The last twelve verses of Mark : their genuineness established
26 52 308 616 rrj 39 39 358 358 rr)v 28 28 310 310 rt 34 68 370 740 ro 61 305 580 2900 rot's1 1 1 3 3 2 2 4 8 1 2 2 2 5 5 1 3 3 0 1 1 2 6 6 1 1 3 4 7 7 2 3 6 1 2 2 2 4 4 1 3 3 1 3 3 3 7 7 2 5 5 3 8 8 1 3 3 2 4 4 3 8 8 5 12 12 3 9 9 4 11 11 3 6 6 4 10 10 4 11 11 5 12 12 2 4 4 2 5 5 2 6 6 3 8 8 3 6 6 3 7 7 5 13 13 4 12 12 4 9 9 1 1 4 4 2 2 5 10 2 2 4 1 3 3 1 2 2 2 2 4 5 4 20 25 47 141 420 1260 rov 26 54 108 770 1540 TOV 27 43 43 1100 1100 TOJ 28 56 56 1150 1150 TO)V 29 36 36 480 480 VTT' 30 107 107 1125 1125 'varepov 31 72 72 916 916 X€lpa$ 32 84 84 965 965 Xepaiv 33 100 100 1134 1134 oovet'Sicre 1:1-8 CONCORDANCE 43 <u '-j B ^ r \ Cu C ^ Cs3 •*-» t* *—< •*-> O ^ c3 O OH H £> H CO. > cd ^3 -*— » O O H-l H 3 1 3 9 2 1 3 6 1 2 2 1 3 3 1 2 2 3 7 7 2 6 6 2 6 6 4 9 9 9846 11419 90043 104043 175 359 842 988 [In the above Vocabulary of Forms the notation employed s the same as in the Tables below. Words used in speeches are et out of line. Words found nowhere else in the New Testa- nent are marked with a star; those found here for the first ime in the New Testament are marked with the superior gure (*); those found here for the first time in Mark, with the uperior figure (2).] MARK 1:1-8. CONCORDANCE. 8 I £;£! 1 56 312 ayyeAo? 2 2 46 284 'ayios- 8 3 63 384 aypto? 6 4 55 331 aicpis 6 5 60 453 'ccfjiapria, 4 5 6 120 1516 aTTOtrWAAco 2 1 47 709 apXTJ i 8 73 971 avros 3555678 9 72 916 cheats 4 0 77 1200 /San^ai 4588 1 78 634 /SaTrrta/xa 4 2 42 873 £oaw 3 5 03 1 g 0 EN — ^ 4—* O *T>L <U O UH 00 1 1 3 7 1 1 3 5 1 1 3 6 1 1 2 5 2 2 3 7 1 1 4 9 1 1 2 4 7 4 2 5 1 1 3 6 4 4 3 7 1 1 3 8 1 1 3 4 44 MARK 16:9-20 13 62 184 yiVo/zat 4 14 66 1404 ypd<f)a) 2 15 9 9 8e 8 16 113 780 SepjJLGCTlVOS 6 17 32 808 eyc6 8 18 35 65 eijjtL 6 7 19 32 215 et? 4 20 125 801 6K7TOp€VOp,CCL 5 21 18 55 ™ 2 3 4 5 22 66 1259 cvSvo) 6 23 119 1153 e^ofJioXoyea) 5 24 74 423 eprjpos 3 4 25 81 826 ep^o^ai 7 26 64 1024 ea9ia) 6 27 91 1233 eroi/jid^a} 3 28 85 577 euayye'Aiov I 29 71 1014 evdvs 3 30 50 865 £ct>y^ 6 31 54 420 Ha alas 2 32 48 179 fyif 6 33 37 814 i'Sa> 2 34 180 1448 i/e/JOCToAu/zeiT^S1 5 35 87 888 Itjaovs I 36 66 351 iKavos 7 37 40 251 ^-ifjids 7 38 84 443 lopSdvrjs 5 39 91 765 lovftaios 5 40 119 1580 iGXypos 7 41 72 1069 /coavT^s" 4 6 42 61 1030 KCCUOJS  KTlpVOOO) 4 7 47 89 1600 1KV7TTO> 7 48 89 800 Kvpios 3 49 43 838 Aeyco 7 50 55 1230 Xva> 7 51 37 85 p&i 6 52 75 477 /zeravota 4 53 47 510 fiov 2 7 7 54 15 70 '0122223^.344 55 52 344 555 566777 'oSo's- 2 3 1 1 3 7 1 1 2 5 ! 1 1 1 2 1 1 4 10 1 1 2 3 2 2 2 4 1 1 1 3 1 1 5 11 4 1 1 2 1 3 5 1 6 10 i 2 3 6 i 1 3 7 1 3 5 1 1 4 8 1 1 5 10 1 1 2 5 1 1 2 4 1 1 3 6 1 4 2 3 7 14 3 6 3 6 2 4 1 4 8 1 4 8 1 3 7 2 4 6 1 2 5 < 8 1 3 1 3 7 1 1 5 11 2 2 3 7 1 2 5 1 3 6 1 2 4 1 2 3 1 2 4 1 4 8 3 1 1 3 19 10 1 1 2 1 2 4 1:1-8 CONCORDANCE 56 82 1160 oiriaoi 7 57 33 270 6's- 2 7 58 92 1370 6o<j)vs 6 59 35 470 ov 7 60 35 281 7ras 5 5 61 47 195 ircpi 6 62 67 576 ' R 63 69 965 77ote'a) 3 64 96 761 TTora/Ltds1 5 65 48 250 77/30 2 66 66 450 77/30'? 