Spices and Medicinal Plants of the Holy Bible
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Mesopotamia and ancient Egypt. Both civilizations belong to the world of old
testament.
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 mentions about hundred names of plants. The bulk of them of Erez
Israel, the others being trees of Lebanon and tropical plants that yield an aromatic
substance or were used in incense. These names refer to specific plants, but some are
generic names, like Thorns and Thistles. The biblical plants are chiefly those which
were economically important, which are mentioned to a large extent. Specific
vegetables are mentioned in one verse only of the Bible, and these are the vegetables
of Egypt for which the children of Israel longed during their wandering in the
wilderness. (Num. 11:5)
The Mishnah. The Talmuds, and the Midrashim add hundreds of names of
plants to those mentioned in the Bible.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 wine,” literally wine of a mixture (of spices), in Song of Songs 8:2
is the only Biblical mention of spices used as a flavoring.
In ancient times, herbs—the edible leaves, blossoms and soft stems of annuals
and perennials—were used primarily as medicine. According to the apocryphal Book
of Jubilees,1 angels revealed to Noah all the illnesses of the world and their remedies
so that he could “heal by means of the herbs of the earth” (Jubilees 10:12). Noah
diligently recorded the cures in a book. Below, I, like Noah, record the herbs and spices
of the Near East throughout history.
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Dr. Nishikant Lokhande, Associate Professor
Department of Botany
Badrinarayan Barwale College, Jalna
