Original Word: יִצְהָר
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: yitshar
Pronunciation: yeets-hawr
Phonetic Spelling: (yits-hawr')
KJV: + anointed oil
NASB: oil, fresh oil
Word Origin: [from H6671 (צָּהַר - produce oil)]

1. oil (as producing light)
2. (figuratively) anointing

anointed oil

From tsahar; oil (as producing light); figuratively, anointing -- + anointed oil.

see HEBREW tsahar

Word Origin
from the same as tsohar
Definition
fresh oil
NASB Translation
anointed* (1), fresh oil (2), oil (19).

I. יִצְהָר noun [masculine] fresh oil (newly appeared, compare 'Ausbruch' Lag^{BN 129} Kö^{ii. 1, 93}; > Thes and others that which shines); — absolute ׳יִצ Hosea 2:10 +, suffix יִצְהָרֶ֑ךָ Deuteronomy 7:13 +; — fresh oil, as product of land, in un-manufactured state, usually + תִּירוֺשׁ, דָּגָן etc., rich possession, gift of, ׳י Hosea 2:10; Hosea 2:24; Jeremiah 31:12; Deuteronomy 7:13; Deuteronomy 11:14; Joel 2:19,24, so ׳חֵלֶב יִצ Numbers 18:12; Deuteronomy 28:51; Haggai 1:11; 2Chronicles 32:28; Nehemiah 5:11; tithed Deuteronomy 12:17; Deuteronomy 14:23; firstfruits for priest Deuteronomy 18:4; Nehemiah 10:38 compare Nehemiah 10:40; Nehemiah 13:5 (tithe for Levites), Nehemiah 13:12, for priest and Levite 2Chronicles 31:5; ׳זֵית יִצ 2 Kings 18:32 oil-olive, i.e. oil-yielding olive-trees, compare ׳יִצ alone Joel 1:10; ׳יִצ as anointing oil only in ׳בְּנֵי הַיִּצ Zechariah 4:14, i.e. anointed ones.

Meaning within Israel’s Agrarian Life

יִצְהָר denotes the freshly-pressed olive oil that flowed from the stone presses of ancient Israel. Along with grain and new wine it formed the triad of staple produce on which national life depended (Deuteronomy 7:13). Unlike cured oil kept for lamps, this “fresh oil” was fragrant, nutritious, and highly prized for food, medicine, and ceremony.

Firstfruits and Tithes

Olive oil was among the earliest offerings to leave the threshing floor and winepress. The Lord told Aaron, “All the best of the fresh oil… I give to you as the firstfruits of their harvest” (Numbers 18:12). Israel’s worship therefore began at the family press, where initial yield was set apart for God and His servants. Deuteronomy repeatedly safeguards this priority, forbidding the eating of the tithe of oil within one’s own gates (Deuteronomy 12:17; 14:23) and directing that “the firstfruits of your grain, new wine, and oil” belong to the Levites (Deuteronomy 18:4).

Covenantal Blessing and Curse

Faithfulness to God brought an overflowing press: “He will give the rain for your land in its season… so that you may gather your grain, new wine, and oil” (Deuteronomy 11:14). Disobedience, however, reversed the flow; foreign invaders would consume “the offspring of your livestock and the produce of your land: grain, new wine, and oil” (Deuteronomy 28:51). The prophets maintain this covenant pattern. Joel laments, “The grain is ruined, the new wine is dried up, the oil fails” (Joel 1:10), yet promises restoration: “The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil” (Joel 2:24). Haggai identifies covenant neglect as the reason the Lord “called for a drought on the grain, new wine, and oil” (Haggai 1:11).

Provision for Priests and Community

Beyond the tithe at the sanctuary, fresh oil stocked the royal and Levitical storehouses. King Hezekiah’s reforms produced “storehouses for the harvest of grain, new wine, and oil” (2 Chronicles 32:28). Nehemiah likewise re-established contributions of “the grain, new wine, and oil” for the chambers of the house of God (Nehemiah 10:39; 13:12) and rebuked wealthy Jews for exacting oil from their impoverished brethren (Nehemiah 5:11). The pattern underscores that God’s gifts must circulate for the common good and the maintenance of worship.

