anoint
(Latin: inunctio, besmearing) To touch any part of the body with oil. In Baptism it means the laying on of oil of catechumens, signifying a life of faith and good works, and oil of chrism, symbolizing union with Christ. It is also used in Extreme Unction and Holy Orders, and at the coronation of monarchs.
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Anoint
(usually , mashach’, ). The practice of anointing with perfumed oils or ointments appears to have been very common among the Hebrews, as it was among the ancient Egyptians. SEE UNGUENT. The practice, as to its essential meaning, still remains in the East; but perfumed waters are now far more commonly employed than oils or ointments (q.v.). See PERFUME. It is from this source that the usage has extended to other regions. Among the Greeks and Romans oil was employed as a lubricator for suppling the bodies of the athletes in the games (q.v.), and also after the bath (q.v.).
I. In the Scriptures several kinds of anointing are distinguishable (Scacchi, Myrotheca, 3, Romans 1637).
1. Consecration and Inauguration. The act of anointing appears to have been viewed as emblematical of a particular sanctification, of a designation to the service of God, or to a holy and sacred use. Hence the anointing of the high-priests (Exo 29:29; Lev 4:3), and even of the sacred vessels of the tabernacle (Exo 30:26, etc.); and hence also, probably, the anointing of the king, who, as the Lord’s anointed, and, under the Hebrew constitution, the viceroy of Jehovah, was undoubtedly invested with a sacred character. This was the case also among the Egyptians, among whom the king was, ex officio, the high-priest, and as such, doubtless, rather than in his secular capacity, was solemnly anointed at his inauguration. SEE UNCTIONS (of Christ).
As the custom of inaugural anointing first occurs among the Israelites immediately after they left Egypt, and no example of the same kind is met with previously, it is fair to conclude that the practice and the notions connected with it were acquired in that country. With the Egyptians, as with the Jews, the investiture to any sacred office, as that of king or priest, was confirmed by this external sign; and as the Jewish lawgiver mentions the ceremony of pouring oil upon the head of the high-priest after he had put on his entire dress, with the mitre and crown, the Egyptians represent the anointing of their priests and kings after they were attired in their full robes, with the cap and crown upon their heads. Some of the sculptures introduce a priest pouring oil over the monarch (Wilkinson’s Anc. Egyptians, 4, 280). It is from this that the high-priest, as well as the king, is called the anointed (Lev 4:3; Lev 5:16; Lev 6:15; Psa 133:2). In fact, anointing being the principal ceremony of regal inauguration among the Jews, as drowning is with us, anointed, as applied to a king, has much the same signification as crowned. It does not, however, appear that this anointing was repeated at every succession, the anointing of the founder of the dynasty being considered efficient for its purpose as long as the regular line of descent was undisturbed (Jahn, Bibl. Archaol. 223); hence we find no instance of unction as a sign of investiture in the royal authority, except in the case of Saul, the first king of the Jews, and of David, the first of his line; and, subsequently, in those of Solomon, Joash, and Jehu, who ascended the throne under circumstances in which there was danger that their right might be forcibly disputed (1Sa 19:24; 2Sa 2:4; 2Sa 5:1-3; 1Ch 11:1-2; 2Ki 11:12-20; 2Ch 23:1-21). Those who were inducted into the royal office in the kingdom of Israel appear to have been inaugurated with some peculiar ceremonies (2Ki 9:13). But it is not clear that they were anointed at all; and the omission (if real) is ascribed by the Jewish writers to the want of the holy anointing oil which could alone be used on such occasions, and which was in the keeping of the priests of the temple in Jerusalem. The private anointing which was performed by the prophets (2Ki 9:3; comp. 1Sa 10:1) was not understood to convey any abstract right to the crown, but was merely a symbolical intimation that the person thus anointed should eventually ascend the throne. The following species of official anointing appear to have prevailed among the Jews:
(a.) Prophets were occasionally anointed to their office (1Ki 19:16), and are called messiahs, or anointed (1Ch 16:22; Psa 105:15).
