Mark 10:12

αὐτὴ�. ἄνδρα αὐτῆς ([2187][2188][2189][2190][2191]) rather than γυνὴ�. ἄν. αὐτῆς καί ([2192][2193][2194][2195][2196]).

[2187] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[2188] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[2189] Codex Ephraemi. 5th cent. A palimpsest: the original writing has been partially rubbed out, and the works of Ephraem the Syrian have been written over it; but a great deal of the original writing has been recovered; of Mark we have Mark 1:17 to Mark 6:31; Mark 8:5 to Mark 12:29; Mark 13:19 to Mark 16:20. In the National Library at Paris.

[2190] Codex Regius. 8th cent. An important witness. At Paris. Contains Mark 1:1 to Mark 10:15; Mark 10:30 to Mark 15:1; Mark 15:20 to Mark 16:20, but the shorter ending is inserted between Mark 16:8 and Mark 16:9, showing that the scribe preferred it to the longer one.

[2191] Codex Sangallensis. 9th or 10th cent. Contains the Gospels nearly complete, with an interlinear Latin translation. The text of Mark is specially good, agreeing often with CL. At St Gall.
[2192] Codex Alexandrinus. 5th cent. Brought by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Constantinople, from Alexandria, and afterwards presented by him to King Charles I. in 1628. In the British Museum. The whole Gospel. Photographic facsimile, 1879.
[2193] Codex Purpureus. 6th cent. Full text in Texts and Studies v. No. 4, 1899. Contains Mark 5:20 to Mark 7:4; Mark 7:20 to Mark 8:32; Mark 9:1 to Mark 10:43; Mark 11:7 to Mark 12:19; Mark 14:25 to Mark 15:23; Mark 15:33-42. See below on Ψ.

[2194] Codex Monacensis. 10th cent. Contains Mark 6:47 to Mark 16:20. Many verses in 14, 15, 16 are defective.

[2195] Codex Oxoniensis. 9th cent. Contains Mark, except Mark 3:35 to Mark 6:20.

[2196] Codex Petropolitanus. 9th cent. Gospels almost complete. Mark 16:18-20 is in a later hand.

12. This is probably added in order to make it quite clear that in this matter the sexes are equal; neither partner can dissolve the marriage. Jewish law made no provision for a wife to divorce her husband (Joseph. Ant. XV. vii. 10); so Mt. omits this verse and substitutes, if the words are genuine ([2426][2427][2428] etc. omit), “And he that marrieth her that is put away committeth adultery.” Probably to avoid this difficulty [2429] and some other authorities have here “If a woman depart from her husband and marry another.” It is rash to see here an accommodation to Roman marriage-law, and therefore evidence of the Roman origin of this Gospel. We need not doubt that Christ uttered the words; but if He did not, love of parallelism would sufficiently account for their being attributed to Him. There may be allusion to Herodias who had deserted her first husband just as Antipas had deserted his first wife.

[2426] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[2427] Codex Bezae. 6th cent. Has a Latin translation (d) side by side with the Greek text, and the two do not quite always agree. Presented by Beza to the University Library of Cambridge in 1581. Remarkable for its frequent divergences from other texts. Contains Mark, except Mark 16:15-20, which has been added by a later hand. Photographic facsimile, 1899.

[2428] Codex Regius. 8th cent. An important witness. At Paris. Contains Mark 1:1 to Mark 10:15; Mark 10:30 to Mark 15:1; Mark 15:20 to Mark 16:20, but the shorter ending is inserted between Mark 16:8 and Mark 16:9, showing that the scribe preferred it to the longer one.

[2429] Codex Bezae. 6th cent. Has a Latin translation (d) side by side with the Greek text, and the two do not quite always agree. Presented by Beza to the University Library of Cambridge in 1581. Remarkable for its frequent divergences from other texts. Contains Mark, except Mark 16:15-20, which has been added by a later hand. Photographic facsimile, 1899.

Neither Mk nor Lk. (Luke 16:18) represents Christ as having made any exception to this prohibition of divorce. Mt. twice inserts an exception, παρεκτὸς λόγου πορνείας (Matthew 5:32) and εἰ μὴ ἐπὶ πορνείᾳ (Matthew 19:9); an unfaithful wife has ruptured the marriage tie and may, or must, be divorced. It is doubtful whether Christ did make this exception. Mt. may have had independent authority for it; but it is at least as probable that he inserted it, because he felt sure that Christ would not prohibit what the Law allowed, and what perhaps the Church of Jerusalem allowed. These are possibilities. What is certain is that this exception is attributed to Christ in the Gospel which more than any other has influenced Christian thought and practice in this and other matters; and Christians who divorce an unfaithful wife and marry again can claim Scriptural authority for so doing. That Christ made the exception in accordance with Jewish practice, and that Mk and Lk., writing for Gentiles, omitted the exception as being Jewish, is an intelligible theory, but it is not probable. It is safer to point out that in no Gospel does Christ censure Moses for regulating divorce (and thereby sanctioning it) in a defective state of society. The inference is that in similar conditions of society a similar concession may be made. See Hastings’ D.B. and D.C.G. artt. “Divorce” and “Marriage”; also Allen on Matthew 5:32; Matthew 19:9.