''Shemen'' () is the most commonly used word for ''oil'' in the

Hebrew scripture The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''

Aaron According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...

and his sons, unleavened

challah Challah (, he, חַלָּה or ; plural: or ) is a special bread of Ashkenazi Jewish origin, usually braided and typically eaten on ceremonial occasions such as Shabbat and major Jewish holidays (other than Passover). Ritually acceptable ch ...

() made with oil, translated as 'cakes', and wafers () spread with oil are among the required offerings. The cakes, wafers and bread offering () made of the best quality of

wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeological ...

are placed in a basket. After Aaron and his sons are anointed with oil and blood, the ram's

tail fat Tail fat is the fat of some breeds of sheep, especially of fat-tailed sheep. It is fat accumulated in baggy deposits in the hind parts of a sheep on both sides of its tail and on the first 3–5 vertebrae of the tail. The weight of this part of a ...

kidneys The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

and other parts are burned as an offering, along with one oil cake, one wafer, and a piece of the unleavened bread. Then the remaining ram flesh is boiled for Aaron and his sons to eat along with the remainder of the bread and cakes. In the it is mentioned as in the description of the "good land": "A land of wheat and barley and the vine and figs and pomegranates, a land of olives for oil, and (date) honey". Based on this verse and additional descriptions given in , , and ,

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: ...

appears to have been plentiful. Excavations at Tel Miqne-Ekron that reveal over a hundred oil presses the region seems to have been central to a major olive oil industry. describes the wealth of the lands of

Asher Asher ( he, אָשֵׁר ''’Āšēr''), in the Book of Genesis, was the last of the two sons of Jacob and Zilpah (Jacob's eighth son) and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Asher. Name The text of the Torah states that the name of ''Asher' ...

: "From Asher shall come fat bread

ich foods Ich may refer to: * Ich, a German pronoun meaning ''I'', also a Middle English form of ''I'' * The ego, one of the psychic apparatus defined in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche * ''Ich'' (album), an album by German rapper Sido * ...

and he will provide delicacies of a king". The relationship between ''fat'' ( he, שמנה, ) and ''oil'' ( he, שהנ, ) has been discussed by Ibn Ezra. The blessings of Asher's exceptionally fertile lands is given by

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

in : "May he dip his foot in oil". Describing the hardships of the in the wilderness, in the Israelites have only

manna Manna ( he, מָן, mān, ; ar, اَلْمَنُّ; sometimes or archaically spelled mana) is, according to the Bible, an edible substance which God provided for the Israelites during their travels in the desert during the 40-year period follo ...

to eat, which they prepare into flat cakes called () that according to the passage tasted like (). Translated as ''rich cream'' by the JPS, the certain meaning is not known. Aside from , this verse is the only known use of . It was translated into Greek as ''cake with oil'' (), having also been used for the Hebrew in place of ''wafers'' in (where the taste is described "like a cake made with honey").

Ritual uses

In two unblemished rams are brought before Aaron and his sons for their ordination as priests. One is sacrificed as a burnt offering, while the second is slaughtered and some of the blood mixed with anointing oil and sprinkled on the priestly vestments. It was also used to anoint kings. It is used for anointing oil in conjunction with

Bethel Bethel ( he, בֵּית אֵל, translit=Bēṯ 'Ēl, "House of El" or "House of God",Bleeker and Widegren, 1988, p. 257. also transliterated ''Beth El'', ''Beth-El'', ''Beit El''; el, Βαιθήλ; la, Bethel) was an ancient Israelite sanct ...

and other sites that were "anointed" in the narrative of

Jacob's Ladder Jacob's Ladder ( he, סֻלָּם יַעֲקֹב ) is a ladder leading to heaven that was featured in a dream the biblical Patriarch Jacob had during his flight from his brother Esau in the Book of Genesis (chapter 28). The significance of t ...

and subsequent second visit to

(). It is one of the offerings God demands of the Israelites for the Tabernacle in in the context of spices to be used to make anointing oil and incense, as well as for use in lamps. It is also used in the context of offerings in : "Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, With ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first born for my transgression, The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" discusses Israel's obligations to provide the daily oil for the lamps at the Tabernacle, and the weekly bread for the priests. There are various additional rules on the use of oil for lighting in different contexts such as searching for

chametz ''Chametz'' (also ''chometz'', ', ''ḥameṣ'', ''ḥameç'' and other spellings transliterated from he, חָמֵץ / חמץ; ) are foods with leavening agents that are forbidden on the Jewish holiday of Passover. According to halakha, Jews ...

during

Pesach Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or ...

. Sometimes the

shamash Utu (dUD "Sun"), also known under the Akkadian name Shamash, ''šmš'', syc, ܫܡܫܐ ''šemša'', he, שֶׁמֶשׁ ''šemeš'', ar, شمس ''šams'', Ashurian Aramaic: 𐣴𐣬𐣴 ''š'meš(ā)'' was the ancient Mesopotamian sun god. ...

candle is made of wax, while olive oil is used for the other candles.

Trade

According to oil is exchanged with Tyre: "Judah, and the land of Israel, they were thy merchants: they traded in thy market wheat of Minnith, and Pannag, and honey, and oil, and balm." discusses the context of relations between

Ephraim Ephraim (; he, ''ʾEp̄rayīm'', in pausa: ''ʾEp̄rāyīm'') was, according to the Book of Genesis, the second son of Joseph ben Jacob and Asenath. Asenath was an Ancient Egyptian woman whom Pharaoh gave to Joseph as wife, and the daught ...

and Egypt: "Ephraim feedeth on wind, and followeth after the east wind: he daily increaseth lies and desolation; and they do make a covenant with the Assyrians, and oil is carried into Egypt".

Perfume or cosmetic oil

There are several biblical references to non-ritual cosmetic use.

References

{{reflist Language of the Hebrew Bible Oils