Mark

5:21-43

The journey begins, 1:1-5:43

6. The powers defeated, 4:35-5:43

iii] Sickness - Jairus' daughter and a woman with a haemorrhage

On returning to the western shore of lake Galilee, Jesus meets Jairus, an official of the local synagogue. Jairus pleads with Jesus to come and heal his daughter who is at the point of death. A large crowd has gathered, and all set off for the home of Jairus. On the way, a woman suffering from an ongoing haemorrhage which has made her ritually unclean, touches Jesus' robe for healing. Jesus feels the touch, and is soon able to declare "your faith has made you well." At this point, a message comes from Jairus' home saying that the girl has died. "Fear not", Jesus says to Jairus, "go on believing." Arriving at the home, Jesus, along with Peter, James and John, enters the home, takes the girl by the hand, raises her to life, and then reminds the amazed onlookers that the girl needs something to eat.

Jesus is Lord over the dark power of death, and our participation in his victory is through a faith that keeps on keeping on.

i] Context: See 4:35-41. This episode is the third of a set of three which focus on Jesus' victory over dark powers, 4:35-5:43.

ii] Structure: He heals the sick and raises the dead:

iii] Interpretation:

iv] Synoptics.

v] Exposition: A simple exposition of this passage can be found in the pew-level sermon notes He heals the sick and raises the dead.

Jairus' daughter and the woman with the issue of blood, v21-43: i] The request, v21-24. Jesus returns to the northwestern shore of lake Galilee, possibly to Capernaum, and a crowd gathers about him. A synagogue-ruler (an official of the local synagogue) makes an urgent plea that Jesus come and lay hands on his daughter. Jairus obviously believes that if Jesus comes, he can heal his daughter. The crowd presses in to watch Jesus' response, and goes with him to witness the healing.

diaperasantoV (diaperaw) aor. part. "When [Jesus] had [again] crossed over" - [and jesus] having crossed over. The genitive participle and its genitive subject "Jesus" forms a genitive absolute construction, temporal. cf., v2, typical non classical grammar. "After Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side."

palin adv. "again" - Sequential adverb. Due to textual variations, it is either Jesus crossed over the lake again, or a crowd gathered around him again.

en + dat. "by [boat]" - in [the boat into the other side]. Variant reading. The dative is either instrumental, expressing means, "by boat", or local, expressing space, "in the boat", ESV.

ep (epi) + acc. "around" - [a large crowd was gathered] upon [him]. Spacial, "around, near", used instead of peri. "Crowds of people gathered to meet him", Barclay.

para + acc. "by [the lake]" - [and he was] beside [the lake]. Local, expressing space.

kai "then" - and. Coordinative, as NIV; "and then."

twn arcisunagwgwn (oV) gen. "[one] of the synagogue rulers" - [comes one] of the managers of the synagogue (a lay official responsible for the management of the synagogue programme, facilities and complex). The genitive is adjectival, partitive; "one of the synagogue presidents", Phillips.

onomati (a) dat. "named" - by name [jairus]. Dative of reference. Omitted in some manuscripts. Possibly added for symbolic effect, given that the root meaning of the name is "he awakes."

idwn (oJraw) aor. part. "when he saw" - [and] having seen [him]. The participle is adverbial, temporal, as NIV.

piptei (piptw) pres. "fall" - he falls down [toward the feet of him]. Given his status, falling at the feet of Jesus as a supplicant indicates the depth of fear he has for his child. "He knelt at Jesus' feet", CEV. The preposition proV, "toward", expresses movement toward, although usually translated here as "at the feet."

parakalei (parakalew) pres. "he pleaded [earnestly] with" - [and] he begs, asks, beseeches / exhorts, comforts [him much, greatly, earnestly]. The present tense "beseeches" is usually translated as a historic present "beseeched", although some texts have an imperfect tense which may indicate that the present was mistakenly carried over from the surrounding verbs. He beseeched Jesus much. Note how the alliteration parakalein polla serves to emphasise his pleading; "he persistently pleaded."

legwn (legw) pres. part. "-" - saying. Attendant circumstance participle, redundant.

oJti "-" - that. Introducing a dependent statement of direct speech expressing what he is saying.

to qugatarion "little daughter" - [my] daughter. The diminutive is possibly implying "dear"; "my dear little girl."

escatwV adv. "dying" - [has] dying. The adverb escatwV, "finally", with the verb ecei, "have", means to reach an extremity, here in the sense of being at the last gasp, at death's door, so "is dying."

iJna + subj. "[please come and lay your hands on her]" - that [having come you may lay, put, the hand on her]. This hina clause is usually taken to stand in the place of an imperatival infinitive, although the participle elqwn, "having come" may be imperatival such that the infinitive is adverbial, expressing purpose; "come in order to lay your hands on her." Either way, the words are driven by panic; "Come and lay your hands on her."

iJna + subj. "so that" - that. This second hina clause is adverbial, final, expressing purpose.

swqh/ kai zhsh/ aor. pas. sub. "she may be healed and live" - she may be healed and live. Both words have an interchangeable meaning: "healed / saved" and "live / live eternally." It seems likely that Jairus is asking that she be healed and so be able to live out her life, but the words rightly cue us to their deeper significance, such that what this girl needs, as we all need, is to be saved and gain eternal life.

met (meta) + acc. "with [him]" - [and he went] with [him]. Expressing association.

autw/ dat. pro. "[followed] him" - [and a large crowd followed] him. Dative of direct object after the verb "to follow."

suneqlibon (sunqlibw) imperf. "pressed around" - [and] they were pressing closely upon, hustling, crowding in upon [him]. At 3:9 the verb appears without the prefix, given that there it is only the danger of a crush; here it's the real thing.

ii] Jesus' confrontation with dark powers continues in the healing of the woman with the issue of blood, v25-34. A woman with a haemorrhage, who was part of the crowd pressing in on Jesus, touches him. Her condition is not clearly identified, but is obviously vaginal and so makes her "unclean" and therefore cuts her off from her Jewish community. She has spent all her money on cures, but nothing has worked and now her condition is getting worse. She, like the synagogue-ruler, believes that Jesus can heal her. She obviously believes that by touching Jesus she can channel his healing power, and her touch completely heals her. Jesus is aware of the touch, and asks the healed person to identify themselves. No reason is given, but as Jesus' miracles visibly proclaim the gospel, it obviously needs to be exposed (if only to the true seeker), and then a word given to explain its true meaning. Only Mark makes the rather strange comment, "Jesus realised that power had gone out from him." Jesus sensed that his messianic power had reached out to someone. The woman comes forward, overcome by fear. Her fear is well founded, for she is unclean and has knowingly touched a rabbi. After she explains what happened (obviously in the hearing of the crowd), Jesus explains her healing; her faith in him has resulted in a miracle.

The miracle reminds us that faith saves; the kingdom of God is entered through faith; salvation is appropriated through faith - faith frees us from the bondage of sin and death.

The first Gk. sentence covers v25-28. Between the noun , gunh, "a woman", and the principle verb hJyato, "she touched", v27, Mark has a string of subordinate participial clauses. The first set are adjectival, attributive, describing / limiting gunh, "woman": ou\sa, "who had [an issue of blood]"; paqousa, "and who had suffered [much from many doctors]"; dapanhsasa, "and who had spent / spending [all she had]"; mhden wfelhqeisa, "without gaining anything / not having gained"; elqousa, "[but] who had became [worse] / having become [worse]." The next two participles, akousasa, "having heard", and elqousa, "having come", attend the main verb hJyato, "she touched." Given that she is "unclean" and has touched a Rabbi, the participial clauses serve to gain our sympathy before telling us that she touched Jesus.

en + dat. "who had been subject to" - [and there was a woman] with. Expressing association. Decker suggests "a marker of a state or condition."

ai{matoV (a atoV) gen. "bleeding" - [a flow] of blood [twelve years]. The genitive is verbal, subjective. She suffered from constant vaginal bleeding which rendered her unclean and unable to share in normal community life, Lev.15:25-30. "Who had constant menstrual bleeding for twelve years."

paqousa (pascw) aor. part. "suffered" - [and] having suffering [much]. Adjectival participle, attributive, see above. "She had endured much under many physicians", NRSV.

uJpo + gen. "under the care of" - by [many physicians]. Expressing agency, "by"; "at the hands of many doctors", Barclay.

dapanhsasa (dapanaw) aor. part. "had spent" - [and] having spent. The participle, attributive, as above. Emphasising that she spent everything she had for medical help without any benefit at all, serves to underline her desperate condition (as good as dead) in contrast to her healing.