(b.) Priests, at the first institution of the Levitical priesthood, were all anointed to their offices, the sons of Aaron as well as Aaron himself (Exo 40:15; Num 3:3); but afterward anointing seems not to have been repeated at the consecration of ordinary priests, but to have been especially reserved for the high-priest (Exo 29:29; Lev 16:32); so that the priest that is anointed ( , Lev 4:3) is generally thought to mean the high-priest (Sept. ; comp. Lev 4:5; Lev 4:16, and c. Lev 4:6, Lev 4:22 [15]).
(c.) Kings. The Jews were familiar with the idea of making a king by anointing before the establishment of their own monarchy (Jdg 9:8; Jdg 9:15). Anointing was the divinelyappointed ceremony in the inauguration of their own kings (1Sa 9:16; 1Sa 10:1; 1Ki 1:34; 1Ki 1:39); indeed, so pre-eminently did it belong to the kingly office, that the Lord’s anointed was a common designation of the theocratic king (1Sa 12:3; 1Sa 12:5; 2Sa 1:14; 2Sa 1:16). The rite was sometimes performed more than once. David was thrice anointed to be king: first, privately by Samuel, before the death of Saul, by way of conferring on him a right to the throne (1Sa 16:1; 1Sa 16:13); again over Judah at Hebron (2Sa 2:4), and finally over the whole nation (2Sa 5:3). After the separation into two kingdoms, the kings both of Judah and of Israel seem still to have been anointed (2Ki 9:3; 2Ki 11:12). So late as the time of the captivity the king is called the anointed of the Lord (Psa 89:38; Psa 89:51; Lam 4:20). Besides Jewish kings, we read that Hazael was to be anointed king over Syria (1Ki 19:15). Cyrus also is called the Lord’s anointed, as having been raised by God to the throne for the special purpose of delivering the Jews out of captivity (Isa 45:1).
(d.) Inanimate objects also were anointed with oil in token of their being set apart for religious service. Thus Jacob anointed a pillar at Bethel (Gen 31:13); and, at the introduction of the Mosaic economy, the tabernacle and all its furniture were consecrated by anointing (Exodus 30:2628). The expression anoint the shield (Isa 21:6; Sept. ; Vulg. arripite clypeum) refers to the custom of rubbing oil into the hide which, stretched upon a frame, formed the shield, in order to make it supple and fit for use. (See the treatises in Latin, on the priestly anointing, by Clasing [Lemgon. (1717]; Schwarz [Viteb. 1755]; Ziegra [Viteb. 1682]; Zoega [Lips. 1680]; on the royal anointing, by Weymar [Jen. 1629]; and among other nations, by Eschenbach [Jen. 1687]; Speckner [Viteb. 1716]).
2. As an Act of Hospitality. The anointing of our Savior’s feet by the woman who was a sinner (Luk 7:38) led to the remark that the host himself had neglected to anoint his head (Luk 7:46); whence we learn that this was a mark of attention which those who gave entertainments paid to their guests. As this is the only direct mention of the custom, the Jews are supposed by some to have borrowed it from the Romans at a late period, and Wetstein and others have brought a large quantity of Latin erudition to bear on the subject. (See the treatises, on this instance, in Latin, by Baler [Altdorf. 1722]; Goetze [Lips. 1687; and in Menethii Thesaur. 2, 200-204]; Jaeschke [Lips. 1700]; Krackewitz [Rost. 1703]; Polchow [Jen. 1755]; Ries [Marb. 1727]; Sonnuel [Lond. 1775, 1794]; Trautermann [Jen. 1749].) But the careful reader of the O.T. knows that the custom was an old one, to which there are various indirect allusions. SEE HOSPITALITY. The circumstances connected with feasts and entertainments are, indeed, rarely intimated; nor would the present direct reference to this custom have transpired but for the remarks which the act of the woman in anointing the feet of Jesus called forth. (See Walde, De unctionibus Vett. Ebreoeorum convivialibus, Jen. 1751.) Such passages, however, as Psa 23:5; Pro 21:7; Pro 27:9; Wis 2:7; as well as others in which the enjoyments of oil and wine are coupled together, may be regarded as containing a similar allusion. It is, therefore, safer to refer the origin of this custom among the Hebrews to their nearer and more ancient neighbors, the Egyptians, than to the Romans or the Greeks, who themselves had probably derived it from the same people. Among the Egyptians the antiquity of the custom is evinced by their monuments, which offer in this respect analogies more exact than classical antiquity or modern usage can produce. With them the custom of anointing was not confined to the appointment of kings and priests to the sacred offices they held. It was the ordinary token of welcome to guests in every party at the house of a friend; and in