Mark 8:26

26. The confusion in this verse is great; see WH., Introd. § 140. [1717][1718][1719] omit μηδὲ εἴπῃς κ.τ.λ.

[1717] 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.

[1718] 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.

[1719] 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.

26. εἰς οἶκον αὐτοῦ. Cf. Mark 2:19; Mark 5:11; Mark 7:30. There is no command to keep silence; see crit. note. But quiet meditation, free from intercourse with curious neighbours, is best for him; and over-exercise of his newly recovered power of sight is guarded against.

Μηδὲ εἰς τ. κώμην εἰσέθῃς. Do not even enter into the village (R.V.). No doubt he could reach his home without doing so. Christ had lamented over the people of Bethsaida for their callousness respecting His mighty works (Matthew 11:21), and their influence on the newly healed would not be for good. The prohibition is only temporary (aor.). Contrast μηδὲ ὀνομαζέσθω (Ephesians 5:3) and μηδὲ ἐσθιέτω (2 Thessalonians 3:10), where perpetual abstention is enjoined. In both these passages Vulg. has nec instead of ne quidem for μηδέ: here it follows a corrupt reading. The reading adopted “is simple and vigorous, and it is unique in N.T. The peculiar initial Μηδέ has the terse force of many sayings as given by St Mark, but the softening into Μή by [1836][1837] shows that it might trouble scribes” (W.H.). Even if there were a second μηδέ, “neither … nor” (A.V.) would be wrong; it should be not even … nor yet.

[1836] 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.

[1837] 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.