Reference: Ointment
Easton
Various fragrant preparations, also compounds for medical purposes, are so called (Ex 30:25; Ps 133:2; Isa 1:6; Am 6:6; Joh 12:3; Re 18:13).
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And thou shalt make it a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art of the perfumer: it shall be a holy anointing oil.
It is like the precious oil upon the head, That ran down upon the beard, Even Aaron's beard; That came down upon the skirt of his garments;
From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and fresh stripes: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with oil.
that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
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: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.
and cinnamon, and spice, and incense, and ointment, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep; and merchandise of horses and chariots and slaves; and souls of men.
Fausets
See ANOINT.)
Hastings
With two exceptions, 'ointment' in our English Version is the rendering, in OT, of the ordinary word for 'oil,' and in some passages the ointment may have consisted of oil only. In most of the references, however, perfumed oil is undoubtedly meant. The two are distinguished in Lu 7:46 'My head with oil thou didst not anoint; but she hath anointed my feet with ointment (myron).' The extensive use of myron in NT in the sense of 'ointment' shows that myrrh was then the favourite perfume. The dead body, as well as the living subject, was anointed with this ointment (Lu 23:56). Another 'very costly' unguent is described as 'ointment of spikenard' (Mr 14:3; Joh 12:3), for which see Spikenard. These much-prized unguents were kept in pots of alabaster, as in Egypt, where they are said to retain their fragrance for 'several hundred years' (Wilkinson, Anc. Egyp. i. 426, with illust.).
In the Priests' Code there is repeated reference to a specially rich unguent, 'the holy anointing oil,' the composition of which is minutely laid down in Ex 30:23-25. The ingredients, in addition to a basis of olive oil, are rendered in RV as 'flowing myrrh,' sweet cinnamon, sweet calamus, and cassia. The penalty for the unauthorized manufacture and sacrilegious use of this sacred chrism was excommunication.
A. R. S. Kennedy.
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Take thou also unto thee 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. read more. And thou shalt make it a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art of the perfumer: it shall be a holy anointing oil.
And while he was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster cruse of ointment of pure nard very costly; and'she brake the cruse, and poured it over his head.
My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but she hath anointed my feet with ointment.
And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. And on the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
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: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.
Morish
Except in Ex 30:25 (where the Hebrew words are mishchah and roqach, and may be translated "an oil of holy ointment, a perfume"), and in 1Ch 9:30; Job 41:31 (where the words are derived from roqach), the Hebrew word is shemen, which is constantly translated 'oil.' It is used for 'fatness, oil, spiced oil,' and hence 'ointment,' with which on joyful occasions the head was anointed, Ps 133:2, and is elsewhere called the 'oil of gladness.' Ps 45:7: cf. Pr 27:9,16; Ec 7:1; 9:8; Am 6:6. As an emollient it was applied to wounds or bruises. Isa 1:6. In the N.T. the word is ?????, 'oil mingled with fragrant spices:' with such Mary anointed the Lord, and its perfume filled the house, Joh 12:3,5; it was also used by a woman 'which was a sinner.' Lu 7:37-38. The ointment would be more or less costly according to the ingredients.
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And thou shalt make it a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art of the perfumer: it shall be a holy anointing oil.
And some of the sons of the priests prepared the confection of the spices.
He maketh the deep to boil like a pot: He maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated wickedness: Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee With the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
It is like the precious oil upon the head, That ran down upon the beard, Even Aaron's beard; That came down upon the skirt of his garments;
Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; So doth the sweetness of a man's friend that cometh of hearty counsel.
He that would restrain her restraineth the wind; And his right hand encountereth oil.
A good name is better than precious oil; and the day of death, than the day of one's birth.
Let thy garments be always white; and let not thy head lack oil.
From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and fresh stripes: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with oil.
that drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief oils; but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
And behold, a woman who was in the city, a sinner; and when she knew that he was sitting at meat in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster cruse of ointment, and standing behind at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
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: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.
Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred shillings, and given to the poor?
Smith
Ointment.
(An oily or unctuous substance, usually compounded of oil with various spices and resins and aromatics, and preserved in small alabaster boxes or cruses, in which the delicious aroma was best preserved. Some of the ointments have been known to retain their: fragrance for several hundred years. They were a much-coveted luxury, and often very expensive. --ED.)
1. Cosmetic. --The Greek and Roman practice of anointing the head and clothes on festive occasions prevailed also among the Egyptians, and appears to have had place among the Jews.
2. Funereal. --Ointments as well as oil were used to anoint dead bodies and the clothes in which they were wrapped.
3. Medicinal. --Ointment formed an important feature in ancient medical treatment.
Isa 1:6; Jer 8:22; Joh 9:6; Re 3:18
etc.
4. Ritual.--Besides the oil used in many ceremonial observances, a special ointment was appointed to be used in consecration.
Ex 30:23,33; 29:7; 37:29; 40:9,15
A person whose business it was to compound ointments in general was called an "apothecary."
The work was sometimes carried on by woman "confectionaries."
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Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.
Take thou also unto thee 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,
Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, he shall be cut off from his people.
And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, after the art of the perfumer.
And thou shalt take the anointing oil, and anoint the tabernacle, and all that is therein, and shalt hallow it, and all the furniture thereof: and it shall be holy.
and thou shalt anoint them, as thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office: and their anointing shall be to them for an everlasting priesthood throughout their generations.
And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
Next unto him repaired Uzziel the son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths. And next unto him repaired Hananiah one of the perfumers, and they fortified Jerusalem even unto the broad wall.
From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and fresh stripes: they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with oil.
Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
For in that she poured this ointment upon my body, she did it to prepare me for burial.
When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and anointed his eyes with the clay,
I counsel thee to buy of me gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich; and white garments, that thou mayest clothe thyself, and that the shame of thy nakedness be not made manifest; and eyesalve to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see.