Bible Strands
John 11:2
(Mary, whose brother Lazarus was sick, was to anoint the Lord with perfume and wipe His feet with her hair.)
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator identifies Mary as the sister of the sick Lazarus in Bethany, just before her family prepares to send a message to Jesus. This parenthetical note fixes her identity at the precise moment the narrative shifts from Lazarus’s illness to the summons for divine intervention.
The words — The aorist participle ἀλείψασα (aleipsasa) literally means "having anointed," coupled with the dative μύρῳ (murō) for "with fragrant oil." The grammatical form signals a forward-looking action rather than a completed past event.
The thread — John 12:3 records Mary taking pure nard to anoint Jesus’ feet and wiping them with her hair. Matthew 26:6 and Mark 14:3 place a parallel anointing event at the home of Simon the Leper.
Why it lands — The text identifies Mary strictly through her familial tie to Lazarus, anchoring her role to the immediate crisis. It requires the reader to track her as the designated agent of honor toward Jesus before the narrative moves to the resurrection account.
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The Greek words
King James Version
(It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
Cross-references
- John 12:3 Then Mary took about a pint of expensive perfume, made of pure nard, and she anointed Jesus’ feet and wiped them with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
- Matthew 26:6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper,
- Mark 14:3 While Jesus was in Bethany reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke open the jar and poured it on Jesus’ head.
- Luke 7:37 When a sinful woman from that town learned that Jesus was dining there, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume.