It has been pointed out already that the beauty, dignity, and delicacy of the story of the Annun- ciation are tokens of historic reality ; for the fictions about similar subjects in pagan, Jewish, and Christian literature are, in these respects, so veiy ditterent. There is yet another mark of historic truth to be noted, viz. the extreme simplicity of the Christology. New Testament doctrine about the Christ is here found at a very early stage, earlier even than that in the Epistles to the Corinthians ; for there we have Christ's pre-existence implied as ' the second man from heaven' (1 Co 15^'), who 'became poor' when He became man for us (2 Co 8', cf. 4-'-'') ; and there- fore much earlier than the more developed Chris- tology of Colossians (P') and Ephesians (P^' 4P), and than that of the writer to the Hcbnws (!'), or that of the Fourth Gospel ( 1 " 3'- 17^). ' The power of the Most High shall overshadow thee' reminds us rather of the manifestations of the DiWne ])re- sence in the Old Testament, especially the ' pillar of cloud ' (Ex 13=' 402^-», 1 K 8i"- "). If St. Luke had invented the story of the Annunciation, would he not have given us more of Pauline Christology, and that in its fullest form ? That he has given us what is so rudimentary is evidence that he gives a record of what was revealed to Mary at the time, rather than what he himself knew and believed.
The couplet with which the narrative ends(l^) balances that with which it opens (f ), and it is one of deep spiritual significance to every believer. By her absolute submission to the will of God, in spite of the agony of shame and distress which this involved, Mary entered into an intimacy of relationship with Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, such as even angels cannot know. And yet it is jjrecisely here tliat tlie liumblest Christian may, by similar obedience, follow her. ' Blessed is the womb that bare thee,' said one to the Lord, 'and the breasts which thou didst suck. But he said. Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it ' (Lk ll"- =*).
It was natural that a special day should be set
AXOINTING
ANOINTING
apart to commemorate this mystery, but we do not know when this was first done. Tlie earliest mention of such a festival is in the Acts of the Tenth Synod of Toledo (a.d. 656) ; and the next is in those of the Second Synod in Trullo (A.D. 692). But, just as the Purification was origin- ally a feast in honour of our Lord rather than of the Virgin Mary, viz. of His presentation in the Temple and meeting with Simeon and Anna, so also this festival originally commemorated His miracu- lous conception rather than the announcement made to her. In the Ethiopian Calendar it is not called ' the Annunciation of the blessed Virgin Mary,' but ' the Conception of Christ': elsewhere the later name of the feast has driven out the original title, not only in the West, but also in the Eastern Churches.
Literature.— Briggs, The Messiah of the Gospels, p. 41 ff., New Light on the Life of Jesus, 1904, p. 160ff. ; Ramsay, Was Christ born at Bethlehem?; Sanday, art. 'Jesus Christ' in Hastings' DB ii. p. 643 fit., also Expository Times, April 1903; Pearson, On the Cn'^d, rirf. iii. ; .Swete, The Apostles' Creed, p. 41 ff., also Expm. 7'. .«- s, ]-:•:;; W ist.-ott. The Historic Faith, p. 69ff. ; B. Weiss, ;.,/..„ ./,,», ii. § 2 [Eng. tr. i. p. 222 ff.]; Loofs, Leitfaden :. Sttuhu>/i i(. Du'jtnenqeschichte; Soltau, Geburtsgeschichte ./.sir rliristi, l!)((2; J. A. Robinson, Some Thoughts on the Incarnation, 19i;i3 ; Knowling, Our Lord's Virgin Birth; Ch. QuaH. MeiK, July and Oct. 1904 ; Gore, The Incarnation, 77fl., 2.51f.; Garvie, Expositor, Feb. 1902. On the sceptical side : Keim, Jesus of yazara, ii. p. 38 ff. ; Hase, Geschichte Jesu, § 22 ff.; O. Holtzniann, Leben Jesu, cap. iv. [Eng. tr. p. 81 ff.); P. Lobstein, The Virgin-Birth of Christ, 1903 ; Cheyne, Bible Problems, 1904. A. PlUMMEE.
ANOINTING I. In the ancient world, Jewish
and pagan alike, it was customary to refresh guests at banquets by pouring cool and fragrant ointment on their heads. Cf. Mart. iii. 12 ; Ps 23=, where Cheyne gives an Egyptian illustration : ' Every rich man had in his household an anointer, who had to place a cone of ointment on the head of his master, where it remained during the feast.' There are two instances of the usage in the Gospel history :
1. The anointing in the house of Simon the Pharisee (Lk 1^-^). — Impressed by the fame of Jesus and desirous of closer acquaintance with one who was certainly a prophet, perhaps more,* Simon bade Him to his table, inviting also a party of his friends. He was a Pharisee of the better sort, yet he shared the pride of his order and put a difference betwixt Jesus and the other guests, withholding from Him the customary courtesies : the kiss of welcome, the ablution of the feet, the anointing of the head. In the course of the meal a woman appeared in the room, wearing her hair loose, which in Jewish society was the token of a harlot.t What did she in a Pharisee's house? She had come, a sorrowful penitent, in quest of Jesus ; and she brought an offering, an alabaster vase of ointment. As He reclined at table, she stole to His couch and, stooping over His feet, rained hot tears upon them, wiped them with her fio«ing tresses, kissed them, and anointed them with the ointment. She should have poured it on His head, but she durst not.J