Comparing Sinaiticus and Byz in John: 100 Differences

            Having looked at 180 translation-impacting differences between the Byzantine Text and the text in Codex Sinaiticus in the Synoptic Gospels (60 in Matthew, 60 in Mark, 60 in Luke), today we complete the set, looking at 100 translation-impacting differences between the Byzantine Text and the text that was written by the copyist of Codex Sinaiticus in the Gospel of John. 

            The readings from Sinaiticus in this list vary in size and in the amount of impact that they have on translation – in one case, 12 verses are affected; in some other cases, a single word is changed.  In several cases, the reading in Codex Sinaiticus constitutes a historical error.

            Red dots accompany cases where the Byzantine Text and the Nestle-Aland compilation both disagree with the reading written by the copyist of Codex Sinaiticus.  Black dots accompany cases where Codex Sinaiticus and the Nestle-Aland compilation agree with each other and disagree with the Byzantine reading; there are fourteen such cases (among these particular 100 variant-units).

● 1.  In John 1:15, does John the Baptist say that Jesus is the One he was speaking of before?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 2.  Does John 1:17 affirm that grace and truth come from Jesus Christ?

            ﬡ:  no (the word “Christ” is absent)

            Byz:  yes

● 3.  Does John 1:18 refer to “the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father” or to “only begotten God in the bosom of the Father”?

            ﬡ:  only begotten God in the bosom of the Father

            Byz:  the only begotten Son who is in the bosom of the Father

● 4.  Does John 1:20 emphasize John the Baptist’s confession by mentioning twice that he confessed?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 5.  In John 1:34, does John the Baptist affirm that Jesus is the Son of God, or that Jesus is the chosen one of God?

            ﬡ:  chosen one of God

            Byz:  Son of God

● 6.  Does John 2:3 contain a phrase which says that they did not have wine, because the wine for the marriage-feast was finished?

            ﬡ:  yes

            Byz:  no

● 7.  Does John 2:6 say that the waterpots were standing there?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 8.  Does John 2:10 specifically say that Jesus manifested His glory?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 9.  Does John 2:12 mention Jesus’ disciples?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

               

● 10.  Does John 2:21 specify that Jesus spoke of the temple of His body?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 11.  In John 3:8, does Jesus describe “everyone who has been born of water and of the Spirit”?

            ﬡ:  yes

            Byz:  no (Jesus describes “everyone who has been born of the Spirit”)

● 12.  Does John 3:13 mention “the Son of Man who is in heaven”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 13.  Does John 3:16 affirm that God gave His only begotten Son?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 14.  Does John 3:20 affirm that everyone who hates the light does not come to the light?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 15.  Does John 3:21 affirm that the one who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 16.  Does John 3:31 affirm that He who comes from heaven is above all?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 17.  Does John 4:1 refer to Jesus as “the Lord”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 18.  Does John 4:9 say that Jews have no dealings with Samaritans?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 19.  In John 4:19, does the Samaritan woman refer to Jesus as “Lord”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 20.  Does John 4:39 specify that many of the Samaritans believed on Him?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 21.  Does John 4:45 say that the Galileans received Him?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 22.  Does John 5:3 mention that the sick people were waiting for the moving of the waters?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 23.  Does John 5:4 say that an angel stirred up the waters, and that the one who first entered the pool after the waters were stirred up would be healed?

            ﬡ:  no (the entire verse is absent)

            Byz:  yes

● 24.  Does John 5:9 say that the man immediately became whole?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes        

● 25.  Does John 5:14 mention that the healed man found Jesus healing in the temple?

            ﬡ:  yes

            Byz:  no

● 26.  Does John 5:16 say that the Jews sought to kill Jesus?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 27.  In John 5:25, does Jesus refer to an hour that is coming and now is?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 28.  Does John 5:26 say that the Father has given to the Son to have life in Himself?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 29.  In John 6:10, how does John describe the place where Jesus fed the five thousand?

