αὐτοῦ

Alphabet Analysis

The word

1. word🔊 αὐτοῦ

   au-TOU

   of him
2. sentence🔊 Καὶ ὄντος αὐτοῦ ἐν Βηθανίᾳ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ Σίμωνος τοῦ λεπροῦ κατακειμένου αὐτοῦ ἦλθεν γυνὴ ἔχουσα ἀλάβαστρον μύρου νάρδου πιστικῆς πολυτελοῦς συντρίψασα τὴν ἀλάβαστρον κατέχεεν αὐτοῦ τῆς κεφαλῆς

   KAI ON-tos au-TOU en bê-tha-NI-a en tê oi-KI-a SI-mō-nos tou le-PROU ka-ta-kei-ME-nou au-TOU ÊL-then gy-NÊ E-khou-sa a-LA-bas-tron MY-rou NAR-dou pis-ti-KÊS po-ly-te-LOUS syn-TRI-psa-sa tên a-LA-bas-tron ka-TE-khe-en au-TOU tês ke-pha-LÊS

   and being of him in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper reclining of him came a woman having an alabaster flask of ointment of nard pure very costly having broken the alabaster flask she poured of him the head

Exegesis

The verse begins with the genitive absolute construction ontos {ὄντος | ón-tos} autou {αὐτοῦ | au-toû}, which supplies a circumstantial backdrop, meaning “while He was” in that place.

A second genitive absolute, katakeimenou autou {κατακειμένου αὐτοῦ | ka-ta-kei-mé-nou au-toû}, adds another circumstance, “while He was reclining,” which in a banquet context refers to formal dining.

The final genitive phrase autou tes kephales {αὐτοῦ τῆς κεφαλῆς | au-toû tēs ke-pha-lḗs} functions as a genitive of relation, best rendered “on His head,” marking the anointing act that becomes the theological focus. The English renderings maintain this structure by preserving the temporal force of the genitive absolutes with “while” clauses, translating the participles as attendant actions, and representing the genitive string with layered attributive phrases to retain the cumulative emphasis on the costliness and deliberateness of the woman’s devotion.