John 12:7 Let her alone: against the day

Spoken to
an individual

Mary anoints Jesus's feet with oil. Judas complains about the money.

KJV

John 12:7 Let her alone: against the day of my burying hath she kept this.

NIV

John 12:7 “Leave her alone...It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial.

 

LISTENERS HEARD

Leave her be! In order that until the day of this funeral rite of mine she should take care of it.

MY TAKE

Jesus is setting Mary up for a big surprise.

LOST IN TRANSLATION

There are a  couple of wordplays hidden here. First, the verb translated as "kept" and "save" that Jesus uses is the opposite of the "give" verb that Judas uses. Jesus says "she should guard it" or "she should take care of it." The sense is that she should continue doing so, not that she has done so. She does this "until the day of my funeral rite."  The word translated as "against/for" means "until" when used for a time. What is that time? Was it his burial? No.

The  Greek word translated as "burying/burial " only appears in the Gospels.  Jesus uses it twice. It is constructed of two Greek words meaning "in tomb."  In English, we would say "entombment," but it doesn't actually mean the putting of the body in the tomb. It means preparing the body for the tomb, washing it, perfuming it, etc. These rites were performed by the family. Jesus's body was put in the tomb on the day of his death, but it wasn't properly prepared. This is why Mary and the other women came after the Sabbath.

Jesus was setting up a surprise for her. People translating the Gospels seem to miss the point entirely. Jesus wanted his resurrection to be discovered by women, who were the ones who performed the funeral-rites in Judean tradition. This anointing of his feet was the only anointing in the Gospels so it is the only basis for his titles as "the anointed" other than Judea tradition. He true anointing, however, was the anointing he never received because he rose from the grave.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES
8
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "alone" is not the common word usually translated as "alone."
  • OS -- Outdated Source -- The Greek word "in order that" did not exist in the KJV Greek source but it does in the one we used today.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "against" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "burying" is not shown in the English translation.
  • WF - Wrong Form -  The "burying" is not a participle, " but a noun, "entombment."
  • WT - Wrong Tense - The verb "hast" indicates the past perfect tense, but the tense is something that happens at a specific point in time (past, present, or future).
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "should" needed from the form of the verb is not shown in the English translation.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "this" is not the common word usually translated as "it."
# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES
6
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "alone" is not the common word usually translated as "alone."
  • IP - Inserted Phrase-- The phrase ""it was intended" doesn't exist in the source.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "save" does not capture the specific meaning of the word.
  • CW - Confusing Word -- The "this" is not the common word usually translated as "it."
  • IW - Inserted Word -- The word "perfume" doesn't exist in the source.
  • MW - Missing Word -- The word "the" before "burial" is not shown in the English translation.
EACH WORD of KJV

Let -- The word translated as "let" primarily means "to let go" or "to send away." This same word is usually translated as "leave," "forgive," "suffer," and "let" in the New Testament. See this article for more. It has the sense of leaving something alone and letting it drop.

her  -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.

alone: -- (CW) There is nothing that can be translated as "alone" in the Greek source. A better choice here would be "leave her be" or "let her be."

missing "in order that"  -- (OS) The untranslated word "in order that" is an adverb "in that place," "there," "where," "when," or as a conjunction that starts a subordinate clause  "that," "when," "in order that" or "because." It did not appear in the KJV Greek source.

against -- (CW) The word translated as "unto" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, "in regards to" a subject, and "up to" limits in time and measure. It also means "for" a purpose or "until" a time, either of which works here. It is not the word usually translated as "against.:

the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, without a noun, it has the sense of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

day -- The Greek word translated as "day" also means "time," in general, and refers specifically to the "daytime."

of -- This word "of"  comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English.  The most common is the "of" of possession.

my .-- "My" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun. This pronoun follows the noun so "of mine." 

missing "the"  -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article,"the," which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more. 

burying - (WF) The word translated as "burying" only appears in the Gospels. It is constructed of two Greek words meaning "in tomb." The English word is "entombment." It is a noun, not a participle.

hath -- (WT) This helping verb "hath" indicates that the verb is the tense indicating an action completed in the past. This is not the tense of the verb here.

missing "should" or "might"-- (MW) A helping verb is necessary because the following verb is a verb of possibility, a subjunctive, something that "should" or "might" occur. The helping verb is not needed in a clause beginning with an "if" or a "when."

she -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.

kept   - The word translated as "keep" means "to watch over," "to guard," "to take care of," "to give heed to," "to keep," "to test by observation or trial," and "to observe." Jesus uses this word seventeen times, almost always with the idea of "keeping" in one commandment or another. "Keep" works best because it combines the idea of "guarding" and "observing."

this. - (CW) The word translated as "this" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. It is a neuter word so "it." It is usually not translated as "this," which is commonly another word.