5 67 134 1450 TTpOCrOJTTOV 2 68 120 1266 7TpO(j>r]Tr)S 2 69 38 600 OV 2 2 70 80 682 rptfios 3 71 65 1304 'vSaip 8 72 64 655 ( ^ O O VfjL€lS O O 73 51 550 Wo' 5 74 75 603 'vTToSrjiJLa 7 75 65 1358 <f)OJVrj 3 76 118 1480 Xpiaros I 77 64 1501 X<jjpa 5 5290 58550 45 1 I 3 5 2 : I 1 2 i I 2 5 i I 1 2 2 : I 1 3 i I 2 4 i I 2 6 i I 3 5 i I 3 7 i I 1 3 I 1 4 3 8 3 8 1 2 2 6 2 4 2 5 2 3 4 7 2 4 2 7 2 4 126 97 200 427 MARK 1:9-11. Vocabulary 1 80 663 a'yocTrrjros 2 64 915 avccf3a£va) 3 32 151 cmo' 4 73 971 avros 5 11 1200 pairrifa 6 78 355 raXiXalos I 62 184 ytVo/xat 8 35 65 ei/u 9 32 215 «s 10 15 25 e/c II 75 360 ticctVos- 12 48 844 €\0cj 13 18 55 ev 14 83 1304 evSoiceco 15 71 1014 16 42 154 17 37 814 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 6 87 84 72 20 80 47 62 15 99 107 67 38 79 65 62 51 65 42 2064 8 888 Irjvovs 443 Iop$avr]s 1069 Iwdvrjs 31 KO.I 1 1 O C O ' 1 1 OJ KdTCCpCCLVCO 510 jLtOU 464 Na^aper 70 'o 891 ovpavos 801 TTepiarepa, 576 7TV€VfJLCC 600 ov 1 /*" i T '5* lol/ cr^t4o> 1304 'vScop 680 'utos- 550 Wo 1358 (f>a)vri 1000 'cos- 23326 MARK 1 i— 1 ^ D r— H O .-* ctf O 1 3 1  — C/5 (H <Q ^H '-< ^^ ""Z* D 5 sf 3 C O ^ O 4) s i i 9 6 2 5 4 4 3 4 2 178 Z eu H x£ >• H O CO H nJ H 1 80 80 663 663 ayCCTTT^TOS 1 4 4 8 8 2 77 77 965 965 cnwpaivwv 1 4 4 9 9 3 32 32 151 151 CC7TO 1 2 2 3 3 4 68 68 821 821 avrov 1 2 2 5 5 5 64 64 286 286 rccAiAcccccs 1 4 4 9 9 6 85 85 615 615 €pCX,TTT LffUTfl 1 4 4 9 9 7 65 130 438 876 eyevero 2 4 8 7 14 ! 8 14 14 15 15 €1 1 1 1 2 2 9 36 36 74 74 et'Sev 1 2 2 5 5 10 32 64 215 430 ets- 2 1 2 3 6 11 15 30 25 50 €K 2 1 2 2 4 12 70 70 301 301 €K€WCCtS 1 3 3 8 8 13 18 36 55 110 €V 2 1 2 2 4 14 80 80 708 708 evSoKyaa 1 4 4 8 8 15 71 71 1014 1014 6V0VS 1 2 2 5 5 ! 16 44 44 102 102 ijXdev 1 2 2 5 5 MARK 1:9:11 47 3 i 17 69 69 364 364 'nutpcug 3 3 7 7 4 ] 18 87 87 888 888 Irjaovs 3 3 6 6 4 5 19 79 79 293 293 lopoavrjv 4 4 8 8 1 ] 20 82 82 1331 1331 I(JJO.VOV 4 4 6 6 4 9 21 20 80 31 124 KCCL 1 4 3 12 1 ] 22 84 84 505 505 KaraBaivov 4 4 10 10 ; 23 47 27 510 510 fJLOV 1 1 3 3 24 62 62 464 464 Ncc^aper 3 3 7 7 3 25 15 30 70 140 o 1 2 1 2 4 9 26 119 119 1291 1291 ovpavovs 3 3 8 8 2 6 21 103 103 1471 1471 ovpccvatv 3 3 7 7 1 2 28 120 120 851 851 TTtpiarepuv 4 4 10 10 2 5 29 67 67 576 576 7TV€VfjLCX, 2 2 6 6 2 4 30 42 42 280 280 crot 1 1 3 3 2 31 38 38 600 600 crv 1 1 2 2 i 32 153 153 1652 1652 aXl£°pcvovs 4 4 11 11 2 4 33 47 47 511 511 rat? 1 1 4 4 1 2 34 44 44 508 508 Trjs 1 1 3 3 0 \\ 35 34 34 370 370 ro 1 1 2 2 36 47 47 420 420 rov 1 1 3 3 37 54 54 770 770 TOV 1 1 3 3 38 72 72 970 970 rovs 1 1 4 4 39 56 56 1150 1150 TO)V 1 1 3 3 40 77 77 975 975 'uSaro? 3 3 6 6 31 41 62 62 680 680 'wo? 2 2 4 4 h „ 42 51 51 550 550 Wo 2 2 3 3 » C 43 65 65 1358 1358 <f>OJVTJ 2 2 4 4 J h 44 42 42 1000 1000 CO? 1 1 1 2 2 8 8 2689 2894 26887 27783 52 100 111 229 253 MARK 1:12-15. • 32 43 43 380 380 'ore 1 2 2 3 3 L 3 13 92 92 334 334 7rapa8o0TJvai 1 5 5 11 11 5 12 34 132 132 638 638 7T€Lpa^6/JL6VO? 1 5 5 12 12 J A 2 3 15 125 125 1414 1414 TTeTrArjpaiTttL 1 4 4 10 10 in ' ' 36 116 116 1305 1305 TTLcrrevere 1 4 4 9 9 -' • 37 67 67 576 576 7TV€Vp,a 1 2 2 6 6 18 53 53 553 553 aa.Ta.vd 1 3 3 6 6 ^9 141 141 1252 1252 TcaaepaKOvra 1 5 5 12 12 40 34 102 370 1110 TO 3 1 3 2 6 41 26 26 308 308 TTf 1 1 1 2 2 ifi i* „. 42 39 78 358 716 Tf]V 2 1 2 3 6 5 ; ^ ' 43 47 47 420 420 TOV 1 1 1 3 3 Jf 44 54 162 770 2310 TOV 3 1 3 3 9 •j i 45 43 43 1100 1100 TW 1 1 1 2 2 I r ) 46 56 56 1150 1150 TO)V 1 1 1 3 3 5 J t \ 47 51 51 550 550 'VTTO 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 2907 3432 27715 31798 65 120 150 262 312 49 54 56 74 45 58 50 76 1100 46 833 IaKa>p 72 1069 Ia>dvr}S 59 361 Av&peas 115 980 76 1100 46 833 MARK 16:9-20 MARK 3:13-19. Names of Apostles. 