Translation commentary on Mark 15:43

Exegesis:

Iōsēph ho apo Harimathaias ‘Joseph who (was) from Arimathea,’ ‘Joseph of Arimathea’: the man is identified by the name of the town from which he hailed. Arimathea was a city in Judea which Dalman locates to the northwest of Jerusalem of Jerusalem.

euschēmōn (only here in Mark) ‘prominent,’ ‘of repute,’ ‘noble’: perhaps, ‘wealthy’ (cf. Mt. 27.57).

bouleutēs (only here in Mark) ‘counsellor,’ i.e. a member of the Sanhedrin (cf. Lk. 23.50-51).

ēn prosdechomenos (only here in Mark) ‘he was waiting for,’ ‘he was expecting.’

tēn basileian tou theou (cf. 1.15) ‘the kingdom of God’: Joseph is spoken of as awaiting its arrival, its coming, as in 1.15; 9.1.

tolmēsas (cf. 12.34) ‘being bold’: here, as Revised Standard Version has it, ‘he took courage.’

The action of Joseph of Arimathea in requesting the body of Jesus was probably motivated by the requirement in the Jewish law (Deut. 21.23) that prohibited leaving the bodies of executed men exposed overnight.

Translation:

The sentence which begins with verse 42 and extends through verse 43 is relatively difficult to translate, not primarily because of its length, but because of the shifts in subject and the included explanatory expressions. In some languages, it is preferable to make verse 42 a separate sentence, e.g. ‘it was already evening, since it was the day of Preparation, that is the day before the sabbath.’ Verse 43 can then begin, ‘Joseph of Arimathea, who was a respected member … and who was looking…, took courage….’

Of Arimathea may be translated in some languages as ‘from the town of Arimathea.’

Respected member of the council involves two concepts: (1) the respect with which Joseph was regarded and (2) his function as a member of the Sanhedrin. These two ideas are variously combined: ‘one of the members of the council and noble (Yucateco), a true man among the older men’ (Tabasco Chontal), ‘a fixer of affairs who was respected’ (Huastec), ‘a big honorable official’ (Tzeltal).

Looking for must not be understood in the sense of ‘out searching,’ but rather waiting for with hope and expectancy, e.g. ‘waiting for the time when God would rule’ (Copainalá Zoque) and ‘wait, hoping for God’s rule.’

For the kingdom of God see 1.15 and 4.11.

Took courage may be translated in a manner similar to take heart (6.50). In Copainalá Zoque one may say ‘took strength and went to Pilate.’ In Tzeltal the expression is rendered in a negative form ‘was not afraid to go to Pilate.’

Body is often translated by two quite different words, depending upon whether the person is alive or dead. In this case one would use the equivalent of ‘corpse.’

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 .

SIL Translator's Notes on Mark 15:43

15:42b

Since: The Greek conjunction that the Berean Standard Bible translates as Since indicates that 15:42 gives the reason for what Joseph did in 15:43. The relationship between the verses is this:

42 (reason) It was late on the Preparation Day. The next day will be the Sabbath Day when a dead body should not be moved in order to bury it.

43 (result) Joseph realized that he had to act immediately in order to give Jesus a proper burial. So he went quickly to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body.

Connect these verses in a way that is natural in your language.

it was Preparation Day: Preparation Day was the name for the Jewish day of the week that preceded the Sabbath. It was called Preparation Day because people needed to prepare for the Sabbath, the day when they could not do any work. Preparation Day began on Thursday at sunset and continued until Friday at sunset.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

the day of the week called Preparation Day
-or-
the day people prepared things
-or-
Friday, the day people prepared for the Sabbath

You may want to include a footnote here. For example:

The Jewish law did not allow people to work on the Sabbath day (which started at sunset on Friday). So the day before the Sabbath day was called Preparation Day because everyone had to work to prepare things for the Sabbath.

(that is, the day before the Sabbath): This phrase further explains the meaning of “Preparation Day.” It explains why this day is important in this context. You could combine the way you translate this phrase with the way you translate “Preparation Day.” For example:

It was the day before the Sabbath. That day is called “Preparation Day” because people must work to prepare for the Sabbath.
-or-
It was Preparation Day, the day before the Sabbath when people had to prepare for the Sabbath.

According to Jewish law, people should bury a dead body soon after the person had died. But the law forbade people to move a dead body on the Sabbath day. So Joseph only had a short time to bury the body before the start of the Sabbath day. You may want to include some of this information in a footnote. For example:

According to Jewish law, people could not move a dead body on the Sabbath day. So Joseph had to quickly bury the body before the Sabbath day began.

Sabbath: The word Sabbath is the name of the seventh and last day of the week for the Jews. The Sabbath was the special day of the week when the Jews rested and worshiped God. The Law of Moses said that the Jews must not do any work on that day (Deuteronomy 5:12–15).

