John 11:2

2 It was [the] Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

John 11:2 Meaning and Commentary

John 11:2

It was [that] Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment,
&c.] Not the woman in ( Luke 7:37 ) , as some have thought, whose name is not mentioned, and which history is not related by John at all: but Mary in ( John 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 Luke 7:37), (See Gill on John 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 11:2 In-Context

1 Now there was a certain [man] sick, Lazarus of Bethany, of the village of Mary and Martha her sister.
2 It was [the] Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.
3 The sisters therefore sent to him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
4 But when Jesus heard [it], he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it.
5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Or 'But [the] Mary was she who,' &c.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.