Frankincense: (Heb. lebonah; Gr. libanos, i.e., "white"), an odorous resin imported
from Arabia
(Isaiah 60:6; Jeremiah 6:20) yet also growing in Palestine
(The Song of Solomon 4:14)
It was one of the ingredients in the perfume of the sanctuary
(Exodus 30:34) and was used as an accompaniment of the meat-offering
(Leviticus 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
(Malachi 1:11; The Song of Solomon 1:3)
and an emblem of prayer
(Psalms 141:2; Luke 1:10; Revelation 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.
