Motifs of Anointing in the Old Testament and in John

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1 Motifs of Anointing in the Old Testament and in John David Svärd SBL International Meeting, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, July 21, 2013 Introduction Old Testament Allusions One important hypothesis in my dissertation work is that the author of the Gospel of John alludes to several Old Testament anointing motifs in his Gospel as a whole and also specifically in the episode of Jesus anointing in Bethany described in John 12:1-8. The anointing is also anticipated in the second verse of chapter 11. One could also say that I try to test the hypothesis that the anointing of Jesus in Bethany confirms that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Christ, the Messiah of the Old Testament, according to John. In this diagram you can see five anointing motifs in the Old Testament that I think it is likely that John alludes to. John probably considers Jesus to carry all of these offices and functions. Jesus is king. He may function as a high priest. He is a prophet and a bridegroom. His body is a temple a sanctuary. There have been several objections to the notion that the anointing in Bethany is meant to confirm that Jesus is the Messiah: (i) A woman Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, anoints the feet of Jesus and wipes them with her hair; (ii) Jesus says that the anointing was for his burial day. I think that there are answers to these objections but will not discuss them now. Instead I want to speak about another potential objection to my hypothesis that I started to think about when I worked with these texts. Anointing the Holy Spirit In the Bible, the theological concept of anointing is closely related to the concept of giving and receiving of the Spirit of the Lord. In the Old Testament this is probably most obvious in the anointing episodes of the kings Saul and David. And in the prophetic utterance in Isa 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me. I also argue that John held the notion that anointing by God was his giving of the Spirit for specific purposes. The similarities in the function of the Holy Spirit spoken of by Jesus in the farewell discourses in John, with the function of the anointing that the believers have received, spoken of in the First Epistle of John, chapter 2, are an important argument for this. 1

2 Problem If John considers anointing by God to be the gift of the Spirit and this notion also exists in the Old Testament does the Bethany anointing conform to the Old Testament anointing motifs in this regard? This I ask since it is at least not explicitly stated in the Bethany episode that the Holy Spirit comes upon Jesus. Instead Jesus is said to have received the Spirit early in the Gospel narrative. Already in chapter one John the Baptist claims to have seen the Spirit descend upon Jesus and stay on him. Should that event be considered an anointing by God? Furthermore, Jesus is perhaps anointed one more time by Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemos, when he is buried. This event is told in John 19: Question In order to bring clarity in these issues I have analyzed the various descriptions of anointing in the Old Testament. Especially the five types of anointing mentioned above. In John we have two or three events: The descending of the Spirit, the anointing by Mary, and the treatment with myrrh and aloes by Joseph and Nicodemos. Does this sequence of events conform to the Old Testament anointing motifs? Within the different kinds of anointing in the Old Testament there is some variation, but nevertheless a few patterns can be found in the anointings of persons or objects that are initiated for service of the Lord. I will briefly deal with two patterns that I have found, and discuss these patterns in relation to all five anointing motifs. I will also point out the activity of the Lord s Spirit in the anointings. Pattern 1: Anointing by God and by humans The first pattern is that anointing is performed by both humans and by the Lord. Not only humans but also the Lord is, for instance, the active subject of anointing verbs. Kings The kings Saul, David and Jehu are anointed by prophets, i.e. humans, but they are also said to be anointed by the Lord. When Samuel has poured oil on Saul s head he says: Has not the Lord anointed you to be prince over his people Israel? The Spirit came mightily upon Saul and David in connection to their anointings by the prophet. Furthermore, the designation of some kings as the Anointed of the Lord supports the notion that the Lord is the subject of anointing. High Priest and Sanctuary Aaron and his sons were anointed by Moses, the prophet, at their initiation to serve as priests. Likewise the tabernacle, the altar, and all the related objects of the sanctuary were 2

3 anointed with oil by Moses at their initiation. The purpose of these anointings was that the priests and the objects would be sanctified, made holy. However, after the Lord has commanded Moses to perform these anointings, he says: I will myself sanctify the priests and the tabernacle. And when Moses had completed setting up the tabernacle the cloud covered the tabernacle, and the glory of the Lord filled it. It is not unlikely that the Spirit of the Lord was regarded, by John, as active in these manifestations of the presence of the Lord. Prophets Also the prophets had been given the Spirit of the Lord by God. We have an example that Elisha was anointed by Elijah to be prophet. Also if Isa 61:1 refers to a prophetic figure then it is clear that the Lord anointed this prophet and that the anointing meant to have the Spirit of the Lord upon oneself. The Lord s activity can also be traced in the statement about the patriarchs: Touch not My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm! (Ps 105:15; 1 Chr 16:22) Royal Bridegroom The bridegroom: Psalm 45 speaks of a king that has been anointed by the Lord, and since this is a wedding scene it is part of the motif of the anointed royal bridegroom that John alludes to. But this bridegroom also smells from fragrant ointments that have been applied by humans. Conclusion about Pattern 1 In all five types of anointing there are examples of both God and humans being the active agents of anointing. We have also seen exemplified that God s Spirit is probably given in all five anointing types. The descending of the Spirit on Jesus in John might in view of the Old Testament motifs be considered an anointing performed solely by God. I say this because the event resembles to some degree how for example Saul and David received the Spirit, but also since the event seems to be the start of Jesus charismatic activity. Such an understanding of the descending of the Spirit is clear in Luke-Acts. Consequently, it is likely that Jesus, according to John, is anointed once by God and one or two times by humans. The pattern of the Old Testament anointings is therefore repeated in John. 3

4 Pattern 2: Several Anointings The second pattern I want to comment on concerns the number of anointings that there are often several anointings of a person or object in the Old Testament. In connection to this pattern I will only comment on three of the anointing motifs. Kings Let s start with the kings and specifically king David. First the prophet Samuel anoints David king over Israel using oil. The Spirit of the Lord comes upon David in connection to that. That the Lord anointed David we learn from 2 Sam 12:7 and Ps 89:20. Furthermore, after the death of Saul the men of Judah anoint David king of the house of Judah. Later when Judah and Israel are united, all tribes of Israel come together and all the elders of Israel anoint David king over all of Israel. We could therefore speak of three or four anointings of David to be king. The ones performed by the prophet, by the Lord, by the men of Judah, and by all the elders of Israel. Solomon was anointed king over Israel twice. First by a priest and a prophet in Gihon and later before all the leaders of Israel in Jerusalem. Possibly also Jehu was anointed king over Israel twice, once by the prophet Elijah and once by a young prophet sent by Elisha. High Priest In Leviticus and Numbers the high priest, Aaron and his successors, is anointed with the holy anointing oil poured on his head, at his initiation. This kind of anointing does not seem to be given to the rest of the priests. Nevertheless, all of them, both Aaron and his sons, are sprinkled with oil and considered to be anointed. This means that at least the high priest appears to be anointed twice. Tabernacle and Altar The tabernacle sanctuary was anointed once at its initiation, but the altar of whole-burnt offerings was anointed once seven days in a row, i.e. seven times. Conclusion about Pattern 2 The second pattern that a person or object is anointed several times is perhaps not possible to find with all the anointing types, but I have shown that it exists in important cases, of which the anointings of David is the most important one. If Jesus receiving of the Spirit when it descended upon him as a dove is an anointing then Jesus is anointed at least two times in John, possibly three times. Therefore John conforms also to the second Old Testament anointing pattern. 4

5 General Conclusion My general conclusion then is that the fact that Jesus is portrayed as being anointed once by the Lord, and once or twice by humans, conforms quite well to the two mentioned patterns of the Old Testament anointing motifs. Now there are also differences between the motifs as they presented in the Old Testament and in John, respectively. This, however, we should expect since John combines several motifs of anointing together with an unexpected messianic emphasis. Possible Implications This analysis has answered a couple of questions that I had and strengthened my belief that the anointing in Bethany is intended to express that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Christ. When a person or object is anointed several times by God and humans in the Old Testament, these anointings are related to each other and more or less for the same purpose. If John sees these motifs as a background for the anointings of Jesus, this is probably an argument that John considers these anointings of Jesus to be related and more or less for the same purpose. In consequence, both the descending of the Spirit upon Jesus and the anointing of Jesus by Mary with fragrant ointment for his burial day have at least one common meaning. It seems that in a general sense they confirm that Jesus is the Anointed One, the Christ. Further Questions This analysis has highlighted new questions that need to be explored. For instance, what is the exact relation between these anointings, both in the Old Testament and in John? 5