Copyright © 2000 by
Andrews University Press. Cited with permission.
THE ANOINTING OF AARON: A
STUDY OF LEVITICUS
ITS OT AND
ANE CONTEXTl
GERALD
KLINGBEIL
Introduction
Lev 8:122 forms an
integral part of the ritual of ordination of Aaron and
his sons and the consecration of the Tabernacle and
is shaped after the
commandment section found in Exod
29, dealing with the technical and
procedural aspects of the ordination and
consecration ritual.3 This study first
1The present article is a
revision of one originally published as 'La uncion de
Aaron. Un
estudio de Lev
11/1
(1996): 64-83. (Theologika
is a biennial theological journal of Universidad Peruana
Union,
the
of Time, Space, and Actions in Leviticus 8,"
(D. Litt. diss. University
of StelIenbosch, 1995). A
revised version of the dissertation has been
published in 1998 by Edwin Mellen Press under the
title A
Comparative Study of the Ritual of Ordination as Found in Leviticus 8 and Emar 369. The
financial assistance of the South African Center
for Science Development toward this research
is hereby acknowledged. Furthermore, the author
would like to thank the University of
Stellenbosch for awarding him the Stellenbosch 2000 bursary, which constituted a substantial
help in the financing of the doctoral studies.
2 This study will concentrate
upon Lev 8:12, which describes the anointing of Aaron only.
Verse
30 of the same chapter includes a short note as to the anointing "with
blood and oil" of Aaron
and his sons. In a recent article, D. Fleming
suggested that the existence of two anointing rites in the
ordination ritual (
his sons) indicates the existence of two
distinctive customs. However, it
could also be argued that the division indicates two
different ritual states of the participants
("More
Help from
3
Concerning the relationship between Exod 29 and Lev 8
one can find three main
viewpoints in the literature: (1) Lev 8 is the older document and therefore Exod 29 is dependent
on Lev 8. See B. A. Levine, "The Descriptive Ritual Texts of
the Pentateuch," JAOS 85 (1965):
311-312;
K. Elliger, Leviticus,
HAT 4 (Tiibingen:J. C. B.
Mohr [Paul Siebeck], 1966), 107ff.;
and M. Noth, Das dritte Buch Mose: Leviticus, 4th
ed., Am 6 (G6ttingen: Vandenhoeck &
Ruprecht, 1978),56. (2)
There exists an intricate interrelationship between Exod
29 and Lev 8
suggesting some kind of literary dependence, but-in
line with modern communication
theory-there is no benefit in
separating "earlier" and "later" sources. This mediating
position
is held by H. Utzschneider,
Das Heiligtum und das Gesetz: Studien
zur Bedeutung der
sinaitischen Heiligtumstexte (Exod
25-40; Lev 8-9), OBO 77 (Fribourg: Universit:itsverlag,
1988),
37; and J. E. Hartley, who assume that both Exod 29
and Lev 8 were dependent on an
231
232
SEMINARY STUDIES 38
(AUTUMN 2000)
investigates the meaning of the
anointing rite in its context of the ordination
ritual. Then follows an analysis of a new text from
Emar4 describing an
ordination ritual of the high priestess of dIM (the god IM) with special regard
to the anointing rites encountered in this text.
Finally, a comparative section
will deal with similarities and dissimilarities
between the rites and the
relevance of this comparison in the broader
context of Pentateuchal studies.
The Anointing of Aaron in Lev
One can detect a similarity regarding the
involved actions (of
anointing) in the structures of Lev 8:10-11 and
and persons involved are dissimilar. Three
different consecutive actions
are encountered in Lev
staircase structure based upon content rather than
literary structure.5 The
verbs include hqyv ("and he
took"), Hwmyv ("and he
anointed"), and wdqyv
("and he consecrated"). All these actions have Moses as
their subject and
the Tent of Meeting and its utensils as their
object. The first action
constitutes the moving of the object that effects
the final action of
(namely the consecration), while the center action ("and
he anointed")
describes the way and means the final action is
achieved, i.e., anointing
results in consecration. Therefore it appears
that Hql (take) would
function like Ntn1M) ("put") in
the clothing act, initiating, the intended action.6
ancient Vorlage
containing the ordination ritual (Leviticus,
WBC 4 [
109-110).