ta "-" - the [everything with her]. The article servers as a nominalizer turning the prepositional phrase par aouthV panta into a substantival construction, direct object of the participle "having spent."

kai "yet" - and. Here adversative, "but having benefited nothing"; "but was no better off."

wfelhqeisa (wfelew) aor. part. "getting better" - having benefited [nothing]. The participle, is adjectival, attributive, as above. "It had done her no good at all", Barclay.

elqousa (ercomai) aor. part. "she grew" - [but] having become. The participle, is adjectival, attributive, as above.

to ceiron comp. adj. "worse" - [into] the worse condition. The articular adjective serves as a substantive. "On the contrary, she was getting worse."

akousasa (akouw) aor. part. "When she heard" - having heard. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to touch", or adverbial, temporal, as NIV; "When she heard [the things] about Jesus."

ta "-" - the things. Variant reading; "the things concerning Jesus" = "The reports about Jesus."

peri + gen. "about" - about [jesus]. Reference / respect; "concerning Jesus."

elqousa (ercomai) aor. part. "she came up" - having come. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to touch", or adverbial, temporal, "as she came from behind in the crowd, she touched .....".

opisqen adv. "behind him" - behind. Local adverb; "from behind."

en + dat. "in" - in [the crowd]. Local, expressing space.

hJyato (aJptw) "touched" - she touched. Jesus usually does the touching, although the gospels and Acts remind us of the common belief that healing can come by touching a healer's clothing, or even by coming under their shadow. Such a belief moves toward the magical, although in this episode, both the faith of the woman and its consequence is in no way derided.

iJmatiou (on) gen. "his [cloak]" - [the garment] of him. Genitive of direct object after the verb "to take hold of." Luke has "take hold of the fringe of the garment of him", three genitives: direct object, partitive, possessive.

gar "because" - because. Introducing a causal clause explaining why she touched Jesus.

elegen (legw) imperf. "she thought" - she was saying. The imperfect here really serves as a pluperfect, "she had been saying." The choice of an imperfect may be iterative, expressing repeated action, "she kept saying over to herself", but the discourse narrative, at this point, is backgrounding, so calling for a more remote tense.

oJti "-" - that. Introducing a dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what she said to herself.

ean + subj. "if" - if, as the case may be, [i touch even the garments of him, then i will be healed]. Introducing a conditional clause 3rd. class where the proposed condition has the possibility of coming true.

kan "-" - A combination of kai and an giving the sense "even if" = "at least"; "if I touch even his garments", ESV.

swqhsomai (swzw) fut. pas. "I will be healed" - In the context, "healed" is certainly in the woman's mind, but as already noted, the word's eschatological sense is always lurking in the background. The verb is used fourteen time by Mark and takes the sense "deliverance form the enemies of life that threaten authentic existence" and so is closely related to "gaining eternal life" and "entering the kingdom of God", so Boring. "I shall be alright", Phillips / "healed", Barclay.

euquV adv. "immediately" - [and] immediately. Temporal adverb; sometimes used for dramatic effect in a narrative, or to express immediate action, but often just to progress the narrative, as here, so "then ....."

tou ai{matoV (a atoV) gen. "[her] bleeding" - [was dried up the fountain] of the blood [of her]. The genitive is adjectival, probably best classified as partitive. "Her flow of blood was staunched", Barclay.

egnw (ginwskw) aor "she felt" - [and] she knew. She experienced a sense of physical well-being.

oJti "that" - [in the body] that. Introducing a dependent statement of perception expressing what she felt.

iatai (iaomai) perf. pas. "she was freed" - she has been healed, cured. Usually taken as perfect, but this form may be present. The Perfect is used to indicate that the healing is complete, for good, without relapse. "She was cured of her complaint", Moffatt.

apo + gen. "from" - from. Expressing separation; "away from."

mastigoV (ix igoV) "her suffering" - the affliction. A strong word to emphasise her condition and therefore the power of the healing.

euquV "at once" - [and] immediately. Temporal; see above, v29. Here Mark seems to be stressing the immediacy of the healing following the touch of faith, even though it is a faith bordering on magic.

epignouV en eJautw/ "[Jesus] realised" - [jesus] having known. The adverbial participle provides the verbal aspect of a temporal clause; "was at once conscious", Moffatt.

