Mark 15_28 Was Numbered With the Transgressors
The scribes added the text of Isaiah “He poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors” to Mark 15:28 “And the scripture was fulfilled which says, And he was numbered with the transgressors,” while it is not found in the oldest manuscripts[/highlight]
introduction:
One of the interesting things that distinguishes Christianity is that the people chose the laws of their faith and creed before they chose the books of their holy book. Therefore, the early church, with the support of its kings, fought all the sects that violated the laws of the councils and burned all their books and gospels that called for the oneness of God and proved with clear and explicit texts that Christ was nothing but a man sent by God.
👈However, it was very natural that there was not a single evidence of their human belief that came out of their councils; so the copyists of the Holy Book began to tamper with the texts of their book during copying. In an attempt to support a pagan belief with divine sacred texts!
👈And since the glory of the Lord will increase through lying - as Paul said - what is the problem?
Intended copyist differences:
- We read, for example, from the Encyclopedia of the Bible [mfn]Encyclopedia of the Bible, Volume 3, p. 294[/mfn] under the title of Scribing Differences: ( 2Intentional differences: … to further clarify the text or to support a theological opinion ).
One of the reasons for the differences between the copyists of the Bible is intended to support a theological opinion.
- We read from Bruce Metzger and Bart Ehrman’s book The Text of the New Testament 4th Edition, p. 260: ( The scholar Jerome complained about copyists who do not copy what they find before them; but copy the meaning they believe .)
Mark 15:28 was numbered with the transgressors.
An example of what these pious copyists were doing was their attempt to prove that some Old Testament texts were prophesying about Jesus. They would add some phrases to connect the Old Testament with the New Testament. One example of this was their distortion of Mark’s text, “He was numbered with the transgressors.”
So they took a text like Isaiah 53:12: ” He poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors. Yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors .”
They added it on their own as a complete number in Mark 15:28: ” So the Scripture was fulfilled which says, ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ ”
Text from one of the traditional Greek versions.
ΚΑΤΑ ΜΑΡΚΟΝ 15:28 Greek NT: Greek Orthodox Church
ἐνόμων ἐλογίσθη
So that ordinary Christians might think that this text prophesies about Jesus who will die as a ransom for sinners.
First: The absence of the text from the oldest Greek manuscripts
The distortion of the text of Mark 15:28, “He was numbered with the transgressors,” is revealed by reviewing the oldest and best manuscripts of the Bible. The oldest Greek manuscripts revealed that this verse does not exist at all.
We do not find it in the Sinaiticus Codex. We do not find it in the Vaticanus Codex. We do not find it in the Alexandrian Codex. Likewise, the text is not found in the Ephraemi Rescriptus, nor in the Beza Codex.
👈The context of the speech moves from number 27 to number 29; without the slightest indication of the number 28.
The Vatican manuscript and the distortion of the text of Mark 15:28 He was numbered with the transgressors:
Among the distortions of the text of Mark 15:28, he counted with the sinners, that the text is not found in the Vatican manuscript.
The Beza manuscript and the distortion of the text of Mark 15:28 He was numbered with the transgressors:
Among the distortions of the text of Mark 15:28, he counted with the sinners, that the text is not found in the Beza manuscript.
Among the distortions of the text of Mark 15:28, he counted with the sinners, that the text is not found in the Beza manuscript.
Alexandrian manuscript:
Among the distortions of the text of Mark 15:28, he counted with the sinners that the text is not found in the Alexandrian manuscript.
The Sinaiticus manuscript and the distortion of the text of Mark 15:28 He was numbered with the transgressors:
Among the distortions of the text of Mark 15:28, he counted with the sinners, that the text is not found in the Sinaiticus manuscript.
Among the distortions of the text of Mark 15:28, he counted with the sinners, that the text is not found in the Sinaiticus manuscript.
We quote page 198 of Dr. Ahmed Al-Shami’s book ( Important differences between the Sinaiticus manuscript and the New Testament ):
Among the distortions of the text of Mark 15:28, he counted with the sinners, that the text is not found in the Sinaiticus manuscript.
