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COLLECTIONS
Commentaries,
Word Studies, Devotionals, Sermons, Illustrations
Old and New Testament. |
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Ruth 3:1
Then
Naomi her
mother-in-law
said to her,
"My
daughter, shall
I not
seek
security for
you, that it may be
well with you?
(NASB:
Lockman) |
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BBE: And Naomi, her mother-in-law, said
to her, My daughter, am I not to get you a resting-place where you may
be in comfort?
CEV: One day, Naomi said to
Ruth: It's time I found you a husband, who will give you a home and
take care of you.
GWT: Naomi, Ruth's mother-in-law, said
to her, "My daughter, shouldn't I try to look for a home that would be
good for you?
KJV: Then
Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek
rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
NJB: Her mother-in-law Naomi then said,
'Daughter, is it not my duty to see you happily settled?
TEV: Some time later Naomi said to
Ruth, “I must find a husband for you, so that you will have a home of
your own
Young's Literal: And
Naomi her mother-in-law saith to her, 'My daughter, do not I seek for
thee rest, that it may be well with thee? |
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Septuagint (LXX):
eipen
de
aute
Noemin
e
penthera
autes
thugater
ou
me
zeteso (1SAAS)
soi
anapausin
hina
eu
genetai (3SAMS)
soi
English of
Septuagint: And she lodged
with her mother-in-law: and Noemin her mother-in-law said to
her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be
well with thee |
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THEN NAOMI HER MOTHER
IN LAW SAID TO HER:
As we have turned
the pages of this short story, it was first Naomi and then Boaz who
claimed our attention. Now we turn to Ruth, the one after whom the book
is named, the young poverty-stricken widow from Moab who was to become a
renowned in Israel and an ancestress of Jesus Christ. Remember that
everything of eternal significance began when she made the momentous
decision in the fields of Moab to follow her mother-in-law back to
Bethlehem-Judah.
"Then"
is a time phrase which should always prompt the question of the diligent
inductive student "When
is 'then'"? In this
case we are not told exactly how much time lapsed between the closing of
chapter 2 and Naomi's question to Ruth in this verse. We are told that Boaz is threshing suggesting
that we are
at the end of the barley harvest, which would be about 4 weeks after Ruth
and Boaz first met.
It is clear however that during the weeks of the barley and
wheat harvests, Naomi had time to put her plan together. When
the time was right she acted. It was customary for Hebrew parents to
arrange marriages for their children (Gen
24:3-4;
34:4,note
Jdg 14:1-10 ).
SHALL I NOT SEEK
SECURITY THAT IT MAY BE WELL WITH YOU?:
(note
Ruth 1:9;
1Co 7:36;
1 Ti 5:8
5:14)
(Ge 40:14;
Dt 4:40;
Ps 128:2;
Jer 22:15
16)
"shall I not seek rest for thee" (KJV)
"do not I seek for thee rest" (YLT)
"My
daughter, should I not try to find a home for you" (NIV)
"My
daughter, it's time that I found a permanent home for you, so that you
will be provided for" (NLT)
"My daughter, shouldn't I try to
look for a home that would be good for you?" (GWT)
"Daughter, is
it not my duty to see you happily settled?" (NJB)
"My
daughter, am I not to get you a resting-place where you may be in
comfort?" (BBE)
"I must find a husband for you, so that you will
have a home of your own" (TEV)
"My
daughter, I must find a home for you so you will be secure" (NET)
Naomi is saying in essence "I
seek for you a happy future". The idiomatic, negated rhetorical
question is equivalent to an affirmation.
Seek
(01245)
(baqas/baqash) conveys the idea of an earnest seeking after
something with the full intention that
the object sought be found or acquired.
Naomi felt responsible for
Ruth’s future husband and home. Naomi was no longer depressed, but had
now in a positive sense become a "matchmaker, matchmaker"
(from the tune in the wonderful musical "Fiddler On the Roof"
which is highly recommended), and was preparing Ruth to seek the
love of her willing kinsman-redeemer, Boaz. Naomi's motive was unselfish
for she knew that if Ruth remained an unprotected widow in a foreign
land, life could go very hard for her. The turning point in the
narrative is at hand.
Paul wrote that he wanted
"younger widows to get married, bear children, keep house, and give
the enemy no occasion for reproach."
