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UPDATED! Understanding the Bible Commentary Series (OT + NT)


R. Mansfield

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Understanding the Bible Commentary Series is now updated to all 36 volumes for the Accordance Library! Introductory pricing is available for a limited time. Already have the New Testament volumes? Upgrade pricing for the Old Testament volumes is available, too!

 
See the blog post for more information. 
 
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Acthemeier should be Achtemeier on your blog post, http://www.accordancebible.com/UPDATED-Understanding-The-Bible-Commentary.

Thanks, Alistair. I don't understand why my spell check didn't catch that!

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Perhaps these could also be added to the Check For Updates with the paid upgrades. 

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Very Cool

 

On Saturday I was tempted to buy this, but I was thinking I will do this if it is on sale. And now it is, so I purchased it immediately.

 

Greetings

 

Fabian

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What is the lengt and level of the commentaries in this series? Is it much like the Bible Speaks Today? Or more like Tyndale?

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I haven't seen the BST OT volumes, but in general UTB is less application focused than BST would be... 

 

Here are two OT samples... First from Genesis day one, next from Proverbs 8.

 

1:1 / In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In Hebrew this sentence consists of seven words, mirroring the seven days of creation. “In the beginning” marks the start of time on earth. This is confirmed by the process of creation being presented in a sequence of days and by the creation of light first in order to mark the flow of time in days and nights (1:3–5). God (ʾelohim) is the generic term for the one deity. It is used so [Gen, p. 43] frequently that it virtually functions as a name. Its plural form conveys the multiplicity and self-sufficiency of God. That is, God, who is superior to all the gods, embodies in himself the qualities of all the gods that make up a pantheon. The OT uses “create” (baraʾ) restrictively: only God serves as its subject, and the material out of which something is made is never mentioned. The terms “the heavens” and “the earth,” being at opposite ends of the spectrum, stand for the totality of what God created. “Universe” is another possible translation for this phrase, but the ancient view of the cosmos was so different from today’s view that this English term would convey more than the ancient author intended.

 
1:2 / A description of the earth prior to God’s giving it form follows, in preparation for recounting the stages of creation and especially for the ordering that took place on the first three days: the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep. “Earth” stands in an emphatic position, signaling that it is the primary focus of this account. In Hebrew “earth” signifies the area where humans live, dry land, and the land of Israel. But in this verse “the earth”—being formless, empty, and covered with water—refers to that which held the potential for becoming land.
Darkness, symbolic of a lifeless void, covered “the deep” (tehom), that is, the primordial ocean. In many ancient Near Eastern myths the primordial deep was the locus of those gods who opposed the gods of order. For example, in the Babylonian Creation Epic the goddess Tiamat, who personified the primordial salt waters, set up a rebellious government in opposition to the heavenly assembly. Only after Marduk, a mighty god of the fourth generation, defeated her was he elevated to be the ruler of the gods. Afterward Marduk ordered the cosmos. In Genesis, however, the deep is an essential element in the cosmos, not a deity. The Creator God exists independently from and transcends all matter. There is no indication that God faced any opposition either before or during the process of creation. Nevertheless, this reference to the deep conveys the latent potential for forces that could be aroused to oppose God’s rule and wreak havoc on earth.
The Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Hebrew ruah is used for both “wind” and “spirit.” “Hover” or “soar” (r-kh-p), however, is not a verb used with wind; it is used here to compare the Spirit’s activity with a bird. The Spirit was circling above the water to make sure that the deep did not oppose God. Manifest as [Gen, p. 44] wind, the Spirit was thus in control of these chaotic elements, for it could drive the water wherever it wished. Further, the presence of God’s Spirit symbolized the potential of cosmic order and life that could be produced from these formless elements.
 
1:3–5 / The words God said mark off the stages of creation, conveying that God created by the word. God’s words were not empty, for the Spirit, who was present over the waters, empowered God’s words, bringing into being what God had spoken (A. Kapelrud, “Die Theologie der Schöpfung im Alten Testament,” ZAW 91 [1979], pp. 165–66). The wording of Psalm 33:6, 9 supports this claim: “By the word of Yahweh were the heavens made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth … For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm.” The parallel in this psalm between “word” and “breath” (v. 6) communicates that God’s Spirit was the energy empowering God’s word.
God began the process of creation with the command, Let there be light, and light came into being, pushing back the primordial darkness. From the context we can discern two reasons God created light first: to limit the primordial darkness, and to begin the flow of time as measured in days. From our knowledge of the world another reason can be added; light was the energy necessary to support the life forms that God was going to create.
God saw that the light was good, thereby making a qualitative judgment about what he had created (also vv. 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31). While usually a word carries only one nuance in any given occurrence, “good” in this account is a loaded term. It carries four implications: (a) What came into being functioned precisely as God had purposed. ( B) That which had just been created contributed to the well-being of the created order. © The new creation had aesthetic qualities—that is, it was pleasing and beautiful—and (d) it had moral force, advancing righteousness on earth (Job 38:12–13).
God went on and separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day” and the darkness he called “night.” By naming these elements God defined their function in respect to their essence. God did not eliminate the darkness that was already present; rather he established his authority over it, assigning it a specific role and restricting its influence.
 
 
John E. Hartley, Genesis, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series. Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2012), n.p.
 
  • EDIT: Thought I should add the additionally notes for Genesis 1:1-5
 
Additional Notes §1
 
1:2 / While many readers understand “earth” to be our planet, the ancients had no concept of a solar system. For them, “earth” was the vast land mass established over the primordial ocean.
The precise meaning of ruah ʾelohim, “the Spirit of God,” is debated. Grammarians have established that ʾelohim is sometimes used as a superlative for the preceding noun; e.g., the phrase “the cedars of God” means “the mighty or majestic cedars.” Possibly, then, ʾelohim with ruah means “a mighty wind.” However, ʾelohim means “God” in thirty other occurrences in this account. A sound exegetical principle is that when the meaning of a term is clearly established in a given text, it has that meaning in each of its occurrences unless a definitive signal indicates otherwise. Since there is no such signal here, it is most likely that ʾelohim here means “God.”
In Deut. 32:11, the same word used for “hovering” in Gen. 1:2 (Hb. r-kh-p) is used to describe an eagle circling back and forth, ready to [Gen, p. 52] swoop under any of its young that grow weary and need to be carried back to the nest on their parent’s back. However, in the Ugaritic Tale of Aqhat (Aqht C, 31), the same word is used of the eagle circling about its prey as it prepares to strike. The latter picture seems to fit this text better.
It is interesting to note that the Spirit here is portrayed in the imagery of a large bird of prey, whereas in rabbinic sources before the coming of Jesus and at Jesus’ baptism the Spirit is depicted as a dove (Matt. 3:16). The significance of these two very different metaphors for the Spirit is, however, not clear.
 
