Skip to content
mannafest.faith
Read

Mark 7:5

in Mark 7

So the Pharisees and scribes questioned Jesus: “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders? Instead, they eat with defiled hands.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And the Pharisees and the scribes ask him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands?

KJV

Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with unwashen hands?

⋯

This verse in Mark 7

Commentary

9 notes on this verse
Then the Pharisees and Scribes asked him,.... Not the disciples, but Christ himself; for their chief view was to find fault, and quarrel with him: why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with unwashen hands? or "with common", that is, defiled "hands", as in Mar 7:2. So the words are read in Beza's most ancient copy, and in one of Stephens's copies, and in the Vulgate Latin version.

This site's exposition

Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition

The Pharisees and scribes ask why His disciples do not walk according to the tradition of the elders. Their own question names the tradition as the rule broken, and the law of God goes unmentioned.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Jerome

Catena Aurea by Aquinas · Written before 420.

proposed

(in Matt. 15) Wonderful is the folly of the Pharisees and Scribes; they accuse the Son of God, because He keeps not the traditions and precepts of men.

The Medieval Church2 voices

A commentator

Bede

On the Gospel of Mark · Written before 735.

proposed

And the Pharisees and the scribes questioned him: Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat bread with common hands? The stupidity of the Pharisees and scribes is astonishing. They argue with the Son of God, why he …

A commentator

Theophylact of Ohrid

Commentary on Mark · Written before 1107.

proposed

Meanwhile the Pharisees, wishing to find a pretext for reproach, seize upon this occasion and accuse the apostles, though not as violators of the Law, but as violators of the tradition of the elders, for there is no commandment in the Law to wash one's …

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

To which it was easy to answer, that, by receiving the doctrine of Christ, they had more understanding than all their teachers, yea more than the ancients, Ps. cxix. Christ's vindication of them; in which, 1.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

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!"
2 more voices on this verse

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

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.

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

proposed

Why walk not thy disciples - See on Mat 15:2-9 (note).

How the passage was read

On Mark 7:1-23

On 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

26 Greek words

Every 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.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

10 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

2 Thessalonians 3:6Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you received from us.4 worksActs 21:21But they are under the impression that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or observe our customs.4 worksMatthew 15:2“Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”3 worksActs 21:24Take these men, purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know that there is no truth to these rumors about you, but that you also live in obedience to the law.3 worksMark 2:16–18When the scribes who were Pharisees saw Jesus eating with these people, they asked His disciples, “Why does He eat with tax collectors and sinners?”3 worksGalatians 1:14I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.3 works
The other 4 cross-references, with their words ▾
Romans 4:12And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised, but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised.2 worksMark 7:3Now in holding to the tradition of the elders, the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat until they wash their hands ceremonially.2 works2 Thessalonians 3:11Yet we hear that some of you are leading undisciplined lives and accomplishing nothing but being busybodies.0 worksMark 7:2–3and they saw some of His disciples eating with hands that were defiled—that is, unwashed.0 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    2 Thessalonians 3:6

    Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, to keep away from any brother who leads an undisciplined life that is not in keeping with the tradition you received…

    it leads to

    • 2 Thessalonians 3:10–11

      For even while we were with you, we gave you this command: “If anyone is unwilling to work, he shall not eat.”

    • 2 Thessalonians 3:7

      For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not undisciplined among you,

    • Colossians 3:17

      And whatever you do, in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.

    • Romans 16:17

      Now I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create divisions and obstacles that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Turn away from them.

    • 1 Thessalonians 5:14

      And we urge you, brothers, to admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, and be patient with everyone.

  • Through

    Matthew 15:2

    “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”

    it leads to

    • Mark 7:2

      and they saw some of His disciples eating with hands that were defiled—that is, unwashed.

  • Through

    Acts 21:21

    But they are under the impression that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or observe our customs.

    it leads to

    • 1 Corinthians 9:19–21

      Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.

    • Galatians 6:12–15

      Those who want to make a good impression outwardly are trying to compel you to be circumcised. They only do this to avoid persecution for the cross of Christ.

Where this verse is studied

About Mark

Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt, 1633, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Public domain.
Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt, 1633, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Public domain.
Mark: the study guide →Read Mark 7 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Bede, On the Gospel of Mark; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark.

Read on in Mark 7 →