How Names Are Used in Mark’s Gospel to Convey Messages and Insights

Dick Harfield
Mark did not create Christianity but wrote a compelling account about a faith that he already
knew. Some modern scholars recognise that in so writing, the author we now know as Mark
developed the story’s characters in order to focus on Jesus himself. At least some of these
characters were probably created by Mark, who seems to have assigned them names that
helped develop hidden insights.

Mark as history
If Mark’s Gospel is an entirely accurate history, then the names the author uses are also
historically accurate, no matter how surprising they may sometimes be. But if the Gospel is
only loosely based on prior sources known to Mark, then Mark’s choice of names may provide
some insight into the development of his Gospel.
David Rhoads, Joanna Dewey and Donald Michie1 say that Mark should be read as story rather
than as history. They say:
Just as a film may be a version of historical events, so also Mark is a version of historical
events. Although Jesus, Herod, the high priests, and the Roman procurator Pilate were real
people, they are, in Mark, nonetheless characters portrayed in a story.
In a similar vein, Adam Winn2 concludes that Mark did not write his gospel simply for the sake
of preserving history, and his purpose must be found in the realities facing Mark and his
audience. For the purpose of the following analysis, it is assumed that Mark’s Gospel includes
characters and events that may not have been entirely historical.

Sources
Mark’s Gospel was originally anonymous, but was attributed to John Mark in the second
century, possibly by Papias. Because of the apparent literary dependency among the synoptic
gospels, it also became accepted in the second century that Mark was written as a summary of
Matthew’s Gospel, which in turn was attributed to the disciple known as Matthew, and of
Luke’s Gospel. It is now the almost universal consensus of New Testament commentators that
Mark was the first narrative gospel and that the authors of Matthew and Luke relied on Mark as
a source.
We have to look elsewhere for sources used by Mark. This means we need an understanding of
when Mark was written, so that we know which potential sources were likely to have been
written before Mark. The consensus of critical scholars is that Mark's Gospel was written
around 70 CE, at the time of the fall of Jerusalem. One reason is that Mark chapter 13 talks of
Jesus prophesying the destruction of the great buildings in Jerusalem, but also in the same
prophecy that Jesus would return on clouds of glory within the lifetimes of some of his
listeners. Since Jesus could not have prophesied something that clearly did not happen – his
return on clouds of glory within the lifetimes of some of his listeners – he also did not prophesy
the destruction, which was based on the author's own experience. A date of authorship around
70 CE means that the author could have known of Paul’s epistles and could have used these as
a source.
Paul certainly expected the return of Jesus within his own lifetime, as we see for example in
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, where Paul was responding to concerns of the Thessalonian
Christians that those of their number who had already died would not share in the parousia:
 But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye
sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by
the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not
prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise
first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds,
to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one
another with these words.
Compare Mark 13:26-27, which attributes similar words to Jesus:
And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory. And
then shall he send his angels, and shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the
uttermost part of the earth to the uttermost part of heaven.
Other parallels between Mark and the epistles indicate that this was not just a coincidence, but
that the epistles were a real source used by the evangelist, for example 1 Corinthians 11:23
(For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus
the same night in which he was betrayed took bread) is closely parallelled by the Last Supper
and the betrayal in Mark chapter 14.
I also propose that there is a direct literary dependency between the Gospels of Thomas and
Mark. There continues to be some debate whether the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas was
written earlier than some or all of the canonical gospels, or later. John Dominic Crossan3,
among others, makes a strong case for Thomas and the hypothetical ‘Q’ document being based
on a common Sayings Source, with Thomas likely to have been written no later than Mark’s
Gospel, while the more traditional view holds that it was written later, even perhaps sometime
in the second century. The direction of any influence between Thomas and Mark depends, of
course, on which was written first.
Just as Mark mentions three persons with the same names as Paul’s three pillars of the
Jerusalem church, he also mentions the five identifiable persons4 portrayed in Thomas – three
disciples and two other persons, which suggests Mark used Thomas as a source for some of his
names. On the other hand, if the author of Thomas used Mark (or one of the later gospels) as a
source, it should be surprising that his Gospel only contains names found in Mark. Finally, if
there is not a literary dependency, it would be a remarkable coincidence that Mark uses all the
names of identifiable persons in Thomas.

Markan priority
Nearly all scholars5 believe that the Gospels of Matthew and Luke were substantially based on
Mark, with additional material taken from the hypothetical sayings document known as ‘Q’
and various elaborations, many of which can be explained by reference to the Old Testament.
There is much less scholarly agreement on the dependency of John’s Gospel on the synoptics,
although it is agreed that John was written somewhat later than the synoptics.
If later gospels relied, at least in part, on Mark’s Gospel, it must raise doubts as to whether the
later authors knew anything about the mission of Jesus other than what they found in Mark and
Q. The import of this is that we should not read back into Mark’s Gospel anything we read in
the later gospels. For example, Mark 15:43, followed by Luke 23:51, describes Joseph of
Arimathea as a counsellor, whereas Matthew 27:57 describes him as a rich man and John 19:38
describes him as a secret disciple of Jesus. In this case, we should be cautious of the description
of Joseph either as a rich man or as a secret disciple of Jesus. Everything we know about

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Joseph of Arimathea is probably to be found in Mark’s Gospel alone. We may read Matthew,
Luke or John in the context of Mark, but not the other way around.

