Jesus, Who Won't Stay Still

Here is my initial, naive translation of Mark 1:29-39, with some notes of my own and notes culled from others. Enjoy, but please don't hesitate to question, challenge or correct. We can marvel together.

Mark 1:29-39

                                                                                    

²⁹Καὶ εὐθὺς ἐκ τῆς συναγωγῆς ἐξελθόντες ἦλθον εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν Σίμωνος καὶ 

Ἀνδρέου μετὰ Ἰακώβου καὶ Ἰωάννου. 

And immediately as he went out of the synagogue, he came into the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John. 

ἐξελθόντες : AAPart npm, ἐξέρχομαι, 1) to go or come forth of  1a) with mention of the place out of which one goes, or the  point from which he departs

ἦλθον : AAI 3p, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come  1a) of persons  1a1) to come from one place to another, and used both of  persons arriving and of those returning

³⁰ ἡ δὲ πενθερὰ Σίμωνος κατέκειτο πυρέσσουσα,καὶ εὐθὺς λέγουσιν αὐτῷ περὶ 

αὐτῆς.

And/but/yet Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed being sick with a fever, and immediately they spoke to him about her. 

κατέκειτο:  IMI 3s, κατάκειμαι, 1) to have lain down, i.e. to lie prostrate  1a) of the sick  1b) of those at meals, to recline 

πυρέσσουσα: PAPart nsf, πυρέσσω, 1) to be sick with a fever

I Corinthians 9:5 Do we not have the right to be accompanied by a believing wife,^* as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?

³¹καὶ προσελθὼν ἤγειρεν αὐτὴν κρατήσας τῆς χειρός: καὶ ἀφῆκεν αὐτὴν ὁ 

πυρετός, καὶ διηκόνει αὐτοῖς. 

And going he awoke/raised her taking her hand; and the fever left her, and she served them. 

προσελθὼν : AAPart nsm, προσέρχομαι, 1) to come to, approach  2) draw near to  3) to assent to

ἤγειρεν : AAI 3s, ἐγείρω, 1) to arouse, cause to rise  1a) to arouse from sleep, to awake

κρατήσας : AAPart nsm, κρατέω, 1) to have power, be powerful  1a) to be chief, be master of, to rule  2) to get possession of 

ἀφῆκεν : AAI 3s, ἀφίημι, 1) to send away  1a) to bid going away or depart  1a1) of a husband divorcing his wife  1b) to send forth, yield up, to expire

διηκόνει : IAI 3s, διακονέω, 1) to be a servant, attendant, domestic, to serve, wait upon  1a) to minister to one, render ministering offices to  1a1) to be served, ministered unto  1b) to wait at a table and offer food and drink to the guests,

 ³² Ὀψίας δὲ γενομένης, ὅτε ἔδυ ὁ ἥλιος, ἔφερον πρὸς αὐτὸν πάντας τοὺς κακῶς 

ἔχοντας καὶ τοὺς δαιμονιζομένους: 

And/but in the evening, when the sun was setting, they were bringing to him all of those who were having troubles and those who were demonized,

ἔδυ : AAI 3s, δύνω, 1) to go into, enter  2) go under, be plunged into, sink in  2a) used in the NT of the setting of the sun 

ἔφερον : IAI 3p, φέρω, 1) to carry   1a) to carry some burden   1a1) to bear with one's self   1b) to move by bearing; move or, to be conveyed or borne, with   the suggestion of force or speed  

ἔχοντας : PAPart apm, φέρω, 1) to carry   1a) to carry some burden   1a1) to bear with one's self   1b) to move by bearing; move or, to be conveyed or borne, with   the suggestion of force or speed  

δαιμονιζομένους: δαιμονίζομαι, 1) to be under the power of a demon.  

³³καὶ ἦν ὅλη ἡ πόλις ἐπισυνηγμένη πρὸς τὴν θύραν. 

And all of the city was being gathered to the door. 

ἐπισυνηγμένη: PerfPPart nsf, ἐπισυνάγω, 1) to gather together besides, to bring together to others  already assembled  2) to gather together against  3) to gather together in one place 

³⁴καὶ ἐθεράπευσεν πολλοὺς κακῶς ἔχοντας ποικίλαις νόσοις, καὶ δαιμόνια πολλὰ ἐξέβαλεν, καὶ οὐκ ἤφιεν λαλεῖν τὰ δαιμόνια, ὅτι ᾔδεισαν αὐτόν. 

