Stacte in the Bible — Meaning & Definition

Easton's Bible Dictionary 1897

(Heb. nataph), one of the components of the perfume which was offered on the golden altar (Ex. 30:34; R.V. marg., “opobalsamum”). The Hebrew word is from a root meaning “to distil,” and it has been by some interpreted as distilled myrrh. Others regard it as the gum of the storax tree, or rather shrub, the Styrax officinale. “The Syrians value this gum highly, and use it medicinally as an emulcent in pectoral complaints, and also in perfumery.”

Smith's Bible Dictionary 1863

(Heb. nataf) the name of one of the sweet spices which composed the holy incense. See (Exodus 30:34) --the only passage of Scripture in which the word occurs. Some identify the nataf with the gum of the storer tree (Styraz officinale), but all that is positively known is that it signifies an odorous distillation from some plant.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia 1915

stak'-te (nataph, "drops" (Job 36:27); stakte, meaning "oozing out in drops"): One of the ingredients of the holy ointment (Ex 30:34; Ecclesiasticus 24:15, margin "opobalsamum," the King James Version "storax"). The marginal reading is a concession to Jewish tradition, but see SPICE, (1). Dioscorides describes two kinds of stacte, one of pure myrrh and one of storax and a fat mixed. See MYRRH. This nataph must have been either myrrh "in drops," as it is collected, or some other fragrant gum, similarly collected, such, for example, as gum tragacanth.