John the Baptist : Prophet of Purity for a New Age

by MURPHY CATHERINE M.

• ISBN13: 9780814659335
• ISBN10: 0814659330
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2003-07-01
• Publisher: Liturgical Pr

Summary

How did Gospel authors Matthew and Luke shape the story of John the Baptist around the story of Jesus? Why was the historical Baptist so popular? In John the Baptist: Prophet of Purity for a New Age, Catherine Murphy explores the character of John the Baptist and compares what the foundational Gospels yield: not only the perspectives of the synoptic authors, but also a sketch of the historical figure of the Baptist, which is then placed within the religious, political and economic context of first-century C.E. Judea. Special attention is given to the interface between John and the Qumran community, which scholars have proposed ever since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Chapters are "Will the Real Baptist Please Stand Up?" "Redaction Criticism: How and Why Authors Shape Their Stories," "Baptist Vignettes in the Gospels: A Redaction-Critical Approach," "Another Angle on the Baptist Movement: Social-Scientific Criticism," "Purification Movements in the First-Century C.E. Judea," and "Conclusion."

Author Biography

Catherine M. Murphy, Ph.D., teaches in the department of religious studies at Santa Clara University. She has co-published three editions of the Dead Sea Scrolls manuscripts and has written articles on the Scrolls and the New Testament

Table of Contents

List of Figures	ix
Preface	xi
Acknowledgments	xv
Abbreviations	xvii
CHAPTER ONE Will the Real Baptist Please stand Up?	1	(22)
Reading the Evidence: The Sources for John the Baptist	3	(10)
The "Game Rules" for Reconstructing History from Ancient Witnesses	13	(10)
CHAPTER TWO Redaction Criticism: How and Why Authors Shape Their Stories	23	(18)
The synoptic Problem in the Account of the Baptism of Jesus	24	(4)
A Solution to the Synoptic Problem: The Two-Source Hypothesis	28	(7)
Redaction Criticism	35	(6)
CHAPTER THREE Baptist Vignettes in the Gospels: A Redaction-Critical Approach	41	(44)
Fifteen Vignettes	42	(38)
Some Redaction-Critical Results	80	(3)
The Historical Baptist	83	(2)
CHAPTER FOUR Another Angle on the Baptist Movement: Social-Scientific Criticism	85	(24)
Definition, Scope, and Methods	87	(2)
An Initial Exercise: A Map for Designing a Social-Scientific Inquiry	89	(7)
An Inductive Exercise: From Text to Hypothesis	96	(13)
CHAPTER FIVE Purification Movements in First-Century C.E. Judea	109	(48)
A Deductive Exercise: From Model (Purity and Pollution) to Text	110	(24)
An Inductive Exercise: First-Century Jewish Purification Movements	134	(23)
CHAPTER SIX Conclusion	157	(4)
Glossary	161	(6)
Bibliography	167	(8)
Index of Scripture and Ancient Sources	175	(8)
Index of Modern Authors	183