^11:54Thus Jesus no longer went¹⁰⁹ around publicly¹¹⁰ among the Judeans,¹¹¹ but went away from there to the region near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim,¹¹² and stayed there with his disciples. ^11:55Now the Jewish feast of Passover¹¹³ was near, and many people went up to Jerusalem¹¹⁴ from the rural areas before the Passover to cleanse themselves ritually.¹¹⁵^11:56Thus they were looking for Jesus,¹¹⁶ and saying to one another as they stood in the temple courts,¹¹⁷ “What do you think? That he won’t come to the feast?” ^11:57(Now the chief priests and the Pharisees¹¹⁸ had given orders that anyone who knew where Jesus¹¹⁹ was should report it, so that they could arrest¹²⁰ him.)¹²¹

Jesus’ Anointing

^12:1Then, six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom he¹ had raised from the dead. ^12:2So they prepared a dinner for Jesus² there. Martha³ was serving, and Lazarus was among those present at the table⁴ with him. ^12:3Then Mary took three quarters of a pound⁵ of expensive aromatic oil from pure nard⁶ and anointed the feet of Jesus. She⁷ then wiped his feet dry with her hair. (Now the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfumed oil.)⁸

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Footnotes

109 Grk “walked.”
110 Or “openly.”
111 Grk “among the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the residents of Judea in general, who would be likely to report Jesus to the religious authorities. The vicinity around Jerusalem was no longer safe for Jesus and his disciples. On the translation “Judeans” cf. Ἰουδαῖος 2.e. See also the references in vv. 8, 19, 31, 33, 36, and 45.
112 There is no certain identification of the location to which Jesus withdrew in response to the decision of the Jewish authorities. Many have suggested the present town of Et-Taiyibeh, identified with ancient Ophrah (Josh 18:23) or Ephron (Josh 15:9). If so, this would be 12–15 mi (19–24 km) northeast of Jerusalem.
113 Grk “the Passover of the Jews.” This is the final Passover of Jesus’ ministry. The author is now on the eve of the week of the Passion. Some time prior to the feast itself, Jerusalem would be crowded with pilgrims from the surrounding districts (ἐκ τῆς χώρας, ek tēs chōras) who had come to purify themselves ceremonially before the feast.
114 For location see ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .
115 Or “to purify themselves” (to undergo or carry out ceremonial cleansing before participating in the Passover celebration).
116 Grk “they were seeking Jesus.”
117 Grk “in the temple.”
118 The phrase “chief priests and Pharisees” is a comprehensive name for the groups represented in the ruling council (the Sanhedrin) as in John 7:45; 18:3; Acts 5:22, 26.
119 Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
120 Or “could seize.”
121 This is a parenthetical note by the author.
1 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.
2 Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity and to conform with contemporary English style.
3 Grk “And Martha.” The connective καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation because it would produce a run-on sentence in English.
4 Grk “reclining at the table.” 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.
5 Or “half a liter”; Grk “a pound” (that is, a Roman pound, about 325 grams or 12 ounces).
6 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 (pistikēs) 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. Nard or spikenard is a fragrant oil from the root and spike of the nard plant of northern India. This aromatic oil, if made of something like nard, would have been extremely expensive, costing up to a year’s pay for an average laborer.
7 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.
8 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 ).