myrrhbearer

Etymology

From myrrh + bearer.

myrrhbearer means one of the people who, according to the New Testament, was directly involved in the burial of Jesus or the discovery of his empty tomb following his resurrection. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 83 out of 100.

Why this word is great

MYRRHBEARER — [Noun] One of the women who, according to the synoptic gospels, brought embalming spices to anoint the crucified body of Jesus and were the first to witness and proclaim his empty tomb. From myrrh (an aromatic resin used in ancient embalming and anointing, from Latin myrrha, Greek myrrha, from a Semitic source) + bearer (one who carries). Unlike disciple, a broad term for any follower, or apostle, denoting one of the twelve chosen messengers, myrrhbearer specifies a person—traditionally and powerfully a woman—defined by a ministry of final, tactile care and first, trembling witness. It is the pre-dawn chill of the garden path, the staggering weight of the alabaster jar, the sudden shock of rolled-away stone and empty linen; a word for those who arrive last at the tomb and first at the impossible, bearing grief only to find it transformed into a testament that hope often arrives not as grand doctrine, but as a practical errand performed in despair.

noun

One of the people who, according to the New Testament, was directly involved in the burial of Jesus or the discovery of his empty tomb following his resurrection.“The refrains of the myrrhbearers give the sense of this service: By the tomb stood an angel radiant in light, and thus did he speak to the myrrh-bearing women:[…]”