(3) Exod 29 is the older document and thus Lev 8 is
dependent upon Exod 29.
Representatives
of this position include J. Milgrom, Leviticus 1-16, AB
3 (
Doubleday, 1991); idem, "The Consecration
of the Priests.
A Literary Comparison of
Leviticus
8 and Exodus 29," in Ernten was man sat. Festschrift fur Klaus Koch zu seinem 65.
Geburtstag, ed. D. R. Daniels (Neukirchen-Vlyn:
Neukirchener Verlag, 1991),273-286; and
G.
J. Wenham, The Book of Leviticus, NICOT (Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1979), 131ff. The
contextual and comparative evidence (i.e., the
usage of prescriptive and subsequently
descriptive texts in the ANE as found in the Samsu-Iluna B inscription; see Milgrom,
Leviticus, 553) adduced by Milgrom seems to favor this interpretation. Thus as the
point of
departure for this study the dependence of Lev 8
on Exod 29 is assumed.
4 For the bibliography of the text and
commentaries on the text see below.
5 See W.G.E. Watson, "A Note on
Staircase Parallelism," VT 33/4
(1983): 510-512, on
staircase parallelism in prose literature. Cf.
also A. Berlin, "Parallelism," ABD,
5: 155-162; and
W.
G. E. Watson, Classical Hebrew Poetry: A Guide to Its Techniques, 2d ed., JSOT.SS
26
(
verbs indicating successive action, see G. A. Klingbeil, "The Syntactic Structure of the Ritual
of Ordination (Lev 8)," Bib 77/4 (1996): 510-512.
6 This has also been suggested by H. Seebass, who has observed the fact that about three-
fourths of the occurrences appear in sacrificial
descriptions (or prescriptions) and in the narrative
literature of the OT. He writes: "Vielmehr deutet der uberaus haufige
Gebrauch des Verbs in
Vorbereitung cines weiteren, den eigentlich intendierten Akt darstellenden . . . auf einen
Sinn,
THE ANOINTING OF AARON 233
It
is interesting to note that Lev
anointing of both objects and persons. Ritual
space plays an important
role, since Moses appears to have taken a circular
route when performing
the anointing rites. In Lev
and it is feasible to argue that Moses actually
sprinkled the anointing oil
first on the incense altar8 and the other
objects in the first section of the
sanctuary and then went straight to the altar of
burnt offering in the
courtyard.9 The sequential nature
of this action is expressed by the usage
of the wayyiqtl forms
that express succession of action.10 "The suggested
route stresses the differentiation between the
profane and holy of the
geography of the Tent of Meeting."11
The repeated usage of the anointing oil on the
objects of the sanctuary
and the priests and the usage of the same verbal
form of Hwm ("anoint")
suggests similar ritual states of both
"entities." As F. Gorman writes:
This anointing with the special anointing oil
serves to pass objects and
persons into a similar ritual
state. . . . The common anointing also serves
to emphasize that these
are the primary "spaces" of Aaron's cultic
officiating as high priest. This is
not to say that all of the anointed objects
are the private domain of
the high priest; rather, it is to indicate the
primary places of his service and to mark the outer
bounds of his service.12
der in erster
Linie die Verantwortlichkeit
des jeweiligen Subjekts fur
die jeweilige Handlung
hervorheben will"( Hql, ThWAT;
4:589). As has been suggested by Klingbeil,
"Ordination and
Ritual,"
188, it would appear that 1nJ as the first verbal form of Lev 8:7-9 functions
both as an
indicator for the beginning of the process of
clothing and the point of departure for a series of
increasingly more concrete acts of
dressing. This phenomenon can also be found in 1 Sam 17:38-39,
which-albeit not in a religious context-utilizes a
sequence similar to the one found in Lev 8:7.
7 See D. H. Engelhard," Anoint,
Anointing," ISBE, 1:129, and the
references given there.
