Scripture Scents
Cedar
Hebrew erez
Leviticus 14:4 · Psalm 92:12 · Song of Songs 1:17
Cedar of Lebanon was the great timber of the ancient Near East. Solomon paneled the temple with it, and the Psalms make it a picture of the righteous: tall, rooted and enduring.
In Scripture
The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Psalm 92:12 (ESV)
the priest shall command them to take for him who is to be cleansed two live clean birds and cedarwood and scarlet yarn and hyssop.
Leviticus 14:4 (ESV)
Cedarwood (Hebrew erez) lined the house of the Lord, so that “all was cedar; no stone was seen” (1 Kings 6:18). Its scent and durability made it a material of holiness. In the cleansing rites of Leviticus 14 and the red heifer of Numbers 19, cedarwood is joined with scarlet yarn and hyssop. The Psalmist promises that the righteous “grow like a cedar in Lebanon,” and in the Song of Songs “the beams of our house are cedar.”
What it is today
True cedar of Lebanon (Cedrus libani) is now rare and protected, and its oil is seldom available. Its close relative Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica) from Morocco gives a similar sweet, warm wood. The oils sold as Virginia and Texas cedarwood come from junipers (Juniperus virginiana and Juniperus ashei), the same “cedar” that grows across the Texas Hill Country.
In the bottle
Virginia, Texas or Atlas
Dry pencil-shavings wood (Virginia, Texas) or sweet, balsamic wood (Atlas).
First sniff: Virginia and Texas: dry, clean pencil-shavings wood. Atlas: sweeter and balsamic. Once it settles: Clean, dry woodiness that lasts. Reminds people of: Pencil shavings, a cedar closet, a woodworking shop.
Cedarwood is dry, pencil-shaving clean and quietly sweet, a base note that lasts well and costs little. Atlas cedar is warmer and slightly honeyed. Texas cedar is drier and smokier. It anchors frankincense and myrrh in incense accords, sharpens vetiver, and keeps rose from going soft. It is one of the friendliest materials for a beginner’s first woody base.
Blends well with
Vetiver, Iso E Super, Bergamot, Lavender, Frankincense, Patchouli, Rose, Cypress, Juniper Berry, Black Pepper, Labdanum, Myrtle.
Study formulas in the Atlas
Cedar & Frankincense (Beginner): Frankincense and cedar (Scripture’s timber of the temple), myrtle for green freshness, myrrh, benzoin and labdanum for the warm, prayerful base. It draws on Scripture’s materials without copying the Exodus 30 incense. Open it in the Scent Atlas.