Mark 16 is a shorthand for the 16th and final chapter of the Gospel of Mark. There is evidence that verses 16:9-20 are not part of the original document, but an ancient completion of it. It has been suggested (by C.H.Roberts) that the original was in fact a codex, and the last leaf or leaves were lost. Some ancient scribe then added a brief summary from other sources; but not all manuscripts were so amended, and patristic writers were aware of the issue.
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2 Textual Evidence 3 External Link |
Internal Evidence
The main writer appears to have been responsible for verses 16:1-8 alone, while verses 16:9-20 were added by someone different. Verses 16:8-9 run like this in the King James Bible:
- 16:8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid. 9. Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
- 3:10 Πολλους γαρ [gar] εθεραπευσεν ωστε επιπιπτειν αυτω ινα αυτου αψωνται οσοι ειχον μαστιγας.
- 3:10 For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.
- 6:20 Ο γαρ [gar] Ηρωδης εφοβειτο τον Ιωαννην ειδως αυτον ανδρα δικαιον και αγιον.
- 6:20 For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy.
- 13:33 Βλεπετε αγρυπνειτε και προσευχεσθε ουκ οιδατε γαρ [gar] ποτε ο καιρος εστιν.
- 13:33 Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is.
Textual Evidence
The language of the gospel suggests, that part of the original manuscript was lost or incomplete after 16:8, and that a later hand added 16:9-20, describing appearances by the resurrected Christ in a different style and using a different Greek vocabulary. Textual variations between the older texts support this conclusion.
- Many of the oldest manuscripts omit verses 16:9-20, ending the gospel with 16:8. These include the 4th century Codices Sinaiticus and Vaticanus, the Sinatic Syriac manuscript, many Old Armenian manuscripts, the Adysh and Opiza manuscripts of the Old Georgian version, and a number of Ethiopic manuscripts. Further, early Christian writers like Clement of Alexandria and Origen have no knowledge of these verses, and Jerome notes that this section is missing in the ''Greek copies" known to him.
- Many manuscripts either replace this section with what is known as the Shorter Ending or Intermediate Ending. This is found in several uncial manuscripts of the 7th, 8th and 9th centuries, as well as a few minuscule manuscripts and some older Coptic and Ethiopian texts, as well as some ancient texts like the Old Latin Codex Bobbensis. Many mansucripts containing the Shorter Ending follow it with 16:9-20, such as the Codex Bobbensis and the Codex Regius of the 8th century.
- Textual critics refer to the text of 16:9-20 as the Long Ending, which is found in the Textus Receptus and many manuscripts related to it, the Codex Bezae, the Codex Koridethi of the ninth century (which was found in Koridethi in the Caucasus, and the majority of later texts. It is first attested by Tatian, who included it in his Diatessaron.
- An expanded form of the Long Ending was mentioned by Jerome, who furnished our only knowledge of this variant until 1906 when Charles L Freer purchased a uncial manuscript that contained it. (This manuscript is now at the Freer Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C).
- Eusebius of Caesarea discusses the question in his 'Quaestiones ad Marinum', and notes that while many manuscripts contain the passage, those he considers better do not:
- An Armenian manuscript, written in A.D. 986, ascribes them to a presbyter named Ariston, who may be the same with the presbyter Aristion, mentioned by Papias as a contemporary of St. John in Asia.
External Link
For and against the authenticity of Mark 16:9-20