And he healed many troubled ones who were having varied diseases, and threw out many demons, and was not allowing the demons to speak, because they had known him.

ἐθεράπευσεν : AAI 3s, θεραπεύω, 1) to serve, do service  2) to heal, cure, restore to health

ἔχοντας : PAPart apm, ἔχω, 1) to have, i.e. to hold  1a) to have (hold) in the hand, in the sense of wearing, to have  (hold) possession of the mind (refers to alarm, agitating  emotions, etc.),

ἐξέβαλεν: AAI 3s, ἐκβάλλω, 1) to cast out, drive out, to send out  1a) with notion of violence  1a1) to drive out (cast out)  1a2) to cast out

ἤφιεν : IAI 3s, ἀφίημι, 1) to send away  1a) to bid going away or depart  1a1) of a husband divorcing his wife  1b) to send forth, yield up, to expire  

λαλεῖν : PAInf λαλέω, 1) to utter a voice or emit a sound  2) to speak  2a) to use the tongue or the faculty of speech 

ᾔδεισαν : PluAI 3p, εἴδω, ἴδω, an obsol. form of the present tense, the place of which is supplied by ὁράω. The tenses coming from εἴδω and retained by usage form two families, of which one signifies to see, the other to know.

³⁵Καὶ πρωῒ ἔννυχα λίαν ἀναστὰς ἐξῆλθεν καὶ ἀπῆλθεν εἰς ἔρημον τόπον κἀκεῖ 

προσηύχετο. 

And in the morning, while it was still very dark, arising he went out and came to a desert/wilderness place and there he prayed. 

ἀναστὰς: AAPart nsm, ἀνίστημι, 1) to cause to rise up, raise up  1a) raise up from laying down  1b) to raise up from the dead  1c) to raise up, cause to be born, to cause to appear, bring forward  

ἐξῆλθεν : AAI 3s, ἐξέρχομαι, 1) to go or come forth of  1a) with mention of the place out of which one goes, or the  point from which he departs 

ἀπῆλθεν : ἀπέρχομαι, 1) to go away, depart  1a) to go away in order to follow any one, go after him,

προσηύχετο: IMI 3s, προσεύχομαι, 1) to offer prayers, to pray

Mark 1:12-13, And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness ἔρημον. He was in the wilderness ἔρημον for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him.

³⁶καὶ κατεδίωξεν αὐτὸν Σίμων καὶ οἱ μετ'αὐτοῦ, 

And Simon and those with him followed after him,

κατεδίωξεν : AAI 3s, καταδιώκω, 1) to follow after, follow up 

³⁷καὶ εὗρον αὐτὸν καὶ λέγουσιν αὐτῷ ὅτι Πάντες ζητοῦσίν σε. 

and found him saying to him, “Everyone is looking for you.”

εὗρον : AAI 3p, εὑρίσκω, 1) to come upon, hit upon, to meet with  1a) after searching, to find a thing sought  1b) without previous search, to find (by chance),

λέγουσιν : PAI 3p, λέγω, 1) to say, to speak  1a) affirm over, maintain  1b) to teach  1c) to exhort, advise, to command, direct

ζητοῦσίν : PAI 3s, ζητέω, 1) to seek in order to find  1a) to seek a thing 

³⁸καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς, Ἄγωμεν ἀλλαχοῦ εἰς τὰς ἐχομένας κωμοπόλεις, ἵνα καὶ ἐκεῖ 

κηρύξω: εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ ἐξῆλθον. 

And he says to them, “Let us go elsewhere into the surrounding towns in order to preach there also; for this I was sent. 

Ἄγωμεν: PAS 1p, ἄγω, 1) to lead, take with one  1a) to lead by laying hold of, and this way to bring to the  point of destination. This is a “hortatory subjunctive” typically translated as “let us”.

ἐχομένας : PMPart apf, ἔχω, 1) to have, i.e. to hold  1a) to have (hold) in the hand, in the sense of wearing, to have  (hold) possession of the mind

κηρύξω: PAPart nsm, κηρύσσω, 1) to be a herald, to officiate as a herald  1a) to proclaim after the manner of a herald 

ἐξῆλθον: AAI 1s, ἐξέρχομαι, 1) to go or come forth of  1a) with mention of the place out of which one goes, or the  point from which he departs

³⁹ καὶ ἦλθεν κηρύσσων εἰς τὰς συναγωγὰς αὐτῶν εἰς ὅλην τὴν Γαλιλαίαν καὶ τὰ 

δαιμόνια ἐκβάλλων.

