JoeWallack wrote: ↑Sun Nov 12, 2017 2:20 pm
Those Inside Will Be Ouside
JW:
I think everyone is missing the Mark so far in the
Is Jesus the descendant of David in Mark? Thread. "Mark's" (author) presentation of the supposed relationship between David and Jesus is typical of his
Reversed Expectations style:
- 1) Start with the common assumption about what the relationship is = The Messiah will be a descendant of David.
2) Then give the usual relative comparison = King David was greater (The Messiah, as descendant, is just restoring David's Kingdom).
3) Then use (mis)proof-texting to reverse expectation of the relative comparison = The Messiah is greater because this Kingdom is much greater and David is only famous because he was an ancestor of The Messiah.
The context of the surrounding stories are all about reversed expectation (ironic) of comparative relationships:
Verse | Relationship | Expectation | Reversal | Commentary |
12
28 And one of the scribes came, and heard them questioning together, and knowing that he had answered them well, asked him, What commandment is the first of all?
29 Jesus answered, The first is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God, the Lord is one:
30 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.
31 The second is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these.
32 And the scribe said unto him, Of a truth, Teacher, thou hast well said that he is one; and there is none other but he:
33 and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbor as himself, is much more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices.
34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question. |
Jesus answering verses questioning Jesus | Understandable Jesus' answers creates more questions to Jesus | A rare understandable Jesus answer ends questions to Jesus | Perhaps the most straight-forward and understandable story in GMark. Until its ending. An entire discussion that is understandable and after Jesus makes an understandable answer no one asks Jesus any more questions (and "Mark" emphasizes with the double negative). Why does anyone think this was a historical story. The contrived reversal of the stories here provides the pivot to transfer emotions from Jesus to everyone else. |
35 And Jesus answered and said, as he taught in the temple, How say the scribes that the Christ is the son of David?
36 David himself said in the Holy Spirit, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy feet.
37 David himself calleth him Lord; and whence is he his son? And the common people heard him gladly. |
The Messiah is the descendant of David | The Messiah is the descendant and referred to as "son" and is therefore lesser. | David himself recognized that the Messiah would be greater and therefore referred to the Messiah as his lord. | The author gives away (freely) that there is no underlying Semitic source. The word play on "lord" only works in Greek translations where "Lord" can be used to refer to God. In the Psalm that "Mark's" Jesus is referring to the Hebrew uses a different word to refer to God. |
38 And in his teaching he said, Beware of the scribes, who desire to walk in long robes, and [to have] salutations in the marketplaces,
39 and chief seats in the synagogues, and chief places at feasts:
40 they that devour widows` houses, and for a pretence make long prayers; these shall receive greater condemnation.
41 And he sat down over against the treasury, and beheld how the multitude cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.
42 And there came a poor widow, and she cast in two mites, which make a farthing.
43 And he called unto him his disciples, and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, This poor widow cast in more than all they that are casting into the treasury:
44 for they all did cast in of their superfluity; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, [even] all her living. |
Wealth vs. the amount of contribution | The wealthy make greater contributions | The poor widow made a "greater" contribution because it was more significant to her | A nice thought but [irony] greatly abused by so-called religious teachers[/irony]. |
This is good stuff.
This seems to line up with one of the options I gave, the one about Jesus being the physical descendant of David but importantly being
more than that, though you have presented far more eloquently what the "more" part is about: a reversal of expectations.
I may have to take exception to this part:
The author gives away (freely) that there is no underlying Semitic source. The word play on "lord" only works in Greek translations where "Lord" can be used to refer to God. In the Psalm that "Mark's" Jesus is referring to the Hebrew uses a different word to refer to God.
I just checked some stuff from Qumran, and found several indications that "lord" (
adonai) was already being used as a substitute for the divine name in Hebrew. For example, a passage from Genesis reads as follows:
Genesis 15.2-5: 2 Abram said, "O Lord [אדני, adonai] God, what will You give me, since I am childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?" 3 And Abram said, "Since You have given no offspring to me, one born in my house is my heir." 4 Then behold, the word of the Lord [יהוה, the divine name] came to him, saying, "This man will not be your heir; but one who will come forth from your own body, he shall be your heir." 5 And He took him outside and said, "Now look toward the heavens, and count the stars, if you are able to count them." And He said to him, "So shall your descendants be."
But this is rendered in a recap at Qumran as follows:
4Q225, fragment 2, column 1: 3 [And A]braham [said] to God, "My Lord [אדני, adonai], see that I am going ch[ildle]ss, and Eli[ezer] 4 is [the son of my house], and he will inherit me." 5 [The Lo]rd [אדני, adonai] [said] to A[b]raham:, "Lift up, observe the stars, and see 6 [and count] {it all} the sand on the shore of the sea, and the dust of the earth, whether 7 these [can be coun]ted, or not. Thus your offspring shall be."
Both the divine name and the Hebrew word for "lord" (
adonai) in Genesis come out as
adonai in this scroll. I also found some blessings in 1Q28b which seem to take off from the benediction of Numbers 6.22-27. The blessings in Numbers use Yahweh, but the blessings in 1Q28b use
adonai, at least quite often.
If my inference is correct, then the Jewish custom of replacing the divine name with "lord" began before the Christian era, in which case Mark 12.35-37
could simply be a direct translation from a Semitic original in which "lord" appeared twice, once for an original Yahweh and again for the actual word for lord. The Greek translator would have used the LXX for the verse from Psalm 110 (109 LXX) itself, which is a common enough thing in translations.
This is not an argument
in favor of a Semitic original, BTW, since it seems just as likely that a Greek author would use the LXX if freely composing this pericope from scratch, too.