G2368 — θυμίαμα (thymíama)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G2368
Original: θυμίαμα
Transliteration: thymíama
Pronunciation: thoo-mee'-am-ah
Part of Speech: Neuter noun
Root: From θυμιάω (G2370) — to burn incense; from a root meaning "to fume/smoke"
Occurrences: 6 verses in NT
First Occurrence: Luke 1:10 — "at the time of incense"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From θυμιάω (G2370); an aroma, i.e. fragrant powder burnt in religious service — incense, odours.

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida: - 053.002 — Offering, Sacrifice - 006.021 — Perfumes and Incense

Other words in 053.002: θυμιάω (G2370, burn incense), θυσία (G2378, sacrifice), θυσιαστήριον (G2379, altar), ὁλοκαύτωμα (G3646, burnt offering)

UBS Semantic Domains: - [006] Artifacts - [053] Religious Activities

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
incense	2	33%
of incense	2	33%
odours	1	17%
of odours	1	17%

All 6 occurrences render one concept — fragrant incense offered in worship.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Revelation	4	1.0
Luke	2	0.2

Concentrated in Revelation's heavenly sanctuary scenes; Luke supplies the one historical temple setting.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Temple Liturgy — The Hour of Incense¶

The daily burning of incense at the golden altar within the Holy Place, accompanying the prayers of the people gathered outside.

Luke 1:10 — "And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense."
Luke 1:11 — "And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense."

2. Heavenly Worship — Incense as the Prayers of the Saints¶

In Revelation's throne room, incense is explicitly identified as the prayers of God's people, mediating between earthly intercession and the heavenly altar before God.

Rev 5:8 — "...golden vials full of odours, which are the prayers of saints."
Rev 8:3 — "...there was given unto him much incense, that he should offer [it] with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar which was before the throne."
Rev 8:4 — "And the smoke of the incense, [which came] with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand."

3. Commercial Commodity — Babylon's Luxury Trade¶

Listed among imported spices and ointments in the merchant inventory of the great city, showing incense as a prized trade good of the ancient world.

Rev 18:13 — "And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour..."

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ἄγγελος (ággelos)	G32	3x (50%)	Angel appearing at incense altar (Lk 1:11) or angel offering incense (Rev 8:3–4)
ἅγιος (hágios)	G40	3x (50%)	The "saints" whose prayers the incense represents
προσευχή (proseuchḗ)	G4335	3x (50%)	Incense explicitly equated with the prayers of the saints (Rev 5:8; 8:3–4)
θυσιαστήριον (thysiastḗrion)	G2379	2x (33%)	The golden altar upon which incense is offered
χρύσεος (chrýseos)	G5552	2x (33%)	Golden vials (Rev 5:8) and golden censer (Rev 8:3)

Word Family / Cognates¶

G2370 θυμιάω (thymiaō) — cognate verb: to burn incense (Lk 1:9 — Zechariah's priestly lot)
G2369 θυμιαστήριον (thymiastērion) — the censer / altar of incense (Heb 9:4)
G2372 θυμός (thymós) — wrath, fury (from same root "fume"; semantic split: fragrant offering vs. burning anger)

Synonyms¶

search_relationships.py surfaced a functional overlap rather than a strict lexical synonym: - G1637 ἔλαιον (elaion) — oil; another fragrant cultic substance used in worship and perfumery, adjacent to incense rather than equivalent to it

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G2368.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
קְטֹרֶת (qᵉṭôreth)	H7004	both "incense"	Primary OT Hebrew noun for incense — θυμίαμα is its standard LXX rendering; same substance, different language
קָטַר (qâṭar)	H6999	both translated "incense" (KJV)	H6999 is a verb (to burn/offer incense); θυμίαμα is the substance burned, not the act

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
קְטֹרֶת (qᵉṭôreth)	H7004	52x	8.39	Primary OT equivalent — the prescribed incense compound of the Tabernacle and Temple
סַם (çam)	H5561	11x	8.32	Spice component of the incense compound (Exo 30:34)