Oil
VIEW:28 DATA:01-04-2020
OIL.With one exception (Est_2:12 oil of myrrh) all the Scripture references to oil are to olive oil, as it is expressly termed in Exo_27:20, Lev_24:2 etc., according to the more correct rendering of RV [Note: Revised Version.] . Considering how very numerous these references aresome two hundred in allit is surprising that there should be so few that throw light on the methods adopted in the preparation of this indispensable product of the olive tree.
1. Preparation of oil.By combining these meagre references with the fuller data of the Mishna, as illustrated by the actual remains of oil-presses, either still above ground or recently recovered from the soil of Palestine, it is possible to follow with some minuteness the principal methods adopted. The olives were either shaken from the tree or beaten down by striking the branches with a light pole, as illustrated on Greek vases (illust. in Vigouroux, Dict. de la Bible, art. Huile). The latter method supplies Isaiah with a pathetic figure of Israel (Isa_17:6 RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ).
The finest quality of oil was got by selecting the best berries before they were fully ripe. These were pounded in a mortar, after which the pulp was poured into a basket of rushes or wickerwork. From this, as a strainer, the liquid was allowed to run off into a receiving vessel. After the oil had floated and been purified, it formed beaten oil, such as had to be provided for the lighting of the Tabernacle (Exo_27:20, Lev_24:2; cf. 1Ki_5:11 RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ).
In the preparation of the oil required for ordinary domestic use, however, the methods adopted closely resembled those for the making of wine. Indeed, it is evident that the same apparatus served for the making both of wine and of oil (see Wine for the names of the parts, and note the phrase, Joe_2:24, the fats [vats] shall overflow with wine and oil). From evidence, literary and archæological, it is clear that there were various kinds of oil-presses in use in different periods. A very common, if not quite the simplest, type consisted of a shallow trough hewn in the native rock, from which, as in the similar, if not identical, wine-press, a conducting channel carried the expressed liquid to a slightly lower trough or oil-vat. In early times it appears as if a preliminary pressing was made with the feet alone (Mic_6:15).
In the absence of a suitable rock-surface, as would naturally be the case within a city of any antiquity, a solid block of limestonecircular, four-sided, and eight-sided (Megiddo) are the shapes recovered by recent explorerswas hollowed to the depth of a few inches, a rim being left all round save at one corner. Such presses were found at Taanach (illust. Sellin, Tell Taannek, 61, reproduced in Benzingers Heb. Arch.2 [1907] 144), and elsewhere. In these the olives were crushed by means of a large round stone. The liquid was either allowed to collect in a large cup-hollow in the surface of the trough, from which it was baled out by hand (PEFSt [Note: Quarterly Statement of the same.] , 1903, p. 112), or it was run off into a vessel placed at the corner above mentioned (see Sellins illust., and op. cit. 60 f., 93). At a later period, as we learn from the Mishna, a stone in the shape of the modern millstone was used. Through the centre a pole was inserted, by which it was made to revolve on its narrow side round the circular trougha method still in use in Syria.
From the oil-mill, as this apparatus may be termed, the product of which naturally, after purification, produced the finer sort of oil, the pulp was transferred to the oil-press properly so called. Here it was placed in baskets piled one above the other. Pressure was then applied for the extraction of a second quality of oil, by means of a heavy wooden beam worked as a lever by ropes and heavy weights, or by a windlass. Details of the fittings of these press-houses, as they are named in the Mishna, and of another type of press formed of two upright monoliths with a third laid across, the whole resembling the Gr. letter II, have been collected by the present writer in the art. Oil in EBi [Note: Encyclopædia Biblica.] iii. 3467, and may now be controlled by the account of the elaborate underground press-house described and illustrated by Bliss and Macalister in Excavations in Palestine, p. 208 f. and plate 92 (cf. ib. 196 f. and Index).
The expressed liquid, both from the oil-mill and from the oil-press, was collected either in a rock-cut vat or in separate jars. In these it was allowed to settle, when the oil rose to the top, leaving a bitter, watery liquid, the amurca of the Romans, and other refuse behind. Oil in this fresh state is distinguished in OT from the refined and purified product; the former is yitshâr, so frequently named along with new wine or must (tîrôsh, see Wine, § 1) and corn as one of the chief products of Canaan; the latter is always shemen, but the distinction is not observed in our versions. The fresh oil or yitshâr was refined in the same manner as wine, by being poured from vessel to vessel, and was afterwards stored in jars and in skins. A smaller quantity for immediate use was kept in a small earthenware potthe vial of 1Sa_10:1 and of 2Ki_9:1 RV [Note: Revised Version.] (AV [Note: Authorized Version.] box)or in a horn (1Sa_16:1; 1Sa_16:13, 1Ki_1:39).
2. Uses of oil.Foremost among what may be called the secular uses of oil may be placed its daily employment as a cosmetic, already dealt with under Anointing (see also Ointment). This was the oil that made the face to shine (Psa_104:15). As in all Eastern lands, oil was largely used in the preparation of food; familiarity with this use of it is presupposed in the comparison of the taste of the strange manna to that of the familiar cakes baked with oil (Num_11:8 RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ; see, further, Meals, § 1. end). Oil was also indispensable for the lighting of the house after nightfall. In addition to the universal olive oil, the Mishna (Shabbath, ii. I f.) names a variety of other oils then in use, among them oil of sesame, fish oil, castor oil, and naphtha. That used in the Temple (1Ch_9:29) was no doubt of the finest quality, like the beaten oil for the Tabernacle above described. The medicinal properties of oil were early recognized (Isa_1:5 RV [Note: Revised Version.] ); the Good Samaritan mixed his with wine (Luk_10:34), producing an antiseptic mentioned also in post-Biblical Jewish writings.
Oil has a prominent place in the ritual of the Priests Code, particularly in the preparation of the meal-offering (Lev_2:1; Lev_2:4 etc.). It also appears in connexion with the leprosy-offering (Lev_14:10 ff.) and in other connexions, but is absent from the sin-offering (Lev_5:1 ff.) and the jealousy-offering (Num_5:11 ff.). For the special case of the holy anointing oil (Exo_30:23-25), see Ointment.
As might have been expected from the extensive cultivation of the olive by the Hebrews, oil not only formed an important article of inland commerce, but was exported in large quantities both to the West, by way of Tyre (Eze_27:17), and to Egypt (Hos_12:1).
This abundance of oil furnished the Hebrew poets with a figure for material prosperity in general, as in Deu_33:24 He shall dip his foot in oil. From its being in daily use to anoint the heads of ones guests at a festive meal (Psa_23:5 etc.), oil became by association a symbol of joy and gladness (Psa_45:7 = Heb_1:9, Isa_61:3).
A. R. S. Kennedy.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
Oil. Of the numerous substances, animal and vegetable, which were known to the ancients as yielding oil, the olive berry is the one of which most frequent mention is made in the Scriptures.
Gathering. ? The olive berry was either gathered by hand, or shaken off carefully with a light reed or stick.
Pressing. ? In order to make oil, the fruit, was either bruised in a mortar, crushed in a press loaded with wood or stones, ground in a mill, or trodden with the feet. The "beaten" oil of, Exo_27:20; Exo_29:40; Lev_24:2; Num_28:6, was probably made by bruising in a mortar. It was used ?
(1) As food. Dried wheat, boiled with either butter or oil, but generally the former, is a common dish for all classes in Syria. Exo_29:2.
(2) Cosmetic. Oil was used by the Jews for anointing the body, for example, after the bath, and giving to the skin and hair a smooth and comely appearance, for example, before an entertainment.
(3) Funereal. The bodies of the dead were anointed with oil. 2Sa_14:2.
(4) Medicinal. Isaiah alludes to the use of oil in medical treatment. Isa_1:6. See also Mar_6:13; Jas_6:14.
(5) For light. The oil for "the light" was expressly ordered to be olive oil, beaten. Mat_25:3.
(6) Ritual. Oil was poured on, or mixed with, the flour or meal used in offerings. Lev_8:12. Kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil or ointment.
(7) In offerings. As so important a necessary of life, the Jew was required to include oil among his firstfruit offerings. Exo_22:29; Exo_23:16; Num_18:12. Tithes of oil were also required. Deu_12:17. See Olive.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
שמן . The invention and use of oil is of the highest antiquity. It is said that Jacob poured oil upon the pillar which he erected at Bethel, Gen_28:18. The earliest kind was that which is extracted from olives. Before the invention of mills, this was obtained by pounding them in a mortar, Exo_27:20; and sometimes by treading them with the feet in the same manner as were grapes, Deu_33:24; Mic_6:15. The Hebrews used common oil with their food, in their meat- offerings, for burning in their lamps, &c. As vast quantities of oil were made by the ancient Jews, it became an article of exportation. The great demand for it in Egypt led the Jews to send it thither. The Prophet Hosea thus upbraids his degenerate nation with the servility and folly, of their conduct: Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind; he daily increaseth falsehood and vanity; and a league is made with Assyria, and oil carried into Egypt, Hos_12:1. The Israelites, in the decline of their national glory, carried the produce of their olive plantations into Egypt as a tribute to their ancient oppressors, or as a present to conciliate their favour, and obtain their assistance in the sanguinary wars which they were often compelled to wage with the neighbouring states. There was an unguent, very precious and sacred, used in anointing the priests, the tabernacle, and furniture. This was compounded of spicy drugs, namely, myrrh, sweet cinnamon, sweet calamus, and cassia, mixed with oil olive.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
In most cases the oil that the Bible mentions is olive oil. Olive trees were grown extensively in Palestine, and Israel exported oil to other countries (1Ki_5:11; Eze_27:17; Hos_12:1). Other fruits and plants were also a source of oil. Workers obtained the oil by crushing the fruit, flowers or leaves. This was sometimes done through grinding the substance, using either a thick stick in a bowl or a stone roller in a hollowed out rock. Sometimes the oil was trodden out in a press, other times squeezed out from a sack by twisting it with sticks (Exo_27:20; Deu_33:24; Mic_6:15).
People used oils in the preparation of food (Exo_29:2; Lev_2:4; 1Ki_17:12-14), as fuels for lamps (Exo_27:20; Zec_4:2-3; Zec_4:12; Mat_25:3-4), as medicines and ointments (Isa_1:6; Luk_10:34), as cosmetics (2Sa_14:2; Est_2:12; Psa_104:15; Song of Son_1:12; Son_5:5) and for rubbing on the body to bring soothing and refreshment (Rth_3:3; 2Sa_12:20; Amo_6:6; Luk_7:37-38; Joh_12:3). The use of oil in anointing the sick may have had some medicinal purpose, but its chief significance may have been symbolic, demonstrating faith (Mar_6:13; Jam_5:14).
The custom of anointing a persons head with oil was an ancient way of showing the person honour (Mar_14:3). This was particularly so when a host welcomed a special guest (Psa_23:5). On festive occasions anointing contributed to the joy and merriment of the occasion. As a result oil, like wine, became a symbol of rejoicing (Psa_45:7; Psa_104:15; Isa_61:3; Joe_1:10).
Besides being widely used in Israels everyday life, oil was frequently used in its religious rituals. It was part of some sacrifices (Exo_29:2; Exo_29:40; Lev_8:26; Num_6:15; Num_7:19), was offered as both firstfruits and tithes (Exo_22:29; Deu_12:17), was used as fuel for the tabernacle lamp (Exo_27:20) and was put on people in certain ceremonies (Lev_14:10-18).
Oil was used to anoint priests, kings and at times prophets, to symbolize their setting apart for Gods service and their appointment to office (Exo_28:41; 1Sa_10:1; Psa_89:20-21; 1Ki_1:39; 1Ki_19:16; Zec_4:11-14). It was used also to anoint things that were set apart for sacred use, such as the tabernacle and its equipment (Exo_40:9-11). The oil used to anoint the priests and the tabernacle was prepared according to a special formula, which was not to be used for any other purpose (Exo_30:23-33; cf. Psa_133:2). (See also ANOINTING; SPICES.)
