The Recipe for Incense

Having given the ingredients for the anointing oil that was used to anoint the various components of the tabernacle (Ex. 30:22–33), Exodus 30 moves on to tell us the recipe for the incense that was used in ancient Israel’s worship. Verses 34–38 indicate that the incense was made by combining stacte, onycha, galbanum, frankincense, and salt.

Certainly, we know what frankincense and salt are, and although we are not completely confident in identifying stacte, onycha, and galbanum, most commentators have generally agreed on their identity. The Hebrew word translated into English as “stacte” simply means “a drop.” Most likely it was a powder made from hardened resin drops from the myrrh plant. In Hebrew, the word translated as “onycha” means “aromatic shell.” Thus, it was most likely a powder that came from scraping the shells of certain mollusks that were unique to the Red Sea. When this powder was burned, it created a strong aroma pleasing to the senses. Galbanum was a resin that came from the stem of the ferula plant, which grows on the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea and has yellow flowers and green, fernlike foliage. Galbanum preserves the scent, allowing other items in the mixture to retain their fragrance over a long period of time. Frankincense is a resin that comes from the boswellia trees that grow in north Africa. As indicated by the geographic distribution of these various spices, the Israelites would obtain them by trade once they settled in the promised land. But they would have possessed them during the exodus, having received them in the plunder that they took from the Egyptians when they left the land of the Nile (Ex. 12:33–36).

To these spices, the Israelites added salt before the incense was burned (Ex. 30:35). There has been some debate regarding the purpose of the salt, but the most likely explanation is connected to salt’s use as a preservative. Especially in the hot climate of the ancient Near East, salt was added to food to prevent it from spoiling. The salt preserved meat so that it could be stored and eaten later. In Israel’s sacrificial system, salt was often added to the offerings, and Numbers 18:19 even refers to the relationship between God and Israel as a “covenant of salt.” The Lord’s bond with Israel was permanent, an everlasting relationship that God would preserve and in which He would fulfill His promises to Abraham (Gen. 15). Salt visibly reminded the people of this truth.