* thee principal.
37:29 Ps 45:8 Pr 7:17 So 1:3,13 4:14 Jer 6:20 Eze 27:19,22
* pure myrrh.
Myrrh is a white gum, issuing from the trunk and larger
branches of a thorny tree resembling the acacia, growing in
Arabia, Egypt, and Abyssinia. Its taste is extremely bitter;
but its smell, though strong, is agreeable; and it entered
into the composition of the most costly ointments among the
ancients. The epithet {deror,} rendered pure, properly
denotes fluid, from the Arabic {darra,} to flow; by which is
meant the finest and most excellent kind, called {stacte,}
which issues of itself from the bark without incision.
* cinnamon.
{Kinnamon bosem,} odoriferous or spicy cinnamon, is the bark
of the canella, a small tree of the size of a willow growing
in the island of Ceylon.
* sweet calamus.
{Kenaih bosem,} {calamus aromaticus,} or odoriferous cane, is
a reed growing in Egypt, Syria, and India, about two feet in
height, bearing from the root a knotted stalk, quite round,
containing in its cavity a soft white pith. It is said to
scent the air while growing; and when cut down, dried, and
powdered, makes an ingredient in the richest perfumes.
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