Lexical Summary
qetoreth: Incense, smoke, fragrance
Original Word:קְטֹרֶת
Part of Speech:Noun Feminine
Transliteration:qtoreth
Pronunciation:keh-to'-reth
Phonetic Spelling:(ket-o'-reth)
KJV: (sweet) incense, perfume
NASB:incense, perfume, smoke
Word Origin:[fromH6999 (קָטַר - burn incense)]
1. a fumigation
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
sweet incense, perfume
Fromqatar; a fumigation -- (sweet) incense, perfume.
see HEBREWqatar
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom the same as
qitorDefinitionsmoke, odor of (burning) sacrifice, incense
NASB Translationincense (58), perfume (1), smoke (1).
Brown-Driver-Briggs
60 (burning) ; — absolute
Exodus 30:1 +; construct
Exodus 25:6 +; suffix
Ezekiel 16:18;
Ezekiel 23:41; —
sweet smoke of sacrifice, ""Isaiah 1:13;Psalm 141:2,Psalm 66:15,1 Samuel 2:28 (?).
incense,Exodus 25:6;Exodus 30:7;Exodus 31:11;Exodus 40:27 9t.;Exodus 30:8,Exodus 30:35, aloneExodus 30:37;Leviticus 16:13;Numbers 16:35;Numbers 17:12; soNumbers 16:7,17,18;Numbers 17:5;Numbers 17:11; 2Chronicles 29:7,Exodus 30:9,Leviticus 16:13;Ezekiel 8:11, also ofLeviticus 10:1 (illegal worship); in offering of the princesNumbers 7:14 + 11t. 7, compareNumbers 7:86. Altar of incense isExodus 30:1,1 Chronicles 28:18,Exodus 40:5,Leviticus 4:7,Exodus 30:27 6t.
perfume, ""Ezekiel 16:18;Ezekiel 23:41;Proverbs 27:9.
Topical Lexicon
General Overviewקְטֹרֶת designates the fragrant incense offered to the LORD and, by extension, the ascending column of smoke that symbolized accepted worship. Roughly sixty occurrences cluster around the priestly legislation of Exodus through Numbers, are echoed in the historical books and Psalms, and surface again in the Prophets as a gauge of Israel’s fidelity.
Prescribed Incense of the Sanctuary
• The first mention links קְטֹרֶת to the tabernacle provisions (Exodus 25:6). From that point onward, incense is inseparable from holy space.
•Exodus 30 sets the pattern: the golden altar (verses 1–6), the twice-daily ministry (“Aaron is to burn fragrant incense on it every morning… and again at twilight,” verses 7–8), the prohibition of strange incense (verse 9), and the unique formulation of stacte, onycha, galbanum, and pure frankincense ground together and salted (verses 34–36). The mixture was “most holy” and forbidden for common use (verse 37).
• Every priestly generation was bound to this ordinance (Exodus 30:8; 40:27;Leviticus 24:7), establishing קְטֹרֶת as the perpetual aroma of covenant fellowship.
Daily Priesthood Service
Morning and evening incense (Exodus 30:7–8;Numbers 28:3–8) framed Israel’s daily worship, synchronized with the perpetual burnt offering, and ensured that the Holy Place was never without the emblem of prayerful communion (comparePsalm 141:2). Incense also accompanied certain grain offerings (Leviticus 2:2, 16; 6:15).
The Day of Atonement
On the tenth day of the seventh month the high priest carried a censer of coals “with two handfuls of finely ground fragrant incense” behind the veil, “so that the cloud of incense will cover the mercy seat” (Leviticus 16:12–13). The obscuring cloud shielded the priest from judgment while he sprinkled blood, prefiguring the intercessory work of the true High Priest.
Incense as Emergency Intercession
When Korah’s rebellion unleashed divine wrath, Moses instructed Aaron: “Take your censer, put fire from the altar in it, place incense on it, and take it quickly to the congregation and make atonement” (Numbers 16:46). Standing “between the living and the dead” (verse 48), Aaron wielded קְטֹרֶת as a life-preserving mediator.
Warnings against Illicit Incense
• Nadab and Abihu’s unauthorized fire resulted in immediate death (Leviticus 10:1–2).
• Korah’s 250 leaders perished when they sought priestly prerogatives (Numbers 16:17, 35–40).
• King Uzziah’s proud attempt to burn incense ended in lifelong leprosy (2 Chronicles 26:16–21).
These accounts underscore that access to God hinges on His appointed mediator and His appointed means.
Historical Continuity and Reforms
Incense remained central in Solomon’s Temple (1 Kings 9:25;2 Chronicles 2:4), was reinstated under Hezekiah (2 Chronicles 29:11), and accompanied Zerubbabel’s Second Temple worship (Ezra 6:10). Faithful kings guarded its holiness; apostate rulers filled high places with counterfeit offerings (2 Kings 23:8;2 Chronicles 34:25).
Wisdom and Psalmic Reflections
Proverbs 27:9 celebrates incense’s gladdening power, whilePsalm 141:2 spiritualizes the rite: “May my prayer be set before You like incense, my uplifted hands like the evening offering.” The psalmist perceives קְטֹרֶת not merely as ritual fragrance but as a sensory parable of heartfelt supplication.
Prophetic Assessments
Isaiah decries worship devoid of obedience: “Incense is detestable to Me” (Isaiah 1:13). Jeremiah records Judah’s stubborn incense to the “queen of heaven” (Jeremiah 44:17–23). Yet Malachi foretells a time when “in every place incense and pure offerings will be presented” to the LORD (Malachi 1:11), hinting at globalized worship fulfilled in the gospel age.
Typological and New Testament Resonance
Revelation imports Old Testament imagery: “The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, rose up before God” (Revelation 8:4). Jesus Christ, our eternal High Priest, enters the true sanctuary with His own merit, assuring that the substance exceeds the shadow (Hebrews 8:1–5). The church therefore continues the incense motif as prayer offered “through Jesus Christ” (Hebrews 13:15).
Practical Ministry Implications
1. Worship must be regulated by divine revelation, not personal innovation.
2. Prayer, like incense, is most effective when kindled by the altar of atonement—Christ’s finished sacrifice.
3. Corporate and private prayer inherit the morning-evening rhythm, encouraging continual communion.
4. Leadership bears special responsibility to safeguard pure worship and resist prideful overreach.
Summary
קְטֹרֶת weaves through Scripture as fragrant testimony that God welcomes His people through ordained mediation. Its rising smoke points upward to a greater fragrance—the intercession of Christ and the prayers of the redeemed—assuring that genuine devotion will never fail to reach the throne of grace.
Forms and Transliterations
הַקְּטֹ֔רֶת הַקְּטֹ֖רֶת הַקְּטֹ֗רֶת הַקְּטֹ֙רֶת֙ הַקְּטֹ֛רֶת הַקְּטֹֽרֶת׃ הקטרת הקטרת׃ וְהַקְּטֹ֙רֶת֙ וְלִקְטֹ֖רֶת וּ֭קְטֹרֶת וּקְטָרְתִּ֔י וּקְטָרְתִּ֥י וּקְטֹ֖רֶת וּקְטֹ֣רֶת וּקְטֹֽרֶת־ והקטרת ולקטרת וקטרת וקטרת־ וקטרתי לִקְטֹ֔רֶת לקטרת קְטֹ֑רֶת קְטֹ֔רֶת קְטֹ֖רֶת קְטֹ֛רֶת קְטֹ֜רֶת קְטֹ֣רֶת קְטֹ֤רֶת קְטֹ֥רֶת קְטֹ֧רֶת קְטֹֽרֶת קְטֹֽרֶת־ קְטֹֽרֶת׃ קטרת קטרת־ קטרת׃ hakkeToret haq·qə·ṭō·reṯ haqqəṭōreṯ keToret likToret liq·ṭō·reṯ liqṭōreṯ qə·ṭō·reṯ qə·ṭō·reṯ- qəṭōreṯ qəṭōreṯ- ū·qə·ṭā·rə·tî ū·qə·ṭō·reṯ ū·qə·ṭō·reṯ- uketareTi ukeToret ūqəṭārətî ūqəṭōreṯ ūqəṭōreṯ- vehakkeToret velikToret wə·haq·qə·ṭō·reṯ wə·liq·ṭō·reṯ wəhaqqəṭōreṯ wəliqṭōreṯ
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