
Myrrh
Myrrh was used for incense in Hebrew ceremonies and has a sweet smell.
Two Hebrew words are translated as “myrrh” in the KJV of the Bible. The first, lōṭ, refers to a product of Israel and should properly be called “ladanum” (Akkad. ladunu, Arabic ladan), an exudation from the rockrose Cistus, three species of which are found in Israel.
When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh [lōṭ] down to Egypt. (Genesis 37:25 NET)
Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and take a gift down to the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds. (Genesis 43:11 NET)
An argument favoring ladanum is that Genesis 43:11 mentions gifts from Israel to a foreign land, and true myrrh is not native to Israel. A fragrant but bitter gum is obtained from the stems and leaves of this shrub, which was formerly used medically but is now chiefly valued as a fixative in perfumery. This was the “myrrh” carried down into Egypt. (7,10,13,17)

The true myrrh (muhr; from Hebrew mor and Greek murra, samodendron, or smurna) is an exotic gum resin from the low thorny shrub Balsamodendron myrrha, native only to the rocky or mountainous terrain of Arabia, Ethiopia, Somali, Kenya, Yemen, and Oman (i.e., myrrh is not native to Israel). Along with frankincense, which comes from the same area, myrrh formed the base of a vast and lucrative trade in spices and perfumery that enriched the Arabs and made this one of the most important commercial ventures of the ancient world. (10)(23)(24)(30)

Most of the references in Scripture to myrrh are to Commiphora myrrha, although Commiphora kataf may also be involved since it grows in the same region and is similar. Both species are low, scrubby, thick- and stiff-branched thorny branched shrubs or small trees that grow in rocky places, especially on limestone hills. The wood and bark are grey in color and strongly odorous; a gum exudes naturally from the stems and branches. It is bitter and slightly pungent to the taste and not at all palatable, but it was esteemed in medicine as an astringent tonic for a time. It gives off a strong but pleasant scent that has variously been described as earthy, woody, and balsamic. The finest myrrh is the resin secreted of itself, rather than by artificial incision, through the bark. Routinely, the bark is incised to increase the yield of the resin. The gum is a thick, light yellow-colored paste that hardens into a pale reddish-yellow, dark red, reddish-brownish, or even black resin quickly when exposed to the atmosphere with a peculiar balsam smell. When it drops off the plant, the resin is called “myrrh tears.”(6)(7)(8)(20)(30)

This typologically depicts the sweat-like drops of blood (1) that Jesus suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane before He suffered the most disgraceful death of crucifixion (Luke 22:39-44)
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Like frankincense (1), myrrh is a plant product derived from members of the Burseraceae family. Myrrh is an incense often mentioned with frankincense in biblical and other ancient sources. Highly prized from the earliest time; however, it was very costly, and only rulers and the very wealthy could afford it (Matthew 2:11). True myrrh was used in anointing oil and incense (Exodus 30:23,48), as a perfume (Esther 2:12) but less so than frankincense, as a deodorant for clothes (Psalms 45:8, Song of Songs 1:13; 3:6; 5:5), as a medicine perhaps it was to deaden pain that the mixture of wine, myrrh, and aloes was offered to Jesus on the cross (Matthew 27:34; Mark 15:23) or for a lover’s couch as part of the process of seduction used by the adulterous wife was by perfuming her bed with myrrh (Proverbs 7:17). It was part of the cosmetic treatment used to purify young girls for the king’s bed (Esther 2:13) (Myrrh was capable of being diluted to form a liquid cosmetic product and this was probably the “oil of myrrh”), and it was also used in embalming (Mark 15:23; John 19:39). Myrrh appears among the items of luxury trade flowing into Babylon (Rome) as it meets its doom (Revelation 18:13). Along with gold and frankincense it exemplifies the rich gifts brought to the infant Christ by the Magi from the East (Matt. 2:1, 11). (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(17)(18)(21)(26)(27)

There are several different species of Myrrh trees, with the following being the most common:
Commiphora Myrrha (True Myrrh) is the most well-known source of myrrh. Native to Somalia, this tree yields the resin known as “true myrrh.” Its aromatic tears have been used for centuries in various cultural and spiritual practices.