en + dat. "-" - in [himself]. Local, expressing space / sphere.

exelqousan (exercomai) aor. part. "had gone out" - that [the power] having gone out [from him]. The participle introduces an object clause / dependent statement of perception; "Jesus realised that power had gone from him", ESV. The sense of the verb is probably more like "preceded" here than "come out"; "preceded from him" = "his messianic power of healing had gone forth", Nineham. The Greek certainly has Jesus aware of the transfer of power immediately upon it taking place, but not before. This may imply an automatic transfer, independent of the will of Jesus, or more rightly a transfer from the Father through Jesus, which transfer Jesus senses. "That the power proceeding from him went forth", RV.

epistrafeiV (epistrefw) aor. pas. part. "turned around" - having turned around. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the verb "to say"; "he turned about and said." The crowd is pressing in on him and because the touch comes from behind; "Jesus turned around and asked."

en + dat. "in" - in [the crowd, he was saying]. Local, space.

twn iJmartiwn (on) gen. "[who touched my] clothes?" - [who took hold of] the garments [of me]? Genitive of direct object after the verb "to touch / take hold of." Calvin makes the poit that Jesus already knew, while Cranfield argues he didn't know. Jesus may have wished to evidence the sign, or more likely he wanted to draw out the woman's minimal faith and reinforce it.

autw/ dat. pro. "-" - [and the disciples of him were saying] to him. Dative of indirect object.

sunqlibonta (simqlibw) pres. part. "crowding against" - [behold the crowd] crowding / pressing against [you and you say, who touched me]. The accusative participle may serve as an object complement, stating a fact about the direct object "crowd, people", namely that, they are crowding in, or, even though anarthrous, it may be treated as adjectival, attributive, "which is pressing in on you." The disciples' statement, "you see the crowd pressing you and you ask 'who touched me'", is less than gracious and so is softened by Luke and left out by Matthew.

perieblepeto (periblepw) imperf. "kept looking around" - [and] he was looking, looking around, looking about. A verb used 7 times in the NT, mostly in the gospels and with Jesus doing the looking. "Jesus turned to see who had touched him", CEV.

idein (oJraw) aor. inf. "to see" - to see. The infinitive is adverbial, final, expressing purpose; "in order to see."

thn ... poihsasan (poiew) aor. part. "who had done [it]" - the one having done [this]. The participle serves as a substantive.

de "then" - but/and. Transitional, indicating a step in the narrative, here to a change in subject, from Jesus to the woman.

fobhqeisa (fobeomai) part. "fear" - [the woman] was fearing [and trembling]. This participle, as with tremousa, "trembling", and eiduia, "knowing", is adverbial, modal, expressing the manner of her coming to Jesus; she hlqen, "came", fearing, trembling and knowing, although Decker classifies them as adjectival, attributive. Cranfield suggests that she is afraid because she knows a miracle has been performed on her. Gundry agrees. France leans toward the idea that she knows she has made Jesus ritually unclean, but he does accept that Mark does not draw this conclusion. Both fear and trembling are natural responses to what has happened, but none-the-less, they are also standard Biblical reactions to a theophany.

auth/ dat. pro. "[what has happened] to her" - [having known what had happened] to her. Dative of interest, advantage, "for her", or reference / respect, "with respect to her."

prosepesen autw/ "fell at [his] feet" - [she came and] fell down before. Does this action stem from a recognition of Jesus' authority?

autw/ dat. pro. "his" - him. Dative of direct object after the proV prefix verb "fall down before."

autw/ dat. pro. "[told] him" - [and said] to him [the whole truth]. Dative of indirect object. "The whole truth" is a judicial term used even today in court - "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth."

auth/ dat. pro. "to her" - [and he said] to her. Dative of indirect object.

qugathr "daughter" - daughter. Jesus may be declaring her status in his family of faith. Vocative; "my young lady."

hJ pistiV (iV ewV) "faith" - the faith [of you]. Marcus states that faith "implies not just intellectual assent but emotional involvement and commitment." It is for this reason he prefers the translation "trust". Her trust, her reliance, dependence, ... on God and his wonderworking power operative in his messiah Jesus, heals / saves. It is interesting how in John's gospel, it is often the other way around; the miracle prompts faith / trust. Of course, this order is evident in the synoptic gospels as well where Jesus' miracles prompt either anger (when done on the Sabbath), amazement, or faith. The faith heals order reflects the faith saves order firmly fixed in the epistles. This has prompted the idea that the faith heals order is not original, being a reflection of early Christian preaching - such is an over critical conclusion.

