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Mark6:45–52

Jesus Walks on Water

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Mark 6:45–52 — Jesus Walks on Water. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

45

Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai euthys ēnankasen autou tous mathētas embēnai eis to ploion kai proagein eis to peran pros Bēthsaidan heōs autos apolyei ton ochlon

Word by word22 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εὐθὺςeuthysImmediatelyG2112
√ εὐθέως — directly, iAdverb
eutheōs: directly, at once Mark's signature adverb, here marking urgency rather than mere sequence. Cambridge supplies the reason from John 6:14-15: the fed multitude had concluded he was the Prophet and meant to make him king, so the disciples are hurried offstage before the enthusiasm can reach them.
ἠνάγκασενēnankasen[Jesus] madeG315
√ ἀναγκάζω — to necessitateVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
anankazō: to necessitate, compel A verb of constraint, not request. JFB hears in it reluctance on the disciples' part, perhaps unwillingness to leave their Master alone on the mountain at night. The storm that follows is therefore not an accident that overtook them: they were driven into it by their Lord's own command, which is the whole pastoral weight of the paragraph.
αὐτοῦautouHisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
τοὺςtousG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Plural
μαθητὰςmathētasdisciplesG3101
√ μαθητής — a learner, iNounAccusative Masculine Plural
ἐμβῆναιembēnaigetG1684
√ ἐμβαίνω — to walk on, iVerbAorist Infinitive Active
εἰςeisintoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὸtotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
πλοῖονploionboatG4143
√ πλοῖον — a sailer, iNounAccusative Neuter Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
προάγεινproageingo on ahead of [Him]G4254
√ προάγω — to lead forward (magisterially)VerbPresent Infinitive Active
proagō: to lead forward, go before Present infinitive, durative: they are to keep going ahead while he stays. The same verb will be spoken by the angel at the empty tomb of the risen Christ going before them into Galilee (Mark 16:7). Here the roles are reversed for a night: the disciples go before, and he comes after them over the water.
εἰςeis. . .G1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὸto. . .G3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
πέρανperan. . .G4008
√ πέραν — through (as adverb or preposition), iAdverb
πρὸςprostoG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
ΒηθσαϊδάνBēthsaidanBethsaidaG966
√ Βηθσαϊδά — fishing-houseNounAccusative Feminine Singular
Bēthsaida: fishing-house The name means house of fish. Ellicott and Cambridge identify the goal as the western Bethsaida near Capernaum, the town of Philip, Andrew and Peter (John 1:44, John 12:21); Poole and Gill prefer “over against Bethsaida,” since the feeding was in a desert place belonging to the eastern city. JFB notes that John 6:17 has them making for Capernaum, which he attributes to the wind's deflection.
ἕωςheōswhileG2193
√ ἕως — a conjunction, preposition and adverb of continuance, until (of time and place)Conjunction
αὐτὸςautosHeG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ἀπολύειapolyeidismissedG630
√ ἀπολύω — to free fully, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
apolyō: to release, send away The crowd is not merely sent home but released, let go of. JFB states the purpose plainly: to end the misdirected excitement in his favour, into which the disciples themselves may have been drawn. The refusal of the crown precedes the walk on the water, so that the disclosure of who he is comes to the Twelve in the dark, not to the mob in daylight.
τὸνtontheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Masculine Singular
ὄχλονochloncrowdG3793
√ ὄχλος — a throng (as borne along)NounAccusative Masculine Singular
ochlos: a throng borne along The word pictures a mass carried by its own momentum, which is exactly what had to be stopped.
46

After bidding them farewell, He went up on the mountain to pray.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai apotaxamenos autois apēlthen eis to oros proseuxasthai

Word by word8 · parsed
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀποταξάμενοςapotaxamenosAfter bidding them farewellG657
√ ἀποτάσσομαι — literally, to say adieu (by departing or dismissing)VerbAorist Participle MiddleNominative Masculine Singular
apotassomai: to say adieu, take leave Aorist middle participle. The root sense is to separate oneself off, and Luke uses the same verb for renouncing possessions (Luke 14:33). Pulpit notes that the ones taken leave of here are the multitude, Geneva that they are the disciples; the pronoun autois is ambiguous and the commentators divide, which the reader should be told rather than shielded from.
αὐτοῖςautois. . .G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ἀπῆλθενapēlthenHe wentG565
√ ἀπέρχομαι — to go off (iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
εἰςeisup onG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὸtotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
ὄροςorosmountainG3735
√ ὄρος — perhaps akin to G142 (αἴρω)NounAccusative Neuter Singular
oros: mountain, hill-country The articular mountain of the feeding. Mark has now placed the three parties exactly: crowd dispersed, disciples at sea, Jesus alone above. Matthew Henry draws the comfort of the arrangement, that their Master is in the heavenly mount interceding for them while the ship is tossed.
προσεύξασθαιproseuxasthaito prayG4336
√ προσεύχομαι — to pray to God, iVerbAorist Infinitive Middle
proseuchomai: to pray toward God The purpose of the withdrawal, stated as the last word of the verse so that everything following happens out of prayer. Poole gathers the pattern across the Gospels: Christ often at secret prayer, often on a mountain, often at night, and concludes that such prayer is not only for confessing sin, which Christ had none to confess, but for nearer communion with God.
47

