OIL
expressly
termed
in
Ex
27^°,
Lv
24^
etc.,
according
to
tlie
more
correct
rendering
of
RV.
Considering
liow
very
numerous
these
references
are
—
some
two
hundred
in
all
—
it
is
surprising
that
there
should
be
so
few
that
throw
light
on
the
methods
adopted
in
the
preparation
of
this
indispensable
product
of
the
olive
tree.
1.
Preparation
of
oil.
—
By
combining
these
meagre
references
with
the
fuller
data
of
the
Mishua,
as
illus-trated
by
the
actual
remains
of
oil-presses,
either
still
above
ground
or
recently
recovered
from
the
soil
of
Palestine,
it
is
possible
to
follow
with
some
minuteness
the
principal
methods
adopted.
The
olives
were
either
shaken
from
the
tree
or
beaten
down
by
striking
the
branches
with
a
light
pole,
as
illustrated
on
Greek
vases
(illust.
in
Vigouroux,
Diet,
de
la
Bible,
art.
'Huile').
The
latter
method
supplies
Isaiah
with
a
pathetic
figure
of
Israel
(176
RVm).
The
finest
quality
of
oil
was
got
by
selecting
the
best
berries
before
they
were
fully
ripe.
These
were
pounded
in
a
mortar,
after
which
the
pulp
was
poured
into
a
basket
of
rushes
or
wickerwork.
From
this,
as
a
strainer,
the
liquid
was
allowed
to
run
off
into
a
receiving
vessel.
After
the
oil
had
floated
and
been
purified,
it
formed
■beaten
oil,'
such
as
had
to
be
provided
for
the
light-ing
of
the
Tabernacle
(Ex
27™,
Lv
242;
of.
1
K
5"
RVm).
In
the
preparation
of
the
oil
required
for
ordinary
domestic
use,
however,
the
methods
adopted
closely
resembled
those
for
the
making
of
wine.
Indeed,
it
is
evident
that
the
same
apparatus
served
for
the
making
both
of
wine
and
of
oil
(see
Wine
for
the
names
of
the
parts,
and
note
the
phrase,
,11
2",
'
the
fats
[vats]
shall
overflow
with
wine
and
oil').
From
evidence,
literary
and
archaeological,
it
is
clear
that
there
were
various
kinds
of
oil-presses
in
use
in
different
periods.
A
very
common,
if
not
quite
the
simplest,
type
consisted
of
a
shallow
trough
hewn
in
the
native
rock,
from
which,
as
in
the
simUar,
if
not
identical,
wine-press,
a
conducting
channel
carried
the
expressed
liquid
to
a
slightly
lower
trough
or
oil-vat.
In
early
times
it
appears
as
if
a
preliminary
pressing
was
made
with
the
feet
alone
(Mic
6").
In
the
absence
of
a
suitable
rock-surface,
as
would
naturally
be
the
case
within
a
city
of
any
antiquity,
a
solid
block
of
limestone
—
circular,
four-sided,
and
eight-
sided
(Megiddo)
are
the
shapes
recovered
by
recent
explorers
—
was
hollowed
to
the
depth
of
a
few
inches,
a
rim
being
left
all
round
save
at
one
corner.
Such
presses
were
found
at
Taanach
(illust.
SeUin,
Tell
Ta'annek,
61,
reproduced
in
Benzinger's
Heb.
Arch.''
[1907]
144),
and
elsewhere.
In
these
the
olives
were
crushed
by
means
of
a
large
round
stone.
The
liquid
was
either
allowed
to
collect
in
a
large
cup-hollow
in
the
surface
of
the
trough,
from
which
it
was
baled
out
by
hand
(PEFSt,
1903,
p.
112),
or
it
was
run
off
into
a
vessel
placed
at
the
corner
above
mentioned
(see
Sellin's
illust.,
and
op.
eit.
60
f.,
93).
At
a
later
period,
as
we
learn
from
the
Mishna,
a
stone
in
the
shape
of
the
modern
millstone
was
used.
Through
the
centre
a
pole
was
inserted,
by
which
it
was
made
to
revolve
on
its
narrow
side
round
the
circular
trough
—
a
method
still
in
use
in
Syria.
From
the
oil-mill,
as
this
apparatus
may
be
termed,
the
product
of
which
naturally,
after
purification,
pro-duced
the
finer
sort
of
oil,
the
pulp
was
transferred
to
the
oil-press
properly
so
called.
Here
it
was
placed
in
baskets
piled
one
above
the
other.
Pressure
was
then
applied
for
the
extraction
of
a
second
quality
of
oil,
by
means
of
a
heavy
wooden
beam
worked
as
a
lever
by
ropes
and
heavy
weights,
or
by
a
windlass.
Details
of
the
fittings
of
these
'press-houses,'
as
they
are
named
in
the
Mishna,
and
of
another
type
of
press
formed
of
two
upright
monoliths
with
a
third
laid
across,
the
whole
resembling
the
Gr.
letter
n,
have
been
collected
by
the
present
writer
in
the
art.
'
Oil
'
in
BBi
iii.
3467,
and
may
now
be
controlled
by
the
account
of
the
elaborate
OIL
TREE
underground
'press-house'
described
and
illustrated
by
Bliss
and
Macalister
in
Excavations
in
Palestine,
p.
208
f
.
and
plate
92
(cf.
ib.