1:3 / The presence of light before the creation of the sun is inconceivable from our contemporary understanding of the universe. However, it was possible according to the view of the ancient Hebrews; several OT texts speak of light existing independently of the stars (Job 38:19–20; Isa. 30:26; 60:19–20).
Separation is a major activity in establishing the created order: light from darkness, day from night, upper waters from lower waters, and dry land from water. Separation of the profane from the holy is also a central theme in the law (Lev. 10:10; 11:47) and in the final judgment (Rev. 20:4–6).
 
1:4 / The term “good” here carries several meanings, including aesthetic and moral; i.e., what God created was beautiful and promoted the moral order.
 
1:5 / Ancient readers would have taken “day” to be an ordinary day. It is possible that day represents an age, but the text does not readily support that position. A seven-day week of creation anchors the weekly pattern in the created order.
 
John E. Hartley, Genesis, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series. Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2012), n.p.
 
§8 Proverbs 8:1–36
 
The personification of Wisdom reaches new heights in this chapter that is entitled “Wisdom’s Call” in the NIV—an understatement, if one truly considers the claims Wisdom makes about herself. There is a superficial similarity between the opening verses and 1:20–21, but the tenor of Wisdom’s proclamation in this chapter is unique. She appeals to all, including the simple and the fools. They are to listen to her because of her claims to truth and righteousness, which are far more valuable than material riches. Who is she? In verses 22–31, she launches a description of herself as begotten of God before creation, at God’s side, but also delighting in human beings. The final words in verses 32–36 are spoken by her, and not by the sage, as might be expected (cf. 7:24–27).
 
8:1–3 / Presumably it is the sage who utters the rhetorical question calling attention to Woman Wisdom (in the grammatically singular Hebrew form, ḥokmâ, instead of ḥokmôt as in 1:20 and 9; see Additional Notes). She is described as stationing herself beside the gates of the city where she can reach a crowd of people. This open approach contrasts with the stealthy activity of the strange woman in chapter 7, who was covered by nightfall.
 
8:4–11 / The appeal is to all, but especially to the simple and foolish who most need understanding. Wisdom is prepared for this because truth and justice are the hallmarks of her speech, yielding an instruction more precious than silver or gold. On v. 11 see Additional Notes.
 
8:12–21 / A strong I (repeated in v. 14) initiates this part of the discourse and imparts to Woman Wisdom an authority greater than that of a sage who merely communicates wisdom. She is Wisdom and associates other aspects of wisdom with herself (vv. 12–14). Indeed she resembles the Lord in her detestation of evil. On verse 13 see Additional Notes. She possesses the qualities [Prov, Eccl, Song, p. 38] which are associated with the spirit of God in Isaiah 11:2 (cf. also Job 12:13–16) and by which one can truly reign and govern (vv. 14–16). On verse 16 see Additional Notes. The emphatic I (ʾᵂnı̂) in verse 17 introduces a new and unusual idea. Wisdom stands in a love relationship with those who love her (the NIV correctly follows the Qere). In Egyptian scarabs, this reciprocity formula has been found and is attributed to deities such as Isis: “Isis loves the one who loves her” (see Additional Notes). In contrast to the unsuccessful search for wisdom mentioned in 1:28b, her lovers will seek and find her. In her train come riches and prestige so that her value surpasses the treasures of silver and gold. The recurring motif of the way is echoed in verses 20–21. Those who follow her and love her will become wealthy themselves. One can detect a certain enlargement in the portrayal of Woman Wisdom; she approaches divine dimensions. But this is as nothing compared to the new development that takes place in verses 22–31.
 
8:22–31 / This famous passage enunciates several things about Woman Wisdom. She existed before God created the world, begotten apparently by yhwh. Her preexistence is affirmed several times and it is asserted that she was at the Lord’s side as an ʾmwn (craftswoman? nursling?). She also found pleasure among human beings.
 
8:22 / The translation of the verb is disputed, as the text and margin of the NIV indicate. Other possibilities are: “create” (NJPS, NRSV) or “begot” (NAB). See Additional Notes. In any case, her existence before the creative activity of God is clearly affirmed in verse 22b and a birthing process is mentioned in verses 24a and 25b. Works is an acceptable rendering of “way” in MT, as the deeds in verse 22b suggest. “Dominion” in the marginal note is less likely.
 
8:23 / The NIV indicates in the margin another possible (and preferable) meaning for appointed: fashioned; see Additional Notes. The several verbs employed suggest a mystery surrounding Wisdom’s origins from the creator, and the following verses go to great lengths to emphasize that she is preexistent to creation. About six times various idioms are used: “when there was no,” “before,” etc. This formulaic style is reminiscent of the description of the opening lines of the Mesopotamian creation epic, Enuma Elish (cf. ANET, pp. 60–61). The manner of phrasing throughout this passage emphasizes in an unusually exaggerated [Prov, Eccl, Song, p. 39] fashion Wisdom’s priority to and presence at the works of creation. Her presence is affirmed at every point down to verse 30.
 
8:24–26 / The sequence of the description is upward, from the waters of the abyss, where the fountains (v. 28b) are and in which the pillars of the earth, or mountains are settled (cf. Ps. 104:6–8; Jon. 2:7), to the earth and eventually to the heavens (v. 27a).
 
8:27 / Again there is a strong repetition of I (v. 27a ends: there [was] I). The horizon is created by the arched firmament closing down on the surface of the deep.
 
8:28–29 / The reference is to all the waters that obey the divine command—both the clouds above and the fountains of the deep below. Once the waters were tamed, the fixing (in the abyss!) of the foundations of the earth was possible.
 
8:30–31 / I was is repeated (the same verb form, Hb. “ʾehyê, as occurs in the puzzling explanation of the divine name in Exod. 3:14) and it is Wisdom who says that she was posted at God’s side as an ʾmwn, a Hebrew term for which there is no certain translation (see Additional Notes). It is generally translated in two different ways, either as artisan, craftswoman, or as nursling, child. Verse 30a reads literally: “I was delight(s) every day.” It is not clear whether she is filled with delight (so NIV) or gives delight to God (many follow the Gk. version and translate “his delight”). It can mean that wisdom is all delight, giving and taking. She is twice described as playing (perhaps dancing?): before God always and also on the face of the earth (a difficult phrase). Moreover, her delights are said to be with human beings. So much attention has been given to her mysterious and undetermined role at God’s side, that her openness and joy to be with the human race is not sufficiently emphasized. The scene is reminiscent of the celebration of creation among the morning stars and the sons of God (Job 38:7). However, the mood and role of Wisdom is more than just celebratory. In view of all the characteristics of Woman Wisdom, her joyful relationship to earthly people is particularly meaningful, even if the details are not spelled out here.
 
