Frank Zindler special pleading on Mark 1:9 disassembled by Bart Ehrman

Steven Avery

Administrator
Bart Ehrman
(2015)
https://ehrmanblog.org/more-on-the-name-nazareth/
(2023)
https://ehrmanblog.org/did-nazareth-even-exist/

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Frank Zindler, for example, in a cleverly entitled essay, “Where Jesus Never Walked,” tries to deconstruct on a fairly simple level the geographical places associated with Jesus, especially Nazareth. He claims that Mark’s Gospel never states that Jesus came from Nazareth. This flies in the face, of course, of Mark 1:9, which indicates precisely that this is where Jesus did come from (“Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee”), but Zindler maintains that that verse was not originally part of Mark; it was inserted by a later scribe. In my view, this making a historical claim based on “convenience.” If a text says precisely what you think it could not have said, then all you need to do is claim that originally it must have said something else.

Did Jesus Exist (2012)
https://ia601503.us.archive.org/35/...bart-ehrman/Did Jesus Exist (Bart Ehrman).pdf

Salm, like Zindler, wants to insist that Mark did not indicate that Jesus came from Nazareth: Mark 1:9, for him, is a later insertion.
 
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Steven Avery

Administrator
Zindler
Where Jesus Never Walked

The city is named only in the gospels and the book of Acts. The oldest of the gospels is that attributed to a certain Mark, even though the authors of its various components are utterly unknown. Mark, unlike the later gospels, mentions Nazareth only once: in chapter 1, verse 9, which tells us that “Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee.” It is of more than a little interest to learn that scholars suspect this verse to be a later addition just like the last twelve verses of the gospel. If this be true — and I am quite certain* that it is 2 — this leaves the oldest gospel without any knowledge of a place called Nazareth. 3 ** Once Nazareth found its way into the gospel of Mark, it grew in importance in the later gospels. One might say that for Jesus to make a mark in the world, it was necessary to make a world in Mark!
 
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Steven Avery

Administrator

why did Josephus relate Capharnaum.to Alexandria and the Nile

In The Jewish War (3.10.8), Flavius Josephus linked Capharnaum to the Nile and Alexandria because of a local, fertile spring (modern-day Ayn Tabgha) that produced the coracin (catfish), a type of fish otherwise thought unique to the Nile near Alexandria. This led some to believe the spring was an underground vein of the Nile. [1, 2]

Reasons for the Comparison
    • The Coracin Fish: Josephus noted that the spring of Capharnaum teemed with the coracin fish, matching the waters of Alexandria. [1, 2]
    • Popular Belief: He recorded that local people and contemporary thinkers considered the spring to be a subterranean branch or vein connected to the Nile due to this shared aquatic life. [1, 2]
    • Geographical Description: Josephus used this remarkable local lore to praise the rich, warm, and highly fertile agricultural character of the Gennesaret plain watered by that spring. [1]

Would you like to explore more about the historical geography of Galilee or Josephus's descriptions of ancient towns in The Jewish War?
 

Steven Avery

Administrator
Samuel Henry Hooke (1874-1968)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S._H._Hooke

Jesus by Charles Guigenbert
https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.217154/page/n103/mode/1up

AI Overview

S. H. Hooke (Samuel Henry Hooke) was a prominent British biblical scholar and anthropologist known for the "Myth and Ritual" school of thought. His connection to "Nazareth" primarily stems from his English translations of major German and French theological works concerning Jesus of Nazareth, such as Charles Guignebert's book Jesus and works by Joachim Jeremias.
Sage Journals +2

Key Contexts
  • Translation Work: Hooke translated important historical-critical studies on Jesus of Nazareth from European scholars.
    Vridar +1
  • Myth and Ritual: Hooke focused on ancient Near Eastern backgrounds, analyzing how early traditions and mythologies shaped the context of figures like Jesus.
    Biblical Training.org
  • Biblical Studies: His academic output centers heavily on comparative religion, ritual patterns in the ancient Near East, and their reflection in biblical texts.
If you are looking for information on a specific book, essay, or translation by S. H. Hooke that mentions Nazareth or Jesus, please let me know so I can give you the exact details.
 
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