Luke 7:46

46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.

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.


FOOTNOTES:

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

Luke 7:46 In-Context

44 Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has bathed my feet with her tears and dried them with her hair.
45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not stopped kissing my feet.
46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment.
47 Therefore, I tell you, her sins, which were many, have been forgiven; hence she has shown great love. But the one to whom little is forgiven, loves little."
48 Then he said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.