December 17, 2022 Journal article Open Access

Zola, Nicholas J.

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{"DOI":"10.25592/uhhfdm.12447","abstract":"<p>Tatian&rsquo;s Diatessaron, a harmonized gospel composed c.170 ce, is often cited as one of the earliest explicit references to the Longer Ending (LE) of Mark (16:9&ndash;20). Yet no comprehensive study of the LE&rsquo;s presence in the Diatessaron has been carried out, and there is much confusion over its use as evidence. The current study compares the resurrection narrative in the eleventh-century Arabic harmony with that of the sixth-century Latin Codex Fuldensis, the two earliest and most reliable representatives for reconstructing the Diatessaron&rsquo;s sequence. If they incorporate the LE in exactly the same way, we may safely conclude that Tatian&rsquo;s copy of Mark contained the LE. Using neighboring harmonies as controls, I arrive at two parallel conclusions: (1) Tatian almost certainly incorporated significant portions of Mark 16:9&ndash;20 into his Diatessaron; (2) it is not entirely clear which portions of Mark 16:1&ndash;8 were present in the Diatessaron. Ultimately, the study demonstrates that Tatian&rsquo;s Diatessaron is likely the earliest uncontested external evidence for the LE.</p>","author":[{"family":"Zola, Nicholas J."}],"container_title":"Comparative Oriental Manuscript Studies Bulletin","id":"12447","issue":"2","issued":{"date-parts":[[2022,12,17]]},"page":"439-474","title":"The Ending of Mark in Tatian's Diatessaron","type":"article-journal","volume":"8"}