KING JAMES BIBLE DICTIONARY

1. Hebrew kiddah', i.e., "split." One of the principal spices of the holy anointing oil (Exodus 30:24), and an article of commerce (Ezekiel 27:19). It is the inner bark of a tree resembling the cinnamon (q.v.), the Cinnamomum cassia of botanists, and was probably imported from India.

2. Hebrew pl. ketzi'oth (Psalms 45:8). Mentioned in connection with myrrh and aloes as being used to scent garments. It was probably prepared from the peeled bark, as the Hebrew word suggests, of some kind of cinnamon.

An aromatic plant, probably cinnamon
Psalms 45:8; Ezekiel 27:19

An ingredient of the sacred oil
Exodus 30:24

(Exodus 30;24; Ezekiel 27:19) The cassia bark of commerce is yielded by various kinds of Cinnamomum , which grow in different parts of India. The Hebrew word in (Psalms 45:8) is generally supposed to be another term for cassia.

CASSIA, noun A genus of plants of many species, among which are the fistula, or purging cassia and the senna. The former is a native of Egypt and both Indies; the latter is a native of Persia, Syria and Arabia. The latter is a shrubby plant, the leaves of which are much used in medicine. The purging cassia is the pulp of the pods, and is a gentle laxative.

CASSIA is also the name of a species of Laurus, the bark of which usually passes under the name of cinnamon, differing from real cinnamon chiefly in the strength of its qualities. From a plant of this kind was extracted an aromatic oil, used as a perfume by the Jews.