A New Reading of Anointing with Oil in James 5:14: Finding First-Century Common Ground in Moses’ Glorious Face

Abstract

Abstract The fact that James does not explain the meaning of anointing with oil ( James 5:14) likely indicates that he presupposes that his first-century audience will rely upon shared knowledge. But what is this common ground? The logic of our answer rests on several interlocking propositions regarding James 5:14. First, we will demonstrate that James envisioned an anointing of the head or face. Second, we will demonstrate that an anointing of olive oil creates a shining face and that this was a recognized phenomenon. Third, a shiny face would have evoked images of Moses from scripture and history. By creating a physical echo of Moses on the face of the sick, James just might be encouraging the followers of Jesus to seek an intimate encounter with God through prayer that parallels Moses’ encounter with Yahweh. In sum, we will argue the plausibility of the thesis that oil was used to anoint the face so that it physically shined and symbolically represented an encounter with God.