View source for Mark 5

{{New Testament chapter short description}}
{{About|a chapter in the Gospel of Mark||Mark 5 (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox bible chapter
| name= Mark 5
| previouslink=Mark 4 |previous=chapter 4
| nextlink= Mark 6 |next= chapter 6
| book=[[Gospel of Mark]]
| biblepart=[[New Testament]]
| booknum=2
| category= [[Gospel]]
| image=CodexGigas 515 Mark.jpg
| caption=The [[Latin]] text of Mark 1:5–5:8 in [[Codex Gigas]] (13th century)
}}
'''Mark 5''' is the fifth chapter of the [[Gospel of Mark]] in the [[New Testament]] of the [[Christianity|Christian]] [[Bible]]. Taken with the [[Calming the storm|calming of the sea]] in {{bibleverse||Mark|4:35-41|NKJV}}, there are "four striking [[Miracles of Jesus|works]] [which] follow each other without a break":<ref>[[George Chadwick (bishop)|Chadwick, G. A.]] (1896), [https://biblehub.com/library/chadwick/the_gospel_of_st_mark/chapter_4_39_5_15_5_31_5_41.htm Four Miracles], in ''The Gospel according to Saint Mark''</ref> an [[Exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac|exorcism]], a [[Jesus healing the bleeding woman|healing]], and the [[raising of Jairus' daughter]].

==Text==
The original text was written in [[Koine Greek]]. [[Chapters and verses of the Bible|This chapter is divided into]] 43 verses.

===Textual witnesses===
Some early [[Biblical manuscript#New Testament manuscripts|manuscripts]] containing the text of this chapter are:
*[[Codex Vaticanus]] (325–350; complete)
*[[Codex Sinaiticus]] (330–360; complete)
*[[Codex Bezae]] (~400; complete)
*[[Codex Alexandrinus]] (400–440; complete)
*[[Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus]] (~450; complete)

==Healing of the Gerasene demoniac==
{{Main|Exorcism of the Gerasene demoniac|Legion (demon)}}
{{Chapters in the Gospel of Mark}}
[[File:Healing of the demon-possessed.jpg|thumb|left|Jesus healing the possessed Gerasene]]
Jesus and his [[Disciple (Christianity)|disciples]] travel across the [[Sea of Galilee]] by boat to the non-Jewish country of the [[Gerasenes]] (some manuscripts have "Gadarenes", others "Gergesenes"<ref>Crossway Bibles, [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=mark%205&version=ESV#fen-ESV-24362a Footnote a to Mark 5:1] in the [[English Standard Version]], accessed on 22 November 2024</ref>), a region now in modern-day [[Jordan]]. [[N T Wright|Tom Wright]] notes that "why Jesus went to that bit of territory we'll never know",<ref>Wright, N. T. (2001), ''Mark for Everyone'', p. 56</ref> although [[Johann Albrecht Bengel|Johann Bengel]] infers that many Jews dwelt there.<ref>Bengel, J. A. (1742), [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/bengel/mark/5.htm Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament] on Mark 5, accessed 21 June 2021</ref>

A a man with an unclean spirit, or a [[Demonic possession|possessed]], man comes to meet them.{{efn|The words ανθρωπος εν πνευματι ακαθαρτω are the same as in [[Mark 1#Verse 21|Mark 1:23]].}} Mark relates the story "with a wealth of circumstantial detail":<ref name=Tuckett>[[Christopher M. Tuckett|Tuckett, C. M.]], ''Mark'' in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), [https://b-ok.org/dl/946961/8f5f43 The Oxford Bible Commentary], p. 897</ref> the man had lived among the nearby [[tomb]]s, and had fought off all attempts to chain him up: the [[Greek language|Greek]] text has a complex string of negatives: οὐδὲ ἁλύσει οὐκέτι οὐδεὶς, ''oude halysei ouketi oudeis'', ''no one, no longer, not even with chains''.<ref name=Meyer>Meyer, H. A. W. (1880), [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/meyer/mark/5.htm Meyer's NT Commentary] on Mark 5, accessed 7 June 2017</ref> He now roamed the tombs and hills screaming.

The man falls at Jesus' feet and begs Jesus not to harm him. Jesus asks him what his name is and he replies "My name is [[Legion (demon)|Legion]], ... for we are many". Legion may be a reference to the [[Military history of ancient Rome|Roman army]].<ref name=Miller>Miller, Robert J., editor, ''The Complete Gospels'', Polebridge Press 1994, p. 24</ref> They see some nearby [[pigs]] and the [[demons]] ask if they can be put in the pigs, to which Jesus consents. The pigs, about 2000 of them (only Mark's account estimates the numbers),<ref>Vincent, M. R., [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/vws/mark/5.htm Vincent's Word Studies] on Mark 5, accessed 21 June 2021</ref> then rush into the lake and are [[drowning|drowned]].

