festive aura of the official liturgy of the Temple. It is unclear, of course, what theological ideas were associated in the postexilic period with the anointing of Aaron or of the high priest, but the anointing with oil, likewise “ennobled” by balsamic essences and perfumes, was the crucial ritual for conveyance of office at the enthronement of kings and thus signified the bestowal of divine power. That the consecration was carried out in a solemn liturgy, and that at the same time the reconstitution