Mark 16:4

ἀνακεκύλισται. ([3558][3559][3560] rather than ἀποκεκύλισται ([3561][3562][3563][3564][3565][3566]).

[3558] 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.

[3559] 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.

[3560] 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.

[3561] 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.
[3562] 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.

[3563] Codex Monacensis. 10th cent. Contains Mark 6:47 to Mark 16:20. Many verses in 14, 15, 16 are defective.

[3564] Codex Oxoniensis. 9th cent. Contains Mark, except Mark 3:35 to Mark 6:20.

[3565] 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.
[3566] Codex Petropolitanus. 9th cent. Gospels almost complete. Mark 16:18-20 is in a later hand.

4. ἀνακεκύλισται. Is rolled back (R.V.), has been rolled back and remains so. Rolled back ἐκ τῆς θύρας, as Mk accurately says, rather than ἀπὸ τοῦ μνημείου (Lk.). It was probably rolled sideways and was leaning against the rock. The ἀνα- implies that it had gone back to the place whence Joseph and Nicodemus had moved it. See crit. note. Mk may have believed that the risen Christ had moved the stone, but he gives no hint of this belief. He states what those who were there reported; ἀνακεκύλισται is their exclamation.

ἦν γὰρ μέγας σφόδρα. It was so large that they could see at a distance that it had been rolled back. But the words may be a belated remark to explain why they were anxious about the matter; and [3588] with other authorities have the remark at the end of Mark 16:3. All four Evangelists state that the stone had been removed. Mt., as at the Crucifixion, mentions an earthquake about which the other three say nothing; also that an Angel rolled away the stone and sat on it. This looks like conjectural explanation of a well-known fact. In Mk the Angel is found inside the tomb. Lk. and Jn mention two Angels. What is said about Angels is in harmony with Jewish modes of thought, but it may also be substantially in harmony with fact. We cannot safely attribute all the details of the narrative to Jewish ideas of what would be likely to happen rather than to experience of what did happen. We know so little about the nature of Angels that it is rash to be peremptory as to what is credible or not. On the whole subject see Swete, The Appearances of our Lord after the Passion; also the introductory note to John 20. Jn mentions only one of the women mentioned here, and his narrative about her is quite different.

[3588] 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.