When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and Jesus was alone on land.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai opsias genomenēs to ploion ēn en mesō tēs thalassēs kai autos monos epi tēs gēs

Word by word16 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiWhenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὀψίαςopsiaseveningG3798
√ ὄψιος — lateAdjectiveGenitive Feminine Singular
γενομένηςgenomenēscameG1096
√ γίνομαι — to cause to be ("gen"-erate), iVerbAorist Participle MiddleGenitive Feminine Singular
ginomai: to come to be Aorist middle participle in a genitive absolute, the standard Greek way of dating a scene.
τὸtotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Neuter Singular
πλοῖονploionboatG4143
√ πλοῖον — a sailer, iNounNominative Neuter Singular
ἦνēnwasG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
μέσῳmesōthe middleG3319
√ μέσος — middle (as an adjective or (neuter) noun)AdjectiveDative Neuter Singular
mesos: middle Not a vague “out on the lake” but the midpoint, the place of no return and no arrival. Mark's geography is theological as well as nautical: the disciples are exactly where obedience to verse 45 has put them, and exactly where they cannot help themselves.
τῆςtēsof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
θαλάσσηςthalassēsseaG2281
√ θάλασσα — the sea (genitive case or specially)NounGenitive Feminine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
αὐτὸςautos[Jesus was]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounNominative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
μόνοςmonosaloneG3441
√ μόνος — remaining, iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
monos: remaining, alone The adjective that Mark sets against the crowded boat. Gill reads the isolation as the setup for the miracle: it shows there was no way, humanly speaking, for Christ to get to the ship at all.
ἐπὶepionG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
τῆςtēsG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
γῆςgēslandG1093
√ γῆ — soilNounGenitive Feminine Singular
gē: soil, land The last word of the verse, and the one that makes the next verse impossible. Sea and land are the two nouns held apart here so that verse 48 can put him on the wrong one.
48

He could see that the disciples were straining to row, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea. He intended to pass by them,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai idōn autous basanizomenous en tō elaunein gar ho anemos ēn enantios autois peri tetartēn phylakēn tēs nyktos erchetai pros autous peripatōn epi tēs thalassēs kai ēthelen parelthein autous

Word by word29 · parsed
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἰδὼνidōnHe could see thatG3708
√ ὁράω — by extension, to attend toVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
αὐτοὺςautous[the disciples]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
βασανιζομένουςbasanizomenouswere strainingG928
√ βασανίζω — to tortureVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveAccusative Masculine Plural
basanizō: to torture, to test on the touchstone Present participle, passive or middle: they were being tormented, and the agent is the sea. Mark uses this verb only here; in the Gospels it belongs to the language of demonic torment and of a paralytic grievously tormented. The Verifier finds the same rare lexeme at Luke 8:28, on the lips of the Gerasene demoniac who was about to meet Jesus on this same shore, which puts the disciples' night in startling company.
ἐνenvvvG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τῷtōvvvG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Neuter Singular
ἐλαύνεινelauneinto rowG1643
√ ἐλαύνω — to push (as wind, oars or dæmonical power)VerbPresent Infinitive Active
elaunō: to push, to drive (as wind or oars) The infinitive with the article, an articular infinitive of circumstance: “in the rowing.” Gill notes the vessel was an oared boat and the work was to keep it from being overset. Peter's own second letter uses this rare verb (only five verses) of clouds driven by a storm.
γὰρgarbecauseG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἄνεμοςanemoswindG417
√ ἄνεμος — windNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἦνēnwasG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
ἐναντίοςenantiosagainstG1727
√ ἐναντίος — oppositeAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
enantios: opposite, set against Predicate adjective with an imperfect of continuing state. The hostile element is named before the hostile hour: wind first, then the fourth watch.
αὐτοῖςautoisthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
περὶperiAboutG4012
√ περί — properly, through (all over), iPreposition
τετάρτηνtetartēn[the] fourthG5067
√ τέταρτος — fourthAdjectiveAccusative Feminine Singular
φυλακὴνphylakēnwatchG5438
√ φυλακή — a guarding or (concretely, guard), the act, the personNounAccusative Feminine Singular
phylakē: a watch, a guarding Cambridge gives the history: Jewish reckoning knew three watches, the beginning, the middle (Judges 7:19) and the morning watch (Exodus 14:24, 1 Samuel 11:11); under Roman rule four were kept. The fourth runs from about three to six in the morning, so Gill and Pulpit both reckon roughly nine hours of rowing. Exodus 14:24 is worth holding: in the morning watch the LORD looked down on the Egyptians through the pillar, at a sea he had already opened.
τῆςtēsof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
νυκτὸςnyktosnightG3571
√ νύξ — "night" (literally or figuratively)NounGenitive Feminine Singular
ἔρχεταιerchetai[Jesus] went outG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
erchomai: to come Historic present in a past narrative, Mark's habitual device for dropping the reader into the moment. The verb is unadorned: he does not descend, wade, or approach, he simply comes, and the participle that follows tells how. It is also the verb of the Coming One announced by the Baptist at Mark 1:7 and blessed by the crowds at Mark 11:9, so the bare “he comes” carries the weight of an advent as well as a rescue, and it arrives at the hour when human effort has already failed.
πρὸςprostoG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
αὐτοὺςautousthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
περιπατῶνperipatōnwalkingG4043
√ περιπατέω — to tread all around, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
peripateō: to walk about, to tread all around A present participle of continuous action, and a deliberately ordinary verb: this is the word for strolling through a colonnade. Gill names the claim it makes: he walked as “the mighty God, that treadeth on the waves of the sea,” language taken from Job 9:8. Pulpit reports and dismisses the rationalist evasion that he merely walked on the shore, which Lavater called an insult to logic and honesty.
ἐπὶepionG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
τῆςtēstheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
θαλάσσηςthalassēsseaG2281
√ θάλασσα — the sea (genitive case or specially)NounGenitive Feminine Singular
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἤθελενēthelenHe intendedG2309
√ θέλω — to determine (as an active option from subjective impulseVerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
thelō: to will, to determine Imperfect, an intention held rather than a single decision. It is the hardest word in the unit, because it attributes to Jesus a purpose of not stopping.
παρελθεῖνpareltheinto pass byG3928
√ παρέρχομαι — to come near or aside, iVerbAorist Infinitive Active
parerchomai: to come near or alongside, to pass by Two readings stand in the sources. JFB and Gill take it as the manner of Luke 24:28, where the risen Christ made as though he would go further in order to be asked to stay, and Cambridge adds that he seemed to wish to lead the way before them to the western shore. A second reading, not represented among these commentators, hears the language of the LORD passing by Moses in the cleft of the rock (Exodus 33:19-23) and before Elijah at Horeb (1 Kings 19:11), and of Job 9:11, “he passeth by me, and I see him not,” which stands only three verses from the treading on the waves. Both readings are offered here; the second is a synthesis, marked as such.
αὐτούςautousthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
49

