Christ's agony at Gethsemane - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Christ's agony at Gethsemane is a passage in the Gospel of Luke

Gospel of Luke

The Gospel According to Luke , commonly shortened to the Gospel of Luke or simply Luke, is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels. This synoptic gospel is an account of the life and ministry of Jesus of Nazareth. It details his story from the events of his birth to his Ascension.The...

(22:43–44), describing a prayer of Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

, after which he receives strength from an angel, on the Mount of Olives prior to his betrayal and arrest. It is one of several passages which appear in the New Testament

New Testament

The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

, but is absent in many of the earlier manuscripts.

The situation of Jesus, prior to the completion of his ministry, begging weakness to God to perform the difficult task has been compared to Exodus 3, wherein the prophet Moses

Moses

Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...

speaks to God and pleads weakness when told to confront Pharaoh.

The authenticity of the passage has been disputed by scholars since the second half of the 19th century. The verses are placed in double brackets in modern editions of the Greek text, and in a footnote in the RSV

Revised Standard Version

The Revised Standard Version is an English translation of the Bible published in the mid-20th century. It traces its history to William Tyndale's New Testament translation of 1525. The RSV is an authorized revision of the American Standard Version of 1901...

Text

Greek

ὤφθη δὲ αὐτῷ ἄγγελος ἀπ' οὐρανοῦ ἐνισχύων αὐτὸν. καὶ γενόμενος ἐν ἀγωνίᾳ ἐκτενέστερον προσηύχετο. ἐγένετο δὲ ὁ ἱδρὼς αὐτοῦ ὡσεὶ θρόμβοι αἵματος καταβαίνοντες ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν.

Translation (RSV)

And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down upon the ground.

Manuscript evidence

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Codex Sinaiticus

Codex Sinaiticus

Codex Sinaiticus is one of the four great uncial codices, an ancient, handwritten copy of the Greek Bible. It is an Alexandrian text-type manuscript written in the 4th century in uncial letters on parchment. Current scholarship considers the Codex Sinaiticus to be one of the best Greek texts of...

*^{, 2}, D

Codex Bezae

The Codex Bezae Cantabrigensis, designated by siglum Dea or 05 , δ 5 , is a codex of the New Testament dating from the 5th century written in an uncial hand on vellum. It contains, in both Greek and Latin, most of the four Gospels and Acts, with a small fragment of the 3 John...

, Codex Laudianus

Codex Laudianus

Codex Laudianus, designated by Ea or 08 , α 1001 , called Laudianus after the former owner, Archbishop William Laud. It is a diglot Latin — Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament, palaeographically assigned to the 6th century...

, Codex Seidelianus I

Codex Seidelianus I

Codex Seidelianus I, designated by siglum Ge or 011 , ε 87 is a Greek uncial manuscript of the Gospels, dated palaeographically to the 9th century . The codex contains 252 parchment leaves...

, Codex Seidelianus II

Codex Seidelianus II

Codex Seidelianus II designated by He or 013 , ε 88 , is a Greek uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, dated palaeographically to the 9th century. The manuscript is lacunose.- Description :...

, Cyprius

Codex Cyprius

Codex Cyprius, designated by Ke or 017 , ε 71 , is a Greek uncial manuscript of the four Gospels, on parchment. It was variously dated in the past , currently it is dated to the 9th century. It was brought from Cyprus to Paris...

, Regius

Codex Regius (New Testament)

Codex Regius designated by siglum Le or 019 , ε 56 , is a Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament, dated paleographically to the 8th century. The manuscript is lacunose. It has marginalia....

, Codex Campianus

Codex Campianus

Codex Campianus designated by M or 021 , ε 72 , is a Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament, dated palaeographically to the 9th century...

, Guelferbytanus B

Codex Guelferbytanus B

Codex Guelferbytanus B designated by Q or 026 , ε 4 , is a Greek uncial manuscript of the Gospels, dated palaeographically to the 5th century.It is a palimpsest.- Contents :Gospel of Luke...

, Codex Sinopensis, Codex Nanianus

Codex Nanianus

Codex Nanianus, designated by siglum U or 030 , ε 90 , is a Greek uncial manuscripts of the New Testament on parchment, dated palaeographically to the 9th century. The manuscript has complex contents, with full marginalia . The codex is named after its last owner...

