View source for Essay:Calming the Storm

[[Jesus]]'s '''Calming the Storm''' is described in three [[Gospels]]: beginning at Matthew 8:23, Mark 4:39, and Luke 8:24.  The issue is how Jesus actually calmed the storm: '''''by word or by observation'''''?  Modern physics—the insights of [[quantum mechanics]]—suggest that the calming was achieved by observation, not by word or deed.

Eyewitness Matthew does not quote any statement at this moment by Jesus, and neither does the careful historian Luke.  Only some translations of Mark, who was not on the boat, quotes Jesus.  But those translations of Mark are incorrect because Jesus's spoken words, if any, would have been in [[Aramaic]] in this context, not in Greek, so the Greek wording cannot plausibly represent an actual quotation.  Compare the respected modern translations of this passage for each Gospel:

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Verse
!class="unsortable"|Greek
!class="unsortable"|[[NASB]]
!class="unsortable"|[[ESV]]
!class="unsortable"|[[CBP]]
|-
|Matthew 8:26
|... τότε ἐγερθεὶς ἐπετίμησεν τοῖς ἀνέμοις καὶ τῇ θαλάσσῃ, καὶ ἐγένετο γαλήνη μεγάλη.
|... Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm. [or, according to a note, "a great calm occurred"]
|... Then he rose and '''''rebuked''''' the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.
|... Then He got up and '''''judged''''' the winds and the sea, and a great calm fell. 
|-
|Mark 4:39
|καὶ διεγερθεὶς ἐπετίμησεν τῷ ἀνέμῳ καὶ εἶπεν<ref name="ft 1">εἶπεν is the 3rd Person Singular Indicative Active Aorist of λέγω, which in the silent sense can mean "he meant" or "he judged."</ref> τῇ θαλάσσῃ, Σιώπα, πεφίμωσο. καὶ ἐκόπασεν ὁ ἄνεμος, καὶ ἐγένετο γαλήνη μεγάλη. 
|And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Hush, be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. [or, according to a note, "a great calm occurred"]
|And he awoke and '''''rebuked''''' the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 
|He got up and '''''disapproved of''''' the wind, and '''''enjoined'''''<ref>"Commanded" could be used instead if it did not have an oral connotation - see also Psalm 33:9 ("For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast.") and Psalm 148:5-6 ("Let them praise the name of the LORD, For He commanded and they were created.").</ref> the sea to a silent state. The wind then stopped, and there was complete calm.
|-
|Luke 8:24
|... ὁ δὲ διεγερθεὶς ἐπετίμησεν τῷ ἀνέμῳ καὶ τῷ κλύδωνι τοῦ ὕδατος: καὶ ἐπαύσαντο, καὶ ἐγένετο γαλήνη. 
|... And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and it became calm.
|... And he awoke and '''''rebuked''''' the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, and there was a calm. 
|... Then He stood up and '''''judged''''' the wind and the waves, so that the wind stopped blowing and the waves calmed.
|-
|}

Is "rebuked" the correct translation of the Greek term "ἐπιτιμάω", which appears in all three verses above and in connection with other miracles, such as Jesus's lifting of the fever in Luke 4:39?  The real meaning of the Greek "ἐπιτιμάω" is closer to "judge" than to affirmatively rebuke.  The term can even be used in a positive manner, as in "honor" or "raise the price of."  The English term "rebuke" carries the primary connotation of a verbal communication, while in the Greek ἐπιτιμάω has the primary connotation of a non-verbal judgment.

In the Mark verse above, traditional translations insert the word "said" as though Jesus caused the calming by verbally ordering the sea to be still.  But the real meaning of "λέγω" is to "lay", to "cause to lie down," or to "put to sleep."<ref name="ft 1" />  It has a connotation of speaking only when used in a context of verbal communication such as putting an argument to rest, which is not the case here in observing nature.

James Strong, the 19th century author of Strong's [[Concordance]] on the [[Bible]], was not a modern physicist and his definitions tend to lack abstraction, even where obviously necessary.

== See also ==
* [[Essay:Rebuttal to the "Calming the Storm" essay]]

== Footnotes ==
<references />

[[Category:Bible]]
[[Category:Conservative Bible]]
[[Category:Essays]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calming the Storm}}