Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 5:38
And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.
38. them that wept ] These were the hired mourners, chiefly women; whose business it was to beat their breasts (Luk 8:52), and to make loud lamentations at funerals; comp 2Ch 35:25; Jer 9:17-18; Amo 5:16. The Rabbinic rule provided for the poorest Israelite at least two flute-players, and one mourning woman. “A Ruler of the Synagogue, bereaved of his only child, may well have been prodigal in the expression of his grief.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 38. He cometh] But , they come, is the reading of ABCDF, four others, and several versions.
Wept and wailed] See Clarke on Mt 9:23.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
38. And he comethrather,”they come.”
to the house of the ruler ofthe synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailedgreatly“the minstrels and the people making a noise”(Mt 9:23) lamenting for thedead. (See 2Ch 35:25; Jer 9:20;Amo 5:16).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue,…. Along with him, and the three disciples above mentioned; and the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions read, “and they came”, the above persons:
and seeing the tumult; the throng and crowd of people, of relations, friends, neighbours, and acquaintance, on this occasion, all in a hurry, and in one motion or another, expressing their concern by words and gestures.
And them that wept and wailed bitterly; the mourning women, the same with the “preficae” of the Romans, who sung mournful songs, and made hideous noises, being hired for this purpose; as also those who played doleful tunes on musical instruments; [See comments on Mt 9:23].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Wailing greatly ( ). An onomatopoetic word from Pindar down. The soldiers on entering battle cried . Used of clanging cymbals (1Co 13:1). Like in Jas 5:1. It is used here of the monotonous wail of the hired mourners.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Seeth [] . Rev., beholdeth. See on verse 15.
Wailing [] . A descriptive word of the hired mourners crying al – a – lai!
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And He cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue,” (kai erchontai eis ton oikon tou archisunagogou) “And they entered into the residence of the synagogue chief,” Mar 5:35.
2) “And seeth the tumult,” (kai theorei thorubon) “And He observed the uproar,” the emotional clamor and tumult, as some comforted the mother, some made funeral arrangements, and professional mourners arrived to begin a vigil of mourning as a custom of the day.
3) “And them that wept and wailed greatly.” (kai klaiontas kai alalagontas polla) “And those both weeping and crying aloud very much repeatedly,” a gesture and custom of the Jews to show care for the deceased, Joh 11:19; Joh 11:31-34.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(38) Wailed greatly.The word used is the same as that in 1Co. 13:1, in connection with the tinkling (or better, clanging) sound of a cymbal, and, formed as it is from an interjection, alala, is applied to the inarticulate cries either of despair or victory.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And they come to the house of the ruler of the synagogue and he sees a tumult, and great weeping and wailing.’
The funeral preparations had already begun, and that required loud and public mourning. This would include the presence of paid professional mourners to ensure that the dead were mourned adequately. Their purpose was in order to demonstrate the deep concern of the family about the death, wailing and demonstrating loudly and enabling the family to mourn more quietly. That there had been time to call in professional mourners indicated that the death had been expected and preparations had already been made. Jairus’ steward would have arranged for them. It is possible that Jairus had left not saying where he was going, and besides his attempt would probably only seen as a desperate chance. Most were probably resigned to the death.
‘A tumult and great weeping and wailing.’ More than just private grief. This is not just the numbed grief of those close to the girl as they await the father’s return. This readiness for the girl’s death indicates how desperate had been her father’s last vain effort, a last desperate hope when all hope was really gone.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Recalling the dead girl to life:
v. 38. And He cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.
v. 39. And when He was come in,. He saith unto them, Why make ye this ado and weep? The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.
v. 40. And they laughed Him to scorn. But when He had put them all out, He taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with Him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying.
v. 41. And He took the damsel by the hand and said unto her, Talitha, cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise.
v. 42. And straightway the damsel arose and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.
