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Course 6 · Lesson 7.1

Anointed ones in the Old Testament: king, priest, prophet

11 minute read

Lessons in this course

Course 6 outline

Module 1: Israel in the Ancient Near East

  1. Egypt, Mesopotamia and Canaan: the world of the Old Testament
  2. What archaeology and ancient texts can and cannot show
  3. Genesis 1 to 3 beside other ancient creation accounts
  4. Ancient cosmology and how Christians and Jews read Genesis

Module 2: Covenant: Abraham and Moses

  1. What a covenant is, and covenant forms in the ancient world
  2. The covenants with Noah and Abraham
  3. The exodus and the covenant at Sinai
  4. The Torah: law, worship and the tabernacle
  5. Covenant in Jewish, Catholic, Orthodox and Reformed thought

Module 3: Kingship in Israel

  1. From the judges to the first kings
  2. David, Jerusalem and the promise of a lasting house
  3. Solomon, the temple and the divided kingdom
  4. How Samuel and Kings tell the story: sources and purpose

Module 4: The Prophets, Exile and Restoration

  1. What a prophet was in Israel and in the ancient world
  2. Amos, Hosea, Isaiah and Micah: justice, loyalty and judgment
  3. Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the fall of Jerusalem
  4. The return, Ezra, Nehemiah and the rebuilt temple
  5. How the prophetic books were formed: the debate over Isaiah and others

Module 5: Wisdom and Apocalyptic Writing

  1. Proverbs and the way of the wise
  2. Job and Ecclesiastes: wisdom that questions
  3. What apocalyptic writing is: Daniel and its setting
  4. Reading apocalyptic images responsibly

Module 6: Second Temple Judaism and the Development of Jewish Thought

  1. Persian, Greek and Maccabean periods
  2. Temple, synagogue and the main groups in Jewish life
  3. Development in Jewish thought: angels, resurrection, wisdom and law
  4. Sources: the Dead Sea Scrolls, the deuterocanonical books and Josephus

Module 7: Messianic Expectation and the Shape of the Covenants

  1. Anointed ones in the Old Testament: king, priest, prophet
  2. Messianic texts in the prophets and psalms
  3. How Jews and Christians read the messianic texts
  4. The promise of a new covenant
  5. Mapping the development of covenant across the Old Testament

All courses

Program / Course 6: Old Testament Theology and History / Lesson 7.1

What you will learn

  • Explain what anointing meant and who was anointed in the Old Testament.
  • Describe the offices of king, priest and prophet and how they relate to later messianic hope.
  • Note that the word messiah is not yet a fixed title in most Old Testament texts.
  • Identify passages where the idea of two anointed figures appears.

The big idea

The Hebrew word mashiach means anointed, and in the Old Testament it names someone set apart by oil for a task. Kings were anointed, priests were anointed and, in a few cases, prophets or a foreign ruler. The word is not yet the fixed title of a single coming deliverer. That use grew later, out of the promise to David and the experience of exile. Understanding the older uses explains how later hopes took shape.

Key terms

Messiah
From the Hebrew mashiach, anointed one. In English it came to mean the expected deliverer, especially in Jewish and Christian use.
Christ
From the Greek christos, anointed one, the translation of mashiach in the Septuagint and the New Testament.
Anointing
The rite of pouring or rubbing oil on a person or object to set it apart for God.
Office
A role with duties, such as king, priest or prophet, filled by a succession of people.
Melchizedek
The priest-king of Salem who blessed Abraham in Genesis 14, mentioned again in Psalm 110 and Hebrews 7.
Royal ideology
The set of beliefs in the ancient Near East about the king as chosen by the gods, a son of the god, and keeper of justice.
Spirit of the Lord
In the Old Testament, the power of God that comes on people for a task, as on judges, kings and prophets.

Background

Anointing was a common ritual in the ancient Near East. Kings, priests and sacred objects were anointed with olive oil, often scented, to mark them as holy. The oil was a sign that the person was set apart. In Israel, the anointing often went with the coming of the Spirit of the Lord, as when Samuel anoints David and the Spirit comes mightily on him from that day forward (1 Samuel 16:13).