Here are some other ways to translate this:

the Jewish rest day
-or-
the day for resting
-or-
the day to rest and worship God

If the word Sabbath is already known in your area, you may write it according to the sounds of your language. You may also want to include a phrase to explain the meaning. For example:

the Sabat, the Jews’ day for resting

Be careful that the term you choose is not confused with Sunday, the day when Christians worship. The Sabbath for the Jews began at sundown on Friday and went until sundown on Saturday. You may want to include a footnote to give more information. For example:

The Sabbath is a name for the seventh day of the week. It is the day when the Jews rested from work and worshiped God.

15:43

In 15:43, many details are given about Joseph. These details include his name, where he was from, that he was a member of the Jewish high council, and that he desired the coming of God’s reign. Put these details in an order that is natural in your language when introducing a new person in a story.

15:43a

Joseph of Arimathea: This man was called Joseph of Arimathea to distinguish him from other men named Joseph in the Gospels. (Some other men named Joseph are Mary’s husband and Joseph/Joses who is mentioned in Mark 15:40). The phrase of Arimathea means “from the town of Arimathea.” (Arimathea was a town about twenty miles northwest of Jerusalem.)

This is the first time that Joseph of Arimathea is mentioned in Mark. Introduce him in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

There was a man named Joseph who was from the town of Arimathea.

15:43b

a prominent Council member: The phrase a prominent Council member means that Joseph was “a highly respected/honored” member of the Jewish high court. This high court was called the Council or “the Sanhedrin” (14:55). This Council had condemned Jesus to death.

Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

an honored member of the high council (New Living Translation)
-or-
a respected person in the Jewish high/supreme court

The related word “Sanhedrin” occurs at 14:55a and 15:1b (see the notes on “Sanhedrin”). See how you translated it there.

15:43c

who himself was waiting: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as who himself was waiting emphasizes that Joseph was personally waiting for the kingdom of God. Try to show this emphasis in a way that is natural in your language.

Here are some other ways this has been done in English versions:

who was also himself looking for… (Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Joseph…was one of the people who was waiting for… (New Century Version)

was waiting for the kingdom of God: The Greek verb phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as was waiting in this context means “desired very much” that something would come or happen. Joseph wanted the time to come when God would establish his kingdom.

The phrase kingdom of God refers to God’s activity of ruling and caring for his people as their king. It does not refer to a land or territory that he rules over. In this context, Joseph was desiring the time when God would rule his people as king. Here are some other ways to translate kingdom of God in this context:

• As a noun. For example:

God’s rule/reign
-or-
God’s kingship
-or-
God’s chieftaincy/government

• As a verbal expression:

the time when God will rule
-or-
when God will protect/deliver his people as their king

See how you translated this phrase in similar contexts such as 9:47b. See also kingdom of God, Context 3, in the Glossary.

15:43d

boldly went to Pilate: The word boldly here means that Joseph showed “courage” or “bravery” when he went to Pilate to ask for the body. It was dangerous for Joseph to ask this. It was dangerous because he would be letting Pilate know that he was the friend of a rebel against Rome.

Here are some other ways to translate this:

bravely went in to Pilate (Revised English Bible)
-or-
showed bravery/courage in going to Pilate

The word boldly here does not refer to the manner in which Joseph approached Pilate. Nor does it show the attitude he had when he spoke to him.

15:43e

to ask for the body of Jesus: In this context to ask for the body of Jesus means that Joseph asked Pilate for permission to have Jesus’ body. He did this so that he could bury the body. Jesus’ body was still on the cross. It was not at Pilate’s residence where he could give it to Joseph. You may want to make this explicit. For example:

asked for permission to take Jesus’ body from the cross and bury it/him

In some languages, it may be natural to state Joseph’s request using direct speech. For example:

Joseph bravely went to Pilate and asked/said: “Please sir, may I take the body of Jesus so that I may bury it/him?”

General Comment on 15:42–43

In verses 15:42–43, Mark:

(a) introduces Joseph (15:43a–c)

(b) says what Joseph did (15:43d–e)

(c) gives the reason for what Joseph did (15:42a–b)

These verses could be ordered in many different ways. If you change the order of these verses, you can put the numbers 42–43 before the first word of these two verses. For examples, the Good News Bible has:

42–43It was toward evening when Joseph of Arimathea arrived. He was a respected member of the Council, who was waiting for the coming of the Kingdom of God. It was Preparation day (that is, the day before the Sabbath), so Joseph went boldly into the presence of Pilate and asked him for the body of Jesus.

Here is another way to reorder these verses:

43aThere was a man named Joseph who was from Arimathea. 43bHe was a prominent member of the Council 43cand was himself waiting for the kingdom of God. 43dHe bravely went to Pilate 43eand asked for the body of Jesus. 42aHe did this because it was already late afternoon 43bon Preparation Day. This was the day before the rest day of the Jews when it was forbidden to move a body for burial.

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