Commiphora Erythraea (Sweet Myrrh), also called opopanax, produces myrrh with sweeter and fruitier notes. It hails from Ethiopia and has a distinct aroma that differentiates it from true myrrh.
Commiphora Molmol (Bitter Myrrh) is derived from this tree and is found in regions like Yemen and Oman. Known for its potent aroma, this variety has been historically treasured for its therapeutic properties. (29)

The dried resin is ground for incense burners or diluted to make oil. In either case, the processed commodity was very valuable, carried by traders, and distributed throughout the ancient Near East. (8)(28)
And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, and slaves, that is, human souls. (Revelation 18:11–13 NET)

In a world without deodorant and air fresheners, myrrh was burned by the well-to-do to improve the scent of a room or worn as a personal fragrance to cover body odor. When Esther and the other harem women underwent a rigorous beauty regimen before being presented to the Persian king Xerxes, they were treated with myrrh oil for six months to permeate their skin with the smell of the exotic scent. (28)
At the end of the twelve months that were required for the women, when the turn of each young woman arrived to go to King Ahasuerus—for in this way they had to fulfill their time of cosmetic treatment: six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with perfume and various ointments used by women— (Esther 2:12 NET)
However, there is more to myrrh than first meets the nose; various cultures have also discovered the antiseptic nature of this product and applied it to wounds and sores. For those living in Egypt, myrrh even had a role to play after death, and it was used as one of the ingredients in the embalming process. (28)
The Israelites had a very special use for myrrh. They anointed individuals and ordinary objects with a special oil containing myrrh to mark them as set aside for special service to the Lord. (28)
The Lord spoke to Moses:“ Take choice spices: twelve and a half pounds of free-flowing myrrh, half that—about six and a quarter pounds—of sweet-smelling cinnamon, six and a quarter pounds of sweet-smelling cane, and twelve and a half pounds of cassia, all weighed according to the sanctuary shekel, and four quarts of olive oil. You are to make this into a sacred anointing oil, a perfumed compound, the work of a perfumer. It will be sacred anointing oil. (Exodus 30:22–25 NET)
The role of myrrh as a symbol of sensual stimulation is the one we find most often when reading the Bible. The adulteress included the mention of her bed being perfumed with myrrh and other spices in her intoxicating invitation to young men. (28)
I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. (Proverbs 7:17 NET)
Myrrh is apropos for another reason – adultery will lead to death (1).
She persuaded him with persuasive words; with her smooth talk she compelled him. Suddenly he went after her like an ox that goes to the slaughter, like a stag prancing into a trapper’s snare till an arrow pierces his liver— like a bird hurrying into a trap, and he does not know that it will cost him his life. (Proverbs 7:21–23 NET)
But this illicit use of myrrh contrasts the wholesome imagery used elsewhere. In the Psalms is a wedding song composed and used in connection with the marriage of a king. As this king rides to the wedding ceremony, he is well-dressed with his sword at his side. He looks great and smells great, poised for the delights of his wedding day. (28)
My heart is stirred by a beautiful song. I say, “I have composed this special song for the king; my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.” You are the most handsome of all men! You speak in an impressive and fitting manner! For this reason God grants you continual blessings. Strap your sword to your thigh, O warrior! Appear in your majestic splendor! Appear in your majesty and be victorious! Ride forth for the sake of what is right, on behalf of justice! Then your right hand will accomplish mighty acts! Your arrows are sharp and penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies. Nations fall at your feet. Your throne, O God, is permanent. The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice. You love justice and hate evil. For this reason God, your God has anointed you with the oil of joy, elevating you above your companions. All your garments are perfumed with myrrh, aloes, and cassia. From the luxurious palaces comes the music of stringed instruments that makes you happy. (Psalm 45:1–8 NET)
Song of Solomon contains scenes from marriage ceremonies, and this aphrodisiac finds its place in this setting. Given the connection of myrrh to marriage delights, we are not surprised to find it used more often in the Song of Solomon than in any other Bible book. Here, the young bride-to-be wears a sachet of myrrh between her breasts, which she likens to her beloved. (22)(28)
My beloved is like a fragrant pouch of myrrh spending the night between my breasts. (Song of Songs 1:13 NET)
The “mountain of myrrh” and “hill of frankincense” are not a geographical location but the lover’s figure of speech for a woman’s breasts.
