Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Mark 6:29

οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ. Antipas would try to lessen his remorse by allowing John’s disciples to come and remove the corpse.

τὸ πτῶμα. Used also of the Body of Jesus (Mark 15:45), and it is possible that a parallel between the death and burial of the Forerunner and the death and burial of the Messiah is intended. Cf. Matthew 24:28 and esp. Revelation 11:8-9. John’s disciples would probably take his body far away from Machaerus and from the dominions of Antipas. The bones which were dug up at Samaria and burnt in the time of Julian (Thdrt H. E. iii. 3) may have been his. Legends about the body, as about the head, would multiply as the craze for relics increased. In class. Grk πτῶμα commonly has a gen., πτῶμα Ἑλένης, πτώματα νεκρῶν. Polybius uses the word of the ruins of buildings. The commemoration of the martyrdom, 29 Aug., is early.

The 2nd aor. with 1st aor. termination, ἦλθαν, is here well attested: also ἀνέπεσαν (Mark 6:40), εἶδαν (Mark 6:50). See on εἴδαμεν, Mark 2:12.

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Mark 6:29

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