Bdellium is a substance mentioned in the Bible, noted for its significance and unique characteristics. It appears in two key passages within the Scriptures, providing insight into its nature and importance in biblical times.

Biblical References:

1. Genesis 2:12 : "And the gold of that land is good; bdellium and onyx stone are there." This verse is part of the description of the land of Havilah, a region noted for its natural resources. Bdellium is listed alongside gold and onyx, suggesting its value and desirability. The context implies that bdellium was a notable and precious commodity in the ancient world.

2. Numbers 11:7 : "Now the manna was like coriander seed, and its appearance was like that of bdellium." Here, bdellium is used to describe the appearance of manna, the miraculous food provided by God to the Israelites during their wilderness journey. The comparison indicates that bdellium was a well-known substance, recognizable to the original audience of the text.

Nature and Identification:

The exact nature of bdellium has been a subject of scholarly discussion. Traditionally, bdellium is understood to be a resin, possibly derived from certain trees or shrubs. It is often associated with aromatic resins used in ancient times for incense, perfumes, and medicinal purposes. The comparison to manna in Numbers suggests that bdellium had a distinctive, perhaps translucent or pearly appearance.

Some historical sources and biblical scholars have linked bdellium to the resin of the Commiphora wightii plant, native to regions such as Arabia and India. This resin was valued in antiquity for its fragrance and potential healing properties.

Cultural and Historical Context:

In the ancient Near East, resins like bdellium were highly prized for their aromatic qualities and were often used in religious and cultural rituals. The inclusion of bdellium in the Genesis account of Havilah highlights the richness and abundance of the land, emphasizing the provision and blessing of God in creation.

The mention of bdellium in the description of manna serves to convey the extraordinary nature of God's provision for the Israelites. By likening manna to a known and valued substance, the text underscores the divine care and sustenance provided to the people during their journey.

Symbolic Significance:

While bdellium itself is not heavily laden with symbolic meaning in the biblical text, its association with valuable and desirable materials like gold and onyx in Genesis, and its comparison to manna in Numbers, suggest themes of divine provision, abundance, and the preciousness of God's gifts to humanity. These themes resonate with the broader biblical narrative of God's faithfulness and generosity toward His creation and His people.Bdellium

(bedolach). (Genesis 2:12; Numbers 11:7) It is quite impossible to say whether bedolach denotes a mineral or an animal production or a vegetable exudation. Bdellium is an odoriferous exudation from a tree which is perhaps the Borassus flabelliformis , Lin., of Arabia Felix.

Bdellium

Commonly supposed to mean the aromatic gum of a tree growing near the Persian gulf, etc. It is transparent, and bitter to the taste, yet very fragrant while burning. But the substance so called, whatever is was, is mentioned in connection with gold and gems; while gum is certainly not so remarkable a gift of nature as to deserve this classification, or as that the production of it should confer on Havilah a peculiar celebrity, Genesis 2:12. Hence the opinion of the Jewish writers is not to be contemned, namely, that pearls are to be here understood, of which great quantities are found on the shores of the Persian gulf and in India, and which might not inaptly be compared with manna, as in Numbers 11:7.

Occurs only in Genesis 2:12, where it designates a product of the land of Havilah; and in Numbers 11:7, where the manna is likened to it in colour. It was probably an aromatic gum like balsam which exuded from a particular tree (Borassus flabelliformis) still found in Arabia, Media, and India. It bears a resemblance in colour to myrrh. Others think the word denotes "pearls," or some precious stone. 1. (n.) An unidentified substance mentioned in the Bible (Gen. ii. 12, and Num. xi. 7), variously taken to be a gum, a precious stone, or pearls, or perhaps a kind of amber found in Arabia.

2. (n.) A gum resin of reddish brown color, brought from India, Persia, and Africa.