Your two breasts are like two fawns, twins of the gazelle grazing among the lilies. Until the dawn arrives and the shadows flee, I will go up to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense. (Song of Songs 4:5,6 NET)
She is further pictured as a garden that includes myrrh and as one whose hands drip with myrrh.
You are a locked garden, my sister, my bride; you are an enclosed spring, a sealed-up fountain. Your shoots are a royal garden full of pomegranates with choice fruits: henna with nard, nard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon with every kind of spice, myrrh and aloes with all the finest spices. You are a garden spring, a well of fresh water flowing down from Lebanon. (Song of Songs 4:12–15 NET)
I arose to open for my beloved; my hands dripped with myrrh— my fingers flowed with myrrh on the handles of the lock. (Song of Songs 5:5 NET)
The pleasant scent of myrrh and all the sensual overtones that go with it are also linked to the man in the Song of Solomon.
Who is this coming up from the desert like a column of smoke, like a fragrant billow of myrrh and frankincense, every kind of fragrant powder of the traveling merchants? (Song of Songs 3:6 NET)
His cheeks are like garden beds full of balsam trees yielding perfume. His lips are like lilies dripping with drops of myrrh. (Song of Songs 5:13 NET)
This expensive product also plays a literary role in two familiar Bible stories.
In the first, myrrh appears shortly after we meet Joseph, who finds himself in a most perilous situation; the jealousy of his brothers has matured into a hate-filled plan to murder the upstart brother and his dreams of lording it over them. But when a caravan of traders passed nearby, they changed the course of their plan and Joseph’s fate. Joseph was sold to the traders and added to their products, including “spices, balm, and myrrh.” (28)
When they sat down to eat their food, they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead. Their camels were carrying spices, balm, and myrrh down to Egypt. (Genesis 37:25 NET)
Pound for pound, that precious myrrh was much more valuable than the slave Joseph had become. This apparently incidental mention of myrrh takes on new depth when it occurs again in Joseph’s story. Fearing the worst but hoping for the best, Jacob agreed to send Benjamin to Egypt as his sons again sought grain from the Egyptian official who seemed so curious about them. To influence the goodwill of that official, Jacob sent along some of the best products of the land and a special import as well, myrrh. (28)
Then their father Israel said to them, “If it must be so, then do this: Take some of the best products of the land in your bags, and take a gift down to the man—a little balm and a little honey, spices and myrrh, pistachios and almonds. (Genesis 43:11 NET)
At the second mention of myrrh in this story, the attentive reader is struck by how dramatically Joseph’s fortunes have been reversed. The young man who had become a commodity like myrrh and was transported with the myrrh to Egypt had become so influential that his favor was sought by a special gift of myrrh. (28)
Finally, myrrh appears at the opening and closing of Jesus’ life. Myrrh was more precious per ounce than gold, and the magi who came to honor the newborn King of the Jews brought gifts of both. (28)
As they came into the house and saw the child with Mary his mother, they bowed down and worshiped him. They opened their treasure boxes and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11 NET)

All the ancient commentators affirm that each of the three gifts—gold, frankincense, and myrrh—offered by the Magi (1) is replete with spiritual significance. Thus, it was widely accepted in early times that myrrh was emblematic of the death of Christ since myrrh was used for embalming. Others regarded it as setting forth His true human nature and, therefore, as teaching the mortification of the flesh by abstinence. (19)
The well-known ancient hymn, part of which refers to this, says:
‘Gold, a monarch to declare;
Frankincense, that God is there;
Myrrh, to tell the heavier tale
Of His tomb and funeral.’