            ﬡ:  there was much place in that place

            Byz:  there was much grass

● 30.  In John 6:10, about how many men were present?

            ﬡ:  three thousand

            Byz:  five thousand

● 31.  Does John 6:11 say that Jesus gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to those who were sitting down?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 32.  Does John 6:15 say that Jesus withdrew from the crowd, or that He escaped the crowd?

            ﬡ:  He escaped

            Byz:  He withdrew

● 33.  In John 6:26, does Jesus’ statement begin, “You seek me”?

            ﬡ:  no
            Byz:  yes  

● 34.  Does John 6:27 say that God the Father has sealed the Son of Man?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 35.  In John 6:39, does Jesus say something specifically about the will of the One who sent Him?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 36.  In John 6:42, do the Jews affirm that they know Jesus’ mother?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 37.  In John 6:46, does Jesus say that He who is from God has seen the Father?

            ﬡ:  no; Jesus says that He who is from the Father has seen God.

            Byz:  yes

● 38.  In John 6:47, does Jesus say that the one who believes in Him has eternal life?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 39.  In John 6:55, does Jesus say that His blood is truly drink?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 40.  Does John 6:64 refer to Jesus as “the Savior”?

            ﬡ:  yes

            Byz:  no

● 41.  In John 6:69, does Simon Peter describe Jesus as “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” or as “the Holy One of God”?

            ﬡ:  the Holy One of God

            Byz:  the Christ, the Son of the living God

● 42.  In John 7:6, does Jesus say “My time is not yet come,” or “My time is not come”?

            ﬡ:  My time is not (ου) come

            Byz:  My time is not yet (ουπω) come

● 43.  In John 7:7, does Jesus say specifically that He testifies concerning the world?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 44.  In John 7:8, does Jesus say, “I am not going up to this feast,” or “I am not yet going up to this feast”?

            ﬡ:  I am not (ουκ) going up to this feast

            Byz:  I am not yet (ουπω) going up to this feast

            (Papyrus 66, Papyrus 75, and Codex Vaticanus agree with Byz here)

● 45.  Does John 7:22 begin with “Therefore”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 46.  In John 7:26, do the people ask a question about the high priest?

            ﬡ:  yes

            Byz:  no

● 47.  In John 7:27, do the people raise a question about the signs the Messiah will do?

            ﬡ:  yes

            Byz:  no

● 48.  Does John 7:35 say that the Jews said something among themselves?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 49.  In John 7:37, does Jesus say, If anyone thirsts, “let him come to Me and drink”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 50.  Does John 7:50 say anything about Nicodemus’ previous encounter with Jesus?

             ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 51.  Does the Gospel of John contain an episode about Jesus and a woman caught in adultery, in which Jesus says “Go and sin no more”?

            ﬡ:  no (John 7:53-8:11 is absent)

            Byz:  yes

● 52.  Does John 8:20 say that Jesus was teaching in the temple?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 53.  In John 8:26, does Jesus specifically say that the Father has sent Him?

            ﬡ:  yes

            Byz:  no

● 54. Does John 8:27 specifically say that Jesus was speaking of God as the Father?

            ﬡ:  yes

            Byz:  no

● 55.  In John 8:35, does Jesus affirm that the Son abides forever?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 56.  In John 8:52, does Jesus say something about death?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 57.  In John 8:57, did the Jews ask Jesus, “Have you seen Abraham,” or “Has Abraham seen You”?

            ﬡ:  has Abraham seen You?

            Byz:  have you seen Abraham? 

● 58.  Does John 8:59 report that Jesus went through their midst, and so passed by” as He left the temple?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 59.  Does John 9:10 specifically mention the Jews?

            ﬡ:  yes

            Byz:  no

● 60.  In John 9:38, does the formerly blind man say to Jesus, “Lord, I believe”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 61.  In John 9:39, does the formerly blind man worship Jesus?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz: yes

● 62.  Does John 10:10 specifically refer to eternal life?

