This from:
http://emergentobserver.blogspot.com/ Article called "mary mary."
Interesting......
"The word hairdresser found in the quote above is a translation of the original megaddlela (one who elevates the hair); it’s a euphemism implying a prostitute or other woman of ill repute. Although Rabbeinu Tam, a medieval master of Jewish law, informs us that this is not a reference to the follower of Yeshua who would have lived 100 years earlier, commentary on the text nevertheless adds profound insight into our messianic story. It was Rabbeinu Tam’s grandfather Rashi who gave clarification on the word megaddlela establishing our current definition and understanding of the word.
For well over a thousand years there has been a debate regarding the identity of the woman who washed Yeshua’s feet with her tears and dried them with her hair. We’re given the name Miriam, but for generations it has been unclear whether or not this was the Miriam called Magdala. If we understand this name the way Rashi does. If we take the term to denote “one who elevates the hair” then perhaps the two characters are one and the same Miriam…it makes sense; we’re supposed to see the contrast. The story reads more beautifully this way. Miriam, the one who raised her hair above her convictions was transformed by the presence of the tzaddik Yeshua. Her hair, once treasured above all else, became like rags used to dry the feet of her master."