The Significance of Book One of the Teachings of Mark

The Mimar Marqe is a collection of various materials ascribed to a messianic figure named 'Mark' within the Samaritan tradition. Ben Hayyim ('Ivrit we-Amarit Nusah Shomron, 3,2:15) identifies Book One and Two as being from Marqe himself or contemporaneous with him, while Books 3 - 6 represent a linguistic world later than Marqe. If these books were composed by Marqe, they have been reworked over the centuries. Ben Hayyim does acknowledge that these linguistically later texts contain older concepts and traditions from early sources (Ben Hayyim, Tibat Marqe Introduction pp. 23 - 27).

It will be my contention that Book One was developed separately from Book Two. The fact that Book One and Book Two count the 'judgements' on the Egyptians in two different ways is decisive in establishing this understanding. I suspect that Book One might have existed before Mark wrote the treatise which is now Book Two. The liturgy suggests that whatever existed before Marqe became identified with his 'father' who is called Amram perhaps owing to the repeated suggestion that Mark was 'really' Moses.

In any event I think that the language and style is different enough from Book Two to suggest that Marqe only wrote the second book. I will let the reader judge for themselves.

The significance of thinking that Marqe ONLY wrote Book Two is that it is ENTIRELY FOCUSED on the miracle which became the basis for baptism ritual for Christianity. You'll see what I mean. If a tradition were imagined to be advocating moving away from a sacrificial religion to a baptism based tradition, the arguments that Mark lays out in Book Two would be entirely necessary.

I will let the work speak for itself.

Here is a listing of links to each chapter from MacDonald's 1963 translation of Book One I have typed out so far:

Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven