Wikipedia's first sentence called it “balm”. Today it says “rare perfume used medicinally that was mentioned in the hebrew bible and named for the region of gilead”.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2015
Balm of Gilead, "Jerusalem: A Medical Diagnosis Exhibition" Balm of Gilead was a rare perfume used medicinally, that was mentioned in the Bible , and named for the region of Gilead where it was produced.1 The expression stems from William Tyndale 's language in the King James Bible of 1611, and has come to signify a universal cure in figurative speech. The tree or shrub producing the balm is commonly identified as Commiphora gileadensis , which is the plant that bleeds the Balsam of Mecca . Some botanical scholars have concluded that the actual source was an unrelated plant, a Terebinth tree in the genus Pistacia .2
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 669443054.
The opening as it stood in 2010
Balm of Gilead is a balm ( healing compound) made from the resinous gum of the balsam poplar ( Populus candicans ), a North American tree species. It takes its name from the allusive Biblical phrase "balm in Gilead", referring to the balm or balsam carried from Gilead by the caravan of merchants to whom Joseph was sold by his brothers ( Genesis chapter 37). In all likelihood, this ancient trade item was what is now known as balsam of Mecca , produced from the tree Commiphora gileadensis (syn. Commiphora opobalsamum ), native to southern Arabia . Balm of Gilead is used in skin care products for the treatment of eczema and dry skin.
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 321098106.
The opening as it stood in 2020
Balm of Gilead, an exhibition at Jerusalem Balm of Gilead was a rare perfume used medicinally, that was mentioned in the Bible , and named for the region of Gilead , where it was produced. The expression stems from William Tyndale 's language in the King James Bible of 1611, and has come to signify a universal cure in figurative speech. The tree or shrub producing the balm is commonly identified as Commiphora gileadensis . Some botanical scholars have concluded that the actual source was a terebinth tree in the genus Pistacia .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 961667369.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
Historic herbal perfume For other uses, see Balm of Gilead (disambiguation) .Plant considered to be the basis of the balm of Gilead, exhibition in Jerusalem Balm of Gilead was a rare perfume used medicinally, that was mentioned in the Hebrew Bible , and named for the region of Gilead , where it was produced. The expression stems from William Tyndale 's language in the King James Bible of 1611, and has come to signify a universal cure in figurative speech. The tree or shrub producing the balm is commonly identified as Commiphora gileadensis . However, some botanical scholars have concluded that the actual source was a terebinth tree in the genus Pistacia .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1175508866.
The opening as it stood in 2025
Historic herbal perfume For other uses, see Balm of Gilead (disambiguation) . Plant considered to be the basis of the balm of Gilead, exhibition in Jerusalem Balm of Gilead was a rare perfume used medicinally that was mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and named for the region of Gilead , where it was produced. The expression stems from William Tyndale 's language in the King James Bible of 1611 and has come to signify a universal cure in figurative speech. The tree or shrub producing the balm is commonly identified as Commiphora gileadensis . However, some botanical scholars have concluded that the actual source was a terebinth tree in the genus Pistacia .
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1293872057. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “balm”. Today it says “rare perfume used medicinally that was mentioned in the hebrew bible and named for the region of gilead”. Read the current article and compare.
2010
2015
2020
Oct '23
2025
Counts in the opening at each snapshot. Green: the word gained ground. Red: it was cut. Grey: no change.
What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
balm
Now
rare perfume used medicinally that was mentioned in the hebrew bible and named for the region of gilead
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
