9:2 Six days later 8 Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John and led them alone up a high mountain privately. And he was transfigured before them, 9
9:38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he was not following us.”
10:35 Then 10 James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him and said, “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.”
13:3 So 11 while he was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John, 12 and Andrew asked him privately,
1 sn John’s lifestyle was in stark contrast to many of the religious leaders of Jerusalem who lived in relative ease and luxury. While his clothing and diet were indicative of someone who lived in the desert, they also depicted him in his role as God’s prophet (cf. Zech 13:4); his appearance is similar to the Prophet Elijah (2 Kgs 1:8). Locusts and wild honey were a common diet in desert regions and locusts (dried insects) are listed in Lev 11:22 among the “clean” foods.
2 tn Or “a boat.” The phrase ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ (en tw ploiw) can either refer to a generic boat, some boat (as it seems to do in Matt 4:21); or it can refer to “their” boat, implying possession. Mark assumes a certain preunderstanding on the part of his readers about the first four disciples and hence the translation “their boat” is justified (cf. also v. 20 in which the “hired men” indicates that Zebedee’s family owned the boats).
3 tn Grk “he”; here it is necessary to specify the referent as “Herod,” since the nearest previous antecedent in the translation is Philip.
4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
5 tn Grk “She said”; the referent (the girl’s mother) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
6 tn While Matthew and Luke consistently use the noun βαπτίστης (baptisths, “the Baptist”) to refer to John, as a kind of a title, Mark employs the substantival participle ὁ βαπτίζων (Jo baptizwn, “the one who baptizes, the baptizer”) to describe him (though twice he does use the noun [Mark 6:25; 8:28]).
7 tn Grk “she asked, saying.” The participle λέγουσα (legousa) is redundant and has not been translated.
8 tn Grk “And after six days.”
9 sn In 1st century Judaism and in the NT, there was the belief that the righteous get new, glorified bodies in order to enter heaven (1 Cor 15:42-49; 2 Cor 5:1-10). This transformation means the righteous will share the glory of God. One recalls the way Moses shared the Lord’s glory after his visit to the mountain in Exod 34. So the disciples saw Jesus transfigured, and they were getting a sneak preview of the great glory that Jesus would have (only his glory is more inherent to him as one who shares in the rule of the kingdom).
10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
11 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of previous action(s) in the narrative.
12 tn Grk “and James and John,” but καί (kai) has not been translated since English normally uses a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements in a series of three or more.