Creative imitation (Gk, mimesis; Lt, imitatio) was the primary literary convention of the ancient world of the first century CE. This book demonstrates that it was the principal means by which classical authors such as Virgil, Seneca, Plutarch, and Livy, composed their works. It provides an approach to scripture scholarship. 'This is an imaginative, careful, and impressive work. With its analyses of the process of rewriting in Greco-Roman, Jewish, and early Christian works it breaks new ground and has relevance for all of New Testament study. It greatly illumines how and why Matthew used Mark as a source, and as a starting point for his own distinctive portrait of Jesus.' Prof. Daniel Harrington, S.J., Weston Jesuit School of Theology, Cambridge, MA, U.S.A FF