Second: Deleting the text from all critical copies because it has been proven that the text of Mark 15:28 was numbered with the transgressors.
Therefore, with the absence of the text from all the oldest Greek manuscripts, it was natural for all critical copies without exception to delete this anomalous addition. Then they chose the A estimate to read the deletion. That is, they were certain that it was an addition to the original text of the book.
The number 28 does not exist in the Nestle-Aland version . It does not exist in the Westcott-Hort version , nor in the UBS version . It does not exist in the Samuel Tregelles version , or the Tischendorf version , etc.
Tschendorf’s version proves the distortion of the text of Mark 15:28 He was numbered with the transgressors:
In order to distort the text of Mark 15:28, he was numbered with the transgressors, and its absence from the older Greek manuscripts, the text was deleted from the Tschendorf version .
In order to distort the text of Mark 15:28, he was numbered with the transgressors, and its absence from the older Greek manuscripts, the text was deleted from the Tschendorf version.
UBS version confirms the distortion of the text of Mark 15:28: He was numbered with the transgressors:
In order to distort the text of Mark 15:28, he was numbered with the transgressors, and its absence from the older Greek manuscripts, the text was deleted from the UBS version .
Nestle-Aland Cashback:
In order to distort the text of Mark 15:28, he was numbered with the transgressors, and its absence from the older Greek manuscripts, the text was omitted from the Nestle-Aland Critical Edition.
Westcott-Hort Critical Edition:
In order to distort the text of Mark 15:28, he was numbered with the transgressors, and its absence from the oldest Greek manuscripts, the text was omitted from the Westcott-Hort Critical Version:
Mark 15:28 And he was numbered with the transgressors, omitted from the Westcott-Hort Critical Version
Third: Comments of the Gospel translations on the deletion of the number
The New English Translation (NET Bible)
We read the commentary of the New English Translation (NET Bible) after the verse was deleted:
45tc Most later mss add 15:28 “And the scripture was fulfilled that says, ‘He was counted with the lawless ones.’” Verse 28 is included in L Θ 083 0250 Ë1,13 33 Ï lat, but is lacking in important Alexandrian and Western mss and some others (א ABCD Ψ pc).
Simplified translation: Most of the later manuscripts add the number 28; but it is not found in the most important manuscripts of the Alexandrian text and the Western text (Sinaitic, Vatican, Alexandrian, etc.).
English transcriptions and translations
Referring to the English versions and translations, we find that most translations have completely deleted this number, such as the versions (AMP - ASV - RV - RSV - BBE - CEV - GNB - NLT - GW ISV - NRSV).
While the Amplified Bible and the New International Version put it in parentheses to indicate its inauthenticity.
[And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “He was counted with the transgressors.”]
,
As expected for the King James Version (KJV), which is based on Erasmus’s received text, it included the number in the text without comment.
And the scripture was fulfilled, which said, And he was numbered with the transgressors
Arabic versions and translations
- As for the Arabic versions and translations, the number is included in the text of the Van Dyck version, which relied in its translation on the received text…the worst kind of text!!
28So the scripture was fulfilled which says, “And he was numbered with the transgressors.”
,
- As for the common Arabic version and the good translation, they put the number in brackets to indicate its lack of authenticity. [28So the saying of the scripture was fulfilled: “They numbered him with the criminals.”] On the other hand, the Jesuit translation completely deleted it from the context. At the same time, I pointed out in the margin that this method of citing does not agree with Mark’s habit in his use of Old Testament texts.
Fourth: The Jews deny any relationship between the text of Isaiah and the crucifixion incident:
Using the standard that Christians set for Muslims when discussing a biblical issue, which is the necessity of considering the Jewish understanding of the text. Accordingly, the Jews - the people of the book and the people who know best what is in it - asserted that there is no connection between the text in Isaiah chapter 53 and any prophecy about the Messiah, let alone the crucifixion.
👈The chapter speaks in a comprehensive, metaphorical, embodied view of the servant Israel, his captivity, and his humiliation in Babylon, as we will see, and then his salvation, which was due to their sins and the sins of their predecessors, so a punishment from God befell them, including the righteous and the wicked among them.
