בֶּשֶׂם besem

Hebrew word for “spice” · Strong’s H1314 · used 29 times in 25 verses

Explore it in the Word Atlas

Meaning

1) spice, balsam, balsam tree, perfume; 2) (TWOT) sweet, sweet smell, sweet odour

How it is translated

Glosses given for besem in context, with how often each is used:

• spices 19
• spice 6
• like the spice 2
• balsam oil 1
• perfume 1

Where it is used

Chapters where it is used most

1 Kings 10 (3), 2 Chronicles 9 (3), Song of Solomon 4 (3), Exodus 35 (2), 1 Chronicles 9 (2), Exodus 25 (1), Exodus 30 (1), 2 Kings 20 (1), 2 Chronicles 16 (1), 2 Chronicles 32 (1)

Forms

• בשׂמים 8
• ובשׂמים 5
• בשׂם 4
• הבשׂם 3
• כבשׂם 2
• הבשׂמים 2
• והבשׂמים 1
• לבשׂמים 1
• ולבשׂמים 1
• בבשׂמים 1

Words used with it

Words that share verses with besem more often than their overall frequency would suggest:

• זָהָב zahav “gold” 10
• שֶׁמֶן shemen “oil” 8
• יָקָר yaqar “precious” 6
• מֹר mor “myrrh” 4
• שְׁבָא sheva “Sheba” 4
• אֶבֶן even “stone” 6
• כְּלִי keli “article/utensil” 6
• מְאֹד meod “much” 6
• דּוֹד dod “beloved” 4
• סַם sam “spice” 3
• מָאוֹר maor “light” 3
• כֶּסֶף keseph “silver” 5

Key verses

The verses using besem that are most connected by cross-references (King James Version):

• Exodus 30:23 — Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of…
• 1 Kings 10:10 — And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices…
• 1 Kings 10:25 — And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year.
• 2 Chronicles 9:1 — And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove Solomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels…
• 2 Chronicles 16:14 — And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and…
• Song of Solomon 4:10 — How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine! and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!
• Song of Solomon 4:14 — Spikenard and saffron; calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices:
• Song of Solomon 4:16 — Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant…
• Song of Solomon 5:13 — His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling myrrh.
• Song of Solomon 6:2 — My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.
• Isaiah 3:24 — And it shall come to pass, that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink; and instead of a girdle a rent; and instead of well set hair baldness; and instead…
• Isaiah 39:2 — And Hezekiah was glad of them, and shewed them the house of his precious things, the silver, and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and all…

See all 25 verses in the Word Atlas

Hebrew and Greek text, tagging, glosses and lexicon definitions: STEPBible.org, Tyndale House Cambridge (TAHOT, TAGNT, TBESH, TBESG; CC BY 4.0), adapted. Counts follow King James verse numbering; a word counts each time it is written.