Return of the Twelve

Mark 6:30; Luke 9:10a; 10:17-20

(Huck 140; Aland 180; Crook 204)^[151]

Updated: 22 February 2025

וַיָּשֻׁבוּ הַשְּׁלִיחִים אֶל יֵשׁוּעַ בְּשִׂמְחָה וַיְסַפְּרוּ לוֹ אֶת כֹּל אֲשֶׁר עָשׂוּ לֵאמֹר אֲדוֹנֵנוּ אַף הַשֵּׁדִים מִשְׁתַּעְבְּדִים לָנוּ בְּשִׁמְךָ וַיֹּאמֶר לָהֶם רָאִיתִי אֶת הַשָּׂטָן כְּבָרָק מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם נֹפֵל הֲרֵי נָתַתִּי לָכֶם רָשׁוּת לִדְרֹךְ עַל נְחָשִׁים וְעַקְרַבִּים וְעַל כֹּל גְּבוּרַת הָאֹיֵב וְלֹא יַזִּיק לָכֶם כְּלוּם אַף בְּזוֹ אַל תִּשְׂמְחוּ שֶׁהָרוּחוֹת מִשְׁתַּעְבְּדוֹת לָכֶם אֶלָּא שִׂמְחוּ שֶׁשְׁמוֹתֵיכֶם כְּתוּבִים בַּשָּׁמַיִם

The twelve emissaries returned to Yeshua full of excitement and they told him about everything they had done. “Lord!” they said, “even the demons submit to us in your name.”

Yeshua told them, “I saw Satan expelled from heaven like a flash of lightning from the sky. Look, I have given you power to step on snakes and scorpions and over all the enemy’s might: Nothing will hurt you. But don’t get excited about that, instead be excited that your names are recorded in heaven in the Book of Life.”^[152]

Reconstruction

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• ^[1] According to Nolland (Luke, 2:562), “The return of the Seventy-two could easily be a secondary formulation based on [Luke] 9:10a.” ↩
• ^[2] See Sending the Twelve: Commissioning, under the subheading “Conjectured Stages of Transmission.” ↩
• ^[3] Justin Martyr (mid-second century C.E.) quoted a form of Jesus’ saying about snakes and scorpions that is different from the version preserved in Luke 10:19:

  Δίδωμι ὑμῖν ἐξουσίαν καταπατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων καὶ σκολοπενδρῶν, καὶ ἐπάνω πάσης δυνάμεως τοῦ ἐχθροῦ.

  I give you authority to step on snakes and scorpions and centipedes, and over all the power of the enemy. (Dialogue with Trypho chpt. 76)

  It is uncertain whether Justin knew the Gospel of Luke and if the differences between Justin’s version and Luke 10:19 are due to Justin’s imperfect memory, or whether Justin knew this saying from some other written or oral source. ↩

• ^[4] See David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton, “LOY Excursus: Mark’s Editorial Style,” under the subheading “Mark’s Freedom and Creativity.” ↩
• ^[5] We have identified several instances where, due to the author of Luke’s editing of Anth., the FR version of the Sending the Twelve pericope preserves the wording of Anth. better than the version Luke based directly on Anth. See, for instance, Sending the Twelve: Commissioning, L17, L20, L22; Sending the Twelve: Conduct on the Road, L66, L70, L74; Sending the Twelve: Conduct in Town, L85, L109, L110, L112, L113, L114. ↩
• ^[6] Further examples from Genesis where καί + participle + aorist translates vav-consecutive + vav-consecutive include Gen. 24:26; 24:54, 63; 25:8, 17; 27:27; 29:10; 33:4, 5; 35:29; 38:15; 48:2. There are many examples elsewhere in LXX. ↩
• ^[7] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1417. ↩
• ^[8] See Dos Santos, 205. ↩
• ^[9] See Sending the Twelve: Commissioning, Comment to L23. ↩
• ^[10] In the Gospel of Mark the term ἀπόστολος (apostolos, “apostle,” “emissary”) occurs only in Mark 3:14 and 6:30. ↩
• ^[11] See, for example, Fitzmyer, 2:861. ↩
• ^[12] In MT רְנָנָה occurs four times (Ps. 63:6; 100:2; Job 3:7; 20:5), compared to over ninety instances of שִׂמְחָה. ↩
• ^[13] In LXX ἐν εὐφροσύνῃ is the translation of בְּשִׂמְחָה in Deut. 28:47; 2 Kgdms. 6:12; 1 Chr. 15:25; 29:17; 2 Chr. 20:27; 23:18; 30:21; 2 Esd. 6:22; Ps. 44:16; 67[68]:4; 99[100]:2; 105[106]:5; Eccl. 2:1; 5:19; 9:7; Isa. 55:12; 66:5. ↩
• ^[14] See Dos Santos, 144. ↩
• ^[15] We suppose that the author of Mark picked up πάντα from Anth. rather than simply supplying πάντα himself, since, in our estimation, the author of Mark does not seem capable of making the kind of subtle allusion to Scripture that was evidently present in the introduction to the Return of the Twelve pericope. ↩
• ^[16] In Luke 11:20 (cf. Matt. 12:28) Jesus himself drew a parallel between the Kingdom of Heaven and Israel’s redemption from Egypt. See R. Steven Notley, “By the Finger of God.” ↩
• ^[17] On reconstructing πᾶς (pas, “all,” “every”) with כָּל (kol, “all,” “every”), see Demands of Discipleship, Comment to L32.

  Examples of πάντα ὅσα + ποιεῖν as the translation of כֹּל אֲשֶׁר + עָשָׂה are found in Gen. 1:31; 39:22; Exod. 18:1, 8, 14; Num. 22:2; Deut. 1:30; 3:21; 4:34; 29:1, 8; Ruth 3:16; 1 Kgdms. 19:18; 2 Kgdms. 3:36; 3 Kgdms. 11:41; 4 Kgdms. 8:23; 10:34; 12:20; 13:8, 12; 14:3, 28; 15:3, 6, 21, 26, 31, 34; 18:3; 21:17; 23:28, 32, 37; 24:3, 5, 9, 19; 2 Chr. 26:4; 27:2; 29:2; 2 Esd. 15:19; Eccl. 3:14; Jer. 27[50]:29; Ezek. 14:23; 16:63; 24:24. ↩