but when they saw Him walking on the sea, they cried out, thinking He was a ghost—

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de hoi idontes auton peripatounta epi tēs thalassēs kai anekraxan edoxan hoti estin phantasma

Word by word14 · parsed
δὲdebutG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
οἱhoiG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
ἰδόντεςidonteswhen they sawG3708
√ ὁράω — by extension, to attend toVerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Plural
αὐτὸνautonHimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
περιπατοῦνταperipatountawalkingG4043
√ περιπατέω — to tread all around, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveAccusative Masculine Singular
peripateō: to walk about Repeated verbatim from verse 48, now from the disciples' side of the water.
ἐπὶepionG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
τῆςtēstheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
θαλάσσηςthalassēsseaG2281
√ θάλασσα — the sea (genitive case or specially)NounGenitive Feminine Singular
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀνέκραξανanekraxanthey cried outG349
√ ἀνακράζω — to scream up (aloud)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
anakrazō: to scream up, shriek A rare verb (five verses). The Verifier records the shared lexeme with Mark 1:23 and Luke 8:28, where it is the cry of unclean spirits recognising Jesus. Mark's vocabulary quietly measures the terror: the men who followed him scream at his approach with the same word the demons use, and unlike the demons, they do not know who he is.
ἔδοξανedoxanthinkingG1380
√ δοκέω — compare the base of G1166 (δεικνύω)) of the same meaningVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
dokeō: to seem, to suppose Aorist. The verb of appearance governs a clause about an appearance, which is the whole trouble of the verse: fear is doing the interpreting.
ὅτιhotiG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
ἐστινestin[He] wasG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
φάντασμάphantasmaa ghostG5326
√ φάντασμα — (properly concrete) a (mere) show ("phantasm"), iNounNominative Neuter Singular
phantasma: a mere show, a phantasm Used in the New Testament only here and in the Matthean parallel. Cambridge notes that the disciples made the identical mistake on the evening of the resurrection (Luke 24:36-37), where the risen Lord had to answer the same category error with flesh and bones. Twice they meet him outside the conditions they expect, and twice they conclude he is not real.
50

for they all saw Him and were terrified. But Jesus spoke up at once: “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

gar pantes eidon kai etarachthēsan auton De ho elalēsen euthys kai legei autois met’ autōn Tharseite eimi egō mē phobeisthe

Word by word20 · parsed
γὰρgarforG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
πάντεςpantesthey allG3956
√ πᾶς — all, any, every, the wholeAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
pas: all, every Gill presses the word: had one man seen it, it might have been imagination, but all saw it, and that is what makes the terror general and the testimony joint.
εἶδονeidonsaw HimG3708
√ ὁράω — by extension, to attend toVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἐταράχθησανetarachthēsanwere terrifiedG5015
√ ταράσσω — to stir or agitate (roil water)VerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Plural
tarassō: to stir, to agitate (roil water) Aorist passive. The verb John uses of the troubled pool at Bethesda and of Jesus' own spirit at the tomb of Lazarus. Mark puts a word for churned water on the men inside the boat.
αὐτὸνautonG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ΔὲDeButG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἐλάλησενelalēsen[Jesus] spoke upG2980
√ λαλέω — to talk, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
laleō: to talk, to utter Aorist with euthys: he spoke at once. Gill notes the speed is itself mercy, “that so by hearing his voice their fears might be allayed,” before any explanation is given.
εὐθὺςeuthysat onceG2112
√ εὐθέως — directly, iAdverb
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
λέγειlegeiG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
αὐτοῖςautoisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
μετ’met’G3326
√ μετά — properly, denoting accompanimentPreposition
αὐτῶνautōnG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ΘαρσεῖτεTharseiteTake courageG2293
√ θαρσέω — to have courageVerbPresent Imperative Active2nd Person Plural
tharseō: to have courage Present imperative. In the Gospels this word is almost always spoken by Jesus and almost always immediately before or after an act of power (Matthew 9:2, Matthew 9:22, John 16:33).
εἰμιeimi[It] isG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
eimi: I exist, I am (emphatic) Strong's own entry notes this form is used when emphatic, and here the emphasis is doubled by the explicit pronoun. In the Greek Old Testament egō eimi renders the divine self-naming of Exodus 3:14 and the repeated “I am he” of Isaiah 43:10 and 43:13, spoken there to a people told not to fear as they pass through the waters. Mark reports the words without comment; JFB hears the Voice of Sinai in them, and the sentence is at minimum a claim to be known rather than explained.
ἐγώegōIG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 1st Person Singular
egō: I, me The pronoun Greek could have omitted. Its presence is the whole weight of the clause.
μὴmē{Do} notG3361
√ μή — (adverb) not, (conjunction) lestAdverb
φοβεῖσθεphobeisthebe afraidG5399
√ φοβέω — to frighten, iVerbPresent Imperative Middle or Passive2nd Person Plural
phobeō: to frighten, to be afraid Present imperative with mē, halting a fear already running. Mark will end his Gospel with women who were afraid; here the command against fear is grounded in nothing but a name.
51

