AbstractThis study explored Jesus’ social interactions in Mark’s Gospel for good leadership practice in Ghana. It employed Ghanaian traditional models of leadership, which hold that leadership is interaction. Jesus is situated in his macro socio-cultural context in the study, and his leadership model is re-described using social interactionism as an entry point. The study thus analysed how leadership is conveyed through interaction by observing Jesus’ interaction as performed in Mark’s Gospel. Social interactionism analytical tools from Goffman and Mead made it plausible to re-imagine and observe Jesus. Tools like Ritual making, Frame making, Characterisation, Encounter processing, Stage making and Role-taking informed by Ghanaian traditional notion of leadership were used to analyse the four selected passages (Mark 6:30-44; 7:1-23; 7:24-30; 10:35-45). The analysis addressed and affirmed both the main hypothesis that ‘if leadership is interaction, how did Jesus interact?’ And the subsidiary hypothesis that ‘if Jesus’ social interactions convey leadership principles, how do the underlying nuances in his social interaction contribute to leadership understanding?’ The study consists of six chapters. Chapter one is the introduction, which sets out the study and reviews literature on Jesus’ leadership. It notes two gaps. First, a gap in the knowledge about the social interaction of Jesus, which could be drawn towards understanding his leadership principles. Second, a gap in filtering Jesus’ leadership through the Akan cultural lens for relevant leadership practises for the African context. With these in mind, the Ghanaian (African) traditional notion of leadership and African leadership challenges were discussed. Chapter two delineates the social interactionalism as the theoretical perspective for the study. Six analytical tools, stated earlier, were delineated from Goffman’s Interactional Order and Presentation of Self, and Mead’s Mind, Self and Society to re-imagine Jesus in the Gospel of Mark. Chapter three deals with the historical, literary and the socio-cultural settings of Mark. It establishes Jesus in his macro socio-cultural context. Chapter four analyses the four selected passages through the analytical tools of social interactionalism informed by Ghanaian (African) traditional notion of leadership. Chapter five outlines the leadership principles gleaned from interactions in the four passages as analysed in the previous chapter. Chapter six, focuses on the implication of the Jesus-performed leadership principles on leadership in Ghana (Africa). The study establishes that the reception of Jesus as the Son of God and Son of man are not mere Christological titles but more significantly, leadership categories. From the Ghanaian traditional notions of leadership, the study finds Jesus as reflecting the distinguished leadership categories of ’nyimpa’ and ‘opanyin’. In addition, over 104 Jesus-performed Interactional leadership principles gleaned from his interactions form the foundation for his Social Interactional Leadership model. These principles challenge the leadership being practiced in Ghana today. The study concludes that Jesus consciously fashioned his interactions to achieve his vision and mission and modelled his leadership to his associates (disciples), followers (crowd) and even his opponents. The study postulates that these principles when applied to Ghanaian (African) leadership will result in social transformation, and leaders will become reformers and builders.

AbstractThe emphasis on discipleship in Mark's gospel, particularly in its relationship to the cross, is well researched. Little has however been made of a parallel expression of discipleship through the extension of hospitality to Jesus. Yet, beginning with Mark 1:13 where angels table-served Jesus in the wilderness, several of His followers, including the disciples, also contribute to Jesus' mission by extending Him hospitality. After briefly reviewing the motif of table-serving God in the Old Testament and the literature of second temple Judaism, this article will examine the incidents in Mark's Gospel in which individuals express their discipleship to Jesus through hospitality. It concludes by outlining the contemporary implications of the findings to Christian witness in the African as well as non-African contexts.

AbstractThe gospel of Mark contains summaries, a 'short report' and the long report on the deliberations of the Sanhedrin. The latter consists of four fragments strung together by the redactor and put under the vinculum of the nocturnal session. Each of these passages contains information, the relevance of which is discussed in this paper.

Abstract, Abstract:, Scholarship unanimously asserts that the referent of πνεῦμα in Mark 2:8 and 8:12 is Jesus's human spirit. This study in Markan anthropology examines whether the evidence supports this verdict beyond reasonable doubt. Although a reference to Jesus's human spirit is correct, scholarship has not recognised that the divine spirit is in the background. Both external evidence from early Jewish traditions and internal evidence from Mark's Gospel point to a secondary referent of the divine spirit. The argument is that the "human spirit" is not strictly an anthropological category in Mark, but always related to the divine.

AbstractThere are impressive analogies between the NT accounts of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem (Mk 11:1-33 parr.) seen in its historical context and the unarmed protest march in Bisho, South Africa in 1992 that aimed at removing the Ciskei military ruler. People with God on their side marching through a city to challenge the unjust status quo were confronted by reactionary authorities. Although the Bible can be a stumbling block for social transformation and the advancement of a human-rights culture in South Africa, some biblical stories can contribute positively to the realization of such a culture.--D.J.H. Abstract Number: NTA41-1997-1-243

AbstractHistorical studies of Mk 16:1-8 concentrated on the issue of tradition and redaction. An approach informed by oral poetics is suggested as an escape from the stalemate achieved by the conventional alternatives. Mark's tomb stories are analysed from this perspective and suggestions are made about how early Christians might have found Mark's story about Jesus' death, burial and escape meaningful. Keeping some historical constraints in mind, possibilities underlying the narratives are explored.

AbstractThis article examines the cameo appearance of an unnamed woman in the gospel of Mark, a member of a crowd following Jesus (Mk 5:24b–34). Chronically ill and probably dying, she thinks she is inconspicuous. The text identifies her in terms of her gender, illness, covenant status, prolonged suffering and penury. Yet, a careful reading reveals her stealth, desperation, courage and eloquence − all elements of character and, it turns out, of a faith focused on Jesus. Combining both literary and canonical insights, this article shows how the story of the anonymous woman, set within the larger context of the healing of Jairus’ daughter, sheds light on the developing concepts of faith, fear, purity, discipleship, confession and family matters in Mark. The woman’s interaction with Jesus adds depth to Mark’s portrait of him and contributes to the ongoing revelation in Mark that Jesus is indeed the Son of God (Mk 1:1). Hierdie artikel ondersoek die reliëfverskyning van ’n naamlose vrou in die evangelie van Markus. Sy was deel van die skare wat Jesus gevolg het (Mark 5:24b–34). Omdat sy kronies siek en moontlik sterwend was, het sy gedink sy is onopvallend in die skare. Sy word in die teks geïdentifiseer in terme van haar geslag, siekte, verbondstatus, langdurige lyding en armoedige voorkoms. ’n Noukeurige bestudering van die gedeelte openbaar ook haar heimlikheid, desperaatheid, moed en welsprekendheid – alles eienskappe van ’n sterk karakter en, soos dit later blyk, haar gefokusde geloof op Jesus. Deur die letterkundige en kanonieke insigte te kombineer, wys die artikel hoe die verhaal van die anonieme vrou, gesien teen die agtergrond van die genesing van Jaïrus se dogtertjie, lig werp op die ontwikkelende konsepte van geloof, vrees, suiwerheid, dissipelskap, belydenis en familie-aangeleenthede in die boek Markus. Die vrou se interaksie met Jesus verskaf diepte aan Markus se uitbeelding van Hom en maak ’n bydrae tot Markus se deurgaanse openbaring dat Jesus inderdaad die Seun van God is (Mark 1:1).

AbstractThis article examines a number of comparisons and contrasts in Mark 5:21-43, stories of two different kinds of healing that took place one morning when Jesus returned to Capernaum from the region of the Gerasenes (Mk 5:1, 21). The interlocking stories of the woman with the constant issue of haemorrhage and the restoration to life of the gravely ill and then dead daughter of Jairus, a synagogue ruler, invite literary and canonical examinations. The article also briefly discusses the significance of the unnamed groups of characters in the stories and compares the complementary versions of the stories amongst Matthew, Mark and Luke. The two miracles exhibit different aspects of Jesus&apos; amazing power and contribute to the ongoing portrayal of Jesus in Mark as the Son of God (Mk 1:1).<span class=

AbstractThe gospel of Mark as ‘episodical narrative’?  The second gospel has remained controversial since Johann Gottfried Herder had classified it as a narrative.  Although most interpreters have come to realize that the gospel of Mark is a narrative text, this realization has not always been precipitated in the determination of genre or the method of interpretation.  However, if the gospel of Mark is a narrative, it ought to be scrutinized and classified as a narrative text.  Yet it is not our intention once again to classify the gospel of Mark in terms of literary history.  We are interested in something else, namely, to prove that the gospel of Mark is in fact a narrative text, and to attempt an evaluation of the narrative qualities of this text with regard to the ‘composition’ of the gospel.  Even if the question of genre is left open for the time being (see below1), it is quite possible to evaluate the fact that the gospel of Mark is essentially a narrative text, for an analysis of its composition.

AbstractThis article observes the rarely-discussed phenomenon that the Marcan paying-the-tax scene refers to tax in the singular, whilst the concluding saying uses the plural &apos;the things of Caesar and of God&apos;. The article accounts for this phenomenon by means of developing traditions. The section under the heading &apos;Mark&apos;s scene and saying about taxes (12:13-17)&apos; counters the common claim that scene and saying originated as a unit from the historical Jesus. It proposes that whilst the saying may have originated with Jesus, the scene as we have it did not. The section under the heading &apos;Social memory, orality, and a multi-referential saying?&apos; suggests some contexts that the saying about the things of Caesar addressed pre-Mark. And under the section &apos;Trauma and Mark&apos;s scene&apos; it is argued that Mark created a unit comprising scene and saying to negotiate the &apos;trauma&apos; of the 66-70 war. The unit evaluates freshly-asserted Roman power as idolatrous and blasphemous whilst simultaneously authorising the continued involvement of Jesus-believers in imperial society.

AbstractThere is only one known manuscript that contains Mark 16:1-8 plus this shorter (additional) ending alone, namely, Codex Bobiensis. This codex is one of the Old Latin manuscripts and is referred to in the critical apparatus of the Greek New Testament with the letter k. It dates to the fourth or fifth century. It continues from v. 8 to this additional ending without a break or any textcritical indication of separation or difference in origin. In order to prepare for the additional ending, this manuscript omits the Latin equivalent of the words “and they said nothing to anyone” (<em>καὶ οὐδενὶ</em>)

AbstractIrenaeus, who wrote around 180 CE, does not explicitly say that Mark was written in Rome, but he seems to assume it. Near the beginning of the third book of his work <em>Against Heresies</em>, he mentions the activity of Peter and Paul in Rome, preaching and laying the foundations of the church. Then he says, “After their departure [that is, their deaths], Mark, the disciple and interpreter of Peter, did also hand down to us in writing what had been proclaimed by Peter” (3.1.1).¹ The description of Mark as the disciple and interpreter of Peter is close to what Papias

AbstractProfessor Adela Yarbro Collins brings to bear on the text of the first Gospel the latest historical-critical perspectives, providing a full treatment of such controversial issues as the relationship of canonical Mark to the "Secret Gospel of Mark" and the text of the Gospel, including its longer endings. She situates the Gospel, with its enigmatic portrait of the misunderstood Messiah, in the context of Jewish and Greco-Roman literature of the first century. Her comments draw on her profound knowledge of apocalyptic literature as well as on the traditions of popular biography in the Greco-Roman world to illuminate the overall literary form of the Gospel. The commentary also introduces an impressive store of data on the language and style of Mark, illustrated from papyrological and epigraphical sources. Collins is in constructive dialogue with the wide range of scholarship on Mark that has been produced in the twentieth century. Her work will be foundational for Markan scholarship in the first half of the twenty-first century.

