Difference between revisions of "Incense"

<p> <b> INCENSE. </b> —The English word comes from the Lat. <i> incensus </i> , ‘burnt’ ( <i> incendere </i> , ‘to burn’), and is applied to the materials used for making a perfume which was emitted by the materials being burned. These materials consist of fragrant gums, spices, and scents. </p> <p> ‘Incense’ is the usual translation of θυμιαυα, which occurs in the NT 6 times only: Luke 1:10-11, Revelation 5:8; Revelation 8:3-4; Revelation 18:13. In the passages in Rev. it is always in the plural, and in Revelation 18:13 is rendered in Authorized Version by ‘odours.’ θυμιαμα is the LXX [[Septuagint]] equivalent of Heb. קִטרָת, which comes from קטר ‘to raise an odour by burning,’ and so ‘to burn incense.’ Cognate Gr. words are θυμιάω, ‘to burn incense,’ Luke 1:9 (ἅτ. λεγ. in NT); and θυμιατήριον, Hebrews 9:4 ‘censer,’ or ‘altar of incense.’ The root of these words is θύω = (1) ‘to be in heat,’ (2) ‘to burn,’ (3) ‘to sacrifice (by burning)’; see Grimm-Thayer, <i> s.v. </i> , and cf. θυμίς and θυμόω. The word θυμίαμα is to be carefully distinguished from λίβανος, ‘frankincense’ (Heb. לְבוֹנָה). The latter was an ingredient of the former. λίβανος is found twice in NT (Matthew 2:11 and Revelation 18:13, in the latter together with θυμιάματα). </p> <p> Incense came to be used in connexion with the [[Levitical]] worship in the Temple. [[Special]] care was to be taken in the making of it (Exodus 30:34 f. P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] ). Several passages in the OT indicate that the [[Israelites]] came to regard it (as they did other ceremonies) <i> per se </i> , apart from its spiritual meaning. Hence the denunciations of the prophets (Isaiah 1:13 etc.). In the NT it is referred to only in connexion with the daily service of the [[Temple]] (Luke 1), and also as part of the symbolical heavenly worship in the Apocalypse. In Revelation 5:8; Revelation 8:3-4 it is associated with the prayers of the saints; in Revelation 5:8 apparently being identified with the prayers, and in Revelation 8:3-4 added to the prayers (cf. ταῖς προσευχαῖς in both verses), as though to render them acceptable. Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 ‘with’ in Revelation 8:4 seems impossible. </p> <p> The symbolism seems to be generally that of worship, which, like incense, <i> ascends </i> from earth to heaven. In Psalms 141:2 prayer is thus likened to incense. Godet (on Luke 1:10) thinks there was a close connexion between the two acts of burning incense and offering prayer. </p> <p> ‘The one was the typical, ideal, and therefore perfectly pure prayer; the other the real prayer, which was inevitably imperfect and defiled. The former covered the latter with its sanctity, the latter communicated to the former its reality and life. Thus they were the complement of each other.’ </p> <p> Incense is used in worship in the Greek and [[Roman]] [[Catholic]] Churches, and by some congregations in the Anglican Church. Its earliest use in the [[Christian]] Church seems to have been as a fumigant (so Tertullian). No liturgical use is known for at least 4 if not 5 centuries. Up till then it was regarded as a relic of heathenism. As the [[Holy]] [[Communion]] came to be regarded as a sacrifice, and in some respects analogous to the [[Jewish]] sacrifices, incense became gradually associated with Christian worship. It is at least noteworthy that there is an entire absence of any reference to incense in the Christian Church of the NT in Acts and the Epistles, the only allusions being those in the symbolism of the Apocalypse. May not this be rightly regarded as an <i> argumentum e silentio </i> ? Having the substance, what need is there of the shadow? (John 4:23-24). </p> <p> Literature.—Artt. ‘Incense,’ ‘Frankincense’ in Hasting's Dictionary of the Bible; ‘Incense’ in Smith’s <i> DC </i> A [Note: CA Dictionary of Christian Antiquities.] ; Godet and Plummer on Luke 1:9-11; <i> Speaker’s Com </i> . on Revelation 5:8; Revelation 8:3; Revelation 18:13. </p> <p> W. H. Griffith Thomas. </p>

