Iron Age Terracotta Decanter, 900 BCE - 700 CE
Terracotta
PF.0113
Further images
In Israel, as in other ancient nations, it was customary to dedicate persons or objects to sacred use by annointing them with oil. Thus Samuel annointed Saul king, as Moses...
In Israel, as in other ancient nations, it was customary to dedicate persons or objects to sacred use by annointing them with oil. Thus Samuel annointed Saul king, as Moses had hallowed the tabernacle and Aaron the High Priest before, and Abraham had sanctified Issac. A vessel such as this--simple but elegant--may have contained oil for ritual use. Whose hands might have held it so long ago we can only guess, yet the connection is a direct one between our age and theirs.