Then took Mary a pound of ointment - See the note on Matthew 26:7 ; see also Mark 14:3 . It does not seem the most likely that this was the same transaction with that mentioned above. Some think that this was, notwithstanding that before is said to have been at the house of Simon the leper. The arguments, pro and con, are largely stated in the notes at the end of Matthew 26 (note), to which I beg leave to refer the reader. read more
Three hundred pence - Or denarii: about 9£. 13s. 9d. of our money; reckoning the denarius at 7 3/4d. One of my MSS. of the Vulgate (a MS. of the 14th century) reads, cccc denarii . read more
Not that He cared for the poor - There should be a particular emphasis laid on the word he, as the evangelist studies to show the most determined detestation to his conduct. And bare what was put therein - Or rather, as some eminent critics contend, And stole what was put in it. This seems the proper meaning of εβαϚαζεν ; and in this sense it is used, John 20:15 ; : If thou hast Stolen him away - ει συ εβαϚασας αυτον . In the same sense the word is used by Josephus, Ant. b. xii. c.... read more
Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this - Several MSS. and versions read thus: - Αφες αυτην, ἱνα εις την ἡμεραντου ενταφιασμου μου τηρησῃ - Let her alone, That she may keep it to the day of my embalming. This is the reading of BDLQ, four others, Arabic, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, later Syriac in the margin, Slavonic, Vulgate, all the Itala but one; Nonnus, Ambrosius, Gaudentius, and Augustin. This reading, which has the approbation of Mill, Bengel, Griesbach,... read more
Verse 1 1.Jesus came to Bethany. We see that they judged too rashly who thought that Christ would not come to the feast, (2) (John 11:56;) and this, reminds us that we ought not to be so hasty as not to wait patiently and quietly, till the season arrive, which is unknown to us. Now Jesus came first to Bethany, that thence he might go three days afterwards to Jerusalem. Meanwhile, he intended to give Judas a fit time and place for betraying him, that he might present himself, ready to be... read more
Verse 2 2.There therefore they made him a banquet. Matthew (Matthew 26:7) and Mark, (Mark 14:3) say that he then supped at the house of Simon the leper. John does not mention the house, but shows plainly enough, that it was in some other place than the house of Lazarus and Martha that he supped; for he says that Lazarus was one of those who sat at table with him, that is, one who had been invited along with Christ. Nor does it involve any contradiction, that Matthew and Mark relate that the... read more
Verse 3 3.And the house was filled with the odor of the ointment. It was not a simple liquor extracted from spikenard, but a compound of many odoriferous substances; and therefore it is not wonderful that the whole house was filled with the odor read more
Verse 4 4.One of his disciples, therefore, saith. Next follows the murmuring of Judas, which Matthew (Matthew 16:8) attributes to the disciples indiscriminately, and Mark (Mark 14:4) to some of them; but it is customary in Scripture to apply to many, by way of synecdoche, what belongs to one or to a few. Yet I think it is probable, that the murmuring proceeded from Judas alone, and that the rest were induced to give him their assent, as murmurings, by fanning a flame, easily kindle in us a... read more
Verse 5 5.Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred denarii? A pound of ordinary ointment, Pliny tells us, cost not more than ten denarii; but the same Pliny says, that the highest price of the best ointment was three hundred and ten denarii. Now the Evangelists agree, that this was the most costly ointment, and Therefore Judas is correct in valuing a pound of it at three hundred denarii, — a sum which, according to the computation of Budaeus, amounts to fifty livres of French money. And... read more
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Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - John 12:1
Six days before the Passover - Reckoning the day of the Passover to be the last of the six. Our Lord came on our Sabbath, the first day of the Jewish week, to Bethany, where he supped; and on the next day he made his public entry into Jerusalem: John 12:12 . Calmet thinks that this was about two months after the resurrection of Lazarus, on the 9th of Nisan, (March 29), in the thirty-sixth year of our Lord's age. It has been observed before - that Calmet adds three years to the common... read more