• ^[18] See Marshall, 359; Sending the Twelve: Conduct in Town, Comment to L105. ↩
• ^[19] In NT the pairing of ποιεῖν (poiein, “to do”) with διδάσκειν (didaskein, “to teach”) is found in Matt. 5:19; 28:15; Mark 6:30; John 8:28; Acts 1:1. ↩
• ^[20] See Robert L. Lindsey, “Introduction to A Hebrew Translation of the Gospel of Mark,” under the subheading “Sources of the Markan Pick-ups”; idem, “My Search for the Synoptic Problem’s Solution (1959-1969),” under the subheading “Markan Pick-ups”; Joshua N. Tilton and David N. Bivin, “LOY Excursus: Catalog of Markan Stereotypes and Possible Markan Pick-ups.” ↩
• ^[21] For instance, out of fifty-four instances of the participle λέγοντες in the Pentateuch, forty-four are the translation of the infinitive construct לֵאמֹר: Gen. 22:20; 23:5; 32:7; 34:20; 38:13, 24; 42:28, 29; 45:16, 26; 47:15; 48:20; 50:4, 16; Exod. 5:8, 10, 13, 14, 15, 19; 11:8; 14:12; 15:1, 24; 32:12; Lev. 11:2; Num. 11:13, 18, 20; 13:32; 14:7, 15, 40; 17:6, 27; 20:3; 32:2, 25, 31; Deut. 1:28; 13:14; 18:16; 20:5; 27:9. ↩
• ^[22] Compare our reconstruction of λέγων with לֵאמֹר in Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven, L6. ↩
• ^[23] Cf. Lord’s Prayer, Comment to L5. ↩
• ^[24] See Beare, Earliest, 157 §140; cf. Bundy, 336-337. ↩
• ^[25] See Sending the Twelve: Commissioning, L17-21. ↩
• ^[26] See Jastrow, 99, 251; Segal, 146 §302. An example of how אַף supplanted גַּם in MH is found in Mechilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Baḥodesh chpt. 4 (ed. Lauterbach, 2:311), where גַּם in the biblical text is paraphrased using אַף. ↩
• ^[27] The term שֵׁד, for instance, does not occur at all in the Mishnah and only in a single passage of the Tosefta (t. Shab. 7:23). On reticence toward the demonic in tannaic literature, see Peter J. Tomson, Paul and the Jewish Law: Halakhah in the Letters of the Apostle to the Gentiles (CRINT III.1; Minneapolis: Fortress, 1990), 156-157; Louis Isaac Rabinowitz, “Demons, Demonology: In the Talmud,” in Encyclopaedia Judaica (2d ed.; 22 vols.; ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik; Detroit: Macmillan, 2007), 5:574. Not only do early rabbinic sources mention demons much less frequently than the Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, DSS and NT, but some of the rabbinic notions about the origins and characteristics of demons conflict with the views expressed in Second Temple sources. For instance, whereas the sages believed that the מַזִּיקִין (maziqin, “harmful spirits”) were formed at the end of the sixth day of Creation (m. Avot 5:6; cf. Sifre Deut. §355 [ed. Finkelstein, 418]), a variety of Second Temple sources describe demons as the ghosts of the illegitimate offspring of sexual union between angels and human beings (cf., e.g., 1 Enoch 15:8; Jub. 10:5; 11Q11 V, 6). The latter explanation of the origin of demons is also attested in the Christian writings of Justin Martyr, 2 Apol. 5:2-4; cf. Lactantius, Divine Institutes 2:15. Likewise, the description of demons in Avot de-Rabbi Natan, Version A, 37:2 (ed. Schechter, 109), according to which demons eat and procreate, conflicts with the view that demons are the ghosts of the giants who where drowned in the flood. On the “Enochic Aetiology of Demons,” see Philip S. Alexander, “The Demonology of the Dead Sea Scrolls,” in The Dead Sea Scrolls After Fifty Years (2 vols.; ed. Peter W. Flint and James C. Vanderkam; Leiden: Brill, 1999), 2:331-353, esp. 337-341. ↩
• ^[28] For halachic rulings that mention evil spirits, see m. Shab. 2:5; m. Eruv. 4:1; t. Eruv. 3:8; t. Taan. 2:12. ↩
• ^[29] In later rabbinic sources, and especially among Babylonian sages, there is a renewed interest in demons. ↩
• ^[30] Josephus describes how he witnessed a certain Essene perform an exorcism (Ant. 8:46-48). In addition, among the Dead Sea Scrolls certain exorcism texts have been discovered, which also suggests that demons and exorcism were part of the Essene worldview. On demons in DSS, see Philip S. Alexander, “The Demonology of the Dead Sea Scrolls,” 2:331-353; Herman Lichtenberger, “Demonology in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament,” in Text, Thought and Practice in Qumran and Early Christianity (ed. Ruth A. Clements and Daniel R. Schwartz; Leiden: Brill, 2009), 267-280. ↩
• ^[31] Rabbinic literature attests to the ability of Hanina ben Dosa, a first-century C.E. Hasid, to command demons (b. Pes. 112b). For additional sources on exorcisms performed by Hanina ben Dosa, see Shmuel Safrai, “Jesus and the Hasidim,” under the subheading “Miracle Workers.” ↩
• ^[32] See Tomson, Paul and the Jewish Law, 156. ↩
• ^[33] See Daniel B. Wallace, Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 399-400. ↩
• ^[34] Luke uses a singular verb applied to demons (plur.) in Luke 4:41; 8:2, 30, 35, 38; 10:17. ↩
• ^[35] See Luke 4:41 where there are four verbs used with δαιμόνια, one singular, three plural; cf. Luke 8:33 where there are two verbs used with δαιμόνια, both plural. Also, Luke uses a singular verb two out of three times for πνεύματα (“spirits”) when it is the subject of a sentence (Luke 10:20; 11:26). Once in Matthew πνεύματα is the subject of a sentence, with one of its verbs in the plural form, one in the singular (Matt. 12:45 [ // Luke 11:26]). Mark uses a plural verb with πνεύματα every time (Mark 3:11 [4xx]; 5:13 [2xx]). ↩
• ^[36] See Jastrow, 1608. ↩
• ^[37] Cf. the description of demon possession in Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer, chpt. 13. ↩
• ^[38] It is clear from his writings that Justin Martyr (mid-second century C.E.) understood exorcisms to be performed by means of Jesus’ name (κατά τοῦ ὀνοματος Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ; Dial. chpt. 30; cf. chpt. 85; 2 Apol. 6:6). For a survey of Justin’s understanding of demons, see F. C. Conybeare, “Demonology of the New Testament,” Jewish Quarterly Review 8.4 (1896): 576-608, esp. 597-599. ↩
• ^[39] In LXX ἐν [τῷ] ὀνόματι translates בְּשֵׁם in 1 Kgdms. 17:45; 20:42; 25:9; 2 Kgdms. 6:18; 3 Kgdms. 18:24 (2xx), 25, 26, 32; 22:16; 4 Kgdms. 2:24; 5:11; 1 Chr. 4:38; 12:32; 16:2, 8, 10; 21:19; 2 Chr. 18:15; 28:15; 31:19; 2 Esd. 8:20; 10:16; Ps. 19[20]:6, 8; 32[33]:21; 43[44]:6; 53[54]:3; 62[63]:5; 88[89]:13, 17, 25; 104[105]:3; 117[118]:26; 123[124]:8; 128[129]:8; Mic. 4:5; Zech. 10:12; Jer. 36[29]:23. ↩
• ^[40] On this usage of בְּשֵׁם, see Hans Kosmala, “‘In My Name,’” Annual of the Swedish Theological Institute 5 (1967): 87-109, esp. 91-93, 108. ↩
• ^[41] Origen mentions that there were people who drove out demons by invoking the name of Jesus even though they were not believers (Celsus 1:6), but it is uncertain whether he knew personally of such cases, or whether he was simply alluding to the story in Acts 19:13-16. Be that as it may, Smith presents abundant evidence that Jesus’ name was used by non-Christians in magical spells for driving out demons. See Morton Smith, Jesus the Magician (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1978), 62-63. ↩
• ^[42] See Julian V. Hills, “Luke 10.18—Who Saw Satan Fall?” Journal for the Study of the New Testament 46 (1992): 25-40. ↩
• ^[43] See Bultmann, 108; Bovon, 2:25; Simon Gathercole, “Jesus’ Eschatological Vision of the Fall of Satan: Luke 10,18 Reconsidered,” Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft 94 (2003): 143-163, esp. 145. ↩
• ^[44] The English noun “apocalypse” and the English adjective “apocalyptic” derive from the Greek word ἀποκάλυψις (apokalūpsis, “uncovering,” “revelation”). In popular usage “apocalypse” is a synonym for end-time catastrophe (e.g., the “Zombie Apocalypse”), but in biblical studies “apocalypse” refers to a literary genre concerned with the uncovering of mysteries. These mysteries are not exclusively or even primarily concerned with eschatology (i.e., end times). Apocalypses can explore the hidden workings of the universe, uncover secret truths of the story of creation or of current events, as well as reveal God’s hidden plan for the future. Jesus’ vision of Satan’s fall is apocalyptic in the sense that Jesus was afforded a glimpse of the happenings in the spiritual realms that are not ordinarily accessible to the physical senses. See Michael E. Stone, “Apocalyptic Literature,” in Jewish Writings of the Second Temple Period (CRINT II.2; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1984), 383-441; David Flusser, “Apocalypse,” in Encyclopaedia Judaica (2d ed.; 22 vols.; ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik; Detroit: Macmillan, 2007), 2:256-258. ↩
• ^[45] Click here to see an overview of the entire “Success of the Twelve” complex. ↩
• ^[46] See Yeshua’s Thanksgiving Hymn, Blessedness of the Twelve, Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. ↩
• ^[47] See Marshall, 428; Fitzmyer, 2:862; Gathercole, “Jesus’ Eschatological Vision,” 151 n. 37. ↩
• ^[48] On visions in the Second Temple period, see David Flusser, “Visions,” in Encyclopaedia Judaica (2d ed.; 22 vols.; ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik; Detroit: Macmillan, 2007), 20:543-544. ↩
• ^[49] See Hatch-Redpath, 1:669-673. ↩
• ^[50] For שַׂר (sar) as “angelic prince” or “guardian angel,” see Dan. 10:13, 20. For additional examples, see Jastrow, 1627. On the concept of angelic princes in ancient Jewish sources, see Ephraim E. Urbach, The Sages: Their Concepts and Beliefs (trans. Israel Abrahams; 2 vols.; Jerusalem: Magnes, 1975), 1:137-138; Darrell D. Hannah, “Guardian Angels and Angelic National Patrons in Second Temple Judaism and Early Christianity,” Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Yearbook (2007): 413-435. The notion of angelic princes appointed over the nations is also found in Deut. 32:8 (LXX); Sir. 17:17; Jub. 15:31-32. In some sources Michael is the guardian angel of Israel, in others it is the Lord himself who guards Israel. In the Community Rule (1QS III, 20-21) the concept of angelic princes who rule the Gentile kingdoms is morphed into the division of all humanity into two groups, those ruled by the Prince of Light (שר אורים) and those ruled by the Angel of Darkness (מלאך חושך). According to 2 Cor. 11:14, Satan was known to masquerade as an “angel of light,” using terminology that might have been borrowed from Qumran (viz., שר אורים). See David Flusser, “The Dead Sea Sect and Pre-Pauline Christianity” (JOC, 23-74, esp. 26). If so, 2 Cor. 11:14 provides early evidence that Satan was identified as one of the angelic princes who ruled over the empires of the world. This is also implied by Satan's offer to make Jesus ruler over all the kingdoms of the world if only Jesus would bow down and worship him (Matt. 4:8-10; Luke 4:5-8). ↩
• ^[51] On the concept that the angelic princes must first be toppled before the earthly empires can be vanquished, see Ginzberg, 1:558 n. 41. ↩
• ^[52] A midrashic treatment of Jacob’s dream of the ladder upon which angels ascended and descended (Lev. Rab. 29:2 [ed. Marguiles, 2:670-671]; cf. Gen. 28:12) interprets the angels as the angelic princes of the Babylonian, Persian, Greek and Roman Empires. The number of rungs each prince ascended was interpreted as marking the number of years of each empire’s dominion over Israel, and their descent was interpreted as marking the end of their reign. The descent of an angelic prince on Jacob’s ladder is not dissimilar to the fall from heaven of the angelic prince of Egypt described in the above-cited midrash on Exod. 15:1 in Mechilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Shirata chpt. 2, or to the fall of Satan described in Luke 10:18. On the midrashic treatment of Jacob’s dream, see James Kugel, “The Ladder of Jacob,” Harvard Theological Review 88.2 (1995): 209-227; Chaim Milikowsky, “Notions of Exile, Subjugation and Return in Rabbinic Literature,” in Exile: Old Testament, Jewish, and Christian Conceptions (ed. James M. Scott; Leiden: Brill, 1997), 265-296, esp. 275-278. ↩
• ^[53] See Lightfoot, 3:97; Manson, Sayings, 258; Marshall, 428-429; Gathercole, “Jesus’ Eschatological Vision,” 155; Bovon, 2:31. The association of Luke 10:18 with Isa. 14:12 is ancient, and can be traced back at least as far as Origen (Princ. 1:5 §5). See Gathercole, “Jesus’ Eschatological Vision,” 146. ↩
• ^[54] According to Kister, “notwithstanding significant changes in style, tone, context, and content, aggadic statements in rabbinic literature should be regarded principally as traditions, and the sages to whom these utterances are attributed as tradents of ancient material. Studies that consider rabbinic literature together with writings of the Second Temple period (such as Apocrypha, Pseudepigrapha, Qumran, Philo, Josephus, Gospels) validate time and again this assertion.” See Menahem Kister, “Allegorical Interpretations of Biblical Narratives in Rabbinic Literature, Philo, and Origen: Some Case Studies,” in New Approaches to the Study of Biblical Interpretation in Judaism of the Second Temple Period and in Early Christianity (ed. Gary A. Anderson, Ruth A. Clements, and David Satran; Leiden: Brill, 2013), 133-183, quotation on 141-142. ↩
• ^[55] The mention of Edom in the Mechilta passage probably alludes to Rome, since in rabbinic literature Edom is often a symbol of Rome. On Edom as a symbol of Rome in ancient Jewish literature, see Ginzberg, 1:254 n. 19; Louis H. Feldman, Josephus’s Interpretation of the Bible (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998), 322-324. Note, too, that in some sources Samael (= Satan) is identified as the angelic prince of Rome (3 En. 26:12). See Ginzberg, 1:306 n. 275; Ludwig Blau, “Samael,” JE, 10:665-666. ↩
• ^[56] For examples in MT where שָׂטָן refers to a human opponent, see 1 Sam. 29:4; 2 Sam. 19:23; 1 Kgs. 5:18; 11:14, 23, 25; Ps. 109:6. ↩
• ^[57] Cf., e.g., Avot de-Rabbi Natan, Version B, chpt. 17 (ed. Schechter, 37); Seder Olam chpt. 28 (ed. Guggenheimer, 237). On the occurence of שָׂטָן in the example from Avot de-Rabbi Natan, see Anthony J. Saldarini, trans., The Fathers According to Rabbi Nathan (Abot de Rabbi Nathan) Version B (Leiden: Brill, 1975), 117 n. 7. ↩
• ^[58] For הַשָּׂטָן as a title, see Zech. 3:1, 2; Job 1:6, 7, 8, 9, 12; 2:1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7. In LXX הַשָּׂטָן is translated as ὁ διάβολος (ho diabolos, “the Adversary”), from which the English title “the devil” is derived. ↩
• ^[59] The earliest example of שָׂטָן as a quasi-name may be found in 1 Chr. 21:1, although some scholars interpret this instance as “a satan” (i.e., not a proper name). See T. H. Gaster, “Satan,” in The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible (4 vols.; ed. George A. Buttrick et al.; Nashville: Abingdon, 1962), 4:224-228, esp. 225. The transformation of “satan” from a title to a personal name is analogous to the transformation of “christ” from a title to a name witnessed in Christian writings. ↩
• ^[60] For examples of הַשָּׂטָן in rabbinic literature see Gen. Rab. 38:7; 48:3; 91:9; y. Ber. 1:1 [6a]; y. Shab. 2:6 [19b]; b. Ber. 33a; b. Shab. 89a; 104a; b. Pes. 112b; b. Rosh Hash. 16b; b. Yom. 67b. ↩
• ^[61] Mastema is the name for Satan in the book of Jubilees (cf. Jub. 10:8-11). See David Flusser, “Mastema,” in Encyclopeadia Judaica (2d ed.; 22 vols.; ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik; Detroit: Macmillan, 2007), 13:668-669. ↩
• ^[62] The name Belial (בליעל) for Satan is particularly common in the Dead Sea Scrolls (cf., e.g., 1QS I, 18; II, 19; 1QM I, 1, 5, 13; 1QH^a X, 18, 24). This name also occurs in NT in 2 Cor. 6:15. ↩
• ^[63] Samael as a name for Satan is particularly common in rabbinic sources. See Gen. Rab. 56:4; Deut. Rab. 11:10; b. Sot. 10b. Samael is also mentioned in Ascension of Isaiah 11:43 and 3 Enoch 14:2. In the Byzantine chronicle Palaea Historica the participants in the dispute over Moses’ body are named as Michael and Samuel (a corruption of Samael), whereas in Jude the disputants are Michael and the Devil. See David Flusser, “Palaea Historica: An Unknown Source of Biblical Legends,” Scripta Hierosolymitana 22 (1971): 48-79, esp. 72. ↩
• ^[64] See Dos Santos, 199. ↩
• ^[65] See Hatch-Redpath, 3:139. ↩
• ^[66] See Moulton-Milligan, 570. ↩
• ^[67] Unfortunately, Sir. 21:27 has not been preserved in the fragmentary Hebrew MSS of Ben Sira. In any case, Ben Sira was translated from Hebrew, not Aramaic (see Sir. prologue). ↩
• ^[68] For a discussion of the use of the Aramaic-derived πασχα to represent the Hebrew term פֶּסַח in LXX, see Randall Buth and Chad Pierce, “Hebraisti in Ancient Texts: Does Ἑβραϊστί Ever Mean ‘Aramaic’?” (JS2, 66-109, esp. 87-88). Another example of using Aramaic-derived vocabulary to represent a Hebrew term is σάτον (saton), from Aramaic סָאתָא (sā’tā’), where the underlying Hebrew text reads סְאָה (se’āh, “seah,” a measure of quantity). See our discussion in Mustard Seed and Starter Dough, Comment to L34. ↩
• ^[69] On transliterated and Hellenized Semitic terms in the Gospels, see David N. Bivin and Joshua N. Tilton, “LOY Excursus: Greek Transliterations of Hebrew, Aramaic and Hebrew/Aramaic Words in the Synoptic Gospels.” ↩
• ^[70] See Fitzmyer, 2:861; Nolland, Luke, 2:563. ↩
• ^[71] On the rationale for using Vaticanus for our base text, see the Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction,’ under the subheading “Codex Vaticanus or an Eclectic Text?” ↩
• ^[72] The order in Vaticanus (ἐθεώρουν τὸν σατανᾶν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὡς ἀστραπὴν πεσόντα) could be reconstructed as רָאִיתִי אֶת הַשָּׂטָן מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם כְּבָרָק נֹפֵל, to which we may compare מֵעַי לְמוֹאָב כַּכִּנּוֹר יֶהֱמוּ (“my inward parts wail for Moab like the lyre”; Isa. 16:11). The order found in the critical editions (ἐθεώρουν τὸν σατανᾶν ὡς ἀστραπὴν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ πεσόντα) could be reconstructed as רָאִיתִי אֶת הַשָּׂטָן כְּבָרָק מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם נֹפֵל, to which we may compare צַדִּיק...כְּאֶרֶז בַּלְּבָנוֹן יִשְׂגֶּה (“a righteous [person]...like a cedar in Lebanon he will grow”; Ps. 92:13). The order in P⁷⁵ and patristic sources (ἐθεώρουν τὸν σατανᾶν ὡς ἀστραπὴν πεσόντα ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ) could be reconstructed as רָאִיתִי אֶת הַשָּׂטָן כְּבָרָק נֹפֵל מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם, to which we may compare הָרִים כַּדּוֹנַג נָמַסּוּ מִלִּפְנֵי יי (“the hills like wax melted before the Lord”; Ps. 97:5). It would also be possible to reconstruct Luke 10:18 as רָאִיתִי אֶת הַשָּׂטָן נֹפֵל כְּבָרָק מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם, to which we may compare יֵרֵד כְּמָטָר עַל גֵּז (“he will descend like rain on mown grass”; Ps. 72:6). This last word order, however, is not supported by any Greek witnesses. ↩
• ^[73] Ἀστραπή is the translation of בָּרָק in Exod. 19:16; Deut. 32:41; 2 Kgdms. 22:15; Ps. 17[18]:15; 76[77]:19; 96[97]:4; 134[135]:7; 143[144]:6; Job 20:25; Nah. 2:5; Hab. 3:11; Zech. 9:14; Jer. 10:13; 28[51]:16; Ezek. 1:13; Dan. 10:6. Aside from ἀστραπή, LXX translates בָּרָק with κεραυνός (keravnos, “lightning”) in Job 38:35, with στίλβωσις (stilbōsis, “shining”) in Ezek. 21:15, 20, and with the verbs στίλβειν (stilbein, “to shine”) in Ezek. 21:33 and ἐξαστράπτειν (exastraptein, “to flash like lightning”) in Nah. 3:3. ↩
• ^[74] See Werner Foerster, “ἀστραπή,” TDNT, 1:505. ↩
• ^[75] In LXX ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ translates מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם in Gen. 19:24; 21:17; 22:11, 15; Exod. 16:4; 20:22; Deut. 4:36; 26:15; 28:24; Josh. 10:11; 2 Kgdms. 21:10; 4 Kgdms. 1:10 (2xx), 12 (2xx), 14; 1 Chr. 21:26; 2 Chr. 6:21, 23, 25, 30, 33, 35, 39; 2 Chr. 7:14; Job 1:16; Isa. 55:10. In Ps. 148:1 ἐκ τῶν οὐρανῶν translates מִן הַשָּׁמַיִם. ↩
• ^[76] For this view, see F. Warburton Lewis, “I Beheld Satan Fall As Lightning From Heaven (Luke X. 18),” Expository Times 25 (1913-1914): 232-233. ↩
• ^[77] See Job 1:6, 2:1; cf. Zech. 3:1-2. ↩
• ^[78] Although Isa. 14:12 is a taunt against the king of Babylon (cf. Isa. 14:4), in early Jewish exegetical tradition this verse was understood to refer to the fall of Babylon's angelic representative in the heavenly council. A connection between Luke 10:18 and Isa. 14:12 has been suggested since the early church fathers (cf., e.g., Origen, De Principiis 1:5 §5). See Gathercole, “Jesus’ Eschatological Vision,” 145-146. Marshall (428-429) agrees that Luke 10:18 alludes to Isa. 14:12, while Nolland (Luke, 2:563) supposes that the allusion to Isa. 14:12 in Luke 10:18 is illusory. ↩
• ^[79] See R. H. Charles, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John (2 vols.; Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1920), 1:321-329. ↩
• ^[80] See Dos Santos, 134. ↩
• ^[81] Hatch-Redpath, 2:1135-1137. ↩
• ^[82] It is of interest to note that, in Hebrew sources, lightning is said to “give light” (הֵאִיר; hē’ir; Ps. 77:19; 97:4; Gen. Rab. 60:1), to “dart” (רוֹצֵץ; rōtzētz; Nah. 2:5; cf. Avot de-Rabbi Natan, Version B, chpt. 43 [ed. Schechter, 120]), or to “go forth" (יָצָא; yātzā’; Ezek. 1:13; Zech. 9:14; Sifre Deut. §331 [ed. Finkelstein, 380]), but never to “fall.” Neither have we found Greek sources that describe lightning as falling. ↩
• ^[83] See Manson, Luke, 126. ↩
• ^[84] For a thorough review of these questions, see Gathercole, “Jesus’ Eschatological Vision,” 143-163. As the title of his article indicates, Gathercole supposes that Luke 10:18 describes an event that has yet to take place. ↩
• ^[85] For this view, see T. W. Manson, Sayings, 258. ↩
• ^[86] Translation according to R. H. Charles, The Assumption of Moses (London: Adam and Charles Black, 1897). ↩
• ^[87] A rabbinic source attributes the expulsion of Satan from heaven to the work of the Messiah:

  אמר השטן לפני הקדוש ברוך הוא [רבונו של עולם אור שנגנז תחת כסא הכבוד שלך למי, א″ל למי שהוא עתיד להחזירך ולהכלימך בבושת פנים, א″ל] רבונו של עולם הראהו לי, אמר לו בא וראה אותו, וכיון שראה אותו נזדעזע ונפל על פניו ואמר בודאי זהו משיח שהוא עתיד להפיל לי ולכל שרי אומות העולם בגיהנם

  The Adversary said before the Holy one, blessed be he, [“Ruler of the universe, the light that is stored beneath your throne of glory: whose is it?” He replied, “It is for the one who in the future will turn you back and humiliate you.” He said to him,] “Ruler of the universe, show him to me.” He replied, “Come and see him.” But as soon as he saw him he shuddered and fell on his face and said, “Surely this is the Messiah who in the future will cause me to fall, together with all the angelic princes of the nations of the world [שרי אומות העולם], in Gehenna!” (Pesikta Rabbati 36:1 [ed. Friedmann, 161b])

  While the story is set during the week of creation, it looks forward to the eschatological messianic redemption. Note that in this source Satan is closely associated with the angelic princes who govern the human empires and represent them in the heavenly council. According to this source, when the messianic redemption takes place Satan and the angelic princes will be thrown into Gehenna, implying that Israel will be freed from the yoke of foreign domination when the Kingdom of Heaven finally breaks forth. ↩

• ^[88] For more on this theme, see Richard A. Horsley, Jesus and the Spiral of Violence: Popular Jewish Resistance in Roman Palestine (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1987), 184-190; idem, “‘My Name Is Legion’: Spirit Possession and Exorcism in Roman Palestine,” in Experientia, Volume 1; Inquiry into Religious Experience in Early Judaism and Christianity (ed. Frances Flannery, Colleen Shantz, and Rodney A. Werline; Leiden: Brill, 2008), 41-57. ↩
• ^[89] This interlocking of redemption at the communal and cosmic levels is paralleled in ancient Jewish sources, including the War Scroll from Qumran, where on one level Belial and his angels fight against the heavenly hosts, and on another level the Kittim (i.e., Romans) fight against the Sons of Light (i.e., the Essenes) (cf., e.g., 1QM I, 9-16). The rabbinic midrash on the song of the sea, where the fall of the angelic prince of Egypt was the precursor to the defeat of Pharaoh, is another example of the same phenomenon (see above, Comment to L14). ↩
• ^[90] See Gathercole, “Jesus’ Eschatological Vision,” 155-158. ↩
• ^[91] See Sending the Twelve: Commissioning, Comment to L19. ↩
• ^[92] See Marshall, 429; Fitzmyer, 2:863. ↩
• ^[93] Evidently, the author of Luke had a version of the apostles’ mission in both of his sources, Anth. and FR, and in order to present both versions in his Gospel Luke attributed the FR version to “the Twelve” and the Anth. version to “the Seventy-two.” See Sending the Twelve: Commissioning, under the subheading “Conjectured Stages of Transmission.” ↩
• ^[94] See Manson, Sayings, 259; Beare, Earliest, 158 §140; Marshall, 429; Nolland, Luke, 2:565; Bovon, 2:30 n. 60. Foerster considered an allusion to Ps. 91:13 possible, but expresses reservations. See Werner Foerster, “ὄφις,” TDNT, 5:579 n. 146. ↩
• ^[95] See Gaster, “Demon,” 1:820; Delbert Roy Hillers, “Demons, Demonology: Specific Demons,” in Encyclopaedia Judaica (2d ed.; 22 vols.; ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik; Detroit: Macmillan, 2007), 5:573. ↩
• ^[96] See Hermann Lichtenberger, “Demonology in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the New Testament,” in Text, Thought, and Practice in Qumran and Early Christianity (ed. Ruth A. Clements and Daniel R. Schwartz; Leiden: Brill, 2009), 267-280, esp. 271-272. ↩
• ^[97] See Rabinowitz, “Demons, Demonology: In the Talmud,” 5:575. ↩
• ^[98] Also compare Luke 10:19 to the following passage from the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, which pertains to the eschatological priest:

  καὶ πνεῦμα ἁγιωσύνης ἔσται ἐπ᾿ αὐτοῖς. καὶ ὁ Βελιὰρ δεθήσεται ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ, καὶ δώσει ἐξουσίαν τοῖς τέκνοις αὐτοῦ τοῦ πατεῖν ἐπὶ τὰ πονηρὰ πνεύματα. καὶ εὐφρανθήσεται κύριος ἐπὶ τοῖς τέκνοις αὐτοῦ, καὶ εὐδοκήσει κύριος ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀγαπητοῖς αὐτοῦ ἕως τῶν αἰώνων

  And the spirit of holiness shall be on them. And Beliar shall be bound by him. And he shall give power to His children to tread upon the evil spirits. And the Lord shall rejoice in His children. And be well pleased in His beloved ones for ever. (T. Levi 18:11b-13)

  Translation according to R. H. Charles, The Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1917).

  Whether this portion of T. Levi is pre-Christian, or whether this text has been influenced by the Gospels, is debated by scholars. For the view that T. Levi 18:11-13 is pre-Christian, see Craig A. Evans, “Inaugurating the Kingdom of God and Defeating the Kingdom of Satan,” Bulletin for Biblical Research 15.1 (2005): 49-75, esp. 58-59. For the opposite view, see Graham H. Twelftree, “Exorcism and the Defeat of Beliar in the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs,” Vigiliae Christianae 65 (2011): 170-188, esp. 183-185. ↩

• ^[99] See Fitzmyer, 2:863. ↩
• ^[100] The following two rabbinic sources mention several synonyms for “snake”:

  ששה שמות נקרא נחש שרף תנין צפעוני אפעה עכשוב

  By six names is the snake [נָחָשׁ, nāḥāsh] called: sārāf, tanin, tziph‘ōni, ’ef‘eh, ‘achshūv. (Avot de-Rabbi Natan, Version A, 39:3 [ed. Schechter, 119])

  ז′ שמות נקרא נחש [נחש] פתן אפעה שרף צפעוני תנין שפיפון

  By seven names is the snake [נָחָשׁ, nāḥāsh] called: [nāḥāsh,] peten, ’ef‘eh, sārāf, tziph‘ōni, tanin, sh^efifōn. (Avot de-Rabbi Natan, Version B, chpt. 43 [ed. Schechter, 122])

