Hyssop Oil : Purification & Empowerment

ooking back into the Book of Exodus, you'll find where Hyssop was first mentioned in scripture.

Exodus 12, verse 22, tells the Jews that after the lamb is slaughtered, “ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning” (Exodus 12:22, King James Bible). The Jews are told not only to paint their doorways with blood, but that the fragile hyssop plant must be used to do so.

Hyssop is one of the most oft- mentioned aromatic herbs and essential oils in the Bible, coming third after only Myrrh and Frankincense. According to Dr. David Stewart in his book Healing Oils of the Bible, Hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis) was used by the ancients for “purification from sin, addictions and destructive habits” as well as “respiratory relief, decongestant, expectorant, repeller of evil spirits” - as it was used to the repel the evil spirit of the Angel of Death during the tenth plague.

Hyssop is a name of Greek origin. The Hyssopos of Dioscorides was named from azob (a holy herb), because it was used for cleaning sacred places. King David, in Psalm 51 prayed: 'Purge me with Hyssop, and I shall be clean.'

In the New Testament, a sponge soaked in sour wine or vinegar was stuck on a branch of hyssop and offered to Jesus of Nazareth on the cross just before he died (John 19:29). Both Matthew and Mark mention the occasion but refer to the plant using the general term "kalamos", which is translated as "reed" or "stick".