Exploring the Meaning of Smurna in Greek

σμύρνα refers to myrrh and is used in two New Testament scenes: the gifts offered to the young child Jesus and the burial preparations brought for Jesus after His death. In both settings it appears among other valuable aromatics and is handled as a tangible substance presented or applied.

Root and Related Words

σμύρνα is related to the noun μύρον (muron), “ointment” (Strong’s G3464).

Occurrences

“They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11)

Here σμύρνα appears as one item in a set of three gifts explicitly drawn from “their treasures.” The verse frames the action as deliberate and reverent: the visitors enter the house, see the child with His mother, fall down, and worship, and then “opening their treasures” they offer gifts. In that presented list—“gold, frankincense, and myrrh”—σμύρνα functions as a concrete gift alongside precious metal and another aromatic. The pairing with frankincense and the explicit mention of treasures place it in the category of costly, choice offerings, and its role in the narrative is to mark the worshipers’ honor expressed through valuable, material giving.

“Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred Roman pounds.” (John 19:39)

In John, σμύρνα is not offered as a gift in a celebratory visit but carried for a practical and solemn purpose in connection with Jesus’ death. The subject is Nicodemus, identified by his earlier nighttime visit, and his present action is described in straightforward terms: he “also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes.” The word sits within the phrase “a mixture of myrrh and aloes,” emphasizing combination and preparation rather than display. The amount—“about a hundred Roman pounds”—underscores the physical weight and abundance of what is brought, so σμύρνα contributes to the scene’s realism: it is measurable, transportable, and used in quantity as part of burial-related handling of the body.

Sense and Usage

Across these two passages, σμύρνα consistently denotes myrrh as a material substance, and the contexts highlight two distinct but related uses. In Matthew it appears in a triad of gifts, placed after “gold” and “frankincense,” and the surrounding verbs—“worshiped,” “opening their treasures,” “offered”—frame it as something selected and presented to express honor. Its meaning as myrrh is therefore carried in the mode of offering: an aromatic substance treated as worthy to stand among treasured items given in an act of reverence.

In John the meaning is carried in the mode of preparation: it is “bringing” rather than “offering,” and it is explicitly “a mixture” with “aloes.” The verse’s stress on quantity turns the focus from symbolic gesture to tangible supply. Even without describing the precise procedure, the wording makes clear that myrrh is suitable for being combined with other aromatics and used in substantial amounts. Thus σμύρνα spans two life-adjacent thresholds in the Gospel narratives—arrival and death—while remaining the same kind of referent: a concrete aromatic substance valued enough to be treasured and substantial enough to be weighed.

The two uses also show how σμύρνα naturally fits within lists. In both verses it is joined to other items: in Matthew, to gold and frankincense; in John, to aloes. That list-setting encourages the reader to perceive it relationally: myrrh is not an isolated object but part of a set of costly or purposeful materials. The word’s contribution is therefore both specific (naming the substance) and structuring (supporting the narrative’s catalog of what is brought and given).

Imagery in Context

Matthew 2:11 gives σμύρνα the imagery of opened treasure and offered gifts in a house where worship is rendered; it is seen as something brought forward from stored wealth and laid before the child. John 19:39 gives σμύρνα the imagery of weighty preparation—an aromatic mixture carried in great quantity—linked to reverent action at the end of Jesus’ earthly life. Taken together, these two scenes let the word evoke myrrh as both treasured offering and abundant provision, each time in close company with other precious aromatics.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).