ACC ~ Mark 1 v3b

THE SOURCES OF MARK’S PROPHETIC REFERENCE

ORIGEN: Mark took two prophecies spoken in different places by two prophets and conflated them into one, so as to declare: “As it is written in Isaiah the Prophet …” “The voice of one crying in the wilderness,” [1] which is indeed recorded immediately after the narrative about Hezekiah’s recovery from his sickness. [2] This is then conflated with “Behold I send my messenger to prepare the way before me,” from Malachi. [3] Both John and Mark compress in various ways the quotation from Isaiah, Mark by reading “His paths” for “the paths of our God” and by omitting “before me.” COMMENTARY ON JOHN 6.24. [4]

[1] Is 40:3.

[2] Cf. Is 38:10-20.

[3] Mal 3:1.

[4] TLG 2042.005, 6.24.129.6-8, 130.2-131.9; cf. AEG 1:279-80.

THE BLENDING OF PROPHETIC VOICES

JEROME: The quotation is made up from two prophets, Malachi and Isaiah. From the first part: “Behold I send my messenger to prepare the way before me,” occurs at the close of Malachi. [1] But the second part: “The voice of one crying,” etc., we read in Isaiah. [2] On what ground then has Mark in the very beginning of his book set the words: “As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, Behold I send my messenger,” when, as we have said, it is [in part] not written in Isaiah at all, but in Malachi, the last of the twelve prophets? Let ignorant presumption solve this nice question if it can. I will ask pardon for being in the wrong. … The apostle has not rendered his original word for word, but using a paraphrase, he has given the sense in different terms. [3] LETTER 57, TO PAMMACHIUS 9. [4]

[1] Mal 3:1.

[2] Is 40:3.

[3] Jerome writes this to defend his approach to translation: “I render sense for sense, not word for word.” Letter 57.5, NPNF 1 6:113. He is arguing that both classic and Christian writers have followed this procedure. He then turns to similar examples that show that Mark did not employ a literal approach (cf. Mk 2:25-26) on plucking heads of grain on the sabbath.

[4] Cetedoc 0620, 57.54.9.518.15; NPNF 2 6:116-17**. Mark did not feel compelled to reference these quotes in precise detail but freely conflated the salient sense of the two prophetic voices.