<p> Incense was a substance produced by grinding and blending certain spices. When burnt it gave off thick white smoke and a strong smell, characteristics that gave incense its ceremonial usefulness. </p> <p> Part of Israel’s religious ritual was to burn incense on the altar inside the tabernacle in a symbolic offering of prayer to God (Exodus 30:1; Psalms 141:2; Revelation 8:3; cf. Malachi 1:11). In addition to burning incense at certain ceremonies (e.g. Leviticus 16:12-13), the priests burnt incense every morning and evening, to symbolize before God the unceasing devotion of his people (Exodus 30:7-8; Luke 1:10). </p> <p> Israel’s law allowed only the priests to burn incense (Exodus 30:7-9; Numbers 3:10). This restriction prompted [[Korah]] and other Levites to rebel against [[Moses]] and Aaron. Moses tested them by telling them to burn incense to see whether God approved. The outcome was that God destroyed them in a fiery judgment (Numbers 16:1-11; Numbers 16:35). </p> <p> The art of preparing incense was well known in [[Egypt]] and Arabia, and the Israelites had apparently learnt such skills from these people. But the formula God gave to Moses was to be used only for the incense of the tabernacle (Exodus 30:34-38). One ingredient of the incense, frankincense, was also burnt with the cereal offering, and was placed on the sacred bread that was kept inside the tabernacle (Exodus 30:34; Leviticus 6:15; Leviticus 24:7). The wise men who visited the baby Jesus presented frankincense as an expression of their homage (Matthew 2:11). </p> <p> [[Spices]] used in the making of incense came from the gum of certain trees and from various plants and herbs (Song of Song of Solomon 4:14). Some of these were grown locally, but many were imported from the east and were an important source of income for ancient traders (Genesis 37:25; Song of Song of Solomon 3:6; Isaiah 60:6; Jeremiah 6:20). (For details of the ointments, medicines, cosmetics and perfumes that were made from spices and vegetable oils see OIL; SPICES.) </p>

<p> <em> Thus; </em> so called by the dealers of drugs in Egypt from <em> thur, </em> or <em> thor, </em> the name of a harbour in the north bay of the Red Sea, near Mount Sinai; thereby distinguishing it from the gum arabic, which is brought from Suez, another port in the Red Sea, not far from Cairo. It differs also in being more pellucid and white. It burns with a bright and strong flame, not easily extinguished. It was used in the temple service as an emblem of prayer, Psalms 141:2; Revelation 8:3-4 . Authors give it, or the best sort of it, the epithets white, pure, pellucid; and so it may have some connection with a word, derived from the same root, signifying unstained, clear, and so applied to moral whiteness and purity, Psalms 51:7; Daniel 12:10 . This gum is said to distil from incisions made in the tree during the heat of summer. What the form of the tree is which yields it, we do not certainly know. Pliny one while says, it is like a pear tree, another, that it is like a mastic tree; then, that it is like the laurel; and, in fine, that it is a kind of turpentine tree. It has been said to grow only in the country of the Sabeans, a people in [[Arabia]] Felix; and [[Theophrastus]] and Pliny affirm that it is found in Arabia. Dioscorides, however, mentions an Indian as well as an [[Arabian]] frankincense. At the present day it is brought from the East Indies, but not of so good a quality as that from Arabia. The "sweet incense," mentioned Exodus 30:7 , and elsewhere, was a compound of several drugs, agreeably to the direction in the thirty-fourth verse. To offer incense was an office peculiar to the priests. They went twice a day into the holy place; namely, morning and evening, to burn incense there. Upon the great, day of expiation, the high priest took incense, or perfume, pounded and ready for being put into the censer, and threw it upon the fire the moment he went into the sanctuary. One reason of this was, that so the smoke which rose from the censer might prevent his looking with too much curiosity on the ark and mercy-seat. God threatened him with death upon failing to perform this ceremony, Leviticus 16:13 . [[Generally]] incense is to be considered as an emblem of the "prayers of the saints," and is so used by the sacred writers. </p>

<p> Incense. From the Latin "to burn".. "A mixture of gums or spices and the like, used for the purpose of producing a perfume when burned;" or the perfume itself of the spices, etc., burned in worship. The incense employed in the service of the [[Tabernacle]] walls compounded of the perfumes stacte, onycha, galbanum and pure frankincense. All incense which was not made of these ingredients was forbidden to be offered. Exodus 30:9. </p> <p> Aaron, as high priest, was originally appointed to offer incense each morning and evening. The times of offering incense were specified in the instructions first given to Moses. Exodus 30:7-8. When the priest entered the Holy Place with the incense, all the people were removed from the Temple, and from between the porch and the altar. Compare Luke 1:10. </p> <p> [[Profound]] silence was observed among the congregation who were praying without, compare Revelation 8:1, and at a signal from the perfect, the priest cast the incense on the fire and, bowing reverently toward the Holy of Holies, retired slowly backward. The offering of incense has formed part of the religious ceremonies of most ancient nations. It was an element in the idolatrous worship of the Israelites. 