2 5 124 603 BapdoXo- 3 5 fiMios 5 12 46 72 340 paOdalos 3 8 36 63 1050 Oa)p,ds 2 5 38 67 685 lovSas 3 6 664 7021 28 6 i 343 162 392 666 405 58 2 5 3 5 THE WORD 224 1568 aypov 374 1122 574 4018 774 6966 904 8136 954 954 ayptov 67 685 Iov8as 3 6 883 9639 36 77 7 2 14 5 35 3 2 6 5 15 7 2 14 5 35 9 2 18 6 54 9 2 18 4 36 1 2 2 5 5 336 2026 3804 22764 36 12 72 30 180 Ay pos, field, is found in the New Testament as follows: Matthew 6:28, 30; 13:24, 27, 31, 36, 38, 44, 44, 19:29; 22:5; 24: 18, 40; 27:7, 8, 8, 10. —17 Mark 5:14; 6:36, 56; 10:29, 30; 11:8; 13:16; 15:21; 16:12. —9 Luke 8:34; 9: 12; 12:28; 14:18; 15:15,25; 17:7, 31 ; 23:26. —9 Acts 4:37. — 1 36 NOTES 1. To enable the reader to verify for himself the numeric statements of the writer, the concordances, vocabularies, and ists of forms, of some passages discussed in the preceding sages are given as above. The number of the occurrences of ;ach word in the passage, of its forms, syllables, letters, its lumeric and place values accompany each word. The forms are accompanied also by the total number of syllables and letters contained in all their occurrences, and by their total numeric md place values. The passages thus fitted out are: (1) Mark 6:9-20; (2) Mark 1:1-8; (3) 1:9-11; (4) 1:12-15. The list of .he apostles in Mark 3 : 13-19, and the word aypos, field, for the vhole New Testament, are thus also treated. But to be able thus to verify the writer's work by means of hese tables, the reader needs to be reminded that the following •ules hold in all vocabularies of New Testament passages : (a) The English verb go having no past tense, this is supplied rom another verb, went. But went and go are not one vocabul- iry word, they are two distinct though defective verbs. The ;ase is the same in the Greek, contrary to their treatment by exicographers, with the words ep^o/mi and eXOw; </>epa>, eve'y/ao, md oto>; opccaj and oTrro/zca and their compounds. Each of hese is a separate vocabulary word. As a change here affects he number of syllables, letters, and values, inattention to this •ule vitiates the numeric scheme of a vocabulary. EX0a> thus brms part of the vocabularies of Mark 1: 9-11 and 12-15, vhile a7T€\0a) and egeXOw are thus parts of Mark 16:9-20. (b) The vocabulary word for all, even defective, verbs is the irst person present indicative. Contrary, therefore, to lexico graphers, the vocabulary word is, for example, not eloov, or , but LOCD, and oTrro/xat. I8a> forms part of the vocabularies rfMark 1:1-8, and 1:9-12. (c) Verbs found in the New Testament only in the middle )r passive voices appear in the vocabulary only in the middle roice: 77-o/Deuo/u-at, for example, rather than rropeva). (d) Some Proper names appear in the New Testament in wo forms: /cocoas- , Iwuvvr^s, John; laKwfi, IKKOJ^OS, Jacob fames; Boe's-, Boos, Boas; 'So-pup, 'Eo-ptbv, Hezron; Ei^ni>v Simon, Simeon; Mapla, Mapiafj,, Mary (and Miriam) 51 52 MARK 16: 9-20 In these and like plain cases there is no difficulty in treating the two forms of each name as one vocabulary word. But in some cases the second form of the name so disguises it as to make it hardly recognizable: thus the ApivavaSa/3, Aminadab, and Apa^, Ram, of Matthew appear in Luke as AS^ew, Apvei, Admein, Arnei. The EiXas, Silas, of Acts is ZYAouavo'?, Silvanus, in Peter and Paul. Now in spite of the disguise the two forms are only one vocabulary word; and this rule accordingly covers also the case discussed in the Text of lovSas and @a8Salos, Judas and Thaddeus. The disguise does not alter the status of (dccBSatos as a mere form of lov&as : which, contrary to lexico graphers, is the vocabulary word for both. 2. The three lists for the words with which the New Testa ment books begin and end will be found in Bible Numerics by the writer, pp. 69-71, 76, to which the reader is accordingly referred. These tables, however, do not contain the