Though we may admit that there was an unconscious fulfillment of prophecy in the gifts presented, no symbolism of the nature referred to can have been designed by the Magi. So far as their intention was concerned, they simply offered to the new-born King, whom they came to worship, the choicest and most precious products of their country and thus expressed their homage. (19)
Camel caravans will cover your roads, young camels from Midian and Ephah. All the merchants of Sheba will come, bringing gold and incense and singing praises to the Lord. (Isaiah 60:6 NET)
We are told that there was offered to Christ, probably just before He was nailed to the cross (1) (Gk. ἑσμυρνισμένον οἷνον), “wine mingled with myrrh.”
They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. (Mark 15:23 NET)
It was offered, of course, as a painkiller. Still, as myrrh was often infused into wine to give it a more agreeable flavor and fragrance, it has been held by some that Matthews’ expression (Gk. οἶνον μετὰ χολῆς), “wine mingled with gall,” is the more correct, because the mingling of gall with wine to render it anæsthetic was a well-known practice.
They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “Place of the Skull”) and offered Jesus wine mixed with gall to drink. But after tasting it, he would not drink it. (Matthew 27:33–34 NET)
It is, however, possible that the gall of Matthew was the same as the myrrh of Mark, the corresponding Hebrew words being from the same root, and both signifying “bitter.” The mingling of myrrh with the wine would render it more potent as a painkiller, and we must accept the word Mark gave as conveying the purpose for which the drink was offered. Such a drink, called by the Romans sopor, was regularly offered to criminals just before their crucifixion. It was provided by an association of wealthy women in Jerusalem, who prepared it for that purpose. This drugged wine was probably partaken of by the two malefactors. But, having tasted it and ascertained its object, Jesus would not drink it. (19)
Jesus refused the wine mixed with myrrh as He came to bear all our pain and suffering. Jesus went all the way for us; have we gone all the way for Him? Selah.
He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant. But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain; even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done. He was wounded because of our rebellious deeds, crushed because of our sins; he endured punishment that made us well; because of his wounds we have been healed. All of us had wandered off like sheep; each of us had strayed off on his own path, but the Lord caused the sin of all of us to attack him. (Isaiah 53:3–6 NET)
This action is in contrast with what He did at a later period of the day when, in response to His cry, “I thirst,” one of the soldiers soaked a sponge in “vinegar”’ and held it up to Him on a reed, gave Him to drink, He received it. (19)
In drinking the vinegar, Jesus symbolically drank the cup of God’s wrath for us sinners.
For the Lord says, “If even those who did not deserve to drink from the cup of my wrath must drink from it, do you think you will go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but must certainly drink from the cup of my wrath. (Jeremiah 49:12 NET)
He said, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Take this cup away from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.” (Mark 14:36 NET)
But Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword back into its sheath! Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (John 18:11 NET)
After this Jesus, realizing that by this time everything was completed, said (in order to fulfill the scripture), “I am thirsty! ”A jar full of sour wine was there, so they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on a branch of hyssop and lifted it to his mouth. When he had received the sour wine, Jesus said, “It is completed!” Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. (John 19:28–30 NET)
This was not to soothe His agony, but only to moisten His parched tongue and lips, perhaps that He might be able to utter “with a loud voice” His triumphant “It is finished or completed” (Gk, τετέλεσται)(31), perhaps also to sanction and sanctify the friendly office which is often the only one that can be rendered to the dying, and possibly in fulfillment of the prophecy of thirst.
They put bitter poison into my food, and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink. (Psalm 69:21 NET)
However, this may be, His purpose in refusing the wine mixed with myrrh offered as a painkiller is clear. He would “look death in the face” and meet the King of Terrors in full possession of all His faculties. He was dying of His own accord, fulfilling His words, “No man taketh my life from me” (John 10:18). His death was an act of voluntary self-surrender, and He would “taste death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9). He “endured the cross, despising shame” (Hebrews 12:2). (19)
Perfumes and other spices were used to prepare the dead for burial to counteract the decomposing body’s stench and show honor to the deceased. Such care was often prohibited for those who had been put to death for criminal activity. Jesus’s female followers prepared perfume for his body (Luke 23:56).