2 Chronicles 34:25; Jeremiah 11:12; Jeremiah 11:17; Jeremiah 48:35. </p> <p> It would seem to be symbolical, not of itself, but of that which makes acceptable, the intercession of Christ. In Revelation 8:3-4, the incense is of as something distinct from offered with the prayers of, all the saints, compare Luke 1:10 and in Revelation 6:8, it is the golden vials, and not the odors or incense, which are said to be the prayers of saints. </p>

<p> A dry, aromatic gum, exuding from a tree which grows in Arabia and India. It is called also frankincense, from the freedom with which when burning it gives forth its odors. Other spices were mixed with it to make the sacred incense, the use of which for any other purpose was strictly forbidden, Exodus 30:34-38 . To offer incense, among the Hebrews, was an officer peculiar to the priests; for which purpose they entered into the holy apartment of the temple every morning and evening. On the great day of expiation, the high-priest burnt incense in his censer as he entered the Holy of Holies, and the smoke which arose from it prevented his looking with too much curiosity on the ark and mercy seat, Leviticus 16:13 . The Levites were not permitted to touch the censers; and Korah, Dathan, and [[Abiram]] suffered a terrible punishment for violating this prohibition. Incense was especially a symbol of prayer. While it was offered, the people prayed in the court without, and their prayers ascended with the sweet odor of the incense, until the priest returned and gave the blessing. So Christ presents his people and their prayers to God, accepted through his merits and intercession, and gives them the blessing, "Your sins are forgiven; go in peace," Psalm 141:2 Luke 2:9 Revelation 5:8 8:4 . "Incense" sometimes signifies the sacrifices and fat of victims, as no other kind of incense was offered on the altar of burnt-offerings, Psalm 66:15 . For a description of the altar of incense, see [[Altar]] . </p>

<p> <strong> INCENSE </strong> . (1) <em> lebônâh </em> , which should always be tr. [Note: translate or translation.] ‘frankincense’ (wh. see). It was burnt with the meat-offering ( Leviticus 2:1-2; Leviticus 2:15-16; Leviticus 6:15 etc.), and offered with the shewbread ( Leviticus 24:7-9 ). (2) <em> qetôreth </em> , lit. ‘smoke,’ and so used in Isaiah 1:13 , Psalms 66:15; Psalms 141:2; used for a definite substance, Leviticus 10:1 , Ezekiel 8:11 etc. (3) <em> thumiama </em> (Gr.), Luke 1:10 , Revelation 5:8; Revelation 8:3; Revelation 18:13 . The holy incense ( Exodus 30:34 ) was made of stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense, but the incense of later times, which was offered daily ( Jdt 9:1 , Luke 1:8-10 ), was more complicated. According to Josephus, it had thirteen constituents ( <em> BJ </em> V. v. 5). Incense was originally burned in <strong> censers </strong> , but these were latterly used only to carry coals from the great altar to the ‘altar of incense.’ </p> <p> E. W. G. Masterman. </p>

<p> Incense. The sacred perfume offered to God by burning on the incense altar. The gums which composed it are mentioned in Exodus 30:34-38, including salt, for v. 35 reads, "seasoned with salt" in the R. V. Incense was to be burnt on the altar made for the purpose twice a day, in the morning when the lamps were dressed, and also when they were lighted in the evening. It might seem as if this work were restricted to the high priest, Exodus 30:7-8; but certainly the ordinary priests are found burning incense, Leviticus 10:1; and, in later times at least, those who so officiated were chosen by lot, Luke 1:8-9; the people being of course without, v. 10, and probably praying in silence: comp. Revelation 8:1; Revelation 8:3. There was another solemn burning of incense—and this was the high priest's peculiar office—on the great day of atonement. Leviticus 16:13. Jewish writers have said that the incense was to counteract the unpleasant smell which might arise from the carcases of victims. But it had a higher purpose. The psalmist, Psalms 141:2, indicates this, his words implying that prayer was in reality what incense was in symbol. </p>

