10:32 They were on the way, going up to Jerusalem. 5 Jesus was going ahead of them, and they were amazed, but those who followed were afraid. He took the twelve aside again and began to tell them what was going to happen to him.
11:15 Then 6 they came to Jerusalem. 7 Jesus 8 entered the temple area 9 and began to drive out those who were selling and buying in the temple courts. 10 He turned over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves,
14:3 Now 11 while Jesus 12 was in Bethany at the house of Simon the leper, reclining at the table, 13 a woman came with an alabaster jar 14 of costly aromatic oil 15 from pure nard. After breaking open the jar, she poured it on his head.
1 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the man who was healed) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Grk “and”; καί (kai) often has a mildly contrastive force, as here.
4 tn The imperfect verb has been translated iteratively.
5 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
6 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
7 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
8 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
9 tn Grk “the temple.”
sn The merchants (those who were selling) would have been located in the Court of the Gentiles.
10 tn Grk “the temple.”
sn Matthew (21:12-27), Mark (here, 11:15-19), and Luke (19:45-46) record this incident of the temple cleansing at the end of Jesus’ ministry. John (2:13-16) records a cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. See the note on the word temple courts in John 2:14 for a discussion of the relationship of these accounts to one another.
11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.
12 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
13 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 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.
15 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.
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.