seswken (swzw) perf. "has healed [you]" - has saved, healed [you]. Possibly Mark intends both meanings, "healed" and "saved". The perfect tense indicating the completeness of her new condition, both physical and spiritual.

uJpage eiV eirhnhn "go in peace" - go into peace. Idiomatic; go into wellbeing rather than trouble. A "formula for leave-taking", Cranfield. Taylor argues it carries the weight of the speaker and therefore, on Jesus' lips, it is a substantial blessing.

isqi pres. imp. "be [freed from your suffering]" - [and] be [whole from the affliction of you]. The present imperative of the verb to-be is durative, commanding a continuing state such that Jesus is declaring her ongoing health. "Go in peace and remain healed from your affliction", Boring.

iii] The report that Jairus' daughter has died, v35-37. A message now comes to the synagogue-ruler that his daughter has died. Jesus overhears the report and seeks to draw out the revelatory nature of the sign he is about to perform (a point he has already made in the healing of the woman with the haemorrhage). Faith, rather than fear, is the means of appropriating the blessings of the kingdom. In typical style, Jesus sets out to keep the sign within a select circle - those with eyes to see.

lalountoV (lalew) gen. pres. part. "while [Jesus] was [still] speaking" - [he] speaking. The genitive participle with its genitive subject autou, "he", forms a genitive absolute construction, temporal, as NIV.

eti adv. "still" - still, again. Temporal adverb; "while he was still speaking."

ercontai (ercomai) pres. "some people came" - they came. Historic / narrative present, probably used to indicate a new segment in the narrative discourse.

apo + gen. "from" - from [the house of the ruler of the synagogue]. Expressing source / origin.

oJti "-" - [saying] that. Introducing a dependent statement of direct speech expressing what they said. The participle "saying" is attendant on the verb "they came, approached", "they came ........ and said", possibly modal, expressing the manner of their coning up to Jairus; "as they approached ........ they addressed him."

apeqanen (apoqhnhskw) aor. "is dead" - [the daughter of you] died. The perfect "has died" would be expected, but the aorist "is dead" serves to stress that she is actually dead.

tiv "why" - why [still]. Interrogative pronoun.

skulleiV (skullw) pres. "bother" - are you troubling, annoying [the teacher]? Originally the word meant to flay, or skin, but had weakened over time. Those from the house of Jairus are making the point that from a human perspective, the situation is now hopeless, so Jesus' aid is no longer needed.

de "-" - but/and. Transitional, another change in subject, from the members of Jairus' household to Jesus.

parakousaV (parakouw) aor. part. "ignoring / overhearing" - [jesus] refusing to listen, ignoring / having overheard. The participle is adverbial, possibly modal, or even temporal, "instantly Jesus ignored the remark", Moffatt. The base meaning of the word is "hear beside", but can mean either "overhear" or "ignore", even "disobey. The NIV follows RV "not heeding", but the TNIV "overhear" is likely the intended meaning. In fact, Jesus does not ignore their words, for he tells Jairus to believe.

laloumenon (lelew) pres. pas. part. "[what] they said" - [the word] being spoken. The participle is best treated as adjectival, attributive, limiting / describing "the word", "the word which was said"; "the spoken message", Berkeley.

tw/ arcisunagwgw/ (oV) dat. "him" - [says] to the ruler of the synagogue. Dative of indirect object.

mh fobou (fobeomai) pres. imp. "do not be afraid" - do not fear. The negative with the present imperative may serve as a command to cease doing something, so "stop being afraid", although modern grammarians do not hold with this classification.

pisteue (pisteuw) pres. imp. "believe" - [only] believe. The present durative tense may serve to make the point that Jairus is to "continue to believe."

ouk ... oudena "[he did] not [let] anyone" - [and he did] not [let, permit] no one. Emphatic double negative.

sunakolouqhsai (sunakolouqew) aor. inf. "follow" - to follow, accompany. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the negated verb "did not allow." By allowing only three disciples and the parents to witness the miracle, Jesus is obviously keeping the sign away from the unbelieving crowd, but at the same time, by including the three disciples he is providing witnesses for, what will be, an amazing messianic sign for those with eyes to see. The messianic secret, maintained by discreet miracles and gospel preaching in kingdom parables, is primarily theological rather than practical. Jesus is concerned that the gospel, in sign and word, is revealed to those with eyes to see (the good soil) and hidden from those who are not looking for / seeking the coming kingdom (hard, shallow and weed-infested soil). The practical implication of a population stirred by messianic signs is likely to be a secondary consideration.

met (meta) + gen. "-" - with [him]. Expressing association / accompaniment, "go along together with", somewhat redundant.

ei mh "except" - except. Introducing an exceptive clause expressing a contrast by designating an exception.

