Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 179:716 (Oct 2022)
Article: On Love And Compound Subjects With A Singular Verb (Mark 12:33)
Author: Joel F. Williams

BSac 179:716 (October-December 2022) p. 460

On Love And Compound Subjects With A Singular Verb (Mark 12:33)

Joel F. Williams

Joel F. Williams is Professor of New Testament Studies, Biblical Seminary of the Philippines, Metro Manila, Philippines.

Abstract

In his commentary on Mark’s Gospel, Robert Stein observed that the two love commands in Mark 12:33 form a compound subject that takes a singular verb. From this observation, he argued that in Mark’s Gospel the two love commands form a single command. Stein has noticed an important detail, but his argument needs further nuance. This article explores the use of compound subjects with a singular verb in the New Testament and interprets Mark 12:83 in light of this research.

Mark 12:28–34 is an exceptionally familiar passage in the Bible, one that calls followers of Jesus to love well. What more can be said about such a well-known passage in which Jesus speaks with a scribe about the greatest commandment? Yet, in his commentary on Mark’s Gospel, Stein made an observation concerning a small detail in this passage, a detail that has been left largely unexplored. Stein argued that the two love commands—love for God and love for one’s neighbor—are brought together by Jesus to form a single command.1 He offered two observations to support this claim, the second of which is the focus of this article. First, Stein noted in verse 31 that “Jesus says that no other commandment (singular) is greater than these.”2 Stein’s point seems to be that if the two love commands can be contrasted with any other single commandment, then they must be viewed as

BSac 179:716 (October-December 2022) p. 461

linked together to form a single commandment as well.3 Of course, it could be argued in response that no other commandment takes on greater importance than both of the love commands together or, in addition, either one of them separately. In this way, love for God and love for one’s neighbor may be related but still separate commands. Indeed, they are still referred to as “these” (plural).

Stein’s second supporting observation is more to the point and carries greater weight. In verse 33, the scribe repeated Jesus’s two commandments and said that this “is” (using the singular verb form ἐστιν) greater than w...