Scientists regrow ancient source of the Balm of Gilead from 1,000-year-old seed

There’s a tree growing in a greenhouse in the Arava desert, and it’s the only one of its kind in the world. It has been grown with great care and attention from a single Commiphora seed which was discovered in a cave in Wadi el-Makkuk in 1986. Much like the 2,000 year old date seed found during a dig at Masada, it lay in a drawer for decades before someone decided to plant it to see what would happen. Now both have been brought back to life.

Radiocarbon dating has put the date of the seed’s origin somewhere between 993 AD. and 1202 AD., according to the Times of Israel, making it roughly 1,000 years old. Finally planted back in 2010, the cultivated seed has produced a “tsori“ (balm) tree, from which the resin was used to make the Balm of Gilead.

While the palm tree grown from the ancient date seed was affectionately named Methuselah on account of its great age, the tsori tree has been given the name “Sheba” after the valuable spices brought by the Queen of Sheba to Solomon. The Balm of Gilead was a precious commodity in ancient times, along with frankincense and myrrh. 

The balm features in the biblical story of Joseph when we learn of the Ishmaelite traders carrying the balm in their cargo:

“...And looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, with their camels bearing gum, balm, and myrrh, on their way to carry it down to Egypt.” (Gen. 37:25)

However, the name Gilead first appears in Genesis chapter 31 in the description of the resolution of the tensions between Jacob and his father-in-law, Laban. They met in the mountainous area northeast of the Sea of Galilee, named Gilead in their interaction. Laban makes this proposal to Jacob:

“So now, come, let’s make a covenant, you and I, and let it be a witness between you and me.” So Jacob took a stone and set it up as a pillar, and Jacob said to his relatives, “Gather stones.” So they took the stones and made a pile. Then they ate there on the pile. Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha and Jacob called it Gilead.” (Genesis 31:44-47)

Gilead here means “witness” or cairn, the pile of rocks to remember an important event. Ramot Gilead is in present-day Jordan, after which the balm gets its name. It seems that in addition to healing wounds in the body, the balm of Gilead is connected with healing wounded relationships and bringing reconciliation in the Bible. This is seen both between Jacob and Laban and in Jeremiah 8, where God calls out for the Balm of Gilead to attend to the metaphorical wound of the daughter of His people, Israel, and for His own wounded heart.

“For the wound of the daughter of my people is my heart wounded,” God cries through the prophet Jeremiah, before asking, “Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?” (Jeremiah 8:21-22)

Similar in some ways to the properties of myrrh, the balm extracted from the resin of tsori trees has medicinal qualities acting as an anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, antiviral, and even fighting cancer. The resin or gum was used in biblical times as a perfume, but also for cataract medication, embalming and an antidote for poison.

It was Dr. Sarah Sallon, director of the Louis Borick Natural Medicine Research Center at the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem, who found the 2 centimeter long seed which had been kept in the basement of Hebrew University. Dr. Elaine Solowey, director of the Center for Sustainable Agriculture at the Arava Institute, then helped germinate the seed and successfully regrew the plant, previously thought to be extinct.

Sallon told The Times of Israel that although the plant doesn’t have the fragrance described in the Bible, it still holds the same medicinal qualities. Phytochemical analysis of the leaves and resin found that the tsori tree is rich in pentacyclic triterpenoids, which are biologically active compounds with anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. The leaves and stems were also found to be high in squalene, a natural, oily substance with antioxidant and skin-smoothing properties. 

Sallon added that more study is needed into Sheba’s chemistry and possible medicinal significance, saying that their research so far had produced a “salad mix of information.” Archaeology News reported that researchers are “optimistic about Sheba’s future and its potential to contribute to modern medicine,” adding that further studies are planned, hoping to discover possible medicinal uses of the plant, particularly its anti-cancer properties.

Just as the Methuselah date palm only blossoms when planted outside, Sallon and her team at the Arava Institute are eager to see what happens when the tsori tree is put into the ground. More will be known about the plant once it produces flowers.

She described the discovery of the seeds as “like a treasure chest of lost flora,” adding, “it’s been hugely exciting. It’s bringing something back to life from 1,000 years ago.”

At this time of deep division and conflict, it’s a perfect time for the ancient seed to have found new life again in Israel. The Balm of Gilead and its healing powers are much needed.