  ↩

• ^[101] The LXX translators rendered נָחָשׁ with ὄφις in Gen. 3:1, 2, 4, 13, 14; 49:17; Exod. 4:3; 7:15; Num. 21:6, 7, 9 (3xx); Deut. 8:15; 4 Kgdms. 18:4; Ps. 57[58]:5; 139[140]:4; Prov. 23:32; 30:19; Eccl. 10:8, 11; Amos 5:19; Mic. 7:17; Isa. 14:29; 27:1 (2xx); 65:25; Jer. 8:17; 26[46]:22. ↩
• ^[102] Oddly enough, LXX twice renders כְּפִיר (k^efir, “young lion”) as δράκων (drakōn, “snake,” “dragon”); see Job 4:10; 38:39. Might some ancient exegetes have assumed that all four creatures mentioned in Ps. 91:13 were various types of snake? ↩
• ^[103] The basilisk (βασιλίσκος, basiliskos) was a serpentine creature thought to have deadly breath (cf. Pliny, Nat. Hist. 8:33). ↩
• ^[104] The δράκων (drakōn, “snake,” “dragon”), the LXX equivalent of תַּנִּין, was an enormous, sometimes winged, serpent in some Greek sources. See Erik Eynikel and Katrin Hauspie, “The Use of δράκων in the Septuagint,” in Biblical Greek Language and Lexicography: Essays in Honor of Frederick W. Danker (ed. Bernard A. Taylor, John A. L. Lee, Peter R. Burton, and Richard E. Whitaker; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2004), 126-135. The תַּנִּין is described as a sea monster in Ps. 74:13 and Job 7:12. ↩
• ^[105] Some sources describe the μαρτιχώρα (martichōra, “manticore”), a beast with a lion’s body and a scorpion’s tail (cf. Pliny the Elder’s description of “the mantichora [sic]” which “has a...lion’s body, inflicting stings with its tail in the manner of a scorpion”; Nat. 8:30; Loeb; cf. Aelian, De Natura Animalium 4:21), while ancient coins depict creatures with a lion’s body and a scorpion’s head. In Revelation 9:8-10, the revelator describes terrifying locusts with lions’ teeth and scorpions’ tails. ↩
• ^[106] Lindsey, LHNS, 114. ↩
• ^[107] To cite only examples from the historical books, LXX uses τοῦ + infinitive to translate an infinitive construct in Gen 1:14 (τοῦ διαχωρίζειν = לְהַבְדִּיל); 19:19 (τοῦ ζῆν = לְהַחֲיוֹת); 34:22 (τοῦ κατοικεῖν = לָשֶׁבֶת); Exod. 9:34 (τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν = לַחֲטֹא); Lev. 7:35 (τοῦ ἱερατεύειν = לְכַהֵן); 26:45 (τοῦ εἶναι = לִהְיֹת); Deut. 11:32 (τοῦ ποιεῖν = לַעֲשׂוֹת); 12:1 (τοῦ ποιεῖν = לַעֲשׂוֹת); Josh. 22:27 (τοῦ λατρεύειν = לַעֲבֹד); 23:11 (τοῦ ἀγαπᾶν = לְאַהֲבָה); Judg. 2:17 (τοῦ εἰσακούειν = לִשְׁמֹעַ); 5:16 (τοῦ εἰσακούειν = לִשְׁמֹעַ); 6:5 (τοῦ διαφθείρειν αὐτήν = לְשַׁחֲתָהּ); 7:20 (τοῦ σαλπίζειν = לִתְקוֹעַ); 12:3 (τοῦ πολεμεῖν = לְהִלָּחֶם); 18:1 (τοῦ κατοικεῖν = לָשֶׁבֶת); 20:39 (τοῦ τύπτειν = לְהַכּוֹת); Ruth 1:18 (τοῦ πορεύεσθαι = לָלֶכֶת); 2:15 (τοῦ συλλέγειν = לְלַקֵּט); 1 Kgdms 14:34 (τοῦ ἐσθίειν = לֶאֱכֹל); 17:33 (τοῦ πολεμεῖν = לְהִלָּחֵם); 23:15 (τοῦ ζητεῖν = לְבַקֵּשׁ); 27:1 (τοῦ ζητεῖν με = לְבַקְשֵׁנִי); 2 Kgdms. 2:19 (τοῦ πορεύεσθαι = לָלֶכֶת); 2:28 (τοῦ πολεμεῖν = לְהִלָּחֵם); 7:8 (τοῦ εἶναι = לִהְיוֹת); 7:29 (τοῦ εἶναι = לִהְיוֹת); 12:10 (τοῦ εἶναι = לִהְיוֹת); 14:17 (τοῦ ἀκούειν = לִשְׁמֹעַ); 18:3 (τοῦ βοηθεῖν = לַעְזִיר); 19:7 (τοῦ ἀγαπᾶν = לְאַהֲבָה); 19:16 (τοῦ πορεύεσθαι = לָלֶכֶת); 3 Kgdms. 1:35 (τοῦ εἶναι = לִהְיוֹת); 2:3 (τοῦ πορεύεσθαι = לָלֶכֶת); 3:9 (τοῦ συνίειν = לְהָבִין); 3:11 (τοῦ εἰσακούειν = לִשְׁמֹעַ); 3:28 (τοῦ ποιεῖν = לַעֲשׂוֹת); 7:2[14] (τοῦ ποιεῖν = לַעֲשׂוֹת); 7:27[41] (τοῦ καλύπτειν = לְכַסּוֹת); 8:16 (τοῦ εἶναι = לִהְיוֹת); 8:25 (τοῦ πορεύεσθαι = לָלֶכֶת); 8:29 (τοῦ εἶναι = לִהְיוֹת); 8:29 (τοῦ εἰσακούειν = לִשְׁמֹעַ); 8:58 (τοῦ πορεύεσθαι = לָלֶכֶת); 8:59 (τοῦ ποιεῖν = לַעֲשׂוֹת); 9:4 (τοῦ ποιεῖν = לַעֲשׂוֹת); 10:9 (τοῦ ποιεῖν = לַעֲשׂוֹת); 12:21 (τοῦ πολεμεῖν = לְהִלָּחֵם); 12:32 (τοῦ θύειν = לְזַבֵּחַ); 16:7 (τοῦ εἶναι = לִהְיוֹת); 16:31 (αὐτῷ...τοῦ πορεύεσθαι = לֶכְתּוֹ); 17:9 (τοῦ διατρέφειν σε = לְכַלְכְּלֶךָ); 4 Kgdms. 6:2 (τοῦ οἰκεῖν = לָשֶׁבֶת); 11:17 (τοῦ εἶναι = לִהְיוֹת); 21:6 (τοῦ ποιεῖν = לַעֲשׂוֹת); 22:13 (τοῦ ποιεῖν = לַעֲשׂוֹת); 22:19 (τοῦ εἶναι = לִהְיוֹת); 23:3 (τοῦ πορεύεσθαι = לָלֶכֶת); 23:3 (τοῦ φυλάσσειν = לִשְׁמֹר); 23:10 (τοῦ διάγειν = לְהַעֲבִיר); 1 Chr. 1:10 (τοῦ εἶναι = לִהְיוֹת); 10:8 (τοῦ σκυλεύειν = לְפַשֵּׁט); 16:7 (τοῦ αἰνεῖν = לְהֹדוֹת); 16:35 (τοῦ αἰνεῖν = לְהֹדוֹת); 16:37 (τοῦ λειτουργεῖν = לְשָׁרֵת); 16:40 (τοῦ ἀναφέρειν = לְהַעֲלוֹת); 16:41 (τοῦ αἰνεῖν = לְהֹדוֹת); 17:6 (τοῦ ποιμαίνειν = לִרְעוֹת); 17:7 (τοῦ εἶναι = לִהְיוֹת); 17:27 (τοῦ εἶναι = לִהְיוֹת); 22:12 (τοῦ ποιεῖν = לִשְׁמוֹר); 22:13 (τοῦ ποιεῖν = לַעֲשׂוֹת); 23:5 (τοῦ αἰνεῖν = לְהַלֵּל); 23:13 (τοῦ θυμιᾶν = לְהַקְטִיר); 23:30 (τοῦ αἰνεῖν = לְהֹדוֹת); 2 Chr. 2:3 (τοῦ θυμιᾶν = לְהַקְטִיר), 5 (τοῦ θυμιᾶν = לְהַקְטִיר); 3:1 (τοῦ οἰκοδομεῖν = לִבְנוֹת); 4:6 (τοῦ πλύνειν = לְרָחְצָה); 6:5 (τοῦ εἶναι = לִהְיוֹת); 6:16 (τοῦ πορεύεσθαι = לָלֶכֶת); 6:20 (τοῦ εἶναι = לִהְיוֹת); 7:16 (τοῦ εἶναι = לִהְיוֹת); 8:13 (τοῦ ἀναφέρειν = לְהַעֲלוֹת); 8:14 (τοῦ αἰνεῖν = לְהַלֵּל); 13:12 (τοῦ σημαίνειν = לְהָרִיעַ); 18:31 (τοῦ πολεμεῖν = לְהִלָּחֵם); 22:3 (τοῦ ἁμαρτάνειν = לְהַרְשִׁיעַ); 26:15 (τοῦ εἶναι = לִהְיוֹת); 32:8 (τοῦ σῴζειν = לְעָזְרֵנוּ; τοῦ πολεμεῖν = לְהִלָּחֵם); 33:16 (τοῦ δουλεύειν = לַעֲבוֹד); 34:31 (τοῦ φυλάσσειν = לִשְׁמוֹר); 35:12 (τοῦ προσάγειν = לְהַקְרִיב); 2 Esd. 3:10 (τοῦ αἰνεῖν = לְהַלֵּל); 4:4 (τοῦ οἰκοδομεῖν = לִבְנוֹת); 20:30 (τοῦ πορεύεσθαι = לָלֶכֶת). ↩
• ^[108] In LXX πατεῖν is the translation of דָּרַךְ in Deut. 11:24; Judg. 9:27 (Vaticanus); Neh. 13:15; Job 22:15; 28:8; Isa. 16:10; 42:16; Jer. 31[48]:33; Lam. 1:15. Only in Isa. 1:12 and Isa. 26:6 does πατεῖν translate רָמַס. ↩
• ^[109] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1042. ↩
• ^[110] See Dos Santos, 131. ↩
• ^[111] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1276. In LXX σκορπίος is the translation of עַקְרָב in Deut. 8:15; 3 Kgdms. 12:11, 14; 2 Chr. 10:11, 14; Ezek. 2:6. ↩
• ^[112] See Dos Santos, 160. ↩
• ^[113] See Henry J. Cadbury, “Animals and Symbolism in Luke (Lexical Notes on Luke-Acts, IX,” in Studies in New Testament and Early Christian Literature: Essays in Honor of Allen P. Wikgren (ed. David Edward Aune; Leiden: Brill, 1972), 3-15, esp. 7 n. 1. ↩
• ^[114] Among the ancient sources that pair snakes with scorpions are Philo, Mos. 1:192; Praem. §90; Spec. 3:103; Pliny, Nat. Hist. 10:93; 28:44; Aelian, De Natura Animalium 10:14, 29. ↩
• ^[115] Pliny the Elder (first century C.E.), for example, compares the poisons of these two creatures:

