poetry remade into narrative? Mark again

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Beverly Devry-Smith
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Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2018 6:54 pm

poetry remade into narrative? Mark again

Post by Beverly Devry-Smith »

MARK 10:21= Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, ‘One thing you lack: go sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

-Jesus response to the rich man here is an obtuse rewording of Elisha’s advice to the widow at 2Kings 4=
-2Kings 4:1-7 = Elisha tells the widow: “Go, sell the oil (you have) and give the proceeds to creditors, and you and your son will live on what you have (left).”
• Mark 10:17-22 = “Go, sell what you have and give all to the poor, and you will…”
• see Psalm of Solomon 9:9= for the phrase: "Treasure in heaven"
• The "one thing" that the rich man "lacks" [εν σε υστερει] is a Messiah! This may be a sly reference to Psalm 22:1= "Since the Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing [ουδεν με υστερει]."

MARK 10:22= And he was depressed by that saying, and went away fretful: for he had great possessions.

-Here Mark cleverly reuses prophetic poetry from Isaiah to transform it into the details of a literal story, or one he intends for us to imagine as having happened=
-Mark 10:22a = “Being gloomy [στυγνασας] over the word he went forth grieved [λυπουμενος]…”
-Isaiah 57:17 = YHWH remarks about a hypothetical sinner: “On account of some minor petty offense I struck him and turned my face away; (yet) I was grieved [ελυπηθην], (for) he went forth gloomy [στυγνος] in his ways.”
-Mark 10:22b = “...for he was holding many possessions [κτηματα].”
-Mark 10:17 = “What must I do to inherit [κληρονομησω] eternal life?”
-Isaiah 57:13 = YHWH says “Those holding on to me shall possess [κτησονται] the land (=Israel), and inherit [κληρονομησουσι] my holy mountain.”
-Mark 10:21 = “Looking at him, Jesus loved [ηγαπησεν] him…”
-Isaiah 57:8 = “You (only) loved [ηγαπησας] those who went to bed [κοιμωμενους (=sexual euphemism)] with you.”
-Isaiah 57:11 = YHWH says: “Looking at you I will overlook (your faults)…”
-Isaiah 57:10 = “For you practiced these things [ταυτα]!”
-Mark 10:20 = “I’ve kept all these things [ταυτα]…”
-the ‘lifting away/taking up [αρας] a cross’ theme might be related to Isaiah 57:1 = “the just man has been taken up [αιρονται] and/or lifted away [ηρται], and yet his “grave shall be in peace” as opposed to what awaits the wicked.

....

There is a similar use of prophetic poetry being turned into character development in Mark's novel—note how the woman with the 'flow of blood' in chapter 5 is described using imagery from Jeremiah 30=

MARK 5:25-26= And a certain woman, who’d had an issue of blood twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians, having spent all that she had, yet to no benefit, but instead becoming rather worse.

-Mark 5:25 = “She suffered much under many medical doctors … but to no benefit.” (πολλα παθουσα υπο πολλων ιατρων … μηδεν ωϕεληθεισα)
-Jeremiah 30:13 = “For a painful state you were medically treated, but a benefit to you there is none.” (εις αλγηρον ιατρευθης, ωϕελεια σοι ουκ εστι)
-Jer 30:12, 14, 17 also mention a “wound” (πληγης) for which the Lord shall “treat” (ιατρευσω) Israel.”

The author of Mark is literally (and literarily?) making the "word" manifest.
But he intend for us to recognize these allusions?
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