Glossary

Messiah

"Messiah" and "Christ" both trace back to a single idea: anointing with oil.

From Hebrew to Greek to English

The Greek verb chrio means "to smear or rub with oil," and its related noun christos means "anointed." Greek-speaking translators used christos to render the Hebrew term for "anointed," and that Greek word passed in turn into English as both "Christ" and, by a related route, "Messiah."