Polish anthropologist (1903–1982)


		National and University Library in Zagreb
Sara Benetowa, later known as Sula Benet (23 September 1903 – 12 November 1982), was a Polish anthropologist of the 20th century who studied Polish and Judaic customs and traditions. Born in … Wikipedia
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Sula_Benet
Sula Benet - Wikipedia
June 11, 2025 - Benet argued that in many ancient ... of the Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, in the third century B.C., where the terms "kaneh" and "kaneh-bosem" had been translated as "sweet kalamos"....
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Holy_anointing_oil
Holy anointing oil - Wikipedia
1 month ago - The Bible indicates that it was an aromatic cane or grass, which was imported from a distant land by way of the spice routes, and that a related plant grows in Israel (kaneh bosem is referenced as a cultivated plant in the Song of Songs 4:14.
Videos
🌐 YouTube Holy Tongue - Topic Kaneh Bosem - YouTube
August 4, 2023
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/catholicism › original recipe for kaneh bosm?
r/Catholicism on Reddit: Original recipe for kaneh bosm?

https://ancient-hebrew.org/studies-words/facts-about-kaneh-bosem.htm Is this in regards to the cannabis debate over it?

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Salt Baked City
saltbakedcity.com › home › article › sensi in scripture: the curious case of calamus in the hebrew bible
Sensi in Scripture: The Curious Case of Calamus in the Hebrew Bible - Salt Baked City News
August 10, 2023 - It states “Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant calamus” (NIV translation). The word calamus is likely the incorrect translation of the ancient Hebrew word קנה בשם (kaneh bosem).
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Stack Exchange
christianity.stackexchange.com › questions › 92560 › what-do-christians-believe-kaneh-bosem-translates-to
translation - What do Christians believe Kaneh Bosem translates to? - Christianity Stack Exchange

Lest any Cannabis lovers get too excited, the qâneh portion of this compound phrase seems to indicate the stem or stalk of a reed-like plant:

Brown-Driver-Briggs' Hebrew Definitions

  1. reed, stalk, bone, balances 1a) stalk 1b) water-plant, reed 1c) calamus (aromatic reed)

If anyone has ever seen a full grown Cannabis plant it is difficult to imagine calling it a reed. It really looks more like a bush than anything. Cannabis is the top picture and Calamagrostis/Reed Grass is on the bottom.

If Cannabis is in view here (which seems unlikely) it would be specifically referring to the stalk of the plant and not the leaves or buds. The stalk or stem of Cannabis contains very little, if any, of CBD, THC, or any of the "desired" chemical compounds.

This is not to downplay the medicinal uses of the Cannabis plant but only to say it was unlikely to have been used in the concoction of Holy Anointing Oil for temple use. After all, why rub the Ark of the Covenant, the altar, the candlesticks, etc. with medicinal or psychotropic compounds?

Additionally, even if Cannabis is the referenced plant, the items to be used in temple worship and indeed the priesthood and the very temple itself are rendered obsolete by the advent of the Christ to whom it all pointed.

Christians do not make use of "holy anointing oil" to sanctify either items or people. Sanctification under the New Covenant is the work of the Holy Spirit. No Cannabis needed.

Answer from Mike Borden on christianity.stackexchange.com
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Quora
quora.com › Was-the-Kaneh-bosem-referred-to-in-Exodus-as-an-ingredient-in-the-anointing-oil-really-cannabis
Was the Kaneh-bosem referred to in Exodus as an ingredient in the anointing oil, really cannabis? - Quora
Answer (1 of 16): The etymology of “kaneh-bosm” means reed or hemp, and aromatic, respectively. It is entirely possible that the anointing oil was cannabis. It has been proposed that cannabis existed in Egypt 3000 years prior to what can be tracked with radiocarbon dating.
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Textkit Greek and Latin Forums
textkit.com › textkit community › open board
Kaneh-bosem - Open Board - Textkit Greek and Latin
January 30, 2004 - A trivial question(actually, two questions) for who speaks or knows Hebrew quite much. I’m curious because modern Hebrew is said to be a rebuilt language. Modern Hebrew-English dictionary has Kaneh-bos as hemp. And there’s a web site that says the Kaneh-bosem in Ex.
Find elsewhere
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Hometown Hope
hometownhopeministriesinc.com › post › marijuana-approved-of-in-the-bible-you-re-kidding-right
Marijuana Approved of in the Bible? You're Kidding, Right?
July 26, 2023 - Calamus—the Latin for cane, Hebrew Kaneh, mentioned (Ex. 30:23) as one of the ingredients in the holy anointing oil, one of the sweet scents (Cant. 4:14), and among the articles sold in the markets of Tyre (Ezek. 27:19). The word designates an Oriental plant called the “sweet flag,” the ...
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Cannabis Culture
cannabisculture.com › home › kaneh bosm: cannabis in the old testament
Kaneh Bosm: Cannabis in the Old Testament | Cannabis Culture
December 14, 2012 - Benet demonstrated that the word for cannabis is kaneh-bosm, also rendered in traditional Hebrew as kaneh or kannabus.
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The Times of Israel
blogs.timesofisrael.com › home › cannabis and the joys of biblical hebrew!
The Blogs: Cannabis and the joys of biblical Hebrew! | Michoel Green | The Times of Israel
March 8, 2019 - And קנבוס actually comes from the ancient Biblical term, “קנה בשם” (“KaNeH BoSeM”), one of the ingredients of the anointing oil delineated in Exodus 30:23!
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Civilizationorbarbarism
civilizationorbarbarism.com › 2013 › 03 › 02 › cannabis-or-kaneh-bolsem-in-the-bible
Cannabis or Kaneh-Bosm in the Bible – Civilization or Barbarism
August 29, 2021 - THE ROOTS OF KANEH-BOSM The first solid evidence of the Hebrew use of cannabis was established in 1936 by Sula Benet, a little known Polish etymologist from the Institute of Anthropological Sciences in Warsaw.' The word cannabis was generally thought to be of Scythian origin, but Benet showed ...
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Stack Exchange
hermeneutics.stackexchange.com › questions › 21131 › is-there-any-evidence-that-knei-bosem-is-cannabis-or-ganja
word study - Is there any evidence that 'knei bosem' is cannabis or ganja? - Biblical Hermeneutics Stack Exchange

