Handout: NT Session One:

The Gospel of Mark 8:22–10:52 (DVD, 27 minutes): a dramatic recitation.

Reading Scenarios

 Every author deliberately plays with the mental furniture in the mind of a reader. This works well when author and reader share the same mental furniture.  The results are disastrous when the author (a first century Palestinian) and the reader (a twenty-first century American) do not share the same mental furniture. Hence the need for modern, western readers of the Bible to learn about the mental furniture of first century Palestinian authors.

Western views:

    Salt as seasoning?  makes one thirsty. Given the scarcity of water in the Middle East, consuming anything salty is foolish. Hence the common seasoning is zatar, a mixture of herbs (oregano family, savory,  thyme, sesame seeds, and sometimes salt).

    Salt as preservative? Preserving what? "For the average Israelite, meat was not a daily fare."  "Extrabiblical sources and ethnographic studies indicate that for long storage meat was either smoked, dried, or salted. However, there is no mention in the Bible of such practices. Any biblical references to meal preparation relate to immediate consumption, usually on festive occations such as hosting guests or during cultural festivals." (See Luke 15:23, where the entire village will be fed in hopes they will not kill this wayward son).

The Bible's Middle Eastern View

I. Salt of the Hearth 

 Matthew 5:13 - salt of the earth-oven

 Psalm 12:6 - silver refined in the earth-oven
 Job 28:5 - bread comes out of the earth-oven

1 Kings 14:10 - the common fuel.

    "The ideal housholder had a house frotned by a wallec courtyard that contained (1) an earthen oven with (2) a double stove, (3) a millstone for gridning, (4) a dung heal (the fuel supply), along with (5) chickens and (6) callte (m. Baba Bathra 3,5)." 

See Bruce J. Malina and Richard L. Rohrbaugh,  Social Science Commentary on the Synoptic Gospels. 2nd edition.  Minneapolis: Fortress, 2003. P. 41

With this "mental furniture" in mind, read the following passages:

 Mark 9:42-50

 Luke 12:49-53

 Social Context: Mediterranean culture is “agonistic” or “combative.” This is another way of saying that Mediterranean people in general are prone to conflict.

II. Conflict Analysis of Mark 7:1-23.

 A. Parties 7:1-2

 B. Grievance 7:2

 C. Presentation:
  Challenge: 7:5
  Riposte: 7:6ff: insult; scripture quote, change the topic.

  D. Manner of handling the dispute: grant of honor. After 7:13 but before 7:14. Not explicitly mentioned ("high context" report).

Resources:

 Kuhn, Deanne, Michael Weinstock, & Robin Flaton. 1994. How Well do Jurors Reason? Competence Dimensions of Individual Variation in a Juror Reasoning Task. PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 5: 289-294.

 Pilch, John J. Illuminating the World of Jesus through Cultural Anthropology.  1994. LIVING LIGHT 31/1: 20-31.

Three articles on Mark 7 in FORUM 4 (1988), but especially Bruce J. Malina, 3-30.