Anointing: Consecration

In the Bible, people and objects are anointed with a special anointing oil. This makes it clear that people or objects are especially dedicated to God’s service. The words “Messiah” and “Christ” are derived from this ritual of anointing.

Priests are destined for their vocation from birth, but anointing confirms them in their role. This happens to Aaron, for instance: to confirm his role, his head is anointed.

Prophets and kings of Israel are anointed to confirm them in their role. The prophet Elijah anoints his successor Elisha, and when God instructs Samuel to appoint a king for Israel, he sets off to anoint Saul as king, with oil. Later he also anoints David.

There are rules in Exodus for the anointing of many different objects, to make them holy for use in service of God. This includes (Exodus 30:22-29):

The term “Messiah” stems from the anointing ritual. This term is derived from the Hebrew word mashiah, which means “anointed one”. This word is christos in Greek and christus in Latin. The “Messiah” is God’s representative who brings salvation and who has priestly, prophetic and royal characteristics.

In the New Testament, Jesus is called the Anointed One. In early Christianity, the role of “Christ” slowly becomes a proper name specifically for Jesus.