Mark 12:42

Mar 12:42. Ἐλθοῦσα, having come) Jesus had His eye chiefly on her.—δύο, two) one of which the widow might have retained. [This had been enacted by no commandment: but the intention in her mind, by which she was moved was good.—V. g.]

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mar 12:42 . μία χ . π ., one poverty-stricken widow. With what intense interest Jesus would watch her movements, after His eye fell on her! How much will she give? λεπτὰ δύο , “two mites”; minute, of course, but two : she might have kept one of them (Bengel). λεπτόν , so called from its smallness; smallest of brass coins significant of deep poverty; two given, of a willing mind.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(42) And there came a certain poor widow.—The position of the narrative gives to the description all the vividness of contrast. Among the “many” who cast in much must have been some at least of the Pharisees who devoured widows’ houses. Here was a widow whose house had been devoured, and who yet showed by her act that she kept the two great commandments, which the scribes themselves declared to be above all burnt offerings and sacrifices.

Two mites, which make a farthing.—The “farthing” is one of the Latin words which characterise this Gospel, and represents the quadrans, or fourth-part of a Roman as. The primary meaning of the word rendered “mite” is “thin” or “tiny.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

42. a certain poor widow] One of the helpless class which He had just described as devoured by the extortion of the Scribes and Pharisees. In three words St Mark presents to us a picture of her desolation: she was alone, she was a widow, and she was poor.

two mites] “Sche sente tweye mynutis, pat is, a ferping, “Wyclif. Mite is a contraction of minute, from Lat. minutum, though Fr. mite. Thus Becon says, “let us with the poor widow of the gospel at the least give two minutes, and God will surely approve and accept our good will.” The Lepton, here mentioned, was the very smallest copper coin. Two made one Roman quadrans, which was ¼th of an as. The as in Cicero’s time = nearly a halfpenny, and the quadrans = one-eighth of a penny. This poor widow gave two, though, as Bengel remarks, she might have kept back one. She gave her “all.” “If we have regard to the origin of the expression, it argues more of presumption than humility to call any gift, as many do, however liberal, unless it were our all, a ‘mite,’ while the frequent use of the term to excuse some shabby offering which costs the donor nothing, is a remarkable example of the serene unconsciousness with which persons will sometimes pass the most bitter sarcasms upon themselves.” Davies, Bible English, p. 251.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

42 And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.

Ver. 42. Two mites] A mite is valued of our money to be three parts of one cent. (Godw. Ant.) Her mite could weigh but little, but her heart weighed heavy; and so her heart, being put to her mite, gave it weight above the greater (but far more heartless) largesses of the Pharisees.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Two mites - The word translated “mite” denotes a small coin made of brass - the smallest in use among the Jews. The precise value cannot now be easily estimated. It was much less than any coin we have, as the “farthing” was less than an English farthing. It was in value about three mills and a half, or one-third of a cent.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

42. A certain poor widow — Our Lord had just been launching reproofs against the proud who devoured widows’ houses. As if from the dim distance one of these widows seems to have appeared, whose house, perhaps, had been devoured, and in whose behalf our Lord had denounced the judgments of God.

She threw in two mites — A mite was the smallest of Jewish coins; it was the fifth part of a cent. Less than a mite the widow could not contribute. To give a mite was a fair donation, but she will be munificent to God’s house and double the sum! The rabbins, however, seem to have had a rule forbidding the contribution of less than two mites.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A poor widow (mia chra ptwch); literally, one poor widow; one specially singled out for notice. St. Luke says, eide de kai tina chran penicran : literally, a widow who supported herself by her own little labor. And she cast in two mites (lepta), which make a farthing. The farthing was the fourth part of an as, and ten of these made a denarius. The Greek word (lepta) means literally "thin pieces.

Vers. 42-44. The widow"s mite.

