Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 9:18
And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
18. wheresoever ] According to St Matthew these crises had a connection with changes of the moon (Mat 17:15).
he teareth him ] Probably this manifested itself in violent convulsions, St Vitus’ dance, or the like.
pineth away ] “wexip drye,” Wyclif. The word may denote either that he pined away like one, the very springs of whose life were dried up, or that in the paroxysms of his disorder his limbs became unnaturally stiff and stark. The fundamental form of his malady was epilepsy in its worst form, accompanied by dumbness, atrophy, and suicidal mania (Mar 9:22).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 18. Pineth away] By these continual torments; so he was not only deaf and dumb, but sorely tortured besides.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
18. And wheresoever he taketh him,he teareth him; and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, andpineth awayrather, “becomes withered,” “driedup,” or “paralyzed”; as the same word is everywhereelse rendered in the New Testament. Some additional particulars aregiven by Luke, and by our Evangelist below. “Lo,” says hein Lu 9:39, “a spirittaketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that hefoameth again, and bruising him hardly [or with difficulty] departethfrom him.”
and I spake to thy disciplesthat they should cast him out; and they could notOur Lordreplies to the father by a severe rebuke to the disciples. As ifwounded at the exposure before such a multitude, of the weakness ofHis disciples’ faith, which doubtless He felt as a reflection onHimself, He puts them to the blush before all, but in language fittedonly to raise expectation of what He Himself would do.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And wheresoever he taketh him,…. The spirit, or devil, whether it be near fire, or water, whatsoever danger, or dangerous place:
he teareth him; or throws him into it, or dashes him against it; or inwardly racks, tortures, and convulses him:
and he foameth; at the mouth, like one that is mad:
and gnasheth with his teeth; through the excessive pain he is in:
and pineth away; his flesh is withered, dried up, and consumed away. This was the sad deplorable case this child was in, who was his father’s only child, and therefore his health and life were very desirable: now he further observes to Christ, saying,
and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out, and they could not. Christ being absent, he entreated the disciples, who had power against unclean spirits, to cast them out; that they would make use of it, and dispossess this dumb and evil spirit; and who did make trial to cast him out, but were not able to effect it;
[See comments on Mt 17:16].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Wheresoever it taketh him ( ). Seizes him down. Our word catalepsy is this same word. The word is used by Galen and Hippocrates for fits. The word is very common in the papyri in various senses as in the older Greek. Each of the verbs here in Mark is a graphic picture.
Dashes down (). Also , form. Convulses, rends, tears asunder. Old and common word.
Foameth (). Here only in the N.T. Poetic and late word.
Grindeth (). Another hapax legomenon in the N.T. Old word for making a shrill cry or squeak.
Pineth away (). Old word for drying or withering as of grass in Jas 1:11.
And they were not able ( ). They did not have the strength () to handle this case. See Matt 17:16; Luke 9:40 ( , first aorist passive). It was a tragedy.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
It taketh him [] . Lit., seizeth hold of him. Our word catalepsy is derived from this.
Teareth [] . Rev., dasheth down, with rendeth in margin. The verb is a form of rJhgnumi, to break. The form rJhssw is used in classical Greek of dancers beating the ground, and of beating drums. Later, in the form rJassein, a term of fighters : to fell, or knock down, which is the sense adopted by Rev.
Gnasheth with his teeth. Rev., grindeth. This and the pining away are peculiar to Mark.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) ”And wheresoever he taketh him,” (kai hopou ean auton katalabei) “And wherever and whenever he (it) the dumb spirit seizes him,” seizes my son, takes hold of and leads him as he has intermittent seizures.
2) ”He teareth him, (hressei auton) ”He tears him,” brutally breaks his flesh, with spasms.
3) ”And he foameth,” (kai aphrizei) ”And. he (my son) foams,” from the mouth, or has foaming from the mouth that is dumb, can not speak.
4) ”And gnasheth with his teeth,” (kai trizei tous odontas) ”And grinds or grates his teeth,” or grinds and. grates with his teeth in pain.
5) ”And pineth away (kai kserainitai) ”And he then just pines (or faints) away,” He just withers, as in a faint, with epilepsy, becomes in a comatose state
6) “And I spake to thy disciples,” (kai eipa tois mathetais sou) ”And. I related it to your disciples,” told them of his illness and affliction.
7) ”That they should cast him out,” (hina auto ekbalosin) ”That (in order that), hoping that, they might expel,” cast out the dumb, seizing spirit.
8) “And they could not.” (kai ouk ischusan) “And they were not able,” strong enough, Mar 6:7. He could not speak or praise the Lord. Such as those that Jesus had healed, Mat 12:22; Luk 11:14.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
16 And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?
17 And one of the multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
Ver. 18. Teareth him ] “Teareth him as dogs do:” so the Greek word signifieth, Mat 7:6 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
18. . ] wastes or pines away, as E. V., or perhaps becomes dry or stiff.
combines the purpose of the with the purport: see note on 1Co 14:13 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 9:18 . . , wherever it happens to seize him. The possession ( , Mar 9:17 ) is conceived of as intermittent; “the way of the spirit inferred from the characteristic phenomena of the disease” ( The Miraculous Element in the Gospels , p. 181). Then follows a graphic description of the ensuing symptoms: spasms ( , a late form of ), foaming ( from : he, the boy, foameth), grinding of the teeth ( . .), then the final stage of motionless stupor graphically described as withering ( ), for which Euthy. gives as an equivalent , and Weizscker “und wird starr ”.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
he taketh = it seizeth hold of.
he teareth him = it dasheth him down.
and. Note the Figure of speech Polysyndeton, App-6, emphasizing each detail.
foameth = foameth [at the mouth].
gnasheth = grindeth. This and “pineth away” are a Divine supplement, here.
could not = had not [the] power to.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
18. .] wastes or pines away, as E. V., or perhaps becomes dry or stiff.
combines the purpose of the with the purport: see note on 1Co 14:13.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 9:18. , he taketh him) The term [demoniacal] possession, seems too narrow to express the idea here.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
teareth him: or, dasheth him, Mar 9:26, Mat 15:22, Luk 9:39
he foameth: As these symptoms accord very much with those of epileptic persons, some have ventured to assert that it was no real possession; but the evangelist expressly affirms that he had a “dumb spirit” which tare him, that our Lord charged him to “come out of him,” etc. Mar 9:20, Jud 1:13
gnasheth: Job 16:9, Psa 112:10, Mat 8:12, Act 7:54
and they: Mar 9:28, Mar 9:29, Mar 11:23, 2Ki 4:29-31, Mat 17:16, Mat 17:19-21, Luk 9:40
Reciprocal: Job 18:4 – teareth Mat 17:15 – for Mar 5:3 – General Luk 8:43 – had
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
8
These symptoms were the effects this particular spirit had on the boy. The possession of evil spirits did not always work the same, the reason for which is not made known in the text. The father then stated that the disciples could not cast the evil spirit out of his son.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 9:18. Wheresoever it seizeth him. The symptoms, as described here and by the other Evangelists, are those of epilepsy. The fits were sudden, but the dumbness seems to have been continuous.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
9:18 And wheresoever he taketh him, he {f} teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth with his teeth, and pineth away: and I spake to thy disciples that they should cast him out; and they could not.
(f) Vexes him inwardly, as the colic does.