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.
oil (שמן, shemen; ἔλαιον, élaion):
1. Terms
2. Production and Storage
3. Uses
(1) As a Commodity of Exchange
(2) As a Cosmetic
(3) As a Medicine
(4) As a Food
(5) As an Illuminant
(6) In Religious Rites
(a) Consecration
(b) Offerings
(c) Burials
4. Figurative Uses
Shemen, literally, ?fat,? corresponds to the common Arabic senin of similar meaning, although now applied to boiled butter fat.
1. Terms:
Another Hebrew word, zayith (zēth), ?olive,? occurs with shemen in several passages (Exo_27:20; Exo_30:24; Lev_24:2). The corresponding Arabic zeit, a contraction of zeitun, which is the name for the olive tree as well as the fruit, is now applied to oils in general, to distinguish them from solid fats. Zeit usually means olive oil, unless some qualifying name indicates another oil. A corresponding use was made of shemen, and the oil referred to so many times in the Bible was olive oil (except Est_2:12). Compare this with the Greek ἔλαιον, élaion, ?oil,? a neuter noun from ἐλαία, elaı́a, ?olive,? the origin of the English word ?oil.? יצהר, yichār, literally, ?glistening,? which occurs less frequently, is used possibly because of the light-giving quality of olive oil, or it may have been used to indicate fresh oil, as the clean, newly pressed oil is bright. משׁח, meshaḥ, a Chaldaic word, occurs twice: Ezr_6:9; Ezr_7:22. ἔλαιον, élaion, is the New Testament term.
2. Production and Storage:
Olive oil has been obtained, from the earliest times, by pressing the fruit in such a way as to filter out the oil and other liquids from the residue. The Scriptural references correspond so nearly to the methods practiced in Syria up to the present time, and the presses uncovered by excavators at such sites as Gezer substantiate so well the similarity of these methods, that a description of the oil presses and modes of expression still being employed in Syria will be equally true of those in use in early Israelite times.
The olives to yield the greatest amount of oil are allowed to ripen, although some oil is expressed from the green fruit. As the olive ripens it turns black. The fruit begins to fall from the trees in September, but the main crop is gathered after the first rains in November. The olives which have not fallen naturally or have not been blown off by the storms are beaten from the trees with long poles (compare Deu_24:20). The fruit is gathered from the ground into baskets and carried on the heads of the women, or on donkeys to the houses or oil presses. Those carried to the houses are preserved for eating. Those carried to the presses are piled in heaps until fermentation begins. This breaks down the oil cells and causes a more abundant flow of oil. The fruit thus softened may be trod out with the feet (Mic_6:15) - which is now seldom practiced - or crushed in a handmill. Such a mill was uncovered at Gezer beside an oil press. Stone mortars with wooden pestles are also used. Any of these methods crushes the fruit, leaving only the stone unbroken, and yields a purer oil (Exo_27:20). The method now generally practiced of crushing the fruit and kernels with an edgerunner mill probably dates from Roman times. These mills are of crude construction. The stones are cut from native limestone and are turned by horses or mules. Remains of huge stones of this type are found near the old Roman presses in Mt. Lebanon and other districts.
The second step in the preparation of the oil is the expression. In districts where the olives are plentiful and there is no commercial demand for the oil, the householders crush the fruit in a mortar, mix the crushed mass with water, and after the solid portions have had time to settle, the pure sweet oil is skimmed from the surface of the water. This method gives a delicious oil, but is wasteful. This is no doubt the beaten oil referred to in connection with religious ceremonials (Exo_27:20). Usually the crushed fruit is spread in portions on mats of reeds or goats' hair, the corners of which are folded over the mass, and the packets thus formed are piled one upon another between upright supports. These supports were formerly two stone columns or the two sections of a split stone cylinder hollowed out within to receive the mats. Large hollow tree trunks are still similarly used in Syria. A flat stone is next placed on top, and then a heavy log is placed on the pile in such a manner that one end can be fitted into a socket made in a wall or rock in close proximity to the pile. This socket becomes the fulcrum of a large lever of the second class. The lever is worked in the same manner as that used in the wine presses (see WINE PRESS). These presses are now being almost wholly superseded by hydraulic presses. The juice which runs from the press, consisting of oil, extractive matter and water, is conducted to vats or run into jars and allowed to stand until the oil separates. The oil is then drawn off from the surface, or the watery fluid and sediment is drawn away through a hole near the bottom of the jar, leaving the oil in the container. (For the construction of the ancient oil presses, see The Excavations of Gezer, by Macalister.) The oil, after standing for some time to allow further sediment to settle, is stored either in huge earthenware jars holding 100 to 200 gallons, or in underground cisterns (compare 1Ch_27:28) holding a much larger quantity. Some of these cisterns in Beirut hold several tons of oil each (2Ch_11:11; 2Ch_32:28; Neh_13:5, Neh_13:12; Pro_21:20). In the homes the oil is kept in small earthen jars of various shapes, usually having spouts by which the oil can be easily poured (1Ki_17:12; 2Ki_4:2). In 1Sa_16:13; 1Ki_1:39, horns of oil are mentioned.
3. Uses:
(1) As a Commodity of Exchange.
Olive oil when properly made and stored will keep sweet for years, hence, was a good form of merchandise to hold. Oil is still sometimes given in payment (1Ki_5:11; Eze_27:17; Hos_12:1; Luk_16:6; Rev_18:13).
(2) As a Cosmetic.
From earliest times oil was used as a cosmetic, especially for oiling the limbs and head. Oil used in this way was usually scented (see OINTMENT). Oil is still used in this manner by the Arabs, principally to keep the skin and scalp soft when traveling in dry desert regions where there is no opportunity to bathe. Sesame oil has replaced olive oil to some extent for this purpose. Homer, Pliny and other early writers mention its use for external application. Pliny claimed it was used to protect the body against the cold. Many Biblical references indicate the use of oil as a cosmetic (Exo_25:6; Deu_28:40; Rth_3:3; 2Sa_12:20; 2Sa_14:2; Est_2:12; Psa_23:5; Psa_92:10; Psa_104:15; Psa_141:5; Eze_16:9; Mic_6:15; Luk_7:46).
(3) As a Medicine.
From early Egyptian literature down to late Arabic medical works, oil is mentioned as a valuable remedy. Many queer prescriptions contain olive oil as one of their ingredients. The good Samaritan used oil mingled with wine to dress the wounds of the man who fell among robbers (Mar_6:13; Luk_10:34.)
(4) As a Food.
Olive oil replaces butter to a large extent in the diet of the people of the Mediterranean countries. In Bible lands food is fried in it, it is added to stews, and is poured over boiled vegetables, such as beans, peas and lentils, and over salads, sour milk, cheese and other foods as a dressing. A cake is prepared from ordinary bread dough which is smeared with oil and sprinkled with herbs before baking (Lev_2:4). At times of fasting oriental Christians use only vegetable oils, usually olive oil, for cooking. For Biblical references to the use of oil as food see Num_11:8; Deu_7:13; Deu_14:23; Deu_32:13; 1Ki_17:12, 1Ki_17:14, 1Ki_17:16; 2Ki_4:2, 2Ki_4:6, 2Ki_4:7; 1Ch_12:40; 2Ch_2:10, 2Ch_2:15; Ezr_3:7; Pro_21:17; Eze_16:13, Eze_16:18; Hos_2:5, Hos_2:8, Hos_2:22; Hag_2:12; Rev_6:6.
(5) As an Illuminant.
Olive oil until recent years was universally used for lighting purposes (see LAMP). In Palestine are many homes where a most primitive form of lamp similar to those employed by the Israelites is still in use. The prejudice in favor of the exclusive use of olive oil for lighting holy places is disappearing. Formerly any other illuminant was forbidden (compare Exo_25:6; Exo_27:20; Exo_35:8, Exo_35:14, Exo_35:28; Exo_39:37; Mat_25:3, Mat_25:4, Mat_25:8).
(6) In Religious Rites.
(A) Consecration:
Consecration of officials or sacred things (Gen_28:18; Gen_35:14; Exo_29:7, Exo_29:21 ff; Lev_2:1 ff; Num_4:9 ff; 1Sa_10:1; 1Sa_16:1, 1Sa_16:13; 2Sa_1:21; 1Ki_1:39; 2Ki_9:1, 2Ki_9:3, 2Ki_9:1; Psa_89:20): This was adopted by the early Christians in their ceremonies (Jam_5:14), and is still used in the consecration of crowned rulers and church dignitaries.
(B) Offerings:
Offerings, votive and otherwise: The custom of making offerings of oil to holy places still survives in oriental religions. One may see burning before the shrines along a Syrian roadside or in the churches, small lamps whose supply of oil is kept renewed by pious adherents. In Israelite times oil was used in the meal offering, in the consecration offerings, offerings of purification from leprosy, etc. (Exo_29:2; Exo_40:9 ff; Lev_2:2 ff; Num_4:9 ff; Deu_18:4; 1Ch_9:29; 2Ch_31:5; Neh_10:37, Neh_10:39; Neh_13:5, Neh_13:12; Eze_16:18, Eze_16:19; 45; 46; Mic_6:7).
(C) Burials:
In connection with the burial of the dead: Egyptian papyri mention this use. In the Old Testament no direct mention is made of the custom. Jesus referred to it in connection with His own burial (Mat_26:12; Mar_14:3-8; Luk_23:56; Joh_12:3-8; Joh_19:40).
4. Figurative Uses:
Abundant oil was a figure of general prosperity (Deu_32:13; Deu_33:24; 2Ki_18:32; Job_29:6; Joe_2:19, Joe_2:24). Languishing of the oil indicated general famine (Joe_1:10; Hag_1:11). Joy is described as the oil of joy (Isa_61:3), or the oil of gladness (Psa_45:7; Heb_1:9). Ezekiel prophesies that the rivers shall run like oil, i.e. become viscous (Eze_32:14). Words of deceit are softer than oil (Psa_55:21; Pro_5:3). Cursing becomes a habit with the wicked as readily as oil soaks into bones (Psa_109:18). Excessive use of oil indicates wastefulness (Pro_21:17), while the saving of it is a characteristic of the wise (Pro_21:20). Oil was carried into Egypt, i.e. a treaty was made with that country (Hos_12:1).
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
Oil was far more extensively used among the ancient Hebrews than in our northern climate. The use of oil is equally general throughout Western Asia at the present time, as it was in primitive ages. Oil was much used instead of butter and animal fat, at meals and in various preparations of food (see Food, and comp. Eze_16:13). In such uses oil, when fresh and sweet, is more agreeable than animal fat. The Orientals think so; and Europeans soon acquire the same preference. Oil was also in many cases taken as a meat-offering; and it was then mixed with the meal of oblation [OFFERING]. The rite of sprinkling with oil, as a libation, does not occur in the law, but seems to be alluded to in Mic_6:7.
The application of oil to the person has been described in the article Anointing. Whether for luxury or ceremony, the head and beard were the parts usually anointed, and this use of oil became at length proverbially common among the Israelites (Pro_21:17).
The employment of oil for burning has been illustrated in the article Lamps. It is only necessary to add, that for this, and indeed for most other purposes, olive-oil was considered the best, and was therefore used in the lamps of the tabernacle.
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.
Lev_14:16 (c) This is no doubt a type of the Holy Spirit Himself.
- it was to be applied to the ear so that the hearing would be entirely Godward, and for the Word of GOD.
- it was applied to the thumb for the work of the priest was to be for GOD in the power of the Spirit.
- it was to be applied to the toe, for his walk was to be with GOD, and before GOD, walking in the Spirit. (See Lev_14:28).
Num_6:15 (c) In this passage the oil again seems to represent the Holy Spirit actuating the life, filling the soul, and especially the coming of the Spirit upon the Lord JESUS CHRIST.
Deu_32:13 (b) It is quite evident in this passage that the oil again represents the Holy Spirit given from and by the Lord JESUS CHRIST, who is the eternal Rock of ages.
Deu_33:24 (b) This probably represents a smooth, fragrant and delightful walk in the Spirit of GOD by this great man of GOD. An impression would be left behind at each step. So the Spirit-filled man leaves behind him fragrant impressions of his walk with the Lord in the Spirit.
2Ki_4:2 (c) Probably this represents the blessings of GOD which He pours out upon the man or the woman of faith in order that the needs of the life may be met.