But Jesus identifies a different woman as the one who actually has anointed his body in advance for burial (Matthew 26:12; Mark 14:8; John 12:7). Mark 14:3 and John 12:3 describe a rose-red “perfume” (myron) of “nard” (nardos), which is from the root and hair stem (spike) of the nard plant that originates in the mountains of northern India. These perfumes were quite costly (Matthew 26:7; Mark 14:3–5; John 12:3). Hosts commonly showed hospitality to their guests by anointing them with inexpensive olive oil (Luke 7:46); an outpouring of expensive perfume bestowed a special honor on a person of prominence. (16)

This typologically depicts the horrendous torture Jesus suffered by slashings and stripes from the whippings and beatings (1) before He suffered the most disgraceful death of crucifixion.
Three forms of corporal punishment were employed by the Romans, in increasing degree of severity: (1) fustigatio (beating), (2) flagellatio (flogging), and (3) verberatio (severe flogging, scourging). The first could be, on occasion, a punishment in itself, but the more severe forms were part of the capital sentence as a prelude to crucifixion. The most severe, verberatio, is what is indicated here by the Greek verb translated flogged severely (μαστιγόω, mastigoō). People died on occasion while being flogged this way; frequently, it was severe enough to rip a person’s body open or cut muscle and sinew to the bone. It was carried out with a whip with fragments of bone or pieces of metal bound into the tips. (32)
On the day of Jesus’ death, he was honored again with myrrh. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus secured Jesus’ body after his crucifixion. He did what they could in this difficult time to honor one who had been so dishonored in the hours before. They prepared his body for burial with a “mixture of myrrh and aloes.” (28)
Nicodemus, the man who had previously come to Jesus at night, accompanied Joseph, carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about seventy-five pounds. Then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices, in strips of linen cloth according to Jewish burial customs. (John 19:39–40 NET)
Myrrh was used by the Canaanites in the second millennium B.C., and the Egyptians used it in their embalming ceremonies. This last fact may help explain its use on Jesus’ body before His burial (John 19:39).
But myrrh primarily indicated Jesus’ holiness and dedication to God, for He became a sweet-smelling aroma of sacrifice to God on our behalf. (22)
Ironically, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus covered Jesus’ body with myrrh before his burial to hide the stench of decay that never came! (16)
For You will not forsake my soul to Sheol; You will not give Your Holy One over to see corruption. (Psalm 16:10 LSB)
For David says about him, ‘I saw the Lord always in front of me, for he is at my right hand so that I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart was glad and my tongue rejoiced; my body also will live in hope, because you will not leave my soul in Hades, nor permit your Holy One to experience decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of joy with your presence.’ (Acts 2:25–28 NET)
Therefore he also says in another psalm, ‘You will not permit your Holy One to experience decay.’ (Acts 13:35 NET)
Summary of the Typological Meaning of Myrrh
Again, myrrh formed a principal ingredient in the holy ointment for anointing the tabernacle and the vessels of the sanctuary, and also Aaron and his sons; and the Lord forbade the use of it in common, or any composition by way of imitating it, on pain of being cut off from his people. Was not this a striking type of the Holy Spirit in his divine offices and the awful consequence of attempting anything resembling the holy unction of the Spirit? (Exodus 30:22–33.) (25)
The Holy Spirit has been pleased to mark out so many things concerning the Lord Jesus under the figure and type of myrrh that we ought not to overlook a short consideration of some of them. Jesus himself is the sweet-scented myrrh of his gospel; hence, the church says of him that he is “a bundle of myrrh” (Song of Songs 1:13), meaning, no doubt, that he is a cluster, a fullness, of all divine and human excellences. Everything in Christ, and from Christ, is most grateful and full of odor to his church and people; hence, his garments are said “to smell of myrrh, aloes and cassia”—all temporal, all spiritual, and eternal blessings are in Him for his spouse, his fair one, his redeemed. “I will get me (saith the church) to the mountains of myrrh and to the hill of frankincense until the day break, and the shadows flee away.” (Song of Songs 4:6.) (25)
