Why did Mark misreference an Old Testament prophet (Mark 1:2?
Mark 1:2 combines quotes from Isaiah and Malachi – Isaiah 40:3, “A voice is calling, “Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God.” Mal. 3:1, “Behold, I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.” More than one prophet can be cited, but only one mentioned. According to Z. H. Chages, The Student’s Guide to the Talmud, rabbis “adopted as one of their methods that of calling different personages by one and the same name if they found them akin in any feature of their characters or activities or if they found a similarity between any of their actions.” There are three other times in scripture where more than one prophet is cited, but the scripture mentions only one prophet.
