Rising of the Dead in Matthew as anti-marcionite episode?

[Ben C. Smith]

Is 1 Corinthians 15:29 original to Marcion, or a much later interpolation?

From here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1838&start=10#p40567, these seem relevant:

From Eznik, De Deo 427: And all the more that which as in the ear of Marcion and Mani he cries out, saying, "If the dead do not rise again, what will those ones accomplish, those who were baptized on behalf of the dead?" (1 Cor 15:29) "You," he says, "you say that bodies do not rise again because they are from Hyle." If the bodies, being mortal, do not rise again, as for the souls, living entities, why will they make a covenant in regard to those dead bodies? Or also, why would they baptize the mortal bodies along with those immortal souls, if, as you say, those mortal bodies will not rise again? In this way too should this word be understood, and not as that Marcion fantasizes: that it is necessary in turn for the living relative to be baptized for a dead child so that there it might be accounted to him - which in fact the Marcionites also practice.

From Eznik, De Deo 432: The resurrection of the body [Marcion] disdained. And baptism - not only did he give one, but even three after transgressions. And on behalf of dead children he constrained others to accept the seal. And he became so bold that he allowed women to give baptism, which none of the other sects dared to do - neither to give a double or triple seal, nor to put the women alongside priests.

Tertullian, Against Marcion 5.10.14-16: [14] Ceterum aliud resurrectio, aliud regnum. Primo enim resurrectio, dehinc regnum. Resurgere itaque dicimus carnem, sed mutatam consequi rcgnum. Resurgent enim mortui incorrupti, illi scilicet qui fuerant corrupti dilapsis corporibus in interitum. Et nos mutabimur, in atomo, in oculi momentaneo motu. Oportet enim corruptivum hoc, tenens utique carnem suam dicebat apostolus, induere incorruptelam, et mortale hoc immortalitatem, ut scilicet habilis substantia efficiatur regno dei. Erimus enim sicut angeli. Haec erit demutatio carnis, sed resuscitatae. Aut si nulla erit, quomodo induet incorruptelam et immortalitatem? [15] Aliud igitur facta per demutationem tunc consequetur dei regnum, iam non caro nec sanguis, sed quod illi corpus deus dederit. Et ideo recte apostolus: Caro et sanguis regnum dei non consequentur, demutationi illud adscribens, quae accedit resurrectioni. [16] Si autem tunc fiet verbum quod scriptum est apud creatorem, Ubi est, mors, victoria tua vel contentio tua? Ubi est, mors, aculeus tuus? (verbum autem hoc creatoris est per prophetam), eius erit et res, id est regnum, cuius et verbum fiet in regno. Nec alii deo gratias dicit quod nobis victoriam utique de morte referre praestiterit, quam illi a quo verbum insultatorium de morte et triumphatorium accepit. / [14] But the resurrection is one thing, and the kingdom is another. The resurrection is first, and afterwards the kingdom. We say, therefore, that the flesh rises again, but that when changed it obtains the kingdom. "For the dead shall be raised incorruptible," even those who had been corruptible when their bodies fell into decay; "and we shall be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. For this corruptible"----and as he spake, the apostle seemingly pointed to his own flesh----"must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality," in order, indeed, that it may be rendered a fit substance for the kingdom of God. "For we shall be like the angels." This will be the perfect change of our flesh----only after its resurrection. Now if, on the contrary, there is to be no flesh, how then shall it put on incorruption and immortality? [15] Having then become something else by its change, it will obtain the kingdom of God, no longer the (old) flesh and blood, but the body which God shall have given it. Rightly then does the apostle declare, "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; " for this (honour) does he ascribe to the changed condition which ensues on the resurrection. [16] Since, therefore, shall then be accomplished the word which was written by the Creator, "O death, where is thy victory"----or thy struggle? "O death, where is thy sting? " ----written, I say, by the Creator, for He wrote them by His prophet ----to Him will belong the gift, that is, the kingdom, who proclaimed the word which is to be accomplished in the kingdom. And to none other God does he tell us that "thanks" are due, for having enabled us to achieve "the victory" even over death, than to Him from whom he received the very expression of the exulting and triumphant challenge to the mortal foe.