AbstractOne can identify four references to the Old Testament in Mark 12:28-34. But what are the rhetorical functions of these references? The Gospel of Mark is viewed as narrative literature: a story with its own narrative world, characterization and point of view and it is assumed that the narrator not only reports, but comments and evaluates in order to create a story which has to convince the reader by the way it is told. This paper is a text-orientated intertextual inquiry in which the fruits of the ancient and new rhetorics are used to study the argumentative structure of the story told in this pericope. It is concluded that the Old Testament references are not only references, but indeed actively form part of a new argument. These sources seem to be used as part of the persuasion strategy of pathos. When reading something already familiar to their minds, the readers may experience a feeling of agreement as they are already partly convinced of the new argument. They become part of the argumentation process and are effectively persuaded.

AbstractIn Mark 10:1-12 three references to the Old Testament are found. The question is, what are the rhetorical functions of these references? The Gospel of Mark is viewed as narrative literature: a story with its own narrative world, characterization and point of view and it is assumed that the narrator not only reports, but comments and evaluates in order to create a story which has to convince the reader by the way it is told. Much has already been done on intertextuality. This paper is mainly a text-orientated intertextual inquiry in which the fruits of the new rhetorics are used to study the argumentative structure of the story told in this pericope. By determining possible rhetorical functions of references to the Old Testament within the structure of the argument in Mark 10:1-12, I hope to reveal something about the potentiality of this text.

AbstractThis article reflects on the purpose of Mark. It takes it departure from the 'false Christs' of Mark 13 : the qei'o" a|nh|r ('divine man') contention for the refutation of which as purported by Weeden (1968), and others (RP Martin, N Perrin, L Schenke, E Schweizer) Mark wrote his gospel. It rejects the argument of Weedon, and others, that Mark wrote his gospel to refute a qei'o" a|nh|r ('divine man') heresy. It then proceeds to present what the author himself believes the most tenable reason for the writing of Mark. It concludes with the observation of Vorster, WS (1985) touching the purpose of Mark, and a final word from the author.

AbstractFollowing up on an earlier study, the thesis that Mark made use of the Gospel of Thomas is investigated further in this article. Some twenty sayings common to Mark and Thomas are examined. Among the consequences following from Mark&apos;s use of Thomas is the possibility of performing more sophisticated redaction criticism of the Gospel of Mark.

AbstractThere are a number of reasons to think that Mark used, adapted, and sought to refute elements of the collection of sayings attributed to Jesus, called the Gospel of Thomas, particularly in Mk 1-8 and 11-12. In Mark&apos;s central section principal points from his source are thoroughly revised or represented by paradistic refutations of them. The variability of the Thomasine textual tradition does not invalidate the use of Thomas as an essentially first-century text, but it does require some caution. Consideration of the sheer number of Thomas sayings used by Mark, and the evident Markan adaptation of specifically Thomasine elements, are arguments against the alternative thesis, that both drew sayings from the unknown, indefinable source, the so-called oral tradition. Knowledge of Mark may increase considerably if it is recognised that we may have at hand a late written version of one of the texts he used, the Gospel of Thomas.

AbstractThe transfiguration is found in all three Synoptic Gospels yet remains one of the more puzzling incidents in the life of Jesus. At the level of narrative, the event forms the bridge between the Galilean ministry of Jesus and his coming passion and the occasion is bracketed by warnings of his imminent death. Focusing on the Gospel of Mark, I suggest that there are elements of dramatic irony present, when we read the account of the transfiguration in the light of Jesus’ intervention in the temple. The tone is already set by Jesus’ ironical comment on ‘taking up one’s cross’. The location on the mountain, and the mention of Elijah and Moses, in that order, point back to Carmel (Elijah and the worship of the Tyrian Baal) and to Sinai (Moses and the second commandment, the prohibition of graven images). The transfiguration points forward to Jesus’ encounter in the temple and his scattering of the Tyrian Baal-Melkart coins. The radical transformation of Jesus and the responses of Peter and the other disciples in the ensuing debates, as they struggle to make sense of what is happening, furthers the ironical intent of the narrative. Reading the transfiguration through the lens of the temple events, allows us to glimpse the penumbra of the cross, which like a shadow enshrouds the mountain top.

AbstractThis paper critiques the widespread scholarly understanding of the Jesus movement as one of 'wandering radicalism', utilising anthropological research into actual peasant societies. The Sending of Messengers in Mark 6:6-56 is explored in terms of James Scott's theory of 'hidden transcripts' of resistance to domination, The Mission is seen against the background of Exodus typology as a strategic mobilization of Galilean peasant society with a clear programme in mind. The paper concludes by examining the relation of the Mission to the Journey to Jerusalem and the events which followed as a public breach of the official transcript.

AbstractMark as narrator treats the concept “Messiah” as a description of Jesus’ identity, but this alone does not suffice: the title “Son of God” is added in order to describe Jesus’ identity more fully. According to Mark it is not the Twelve but some of the other followers who praise Jesus with the title of the “Blessed One who comes in the name of the Kyrios”. “Messiah” is the title the disciples give to Jesus, but the “narrated Jesus” subordinates the title “Messiah” to the title “Kyrios”. The aim of this article is to focus on Mark as narrative. The article argues that all events are presented from one perspective, that is the perspective of Jesus. This perspective is narrated by using names of Jesus. The article focuses on these names as used in the Gospel of Mark.

AbstractThe study proposes a link between Mark’s healing stories in chapter 1 and praise songs and/ or poems performed at Apollo’s temple and other possible shrines of Asclepius in Southern Antioch. Mark chapter 1 begins with Jesus healing the demoniac (Mk 1:21–28), healing of Simon’s mother in law (Mk 1:29–31) and healing of various peoples who gathered at Simon’s mother-in-law’s house (Mk 1:32–34) and people from the region and afar (Mk 13:39). The chapter finishes with the controversial healing of the leper (1:40–45). Assuming that Mark is located in Southern Antioch, with analogies from Zulu praise poems, this study reread Mark’s healing stories alongside Greek aretalogies with a view to reveal the function and mood around which the stories were told and/or performed. As hypothesis, Mark’s healing stories exudes similar characteristics as Greek aretalogies, praising the benefactor (Jesus) vis-à-vis known healers such as Apollo and Asclepius.

AbstractGiven that the Bible is among the main sources of knowledge about the early church, how do we know how the early Christian communities understood the memory of Jesus within their context? In this study I use the experience of violence in Zimbabwe as analogy to illustrate how Mark 3:22-35 might have functioned. I argue that the way victims of violence in Zimbabwe heard these stories, told in their own context of political violence, provides an analogy that relates directly to how the Markan community used these stories as collective memory.

AbstractIn her recent book, The Case for Mark Composed in Performance (2012), Antoinette Wire proposes that Mark's gospel was composed of accounts from people who retold Jesus' story over the decades, and not from scattered fragments by a single man. It seems that the first-century Jesus followers were well-acquainted with the death and resurrection story, because all four gospel traditions cover it, albeit with different emphases. Most previous scholarly discussions focused on the context, development, and oral circulation of the story (cf. Aitken 2004, 11). In my view, while these approaches are worthwhile, they do not address what I believe is the fundamental question, namely, how this story became a community story. In this article I use the cultural trauma theory to raise a different set of questions. Cultural trauma theory explores processes through which a story moves from being a particular incident to a point whereby it is represented as a collective trauma story. The theory focuses on social processes used to make listeners feel that they were attacked in a similar way. I adopted this theory after realising that Jesus' story began as a single event among many other similar stories. Thus, using cultural trauma theory, I explore how Jesus' tragic event became an experience that resonated with, or was felt as replicating, the experiences of many first-century Jesus followers.

AbstractThis study traces the manner in which the evangelist Mark presents Jesus as a healer. While this is the primary focus, I am also interested, from an identity perspective, in why Mark is keen to present Jesus as the best physician. Healers during the 1st century were varied. Cities had professional healers with great knowledge of the Greek Hippocratic tradition. The entire empire had famous temples of Asclepius and Apollo. Common people had diverse knowledge about various illnesses with remedies varying from herbs to exorcisms. Amidst all this and located in southern Syria in the northern regions of Galilee, Mark presents Jesus as a healer. The study concludes that Mark presents Jesus as an efficient healer with great power and authority. Though Mark is mute regarding other healers such as Asclepius and Apollo, near whose temples patients would sleep for days waiting for healing, he wants to remind the adherents of Jesus’ movement that they are following a great physician. A few selected stories from Mark’s gospel illustrate this argument.

Abstract, Abstract:, This article uses ritual healing theory to explore the meaning and function of healing rituals performed by Jesus, the Galilean healer, and to raise alarm concerning some healing rituals found in a number of African Pentecostal churches. Using ritual healing theory, a subdivision of the discipline of social anthropology, the study argues that healing rituals are communicative practices that function to reveal the contradictions (unhealthy to healthy; possessed to normal) within a patient's life and to symbolically overturn the existing condition. The study discovers that the lack of supposed contradiction in some rituals by African Pentecostal healers, evident in rituals such as kissing or feeding the congregants grass or snakes, makes it imperative to ask and critique the efficacy of such healing rituals. The article concludes with an exegetical section on the healing rituals found in Mark 1, with the intention to reveal the meaning and efficacy of each healing ritual.

AbstractThrough interacting with the sick, did Jesus contract infectious diseases or did he take preventive herbs to avoid them? During biblical times, infectious diseases were fatal. Diarrhoea, cough, pneumonia and skin diseases would quickly spread across villages or cities. Underscoring the seriousness with which prevention of infectious diseases was taken, 213 of the 613 biblical commandments concern hygiene. This study has two tasks: firstly, exploring the various techniques undertaken to avoid infectious diseases by looking at daily preventive hygienic activities. Secondly, given that Jesus was always in the company of sick crowds, the study re-describes Mark 1:4–45, where Jesus, after healing the leper, was forbidden from entering the city as indicative of fear against infectious diseases. Furthermore, the story (Mk 3:7–12) whereby Jesus requested a boat to create a gap between himself and the people is plausible from the perspective of infectious diseases.

