This is a continuation of my notes on 3 John for the preaching class I’m taking. John wrote (3 John 1:11 ESV):

Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good (τὸ ἀγαθόν). Whoever does good¹ is from God (ἐκ τοῦ θεοῦ ἐστιν); whoever does evil has not seen God.

I wondered, “How does Jesus relate to ἀγαθόν (good)?”²

And as he was setting out on his journey, a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and mother.’” And he said³ to him, “Teacher, all these I have kept from my youth.” And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You⁴ lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the⁵ poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”⁶

The Greek is: Καὶ ἐκπορευομένου αὐτοῦ εἰς ὁδὸν, And as he was setting out on his journey, προσδραμὼν, ran up, εἷς, a man (literally, “one”), καὶ γονυπετήσας αὐτὸν, and knelt before him, ἐπηρώτα αὐτόν, and asked him, διδάσκαλε ἀγαθέ, Good Teacher, τί ποιήσω, what must I do (or “what might I do”), ἵνα ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσω, to inherit eternal life?

I want to consider the differences in the critical and received texts of Matthew 19:16-21 as Mark 10:17-21 becomes accessible for comparison.

In the received text of Matthew 19:16b διδασκαλε was modified by αγαθε, Good Master (KJV), as it was in Mark 10:17b, Good Teacher (ESV); αγαθε is absent from the critical text, Teacher (ESV), while ἀγαθόν is absent from Mark 10:17b though present in both the critical, good deed (ESV), and received texts, good thing (KJV), of Matthew 19:16b. In the received text εχω, I may have (KJV, understood in the subjunctive rather than the indicative mood), is complemented by σχῶ (a form of εχω), to have (ESV) or “I might have,” in the critical text, where κληρονομήσω, to inherit (ESV), occurs in Mark 10:17b.

Mark 10:18 continues: ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτῷ, And Jesus said to him, τί με λέγεις ἀγαθόν, Why do you call me good? οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ θεός, No one is good except God alone.

The received text of Matthew 19:17b is identical to the critical text of Mark 10:18b; the critical text of Matthew 19:17b is significantly different: ἐρωτᾷς περὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ, do you ask…about what is good (ESV), rather than λεγεις ἀγαθόν, callest thou…good (KJV); εἷς ἐστιν ὁ ἀγαθός, There is only one who is good (ESV), literally “one is the good,” rather than ουδεις αγαθος ει μη εις ο θεος, there is none good but one, that is, God (KJV). Yet, except for the placement of εἰσελθεῖν, Matthew 19:17c is identical in the critical and received texts and differs significantly from Mark 10:19a.

Mark 10:19 continues: τὰς ἐντολὰς οἶδας, You know the commandments, μὴ φονεύσῃς, Do not murder, μὴ μοιχεύσῃς, Do not commit adultery, μὴ κλέψῃς, Do not steal, μὴ ψευδομαρτυρήσῃς, Do not bear false witness, μὴ ἀποστερήσῃς, Do not defraud, τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα, Honor your father and mother.

Though Jesus cited six commandments to both men, the more general You shall love your neighbor as yourself in Matthew 19:19 is replaced by the more specific Do not defraud in Mark 10:19. A note (31) in the NET described this as “an allusion” (see table below) to Deuteronomy 24:14.

You shall not oppress (ʿāšaq, תַעֲשֹׁק; Septuagint: ἀπαδικήσεις μισθὸν, unjustly withhold the wages of) a hired worker who is poor and needy, whether he is one of your brothers or one of the sojourners who are in your land within your towns.⁷

The Greek verb translated Do…defraud was ἀποστερήσῃς, a form of ἀποστερέω. Two occurrences of forms of ἀποστερέω are found in the Septuagint (Malachi 3:5; Exodus 21:10 English Elpenor):

And I will draw near to you in judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the witches, and against the adulteresses, and against them that swear falsely by my Name, and against them that keep back (ἀποστεροῦντας, another form of ἀποστερέω; Hebrew: ʿāšaq, וּבְעֹשְׁקֵי) the hireling’s wages, and them that oppress the widow, and afflict orphans, and that wrest the judgment of the stranger, and fear not me, saith the Lord Almighty.