, Codex Monacensis

Codex Monacensis

Codex Monacensis designated by X or 033 , A3 , is a Greek uncial manuscript of the Gospels, dated palaeographically to the 9th or 10th century...

, Δ*, Codex Tischendorfianus III

Codex Tischendorfianus III

Codex Tischendorfianus III – designated by siglum Λ or 039 , ε 77 – is a Greek uncial manuscript of the Gospels on parchment...

, Codex Athous Lavrensis, Uncial 0171

Uncial 0171

Uncial 0171 , ε 07 is two vellum leaves of a late third century Greek uncial codex containing fragments Matthew and Luke. In the Berlin Matthew and Florence Luke are taken. Matthew is a part of the Medici Library collection in Florence, Luke – Staatliche Museen zu Berlin Uncial 0171 (in the...

, f¹

Family 1

Family 1 is a group of Greek Gospel manuscripts, varying in date from the 12th to the 15th century. The group takes its name from the minuscule codex 1, now in the Basel University Library. "Family 1" is also known as "the Lake Group", symbolized as f1. Hermann von Soden calls the group Ih...

, 174

Minuscule 174

Minuscule 174 , ε 109 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. It is dated by a colophon to the 1052...

, 565

Minuscule 565

Minuscule 565 , ε 93 , also known as the Empress Theodora's Codex. It is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on purple parchment, dated palaeographically to the 9th century...

, 700

Minuscule 700

Minuscule 700 , ε 133 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the Gospels. Formerly it was labelled as 604 in all catalogues , Gregory gave it the number 700....

, 892

Minuscule 892

Minuscule 892 , ε 1016 . It is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on 353 parchment leaves . It is dated palaeografically to the 9th century.- Description :...

, 1009, 1010, 1071^mg, 1230, 1241, 1242, 1253

Minuscule 1253

Minuscule 1253 , Θε64 . It is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament on paper. Palaeografically it has been assigned to the 15th century...

, 1344, 1365, 1546, 1646, 2148, 2174

Minuscule 2174

Minuscule 2174 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment leaves. Paleographically it has been assigned to the 13th century. It has marginalia.- Description :...

, (ℓ 184

Lectionary 184

Lectionary 184, designated by siglum ℓ 184 is a Greek manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Westcott and Hort labelled it by 39e, Scrivener by 259e...

, ℓ 211

Lectionary 211

Lectionary 211, designated by siglum ℓ 211 is a Greek manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment...

, Byz

Byzantine text-type

The Byzantine text-type is one of several text-types used in textual criticism to describe the textual character of Greek New Testament manuscripts. It is the form found in the largest number of surviving manuscripts, though not in the oldest...

, it, vg

Vulgate

The Vulgate is a late 4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. It was largely the work of St. Jerome, who was commissioned by Pope Damasus I in 382 to make a revision of the old Latin translations...

, syr^cur

Curetonian Gospels

The Curetonian Gospels, designated by the siglum syrcur, are contained in a manuscript of the four gospels of the New Testament in Old Syriac, a translation from the Aramaic originals, according to William Cureton differing considerably from the canonical Greek texts, with which they had been...

, syr^h, syr^p

Peshitta

The Peshitta is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition.The Old Testament of the Peshitta was translated into Syriac from the Hebrew, probably in the 2nd century AD...

, syr^pal, Armenian and Ethiopian manuscripts, Diatessaron

Diatessaron

The Diatessaron is the most prominent Gospel harmony created by Tatian, an early Christian apologist and ascetic. The term "diatessaron" is from Middle English by way of Latin, diatessarōn , and ultimately Greek, διὰ τεσσάρων The Diatessaron (c 160 - 175) is the most prominent Gospel harmony...

.

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Papyrus 69

Papyrus 69

Papyrus 69 is a small fragment from the Gospel of Luke dating to the 3rd century.- Description :...

, Papyrus 75

Papyrus 75

Papyrus 75 is an early Greek New Testament papyrus.- Description :Originally '[it] contained about 144 pages ... of which 102 have survived, either in whole or in part.' It 'contains about half the text of ... two Gospels' – Luke and John in Greek...

, Codex Sinaiticus

Codex Sinaiticus

¹, Codex Alexandrinus

Codex Alexandrinus

The Codex Alexandrinus is a 5th century manuscript of the Greek Bible,The Greek Bible in this context refers to the Bible used by Greek-speaking Christians who lived in Egypt and elsewhere during the early history of Christianity...

, Codex Vaticanus

Codex Vaticanus

The Codex Vaticanus , is one of the oldest extant manuscripts of the Greek Bible , one of the four great uncial codices. The Codex is named for the residence in the Vatican Library, where it has been stored since at least the 15th century...

, Codex Petropolitanus Purpureus

Codex Petropolitanus Purpureus

Codex Petropolitanus Purpureus, designated by N or 022 , ε 19 , is a 6th century Greek New Testament codex gospel book. Written in majuscules , on 231 parchment leaves, measuring 32 x 27 cm...

, Codex Nitriensis

Codex Nitriensis

Codex Nitriensis designated by R or 027 , ε 22 , is a 6th century Greek New Testament codex containing the Gospel of Luke, in a fragmentary condition. It is a two column manuscript in majuscules , measuring .- Description :The text is written in two columns per page, 25 lines per page, in large...

, Codex Borgianus

Codex Borgianus

Codex Borgianus, designated by T or 029 , ε 5 , is a Greek and Sahidic uncial manuscript of the Gospels, dated palaeographically to the 5th century...

, W

Codex Washingtonianus

The Codex Washingtonianus or Codex Washingtonensis, designated by W or 032 , ε 014 , also called the Washington Manuscript of the Gospels, and The Freer Gospel, contains the four biblical gospels and was written in Greek on vellum in the fourth or fifth century...

, 158

Minuscule 158

Minuscule 158 , ε 108 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 11th century. It has marginalia.- Description :...

, 512

Minuscule 512

Minuscule 512 , ε 441 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 14th century....

, 542

Minuscule 542

Minuscule 542 , ε 336 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on a parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 13th century.Scrivener labelled it by number 555....

, 552

Minuscule 552

Minuscule 552 , ε 252 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 12th century....

, 579

Minuscule 579

Minuscule 579 , ε 376 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment leaves. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 13th century. Formerly it was labelled as 80e...

, 777

Minuscule 777 (Gregory-Aland)

Minuscule 777 , ε469 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament written on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 12th century. The manuscript has complex contents.- Description :...

, 826

Minuscule 826 (Gregory-Aland)

Minuscule 826 , ε218 , is a 12th-century Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament on parchment.- Description :The codex contains the text of the four Gospels, on 233 parchment leaves...

, 1071*, 1128, Lectionaries^pt, f, syr^s, cop^sa, cop^bo, Georgian mss.

Adysh Gospels

The Adysh Gospels is an important early medieval Gospel Book from Georgia.The oldest dated extant manuscript of the Georgian version of the Gospels, it was created at Shatberdi Monastery in the southwestern Georgian princedom of Klarjeti in AD 897, and later removed thence to be preserved in the...

Question passage
Marked with asterisks (※) or obeli (÷). Codex Sangalensis^c, Codex Petropolitanus

Codex Petropolitanus (New Testament)

Codex Petropolitanus, designated by Π or 041 , ε 73 , is a Greek uncial manuscript of the Gospels, dated palaeographically to the 9th century...

^c, Codex Vaticanus 354

Codex Vaticanus 354

Codex Vaticanus, designated by S or 028 , ε 1027 , formerly called Codex Guelpherbytanus, is a Greek manuscript of the four Gospels which can be dated to a specific year instead of an estimated range. The colophon of the codex lists the date as 949...

, 045

Codex Athous Dionysiou

Codex Athous Dionysiou, designated by Ω or 045 , ε 61 , is a Greek uncial manuscript of the New Testament...

, 166

Minuscule 166

Minuscule 166 , ε 306 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 11th or 12th centuries. It has marginalia.- Description :...

, 481

Minuscule 481

Minuscule 481 , ε 1017 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 10th century.Scrivener labeled it by number 569....

, 655

Minuscule 655

Minuscule 655 , ε 177 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 12th century. The manuscript has complex contents. Scrivener labelled it by 635e.- Description :The codex contains the text of the four Gospels, on 324 parchment...

, 661

Minuscule 661

Minuscule 661 , ε 179 , is a Greek language minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 11th century. The manuscript has complex contents. Scrivener labelled it by 639e.-Description:The codex contains a complete text of the four Gospels, on...

, 669

Minuscule 669

Minuscule 669 , ε 1025 , known as Benton Gospel 3, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment...

, 776

Minuscule 776 (Gregory-Aland)

Minuscule 776 , ε1228 , is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament written on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 11th century. The manuscript has complex contents.- Description :...

, 829

Minuscule 829 (Gregory-Aland)

Minuscule 829 , ε220 , is a 12th-century Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament on parchment.- Description :...

, 892

Minuscule 892

Minuscule 892 , ε 1016 . It is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on 353 parchment leaves . It is dated palaeografically to the 9th century.- Description :...

^mg, 1079, 1195, 1216, ℓ 283

Lectionary 283

Lectionary 283, designated by siglum ℓ 283 is a Greek manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment...

, cop^{bo^mss}. Minuscule 34

Minuscule 34

Minuscule 34 , A19 . It is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, written on vellum. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 10th century.- Description :...

has questionable scholion at the margin.

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Manuscripts of the textual family f¹³

Family 13

Family 13, also known Ferrar Group , is a group of Greek Gospel manuscripts, varying in date from the 11th to the 15th century, which display a distinctive pattern of variant readings — especially in placing the story of Jesus and the woman taken in adultery in the Gospel of Luke, rather than in...

transpose the passage after Matthew 26:39. Several lectionaries transpose Luke 22:43-45a after Matthew 26:39.

Lacuna
Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus

Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus is an early 5th century Greek manuscript of the Bible, the last in the group of the four great uncial manuscripts...

(22:19-23:25) and Minuscule 33

Minuscule 33

Minuscule 33 , δ 48 , formerly it was called Codex Colbertinus 2844, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament on parchment, dated palaeographically to the 9th century. The manuscript is lacunose. It has marginalia...

(Luke 21:38-23:26) are lacunose.

Church Fathers

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Ireneaus had used it as an argument against the Docetae.

Justin

Justin Martyr

Justin Martyr, also known as just Saint Justin , was an early Christian apologist. Most of his works are lost, but two apologies and a dialogue survive. He is considered a saint by the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church....

, Hippolytus, Dionysus, Eusebius

Eusebius of Caesarea

Eusebius of Caesarea also called Eusebius Pamphili, was a Roman historian, exegete and Christian polemicist. He became the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine about the year 314. Together with Pamphilus, he was a scholar of the Biblical canon...

, Epiphanius, Chrysostom

John Chrysostom

John Chrysostom , Archbishop of Constantinople, was an important Early Church Father. He is known for his eloquence in preaching and public speaking, his denunciation of abuse of authority by both ecclesiastical and political leaders, the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, and his ascetic...

, Jerome

Jerome

Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...

, Augustine, Theodoret

Theodoret

Theodoret of Cyrus or Cyrrhus was an influential author, theologian, and Christian bishop of Cyrrhus, Syria . He played a pivotal role in many early Byzantine church controversies that led to various ecumenical acts and schisms...

, Leontius, Cosmas, Facundus, Theodore

Theodore of Mopsuestia

Theodore the Interpreter was bishop of Mopsuestia from 392 to 428 AD. He is also known as Theodore of Antioch, from the place of his birth and presbyterate...

Augustine: "(...) let not the heretics encourage themselves that herein lies a confirmation of His weakness, that He needed the help and comfort of an angel. Let them remember the Creator of the angels needs not the support of His creatures." (De Trinitate, Book 10, para. 41).

Theodore of Mopsuestia

Theodore of Mopsuestia

Theodore the Interpreter was bishop of Mopsuestia from 392 to 428 AD. He is also known as Theodore of Antioch, from the place of his birth and presbyterate...

wrote: "When our Lord was in deep thought and fear at the approach of His Passion, the blessed Luke said that 'an angel appeared to Him strengthening and encouraging Him,'"(Comm. on Lord's Prayer, Baptism and Eucharist; Ch. 5)

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Marcion, Clement, Origen

Origen

Origen , or Origen Adamantius, 184/5–253/4, was an early Christian Alexandrian scholar and theologian, and one of the most distinguished writers of the early Church. As early as the fourth century, his orthodoxy was suspect, in part because he believed in the pre-existence of souls...

