Text -- Mark 16:1-5 (NET)

The Resurrection

16:1 When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought aromatic spices so that they might go and anoint him. 16:2 And very early on the first day of the week, at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 16:3 They had been asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 16:4 But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled back. 16:5 Then as they went into the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Mar 16:1

¹ tn On this term see BDAG 140 s.v. ἄρωμα. The Jews did not practice embalming, so these materials were used to cover the stench of decay and slow decomposition.

sn Spices were used not to preserve the body, but as an act of love, and to mask the growing stench of a corpse.

NET Notes: Mar 16:4

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.

NET Notes: Mar 16:5

¹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

² sn Mark does not explicitly identify the young man dressed in a white robe as an angel (though the white robe suggests this), but Matthew does (Matt 28:2).