sam denotes aromatic materials specified for incense and, in several passages, for anointing oil.

The attested plural forms denote aromatic materials in preparations and inventories connected especially with incense, and also with anointing oil. The verses repeatedly place them among sanctuary provisions, named ingredients, or incense-related objects rather than showing a separate use.

1. Aromatic materials for incense and anointing oil · dominant

   All supplied tokens are plural absolute nouns. In Exodus 25:6 the APB renders provisions for “the oil of the anointing” and “the incense of the spices”; in Exodus 30:34 it renders a command to take named ingredients for a prepared mixture. Numbers 4:16 likewise lists “the incense of the spices” with the oil of the light and anointing oil.

   Exodus 25:6Exodus 30:34Exodus 30:7Exodus 35:28Leviticus 16:12Numbers 4:16

In the Anselm Project Bible: The APB commonly presents the term in incense-related phrases such as “incense of spices” and in provision lists as “spices.” In several verses it instead renders the wider phrase as “fragrant incense,” so its exact English correspondence to the individual Hebrew token is not always isolable.