Dictionary entry

Bdellium

Webster's Dictionary 1913

Bdel″lium (�), n. [L., fr. Gr. βδέλλιον; cf. Heb. b'dolakh bdellium (in sense 1).] 1. An unidentified substance mentioned in the Bible (Gen. ii. 12, and Num. xi. 7), variously taken to be a gum, a precious stone, or pearls, or perhaps a kind of amber found in Arabia.

2. A gum resin of reddish brown color, brought from India, Persia, and Africa.

Indian bdellium or false myrrh is an exudation from Balsamodendron Roxburghii. Other kinds are known as African, Sicilian, etc.