Salome

Salome appears by name in the Gospel of Mark on two occasions, and on both occasions she is named last in a short list of women associated with the closing scenes of the passion. Mark records her at the crucifixion and at the purchase of spices for the anointing of the body, and the brief notices give us nearly the whole of what the New Testament says about her.

At the Crucifixion

The first naming of Salome stands at a distance from the cross. Mark places her among the women who keep watch from far off after the soldiers have done their work: "And there were also women watching from far: among whom [were] both Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome" (Mr 15:40). She is the third name in a short list, attached without further description, and her presence at the execution is recorded simply as a fact alongside the two Marys.

At the Burial Errand

The second naming of Salome belongs to the morning of the resurrection. When the Sabbath has ended, the same small company moves out to complete the burial rite that the timing of the death had interrupted: "And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the [mother] of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him" (Mr 16:1). Mark immediately follows the purchase with the journey itself: "And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen" (Mr 16:2). Salome is named last again, and her role in the narrative is fixed as one of the women who carried the spices and walked to the tomb at dawn.