Strong’s H1313 · Hebrew

בָּשָׂם
bâsâm
baw-sawm'

Definition

the balsam plant

Etymology

from an unused root meaning to be fragrant; (compare H5561 (סַם))

Where the KJV renders it

  • spice

Every distinct English word the King James Version uses to translate this Hebrew term. The variety shows what readers in English receive across many different surface words — the same underlying word, scattered across the English Bible under different names.

What the first audience heard

A deep-dive treatment of this word is in the works. The featured chapter above carries the long form of what this word meant to its first audience.