data for the syllables and place values : since at the time of their con struction (1904) it was not yet known to the writer that the usual Bible Numerics extend also to these. Enough, however, is there given to justify the attempt at saving the wearisome as well as fussy toil of resetting these tables: which labour has to be done at present by the writer himself. The disadvantage under which this mechanical part of the work has to be done is also the reason for omitting the remaining tables for verifying the other numeric statements in this work. Any one interested, however, will be cheerfully given access to the manuscript tables of the writer. 3. The text of Mark 16:9-20, and of 1 : 1-8, as given in the preceding pages, may be depended on as being the one of the original autograph of Mark himself. Here the text as given by Westcott & Hort is exact. The same is true of 1:12-15; and Westcott & Hort's uncertainty about the status of KO.I Xeya>v, and saying, in verse 1 5, the omission of which they offer as an alternative, is thus effectually settled by the numerics of this passage. But in Mark 1:9-11 they are uncertain about the first word of the passage : /cat, and. They offer its omission as an alternative. With it the passage has 53 words ; without it, 52, or 4 thirteens. The retention of that doubted word destroys the scheme of thirteens running through this paragraph, and destroys much of the rest of its numerics. 4. Those who hold that the four Gospels, though written THE LAST TWELVE VERSES OF MARK The last twelve verses of the Gospel according to Mark are omitted by Tischendorff, and marked as an Interpolation by Westcott & Hort. Tregelles and Alford retain them, but not as a genuine portion of Mark. Weiss has them only in the margin. These editors thus agree in ejecting this passage from Scripture. The revisers of 1881 separate these verses from the rest of the Gospel by an unusual space, and call attention in a note to the fact that "the two oldest manuscripts and some other authori ties omit" them; though they might have added the equally pertinent fact, that writers earlier than the oldest manuscripts show their acquaintance with these verses. On the other hand Dean J. W. Burgon has written a book of some 350 octavo pages in which he contends with great learn ing, ability, and zeal, for the genuineness of these verses; and he is followed here by Scrivener and Miller. But as the difference between these three and those critical editors resolves itself into one about methods of recension of the New Testament text, Dean Burgon's elaborate defence involves a previous question, which has so far hopelessly divided the two camps of New Testament textual critics now for over a third of a century. And until this previous question is settled, Dr. Burgon's book is convincing only to those who already agree with him even before reading it. 3 As the matter, therefore, now stands, the last twelve verses of Mark are now only tolerated in the New Testament by professional critical scholarship. If some New Testament students still hold to the genuineness of these verses, it is on subjective grounds: which, however, can have no force with those who ask for objective proof: for demonstration rather than opinion, however expert. 