8:32–36 / Instead of the sage speaking, Wisdom continues, employing the exhortatory style used by the sage (cf. 4:1; 5:7; 7:24). A threefold insistence upon listening (and that means [Prov, Eccl, Song, p. 40] obeying) culminates in the beatitude of verse 35 where the suitor of Woman Wisdom is portrayed as ardently pursuing her. The suitor is at her very doors. The doors of the strange woman in 5:8 and the door of Woman Folly in 9:14 make an interesting contrast. Verse 35 sums up the message of Wisdom: life comes as a favor from the LORD (or gift; cf. 2:6 and also see 3:13 on “finding” wisdom). In contrast to this vision, those who miss the mark and do not choose (hate) wisdom are in love with death. Gerhard von Rad once wrote that only the Lord can speak in the manner in which Woman Wisdom expresses herself, especially in verse 35 (Old Testament Theology [New York: Harper & Row, 1962], vol. 1, p. 444). Wisdom is an “I” not an “IT.” However, von Rad went on to identify Wisdom as the “self-revelation of creation.” But before trying to identify Wisdom more closely, one must examine chapter 9.
Plöger (Sprüche, pp. 91–93) has noted the possibility of the correlation of personified Wisdom with Egyptian ideas, but he has also pointed to a significant fact. The figure of biblical Wisdom, addressing human beings in both an inviting and threatening manner, is foreign to the Egyptian Maʿat. Any alleged influence must still deal with the unique presentation of Wisdom in these chapters. Perhaps the more important question is the suddenly prominent position of Wisdom in view of the traditional proclamation of the Lord as Israel’s savior. As a further development of this theme, one should recall that, in the Wisdom of Solomon 10, Wisdom is hailed many times as savior. Yet the uniqueness of the Lord is not undone. Wisdom is subordinate to the Lord for she is born of the Lord. Yet, “seen from the point of view of creation, she is brought nearer to Yahweh, but seen from the point of view of Yahweh, she has a stronger affinity to creation” (p. 93). For more details on the personification of Wisdom, see Murphy, The Tree of Life, pp. 133–49.
 
Additional Notes §8
 
8:1 / The singular form for wisdom (Hb. hokmâ) is to be expected. The so-called plural form was explained in a note to 1:20 as an abstract plural, a plural of intensity, or as a feminine singular with an wt ending for the usual t (see TDOT 4:371).
 
[Prov, Eccl, Song, p. 41]
 
8:11 / This verse repeats almost verbatim the evaluation of Wisdom in 3:15. Moreover, it is in the third person. In ch. 8, it is Wisdom who speaks about herself in the first person. The verse should be seen as interruptive, coming just before the emphatic “I” of v. 12.
 
8:13 / Contrary to the form in the rest of this poem (two lines), there are three lines. Although fear of the LORD is a genuine and frequent wisdom theme, it hardly belongs here with the first person discourse of Woman Wisdom. It is in the third person and has two words, hate and evil, that appear at the end of lines b and c. It looks like a gloss.
 
8:16 / The NIV adopts an alternate reading, “and all nobles who rule on earth,” which is reflected in the Gk.; see also the marginal note. The MT can also be translated: “nobles, and all judges of the earth” on the basis of alternative readings of some Hb. manuscripts that read ʾāreṣ for ṣedeq.
 
8:17 / Other examples of the reciprocity formula are found in C. Kayatz, Studien zu Proverbien 1–9 (WMANT 22; Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1966), pp. 101–102.
 
8:22 / There is some variation in the rendering of the root qnh (NIV “brought forth”): (1) possess or acquire (perhaps implying that the Lord got wisdom from some unknown source?); (2) create (the ancient Gk., although the Latin Vulgate has possedit; see also the verbs in the following verses which indicate creation or begetting); and (3) beget (cf. Gen. 4:1).
 
8:23 / The NIV prefers appointed to fashioned, which it relegates to the marginal note. The translators seem to have derived this from the Hb. nsk; skk seems to convey the sense better.
 
8:30 / There are arguments for “artisan” and for “nursling” as the meaning of the difficult Hb. word ʾmwn. The range of opinions and their arguments are well surveyed by H. P. Rüger, “ʾAmôn—Pflegekind: zur Auslegungsgeschichte von Prv 8:30a,” in Ubersetzung und Deutung (Nijkerk: Callenbach, 1977), pp. 154–63. Rüger himself opts for nursling (Pflegekind), but there is no consensus on the issue.
 
Roland E. Murphy and Elizabeth Huwiler, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series. Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2012), n.p.
 
-Dan
Edited by Dan Francis
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Dan, is the "n.p." being generated by Accordance? We do have page numbers throughout the entire commentary.

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Yes... the N.P. are being generated by chose as citation... I see the page numbers listed throughout so I assumed it was a bug either in 11.0.8 or in UTB file.

 

-Dan

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Dan, 

 

The page numbers are being inserted in citations for me from the same section you copied. Are you on a Windows or Mac?

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I am on a mac... Acc. 11.0.8/ OS 10.11...

 

EDIT:Moved to it's own bug thread

Edited by Dan Francis
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Thanks for the clip, Dan. Would it be possible to show me Mark 1:1-15?

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§1 The Forerunner and Jesus (Mark 1:1–20)

 
 
