Talk:Malchus

Dubious

The picture is bogus. It falsely shows Peter about to strike his left ear. Both Luke 22:50 and John 18:10 say he "cut off his right ear". A downward stroke would continue into his neck or shoulder.—Telpardec (talk) 17:52, 14 June 2011 (UTC)

Is it not likely that Malchus shifts his head a bit as Simon Peter draws down upon him? We know that Peter's going to move from the position he's in, why would it be so far fetched to assume that Malchus turns his head slightly to the left. Assuming that Peter could only swing his sword parallel to the sagittal plane of his body, as you seem to suggest, there are three possible ways he could have cut off Malchus' ear: 1) Peter facing Malchus, but slightly off center so that Peter's right arm ran a course parallel to Malchus' ear; 2) Peter attacking Malchus from behind, that is with both men facing the same direction; or 3) with Peter being left handed. For the first to be true, Malchus would have to be facing away from the viewer. Fort the second, Peter would be depicted attacking a man from behind, which would convey an undesirable message. For the third, Peter's face would be blocked from the viewer, by his raised left arm. The artist, noticing that most humans have full a full range of motion in their arms, decided to depict the scene as dramatically as possible: we are shown the anger on Peter's face, a sense of impending dread on Malchus' face, and even a poignant sentiment of regret on the face of Judas. This is a 16th century work of art, not a photograph. —VeryReallyNewUser —Preceding undated comment added 05:15, 14 July 2011 (UTC).

Origin

Origin of the name Malchus? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.140.239.233 (talk) 13:42, 21 October 2011 (UTC)