            ﬡ:  yes

            Byz:  no

● 63.  In John 11:31, were the Jews thinking that Jesus was going to the tomb to weep there, or were they Jews saying that Mary was going to the tomb to weep there?

            ﬡ:  they were thinking that Jesus was going to the tomb

            Byz:  they were saying that Mary was going to the tomb

● 64.  In John 11:50, does Caiaphas say “It is profitable for us that one man should die,” or does he say, “It is profitable that one man should die”?

            ﬡ:  it is profitable

            Byz:  it is profitable for us

● 65.  Does John 12:1 specify that the individual named Lazarus is “the one who had died”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 66.  In John 12:25, did Jesus say that he who hates his life in this world shall keep it?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 67.  In John 12:31, does Jesus say something about the prince of this world?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 68.  Does John 13:1 say that Jesus loved “His own” who were in the world, or “the Jews” who were in the world?

            ﬡ:  the Jews

            Byz:  His own

● 69.  In John 13:6, does Simon Peter address Jesus as “Lord”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 70.  In John 13:9, does Simon Peter address Jesus as “Lord”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 71.  In John 13:10, does Jesus say something about washing feet?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 72.  In John 13:12, did Jesus take their garments, or His garments?

            ﬡ:  their garments

            Byz:  His garments

● 73.  Does John 13:22 say that the Jews looked, one another, upon the disciples?

            ﬡ:  yes

            Byz:  no

● 74.  In John 13:24, does Simon Peter (a) motion to the disciple whom Jesus loved to ask Jesus to whom He referred, and (b) tell the disciple to ask Him of whom He spoke?

            ﬡ:  yes

            Byz:  no; only the first action is mentioned

● 75.  How does John 13:32 begin?

            ﬡ:  “Also God shall glorify Him in Himself” 

            Byz:  “If God has been glorified in Him”     

● 76.  In John 13:37, Does Simon Peter address Jesus as “Lord”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes  

● 77.  In John 14:16, does Jesus say that He will keep the Father, or that He will ask the Father?

            ﬡ:  keep

            Byz:  ask

● 78.  In John 15:10, does Jesus say, “If you keep My commandments, you shall abide in My love”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 79.  Does John 15:21 say that people will do these things “to you”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 80.  In John 16:9, does Jesus say that the Comforter will convict the world concerning sin because “they believe on Me” or “because they do not believe on Me”?

            ﬡ:  because they believe on Me

            Byz:  because they do not believe on Me

● 81.  In John 16:15, does Jesus say, “All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He will take of Mine, and shall show it to you”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 82.  Does John 16:16 end with the phrase “because I go to the Father”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 83.  In John 16:17, does Jesus mention the phrase, “A little while, and you shall not see Me”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 84.  In John 17:8, does Jesus affirm that the people who were given to Him have known truly that He came from the Father?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 85.  Does John 17:10 begin with the phrase, “And all Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 86.  Does John 17:17 include the phrase, “Your word is truth”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 87.  In John 17:26, does Jesus refer to “the love in which You loved Me” or to “the love in which You loved them”?

            ﬡ:  the love in which You loved them

            Byz:  the love in which You loved Me

● 88.  In John 19:13, is the judgment seat in a place that is called Gabbatha, or Golgotha?

            ﬡ:  Golgotha

            Byz:  Gabbatha      

● 89.  Does John 19:20 say that the title was read by many of the Jews, and that it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin?

            ﬡ:  no (the whole verse is absent)

            Byz:  yes

● 90.  Does John 19:21 say that the chief priests told Pilate not to write “King of the Jews”?

            ﬡ:   no

            Byz:  yes

● 91.  Does John 19:23 mention that the soldiers also took Jesus’ tunic?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 92.  In John 19:26, does John say that Jesus saw His mother?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 93.  Does John 19:38 say that Joseph of Arimathea “took the body of Jesus,” or that Joseph of Arimathea “took Him”?

