Gospel of Mark:

Dictionary of Terms and Concepts

Explanation

There are certain key concepts and terms which occur in Scripture or in theological discussion (e.g. “Trinity”) which are key to a proper understanding of the Scriptures and contemporary understanding of these Scriptures.

Rather than repeatedly addressing a topic within the commentary or pointing to another note in another chapter/verse, I’m going to create a dictionary – but it will be unlike any bible dictionary I have seen thus far b/c it will only address the topics which are relevant to one specific book. In this case, the dictionary will explain terms/concepts that are relevant for the Gospel of Mark.

As such, the dictionary could be read straight through (as the concepts will come up in the Gospel) or one could read it as-needed. I’ve used Utley’s commentary on Mark and the NLT Study Bible’s (NLTSB) insert articles as a beginning point for compiling different terms/concepts which need to be defined.

Next I’ll do a complete reading of the Gospel of Mark again noting down any other terms/concepts which should be addressed. Then I’ll add into my research pot the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE) – and using research from these three sources create the initial dictionary.

I have not used every topic that Utley and/or the NLTSB highlighted, and some of the topics I have tentatively included below will probably become footnotes or otherwise included in the main commentary text rather than having a full article on them.

I am particularly interested in bringing to light historical persons, theological concepts, geographic locations and so on.

Maps

Along with this I’d like to include a map. This map will cover only the geography relevant to the specific book of the Bible – this will provide a de-cluttered map but still a map with all the known locations referenced in the book. I usually find maps are more general – and this results in them either lacking some specific locations or containing an overwhelming abundance of locations not included in the biblical book itself.

For Now

If you are utilizing the Gospel of Mark Commentary for now I’d recommend looking up the articles referenced below in Utley’s commentary,^[1] in a NLT Study Bible,^[2] as well as searching for the relevant terms in the ISBE.^[3]

Topics

• Messiah / Christ

○     See NLTSB “Jesus the Messiah”, pg. 1613.

○     See NLTSB “The Messianic Hope”, pg. 1707.

• Repentance

○     See Utley in Chp. 1 “Repentance in the Old Testament.”

• Confession

○     See Utley in Chp. 1 “Confession.”

• Trinity

○     See Utley in Chp. 1 “The Trinity.”

• Symbolic Numbers

○     See Utley in Chp. 1 “Symbolic Numbers in Scripture.”

○     See Utley in Chp. 3 “The Number Twelve.”

○     See Utley in Chp. 13 “Forty-Two Months.”

• Satan

○     See Utley in Chp. 1 “Satan.”

• Herod

○     See Utley in Chp. 1 “The Family Of Herod The Great.”

○     See NLTSB “Herod Antipias”, pg. 1659.

○     See NLTSB “Herod the Great”, pg. 1578.

• Kingdom Of God.

○     See Utley in Chp. 1 “The Kingdom Of God.”

○     See NLTSB “The Coming of God’s Kingdom”, pg. 1647.

• Faith

○     See Utley in Chp. 1 “Faith.”

○     See NLTSB “Faith and Works”, pg. 1631.

• Sabbath

○     See Utley in Chp. 1 “Sabbath.”

• Scribes

○     See Utley in Chp. 1 “Scribes.”

• Unclean Spirits

○     See Utley in Chp. 1 “The Demonic (Unclean Spirits).”

• Holy One of God

○     See Utley in Chp. 1 “The Holy One.”

• Exorcism

○     See Utley in Chp. 1 “Exorcism.”

• Heart

○     See Utley in Chp. 2 “The Heart.”

• Pharisees

○     See Utley in Chp. 2 “Pharisees.”

○     See NLTSB “The Pharisees”, pg. 1581.

• Fasting

○     See Utley in Chp. 2 “Fasting.”

• Herodians

○     See Utley in Chp. 3 “Herodians.”

• Son of God

○     See Utley in Chp. 3 “The Son of God.”

○     See NLTSB “The Son of God”, pg. 1655.

• Amen

○     See Utley in Chp. 3 “Amen.”

• Holy Spirit

○     See Utley in Chp. 3 “The Personhood of the Spirit.”

• Eternal

○     See Utley in Chp. 3 “Eternal.”

○     See Utley in Chp. 11 “Forever.”

• Parables

○     See Utley in Chp. 4 “Interpreting Parables.”

• Mystery of the Kingdom

○     See Utley in Chp. 4 “Mystery In The Gospels.”

○     See NLTSB “The Secret of The Messiah”, pg. 1653.

