Marcion, between Tertullian and Epiphanius

Waaay back in the late 1990s and maybe even before that, in the Gopher years, someone took upon himself to provide us with Marcion's reconstructed Gospel. This was based on Luke of course, with some emendations which Tertullian's fourth Contra Marcionem book ascribed. Maybe Epiphanius.

Von Harnack listed the divergences and several websites summarise them, such as here. Since then Frank Williams has given us a full Panarion in 2009; and, in 2015, Dieter Roth has done The Text of Marcion's Gospel.

Epiphanius' strategy was to quote or maybe paraphrase Marcion, as "Scholia", and to provide an "Elenchus" either refusing Marcion's text or (more often) showing how Marcion's text (often just Luke's text) doesn't help Marcion's dogma. Tertullian does much the same. Although, of interest - sometimes Tertullian sees a textual discrepancy as Epiphanius doesn't.

Where Luke 10:27 talks of eternal life from the Jewish Books: Marcion just said "life". Tertullian pointed out (accurately) that eternal life is the only reading that makes sense on account Jews already figured (and figure) their worldly lives are better for following Torah; so this guy questioning Jesus must be looking for more and better. On the other hand... the word eternal doesn't need to be here. Compare Egerton P2. And eternal life will show up in Luke 18 not to be contested by Tertullian.

And Tertullian claims that Marcion dropped the soldiers' bartering for Jesus' robe at the Cross. Epiphanius doesn't dispute Marcion's text; instead concentrating on the fact of Crucifixion, which proves Jesus' mortal form.

A more-serious list of Marcion / Christian divergences, Vridar provided back in 2008. Much reference to Judaism is excised but (as Tertullian famously noted) not enough of it, such that Marcion's gospel testifies to Tertullian's Lord. In particular the "son/seed of David" stuff which matters to Paul and to the (probably-earliest) version of Mark which depends on Paul, is gone, from here and from Marcion's edition of Romans.

Some of Marcion's differences might refer to an earlier Luke or to a Luke-driven Paul. Some smell like orthodox-corruption. But Marcion has made some changes, so cannot be trusted overall.