Mark 5 - In Depth Bible Commentaries

671city and in the countryside. And they came to see what it is that had happened.672 6735.15 And they come to the Jesus, and they see the one being demon-674 675possessed, sitting, having been clothed, and being of sound mind, the one having had the669(...continued)France comments that “Jesus’ acceptance of the appeal [of the demons] results inthe destruction of a large herd of pigs [2,000!]. Neither Mark nor the other synopticevangelists show any awareness of the moral questions which so naturally arise in amodern Western mind with regard to both the gratuitous and large-scale loss of animal lifeas well as the substantial economic loss inflicted on an innocent third party.” (P. 230)670 rdThe 3 person plural aorist indicative verb ðÞããåéëáí, apeggeilan, literally “theyannounced,” is read by Sinaiticus, Alexandrinus, Vaticanus, Ephraemi Rescriptus,Bezae, K, L, Theta, Family 1 of Minuscules, Minuscules 33, 579, 700, 892, 1241, 1424,2427 and many other Greek manuscripts.It is changed to read avnh,ggeilan, aneggeilan, with the same meaning, by W, Delta,Family 13 of Minuscules, Minuscules 28, 565, 2542, Lectionary 2211, many other Greekmanuscripts and Epiphanius of Constantia (who died 403 A.D.).The variant reading is another example of the freedom felt by copyists to substitutea synonym for the word used in the original, without changing the meaning of Mark.671Literally, “...and into the fields,” or “...and into the farm-villages” (åò ôïò ãñïýò, eistous agrous).672This verb, e;rcontai is in the present tense, “they come,” as is the following verb,qewrou/sin, “they see,” thereby placing the reader in the story as an eye-witness. Comparefootnotes 649 and 655.673See the preceding footnote.674The word translated “demon-possessed” is an accusative present participle in Greek(ôí äáéìïíéæüìåíïí, ton daimonizomenon), and it seems that Mark would have used adifferent tense–like the perfect, “who had been demon-possessed,” as he does in thephrase that follows, “the one having had the legion” (ôí ó÷çêüôá ôí ëåãéíá, toneschekota ton legiona) and in verse 18, äáéìïíéóèåò, daimonistheis, “having beendemon-possessed.”675In the description of this person, four present participles are used--äáéìïíéæüìåíïí,êáèÞìåíïí, ìáôéóìÝíïí, êá óùöñïíïíôá, daimonizomenon, kathemenon, himatismenon,(continued...)420