A Biblical Spice Rack - The BAS Library

Home > Magazines > Bible Review > October 1997

The Bible reflects an intimate knowledge of herbs and spices, which perfumed the Jerusalem Temple (2 Chronicles 2:4), sweetened the home (Song of Songs 7:13) and seasoned meals during the Exodus (Numbers 11:5–6). Repeated references to herbs and spices indicate that the people of the Bible knew how these plants tasted, smelled and looked, where they grew and what medicinal value they provided. The Bible never gives a specific word for spices, the aromatic vegetable products derived from the bark, root or fruit of perennial plants. In the Bible spices are used primarily for religious purposes—especially as incense. “Spiced […]

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Footnotes

Composed in about 160 to 150 B.C.E., Jubilees recounts biblical history from the Creation to the arrival of the Israelites at Mt. Sinai. The author quotes heavily from the biblical text but also omits portions and adds his own interpretations of the texts. See James VanderKam, “Jubilees—How It Rewrote the Bible,” BR 08:06.