And if he take another [e.g., wife] to himself, he shall not deprive (ἀποστερήσει, another form of ἀποστερέω; Hebrew: gāraʿ, יִגְרָע) her of necessaries and her apparel, and her companionship [with him].

There are other more subtle differences as well:

The list of commandments in Mark 10:19 didn’t begin with the article τὸ (“this,” not translated in Matthew 19:18b) in answer to a man’s question: ποίας (a form of ποῖος), Which? (KJV), Which ones? (ESV).⁸ Also, the verbs are different parts of speech: φονεύσῃς, μοιχεύσῃς, κλέψῃς and ψευδομαρτυρήσῃς are in the aorist tense and subjunctive mood, while φονεύσεις, μοιχεύσεις, κλέψεις and ψευδομαρτυρήσεις are in the future tense and indicative mood. So, φονεύσεις, for example in Matthew 19:18, means “you will murder” in the future, a statement of fact negated by the negative particle οὐ: “not you will murder,” Thou shalt do no murder (KJV), You shall not murder (ESV).

The indicative mood is a statement of fact or an actual occurrence from the writer’s or speaker’s perspective. Even if the writer is lying, he may state the action as if it is a fact, and thus the verb would be in the indicative mood. It may be action occurring in past, present, or future time. This ‘statement of fact’ can even be made with a negative adverb modifying the verb…

This is in contrast to one of the other moods…in which the writer/speaker may desire or ask for the action to take place.⁹

But φονεύσῃς in Mark 10:19 means “you might murder” at some unspecified moment in time, a statement of possibility negated by the particle μὴ: “not you might murder,” Do not kill (KJV), Do not murder (ESV).

The aorist is said to be “simple occurrence” or “summary occurrence”, without regard for the amount of time taken to accomplish the action. This tense is also often referred to as the ‘punctiliar’ tense. ‘Punctiliar’ in this sense means ‘viewed as a single, collective whole,’ a “one-point-in-time” action, although it may actually take place over a period of time. In the indicative mood the aorist tense denotes action that occurred in the past time, often translated like the English simple past tense.¹⁰

So ἐφόνευσας, in the indicative mood, would have been a statement of fact in the past tense: “you have murdered.” But φονεύσῃς, in the subjunctive mood “indicates probability or objective possibility. The action of the verb will possibly happen, depending on certain objective factors or circumstances.”¹¹

A comparable way to translate “not you might murder” into more fluent English would be, “You might not murder,” but it sounds much less certain than is probably intended in Greek. The negation of a possibility in the subjunctive mood is at least as strong as the negation of a statement of fact in the indicative mood. (The Subjunctive of Emphatic Negation is even stronger.)

I don’t understand why English translators added the helping verb do to these four aorist subjunctive verbs in Mark 10:19 (five including μὴ ἀποστερήσῃς, Do not defraud). There are no occurrences of any forms of ποιέω here. It seems to owe more to stumbling over the stumbling stone, pursuing righteousness as if it were based on works, rather than by faith.¹²

All five verbs (φονεύσῃς, μοιχεύσῃς, κλέψῃς, ψευδομαρτυρήσῃς and ἀποστερήσῃς) are 2^nd person singular verbs. By simply adding back the implied subject of these clauses—[You] do not murder, [You] do not commit adultery, [You] do not steal, [You] do not bear false witness, [You] do not defraud—one can hear the same promises as the verbs in the future tense and indicative mood in Matthew 19:18—You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness—even in English translation. Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!¹³ These commandments are promises of grace to be received by faith, rather than works to achieve in one’s own strength.

The man responded to Jesus: ὁ δὲ ἔφη αὐτῷ, And he said to him, διδάσκαλε, Teacher, ταῦτα πάντα ἐφυλαξάμην, these all I have kept, ἐκ νεότητός μου, from my youth.

