Exegesis:

ho eschen epoiēsen ‘what she had she did’: it is generally agreed that the meaning of the verb echō ‘have’ being equivalent to dunamai ‘be able.’ Arndt & Gingrich echō a call attention to the fact that the full phrase would include the infinitive, ho eschen poiēsai epoiēsen ‘what she was able to do she did.’ Cf. Lagrange, Ce qui était en son pouvoir; O Novo Testamento de Nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo. Revisdo Autorizada, Ela fêz o que pôde.

proelaben (only here in Mark) ‘she did beforehand,’ ‘she anticipated’: the verb prolambanō means to do something before the usual time (so Moulton & Milligan, quoting examples from the papyri).

murisai (only here in the N.T.) ‘to anoint.’

entaphiasmon (only here in Mark) ‘preparation for burial’: this is the meaning assigned the word by Field and Moulton & Milligan; Arndt & Gingrich, however, state the word can also signify the burial itself. In the context the meaning ‘preparation for burial’ is to be preferred.

Translation:

Where there is no contrast in genders between pronouns, it may be necessary to render she by ‘this woman’ (South Bolivian Quechua).

The concept of beforehand is not always easy to translate, since the time sequence is never absolute, but merely relative to more normal activities. This meaning has been quite neatly expressed in Highland Puebla Nahuatl, e.g. ‘she has already come to anoint my body to prepare to bury it.’ By the use of ‘already’ and ‘to prepare to bury,’ the idea of beforehand is quite adequately conveyed. The meaning is more directly expressed in Tabasco Chontal, e.g. ‘she made me smell good ahead of time for my burial.’ In Tzeltal this concept must be stated even more explicitly, e.g. ‘I have not yet been buried, but she came to anoint my body for death.’

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .