Lectionary Calendar
Saturday, July 19th, 2025
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
the Week of Proper 10 / Ordinary 15
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Bible Commentaries
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers Ellicott's Commentary
Copyright Statement
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
These files are public domain.
Text Courtesy of BibleSupport.com. Used by Permission.
Bibliographical Information
Ellicott, Charles John. "Commentary on Mark 7". "Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers". https://studylight.org/commentaries/eng/ebc/mark-7.html. 1905.
Ellicott, Charles John. "Commentary on Mark 7". "Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers". https://studylight.org/
Whole Bible (43)New Testament (15)Gospels Only (6)Individual Books (13)
Verses 1-23
VII.
(1-23) Then came together unto him.âSee Notes on Matthew 15:1-20.
Verse 2
(2) With defiled, that is to say, with unwashen, hands.âThe first word means literally common. This came to be associated, as in Acts 10:14, with what was âunclean,â and so, for Jews at all events, the word acquired a new meaning. St. Markâs Gentile readers, however, were not likely to understand what was meant by âcommon hands,â and therefore he adds his explanation of âunwashed.â
Verse 3
(3) For the Pharisees, and all the Jews.âFor the sake of the same class of readers, St. Mark adds another explanatory note. The custom of which he speaks was not, he says, peculiar to the Pharisees as a sect; it had passed, through their influence, to the whole body of the people.
Oft.âThe Greek MSS. present two readings, one of which this is the natural meaning; another, which means literally, âwith the fist,â and figuratively, âwith might and main.â The evidence is, on the whole, in favour of the former.
Verse 4
(4) Except they wash.âThe Greek verb differs from that in the previous verse, and implies the washing or immersion (the verb is that from which our word âbaptiseâ comes to us) of the whole body, as the former does of part. The idea on which the practice rested was not one of cleanliness or health, but of arrogant exclusiveness, fastening on the thought of ceremonial purity. They might have come, in the crowd of the market, into passing contact with a Gentile, and his touch was as defiling as if it had been that of a corpse. So, too, the washing of cups and the like was because they might have been touched by heathen, and therefore impure, lips.
Washing.âLiterally, baptism; but the form of the word is masculine, while that used for the sacramental rite is neuter. The masculine occurs again. probably in the same sense, as meaning ablutions generally, in Hebrews 6:2.
Pots.âThe Greek word (xestes) may be noted as a corrupt form of sextarius, and therefore taking its place among the Latin words used by St. Mark. (See Introduction.)
Tables.âBetter, couchesâi.e., the low wide benches which were placed near the tables, and on which the guests reclined instead of sitting. These also had to be scrupulously washed, because it was possible that a heathen might have lain on them. The word is, perhaps, used in the same sense in Mark 4:21.
Verse 5
(5) With unwashen hands.âThe better MSS. give, âwith defiled hands,â the word being the same as before. It was probable that the Pharisees would use the stronger word in their question, equally probable that a transcriber might think it better to substitute that which was the more easily understood.
Verse 6
(6) Well hath Esaias prophesied.âStrictly, well did Esaias prophesy.
Verse 7
(7) In vain do they worship me.âThe word used here and in Matthew 15:9, is not that commonly used to express the outward act of homage, but one which expresses (as in Acts 18:13) inward devotion.
The commandments.âThe two Greek words used for âcommandmentâ in this and the following verses are, as has been said in the Note on Matthew 15:9, not quite the same in meaning; that in this verse pointing to many detailed precepts; that in the next to the commandment which is âexceeding broad.â
Verse 8
(8) As the washing of pots and cups.âMany of the better MSS. omit the whole of the latter part of this verse. On internal grounds, however, it is hardly likely that such words should have been added as a note, and it is likely enough that the passage should have been altered by a transcriber, to make it agree with the report in St. Matthew.
Verse 9
(9) Full well ye reject.âThe adverb is peculiar to St. Mark, and has in it the ring of a scathing and indignant irony. The word ârejectâ is hardly formal enough, the Greek conveying the idea, as in Galatians 3:15, Hebrews 7:18, of ârescindingâ or ârepealing.â This the Pharisees practically did when they added traditions which pretended to be interpretations, but were in reality at variance with it.
