$42.00

Complete background to the New Testament and Christianity in one volume for classroom and individual use

This dual sourcebook and textbook from Mason and Robinson provides a broad yet detailed introduction to early Christian literature including not only the canonical books of the New Testament but also non-canonical letters and the Didache. The authors examine each writing in its historical and cultural context, and common themes are traced across texts. Introductions to each book include: probable date, place of composition, authorship, audience, basic themes, and literary features.

Articles cover ancient letter-writing, the relationships among the Gospels, meaning in texts, and early church leadership structures. Helpful appendixes cover Jewish leadership, festivals, and the use of Jewish Scripture in the early church.

Features:

• The complete NRSV translation of the New Testament presented in the order the books were most likely written
• Translations of the Didache, the Letter of Barnabas, 1 Clement, and the letters of Ignatius
• Maps, charts, and timelines
• Notes highlighting critical interpretive issues
• Suggestions for further reading

Steve Mason is Professor and Kirby Laing Chair of New Testament Exegesis at the University of Aberdeen. He edits the multivolume Flavius Josephus: Translation and Commentary (Brill), and his most recent book, The Jewish-Roman War, 66–74: A Historical Inquiry, is in press with Cambridge University Press..

Tom Robinson is Professor of Religious Studies at The University of Lethbridge. His works include Ignatius of Antioch and the Parting of the Ways: Early Jewish-Christian Relations (Baker Academic) and the co-authored Out of the Mouths of Babes: Girl Evangelists in the Flapper Era (Oxford University Press).

Download a printable publication sheet that you can put in your files or give to your librarian or bookstore.

Download volume front matter, including table of contents and introduction.