Today I read Julie M. Smith, The Gospel of Mark (Brigham Young University New Testament Commentary; Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Studies, 2018)
Of all the commentaries released thus far in this series, this is, by a scholarly mile, the best so far, and I highly recommend it.
Notwithstanding, there has been some (and, sadly, more than likely will more) bellyaching from some LDS (including one persistent and very errant participant on the comments section of the Interpreter Website) that the author is a (third wave?) feminist, not a true believer, that the commentary will be problematic, etc. I usually would not do a post like this, but as the book is excellent, and I would hate for well-meaning Latter-day Saints to be put off from purchasing and reading this fine volume by such stupidity, it should be enough to note that the author explicitly accepts the historicity of the Book of Mormon, even hinting that Jesus and/or the author of the Gospel of Mark did know of Zenos’s allegory of the olive tree. Commenting on Mark 4:26-29 and the parable of the growing seed, Smith writes:
Relationship to Jacob 5. This Book of Mormon text is an extended allegory featuring an olive orchard. It focuses extensively on the efforts of the shower to do everything within his power to produce a successful crop. According to the Book of Mormon, this allegory originated with an Old World prophet named Zenos, who shared it with the house of Israel.
This allegory is not recorded in any other extant sources, so there is no way to determine whether Jesus, his audience, Mark, or the Gospel’s audience was familiar with it, but it is possible that they were. It so, it would nuance the interpretation of this parable, which would then be read as a virtual antitype of Zenos’s allegory due to the parable’s strong emphasis on the lack of action—or even knowledge—on the part of the sower. Perhaps Jesus’ point was that Christian disciples, unlike the priests under the law of Moses, did not need to be so active since it was the Atonement of Christ (the seed) that would be performing all of the redemptive work. (p. 299)
Elsewhere, on Mark 9:1 (“that there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power”), and how such is a support for the authenticity of the text, she writes::
While this verse presents difficult interpretive issues, it is also, ironically enough, perhaps a testament to the fidelity of the biblical record: given the potential for this passage to be understood as a false prophecy by Jesus, one would understand the desire of scribes to delete it from the record. So its inclusion in the text speaks to the scribes’ faithfulness to the tradition, even under difficult circumstances. (p. 508)
As I stated previously, the book is excellent and I suggest everyone who follows this blog to get a copy.
