the gospels are at least biographies. But they are more than that. They are, in fact, Jewish-style biographies, designed to show the quintessence of Israel’s story played out in a single life. Their nearest analogue at that level is the martyr-literature, where the focus of attention is not on the date of someone’s birth or the colour of their hair, but on their fidelity to YHWH, their consequent suffering, and their hope of vindication.
