Genesis 50:2

50:2 Joseph instructed the physicians in his service ¹  to embalm his father, so the physicians embalmed Israel.

Mark 16:1

The Resurrection

16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic spices ²  so that they might go and anoint him.

John 19:39-40

19:39 Nicodemus, the man who had previously come to Jesus ³  at night, ⁴  accompanied Joseph, ⁵  carrying a mixture of myrrh and aloes ⁶  weighing about seventy-five pounds. ⁷  19:40 Then they took Jesus’ body and wrapped it, with the aromatic spices, ⁸  in strips of linen cloth ⁹  according to Jewish burial customs. ¹⁰ 

¹ tn Heb “his servants the physicians.”

² tn On this term see BDAG 140 s.v. ἄρωμα. The Jews did not practice embalming, so these materials were used to cover the stench of decay and slow decomposition.

³ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁴ sn See John 3:1-21.

⁵ tn Grk “came”; the words “accompanied Joseph” are not in the Greek text but are supplied for clarity.

⁶ sn Aloes refers to an aromatic resin from a plant similar to a lily, used for embalming a corpse.

⁷ sn The Roman pound (λίτρα, litra) weighed twelve ounces or 325 grams. Thus 100 Roman pounds would be about 32.5 kilograms or 75 pounds.

⁸ tn On this term see BDAG 140-41 s.v. ἄρωμα. The Jews did not practice embalming, so these materials were used to cover the stench of decay and slow decomposition.

⁹ tn The Fourth Gospel uses ὀθονίοις (oqonioi") to describe the wrappings, and this has caused a good deal of debate, since it appears to contradict the synoptic accounts which mention a σινδών (sindwn), a large single piece of linen cloth. If one understands ὀθονίοις to refer to smaller strips of cloth, like bandages, there would be a difference, but diminutive forms have often lost their diminutive force in Koine Greek (BDF §111.3), so there may not be any difference.

¹⁰ tn Grk “cloth as is the custom of the Jews to prepare for burial.”