Mark 7:11
in Mark 7But you say that if a man says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is Corban’ (that is, a gift devoted to God),
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
but ye say, If a man shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is Corban, that is to say, Given to God;
KJV
But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall be free.
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This verse in Mark 7
Commentary
11 notes on this verseThe Lord himself discussed that commandment of the law which says: "Honor thy father and thy mother." He made it clear that it is to be interpreted not as mere words, which, while offering an empty show of honor to parents, might still leave them poor and their necessities unrelieved. Instead the honor of parents should focus on the actual provision of the necessities of life. The Lord commanded that poor parents should be supported by their children who would reimburse them back when they are old for all those benefits which they themselves received in childhood.
This site's exposition
Honour thy father and thy mother
on Mark 7:10-11
Jesus grounds the whole case study in the fifth commandment and its accompanying penalty for cursing a parent, then sets against it the Corban device, an Aramaic word meaning a gift or offering dedicated to God, by which a man could declare property off limits to his parents' use while, in practice, keeping the benefit for himself. The bench treats Corban as keep-hard philology, since later rabbinic legal tradition confirms exactly this kind of vow could bind even against a parent's need, and Jesus names it as a technicality used to dodge a direct command of God. The scandal is not vow-making itself but a system that let a religious formula override filial duty entirely.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) Notwithstanding the existence of such a divine law, and the threats against such as break it, ye lightly transgress the commandment of God, observing the traditions of the Elders. Wherefore there follows, But ye say, If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; understand, he will be freed from the observation of the foregoing command. Wherefore it continues, And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother. (Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.) Or else it may be said, that the Pharisees taught young persons, that if a man offered a gift in expiation of the injury done to his father or mother, he was free from sin, as having given to God the gifts which are owed to a parent; and in saying this, they did not allow parents to be honoured.
The Medieval Church4 voices
The Law, He says, teaches: "Honor your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12); but you teach children to say to their parents: that which you want from me is corban, that is, dedicated to God. For the Pharisees, wishing to profit from the property of …
But you say: If a man says to his father or mother, "Corban" (which means offering), whatever benefit you might have received from me, you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother. The Lord had commanded, considering the weaknesses, ages, …
(ubi sup. v. Hier. in Matt. 15. et Orig. in Matt. Tom. xi. 9) The passage may in a few words have this sense, Every gift which I have to make, will go to do you good; for ye compel children, it is meant, to say to their parents, that gift which I was going to offer to God, I expend on feeding you, and does you good, oh father and mother, speaking this ironically. Thus they would be afraid to accept what had been given into the hands of God, and might prefer a life of poverty to living on consecrated property.
For the Pharisees, wishing to devour the offerings, instructed sons, when their parents asked for some of their property, to answer them, what thou hast asked of me is corban, that is, a gift, I have already offered it up to the Lord; thus the parents would not require it, as being offered up to the Lord, (and in that way profitable for their own salvation). Thus they deceived the sons into neglecting their parents, whilst they themselves devoured the offerings; with this therefore the Lord reproaches them, as transgressing the law of God for the sake of gain. Wherefore it goes on, Making the word of God of none effect through your traditions, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye; transgressing, that is, the commands of God, that ye may observe the traditions of men.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
These eager imposers of such ceremonies, at first only made light of God's commandments in comparison with their traditions, but afterward made void God's commandments, if they stood in competition with them. All this, in effect, Isaiah prophesied of them; what he said of the hypocrites of his own day, was applicable to the scribes and Pharisees,
But ye say,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
This passage contains a humbling picture of what human nature is capable of doing in religion. It is one of those Scriptures which ought to be frequently and diligently studied by all who desire the prosperity of the Church of Christ. The first thing which demands our attention in these verses, is the low and degraded condition of Jewish religion, when our Lord was upon earth . What can be more deplorable than the statement now before us? We find the principal teachers of the Jewish nation finding fault, "because our Lord's disciples ate bread with unwashed hands!"
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
This passage contains a humbling picture of what human nature is capable of doing in religion. It is one of those Scriptures which ought to be frequently and diligently studied by all who desire the prosperity of the Church of Christ. The first thing which demands our attention in these verses, is the low and degraded condition of Jewish religion, when our Lord was upon earth . What can be more deplorable than the statement now before us? We find the principal teachers of the Jewish nation finding fault, "because our Lord's disciples ate bread with unwashed hands!" We are told that they attached great importance to the washing of cups, and pots, and bronze vessels, and tables!" In short, the man who paid most rigid attention to mere external observances of human invention was reckoned the holiest man! The nation, be it remembered, in which this state of things existed, was the most highly favored in the world. To it, was given the law on Mount Sinai, the service of God, the priesthood, the covenants, and the promises. Moses, and Samuel, and David, and the prophets, lived and died among its people. No nation upon earth ever had so many spiritual privileges. No nation ever misused its privileges so fearfully, and so thoroughly forsook its own mercies. Never did fine gold become so dim! From the religion of the books of Deuteronomy and Psalms, to the religion of washing hands, and pots, and cups — how great was the fall! No wonder that in the time of our Lord's earthly ministry, He found the people like sheep without a shepherd. External observances alone feed no consciences and sanctify no hearts! Let the history of the Jewish church be a warning to us never to trifle with false doctrine. If we once tolerate it we never know how far it may go, or into what degraded state of religion we may at last fall.
