When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him.
World English Bible
Mark 16:1
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Examined in Scripture Analysis
Contradictions (2)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
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When did the women (or woman) arrive at the sepulchre?
John 20:1 has Mary Magdalene arrive at the tomb 'early, when it was yet dark' — before sunrise. Matthew 28:1 has the women come 'as it began to dawn.'
Critical scholarship: Leans toward reconciliation.
Chronology
More on this question
The proposed answers and sources for each reading are on the question page.
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Matt 28:1 — “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb” / Mark 16:1 — “Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome” / Luke 24:10 — “Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary the mother of James. The other women with them” / John 20:1 — “Mary Magdalene went early, while it was still dark, to the tomb”
How many women came to the sepulchre?John 20:1 says one — Mary Magdalene. Matthew 28:1 says two — Mary Magdalene and 'the other Mary.'
Critical scholarship: Widely regarded as a genuine contradiction.
Numbers
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Read as a real contradiction:
Thomas Paine (d. 1809)
The tension: Paine reads Luke as naming several women at the tomb where John names Mary Magdalene alone.
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Read as reconcilable:
John W. Haley (d. 1927), Albert Barnes (d. 1870)
Harmonization: Barnes reads each evangelist as naming only some of the women present, none denying that others were there.
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Read as a real contradiction:
Thomas Paine (d. 1809)
Each section sets the viewpoints side by side; you weigh the evidence. Here, "critical scholarship" means academic study, not a value judgment. How this is built →
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Cite this page
This citation refers to this GEBible page — the verse and the analysis gathered here. To cite the underlying scholarship, cite those sources directly.
"Mark 16:1 — Scripture Analysis" GEBible, https://gebible.app/analysis/verse/mark/16/1?version=WEB (retrieved 27 August 2026).