<p> IN'CENSE, n. in'cens. L. incensum, burnt, from incendo, to burn. </p> 1. [[Perfume]] exhaled by fire the odors of spices and gums, burnt in religious rites, or as an offering to some deity. <p> A thick cloud of incense went up. Ezekiel 8 . </p> 2. The materials burnt for making perfumes. The incense used in the Jewish offerings was a mixture of sweet spices, stacte, onycha, galbanum, and the gum of the frankincense tree. <p> [[Nadab]] and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein and put incense thereon. Lex 10 </p> 3. [[Acceptable]] prayers and praises. Mal.l. 4. In the Materia Medica, a dry resinous substance known by the name of thus and olibanum. <p> IN'CENSE, in'cens. To perfume with incense. In the Romish church, it is the deacon's office to incense the officiating priest or prelate, and the choir. </p>

<p> (ק 2ַ 2ְטוֹרָה, ketorah', Deuteronomy 33:10; usually קְטֹרֶת, keto'reth, which is once applied likewise to the fat of rams, being the part always burned in sacrifice; once קַטֵּי, kitter'. Jeremiah 44:21; all forms of the verb קָטִּי, prop. to smoke, hence to cause an odor by burning, often itself applied to the act of burning incense; Greek, θυμίαμα and cognate terms; sometimes לְבוֹנָה :, lebonah', Isaiah 43:23; Isaiah 60:6; Isaiah 66:3; Jeremiah 6:20; Jeremiah 17:26; Jeremiah 41:5, frankincense, as elsewhere rendered), a perfume which gives forth its fragrance by burning, and in particular, that perfume which was burned upon the Jewish altar of incense. (See Weimar, De sufftu aromatum, Jen. 1678.) (See [[Altar]]). </p> <p> Indeed, the burning of incense seems to have been considered among the Hebrews so much of an act of worship or sacred offering that we read not of any other use of incense than this among them. Nor among the [[Egyptians]] do we discover any trace of burned perfume except in sacerdotal use; but in [[Persian]] sculptures we see incense burned before the king. The offering of ‘ incense has formed a part of the religious ceremonies of most ancient nations. The Egyptians burned resin in honor of the sun at its rising, myrrh when at its meridian, and a mixture called kuphi at its setting (Wilkinson, Anc. Egypt. 5, 315). [[Plutarch]] (De Is. et Os. c. 52, 80) describes kuphi as a mixture of sixteen ingredients. "In the temple of [[Siva]] incense is offered to the Lingam six times in twenty-four hours" (Roberts, Oriental Illust. p. 368). It was also an element in the idolatrous worship of the Israelites (Jeremiah 11:12; Jeremiah 11:17; Jeremiah 48:35; 2 Chronicles 34:25). </p> <p> 1. The incense employed in the service of the tabernacle was distinguished as קְטֹרֶת הִסִּמַּים (ketdoeth has-sammim; Exodus 25:6, incense of the aromnas; Sept. ἡ σύνθεσις τοῦ θυμιάματος; Vulg. thymiamata boni odores; A.V. "sweet incense"). The ingredients of the sacred incense are enumerated with great precision in Exodus 30:34-35 : "Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte (נָטָ, nataph), and onycha (שְׁחֵלֶת, shecheleth), and galbanum (חֶלְבְּנָה . chelbenah); these sweet spices with pure frankincense (לְבֹנָה, lebonah): of each shall there be a like weight. And thou shalt make of it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy." See each of these ingredients in its alphabetical place. All incense which was not made of these ingredients was called קְטוֹרָה זָרָה(ketorah zarah), "strange incense," Exodus 30:9, and was forbidden to be offered. According to [[Rashi]] on Exodus 30:34, the above-mentioned perfumes were mixed in equal proportions, seventy manehs being taken of each. They were compounded by the skill of the apothecary, to whose use, according to Rabbinical tradition, was devoted a portion of the Temple, called, from the name of the family whose especial duty it was to prepare the incense, "the house of Abtines." So in the large temples of India "is retained a man whose chief business it is to distil sweet waters from flowers, and to extract oil from wood, flowers, and other substances" (Roberts, Oriental Illust. p. 82). The priest or [[Levite]] to whose care the incense was intrusted was one of the fifteen ממונים (memunnim), or prefects of the Temple. [[Constant]] watch was kept in the house of Abtines that the incense might always be in readiness (Buxtorf, Lexicon Talmud. s.v. אבטינם ). In addition to the four ingredients already mentioned, Jarchi enumerates seven others, thus making eleven, which the Jewish doctors affirm were communicated to Moses on Mount Sinai. [[Josephus]] (War, 5, 5, 5) mentions thirteen. The proportions of the additional spices are given by [[Maimonides]] (Cele hammnikddsh, 2, 2, § 3) as follows: of myrrh, cassia, spikenard, and saffron, sixteen manehs each; of costus, twelve manehs; cinnamon, nine manehs; sweet bark, three manehs. The