(1Ti 5:14)
"Security"
(04494)
(manowach) is derived from a root (nuah/nuach)
which signifies absence of movement and thus pictures one being quietly
settled in a particular place with the presence of security as when
"the
ark rested (nuah/nuach)
upon the mountains of Ararat" (Ge
8:4).
In contrast
"the dove
found no resting (manowach) place
for the sole of her foot" (Ge
8:9)
Naomi seeks a
place of tranquility and repose for the maiden from Moab. Earlier (see
note
Ruth 1:9)
Naomi had prayed for Ruth to experience rest
-
"May the LORD grant that you may find rest
(04496
= related word - menuchah = resting place, rest, quiet, a place
where peace and trust are present)
God was answering Naomi's prayer more
"exceeding abundantly beyond
all that (she could) ask or think" (sermon
Ep 3:20).
Has God
ever surprised you with an answer so much more than you even thought
possible? Rest assured that Jehovah "delights in the prosperity of
His servant" (Ps 35:27) and "in those who fear Him, who put their
hope in His unfailing love." (Ps
147:11, NIV)
"Rest"
as used in this context implies the security and benefits that are to be
found in a godly marriage as discussed below. The Greek word used to
translate manowach is anapausis which means
to refresh, give rest or permit one to
cease from labor in order to recover and collect their strength. Jesus'
great invitation uses two forms of this word
"Come
to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest (anapauo, the verb) Take My yoke upon you,
and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall
find rest (anapausis,
the noun) for your souls."
(Mt
11:28-29)
Believers are the bride of
Christ and in covenant with Him, the one of Whom "Boaz"
foretold and in Whom we find our eternal rest and security.
"Rest"
(manowach) also implies a state of contentment and
satisfaction as alluded to by the psalmist:
"Be at rest (manowach) once
more, O my soul, for the LORD has been good to you." (Ps 116:7,
NIV)
As alluded to above, Ruth 3:1
provides a fascinating "commentary" on the ideal state of
marriage, which when entered into within God’s will, is the closest
earthly approximation to
rest which a human being can enjoy, for
ideally a godly marriage
fixes and composes the affections for life. How unlike most marriages in
our modern low commitment society. Is your marriage a blessed
rest or a restless battle? A married state is, or
should be, a state of rest where "youthful
lusts" are forsaken, wandering affections are fixed on one's beloved, and
one's heart is thus at rest.
Naomi seeks Ruth's rest in the house and heart of her husband, who she
hopes to be Boaz.
Hubbard
observes that...
“A significant theological point
emerges here. Earlier Naomi had wished for these same things (see
note
Ruth 1:8;
1:9).
Here human means (i.e., Naomi’s plan) carry out something previously
understood to be in Yahweh’s province. In response to providentially
given opportunity, Naomi began to answer her own prayer! Thus she models
one way in which divine and human actions work together: believers are
not to wait passively for events to happen; rather, they must seize the
initiative when an opportunity presents itself. They assume that God
presents the opportunity.” (Hubbard, R: The Book of Ruth. New International Commentary on the Old Testament
series. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1988
)
McGee writes
"Life in the presence of penury could not have been pleasant for the
maid from Moab, but there is not a scintilla of suggestion that she ever
complained. She had cast her lot with Naomi on the side of God, and she
abode with fortitude in her decision. The mother heart of Naomi went out
to her daughter-in-law, and she sought for her a place of rest. This
could only be attained in the quiet shelter of a godly home, where some
strong man protected Ruth from the stormy winds of a harsh world." (McGee,
J. V. Ruth and Esther: Women of Faith. Nashville: Thomas Nelson
Publishers)
Roy Hession applies these
truth to the believer's life writing...
When Ruth told her mother-in-law that
the name of the man in whose field she had been gleaning was Boaz, I
like to think that Naomi suddenly sat bolt upright... We, too, need a
like revelation of the right vested in the Lord Jesus for us, if we are
to be emboldened to put in our plea for the full redemption that grace
has for us. We need to see that the One who has been showing us such
undeserved favours ever since we took our place as gleaners in His field
has more and is more. We need to see that Jesus is our nearest Kinsman,
with the right to redeem both ourselves and our situation, a right
acquired through the mighty sufficiency of His blood. The Son of man has
the right on earth to forgive sins, and more, to redeem and overrule for
ultimate good the very losses occasioned by our sin. And it is all based
on blood, in the shedding of which all blame attaching to us was
anticipated and extinguished.