Myrrh is not only figuratively made use of to denote the sweetness and rich odor of Jesus, in his person, grace, and fulness, but the blessed Spirit uses the figure of myrrh to speak of his sufferings also; yea, the offered myrrh mingled with wine to Jesus on the cross, and which was among the predictions concerning the Lord in that solemn season, plainly testified the bitterness of Christ’s sufferings. And the double quality of this Arabian gum, its fragrance, and its bitterness, formed a striking union to shew forth how precious a sacrifice of a sweet-smelling savor was that very death, which to Jesus was gall and bitterness, indeed, in the extreme. And may we not suppose that the Lord Jesus had an eye both to his own sufferings and to the sufferings of his faithful ones, who had followed him to glory through persecution and not infrequently death when he said: “I have gathered my myrrh with my spice?” (Song of Songs 5:1) for in his own person he trod the wine-press of the wrath of God alone, and may be said to gather the fruits of the labor and travail of his soul when beholding the blessed effects of it in the everlasting salvation of his people. And in their lesser conflicts and exercises, the bitterness of their sorrows Jesus takes notice of and gathers when owning them for his own, and bringing them home to his Father’s house, He brings them to himself, that where He is there, they may also be. Blessed Lord Jesus! come as thou hast said to my house, to my heart, while thine hands are dropping with myrrh, and thy fingers with sweet-smelling myrrh, and be thou “like a young roe or a hart upon the mountains of spices!” (Song of Songs 5:5; 8:14.) (25)
Biblical Typologies, Metaphors, & Similes Series:
- The Old Leaven of the Kingdom of Darkness
- The New Leaven of the Kingdom of Heaven
- Wine
- Water
- Finely Sifted (Wheat) Flour
- Frankincense
- Myrrh
- Olive Oil
- Honey
- Salt
- Waving and Heaving
- Barley
- Gold
- Silver
- Bronze
- Stone
- Wood
- Linen
- Iron
- Shofar and Trumpet
Shalom
(Security, Wholeness, Tranquility)
Peace
Then he said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old.” (Matthew 13:52 NET)
If you desire the peace that only comes from knowing Jesus (Yeshua), click here.
(1) Select the link to open another article with additional information in a new tab.
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(5) Myrrh. (2003). In C. Brand, C. Draper, A. England, S. Bond, E. R. Clendenen, & T. C. Butler (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary (p. 1163). Holman Bible Publishers.
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(9) Elwell, W. A., & Comfort, P. W. (2001). In Tyndale Bible dictionary (p. 1054). Tyndale House Publishers.
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(11) Zarins, J. (2000). Myrrh. In D. N. Freedman, A. C. Myers, & A. B. Beck (Eds.), Eerdmans dictionary of the Bible (p. 930). W.B. Eerdmans.
(12) Myers, A. C. (1987). In The Eerdmans Bible dictionary (p. 738). Eerdmans.
(13) Easton, M. G. (1893). In Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature (pp. 483–484). Harper & Brothers.
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(15) Watson, R. (1851). Myrrh, מור. In A Biblical and Theological Dictionary (p. 681). Lane & Scott.
(16) Perfume. (2023). In M. L. Strauss & T. Longman III (Eds.), The Baker Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words (p. 587). Baker Books: A Division of Baker Publishing Group.
(17) Hastings, J., Selbie, J. A., Lambert, J. C., & Mathews, S. (1909). In Dictionary of the Bible (p. 639). Charles Scribner’s Sons.
(18) Schaff, P., ed. (1880). In A Dictionary of the Bible: Including Biography, Natural History, Geography, Topography, Archæology, and Literature (pp. 591–592). American Sunday-School Union.
(19) Smith, J. C. (1906). Myrrh. In J. Hastings (Ed.), A Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels: Aaron–Zion (Vol. 2, pp. 212–213). T&T Clark; Charles Scribner’s Sons.
(20) Post, G. E. (1911–1912). MYRRH. In J. Hastings, J. A. Selbie, A. B. Davidson, S. R. Driver, & H. B. Swete (Eds.), A Dictionary of the Bible: Dealing with Its Language, Literature, and Contents Including the Biblical Theology (Vol. 3, pp. 464–465). Charles Scribner’s Sons; T. & T. Clark.
