Hebrew word · H1314

בֶּ֫שֶׂם

bosem

spice

Balsam, aromatic spice, perfume, fragrance. It covers costly scented plant products such as resins, gums, barks and scented cane, and by extension the fragrance itself. It is a luxury word and is not used for food seasoning.

Appears 29 times in 25 verses of the Hebrew Old Testament. ·

What it means

1) spice, balsam, balsam tree, perfume

2) (TWOT) sweet, sweet smell, sweet odour

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Exodus 35:28

Range of meaning

Balsam, aromatic spice, perfume, fragrance. It covers costly scented plant products such as resins, gums, barks and scented cane, and by extension the fragrance itself. It is a luxury word and is not used for food seasoning.

Against the English

English 'spice(s)' (KJV, BSB, WEB, ESV) is the traditional rendering. To a modern reader 'spice' suggests the kitchen, such as pepper or paprika. 'Aromatics' or 'perfume ingredients' would be closer.

How it drifted

In older English 'spice' (from Latin species, 'goods, wares') meant valuable imported aromatics in general, used in perfumes, medicine and food alike. Modern usage narrowed the word to cooking.

Used elsewhere in the period

The word is related to Aramaic busma and Arabic bashām, the balsam tree. The Queen of Sheba brings besamim in great quantity (1 Kings 10:2, 10). Ezekiel 27:22 lists 'the best of all besamim' among goods traded from Sheba and Raamah in South Arabia. The Song of Songs uses it repeatedly for erotic and garden fragrance (4:10, 14, 16; 5:1). In Exodus 30:23 'choice besamim' introduces the anointing-oil ingredients: liquid myrrh, fragrant cinnamon, fragrant cane and cassia.

From the study of 1 Kings 10:2

Range of meaning

Balsam and other sweet-smelling substances: aromatic resins, perfumed oils, incense ingredients. It can also mean fragrance itself. The singular bōśem/beśem may refer to balsam specifically.

Against the English

Every major English version says 'spices'. Modern readers hear food seasonings such as pepper or cinnamon, but the word mainly means perfumes, incense and aromatic oils.

How it drifted

Older English 'spice' covered aromatic substances and perfumes in general. Over time the word narrowed to kitchen seasonings.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used for the ingredients of the sacred anointing oil (Exod 30:23) and for perfumes in the Song of Songs (4:10, 14, 16). Ezekiel 27:22 describes 'the traders of Sheba' bringing 'the best of all bəśāmîm, all precious stones and gold', the same three goods as this verse. Jeremiah 6:20 mentions 'frankincense from Sheba'. South Arabian kingdoms grew rich on frankincense and myrrh, which were exported north by camel.

From the study of 1 Kings 10:10

Range of meaning

Balsam and, more widely, fragrant substances: aromatic resins, oils and perfumes, and the plants that produce them. It covers ingredients of the sacred anointing oil (Exodus 30:23), perfumed garden imagery (Song of Songs 5:1, 13; 6:2), women's cosmetics (Esther 2:12; Isaiah 3:24), and burial preparations (2 Chronicles 16:14).

Against the English

All the main English versions say 'spices'. That is the conventional rendering and not exactly wrong, but today it suggests kitchen seasonings.

How it drifted

'Spice' once covered costly aromatics, drugs and perfumes as well as flavourings. Modern English has narrowed it mainly to cooking.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezekiel 27:22 names Sheba's merchants as trading the finest besamim, precious stones and gold, the same three goods as this verse. Sargon II of Assyria lists gold, precious stones and 'all kinds of aromatic substances' from It'amra the Sabaean (ANET 286). 2 Kings 20:13 shows Hezekiah keeping besamim in his treasury alongside silver and gold. Herodotus 3.107 and Pliny, Natural History 12, connect frankincense and myrrh with Arabia. Josephus (Antiquities 8.174) records a tradition that Judea's balsam plants came from this queen's gift.

Where it appears

Exodus · 6

  1. Exodus 25:6 בְּשָׂמִים֙ spices

    olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;

  2. Exodus 30:23 בְּשָׂמִ֣ים בֶּ֥שֶׂם בֹ֖שֶׂם spices, spice

    “Take the finest spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half that amount (250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane,

    Here: Plural: aromatic substances such as resins, barks and reeds, valued for their scent. These are perfume materials, not cooking spices.

  3. Exodus 35:8 וּבְשָׂמִים֙ and spices

    olive oil for the light; spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense;

  4. Exodus 35:28 הַבֹּ֖שֶׂם the spice

    as well as spices and olive oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense.

    Here: The aromatic raw materials (resins, barks, scented cane) needed for the holy oil and the incense. It means costly perfume material, not cooking seasoning. Singular here, used as a collective: 'the spice supply'.

1 Kings · 4

  1. 1 Kings 10:2 בְּשָׂמִ֧ים spices

    She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in great abundance, and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke to him all that was on her mind.

    Here: "Aromatics." This means fragrant resins, oils and perfumes such as balsam, frankincense and myrrh. It does not mean cooking spices. These were the luxury goods Sheba was famous for.

  2. 1 Kings 10:10 וּבְשָׂמִ֛ים כַבֹּ֨שֶׂם and spices, like the spice

    Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. Never again were spices in such abundance brought in as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

    Here: Aromatic goods: resins, balsam and fragrant substances for perfume, anointing oil, incense and burial. This was South Arabia's signature export, and the verse will soon single it out.