Mark’s use of names

Having established how Mark’s Gospel should be read in relationship to Paul’s epistles and to
the other gospels, we can confidently begin to look at how Mark uses the following names to
convey messages.
Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God
Andrew
Simon Peter
Matthew
Thomas
Levi
Bartholomew
James, son of Alphaeus
Alphaeus
Simon τὸν Καναναῖον
Judas
James the brother of Jesus
James and John, sons of Zebedee
Simon of Cyrene
Mary and Joseph
Mary Magdalene
The other women called Mary, and sons James and Joseph
Salome
Barabbas
Joseph of Arimathea
Legion
Bartimaeus
Satan
Sea of Galilee
Dalmanutha
Gesarenes
Bethphage

Jesus of Nazareth, Son of God

Actually, Mark never refers to ‘Jesus of Nazareth’, only saying Jesus the Nazarene6 – although
this is commonly translated into English as Jesus of Nazareth – and does not even affirm that
Jesus was brought up in Nazareth. This was left to the evangelists who came afterwards.
In Mark's Gospel, only outsiders call Jesus the Son of God. So, in Mark 3:11-12, the demons
fall down and call Jesus the Son of God, but Jesus is quick to instruct them to tell no one, thus
no more than an implied admission. In Mark 14:61, the high priest asks Jesus whether he is the
Son of God, so that the reader will realise this to be the case, and in Mark 15:39, the centurion
ironically says that Jesus truly was the Son of God. Jesus only calls himself the Son of Man
and, in reply to Jesus, Peter says he is the Messiah. Twice, the voice of God from heaven refers
to Jesus as his beloved son, but any critics of the early Christians may have been wary of
criticising God. Clearly, Mark’s intention was to show that Jesus is the Son of God, but he
may have considered an outright statement to that effect could invite persecution. True, the

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introduction in Mark 1:1 does refer to Jesus as the Son of God, but some important early
manuscripts, including Codex Sinaiticus, do not include ‘Son of God’.

Andrew
Andrew is a Greek name, as are the names Philip and Timaeus, found later in Mark’s Gospel.
While it was possible for first-century Jews to have Greek names, the presence of these in
Mark may have been intended to help flag to Mark’s discerning readers that the names, or
even the characters themselves, were not real.
Andrew plays little part in the Gospel account, other than as Peter’s brother.

Simon Peter
The name Simon is generally assumed to be Semitic, but it can also be Greek7. The fact that
Andrew is a Greek name suggests that Mark could have been thinking in terms of Simon as a
Greek name, although he is portrayed as Jewish.
We know that Peter was a historical person, whom Paul called one of the pillars of the church
in Jerusalem, along with James and John8. Although Paul called him both Peter9 and Cephas10,
Paul was entirely unaware that his real name was Simon, if indeed that was the case.
Thomas refers to Simon Peter twice, but never mentions the name Simon or Peter alone. One
could expect from reading Thomas that the disciple was known to all his acquaintances by the
dual name Simon Peter. Mark never refers to Simon Peter, but begins by naming the disciple
Simon and then Peter.
If the author of Thomas knew the epistles of Paul or Mark’s Gospel, it is hard to imagine why
he would create the dual name Simon Peter instead simply calling the disciple Peter, or perhaps
Simon, as Mark did. The later synoptic gospels, Matthew11 and Luke12 use the dual name for
the chief apostle on one occasion each, but John’s Gospel uses this dual names on several
occasions, as if the disciple was most usually known to the members of the Johannine
community as Simon Peter. This suggests a literary or cultural relationship between Thomas
and John, so that if there is a case for Thomas to have been dependent on any part of the
canonical scriptures, it would have been dependent on John rather than any of the synoptic
gospels. However, there is better evidence of Mark being dependent on Thomas, ruling out a
dependence by Thomas on any of the canonical gospels.
Based on Simon Peter in Thomas, Mark seems to be writing an explanation of why Simon
became known as Peter, taking care in using the name Simon until Jesus gives him the name
Peter13, but from this point the disciple becomes Peter, with Jesus only using the name Simon
to rebuke Peter for sleeping instead of watching14.
The Simon Peter of Thomas is apparently not the Peter whom Paul only ever knew as Peter or
Cephas, but never as Simon. I do not even believe it likely that the author of Thomas intended
Simon Peter to be the Peter whom Paul had known much earlier, in Jerusalem and Syria. I am
convinced that it is more likely that the author of Mark learnt of Simon Peter from Thomas and
then created a way to portray this disciple as the pillar of the church whom Paul knew only as
Peter or Cephas.

Matthew
Three disciples are mentioned in Thomas’ Gospel – Simon Peter, Matthew and Thomas. I have
pointed out that Mark was likely influenced by Thomas in writing of Simon Peter, so it is
natural that Mark would also use the name Matthew for one of his disciples.
It is clear that, for Mark, Matthew was not Levi, son of Alphaeus.

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Thomas
Thomas is a Greek transliteration of the Aramaic word for ‘Twin’. Mark only mentions
Thomas once, in the list of the names of the twelve disciples15, meaning we know nothing
about him other than that he was a twin, not even his actual name.
Thomas’ Gospel does give this disciple a name, saying that he was Didymos Judas Thomas,
and that he recorded the very words of Jesus. The reference to Didymos (Greek: ‘twin’) and
Thomas (from Aramaic: ‘twin’) is repetitive and suggests intentional emphasis.
I have pointed out that Mark was likely influenced by Thomas in writing of Simon Peter and
Matthew, so it is natural that Mark would also mention Thomas as another disciple.

Levi
Mark 2:14 says that Jesus saw Levi the son of Alphaeus, a tax collector, and said to
him, “Follow me.” Levi arose and followed Jesus, yet Mark omits Levi in the list of all the
twelve disciples16. Why Mark chose the name Levi for a tax collector is unclear, but perhaps
there was an intended association with the priests, who claimed descent from Levi and were
supported by the ubiquitous Temple taxes. If so, Mark would not have wanted to portray Levi
as one of the disciples.
Disciples are not meant to change their minds when called by Jesus, so Matthew's author
resolves Levi's unexplained absence simply by not mentioning Levi at all and by having
Matthew as the disciple who was a tax collector, although agreeing with Mark that of the
selected disciples only James was the son of Alphaeus. It is because of Matthew’s Gospel that
two thousand years of tradition have held that Levi and Matthew must be the same person.

Bartholomew
The disciple Bartholomew is one of at least three people (with Bartimaeus, Barabbas) that
Mark identifies only by the name of his father, not by the name of the person himself. In just
one case, we could accept that the person might have been widely known as the son of his
father, but it is doubtful that this was such a common practice as Mark would suggest.
Bartholomew is a partial transliteration of the Aramaic, ‘Son of Tolmai’ or ‘Son of Talmai’. It
is possible to explain Mark’s use of the names Bartimaeus and Barabbas, so there should be a
reason for the emphasis on a connection to Tolmai/Talmai, but this is yet to be found.
Bartholomew is not mentioned again in the Gospel.

James, son of Alphaeus

James is one the twelve disciples chosen by Jesus17, but takes no further part in the Gospel. By
describing him as the son of Alphaeus, Mark is highlighting the absence of Levi, son of
Alphaeus, from the twelve.

Alphaeus
This name is thought to be of Hebrew origin, with the meaning ‘Changing’. If so, this would
be meaningful, as Mark changes him from being the father of Levi, to being the father of the
disciple called James18.

Simon τὸν Καναναῖον

The list of disciples in Mark 3:18 includes one called τὸν Καναναῖον, using a Greek word with
no clear meaning. Some translations, such as KJV, call him Simon the Canaanite, others say
Simon the Zealot and Simon the Cananaean also occurs.

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John Shelby Spong19 speculates that the word could mean that
Simon was from the village of Cana, where John says a wedding took place, or
He was a Canaanite, or
He was a former Zealot (from qan’ana).
Matthew’s Gospel follows Mark in using the word Καναναῖον, while Luke says Ζηλωτὴν – the
Zealot, or the zealous.

Judas
When Paul mentions a last supper and a betrayal of Jesus, there is no suggestion that a disciple
was involved. In fact, we are told in 1 Corinthians 15:5 that the risen Jesus was seen by “the
twelve”. Although Mark’s Gospel originally ended at verse 16:8 with no mention of Jesus
being seen after his resurrection, it is inconceivable that Judas would have remained with the
twelve after having so publicly betrayed Jesus.
John Shelby Spong20 points out that Judas is a variant of Judah and that, in Genesis, when
Joseph was sold into slavery, Judah was the brother who sought money and received twenty
pieces of silver. Spong also believes that the name Iscariot is based on ‘sicarii’, the dagger-
wielding assassins , but this seems unlikely. Other suggestions seem equally unfruitful.

James the brother of Jesus

Paul tells us that the three pillars of the Jerusalem church were called Peter, James and John –
names that correspond to the three most important disciples in Mark. Paul portrays James as
the most influential of the group – for example Paul noticed that Peter was careful not to be
seen eating with gentiles when a delegation came from James21. However, Paul calls James
the brother of Jesus, potentially placing him outside the twelve disciples whom Jesus would
call.
The Gospel of Thomas mentions James the Just, who was not a disciple, but who will be the
leader of the disciples after Jesus22. Mark would have recognised James the Just as Paul’s
pillar of the church, so in addition to the three disciples corresponding to Paul’s account, the
Gospel would have a brother named James, whom tradition calls James the Just.
Incidentally, there is nothing in any of the gospels to suggest that James was to be the leader of
the disciples, so it would appear that Thomas must have been influenced by Paul’s epistles, not
by Mark or any of the later gospels. Acts of the Apostles also portrays James as the leader in
Jerusalem, but there is little else in common between Thomas and Acts such as to suggest that
Acts was likely to have influenced Thomas.

