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BIBLE DICTIONARY + WORD STUDY

Incense

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 · H7004

קְטֹ֫רֶת

qe.to.ret — incense

1) incense, smoke, odour of (burning) sacrifice 1a) sweet smoke of sacrifice 1b) incense 1c) perfume

55 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

GREEK · G2368

θυμίαμα

thumiama — incense

θυμίαμα, -τος, τό (θυμιάω), [in LXX chiefly for קְטֹרֶת ;] fragrant stuff for burning, incense: ἡ ὥρα τοῦ θ., Luk.1:10; θυσιαστήριον τοῦ θ. (Exo.30:27, al.), Luk.1:11; pl., Rev.5:8 8:3-4 18:13.† (AS)

6 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H6999

קָטַר

qa.tar — to offer: burn

: burn v 1) to sacrifice, burn incense, burn sacrifices, make sacrifices smoke 1a) (Piel) 1a1) to make sacrifices smoke 1a2) to sacrifice 1b) (Pual) to smoke a sacrifice 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to make sacrifices smoke 1c2) to cause incense to smoke, offer incense 1c3) to make smoke upon 1d) (Hophal) to be made to smoke

111 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H2734

חָרָה

cha.rah — to be incensed

1) to be hot, furious, burn, becomeangry, be kindled 1a) (Qal) to burn, kindle (anger) 1b) (Niphal) to be angry with, be incensed 1c) (Hiphil) to burn, kindle 1d) (Hithpael) to heat oneself in vexation

88 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H2608

חֲנַנְיָ֫הוּ

cha.nan.yah — Hananiah

A man living at the time of Divided Monarchy, first mentioned at Jer.28.1; son of: Azzur (H5809H) § Hananiah = "God has favoured" 1) the godly friend of Daniel whom Nebuchadnezzar renamed Shadrach; one of the three friends who with Daniel refused to make themselves unclean by eating food from the king's table which went against the dietary laws which God had given the Jews; also one of the three who were thrown into the fiery furnace for refusing to bow down to a graven image of Nebuchadnezzar and who were saved by the angel of the Lord. See also, 'Shadrach' (H07714 or H07715) 2) one of the 14 sons of Heman and chief of the 16th course 3) a general in the army of King Uzziah 4) father of Zedekiah in the time of Jehoiakim 5) son of Azur, a Benjamite of Gibeon and a false prophet in the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah 6) grandfather of Irijah, the captain of the ward at the gate of Benjamin who arrested Jeremiah on the charge of deserting to the Chaldeans 7) a head of a Benjamite house 8) son of Zerubbabel from whom Christ derived His descent also called 'Joanna' by Luke 9) one of the sons of Bebai who returned with Ezra from Babylon 10) a priest, one of the makers of the sacred ointments and incense, who built a portion of the wall of Jerusalem in the days of Nehemiah 11) head of the priestly course of Jeremiah in the days of Joiakim 12) ruler of the palace at Jerusalem under Nehemiah and also, along with Hanani, the Tirshatha's brother, entrusted with the arrangements of guarding the gates of Jerusalem 13) Two post exilic Israelites

28 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H1406

גָּג

gag — roof

1) roof, top, housetop 1a) roof (of house) 1b) top (of altar of incense)

26 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

GREEK · G2379

θυσιαστήριον

thusiastērion — altar

θυσιαστήριον, -ου, τό (θυσιάζω, to sacrifice), [in LXX (where the word first appears) very freq., nearly always for מַדְבַּח ;] an altar: (a) generally, Jas.2:21; pl., Rom.11:3 (LXX); metaphorically, Heb.13:10 (see Westc., in l, and esp. his add, note on the history of the word, 455 ff.); (b) of the altar of burnt-offering in the Temple, Mat.5:23-24 23:18-20, 35, Luk.11:51, 1Co.9:13 10:18, Heb.7:13, Rev.11:1; (with) of the altar of incense in the sanctuary (Exo.30:1, al.), Luk.1:11; symbolically in Heaven, Rev.6:9 8:3 9:13 14:18 16:7 (Cremer, 292).† (AS)

21 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

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 →

HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H2553

חַמָּן

cham.man — pillar

1) incense altar, sun-pillar, idol, image 1a) used in idolatrous worship

6 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H6989

קְטוּרָה

qe.tu.rah — Keturah

A woman living at the time of the Patriarchs, first mentioned at Gen.25.1; married to Abraham (H0085); mother of: Zimran (H2175), Jokshan (H3370), Medan (H4091), Midian (H4080), Ishbak (H3435) and Shuah (H7744) § Keturah = "incense" wife of Abraham after Sarah's death

4 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

HEBREW / ARAMAIC · H7833

שָׁחַק

sha.chaq — to beat

1) to rub away, beat fine, pulverise 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to rub away 1a1a) of incense, stones 1a1b) of enemies (fig)

4 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

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)

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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)

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GREEK · G2369

θυμιατήριον

thumiatērion — incense altar

θυμιατήριον, -ου, τό (θυμιάω), [in LXX: 2Ch.26:19, Eze.8:11 (קְטֹרֶת), 4Ma.7:11 * ;] 1. as in cl. (Hdt., iv, 162; Thuc., vi, 46) and LXX, a censer: Heb.9:4 (but see infr., and cf. Westc., in l). 2. As in Philo., rer. div., § 46, FlJ, Ant., iv, 2, 4, al., the altar of incense: He, l.with (but see supr. and cf. MM, Exp., xv).† (AS)

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GREEK · G2370

θυμιάω

thumiaō — to burn incense

θυμιάω, -ῶ (θύω), [in LXX (with -άζω) chiefly for קָטַר pi., hi. ;] to burn incense: Luk.1:9.† (AS)

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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 →

Historical dictionary entry

A fragrant composition prepared by the “art of the apothecary.” It consisted of four ingredients “beaten small” (Ex. 30:34-36). That which was not thus prepared was called “strange incense” (30:9). It was offered along with every meat-offering; and besides was daily offered on the golden altar in the holy place, and on the great day of atonement was burnt by the high priest in the holy of holies (30:7, 8). It was the symbol of prayer (Ps. 141:1, 2; Rev. 5:8; 8:3, 4).

Scripture references

Exodus 30:34-36Psalms 141:1Psalms 141:2Revelation 5:8Revelation 8:3Revelation 8:4Exodus 30:9Exodus 30:7Exodus 30:8Luke 1:10Revelation 8:12 Chronicles 34:25Jeremiah 11:12Jeremiah 11:17Jeremiah 48:35

Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.

Compare other reference traditions

Look up Incense in Smith’s Bible Dictionary and ISBE →