Epiphanius: Differences After Luke 5:13

Other Differences Between Marcion's Gospel and Luke 5:14ff, As Identified by Epiphanius

Previous Page: Epiphanius: Omissions After Luke 5:13

In addition to noting text not in Marcion's Gospel of the Lord (Mcg), there are 12 places at which Epiphanius notes that Mcg ('Marcion' in his quotes) contained text that was different to what he saw in Luke, just two of which he identifies as additions. As previously, where Tertullian reports the same text in Mcg as Epiphanius, or sees a difference from his copy of Luke, then this is also noted: 

Note: Below this list of differences noted by Epiphanius is a list of scholia in which he identifies Lukan text in Mcg that was NOT either changed or removed by aMarcion (the author of Mcg), but which Epiphanius does not quote in full. In these scholia it is abundantly clear that Epiphanius felt no need to quote fully text he saw in either Mcg or Luke, and instead he paraphrases where he feels his meaning is clear. It should also be clear that he does not have need for any text divisions such as the verses that we use today.

Lk 5:14: “Go shew thyself unto the priest, and offer for thy cleansing, according as Moses commanded – that this may be a testimony unto you,” instead of the Saviour’s, “for a testimony unto them.” (Scholion 1) – Tertullian confirms this reading in Mcg. Triple Tradition.

Lk 6:17: “Instead of, “He came down with them,” he has, ”He came down among them.” (Scholion 4) – Tertullian does not mention this verse. Sondergut Luke.

Lk 7:23: “’Blessed is he who shall not be offended in me,’ is altered. For he had it as though with reference to John.” (Scholion 8) – Tertullian states that “John is offended when he hears of the miracles of Christ.Double Tradition.

Lk 8:21: Jesus asks: 'Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?' (Elenchus 12) – Tertullian also appears to have seen this phrase (from Mk 3:33 / Mt 12:48) in Mcg. Mark and Matthew only. 

Lk 11:42: Instead of “Ye pass over the judgment of God,” he had “Ye pass over the calling of God.” (Scholion 26) – Tertullian also saw this phrase in Mcg. Double Tradition.

Lk 12:8: Instead of "he shall confess before the angels of God", Marcion says "before God". (Scholion 30) – Tertullian also saw “before God,” as is also in 259 and (possibly) 01*vid. Double Tradition.

Lk 12:32: Instead of, “Your Father,” Marcion had, “Father.” (Scholion 34) – Tertullian does not mention this verse. Sondergut Luke.

Lk 12:38 Instead of, “in the second or third watch,” he had, “in the evening watch.” (Scholion 35) – Tertullian does not mention this verse. Sondergut Luke.

Lk 13:28: Again, he falsified, "Then shall ye see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God.” In place of this he put, “When ye see all the righteous in the kingdom of God, and yourselves thrust” -- but he put “kept” -- “out.” There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Scholion 40) – Tertullian also reports this same shorter form of Lk 13:28, except that he gives it in narrative form instead of a direct quote. Sondergut Luke.

Lk 18:18-20a: “One said unto him, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" He replied, “Call not thou me good. One is good, God.” Marcion added, “the Father,” and instead of, “Thou knowest the commandments,” says “I know the commandments.” (Scholion 50) – Tertullian does not mention Lk 18:19, but he reports “Thou knowest,” in Lk 18:20. The parallels to Lk 18:18 in both Mark and Matthew begin with “one,” (or “a certain man”). Triple Tradition.

Lk 23:2: After, “We found this fellow perverting the nation,” Marcion added, “and destroying the Law and the prophets.” (Scholion 69) – Tertullian refers to only the end of Lk 23:2, and the addition noted by Epiphanius is found only in it(b, c, e, ff2, gat, i, l, q, r2), vgmss. Sondergut Luke.

Lk 23:2: An addition after, “forbidding to give tribute,” is “and turning away their wives and children.” (Scholion 70) – Again, Tertullian refers to only the end of Lk 23:2. The addition is found only in c and e, but at the end of Lk 23:5. Sondergut Luke.

In all except one of the above differences Tertullian either reports nothing, or the same text in Mcg as reported by Epiphanius. The exception is in Lk 18:20a, where Tertullian and Luke side against Epiphanius, but the difference here could simply be an error in a single letter. In none of these instances does Tertullian suggest that he saw a difference between Mcg and his copy of Luke. As with the omissions noted in Epiphanius: Omissions After Luke 5:13, the great majority of the above differences are in text with no parallel in Mark: Six differences are in text unique to Luke, three are in Double Tradition text, two are in Triple Tradition Text, and one is additional text found only in Mark and Matthew.

There are a further 44 Scholia in which Epiphanius also comments on text in Mcg, but without giving any indication that what he saw differed from what he saw in Luke. In all instances, these represent places where (according to Epiphanius) Marcion left in place text that he should have removed, because he (Epiphanius) was able to use it to refute Marcion’s position.

Epiphanius writes: “And here is the brief arrangement of that work of mine, transcribed word for word by myself from copies of Marcion in the form of scholia with exegetical comments, to serve as an outline.” NOTE: Epiphanius’ “exegetical comments” (i.e. Elenchus 2, 3, 5 etc) on these texts that he saw in Mcg have not been included below as they simply represent his opinion on why Marcion should have removed this Lukan text from ‘his’ gospel, but did not, on the basis that each Scholion shows that the Jesus in Mcg was the son of the God of the Old Testament, and not (as believed by Marcion) the son of the Demiurge, the god of the New Testament.

