A Ghost on the Water? Understanding an Absurdity in Mark 6:49-50

Keywords

Ghost stories, Divinity, Gospels, Apparitions, Seas, Magic, Sea water, Soul, Old Testament, Superstitions

Abstract

In Mark 6:49-50, the author dramatically defines the disciples miscompre hension of Jesus through the insertion of the absurd: the belief that a ghost could walk on water.1 Exegesis of the pericope of Jesus walking on the water is enhanced by an understanding of ancient beliefs about ghosts, as described in tales of haunt ings and similar phenomena in Jewish, Greek, and Roman sources. By identifying in this ancient literature characteristics common to the Markan account, one may detect how Mark initially establishes the expectation for a phantasmic appearance and then diverges significantly to emphasize the disciples' misconstrual of Jesus' messiahship

Original Publication Citation

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25610124.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3Ad9631f040b1cdc99090ddfd8d79f200b

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2008

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/6149

Publisher

JSTOR

Language

English

College

Religious Education

Department

Ancient Scripture

University Standing at Time of Publication

Associate Professor

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