JW:
A Skeptical critical look at the use/misuse/abuse of the word fire πῦρ in GMark:
https://biblehub.com/greek/4442.htm
Manuscript support for:
- 9:22
9:43
9:44
9:45
9:46
9:48
9:49
https://www.laparola.net/greco/index.php
leaving:
Verse | Commentary |
9
| Note that "Mark" only uses "fire" in a negative sense. This accounts for the absence of the word in "Mark's" original John the Baptist story. You could and they do use "Matthew"/"Luke" agreement of "fire" here as evidence that there was a common source and "Mark" exorcised "fire" for the reason I gave. I think though that a prediction of Jesus baptizing with the fire of the holy spirit just reflects subsequent Christian ritual practice. |
| First use in the pericope. Our ever clever first author uses "fire" in an opposite sense from its normal usage. Fire is usually destructive/transforming. Here it is used in a context of preserving. While still negative, combined with preserving, it represents ultimate pain. |
| Second use. A repetition of the eternal fire theme. First use indicated the fire can not be ended. Second use indicates the fire will not be ended. For Christian dopes out there, relax. The wording is figurative. The author just means after you make your choice in life the decision is final. It does not change when you are dead. |
| Third use and one of the most misunderstood verses in GMark. The verse goes with what preceded (and why wouldn't it) and not what follows. Salt is a preservative. The fire is used in a preserving context. So everyone in hell will have eternal torment preserved by fire. The image/context is the humans are the food, seasoned by the fire (the fire is eating the humans and not verse-vices, humans eating what was fired). |
Skeptical Takeaways:
1) I've demonstrated Ad Nazorean on this Unholy forum that "Mark" (author) has a style which contrives 3 Petes. Bible scholarship also generally concedes "Mark's" overuse of 3. This then should be an Internal evidence criterion for Textual Criticism as illustrated above. Note that the extra uses of the offending word have a lot of support in the Lucian generated Byzantine Recension.
2) As always "Mark" carefully avoids use of the offending word elsewhere where it would not connect thematically. See the effort "Mark" makes to avoid having Peter be by the "fire".
Joseph
The New Porphyry