What the Bible Says About Oil and Wine Symbolism

Scripture

¹⁸ So early in the morning Jacob took the stone that he had put under his head and set it up for a pillar and poured oil on the top of it.
¹⁹ He called the name of that place Bethel, but the name of the city was Luz at the first.
²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to eat and clothing to wear,
²¹ so that I come again to my father’s house in peace, then the Lord shall be my God,
²² And this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, shall be God’s house. And of all that you give me I will give a full tenth to you.”

Genesis 28:18-22

Exodus 30:22-33: ²² The Lord said to Moses,
²³ “Take the finest spices: of liquid myrrh 500 shekels, and of sweet-smelling cinnamon half as much, that is, 250, and 250 of aromatic cane,”
²⁴ and cassia, and onycha, and galbanum, sweet spices with pure frankincense (of each shall there be an equal part),
²⁵ And you shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil.
²⁶ With it you shall anoint the tent of meeting and the ark of the testimony,
²⁷ And the table and all its utensils, and the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense,
²⁸ and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils and the basin and its stand,
²⁹ You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy. Whatever touches them will become holy.
³⁰ You shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may serve me as priests.
³¹ And you shall say to the people of Israel, ‘This shall be my holy anointing oil throughout your generations.
³² It shall not be poured on the body of an ordinary person, and you shall make no other like it in composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.
³³ Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.

Leviticus 2:1-10: ¹ “When anyone brings a grain offering as an offering to the Lord, his offering shall be of fine flour. He shall pour oil on it and put frankincense on it

² And he shall bring it to Aaron’s sons the priests, and shall take from it a handful of the fine flour and oil, with all of its frankincense, and the priest shall burn this as its memorial portion on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
³ And the rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the Lord’s food offerings.
⁴ “When you bring a grain offering baked in the oven as an offering, it shall be unleavened loaves of fine flour mixed with oil or unleavened wafers smeared with oil.
⁵ And if your offering is a grain offering baked on a griddle, it shall be of fine flour unleavened, mixed with oil.
⁶ You shall break it in pieces and pour oil on it; it is a grain offering.
⁷ And if your offering is a grain offering baked in the oven, it shall be unleavened cakes of fine flour mixed with oil, or unleavened wafers smeared with oil.
⁸ And you shall bring the grain offering that is made of these things to the Lord, and when it is presented to the priest, he shall bring it to the altar.
⁹ And the priest shall take from the grain offering its memorial portion and burn this on the altar, a food offering with a pleasing aroma to the Lord.
¹⁰ But the rest of the grain offering shall be for Aaron and his sons; it is a most holy part of the Lord’s food offerings.

Leviticus 24:1-4: ¹ The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,
² “Command the people of Israel to bring you pure oil from beaten olives for the lamp, that a light may be kept burning regularly.
³ Outside the veil of the testimony, in the tent of meeting, Aaron shall arrange it from evening to morning before the Lord regularly. It shall be a statute forever throughout your generations.
⁴ He shall arrange the lamps on the lampstand of pure gold before the Lord regularly.

Deuteronomy 7:12-13: ¹² And because you listen to these rules and keep and do them, the Lord your God will keep with you the covenant and the steadfast love that he swore to your fathers.
¹³ He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will also bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground, your grain and your wine and your oil, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock, in the land that he swore to your fathers to give you.

Deuteronomy 11:13-14: ¹³ “And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the Lord your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul,”
¹⁴ that I will give you the rain of your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil.

Judges 9:8-15: ⁸ The trees once went out to anoint a king over them, and they said to the olive tree, ‘Reign over us.’
⁹ But the olive tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my abundance, by which gods and men are honored, and go hold sway over the trees?’
¹⁰ And the trees said to the fig tree, ‘You come and reign over us.’
¹¹ But the fig tree said to them, ‘Shall I leave my sweetness and my good fruit and go hold sway over the trees?’
¹² And the trees said to the vine, ‘You come and reign over us.’
¹³ “But the vine said to them, ‘Shall I leave my wine that cheers God and men and go hold sway over the trees?’”
¹⁴ Then all the trees said to the bramble, ‘You come and reign over us.’
¹⁵ And the bramble said to the trees, ‘If in good faith you are anointing me king over you, then come and take refuge in my shade, but if not, let fire come out of the bramble and devour the cedars of Lebanon.’

