The Gospel According to John (I-XII)

by Raymond E. Brown

Overview

In the first volume of Raymond E. Brown’s magisterial three-volume commentary on the Gospel According to John, all of the major Johannine questions—of authorship, composition, dating, the relationship of John to the Synoptics (Mark, Matthew, and Luke)—are discussed. The important theories of modern biblical scholarship concerning John are weighed against the evidence given in the text and against prevailing biblical research. In sum, what is attempted is a synthesis of the major scholarly insights that bear on the Fourth Gospel.

The translation—as Father Brown states at the outset—strives not for any formal beauty but rather for an accurate and contemporary version: “the simple, everyday Greek of the Gospel has been rendered into the ordinary American English of today.” The result is a translation that will strike the reader with uncommon immediacy.

Father Brown also analyzes, in the appendixes, the meaning, use, and frequency of certain key words and phrases that occur in John, and examines the differences between the Johannine and Synoptic treatments of the miracle stories.
The chapters of the Gospel translated here in Volume 29 (1–12) comprise the Prologue, which opens with the famous “In the beginning was the Word,” and the Book of Signs, an account of the miracles of Jesus and of his ministry.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780300140521
Publisher:	Yale University Press
Publication date:	03/01/1995
Series:	Anchor Yale Bible Commentary Series , #29
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	688
Sales rank:	890,435
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Over his illustrious career, Raymond E. Brown, S.S., Ph.D., was internationally regarded as a dean of New Testament scholars. He was Auburn Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Union Theological Seminary in New York City. Among his more than thirty-five books on the Bible are three volumes in the Anchor Bible series, as well as the Anchor Bible Reference Library volumes The Birth of the Messiah, The Death of the Messiah, and An Introduction to the New Testament, winner of the 1998 Catholic Press Association Award for Biblical Studies.