With that vision of the blood must go a new vision of grace—that our
very lacks, faults and failures are our qualifications for what grace
provides, in the same way that Ruth had to see that her poverty and
widowhood were the very things that qualified her for a redeemer. The
lines of John Newton's hymn,
Thou tallest burdened souls to Thee,
And such, O Lord, am I,
Always give me afresh, as I sing them,
This vision of grace.
They show me that Jesus specialises
in burdened souls and calls such to Him, and that being the case, I
qualify, `for such, 0 Lord, am I.' Our situations of need are not our
disqualification as the Devil would have us to believe, but are in fact,
if duly acknowledged, our only qualification to be blessed, which means
we are just the case for Him. A new vision of the blood of Christ and
the grace of God, then, is all important if we want to make the same
daring claim on our nearest Kinsman, as Ruth made on hers. So do
yourself the luxury of hearing again and again this sweet Gospel; and if
it does not seem to come always from the pulpit, then start preaching it
to your heart yourself, until at last you have the boldness to lie at
the feet of your Kinsman with great confidence as to what He will do for
you. (Hession, Roy: Our Nearest Kinsman: The Message of
Redemption and Revival in the Book of Ruth. Christian Literature
Crusade. 1976) |
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Ruth
3:2
"Now is not
Boaz our
kinsman, with
whose
maids you were?
Behold, he
winnows
barley at the
threshing
floor
tonight.
(NASB:
Lockman) |
|
KJV: And
now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens thou wast? Behold,
he winnoweth barley to night in the threshing floor.
CEV: You have been picking
up grain alongside the women who work for Boaz, and you know he is a
relative of ours. Tonight he will be threshing the grain.
BBE: And now, is there not Boaz, our
relation, with whose young women you were? See, tonight he is
separating the grain from the waste in his grain-floor.
GWT: Isn't Boaz, whose young women
you've been working with, our relative? He will be separating the
barley from its husks on the threshing floor tonight.
NJB: And Boaz, the man with whose
work-women you were, is he not our kinsman? Tonight he will be
winnowing the barley on the threshing-floor.
Young's Literal: and
now, is not Boaz of our acquaintance, with whose young women thou hast
been? lo, he is winnowing the threshing-floor of barley to-night, |
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Septuagint (LXX):
kai
nun
ouchi Boos gnorimos
hemon
ou
en
meta
ton
korasion
autou
idou
autos
likma
ton
halona
ton
krithon
taute
te
nukti
English of
Septuagint: And now is
not Booz our kinsman, with whose damsels thou wast? behold, he
winnows barley this night in the floor |
|
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AND NOW IS NOT
BOAZ OUR KINSMAN
WITH WHOSE MAIDS YOU WERE?: (note
Ruth 2:19-23;
Heb 2:11-14)
(note
Ruth 2:8-11;
2:23)
The Net Bible note states that
the phrase
"Is not Boaz our close relative, with whose female servants you were?”
is an "idiomatic, negated rhetorical question...equivalent to an
affirmation and has thus been translated in the affirmative" as "Now
Boaz, with whose female servants you worked, is our close relative."
(NET
Bible)
The introductory word regularly introduces a logical step in
an argument, often a consequence or a conclusion; the particle
“falls
back on the past and, making deductions from that, seeks to draw the
consequences for the situation in the present or the future.”
"Our" is
plural feminine genitive of "ego" in the Septuagint
therefore translated "our" not "my", affirming Ruth's right of claim
on TWO SEPARATE MOSAIC LAWS laws, one governing widowhood (
Dt 25:5
25:6) referred to as the "LAW OF LEVIRATE [brother-in-law]
MARRIAGE" and a second governing the redemption of the property of one
who was too poor to redeem it themselves & this involved the wonderful
truth about the KINSMAN-REDEEMER (Lev
25:10, 13-16, 24-28).
The custom of Levirate marriage actually antedated the Mosaic law
being seen as early as Ge 38 (Tamar seducing her father-in-law Judah
because his sons had not fathered a son to perpetuate their dead brother's
name & for failure to do so God killed them) viz., that if an
Israelite who had been married died without children, it was the duty
of his brother to marry the widow, that is to say, his sister-in-law,
that he might establish his brother's name in Israel, by begetting a
son through his sister-in-law, who should take the name of the
deceased brother, that his name might not become extinct in Israel.
