What Does Mark 6:2 Mean?
And when the sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were struck out of themselves, saying, From where has this man these things? And what wisdom is this that has been given to him, that such strength comes about through his hands?
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
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 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.
“were struck out of themselves” 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 gives wisdom; out of his mouth come knowledge and discernment.Jesus answered them and said, My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me.But from him you are in Jesus the Anointed One, who became for us wisdom from God, and alignment, and setting apart, and the buying back.THE THREAD
But if any of you is left behind in wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all without doubling and without taunting, and it will 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.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us