Reference: Incense
American
A dry, aromatic gum, exuding from a tree which grows in Arabia and India. It is called also frankincense, from the freedom with which when burning it gives forth its odors. Other spices were mixed with it to make the sacred incense, the use of which for any other purpose was strictly forbidden, Ex 30:34-38. To offer incense, among the Hebrews, was an officer peculiar to the priests; for which purpose they entered into the holy apartment of the temple every morning and evening. On the great day of expiation, the high-priest burnt incense in his censer as he entered the Holy of Holies, and the smoke which arose from it prevented his looking with too much curiosity on the ark and mercy seat, Le 16:13. The Levites were not permitted to touch the censers; and Korah, Dathan, and Abiram suffered a terrible punishment for violating this prohibition. Incense was especially a symbol of prayer. While it was offered, the people prayed in the court without, and their prayers ascended with the sweet odor of the incense, until the priest returned and gave the blessing. So Christ presents his people and their prayers to God, accepted through his merits and intercession, and gives them the blessing, "Your sins are forgiven; go in peace," Ps 141:2; Lu 2:9; Re 5:8; 8:4. "Incense" sometimes signifies the sacrifices and fat of victims, as no other kind of incense was offered on the altar of burnt-offerings, Ps 66:15. For a description of the altar of incense, see ALTAR.
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And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto you sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be the same amount: And you shall make it an incense, a compound after the art of the perfumer, mixed together, pure and holy: read more. And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of meeting, where I will meet with you: it shall be unto you most holy. And as for the incense which you shall make, you shall not make it for yourselves according to the composition of it: it shall be unto you holy for the LORD. Whosoever shall make any like that, to smell it, shall even be cut off from his people.
And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
I will offer unto you burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.
Let my prayer be set forth before you as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were much afraid.
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of saints.
And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
Easton
a fragrant composition prepared by the "art of the apothecary." It consisted of four ingredients "beaten small" (Ex 30:34-36). That which was not thus prepared was called "strange incense" (Ex 30:9). It was offered along with every meat-offering; and besides was daily offered on the golden altar in the holy place, and on the great day of atonement was burnt by the high priest in the holy of holies (Ex 30:7-8). It was the symbol of prayer (Ps 141:1-2; Re 5:8; 8:3-4).
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And Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning: when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lights the lamps at evening, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations. read more. You shall offer no unholy incense on it, nor burnt sacrifice, nor grain offering; neither shall you pour a drink offering on it.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto you sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be the same amount: And you shall make it an incense, a compound after the art of the perfumer, mixed together, pure and holy: read more. And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of meeting, where I will meet with you: it shall be unto you most holy.
[A Psalm of David.] LORD, I cry unto you: make haste unto me; give ear unto my voice, when I cry unto you. Let my prayer be set forth before you as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of saints.
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
Fausets
Ex 30:1,9,34, etc. The altar of incense was more closely connected with the holiest place than the other things in the holy place, the shewbread table and the candlestick. The incense consisted of four aromatic ingredients (representing God's perfections diffused throughout the four quarters of the world): stacte (Hebrew nataph, "a drop," the gum that drops from the storax tree, Styrax officinalis, found in Syria; the benzoin, or gum benjamin, is from Java and Sumatra; the liquid storax of commerce is from a different tree, the Liquidambar Syraciflua), onycha (Hebrew: shecheleth, probably the cap of the wing shell, strombus, abounding in the Red Sea, used for making perfumes), galbanum (a yellowish brown gum, imported from Persia, India, and Africa), and pure frankincense (the chief of the aromatic gums: Song 3:6; Mt 2:11; obtained from India through the Sabeans of S. Arabia; the tree is Boswellia thurifera, the native salai; the gum is called oliban, Arabic looban, from whence the Hebrew lebonah comes).