AbstractThe recent global economic crisis left millions of people destitute without formal work and further alienated the poor from the rich. As a remedy, modern Neoliberalism proposes that the poor must hope and steadily work their way up the economic ladder. What is the solution to such unbridgeable social and economic chasm? This article used the contemporary situation of economic inequality to imagine events during the first century, during Jesus’ time, whereby the rich increasingly amassed wealth to the disadvantage of the poor majority. In this article, Mark 9:33–42 and 10:10–16 was used to explore how Jesus developed an alternative economic system − one that contrasted itself in every respect from that of the hierarchical and patriarchal Roman Empire. This article argued that Jesus formed communities that directly responded to the economic challenges faced by the landless and the homeless majority by creating an alternative economy based on love and hospitality. This was done by proposing that Mark 9:33–42 and 10:2–16 are amongst the passages where the two rival economies were contrasted by way of two different household economies. Firstly, the economic system outside the house that typified the hierarchical Roman economy, and secondly, the economic system inside the house that referred to Jesus’ alternative system whereby he taught his disciples to welcome the homeless, the landless and the poor. Before developing this further, the plausible social context of the stories was attended to.

AbstractThis book takes the established fields of orality, performance, and first-century Christian healthcare studies further by combining analogues of praise performances to Apollo, Asclepius, and those from the Dondo people of South Eastern Zimbabwe to propose that Jesus's healing stories in Mark's Gospel are praise-giving narratives to Jesus as the best folk healer within the region of Capernaum. The book argues that the memory of Jesus as the folk healer from Capernaum survived and possibly functioned in similar contexts of praise-giving within early Christian households. The book goes through each healing story in Mark's Gospel and imaginatively listens to it through the ears of analogue from praise-giving given to Greek healers/heroes and similar practices among the Dondo people. The power, completeness, and effectiveness in which Jesus healed each of the mentioned conditions provoke praise-giving from the listeners to the best folk healer in the village. In each instance, while Mark is calling for attention to the new healer, more so, he is raving praise-giving.

AbstractViolence shutters a community's ability to survive. By using violence in Zimbabwe as analogy, this book explores, using various theories such as cultural trauma, historical critical methods, narrative approaches and orality, to establish how the memory of the exorcism stories functioned within Mark's community. The rhetoric of violence expressed from the stories is read in view of the possible context of Mark's community around AD70 to suggest the oral function of the stories. The book suggests that within a context of violence, the exorcism stories functioned as cultural trauma meaning making narratives that provided the mythical language from which the community articulated its suffering as a shared story

AbstractReadings of Jesus&apos; speech in Mark 12:1-11 often focus on its situation within the temple controversy episodes (Mark 11:15-12:37) and understand it at the level of the depicted rhetoric of Jesus in conflict with Jewish leaders. This article argues that, although it does function at one level as polemic, a significant aspect of the speech&apos;s persuasiveness lies in the effect created at a level outside the literary construct. The speech, disconnected to an extent from the narrative argument about authority, addresses crucial Markan topics-the rejection and reinstatement of a beloved son-which cannot be known to the narrative figures. As Mark&apos;s readers/hearers perceive this incongruity, they could reasonably be expected to hear Jesus&apos; voice projected past the temple scene to their time and place.

AbstractMark's gospel displays features characteristic of the oral tradition and of its interplay with a literate culture. This environment affects the notion of resurrection as it is depicted in the gospel. Introduced into Judaism relatively late, the concept of being 'raised from among the dead' had various connotations, was widely the subject of public debate, and is never clearly defined either in Paul's letters or in Mark's gospel. The empty tomb story in Mark is based in oral tradition, is based on eye-witness accounts, and has a core of historicity. After some years of silence, and after accusations about Jesus' death began to be circulated, the women who were at the tomb were prompted to recall their experience. Mark has pared the story down to a minimum of detail, emphasising the fear in the women's minds and reflecting the uncertainty in his own. Mark has left it to his audience to imagine for themselves the implications of Jesus' having been raised.

AbstractThis study explores the connection between dominant psychological type preferences and reader interpretations of biblical texts. Working in type-alike groups (dominant sensing, dominant intuition, dominant feeling and dominant thinking), a group of 40 Anglican clergy (20 curates and 20 training incumbents) were invited to employ their strongest function to engage conversation between Mark’s account of Jesus sending out the disciples (Mk 6: 6b–16) and the experience of ministry in today’s world. The data supported the hermeneutical theory proposed by the SIFT approach to biblical interpretation and liturgical preaching by demonstrating the four clear and distinctive voices of sensing, intuition, feeling and thinking.

AbstractThe Marcan account of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, cursing the fig tree and overturning the tables of the money changers in the temple provides a classic scriptural reference point for a Christian discussion of conflict. Drawing on psychological type theory and on the reader perspective proposed by the SIFT (sensing, intuition, feeling and thinking) approach to biblical hermeneutics and liturgical preaching, this study tests the theory that different psychological types will interpret this classic passage differently. Data collected in two residential programmes concerned with Christianity and conflict from type-aware participants confirmed characteristic differences between the approaches of sensing types and intuitive types and between the approaches of thinking types and feeling types.

Abstract, Abstract:, A pivotal issue in the synoptic accounts of the baptism of Jesus concerns the presence or absence of John the Baptiser in the event. The Gospel of Mark makes clear that John was present, while the Gospel of Luke removes John from the scene, altogether. The Gospel of Matthew inclines to follow the Markan account, while the Gospel of John inclines to follow that of Luke. The question is: was John present and then removed from the story for theological reasons, or was he absent and then introduced into the scene for similar reasons? This article examines these issues in the context of ritual praxis and ritual theory and suggests that the account found in Luke follows the Jewish ritual of full immersion with no attending presence of a “baptiser.” The article examines the Jewish rites of full immersion done mainly for purifying purposes, and follows additional accounts of the activity of John the Baptist in connection with the baptism of Jesus.

AbstractEarly Christian writings provide little information about the Jesus movement in Galilee, but the study of the pre-Synoptic-, and especially the pre-Markan collections, can shed some light on this important period of the beginnings of Christianity. This essay starts by reconstructing the pre-Markan collection of Galilean controversies (Mk 2:1-3:6) and argues that its composition could have taken place in Galilee. These controversies reflect a process of construction of group identity whose main traits can be identified with the aid of social identity and cultural memory studies. This process can also be placed in the historical context of the emergence of sectarian groups within Second Temple Judaism. The contention of this enquiry is that the pre-Markan collection of the Galilean controversies can provide valuable information about the first disciples of Jesus in Galilee.

Abstract, Explanations for why the Markan stories of Jairus’ daughter/haemorrhaging woman appear in an intercalation are dissatisfactory, and do not show how the stories are cocommentative. The article demonstrates that the intercalation is narratomimetic because both stories and text are tactile; there is correlation between what the text does and the stories relate. The narrative hints that the girl was dead and that the girl was asleep. The key to interpret the outer story is accepting that ambiguity. The focus is on whether the girl was dead or asleep. It is argued that the ambiguity is comic. In summary, the focus of the outer story is the question “was she or wasn’t she?” The inner story about the haemorrhaging woman is analysed to show ambiguity between a healing touch and a sexual touch. Whether Jesus’ mantle or body were touched, and how it/they were touched are comically ambiguous. The thrust of the inner story is “did she or didn’t she?” The intercalation writes an interplay of “was she or wasn’t she” and “did she or didn’t she?” The intercalation is thus a comic counterbalance. Comedy fills the gap between the stories, and arises at the textual edge of this Markan intercalation.

AbstractTo address the puzzle of the naked young man story in the Gospel of Mark, the article approaches this text through its first verb, συνακολουθέω. It suggests that following/discipleship is a subtext. Seeming to invoke verisimilitude, the subtext is shown to be self-referential and metalinguistic. "Following" is a fictional index that opens up a gap, creates a time warp, and violates textual space. The text's materiality upsets the reader. The narrato-semiotic analysis leads to an understanding of this text as comedy. It is humorous metalanguage that halts the reader's progress and abandons denotative signification. The young man mimics the disciples, and the text mimics itself and the subtext. The young man text assumes the subtext's role as hermeneutic key.

AbstractThe text-critical situation of Mark 9:38 is very complicated. This complex situation already becomes evident in the different readings of the critical editions. While there is almost no variation in the first part of the verse, the critical editions offer four different readings in the last part of it. So there is until now no consensus at all. The question remains which text appears to be the more original one. Several scholars - such as Vaganay, Duplacy, Amphoux, and others - in search of the original text of Mark - opt for a so called Western text, the main stream still prefers the Neutral text of Westcott and Hort. A text-critical analysis of Mark 9:38 may provide an answer to this question.

AbstractIn this monograph, MacEwen considers evidence for the most neglected scholarly solution to the Synoptic Problem, namely the Matthean Posteriority Hypothesis (MPH). According to this theory, Mark wrote first, Luke made use of Mark, and Matthew made use of both Mark and Luke. The book starts with a very good introduction (chapter 1), in which the need, purpose, content and contribution of the study are clearly stated. The second part of the introduction concisely surveys the history of scholarship on the MPH. The meat of the publication appears in only two chapters. Chapter 2 considers arguments for the MPH that may be added to those already outlined by previous scholars. Chapter 3 attempts to refute some of the challenges brought against the MPH by proponents of competing solutions. The conclusion (chapter 4) summarises the content of the book, evaluates the MPH and offers suggestions for further research.

AbstractThis article examines the reason behind the charge to secrecy imposed by Jesus on the leper in Mark 1:40–45, in the context of African experience, the implications of the meaning conveyed and the challenges posed on the church and the gospel enterprise in Africa. The ministry of Jesus could have been a platform for conflicts, self-glorification, hero worship and exploitation. Jesus resisted the temptation in those directions. The charge to silence in African context reveals the virtue of silence which is subsumed in integrity, modesty and character (trust and accountability). It calls the attention of the followers of Jesus to the worthiness of emulating such a lifestyle as a pattern for service to God and humanity. The textual and historical exegetical methodology is adopted in this research.

AbstractThis book considers Jesus’ first appearance and activity in Galilee and affirms that Mk. 1:21–28 has a programmatic character for the Gospel of Mark.

AbstractThis article attempts to provide a survey of the most influential research done on Mark&apos;s Jesus during the twentieth century. Since views on Mark&apos;s Jesus are closely related to matters such as method, the Gospel&apos;s supposed background and its text type, the relationship between the various views and these factors are pointed out. Lastly a few conclusions are drawn as to the direction in which the research seems to have moved.

AbstractThe author focuses on the historically-reliable gospel pericopes in which a woman is the lead character. She argues that these women provide the complete gospel − Jesus teaches, heals, preaches and is anointed in the context of female-based stories and, of course, the women take him from conception to resurrection. Jackson argues, not only from an analysis of the texts themselves, but also from her personal experiences in the Middle East and Africa.

