Mark 5:3

Mar 5:3. Κατοίκησιν, dwelling) The dwellers among the tombs were of various descriptions. See Mar 5:5.

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

Mar 5:3-5 elaborately describe the man’s condition, as if the evangelist or rather his informant (Peter) were fascinated by the subject; not a case of idle word-painting, but of realistic description from vivid, almost morbid, recollection. Holtzmann (H. C.) refers to Isa 65:4-5 , as if to suggest that some elements of the picture dwelling in tombs, eating swine’s flesh were taken thence. τὴν κατ ., the, i.e. his dwelling, implying though not emphasising constant habit ( perpetuum , Fritzsche), Lk., “for a long time”. οὐδὲ , οὐκέτι , οὐδεὶς : energetic accumulation of negatives, quite in the spirit of the Greek language. At this point the sentence breaks away from the relative construction as if in sympathy with the untamable wildness of the demoniac.

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

Verse 3. Who had his dwelling among the tombs] See Mt 8:28.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(3) No man could bind him.—The better MSS. give, “no man could any longer bind him.” The attempt had been so often made and baffled that it had been given up in despair.

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

Who had his dwelling among the tombs,.... Which is one of the characters of a madman among the Jews; who say it is (q).

"the sign of a madman, that he goeth out in the night, , "and lodges among the tombs", and rends his garments, and loses what is given to him.''

The same they say, in the same place, of an hypochondriac, and melancholy man; and of Kordiacus, which they give out (r) is a demon that possesses, and has power over some sort of persons:

and no man could bind him, no, not with chains; so as to hold him for any length of time: not only cords were insufficient to hold, but even chains of iron; so strong was he through the possession; for this could not be by his own natural strength.

(q) T. Hieros. Gittin, fol. 48. 3. & Trumot, fol. 40. 2. (r) Jarchi & Bartenora in Misn. Gittin, c. 7. sect. 1.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:

Ver. 3. Who had his dwelling among the tombs] The burial places of the saints were anciently thought to have a kind of holiness in them. Hence grew that superstition of meeting and praying together at the saints’ sepulchres; and afterwards of praying for them, and to them. Which to foment, the devil usually haunted such places, there to play his pranks.

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.

3. Dwelling among the tombs — Mark is very copious in his description of the fierceness of this demoniac. We may remark that these feats of strength and fondness for horrible resorts are often manifested by madmen. The tombs and charnels of the Jews were large, and filled with the uncleanness of dead men’s bones. In this wild region, around the eastern and less civilized side of Tiberias, many gloomy recesses were to be found.

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

3. Dwelling in the tombs. The tombs of that age were either natural or artificial caves in a rocky hillside, and hence would afford shelter. They are now sometimes the homes of the poorer classes. No man could bind him. Modern lunatics in their frenzy often exhibit almost superhuman strength.

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.

He had been bound many times

This can be written in active form. AT: "People had bound him many times" (See: Active or Passive)

his shackles were shattered

This can be written in active form. AT: "he shattered his shackles" (See: Active or Passive)

shackles

pieces of metal that people wrap around the arms and legs of prisoners and attach with chains to objects that do not move so the prisoners cannot move

No one had the strength to subdue him

The man was so strong that no one could subdue him. AT: "He was so strong that no one was strong enough to subdue him" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

subdue him

"control him"

translationWords

grave

bind

strength

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

3. ἁλύσει ([902][903][904][905] 33) rather than ἁλύσεσιν ([906][907][908]2[909][910][911]).

[902] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[903] Codex Ephraemi. 5th cent. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out, and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it; but a great deal of the original writing has been recovered; of Mark we have Mar 1:17 to Mar 6:31, Mar 8:5 to Mar 12:29, Mar 13:19 to Mar 16:20. In the National Library at Paris.

[904] An asterisk denotes that the word is not found elsewhere in N.T., and such words are included in the index, even if there is no note on them in the commentary.

[905] Codex Regius. 8th cent. An important witness. At Paris. Contains Mar 1:1 to Mar 10:15; Mar 10:30 to Mar 15:1; Mar 15:20 to Mar 16:20, but the shorter ending is inserted between Mar 16:8 and Mar 16:9, showing that the scribe preferred it to the longer one.

[906] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mar 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[907] Codex Alexandrinus. 5th cent. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to King Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. The whole Gospel. Photographic facsimile, 1879.

