16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic spices 2 so that they might go and anoint him.
1 tn Grk “it”; the referent (Jesus’ body) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn On this term see BDAG 140 s.v. ἄρωμα. The Jews did not practice embalming, so these materials were used to cover the stench of decay and slow decomposition.
sn Spices were used not to preserve the body, but as an act of love, and to mask the growing stench of a corpse.