John’s Gospel as Ancient Biography
Rewriting Jesus After Mark
By (author) Anna S. Grottoli
Paperback (Published)
(September 2026)
ISBN: 9783161647307
6.1 x 9.13 inches
Price: $134.00
In stock
Anna S. Grottoli shows that the author of the Gospel of John not only knew about Mark’s Gospel but also actively utilised it. She reveals that in keeping with the practices of ancient Lives-writing, the Johannine author repurposed Markan material to create an ideal portrayal of Jesus’ person and work.
After demonstrating that the Gospel of John participates in the spectrum of Ancient Lives, Anna S. Grottoli convincingly shows that the author of the Gospel of John not only knew about Mark’s Gospel but also actively utilised it. She reveals that the Johannine author repurposed Markan material to create an ideal portrayal of Jesus’ person and work. By focusing on an aspect of Lives-writing previously underestimated in Gospel studies, she demonstrates how authors of Lives rewrote their source material in transformative ways, rather than simply copying it unimaginatively. The author of John’s Gospel, she argues, rewrote Markan material in keeping with the rewriting practices of the time and according to his thematic and theological interests. Ancient biographers typically intended their updated narratives to help readers and hearers fully grasp the subject’s intrinsic character and ‘way of life’. This is also the case with John; the need for this book – and therefore its existence – stems from the author’s interest in enabling the audience to encounter Jesus in the rich and profound way the author originally envisioned.
Chapter 1
1 Definition
1.1 The Fluid Nature of Genre in Antiquity
1.2 Lives / Vitae / Bioi: a Dynamic and Flexible Genre
1.3 Reconstructing and Evaluating Character: Approaches in Ancient Lives
1.4 The Selective Nature of Ancient Lives
1.5 What Can Be Read as a Life?
2 History of Research: What are the Gospels?
2.1 From the Beginning to 1992
2.2 Continuing Debate: Arguments Against the 'Biographical Hypothesis'
2.3 Reconsidering the Uniqueness of the Gospels
2.4 Ongoing Debate: Alternative Perspectives
2.5 Ongoing Debate: Towards Acceptance of the 'Biographical Hypothesis'
2.6 Further Theories: Genre Mosaic
2.7 Growing Acceptance of the 'Biographical Hypothesis'
3 Conclusion
Chapter 2
1 Life: A Well-Suited Genre
1.1 Prologue
1.2 Mighty Signs (Deeds)
1.3 Words: Encounters, Discourses, and Teaching
1.4 Death
1.5 Post-Death Events
2 Conclusion
Chapter 3
1 Rewriting in Antiquity
1.1 Defining Ancient Practices as Rewriting
1.2 Rewriting and the Composition of Jewish texts
2 Rewriting Characters
2.1 Philo of Alexandria
2.2 Cornelius Nepos
2.3 Plutarch
3 Conclusion
Chapter 4
1 John's Knowledge of Mark: History of Research
1.1 Supplementation / Complementation Theory
1.2 Windisch: Supplanting Theory
1.3 Gardner-Smith: A New Consensus
1.4 Dodd: Confirming the Consensus
1.5 Not All Are in Favour of Independence
1.6 Strengthening of the New Consensus
1.7 Dissolution of the Consensus: Increasing Recognition of John's Use of Mark
1.8 New Avenues
2 Early Followers of Jesus: Communities and Communication
3 John's Rewriting of Mark: Jesus at the Centre of the Narrative
4 Conclusion
Chapter 5
1 Lives, Usefulness, and Persuasion
2. Persuasion in John
3 Conclusion
Chapter 6
1 Summary: Life, Rewriting, and Shaping the Ideal Account
2 Findings: Life, Creative Adaptation, Biographical Impulse
3 Concluding Remarks
- By (author) Anna S. Grottoli
Other Titles in this Series
Studies in New Testament Lexicography
Advancing toward a Full Diachronic Approach with the Greek Language
Volume 303
Galatians and the Imperial Cult
