The New Testament: Its Background and Message

by Thomas Lea, David Alan Black

Overview

In the comprehensive The New Testament: Its Background and Message, the late Thomas Lea presented a clear and concise introduction to the New Testament giving readers the key that unlocks the door to understanding these important texts. This influential work presents the background of the New Testament with broad strokes and with a focus on specific books including the Gospels, Acts, and Paul and his letters. Originally written in an easy-to-understand style and form, Lea’s text continues to unlock the message of the New Testament for both new students and seasoned scholars.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433669873
Publisher:	B&H Publishing Group
Publication date:	07/01/2003
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	688
Sales rank:	729,699
File size:	5 MB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

The late Thomas D. Lea was dean of the School of Theology at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

David Alan Black, a well know and highly regarded New Testament scholar, is professor of New Testament and Greek at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC. He is the author or editor of many books including Learning to Read New Testament Greek and interpreting the New Testament, published by Broadman & Holman. He resides in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

David Alan Black is professor of New Testament and Greek at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. An avid horseman, he and his wife live on a 123-acre working farm in southern Virginia and are self-supporting missionaries to Mecklenburg County, Virginia, and Ethiopia.

Table of Contents

	List of Tables	xiii
	List of Maps	xv
	Preface to Revised Edition	xvii
	Introduction to the Original Edition	1
Part 1	The Background to the New Testament
Chapter 1	The Political History of Palestine During the Intertestamental Period	7
	The Babylonian Period (626-539 B.C.)	9
	The Persian Period (539-331 B.C.)	11
	The Grecian Period (331-320 B.C.)	13
	The Ptolemaic Period (320-198 B.C.)	15
	The Syrian Period (198-167 B.C.)	16
	The Maccabean Period (167-142 B.C.)	18
	The Hasmonean Period (142-63 B.C.)	20
	The Roman Period (63 B.C. on)	21
	Later Events in Palestine	26
Chapter 2	Life in the World of the New Testament	31
	Home Construction	32
	Food	34
	Clothing	35
	Social Classes	35
	Languages	36
	Jewish Population	37
	Industry, Labor, and Commerce	37
	Transportation and Communication	38
	Education	39
	Science and Medicine	39
	Entertainment	40
	Marriage	41
	Funerals	42
	Crime	43
	The Roman Army	43
Chapter 3	The Religious Background to the New Testament	47
	Paganism	47
	Judaism	54
	Conclusion	64
Chapter 4	The Canon, Text, and Genre of the New Testament	69
	The Canon and Text	69
	The New Testament Text	75
	Genre	78
Part 2	The Life of Jesus and the Gospels
Chapter 5	Learning About Jesus	85
	Sources	86
	The Geography of Jesus' Homeland	87
	The Historical Study of Jesus' Life	89
	The Teaching of Jesus	92
	Dates in Jesus' Life	94
	The Chronology of Jesus' Life	97
Chapter 6	The Synoptic Problem	113
	The Development of the Synoptic Gospels	114
	Moving Toward a Synoptic Consensus	126
Chapter 7	The Four Gospels	131
	The Gospel of Matthew	132
	Outline of Matthew	139
	The Gospel of Mark	140
	Outline of Mark	146
	The Gospel of Luke	146
	Outline of Luke	154
	The Gospel of John	156
	Outline of John	164
Chapter 8	The Birth, Childhood, and Early Ministry of Jesus	171
Chapter 9	Jesus' Ministry in and Around Galilee	191
