Jesus' physical appearance : biography, Christology, philosophy / John D. Nelson.
| Author/creator | Nelson, John D. author. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication | London ; New York : T & T Clark, 2026. |
| Copyright Date | ©2026 |
| Description | xii, 246 pages ; 24 cm. |
| Subjects |
| Series | Library of New Testament studies ; Library of New Testament studies ; 715. ^A1137901 |
| Contents | Introduction: Don't behold the man : the puzzle of Jesus' missing appearance -- The topos of physical appearance in ancient biography -- Adapting biography : the gospels' indigenizing techniques -- The Christology of appearances : king, servant, Lord -- Keeping up appearances? : dress, stature and physiognomy in the gospels -- Conclusion: Behold the man : solving the puzzle of Jesus' missing appearance -- Epilogue: Towards re-imaging Christ in the silence. |
| Abstract | "John Nelson presents the first full length study of the Gospels' treatment of Jesus' appearance, exploring precisely why, though Christ's image is recognised across the modern world, he is not physically described in the texts. Nelson argues that while the Gospels resemble Graeco-Roman biographies in their focus on a single individual, they also frequently depart from the genre's conventions. One of their most glaring omissions, picked up in recent scholarship, is their total silence on what Jesus look like. Nelson thus explores how the evangelists as Jewish authors might have uniquely engaged both the genre of the Gospels and the topic of Jesus' physical appearance. He makes clear the distinction between two broad attitudes Jewish authors took to Greek genres: to assimilate that genre's conventions, and to 'indigenise, ' or adopt the conventions of Jewish narrative prototypes in their adaption of Greek forms. Utilising genre theory, masculinity studies and post-colonial theory, nelson consequently argues against the common view that Jewish writers simply adopted the same obsession with appearances that their gentile neighbours expressed suggesting instead that the Gospels' reticence to describe Jesus' body may have been influence by the reticence of biblical texts to describe the Lord's body."-- Publisher, page four of cover |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 202-233) and index. |
| Issued in other form | Ebook version : 9780567723239 |
| LCCN | 2025020451 |
| ISBN | 9780567723208 |
| ISBN | 0567723208 (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 9780567723246 (paperback) |
| ISBN | 0567723240 (paperback) |
| ISBN | (electronic book) |
| ISBN | (electronic publication) |
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