Food & daily life
Alabaster Jar
A container used to bring perfume in Gospel accounts.
Also called · alabaster flask · perfume jar
What it means
The Greek name is associated with perfume vessels made from stone called alabaster.
In Mark 14, an unnamed woman comes to Simon’s house in Bethany, breaks the jar, and pours costly nard perfume on Jesus’ head.
How it appears in the Bible
Matthew 26 also describes perfume poured on Jesus’ head at Bethany; Jesus explains it as preparation for his burial. Luke 7 describes a woman at the Pharisee Simon’s house wetting Jesus’ feet with tears, wiping them with her hair, and anointing them with perfume. Luke does not name her either.
Translation note
The jar is the container, and the perfume is its contents. Mark describes the woman breaking the jar; Luke 7 does not record that action.