Exodus 20:12

20:12 “Honor ¹  your father and your mother, that you may live a long time ²  in the land ³  the Lord your God is giving to you.

Matthew 15:4-6

15:4 For God said, ⁴  ‘Honor your father and mother’ ⁵  and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ ⁶  15:5 But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,” ⁷  15:6 he does not need to honor his father.’ ⁸  You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.

Mark 7:10-13

7:10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ ⁹  and, ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ ¹⁰  7:11 But you say that if anyone tells his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you would have received from me is corban’ ¹¹  (that is, a gift for God), 7:12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother. 7:13 Thus you nullify ¹²  the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like this.”

Mark 7:1

Breaking Human Traditions

7:1 Now ¹³  the Pharisees ¹⁴  and some of the experts in the law ¹⁵  who came from Jerusalem ¹⁶  gathered around him.

Mark 4:8

4:8 But ¹⁷  other seed fell on good soil and produced grain, sprouting and growing; some yielded thirty times as much, some sixty, and some a hundred times.”

Mark 5:4

5:4 For his hands and feet had often been bound with chains and shackles, ¹⁸  but ¹⁹  he had torn the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces. No one was strong enough to subdue him.

Mark 5:8

5:8 (For Jesus ²⁰  had said to him, “Come out of that man, you unclean spirit!”) ²¹ 

¹ tn The verb כַּבֵּד (kabbed) is a Piel imperative; it calls for people to give their parents the respect and honor that is appropriate for them. It could be paraphrased to say, give them the weight of authority that they deserve. Next to God, parents were to be highly valued, cared for, and respected.

² tn Heb “that your days may be long.”

³ sn The promise here is national rather than individual, although it is certainly true that the blessing of life was promised for anyone who was obedient to God’s commands (Deut 4:1, 8:1, etc.). But as W. C. Kaiser (“Exodus,” EBC 2:424) summarizes, the land that was promised was the land of Canaan, and the duration of Israel in the land was to be based on morality and the fear of God as expressed in the home (Deut 4:26, 33, 40; 32:46-47). The captivity was in part caused by a breakdown in this area (Ezek 22:7, 15). Malachi would announce at the end of his book that Elijah would come at the end of the age to turn the hearts of the children and the parents toward each other again.

⁴ tc Most mss (א*^,2 C L W 0106 33 Ï) have an expanded introduction here; instead of “For God said,” they read “For God commanded, saying” (ὁ γὰρ θεὸς ἐνετείλατο λέγων, Jo gar qeo" eneteilato legwn). But such expansions are generally motivated readings; in this case, most likely it was due to the wording of the previous verse (“the commandment of God”) that caused early scribes to add to the text. Although it is possible that other witnesses reduced the text to the simple εἶπεν (eipen, “[God] said”) because of perceived redundancy with the statement in v. 3, such is unlikely in light of the great variety and age of these authorities (א¹ B D Θ 073 Ë^1,13 579 700 892 pc lat co, as well as other versions and fathers).

⁵ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.

⁶ sn A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.

⁷ tn Grk “is a gift,” that is, something dedicated to God.

⁸ tc The logic of v. 5 would seem to demand that both father and mother are in view in v. 6. Indeed, the majority of mss (C L W Θ 0106 ˹ Ï) have “or his mother” (ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, h thn mhtera autou) after “honor his father” here. However, there are significant witnesses that have variations on this theme (καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ [kai thn mhtera autou, “and his mother”] in Φ 565 1241 pc and ἢ τὴν μητέρα [“or mother”] in 073 ˹³ 33 579 700 892 pc), which is usually an indication of a predictable addition to the text rather than an authentic reading. Further, the shorter reading (without any mention of “mother”) is found in early and important witnesses (א B D sa). Although it is possible that the shorter reading came about accidentally (due to the repetition of –ερα αὐτοῦ), the evidence more strongly suggests that the longer readings were intentional scribal alterations.

⁹ sn A quotation from Exod 20:12; Deut 5:16.

¹⁰ sn A quotation from Exod 21:17; Lev 20:9.

¹¹ sn Corban is a Hebrew loanword (transliterated in the Greek text and in most modern English translations) referring to something that has been set aside as a gift to be given to God at some later date, but which is still in the possession of the owner (L&N 53.22). According to contemporary Jewish tradition the person who made this claim was absolved from responsibility to support or assist his parents, a clear violation of the Mosaic law to honor one’s parents (v. 10).

¹² tn Grk “nullifying.” This participle shows the results of the Pharisees’ command.

¹³ tn Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate the transition to a new topic.

¹⁴ sn See the note on Pharisees in 2:16.

¹⁵ tn Or “and some of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

¹⁶ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in the final stage of the parable.

¹⁸ tn Grk “he had often been bound with chains and shackles.” “Shackles” could also be translated “fetters”; they were chains for the feet.

¹⁹ tn Grk “and.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

²⁰ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

²¹ sn This is a parenthetical explanation by the author.