Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Mark 12:30

30. [2792][2793][2794][2795][2796] omit αὕτη πρώτη ἐντολή.

[2792] 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.

[2793] 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.

[2794] Codex Basiliensis. 8th cent. At Basle.
[2795] 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.

[2796] 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.

30. ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου. This use of ἐκ is classical; ἀλλʼ εἴπερ ἐκ τῆς καρδίας μʼ ὄντως φιλεῖς (Aristoph. Nub. 86). Mk follows LXX. in having ἐξ throughout, Mt. follows the Heb. with ἐν throughout, while Lk. (Luke 10:27) begins with ἐξ and changes to ἐν. The powers with which God is to be loved are thus given by each:

LXX.

διάνοια, ψυχή, δύναμις,

Mt.

καρδία, ψυχή, διάνοια,

Mk.

καρδία, ψυχή, διάνοια, ἰσχύς,

Lk.

καρδία, ψυχή, ἰσχύς, διάνοια.

Mt., as usual, prefers a triplet, but he might have made a better one, for there is as little difference between καρδία and διάνοια as between δύναμις and ἰσχύς. Except in quotations, no Evangelist uses διάνοια. Whether we have three or four terms, the meaning is that God is to be loved with all the powers which man can bring into play, whether of emotion, intellect or will. No psychological system lies at the back of the groups or is to be constructed out of them. Cf. the Testaments, ὑμεῖς δὲ φοβεῖσθε Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν ἡμῶν ἐν πάσῃ ἰσχύι ὑμῶν (Zebulon X. 5): also Apoc. of Baruch, lxi. 1, ex toto corde suo et ex tota anima sua.

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Mark 12:30

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