3 4 MARK 16: 9-20 In the following pages it is purposed to submit the passage itself, rather than its documentary accusers and defenders, to a rigid examination. It is purposed to take it, as it were, into the innermost secret police chamber, and there compel it to give as full an account of itself as can be obtained therefrom by all legitimate means. Before listening to the testimony of this passage concerning itself, the reader needs to be reminded of the following facts : (1) The passage falls into the following natural divisions, recognized as such in the Revised Version : (a) Appearanc^ the risen Christ to Mary, and the disciples' disbelief the- verses 9-11; (b) Subsequent appearances of Christ- 12-18; (c) Conclusion of the narrative. There are thus in this passage at least three natural logical divisions: made, be it observed, not by the present writer, but by the Revisers, to mention no others. But in addition to these natural divisions, there are also natural, logical subdivisions. Thus verses 9-11, which form the first division of the Revisers, fall in their turn into three natural subdivisions : verse 9 forming the one, verse 10 the second, and verse 11 the third. In like manner verses 19-20, the last division of the Revisers, fall in their turn into two natural subdivisions: verse 19 forming one, and verse 20 the other. (2) From another point of view this passage consists of two other great divisions: Simple Narrative; and the speech of tl risen Christ in verses 15-18. (3) The Greeks had no separate symbols, corresponding to our Arabic figures, for expressing numbers. They made use of the letters of their alphabet instead; and its twenty-four letters accordingly stand for the following numbers: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800. That is to say: the Greek letters « /? y 8 e £7}6iKXiJLvgo7TpaTv<t>x*lj<*>,in addition to expressing the sounds a, b, c, etc., express also the numbers 1, 2, 3, etc. Every Greek word, in addition to expressing some idea, thus stands also for a sum in arithmetic obtained by adding the numbers for which its letters stand. Thus Irjvovs, stands for Jesus; but also for 888, the sum of 10, 8, 200, 70, 400, 200, the numeric values of the letters making up that word. Each Greek word (and the same is true of the Hebrew, in which the Old Testament is written, Greek being the language of the NOTES 53 by four different writers, are the work of One Superior Mind, find no difficulty in perceiving that the Lord is there presented in four different aspects: in Matthew as the Messiah, the promised King of the Jews; in Mark as the humble Servant; in Luke as the perfect son of Adam, the divine Man ; in John as the eternal Son of God. Many puzzling phenomena in the composition of the Gospels are explicable only on that sup position. Thus in the mere matter of genealogy, Matthew, who writes primarily for the Jews, goes back only to Abraham, the father of the Jewish people; where Luke goes back to Adam, the father of the human race; while John goes back even of Adam, into Eternity itself: In the beginning the Word WAS. In Mark, however, the servant needs no genealogy, and the words son of God are thus justly omitted by Westcott & Hort from Mark 1:1. As such the Lord is presented in John rather than in Mark. 5. All words as to how these Last Twelve Verses came to be suspected must be given up, though Dean Burgon's guess is plausible eno'. We simply do not know. Whatever is said here must be mere guess, and even the most plausible guess is still only a guess. And it cannot be affirmed too often that when it comes to guessing (dignified often with the name of scientific theory) a child's is as good as a mature man's, perhaps better: since it is free from the incubus of preconception which proves such a snare even to minds of the