Incense

Incense was a fragrant compound burned on the altar of incense in the Israelite tabernacle and temple as a regular offering to God. The composition prescribed in Exodus 30:34–38 combined stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense in equal parts — a formula declared holy and reserved exclusively for divine worship; making it for personal use was a capital offence. Incense was burned twice daily by the priests on the golden altar before the veil (Exodus 30:7–8), and on the Day of Atonement the high priest carried burning incense into the Holy of Holies to create a cloud of smoke over the mercy seat (Leviticus 16:12–13).

Psalm 141:2 interprets incense theologically: "Let my prayer be counted as incense before you." This identification of prayer with rising incense becomes programmatic in the New Testament's imagery: Revelation 5:8 and 8:3–4 depict golden bowls of incense as the prayers of the saints offered before God's throne. The angel's offering of much incense with the prayers of all the saints in Revelation 8:3 presents intercession in the language of the temple's incense liturgy, now fulfilled in the heavenly sanctuary. Zechariah was burning incense in the temple when Gabriel announced the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:9–11), placing the incarnation narrative in the context of Israel's ongoing temple worship.