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frankincense |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Frankincense \Frank"in*cense\, n. [OF. franc free pure + encens incense.] A fragrant, aromatic resin, or gum resin, burned as an incense in religious rites or for medicinal fumigation. The best kinds now come from East Indian trees, of the genus {Boswellia}; a commoner sort, from the Norway spruce ({Abies excelsa}) and other coniferous trees. The frankincense of the ancient Jews is still unidentified. From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: frankincense n : an aromatic gum resin obtained from various Arabian or E African trees; formerly valued for worship and for embalming and fumigation [syn: {olibanum}, {gum olibanum}] From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]: Frankincense (Heb. lebonah; Gr libanos i.e., "white"), an odorous resin imported from Arabia (Isa. 60:6; Jer. 6:20), yet also growing in Palestine (Cant. 4:14). It was one of the ingredients in the perfume of the sanctuary (Ex. 30:34), and was used as an accompaniment of the meat-offering (Lev. 2:1, 16; 6:15; 24:7). When burnt it emitted a fragrant odour, and hence the incense became a symbol of the Divine name (Mal. 1:11; Cant. 1:3) and an emblem of prayer (Ps. 141:2; Luke 1:10; Rev. 5:8; 8:3). This frankincense, or olibanum, used by the Jews in the temple services is not to be confounded with the frankincense of modern commerce, which is an exudation of the Norway spruce fir, the Pinus abies. It was probably a resin from the Indian tree known to botanists by the name of Boswellia serrata or thurifera, which grows to the height of forty feet.
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