Job_29:6 (b) This is an indication of the great wealth and opportunity enjoyed by Job when he lived in prosperity and peace.
Psa_23:5 (b) This is emblematic of the blessed experience of the believer in which the Spirit of GOD anoints him for effective service, as a king and as a priest.
Psa_141:5 (a) By this type we understand the sweet, refreshing effect of the kindly counsel of a godly friend.
Isa_61:3 (b) The joy of heart, the freedom of soul, and the radiance of spirit are compared to oil because of its sweetness, smoothness and value.
Mat_25:4 (b) This probably indicates the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life.
Luk_10:34 (c) It may be that the oil represents the kind, sweet comforting words that were spoken, and the wine represents the courage and the new hope brought to the heart of this wounded man. It may be that both of these refer to the healing power and the strengthening power of the Holy Spirit, and (or) the Word of GOD.
Heb_1:9 (b) This describes the blessed anointing of CHRIST to be both Lord and Saviour, High Priest and King. The King and the Priest were both inducted into office by this anointing from GOD.
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
press 1957.
Oil
liquid fat, but chiefly vegetable, was far more extensively used among the ancient Hebrews for a variety of purposes than in Occidental and Northern climates. In the following account we follow largely the ancient information with modern illustrations. SEE BUTTER; SEE FAT; SEE GREASE.
I. Name. The following are the words so rendered in the A. V.:
1. Usually שֶׁמֶן, she'men, prop. pressed juice (Sept. ἔλαιον; Vulg. oleum), from . שָׁמִן, to become fat (Gesen. Thes. p. 1437); sometimes joined with זִיַת(ἔλαιον ἐξ ἐλαιῶν, oleum de. olivetis), distinguishing olive-juice from oil produced from other sources. Also sometimes in A. V. ointment (Celsius, Hierob. 2:279).
2. Yitshar, יַצְהָר(πιότης, ἔλαιον, oleum), from צָהִר, to shine (Gesenius, p. 1152), clear olive-oil (Num_18:12; Deu_7:13; Deu_11:14; Deu_12:17; Deu_14:23; Deu_18:4; Deu_28:51; 2Ki_18:32; 2Ch_31:5; Neh_5:11; Neh_10:37; Neh_10:39; Neh_13:5; Neh_13:12; Jer_31:12; Hos_2:8; Hos_2:22; Joe_1:10; Joe_2:19; Joe_2:24; Hag_1:11; Zec_4:14).
3. Chald. מְשִׁח, meshach' (ἔλαιον, oleumn), an unguent (only in Ezr_6:9; Ezr_7:22).
II. Manufacture. Of the different substances, animal and vegetable, which were known to the ancients as yielding oil, the olive-berry is the one of which most frequent mention is made in the Scriptures. The numerois olive-plantations in Palestine made olive-oil one of the chief and one of the most lucrative products of the country: it supplied an article of extensive and profitable traffic with the Tyrians (Eze_27:17; comp. 1Ki_5:11); and presents of the finer sorts of olive-oil were deemed suitable for kings. There is, in fact, no other kind of oil distinctly mentioned in Scripture; and the best, middling, and inferior oils appear to have been merely different qualities of olive-oil. It is well known that both the quality and the value of olive-oil differ according to the time of gathering the fruit, and the amount of pressure used in the course of preparation. These processes, which do not essentially differ from the modern, are described minutely by the Roman writers on agriculture, and with their descriptions the few notices occurring both in Scripture and the Rabbinical writings which throw light on the ancient Oriental method nearly correspond. Of these descriptions the following may be taken as an abstract: The best oil is made from fruit gathered about November or December, when it has begun to change color, but before it has become black. The berry in the more advanced state yields more oil, but of inferior quality. Oil was also made from unripe fruit by a special process as early as September or October, while the harder sorts of fruit were sometimes delayed till February or March (Virg. Georg. 2:519; Palladius, R. R. 12:4; Columella, R. R. 12:47, 50; Cato, R. R. p. 65; Pliny, N. H. 15:1-8; Varro, R. R. 1:55; Hor. 2 Sat. 2:46). SEE OLIVE.
Of the substances which yield oil, besides the olivetree, myrrh is the only one specially mentioned in Scripture. Oil of myrrh is the juice which exudes from the tree Balsamodendron Myrrha, but olive-oil was an ingredient in many compounds which passed under the general name of oil (Est_2:12; comp. Celsius, u. s. 3:10, 18, 19; Pliny, 12:26; 13:1, 2; 15:7; Wilkinson, Anc. Eg. 2:23; Balfour, Plants of Bible, p. 52). SEE MYRRH.
1. Harvesting the Oil-crop. Great care is necessary in gathering the olive not to injure either the fruit itself or the boughs of the tree, and with this view it was either gathered by hand or shaken off carefully with a light reed or stick. The boughing of Deu_24:20 (פָּאִר) probably corresponds to the shaking (נֹקֶ) of Isa_17:6; Isa_24:13, i.e. a subsequent beating for the use of the poor (see Mishna, Shebiith, 4:2; Peah, 7:2: 8:3). After gathering and careful cleansing, the fruit was either carried at once to the press, which is recommended as the best course, or, if necessary, laid on tables with hollow trays made sloping, so as to allow the first juice (amurca) to flow into other receptacles beneath, care being taken not to heap the fruit too much, and so prevent the free escape of the juice, which is injurious to the oil, though itself useful in other ways (Colum. u.s. 12:50; Aug. Civ. Dei, 1:8, 2). If while the berries were yet green, instead of being thrown into the press, they were only beaten or squeezed, they yielded the best kind of oil. It was called ophacinum, or the oil of unripe olives.
2. Pressing. In order, however, to make oil in general, the fruit was either bruised in a mortar, crushed in a press loaded with wood or stones, ground in a mill, or trodden with the feet. Special buildings used for grapepressing were used also for the purpose of olive-pressing, and contained both the press and the receptacle for the pressed juice. Of these processes, the one least expedient was the last (treading), which perhaps answers to the canalis et solea mentioned by Columella, and was probably the one usually adopted by the poor. The beaten oil of Exo_27:20; Lev_24:2; Exo_29:40, and Num_28:5, was probably made by bruising in a mortar. There were presses of a peculiar kind for preparing oil called גת שׁמן, gath-shemen (whence the name Gethsemane, or oil-press, Mat_26:36 : Joh_18:1), in which the oil was trodden out by the feet (Mic_6:15). SEE GETHSEMANE.
The first expression of the oil was better than the second, and the second than the third. Ripe olives yielded the least valuable kind of oil, but the quantity was more abundant. These processes, and also the place and the machine for pressing, are mentioned in the Mishna. Oilmills are often made of stone, and turned by hand. Others consist of cylinders enclosing a beam, which is turned by a camel or other animal. An Egyptian olivepress is described by Niebuhr, in which the pressure exerted on the fruit is given by means of weights of wood and stone placed in a sort of box above. Besides the above-cited Scripture references, the following passages mention either the places, the processes, or the machines used in olive-pressing (Joe_2:24; Joe_3:13; Isa_63:3; Lam_1:15; Hag_2:16; comp. the Talmud, Menach. 8:4; Shebuth, 4:9; 7:6; Terum. 10:7; Shabb. 1:9; Baba Bathra, 4:5; Vitruvius, 10:1; Cato. R. R. p. 3; Celsius, Hierob. 2:346, 350; Niebuhr, Voy. 1:122, pl. 17; Arundell, Asia Minor, 2:196; Wellsted, Trav. 2:430). SEE OIL-PRESS.
3. Keeping. Both olives and oil were preserved in jars carefully cleansed; and oil was drawn out for use in horns or other small vessels. SEE CRUSE. These vessels for keeping oil were stored in cellars or storehouses; special mention of such repositories is made in the inventories of royal property and revenue (1Sa_10:1; 1Sa_16:1; 1Sa_16:13; 1Ki_1:39; 1Ki_17:16; 2Ki_4:2; 2Ki_4:6; 2Ki_9:1; 2Ki_9:3; 1Ch_27:28; 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles 11:11 32:28; Pro_21:20; comp. Shebiith, v. 7; Celim, 2:5; 17:12; Colum. 1. c.). A supply of oil was always kept at hand in the Temple (see Josephus, War, v. 13, 6), and an oil treasury was among the stores of the Jewish kings (2Ki_20:13; comp. 2Ch_32:28).
Oil of Tekoa was reckoned the best (Menach. 8:8). Trade in oil was carried on with the Tyrians, by whom it was probably often re-exported to Egypt, whose olives do not for the most part produce good oil. Oil to the amount of 20,000 baths (2Ch_2:10; Joseph. Ant. 8:2, 9), or 20 measures (cors, 1. Kings 5:11), was among the supplies furnished by Solomon to Hiram. Direct trade in oil was carried on between Egypt and Palestine (1Ki_5:11; 2Ch_2:10; 2Ch_2:15; Ezr_3:7; Isa_30:6; Isa_57:9; Eze_27:17; Hos_12:1; comp. Jerome, Com. in Osee, iii,.12; Joseph. Ant. 8:2, 9, War, 2:21, 2; Strabo, 17, p. 809; Pliny, 15:4, 13; Wilkinson, Anc. Eg. 2:28, sm. ed.; Hasselquist, Trav. p. 53, 117). SEE COMMERCE.
III. Use. Besides the consumption of olives themselves as food, common to all olive-producing countries (Horace, 1 Od. 31:15; Martial, 13:36; Arvieux, Trav. p. 209; Terumoth, 1:9, 2:6), the principal uses of olive-oil may be thus stated:
1. As food. The use of oil is general throughout Western Asia at the present time, as it was in primitive ages. Oil was much used instead of butter and animal fat at meals and in various preparations of food (comp. Eze_16:13). SEE FOOD.
In such uses oil, when fresh and sweet, is more agreeable than animal fat. The Orientals think so, and Europeans soon acquire the same preference. The Hebrews must have reckoned oil one of the prime necessities of life (Sir_39:31; comp. Jer_31:12; Jer_41:8; Luk_16:6 sq.). It is often mentioned in connection with honey (Eze_16:13; Eze_16:19; Eze_27:17), and its abundance was a chief mark of prosperity (comp. Joe_2:19). Dried wheat, boiled with either butter or oil, but more commonly the former, is a common dish for all classes in Syria. Hasselquist speaks of bread, baked in oil as being particularly sustaining; and Faber, in his Pilgrimage, mentions eggs fried in oil as Saracen and Arabian dishes (comp. Jerome, Vit. S. Hilarion, ch. 11, vol. ii, p. 32; Ibn-Batuta, Trav. p. 60, ed. Lee; Volney, Trav. 1:362, 406; Russell, A leppo, 1:80, 119; Harmer, Obs. 1:471, 474; Shaw, Trav. p. 232; Bertrandon de la Brocquiere, Early Trav. p. 332; Burckhardt, Trav. in A rab. 1:54; Notes on Bed. 1:59; Arvieux. 50:c.; Chardin, Voy. 4:84; Niebuhr, Voy. 2:302; Hasselquist, Trav. p. 132; Faber, Evagatorium, i' 197; 2:752, 415).
It was probably on account of the common use of oil in food that the meat-offerings prescribed by the Law were so frequently mixed with oil (Lev_2:4; Lev_2:7; Lev_2:15; Lev_8:26; Lev_8:31; Num_7:19 sq.; Deu_12:17; Deu_32:13; 1Ki_17:12; 1Ki_17:15; 1Ch_12:40; Ezra 16:19). This was certainly not for the purpose of aiding the burning of the sacrifice; nor is it likely that any symbolic idea was connected with the oil. SEE SACRIFICE. The rite of sprinkling with oil, as a libation, does not occur in the Law, but seems to be alluded to in Mic_6:7. SEE OFFERING.
