The Life of Jesus in Harmony |
Index
frankincense
Gal'banum (gal'ba-num; Heb. lebona, "whiteness").
A gum resin with a pungent balsamic odor (Ex 30:34). It was one of the
constituents of the sacred incense. Two ferulas, F. galbaniflua, Boiss, et Buhse, and
F. rubricaulis, Boiss., both growing in Persia, are believed to be the sources
of the gum.
It is used in medicine as an antispasmodic. It is a greasy, sticky, granulated
resin, presenting a whitish appearance at first, but afterward changing to
yellow, having a pungent odor and taste, and which, when mixed with fragrant
substances, has the effect of increasing the odor and fixing it longer.