IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament
Voted one of Christianity Today's 1995 Books of the Year!\ To understand and apply the Bible well, you need two crucial sources of information. One is the Bible itself. The other is an understanding of the cultural background of the passage you're reading.\ Only with the background can you grasp the author's original concerns and purposes. This unique commentary provides, in verse-by-verse format, the crucial cultural background you need for responsible—and richer—Bible study. It includes a...
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Why was labeling the Pharisees "white-washed tombs" one of the strongest criticisms Jesus could have made? Why were the disciples, after Jesus' death and resurrection, determined to replace Judas and keep their number exactly at twelve? What is the background to Paul's denunciation of homosexual behavior? Why did Paul expect Corinthian women to cover their heads? These and hundreds of other similar questions arise for anyone who reads and tries to live by the Bible. Today's world is very different from the Greek, Roman and Jewish world of Jesus and the New Testament writers. Scholars devote their lives to the study of languages, archaeology and history in order to better understand the Bible and its cultures. But often the results of their studies are found only in academic libraries. For the first time, Craig Keener's Bible Background Commentary: New Testament provides the fruit of scholarly labors in a single volume arranged in convenient verse-by-verse format, covering the entire New Testament. Based on ten years of in-depth study, the Bible Background Commentary will be valuable for pastors in sermon preparation, for Sunday-school and other church teachers as they build lessons, for missionaries concerned not to import their own cultural biases into the Bible, for college and seminary students in classroom assignments, and for everyday Bible readers seeking to deepen and enhance their study of Scripture. Library Journal Keener has accomplished a monumental task in assimilating a vast amount of primary and secondary material on first-century Jewish and Greco-Roman culture and making it accessible to nonspecialist readers. In addition, he displays a wide knowledge of New Testament scholarship (Pauline studies, gospel studies, etc.). To make this commentary useful to a diverse audience, Keener has minimized theological comments and emphasized historical, cultural, and social background. The text is clearly written and fairly free of technical jargon. There are few citations in the text to primary sources (and none to secondary ones), since the author felt they would be cumbersome to lay readers; some readers (the more curious or skeptical ones) may feel shortchanged by the omission of such references. But in light of the overall quality of the commentary, it's a small matter. This volume should be a useful addition to public, academic, and seminary libraries.-- Craig W. Beard, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham Lib.
Abbreviations How to Use This Commentary The Need for a Cultural-Historical CommentaryGospels Matthew Mark Luke John ActsNew Testament Letters Romans\ 1 Corinthians\ 2 Corinthians Galations Ephesians Philippians Colossians\ 1 Thessalonians\ 2 Thessalonians\ 1 Timothy\ 2 Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews James\ 1 Peter\ 2 Peter\ 1 John\ 2 John\ 3 John Jude Revelation Glossary Maps & Charts
\ Themelios"It is nearly impossible to imagine that one person could have compiled all the information contained within this volume. But Keener has not simply compiled material; he has mastered it. . . . At every turn of the page, whose who treasure the Bible will find something new and valuable."\ \ \ \ \ Faith and Mission"Keener . . . has done the remarkable. He has produced a work that was genuinely needed but not envisioned—until now."\ \ \ Biblical Archaeologist"Keener has taken careful aim at an aptly defined target, and his equally careful methodology has enabled him to hit it dead-center."\ \ \ \ \ George O. Wood"Carefully researched yet accessible for the busy pastor or other reader, this commentary puts years of research at the reader's fingertips, passage by passage, in a single volume."\ \ \ \ \ Cheryl Sanders"Keener has gathered a host of background material from a broad range of ancient and modern sources and put them literally at the preacher's fingertips."\ \ \ \ \ D. Moody Smith"The book is a rich and accessible mine of important information and a remarkable accomplishment."\ \ \ \ \ D. Stuart Briscoe"We can no more ignore the humanness of the writers of the [Bible's] written word than we can discount the humanity of the living Lord. But their humanness had cultural connotations. . . . It is therefore not only helpful, but also necessary, for us to know of their cultures the better to understand the inspired word. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament will prove most helpful in this regard."\ \ \ \ \ Darrell Bock"Like an intriguing archaeological dig, Keener's work surfaces the cultural and worldview assumptions of the New Testament."\ \ \ \ \ Gordon Fee"Here is a book many people have been waiting for. . . . The IVP Bible Background Commentary should prove to be a truly useful book."\ \ \ \ \ Clinton E. Arnold"This book will meet a significant need. . . . The discerning reader will detect how well Keener has drawn on the results of much recent research and presented it in a way that pastors and laypeople will be able to grasp."\ \ \ \ \ Craig Blomberg"Most one-volume, single-author Bible commentaries or study Bibles are erratic in their coverage. . . . Craig Keener's work is an astonishing exception. . . . He can be trusted in almost every statement he makes, and even his more interpretative opinions are consistently well-grounded. Keener has given preachers and lay Christians alike an invaluable resource for years to come."\ \ \ \ \ Charles Blake"A rich and lucid resource for understanding God's Word.This work is presented in a way that serves the needs of pastors in their sermon preparation, as well as lay members in personal Bible studies."\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalKeener has accomplished a monumental task in assimilating a vast amount of primary and secondary material on first-century Jewish and Greco-Roman culture and making it accessible to nonspecialist readers. In addition, he displays a wide knowledge of New Testament scholarship (Pauline studies, gospel studies, etc.). To make this commentary useful to a diverse audience, Keener has minimized theological comments and emphasized historical, cultural, and social background. The text is clearly written and fairly free of technical jargon. There are few citations in the text to primary sources (and none to secondary ones), since the author felt they would be cumbersome to lay readers; some readers (the more curious or skeptical ones) may feel shortchanged by the omission of such references. But in light of the overall quality of the commentary, it's a small matter. This volume should be a useful addition to public, academic, and seminary libraries.-- Craig W. Beard, Univ. of Alabama at Birmingham Lib.\ \
