Into the World of the New Testament: Greco-Roman and Jewish Texts and Contexts [Paperback]

Daniel Lynwood Smith orients readers of the New Testament to its historical and cultural settings, introducing the cast of characters, and illuminating key concepts by exploring their use in ancient texts. Smith includes quotations from many primary sources including Josephus, Tacitus, the Qumran Community, Pliny the Younger, and other carefully chosen texts from lesser-known ancient sources. These texts are all carefully woven together with commentary, to provide a narrative framework for the material and guide students through the text. A glossary of complex terms is provided, to make everything as clear as possible for the newcomer to New Testament studies.

This integrative approach both introduces the key sources to the reader and elaborates on their significance for understanding the New Testament. In an admirably concise format Smith is able to cover the military-political history of Israel-Palestine, the messianic movements of Second Temple Judaism, the ancient practice of crucifixion and the development of the Christian canon. Through immersion in these ancient Jewish, Christian, and Greco-Roman texts and contexts, contemporary readers take a step closer to experiencing the New Testament with first-century eyes and ears.

Smith's book is very readable and informative. Its forte lies in an interesting presentation of the historical and socio-cultural background of the New Testament with a very helpful use of the relevant quotations from the ancient authors ... A valuable help for readers interested in the background of the New Testament. The Expository Times

This is an excellent book. In little more than two hundred pages of text Smith gives a most informative overview of the Greco-Roman and Jewish background to the New Testament ... A fascinating read, and it will surely provide a convenient and accessible source of study and pre