Iakwbou (oV) gen. "[the brother] of James" - [peter and james and john the brother] of james. The genitive is adjectival, relational.

iv] The healing of Jairus' daughter, v38-43. By the time Jesus gets to the girl, the household is in full mourning. Jesus sends them packing with the claim that "the girl is not dead, but asleep." They laugh because, in their estimation, she is dead. Only Luke makes it patently clear that she is dead. Jesus' claim that she is "asleep" may imply a number of things: he knows she is in a deep coma; her present state is only temporary; he is making a theological statement about resurrection; or he is throwing the mourners (the unbelieving crowd) off the scent. The tradition records the actual words of healing in Aramaic. The girl responds and walks about, but sadly, the general response is amazement and not faith. Jesus could well have asked "Do you still have no faith?" Jesus has again focused the revelation of the kingdom of God (the gospel) on the true seeker, rather than the unbelieving crowd. Only the disciples, along with Jairus and his wife, get to see the sign. The rest are left in confusion; the evidence of a child they thought was dead, but who must have been asleep.

eiV + acc. "[he went] in" - [and they come] into [the house of the synagogue leader]. Spacial. "Came to" the home is better than "came in" such that in v39 "went in" is not "went into" the court yard of the house from the bedroom to talk to the crowd, but rather "went into" the house and talked to the crowd."

klaiontaV (klaiw) pres. part. "crying" - [and he sees an uproar, turmoil, confusion and] crying [and wailing]. This, and its coordinate participle alalazontaV, "wailing", is confused somewhat by the introductory connective kai; "he sees a commotion and weeping and much wailing." This prompts the AV to take the participles as substantives; "he seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly." Yet, they seem more descriptive / adjectival, possibly epexegetic, explaining the commotion , so Cranfield, or as an object complement stating a fact about the commotion; "He observed the bedlam - loud weeping and wailing - and as he entered ....", Berkeley. It is often argued that the mourners are a professional group hired for the purpose of making loud wailings, but there has really not been time to bring in a team of local thespians, and so it is likely the mourners are family and household members. "Why are you crying and carrying on like this?", CEV.

polla adj. "loudly" - much, great = greatly. The adjective serves as a modal adverb here with the accusative intensifying the verbal aspect, cf., Zerwick. Probably modifying both participles.

eiselqwn (eisercomai) aor. part. "he went in" - [and] having gone in. The participle is possibly adverbial, temporal, "and when he was come in", AV, or simply attendant on legei, "said", "he entered and said."

autoiV dat. pro. "to them" - [he says] to them. Dative of indirect object.

to paidion "this child" - [why are you distressed and weeping? the little child. Often an affectionate term. Note the change from "daughter" to "little child." The terms reflect endearment, for the girl is 12 years old and not an infant, cf., v42.

alla "but" - [did not die] but. Strong adversative standing in a counterpoint construction.

kaqeudei (kaqeudw) pres. "asleep" - is sleeping. An example where the verb is in the present tense, but carries a perfect sense. The mob says she is dead; Jesus says she is alive. Jesus may be employing a euphemism for the death of a person about to be raised to life. The term "sleeping" is later used in the epistles to describe the state of a believer who has died (dead, not in a state of soul-sleep) and awaiting the day of resurrection.

kategelwn (katagelaw) imperf. "they laughed at" - they were laughing at, deriding. They deride Jesus for his faulty diagnosis, presumably made without seeing the child. "They greeted him with a scornful laugh", Phillips.

autou gen. pro. "him" - Genitive of direct object after the kata prefix verb "to laugh at."

ekbalwn (ekballw) aor. part. "after he put them [all] out" - [but/and he] having thrown out, cast out, put out [everyone]. The participle is best treated as adverbial, temporal, as NIV. For Mark, this is quite a strong word, taking the sense "cast out" rather than "dismiss", or "send away". The sign is not for unbelievers.

