| 8. Linguistic Exegesis The saying opens with the neuter relative pronoun ho {ὃ | hó} introducing a relative clause ho eschen epoiēsen {ὃ ἔσχεν ἐποίησεν | hó É-skhen e-poí-ē-sen}, which functions as a summary assessment of the woman’s act: “what she had, she did.” The coordinated aorist indicatives eschen and epoiēsen present her inner resources and outward deed as a single, complete event. The following aorist indicative proelaben {προέλαβεν | pro-É-la-ben} introduces a second clause describing the temporal priority of her action, with the infinitive myrisai {μυρίσαι | mý-ri-sai} expressing purpose or intended result (“she anticipated in order to anoint”). This infinitive governs the object phrase to sōma mou {τὸ σῶμά μου | tò sô-ma mou} “My body,” indicating the direct target of the anointing. The prepositional phrase eis ton entaphiasmon {εἰς τὸν ἐνταφιασμόν | eis tón en-ta-phia-smón} marks the ultimate goal, “for the burial,” giving the anointing a prophetic, funerary orientation. The tight succession of aorist verbs and the purpose infinitive compress the narrative into a dense evaluative statement by Jesus, which is represented in English by coordinated clauses and a purpose phrase (“to anoint My body for the burial”) to preserve both the completed aspect and the forward-looking reference to His burial. |