Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Mark 13:3

καθημένου αὐτοῦ κ.τ.λ. These details seem to come from one who remembered, and from whom they passed into the primitive tradition. Christ was sitting, as often when He gave instruction (Mark 4:1; Mark 9:35; Luke 4:20; Matthew 5:1), on the Mount of Olives, looking across to the Temple. The last detail is in Mk only, and he alone mentions which disciples were with Him.

ἐπηρώτα. Mk’s conversational style appears again. When he used the sing, he was thinking of Peter only, and then he goes on to mention the others who were present and who joined in the desire to know what was asked. See on Mark 4:41. That ἐπηρώτα ([3018][3019][3020] 33) is the original reading, and that ἐπηρώτων is a correction, need not be doubted.

[3018] 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.

[3019] 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.

[3020] 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.

κατʼ ἰδίαν. What He had to reveal was too solemn and critical to be revealed to all the Twelve (John 16:12). The four whom He takes with Him are the two pairs of brothers who were called at the beginning of the Gospel.

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Mark 13:3

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