Anointing

Anointing in scripture is the pouring of oil — usually a specially compounded oil — on a person, an object, or, in figurative speech, on the heart. Its uses run from the most ordinary to the most charged. A bridegroom or guest is anointed at a meal; a mourner pointedly is not. The sick are anointed for healing, the dead for burial. The tabernacle and its furniture are anointed at their setup, the high priest at his consecration, kings of Israel and even foreign kings at their accession. The prophets read the same act figuratively: David is anointed by Yahweh's own holy oil; the servant is anointed by the Spirit; "his anointed" becomes a title for the messianic king and finally for every saint.

The Holy Anointing Oil

The oil that consecrates priests and tabernacle is composed by formula. Yahweh dictates the recipe to Moses: "You also take to you the chief spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred [shekels], and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty, and of cassia five hundred, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin. And you will make it a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art of the perfumer: it will be a holy anointing oil" (Ex 30:23-25). Use is then enumerated and bounded. The same oil is to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the basin, and Aaron and his sons (Ex 30:26-30). Outside that program it is forbidden: "On the flesh of man it will not be poured, neither will you⁺ make any like it, according to its composition: it is holy, [and] it will be holy to you⁺. Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on a stranger, he will be cut off from his people" (Ex 30:32-33).

The oil thus stands as both ingredient and boundary. It marks what is holy and refuses to be replicated for ordinary use.

Anointing of Sacred Objects

The first command is that the oil be applied to the structure itself. "And you will anoint with it the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony" (Ex 30:26), with the table and lampstand and incense altar set in the same series (Ex 30:27). On setup day Moses executes the command on the bronze altar specifically: "And you will anoint the altar of burnt-offering, and all its vessels, and sanctify the altar: and the altar will be most holy" (Ex 40:10). The narrative summary in Numbers compresses the whole rite: "And it came to pass on the day that Moses had made an end of setting up the tabernacle, and had anointed it and sanctified it, and all its furniture, and the altar and all its vessels, and had anointed them and sanctified them" (Num 7:1). Leviticus records the application of the oil to the altar specifically by sprinkling: "And he sprinkled of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its vessels, and the basin and its base, to sanctify them" (Lev 8:11). The daily ritual of atonement keeps the verb in use long after setup: "And every day you will offer the bull of sin-offering for atonement: and you will cleanse the altar, when you make atonement for it; and you will anoint it, to sanctify it" (Ex 29:36).

The patriarchal precursor to all this is Jacob's pillar at Bethel. After the dream of the ladder, "Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil on the top of it" (Gen 28:18). Yahweh later names the act for him: "I am the God of Beth-el, where you anointed a pillar, where you vowed a vow to me" (Gen 31:13). Jacob repeats it on his return: "And Jacob set up a pillar in the place where he spoke with him, a pillar of stone: and he poured out a drink-offering on it, and poured oil on it" (Gen 35:14). The pattern — a stone consecrated on the spot of a divine appearance — runs centuries before Sinai.

Anointing of Priests

The same holy oil that consecrates the sanctuary consecrates its officiants. The instructions to Moses fold the two together. "And you will anoint Aaron and his sons, and sanctify them, that they may serve me in the priest's office" (Ex 30:30); "And you will put them on Aaron your brother, and on his sons with him, and will anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may serve me in the priest's office" (Ex 28:41). The high-priestly form is distinguished by the pouring on the head: "Then you will take the anointing oil, and pour it on his head, and anoint him" (Ex 29:7). The ordinary priestly form takes the same oil mixed with sacrificial blood: "And Moses took of the anointing oil, and of the blood which was on the altar, and sprinkled it on Aaron, on his garments, and on his sons, and on his sons' garments with him, and sanctified Aaron, his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him" (Lev 8:30).

Moses executes the program at the tabernacle's first day. The high-priestly action is recorded simply: "And he poured of the anointing oil on Aaron's head, and anointed him, to sanctify him" (Lev 8:12). The summary command attaches a generational clause to it: "And you will put on Aaron the holy garments; and you will anoint him, and sanctify him, that he may serve me in the priest's office. And you will bring his sons, and put coats on them; and you will anoint them, as you anointed their father, that they may serve me in the priest's office: and their anointing will be to them for an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations" (Ex 40:13-15). Sirach reads the same scene as a foundational covenant: "Moses consecrated him, And anointed him with the holy oil; And it became for him an eternal covenant, And for his seed as the days of heaven; To minister and to execute the priest's office for him, And to bless his people in his name" (Sir 45:15). The image survives lyrically into the psalter: "It is like the precious oil on the head, That ran down on the beard, Even Aaron's beard; That came down on the skirt of his garments" (Ps 133:2).

