Uploaded February 2022 | Updated September 2026, 51 minutes ago
Last 12 verses of Mark
Often when reading the last 12 verses of Mark which is Mark 16:9-20, there will be a footnote that says something like, The earliest Greek manuscripts & some other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20
Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus, the two oldest Greek manuscripts from the 4th century and some other authorities omit from verse 9 to 20. As a result many modern readers are inclined to assume that these verses do not belong.
However the present number of Greek manuscripts whole and partial that attest to the New Testament stands at an unprecedented 5,748 as of 2005
Mark 16:9-20 is found in 99 percent of the Greek manuscripts
Apart from a few fragments, our oldest manuscripts are of the fourth century, but the
writings of a hundred or more writers of a much earlier period are available to testify to
the contents of copies of the New Testament much earlier than any Greek manuscripts
we now possess.
From the second century, Irenaeus, who died in 202 AD, quotes and comments on verse 19 in 180 AD. Justin Martyr 151 AD quotes the last verse within fifty years of the death of the last
Apostles. Tatian, the disciple of Justin Martyr, included the verses in his Greek Diatessaron having come down to us in Arabic, Italian, and Old Dutch editions in 170 AD. Hippolytus quotes verses 17 and 18 in the period 190–227 AD.
Third century witnesses include Tertullian, who died after 220 AD, in his On the Resurrection of the Flesh, Against Praxeas, and A Treatise on the Soul. Cyprian, who died in 258 AD, alluded to verses 17-18 in his The Seventh Council of Carthage. Vincentius quoted verses 17 and 18 at the Seventh Council of Carthage, in 256 AD, in the presence of eighty-seven African Bishops. All seven of these second and third century witnesses precede the earliest existing Greek manuscripts that verify the genuineness of the verses. More to the point, they predate both Vaticanus and Sinaiticus.
And it “was recognized as canonical”
However looking a bit deeper it appears that God put a special authentication in place
When examining these verses in Greek we find this authenticity initially found by Dr. Ivan Panin
Number of words: 175 7x125
Unique words: 98 7x14
Repeated Words: 77 7x11
Number of letters: 553 7x79
Number of vowels: 294 7x42
Number of Consonants: 259 7x37
Number of words found elsewhere in Mark: 84 7x12
Words unique to this chapter: 14 7x2
Words used in the Lord’s address: 42 7x6
Words not used in the Lord’s address: 56 7x8
Words in verse 9-11: 35 7x5
Words in verse 12-18: 105 7x15
Words in verse 12: 14 7x2
Words in verse 13-15: 35 7x5
Words in verse 16-18: 56 7x8
Words in verse 19-20: 35 7x5
Gematria
When it comes to the numerical values of letters & words it’s a process called gematria & Hebrew & greek are the only 2 languages on earth that uses this system for counting. Basically how it works is that each letter from both the Hebrew & greek alphabets has its own numerical values
Numerical value of words: 103,663 7x14,809
Numerical value of verse 9: 11,795 7x1,685
Numerical value of verse 10: 5,418 7x774
Numerical value of verse 11: 11,795 7x1,685
Numerical value of verse 9-11: 17,213 7x2,459
Numerical value of the first word: 98 7x14
Numerical value of the middle word: 4,529 7x647
Numerical value of the last word: 791 7x113
Numerical value of verse 12-20: 86,450 7x12,350
Words found later in the New Testament: 7 7x1
Number of occurrences of these words: 35 7x5
Numerical value of these words: 8,246 7x1,178
Total number of word forms: 133 7x19
Numerical value of those forms: 89,663 7x12,809
Word forms that occur only once: 112 7x16
Forms that occur more than once: 21 7x3
Number of times these words occur: 63 7x9
Numerical value of the word “Deadly”: 581 7x83
Words preceding “Deadly” in the vocabulary: 42 7x6
Last 12 verses of Mark
Often when reading the last 12 verses of Mark which is Mark 16:9-20, there will be a footnote that says something like, The earliest Greek manuscripts & some other ancient witnesses do not have Mark 16:9-20
Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus, the two oldest Greek manuscripts from the 4th century and some other authorities omit from verse 9 to 20. As a result many modern readers are inclined to assume that these verses do not belong.
However the present number of Greek manuscripts whole and partial that attest to the New Testament stands at an unprecedented 5,748 as of 2005
Mark 16:9-20 is found in 99 percent of the Greek manuscripts
Apart from a few fragments, our oldest manuscripts are of the fourth century, but the
writings of a hundred or more writers of a much earlier period are available to testify to
the contents of copies of the New Testament much earlier than any Greek manuscripts
we now possess.
From the second century, Irenaeus, who died in 202 AD, quotes and comments on verse 19 in 180 AD. Justin Martyr 151 AD quotes the last verse within fifty years of the death of the last
Apostles. Tatian, the disciple of Justin Martyr, included the verses in his Greek Diatessaron having come down to us in Arabic, Italian, and Old Dutch editions in 170 AD. Hippolytus quotes verses 17 and 18 in the period 190–227 AD.
Third century witnesses include Tertullian, who died after 220 AD, in his On the Resurrection of the Flesh, Against Praxeas, and A Treatise on the Soul. Cyprian, who died in 258 AD, alluded to verses 17-18 in his The Seventh Council of Carthage. Vincentius quoted verses 17 and 18 at the Seventh Council of Carthage, in 256 AD, in the presence of eighty-seven African Bishops. All seven of these second and third century witnesses precede the earliest existing Greek manuscripts that verify the genuineness of the verses. More to the point, they predate both Vaticanus and Sinaiticus.
And it “was recognized as canonical”
However looking a bit deeper it appears that God put a special authentication in place
When examining these verses in Greek we find this authenticity initially found by Dr. Ivan Panin
Number of words: 175 7x125
Unique words: 98 7x14
Repeated Words: 77 7x11
Number of letters: 553 7x79
Number of vowels: 294 7x42
Number of Consonants: 259 7x37
Number of words found elsewhere in Mark: 84 7x12
Words unique to this chapter: 14 7x2
Words used in the Lord’s address: 42 7x6
Words not used in the Lord’s address: 56 7x8
Words in verse 9-11: 35 7x5
Words in verse 12-18: 105 7x15
Words in verse 12: 14 7x2
Words in verse 13-15: 35 7x5
Words in verse 16-18: 56 7x8
Words in verse 19-20: 35 7x5
Gematria
When it comes to the numerical values of letters & words it’s a process called gematria & Hebrew & greek are the only 2 languages on earth that uses this system for counting. Basically how it works is that each letter from both the Hebrew & greek alphabets has its own numerical values
Numerical value of words: 103,663 7x14,809
Numerical value of verse 9: 11,795 7x1,685
Numerical value of verse 10: 5,418 7x774
Numerical value of verse 11: 11,795 7x1,685
Numerical value of verse 9-11: 17,213 7x2,459
Numerical value of the first word: 98 7x14
Numerical value of the middle word: 4,529 7x647
Numerical value of the last word: 791 7x113
Numerical value of verse 12-20: 86,450 7x12,350
Words found later in the New Testament: 7 7x1
Number of occurrences of these words: 35 7x5
Numerical value of these words: 8,246 7x1,178
Total number of word forms: 133 7x19
Numerical value of those forms: 89,663 7x12,809
Word forms that occur only once: 112 7x16
Forms that occur more than once: 21 7x3
Number of times these words occur: 63 7x9
Numerical value of the word “Deadly”: 581 7x83
Words preceding “Deadly” in the vocabulary: 42 7x6