AbstractExtracted from text ... HTS 61(4) 2005 1445 Labahn, M &amp; Schmidt, A (eds) 2001 - Jesus, Mark and Q: The teaching of Jesus and its earliest records Publisher: Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press. 296 Pages. Price: Unknown Reviewer: Dr M M Jacobs (University of South Africa) Jesus, Mark and Q consists of papers that were read at the first two New Testament Seminars of the European Association for Biblical Studies in 1998 and 1999. Part One (introduced by Schmidt) deals with the relation between Mark and Q, and Part Two (with an introduction by Labahn) with the historical Jesus in new research. While some ..

AbstractWhen Greco-Roman deities appeared among human beings in anthropomorphic shapes, their outward form and gait soon revealed their true identity. By contrast, the Markan Jesus has no ‘inescapably divine’ demeanour. His unassuming presence, his hurried walk and his interactions with people of low public standing and honour place a constant question mark over his identity. Paradoxically, his purposeful walk in obscurity, which ends on the cross, reveals his true character as the suffering Son of God who ransoms his life for many. The risen Jesus, whose divine nature Mark does not express in terms of a glorified body, continues his enigmatic walk before his disciples en route to Galilee.

AbstractAmidst contemporary culture’s obsession with superheroes as the basis of the new mythologies of our day, and numerous religious communities’ ‘sterilized’ version of Jesus, the church has to rediscover the paradoxical life and teachings of Jesus, as narrated in the Gospel of Mark. Within the honour-and-shame-based Mediterranean culture, within which Mark was written, Jesus’ atypical demeanour and his radical teachings on self-sacrifice, coupled with his shameful death, were perplexing. His opponents did not find any proof in his scandalous teachings and inglorious outward appearance to confirm his messianic claims. In terms of the present obsession with superheroes, Jesus was never in a costume in public. He did not take on a temporary public persona in a staged drama en route to the cross. At all times, Jesus was the slave-like Son of God who came to serve and lay down his own life as a ransom for many (Mk 10:45). The crucified Jesus, stripped of all honour and godforsaken, is the paradoxical sign and physical embodiment of the kingdom of God. The risen Jesus is no different. He still is who he is. This largely undiscovered Jesus of Mark’s Gospel must capture the imagination of the church all over again, the kind of imagination that elicits admiration, amazement and life-change. Only when the church begins to embody the kenotic route of Jesus that it will become clear to her and others that she, in fact, possesses paradoxical ‘superpowers’ – the self-sacrificing kind.

AbstractThe author traces the course of his engagements with various facets of Mark's Gospel and the history of its interpretation (ancient and modern) with reference to his residences in Ireland and continental Europe, Africa, and the USA during the past thirty-five years.--D.J.H. Abstract Number: NTA46-2002-2-921

AbstractThis article is a social scientific reading of James and John’s request for seats of honour in Mark 10:35–42. It argues that when James and John made such a request they misunderstood the meaning of discipleship. The argument is established by looking at the literature review on Mark 10:35–42. Discipleship as presented in Mark is described to understand the type of discipleship demanded by Jesus. The discipleship misconceptions are also outlined in detail. The purpose here is to demonstrate that the disciples of Jesus, James and John, in Mark 10:35–42 misunderstood the meaning of discipleship as presented in Mark. The article makes a contribution to the ongoing research on New Testament scholarship by studying Mark 10:35–42 through a social scientific criticism.

AbstractThis article discusses the Son of Man as Minister and Life giver in Mk 10.45. The Son of Man as Minister is the servant who did not come on earth to be ministered to but to minister to others. The Son of Man as the Life giver is the servant who pays a price for the sake of many sinners in the world. The life, crucifixion, death, and resurrection of the Son of Man become that price for the release of those who are enslaved by sin. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that these aspects of the Son of Man – Minister and Life giver – are aspects of servant leadership.

AbstractThe first part of this investigation of the Gospels of Mark and John explains how the textual forms of these Gospels should be interpreted from a literary perspective, as well as the theory and rhetoric of narrative texts: the NT as literature, Mark and John as narratives, and narration and reading of Mark and John. The second part is a historical exposition of the two Gospels from a sociological angle: the meaning of historical events, Jesus of Nazareth, Jesus reveals himself as the suffering Son of Man (Mark), and Jesus reveals himself as the Son of God (John). The authors teach at the University of South Africa. Abstract Number: NTA33-1989-2

Abstract[Due to the popularity of the name Marcus, C. Clifton Black has argued that there is no necessary identity between the John Mark of the book of Acts (12:12, 25; 13:5, 13; 15:37-39) with the Mark(s) found in the Pauline corpus (Col 4:10; Phlm 24; 2 Tim 4:11), the first epistle of Peter (1 Pet 5:13) or the writings of Papias of Hierapolis (cf. Eusebius, Hist. eccl. 3.39.15). On the contrary, this paper will propose that the author of Luke-Acts was not only aware of Mark's connection with Paul and Barnabas, but also critically interacted with the developing traditions about the evangelist Mark. The positive and negative aspects of the literary characterization of John Mark may be a clue to the ambivalent reception of Mark's gospel in Luke-Acts.]

AbstractThis article investigated whether Mark 5:25–34 proposes a radical discontinuity with the Jewish purity codes and subsequently, holds drastic liberating implications for women as far as access to the temple is concerned and more existentially speaking, access to Yahweh. It determined whether Leviticus speaks about women in such an androcentric and exclusive manner and whether Jewish culture is indeed so discriminating. This article argued that Mark 5:25–34 does indeed radically turn the Jewish purity codes upside down and that the Jesus movement proclaims a drastic liberation for women from social marginalisation. However, the original meaning of the text in Leviticus should not be viewed so negatively. The dreadful consequences of the exile and the destruction of the temple lead to the idea amongst the orthodox rabbi’s that the purity codes should be maintained in a very strict way. These codes were thought to ensure that the holiness of Yahweh would manifest in the social sphere, the people of Yahweh would be blessed and a catastrophe of these immense proportions would be avoided in future. Unfortunately, this lead to the degeneration of the cult, that became exclusive as many people were deprived from the presence of Yahweh. The author of the Gospel according to Mark is reacting to this and clearly voices his criticism against this marginalisation.

AbstractThe goal of this article is to consider the literary-theological function of the hardening of the disciples' hearts in Mark 8:14-21. The disciples are remarkably characterised by faithlessness, which is associated with hardness of their hearts. Although Mark uses the same language, 'hardness of heart', at different points in his Gospel to describe both Jesus' opponents and the disciples, he nevertheless retains a distinction between the two groups. With regard to the opponents' unbelief, the language means a divine judgement for their unbelieving rejection (cf. Mark 3:5-6). By contrast, when the language is used in relation to the disciples, it warns them (or the Markan readers) to beware of falling into the opponents' unbelieving attitudes (6:52; 8:17-18).

AbstractThe goal of this article is to look at the literary-theological function of the Jewish religious leaders hardening in Mark 3:1-6. In this text, the concept of "hardness of heart" is used in order to indicate their continued unbelief and rejection. The hardening may also be signaling their presumed end, namely divine judgment (cf. 12:1-2). Although Jesus proclaims the arrival of the kingdom in his authoritative teaching and miracles, the Jewish religious leaders refuse to Jesus' message, as Pharaoh, whose heart is hardened, refuses to obey God's commend. Just as his hardening and rejection allows the plagues to be multiplied as a great judgment (Ex. 7:3) and the catastrophe at the sea (Ex. 14:4, 8, 14), the Jewish religious leaders' unbelieving rejection by their hardening will allow God's judgment. Thus, with regard to the Jewish religious leaders, the concept of "hardness of heart" identifies their unbelief and hostility. It is not simply innocent incomprehension, but an intended rejection.

AbstractThe intent of this essay is to analyze Mark 1 : 1, 9-13 in order to elucidate the unique status of Jesus as the divine Messiah. An exegetical and theological examination of these verses indicates that with the advent of the Redeemer, God has initiated a new spiritual beginning for humanity. As the Son of God, Jesus enjoys a special and intimate relationship with the Father. Jesus is also fully and absolutely equal to the Father and the Spirit. Furthermore, Jesus, as the ideal Israelite and representative of the human race, completely devoted Himself to do the Father&apos;s will, despite the fact that it would eventually cost the Messiah His own life. Even repeated attacks from Satan and the humiliation of the divine Saviour on the cross did not deter Him from fulfilling His preordained mission. In every episode, the Son, who enjoyed the Father&apos;s approval and the Spirit&apos;s abiding presence, proved Himself to be

AbstractThe most contested textual variant in Mark 1:40-45 is whether Jesus was filled with compassion for the leper (σπλαγχνισθείς) or with anger (όργισθείς). Using quantitative narrative analysis (QNA), the article addresses the issue of the <span class=

AbstractThis article approaches the issue of Matthew&apos;s theological context by examining Matthew&apos;s use of Mark, including through redaction and supplementation, in Matthew 1-4. This is undertaken in two parts: Matthew 1-2, which is largely additional material, and Matthew 3-4, followed by a concluding assessment. Issues addressed or alluded to in these chapters frequently find resonance in the remainder of Matthew&apos;s gospel and so give important clues about Matthew&apos;s concerns and their relevance for understanding its context. Such issues include the importance of messiahship; continuity with Israel, but also with John the Baptist and the Church; defence against slander; heightened christological claims; soteriology; Gentile mission; the status of Torah; and Jesus as judge to come. The article suggests a location within a Jewish religious context with a Jewish self-understanding, separate from the synagogue, but claiming to belong where its opponents would claim it did not; and a Christian tradition where the approach of &apos;Q&apos; to Torah is upheld in contrast to Mark&apos;s, while embracing and expanding Mark&apos;s Christology and restoring the common understanding of Gentile mission as a post- Easter phenomenon.

AbstractAfter reflecting on women's experience in Africa, the article proposes the story of Jesus and the woman with the flow of blood in Mk 5:25-34 as a biblical paradigm for women's liberation in an African Christian context. What changed the woman's life were her initiatives proceeding from faith and Jesus' positive response.--D.J.H. Abstract Number: NTA42-1998-3-1689

AbstractThe confession in Mark 14:62 seems to be the most ,comprehensive Christological compendium of a very early Christian community. This passage reveals Jesus' identity as the Christ, Son of God and Son of man. It has a performative meaning that operates not only for Jesus' earthly life and death, but also for his resurrection and parousia: "You will see" (Mark 14:62b). Some theologians portray Jesus Christ as Ancestor or African King. The purpose of this study is to show how far the African concepts of "ancestor" and "king" can be relevant and legitimate in the light of the Christology of Mark 14:62.

AbstractAfter demonstrating that scripture&apos;s truth has always to be negotiated in terms of changing contexts, and after demonstrating that this is precisely what the church has already done with regard to remarriage, this essay argues that the church&apos;s teaching on marriage as an event is an increasingly irrelevant Victorian construct, not the originary will of God; and is maintained only by disregard - disregard of the hermeneutical nature of scripture&apos;s teachings on marriage, disregard of the process-understanding of marriage which has always dominated Africa and which is increasingly dominating global culture as a whole, and disregard of the church&apos;s teachings, even by active and committed members of the church. The essay argues that the hermeneutical nature of the Bible&apos;s teaching on this subject, as well as the church&apos;s own approach to remarriage, gives the church the responsibility to frame a Christian process-understanding of marriage which will better enable people to build stable, lifelong unions.