196
t.
and
Index).
The
expressed
liquid,
both
from
the
oil-mill
and
from
the
oil-press,
was
collected
either
in
a
rock-cut
vat
or
in
separate
Jars.
In
these
it
was
allowed
to
settle,
when
the
oil
rose
to
the
top,
leaving
a
bitter,
watery
liquid,
the
amurca
of
the
Romans,
and
other
refuse
behind.
Oil
in
this
fresh
state
is
distinguished
in
OT
from
the
refined
and
purified
product;
the
former
is
yitshSr,
so
frequently
named
along
with
'new
wine'
or
must
(tlrBsh,
see
Wine,
§
1)
and
corn
as
one
of
the
chief
prod-ucts
of
Canaan;
the
latter
is
always
shemen,
but
the
distinction
is
not
observed
in
our
versions.
The
fresh
oil
or
yitshar
was
refined
in
the
same
manner
as
wine,
by
being
poured
from
vessel
to
vessel,
and
was
afterwards
stored
in
jars
and
in
skins.
A
smaller
quantity
for
im-mediate
use
was
kept
in
a
small
earthenware
pot
—
the
vial
of
1
S
101
and
of
2
K
9>
RV
(AV
'box')—
or
in
a
horn
(1
S
16i-
",
1
K
ps).
2.
Uses
of
oil.
—
Foremost
among
what
may
be
called
the
secular
uses
of
oil
may
be
placed
its
daily
employment
as
a
cosmetic,
already
dealt
with
under
Anointing
(see
also
Ointment).
This
was
the
oil
that
made
the
face
to
shine
(Ps
104").
As
in
all
Eastern
lands,
oil
was
largely
used
in
the
preparation
of
food
;
familiarity
with
this
use
of
it
is
presupposed
in
the
comparison
of
the
taste
of
the
strange
manna
to
that
of
the
familiar
'
cakes
baked
with
oil'
(Nu
11'
RVm;
see,
further,
Meals,
§
1,
end).
Oil
was
also
indispensable
for
the
lighting
of
the
house
after
nightfall.
In
addition
to
the
universal
olive
oil,
the
Mishna
(Shabbath,
ii.
1
f
.)
names
a
variety
of
other
oils
then
in
use,
among
them
oil
of
sesame,
fish
oil,
castor
oil,
and
naphtha.
That
used
in
the
Temple
(1
Ch
9^9)
was
no
doubt
of
the
finest
quality?
like
the
'beaten
oil'
for
the
Tabernacle
above
described.
The
medicinal
properties
of
oil
were
early
recognized
(Is
1'
RV);
the
Good
Samaritan
mixed
his
with
wine
(Lk
10='),
producing
an
antiseptic
mentioned
also
in
post-Biblical
Jewish
writings.
Oil
has
a
prominent
place
in
the
ritual
of
the
Priests'
Code,
particularly
in
the
preparation
of
the
'meal-
offering'
(Lv
21-
'
etc.).
It
also
appears
in
connexion
with
the
leprosy-offering
(14'™)
and
in
other
connexions,
but
is
absent
from
the
sin-offering
(5"')
and
the
jealousy-
offering
(Nu
S"*).
For
the
special
case
of
the
'holy
anointing
oil'
(Ex
30"-^),
see
Ointment.
As
might
have
been
expected
from
the
extensive
cultivation
of
the
olive
by
the
Hebrews,
oil
not
only
formed
an
important
article
of
inland
commerce,
but
was
exported
in
large
quantities
both
to
the
West,
by
way
of
Tyre
(Ezk
27"),
and
to
Egypt
(Hos
12").
This
abundance
of
oil
furnished
the
Hebrew
poets
with
a
figure
for
material
prosperity
in
general,
as
in
Dt
332<
'
He
shall
dip
his
foot
in
oil.'
From
its
being
in
daily
use
to
anoint
the
heads
of
one's
guests
at
a
festive
meal
(Ps
23^
etc.),
oil
became
by
association
a
symbol
of
joy
and
gladness
(Ps
45'
=He
1',
Is
61').
A.
R.
S.
Kennedy.
on.
TREE
V^ts-shemen,
1
K
62»]
"->»
[plur.
'«(sg-shemen],
AV
'olive
tree,'
mg.
'trees
of
oU'
or
'oily
trees,'
RV
'olive
wood';
Neh
8"
AV
'pine
branches,'
RV
'branches
of
wild
olive';
Is
41"
AV
and
RV
'oil
tree,'
RVm
'oleaster').
Where
there
is
such
variation
in
translation,
it
is
evident
that
what
particular
'tree
of
oil'
is
here
referred
to
is
far
from
determined.
The
olive
itself
is
improbable
from
Neh
8",
where
the
olive
tree
is
mentioned
just
before;
and
that
the
branches
of
'wild
oUve'
should
be
specially
specified,
where
so
like
those
of
the
cultivated
variety,
is
improbable.
The
oleaster
(JEleagnus
angustifolia),
a
beautiful
and
common
shrub,
would
suit,
except
that
it
is
difficult
to
see
how
it
could
ever
have
furnished
a
block
of
wood
suflJcient
for
the
two
cherubim
'each
ten
cubits
high'
(1
K
6«);
olive
wood
(as
RV
suggests)
would
certainly
seem
more
appropriate.
Perhaps
Post's
suggestion