This son was then the legal heir of the landed property of the
deceased uncle (cf.
Dt 25:5ff). These two institutions are not
connected together in the Mosaic law; nevertheless it was a very
natural thing to place the Levirate duty in connection with the right
of redemption.
"Kinsman"
(04130) (mowda'ath) means relative or
kinsman. Without going into the grammatical details, note that in the
original Hebrew sentence construction
kinsman is given considerable stress by a reversal of
normal sentence order.
Naomi may have interpreted Boaz's kindness to Ruth that allowed her to
work alongside his maidservants as an indication of a favorable
disposition on his part toward Ruth and possibly a willingness to do
the kinsman's part.
Bertheau wrote that
"The modest man even in the middle of the
night did not hesitate for a moment what it was his duty to do with
regard to the young maiden (or rather woman) towards whom he felt
already so strongly attached; he made his own personal inclinations
subordinate to the traditional custom, and only when this permitted
him to marry Ruth was he ready to do so. And not knowing whether she
might not have to become the wife of the nearer goël, he was careful
for her and her reputation, in order that he might hand her over
unblemished to the man who had the undoubted right to claim her as his
wife."
BEHOLD
HE WINNOWS BARLEY:
"Behold"
(02009) (hinneh) is an interjection demanding attention and
could be translated something like "look!" "see!"
Most often hinneh was used to point out people.
"He winnows"
(02219) (zarah) conveys the basic thought of stirring up the air to produce a scattering and spreading
effect.
Winnowing in Palestine consisted of throwing the mixture of
straw, chaff, and grain up into the wind by means of a fork with large
teeth. The worthless chaff was blown away from the winnower, the straw
less far, while the valuable heavier kernels of grain fell back onto the
threshing floor. The separation is the result of a breeze that usually
blows off the Mediterranean from 4-5PM until sunset. The wind however
must not be too strong, for then even the heavy valuable portions of
the grain would be blown away with the lighter chaff. In summer the
west wind blows very strongly in the afternoon but drops off in the
evening, so that the evening hours provide the most desirable wind
conditions. To best take advantage of this natural (divine providence)
phenomenon the threshing floors were usually on elevated parcels
ground with a hard packed surface.
And understanding of the typical
threshing floor accentuates how fearful Gideon (who the angel of the
LORD called a "valiant warrior" - see note
Judges 6:12)
must have been, for Scripture records that
"the angel of the LORD
(OT manifestation of Jesus) came and sat under the oak that was in
Ophrah...as...Gideon was beating out wheat in the wine press in
order to save it from the Midianites." (see note
Judges 6:11)
There
is not much breeze in the lower elevation of the typical wine press!
This was just fine with Gideon who did not want the exposure
associated more elevated threshing floor.
"Barley"
(08184)
(se'orah) actually means “a hairy or bristling thing” so
called because of the rough and prickly beard covering the ears. In
threshing, the grain was beaten out from the stalks with flails (cf.
note
Ruth 2:17) or was trodden over by oxen. Then in winnowing the grain was
thrown in the air and the wind carried the chaff away. The grain was
then removed from the threshing floor and placed in heaps to be sold
or stored in granaries. Threshing and winnowing were a time of great
festivity and rejoicing. Naomi knew (HOW DID NAOMI KNOW?) that Boaz
was threshing his grain on the day that she had chosen for her plan.
She also knew that Boaz would be sleeping near his grain that night,
to protect it.
AT THE
THRESHING FLOOR
TONIGHT:
The threshing floor (01637) itself was
usually located outside town in a place where the prevailing west wind
could be used to advantage.
The root meaning of the Hebrew word for
“thresh” is “to trample,” which comes from this second threshing
practice of using oxen to trample the grain.