            ﬡ:  took Him

            Byz:  took the body of Jesus

● 94.  Does John 20:3 say that Peter and the other disciple came to the tomb?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 95.  Does John 20:5 mention that the other disciple did not enter the tomb?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 96.  Does John 20:6 say that Simon Peter came and entered the tomb?
            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 97.  In John 21:15, does Jesus call Simon “son of Jonah”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes (the Alexandrian Text has “son of John” – but ﬡ has neither)

● 98.  In John 21:20, did Peter see the disciple whom Jesus loved, following?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 99.  In John 21:21, did Peter address Jesus as “Lord”?

            ﬡ:  no

            Byz:  yes

● 100.  Does John 21:23 end with the phrase, “What is that to you”?

            ﬡ: no

            Byz:  yes

Please explain, Dr. White.

● Bonus:  Does the Gospel of John end with a statement to the effect that the world could not contain the books that would be written if all of Jesus’ deeds were written down?

            ﬡ:  no (the copyist concluded the text at the end of John 21:24, and wrote the closing-title after that.  However, his supervisor apparently overruled his decision to remove verse 25; the closing title was erased, and verse 25 was added along with the closing title below it.)

            Byz:  yes

(There are more than 100 readings in Codex Sinaiticus which mean something different than what the Byzantine reading means; I just tried to keep things tidy by limiting it to 100.)

For reference:
60 Passages in Matthew Where the Byzantine Text and Codex Sinaiticus Mean Different Things

60 Passages in Mark Where the Byzantine Text and Codex Sinaiticus Mean Different Things

60 Passages in Luke Where the Byzantine Text and Codex Sinaiticus Mean Different Things

Readers are invited to double-check the accuracy of the data in this post.

Whatever Happened to the Zelada Gospels?

          “This manuscript seems now missing.”  So wrote F. H. A. Scrivener, in the 1861 edition of A Plain Introduction to the Criticism of the New Testament.  Scrivener was referring to minuscule 181, a Gospels-manuscript from the 1000’s that had been in the library of Roman Catholic cardinal Francesco Saverio Zelada (1717-1801), also known as Francis Xavier Zelada.   Some of the most prominent textual critics of the 1800’s, beginning with Andreas Birch, cited this manuscript.

          Although 1,476 Greek manuscripts of the Gospel of John include 7:53-8:11 (the story about the adulteress), the Zelada Gospels is one of the 267 Greek copies that does not contain the passage.  Another interesting feature of this manuscript is a commentary in its outer margins which frequently echoes early patristic sources, such as Origen’s statement (regarding Matthew 27:16-17) that in some copies, Barabbas was also named Jesus.  This manuscript deserved much more attention – but then it seemed to have mysteriously disappeared.  By 1894, when the fourth edition of Scrivener’s Plain Introduction was published posthumously, the brief profile of Gospels-minuscule 181 no longer said that the manuscript seemed to be missing, but that it “is now missing.”

            Later, when the identification-numbers for New Testament manuscripts were standardized, the number 181 was reassigned to an important copy in the Vatican Library (Vat. Gr. 179) that contains the rest of the New Testament (even Revelation) besides the Gospels.  It seemed that the Zelada Gospels had mysteriously vanished.

Francis Xavier de Zelada's
ownership-seal, on a page
near the end of MS 2812.

            Happily, this was not the case!  The manuscript was transferred, in accordance with Zelada’s will, to the Cathedral of Toledo, Spain, after his death.  This escaped the notice of some British and American researchers, but the manuscript was described in 1892 by Albert Martin and Charles Henri Graux in the French book, Notices sommaires des manuscripts grecs d’Espagne et Portugal (Brief Records of Greek Manuscripts in Spain and Portugal).  On pages 230-231 they described the manuscript and supplied a brief index.  Its identity is confirmed not only by an inscription near the front, but also by an ownership-seal on a page near the end of the manuscript.

