Kata Markon

[Jeff Medkeff <medkeff AT c2i2.com>]

>In other words, are there other biblical instances of this
>miraculous behavior, or extrabiblical examples, ...

>Maybe
>everyone in Mark's audience "knew the story" of what it meant to walk on
>water -- did they?

For some possibly pertinent notices from the OT relating to this story, you
might look at Job 9:8, Ps 77:19, Is 43:16, and other similar statements
which I seem to recall exist but which I do not have to hand. If we accept
these as relevant to the question, I suppose we would see them as an
indication that AMark means to depict the walking on water as being an
indication of Jesus' true being and status. If this interpretation is
correct, then it might be fair to say that AMark's contemporary readers
'knew the story' indeed.

I've not looked through extrabiblical literature for parallels, but I hope
this is a start.

I would also hazard a guess that the proximity of this story (which also
includes misunderstanding and other important aspects) with the feeding
miracle suggests that the stories can be interpreted more generally, as
nature miracles, and as carrying around all the baggage which that implies.
Of course the number of relevant OT and extrabiblical notices swells
considerably when the criteria are broadened in this way.



--
Jeff Medkeff | Many men stumble across the truth, but
Hereford, AZ | most manage to pick themselves up and
USA          | continue as if nothing had happened.