When was Mark the gospel writer born?

Answer 1

A:Mark's Gospel was originally written anonymously and remained so until Papias, bishop of Hieropolis in Asia Minor (ca.130), named Mark as the author of the gospel and the 'interpreter' of Peter. However, scholars say there is no good reason to believe that Mark was the real author of the Gospel that now bears his name. Since we do not know who 'Mark' really was, we can not say when or where he was born. Mark's Gospel appears to have been written around the year 70, so we can assume that its author, Mark the evangelist, was probably born some time after 30 CE.

Answer 2

There is considerable evidence that the author we know as Mark wrote the first of the Gospels approximately 70 CE. One of the internal clues to the date of Mark's Gospel is at Mark 13:2, where Jesus was said to prophesy the destruction of the Temple, an event that occurred in 70 CE. According to Mark, Jesus went on to predict the end of the world within the lifetime of his followers. If Jesus had really prophesied the destruction of the Temple, he would have been correct, but he would have been in error about the imminent end of times. Since it can not be accepted that Jesus made predictions that were capable of being in error, these prophecies must have originated with Mark, writing at a time when he would have known of the destruction or imminent destruction of the temple. Other clues in the Gospel indicate that it could not have been written later than the early 70s.

On this evidence, Mark's Gospel was written approximately 70 CE. A slightly earlier date is possible. A date in the early 70s is also possible, but most scholars do not place the year very much later.

The Gospel would have been written in the eastern Roman Empire, because it was written in Greek. Although the author shows at least a passing knowledge of Latin, he chose to write his Gospel in Greek Koine, which would have been unfamiliar to most of the gentiles in Rome. It was probably written somewhere in the Near East or Egypt.