The Last Twelve Verses of the Gospel According to S. Mark

John William BurgonProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

Rating 3.8
Word count
766K words
Chapters
77

Tags

English Originals Religion Religious ReflectionRigorous ArgumentAcademic MonographAcademic StudyTextual CriticismReligious TextScriptural ScholarshipTheological Debate

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Last Twelve Verses of the Gospel According to S. Mark by John William BurgonAuthor: Burgon, John William, 1813-1888,Language: English, Class: BS: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion: Christianity: The Bible, Old and New Testament, Release Date: Jul 27, 2008

Editor's review

This book is a long scholarly treatise by the nineteenth-century English theologian Burgon on the authenticity of the last twelve verses of the Gospel of Mark. The original was published in the late nineteenth century, and this edition is the English public-domain electronic text provided by Project Gutenberg. Drawing on patristic quotations, ancient versions, and manuscript evidence, Burgon argues that these twelve verses belong to the canon; his method represents the typical approach of conservative exegesis of his time. For today's researchers, the book's value lies not only in its conclusion but in its preservation and organization of a large body of primary material and the lines of debate surrounding the long ending of Mark—an unavoidable document for understanding the history of New Testament textual criticism. Reading it requires some background in ancient Greek and patristics, or one easily gets lost in the dense citations. It is suitable as a specialized reference for theology and classics readers, or as extended reading for enthusiasts of church history and exegetical history; it is not a general-audience book for light browsing.

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Reading tips

  1. Read the introduction and conclusion first to grasp Burgon's core position, then return to the middle chapters of textual evidence.
  2. Keep a parallel text of Mark 16 on hand to check the cited verses and version differences as you read.
  3. Skip unfamiliar patristic names and manuscript sigla at first, then look them up in reference works after finishing the book.
  4. Read alongside a modern introduction to textual criticism to appreciate the difference between nineteenth-century debate and current consensus.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. 32
  33. 33
  34. 34
  35. 35
  36. 36
  37. 37
  38. 38
  39. 39
  40. 40
  41. 41
  42. 42
  43. 43
  44. 44
  45. 45
  46. 46
  47. 47
  48. 48
  49. 49
  50. 50
  51. 51
  52. 52
  53. 53
  54. 54
  55. 55
  56. 56
  57. 57
  58. 58
  59. 59
  60. 60
  61. 61
  62. 62
  63. 63
  64. 64
  65. 65
  66. 66
  67. 67
  68. 68
  69. 69
  70. 70
  71. 71
  72. 72
  73. 73
  74. 74
  75. 75
  76. 76
  77. 77

FAQ

What is the core question this book discusses? Whether Mark 16:9–20, the twelve verses, belong to the original text. Burgon argues they are authentic and builds a long case from patristic quotations, ancient versions, and the manuscript situation, while responding to opponents' main arguments.
Can I read it without knowing ancient Greek? You can, but it will be tough. Many citations involve Greek manuscripts and patristic texts, and without the language you cannot check details. Read the introduction and conclusion first for the thread, then use a dictionary or parallel translation for key passages.
What kind of edition is this? It is an English public-domain ebook released by Project Gutenberg—a free electronic text of the original work, not a new critical or annotated translation. Note that its layout and annotation style reflect the original book; when citing, check the original page numbers.
What is the point of reading this book today? Its conclusion is not mainstream in modern scholarship, but its value lies in systematically preserving the debate material around the long ending and presenting the methods and concerns of nineteenth-century conservative exegesis; it is an important reference for the history of textual criticism and exegesis.

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About the author

John William Burgon Author · English · 1813–1888

John William Burgon (1813–1888) was an English Anglican theologian born in Smyrna. He taught at the University of Oxford for many years, served as Gresham Professor of Divinity, and became Dean of Chichester Cathedral in 1876. Burgon is known for defending the traditional text of the Gospels and for his fierce opposition to the revisions of the Greek text by Westcott and Hort. His works include The Last Twelve Verses of the Gospel According to S. Mark, The Revision Revised, The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels, and The Causes of the Corruption of the Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels, as well as Inspiration and Interpretation, which addresses biblical inspiration and interpretation. In 1845 he won the Newdigate Prize for his poem Petra. His scholarship centered on the transmission and textual criticism of the New Testament, and his argumentative style gave him considerable influence among supporters of the traditional text.