BDELLIUM

del'-i-um (bedholach): The word occurs twice in the Pentateuch:

(1) in Genesis 2:12, in conjunction with gold and onyx, as a product of the land of HAVILAH (which see), and

(2) in Numbers 11:7, where the manna is likened to this substance in appearance: "The appearance thereof as the appearance of bdellium." The latter comparison excludes the idea of bedholach being a precious stone, and points to the identification of it with the fragrant resinous gum known to the Greeks as bdellion, several kinds being mentioned by Dioscorides and Pliny. It was a product of Arabia, India, Afghanistan, etc.

James Orr

916. bedolach -- probably bdellium
... 915, 916. bedolach. 917 . probably bdellium. Transliteration: bedolach
Phonetic Spelling: (bed-o'-lakh) Short Definition: bdellium. ...
/hebrew/916.htm - 6k

The Scriptural Account of Paradise.
... first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there
is gold; and the gold of that land is good, and there is bdellium and the ...
/.../theophilus/theophilus to autolycus/chapter xx the scriptural account of.htm

Further Use Made of the System of the Phrygians; Mode of ...
... called Phison; this is that which encompasseth all the land of Havilath: there is
gold, and the gold of that land is excellent, and there is bdellium and the ...
/.../hippolytus/the refutation of all heresies/chapter iv further use made of.htm

How Moses when He had Brought the People Out of Egypt Led
... also imitated their conductor, and were pleased with the food, for it was like honey
in sweetness and pleasant taste, but like in its body to bdellium, one of ...
/.../josephus/the antiquities of the jews/chapter 1 how moses when.htm

Genesis.
... 19), "The waters wear the stones.". [1263] "Onyx," Eng. ver. See the following piece,
l. 277. [1264] "Bdellium," Eng. Ver.; anthrax, LXX. [1265] Comp. ...
/.../unknown/fathers of the third century tertullian appendix/3 genesis.htm

Chapter ii
... This is the one which encircles all the land of Havilah, where there is gold; and
the gold of that land is good; there is bdellium and the onyx stone. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/leupold/exposition of genesis volume 1/chapter ii.htm

Bdellium (2 Occurrences)
... Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia. BDELLIUM. ...Bdellium (2 Occurrences). Genesis 2:12
And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. ...
/b/bdellium.htm - 8k

Havilah (7 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary The sand region. (1.) A land mentioned in Genesis
2:11 rich in gold and bdellium and onyx stone. The question ...
/h/havilah.htm - 11k

Manna (19 Occurrences)
... This "gift" from God is described as "a small round thing," like the "hoar-frost
on the ground," and "like coriander seed," "of the colour of bdellium," and in ...
/m/manna.htm - 21k

Onyx-stone (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Onyx-stone (1 Occurrence). Genesis 2:12 And the gold of
that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx-stone. (WBS). ...
/o/onyx-stone.htm - 6k

Resin (4 Occurrences)
... weight; (WEB NIV). Numbers 11:7 The manna was like coriander seed, and
its appearance like the appearance of bdellium. (See NIV). ...
/r/resin.htm - 7k

Pison (1 Occurrence)
... shon pi'-son (pishon; the King James Version): A river of EDEN (which see), said
to compass the whole land of Havilah where there is gold, bdellium and onyx ...
/p/pison.htm - 7k

Pishon (1 Occurrence)
... shon pi'-son (pishon; the King James Version): A river of EDEN (which see), said
to compass the whole land of Havilah where there is gold, bdellium and onyx ...
/p/pishon.htm - 7k

Bazluth (1 Occurrence)

/b/bazluth.htm - 7k

Bdolach (2 Occurrences)

/b/bdolach.htm - 6k

Coriander-seed (2 Occurrences)
... (DBY WBS). Numbers 11:7 And the manna was as coriander-seed, and the color of it
as the color of bdellium. (WBS). Coriander, Coriander-seed. Corinth . ...
/c/coriander-seed.htm - 6k

What is the meaning of Pishon in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org

What was manna? | GotQuestions.org

Bdellium: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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