At least 23 Greek manuscripts that include Mark 16:9–20 also have anomalies like extra endings or notes that express doubts concerning the authenticity of these verses. Once we look beyond the question of ℵ01 and B03 against the other 1,600-plus Greek manuscripts of Mark, the picture becomes more complicated. It’s almost unimaginable that the copyists who made them were unaware of Mark 16:9–20, but at the end of the day, they left it out of their Bibles. These are codices Sinaiticus (ℵ01) and Vaticanus (B03), two important manuscripts from the fourth century. There are effectively just two Greek manuscripts that lack Mark 16:9–20. Undeniably, Mark 16:9–20 was considered by many Christians early on to be a part of Mark’s Gospel. Justin Martyr and Tatian likely knew the verses earlier in the second century as well. Moreover, by around AD 180, Irenaeus unambiguously quoted Mark 16:19 as Scripture in Against Heresies (3.10.6). In light of all the evidence in support of Mark 16:9–20, why would anyone question its authenticity? This includes not only 1,600-plus Greek manuscripts, but most manuscripts of early translations of Mark as well. When we look at the manuscripts of Mark’s Gospel that survive today, more than 99 percent contain Mark 16:9–20. In my judgment, this is the best solution.Įvidence for including these verses is staggering. The Tyndale House Greek New Testament even prints Ephraim’s note as a word of caution that Mark 16:9–20 might not be original to Mark’s Gospel. The note probably predates 10th-century Ephraim by a few hundred years.Įphraim’s approach to the ending of Mark was the same as that of modern translations and editions. And Ephraim’s manuscript isn’t the only copy of Mark that has this note between 16:8 and 16:9. He regularly copied marginal notes that were already in the manuscripts he was using, and this note was one of them. Ephraim wasn’t the original author of these particular words. We can identify others by his handwriting and craftsmanship. We know about Ephraim because we still have several manuscripts he made. But in many the following is also contained.” One brother in Christ, a monk named Ephraim who lived in the 900s, wrote these words in a manuscipt of the Gospels between Mark 16:8 and 16:9: “In some of the copies, the evangelist finishes here, up to which (point) also Eusebius of Pamphilus made canon sections.
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