The Hebrew hapax legomenon boten (בֹּטֶן) appears only once in the Old Testament (Genesis 43:11) and refers to the pistachio nut. Jacob instructed his sons to take a gift down to Egypt including "some of the best products of the land," listing pistachio nuts among choice items including balm, honey, spices, and myrrh. The pistachio tree (Pistacia vera) was cultivated in the ancient Near East and its nuts were considered a luxury food.
The detail about pistachio nuts in Genesis 43:11 appears in the moving narrative of Jacob's sons returning to Egypt during the famine, when Simeon is held hostage and Benjamin must go down. Jacob's instruction to bring choice gifts — including boten — reflects a father's desperate hope that abundance of gift might secure mercy. The passage illustrates that even during severe hardship, Jacob had preserved the best of the land's produce. Theologically, this scene is set within the larger Joseph narrative — a story of betrayal, suffering, forgiveness, and providential reconciliation that prefigures Christ's death and resurrection.