John 11:2

Joh 11:2. Ἦν δὲ Μαρία, moreover it was the Mary) John proves Mary’s pious affection towards Jesus at the present time (as he elsewhere in a similar way proves the absence of pious affection on the part of the traitor) by a subsequent act, ch. Joh 12:3 [Mary’s anointing Jesus’ feet with costly ointment of spikenard, and wiping His feet with her hair]. [By one remarkable act, either good or bad, any one may be rendered notable to all eternity.—V. g.] It was not merely by the raising up of her brother to life, that she was first stirred up to such a work.—τὸν Κύριον, the Lord) An appropriate appellation here.—ἧς, whose) for of her. The language here is very plain.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Joh 11:2 . In order further to identify Lazarus it is added: “Now it was (that) Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill”. This act of Mary’s has not yet been narrated by John (see Joh 12:3 ), but it was this which distinguished her at the time John was writing; cf. Mat 26:13 .

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, &c.--This, though not recorded by our Evangelist till Joh 12:3, was so well known in the teaching of all the churches, according to our Lord's prediction (Mat 26:13), that it is here alluded to by anticipation, as the most natural way of identifying her; and she is first named, though the younger, as the more distinguished of the two. She "anointed THE LORD," says the Evangelist--led doubtless to the use of this term here, as he was about to exhibit Him illustriously as the Lord of Life.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 2. It was that Mary which anointed] There is much disagreement between learned men relative to the two anointings of our Lord, and the persons who performed these acts. The various conjectures concerning these points the reader will find in the notes on Mt 26:7, c., but particularly at the end of that chapter. See Clarke on Mt 26:75

Dr. Lightfoot inquires, Why should Bethany be called the town of Martha and Mary, and not of Lazarus? And he thinks the reason is, that Martha and Mary had been well known by that anointing of our Lord, which is mentioned Lu 7:37 (see the note there;) but the name of Lazarus had not been mentioned till now, there being no transaction by which he could properly be brought into view. He therefore thinks that the aorist αλειψασα, which we translate anointed, should have its full force, and be translated, who had formerly anointed; and this he thinks to have been the reason of that familiarity which subsisted between our Lord and this family; and, on this ground, they could confidently send for our Lord when Lazarus fell sick. This seems a very reasonable conjecture; and it is very likely that the familiarity arose out of the anointing.

Others think that the anointing of which the evangelist speaks is that mentioned Joh 12:1, &c., and which happened about six days before the passover. St. John, therefore, is supposed to anticipate the account, because it served more particularly to designate the person of whom he was speaking.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord. It is a similar display of ignorance, to imagine that this Mary, the sister of Lazarus, was that woman of wicked and infamous life, who is mentioned by Luke, (Luke 7:37.) This mistake was occasioned by the anointing; as if it were not evident enough that Christ was anointed on various occasions, and even at different places. The woman who was a sinner, of whom Luke gives an account, anointed Christ at Jerusalem, where he dwelt; but Mary afterwards anointed him at Bethany, which was her own village. The past tense employed by the Evangelist, who anointed, must be referred, not to the time of the occurrence which he is now relating, but to the time when he wrote; as if he had said, “It was this Mary who afterwards poured on the head of Christ the ointment, on account of which a murmuring arose among the disciples,” (Matthew 26:7.)

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(2) It was that Mary which anointed the Lord.—Comp. Notes on Mat_26:6 et seq., and Mar_14:3 et seq. John himself relates the anointing in Joh_12:3 et seq. Here he simply mentions it as distinguishing Mary from others of the same name. and assumes it as a well-known incident which had been, as Christ declared it should be, “told for a memorial of her wheresoever the gospel had been preached” (Mat_26:13). Still, the other Evangelists had not told the name, and St. John, when the name first occurs in his narrative, connects it with the person whose deed of love was known to all.

