ABSTRACT
In this essay, I present a brief analysis of the construction of a single episode in Mark’s Gospel and of the methods which were effectively used in the development and use of a significant building block 1 of his Jesus narrative, reflecting an allegorical technique which reiterates earlier biblical narratives similarly composed within a biographical mode. I have earlier illustrated how specifically allegorical function of such biography has roots in the ancient Near Eastern and early Mediterranean world of narratives, particularly in narratives reflecting royal ideology. 2 I have found the genre’s allegorical function most accessible in the development of the figure of Job, 3 but it can also be recognized, for example, in the narratives about Abraham and Esau, 4 as well as in those of David, Solomon and Jesus. 5 While considerable progress has been made in regard to such Samaritan and Jewish functions of commentary and prophecy in the development of the Gospel narratives through a reiteration or rewriting of the Old Testament, 6 I here wish to pay as much attention to mythic functions which were developed in the broader literary world of antiquity.
