From Anointing to Arrest. Some Observations on the Composition of Mark... 35 beginning, a middle and an end; at a certain stage of the composition process it was considered as a unit. That the four Amen-sayings (items ## 10-13 in Mark’s series of thirteen) stand out as a class by themselves causes no surprise. The function of the ‘Annexes’ may well require a few more words. It is twofold. In the first place the ‘Annexes’ supplement the sayings without an Amen-formula in such a way that the composition as a whole, measuring 765 s. in toto, is shown to be made up of 153 s. in the Amen- sayings over against 612 s. ( = 4 x 153 s. ) in all the other words spoken by Jesus, since these 612 s. consist of the 500 s. in the class ‘incipit aliter’, just mentioned, plus 112 s. in the ‘Annexes’. § 8.1.1 could have used the formula y + 4y = 5y, y representing 153 s. Secondy, the ‘Annexes’ also combine with the Amen-sayings. To Amen-sayings (a) and (c) they provide an introduction and a setting, and they divide the whole series of four Amen-sayings in two parts. Together with the first ‘Annex’ (Mark 14:6b-8), Amen-sayings (a) and (b) use 159 (= 3 x 53) s.; (c) with the second ‘Annex’ (Mark 14:24b) and (d) use 106 (= 2 x 53) s. The proportions are clear and simple, the aliquot part is 53 s. (see § 8.2). It would seem the author studied and shaped or reshaped the ‘annexes’ with both functions in mind. All this may not be of much concern to the casual reader. Anyone investigating the Markan story and its design closely, however, will want to take the textual facts seriously. He will find the use of the syllable as one of the basic measuring units indispensable for determining the making of the text, and for understanding its form, structure and internal proportions. On the whole, studying this part of the Passion narrative from a numerical point of view, we found Mark’s composition method to be determined by a remarkable sense of order and technical precision and by a high degree of professional literary skill.66 Joost SMIT SIBINGA Koepellaan 4 2061 CV Bloemendaal HOLLAND sibinga7@xs4all.nl 66 I am very grateful to Dr. S.P. Brock of Oxford, U.K., who checked and improved the English idiom of this contribution, and to Professor Maarten Menken of Tilburg Univer- sity, whose kind remarks suggested several corrections. The remaining mistakes and short- comings are all mine.