Anointing of Kings

The royal anointing begins at Yahweh's order to Samuel. "Tomorrow about this time I will send you a man out of the land of Benjamin, and you will anoint him to be leader over my people Israel" (1 Sam 9:16); the act is then described in narrative: "Then Samuel took the vial of oil, and poured it on his head, and kissed him, and said, Is it not that Yahweh has anointed you to be leader over his inheritance?" (1 Sam 10:1). Samuel restates the same fact later: "Yahweh sent me to anoint you to be king over his people, over Israel" (1 Sam 15:1). When Saul is rejected, the rite is repeated with David: "And call Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you will do: and you will anoint to me him whom I name to you" (1 Sam 16:3); "Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brothers: and the Spirit of Yahweh came mightily on David from that day forward" (1 Sam 16:13).

David is in fact anointed three times. Samuel anoints him at Bethlehem; the men of Judah anoint him at Hebron — "And the men of Judah came, and there they anointed David king over the house of Judah" (2 Sam 2:4); and the elders of Israel anoint him in covenant — "and King David made a covenant with them in Hebron before Yahweh: and they anointed David king over Israel" (2 Sam 5:3). Yahweh names himself the agent of all of it through Nathan: "I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul" (2 Sam 12:7). Sirach reads the whole episode as Samuel's signature act: "By the word of God he established the kingdom, And anointed princes over the people" (Sir 46:13).

The anointing then becomes the formula of every later accession. Solomon: "And Zadok the priest took the horn of oil out of the Tent, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, [Long] live King Solomon" (1 Kings 1:39). Jehu is anointed by an unnamed prophet at Elisha's order: "and Jehu the son of Nimshi you will anoint to be king over Israel" (1 Kings 19:16); the deed is then done — "and he poured the oil on his head, and said to him, This is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, I have anointed you king over the people of Yahweh, even over Israel" (2 Kings 9:6) — and confirmed in repetition: "Then take the vial of oil, and pour it on his head, and say, Thus says Yahweh, I have anointed you king over Israel" (2 Kings 9:3). Joash is anointed in coup against Athaliah: "Then they brought out the king's son, and put the crown on him, and [gave him] the testimony, and made him king: and Jehoiada and his sons anointed him" (2 Chron 23:11; cf. 2 Kings 11:12). Even Jehoahaz, briefly: "the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and anointed him, and made him king in his father's stead" (2 Kings 23:30). The reach of the rite extends to a foreign king as well. Hazael of Syria is to be anointed at Yahweh's command (1 Kings 19:15), and Cyrus the Persian is named outright by the title: "Thus says Yahweh to his anointed, to Cyrus, whose right hand I have held, to subdue nations before him" (Isa 45:1). Sirach summarizes the prophetic share in the work: "Who anointed kings for retribution, And a prophet to succeed in your place" (Sir 48:8).

The Davidic-covenant psalm reads the rite back to its source: "I have found David my slave; With my holy oil I have anointed him" (Ps 89:20). The royal-wedding psalm attaches it to character: "You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness: Therefore God, your God, has anointed you With the oil of gladness above your peers" (Ps 45:7) — the verse the writer of Hebrews will apply directly to Christ.

Anointing of Prophets

The same Horeb commission that anoints Hazael as king and Jehu as king names a prophet too: "and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you will anoint to be prophet in your place" (1 Kings 19:16). The prophetic anointing is rare in narrative; it is named more often as a figure than as a literal pouring of oil. Sirach treats Samuel's status itself as anointing in the prophetic office (Sir 46:13), and the same logic will surface in the Spirit-anointing oracle of Isaiah 61.

