Bible Strands
Mark 10:3
“What did Moses command you?” He replied.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses the Pharisees who just approached Him to test whether divorce is lawful. He poses the question at the exact moment they attempt to trap Him with a Mosaic legal debate.
The words — ἀποκριθεὶς (apokritheis) translates literally as “answering,” and ἐνετείλατο (eneteilato) means “did command.” These terms mark the exchange as a direct response to a demand for authoritative instruction.
The thread — The appeal to Mosaic authority runs parallel to the demand for scriptural grounding in Isaiah 8:20. It mirrors the legal testing in Luke 10:25 and the challenge to those who want to be under the law in Galatians 4:21.
Why it lands — The text records Jesus redirecting the question to the written command before offering any ruling. It requires a reader to examine the primary source directly rather than rely on secondary tradition or rhetorical evasion.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you?
Cross-references
- Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, they have no light of dawn.
- Galatians 4:21 Tell me, you who want to be under the law, do you not understand what the law says?
- Luke 10:25 One day an expert in the law stood up to test Him. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
- John 5:39 You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me,