Palin: The Ass Again (Mk 11,3d) 129 v most impressive: that is what the Synagogue heard 43 on the Sabbath. From ancient times the «colt tied to the vine» symbolized the Messiah’s style of warfare, and we can surmise that anyone tying up a colt, if he is addicted to messianism, hopes that the Messiah’s outriders will come and untie it -no casual event for them, as Burkitt and Lightfoot imagined. So our kuvrio" is not the owner of the ass, but the Messiah 44. Creivan ecei means he is needy (of help). He commandeers (cf. 1 Sam 8,16) [ something from a virtual supporter, who himself ajpostelei'. The word euqu" is correct, for the custodian will indeed consent promptly. His con- jv sent is «sending» within the meaning of Is 32,20. Midrash can be relied on to explain Mark, and not only here. There is a similar case at Mk 4,1, where exaggerated detail lets in a string of allu- sions to Isaiah 45. To return to 11,3, the passage 11,4-5 confirms the appropriate procedure was followed. This detail is more impressive than Matthew’s kaqw;~ sunevtaxen. Luke’s oiJ kuvrioi is interesting, since it rep- resents be‘lyw, the animal’s master(s). Luke impresses on us that the pos- sessors of the ass had legal rights; but these were little compared with those of the true Master, the Messiah. The WH text with its chaotic back- ground 46 should be abolished and the TR reading restored. J. DUNCAN M. DERRETT Half Way House, High Street Blockley, Moreton in Marsh Glos., GL56 9EX (ENGLAND) 43 A. Díez Macho, Neofiti I (1968), 635. J. Bowker, Targums and Rabbinic Literature (Cambridge, 1969), 278-279, 284-285. 44 W. Hendriksen, Mark (Edinburgh, 1976), 434 (contradicting Taylor). 45 In particular Is 42,4; 51,5; 60,9; 66,19. See Midr. Ps. on Ps 2; Yalqut Sim.II, p. 104d. See Derrett, “Preaching to the Coast”, EQ 73, 2001, 195-205. 46 On the pedigree of pavlin in the light of uncials and minuscules see B.H. Streeter, Four Gospels (London, 1926), 93, 318n, and post-Streeter developments at V. Taylor, The Text of the New Testament (London, 1961), 56-75.