How the passage was read
On Mark 7:1-23On Mark 7:1-23
Mark explaining Jewish practice to outsiders
Mark pauses mid-story to explain handwashing to his readers: “the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands oft, eat not” (7:3-4). A Gospel writer translating Jewish practice for outsiders is this layer's own method inside the canon. The washing is netilat yadayim, a ritual pouring over the hands before bread, extending priestly purity to the ordinary table; the Mishnah gives it a whole tractate (Yadayim 1:1), and its schools debated the meal's washings in detail (Berakhot 8:2 records a Hillel-Shammai dispute over the order of washing and mixing the cup). The korban vow Jesus then confronts, property locked away from one's parents by a dedication formula, is explained in this site's note on Numbers 30.
Verse 19's closing phrase, which most translations render “thus he declared all foods clean,” asks for plain honesty at the point of contact: observant Judaism keeps the food laws (kashrut) to this day and does not read the verse as ending them; the Christian church, reading Mark with Acts 10 and 15, historically has. The entry states the difference as difference. What both readings share is the verse's own center: defilement is not conquered at the lips but at the heart, “for from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts.”
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Sources: Mishnah Yadayim 1:1 (the handwashing rite) · Mishnah Berakhot 8:2 (the schools on the meal's washings)
The words behind it
20 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὑμεῖς | humeis | You yourselves | G4771 → | 2973 times |
| δὲ | de | however | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| λέγετε· | legete | say [that]: | G3004 → | 1325 times |
| ἐὰν | ean | if | G1437 → | 352 times |
| εἴπῃ | eipe | may say | G2036 → | 925 times |
| ἄνθρωπος | anthropos | a man | G444 → | 549 times |
| τῷ | to | to the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| πατρὶ | patri | father | G3962 → | 410 times |
| ἢ | e | or | G2228 → | 342 times |
| τῇ | tea | to the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| μητρί· | metri | mother; | G3384 → | 83 times |
| κορβᾶν, | korban | [It is] Corban, | G2878 → | |
| ὅ | ho | that | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| ἐστιν | estin | is | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| δῶρον, | doron | a gift, | G1435 → | |
| ὃ | ho | whatever | G3739 → | 1405 times |
| ἐὰν | ean | if | G1437 → | 352 times |
| ἐξ | ex | from | G1537 → | 911 times |
| ἐμοῦ | emou | me | G1473 → | 839 times |
| ὠφεληθῇς, | opheletheas | you shall be profited, | G5623 → | 15 times |
ὑμεῖςYou yourselves
humeisG4771 →2973 times
δὲhowever
deG1161 →2765 times
λέγετε·say [that]:
legeteG3004 →1325 times
ἐὰνif
eanG1437 →352 times
εἴπῃmay say
eipeG2036 →925 times
ἄνθρωποςa man
anthroposG444 →549 times
τῷto the
toG3588 →19766 times
πατρὶfather
patriG3962 →410 times
ἢor
eG2228 →342 times
τῇto the
teaG3588 →19766 times
μητρί·mother;
metriG3384 →83 times
κορβᾶν,[It is] Corban,
korbanG2878 →
ὅthat
hoG3739 →1405 times
ἐστινis
estinG1510 →2333 times
δῶρον,a gift,
doronG1435 →
ὃwhatever
hoG3739 →1405 times
ἐὰνif
eanG1437 →352 times
ἐξfrom
exG1537 →911 times
ἐμοῦme
emouG1473 →839 times
ὠφεληθῇς,you shall be profited,
opheletheasG5623 →15 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
5 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 15:5But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’
it leads to
- Mark 7:10–13
For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’
- Acts 5:29
But Peter and the other apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.
- Matthew 23:16–18
Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
- Amos 7:15–17
But the LORD took me from following the flock and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to My people Israel.’
- Acts 4:19
But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than God.
- Mark 7:10–13
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Mark
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Bede, On the Gospel of Mark; Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jerome, LETTER 123, TO AGERUCHIA; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Lightfoot, Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pseudo-Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark and Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas.