Introduction

Cinnamon appears four times in the Bible. In the OT, it is an ingredient in the holy anointing oil (Ex. 32:28), an enticement to sensuality (Pr. 4:14), and features in idyllic garden imagery (Sg. 7:17). In the NT, cinnamon is an exotic commodity imported into doomed ‘Babylon’ (Rev. 18:2). Since cinnamon (which botanists know as Cinnamomum verum or Cinnamomum zeylanicum) is endemic to South India and Sri Lanka, historian and biblical scholars have wondered how this fragrant spice bark appears in biblical writings centuries before direct maritime trade began in Greco-Roman times. Was the ‘cinnamon’ mentioned in the OT actually a different aromatic plant that grew locally? Or are these references simply anachronistic?

In 2013 Israeli archaeologists announced the first compelling evidence for ancient long-distance trade between the Levant and South Asia. Ten small sealed ceramic flasks of Phoenician design found at Tell Qasile, Dor, and Kinneret were tested for their chemical contents. The residue in the sealed containers contained cinnamaldehyde and benzoic acid which are the signature chemical compounds of cinnamon.¹ The flasks were dated to between 1100 – 950 BC and coincide with the text-based regnal years of David and Solomon (c. 1050 – 931 BC). Since the flasks were found in cultic and domestic contexts, the archaeologists also propose that even though it was an imported commodity, cinnamon was probably used in aromatic oils more commonly than previously assumed.²

While these archaeological findings enable historians to date the use of South Asian cinnamon in the period of Israel’s united monarchy, we do not have similar evidence for the exodus and conquest period of the Late Bronze Age (13th cent BC). We can, however, discuss how the biblical narrative itself presents its understanding of the ritual use of the aromatic spice.

1. Cinnamon as an Ingredient in the Holy Anointing Oil (Exodus 30:23)

Among the exacting details of the Levitical priesthood and worship rituals is the list of ingredients for blending the holy anointing oil with which all the priests and furnishings of the tabernacle were to be consecrated.

The LORD spoke to Moses: "Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, two hundred and fifty, and two hundred and fifty of aromatic cane, and five hundred of cassia—measured by the sanctuary shekel—and a hin of olive oil; and you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil." (Ex. 30:23-25 NRSV)

Four substances are collectively described as “the finest spices” (beśāmīm rō'š; cf. raši-beshamim, Sg. 4:14) apparently based on their aromatic quality and value. The recipe distinguishes between the similar looking barks of the laurel family, calling for “half as much” of the more fragrant and sweeter cinnamon (qinnemān) than the coarser cassia (qiddah).

We are told that these spices were collected from among the Israelite exodees (Ex. 25:1-7; 35:4-9, 20-29). They had obtained these and other high-value commodities from sympathetic Egyptian neighbours in the emergency collection prior to their departure (12:35-36). Royalty and elite patrons customarily offered imported luxuries like cinnamon (probably the t’sheps of Egyptian records) to temples. Priests, who commonly functioned as doctors, passed on such ingredients as medicines or sold them to cosmeticians in exchange for other necessities.³ Crafting the anointing oil was the specialized “work of the perfumer” (30:25, 35; 37:29), an artisanal trade for which ancient Egyptians were renowned.⁴ The master-craftsman Bezalel who prepared the anointing oil (37:29) would easily have acquired this skill in Egypt.

The oil is consecrated by God’s own words, “This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations... it is holy, and it shall be holy to you” (Ex. 30:31-32). The assumption being that the ingredients, including cinnamon, will continue to be available. Upon their return from Babylonian exile, a group of Levites were assigned to the specialized task of “mixing the spices” required for the oil and incense (1 Chr. 9:29-30), apparently a restoration of pre-exilic practice.

In addition, the Torah imposed the severe penalty of excommunication for the profanation of the formula by manufacturing as ordinary perfume (Ex. 30:32-33). There were perhaps two reasons for such a prohibition. Firstly, there was the need to instill cultic reverence for the Lord through the symbolic ‘setting apart’ of spaces and materials. Secondly, it may have been a countercultural restraint against the imitation of Egyptian dependence on exotic luxuries, echoed in the warning that the introduction of a monarchy would entail socio-economic consequences such as the servitude of “your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers” (1 Sa. 8:13).

OT scholar Cornelius ‘Cees’ Houtman reminds us that in ancient Israelite culture the sense of smell carried particular significations.⁵ It was an important medium by which different conditions of life were perceived: from fullness of life, health, and wellbeing (eg. SS. 4:11; Hos. 14:7; Jer. 48:11) to death, disease, and decay (e.g. Ex.7:18, 21; 8:10; 16:20, 24; Is. 19:6; 34:3, 12; Joel 2:20; Amos 4:10; Ps. 38:6; Eccl. 10:1). The fragrance of spices was an olfactory symbol of God’s holy presence because breathing the air perfumed by them conveyed salubrity and purity as opposed to the stench of putrefaction associated with death and decay.

The fragrance, which is spread abroad by the anointing oil, is determined by its composition. By claiming the exclusive right to the composition of the sacred anointing oil, YHWH reserves its special fragrance for himself. By anointing “his” fragrance is transmitted to his dwelling and its inventory (Ex. xxx 26-9) and to the priests, devoted to his service (Ex. xxx 30). So YHWH's fragrance becomes attached to his house and his attendants. So they are marked by his personality. Their exclusive belonging to YHWH is expressed for an organ of sense in a perceptible way. Because YHWH's aroma envelopes them, by nose they can be known as YHWH's representatives.⁶

It is breathtaking to contemplate that even before human settlements could develop into civilizations in South India and Sri Lanka (beginning around the 5th century BC), God would require for his worship spices from that region of his creation. The inclusion of cinnamon and cassia as ingredients in the sacred anointing oil is a glimpse of the Creator who delights in the botanical treasures distributed across varied ecological niches. And although the ancient Israelites would not have known the peoples and lands of South Asia by name (perhaps vaguely as “a distant land” like frankincense-bearing Sheba in Jer. 6:20) they were nevertheless connected through a chain of trading communities who passed along merchandise over vast distances. It may not be obvious, but the cameo appearances of cinnamon in the Bible are a reminder that ancient Israel was connected to a network of far-flung nations for whose sake God was working in their midst.