spice
be.sem denotes aromatic materials, especially as valuable goods, prepared substances, or fragrant garden imagery.
The term most often denotes aromatic materials counted among costly goods, tribute, and storehouse wealth; it also occurs in preparations for anointing, incense, burial, and cosmetics, and in poetic descriptions of fragrant gardens and their produce.
Senses in use
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Aromatic goods among wealth and gifts · dominant
The plural absolute form occurs among goods carried to Solomon and given to him: in 1 Kings 10:2 the APB renders camels carrying “spices,” and in 1 Kings 10:10 it describes their abundance alongside gold and precious stones. In 2 Kings 20:13 and Ezekiel 27:22, the term is likewise placed among storehouse valuables and traded wares.
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Aromatics prepared for oil, incense, and treatment · common
In Exodus 25:6 and Exodus 35:8, plural absolute forms are named for anointing oil and incense; Exodus 30:23 lists forms of the noun while specifying ingredients to be taken. In 1 Chronicles 9:30 the APB renders an ointment prepared “for the spices,” while Esther 2:12 places them within women’s prescribed beauty treatments.
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Fragrant garden and scent imagery · occasional
In Song of Songs 4:10, the plural absolute form belongs to a comparison involving the scent of oils; Song of Songs 4:14 names it among fragrant plants. Song of Songs 4:16 uses a plural construct form for the garden’s spices that are to flow, and Song of Songs 6:2 speaks of a garden bed of spices.
In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly uses “spices” in lists of goods, oil ingredients, and garden imagery, while singular contexts include “spice” and “balsam.” These English choices confirm the verse contexts rather than establish separate lexical meanings.