Posted on 06/01/2012 1:01:23 PM PDT by ReformationFan
Two days ago, the Washington Post published a lengthy story on snake-handling pastor Mack Wolford, who died Sunday night from, well, a snakebite he got in church.
Wolford cited Mark 16:17-18 as the source for his practice of handling rattlesnakes, water moccasins, copperheads and other venomous snakes. And Mark 16:18 does seem clear: "they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them."
There's only one problem: Mark 16:18 is not in the Bible.
The last 12 verses of Mark's gospel were added sometime after the original gospel began to circulate, likely to provide a supplement since Mark's account stops so abruptly in Mark 16:8. The reason for the abrupt end of Mark's original account is likely that the final leaf was somehow lost before it began to be copied.
According to eminent New Testament scholar Bruce Metzger, Mark 16:9-20 is missing from the two earliest and most authoritative manuscripts of the Greek New Testament, from the Old Latin codex Bobiensis, and from ancient Syriac, Armenian and Georgian manuscripts.
Early church fathers Clement of Alexandria and Origen show no knowledge of these verses, and Jerome and early church historian Eusebius write that the passage was missing from almost all the Greek copies of Mark's gospel they had seen.
Many manuscripts that do contain this section have scribal notations to the effect that older Greek copies lacked it, and in other manuscripts there are scribal markings indicating, according to Metzger, that it is a "spurious addition."
(Excerpt) Read more at renewamerica.com ...
The Book of Jasher (whose title fully translated means the Book of the Upright or the Book of the Just) is mentioned in Joshua 10:13 and 2 Samuel 1:18. From the context in the Book of Samuel it is implied that it was a collection of poetry. Several books have claimed to be this lost text, but are widely discounted as pseudepigrapha.
The Book of the Wars of the Lord. [1] Referenced at Numbers 21:14.
A "Book of Songs" is referenced at 1 Kings 8:12-13 (Septuagint).
The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel (lost/missing) and Chronicles of the Kings of Judah ("2 Chronicles" in the Christian Old Testament or "Divrei Hayamim II" in the Hebrew Tanakh) are mentioned in the Books of Kings (1 Kings 14:19, 14:29). They are said to tell of events during the reigns of Kings Jeroboam of Israel and Rehoboam of Judah, respectively. The Chronicles of the Kings of Israel is again mentioned in 1 Kings 16:20 regarding King Zimri, and many other times throughout 1 and 2 Kings.
"The Book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the Seer" (also called Story of the Prophet Iddo or The Annals of the Prophet Iddo) is mentioned in the book of 2nd Chronicles. (II Chr 9:29, 12:15, 13:22). Iddo was a seer who lived during the reigns of Solomon, Rehoboam, and Abijah. His deeds were recorded in this book, which has been completely lost to history, save for its title. However, it is interesting to note that Zechariah was the son of Iddo (Ezra 5:1, Zechariah 1:1)
The Manner of the Kingdom[2] Referenced at 1Samuel 10:25.
The Acts of Solomon[3] Referenced at 1Kings 11:41.
The Annals of King David[4] Referenced at 1Chronicles 27:24.
The Book of Samuel the Seer Also called Samuel the Seer or The Acts of Samuel the Seer, which could be the same as 1 & 2 Samuel .[6] Referenced at 1Chronicles 29:29.
The Book of Nathan the Prophet Also called Nathan the Prophet or The Acts of Nathan the Prophet or History of Nathan the Prophet[5] Referenced at 1Chronicles 29:29, and also 2Chronicles 9:29.
The Book of Gad the Seer[6] Referenced at 1Chronicles 29:29. The Prophecy of Ahijah[7], might be a reference to 1 Kings 14:2-18. Referenced at 2Chronicles 9:29.
The Book of the Kings of Judah and Israel[8] Referenced in 2Chronicles 16:11, 2Chronicles 27:7 and 2Chronicles 32:32. Might be the same as 1 & 2 Kings.
The Book of Jehu[9], Could be a reference to 1 Kings 16:1-7. Referenced at 2Chronicles 20:34.
The Story of the Book of Kings[10] Referenced at 2Chronicles 24:27.
The Acts of Uziah Also called The Book by the prophet Isaiah. Perhaps the same as the Book of Isaiah[7] Referenced at 2Chronicles 26:22.
The Vision of Isaiah[11] Referenced at 2Chronicles 32:32.
The Acts of the Kings of Israel Also called The Acts and Prayers of Manasseh.[8] May be identical to The Book of the Kings of Israel, above. Referenced at 2Chronicles 33:18.
The Sayings of the Seers[12] Referenced at 2Chronicles 33:19.
The Laments for Josiah Also called Lamentations. This event is recorded in the existing Book of Lamentations. Referenced at 2Chronicles 35:25.
The Chronicles of King Ahasuerus[13]. Referenced at Esther 2:23, Esther 6:1, Esther 10:2, and Nehemiah 12:23.
As I said, when you have numerous copies of the Old Testament strew about a large geographical area, the system is self-correcting. If someone "loses" a book or chapter, there is a chance other folks have it. If we look at the "missing" books in the Old Testament - there are relatively few, however the New Testament is missing quite a bunch.
The above mentioned books of the Bible are missing. Gone. Vanished. If you enumerate them, you would see that they were present, the Bible would have almost 1/3 more to it.
You see, I like to have all the data, not censored portions of it. I'm kinda funny that way. And no, I don't take anyone's word for these things; for I believe that I and I alone am accountable for my salvation - not some unknown 3rd party. When it's time for my final judgement, it will be me and Christ at the witness bar.
