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12 > The Parable of the Tenants >
Verses > Mark 12:4b
| 1a 1b 1c 1d 1e 1f | 2a 2b | 3a 3b | 4a 4b | 5a 5b | 6a 6b 6c | 7a 7b 7c | 8a - 12d | Mk 12:4b ... "that one they headed and dishonored."
The third phrase has these 4 words ... kakeinon ekefaliōsan kai etimasan ("that one they headed and dishonored"). The 4 words are top down. The text takes the noun "kephale" (head) and makes it into a verb "kephalaiō" (headed). The strange wording sets up another clue like the verb in verse 3a about being "skinned." The equilateral triangle above the head of this slave is the sign of a stone. The conclusion is the farmers stoned his head. The later Byzantine gospel conflated this phrase, adding two words to read: "and-that-one stone-casting they-headed and dispatch having-dishonored." The word play about "headed" is a clue to the reader that they might be reading a gematria story, because the gospel author requires the reader to fill in words that should be understood while the number of words he needs for his diagram might be restricted. The word "etimasan" (dishonored) implies being spat upon after being stoned. The geometry of the farmers spitting on the head of the slave is a perfect candidate to dishonor him. 12:4a < Verses > 12:5a |