In Mk 3:17 Jesus gives two disciples the nickname “Boanerges”; the text explains that the meaning of “Boanerges” is “Sons of Thunder.” The problem is that “Boanerges” is not good Aramaic. As Wikipedia says, “Given the Greek translation that comes with it (‘Sons of Thunder’), it seems that the first element of the name is…
Category: Performance of the play
Flavia Domitilla’s children in Mark’s play
At the time of Mark’s play c. 95 CE, Flavia was in her late twenties or early thirties. She had borne seven children, with the maximum age of 16 (we don’t know if all survived infancy). Here, I identify the roles for children in Mark’s play, propose that Flavia Domitilla’s children did play those roles,…
The Bethsaida section, Part I: The blind man of Bethsaida scene
Summary This post extrapolates from the discussion of the blind man of Bethsaida scene in my book, The Two Gospels of Mark: Performance and Text. Here, I review elements of the scene (Mk 8:22-26). I imagine how the scene was staged. I conclude that the scene made sense only in the world of the audience….
The Joseph of Arimathea scene in the Gospel of Mark, revisited
Summary When I wrote my book, The Two Gospels of Mark: Performance and Text, I assumed that the received text of the Joseph of Arimathea scene in the Gospel of Mark (Mk 15:42-46) preserved the performance of Mark’s play. I assumed that the audience heard the spoken words “Iōsēph ho apo Harimathaias.” I assumed that…
Dramatic enactment of the Gospel of Mark by actor Max McLean
A YouTube search yields several dramatic readings of the Gospel of Mark, including an excellent one by actor David Suchet. But the dramatic enactment of the Gospel of Mark by actor Max McLean is in a class by itself. McLean dramatizes the dialogue. He uses the stage and all of the actor’s craft to keep…
The fig tree episode in the Gospel of Mark is an editorial overwrite
Summary The episode of the cursing of the fig tree in the Gospel of Mark is not good theater. It follows the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, and brackets the Temple Incident (TI). The fig-tree episode should have some relationship to either the triumph or to Jesus’s actions in the Temple. But instead, Jesus explains to…
Reconstruction of the Pilate scene in the Gospel of Mark
Executive Summary In the Pilate scene in the Gospel of Mark, Mark invoked a name, “Pilate,” that had meaning to the audience of his play. We can assume that Mark expected the audience (in Rome 90-95 CE) to bring their knowledge of Pilate, that he was hard or even cruel. But the Passover Privilege presents…
In the Gospel of Mark, why does Jesus appear in Galilee?
In the Gospel of Mark, why does Jesus appear in Galilee, and not in some other place? There are three good reasons why Jesus appears in Galilee. First, the Sea of Galilee borders the Galilee. Mark can have characters in his story who are fishermen. He can stage scenes that use a boat, such as…