Hebrew word · H4840
מֶרְקָח
merkachim
spice
Spice or perfume, specifically a compounded aromatic. The root r-q-ḥ means 'to mix, blend ointment.' The perfumer is the roqeaḥ. Related nouns are merqachah, 'ointment pot' (Job 41:31), and mirqachat, 'spice mixture.'
Appears once in the Hebrew Old Testament. ·
What it means
spice, perfume, aromatic spices
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 Song of Songs 5:13
- Range of meaning
Spice or perfume, specifically a compounded aromatic. The root r-q-ḥ means 'to mix, blend ointment.' The perfumer is the roqeaḥ. Related nouns are merqachah, 'ointment pot' (Job 41:31), and mirqachat, 'spice mixture.'
- Against the English
'Perfume(s)' (BSB, WEB, NIV) is close. KJV's 'sweet flowers' and ESV/NASB's 'sweet-smelling/sweet-scented herbs' make it sound like plants. The root means prepared, blended products.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The same root describes the holy anointing oil and incense, made 'by the art of the perfumer' (Exodus 30:25, 35). It is also used of perfumers serving the king (1 Samuel 8:13) and of the expensive blends of the ancient Near Eastern perfume trade.
Where it appears
Song of Songs · 1
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Song of Songs 5:13 מֶרְקָחִ֑ים aromatic herbs
His cheeks are like beds of spice, towers of perfume. His lips are like lilies, dripping with flowing myrrh.
Here: 'Perfumes.' The root means mixing and compounding ointments, the work of a skilled perfumer. So these are blended, prepared scents, not wildflowers. The word suggests craft and expense.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.