GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 8:22
The Indefinite Plural
One Sunday after the morning service, they had a program for all the kids called “Trunk and Treat.” Many churches have similar programs where they decorate the trunks of their cars, and they invite children (and adults) to play games, rewarding them with candy. They also provided hot dogs and hamburgers for everyone. At the end of the program, they called for help in stacking tables and chairs.
In the previous paragraph, the word “they” or “them” appears seven times. Grammarians call “they” an “indefinite plural pronoun.” Without “they,” the after-church program would not have been possible. Congregants came forth to help in one way or another without recognition or fanfare.
The “indefinite plural” shows up in Mark’s narrative: “And they came to Bethsaida. And they brought to him a blind man, and they begged him that he might touch him.” (8:22) There is no name or recognition for the “they” who cared enough to bring this man to Jesus. To get around the anonymity of this story, some translators insert “some people brought” (cf. ISV), which is acceptable, but not precise.
It is good to be alert to the “theys” who grace our everyday lives—the store clerk, the postal delivery person, the counter person, the server, the cook, and so on. I’m going to try to remove some of the “indefinite” in the pronoun by looking for names and finding ways to say, “Thank you.”
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