Kata Markon

[Ron Price <ron.price AT virgin.net>]

Bruce Brooks wrote:

> Is there an online, or other accessible, version of his reconstructed
> archetype of Mark?

No. So here it is, based on the NA27 Greek text less 9:12b; 14:28; 14:61b-64
and 16:7, all of which have the hallmarks of interpolations.

The structure is a hierarchy with up to 3 levels. Indentations in the
section titles are intended to indicate levels in the hierarchy, but the
levels can be worked out from the chap:vers range after each title.

Lets  pp

1235   1  Introduction to the "gospel"  1:1-15  framed
          The Galilean ministry  1:16-8:26
5561   4      The call to break with old ways  1:16-3:6  framed
9578   7      The multitudes hear about Jesus  3:7-6:6a  framed
9517   7      The mission to feed the multitudes  6:6b-8:26  framed
          The way of the cross  8:27-15:39  framed
              On the way  8:27-10:52  framed
1349   1          Caesarea Philippi: 1st prediction  8:27-9:1
3971   3          In Galilee: 2nd prediction  9:2-50
2896   2          Beyond the Jordan: 3rd prediction  10:1-34
1479   1          What shall I do for you?  10:35-52
              The coming of the Lord  11:1 - 13:37 framed
2751   2          Jesus comes to Jerusalem  11:1-33
4135   3          The exemplars of Judaism condemned  12:1-13:2
2720   2          The signs of the end  13:3-37
              Chief priests cause the death of Jesus  14:1-15:39 framed
1443   1          Preparations for the Passover  14:1-16
2703   2          Betrayal  14:17-52
1423   1          Denial  14:53-72
1382   1          The trial before Pilate  15:1-20a
1354   1          The crucifixion  15:20b-39
1334   1  Conclusion: the experience of the women  15:40-16:8

Total 54831 Greek letters; 40 pages; mean 1371 letters per page
Mean deviation of 17 base sections from 40-page model is 60 letters.
When the mathematics is done, it is clear that in the case of this book the
author/scribe did not use the page boundaries as mere guidelines, but
actually fitted the material for each section exactly onto the number of
pages allocated to it.

Notes

1. The fact that the total number of pages is a whole multiple of 40
strongly suggests that the gospel was planned for a codex. This brings added
meaning to Mk 2:22 : "new wine is for fresh skins". The Jews used scrolls,
but Mark thought Christianity deserved a new medium.
2. It has long been recognized that anyone composing a document for a codex
would have to plan carefully in order to fit the intended material into it
(c.f. e.g. Aland & Aland; Elliott). For it is not possible to add a sheet or
two at the end, as it is with a scroll. It is proposed here that the author
first decided how many sheets to use, then divided his material into
sections and allocated one or more pages to each section.
3. The word "framed" indicates that the section has an 'inclusio'. This
lends additional support to the originality of the section.
4. The structure is symmetrical up to the second level. The originality of
this part of the division into sections is further supported by word stem
analysis (finding the stem which best characterises each section, which can
be done objectively using a relatively simple mathematical formula). But
this is way beyond the scope of this email.
5. The author's structure has greater detail towards the end, which is just
what we would expect from someone wishing to ensure that the crucial climax
of the story fits properly onto the codex.

Ron Price
 
Derbyshire, UK
 
Web site: http://homepage.virgin.net/ron.price/index.htm