made to treat completely or eruditely every issue connected with the interpretation of the Markan text. There are commentaries that have taken on this task, and there is no need to match their feat. Focusing on Mark’s text also means I’ve given scant attention to historical issues or problems raised by parallel accounts in the other Gospels. My task is to explain Mark’s tale, and not to assess whether it stands up to historical or synoptic scrutiny. Otherwise this commentary would have been twice as long.
As this is not a commentary on commentaries of Mark, certain issues that have taken much space in them are sometimes given scant notice, if I have judged that their resolution does not illuminate Mark’s text. On the rare occasion I have struck out on my own, generating new issues and offering interpretations hitherto not found in other commentaries.
Abbreviations
1. OLD TESTAMENT APOCRYPHA AND PSEUDEPIGRAPHA
Bar Baruch
2 Bar 2 Baruch
3 Bar 3 Baruch
1 En 1 Enoch
2 Esd 2 Esdras
4 Esd 4 Esdras
Jub Jubilees
1 Macc 1 Maccabees
2 Macc 2 Maccabees
3 Macc 3 Maccabees
4 Macc 4 Maccabees
Pss Sol Psalms of Solomon
SibOr Sibylline Oracles
Sir The Wisdom of Ben Sira, or Ecclesiasticus
TJos Testament of Joseph
TMos Testament of Moses
Tob Tobit
Wisd Wisdom of Solomon
2. DEAD SEA SCROLLS
CD Cairo Damascus Document
1QH Hodayot Hymns from Cave 1
1QM War Scroll from Cave 1
1QpHab Pesher on Habakkuk from Cave 1
1QS Community Scroll from Cave 1
4QFlor Florilegium from Cave 4
11Q13 Melchizedek Scroll from Cave 11
11QT Temple Scroll from Cave 11
3. RABBINIC AND TARGUMIC LITERATURE
‘Abod.Zar. ‘Abodah Zarah
b. Babylonian Talmud
B.Bat. Baba Batra
Ber. Berakhot
‘Ed. ‘Eduyyot
‘Erub. ‘Erubin
Git. Gittin
Hag. Hagigah
Hul. Hullin
Ker. Keritot
Ketub. Ketubbot
m. Mishnah
Naz. Nazir
Ned. Nedarim
Nid. Niddah
Mak. Makkot
Meg. Megillah
Mid. Middot
Ohol. Oholot
Para. Parah
Pes. Pesahim
Pesiq. R. Pesiqta Rabbati
Pirque R. El. Pirque Rabbi Eliezer
Sab. Sabbat
Sanh. Sanhedrin
Seq. Sheqalim
Sipre Lev. Sipre on Leviticus
Suk. Sukkah
t. Tosephta
Ta‘an. Ta’anit
Tg.Ps. Targum on the Psalms
Tg.Zech. Targum on Zechariah
Toh. Toharot
Yad. Yadaim
4. EARLY CHRISTIAN WRITINGS
Did. Didache
Epiphanius Epiphanius
Haer Adversus Haereses
Eusebius Eusebius
H.E. Historia Ecclesiastica
Irenaeus Irenaeus
A.H. Adversus Haereses
5. OTHER JEWISH, CLASSICAL AND HELLENISTIC LITERATURE
Josephus Josephus
Antiquities Jewish Antiquities
Apion Against Apion
Life Life of Josephus
War The Jewish War
Philo Philo
Decal. On the Decalogue
Leg. Gai. Embassy to Gaius
Virgil Virgil
Georg. Georgicon
6. MODERN WORKS
AASF Annales Academiae scientiarum fennicae
AB Anchor Bible
ABD The Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. D. N. Freedman (6 vols.; Doubleday, New York: 1992).
ABRL Anchor Bible Reference Library
BAR Biblical Archaeology Review
BDAG A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, W. Bauer, trans. and rev. by W. F. Arndt and F. W. Gingrich; 2nd edn rev. by F. W. Gingrich and F. W. Danker; 3rd edn rev, by F. W. Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000).
BDF A Greek Grammar of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, F. Blass and A. Debrunner, trans. and rev. by R. W. Funk (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1961).
BECNT Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament
BETL
