Numbers 11:16-17, 24-29

The Seventy Elders

16 So the LORD said to Moses, "Gather for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tent of meeting, and have them take their place there with you. 17 I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take some of the spirit that is on you and put it on them; and they shall bear the burden of the people along with you so that you will not bear it all by yourself. (Numbers 11:16-17, NRSV)

24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD; and he gathered seventy elders of the people, and placed them all around the tent. 25 Then the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders; and when the spirit rested upon them, they prophesied. But they did not do so again.

26 Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, "My lord Moses, stop them!" 29 But Moses said to him, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD's people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit on them!" (Numbers 11:24-29, NRSV)

The following comments are based on those of May 3, 2008 (Saturday in the Sixth Week of Easter, Year Two), on relevant comments from those on Numbers 11:1-23 and 24-35 from June 17 and 18, 2008 (Tuesday and Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year Two), and earlier comments as indicated there.

Today’s reading, portions of Numbers 11, is one of a series of selections from different parts of the Bible. Beginning June 12, 2010 (Saturday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 8, Year Two), a series of readings from Numbers will continue for three and a half weeks. But it is worth while to provide some background for this reading. Numbers chapter 10 reports the beginning of Israel’s departure from Sinai, where they have been encamped since their arrival (Exod., chap. 19). We note the presence of Hobab (Num. 10:29) who, according to David P. Wright, is “Moses’ father-in-law, earlier named Reuel (Ex. 2:18) and Jethro (Ex. 18)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Num. 10:29-32). Rabbi J. H. Hertz distinguishes Reuel from “Jethro or Hobab”: “According to Rabbinic tradition, Hobab is identical with Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses. Reuel was the father of Jethro, or Hobab. Exod. ii, 18, where the daughters of Jethro call Reuel their father, presents no difficulty. The Rabbis rightly explain that children oft-times call their grandfather ‘father’ ” (Pentateuch & Haftorahs, 2^nd ed., 24^th printing, 1981, p. 612, on Num. 10:29). Jethro had given Moses advice to organize the judicial system, finding “able men” who would “sit as judges” and thus give Moses some relief from the constant need to decide cases (Exod. 18:13-27). In today’s reading elders are also appointed. This presents another example of the sharing of Moses’ leadership responsibilities; the elders are mentioned in Exodus 14:1, 9). But here Moses has become frustrated with the people’s complaints, largely passed over in today’s reading. The full chapter, including the complaints and rebellion, will be the reading for June 15 and 16, 2010 (Tuesday and Wednesday in the week of the Sunday closest to June 15, Year Two).

Did you ever feel overwhelmed by responsibilities and unappreciated by those you were trying to help? Consider the situation of Moses in Numbers, chapter 11, which combines the themes of the LORD’s provision of food for the Israelites, the murmuring of the people and the consequent burden upon Moses. The chapter opens with a complaint which led to punishment with fire (Num. 11:1-3). Nili S. Fox describes “the second incident [which is] far more detailed and complex. It originates,” he says,

from the camp’s non-Israelite contingent which joined the Israelites in the exodus (Exod. 12:38). The people crave a more varied diet than just manna, like the one they claim was available in Egypt. As commonly happens, the complaints of a few are echoed by the entire group. This larger section seems to combine two originally independent stories concerning the quail and the seventy elders. (The Jewish Study Bible, 2004, on Num. 11:4-35).

While the complete chapter will be treated next month, as noted above, the scene is set here for the appointment of elders to help Moses. He “heard the people weeping [about the lack of meat, vv. 4-6] . . . Then the LORD became very angry, and Moses was displeased” (v. 10). Moses’ complaint (vv. 11-15) leads to the LORD’s instruction to gather the elders. In the selection included for today’s reading, we are told, “So the LORD said to Moses, ‘Gather for me seventy of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tent of meeting (dfeOm lh,xo8, ’ōhel mô‘ēd ), and have them take their place there with you’ ” (Num. 11:16). According to Jo Ann Hackett, “In the old epic traditions represented here . . . the tent of meeting is outside the camp (see vv. 26, 30), as in Ex. 33:7-11 (note Joshua’s role there also); Num. 12:4; 19:1-4; it is said to be pitched quite simply, by Moses himself (Ex. 33:7). The tradition that reports the tent outside the cam presents it as the site where anyone can obtain an oracle from the Lord (Ex. 33:7) as Miriam and Aaron do in [Num.] 12:4-9” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Num. 11:16). Of “whom thou knowest to be the elders” (JPS 1917, for NRSV “whom you know to be the elders”), Rabbi Hertz says, “Ripe in years as well as qualified by their wisdom to share the burdens of leadership” (op. cit., on Num. 11:16). The LORD says, “I will come down and talk with you there; and I will take some of the spirit (HaUrhA, hārû ^ach) that is on you and put it on them; and they shall bear the burden of the people along with you so that you will not bear it all by yourself” (v. 17). With reference to “the spirit which is upon thee” (JPS, for NRSV “the spirit that is on you”), Rabbi Hertz says “Implying no diminution of the spiritual power of Moses, ‘even as a light that kindles other lights is not thereby dimmed’ (Sifri [the Oldest Rabbinic Commentary on Numbers and Deuteronomy])” (ibid., on v. 17). Hackett says, “Leaders and prophets are commonly perceived to possess a special spirit (see, e.g., 24:2-3; Judg. 3:10; Ezek. 2:2), and that spirit can be passed to others (Num. 11:24-29; 1 Sam. 10:5-10; 19:18-24; 2 Kings 2:9-15)” (op. cit., on v. 17).

In the interval in today’s reading (vv. 18-23), the LORD and Moses discuss a response to the people’s complaints reported earlier (vv. 1-6). The LORD addresses the people’s request for meat. “And say to the people,” says the LORD to Moses: “Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wailed in the hearing of the LORD, saying, ‘If only we had meat to eat! Surely it was better for us in Egypt.’ Therefore the LORD will give you meat, and you shall eat” (v. 18). But the LORD’s anger shows through for, as he says, they will have enough meat to make them sick! “You shall eat not only one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but for a whole month–until it comes out of your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you–because you have rejected the LORD who is among you, and have wailed before him, saying, ‘Why did we ever leave Egypt?’ ” (vv. 19-20). Moses talks back to God, questioning his response about the meat. “But Moses said, ‘The people I am with number six hundred thousand on foot; and you say, “I will give them meat, that they may eat for a whole month”! Are there enough flocks and herds to slaughter for them? Are there enough fish in the sea to catch for them?’ ” (vv. 21-22). In response, the LORD as much as says, “Your forgetting! This is God talking!” “The LORD said to Moses, ‘Is the LORD’s power limited? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not’ ” (v. 23).

As we return to today’s reading proper, Moses goes out and tells the people “the words of the LORD,” and he gathers “seventy elders of the people and [places] them all around the tent” (v. 24, cf. v. 16). “Then,” we are told, “the LORD came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders” (v. 25a). The narrator reports that “when the spirit rested upon them [i.e., these elders], they prophesied.” However, he adds that “they did not do so again” (v. 25b). According to Rabbi Hertz, “A feeling of spiritual ecstasy and exaltation possessed them, causing them to break out into praises of God, and declaring His will and His Goodness. By prophecy is here meant, not prediction of the future, but the power of instructing and admonishing the people with an authority that was recognized as having its source in God” (ibid., on Num. 11:25). On the note “but they did so no more” (JPS, for NRSV “they did not do so again”), the Rabbi quotes Maimonides, who

compares the recipients of Divine revelations to men whose night is illumined by flashes of lightning. ‘To some it is given to behold the lightning flashes in rapid succession; they seem to be in perpetual light, and their night is as clear as day. This was the degree of prophetic excellence obtained by Moses, the greatest of the Prophets. Others perceive the prophetic flash at long intervals; this is the degree of most of the Prophets. By still others a flash of lightning is perceived only once during the whole night. This is the case of those of whom we are told, “they prophesied, but they did so no more.” ’ (ibid.)

According to Hackett, “the prophesying [here] was a temporary condition and not a permanent occupation” (op. cit., on v. 25).

