Mark 16:8

8. [3567][3568][3569][3570][3571] omit ταχύ.

[3567] 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.

[3568] 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.
[3569] 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.

[3570] 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.

[3571] 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.

8. ἐξελθοῦσαι ἔφυγον … εἶχεν. The change from aor. to imperf. is impressive. Their flight from the tomb was instantaneous; the trembling and astonishment were lasting. Terror at the supernatural utterance had held them fast for a few moments. As soon as the utterance ceased, their first impulse was to get away from the scene of such awful experiences and from the cause of such unwelcome emotions. It is clear from what follows that it was not eagerness to deliver the Angel’s message which made them fly in such haste.

εἶχεν γὰρ αὐτὰς τρόμος καὶ ἔκστασις. This use of ἔχω of the grip of fear and pain is common; ἔχουσιν δέ μου τὰς σάρκας ὀδύναι (Job 21:6), ὠδῖνες αὐτοὺς ἕξουσιν (Isaiah 13:8). Cf. Job 31:23; also Hom. Il. iv. 79. Elsewhere in N.T. τρόμος is always connected with φόβος (1 Corinthians 2:3; 2 Corinthians 7:15; Ephesians 6:5; Philippians 2:12). Mk seems to wish to show that fear was not the only emotion. See on Mark 5:42.

οὐδενὶ οὐδὲν εἶπον. The double negative again; cf. Mark 14:60-61; Mark 15:4-5, etc. At first their tremor was so great that they were unable to think of the gracious and joyous contents of the Angel’s utterance, and they quite forgot to communicate the glad tidings to others. They were too frightened to think of anything but escape; all which is true to nature. Mt. records the later stage, when “great joy” was mingled with their fear, and then they ran to tell the disciples. Lk., with his fondness for πᾶς, says that they told “all these things to the Eleven and to all the rest.” We may reasonably suppose that, if we had the conclusion of this Gospel, we should have some account of the transition from a terrified silence to a joyous eagerness to communicate the good news, and also perhaps some report of the delivery of the special message to Peter.

ἐφοβοῦντο γάρ. It is difficult to believe that Mk intended to end his Gospel at this point and in this exceedingly abrupt way. It is possible that ἐφοβοῦντο γάρ is not even a finished sentence, but that the words introduce a statement as to what it was that they feared when for a time they told no one what they had seen and heard. Still, as Mark 9:6 shows, this need not be so; but Mark 9:6 does not support the theory that ἐφοβοῦντο γάρ is meant to close even the section about the visit to the tomb. The words give us the impression of a ragged edge to an imperfect document.