God and Mark 12:32

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Jedothek
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God and Mark 12:32

Post by Jedothek »

in the Greek text I have seen of Mark 12:32, the word theos does not occur. The English versions refer to God. Is the word theos in some Greek texts, or do the translators insert "God"?
Jason Hare
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Re: God and Mark 12:32

Post by Jason Hare »

Jedothek wrote: May 13th, 2023, 6:22 pm in the Greek text I have seen of Mark 12:32, the word theos does not occur. The English versions refer to God. Is the word theos in some Greek texts, or do the translators insert "God"?
What Greek text have you seen? Are there variants for the verse? What English translations are you referring to? Have you checked others (like the NRSV)?

It’s always best to start by quoting the verse.

Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ γραμματεύς· καλῶς, διδάσκαλε, ἐπʼ ἀληθείας εἶπες ὅτι εἷς ἐστιν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλος πλὴν αὐτοῦ· (NA28)

I assume you’re asking about the last word in the verse (αὐτοῦ rather than θεοῦ). Or, are you talking about how the NIV has inserted “God” into the first phrase (“God is one...”)?

Clarify what your question is so that we can give you a clear answer. :)
Jason A. Hare
The Hebrew Café
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Jonathan Robie
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Re: God and Mark 12:32

Post by Jonathan Robie »

Allan Bunning's Greek collations are helpful for seeing textual variants:

www.greekcntr.org/collation/index.htm?41012032

He also provides an apparatus that is easier to read than most:

www.greekcntr.org/apparatus/index.htm?41012032

There are some early manuscripts that contain the word θεὸς here, and the Stephanus Textus Receptus includes it. Regardless, Jesus used the word θεὸς earlier, and the teacher of the law is saying that Jesus spoke correctly, so we can infer from the context that he is talking about θεὸς:
28 Καὶ προσελθὼν εἷς τῶν γραμματέων ἀκούσας αὐτῶν συζητούντων, ἰδὼν ὅτι καλῶς ἀπεκρίθη αὐτοῖς, ἐπηρώτησεν αὐτόν· Ποία ἐστὶν ἐντολὴ πρώτη πάντων; 29 ἀπεκρίθη ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι Πρώτη ἐστίν· Ἄκουε, Ἰσραήλ, κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν κύριος εἷς ἐστιν, 30 καὶ ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος σου. 31 δευτέρα αὕτη· Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς σεαυτόν. μείζων τούτων ἄλλη ἐντολὴ οὐκ ἔστιν. 32 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ γραμματεύς· Καλῶς, διδάσκαλε, ἐπ’ ἀληθείας εἶπες ὅτι εἷς ἐστιν καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλος πλὴν αὐτοῦ· 33 καὶ τὸ ἀγαπᾶν αὐτὸν ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς συνέσεως καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος καὶ τὸ ἀγαπᾶν τὸν πλησίον ὡς ἑαυτὸν περισσότερόν ἐστιν πάντων τῶν ὁλοκαυτωμάτων καὶ θυσιῶν. 34 καὶ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἰδὼν αὐτὸν ὅτι νουνεχῶς ἀπεκρίθη εἶπεν αὐτῷ· Οὐ μακρὰν εἶ ἀπὸ τῆς βασιλείας τοῦ θεοῦ. καὶ οὐδεὶς οὐκέτι ἐτόλμα αὐτὸν ἐπερωτῆσαι.
Most translations probably work from a critical text that does not say θεὸς in this phrase, but they look at the word ἐστιν in the phrase ἐπ’ ἀληθείας εἶπες ὅτι εἷς ἐστιν. Some translate it as "he is", assuming, from the context, that this refers to God:
And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that he is one, and there is no other besides him.
Others make the connection to God explicit in the English translation. Which feels more natural to me in English, but that's a matter of taste:
“Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him.
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;
http://jonathanrobie.biblicalhumanities.org/
Jedothek
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Re: God and Mark 12:32

Post by Jedothek »

Thank you! Now that you point it out, I can see that in a translation it might be more plain to say "God" rather than use a pronoun -- God knows there's enough pronoun vagueness going around.
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Re: God and Mark 12:32

Post by Jason Hare »

Jedothek wrote: August 17th, 2023, 10:50 am Thank you! Now that you point it out, I can see that in a translation it might be more plain to say "God" rather than use a pronoun -- God knows there's enough pronoun vagueness going around.
Before you continue posting, would you mind giving us your name in the signature section of your profile?
Jason A. Hare
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