New Testament Background: Writings from Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire That Illuminate Christian Origins

For over thirty-five years, C. K. Barrett's The New Testament Background: Writings from Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire That Illuminate Christian Origin has provided an exhaustive collection of source material from the political, religious, and social landscape of the New Testament. Far more than a history of first-century cultures, this is a compendium of the texts and documents that shaped that history. Now updated to include the revolutionary discoveries of recent decades such as the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Gnostic texts from Nag Hammadi, The New Testament Background includes everything from the work of towering historical figures such as Aristotle, the Caesars, and Josephus to the letters and legal documents of everyday people. Jewish, Gnostic, and Pagan religious literature complete this vivid picture of the Mediterranean world at the time of the first Christians. -- Midwest Book Review