A fundamental principle of biblical interpretation is the importance of context--historical, literary, and canonical. But an often-neglected source of context for understanding Scripture is the field of archaeology. The physical and cultural world we inhabit affects us deeply, and that was no less true for the original writers and readers of Scripture. Archaeology provides insights into important questions like, What did these believers see day to day? What messages did they receive from their environment? What social practices influenced them?
In this first of three planned volumes, New Testament scholar David deSilva uses archaeological findings to explore places where the apostle Paul ministered and his audiences lived. This visually compelling and beautifully designed book contains more than 250 full-color photographs of sites and artifacts. The author focuses on the fruits of archaeology in regard to the sites associated with Paul's ministry in Acts and in Paul's own writings. This book helps readers understand the real-life situations Paul addressed.
This volume will be an important supplemental textbook for courses on the New Testament and for anyone who wants to better understand the lived context of Paul and his readers.
Introduction
Part 1: Beginnings
1. Tarsus
2. Damascus and Arabia
3. Antioch-on-the-Orontes
4. Paphos
Part 2: Church Plants
5. Perge and Pisidian Antioch
6. Roman Philippi
7. Thessalonica
8. Beroea
9. Athens
10. Roman Corinth
11. Roman Ephesus
12. Colossae, Laodicea, and Hierapolis
Part 3: Endings
13. Miletus
14. Rhodes
15. Jerusalem
16. Caesarea Maritima
17. Malta
18. Puteoli
19. Rome
Indexes
David A. deSilva (PhD, Emory University) is Trustees' Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary in Ashland, Ohio. He is the author of more than 30 books on the New Testament and Second Temple Period Jewish literature, including Introducing the Apocrypha, Discovering Revelation, Judea Under Greek and Roman Rule, and commentaries on Hebrews, Galatians, and Ephesians. He is also an ordained elder in the Global Methodist Church.
