Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of the book. The book compare the concept of biblical rewritings with the broader perspective on rewriting in literature discussed in the French structuralism of the 1960s. It evaluates whether the phenomenon described by Vermes and Philip Alexander as rewritten Bible is comparable to the exegetical processes at work in the Lukan double work. The book examines the extent to which Luke, in its relationship to Matthew, can be compared to other biblical rewritings such as Chronicles in its relationship to Samuel/Kings. The book investigates how Luke rewrites and refigures the public ministry of John the Baptist through the evangelist’s use of omitted, new, adapted and reserved material. It demonstrates that certain ideas in Matthew linked to John the Baptist and to his baptism have been reserved to an earlier or later narrative context by Luke.