Scientists “revived” the biblical tree from 1000-year-old seeds: what is known about it

The seeds were found in a cave near Jerusalem in the 1980s

Francis O’Donohue/Getty Images

An international team of researchers has grown a tree from a 1,000-year-old seed found in a cave north of Jerusalem, Israel, in the 1980s. According to experts, the plant has a connection with a lost genus of trees mentioned in biblical texts.

Scientists from Israel, the USA, Switzerland, Australia, Sweden and France managed to study the plant after it was grown to a height of 3 meters, writes IFScience.

This was achieved after 14 years of work. The regenerated plant was named Sheba. Its characteristics were described in a scientific work, which published in Communications Biology.

Sarah Sallon and others.

Sarah Sallon and others.

The tree, as determined by scientists, belongs to the Commiphora genus of the Burseraceae family, which includes about 200 species of plants. Usually trees of this family grow in Africa, Madagascar and the Arabian Peninsula.

Instead, Sheba differs from all other members of the family in its properties.

At first, the researchers suggested that the revived tree could be the historical counterpart of the “Judas balsam” – a tree that was valued for its aromatic properties.

This plant was described in detail by Greek, Roman-Byzantine and post-classical authors in the period from the 4th to the 8th century AD.

However, Sheba lacks any aromatic compounds, so this hypothesis could not be confirmed.

At the same time, scientists consider more likely the explanation according to which the revived tree is a plant from which the biblical “tsori” was extracted – the resin used for healing, which was described in the books of Genesis, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

Phytochemical analysis of the tree’s leaves and resin has shown that it is rich in pentacyclic triterpenoids, a compound that helps heal wounds and has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anti-tumor properties.

In addition, scientists found a high level (30%) of squalene in the plant, an organic substance that is widely used for skin care.

“The biblical ‘zori’ is probably the product of a local species. It was associated with the historical region of Gilead in the rift valley of the Dead Sea and Jordan, a mountainous, forested area in ancient times with a lower fertile valley.”– note the authors of the study.

This thesis is supported by the fact that the seeds of the tree were indeed found in a cave in the Jordan Rift Valley of the Dead Sea.

Scientists do not have a clear explanation of how the seed ended up in the cave. They believe that it could have been brought there by animals. At the same time, the researchers do not rule out that people who probably wanted to save the seeds were involved.

“Leaving Sheba seeds in a cave by an animal or bird is supported by evidence that small rodents store Commiphora seeds, and its ripe fruits are eaten by birds, including pigeons and other fauna, the remains of which have been found during archaeological excavations in the Judean desert. Some of them are still inhabit the region”the researchers explain.

However, by the time the seed was left in the wilderness, the Judean balm had already disappeared from that area. Other excavations have revealed that the caves were used as hiding places for goods.

“Sheba may have been considered valuable enough to be deliberately placed in the cave. If this was a human intervention, it may also have been brought in from outside the region, perhaps with the intention of reintroducing a once-valuable Commiphora species.”scientists say.

We will remind, in 2023 scientists thawed and revived a small group of worms found in the permafrost of Siberia.