By Helene Rudolph

A Natural Adhesive

Balsam is used as a natural fixative (adhesive) to make a little scent go a long way.

II Samuel 5:22-25 and I Chronicles 14:10-17 tells the story of how David inquired of the LORD whether to go up against the Philistines and God instructed him with:

“You shall not go (directly) up; circle around behind them and come at them in front of the balsam trees. And it shall be, when you hear the sound of marching in the tops of the balsam trees, then you shall act promptly, for then the LORD will have gone out before you to strike the army of the Philistines.”

A Place of Weeping

The balsam trees referred to in the Scriptures above is ‘bacha’ in Hebrew, indicating a shrub which drips sap when it is cut. It is also known as a weeping tree.

Psalm 56:8 says, :Thou has taken account of my wanderings; put my tears in Thy bottle; are (they) not in Thy book?”

In the classical world, when a loved one died, mourners would catch their falling tears in a bottle and bury them as a token of eternal devotion.  Excavated bottles endured as a talisman of some ancient passion. 

As delicate as a teardrop itself, these glass bottles reminds us of the essential human emotions, since it captured someone’s sadness. You can view an example of a Roman glass tear bottle on the right.

Psalms 84:5-7 tells us about weeping in Bacha, “How blessed is the man whose strength is in Thee; in whose heart are the highways (to Zion).  Passing through the Valley of Bacha, they make it a spring, the early rain also covers it with blessings.  They go from strength to strength every one of them, appears before God in Zion”.

Balsam here reminds us that our tears are not forgotten by God.

An Exotic Aroma

Another word translated as balsam in the New American Standard Bible is “bosem”, which in Hebrew means to perfume, to smell sweet or be fragrant.

“I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrh along with my balsam. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey, I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends, drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.” (Song of Solomon 5:1)

“His cheeks are like a bed of balsam, banks of sweet-scented herbs…” (Song 5:13a)

“My beloved has gone down to his garden, to the beds of balsam, to pasture his flock in the gardens and gather lilies.” ( Song 6:2)

Balsam has an exotic aroma, which anchors, strengthens and imparts a rich earthy scent to perfumes.

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Helene Rudolph and her family immigrated from South Africa to Israel in the 1990’s.  Helene teaches and ministers to women about the preparation of the Bride of Messiah. She also produces anointing oils at home, in the city of Modi’in where has she her small business.