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Bible Dictionaries
Alabaster Box
Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types
or Matthew 26:7 (c) This may be taken as a type of man's best graces, efforts and talents which he had saved heretofore for himself, but now in consecration he brings to JESUS' feet. Some have thought that this alabaster box was the girl's hope chest of the olden days. It was filled with sweet perfume of various values and sealed shut. It is said that there were several grades, cheap china, medium and expensive china. When a girl approached the marriageable age, she obtained a box according to her ability to pay and her station in life. She saved it until she found the man to whom she was willing to give her life, and with whom she desired to live. When her lover requested her hand and heart in marriage, then the girl, if she desired to answer in the affirmative, obtained the box from its hiding place and broke it at his feet. This was her declaration that her quest for a lover was ended. I cannot vouch for the truth of this statement, but it seems to fit nicely in each passage where this box was mentioned. (See Mark 14:3; Luke 7:37.)
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Watson, Walter. Entry for 'Alabaster Box'. Wilson's Dictoinary of Bible Types. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/wdt/a/alabaster-box.html. 1957.
