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Aromatic Cane
AROMATIC CANE (קָנֶ֔ה, or קְנֵה־בֹ֖שֶׂם, meaning “spiced cane.” The word qaneh, CALAMUS, is found in
The aromatic cane (Andropogon aromaticus) is not the sugar cane as people know it today, but a grass which gives out a strong smell when bruised, and which has a taste of ginger. Cows and goats like it, but when eaten it can taint their milk and even their flesh. When processed, it produces an oil called ginger grass. It is similar to the lemon grass (Andropogon schoenanthus) found in Pal., as well as Arabia and India.
There would have been no difficulty in importing the ginger grass to Pal., for there was a regular caravan traffic between the two countries.
In
It is thought that the Queen of Sheba brought King Solomon spiced cane, and the word “spices” in