2. Cosmetic. As is the case generally in hot climates, oil was used by the Jews for anointing the body, e.g. after the bath, and giving to the skin and hair a smooth and comely appearance, e.g. before an entertainment. Whether for luxury or ceremony, the head and beard were the parts usually anointed (Deu_28:40; 2Sa_14:2; Psa_23:5; Psa_92:11; Psa_104:15; Luk_7:46); and this use of oil, which was especially frequent at banquets, became at length proverbially common among the Israelites (Pro_21:17; comp. Catull. 6:8; Curt. 9:7, 20). To be deprived of the use of oil was thus a serious privation, assumed voluntarily in the time of mourning or of calamity (Rth_3:3; 2Sa_12:20; Dan_10:3; Isa_61:3; Amo_6:6; Sus. 17). At Egyptian entertainments it was usual for a servant to anoint the head of each guest as he took his seat. Strabo mentions the Egyptian use of castor-oil for this purpose (18:824). The Greek and Roman usage will be found mentioned in the following passages: Homer, II. 10:577; 18:596; 23:281; Od. 7:107; 6:96; 10:364; Horace, 3 Od. 13:6; 1 Sat. 6:123; 2 Sat. 1:8; Pliny, 14:22; Aristoph. Wasps, 608; Clouds, 816; Roberts, pl. 164. Butter, as is noticed by Pliny, is used by the negroes and the lower class of Arabs for the like purposes (Pliny, 11:41; Burckhardt; Trav. 1:53; Nubia, p. 215; Lightfoot,. Hor. Hebr. 2:375; see Deu_33:24; Job_29:6; Psa_109:18). SEE OINTMENT.
The use of oil preparatory to athletic exercises customary among the Greeks and Romans can scarcely have had place to any extent among the Jews, who in their earlier times had no such contests, though some are mentioned by Josephus with censure as taking place at Jerusalem and Caesarea under Herod (Horace, 1 Od. 8:8; Pliny. 15:4; Athenaeus, 15:34, p. 686; Horner, Od. 6:79. 215; Joseph. Ant. 15:8, 1; 16:5, 1; see Smith, Diet. of Antig. s.v. Aliptae). SEE GAME.
3. Funereal. The bodies of the dead were anointed with oil by the Greeks and Romans, probably as a partial antiseptic, and a similar custom appears to have prevailed among the Jews (Homer, II. 24:587; Virgil, En. 6:219). SEE BURIAL.
4. Medicinal. As oil is in use in many cases in modern medicine, so it is not surprising that it should have been much used among the Jews and other nations of antiquity for medicinal purposes. Celsus repeatedly speaks of the use of oil, especially old oil, applied externally with friction in fevers, and in many other cases. Pliny says that olive-oil is good to warm the body and fortify it against cold, and also to cool heat in the head, and for various other purposes. It was thus used previously to taking cold baths, and also mixed with water for bathing the body. Josephus mentions that among the remedies employed in the case of Herod, he was put into a sort of oil-bath. Oil mixed with wine is also mentioned as a remedy used both inwardly and outwardly in the disease with which the soldiers of the army of AElius Gallus were affected, a circumstance which recalls the use of a similar remedy in the parable of the good Samaritan. The prophet Isaiah alludes to the use of oil as ointment in medical treatment; and it thus furnished a fitting symbol, perhaps also an efficient remedy, when used by our Lord's disciples in the miraculous cures which they were enabled to perform. With a similar intention, no doubt, its use was enjoined by St. James, and, as it appears, practiced by the early Christian Church in general. Nothing is said in the Bible of the internal use of oil mingled with wine (comp. e.g. Dio Cass. 53:29). An instance of cure through the medium of oil is mentioned by Tertullian. The medicinal use of oil is also mentioned in the Mishna, which thus exhibits the Jewish practice of that day. See, for the various instances above named, Isa_1:6; Mar_6:13; Luk_10:34; Jam_5:14; Josephus, Ant. 17:6, 5; War, 1:33, 5; Talm. Shabb. 13:4; Otho, Lex. Rabb. p. 11, 526; Mosheim, Eccl. Hist. 4:9; Corn. a Lap. on James 5; Tertull. Ad Scap. c. iv; Celsus, De Med. 2:14, 17; 3:6, 9, 19, 22; 4:2; Horace, 2 Sat. 1:7; Pliny, 15:4, 7; 23:3, 4; Dio Cass. 53:29; Lightfoot, I. H. 2:304, 444; Jerome, 1. c. SEE UNCTION.
5. For light. The oil for the light was expressly ordered to be olive-oil, beaten, i.e.made from olives bruised in a mortar (Exo_25:6; Exo_27:20-21; Exo_35:8; Lev_24:2; 2Ch_13:11; 1Sa_3:3; Zec_4:3; Zec_4:12; Mishna, Demai, 1:3; Menach. 8:4). The quantity required for the longest night is said to have been .5 log (13.79 cubic in. = .4166 of a pint [Menach. 9:3; Otho, Lex. Rabb. p. 159]). SEE CANDLESTICK. In the same manner the great lamps used at the Feast of Tabernacles were fed (Succth, v. 2). Oil was used in general for lamps; it is used in Egypt with cotton wicks twisted round a piece of straw; the receptacle being a glass vessel, into which. water is first poured (Mat_25:1-8; Luk_12:35; comp. Lane, Modern Egyptians, 1:201).
6. Ritual.
a. Oil was poured on or mixed with the flour or meal used in offerings.
1. The consecration offering of priests (Exo_29:2; Exo_29:23; Lev_6:15; Lev_6:21).
2. The offering of beaten oil with flour, which accompanied the daily sacrifice (Exo_29:40).
3. The leper's purification offering (Lev_14:10-57; Lev_14:24; Lev_14:28), where it is to be observed that the quantity of oil (1 log =.833 of a pint) was invariable, while the other objects varied in quantity according to the means of the person offering. The cleansed leper was also to be touched with oil on various parts of his body (Lev_14:15-18).
4. The Nazarite, on completion of his vow, was to offer unleavened bread anointed with oil, and cakes of fine bread mingled with oil (Num_6:15).
5. After the erection of the Tabernacle, the offerings of the princes included flour mingled with oil (Numbers 7).
6. At the consecration of the Levites, fine flour mingled with oil was offered (Num_8:8).
7. Meat-offerings in general were mingled or anointed with oil (Lev_7:10; Lev_7:12).
On the other hand, certain offerings were to be devoid of oil: the sin- offering (Lev_5:11) and the offering of jealousy (Num_5:15). The principle on which both the presence and the absence of oil were prescribed is, clearly, that as oil is indicative of gladness, so its absence denoted sorrow or humiliation (Isa_61:3; Joe_2:19; Rev_6:6). It is on this principle that oil is so often used in Scripture as symbolical of nourishment and comfort (Deu_32:13; Deu_33:24; Job_29:6; Psa_45:7; Psa_109:18; Isa_61:3).
b. Kings, priests, and prophets were anointed with oil or ointment. SEE ANOINT.
7. As so important a necessary of life, the Jew was required
a to include oil among his first-fruit offerings (Eze_22:29; Eze_23:16; Num_18:12; Deu_18:4; 2Ch_31:5; Terum. 11:3). In the Mishna various limitations are laid down; but they are of little importance except as illustrating the processes to which the olive-berry was subjected in the production of oil, and the degrees of estimation in which their results were held.
b. Tithes of oil were also required (Deu_12:17; 2Ch_31:5; Neh_10:37; Neh_10:39; Neh_13:12; Eze_45:14).
8. Shields, if covered with hide, were anointed with oil or grease previous to use. Shields of metal were perhaps rubbed over in like manner to polish them. See Thenius on 2Sa_1:21; Virgil, AEn. 7:625; Plautus, Mil. 1:1, 2; and Gesenius, Thes. p. 825. SEE SHIELD.
9. Oil of inferior quality was used in the composition of soap.
OIL, which is the purest lighting material obtained from the innocent vegetable kingdom, has ever been a sacred symbol, possessing healing properties and ameliorating all suffering from wounds. Oil represents in Christian symbolism the divine mercy. There seems however, to have entered also into its use in the Christian cultus the ancient practice of the pagan gladiators, who anointed themselves with oil before entering upon a contest. Thus oil came to be used for anointings at baptism and confirmation, and on the death-bed (the last anointing), at ordination of priests, and the consecration of kings. SEE ANOINT.
The double sense of the performance was probably that it secures to the subject, first, a share of divine mercy, and, secondly, a strengthening for life's severe combats. In the Romish Church there are three kinds of holy oils: (1) holy oils strictly so called; (2) chrism oil; and (3) sick men's oil. These oils are consecrated by the bishop on Maundy-Thursday annually for all the churches of his diocese. Pure olive-oil only is used, with balsam ( balm) for the chrism. Three metal vases are usually provided and covered with silk, on one of which are engraved the words Oleum, Infirmourum (=oil of the infirm) or the initials O .I.; on another, Oleum Catechumenorum (=oil of the catechumens) or O. C.; on the third, which is larger than the others, and is covered with white silk, Sanctum Chrisma (-holy chrism) or S.C. Some balsam is mixed with a little of the oil from the third vase, and this compound the bishop puts into the vase and stirs up with the rest of the oil there. The ceremony, which consists of exorcisms, prayers, chantings, making the sign of the cross with the hand and with the breath, etc., occupies sixteen pages of the Pontificale Romanum, and eight or ten in the Ceremonial of the Church. The old oils, consecrated the year before, if any have remained in the vases, are put in the church-lamps before the holy: sacrament, to be burned; and those which remain in pyxes and boxes are burned with the old silk. Every priest must obtain from the bishop a supply of these consecrated oils for his church. The oil of the infirm is used in extreme unction; the oil of catechumens in baptism; the holy chrism in baptism, confirmation, etc. SEE HOLY OIL; SEE PYX. The ceremony of oil consecration as recently witnessed in a Romish church in New York City is thus narrated in the New York Tribune:
In the sacristy three large jars were filled with the purest oil and set apart, carefully covered with veils. When the archbishop descended from the altar, and took his seat at the table, the archdeacon cried aloud, Oleum Informorum.' Then one of the seven acting as subdeacons went, with two acolytes, to the sacristy, and returned with the Oil for the Sick, which he delivered to the archdeacon, saying Oleum Informorum.' The archdeacon, repeating the same words, presented it to the archbishop, who, rising up, first solemnly exorcised the oil, and then blessed it in the solemn words of the Church. The oil was then removed to the sacristy and carefully guarded. The archbishop, after washing his hands, reascended the altar and continued the mass as usual, until that part of it known as the Ablutions, when he again descended to the table to consecrate the remaining oils. A procession of all the clergymen, acting as deacons and subdeacons, was formed and proceeded to the sacristy. They returned in the same manner, bearing the oils and chanting the verses of the hymn O Redemptor.' Much the same ceremony as already described was then gone through. The archbishop breathed over the oil, in the form of a cross, and all the priests taking part in the consecration did the same. On his knees he saluted the chrism with the words Ave Sanctum Chrisma, pronounced three times with increasing emphasis. The priests did the same, and the consecration of the Oil of the Catechumens followed in the same manner.
The Church of Constantinople has likewise three different kinds of oil: (1) the oil of catechumens, which is simply blessed by the priest in the baptismal office; (2) the εὐχέλαιον, or prayer-oil, for the visitation of the sick, blessed in the sick man's house by seven priests; (3) the ἃγιον μύρον, solemnly consecrated by the bishop on Thursday in Holy Week. Of these two latter kinds there is enough said in the article CHRISM SEE CHRISM ; on the first, SEE CATECHUMENS. The Greeks have besides two other kinds of holy oil:
(1) that which is used for the lamps before the images of saints, and which is blessed by the priest in the office of benediction of the loaves. It was the custom that in certain festivals the brethren in monasteries should be anointed with this oil; and it was in some instances mixed with the water blessed on the Epiphany, and used for sprinkling olive-yards or vineyards, for the purpose of freeing them from blight.
(2) Oil of the holy cross, which appears, for the matter is doubtful, to have been originally taken from the lamps which burned in the Church of the Resurrection at Jerusalem before the true cross, and afterwards to have been consecrated by the immersion in it of a piece of the same cross. See Barnum, Romanisnm, p. 473 sq.; Neale, Hist. Eastern Church, Introd. p. 966; Siegel, Christl. Alterthumer, 4:125; Menzel, Symbolik, 2:166 sq.; Burnet, The Thirty-nine Articles, p. 353, 378, 379, 381, 382, 384; Coleman, Ancient Christianity, p. 369, 371,432. .
