John the Baptist is mentioned over 90 times in the canonical gospels and Acts. The only other reference of note is in Josephus Ant. 18.116–19. The accounts in the Slavonic translation of Josephus J.W. 2.110 and 168 and the Mandaica are apocryphal expansions of the Christian tradition.

Luke 3:1–3 tells us that in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius (i.e., a.d. 28/29), John came on the scene with his call for “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Mark 1:4 and par.; Penitence). If, according to the Gospels of Matthew (cf. Matt. 3:11 and 26:28 and par.) and John, John’s ba…