Product Review

Making sense of the New Testament requires navigating your way through the labyrinth of different cultural, religious, political, and economic groups that existed in first-century Jewish society as well as in the Roman Empire at large. In this introduction to the major people groups of the New Testament world, William Simmons clarifies New Testament history and teaching by providing a historical analysis of major Jewish groups such as Pharisees, Sadducees, and Scribes, as well as important Greco-Roman groups such as Philosophers, Herodians, and Centurions. Important sub-groupings within the first-century church, such as Hebrews and Hellenists, are set in the larger context of the Judeo-Romanmix. Color photographs of ancient sites and archaeological discoveries highlight the descriptions. A helpful resource for anyone interested in understanding the world of the New Testament better, this book would also make an excellent textbook for an introductory college or seminary course on early Christian history or backgrounds.

Scribes . . . Pharisees . . . People of the land. These and other groups are interwoven throughout the New Testament narrative, often appearing with little or no explanation. Peoples of the New Testament World draws upon current scholarship to illumine the nature and significance of these groups for the serious student of the Word.