The word mashiach occurs about forty times in the Hebrew Bible, nearly always in the sense of a person who has been anointed, such as the anointed priest or the Lord’s anointed king. It is not typically a title for a figure of the future. Later Jewish and Christian readers came to hear it as a title, and this lesson asks how that came about.

A student should keep two things in mind. First, the Old Testament uses the word in a range of senses. Second, later expectation is built on these senses and also reinterprets them. Jews and Christians differ on how the expectation was fulfilled, and later lessons deal with that.

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1: The anointed king

Samuel anoints Saul (1 Samuel 10:1) and then David (1 Samuel 16). David refuses to harm Saul because he is the Lord’s anointed (1 Samuel 24:6). Solomon is anointed by the priest Zadok and the prophet Nathan (1 Kings 1:39). The king is thus called the anointed of the Lord, and his person is protected. The royal psalms speak of the anointed king: Psalm 2 says that the nations plot against the Lord and his anointed, and the Lord says to the king, Thou art my son; this day have I begotten thee (Psalm 2:7).

The language of sonship has parallels in the royal ideology of Egypt and Mesopotamia, where the king was a son of the god. In Israel it is bound to the promise of 2 Samuel 7, where God says, I will be his father, and he shall be my son. Most scholars understand it as expressing adoption and special favor, not divine nature. Christians read the same psalms in the light of Christ.

Step 2: The anointed priest

Aaron and his sons were anointed to the priesthood (Exodus 29 and 40). Leviticus 4 speaks of the anointed priest, meaning the high priest, who is held responsible for the people when he sins. In the postexilic period, the high priest becomes increasingly important as a leader, and in Zechariah the high priest Joshua stands with the governor Zerubbabel. The prophet sees two olive trees and is told that they are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth (Zechariah 4:14).

Psalm 110 adds another thread. The Lord says to the king, Sit thou at my right hand, and also that he is a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek. The verse combines kingship and priesthood in one figure, which is unusual in Israel, where the offices were separate. Hebrews 7 uses the psalm to describe Christ as a priest-king.

Step 3: Prophets and others

The Lord tells Elijah to anoint Elisha as prophet in his place (1 Kings 19:16). Psalm 105:15 speaks of the patriarchs: Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm. In Isaiah 61:1, a speaker says, The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek. The figure is not named. Some scholars take him as a prophet, some as the servant, and some as a future figure. Jesus reads this passage in the synagogue at Nazareth and applies it to himself (Luke 4:18 and 21).

Most surprising, Isaiah 45:1 calls the Persian king Cyrus the Lord’s anointed. The word is used for a foreign ruler because God used him to bring the exiles home. This shows that being anointed was about a task given by God and not about descent.

Step 4: From offices to expectation

After the monarchy ended, the promise to David and the memory of anointed kings turned into hope. The prophets spoke of a shoot from the stump of Jesse, a righteous branch and a ruler to come. The word anointed was applied to the expected king only gradually. In Daniel 9:25 and 26, an anointed one or prince and an anointed one who is cut off are mentioned, and interpreters differ on whom they mean.

In the Second Temple period, texts such as the Psalms of Solomon speak of a son of David who will rule in justice. The Dead Sea Scrolls refer to the messiahs of Aaron and Israel, a priestly and a royal figure, in some of the community’s writings. In the first century, expectations varied widely: some looked for a king, some for a priest, some for a prophet, and some for no single figure.

  1. What does anointing symbolize in the Old Testament?
  2. Why is the king called the Lord’s anointed, and what does that mean for how he is treated?
  3. What is the significance of Cyrus being called an anointed one?
  4. How does Psalm 110 combine the offices of king and priest?
  5. What do the two anointed ones of Zechariah 4 suggest about leadership after the exile?
  6. How did the idea of a single coming messiah grow from the older uses?

Examples

David and Saul in the cave

In 1 Samuel 24, David could have killed Saul in a cave but cuts off only the corner of his robe, and even that troubles him. He says he will not stretch out his hand against the Lord’s anointed. The anointed one’s person is sacred even when he fails.

Jesus reading Isaiah 61

Luke 4 tells that Jesus read the words The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me, and then said that this Scripture was fulfilled in their hearing. Christians read the passage as announcing Christ’s mission, and Jewish readers have taken it as spoken by the prophet.