v. 43. And He charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat. Upon arriving at the house of Jairus, they were met by sights and sounds that emphasized the fact of a dead person’s being on the premises. Even the poorest Jews felt constrained to hire two pipers and at least one woman to take care of the mourning in the case of a death. Note: Mark calls attention, above all, to the turmoil, to the confused din caused by the many mourners; Matthew speaks of the minstrels and the piping; Luke refers to the weeping and bewailing. They were busily engaged when Jesus stepped into the house with His companions, weeping and howling without restraint. But Jesus took charge of the situation at once. He reproached them for the noise they were making, stating that the child was not dead, but sleeping. Those were the words of a man that lived in the certainty of the resurrection, Jesus Christ, the Master of death, who has conquered and bound death. “These words we should diligently note, that the Lord here says: The damsel is not dead, but sleepeth; for they are comforting words, for which, if they were purchasable, we should gladly pay all, in order that we might remember, understand, and believe them. For he that can look upon a dead person as though he were merely lying in bed; he that can change his eyesight so that he can look upon death as a sleep,-he might well boast of a peculiar art, which no man otherwise possesses. Therefore learn from this gospel that death, in the sight of Christ the Lord, is nothing but a sleep, as we see here that He wakes the dead maiden with the hand, as out of a sleep. ” The derisive laughter of the official mourners did not deter the Lord for a minute. He cast them all out of the house, not one as permitted to remain as witness of the miracle. He then took the father and mother of the maiden, as the parents, and His three disciples as witnesses, went into the room of death, grasped the maiden by the hand, and spoke the almighty words: Maiden, arise. He used the Aramaic language, which was probably the tongue which He learned as a boy, and which He commonly employed in His discourses. Mark translates the words for the sake of his Roman readers. Death was obliged to flee at the words of Christ, it must yield its hold on the maiden’s body. The girl could get up from her couch, she could walk about, she could partake of food; in short, she was returned to life, she was fully recovered. And she could now sustain life by the usual means. No wonder that those present, parents and disciples, were astonished and wrought up almost to ecstasy, since this miracle was the first one to show the power of Christ over the most dreaded enemy of mankind. Jesus finally gave them all orders that they should not make it public. He wants no false Messianic hopes to be aroused, and the way and manner of the restoration should also not be made a matter of common talk. Especially should the expectation of the repetition of such acts not be awakened in the people, lest His ministry be seriously interfered with. We have in Jesus, to this day, the Lord that can save from death. And when Christ, our Life, will be made manifest on that great day, then He will awaken, by the almighty power of His voice, all our dead relatives and friends, and will take all that died in the faith in Him, into the eternal home above which He has prepared for them that love Him. “We should, then, learn from this gospel that all misfortune, no matter how great it appears before thine eyes, is before our Lord Jesus less than nothing. For since death in a Christian is nothing, then blindness, leprosy, pestilence, and other sickness must be still smaller and of less import. Therefore, if Thou seest sin, sickness, poverty, or anything else in thee, do not let this terrify thee; close thy carnal eyes and open the spiritual ones, and say: I am a Christian, and I have a Lord who with one word can stop all this foolishness; why should I be so seriously worried about it? For certain it is, as easily as Christ helps this maiden out of bodily death, in which she was lying, so easily will He help us also, if only we believe and trust Him to help us.”
Summary. Jesus drives out the devils from the Gadarene demoniac and makes him His witness in the region of Decapolis; He then returns to the west side of the sea, heals the, woman with the issue of blood, and raises the daughter of Jairus from the dead.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mar 5:38. And he cometh to the house, &c. Namely, from the street, for that was the proper time to hinder the crowd from accompanying him. See Luk 8:51. It seems, the mother of the damsel, on seeing that Jesus was nigh, had gone out to the street to conduct him in, or waited for him in the porch of her house to receive him. See on Ch. Mar 2:4. With the attendance above mentioned, Jesus went up stairs where the damsel was lying, for they used to lay their dead in upper rooms. See Act 9:37. Here he found a number of people in an outer apartment making lamentation for her, according to the custom of the Jews, with music, see Mat 9:23. The company at theruler’shouse,when Jesus came in, being employed in making such lamentation for the damsel, as they used to make for the dead, it is evident that they all believed she was actually departed: wherefore, when Jesus told them that she was not dead, Mar 5:39 he did not mean that her soul was not separated from her body, but that it was not to continue so, which was the idea the mourners affixed to the word death. Her state he expressed by saying that she slept; using the word in a sense somewhat analogous to that which the Jews put upon it, when in speaking of a person’s death they called it sleep, to intimate their belief of his existence and happiness in the other world, together with their hope of a future resurrection to a new life. On this occasion the phrase was madeuse of with singular propriety, to insinuate, that notwithstanding the maid was already dead, she should not long continue so. Jesus was going to raise her from the dead, and would do it with as much ease as they awaked one that was asleep. See Joh 11:11-13.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