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👈Title of Abdullah and Obaidullah:
The Jesuit Order of the Catholic Church says, under the words “Servants of God” and “Servant of God” [mfn]The Jesuit Order of the Catholic Church, Dar Al-Mashreq edition, in the introduction to the Book of Isaiah, page 1519, under the words “Servants of God” and “Servant of God” [/mfn]:
” .. Whom does this title refer to in (42:1), (44:26), (50:10), (52:13), and (53:11)? Does it also refer to Israel? Does it refer to a limited, embodied group? Does it refer to an individual among individuals? And other than that, do the five passages mentioned refer to one person or to several persons, to one embodiment or several embodiments? All of these assumptions are possible, and in fact some commentators have adopted them.
If we limit ourselves, in the first stage, to the direct meaning of the texts, we find that the word (servant ) may refer to all of the following persons: Israel as a whole, Israel with its elite, the second Isaiah himself, and Cyrus, the king of Persia.
And she says on the next page: ” …some commentators believe that what is mentioned in 52:13-53:12 may also apply to the elite of Israel .”[mfn]Catholic translation / Paul Bassim / Third edition 1988[/mfn]
Fifth: The truth of what Isaiah’s text says:
If we know the truth of the text of Isaiah, we will clearly realize the distortion of the text of Mark 15:28, “He was numbered with the transgressors,” and the meaning behind that.
Characteristics of the servant in the text of Isaiah
According to the text of Isaiah… He who bears the sin and iniquities of many is a servant of God :
My righteous servant, by his knowledge, will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities…and he is not God.
This slave has been wronged:
But he was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth and that the Lord was pleased to crush him with grief: But it pleased the Lord to crush him with grief; and this contradicts the basis of the principle of crucifixion based on God’s justice according to the Christian faith.
This servant will be led humiliated like a sheep and a lamb:
But he was humbled and did not open his mouth. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter and like a sheep that is silent. According to the Christian faith, Christ is God. So what sane person would accept that it be said about God Almighty that He is like a sheep and a lamb?!!!
This slave will be like a silent sheep.
The text says: ” Like a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth .” In contrast, Jesus Christ cried out and prayed.
He was crying out at the top of his voice while on the cross ( My God, my God, why have you forsaken me ?!!), as in Matthew 27:46.
Before that, he prayed to God, saying: ” If it is possible, my Father, let this cup pass from me ,” as in Matthew 26:39.
-This servant will be buried with the wicked and made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death . Therefore, this statement cannot be applied to Christ who was buried -according to the Gospelsalone in a garden, in a new grave. In fact, neither the wicked nor the rich were buried in it with him.
This servant was despised by the people despised and rejected by men… despised, and we esteemed him not. While Christ, according to the Gospels, is described with superlative terms that are completely different from a person described as despised. Moreover, the great crowds called him the great prophet: A great prophet has arisen among us Luke 7:16
Identifying the servant in the text of Isaiah:
= If we read Isaiah 49:3, we will find that the identity of the servant being talked about has been explicitly identified as Israel, as the text says:
The Lord has called me from the womb, from my mother’s womb he has remembered my name… 3And he said to me, “You are my servant 👈Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” … 5And now the Lord says , “He 👈who formed me from the womb is his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, so that Israel may be gathered to him.”
;
⬅️ His saying: You are My servant 👈Israel clarifies to us that what was said and what will be said is a personification of the meaning and a metaphorical embodiment of Israel, whom the Lord created - formed.
👈 Thus, the chapter speaks in a comprehensive, metaphorical, embodied view of the people of Israel, their captivity, their humiliation, and then their salvation. This is the understanding of the text among the Jews, who are the original authors of the book.
Thus, the distortion of the text of Mark 15:28 “He was numbered with the transgressors” appears, and how the desperate attempts were to support the divinity of a human being for which they did not find a single proof in their book. So the scribes wanted to prove the correctness of their belief even by distorting the holy word of the Lord!