Jesus' Physical Appearance

Biography, Christology, Philosophy

Dr. John D. Nelson

$180

Hardback

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English

T.& T.Clark Ltd
11 December 2025

Christianity; Sacred texts

Series: The Library of New Testament Studies

John Nelson presents the first full length study of the Gospels’ treatment of Jesus’ appearance, exploring precisely why, though Christ’s image is recognised throughout 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 looked 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 influenced by the reticence of biblical texts to describe the Lord’s body.

By: Dr. John D. Nelson
Imprint: T.& T.Clark Ltd
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 164mm, Spine: 22mm
Weight: 540g
ISBN: 9780567723208
ISBN 10: 0567723208
Series: The Library of New Testament Studies
Pages: 264
Publication Date: 11 December 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

John Nelson is a teacher of Theology & Philosophy at Haberdashers’ Boys’ School, UK.