I. τ. "APXH rod εὐαγγελίου “Inood Χριστοῦ, υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ 1: 2. ὡς” γέγραπται ἐν τοῖς προφήταις,ὃ “Ιδού, ἐγὼέ ἀποστέλλω τὸ» ἄγγελόν µου πρὸ προσώπου σου, ὃς κατασκευάσει τὴν ὁδόν
1 The ΕἶΕΙε υιον +. ©. is wanting in Ν απά omitted by Tisch. and W.H. (in text).
Most uncials and many verss. have it. ing. BDL omit tov.
2 kaQws in SQBLA (Tisch., W.H.).
Its omission is probably due to similar end-
3 For ev τοις π. in many uncials BDLA 33, Lat. and Syr. verss., have εν τω
The T.R. is a gram. cor.
ἰσαια Tw π.
* εγω is in ΔΝΤ ΔΣ (Tisch.), but wanting in BD (W.H.).
CuapTteR I. ΤΗΕ Baptist. THE BAPTISM AND TEMPTATION OF JESUS. BEGINNINGS OF THE GALILEAN MINIS- TRY.—Vv. 1-8. The appearance and ministry of the Baptist (Mt. iii. 1-12, Lk. iii. 1-18).—Ver. 1. ἀρχὴ, etc.: This verse may best be taken as the super- scription of the whole Gospel, and as meaning: Here begins the Gospel con- cerning Jesus Christ the Son of God. So viewed it should be made to stand apart, ver. 2 beginning a new section as in the Greek Testament of W. and H. If we connect ver. x closely with vv. 2-4 it will contain the statement that the Gospel of Jesus Christ began with the ministry of the Baptist. On this view the connection of the sentences may be taken in two ways: either ver. 1 may be joined closely to ver. 2, the resulting sense being: the beginning of the Gospel (was) as it is written = was in accordance with the prophetic oracle predicting the introduction of Messiah by a forerunner, the story of the Baptist then following as the fulfilment of the prophecy; or vv. 2, 3 may be bracketed as a parenthesis, and νετ. 1 connected with ver. 4, yielding this sense: the beginning of the Gospel was or became ἐγένετο) John the Baptist. All three
ways give a perfectly good meaning. In favour of the first view is the absence of the article before ἀρχὴ - against it has been alleged (Holtzmann, H. C.) that καθὼς in Matthew and Mark always connects with what goes before, never introduces a protasis as in Lk. vi. 31.— τοῦ εὐαγγελίου “I. X., the good news concerning, not preached by, Ἰ. X. being genitive objective; not quite the evangelic record, but on its way to that final mean- ing οξεὐαγγέλιον. ‘Christ’? here appears as a proper name, as in Mt. i. 1.—viod Τ. Θεοῦ: this title, even if omitted, is implicit in the title Christ, but it is every way likely to have formed a part of the original text, as indicating the point of view in which Jesus is to be presented to readers of the Gospel. Without assuming any acquaintance on the part of the evangelist with the Gospel of the Infancy in Matthew and Luke we may say that this title takes the place of the opening chaptersin these Gospels. It is all that Mark offers to gratify the curiosity to which these chapters owe their origin. Who is this remarkable Personage of whom you write? He is “the Son of God”. How much that was meant to convey cannot be certainly: determined. Vv. 2-4. καθὼς introduces a prophetic
ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΡΚΟΝ i
σου ἔμπροσθέν σου. 3. Φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμω, ΄ Ἔτοιμά-
gate τὴν ὁδὸν Κυρίου: εὐθείας ποιεῖτε τὰς τρίβους αὐτοῦ.
- 35 25
4. Ἐγένετο Ἰωάννης βαπτίζων ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ, Kai? κηρύσσων
, , > ” ~ Βάπτισμα µετανοίας εἰς ἄφεσιν ἁμαρτιῶν.
5. καὶ ἐξεπορεύετο
πρὸς αὐτὸν πᾶσα ἡ Ιουδαία χώρα, καὶ οἱ Ἱεροσολυμῖται: καὶ
ἐβαπτίζοντο πάντες * ἐν τῷ ᾿Ιορδάνῃ ποταμῷ bn’ αὐτοῦ, ἐξομολογού-
µενοι τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν.
6. ἦν δὲ ὃ Ἰωάννης 6 ἐνδεδυμένος τρίχας
καµήλου, καὶ ζώνην δερµατίνην περὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν αὐτοῦ, καὶ ἐσθίων Ἰ
ἀκρίδας καὶ µέλι ἄγριον.
a John viii.
7. Kat ἐκήρυσσε, λέγων, “"Epxetar ὁ
6, 8 ἰσχυρότερός µου ὀπίσω µου, οὗ οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς “Kipas λῦσαι τὸν