These were "tempered together," Hebrew "salted"; compare Le 2:13, but that was in the case of offering what was used as food, and salt is not used in compounding the incense of any other people; still God might herein designedly distinguish Israel from other peoples. Salt symbolized incorruptness; the wine of drink offerings, the blood, and the wood, were the only offerings without it. A portion beaten small was to be "put before the testimony in the tabernacle," i.e. outside the veil, before the golden altar of incense; from its relation to the ark thus it became" most holy," as was also the altar of incense (Le 27:34). This incense was to be kept exclusively for Jehovah; the penalty of making like incense for ordinary perfume was "cutting off." Incense of other ingredients ("strange," Le 27:34) was forbidden to be offered.
A store of it was constantly kept in the temple (Josephus, B. J., vi. 8, section 3). Aaron originally offered it, but in the second temple one of the lower priests was chosen by lot to offer it daily morning and evening (Lu 1:9). King Uzziah for usurping the office was smitten with leprosy (2Ch 26:16-21). The morning incense was offered when the lamps were trimmed in the holy place, before the sacrifice. Between the earlier and later evenings, after the evening sacrifice and before the drink offerings, the evening incense was Burnt (margin Ex 30:7-8; Re 8:1,3-5). A part of the temple was devoted to a family, "the house of Abtines," whose duty it was to compound the incense, according to the rabbis. One of the memunnim, or 16 prefects of the temple, had charge of the incense, that it might be always ready.
When the priest entered the holy place with the incense, the people were all put out of the temple, and from between the porch and the altar (Maimonides); Lu 1:10, "the whole multitude ... were praying without, at the time of incense," silently, which accords with Re 8:1,3. The priest avoided lengthening his stay within, lest the people outside should fear he had been struck dead for some defect in his offering (Le 16:13). This gives point to Lu 1:21, "the people waited for Zacharias, and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple." On coming forth he pronounced the blessing (Nu 6:24-26); the Levites broke forth into sacred song, accompanied by the temple music (Mishna); compare Re 8:5. On the day of atonement the high priest, after offering the bullock for himself, took incense in his left hand and a golden shovel full of live coals from the western side of the brazen altar in his right, and went into the most holy place, his first entrance there (Le 16:12-13).
He shall take a (Hebrew the) censer (see Heb 9:4) full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil; and he shall put the incense upon the fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercyseat that is upon the testimony, that he die not. In the second temple, where there was no ark, a stone was substituted. The truth symbolized by "incense" is the merit of Christ's obedience and atoning death. It is this, when it is by faith made the accompanying foundation of our prayers, which makes them rise up to God as a sweet and acceptable perfume. (See CENSER.) (Re 8:1-5). The incense of the golden altar of incense within the sanctuary had to be lighted from the fire of the atoning altar of burnt offering outside, otherwise the fire was "strange fire". (See ALTAR; ABIHU; NADAB.)
So Christ intercedes now in the heavenly sanctuary as He died for us outside; and the believer's prayer ascends from his inner heart to God within the heavenly veil, Because it rests on Christ's atoning sacrifice once for all offered "without the gate" (Heb 13:12). The altar of incense was connected with the altar of burnt offering by its horns being sprinkled with the blood of the sin offering on the altar of burnt offering on the day of atonement (Le 16:16,18; Ex 30:10). Incense symbolizes not merely prayer, but prayer accepted before God because of atonement: "let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense, and the lifting up (answering to the rising up of the incense smoke) of my hands as the evening sacrifice" (Ps 141:2).
For prayer was offered by the pious Jews at the times of the morning and evening sacrifices on the altar of burnt offering, which were accompanied with the incense on the altar of incense, thus marking that prayer rests upon propitiation By sacrifice. In Mal 1:11 there is no "shall be" in Hebrew. Probably then the ellipse is to be filled up with is as much as shall be. By the Jews' wide dispersion already some knowledge of Jehovah was being imparted to the Gentiles, and an earnest existed of the future magnifying of Jehovah's name among the Gentiles "from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same." The Gentiles already were having glimmerings of the true light, and in every nation a few were heartily trying to serve God so far as they knew. Their worship, as yet imperfect but sincere, is "pure" in comparison with your "polluted bread" (Mal 1:7,12-14; Ac 10:34-35; 17:23; Ro 2:14-15,27-29).
