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 an oil for holy anointing, a compounded perfume the work of a perfumer, - an oil for holy anointing, shall it be.
From the sole of the foot even unto the head, there is in it no soundness, Bruise and stripe and newly-made wound, - They have not been pressed out, nor bound up, nor soothed with oil.
Who are quaffing bowls of wine, and, with the best of oils, anointing themselves, - and are not afflicted for the injury of Joseph: -
Mary, therefore, taking a pound of pure nard perfume, very precious, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped, with her hair, his feet; and, the house, was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
and cinnamon, and spice, and incense, and unguent, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and cattle, and sheep, and cargo of horses, and of chariots, and of bodies, and lives 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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Thou, therefore, take to thee - principal spices, - self-flowing myrrh, five hundred, and fragrant cinnamon, half as much, two hundred and fifty, and, fragrant cane, two hundred and fifty; and, cassia, five hundred, by the shekel of the sanctuary, - and, oil olive, a hin. read more. And thou shalt make it an oil for holy anointing, a compounded perfume the work of a perfumer, - an oil for holy anointing, shall it be.
And, he being in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he was reclining, there came a woman, holding an alabaster-jar of perfume, pure spikenard, very costly; and breaking the jar she was pouring down the perfume , upon his head.
With oil, my head, thou didst not anoint, - but, she, with perfume, hath anointed, my feet.
And, returning, they made ready spices and perfumes. And, on the Sabbath, indeed, they were quiet, according to the commandment;
Mary, therefore, taking a pound of pure nard perfume, very precious, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped, with her hair, his feet; and, the house, was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
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 an oil for holy anointing, a compounded perfume the work of a perfumer, - an oil for holy anointing, shall it be.
And, some from among the sons of the priests, were compounders of perfumes, with the spices.
He causeth to boil, as a cauldron, the raging deep, the sea, he maketh like a brewing vessel:
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated lawlessness, - For this cause, hath God, thine own God, anointed thee, With the oil of gladness, beyond thy partners.
Oil and perfume, rejoice the heart, the sweetness of one's friend, more than fragrant wood.
He that hideth her, hideth the wind, and, perfume, his right hand may proclaim.
Better a name, than precious ointment, - and the day of death, than the day of one's birth.
Continually, let thy garments be white, - and, ointment upon thy bead, let it not be lacking.
From the sole of the foot even unto the head, there is in it no soundness, Bruise and stripe and newly-made wound, - They have not been pressed out, nor bound up, nor soothed with oil.
Who are quaffing bowls of wine, and, with the best of oils, anointing themselves, - and are not afflicted for the injury of Joseph: -
And, 1o! a woman, who indeed was in the city a sinner; and, when she found out that he was reclining in the house of the Pharisee, providing an alabaster-jar of perfume, and standing behind, near his feet, weeping, with the tears, began she to be wetting his feet, and, with the hair of her head, was wiping off the tears , and was tenderly kissing his feet, and anointing them with the perfume.
Mary, therefore, taking a pound of pure nard perfume, very precious, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped, with her hair, his feet; and, the house, was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
Why was, this perfume, not sold for three hundred denaries, and given unto the destitute?
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 upon his bead, - so shalt thou anoint him.
Thou, therefore, take to thee - principal spices, - self-flowing myrrh, five hundred, and fragrant cinnamon, half as much, two hundred and fifty, and, fragrant cane, two hundred and fifty;
Whosoever compoundeth any like it, and whosoever bestoweth thereof upon a stranger, shall he out off from among his people.
And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure fragrant incense, - the work of a perfumer.
And thou shalt take the oil of anointing, and anoint the habitation and all that is therein, - and shalt hallow it. and all the furniture thereof so shall it be holy.
and shalt anoint them as thou didst anoint their father, and they shall minister as priests unto me, - so shall their anointing remain to them for an age-abiding priesthood, to their generations.
And, your daughters, will he take, - as perfumers and as cooks, and as bakers;
at his hand, repaired, Uzziel son of Harhaiah, goldsmiths, and, at his hand, repaired Hananiah son of the perfumers, - and they fortified Jerusalem, as far as the broad wall;
From the sole of the foot even unto the head, there is in it no soundness, Bruise and stripe and newly-made wound, - They have not been pressed out, nor bound up, nor soothed with oil.
Balsam, is there none, in Gilead? Is there no physician, there? Why hath not appeared the healing of the daughter of my people?
For, she, pouring this perfume upon my body, so as to prepare me for burial, did it.
These things, having said, he spat on the ground, and made clay with the spittle, and laid the clay upon his eyes;
I counsel thee to buy of me, gold refined by fire, that thou mayest become rich, - and white raiment, that thou mayest array thyself, and, the shame of thy nakedness, may not be made manifest, - and eye-salve, to anoint thine eyes, that thou mayest see.