Mark 1:16

1:16 As he went along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew, Simon’s brother, casting a net into the sea (for they were fishermen). ¹ 

Mark 3:18

3:18 and Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, ²  Matthew, Thomas, ³  James the son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, ⁴  Simon the Zealot, ⁵ 

Mark 15:21

The Crucifixion

15:21 The soldiers ⁶  forced ⁷  a passerby to carry his cross, ⁸  Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country ⁹  (he was the father of Alexander and Rufus).

[1:16]  ¹ sn This is a parenthetical comment by the author.

[3:18]  ² sn Bartholomew (meaning “son of Tolmai” in Aramaic) could be another name for Nathanael mentioned in John 1:45.

[3:18]  ³ sn This is the “doubting Thomas” of John 20:24-29.

[3:18]  ⁴ tc This disciple is called Λεββαῖον (Lebbaion, “Lebbaeus”) in D it; see the discussion of the parallel text in Matt 10:3 where conflation occurs among other witnesses as well.

[3:18]  ⁵ tn Grk “the Cananean,” but according to both BDAG 507 s.v. Καναναῖος and L&N 11.88, this term has no relation at all to the geographical terms for Cana or Canaan, but is derived from the Aramaic term for “enthusiast, zealot” (see Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13), possibly because of an earlier affiliation with the party of the Zealots. He may not have been technically a member of the particular Jewish nationalistic party known as “Zealots” (since according to some scholars this party had not been organized at that time), but simply someone who was zealous for Jewish independence from Rome, in which case the term would refer to his temperament.

[15:21]  ³ tn Grk “They”; the referent (the soldiers) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[15:21]  ⁴ tn Or “conscripted”; or “pressed into service.”

[15:21]  ⁵ sn Jesus was beaten severely with a whip before this (the prelude to crucifixion, known to the Romans as verberatio, mentioned in Matt 27:26; Mark 15:15; John 19:1), so he would have been weak from trauma and loss of blood. Apparently he was unable to bear the cross himself, so Simon was conscripted to help (in all probability this was only the crossbeam, called in Latin the patibulum, since the upright beam usually remained in the ground at the place of execution). Cyrene was located in North Africa where Tripoli is today. Nothing more is known about this Simon.

[15:21]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps, “was coming in from his field” outside the city (BDAG 15-16 s.v. ἀγρός 1).