Jeffers provides a helpful background to life in NT times that explores the cultural, political, social, religious and legal milieu in which the earliest Christians lived. He explores cultural issues such as the jobs and burial practices of the 1st century. He discusses the political landscape of the Roman Empire, how it formed with the collapse of the republic, and how this political structure affected the ministry of the apostle Paul. He investigates various relationships: among families and between slaves and masters. He delineates the various Gods and Myths of the Roman world, while helping the reader understand the tolerance with which Romans viewed other religions, and especially Jews. He provides an extensive description of the legal scene that Jesus and the apostle Paul faced. Throughout he relates information to the student of the NT. For example, he doesn’t just discuss the legal system of the Roman Empire. He helps the reader see that it affected the ministry of Paul; because the authority of Greek cites was “limited to their own territory…Paul and Barnabas and their hosts took advantage of this by keeping on the move.[1]” In short, he introduces readers to aspects of the Greco-Roman world which will aid them in the study of the NT. He comments that, “Many Bible background books have been written over the years, but few have addressed thoroughly what the student of the New Testament needs to know about Greco-Roman societies and cultures of the time[2].” He hopes to write with the goal of being accurate while still being understandable to the nonscholar,[3] and he has definitely achieved his goal.
One of the most helpful things about Jeffers work is the broad historical background that the reader comes away with. His appendix on Greco-Roman history is concise but informative. He is also able to show how historical evidence only validates the trustworthiness of the NT. For example, Luke’s knowledge of the unusual title politarchoi for the rulers of Thessalonica shows that he was a careful historian[4]. In the same vein he notes that the Gospels, which display a “virtual absence of Greco-Roman influence,” are accurate to the historical circumstances and are “a testimony to the authenticity of the Gospel accounts[5].” This does not mean that Jeffers dodges any of the hard questions. He alludes to differences between Josephus and Acts on the circumstances surrounding the details of the death of Agrippa[6].
One of the strengths of this book is that it directly relates background studies to the NT, but this can also be a weakness. At times, Jeffers connection between historical data and the text is suspect. To cite an example: he informs the reader of rumors that there was impropriety between Agrippa and his sister Bernice. He then suggests that Paul’s appeal to Agrippa as an expert in Jewish customs and issues may be a sarcastic remark and “attack on his current lifestyle (Acts 26:2)[8].” However, the text itself does not give any evidence that this is the case. Furthermore, it was customary for speeches to begin with an attempt to secure the favor of the hearer.[9] A sarcastic remark would have been foreign to the form of rhetoric of the day.
With a couple of exceptions, his relation of text to background information is good. For example, his discussion of Patrons is beneficial and his assertion that Phoebe is probably a Patron (pg. 79) is supported by Dunn [10].
Jeffers uses a variety of ancient sources. Josephus is one of his main sources, and he appears to do him justice. He is correct in citing Josephus as proof that Herod built several shrines dedicated to honoring the emperor. In fact, “To say all at once, there was not any place of his kingdom fit for the purpose, that was permitted to be without somewhat that was for Caesar’s honor.[11]”
The student who is reticent to read a background book because they do not want to wade through things irrelevant to their study of the NT will be very pleased with Jeffers. Also, because the scope of this book is wide, it will prove a helpful introduction to the student who is just beginning their study of the backgrounds of the NT.
[11] Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, The Works of Josephus, trans William Whiston (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1987), 1.407.
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