Mark’s σπεκουλάτωρ and the Origin of His Gospel

Abstract

In Mark, Herod Antipas orders John the Baptist’s execution by a σπεκουλάτωρ. Thus, Mark becomes the first witness to the use of the word σπεκουλάτωρ in Greek. The Latin word speculator was used in the first century mainly in respect of the praetorian speculatores soldiers who acted as the emperor’s personal guard in Rome and who were involved in the events of the civil war in the years 68–70 CE. Mark’s use of the word σπεκουλάτωρ (along with other factors) points to the city of Rome as the gospel’s origin, since the vast majority of attestations of the word speculator occur in the city of Rome, where these soldiers mainly carried out their duties.