Poe mentions the
Balm of Gilead, a reference to the
Book of Jeremiah (8:22) in the Bible: "Is there no balm in Gilead; is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?" In that context, the Balm of Gilead is a
resin used for medicinal purposes (suggesting, perhaps, that the narrator needs to be healed after the loss of Lenore). In 1 Kings 17:1–5
Elijah is said to be from
Gilead, and to have been fed by ravens during a period of drought.