according to Mark

Contemporary scholarship holds that the oldest of the Gospels is that attributed to Mark.  This claim dates from the 18^th century, and is based on the brevity of the text, and the fact that here are very few passages in Mark that are found in neither Matthew nor Luke, which makes those passages all the more significant. Moreover, some of the different passages are strange if we understand the narrative to be a recounting of the life of an itinerant philosopher/wonder-worker.  Those verses are Mark 3:20-1,  8:23 and 14:51-2.  We will address them presently.

If, however, we understand that the narrative is not a biography of an itinerant philosopher/wonder-worker, but a recounting of the leader of the bar Cochba Revolt, we find that the constructor of the test is using a stylistic device found elsewhere in Judean literature.  We also find that the strangenesses in the text have their own meaning.

1 Maccabees is an interesting document.  It is presumed that it was originally written in Hebrew, however the only surviving version is that which is contained in the LXX.  In Greek.   What makes 1 Maccabees particularly notable is that each verse intentionally recalls a verse from somewhere in Judean canonic literature.  The intent was deliberate:  the creator of the narrative wanted the audience to hear the story of the Maccabees and be reminded of the great Judean legacy. 
We find a this device at work in the Markan narrative, including (if not particularly) with the strange verses that have no parallel in any other gospel.

The device starts with the very beginning of the text and carries on consistently through the first ten verses:

1:1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

1:2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet,

“Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way,
1:3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness:
‘Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight,’”

1:4  John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 1:5  And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 1:6  Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. 1:7  And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 1:8  I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

1:9  In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 1:10  And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.

The first verse, obviously, is an echo of the opening of the Torah as it was translated into Greek for the LXX: 

Mark 1:1:  αρχη του ευαγγελιου Ιησου Χριστου.

Gen 1:1:   ἐν ἀρχῇ ἐποίησεν ὁ θεὸς τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν

This is followed by what we are told is a quote from Isaiah, the Navi (who is here presented in his Greco-Roman persona of  oracle):

The text as cited in Mark:

1:2-3  καυως γεγραπται εν τω Ισαια τβ προφητη, Ιδου, αποστελλω τον αγγελον τπρ τροσωπου σου, ος κατασκευασει την οδον σου. Φωνη βοωντος εν τη ερημω, ετοιμασατε την οδον Κυριου, ευθειας ποιειτε τας τριβους αθτου.

The text as it appears Isa 40:3 in the LXX:

φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἑτοιμάσατε τὴν ὁδὸν κυρίου εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους τοῦ θεοῦ ἡμῶν

The only difference between the verse as it appears in the LXX and the verse as it appears in Mark is at the end:  Isaiah says”  Make straight the paths of our God.” Mark’s version says, “Make straight his paths.”

The similarities are not simply a coincidence.  The constructor of the text employs a device already familiar to a Judean audience because it has been used before, in 1 Macc:  each verse of the text deliberately contains a reference to a text that can be found somewhere in the canon of TaNaKh.  Opening the document with “αρχη” and following that with a direct citation of one of the Navi’im is a warning shot, alerting the audience to prepart itself for a narrative whose intent is to recall to them other narratives of their history.

In Mark 1:4-5, we first meet John: 

Εγεντο Ιωαννης ο βαπτιζων εν τη ερημω, και κηρυσσων βαπτισμα μετανοιας εις αφεσιν αμαρτιων.

It happened that John was dunking people in the wilderness, announcing a dunking of change of mind into forgiveness of sins. (my translation.  The traditional translation:  “And it came to pass that John was baptizing in the wilderness and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”)
The first thing to note is John’s name, which is a transliteration into Greek of the Hebrew verb and name “Yochanan,” which means “he will be merciful.”  As we noted with the transliteration of “yehoshua” because Greek lacks a mid-word “h” sound, whether soft as with the Hebrew letter “he” or hard, as with the Hebrew letter “chet,” the consonant was elided out of the transliteration.  Thus the verb and name Yochanana” was transliterated Ioannes.

The distinction between mid-word and beginning of word is important:  instead of a consonant, Greek has a breathing mark that precedes the vowel if one should appear at the beginning of the word.   That breath mark tells the reader if the vowel is pronounced by it self (soft breathing mark), or if it is preceded by a rough “h” sound (rough breathing mark).  There is no mid-word equivalent construction which could be used to create an “h” sound mid-word.

