Abiathar
or Ahimelech?
In Mark 2:25–26 and parallels, Jesus defends his
disciples’ ‘working’ on the Sabbath (by plucking ears of grain) with an appeal
to the Old Testament example of David disobeying the Jewish law when he ate the
sacred showbread reserved exclusively for priests (cf. 1 Sam. 21:1–6). Mark
alone includes the detail that the incident with David occurred ‘when Abiathar
was high priest’. Yet 1 Samuel clearly states that Ahimelech, Abiathar’s
father, held that office then. The best solution to this problem arises from
the recognition of the unusual meaning of a prepositional phrase found in Mark
2:26, epi Abiathar archiereōs. The
preposition epi usually means ‘upon’,
but in this context it makes no sense to translate ‘upon Abiathar the high
priest’. Nevertheless, since in eighteen of the twenty-one places Mark uses
this preposition with the genitive case it does refer to location rather than
to time, the translation ‘when’ is not very likely. John Wenham notices a close
parallel in Mark 12:26 where Jesus cites the story of God appearing to Moses at
the burning bush, in which he translates epi
tou batou with the explanatory paraphrase ‘in the passage of Scripture
concerning (or, entitled) the Bush’. Similarly, Mark 2:26 makes good sense if
translated ‘at the passage of Scripture concerning (or, entitled) Abiathar the
High Priest’, for the passage referred to comes in the chapter (1 Sam. 21) that
immediately precedes the record of the first exploits of Abiathar. Since
Abiathar is the more noteworthy of the two priests throughout the larger
context of 1 Samuel, as the man who first brought the priesthood to David’s
side in his struggle against Saul, it would be natural to refer to several
chapters under his name. A further clue suggesting that epi means ‘in the passage about’ in Mark 2:26 and 12:26 is that
both are preceded by the rhetorical question ‘have you never/not read …?’ Wenham’s translation thus
preserves the more common use of the preposition epi as referring to location, even if the specific location in view
is a passage of Scripture rather than a place on the globe.
Bart Ehrman describes his experience of writing a paper
on this topic while a theological student at Princeton, trying to defend Mark’s
accuracy, only to have his professor ask him if Mark could not have just made a
mistake. This question, Ehrman explains, marked a liberating turning point in
his life, as he proceeded to reject his evangelical convictions regarding
Scripture and ultimately any kind of Christian faith. It is hard to imagine one
such error producing so drastic a paradigm shift all by itself, given the
countless Christians throughout history who have remained strong believers even
while allowing for minor errors in Scripture that do not affect its overall
teachings on faith and practice. Indeed, Ehrman’s narrative
suggests he had been looking, whether consciously or unconsciously, for just
such an ‘out’, given a building frustration with the monolithically
ultraconservative education of his bachelor’s and master’s degree programs.
Ironically, Ehrman’s story does
reinforce the convictions of those who build ‘slippery slope’ hypotheses about
how the admission of one minor error anywhere in Scripture opens the door to
the almost inevitable rejection of all things Christian, notwithstanding the
fact that countless Christians over the centuries have held intermediate
positions between these extremes without ever ‘sliding’ anywhere! I am
perfectly happy acknowledging that the cases for resolving some of the apparent
discrepancies in the Gospels are stronger than others, and I am not in the
least bothered if readers prefer to adopt a different Christian perspective on the nature of Scripture. I just hope that
this volume may prod some of them to consider certain options for various
problems that they may not have previously encountered. I, at least, see no
insuperable objections to any of them. (Craig L. Blomberg, The
Historical Reliability of the Gospels [2d ed.; Downers Grove, Ill.: IVP
Academic, 2007], 244-46)
To Support this Blog:
Email for Amazon Gift
card: ScripturalMormonism@gmail.com
Email for Logos.com Gift
Card: IrishLDS87@gmail.com
