New Testament Backgrounds
This guide identifies recommended resources for the study of the religious, cultural, literary, and geographic background of the New Testament.
Professor of New Testament and Archaeology
Getting Started from Scratch
If you are just starting your research on New Testament backgrounds, here is the best way to get started:
- Read the four “favorite introductory books” listed below, starting with Ferguson.
- And then start reading “primary sources” (ancient sources), especially Josephus, the Apocrypha (e.g., RSV or NRSV translation), the Apostolic Fathers, Eusebius’s Church History.
- And then any titles from the series Cambridge Commentaries on Writings of the Jewish & Christian World 200 BC to AD 200.
Favorite Introductory Books
Backgrounds of Early Christianity by Call Number: BR129 .F47 2003ISBN: 0802822215Publication Date: 2003
New Testament Background: Writings from Ancient Greece and the Roman Empire That Illuminate Christian Origins by Call Number: BS2410 .B37 1995ISBN: 0060608811Publication Date: 1995
As the Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History by ISBN: 9780190072131Publication Date: 2022
Video
The Roman Empire in the First Century by Call Number: DG276 .R653 2004ISBN: 0780638743Publication Date: 2001[Please note that, due to the presentation of the subject matter, this is probably the equivalent of a PG-13 movie.]