BDELLIUM

del'-i-um (bedholach): The word occurs twice in the Pentateuch: (1) in Genesis 2:12, in conjunction with gold and onyx, as a product of the land of HAVILAH (which see), and (2) in Numbers 11:7, where the manna is likened to this substance in appearance: "The appearance thereof as the appearance of bdellium." The latter comparison excludes the idea of bedholach being a precious stone, and points to the identification of it with the fragrant resinous gum known to the Greeks as bdellion, several kinds being mentioned by Dioscorides and Pliny. It was a product of Arabia, India, Afghanistan, etc.

James Orr

From the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Edited by James Orr, published in 1939 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.