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.
1. Preparation of oil.By combining these meagre references with the fuller data of the Mishna, as illustrated by the actual remains of oil-presses, either still above ground or recently recovered from the soil of Palestine, it is possible to follow with some minuteness the principal methods adopted. The olives were either shaken from the tree or beaten down by striking the branches with a light pole, as illustrated on Greek vases (illust. in Vigouroux, Dict. de la Bible, art. Huile). The latter method supplies Isaiah with a pathetic figure of Israel (Isa_17:6 RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ).
The finest quality of oil was got by selecting the best berries before they were fully ripe. These were pounded in a mortar, after which the pulp was poured into a basket of rushes or wickerwork. From this, as a strainer, the liquid was allowed to run off into a receiving vessel. After the oil had floated and been purified, it formed beaten oil, such as had to be provided for the lighting of the Tabernacle (Exo_27:20, Lev_24:2; cf. 1Ki_5:11 RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ).
In the preparation of the oil required for ordinary domestic use, however, the methods adopted closely resembled those for the making of wine. Indeed, it is evident that the same apparatus served for the making both of wine and of oil (see Wine for the names of the parts, and note the phrase, Joe_2:24, the fats [vats] shall overflow with wine and oil). From evidence, literary and archæological, it is clear that there were various kinds of oil-presses in use in different periods. A very common, if not quite the simplest, type consisted of a shallow trough hewn in the native rock, from which, as in the similar, if not identical, wine-press, a conducting channel carried the expressed liquid to a slightly lower trough or oil-vat. In early times it appears as if a preliminary pressing was made with the feet alone (Mic_6:15).
In the absence of a suitable rock-surface, as would naturally be the case within a city of any antiquity, a solid block of limestonecircular, four-sided, and eight-sided (Megiddo) are the shapes recovered by recent explorerswas hollowed to the depth of a few inches, a rim being left all round save at one corner. Such presses were found at Taanach (illust. Sellin, Tell Taannek, 61, reproduced in Benzingers Heb. Arch.2 [1907] 144), and elsewhere. In these the olives were crushed by means of a large round stone. The liquid was either allowed to collect in a large cup-hollow in the surface of the trough, from which it was baled out by hand (PEFSt [Note: Quarterly Statement of the same.] , 1903, p. 112), or it was run off into a vessel placed at the corner above mentioned (see Sellins illust., and op. cit. 60 f., 93). At a later period, as we learn from the Mishna, a stone in the shape of the modern millstone was used. Through the centre a pole was inserted, by which it was made to revolve on its narrow side round the circular trougha method still in use in Syria.
From the oil-mill, as this apparatus may be termed, the product of which naturally, after purification, produced the finer sort of oil, the pulp was transferred to the oil-press properly so called. Here it was placed in baskets piled one above the other. Pressure was then applied for the extraction of a second quality of oil, by means of a heavy wooden beam worked as a lever by ropes and heavy weights, or by a windlass. Details of the fittings of these press-houses, as they are named in the Mishna, and of another type of press formed of two upright monoliths with a third laid across, the whole resembling the Gr. letter II, have been collected by the present writer in the art. Oil in EBi [Note: Encyclopædia Biblica.] iii. 3467, and may now be controlled by the account of the elaborate underground press-house described and illustrated by Bliss and Macalister in Excavations in Palestine, p. 208 f. and plate 92 (cf. ib. 196 f. and Index).
The expressed liquid, both from the oil-mill and from the oil-press, was collected either in a rock-cut vat or in separate jars. In these it was allowed to settle, when the oil rose to the top, leaving a bitter, watery liquid, the amurca of the Romans, and other refuse behind. Oil in this fresh state is distinguished in OT from the refined and purified product; the former is yitshâr, so frequently named along with new wine or must (tîrôsh, see Wine, § 1) and corn as one of the chief products of Canaan; the latter is always shemen, but the distinction is not observed in our versions. The fresh oil or yitshâr was refined in the same manner as wine, by being poured from vessel to vessel, and was afterwards stored in jars and in skins. A smaller quantity for immediate use was kept in a small earthenware potthe vial of 1Sa_10:1 and of 2Ki_9:1 RV [Note: Revised Version.] (AV [Note: Authorized Version.] box)or in a horn (1Sa_16:1; 1Sa_16:13, 1Ki_1:39).
2. Uses of oil.Foremost among what may be called the secular uses of oil may be placed its daily employment as a cosmetic, already dealt with under Anointing (see also Ointment). This was the oil that made the face to shine (Psa_104:15). As in all Eastern lands, oil was largely used in the preparation of food; familiarity with this use of it is presupposed in the comparison of the taste of the strange manna to that of the familiar cakes baked with oil (Num_11:8 RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ; see, further, Meals, § 1. end). Oil was also indispensable for the lighting of the house after nightfall. In addition to the universal olive oil, the Mishna (Shabbath, ii. I f.) names a variety of other oils then in use, among them oil of sesame, fish oil, castor oil, and naphtha. That used in the Temple (1Ch_9:29) was no doubt of the finest quality, like the beaten oil for the Tabernacle above described. The medicinal properties of oil were early recognized (Isa_1:5 RV [Note: Revised Version.] ); the Good Samaritan mixed his with wine (Luk_10:34), producing an antiseptic mentioned also in post-Biblical Jewish writings.
Oil has a prominent place in the ritual of the Priests Code, particularly in the preparation of the meal-offering (Lev_2:1; Lev_2:4 etc.). It also appears in connexion with the leprosy-offering (Lev_14:10 ff.) and in other connexions, but is absent from the sin-offering (Lev_5:1 ff.) and the jealousy-offering (Num_5:11 ff.). For the special case of the holy anointing oil (Exo_30:23-25), see Ointment.
As might have been expected from the extensive cultivation of the olive by the Hebrews, oil not only formed an important article of inland commerce, but was exported in large quantities both to the West, by way of Tyre (Eze_27:17), and to Egypt (Hos_12:1).
This abundance of oil furnished the Hebrew poets with a figure for material prosperity in general, as in Deu_33:24 He shall dip his foot in oil. From its being in daily use to anoint the heads of ones guests at a festive meal (Psa_23:5 etc.), oil became by association a symbol of joy and gladness (Psa_45:7 = Heb_1:9, Isa_61:3).
A. R. S. Kennedy.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
Edited by James Hastings, D.D. Published in 1909
Oil. Of the numerous substances, animal and vegetable, which were known to the ancients as yielding oil, the olive berry is the one of which most frequent mention is made in the Scriptures.
Gathering. ? The olive berry was either gathered by hand, or shaken off carefully with a light reed or stick.
Pressing. ? In order to make oil, the fruit, was either bruised in a mortar, crushed in a press loaded with wood or stones, ground in a mill, or trodden with the feet. The "beaten" oil of, Exo_27:20; Exo_29:40; Lev_24:2; Num_28:6, was probably made by bruising in a mortar. It was used ?
(1) As food. Dried wheat, boiled with either butter or oil, but generally the former, is a common dish for all classes in Syria. Exo_29:2.
(2) Cosmetic. Oil was used by the Jews for anointing the body, for example, after the bath, and giving to the skin and hair a smooth and comely appearance, for example, before an entertainment.
(3) Funereal. The bodies of the dead were anointed with oil. 2Sa_14:2.
(4) Medicinal. Isaiah alludes to the use of oil in medical treatment. Isa_1:6. See also Mar_6:13; Jas_6:14.
(5) For light. The oil for "the light" was expressly ordered to be olive oil, beaten. Mat_25:3.
(6) Ritual. Oil was poured on, or mixed with, the flour or meal used in offerings. Lev_8:12. Kings, priests and prophets were anointed with oil or ointment.
(7) In offerings. As so important a necessary of life, the Jew was required to include oil among his firstfruit offerings. Exo_22:29; Exo_23:16; Num_18:12. Tithes of oil were also required. Deu_12:17. See Olive.
Smith's Bible Dictionary
By Dr. William Smith.Published in 1863
שמן . The invention and use of oil is of the highest antiquity. It is said that Jacob poured oil upon the pillar which he erected at Bethel, Gen_28:18. The earliest kind was that which is extracted from olives. Before the invention of mills, this was obtained by pounding them in a mortar, Exo_27:20; and sometimes by treading them with the feet in the same manner as were grapes, Deu_33:24; Mic_6:15. The Hebrews used common oil with their food, in their meat- offerings, for burning in their lamps, &c. As vast quantities of oil were made by the ancient Jews, it became an article of exportation. The great demand for it in Egypt led the Jews to send it thither. The Prophet Hosea thus upbraids his degenerate nation with the servility and folly, of their conduct: Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind; he daily increaseth falsehood and vanity; and a league is made with Assyria, and oil carried into Egypt, Hos_12:1. The Israelites, in the decline of their national glory, carried the produce of their olive plantations into Egypt as a tribute to their ancient oppressors, or as a present to conciliate their favour, and obtain their assistance in the sanguinary wars which they were often compelled to wage with the neighbouring states. There was an unguent, very precious and sacred, used in anointing the priests, the tabernacle, and furniture. This was compounded of spicy drugs, namely, myrrh, sweet cinnamon, sweet calamus, and cassia, mixed with oil olive.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.
In most cases the oil that the Bible mentions is olive oil. Olive trees were grown extensively in Palestine, and Israel exported oil to other countries (1Ki_5:11; Eze_27:17; Hos_12:1). Other fruits and plants were also a source of oil. Workers obtained the oil by crushing the fruit, flowers or leaves. This was sometimes done through grinding the substance, using either a thick stick in a bowl or a stone roller in a hollowed out rock. Sometimes the oil was trodden out in a press, other times squeezed out from a sack by twisting it with sticks (Exo_27:20; Deu_33:24; Mic_6:15).
People used oils in the preparation of food (Exo_29:2; Lev_2:4; 1Ki_17:12-14), as fuels for lamps (Exo_27:20; Zec_4:2-3; Zec_4:12; Mat_25:3-4), as medicines and ointments (Isa_1:6; Luk_10:34), as cosmetics (2Sa_14:2; Est_2:12; Psa_104:15; Song of Son_1:12; Son_5:5) and for rubbing on the body to bring soothing and refreshment (Rth_3:3; 2Sa_12:20; Amo_6:6; Luk_7:37-38; Joh_12:3). The use of oil in anointing the sick may have had some medicinal purpose, but its chief significance may have been symbolic, demonstrating faith (Mar_6:13; Jam_5:14).
The custom of anointing a persons head with oil was an ancient way of showing the person honour (Mar_14:3). This was particularly so when a host welcomed a special guest (Psa_23:5). On festive occasions anointing contributed to the joy and merriment of the occasion. As a result oil, like wine, became a symbol of rejoicing (Psa_45:7; Psa_104:15; Isa_61:3; Joe_1:10).
Besides being widely used in Israels everyday life, oil was frequently used in its religious rituals. It was part of some sacrifices (Exo_29:2; Exo_29:40; Lev_8:26; Num_6:15; Num_7:19), was offered as both firstfruits and tithes (Exo_22:29; Deu_12:17), was used as fuel for the tabernacle lamp (Exo_27:20) and was put on people in certain ceremonies (Lev_14:10-18).
Oil was used to anoint priests, kings and at times prophets, to symbolize their setting apart for Gods service and their appointment to office (Exo_28:41; 1Sa_10:1; Psa_89:20-21; 1Ki_1:39; 1Ki_19:16; Zec_4:11-14). It was used also to anoint things that were set apart for sacred use, such as the tabernacle and its equipment (Exo_40:9-11). The oil used to anoint the priests and the tabernacle was prepared according to a special formula, which was not to be used for any other purpose (Exo_30:23-33; cf. Psa_133:2). (See also ANOINTING; SPICES.)
Bridgeway Bible Dictionary by Don Fleming
PRINTER 1990.
oil (שמן, shemen; ἔλαιον, élaion):
1. Terms
2. Production and Storage
3. Uses
(1) As a Commodity of Exchange
(2) As a Cosmetic
(3) As a Medicine
(4) As a Food
(5) As an Illuminant
(6) In Religious Rites
(a) Consecration
(b) Offerings
(c) Burials
4. Figurative Uses
Shemen, literally, ?fat,? corresponds to the common Arabic senin of similar meaning, although now applied to boiled butter fat.