AbstractThe aim of this article is to propose a methodological approach to a theoretically-founded exegesis of Mark 2 : 18-22.  Theoretically-founded exegesis is an explication of the language and structure of a given text against its socio-cultural and historical background in order to give the reader a better understanding of the text.

AbstractThesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2016.

AbstractThis article presents a narratological reading of the Gospel of Mark with special attention given to the role, function and rhetorical impact of point of view. It is argued that through the use of ‘witnesses’ ranging from the omniscient narrator, to the character God, to the Old Testament Scriptures, the author of Mark presents a point of view that his implied reader would find difficult to counter. In addition to this, the article demonstrates that the motifs of allegiance, misunderstanding and opposition in the Second Gospel are almost entirely confined to the adoption or rejection of the point of view being advocated for by the author of Mark. In the end, it is shown that only in the death of Jesus on the cross and the subsequent ‘centurion’s confession’ are the motifs resolved and is the point of view of Mark accepted by a human character.

AbstractThis article argues that the pre-Markan passion narrative ended with a starkly unadorned account of the empty tomb, an account which raises as many questions about Jesus’s fate as it does answers. Employing tradition and redaction criticism, I reveal that the pre-Markan empty tomb account contained no mention of an angel, Jesus’s resurrection, or Galilean appearances. Rather, it straightforwardly de-scribed the women’s coming to the tomb, finding the tomb empty, and fleeing from the tomb in terror and silence. The logic of the pre-Markan ending discloses that the women fled because they naturally assumed grave robbery and feared being implicated in this capital crime. Throughout this article, I interact with the views of Sakkie Spangenberg, Hansie Wolmarans, Andries van Aarde and Julian Müller, four prominent South African scholars who have commented on the empty tomb narrative.

AbstractMark made the Roman centurion (see 15:39) a faithful representative of Gentile Christianity, which saw the significance of Jesus as the Son of God revealed par excellence in thedrama of the cross. Through a theology of the cross, Mark created a universal Christology not only relevant for the Roman church of his day but still meaningful for local churches in Africa.--D.J.H. Abstract Number: NTA31-1987-1-149

AbstractThe article first offers a detailed exegesis of Mk 1:21-28 with reference to its context, form and structure, content, and message. Then it describes the case of the demon-possession and exorcism of a woman named "Esther" in Tanzania in 1982, and compares this case to what is depicted in Mk 1:21-28.--D.J.H. Abstract Number: NTA47-2003-1-201

AbstractThe story of blind Bartimaeus (Mk 10:46-52) not only displays traits that are unusual for a synoptic healing miracle, it also shows almost all features of a call story. The genesis of the narration can account for this combination of two genres: a story about the call of the blind beggar Bartimaeus has been expanded with a story about the healing of the blind man, in which Jesus focusses attention on his faith. Next, the crowd has been introduced to have Bartimaeus’ faith stand out more strongly, and finally, Mark has slightly adapted the pericope to fit it into his Gospel. The editorial contribution of the evangelist is to be found mainly in his contextualizing of the scene. He has placed it at the end of the section 8:27-10:52, which deals with Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem, that is, to suffering and death; Bartimaeus is called by Jesus to follow him on this way. Mark has also given significance to the story by putting Bartimaeus in contrast to some other characters, especially to Peter, James and John as the three foremost disciples. This contrast may imply some criticism of leadership in the Markan community.

AbstractThis paper is a report, and a reflection, on a research project undertaken in the School of Religion and Theology at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg.1 For the project, I collected responses to readings of Mark 4:35-41 from first-year students. The readings I chose for their response were commentaries by scholars working within the tradition of the historical critical methods of Biblical Studies. This paper will begin with a discussion of my methodology in the investigation, especially the privileged position given to the voices of the students or ordinary readers in the presentation of the data. This will be followed by examples from my data which illustrate some of the students&apos; reception of the historical critical readings of the Bible, which are the basic assumptions that underpin critical academic biblical hermeneutics. In particular this paper will highlight the ways in which they find that academic biblical hermeneutics is an alien discourse which questions the discourses or socialisation which the students bring with them from their families and churches. This paper will then reflect on the students&apos; readings and their questions to some of the assumptions of biblical hermeneutics and the privileging of the voice of scholarship within the discourse of biblical interpretation.

AbstractFollowing the work of C.H. Dodd (1952) and R.B. Hays (1989), it is often assumed that the task of explaining scriptural quotations in the NT is to look beyond superficial discrepancies and discover sophisticated patterns or frameworks of meaning. Those who argue that the rhetorical purposes of the NT authors should take priority over what the text once meant in its ancient context are said to be blind to this level of sophistication, which often involves evoking texts at some distance from the quoted text. In this article, I examine two quotations (Isa 40:3; 52:5) where scholars have argued that the meaning and function of the texts (in Mark 1:2-3 and Rom 2:24 respectively) depends on their ability to evoke a wider Isaian framework. I first establish that the arguments for Isa 40:3 in Mark 1:2-3 are very much stronger than the arguments for Isa 52:5 in Rom 2:24. I then show that there are significant counter-arguments to the case for Isa 40:3 in Mark 1:2-3, which are not necessarily fatal but do raise serious questions. I conclude that the much weaker case of Isa 52:5 in Rom 2:24 can safely be dismissed.

AbstractLe présent essai a comme objectif de montrer, grâce à une analyse de Mc 1,1-15 selon la technique structurelle de Marc Girard, que Mc 1,12-13 n’évoque pas une situation édénique, que le Satan du verset 13 représente les scribes et/ou les pharisiens et que, dans ce même verset, les bêtes représentent les pécheurs alors que les ἄγγελοι représentent des apôtres

AbstractGrâce a l'analyse structurelle et a l'intertextualite, l'A. souhaite montrer que l'episode peut etre compris comme une deploration portant sur l'inconsistance doctrinale du judaisme plutot que sur la simple injustice sociale.

AbstractThe well-known passage Mark 4:1-34 is no stranger to New Testament scientific scrutiny, not to even mention the hotly debated phrases in Mark 4:10-12. To avoid repetition, the aim with this article is to determine the extent of the impact the Isaiah 6:9-10 citation in Mark 4:12 might have had on the interpretation and understanding of Mark 4:1-34 and the Gospel as a whole. The theory is that the citation in Mark 4:12, especially within Mark 4:1-34, is foundational for understanding the Markan gospel as a &apos;parable&apos;. Moreover, the redactional inclusion of the concept of &apos;the Twelve&apos; will prove to be a vital contribution in understanding the Markan gospel as a &apos;parable&apos;. Arguing this theory will include evaluating the parable theory in Mark 4:10-12, followed by determining the interpretative effect the explicit citation in Mark 4:12 had on Mark 4:10-12 and its larger literary context (Mk. 4:1-34). This will be followed by concluding remarks and suggestions.

AbstractThis article attempts to reconstruct the nature and effect of an ideological faith through a careful analysis of the Markan narrative. Originally a sermon, the article argues that the question of Jesus’ identity is the leading question in the gospel. The misunderstanding of those closest to Him – the disciples – provides interesting clues into self-interested faith. The article ends with the question of how the resurrected Christ can indeed deconstruct ideology and commission the disciples anew. In the footnotes, a commentary on the South African situation is provided.

AbstractThe theme of Jesus and the forgiveness of sin has always been a contentious one within historical Jesus research. This article gives a brief overview of the debate on the authenticity of various forgiveness logia in the Jesus tradition, as well as the different criteria that have been used in the past in an attempt to validate them. It focuses on two specific forgiveness logia in the Markan tradition (2:1-12, 3:20-35) in order to assess whether the manner in which they have been crafted as chreia can provide insight into how the άφίημι logia of Jesus have been preserved in the pre-Markan tradition.

AbstractWhat are the origin and source, as well as the meaning of the term Son of man as it appears in Mark? Is the background of the term to be found in the Old Testament, in Ezekiel and Daniel 7, or in the apocalyptic figure presented in 1 Enoch 47–71 and 4 Ezra 13? What does the intertextual reference of the term imply? Did the historical Jesus use the term as a reference to himself or to a divine (extraterrestrial) deliverer he believed was coming to save the Jewish people, or is the term a post-Easter title applied retrospectively by the Gospel writer upon the pre-Easter Jesus? Did Jesus use the title as a self-designation, or did he use it in a self-effacing way to refer to himself as a mortal in contrast with God? Did he use the title as a generic designation for all humankind? What is the essence of the Gospel writer’s usage of the term? These questions are discussed in terms of the passages where Mark utilises the term.

AbstractMany scholars accept the existence of Q, a lost source that Luke and Matthew utilised alongside Mark. Q and Mark are then seen as the oldest written sources of Jesus&apos; message and meaning. In a first article, the question was asked as to the contents of the worldview of Q. In this article the question is asked, what is the worldview underlying Mark and in what way do they agree and / or differ? The question is important because it leads to the hypothesis that a Jewish apocalyptic background underlies both sources although with significant differences.

AbstractThis article asks several questions: What is distinctive about Mark&apos;s description about the rending of the curtain in the Jerusalem Temple during Jesus&apos; crucifixion?; What is his rhetorical strategy in doing so?; What role does the temple play in Jewish religion? What role does the Temple play in Jesus&apos; ministry and message?; and What is the context of the narrative about the torn temple curtain? The conclusion is that Mark utilises the description to demonstrate God&apos;s judgement on the worship at the temple, but at the same time illustrates how the way between heaven and earth is opened at the moment of the death of God&apos;s Son. Markus se onderskeidende beskrywing van die geskeurde tempelgordyn. Verskeie vrae kom in hierdie artikel aan die bod: Wat is onderskeidend in Markus se beskrywing van die gordyn in die Jerusalemtempel wat tydens Jesus se kruisiging skeur?; Wat is die evangelis se retoriese strategie?; Watter rol speel die tempel in Joodse godsdiens?; Watter rol speel dit in Jesus se bediening en boodskap?; en Wat is die konteks vir die narratief binne die Evangelie oor die gordyn wat skeur? Die gevolgtrekking is dat Markus die beskrywing benut om God se oordeel oor die tempel te demonstreer, maar terselfdertyd illustreer dit ook hoe die weg tussen hemel en aarde oopgebreek word in die oomblikke toe God se Seun sterf.

AbstractThe Gospel of Mark is more than a Vita of Jesus; Jesus and his message cannot be understood apart from the worldview against which the Gospel functions and that determines the narratives and discourses in the Gospel. If this worldview is apocalyptic, as suggested in the article, it has consequences for the way the different discourses and narratives are interpreted. An attempt is made to illustrate the main points in the narrative of Mark in terms of its apocalyptic definiteness.