Egypt, no less than in Judaea, the metaphorical expression anointed with the oil of gladness’ was fully understood, and applied to the ordinary occurrences of life. It was customary for a servant to attend every guest as he seated himself, and to anoint his head (Wilkinson’s Anc. Egyptians, 4, 279; 2:213). SEE SPIKENARD. It is probable, however, that the Egyptians, as well as the Greeks and Jews, anointed themselves at home, before going abroad, although they expected the observance of this etiquette on the part of their entertainer. That the Jews thus anointed themselves, not only when paying a visit, but on ordinary occasions, is shown by many passages, especially those which describe the omission of it as a sign of mourning (Deu 28:40; Rth 3:3; 2Sa 14:2; Dan 10:3; Amo 6:6; Mic 6:15; Est 2:12; Psa 104:15; Isa 61:3; Ecc 9:8; Son 1:3; Son 4:10; also Jdt 10:3; Sus. 17; Sir 39:26; Wis 2:7). One of these passages (Psa 104:15, oil that maketh the face to shine) shows very clearly that not only the hair but the skin was anointed. In our northern climates this custom may not strike us as a pleasant one; but as the peculiar usages of most nations are found, on strict examination, to be in accordance with the peculiarities of their climate and condition, we may be assured that this Oriental predilection for external unction must have arisen from a belief that it contributed materially to health and cleanliness. Niebuhr states that in Yemen the anointing of the body is believed to strengthen and protect it from the heat of the sun, by which the inhabitants of this province, as they wear but little clothing, are very liable to suffer. Oil, by closing up the pores of the skin, is supposed to prevent that too copious transpiration which enfeebles the frame; perhaps, too, these Arabians think a glistening skin a beauty. When the intense heat comes on they always anoint their bodies with oil. SEE OIL.
3. Anointing the Sick. The Orientals are indeed strongly persuaded of the sanative properties of oil; and it was under this impression that the Jews anoint. ed the sick, and applied oil to wounds (Psa 109:18; Isa 1:6; Luk 10:34; Revelations 3:18). Anointing.was used in sundry disorders, as well as to promote the general health of the body. It was hence, as a salutary and approved medicament, that the seventy disciples were directed to anoint the sick (Mar 6:13); and hence also the sick man is directed by the apostle (Jam 5:14) to send for the elders of the Church, who were to pray for him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. The Talmudical citations of Lightfoot on Mat 6:16, show that the later Jews connected charms and superstitious mutterings with such anointings, and he is therefore probably right in understanding this text to mean, It is customary for the unbelieving Jews to use anointing of the sick, joined with a magical and enchanting muttering; but how infinitely better is it to join the pious prayers of the elders of the Church to the anointing of the sick. Niebuhr assures us that at Sana (and doubtless in other parts of Arabia) the Jews, as well as many of the Moslems, have their bodies anointed whenever they feel themselves indisposed. Analogous to this is the anointing with oil practiced by the twelve (Mar 9:13), and our Lord’s anointing the eyes of a blind man with clay made from saliva, in restoring him miraculously to sight (, Joh 9:6; Joh 9:11). SEE MEDICINE.
4. Anointing the Dead. The practice of anointing the bodies of the dead is intimated in Mar 14:8, and Luk 23:56. This ceremony was performed after the body was washed, and was designed to check the progress of corruption. Although, from the mode of application, it is called anointing, the substance employed appears to have been a solution of odoriferous drugs. This (together with the laying of the body in spices) was the only kind of embalmment in use among the Jews. SEE BURIAL; SEE EMBALMING.
5. Spiritual.
(1.) In the O.T. a Deliverer is promised under the title of Messiah, or Anointed (Psa 2:2; Dan 9:25-26); and the nature of his anointing is described to be spiritual, with the Holy Ghost (Isa 61:1; see Luk 4:18). As anointing with oil betokened prosperity, and produced a cheerful aspect (Psa 104:15), so this spiritual unction is figuratively described as anointing with the oil of gladness (Psa 45:7; Heb 1:9). In the N.T. Jesus of Nazareth is shown to be the Messiah or Christ, or Anointed of the O.T. (Joh 1:41; Act 9:22; Act 17:2-3; Act 18:5; Act 18:28); and the historical fact of his being anointed with the Holy Ghost is recorded and asserted (Joh 1:32-33; Act 4:27; Act 10:38).
