From Olive to Oil

Since ancient times, the peoples of the Mediterranean region have considered olive oil to be essential in daily life. They have used it in food, applied it as medicine, burned it as fuel, and even included it in cosmetics and perfumes. The pulp of a ripe olive contains from 20 to 30 percent oil. To extract the finest olive oil, the ripe olives were lightly beaten in a mortar. Such oil was fitting for the lamps in the tabernacle. (Ex 27:20, 21) Larger quantities of olives could be crushed into a paste by means of a revolving millstone (1). Next, this paste was scooped into sacks or onto circular woven mats that were then stacked and placed under a weighted beam (2). The beam press squeezed a watery liquid from the paste. When the oil separated from the liquid and floated to the top, the oil was easily collected (3). In one of his illustrations, Jesus alluded to the medicinal use of olive oil when he said that the neighborly Samaritan poured oil on the wounds of a Jew who had been assaulted. (Lu 10:34) Similarly, James used oil as an illustration for the healing that elders provide to a spiritually sick person. Their kind Scriptural counsel, along with their prayers of faith, can comfort a person and help to restore his relationship with Jehovah.—Jas 5:14, 15.