A Survey of the New Testament

by Robert H. Gundry

Overview

Students of the New Testament may not know everything they need to know, but they do know there’s a lot they need to know! Whether studying for exams or delving into New Testament Scripture, students need critical information at their fingertips. Instead, it’s usually scattered throughout textbooks, self-made crib sheets, and sticky-notes on their computer monitor. Now there’s a better way! The Zondervan Get an A! Study Guides to Survey of the New Testament is a handy, at-a-glance study aid ideal for last minute review, a quick overview of the textbook, or as an aid in New Testament study. This set contains six information-packed sheets that are laminated and three-hole-punched, making them both durable and portable. The study guide is tied to Survey of the New Testament by Robert Gundry.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780310273141
Publisher:	Zondervan Academic
Publication date:	06/28/2007
Series:	Zondervan Get an A! Study GuidesSeries Series
Edition description:	Laminated sheet
Pages:	6
Product dimensions:	8.63(w) x 11.25(h) x 0.07(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Robert H. Gundry (Ph D, Manchester) is a scholar-in-residence and professor emeritus of New Testament and Greek at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. Among his books are Mark: A Commentary on His Apology for the Cross; Matthew: A Commentary on His Handbook for a Mixed Church Under Persecution, Soma in Biblical Theology, and Jesus the Word According to John the Sectarian.

Read an Excerpt

A Survey of the New Testament

---

By Robert H. Gundry

Zondervan

Copyright © 2007 Robert H. Gundry
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-310-27314-1

---

Chapter One

I. INTRODUCTION

* "New Testament" means "new covenant."

* The NT books appear in a logical order rather than a chronological order of writing.

II. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

BC Dominant Events and Personages Power

700s Assyria Exile of northern kingdom of Israel

600s Babylonia Exile of southern kingdom of Judah, destruction of Jerusalem & Solomon's temple

500s Persia Return of some Jews, rebuilding of temple & Jerusalem

400s Persia

300s Greece- Alexander the Great's Macedonia conquests, hellenization, split of empire into 4 parts

Egypt Ptolemies

200s Egypt Septuagint (Greek translation of Hebrew OT: LXX)

100s Syria Seleucids, esp. Antiochus Epiphanes' attempt to force paganism on Jews, revolt of Hasidic Jews under leadership of Maccabees (Hasmoneans)

Maccabees Jewish independence & emergence of Jewish sects (Pharisees, Essenes, Sadducees)

100-1 Rome Pompey, Julius Caesar, Augustus, Herod the Great, Jesus' birth

AD 1-100 Rome Tiberius, Pontius Pilate, Jesus' public ministry, death, & resurrection, Christian church under Peter, Paul, & others, first Jewish revolt, destruction of Jerusalem & temple (AD 70)

III. CULTURAL BACKGROUND OTHER THAN RELIGIOUS

* Many Jews lived outside as well as inside Israel.

* Roman roads facilitated travel over land; commercial transport went mainly by water.

* Cities had public baths & toilets, sewage systems, pavements, schools, etc.

* Private homes ranged from villas to apartment buildings & huts.

* Most people had skimpy, largely meatless diets.

* People wore a short robe (tunic) next to the skin, plus a long outer robe & cloth belt.

* There was no large middle class, but many slaves.

* Social mores included male dominance, importance of honor & shame, sexual immorality (even as part of pagan religions), much divorce, exposure of unwanted infants.

* Entertainment included drama, athletic competition, chariot races, gladiatorial shows.

* Instead of big industry, there were small businesses with trade guilds, other voluntary associations, & banking.

* Medical practice included surgery & dentistry.

III. RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND

* Paganism featured mythology regarding a pantheon of gods & goddesses, emperor worship, mystery religions, superstitious practices, syncretism with outgrowths of Gnosticism & the influence of philosophies (esp. Stoicism).

* Judaism featured

Synagogues, the second temple (beautified by Herod the Great)

OT in original Hebrew, Greek translation (LXX), & Aramaic paraphrases (targums)

Apocryphal books, pseudepigraphal/apocalyptic books, Dead Sea Scrolls, Talmud

Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes; Herodians & Zealots; scribes & disciples; Sanhedrin

People of the land; Diaspora Jews as Hebraists & Hellenists; Gentile proselytes & God-fearers

Narrow religious education of Jews in contrast with liberal education among Gentiles

Messianic hope

IV. CANON AND TEXT OF THE NT

* "Canon" refers to books accepted as standard for belief & conduct.

* In the precanonical period, Christians depended on the OT, oral tradition regarding Jesus, & pronouncements of Christian prophets.

* The homolegoumena were books quickly canonized, antilegomena books eventually canonized.

* Marcion's short canon prompted orthodox formalizing of the present NT canon.

(Continues...)

---

Excerpted from A Survey of the New Testament by Robert H. Gundry Copyright © 2007 by Robert H. Gundry. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

---

Table of Contents

CONTENTSPreface Introduction Part One: Political, Cultural, and Religious Antecedents 1. Intertestamental and New Testament Political History 2. The Secular Settings of the New Testament 3. The Religious and Philosophical Settings of the New Testament Part Two: Literary and Historical Materials 4. The Canon and Text of the New Testament 5. The Study of Jesus' Life 6. An Introductory Overview of Jesus' Public Life and Ministry Part Three: The Four Canonical Gospels and Acts 7. Mark: An Apology for the Crucifixion of Jesus 8. Matthew: Handbook for a Mixed Church Under Persecution 9. Luke: A Promotion of Christianity in the Greco-Roman World at Large 10. John: Believing in Jesus for Eternal Life 11. Acts: A Promotion of Christianity in the Greco-Roman World at Large (Continued from the Gospel of Luke) Part Four: The Epistles 12. The Early Epistles of Paul 13. The Major Epistles of Paul 14. The Prison Epistles of Paul 15. The Pastoral Epistles of Paul 16. Hebrews: Jesus as Priest 17. The Catholic, or General, Epistles Part Five: The Apocalypse 18. Revelation: Jesus Is Coming! In Retrospect Indexes