“Astonishment” In The Bible
What is “astonishment” in the Bible? According to the Holman Christian Standard Bible, after Jesus brought a 12-year old girl back to life in Mark 5:21-24,35-42, Mark recorded that the crowd of people who witnessed this miracle “were utterly astounded” (v. 42, HCSB). The translators of the King James Version, however, put it this way: “And they were astonished with a great astonishment” (v. 42). It probably will be no surprise that two Greek words translated astonished and astonishment in Mark 5:42 in the King James Version are related words.
The King James Version and The Holman Christian Standard Version
The translators of the King James Version had good reasons for rendering their translation the way they did. Apparently, using a Greek manuscript that predated the manuscript used by the KJV translators (and one that was different in minor ways from the one used in the 17th century), scholars working on the HCSB evidently did not encounter the two related words in Mark 5:42.
We do well to examine these related words anyway, since in the New Testament of the HCSB both words are represented numerous times.
- We see English terms representing the verb a total of 17 times. The verb means “to stand out from. The word is translated as “astounded” in 15 verses, including Matthew 12:23; Mark 2:12; Luke 2:47; 8:56; 24:22; Acts 2:7,12; 9:21; 12:16. It is rendered “out of His mind” in Mark 3:21, and “out of our mind” in 2 Corinthians 5:13.
- We see English terms representing the noun five times. The noun form carries the meaning of “a standing out” and can be transliterated into English as “ecstasy.” With this in mind, it is perhaps not surprising that in Acts 10:10; 11:5; and 22:17; the term is rendered “visionary state.” This does not mean that in these instances Peter and Paul had minds that were “high” or out of control. In each instance, God was communicating something He wanted His spokesman to know. The other two appearances occur in Mark 16:8 (where the women who first learned that Jesus had been raised from the dead were overwhelmed by “trembling and astonishment”) and Acts 3:10 (where witnesses were “filled with awe and astonishment” when they saw a man running and jumping whom they knew had been lame from birth).
B. Nathaniel Sullivan
Christian educator, Bible teacher, and Editor
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations in SundaySchoolZone.com materials are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.