If we look at the specifics of the Greek text, we find that “baptizing” is not a phenomenon unique to the early Christian movement.   We find examples of it in LXX, in its root form βαπ:

1. Ex 12:22 — λήμψεσθε δὲ δέσμην ὑσσώπου καὶ βάψαντες ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ παρὰ τὴν θύραν  Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood which is in the basin (Moses, on preparation for the Passover)
2. Lev 4:6 καὶ βάψει ὁ ἱερεὺς τὸν δάκτυλον εἰς τὸ αἷμα καὶ προσρανεῖ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος ἑπτάκις ἔναντι κυρίου κατὰ τὸ καταπέτασμα τὸ ἅγιον  and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle part of the blood seven times before the LORD in front of the veil of the sanctuary.  Lev 4:17  καὶ βάψει ὁ ἱερεὺς τὸν δάκτυλον ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ μόσχου καὶ ῥανεῖ ἑπτάκις ἔναντι κυρίου κατενώπιον τοῦ καταπετάσματος τοῦ ἁγίου  and the priest shall dip his finger in the blood and sprinkle it seven times before the LORD in front of the veil.
3. Lev 9:9 — καὶ προσήνεγκαν οἱ υἱοὶ Ααρων τὸ αἷμα πρὸς αὐτόν καὶ ἔβαψεν τὸν δάκτυλον εἰς τὸ αἷμα καὶ ἐπέθηκεν ἐπὶ τὰ κέρατα τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου καὶ τὸ αἷμα ἐξέχεεν ἐπὶ τὴν βάσιν τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου  And the sons of Aaron presented the blood to him, and he dipped his finger in the blood and put it on the horns of the altar, and poured out the blood at the base of the altar;
4. Lev 11:32 — καὶ πᾶν ἐφ᾽ ὃ ἂν ἐπιπέσῃ ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν τεθνηκότων αὐτῶν ἀκάθαρτον ἔσται ἀπὸ παντὸς σκεύους ξυλίνου ἢ ἱματίου ἢ δέρματος ἢ σάκκου πᾶν σκεῦος ὃ ἐὰν ποιηθῇ ἔργον ἐν αὐτῷ εἰς ὕδωρ βαφήσεται καὶ ἀκάθαρτον ἔσται ἕως ἑσπέρας καὶ καθαρὸν ἔσται  And anything upon which any of them falls when they are dead shall be unclean, whether it is an article of wood or a garment or a skin or a sack, any vessel that is used for any purpose; it must be put into water, and it shall be unclean until the evening; then it shall be clean.
5. Leviticus 14:6 καὶ τὸ ὀρνίθιον τὸ ζῶν λήμψεται αὐτὸ καὶ τὸ ξύλον τὸ κέδρινον καὶ τὸ κλωστὸν κόκκινον καὶ τὸν ὕσσωπον καὶ βάψει αὐτὰ καὶ τὸ ὀρνίθιον τὸ ζῶν εἰς τὸ αἷμα τοῦ ὀρνιθίου τοῦ σφαγέντος ἐφ᾽ ὕδατι ζῶντι  He will take the live bird with the cedarwood and the scarlet yarn and the hyssop, and dip them and the live bird in the blood of the bird that was killed over the fresh water.  Lev 14:16 καὶ βάψει τὸν δάκτυλον τὸν δεξιὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐλαίου τοῦ ὄντος ἐπὶ τῆς χειρὸς τῆς ἀριστερᾶς καὶ ῥανεῖ ἑπτάκις τῷ δακτύλῳ ἔναντι κυρίου  and dip his right finger in the oil that is in his left hand, and sprinkle some oil with his finger seven times before the LORD.  Lev 14:51  καὶ λήμψεται τὸ ξύλον τὸ κέδρινον καὶ τὸ κεκλωσμένον κόκκινον καὶ τὸν ὕσσωπον καὶ τὸ ὀρνίθιον τὸ ζῶν καὶ βάψει αὐτὸ εἰς τὸ αἷμα τοῦ ὀρνιθίου τοῦ ἐσφαγμένου ἐφ᾽ ὕδατι ζῶντι καὶ περιρρανεῖ ἐν αὐτοῖς ἐπὶ τὴν οἰκίαν ἑπτάκις and shall take the cedarwood and the hyssop and the scarlet yarn, along with the live bird, and dip them in the blood of the bird that was killed and in the fresh water and sprinkle the house seven times.

We find it in Num19:18, Deut 33:24;  Jos 3:15;  Ruth 2:14; 1 Sam 14:27; 2 Kings 5:14; 2 Kings 8:15; Job 9:31, Isa 21:4;  Ez 23:15; Dan 4:30; Dan 5:21

Not surprisingly, we find κηρυσσων, “proclaiming” in Neh 6:7, Isa 61:1 and Jon 3:2.

