mashach · anoint

What it means

mashach (מָשַׁח) is a Hebrew word of the Bible that means “anoint”.

Pour oil on someone or something to set them apart for God; also smear.

How to say it

Approximate pronunciation. Vowels sound as in Spanish (a as in father, e as in bed, i as in machine, o as in note, u as in rule); the syllable in bold is stressed. The voice is your device's.

Its senses in the Bible

1. To pour oil on someone to set them apart for God.
2. To cover something with a coat of oil or color; to smear or paint.

From Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906)

Word study

To anoint: to pour or smear oil on a person or a thing. On persons, it sets them apart for a task (priest, king, prophet); on objects, it consecrates them. From this verb comes מָשִׁיחַ (anointed). In cooking, to smear with oil.

• Anointing the priests and the dwelling Exodus 30:30Exodus 40:9
• Anointing a king 1 Samuel 10:11 Samuel 16:131 Kings 1:39
• Anointing a prophet 1 Kings 19:16
• “YHWH has anointed me” for a mission Isaiah 61:1Psalms 45:7
• Wafers smeared with oil Leviticus 2:4

Historical and cultural background

Samuel anointed Saul with “the flask of oil” (1 Samuel 10:1) and David with “the horn of oil”, and “the spirit of YHWH came mightily upon David from that day onward” (1 Samuel 16:13).

How we translate it

“Anointed” 41 times and “anoint” 22 in everything to do with consecrating; “smeared” 4 for the wafers of the grain offering, where there is no consecration (Leviticus 2:4). מָשִׁיחַ is translated “anointed”, so that it can be seen that it comes from this verb.

How it is translated

The words this translation uses for it, most frequent first.

• anointed ×41
• anoint ×22
• smeared ×4
• are anointing ×1
• painted ×1

Related words

Words of the same family, by Strong’s numbering.

Where it appears

• Genesis×1
• Exodus×12
• Leviticus×8
• Numbers×8
• Judges×2
• 1 Samuel×7
• 2 Samuel×7
• 1 Kings×7
• 2 Kings×5
• 1 Chronicles×3
• 2 Chronicles×2
• Psalms×2
• Isaiah×2
• Jeremiah×1
• Daniel×1
• Amos×1

• Genesis 31:13

  I am El of Bethel, where you anointed a standing stone, where you made to me a vow. Now get up, leave this land and return to the land of your kindred.’”

• Exodus 28:41

  You shall clothe with them Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, and anoint them and ordain them and consecrate them, that they may serve as priests for me.

• Exodus 29:2

  and unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil; of fine wheat flour you shall make them.

• Exodus 29:7

  Then you shall take the oil of anointing and pour it on his head and anoint him.

• Exodus 29:36

  A bull for a sin offering you shall offer each day for expiation; and you shall purify the altar when you make expiation for it, and anoint it to consecrate it.

• Exodus 30:26

  With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony,

• Exodus 30:30

  Aaron and his sons you shall anoint and consecrate them to serve as priests for me.

• Exodus 40:9

  And you shall take the anointing oil and anoint the dwelling and all that is in it, and consecrate it and all its utensils; and it shall be holy.

• Exodus 40:10

  And you shall anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils, and consecrate the altar, and the altar shall be most holy.

• Exodus 40:11

  And you shall anoint the basin and its stand, and consecrate it.

• Exodus 40:13

  And you shall clothe Aaron with the holy garments, and anoint him and consecrate him, so that he may serve as priest to me.

• Exodus 40:15

  And you shall anoint them as you anointed their father, so that they may serve as priests to me; and their anointing shall be for them for an eternal priesthood throughout their generations.”

• Leviticus 2:4

  When you present a grain offering baked in an oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers smeared with oil.

• Leviticus 6:20

  “This is the offering of Aaron and his sons that they shall present to YHWH on the day he is anointed: a tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a continual grain offering, half of it in the morning and half of it in the evening.

