Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity
Unlocking New Testament Culture
InterVarsity Press · Print & ebook · October 4, 2022
For contemporary Western readers, it can be easy to miss or misread cultural nuances in the New Testament.
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- Who it’s for
- Four ancient cultural themes open fresh angles on New Testament texts and early Christian life.
- Genres
- Biblical History & Culture, New Testament Interpretation, Theology
- Published
- InterVarsity Press, October 4, 2022
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Start with this bookAbout this book
For contemporary Western readers, it can be easy to miss or misread cultural nuances in the New Testament. To hear the text correctly we must be attuned to its original context. As David deSilva demonstrates, keys to interpretation are found in paying attention to four essential cultural themes: honor and shame, patronage and reciprocity, kinship and family, and purity and pollution.
Continue reading
Through our understanding of honor and shame in the Mediterranean world, we gain new appreciation for how early Christians sustained commitment to a distinctive Christian identity and practice. By examining the protocols of patronage and reciprocity, we grasp more firmly the connections between God’s grace and our response. In exploring kinship and household relations, we grasp more fully the ethos of the early Christian communities as a new family brought together by God. And by investigating the notions of purity and pollution along with their associated practices, we realize how the ancient map of society and the world was revised by the power of the gospel. This new edition is thoroughly revised and expanded with up-to-date scholarship. A milestone work in the study of New Testament cultural backgrounds, Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity offers a deeper appreciation of the New Testament, the gospel, and Christian discipleship.
Context Matters
Four ancient cultural themes open fresh angles on New Testament texts and early Christian life.
Come here for
- A cultural lens on honor, reciprocity, family, and purity
- Closer attention to how context shapes New Testament interpretation
Expect
- Interpretation rooted in Mediterranean social customs
- A revised edition with expanded, up-to-date scholarship
Where it sits
| Biblical History & Culture | 82% |
|---|---|
| New Testament Interpretation | 42% |
| Theology | 29% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- New Testament Studies
- Biblical History & Culture
- Church History
- Authors
- David A. deSilva
- Publisher
- InterVarsity Press
- Published
- October 4, 2022
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Reading lane
- New Testament Studies