Hyssop, the Lost Herb of Passover
How Hyssop Essential Oil saved the Jews from the tenth plague
Mar 2, 2007
Every year on Passover or Pesach, Jewish families gather to tell the story of the Exodus from Egypt and the liberation of our ancestors. As with any ancient tradition, however, parts of the story have more than one version - and none are more interesting than bearing in mind the ancient herbal and healing traditions as we consider the tenth plague against the Egyptians - and the use of hyssop essential oil to protect the Jews from the Angel of Death.
The tenth plague is the last and most horrifying of the plagues against the Egyptians: the killing of the firstborn of every family as well as the firstborn of their cattle, part of the substantial wealth of the Egyptians. Every firstborn in Egypt is slaughtered unless they are protected by the sign God gives to Moses to mark each Jewish home: the blood of a lamb painted on the lintel and doorposts of the house.
In Sunday school and Hebrew school, we are taught that God sent the Angel of Death to kill the first born of each family. The blood on the doorpost was a signal to the angel to “pass over” the homes of the Jews (thus the English name “Passover” for the holiday). This is not, in fact, exactly what the Torah and the Bible say.
Exodus 12, verse 22, tells the Jews that after the lamb is slaughtered, “ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning” (Exodus 12:22, King James Bible). The Jews are told not only to paint their doorways with blood, but that the fragile hyssop plant must be used to do so.
Why Hyssop?
Hyssop is one of the most oft- mentioned aromatic herbs and essential oils in the Bible, coming third after only Myrrh and Frankincense. According to Dr. David Stewart in his book Healing Oils of the Bible, Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) was used by the ancients for “purification from sin, addictions and destructive habits” as well as “respiratory relief, decongestant, expectorant, repeller of evil spirits” - as it was used to the repel the evil spirit of the Angel of Death during the tenth plague.
Hyssop is a scrubby, fragile plant of the mint family, Lamiaceae (or Lamiateae). The aroma of hyssop is bitter and sweet. Traditionally a “strewing plant,” the stems and leaves carry an essential oil which is useful for treating respiratory complaints and may support the immune system. Hyssop is also helpful in stimulating alertness and to relieve anxiety, arthritis, asthma, respiratory infections, parasites, sore throats, and more.
Essential oils and fragrant herbs are mentioned on almost every page of the Bible, but almost no explanation is made of their usage. Dr. Stewart attributes this to the general knowledge, in those times, of how herbs and essential oils could be used to purify temples and homes, to moisturize the skin and mask body odor, and to heal almost every kind of discomfort, sickness and disease.
Of the Passover story in particular, he says, “While the symbology of the blood of the lamb saving the sons of the Israelites has strong significance for Christians, it is also interesting to note that the ancient Hebrews... believed that the scent of hyssop would repel evil spirits. God’s instructions were to ‘strike’ the lintel and door posts, which would have bruised the hyssop leaves and released the scent of its oil.”
Further, Exodus 12:23 reads, “For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you.”
Who, or what, is “the destroyer”? In some translations, this is interpreted as a reference to the Angel of Death. In most, however, the wording used is simply “the destroyer” or “the destruction.” The earlier plagues came in the form of real, physical problems: a swarm of locusts, a plague of frogs or boils. What if the tenth plague was, literally, a plague? If the plague of death that swept through Egypt was an illness or a virus, then the use of the hyssop crushed against the doorpost of the home might have been intended to protect the Jews from the ravages of sickness, as much as the symbol of the lamb’s blood.
Whether you believe in the Bible and the Torah literally or as allegorical teachings, there are clues buried within them that hint at ancient healing knowledge that we have lost... clues that are often ignored.
For more on hyssop oil, see also Favourite essential oils: Hyssop.
See also: Healing Oils of the Bible: Frankincense and Myrrh.