Chapter 10	The Later Judean andthe Perean Ministry	223
Chapter 11	The Final Week of Jesus' Life--Crucifixion and Resurrection	245
Part 3	The Growth of thse Early Church in Acts
Chapter 12	Introduction to the Acts and the Role of Peter in Early Christianity (Acts 1-12)	281
	Authorship	281
	Luke the Man	283
	Date of Writing Acts	283
	Literary Questions About Acts	284
	The Quality of Greek	284
	The Sources of Luke	285
	Historical Accuracy of Acts	285
	The Content of Acts	291
Chapter 13	The Role of Paul in the Spread of Christianity (Acts 13-28)	301
	Paul's First Missionary Journey	305
	Second Missionary Journey	311
	The Third Missionary Journey	315
	Arrest and Imprisonment in Jerusalem(21:17-23:35)	319
	Paul's Appearance Before Felix (24:1-27)	320
	Paul Before Festus (25:1-12)	321
	Paul Before Festus and Herod Agrippa II (25:13-26:32)	321
	The Voyage to Rome (27:1-28:16)	322
	Paul in Rome (28:17-31)	324
	Outline of Acts	326
Part 4	The Epistles of Paul
Chapter 14	An Overview of Paul's Life	333
	The Literary Contributions of Paul	334
	The Personality of Paul	345
	The Life of Paul	346
	A Chronology of Paul's Life	349
	The Theology of Paul	354
Chapter 15	Paul's First Writings (A Survey of Galatians and 1 and 2 Thessalonians)	363
	The Letter to the Galatians	364
	The Message of Galatians	370
	Outline of Galatians	375
	For Further Discussion	376
	The Letters to the Thessalonians	377
	The Message of 1 Thessalonians	381
	Outline of 1 Thessalonians	383
	The Message of 2 Thessalonians	384
	Outline of 2 Thessalonians	386
Chapter 16	Paul's Chief Writings (A Survey of Romans and 1 and 2 Corinthians)	389
	The Epistle to the Romans	390
	The Message of Romans	394
	Outline of Romans	400
	For Further Discussion	402
	The Corinthian Letters	402
	1 Corinthians	407
	The Message of 1 Corinthians	408
	Outline of 1 Corinthians	416
	2 Corinthians	417
	The Message of 2 Corinthians	419
	Outline of 2 Corinthians	425
Chapter 17	Paul's Captivity Epistles (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon)	431
	Time and Place	432
	Date of the Captivity Epistles	435
	The Epistle to the Ephesians	436
	Outline of Ephesians	441
	The Epistle to the Philippians	442
	Outline of Philippians	448
	The Epistle to the Colossians	449
	Outline of Colossians	456
	The Epistle to Philemon	457
	Outline of Philemon	459
Chapter 18	The Pastoral Epistles	463
	Authorship of the Pastorals	464
	Chronology for the Pastorals	471
	Occasion and Purpose	472
	1 Timothy	473
	2 Timothy	475
	Titus	476
	The Content of 1 Timothy	477
	Outline of 1 Timothy	481
	The Content of 2 Timothy	483
	Outline of 2 Timothy	486
	Content of Titus	487
	Outline of Titus	489
Part 5	Hebrews, the General Epistles, and Revelation
Chapter 19	The Epistle to the Hebrews	495
	The Content of Hebrews	502
	The Exegesis of Hebrews 6:4-12	506
	An Outline of Hebrews	507
Chapter 20	The Epistle of James	511
	The Content of James	517
	Outline of James	522
Chapter 21	The Epistles of 1 and 2 Peter	525
	The Epistle of First Peter	526
	The Content of First Peter	534
	Outline of First Peter	538
	The Epistle of Second Peter	539
	The Content of Second Peter	544
	An Outline of Second Peter	546
Chapter 22	The Johannine Epistles	551
	The Epistle of 1 John	551
	The Content of First John	555
	Outline of First John	559
	The Epistles of 2 and 3 John	560
	Content of 2 John	561
	Outline of 2 John	562
	Content of 3 John	563
	Outline of 3 John	564
Chapter 23	The Epistle of Jude	567
	Content of Jude	572
	Outline of Jude	574
Chapter 24	The Revelation	577
	Content of Revelation	589
	Outline of Revelation	601
	Endnotes	607
	Glossary of Terms	637
	Index	645
	About the Authors	653