John 11:2

11:2 (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil ¹  and wiped his feet dry with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) ² 

John 11:11

11:11 After he said this, he added, ³  “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep. ⁴  But I am going there to awaken him.”

John 12:1-2

Jesus’ Anointing

12:1 Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he ⁵  had raised from the dead. 12:2 So they prepared a dinner for Jesus ⁶  there. Martha ⁷  was serving, and Lazarus was among those present at the table ⁸  with him.

John 12:17

12:17 So the crowd who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were continuing to testify about it. ⁹ 

[11:2]  ¹ tn Or “perfume,” “ointment.”

[11:2]  ² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. It is a bit surprising that the author here identifies Mary as the one who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and wiped his feet dry with her hair, since this event is not mentioned until later, in 12:3. Many see this “proleptic” reference as an indication that the author expected his readers to be familiar with the story already, and go on to assume that in general the author in writing the Fourth Gospel assumed his readers were familiar with the other three gospels. Whether the author assumed actual familiarity with the synoptic gospels or not, it is probable that he did assume some familiarity with Mary’s anointing activity.

[11:11]  ³ tn Grk “He said these things, and after this he said to them.”

[11:11]  ⁴ tn The verb κοιμάω (koimaw) literally means “sleep,” but it is often used in the Bible as a euphemism for death when speaking of believers. This metaphorical usage by its very nature emphasizes the hope of resurrection: Believers will one day “wake up” out of death. Here the term refers to death, but “asleep” was used in the translation to emphasize the metaphorical, rhetorical usage of the term, especially in light of the disciples’ confusion over what Jesus actually meant (see v. 13).

[12:1]  ⁵ tn Grk “whom Jesus,” but a repetition of the proper name (Jesus) here would be redundant in the English clause structure, so the pronoun (“he”) is substituted in the translation.

[12:2]  ⁷ tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity and to conform with contemporary English style.

[12:2]  ⁸ tn Grk “And Martha.” The connective καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation because it would produce a run-on sentence in English.

[12:2]  ⁹ tn Grk “reclining at the table.”

[12:17]  ⁹ tn The word “it” is not included in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.