Then He climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. And the disciples were utterly astounded,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai anebē eis to ploion pros autous kai ho anemos ekopasen kai lian ek perissou existanto en heautois

Word by word18 · parsed
καὶkaiThenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀνέβηanebēHe climbedG305
√ ἀναβαίνω — to go up (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
anabainō: to go up Aorist. The verb that took him up the mountain now takes him into the boat.
εἰςeisintoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὸtotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
πλοῖονploionboatG4143
√ πλοῖον — a sailer, iNounAccusative Neuter Singular
πρὸςproswithG4314
√ πρός — a preposition of directionPreposition
αὐτοὺςautousthemG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὁhotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἄνεμοςanemoswindG417
√ ἄνεμος — windNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἐκόπασενekopasendied downG2869
√ κοπάζω — to tire, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
kopazō: to tire, to grow weary, to abate A rare verb (three occurrences, all in Matthew and Mark, all of this lake). At Mark 4:39 the wind flags after a rebuke; here it flags at his mere arrival. Geneva's annotator hears the comparison and says the disciples were more astonished now than when they had seen wind and sea obey his commandment.
καὶkaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
λίανlian[the disciples were] utterlyG3029
√ λίαν — much (adverbially)Adverb
lian: much, exceedingly The first of three intensifying words.
ἐκek. . .G1537
√ ἐκ — literal or figurativePreposition
περισσοῦperissou. . .G4053
√ περισσός — superabundant (in quantity) or superior (in quality)AdjectiveGenitive Neuter Singular
perissos: superabundant, beyond measure With ek, an idiom of excess. Mark stacks it on lian because the single adverb will not carry the reaction.
ἐξίσταντοexistantoastoundedG1839
√ ἐξίστημι — to put (stand) out of wits, iVerbImperfect Indicative Middle3rd Person Plural
existēmi: to stand out of one's wits Imperfect middle, a state they remained in. The same verb describes the crowd's reaction to the raising of Jairus' daughter and, at Mark 3:21, the family's verdict that Jesus himself was beside himself. Matthew 14:33 reports that this boat ended in worship and the confession “Thou art the Son of God”; Mark reports only the displacement of mind, and then verse 52 explains why.
ἐνenG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ἑαυτοῖςheautoisG1438
√ ἑαυτοῦ — him- (her-, it-, them-, also (in conjunction with the personal pronoun of the other persons) my-, thy-, our-, your-) self (selves), etcReflexive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Plural
52

for they had not understood about the loaves, but their hearts had been hardened.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

gar ou synēkan epi tois artois all’ autōn hē kardia ēn pepōrōmenē

Word by word12 · parsed
γὰρgarforG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
οὐouvvvG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
συνῆκανsynēkanthey had not understoodG4920
√ συνίημι — to put together, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
syniēmi: to put together, to understand Aorist with ou. The verb of joining is exactly the right one for the charge: the feeding of the five thousand and the walk on the water are one lesson in two parts, and the disciples took them as two events. Ellicott judges that they had not drawn the conclusion they might have drawn, that all natural forces were subject to their Master's sovereignty.
ἐπὶepiaboutG1909
√ ἐπί — properly, meaning superimposition (of time, place, order, etcPreposition
τοῖςtoistheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Plural
ἄρτοιςartoisloavesG740
√ ἄρτος — bread (as raised) or a loafNounDative Masculine Plural
artos: bread, a loaf Mark's link back to verses 35 to 44. The same failure will be charged again in Mark 8:17-21, where the loaves and the hardened heart appear together in almost these words, so this verse is the first half of a Markan indictment the reader is meant to remember.
ἀλλ’all’butG235
√ ἀλλά — properly, other things, iConjunction
αὐτῶνautōntheirG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
ἡhēG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Feminine Singular
καρδίαkardiaheartsG2588
√ καρδία — the heart, iNounNominative Feminine Singular
kardia: the heart Singular for a plural possessor, the corporate organ of perception. In the Old Testament the heart is hardened at Exodus 7:13 and the warning of Psalm 95:8 is not to harden it; Mark's flat clause places the Twelve inside that history rather than outside it.
ἦνēnhad beenG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
πεπωρωμένηpepōrōmenēhardenedG4456
√ πωρόω — to petrify, iVerbPerfect Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Feminine Singular
pōroō: to petrify, to harden into callus Rare (five verses), perfect passive participle. Mark has already used its noun for the hardness of the synagogue's hearts at Mark 3:5, where Jesus looked on it with anger and grief, and will use the verb again of the disciples themselves at Mark 8:17. The verse is the harshest sentence in the unit: the men who have just seen the sea hold him up are put in the same lexical column as his opponents, and the Gospel goes on anyway.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. He compelled them, and he went up to pray — 6:45-46