There is no sufficient reason for identifying Mary of Bethany with the “woman which was a sinner” (see Notes on Luk_7:37 et seq.), or for identifying either with Mary Magdalene.

This verse should not be placed in parenthesis, as in our version. It is immediately connected with the verse which precedes, as well as with that which follows.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. It was that Mary which anointed] This of course does not necessarily imply that the anointing had already taken place, as those who identify Mary with the ‘sinner’ of Luk_7:37 would insist: it merely implies that when S. John wrote, this fact was well known about her, as Christ had promised should be the case (Mat_26:13). S. John tells two facts omitted in the earlier Gospels; (1) that the village of Martha and Mary was Bethany, (2) that the anointing at Bethany was Mary’s act. The identification of Mary of Bethany with the prostitute of Luke 7 is altogether at variance with what S. Luke and S. John tell us of her character. Nor is there any sufficient reason for identifying either of them with Mary Magdalene. Mary of Bethany, Mary of Magdala, and the ‘sinner’ of Luke 7 are three distinct persons.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment,.... Not the woman in Luk 7:37, as some have thought, whose name is not mentioned, and which history is not related by John at all: but Mary in Joh 12:3, who is both mentioned by name, and along with Lazarus her brother, and with whom all the circumstances of the affair suit; and though the fact was not yet done, yet John writing many years after it was done, and when it was well known, proleptically, and in a parenthesis, takes notice of it here:

and wiped his feet with her hair; instead of a napkin, after she had anointed them with oil; See Gill on Luk 7:37, See Gill on Joh 12:3.

Whose brother Lazarus was sick; this is observed, to show how well they were all acquainted with Christ, and affected to him.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

Ver. 2. It was that Mary which anointed] This makes her name "as an ointment poured forth," Son 1:3. And she spared for no cost, being of her mind, it seems, that said, Ego si bonam famam servasso, sat ero dives, I if I shall be of a good reputation, let it be a costly basket. (Plaut.)

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It was that Mary ... - See the Mat 26:6 note; Luk 7:36-50 notes.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

We read of a woman, Luk 7:37,38, that came behind our Saviour while he was at dinner, in the house of Simon the Pharisee, brought an alabaster box of ointment, stood at his feet behind him weeping, washing his feet with her tears, and wiping them with her hair; but it appears by the story, she had been before a notorious sinner. We read of another woman, Mat 26:6,7; Mr 14:3, that poured a box of ointment on our Saviour’s head as he was at dinner in the house of Simon the leper: but we, in those two evangelists, read nothing of her washing his feet with her tears, or wiping them with her hair; but in the next chapter of this Gospel, Joh 12:3, we have a story which (whether it be the same with the other or no, I cannot tell) is that doubtless to which this verse refers: the names and circumstances much agree. There were other Mary’s, (for Mary was a very ordinary name among them), but this was that Mary which is mentioned Joh 12:3, that anointed the Lord with ointment, &c. It was her brother was sick.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Now it was that Mary who anointed the Lord with perfume, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. The word muron is used of any aromatic balsam which is distilled from trees and herbs by itself. In classical Greek muron was used of costly ointments used by women. Elaion was the common oil used by men for purposes of health, which might be perfumed. Our Lord clearly draws a distinction between the elaion and muron in Luk_7:46. Aleifw has been said to be used for the more superfluous anointings and criw for the sanitary anointing with oil. No trace of such distinction is found in the New Testament. (cf. Mar_6:13 with Jam_5:14) One great distinction in biblical Greek is that criein is used of religious anointings, from its association with Cristov , but aleifein in the LXX is only twice used in this sense, while criein is used times without number (Archbishop Trench, "New Test. Syn.," The use of the term Kurion , "Lord," shows that the story was widely known, and that when the Gospel was written it had passed into a commonplace of Christian experience and illustration. The anointing has not yet been referred to by John, but he is looking back upon the events and anticipates his own subsequent record.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It was that Mary who afterward anointed, &c. She was more known than her elder sister Martha, and as such is named before her.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

