As a Christian, during your reading of the bible, you are bound to realize that there are certain elements that have a very high significance, and some were even treated in a manner to suggest that those objects were sacred. Two major ones that you will definitely notice are the olive tree and anointing oil. After noticing these elements, some questions that are bound to come up in your mind are, why are these objects considered very significant? Why was the olive oil used to anoint kings and priests? What do both the entities of the olive tree and the olive oil symbolize biblically? You may also wonder why the process of obtaining the olive oil from the olive tree was very precise, from the shaking of the tree, to the treading down and beating of the berries.
These two entities have a lot of mystery to them, and you will find it very interesting learning the significance they had back then, and you will gain a new appreciation to these two objects even in this day and age.
Olive Tree
The meaning of olive tree in Hebrew is the ‘tree of oil’. This word has a primitive root to it that basically means ‘to shine’. An alternative word for olive is ‘zayith’ which means ‘yielding illuminating oil’. On the outside, the olive tree does not look much different from any other tree you might come across. You might even say it is quite unattractive and does not contain any outstanding features; it is normal in appearance as well as size. In some seasons of the year, the tree can appear a bit messier, particularly because olives will be littering the ground under the tree.
Significance of the Olive Tree
The first appearance of the olive tree in the bible is in the book of Genesis in the story of Noah, when he sent a dove out and it came back with an olive branch in its beak. From that time, the olive branch has been referred to as a symbol of peace in the modern world, and thus resulted in the introduction of the expression of extending an olive branch to someone. There is also an ancient tradition that suggests that the tree of life in the Garden of Eden was actually an olive tree.
Significance of Olive Oil
Apart from its use in anointing people, olive oil was also used for sacrifices. It is shown in Leviticus that one of the sanctified offerings the nation of Israel made to God was cakes of bread that were anointed with oil. Very sacred objects like the Table of Showbread, the Ark of the Covenant, the Laver, the Altar and the Lamp stand, also known as the Menorah, were all anointed with this very special liquid. It was particularly used for lighting the seven lamps in the Menorah. The daily sacrifices in the temple were also accompanied by olive oil.
These were very interesting facts about the olive tree and olive oil. I love knowing more about the significance of both in the bible.
I have never seen an olive tree and have always wondered what they look like. I love knowing the root of some of symbols and phrases that we use commonly. Fascinating that the root of the Hebrew word for olive tree is to shine or yielding illuminating oil.
I like learning facts about biblical times. My devotionals and study Bible has some and it helps put things in perspective. I’ve never seen an olive tree in person though.
We have a few Olive trees around our house and even though they are messy, I would never cut them down. My husband and I love that we have trees from the book of Genesis in our yard. However I did not know that Olive oil was used in sacrifices. Very interesting!