Cassia

As in the case of agarwood above (4.1.1), Zohary is confident that the substance referred to by the Hebrew words qiddah and qetsi‘ah is oil or powder derived from the leaves, twigs, or bark of the Cassia Cinnamomum cassia, a tree found in East Asia. The name “cassia” may possibly come from the Khasi people of northeastern India and Bangladesh; earlier they lived in the area of Assam and Burma and were involved in the ancient cassia trade. So cassia oil may have been brought into Israel from East Asia. However, with respect to “cassia” and “cinnamon” in Exodus 30:23 Exodus 30:24, Hepper argues that these spices were probably not Asian spices as has often been supposed. Quoting research by Lucas and Harris on ancient Egyptian materials, he says that there is no evidence of these Asian spices in tombs in Egypt (Hepper, page 138). If they were being transported by the deprived Israelites, why were they not used by the more prosperous Egyptians? Further, how was Moses to have access to these substances in remote Sinai? Hepper favors southern Arabia and northeastern Africa as sources for fragrant barks and resins. Note the caravans of Tema and Dedan (Job 6:19; Isaiah 21:13 Isaiah 21:14) and the visit of the Queen of Sheba (1 Kings 10:2).