Mar 12:37 David therefore himself calls him Lord...
Mar 12:37 David therefore himself calls him Lord; and whence is he [then] his son? And the common people heard him gladly.
Alternative: The same David picks out the same as Lord and from what source is he the same [as a] son? And many multitudes heard the same, welcoming it.
Wordplay: As you can see from the alternative above, Christ has a lot of fun with this verse. It is dominated by the word that means "the same," and "the true self," autos. While it can be used as a regular pronoun (him, her, it) its is really a reflexive, referring to the self, as we say "himself" or "myself." Christ uses that characteristic here like a hall of mirrors in raising questions about the Christ being the son of David.
Hidden meaning: The point of the repeated use of "the same/the self" is to make it clear that the "anointed one" (christos) is the same as David's master. David was considered the pinnacle of Israel's history, so most expected "the Christ" to be merely a duplicate, a repeat of the historic kingship, in other words, for him to be the same as David, but less because he follows him. Here, Christ is saying that he is the same as David, but also the same as the Lord, not a repeat, but something new.
The phrase translated as "common people" really means "many multitudes." The point is that historically, people had no problem with David proclaiming the Christ to be his Master instead of his lesser. They actually celebrated the idea.
Thematically and Linguistically Related Verse(s): Mat 22:45 is the parallel verse in Matthew, but in a simpler form without the repeated "sames" and second phrase about multitudes.
Vocabulary:
"Himself," "him," and "his" are all from autos (autos), which means "the same," and the reflexive pronouns, "myself," "yourself," "himself," "herself," "itself," or the oblique case of the pronouns, "him," "her," and "it." It also means "one's true self," that is, "the soul" as opposed to the body and "of ones own accord."
"Therefore" is from oun (oun), which means "certainly," "in fact," "really," "in fact," "so" and "then" (continuing a narrative), and "then" and "therefore."
"Say" is from legô (lego) means "pick up," "choose for oneself," "pick out," and "count," but it used to mean "recount," "tell over," "say," "speak," "teach," "mean," "boast of," "tell of," "recite," nominate," and "command."
"Lord" is from kurios (kyrios), which means "having power," "being in authority" and "being in possession of." It also means "lord," "master of the house," and "head of the family."
"From where" is from pothen , (pothen) which means "whence" and "from what source."
"Is" is from eimi (eimi), which means "to be," "to exist," "to be the case," and "is possible." (The future form is esomai. The 3rd person present indicative is "esti.")
"Son" is from huios (huios), which means a "son," and more generally, a "child."
"Many" is from polus (polys)," "great (in size or power or worth)," and "large (of space)." As an adverb is means "far," "very much," "a great way," and "long."
"People" is from ochlos (ochlos), which means "a throng" or "multitude" but which also mean "trouble" and "annoyance." Our word "mob" really captures the idea best.
"Hear" is from akouô (akouo), which means "hear of," "hear tell of," "what one actually hears," "know by hearsay," "listen to," "give ear to," "hear and understand," and "understand."
"Gladly" is from hêdeôs (hêdeôs), which means "pleasantly," "with pleasure," and "gladly." It is the adverb form of hêdus, which means "pleasant [to taste]," and "welcome [of persons],",
