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Holy Anointing Oil
In the ancient Israelite religion, the holy anointing oil () formed an integral part of the ordination of the priesthood and the High Priest as well as in the consecration of the articles of the Tabernacle ( Exodus 30:26) and subsequent temples in Jerusalem. The primary purpose of anointing with the holy anointing oil was to sanctify, to set the anointed person or object apart as , or "holy" (Exodus 30:29). Originally, the oil was used exclusively for the priests and the Tabernacle articles, but its use was later extended to include kings (1 Samuel 10:1). It was forbidden to be used on an outsider (Exodus 30:33) or to be used on the body of any common person (Exodus 30:32a) and the Israelites were forbidden to duplicate any like it for themselves (Exodus 30:32b). Some segments of Christianity have continued the practice of using holy anointing oil as a devotional practice, as well as in various liturgies. A variant form, known as oil of Abramelin, is used in Ecclesia Gnostic ...
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Ancient Israelite Religion
Yahwism, also known as the Israelite religion, was the ancient Semitic religion of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah and the ethnic religion of the Israelites. The Israelite religion was a derivative of the Canaanite religion and a Polytheism, polytheistic religion that had a Pantheon (religion), pantheon with various gods and goddesses. The primary deity of the religion and the king of the gods, head of the Pantheon (religion), pantheon was Yahweh, the national god of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Judah, Judah and Kingdom of Israel (Samaria), Israel. The majority of scholars hold that the goddess Asherah was the consort of Yahweh, though some scholars disagree. Following this divine duo were second-tier gods and goddesses, such as Baal, Shamash, Yarikh, Mot (god) , Mot, and Astarte, with each having priests and prophets, and numbering royalty among their devotees. The practices of Yahwism included festivals, ritual sacrifices, vow-making, private ritu ...
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Rabbinical Judaism
Rabbinic Judaism (), also called Rabbinism, Rabbinicism, Rabbanite Judaism, or Talmudic Judaism, is rooted in the many forms of Judaism that coexisted and together formed Second Temple Judaism in the land of Israel, giving birth to classical rabbinic Judaism, which flourished from the 1st century CE to the final redaction of the Babylonian Talmud in c. 600. Mainly developing after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple (70 CE), it eventually became the normative form of Judaism. Rabbinic Judaism has been an orthodox form of Judaism since the 6th century CE, after the codification of the Babylonian Talmud. It has its roots in the Pharisaic school of Second Temple Judaism and is based on the belief that Moses at Mount Sinai received both the Written Torah (''Torah she-be-Khetav'') and the Oral Torah (''Torah she-be-al Peh'') from God. The Oral Torah explains the Written Torah, and it was the rabbis claimed that it was them who possessed this memorized and orally transmitted par ...
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Targum
A targum (, ''interpretation'', ''translation'', ''version''; plural: targumim) was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ) that a professional translator ( ''mǝṯurgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the listeners when that was not Biblical Hebrew. This had become necessary near the end of the first century BCE, as the common language was Aramaic and Hebrew was used for little more than schooling and worship. The translator frequently expanded his translation with paraphrases, explanations and examples, so it became a kind of sermon. Writing down the targum was initially prohibited; nevertheless, some targumitic writings appeared as early as the middle of the first century. They were not recognized as authoritative by the religious leaders. Some subsequent Jewish traditions, beginning with the Jews of Lower Mesopotamia, accepted the written targumim as authoritative translations of the Hebrew scriptures into Aramaic. Today, the com ...
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Spice Trade
The spice trade involved historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe. Spices, such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, star anise, clove, and turmeric, were known and used in antiquity and traded in the Eastern World. These spices found their way into the Near East before the beginning of the Christian era, with fantastic tales hiding their true sources. The maritime aspect of the trade was dominated by the Austronesian peoples in Southeast Asia, namely the ancient Indonesian sailors who established routes from Southeast Asia to Sri Lanka and India (and later China) by 1500 BC. These goods were then transported by land toward the Mediterranean and the Greco-Roman world via the incense route and the Roman–India routes by Indian and Persian traders.Fage 1975: 164 The Austronesian maritime trade lanes later expanded into the Middle East and eastern Africa by the 1st millennium AD, resulting in the Austronesian colonization of Madagas ...
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Olive Oil
Olive oil is a vegetable oil obtained by pressing whole olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea'', a traditional Tree fruit, tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin) and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking for frying foods, as a condiment, or as a salad dressing. It can also be found in some cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, soaps, and fuels for traditional oil lamps. It also has additional uses in some religions. The olive is one of three core food plants in Mediterranean cuisine, with wheat and grapes. Olive trees have been cultivated around the Mediterranean since the 8th millennium BC. In 2022, Spain was the world's largest producer, manufacturing 24% of the world's total. Other large producers were Italy, Greece, and Turkey, collectively accounting for 59% of the global market. The composition of olive oil varies with the cultivar, altitude, time of harvest, and extraction process. It consists mainly of oleic acid (up to 83%), with smaller amounts of other fatty acids ...
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Cinnamomum Aromaticum
''Cinnamomum cassia'', called Chinese cassia or Chinese cinnamon, is an evergreen tree originating in southern China and widely cultivated there and elsewhere in South Asia, South and Southeast Asia. It is one of several species of ''Cinnamomum'' used primarily for its aromatic bark, which is used as a spice. The buds are also used as a spice, especially in India, and were used by the ancient Romans. Description The tree grows to tall, with grayish bark and hard, elongated leaves that are long and reddish when young. Origin and types Chinese cassia is a close relative to Ceylon cinnamon (''Cinnamomum verum, C. verum''), Saigon cinnamon (''C. loureiroi''), Indonesian cinnamon (''Cinnamomum burmannii, C. burmannii''), and Malabar cinnamon (''Cinnamomum citriodorum, C. citriodorum''). In all five species, the dried bark is used as a spice. Chinese cassia's flavor is less delicate than that of Ceylon cinnamon. Its bark is thicker, more difficult to crush, and has a rougher tex ...
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Acorus Calamus
''Acorus calamus'' (also called sweet flag, sway or muskrat root, among many other common names) is a species of flowering plant with psychoactive chemicals. It is a tall wetland monocot of the family Acoraceae, in the genus ''Acorus.'' Although used in traditional medicine over centuries to treat digestive disorders and pain, it has no clinical evidence of safety or efficacy and may be toxic if ingested, and so has been commercially banned in the United States. Description Sweet flag is a herbaceous perennial, tall. Its leaves resemble those of the iris family. Sweet flag consists of tufts of basal leaves that rise from a spreading rhizome In botany and dendrology, a rhizome ( ) is a modified subterranean plant stem that sends out roots and Shoot (botany), shoots from its Node (botany), nodes. Rhizomes are also called creeping rootstalks or just rootstalks. Rhizomes develop from .... The leaves are erect yellowish-brown, radical, with pink sheathing at their base ...
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Cinnamomum Verum
''Cinnamomum verum'' ( synonym ''Cinnamomum zeylanicum'', also called true cinnamon tree or Ceylon cinnamon tree) is a small evergreen tree belonging to the family Lauraceae, native to Sri Lanka. The inner bark of the tree is historically regarded as the spice cinnamon, though this term was later generalized to include '' C. cassia'' as well. Description ''Cinnamomum verum'' trees are tall. The leaves are ovate-oblong in shape and long. The flowers, which are arranged in panicles, have a greenish color and a distinct odor. The fruit is a purple 1 cm (0.5 in) drupe containing a single seed. Cultivation The old botanical synonym for the tree, ''Cinnamomum zeylanicum'', is derived from Sri Lanka's former name, Ceylon. Sri Lanka still produces 80–90% of the world's supply of ''C. verum'', which is also cultivated on a commercial scale in the Seychelles, Madagascar and Tanzania. On Borneo, ''Cinnamomum verum'' is cultivated at low elevations in Sarawak ( Kuching District), Saba ...
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Biblical And Talmudic Units Of Measurement
Biblical and Talmudic units of measurement were used primarily by ancient Israelites and appear frequently within the Hebrew Bible as well as in later rabbinic writings, such as the Mishnah and Talmud. These units of measurement continue to be used in functions regulating Orthodox Jewish contemporary life, based on halacha. The specificity of some of the units used and which are encompassed under these systems of measurement (whether in linear distance, weight or volume of capacity) have given rise, in some instances, to disputes, owing to the discontinuation of their Hebrew names and their replacement by other names in modern usage. Note: The listed measurements of this system range from the lowest to highest acceptable halakhic value, in terms of conversion to and from contemporary systems of measurement. Unit conversion Archaeological While documentation on each unit's relation to another's is plentiful, there is much debate, both within Judaism and in Jewish studies, academia ...
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Myrrh
Myrrh (; from an unidentified ancient Semitic language, see '' § Etymology'') is a gum-resin extracted from a few small, thorny tree species of the '' Commiphora'' genus, belonging to the Burseraceae family. Myrrh resin has been used throughout history in medicine, perfumery, and incenses. Myrrh mixed with posca or wine was widely used in many ancient cultures to produce pleasurable feelings and as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic. Extraction and production When a cut on a tree penetrates through the bark and into the sapwood, the tree secretes a resin. Myrrh gum, like frankincense, is such a resin. Myrrh is harvested by repeatedly cutting the trees to bleed the gum, which is waxy and coagulates quickly. After the harvest, the gum becomes hard and glossy. The gum is yellowish and may be either clear or opaque. It darkens deeply as it ages, and white streaks emerge. Myrrh gum is commonly harvested from trees of the genus Commiphora. It is commonly extracted fro ...
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Saint Thomas Christians
The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an Ethnoreligious group, ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala (Malabar region), who, for the most part, employ the East Syriac Rite, Eastern and West Syriac Rite, Western liturgical rites of Syriac Christianity. They trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. The Saint Thomas Christians had been historically a part of the hierarchy of the Church of the East but are now divided into several different Eastern Catholic Church, Eastern Catholic, Oriental Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodox, Protestantism, Protestant, and independent bodies, each with their own liturgies and traditions. They are based in Kerala and they speak Malayalam. ''Nasrani'' or Nazarene (title), Nazarene is a Syriac term for Christians, who were among the first converts to Christianity in ...
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Coptic Church
The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the Apostolic see, See of Alexandria is the pope of Alexandria on the Holy Apostolic See of Mark the Evangelist, Saint Mark, who also carries the title of Father of fathers, Shepherd of shepherds, Ecumenical Judge and the 13th among the Apostles. The See of Alexandria is titular see, titular. The Coptic pope presides from Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in the Abbassia District in Cairo. The church follows the Coptic Rite for its liturgy, prayer and devotional patrimony. Adherents of the Coptic Orthodox Church make up Egypt's largest and most significant minority population, and the largest population of Christians in the Middle East and North Africa, Middle East and North Africa (MENA). They make up the largest share of the approximately 10 million Christians in Egypt. ...
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