The gospel of Mark features several signs of Latin influence in the language, including Latin vocabulary transliterated into Greek, Latin idioms rendered word for word in Greek, Latin syntactic features and language at times directed to an audience cognizant of Latin.
Commenting on the extent of the phenomenon, Martin Hengel said that the gospel was written at "a clear distance from Palestine" and that "one could point to The Shepherd of Hermas, which was similarly written at Rome."[1] Looking at the evidence, Patrick J. Flanagan commented, "Mark had Latin as one of his languages and wrote in a Latin-speaking area."[2]
Latin vocabulary edit
There are numerous lexical items transliterated from Latin into Greek in the gospel of Mark. Martin Hengel argued that they along with other Latinisms testify to a Roman provenance. Joel Marcus was not convinced, arguing that many of the terms were military and could be expected wherever there was a Roman presence.[3] Brian J. Incigneri responded, "there is no reason to believe that military terms were more likely to be used in the provinces just because the legions were there", adding "as the administrative centre of the empire where military language was common, Rome is the place where all of these Latin terms came together most commonly."[4]
| Greek form | Significance | Marcan usage |
|---|---|---|
| δηναριον | a denarius (coin) | 6:37; 12:15; 14:5 |
| κεντυριον | a centurion | 15:39, 44, 45 |
| κηνσος | [census] tax | 12:14 |
| κοδρατης | copper coin, a quadrans | 12:42 |
| λεγιων | a Roman legion | 5:9, 15 |
| μοδιος | a measure of grain | 4:21 |
| φραγελλοω | flog, flagellate | 15:15 |
| πραιτωριον | quarters of a Roman governor | 15:16 |
| πυκμη | “with a handful of water” | 7:3 |
| σπεκουλατωρ | executioner | 6:27 |
| χεστης | a liquid measure, a sextarius | 7:4 |
Latin idioms edit
Mark contains several Latin idioms translated word for word into the Greek. While the idea functions in Latin, the resultant translation is strange in Greek. While Flanagan found the Marcan use of fragellein ("flog") "unexpected", he found the rendering of satisfacere even more unexpected.[2]
| Greek form | Latin | English | Marcan usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| οδον ποιειν | iter facere | make way | 2:23 |
| Ηρωδιανοι | Herodiani, like praetoriani | Herodians | 3:6; 12:13 |
| συμβουλιον εδιδουν | consilium dederunt | take counsel | 3:6 |
| ο εστιν | hoc est | that is | 3:17; 7:11, 34; 12:42; 15:16, 42 |
| εσχατως eχει | in extremis esse | =be at the point of death | 5:23 |
| ειπεν δοθηναι αυτη φαγειν | similar to duci eum iussit | 5:43 | |
| εκρατησεν | [memoria] tenere | keep (=remember) | 9:10 |
| κατακρινουσιν αυτὸν θανάτω | capite damnare | condemn to death | 10:33 |
| ειχον... οτι | habere | =hold | 11:32 |
| ραπισμασιν αυτον ελαβον | verberibus eum acceperunt | receive/treat him with blows | 14:65 |
| συμβούλιον ποιησαντες | consilium capere | hold a council | 15:1 |
| ικανον ποιησαι | satisfacere | satisfy | 15:15 |
| τιθεντες τα γονατα | genua ponentes | kneel | 15:19 |
Latin syntax edit
There are two major examples that reflect Latin syntax in the Marcan Greek. The first involves the placement of accusatives (objects) and datives (indirect objects) before the verb, which reflects Latin word order not Greek. There are 37 instances of such Latin word order in Mark, with 12 in Matthew and only 5 in Luke, only two of which are independent of the Marcan text.[7]
Even more striking is the use of a structure involving verbs of speaking and the conjunction ινα, which mirrors the Latin verbs of speaking with the conjunction ut. It is found 31 times in Mark and many fewer in Matthew and Luke where passages parallel to Mark tend to use a more appropriate Greek structure. Adam Winn concludes, "Such an influence on an author's writing style is much more likely if the author was writing in Rome rather than in Syria or Galilee."[7]"
"Syrophoenician" edit
In Mk 7:26 we find a woman who was of Syrophoenician origin. The need to distinguish the type of Phoenician only becomes necessary when there are different types, as we find in Latin literature. Ben Witherington writes, "the use of this term is difficult to explain if the author and/or audience is in the East--whether in Israel or Syria. In Roman sources it is used to distinguish the residents of Syria from those of Carthage in Africa called Libuphoenicians (cf. Juvenal 8.159-60; Pliny the Elder, NH 7.201). Thus, when one combines this with the use of the Latinisms, it is more probable than not that our author resides in and writes for those in the West."[8]
References edit
- ^ Hengel, Martin (1985). Studies in the Gospel of Mark. London: SCM Press., p.29.
- ^ a b Flanagan, Patrick J. (1996). The Gospel of Mark Made Easy. Fairfield, Vic.: Fairfield Press., p.174, n.29.
- ^ Marcus, Joel (2009). "The Jewish War and the Sitz im Leben of Mark". Journal of Biblical Literature. 111 (3). The Society of Biblical Literature.
{{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help), p444-445. - ^ Incigneri, Brian J. (2003). The Gospel to the Romans: The Setting and Rhetoric of Mark's Gospel. Leiden & Boston: Brill., p.101.
- ^ Culpepper, R. Alan (2007). Smyth & Helwys Commentary: Mark. Macon, Georgia: Smyth & Helwys., p.28.
- ^ Gundry, Robert H. (2000). Mark: A Commentary on His Apology for the Cross. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans., pp.1043-1044.
- ^ a b Winn, Adam (2008). The Purpose of Mark's Gospel. Tuebingen, Germany: Mohr Siebeck., p.82.
- ^ Witherington, Ben (2001). The Gospel of Mark: a socio-rhetorical commentary. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans., p.21.