Balm: contracted from Bal'sam, a general name for many oily or resinous substances which flow or trickle from certain trees or plants when an incision is made through the bark.
This word occurs in the Authorized Version (Genesis 37:25; 43:11; Jeremiah 8:22; 46:11; 51:8; Ezekiel 27:17) as the rendering of the Hebrew word tsori or tseri, which denotes the gum of a tree growing in Gilead (which see), which is very precious. It was celebrated for its medicinal qualities, and was circulated as an article of merchandise by Arab and Phoenician merchants. The shrub so named was highly valued, and was almost peculiar to Palestine. In the time of Josephus it was cultivated in the neighbourhood of Jericho and the Dead Sea. There is an Arab tradition that the tree yielding this balm was brought by the queen of Sheba as a present to Solomon, and that he planted it in his gardens at Jericho.
There is another Hebrew word, basam or bosem, from which our word "balsam," as well as the corresponding Greek balsamon, is derived. It is rendered "spice" (Song of Solomon 5:1,13; 6:2; margin of Revised Version, "balsam;" Exodus 35:28; 1 Kings 10:10), and denotes fragrance in general. Basam also denotes the true balsam-plant, a native of South Arabia.
