Event New Testament
The anointing at Bethany
Also known as Mary anoints Jesus
At a dinner in Bethany, Mary, the sister of Lazarus, poured costly perfume on Jesus. Judas objected that it should have been sold for the poor, and John notes that he kept the money bag and stole from it. Jesus defended her, saying she had kept it for the day of His burial.
Why it matters. Jesus reads the gift as preparation for His burial, so the anointing announces the death that the week will bring, and it exposes Judas before the betrayal.
- Primary passages
- Dates
- AD 30 to 33 (approximate) (medium confidence, Passover week of the crucifixion under Pontius Pilate; AD 30 and AD 33 are the leading proposals)
The event belongs to the final week before the crucifixion, which is dated to AD 30 or AD 33 on calendrical grounds. FaithGraph records the range and does not choose.
- Witnesses
Chronology confidence: medium
John places the meal six days before Passover, at Bethany, and names Mary as the one who anointed Jesus' feet; Matthew and Mark place a similar anointing of His head in the house of Simon the Leper in Bethany and narrate it after the plot against Jesus. Most readers take these as one event told from different angles. The anointing by a sinful woman in Luke 7 happens in Galilee at a Pharisee's house and is generally treated as a separate occasion.
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
Connections
Zacchaeus receives Jesus precedes The anointing at Bethany
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceAfter Jericho, Jesus comes to Bethany six days before the Passover.
Evidence:The anointing at Bethany precedes The triumphal entry
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceJohn narrates the entry on the day after the dinner at Bethany.
Evidence:Jesus participates in The anointing at Bethany
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceJesus is the one anointed and He interprets the act as preparation for His burial.
Judas Iscariot participates in The anointing at Bethany
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceJudas objects to the perfume being used rather than sold; John notes he kept the money bag.
Evidence:Lazarus of Bethany participates in The anointing at Bethany
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceLazarus reclines at the table at the dinner in Bethany.
Evidence:Martha participates in The anointing at Bethany
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceMartha serves at the dinner.
Evidence:Mary of Bethany participates in The anointing at Bethany
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceJohn names Mary, the sister of Lazarus and Martha, as the woman who anointed Jesus' feet.
Evidence:The anointing at Bethany occurs at Bethany
Explicit in ScriptureHigh confidenceJohn and Matthew both place the dinner in Bethany.
Evidence: