455
9. ᾽Αναστὰς δὲ mpwt πρώτῃ σαββάτου ἐφάνη πρῶτον Μαρίᾳ τῇ
Μαγδαληνῇ, ah fis? ἐκβεβλήκει ἑπτὰ δαιμόνια.
10. ἐκείνη
πορευθεῖσα ἀπήγγειλε τοῖς pet αὐτοῦ γενοµένοις, πενθοῦσι καὶ
κλαίουσι. 1 παρ ης in CDL 33 (W.H.).
what end in view? We wait for the final answers to these questions, but important contributions have recently been made towards a solution of the pro- blem. In an Armenian codex of the Gospels, written in 986 Α.Ρ., the close of Mk. (vv. 9-20), separated by a space from what goes before to show that it is distinct, has written above it: ‘‘ Of the Presbyter Aristion,”’ as if to suggest that he is the author of what follows. (Vide Expositor, October, 1893. Aristion, the Author of the last Twelve Verses of Mark, by F. C. Conybeare, M.A.) More recently Dr. Rohrbach has taken up this fact into his interesting discussion on the subject already referred to (vide on Mt. xxviii. g, 10), and appreciated its sig- nificance in connection with the prepara- tion of a four-gospel Canon by certain Presbyters of Asia Minor in the early part of the second century. His hypo- thesis is that in preparing this Canon the Presbyters felt it necessary to bring the Gospels into accord, especially in reference to the resurrection, that in their preaching all might say the same thing on that vital topic. In performing this delicate task, the fourth Gospel was taken as the standard, and all the other Gospels were to a certain extent altered in their resurrection sections to bring them into line with its account. In Mt. and Lk. the change made was slight, simply the insertion in the former of two verses (xxviii. 9, 10), and in the latter of one (xxiv. 12). In Mk., on the other hand, it amounted to the removal of the original ending, and the substitution for it of a piece taken from a writing by Aristion the Presbyter, mentioned by Papias. The effect of the changes, if not their aim, was to take from Peter the honour of being the first to see the risen Lord, and from Galilee that of being the exclusive theatre of the Christophanies. It is supposed that the original ending of Mk. altogether ig- nored the Jerusalem appearances, and represented Jesus, in accordance with the statement of St. Paul (1 Cor. xv. 5), as showing Himself (in Galilee) first to Peter, then to the Twelve. The in- ference is based partly on Mk. xvi. 7,
II. κἀκεῖνοι ἀκούσαντες ὅτι ἵῇ καὶ ἐθεάθη Sm” αὐτῆς
and partly on the relative section of the Gospel of Peter, which, following pretty closely Mk.’s account as far as ver. 8, goes on to tell how the Twelve found their way sad of heart to their old homes, and re- sumed their old occupations. In all this Rohrbach, a pupil of Harnack’s, is simply working out a hint thrown out by his master in his Dogmengeschichte, vol. i., Ρ. 346, 3 Ausg. It would be premature to accept the theory as proved, but it is certainly entitled to careful considera- tion, as tending to throw some light on an obscure chapter in the early history of the Gospels, and on the ending of the canonical Gospel of Mark in particular.
Vv. g-20 may be divided into three parts corresponding more or less to sections in Σο, Luke, and Matthew, and not improbably based on these; wv. 9-11, answering to John xx. 14-18; vv. 12-14, answering to Lk. xxiv. 13-35; vv. 15-18, answering to Mt. xxviii. 19. Vv. το, 20 wind up with a brief reference to the ascension and the subsequent apostolic activity of the disciples.
Vv. 9-11. ἀναστὰς δὲ refers to Jesus, who, however, is not once named in the whole section. This fact with the δὲ favours the hypothesis that the sectior is a fragment of a larger writing.—apwt πρώτῃ σαβ.: whether these words are to be connécted with ἀναστὰς, indicat- ing the time of the resurrection, or with ἐφάνη, indicating the time of the first appearance, cannot be decided (vide Μεγετ).- πρῶτον Μαρίᾳ τ. M., first to Mary of Magdala, as in John (xx. 14).— wap 7s, εἴο.: this bit of information, taken from Lk. viii. 2, is added as if this woman were a stranger never mentioned before in this Gospel, a sure sign of another Παπά.---ἐφάνη, in this verse = appeared to, does not elsewhere occur in this sense.—Ver. 10. ἐκείνη, she, without emphasis, not elsewhere so used.—tropevOeioa: the simple verb πορεύεσθαι, three times used in this section (vv. 12, 15), does not occur any- where else in this Gospel.—rots per’ αὐτοῦ γενοµένοις: the reference is not to the disciples in the stricter sense who are called the Eleven (ver. 14), but to the friends of Jesus generally, an ex-