Herb library · Herb · Commiphora gileadensis
Judean balsam (balm of Gilead of the Bible)
A small, thorny myrrh-family tree of Arabia whose fragrant resin was the famous balm of ancient Judea. Scholars identify it with the Bible's balm of Gilead. It has not been studied in people.
Traditional use
Dafni and Böck (2019) identify the Bible's balm of Gilead with this tree, one of five plants the Bible names directly as medicine, and note that Jeremiah speaks of balm for wounds. Bouville and colleagues (2019) describe "balm of Judea" as one of the most precious materials of ancient perfumery and medicine, lost from trade for centuries; they obtained the resin from trees of Saudi Arabian origin grown in Israel.
What studies show
No studies in people of this herb on its own yet. What is known of it comes from the traditions that use it.
- Insufficient
Wounds and skin: no study of Judean balsam in people was found. Lab and animal studies of its resin and leaves exist, which do not show what it does in people.
Be careful of
Cautions
- NoteThere is no modern safety information for it. Genuine resin is very rare; products sold as "balm of Gilead" in the West are usually poplar buds, and myrrh-family resins are often mislabeled.
- PregnancyNo safety information for pregnancy or breastfeeding was found; avoid it then.
- Ask a clinicianTalk with a clinician or pharmacist before using this if you take prescription medicines, are pregnant or breastfeeding, or are giving it to a child.
In scripture
Where the Bible names this plant, and which plant scholars think is meant.
Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then isn’t the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
Dafni and Böck (2019) identify the balm of Gilead (Hebrew tzori) with Commiphora gileadensis, the tree on this page, and read this verse as the balm used on sores. Tristram (1898) had listed it as one of three candidates, with mastic and the desert date, and thought the word might cover the resin of any of them. Medicinal plants of the Bible-revisited (J Ethnobiol Ethnomed, 2019) — PubMed record · NIH (opens in a new tab)
They sat down to eat bread, and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing spices and balm and myrrh, going to carry it down to Egypt.
Dafni and Böck (2019) identify the balm of Gilead (Hebrew tzori) with Commiphora gileadensis, the tree on this page; Tristram (1898) noted that in this verse the word means a prepared gum, carried by traders from Gilead to Egypt. Medicinal plants of the Bible-revisited (J Ethnobiol Ethnomed, 2019) — PubMed record · NIH (opens in a new tab)
Sources
- Chemical Composition and Biological Activities of Diverse Products from Commiphora gileadensis: A Comparative Review (2026) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Medicinal plants of the Bible-revisited (J Ethnobiol Ethnomed, 2019) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
- Forgotten Perfumery Plants - Part I: Balm of Judea (Chem Biodivers, 2019) — PubMed record (opens in a new tab) · NIH · read September 25, 2026
Reviewed September 25, 2026.