Re: ELWI ELWI LEMA SABAXQANI (Mk 15,34 / Ps 22,2)

From: Jeffrey Gibson (jgibson@acfsysv.roosevelt.edu)
Date: Sun Dec 21 1997 - 19:45:38 EST


Rolf,

Thanks for your comments on Mk 15:34. I wonder if it does not go beyond
the bounds of B-Greek to ask about the *intention* of the *Markan* Jesus in
uttering the phrase in question? If memory serves, commentators are often
wont to see here an actual cry of despair, as if Mark is emphasizing
Jesus' sense of utter abandonment. I have always sensed that the utterance
is, on the contrary, one of affirmation, for the Psalm which, according to
Mark, Jesus is quoting in either Hebrew or Aramaic, ends up with the
speaker of "my God, etc." proclaiming his absolute confidence in God's
covenant faithfulness towards his elect, and as C.H. Dodd argued, in the
NT, quotations of single lines of a biblical text were often intended to be
taken as if the whole text from which the line came was being cited.

Shall we bat this one around? If so, some things to consider are: (1) Is
what Dodd claimed was often true Mark's usual practice? and (2) Does Mark
here employ, as context for the utterance, the themes taken from Wisdom 2,
and thus present Jesus as the righteous sufferer who even when apparently
abandoned remains confident in God's intentions to do his elect good in
the end?

If this is indeed out of bounds, then reply to me off list. I would like
to see what arguments can be adduced for both conclusions.

Jeffrey Gibson
jgibson@acfsysv.roosevelt.edu



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