James S. Jeffers provides an informative tour of the various facets of the Roman world--class and status, family and community, work and leisure, religion and organization, city and country, law and government, death and taxes, and the events of Roman history.
Background becomes foreground in Moyer Hubbard's creative introduction to the social and historical setting for the letters of the Apostle Paul to churches in Asia Minor and Europe. Hubbard begins each major section with a brief narrative featuring a fictional character in one of the great cities of that era. Then he elaborates on various aspects of the cultural setting related to each particular vignette, discussing the implications of those venues for understanding Paul's letters and applying their message to our lives today. Addressing a wide array of cultural and traditional issues, Hubbard discusses: • religion and superstition • education, philosophy, and oratory • urban society • households and family life in the Greco-Roman world This work is based on the premise that the better one understands the historical and social context in which the New Testament (and Paul's letters) was written, the better one will understand the writings of the New Testament themselves. Passages become clearer, metaphors deciphered, and images sharpened. Teachers, students, and laypeople alike will appreciate Hubbard's unique, illuminating, and well-researched approach to the world of the early church.
This survey of intertestamental Judaism illuminates the customs and controversies that provide essential background for understanding the New Testament. Scott opens a door into the Jewish world and literature leading up to the development of Christianity. He also offers an accessible overview of the data through helpful charts, maps, and diagrams incorporated throughout the text to engage his readers.
Lynn Cohick provides an accurate and fulsome picture of the earliest Christian women by examining a wide variety of first-century Jewish and Greco-Roman documents that illuminate their lives. She organizes the book around three major spheres of life: family, religious community, and society in general. Cohick shows that although women during this period were active at all levels within their religious communities, their influence was not always identified by leadership titles nor did their gender always determine their level of participation. The book corrects our understanding of early Christian women by offering an authentic and descriptive historical picture of their lives. Includes black-and-white illustrations from the ancient world.
An ecumenical roster of leading specialists approach wealth and poverty through the theology, social practices, and institutions of early Christianity.
New to this expanded & updated edition are revisions of Ferguson's original material, updated bibliographies, & a fresh dicussion of first century social life, the Dead Sea Scrolls & much else.
Utilizing archeological evidence and an analysis of two earlyChristian texts related to the church at Rome, James S. Jeffers offersa penetrating glimpse into the economic, social, and theologicaltensions of early Roman Christianity. Clement and the Shepherd ofHermas are shown to represent two decidedly conflicting conceptions ofChristianity and hierarchy: Clement represents the social elite and amore structured approach to church organization, and Hermas displays atendency toward sectarianism. Photographs and line drawings illustratearcheological evidence.
Originally the Sarum Lectures delivered at the University of Oxford in 1960-61, this volume deals with the Hellenistic and Roman setting, and especially the legal, administrative, and municipal background, of the Acts of the Apostles and the synoptic gospels. Sherwin-White -- 'someone from the Roman side,' as he described himself -- brings his knowledge of Roman public law and administration and of city life in the eastern provinces to bear on these aspects of New Testament history. The first three lectures concern the trials of Jesus and of Paul in Jerusalem, addressing questions of the powers of Roman governors and the nature of their jurisdiction. Topics of the remaining lectures include the rights of Roman citizenship, the trial of Paul in Rome, and differences between the Galilean narrative and the Graeco-Roman world of the Acts.