The incense offering ( ) in Judaism was related to perfumed offerings on the

altar of incense Altars (, ''mīzbēaḥ'', "a place of slaughter or sacrifice") in the Hebrew Bible were typically made of earth () or unwrought stone (). Altars were generally erected in conspicuous places (; ; ; ; ). The first time the word altar is mentioned a ...

in the time of the

Tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

and the First and

Second Temple The Second Temple () was the Temple in Jerusalem that replaced Solomon's Temple, which was destroyed during the Siege of Jerusalem (587 BC), Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE. It was constructed around 516 BCE and later enhanced by Herod ...

period, and was an important component of priestly

liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...

in the

Temple in Jerusalem The Temple in Jerusalem, or alternatively the Holy Temple (; , ), refers to the two religious structures that served as the central places of worship for Israelites and Jews on the modern-day Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem. Accord ...

In the Hebrew Bible

The sacred incense prescribed for use in the wilderness

was made of costly materials that the congregation contributed. The

Book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from ; ''Šəmōṯ'', 'Names'; ) is the second book of the Bible. It is the first part of the narrative of the Exodus, the origin myth of the Israelites, in which they leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of ...

describes the recipe:

And the said unto Moses: Take unto yourself sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure
frankincense Frankincense, also known as olibanum (), is an Aroma compound, aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus ''Boswellia'' in the family (biology), family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French ('high-quality in ...
: of each shall there be a like weight: And you shall make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together alted pure and holy: And you shall beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with you: it shall be unto you most holy. And as for the perfume which you shall make, you shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto you holy for the . Whosoever shall make like unto it, to enjoy the smell thereof, shall even be cut off from his people.

The incense altar was at the end of the Holy compartment of the tabernacle, next to the curtain dividing it off from the Most Holy. According to the

Books of Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( , "words of the days") is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third section of the Jewish Ta ...

, there was also a similar incense altar in

Solomon's temple Solomon's Temple, also known as the First Temple (), was a biblical Temple in Jerusalem believed to have existed between the 10th and 6th centuries Common Era, BCE. Its description is largely based on narratives in the Hebrew Bible, in which it ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. Every morning and evening the sacred incense was burned. Once a year, on the

Day of Atonement Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...

, coals from the altar were taken in a censer, or fire holder, together with two handfuls of incense, into the

Holy of Holies The Holy of Holies ( or ''Kodesh HaKodashim''; also ''hadDəḇīr'', 'the Sanctuary') is a term in the Hebrew Bible that refers to the inner sanctuary of the Tabernacle, where the Shekhinah (God in Judaism, God's presence) appeared. According ...

, where the incense was made to smoke before the

mercy seat According to the Hebrew Bible, the ''kaporet'' ( ''kapōreṯ'') or mercy seat was the gold lid placed on the Ark of the Covenant, with two cherubim at the ends to cover and create the space in which Yahweh appeared and dwelled. This was connecte ...

of the ark of the testimony. The Book of Exodus lists four components of the incense, while the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

lists seven additional components from the

oral Torah According to Rabbinic Judaism, the Oral Torah or Oral Law () are statutes and legal interpretations that were not recorded in the Five Books of Moses, the Written Torah (), and which are regarded by Orthodox Judaism, Orthodox Jews as prescriptive ...

. The four components from the Book of Exodus are: * stacte (נָטָף ''naṭaf'') * onycha (שְׁחֵלֶת ''sheħeleth'') * galbanum (חֶלְבְּנָה ''ħelbbinah'') *pure

frankincense Frankincense, also known as olibanum (), is an Aroma compound, aromatic resin used in incense and perfumes, obtained from trees of the genus ''Boswellia'' in the family (biology), family Burseraceae. The word is from Old French ('high-quality in ...

