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Mark 07 General Notes
Structure and Format
Some translations prefer to set apart quotations of the Old Testament. The ULB and many other English translations indent the lines of 7:6-7, which is a quotation from the Old Testament.
Special concepts in this chapter
Hand washing
This was a practice done by the Pharisees, but it was not an obligation according to the law of Moses. The Pharisees had many rituals involving washing in an attempt to make themselves clean. This is ironic because no amount of water could make them spiritually clean. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/lawofmoses, rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/clean and rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-irony)
Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter
"Ephphatha"
This is a phrase in Aramaic. Mark does not "translate" this phrase into Greek but chooses to "transliterate" or transfer it into Greek by substituting Greek letters for Aramaic letters. The translators of the ULB and UDB have not translated this phrase either. The translator should try to form the sounds of this phrase without translating its meaning.