named Tacitus, who was born about 54 C.E., while some of the apostles of Jesus Christ were still alive, states: “Christ . . . suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate.”—Annals xv. 44.

Finally, as Daniel’s prophecy indicated, Jesus Christ was put to death in the spring of the year 33 C.E. In fact, he died on Nisan 14, the middle of the lunar year that began in the fall with the month of Tishri. Three and a half years later the seventieth “week of years” came to an end with the anointing of the Gentile Cornelius. A footnote in the Whiston translation of Antiquities of the Jews gives the date of impalement and death of Jesus as April 3, 33 C.E. (Julian calendar), which is Nisan 14 in the Hebrew calendar for that year. Jewish tradition fixes the date of Jesus’ death, according to the Talmudic Tractate (non-expurgated edition), Sanhedrin vi 2, as the 14th of Nisan, in the spring of the year, which is the time Daniel foretold.

So the cone of identification, by means of lineage, place and manner of birth, manner of work and pinpoint chronology all agree to Jesus Christ’s being the Son of God. With what great precision God identified his Son, the Messiah! Those who desire life will give the strongest consideration to the identity of Jesus Christ as the Messiah, for the Messiah is the Seed of Abraham through whom all the families of the earth will bless themselves if they exercise faith in and follow the commands of this prophet Greater than Moses, the Son of God Almighty.

The Balsam of Gilead

“IS THERE no balsam in Gilead?” Thus asked Jeremiah some 2,500 years ago. What was this balsam of Gilead, and what meaning does it have for Christians today?—Jer. 8:22.

The word “balsam” comes from the Greek balsamon, which, in turn, comes from two Hebrew roots, baal (lord), and shemen (oil). Balsam was thus purported to be the finest of oils, the lord or chief of oils, used, not for eating, but for perfume and for its healing properties. “It was regarded with the utmost esteem among the nations of antiquity and to the present day is peculiarly prized among the peoples of the East.”—Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th Edition.

Just exactly from which plant the prized balsam of Gilead was extracted cannot be stated with certainty today. However, among the low-growing evergreen trees or shrubs having the most likely claim to it is the Amyris opobalsamum or gileadensis. To gather the balsam oil, incisions are made in the trees from which, according to one authority, at the most sixty drops of oil could be gathered in one day during a certain season of the year. It grew so plentifully in ancient Gilead that it was exported from there to Egypt and Tyre. According to Josephus, in later years Jericho was also noted for its balsam trees.—Gen. 37:25; Ezek. 27:17.

From the Scriptures as well as from profane history it appears that the three outstanding characteristics of the balsam of Gilead were its costliness, its scent and its healing properties.

The balsam trees were considered so valuable that they repeatedly aroused the greed of invaders, and it is recorded that Pompey exhibited a balsam tree among his spoils of conquest of the land of Israel. The costliness of balsam is further implied by its being included by the patriarch Jacob among “the finest products of the land” as gifts to the premier of Egypt. (Gen. 43:11) It is also to be seen in the fact that the queen of Sheba and other rulers included balsam oil in their gifts to King Solomon. (1 Ki. 10:2, 10, 25) When King Hezekiah wanted to show off the treasures of the kingdom of Judah to the emissary of the king of Babylon he showed him, among other things, his treasures of balsam oil.—Isa. 39:1, 2.

As for the scent of balsam oil, this caused it to be used for embalming and cosmetics. It is, therefore, not surprising to find it to be one of the ingredients of the holy oil used to anoint the high priest of Israel. (Ex. 25:6; 35:8) Its fine aromatic qualities are further indicated in that the final treatment of the candidates for queen for King Ahasuerus consisted of their being perfumed with balsam oil for six months.—Esther 2:12.

References to the healing virtues of the balsam of Gilead are common in ancient literature, chiefly as a cure for wounds, although the Egyptians considered it as a preventive of the plague. In the Scriptures the references to its healing properties are all made by the prophet Jeremiah. Thus in connection with the spiritual plight of his people he asked: “Is there no balsam in Gilead? Or is there no healer there? Why is it, then, that the recuperation of the daughter of my people has not come up?” Yes, there was literal balsam in Gilead, but no spiritual balsam, no spiritual healing, because, as Jeremiah himself observed, “the prophets themselves actually prophesy in falsehood; and as for the priests, they go subduing according to their powers. And my own people have loved it that way; and what will you men do in the finale of it?” No wonder there was no spiritual healing!—Jer. 8:22; 5:30, 31.

Jeremiah makes a similar reference to Egypt: “Go up to Gilead and get some balsam, O virgin daughter of Egypt. In vain you have multiplied the means of healing. There is no mending for you.” And in much the same vein he speaks to the daughter of Babylon: “Howl over her, you people. Take balsam for her pain. Perhaps she may be healed. We would have healed Babylon, but she has not been healed.”—Jer. 46:11; 51:8, 9.

The balsam of Gilead, being a precious, perfumed medicinal oil, well pictures the comfort that Christians can receive when they are spiritually discouraged or depressed, by resorting to prayer, to association with fellow Christians, to study of God’s Word and also as they themselves seek to bring the spiritual balsam of Gilead to others who may be depressed and spiritually ill. It is with this thought in mind that the new songbook of Jehovah’s witnesses, “Singing and Accompanying Yourselves with Music in Your Hearts,” has a song in it entitled “Balsam in Gilead.”