Smith's Bible Dictionary
Bdellium(bedolach). (Genesis 2:12; Numbers 11:7) It is quite impossible to say whether bedolach denotes a mineral or an animal production or a vegetable exudation. Bdellium is an odoriferous exudation from a tree which is perhaps the Borassus flabelliformis , Lin., of Arabia Felix.
ATS Bible Dictionary
BdelliumCommonly supposed to mean the aromatic gum of a tree growing near the Persian gulf, etc. It is transparent, and bitter to the taste, yet very fragrant while burning. But the substance so called, whatever is was, is mentioned in connection with gold and gems; while gum is certainly not so remarkable a gift of nature as to deserve this classification, or as that the production of it should confer on Havilah a peculiar celebrity, Genesis 2:12. Hence the opinion of the Jewish writers is not to be contemned, namely, that pearls are to be here understood, of which great quantities are found on the shores of the Persian gulf and in India, and which might not inaptly be compared with manna, as in Numbers 11:7.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
BDELLIUMdel'-i-um (bedholach): The word occurs twice in the Pentateuch:
(1) in Genesis 2:12, in conjunction with gold and onyx, as a product of the land of HAVILAH (which see), and
(2) in Numbers 11:7, where the manna is likened to this substance in appearance: "The appearance thereof as the appearance of bdellium." The latter comparison excludes the idea of bedholach being a precious stone, and points to the identification of it with the fragrant resinous gum known to the Greeks as bdellion, several kinds being mentioned by Dioscorides and Pliny. It was a product of Arabia, India, Afghanistan, etc.
James Orr
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Occurs only in
Genesis 2:12, where it designates a product of the land of Havilah; and in
Numbers 11:7, where the manna is likened to it in colour. It was probably an aromatic gum like balsam which exuded from a particular tree (Borassus flabelliformis) still found in Arabia, Media, and India. It bears a resemblance in colour to myrrh. Others think the word denotes "pearls," or some precious stone.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
1. (
n.) An unidentified substance mentioned in the Bible (Gen. ii. 12, and Num. xi. 7), variously taken to be a gum, a precious stone, or pearls, or perhaps a kind of amber found in Arabia.
2. (n.) A gum resin of reddish brown color, brought from India, Persia, and Africa.
Strong's Hebrew
916. bedolach -- probably bdellium... << 915, 916. bedolach. 917 >>. probably
bdellium. Transliteration: bedolach
Phonetic Spelling: (bed-o'-lakh) Short Definition:
bdellium.
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