Markus 11:23

11:23 I tell you the truth, ¹  if someone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.

Markus 14:3

Jesus’ Anointing

14:3 Now ²  while Jesus ³  was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, reclining at the table, ⁴  a woman came with an alabaster jar ⁵  of costly aromatic oil ⁶  from pure nard. After breaking open the jar, she poured it on his head.

[11:23]  ¹ tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[14:3]  ² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

[14:3]  ³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[14:3]  ⁴ sn 1st century middle eastern meals were not eaten while sitting at a table, but while reclining on one’s side on the floor with the head closest to the low table and the feet farthest away.

[14:3]  ⁵ 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.

[14:3]  ⁶ 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 adjective πιστικῆς (pistikh") is difficult with regard to its exact meaning; some have taken it to derive from πίστις (pistis) and relate to the purity of the oil of nard. More probably it is something like a brand name, “pistic nard,” the exact significance of which has not been discovered.

[14:3]  sn Nard or spikenard is a fragrant oil from the root and spike of the nard plant of northern India. This aromatic oil, if made of something like nard, would have been extremely expensive, costing up to a year’s pay for an average laborer.