Color me skeptical, I should like to review the academic sources more carefully. But this looks like a commodity business w/ some coherent standards recorded. About 275 years later, the 'Christos' was an annointed one, and I suspect this 'Christos cult' may have originated as an essential oil marketing scheme networked by luxe Alexandrian Jewish perfumers/ alchemists, c.15 AD.
If the following is correct, and assuming the composition of
Exodus dates c.272 BC, this ancient commercial recipe looks intriguing.
Weed LINK.
In 1936, a little known Polish Professor, Sara Benetowa (later
Sula Benet), did extensive etymological research, showing that both the Aramaic and Hebrew versions of the Old Testament contained references to cannabis as ... an incense. But most pre-eminently, {cannabis} was the active ingredient in the Holy anointing oil of the ancient Hebrews, a practice likely adopted alongside with their god, from the earlier cult of Dagon/Ea/ Enki/ Oannes. Referring to the Hebrew word Q'aneh-Bosm (also translated Kaneh-Bosm, Kanebosm, Kineboisin, Kannabos), Benet stated in a later essay;
"The sacred character of {cannabis} in biblical times is evident from Exodus 30:22- 23, where Moses was instructed by God to anoint the meeting-tent and all its furnishings with specially prepared oil, containing {cannabis}. Anointing set sacred things apart from secular. The anointment of sacred objects was an ancient tradition in Israel; holy oil was not to be used for secular purposes... above all, the anointing oil was used for the installation rites of all Hebrew kings and priests." (Benet, 1975)
The book of Exodus records the event of Moses receiving the instructions for making and distributing the hemp enriched holy oil, in the most auspicious tones.
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Take the following fine spices: 500 shekels of liquid myrrh (half as much of fragrant cinnamon), 250 shekels of q'aneh-bosm, 500 shekels of cassia-- all according to the sanctuary shekel-- and a hind of olive oil. Make these into a sacred anointing oil, a fragrant blend, the work of a perfumer. It will be the sacred anointing oil. Then use it to anoint the Tent of the Meeting, the art of the Testimony, the table and all its articles, the lampstand [sic] and its accessories, the alter of incense, the alter of burnt offering and all its utensils, and the basin with its stand. You shall consecrate them so that they will be most holy, and whatever touches them will be holy.
Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. Say to the Israelites, "This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come. Do not pour it on men's bodies and do not make any oil with the same formula. It is sacred, and you are to consider it sacred. Whoever makes perfume like it and whoever puts it on anyone other than a priest must be cut off from his people." (Exodus 30: 22-23)
If 1 Sanctuary Shekel = 11.4 g, and these are all oils, so
5,700 g Myrrh Oil .......... Molecular Wgt 1003.0 ...... Density 1.00 ........ 5.700 L. .... 32%
2,850 g Cannabis Oil .... Molecular Wgt 314.5 ........ Density 0.92 ........ 3.098 L. .... 17%
5,700 g Cassia Oil ........ Molecular Wgt 282.4 ........ Density 1.041 ...... 5.476 L. .... 31%
3,374 g Olive Oil ........... Molecular Wgt 1382.2 ...... Density 0.920 ...... 3.667 L. .... 20%
By this estimation: 17.62 kg =
31 Mina (31.08); 17.94 (18.33) L. ~
5 Hin (4.685), and
30-20-30-20% by Volume. I'm calc'ing w/ modern purity standards, and back-of-the-envelope here. It would be a standard bulk purchase, presumably easy reckoning 31 Mina in 5 Hin Units.
A few observations.
I have no idea for how long this amount should last the Temple, all necessary anointing, whatever cycle of the calendar year of 354 days? I have no 275 BC spot prices, it might be helpful to looks at other periods (adjusting for Ag fluctuations, to .999 Fine) to estimate the 5 Hin rate.
According to Pliny's prices (c.75 AD), Cassia was an exorbitant 912 Denarii/kg - one suspects that is a local retail price in Asia Minor and the Alexandrian Spot was closer to 450 D./kg (still, 6x the price of Ag). In 301 AD, Cassia was only 2x the Silver Price.
Myrrh was the second expensive Oil. According to Pliny's prices (c.75 AD), Myrrh Oil was 152 Denarii/kg and 63% the Silver Price
at Alexandria; in Diocletian's time, it is 2x the Silver Price.
Virgin Olive Oil in 301 AD is 80.5 D/kg of 44% the Silver Price.
Cannabis Oil was presumably local at Alexandria, very cheap and unquoted in either period.
Total Cost, in 275 BC? From this anachronistic data, I cannot fathom. (The perfumer's charge would be extra, plus shipping costs.)
Perhaps more useful conclusions can be drawn from the ingredients? Myrrh and Cassia Oils were precious, distant foreign imports but only 60% of the mixture; Jews were presumably the commodity brokers in Punt, already dominating the Red Sea trade c.350 BC? Myrrh has a woody medicinal smell, Cinnamon is sharp and fiery; Cannabis is sweet and intoxicating, whereas Olive oil is earthy and verdant: these are four very distinct characters that probably had symbolic meanings (elemental correspondence?), as we would suspect.
Philo Judaeus does not mention the Temple Ointment formula, but he does interpret another (Aaron's incense) in precisely this way:
And as I imagine these four ingredients of which the entire perfume is composed are emblems of the four elements of which the whole world is made; he likens the stacte {myrrh substitute} to water, the onycha* {Mystery Ingredient: does shecheleth sound remotely like Sekmet or shemshemet??} to land, the galbanum {resin of Ferula gummosa} to the air, and the pure transparent Frankincense to fire; for stacte, which derives its name from the drops (stagones) in which it falls is liquid, and onycha is dry and earth-like, the sweet smelling galbanum is added by way of giving a representation of the air, for there is fragrance in the air; and the transparency which there is in frankincense serves for a representation of fire.
* Also, from a dodgy website:
James Strong writes "the Syriac etymology of the word, namely, to run in drops, exude, distil, would lead to the idea of a resinous and odoriferous substance of the vegetable kingdom."[19] Another writer says “the context and the etymology seem to require the gum of some aromatic plant... The Hebrew word would seem to mean something that exuded, having odorous qualities.”
Sticky buds of skunk?
Shecheleth means to roar like a lion. Lion-headed
Sekhmet is associated with Cannabis and female maladies, as detailed in the links of the Reply below.