Another example of such “enlightened” prophecy is presented. “Two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the spirit (HaUrhA, hārû ^ach) rested on them; they were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp” (v. 26). Rabbi Hertz says, “Two of the seventy elders had declined the honour and remained in the camp. They were nevertheless seized with the same ecstasy” (op. cit., on v. 26). On the words, “of them that were recorded” (JPS, for NRSV “among those registered”), he adds, “They [i.e., Eldad and Medad] belonged to those who were originally registered as being of the seventy elders” (ibid.). For some, apparently, the prophesy of Eldad and Medad in the camp raised questions. We are told that “a young man (rfan01ha, hanna‘ar, lit. ‘the young man’) ran and told Moses, ‘Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp’ ” (v. 27). Commenting on “a young man,” the Rabbi Hertz says, “lit. ‘the young man’; some one whose name was known but is not given here; possibly some servant of Moses” (ibid., on v. 27). Joshua thought Moses should stop Eldad and Medad from prophesying. “And Joshua son of Nun, the assistant of Moses, one of his chosen men, said, ‘My lord Moses, stop them!’ ” (v. 28). The Rabbi says that Joshua “feared that the honor and authority of Moses would be diminished by men prophesying who had not received the spirit from Moses” (ibid., on v. 28). But Moses gave a wise answer. “But Moses said to him, ‘Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the LORD's people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit on them!’ ” (v. 29). According to Wright, “these verses reflect ambivalence seen elsewhere in the Bible concerning prophecy as a broad-based institution” (op. cit., on Num. 11:26-29), but Rabbi Hertz says of the phrase “would that all the LORD’s people were prophets” (v. 29):

This saying proves the incomparable greatness of Moses’ character. He loves his people more than himself. When a man is really great and good he longs that all should be as he is, and better. So far from being displeased with Eldad and Medad, he yearned for all Israel to receive the Divine spirit. ‘Moses expresses the conviction which is true for all time, that the possession of the spirit is not confined to particular persons or classes’ (McNeile). (op. cit., on Lev. 11:29)

While there seems to be no reference to this text in the New Testament passages related to the outpouring of the Spirit at Pentecost, for example, the quotation of Joel 2:28-32a in Acts 2:17-21 (cf. Ezek. 36:26; 37:14), the concept is similar.

Ephesians 2:11-22

One in Christ

11 So then, remember that at one time you Gentiles by birth, called "the uncircumcision" by those who are called "the circumcision"-a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands- 12 remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us. 15 He has abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace, 16 and might reconcile both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility through it. 17 So he came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near; 18 for through him both of us have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God, 20 built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. 21 In him the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; 22 in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God. (Ephesians 2:11-22, NRSV)

The following comments are based on those of January 15, 2009 (Thursday in the week of the First Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One), when comments were repeated with some editing from May 3, 2008 (Saturday in the week of the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year Two), when comments were repeated with editing and supplement from January 11, 2007 (Thursday in the week of the First Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One), when comments were repeated with revision and adaptation from January 13, 2005, (Thursday in the week of the First Sunday after the Epiphany, Year One) and from May 27, 2006 (Saturday in the week of the Sixth Sunday of Easter (Year Two).

Paul tells us that the resurrection of us who “were dead through our trespasses” whereby God has “made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:5), is “by grace . . . the gift of God” (v. 8). Paul’s readers, and we, are to “remember that at one time you [we] Gentiles by birth, called ‘the uncircumcision (ajkrobustiva, akrobystia)’ by those who are called ‘the circumcision (peritomhv, peritomē )’–a physical circumcision made in the flesh by human hands” (Eph. 2:11). The word translated “uncircumcision,” according to Frederick William Danker, is literally “foreskin,” and “to have a foreskin means that one is uncircumcised and outside the Mosaic cultic tradition,” and so the word is used of ones who are “non-circumcised, non-Judeans, gentiles” (The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2009, s.v. ajkrobustiva, akrobystia). The word peritomhv (peritomē ) means “circumcision,” or “by metonymy of . . . those who are circumcised: circumcision, collectively of followers of Mosaic ordinances Judeans (Jews)” (ibid., s.v. peritomhv, peritomē ). And so, formerly, those addressed in Ephesians (by extension including us), were not members of the people of God, for “remember that you were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth (politeiva, politeia) of Israel, and strangers to the covenants (diaqhvkai, diathēkai) of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (v. 12). The word for “commonwealth,” according to Danker, means “citizenship Acts 23:1; perhaps also Eph. 2:12, but more probably for this passage participation in the experience/life of community” (ibid., s.v. politeiva, politeia). Earlier, F. Wilbur Gingrich, revised by Danker, defined the term here as “commonwealth, state, body politic” (Shorter Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, 2^nd ed., 1983, s.v. politeiva, politeia). The word for “covenant” (diaqhvkh, diathēkē) is the usual and frequent translation of tyr9B4 (b ^erith) (cf. Edwin Hatch and Henry A. Redpath, A Concordance to The Septuagint and the other Greek Versions of the Old Testament (including the Apocryphal Books), I, 1897, reprint 1954, pp. 300-302). As non-Jews, the readers were not members of the Mosaic covenant and the religion of Israel.

But though once “strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and with out God in the world” (Eph. 2:12b), “now,” says Paul, “in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” (v. 13). According to Jennifer K. Berenson Maclean, this is “another contrast of old and new, focused on the Gentiles’ plight (cf. 2:1-5)” (NOAB, 3^rd ed., augmented, 2007, on Eph. 2:12-13). On “far off and near,” says J. Paul Sampley, “see also v. 17; Isa. 57:19; and for “blood of Christ, he sees “an allusion to Christ’s atoning death. See Lev. 16; Rom. 3:25; 5:9” (HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Eph. 2:13). Paul’s point is that both Jews and Gentiles have been brought together into one body as God’s people through the atoning work of Christ. “For he [i.e., Christ],” says Paul, “is our peace; in his flesh he has made both groups into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us” (v. 14). The “dividing wall,” says Maclean, means “the Jewish law, which distinguished Jew from Gentile (Acts 10:28) or perhaps the balustrade in the Jerusalem Temple, beyond which Gentiles were forbidden” (op. cit., on v. 14). Clearly it refers to whatever divides Jews from Gentiles–especially within the emerging Christian community. “In his flesh,” says Sampley, “identifies Christ’s physical body on the cross as the means of reconciliation between Gentiles and Jews and between both groups and God (see v. 16; Col. 1:22)” (op. cit., on v. 14). Christ has “abolished the law with its commandments and ordinances” for the purpose ( i{na, hina) “that he might create in himself one new humanity in place of the two, thus making peace” (v. 15). This vision of “one new humanity in place of the two,” realized in principle, is yet to be worked out in the world. It requires reconciliation of “both groups to God in one body through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility [i.e. that which separates] through it,” that is, through the cross of Christ (v. 16).

Where Paul was concerned to bring two groups together, the many groups of our world seem to have multiplied the task for us. But the principles of breaking down dividing walls and reconciling opposing groups remain. Jesus “came and proclaimed peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near” (v. 17), thus providing for both groups “access in one Spirit to the Father” (v. 18). Paul envisions the whole church as “a holy temple in the Lord . . . built together spiritually” (vv. 21-22), which includes us “who are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are citizens with the saints and also members of the household of God” (v. 19). This structure is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone” (v. 20). Paul sees Jews and Gentiles brought together in “one new humanity” (v. 15), “one body” (v. 16), one citizenship and household (v. 19), one temple (v. 21)–a kaleidoscope of images, but a reality perhaps only to be realized on a worldwide scale when God completes his “plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph. 1:10). “In him [Christ],” says Paul, “the whole structure is joined together and grows into a holy temple in the Lord; in whom you also are built together spiritually into a dwelling place for God” (vv. 21-22). The image of the Christian community as the temple, the dwelling place of God, is presented in 1 Corinthians. “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person. For God’s temple is holy and you are that temple” (1 Cor. 3:16-17). In 1 Corinthians 3, the temple image refers to the Christian community within Paul’s discussion of the work of apostles such as himself and Apollos. In chapter 6, the temple image refers to the individual Christian’s body. “Shun fornication! Every sin that a person commits is outside the body; but the fornicator sins against the body itself. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Cor. 6:18-19).

In recent times of catastrophe–one thinks of the tsunami of December, 26, 2004 and its horrible and tragic devastations, and more recent responses to the devastations of earthquakes, hurricanes–Katrina, Rita, Ike--and tornadoes, we have perhaps had glimpses of a worldwide “one humanity” reaching out to help the victims. Now we should add various earthquakes of 2010 and the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. But we know too well how far short the present world falls of being united even in such endeavors. These efforts often show mixed results. And tragic divisions remain in numerous contexts we could name. We do pray for peace for those who are “far off” and peace for those who are “near” (Eph. 2:17 NRSV).

