Greek word · G218

ἀλείφω

aleiphō

to anoint

To rub or smear with oil or ointment. It was used for grooming (Matt 6:17, 'anoint your head' when fasting), honouring a guest (Luke 7:38, 46), athletic and bath use, medical treatment, and preparing a body for burial (Mark 16:1).

Appears 9 times in 8 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

ἀλείφω

(cf. λίπος, oil), [in LXX: Genesis 31:13, Exodus 40:15, Numbers 3:3 (מָשַׁח), Ezekiel 13:10 ff. (טוּחַ), Ruth 3:3, 2 Samuel 12:20, 2 Kings 4:2, 2 Chronicles 28:15, Micah 6:15, Dan LXX TH Daniel 10:3 (סוּךְ), Esther 2:12, Judith 16:8 * ;]

to anoint, festally or in homage: with accusative of thing(s) or of person(s), Matthew 6:17, John 12:3, Mark 16:1; before dative, ἐλαίῳ, Mark 6:13, James 5:14; μύρῳ, Luke 7:38, 46, John 11:2.†

SYN.: χρίω, μυρίζω (against the distinction made bet. ἀ. and χ. in Tr., Syn., § 38, see MM, VGT, see word, ἀ.) (AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of James 5:14

Range of meaning: To rub or smear with oil or ointment. It was used for grooming (Matt 6:17, 'anoint your head' when fasting), honouring a guest (Luke 7:38, 46), athletic and bath use, medical treatment, and preparing a body for burial (Mark 16:1). It can also be used for consecration: the LXX uses it of anointing priests (Exod 40:15; Num 3:3).
Against the English: Every major English version says 'anoint' (YLT: 'having anointed'). In modern English 'anoint' is almost purely a religious word: a solemn consecration, a sacrament, or, in some circles, a spiritual empowerment ('the anointing'). The Greek word was mostly everyday. The NT's other verb, chriō, from which 'Christ' (Christos, 'anointed one') comes, is used in the NT only in the figurative, sacred sense of God anointing someone (Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38; 2 Cor 1:21; Heb 1:9).
How it drifted: English kept 'anoint' mainly for kings, priests and sacraments, so its everyday sense of 'rubbing oil on' faded. R. C. Trench's classic distinction (aleiphō is mundane or medical, chriō is sacred) is broadly true of NT usage. It is not absolute, because the LXX uses aleiphō for priestly consecration.
Used elsewhere in the period: Mark 6:13: the Twelve 'anointed with oil (ēleiphon elaiō) many who were sick and healed them'. This is the closest parallel and uses the same verb and noun. Luke 10:34: the Samaritan pours oil and wine on wounds (different verb, same idea). Isa 1:6: wounds 'not softened with oil'. Mishnah Shabbat 14:4 allows someone with back pain to rub on oil on the Sabbath, which shows oil was ordinary treatment. Josephus (War 1.657) reports Herod's physicians lowering him into a bath of oil.

From the study of John 12:3

Range of meaning: To rub or smear with oil: anointing the head or body for grooming and gladness (Matt 6:17), treating the sick (Mark 6:13; James 5:14), honouring a guest (Luke 7:46), and preparing a corpse (Mark 16:1). In the Septuagint it occasionally describes ritual anointing too (e.g. a pillar in Gen 31:13, priests in Exod 40:15), but its centre is the everyday, physical act.
Against the English: English 'anoint' carries strong religious overtones of consecration, coronation and 'the Anointed One'. In the New Testament those ideas belong to the other verb, chriō, from which Christos ('Christ') comes. Chriō is used only of God anointing someone (Luke 4:18; Acts 10:38; Heb 1:9).
How it drifted: English Bibles have long used the single word 'anoint' for both Greek verbs (and Latin ungo did the same before them), so the distinction disappears.
Used elsewhere in the period: Trench, Synonyms of the New Testament, distinguishes aleiphō, the mundane verb, from chriō, the sacred one. BDAG gives aleiphō's uses as cosmetic, medicinal and funerary. In Mark 16:1 the women come to 'aleiphō' Jesus' body.

From the study of John 11:2

Range of meaning: To rub or smear oil on the body. It was used for everyday grooming and hospitality, for treating the sick, for athletes, and for preparing a body for burial. It is the everyday, bodily word for anointing. The more ceremonial word is χρίω (chriō), the root of 'Christ' (anointed one), used for anointing kings and priests.
Against the English: English 'anoint' now sounds churchy and ceremonial, and many readers hear the Messiah-word in it. John uses the ordinary bodily verb, not chriō. The act is honour, devotion and, as 12:7 makes plain, preparation for burial. It is not formally installing a king.
How it drifted: Church use of 'anoint' for consecration and charismatic gifting gives the English word a ceremonial and spiritual ring. The Greek ἀλείφω does not carry that ring here.
Used elsewhere in the period: The LXX uses it for anointing with oil (e.g. Ruth 3:3; 2 Sam 12:20 for personal grooming). In the NT see Matt 6:17 (oil on your head when fasting), Mark 16:1 (the women coming to anoint Jesus' body), Jas 5:14 (anointing the sick), and Luke 7:38, 46. Papyri use it for ordinary oiling of the body.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

Matthew 6:17 ἄλειψαί do anoint yourself

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

Here: A command in the middle voice, which here means 'put oil on yourself'. The word is everyday grooming: rubbing olive oil into the hair and scalp, the ordinary personal care of the time. It is not a religious consecration. The aorist form presents it as a simple, complete action: just do it.

Mark · 2

Mark 6:13 ἤλειφον were anointing

They also drove out many demons and healed many of the sick, anointing them with oil.
Mark 16:1 ἀλείψωσιν they may anoint

When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint the body of Jesus.

Here: The everyday word for rubbing or smearing oil on a body. Here it means applying perfumed oil to a corpse as the last act of care. It is not the word for a sacred anointing to office.

Luke · 3

Luke 7:38 ἤλειφεν was anointing [them]

As she stood behind Him at His feet weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears and wipe them with her hair. Then she kissed His feet and anointed them with the perfume.

Here: Imperfect: 'she kept anointing [them]'. This is the everyday verb for rubbing oil or perfume onto the body, used for grooming, hospitality and honouring a guest. It is not the word for a ritual anointing of a king or priest (see studies).
Luke 7:46 ἤλειψας· ἤλειψεν you did anoint;, anointed

You did not anoint My head with oil, but she has anointed My feet with perfume.

John · 2

John 11:2 ἀλείψασα having anointed

(Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick, was to anoint the Lord with perfume and wipe His feet with her hair.)

Here: An aorist participle, describing one complete act. It names her by a deed the narrator and his readers already know. John tells the deed itself only later, in 12:1–8.
John 12:3 ἤλειψεν anointed

Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

Here: The ordinary verb for putting oil or perfume on a body: for grooming, hospitality, healing, or preparing a corpse. John does not use chriō, the verb behind 'Christ' and formal consecration.

James · 1

James 5:14 ἀλείψαντες having anointed

Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.

Here: 'Having rubbed with oil' or 'anointing'. It is the ordinary Greek word for applying oil to the body, used for grooming, hospitality, medicine and preparing the dead. Grammatically it is a participle attached to 'pray': the anointing goes with the prayer, either just before it or as part of the same act.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.