In saying this, he declared all foods clean

[Zechariah14]

Mark 7:19
For it doesn't go into his heart but into his stomach, and then out of his body." (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods "clean.")

That little end tidbit is not found in the Peshitta, for good reason.

Hi Rob,

It is not in the Greek text, either. The Greek text does not say ???Thus He declared.??? It simply reads katharidzown panta ta bromata. Jay Green's interlinear translates this as ???purging all the foods.??? In the context of Mark 7, Yeshua says that it is not eating with unwashed (or common) hands that makes one unclean, but what goes into a person???s heart.

The parallel passage in Matthew 15:1-2 clears up the whole context: ???Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Yeshua from Yerushalayim, saying, ???Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.?????? The passage isn't about food, or making unclean food clean. It is about whether not washing your hands in the manner of the Pharisees makes clean food unclean. The Pharisees said "yes," and this is why Messiah said to them in

Matt 15: 3: And He answered and said to them, "Why do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?"

???Thus He declared??? is a blatant addition by NASB translators for the purpose of inserting a particular theology into the text. Messiah did not abolish the Biblical dietary commandments in Mark 7. He criticized the Pharisees for ritualistic handwashing and said that food eaten with unwashed hands was still clean. However, at the same time He said that what is more important is what comes out of a man???s mouth.

Your brother,
Zechariah14