Lexical Summary epichrió: To anoint, to smear on Original Word: ἐπιχρίω Strong's Exhaustive Concordance anoint. From epi and chrio; to smear over -- anoint. see GREEK epi see GREEK chrio NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom epi and chrió Definition to spread on, i.e. to anoint NASB Translation anointed (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 2025: ἐπιχρίωἐπιχρίω: 1 aorist ἐπεχρισα; to spread on, anoint: τί ἐπί τί, anything upon anything, John 9:6 (WH text Tr marginal reading ἐπέθηκεν); τί, to anoint anything (namely, with anything), ibid. 11. (Homer, Odyssey 21, 179; Lucian, hist. scrib. 62.) Topical Lexicon Semantic and Thematic RangeStrong’s Greek 2025 pictures a deliberate “smearing” or “anointing” with the hands. While the more common New Testament terms for anointing relate to consecration (χρίω) or perfuming (ἀλείφω), ἐπιχρίω conveys the idea of applying a substance directly and purposefully to a surface, especially the body. The nuance is practical rather than ceremonial, yet even this practical touch becomes the vehicle of divine power when employed by the Lord Jesus Christ. Biblical Occurrences John records the only two uses: • John 9:6: “When Jesus had said this, He spat on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes.” • John 9:11: “He answered, ‘The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it on my eyes. He told me, “Go to Siloam and wash.” So I went and washed, and then I could see.’” Both uses form one narrative unit—the sixth of John’s seven sign-miracles—showing the word’s exclusive association with Christ’s healing act. Old Testament Background Anointing with oil marked prophets, priests, and kings (Exodus 29:7; 1 Samuel 10:1). Yet God also used tangible means—spittle, dust, fig poultices (Isaiah 38:21)—to heal. By fashioning clay from the ground (cf. Genesis 2:7) and smearing it onto sightless eyes, Jesus cast Himself as both Creator and Restorer. The physical anointing becomes a new-creation moment, echoing the original forming of man from dust. Symbolism of Sight and Revelation Blindness in Scripture often represents spiritual ignorance (Isaiah 42:18-20). The smearing of clay, culminating in the command to “wash,” dramatizes illumination: the man obeys, light floods his eyes, and he immediately proclaims Christ (John 9:38). The action embodies Psalm 119:18—“Open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things.” Christological Significance 1. Messianic authentication: Isaiah foretold that Messiah would “open blind eyes” (Isaiah 42:7). John intentionally limits 2025 to this single sign to underscore Jesus as the long-awaited Anointed One. 2. Incarnational touch: The verb highlights personal contact. Jesus does not heal from afar; He kneels, mixes earth and saliva, and lays hands on the afflicted. The incarnate Son engages the material order He created, sanctifying it as an instrument of grace. 3. Sabbath controversy: The smearing of clay was classed by Pharisaic tradition as kneading, prohibited on the Sabbath (John 9:14). By performing 2025 on that day, Jesus asserts lordship over the Sabbath and over restrictive human regulations. Ministry and Pastoral Application • Holistic care: Biblical healing often blends the spiritual and the physical. Modern pastoral ministry can legitimately employ medical means without compromising faith, recognizing God’s prerogative to work through matter. • Obedient response: The blind man’s journey to Siloam illustrates the synergy of divine initiative and human obedience. Preaching and counseling may draw on this pattern—God supplies the grace, yet calls for responsive trust. • Personal touch: Christ’s use of 2025 encourages shepherds to practice hands-on compassion, reflecting the Lord’s nearness to suffering. Historical Reception Early Christian writers saw in the clay a symbol of baptismal mud, the washing at Siloam a figure of the font, and the opened eyes the enlightenment of catechumens. Augustine remarks, “The dust signifies humanity, the saliva divinity; their mixture points to the Word made flesh.” Later liturgical traditions preserved a rite of anointing the eyes of the newly baptized, echoing this narrative. Reformation preachers employed John 9 to emphasize sola fide: sight came not through ritual but through trusting the word “Go and wash.” Theological Reflection The exclusive New Testament usage of 2025 in John 9 concentrates the verb’s meaning into a single christological lens: Jesus is the One who not only tells the truth but tangibly applies it. The smearing reaches back to creation, forward to the new creation, and downward into every believer’s experience of illumination. By this simple, physical act, the Lord proclaims that no corner of human existence—dust, saliva, blindness, Sabbath regulation—is outside His redemptive authority. Summary Strong’s 2025 unfolds the gracious intersection of matter and miracle. In two strokes of clay Christ painted sight onto darkness, affirming His identity as Creator, Messiah, and sympathetic High Priest. For the Church, the verb calls to a ministry that weds word and deed, trust and touch, doctrine and dust—until every blinded eye beholds the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Forms and Transliterations γνώμης επέχρισε επέχρισέ επεχρισεν ἐπέχρισέν επιχύσεως εποζέσει εποικίοις επώζεσε επώζεσεν epechrisen epéchrisénLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts |
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