Devotional
Archives
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
"He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, 'Peace! Be still!' Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm." -The Gospel according to Saint Mark, Chapter Four, Verse 39 New Revised Standard Version This is one of those widely-quoted parts of the Bible; many people are familiar with it, regardless of religious devotion.
I was interested to know not only the various translations but the original terms in Greek, specifically the "Peace! Be still!" aspect. Σιώπα, πεφίμωσο. (siopa, pefimoso) This site gives a little information about the words being both uncommon and possibly a statement as opposed to a command, saying the words only appear elsewhere when Jesus is issuing a command to demons. Both words refer to keeping silence or keeping something secret or muzzling. This is extremely intriguing, and I'm still more inclined to think of it as a command, rather than a statement. This could be a bias showing on my end simply because that's how I've always heard the phrase and understood the meaning. If we see it as a command, the command is rather harsh; this isn't Jesus asking the sea nicely to return to a state of harmony, but saying something more like, "Be quiet already!" This translation may seem unflattering to the high-minded images of Jesus, but I think it brings out the feeling into modern language well enough. There's also a possible connection to the Old Testament here and the "Leviathan" tradition; more about this topic can be found here. The idea of a Divinity fighting and slaying a sea monster is a common in Middle Eastern mythology, and this idea was applied to the Hebrew Idea of Deity as well. Jesus then doing something similar in the Gospels possibly is a reference to this; the power of Christ is shown by his simply uttering words and not engaging necessarily in a battle. This is a kind of deeper theme that exists within the Jewish and Christian traditions, a theme of relying on intellect, culture, and integrity as opposed to brute force and violence. This is enough to consider for today. In Christ, Steve
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |