GREEK · G250
ἀλόη
aloē — aloes
ἀλόη, -ης, ἡ [in LXX: Sng.4:14 א (אֲהָלִים)* ;] the aloe, aloes (the powder of a fragrant wood): Jhn.19:39.† (AS)
1 tagged verse occurrence · see every occurrence →BIBLE DICTIONARY + WORD STUDY
Aloes
Original Hebrew / Aramaic / Greek connected to this term
How to read this: there is rarely one magic “true meaning” hidden behind an English word. A lexicon records a word’s semantic range. The intended meaning is narrowed by grammar, sentence, author, historical usage and context.
HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H174
אָהָל
a.ha.lim — aloe
1) aloes, aloe tree 1a) aloe tree 1b) aloe (perfume)
4 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →Historical dictionary entry
(Heb. ‘ahalim), a fragrant wood (Num. 24:6; Ps. 45:8; Prov. 7:17; Cant. 4:14), the Aquilaria agallochum of botanists, or, as some suppose, the costly gum or perfume extracted from the wood. It is found in China, Siam, and Northern India, and grows to the height sometimes of 120 feet. This species is of great rarity even in India. There is another and more common species, called by Indians aghil, whence Europeans have given it the name of Lignum aquile, or eagle-wood. Aloewood was used by the Egyptians for embalming dead bodies. Nicodemus brought it (pounded aloe-wood) to embalm the body of Christ (John 19:39); but whether this was the same as that mentioned elsewhere is uncertain. The bitter aloes of the apothecary is the dried juice of the leaves Aloe vulgaris.
Scripture references
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.