            The Zelada Gospels is currently housed (along with a Greek Psalter, a lectionary, and other volumes from Zelada’s library) at the Biblioteca Nacional de España, and digital page-views (and downloads) are available at the Biblioteca Digital Hispánica.  It is now known as Greek minuscule 2812. 

            Although the material in the margins is called the Commentary of Peter of Laodicea, it is essentially a catena – a collection of patristic material, extracted mainly from the writings of John Chrysostom, Titus of Bostra, and Cyril of Alexandria.  The Catena Marcum, also known as the Commentary of Victor of Antioch on Mark, accompanies the text in Mark.  Small red letters frequently link the individual margin-notes to the relevant portions of the text. 

            Both the Gospels-text and the commentary-text are specially formatted to ensure that the marginalia keeps up with the text; where the commentary is abundant, there are fewer lines of Gospels-text; where the commentary is sparse, the number of lines of Gospels-text increases.  Sometimes the commentary-text is only in the outer margin, or is arranged in a very narrow column, or in space-filling shapes such as a vortex or a cross. 

            Before the text of the Gospels, MS 2812 features the text of Eusebius’ letter to Carpian (explaining the Eusebian Canons) written in red uncial letters on a page that has been cut into a quatrefoil shape, placed into another page in which the corresponding shape has been reserved; the page with text is tied by strings to the other page.   The numerals in the canon-tables (colored with red, gold, green, and blue), and to the left of the text throughout the manuscript, are uncials. 

            Each Gospel is preceded by a list of chapter-numbers and titles, all written in neat red uncials.  The same chapter-numbers and titles recur in the manuscript as large red uncial rubrics at the top of pages on which chapters begin.  (In some cases the chapter does not begin at the place designated in the inner margin of the Nestle-Aland NTG; for example chapter 28 in Matthew begins at 15:6 rather than 15:1; chapter 34 begins at 16:28 rather than 17:1.)  Where two chapters begin on the same page, the second chapter-number and title appears at the bottom of the page.     

            Large red uncial chapter-numbers appear alongside the text at the appropriate points; the first complete line of a section begins with a red capital letter extended into the left margin.  A simple “+” frequently appears in the text as a separation-mark.  “Telos” appears in the text occasionally.  Extended quotations from the Old Testament are accompanied by “>” alongside each line.  A short hypothesis, or summary, precedes the chapter-lists for Mark, Luke, and John, all written in semi-uncial script.

            The genealogies in Luke 3 are formatted in two columns, intended to be read vertically.

            There is not a lectionary apparatus, but occasionally liturgy-related notes appear in the lower margin appear to locate some lections.

            There are no Evangelist-portraits.  Each gospel begins with a decorative headpiece; each of which has a distinct design.  The first letter of each book is a large elaborate gold initial.

            Textually, 2812 is essentially Byzantine:

            ● Matthew 16:2-3, 17:21, and 18:11 are included.  In Matthew 27:35, 2812 agrees with Byz, disagreeing with the Textus Receptus; 2812 does not have the part that mentions a prophecy-fulfillment. 

            ● Mark 1:2 reads “in the prophets,” 5:1 reads “Gadarenes,” 7:16 is included; 9:29 includes “and fasting,” 9:44 and 9:46 are both included, and Mark 16:9-20 is included. 

            ● Luke 22:43-44 is present, and so is the reference to honeycomb in 24:42. 

            ● John 1:18 reads “only-begotten Son,” John 3:13 has “who is in heaven,” and the full text of John 5:3b-4 is included.

            There are, however, some exceptions, chief of which is the non-inclusion of John 7:53-8:11.  Its text of John 3:16 is unusual.

No asterisk accompanies Mark 16:9-20.

             It has been erroneously claimed that in 2812, Mark 16:9-20 is accompanied by an asterisk to indicate scribal doubt about the passage.  No asterisk is there.  We do, however, see four other features.