1:1–8 / In this brief but fully packed introductory section, Mark first describes Jesus by titles that summarize for the author the proper significance of Jesus and then links him with Old Testament prophetic themes and with the historical figure John the Baptist. It is interesting that, although Mark presents the human characters in his story, even the disciples, as largely unable to perceive properly who Jesus really is until his resurrection, the reader is given in the opening line the titles that prove to be Mark’s favorite terms for communicating Jesus’ true dignity-Christ (Messiah), and Son of God. There is a certain secrecy surrounding Jesus in the book, but the reader is let in on the secret right at the beginning. The effect of this is that the reader is prepared to feel how tragic and grievous were the rejection of Jesus by his enemies and the misunderstanding of Jesus by his disciples. The introduction of Jesus by these titles also immediately shows that the writer proceeds out of adoration for Jesus, and that the work is written not from the standpoint of unconcerned historical observance but with deeply religious interests in mind.
The Old Testament (OT) passages (Mal. 3:1 and Isa. 40:3; see the notes on 1:2, 3) are furnished to show that John the Baptist and Jesus are to be understood in the context of the prophecies regarded by ancient Jews and Christians as holy Scripture and divine revelation of God’s purposes. That is, in the writer’s view, neither Jesus nor John appeared “out of the blue” but, rather, as fulfillment of God’s plan of redemption. This attitude, that the OT is a record of God’s work and plan and that Jesus must be interpreted as fulfillment of the work and word of God in the OT, is reflected throughout the New Testament (NT) writings and received continuing expression as the church used the OT writings as Scripture in its subsequent history. This view is, of course, formally reflected in the inclusion of the OT as part of the Christian [Mark, p. 16] Bible–a decision still accepted by all the major branches of Christianity today. The early Christians not only saw Jesus prefigured in certain OT prophecies of a coming redemption, but in addition, they regarded Jesus as the culmination of all God had done in the OT. In this sense, virtually everything in the OT seemed to have anticipated and pre–figured Jesus and thus gained its “fulfillment” in him.
The passages quoted here in Mark seem to relate specifically to John the Baptist. He is seen as the messenger sent to prepare the way for Jesus; he is the one calling in the desert, urging Israel to prepare the way for the Lord. This role is made clear by Mark’s description of John as working in the desert region (v. 4), calling Israel to repentance and announcing one who would come after him (vv. 7–8) with an even more significant ministry.
The passage from Malachi 3:1 (quoted in 1:2) seems to have been understood by many ancient Jews and Christians as predicting a prophet-like figure of the end time, and this figure was understood, in the context of Malachi 4:5–6, like Elijah, the OT prophet (see 1 Kings 17–21; 2 Kings 1–2). Mark’s description of John’s attire (v. 6) seems intended to recall for his readers the image of Elijah, who is similarly attired in the OT (2 Kings 1:8). Indeed, the expectation of an Elijah figure and the connection between John and Elijah is made more explicit elsewhere in Mark (see the comments on Mark 6:15).
Although this connection of John with the expectation of an Elijah figure in ancient Judaism is implied here, Mark’s main intent in this section and the following verses is to relate John to Jesus. In the following verses Mark tells us that Jesus was baptized by John (1:9), at that time receiving his calling to his ministry (1:10–11), and that Jesus’ ministry in Galilee began after John’s arrest (1:14). In the present passage John is presented as a forerunner to Jesus. This means that Mark wishes to make John’s ministry the immediate historical setting for Jesus’ ministry, and in the process, he wishes to make John’s prediction of a greater one to follow a prediction (and endorsement) of Jesus.
This connection of Jesus with John is well attested in the NT. All four Gospels describe the beginning of Jesus’ ministry by referring to John (cf. Matt. 3:1–17; Luke 3:1–22; John 1:6–35); and the accounts of the early church in the Acts of the Apostles likewise [Mark, p. 17] trace Jesus’ ministry from John’s work (Acts 1:21–22; 10:36–38). Elsewhere in Mark there is the reported rumor that after John’s execution Jesus was viewed by some (especially Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee) as perhaps a reappearance of the martyred prophet! This must imply that there were sufficient similarities in the ministries of Jesus and John to make such ideas worth considering in the minds of some. Further, in Mark’s account of the temple–cleansing controversy between Jesus and the priestly authorities (11:27–33), we are told that Jesus demanded an evaluation of John’s ministry as a condition for defending his own deeds, implying perhaps that the two ministries were to be seen as connected in some way.
John the Baptist is also referred to by Josephus,[footnote: Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, 18.116–119. A convenient translation of Josephus is Josephus, Loeb Classical Library, 10 vols. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1969), vol. 9, pp. 81–85. Note also the articles on John the Baptist in IDB, vol. 2, pp. 955–62, and IDBSup, pp. 487–88.] [Mark, p. 18] the Jewish historian who wrote in the latter part of the first century A.D. His reference to John is in connection with a description of the rule of Herod Antipas, who had John executed. Josephus describes John as a figure popular with the masses, highly respected for his godliness and his strong call to righteousness, and this evidence of John’s impact in first–century Palestine may help us to see why the Gospels connect Jesus explicitly with John. To do so was to associate Jesus with a highly respected religious figure of first–century Judaism, and to claim John’s prophetic endorsement of Jesus was both to define somewhat Jesus’ ministry by association and to distinguish Jesus as even greater than John.
From the descriptions of John the Baptist in the NT writings and in Josephus, we learn that he was a prophet–like preacher calling Israel to repentance and to preparation for the coming day of God’s manifestation of salvation (for those prepared) and judgment (see Matt. 3:1–12). Part of his ministry involved immersing repentant Jews in the river Jordan, and from this practice we derive his designation as John the Baptist (or Baptizer). This ritual seems to have been a somewhat new practice in Jewish religion. It appears that the Jewish sect at Qumran (site of the Dead Sea Scrolls) may have practiced ritual immersions daily to symbolize (and effect?) daily cleansing from religious impurity. It may be that Gentiles who became proselytes (converts to the Jewish religion) underwent a ritual immersion (baptism) as part of their conversion requirements (though scholars disagree as to when baptism of proselytes began). John’s baptism rite was different. For one thing, it appears that John administered baptism only once to each repentant sinner, which is unlike the daily immersion rite at Qumran but similar to the practice of proselyte baptism. For another, John sought to bring Israel (Jews) to repentance and baptism, whereas proselyte baptism was only for non-Jews who wished to take up Judaism. So, there is no clear analogy for John’s rite. The Christian rite of baptism, which dates from a slightly later time than John the Baptist, may have been patterned after John’s rite in that, in this case as well, baptism was administered once to each person and the rite was required of all, Jew or Gentile, who sought to become Christians.
The final feature about John mentioned in this part of Mark is that John heralded one greater than he, who would have a still greater ministry (vv. 7–8). Whereas John baptized in water, the one coming would baptize with the Holy Spirit. This statement is to be seen against the background of the OT promises of a time when God would bestow his Spirit on all his people, giving them all special closeness with him and, thereby, the blessings of salvation. (See Joel 2:28–32; Ezek. 36:22–32; Jer. 31:31–34.) Obviously the Holy Spirit is not a liquid, and the language of “baptizing” with the Holy Spirit is an image intended both to associate the coming salvation with John’s own ministry of baptizing and at the same time to show the superiority of one to the other by the contrast of Holy Spirit and water.
This opening of this book by reference to John the Baptist means that we are introduced immediately into the time of the adult ministry of Jesus, with no information on Jesus’ childhood. Though Matthew and Luke have birth and childhood stories, Mark plunges the reader into the thick of Jesus’ ministry almost immediately. Scholars disagree as to whether Mark was uninformed about Jesus’ childhood or whether it was simply not a part of his interest to write about that period of Jesus’ life. Whatever the reason, the absence of material on Jesus’ childhood, together with the fast–paced narrative content of the book throughout, makes Mark’s Gospel an arresting summary of Jesus’ ministry.
 
[Mark, p. 19]
 