8 This interpretation is not solely based
upon the double occurrence of Hbzmh "the altar,"
but also on the usage of the verbal action
connected with the first reference to the altar. hzn ("to
sprinkle") seems to consecrate the altar
(instead of purifying it as in other instances-see
Klingbeil,
"Ordination and Ritual," 194, and also V. P. Hamilton, hzn, NIDOTTE, 3:69). T. C.
Vriezen has suggested that "the degree of
sanctification is directly proportional to the distance
of the place in which the hizza-rite is performed from the
ark" ("The term hizza: Lustration and
Consecration,"
Oudttestamentische Studien, ed.
P .A.H. de Boer [
suggestion is correct, it would support the
interpretation that the first altar mentioned in Lev
closer to the Holy of Holies and thus required
sevenfold consecration with the anointing oil.
9 See here G. A. Klingbeil,
"Ritual Space in the Ordination Ritual of Leviticus 8,"
Journal of Northwest
Semitic Languages
21/1 (1995): 72.
10 Klingbeil,
"Ordination and Ritual," 90-108.
11 Klingbeil,
"Ritual Space," 73.
12 F. H. Gorman Jr., The Ideology of Ritual Space, Time and Status in the Priestly Theology,
234 SEMINARY STUDIES 38 (AUTUMN 2000)
It would, therefore, appear that the term marks
a connection between
ritual space or location and ritual function of the
involved persons. It is
significant that the anointing of the Tabernacle and
its objects precedes
the anointing of the High Priest. This might
provide a clue for the
importance of ritual space in OT ritual.13
The final verbal form in Lev 8:11, Mwdql ("to consecrate them"),
provides an explanation of the two previous acts
of sprinkling14 and
anointing (Hwm). The infinitive
construct Mwdql would be in accordance
with the use of wdqyv in Lev
on the Tabernacle.15 After the objects
are anointed, the ritual personnel
are to be ordained. Lev 8:12 displays a structure
similar to that found in
8:11,
but instead of sprinkling the anointing oil, Moses pours some on
Aaron's
head.16 qcy
occurs
fifty-five times in OT17 and is used in the
JSOT.SS
91 (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1990), 118-119.
13 Klingbeil,
"Ordination and Ritual," 192.
14 The verbal root used is wdq which appears some twenty-four times in the OT (see A.
Even-Shoshan,A New Concordance of the Old Testament (
On
the usage of the verb see the discussion in Klingbeil,
"Ordination and Ritual," 193-194,
Hamilton,
NIDOTTE, 3:69-70, and Vriezen, "hizza,"
201-235.
15 Concerning the meaning of wdq in the OT, see J. A. Naude, wdq, NIDOTTE,
3:877-887,
and Klingbeil,
"Ordination and Ritual," 192, and the references given there. It is
interesting to note that
forty-five of the seventy-five occurrences of the Piel form of wdq can be found in the Pentateuch,
predominantly in the books of Exodus
(twenty-two times) and Leviticus (fifteen
times). This is in agreement with the content of
these books, i.e., the construction of the
sanctuary and initiation of "proper"
sacrificial service. Cf. also P. P. Jenson, Graded Holiness: A
Key to the Priestly Conception of the World,
JSOT .SS 106 (Sheffield: JSOT Press, 1992).
16 Anointing was not only utilized in
religious rituals, but also appears in secular and legal
contexts (although it is not always easy to
differentiate between these categories). Concerning
the anointing with oil as an expression of joy, see
G. A. Anderson, A Time to Mourn, A Time
to
Dance: The Expression of
Grief and Joy in Israelite Religion (
University
Press, 1991), 45-47. A. Viberg discusses the legal
function of anointing in the OT context.