(2.) Spiritual anointing with the Holy Ghost is conferred also upon Christians by God (2Co 1:21), and they are described as having an unction () from the Holy One, by which they know all things (1Jn 2:20; 1Jn 2:27). To anoint the eyes with eye-salve is used figuratively, to denote the process of obtaining spiritual perception (Revelations 3:18).
6. Religious Significance of the Act. It is somewhat remarkable that the first Biblical instance of anointing that of Jacob’s unction of his pillow at Bethel (Gen 28:18) has reference to an inanimate object; yet the sacred import of the ceremony is obvious, and must have been derived from primeval custom. At a later date, the formal agreement noticed by Sir G. Wilkinson, between the use of oil among the Egyptians and the Israelites in consecrating to an office, may undoubtedly be regarded as evidence that the Mosaic prescription was framed with some regard to the observances in Egypt; for by the time the former was instituted, the Israelitish people had been long habituated to the customs of Egypt; and it was the part of wisdom, when setting up a better polity, to take advantage of what existed there, so far as it could be safely employed. The king so anointed was solemnly recognised as the guest and protege of the lord of the temple; the statue was set apart for, and so far identified with the god it represented, and both were stamped as fit for their respective destinations. But in the true religion something more and higher was involved in the act of consecration. The article or subject was brought into contact with the holiness of Jehovah, and was made a vessel and instrument of the Spirit of God. Hence, anointing with oil in the times of the old covenant was always a symbol of the gift and grace of the Holy Spirit-in the case of inanimate objects imparting to them a ceremonial sacredness, so as to fit them for holy ministrations; and in the case of persons, not only designating them to a sacred office, but sealing to them the spiritual qualifications. needed for its efficient discharge. SEE CONSECRATION.
II. Modern.
1. In the Romish Church the custom of anointing priests is still continued. The ordaining bishop anoints with the holy oil called chrism (q.v.) the palm of both hands, the thumb, and the forefinger of the person to be ordained; and thus, according to the expression in the ritual of ordination, the hands receive power to bless, to consecrate, and to make holy. If a clergyman is excommunicated these spots are rubbed off. This custom, like many others, is a perversion of the sacred ceremony by which the Jewish priests and kings were inducted into office.
2. The history of extreme unction (q.v.) in its present form can be traced back no further than the twelfth century. When the ceremony of anointing is mentioned at an earlier period, the reference is to the offices of baptism and confirmation. There is no mention of extreme unction in Justin Martyr, Irenveus, Tertullian, or Cyprian, or in any of the writers of the first three centuries. In the fourth century Epiphanius makes no mention of it. It is not found in the Apostolical Constitutions, a work in which all church forms are minutely described, nor in the biographies of the first six centuries. After the twelfth century it was universally adopted in the Western Church.
3. The only occasion on which anointing is used in the Church of England is at the coronation of the sovereigns, when the archbishop solemnly anoints the king or queen, after the ancient practice of the Hebrews.
ANOINTING OIL. The oil of holy ointment prescribed by divine authority (Exo 30:23-25) for the consecration of the Jewish priests and kings was compounded of the following ingredients:
Hebrew weight. English weight.
lb.oz.dwt.gr.
Pure myrrh500 shekels=18111313 2/3
Sweet cinnamon250 shekels=951618 1/24
Sweet calamus250 shekels =951618 1/24
Cassia500 shekels =18111313 2-3
Olive oil, 1 hin=5 quarts35 shekels=13400
Total1851 shekels=708015 1/4
The shekel is here estimated at 9 dwts. and 2 4-T grains (Troy).
