Exodus 30:34

“And the Lord said unto Moses, etc.] In a continued discourse, or some time after the former, though more probably at the same time; since it concerns the incense to be offered on the altar of incense, about which directions are given in the former part of the chapter: take unto thee sweet spices: which are as follow, “stacte”, “onycha”, and “galbanum”; the former of these has its name from dropping; and of the same signification is the Hebrew word “Nataph”, here used. Pancirollus says f915, myrrh is a drop or tear distilling from a tree in Arabia Felix; and stacte is a drop of myrrh, which is extracted from it, and yields a most precious liquor: and so Pliny f916 relates, that myrrh trees…”

“the Lord said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices--These were: stacte--the finest myrrh; onycha--supposed to be an odoriferous shell; galbanum--a gum resin from an umbelliferous plant. frankincense--a dry, resinous, aromatic gum, of a yellow color, which comes from a tree in Arabia, and is obtained by incision of the bark. This incense was placed within the sanctuary, to be at hand when the priest required to burn on the altar. The art of compounding unguents and perfumes was well known in Egypt, where sweet-scented spices were extensively used not only in common life, but in the ritual of the temples. Most of the ingredients here mentioned have been found on minute examination of…”

“Exodus 37:29. The incense, like the anointing oil, consisted of four aromatic ingredients. Stacte - supposed to be either the gum of the Storax tree (Styrax officinale) found in Syria and the neighboring countries, or the gum known as Benzoin, or Gum Benjamin, which is an important ingredient in the incense now used in churches and mosques, and is the produce of another storax tree (Styrax benzoin) that grows in Java and Sumatra. Onycha - , a perfume perhaps made from the cap of the strombus, or wing-shell, which abounds in the Red Sea. Galbanum - , a gum of a yellowish brown color, in the form of either grains or masses. It is imported from India, Persia, and Africa; but the plant from…”

“The incense which was burned upon the golden altar was prepared of sweet spices likewise, though not so rare and rich as those which the anointing oil was compounded of. This was prepared once a year, (the Jews say) a pound for each day of the year, and three pound over for the day of atonement. When it was used it was to be beaten very small; thus it pleased the Lord to bruise the Redeemer, when he offered himself for a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour. Concerning both these preparations the same law is here given, that the like should not be made for any common use. Thus God would preserve in the peoples minds a reverence for his own institutions, and teach us not to profane or abuse…”

“unto thee: Exo 30:23, Exo 25:6, Exo 37:29 stacte: Heb. nataph, The Jews and others suppose it to be what was afterwards called the balm of Jericho, or Gilead. onycha: The word shechaileth is generally allowed to denote onycha (nail-fish, from its form), as it is rendered by the LXX and Vulgate. It is the shell of the purpura, and of the whole class of murex; and serves as the basis of the principal perfumes in India. galbanum: Chelbenah, (probably from chalay, milk or gum, and lavan, white), is the gummy, resinous juice of an umbelliferous plant, the bubon gumniferum of Linneus, growing in Syria, Persia, and Africa. It rises with a ligneous stalk from eight to ten feet, and is garnished with…”

“The Holy Incense was also to be made of four ingredients, viz., (1) nataph (στακτή, stacte), i.e., not the resinous myrrh, or sap obtained from the fragrant myrrh and dried, but a kind of storax gum resembling myrrh, which was baked, and then used, like incense, for fumigating; - (2) shecheleth (ὄνυξ, ungius odoratus), the shell of a shell-fish resembling the purpura, of an agreeable odour; - (3) chelbenah (χαλβάνη), a resin of a pungent, bitter flavour, obtained, by means of an incision in the bark, from the ferula, a shrub which grows in Syria, Arabia, and Abyssinia, and then mixed with fragrant substances to give greater pungency to their odour; - and (4) lebonah (λίβανος or…”