Review of A Comparative Handbook to the Gospel of Mark: Comparisons with Pseudepigrapha, the Qumran Scrolls, and Rabbinic Literature, edited by Bruce Chilton, Darrell Bock, Daniel M Gurtner, Jacob Neusner, Lawrence H. Schiffman, and Daniel Oden. Leiden: Brill, 2010

Williams, Joel F

English

Digital Commons

Cedarville UniversityDigitalCommons@CedarvilleBiblical and Theological Studies FacultyPublications School of Biblical and Theological Studies2011Book Review: A Comparative Handbook to theGospel of MarkJoel F. WilliamsCedarville UniversityFollow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/biblical_and_ministry_studies_publicationsPart of the Biblical Studies Commons, and the Comparative Methodologies and TheoriesCommonsThis Book Review is brought to you for free and open access byDigitalCommons@Cedarville, a service of the Centennial Library. It hasbeen accepted for inclusion in Biblical and Theological Studies FacultyPublications by an authorized administrator ofDigitalCommons@Cedarville. For more information, please contactdigitalcommons@cedarville.edu.Recommended CitationWilliams, Joel F., "Book Review: A Comparative Handbook to the Gospel of Mark" (2011). Biblical and Theological Studies FacultyPublications. 72.http://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/biblical_and_ministry_studies_publications/72journal of the evangelical theological society 54/1160A Comparative Handbook to the Gospel of Mark: Comparisons with Pseudepigrapha, the Qumran Scrolls, and Rabbinic Literature. Edited by Bruce Chilton, Darrell Bock, Dan-iel Gurtner, Jacob Neusner, Lawrence H. Schi2man, and Daniel Oden. The New Testa-ment Gospels in Their Judaic Contexts 1. Leiden: Brill, 2010, xii + 596 pp., $247.00.This helpful reference work situates the Gospel of  Mark within the context of  Jew-ish literature by providing for each passage in Mark a series of  comparative quotations from a variety of  sources: the pseudepigrapha, the writings of  Philo and Josephus, texts related to Qumran, and Rabbinic literature including the Targumim. The handbook works through Mark’s Gospel passage by passage, beginning each section with a fresh translation of  Mark’s text (with Codex Vaticanus serving as the underlying Greek text), followed by extended quotations from Jewish literature (often with quotations from Qumran literature predominating), followed by brief  comments on the place of  Mark’s Gospel within a Jewish context. The purpose for these comments is somewhat limited; the intention is not to analyze or provide a commentary on Mark’s Gospel but to suggest possible comparisons between Mark and various Judaic environments. Often included in the comments are Aramaic retroversions of  Jesus’ sayings, translating the Greek text of  Mark’s Gospel back to an underlying Aramaic saying, all for the sake of  better comparing Jesus’ words with the Jewish context. The volume as a whole begins with an introduction to Jewish literature (pp. 1–60) and ends with a series of  appendices (pp. 529–72), covering “Rabbinic Rules of  Interpretation,” “(The) Son of  (the) Man, and Jesus,” “Rabbi as a Title of  Jesus,” and “Synagogues.”The preface sorts out four di2erent types of  possible analogies between the Gospels and Judaic literature: simple, topical, interpretive, and close (pp. viii–xii). A simple analogy points to a similar pattern of  thought. So, for example, the idea that a fresh experience of  God brings with it new requirements of  response appears both in the Gospels (e.g. Matt 13:17) and the Targumim (e.g. Tg. Isa. 48:6a). The similar use of a word or phrase produces a topical analogy. As an example, Jesus was not alone in teaching about the kingdom of  God (e.g. the Targumim use the form “the kingdom of the Lord”; see p. ix for a list of  references). An interpretive analogy does not point to a parallel that involves exact wording, but rather it presupposes a comparable un-derstanding of  the same biblical text. Other Second Temple Jewish texts present the nation and land of  Israel as God’s vineyard based on the metaphor of  Isa 5:1–7, and they do so in ways that are comparable to Jesus’ use of  the metaphor in his parable of the vineyard in Mark 12:1–12. A close analogy shows a similarity in both wording and thought. Jesus’ teaching on Gehenna (e.g. Mark 9:48) is closely similar to statements found in pseudepigraphic texts (e.g. 1 Enoch 27:2; 54:1–6; Syb. Or. 2:283–312) and in Rabbinic literature (e.g. Tg. Isa. 66:24b; m. Eduy. 2.10). The editors kept all four types of  analogies in mind as they chose comparative quotations from Jewish literature, but no attempt was made to assign quotations to a particular category of  analogy. The comments included on each passage in Mark’s Gospel are therefore somewhat limited. They are “deliberately minimal” (p. xii). The comments