1:9–13 / In this passage Jesus appears for the first time in the narrative, and the direct relevance of the introduction of John the Baptist earlier in the story becomes clear, for here Jesus is baptized by John. This of course means that Mark’s narrative not only associates John with Jesus as an endorser of Jesus but also associates Jesus with John as one who accepted John’s message and obeyed his call to be baptized.
A relationship between Jesus and the Baptist is attested in all four Gospels, but in the Gospel according to John many scholars see evidence that the writer attempted to make it very clear that Jesus was fully superior to the Baptist, perhaps to counter any suggestion that Jesus was a follower of the Baptist and therefore inferior to him. It is interesting, by comparison, that the Fourth Gospel does not actually say that Jesus was baptized by John (John 1:29–34) but includes a lengthy passage where the Baptist explicitly describes Jesus’ superiority (John 3:22–30). In the passage before us, there is no such reluctance to associate the beginnings of Jesus’ ministry with the Baptist.
In connection with his baptism, Jesus experiences a vision that Mark presents as Jesus’ call to his own ministry. This vision of heaven (Greek, “the Heavens”) being torn open (Greek, “splitting apart”) apparently signifies both that God is about to act directly and that Jesus is given an intimate glimpse of divine purpose. The action may allude to Isaiah 64:1, where the prophet prays for God to “rend the heavens and come down,” in a passage appealing for divine salvation for the people of Israel (64:1–12). The point of the allusion would be that Jesus’ calling by God is to be seen as the fulfillment of the prayer and hope for God’s new deliverance and revelation that Isaiah 64 reflects.
The descent of the Spirit of God upon Jesus like a dove shows that Jesus is commissioned by God. This reminds the reader of Isaiah 61:1, where God’s servant describes his calling as involving God’s spirit being upon him. (“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me.”)
The voice from heaven is clearly God’s, and the statement alludes to several OT passages, identifying Jesus with revered figures from the passages in question. You are my Son echoes Psalm 2:7, a psalm originally addressed to the ancient Jewish kings. A son whom I love echoes Genesis 22:2, where God addresses Abraham, telling him to offer his son (“your only son, [Mark, p. 20] Isaac, whom you love”). With you I am well pleased reflects Isaiah 42:1, where God points to his servant as one chosen to speak for him.
It appears that Psalm 2 and Isaiah 42, and perhaps Genesis 22:2, were understood by some in Mark’s time as foreshadowing the Messiah (the anointed one, the Christ), and so the allusion to these passages implicitly designates Jesus as the one foreshadowed. As we will see in subsequent passages, Mark wishes to enhance and enlarge the significance of Jesus beyond his simply being the Messiah, but the allusion to these verses from the OT means that Mark wishes also to claim for Jesus the honor attached to the Messiah figure of Jewish hope.
This vision and the accompanying voice from heaven are similar to the OT accounts of prophets who were called by God to speak to Israel. Isaiah (6:1–13) and Ezekiel (1:1–2:10) give extended descriptions of such experiences, but such visions and accompanying experiences of being called by God seem to have prompted the ministry of several other prophets as well (e.g., Amos 7:1–9:1). Certainly Mark saw Jesus as more than a prophet, but this account seems to describe the beginning of Jesus’ ministry as provoked by a prophetic calling experience. It is worth noting that Jesus elsewhere likens himself to a prophet (6:4) and that some people so regarded him (6:15; 8:28). But though the form of the calling here is like that of OT prophets, the substance of the call is to serve as God’s chosen Son!
All the Synoptic Gospels describe Jesus undergoing a period of temptation in a desert area shortly after his baptism, but there are interesting peculiarities to the account in Mark. For one thing, although the accounts in Matthew (4:1–11) and Luke (4:1–13) describe the Spirit leading Jesus into the desert, Mark says that the Spirit sent him out into the desert (1:12). Though we do not really know what was behind Mark’s choice of words here, the effect is to make the temptation seem more of an unsought and uncomfortable experience, an ordeal. The fact that it is the Spirit who drove him into the desert means that the testing there was God–ordained, part of the necessary preparation for God’s chosen Son. For another thing, Mark alone refers to wild animals in the desert experience (1:13), and his intention, apparently, is to show the dangers of the scene. Some scholars suggest that the writer [Mark, p. 21] alludes here to the creation accounts, in which Adam in the garden names the animals (Gen. 2:18–19), the significance of the possible allusion being that Mark may be portraying Jesus as a new Adam signifying a new beginning for the human race. (I am not persuaded by this suggestion, however.)
All three Synoptic Gospel accounts describe the temptation as lasting forty days, and we should note two things about this figure. First, it is a round number and therefore is probably not intended as an exact description of the chronological length of the temptation period. Second, it is worth noticing that the forty days of Jesus’ temptation in the desert seem to echo the traditions that Israel spent forty years in the desert (Deut. 29:5) and that Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai waiting to receive the law (Exod. 24:18). The point of the probable allusions to these traditions is to make Jesus’ desert period a time of new revelation and salvation equivalent to the revelation given to Moses and Israel in the classical, Exodus time.
Acclaimed by God at his baptism, gifted with the Spirit of God, and directed by the Spirit into this testing, Jesus is also helped by angels (v. 13). Matthew (4:1–11) and Luke (4:1–13) both devote greater space to the temptation scene, but even the briefer Markan account makes it clear that this episode is the testing and preparation for the one just called to do the work none other was called to do. Early here in the Gospel story Jesus encounters Satan (v. 13) under adverse circumstances and, as the narrative implies, wins against him, setting the tone for the theme of Jesus’ conflict with demonic powers so prevalent throughout the rest of the book.
 
1:14–20 / Linking the beginning of Jesus’ ministry with the arrest of John has the effect of associating Jesus with John’s ministry still more plainly than indicated in the preceding passages. This is especially so in view of the partial similarity of their messages. In 1:4 John comes “preaching . . . repentance” and here in 1:15 Jesus utters a similar message.
There are, however, important differences between Jesus and John given in the passage before us. Here Jesus is said to proclaim that the kingdom of God has drawn near and that the day of fulfillment (the time) has come. This conviction that God’s [Mark, p. 22] chosen time had come is similar to the Baptist’s sense of urgency and his belief that he was called to prepare Israel for the day of God’s salvation (1:4–8), but Jesus’ words reflect the conviction that the day of God’s rule has come even nearer than John knew. In Mark, Jesus’ message is called the good news of God, but this is not said of John’s words; this seems intended to give Jesus’ message a special significance above the message of John.
The urgent conviction reflected in Jesus’ words sets the tone for the rest of the story of his ministry and, together with his acclamation as God’s Son, marks his work with momentous significance. “The kingdom of God” here means the rule of God, and Jesus’ message signifies that God has begun to establish his rule in a world viewed by many religious Jews as under the tyranny of Satan and evil. The kingdom of God thus represents the triumph of God’s plan of salvation over human sin and demonic opposition. An ancient Jewish prayer reads, “May God establish his kingdom in our lifetime,” and Jesus’ announcement is to be heard in the context of the hope reflected in that prayer. The reader must not underestimate the central importance of this message of the approaching kingdom of God for understanding properly Jesus’ ministry. Virtually everything in his behavior and teaching was based on this conviction about his day as the time of the approach of God’s rule, and the accompanying conviction about his role as its herald and, indeed, its dramatic vehicle.
Jesus’ summoning of the four men to be his disciples has the effect immediately of widening the circle of attention to include Jesus and the group chosen to accompany him. Elsewhere in the book we will see evidence that Mark addresses the topic of Christian discipleship, and in this account we see what must be role models in the immediate response of the four men to Jesus’ authoritative call.
Jesus’ summons to discipleship includes the promise that the men will become fishers of men; that is, they are called to enter into his mission and not to be observers. Later, we learn of twelve men thus called, and we are told specifically that they were given a ministry modeled after Jesus’ own (3:13–19). The effect of this episode is to give the readers followers of Jesus with whom to identify themselves. The readers are thereby drawn into [Mark, p. 23] the story, and the Christian reader especially is to follow the calling and duties, the trials and failures, of the disciples with a view to drawing lessons for living.
 