Here, the received text of Matthew 19:20 lacks the vocative διδάσκαλε and includes the question τί ἔτι ὑστερῶ, what lack I yet (KJV), like the critical text, What do I still lack (ESV), but adds εφυλαξαμην εκ νεοτητος μου, have I kept from my youth up (KJV), like Mark 10:20, I have kept from my youth (ESV), where the critical text of Matthew 19:20 has simply ἐφύλαξα, I have kept (ESV).

Mark 10:21 continues: Ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς, And Jesus, ἐμβλέψας αὐτῷ, looking at him, ἠγάπησεν αὐτὸν, loved him, καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, and said to him, ἕν σε ὑστερεῖ, You lack one thing (literally, “one you lack”), ὕπαγε, go, ὅσα ἔχεις, all that you have, πώλησον, sell, καὶ δὸς [τοῖς] πτωχοῖς, and give to the poor, καὶ ἕξεις θησαυρὸν ἐν οὐρανῷ, and you…have treasure in heaven, καὶ δεῦρο, and come, ἀκολούθει μοι, follow me.

The received text and critical text of Matthew 19:21a are in complete agreement: Jesus recognized the man’s own question about something missing—τί ἔτι ὑστερῶ, what lack I yet (KJV), What do I still lack (ESV)¹⁴—as a desire for a perfection beyond a righteousness of [his] own that comes from the law.¹⁵ In Mark 10:21a the man asked no question expressing any lack at all, but Jesus informed him: ἕν σε ὑστερεῖ, You lack one thing (ESV) or “One you lack.” He offered an opportunity to know him and the power of his resurrection, the ability to share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and the possibility to attain the resurrection from the dead¹⁶ to both men.

The received text of Matthew 19:21b does not have the article τοῖς preceding poor. The critical text does, also in Mark 10:21b. Both are in brackets indicating some doubt among the editors. The only other difference in Matthew 19:21b is that the critical text has the plural οὐρανοῖς where the received text has the singular ουρανω, as in Mark 10:21b. Aside from this, Mark 10:21b has ὅσα ἔχεις, all that you have (ESV), where Matthew 19:21b has σου τὰ ὑπάρχοντα, that thou hast (KJV), what you possess (ESV), which might deserve more attention than I’m giving it here.¹⁷

The critical text purports to be the older (and therefore the more original) text, and is generally received as such. Most contemporary translations of the New Testament are made from it. If true, it implies that most of the differences in the received text of Matthew 19:16-21 were scribal attempts to collapse what is effectively two different accounts of two different encounters with two similar men, at about the same time in Jesus’ ministry, into one encounter with one man. Accepting this, as two separate individuals asking two different but related questions, brings some clarity to the differences and similarities in Jesus’ answers.

One man asked, “Good Teacher, what [might] I do to inherit eternal life?”¹⁸ Jesus, responding to being called Good (ἀγαθέ, a form of ἀγαθός), posed his own question for the man’s consideration: “Why do you call me good (ἀγαθόν, another form of ἀγαθός)?”¹⁹ Then He made a statement the man did not dispute: οὐδεὶς ἀγαθὸς εἰ μὴ εἷς ὁ θεός; literally, “none good except one, God.”

Another man asked, “Teacher, what good [might] I do [that I might] have eternal life?”²⁰ Jesus, responding to being asked about doing good (ἀγαθὸν ποιήσω), posed a different question for this man’s consideration: τί ἐρωτᾷς περὶ τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ; literally, “Why ask me about the good?” Then He made another statement that this man did not dispute: εἷς ἐστιν ὁ ἀγαθός; literally, “one is the good.”

This latter statement doesn’t dispute that “none [is] good except one, God.” It clarifies how doing good gets done: “For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light [In him was life, and the life was the light of men²¹], lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true (ὁ δὲ ποιῶν τὴν ἀλήθειαν) comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God” (or “by means of God,” the One who is good).²² Who does what is true? to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.²³ In other words, Whoever does good is from God (or “from God exists”),²⁴ the new self (τὸν καινὸν ἄνθρωπον; literally, “the new human”), created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.²⁵ As Jesus said, “What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must all be born from above (ἄνωθεν).’”²⁶

Balak, king of Moab, was not from God. He continued in his own faith that, if he found the right location, Balaam would curse Israel, whom God has not cursed²⁷ (Numbers 23:28-30 ESV):

So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the desert. And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Balak, the king, seems willing to comply, if not obey, when he believes there is opportunity to accomplish his purposes according to his own faith. But the prophet Balaam strayed a bit from his usual practice (Numbers 24:1, 2 ESV).

When Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not go, as at other times, to look for omens, but set his face toward the wilderness. And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him,

Here, the Masoretic text and Septuagint agree: and the spirit of God came upon him (KJV, NET, English Elpenor).

Balaam took up his discourse and said, (Numbers 24:3-7 ESV):

“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, the oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the Lord (yᵊhōvâ, יְהוָה; corroborated by Κύριος in the Septuagint) has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters; his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted.

The Masoretic text and Septuagint diverge here.

Where the first two clauses of the Masoretic text translate into English in a manner ranging from vaguely unintelligible to somewhat lewd, the English translation of the Septuagint offers a rather clear reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. I might say “surprisingly clear” or even “shockingly clear” if I hadn’t been through this emotional shredder already. This time, however, both the Masoretic text and the Septuagint agree that the spirit of God came upon Balaam. And fortunately, the English translation of The Complete Jewish Bible on chabad.org resolves these other “vaguely unintelligible to somewhat lewd” renderings of the Masoretic text quite nicely: Water will flow from his wells, and his seed shall have abundant water.²⁸

Is it that surprising that a thirsty Masorete would prefer a well of his own to dependence on the spiritual Rock that followed his ancestors in the wilderness?

For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud (Exodus 13:21, 22), and all passed through the sea (Exodus 14), and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea [Table], and all ate the same spiritual food (Exodus 16), and all drank the same spiritual drink (Exodus 17:1-7). For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ (Numbers 20:2-13).²⁹

Balaam continued (Numbers 24:8, 9 ESV):

God brings him out of Egypt and is for him like the horns of the wild ox; he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces and pierce them through with his arrows [Table]. He crouched, he lay down like a lion and like a lioness; who will rouse him up? Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you” [Table].

Balak would not, or could not, hear the words of God, nor see the vision of the Almighty (Numbers 24:10, 11 ESV):

And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, ‘I will certainly honor you,’ but the Lord (yᵊhōvâ, יְהוָה; corroborated by Κύριος in the Septuagint) has held you back from honor.”

Here again, Balak’s faith and determination are revealed as a stubborn rebellion against God, despite his recognition that the Lord…held Balaam back: Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen (ἑώρακεν, a form of ὁράω) God.³⁰

John wrote of Jesus (John 3:31-34 ESV):

He who comes from above (ἄνωθεν) is above (ἐπάνω) all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above (ἐπάνω) all. He³¹ bears witness to what he has seen (ἑώρακεν, a form of ὁράω) and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he³² gives the Spirit without measure.

Though Balaam didn’t receive the honor Balak might have given him for cursing Israel and betraying the Lord, he did share the sufferings of Christ in this way: Balak did not receive his testimony, what he [had] seen and heard from the Lord. I’ll pick this up in another essay.

According to a note (31) in the NET Mark 10:19b is a quotation from Exodus 20:12-16 and Deuteronomy 5:16-20. The following tables compare the Greek of that quotation with the Septuagint.

According to a note (31) in the NET Mark 10:19b includes an allusion to Deuteronomy 24:14. The following table compares the Greek of that allusion with the Septuagint.

Tables comparing Deuteronomy 24:14; Malachi 3:5; Exodus 21:10; Numbers 23:28; 23:29; 23:30; 24:1; 24:2; 24:3; 24:4; 24:5; 24:6; 24:7; 24:10 and 24:11 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET, and comparing the Greek of Deuteronomy 24:14; Malachi 3:5; Exodus 21:10; Numbers 23:28; 23:29; 23:30; 24:1; 24:2; 24:3; 24:4; 24:5; 24:6; 24:7; 24:10 and 24:11 in the Septuagint (BLB and Elpenor), and tables comparing Mark 10:20, 21; John 3:32 and 3:34 in the KJV and NET follow.