AbstractThis book is based on the author’s doctoral dissertation which was submitted in 2002 at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome under the supervision of Prof Klemens Stock. It investigates whether the two love commandments in Mark 12:28-34 retain their original OT meaning, as found in Deut 6:4-5 and Lev 19:18, or whether they acquire a specific Markan enrichment.<br />

AbstractAlthough Mk 6:45-52 belongs formally to magical meteorology, it does bear a historical kernel since rarely do traditions arise out of nothing. Against the OT background it may be understood as a revelation of the salvific power of Yahweh now present in Jesus. In Africa and specifically in Nigeria, where Christianity, Islam, and traditional religion are in friction, the miracle of the stilling of the storm offers Christians comfort to bear trials with the conviction that the Savior acts when fervently invoked, and a call to give witness that Christ rather than the magical powers of traditional African religion rules creation.--Th.S. Abstract Number: NTA34-1990-3-1156

AbstractThe Catechetical School in Alexandria has delivered a number of prolific scholars and writersduring the first centuries of the Common Era, up to its demise by the end of the 4th century.These scholars have produced an extensive collection of documents of which not many areextant. Fortunately, there are many references to these documents supplying us with an ideaof the content thereof. As the author could not find one single source containing all thedocuments written by the heads of the School, he deemed it necessary to list these documents,together with a short discussion of it where possible. This article only discusses the writings ofthe following heads: Mark the Evangelist, Athenagoras, Pantaenus and Clement, covering theperiod between approximately 40 CE and the end of the 2nd century. The follow-up articlediscusses the documents of the heads who succeeded them.Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: The potential results of the proposedresearch are a full detailed list of all the documents being written by the heads of the School inAlexandria. The disciplines involved are (Church) History, Theology and Antiquity. Theseresults will make it easier for future researchers to work on these writers.

AbstractMark is the author of the oldest gospel in the Christian Bible. Not much is known about him or his family except for a few references in the Bible. The general assumption, originating in the West, is that Mark was born and bred in Palestine. One of the main proponents of the Western view is Walter Bauer, a German theologian of the first half of the 20th century. His views rely heavily on the argument from silence, as Africa had – and to a great extent still has – an oral culture. Contrary to the Western view, Thomas Oden, an American theologian, did research on the oral culture and investigated the African memory of Mark. This article presents a critical discussion and a review of the book written by Oden in 2011 titled The African memory of Mark . Oden seems to be very subjective in his remarks in favour of Africa, as is also clear from his book titled How Africa shaped the Christian mind , written in 2007, and the question is if he really has enough grounds for his postulations.

AbstractWhat is the significance to Jesus&apos; intention to

AbstractThis article interprets Mark 14:22-25, using one of the new approaches in biblical interpretation, namely, pragmatic analysis. In pragmatic analysis, a text is considered a linguistic unit composed of linguistic elements (signs) with the scope of communicating a message. Interpretation involves examining the linguistic elements, the relationship between them (the syntax), their semantic valence in view of their communicative potentiality. Reading Mark 14:22-25 with this approach leads us to the conclusion that the evangelist included the institution account in his Gospel primarily to explain the significance and effect of Jesus&apos; death to the reader. By adequately preparing the reader on the power of the word of Jesus before coming to read the institution account, Mark achieves a rhetorical effect: the conviction of the power of the words of Jesus and an admiration for the generosity of Jesus. This elicits in the reader an attraction to enter into Jesus&apos; covenant.

AbstractThis contribution explores the potential value of a post colonial approach for teaching Mark&apos;s gospel. Investigating a number of texts from the gospel, it asks to what extent a post colonial optic implies a different approach to the gospel, what it adds and where challenges exist. Teaching with a post colonial optic entails framing the gospel in its 1st-century imperial context and focusing on the ambivalence and ambiguity of imperial rule, investigating texts with attention to hybridity and mimicry in particular. Teaching the Gospel of Mark through a post colonial optic opens up new possibilities for interpretation and contextualisation, but at the same time poses certain challenges, pedagogically and otherwise.

AbstractA sample of 389 experienced preachers completed a measure of psychological type. They then read Mark 1:29–39 and recorded their evaluations of the four refl ections on this passage proposed by Francis (1997) and which were derived from the SIFT method of biblical hermeneutics and liturgical preaching. Three main conclusions are drawn from these data. First, compared with the United Kingdom population norms, preachers within this sample were signifi cantly more likely to prefer introversion, intuition, feeling and judging. Second, preachers were four times more likely to prefer a sensing interpretation of the text rather than a thinking interpretation, emphasising the richness of the narrative rather than facing the theological questions posed by it. Third, there was little evidence to suggest that preachers were less likely to appreciate interpretations consonant with their less preferred or inferior function than those consonant with their most preferred or dominant function. In this sense, the richness of the SIFT method should be accessible to preachers of all psychological types.

AbstractDifferent versions of the Sabbath law (Exodus 20:8-11; 23:12; 31:12-17; 34:21; 35:1-3; Leviticus 23:3; Deuteronomy 5:12-15) and several prophetic texts (Amos 6:1-7 - the name "Sabbath" is text-critically reconstructed in verse 3 with the help of the Septuagint); Amos 8:4-7; Ezekiel 20; Jeremiah 17:19-27; Isaiah 56:1-8) reflect a vivid struggle over the centuries as to how the Sabbath should be understood and practised. Jesus' position towards the Sabbath (Mark 2:23-28) pursues the prophetic intention: the goal is decisive. The last part states that Sabbath and Sunday contribute to a sustainable development, because they counterbalance greed and short-sightedness by self constrain and openness to God's time rhythm.

AbstractExisting proposals regarding the structure of Mark 4:1–34 have not met with unqualifiedapproval. This article proposes a simple structure for Mark 4:1–34, then highlights relevantpresuppositions before providing an overview of the content of this passage. The structureelevates the parable of the lamp to a prominent position and it also pairs correspondingsections so that it becomes easier to identify the mystery that undergirds each of these parables.The collective message of Mark 4:1–34 may be that while the establishment of the Messianickingdom has been postponed, God is sowing the word, not only in Israel, but all over theworld. When the sowing of the word meets with a responsive ear and heart, God gives thebeliever the mystery of the kingdom and, viewed collectively, God will also bring a harvest ofsons and daughters into the kingdom when it is established. It is important for all to hear, notonly so that the hearers become believers and then to bear some fruit, but also because Godwill graciously bless to the extent that a person listens effectively. It is in this context that theparable of the lamp shines new light on Mark’s parabolic discourse.

AbstractThe aim of this essay is to reformulate the identity of the genre of the Gospel of Mark as n proper interpretive model in the light of recent developments in literary theory and hermeneutics. In order to do so, a brief reception history of the gospel genre (as history; as kerygma, as narrative) is given and basic concepts of genre theory in relation to hermeneutics are discussed. Special attention is given to Fowler and Hirsh’s ideas on the process of generic formation and identification. In this light, the genre of the Gospel of Mark is identified as ‘narrative” (as broad genre) by taking the middle position between ‘sui generis and parallel genre (to have similarities with the first century Graeco –Roman literature). According to Scholes and Kellogg (1966:12), narrative here means a literary form as ‘an amalgamation of history, myth (kerygma) and fiction (narration)’. Especially if we apply appropriate mode concepts like history, kerygma, and drama to the broad genre of the Gospel as narrative the gospel genre can be identified as ‘realistic narrative’ or ‘historical or historiographical narrative (history mode); ‘kerygmatic or kerygmatized narrative’ (kerygma mode); dramatic or scenic narrative’ (drama mode). This generic perception exerts a dynamic influence on our reading experience on our reading experience by opening up many new possibilities in the interpretation of the Gospel of Mark.

AbstractThis article is devoted to a semiological reading of the gospel narrative of Mark. It comprises an experimental reading of Mark as myth in terms of the theory developed in the article preceding this one. The identification of the implied reader with the narrational divine chronotope of the protagonist reveals the dialogical nature of significance as far as character, event and sitting are concerned. Since the implied reader is informed about the divine chronotope from the outset, s/he can supply all the information necessary for the consuming of the myth. His article is devoted to a semiological reading of the gospel narrative of Mark. This article is divided into 5 parts. In the first three parts, I provide an experimental reading of Mark as a myth in terms of the theory developed in the article preceding this one. Focusing on the function of character, event and setting within the narrative, I provide examples of naturalized reading of the gospel narrative as myth in sections one, two and three. In part four, I explain the dialogical function of Mark 1:15 as it permeates other sections of the narrative. I the final section, I provide a brief conclusion.

AbstractThe explication of contextualisation in terms of metaphor theory facilitates the utilisation of procedures of literary analysis, the idea of the model reader of a text, as well as the social analysis of discourses for the explication of the contextualisation of a text. The explication of the interaction between text and reader, or contextualiser in terms of metaphor theory explains some of the complexities involved in reading or contextualising texts. In the metaphoric interaction between text and reader the activity of contextualisation functions as a contextual or situational filter which selects, emphasises, supresses and organises features of the discourse of the reader, implying statements about it that normally apply to the text. As a text in counter-determining context. the text is retroactively determined by the discourse which selects, emphasizes, suppresses and organises features of the text. implying statements about it that normally apply to the discourse or context.

AbstractCapitalising on the analytic semiology of Roland Barthes, a semiological theory is developed which may account for the peculiarities of a gospel narrative as a system of second order signification is enriched with the Bakhtinian conception that signification may in fact be closer specified with the notion of dialogism. The function of dialogism in the myth’s presentation of the time and space, is indicative of the information which is revealed to the implied to the reader. This article is devoted to the development of a theory which would make a semiological reading of the gospel narrative of Mark possible. Roland Barthes ‘essay’, Myth Today (1957]1973:117ff), provides the contours within which the semiological theory is developed and use. The article is divided into five parts. In the first four parts, I provide an overview of the semiological theory of Barthes and show how it may be developed to account for the peculiarities of a gospel narrative. In the fifth part I describe the nature and function of divine time and space in Mark. Divine time and space constitute the dominant matrix in the narrative discourse within which the intentional consciousness of both implied author and reader functions. In the final section, I supply a brief conclusion which provides basic theoretical guidelines for the reading of myth in terms of narrative theory.

AbstractThe Matthean redaction of Mark 7:30 in Matthew 15:28 often receives scant attention in scholarship in terms of its narrative quality. At most, it is regarded as a truncation of the full Marcan version, while all attention is given to Matthew&apos;s introduction of the notion of &apos;faith&apos; in this verse. This article argues, by contrast, and on the basis of a synoptic comparison and narratological analysis of both texts, that more justice is done to both versions of the conclusion of this healing miracle when understanding them as achieving different narrative effects, with Matthew focusing on the immediacy of the healing, while Mark creates suspense, thus focusing on the veracity of Jesus&apos; statement that the girl in question is healed.

