John's Reworking of Mark

Elizabeth J. B. Corsar

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Elizabeth J. B. Corsar

John's Reworking of Mark

A Study in Light of Ancient Compositional Practice

2026. 180 pages.

forthcoming in September 2026

Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe (WUNT II)

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sewn paper
forthcoming
978-3-16-163358-4

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Summary

Did the author of John's Gospel draw on Mark? Elizabeth J. B. Corsar situates this long-standing question within the compositional conventions of the ancient Mediterranean world and argues that John reworks Mark in ways that closely reflect established ancient practice.

Elizabeth J. B. Corsar addresses the perennial New Testament question of the relationship between the Gospel of John and the Synoptic Gospels, with particular attention to the Gospel of Mark. She identifies and illustrates the theory and practice of source reworking within ancient compositional culture and demonstrates that the author of John's Gospel operates in a manner broadly analogous to this literary convention, especially in his reworking of Mark for the composition of his own Gospel. The study begins with an introductory chapter that surveys the history of scholarly debate concerning the relationship between John and the Synoptic Gospels, tracing the development of positions ranging from assumptions of Johannine independence to arguments for various forms of literary dependence, with a particular focus on Mark. To situate the present argument within its broader literary context, in the main part of the study, Corsar engages with a representative selection of ancient literary theorists and authors broadly contemporaneous with the Johannine milieu in order to assess the dominant compositional expectations and practices. Furthermore, in order to demonstrate more concretely the author's use of such techniques of reworking, Corsar employs John 1-2 as a focused test case, comparing these chapters with parallel material in Mark's Gospel.

Table of contents:

1. John and Mark
1.1. Introduction
1.2. History of Research
1.3. Methodology

2. The Theory of Source Reworking in Antiquity
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Horace
2.3. Seneca
2.4. Longinus
2.5. Quintilian
2.6. Conclusion

3. The Practice of Source Reworking in Antiquity
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Plutarch
3.3. Tacitus
3.4. Josephus
3.5. The Gospel of Peter
3.6. Conclusion

4. John's Reworking of Mark
4.1. Introduction
4.2. The Prologue: John 1:1-18
4.3. John the Witness: John 1:19-34
4.4. The Disciples: John 1:35-51
4.5. The Wedding at Cana: John 2:1-11
4.6. The Incident in the Temple

5. Conclusion
5.1. The Aim of this Study
5.2. The Results of this Study
5.3. Prospects for Further Research