What Does Mark 6:2 Mean in the King James?
And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?
The analysis reads the King James wording.
King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.
THE KEY
Wisdom can be recognized in someone before the mind can reconcile it with the person carrying it.
THE MEANING
You can recognize wisdom in a person before you can place its source. What reaches you through someone’s teaching and hands may exceed the image you have made of them. The verse leaves that gap open: recognition arrives before explanation.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This verse undoes the assumption that a familiar person is fully explained by the role or origin already assigned to them.
THE ROOT
δοθεῖσα
dotheisa
GROWS FROM
δίδωμι (didōmi), passive stem δοθ- (doth-)
To give, grant, or bestow.
“given” in this verse is dotheisa. The passive form presents wisdom as something received and carried by him. The crowd sees it expressed in his teaching and hands, while its source remains an open question.
ALSO GROWS
dosis: Giving; a gift.
δόσις
It makes the act of giving itself visible in the word for wisdom that the crowd hears.
doma: A gift; that which is given.
δόμα
It echoes the verse’s image of wisdom as something bestowed and carried.
ἐξεπλήσσοντο
exeplēssonto
GROWS FROM
πλήσσω (plēssō, strike), in ἐκπλήσσω (ekplēssō; ἐκ, ek, out + πλήσσω, plēssō, strike)
To strike; in this compound, to strike someone out of composure and astonish them.
“astonished” in this verse is exeplēssonto. The verb carries the image of a strike: the teaching knocks the listeners out of their settled frame. Their amazement is the first impact of encountering something they cannot yet place.
ALSO GROWS
plēgē: A blow, stroke, or wound.
πληγή
It names the impact of a strike, echoing the force of the teaching on its listeners.
plēktikos: A striker; one disposed to strike.
πληκτικός
It preserves the root’s sense of striking and sharpens the physical force inside “astonished.”
THE PATTERN
Wisdom and power may be recognized in a person even when their source exceeds the observer’s categories.
For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:THE THREAD
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.James places wisdom beside the same act of giving and names God as its source. That makes the root in this verse more visible: wisdom can be carried by someone without originating in that person’s status.
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