Anointed

Medical anointing, not necessarily with oil, was customary for the sick and wounded (Isa.1.6; Luke.10.34). Mark.6.13 and Jas.5.14 speak of the use of anointing oil by disciples of Jesus.——SB History of the Practice Origin. Robertson Smith (Religion of the Semites, 2nd. ed., pp. 233, 383ff.) thinks that the religious rite arose from nomadic sacrificial practices. Perhaps it developed from a custom of smearing the sacrificial fat on the pillar (Maṩṩebah) as part of a communal meal (or feast with totem animal). Others feel it is an out-growth of the secular use of anointing for medicinal and cosmetic purposes. Pre-Hebraic examples. The practice of anointing is well attested in Babylonian and Egyptian customs well before Biblical times. The specific practice of anointing a king is mentioned in the 14th cent. b.c., Amarna Letter # 37. One text from [[Ras Shamra]] refers to anointing Baal (Gordon, # 76; ANET. p. 142a; Baal & Anat, Syria, XVII [1936] pp. 150-173). Hebraic custo