Topic
Perfume; Perfumer
16 passages cited, from 1 classic reference work.
These works date from 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 They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently.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.
- Exodus 30:25ISBE
And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.
- Exodus 30:35ISBE
And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy:
- Exodus 37:29ISBE
¶ And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary.
- 2 Chronicles 16:14ISBE
And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by the apothecaries’ art: and they made a very great burning for him.
- Psalms 45:8ISBE
All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.
- Proverbs 7:17ISBE
I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon.
- Proverbs 27:9ISBE
Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man’s friend by hearty counsel.
- Ecclesiastes 10:1ISBE
Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.
- Song of Songs 3:6ISBE
¶ 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 4:11ISBE
Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb: honey and milk are under thy tongue; and the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon.
- Song of Songs 7:8ISBE
I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of the boughs thereof: now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine, and the smell of thy nose like apples;
- Luke 7:38ISBE
And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
Show 4 more
- Luke 24:1 ISBE
- John 19:39 ISBE
- Ephesians 5:2 ISBE
- Philippians 4:18 ISBE
In the reference works
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 16 references
pur'-ium, per-fum' (qeToreth qaTar literally, "incense"): The ancients were fond of sweet perfumes of all kinds (Pr 27:9), and that characteristic is still especially true of the people of Bible lands. Perfumed oils were rubbed on the body and feet. At a feast in ancient Egypt a guest was anointed with scented oils, and a sweet-smelling water lily was placed in his hand or suspended on his forehead. In their religious worship the Egyptians were lavish with their incense. Small pellets of dried mixed spices and resins or resinous woods were burned in special censers. In the preparation of bodies for burial, perfumed oils and spices were used. Many Biblical references indicate the widespread use of perfumes. So 7:8 suggests that the breath was purposely scented; clothing as well as the body was perfumed (Ps 45:8; So 3:6; 4:11); couches and beds were sprinkled with savory scents (Pr 7:17); ointments were used in the last rites in honor of the dead (2Ch 16:14; Lu 24:1; Joh 19:39). The writer has in his collection a lump of prepared spices and resins taken from a tomb dating from the lst or 2nd century AD, which was apparently fused and run into the thoracic cavity, since an impression of the ribs has been made on the perfume. Its odor is similar to that of the incense used today, and it perfumes the whole case where it is kept. The above collection also contains a small glass vial in which is a bronze spoon firmly held in some solidified ointment, probably formerly perfumed oil. Perfumes were commonly kept in sealed alabaster jars or cruses (Lu 7:38). Thousands of these cruses have been unearthed in Palestine and Syria.
Perfumes were mixed by persons skilled in the article In the King James Version these are called "apothecaries" (raqqach). The Revised Version (British and American) "perfumer" is probably a more correct rendering, as the one who did the compounding was not an apothecary in the same sense as is the person now so designated (Ex 30:25,35; 37:29; Ec 10:1).
Today incense is used in connection with all religious services of the oriental Christian churches. Although there is no direct mention of the uses of incense in the New Testament, such allusions as Paul's "a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell" (Eph 5:2; Php 4:18) would seem to indicate that it was used by the early Christians.
The delight of the people of Syria in pleasant odors is recorded in their literature. The attar of roses (from Arabic `iTr, "a sweet odor") was a wellknown product of Damascus. The guest in a modern Syrian home is not literally anointed with oil, but he is often given, soon after he enters, a bunch of aromatic herbs or a sweet-smelling flower to hold and smell. During a considerable portion of the year the country air is laden with the odor of aromatic herbs, such as mint and sage. The Arabic phrase for taking a walk is shemm el-hawa', literally, "smell the air."
James A. Patch
Texts: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.