tou paidiou (on) gen. "child's [father and mother]" - [he takes the father] of the child [and the mother]. The genitive is adjectival, possessive. The faith of the parents and disciples privileges them to see the sign.

touV "the disciples" - [and] the ones. The article serves as a nominalizer, turning the prepositional phrase met autou, "with him", into a nominal construction, "the ones who were with him."

met (meta) + gen. "with" - with [him]. Expressing association.

o{pou "where" - [and goes into] where [the child was]. Local conjunction.

krathsaV (kratew) aor. part. "he took [her] by" - [and] having taken hold of, grasped hold of [the hand]. The participle is adverbial, temporal; "then he took the child's hand", Moffatt. A similar action to the healing of Peter's mother-in-law. The verb "to take hold of" takes a genitive direct object." Taking the child by the hand", NJB.

tou paidiou (on) gen. "her" - of the child. The genitive is adjectival, possessive.

auth/ dat. pro. "to her" - [he says] to her. Dative of indirect object.

estin meqermhneuomenon (meqermhneuw) pres. pas. part. "which means" - [talitha koum, which] being translated means. The participle and the present verb to-be forms a periphrastic present construction. The actual words are stark and simple and so remove any sense of a magical incantation. Still, it has been noted that the use of a strange tongue and touching was common in pagan magic, but of course, the words Jesus uses are Aramaic, his own language and that of the family he is helping.

to korasion "little girl" - Interestingly, the word indicates that we are dealing with someone older than a young child.

soi dat. pro. "[I say] to you" - to you [i say arise]. Dative of indirect object.

euquV "immediately" - [and] immediately [the little girl stood up, arose]. The effect of Jesus' words is immediate, "the girl got up at once", Moffatt, but see v29. The faith of the parents and the disciples privileges them to see the sign. "At once she jumped to her feet and walked around the room", Phillips.

periepatei (peripatew) imperf. "began to walk around" - [and] she was walking around. The NIV takes the imperfect as inceptive, emphasising the beginning of the action, but possibly just expressing durative action.

gar "-" - for. More explanatory than causal, making the point that she wasn't a baby, but was able to walk by herself.

etwn dwdeka gen. "twelve years old" - [she was] twelve years. Predicate adjective, the genitive being adjectival, of measure.

ekstasei megalh dat. "completely [astonished]" - [and they were astonished, amazed] with a great astonishment, amazement. Cognate dative, see Cranfield 191, Decker 142.. Such a response, particularly from the disciples, is disappointing. Faith is the proper response to such a sign. When the dead are raised then is the kingdom upon us. "They were .... completely amazed", Barclay.

euquV "-" - immediately. Placement of this temporal adverb is awkward and has spawned a number of textual variants; "they were suddenly and completely amazed", Barclay.

polla adj. "[he gave] strict [orders]." - [and he gave orders] much = earnestly. Used as an adverb to intensify the verb; "he strictly ordered them." It is possible to argue that Jesus only wants the miracle hidden long enough to enable him to get away, and so for this reason he tells the parents to prepare some food for their daughter, something they would have naturally done sooner or later. The "sooner" gets Jesus and the disciples away before miracle-fever gets out of hand. Gundry suggests that the crowd would inevitably get wind of the miracle once the girl is seen alive, so there is no point in keeping it secret, but Jesus has already sowed the seed of doubt by telling them she was sleeping (in a coma). Her being alive only shows that Jesus was right in his diagnosis.

autoiV dat. pro. "-" - to them. Dative of indirect object.

iJna + subj. "-" - that [no one should know this]. Introducing an object clause / dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what Jesus commanded them.

doqhnai (didwmi) aor. pas. inf. "to give" - [and he said] to give. The infinitive serves to introduce a dependent statement of indirect speech expressing what Jesus "told them", namely that they should give her something to eat.

auth/ dat. pro. "her" - to her. Dative of indirect object.

fagein (esqiw) aor. inf. "to eat" - something to eat. Usually taken as adverbial, expressing purpose, "in order to eat", but technically it seems to serve as a substantive, the accusative subject of the passive infinitive "to be given; "he said that something to eat be given to her." "At the same time insisting that the girl was to be giving something to eat", Cassirer.

Mark Introduction

Exposition

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