The Social Sciences and New Testament Interpretation

Book excerpt: Methods and findings from the social sciences are increasingly important for New Testament scholars. Unfortunately, however, anthropology and related disciplines are still unfamiliar territory for many students of the Bible. This work acquaints readers with this territory by providing introductions and basic bibliographic orientations to the application of social-scientific categories to New Testament research.Although it is impossible to know fully how ancient people lived their daily lives, these essays come as close to realizing that goal as we moderns are likely to get. Required reading for anyone who respects Scripture enough to investigate the world in which it was written and to which its writers originally spoke . . . an invaluable resource for pastor, seminarian, and scholar alike. William R. Herzog II, Colgate-Rochester Divinity School