A pound (λιτραν). Latin libra, late Koine (Polybius, Plutarch) word with weight of 12 ounces, in N.T. only here and …

Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard.—Here, again, St. John alone gives the name of her whom St. Matthew and S…

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…

Alcuin of York: As the time approached in which our Lord had resolved to suffer, He approached the place He had chosen for Hi…

The anointing of Jesus’ feet by Mary was not difficult because of the custom of reclining to eat instead of sitting at a table. Guests usually recl…

And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. It was not a simple liquid extracted from spikenard, but a compound of ma…

Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard very costly ,
&c.] Worth three hundred pence, according to Judas's e…

Christ had formerly blamed Martha for being troubled with much serving. But she did not stop serving, as some who, when criticized for going too fa…

1. Until now, the Evangelist has been showing the power of Christ’s divinity by what he did and taught during his public life. Now he begins…