26 Thomas R. Hatina simply another way of saying “during the lifetime of the present generation”. In the end, the following synonymous parallelism emerges: Mark 8,38 Mark 9,1 (a) Whoever [i.e. from among the (a1) there are some standing here [i.e “crowd with his disciples”] is from among the “crowd with his ashamed of me disciples”] (b1) who [these] will not taste death (b) [these] in this… generation (c1) until they see that the kingdom (c) when the son of man comes in of God has come with power. his Father’s glory In the broader context, 9,1 is best read as a generalization developed out of the story of Peter’s confession in 8,27-33 (18). Peter’s strong disapproval of Jesus’ perceived fate (8,32) provides a springboard for the subsequent warnings. While this section (8,27–9,1) is certainly concerned with the importance of loyalty for all who follow Jesus, as has often been argued since Vincent Taylor’s treatment (19), it does not appear to be the dominant theme, but rather an inevitability. Since Jesus gives much more attention to his own rejection and the fate of those who do not follow him, the dominant theme is disloyalty. —————— God is as certain as the immortality of the heroic immortals. Chilton admits that his reading does not literally press the emphatic negation of e{w" a[n. He tries to resolve this problem by looking at it in light of Semitic grammar. While the construction is used in Hebrew and Aramaic, it is still perplexing why Mark, who was presumably familiar with Aramaic, chose e{w" a[n if he understood “those who will not taste death” as a reference to people who will never die. To “taste death” certainly refers to death, as it does in early Jewish literature, but it must be understood in light of the temporal particle e{w" which clearly indicates “a time up to which” or “until”. See B.D. CHILTON, God in Strength. Jesus’ Announcement of the Kingdom (The Biblical Seminar; Sheffield 1987) 268-272; ID., A Feast of Meanings. Eucharistic Theologies from Jesus through Johannine Circles (NovTSup 72; Leiden 1994) 169-171. Another potential difficulty is the uncertainty of Moses experiencing death prior to his ascension. See the discussion in D.L. BOCK, Blasphemy and Exaltation in Judaism and the Final Examination of Jesus. A Philological-Historical Study of the Key Jewish Themes Impacting Mark 14:61-64 (WUNT 2/106; Tübingen 1998) 133-145. (18) See E. HAENCHEN, “Die Komposition vom Mk 8,27-9,1 und par.”, NovT 6 (1963) 81-109; D.E. NINEHAM, Saint Mark (London 1969) 223-228. (19) V. TALYOR, The Gospel According St. Mark (London 1952) 380.