Under the law persons and things set apart for sacred purposes were anointed with this holy ointment (Exo 29:7), which appears to have been a typical representation of the communication of the Holy Ghost to the Church of Christ (Act 1:5; Act 10:38). Hence the Holy Spirit is called an unction (q.v.), whereby believers were divinely inspired and guided into all truth (2Co 1:21; 1Jn 2:20; 1Jn 2:27). The profane or common use of the holy ointment was expressly forbidden, on pain of being excommunicated (Exo 30:33; Eze 23:31). It was commanded to be kept by the Hebrews throughout their generations; it was therefore laid up in the most holy place. Prideaux observes that it was one of those thinys which was wanting in the second temple. There is an allusion to the ingredients of this sacred perfume in Ecclesiastes 24:15. The use of aromatics in the East may be dated from the remotest antiquity. Ointment and perfume, says Solomon, rejoice the heart (Pro 27:9). They are still introduced, not only upon every religious and festive occasion, but as one essential expression of private hospitality and friendship. SEE OINTMENT.
THE ANOINTED. The prophets, priests, and kings were anointed at their inauguration; but no man was ever dignified by being anointed to hold the three of, fices in himself, so no person ever had the title of the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One, but Jesus the Savior. He alone is king of kings and lord of lords: the king who governs the universe, and rules in th’, hearts of his followers; the prophet, to instruct men in the way wherein they should go; and the great high-priest, to make atonement and intercession for the whole world. Of him, Melchizedek, Abraham, Aaron, David, and others were illustrious types; but none of these had the title of The Anointed of God. This does, and ever will, belong exclusively to Jesus the Christ, who was consecrated in our nature by the anointing of the Holy Ghost (Psa 2:2; Isa 61:1; Dan 9:24; Mat 3:16-17; Luk 4:18-21; Act 4:27; Act 10:38). SEE MESSIAH.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Anoint
The practice of anointing with perfumed oil was common among the Hebrews. (1.) The act of anointing was significant of consecration to a holy or sacred use; hence the anointing of the high priest (Ex. 29:29; Lev. 4:3) and of the sacred vessels (Ex. 30:26). The high priest and the king are thus called “the anointed” (Lev. 4:3, 5, 16; 6:20; Ps. 132:10). Anointing a king was equivalent to crowning him (1 Sam. 16:13; 2 Sam. 2:4, etc.). Prophets were also anointed (1 Kings 19:16; 1 Chr. 16:22; Ps. 105:15). The expression, “anoint the shield” (Isa. 21:5), refers to the custom of rubbing oil on the leather of the shield so as to make it supple and fit for use in war.
(2.) Anointing was also an act of hospitality (Luke 7:38, 46). It was the custom of the Jews in like manner to anoint themselves with oil, as a means of refreshing or invigorating their bodies (Deut. 28:40; Ruth 3:3; 2 Sam. 14:2; Ps. 104:15, etc.). This custom is continued among the Arabians to the present day.
(3.) Oil was used also for medicinal purposes. It was applied to the sick, and also to wounds (Ps. 109:18; Isa. 1:6; Mark 6:13; James 5:14).
(4.) The bodies of the dead were sometimes anointed (Mark 14:8; Luke 23:56).
(5.) The promised Deliverer is twice called the “Anointed” or Messiah (Ps. 2:2; Dan. 9:25, 26), because he was anointed with the Holy Ghost (Isa. 61:1), figuratively styled the “oil of gladness” (Ps. 45:7; Heb. 1:9). Jesus of Nazareth is this anointed One (John 1:41; Acts 9:22; 17:2, 3; 18:5, 28), the Messiah of the Old Testament.
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Anoint
“To put oil on the head or body”; a practice common in the E. (Rth 3:3). To cease anointing was a mark of mourning (2Sa 14:2; Dan 10:3; Mat 6:17). A mark of respect to a guest so common that to omit it implied defective hospitality (Luk 7:46; Psa 23:5); Heb., “Thou hast made fat,” or “unctuous” (Joh 11:2; Joh 12:3). A body was prepared for burial with unguents (Mar 16:1; Mar 14:8). Metaphorically, “anointed with oil” means successful, joyous (Psa 92:10; Ecc 9:8). “Anointing with the oiler gladness” (Psa 45:7; Heb 1:9) expresses spiritual joy, such as Messiah felt and shall feel in seeing the blessed fruit of His sufferings (Isa 61:3). Anointing prevents excessive perspiration in the hot and arid E., gives elasticity to the limbs, and acts as clothing in both sun and shade.