1 Samuel 16:1-13: ¹⁶ The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you grieve over Saul, since I have rejected him from being king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil, and go. I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite, for I have provided for myself a king among his sons.”
² And Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears it, he will kill me.” And the Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.’
³ Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what you shall do. And you shall anoint for me him whom I declare to you.”
⁴ Samuel did what the Lord commanded and came to Bethlehem.
⁵ And he said, “Peaceably; I have come to sacrifice to the Lord. Consecrate yourselves, and come with me to the sacrifice.” And he consecrated Jesse and his sons and invited them to the sacrifice.
⁶ When they came, he looked on Eliab and thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed is before him.”
⁷ But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”
⁸ Then Jesse called Abinadab and made him pass before Samuel. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”
⁹ Then Jesse made Shammah pass by. And he said, “Neither has the Lord chosen this one.”
¹⁰ Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel. And Samuel said to Jesse, “The Lord has not chosen these.”
¹¹ Then Samuel said to Jesse, “Are all your sons here?” And he said, “There remains yet the youngest, but behold, he is keeping the sheep.” And Samuel said to Jesse, “Send and get him, for we will not sit down till he comes here.”
¹² And he sent and brought him in. Now he was ruddy and had beautiful eyes and was handsome. And the Lord said, “Arise, anoint him, for this is he.”
¹³ Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers. And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward. And Samuel rose up and went to Ramah.

1 Kings 17:8-16: ⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him,
⁹ “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”
¹⁰ So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.”
¹¹ And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”
¹² And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”
¹³ And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son.
¹⁴ For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’”
¹⁵ She went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days.
¹⁶ The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

2 Kings 4:1-7: ¹ Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.”
² And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.”
³ Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few.
⁴ Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.”
⁵ So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her.
⁶ When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
⁷ Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”

2 Chronicles 2:4: ⁴ Behold, I am about to build a house for the name of the Lord my God and dedicate it to him for the burning of incense of sweet spices before him, and for the regular arrangement of the showbread, and for burnt offerings morning and evening, on the Sabbaths and the new moons and the appointed feasts of the Lord our God, as ordained forever for Israel.

Psalm 23:1-6: ¹ The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
² He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
³ He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 104:14-15: ¹⁴ You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth.
¹⁵ and wine to gladden the heart of man, oil to make his face shine, and bread that strengthens man’s heart.

Proverbs 21:17: ¹⁷ Whoever loves pleasure will be a poor man; he who loves wine and oil will not be rich.

Isaiah 1:21-26: ²¹ How the faithful city has become a whore, she who was full of justice! Righteousness lodged in her, but now murderers.
²² Your silver has become dross,
your best wine mixed with water.
²³ Your princes are rebels and companions of thieves. Everyone loves a bribe and runs after gifts. They do not bring justice to the fatherless, and the widow’s cause does not come to them.
²⁴ Therefore the Lord declares, the Lord of hosts, the Mighty One of Israel: “Ah, I will get relief from my enemies and avenge myself on my foes.
²⁵ I will turn my hand against you
and will smelt away your dross as with lye
and remove all your alloy.
²⁶ And I will restore your judges as at the first, and your counselors as at the beginning. Afterward you shall be called the city of righteousness, the faithful city.”

Isaiah 55:1-3: ¹ “Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
² Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.
³ Incline your ear, and come to me; hear, that your soul may live; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, my steadfast, sure love for David.

Jeremiah 31:10-14: ¹⁰ “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.’”
¹¹ For the Lord has ransomed Jacob and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
¹² They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall be like a watered garden,
and they shall languish no more.
¹³ Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
¹⁴ I will feast the soul of the priests with abundance, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord.

Ezekiel 16:9-13: ⁹ Then I bathed you with water and washed off your blood from you and anointed you with oil.
¹⁰ I clothed you also with embroidered cloth and shod you with fine leather. I wrapped you in fine linen and covered you with silk.
¹¹ And I adorned you with ornaments and put bracelets on your wrists and a chain on your neck.
¹² And I put a ring on your nose and earrings in your ears and a beautiful crown on your head.
¹³ Thus you were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine linen and silk and embroidered cloth. You ate fine flour and honey and oil. You grew exceedingly beautiful and advanced to royalty.