(לְבוֹנָה זַכָּה ''levonah zakah'') The components are still being studied and are not determined with absolute certainty. Stacte is variously described as being the extract of the transparent portion of the

myrrh Myrrh (; from an unidentified ancient Semitic language, see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a few small, thorny tree species of the '' Commiphora'' genus, belonging to the Burseraceae family. Myrrh resin has been used ...

resin which exudes spontaneously from the tree, or a

balsam Balsam is the resinous exudate (or sap) which forms on certain kinds of trees and shrubs. Balsam (from Latin ''balsamum'' "gum of the balsam tree," ultimately from a Semitic source such as ) owes its name to the biblical Balm of Gilead. Ch ...

from a tree such as opobalsamum or a

styrax ''Styrax'' (common names storax or snowbell) is a genus of about 130 species of large shrubs or small trees in the family Styracaceae, mostly native to warm temperate to tropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere, with the majority in eastern ...

. Onycha, which in Greek means "nail", is variously described as being the operculum from a shell found in the

Red Sea The Red Sea is a sea inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. Its connection to the ocean is in the south, through the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden. To its north lie the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and th ...

(which is said to resemble a fingernail), the exudation from the rock rose bush called labdanum (both petals and markings which are said to resemble a fingernail),

Styrax benzoin ''Styrax benzoin'' is a species of tree native to Indochina and western Malesia. Common names for the tree include gum benjamin tree, loban (in Arabic), kemenyan (in Indonesia and Malaysia), onycha, and Sumatra benzoin tree. Distribution It is ...

, bdellium, or even cloves. Galbanum is generally considered to be ''Ferula galbaniflua''. Also considered is a milder variety from the

Levant The Levant ( ) is the subregion that borders the Eastern Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean sea to the west, and forms the core of West Asia and the political term, Middle East, ''Middle East''. In its narrowest sense, which is in use toda ...

or possibly even a close relative of '' Ferula galbaniflua'' called ''narthex'' or giant fennel. Pure frankincense is the resin of a tree of the

boswellia ''Boswellia'' is a genus of trees in the order (biology), order Sapindales, known for its fragrant resin. The biblical incense frankincense is an extract from the resin of the tree ''Boswellia sacra'', and is now produced also from ''Boswellia fre ...

species.

In Hellenistic Judaism

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

mentions the incense, numbering thirteen ingredients.

In rabbinic literature

The rabbis of the Talmud expanded the description of the recipe for the incenses from 4 ingredients of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

, the House of Avtinas was responsible for compounding the ''qetoret'' incense in the days of the

In Christianity

The

New Testament The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

makes several typological references to incense, including a

Christological In Christianity, Christology is a branch of theology that concerns Jesus. Different denominations have different opinions on questions such as whether Jesus was human, divine, or both, and as a messiah what his role would be in the freeing of ...

reference to the coals from the altar of incense taken behind the

veil A veil is an article of clothing or hanging cloth that is intended to cover some part of the human head, head or face, or an object of some significance. Veiling has a long history in European, Asian, and African societies. The practice has be ...

on the

(), and a reference to the prayers of believers as incense (). In later Christian typology the smoke of incense in the tabernacle typically signifies offered prayer. This was developed in medieval Christian art.Leslie Ross (1996). ''Medieval Art: A Topical Dictionary''. p. 253: "TYPOLOGY The elders carry harps and golden vessels of incense which are described as containing the prayers of saints." In the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, officially the Orthodox Catholic Church, and also called the Greek Orthodox Church or simply the Orthodox Church, is List of Christian denominations by number of members, one of the three major doctrinal and ...

and a considerable part of the

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, and among some

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

churches as well, incense is still used in liturgical rites as well as in some popular devotions outside of church liturgies.

References

* Arnold Lustiger and Michael Taubes (2006). ''

Yom Kippur Yom Kippur ( ; , ) is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October. For traditional Jewish people, it is primarily centered on atonement and ...

Machzor The ''machzor'' (, plural ''machzorim'', and , respectively) is the prayer book which is used by Jews on the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Many Jews also make use of specialized ''machzorim'' on the three pilgrimage festiva ...

: With Commentary Adapted From the Teachings of Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik'', the Kashirer Edition, K'hal Publishing.
Incense
''

Jewish Encyclopedia ''The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day'' is an English-language encyclopedia containing over 15,000 articles on the ...

'' (1906) {{Book of Exodus navbox Jewish sacrificial law Offering Tabernacle and Temples in Jerusalem Book of Exodus

In the Hebrew Bible

In Hellenistic Judaism

In rabbinic literature

In Christianity

See also

References