AbstractIn the house of a leper healed by Jesus (see Mk 1:40-45), the unnamed woman of Mk 14:3-9 expressed her devotion to Jesus. Her costly offering of worship was the way in which she was involved in the memorial instituted by him (see 14:9).--D.J.H. Abstract Number: NTA29-1985-3-963

AbstractThe association of Herodians and Pharisees in Mark is examined in the context of the development of the synoptic tradition, and by taking into account recent scholarly awareness of the diversity of Judaism during the late second Temple period. Three periods of Herodian power in Palestine are identified as possible contexts in which an alliance between adherents of the dynasty and the Pharisees against the Jesus movement or primitive church would have been conceivable, at least from the perspective of persecuted Christians. The reign of Agrippa II, during which Mark is commonly believed to have been written, and the rule of Herod Antipas in Galilee, the context of Jesus&apos; historical ministry, are found to be less likely occasions of Herodian-Pharisee conspiracy, real or perceived, against the Jesus movement or early church than the brief but tumultuous period of Agrippa I.

AbstractJesus' healing of the leper in Mk 1:40-45 parr. shows his holistic approach to health, and provides a model for healing in Africa that involves not only the physical body but also the spiritual and social dimensions.--D.J.H. Abstract Number: NTA53-2009-3-1664

AbstractWhat is the significance of Mark mentioning other boats in the stilling of the storm incident? Could this notion of ‘other boats’ be Mark’s deliberate intimation of Jesus’ consistent awareness of and openness to ‘others’ in the Christian community’s vicinity? This article answers the latter question in the affirmative. It is asserted that Mark’s mentioning of the other boats is in keeping with the Markan Jesus’ outlook, as well as with what he expects of his followers. This conclusion emerges, not from the author’s expertise in Markan scholarship, but from a bringing together of insights from diverse engagements with Mark, an exercise inspired by the conviction that every sub-discipline concerned with the study of the New Testament contributes to the overall meaningfulness of the text.

AbstractJesus' statement on the tribute question (Mk 12:13-17 par) was not a direct answer to the question asked nor a practical directive but a statement of principle indicating that the question had to be answered in the light of Caesar's claim vis-a-vis God's total claim over the Jewish people. It was for the interlocutors to draw the conclusion themselves which in effect was that payment of the tribute was not lawful.

AbstractThis article constitutes an attempt to analyse Jesus' healings and exorcisms in Mark from a social scientific perspective. Attention is given to sickness, healing and demon-possession as understood in the first-century Mediterranean world. In this regard, attention is given to the important difference between, on the one hand, disease and curing, and on the other, illness and healing. It is further postulated that Jesus' 'miracles' in Mark, regarding sick or demon-possessed people, should be understood as at least healings. By healing ill and demon- possessed people, Jesus not only declared them clean, but also reinstated them as part of the community. However, by means of this activity, the Marcan Jesus was also restoring the kingdom of God by creating a new household as symbol thereof.

AbstractJesus' baptism by John the Baptist (Mk 1:9-13) can be understood, from a social- scientific perspective, as a ritual of status transformation. By using insights from social-scientific theories of patronage and clientism, as well as from those of rituals and ceremonies, it is argued that at Jesus' baptism his status is transformed to that of the new broker of the heavenly Patron. Jesus' brokerage in Mark should be seen as the mediating of the Patron's presence and availability to his clients, that is, the proclamation of the kingdom of God, the Patron's new broadened inclusivistic household. After the results of the study are summarised, a few remarks in regard to the possible implications of this study for current historical Jesus research are made.

AbstractThe aim of this paper is to evaluate the article by Richard Bauckham, in which he challenges the current consensus in New Testament scholarship that the gospels were written for and addressed to specific believing communities. The thesis that Bauckham puts forward is that the gospels were written with the intention of being circulated as widely as possible - it was written for every Christian community of the late first century where the gospels might circulate. First, a Wirkungsgeschichte of Mark's gospel in terms of the possible localities of origin and the possible theological intentions for writing the Gospel, that is, of the results of the current consensus in New Testament scholarship, is given. Bauckham's theory is then put on the table and evaluated.

AbstractMeals as ceremonies in Mark's gospel: A key to evaluate the under-standing of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika as 'peoples church' by J H J A Greyvenstein and A S Geyser This article aims to participate in the current debate regarding the writing of a new church order for the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk van Afrika, concentrating on Article III of the current church order. In a previous article the understanding of the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk as a 'peoples church' ('volkskerk') by Professors J H J A Greyvenstein and A S Geyser - both New Testament scholars in teaching positions at the University of Pretoria between 1917 and 1961 - was traced. This understanding is now critically evaluated by means of a social-scientific analysis of meals as ceremonies in Mark's gospel. The conclusion reached is that Mark proclaimed - as Greyvenstein and Geyser advocated - the presence and availibility of God as aspects that should ecclesiologically be open to all. Finally, a few remarks are made concerning the continuation of the debate on the new church order for the Nederduitsch Hervomde Kerk van Afrika.

AbstractIn this contribution the relationship between mission, identity and ethics in Mark was investigated by means of a postcolonial and social-scientific reading, with a focus on patronage as a practice that constituted the main bond of human society in the 1st-century Mediterranean world. Mark’s narrative world is a world of three kingdoms (the kingdoms of Rome, the Temple elite and God). Each of these kingdoms has its own gospel, claims the favour of God or the gods, has its own patron, and all three have a mission with a concomitant ethics. Two of these gospels create a world of outsiders (that of Rome and the Temple), and one a world of insiders (the kingdom of God proclaimed and enacted by the Markan Jesus). According to Mark, the kingdom of God is the only kingdom where peace and justice are abundantly available to all, because its patron, Jesus, is the true Son of God, and not Caesar. Being part of this kingdom entails standing up for justice and showing compassion towards outsiders created by the ‘gospels’ of Rome and the Temple elite.

AbstractThis article attempts to read the parable of the Sower (Mk 4:3b–8) as a parable of the historical Jesus. In this reading, the focus is different from almost all previous interpretations of the parable. It is proposed that the Sower should not be understood in terms of realistic agricultural practices in 1st century Palestine, but in terms of the realism of the political, social and economic world in which the parable is told by Jesus. The conclusion reached is that the parable asks its first hearers to align themselves with the kingdom of God, and describes what the results of this decision can be. In a world with little choice, the parable gives a vision on how to cope in an exploitative world.

AbstractKloppenborg's reading of the parable of the tenants (Mk 12:1-12/GThom 65) can be regarded as the first thoroughgoing realistic interpretation of the Tenants. By using extensive literary evidence on viticulture from 300 BCE to 300 CE, Kloppenborg argues that GThom 65 most probably comes closest to the original form of the parable, calling into question important values of first-century Mediterranean culture. Following a summary of Kloppenborg's reading of the parable of the tenants, the second part of the article focuses on a social-scientific reading of GThom 65 through the lens of patronage and clientism and that of honor and shame. Finally, the conclusions reached by the social-scientific reading are compared with Kloppenborg's realistic reading thereof.

AbstractThe practice of exegesis is currently characterized by the many and even diverse questions to which texts are subjected. There is a very lively debate regarding the suitability and success of the various exegetical methods as well as the possibility and desirability of harmonization. One should however take into account that an exegetical method is the product of a particular theory with regard to the question of how knowledge is arrived at, the character of the text as object of study, and the objectives of the particular textual investigation. For that reason it is possible that certain methods exclude one another and can be regarded as irreconcilable. This can be attributed to divergent theoretical points of departure There are exegetes who consider that the existence of such exclusive exegetical methods creates a dilemma for biblical scholarship. According to this point of view the lack of synthesis hampers the search for the 'truth' (in this case, the 'meaning' of the text). Ernest vr,n Eck has examined three different popular questions in the area of Marean research from the past and the present, namely the historical-critical, the literary-critical and the ideological-critical approaches. It is however not the primary intention of Van Eck to bring about a synthesis between these exegetical approaches. The fact of plurality of interpretation does not therefore, according to Van Eck, provide a dilemma. The application of a variety of exegetical approaches by biblical scholars can be treated positively. The author is rather, therefore, searching for methodological gaps in existing research which can be fllled by a new or modified inquiry. In this way progress can be brought about. The result of the new inquiry does not imply that the exegete has come 'closer' to the 'real meaning' of the text. It implies at the most relevant research. The results of a relevant inquiry can provide an explanation for present day problems and even suggest possible solutions, while earlier inquiries and methods are regarded as inadequate. The gaps in research that Van Eck has identified with regard to the above three exegetical approaches are related to the emphasis placed on the pragmatical dimension in scientifical investigation today. In this connection pragmatics can be represented as a social program. Theology without a 'social program' easily develops into static imaginary propositions. Ernest van Eck shows that the historical-cn:tical study of the opposition between Galilee and Jerusalem in the Gospel of Mark is indeed inclined to do so. As regards this opposition, historical critics identify a tension between 'cultic' particularity and 'eschatological' universality in regard to the Marean Sitz im Leben. 'Cult' and 'eschatology', however, develop into abstract theological concepts when they are not interpreted as being incorporated in Mark's 'social program'. In the light of the possible hermeneutical relevance that the opposition between Jerusalem and Galilee in the Gospel of Mark can have for present-day social problems, the historical critic therefore represents a gap in existing research. The pragmatic dimension of theological reflection is largely ignored by historical critics. The literarycritical approach has certainly emphasized the interests that Galilee ~d Jerusalem represent in Mark as narrative. These interests appear to be in conflict with each other. Nevertheless, there are deficiencies in the literary-critical approach, for reasons such as that this conflict of interests is not anchored within a social program peculiar to the first-century Mediterranean world. The ideological-critical approach in the exegesis of Mark indeed places emphasis on such a political and social program. The hiatus with regard to this approach is that references to pre-industrial, agrarian social problems in New Testament texts are erroneously attributed to modern economic and political ideologies, as though the same or similar dominant ideological forces that Karl Marx identified - with regard to the modern industrialized century - had been present in the first century. Van Eck considers that an association of narratology and social-scientific criticism in exegesis could flll these gaps in existing research. By means of narratology, Galilee and Jerusalem are responsibly studied as spheres of interest in the plot of the Gospel of Mark. Social-scientific criticism enables one to see the advanced agrarian society of the first-century Mediterranean world as the macrosociological framework of the Gospel of Mark. Van Eck regards the narrated world of the Gospel of Mark as a reflexive microsociological version of the agrarian society, seen from a macrosociological perspective. Using an association of narratological and social-scientific criticism, he intends interpreting the ideological communication strategy of the narrator (narrator's point of view) in Mark as a social program without making himself guilty of anachronism or ethnocentricism. Van Eck's presupposition is, therefore, that the narrator's concern in Mark's story about Jesus is communicated from an ideological perspective. This ideological concern is conveyed with aids such as symbols. Galilee and Jerusalem (as topographical references in the Gospel of Mark) function as symbols that represent particular interests. Galilee represents the interests of the 'open household' ('politics of commensality') and Jesus' message of God's unmediated presence. Jerusalem represents the interests of the temple system ('politics of holiness') and the idea of God's constraining presence. Galilee (household) and Jerusalem (temple) thus function as narrative and sociological oppositions.

