Bible Strands
Exodus 37:29
He also made the sacred anointing oil and the pure, fragrant incense, the work of a perfumer.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The narrator records this detail during the tabernacle construction account, immediately following the completion of the Ark’s carrying poles. The text describes the craftsman’s work without addressing a specific audience.
The words — שֶׁמֶן הַמִּשְׁחָה (shemen ha-mishchah) translates literally to “the oil of anointing,” and קְטֹרֶת הַסַּמִּים (qetoret ha-sammim) means “the incense of perfumes.” The verb וַיַּעַשׂ (va-ya'as) denotes the active crafting of these items.
The thread — The specific formulation of the sacred oil is first prescribed in Exodus 30:23, while the concept of consecrating oil appears later in Psalms 23:5. The incense parallels the altar of incense instructions found earlier in the tabernacle blueprint.
Why it lands — The text establishes that holy objects require specific, crafted materials and a designated artisan, demanding precise obedience to the given specifications rather than improvised worship.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And he made the holy anointing oil, and the pure incense of sweet spices, according to the work of the apothecary.
Cross-references
- Exodus 30:23 “Take the finest spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh, half that amount (250 shekels) of fragrant cinnamon, 250 shekels of fragrant cane,
- Psalms 14:1 For the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good.
- Psalms 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
- Psalms 92:10 But You have exalted my horn like that of a wild ox; with fine oil I have been anointed.
- Psalms 141:2 May my prayer be set before You like incense; my uplifted hands, like the evening offering.
- Ecclesiastes 10:1 As dead flies bring a stench to the perfumer’s oil, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.
- Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
- Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
- Isaiah 61:3 to console the mourners in Zion—to give them a crown of beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, and a garment of praise for a spirit of despair. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified.
- John 3:34 For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.