• Salvation

○     See Utley in Chp. 4 “Salvation (Greek Verb Tenses).”

• Anointing

○     See Utley in Chp. 6 “Anointing In The Bible (BDB 603).”

• Hypocrites

○     See Utley in Chp. 7 “Hypocrites.”

• Laying On Of Hands

○     See Utley in Chp. 7 “Laying On Of Hands In The Bible.”

• Resurrection

○     See Utley in Chp. 8 “The Resurrection.”

○     See NLTSB “The Resurrection of Jesus”, pg. 1641.

• Heaven/Hell

○     See Utley in Chp. 9 “Where Are The Dead?”

○     See Utley in Chp. 12 “Degrees Of Rewards And Punishment.”

○     See Utley in Chp. 13 “This Age And The Age To Come.”

• The Ten Commandments

○     See Utley in Chp. 10 “The Ten Commandments (cf. Exod. 20:1-17; Deut. 5:6-21).”

• Wealth

○     See Utley in Chp. 10 “Wealth.”

○     See NLTSB “Rich and Poor”, pg. 1745.

• Glory

○     See Utley in Chp. 10 “Glory (Doxa).”

• Ransom

○     See Utley in Chp. 10 “Ransom/Redeem.”

• Jesus the Nazarene

○     See Utley in Chp. 10 “Jesus the Nazarene.”

• Prayer

○     See Utley in Chp. 11 “Effective Prayer.”

○     See Utley in Chp. 13 “Intercessory Prayer.”

• Cornerstone

○     See Utley in Chp. 12 “Cornerstone.”

• Sanhedrin

○     See Utley in Chp. 12 “Sanhedrin.”

○     See NLTSB “The Jewish High Council”, pg. 1635.

• Sadducees

○     See Utley in Chp. 12 “Sadducees.”

○     See NLTSB “The Sadducees”, pg. 1610.

• Names for Deity

○     See Utley in Chp. 12 “Names For Deity.”

• Money

○     See Utley in Chp. 12 “Coins In Use In Palestine In Jesus’ Day.”

• Apocalyptic Literature

○     See Utley in Chp. 13 “Old Testament Predictions Vs. New Testament Predictions.”

○     See Utley in Chp. 13 “Apocalyptic Literature.”

○     See NLTSB “The Day is Coming”, pg. 1681.

• Abomination Of Desolation

○     See Utley in Chp. 13 “The Abomination Of Desolation.”

• Election / Predestination

○     See Utley in Chp. 13 “Election/Predestination And The Need For a Theological Balance.”

• Coming in the Clouds

○     See Utley in Chp. 13 “Coming In The Clouds.”

• Father

○     See Utley in Chp. 13 “Father.”

• Almsgiving

○     See Utley in Chp. 14 “Almsgiving.”

• Passover

○     See Utley in Chp. 14 “Passover (Order Of Service).”

• The Lord’s Supper

○     See Utley in Chp. 14 “The Lord’s Supper In John 6.”

• Covenant

○     See Utley in Chp. 14 “Covenant.”

• Poured Out

○     See Utley in Chp. 14 “Poured Out.”

• The Hour

○     See Utley in Chp. 14 “The Hour.”

• Curse

○     See Utley in Chp. 14 “Curse (Anathema).”

• Pontius Pilate

○     See Utley in Chp. 15 “Pontius Pilate.”

• Women

○     See Utley in Chp. 15 “Women In The Bible.”

○     See Utley in Chp. 16 “The Women Who Followed Jesus.”

○     See NLTSB “Women Named Mary”, pg. 1640.

• Burial Spices

○     See Utley in Chp. 16 “Burial Spices.”

• Judas Iscariot

○     See NLTSB “Judas Iscariot”, pg. 1685.

• Son of Man

○     See NLTSB “The Son of Man”, pg. 1593.

• Matthew (Levi)

○     See NLTSB “Matthew (Levi)”, pg. 1594.

• Simon Peter

○     See NLTSB “Simon Peter”, pg. 1609.

• James and John

○     See NLTSB “James, Son of Zebedee”, pg. 1725.

○     See NLTSB “John the Apostle, Son of Zebedee”, pg. 1801.

• Jerusalem

○     See NLTSB “The City of Jerusalem”, pg. 1752.

• John the Baptist

○     See NLTSB “John The Baptist”, pg. 1771.

• Disciples

○     See NLTSB “Disciples of Jesus”, pg. 1789.

 

Author: David Mackey

Revision: 0.1 5/18/13