first order. All we can say is that it is a fact that these verses are absent from the oldest manuscripts we have, and from some we know c These verses teach that when the Lord rose from the dead .16 appeared first not to the beloved disciple, nor to Peter, nor to the other two apparent favourites among the Eleven, James and Andrew, but to a woman; and that woman not his mother, but one so wicked once that seven demons had to be cast out of her. Now there are two parties who from the nature of the case are bound to fight the testimony to this fact : (a) Suppose the Gospel of Christ is such as to say, as it were : "See, such is the grace of God that even mere woman, with whilom seven demons in her is not beyond attaining unto the honour of being the first to behold the risen Lord, even as is written: The last shall be first. Suppose further that there is a mighty Adversary who from the very nature of his case is bound to hate such a gosepl, such a salvation offered unto men. He is bound to say to himself, as it were : " Such a fact I must 54 MARK 16:9-20 at all hazards hinder from becoming known. I shall do my utmost to destroy the record of such fact." And the leaf accordingly in due time gets itself — lost. . .. Be it remembered that there is another passage, where a woman caught in the very act of sin is brought to the same Lord for judgment. But the One who though Holy and Just Himself prefers to appear in His risen glory first to a whilom defiled, demonized woman, only dismisses the sinner before him with a "Neither do I condemn thee. Go, and sin no more." Be it remembered that if there is an Adversary to a salvation preached of such a Savior, he is likely to say to himself: If such mercy is in the Gospel of that Christ, then I must stir earth and Sheol to keep it from the knowledge of men. And forthwith the Passage concerning the Woman Taken in the Act becomes a piece of Dubitability, exactly like these Last Twelve Verses of Mark: these two being in fact the only passages of any length that have fared thus. Add now the fact that this passage contains the most for midable notice to the Powers of Darkness, And these signs shall follow, etc. If there be a fierce, subtle, wise, powerful, and relentless Enemy of human souls whom Christ came to save, — what //this Enemy should gnash his teeth, and stretch his hand hellward, since he cannot lift it heavenward, and swear by all the prowess of Satan, Diablos, Beelzebub, the Dragon, and the Serpent, that in nowise, as far as in him lies, shall the Church of that hated Christ be allowed to enjoy the assurance of such mighty promises? (b) The second party consists of all those who have a zeal for God, yet not according to knowledge: the progeny in all ages of Uzzah of eld. It will be remembered that the great God in the days of His Arkhood once undertook to manage His ark by Himself, without the aid of man. And the oxen went of themselves: ark mayhap jolting here, tipping there, but ever according to God's mind. And all went well, until well-meaning Uzzah said as it were: "Methinks the beloved ark is not doing as well as it might. This jolting and tipping is surely not in keeping with the dignity of God's ark. So I ... j I ... I ... will just steady it a little, and" — instantly he is smitten for his presumption : well-meaning indeed, but before , God even well-meaning presumption is still presumption, with swift judgment thereon. Now the Uzzahs of the early Church, on seeing a seven- bedevilled woman honoured with the first sight of the risen