A liquid blend of aromatic substances, usually spices, used as a cosmetic and also as a medicinal balm. Lotions were applied to the body to refresh, to improve appearance and to give a pleasing fragrance. Balm, especially from Gilead, was used to soothe pain and to heal wounds.
Preparation of ointment
Job 41:31 One way of making ointment was to crush solid ingredients and boil them together in olive oil.
He makes the depths seethe like a cauldron; he makes the sea like a jar of ointment.
Preparation of the holy anointing oil
Exodus 35:28 See also Exodus 25:6 parallel Exodus 35:8; Exodus 30:23–25, Exodus 30:33 The holy anointing oil was to be prepared only by those authorised to do so.
as well as spices and olive oil for the light, for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense.
Ointments made from blended spices
2 Chronicles 16:14; Song of Solomon 3:6; Luke 23:56
Containers for ointment
Isaiah 3:20; Matthew 26:7 parallel Mark 14:3; Luke 7:37
Uses of ointment
As a cosmetic lotion
Ruth 3:3 See also Esther 2:12; Song of Solomon 1:12; Ezekiel 16:9Psalm 104:15 See also 2 Samuel 12:20, 2 Samuel 14:2; Ecclesiastes 9:8; Daniel 10:3; Matthew 6:17; Exodus 30:32
Therefore wash yourself, put on perfume, and wear your best clothes. Go down to the threshing floor, but do not let the man know you are there until he has finished eating and drinking.
wine that gladdens the heart of man, oil that makes his face to shine, and bread that sustains his heart.
To anoint the heads of guests
Psalm 23:5 See also Psalm 133:2 This may reflect the custom of anointing a guest with perfumed ointment which melted and ran down the face and clothes to produce a pleasing fragrance; Luke 7:46
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
To anoint the dead
Matthew 26:12 parallel Mark 14:8 See also John 12:7; Genesis 50:2–3, Genesis 50:26; Mark 16:1 parallel Luke 24:1; John 19:39–40
By pouring this perfume on Me, she has prepared My body for burial.
Expensive ointments
Matthew 26:8–9 parallel Mark 14:4–5 (Spike)nard was an expensive import from India. See also Proverbs 21:17; Song of Solomon 4:13–14; Amos 6:6 The use of expensive ointments was a mark of luxury; John 12:5
When the disciples saw this, they were indignant and asked, “Why this waste? This perfume could have been sold at a high price, and the money given to the poor.”
Ointment used in healing
Oil used to soothe and heal
Isaiah 1:6 See also Psalm 55:21; Luke 10:34
From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there is no soundness— only wounds and welts and festering sores neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil.
Medicinal balm
Jeremiah 8:22 Gilead was famous for its healing balsam. See also 2 Chronicles 28:15; Jeremiah 46:11, Jeremiah 51:8
Is there no balm in Gilead? Is no physician there? Why then has the health of the daughter of my people not been restored?
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.