Abstract
Every once in a while a book comes along which makes you wonder how you ever managed without it. Behind the Scenes of the New Testament is such a book. This collection is conceived as a counterpart to the 2018 publication of Behind the Scenes of the Old Testament, and both carry the same subtitles which tell you exactly what to expect – Cultural, Social and Historical Contexts. Simply put, the editors believe that ‘placing New Testament texts within the context of the ancient world and allowing the discourse of those texts to resonate within that world sharpens an appreciation of their force and significance’ (p. xxii).
The book contains over sixty essays which fall under three large parts which, in turn, are subdivided into sections within those parts. The structure is as follows: Part One: Setting the Stage (comprising two sections on Symbolic Worlds and Places respectively, and containing twelve essays); Part Two: Inhabiting the Stage (comprising two sections, titled Scripts and Actors respectively, and containing nineteen essays); and the largest, Part Three: Themes on the Stage (comprising three sections – Divine Society, Human Society, and The Household – and containing thirty-one essays).
The range of areas covered across the essays is impressive – among the topics featured are the following (and this list is not exhaustive): Judaism, Hellenization; Urban Centers of the Roman World; Temples, Graeco-Roman Material Culture; Qumran and the Context of the New Testament; Ancient Biography and the Gospels; Letters and Letter-Writing; Reading Strategies in the Graeco-Roman World; Gentiles in Judaean Eyes; Judaeans in Gentile Eyes; Samaritans; Women in the Ancient Mediterranean World; Masculinities; Disabled Bodies; Sexuality; Marriage and Divorce; Slavery; Race and Ethnicity; Literacy and Education; Magic, Medicine and Miracles; Moral Transformation and Ethics; and the list goes on.
Essays are, on average, six or seven pages long, arranged in double columns, and each essay contains a list of works cited (these tend to be a little uneven in length, however). The essays are ideal for setting as contextual reading for undergraduate students, and as someone who teaches courses in early Christianity, I have found them hugely helpful in this regard. Although many of the contributors are leading scholars in their field, the essays are written in an accessible style – indeed, it is striking how, in numerous instances, contributors almost seem to anticipate the questions of their readers and then proceed to address them, marking them out not only as great scholars, but also great teachers. One concrete instance of this is how Kristin de Troyer addresses the apparent discrepancy between the story of how ‘the laws of the Jews’ were translated into Greek by seventy-two translators and the fact that the word ‘Septuagint’ references the translation of the seventy. This, de Troyer explains, was ‘a short-hand for the seventy-two translators who, according to the Letter of Aristeas . . . translated the Hebrew books of Moses into Greek’ (p. 105). A simple clarification, but one you don’t often find spelt out. Similarly, older models of viewing the contextual worlds of the New Testament are gracefully and concisely set aside by contributors such as Matthew Novenson who reminds us, with only slight exaggeration, that ‘the whole eastern Mediterranean world (more or less) was culturally Greek and politically Roman . . . In other words it is a matter not of Judaism versus Hellenism . . . but rather of Judaism as one tradition among many others in the vast, Hellenism-inflected Roman Empire’ (pp. 5–6) and Carl Holladay who reinforces this point by observing that ‘It is now clear that ‘Judaism’ and ‘Hellenism’ are not airtight categories that signify two alternative, mutually exclusive ways of thinking. Their boundaries can be fluid’ (p. 18).
College professors will find this volume exceptionally valuable, not only as a one-stop shop which will bring students up to speed with current scholarship on a myriad of topics, but also to ensure that they are similarly briefed on specific areas in which they, themselves, may not be sufficiently up-to-date with the most recent literature. Likewise, enthusiasts of biblical studies and the history of early Christianity, or those preparing to study theology or religious studies, will want to have a copy of Behind the Scenes of the New Testament on their bookshelves. I have no doubt that this remarkable book will serve as an indispensable resource for many years to come, and will continue to appear in revised and updated editions to keep pace with what are ever evolving areas of scholarship. For now, though, if you are thinking of investing in a single volume that will help provide historical, social and cultural contexts to your New Testament studies, go and buy this book.