Discovery BoxJohn 11:1-2 
Context11:1 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
John 11:37
Context11:37 But some of them said, “This is the man who caused the blind man to see! 4 Couldn’t he have done something to keep Lazarus 5 from dying?”
John 12:2
Context12:2 So they prepared a dinner for Jesus 6 there. Martha 7 was serving, and Lazarus was among those present at the table 8 with him.
John 12:17
Context12:17 So the crowd who had been with him when he called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead were continuing to testify about it. 9
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 Grk “who opened the eyes of the blind man” (“opening the eyes” is an idiom referring to restoration of sight).
5 tn Grk “this one”; the second half of 11:37 reads Grk “Could not this one who opened the eyes of the blind have done something to keep this one from dying?” In the Greek text the repetition of “this one” in 11:37b referring to two different persons (first Jesus, second Lazarus) could confuse a modern reader. Thus the first reference, to Jesus, has been translated as “he” to refer back to the beginning of v. 37, where the reference to “the man who caused the blind man to see” is clearly a reference to Jesus. The second reference, to Lazarus, has been specified (“Lazarus”) in the translation for clarity.
6 tn Grk “him”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity and to conform with contemporary English style.
7 tn Grk “And Martha.” The connective καί (kai, “and”) has been omitted in the translation because it would produce a run-on sentence in English.
8 tn Grk “reclining at the table.”
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.
9 tn The word “it” is not included in the Greek text. Direct objects in Greek were often omitted when clear from the context.
