myrrh

An aromatic gum that grows in Arabia, Abyssinia, and India. Highly prized from earliest times (Gen 37:25), it was used in incense (Exod 30:23) and as a perfume for garments (Ps 45:9) or for a lover’s couch (Prov 7:17). It was part of the cosmetic treatment used to purify young girls for the king’s bed (Esth 2:13), 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 (Rev 18:13). Along with gold and frankincense it exemplifies the rich gifts brought to the infant Christ by the magi from the East (Matt 2:11).