Exodus 30:23

“Take thou also unto thee principal spices, etc.] To make the anointing oil with, and are as follow: of pure myrrh five hundred shekels; it is strange that Saadiah, and so Maimonides f896, should take this for musk, which comes from a beast, and is confuted by Aben Ezra from (<220501>Song of Solomon 5:1) from whence it plainly appears to be what comes from a tree; and the word “mor”, here used, gives the tree the name of myrrh almost in all languages. And it is justly mentioned first among the chief of spices; since, as Pliny f897 says, none is preferred unto the stacte or liquor that flows from it, that which is pure myrrh, unmixed, unadulterated; or “myrrh of freedom” f898, which flows…”

“Take thou also . . . principal spices, &c.--Oil is frequently mentioned in Scripture as an emblem of sanctification, and anointing with it a means of designating objects as well as persons to the service of God. Here it is prescribed by divine authority, and the various ingredients in their several proportions described which were to compose the oil used in consecrating the furniture of the tabernacle. myrrh--a fragrant and medicinal gum from a little known tree in Arabia. sweet cinnamon--produced from a species of laurel or sweet bay, found chiefly in Ceylon, growing to a height of twenty feet: this spice is extracted from the inner bark, but it is not certain whether that mentioned by…”

“Compare Exodus 37:29. Exodus 30:23 Principal spices - i. e. the best spices. Pure myrrh - Is a gum which comes from the stem of a low, thorny, ragged tree, that grows in Arabia Felix and Eastern Africa, called by botanists Balsamodendron myrrha. The word here rendered pure, is literally, “freely flowing”, an epithet which is explained by the fact that the best myrrh is said to exude spontaneously from the bark, while that of inferior quality oozes out in greater quantity from incisions made in the bark. Five hundred shekels - Probably rather more than 15 1/4 lbs. See Exodus 38:24. Cinnamon - is obtained from a tree allied to the laurel that grows in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and other islands of…”

“Interpreters are not agreed concerning these ingredients: the spices, which were in all near half a hundred weight, were to be infused in the oil, which was to be about five or six quarts, and then strained out, leaving an admirable smell in the oil. With this oil God's tent and all the furniture of it were to be anointed; it was to be used also in the consecration of the priests. It was to be continued throughout their generations, Exo 30:31. Solomon was anointed with it, Kg1 1:39, and some other of the kings, and all the high priests, with such a quantity of it, as that it ran down to the skirts of the garments; and we read of the making it up, Ch1 9:30. Yet all agree that in the second…”

“thee principal: Exo 37:29; Psa 45:8; Pro 7:17; Sol 1:3, Sol 1:13, Sol 4:14; Jer 6:20; Eze 27:19, Eze 27:22 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…”