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Mark draws on Leviticus, which is rarely used in the gospels or Acts, and pairs it with Deuteronomy in a legal debate between Jesus and Pharisees. The quote is unusual because it does not match the Greek translation of Leviticus.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
LXX Deuteronomy 5:16
Septuagint
15 And you shall remember that you were a household slave in the land of Egypt and the Lord your God led you out from that place with a strong hand and with a mighty arm; on account of this, the Lord your God appointed you; therefore keep the Sabbath day and sanctify it. 16 “‘Honor your father and your mother the way the Lord your God commanded, that it may go well with you and that you may be a long time on the land that the Lord your God is giving over to you. 17 a“‘You shall not commit adultery.
LXX Leviticus 20:9
Septuagint
7 Indeed, you will be holy because I myself, the Lord your God, am holy 8 And you will observe my commandments, and you will do them; I myself am the Lord who sanctifies you 9 Any person who may speak evil of his father or his mother, to death let him die. He has spoken evil of his father or his mother; he will be liable 10 Any person who commits adultery with a married woman or who commits adultery with the wife of a neighbor, to death let them die, the adulterer and the adulteress
Mark 7:10
New Testament
9 He also said to them, “You neatly reject the commandment of God in order to set up your tradition. 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’ 11 But you say that if anyone tells his father or mother, ‘Whatever help you would have received from me is corban’ (that is, a gift for God), 12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother.
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Notes and References
"... Despite the fact that the book of Leviticus is not frequently quoted among those from the Pentateuch by Mark, Matthew and the Lukan writings, at least one clear allusion and five explicit quotations from Leviticus are to be found in the Synoptic Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles ... Besides the quotation of the 5th commandment from LXX Deuteronomy 5:16 in Mark 7:10, the author of Mark’s gospel links it with καί to a second quotation in Mark 7:10. The gospel of Matthew utilizes the same Markan material and links the quotation of the 5th commandment from LXX Exodus 20:12 / Deuteronomy 5:16 in Matthew 15:4 to Mark’s second quotation in Matthew 15:4. Whereas the first quotation is a statement which expresses a positive command (τίμα), the second quotation is a statement which expresses a negative command and contains the punishment when the first is not executed or violated (θανάτῳ τελευτάτω). But the textual origin of this second quotation which “Moses said” (Mark 7:10; Matt 15:4), is unclear. There seem, however, to be two possibilities that closely resemble the wording of the quotation in Mark and Matthew, namely Exodus 21:15 / Leviticus 20:9, 56 on the one hand, and Exodus 21:16, on the other hand. The last possibility seems to be more likely and matches the wording the closest. Especially three striking differences between the versions of LXX Leviticus 20:9 / Exodus 21:15 and 21:16 are pointing in this direction ..."
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