Proverbs 21:17

Wine and oil. — The accompaniments of a feast. The oil, or precious unguents, were poured over the head (comp. Psalms 23:5). It was the excessive love and gratitude of the two Marys (Luke 7:38; John 12:3) which prompted them to anoint the Lord’s feet. These perfumes were sometimes of great value, the “pound of ointment of spikenard” (John 12:3) was worth “more than three hundred pence” (£10 12s. 6d.), the wages of a day labourer (Matthew 20:2) for nearly a year.