Contemporary Jewish literature uses the phrase “unclean spirit” to refer to demons.100 The term itself, however, plausibly derives from Zech 13:2, which reads: “‘And it will come about in that day,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, and they will no longer be remembered. And I will also remove the false prophets and the unclean spirit (האמטה חור; τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἀκάθαρτον) from the land.’” The prophecy is marked as occurring “on that day,” a phrase which
Zechariah consistently employs to refer to the ideal future. Thus the prophecy refers to an
eschatological ridding of “the unclean spirit” from the land of Israel.101 Three features of the Markan texts suggest the influence of Zech 13:2: 1) six different thematic correspondences; 2) an overarching thematic coherence; and 3) the distinctiveness of Zech 13:2’s phrase.
95 Matt 10:1 corresponds to the same sentence in Mark 6:7.
96 1) Luke 4:36//Mark 1:27; these depict the exorcism in the Capernaum synagogue; 2) Luke 6:18//Mark 3:11;
these are summaries of Jesus’ ministry; 3) Luke 8:29//Mark 5:8; these depict the exorcism of the Gerasene; 4) Luke 9:42//Mark 9:25; these depict the exorcism of the boy whom the disciples could not heal themselves.
97 So Matt 12:43; Luke 11:24 is identical with the exception of the final two words, in which Matthew reads: οὐχ
εὑρίσκει, and Luke reads: μὴ εὑρίσκον.
98 From ἐπιτιμάω.
99 Mark 1:25; 3:12; 9:25. See also 8:33, where he “rebukes” Peter, and calls him “Satan.”
100 So Marcus 2000, 189, who cites T. Benj. 5:2. See also Armin Lange 2003, 254–68. Lange (263) argues that the
Greek phrase in T. Benj. 5:2 denotes a demonic being. He concludes that the phrase in Zech 13:2 itself denotes a demonic entity.
101 See Clinton Wahlen 2004, 28–29. By virtue of Zech 13:2’s intertextual affinities with (MT) Ezek 14–15 and Ps
62 First, Zechariah’s wider context exhibits striking correspondences to the context of the first occurrence of “unclean spirit” in Mark. The Gospel opens with the ministry of John the Baptist preaching “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν) to “all the country of Judea, and all the people of Jerusalem” (οἱ Ἱεροσολυμῖται πάντες).102 Jesus then appears, is baptized by water (ὕδατι), and the Spirit (τὸ πνεῦμα) descends from heaven upon him.103 Immediately after his reception of the Spirit, he confronts Satan and consequently casts out “the unclean spirit” in Mark 1:23–26.
Zechariah provides many parallels to the Markan context. Zechariah 12:10–14 contains a prophecy that leads directly into Zech 13:1–2. The prophecies are linked by virtue of their contiguity in Zechariah and their shared use of the phrase “in that day.” Zechariah 12:10–14 declares that “in that day” God will pour out “a Spirit of grace” (πνεῦμα χάριτος) upon “the house of David and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem” (ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Δαυιδ καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς κατοικοῦντας Ιερουσαλημ), and “in that day the mourning will be great” (μεγαλυνθήσεται ὁ κοπετός). The next verses, Zech 13:1–2, continue by declaring that “in that day” a “fountain will be opened up” for “sin and impurity,”104 and “I will remove the unclean spirit from the land.” Six features of this prophecy in Zechariah correspond to Mark 1.105
1. Zech 13:4 describes a typical prophet as clothed in a “hairy robe” (ἐνδύσονται δέρριν τριχίνην).106 Similarly, Mark 1:6 states that John the Baptist “was clothed in camel’s hair” (ἦν ἐνδεδυμένος τρίχας καμήλου).107
2. Each passage depicts an outpouring of the Spirit (πνεῦμα).
3. As Jesus is understood in some way as a Davidic figure in Mark,108 each passage depicts the outpouring of this Spirit onto a Davidic recipient.
4. Each relates the effect of this outpouring particularly on Jerusalem. In Zechariah, “the inhabitants of Jerusalem” receive the Spirit, whereas in Mark “all of Jerusalem” is the recipient
102 Mark 1:4–5.
103 Mark 1:9–10.
104 LXX lacks “for sin and impurity.”
105 These six features belong to the first overall point.
106 The context of this particular verse in Zechariah pertains to false prophets and declares that a prophet will no
longer wear such garb in order to deceive. Nonetheless, that a prophet might don “a hairy robe” in order to deceive indicates that it was considered traditional garb.
107 The table of allusions in NA28 lists Mark 1:6 as an allusion to Zech 13:4.
of John the Baptist’s message. Additionally, there may be a thematic correspondence between the resultant “mourning” of Jerusalem in Zechariah and their “repentance” in Mark.109
5. Zechariah’s “the fountain opened for sin and impurity” thematically corresponds to the “baptism [by water] for the forgiveness of sins” in Mark. The “fountain” in Zechariah conveys the notion of “purification by water.”110 In Mark, the baptism by water is explicitly “for the forgiveness of sins.”111
6. Each passage subsequently conveys the removal of “the unclean spirit.” The “cutting off” of the “unclean spirit” from Israel corresponds to Jesus’ “casting out” of the “unclean spirit” from those “from Galilee, Judea, and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon.”112
The cumulative weight of these six correspondences suggests that Zech 12–13 influences Mark’s narration of Jesus’ baptism and his subsequent confrontations with the unclean spirits.
Second, the thematic correspondence between Mark and Zechariah is strong. As Zechariah prophesies a removal of the “unclean spirit” in the eschaton, so Mark’s Jesus effects this removal through exorcisms.113 Third, the phrase τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἀκάθαρτον is extremely rare, appearing only in T. Benj. 5:2, where it also denotes a demonic being, and Zech 13:2.114 The concept, however, of “demons” and “evil spirits” abounds in extant literature, thus I do not suggest that Zech 13:2 is the only text or source from which Mark accesses the concept of “demons.” I do suggest, however, that the near non- existence of that precise phrase in extant Jewish literature, and its comparatively frequent use in Mark,
109 The mourning in Zechariah more specifically connotes lamentation, but there is a connection between
lamentation and repentance. See e.g. Joel 2:12: “‘Yet even now,’ declares the Lord, ‘return to me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping, and mourning (ἐν κοπετῷ).’”
110 Wolters 2014, 424–25. So also Boda 2016, 724–25.
111 The “purifications for sin and impurity” in Zechariah are not necessarily identical to one another, nor is either of
those necessarily identical to the baptism of John the Baptist in Mark. The significance of each event need not be identical for the connection to obtain.
112 See Mark 3:7–11.
113 Marcus (2000, 193) notes that Zech 13:2 becomes associated with exorcisms in rabbinic traditions (e.g. Num.
Rab. 19:8; Pesiq. Rab. Kah. 4:7).
114 The parallel Hebrew phrase האמטה חור is found only in Zech 13:2, 4Q444, and 11QPsa 19:15. The latter text
64 in conjunction with the thematic correspondences between Mark and Zech 12–13 described above, strongly suggest the influence of Zech 13:2 in Mark.115
From these correspondences, a picture emerges where Jesus (and his disciples) accomplish the “eschatological ideals” of that prophetic text. Accordingly, by the power of God’s Spirit, Jesus and his disciples are the agents who perform the task of removing “the unclean spirit from the land.”