Text:
Before polloi ‘many’ Textus Receptus, Souter, Kilpatrick (and, apparently, Revised Standard Version) omit hoi ‘the,’ which is included by all other modern editions of the Greek text.
Instead of kai hai dunameis ‘and the mighty works’ of most editions of the Greek text, Textus Receptus, Soden, and Kilpatrick have hoti kai dunameis ‘for even mighty works’; Tischendorf has kai dunameis ‘and mighty works.’
Exegesis:
genomenou sabbatou (cf. 1.21) ‘when the sabbath came,’ ‘when it was the sabbath.’
ērxato didaskein en tē sunagōgē (cf. 1.21; 3.1) ‘he began to teach in the synagogue.’
hoi polloi akouontes exeplēssonto ‘the many who were listening to him were astonished.’
hoi polloi ‘the many’: with the article (cf. Text, above) the phrase here means ‘the many (who were there) as they heard him,’ not, as Revised Standard Version has it, ‘many (of those there)…,’ i.e. ‘many, but not all.’
ekplēssomai (cf. 1.22) ‘be astonished,’ ‘be overwhelmed.’
The three clauses that follow, understood either as questions or as exclamations, lack finite verbs, being thus grammatically incomplete: they express quite vividly the surprise and astonishment that gripped the large crowd.
toutō (cf. 2.7) ‘to this one’: expresses contempt. By underscoring the personal pronouns Manson graphically portrays the astonishment and resentment of Jesus’ townspeople.
tis hē sophia hē dotheisa toutō; Manson: ‘What sort of wisdom is it that has been conferred on him?’
sophia (only here in Mark) ‘wisdom.’
hai dunameis toiautai ‘miracles such as these!’
dunamis (cf. 5.30) ‘mighty work,’ ‘miracle.’
dia tōn cheirōn autou ginomenai ‘which are being done through his hands’: or, simply, ‘which are being wrought by him.’
Translation:
A number of key words in this verse have already been treated: sabbath (1.21), teach (2.13), synagogue (1.21), and astonish (1.21, 27).
Teach often requires an object: ‘teach the people.’
Astonished, saying is frequently rendered as ‘were astonished; they said.’
It is important that get all this does not refer exclusively to ‘wealth’ or ‘material possessions.’ To avoid such a denotation one may translate as in Sayula Popoluca, ‘from where did he bring these thoughts.’
It should be noted that these questions are not requests for information, but are types of exclamatory expressions. They should be so treated in languages which have special forms for such questions or utterances.
Wisdom is not always translatable by a noun, for it involves the result of a process of learning and the application of special mental faculties. Hence in some instances wisdom is ‘what he has learned.’ In other languages, however, wisdom is equivalent to ‘mind,’ e.g. ‘what mind has been given to him’ (Tabasco Chontal) and ‘how was this man made a person of big mind’ (Amganad Ifugao).
The passive concept expressed in is given is not always easily rendered, for where the agent is required, one must completely alter the form, either making Jesus the subject of the process of acquiring the wisdom, e.g. ‘how has he learned so much,’ or indicating that God is the source of the special gift of wisdom, e.g. ‘how is it that God has given such wisdom to him.’ However, this last question does not seem to fit the context, for these people were not inclined to recognize Jesus’ God-given ministry or abilities. Hence, the former question is probably closer to the original meaning, though not closer to the formal sentence structure.
Mighty works translates the Greek dunameis, a regular term for ‘miracles,’ though meaning literally ‘powers.’ One of the most common ways of talking about miracles is to call them ‘things which no one has ever seen before’ (San Blas Kuna). A second semantic perspective involves the process of amazement, wonder, and awe, e.g. ‘thing marveled at’ (Tepeuxila Cuicatec), ‘breathtaking thing’ (Ngäbere), and ‘long-necked thing’ referring to the onlookers who stretch their necks to see (Huautla Mazatec). A third means of talking about miracles makes use of expressions of power and strength (similar to the Greek), e.g. ‘sign done by God’s power’ (Mossi ), ‘supernatural power’ (Javanese), and ‘things that have heaven-strength’ (Highland Totonac). It is usually necessary in employing these terms for strength or power to specify the source or the nature of the manifestation of power. Otherwise ambiguity or obscurity is likely to occur.
By his hands, if translated literally, may give rise to misinterpretation, for in a receptor language this may be used to refer only to artifacts. Hence, ‘by him’ may be used in a passive construction or ‘he does’ in an active one.
Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .