”THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED” IN MARK 9:48: ITS MEANING AND BACKGROUND (7)

Study of the Pertinent Words

 

In order to understand as precisely as possible what the text trying to convey it is important to study the pertinent words. This section attempts to check the meaning of some vocabularies found in the surrounding and intertextual text such as the words; σκώληξ, τελευτᾷ, πῦρ, βέννυται, ἄσβεστον and γέεννα.    

σκώληξ “worm, maggot”

The Greek word σκώληξ appears in the New Testament only once. It appears only in Mark 9:48 in a nominative masculine singular. In Old Testament the noun σκώληξ “worm” is translated from תּוֹלֵעָה which appears 12 times. Most of them describe worms that destroy their prey (Exo 16:20, 24; Deu 28:39; Isa 51:8). In Poetic and Wisdom literature such as Psalm, Wisdom, Job the word תּוֹלֵעָה “worm” is used metaphorically and personifically (Psa 22:6; Pro 12:4; 24:20; Job 2:9; 7:5; 25:20). According to Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament the meaning of σκώληξ is "a worm which is specifically a grub or maggot flesh.”^[1] James Strong states it is “a species kind which preys upon dead bodies.”^[2] In Mark 9:48, the noun σκώληξ, which refers to the worm in Isaiah 66:24, describes that they are devouring their prey. As Robert G. Bratcher states:

“The rotting corpse certainly does not possess the worms—if anything it is the reverse. Accordingly, one must employ a word which clearly refers to worms feeding on dead flesh and indicate the specific relationship, e.g. ‘where the worms feeding on the bodies’ or ‘worms eating their flesh.”^[3]

In addition Alan Gomes affirms that “the worms are  able  to  live  as  long  as  there  is  food for them  to  consume.  Once their food supply has been consumed, the worms eventually die.[4] Moreover Francis D. Nichol confirms that the undying worm is not the symbol of a soul which cannot die. ^[5] Furthermore Clark Pinnock asserts that the “worm in this figure are destroying the dead bodies, not tormenting conscious persons.”[6]

τελευτᾷ “die”

The verb τελευτᾷ occurs eleven times in the New Testament, eight of them are in the gospels, two in Acts and one in Hebrew. Of the eleven times occurrences in the New Testament, most of them show that the meaning of τελευτᾷ is related to the death of people or to the end of their life in this earth, and only in Mark 9:48 which is related to the death of worm.[7] According to Henry George that the meaning of τελευτᾷ is to “accomplish, complete something, to die” ^[8] and Spiros Zodhiates states it can be a figurative for death. ^[9]

The mood of the verb τελευτᾷ is in indicative and it is a declarative indicative where Christ uses the verb to convey a declaration. The use of negative particle οὐ with present indicative verb affirms the declaration that the worm would not die.  However the use present indicative shows that it will not be occurring in the future. 

πῦρ “fire”

The noun πῦρ “fire” occurs 73 times in New Testament. It has a various meaning such as literal, symbolical, figurative fire. Literal fire is the fire which burns combustible material (7:19; Luke 3:9, 9:54; 17:29; Acts 28:5). Gerhard Friedrich states that literal fire has three distinctive functions, “burning, lighting and warming”^[10] and for man the fire has two characters. It can be a beneficent and civilizing power but also can be a terrifying and destructive force.[11]

Symbolically, fire is used to depict the Holy Spirit and the genuineness of faith by refinement of gold that tested by fire such as in 1 Peter 1:7 and Acts 2:3 consecutively. Moreover, the fire is used figuratively to depicts God’s judgment in the future (Matt 3:10; 2 Pet 3:10).  

The Greek word πῦρ is equivalent to Hebrew word אֵ֥שׁ , and occurs 351 times in Old Testamet. the concept and meaning of “fire” in NT are the same as in OT. Of all usages in NT and OT, the meaning of “fire” can be draw as follows: (1) literally; as an earthly phenomenon; (2) symbollically (3) figuratively; (a) in the future, of divine judgment place of punishment; (b) as a destructive force; (c) of trials as a purifying force; (d) as a sign of the divine presence.^[12]

σβέννυται “quench”

The verb σβέννυται appears seven times in NT; three times in Matthew, once in Mark, once in Ephesians, once in Thessalonians and once in Hebrews. Literally it means to extinguish or to quench something such as fire and lamp. It also has metaphorical meaning to “cause to cease, thwart, block.” ^[13] In addition it also has figurative meaning such as to “stifle, suppress, restrain.^”[14]

In Matt. 12:20; Heb. 11:34, σβέννυται is used to extinguish fire. Meanwhile in Matthew 12:20 and Eph. 6:16, it means to cause to cease or to block smoldering wick and flaming arrows consecutively. In the last appears of σβέννυται in 1 Thess. 5:19, Paul asks his readers not to not quench the Spirit.

Gary Papaioannou asserts that the voice of the verb which is in passive voice implies that the object of the verb "cannot be put out," by a third party, rather than "it will never go out itself."[15] Moreover Clark Pinnock contends that by “calling fire unquenchable, the bible is saying that the fire is not quenched until the job is finished.”[16]

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^[1]Timothy Friberg, Barbara Friberg and Neva F. Miller, vol. 4, Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, Baker's Greek New Testament library (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2000), 352.

^[2]James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible : Showing Every Word of the Text of the Common English Version of the Canonical Books, and Every Occurrence of Each Word in Regular Order., electronic ed. (Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship., 1996), G4663.

^[3]Robert G. Bratcher and Eugene Albert Nida, A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark, Originally Published: A Translator's Handbook on the Gospel of Mark, 1961., UBS handbook series; Helps for translators (New York: United Bible Societies, 1993], c1961), 304.

[4] Alan W.  Gomes,  Evangelicals  and  the  Annihilation  of  Hell,  Part  Two,  Christian  Research Journal (Summer 1991), 11.

^[5]Francis D. Nichol, The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, Volume 5 (Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1978; 2002), 636.

[6] Clark H. Pinnock, The Conditional View, in Four Views on Hell, ed. by William Crockett (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 156.

[7] See Matthew 2:29; 9:18; 15:4; 22:25; Mark 7:10; 9:48; Luke 7:2; John 11:39; Acts 2:29; 7:15; Hebrew 11:22.

^[8]Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, Henry Stuart Jones and Roderick McKenzie, A Greek-English Lexicon, "With a Revised Supplement, 1996.", Rev. and augm. throughout (Oxford; New York: Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press, 1996), 1771.

^[9]Spiros Zodhiates, The Complete Word Study Dictionary : New Testament, electronic ed. (Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000, c1992, c1993), G5054.

^[10]Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Vols. 5-9 Edited by Gerhard Friedrich. Vol. 10 Compiled by Ronald Pitkin., ed. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey William Bromiley and Gerhard Friedrich, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964-c1976), 6:929.

[11] Ibid

^[12]These meaning are adapted from Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament by Timothy Friberg, Barbara Friberg and Neva F. Miller, vol. 4, Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, Baker's Greek New Testament library (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2000), 339.

^[13]Timothy Friberg, Barbara Friberg and Neva F. Miller, vol. 4, Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, Baker's Greek New Testament library (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2000), 347.

^[14]Timothy Friberg, Barbara Friberg and Neva F. Miller, vol. 4, Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament, Baker's Greek New Testament library (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books, 2000), 347.

[15]Kim Gary Papaioannou, Placement of Punishment in the Synoptic Gospels (Durham: Durham University, 2004),  59. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http//etheses.dur.ac.uk/3095/

[16] Clark H. Pinnock, The Conditional View, in Four Views on Hell, ed. by William Crockett (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1996), 156.