Mark 14:18

14:18 While they were at the table ¹  eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, ²  one of you eating with me will betray me.” ³ 

Mark 2:16

2:16 When the experts in the law ⁴  and the Pharisees ⁵  saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, they said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” ⁶ 

Mark 7:2

7:2 And they saw that some of Jesus’ disciples ate their bread with unclean hands, that is, unwashed.

Mark 1:6

1:6 John wore a garment made of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ 

Mark 7:3-4

7:3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they perform a ritual washing, ⁸  holding fast to the tradition of the elders. 7:4 And when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash. They hold fast to many other traditions: the washing of cups, pots, kettles, and dining couches. ⁹ ) ¹⁰ 

Mark 7:28

7:28 She answered, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”

Mark 14:22

The Lord’s Supper

14:22 While they were eating, he took bread, and after giving thanks he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take it. This is my body.”

Mark 7:5

7:5 The Pharisees and the experts in the law asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat ¹¹  with unwashed hands?”

[14:18]  ¹ tn Grk “while they were reclined at the table.”

[14:18]  ² tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”

[14:18]  ³ tn Or “will hand me over”; Grk “one of you will betray me, the one who eats with me.”

[2:16]  ⁴ tn Or “the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.

[2:16]  ⁵ sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

[2:16]  ⁶ sn The issue here is inappropriate associations. Jews were very careful about personal associations and contact as a matter of ritual cleanliness. Their question borders on an accusation that Jesus is ritually unclean.

[1:6]  ⁷ sn John’s lifestyle was in stark contrast to many of the religious leaders of Jerusalem who lived in relative ease and luxury. While his clothing and diet were indicative of someone who lived in the desert, they also depicted him in his role as God’s prophet (cf. Zech 13:4); his appearance is similar to the Prophet Elijah (2 Kgs 1:8). Locusts and wild honey were a common diet in desert regions and locusts (dried insects) are listed in Lev 11:22 among the “clean” foods.

[7:3]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “except they wash the hands with a fist,” a ceremonial washing (though the actual method is uncertain).

[7:4]  ¹³ tc Several important witnesses (Ì^45vid א B L Δ 28* pc) lack “and dining couches” (καὶ κλινῶν, kai klinwn), while the majority of mss (A D W Θ Ë^1,13 33 Ï latt) have the reading. Although normally the shorter reading is to be preferred, especially when it is backed by excellent witnesses as in this case, there are some good reasons to consider καὶ κλινῶν as authentic: (1) Although the addition of κλινῶν could be seen as motivated by a general assimilation to the purity regulations in Lev 15 (as some have argued), there are three problems with such a supposition: (a) the word κλίνη (klinh) does not occur in the LXX of Lev 15; (b) nowhere in Lev 15 is the furniture washed or sprinkled; and (c) the context of Lev 15 is about sexual impurity, while the most recent evidence suggests that κλίνη in Mark 7:4, in keeping with the other terms used here, refers to a dining couch (cf. BDAG 549 s.v. κλίνη 2). Thus, it is difficult to see καὶ κλινῶν as a motivated reading. (2) κλίνη, though a relatively rare term in the NT, is in keeping with Markan usage (cf. Mark 4:21; 7:30). (3) The phrase could have been dropped accidentally, at least in some cases, via homoioteleuton. (4) The phrase may have been deliberately expunged by some scribes who thought the imagery of washing a dining couch quite odd. The longer reading, in this case, can thus be argued as the harder reading. On balance, even though a decision is difficult (especially because of the weighty external evidence for the shorter reading), it is preferable to retain καὶ κλινῶν in the text.

[7:4]  ¹⁴ sn Verses 3-4 represent parenthetical remarks by the author, giving background information.

[7:5]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “eat bread.”