From Anointing to Arrest. Some Observations on the Composition of Mark... 13 For a second way of determining the position of Mark 14:28 within its context we again have to introduce the concept of the ‘divine proportion’. We saw (§ 4) that Mark 14:69-71 divides, according to the golden section, into 38 + 62 = 100 s. The same is true for Mark 14:29-30, 31, though in reverse order: 62 + 38 = 100 s.24 The case of Mark 14:22-25, the institution of the Lord’s Supper, also deserves to be studied, supposing that the climax in v. 25 ‘ ... never again shall I drink from the fruit of the vine ...’ (NEB) stands, to a certain extent, on its own. Mark 14:22-25: The Number of Syllables. Mark 14:22: 27 + « 3 + 8 » = 38 23-24a: 26 + 5 = 31 24b-25a: « 13 + 10 + 8 » = 31 | 62 | 100 25b: « οὐκέτι οὐ μὴ πίω .. τοῦ θεοῦ: 17 + 9 + 17 » = 43 | 143 syllables The preceding context, up to and including the Amen-formula in v. 25a, divides into 38 + 62 = 100 s.: one more example of the golden ratio. As the section Mark 14:22-31 starts in v. 22-25a with 38 + 62 = 100 s. and ends in v. 29-31 with 62 + 38 = 100 s. it seems that the reversed order of the division into major and minor - in a way a chiastic inclusio - adds to the unity of the two (sub)-paragraphs v. 22-25 and v. 26-31.25 The contrast of beginning and end, between Peter’s self-confidence of the moment (‘... if I have to die with you ..’, v. 31) and Jesus proclaiming his death in the words spoken over bread and wine (v. 22-24) should be noted. We also saw [§ 7.2 under (ς’)] that the frame of the quotation in Mark 14:27de, consisting of v. 27a-c and v. 28, follows the Fibonacci series of (natural) numbers - which for practical purposes from its fifth term, 5, onwards coincides with the series of (irrational) numbers to be derived from the golden number. 24 Mark 14:29-31 is in several ways a good and clear example of the simple numerical logic of Mark’s composition technique: Chart 5 Peter speaks Jesus speaks closing note Sum-total Mark 14:29 8 + «14» = 22 30 8 + «32» = 40 31abc 9 + «19» = 28 31c 10 Mark 14:29-31: 50 + 40 + 10 = 100 syllables 25 In Mark 14:22-25 the major shows the pattern N + D = 31 + 31 = 62 s. (see v. 23-25a); at the end, in v. 29-31, the minor, i.e. v. 31, where Peter speaks for the second time, divides into N + D = 19 + 19 = 38 s.