Editing Onycha (section)

{{short description|Unknown biblical substance used in incense}}
{{About|the incense component|the town in Alabama|Onycha, Alabama}}
[[File:Operculum of Mollusca, Jerusalem- A Medical Diagnosis Exhibition IMG 9776.JPG|thumb|right|Operculum from [[sea snail]]s is one possible meaning of onycha]]
[[File:Labdanum, Cistus, Rose of Sharon, 05, 2019.jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|[[Cistus|Cistus plant]] (left) with petals said to resemble human fingernails and labdanum, the resin from the plant (right), said to resemble the black onyx stone. The resin is one contender for onycha.]]
'''Onycha''' ({{IPAc-en|'|ɒ|n|ɪ|k|ə}}, {{langx|grc|ὄνυξ|ónux}}), along with equal parts of [[stacte]], [[galbanum]], and [[frankincense]], was one of the components of the consecrated ''[[Incense offering in rabbinic literature|Ketoret]]'' (incense) which appears in the [[Torah]] [[book of Exodus]] (Ex.30:34-36) and was used in [[Solomon's Temple]] in Jerusalem. This formula was to be incorporated as an incense, and was not to be duplicated for non-sacred use.<ref>[[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] 30:33, 37-38.</ref> What the onycha of antiquity actually was cannot be determined with certainty. The original Hebrew word used for this component of the ''ketoret'' was '''שחלת''', ''shecheleth'', which means "to roar; as a lion (from his characteristic roar)" or “peeling off by concussion of sound."<ref>Strongs #7827</ref> ''Shecheleth'' is related to the Syriac ''shehelta'' which is translated as “a tear, distillation, or exudation.”<ref name="Onkelos Shemot 2:10">Onkelos Shemot 2:10</ref> In Aramaic, the root SHCHL signifies “retrieve.”<ref name="Onkelos Shemot 2:10"/> When the [[Torah]] was translated into Greek (the [[Septuagint]] version) the Greek word “onycha” ονυξ, which means "fingernail" or "claw," was substituted for shecheleth.