Course Notes for Mark 1:9-15

Course Notes for Mk. 1:9-15

Class Session of Thursday, September 12

9        Et factum est in diebus illis, venit Iesus a Nazareth Galilaeae et baptizatus est in Iordane ab Ioanne.

Et factum est The phrase, usually omitted in translation, is translated in older versions:  and it came to pass. “factum est is neuter third person singular perfect indicative passive of  facio, facere, feci, factum [501].  “Illis” is a demonstrative pronoun in agreement with “diebus.”  “diebus,” the object of the preposition “in” [App. 47], is ablative plural of the fifth declension noun dies, diei.  venit Iesus a Nazareth Galilaeae Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee; the genitive noun is used to specify the names of places. “venit” is third person singular perfect active indicative of venio, venire, veni, ventum [501].  et baptizatus est He was baptized; the verb is third person singular perfect passive indicative of baptizata, baptizare, baptizavi, baptizatum.

in Iordane ab Ioanne in the Jordan River by John; the preposition “in” governs the accusative; “ab” governs the ablative.

10      Et statim ascendens de aqua vidit apertos caelos et Spiritum tamquam columbam descendentem et manentem in ipsum;

1:10     Et statim ascendens de aqua straightway as he was coming up out of the water; “statim,” an adverb, a favorite in Mark, finds frequent usage.  “ascendens,” the masculine singular nominative present active participle of ascendo, ascendere, ascendi, ascensum[501], agrees with its subject “Iesus” in the previous verse.  As a circumstantial participle it describes the circumstances under which an action takes place:  it may express time, cause, concession, condition, and other circumstances.  vidit apertos caelos he saw the heavens as they were opening; “vidit” is third person singular perfect active indicative of video, videre, vidi, visum[501].  As a perfect, it expresses a single act in past time.  “apertos” is the masculine accusative plural of the participle apertus, aperta, apertum, from the verb aperio, aperire, aperui, apertum [501] and agrees with its subject “caelos” in gender, number, and case.  “Apertos,” like “ascendens,” is a circumstantial participle.  “caelos,”  accusative plural of the second declension noun caelus, caeli, m., is the direct object of the verb.  Et Spiritum tamquam columbam descendentem et manentem in ipsum; and the Spirit as it descended upon him and remained like a dove; “spiritum” is the singular accusative of the fourth declension noun spiritus, spiritus, m.  “spiritum” functions as the second direct object of the verb “vidit.”  tamquam introduces a simile. “descendentem” and “manentem” are accusative participles; see maneo, manere, mansi, mansum [501]..  The personal pronoun “ipsum,” as the object of the preposition “in,” takes the accusative case. 

11      et vox facta est de caelis:  “Tu es Filius meus dilectus; in te complacui.” 

1:11     et vox facta est de caelis:  a voice came from the heavens:  supply dicens, “saying,” to introduce the direct quote.  “vox,”  the nominative of the third declension noun vox, vocis, f., stands in the nominative case as the subject of the verb.  “facta est” is the perfect feminine singular passive indicative of the  verb  facio, facere, feci, factum [501].  The passive form has active meaning.  “de caelis” is the ablative plural of the second declension noun caelus, caeli, m. “Tu es Filius meus dilectus; You are my beloved Son; the repetition of the second person singular pronoun and the second person singular ver makes an emphatic statement.  in te complacui in you I am well pleased; “complacui” is the first person singular perfect active indicative of [com-] placeo, placere, placui, placitum [placeo in 501].  The perfect tense may be used to express a general truth. 

12      Et statim Spiritus expellit eum in desertum.  13  Et erat in deserto quadraginta diebus et tentabatur a Satana; eratque cum bestiis, et angeli ministrabant illi. 

1:12     Et statim Spiritus expellit eum in desertum and at once the Spirit sent Him out into the wilderness.  Note the recurrence of “statim.”  “Spiritus” is the singular nominative of of the fourth declension noun spiritus, spiritus, m.  It is the subject of the verb “expellit.”  The personal pronoun “eum,” as the direct object of the verb, is the singular masculine accusative form of the pronoun is, ea, id. [App. 18]. 

“expellit,” a third person singular present active indicative of expello, expellere, expuli, expulsum, is a historical present [Allen & Greenough (“AG”) 469]. .  It is used as a past tense and is frequently seen in vivid narrative accounts.  “in desertum”:  the preposition governs the accusative case of desertum, deserti, n.   

1:13     Et erat in deserto quadraginta diebus He was in the desert forty days; the verb “erat” is third person singular imperfect active indicative of sum, esse, fui, futurus.   In contrast to the perfect, the imperfect shows aspect in the past that is continuing and customary, conative, and inchoative.  “in deserto”:  the preposition governs the ablative case.  “quadraginta diebus”:  The fifth declension noun dies, diei is an ablative of duration of time.  et tentabatur a Satana when He was tempted by Satan; “tentabatur” is the third person imperfect passive indicative of tento, tentare, tentavi, tentatum.  “Satana” is the ablative of the first declension noun Satana, Satanae, m. eratque cum bestiis the preposition governs the ablative case. “bestiis” is the ablative plural of the first declension noun bestia, bestiae, f.  et angeli ministrabant illi angels continually attended Him; “ministrabant” is the third person plural imperfect active indicative of ministro, ministrare, ministravi, ministratus.  The imperfect tense denotes progressive, continued, and repeated aspect in past time. 

14      Postquam autem traditus est Ioannes, venit Iesus in Galileam praedicans evangelium Dei.  15       et dicens:  “Impletum est tempus, et appropinquavit regnum Dei; paenitemini et credite evangelio.”

1:14     Postquam autem traditus est Ioannes but after John was put in prison; supply in carcere (cf. Matt. 14:3).  “traditus est” is the third person singular passive indicative of trado, tradere, tradidi, traditus.  praedicans evangelium Dei proclaiming the gospel of God; “praedicans” is a masculine singular present active participle in agreement with the subject “Iesus.”  as the direct object of the participle, “evangelium” stands in the accusative case.  “Dei” is an appositional genitive [AG 282, 343(d)] but also a subjective genitive [AG 343 n. 1]:  “the gospel about God [coming as Christ].”

 1:15    et dicens and saying; the conjunction coordinates the present active participle with “praedicans” in the previous verse.  The participle introduces a direct statement. “ Impletum est tempus “the time has been completed”; the verb is a third person singular perfect passive indicative of the verb impleo, implere, implevi, impletum [501].  The perfect tense denotes action/aspect that is completed near present time and continues with present result.  et appropinquavit regnum Dei and the Kingdom of God is at hand; the verb is third person singular perfect active indicative of appropinquo, appropinquare, appropinquavi, appropinquatum.  The perfect tense denotes:  the kingdom of heaven has approached (recently and is now here).  The verb expresses urgency.  Paenitemini et credite evangelio repent and believe the Gospel; both verbs are plural imperatives; “paenitemini” is rare and post-classical, but cf. the title of the Apostolic Constitution on Fast and Abstinence promulgated by Paul VI in 1966. “credite” is the imperative of credo, credere, credidi, creditum [501].