James and John, sons of Zebedee

After giving Simon the new name, Peter, Jesus calls James and John by the name Boanerges,
which Mark says means ‘Sons of Thunder’. There is no further direct reference to this name in
the Gospel, so we should assume Mark tells us this name because there is a symbolic meaning
to it. As long ago as 1913, Rendel Harris23 associated the Boanerges with the Dioscuri twins,
who are known as the sons of Zeus, the ‘Thunderer’.
There is an allusion to Castor and Polydeuces in Mark 4:37-39, when Jesus rebukes
(ἐπετίμησεν) the wind, and calms the sea as the Dioscuri did in Homeric Hymn XXXIII24. In
the matching event of the parallel structure25 I have identified in Mark’s Gospel, James and
John ask to be seated at the right hand and left hand of Jesus in his glory (in heaven), and Jesus
rebukes them for this. There is a parallel to Castor and Polydeuces, when Castor asks Zeus to

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grant Polydeuces half his immortality. They both now spend half the year in Hades as mortals
and the other six months on Olympus.
But didn’t John, the son of Zebedee ordain Polycarp? Doesn’t that at least prove that he was a
real, historical person? Rex Wyler looked into this claim and says26 “The lone witness for the
claim that Polycarp knew John Zebedee is our familiar fourth-century imperial historian
Eusebius, quoting an alleged lost letter from Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon.” Wyler goes on to say
that Polycarp’s letter to the Philippians fails to mention meeting John Zebedee, although this
would help establish his authority, as the letter sets out to do by other means.

Simon of Cyrene
Cyrene is located in north Africa, leading to speculation that Simon was identifiable because of
his darker complexion. However, Cyrene was also closely associated with the Dioscuri twins,
Castor and Polydeuces, and was an important cult centre. There has long been speculation as
to why Mark goes to the extent of explaining that Simon was from Cyrene and that his sons
were called Alexander and Rufus, when either piece of information would have identified him,
were that necessary.
It seems too much of a coincidence that Simon came from the city most closely associated with
Castor and Polydeuces and was in Jerusalem at the time of the crucifixion, unless there was
symbolism in his name. We saw a parallel to the Dioscuri twins in Mark 4:36-41 and again in
10:35-40, where Jesus replaces their father Zeus in the gospel account, so perhaps now Simon,
by this association with Cyrene, symbolises the twins carrying the cross for Jesus.

Mary and Joseph

Mark mentions Mary only once by name, when Jesus returns to his home town and the people
ask, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joseph, and of Juda,
and Simon?”27 Our author seems to have seen Jesus’ mother as quite unimportant to his story,
even having Jesus reject her and his entire family when they came to the house where he was
preaching.
Joseph, the putative husband of Mary, is never mentioned in Mark’s Gospel. He is mentioned
in Matthew only in chapters 1-2, in the story about the nativity and the flight to Egypt. Perhaps
the author of Matthew created the names Joseph and Jacob, his father, to draw a parallel to the
Old Testament patriarchs of the same name, who travelled to Egypt under duress, just as
Joseph and Jesus would do so much later. The author of Luke’s Gospel also called Jesus’
earthly father Joseph, so he either knew of Matthew’s Gospel, written somewhat earlier, or
word of mouth traditions had spread among the early Christians in the preceding decades.

Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene holds an important place in Christian tradition, as one of Jesus’ closest
associates. So, it is surprising that Mark only mentions her twice, as one of the women who
watched the crucifixion and burial from afar and later visited the sepulchre with sweet spices to
anoint Jesus. The ‘Long Ending’28 also says that the risen Jesus appeared first to Mary, but this
was added to Mark long after the Gospel was first written.
It is generally assumed that Mary is called Magdalene after the town of Magdala, presumably
where she was born, but no such town is known from the first century. Matthew 15:39 refers
to a town called Magadan. This name was used in earlier manuscripts, including Codex
Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus, but from later in the fourth century the texts began to refer to
a town called Magdala.

