HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H3828
לְבֹנָה
le.vo.nah — frankincense
1) frankincense 1a) a white resin burned as fragrant incense 1a1) ceremonially 1a2) personally 1a3) used in compounding the holy incense
21 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →BIBLE DICTIONARY + WORD STUDY
Frankincense
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.
GREEK · G3030
λίβανος
libanos — frankincense
λίβανος, -ου, ὁ (rarely ἡ), (from the Semitic; cf. the Heb. equiv.), [in LXX for לְבוֹנָה Exo.30:34, Isa.60:6; Sir.24:15, al. ;] 1. in cl., the frankincense-tree. 2. (Occas. in cl.) frankincense (so Lev.2:1; cf. λιβανωτός): Mat.2:11, Rev.18:13.† (AS)
2 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →GREEK · G3031
λιβανωτός
libanōtos — censer
λιβανωτός, -οῦ, ὁ (λίβανος), [in LXX: 1Ch.9:29, 3Ma.5:2 * ;] 1. in cl. (and LXX), frankincense, the gum of the libanus. 2. = Late Gk., λιβανωτρίς, a censer: Rev.8:3, 5 (the same form appears in Inscr.; MM, xvi).† (AS)
2 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H3829
לְבוֹנָה
le.vo.nah — Lebonah
§ Lebonah = "frankincense" a town in Ephraim 3 miles (5 km) west northwest of Shiloh
1 tagged verse occurrence · see every occurrence →GREEK · G20638
λιβανόομαι
libanoomai — be mixed with frankincense
to be mixed with frankincense
0 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →Historical dictionary entry
(Heb. lebonah; Gr. libanos, i.e., “white”), an odorous resin imported from Arabia (Isa. 60:6; Jer. 6:20), yet also growing in Palestine (Cant. 4:14). It was one of the ingredients in the perfume of the sanctuary (Ex. 30:34), and was used as an accompaniment of the meat-offering (Lev. 2:1, 16; 6:15; 24:7). When burnt it emitted a fragrant odour, and hence the incense became a symbol of the Divine name (Mal. 1:11; Cant. 1:3) and an emblem of prayer (Ps. 141:2; Luke 1:10; Rev. 5:8; 8:3). This frankincense, or olibanum, used by the Jews in the temple services is not to be confounded with the frankincense of modern commerce, which is an exudation of the Norway spruce fir, the Pinus abies. It was probably a resin from the Indian tree known to botanists by the name of Boswellia serrata or thurifera, which grows to the height of forty feet.
Scripture references
Isaiah 60:6Jeremiah 6:20Song of Solomon 4:14Exodus 30:34Leviticus 2:1Leviticus 2:16Malachi 1:11Song of Solomon 1:3Psalms 141:2Luke 1:10Revelation 5:8Revelation 8:3Exodus 30:34-36
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.