• Leviticus 7:12

  If he presents it for thanksgiving, then he shall present, with the sacrifice of thanksgiving, unleavened cakes mixed with oil, and unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and fine flour well mixed, cakes mixed with oil.

• Leviticus 7:36

  which YHWH commanded to be given to them on the day he anointed them, from the sons of Israel; it is a statute forever throughout their generations.”

• Leviticus 8:10

  Moses took the oil of anointing and anointed the dwelling and all that was in it, and consecrated them.

• Leviticus 8:11

  He sprinkled some of it on the altar seven times, and anointed the altar and all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, to consecrate them.

• Leviticus 8:12

  He poured some of the oil of anointing on the head of Aaron and anointed him to consecrate him.

• Leviticus 16:32

  And the priest who is anointed and ordained to serve as priest in place of his father shall make expiation; he shall put on the linen garments, the holy garments.

• Numbers 3:3

  These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the anointed priests, whom he ordained to serve as priests.

• Numbers 6:15

  and a basket of unleavened bread, cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, and wafers of unleavened bread smeared with oil, and their grain offering and their libations.

• Numbers 7:1

  On the day Moses finished setting up the dwelling, he anointed it and consecrated it and all its utensils, and the altar and all its utensils; he anointed them and consecrated them.

• Numbers 7:10

  And the chiefs presented the dedication offering for the altar on the day it was anointed; and the chiefs presented their offering before the altar.

• Numbers 7:84

  This was the dedication offering for the altar on the day it was anointed, from the chiefs of Israel: twelve silver plates, twelve silver basins, twelve gold spoons;

• Numbers 7:88

  and all the cattle for the sacrifice of peace, twenty-four bulls, sixty rams, sixty male goats, sixty male lambs a year old. This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was anointed.

• Numbers 35:25

  And the community shall deliver the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the community shall return him to his city of refuge to which he had fled; and he shall dwell in it until the death of the high priest, who was anointed with the holy oil.

• Judges 9:8

  The trees went out to anoint over themselves a king, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’

• Judges 9:15

  The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If in truth you are anointing me as king over you, come, take refuge in my shade; but if not, let fire come out from the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon.’

• 1 Samuel 9:16

  “About this time tomorrow I will send to you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you shall anoint him as leader over my people Israel; and he will save my people from the hand of the Philistines, for I have seen my people, for their cry has come to me.”

• 1 Samuel 10:1

  And Samuel took the flask of oil and poured it on his head and kissed him and said, “Is it not that YHWH has anointed you as leader over his inheritance?

• 1 Samuel 15:1

  Samuel said to Saul, “It was I whom YHWH sent to anoint you as king over his people, over Israel; and now listen to the voice of the words of YHWH.

• 1 Samuel 15:17

  Samuel said, “Is it not so that though you were small in your own eyes, you are head of the tribes of Israel? And YHWH anointed you as king over Israel.

• 1 Samuel 16:3

  Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will make known to you what you shall do; and you shall anoint for me the one I tell you.”

• 1 Samuel 16:12

  He sent and brought him in. He was ruddy, with beautiful eyes, and good in appearance. And YHWH said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”

• 1 Samuel 16:13

  Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the spirit of YHWH came mightily upon David from that day onward. Samuel rose and went to Ramah.

• 2 Samuel 2:4

  Then the men of Judah came and anointed David there as king over the house of Judah. And they reported to David, saying, “It was the men of Jabesh-gilead who buried Saul.”

• 2 Samuel 2:7

  And now let your hands be strong and be valiant men, for your lord Saul is dead, and also the house of Judah has anointed me as king over them.”

• 2 Samuel 3:39

  And I am soft today, though anointed king, and these men, the sons of Zeruiah, are harder than I. May YHWH repay the one who does evil according to his evil!”

• 2 Samuel 5:3

  So all the elders of Israel came to the king at Hebron, and King David made a covenant with them at Hebron before YHWH; and they anointed David as king over Israel.

And 29 more times.