The ordinary clothing is thin, and the heat and sand produce weariness and irritation, which the oil relieves. Oil was used as a medicament for the sick, and liniment for bodily pain (Isa 1:6), so that it was used as a symbol in miraculous cures (Mar 6:13). The usage which Christ practiced Himself (Joh 9:6; Joh 9:11) and committed to His apostles was afterward continued with laying on of hands as a token of the highest faculty of medicine in the church. Rome vainly continues the sign, when the reality, the power of miraculous healing, is wanting. Rome’s “extreme unction” is administered to heal the soul when the body’s life is despaired of. James’s (Jam 5:14-15) unction was to heal the body. The sacred use of oil was for consecrating things or persons to God. So Jacob anointed for a pillar the stone which had been his pillow at Bethel (Gen 28:18).
The oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit, and as applied to things gave them a ceremonial sacredness, fitting them for holy ministrations. As applied to prophets (1Ch 16:22; 1Ki 19:16), priests (Lev 4:3), and kings (Isa 45:1), it marked their consecration to the office, and was a symbol of the spiritual qualification divinely imparted for its due discharge (Exo 30:29-30). 1Sa 10:1,6: King Saul. 1Sa 16:13-14; David thrice anointed: first to the right; then over Judah; then actually over the whole nation. Isa 61:1; Messiah, twice so designated in the Old Testament (Psa 2:2; Dan 9:25-26), at once Prophet, Priest, and King, the Center of all prophecy, the Antitype of all priesthood, and the Source and End of all kingship (Luk 4:18; Act 4:27; Act 10:38). He was anointed with the Holy Spirit from the womb, then at His baptism (Joh 1:32-33-41).
Hereby the New Testament marks Him as the Messiah of the Old Testament (Act 9:22; Act 17:2-3; Act 18:5; Act 18:28.) What He is His people are, Messiahs or “anointed ones” by union with Him (Zec 4:14), having the unction of the Holy Spirit (2Co 1:21; 1Jo 2:20). Though priests in general were at first anointed, afterward anointing was restricted to the high priest, called “the priest that is anointed:” the perfume used was of stacte, onycha, and galbanum, with pure frankincense, and it was death to imitate it. Antitypically, to Christ, the true high priest alone, belongs the fullness of the Spirit, which it is blasphemy to arrogate.
“The Lord’s anointed” was the ordinary phrase for the theocratic king (1Sa 12:3; Lam 4:20). “Anointing the shield” was to make the hide of which it was made supple and less liable to crack (Isa 21:5). “Anointing the eyes with eyesalve” expresses imparting of spiritual perceptions (Rev 3:18). “The yoke shall be destroyed because of the anointing” (Isa 10:27), i.e., the Assyrian oppression shall be taken away from Judah, because of the consecration that is upon the elect nation, its prophets, priests, kings, and holy place (Psa 105:15); the Antitype to all which is Messiah, “the Anointed” (Dan 9:24). It is for Messiah’s sake that all their deliverances are vouchsafed to His people.
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
Anoint
In the language of Scripture, this is a most important word. It means the consecrating, setting apart, and sanctifying, in a peculiar manner, persons or things to sacred purposes. Hence, in a very eminent and personal degree, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Christ of God, is emphatically called the Messiah, or anointed of JEHOVAH. His name, Messiah, means this. It is, indeed, the same word in Hebrew, as Anointed in English. And what I particularly beg the reader to remark, under this article, as a proof of this dedication of Christ, as Christ, to this office character, from everlasting, is, that he is all along in the Old Testament Scripture spoken of as such, the Messiah or Anointed, and shewn to be so in the New. A plain proof of his consecration by the Holy Ghost before his incarnation. I beg the reader not to pass on until that he hath turned to the following Scriptures, and read them all attentively. (Psa 89:19-20; 1Sa 2:35; Psa 110:4) Hence, Aaron as a type of Christ, (Exo 8:12; Exo 28:41; Psa 2:2; Psa 45:7; Psa 132:17) Hence, the whole church is represented as calling upon God for acceptance and favour in Christ: “Behold, O God, our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed!” (Psa 84:9)
And as Christ is thus the Christ of God, so the church, by virtue of her union and oneness with him, is anointed with him, and that from the beginning. “Touch not mine anointed.” (Psa 105:15; Psa 23:5; 1Jn 2:20; 1Jn 2:27; 2Co 1:21) Reader! it is truly blessed to trace through both Testaments the testimonies of these things. What can be, indeed, more satisfactory to the soul than thus to discover, first, Christ, as the source and fountain and security of all our hopes; and then, secondly, to behold the church interested and made a rich partaker of the same in Him. (Act 4:27; Psa 133:3; Act 10:38)
Fuente: The Poor Mans Concordance and Dictionary to the Sacred Scriptures
Anoint
to pour oil upon, Gen 28:18; Gen 31:13. The setting up of a stone and anointing it by Jacob, as here recorded, in grateful memory of his celestial vision, probably became the occasion of idolatry, in succeeding ages, and gave rise to the erection of temples composed of shapeless masses of unhewn stone, of which so many astonishing remains are scattered up and down the Asiatic and the European world.
