Abstract
Mark 13:30 has received significant interpretive attention in the history of NT scholarship. Much of the attention given to this text finds its origin in concern over whether Jesus has erred in his prediction of his parousia and the culmination of the eschaton. As a way forward in resolving this long recognized problem of Jesus making an errant prophecy, this study considers other interpretive difficulties presented by Mark 13:30, including its tension with Mark 13:32 and its reception by the Matthean and Lukan Evangelists. As a means of addressing these difficulties, the study, like many before it, reconsiders the meaning of γενεὰ in Mark 13:30. Unlike previous studies, this study considers the “generation” concept within the eschatological expectations of Second Temple Judaism. The meaning of γενεὰ that emerges from this analysis not only resolves the various interpretive problems of Mark 13:30 but also provides significant coherence to the entirety of Mark 13.