  3. 1 Kings 10:25 וּבְשָׂמִ֔ים and spices

    Year after year, each visitor would bring his tribute: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

    Here: Aromatics such as balsam, perfumes and incense spices: costly trade goods from Arabia and beyond. The word echoes the queen of Sheba's gifts earlier in the chapter (vv. 2, 10).

2 Kings · 1

  1. 2 Kings 20:13 הַבְּשָׂמִ֜ים the spices

    And Hezekiah received the envoys and showed them all that was in his treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, as well as his armory—all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his palace or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

    Here: 'The aromatics': balsam, perfume resins and fragrant spices for incense, anointing and cosmetics. These were high-value luxury trade goods, like the gifts the Queen of Sheba brought (1 Kings 10).

1 Chronicles · 2

  1. 1 Chronicles 9:29 וְהַבְּשָׂמִֽים׃ and the spices

    Others were put in charge of the furnishings and other articles of the sanctuary, as well as the fine flour, wine, oil, frankincense, and spices.

    Here: Aromatic substances such as myrrh, cinnamon, cane, cassia and balsam, which were raw materials for the holy anointing oil and incense (Exod 30:23–34). Verse 30 adds that only priests did the blending.

  2. 1 Chronicles 9:30 לַבְּשָׂמִֽים׃ of the spices

    And some of the sons of the priests mixed the spices.

2 Chronicles · 6

  1. 2 Chronicles 9:1 בְּשָׂמִ֧ים spices

    Now when the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon, she came to test him with difficult questions. She arrived in Jerusalem with a very large caravan—with camels bearing spices, gold in abundance, and precious stones. And she came to Solomon and spoke with him about all that was on her mind.

    Here: Aromatics such as balsam, frankincense and myrrh. These were South Arabia's most famous exports and came at luxury prices.

  2. 2 Chronicles 9:9 וּבְשָׂמִ֛ים כַּבֹּ֣שֶׂם and spices, like the spice

    Then she gave the king 120 talents of gold, a great quantity of spices, and precious stones. There had never been such spices as those the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon.

  3. 2 Chronicles 9:24 וּבְשָׂמִ֔ים and spices

    Year after year, each visitor would bring his tribute: articles of silver and gold, clothing, weapons, spices, horses, and mules.

  4. 2 Chronicles 16:14 בְּשָׂמִ֣ים spices

    And he was buried in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier that was full of spices and various blended perfumes; then they made a great fire in his honor.

    Here: "Spices." Costly aromatic substances such as balsam and fragrant resins. In Chronicles they are a sign of royal wealth (the Queen of Sheba's gifts, Hezekiah's treasuries).

  5. 2 Chronicles 32:27 וְלִבְשָׂמִים֙ and for spices

    Hezekiah had very great riches and honor, and he made treasuries for his silver, gold, precious stones, spices, shields, and all kinds of valuable articles.

Esther · 1

  1. Esther 2:12 בַּבְּשָׂמִ֔ים with <the> balsam oil

    In the twelve months before her turn to go to King Xerxes, the harem regulation required each young woman to receive beauty treatments with oil of myrrh for six months, and then with perfumes and cosmetics for another six months.

Song of Songs · 6

  1. Song of Songs 4:10 בְּשָׂמִֽים׃ spices

    How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! Your love is much better than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than all spices.

  2. Song of Songs 4:14 בְשָׂמִֽים׃ spices

    with nard and saffron, with calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of frankincense tree, with myrrh and aloes, with all the finest spices.

  3. Song of Songs 4:16 בְשָׂמָ֑יו spices its

    Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind. Breathe on my garden and spread the fragrance of its spices. Let my beloved come into his garden and taste its choicest fruits.

    Here: 'Its spices': the costly aromatics (balsam, myrrh, and the rest) just listed in 4:13–14. These are luxury goods that came by caravan, here growing inside the woman-garden.

  4. Song of Songs 5:13 הַבֹּ֔שֶׂם <the> spice

    His cheeks are like beds of spice, towers of perfume. His lips are like lilies, dripping with flowing myrrh.

  5. Song of Songs 6:2 הַבֹּ֑שֶׂם <the> spice

    My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of spices, to pasture his flock in the gardens and to gather lilies.

    Here: Fragrant plants and the costly perfumes made from them, such as balsam, the luxury scent of the ancient Near East. This is perfume, not seasoning. In 4:10, 14 and 16 her love and her garden give off exactly this fragrance.

  6. Song of Songs 8:14 בְשָׂמִֽים׃ spices

    Come away, my beloved, and be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.

Isaiah · 2

  1. Isaiah 3:24 בֹּ֜שֶׂם perfume

    Instead of fragrance there will be a stench; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of styled hair, baldness; instead of fine clothing, sackcloth; instead of beauty, shame.

    Here: Expensive imported aromatic oil or spice, the scent of wealth, royalty and seduction (Song of Songs, 1 Kings 10:10). It heads the list because it reaches people before the woman does.

  2. Isaiah 39:2 הַבְּשָׂמִ֜ים the spices

    And Hezekiah welcomed the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, as well as his entire armory—all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his palace or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

    Here: 'The spices': aromatic resins and perfumes such as balsam. These were costly long-distance trade goods, in the same class as the Queen of Sheba's gifts (1 Kings 10:10), and they signalled wealth.

Ezekiel · 1

  1. Ezekiel 27:22 בֹּ֜שֶׂם spice

    The merchants of Sheba and Raamah traded with you; for your wares they exchanged gold, the finest of all spices, and precious stones.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.