Under the law, persons and things set apart for sacred purposes were anointed with the holy oil; which appears to have been a typical representation of the communication of the Holy Ghost to Christ and to his church. See Exo 28:29. Hence the Holy Spirit is called an unction or anointing, 1Jn 2:20; 1Jn 2:27; and our Lord is called the Messiah, or Anointed One, to denote his being called to the offices of mediator, prophet, priest, and king, to all of which he was consecrated by the anointing of the Holy Ghost,
Mat 3:16-17.
When we hear of the anointing of the Jewish kings, we are to understand by it the same as their inauguration; inasmuch as anointing was the principal ceremony on such an occasion, 2Sa 2:4; 2Sa 5:3. As far as we are informed, however, unction, as a sign of investiture with the royal authority, was bestowed only upon Saul and David, and subsequently upon Solomon and Joash, who ascended the throne under such circumstances, that there was danger of their right to the succession being forcibly disputed, 1Sa 10:24; 2Sa 2:4; 2Sa 5:1-3; 1Ch 11:1-2; 2Ki 11:12-20; 2Ch 23:1-21. The ceremony of regal anointing needed not to be repeated in every instance of succession to the throne, because the unction which the first one who held the sceptre in any particular line of princes had received was supposed to suffice for the succeeding incumbents in the same descent.
In the kingdom of Israel, those who were inducted into the royal office appear to have been inaugurated with some additional ceremonies, 2Ki 9:13. The private anointings, which we learn to have been performed by the prophets, 2Ki 9:3, comp. 1Sa 10:1; 1Sa 16:1-13, were only prophetic symbols or intimations that the persons who were thus anointed should eventually receive the kingdom.
The holy anointing oil which was made by Moses, Exo 30:22-23, for the maintaining and consecrating of the king, the high priest, and all the sacred vessels made use of in the house of God, was one of those things, as Dr. Prideaux observes, which was wanting in the second temple. The oil made and consecrated for this use was commanded to be kept by the children of Israel, throughout their generations, and therefore it was laid up in the most holy place of the tabernacle and the first temple.
Fuente: Biblical and Theological Dictionary
Anoint
Exo 28:41 (b) This act was a picture of that which happens to a believer who gives himself wholly and without reserve to the service of the Lord. The oil represents the Holy Spirit; the priest who applies it represents either the Father or the Lord JESUS. The believer who yields himself to GOD a living and willing sacrifice becomes Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, and has the unction of the Spirit upon him.
Psa 23:5 (b) This indicates that gracious act of the Lord whereby David was caused to rejoice in being a chosen vessel of GOD. He thus was made to serve as a priest upon behalf of the people, and to serve as a king under the good hand of GOD.
Luk 4:18 (b) Here the word refers to that blessed anointing of our gracious Saviour wherein He was selected by GOD and appointed by Him to be the Lord of our lives and the Saviour of our souls.
2Co 1:21 (a) This anointing refers to the gracious gift of the Holy Spirit to the child of GOD. The Spirit gives enabling power, wisdom and knowledge for the service of GOD, and for His glory.
1Jn 2:27 (a) The anointing spoken of here is that mysterious, indescribable and indispensable unction of the Holy Spirit whereby one becomes a real, true, active, earnest servant of GOD.