The incense which shall yet be offered "in every place" is prayer accepted through Christ (1Ti 2:8). This shall be consummated at Christ's appearing (Zec 14:9; Zep 3:9). The "pure offering" is the "body, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable. unto God" (Ro 12:1); the "broken and contrite heart" (Ps 51:17); "praise, the fruit of the lips"; "doing good," and imparting to the needy (Heb 13:10,15-16; 1Pe 2:5,12). In Re 5:8 it is the golden vials not the incense odors (not thumiamata but fialas, hai) which are the prayers of saints. In Re 8:3-4 the incense is distinct from, yet offered with, their prayers, the angel presenting them before God. It is not said he intercedes for us, still less that we should pray to him to do so; nay this is expressly forbidden (Re 19:10; 22:8-9).
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And you shall make an altar to burn incense upon: of acacia wood shall you make it.
And Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning: when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lights the lamps at evening, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations. read more. You shall offer no unholy incense on it, nor burnt sacrifice, nor grain offering; neither shall you pour a drink offering on it. And Aaron shall make an atonement upon its horns once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto you sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be the same amount:
And every offering of your grain offering shall you season with salt; neither shall you allow the salt of the covenant of your God to be lacking from your grain offering: with all your offerings you shall offer salt.
And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil: And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
And he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for the tabernacle of meeting, that remains among them in the midst of their uncleanness.
And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the LORD, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and put it upon the horns of the altar round about.
These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel on mount Sinai.
These are the commandments, which the LORD commanded Moses for the children of Israel on mount Sinai.
The LORD bless you, and keep you: The LORD make his face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you: read more. The LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace.
But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense. And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: read more. And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It belongs not unto you, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for you have trespassed; neither shall it be for your honor from the LORD God. Then Uzziah was angry, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was angry with the priests, leprosy even broke out in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from there; yea, he himself hastened also to go out, because the LORD had struck him. And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a separate house, being a leper; for he was cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king's house, judging the people of the land.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
Let my prayer be set forth before you as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Who is this that comes out of the wilderness like pillars of smoke, perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, with all the fragrant powders of the merchant?
For then will I restore to the people a pure language, that they may all call upon the name of the LORD, to serve him with one accord.
And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
You offer polluted bread upon my altar; and you say, How have we polluted you? In that you say, The table of the LORD is contemptible.
For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the nations, says the LORD of hosts. But you have profaned it, in that you say, The table of the LORD is polluted; and the fruit thereof, even his food, is contemptible. read more. You said also, Behold, what a weariness is it! and you have sneered at it, says the LORD of hosts; and you brought that which was torn, and the lame, and the sick; thus you brought an offering: should I accept this of your hand? says the LORD. But cursed be the deceiver, who has in his flock a male, and vows, and sacrifices unto the Lord a corrupt thing: for I am a great King, says the LORD of hosts, and my name is feared among the nations.
And when they came into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshiped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.
According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the time of incense.
And the people waited for Zachariah, and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple.
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that fears him, and works righteousness, is accepted with him.
For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore you ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.
For when the Gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfills the law, judge you, who by the letter and circumcision do transgress the law? For he is not a Jew, who is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: read more. But he is a Jew, who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
I desire therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
Which had the golden censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, in which was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tablets of the covenant;
We have an altar, of which they have no right to eat who serve the tabernacle.
Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered outside the gate.
By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. But to do good and to share forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of saints.
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stood before God; and to them were given seven trumpets. read more. And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire from the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire from the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire from the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake.
And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See you do it not: I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. Then he said unto me, See you do it not: for I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren the prophets, and of them who keep the words of this book: worship God.