[lsayre]

Thanks Ben! I guess 1 Corinthians 15:29 could easily be in Marcion's version.

[Stuart]

Is 1 Corinthians 15:29 original to Marcion, or a much later interpolation? And if an interpolation, which faction would be fingered for it?

This might help. My reproduction of 1 Corinthians 15 (I am uncertain on the first part of 15:11, so in brackets -- Tertullian attests them but not in AM5, making them uncertain). It is basically concerned with the Baptism of the dead and then the nature of resurrection after verse 15:29. I stopped here at verse 15:35, but basically everything from 15:35-57 is present in the Marcionite, most of the words attested. (only two or three minor textual differences). Note the green are words attested.

15:1 Γνωρίζω δὲ ὑμῖν, ἀδελφοί, τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ὃ εὐηγγελισάμην ὑμῖν, [1]
      Now I make known to you, brothers, the Gospel which I preached to you, 
       ὃ καὶ παρελάβετε, ἐν ᾧ καὶ ἑστήκατε,
      which you received, in which you also have stood,
15:2 δι᾽ οὖ καὶ σῴζεσθε, τίνι λόγῳ εὐηγγελισάμην ὑμῖν εἰ κατέχετε, ἐκτὸς εἰ μὴ εἰκῇ ἐπιστεύσατε.
      if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless in vain you believed.
15:3 παρέδωκα γὰρ ὑμῖν ἐν πρώτοις, [2]  ὅτι Χριστὸς ἀπέθανεν ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν
      For I handed on to you, in the very first things, that Christ died for our sins, 
15:4 καὶ ὅτι ἐτάφη, καὶ ὅτι ἐγήγερται τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῇ τρίτῃ, [3]
      and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day,
15:11 [εἴτε οὗν ἐγὼ εἴτε ἐκεῖνοι], οὕτως κηρύσσομεν καὶ οὕτως ἐπιστεύσατε. [4]
      [Therefore whether I or they], so we preach and so you believe.
15:12 Εἰ δὲ Χριστὸς κηρύσσεται ὅτι ἐκ νεκρῶν ἐγήγερται, 
      And if Christ is proclaimed raised from the dead,
       πῶς λέγουσιν ἐν ὑμῖν τινες ὅτι ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν οὐκ ἔστιν; 
      how do some of you say there is not resurrection of the dead?
15:13 εἰ δὲ ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν οὐκ ἔστιν, οὐδὲ Χριστὸς ἐγήγερται·
      And if the dead are not resurrected, neither has Christ been raised;
15:14 εἰ δὲ Χριστὸς οὐκ ἐγήγερται, κενὸν ἄρα [καὶ] τὸ κήρυγμα ἡμῶν, κενὴ καὶ ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν, [5]
      and if Christ is not raised, our preaching is [also] in vain, also in vain is your faith,
15:16 εἰ γὰρ νεκροὶ οὐκ ἐγείρονται, οὐδὲ Χριστὸς ἐγήγερται·  
      for if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised;
15:17 εἰ δὲ Χριστὸς οὐκ ἐγήγερται, ματαία ἡ πίστις ὑμῶν, ἔτι ἐστὲ ἐν ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ὑμῶν. [6] [7]
      and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, you remain in your sins.
15:18 ἄρα καὶ οἱ κοιμηθέντες ἐν Χριστῶ ἀπώλοντο.
      Then also those having fallen asleep in Christ are destroyed.
15:19 εἰ ἐν τῇ ζωῇ ταύτῃ ἐν Χριστῶ ἠλπικότες ἐσμὲν μόνον, ἐλεεινότεροι πάντων ἀνθρώπων ἐσμέν. 
      If in this life we have only hoped in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all.
15:20 Nυνὶ δὲ Χριστὸς ἐγήγερται ἐκ νεκρῶν, [8]
      But now Christ has been raised from the dead, 
15:21 ἐπειδὴ γὰρ δι᾽ ἀνθρώπου θάνατος, καὶ δι᾽ ἀνθρώπου ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν· [9] 
      For since through man came death, also through man came resurrection of the dead;
15:22 ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν τῷ Ἀδὰμ πάντες ἀποθνῄσκουσιν, οὕτως καὶ ἐν τῷ Χριστῶ πάντες ζῳοποιηθήσονται. [10]
      For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.
15:25 δεῖ γὰρ αὐτὸν βασιλεύειν ἄχρι οὖ θῇ πάντας τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας αὐτοῦ. [11]
      For it is necessary for him to reign until he has puts all his enemies under his feet.
15:26 ἔσχατος ἐχθρὸς καταργεῖται ὁ θάνατος· [12] [13]
     (the) last enemy being abolished (is) death; 
15:29 Ἐπεὶ τί ποιήσουσιν οἱ βαπτιζόμενοι ὑπὲρ τῶν νεκρῶν; 
      Otherwise what will they do, those being baptized on behalf of the dead?
        εἰ ὅλως νεκροὶ οὐκ ἐγείρονται, τί καὶ βαπτίζονται ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν; [14] 
      If the dead really are not raised, why indeed are they baptized on behalf of them?
15:35 ἀλλὰ ἐρεῖ τις, Πῶς ἐγείρονται οἱ νεκροί; ποίῳ δὲ σώματι ἔρχονται; [15] 
      but some will say, 'How are the dead raised? And with what kind of body do they come?' 

