Luke 7:37
King James Version (KJV)
And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
Translations
Luke 7:37 - Amplified Bible
And behold, a woman of the town who was an especially wicked sinner, when she learned that He was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment (perfume).
Luke 7:37 - American Standard Version
And behold, a woman who was in the city, a sinner; and when she knew that he was sitting at meat in the Pharisees house, she brought an alabaster cruse of ointment,
Luke 7:37 - Bible in Basic English
And there was a woman in the town who was a sinner; and when she had news that he was a guest in the Pharisee's house, she took a bottle of perfume,
Luke 7:37 - Darby Bible
and behold, a woman in the city, who was a sinner, and knew that he was sitting at meat in the house of the Pharisee, having taken an alabaster box of myrrh,
Luke 7:37 - English Standard Version
And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment,
Luke 7:37 - King James Version
And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
Luke 7:37 - La Biblia de las Americas
Y he aquì, habìa en la ciudad una mujer que era pecadora, y cuando se enterò de que Jesùs estaba sentado a la mesa en casa del fariseo, trajo un frasco de alabastro con perfume;
Luke 7:37 - The Message
Luke 7:37 - New American Standard Bible
And there was a woman in the city who was a sinner; and when she learned that He was reclining {at the table} in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster vial of perfume,
Luke 7:37 - Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy
Habìa en la ciudad una mujer que era pecadora, y cuando se enterò de que Jesùs estaba sentado a la mesa en casa del Fariseo, trajo un frasco de alabastro con perfume;
Luke 7:37 - World English Bible
Behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that he was reclining in the Pharisee`s house, she brought an alabaster jar of ointment.
Luke 7:37 - Young's Living Translation
and lo, a woman in the city, who was a sinner, having known that he reclineth (at meat) in the house of the Pharisee, having provided an alabaster box of ointment,
Luke 7:37 - Additional Comments
The term 'sinner' refers to one who was devoted to sin, who sins with disregard and without care to the laws of God.
Alabaster is a type of a stone, so the vase carrying the ointment/oil was made out of stone.
The text does not specify who this woman was. It is commonly speculated that she is Mary Magdalene, but there is no scriptural basis for this. Mary Magdalene is described (Luke 8:2, Mark 16:9) to be one out of whom Christ had cast seven devils; but that is not mentioned here, and so it's probably not her.
While this woman had come to worship Jesus, that was not the Pharisee's intent when he invited Jesus to dinner - he doubts that Jesus is a prophet (vs 39). Jesus knew the hearts of Pharisees, and didn't think much of them (Matt 3:7).
How remarkable that this woman came to him in such a place without hesitation. She surely was not welcome there, and could even face legal consequences of such an intrusion - but nothing was going to stop her from coming to Jesus! Amazing how, for so many people, small and trivial things stop them from coming to Jesus. Amazing, how small and trivial things stop us from going to Jesus in prayer. The number one reason why prayers are not answered - they are asked! ("You do not have because you do not ask" - James 4:2.)
More on Pharisees (see also notes on Acts 4:5):
- Pharisees were extremely accurate and minute in all matters appertaining to the law of Moses (Matt 9:14, 23:15; Luke 11:39, 18:12).
- Paul professed himself to be a Pharisee (Acts 23:6-8, 26:4-5).
- There was much that was sound in their creed, yet their system of religion was a form and nothing more. Theirs was a very lax morality (Matt 5:20, 15:4, 15:8, 23:3, 23:14, 23:23, 23:25; John 8:7).
- On the first notice of them in the New Testament (Matt 3:7), they are ranked by our Lord with the Sadducees as a "generation of vipers."
- They were noted for their self-righteousness and their pride (Matt 9:11, Luke 7:39, 18:11-12).
- They were frequently rebuked by our Lord (Matt 12:39, 16:1-4).
- From the very beginning of Jesus' ministry the Pharisees showed themselves bitter and persistent enemies of our Lord. They could not bear his doctrines, and they sought by every means to destroy his influence among the people.
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