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On the other hand, Jerome, in Letter 127 (addressed to Principia in 413) says that Mary
Magdalene was called “the tower from the earnestness and glow of her faith.” He believed that
her name did not come from any town, but because of her towering faith in Jesus.
Magdalene is from the Aramaic root word for ‘tower’ or ‘fortress’, so if there was no first-
century town of Magdala, why did Mark refer to ‘Mary of Magdalene’? Dennis R.
MacDonald29 sees parallels between events in Mark’s Gospels and the Homeric epics, and says
that Mary Magdalene “seems to be an emulation of Homer’s Andromache, who, from Troy’s
tower and with other women, watched in horror as Achilles dragged the corpse of her husband
behind his chariot.30”

The other women called Mary, and sons James and Joseph
Mark 15:40 tells us that Mary the mother of James the Lesser and of Joseph (Ἰωσῆτος) was
with Mary Magdalene, watching the crucifixion from afar. Mark 15:47 seems to tell of a
different Mary, mother of Joseph (Ἰωσῆτος), then Mark 16:1 says that Mary the mother of
James and Mary Magdalene had bought spices to anoint Jesus. In verse 15:47, it was Mary,
mother of Joseph who, along with Mary Magdalene, saw where Jesus was buried, but in 16:1 it
was Mary the mother of James who bought spices and came to the sepulchre on Sunday.
Mary the mother of James and Joseph could be the same person as Mary the mother of Joseph,
Mary the mother of James or even both, but why mention both James and Joseph in the first
instance, only Joseph in the second, then only James in the third passage, noting that the two
solo references are in the reverse order compared to the first?
Mark 6:3 tells us that Jesus was the brother of James, Joseph (Ἰωσῆτος), Juda and Simon. The
first two of these names are the same as the names in Mark 15:40,47;16:1, but there is no
likelihood that Mark intended to refer to Mary, mother of Jesus, or his brothers. Nor is this an
unlikely coincidence: Mark was playing word games.
Some have suggested that James was the son of Alphaeus, but it would seem more likely that
Mark would simply have written “Mary the wife of Alphaeus”, since nothing is gained by
using the confusing and uninformative description “the Lesser” – which is not even used in
verse 16:1.
Between verses 15:40 and 16:1, we could have up to three otherwise unidentified mothers
called Mary, one or two men called James and one or two more men called Joseph.
We could look at Matthew and Luke, to see whether these issues caused a problem for the later
evangelists and, if so, how they resolved them.
Matthew 27:56 refers to Mary the mother of James and Joseph watching from afar, so no
reference to James the Lesser. Verses 27:61 and 28:1 refer to “the other Mary”, thereby
implying that this was the same Mary as had watched from afar. The author has seen the
problem and solved it without fuss.
Luke 23:49,55 simply refer to “the women that followed him [Jesus] from Galilee” as watching
from afar and then seeing where the body was placed. In 24:10, we learn that one of these
women was the mother of James, once again without reference to “the Lesser”. Joseph is
written out of this story, along with his mother.

Salome
In addition to Simon Peter, Matthew, Thomas and James the Just, there is one other associate
of Jesus in Mark who is identifiable in Thomas31 – Salome, whose name means Peace.

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Although Salome appears to have been a common name, no one called Salome is mentioned
anywhere else in the Bible. Salome was with Mary Magdalene, looking from afar and then
purchasing spices to anoint Jesus.
Matthew 27:56 does not mention Salome, but instead says that the mother of Zebedee’s
children was with the two Marys, leading to centuries of speculation that Zebedee’s wife was
called Salome. In contrast to Mark’s account, Matthew 28:1 says that only the two Marys go to
the sepulchre, showing that the evangelist was creating history, not reporting it.
Luke 24:10 does not mention Salome, but instead says that Joanna and other women were with
the two Marys. Along with Peter, the sons of Zebedee were the most important disciples in the
gospel story, so Luke would be unlikely to have omitted Matthew’s reference to the mother of
Zebedee’s children if he knew of it.

Barabbas
The name Barabbas is derived from the Aramaic word meaning ‘Son of the Father’ and is used
here with irony. In Mark chapter 15, the Jews had to choose between releasing Jesus, Son of
the Father, or Barabbas – Son of the Father.

Joseph of Arimathea
Joseph of Arimathea plays a cameo part in the crucifixion story, as the counsellor who asked to
be allowed to bury the body of Jesus. Only in the case of Joseph of Arimathea does Mark use
the Greek variant Ἰωσὴφ for the name Joseph, elsewhere using the variant Ἰωσῆτος for the
same Aramaic name.
Arimathea (Greek: Ἀριμαθαία) is mentioned nowhere outside the gospels, and no town of that
name is known from the first century. Dennis R. MacDonald believes it could be derived as
‘Best Discipleship’ from the conjunction of Ἀρι (‘excellent’) and μαθητης (‘disciple’), a
reference to disciples who had fled, leaving only Joseph to care for the body of Jesus.

Legion
On just two occasions in Mark’s Gospel, we learn the name of an unfortunate person Jesus is
about to cure, but neither time is this the man’s real name. In this, the first case (Mark 5:9), the
demons possessing the man say, “My name is Legion: for we are many.” Dennis R
MacDonald32 provides credible evidence that this was inspired by Homer's Odyssey, wherein
Odysseus answers that he is ‘Nobody’.
I call this Event L in the proposed parallel structure33 that encompasses the entire Gospel, with
the story of Bartimaeus becoming Event L'.

