12 Joost Smit Sibinga In Greek, the number 318 is written TIH; Pseudo-Barnabas explains it as a symbol of Jesus (IH) and the cross (T).20 Among the evangelists John uses the number in the healing narrative of John 4:43-54, as Mark does in the healing narrative Mark 5:25-34 and in the composition of Mark 15:1-41.21 The question we asked is, of course, no more than a question. However, it should be noted that in Mark 14:27 and 28: ‘I [God] will strike the shepherd ..’22 and ‘after I [Jesus] have risen ...’ the reference to Jesus’ death and resurrection is explicit, and so the symbolism of the number 318, or TIH, would seem to be quite appropriate here. And in this respect v. 28, though suspected by commentators, might be as essential and indispensable as v. 27. 8.4 The position of Mark 14:28, ‘But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee’ (NIV) within the larger context is worth our attention.23 Among the series of sayings without ‘Amen’ it occupies the centre. With the help of Chart 1 one finds: Chart 4 Mark 14:6b-22c: 196 + 11 = 207 27b-e: 8 + 5 + « 7 + 12 » = 32 | 239 14:28: « 10 + 11 » = 21 14:32b-49: 240 | 500 syllables The central position, needless to say, is a or the position of first rate importance and adds considerably to the significance of a statement. 20 Barn 9:8; see the commentaries of H. Windisch (1920) and R.A. Kraft (1965). Accor- ding to the system in which a letter’s number value is that of its position in the alphabet, the name Jesus, uw?y, we may notice, is equal to 10 + 21 + 6 + 16 = 53. 21 J. Smit Sibinga, ‘The Shape of a Miracle Story ..’, NovT 45 (2003) 222-235 and 46 (2004) 104, see p. 227 (Chart 2, on John 4:43-54), 230-231, 234-235. For Mark 15:1-41, see the chart on p. 234. In Paul one could compare 1 Cor 1:17-2:5; 10:1-22 and Col.1:3-20 (318 words). In Mark 5:25-28a, 28b-30, 31, 32-34 one counts 96 + 96 + 30 + 96 = 318 s. (In Mark 5:27 we read ... τὰ περὶ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ). 22 As far as I can see, modern commentators tend to avoid identifying the speaker. In the context of Zech 13:7 there is no doubt: the words ‘.. strike the shepherd’ .. follow im- mediately upon ‘... says the Lord Almighty’. Erasmus’ (who quotes, praises and criticizes Jerome) and Grotius’ comments on Matth 26:31 are worth reading. Among more recent scholars one could consult Barnabas Lindars, New Testament Apologetics, London: SCM Press, 1961, p. 127-132. 23 Cf., e.g., D.E. Nineham, Saint Mark, Penguin Books, 1963, p. 445: [if προάγειν means ‘go before’ and ‘arrive earlier’] ‘.. commentators can only say that St Mark introduced it [14:28] here, very awkwardly, simply in order to prepare the way for 16⁷.’