeth a lamb, as if he cut off a dog’s neck; he that offereth an oblation, as if he offered swine’s blood; he that burneth incense, as if he blessed an idol. Yea, they have chosen their own ways,…
Show 19 more
- Exodus 30:34–36 Smith
- Leviticus 2:2 Nave Used with meat offerings
- Leviticus 2:15 Nave Used with meat offerings
- Leviticus 5:11 Nave Prohibited, in sin offerings when they consist of turtledoves or pigeons
- 1 Chronicles 9:29 ISBE
- Nehemiah 13:5 ISBE
- Nehemiah 13:9 ISBE
- Psalms 141:2 Easton
- Song of Songs 1:3 Easton
- Song of Songs 4:6 ISBE
- Jeremiah 17:26 ISBE
- Jeremiah 41:5 ISBE
- Malachi 1:11 Easton
- Matthew 2:11 ISBE
- Luke 1:10 Easton
- Revelation 5:8 Easton
- Revelation 8:3 Easton
- Revelation 18:11–13 Nave Commerce in
- Revelation 18:13 ISBE
In the reference works
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · 14 references
(Heb. lebonah; Gr. libanos, i.e., “white”), an odorous resin imported from Arabia (Isa. 60:6; Jer. 6:20), yet also growing in Palestine (Cant. 4:14). It was one of the ingredients in the perfume of the sanctuary (Ex. 30:34), and was used as an accompaniment of the meat-offering (Lev. 2:1, 16; 6:15; 24:7). When burnt it emitted a fragrant odour, and hence the incense became a symbol of the Divine name (Mal. 1:11; Cant. 1:3) and an emblem of prayer (Ps. 141:2; Luke 1:10; Rev. 5:8; 8:3).
This frankincense, or olibanum, used by the Jews in the temple services is not to be confounded with the frankincense of modern commerce, which is an exudation of the Norway spruce fir, the Pinus abies. It was probably a resin from the Indian tree known to botanists by the name of Boswellia serrata or thurifera, which grows to the height of forty feet.
Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884) · 3 references
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 27 references
frants'-in-sens (lebhonah, from root meaning "whiteness," referring to the milky color of the fresh juice: Ex 30:34; Le 2:1 f,15 f; 5:11; 6:15; 24:7; Nu 5:15; 1Ch 9:29; Ne 13:5,9; So 3:6; 4:6,14; Isa 43:23; 60:6; 66:3; Jer 6:20; 17:26; 41:5; translated in the last six references "incense" in the King James Version, but correctly in the Revised Version (British and American); libanos: Mt 2:11; Re 18:13. The English word is derived from old French franc encens, i.e. "pure incense"): The common frankincense of the pharmacopeas is a gum derived from the common fir, but the frankincense of the Jews, as well as of the Greeks and Romans, is a substance now called Olibanum (from the Arabic el luban), a product of certain trees of the genus Boswellia (Natural Order, Amyridaceae), growing on the limestone rocks of south Arabia and Somali-land (Isa 60:6; Jer 6:20). The most important species are B. Carteri and B. Frereana. Some of the trees grow to a considerable height and send down their roots to extraordinary depths. The gum is obtained by incising the bark,
and is collected in yellowish, semitransparent tears, readily pulverized; it has a nauseous taste. It is used for making incense for burning in churches and in Indian temples, as it was among the Jews (Ex 30:34). See INCENSE. It is often associated with myrrh (So 3:6; 4:6) and with it was made an offering to the infant Saviour (Mt 2:11). A specially "pure" kind, lebhonah zakkah, was presented with the shewbread (Le 24:7).
E. W. G. Masterman
In the topical indexes
Nave's Topical Bible (1896) · 15 references, grouped by sub-topic
- → An ingredient of the sacred oil Ex 30:34
- → Used with showbread Le 24:7
- → Used with meat offerings Le 2:1,2,15,16; 6:15
- → Prohibited, in sin offerings when they consist of turtledoves or pigeons Le 5:11
- → In making an offering of memorial Nu 5:15
- → A perfume So 3:6
- → Commerce in Re 18:11-13
- → Used as an incense Isa 43:23; 60:6; 66:3; Jer 6:20
Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884); International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915); Nave's Topical Bible (1896), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.