New Testament · book 41
Mark
What tradition claims
John Mark, companion of Peter
AD 50 – AD 70
Critical scholarship
AD 65 – AD 75
The gap
Claimed start: AD 50Gap: 165 yearsEarliest MS: AD 225today
Earliest manuscript: Papyrus P45 (Chester Beatty I)
Earliest complete copy
Claimed start: AD 50Gap: 290 yearsEarliest MS: AD 350today
Earliest manuscript: Codex Sinaiticus
Notes
Generally regarded as the earliest written Gospel. No 2nd-century manuscript of Mark survives — the earliest substantial witness is P45 (~AD 225) and the earliest complete copy is in Codex Sinaiticus (~AD 350). The 'long ending' (Mark 16:9-20) is missing from both of the oldest complete codices and is universally regarded by textual scholars as a 2nd-century addition.
Disputed passages in Mark
Passages in this book that aren't in the earliest manuscripts, or read differently in them.
All witnesses on file (4)
- Papyrus P45 (Chester Beatty I) · AD 200 – AD 250 (~AD 225)
- Codex Washingtonianus · AD 350 – AD 450 (~AD 400)
- Codex Bezae · AD 380 – AD 420 (~AD 400)
- Curetonian Gospels (Old Syriac) · AD 400 – AD 500 (~AD 450)