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Joses, the other three evangelists mentioned, including her with the Magdalene; Matthew saying thus: “And many women were there, watching from afar, who had followed him; among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the of James and Joses, who saw the place where he was laid.” And Luke also relates thus concerning the other Mary: “Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the of James, and the other women with them.”

6. Therefore, of these four Marys, if you were to take the two in Matthew who came to the tomb late on the Sabbath, as it was dawning toward the first day of the week, and who saw the angel, to be different from the one who came alone early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, according to John, not knowing about the resurrection, and for this reason weeping, no difficulty would arise, every problem and question having been removed out of the way; and that late on the Sabbath, according to what has been shown, the things written in Matthew were done in the presence of the two Marys, but early on the first day of the week, another Mary saw the things in John, and both those and these are true, and the passages contain no contradiction, neither concerning the times, nor the persons, nor the words.

7. But if the name ‘the Magdalene’ added in both evangelists troubles the mind, yet it is not fitting to confuse the divine Scripture for the sake of one word or name, which often happens to be added also by a scribal error; for either one must consider that these two also came from one city or village, that of Magdala; or that the surname ‘the Magdalene’ was added to one of them, the scribe having erred once at the beginning, so that from that time those after him followed the first error; and that this also happened in another case, we will show a little later; but just as in such cases it was correctly dictated at the beginning, but by an error of those afterwards not noticing the change, it has happened that something is questioned, so also one might say it has happened with the surname of the Magdalene being superfluously applied to one Mary; which being removed, every question is circumscribed, with nothing any longer being questioned in the passages; but both late on the Sabbath, that is, deep in the night, the things done in Matthew were seen by the Magdalene and the other Mary; and early, while it was still dark, another Mary arrived at the same place; and at first being at a loss at not finding the body of the Savior; but later also seeing him herself; but it is better not even to allege an error in the passages, but to say that there were truly two Magdalenes, just as we also showed there were four Marys; of whom it is not at all strange to say that two Marys came from the same Magdala, and to be at a loss about nothing further, but that the Magdalene late on the Sabbath in Matthew was one, and again another, she also a Magdalene, who in John came to the tomb early; and that this is the one also indicated in Mark, according to some of the copies, from whom he had cast out seven demons; and it is likely that this is the one who heard, ‘Do not touch me,’ but not the one in Matthew; for even if that one also especially came from Magdala, yet the divine Scripture does not relate the same things of her.

3. How according to Matthew, late on the Sabbath, the Magdalene with

the other Mary, having touched the feet of the Savior, is the same one who early on the first day of the week hears, “Do not touch me,” according to John.

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Ἰωσὴφ, οἱ λοιποὶ τρεῖς ἐμνημόνευσαν εὐαγγελισταὶ, συμπαραλαβόντες τῇ Μαγδαληνῇ καὶ αὐτήν· Ματθαῖος μὲν οὕτως εἰπών· «Ἦσαν δὲ ἐκεῖ γυναῖκες πολλαὶ ἀπὸ μακρόθεν θεωροῦσαι, αἵτινες ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ· ἐν αἷς ἦν Μαρία ἡ Μαγδαληνὴ, καὶ Μαρία ἡ τοῦ Ἰακώβου καὶ Ἰωσὴφ, αἳ ἐθεάσαντο τὸν τόπον ποῦ τίθεται.» Καὶ ὁ Λουκᾶς δὲ περὶ τῆς ἄλλης Μαρίας οὕτως ἱστορεῖ· «Ἦσαν δὲ ἡ Μαγδαληνὴ Μαρία καὶ Ἰωάννα καὶ Μαρία ἡ Ἰακώβου καὶ αἱ λοιπαὶ σὺναὐταῖς.»

ςʹ. Τούτων οὖν τῶν τεσσάρων Μαριῶν, εἰ τὰς δύο τὰς παρὰ τῷ Ματθαίῳ ὀψὲ Σαββάτων τῇ ἐπιφωσκούσῃ εἰς μίαν Σαββάτων ἐλθούσας ἐπὶ τὸ μνημεῖον, καὶ τὸν ἄγγελον θεασαμένας, ἑτέρας εἶναι ἐκλάβοις παρὰ τὴν πρωῒ τῇ μιᾷ τῶν Σαββάτων, ἔτι σκοτίας οὔσης ἀφικομένην μόνην κατὰ τὸν Ἰωάννην, ἀγνοοῦσαν τὸ ἐπὶ 22.948 τὴν ἀνάστασιν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο κλαίουσαν, οὐδὲν ἂν σκολιὸν ἀπαντήσεται, πάσης ἀπορίας καὶ ζητήσεως ἐκποδὼν ἀρθείσης· καὶ ὀψὲ μὲν Σαββάτων, κατὰ τὰ ἀποδεδομένα, πεπραγμένων τῶν ἐπὶ τῷ Ματθαίῳ συγγεγραμμένων ἐπὶ παρουσίᾳ τῶν δύο Μαριῶν, πρωΐας δὲ τῇ μιᾷ τῶν Σαββάτων ἑτέρας Μαρίας τὰς παρὰ τῷ Ἰωάννῃ τεθεαμένας, ἀληθεύεσθαί τε κἀκεῖνα καὶ ταῦτα, μηδὲ ἀντιλογίαν περιέχειν τοὺς τόπους, μήτε κατὰ τοὺς χρόνους, μήτε κατὰ τὰ πρόσωπα, μήτε κατὰ τοὺς λόγους.