Modern scholars

Samuel Prideaux Tregelles

Samuel Prideaux Tregelles was an English biblical scholar, textual critic, and theologian.- Life :Tregelles was born at Wodehouse Place, Falmouth, of Quaker parents, but he himself for many years was in communion with the Plymouth Brethren and then later in life became a Presbyterian...

(1856): "the reason for the omission of these verses in some manuscripts and for their being marked as suspected in others, is by some supposed to have been that they were rejected by some of the more timid, lest they should appear to favour the Arians: it may be that they were omitted in Luke from their being early read in a lesson containing part of Matt. XXVI."

Dean Burgon (1883) said that "These two Verses were excised through mistaken piety by certain of the orthodox, jealous for the honour of their LORD, and alarmed by the use which the impugners of His GOD head freely made of them. "He also cites Ephraem, who "puts... into the mouth of Satan, addressing the host of Hell" a statement of rejoicing over the Lord's agony.

Francis Crawford Burkitt

Francis Crawford Burkitt

Francis Crawford Burkitt was a British theologian and scholar. He was Norris Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, from 1905 until shortly before his death. Burkitt was a sturdy critic of the notion of a distinct "Caesarean Text" of the New Testament put forward by B. H...

called this passage as "the Greater Interpolations".

According to Herman C. Hoskier

Herman C. Hoskier

Herman Charles Hoskier , was a biblical scholar, British textual critic, and son of a merchant banker, Herman Hoskier .Hoskier, as textual critic, supported the Byzantine text-type against the Alexandrian text-type...

it can be result of the influence of the docetics

Docetism

In Christianity, docetism is the belief that Jesus' physical body was an illusion, as was his crucifixion; that is, Jesus only seemed to have a physical body and to physically die, but in reality he was incorporeal, a pure spirit, and hence could not physically die...

of Alexandria.

Kurt Aland

Kurt Aland

Kurt Aland was a German Theologian and Professor of New Testament Research and Church History. He founded the Institut für neutestamentliche Textforschung in Münster and served as its first director for many years...

(1995): "These verses exhibit a conclusive clue to their secondary nature (like the Pericope Adulterae) in the alternative locations for its insertion. While the majority of the (now known) manuscripts place them at Luke 22:43-44, they are found after Matthew 26:39 in the minuscule family 13 and in several lectionaries. This kind fluctuation in the New Testament manuscript tradition is one of the surest evidences for the secondary character of a text."

Bruce M. Metzger (2005): "These verses are absent from some of the oldest and best witnesses, including the majority of the Alexandrian manuscripts. It is striking to note that the earliest witnesses attesting the verses are three Church fathers – Justin, Irenaeus, and Hippolytus – each of whom uses the verses in order to counter Christological views that maintained that Jesus was not a full human who experienced the full range of human sufferings. It may well be that the verses were added to the text for just this reason, in opposition to those who held to a docetic Christology".

According to Bart D. Ehrman

Bart D. Ehrman

Bart D. Ehrman is an American New Testament scholar, currently the James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill....

(1993) these two verses disrupt the literary structure of the scene (the chiasmus

Chiasmus

In rhetoric, chiasmus is the figure of speech in which two or more clauses are related to each other through a reversal of structures in order to make a larger point; that is, the clauses display inverted parallelism...

), they are not found in the early and valuable manuscripts, and they are the only place in Luke where Jesus is seen to be in agony. Ehrman concludes that they were inserted in order to counter doceticism, the belief that Jesus, as divine, only seemed to suffer. While probably not original to the text, these verses reflect first-century tradition.

External links

W. Willker, A Textual Commentary on the Greek Gospels. Vol. 3 Luke. TVU 174
W. Willker, Luke 22:43–44 in 0171 (the earliest Greek witness to these verses)
W. Willkier, Luk 33:43 in Codex Vaticanus
Claire Clivaz
Claire Clivaz
Clivaz Claire, born March 21, 1971, assistant professor at the University of Lausanne , textual critic, pastor in Lutry until 2006; she is married and has three children....

, A Sweet like Drops of Blood" (Luke 22:43-44)
Claire Clivaz, L'ange et la sueur de sang (Lc 22,43-44) ou comment on pourrait bien écrire l'histoire (BiTS 7), Leuven: Peeters, 2009, 737p.

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Text

Manuscript evidence

Church Fathers

Modern scholars

See also

Further reading

External links