Mark 3:16

καὶ ἐποίησεν τοὺς δώδεκα ([502][503][504][505][506][507]) is to be retained; [508][509]2[510][511] etc. omit as superfluous.

[502] 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.

[503] 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.

[504] 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.

[505] An asterisk denotes that the word is not found elsewhere in N.T., and such words are included in the index, even if there is no note on them in the commentary.
[506] 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.
[507] Codex Beratinus. 6th cent. Contains Mark 1:1 to Mark 14:62.

[508] 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.
[509] 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.

[510] 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.

[511] 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.

16. καὶ ἐποίησεν τοὺς δώδεκα. See crit. note. This repetition is some slight confirmation of the genuineness of οὓς καὶ�. ὠν. It implies that so much has intervened as to make repetition advisable; but, without οὓ καὶ�. ὠν., the interruption is slight. Καὶ is almost our “Well.” “Well, as I said, He appointed the Twelve”; “the Twelve” because they have been mentioned before and because the expression was so familiar. Similarly, we have first “seventy-two” and then “the seventy-two” (Luke 10:1; Luke 10:17).

καὶ ἐπέθηκεν ὄνομα. This need not mean that the name was given there and then, any more than Mark 3:14 need mean that the title Apostle was given there and then. Mk’s want of literary skill is conspicuous here; the meaning is clear, but the construction is confused, owing to the list of the Apostles being broken by the mention of the special names given to Simon and the sons of Zebedee. Cf. Mark 4:15; Mark 4:26; Mark 4:31; Mark 6:8-9; Mark 7:2-5; Mark 7:11-12; Mark 13:34.

Πέτρον. The Aramaic equivalent Κηφᾶς occurs John 1:43 and four times each in 1 Cor. and Gal. It means “a rock,” or more often “a stone,” and is used of precious stones, hailstones, etc. It is uncertain whether the name points to the character which Simon already possessed (which is hardly in harmony with facts), or to the character which he was to acquire, or to the office which was conferred on him, or to the fact that he was the first stone in laying the foundation of the Church (Matthew 16:18). Outside the four lists, Peter is mentioned, by one name or another, 182 times in N.T.

It is often observed that in all four lists (Mk, Mt., Lk., and Acts) the Twelve are arranged in three quaternions, with Peter head of the first quaternion, Philip of the second, and James of Alphaeus of the third. The other three names in each quaternion vary in order, but in Mk, Mt., and Lk. the traitor is always last, and in Acts his place is vacant. Here the sons of Zebedee are between the other two brothers, either because they, like Simon, received a special name from Christ, or because, with him, they form the ἐκλεκτῶν ἐκλεκτότεροι on various occasions (Mark 5:37; Mark 9:2; Mark 14:33). If James and John were first cousins of our Lord, their mother Salome being sister of His Mother (John 19:25), this might be another reason for placing them next to the πρῶτος. Here and Mark 5:37, and nowhere else in N.T., John is designated “the brother óf James,” while in Acts 12:2 we have “James the brother of John.” Here it is necessary to distinguish John the Apostle from John the Baptist; in Acts it is necessary to distinguish James the Apostle from James the brother of the Lord. Is it possible that Mk is also distinguishing “John the brother of James” from “John whose surname was Mark”? Those who did not know, might fancy that the Evangelist was an Apostle.