 
Additional Notes §1
 
1:1 / Gospel is a term in Greek (euangelion) that was used in the contemporary world to refer to a message of good news but that seems to have acquired a special significance for early Christians as a technical term for the message of salvation through Jesus. (See, e.g., Mark 1:14–15; 8:35; 10:29; 13:10; 14:9; Rom. 1:1, 16–17; 1 Cor. 4:15.) Here too the term refers to the message about Jesus, not the book. The term Gospel was not applied to books until the second century, when we have references to the “four Gospels,” meaning the canonical writings attributed to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
 
The Son of God. These words are missing in some important early witnesses to the NT text. The claim that Jesus is Son of God appears at several points in Mark, indicating that Jesus’ divine sonship is an important part of Mark’s portrait (cf. 1:11; 3:11; 5:7; 9:7; 14:61–62; 15:39), and this causes most scholars to believe that the title was originally here in the opening of the book and that it was accidentally omitted in some copies. It is very significant that Jesus is called the Son of God only by God (1:11; 9:7), by demons (3:11; 5:7), and by one man, the centurion at the cross (15:39), illustrating Mark’s emphasis upon the blindness of people to Jesus in his own ministry. (See “Son of God,” NIDNTT, vol. 3, pp. 634–48.)
 
1:2 / It is written in Isaiah the prophet is literally “as it is written in Isaiah the prophet.” This is the wording in the earliest manuscripts, but in many later ones the reading is “as it is written in the prophets.” Most scholars suspect that the latter reading arose because the quotations given in vv. 2–3 are in fact from Mal. 3:1 and Isa. 40:3, and so some copyists may have felt it necessary to avoid the impression that the writer had mistakenly credited Isaiah with a statement from another prophet. We do not know for sure why the writer attributes this composite quote to Isaiah alone, but it may be that he was using a list of OT prophecies prepared as a teaching aid and that the passages cited here were listed under the name of Isaiah.
 
Ahead of you, who will prepare your way: The quote is not exactly the same as the Hebrew text of Mal. 3:1. It is especially interesting that in Hebrew we read “to prepare the way for me.” Here in Mark the prophecy seems to be addressed to Jesus–the you here in v. 2.
 
[Mark, p. 24]
 
1:3 / The Lord: This probably refers to Jesus, who is given this title elsewhere in the NT (in Mark cf. 5:19; 11:3; also, e.g., 1 Cor. 8:6; Acts 9:1–29).
 
1:4 / A baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins: John’s baptism was the immediate demonstration of repentance, just as responding to an evangelistic invitation is seen in some church circles.
 
1:5 / The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem: Mark of course probably does not mean that everyone from these areas went!
 
1:6 / John’s dress and diet seem to reflect the strict life of a desert monk. From other references (Matt. 11:7–8, 16–19) we get the impression that John lived by strong ascetic standards, perhaps modeled somewhat after the Nazirite vow described on the OT, involving abstinence from wine among other rules (see Num. 6:2–21; Judg. 13:5–7; 16:17; Amos 2:11–12).
 
1:8 / The Holy Spirit: The accounts of John’s message in Matt. 3:11 and Luke 3:16 say that the one coming will baptize with “Holy Spirit and with fire.” The “fire” is probably a symbol of the coming judgment mentioned in those passages. Here (and in Acts 1:5) there is no reference to judgment, and so only the Holy Spirit is mentioned, referring to the coming salvation.
 
1:9 / Nazareth: It is the uniform Gospel tradition that Jesus’ hometown was Nazareth, a small town in central Galilee otherwise of no importance in history. (See MBA, 228; IDB, vol. 3, pp. 524–26.)
 
1:10 / Like a dove: Though paintings of the scene often show the Spirit in the form of a dove alighting upon Jesus’ head, the comparison refers to the gentle way that the Spirit came upon Jesus, and no conclusion about the visible form of the Spirit is intended.
 
1:12 / The desert: The area in view here is probably the barren area near the northern shore of the Dead Sea. In 1:4 we have been told that “John came . . . in the desert region,” and the fact that he was arrested by Herod (Antipas) probably means that John’s ministry was centered near the southern end of the Jordan River.
 
1:14 / John was put in prison: Mark does not explain John’s imprisonment and he does not tell the outcome here. In 6:14–29 he gives a rather full account of these matters.
 
Galilee is the name given to the part of ancient Palestine north of Samaria. Jesus seems to have made Galilee (his home area) his major area of ministry. The area was administered by Herod Antipas, a client ruler for the Romans, while Judea in the south was administered by a Roman military governor.
 
[Mark, p. 25]
 
1:16 / Simon . . . Andrew: These two are described as brothers in other Gospel traditions (Matt. 4:18; 10:2; Luke 6:14; John 1:40), as are James and John Zebedee (Matt. 4:21; Luke 5:10). It is interesting to note that Simon (Peter, cf. 3:16) and John became much more frequently mentioned in Christian tradition than Andrew or James (mentioned as martyred in Acts 12:2).
 
Simon Peter is prominent among the disciples in all the Gospels and in most Christian tradition is regarded as the representative and chief of the twelve apostles.
 
Casting a net . . . fishermen: Fishing was a major industry in Roman times around Lake Galilee, and the impression one gets here is that these four men were partners of small (or perhaps large!) businesses. They were in all likelihood “middle class” economically, for the Zebedee brothers, at least, had employees in their family business (1:20).
 
1:17 / Fishers of men: Many scholars think that we have an allusion to Jer. 16:16 where God promises “fishermen” to find the Israelites so that they may be brought to judgment and ultimate restoration. Jesus’ words here may be intended to hint that Jesus’ ministry marks the time of the fulfillment of this prophetic promise. Of course, Mark does not restrict the disciples to “fishing” for Israelites, for he knows that the prophet’s words took on larger meaning in the international mission of the church.
 
[Mark, p. 26]
 
 
Larry W. Hurtado, Mark, Understanding the Bible Commentary Series. Accordance electronic ed. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2011), n.p.
 
-Dan
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Mortenjensen,

 

I have posted below the comments on Mark 1:1-13, (Mark Allison note that mine also does not include the page numbers even though they are in the text of the module. I have highlighted them in RED. I too am using a Mac with Accordance 11.0.8).

 

"1:1–8 / In this brief but fully packed introductory section, Mark first describes Jesus by titles that summarize for the author the proper significance of Jesus and then links him with Old Testament prophetic themes and with the historical figure John the Baptist. It is interesting that, although Mark presents the human characters in his story, even the disciples, as largely unable to perceive properly who Jesus really is until his resurrection, the reader is given in the opening line the titles that prove to be Mark’s favorite terms for communicating Jesus’ true dignity-Christ (Messiah), and Son of God. There is a certain secrecy surrounding Jesus in the book, but the reader is let in on the secret right at the beginning. The effect of this is that the reader is prepared to feel how tragic and grievous were the rejection of Jesus by his enemies and the misunderstanding of Jesus by his disciples. The introduction of Jesus by these titles also immediately shows that the writer proceeds out of adoration for Jesus, and that the work is written not from the standpoint of unconcerned historical observance but with deeply religious interests in mind.

