Mark 1

Notes and Parallel Translations

30 April 2026

ACCORDING TO MARK 1The beginning of the glad tidings (1)εὐαγγελίου has a political connotation and perhaps there is an echo with Isaiah 40’s message of comfort in view of the return of YHWH to Zion. of Jesus the Anointed (2)Earliest manuscripts omit “son of [a] god” (υἱοῦ θεοῦ). This is a significant honorific title for Jesus in Mark and is synonymous with “Christ (Messiah)” meaning Anointed One (cf. 3.11). It thus has the Davidic connotation of being God’s authoritative agent (cf. 2 Sam 7.13–14; Ps 2.7) but does not by itself attribute a divine status. I.e., it signals messianic kingship—not necessarily abstract divinity in a metaphysical sense—functioning at least as a political (counter-imperial?) claim. E.g. contrast this with the divi filius (“son of a god”/“son of the deified [one]”) claimed by Augustus following the deification of Julius Caesar in 42 BCE which was not a metaphysical claim to be a god himself (i.e. deus) but rather a claim to be the son of a deified mortal. cf. also Livy, History of Rome, 1.16. . 2aAs it is written in Isaiah the prophet: (3)The reference conflates material from Isa 40.3 with Ex 23.20, Mal 3.1. Some manuscripts have only “in the prophets” while others have “in Isaiah the prophet”. The latter therefore slightly misattribute the verses. The passages take on a new meaning not in their original contexts; here the author reads them as allusions to John the Baptist.

2bBehold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare the way, 3the voice of one crying from the wild: ‘Prepare the way of the LORD, make his paths straight,’ (4)Perhaps in the Ancient Near Eastern mindset, ἐρήμῳ (“wilderness”/“deserted place”) has a darker connotation being the domain of daimons and chaos.

4John the Immerser came to the wild proclaiming a baptism of heart reorientation (5)Literally, change of mind (metanoia). The meaning is akin to a transformative change of heart or a fundamental transformation of outlook and life. for the absolution of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were being immersed by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey. John’s attire is evocative of that of Elijah (2 Kings 1.8; cf. Zech 13.4), whose return was sometimes regarded as a sign of the end of the age (Mal 4.5–6; see also Mk 9.11–13; Lk 1.17). 7aAnd he preached, saying,

7bAfter me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to squat down and untie. 8I have immersed you in water, but he will immerse you in holy spirit. (6)cf. John 3.5 where Jesus tells Nicodemus that he must be baptized with spirit and water.

9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. (7)Presumably, Jesus came to the surrounds of Jerusalem where John was baptizing. Image Coloured postcard of the Jordan River. c. 1925 (Public Domain) Karimeh Abbud. 10Just when he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the spirit descending like a dove on him. 11aAnd a voice came from heaven,

11bYou are my beloved son, with you I am delighted.

12Promptly, the spirit expelled him into the wild. 13And he was in the wild forty days, being tempted by the adversary. Wild beasts (8)Perhaps echoing Psalm 22.12-21 if taking this reading as the beasts being a threat. Could also be read positively in an Isaiah 11.6 sense where the animals are a comforting force. Perhaps also picking up on the “wild man / man among beasts” motifs from Near Eastern traditions (e.g. Enkidu in Epic of Gilgamesh or Nebudchadnezzar in Daniel 4). were with him and the messengers (9)I.e. the angels. attended to him.

14Now after John was put in custody, Jesus came to Galilee, pronouncing the glad tidings of God, and saying,

15The appointed time has come; the kingdom of God is upon us. Reform your hearts and be confident in this joyous news."

16Passing alongside Lake Kinneret (10)The Greek is “θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας” whose best literal translation is “Sea of Galilee”. However, this is a bit of a misnomer which is more to do with linguistic and historical reasons translating from Hebrew/Aramaic into Greek. Geographically speaking, the “Sea of Galilee” is more accurately a small freshwater lake so I’ve preferred the modern Hebrew name. , he saw Simon and Andrew the brother of Simon. They were fisherman, and were casting a net into the lake. Image Lake Kinneret (Sea of Galilee), Israel. Panorama of the southern end, 5 Feb 2014 Zachi Evenor. 17“Come after me!” Jesus said to them, “and I’ll have you fishing for people! 18Straightaway they left their nets and followed him. 19And going on a little further, he saw James, Zebedee’s son, and John his brother who were in their boat making good the nets. 20And he called them straightaway. They left their father Zebedee behind in the boat with the hired hands (11)Suggests that Zebedee’s family had enough means to hire μισθωτῶν (“wage workers”/“contractors”). These were people who neither owned the equipment nor the produce; their primary loyalty was to the wage. , and went after him.

21Then they went to Capernaum and, on the sabbath, Jesus went straight to the synagogue and was there teaching. 22And they were astounded by his teaching, because he taught them on the basis of his personal authority, disregarding the traditional precedent of the Torah scholars. (12)Slightly looser translation here to get across the sense of what’s going on. Jesus’ behaviour was a significant break from tradition where Torah interpretation was based off a “Chain of Tradition” (Shalshelet Ha-Kabbalah). The validity of interpretation was dependent on the authority of a chain being cited, similar to the modern practice of legal precedent or academic citation. E.g. “Rabbi Yoḥanan said in the name of Rabbi Yosei: How do we know that the Holy One, Blessed be He, prays? As it is stated: ‘I will bring them to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer’ (Isaiah 56:7)” (Berakhot 7a). The astoundment at Jesus’ behaviour is not necessarily favourable. Indeed, the synagogue may be perceiving Jesus as lacking of credentials or pedigree. 23And all of a sudden, in there synagogue, there was a man with an impure spirit. 24“What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?” he yelled. “Have you come to utterly destroy us? I know who you are, the Consecrated One of God.” km,