Thematic Bible: Liberality of


Thematic Bible






Then Mary took about a pint of expensive, aromatic perfume; [it was] genuine nard [Note: This was a sweet-smelling herb] and poured [some of] it on Jesus' feet and wiped them with her hair. The [whole] house was filled with the fragrant scent of the perfume. Verse ConceptsSweet OdoursFeetAnointing, Social CustomAnointing With OilGuestsHairsPerfumeSmellsAdoration, Of ChristAdmirationAnointed By PeopleExpensiveOther References To HairPure ThingsWeights Of Other ThingsHair


So, Peter got up and went with them. When he arrived they took him to the upstairs room [where Dorcas' body lay]. All the widows [i.e., her friends] stood near Peter, crying and showing [him] the coats and [other] clothing which Dorcas had made when she was alive. Verse ConceptsClothBereavement, Experience OfStairwaysDressMournersWidowsClothing The NeedyOuter GarmentsInner GarmentsActual WidowsUpper RoomsMourning The Death Of Otherssisterhood

and certain women who had been healed from [domination by] evil spirits and diseases. [These women were] Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven evil spirits had been driven out, and Joanna, the wife of Chuzas, Herod's property manager, and Susanna and many others. These [all] had provided the material support for the group from their own means.

And He saw a certain poor widow throwing two small copper coins into it [Note: These two coins amounted to about ten minutes of a farm laborer's pay, or about one dollar in 1994]. So, He said, "Truly I tell you, this poor widow has thrown in more than all the rest [i.e., referring to the many rich people who were also throwing in money]. For all of them threw in from their abundance, but she threw in from her poverty all she had to live on."