by jimwalton » Wed May 28, 2014 12:49 pm
William Lane and Ezra Gould say the following:
The earliest Greek, versional and patristic evidence supports the conclusion that Mark ended his Gospel at Chapter 16.8. To the witness of the two earliest parchment codices, Vaticanus and Sinaiticus, may be added minuscules 304 and 2386. The absence of 16.9-20 in the Old Latin MS k, the Sinaitic Syriac, several MSS of the Armenian version, the Adysh and Opiza MSS of the Georgian version, and number of MSS of the Ethiopic version provide a wide range of support for the originality of the abrupt ending. Eusebius writes that Mark ended at v. 8. Jerome claims Mark 16 ended at v. 8. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Cyprian, and Cyril of Jerusalem show no awareness of the existence of these verses. Moreover, a number of MSS that do contain them have scholia stating that older Greek copies lack them (e.g., 1, 20,22, 137, 138, 1110, 1215, 1216, 1217, 1221, 1582), while in other witnesses the final section is marked with asterisks or obeli, the conventional signs used by scribes to mark off a spurious addition to a literary text. The evidence allows no other assumption than that from the beginning Mark circulated with the abrupt ending at v. 8. That Matthew and Luke follow Mark until v. 8, but then diverge completely, lends further support to this supposition.
William Lane and Ezra Gould say the following:
The earliest Greek, versional and patristic evidence supports the conclusion that Mark ended his Gospel at Chapter 16.8. To the witness of the two earliest parchment codices, Vaticanus and Sinaiticus, may be added minuscules 304 and 2386. The absence of 16.9-20 in the Old Latin MS k, the Sinaitic Syriac, several MSS of the Armenian version, the Adysh and Opiza MSS of the Georgian version, and number of MSS of the Ethiopic version provide a wide range of support for the originality of the abrupt ending. Eusebius writes that Mark ended at v. 8. Jerome claims Mark 16 ended at v. 8. Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Cyprian, and Cyril of Jerusalem show no awareness of the existence of these verses. Moreover, a number of MSS that do contain them have scholia stating that older Greek copies lack them (e.g., 1, 20,22, 137, 138, 1110, 1215, 1216, 1217, 1221, 1582), while in other witnesses the final section is marked with asterisks or obeli, the conventional signs used by scribes to mark off a spurious addition to a literary text. The evidence allows no other assumption than that from the beginning Mark circulated with the abrupt ending at v. 8. That Matthew and Luke follow Mark until v. 8, but then diverge completely, lends further support to this supposition.