1. Terms:
Another Hebrew word, zayith (zēth), ?olive,? occurs with shemen in several passages (Exo_27:20; Exo_30:24; Lev_24:2). The corresponding Arabic zeit, a contraction of zeitun, which is the name for the olive tree as well as the fruit, is now applied to oils in general, to distinguish them from solid fats. Zeit usually means olive oil, unless some qualifying name indicates another oil. A corresponding use was made of shemen, and the oil referred to so many times in the Bible was olive oil (except Est_2:12). Compare this with the Greek ἔλαιον, élaion, ?oil,? a neuter noun from ἐλαία, elaı́a, ?olive,? the origin of the English word ?oil.? יצהר, yichār, literally, ?glistening,? which occurs less frequently, is used possibly because of the light-giving quality of olive oil, or it may have been used to indicate fresh oil, as the clean, newly pressed oil is bright. משׁח, meshaḥ, a Chaldaic word, occurs twice: Ezr_6:9; Ezr_7:22. ἔλαιον, élaion, is the New Testament term.
2. Production and Storage:
Olive oil has been obtained, from the earliest times, by pressing the fruit in such a way as to filter out the oil and other liquids from the residue. The Scriptural references correspond so nearly to the methods practiced in Syria up to the present time, and the presses uncovered by excavators at such sites as Gezer substantiate so well the similarity of these methods, that a description of the oil presses and modes of expression still being employed in Syria will be equally true of those in use in early Israelite times.
The olives to yield the greatest amount of oil are allowed to ripen, although some oil is expressed from the green fruit. As the olive ripens it turns black. The fruit begins to fall from the trees in September, but the main crop is gathered after the first rains in November. The olives which have not fallen naturally or have not been blown off by the storms are beaten from the trees with long poles (compare Deu_24:20). The fruit is gathered from the ground into baskets and carried on the heads of the women, or on donkeys to the houses or oil presses. Those carried to the houses are preserved for eating. Those carried to the presses are piled in heaps until fermentation begins. This breaks down the oil cells and causes a more abundant flow of oil. The fruit thus softened may be trod out with the feet (Mic_6:15) - which is now seldom practiced - or crushed in a handmill. Such a mill was uncovered at Gezer beside an oil press. Stone mortars with wooden pestles are also used. Any of these methods crushes the fruit, leaving only the stone unbroken, and yields a purer oil (Exo_27:20). The method now generally practiced of crushing the fruit and kernels with an edgerunner mill probably dates from Roman times. These mills are of crude construction. The stones are cut from native limestone and are turned by horses or mules. Remains of huge stones of this type are found near the old Roman presses in Mt. Lebanon and other districts.
The second step in the preparation of the oil is the expression. In districts where the olives are plentiful and there is no commercial demand for the oil, the householders crush the fruit in a mortar, mix the crushed mass with water, and after the solid portions have had time to settle, the pure sweet oil is skimmed from the surface of the water. This method gives a delicious oil, but is wasteful. This is no doubt the beaten oil referred to in connection with religious ceremonials (Exo_27:20). Usually the crushed fruit is spread in portions on mats of reeds or goats' hair, the corners of which are folded over the mass, and the packets thus formed are piled one upon another between upright supports. These supports were formerly two stone columns or the two sections of a split stone cylinder hollowed out within to receive the mats. Large hollow tree trunks are still similarly used in Syria. A flat stone is next placed on top, and then a heavy log is placed on the pile in such a manner that one end can be fitted into a socket made in a wall or rock in close proximity to the pile. This socket becomes the fulcrum of a large lever of the second class. The lever is worked in the same manner as that used in the wine presses (see WINE PRESS). These presses are now being almost wholly superseded by hydraulic presses. The juice which runs from the press, consisting of oil, extractive matter and water, is conducted to vats or run into jars and allowed to stand until the oil separates. The oil is then drawn off from the surface, or the watery fluid and sediment is drawn away through a hole near the bottom of the jar, leaving the oil in the container. (For the construction of the ancient oil presses, see The Excavations of Gezer, by Macalister.) The oil, after standing for some time to allow further sediment to settle, is stored either in huge earthenware jars holding 100 to 200 gallons, or in underground cisterns (compare 1Ch_27:28) holding a much larger quantity. Some of these cisterns in Beirut hold several tons of oil each (2Ch_11:11; 2Ch_32:28; Neh_13:5, Neh_13:12; Pro_21:20). In the homes the oil is kept in small earthen jars of various shapes, usually having spouts by which the oil can be easily poured (1Ki_17:12; 2Ki_4:2). In 1Sa_16:13; 1Ki_1:39, horns of oil are mentioned.
3. Uses:
(1) As a Commodity of Exchange.
Olive oil when properly made and stored will keep sweet for years, hence, was a good form of merchandise to hold. Oil is still sometimes given in payment (1Ki_5:11; Eze_27:17; Hos_12:1; Luk_16:6; Rev_18:13).
(2) As a Cosmetic.
From earliest times oil was used as a cosmetic, especially for oiling the limbs and head. Oil used in this way was usually scented (see OINTMENT). Oil is still used in this manner by the Arabs, principally to keep the skin and scalp soft when traveling in dry desert regions where there is no opportunity to bathe. Sesame oil has replaced olive oil to some extent for this purpose. Homer, Pliny and other early writers mention its use for external application. Pliny claimed it was used to protect the body against the cold. Many Biblical references indicate the use of oil as a cosmetic (Exo_25:6; Deu_28:40; Rth_3:3; 2Sa_12:20; 2Sa_14:2; Est_2:12; Psa_23:5; Psa_92:10; Psa_104:15; Psa_141:5; Eze_16:9; Mic_6:15; Luk_7:46).
(3) As a Medicine.
From early Egyptian literature down to late Arabic medical works, oil is mentioned as a valuable remedy. Many queer prescriptions contain olive oil as one of their ingredients. The good Samaritan used oil mingled with wine to dress the wounds of the man who fell among robbers (Mar_6:13; Luk_10:34.)
(4) As a Food.
Olive oil replaces butter to a large extent in the diet of the people of the Mediterranean countries. In Bible lands food is fried in it, it is added to stews, and is poured over boiled vegetables, such as beans, peas and lentils, and over salads, sour milk, cheese and other foods as a dressing. A cake is prepared from ordinary bread dough which is smeared with oil and sprinkled with herbs before baking (Lev_2:4). At times of fasting oriental Christians use only vegetable oils, usually olive oil, for cooking. For Biblical references to the use of oil as food see Num_11:8; Deu_7:13; Deu_14:23; Deu_32:13; 1Ki_17:12, 1Ki_17:14, 1Ki_17:16; 2Ki_4:2, 2Ki_4:6, 2Ki_4:7; 1Ch_12:40; 2Ch_2:10, 2Ch_2:15; Ezr_3:7; Pro_21:17; Eze_16:13, Eze_16:18; Hos_2:5, Hos_2:8, Hos_2:22; Hag_2:12; Rev_6:6.
(5) As an Illuminant.
Olive oil until recent years was universally used for lighting purposes (see LAMP). In Palestine are many homes where a most primitive form of lamp similar to those employed by the Israelites is still in use. The prejudice in favor of the exclusive use of olive oil for lighting holy places is disappearing. Formerly any other illuminant was forbidden (compare Exo_25:6; Exo_27:20; Exo_35:8, Exo_35:14, Exo_35:28; Exo_39:37; Mat_25:3, Mat_25:4, Mat_25:8).
(6) In Religious Rites.
(A) Consecration:
Consecration of officials or sacred things (Gen_28:18; Gen_35:14; Exo_29:7, Exo_29:21 ff; Lev_2:1 ff; Num_4:9 ff; 1Sa_10:1; 1Sa_16:1, 1Sa_16:13; 2Sa_1:21; 1Ki_1:39; 2Ki_9:1, 2Ki_9:3, 2Ki_9:1; Psa_89:20): This was adopted by the early Christians in their ceremonies (Jam_5:14), and is still used in the consecration of crowned rulers and church dignitaries.
(B) Offerings:
Offerings, votive and otherwise: The custom of making offerings of oil to holy places still survives in oriental religions. One may see burning before the shrines along a Syrian roadside or in the churches, small lamps whose supply of oil is kept renewed by pious adherents. In Israelite times oil was used in the meal offering, in the consecration offerings, offerings of purification from leprosy, etc. (Exo_29:2; Exo_40:9 ff; Lev_2:2 ff; Num_4:9 ff; Deu_18:4; 1Ch_9:29; 2Ch_31:5; Neh_10:37, Neh_10:39; Neh_13:5, Neh_13:12; Eze_16:18, Eze_16:19; 45; 46; Mic_6:7).
(C) Burials:
In connection with the burial of the dead: Egyptian papyri mention this use. In the Old Testament no direct mention is made of the custom. Jesus referred to it in connection with His own burial (Mat_26:12; Mar_14:3-8; Luk_23:56; Joh_12:3-8; Joh_19:40).
4. Figurative Uses:
Abundant oil was a figure of general prosperity (Deu_32:13; Deu_33:24; 2Ki_18:32; Job_29:6; Joe_2:19, Joe_2:24). Languishing of the oil indicated general famine (Joe_1:10; Hag_1:11). Joy is described as the oil of joy (Isa_61:3), or the oil of gladness (Psa_45:7; Heb_1:9). Ezekiel prophesies that the rivers shall run like oil, i.e. become viscous (Eze_32:14). Words of deceit are softer than oil (Psa_55:21; Pro_5:3). Cursing becomes a habit with the wicked as readily as oil soaks into bones (Psa_109:18). Excessive use of oil indicates wastefulness (Pro_21:17), while the saving of it is a characteristic of the wise (Pro_21:20). Oil was carried into Egypt, i.e. a treaty was made with that country (Hos_12:1).
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.
Oil was far more extensively used among the ancient Hebrews than in our northern climate. The use of oil is equally general throughout Western Asia at the present time, as it was in primitive ages. Oil was much used instead of butter and animal fat, at meals and in various preparations of food (see Food, and comp. Eze_16:13). In such uses oil, when fresh and sweet, is more agreeable than animal fat. The Orientals think so; and Europeans soon acquire the same preference. Oil was also in many cases taken as a meat-offering; and it was then mixed with the meal of oblation [OFFERING]. The rite of sprinkling with oil, as a libation, does not occur in the law, but seems to be alluded to in Mic_6:7.
The application of oil to the person has been described in the article Anointing. Whether for luxury or ceremony, the head and beard were the parts usually anointed, and this use of oil became at length proverbially common among the Israelites (Pro_21:17).
The employment of oil for burning has been illustrated in the article Lamps. It is only necessary to add, that for this, and indeed for most other purposes, olive-oil was considered the best, and was therefore used in the lamps of the tabernacle.
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.
Lev_14:16 (c) This is no doubt a type of the Holy Spirit Himself.
- it was to be applied to the ear so that the hearing would be entirely Godward, and for the Word of GOD.
- it was applied to the thumb for the work of the priest was to be for GOD in the power of the Spirit.
- it was to be applied to the toe, for his walk was to be with GOD, and before GOD, walking in the Spirit. (See Lev_14:28).
Num_6:15 (c) In this passage the oil again seems to represent the Holy Spirit actuating the life, filling the soul, and especially the coming of the Spirit upon the Lord JESUS CHRIST.
Deu_32:13 (b) It is quite evident in this passage that the oil again represents the Holy Spirit given from and by the Lord JESUS CHRIST, who is the eternal Rock of ages.
Deu_33:24 (b) This probably represents a smooth, fragrant and delightful walk in the Spirit of GOD by this great man of GOD. An impression would be left behind at each step. So the Spirit-filled man leaves behind him fragrant impressions of his walk with the Lord in the Spirit.
2Ki_4:2 (c) Probably this represents the blessings of GOD which He pours out upon the man or the woman of faith in order that the needs of the life may be met.
Job_29:6 (b) This is an indication of the great wealth and opportunity enjoyed by Job when he lived in prosperity and peace.
