1 Mark’s use of oral discourse and cultural memory: his unique style of embedding citations June F. Dickie Pre-peer-review version Abstract Oral transmission of the gospel message and the importance of a community’s cultural memory have become important topics in biblical studies in the past forty years. Using concepts gained from these studies has brought insight concerning the biblical text. In particular, the gospel of Mark has been recognized to have a strong oral base, as well as drawing on the community’s cultural memory in its use of Old Testament scriptures. This is apparent in various ways, including Mark’s unusual way of incorporating quotations and allusions within the narrative (significantly different to that of the other gospel-writers). This paper describes Mark’s approach, and indicates how his use of oral discourse gives an immediacy which makes it highly memorable, engaging all the senses. Moreover his embedding of OT texts in the narrative calls upon the reader or hearer to get involved in the text, below the surface, to recognize the astounding message Mark is highlighting: Jesus as the embodiment of God. Mark makes clear that Jesus is more than a fulfiller of written prophecies (the message that comes through Matthew and Luke) but a living person, the one spoken of in Genesis, Psalms, and Isaiah. 1. Introduction This paper begins with an introduction to Orality Studies, with a focus on the level of illiteracy in the ancient world. As a result of this, there was a need for the gospel to be spread using oral means, and this is reflected by oral features in the biblical text. After these factors have been briefly discussed, Memory Studies is considered, first looking at the use of rituals and texts as media of memory, and then focusing on “cultural memory” as the repository of a community’s shared history. Cultural memory is seen to link closely with performance (and orality), and also to serve as an important conveyor of identity. Next, indicators of orality in Mark’s gospel are considered, with a brief look at the kind of language he uses, and then focusing on his use of citation and allusion. Five examples (all from the Psalms) show how Mark’s particular use of citation mirrors Jesus’ use of parables. This requires his hearers and readers to ponder more profoundly, and thereby to understand that Mark’s focus throughout his book, as mentioned in his very first verse, is to show that Jesus is God.