Bible Dictionary
Aspalathus
Aspalathus was an aromatic, probably prickly plant mentioned in Ecclesiasticus as producing a sweet fragrance. Its exact identification is uncertain.
Definition
Aspalathus was an aromatic plant or scented wood mentioned in Ecclesiasticus. It appears to have been a prickly shrub, but its exact identification is uncertain.
Biblical Usage
In Ecclesiasticus 24:15, Wisdom says, “I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon and aspalathus.”
Historical Background
The plant was described as a prickly shrub whose wood was scented. It has been identified by some with the plant yielding lignum rhodianum, but nothing certain is known.
Scripture References
Sir 24:15
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Smith's Bible Dictionary
the name of some sweet perfume mentioned in Ecclus. 24:15. The Lignum rhodianum, is by some supposed to be the substance indicated by the aspalathus, the plant which yields it is the Convolvulus scoparius if Linnaeus.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>as-pal'-a-thus (aspalathos): An aromatic plant mentioned in Ecclesiasticus 24:15 the King James Version, where "wisdom" says, "I gave a sweet smell like cinnamon and aspalathus," etc. It would appear, from a reference in Pliny, to have been a prickly shrub, the wood of which was scented, but nothing certain is known about it.</p>