Paul’s Graeco-Roman Context

In recent decades, the figure of the Apostle Paul has gained the attention of scholars and researchers. New studies on personal issues as well as his ministry als the Apostle to the Gentile are being released almost every day.

Paul was a first century Jewish who held the Roman citizenship. The time and place he lived requires studying Paul within his cultural and political context. The book Paul’s Greco-Roman Context, (Peeters Publishers, 2015), by Cilliers Breytenbach (general editor) is, perhaps, one of the most complete resources for the study of the Apostle Paul’s context.

This volume is a collection of essays written by different and respectable scholars from different countries, predominantly from Europe and the USA. It contains thirty-four essays written in French (4), German (10), and English (20), in 751 pages. Those readers who can read these three languages could benefit from reading the thirty-four essays (this review is only focused on the essays written in English as this reviewer cannot read French or German languages). This book is the volume #277 of the reputable series Bibliotheca Ephemeridum Theologicarum Lovaniensium published by the aforementioned publishing house.

The topics addressed by the authors are varied, having in common the figure of the Apostle Paul. Paul and Popular Philosophy, Paul and Ancient Civic Ethics, Elements of the Graeco-Roman Context in the Christian Community of Philippi, are some of the themes readers will find in this thorough volume. Essays are twenty pages long (average) and transmit the sensation of reading the writings of serious scholars who have the ability to condense all their knowledge in twenty pages without leaving readers uninformed. Every essay will make readers feel as if they have read a hole book.

Reading a book written by different authors has many advantages, though some people see some disadvantages as well. One of the advantages of reading a multi-author book is that readers can get different point of views from different cultural backgrounds concerning a given topic (in this case, Paul and his context). In this volume, this factor is an element that contributes to make this book a must have resource for scholars, Bible students, pastors, and anyone interested in learning more about Paul as a prominent figure in the Bible.

If you live in Europe, you can buy this book directly from the publisher here.

For those living in the USA, you can buy this book from Amazon

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255