The Repentant Woman, Mary of Bethany, and Mary Magdalene: One Figure?

[Rockerduck]

I understand your position that the two women were different. But that still doesn't explain my question. In John 11:2, John identifies Mary as the woman who anointed the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair before narrating the anointing in John 12.

If John is referring only to John 12, why does he use an event that his readers have not yet been told about as Mary's identifying marker?

And why does he choose the very distinctive combination of anointing Jesus' feet and wiping them with her hair, which is otherwise found in Luke 7?

Whether the women are the same or different, John 11:2 still requires an explanation.

The Apostle John is recounting a story many years later. This is the Apostle John's writing style for detail as he writes. The Apostle John always puts a detail that shows he was present and saw these things. After all, only a witness can tell these things. To be fair, John does recount specifics and chances are, he either was not present in the Luke parable or he did not think it was important for his Gospel. The woman's name in Luke 7 is intentionally left out by Dr. Luke.

 

[Moonwood]

The Apostle John is recounting a story many years later. This is the Apostle John's writing style for detail as he writes. The Apostle John always puts a detail that shows he was present and saw these things. After all, only a witness can tell these things. To be fair, John does recount specifics and chances are, he either was not present in the Luke parable or he did not think it was important for his Gospel. The woman's name in Luke 7 is intentionally left out by Dr. Luke.

I agree that Luke never names the woman in Luke 7. But that's not unusual. The Gospel writers sometimes identify a person by name in one place and leave them unnamed in another, even when they are clearly referring to the same individual. So the fact that Luke does not name the woman in Luke 7 does not by itself prove she was not Mary.

I agree that John often includes details that suggest eyewitness testimony. But John 11:2 is serving a different function. It's not presented as an eyewitness detail. It's presented as an identifier while John is introducing Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. In that introduction, John identifies Mary as "the one who anointed the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair." Normally, when an author introduces a character, he identifies them by something the audience already knows, not by an event he has not yet narrated.

If John is referring only to the anointing in John 12, then he is introducing Mary by a future event that the reader has not yet read about.
So why use that description as her identifying marker?

And why choose the distinctive combination of anointing Jesus' feet and wiping them with her hair, a combination otherwise found in Luke 7?
John 11:2 seems to assume the description is already meaningful to the reader, which is what needs to be explained.

 

[Rockerduck]

I agree that Luke never names the woman in Luke 7. But that's not unusual. The Gospel writers sometimes identify a person by name in one place and leave them unnamed in another, even when they are clearly referring to the same individual. So the fact that Luke does not name the woman in Luke 7 does not by itself prove she was not Mary.

I agree that John often includes details that suggest eyewitness testimony. But John 11:2 is serving a different function. It's not presented as an eyewitness detail. It's presented as an identifier while John is introducing Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. In that introduction, John identifies Mary as "the one who anointed the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair." Normally, when an author introduces a character, he identifies them by something the audience already knows, not by an event he has not yet narrated.

If John is referring only to the anointing in John 12, then he is introducing Mary by a future event that the reader has not yet read about.
So why use that description as her identifying marker?

And why choose the distinctive combination of anointing Jesus' feet and wiping them with her hair, a combination otherwise found in Luke 7?
John 11:2 seems to assume the description is already meaningful to the reader, which is what needs to be explained.

I guess only Jesus can answer your question then.

 

[Moonwood]

I guess only Jesus can answer your question then.

I'm not asking because I don't know the answer. I'm asking because you don't think the answer is Luke 7.

My point is that John 11:1-2 is introducing Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. In that introduction, John identifies Mary as "the one who anointed the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair."

An identifier normally points the reader to something already known. If John is referring only to the event in John 12, then he's introducing Mary by an event he has not yet narrated.

So when I ask why John uses that description, I'm not claiming there is no answer. I'm asking what your explanation is, since you reject Luke 7 as the answer.

To me, Luke 7 naturally explains why John can identify Mary by the distinctive act of anointing Jesus' feet and wiping them with her hair. If you think that's not the explanation, then what is?