tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post2450610269201919556..comments2024-03-25T14:27:40.121-05:00Comments on Heart, Mind, Soul, and Strength: Who wrote the ending of Mark?Weekend Fisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10425001168670801073noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-87863668816230619182009-02-08T20:09:00.000-06:002009-02-08T20:09:00.000-06:00No need to debate...t'was I who wrote the ending t...No need to debate...t'was <B>I</B> who wrote the ending to Mark.<BR/><BR/>Jokes aside, good work on research on the part of both Anne and James ;)Tonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04232209481041145155noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-78212739462833142102009-02-05T10:12:00.000-06:002009-02-05T10:12:00.000-06:00Greetings Anne:Mark 16:19 is, as you noted, cited ...Greetings Anne:<BR/><BR/>Mark 16:19 is, as you noted, cited by Irenaeus in “Against Heresies” Book III, 10:5-6, written in 184. Tatian included Mark 16:9-20 in the Diatessaron, which he produced in about 172. And Justin Martyr cites a combination of Mark 16:20 and Luke 24:52 in the Synoptics-Harmony that he used, in “First Apology” chapter 45. And recently no less a scholar than Robert Stein mentioned the Epistula Apostolorum (c. 150-180) as yet another early witness for these verses. <BR/><BR/>About the Armenian manuscript Etchmiadzin-229, which is now known as Matenadaran 2374 (because it has been transferred to another collection): what we have here is the simple note “from Ariston the elder” (“Ariston eritzou”) written in red ink, between the lines, between the end of Mark 16:8 and the beginning of Mark 16:9. Does this mean that the copyist – in 989 – had access to some authentic tradition about the authorship of Mark 16:9-20? Well, some things should be considered when answering that question:<BR/><BR/>(1) This Armenian MS is special. It is not the earliest Armenian Gospel-MS in existence, but it includes a post-script which states that it was produced by a copyist named Johannes under the instruction of a monk named Stephanus, “copied from authentic and old originals.” Also, the MS is accompanied by a cover and by two full-page illustrations, which are much older than the main part of the manuscript. The scribal note says that the covers and the illustrations are from the first half of the 500’s. So it seems logical to conclude that at least one master-copy of Matenadaran-2374 comes from before 550. This increases the “weight” of the manuscript considerably.<BR/><BR/>(2) F. C. Conybeare did not describe the features in this MS at the end of Mark accurately. (If you go to www.archive.org and download Henry Swete’s commentary on Mark, you can find therein a black-and-white picture of the page of this MS.) He claimed that the ornamental flourishes that appear on the last line of 16:8 “indicate that the Gospel proper of Mark is ended,” but this feature appears elsewhere in the MS at the end of paragraphs. Conybeare also claimed that the a large design composed of concentric circles of color near the end of verse 8 shows that the copyist regarded Mark’s proper ending at the end of verse 8, but E.C. Colwell pointed out in 1937 that the this feature also occurs elsewhere in the MS at the end of paragraphs within gospels. Once these things are sorted out, it becomes clear that the title “Ariston the elder” was not added by the copyist as a sub-title for a separated section of text. Verses 9-20 are not actually separated from 16:8 in any special way; the note “of Ariston the elder” was inserted between the lines, after the text was written. So there is no reason to suppose that these words were present in the master-copy. <BR/><BR/>(3) There are over 800 years between the lifetime of Ariston (a.k.a. Aristion) and MS Matenadaran-2374. And there are over 300 years between the lifetime of Ariston and the translation of the Gospels into Armenian. It would be remarkable to find an authentic tradition preserved only in one MS in one transmission-stream, and nowhere else. Conybeare thus had a right to be excited about his discovery. But there’s another explanation besides the theory that an Armenian copyist in 989 had exclusive access to some genuine ancient tradition about the authorship of Mark 16:9-20. <BR/><BR/>(4) The Armenians were big fans, so to speak, of Eusebius of Caesarea, the scholar/historian who served as bishop of Caesarea in the early 300’s. (Practically all Armenian copies of the Gospels include Eusebius’ Canon-Tables, a cross-reference system