Exodus 28:41

28:41 “You are to clothe them – your brother Aaron and his sons with him – and anoint them ¹  and ordain them ²  and set them apart as holy, ³  so that they may minister as my priests.

Exodus 30:23-31

30:23 “Take ⁴  choice spices: ⁵  twelve and a half pounds ⁶  of free-flowing myrrh, ⁷  half that – about six and a quarter pounds – of sweet-smelling cinnamon, six and a quarter pounds of sweet-smelling cane, 30:24 and twelve and a half pounds of cassia, all weighed ⁸  according to the sanctuary shekel, and four quarts ⁹  of olive oil. 30:25 You are to make this ¹⁰  into ¹¹  a sacred anointing oil, a perfumed compound, ¹²  the work of a perfumer. It will be sacred anointing oil.

30:26 “With it you are to anoint the tent of meeting, the ark of the testimony, 30:27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, the altar of incense, 30:28 the altar for the burnt offering and all its utensils, and the laver and its base. 30:29 So you are to sanctify them, ¹³  and they will be most holy; ¹⁴  anything that touches them will be holy. ¹⁵ 

30:30 “You are to anoint Aaron and his sons and ¹⁶  sanctify them, so that they may minister as my priests. 30:31 And you are to tell the Israelites: ‘This is to be my sacred anointing oil throughout your generations.

Leviticus 8:10-12

Anointing the Tabernacle and Aaron, and Clothing Aaron’s Sons

8:10 Then Moses took the anointing oil and anointed the tabernacle and everything in it, and so consecrated them. ¹⁷  8:11 Next he sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times and so anointed the altar, all its vessels, and the wash basin and its stand to consecrate them. 8:12 He then poured some of the anointing oil on the head of Aaron and anointed him to consecrate him.

Leviticus 10:7

10:7 but you must not go out from the entrance of the Meeting Tent lest you die, for the Lord’s anointing oil is on you.” So they acted according to the word of Moses.

Leviticus 21:10

Rules for the High Priest

21:10 “‘The high ¹⁸  priest – who is greater than his brothers, on whose head the anointing oil is poured, who has been ordained ¹⁹  to wear the priestly garments – must neither dishevel the hair of his head nor tear his garments. ²⁰ 

Numbers 35:25

35:25 The community must deliver the slayer out of the hand of the avenger of blood, and the community must restore him to the town of refuge to which he fled, and he must live there ²¹  until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the consecrated oil.

Psalms 89:20

89:20 I have discovered David, my servant.

With my holy oil I have anointed him as king. ²² 

Psalms 133:2

133:2 It is like fine oil poured on the head

which flows down the beard ²³  –

Aaron’s beard,

and then flows down his garments. ²⁴ 

Isaiah 61:1

The Lord Will Rejuvenate His People

61:1 The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me,

because the Lord has chosen ²⁵  me. ²⁶ 

He has commissioned ²⁷  me to encourage ²⁸  the poor,

to help ²⁹  the brokenhearted,

to decree the release of captives,

and the freeing of prisoners,

John 3:34

3:34 For the one whom God has sent ³⁰  speaks the words of God, for he does not give the Spirit sparingly. ³¹ 

John 3:1

Conversation with Nicodemus

3:1 Now a certain man, a Pharisee ³²  named Nicodemus, who was a member of the Jewish ruling council, ³³ 

John 2:1

Turning Water into Wine

2:1 Now on the third day there was a wedding at Cana ³⁴  in Galilee. ³⁵  Jesus’ mother ³⁶  was there,

[28:41]  ¹ sn The instructions in this verse anticipate chap. 29, as well as the ordination ceremony described in Lev 8 and 9. The anointing of Aaron is specifically required in the Law, for he is to be the High Priest. The expression “ordain them” might also be translated as “install them” or “consecrate them”; it literally reads “and fill their hands,” an expression for the consecration offering for priesthood in Lev 8:33. The final instruction to sanctify them will involve the ritual of the atoning sacrifices to make the priests acceptable in the sanctuary.

[28:41]  ² tn Heb “fill their hand.” As a result of this installation ceremony they will be officially designated for the work. It seems likely that the concept derives from the notion of putting the priestly responsibilities under their control (i.e., “filling their hands” with work). See note on the phrase “ordained seven days” in Lev 8:33.

[28:41]  ³ tn Traditionally “sanctify them” (KJV, ASV).

[30:23]  ⁴ tn The construction uses the imperative “take,” but before it is the independent pronoun to add emphasis to it. After the imperative is the ethical dative (lit. “to you”) to stress the task to Moses as a personal responsibility: “and you, take to yourself.”

[30:23]  ⁵ tn Heb “spices head.” This must mean the chief spices, or perhaps the top spice, meaning fine spices or choice spices. See Song 4:14; Ezek 27:22.

[30:23]  ⁶ tn Or “500 shekels.” Verse 24 specifies that the sanctuary shekel was the unit for weighing the spices. The total of 1500 shekels for the four spices is estimated at between 77 and 100 pounds, or 17 to 22 kilograms, depending on how much a shekel weighed (C. Houtman, Exodus, 3:576).

