John 11:2

(Now it was Mary who anointed the Lord with perfumed oil ¹  and wiped his feet dry with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) ² 

Mt 26:6,7; Mr 14:3; Lu 7:37,38; Joh 12:3

¹ tn Or “perfume,” “ointment.”

² 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.