Scholion 2. “But that ye may know that the Son of Man hath power to forgive sins upon earth.” (Lk 5:24)

Scholion 3. “The Son of Man is lord also of the Sabbath.” (Lk 6:5)

Scholion 5. “And the whole multitude sought to touch him. And he lifted up his eyes,” and so forth. (Lk 6:19-20)

Scholion 6. “In the like manner did your fathers unto the prophets.” (Lk 6:23)

Scholion 7. “I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” (Lk 7:9)

Scholion 9. “He it is of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face.” (Lk 7:27)

Scholion 10. “And entering into the Pharisee’s house he reclined at table. And the woman which was a sinner, standing at his feet behind him, washed his feet with her tears, and wiped and kissed them.” (Lk 7:36b-38)

Scholion 11. And again, “She hath washed my feet with her tears, and wiped and kissed them.” (Lk 7:44b)

Scholion 13. “As they sailed he fell asleep. Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the sea.” (Lk 8:23a, 24b)

Scholion 15. “Looking up to heaven he pronounced a blessing upon them.” (Lk 9:16b)

Scholion 16. “Saying, The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be slain, and be raised after three days.” (Lk 9:22)

Scholion 17. “And behold, there talked with him two men, Elijah and Moses in glory.” (Lk 9:30-31a)

Scholion 18. “Out of the cloud a voice, This is my beloved Son.” (Lk 9:35b)

Scholion 19. “I besought thy disciples.” But in addition to, “And they could not cast it out,” he had, “And he said to them, O faithless generation, how long shall I suffer you?” (9:40-41)

Scholion 20. “For the Son of Man shall be delivered into the hands of men.” (Lk 9:44b)

Scholion 21. “Have ye not read so much as this, what David did: he went into the house of God.” (Lk 6:3-4a - Different location in Luke?)

Scholion 23. “He said to the lawyer, What is written in the Law?” And after the lawyer’s answer he replied, “Thou hast answered right. This do, and thou shalt live.” (Lk 10:25a, 26-28)

Scholion 24. And he said, “Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, asking three loaves?” And then, “Ask, and it shall be given. If a son shall ask a fish of any of you that is a father, will he for a fish give him a serpent, or a scorpion for an egg? If ye then, being evil, know of good gifts, how much more the Father?” (Lk 11:5, 9a, 11b-13a)

Scholion 27. “Woe unto you, for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them.” (Lk 11:47)

Scholion 32. “And your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things,” meaning material things. (Lk 12:30b)

Scholion 33. “But seek ye the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Lk 12:31)

Scholion 36. “The Lord of that servant will come and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.” (Lk 12:46)

Scholion 37. “Lest he hale thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer.” (Lk 12:58b)

Scholion 39. “This woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound.” (Lk 13:16a)

Scholion 43. “The Law and the prophets were until John, and every man presseth into it.” (Lk 15a,c)

Scholion 44. The material about the rich man, and Lazarus the beggar’s being carried by the angels into Abraham’s bosom. (Lk 16:19-22a)

Scholion 45. “But now he is comforted,” again meaning Lazarus. (Lk 16:25b)

Scholion 46. Abraham said, “They have Moses and the prophets, let them hear them, for neither will they hear him who is risen from the dead.” Lk 16:29, 31b) 

Scholion 49. “The days will come when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man.” (Lk 17:22)

Scholion 51. “And it came to pass that as he was come nigh unto Jericho, a blind man cried, Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me. And when he was healed, he said, Thy faith hath saved thee.” (Lk 18:35, 38, 43a, 42)

Scholion 54. “And they sought to lay hands on him and they were afraid.” (Lk 20:19a)

Scholion 60. “He communed with the captains how he might deliver him unto them.” (Lk 22:4)

Scholion 65. “He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s cast, and kneeled down and prayed.” (Lk 22:4)

Scholion 66. “And Judas drew near to kiss him, and said . . .” (Lk 22:47b-48)

Scholion 68. “They that held him mocked him, smiting and striking him and saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee?” (Lk 22:63-64)

Scholion 71. “And when they were come unto a place called Place of a Skull, they crucified him and parted his raiment, and the sun was darkened.” (Lk 23:33a, 36b, 45a)

Scholion 73. “And when he had cried with a loud voice he gave up the ghost.” (Lk 23:46)

Scholion 74. “And, lo, a man named Joseph took the body down, wrapped it in linen and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone.” (Lk 23:50a, 53)

Scholion 75. “And the women returned and rested the sabbath day according to the Law.” (Lk 23:55a, 56a,c)

Scholion 76. “The men in shining garments said, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is risen; remember all that he spake when he was yet with you, that the Son of Man must suffer and be delivered.” (Lk 24:4b, 5b-7a)

Scholion 78. “Why are ye troubled? Behold my hands and my feet, for a spirit hath not bones as ye see me have.” (Lk 24:38a, 39)

Epiphanius’ follows the above with the last of his comments regarding Marcion shooting himself in the foot by not omitting a reference to Jesus having a physical body. It is surely significant that, although Epiphanius identified 34 specific places in Mcg where (according to him) Marcion had changed or removed text found in Luke, he was able to identify 44 places (56%) where Marcion had NOT changed text that could be used against him. He then ends his comments on Mcg by stating simply:

This is the publication of the treatise against Marcion based on the remains of the Gospel he preserves, which I have composed on his account and which, in my opinion, is adequate to expose his deceit.

He does not mention Lk 24:40-53, so we do not know what he saw here in Mcg. All we know is that he saw nothing in these verses about which he wanted to comment.

Next: Tertullian: Omissions and Differences

If you have any comments, questions, suggestions, etc. regarding Marcion or my analysis please email me at davidinglis2@comcast.net