Mark 14:29

Εἰ καί ([3148][3149][3150][3151][3152][3153]) rather than Καὶ εἰ ([3154][3155][3156][3157][3158][3159]).

[3148] 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.

[3149] 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.

[3150] 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.

[3151] Codex Seidelianus I. 9th or 10th cent. Contains Mark 1:13 to Mark 14:18; Mark 14:25 to Mark 16:20.

[3152] 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.

[3153] Codex Athous Laurae. 8th cent. Like N and Σ, it is written in silver letters on purple vellum. Contains Mark 9:5 to Mark 16:20, and, as in L, the shorter ending is inserted between Mark 16:8 and Mark 16:9. As in Δ, the text of Mark is specially good.

[3154] 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.

[3155] 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.

[3156] Codex Monacensis. 10th cent. Contains Mark 6:47 to Mark 16:20. Many verses in 14, 15, 16 are defective.

[3157] Codex Oxoniensis. 9th cent. Contains Mark, except Mark 3:35 to Mark 6:20.

[3158] 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.
[3159] Codex Petropolitanus. 9th cent. Gospels almost complete. Mark 16:18-20 is in a later hand.

29. ὁ δὲ Πέτρος. For the second time Peter impulsively contradicts a prediction of the Master, whose severe rebuke (Mark 8:33) has for the moment been forgotten. The emphatic repudiation of the possibility of his own faithlessness is thoroughly characteristic of his affection and of his self-confidence. On a former occasion he claimed credit for the whole band (Mark 10:28). Here he claims exemption from weakness for himself. He admits the possibility of the others breaking away.

Εἰ καί. See crit. note. This combination indicates that what is supposed is conceded as being a fact (Luke 11:8; Luke 18:4; 2 Corinthians 12:11; etc.). The exact difference between εἰ καί and καὶ εἰ is not easy to mark in English, and is not always the same. In most of the instances of καὶ εἰ in N.T. καί is a mere conjunction, “and if”; e.g. Matthew 11:14. Winer, p. 554.

ἀλλʼ οὐκ ἐγώ. We often have ἀλλά after εἰ καί. Anything else may be possible, but not that Peter will fail. It is strange that Jerome should say of this non est temeritas.