Mark 7:3-4 NIV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Mark 7:1-23

One great design of Christ's coming, was, to set aside the ceremonial law which God made, and to put an end to it; to make way for which he begins with the ceremonial law which men had made, and added to the law of God's making, and discharges his disciples from the obligation of that; which here he doth fully, upon occasion of the offence which the Pharisees took at them for the violation of it. These Pharisees and scribes with whom he had this argument, are said to come from Jerusalem down... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Mark 7:1-4

7:1-4 There gathered together to Jesus the Pharisees, and some of the experts in the law who had come down from Jerusalem. They saw that some of his disciples ate their bread with hands which were ceremonially unclean, that is to say hands which had not undergone the prescribed washings; for the Pharisees, and all the Jews, who hold to the traditions of the ciders, do not eat unless they wash their hands, using the fist as the law prescribes; and when they come in from the market-place they... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Mark 7:3

For the Pharisees, and all the Jews ,.... The far greater part of them; all, excepting the Sadducees; and especially the Pharisees, were very tenacious of this tradition of washing hands before eating: hence Pharisees are described as such, אוכלי חוליהן בטהרה , "that eat their common food with cleanness" F14 Gloss in T. Bab. Chagiga, fol. 18. 2. Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Chagiga, c. 2. sect. 7. , i.e. of hands: these, except they wash their hands oft, eat not ; or... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Mark 7:4

And when they come from the market ,.... In Beza's most ancient copy, and in one of Stephens's, it is read as we supply, "when they come": wherefore this respects not things bought in the market, a sense favoured by all the Oriental versions, for many of them could not be washed; but the persons of the Scribes and Pharisees, who when they came from market, or from any court of judicature, immersed themselves all over in water, according to the true sense of the word βαπτιζω , here used:... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Mark 7:3

Except they wash their hands - πυγμῃ , the hand to the wrist - Unless they wash the hand up to the wrist, eat not. Several translations are given of this word; that above is from Dr. Lightfoot, who quotes a tradition from the rabbins, stating that the hands were to be thus washed. This sort of washing was, and still continues to be, an act of religion in the eastern countries. It is particularly commanded in the Koran, Surat v. ver. 7, "O believers, when ye wish to pray, wash your faces,... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Mark 7:4

And when they come - This clause is added by our translators, to fill up the sense; but it was probably a part of the original: for εαν ελθωσι is the reading of the Codex Bezae, Vulgate, Armenian, and most of the Itala. The clause in my old MS. Bible is read thus: And thei turninge agein fro chepinge . The words seem essentially necessary to a proper understanding of the text; and, if not admitted on the above authority, they must be supplied in italics, as in our common translation. ... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:1-23

Ceremonialism and spirituality. The teaching of our Lord Jesus was often in opposition to that of the religious leaders of his age and nation. The Pharisees and scribes were most religious, but their religion was of a bad type. They themselves practiced, and they inculcated upon the people, the observance of religious forms and ceremonies; whilst, generally speaking, they were negligent of the weightier matters of the Law. They laid great stress upon the outward, but they were careless of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:1-23

Externalism versus righteousness. In Mark 7:3 , Mark 7:4 of this chapter we are furnished with an interesting piece of antiquarianism. The daily life of the devout Jew is set before us in its ceremonial aspect; not as Moses had originally ordered it, but as custom and human casuistry had gradually transformed it. The light thrown upon several questions is very searching and full of revelation, viz. the various senses in which baptism seems to have been understood by the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:1-23

The ritual and the reality of purification. I. THE MOST NATURAL ACT MAY BE PERVERTED INTO A RITUAL SIN . The disciples were seen eating with unholy hands, that is, unwashed! How this came about we are not told; probably it was a case of necessity: there was no water to be had. Probably it was a choice between going without food and being ritually correct, or being ritually incorrect and supplying the wants of nature. II. THE MEANING AND USE OF RITUAL IS... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:1-23

The tradition of men in competition with the commandments of God. Pharisees and scribes of Jerusalem had detected some of the disciples of Jesus eating bread "with defiled, that is, with unwashen, hands." "Holding the tradition of the elders" with great tenacity themselves, they demand of the new Teacher a reason for his disciples' departure from the old paths. It was a favorable opportunity for exposing the error of substituting human for Divine precepts, and for placing the external in... read more

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Mark 7:1-23

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Mark 7:1-4

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Mark 7:3

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Mark 7:4

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Mark 7:3

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Mark 7:4

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:1-23

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:1-23

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:1-23

The Pulpit Commentary - Mark 7:1-23

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