When I was a child, I loved the Christmas story of the three wise men (magi), who came to visit the infant Jesus in the manger. They were bearing gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. I visualized three men, dressed in robes of silk and velvet, mounted on camels adorned with colorful trappings.
I knew that they came from afar, following a bright star. (In the New Testament they are described in the book of Matthew, which is thought to have been written in 80 A.D.)
I didn’t quite understand the gifts – gold, of course, but the others? Frankincense and myrrh? Exotic scents? Where did they come from? And why were they so precious they were given to Jesus? I was puzzled.
Many years later, I have found the story.
Fragrance much valued in ancient times
Perfumes and scents were much more important in ancient times than they are now. They were used to give a sense of celebration at weddings, banquets and important events, and, at times, to cover up bad odors of domestic life. They were an essential part of religious rituals and practices by many faiths.
Frankincense, myrrh and other aromatics are said to have been used in the Middle East for around 5,000 years. A mural in the temple of the Egyptian Queen Hatshipsut in (1458 B.C.) shows frankincense trees she had imported to grow in her garden.
The early chapters of the Hebrew Bible mention myrrh, and it is cited in the Song of Solomon. It was one of the ingredients in the oils used in Hebrew rituals in the Temple.
Many different botanical ingredients went into these aromatics, depending on the local habitat – a variety of tree barks and resins, petals, leaves, roots. The ones we are familiar with are cinnamon bark, pine resin, rose petals, aloes and sandalwood. Myrrh, as well as resin from the pine cones of Cedars of Lebanon, was used in embalming mummies in Egypt.
What are frankincense and myrrh?
Both substances are little balls of dried tree resin that produce fragrance when burned or added to oils. They were available in the Middle East long before Jesus’ time, and were a lucrative object of trade. Skirmishes were fought between ancient tribes to control the places where they grew. Each resin comes from a different species and both are from thorny little trees growing in desolate dry habitats in southern Arabia (Oman) and Somalia.
The resin is produced by tapping into the tree (much like maple sugaring), then letting the resin come out and harden into little chips. The local farmers gathered these chips over a period of several weeks. Then they were loaded onto camels or elephants and transported to ports on the Red Sea. From there they went all over the Middle East and east on the Silk Road to India and China.
Frankincense (Latin name olibanum)
Frankincense must be burned to release its scent, described as balsamic, spicy, slightly lemony. It is best burned on small charcoal bricks.
Frankincense was burned in censers and on special altars in Hebrew temples, in mosques, and in Christian churches. Beautiful censers were crafted in metal and ceramics for domestic and religious use.
Myrrh, the Temple Menorah, and Hanukkah
Myrrh was one of the ingredients in the sacred oils used to anoint kings and priests. It was likely one of the scents in the olive oil burned in the menorah in Hebrew temples.
The story of Hanukkah, a Jewish holiday also referred to as the Festival of Lights, revolves around this sacred oil. In 160 B.C., when the Maccabees drove the Syrians from Jerusalem and entered the desecrated Second Temple, they found only one day’s supply of consecrated oil for the sanctuary lamp that should burn continuously. But after it was filled, it burned for eight days, the time needed to produce additional consecrated oil. It is this miracle that is celebrated on Hanukkah.
In China and India, both myrrh and frankincense were used extensively in medicinal mixtures, and may still be used today.
Who were the Wise Men?
As the story of the wise men spread into Christian traditions, they began to be known as “kings,” usually identified as the kings of Arabia, Persia and India. We do not know who the wise men were, although some experts believe they were astrologer/priests from Persia. Astrologers would have been among the first to notice the new star that arose in the East, traditionally referred to as the “Star of Bethlehem.”
Various images pictured the wise men according to the time and place of the maker. Beginning in medieval times, one of these was portrayed by artists as a black man. My favorite is an image from a mural (565 A.D.) in a Byzantine church in Ravenna, Italy. The Persian dress is a far cry from the kingly robes in Renaissance paintings.
Curiosity satisfied
I’ve dug around in Wikipedia and other internet sources to find the information in this article. I’ve enjoyed trying to go back to ancient times. But I’m no expert, so if you find errors, let me know.
And now I’m going to buy a vial of frankincense-scented oil and one of myrrh, to see what they smell like!
A contributor to Forest Hills Connection since our launch in 2012, Marjorie Rachlin writes about the diverse plant and wild animal life making their homes in the city. Marjorie is an avid birder who also enjoys keeping her eyes to the skies when the stars come out.
David Jonas Bardin says
Very nice, Marjorie. Thank you.
Etymology of myrrh per Wikipedia:
The word myrrh corresponds with a common Semitic root m-r-r meaning “bitter”, as in Aramaic ܡܪܝܪܐ murr and Arabic مُرّ murr. Its name entered the English language from the Hebrew Bible, where it is called מור mor, and later as a Semitic loanword[5] was used in the Greek myth of Myrrha, and later in the Septuagint; in the Ancient Greek language, the related word μῠ́ρον (múron) became a general term for perfume.
“Mor” is still used in modern, Israeli Hebrew.
David Jonas Bardin says
A amazingly popular Israeli song returns to “myrrh, spices, and frankincense”:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erev_Shel_Shoshanim
There are lots of YouTube versions with the music. Apparently its popularity spread far beyond Israel. Here is the first stanza in English translation and transliteration of the Hebrew.
English translation
Evening of roses
Let us go out to the grove
Myrrh, Spices, and Frankincense
Is the carpet under your feet
English translieration
Erev shel shoshanim
Netzeh na el habustan
Mor besamim ulevona
Leraglech miftan
Adam Sieminski says
Marge-
Every year at this time I think about the Three Kings and the TV-opera “Amahl and the Night Visitors” by Gian Carlo Menotti that was commissioned by NBC and first performed on December 24, 1951. The second time Menotti staged the opera in 1955, a young singer, Billy McIver, from my hometown of Williamsport PA had the role of Amahl. Billy’s equally-talented younger brother, Bobby, was my classmate and I remember being awed by the McIver family.
Recently, I was hunting around on the internet for information on “Amahl” and came across this quote from Menotti about how he came up with the idea for the script. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amahl_and_the_Night_Visitors
It warmed my heart and I thought you and Forest Hills Connection readers might enjoy it too.
Gian Carlo Menotti: “This is an opera for children because it tries to recapture my own childhood. You see, when I was a child I lived in Italy, and in Italy we have no Santa Claus. I suppose that Santa Claus is much too busy with American children to be able to handle Italian children as well. Our gifts were brought to us by the Three Kings, instead.
“I actually never met the Three Kings—it didn’t matter how hard my little brother and I tried to keep awake at night to catch a glimpse of the Three Royal Visitors, we would always fall asleep just before they arrived. But I do remember hearing them. I remember the weird cadence of their song in the dark distance; I remember the brittle sound of the camel’s hooves crushing the frozen snow; and I remember the mysterious tinkling of their silver bridles.”
“My favorite king was King Melchior, because he was the oldest and had a long white beard. My brother’s favorite was King Kaspar. He insisted that this king was a little crazy and quite deaf. I don’t know why he was so positive about his being deaf. I suspect it was because dear King Kaspar never brought him all the gifts he requested. He was also rather puzzled by the fact that King Kaspar carried the myrrh, which appeared to him as a rather eccentric gift, for he never quite understood what the word meant.”
THANK YOU Marge, for your wonderful description of frankincense and myrrh.