The storm begins with a command. ἠνάγκασεν (ēnankasen) is a verb of constraint, and JFB reads it exactly so: the word “implies reluctance on their part, perhaps from unwillingness to part with their Master and embark at night.” Cambridge supplies the motive from John 6:14-15: the fed multitude had identified him as the Prophet like Moses and meant to make him king, so the Twelve are put on the water before that enthusiasm can reach them. Ellicott and Cambridge take the destination as the western Bethsaida near Capernaum; Poole and Gill argue for “over against Bethsaida,” and the Greek eis to peran pros Bēthsaidan will bear either. ⚙ What the whole unit turns on is fixed in this first verse and is not in dispute among any of them: the disciples are in the wrong place at the worst hour by their Lord's own order. Poole then gathers the pattern of verse 46 across the Gospels, that Christ is often at secret prayer, often on a mountain, often at night, and draws the conclusion that such prayer is not for confessing sin, which Christ had none to confess, but for nearer communion with God. Pulpit adds that προσεύξασθαι is “a very full word, implying the outpouring of the heart to God,” and turns it into a charge to the clergy: having preached, go apart and pray.

ii. The boat in the middle, the man alone on the land — 6:47-48a

Mark's verse 47 is two clauses set against each other: the boat en mesō tēs thalassēs, and autos monos epi tēs gēs. Cambridge does the arithmetic, that after a night of contrary wind they had made only twenty five or thirty furlongs of a lake forty or forty five furlongs across, scarcely more than half. Gill says the isolation is recorded on purpose: it shows there was no way, humanly speaking, for Christ to reach the ship at all. Then comes the verb the English versions cannot carry. βασανιζομένους is traced by Cambridge from testing metals on a touchstone, to racking, to tormenting, the same word the demons speak in Matthew 8:29; Pulpit insists that “it means literally, tormented.” JFB adds the detail that decides the tone of the scene: he “saw” this from his mountain top and through the darkness, “for His heart was all with them: yet would He not go to their relief till His own time came.” Matthew Henry, writing on the whole passage, gives the comfort the arrangement is built for, that in a storm it is a comfort to Christ's disciples “that their Master is in the heavenly mount, interceding for them.”

iii. He comes walking, and was willing to pass by — 6:48b-50

Mark switches to the historic present: ἔρχεται, he comes, περιπατῶν ἐπὶ τῆς θαλάσσης, walking on the sea. Gill names the claim that walk makes by borrowing the language of Job 9:8: he did it “as the mighty God, that treadeth on the waves of the sea.” Pulpit records and demolishes the rationalist evasion of Paulus that he walked on the shore, quoting Lavater's verdict of “a laughable insult on logic, hermeneutics, good sense, and honesty.” Then the hardest clause in the unit: ἤθελεν παρελθεῖν αὐτούς. Gill takes it as appearance, that by his course and speed “it looked as though he intended to have gone by them,” and JFB compares Luke 24:28 and Genesis 32:26, where a passing by exists to be interrupted by a request to stay. ⚙ A second reading, which none of these voices takes, notes that parerchomai is the verb of the LORD passing before Moses in the cleft of the rock and before Elijah at Horeb, and that Job 9:11, where God goes by and is neither seen nor perceived, stands three verses from the treading on the waves that Gill has already invoked. On that reading the passing by is not evasion but the form a theophany takes. The disciples see the shape and scream: ἀνέκραξαν, the rare verb Mark otherwise gives to unclean spirits, and φάντασμά, which Cambridge traces through Wyclif's “fantum” and Tyndale's “sprete.” Into that comes ἐγώ εἰμι. JFB will not treat it as mere self-identification: from other lips it would only say which person was speaking, but spoken by one who at that moment was “treading upon the waves of the sea,” it is the Voice, in JFB's words, “which cried of old in the ears of Israel, even from the days of Moses.”

