Discover - How the springs at Hierapolis help us understand why Jesus described the church at Laodicea as 'lukewarm' - The background and circumstances of certificates of divorce in Judaism - How Jewish dietary laws provided a powerful metaphor for God's acceptance of the Gentiles Brimming with lavish, full-color photos and graphics, the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary walks you verse by verse through all the books of the New Testament. It's like slipping on a set of glasses that lets you read the Bible through the eyes of a first-century reader! Discoveries await you that will snap the world of the New Testament into gripping immediacy. Things that seem mystifying, puzzling, or obscure will take on tremendous meaning when you view them in their ancient context. You'll deepen your understanding of the teachings of Jesus. You'll discover the close, sometimes startling interplay between God's kingdom and the practical affairs of the church. Best of all, you'll gain a deepened awareness of the Bible's relevance for your life. Written in a clear, engaging style, this beautiful set provides a new and accessible approach that more technical expository and exegetical commentaries don't offer. It features: - Commentary based on relevant papyri, inscriptions, archaeological discoveries, and studies of Judaism, Roman culture, Hellenism, and other features of the world of the New Testament - Hundreds of full-color photographs, color illustrations, and line drawings - Copious maps, charts, and timelines - Sidebar articles and insights - 'Reflections' on the Bible's relevance for 21st-century living Written by leading evangelical contributors: Clinton E. Arnold (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen), General Editor S. M. Baugh (Ph.D., University of California, Irvine) Peter H. Davids (Ph.D., University of Manchester) David E. Garland (Ph.D., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) David W. J. Gill (D.Phil., University of Oxford) George H. Guthrie (Ph.D., Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) Moyer V. Hubbard (D.Phil., University of Oxford) Andreas J. K stenberger (Ph.D., Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) Ralph P. Martin (Ph.D., University of London, King's College) Douglas J. Moo (Ph.D., University of St. Andrews) Mark L. Strauss (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen) Frank Thielman (Ph.D., Duke University) Jeffrey A. D. Weima (Ph.D., University of Toronto) Michael J. Wilkins (Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary) Mark W. Wilson (D.Litt. et Phil., University of South Africa) Julie L. Wu (Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary) Robert W. Yarbrough (Ph.D., University of Aberdeen) Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary includes Matthew, Mark, Luke (Volume One) John, Acts (Volume Two) Romans to Philemon (Volume Three) Hebrews to Revelation (Volume Four)
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Superb specialty commentary set focusing on often overlooked aspects of the Bible, December 7, 2006
David C. Leaumont "Dave" (Bossier City, LA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Set (Hardcover)
At first when I opened this set to determine how I might benefit from this commentary, I was disappointed, but not because of the content, but because of what I was looking for. I was looking for indepth information on a passage, but that is not the real value of this book. This book gives historical and cultural background information on specific passages of Scripture, and helps to explain often-misunderstood verses and passages of Scripture. The purpose of this commentary (or at least the value I glean from it) is not scholarly lexical study, or explanations of theologies in the New Testament, but instead the significance of the cultural settings often ignored by us who live 2000 years after the writing of Scripture and in vastly different cultural contexts.
A great example of the use of this commentary is John 7:37-44. The commentary explains why it was significant that Jesus used the phrase "streams of living water." In doing so, it explains the 7th day of the...Read more
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
A handy reference that is easy to use, January 4, 2003
Eric N. Landstrom (Nevis, MN United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Set (Hardcover)
All four books are hardcover and smith bound, measuring 8" x10". The set is a background commentary for the New Testament and includes many, many color pictures, maps, and charts (on every page there is something). Further the set is littered with interesting sidebars which are set as text boxes in the margins or as boxes set within the text. The set is written from an evangelical perspective. Overall the set appears to be well done. Each Gospel or epistle covered has an introductory historical survey of the culture that the Gospel or epistle was written in as well as the specifics of the local customs or issues that are addressed within the Gospel or epistle. The commentary then proceeds to address the historical-culture issues that each verse has as a backdrop. For example in the third volume the introduction to the Epistle to the Romans contains,"Understanding Paul's own situation as he writes Romans helps us appreciate the purpose and theme of the letter. In 15:14-22, he...Read more
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
A new kind of resource for the New Testament expositor, November 21, 2002
Robert Wormley (lakebay, wa United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary Set (Hardcover)
Dr. Clinton Arnold, known for several ground breaking books on magic and superstition and how they relate to Paul's epistles, has assembled an all-star cast of neo-evangelicals to contribute to this stellar resource for New Testament studies. This commentary series focuses on the 1st century background to verses in the new testament.It is successful due to its adherance to its clearly stated objective, "The stimulus for this commentary came from the church and the aim is to serve the church. The contributors to this series have sought to provide illuminating and interesting historical/cultural background information. The intent was to draw upon relevant papyri, inscriptions, archaelogical discoveries, and the numerous studies of Judaism, Roman culture, Hellenism, and other features of world of the New Testament and to make the results accessible to people in the Church." (from pg. vii of the introduction.) The entries are concise and to the point and are extremely...Read more