Charles Ellicott Commentary Exodus 30:25

"And thou shalt make it a holy anointing oil, a perfume compounded after the art of the perfumer: it shall be a holy anointing oil." — Exodus 30:25 (ASV)

After the art of the apothecary. —Skill was to be called in. The spices were not to be pounded and mixed with the oil in a rude and unscientific way, but the best art of the time was to be employed in effecting the composition. Jewish tradition says that its essence was first extracted from each of the spices, and then the oil mingled with the essences.