Bartimaeus
In Mark 10:46, we are told of the blind man who is called the son of Timaeus, first in Aramaic
as Bartimaeus, then in Greek (translated into English) . Timaeus was a common Greek name
but an unlikely name for a Jew, as the blind man’s father must have been. I suggest that this
name is an echo from Plato’s Dialogue called ‘Timaeus’, about nature and creation. Having
just heard the story of James and John seeking to sit on the right hand and left hand of Jesus34,
as an allusion to Castor and Polydeuces, the audience might well have wondered whether Plato
was talking about Jesus in his Dialogue about nature and creation.

Satan
We tend to think of Satan as wholly evil and therefore read the temptation of Jesus as a divine
triumph over the forces of evil, but there are reasons to question that perception. Mark says the

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Spirit drove (ἐκβάλλει35) Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted and that, during his time
there, Jesus was ministered by angels36.
The late Second-Temple period was a time of evolution in the Jewish depiction of Satan, so
that some Jews still saw Satan as the loyal assistant of God, tasked with testing the
righteousness of the faithful, while others were beginning to see Satan as the evil adversary of
God, whom he would eventually become in Christian thought. Uta Ranke-Heinemann says37:
Not until the post-Old Testament, late Jewish scriptures, in the last two hundred years before
Christ, are God and Satan directly pitted against each other. The accuser is turned into an
adversary of God and the head of a God-hating kingdom, hence an evil principle pure and
simple.
Susan R. Garrett38 says “God has declared Jesus to be his son, and now God arranges for Satan
to test Jesus to see if he is worthy of that assessment.” This reflects the perception of Satan as
doing God’s bidding, rather than being an evil adversary.
When Jesus rebukes Peter, metaphorically calling him Satan39, Jesus is not saying that Peter is
wholly evil. He is simply describing Peter as putting Jesus’ faith to the test. Jesus then turns
this around and talks of testing the faith of the people, saying that his followers must be willing
to lose their own lives for his sake.
In the later gospels, Satan becomes an evil opponent of God, but this is not how he should be
perceived in Mark’s temptation of Jesus.

Sea of Galilee
The ancient Jews called this Lake Kinneret or Lake Gennesaret, and the name by which the
Romans of Jesus’ time knew the lake was Lake Tiberias. The first time in history that the lake
was called the Sea of Galilee seems to have been in Mark’s Gospel. Mark contains dramatic
stories around the Sea of Galilee, made all the more dramatic by its description as a sea.
Perhaps Mark needed to change the name from Lake Kinneret or Tiberias to Galilee, so that
those who knew Lake Kinneret or Tiberias to be just a small fresh-water lake would not
dismiss the drama.
Matthew follows Mark in referring to the Sea of Galilee, but Luke never mentions the Sea of
Galilee, instead referring to Lake Gennesaret 40 or just “the lake”. The author of John’s
Gospel mentions the Sea of Galilee just once, seeing the need to explain for his readers that the
Sea of Galilee was “the Sea of Gennesaret”41.

Dalmanutha
After feeding the four thousand, Jesus left by boat to a place called Dalmanutha. No such place
is known from the first century, although it should be somewhere on the shore of the Sea of
Galilee. This was clearly a problem for the author of Matthew, as he replaced the reference to
Dalmanutha by one to Magadan. Whatever Matthew intended by his reference to Magadan, no
such place is known either, so in the fourth century Magadan began to be replaced in the text
by Magdala, thereby at least providing a supposed town for Mary Magdalene.

Gerasenes
A well known geographical error in Mark’s Gospel occurs in verse 5:1, when Jesus crosses the
Sea of Galilee into the land of the Gerasenes. However, the town of Gerasa is shown as several
kilometres from the shore and across a river. The author of Matthew’s Gospel was aware of the
error and substituted the more plausible location of the 'Gadarenes'.

How Names Are Used in Mark’s Gospel to Convey Messages and Insights Page 10
Why did Mark make such an elementary mistake? After all, he could have ascertained whether
Gerasa was the best town in Galilee for his account of Jesus crossing the Sea of Galilee. I am
indebted to Nicholas Elder provides the explanation of both ‘Legion’ and the choice of Gerasa
as the location for this dramatic miracle, in Mark at the Borderland of Orality and Textuality, a
paper produced on Academia.edu. He says:
Vespasian’s military actions in Gerasa in the years preceding 70 CE will have made the city
culturally significant for Mark’s audience. In J.W. 4.487–489, Josephus recounts that
Vespasian sent Lucius Annius to Gerasa with a party of horsemen and many infantrymen.
Lucius and his “legions” killed one thousand young men, took their families captive,
plundered the city, and left it in flames.

Bethphage
An otherwise unknown town near Jerusalem, the meaning of which is ‘House of unripe figs’.
Mark 11:1 associates Bethphage with Bethany, then Mark 11:12-15 has Jesus, after leaving
Bethany, curse a fig tree for not bearing fruit out of season. Perhaps it would have been just
too obvious if Jesus cursed a fig tree at Bethphage.

