The bible is often treated as an answer book, yet its pages are thick with unanswerable questions: What does Jesus write in the sand? What is the name of the concubine in Judges 19—and, while we’re at it, the name of Pharaoh’s daughter, the fortune-telling slave girl, and the Syrophoenician woman? Where is the garden of Eden?
One question I can’t resist is why editors tacked on extra verses to the end of Mark’s Gospel. Mark’s is the oldest gospel and the shortest. Most scholars believe it was written around 70 CE and ended at verse 8 of chapter 16. Decades later, unknown editors added 11 more verses. Their reasons are equally unknown, though many think the goal was to create a more cohesive image of Jesus across the gospels.
Almost certainly, this is not what Mark intended.
