04_Biblica_1_A_Ossandon_Layout 1 05/11/12 12:18 Pagina 398 398 JUAN CARLOS OSSANDÓN On the other hand, the description of Bartimaeus as “a blind beg- gar” could imply some kind of evaluation. In Mark “beggar” (a hapax legomenon) lacks particular connotations. There was a blind man in 8,22-26, but his role was entirely passive. Blindness was commonly associated in Greek myths with supernatural gifts, so the text could suggest that Bartimaeus addresses Jesus as Son of David prophetically 59. Such a connotation is certainly possible but finds no clear support in the text. To be sure, Bartimaeus belongs to a cat- egory excluded from society and considered religiously impure 60. But speaking of a blind beggar implies no clear evaluation by the narrator, neither positive nor negative. In conclusion, the narrator does not manifest by any means his ideological point of view in 10,46. b) 10,47 As said before, Bartimaeus’ words reflect a knowledge about Jesus that goes beyond the neutral statement he has heard. We begin to know what Bartimaeus thinks. But the relevant question refers to whether his ideological point of view receives some kind of ap- proval. The answer is negative: the narrator has not shown his own ideological point of view, although we have hints from the preced- ing episodes in Mark. His discretion conforms to a narrative strat- egy: he waits for Jesus’ sanction. c) 10,48 The narrator gives the point of view of those who rebuke Barti- maeus without an explicit disapproval, but with some distance, as can be seen by the use of indirect speech. It is obvious that Barti- maeus perceives the censure negatively, for it is an obstacle to the accomplishment of his wish. 59 M.A.L. BEAVIS, “From the Margin to the Way: A Feminist Reading of the Story of Bartimaeus”, JFSR 14 (1998) 19-39, esp. 36-38; A. YARBRO COLLINS, Mark: A Commentary (Hermeneia 5.2; Minneapolis, MN 2007) 510. Others speak about a “prophetic insight” displayed by Bartimaeus, but they do not relate it to blindness: see J.R. DONAHUE ‒ D.J. HARRINGTON, The Gospel of Mark (SP 2; Collegeville, MN 2002) 319. 60 See JOHNSON, “Mark 10:46-52”, 200-202; S. GUIJARRO OPORTO, “Heal- ing Stories and Medical Anthropology: A Reading of Mark 10:46-52”, BTB 30 (2000) 102-112.