iv. The wind grew weary, and the heart stayed stone — 6:51-52

No word is spoken to the wind. He goes up into the boat and ἐκόπασεν ὁ ἄνεμος, the wind tired out; Gill notes it “was laid at once, as soon as ever Christ entered the ship,” which is a quieter and larger thing than the rebuke of Mark 4:39. Mark then stacks three intensifiers, lian ek perissou, and Cambridge observes that not only were they sore amazed but beyond measure, while JFB concedes the Evangelist “seems hardly to find language strong enough to express their astonishment.” Geneva's annotator sees they were more astonished now than when wind and sea had obeyed his spoken command. Matthew 14:33, as Cambridge notes, adds worship and the collective confession “Son of God”; Mark withholds both and gives instead ἐξίσταντο ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, standing outside themselves, inside themselves. Then the verdict: they had not put the loaves together, οὐ συνῆκαν, and their heart πεπωρωμένη, petrified. Ellicott judges they had failed to draw from the loaves the conclusion that all natural forces were subject to their Master's sovereignty; Barnes softens the verb toward dullness of perception, citing Ephesians 1:18 and Romans 1:21, and Gill insists it was not hardness by sin or judgment but a need of divine illumination. ⚙ Barnes and Gill are protecting the Twelve from a word Mark chose with open eyes: the same rare verb stands over the synagogue in Mark 3:5 and over these same disciples again in Mark 8:17. The unit ends with an unexplained passive and no repair.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ Read as one sentence, the passage says that the same Lord who sends his people into the wind is the one who comes over it. The commentators divide over the passing by, and they divide over how hard the hardened heart really is, but they do not divide over the sequence, and the sequence is the message: he compelled them out, he watched them from above, he came at the last watch, he did not arrive until his own time, and when he arrived he did not first explain the miracle but gave them a name. Mark reports no rebuke to the wind and no confession from the boat. He reports that the wind grew weary and the men did not understand. That asymmetry is the point at which this Gospel differs from its parallels and the point at which it speaks to anyone who has obeyed and found themselves in the middle of a sea. The sea obeys instantly; the heart does not, and the Lord boards the boat anyway. Whether ἐγώ εἰμι on those waters is the divine Name or ordinary Greek for “it is me” cannot be settled by grammar alone, since the phrase carries both; what settles it for this reader is what the speaker was standing on when he said it, which is exactly the argument JFB makes and this reading offers to be tested against the text rather than asserted over it.

The wind gave out before the disciples did, and he got into the boat with them anyway. (This line is synthesis, not Scripture.)

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The loaves and the stone heart: Mark's own charge, repeated verbal / quotation: confirmed

Mark 6:52 is not a single remark. At Mark 8:17, after a second feeding, Jesus asks the Twelve himself: do you not yet perceive nor understand, is your heart yet hardened? The Verifier confirms that the two verses share three lexemes, including the rare πωρόω (pōroō, G4456), found in only five verses in the New Testament. John 12:40 uses that same rare verb of a hardening performed by God in fulfilment of Isaiah 6:10, which is where the honesty of the word lies: Barnes and Gill both work to keep the disciples' case mild, and John's usage shows the verb is not naturally mild. Mark 3:5 applies the cognate noun to Jesus' opponents in the synagogue. The Twelve are indicted in the vocabulary of the Gospel's hostile witnesses.

Mark 8:17 · John 12:40 · Mark 3:5

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes with Mark 8:17, G4456 πωρόω (rare, in 5 vv), G4920 συνίημι (in 25 vv), G2588 καρδία (in 149 vv); John 12:40 shares G4456 πωρόω and G2588 καρδία. All refs are New Testament, so the link is Greek to Greek and lexically real. It is a verbal echo within Mark's own vocabulary, not a quotation of an external source; Mark 3:5 is cited for the cognate noun and is not part of the Verifier's computed basis.

They screamed with the voice of the possessed verbal / quotation: confirmed

Two of the rarest words in this unit put the disciples in company Mark elsewhere reserves for the demonised. βασανίζω (basanizō, G928, twelve verses) is what the sea does to them in v. 48; ἀνακράζω (anakrazō, G349, five verses) is what they do in v. 49. The Verifier finds both together at Luke 8:28, where the Gerasene demoniac shrieks and begs not to be tormented, and anakrazō again at Mark 1:23 and Luke 4:33, the unclean spirit in the Capernaum synagogue. Cambridge independently traces basanizō to the torment of Matthew 8:29. ⚙ The observation is Mark's, not an imposition: terror of Christ on the water and terror of Christ in the synagogue sound the same, and the difference is that the demons know who he is.

Mark 1:23 · Luke 8:28 · Luke 4:33

basis: Verifier: Luke 8:28 shares G928 βασανίζω (in 12 vv) and G349 ἀνακράζω (in 5 vv); Mark 1:23 and Luke 4:33 share G349 ἀνακράζω (in 5 vv). Rare shared lexemes, Greek to Greek, all refs New Testament. Verbal correspondence only; no quotation is claimed, and the theological inference drawn from it is synthesis.

Two storms on one lake: rebuke, and then mere arrival structural / thematic: confirmed

Mark 4:39 and this passage are the same lake, the same boat crew and largely the same vocabulary: the Verifier records shared θάλασσα (G2281) and ἄνεμος (G417), and both chapters end the wind with the verb kopazō. The difference is what the two narratives withhold. In chapter 4 he rebukes the wind and asks why they have no faith; here he says nothing to the wind at all, and the calm follows his boarding. The escalation is deliberate: Geneva's annotator says they were more astonished now than when they had seen wind and sea obey his spoken command, because this time there was no command.

Mark 4:39

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G2281 θάλασσα (in 83 vv) and G417 ἄνεμος (in 29 vv). Both lexemes are common, so no verbal tier is claimed on their strength; the link is a shared Markan pattern of sea, wind and the disciples' fear.