Psa_23:5 (b) This is emblematic of the blessed experience of the believer in which the Spirit of GOD anoints him for effective service, as a king and as a priest.
Psa_141:5 (a) By this type we understand the sweet, refreshing effect of the kindly counsel of a godly friend.
Isa_61:3 (b) The joy of heart, the freedom of soul, and the radiance of spirit are compared to oil because of its sweetness, smoothness and value.
Mat_25:4 (b) This probably indicates the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life.
Luk_10:34 (c) It may be that the oil represents the kind, sweet comforting words that were spoken, and the wine represents the courage and the new hope brought to the heart of this wounded man. It may be that both of these refer to the healing power and the strengthening power of the Holy Spirit, and (or) the Word of GOD.
Heb_1:9 (b) This describes the blessed anointing of CHRIST to be both Lord and Saviour, High Priest and King. The King and the Priest were both inducted into office by this anointing from GOD.
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
press 1957.
Oil
liquid fat, but chiefly vegetable, was far more extensively used among the ancient Hebrews for a variety of purposes than in Occidental and Northern climates. In the following account we follow largely the ancient information with modern illustrations. SEE BUTTER; SEE FAT; SEE GREASE.
I. Name. The following are the words so rendered in the A. V.:
1. Usually שֶׁמֶן, she'men, prop. pressed juice (Sept. ἔλαιον; Vulg. oleum), from . שָׁמִן, to become fat (Gesen. Thes. p. 1437); sometimes joined with זִיַת(ἔλαιον ἐξ ἐλαιῶν, oleum de. olivetis), distinguishing olive-juice from oil produced from other sources. Also sometimes in A. V. ointment (Celsius, Hierob. 2:279).
2. Yitshar, יַצְהָר(πιότης, ἔλαιον, oleum), from צָהִר, to shine (Gesenius, p. 1152), clear olive-oil (Num_18:12; Deu_7:13; Deu_11:14; Deu_12:17; Deu_14:23; Deu_18:4; Deu_28:51; 2Ki_18:32; 2Ch_31:5; Neh_5:11; Neh_10:37; Neh_10:39; Neh_13:5; Neh_13:12; Jer_31:12; Hos_2:8; Hos_2:22; Joe_1:10; Joe_2:19; Joe_2:24; Hag_1:11; Zec_4:14).
3. Chald. מְשִׁח, meshach' (ἔλαιον, oleumn), an unguent (only in Ezr_6:9; Ezr_7:22).
II. Manufacture. Of the different substances, animal and vegetable, which were known to the ancients as yielding oil, the olive-berry is the one of which most frequent mention is made in the Scriptures. The numerois olive-plantations in Palestine made olive-oil one of the chief and one of the most lucrative products of the country: it supplied an article of extensive and profitable traffic with the Tyrians (Eze_27:17; comp. 1Ki_5:11); and presents of the finer sorts of olive-oil were deemed suitable for kings. There is, in fact, no other kind of oil distinctly mentioned in Scripture; and the best, middling, and inferior oils appear to have been merely different qualities of olive-oil. It is well known that both the quality and the value of olive-oil differ according to the time of gathering the fruit, and the amount of pressure used in the course of preparation. These processes, which do not essentially differ from the modern, are described minutely by the Roman writers on agriculture, and with their descriptions the few notices occurring both in Scripture and the Rabbinical writings which throw light on the ancient Oriental method nearly correspond. Of these descriptions the following may be taken as an abstract: The best oil is made from fruit gathered about November or December, when it has begun to change color, but before it has become black. The berry in the more advanced state yields more oil, but of inferior quality. Oil was also made from unripe fruit by a special process as early as September or October, while the harder sorts of fruit were sometimes delayed till February or March (Virg. Georg. 2:519; Palladius, R. R. 12:4; Columella, R. R. 12:47, 50; Cato, R. R. p. 65; Pliny, N. H. 15:1-8; Varro, R. R. 1:55; Hor. 2 Sat. 2:46). SEE OLIVE.
Of the substances which yield oil, besides the olivetree, myrrh is the only one specially mentioned in Scripture. Oil of myrrh is the juice which exudes from the tree Balsamodendron Myrrha, but olive-oil was an ingredient in many compounds which passed under the general name of oil (Est_2:12; comp. Celsius, u. s. 3:10, 18, 19; Pliny, 12:26; 13:1, 2; 15:7; Wilkinson, Anc. Eg. 2:23; Balfour, Plants of Bible, p. 52). SEE MYRRH.
1. Harvesting the Oil-crop. Great care is necessary in gathering the olive not to injure either the fruit itself or the boughs of the tree, and with this view it was either gathered by hand or shaken off carefully with a light reed or stick. The boughing of Deu_24:20 (פָּאִר) probably corresponds to the shaking (נֹקֶ) of Isa_17:6; Isa_24:13, i.e. a subsequent beating for the use of the poor (see Mishna, Shebiith, 4:2; Peah, 7:2: 8:3). After gathering and careful cleansing, the fruit was either carried at once to the press, which is recommended as the best course, or, if necessary, laid on tables with hollow trays made sloping, so as to allow the first juice (amurca) to flow into other receptacles beneath, care being taken not to heap the fruit too much, and so prevent the free escape of the juice, which is injurious to the oil, though itself useful in other ways (Colum. u.s. 12:50; Aug. Civ. Dei, 1:8, 2). If while the berries were yet green, instead of being thrown into the press, they were only beaten or squeezed, they yielded the best kind of oil. It was called ophacinum, or the oil of unripe olives.
2. Pressing. In order, however, to make oil in general, the fruit was either bruised in a mortar, crushed in a press loaded with wood or stones, ground in a mill, or trodden with the feet. Special buildings used for grapepressing were used also for the purpose of olive-pressing, and contained both the press and the receptacle for the pressed juice. Of these processes, the one least expedient was the last (treading), which perhaps answers to the canalis et solea mentioned by Columella, and was probably the one usually adopted by the poor. The beaten oil of Exo_27:20; Lev_24:2; Exo_29:40, and Num_28:5, was probably made by bruising in a mortar. There were presses of a peculiar kind for preparing oil called גת שׁמן, gath-shemen (whence the name Gethsemane, or oil-press, Mat_26:36 : Joh_18:1), in which the oil was trodden out by the feet (Mic_6:15). SEE GETHSEMANE.
The first expression of the oil was better than the second, and the second than the third. Ripe olives yielded the least valuable kind of oil, but the quantity was more abundant. These processes, and also the place and the machine for pressing, are mentioned in the Mishna. Oilmills are often made of stone, and turned by hand. Others consist of cylinders enclosing a beam, which is turned by a camel or other animal. An Egyptian olivepress is described by Niebuhr, in which the pressure exerted on the fruit is given by means of weights of wood and stone placed in a sort of box above. Besides the above-cited Scripture references, the following passages mention either the places, the processes, or the machines used in olive-pressing (Joe_2:24; Joe_3:13; Isa_63:3; Lam_1:15; Hag_2:16; comp. the Talmud, Menach. 8:4; Shebuth, 4:9; 7:6; Terum. 10:7; Shabb. 1:9; Baba Bathra, 4:5; Vitruvius, 10:1; Cato. R. R. p. 3; Celsius, Hierob. 2:346, 350; Niebuhr, Voy. 1:122, pl. 17; Arundell, Asia Minor, 2:196; Wellsted, Trav. 2:430). SEE OIL-PRESS.
3. Keeping. Both olives and oil were preserved in jars carefully cleansed; and oil was drawn out for use in horns or other small vessels. SEE CRUSE. These vessels for keeping oil were stored in cellars or storehouses; special mention of such repositories is made in the inventories of royal property and revenue (1Sa_10:1; 1Sa_16:1; 1Sa_16:13; 1Ki_1:39; 1Ki_17:16; 2Ki_4:2; 2Ki_4:6; 2Ki_9:1; 2Ki_9:3; 1Ch_27:28; 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles 11:11 32:28; Pro_21:20; comp. Shebiith, v. 7; Celim, 2:5; 17:12; Colum. 1. c.). A supply of oil was always kept at hand in the Temple (see Josephus, War, v. 13, 6), and an oil treasury was among the stores of the Jewish kings (2Ki_20:13; comp. 2Ch_32:28).
Oil of Tekoa was reckoned the best (Menach. 8:8). Trade in oil was carried on with the Tyrians, by whom it was probably often re-exported to Egypt, whose olives do not for the most part produce good oil. Oil to the amount of 20,000 baths (2Ch_2:10; Joseph. Ant. 8:2, 9), or 20 measures (cors, 1. Kings 5:11), was among the supplies furnished by Solomon to Hiram. Direct trade in oil was carried on between Egypt and Palestine (1Ki_5:11; 2Ch_2:10; 2Ch_2:15; Ezr_3:7; Isa_30:6; Isa_57:9; Eze_27:17; Hos_12:1; comp. Jerome, Com. in Osee, iii,.12; Joseph. Ant. 8:2, 9, War, 2:21, 2; Strabo, 17, p. 809; Pliny, 15:4, 13; Wilkinson, Anc. Eg. 2:28, sm. ed.; Hasselquist, Trav. p. 53, 117). SEE COMMERCE.
III. Use. Besides the consumption of olives themselves as food, common to all olive-producing countries (Horace, 1 Od. 31:15; Martial, 13:36; Arvieux, Trav. p. 209; Terumoth, 1:9, 2:6), the principal uses of olive-oil may be thus stated:
1. As food. The use of oil is general throughout Western Asia at the present time, as it was in primitive ages. Oil was much used instead of butter and animal fat at meals and in various preparations of food (comp. Eze_16:13). SEE FOOD.
In such uses oil, when fresh and sweet, is more agreeable than animal fat. The Orientals think so, and Europeans soon acquire the same preference. The Hebrews must have reckoned oil one of the prime necessities of life (Sir_39:31; comp. Jer_31:12; Jer_41:8; Luk_16:6 sq.). It is often mentioned in connection with honey (Eze_16:13; Eze_16:19; Eze_27:17), and its abundance was a chief mark of prosperity (comp. Joe_2:19). Dried wheat, boiled with either butter or oil, but more commonly the former, is a common dish for all classes in Syria. Hasselquist speaks of bread, baked in oil as being particularly sustaining; and Faber, in his Pilgrimage, mentions eggs fried in oil as Saracen and Arabian dishes (comp. Jerome, Vit. S. Hilarion, ch. 11, vol. ii, p. 32; Ibn-Batuta, Trav. p. 60, ed. Lee; Volney, Trav. 1:362, 406; Russell, A leppo, 1:80, 119; Harmer, Obs. 1:471, 474; Shaw, Trav. p. 232; Bertrandon de la Brocquiere, Early Trav. p. 332; Burckhardt, Trav. in A rab. 1:54; Notes on Bed. 1:59; Arvieux. 50:c.; Chardin, Voy. 4:84; Niebuhr, Voy. 2:302; Hasselquist, Trav. p. 132; Faber, Evagatorium, i' 197; 2:752, 415).
It was probably on account of the common use of oil in food that the meat-offerings prescribed by the Law were so frequently mixed with oil (Lev_2:4; Lev_2:7; Lev_2:15; Lev_8:26; Lev_8:31; Num_7:19 sq.; Deu_12:17; Deu_32:13; 1Ki_17:12; 1Ki_17:15; 1Ch_12:40; Ezra 16:19). This was certainly not for the purpose of aiding the burning of the sacrifice; nor is it likely that any symbolic idea was connected with the oil. SEE SACRIFICE. The rite of sprinkling with oil, as a libation, does not occur in the Law, but seems to be alluded to in Mic_6:7. SEE OFFERING.
