STORAX

STORAX
STORAX (Gr. στύραξ), a sap with medicinal properties. According to Pliny (Natural History 12:81) and Dioscorides (De materia medica 1:79) it was extracted from trees growing wild in Syria and the vicinity. Some identify it with the "balm" enumerated among the "choice fruits of the land" that Jacob sent to Egypt (Gen. 43:11), and among the wares brought "from Judah and the land of Israel" (Ezek. 27:17) to Tyre. Balm of Gilead is mentioned (Gen. 37:25; Jer. 8:22, 46:11), and is praised by Jeremiah as a remedy for wounds (46:11; 51:8). Linnaeus, who determined the scientific names of plants, thought that storax was extracted from the tree called in modern Hebrew livneh refu'i which he termed Styrax officinalis. However in the light of tests made in Israel it is very doubtful if a sap with medicinal or aromatic qualities can be extracted from this tree. The storax of the ancients was probably extracted from a different tree, seemingly from the Liquidambar orientalis which grows wild in northern Syria and may even have been grown in Israel; from it is extracted an aromatic sap with healing qualities called storax liquidis. This may possibly be the biblical balm, though other sources led to the conclusion that ẓori ("balm"), nataf, and ketaf are synonyms for balsam. The Styrax officinalis is widespread in the forests of Israel, and Hosea (4:13) mentions "alon, livneh, and elah" (oaks , livneh, and terebinths ) among the shady trees used as sites for idol worship. The reference seems to be to the tree called in Arabic avḥar and also livnah or luvnah, a name connected with the silvery white color of the underside of its leaves (for the livneh of Gen. 30:37 see poplar ). The flowers of this tree are sweet smelling and similar in shape to citrus blossom. The poisonous fruit is used for trapping fish. Arabs do not fell this tree because of the legend that "demons recline beneath it." -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Loew, Flora, 3 (1924), 388–95; G.M. Crowfoot and L. Baldensperger, From Cedar to Hyssop (1932), 108; H.N. and A.L. Moldenke, Plants of the Bible (1952), index; J. Feliks, Olam ha-Ẓome'aḥ ha-Mikra'i (19682), 118; idem, in: Teva va-Areẓ, 10 (1968), 168–78. (Jehuda Feliks)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

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  • storax — [ stɔraks ] n. m. • XVIe; storiaus XIIIe; de styrax ♦ Didact. et vx Résine du styrax. Par appos. Baume storax, contenant cette résine. ● styrax ou storax nom masculin (latin styrax …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • storax — STÓRAX, s.n. Răşină mirositoare extrasă din sucul stiraxului, întrebuinţată in parfumerie şi medicină. – Din fr., lat. storax. Trimis de baron, 13.09.2007. Sursa: DEX 98  stórax s. n. Trimis de siveco, 10.08.2004. Sursa: Dicţionar ortografic … …   Dicționar Român

  • Storax — Sto rax, n. [L. storax, styrax, Gr. ?. Cf. {Styrax}.] Any one of a number of similar complex resins obtained from the bark of several trees and shrubs of the Styrax family. The most common of these is {liquid storax}, a brown or gray semifluid… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • STORAX — apud Terentium in Adelphis, Act. 1. sc. 1. v. 1. Storax, non rediit hâc nocte a cena Aeschinus: nomen pueri est, ab odore, ut ait Donatus. Στύραξ nimirum in Graeca fabula hic puer vocabatur. Est autem Storax, uti Virgilius vocat in Scylla: Et… …   Hofmann J. Lexicon universale

  • storax — [stôr′aks] n. [ME < L storax, styrax < Gr styrax, of Sem orig., as in Heb tsori, terebinth resin] 1. the aromatic balsam exuded by liquidambar trees, used in medicine and perfumery 2. a fragrant, solid resin obtained from a small, E… …   English World dictionary

  • Storax — (Styraxliquidus), franz. Storaxliquide, ist der von Liquidambar orientalis Miller im südwestlichen Kleinasien gewonnene Balsam. Aus den vorher durch Einschnitte verletzten Partien des Baumstammes werden Rinden und Holzstücke ausgehackt und daraus …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

  • storax — ou styrax (sto raks ou sti raks ) s. m. Baume de consistance variable, et d une odeur très agréable, dans laquelle on reconnaît celle de l acide benzoïque. Le storax provient du styrax officinale. HISTORIQUE    XVIe s. •   Pour l alexitere propre …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • storax — STORAX. s. m. Gomme odoriferante qui sort d un arbre de mesme nom. On luy a ordonné du storax. il a pris du storax …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Storax — is also a name for trees in the genus StyraxStorax is the resinous exudate of the Sweetgum ( Liquidambar ), occasionally used in incense or as an aromatic fixative in perfumery. It was used in Eduard Simon s experiments from 1835 1839, eventually …   Wikipedia

  • Storax — Storax, aus Einschnitten in Pflanzen der Pflanzengattung Styrax u. Liquidambar bereiteter körnerartiger Stoff. Es gibt mehrere Sorten: a) S. in Körnern (Styrax in granis), der durch Einschnitte ausgeflossene, an der Luft erhärtete Saft von Styrax …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

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