Matthew 26:7
There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.
Matthew 26:7 in other translations
| BSB | a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, which she poured on His head as He reclined at the table. |
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| WEB | a woman came to him having an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. |
| ASV | there came unto him a woman having an alabaster cruse of exceeding precious ointment, and she poured it upon his head, as he sat at meat. |
| YLT | there came to him a woman having an alabaster box of ointment, very precious, and she poured on his head as he is reclining (at meat). |
| DARBY | a woman, having an alabaster flask of very precious ointment, came to him and poured it out upon his head as he lay at table. |
| BBE | There came to him a woman having a bottle of perfume of great price, and she put the perfume on his head when he was seated at table. |
| Webster | There came to him a woman having an alabaster-box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head as he sat at table. |
What does Matthew 26:7 mean?
Barnes' Notes
Having an alabaster box. The alabaster is a species of marble, distinguished for being light, and of a beautiful white colour, almost transparent. It was much used by the ancients for the purpose of preserving various kinds of ointment in.
Of very precious ointment. That is, of ointment of much value; that was rare, and difficult to be obtained. Mark (Mk 14:3) and John (Jn 12:3) say, that it was ointment of spikenard. In the original it is nard. It was procured from an herb growing in the Indies, chiefly obtained from the root--though sometimes also from the bark. It was liquid, so as easily to flow when the box or phial was open, and was distinguished particularly for an agreeable smell. See Song 1:12. The ancients were much in the habit of anointing or perfuming their bodies, and the nard was esteemed one of the most precious perfumes. John says there was a pound of this, (Jn 12:3.) The pound in use among them was the Roman, of twelve ounces, answering to our Troy weight. That there was a large quantity is farther evident from the fact that Judas says it might have been sold for three hundred pence, (forty dollars,) [or �9,] and that the house was filled with the odour of the ointment, (John.)
And poured it on his head. They were accustomed chiefly to anoint the head, or hair. John says (Jn 12:3) that she poured it on the feet of Jesus, and wiped them with her hair. There is, however, no contradiction. She probably poured it both on his head and his feet. Matthew and Mark having recorded the former, John, who wrote his gospel in part to record events omitted by them, relates that the ointment was also poured on the feet of the Saviour. To pour ointment on the head was common. To pour it on the feet was an act of distinguished humility and attachment to the Saviour, and therefore deserved to be particularly recorded.
As he sat at meat. That is, at supper. In the original, as he reclined at supper. The ancients did not sit at their meals, but reclined at length on couches. Mt 23:6. She came up, therefore, behind him, as he lay reclined at the table; and bending down over the couch, poured the ointment on his head and his feet; and probably kneeling at his feet, wiped them with her hair.
(t) "Then came" Jn 11:1,2, 12:3
Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 26:6-13
The pouring ointment upon the head of Christ was a token of the highest respect. Where there is true love in the heart to Jesus Christ, nothing will be thought too good to bestow upon him. The more Christ's servants and their services are cavilled at, the more he manifests his acceptance. This act of faith and love was so remarkable, that it would be reported, as a memorial of Mary's faith and love, to all future…
Matthew 26:7 in the original Greek
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Cross references for Matthew 26:7
- John 12:2-3
There they made him a supper; and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that sat at the table with him. 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.
- Luke 7:46
My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
- 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 of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
- Ecclesiastes 9:8
Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.
- Psalms 133:2
It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
- Isaiah 57:9
And thou wentest to the king with ointment, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thy messengers far off, and didst debase thyself even unto hell.
- Song of Solomon 1:3
Because of the savour of thy good ointments thy name is as ointment poured forth, therefore do the virgins love thee.
- Exodus 30:23-33
Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, And of cassia five hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin: And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil. And thou shalt anoint the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, …
- Ecclesiastes 10:1
Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour.
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Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Context
- Matthew 26:6
Now when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper,
- Matthew 26:7
There came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of very precious ointment, and poured it on his head, as he sat at meat.
- Matthew 26:8
But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
Matthew 26:7 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Vino á él una mujer, teniendo un vaso de alabastro de ungüento de gran precio, y lo derramó sobre la cabeza de él, estando sentado á la mesa. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | une femme, ayant un vase d’albâtre plein d’un parfum de grand prix, vint à lui et le répandit sur sa tête comme il était à table. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | kam ein Weib zu ihm, die ein Alabasterfläschchen mit sehr kostbarer Salbe hatte, und goß es aus auf sein Haupt, als er zu Tische lag. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | accessit ad eum mulier habens alabastrum unguenti pretiosi, et effudit super caput ipsius recumbentis. |