The people of Bethlehem took turns using the threshing floor. The
floor was a flat hard area on a slightly raised platform or hill. When the
winnowing was done, the farmer normally stayed with the grain at
night, camping out on the threshing floor to ensure that the harvest
was not stolen. Winnowing (tossing grain into the air to finish
separating the grain from the chaff) normally occurred in late
afternoon when the Mediterranean winds prevailed. Sifting and bagging
the grain would have carried over past dark and Boaz may have remained
all night to guard the grain from theft.
|
THRESHING-FLOOR
(Modified from ISBE)
The threshing-floors
(click below to enlarge picture of ancient threshing floor) are
constructed in the fields, preferably in an exposed position in
order to get the full benefit of the winds. If there is a danger
of marauders they are clustered together close to the village.
The floor is a level, circular area 25 to 40 ft. in diameter,
prepared by first picking out the stones, and then wetting the
ground, tamping or rolling it, and finally sweeping it. A border
of stones usually surrounds the floor to keep in the grain. The
sheaves of grain which
have
been brought on the backs of men, donkeys, camels, or oxen, are
heaped on this area, and the process of tramping out begins. In
some localities several animals, commonly oxen or donkeys, are
tied abreast and driven round and round the floor. In other
places two oxen are yoked together to a drag, the bottom of
which is studded with pieces of basaltic stone. This drag, on
which the driver, and perhaps his family, sits or stands, is
driven in a circular path over the grain. In still other
districts an instrument resembling a wheel harrow is used, the
antiquity of which is confirmed by the Egyptian records. The
supply of unthreshed grain is kept in the center of the floor.
Some of this is pulled down from time to time into the path of
the animals. All the while the partly threshed grain is being
turned over with a fork. The stalks gradually become broken into
short pieces and the husks about the grain are torn off. This
mixture of chaff and grain must now be winnowed. This is done by
tossing it into the air so that the wind may blow away the
chaff. When the chaff is gone then the grain is tossed in a
wooden tray to separate from it the stones and lumps of soil
which clung to the roots when the grain was reaped. The
difference in weight between the stones and grain makes
separation by this process possible. The grain is now poled in
heaps and in many localities is also sealed. This process
consists in pressing a large wooden seal against the pile. When
the instrument is removed it leaves an impression which would be
destroyed should any of the grain be taken away. This allows the
government offers to keep account of the tithes and enables the
owner to detect any theft of grain. Until the wheat is
transferred to bags some one sleeps by the pries on the
threshing-floor. If the wheat is to be stored for home
consumption it is often first washed with water and spread out
on goats' hair mats to dry before it is stored in the wall
compartments found in every house. Formerly the wheat was ground
only as needed. This was then a household task which was
accomplished with the hand-mill or mortar
Threshing floors have come into prominence because of the
Biblical events which occurred on or near them.
1) Joseph with his kinsmen and Egyptian followers halted for
seven days at the threshing-floor of Atad to lament the death of
Jacob (Genesis
50:10). Probably there was a
group of floors furnishing a convenient spot for a caravan to
stop. Travelers today welcome the sight of a threshing-floor at
their halting-place. The hard, level spot is a much preferable
to the surrounding stony fields for their tents.
2) David built an
altar on Ornan's (Araunah's) threshing-floor (2Sa 24:18-24;
1Chr 21:18-27),
which later became the site of the Temple (2Chr
3:1). David probably chose this
place for his altar because it was on an elevation, and the
ground was already level and prepared by rolling.
3)
Uzzah died near the
threshing-floor of Nacon for touching the ark (2Sa
6:6).
4) Ruth reveals herself to Boaz on his threshing-floor
(see note
Ruth 3:6-7,
Ruth 3:8-9).
Threshing-floors are
in danger of being robbed (1Sa
23:1). For this reason, someone always sleeps
on the floor until the grain is removed
(Ruth
3:7). In Syria, at the
threshing season, it is customary for the family to move out to
the vicinity of the threshing-floor. A booth is constructed for
shade; the mother prepares the meals and takes her turn with the
father and children at riding on the sledge.
The instruments of the threshing-floor
referred to in
2 Sa 24:22
were probably:
(1) the wooden sledge
(2) the fan (fork) for
separating straw from wheat
(3) shovel for tossing the
wheat into the air in winnowing
(4) broom, for sweeping the
floor between threshing and for collecting the wheat after
winnowing
(5) goad
(6) the yoke
(7) sieve
(8) dung catcher |
"Tonight"
(03915) (layil from from lul = a twisting away of the
light) is a picture of the time of day when the light “holds back” and
darkness sets in. Whatever Boaz's motive may have been for spending
the night at the threshing floor, his presence there reveals an
unpretentious man, one who enjoyed all aspects of life associated with
the land. The simple manners of Boaz and his times are here before us.