Matthew 7:28-8:4

28 Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, 29 for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. Matthew 7:28-29, NRSV)

Jesus Cleanses a Leper (Mk 1.40-45; Lk 5.12-16)

8:1 When Jesus had come down from the mountain, great crowds followed him; 2 and there was a leper who came to him and knelt before him, saying, "Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean." 3 He stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, "I do choose. Be made clean!" Immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 Then Jesus said to him, "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer the gift that Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." (Matthew 8:1-4, NRSV)

The following comments are repeated from relevant comments on Matthew 7:22-29 and 8:1-17 of October 1 and 2, 2009 (Thursday and Friday in the week of the Sunday closest to September 28, Year One), when comments were repeated with some editing from earlier, as noted there.

The present reading is in continuity with yesterday’s, on self-deception and the two houses, one of which withstood the storm and the other did not (Mt. 7:22-27) and Monday’s, on two of Jesus’ healings (Mt. 8:5-17).

On the Conclusion of the Sermon

The end of the Sermon on the Mount is marked by notice that “Jesus had finished saying these things” (Mt. 7:28a), a formula that marks the end of five major speeches by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. Others are “Now when Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples . . .” (11:1; cf. 10:5-42); “When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place” (13:53; cf. 13:3-52); “When Jesus had finished saying these things . . .” (19:1; cf. 18:1-35); and “When Jesus had finished saying all these things . . .” (26:1; cf. 24:1[23:1?]-25:46). But only at the closing of the Sermon on the Mount is special attention called to the effect on the crowds: “the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes” (Mt. 7:28b, 29). This and the fact that the Sermon on the Mount is the first public event in Jesus’ ministry reported by Matthew (apart from the calling of disciples, not really public, 4:18-22) and the summary of his preaching and healing presented in Matthew 4:24-25, not really a single event, but certainly preparation for the gathering of the crowds for the Sermon (5:1)–these all point to the programmatic role of the Sermon in Matthew’s presentation of Jesus’ ministry. Jesus is the Teacher par excellence, who teaches a righteousness that “exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees” (5:20), whose rulings can supercede those of Moses (cf. the six antitheses, antithetical paragraphs–“You have heard . . . But I say . . .” in Mt. 5:21-48), whose word is to be heeded at all costs.

On Jesus Cleanses a Leper

Parallel passages for this account are included in a separate file, Jesus Cleanses a Leper. When one considers the sequences in the three Gospels (Mt., Mk., Lk) at this point, differences in sequence are observed. For today’s and tomorrow’s readings, for example, the cleansing of the leper (Mt. 8:1-4; Mk. 1:40-45; Lk. 5:12-16), healing the centurion’s servant (Mt. 8:5-13; Lk. 7:1-10; cf. Mk. 2:1; 7:30), the healing of Peter’s Mother in Law (Mt. 8:14-15; Mk. 1:29-31; Lk. 4:38-39), and the sick healed at evening (Mt. 8:16-17; Mk. 1:32-34; Lk. 4:40-41), the sequences are rather different in the three Gospels. In respect to these, the first in Matthew comes later in Mark and Luke, with the third (and fourth) in Matthew first in Mark and Luke. The second is found only in Matthew and Luke. These differences are largely attributable to the way Matthew uses his sources, Mark and “Q.” It appears that a cluster of events presented in Mark’s first chapter has been postponed until after the Sermon on the Mount as a part of his topical arrangement of material. Matthew follows the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5-7) with what Elwyn E. Tilden and Bruce M. Metzger call “Events in Galilee,”the subtitle for Mt. 8:1-9:38, NOAB, 2^nd ed., 1994), which takes him back to near the beginning of Mark; but the Cleansing of the Leper and the Healing of the Centurion’s Servant set the tone for what follows. The healing of the centurion’s servant at Capernaum (Mt. 8:5-13; Lk. 7:1-10) is one of a very few narrative passages that scholars associate with the theoretical common source used by Matthew and Luke known as “Q.” In both Gospels it follows the Sermon on the Mount (Mt. 5-7)/Sermon on the Plain (Lk. 6:20-49–“He came down with them and stood on a level place,” Lk. 6:17a). Something of this variation in order may be seen in the following table:

