Mar 12:43 Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow has cast more in...
Mar 12:43 Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow has cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:
Alternative: The truth is that this widow poor [more than all] pour in more than all dropped into the treasure hold.
Wordplay: In the Greek, the phrase "poor more than all" is an alliteration, (ptocho pleion panton). In this verse it does double duty, referring both the the widow being poorer than everyone else and to her throwing more than everyone else. It appears before the another repetition of the two verb forms of "cast." They describe her act of throwing is next to the participle (the noun form of a verb) describing what they had thrown.
Hidden meaning: There are two meanings of the word translated as "cast" and they are echoed not only in this verse but throughout this chapter. One is the idea of making and effort and the other is the idea of just letting things drop. It is the difference between casting a spear and casting off. In this chapter this idea is applied to casting off our debt to God (and others) as opposed to putting in effort into it.
This story comes at the end of a chapter that has focused on what we owe God. The chapter started with the story of the vineyard which was taken over by workers and who refused to pay the owner. Christ then points out that Caesar's picture is on money and that the greatest commandment is that we owe God love from our heart, soul, mind, and ability. Christ then criticizes religious teachers for seeking glory and monetary rewards for offering prayers.
Thematically and Linguistically Related Verse(s): Luk 21:3 is the parallel verse in Luke, but despite the similarities in translation and in vocabulary are constructed differently.
Vocabulary:
"Verily" is from amên (amen), which is from the Hebrew, meaning "truly," "of a truth," and "so be it." It has no history in Greek before the NT.
"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."
"Poor" is from ptôchos (ptochos), which means "beggar," "beggar-woman," and "beggarly."
"Widow" is from chêra (chera), which means "widow" and "bereaved."
"Cast" is from ballo (ballo), which means "to throw," "to let fall," "to put," "to pour," or "to cast."
"More" is from pleiôn, which means "more," "greater than," and "further than."
"Treasury" is from gazophulakion (gazophulakion), which means "treasury," but it is a special word used to describe the special rooms in the Jewish temple for offerings. It appears primarily in the NT and other Greek histories of the Jewish people.