Verse 11
(11) It is Corban.âThe Hebrew word is peculiar to St. Mark. It occurs frequently in Leviticus and Numbers (e.g., Leviticus 2:1; Leviticus 2:5; Numbers 7:3; Numbers 7:5), and is translated generally by âoffering,â sometimes by âoblationâ (Leviticus 2:13; Leviticus 3:1), but elsewhere in the Old Testament it only appears in Ezekiel 20:28; Ezekiel 40:43. It had come to be applied specifically (as in the Greek of Matthew 27:6; Jos. Wars, ii. 9, § 4) to the sacred treasure of the Temple.
He shall be free.âThe words, as the italics show, have nothing corresponding to them in the Greek, nor are they needed, if only, with some MSS., we strike out the conjunction âandâ from the next verse. So the sentence runs, âIf a man shall say . . . ye suffer him no more . . .â
Verse 13
(13) Making the word of God of none effect.âAgain the Greek word is somewhat more technical, making null and void, cancelling, as in Galatians 3:17.
Through your tradition.âHere the structure of the sentence points to the âtraditionâ as being the instrument with which the Law was made null and void. In Matthew 15:6 the meaning is slightly different (see Note there).
Many such like things.âAssuming the words âwashing of cups and pots,â in Mark 7:8, to be genuine, there is an emphatic scorn expressed in this iteration of the same formula.
Verse 16
(16) If any man have ears to hear.âIt was with this formula that our Lord had closed some at least of His parables (Mark 4:9, Matthew 13:10). And it was probably this that led to the form which the inquiry of the disciples took when they came to ask their Master âconcerning the parable.â The whole verse is, however, omitted in many of the best MSS., and may have been originally a marginal note written by some early transcriber to call attention to the truth stated in the text.
Verse 19
(19) It entereth not into his heart.âThe words are not in St. Matthew, and emphasise the contrast with what follows. The âheartâ is, after the common Hebrew idiom, the symbol of the mind as well as the affections. (Comp. Proverbs 7:7; Proverbs 9:4; Proverbs 9:16; Proverbs 10:13, in all of which âunderstandingâ stands for the Hebrew of âheart.â)
Purging all meats.âThis also is peculiar to St. Mark, and presents some difficulties. In the commonly received text, the participle is in the neuter nominative, agreeing with the nominative to the verb âgoeth out.â But in this construction it is difficult to see in what sense that which goeth into the mouthâitself an article of food, with no special characterâcan be said to purge or cleanse all other forms of food. The better MSS., however, give the participle in the masculine. This has been explained by many as a grammatical anomaly, and the participle being treated as if it agreed (though in a different case) with the word âdraughtâ or âcesspool,â the latter is said to cleanse all meats, as removing the excreta, or impure parts, from them, and leaving only that which nourishes the body. A far better construction, both as to grammar and meaning, is found by making the word âpurging,â or better, cleansing, agree with the subject of the verb âHe saith,â in Mark 7:18ââHe saith this . . . and in so saying, cleanseth all meats.â So taken, the words anticipate, in almost the same terms, the truth of Acts 10:15, âWhat God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.â The construction is tenable grammatically, has the support of high authority both ancient and modern, and obviously gives a much better sense. It is a possible conjecture that the words âcleansing all meatsâ may have been, at first, a marginal note (like the addition in Mark 7:16), attached to âHe saith,â and have afterwards found their way into the text.
Verse 22
(22) Covetousness, wickedness.âThe Greek words for these are, like the preceding, in the plural, as pointing to the manifold forms in which the sins show themselves.
An evil eye.âAs explained by Matthew 20:15 (where see Note), the âevil eyeâ is that which looks askance on the good of othersâi.e., envy in its most malignant form.
Pride.âBetter, perhaps, haughtiness. This is the only passage in the New Testament where the word so translated occurs. The cognate adjective meets us in Romans 1:30; 2 Timothy 3:2.
Foolishness.âThis, again, is a rare word in the New Testament, meeting us only in 2 Corinthians 11:1; 2 Corinthians 11:17; 2 Corinthians 11:21. As interpreted by Proverbs 14:18; Proverbs 15:21, it is the folly which consists in the absence of the fear of God, the infatuation of impiety.
