6:7 Jesus 1 called the twelve and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 2
16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic spices 7 so that they might go and anoint him.
1 tn Grk “He”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
2 sn The phrase unclean spirits refers to evil spirits.
3 tn Or “will rebel against.”
4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
5 tn The Greek term φραγελλόω (fragellow) refers to flogging. BDAG 1064 s.v. states, “flog, scourge, a punishment inflicted on slaves and provincials after a sentence of death had been pronounced on them. So in the case of Jesus before the crucifixion…Mt 27:26; Mk 15:15.”
sn A Roman flogging (traditionally, “scourging”) was an excruciating punishment. The victim was stripped of his clothes and bound to a post with his hands fastened above him (or sometimes he was thrown to the ground). Guards standing on either side of the victim would incessantly beat him with a whip (flagellum) made out of leather with pieces of lead and bone inserted into its ends. While the Jews only allowed 39 lashes, the Romans had no such limit; many people who received such a beating died as a result. See C. Schneider, TDNT, 4:515-19.
6 tn Or “delivered him up.”
7 tn On this term see BDAG 140 s.v. ἄρωμα. The Jews did not practice embalming, so these materials were used to cover the stench of decay and slow decomposition.
sn Spices were used not to preserve the body, but as an act of love, and to mask the growing stench of a corpse.