A Critical Analysis of the First-Century Social Context of Paul's Letter
Volume 237
The Interpretation of Freedom in the Letters of Paul
With Special Reference to the 'German' Tradition
Volume 261
Mitleid und Erbarmen im Lukasevangelium
Ein Beitrag zu Ethik und Emotionsgeschichte des entstehenden Christentums in seinem antiken philosophischen und frühjüdischen Kontext
Jesus as the Way to the Father in the Gospel of John
A Study of the Way Motif and John 14,6 in Its Context
Volume 584
Creation and Christ
An Exploration of the Topic of Creation in the Epistle to the Hebrews
Volume 527
The High Priest and the Temple
Metaphorical Depictions of Jesus in the Letters of Ignatius of Antioch
Volume 473
Ein Jesusbild im Horizont des Nationalsozialismus
Studien zum Neuen Testament des 'Instituts zur Erforschung und Beseitigung des judischen Einflusses auf das deutsche kirchliche Leben'
Volume 440
Temporal Dimensions of the Apocalypse
Ancient Christian Reception and Contemporary Hermeneutical Reflections
Repetition in Hebrews
Plurality and Singularity in the Letter to the Hebrews, Its Ancient Context, and the Early Church
Volume 388
Die Areopagrede des Paulus und Reden bei Josephus
Eine vergleichende Studie zu Apg 17 und dem historiographischen Werk des Josephus
Volume 419
Crucifixion in Antiquity
An Inquiry into the Background and Significance of the New Testament Terminology of Crucifixion
Volume 310
Kult und Macht
Religion und Herrschaft im syro-palastinensischen Raum. Studien zu ihrer Wechselbeziehung in hellenistisch-romischer Zeit
Volume 319
The Characterisation of Jesus the Davidic Shepherd in Mark’s Gospel
A Narrative Analysis through the Lens of Metalepsis
Volume 626
“Make Disciples of All Nations”
The Appeal and Authority of Christian Faith in Hellenistic-Roman Times
Moral Transformation in Greco-Roman Philosophy of Mind
Mapping the Moral Milieu of the Apostle Paul and his Diaspora Jewish Contemporaries
Volume 515
Paul’s Teaching on the Pneumatika in 1 Corinthians 12-14
Prophecy as the Paradigm of ta Charismata ta Meizona for the Future-Oriented Ekklesia
Volume 455
Similar Books
Athanasius of Alexandria, Epistula ad episcopos Aegypti et Libyae
Old Slavonic Version and English Translation
Volume 261
Epiphanies of the Divine in the Septuagint and the New Testament
Fifth International Symposium of the Corpus Judaeo-Hellenisticum Novi Testamenti (CJHNT), 14-17 May 2015, Nottingham
Extracanonical Traditions and the Holy Land
Texts, Rituals, and Material Culture in Late Antique Palestine
Paradise Lost in Transmission
The Return to Eden in the Apocalypse of Peter within Its Ethiopic and Early Christian Contexts
Punning in Odd or Elegant Constructions in Jeremiah
The Convergence of Linguistics, Rhetoric, and Textuality in the Hebrew Text of Jeremiah
Shame in the Worlds of the Hebrew Bible and Akkadian Texts
A Linguistic Study and Its Implications
Volume 33
Tabernacle, Table, Ark, and Text
Richard of Saint Victor on the Interpretation of Scripture
Volume 67
The Anglo-Norman Bible’s Books of Kings, a Critical Edition
(BL Royal 1 C III, fols 234r-274v)
Volume 37
The Body
Lived, Cultured, Adorned: Essays on Dress and the Body in the Bible and Ancient Near East in Honor of Nili S. Fox
The Compositional History of the Book of Kings
An Analysis of the Evaluative Frameworks in 1 Kings 14–2 Kings 25
The Discourse of Rites
Shaping and Reshaping the (Counter-)Priestly Rituals Conducted Outside the Tabernacle
The Therapeutae as the Best Paradigm for the Contemplative Life
A Contextual Reading of Philo of Alexandria's De Vita Contemplativa
Contesting Labeled Identities
The Sociology of Gentilics in Biblical and Northwest Semitic Literature