weight of the whole confection was 368 manehs. To these was added the fourth part of a cab of salt of Sodom, with amber of Jordan, and an herb called ‘ the smoke-raiser" (מעלה עשׁן, maaleh aishan), known only to the cunning in such matters, to whom the secret descended by tradition. In the ordinary daily service one maneh was used, half in the morning and half in the evening. Allowing, then, one maneh of incense for each day of the solar year, the three manehs which remained were again pounded, and used by the high priest on the day of atonement (Leviticus 16:12). </p> <p> A store of it was constantly kept in the Temple (Joseph. War, 6, 8, 3). The further directions are that this precious compound should be made or broken up into minute particles, and that it should be deposited, as a very holy thing, in the tabernacle "before the testimony" (or ark). As the ingredients are so minutely specified, there was nothing to prevent wealthy persons from having a similar perfume for private use: this, therefore, was forbidden under pain of excommunication: "Ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the Lord. [[Whosoever]] shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people" (v. Exodus 30:37-38). So in some part of India, according to Michaelis (Mosaische Recht, art. 249), it was considered high treason for any person to make use of the best sort of calcambak, which was for the service of the king alone. The word which describes the various ingredients as being "tempered together" literally means salted (מְמֻלָּה, memulnlach). — The [[Chaldee]] and Greek versions, however, have set the example of rendering it by mixed or tempered, as if their idea was that the different ingredients were to be mixed together. just as salt is mixed with any substance over which it is sprinkled. Ainsworth contends for the literal meaning, inasmuch as the law (Leviticus 2:13) expressly says, "With all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt." In support of this he cites Maimonides, who affirms that there was not anything offered on the altar without salt, except the wine of the drink offering, and the blood, and the wood; and of the incense he says, still more expressly, that "they added to it a cab of salt." In accordance with this, it is supposed, our [[Savior]] says. "Every sacrifice shall be salted with salt" (Mark 9:49). Ainsworth further remarks: "If our speech is to be always with grace, seasoned with salt, as the apostle teaches (Colossians 4:6), how much more should our incense, our prayers unto God, be therewith seasoned!" It is difficult, however, to see how so anomalous a substance as salt could well be combined in the preparation; and if it was used, as we incline to think that it was, it was probably added in the act of offering. (See [[Salt]]). </p> <p> The expression בִּד בְּבִד (bad bebad), Exodus 30:34, is interpreted by the Chaldee "weight by weight," that is, an equal weight of each (comp. Jarchi, ad loc.); and this rendering is adopted by our version. Others, however, and among them [[Aben-Ezra]] and Maimonides, consider it as signifying that each of the spices was separately prepared, and that all were afterwards mixed. </p> <p> 2. Aaron, as high-priest, was originally appointed to offer incense, but in the daily service of the second Temple the office devolved upon the inferior priests, from among whom one was chosen by lot (Mishna, oma, 2, 4; Luke 1:9) each morning and evening (Abarbanel, On Leviticus 10:1). A peculiar blessing was supposed to be attached to this service, and in order that all might share in it, the lot was cast among those who were "new to the incense," if any remained (Mishna, Yoma, 1. c.; Bartenora, On Tamid, 5, 2). Uzziah was punished for his presumption in attempting to infringe the prerogatives of the descendants of Aaron, who were consecrated to burn incense (2 Chronicles 26:16-21; Joseph. Ant. 9, 10, 4). The officiating priest appointed another, whose office it was to take the fire from the brazen altar. According to Maimonides (Tamid Unus, 1', 8; 3:5), this fire was taken from the second pile, which was over against the S.E. corner of the altar of burnt offering, and was of fig-tree wood. A silver shovel ( מִחְתָּה machtah) was first filled with the live coals, and afterwards emptied into a golden one, smaller than the former, so that some of the coals were spilled (Mishna, Tamid, 5, 5; Yoma; 4, 4; comp. Revelation 8:5). Another priest cleared the golden altar from the cinders which had been left at the previous offering of incense (Mishna, Tamid, 3, 6, 9; 6:1). </p> <p> The times of offering incense were