Table of Contents

Preface     V
Principal Abbreviations     XIII
Introduction
The Present State of Johannine Studies     XXI
The Unity and Composition of the Fourth Gospel     XXIV
The Problem     XXIV
Possible Solutions     XXV
Theories of Accidental Displacements     XXVI
Theories of Multiple Sources     XXVIII
Theories of Multiple Editions     XXXII
The Theory Adopted in This Commentary     XXXIV
The Tradition behind the Fourth Gospel     XLI
The Value of the Information Found Only in John     XLII
The Question of Dependency upon the Synoptic Gospels     XLIV
The Value of John in Reconstructing Jesus' Ministry     XLVII
Proposed Influences on the Religious Thought of the Fourth Gospel     LII
Gnosticism     LII
John and Christian Gnosticism     LIII
John and the Reconstructed Pre-Christian Gnosticism     LIV
Hellenistic Thought     LVI
John and Greek Philosophy     LVII
John and Philo     LVII
John and the Hermetica     LVIII
Palestinian Judaism     LIX
John and the Old Testament     LIX
John and Rabbinic Judaism     LXI
John and Qumran     LXII
The Destination and Purpose of the Fourth Gospel     LXVII
Apologetic against the Sectarians of John the Baptist     LXVII
Argument with the Jews     LXX
Justification of Christian Claims against Jewish Unbelief     LXX
Appeal to Jewish Christian in the Diaspora Synagogues     LXXIII
Argument against Christian Heretics     LXXV
Encouragement to Believing Christians, Gentile and Jew     LXXVII
The Date of the Final Written Form of the Gospel     LXXX
The Latest Plausible Date     LXXX
The Earliest Plausible Date     LXXXIII
The Identity of the Author and the Place of Composition     LXXXVII
The External Evidence about the Author     LXXXVIII
The Internal Evidence about the Author     XCII
Correlation of the Hypothesis of John as Author with a Modern Theory of Composition     XCVIII
The Place of Composition     CIII
Crucial Questions in Johannine Theology     CV
Ecclesiology     CV
Sacramentalism     CXI
Eschatology     CXV
Wisdom Motifs     CXXII
The Language, Text, and Format of the Gospel-and Some Considerations on Style     CXXIX
The Original Language of the Gospel     CXXIX
The Greek Text of the Gospel     CXXXI
The Poetic Format of the Gospel Discourses     CXXXII
Notable Characteristics in Johannine Style     CXXXV
The Outline of the Gospel     CXXXVIII
The General Outline of the Gospel     CXXXVIII
The General Outline of the Book of Signs     CXXXIX
General Selected Bibliography     CXLV
Prologue
The Introductory Hymn (i 1-18)     3
The Book of Signs
The Opening Days of the Revelation of Jesus
The Testimony of John the Baptist:-Concerning His Role (i 19-28)     42
The Testimony of John the Baptist:-Concerning Jesus (i 29-34)     55
The Baptist's Disciples Come to Jesus:-The First Two Disciples and Simon Peter (i 35-42)     73
The Baptist's Disciples Come to Jesus:-Philip and Nathanael (i 43-51)     81
From Cana to Cana
The First Sign at Cana in Galilee-Changing of Water to Wine (ii 1-11)     97
Jesus Goes to Capernaum (ii 12)     112
The Cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem (ii 13-22)     114
Reaction to Jesus in Jerusalem (ii 23-25)     126
Discourse with Nicodemus in Jerusalem (iii 1-21)     128
The Baptist's Final Witness (iii 22-30)     150
The Discourse Concluded (iii 31-36)      157
Jesus Leaves Judea (iv 1-3)     164
Discourse with the Samaritan Woman at Jacob's Well (iv 4-42)     166
Jesus Enters Galilee (iv 43-45)     186
The Second Sign at Cana in Galilee-Healing the Official's Son (iv 46-54)     190
Jesus and the Principal Feasts of the Jews
Jesus on the Sabbath:-The Healing at Bethesda (v 1-15)     205
Jesus on the Sabbath:-Discourse on His Sabbath Work (v 16-30)     212
Jesus on the Sabbath:-Discourse on His Sabbath Work (continued) (v 31-47)     222
Jesus at Passover:-The Multiplication of the Loaves (vi 1-15)     231
Jesus at Passover:-Walking on the Sea of Galilee (vi 16-21)     251
Jesus at Passover:-The Crowd Comes to Jesus (vi 22-24)     257
Jesus at Passover:-Preface to the Discourse on the Bread of Life (vi 25-34)     260
Jesus at Passover:-Discourse on the Bread of Life (vi 35-50)     268
Jesus at Passover:-Discourse on the Bread of Life (continued) (vi 51-59)     281
Jesus at Passover:-Reactions to the Discourse on the Bread of Life (vi 60-71)     295
Jesus at Tabernacles:-Introduction (vii 1-13)     305
Jesus at Tabernacles:-Scene One (vii 14-36)     310
Jesus at Tabernacles:-Scene Two (vii 37-52)     319
The Story of the Adulteress (vii 53, viii 1-11)      332
Jesus at Tabernacles:-Scene Three (viii 12-20)     339
Jesus at Tabernacles:-Scene Three (continued) (viii 21-30)     346
Jesus at Tabernacles:-Scene Three (concluded) (viii 31-59)     352
Aftermath of Tabernacles:-The Healing of a Blind Man (ix 1-41)     369
Aftermath of Tabernacles:-Jesus as Sheepgate and Shepherd (x 1-21)     383
Jesus at Dedication:-Jesus as Messiah and Son of God (x 22-39)     401
Apparent Conclusion to the Public Ministry (x 40-42)     413
Jesus Moves Toward the Hour of Death and Glory
Jesus Gives Men Life:-The Story of Lazarus (xi 1-44)     420
Men Condemn Jesus to Death:-The Sanhedrin (xi 45-54)     438
Will Jesus Come to Jerusalem for Passover? (xi 55-57)     445
Scenes Preparatory to Passover and Death:-The Anointing at Bethany (xii 1-8)     447
Scenes Preparatory to Passover and Death:-The Entry into Jerusalem (xii 9-19)     455
Scenes Preparatory to Passover and Death:-The Coming of the Hour (xii 20-36)     465
Conclusion to the Book of Signs
An Evaluation of Jesus' Ministry to His Own People (xii 37-43)     483
An Unattached Discourse of Jesus Used as a Summary Proclamation (xii 44-50)     489
Appendixes
Johannine Vocabulary     497
The "Word"     519
Signs and Works      525
Ego Eimi-"I am"     533