From Anointing to Arrest. Some Observations on the Composition of Mark... 5 times we find the formula ‘Truly, I say to you ..’, a rare and unprecedented usage, it seems, which in the New Testament is confined to the words of Jesus.9 Among these four ‘Amen-sayings’10, marked (a) - (d) in our Chart 1, (a) and (c) form the conclusion of a longer speech. For that reason the data concerning the earlier part, here called ‘Annex’, are presented first, those of the Ἀμήν-sayings follow. In the two columns of the Chart marked ‘incipit aliter’ one finds the words of Jesus not introduced by the Ἀμήν-formula. The far right column states the sum-total in both classes, with and without ‘Amen’. The sign | designates the addition of numbers in the column above. In the far-left column, concisely marking the course of the Gospel story in Mark 14, ‘The Lord’s Supper’ is short for ‘The Institution of The Lord’s Supper’; in v. 27 we call «πάντες σκανδαλισθή σεσθε» v. 27b. 3. The Charts mainly state the number of syllables used. On the whole, the count of syllables is without problems. Οὐαί in Mark 14:21 is counted as one syllable, as are the Hebrew, Syriac and Latin equivalents.11 4. Mark used both the number of words (w.) and of syllables (s.) in structuring the text of his gospel. Whoever is not familiar with this aspect of the gospel can study it and find it illustrated in, e.g., Mark 4:3-8: 196 s. in 98 w. In the Passion Narrative it can be documented in Mark 14:1-2a: 17 + 29 + 4 = 50 s. in 10 + 13 + 2 = 25 w.; or Mark 14:24b-25: 74 s. in 37 words. In Mark 14:46 the number of syllables is 11 + 7 = 18 s., the number of words is 6 + 3 = 9. For Mark 14:48-49 N(arrative) and D(iscourse) one counts 12 + 56 = 68 s. in 6 + 28 = 34 words. Mark 14:69-71 was, I suggest, composed on the ‘Golden Ratio’: 19 + 31 = 50 words use 38 + 62 = 100 syllables.12 In all these cases one finds a ratio of two syllables to one word. Our present investigation deals with the words spoken by Jesus in Mark 14:1-52 and their size, mainly, but not only, as measured in syllables. The evidence is presented in the following Chart. 9 In the Testament of Abraham, Recension A, 8 (ed. M.R. James, 1892, p. 8519) and 20 (p. 10223) God and Death are the speakers. Cf. J. Jeremias, Neutestamentliche Theologie, I (1971), Gütersloh: Mohn, ³1979, p. 44-45. 10 In the series of thirteen occurrences in Mark these are ## 10-13. 11 For comparison one might, e.g., study the fragment of a letter of Dionysios of Corinth to the Romans, quoted by Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiastica 4. 23.12 (E. Schwartz, editio minor, (1914), Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, ⁵1952, p. 160, l. 13-17). The size is 19 + 38 + 43 = 100 syllables, when in l. 15 οὐαί is counted as one syllable. 12 It is worthwhile to compare a pasage from Andocides, De mysteriis 7: Ὁπότ’ οὖν ... ἀπολογουμένου (G. Daleyda, Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1930, p. 19): 35 + 26 + 39 = 61 + 39 = 100 syllables in 16 + 15 + 19 = 31 + 19 = 50 words. This speech is dated to 399 B.C. An example from Paul: in Rom 8:15-16, 17 he uses 62 + 38 = 100 s. in 29 + 16 = 45 words.