Summary
Mark has successfully integrated his new gospel with the two written testimonies of which he
knew – Paul’s epistles and the Gospel of Thomas. He included from the epistles all the people
who might have been disciples of Jesus, as well as James, brother of Jesus, and all the names
mentioned in Thomas. Peter from the epistles is cleverly harmonised with Thomas’ Simon
Peter, and the Gospel describes events hinted at in the epistles, such as the Last Supper, the
betrayal at night and the crucifixion of Jesus, and includes sayings quite similar to those found
in the earlier Gospel. A first-century critic could not have pointed to clear discrepancies that
called into account the veracity of Mark’s Gospel.
First-century converts and potential converts would have been able to relate to a religion that
fitted easily into the milieu with which they were familiar. Allusions to Homer’s epics, Plato’s
Dialogue and to the Dioscuri twins would have eased the transition into a new faith.
At the same time, there seem to be flags that could help identify events that did not really
occur, or persons who did not really exist. Names like Barabbas or Joseph of Arimathea, and
even the Boanerges, could pass initial scrutiny but would eventually be recognised as unlikely
to be historically true, just as the location of Gerasa could cast doubt on the story of Legion.
These were undoubtedly not intended to drive new converts away from Christianity, but
possibly intended to lead initiates to question the Gospel and perhaps encourage them to look
more deeply about the real meaning of the Gospel rather than the superficial narrative of
earthly events. If so, Mark was too successful, and soon his Gospel was too widely accepted as
the real story of Jesus and, once it was copied and expanded on in the Gospels of Matthew and
Luke, there was no turning back. Any hidden meaning would be lost.

How Names Are Used in Mark’s Gospel to Convey Messages and Insights Page 11
Appendix A: Proposed framework structure of Mark’s Gospel

For more detail and a fuller explanation of this parallel structure, please see my paper:
‘A Proposed Framework Structure of Mark’s Gospel’, accessible at:
https://www.academia.edu/12106716/A_Proposed_Framework_Structure_of_Mark_s_Gospel

Pairs K and L, discussed in this paper, are highlighted for easy reference:
A John explains the coming of Jesus (Mark 1:1-8)
B The baptism of Jesus (1:9)
C The voice of God from heaven, "Thou art my beloved son" (1:11)
D The forty days in the wilderness as an allusion to Elijah and Moses (1:13)
E The people were astonished at what Jesus taught (1:22)
F Jesus casts out an unclean spirit (1:23-26)
G Pharisees took counsel with the Herodians how they might destroy Jesus (3:6)
Demons, whenever they see Jesus, fall down and say that he is the Son of God.
H
Jesus commands that they tell no one of this (3:11-12)
I Jesus calls the 12 disciples (3:13-19)
J Jesus rejects his own family: he has a new family, his followers (3:31-35)
K Jesus rebukes the wind (4:36-41)
The demoniac, wearing no clothes (5:15), cries out that Jesus not torment him and Jesus sends
L
out the demons (5:1-20)
Jesus comes into his own country (6:1)
M
- Where he was brought up
N The people misunderstand Jesus and he can do no mighty work (6:2-6)
Jesus sends out the disciples and curses those who will not receive them (6:7-11)
O - in sending the disciples with authority and expecting all to receive them, Jesus is asserting his own
authority
P Herod thinks that Jesus is John the Baptist risen from the dead (6:14)
Q Herodias and her daughter conspire to kill John the Baptist (6:16-29)
R Feeding the thousands, and related miracles and discourses (6:31-8:21)
S Who do people say that I am (8:27)
T Peter affirms faith in Jesus as the Christ (8:29)
U Whosoever shall be ashamed of me: of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed (8:38)
The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and scribes
V
(8:31a)
W Be killed and after three days rise again (8:31b)
X Prophecy of second coming (9:1)
- Jesus tells the disciples that some of them would not taste death until they saw the kingdom of God
coming with power.

How Names Are Used in Mark’s Gospel to Convey Messages and Insights Page 12
B' The Transfiguration of Jesus (9:2-3)
C' The voice of God from heaven, "This is my beloved son" (9:7)
D' Jesus talks to Elijah and Moses then to the disciples about Elijah (9:4-13)
E' A great multitude was amazed at Jesus (9:15)
F' Jesus cast out a dumb spirit (9:17-27)
G' Jesus says they shall kill the Son of man and he shall rise on the third day (9:31)
Jesus clarifies his divine status, saying that he is not God: "Why call me good? There is none good
H'
but God" (10:18)
I' Peter says the disciples have left all and followed Jesus (10:28)
J' Those who have left their family for Jesus have a new family: all Jesus' followers (10:29-30)
K' Jesus rebukes the 'sons of thunder', James and John (10:35-45 - cf 3:17)
L' Blind Bartimaeus cries out for mercy and casts off his clothes, then Jesus heals him (10:46-52)
Jesus comes into Jerusalem (11:1-10)
M'
- Where he will die
N' Jesus misunderstands the fig tree that can provide no fruit (11:13-14)
Jesus casts out them that sold and bought in the Temple and curses them for making the Temple a
O' den of thieves (11:15-17)
- Jesus is asserting his authority
Jesus asks whether the baptism of John is from heaven or of men, and the priests, scribes and elders
P'
can not answer (11:30-33)
Q' Parable of husbandmen who conspire to kill the vineyard owner's son (12:1-9)
X' Prophecy of second coming (chapter 13)
- on clouds of glory, within the lifetimes of some of those to whom he was speaking
R' The Last Supper (14:17-25)
S' Art thou the Christ, Son of God (14:61)
T' Peter denies Jesus three times (14:66-72a)
U' And when he thought thereon, Peter wept (14:72b)
V' The chief priests, elders and scribes delivered Jesus to Pontius Pilate (15:1)
- Delivering Jesus is a similar concept to rejecting him.
- Both parts of the pair involve chief priests, elders and scribes
W' Jesus dies and on the third day rises again (15:37, 16:6)
A' The young man explains the departure of Jesus (16:6-8)