[30:23]  ⁷ sn Myrrh is an aromatic substance that flows from the bark of certain trees in Arabia and Africa and then hardens. “The hardened globules of the gum appear also to have been ground into a powder that would have been easy to store and would have been poured from a container” (J. Durham, Exodus [WBC], 3:406).

[30:24]  ⁸ tn The words “all weighed” are added for clarity in English.

[30:24]  ⁹ tn Or “a hin.” A hin of oil is estimated at around one gallon (J. Durham, Exodus [WBC], 3:406).

[30:25]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “it.”

[30:25]  ¹¹ tn The word “oil” is an adverbial accusative, indicating the product that results from the verb (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, §52).

[30:25]  ¹² tn The somewhat rare words rendered “a perfumed compound” are both associated with a verbal root having to do with mixing spices and other ingredients to make fragrant ointments. They are used with the next phrase, “the work of a perfumer,” to describe the finished oil as a special mixture of aromatic spices and one requiring the knowledge and skills of an experienced maker.

[30:29]  ¹³ tn The verb is a Piel perfect with vav (ו) consecutive; in this verse it is summarizing or explaining what the anointing has accomplished. This is the effect of the anointing (see Exod 29:36).

[30:29]  ¹⁴ tn This is the superlative genitive again, Heb “holy of holies.”

[30:29]  ¹⁵ tn See Exod 29:37; as before, this could refer to anything or anyone touching the sanctified items.

[30:30]  ¹⁶ tn The perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive follows the imperfect of instruction; it may be equal to the instruction, but more likely shows the purpose or result of the act.

[8:10]  ¹⁷ sn The expression “and consecrated it” refers to the effect of the anointing earlier in the verse (cf. “to consecrate them/him” in vv. 11 and 12). “To consecrate” means “to make holy” or “make sacred”; i.e., put something into the category of holy/sacred as opposed to common/profane (see Lev 10:10 below). Thus, the person or thing consecrated is put into the realm of God’s holy things.

[21:10]  ¹⁸ tn The adjective “high” has been supplied in the translation for clarity, as in many English versions.

[21:10]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and he has filled his hand.” For this expression see the note on Lev 8:33.

[21:10]  ²⁰ tn Regarding these signs of mourning see the note on Lev 10:6. His head had been anointed (v. 10a) so it must not be unkempt (v. 10b), and his garments were special priestly garments (v. 10a) so he must not tear them (v. 10b). In the translation “garments” has been employed rather than “clothes” to suggest that the special priestly garments are referred to here; cf. NRSV “nor tear his vestments.”

[35:25]  ²¹ tn Heb “in it.”

[89:20]  ²² tn The words “as king” are supplied in the translation for clarification, indicating that a royal anointing is in view.

[133:2]  ²³ tn Heb “[it is] like the good oil on the head, going down on the beard.”

[133:2]  ²⁴ tn Heb “which goes down in accordance with his measured things.” The Hebrew phrase מִדּוֹתָיו (middotayv, “his measured things”) refers here to the robes worn by Aaron. HALOT 546 s.v. *מַד derives the form from מַד (midah, “robe”) rather than מִדָּה (middah, “measured thing”). Ugaritic md means “robe” and is pluralized mdt.

[61:1]  ²⁵ tn Heb “anointed,” i.e., designated to carry out an assigned task.

[61:1]  ²⁶ sn The speaker is not identified, but he is distinct from the Lord and from Zion’s suffering people. He possesses the divine spirit, is God’s spokesman, and is sent to release prisoners from bondage. The evidence suggests he is the Lord’s special servant, described earlier in the servant songs (see 42:1-4, 7; 49:2, 9; 50:4; see also 51:16).

[61:1]  ²⁷ tn Or “sent” (NAB); NCV “has appointed me.”

[61:1]  ²⁸ tn Or “proclaim good news to.”

[61:1]  ²⁹ tn Heb “to bind up [the wounds of].”

[3:34]  ³⁰ tn That is, Christ.

[3:34]  ³¹ tn Grk “for not by measure does he give the Spirit” (an idiom). Leviticus Rabbah 15:2 states: “The Holy Spirit rested on the prophets by measure.” Jesus is contrasted to this. The Spirit rests upon him without measure.

[3:1]  ³² sn See the note on Pharisees in 1:24.

[3:1]  ³³ tn Grk “a ruler of the Jews” (denoting a member of the Sanhedrin, the highest legal, legislative, and judicial body among the Jews).

[2:1]  ³⁴ map For location see Map1 C3; Map2 D2; Map3 C5.

[2:1]  ³⁵ sn Cana in Galilee was not a very well-known place. It is mentioned only here, in 4:46, and 21:2, and nowhere else in the NT. Josephus (Life 16 [86]) says he once had his quarters there. The probable location is present day Khirbet Cana, 8 mi (14 km) north of Nazareth, or Khirbet Kenna, 4 mi (7 km) northeast of Nazareth.

[2:1]  ³⁶ tn Grk “in Galilee, and Jesus’ mother.”