James S. Jeffers - The Greco-Roman World of the New Testament Era: Exploring the Background of Early Christianity

Most Christians and others interested in the New Testament would love to be able to read it and understand what it means without having to read other books. Of course, one can always read some kind of meaning into a verse of Scripture. But those who understand that the books of the New Testament were written to specific people, in specific places, nearly two thousand years ago, know that this is not a good idea. If the New Testament texts were written to make sense to people in the first century, then we must try to put ourselves into their places in order to determine what the writers of the New Testament intended their readers to understand by what they wrote.

If we try to make sense of the Bible with no knowledge of the people who wrote it, those who read it and the society in which they lived, we will be inclined to read into the Scriptures our own societys values and ideas. This would be a major mistake since our culture is very different from that of the ancient Romans.

This book is written with the nonscholar in mind. It uses technical terms only when necessary to make the point, and then explains them clearly. This does not mean, however, that the book is not suitable for the serious student. I am convinced that one does not have to sacrifice accuracy to make a work understandable to the inexpert.

Many Bible background books have been written over the years, but few have addressed thoroughly what the student of the New Testament needs to know about Greco-Roman societies and cultures of the time. Still fewer have been written by someone with expertise in both Roman history and early Christianity.

The birthplace of Christianity was a very complex and complicated place in the first century. Chapter one introduces the cultural and political milieu by means of a fictional dinner in Jerusalem. For those who want a fuller account, appendix A presents the Roman and Hellenistic historical background, with attention to themes and events such as the conquest of the eastern Mediterranean that will help place the early church in the Greco-Roman context. Chapter two tries to give the reader a sense of what it was like to live in the first century with a look at how the people of the day worked, played, traveled, ate, clothed themselves and attended to the deceased.

Although most of the population of the day lived in the countryside, Christianity arose in the cities of the Empire. So chapter three focuses on the city and city life in the Greco-Roman world and its impact on the early churches. Consult chapter thirteen for descriptions of the various cities and Roman provinces and their significance in the New Testament era. Chapter four looks at how the early Christians organized themselves within the cities and considers to what extent the synagogue, the Roman voluntary association, and Roman household structures may have affected the development of early church organization.

Religion was a very important element of life in the ancient world. Chapter five presents a brief overview of the key religions of the day. It shows how the Romans and others looked at religion, and how this affected Judaism and Christianity.

The next two chapters look at how the Romans ruled the Empire they assembled. Chapter six describes how Rome governed its provinces, with special attention to Palestine and the Near East. Chapter seven examines some of the key tools that the Romans used to control and administer their empire: taxes, the legal system and the military.

We cannot understand the connection between Christianity and Greco-Roman society until we realize the importance of honor and respect in the social order. The next several chapters address the various issues that contributed to a persons social standing and how these issues affected Christians of the New Testament era. Chapter eight looks at social class and the complex way in which status was measured. Chapter nine examines the importance of citizenship, chapter ten presents the position of the Jews in the cities of the Empire, and chapter eleven shows the significance of slavery to ancient society and how its presence affected the first Christians.

An understanding of how peoples in the Roman Empire organized themselves privately also sheds light on the early Christian congregations. Chapter twelve surveys the family, the place of women, and education in the Roman world. It examines how New Testament comments about these topics relate to Roman ideas and practices.

Appendix B is a timeline of the events and persons described in this book. An index of Scripture passages is supplied to help the reader find comments related to a Bible passage he or she may be studying.

This work uses the phrases New Testament era and first century A.D. (or simply first century) to refer to the same period. Something also needs to be said about how I use the term Greco-Roman. Scholars generally use this term to refer to the interaction of Roman culture and society with Greek/Hellenistic culture and society, a process that began several centuries before the time of Christ. Sometimes this was a blending of ideas; other times it involved sharp opposition of ideas. But by the first century A.D., the Romans were in firm control of the eastern (as well as western) Mediterranean basin. So when we talk about the New Testament era in that area, we are talking about a society still influenced by Hellenistic ideas, customs, religion and language but dominated by Roman law, governmental forms, ideas of class and status, and the military. It was beginning to be influenced by Roman cultural values as well. So this book does not present a full-blown account of Hellenistic society and culture; rather it tries to present this society within the context of Roman control, hopefully in the way that Christians in the first century would have experienced it.

I would like to thank my editor at InterVarsity Press, Daniel G. Reid, for his invaluable help and support during the editing process. I am also in the debt of Craig S. Keener for his timely suggestions and enthusiasm about the manuscript. J. P. Moreland offered me the encouragement of a true friend and the insights of a gifted scholar. Finally, I want to thank my wife, Bonnie, for helping me think through this project at every point from its inception some five years ago.