How Names Are Used in Mark’s Gospel to Convey Messages and Insights Page 13
Notes

1
Mark As Story (Fortress Pres, Third Edition, 2012), page 5
2
The Purpose of Mark's Gospel (Mohr Siebeck, 2008), page 41
3
The Birth of Christianity (Harper Collins, 1998)
4
There are six personal names used in Thomas. One of these is Mary, but it would be impossible to identify this
Mary with any of the persons called Mary in Mark.
5
For example, Adam Winn says in The Purpose of Mark's Gospel (Mohr Siebeck, 2008), page 1, the theory of
Markan priority is one of the few that has reached a high level of consensus among New Testament interpreters.
6
See my paper, ‘The mystery of the Nazarenes’, at
https://www.academia.edu/23305958/The_mystery_of_the_Nazarenes
7
For example, one of the mythical Telchines was called Simon.
8
Galatians 2:9
9
See Galatians 2:7: Πέτρος (‘Peter’)
10
See 1 Corinthians 1:18: Κηφᾶν (‘Cephas’, from Hebrew ‫)כיפא‬
11
Matthew 16:16
12
Luke 5:8
13
Mark 3:16
14
Mark 14:37
15
Mark 3:18
16
Mark 3:13-19
17
Mark 3:18
18
Mark 2:”24; 3:18
19
Jesus for the NonReligious (Harper Collins, 2007), page 40
20
ibid, page 44 – referring to Genesis 37:26-8
21
Galatians 2:12
22
Thomas 12
23
Boanerges (Cambridge University Press, 1913)
24
Homeric Hymn XXXIII:
Bright-eyed Muses, tell of the Tyndaridae, the Sons of Zeus, glorious children of neat-ankled Leda, Castor the
tamer of horses, and blameless Polydeuces. When Leda had lain with the dark-clouded Son of Cronos, she bare
them beneath the peak of the great hill Taygetus, -- children who are delivers of men on earth and of swift-going
ships when stormy gales rage over the ruthless sea. Then the shipmen call upon the sons of great Zeus with
vows of white lambs, going to the forepart of the prow; but the strong wind and the waves of the sea lay the ship
under water, until suddenly these two are seen darting through the air on tawny wings. Forthwith they allay the
blasts of the cruel winds and still the waves upon the surface of the white sea…
25
See Appendix A, where these allusions to the Dioscuri twins form pair K in the Proposed framework structure
of Mark’s Gospel.
26
The Jesus Sayings (Anansi Press, 2009), page 250
27
Mark 6:3
28
The ‘Long Ending’, Mark 16:9-20, is believed to have been added by an unknown redactor some long time after
Mark was first written.
29
The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark (Yale University Press, 2012)

How Names Are Used in Mark’s Gospel to Convey Messages and Insights Page 14
30
Ibid, page 96
31
Thomas 61
32
The Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark (Yale University Press, 2012), 69-70
33
See Appendix A, where the stories of Legion and Bartimaeus form pair L in the Proposed framework structure
of Mark’s Gospel. Apart from allusions to the Greek classics, these accounts contain similarities of content:
Legion has no clothes and cries out to Jesus; Bartimaeus cries out to Jesus and throws off his cloak.
34
Mark 10:35-45
35
The use of this verb implies compulsion from the Holy Spirit, such that the purpose was to test Jesus. In both
Matthew and Luke, we learn that Jesus was divinely conceived, so the intention to test whether was worthy to
be the Son of God is foreign to these gospels. Matthew 4:1 alters the passage to say that Jesus was merely led
or brought (ἐκβάλλει) into the wilderness, while Luke 4:1 uses the verb ἤγετο, which also means ‘led’.
36
Mark 1:12-13
37
Putting Away Childish Things (Hamlyn Publishing Group, English edition: 1992), page 58
38
The Temptations of Jesus in Mark's Gospel (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1998), page 59
39
Mark 8:33
40
Luke 5:1
41
John 6:1: After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.

Version History
Version 1:1 New explanation of the place name Gerasa

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