If we get a single ray of light, decompose and analyze it, we may argue from it to all the light that floods the world; to its nature, its source, and its effects. So this act of generosity and devotion, simple and slight though it is in itself, contains in it elements of truth which are world-wide in application. Amongst the many lessons it teaches, we select the following:

I THAT GOD"S PEOPLE ARE EXPECTED TO BE GIVERS. Many have a singular objection to insistence upon that. They willingly listen to words of solace; they rejoice in descriptions of heaven; they are not reluctant to hear the errors of their theological antagonists exposed and rebuked: but the duty of Christian giving is scarcely so popular with them However. "It is enough for the servant that he be as his Master;" and we find that he who taught in the temple also "beheld how the people cast money into the treasury." That treasury was a Divine institution. In spite of abuses, it was for many generations a witness of what God expects; as a recognition of his claims, and of the claims of others, on the part of rich and poor. If God is our Creator and Preserver, if every day we live and every power we have is his gift, we must honor him "with our substance, and with the first-fruits of all our increase." If he has redeemed us by his Son, if "we are not our own, but bought with a price," any sacrifice we make in gift or work should be a source of joy. If we be members of one brotherhood, we are bound to have the same care one for another. We are to do this, not in the way which is easiest to ourselves, most accordant with our tastes, or most likely to bring us credit; but as those who are seeking to become like him, who is kind to the unthankful and to the unworthy.

II THAT SOME KINDS OF GIVING ARE OF HIGHER WORTH THAN OTHERS. Our Lord did not blame or despise the gifts which the rich made when they cast in much. They were doing what was right. Whether their offerings went to support the temple, or as a substitute for sacrifices, or for distribution to the poor, they were given towards what was regarded as the work of God. But there was nothing in the offering of the rich which called for the special praise bestowed on the widow.

1. It is to be observed here that Christ commended what most people would blame. You would probably argue thus: "Two mites were of little importance to the treasury, but of great importance to her. If she had given one and kept the ether, she would have showed not only piety, but good sense. As it was her gift was insignificant, and at the same time it was rash and needless." Yet, in the eyes of our Lord, the gift was right; and it was commended for this very reason that she had cast in all the living that she had. We cannot but be reminded here of an incident in the house of Simon. When Mary broke the alabaster box, and poured the spikenard on her Savior"s head, the disciples said that it was a foolish impulse that if sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor, it would have been of real utility; now a waste of the ointment had been made. In reply, Jesus taught them that nothing given to God was wasted; that the aroma of such an offering went beyond the world of sense. On both occasions our Lord commended what others blamed.

2. Further, the reason for his commendation was not what many would expect. It was not the value of the gift; for two mites was a smaller sum than we could give if we tried to find our smallest coin. Nor was it the object to which the money was given which Christ approved. He knew how much there was of what was false under the glitter of the ceremonial worship of the temple. He had just rebuked the very men who would manipulate these funds. He looked on to the day when the temple would perish, and a nobler Church would arise on its ruins. Hence, in commending the widow"s gift, which supported this ritual, he condemned those who withhold their help till an organization is exactly what they wish who refuse to support what does not accord precisely with their tastes and views. Those who habitually do this crush in their hearts the germ from which gift and sacrifice spring.

3. The widow"s gift was approved because it was the offering of a simple heart, full of love to God. She wished to show gratitude, and to give a deliberate expression of her confidence in God; and therefore she gave up her living, and threw herself on him who feeds the birds, and never forgets his children.

4. Most of all the gift was valued because it represented self-sacrifice. They gave of their abundance she gave all her living; in other words, herself. Too often we lose the highest blessedness because we do not cross the border-line which lies between self-indulgence and Christ-likeness. When we begin to feel that some service is a burden, and demands a strain, we give it up to some one else to whom the effort would be less! Let us seek the spirit of the poor widow, who knew that God could do without her gift, but felt that her love could not be satisfied without her sacrifice.

III THAT OUR LORD QUIETLY WATCHES OUR GIFTS AND SERVICES. We may put into the treasury wealth, talents, prayers, tears, etc. None are unnoticed by him. And he looks in order to approve, not to condemn. His disciples might have said, "She is imprudent to give her all; she is priest-ridden; she.is supporting a formal worship which is a barrier to the kingdom of Christ." But the Lord looked beneath the surface. He saw the pious intention, the pure purpose, and out of all the chaff on that threshing-floor he found one grain of purity and reality, and rejoiced over it as one finding great spoil.

