GALBANO (Hebr. βεβέδην, Gr. χαλβάνη). — Resin extracted from ferula galbaniflua of the umbellifer family, with a strong and lasting odor.
In antiquity (cf. Pliny, Hist. nat., XII, 54, 56), this product was used in various perfume compositions. In the Bible (Ex. 30:34–38), g. is described as one of the ingredients of the sacred perfume intended to be burned in the sanctuary. It was probably used, despite its harsh and unpleasant odor, as a mordant, a quality recognized by Pliny (op. cit., XIII, 2). G. was widely used as a medicinal product (cf. Celsus, De medicina, III, 20–21; IV, 8), or as a means of keeping animals away (Pliny, op. cit., XII, 56; Columella, VIII, 5, 18). In Eccli. 24:21 (Greek 15), g. is presented as a figure of divine wisdom.