The Old Testament (OT) passages (Mal. 3:1 and Isa. 40:3; see the notes on 1:2, 3) are furnished to show that John the Baptist and Jesus are to be understood in the context of the prophecies regarded by ancient Jews and Christians as holy Scripture and divine revelation of God’s purposes. That is, in the writer’s view, neither Jesus nor John appeared “out of the blue” but, rather, as fulfillment of God’s plan of redemption. This attitude, that the OT is a record of God’s work and plan and that Jesus must be interpreted as fulfillment of the work and word of God in the OT, is reflected throughout the New Testament (NT) writings and received continuing expression as the church used the OT writings as Scripture in its subsequent history. This view is, of course, formally reflected in the inclusion of the OT as part of the Christian [Mark, p. 16] Bible–a decision still accepted by all the major branches of Christianity today. The early Christians not only saw Jesus prefigured in certain OT prophecies of a coming redemption, but in addition, they regarded Jesus as the culmination of all God had done in the OT. In this sense, virtually everything in the OT seemed to have anticipated and pre–figured Jesus and thus gained its “fulfillment” in him.
The passages quoted here in Mark seem to relate specifically to John the Baptist. He is seen as the messenger sent to prepare the way for Jesus; he is the one calling in the desert, urging Israel to prepare the way for the Lord. This role is made clear by Mark’s description of John as working in the desert region (v. 4), calling Israel to repentance and announcing one who would come after him (vv. 7–8) with an even more significant ministry.
The passage from Malachi 3:1 (quoted in 1:2) seems to have been understood by many ancient Jews and Christians as predicting a prophet-like figure of the end time, and this figure was understood, in the context of Malachi 4:5–6, like Elijah, the OT prophet (see 1 Kings 17–21; 2 Kings 1–2). Mark’s description of John’s attire (v. 6) seems intended to recall for his readers the image of Elijah, who is similarly attired in the OT (2 Kings 1:8). Indeed, the expectation of an Elijah figure and the connection between John and Elijah is made more explicit elsewhere in Mark (see the comments on Mark 6:15).
Although this connection of John with the expectation of an Elijah figure in ancient Judaism is implied here, Mark’s main intent in this section and the following verses is to relate John to Jesus. In the following verses Mark tells us that Jesus was baptized by John (1:9), at that time receiving his calling to his ministry (1:10–11), and that Jesus’ ministry in Galilee began after John’s arrest (1:14). In the present passage John is presented as a forerunner to Jesus. This means that Mark wishes to make John’s ministry the immediate historical setting for Jesus’ ministry, and in the process, he wishes to make John’s prediction of a greater one to follow a prediction (and endorsement) of Jesus.
This connection of Jesus with John is well attested in the NT. All four Gospels describe the beginning of Jesus’ ministry by referring to John (cf. Matt. 3:1–17; Luke 3:1–22; John 1:6–35); and the accounts of the early church in the Acts of the Apostles likewise [Mark, p. 17] trace Jesus’ ministry from John’s work (Acts 1:21–22; 10:36–38). Elsewhere in Mark there is the reported rumor that after John’s execution Jesus was viewed by some (especially Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee) as perhaps a reappearance of the martyred prophet! This must imply that there were sufficient similarities in the ministries of Jesus and John to make such ideas worth considering in the minds of some. Further, in Mark’s account of the temple–cleansing controversy between Jesus and the priestly authorities (11:27–33), we are told that Jesus demanded an evaluation of John’s ministry as a condition for defending his own deeds, implying perhaps that the two ministries were to be seen as connected in some way.
John the Baptist is also referred to by Josephus,[footnote: Josephus, Jewish Antiquities, 18.116–119. A convenient translation of Josephus is Josephus, Loeb Classical Library, 10 vols. (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1969), vol. 9, pp. 81–85. Note also the articles on John the Baptist in IDB, vol. 2, pp. 955–62, and IDBSup, pp. 487–88.] [Mark, p. 18] the Jewish historian who wrote in the latter part of the first century A.D. His reference to John is in connection with a description of the rule of Herod Antipas, who had John executed. Josephus describes John as a figure popular with the masses, highly respected for his godliness and his strong call to righteousness, and this evidence of John’s impact in first–century Palestine may help us to see why the Gospels connect Jesus explicitly with John. To do so was to associate Jesus with a highly respected religious figure of first–century Judaism, and to claim John’s prophetic endorsement of Jesus was both to define somewhat Jesus’ ministry by association and to distinguish Jesus as even greater than John.
From the descriptions of John the Baptist in the NT writings and in Josephus, we learn that he was a prophet–like preacher calling Israel to repentance and to preparation for the coming day of God’s manifestation of salvation (for those prepared) and judgment (see Matt. 3:1–12). Part of his ministry involved immersing repentant Jews in the river Jordan, and from this practice we derive his designation as John the Baptist (or Baptizer). This ritual seems to have been a somewhat new practice in Jewish religion. It appears that the Jewish sect at Qumran (site of the Dead Sea Scrolls) may have practiced ritual immersions daily to symbolize (and effect?) daily cleansing from religious impurity. It may be that Gentiles who became proselytes (converts to the Jewish religion) underwent a ritual immersion (baptism) as part of their conversion requirements (though scholars disagree as to when baptism of proselytes began). John’s baptism rite was different. For one thing, it appears that John administered baptism only once to each repentant sinner, which is unlike the daily immersion rite at Qumran but similar to the practice of proselyte baptism. For another, John sought to bring Israel (Jews) to repentance and baptism, whereas proselyte baptism was only for non-Jews who wished to take up Judaism. So, there is no clear analogy for John’s rite. The Christian rite of baptism, which dates from a slightly later time than John the Baptist, may have been patterned after John’s rite in that, in this case as well, baptism was administered once to each person and the rite was required of all, Jew or Gentile, who sought to become Christians.
The final feature about John mentioned in this part of Mark is that John heralded one greater than he, who would have a still greater ministry (vv. 7–8). Whereas John baptized in water, the one coming would baptize with the Holy Spirit. This statement is to be seen against the background of the OT promises of a time when God would bestow his Spirit on all his people, giving them all special closeness with him and, thereby, the blessings of salvation. (See Joel 2:28–32; Ezek. 36:22–32; Jer. 31:31–34.) Obviously the Holy Spirit is not a liquid, and the language of “baptizing” with the Holy Spirit is an image intended both to associate the coming salvation with John’s own ministry of baptizing and at the same time to show the superiority of one to the other by the contrast of Holy Spirit and water.
This opening of this book by reference to John the Baptist means that we are introduced immediately into the time of the adult ministry of Jesus, with no information on Jesus’ childhood. Though Matthew and Luke have birth and childhood stories, Mark plunges the reader into the thick of Jesus’ ministry almost immediately. Scholars disagree as to whether Mark was uninformed about Jesus’ childhood or whether it was simply not a part of his interest to write about that period of Jesus’ life. Whatever the reason, the absence of material on Jesus’ childhood, together with the fast–paced narrative content of the book throughout, makes Mark’s Gospel an arresting summary of Jesus’ ministry.
 