            ● First, scrawled in what may be dark pencil-lead on the right, there is an abbreviated note identifying Mark 16:9-20 as Heothinon #3, that is, the third in a special cycle of eleven morning-time lections about Christ’s resurrection. 

            ● Second, at the foot of the page, there is a liturgical note, explaining to the lector how Mark 16:9 is to begin when it is read aloud in the church-service.  

            ● Third, after the end of 16:8, there is a telos-mark written in full. If this feature was seen in isolation, one might be tempted to imagine that this signified that in some exemplars, the text ended at this point.  But let this teach us the dangers of spot-checking.  When the rest of the text of 2812 is consulted, we see that a telos appears in Mark not only after 16:8, but also after 6:29, 10:31, and 15:39 (and, abbreviated, after 5:20).  A telos appears in Matthew after 2:12, 4:22, 6:6, 10:39, 11:24, 12:24, 13:12, etc.; in Luke after 1:80, 2:52, 5:32, etc.; in John after 21:25 (the end of the book) but also halfway through 7:32, and, abbreviated, after 19:24 and 19:37.  These occurrences of telos plainly represent the ends of chapters, sections, lections, or commentary-segments.  It would be arbitrary to assign special significance to its occurrence after 16:8.     

Close-up:  a symbol in the margin beside
Mark 16:9 is intended to alert the reader to the presence
of a note about this passage on the following page.

● Fourth, alongside the beginning of Mark 16:9, there is a symbol which represents the sun, or a shooting star.  This symbol (which is also used in 2812 at Mark 6:25 and elsewhere) serves the same purpose as a footnote-number, referring the reader to material in the margin.  In this case, the matching marginalia does not appear on the same page; it is on the next page, accompanied by a recurrence of the same symbol.   The comment that accompanies the symbol consists of part of the final comment frequently found in Victor of Antioch’s commentary, beginning with the words, Παρα πλειστοις αντιγραφοις.  It may be helpful to transcribe the entire note (which also appears in the margin of minuscule 137, another manuscript that was once erroneously thought to have an asterisk accompanying Mk. 16:9-20):

The note about Mark 16:9-20,
justifying the inclusion of the passage.
This note is part of the Catena Marcum
and is found in multiple copies.

Παρα πλειστοις αντιγραφοις ου

κεινται ταυτα επιφερομενα εν τω

κατα Μαρκον ευαγγελιω ως νοθα νομι-

σαντες αυτα τινες ειναι.  Ημεις δε εξ α-

κριβων αντιγραφων ως εν πλειστοις

ευροντες αυτα, κατα το Παλαιστι-

ναιον ευαγγελιον Μαρκον ως εχει η α-

ληθεια, συντεθεικαμεν και την εν

αυτω επιφερομενην δεσποτικην

αναστασιν μετα το εφοβουντο γαρ. 

This runs as follows in English: 

“In many copies this does not appear in the Gospel of Mark, and for that reason certain individuals have considered it spurious.  But we read it in accurate copies, and have found it in many such copies.  So, based on the Palestinian Gospel of Mark, which displays the truth, we also have connected it, with its account of the Lord’s resurrection, after ‘for they were afraid.’”     

Thus, instead of finding an asterisk in 2812, we have found an annotation by someone (Victor of Antioch, or another early contributor to the catena-commentary) reacting to the statement made by Eusebius of Caesarea in Ad Marinum that one could say that the passage was not in the accurate copies, or that it was not in many copies.  (Part of Ad Marinum is the marginalia in 2812 on the page on which Mark 16:9 appears, and on the following page.) The author of the note had found the passage in many copies, and in accurate copies, and, relying on a cherished Palestinian exemplar, had proceeded to produce copies that included verses 9-20 after verse 8.

Minuscule 2812 has a lot to offer as an example of a Gospels-manuscript with a catena/commentary in the margins.  Researchers may be able to establish relationships between the Gospels-text of such manuscripts by identifying manuscripts which share the same pattern of agreements in minority-readings in both the text and in the marginalia.