ζʹ. Εἰ δὲ τὸ τῆς Μαγδαληνῆς προσκείμενον ἐν ἀμφοτέροις τοῖς εὐαγγελισταῖς ὄνομα τὴν διάνοιαν ταράττει, ἀλλ' οὐ προσήκει τὴν θείαν συγχεῖν Γραφὴν λέξεως μιᾶς ἢ ὀνόματος ἕνεκεν, ὃ πολλάκις συμβαίνει καὶ κατὰ γραφικὸν προσκεῖσθαι σφάλμα· ἢ γὰρ δύο καὶ ταύτας ἀπὸ μιᾶς πόλεως ἢ κώμης τῆς Μαγδαληνῆς ὁρμᾶσθαι ἡγητέον· ἢ ἐπὶ μιᾶς αὐτῶν προσκεῖσθαι τὸ τῆς Μαγδαληνῆς ἐπώνυμον, ἅπαξ τοῦ γραφέως κατὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν σφαλέντος, ὅτι ἐξ ἐκείνου τῶν μετ' αὐτὸν πρώτῳ ἐπηκολουθηκότων σφάλματι· τοῦτο δὲ καὶ ἐφ' ἑτέρῳ συμβὰν, σμικρὸν ὕστερον ἐπιδείξωμεν· ἀλλ' ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοιούτων ὀρθῶς κατὰ τὴν ἀρχὴν ὑπηγόρευτο, κατὰ σφάλμα δὲ τῶν μετὰ ταῦτα μὴ ἀκριβούντων τὴν μεταβολὴν, συμβέβηκέ τινα ζητεῖσθαι, οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἐπωνύμου τῆς Μαγδαληνῆς περιττῶς ἐπὶ μιᾶς Μαρίας κειμένου εἴποις ἂν γεγονέναι· οὗ ὑφαιρεθέντος, περιγέγραπται πᾶσα ζήτησις, μηδενὸς μηκέτι κατὰ τοὺς τόπους ἀπορουμένου· ἀλλὰ καὶ ὀψὲ Σαββάτων, τοῦτ' ἔστι βαθείας νυκτὸς, τῶν παρὰ τῷ Ματθαίῳ πεπραγμένων ἑωραμένων ὑπὸ τῆς Μαγδαληνῆς καὶ τῆς ἄλλης Μαρίας· καὶ πρωΐας, ἔτι σκοτίας οὔσης, ἑτέρας Μαρίας ἀφικομένης ἐπὶ τὸν αὐτὸν τόπον· καὶ πρότερον μὲν ἀπορούσης ἐπὶ τὸ μὴ εὑρεῖν τὸ σῶμα τοῦ Σωτῆρος· ὕστερον δὲ καὶ αὐτῆς αὐτοπτούσης αὐτόν· κάλλιον δὲ τὸ μὴ δὲ σφάλμα αἰτιάσασθαι κατὰ τοὺς τόπους, δύο δὲ ἀληθῶς γεγονέναι τὰς Μαγδαληνὰς φάσκειν, ὡς καὶ τέτταρας ἀπεδείξαμεν τὰς Μαρίας· ὧν οὐδὲν ἄτοπον ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς Μαγδαληνῆς δύο Μαρίας ὁρμᾶσθαι λέγειν, μηδέν τε λοιπὸν ἀπορεῖν, ἀλλ' ἑτέραν μὲν εἶναι τὴν ὀψὲ Σαββάτων παρὰ τῷ Ματθαίῳ Μαγδαληνὴν, ἑτέραν δὲ αὖθις καὶ αὐτὴν Μαγδαληνὴν τὴν παρὰ τῷ Ἰωάννῃ πρωΐας ἐπὶ τὸ μνημεῖον ἐλθοῦσαν· ταύτην δὲ εἶναι τὴν καὶ παρὰ τῷ Μάρκῳ δηλουμένην, κατά τινα τῶν ἀντιγράφων, ἀφ' ἧς ἐκβεβλήκει ἑπτὰ δαιμόνια· καὶ ταύτην εἰκὸς εἶναι τὴν ἀκούσασαν Μή μου ἅπτου, ἀλλ' οὐ τὴν παρὰ τῷ Ματθαίῳ· εἰ γὰρ καὶ τὰ μάλιστα κἀκείνη ἀπὸ τῆς Μαγδαληνῆς ὡρμᾶτο, ἀλλ' οὐ τὰ ὅμοια καὶ αὐτῆς ἡ θεία κατηγορεῖ Γραφή.

Γʹ. Πῶς κατὰ τὸν Ματθαῖον ὀψὲ Σαββάτων ἡ Μαγδα ληνὴ μετὰ

τῆς ἄλλης Μαρίας ἁψαμένη τῶν ποδῶν τοῦ Σωτῆρος, ἡ αὐτὴ πρωῒ τῇ μιᾷ τοῦ Σαββάτου ἀκούει «Μή μου ἅπτου» κατὰ τὸν Ἰωάννην.