Conference taveng::bagels

650.0. "Apharsemon oil for anointing kings..." by TAVIS::JUAN () Tue Feb 21 1989 09:54

    Last week we heard about a new discovery in the Juedan desert: in
    the caves of Qumram, (the same area where the"Dead Sea scrolls were
    found in 1947-48), a group of archeologists that were digging in
    one of the caves found a small ceramic jar, with two orifices, and
    an egg-like shape, about 15 cm (6 in) long and 15 cm (6 in) high,
    protected with a kind of pouch made of palm tree fibers.
    
    The jar, approx 2000 yrs old according to the shape and location,
    contains an oil like substance, very thick at ambient temperature.
    This oil that was preserved 2 millenia seems to be of vegetal origin.
    Until now it was not possible to identify the origin of this oil,
    but the type of flask, the fiber cover and the small size of it
    suggest that it was a very expensive oil (unguent).
    
    In those times, Judea was well nown in the ancient world as provider
    of balsams and parfumes, one of them was the "Apharsemon oil", a
    very expensive parfume unguent - it is called somewhere "mishcha
    de apharsemon" or apharsemon unguent/cream.
                                                          
    The apaharsemon oil or unguent was very demanded because of its
    exquisite parfume and was, together with dates, etc., one of the
    characteristic exports of Judea - and one of its "cash cows", one
    of its sources of foreign currency. 
    The contents of the jar were described as having a pungent smell,
    the only remains of the old parfume.                
    
    Pliny says this apharsemon unguent has the physical property that a 
    drop of it will sunk in water. The found oil has this characteristic.
            
    According to some rabbinic sources, as it was cited by the local
    news, quote that the apharsemon oil was used to "anoint" (sp?) the
    Kings of Juda, the "anointed ones", in their crowning ceremonies 
    (Mashiach = Messiah, means literally the one that has been anointed
    "nimshach" with an unguent "mishcha" or oil "shemen").   
                                      
    The archeologists, as well as the reporters were very excited about
    the findings.
                                        
    Juan-Carlos Kiel

So we finally struck oil?!?!? :-)

    ... yes, we found oil, but not yet in commercial quantities...
                           
    (by the way, the original plant became extint and we don't know
    how to produce this oil any longer)
    
    Juan-Carlos 

                           
>    (by the way, the original plant became extint and we don't know
>    how to produce this oil any longer)

yes but we don't need everyone to know that right? We could just declare an embargo on
the WHOLE world and then the Boston Globe and others would see things our way right? :-)

    
    re: -.1
    
    The Boston Globe, by the way, did report on this discovery in a (for
    the Globe) really unbiased and friendly way.  Mazel tov.  :~)

    There's an article on this find in the Int'l Jerusalem Post this
    week, on p. 22; pretty much says what .0 does, but also has a picture
    of the flask.  Interesting point - it's probably from a plant which
    is related to myrrh (as in gold, insense and...).
    
    Waky

    make that "Frankincense"--an aromatic gum resin used cheifly as
    incense.

    Now all they have to do is find someone from the tribe of Judah
    and they can annoint him king!
    
    				Paul