Mark 12:44 Notes

Greek: πάντες γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ περισσεύοντος αὐτοῖς ἔβαλον, αὕτη δὲ ἐκ τῆς ὑστερήσεως αὐτῆς πάντα ὅσα εἶχεν ἔβαλεν ὅλον τὸν βίον αὐτῆς.

Zerwick's Grammatical Analysis: περισσεύοντος-participle, "be in excess, abound"

τοῦ περισσεύοντος αὐτοῖς-"of that which abounds to them" or "out of their surplus"

τῆς ὑστερήσεως-"want, poverty"

εἶχεν-imperfect active indicative 3rd-person singular of ἔχω.

τὸν βίον-"physical life, livelihood"

Rogers and Rogers:

περισσεύοντος-present active participle used as a substantive, "to be in abundance"

ὑστερήσεως-genitive singular feminine of ὑστέρησις, "deficiency, want, need."

εἶχεν-"to have, to possess."

βίον-accusative singular masculine of βίος, "living, livelihood, the means by which life is sustained"

The Expositor's Greek Testament: Mark 12:44.— ἐκ τῆς ὑστερήσεως, from her state of want, cf. on Lk.— ὑστέρησις, here and in Philippians 4:11.— πάντα ὅσα: this not visible to the eye; divined by the mind, but firmly believed to be true, as appears from the repetition of the statement in another form.— ὅλον τὸν βίον, her whole means of life. For the use of βίος in this sense vide Luke 8:43; Luke 15:12; Luke 15:30; similarly in classics.

NIDNTT:

ὕστερος-(a) The cognate nouns hysterēma and hysterēsis are interchangeable (cf. Mk. 12:44 with Lk. 21:4). Jesus contrasts the gifts to the temple treasury of the wealthy, who give from their abundance, with the gift of an impoverished widow, who gives everything she has. In this context either noun means want in general, i.e., poverty (cf. a similar contrast in 2 Cor. 8:14; 9:12). The general sense of need or lack is evident in Paul's response to the gift he received from Philippi. He does not complain of "living . . . in want," for he has learned the secret of self-sufficiency in every circumstance (Phil 4:11-12).

Mark 12:43 Notes

Greek: καὶ προσκαλεσάμενος τοὺς μαθητὰς αὐτοῦ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι ἡ χήρα αὕτη ἡ πτωχὴ πλεῖον πάντων ἔβαλεν τῶν βαλλόντων εἰς τὸ γαζοφυλάκιον· (SBLGNT)

Zerwick's Grammatical Analysis: προσκαλεσάμενος is the aorist middle participle nominative singular masculine of προσκαλέω (Mounce: "to call to one's self, summon").

πάντων ἔβαλεν τῶν βαλλόντων-"all those throwing," present participle for an imperfect.

Vincent's Word Studies: This poor widow (ἡ χήρα αὕτη ἡ πτωχὴ):

The Greek order is very suggestive, forming a kind of climax: this window, the poor one, or and she poor.

Constable's Notes: "The poor widow's offering was worth more than the others, because it cost her more to give it, and most of all because she gave it willingly. Since she gave two coins, she could have kept one for herself. Her sacrifice expressed her love for God and her trust in God to sustain her (cf. 1 Kings 17:8-16)."

NIDNTT: γαζοφυλάκιον-"In Mk. 12:41, 43 and Lk. 21:1, gazophylakion refers to one of the thirteen trumpet-shaped collection boxes in the temple, into which the Jews (including the widow lady noticed by Jesus) threw coins. These were marked to indicate the use to which the funds were put. Jn. 8:20 refers to the gazophylakion as the place where Jesus taught in the temple precincts; he was probably standing in the Court of the Women, where the collection boxes were placed."

Mark 12:42 Notes

Greek: καὶ ἐλθοῦσα μία χήρα πτωχὴ ἔβαλεν λεπτὰ δύο, ὅ ἐστιν κοδράντης. (WH)

Zerwick's Grammatical Analysis: ἐλθοῦσα-aorist participle feminine of ἔρχομαι; in this verse, Mark uses μία for τίς.

πτωχὴ-"poor"

ἔβαλεν-aorist active indicative of βάλλω.

λεπτόν-a small coin.

EGF: κοδράντης-The lepton's value was 1/128th the value of a denarius, which amounted to a day's wage in the Roman world. So it would take one hundred twenty eight lepta to equal one denarius.

A lepton was apparently the smallest copper or bronze coin used in ancient Israel. Some Bible translations render Mark 12:42 with the word "mites" to describe the widow's contribution. The widow gave currency that amounted to 1/128th the value of a day's wage--an amount which was monetarily insignificant; two coins thus would have been 1/64th the value of a denarius. (Based on the NWT Study Bible Notes)

Larry Hurtado (Mark): 12:42 / Two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny: The two coins of the widow were the leptons, the smallest denomination in coinage in circulation at the time. The two coins together equaled a penny (Greek, a kodrantes), an almost equally insignificant coin. (See “Money,” IDB, vol. 3, pp. 423–35, esp. p. 428). If this amount was the widow’s whole economic means (all she had to live on, v. 44), she was indeed poor!

Carl Conrad Translation of Mark 12:42: "Then one poor widow came and put in two tiny bits of small change, a pittance."

Byington (The Bible in Living English): "And one poor widow came and dropped in two mites, that is, a farthing."

NET Notes: These two small copper coins were lepta (sing. “lepton”), the smallest and least valuable coins in circulation in Palestine, worth one-half of a quadrans or 1/128 of a denarius, or about six minutes of an average daily wage. This was next to nothing in value.

Further Reading: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Adam_Kubis2/publication/303942909_The_Poor_Widow's_Mites_A_Contextual_Reading_of_Mark_1241-44/links/575fcb9908ae414b8e54a5a6.pdf

http://www.bavlionline.org/articles/the_metrology_of_judaean_small_bronze_coins_david_hendin.pdf

Mark 12:41 Notes

Greek: Καὶ καθίσας κατέναντι τοῦ γαζοφυλακίου ἐθεώρει πῶς ὁ ὄχλος βάλλει χαλκὸν εἰς τὸ γαζοφυλάκιον· καὶ πολλοὶ πλούσιοι ἔβαλλον πολλά·

Zerwick's Grammatical Analysis: καθίσας is an aorist participle ("he sat down . . . and"); κατέναντι ("opposite"), used with the genitive phrase τοῦ γαζοφυλακίου.

γαζοφυλακίου ("treasury, where boxes were put out to receive the coins of offerers")

βάλλει is present indicative active 3rd-person singular ("tense of [direct] speech")

EGF: I suggest that βάλλει might be rendered "throw, cast, drop"; ESV translates the verb "put"; NWT uses "dropping."

Rogers and Rogers: γαζοφυλακίου-"Probably a reference to the thirteen trumpet-like chests placed at intervals around the walls of the court of the women in the Herodian temple"

χαλκὸν-"copper, brass, bronze money."

πλούσιοι-"rich, very rich."

ἔβαλλον (imperfect indicative active)-"they were repeatedly casting."