Verses 24-30
(24-30) And from thence he arose.âSee Notes on Matthew 15:21-28.
Tyre and Sidon.âThe better MSS. omit the latter name here, and reserve it for Mark 7:31, where see Note.
Entered into an house.âThe fact is peculiar to St. Mark, and seems specified as an indication of our Lordâs wish to avoid publicity.
Verse 26
(26) A Greekâi.e., in the sense which the word had gained in Palestine, a Gentile, as in Romans 1:16; Romans 2:9-10. The modern use of âFrankâ in the East for Europeans of every country, offers an analogous extension of the original meaning of a name.
Syrophenician.âThe word, which occurs in Juvenal (Sat. viii. 159), may be noted as an instance of St. Markâs tendency to use Latin forms. The Emperor Adrian divided the province of Syria into three partsâSyria proper, Syro-PhÅnicia, and Syria-Palæstinaâand we may well believe that this official distinction rested on a pre-existing nomenclature.
Verse 27
(27) Let the children first be filled.âThe precise form of the answer thus given is peculiar to St. Mark.
Verse 28
(28) Eat of the childrenâs crumbs.âThe form varies slightly from St. Matthewâs âthe crumbs that fall from their mastersâ table,â and has, perhaps, a certain vividness of antithesis.
Verse 29
(29) For this saying go thy way.âSt. Mark omits the words âO woman, great is thy faith,â and puts the answer to the prayer in a somewhat more definite form than St. Matthewâs âBe it unto thee even as thou wilt.â
Verse 30
(30) Her daughter laid upon the bed.âThe graphic description, as usual, is characteristic of St. Mark.
Verse 31
(31) Departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon.âThe better MSS. give âfrom the coasts of Tyre through Sidon.â The latter city lay about twenty miles to the north. Accepting this reading, it marks the extreme limit of our Lordâs journeyingsâwe can hardly say of His ministry, for there is no indication that He went there as a preacher of the Kingdom. We may however, perhaps, trace the feeling which prompted the visit in the words, âIt shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon,â in Luke 10:14, and in the âOther sheep, not of this fold,â in John 10:16.
Decapolis.âAnother instance of St. Markâs use of a Roman nomenclature. St. Matthew says simply, âHe departed thence, and came by the Sea of Galilee.â For Decapolis, see Note on Matthew 4:25.
Verse 32
(32) They bring unto him one that was deaf.âThe narrative that follows is peculiar to St. Mark. The locality is not named, but was probably somewhere near the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee.
Had an impediment in his speech.âThe English rendering is quite accurate, but it may be noted that the word which St. Mark uses stands for âdumbâ in the Greek version of Isaiah 35:6, and may therefore have been used by him to connect the miracle which he describes with that prophecy.
Verse 33
(33) He took him aside from the multitude.âWe trace in this, and in the manual acts that followed, the same tender considerateness for the infirmities of the sufferer as in our Lordâs treatment of the blind. (See Note on Matthew 9:29.) Here the man could not find in the pitying tones of the voice of the Healer that on which his faith could fasten, and the act came in to fill up the void.
Verse 34
(34) Looking up to heaven, he sighed.âThe look, it is clear, implied prayer, as in John 11:41. The âsigh,â too, has its counterpart in the âgroansâ and âtearsâ of John 11:33; John 11:35; John 11:38, and finds its analogue in the sadness of sympathy which we feel at the sight of suffering, even when we know that we have the power to remove its cause.
Ephphatha.âAnother instance of St. Markâs reproduction of the very syllables uttered by our Lord. (See Introduction, and Note on Mark 5:41.)
Verse 35
(35) His ears.âLiterally, his hearing, or, as the word is in the plural, his organs of hearing.
The string of his tongue.âBetter, bond, that which confined and hampered his speech. (Comp. Luke 13:16.) There is no ground for thinking that St. Mark used the word in any anatomical sense, as the English word seems to suggest, for a ânerveâ or âtendon,â as in the âeye-stringsâ of the original text of the âRock of Ages.â
Verse 37
(37) And the dumb to speak.âWe note the distinction between St. Markâs accurate description in Mark 7:32, and the less precise language of popular amazement.