Description of Botanical Coloring Page: Balm is an odoriferous resin which was, and continues to be, highly esteemed in the East as possessing great healing virtues. It formed part of the merchandise which was brought from Gilead by the Ishmaelites when on their way to Egypt they bought Joseph from his brethren at Dothan (Gen. 37. 25). A "little balm" was sent as a present by Jacob when he reluctantly allowed Benjamin to go to Egypt with his brethren, that his sons might obtain favor in the eyes of the man in power there (Gen. 43. 11). It was also an article of commerce between the Jews and the Tyrians (Ezek. 27. 17). Its medicinal value is referred to by Jeremiah three times (8. 22; 46. 11; 51. 8). There is not much difference of opinion as to what the substance was. The revisers have suggested in the margin of Gen. 37. 25 that the balm was mastic, the resin of Pisfacia lentiscus; but this tree is a common plant on the hills and along the plains of Palestine, and its resin is not much valued, being chiefly used as a varnish. The balm was obtained from the stems of Balsamodendron Gileadense, a small tree belonging properly to the African flora, but found, like other African plants, in the Jordan valley, though it has long disappeared from Palestine, and is not now even cultivated there. It continues to be grown at Mecca, and is found wildin Somali-land.
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