He
suggests that the "priestly anointing served to consecrate priests to
their cultic
service. The legal function of the act was
therefore p~ of cultic law" (Symbols of Law: A
Contextual
Analysis of Legal Symbolic Acts in the Old Testament, ConBOT
34 [
Almquist &
Wiksell, 1992], 119). While one should not
neglect the legal aspect of the anointing
procedure (as found in other OT
contexts-specifically concerning the king's anointing), it
would appear that the close proximity of the priestly
anointing and the anointing of the
Tabernacle
would suggest rather the consecratory aspect of the rite. Perhaps it is
possible to
combine both aspects, since by anointing both
Aaron and the Tabernacle (and its objects) it was
publicly stated that they were to be considered
as belonging to YHWH, which certainly has legal
undertones. At the same time, it is important to
keep in mind the stated purpose of the
procedure as found in Lev 8:10-12, where the
process of wdq is referred to several times and
thus underlines the importance of the consecratory
aspect.
17 Even-Shoshan, Concordance,
487.
THE ANOINTING OF AARON 235
context of pouring fluids in everyday situations
(as, for example, in 2 Kgs
4:4;
Ezek 24:3, etc.),18 but occurs
predominantly in cultic contexts.19 Five
times the verb appears together with Hwm, namely, in Exod 29:7; Lev 8:12;
1 Sam 10:1; 2 Kgs 9:3,
6.
The first two references concern the ordination
of priests and are clearly cultic. 1 Sam 10:1
describes the anointing of Saul
by Samuel. It is significant to see a similar
sequence of actions, namely,
Hql ("take"), qcy ("pour"), and Hwm ("anoint). The
final Hwm contains an
interpretation of the act of pouring
the oil upon Saul's head by Samuel.
2
Kings 9:3 utilizes the same sequence and occurs in the context of Jehu's
anointing by Elisha. While
2 Kgs 9:3 contains the prescriptive part of that
procedure, v. 6 describes the actual performance.
From these examples it
would appear that the anointing of priests and kings
was similar, the only
difference being the fact that the oil to be used
for the priests was hHwmh
Nmw “anointing oil,"
whereas the references to the anointing of Saul and
Jehu mention only Nmw as the fluid agent.20
The combination hHwmh
Nmw
"anointing oil" occurs sixteen times in the OT.21
The oil used forhHwmh
Nmw was a mixture of
specific spices and olive oil (Exod 30:22-33).22
It was
used in rituals of consecration for priests (Exod 29:7, 21; Lev
Tabernacle
(Exod 40:9; Lev
consideration should be given to the
fact that the anointing oil was to be
a mixture of specific strong-smelling spices,
which should be interpreted
in the context of the importance of smells in the
cultural environment of
18 Compare here also the
discussion found in B. Johnson, qcy, ThWAT, 3:827.
19 Ibid.,
3:827-828.
20 J. N. Oswalt, Hwm, NIDOTTE, 2: 1124,
assumes that the oil utilized for both rituals of
anointing was to be the same, although he does not
discuss the differing terminology
mentioned above.
21 Namely in Exod
25:6; 29:7,21; 31:11; 35:8,15,28; 37:29; 39:38; 40:9; Lev 8:2,10,12,
30;
wdq (Exod
30:25 [two times] and 31) or without the apposition (Lev 10:7 and
22 See more specifically N. M. Sarna, Exodus, JBS Torah Commentary 2 (
Jewish
Publication Society, 1991), 197-198. The following ingredients were used:
liquid
myrrh (NRSV) [Sarna
translates it as solidified myrrh], sweet-smelling cinnamon, aromatic
cane, and cassia. Cf. also Y. Feliks,
"The Incense of the Tabernacle," in Pomegranates and
Golden Bells: Studies in
Biblical, Jewish, and Near Eastern Ritual, Law, and Literature in Honor
of Jacob Milgrom, ed. D. P. Wright, D.
N. Freedman, and A. Hurvitz (
Eisenbrauns,
1995), 125-149, concerning the nature of some of the ingredients involved.
nIt should be noted,
however, that the anointing of King Solomon described in 1 Kgs
1:39
does not explicitly mention hHwmh Nmw, but rather lhxh-Nm Nmwh, "the oil from the
Tent." It could
thus be possible that the procedure and material
used for the anointing of kings was not exactly the same
procedure as the one used for the anointing of the
priests and the sanctuary.