(21) Silva, M. (2011). In The Essential Bible Dictionary (p. 161). Zondervan.
(22) Carpenter, E. E., & Comfort, P. W. (2000). In Holman treasury of key Bible words: 200 Greek and 200 Hebrew words defined and explained (p. 129). Broadman & Holman Publishers.
(23) Masterman, E. W. G. (1915). Myrrh. In J. Orr, J. L. Nuelsen, E. Y. Mullins, & M. O. Evans (Eds.), The International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia (Vols. 1–5, pp. 2102–2103). The Howard-Severance Company.
(24) Jackson, S. M., ed. (1908–1914). In The new Schaff-Herzog encyclopedia of religious knowledge (Vol. 8, p. 65). Funk & Wagnalls.
(25) Hawker, R. (1828). In The Poor Man’s Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures (pp. 584–586). Ebenezer Palmer.
(26) Shepherd, T. J. (1880). In The Westminster Bible Dictionary (p. 362). Presbyterian Board of Publication.
(27) Douglas, J. D., & Tenney, M. C. (1987). In New International Bible Dictionary (pp. 801–802). Zondervan.
(28) Beck, J. A., ed. (2011). In Zondervan Dictionary of Biblical Imagery (pp. 180–181). Zondervan.
(29) https://www.findatopdoc.com/Beauty-and-Anti-Aging/What-Is-Myrrh-Used-For
(30) Herodotus, The Histories A. D. Godley, Ed., Herodotus Book 2, Chapter 86, Section 5 (ii.86.5)
“they sew it up again after filling the belly with pure ground myrrh and casia and any other spices, except frankincense. After doing this, they conceal the body for seventy days, embalmed in saltpetre; no longer time is allowed for the embalming;”
(31) “It is finished or completed” is the translation of the Greek word tetelestai, which only appears twice in the Bible (John 19:28,30). Jesus says tetelestai here in the perfect tense, which is rare in the New Testament and has no English equivalent. The perfect tense is a combination of two Greek tenses: the Present tense and the Aorist tense. The Aorist tense is punctiliar: meaning something that happens at a specific point in time; a moment. The Present tense is linear: meaning something that continues into the future and has ongoing results/implications. The combination of these two tenses in the perfect tense is used in John 19:30 is of overwhelming significance to the Christian. When Jesus says “It is finished” (or completed), what He is actually saying is, “It is finished and will continue to be finished.” The first element of the perfect tense: the Aorist, punctiliar, point in time statement “It is finished” is powerful. Mathew Henry describes all that is finished at that exact moment in time: “It is finished; that is, the counsels of the Father concerning his sufferings were now fulfilled. It is finished; all the types and prophecies of the Old Testament, which pointed at the sufferings of the Messiah, were accomplished. It is finished; the ceremonial law is abolished; the substance has now come, and all the shadows are done away. It is finished; an end is made of transgression by bringing in everlasting righteousness. His sufferings were now finished, both those of his soul and those of his body. It is finished; the work of man’s redemption and salvation is now completed.” The Aorist tense is only half of the perfect tense! The second element of Jesus’ statement is equally important: the Present, ongoing, linear “and will continue to be finished” component of the perfect tense. This indicates the ongoing nature of our salvation. This is so important because it indicates a condition, a state of being, a resting place. In conclusion, in Jesus’ statement “It is finished,” we have a declaration of salvation that is both momentary and eternal, Aorist and Present, linear and punctiliar. We are saved at a specific point in time, “it is finished,” our debt is paid, we are ransomed from the kingdom of darkness, and then we confidently rest in the reality that “it will continue to be finished” because we are in a position of grace and stand justified for all time before God. One Greek word, tetelestai, spoken in the perfect tense by Jesus on the cross, and it was finished at that moment and for all time.
http://www.ciu.edu/content/it-finished-look-greek/
(32) Biblical Studies Press. (2005). The NET Bible First Edition; Bible. English. NET Bible.; The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press.

