2:23 Jesus 1 was going through the grain fields on a Sabbath, and his disciples began to pick some heads of wheat 2 as they made their way.
16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic spices 4 so that they might go and anoint him.
1 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).
3 tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
4 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.