Economics and Empire in the Roman World: Guide to the Bible and Economics, Volume 2

by Matthew J M Coomber (Editor)

Overview

Over the past few decades the study of biblical economics has developed into an important subfield of biblical studies. This subfield uses textual and archaeological evidence to uncover the economic realities behind biblical literature, resulting in greater understandings of the lives and possible intentions of those individuals and communities that composed these religious texts, and also of their potential relevance (or lack thereof) to the communities that continue to receive them. Economics and Empire in the Roman World has brought together eight scholars of biblical economics to create a repository of what is understood about the socioeconomic realities of those who penned and first received what were to become the Christian scriptures. In addition to serving the research and teaching interests of biblical scholars, this volume has also been created for the benefit of economic historians, anthropologists, and sociologists.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781666712445
Publisher:	Cascade Books
Publication date:	01/16/2025
Series:	Center and Library for the Bible and Social Justice
Pages:	310
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.81(d)

About the Author

Matthew J. M. Coomber is professor of biblical studies and theology at St. Ambrose University and an Episcopal priest. His publications include Re-Reading the Prophets through Corporate Globalization (2010; paperback ed., Cascade Books, 2022) and Bible and Justice (2011). He is coeditor of Fortress Commentary on the Bible: The Old Testament and Apocrypha (2014) and the editor of Economics and Empire in the Ancient Near East: Guide to the Bible and Economics, Volume 1 (Cascade Books, 2023). He also serves as editor of the Center and Library for the Bible and Social Justice Series Guide to Bible and Economics (Cascade Books) and is the series editor of the Center and Library for the Bible and Social Justice Series (Cascade Books).

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“A remarkably helpful and readable collection of essays on the economics of the Roman world. Matthew Coomber’s volume offers useful context to anyone who reads the New Testament writings, whether as Holy Scripture or as historical literature. This volume deserves to be in every library.”

—Margaret Aymer, vice president for academic affairs and academic dean, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary



“This volume demonstrates how essential considerations of economics are to any historical interpretations of biblical texts. The essays address questions of labor, exchange, scarcity, survival, and value with nuance and care. They understand these questions to be about more than just the structure of daily life, but also, at heart, about questions of human relations and power.”

—Maia Kotrosits, author of The Lives of Objects: Material Culture, Experience, and the Real in the History of Early Christianity



“This edited volume sheds new light on the economic apparatus of the Roman empire as an essential backdrop for reading biblical texts. It helpfully delineates the various ways economics intersected with and shaped religious beliefs and practices of the early Jesus movement. Commendable for its impressive breadth and depth as well as its nuanced approach to key aspects of the economic environment in the Roman world.”

—Raj Nadella, associate professor of New Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary

Editorial Reviews

A remarkably helpful and readable collection of essays on the economics of the Roman world. Matthew Coomber’s volume offers useful context to anyone who reads the New Testament writings, whether as Holy Scripture or as historical literature. This volume deserves to be in every library.”

—Margaret Aymer, vice president for academic affairs and academic dean, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary



“This volume demonstrates how essential considerations of economics are to any historical interpretations of biblical texts. The essays address questions of labor, exchange, scarcity, survival, and value with nuance and care. They understand these questions to be about more than just the structure of daily life, but also, at heart, about questions of human relations and power.”

—Maia Kotrosits, author of The Lives of Objects: Material Culture, Experience, and the Real in the History of Early Christianity



“This edited volume sheds new light on the economic apparatus of the Roman empire as an essential backdrop for reading biblical texts. It helpfully delineates the various ways economics intersected with and shaped religious beliefs and practices of the early Jesus movement. Commendable for its impressive breadth and depth as well as its nuanced approach to key aspects of the economic environment in the Roman world.”

—Raj Nadella, associate professor of New Testament, Columbia Theological Seminary

From the Publisher