38 And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.
Ver. 38. See Trapp on “ Mat 9:23 “ See Trapp on “ Mat 9:24 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
38. ] The after takes out one particular from the general description before given: see reff.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 5:38 . : what was I going on within the house appealed to both eye and ear; here the scene is described from the spectacular side a multitude of people seen making a confused din ( ), in which sounds of weeping and howling without restraint ( ) are distinguishable. after is epexegetic, and and special features under it as a general. Flute playing (Mat 9:23 ) not referred to.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
to. Greek. eis, as in Mar 5:1.
wailed. Crying alalai, alalai, from the Greek verb Melanin Jewish mourning cries. Occurs elsewhere only in 1Co 13:1.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
38.] The after takes out one particular from the general description before given: see reff.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 5:38. , them that chanted the funeral dirge) in order to diminish and soothe the sorrowful thoughts of the mourners.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
and seeth: Jer 9:17-20, Mat 9:23, Mat 9:24, Mat 11:17, Luk 8:52, Luk 8:53, Act 9:39
Reciprocal: Gen 50:1 – wept Job 3:8 – who are ready Ecc 7:4 – heart Ecc 12:5 – the mourners Jer 31:16 – Refrain
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8
When Jesus arrived at the house a tumultuous crowd had gathered and the people were weeping and wailing as was the custom upon a death in a home.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 5:38. Beholdeth a tumult. Mark gives prominence to the noise common in such circumstances; Matthew, to the minstrels; Luke, to the weeping. Evidently the same scene is described and the accounts derived from eye-wit-nesses. See on Mat 9:23.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Mar 5:38-42. He seeth the tumult The crowd of people that wept and wailed greatly Greek , howling much, as some render the word. From several passages of Scripture, (see Jer 9:17; Jer 16:6-7; Eze 24:17,) it appears that the people of the East used to bewail the dead by tearing their hair, and cutting their flesh, and crying most bitterly. Nor did the relations of the deceased content themselves with these expressions of violent grief. They hired persons of both sexes, whose employment it was to mourn over the dead in the like frantic manner, and who besides sung doleful ditties, in which honourable mention was made of the age, the beauty, the strength, the courage, the virtues, and the actions of the deceased, with an intention to increase the sorrow of the afflicted relations. In process of time they accompanied these lamentations with music, particularly of flutes, (Josephus, Bell., Mar 3:8,) a custom which prevailed likewise in the West. Ovid, Fast., lib. 6, Cantabant mstis tibia funeribus. But the Jews were forbidden to tear their hair and cut their flesh in mourning for the dead, (Lev 19:28; Deu 14:1,) because such expressions of grief were inconsistent with resignation to the divine will, and looked as if they had no hope of their friends resurrection. Hence the apostles precept, 1Th 4:13, Sorrow not as others which have no hope. Besides, these rites were practised by the heathen, as a kind of sacrifices to the manes of the dead. Macknight.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 38
The tumult. Neighbors and friends were accustomed to express their sympathy, on such occasions of domestic sorrow, by loud lamentations.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
Jesus dismissed one crowd but found another one waiting for Him at Jairus’ house. [Note: Swete, p. 107.] As was customary, paid mourners were already at work weeping, wailing, singing, playing flutes, and clapping their hands (cf. Jer 9:17; Amo 5:16). [Note: Cf. H. Van der Loos, The Miracles of Jesus, p. 568.] The Mishnah specified that even the poorest husband had to hire at least two flute players and one female to wail when his wife died. [Note: Mishnah Ketuboth 4:4.] Evidently the little girl’s death was so expected that mourners were ready the moment she died.