The people tending the pigs run off to town telling everyone what has happened, and some townspeople come to see for themselves. When they arrive the man is sitting dressed and [[sanity|sane]]. They are disturbed and ask Jesus to leave the area, and he complies. Out of "grateful love",<ref name=Meyer /> the man asks Jesus to let him be with him ({{langx|el|ινα μετ αυτου η}}, ''hina met autou e''), translated as "stay with him" in the [[Jerusalem Bible]],<ref>Jerusalem Bible (1966), Mark 5:18</ref> but Jesus tells him to go home to his "family" ([[Amplified Bible]]) or to his "people" ([[New International Version]]) and tell them what [[God]] has done for him. The man then travels over the [[Decapolis]] telling people the story. [[Protestantism|Protestant]] theologian [[Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer|Heinrich Meyer]] suggests that "he was to abide in his native place as a witness and proclaimer of the marvellous deliverance, that he had experienced from God through Jesus, and in this way to serve the work of Christ".<ref name=Meyer /> 

Anglican biblical scholar [[Christopher M. Tuckett|Christopher Tuckett]] argues that "a number of details and inconsistencies within the present narrative suggest that Mark may be combining more than one tradition here into a single story":
*verse 2 has the man "immediately" meet him as Jesus has come out of the boat, whereas verse 6 says that "when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him"
*verse 8 interrupts a dialogue which otherwise appears to flow from verse 7 to verse 9
*verse 15 seems odd after verse 14, since the latter presupposes a considerable time lapse.<ref name=Tuckett />

This story also occurs in [[Gospel of Matthew|Matthew]] {{bibleverse-nb|Matthew|8:28-34|KJV}}, where there are ''two'' possessed men, and in [[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] {{bibleverse-nb|Luke|8:26-39|KJV}}. The use of the word "Gadarenes" in some manuscripts may be an attempt to harmonize Mark with {{bibleverse|Matthew|8:28|KJV}}.<ref>BibleTexts.com, [https://web.archive.org/web/20210309172253/http://www.bibletexts.com/glossary/gadara.htm To which city did the original account refer?], archived on 9 March 2021, accessed on 22 November 2024</ref>

== Jairus' daughter and the woman who touched Jesus' garment ==
{{Main|Jesus healing the bleeding woman|Daughter of Jairus}}
[[File:Healing of a bleeding women Marcellinus-Peter-Catacomb.jpg|thumb|Illustration from the [[Catacombs of Marcellinus and Peter]] of Jesus healing the bleeding woman]]
On the other side of the lake Jesus is met by a man named Jairus, a [[Synagogue]] Ruler (a rich patron of the local house of worship),<ref name= Miller /> who begs Jesus to heal his sick, twelve-year-old daughter. Jesus takes only [[Saint Peter|Peter]], [[Saint James the Great|James]], and [[John the Apostle|John]]. This story does not occur in the [[Gospel of John]]. On the way there, a woman who suffers from chronic "bleeding", perhaps [[menorrhagia]] or bleeding from [[Uterine fibroids|fibroids]].<ref>Brown et al. 608</ref> She sneaks up to Jesus and touches his garment, according to {{bibleverse||Matt|9:20-22}} and {{bibleverse||Luke|8:43-48}} (see also {{bibleverse||Mark|6:53-56}}, [[Mark 6#Healing of the sick of Gennesaret]]) the [[Tzitzit|"fringe of his cloak"]]<ref>[http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=254&letter=J&search=Jesus Jewish Encyclopedia: Jesus]: "Jesus wore the Ẓiẓit (Matt. ix. 20)"; [http://www.blueletterbible.org/cgi-bin/strongs.pl?strongs=2899 Strong's Concordance G2899]; [[Walter Bauer]]'s ''Greek-English Lexicon of the NT'', 3rd ed., 1979: "{{lang|grc|κράσπεδον}}: 1. edge, border, hem of a garment - But meaning 2 is also possible for these passages, depending on how strictly Jesus followed Mosaic law, and also upon the way in which {{lang|grc|κράσπεδον}} was understood by the authors and first readers of the gospels. 2. tassel (ציצת), which the Israelite was obligated to wear on the four corners of his outer garment, according to Num 15:38f; Dt 22:12. ... Of the Pharisees ... Mt 23:5."; [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06307b.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Fringes (in Scripture)]: "It was very likely the tassel of the corner thus thrown over Our Lord's shoulder that the woman with the issue of blood touched ("behind him"), in the circumstance recorded in Matt., ix, 20, and Luke, viii, 44." See also [[Christianity and fringed garments]].</ref>  ({{bibleverse||Matt|9:20|NRSV}} – NRSV), by which she is healed. He turns to see who and she fearfully confesses. He says "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."

Men arrive and tell Jairus that his daughter is dead. Jesus brushes them off and says "Don't be afraid; just believe." They arrive at the house and everyone is crying loudly. Jesus assures everyone she is not dead, just asleep, goes inside and says to her ''[[Language of Jesus#Talitha kum (Ταλιθὰ κούμ)|Talitha kum]]'', telling her to get up, and she does. Unlike his advice about the demon-possessed man, he tells them ''not'' to tell people of these events.

This account also appears in Matthew [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=47&chapter=9&version=31 9:18–26] and Luke [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=49&chapter=8&version=31 8:40–56]. Luke keeps the stories of the possessed man and the two women together, but Matthew inserts the story of the paralyzed man, the calling of [[Saint Matthew|Matthew]], and the parable of the wineskins found in [[Mark 2]] between these two stories.

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{Commons category|Gospel of Mark - Chapter 5}}
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
*Brown, Raymond E. et al., ''The New Jerome Biblical Commentary'', Prentice Hall, 1990  {{ISBN|0-13-614934-0}}
*Miller, Robert J.-Editor, ''The Complete Gospels'' Polebridge Press 1994.  {{ISBN|0-06-065587-9}}

==External links==
*{{bibleverse|Mark|5|KJV}} King James Bible - Wikisource
*[http://www.latinvulgate.com/lv/verse.aspx?t=1&b=2&c=5 English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate]
*[http://www.gospelhall.org/bible/bible.php?passage=Mark+5 ''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org] (ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
*[http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?book_id=48&chapter=5 Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''] (NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.)

{{sequence
| prev = [[Mark 4]]
| list = Chapters of the Bible<br />[[Gospel of Mark]]
| next = [[Mark 6]]
}}
{{Gospel of Mark}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mark 05}}
[[Category:Gospel of Mark chapters]]
[[Category:Jerash]]