specified in the instructions first given to Moses (Exodus 30:7-8). The morning incense was offered when the lamps were trimmed in the holy place, and before the sacrifice, when the watchman set for the purpose announced the break of day (Mishna, Yoma, 3:1, 5). When the lamps were lighted "between the evenings," after the evening sacrifice and before the drink-offerings were offered, incense was again burnt on the golden altar which "belonged to the oracle" (1 Kings 6:22), and stood before the veil which separated the holy place from the Holy of Holies, the throne of God (Revelation 8:4; Philo, De Anim. ison. §3). </p> <p> When the priest entered the holy place with the incense, all the people were removed from the Temple, and from between the porch and the altar (Maimonides, Tamid Ulmus, 3, 3; compare Luke 1:10. The incense was then brought from the house of' Atines in a large vessel of gold called כִּ (caph), in which was a phial (בזי,ִ bazik, properly "a salver") containing the incense (Mishna, Tamid, 5, 4). The assistant priests who attended to the lamps, "he clearing of the golden altar from the cinders, and the fetching fire from the altar of burnt-offering, performed their offices singly, bowed towards the ark of the covenant, and left the holy place before the priest, whose lot it was to offer incense, entered. Profound silence was observed among the congregation who were praying without (comp. Revelation 8:1), and at a signal from the prefect the priest cast the incense on the fire (Mishna, Tamid, 6, 3), and, bowing reverently towards the Holy of Holies, retired slowly backwards, not prolonging his prayer that he might not alarm the congregation, or cause them to fear that he had been struck dead for offering unworthily (Leviticus 16:13; Luke 1:21; Mishna, Yoma, 5, 1). When he came out he pronounced the blessing in Numbers 6:24-26, the "magrephah" sounded, and the Levites burst forth into song, accompanied by the full swell of the Temple music, the sound of which, say the Rabbins, could be heard as far as [[Jericho]] (Mishna, Tamid, 3:8). It is possible that this may be alluded to in Revelation 8:5. The priest then emptied the censer in a clean place, and hung it on one of the horns of the altar of burnt-offering. (See [[Censer]]). </p> <p> On the day of atonement the service was different. The high-priest, after sacrificing the bullock as a sin-offering for himself and his family, took incense in his left hand, and a golden shovel filled with live coals from the west side of the brazen altar (Jarchi, On Leviticus 16:12) in his right, and went into the Holy of Holies. He then placed the shovel upon the ark between the two bars. In the second Temple, where there was no ark, a stone was substituted. Then, sprinkling the incense upon the coals, he stayed till the house was filled with smoke, and, walking slowly backwards, came without the veil, where he prayed for a short time (Maimonides, Yom hakkippur, quoted by Ainsworth, On Leviticus 16; Outram, De Sacrificiis, 1, 8, § 11). (See [[Day Of Atonement]]). </p> <p> 3. With regard to the symbolical meaning of incense, opinions have been many and widely different. While Maimonides regarded it merely as a perfume designed to counteract the effluvia arising from the beasts which were slaughtered for the daily sacrifice, other interpreters have allowed their imaginations to run riot, and vied with the wildest speculations of the Midrashim. Phile (Quis rer. div. haer. sit. § 41, p. 501) conceives the stacte and onycha to be symbolical of water and earth; galbanum and frankincense of air and fire. Josephus, following the traditions of his time, believed that the ingredients of the incense were chosen from the products of the. sea, the inhabited and the uninhabited parts of the earth, to indicate that all things are of God and for God (War, 5, 5, 5). As the Temple or tabernacle was the palace of Jehovah, the theocratic king of Israel, and the ark of the, covenant his throne, so the incense, in the opinion of. some, corresponded to the perfumes in which the luxurious monarchs of the East delighted. It may mean all this, but it must mean much more. Grotius, on Exodus 30:1, says the mystical signification is "sursum habenda corda." [[Cornelius]] a Lapide, on Exodus 30:34, considers it as an apt emblem of propitiation, and finds a symbolical meaning in the several ingredients. Fairbairn (Typology of Scripture, 2, 320), with many others, looks upon prayer as the reality of which incense is the symbol, founding his conclusion upon Psalms 141:2; Revelation 5:8; Revelation 8:3-4. </p> <p> [[Bahr]] (Sym. d. Mos. Cult. vol. 1, c. 