Overview
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 the places 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. deSilva focuses on the fruits of archaeology in regard to the sites associated with the ministry of Paul in Acts and in Paul's own writings. The combination of photos and text 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.
In this first of three planned volumes, New Testament scholar David deSilva uses archaeological findings to explore the places 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. deSilva focuses on the fruits of archaeology in regard to the sites associated with the ministry of Paul in Acts and in Paul's own writings. The combination of photos and text 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.
Table of Contents
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
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
Endorsements
“What a rich source of information! David deSilva provides details and pictures that provoke the imaginations of all New Testament readers. The narratives surrounding the life and ministry of the apostle Paul and his associates come freshly to life with deSilva’s discussions and depictions. Archaeological findings can assist our understanding of the Bible. David deSilva interacts with those findings and combines his knowledge of the New Testament to create an indispensable tool for group or individual study.”
Dennis R. Edwards, dean and vice president of church relations, North Park Theological Seminary
Author
David A. deSilva
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 thirty 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.