Mark

denotes "a stamp, impress," translated "mark" in Revelation 13:16,17 , etc. See GRAVEN.

denotes "a tattooed mark" or "a mark burnt in, a brand" (akin to stizo, "to prick"), translated "marks" in Galatians 6:17 . "It is probable that the Apostle refers to the physical sufferings he had endured since he began to proclaim Jesus as Messiah and Lord [e.g., at Lystra and Philippi]. It is probable, too, that this reference to his scars was intended to set off the insistence of the Judaizers upon a body-mark which cost them nothing. Over against the circumcision they demanded as a proof of obedience to the law he set the indelible tokens, sustained in his own body, of his loyalty to the Lord Jesus. As to the origin of the figure, it was indeed customary for a master to brand his slaves, but this language does not suggest that the Apostle had been branded by His Master. Soldiers and criminals also were branded on occasion; but to neither of these is the case of Paul as here described analogous. The religious devotee branded himself with the peculiar mark of the god whose cult he affected; so was Paul branded with the marks of his devotion to the Lord Jesus. It is true such markings were forbidden by the law, Leviticus 19:28 , but then Paul had not inflicted these on himself.

primarily "a watcher, watchman" (as in the Sept., e.g., Ezekiel 3:17 ), then, "a mark on which to fix the eye" (akin to skopeo, "to look at"), is used metaphorically in Philippians 3:14 , of "an aim or object," RV, "goal." See GOAL.