What Does Luke 7:46 Mean in the King James?
My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment.
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
The same hand-action names both gestures, but this woman carries anointing from the honored head down to the feet.
THE MEANING
The verse places an unoffered welcome beside a welcome being given now: oil has not touched Jesus’ head, while ointment reaches his feet. Honor becomes intimate and embodied at the lowest point. The omission remains visible beside the woman’s act of care.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
The lie that only elevated or formal gestures count as honor; this verse locates its vivid act of care at Jesus’ feet.
THE ROOT
ἀλείφω
aleiphō
GROWS FROM
ἀλειφ-
aleiph-
To rub or smear onto a surface; by extension, to anoint.
“anointed” in this verse is aleiphō. The Greek repeats ἀλείφω (aleiphō, “to rub or apply ointment”) for both the missing oil on the head and the ointment placed on the feet. The repeated verb makes them one bodily act; what changes is the material and where the touch reaches.
ALSO GROWS
áleimma: Ointment; something applied by rubbing.
ἄλειμμα
This related noun names what is worked onto the body, keeping the verb’s tactile sense visible.
exaleíphō: Wipe away; erase.
ἐξαλείφω
This compound uses the same root for an action on a surface, showing the root’s connection to physical touch and application.
THE PATTERN
Care and welcome become tangible when they reach the body through oil, fragrance, and touch.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.Let thy garments be always white; and let thy head lack no ointment.Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.THE THREAD
And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.Mark uses ἀλείφω (aleiphō, “to rub or apply ointment”), the same verb as Luke, for anointing Jesus’ body with spices. The shared root shows this as a tactile act that holds meaning in both intimate honor and grief.
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