This Article: (5 Pages)
1) Patented Perfumes
The Mighty One of Israel is an inventor and designer, with a refined sense of smell. We can prove this by the fact that He has the longest running patent for an invention of a perfume in history. Patents are usually for 20 years or so, this patent is over 3,000 years old. This patent for a perfume reveals something special about the relationship of humans with the Mighty One of Israel.
The UK Office of Patents defines a patent in the following way:
A patent for an invention is granted by government to the inventor, giving the inventor the right for a limited period to stop others from making, using or selling the invention without the permission of the inventor. When a patent is granted, the invention becomes the property of the inventor.
Patents are concerned with how things work, what they do, how they do it, what they are made of or how they are made.
To be patentable the invention must: be new, never have been made public in any way, anywhere in the world, involve an inventive step, be capable of industrial application. The invention must take the practical form of an apparatus or device, a product such as some new material or substance or an industrial process or method of operation.
Yahweh when filing his patent, of course, had no government or office to file it with, so, He made a nation called Israel and added it to their Law. He then ensured this Law was translated into as many languages as possible over the course of history to the present.
The patent was for a fragrant olive oil based ointment and a fragrant perfume. We may at first think 'how odd!' In the study of the scriptures, as in all forms of study, the exclamation “How odd!” usually indicates something worthy of investigation. Let us examine the patents recorded in Exodus Chapter 30.
Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil.
This passage defines the composition in detail and the purpose. Next the use of the perfumed substance is detailed.
And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, And the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the altar of incense, And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the laver and his foot. And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy: whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy. And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.
Following the prescription of the use above, the conditions of the Patent are explained.
And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations. Upon man's flesh shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you.
Then lastly conditions of use are explained and the penalty for infringing the patent.
Whosoever compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off from his people.
But there is not just one patent there are two. The second patent for the perfume is explained. Note that just as the oil, the ingredients of the Perfume are easily accessible and it would be possible with this information for anyone to make it.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Take unto thee sweet spices, stacte, and onycha, and galbanum; these sweet spices with pure frankincense: of each shall there be a like weight: And thou shalt make it a perfume, a confection after the art of the apothecary, tempered together, pure and holy: And thou shalt beat some of it very small, and put of it before the testimony in the tabernacle of the congregation, where I will meet with thee: it shall be unto you most holy.
Again the conditions of use are explained and the penalty for infringement clarified.
And as for the perfume which thou shalt make, ye shall not make to yourselves according to the composition thereof: it shall be unto thee holy for the LORD. Whosoever shall make like unto that, to smell thereto, shall even be cut off from his people. (Exodus 30:22-38 KJV)
The patent office does not defend the right of the owner, just as the word does not prevent someone making the oil and the perfume. In fact defining the exact ingredients of the oil and the perfume paradoxically makes it easier to make a replica. As there was no international court for Yahweh to take an offender against the patent, no less than Yahweh himself is the judge. The penalty was to be excluded from the nation of Israel.
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