Two messiahs at Qumran

The Community Rule at Qumran speaks of the coming of a prophet and the messiahs of Aaron and Israel. The text shows that some groups expected a priest and a king as separate figures. It is an example of the variety of expectations in the period.

Different perspectives

Jewish readers

In Judaism the messiah is the expected king from the line of David who will restore Israel, gather exiles, rebuild the temple and bring peace. Priests and kings were anointed in the past, and the term in its fullest sense is reserved for the future figure. Jewish thought does not require a priestly or prophetic messiah.

Catholic readers

The Church teaches that Jesus is the Christ, anointed as priest, prophet and king. The Catechism uses this threefold pattern to describe Christ’s office, drawing on the Old Testament uses of anointing.

Orthodox readers

The Orthodox use the threefold pattern as well, and baptize and chrismate converts with holy oil. Christ is the Anointed One whom the Old Testament anointed figures foreshadowed, and Christians share in his anointing.

Protestant readers

Calvin made the threefold office of prophet, priest and king central to his teaching about Christ, and many Protestants follow. Evangelical interpretation stresses fulfillment of the Old Testament offices in Jesus. Some scholars caution that the Old Testament does not use the pattern directly.

Scholarly views

Scholars argue about how early a singular messianic expectation developed. Some find it in the monarchy or exile, while others place it mainly in the Second Temple period.

Why it matters

If messiah is thought of as a fixed title from the start, the Old Testament texts get flattened. Seeing the range of anointed figures shows how rich the background was and why first-century hopes varied. It also helps Jews and Christians state their own views in an accurate way, and it explains how the New Testament could draw on kings, priests and prophets at once.

Common misunderstandings

Misunderstanding: The Old Testament uses messiah as a title for one coming figure.

Correction: In most passages the word names a person already anointed, such as a king or priest. The use for an expected deliverer grew later.

Misunderstanding: Only kings were anointed.

Correction: Priests were anointed, prophets in some cases, and a Persian king is called anointed.

Misunderstanding: All Jews of the first century expected the same kind of messiah.

Correction: The sources show different expectations: a king, a priest, a prophet, a heavenly figure, or no single person.

Knowledge check

What does mashiach mean and who is called by it in the Old Testament?

It means anointed. It is used of kings such as Saul and David, of the anointed high priest in Leviticus, of the patriarchs in Psalm 105, and of the Persian king Cyrus in Isaiah 45. It is mostly a description of someone already anointed, and not yet a fixed title for a future deliverer. Greek christos translates it.

What is the significance of Psalm 110?

It addresses a king whom the Lord invites to sit at his right hand, and declares him a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. The psalm joins kingship and priesthood, which were normally separate in Israel. It is quoted often in the New Testament, especially in Hebrews, and Jews and Christians read it differently.

Who are the two anointed ones in Zechariah 4?

The vision of two olive trees is explained as the two anointed ones who stand before the Lord of the whole earth. Most scholars identify them with the governor Zerubbabel, of David’s line, and the high priest Joshua, who led the community after the return. The picture is of shared leadership by a royal and a priestly figure.

How did the Dead Sea Scrolls add to the picture of messianic expectation?

Some texts from Qumran speak of the messiahs of Aaron and Israel, a priestly and a royal figure, along with a coming prophet. This shows that at least one Jewish group expected more than one anointed leader. It demonstrates the variety of expectations before and during the time of Jesus.

Think it through

  1. Why might an ancient people use oil to set a person apart?
  2. What changes when a title for an office becomes a title for a hoped-for person?
  3. How does knowing that Cyrus is called anointed affect your view of the word?
  4. What might be the strengths and weaknesses of imagining the messiah as a king, a priest and a prophet at once?

Independent assignment

Anointed figures in a chart

In your own notebook, make a chart of at least eight Old Testament passages where anointing or the Lord’s anointed appears. For each, record the person, the office, the passage and what it shows. Then write 250 to 350 words answering the question: why is it a mistake to read every Old Testament use of anointed as a prediction of one future messiah, and what is true in later hopes? Keep it for yourself.

Further study