2. It was that Mary. As there are several New Testament Marys, John points out this one by the well known incident of the anointing described in 12:1–11.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

2. ἦν δὲ Μ. ἡ ἀλείψασα. Now Mary was she that anointed; or, Now it was (the) Mary that anointed. This of course does not necessarily imply that the anointing had already taken place, as those who identify Mary with the ‘sinner’ of Luk 7:37 would insist: it merely implies that when S. John wrote, this fact was well known about her, as Christ had promised should be the case (Mat 26:13). S. John tells two facts omitted in the earlier Gospels; (1) that the village of Martha and Mary was Bethany, (2) that the anointing at Bethany was Mary’s act. The identification of Mary of Bethany with the ἁμαρτωλός of Luke 7 is altogether at variance with what S. Luke and S. John tell us of her character. Nor is there any sufficient reason for identifying either of them with Mary Magdalene. Mary of Bethany, Mary of Magdala, and the ‘sinner’ of Luke 7 are three distinct persons.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2.] Another reference ιο a fact which, as our Lord prophesied, was known wherever the gospel was preached. This reference containing, as it does, the expression τὸν κύριον (= our Lord), q. d. ‘as we all well know,’—is a striking illustration of that prophecy. John himself relates the occurrence, ch. 12:3, being necessary for the course of his narrative.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. This verse seems to be an explanatory gloss added by an editor. There are two non-Johannine touches of style. The phrase τὸν κύριον (see on 4:1) appears instead of Jn.’s usual τὸν Ἰησοῦν. And, secondly, the characteristically Johannine ἦν ἀσθενῶν (v. 1) is altered to the more classical ἠσθένει.

The story by which Mary is identified is that of her anointing Jesus, and wiping His feet with her hair, which Jn. tells in the next chapter. But this story is also told of the sinful woman of Luk 7:38. Christian readers of the next generation would not be helped by an explanatory note which might equally be applied to two distinct women; and the conclusion is inevitable that Jn. (or his editor) regarded Mary of Bethany as the same person who is described by Lk. as ἁμαρτωλός.1 The easiest way to identify her for the reader is to recall the singular gesture by which she was best known, and which she had enacted not once only, but twice. She was the best-known member of her family, and the note recalls that it was her brother, Lazarus, who was sick.

It is worth observing, in view of the discrepancy between Mar 14:3 and Joh 12:3, as to whether it was the head or the feet of Jesus that Mary anointed, that this note evades the difficulty by saying simply “anointed the Lord.” ἀλείφειν, μύρον, ἐκμάσσειν, θρίξ, are words common to this passage with both Luk 7:38 and Joh 12:3; and the reference is probably to both incidents. ἐκμάσσειν is only found again in N.T. at 13:5, and there, as in Luk_7, Joh_12, of wiping feet.

Μαριάμ, rather than Μαρία, seems to be the best-attested spelling of Mary’s name throughout Jn., although here אADLWΘ have Μαρία, B 33 alone supporting Μαριάμ.2 This provides another reason for suspecting v. 2 to be non- Johannine. Cf., however, v. 20, 12:3; and see 19:25.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Anointed [αλειψασα] . Three words for anointing are found in the New Testament : ajleifw, criw, and its compounds, and murizw. The last is used but once, Mr 14:8, of anointing the Lord 's body for burying. Between the two others the distinction is strictly maintained. Criw, which occurs five times, is used in every case but one of the anointing of the Son by the Father With the Holy Spirit (Luk 4:18; Act 4:27; Act 10:38; Heb 1:9). In the remaining instance (2Co 1:21) of enduing Christians with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Thus the word is confined to sacred anointing. 36 Aleifw is used of all actual anointings. See Mt 6:17; Mr 6:13; Luk 7:38; Jas 5:14. The same distinction is generally maintained in the Septuagint, though with a few exceptions, as Num 3:3.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.