Hastings
(1) leb
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And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto you sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be the same amount:
And when any will offer a grain offering unto the LORD, his offering shall be of fine flour; and he shall pour oil upon it, and put frankincense thereon: And he shall bring it to Aaron's sons the priests: and he shall take out a handful of the flour, and of the oil, with all the frankincense; and the priest shall burn it as a memorial upon the altar, to be an offering made by fire, of a sweet aroma unto the LORD:
And you shall put oil upon it, and lay frankincense thereon: it is a grain offering. And the priest shall burn as the memorial portion, part of the beaten grain, and part of the oil, with all the frankincense: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
And he shall take of it his handful, of the flour of the grain offering, and of the oil thereof, and all the frankincense which is upon the grain offering, and shall burn it upon the altar for a sweet aroma, even the memorial of it, unto the LORD.
And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took each of them his censer, and put fire in it, and put incense thereon, and offered unholy fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not.
And you shall put pure frankincense upon each row, that it may be on the bread for a memorial, even an offering made by fire unto the LORD. Every sabbath he shall set it in order before the LORD continually, being taken from the children of Israel by an everlasting covenant. read more. And it shall be Aaron's and his sons'; and they shall eat it in the holy place: for it is most holy unto him of the offerings of the LORD made by fire, a perpetual statute.
I will offer unto you burnt sacrifices of fatlings, with the incense of rams; I will offer bullocks with goats. Selah.
Let my prayer be set forth before you as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot endure; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting.
And there stood before them seventy men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in the midst of them stood Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan, with every man his censer in his hand; and a thick cloud of incense went up.
And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course, According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord. read more. And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the time of incense.
And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the time of incense.
And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of saints.
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne.
And cinnamon, and incense, and myrrh, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
Morish
Precise instructions were given as to how the sweet incense was to be made that was burnt in the tabernacle. It was a compound of sweet spices: stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense, an equal weight of each. It was to be compounded after the art of the apothecary, tempered together (or salted, marg.), pure, and holy. No one was to make any like it for their private use: anyone who did so was to be cut off from God's people. Ex 30:34-38. This incense was to be burnt on the golden altar morning and evening: "a perpetual incense before the Lord." Ex 30:7-8. It expressed the fragrance of the perfections of Christ's person for God's delight. It also characterised the worship of the priestly company of those in the light, as Christians are.
The incense was also to be put on burning coals in a censer and carried by the high priest into the most holy place on the Day of Atonement, that the cloud of incense might cover the mercy seat that was upon the testimony, 'that he die not.' It typified the personal perfection of Him who carried in the blood of atonement. Le 16:12-13. We find that while the high places remained, incense was burnt there as well as sacrifices offered. 1Ki 22:43, etc. The burning of incense to Baal and other false gods is also often spoken of. Jer 1:16; 7:9, etc. Satan has his incense and perfume, and makes it a delight to his willing devotees.
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And Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning: when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lights the lamps at evening, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto you sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be the same amount: And you shall make it an incense, a compound after the art of the perfumer, mixed together, pure and holy: read more. And you shall beat some of it very fine, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of meeting, where I will meet with you: it shall be unto you most holy. And as for the incense which you shall make, you shall not make it for yourselves according to the composition of it: it shall be unto you holy for the LORD. Whosoever shall make any like that, to smell it, shall even be cut off from his people.
And he shall take a censer full of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the LORD, and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring it within the veil: And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and burnt incense yet in the high places.
And I will utter my judgments against them concerning all their wickedness, who have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, and worshiped the works of their own hands.
Will you steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom you know not;
Smith
from the Latin "to burn," "a mixture of gums or spices and the like, used for the purpose of producing a perfume when burned;" or the perfume itself of the spices, etc., burned in worship. The incense employed in the service of the tabernacle walls compounded of the perfumes stacte, onycha, galbanum and pure frankincense. All incense which was not made of these ingredients was forbidden to be offered.
Aaron, as high priest, was originally appointed to offer incense each morning and evening. The times of offering incense were specified in the instructions first given to Moses.
When the priest entered the holy place with the incense, all the people were removed from the temple, and from between the porch and the altar. Cf.
Lu 1:10
Profound silence was observed among the congregation who were praying without, cf.
and at a signal from the perfect the priest cast the incense on the fire and, bowing reverently toward the holy of holies, retired slowly backward. The offering of incense has formed part of the religious ceremonies of most ancient nations. It was an element in the idolatrous worship of the Israelites.
2Ch 34:25; Jer 11:12,17; 48:35
It would seem to be symbolical, not of itself, but of that which makes acceptable, the intercession of Christ. In
the incense is of as something distinct from offered with the prayers of, all the saints cf.
Lu 1:10
and in Reve 6:8 it is the golden vials, and not the odors or incense, which are said to be the prayers of saints.
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And Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning: when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it. And when Aaron lights the lamps at evening, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations. read more. You shall offer no unholy incense on it, nor burnt sacrifice, nor grain offering; neither shall you pour a drink offering on it.
Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched.
Then shall the cities of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem go, and cry unto the gods unto whom they offer incense: but they shall not save them at all in the time of their trouble.
For the LORD of hosts, who planted you, has pronounced evil against you, for the evil of the house of Israel and of the house of Judah, which they have done against themselves to provoke me to anger in offering incense unto Baal.
Moreover I will cause to cease in Moab, says the LORD, he that offers in the high places, and he that burns incense to his gods.
And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the time of incense.
And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the time of incense.
And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.
Watsons
INCENSE. Thus; so called by the dealers of drugs in Egypt from thur, or thor, the name of a harbour in the north bay of the Red Sea, near Mount Sinai; thereby distinguishing it from the gum arabic, which is brought from Suez, another port in the Red Sea, not far from Cairo. It differs also in being more pellucid and white. It burns with a bright and strong flame, not easily extinguished. It was used in the temple service as an emblem of prayer, Ps 141:2; Re 8:3-4. Authors give it, or the best sort of it, the epithets white, pure, pellucid; and so it may have some connection with a word, derived from the same root, signifying unstained, clear, and so applied to moral whiteness and purity, Ps 51:7; Da 12:10. This gum is said to distil from incisions made in the tree during the heat of summer. What the form of the tree is which yields it, we do not certainly know. Pliny one while says, it is like a pear tree, another, that it is like a mastic tree; then, that it is like the laurel; and, in fine, that it is a kind of turpentine tree. It has been said to grow only in the country of the Sabeans, a people in Arabia Felix; and Theophrastus and Pliny affirm that it is found in Arabia. Dioscorides, however, mentions an Indian as well as an Arabian frankincense. At the present day it is brought from the East Indies, but not of so good a quality as that from Arabia. The "sweet incense," mentioned Ex 30:7, and elsewhere, was a compound of several drugs, agreeably to the direction in the thirty-fourth verse. To offer incense was an office peculiar to the priests. They went twice a day into the holy place; namely, morning and evening, to burn incense there. Upon the great, day of expiation, the high priest took incense, or perfume, pounded and ready for being put into the censer, and threw it upon the fire the moment he went into the sanctuary. One reason of this was, that so the smoke which rose from the censer might prevent his looking with too much curiosity on the ark and mercy-seat. God threatened him with death upon failing to perform this ceremony, Le 16:13. Generally incense is to be considered as an emblem of the "prayers of the saints," and is so used by the sacred writers.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning: when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.
And he shall put the incense upon the fire before the LORD, that the cloud of the incense may cover the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let my prayer be set forth before you as incense; and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice.
Many shall be purified, and made white, and refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand.
And another angel came and stood at the altar, having a golden censer; and there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne. And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand.