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    The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament
    Unavailable
    The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament
    Unavailable
    The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament
    Ebook2,487 pages35 hours

    The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament

    By Craig S. Keener

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Christianity Today's Books of the Year
    Preaching's Preacher's Guide to the Best Bible Reference

    This revised edition of the standard reference work in its field has been expanded throughout to now provide even more up-to-date information by Craig Keener, one of the leading New Testament scholars on Jewish, Greek and Roman culture.

    To understand and apply the Bible well, you need two crucial sources of information. One is the Bible itself. The other is an understanding of the cultural background of the passage you're reading.

    Only with the background can you grasp the author's original concerns and purposes. This unique commentary provides, in verse-by-verse format, the crucial cultural background you need for responsible—and richer—Bible study. It includes a glossary of cultural terms and important historical figures, maps and charts, up-to-date bibliographies, and introductory essays about cultural background information for each book of the New Testament.

    Based on decades of in-depth study, this accessible and bestselling commentary is valuable for pastors in sermon preparation, for Sunday-school and other church teachers as they build lessons, for missionaries concerned not to import their own cultural biases into the Bible, for college and seminary students in classroom assignments, and for everyday Bible readers seeking to deepen and enhance their study of Scripture.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherIVP Academic
    Release dateJan 3, 2014
    ISBN9780830877829
    Unavailable
    The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament
    Author

    Craig S. Keener

    Craig S. Keener (PhD, Duke University) is F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts, The Historical Jesus of the Gospels, and commentaries on Matthew, John, Acts, Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Revelation. Especially known for his work on the New Testament in its early Jewish and Greco-Roman settings, Craig is the author of award-winning IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament and the New Testament editor for the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible.

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    Reviews for The IVP Bible Background Commentary

    4/5

    72 ratings3 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Provides verse by verse helpful background information on the New Testament
    • 5/5
      Outstanding work! So important to me in my research that over the years, for one reason or another, I have had to replace it four times.
    • 5/5
      I have huge respect for Craig Keener’s work ever since his 2003 two-volume commentary on the Gospel of John. It was largely instrumental in researching for my own book about John’s Gospel, and I believe has become the primary resource for Johannine studies. So when IVP sent me this brand new second-edition 800-page New Testament commentary, I was quite excited.As a reference book, it doesn’t disappoint. Scholarly and interesting, each book of the New Testament is given a short introduction detailing authorship and setting, and then a verse-by-verse commentary. The verses are clustered and topical, so it’s easy to page through the book looking for topics of interest. Be aware that Keener’s emphasis differs from other commentaries; he is less interested in providing simple exegesis than in painting a picture of the first-century setting whereby a saying or statement can be understood. Note the title: this is a “Bible Background Commentary.” It is about the cultural background and what was going on in Bible days that colored the writings we read two thousand years later.It’s this focus that gives this reference book its unique niche. A few examples of Keener’s focus will help explain what makes this a must-have resource for sermon development or (in my case) writing Bible commentary:Matthew 5:22, about the “fires of Gehenna” for someone who calls his brother a fool: Keener doesn’t delve into the history of Gehenna but speaks to its metaphorical meaning as the opposite of paradise, and how some Jewish teachers envisioned eternal torture while others believed the wicked would be burned up.Acts 2:1-4, about the arrival of the Holy Spirit: Keener explains the Jewish anticipation of the return of the Spirit and its outpouring as a sign of the Messianic age.1 Corinthians 11:14-15, about a woman wearing long hair as a head covering, while long hair on a man is a disgrace: Keener points out how ancient writers, especially Stoic philosophers, loved to make arguments from nature. Nature taught them that men could grow beards, but women’s hair naturally seemed to grow longer. Paul is well aware of the exceptions to the rule (such as the Nazirites) but draws on this observation more to make a point than to instruct his readers in how to wear their hair.