Jesus in Context: Background Readings for Gospel Study

by Derrell L. Bock, Gregory J. Herrick (Editor)

Knowing the historical and cultural background of the Bible is crucial to properly understanding and interpreting it. But the passing of 2,000 years often prevents today's reader from fully understanding the significance of various actions and teachings of Jesus in the Gospels. For example, the radical nature of Jesus's healings on the Sabbath may go unnoticed without an awareness of first-century Jewish teaching on what was and was not permissible.

Pastors and other serious Bible students may not have access to important early writings that would provide this background, nor the time to wade through volumes of source material to find relevant tidbits. This unique reference work gathers into one handy volume the key extrabiblical texts that provide the necessary background for passages in the Gospels, along with introductory comments by the editors.

Genres: Theology, History, Reference, Judaism, Biblical Studies

288 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2005

Reviews

[Matt DeVore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great REFERENCE work to consult in order to find extra-biblical writings to give context to customs and history related to the canonical gospels. Reading is straight through feels disjointed and chaotic. That’s what I did but that’s not how you should use this resource.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read through this book, and found it helpful, but it is probably better viewed as a reference work to be used as a tool for exegetical work. It is arranged by biblical passage, so is simple to turn up when you are working on a particular passage. I found it a very helpful read, but not a very readable read (that is probably because it is an arrangement of ancient texts, and this is no criticism of the author's writing).

I am glad I read it, and it will become a valuable part of the resources I draw on when doing exegetical work in the Gospels. My only criticism would be that, at times, it is not entirely clear to me what the author meant by including a particular text. This might be more of a reflection on my understanding than on the author, though! The chosen readings tend to be provided to illuminate specific issues within a passage rather than to give general cultural and historical background.

It is probably a book for those with some knowledge of ancient writings, rather than beginners looking to get some cultural background - you do need to know who Josephus and Philo were, and to understand a bit about some of the Jewish writings (Mishna, Tosefta, Targums etc) as well as some of the early Church Fathers, otherwise it will be difficult to place some of the readings.

In summary, a very useful exegetical tool, but not an easy read.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have this book in my Logos Bible Software. It is a compendium of readings which illuminate the text of the four gospels. Organized and correlated to relevant passages in the Bible, Bock has given us cultural, political and social background through first century (and near first century, give or take) documents. Ancient Historians and politicians provide the meat of this book.

This is a shortcut to good exegesis and saves a lot of time. I use this alongside my Bible Background commentaries (IVP and Zondervan) to help fill out the background on the text.