Spikenard

Biblical Texts

Spikenard appears in two New Testament passages.

• Mark 14:3-9: In the house of Simon the leper at Bethany, a woman breaks "an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious" and pours it on Jesus' head. Some of those present rebuke her, saying that "it might have been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have been given to the poor." Jesus says that she has anointed His body beforehand for burial, and that wherever the gospel is preached, what she has done will also be told.
• John 12:1-8: Six days before the Passover, at Bethany, Mary takes "a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly," anoints Jesus' feet, and wipes them with her hair. The house is filled with the fragrance. Judas Iscariot objects, citing the sum of three hundred pence, and John adds that he was a thief who kept the money bag.

Matthew 26:6-13 records the same scene but does not identify the ointment as nard. In the Song of Solomon 1:12 and 4:13-14, the same Hebrew word, rendered "spikenard" in the KJV (and nado in Korean Bibles), describes the fragrance of the beloved.

Background

Nard is known as an aromatic substance obtained from the rhizome of a plant that grows in the Himalayan region. Scholars generally identify the plant as spikenard (Nardostachys jatamansi). Because it was imported over a long route from the region of India, it was extremely expensive.

The Greek word pistikos, translated "pure" in many versions, is commonly explained as meaning "genuine" or "unadulterated," though scholars disagree about its precise meaning. The "alabaster box" refers to a narrow-necked vessel made of gypsum (alabaster), and Mark records that the woman broke the vessel. The "pound" in John is the Roman unit litra, usually explained as roughly 330 grams (about 12 ounces).

In the parable of the laborers in the vineyard (Matthew 20:2), one denarius (KJV "penny") is given as a day's wage. On this basis, three hundred denarii is commonly described as close to a laborer's wages for a year.

Significance in the Whole of Scripture

Because Jesus Himself interpreted the act as preparation for His burial, the episode is read as the scene that opens the Passion narrative. Some interpreters note that Mark records the ointment being poured on Jesus' head, and they connect the scene with the Old Testament practice of anointing a king or the Messiah.

The saying "For ye have the poor with you always" (Mark 14:7) recalls Deuteronomy 15:11. Many interpreters therefore read it not as making light of almsgiving but as pointing to the special nature of the moment, with Jesus' death at hand.

Interpretations and Issues

• The same event? The accounts in Mark and Matthew and the account in John agree in location, the sum of money, and the objection raised, so they are generally regarded as describing the same event. Details differ, however, such as whether the ointment was poured on the head or the feet and who the host was. Many hold that the anointing of Jesus' feet by a sinful woman in Luke 7:36-50 is a separate event.
• Who was the woman? In the Western church, a tradition that identified Mary of Bethany, Mary Magdalene, and the woman in Luke as one person spread widely from the time of Pope Gregory I. The texts, however, do not say this, and the Eastern church has kept the three distinct.
• Later embellishments: It is often said that the ointment was the woman's dowry or her entire fortune. Such details, however, do not appear in the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

The expression "breaking the alabaster box" is frequently used in sermons and prayers as a metaphor for wholehearted devotion or offerings. Some point out, however, that because the focus of the text is on Jesus' death and burial, applying it only to appeals for giving calls for caution.