Description and usage
Embalming oils were aromatic oils or salves used especially in preparing a dead body for burial in a way that it would be preserved. See also Myrrh.
Translation
In 2CH 16:14 we find the Hebrew expression bsamim uznim mruqachim in the context of the burial of King Asa of Judah. The text says that spices and aromatic oils were placed in the tomb (CEV “the tomb was filled with spices and sweet-smelling oils”). There is no reason to assume that Asa’s body was embalmed (like Jacob’s body in GEN 50:2; GEN 50:3), although GNT comes close with “They used spices and perfumed oils to prepare his body for burial.”
In LUK 23:56 translators may use a descriptive phrase to render the Greek word muron, for example, “perfumed oil for preserving the body” or “… to keep the body from rotting.”
Ingredients mentioned in the New Testament for embalming oils are “myrrh” (smurna in Greek) and “aloes” (aloē in Greek). Most translators borrow terms for these ingredients and then use some kind of marginal note to explain the nature of their substance.