And he went preaching in their synagogues throughout Galilee and throwing out the demons. 

ἦλθεν: AAI 3s, ἔρχομαι, 1) to come  1a) of persons  1a1) to come from one place to another, and used both of  persons arriving and of those returning 

κηρύσσων : PAPart nsm, κηρύσσω, 1) to be a herald, to officiate as a herald  1a) to proclaim after the manner of a herald

ἐκβάλλων: PAPart nsm, ἐκβάλλω, 1) to cast out, drive out, to send out  1a) with notion of violence  1a1) to drive out (cast out) 

Possible Outline

I.                   Setting : Leave synagogue; enter Simon’s house

II.                Jesus heals Simon’s Mother-in-law

III.             Response of the people: Bring the troubled and demonized

IV.             Jesus heals the troubled; exorcises and silences demons

I.                   Setting: Leave house for wilderness

II.                Simon and others find and confront him, “Everyone is looking for you.”

III.             Jesus’ response – “Let us go elsewhere, for this I was sent”

IV.             Jesus leaves area, preaches and exorcises in synagogues throughout Galilee

Word Studies:

“Synagogue” literally means a “gathering together” (or, transliterated, a “gaggle together”). It does not necessarily mean a “house of religious worship” yet. The institutionalization of synagogues increased after the diaspora of the late 60s. In general, “synagogue” meant something like a ‘town hall meeting,’ not necessarily religious.

Location, Location, Location:

3. “in the wilderness…” Isaiah

4. in the wilderness … John the Baptizer

9. Jesus from Nazareth, baptized by John in the Jordan

12. the spirit threw Jesus into the wilderness

14. Jesus came to Galilee

16. Jesus passing along the Sea of Galilee

21. They went to Capernaum

21. On the Sabbath, entered the synagogue

29. Leaving synagogue, entered Simon and Andrew’s house

35. In the morning, Jesus left the house and went into the wilderness

38. Jesus says, “Let us go into surrounding towns”

39. They went throughout Galilee

45. Jesus could no longer go into a town, so he stayed in the wilderness places

Commentaries:

Sacred Topography, Neyrey, "Idea of Purity," 95, from Robert R. Beck, Nonviolent Story, chapter 4, "The Symbolism of Power."  [I would add "Galilee" then "wilderness" as layers inside of Gentile lands.] 

This pattern was repeated in other dimensions of Judean life. A ritual calendar distinguished holy days from profane, and they were rated on a scale of relative holiness. Food was designated as either fit for the altar, fit for the table, or unfit for consumption of any kind. And persons were scaled in a social ranking as to their "holiness" -- not so much a moral standing as a status in relation to the holy places. The priests stood at the top, the physically damaged, such as eunuchs, were at the bottom, while the gentiles were off the map entirely. This sense of "holiness" had earlier prompted the various genealogies of the Old Testament, useful for calculating one's (or another's) proximity to the holiness of Judaism. In other words, the ranking of persons according to holiness has to do with one's standing in relation to the temple. In this regard, priests are counted as holier than ordinary Israelites; Israelites are holier than converts; and so forth. The map of persons replicates the map of places.
The topography of Palestine -- with its towns and deserts, its synagogues and houses -- and even the physical bodies of its inhabitants provide Mark with a narrative arena in which the contest of powers is played out, almost as on a playing field or a game board. In this chapter we will observe more closely the terms of holiness and uncleanness as they appear in the Gospel. Mark presents the Judean establishment's system of barriers and preventions as ineffectual. The only effective opposition to the unclean power is the holy power invested in the protagonist Jesus. Jesus' critique is condensed in the abrogation of food laws in Mk 7:15-19. For Mark, this would seem to stand as the emblem of the work of Jesus throughout the Gospel. ⁽²⁾
In brief, we will see that holiness understood in a system of opposition to the unclean is rejected for its inhumane qualities and therefore rejected as an inadequate attribute or image of the compassionate God. Jesus will replace this image of holiness with one that privileges compassion and, concomitantly, displays a nondestructive expression of wrath as response to the violations of compassion. (pp. 66-68)

From synagogue in Capernaum, to Simon’s house, to the door, to the wilderness, to synagogues throughout Galilee.