Ping
*hiding in snake hole*!!!!!!!!!!!
| 1 | And when the sabbath was past, Mary Mag'dalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salo'me, bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. |
| 2 | And very early on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen. |
| 3 | And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb?" |
| 4 | And looking up, they saw that the stone was rolled back; -- it was very large. |
| 5 | And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe; and they were amazed. |
| 6 | And he said to them, "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. |
| 7 | But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you." |
| 8 | And they went out and fled from the tomb; for trembling and astonishment had come upon them; and they said nothing to any one, for they were afraid. |
| 9 | Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. |
| 10 | She went and told those who had been with him, as they mourned and wept. |
| 11 | But when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they would not believe it. |
| 12 | After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country. |
| 13 | And they went back and told the rest, but they did not believe them. |
| 14 | Afterward he appeared to the eleven themselves as they sat at table; and he upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen. |
| 15 | And he said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. |
| 16 | He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. |
| 17 | And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; |
| 18 | they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." |
| 19 | So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. |
| 20 | And they went forth and preached everywhere, while the Lord worked with them and confirmed the message by the signs that attended it. Amen. |
|
|
It has Mark 16.9-20 in brackets.
According to the notes, these verses are omitted in the Sinaiticus (4th century) and the Vaticanus (4th century), but are found in the Alexandrinus and the Ephraemi Rescriptus, both 5th century. They have notes on a lot of other manuscripts that either have or omit them. It looks like Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Eusebius, and Jerome omitted them and that Eusebius and Jerome reported manuscripts which omitted them, while Irenaeus, Tertullian, and others included them. The Gothic translation of the Bible includes them. It looks like the earlier Syriac, Coptic, Armenian, and Georgian translations are divided.
INDEED.
And Paul DEMONSTRATED the truth of the verse on the island when he
INADVERTANTLY picked up a snake with the firewood.
And suffered no harm though the islanders knowing what type of snake it was expected him to drop dead quickly.
Tempting God by playing with deadly snakes is idiocy.
That certainly has always been my understanding of these words. My point initially was that Mark 16 has from the earliest consistently had these words (the story of Him speaking to the eleven).
And your last point is most definitely exactly correct
Thanks for the background on this - it’s helpful in understanding this as I only found out yesterday about snake handling going on in some churches - total weirdness! I learned it is outlawed but in certain areas of WV it is not. Since it is news now, hopefully, someone/pastor will go to the church and will explain to them their error in understanding that passage.
Exactly!
I’ve never understood the reasoning behind snake handling.
I never came across it in the Bible, so I’m glad I don’t have to do it. ;o)
Nope...
Mar 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Mar 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.
Mar 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
Mar 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.
As much as people can't stand it, it is one of the things that believers will exhibit as a 'sign' to unbelievers...
Do we exhibit these signs??? Nope...
Instead of trying to discredit the Gospels, seems folks would try to search out (in the scriptures) why we don't exhibit theses signs and are not protected from drinking poison...
But no, lets all slam the Holy words of God because we don't want to believe what he says...
Some “we” don’t exhibit such signs.
Thankfully, Some, do.
. . . Even to inadvertantly getting snake bit with no harm resulting.
I think those pastors don’t read the whole of scripture. The concept of not being injured worked for Paul when he picked up that snake but scripture also says to not tempt God. Then there is also the “perverse” who demand signs and wonders.
Actually, it's a matter of manuscripts, so it's entirely possible that those who contain it are correct and those that don't are incorrect.
That aside, the Bible still doesn't say "Christians should snake handle." It doesn't even say, "Christians should take up snakes." Nor does it say "Christians should drink poison."
It says specifically, "they will pick up serpents with their hands; and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them."
That is akin to saying, "They will get sick and will get better."
In other words, it would not be an instruction to go make yourself sick. It is, instead, an assertion that there would be awe inspiring healings.
Now, can ANYONE out there think of an awe-inspiring occasion in the New Testament in which someone was bit by a snake and was unharmed?
Therefore, there is nothing WRONG with those texts that include this Markan passage. The problem, of course, is idiots who can't read and think.
Ophthalmos is Greek, not Hebrew.
The definition of Ophis as used at the time in Greek is:
a snake (figuratively, as a type of sly and cunning), an artful, malicious person, espc. Satan-serpent.
That’s straight from my Greek Dictionary out of my dad’s library. Sorry. you need to dig back further.
No I don't. You have it backwards. The literal, non-figurative, denotative meaning of ophis is a snake or serpent. The near figurative meaning is to describing something snake-like in appearance. Other figurative meanings include both somebody who is a sly, cunning, or malicious person, as you're using it, and also to describe an arrow (in the sense that it "strikes" suddenly like a snake). All of this information is an extremely condensed summary of what the Liddell, Scott, and Jones Greek lexicon, the abridged Liddell and Scott, Autenrieth's Homeric lexicon, and Slater's Pindar lexicon all have to say about the word.
Herodotus, Pindar, Homer, Aratus, Hesiod, and most Greek writers after them use ophis primarily to refer to a snake or serpent, and secondarily to the various figurative senses that I described above. Clearly, the word means a literal snake or serpent. The uses you are suggesting - figurative - are not wrong, but also are not the primary meaning of the word.
You said:
‘Furthermore the PREVIOUS verse deals directly with casting out of demons. Since the translators had to basically guess at breaking the scriptures down into verses, I’ll put my money on taking up serpents as being related to exorcising demons and dealing with them directly. Hmmmm...puts a whole, new light on that verse, huh?’
= = =
Interesting. Thanks
Yes, Paul was bitten in Acts 28:4.
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