“Engaging an astonishingly rich and polyglot array of scholarly secondary sources, reading closely in ancient authors and traditions not often brought together—Q, Josephus, Mandaean texts, the Protoevangelium of James, Coptic and Syriac Christian materials—James McGrath offers an imaginative and original interpretation of the figure of John the Baptist, one whose work and life importantly informed and inspired both the mission and the message of Jesus. John of History, Baptist of Faith inaugurates a new phase in the quest for this elusive historical figure. It is a major scholarly achievement.”
—Paula Fredriksen, Aurelio Professor of Scripture emerita, Boston University; Distinguished Visiting Professor, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
 
“Based on an impressive array of sources, including Mandaean texts, this fresh new volume quests for the historical Baptist, assiduously building on prior work in a readable volume of model scholarship.”
—Clare K. Rothschild, professor of Scripture Studies, Lewis University
 
“In this erudite study, James McGrath has managed to advance our scholarly understanding of the continuity and relationship between John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth while simultaneously laying the foundations for future historical research. McGrath expertly navigates difficult questions and sources with historiographical sophistication and advances bold new hypotheses. This study expands the horizons of current scholarship and will likely be referenced for years to come.”
—Jordan J. Ryan, associate professor of New Testament, Wheaton College

James McGrath is Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University. 

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. John the Baptist in Q
2. The Usefulness of Mandaean Sources
3. Jesus as John’s Disciple and Witness about Him
4. An Ancient Infancy Narrative about John the Baptist
5. The Origin and Meaning of John’s Immersion
6. Jesus’s Baptism according to the Mandaeans
7. The Son of Man Who Is to Come
8. John the Baptist and the Origins of Gnosticism
9. Prayers of John the Baptist
Epilogue

Bibliography
Index of Authors
Index of Subjects
Index of Scripture and Other Ancient Sources