Mark 15:46

ἔθηκεν ([3494][3495][3496]2[3497][3498] rather than κατέθηκεν ([3499][3500][3501][3502][3503][3504][3505]), the more usual verb.

[3494] 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.

[3495] 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.

[3496] 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.

[3497] 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.

[3498] 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.

[3499] 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.
[3500] 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.

[3501] 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.
[3502] Codex Campianus. 9th cent. At Paris. Gospels complete.
[3503] Codex Monacensis. 10th cent. Contains Mark 6:47 to Mark 16:20. Many verses in 14, 15, 16 are defective.

[3504] Codex Oxoniensis. 9th cent. Contains Mark, except Mark 3:35 to Mark 6:20.

[3505] Codex Petropolitanus. 9th cent. Gospels almost complete. Mark 16:18-20 is in a later hand.

46. ἀγοράσας σινδόνα. Joseph may have done this and made arrangements with Nicodemus before going to the Procurator. Both were members of the Sanhedrin and had agreed to act together. This σινδών might make the strips (ὀθόνια) which were wound round the Body along with the spices which Nicodemus brought. Ex simplici sepultura Domini ambitio divitum condemnatur, qui ne in tumulis quidem possunt carere divitiis (Bede). For ἐνείλησεν cf. 1 Samuel 21:9.

λελατομημένον. Rock-hewn tombs are common round about Jerusalem, and would commonly be used for well-to-do persons. Like the colt and the gravecloths, the tomb had not been used before, for Joseph had had it made for himself. See on John 19:41. One wall would be cut with a stone shelf, on which the Body was laid, and a large stone, circular like a millstone, would be lying flat against the outside rock, ready for closing the opening. Two men might roll it into its place, but to roll it back would be a difficult task for women (Mark 16:4). A globular stone would be much heavier, and it would not so completely close the opening as to exclude wild animals.

μνημείον. This is the word most frequently used of the sepulchre by all four. It perhaps has no shade of difference in meaning from μνῆμα. In the Byzantine sepulchral inscriptions at Jerusalem the usual word is θήκη, from the use of τίθημι, as here, of burial. See crit. note.