236
SEMINARY STUDIES 38
(AUTUMN 2000)
the ANE.24 This applies specifically to
the composition of hHwmh
Nmw,
which includes parts of cinnamon, myrrh, cane, and
cassia and should be
expected to give off a pleasant smell.25
Furthermore, it should be kept in
mind that the OT forbids the use of the anointing
oil for cosmetic or
other uses apart from the prescribed acts of ritual
anointing.26 It appears
that by this prohibition YHWH reserves the special
fragrance for himself.
By anointing "his" fragrance is
transmitted to his dwelling and its inventory
(Exod.
xxx 26-9) and to the priests, devoted to his service (Exod.
xxx 30).
So
YHWH's fragrance becomes
attached to his house and his attendants. So they
are marked by his
personality [emphasis supplied]. Their exclusive belonging
to YHWH is expressed for
an organ of sense in a perceptible way.27
As has been noted above by Houtman,
smell is an extension of one's
personality, and thus the priests and the sanctuary
are marked by
YHWH's
personality.
That in turn gives them a special status in society.
The anointing of Aaron (and later in v. 30 that
of his sons as well) marks
a crucial point inasmuch as it puts both the
location and its objects and the
person(s) on a par.28 Taking the
parallel anointing of the Tabernacle and its
objects and the High Priest into consideration,
Milgrom29 has argued that this
practice resembles similar practices in "old
portions of the Pentateuch" (such
as Gen 28:18; 31:13; and 35:14) and thus would
suggest an early origin of the
practice of anointing the High Priest and not a
later modeling of the ritual
after the practice of anointing a king.
24 See C. Houtman,
who argues that smells/breath are often understood as the extensions
of the personality of the carrier. "The
breath is an extension of the personality. . . . In the light
of the remarks made above about man and his
emanations, it is plausible that for an Israelite
odors were not only either pleasant or unpleasant,
but also carriers of either life or death" ("On
the Function of the Holy Incense [Exodus XXX 34-8]
and the Sacred Anointing Oil [Exodus
XXX
22-33]," VT 42/4 [1992]:
460-461). Cf. also B. Gibbons, "The Intimate Sense of Smell,"
National Geographic 170 (1986): 324-362,
concerning the importance of smells in human life.
25 The unique composition of the anointing
oil-similar to the composition of the
incense also described in Exod
30--reflects a pattern (M. Haran,
in Ancient
the
corresponds to "sacral-ritualistic
distinctiveness." '.
26 Exod 30:32-33
emphatically states that no unqualified person should have contact with
the oil, lest he should be "cut off from his
people." This differentiation is also clearly indicated
by the use of verbal forms. Whereas the ritual
anointing is always expressed by the root Hwm
cosmetic anointing is indicated by the root 110.
Cf. Oswalt, NIDOTTE,
2:1124.
27 Houtman,
"Function of Holy Incense," 465.
28 Cf. also Jenson, who maintains that
"the holiness of the priests. . .was of the same
order as that of the holy areas of the Tabernacle (Graded Holiness, 119).
29 Milgrom, Leviticus, 554.
THE ANOINTING OF AARON 237
The Anointing of the NIN.DINGIR at Emar
Emar, or modern Tell Meskene (some 90 km east of
was excavated during five salvage campaigns between
1973 and 1976.30 The
city existed on this particular site between the
fourteenth and twelfth
centuries B.C.E., after which it was destroyed.31
Among the numerous
tablets and fragments is a section of Emar 369 that contains the
description of the ritual of ordination of the
NIN.DINGIR of dIM, of
which there are six tablet fragments representing
four manuscripts.32
The
relevant sections of the ritual texts are lines 3-4 and 20-21, which
read as follows:33
3.
i-sa-ba-tu4 DUMU.MI a-i-me-e DUMU uruE-m|ar it-tar-ra-a i-na u4-mi
sa-a-su-ma I.DU10.GA
is-tu E.GAL-li
4.
u is-tu E dNIN .KUR i-laq-qu-mi
a-n|a SAG .DU-si i-sak-kan-nu 1
UDU 1 dugqu-u-u
1 hi-zi-bu KAS.GESTIN
20.