  Scorpions...are a horrible plague, poisonous like snakes, except that they inflict a worse torture by despatching the victim with a lingering death lasting three days.... Their tail is always engaged in striking and does not stop practising at any moment, lest it should ever miss an opportunity it strikes both a sideway stroke and one with the tail bent up. (Nat. Hist. 9:30; Loeb)

  The asp and serpent have similar teeth, but two extremely long ones on the right and left side of the upper jaw, perforated by a slender tube like the stings of the scorpion, which inject poison. (Nat. Hist. 9:62)

  ↩

• ^[116] In fact, most snakes in Israel are harmless toward humans, and scorpion stings are almost never fatal, although they are extremely painful. Tristram reported an infant fatality due to a scorpion sting, and Bodenheimer cited the death of a man who was stung in the neck by a scorpion, but these are exceptional cases. See H. B. Tristram, The Natural History of the Bible (9th ed.; London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1898), 303; F. S. Bodenheimer, Animal Life In Palestine: An Introduction to the Problems of Animal Ecology and Zoogeography (Jerusalem: Mayer, 1935), 366. The one species of poisonous snake in Israel whose habitat includes places normally occupied by humans is the Levant Viper (Bodenheimer, Animal Life in Palestine, 189-190). Its venom is deadly unless an antiserum is administered. See Azaria Alon, The Natural History of the Land of the Bible (London: Hamlyn, 1969), 209. ↩
• ^[117] A baraita in b. Sanh. 101a that is parallel to t. Shab. 7:23 refers to covering an eye rather than whispering an incantation over an eye. That the reference is to preventing the harmful effects of the evil eye, and not to curing a sore eye, is confirmed by a comment on Deut. 18:10:

  מעונן, רבי ישמעאל אומר זה המעביר על העין

  A soothsayer [Deut. 18:10]. Rabbi Ishmael says, “This is someone who places [an article] over the eye.” (Sifre Deut. §171 [ed. Finkelstein, 218])

  On the dangers of the evil eye, see Ludwig Blau, “Evil Eye,” JE, 5:280-281. ↩

• ^[118] For a discussion of this Tosefta passage, see Baruch M. Bokser, “Wonder-Working and the Rabbinic Tradition: The Case of Ḥanina ben Dosa,” Journal for the Study of Judaism 16.1 (1985): 42-92, esp. 50. ↩
• ^[119] Thus, Manson’s unsubstantiated comment that “serpents and scorpions may be thought of as semi-demonic creatures” (Manson, Sayings, 259) is vindicated, contrary to Fitzmyer’s assertion that snakes and scorpions “were neither ‘half demonic’ nor symbols of demons” (Fitzmyer, 2:863). Perhaps in this connection mention should also be made of the πνεῦμα πύθωνα (pnevma pūthōna, “Python spirit”), which Paul exorcized from a girl in Philippi (Acts 16:16). This oracular spirit of the python serpent is also mentioned in connection with magical practices and demonic forces in rabbinic literature (cf. m. Sanh. 7:7; t. Sanh. 10:6), where פִּיתוֹם (pitōm) is the Hebrew version of πύθων (see Jastrow, 1173). For a detailed discussion of the πνεῦμα πύθωνα in Acts 16:16, see Werner Foerster, “πύθων,” TDNT, 6:917-920. ↩
• ^[120] See, for example:

  והיה מכה נחשים ועקרבים לפניהם

  And it [i.e., the pillar of cloud—DNB and JNT] would strike down snakes and scorpions. (Mechilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, BeShallah chpt. 1 [ed. Lauterbach, 1:124])

  ↩

• ^[121] See, for example:

  ונסע מחורב ונלך את כל המדבר הגדול והנורא ההוא, בני אדם שראו נחשים כקורות ועקרבים כקשתות סרוחים ומושלכים לפניהם, עליהם הוא אומר את כל המדבר הגדול והנורא ההוא, והלא דברים קל וחומר ומה דברים שאינם הימורין כבשתים לפניהם דברים שהם הימירין על אחת כמה וכמה לכך נאמר ונסע מחורב

  And we journeyed from Horeb and went through all that great and dreadful wilderness ([Deut.] 1:19): To people who had seen serpents as large as beams and scorpions as large as bows stinking and cast before them, to them he speaks of that great and dreadful wilderness? However, is this not a logical inference from the minor to the major: if I have overcome for them things that are not tame, how much more so will I be able to overcome things that are tame? Hence And we journeyed from Horeb, etc. (Sifre Deut. §18 [ed. Finkelstein, 30-31]; trans. Hammer)

  ↩

• ^[122] On Hebrew generic nouns with the definite article, see Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven, Comment to L77. ↩
• ^[123] In LXX ἐχθρός is the translation of שׂוֹנֵא in Exod. 23:5; Ps. 9:14; 40[41]:8; 117[118]:7; Prov. 25:21; 26:24; 27:6; Job 8:22. ↩
• ^[124] See Bendavid, 1:336. Examples of שׂוֹנֵא in the sense of “enemy” in rabbinic literature include m. Sanh. 3:5; m. Mak. 2:3; t. Bab. Metz. 2:26; t. Mak. 2:10; Mechilta de-Rabbi Ishmael, Vayassa chpt. 7 (ed. Lauterbach, 1:251); Amalek chpt. 1 (ed. Lauterbach, 2:254); Gen. Rab. 66:4; 71:4. ↩
• ^[125] For examples of the construct phrase גבורת אל, see 1QM I, 11, 14; IV, 4, 12; VI, 2, 6; X, 5. ↩
• ^[126] In LXX δύναμις (dūnamis, “strength,” “power”) is the translation of גְּבוּרָה (g^evūrāh, “power,” “might”) in Judg. 5:31 (Alexandrinus); 8:21; 4 Kgdms. 18:20; 1 Chr. 29:11; Ps. 53[54]:3; 144[145]:4, 12 (Alexandrinus); Eccl. 9:16; 10:17; Job 12:13; 39:19; 41:4; Jer. 16:21. ↩
• ^[127] In MT the noun נֵזֶק (nēzeq, “damage”) does occur once in Esth. 7:4, a book that was composed in late Biblical Hebrew. ↩
• ^[128] The phrase לֹא יַזִּיק (lo’ yaziq, “it will not cause harm”) occurs in m. Bab. Bat. 2:8. ↩
• ^[129] In the following example הִזִּיק takes the definite direct object marker אֶת:

  כל זמן שהיה יהושע והזקנים קיימים...לא הזיקו אומות את ישראל

  As long as Joshua and the elders were alive...the Gentiles did not harm Israel. (t. Sot. 11:10; Vienna MS)

