This is the fourth of a series of volumes in the Johannine Studies series being published by Brill Publishers of Leiden. This volume is on the topic of the prologue to John’s Gospel and its many resonances within the entire Gospel. Narrow parameters have not been set on this topic, as is reflected in the varied nature of the individual contributions. We have not found it necessary to divide the contributions into various parts due to the narrower scope of this volume than others in the series. The first volume in the series was Stanley E. Porter and Andrew K. Gabriel, Johannine Writings and Apocalyptic: An Annotated Bibliography, JOST 1 (Leiden: Brill, 2013), the second was Stanley E. Porter and Hughson T. Ong, eds., The Origins of John’s Gospel, JOST 2 (Leiden: Brill, 2016), and the third was Stanley E. Porter and Andrew W. Pitts, eds., Johannine Christology, JOST 3 (Leiden: Brill, 2020). It is encouraging to see the strong and positive response to these volumes as we continue the series through the completion of the first five volumes. The final volume of this first set is:
| Volume 5: |
John’s Gospel and Its Sources |
I am pleased to say that we will be continuing the series with five more projected volumes, with more to come if these five continue to be of scholarly interest. The next five scheduled volumes are:
| Volume 6: |
John and Judaism (2026) |
| Volume 7: |
John and the Synoptic Gospels (2027) |
| Volume 8: |
John and the “Fourth Quest” (2028) |
| Volume 9: |
Johannine Language (including Genre and Style) (2029) |
| Volume 10: |
Johannine Community and Audience (2030) |
Johannine studies has seen a resurgence of interest in the last several years, with many of the assured results of previous Johannine scholarship being re-examined. These include theories regarding the origins of John’s Gospel, its relationship to the Synoptic Gospels, its theology, its historiography, and many other topics. This volume is part of a concerted effort to address the need for avenues of dedicated publication of Johannine studies. Study of the Johannine writings, including the Gospel, three Johannine letters, and Revelation, has been hampered by a lack of such dedicated publications. There are many such opportunities, including specific series and journals, for study of the Synoptic Gospels, and an equivalent number for the Pauline writings. Therefore, it is appropriate and necessary to publish a series devoted to the Johannine writings and their many attendant research questions. This Johannine Studies series concentrates upon topics of special relevance for Johannine research, especially where recent work is re-conceptualizing old topics or introducing new ones. The number of scholars devoting their efforts to such areas continues to grow, as is evidenced by the numbers of sessions dedicated to Johannine studies at recent major conferences, as well as the variety of Johannine publications finding their ways into various journals and other works.
I would like to invite any scholars interested in making contributions to the fifth volume and any of the next set of five volumes (volumes 6–10) to be in contact with me regarding their proposed work, including submitting their papers (please submit in Word file and pdf, following SBL2 guidelines). Contact information is provided below. The topics of the volumes are defined and interpreted broadly, so that papers that deal, for example, with clearly related subjects (and especially those that encompass the breadth of the Johannine corpus), we hope will be able to find a home in these collections of papers. Some submissions for the fifth volume are already in hand, so those interested in publishing in this volume should not hesitate to make contact immediately. Those who have not already published in the series should not hesitate to propose papers for any of the next volumes. In the past, we have used a date of 31 January for submission for a given volume year. We hope to use that in the future. I will be in contact with all authors of submissions regarding the status of their essays. Please send the Word file and pdf along with an abstract (no more than one-hundred words).
I would like to thank my colleague, Dr. David I. Yoon, for his editorial acumen in helping to see this volume through to publication when there have been several delays that hindered it. The major hindrance was, of course, COVID-19. During the time of this pandemic, we have to admit that our attention was on other things than Johannine studies. Nevertheless, now that we are through that crisis and a semblance of normality has been restored, I hope that this volume continues the pattern of eliciting a positive response. I would also like to thank those who have encouraged the development of this project at Brill, especially Louise Schouten and Laura Morris, who have continued to be an encouragement as this project took shape and is now fully underway.
Stanley E. Porter
McMaster Divinity College
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
princpl@mcmaster.ca