[908] Codex Ephraemi. 5th cent. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out, and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it; but a great deal of the original writing has been recovered; of Mark we have Mar 1:17 to Mar 6:31, Mar 8:5 to Mar 12:29, Mar 13:19 to Mar 16:20. In the National Library at Paris.

[909] Codex Bezae. 6th cent. Has a Latin translation (d) side by side with the Greek text, and the two do not quite always agree. Presented by Beza to the University Library of Cambridge in 1581. Remarkable for its frequent divergences from other texts. Contains Mark, except Mar 16:15-20, which has been added by a later hand. Photographic facsimile, 1899.

[910] Codex Sangallensis. 9th or 10th cent. Contains the Gospels nearly complete, with an interlinear Latin translation. The text of Mark is specially good, agreeing often with CL. At St Gall.

[911] Codex Petropolitanus. 9th cent. Gospels almost complete. Mar 16:18-20 is in a later hand.

3. ὃς τὴν κατ. εἶχεν. The change from aor. to imperf. is accurate. Κατοίκησις, not rare in LXX., occurs nowhere else in N.T., and Mk nowhere has κατοικέω, which is freq. in N.T., esp. Acts and Rev.

ἐν τοῖς μνήμασιν. In the tombs (R.V.) rather than “amongst” them (A.V.). He took shelter sometimes in one and sometimes in another. Cf. Psa 68:7, ἐξάγων … τοὺς κατοικοῦντας ἐν τάφοις, and Isa 65:4, ἐν τοῖς μνήμασιν … κοιμῶνται. In N.T. μνημεῖον is freq., while μνῆμα is rare. In class. Greek both words mean a “memorial” or “monument”; the meaning “tomb” is Biblical and perhaps colloquial. The fondness of those who suffer from mania or melancholia for tombs is well known; many instances in Wetstein. Calvin says of some of the questions which have been raised about this narrative, frivola est, imo stulta eorum divinatio.

οὐδὲ ἁλύσει οὐκέτι οὐδείς. See crit. note. The accumulation of negatives is here peculiar to Mk. See on Mar 1:44 and note the expressive οὐδέ and οὐκέτι. “Not even a chain was any longer of any use,” implying that at one time it had sufficed. The statement explains how such a man came to be at large and to have his abode in the tombs. Contrast Luk 8:29. After δύναμαι the aor. infin. (δῆσαι) is normal; see on Mar 1:41.

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.

3. οὐδὲ ἁλύσει] not even with a chain.

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

3. μνήμασιν. This, like μνημείων, v. 2, means properly monuments. Tombs is a Biblical meaning. This adds to the previous statement that the man came from the tombs, that he had his home there.

μνήμασιν, instead of μνημείοις, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א ABCL ΔΠ etc.

οὐδὲ ἁλύσει οὐκέτι οὐδεὶς ἐδύνατο—literally, and not even with a chain could no one no longer bind him. The RV. manages, by an ingenious arrangement of the negatives, to hide their barbarism. But the original couples them together without any mitigation of their effect. The TR. evidently omits οὐκέτι to get over this roughness.

οὐδὲ, instead of οὔτε, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א BCDL Δ 33, etc. ἁλύσει, instead of ἁλύσεσιν, Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. BC*L 33, two mss. Lat. Vet. οὐκέτι before οὐδεὶς Tisch. Treg. WH. RV. א BC* DL Δ 13, 28, 69, 124, 346, Lat. Vet. (most mss.) Vulg.

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

The details of verses 3 - 5 are peculiar to Mark. "The picture of the miserable man is fearful; and in drawing it, each evangelist has some touches which are peculiarly his own; but St. Mark's is the most eminently graphic of all, adding, as it does, many strokes Which wonderfully heighten the terribleness of the man's condition, and also magnify the glory of his cure" (Trench, " Miracles ").

Dwelling [κατοικησιν] . The kata, down, gives the sense of a settled habitation. Compare our phrase settled down. So Tynd., his abiding.

The tombs [τοις μνημασιν] . "In unclean places, unclean because of the dead men's bones which were there. To those who did not on this account shun them, these tombs of the Jews would afford ample shelter, being either natural caves or recesses hewn by art out of the rock, often so large as to be supported with columns, and with cells upon their sides for the reception of the dead. Being, too, without the cities, and oftentimes in remote and solitary places, they would attract those who sought to flee from all fellowship of their kind" (Trench, " Miracles ").

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