Mark 14:45

45. [3204][3205][3206][3207][3208][3209][3210] omit the second Ῥαββεί.

[3204] 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.

[3205] 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.

[3206] 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.

[3207] 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.

[3208] 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.

[3209] 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.
[3210] Codex Athous Laurae. 8th cent. Like N and Σ, it is written in silver letters on purple vellum. Contains Mark 9:5 to Mark 16:20, and, as in L, the shorter ending is inserted between Mark 16:8 and Mark 16:9. As in Δ, the text of Mark is specially good.

45. ἐλθὼν … προσελθών. Characteristic combination of participles; cf. Mark 1:31; Mark 1:41. But, though the expression is clumsy, it is intelligible and graphic. Judas arrives, recognizes Jesus, and at once comes up to Him.

εὐθύς. Mt. adopts this and it is by no means superfluous. Judas allows no delay to give a chance of escape, and he is anxious to get his own share in the matter over. See crit. note.

κατεφίλησεν. The change from φιλήσω (Mark 14:44) to the compound seems to show that καταφιλέω here has its classical force of kissing affectionately. Often in Xen. it has this meaning and always in N.T. (Luke 7:38; Luke 7:45; Luke 15:20; Acts 20:37). In LXX. it is perhaps too freq. to be always understood in this sense. See on Mark 10:16. That the kiss of Judas was a very demonstrative one seems to be the meaning of Mk and Mt., and there may have been an embrace to prevent movement. Lk. appears to shrink from recording the actual kiss, but he records Christ’s rebuke to Judas for this monstrous form of treachery, and his record of what Christ said differs strangely from that of Mt. Mk records no rebuke, and he does not mention Judas again. The narrative in Jn, without being contradictory, is utterly different, and we cannot put the accounts together in proper order. As remarked before, impressions as to what took place would differ even among those who were present, and tradition would introduce other differences.