suggest possible interpretations based on comparisons between Mark’s Gospel and quotations from Jewish literature. However, there is no attempt to provide a full commentary on Mark based on these quotations. Instead, this handbook treats the reader as a commentator, providing com-parative material to serve the reader in the task of  commentary writing on Mark’s Gospel or in the task of  interpretation more generally.The limited nature of  the comments has the potential to create some lack of  clar-ity. At times not enough explanation is o2ered to evaluate the statements made in the comments. For example, on a number of  occasions throughout the handbook, references are made to possible sources for the traditions in Mark’s Gospel. The story of  Jesus’ book reviewsmarch 2011 161baptism comes from Peter and his circle (p. 76). It was also Peter and his companions who crafted the account of  Jesus’ death and resurrection (p. 476). The description of the exorcism at the synagogue in Capernaum emanates from Mary Magdalene and her circle (p. 89). Stories related to purity and ritual, such as those appearing in the second chapter of  Mark, /nd their source in Barnabas and his circle (pp. 101, 114, 131). The probable source for Jesus’ teaching concerning his parables in Mark 4:10–12 is James, the brother of  Jesus, and the circle around him in Jerusalem (p. 166). However, insuf-/cient evidence is o0ered to evaluate such claims, and little guidance is given to make sense of  why these comments serve to clarify the relationship between Mark’s Gospel and comparative Jewish literature. In other words, the comments included for each passage in Mark’s Gospel are more suggestive than comprehensive in nature.Another limitation is the lack of  any obvious system for cross-references. Particular selections from Jewish literature may be relevant to more than one passage in Mark’s Gospel. Yet quotations normally appear in conjunction with just one passage (or maybe two) in Mark. For example, the Aramaic Apocalypse found at Qumran is signi/cant for understanding early Jewish messianic beliefs and the use of  “Son of  God” as a title. Therefore the reference in Aramaic Apocalypse ii 1 to a person called the Son of  God and the Son of  the Most High is important for a number of  passages in Mark’s Gospel. Yet this quotation from the Aramaic Apocalypse only appears in the handbook in connec-tion with Jesus’ silencing of  the unclean spirits in Mark 3:7–12 when they call him the Son of  God. Another example involves the quotation from Florilegium 1–2i 21:10–13, which looks ahead to God’s ful/llment of  his promises to the o0spring of  David who will arise to save Israel. This quotation serves to illustrate Bartimaeus’s cry to Jesus as the Son of  David (Mark 10:46–52) and the cry of  the crowd at Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem concerning the coming kingdom of  David (11:1–10) but not Jesus’ question about the Son of  David in Mark 12:35–37. The opposite occurs with regard to the ref-erence to the Branch of  David in the War Rule 7:2–5 and the reference to the Son of David in the Ps. Sol. 17:21–43. These appear in conjunction with Mark 12:35–37 but not 10:46–52 or 11:1–10. As a result, users of  the handbook must be careful to check the sections for multiple passages in Mark’s Gospel when studying any topic that ap-pears in several places in Mark.Overall, the handbook is an achievement, and certain limitations should not detract from its success. The editors provide hundreds of  pages of  extensive quotations drawn from Jewish literature that have the potential to shed light on every passage in Mark’s Gospel. The comments for each section begin the comparative work and point to possible avenues for further study. As such, the handbook serves as an important resource for commentators and other interpreters of  Mark’s Gospel.Joel F. Williams Cedarville University, Cedarville, OHMark’s Jesus: Characterization as Narrative Christology. By Elizabeth Struthers Mal-bon. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2009, xiv + 286 pp., $39.95.To narrative critics in general and to those who study characterization in Mark’s Gospel more speci/cally, Elizabeth Struthers Malbon, longtime Professor in the Depart-ment of  Religion and Culture at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, is a well-recognized leader in the /eld. Mark’s Jesus is the culmination of  Malbon’s research into Mark’s characterization that dates back to the 1980s (see her collected 

Book Review: A Comparative Handbook to the Gospel of Mark

https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1071&context=biblical_and_ministry_studies_publications

Book Review: A Comparative Handbook to the Gospel of Mark

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Digital Commons