John 12:3

Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Then	οὖν oun	G3767	(adverbially) certainly · conjunction
took	λαβοῦσα labousa	G2983	while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative singular feminine
Mary	Μαριὰμ Mariam	G3137	Maria or Mariam (i.e. Mirjam) · noun — nominative singular feminine, a proper name
pound	λίτραν litran	G3046	a pound in weight · noun — accusative singular feminine
ointment	μύρου murou	G3464	"myrrh" · noun — genitive singular neuter
spikenard	νάρδου nardou	G3487	"nard" · noun — genitive singular feminine
costly	πολυτίμου polutimou	G4186	extremely valuable · adjective — genitive singular feminine
anointed	ἤλειψεν ēleipsen	G218	to oil (with perfume) · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
feet	πόδας podas	G4228	a "foot" (figuratively or literally) · noun — accusative plural masculine
Jesus	Ἰησοῦ Iēsou	G2424	Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua) · noun — genitive singular masculine, a proper name
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
wiped	ἐξέμαξεν exemaxen	G1591	to knead out · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
his	αὐτῆς autēs	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular feminine
feet	πόδας podas	G4228	a "foot" (figuratively or literally) · noun — accusative plural masculine
with	θριξὶν thrixin	G2359	of uncertain derivation · noun — dative plural feminine
her	αὐτοῦ· autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
hair	θρίξ thríx	G2359	of uncertain derivation
and	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
house	οἰκία oikia	G3614	properly · noun — nominative singular feminine
filled	ἐπληρώθη eplērōthē	G4137	to make replete · verb — aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular
with	ἐκ ek	G1537	literal or figurative · preposition
odour	ὀσμῆς osmēs	G3744	fragrance (literally or figuratively) · noun — genitive singular feminine
ointment	μύρου. murou	G3464	"myrrh" · noun — genitive singular neuter

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Mark 14:3-9 And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard…
John 11:2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
Luke 10:38-39 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
Matthew 26:6-13 Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
Luke 7:37-38 And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box…
John 11:32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother…
John 11:28 And when she had so said, she went her way, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and calleth for thee.
Luke 7:46 My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 12:1-11

In these verses we have, I. The kind visit our Lord Jesus paid to his friends at Bethany, Joh 12:1. He came up out of the country, six days before the passover, and took up at Bethany, a town which, according to the computation of our metropolis, lay so near Jerusalem as to be within the bills of mortality. He lodged here with his friend Lazarus, whom he had lately raised from the dead. His coming to Bethany now may be considered, 1. As a preface to the passover he intended to celebrate, to which reference is made in assigning the date of his coming: Six days before the passover. Devout men set time apart before, to prepare themselves for that solemnity, and thus it became our Lord Jesus to…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 12:3

spikenard--or pure nard, a celebrated aromatic (Sol 1:12). anointed the feet of Jesus--and "poured it on His head" (Mat 26:7; Mar 14:3). The only use of this was to refresh and exhilarate--a grateful compliment in the East, amidst the closeness of a heated atmosphere, with many guests at a feast. Such was the form in which Mary's love to Christ, at so much cost to herself, poured itself out.

Adam Clarke on John 12:3

Then took Mary a pound of ointment - See the note on Mat 26:7; see also Mar 14:3. It does not seem the most likely that this was the same transaction with that mentioned above. Some think that this was, notwithstanding that before is said to have been at the house of Simon the leper. The arguments, pro and con, are largely stated in the notes at the end of Matthew 26 (note), to which I beg leave to refer the reader.

John Gill on John 12:3

Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard very costly,.... Worth three hundred pence, according to Judas's estimation of it. This Mary was the other sister of Lazarus; See Gill on Matthew 26:7, See Gill on Mark 14:3, concerning the nature and value of this ointment: and anointed the feet of Jesus; as he lay upon the bed or couch, at supper: and wiped his feet with her hair; See Gill on Luke 7:38. And the house was filled with the odour of the ointment; see Sol 1:3; ointment of spikenard was very odoriferous: this may be an emblem of the sweet savour of Christ, in the ministration of the Gospel, throughout the whole world.

The Church Fathers

(Tr. li. 7) The house was filled with the odour; the world was filled with the good fame.
— Augustine of Hippo ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

Or pistici means genuine, non-adulterated. She is the woman that was a sinner, who came to our Lord in Simon's house with the box of ointment.
— Alcuin of York ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

While Martha was serving, Mary anointed the Lord with ointment, thus accomplishing her love towards Him; and by the actions of both, the measure of love was filled up and made perfect.
— Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Book 8

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Mary — Hebrew Miriam. (1.) The wife of Joseph, the mother of Jesus, called the “Virgin Mary,” though never so designated in Scripture (Matt. 2:11; Acts 1:14). Little is known of her personal history. Her…
Mary, Sister Of Lazarus — She and her sister Martha appear in (Luke 10:40) as receiving Christ in their house. Mary sat listening eagerly for every word that fell from the divine Teacher. She had chosen that good part, the…
Meals — Are at the present day “eaten from a round table little higher than a stool, guests sitting cross-legged on mats or small carpets in a circle, and dipping their fingers into one large dish heaped…
Ointment — Various fragrant preparations, also compounds for medical purposes, are so called (Ex. 30:25; Ps. 133:2; Isa. 1:6; Amos 6:6; John 12:3; Rev. 18:13).
Pound — (1.) A weight. Heb. maneh, equal to 100 shekels (1 Kings 10:17; Ezra 2:69; Neh. 7:71, 72). Gr. litra, equal to about 12 oz. avoirdupois (John 12:3; 19:39). (2.) A sum of money; the Gr. mna or mina…
Spikenard — (Heb. nerd), a much-valued perfume (Cant. 1:12; 4:13, 14). It was “very precious”, i.e., very costly (Mark 14:3; John 12:3, 5). It is the root of an Indian plant, the Nardostachys jatamansi, of the…
Anointing · Of Jesus, as a token of love — Of Jesus, as a token of love
Bethany · Jesus attends a feast in — Jesus attends a feast in
Hair, The · Of women: Neglected in grief — Of women: Neglected in grief
Love · .Mary — .Mary
Oil · The ointments of the Jews made of perfumes mixed with — The ointments of the Jews made of perfumes mixed with

John 12:3

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 12:1-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 12:3

Adam Clarke on John 12:3

John Gill on John 12:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John 12:3

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on John 12:1-11

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on John 12:3

Adam Clarke on John 12:3

John Gill on John 12:3

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on John 12:1-8

Tyndale Open Study Notes on John 12:3