AbstractThis article offers a critical analysis of some of the principal arguments put forward in a recent monograph by J.A. Doole in defence of the thesis that Matthew, whilst being familiar wit hMark and Q, had a clear preference for the former in structuring his composition. Doole argues that Matthew used Q only in such a way that it never threatened to disrupt the dominance of Mark, used up Q ‘as quick as possible’, and was more at ease in Mark which he used both de visu and from memory. Against these positions, it is shown that Q played a more prominent roll all throughout Matthew’s gospel than Doole assumes it did and that the ‘de visu / from memory’ dichotomy does not match the evidence. Matteüs’ bouwstenen: Marcus en Q. – Een kritische kijk op een recente monografie. Het artikel biedt een kritische analyse van de voornaamste principes van J.A. Doole’s recente monografie ter verdediging van de thesis dat Matteüs weliswaar bekend is met Marcus e nmet Q, maar systematisch de voorkeur geeft aan Marcus. Doole stelt dat Matteüs Q alleen in die zin gebruikte dat het geen bedreiging was voor de dominantie van Marcus, Q zo snel mogelijk ‘opgebruikt’ heeft, en duidelijk meer vertrouwd was met Marcus die hij de visu en uit zijn herinnering benut. Tegen deze benadering wordt aangebracht dat Q een meer prominente rol speelt in het evangelie dan Doole voorhoudt en dat het onderscheid ‘de visu en uit herinnering’ niet opgaat.

AbstractIn his narrative the author of this Gospel starkly emphasizes the humiliation and suffering of Jesus as the Son of Man (i.a. 10:45). In doing so, Mark emphasizes that Jesus’ way to be the Christ is the way of suffering. In several instances Mark describes Jesus’ disciples’ ignorance of this fact. Special focus is placed on the ignorance of Peter when confessing Jesus as the Christ. The point of departure for this article is that the Gospel of Mark was written to a specific believing community. It is argued that Rome, rather than Syria or Galilee, most probably was the Sitz im Leben and reason for the second Gospel. Furthermore it is reasoned that the context of Rome provides a relevant hermeneutical key to the understanding of the text of this Gospel. Seen from this perspective, Mark purposefully emphasized the humiliation and suffering of Jesus on his way to glory in order to encourage his despondent readers during or directly after the persecution in the days of Nero 64 CE. Evidence from tradition has indicated that Peter, the great leader of the Christian community in Rome, died as a martyr. This left the Christians in Rome without a leader, fearful and discouraged. The Gospel displays evidence of a Petrine eyewitness account that implies a close link between this apostle and Mark. Although at first Peter did not realize the necessity for Jesus to suffer, the Gospel of Mark clearly explains it with its focus on the passion narrative. Jesus had to walk the way of suffering. In Mark the word “way” is used in a significant manner to indicate that Jesus’ via dolorosa had implications for Peter and still has implications for all those who follow Him by confessing Him as the Christ. Christians are called to follow in his footsteps with suffering and endurance. Accordingly, Mark adds a paradoxical connotation to the term “Gospel”. “Gospel” is the good news of the salvation in Jesus. This message, however, is also concomitant with suffering and even the loss of life.

AbstractThis article investigates the references to the young man in two different, but related episodes in Mark 14:51–52 and 16:5. First of all, it clarifies some exegetical questions in the two sections. It then analyses the history of the interpretation of the young man in these two passages before it discusses the nature of the coherence between the two passages in greater detail. To this end, the article investigates shared motifs in the two narratives in the light of Mark’s literary techniques. Finally, it compares the two episodes of the young man with the healing of the demoniac in Mark 5, in order to reflect on the implications of reading these two passages together. These implications are spelled out in terms of the powerful notion of transformation – a key theme in biblical spirituality and central in Mark’s thought. This notion is developed as transformation in recreation, love and glory.

AbstractThis essay concerns bilingualism and Semitic interference in the Greek of New Testament writings. A general survey is given of associated problems regarding the nature of New Testament Greek, and special attention is given to Semitic interference in the Gospel of Mark.

AbstractThe role of Peter in the Gospel of Mark has been studies from various perspectives during the past. These include attempts to ""reconstruct"" the ""real"" Peter from Petrine, or as others argued, anti-Petrine strands in Mark's material, as well as descriptionptions of Mark's presentation of the person and position of Peter. In recent years the gospels have been subjected to various forms of narrative analysis and the narrated figures have been studied with respect to their narrative roles. This study explores the possibility of studying the shaping and function of Peter as a character in Mark's story of Jesus. In order to avoid misunderstanding the first part of the paper deals with theoretical aspects of roles, characters and narrated figures. In the second part a construction is made of what Mark's Peter is like.

AbstractMark 13 is normally interpreted in view of its origin and literary history while little, if any, attention is paid to the literary aspects of the chapter. In this essay Mark 13:5-37 is approached from a literary perspective. The implications of the fact that the material is presented in the form of a narrated speech of Jesus are developed in the first part. The second part deals with the place of the speech in the Gospel of Mark in terms of narrative time. The last major section is concerned with the narrative point of view and the function of apocalyptic and paraenesis in Mark 13. A few summary remarks conclude the essay.

AbstractDiscerning the spirits in Mark In reading the gospel of Mark one gets the impression that one of the main activities of Jesus is exorcizing demons and unclean spirits. Exorcizing is part of the battle between powers inimical to God and the spirit of God that descended on Jesus when he was baptized by John. Unclean spirits deprive human beings of their identity, they dehumanize them and in the end they destroy them. Their uncleanness is the opposite of the holiness of God. It is possible to read the gospel of Mark as the struggle of Jesus with demons. His death and resurrection is the victory over their uncleanness. When it is said that a special kind of demons can be cast out only through prayer, this indicates the spirit of God who lives in the believers and who prays to God. It is by surrender to the will of God that unclean spirits are overcome.

AbstractAccording to Mark 6:14–29, John the Baptist was beheaded by the order of Herod Antipas. This dramatic event became inevitable after a cunning interplay between Herodias and her daughter, who remains nameless in the New Testament. According to Flavius Josephus, she was called Salome (Jewish Antiquities XVIII, 5.4 § 136–137), and under that name, she went down in history. For the sake of convenience, I also call her ‘Salome’ in this article. Salome is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Shlomith, which was very popular in early Judaic times and means ‘she who brings peace and tranquillity’. Unlike the faithful women elsewhere in Mark’s gospel (5:21–43; 7:24–30; 14:3–9), Herodias and her daughter are not exactly models of virtue. Yet, it is questionable as to whether they are both thoroughly bad and whether they are both equally responsible for the murder of John. This article does not provide a historical reconstruction of what exactly happened at the court of Herod Antipas, but it contains a narrative analysis of what happened in the court of Herod Antipas. This narrative analysis is followed by an intertextual approach in the second part of this article. Firstly, I will compare Mark’s story with what Flavius Josephus tells about the beheading of John. Thereafter, I will highlight the roles of Herodias and Salome in the play Salome by Oscar Wilde from 1894, which, in turn, forms the basis of the libretto for the opera Salome by Richard Strauss from 1905. Do we encounter in these modern artistic recreations (Neuschöpfungen) only transformations of Mark’s story, or also transgressions in which Wilde and Strauss have largely replaced the original meaning of the story with new meaning?

AbstractIt is important for biblical scholars to acknowledge not only who they are but also with whom they read biblical texts. The point is illustrated by analyzing the reading of Mt 19:16-26 in Pope John Paul II's 1993 encyclical Veritatis splendor and the reading of Mk 10:17-22 by socially engaged biblical scholars in South Africa and ordinary African readers [record 38-800].--D.J.H. Abstract Number: NTA44-2000-2-801

AbstractAfter noting the development of the Contextual Bible Study movement in Brazil facilitated by the Centro de Estudos Bíblicos and its seven-step method based on Lk 24:13-35, the article focuses on the form of contextual Bible reading in South Africa. It first engages in a contextual Bible study on Mk 12:41-44 guided by an eight-question format. Then it reflects on the methodological process. Contextual Bible Study works within the framework of the "See-Judge-Act" approach to social transformation, and it requires that biblical scholars be born again "from below."--C.R.M. Abstract Number: NTA56-2012-2-821

AbstractWorking within liberation hermeneutics and using a participatory research paradigm, this article examines the interface between the trained reader and the ordinary reader. More specifically, the article reflects on readings of Mark 10:17- 22 with ordinary readers. The focus of the article is on the reading or interpretation produced by reading the Bible with ordinary readers. A series of workshops with ordinary readers provides the research context for this investigation. The hypotheseis of the reasearch is that a close and careful reading of Mark 10:17-22 in the South African context with ordinary readers would produce an interpretation of this text which included both individual and structural sin.

AbstractA Spring Arbor College professor found teaching Christian studies to Muslim students rewarding. Mark’s gospel was used as a means of clearing up some linguistic, cultural and religious differences that caused confusion.

AbstractThe narrative of the raising of the daughter of Jairus by Jesus normally finds four strands of interpretation: (i) it serves to emphasise the divine power of Jesus over death; (ii) it focuses on faith as a prerequisite for the salvation of Israel; (iii) it exhorts believers to assist each other through love, care, and the restoration of meaning; or (iv) it demonstrates that the purity laws of Leviticus are no longer valid in the new Pagan-Christian congregations. This article proposes a reading of Mark 5:21-43 as expressing a rite of passage for a young girl at the onset of her menarche, paraphrased as Jesus assisted the girl to accept her transition from girlhood to maidenhood.

AbstractIt is argued that the owners of the destroyed pigs in Gerasa asked Jesus to leave their territory. The argument is based upon the hypothesis that a culturally institutionalised code existed, which ruled the action to be taken when property in the care of slaves was damaged or disappeared. The purpose of this action was to determine the culpability of the slaves in charge of the property. It is proposed that the episode in question (Mark 5:14-17) was meant to be read against the context of such a code.

AbstractFantastic events, characters and settings are prominent in the Bible. This paper examines one particular fantastic event found in the episode of Jesus&apos; sea-walk (Mk 6:45-56). Viewing Mk 6:49-50 through the lens of the fantastic reveals divergent epistemological and ontological frames of reference within Mark&apos;s story world: an imaginative bidimensionality where the natural and the preternatural orders meet and coalesce while still retaining their essential and defining attributes.

AbstractComment faut-il comprendre la parole "ceci est mon corps"; (touto estîn tô sôma mou) que Jésus prononce le soir du jeudi saint, en rompant le pain et en le distribuant à ses disciples? Quelle signification révèle-t-elle pour le chrétien

AbstractLa compétence sans autorité est aussi impuissante que l’autorité sans compétence » (Gustave LEBON)