EACH WORD of NIV

Leave -- The word translated as "leave" primarily means "to let go" or "to send away." This same word is usually translated as "leave," "forgive," "suffer," and "let" in the New Testament. See this article for more. It has the sense of leaving something alone and letting it drop.

her  -- The word translated as "his" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English.

alone: -- (CW) There is nothing that can be translated as "alone" in the Greek source. A better choice here would be "leave her be" or "let her be."

It was intended -- (IP) There is nothing that can be translated as "it was intended " in the Greek source.

that   -- The  "that" is an adverb "in that place," "there," "where," "when," or as a conjunction that starts a subordinate clause  "that," "when," "in order that" or "because." It did not appear in the KJV Greek source.

she -- This is from the third-person, singular form of the verb.

should -- This helping verb in English comes from the form of the Greek verb that indicates a possibility. We would usually say "might" or "should" in English.

save - (CW) The word translated as "save" means "to watch over," "to guard," "to take care of," "to give heed to," "to keep," "to test by observation or trial," and "to observe." Jesus uses this word seventeen times, almost always with the idea of "keeping" in one commandment or another. "Keep" works best because it combines the idea of "guarding" and "observing." It is not the word usually translated as "save."

this. - (CW) The word translated as "this" is the Greek word commonly translated as third-person pronouns in English. It is a neuter word so "it." It is usually not translated as "this," which is commonly another word.

perfume -- (IW) There is nothing that can be translated as "perfume" in the Greek source.

for --  The word translated as "for" means "into" a place, "towards" as a direction, "in regards to" a subject, and "up to" limits in time and measure. It also means "for" a purpose or "until" a time, either of which works here.

the -- The word translated as "the" is the Greek definite article, without a noun, it has the sense of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those") than the English "the." See this article for more. 

day -- The Greek word translated as "day" also means "time," in general, and refers specifically to the "daytime."

of -- This word "of"  comes from the genitive case of the following word that requires the addition of a preposition in English.  The most common is the "of" of possession.

my .-- "My" is the first-person possessive singular pronoun. This pronoun follows the noun so "of mine." 

missing "the"  -- (MW) The untranslated word is the Greek definite article,"the," which usually precedes a noun and, without a noun, takes the meaning of "the one." The Greek article is much closer to our demonstrative pronouns ("this," "that," "these," "those"). See this article for more. 

burial -  The word translated as "burying" only appears in the Gospels. It is constructed of two Greek words meaning "in tomb." The English word is "entombment."

 

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV

Ἄφες [73 verses](2nd sg aor imperat act) "Let" is aphiemi, which means "to let fall," "to send away," "give up," "hand over," "to let loose," "to get rid of," "to leave alone," "to pass by," "to permit," and "to send forth from oneself."

αὐτήν, [720 verses](adj sg fem acc) "Her" is autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself," "yourself," "himself," "herself," "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him," "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord." In the adverbial form, it  means "just here" or "exactly there."

ἵνα [134 verses](adv/conj) "That" is hina, which means "in that place," "there," "where," "when,"  but when beginning a phrase "that," "in order that," "when," and "because."

εἰς [325 verses](prep) "Against" is eis, which means "into (of place)," "up to (of time)," "until (of time)," "as much as (of measure or limit)," "as far as (of measure or limit)," "towards (to express relation)," "in regard to (to express relation)," "of an end or limit," and "for (of purpose or object)."

τὴν [821 verses](article sg fem acc)  "The" is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the"). 

ἡμέραν [96 verses](noun fem acc) "Days" is hemera, which, as a noun, means "day" "a state or time of life," "a time (poetic)," "day break" and "day time." It is also and also has a second meaning, of "quiet," "tame (animals)," "cultivated (crops)," and "civilized (people)."

τοῦ [821 verses](article sg masc nom)  Untranslated is the Greek definite article, hos, ("the").  -

ἐνταφιασμοῦ [2 verses](noun sg masc gen) "Burying" is from entaphiasmos, which means "laying out for burial" and, more generally, "funeral-rite" from two Greek words meaning "in tomb" (en taphos). This is the noun form of the verb, ἐνταφιάζω (entaphiazo) which means to prepare a body for burial, which in the Jewish tradition means washing, dressing, anointing, perfuming, etc. These words only appear in the NT Bible.

μου [239 verses](adj sg masc gen) "My" is from mou (emou), which means "me," and "mine." As a genitive object means movement away from something or a position away from something else

τηρήσῃ [17 verses](3rd sg aor subj act) "Kept" is tereo, which means "to watch over," "to guard," "to take care of," "to give heed to," "to keep," "to test by observation or trial," and "to observe."

αὐτό: [720 verses](adj sg neut acc) "This" is autos, which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself," "yourself," "himself," "herself," "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him," "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of one's own accord." In the adverbial form, it  means "just here" or "exactly there." -

Wordplay

The word "kept/save" that Jesus uses is the opposite of "give" used by Judas.

Possible Symbolic Meaning
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