Ezekiel 45:13-15: ¹³ “This is the offering that you shall make: one sixth of an ephah from each homer of wheat, and one sixth of an ephah from each homer of barley,”
¹⁴ And the prescribed portion of oil, of the bath of oil, shall be a tenth of a bath from each cor (the cor, like the homer, contains ten baths).
¹⁵ And one sheep from every flock of two hundred, from the watering places of Israel for grain offering, burnt offering, and peace offerings, to make atonement for them, declares the Lord God.

Hosea 2:8-9: ⁸ And she did not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the wine, and the oil, and who lavished on her silver and gold, which they used for Baal.
⁹ “Therefore I will take back my grain in its time, and my wine in its season, and I will take away my wool and my flax, which were to cover her nakedness.”

Joel 2:18-19: ¹⁸ Then the Lord became jealous for his land
and had pity on his people.
¹⁹ The Lord answered and said to his people, “Behold, I am sending to you grain, wine, and oil, and you will be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the nations.

Micah 6:6-8: ⁶ “With what shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?”
⁷ Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
⁸ He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

Zechariah 4:1-14: ¹ And the angel who talked with me came again and woke me, like a man who is awakened out of his sleep.
² And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see, and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it.
³ And there are two olive trees by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.”
⁴ Then I said to the angel who talked with me, “What are these, my lord?”
⁵ Then the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
⁶ Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
⁷ Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain. And he shall bring forward the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’”
⁴ Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
⁹ “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you.”
¹⁰ For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.
⁴ Then I said to him, “What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?”
¹² And I said to him, “What are these two olive branches that are beside the two golden pipes from which the golden oil is poured out?”
¹³ He said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” I said, “No, my lord.”
¹⁴ Then he said, “These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.”

Matthew 25:1-13: ¹ “Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom.”
² Five of them were foolish, and five were wise.
³ For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them,
⁴ but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps.
⁵ As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept.
⁶ But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’
⁷ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps.
⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’
⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’
¹⁰ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut.
¹¹ Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’
¹² But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
¹³ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

Mark 6:7-13: ⁷ And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
⁸ He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—
⁹ but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.
¹⁰ And he said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there.
¹¹ And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.”
¹² So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.
¹³ And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

Luke 7:36-50: ³⁶ One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee’s house and reclined at table.
³⁷ And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,
³⁸ and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.
³⁹ Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.”
⁴⁰ And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.”
⁴¹ “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
⁴² When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
⁴³ Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
⁴⁴ Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.
⁴⁵ You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet.
⁴⁶ You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.
⁴⁷ Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.
⁴⁸ And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”
⁴⁹ Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”
⁵⁰ And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Luke 10:25-37: ²⁵ And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
²⁶ He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
²⁷ And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”
²⁸ And he said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.”
²⁹ But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
³⁰ Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.
³¹ Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side.
³² So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side.
³³ But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion.
³⁴ He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
³⁵ And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’
³⁶ Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?”
³⁷ He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”

John 2:1-11: ¹ On the third day there was a wedding at Cana in Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.
² Jesus also was invited to the wedding with his disciples.
³ When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”
⁴ And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”
⁵ His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
⁶ Now there were six stone water jars there for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.
⁷ Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.
⁸ And he said to them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the feast.” So they took it.
⁹ When the master of the feast tasted the water now become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom.
¹⁰ and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
¹¹ This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.

John 12:1-8: ¹ Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
² So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.
³ Mary therefore took a pound of expensive ointment made from pure nard, and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
⁴ But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said,
⁵ “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?”
⁶ He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.
⁷ Jesus said, “Leave her alone, so that she may keep it for the day of my burial.”
⁸ For the poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me.”

Romans 11:17-24: ¹¹ But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree,
¹⁸ do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you.
¹⁹ Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.”
²⁰ That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear.
²¹ For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you.
²² Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
¹¹ And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again.
²⁴ For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree.

James 5:14-15: ¹⁴ Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.
¹⁵ And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.

Revelation 6:5-6: ⁵ When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” And I looked, and behold, a black horse! And its rider had a pair of scales in his hand.
⁶ And I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius, and do not harm the oil and wine!”