Luke 7:37

A woman. Mary of Bethany, otherwise known as Mary Magdalene (see Additional Note at end of chapter).

Alabaster. A comparatively soft rock that can be carved into cups, boxes, vases, or flasks. Ancient ointment flasks were usually carved from light-gray translucent limestone.

Ointment. The common “ointment” of Palestine was olive oil to which spice or other aromatic ingredients were added. Mary’s “ointment” was the “very costly” spikenard (see Mark 14:3; John 12:3), probably extracted from the fragrant roots of the Nardostachys jatamansi. This plant grows high in the Himalaya Mountains, and in ancient times was used as a source of perfume and medicine (see on S. of Sol. 1:12). If Mary’s “ointment” had come from the mountains of northern India, it is little wonder that it was considered “very costly” (John 12:3, 5). Mark 14:5 gives its value as about 300 Roman denarii (see p. 49). It should be remembered that this would be equivalent to 300 working days’ wages for a laborer of the time (see on Matt. 20:2). Such a valuable gift, suitable for the monarchs of earth, represented great personal sacrifice on the part of Mary (see DA 559, 564).