Shemen – oil (שמן) Today, oil symbolizes wealth, and it seems that nothing has changed over the millennia. In the ancient Middle East, olive oil was used for various purposes from light to health to food. The verb form is "shaman" meaning "to be fat" and interestingly the parent word is שם (shem, "name" or "character"), which reminds us that our wealth is in our character, not what we own.