Entaphiazo (ἐνταφιάζω) means to prepare a body for burial — specifically the act of wrapping a corpse in burial cloths and anointing it with spices according to Jewish burial custom. The word appears in Matthew 26:12 and John 19:40 in crucial contexts: Mary's anointing of Jesus is described as entaphiazo preparation, and John describes Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea doing the same before placing Jesus in the tomb.
The anointing of Jesus by Mary at Bethany (Matthew 26:12) received Jesus's remarkable defense: 'She did it to prepare me for burial [entaphiazo].' This interpretation transforms an act of extravagant love into a prophetic action. Mary may not have understood the full significance, but Jesus declared that her anointing was part of his preparation for death. John's parallel account of the actual burial (19:40) uses entaphiazo to describe the careful honor shown to Jesus's body by his secret disciples — a foreshadowing of the resurrection body that would be glorified.