2. Cosmetic. As is the case generally in hot climates, oil was used by the Jews for anointing the body, e.g. after the bath, and giving to the skin and hair a smooth and comely appearance, e.g. before an entertainment. Whether for luxury or ceremony, the head and beard were the parts usually anointed (Deu_28:40; 2Sa_14:2; Psa_23:5; Psa_92:11; Psa_104:15; Luk_7:46); and this use of oil, which was especially frequent at banquets, became at length proverbially common among the Israelites (Pro_21:17; comp. Catull. 6:8; Curt. 9:7, 20). To be deprived of the use of oil was thus a serious privation, assumed voluntarily in the time of mourning or of calamity (Rth_3:3; 2Sa_12:20; Dan_10:3; Isa_61:3; Amo_6:6; Sus. 17). At Egyptian entertainments it was usual for a servant to anoint the head of each guest as he took his seat. Strabo mentions the Egyptian use of castor-oil for this purpose (18:824). The Greek and Roman usage will be found mentioned in the following passages: Homer, II. 10:577; 18:596; 23:281; Od. 7:107; 6:96; 10:364; Horace, 3 Od. 13:6; 1 Sat. 6:123; 2 Sat. 1:8; Pliny, 14:22; Aristoph. Wasps, 608; Clouds, 816; Roberts, pl. 164. Butter, as is noticed by Pliny, is used by the negroes and the lower class of Arabs for the like purposes (Pliny, 11:41; Burckhardt; Trav. 1:53; Nubia, p. 215; Lightfoot,. Hor. Hebr. 2:375; see Deu_33:24; Job_29:6; Psa_109:18). SEE OINTMENT.
The use of oil preparatory to athletic exercises customary among the Greeks and Romans can scarcely have had place to any extent among the Jews, who in their earlier times had no such contests, though some are mentioned by Josephus with censure as taking place at Jerusalem and Caesarea under Herod (Horace, 1 Od. 8:8; Pliny. 15:4; Athenaeus, 15:34, p. 686; Horner, Od. 6:79. 215; Joseph. Ant. 15:8, 1; 16:5, 1; see Smith, Diet. of Antig. s.v. Aliptae). SEE GAME.
3. Funereal. The bodies of the dead were anointed with oil by the Greeks and Romans, probably as a partial antiseptic, and a similar custom appears to have prevailed among the Jews (Homer, II. 24:587; Virgil, En. 6:219). SEE BURIAL.
4. Medicinal. As oil is in use in many cases in modern medicine, so it is not surprising that it should have been much used among the Jews and other nations of antiquity for medicinal purposes. Celsus repeatedly speaks of the use of oil, especially old oil, applied externally with friction in fevers, and in many other cases. Pliny says that olive-oil is good to warm the body and fortify it against cold, and also to cool heat in the head, and for various other purposes. It was thus used previously to taking cold baths, and also mixed with water for bathing the body. Josephus mentions that among the remedies employed in the case of Herod, he was put into a sort of oil-bath. Oil mixed with wine is also mentioned as a remedy used both inwardly and outwardly in the disease with which the soldiers of the army of AElius Gallus were affected, a circumstance which recalls the use of a similar remedy in the parable of the good Samaritan. The prophet Isaiah alludes to the use of oil as ointment in medical treatment; and it thus furnished a fitting symbol, perhaps also an efficient remedy, when used by our Lord's disciples in the miraculous cures which they were enabled to perform. With a similar intention, no doubt, its use was enjoined by St. James, and, as it appears, practiced by the early Christian Church in general. Nothing is said in the Bible of the internal use of oil mingled with wine (comp. e.g. Dio Cass. 53:29). An instance of cure through the medium of oil is mentioned by Tertullian. The medicinal use of oil is also mentioned in the Mishna, which thus exhibits the Jewish practice of that day. See, for the various instances above named, Isa_1:6; Mar_6:13; Luk_10:34; Jam_5:14; Josephus, Ant. 17:6, 5; War, 1:33, 5; Talm. Shabb. 13:4; Otho, Lex. Rabb. p. 11, 526; Mosheim, Eccl. Hist. 4:9; Corn. a Lap. on James 5; Tertull. Ad Scap. c. iv; Celsus, De Med. 2:14, 17; 3:6, 9, 19, 22; 4:2; Horace, 2 Sat. 1:7; Pliny, 15:4, 7; 23:3, 4; Dio Cass. 53:29; Lightfoot, I. H. 2:304, 444; Jerome, 1. c. SEE UNCTION.
5. For light. The oil for the light was expressly ordered to be olive-oil, beaten, i.e.made from olives bruised in a mortar (Exo_25:6; Exo_27:20-21; Exo_35:8; Lev_24:2; 2Ch_13:11; 1Sa_3:3; Zec_4:3; Zec_4:12; Mishna, Demai, 1:3; Menach. 8:4). The quantity required for the longest night is said to have been .5 log (13.79 cubic in. = .4166 of a pint [Menach. 9:3; Otho, Lex. Rabb. p. 159]). SEE CANDLESTICK. In the same manner the great lamps used at the Feast of Tabernacles were fed (Succth, v. 2). Oil was used in general for lamps; it is used in Egypt with cotton wicks twisted round a piece of straw; the receptacle being a glass vessel, into which. water is first poured (Mat_25:1-8; Luk_12:35; comp. Lane, Modern Egyptians, 1:201).
6. Ritual.
a. Oil was poured on or mixed with the flour or meal used in offerings.
1. The consecration offering of priests (Exo_29:2; Exo_29:23; Lev_6:15; Lev_6:21).
2. The offering of beaten oil with flour, which accompanied the daily sacrifice (Exo_29:40).
3. The leper's purification offering (Lev_14:10-57; Lev_14:24; Lev_14:28), where it is to be observed that the quantity of oil (1 log =.833 of a pint) was invariable, while the other objects varied in quantity according to the means of the person offering. The cleansed leper was also to be touched with oil on various parts of his body (Lev_14:15-18).
4. The Nazarite, on completion of his vow, was to offer unleavened bread anointed with oil, and cakes of fine bread mingled with oil (Num_6:15).
5. After the erection of the Tabernacle, the offerings of the princes included flour mingled with oil (Numbers 7).
6. At the consecration of the Levites, fine flour mingled with oil was offered (Num_8:8).
7. Meat-offerings in general were mingled or anointed with oil (Lev_7:10; Lev_7:12).
On the other hand, certain offerings were to be devoid of oil: the sin- offering (Lev_5:11) and the offering of jealousy (Num_5:15). The principle on which both the presence and the absence of oil were prescribed is, clearly, that as oil is indicative of gladness, so its absence denoted sorrow or humiliation (Isa_61:3; Joe_2:19; Rev_6:6). It is on this principle that oil is so often used in Scripture as symbolical of nourishment and comfort (Deu_32:13; Deu_33:24; Job_29:6; Psa_45:7; Psa_109:18; Isa_61:3).
b. Kings, priests, and prophets were anointed with oil or ointment. SEE ANOINT.
7. As so important a necessary of life, the Jew was required
a to include oil among his first-fruit offerings (Eze_22:29; Eze_23:16; Num_18:12; Deu_18:4; 2Ch_31:5; Terum. 11:3). In the Mishna various limitations are laid down; but they are of little importance except as illustrating the processes to which the olive-berry was subjected in the production of oil, and the degrees of estimation in which their results were held.
b. Tithes of oil were also required (Deu_12:17; 2Ch_31:5; Neh_10:37; Neh_10:39; Neh_13:12; Eze_45:14).
8. Shields, if covered with hide, were anointed with oil or grease previous to use. Shields of metal were perhaps rubbed over in like manner to polish them. See Thenius on 2Sa_1:21; Virgil, AEn. 7:625; Plautus, Mil. 1:1, 2; and Gesenius, Thes. p. 825. SEE SHIELD.
9. Oil of inferior quality was used in the composition of soap.
OIL, which is the purest lighting material obtained from the innocent vegetable kingdom, has ever been a sacred symbol, possessing healing properties and ameliorating all suffering from wounds. Oil represents in Christian symbolism the divine mercy. There seems however, to have entered also into its use in the Christian cultus the ancient practice of the pagan gladiators, who anointed themselves with oil before entering upon a contest. Thus oil came to be used for anointings at baptism and confirmation, and on the death-bed (the last anointing), at ordination of priests, and the consecration of kings. SEE ANOINT.
The double sense of the performance was probably that it secures to the subject, first, a share of divine mercy, and, secondly, a strengthening for life's severe combats. In the Romish Church there are three kinds of holy oils: (1) holy oils strictly so called; (2) chrism oil; and (3) sick men's oil. These oils are consecrated by the bishop on Maundy-Thursday annually for all the churches of his diocese. Pure olive-oil only is used, with balsam ( balm) for the chrism. Three metal vases are usually provided and covered with silk, on one of which are engraved the words Oleum, Infirmourum (=oil of the infirm) or the initials O .I.; on another, Oleum Catechumenorum (=oil of the catechumens) or O. C.; on the third, which is larger than the others, and is covered with white silk, Sanctum Chrisma (-holy chrism) or S.C. Some balsam is mixed with a little of the oil from the third vase, and this compound the bishop puts into the vase and stirs up with the rest of the oil there. The ceremony, which consists of exorcisms, prayers, chantings, making the sign of the cross with the hand and with the breath, etc., occupies sixteen pages of the Pontificale Romanum, and eight or ten in the Ceremonial of the Church. The old oils, consecrated the year before, if any have remained in the vases, are put in the church-lamps before the holy: sacrament, to be burned; and those which remain in pyxes and boxes are burned with the old silk. Every priest must obtain from the bishop a supply of these consecrated oils for his church. The oil of the infirm is used in extreme unction; the oil of catechumens in baptism; the holy chrism in baptism, confirmation, etc. SEE HOLY OIL; SEE PYX. The ceremony of oil consecration as recently witnessed in a Romish church in New York City is thus narrated in the New York Tribune:
In the sacristy three large jars were filled with the purest oil and set apart, carefully covered with veils. When the archbishop descended from the altar, and took his seat at the table, the archdeacon cried aloud, Oleum Informorum.' Then one of the seven acting as subdeacons went, with two acolytes, to the sacristy, and returned with the Oil for the Sick, which he delivered to the archdeacon, saying Oleum Informorum.' The archdeacon, repeating the same words, presented it to the archbishop, who, rising up, first solemnly exorcised the oil, and then blessed it in the solemn words of the Church. The oil was then removed to the sacristy and carefully guarded. The archbishop, after washing his hands, reascended the altar and continued the mass as usual, until that part of it known as the Ablutions, when he again descended to the table to consecrate the remaining oils. A procession of all the clergymen, acting as deacons and subdeacons, was formed and proceeded to the sacristy. They returned in the same manner, bearing the oils and chanting the verses of the hymn O Redemptor.' Much the same ceremony as already described was then gone through. The archbishop breathed over the oil, in the form of a cross, and all the priests taking part in the consecration did the same. On his knees he saluted the chrism with the words Ave Sanctum Chrisma, pronounced three times with increasing emphasis. The priests did the same, and the consecration of the Oil of the Catechumens followed in the same manner.
The Church of Constantinople has likewise three different kinds of oil: (1) the oil of catechumens, which is simply blessed by the priest in the baptismal office; (2) the εὐχέλαιον, or prayer-oil, for the visitation of the sick, blessed in the sick man's house by seven priests; (3) the ἃγιον μύρον, solemnly consecrated by the bishop on Thursday in Holy Week. Of these two latter kinds there is enough said in the article CHRISM SEE CHRISM ; on the first, SEE CATECHUMENS. The Greeks have besides two other kinds of holy oil:
(1) that which is used for the lamps before the images of saints, and which is blessed by the priest in the office of benediction of the loaves. It was the custom that in certain festivals the brethren in monasteries should be anointed with this oil; and it was in some instances mixed with the water blessed on the Epiphany, and used for sprinkling olive-yards or vineyards, for the purpose of freeing them from blight.
(2) Oil of the holy cross, which appears, for the matter is doubtful, to have been originally taken from the lamps which burned in the Church of the Resurrection at Jerusalem before the true cross, and afterwards to have been consecrated by the immersion in it of a piece of the same cross. See Barnum, Romanisnm, p. 473 sq.; Neale, Hist. Eastern Church, Introd. p. 966; Siegel, Christl. Alterthumer, 4:125; Menzel, Symbolik, 2:166 sq.; Burnet, The Thirty-nine Articles, p. 353, 378, 379, 381, 382, 384; Coleman, Ancient Christianity, p. 369, 371,432. .
CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.
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