Anointing of Guests and the Body

In ordinary use anointing belongs to hospitality and to bodily well-being. Oil "make[s] his face to shine" (Ps 104:15) and is named with bread and wine as one of the staples of life. Naomi instructs Ruth before the threshing-floor: "Wash yourself therefore, and anoint yourself, and put your raiment on you" (Ruth 3:3). The court of Ahasuerus prescribes a year of cosmetic anointing for the maidens — "six months with oil of myrrh, and six months with sweet odors and with the things for the purifying of the women" (Esth 2:12). David, after his vindication, can boast, "I am anointed with fresh oil" (Ps 92:10), and Ecclesiastes commands the convivial form: "Let your garments always be white; and don't let your head lack oil" (Eccl 9:8). Hospitality extends the same gesture to guests. The rescued captives of Judah at Samaria are clothed, fed, sandalled, and "anointed" before being escorted home (2 Chron 28:15); Jesus, dining with Simon the Pharisee, can rebuke his host with the convention: "You did not anoint my head with oil: but she has anointed my feet with ointment" (Luke 7:46).

The convention has a negative counterpart. A mourner does not anoint himself. Joab's stage-direction to the Tekoite woman makes the rule plain: "feign yourself to be a mourner, and put on mourning apparel, I pray you, and don't anoint yourself with oil, but be as a woman who has a long time mourned for the dead" (2 Sam 14:2); David acts the same custom in reverse, refusing to anoint himself while his child is dying and resuming as soon as the death is announced (2 Sam 12:20). Daniel records the omission as part of his own three-week fast: "I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all" (Dan 10:3). When the prophet announces gospel to the mourners of Zion, the joyful form is restored: "the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" (Isa 61:3).

The prophetic indictment of luxury bends the same convention against the rich: "who drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph" (Amos 6:6). The image of trafficking with foreign idolatries uses it in reverse: "And you went to the king with oil, and increased your perfumes, and sent your ambassadors far off" (Isa 57:9).

Anointing of the Sick and the Dead

Anointing of the body bridges into anointing as healing. Isaiah, describing the wounded nation, complains that the wounds "haven't been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with oil" (Isa 1:6) — oil being the standard topical treatment. The Samaritan in Jesus' parable follows the same protocol: "and bound up his wounds, pouring on [them] oil and wine" (Luke 10:34). The Twelve, sent out by Jesus, "cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them" (Mark 6:13); the apostolic letter institutionalizes it as a practice of the elders: "Is any among you⁺ sick? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord" (Jas 5:14). The Apocalypse turns the gesture into figure: the buyer is told to obtain "eyesalve to anoint your eyes, that you may see" (Rev 3:18).

For the dead the rite is the same oil and spices, with reversed direction: it is no longer for healing or hospitality but for burial. Mary of Bethany pours her ointment on Jesus alive — "Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair" (John 12:3) — and Jesus reads the act as funereal: "She has done what she could; she has anointed my body beforehand for the burying" (Mark 14:8). The Sunday-morning women carry the same intent to the tomb: "Mary Magdalene, and Mary the [mother] of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him" (Mark 16:1). John's parenthetical identifies Mary by the act itself: "And it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair" (John 11:2).

Figurative and Spirit Anointing

The royal and priestly rites become figures for the work of the Spirit. The servant in Isaiah speaks of the act as the form of his prophetic commission: "The Spirit of the Sovereign Yahweh is on me; because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the meek; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening [of the prison] to those who are bound" (Isa 61:1). Daniel reads the figure forward into the seventy weeks: "to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy" (Dan 9:24). David, in the shepherd-psalm, takes the host-style anointing for himself: "You have anointed my head with oil; My cup runs over" (Ps 23:5). The royal-wedding psalm makes the same image royal: "God, your God, has anointed you With the oil of gladness above your peers" (Ps 45:7).

Jesus reads Isaiah 61 over himself in the synagogue at Nazareth: "The Spirit of Yahweh is on me, Because he anointed me to preach good news to the poor: He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovering of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are bruised" (Luke 4:18). The writer of Hebrews applies Psalm 45 to the same Christ: "You have loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your peers" (Heb 1:9).

The figure then extends to the church. Paul ties Christ's anointing to the believer's: "Now he who establishes us with you⁺ in Christ, and anointed us, is God" (2 Cor 1:21). John's first letter twice reads the gift of the Spirit under the same word: "And you⁺ have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you⁺ know" (1 John 2:20); "And as for you⁺, the anointing which you⁺ received of him stays in you⁺, and you⁺ don't need that anyone teach you⁺; but as his anointing teaches you⁺ concerning all things, and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you⁺, you⁺ stay in him" (1 John 2:27). The oil compounded for tabernacle and high priest finishes its career as the figure for the Spirit indwelling the saint.