6:§ 4) opposes this view of the subject of the ground that the chief thing in offering incense is not the producing of the smoke, which presses like prayer towards: heaven, but the spreading of the fragrance. His own exposition may be summed up as fallows. Prayer, among all Oriental nations, signifies calling upon the name of God. The oldest prayers consisted in the mere enumeration of the several titles of God. The [[Scripture]] places incense in close relationship to prayer, so that offering incense is synonymous with worship. Hence incense itself is a symbol of the name of God. The ingredients of the incense correspond severally to the perfections of God, though it is impossible to decide to which of the four names of God each belongs. Perhaps stacte corresponds to יְהֹוָה (Jehovah), onycha to אֵֹלהַים (Elohimn), galbanum to חִי (chai), and frankincense to קָדוֹש ׁ(kadosh). Such is Bahr's exposition of the symbolism of incense, rather ingenious than logical. Looking upon incense in connection with the other ceremonial observances of the [[Mosaic]] ritual, it would rather seem to be symbolical, not of prayer itself, but of that which makes prayer acceptable, the intercession of Christ. In Revelation 8:3-4, the incense is spoken of as something distinct from, though offered with, the prayers of all the saints (comp. Luke 1:10); and in Revelation 5:3 it is the golden vials, and not the odors or incense, which are said to be the prayers of saints. Psalms 141:2, at first sight, appears to militate against this conclusion; but if it be argued from this passage that incense is an emblem of prayer, it must also be allowed that the evening sacrifice has the same symbolical meaning. (See [[Perfume]]). </p>

<p> Incense, a perfume which gives forth its fragrance by burning, and, in particular, that perfume which was burnt upon the altar of incense [ALTAR; CENSER]. Indeed, the burning of incense seems to have been considered among the Hebrews so much of an act of worship or sacred offering, that we read not of any other use of incense than this among them. Nor among the Egyptians do we discover any trace of burnt perfume except in sacerdotal use; but in the Persian sculptures we see incense burnt before the king. The prohibition of the Hebrews to make any perfume for private use—'to smell to'—like that prepared for the altar, merely implies, we apprehend, that the sacred incense had a peculiarly rich fragrance before being burnt, which was forbidden to be imitated in common perfumes. </p> <p> The ingredients of the sacred incense are enumerated with great precision in : 'Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense; of each shall there be a like weight. And thou shalt make of it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy.' For an explanation of these various ingredients, we must refer to their several names in the present work. The further directions are, that this precious compound should be made or broken up into minute particles, and that it should be deposited, as a very holy thing, in the tabernacle 'before the testimony' (or ark). As the ingredients are so minutely specified, there was nothing to prevent wealthy persons from having a similar perfume for private use: and this, therefore, was forbidden under pain of excommunication: 'Ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the Lord. Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people' . </p> <p> According to Maimonides, the reason for the use of incense was to prevent the stench which would otherwise have been occasioned by the number of beasts every day slaughtered in the sanctuary, and to render the odor of the sanctuary, and of the vestments of those that ministered, exceedingly grateful. </p> <p> This is very well; and no doubt the use of incense, which we always find in religions where worship is rendered by sacrifice, had its origin in some such considerations. But we are not to lose sight of the symbolical meaning of this grateful offering. It was a symbol of prayer. It was offered at the time when the people were in the posture and act of prayer; and their orisons were supposed to be presented to God by the priest, and to ascend to Him in the smoke and odor of that fragrant offering. This beautiful idea of the incense frequently occurs in Scripture (comp.;;;;; ). </p>

<p> A fragrance which arises from the burning of certain gums and burnt in connection with sundry religious observances, particularly in the Roman Catholic Church, as an expression of praise presumably well pleasing to God; a practice which [[Protestants]] repudiate as without warrant in Scripture. </p>