Religions· 2026Q1
Reuse in John’s Gospel in Light of Rewritten Scripture
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- 2026year
Short summary
John's Gospel actively rewrites Mark, not just influenced by it, mirroring compositional practices found in ancient 'Rewritten Scripture' texts like Jubilees and Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum.
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Key points
- John's Gospel is presented as a dependent rewrite of Mark, not just influenced by it.
- Ancient 'Rewritten Scripture' texts (Jubilees, Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum) offer parallels to John's compositional methods.
- Comparative analysis of John's prologue and paralytic narrative with Mark reveals specific instances of reuse.
- John's compositional practices illuminate his aims and purpose in using Synoptic sources.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
To say that John reuses the Synoptics is to say that he not only knows earlier Gospel texts or that he was influenced by earlier Gospel tradition, but it is to argue that he is dependent on them and rewrites them. Given the myriad types of textual relationships possible in ancient Jewish writings, the study of early Christian compositional practice can be clarified using comparative examples from a similar literary and cultural context. Focusing here on John’s reuse of Mark in particular, I show how the corpus of texts called “Rewritten Scripture” provides analogues for the spectrum of similarity and difference we find between these Gospels. Specific comparisons will be drawn with Jubilees and Liber Antiquitatum Biblicarum, highlighting two examples of John’s reuse of Mark in his prologue and his paralytic narrative. Through this, I propose how John’s aim and purpose vis-a-vis Synoptic source material are illuminated through his compositional practices.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Religions, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Religious studies
Religious studiesArts and Humanities