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Who or what is the referent of αὐτῶν in Mk. 9:48

Posted: December 30th, 2018, 6:53 pm
by jgibson000
καλόν σέ ἐστιν μονόφθαλμον εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ ἢ δύο ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχοντα βληθῆναι εἰς τὴν [q]γέενναν, 48 ὅπου ὁ σκώληξ αὐτῶν οὐ τελευτᾷ καὶ τὸ πῦρ οὐ σβέννυται.

I just noticed that, according to Mark, Jesus speaks of Gehenna as a place where "their [not the} worm" does not die. So I'm wondering to whom (or to what) does the worm referred to here belong?

Jeffrey

Re: Wwho or what is the referent of αὐτῶν in Mk. 9:48

Posted: December 31st, 2018, 3:07 am
by timothy_p_mcmahon
I'd guess this was a common adage with no specific antecedent. The "they" implicit in αὐτῶν would be those who enter γέεννα.

Re: Wwho or what is the referent of αὐτῶν in Mk. 9:48

Posted: December 31st, 2018, 3:09 pm
by dougknighton
Maybe it's a quotation from Isaiah 66:24, in which the plural pronoun refers the people who sinned against God. It's not an exact quotation; the pronoun is the same, but the verb tense differs: ὁ γὰρ σκώληξ αὐτῶν οὐ τελευτήσει.

Doug Knighton

Re: Who or what is the referent of αὐτῶν in Mk. 9:48

Posted: January 1st, 2019, 11:09 pm
by Ken M. Penner
dougknighton wrote: December 31st, 2018, 3:09 pm Maybe it's a quotation from Isaiah 66:24, in which the plural pronoun refers the people who sinned against God. It's not an exact quotation; the pronoun is the same, but the verb tense differs: ὁ γὰρ σκώληξ αὐτῶν οὐ τελευτήσει.
Yes, it certainly is a quote from Isaiah 66:24. So I wouldn't recommend using it as evidence of what Jesus believed about eternal torment.
I posted my commentary on Isaiah 66 at http://ibiblio.org/bgreek/forum/viewtop ... 387#p31387