  ↩

• ^[130] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1145-1147. ↩
• ^[131] In LXX the phrase ἐν τούτῳ is the translation of בְּזֹאת in Gen. 34:15, 22; 42:15, 33; Exod. 7:17; Num. 16:28; Josh. 3:10; Ps. 40[41]:12; Mal. 3:10; Jer. 9:23. ↩
• ^[132] For examples of בְּזוֹ in MH, see m. Ter. 4:9, 10; m. Eruv. 5:4; m. Yev. 5:4; m. Kid. 2:1; m. Avot 5:15; m. Toh. 6:10; 10:8. ↩
• ^[133] Further examples of אַף בְּזוֹ are found in b. Pes. 32a; b. Men. 15a; 18a. ↩
• ^[134] In LXX χαίρειν is the translation of שָׂמַח in Exod. 4:14; 1 Kgdms. 19:5; 3 Kgdms. 5:21; 4 Kgdms. 11:20; Esth. 8:15; Hos. 9:1; Jonah 4:6; Zech. 4:10; 10:7; Isa. 39:2; Jer. 38[31]:13; Ezek. 7:12. ↩
• ^[135] See Hatch-Redpath, 2:1151-1153. ↩
• ^[136] See Dos Santos, 190. ↩
• ^[137] In LXX ἐγγράφειν occurs in Exod. 36:21; 3 Kgdms. 22:46 (Vaticanus); 2 Chr. 34:31 (Alexandrinus); 1 Macc. 13:40; Jer. 17:13 (Sinaiticus); 28[51]:60 (Alexandrinus); Dan. 12:1. ↩
• ^[138] See Shalom M. Paul, “Heavenly Tablets and the Book of Life,” Journal of the Ancient Near Eastern Society of Columbia University 5 (1973): 345-353. ↩
• ^[139] Divine record keeping is mentioned, for instance, in Exod. 32:32-33; Isa. 34:16-17; 65:6; Mal. 3:16; Ps. 87:6; 139:16; Dan. 7:10. In post-biblical Jewish literature, cf., e.g., 1QH^a IX, 23-24; 4Q180 I, 3; m. Avot 2:1. ↩
• ^[140] Whereas all human events are recorded in the heavenly archive, only the righteous have their names recorded in the Book of Life. ↩
• ^[141] See the similar entreaty in 4QNon-Canonical Psalms B [4Q381] 31 I, 8. ↩
• ^[142] Compare Isa. 4:3 to the phrase כול הכתוב בספר החיים (“each one who is written in the Scroll of Life”; 4QDibHam^a [4Q504] 1-2 VI, 14), and to οὗ οὐ γέγραπται τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ ἀρνίου τοῦ ἐσφαγμένου (“whose name is not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb that was slain”; Rev. 13:8). ↩
• ^[143] To have one’s name written in heaven implies preservation from death, but the ink with which names are recorded in the Book of Life is not indelible. A name could be blotted out of the Scroll of Life (cf. Ps. 69:29) on account of a person’s wicked behavior, while according to later Jewish tradition, the names of everyone on earth came up for review on an annual basis to determine who would be enrolled for life for another year (cf. b. Rosh Hash. 16b). Recognition of this fact alleviates the apparent contradiction between Jesus’ assertion that the names of the Twelve (including Judas Iscariot) are recorded in heaven, and Jesus’ later statements concerning the certainty of Judas’ condemnation (cf. Matt. 26:24; Mark 14:21; Luke 22:22). ↩
• ^[144] See Fitzmyer, 2:860; Nolland, Luke, 2:566. ↩
• ^[145] See Manson, Sayings, 258; Bundy, 336; Fitzmyer, 2:859. ↩
• ^[146] We owe this insight to Gathercole. ↩
• ^[147]

  Return of the Twelve
  Luke’s Anth. Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  ὑπέστρεψαν δὲ οἱ ἑβδομήκοντα δύο μετὰ χαρᾶς λέγοντες κύριε καὶ τὰ δαιμόνια ὑποτάσσεται ἡμῖν ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου εἶπεν δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐθεώρουν τὸν σατανᾶν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ὡς ἀστραπὴν πεσόντα ἰδοὺ δέδωκα ὑμῖν τὴν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν τὴν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ καὶ οὐδὲν ὑμᾶς οὐ μὴ ἀδικήσῃ πλὴν ἐν τούτῳ μὴ χαίρετε ὅτι τὰ πνεύματα ὑμῖν ὑποτάσσετε χαίρετε δὲ ὅτι τὰ ὀνόματα ὑμῶν ἐγγέγραπται ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς		καὶ ὑποστρέψαντες οἱ ἀπόστολοι πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν μετὰ χαρᾶς διηγήσαντο αὐτῷ πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησαν λέγοντες καὶ τὰ δαιμόνια ὑποτάσσεται ἡμῖν ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου εἶπεν δὲ αὐτοῖς εἶδον τὸν σατανᾶν ὡς ἀστραπὴν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ πεσόντα ἰδοὺ δέδωκα ὑμῖν τὴν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν τὴν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ καὶ οὐδὲν ὑμᾶς οὐ μὴ ἀδικήσῃ πλὴν ἐν τούτῳ μὴ χαίρετε ὅτι τὰ πνεύματα ὑμῖν ὑποτάσσεται χαίρετε δὲ ὅτι τὰ ὀνόματα ὑμῶν ἐγγέγραπται ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς
  Total Words:	75	Total Words:	81
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	69	Total Words Taken Over in Luke:	69
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	92.00%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Luke:	85.19%

  Return of the Twelve
  Luke’s FR Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  καὶ ὑποστρέψαντες οἱ ἀπόστολοι διηγήσαντο αὐτῷ ὅσα ἐποίησαν		καὶ ὑποστρέψαντες οἱ ἀπόστολοι πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν μετὰ χαρᾶς διηγήσαντο αὐτῷ πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησαν λέγοντες καὶ τὰ δαιμόνια ὑποτάσσεται ἡμῖν ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου εἶπεν δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐθεώρουν τὸν σατανᾶν ὡς ἀστραπὴν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ πεσόντα ἰδοὺ δέδωκα ὑμῖν τὴν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν τὴν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ καὶ οὐδὲν ὑμᾶς οὐ μὴ ἀδικήσῃ πλὴν ἐν τούτῳ μὴ χαίρετε ὅτι τὰ πνεύματα ὑμῖν ὑποτάσσεται χαίρετε δὲ ὅτι τὰ ὀνόματα ὑμῶν ἐγγέγραπται ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς
  Total Words:	8	Total Words:	81
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	8	Total Words Taken Over in Luke:	8
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	100.00%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Luke:	9.88%

  ↩

• ^[148]

  Return of the Twelve
  Mark’s Version		Anthology’s Wording (Reconstructed)
  καὶ συνάγονται οἱ ἀπόστολοι πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν καὶ ἀπήγγειλαν αὐτῷ πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησαν καὶ ὅσα ἐδίδαξαν		καὶ ὑποστρέψαντες οἱ ἀπόστολοι πρὸς τὸν Ἰησοῦν μετὰ χαρᾶς διηγήσαντο αὐτῷ πάντα ὅσα ἐποίησαν λέγοντες καὶ τὰ δαιμόνια ὑποτάσσεται ἡμῖν ἐν τῷ ὀνόματί σου εἶπεν δὲ αὐτοῖς εἶδον τὸν σατανᾶν ὡς ἀστραπὴν ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ πεσόντα ἰδοὺ δέδωκα ὑμῖν τὴν ἐξουσίαν τοῦ πατεῖν ἐπάνω ὄφεων καὶ σκορπίων καὶ ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν δύναμιν τὴν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ καὶ οὐδὲν ὑμᾶς οὐ μὴ ἀδικήσῃ πλὴν ἐν τούτῳ μὴ χαίρετε ὅτι τὰ πνεύματα ὑμῖν ὑποτάσσεται χαίρετε δὲ ὅτι τὰ ὀνόματα ὑμῶν ἐγγέγραπται ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς
  Total Words:	16	Total Words:	81
  Total Words Identical to Anth.:	10	Total Words Taken Over in Mark:	10
  Percentage Identical to Anth.:	62.50%	Percentage of Anth. Represented in Mark:	12.35%

  ↩

• ^[149] See Bundy, 337. ↩
• ^[150] If there was an allusion in the original introduction of the Return of the Twelve pericope to Exod. 18:8, where Moses reports to Jethro everything the Lord had done for Israel, perhaps there was an intended contrast beween the apostles’ emphasis on the personal level and Moses’ focus on the cosmic level of Israel’s redemption. ↩
• ^[151] For abbreviations and bibliographical references, see “Introduction to ‘The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction.’” ↩
• ^[152] This translation is a dynamic rendition of our reconstruction of the conjectured Hebrew source that stands behind the Greek of the Synoptic Gospels. It is not a translation of the Greek text of a canonical source. ↩