for the Gospels. In many Armenian MSS the Eusebian material is elaborately decorated.) Eusebius’ writings were highly respected. If you read a bit further in the part of “Ecclesiastical History” which you already cited (3:39),you will see that Eusebius, after mentioning Aristion, writes as follows: “We must now point out how Papias, who lived at the same time [i.e., the same time that Philip’s four daughters were said to be living in Hierapolis], relates that he had received a wonderful narrative from the daughters of Philip; he relates that a dead man was raised to life in his day. He also mentions another miracle relating to Justus, surnamed Barsabbas, how he swallowed a deadly poison, and received no harm, on account of the grace of the Lord.”<BR/><BR/>In this citation from Papias, the daughters of Philip are identified as the source of the story about a dead man who was raised to life. But who was the source of the story about Justus Barsabbas (cf. Acts 1:23)? Only a small speculative leap would connect the story to Aristion, since Papias identifies him as one of the sources of the stories he preserved. <BR/><BR/>Some manuscripts have material in the margins, consisting of pertinent snippets from the writings of revered authors. An Armenian copyist who knew about the story of Justus Barsabbas – told by Aristion to Papias, and mentioned by Eusebius – could add a margin-note next to 16:18, not to express the idea that all of 16:9-20 originated with Aristion, but simply as an abbreviated way of conveying that an instance of the fulfillment of 16:18 was related by Aristion. <BR/><BR/>Now picture an Armenian copyist hundreds of years later: he finds an ancient copy of the Gospels and decides to make a copy of it. He is aware, like many Armenian copyists, that the last 12 verses of Mark were rejected by Eusebius of Caesarea. He notices, in his exemplar, in the margin, the note “From Aristion the elder.” But instead of seeing it as a reference to the mention of Aristion in “Ecclesiastical History” 3:39, and connecting it specifically to 16:18, he misinterprets it to mean that the entire disputed passage is the work of Aristion, and so instead of keeping it in the margin, he reformats it as an interlinear gloss before 16:9. <BR/><BR/>Such a theory is of course theoretical, but it completely explains the evidence.<BR/><BR/>A little more info about Aristion: in the apocryphal composition known as the “Acts of Peter,” a character named Aristo is identified as a Christian from Puteoli (in Italy) who worked with Peter. And in the “Apostolic Constitutions” Book 7, ch. 4 (written in about 380, but based largely on earlier source-materials), the first three bishops of Smyrna (the city in Asia Minor) are listed as Aristo the first, then Strataeas the son of Lois, and the third Aristo.” Figuring that there was a father and a son, both named Aristo, who served as bishop at Smyrna, we have here in “Apostolic Constitutions” the reason why Ariston is referred to as the elder (to distinguish him from his son); we also see in “Acts of Peter” the reason why a bishop of Smyrna could be considered capable of supplying a supplement for the Gospel of Mark, inasmuch as “Acts of Peter” pictures Aristo working side-by-side with Peter in Rome, before moving to Smyrna. <BR/><BR/>Bottom line: the note in Matenadaran-2374 is almost certainly the result of (a) the copyist’s misunderstanding of a short marginal note that was originally intended to point out that 16:18 was fulfilled in a story from Aristion, combined with (b) the copyist’s awareness that Mark 16:9-20 was disputed.<BR/><BR/>Yours in Christ,<BR/><BR/>James Snapp, Jr.James Snapp Jrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09493891380752272603noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-31000948912264899712009-02-04T20:05:00.000-06:002009-02-04T20:05:00.000-06:00Thank you. For a long time I had wondered who had ...Thank you. For a long time I had wondered who had written the ending. When I came across that footnote, I had to mention it. :)<BR/><BR/>Take care & God bless<BR/>Anne / WFWeekend Fisherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10425001168670801073noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15860677.post-83104634017631093402009-02-04T15:59:00.000-06:002009-02-04T15:59:00.000-06:00That's a lovely, solid piece of work on your part....That's a lovely, solid piece of work on your part. Thank you for the info!Anastasia Theodoridishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16092531121989260111noreply@blogger.com