This "mighty man of wealth" assists personally in the winnowing of his
barley. |
|
|
Ruth
3:3
Wash yourself
therefore, and
anoint yourself
and
put on your
best
clothes, and
go
down to the
threshing
floor; but do
not
make yourself
known to the
man
until he has
finished
eating and
drinking
(NASB:
Lockman) |
|
BBE: So take a bath, and, after rubbing
your body with sweet oil, put on your best robe, and go down to the
grain-floor; but do not let him see you till he has come to the end of
his meal.
CEV: Now take a bath and put
on some perfume, then dress in your best clothes. Go where he is
working, but don't let him see you until he has finished eating and
drinking. (CEV)
GWT: Freshen up, put on some perfume,
dress up, and go down to the threshing floor. Don't let him know that
you're there until he's finished eating and drinking. (GWT)
KJV: Wash
thy self therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee,
and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the
man, until he shall have done eating and drinking.
NJB: So wash and perfume yourself, put
on your cloak and go down to the threshing-floor. Don't let him
recognise you while he is still eating and drinking.
Young's Literal: and
thou hast bathed, and anointed thyself, and put thy garments upon
thee, and gone down to the threshing-floor; let not thyself be known
to the man till he complete to eat and to drink; |
|
Septuagint (LXX):
su
de
louse
(2SFMI)
kai aleipse
(2SFMI)
kai
perithesein
(2SFAI)
ton
himatismon
sou
epi
seaute
kai
anabese
(2SFMI)
epi
ton
alo
me
gnoristho
(2SAPS)
to
andri
eos
ou
suntelesai
(AAN)
auton
piein
(AAN)
kai
phagein (AAN)
English of
Septuagint: But do thou
wash, and anoint thyself, and put thy raiment upon thee, and go
up to the threshing-floor: do not discover thyself to the man
until he has done eating and drinking |
|
|
WASH YOURSELF AND
ANOINT YOURSELF AND
PUT ON
YOUR BEST CLOTHES: (Mt 6:17)
"Wash"
(07364) (rachats) is translated in the Greek Septuagint with louo
which normally referred to bathing your entire
body (Jn 3:10)
"Anoint yourself"
(05480) (cuk or suk) describes the ordinary
physical process of anointing the body which in the ancient orient was
usually with olive oil (Dt
28:40) particularly after bathing (2Sa
12:20) and especially for its fragrant effect. There were
no supermarkets selling deodorants in those days. Thus in the hot
Palestine climate olive oil or other ointment was used by the Jews to
anoint themselves after bathing in order to give the skin and hair a
smooth and comely appearance. It is interesting that the Jews had
the custom of rubbing the head with oil or ointment at feasts in token
of joy thus this verb is also used as a symbol of gladness. For
example in 2 Samuel we read that
"Joab sent to Tekoa and brought a
wise woman from there and said to her, "Please pretend to be a
mourner, and put on mourning garments now, and do not anoint yourself with oil,
but be like a woman who
has been mourning for the dead many days."
(2 Sa
14:2) In we read that provides "oil to make (one's)
face shine." (NIV) (Ps104:15)
Solomon records in the context of verses on "happiness" and "joy"
to "let not oil be lacking on your head (NLT paraphrases this
latter as "with a dash of cologne"!)." Note that Naomi did not
tell her to make herself up like evil Jezebel who "painted her eyes"
(2 Ki
9:30)
From the NT, we know
that anointing was a
mark of hospitality for Jesus
"You did not anoint My head with oil,
but she anointed My feet with perfume." (Lk 7:46).
Solomon records that
"Oil and perfume make the heart glad, so
a man's counsel is sweet to his friend," (Pr 27:9)
|
ANOINT
(Modified from ISBE) |
| Refers to a
very general practice in the East. It originated from the relief
from the effect of the sun that was experienced in rubbing the
body with oil or grease. Among rude people the common vegetable
or animal fat was used. As society advanced and refinement
became a part of civilization, delicately perfumed ointments
were used for this purpose. Other reasons soon obtained for this
practice than that stated above. Persons were anointed for
health ( | | | |