Peter’s stay in Rome has not been factually established. Critical scholarship on the Gospel of Mark has shown, rather, that the redacted traditions derive from the previously existing oral, and possibly also written, traditions about Jesus, and much less likely from the public teachings of Peter. Even the occasional Latinisms found in the Gospel of Mark (e.g., , “ basket ” in 4:21; , “ legion ” in 5:9; , “ taxes ” in 12:14; , “ denarius ” in 12:15; , “ quadrans ” in 12:42; , “ praetorium ” in 15:16) offer little evidence for an origin in Rome, since they represent common expressions from Roman coinage and military affairs, knowledge of which can be presupposed in other cities and regions of the Roman empire. The translation of Aramaic expressions such as ( Boanerges , i.e., “ sons of thunder ” ) in 3:16, ταλιθα κoυμ ( talitha koum , i.e., “ little girl, get up ” ) in 5:41, ( korban , i.e., “ an offering to God ” ) in 7:11, or εϕαθα ( ephatha , i.e., “ be opened ” ) in 7:34, show that the audience, who spoke Greek and did not know Aramaic, would need such explanations. Those for whom Mark was written, therefore, consisted at least in part of Gentile Christians who were unacquainted with the relevant Jewish practices and expressions. Although the traditions redacted by Mark indicate in these and other cases – such as the synagogue in Capernaum, Peter ’ s house, the names and careers of Jesus ’ disciples who are called in 1:16 – 20, and Jesus ’ provenance in Nazareth – a thorough knowledge of the area in which Jesus operated – this area cannot immediately be taken to be the Gospel of Mark ’ s place of origin.

Because Mark is apparently dealing with a predominantly Gentile Christian audience, because the authority of Peter plays a role, and because the similarities to early Christian Christological terms and concepts are of a general nature ( , “ gospel ” and the identifi cation of Jesus as , “ Christ or messiah ” ) and , “ son of God ” ), the place of origin is probably, rather, a region which had absorbed the infl uence of pre – Pauline development and then developed it further independent of Paul. If one considers additionally that the events announced in Mark 13, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple, are current events for the gospel ’ s readers, a location in Syria or Palestine suggests itself more readily than one in Asia Minor or Rome.