[Mark, p. 19]
 
1:9–13 / In this passage Jesus appears for the first time in the narrative, and the direct relevance of the introduction of John the Baptist earlier in the story becomes clear, for here Jesus is baptized by John. This of course means that Mark’s narrative not only associates John with Jesus as an endorser of Jesus but also associates Jesus with John as one who accepted John’s message and obeyed his call to be baptized.
A relationship between Jesus and the Baptist is attested in all four Gospels, but in the Gospel according to John many scholars see evidence that the writer attempted to make it very clear that Jesus was fully superior to the Baptist, perhaps to counter any suggestion that Jesus was a follower of the Baptist and therefore inferior to him. It is interesting, by comparison, that the Fourth Gospel does not actually say that Jesus was baptized by John (John 1:29–34) but includes a lengthy passage where the Baptist explicitly describes Jesus’ superiority (John 3:22–30). In the passage before us, there is no such reluctance to associate the beginnings of Jesus’ ministry with the Baptist.
In connection with his baptism, Jesus experiences a vision that Mark presents as Jesus’ call to his own ministry. This vision of heaven (Greek, “the Heavens”) being torn open (Greek, “splitting apart”) apparently signifies both that God is about to act directly and that Jesus is given an intimate glimpse of divine purpose. The action may allude to Isaiah 64:1, where the prophet prays for God to “rend the heavens and come down,” in a passage appealing for divine salvation for the people of Israel (64:1–12). The point of the allusion would be that Jesus’ calling by God is to be seen as the fulfillment of the prayer and hope for God’s new deliverance and revelation that Isaiah 64 reflects.
The descent of the Spirit of God upon Jesus like a dove shows that Jesus is commissioned by God. This reminds the reader of Isaiah 61:1, where God’s servant describes his calling as involving God’s spirit being upon him. (“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me.”)
The voice from heaven is clearly God’s, and the statement alludes to several OT passages, identifying Jesus with revered figures from the passages in question. You are my Son echoes Psalm 2:7, a psalm originally addressed to the ancient Jewish kings. A son whom I love echoes Genesis 22:2, where God addresses Abraham, telling him to offer his son (“your only son, [Mark, p. 20] Isaac, whom you love”). With you I am well pleased reflects Isaiah 42:1, where God points to his servant as one chosen to speak for him.
It appears that Psalm 2 and Isaiah 42, and perhaps Genesis 22:2, were understood by some in Mark’s time as foreshadowing the Messiah (the anointed one, the Christ), and so the allusion to these passages implicitly designates Jesus as the one foreshadowed. As we will see in subsequent passages, Mark wishes to enhance and enlarge the significance of Jesus beyond his simply being the Messiah, but the allusion to these verses from the OT means that Mark wishes also to claim for Jesus the honor attached to the Messiah figure of Jewish hope.
This vision and the accompanying voice from heaven are similar to the OT accounts of prophets who were called by God to speak to Israel. Isaiah (6:1–13) and Ezekiel (1:1–2:10) give extended descriptions of such experiences, but such visions and accompanying experiences of being called by God seem to have prompted the ministry of several other prophets as well (e.g., Amos 7:1–9:1). Certainly Mark saw Jesus as more than a prophet, but this account seems to describe the beginning of Jesus’ ministry as provoked by a prophetic calling experience. It is worth noting that Jesus elsewhere likens himself to a prophet (6:4) and that some people so regarded him (6:15; 8:28). But though the form of the calling here is like that of OT prophets, the substance of the call is to serve as God’s chosen Son!
All the Synoptic Gospels describe Jesus undergoing a period of temptation in a desert area shortly after his baptism, but there are interesting peculiarities to the account in Mark. For one thing, although the accounts in Matthew (4:1–11) and Luke (4:1–13) describe the Spirit leading Jesus into the desert, Mark says that the Spirit sent him out into the desert (1:12). Though we do not really know what was behind Mark’s choice of words here, the effect is to make the temptation seem more of an unsought and uncomfortable experience, an ordeal. The fact that it is the Spirit who drove him into the desert means that the testing there was God–ordained, part of the necessary preparation for God’s chosen Son. For another thing, Mark alone refers to wild animals in the desert experience (1:13), and his intention, apparently, is to show the dangers of the scene. Some scholars suggest that the writer [Mark, p. 21] alludes here to the creation accounts, in which Adam in the garden names the animals (Gen. 2:18–19), the significance of the possible allusion being that Mark may be portraying Jesus as a new Adam signifying a new beginning for the human race. (I am not persuaded by this suggestion, however.)
All three Synoptic Gospel accounts describe the temptation as lasting forty days, and we should note two things about this figure. First, it is a round number and therefore is probably not intended as an exact description of the chronological length of the temptation period. Second, it is worth noticing that the forty days of Jesus’ temptation in the desert seem to echo the traditions that Israel spent forty years in the desert (Deut. 29:5) and that Moses spent forty days on Mount Sinai waiting to receive the law (Exod. 24:18). The point of the probable allusions to these traditions is to make Jesus’ desert period a time of new revelation and salvation equivalent to the revelation given to Moses and Israel in the classical, Exodus time.
Acclaimed by God at his baptism, gifted with the Spirit of God, and directed by the Spirit into this testing, Jesus is also helped by angels (v. 13). Matthew (4:1–11) and Luke (4:1–13) both devote greater space to the temptation scene, but even the briefer Markan account makes it clear that this episode is the testing and preparation for the one just called to do the work none other was called to do. Early here in the Gospel story Jesus encounters Satan (v. 13) under adverse circumstances and, as the narrative implies, wins against him, setting the tone for the theme of Jesus’ conflict with demonic powers so prevalent throughout the rest of the book."
 
 Larry W. Hurtado, Mark (Understanding the Bible Commentary Series; Accordance electronic ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2011), n.p.
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Mortenjensen,

 

I have posted below the comments on Mark 1:1-13, (Mark Allison note that mine also does not include the page numbers even though they are in the text of the module. I have highlighted them in RED. I too am using a Mac with Accordance 11.0.8).

 

 

 

Glad to know I am not the only one with the n.p. issue.

 

-Dan

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If you change your Bibliography tool citation preferences to something different (like "Turabian Footnote") and check the box for "Insert citation as footnote", does it make a difference?

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Every year there should be a prize for the person who pastes the most from Accordance modules into the forum. Dan looks good for Gold this year. :)

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Mark, I tried changing from SBL to Turabian in the preferences as you suggested and it DOES NOT make any difference. However, I did try as Jordan S suggested in the N.P. in citations thread and I have verified what he says on mine. In a parallel pane the page numbers are n.p. but when in its own zone the page numbers appear as expected.

Edited by Tony Lawrence
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Reminder: the sale on the Understanding the Bible Commentary Series, including upgrades, ends at midnight EDT.

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