Submitted by Gail Drutman on Mon, 07/15/2019 - 08:58
The act of anointing is carried out by pouring, smearing or even dousing a person with various mixtures of
perfumed oils, butter, milk and aromatic substances.
When we think of anointing a king with oil, we immediately think of the images we have seen from movies etc, where the king kneeled and was anointed by his superior with a sword on his shoulders. While kings and monarchs were indeed anointed this way, this practice is derived from the times of the bible and oil or such was used, as can be seen when Aaron and his sons were anointed as were
King Saul and
King David.
The anointed one was Gods choice, a divine anointing. Anointing oil was a central concept for the Mashiach,
Messiah. The word Mashiach implied the anointed one, from the word mashah.
This was a widespread practice. Yet, anointing with oil was also used for medicinal purposes as well as cosmetic purposes. King David and his descendants were anointed by pouring oil from a horn over their head. However, King Saul, this was not done as his kingdom was not a lasting kingdom. It was used in the time of the First Temple but not from the Second Temple period. Medically wise, anointing oils can be used in combination with various perfumes to mask the smell of body odors, close pores and overall health.