Temple Service and Anointing

While יִצְהָר usually refers to food-grade oil, its consecrated counterpart supplied lampstands (Exodus 27:20) and anointed priests, kings, and sacred objects. The term itself appears in Zechariah’s vision: “These are the two anointed ones [literally, ‘sons of fresh oil’] who are standing beside the Lord of all the earth” (Zechariah 4:14). The imagery links the unceasing flow of oil from the golden bowl into the lampstand (Zechariah 4:12) with the Spirit-empowered ministry of Zerubbabel and Joshua. Fresh oil thus signifies the Spirit’s life-giving presence that keeps the light of testimony burning.

Royal and Military Economics

Assyrian king Sennacherib enticed Jerusalem with promises of personal vineyards and “olive trees and oil” (2 Kings 18:32). The offer shows oil’s strategic value: it sustained armies, served as currency, and indicated political stability.

Prophetic Hope of Restoration

Jeremiah envisions returning exiles “radiant over the grain, new wine, and oil” (Jeremiah 31:12). Hosea recalls that Israel forgot the Giver of her bounty: “She did not know that I gave her the grain, new wine, and oil” (Hosea 2:8). Yet the Lord pledges a future in which “the earth will respond with grain, new wine, and oil” (Hosea 2:22). Each promise integrates material plenty with spiritual renewal; restored agriculture mirrors restored covenant relationship.

Messianic Foreshadowing

“Messiah” means “Anointed One.” The steady scriptural link between fresh oil and divine commissioning prepares the reader for Jesus Christ, whose baptism signals the ultimate anointing: “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power” (Acts 10:38). The abundant יִצְהָר that characterized covenant blessing prefigures the poured-out Spirit at Pentecost, guaranteeing both spiritual vitality and eventual physical renewal when creation itself is liberated from the curse.

Practical Ministry Implications

1. Generosity: Firstfruits of income, as with Israel’s oil, belong first to God and the advancement of His work.
2. Social justice: Nehemiah’s reforms warn against profiteering from resources meant to sustain the vulnerable.
3. Dependence on the Spirit: Just as lamps required a continual supply of oil, effective ministry relies on the unceasing fullness of the Holy Spirit.
4. Hope amid loss: Even when present “vats are empty,” prophetic assurances of overflowing oil encourage perseverance in repentance and faith.

Summary of Principal References

Numbers 18:12; Deuteronomy 7:13; 11:14; 12:17; 14:23; 18:4; 28:51

2 Kings 18:32; 2 Chronicles 31:5; 32:28

Nehemiah 5:11; 10:37; 10:39; 13:5; 13:12

Jeremiah 31:12; Hosea 2:8; 2:22

Joel 1:10; 2:19; 2:24

Haggai 1:11; Zechariah 4:14

הַיִּצְהָ֑ר הַיִּצְהָ֔ר היצהר וְהַיִּצְהָ֑ר וְהַיִּצְהָ֔ר וְהַיִּצְהָ֖ר וְהַיִּצְהָר֒ וְיִצְהָ֑ר וְיִצְהָ֔ר וְיִצְהָ֗ר וְיִצְהָֽר׃ וְיִצְהָר֙ וְיִצְהָרֶ֔ךָ וְיִצְהָרֶ֗ךָ וְיִצְהָרֶֽךָ׃ והיצהר ויצהר ויצהר׃ ויצהרך ויצהרך׃ יִצְהָ֔ר יִצְהָֽר׃ יִצְהָר֙ יצהר יצהר׃ haiyitzHar hay·yiṣ·hār hayyiṣhār vehaiyitzHar veyitzHar veyitzhaRecha wə·hay·yiṣ·hār wə·yiṣ·hā·re·ḵā wə·yiṣ·hār wəhayyiṣhār wəyiṣhār wəyiṣhāreḵā yiṣ·hār yiṣhār yitzHarInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts