# Balm of Gilead (Commiphora gileadensis)

**Opobalsamum*; balsam of Judaea, balm of Mecca*

**Known today as.** The resin of *Commiphora gileadensis*.

Kind: Resin & Wood

## What was it used for?

The most precious balsam of antiquity: for wounds, and in the holy oils.

## What does modern science say?

An aromatic resin; the true balsam is now rare, and “balm of Gilead” in the trade is usually poplar buds.

## Pharmacognosy and toxicology

- **alpha-pinene and sabinene**: the oil of *Commiphora gileadensis*
- **sesquiterpenes**: 
- **salicin**: in the North American “balm of Gilead” buds of the balsam poplar, a different thing

**Mechanism.** The true balsam of Judaea, a myrrh relative grown at Jericho and En Gedi, is an antiseptic resin; the name passed in America to poplar buds, whose salicin is a willow-type analgesic. The sap of the true plant was cytotoxic to cancer cells in one Israeli study.

**Dose.** Safe externally.

**Standing.** The plant was lost to cultivation in Palestine after the Crusades and replanted from Arabian stock in the 1980s; no monograph.

## What lore surrounds it?

Balsam was mixed with olive oil to make the chrism of the Church; after the Spanish reached the Americas, balsam of Peru often took its place. See [Chrism](https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/chrism).

The balsam groves near Jericho were valuable enough in antiquity that Antony is said to have given them to Cleopatra as a gift, and Herod then leased them back from her. Crusaders fought over the same groves centuries later.

## What did the older authorities say?

**Jeremiah.** “Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there?”

**Josephus.** Says the Queen of Sheba brought the balsam root to Solomon.

**Pliny.** Says the balsam grew in Judaea alone, in two royal gardens.

## Sources

- Jeremiah 8:22.
- Josephus, *Jewish Antiquities* VIII.
- Pliny, *Natural History* XII.
- Amiel, E., et al. (2012). “Beta-caryophyllene, a compound isolated from the biblical balm of Gilead, is a selective apoptosis inducer for tumor cell lines.” *Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine*.
- Iluz, D., et al. (2010). “Medicinal properties of *Commiphora gileadensis*.” *African Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology* 4.

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*Balm of Gilead.* In *Materia Medica*, edited by B. C. P. Statema. Version 1, revised 2026-09-25. The Thinking Press. https://thethinkingpress.org/materia-medica/balm-of-gilead

Historical description, not medical advice.