Lord, might well at first shake their heads, and then stretch omv lerea same iJust hiloir jefore lore.' vatior elf: If st stir ..And in the e Last : onh st for- » 5!g/!5 jl,anc iave,- shand by all indtlie :hurch ofsucti y in ai legren manag' ie oxei g there j> belove ipping' Sol.. aseve thei •n stret NOTES 55 orth their well-meaning hands toward the ark of God, and ay, There is a jolting here and tipping that will never do in this oly Gospel ark, and forthwith there is a steadying thereof by eliberate removal of what they think is likely to prove a tumbling to weak souls, mayhap even a source of reproach rom the enemies of the Cross. Even then if Satan has not himself laid hands on thi> page y tearing it away, the Uzzahites of eld without even knowing rtiose purpose they were really serving, would readily become ere tools of a master whose art ever is to hide his presence rom his dupes. All this is of course a mere guess. But it is submitted that if ny guessing there must be, this is at least on a plane so far bove the mundane one of the hitherto Critics, that it as at east certain that no mere child would make it. 6. The numeric phenomena enumerated for the various assages in the preceding pages do not begin to be exhaustive, [very fresh examination brings to light some additional eature in the items already examined, or a wholly new item. hus not until this Note was being set up was it discovered lat the Vocabulary of the Last Twelve Verses of Mark has its tiortest words (in the matter of syllables) consist of one yllable; its longest, of six. The sum of these numbers is — seven, s feature might well be allowed to pass unnoticed but for lis fact: These longest and shortest words (fifteen one- yllable words and one six-syllable) have thus together 21 yllables, or 3 sevens; and 49 letters, or seven sevens. This is a holly new item hitherto unobserved in all the twenty years of ie writer's labour in this field. Again: the number of words in this Vocabulary, 98, is x 7 x 2, or twice forty-nine. Usually in such cases it is every eventh word that is scanned here for numerics. It occurred, owever, to the writer to try also every forty-ninth word ; their umeric values, 321 and 715, have for their sum 1,036, or 148 evens. And once more : These 98 words have 553 letters, or seventy- ine sevens. It occurred to the writer to look up the seventy- inth word. It is -n-apd with a numeric value of 182, or 26 evens; and a place value of 35, or 5 sevens. 7. The reader is now prepared to be told that the genuine- icss of John 7:53-8:11, which twelve verses are rejected by nodern critical editors with even greater assurance than the 56 MARK 16: 9-20 passage in Mark, is established in exactly the same way, since it is permeated with the same numeric design. So that either Mark was the writer of both passages, or John, or there are after all two such unparalleled mathematical artists. But in his numerous papers the writer has demonstrated in a hundred different ways that not a paragraph in every one of the six and sixty books of the Bible so far examined but is constructed on the same lightly elaborate numeric design. So that there are thus three and thirty mathematical miracles, limited, however, only to Bible writers. But in the same pages it is also amply shown that mere men could not thus write, that those numeric phenomena can be explained only as the work of One Master Designer. 197050 sine eithe: re an in hi .ndrec ixaic ted 01 re ar; wevei •erne: anb PANIN, IVAN. 3S 2585 The last twelve verses of Mark .P3 •. 