Footnotes:
[1] Epiphanius P42 "on the raising of the dead" γνωρίζω δὲ ὑμῖν, ἀδελφοί, τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ὃ εὐηγγελισάμην ὑμῖν
[2] Western non-interpolation (Latin b Ambrosiaster Irenaeuslat Tertullian) "that which I also received" ὃ καὶ παρέλαβον was almost certainly not in Marcion, as it implies a teacher-student relationship, clearly rejected by Marcion (see Galations 1:11-12, 15-17a)
[3] AM 3.8.5; Tradidi enim, inquit, vobis inprimis, quod Christus mortuus sit pro peccatis nostris, et quod sepultus sit, et quod resurrexerit tertia die.  'For I delivered, he says, to you first of all, that Christ died for our sins, and that he was buried, and that He rose again the third day'; DA 5.6 Epiphanius P42 ὅτι Χριστὸς ἀπέθανε καὶ ἐτάφη καὶ ἐγήγερται τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ and ~ τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ support F G K L P Ψ 049 maj, but not reflected in Tertullian; both accounts delete  – κατὰ τὰς γραφάς (probably also delete verse 5ff)
[4] AM 1.20.4 sicut et alibi, Sive ego, inquit, sive illi, sic praedicamus. AM 4.4.5 Sive ego, inquit Paulus, sive illi, sic praedicamus; Epiphanius P42.149 οὕτως κηρύσσομεν καὶ οὕτως ἐπιστεύσατε
[5] 1 Corinthians 15:15 was added by the Catholic editor clarifying that it was God who raised Christ κατὰ τοῦ θεοῦ ὅτι ἤγειρεν τὸν Χριστόν which is not addressed in Marcion’s version (compare Galatians 1:1, 1 Corinthians 6:14, 2 Corinthians 4:14). Also the concept of being a false witness to God ψευδομάρτυρες τοῦ θεοῦ is a pastoral concern as in Acts 13:9, post Marcionite Romans 9:1, 2 Corinthians 11:13, Galatians 1:20, 1 Timothy 2:7. It also breaks εἰ δὲ of the structural pattern of 15:12-17, thus it is secondary.
[6] Epiphanius P42 καὶ ὅτι "εἰ Χριστὸς οὐκ ἐγήγερται, μάταιον" καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς 'and so on'
[7] AM 5.9.2 Mortuorum resurrectionem quomodo; "concerning the raising of the dead" alludes to verses 15:12-19
[8] ἀπαρχὴ τῶν κεκοιμημένων is a Catholic addition, concerned with the recent dead; note, ἀπαρχὴ is a term not found in Marcion
[9] AM 5.9.5 Quia per hominem mors, et per hominem resurrectio; left out "from the dead" mortuorum = νεκρῶν 
[10] AM 5.9.5 Quodsi sic in Christo vivificamur omnes sicut mortificamur in Adam, quando in Adam corpore mortificemur, sic necesse est in Christo corpore vivificemur. Tertullian clearly paraphrases 1 Corinthians 5:22
[11] AM 5.9.6 Cum dicit, Oportet enim regnare eum, donec ponat inimicos eius sub pedes eius; Tertullian - omnes (πάντας) Ψ 1424 but this is likely the result of either local text or paraphrase. Note also AM 5.9.13 ubiecti utique pedibus ipsiu.
[12] Verses 15:27-28 were added by the Catholic editor establish rank of Christ as subject to the father, an issue Marcion never addresses. Verse 15:26 is derived from 2 Timothy 1:10, except that it pushes back death abolition to the Parousa.] 
[13] AM 5.10.1 Quid, ait, facient qui pro mortuis baptizantur, si mortui non resurgunt? 
[14] Verses 15:30-34 intrude upon the discussion of Baptism of the dead. The concern is with Martyrdom and bringing in the Paul myth narrative about constant danger, words lifted it seems from Aprocraphyl 2 Esdras 7:89, with  the story fighting wild beast in Ephesus from the Acts of Titus VIII (see 2 Timothy 4:17), which Hippolytus commented on in his commentary on Daniel iii.29. Also a fragment of Menander Thais in verse 15:33 “bad company ruins good morals”, and Isaiah 22:13 in 15:32. Verse 15:32 This fragment appears to be from an apocryphal Acts now lost.  None was in the original.
 [15] AM 5.10.2 Sed dicent quidam, Quomodo mortui resurgent? quo autem corpore venient? (Quomodo … venient repeated in 5.10.3)

