This volume places intense focus upon the centrality of relationships in the understanding of identity in early Christianity and Judaism, progressing beyond studies of social identities that tend to focus upon discrete markers.

Scholarship surrounding identity has tended to focus upon individuals or groups of individuals, rather than the interactions between these entities which constitute relationships by which our identities arise. The contributors use as a starting point recent studies in cognitive science demonstrate that human beings are "wired to connect." Consequently this volume first explores relationships connected to the Fourth Gospel, including the close ties and irrevocable differences of the Fourth Gospel, and then examines several representations of Johannine relationships and Jesus' relationships with his followers in art, literature and film. Several contributors then examine neighboring texts and traditions, and the rich variety of relationships explored unpacks the intricate and dynamic processes and interactions by which human relationships and societies are generated, maintained and dissolved.