EATING WITH UNWASHED HANDS. THE SYROPHOENICIAN WOMAN. HEALING OF A DEAF MAN 1-23. Eating with unwashed hands (Matthew 15:1). See on Mt. 3, 4. A note added by St. Mark for the benefit of his Gentile readers, who would not be familiar with Jewish customs. St. Matthew's Jewish readers needed no such... [ Continue Reading ]
WASH _their_ HANDS OFT] lit. 'wash their hands with the fist.' The Jewish custom was to wash the hands up to the wrist, and that is probably the meaning here, although it is hard to extract it from the present (perhaps corrupt) Gk. text. Wetstein thinks that 'a fist' is the minimum quantity of water... [ Continue Reading ]
EXCEPT THEY WASH] lit. 'baptise themselves.' The Jews carefully distinguished 'washing' the hands, i.e. pouring water over them, from 'baptising' or dipping them. In Mark 7:3 pouring water over them is meant; but here, after a visit to the market-place, in which all kinds of defilement would be met... [ Continue Reading ]
CORBAN] see on Matthew 15:5.... [ Continue Reading ]
PURGING ALL MEATS] RV '_This he said,_ making all meats clean': see on Matthew 15:1.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE SYROPHŒNICIAN WOMAN (Matthew 15:21). See on Mt.... [ Continue Reading ]
TYRE] see on Matthew 15:21.... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DEAF MAN WITH AN IMPEDIMENT IN HIS SPEECH (peculiar to Mk). This miracle is selected by Mk for its unusual character. Usually our Lord healed instantaneously, here by stages: usually by a word, here by material means. The reason for the difference of treatment must be sought in the spiritual sta... [ Continue Reading ]
SPIT] RV 'spat': see John 9:6. 'He spat on his tongue, using a means of healing accepted in popular opinion of Jew and Gentile. The use of saliva for cures is universally recognised by the rabbis' (Edersheim).... [ Continue Reading ]
SIGHED] moved by the afflictions of humanity. EPHPHATHA] Here, as often, St. Mark, following St. Peter, preserves the actual Aramaic expression of our Lord: cp. Mark 5:41. The ceremony of 'opening the ears,' i.e. touching them with saliva and saying _ʾEphphatha,_ Be opened,' was introduced into the... [ Continue Reading ]