"... it is argued that the anointing of Jesus at Bethany (Jn 12.1-8) is intentionally evoking Song 1.12: ‘while the king was at his table, my perfume gave forth its fragrance.’ The resonances are based on the Septuagintal text rather than occurring at the level of the Hebrew text. This is perfectly plausible. Suffice to note that in the Septuagint the Greek term for perfume is νάρδος (LXX Song 1.12). This is the same term used to describe the perfume or nard with which Mary anointed Jesus at Bethany. The other shared term in the two verses is the word ὀσμή, for ‘fragrance’ or ‘odour’. These two words that are in common do not occur in direct sequence, but have a number of intervening words between them. Thus the terminological connection is not strong. However, on the basis of these two verbal parallels it is claimed that, ‘[i]n John 12:3 an allusion to Song 1:12 portrays Jesus as the bridegroom-Messiah facing crucifixion’ (McWhirter 2006: 79). While the anointing in John’s Gospel may have some messianic overtones, although the text presents this as proleptic preparation for burial, in Song 1.12 the perfume is perhaps metaphorical of an alluring fragrance ..."