Lukas 7:37

7:37 Then ¹  when a woman of that town, who was a sinner, learned that Jesus ²  was dining ³  at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar ⁴  of perfumed oil. ⁵ 

Lukas 13:4

13:4 Or those eighteen who were killed ⁶  when the tower in Siloam fell on them, ⁷  do you think they were worse offenders than all the others who live in Jerusalem? ⁸ 

[7:37]  ¹ tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[7:37]  ² tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:37]  ³ tn Grk “was reclining at table.”

[7:37]  ⁴ sn A jar made of alabaster stone was normally used for very precious substances like perfumes. It normally had a long neck which was sealed and had to be broken off so the contents could be used.

[7:37]  ⁵ tn Μύρον (muron) was usually made of myrrh (from which the English word is derived) but here it is used in the sense of ointment or perfumed oil (L&N 6.205). The same phrase occurs at the end of v. 38 and in v. 46.

[7:37]  sn Nard or spikenard is a fragrant oil from the root and spike of the nard plant of northern India. This perfumed oil, if made of something like nard, would have been extremely expensive, costing up to a year’s pay for an average laborer.

[13:4]  ⁶ tn Grk “on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them.” This relative clause embedded in a prepositional phrase is complex in English and has been simplified to an adjectival and a temporal clause in the translation.

[13:4]  ⁷ sn Unlike the previous event, when the tower in Siloam fell on them, it was an accident of fate. It raised the question, however, “Was this a judgment?”

[13:4]  ⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.