The Hebrew verb raqach means to mix spices, compound perfume, or blend ointment. The noun roqeach (perfumer, apothecary) and reqach (spice mixture) derive from this root. The Tabernacle's sacred anointing oil and incense were prepared by skilled roqeach work (Exodus 30:25, 35).
The blending of sacred spices for the Tabernacle was not merely utilitarian — it was an act of holy artistry in service to God. Exodus 30 describes the precisely formulated anointing oil and incense: specific ingredients, specific proportions, set apart exclusively for God's service. This raqach work was so sacred that using the formula for personal use was punishable by exile (Exodus 30:33). The spice-blenders (roqechim) stood in the same tradition as all skilled craftspeople whose gifts served worship. The Song of Songs uses spice and perfume imagery pervasively to describe the beloved — a theological picture of the Church's beauty and the Lord's fragrance.