Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 11:17
And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
17. of all nations ] Rather, for all nations. See margin. The words are cited from Isa 56:7.
a den of thieves ] Literally, a cave of robbers or bandits. See Jer 7:11. The distinction is to be borne in mind between “the robber,” brigand or violent spoiler (Mat 21:13; Mat 26:55; Luk 22:52; Joh 18:40; 2Co 11:26), and the “thief” or secret purloiner (Mat 6:19; Joh 12:6 ; 1Th 5:2; Rev 3:3; Rev 16:15). Trench’s Synonyms, 44. What our Lord alludes to is one of “those foul caves which He had so often seen, where brigands wrangled over their ill-gotten gains.” Farrar, Life, II. 205.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 17. And he taught – them] See Clarke on Mt 21:12.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And he taught, saying unto them, is it not written,…. In
Isa 56:7.
My house shall be called of all nations, the house of prayer? For not only the Jews went up to the temple to pray, see Lu 18:10, but the Gentiles also, who became of the Jewish religion, and had a court built for that purpose; and so the whole temple, from hence, was called an house of prayer: and the meaning is, not only that it should be called so by the Gentiles, but that it should be so to them, and made use of by them as such. Jarchi’s note on the clause in Isa 56:7 is, “not for Israel only, but also for the proselytes.”
But ye have made it a den of thieves; for no other, in our Lord’s esteem, were the buyers and sellers of sheep, oxen, and doves, and the money changers, and the priests that encouraged them, and had a profit out of them: now these had their seats, shops, and tables, within the mountain of the house; and even in that part of it, which was assigned to the Gentiles, the nations of the world, who became proselytes, and came up to Jerusalem to worship there at certain times; [See comments on Mt 21:13].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
For all the nations ( ). Mark alone has this phrase from Isa 56:7; Jer 7:11. The people as well as the temple authorities were guilty of graft, extortion, and desecration of the house of prayer. Jesus assumes and exercises Messianic authority and dares to smite this political and financial abuse. Some people deny the right of the preacher to denounce such abuses in business and politics even when they invade the realm of morals and religion. But Jesus did not hesitate.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Of all nations. Which rendering implies, shall be called by all nations. But render with Rev., a house of prayer for all the nations (pasin toiv eqnesin).
Thieves [] . Rev., correctly, robbers. See on Mt 21:13; Mt 26:55; Joh 10:1, 8. From lhiv or leia, booty. In classical usage mostly of cattle. The robber, conducting his operations on a large and systematic scale, and with the aid of bands, is thus to be distinguished from the klepthv, or thief who purloins or pilfers whatever comes to hand. A den would be appropriate to a band of robbers, not to thieves. Thus the traveler to Jericho, in Christ ‘s parable (Luk 10:30), fell among robbers, not thieves
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And He taught, saying unto them,” (kai edidasken kai elegen autois) “And He taught them, rhetorically saying,” for He was ever a teacher.
2) “is it not written, My house shall be called,” (ou gegraptai hoti ho oikos mou klethesetai) ”Has it not been written (in the scriptures) that my house shall be called,” identified as, Jer 7:10-11.
3) “Of all nations the house of prayer?” (oikos proseuches pasin tois ethnesin) “For all nations an house of prayer?” If any nation should morally, ethically, and spiritually deserve the term, shouldn’t my cent worship have such reverence? Isa 56:7; 2Ch 7:1.
4) “But ye have made it a den of thieves.” (hume pepoiekate auton spelaton leston) “Yet you al commercial merchandizers) have made it, and it now is a den of robbers,” or thieves, as described Joh 2:12-17; Luk 19:46.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
‘And he taught and said to them, “Is it not written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations, but you have made it a brigands’ cave.”
In John His action had merely been to clear the Temple, telling them not to turn the Temple into a shop, but here He not only did that but also ‘taught’ and drew the attention of people to the full situation. The quotation is a combination of two Scriptures, made up of Isa 56:7 ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples’ and Jer 7:11, ‘is this house, which is called by my name, become a brigands’ cave in your eyes?’ ‘For all the nations’ was particularly relevant because it took place in the Court of the Gentiles. That was where the God-fearers, non-circumcised Gentile believers, could come to pray.
Jesus’ first concern was thus that the Temple was intended to be a house of prayer where all people could come and meet with God. But what chance were the Gentiles being given here?
