11:1 Now a certain man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village where Mary and her sister Martha lived. 1 11:2 (Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil 2 and wiped his feet dry with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) 3
11:28 And when she had said this, Martha 8 went and called her sister Mary, saying privately, 9 “The Teacher is here and is asking for you.” 10
1 tn Grk “from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.”
2 tn Or “perfume,” “ointment.”
3 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author. It is a bit surprising that the author here identifies Mary as the one who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil and wiped his feet dry with her hair, since this event is not mentioned until later, in 12:3. Many see this “proleptic” reference as an indication that the author expected his readers to be familiar with the story already, and go on to assume that in general the author in writing the Fourth Gospel assumed his readers were familiar with the other three gospels. Whether the author assumed actual familiarity with the synoptic gospels or not, it is probable that he did assume some familiarity with Mary’s anointing activity.
4 tn Or “many of the Judeans” (cf. BDAG 479 s.v. ᾿Ιουδαῖος 2.e); Grk “many of the Jews.” Here the phrase refers to the residents of Jerusalem and the surrounding area in general (those who had been friends or relatives of Lazarus or his sisters would mainly be in view) since the Jewish religious authorities (“the chief priests and the Pharisees”) are specifically mentioned as a separate group in John 11:46-47. See also the note on the phrase “the Jewish leaders” in v. 8.
5 tn Or “to comfort them” or “to offer them sympathy.”
6 tn Grk “to comfort them concerning their brother”; the words “loss of” are not in the Greek text but are implied.
sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
7 sn Notice the difference in the response of the two sisters: Martha went out to meet Jesus, while Mary remains sitting in the house. It is similar to the incident in Luke 10:38-42. Here again one finds Martha occupied with the responsibilities of hospitality; she is the one who greets Jesus.
8 tn Grk “she”; the referent (Martha) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Or “in secret” (as opposed to publicly, so that the other mourners did not hear).
10 tn Grk “is calling you.”
11 tn The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here.
12 sn Woman was a polite form of address (see BDAG 208-9 s.v. γυνή 1), similar to “Madam” or “Ma’am” used in English in different regions. This occurs again in v. 15.
13 tn Grk “She said to them.”
14 tn The words “she told them” are repeated from the first part of the same verse to improve clarity.
15 tn Grk “the things.”
16 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) is specified in the translation for clarity.
17 tn The first part of Mary’s statement, introduced by ὅτι (Joti), is direct discourse (ἑώρακα τὸν κύριον, Jewraka ton kurion), while the second clause switches to indirect discourse (καὶ ταῦτα εἶπεν αὐτῇ, kai tauta eipen auth). This has the effect of heightening the emphasis on the first part of the statement.