Gilead, Balm of

Substance of uncertain identification and one of several resins used in the Near East for medicinal purposes. It did not grow in Gilead, but it may have received its name from being exported to Egypt and Phoenicia from Gilead (Gn 37:25; Ez 27:17). The substance supposedly had astringent, antiseptic, and other therapeutic qualities.

See also Medicine and Medical Practice; Plants (Balm).