Easton's Bible Dictionary Occurs only in the New Testament in connection with the box of "ointment of spikenard very precious," with the contents of which a woman anointed the head of Jesus as he sat at supper in the house of Simon the leper (Matthew 26:7; Mark 14:3; Luke 7:37). These boxes were made from a stone found near Alabastron in Egypt, and from this circumstance the Greeks gave them the name of the city where they were made. The name was then given to the stone of which they were made; and finally to all perfume vessels, of whatever material they were formed. The woman "broke" the vessel; i.e., she broke off, as was usually done, the long and narrow neck so as to reach the contents. This stone resembles marble, but is softer in its texture, and hence very easily wrought into boxes. Mark says (14:5) that this box of ointment was worth more than 300 pence, i.e., denarii, each of the value of sevenpence halfpenny of our money, and therefore worth about 10 pounds. But if we take the denarius as the day's wage of a labourer (Matthew 20:2), say two shillings of our money, then the whole would be worth about 30 pounds, so costly was Mary's offering. Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) A variety of fine gypsum, usually white and translucent, often carved into vases or ornaments. 2. (n.) A hard, compact variety of carbonate of lime, somewhat translucent, or of banded shades of color; stalagmite. The name is used in this sense by Pliny. It is sometimes distinguished as oriental alabaster. 3. (n.) A box or vessel for holding odoriferous ointments, etc.; -- so called from the stone of which it was originally made. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia ALABASTER al'-a-bas-ter (alabastron (Matthew 26:7 Mark 14:3 Luke 7:37)): In modern mineralogy alabaster is crystalline gypsum or sulphate of lime. The Greek word alabastron or alabastos meant a stone casket or vase, and alabastites was used for the stone of which the casket was made. This stone was usually crystalline stalagmitic rock or carbonate of lime, now often called oriental alabaster, to distinguish it from gypsum. The word occurs in the Bible only in the three passages of the Synoptic Gospels cited above. See BOX.

Multi-Version Concordance Alabaster (6 Occurrences) Matthew 26:7 a woman came to him having an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment, and she poured it on his head as he sat at the table. (WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Mark 14:3 While he was at Bethany, in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at the table, a woman came having an alabaster jar of ointment of pure nard-very costly. She broke the jar, and poured it over his head. (WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Luke 7:37 Behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that he was reclining in the Pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of ointment. (WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) 1 Chronicles 29:2 Now I have prepared with all my might for the house of my God the gold for the things of gold, and the silver for the things of silver, and the brass for the things of to be set, stones for inlaid work, and of various colors, and all manner of precious stones, and marble stones in abundance. (See NAS) Esther 1:6 White, green, and blue hangings were fastened with cords of byssus and purple to silver rings and pillars of white marble; couches of gold and silver lay upon a pavement of red and white marble, and alabaster, and black marble. (DBY) Song of Songs 5:15 His legs are as pillars of stone on a base of delicate gold; his looks are as Lebanon, beautiful as the cedar-tree. (See NAS RSV)