a-na pa-ni nu-ba-at-ti I.DU10.GA sa
E dNIN.KUR u[ a-n]a
KA dIM luHAL i-[ na SAG.DU]
21.
sa NIN.DINGIR i-tab-bu-uk u LU.MES sa qi-da-si is-t[u E dIM
E-ma a-na
E a-bi-si u-se-e]r (?) -ra-bu-si
30 Cf. J .-C. Margueron, "Emar ," ABD, 2:488-490. See also idem, "Emar, Capital of
Astata in the Fourteenth Century B.C.E.," BA 58/3 (1995): 126-138; and J.-C. Margueron and M.
Sigrist, "Ernar ," OEANE, 2:236-239; and
The History, Religion,
and Culture of a
Chavalas (
31 Margueron
suggests that several references to Emar found in the
literature from
dating the city back to approximately 2400 B.C.E.,
must be understood in terms of the
rebuilding of the same city on a different site due
to the meandering movements of the
was to abandon the city and rebuild it
nearby." This would also explain why the excavations
suggested that Emar/Tell
Meskene was a relatively newly established city
("Emar," ABD,
2:489).
Cf. J .-C. Margueron,
"La recherche sur Ie terrain," in Meskene-Emar: Dix ans de
travaux 1972-1982,
ed. J.-C. Margueron (
12-13.
See also H. Klengel's review of D. Arnaud's Recherches au pays d’Astarta:
Emar VI; vols.
1-2: Textes
sumeriens et akkadiens, Planches. vol 3: Textes sumeriens et accadiens,
Texte (
Editions
Recherche sur les Civilisations, 1985) in OLl 83
(1988): 646-651; and his summary
of the allusions to Ernar
/Imar found in cuneiform literature of the second
millennium B.C.E.
and the references given there. For more references
to the history and archaeology of Emar
see Klingbeil,
"Ordination and Ritual," 280-281.
32 See the important work of D. E. Fleming, The Installation of Baal's High Priestess at
Emar: A Window on Ancient Syrian Religion, HSS 42 (Atlanta, GA:
Scholars Press, 1992), 9;
and Klingbeil,
"Ordination and Ritual," 281-282, esp. n. 62.
33 D. Arnaud, Recherches au pays d'Astarta: Emar
VI; vol 3: Textes summeriens et
akkadiens,
Texte (
238 SEMINARY STUDIES
38 (AUTUMN 2200)
3.
The daughter of any son of Emar may be identified. On
that same
day they will take fine oil from the palace
4.
and from the temple of dNIN.KUR,
and put (it) on her head. They
will offer before dIM
1 sheep, 1 qu’u-jar,
(and) 1 hizzibu
of wine
20.
Just before the evening watch, they will take fine oil of the temple of
dNIN .KUR and of the palace,
and at the gate of dIM the luHAL
21.
will pour (it) on the NIN.DINGIR's
[head], and when the men of the
qidasu leave the temple of dIM, they will [brin]g
her [into the house of her
father].
The two references to the anointing act occur
during the actions
prescribed for the first and second days. After the
initial identification of
the future high priestess by means of a lot (line
2), the chosen "daughter
of any son of Emar"
is anointed with "fine oil" from the palace. The
introductory time reference to the
second occurrence a-na
pa-ni nu-ba-at-
ti,
"just before the evening watch,"34 refers to the second day of the
ritual,35 which is one of the key
days of the nine-day ceremony.36 It is
significant to note that on each of the important
days of the ritual,
reference is made to the time before the beginning
of the night, which
seems to introduce an important part of the ritual
preparing for the
following day (cf. lines 20,40, and 62).
The origin of the oil is from the
"palace" and from the "temple of
dNIN .KUR." The act of
anointing is often found in both legal and ritual
contexts in Mesopotamian texts37 and
possibly also in connection with the
34 Fleming, Installation, 51. M. Dietrich,
"Das Einsetzungsritualder
Entu von Emar
(Emar VI/3, 369),"