The same night in three other Gospels structural / thematic: confirmed

Matthew 14:22-33 and John 6:16-21 narrate this crossing, and the Verifier registers lexical overlap at Matthew 14:22, 14:24, 14:25, 14:26 and 14:32 and John 6:19. Each adds what Mark omits. JFB and Cambridge both note Matthew's account of Peter walking and sinking, absent from the Gospel most closely tied to Peter's own preaching, a silence Ellicott connects with Mark 6:52. Matthew 14:33 ends in worship and the confession “Son of God,” which Mark replaces with hardened hearts. John 6:21 adds that the boat was immediately at the land, a further miracle JFB says is recorded by the fourth Evangelist alone, and John 6:18 supplies the great wind that Cambridge and Pulpit both lean on.

Matthew 14:25 · Matthew 14:26 · Matthew 14:32 · John 6:19

basis: Verifier: shared Greek lexemes G4143 πλοῖον (in 62 vv), G2281 θάλασσα (in 83 vv), G417 ἄνεμος (in 29 vv), G3101 μαθητής (in 247 vv), G3571 νύξ (in 58 vv). All common lexemes, so the verbal tier is withheld even though these are accounts of one event; the basis recorded is shared narrative structure plus common vocabulary, not demonstrable literary quotation.

Who alone treads on the heights of the sea structural / thematic: confirmed

Gill glosses the walking with words he does not mark as a citation: Christ walked “as the mighty God, that treadeth on the waves of the sea,” which is Job 9:8. Pulpit, commenting on the disciples' amazement, says they were brought near to One whose “way is in the sea,” whose “path is in the great waters,” whose “footsteps are not known,” which is Psalm 77:19 word for word without the reference. Both places describe something no creature does. Psalm 107:23-30 completes the pattern from the other side: men who go down to the sea in ships, at their wits' end, and a God who makes the storm a calm and brings them to their desired haven.

Job 9:8 · Psalm 77:19 · Psalm 107:29

basis: Cross-Testament Greek to Hebrew, so shared Strong's numbers are impossible and no verbal tier can be claimed; the Verifier returned no lexical basis for these pairs. The recorded basis is a shared motif of treading and pathing on the sea as a divine prerogative, together with the fact that Gill quotes Job 9:8 and Pulpit quotes Psalm 77:19 into their comments on these very verses.

He was willing to pass by them typological

⚙ The verb παρέρχομαι (parerchomai, G3928) in v. 48 is the verb of the LORD causing his goodness to pass before Moses while Moses is covered in the cleft of the rock (Exodus 33:19-23), and of the LORD passing by before Elijah at Horeb (1 Kings 19:11). Job 9:11, three verses after the treading on the waves, reads “Lo, he goeth by me, and I see him not: he passeth on also, but I perceive him not.” On that reading, Mark is not describing an intention to leave them behind but the shape a self-disclosure takes: God passes by, and the creature sees only the edge of it. This is offered against the named voices, not with them. JFB reads the passing by in the sense of Luke 24:28 and Genesis 32:26, Gill calls it appearance only and “far from his real design,” and Cambridge thinks he seemed to wish to lead the way to the western shore. The reading here is the later one and is flagged as synthesis.

Exodus 33:22 · 1 Kings 19:11 · Job 9:11

basis: Cross-Testament Greek to Hebrew, so no shared Strong's basis exists and the Verifier computed none; the link is figural, resting on the pattern of a divine passing by that both reveals and withholds. Honestly marked as a reading not held by any commentator quoted in this unit, all of whom read the clause by Luke 24:28 instead.

I am: the name spoken over water structural / thematic: confirmed

JFB makes the link explicitly and this unit does not have to invent it: ἐγώ εἰμι from the mouth of one treading the waves is “the Voice which cried of old in the ears of Israel, even from the days of Moses, "I AM"; "I, EVEN I, AM He!"” The Greek Old Testament renders the divine self-naming of Exodus 3:14 with egō eimi, and Isaiah 43:10 and 43:13 with the same words in the same absolute construction, in a passage that opens “Fear not: for I have redeemed thee” (Isaiah 43:1) and promises “when thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee” (43:2). Isaiah 51:12 joins the formula to the command not to be afraid, which is what Mark 6:50 does. John 8:58 makes the claim unmistakable on the same lips.

Exodus 3:14 · Isaiah 43:10 · Isaiah 51:12 · John 8:58

basis: The Old Testament refs are Hebrew and the Gospel is Greek, so no shared Strong's numbers are possible and no verbal tier is claimed; the correspondence runs through the Septuagint's ἐγώ εἰμι, which is a translation link, not a lexical identity the Verifier can compute. JFB records the reading in his comment on this verse. The phrase can also mean simply “it is I,” and that ambiguity is stated rather than suppressed.

Harden not your heart structural / thematic: confirmed

The passive of πεπωρωμένη leaves the agent unnamed. Two Old Testament streams stand behind a hardened heart in Scripture: Pharaoh's, where the hardening is stated both of Pharaoh and of the LORD (Exodus 7:13, Exodus 9:12), and Israel's in the wilderness, where Psalm 95:8 commands “Harden not your heart, as in the provocation,” recalling the day of temptation in the wilderness. Mark has just narrated a feeding in a desert place. ⚙ Placing the Twelve, immediately after bread in the wilderness, under the wilderness generation's own warning is a structural observation about Mark's arrangement, not a claim that Mark cites either text.