Is there any evidence that this phrase should be translated 'ganja'?

No.

Exodus 30:23 (ESV) reads:

Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of aromatic cane (qənêh-bōśem)

The OP points out:

there is a speculation that kaneh bosem is a plural form of kaneh bos.

This is based, presumably, on a misunderstanding of the ending em on bōśem. This is superficially similar to the masculine plural -ı̂m ending in Hebrew. However, the term qənêh-bōśem is singular (i.e. 250 shekels-worth of q-). The letter m is part of the root bśm.1 The word qənêh- (spelled qāneh when alone) is a common term for "cane" or "reed". The phrase, then, is literally "cane of spice". The second noun bōśem is taken attributively, hence "fragrant cane". "Bos" means nothing in this context.2

As for the actual plant referred to in Exodus, I will believe William Propp's account:

fragrant cane. Qənē(h) bōśem is also called qāne(h) haṭṭôb ‘the sweet cane’ (Jer 6:20; cf. Akkadian qanû ṭābu) and simply qāne(h) 'cane' (Isa 43:24; Ezek 27:19). Although reeds are found in Israel itself, it is clear from the prophets that this special cane, like frankincense, was imported "from a distant land." Of various grasses valued in Antiquity for their aromatic essences...the variety most familiar to my readers will be East Asian "lemongrass."

Propp equates the terms bōśem and beśem earlier in the verse (there constructed with "cinnamon"). The emphasis is on their fragrance; there is no evidence of psychedelic properties attributed these plants in the Exodus account.


1. Were it plural, it would be bəśāmı̂m.
2. The etymologically related botanical term is is not cannabis but balsam.

Answer from Susan on hermeneutics.stackexchange.com
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Delta-8 in Michigan
komornlaw.com › home › kaneh bosm: the hidden story of cannabis in the old testament
Kaneh Bosm: The Hidden Story of Cannabis in the Old Testament
January 12, 2024 - Chris Bennett takes a look at the references to cannabis, under the Hebrew name 'kaneh bosm' with interviews from drug historians and authors
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B-Hebrew
bhebrew.biblicalhumanities.org › board index › other › etymological & lexicographic approaches to the hebrew bible
Cannabis/Cannabos/kaneh Bosem - B-Hebrew: The Biblical Hebrew Forum
Shalom le colam, My question this time is as clear as the title of this new thread reads. Is the word Cannabis related with the Hebrew Kaneh Bosem? Did the ancient israelites use the oil of the cannabis? Thank you very much for your responses.
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Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Etymology_of_cannabis
Etymology of cannabis - Wikipedia
May 26, 2025 - Semitic anthropologist Sula Benet, of the Institute of Anthropological Sciences in Warsaw, has indicated the origin to be the Hebrew word קַנַּבּוֹס (qannabbôs) kaneh bosm (קנה בושם).
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The Guardian
theguardian.com › world › 2003 › jan › 06 › science.religion
Jesus 'healed using cannabis' | World news | The Guardian
October 18, 2022 - Jesus was almost certainly a cannabis user and an early proponent of the medicinal properties of the drug, according to a study of scriptural texts published this month. The study suggests that Jesus and his disciples used the drug to carry out miraculous healings.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/academicbiblical › could the hebrew word kaneh actually be cannabis, and not calamus?
r/AcademicBiblical on Reddit: Could the hebrew word kaneh actually be cannabis, and not calamus?

Here is a recent discussion on this from a few months ago: https://old.reddit.com/r/AcademicBiblical/comments/xoabeg/qanehbosm_possible_mistranslation/

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standingupfortruth
standingupfortruth.wordpress.com › 2015 › 10 › 15 › the-bible-and-calamus-vs-cannabis
THE BIBLE and CALAMUS vs. CANNABIS | standingupfortruth
October 15, 2015 - THE BIBLE and CALAMUS vs. CANNABIS: With the Hebrew words for “calamus” and “cannabis” so similar, and the fact that calamus is of lesser value and also toxic, we must question the validity of the term “calamus” in English versions of Scripture. The word calamus is found in the ...