[B-Greek] Mk 6:45 PROS BHQSAIDAN

Iver Larsen iver at larsen.dk
Fri Jul 7 04:28:13 EDT 2006


From: "Harold Holmyard" <hholmyard at ont.com>
responding to Wieland Wilker

>>WW: In Mk 6:45 we are faced with a difficult problem. Jesus forced his disciples to "go on ahead to the other side, to
>>Bethsaida".
>>Bethsaida is on the east cost. But the feeding happened on the east coast according to Mt and Lk. In Lk it even
>>happened IN Bethsaida.

IL:
I think these are questionable assumptions that may be caused by translating EIS by "to" when it often means "in the
direction of". Although the details are not clear, it seems to me that this feeding of the 5000 happened away from the
cities in the open countryside between Capernaum and Bethsaida on the north coast. I am aware that there is an old
tradtion going back to Egeria from the 4th century that it took place at Tabgha, a couple of miles southwest of
Capernaum, but I am not convinced that the tradition is correct. It is not supported by the gospel texts.

Mat 14:13 says that they were heading by boat to an uninhabited place EIS ERHMON TOPON. The boat ride probably started
from Capernaum, but they sailed along the coast and did not get very far. Whether they sailed northeast or southwest is
not stated here, but lots of people were following along on the shore.
Then in Mat 14:22 we hear that Jesus asked his disciples to go ahead of him (PROAGEIN) and continue the boat ride alone
towards the other side EIS TO PERAN. Normally I expect the river Jordan to be the borderline between "this side" and
"the other side", but Harold has given an example below where a similar expression apparently just means a journey by
boat from one point on the shore to another. Bethsaida Julias would be "on the other side", since it was just on the
east side of the river inlet. There were probably two Bethsaidas, one a small fishing village within Galilee on an
island in the Jordan delta, and the other the bigger city of Bethsaida Julias, east of the river about 2 miles upstream.
That they were to go EIS TO PERAN (towards the other side), does not mean that they ever reached the other side. A big
storm came up and blew them out of course so that they eventually ended up in Gennesaret, about 3 miles southwest of
Capernaum. (Matt 14:34,  Mrk 6:53).

I would be interested in hearing more research about PERAN in connection with a boat ride. Can it just mean "landing
place" or "the other part of the shore where the boat is supposed to land"?

Luke 9:10 tells us that Jesus hUPECWRHSEN KAT' IDIAN (withdrew to be alone). The next part of the text is in turmoil.
The NA text says EIS POLIN KALOUMENHN BHQSAÏDA (in the direction of a city called Bethsaida). Bethsaida Julias was a
wellknown city, so this probably indicates that they went eastward from Capernuam without intending to reach the big
city, which would not offer a place of solitude. Most mss talk about EIS TOPON ERHMON POLEWS KALOUMENOU BHQSAÏDA (an
uninhabited place of/near a city called Bethsaida). I won't go into the different readings and the merits of each one,
but we cannot claim that Luke puts the feeding IN Bethsaida. Such a claim may be based on inaccurate and misleading
literal translations like RSV, NIV etc. that say "he withdrew apart to a city called Bethsaida". It is only the NLT
which correctly translates EIS when it says: "toward the town of Bethsaida". It never ceases to amaze me how many
misunderstandings are caused by literal translations that ignore the logic of the text and context.

>>Also, in Mk 6:53 it is said (like Mt 14:34): " When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret".
>>So, how to explain this? Of course the commentaries are full of speculation.
>>
>>1. One is (Wohlenberger, Comm. Mk. 1910) to take PROS BHQSAIDAN as "(looking) to Bethsaida".
>>
>>PROAGEIN EIS TO PERAN, PROS BHQSAIDAN
>>=
>>"go on ahead to the other side, (looking) to Bethsaida"
>>
>>Is this interpretation of "PROS" allowed?

IL: It is not clear what "looking to Bethsaida" means, but the EIS and the PROS in Mrk 6:45 have exactly the same
meaning.
Louw and Nida discuss them in section 84.16 and 84.18:
84.16 EIS extension toward a special goal - 'to, toward, in the direction of.'
84.18 PROS extension toward a goal, (with the probability of some type of implied interaction or reciprocity.)
>>
>>
>>2. Another explanation is suggested by Klostermann and also considered by Th. Zahn, namely to take PROS BHQSAIDAN with
>>the following EWS clause. I don't see how this could be constructed though.

IL: Agreed. That is nonsense.

<snip>
> HH: One tidbit is that Josephus used an expression similar to "to the
> other side" for a boat trip from Tiberias to Taricheae (3.7 miles), both
> on the west shore of the lake.
<snip>

Iver Larsen




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