Luke 7:46

46 You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.

Luke 7:46 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 7:46

Mine head with oil thou didst not anoint
No not with common oil, so usually done at feasts, see ( Psalms 23:5 )

but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment;
even "with ointment" (amobd) , "of spices", as the Syriac version renders it. There is, throughout the whole account, an opposition between the conduct of Simon, and this woman: he gave him no common water to wash his feet with, she shed floods of tears, and with them bathed his feet, and then wiped them clean with the hairs of her head; he gave him not the usual salutation by kissing his head or lips, but she kissed his feet, and that over and over again; he did not so much as anoint his head with common oil, when she anointed his feet with costly ointment brought in an alabaster box. These several ceremonies to guests were used by their hosts, in other nations, such as washing, anointing, and kissing ^F3.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 Vid. Apuleii Metamorph. i. 1. prope finem.

Luke 7:46 In-Context

44 Then he turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home, you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair.

45 You didn’t greet me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet.

46 You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.

47 “I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”

48 Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”