In 1:6, we have a description of John’s clothing and diet: camel’s hair and locusts and honey.  John’s camel recalls the audience to Gen 24:64, Lev 11:4 and Deut 14:7.  Honey draws the audience’s attention to Gen 43:11 and to Ex 3:8 and 17, 13:5, 16:31 and 33:3.  Locusts, of course, direct the audience’s attention to Ex 10:4, 12, 13 14 and 19.

In 1:7,  “untying sandals” is a direct echo of Ex3:5, when Moses is commanded to take his shoes off because the ground on which he stands is holy.

In 1:8-9we find more references to baptism, which again recall the times TaNaKh commands dipping something.

In 1:10 we find the dove, which recalls Gen 8:8-12, the dove Noah sends out to find land.

As for those three strange verses that have no parallel in other gospels, we find:

Mark 3:20-1

Και ερχεται εις οικον, και συνερχεται παλιν ο οχλος, ωστε μη δυνασθαι αυτους μηδε αρτον φαγειν.  Και ακουσαντες οι παρ αυτου εξηλθον κρατησαι αυτον, ελεγον γαρ,  οτι εξεστη.

Then he came to a house, and the crowd came together again, so that they were not able to eat bread.   And those around him went out to seize him, they said, that he was astonished.” (my translation.  The traditional translation is:  Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again so that they could not even eat.  When his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying “he is out of his mind.”  This makes no sense.)

3:20,  “Gathering” (συνερχεται) is a theme that pervades Genesis and Exodus.

3:21, we find “seize” in Gen 19:16, in the Lot narrative.

Mark 14:51-2

Και νεανισκος τις συνηκολουθει αυτω, περιβεβλημενος σινδονα επι γμνου´ και κρατουσιν αυτον, ο δε καταλιπων την σινδονα γυμνος εφθγεν.

And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.

Linen is an interesting choice, because in TaNaKh, we find references to it in Genesis (Joseph narrative, 41:32), Exodus (25:4, 26:1, 26:31, 26:36, 27:9, 27:18, 28:5, 28:6, 28:8, 28:15, 28:39, 28:42, 35:23, 35:35, 36:8,  36:35, 36:37, 38:9, 38:16, 38:18, 38:23,

In particular, in Lev 16:23, we find Aaron removing the linen clothes which he put on when he went into the kedosh hakedoshim. In Lev 16:32, we read:  “and the priest, whom he will anoint, and whom he will consecrate to minister in the priest’s office in his father’s stead, will make the atonement, and will put on the linen clothes and the holy garments.

“Naked” obviously recalls Genesis.   We find “laid hold” in Gen 19:16, Judges 19:29, and in 1 Sam 15:27. 

The final “strange” episode in Mark 8:23 (within the pericope 8:22-26):

And they came to Bethsaida. And some people brought to him a blind man and begged him to touch him.  And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”  And he looked up and said, “I see men, but they look like trees, walking.”  Then Jesus laid his hands on his eyes again; and he opened his eyes, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.  And he sent him to his home, saying, “Do not even enter the village.”

Και επιλαβομενος της χειρος του τουφλου, εξηνεγκεν  αυτον εξω της κωμης, και πτυσας εις τα ομματα αυτου, επιθεις τας χειρας αυτω, επηρωτα αυτον ει τι βλεπεις.

We find “spit” in Num 12: 13:

καὶ εἶπεν κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν εἰ ὁ πατὴρ αὐτῆς πτύων ἐνέπτυσεν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτῆς οὐκ ἐντραπήσεται ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας ἀφορισθήτω ἑπτὰ ἡμέρας ἔξω τῆς παρεμβολῆς καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα εἰσελεύσεται

And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in

We find it again in Deut 25:9:

καὶ προσελθοῦσα ἡ γυνὴ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ ἔναντι τῆς γερουσίας καὶ ὑπολύσει τὸ ὑπόδημα αὐτοῦ τὸ ἓν ἀπὸ τοῦ ποδὸς αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐμπτύσεται εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀποκριθεῖσα ἐρεῖ οὕτως ποιήσουσιν τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ὃς οὐκ οἰκοδομήσει τὸν οἶκον τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ

Then shall his brother's wife come unto him in the presence of the elders, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done unto that man that will not build up his brother's house.

1 Maccabees directed the attention of the audience to the narratives of the Judean canon.  It would seem that the Markan narrative was intended to fill the same function for a later Judean audience.