Cinnamon

A spice made from the dried inner bark of several trees that come from tropical Asia. The bark has a pleasant smell. It can be ground and used as a spice. The cinnamon mentioned in Exodus 30:23, Proverbs 7:17, Song of Songs 4:14, and Revelation 18:13 is certainly from the Cinnamomum zeylanicum tree.

The cinnamon tree is relatively small, never growing taller than 9.1 meters (30 feet). It has smooth, ash-colored bark, wide-spreading branches, and white flowers. Its shiny, beautifully veined evergreen leaves grow about 22.9 centimeters (9 inches) long and 5.1 centimeters (2 inches) wide.

The Jewish people considered cinnamon a deliciously fragrant substance and valued it highly both as a spice and a perfume. It was one of the main ingredients used to make the precious ointment, or "holy oil," that Moses was commanded to use in the tabernacle. This oil was used for anointing the holy vessels and the priests who served there. Cinnamon was certainly very expensive and highly treasured.

See Food and Food Preparation.