Mark 1:10

New Testament

8 I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” 9 Now in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan River. 10 And just as Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven: “You are my one dear Son; in you I take great delight.” 12 The Spirit immediately drove him into the wilderness. 13 He was in the wilderness 40 days, enduring temptations from Satan. He was with wild animals, and angels were ministering to his needs.

Mekhilta d'Rabbi Ishmael 14:13

Halakhic Midrash
Rabbinic

(Exodus, Ibid.) "Stand ready (hithyatzvu) to see the salvation of the L rd": Moses said to them: Today the Shechinah will repose the Holy Spirit upon you; for "yetzivah" in all places refers to the Holy Spirit, viz. (Amos 9:1) "I saw the L rd nitzav on the altar", and (I Samuel 3:10): "And the L rd came vayithyatzev, and He called as before 'Samuel, Samuel'", and (Devarim 31:14) "Call Joshua vehithyatzvu in the tent of meeting and I will command him", and (Exodus 2:4) "Vatethatzav his sister from afar to know what would be done with him," the Holy Spirit reposing itself upon her. At that time, Israel were like a dove fleeing the rising sun and seeking refuge in the cleft of the rock, where the serpent hissed. If she enters within — the serpent; if she goes out — the rising sun. So, were Israel at that time, the sea raging (before them); the foe pursuing (behind them) — whereupon they raised their eyes in prayer. Of them it is written in the Tradition (Song of Songs 2:14) "My dove in the clefts of the rock, let Me see your face; let Me hear your voice. For your voice is sweet and your face is fair." "your voice is sweet" — in prayer.

 Notes and References

"... Yet a third possible interpretation of Mark 1:10 and its parallels observes that Israel is portrayed as a dove in Hos 7:ll and other extra-biblical sources. So perhaps one should think of Jesus' emergence from the waters as the emergence of renewed Israel. One recalls that there is a passage in the Mekilta, an early rabbinic commentary on Exodus, which claims that, at the crossing of the Red Sea, the Holy Spirit rested upon Israel, and that Israel was then like a dove ..."

Allison, Dale C. Scriptural Allusions in the New Testament: Light from the Dead Sea Scrolls (p. 10) Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2019

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