[lsayre]

Very nice! Thank you!!!

[Stuart]

Baptism of the dead makes much less sense for the Orthodox than for the Marcionites who believed Christ was unknown before his mission. SO there was no way those before could possibly have known Christ. This differentiates Marcionites from most Gnostics who believed Christ was preexisting, as we see in John (one of many clear indications that John was not a Marcionite). For Catholic (proto-Orthodox) who see Jesus more as a "reformer" of Judaism, there has always been the Creator, and all people knew him, if not by name then by nature. There is no Mormon like need to save one's dead relatives, which the Marcionites had. You can imagine the horror and panic that struck Marcionite converts when they realized their beloved dear old grandma could never know Christ, and might be subject to the horrors of the Demiurge's judgement and even hell.

Note, we have to be cautious in assigning everything in the Marcionite Pauline collection to Marcionite writers. The writings are diverse and indicate a number of sects had input. The passage 10:1-11 about the crossing Red Sea and into the desert afterwards seems to be of Ophite or Theraputae origin and conflicts sharply with Marcionite theology. There are other elements which appear to be Valentinian in other parts of 1 Corinthians (and other Pauline letters). Then there is the very different theology of Colossians. All this leads me to the conclusion that the collection is anything but a unity of source, and more likely a series of tracts pulled together into the form we see from various sects within the heretical camp. The version we have has a think Catholic layer (roughly 50% of the words in every letter, not just Romans and Galatians). So be very careful when assigning passages to Marcionite thought, even when part of the attested collection.