Bible Dictionary
Bdellium
Bdellium was a fragrant substance associated with the land of Havilah and used to describe the appearance of manna. It was probably a resinous gum rather than a precious stone.
Definition
Bdellium was a fragrant substance associated with Havilah and used as a comparison for the appearance of manna. The supplied material identifies it most probably as an aromatic, resinous gum resembling myrrh in color, though some have understood it as pearls or another precious substance.
Biblical Usage
Bdellium is named as a product of Havilah and as the substance whose appearance resembled that of manna.
Historical Background
The resinous gum called bdellium was associated with Arabia, India, Afghanistan, and other regions. It was thought possibly to come from a tree such as Borassus flabelliformis.
Scripture References
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Occurs only in Gen. 2:12, where it designates a product of the land of Havilah; and in Num. 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.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(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.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>del'-i-um (bedholach): The word occurs twice in the Pentateuch:</p><p>(1) in Ge 2:12, in conjunction with gold and onyx, as a product of the land of HAVILAH (which see), and</p><p>(2) in Nu 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.</p><p>James Orr</p>