Exodus 7:13 · Psalm 95:8

basis: Cross-Testament Greek to Hebrew; no shared Strong's numbers are possible and the Verifier computed none. The Greek πωρόω is not the Septuagint's usual rendering of the Exodus hardening verbs, so no verbal claim is made. Basis is the shared motif of a hardened heart following bread given in the wilderness.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The I AM upon the waters ancient/widely-held

The centre of the unit is two words. JFB states the case plainly: from other lips “I am” would mean only that the speaker was this person and not another, and that would do little to calm men expecting to go to the bottom, but spoken by one “treading upon the waves of the sea,” it is the Voice that cried in Israel's ears from the days of Moses. Mark's own composition supports him: the disciples' dread is framed by a present indicative, “that it is a phantasm,” and is answered by a present indicative, “I am.” The reassurance is not information about the identity of a figure in the dark; it is a name offered as sufficient ground for courage. Isaiah joins that name to precisely this situation: “when thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee” (43:2), and then “that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he” (43:10). ⚙ The unit does not claim Mark quotes Isaiah or Exodus; it claims that the words Mark records are the words the Greek Old Testament put in the mouth of God, and that the man who spoke them was standing on the sea.

Exodus 3:14 · Isaiah 43:1-2 · Isaiah 43:10 · John 8:58

He treads the sea, and the sea gives out ancient/widely-held

Job 9:8 says of God alone that he treads on the waves of the sea; Psalm 77:19 says his path is in the great waters and his footsteps are not known. Gill applies the first to Christ without argument, and Pulpit applies the second, both as though the transfer needed no defence. The wind then kopazō, grows weary, at his mere boarding, with no word spoken. Cambridge reports what Matthew adds at this point, that the men in the boat worshipped him and avowed collectively what one of them had already said separately, that he is the Son of God, and cites Bishop Ellicott's Lectures for the observation. ⚙ The claim being made by the narrative is not that Jesus performed an impressive act but that he exercised a prerogative the Old Testament assigns to God and to no one else, and that his own disciples had no category ready for it.

Job 9:8 · Psalm 77:19 · Psalm 107:29 · Matthew 14:33

On the mountain for them, in the boat with them ancient/widely-held

Matthew Henry reads the arrangement of verses 46 to 48 as the Church's own condition: tossed with tempests and not comforted, with wind and tide against her, and the comfort is “that their Master is in the heavenly mount, interceding for them.” The text supports the frame more than allegory usually does. He goes up (apēlthen eis to oros) to pray; he sees them, and JFB presses that he saw it from the mountain top through the darkness “for His heart was all with them”; and then he comes down to where they are and gets into the boat. That is the order of Hebrews 7:25 and Romans 8:34, the living intercessor who is also the one who came. ⚙ The reading is figural and Henry's, and it is worth noting he applies it to the Church, where the text itself speaks only of twelve men in a boat.

Hebrews 7:25 · Romans 8:34 · Mark 6:46

The fourth watch ancient/widely-held

Pulpit collects a patristic tradition on the hour. Jerome: “The fourth watch is the last.” Augustine, that he who has watched the ship of his Church will come at length at the fourth watch, at the end of the world, when the night of sin and evil is ended, to judge the quick and the dead. Hilary maps the four watches onto Law, prophets, gospel and glorious advent, with the calm after his reception into the ship prefiguring the peace of the Church after his second coming. Theophylact reads it pastorally, that he allows his disciples to be tried by dangers so that they may be taught patience and does not come till morning so that they may learn perseverance. ⚙ This is allegory and should be labelled as such, but the exegetical core that generates it is in the text: he does not come at the first sign of trouble, and JFB puts that soberly, “yet would He not go to their relief till His own time came.”

Mark 6:48 · Exodus 14:24

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

⚙ Honesty notes for this unit. (1) Text: the interlinear followed here reads eis to peran pros Bēthsaidan in v. 45; the commentators divide over whether that means “to Bethsaida” (Ellicott, Cambridge, JFB, who identify a western Bethsaida near Capernaum) or “over against Bethsaida” (Poole, Gill, who place the feeding in the desert belonging to the eastern city). Nothing in this unit resolves it, and the reader should treat the geography as open. (2) Coverage: three of the ten commentators supply almost nothing here. Benson refers the reader entirely to his notes on Matthew 14:22-36, Barnes does the same for every verse except 52, and Matthew Henry comments on 6:45-56 in a single undivided block, so his sentences are quoted against the verse they best fit rather than a verse he individually treated. (3) Ambiguity left standing: autois in v. 46 does not say whether the ones taken leave of are the disciples (Geneva) or the multitude (Pulpit, Gill), and the Greek will not settle it. (4) The reading of παρελθεῖν as theophany language is synthesis and is contradicted by every commentator in this brief, all of whom take it by Luke 24:28; it is marked typological and flagged as a later reading rather than presented as the sense of the passage. (5) The Septuagint background of ἐγώ εἰμι is asserted on the strength of JFB's own comment and of the Greek Old Testament's rendering of Exodus 3:14 and Isaiah 43:10; because the link runs through a translation, it can never carry a verbal badge in this system, and the ordinary sense “it is I” remains grammatically available. (6) Every cross-Testament thread here is tiered structural or typological for the same reason: Greek and Hebrew cannot share Strong's numbers, so the Verifier can compute no lexical basis across the Testaments, and any claim of quotation would be ours and not the machine's. (7) Mark reports no confession of faith from this boat, unlike Matthew 14:33. Where this unit cites Matthew's confession, it is cited as Matthew's, following Cambridge, and not read back into Mark.

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)