2. u3P or tii^, lot (so called, perhaps, from covering, being used as a cosmetic or pomatum ; Gesen. Thesaur, p. 748; Sept. crTaicrri, and Vulg. stacte), occurs only in Gen. xxxvii, 25, '-Behold, a company of Ishmaelites came down from Gilead with their camels bearing spi- cery (nekuth), and balm (Jsori), and myrrh (lot), going to carry it down to Egypt;" and in ch. xliii, 11 Jacob directs his sons to take into Egypt " of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carrj^ down the man a present, a little balm (tsori), and a little honey, spices (iielcoth), and myrrh (jot), nuts {botnini), and almonds (skekadim)." In this enumeration, in one case of mer- chandise, and in the other of several articles intended for a present, and both destined for Egypt, at that time a highly civilized nation, it is evident that we are to look only for such substances as were likely to be ac- ceptable in that country, and therefore not such as were produced there, or as were more easily procurable from elsewhere than from Syria, as was the case with myrrh, which was never produced in Syria, and could not have been an article of export from thence. This difficulty has been felt by others, and various translations of lot
MYRRH
184:
MYRTLE
have been proposed, as lotvs (comp. Burckhardt, A rab. Spficcken, p. 334), chestnuts, mastich, stactc, balsam, tur- pentine, pistachio nuts (Michaelis, Siippl. iv, 142-1 sq.). Junius and Tremellius render it ludunum, which is suit- able, and appears to be correct, as an etymological con- nection may be traced between the words. Ladanum, or gtim ladanum, as it is often called, was known to the Greeks as early as the times of Herodotus (iii, 112) and Dioscorides (i, 128), and bore the names ofledos and le- dancm (ki'tcoc, Xt'jSavov), which are ver\' closely allied to hiJun, the Arabic name of the same drug. A Hebrew author, as quoted by Celsius {/lierobot. i, 281), de- scribes it as "an aromatic substance, flowing from the juice of a certain tree." Ladanum is described by Herodotus (iii, 112) as particularly fragrant, though gathered from the beards of goats, where it is found sticking. This is explained by referring to the de- scription of IJioscorldes (i, 128), from which we learn that goats, after browsing upon the leaves of the lada- num plants, necessarily have this viscid substance ad- hering to their hair and beards, whence it is afterwards scraped off. Tournefort, in modern times, has given a detailed description ( Vof/arje, i, 79) of the mode of obtain- ing ladanum, and relates that it is now gathered by means of a kind of rake with whiplike thongs, which is passed over the plants. When these thongs are load- ed with the odoriferous and sticky resin, they arc scraped with a knife, and the substance rolled into a mass, in which state it is called ladanum or lahdunum. It con- sists of resin and volatile oil, and is highly fragrant, and stimulative as a medicine, but is often adulterated with sand in commerce. The ladanum which is used in Europe is collected chiefly in the Greek isles, and also in continental Greece. It is yielded by the Cistus, known in Europe by the name of Eock Eose. It is a native of the south of Europe, the Mediterranean isl- ands (especially Candia or Crete, whence the principal kind has derived its modern name), and the north of Africa. There are several species of Cistus, all of which are believed to yield the gum ladanum ; but the species mentioned by Dioscorides is in all probability identical with the one which is found in Palestine, viz. the Cis- tus Creticus (Strand, Flor. PaUtst. No. 289). The C.
Rock-rose (Cistus Creticux).
ladaniferus, a native of Spain and Portugal, produces the greatest quantity of the ladanum ; it has a white flower, while that of the C. Creticus is rose-colored. Species are also found in Juda'a; and C. Creticus in
some parts of Syria. Some authors have been of opin- ion that one species, the Cijstus roseus, is more iikely than any other to be the Eose of Sharon, as it is very common in that locality, while nothing like a true rose is to be found there. Ladanum seems to have been produced in Judaea, according to writers in the Talmud (Cels. /. c. p. 28C). It is said by Pliny (xii, 37), as long before by Herodotus (iii, 112). to be a produce of Ara- bia, and as by this is probably meant Syria (comp. Pliny, xxvi, 20), it was very likely to have been sent to Eg>-pt both as a present and as merchandise. See Cel- sius, Hierobot. i, 280 sq.; Kosenm idler, Bib. Hot. p. 158; Pococke, Mortjenl. ii, 333 sq. ; Penny Cyclopcedia, s. v. Ladanum.