John the Baptist

When did John die?

John the Baptist is dated d. c. AD 28–36 (beheaded at Machaerus) in the archive, which places John in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.

Which early sources mention John?

John the Baptist is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Flavius Josephus, Justin Martyr and Origen. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Where was John from?

The archive associates John the Baptist with Judaean wilderness, Machaerus. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.

Who were John’s contemporaries?

The archive links John the Baptist to 10 other figures, including Herod Antipas, Andrew the Apostle, Flavius Josephus and Zacharias the Priest. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.

Herod slew him, who was a good man, and commanded the Jews to exercise virtue… Now the Jews had an opinion that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist.

For John sat by the Jordan, and preached the baptism of repentance.

In the eighteenth book of his Antiquities of the Jews, Josephus bears witness to John as having been a Baptist, and as promising purification to those who underwent the rite.