by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – Scientists have grown a 10 feet (3 meters) tall tree from a 1,000-year-old ancient seed which possibly belonged to a lineage that produced the healing balm referred to as ‘tsori’ in the Old Testament of the Bible, Live Science reports. The study of the tree dubbed ‘Sheba’ was published in the journal Communications Biology on September 10. .
The mysterious seed was discovered during an archaeological excavation of a cave in the Judean desert in the late 1980s, Live Science said. Reaching its current height after 14 years of growth, the tree now portrays its full characteristics: scientists were able to conduct DNA, chemical and radiocarbon analysis of its features.
. The seed from which ‘Sheba’ was grown dates back to between A.D. 993 and 1202, the researchers said in the study. The tree belongs to the Commiphora family within the myrrh and frankincense family (Burseraceae), and is native to Africa, Madagascar, and the Arabian Peninsula.
The scientists believe the fully grown tree may produce Biblical “tsori” — a resin associated with healing that is referenced in the Old Testament books of Genesis, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, Live Science said.
. “’Sheba’, an unknown Commiphora species with a unique genetic fingerprint, may represent an extinct taxon once native to this region whose resin ‘tsori‘ mentioned in Biblical texts was valuable, associated with healing but not described as fragrant,” the researchers wrote.
“[…] the germination of an ancient Commiphora seed from the Judean Desert shows evidence for the first time of its presence in this region about 1,000 years ago and possible identification with a native tree or shrub whose valuable resin ‘tsori‘ was associated with medicinal use in the Bible,” the researchers said.
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