IV THAT OUR LORD APPROVES ALL THAT IS DONE IN A RIGHT SPIRIT. He did not praise her to her face, nor in her hearing. When the delicate flower of devotion is taken in the hot hand of popular applause, it withers; but, left in the cool shadow of secrecy, it lives. Hence the widow heard no flattery or approval, though she went home with inward satisfaction because she had done what she could. It is a pleasure to make a sacrifice for one we love. The young girl gives up her money, her position, her future, herself, to the man she loves, and rejoices in doing it. The father will not begrudge it when he looks at his children"s faces, though for their sakes he goes off in a shabby coat to his daily duty. Love longs for sacrifice, and glories in making it. Now, it is a sacrifice so inspired which our God approves and commends. In the day when the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, when nothing will be overlooked, services which the doer had forgotten, which the Church thought trivial and the world laughs to scorn, will be recompensed, and even "a cup of cold water, given in the name of a disciple, will not lose its reward A.R.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

42. There came a certain poor widow. Here, as in other places in the Bible, we must remember the exceedingly depressed and dependent condition of a poor man's widow in the countries where our Lord was. The expression is almost proverbial for one very badly off, and most unlikely to contribute anything to a charitable purpose. Two mites. The smallest of Jewish coins, about the value of one-fifth of a cent. It took its name from its extreme smallness, being derived from an adjective signifying thin. A farthing. Mark (not Luke) adds for his Roman readers an explanation, using a Greek word (taken from the Latin), meaning the fourth part, as our word “farthing” does. The value is only of importance as showing upon how minute a gift our Lord pronounced this splendid panegyric, which might be envied by a Croesus or a Rothschild.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

42. μία χήρα πτωχή. The use of εἷς for τις, common enough in modern Greek, had begun before this period, and this may be an instance; Lk. has τινα. On the other hand, μία may point to her loneliness; it certainly contrasts her with the many wealthy givers. That she had been beggared by the Pharisees, or had been worked upon to give her last farthing, is not suggested by the narrative.

λεπτὰ δύο. The λεπτόν was a Greek coin, the smallest copper coin in use, and Mk tells those who were familiar with the Roman coinage that it was half a quadrans, and therefore the eighth of an as. Plutarch (Cic. 29) says that a quadrans is the smallest copper coin, τὸ λεπτότατον τοῦ χαλκοῦ νομίσματος. Christ knew supernaturally that what she gave was all that she possessed, and we need not ask how the amount which she gave was known. It is said that it was not lawful to give less than two perutahs or λεπτά in paying this Jewish anticipation of “Peter’s Pence.” Cf. Luk 12:59 and Mat 5:26.

ὅ ἐστιν. The neut. is colloquial. Blass § 31. 2 gives no exact parallel; cf. Mar 3:17, Mar 15:22.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

42.] λεπτά = פרוטות the smallest Jewish coin: see Lightfoot. Mark adds ὅ ἐστιν κοδ. for his Roman readers:—the λεπτόν = ⅛ of an as.

λεπτ. δύο, Bengel remarks, are noticed: she might have kept back one.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

42. μία χήρα—one widow; contrasted with the many rich. δύο λεπτά, ὅ ἐστι κοδράντης—the λεπτόν was the eighth part of an as, the value of which was one and two-thirds cents, so that two λεπτά were about two-fifths of a cent. κοδράντης is the Latin word quadrans, meaning a quarter of an as. But the real value appears only from the fact that the denarius, or ten asses, was a day’s wages.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

A certain [μια] . Not a good translation. Lit., one as distinguished from the many rich. Better, simply the indefinite article, as Rev. Poor [πτωχη] . See on Mt 5:3.

Mites [λεπτα] . From leptov, peeled, husked; and thence thin or fine. Therefore of a very small or thin coin.

Farthing [κοδραντης] . A Latin word, quadrans, or a quarter of a Roman as; quadrans meaning a forth, as farthing is fourthing.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.