However, to call that part of the Temple a shop, as He did the first time, was one thing (no one could really deny it), to teach that it was ‘a brigands’ cave’ was quite another. That involved the very highest authorities in dishonesty. They were being accused of swindling the people. How far the swindling and profiteering went we do not know for certain, but some of the High Priests had a reputation for greed and avarice, (one 1st century High Priest, Ananias, was called ‘the procurer of money’ by Josephus) and anyone who suggests that all was straight dealing does not know human nature, especially as regards Jewish businessmen. In fact Rabbinic evidence points to the excessively high price of the doves, and the avarice and hatred in connection with the Temple is mentioned in T.Menahoth. Everyone, of course, knew of the feared brigand’s caves in the country between Jerusalem and Jericho. It would not be a nice thought to be associated with them.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
Ver. 17. My house shall be called, &c. ] He inveighs against the same fault with the same arguments as before, Joh 2:16-17 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
17. ] ., omitted in Matt. and Luke, but contained in the prophecy: ‘mentioned by Mark as writing for Gentile Christians.’ Meyer, but qu.?
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 11:17 . covers more than what He said just then, pointing to a course of teaching ( cf. Mar 11:18 and Luk 19:47 ). Here again we note that while Mt. speaks of a healing ministry in the temple (Mat 21:14 ) Mk. gives prominence to teaching. Yet Mt. gives a far fuller report of the words spoken by Jesus during the last week. , to all the Gentiles, as in Isa 56:7 , omitted in the parallels; very suitable in view of the fact that the traffic went on in the court of the Gentiles. A foreshadowing of Christian universalism. , ye have made it and it now is.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
ls it not written. ? = Doth it not stand written that, &c. The composite quotation is from Isa 56:7 and Jer 7:11 See App-107.
of = for.
nations = the nations. See App-107.
prayer. App-134.
thieves = robbers, or brigands. Greek. lestes. Compare Mat 21:13; Mat 26:55 Joh 10:1, Joh 10:8. Not kleptes = a thief.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
17.] ., omitted in Matt. and Luke, but contained in the prophecy:-mentioned by Mark as writing for Gentile Christians.-Meyer, but qu.?
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 11:17. , He taught) The addition of teaching makes punishment salutary in its effect.- , to all nations) Construe with the house of prayer. Comp. the accents, Isa 56:7 [My house shall be called an house of prayer for all people.]
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Is it: 1Ki 8:41-48, Isa 56:7, Isa 60:7, Luk 19:46
of all nations the house of prayer: or, an house of prayer for all nations
a den: Jer 7:11, Hos 12:7, Joh 2:16
Reciprocal: Psa 74:3 – all Pro 29:24 – partner Isa 1:23 – companions Isa 23:11 – the merchant city Mat 21:13 – ye Joh 10:10 – thief Rom 2:22 – sacrilege Rev 18:15 – which
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
7
The place where this saying is written is Isa 56:7. Jesus called it a den of thieves because they were taking advantage of the situation to charge undue fees for their transactions; they were profiteering.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 11:17. For all the nations. Part of the original prophecy (Isa 56:7) and of the quotation also; but the stress cannot be laid upon it, since Matthew and Luke omit it. It shows the independence and accuracy of this Evangelist.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
11:17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be {d} called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.
(d) Will openly be considered and taken to be so.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The Isaiah prophecy was a prediction yet unfulfilled as well as a statement of God’s perennial intent for the temple. In Jesus’ mouth it was also a prophecy of conditions in the messianic kingdom (cf. Zec 14:21).
Mark added "for all the nations," which Matthew omitted from Isa 56:7. The phrase has special significance for Gentile readers. God permitted Gentiles to come and worship Him in the temple court of the Gentiles indicating His desire to bring them into relationship with Himself.
The Jewish leaders, however, had made this practically impossible by converting the only place Gentiles could pray in the temple complex into a market where fraud abounded. They had expelled the Gentile worshippers to make room for Jewish robbers.
Jesus was claiming that the temple belonged to Him rather than to the Jewish leaders by cleaning it up. The quotation He cited from Isaiah presented the temple as God’s house. Thus Jesus was claiming to be God.
"The third stage in the progressive disclosure of Jesus’ identity [to the reader] focuses on the secret that he is the Son of God." [Note: Kingsbury, p. 46. Cf. 8:27-30; 10:46-11:11 and 12:35-37.]