Bible Dictionary
Rosin
“Rosin” is an older rendering of a word elsewhere translated “balm.” The term may refer to an aromatic gum, oil, or naphtha-like substance rather than modern pine rosin.
Definition
“Rosin” is an older rendering of a word elsewhere translated “balm.” It may denote an aromatic gum or oil, and has also been understood as naphtha, a substance resembling liquid bitumen and having a strong affinity for fire.
Biblical Usage
The word occurs in the margin of the Authorized Version at Ezekiel 27:17; the text there reads “balm.”
Historical Background
The Vulgate uses a word meaning an odoriferous gum or oil. The Greek, Vulgate, and Syriac traditions also support the understanding “naphtha,” which Pliny described as a product of Babylonia.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
Found only in Authorized Version, margin, Ezek. 27:17, Heb. tsori, uniformly rendered elsewhere “balm” (q.v.), as here in the text. The Vulgate has resinam, rendered “rosin” in the Douay Version. As used, however, by Jerome, the Lat. resina denotes some odoriferous gum or oil.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
Properly “naphtha,” as it is both in the LXX. and the Vulgate, as well as in the Peshito-Syriac. Pliny mentions naphtha as a product of Babylonia, similar in appearance to liquid bitumen, and having a remarkable affinity to fire.