A semantic glitch in Mark 13.24.

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Ben C. Smith
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A semantic glitch in Mark 13.24.

Post by Ben C. Smith »

Pursuant to my ongoing investigation into Mark 13, I would like to discuss another small anomaly in the chapter. It may mean nothing, or it may signal a gloss of exactly three words in English or four in Greek:

Mark 13.14-27:

14 "But when you see the abomination of desolation standing where it should not be — let the reader understand — then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 15 And let him who is on the housetop not go down, or enter in, to get anything out of his house; 16 and let him who is in the field not turn back to get his cloak. 17 But woe to those who are with child and to those who nurse babes in those days [ἐν ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις]! 18 But pray that it may not happen in the winter.

19 For those days [αἱ ἡμέραι ἐκεῖναι] will be a tribulation such as has not occurred since the beginning of the creation which God created, until now, and never shall. 20 And unless the Lord had shortened the days, no life would have been saved; but for the sake of the elect whom He chose, He shortened the days. 21 And then if anyone says to you, 'Behold, here is the Christ,' or, 'Behold, He is there,' do not believe him; 22 for false Christs and false prophets will arise, and will show signs and wonders, in order, if possible, to lead the elect astray. 23 But take heed; behold, I have told you everything in advance.

24 But in those days [ἐν ἐκείναις ταῖς ἡμέραις], after that tribulation [μετὰ τὴν θλῖψιν ἐκείνην], the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, 25 and the stars will be falling from heaven, and the powers that are in the heavens will be shaken. 26 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth, to the farthest end of heaven."

The issue is simply that the phrase "those days" in verses 17 and 19 each seems to refer to the same period of time: the period of the tribulation "such as has not occurred since the beginning." This period starts with the installation of the abomination of desolation and ends with the coming of the son of man on the clouds. So far so good, but what period of time does that same phrase refer to in verse 24? It would make sense for it to refer to the same period of time already under discussion: in those days of tribulation, (there will come a point in time when) the sun will be darkened, and so on, and then events will quickly lead up to the end. In that case, "those days" would always refer to the same period of time: the tribulation. But the next phrase in verse 24 immediately disallows this reading; instead, it makes "those days" refer to a period coming "after that tribulation." Thus the phrase "those days" in verses 17 and 19 refers to the tribulation, while the same phrase in verse 24 refers to a time period after the tribulation.

It is possible, of course, that our author is simply writing inexactly. I am reading pretty carefully here: more carefully than some authors would necessarily be writing. But it also seems possible that, just as I think that verse 20 is a gloss meant to comment on verse 19, separating the end of the tribulation period from the coming of the son of man, so "after that tribulation" may be a gloss meant to do much the same thing, separating the days in which the son of man will come from the days of the tribulation.

I had noticed this glitch in verse 24 before, but thought little of it; I just assumed that the author was being inexact. But recently it occurred to me that, without "after that tribulation," the separation of the tribulation period from the coming is not very effective, since the natural assumption would be that "those days" should be the same days already under discussion: the days of the tribulation. If the original text was written inexactly, including this potential buffer between the tribulation and the coming, then so be it; the glossator had less work to do. I am merely floating another possibility.

Ben.

ETA:

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Joseph D. L.
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Re: A semantic glitch in Mark 13.24.

Post by Joseph D. L. »

I think it could be a reference Revelation 20, specifically the period where Satan is active, and then imprisoned for a millennium, only to be released to make one last tilt against God and his saints, before being defeated once and for all.
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Ben C. Smith
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Re: A semantic glitch in Mark 13.24.

Post by Ben C. Smith »

I note with interest that Matthew's wording is exactly in line with what we would expect Mark's to be in order to remain internally consistent:

Matthew 24.29: 29 But immediately after the tribulation of those days [εὐθέως δὲ μετὰ τὴν θλῖψιν τῶν ἡμερῶν ἐκείνων] the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken....

This formulation preserves the 1:1 correspondence between "those days" and the tribulation period that Mark demonstrates up until our little glitch in 13.24, to which this verse in Matthew is the direct parallel.
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