John 12:3

12:3 Then Mary took three quarters of a pound ¹  of expensive aromatic oil from pure nard ²  and anointed the feet of Jesus. She ³  then wiped his feet dry with her hair. (Now the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfumed oil.) ⁴ 

Matthew 26:6-7

Jesus’ Anointing

26:6 Now while Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, 26:7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar ⁵  of expensive perfumed oil, ⁶  and she poured it on his head as he was at the table. ⁷ 

Mark 14:3

Jesus’ Anointing

14:3 Now ⁸  while Jesus ⁹  was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, reclining at the table, ¹⁰  a woman came with an alabaster jar ¹¹  of costly aromatic oil ¹²  from pure nard. After breaking open the jar, she poured it on his head.

[12:3]  ¹ tn Or “half a liter”; Grk “a pound” (that is, a Roman pound, about 325 grams or 12 ounces).

[12:3]  ² tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205). The adjective πιστικῆς (pistikh") is difficult with regard to its exact meaning; some have taken it to derive from πίστις (pistis) and relate to the purity of the oil of nard. More probably it is something like a brand name, “pistic nard,” the exact significance of which has not been discovered.

[12:3]  ³ tn Grk “And she.” Because of the difference between Greek style, which often begins sentences or clauses with “and,” and English style, which generally does not, καί (kai) has not been translated here.

[12:3]  ⁴ sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. With a note characteristic of someone who was there and remembered, the author adds that the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfumed oil. In the later rabbinic literature, Ecclesiastes Rabbah 7.1.1 states “The fragrance of good oil is diffused from the bedroom to the dining hall, but a good name is diffused from one end of the world to the other.” If such a saying was known in the 1st century, this might be the author’s way of indicating that Mary’s act of devotion would be spoken of throughout the entire world (compare the comment in Mark 14:9).

[26:7]  ⁵ sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.

[26:7]  ⁶ tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205).

[26:7]  ⁷ tn Grk “as he was reclining at table.”

[14:3]  ⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[14:3]  ⁹ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:3]  ¹⁰ sn 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[14:3]  ¹¹ sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.

[14:3]  ¹² tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205). The adjective πιστικῆς (pistikh") is difficult with regard to its exact meaning; some have taken it to derive from πίστις (pistis) and relate to the purity of the oil of nard. More probably it is something like a brand name, “pistic nard,” the exact significance of which has not been discovered.