What's in your alabaster jar?

While the chief priests and elders schemed to kill Jesus, a woman entered Simon the leper's house and blessed him with costly perfume. “Why this waste?” said the disciples. “This ointment could have been sold for a large sum, and the money given to the poor” (Matt.

What is inside the alabaster jar?

Matthew 26:6–13. While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

What perfume was in the alabaster jar?

Spikenard is best known for being the perfume that Mary Magdalene used to anoint Jesus. Ingredients include myrrh, cinnamon, and iris. This perfume comes in a beautiful genuine alabaster box which makes it a unique gift for her.

How much was the alabaster jar of perfume worth?

Therefore, the monetary worth of the nard perfume oil poured on Jesus by the woman can be valued at a maximum rate of 1,313 pence and a minimum of 300 pence of annual wage of a worker in the Roman province of the bible times.

Who is the woman with the alabaster box?

The Woman with the Alabaster Jar: Mary Magdalene and the Holy Grail is a book written by Margaret Starbird in 1993, claiming Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene were married, and that Mary Magdalene was the Holy Grail.

Alabaster Jar - Gateway Worship feat. Kari Jobe (Lyrics)

What does it mean to break the alabaster box?

We clutch this box very tightly until we find the right guy or girl who we think could fulfill all our hopes and dreams. So we break our alabaster box at his/her feet, hoping for the best. And sometimes good things happen, but sometimes this person scoffs at our dreams and tramples them, and crushes our alabaster box.

What does alabaster smell like?

Alabaster is a joyful, light fragrance combined with champagne notes designed for women who demand attention. Introduced in 2006 by Banana Republic, this romantic, soft scent uses opening notes of lotus, heart notes of wild rose and delicate base notes of musk.

What is pure nard in the Bible?

The biblical spikenard, or nard, was a costly aromatic ointment, preserved in alabaster boxes, whose chief ingredient is believed to have been derived from Nardostachys grandiflora (or N. jatamansi), a plant of the family Valerianaceae (valerian family).

What does nard perfume smell like?

The Nardostachys jatamansi (a very thick and pale yellow to amber in color) is exceptional and mingled with valerian root (which is a very dark and thin liquid extracted from the root via alcohol) to uplift and thin out the heavy, musky, earthy smell with lighter musky floral notes.

What is the significance of anointing the feet?

In this paper I argue that the author of John singled out the feet in his description of the anointing of Jesus because he wanted to portray Jesus as a serving, suffering, and dying Anointed One of the Lord, and because he wanted to emphasize the notion that the lowly ones of God's people also would be anointed with ...

What is the meaning of alabaster heart?

With her song “Alabaster Heart,” Kalley calls us to trust God with all that we give Him, and believe that He knows what is on the other side of our surrender. “Alabaster Heart” is Kalley's first single from her upcoming solo project Fault Lines.

Is Mary of Bethany Mary Magdalene?

In medieval Western Christian tradition, Mary of Bethany was identified as Mary Magdalene perhaps in large part because of a homily given by Pope Gregory the Great in which he taught about several women in the New Testament as though they were the same person.

What does a jar symbolize in the Bible?

In this regard, the jar symbolizes transformation and creation of soil. The word “jar” was derived from “yatsar”, the Hebrew word related to the meaning of creation in the Middle East and Israel. It was used to depict God's such creative activity and thus, signifies the divinity of God.

What is alabaster used for?

alabaster, fine-grained, massive gypsum that has been used for centuries for statuary, carvings, and other ornaments. It normally is snow-white and translucent but can be artificially dyed; it may be made opaque and similar in appearance to marble by heat treatment.

Where in the Bible does it talk about the alabaster box?

Matthew 26:6-13. While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, ⁷ a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.

Why did Jesus use spikenard?

It was used as an incense offering by the Hebrews in the Jerusalem Temple. In Old Testament times pungent perfumes and oils were used to prepare a body for burial, which was why the act of anointing Jesus' head with spikenard prior to His crucifixion was highly symbolic.

What is the significance of nard?

The value of the nard ("spikenard") was more than 300 denarii. Since a denarius was the wage for a day's labor, the value of Mary's perfume was a year's wages. Assuming the median income in the United States, this worshiping woman poured $12, 000 worth of perfume on her Lord.

What kind of oil was in the alabaster box?

a hin (about 4 L) of olive oil. The oil was used to anoint the vessels of the Tabernacle: 30:26, and the High Priest, and is traditionally regarded as the oil used by prophets to anoint Saul, David, and other kings of ancient Israel. The title Messiah means literally covered in oil, “Anointed.”

How do you identify alabaster?

Alabaster is readily water soluble, while marble is not. Alabaster is softer than marble, however it can be polished to a high, translucent gloss making its surface look deceptively hard and glass-like.

How strong is alabaster?

The two kinds are readily distinguished by their different hardnesses: gypsum alabaster (Mohs hardness 1.5 to 2) is so soft that a fingernail scratches it, while calcite (Mohs hardness 3) cannot be scratched in this way but yields to a knife.

Who is the woman in Matthew 26 7?

Matthew 27:56–61 — This is the first time Mary Magdalene is mentioned in the scripture. She and two other women were ministering to Jesus at His crucifixion. She was also with “the other Mary” and Joseph of Arimathea when it came time for Jesus to be buried.

Who broke the alabaster jar of Jesus?

The accounts in Matthew 26:6-13, Mark 14:3-9, and John 12:1-8 are the same, and involved Mary of Bethany, sister of Martha and Lazarus, at the home of Simon the leper. Mary broke her Alabaster box and poured the perfume on Jesus.

Where does alabaster come from?

Important sources of gypsum 'alabaster' are in the areas of Volterra and Castellina Marittima in Tuscany, Italy, and in the Midlands of England. In medieval times, the carving of English alabaster reached factory proportions, and monuments and statues made from the stone are seen in churches across Europe.

Is Mary Magdalene the sister of Lazarus?

Subsequently, the legend of Mary Magdalene, the sister of Martha and Lazarus, as a beautiful, vain, and lustful young woman saved from a life of sin by her devotion to Jesus became dominant in western (Catholic) Christianity, although the eastern (Orthodox) church continued to regard Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany ...