Includes bibliographical references and indexes

Editor's introduction -- General selected bibliography -- An overview of Johannine studies -- The unity and composition of the fourth Gospel -- Johannine tradition : relation to the synoptics and historicity -- Proposed influences on the religious thought of the fourth Gospel -- Echoes of apologetics and the purpose of the Gospel -- The author, the place, and the date -- Crucial questions in Johannine theology -- The language, text, and format of the Gospel : some considerations on style -- The outline of the Gospel -- Editor's conclusion

"An Introduction to the Gospel of John represents the culmination of Brown's long and intense examination of part of the New Testament. One of the most important aspects of this new book, particularly to the scholarly community, is how it differs from the original commentary in several important ways. It presents, for example, a new perspective on the historical development of the Gospels, and shows how Brown decided to open his work to literary readings of the text rather than rely primarily on the historical, which informed the original volumes. In addition, there is an entire section devoted to Christology, absent in the original, as well as a magisterial new section on the representation of Jews in the Gospel of John."--Jacket