On the Cleansing of the Leper

“When Jesus had come down from the mountain,” says Matthew, “great crowds followed him” (Mt. 8:1; cf. 4:24-25). In Mark this healing follows many others (Mk. 1:21-34) after Jesus’ solitary early morning prayer (v. 35); in Luke, the setting follows the Miraculous Draught of Fish (Lk. 5:1-11; cf. Jn. 21:1-11), but is rather indefinite. “Once, when he was in one of the cities, there was a man covered with leprosy (levpra, lepra)” (Lk. 5:12a). The three accounts have many details in common. After reporting the crowds, Matthew says, “and there was a leper (leprovV, lepros) who came to him and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean’ ” (Mt. 8:2). The other reports are similar, especially the leper’s request. “A leper (leprovV, lepros) came to him begging him,” says Mark, “and kneeling he said to him, ‘If you choose, you can make me clean’ ” (Mk. 1:40; cf. Lk. 5:12b). Frederick William Danker compares the word translated “leprosy”to lepiV (lepis), which he defines as “ ‘small membranous structure,’ scale,” as “in simile,” when “something like scales (lepivdeV, lepides) fell from his [i.e., Saul’s] eyes, and his sight was restored” (Acts 9:18). Of the word for “leprosy,” he says, “Since the term levpra [lepra] could be used of a number of skin diseases, and since not all data fit Hansen’s disease, generally known as leprosy, levpra [lepra] may well be rendered with some such term as skin disorder, of a kind that left one cultically and socially ostracized Mt. 8:3; Mk. 1:42; Lk. 5:12f” (The Concise Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 2009, s.v. lepiV, lepis, and levpra, lepra). Correspondingly, he defines the word translated “leper”: “As a noun oJ leprovV [ho lepros]” means “a person with a skin disorder Mt. 8:2; 10:8; Mk. 1:40; Lk. 4:27” (ibid., s.v. leprovV, lepros). Similar comments could be made about the term “leprous disease” in the legislation of Leviticus, for example, “When a person has on the skin of his body a swelling or an eruption or a spot, and it turns into a leprous disease (tfar!7cA, tsārā‘at) on the skin of his body, he shall be brought to Aaron the priest, or to one of his sons the priests” (Lev. 13:2). William L. Holladay defines the term here as “skin-disease (not leprosy: leucodermia & related diseases)” (A Concise Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament, 1971, 10^th corrected impression 1988, s.v. tfar!cA, tsārā‘at); compare Jacob Milgrom, HarperCollins Study Bible, rev. ed., 2006, on Lev. 13:1-14:57). The point is clear. What has been called “leprosy” in the Bible is not the modern disease known as leprosy (Hansen’s disease); nevertheless, whatever it was, it made the person ritually impure and a social outcast.

Jesus’ response is similar in the three accounts; though only Mark mentions “pity,” all say Jesus “stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I do choose. Be made clean!” (Mk. 1:41; Mt. 8:3a; Lk. 5:13a, omitting the first “and”). And the result is essentially the same in the three reports. According to Mark, Jesus says, “Immediately the leprosy (levpra, lepra) left him, and he was made clean” (Mk. 1:42). Matthew repeats one part of Mark’s statement, “Immediately his leprosy (levpra, lepra) was cleansed” (Mt. 8:3b), and Luke another, “Immediately the leprosy (levpra, lepra) left him” (Lk. 5:13b). Jesus’ subsequent instructions are similar in the three reports as well, though only Mark calls it a stern warning. “After sternly warning him he sent him away at once, saying to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone’ ” (Mk. 1:43, 44a). Without the reference to sternly warning, Matthew repeats Mark, Then Jesus said to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone” (Mt. 8:4a), and Luke condenses, “And he [i.e. Jesus] ordered him to tell no one (Lk. 5:14a). Jesus’ instruction continues, “but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them” (Mk 1:44b). Matthew’s version is similar, with “offer the gift that Moses commanded” for Mark’s “offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded” (Mt. 8:4b). Luke’s wording varies a little “ ‘Go,’ he said, ‘and show yourself to the priest, and, as Moses commanded, make an offering for your cleansing” (Lk. 5:14b). All characterize the offering/gift as “a testimony to them [i.e., to the priests]” (Mk. 1:44c; Mt. 8:4c; Lk. 5:14c). For Moses’ legislation on “leprosy,” see Leviticus 13 and 14.

In spite of this instruction, according to Mark, “he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter” (Mk. 1:45; cf. Lk. 5:15). This description of the spreading fame about Jesus’ early ministry is omitted here by Matthew, but compare the spreading of Jesus’ fame that Matthew describes in leading up to the Sermon on the Mount (i.e. in Mt. 4:23-25).

Ronald D. Worden, Ph.D.

rdworden@hgst.edu

deanworden@comcast.net