Gilead, Balm of

The balm of Gilead was a precious aromatic resin or medicinal ointment produced in the Gilead region east of the Jordan, prized throughout the ancient Near East for its healing properties. It was one of the goods carried by Ishmaelite traders traveling from Gilead to Egypt when Joseph was sold (Gen. 37:25). The prophet Jeremiah laments the spiritual condition of Judah by asking rhetorically, "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there?" (Jer. 8:22), using the balm as a symbol of healing now unavailable because of the people's apostasy. The exact botanical identity of the substance — whether a resin of the balsam tree (Commiphora opobalsamum), storax, or another gum — remains debated. In Christian tradition the phrase became a metaphor for the healing offered through Christ.