s a m p l e r Including the complete books of Genesis and Matthew presented to: by: on: the holy bible your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. — PSALM 119:105 — C U LT U R A L B A C K G R O U N D S Study Bible NIV Bringing to Life the Ancient World of Scripture n e w i n t e r n a t i o n a l v e r s i o n NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Copyright © 2016 by Zondervan All rights reserved The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by Permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Published by Zondervan Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA www.zondervan.com “New International Version” and “NIV” are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. The NIV Concordance copyright © 1982, 1984, 2011 by Zondervan; The NIV Center-Column Cross-Reference System, copy- right © 1984 by Zondervan; Maps by International Mapping. Copyright © 2009 by Zondervan. All rights reserved. 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Printed in China N120712 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 /XXX/ 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 A portion of the purchase price of your NIV® Bible is provided to Biblica so together we support the mission of Transforming lives through God’s Word. Biblica provides God’s Word to people through translation, publishing and Bible engagement in Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, and North America. Through its worldwide reach, Biblica engages people with God’s Word so that their lives are transformed through a relationship with Jesus Christ. Quick Start Guide to the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible “Even though the Bible was written for us, it wasn’t written to us. When we take our Western, modern culture and impose it on the text, we’re putting in meaning that wasn’t there, and we’re missing the meaning that the text has.” —Dr. John H. Walton “Sometimes people get frustrated with the Bible because the difficult figures of speech and the images and the customs they read about seem foreign to them. But when we explain those, then we open up the text of the Bible in a fresh, new way to understand what the text of the Bible is really addressing. Ultimately, everything in the Bible was written in particular times and cultures. So even though everything in it is for all time, not everything in it is for all cir- cumstances. The better we understand the circumstances a passage originally addressed, the more confidently we can reapply its message to appropriate circumstances today.” —Dr. Craig S. Keener Welcome to the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. You have in your hands a comprehensive, multiuse tool that has been designed specifically to enhance your understanding of and apprecia- tion for the cultural backgrounds that form the footings on which the foundation of God’s Word is built. About the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible This study Bible has been purpose-built to do one thing: to increase your understanding of the cultural nuances behind the text of God’s Word so that your study experience, and your knowl- edge of the ideas behind the ideas in the text, is enriched and expanded. This study Bible contains the full text of the New International Version of the Bible along with a library of study features designed to help you more completely grasp what the text is saying. These notes introduce and explain a wide variety of information on the Biblical text, providing deeper insights for individuals who are ready to devote themselves to serious study of the text. What Help Do These Study Features Offer? Each of the features in the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible has been developed with the goal of allowing readers to immerse themselves in the culture, the literature, the geography, and the everyday life of the people to whom the Bible was originally written. • Book Introductions answer questions about who wrote the books of the Bible, to whom, and when, as well as informing readers about the larger cultural and political context in which a book was written. In the Old Testament, dates of writing and specific authorship for each book are less clear than in the New Testament, where such information is marginally less controversial, although still debated. That’s why the Old Testament introductions include “Key Concepts” and the New Testament Introductions include “Quick Glance” information to help readers orient themselves. • The New Testament includes a reference feature entitled “Key New Testament Terms” that is designed to help clarify and further define the cultural contexts behind these terms. It’s included as a background feature to define and explain terms that often repeat in the New Testament notes. viii | Quick Start Guide • The NIV Center-column Cross Reference system aids in deeper study of the Bible’s themes, language and concepts by leading readers to related passages on the same or similar themes. • Over 10,000 study notes have been placed close to the text that they amplify and explain. These have been designed to provide the reader with a deep and rich understanding of the nuances that the original readers and hearers of the Bible would have intuitively understood. They focus on the land, the literature, and the political and cultural contexts that the Bible’s authors lived in, and emphasize how the people of Israel were both influenced by, as well as how they were called to be different from, their surrounding culture. • Full-color in-text maps, charts and diagrams, along with some 320 essays, summarize and explain important background information and ideas from Scripture. • Front and end matter features include author information, an author’s introduction with helpful questions and answers about this Bible, more information on the NIV translation itself (in the NIV Preface), and many other helpful study tools. • The NIV Concordance is a tool designed to help readers who remember a key word or phrase in a passage to locate the verses they are looking for. Words and names are listed alphabeti- cally, along with their more significant verse references. • Color maps at the end of this study Bible complement the color maps in the interior of the Bible to help readers to visualize the geographic context of what they are studying. Please take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with these features as you begin your study. We’re confident that as you expand your understanding of the social, economic, literary, and political culture in which the Bible was written over the course of many centuries, that your un- derstanding of and love for God’s Word will increase all the more. Table of Contents Author Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xvi About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xvii Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xix Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xx Ancient Texts Relating to the Old Testament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxiv Old Testament Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxvii Old Testament The Torah: God Establishes His Covenant . .1 Genesis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Exodus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 Leviticus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231 Deuteronomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 Narrative Literature: God Working through Events and Outcomes . . . . . . . . 357 Joshua . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359 Judges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 402 Ruth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 448 1 Samuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 459 2 Samuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 512 1 Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 556 2 Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 617 1 Chronicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 676 2 Chronicles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 717 Ezra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 762 Nehemiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 778 Esther . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 799 Wisdom and Hymnic Literature: God’s Wisdom and Kingship . . . 815 Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 817 Psalms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 877 Proverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1022 Ecclesiastes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1073 Song of Songs . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1088 Oracles of the Prophets: God’s Plan Announced through the Prophets . . . . . . .1101 Isaiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1103 Jeremiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1220 Lamentations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1319 Ezekiel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1332 Daniel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1413 Hosea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1454 Joel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1471 Amos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1478 Obadiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1498 Jonah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1503 Micah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1513 Nahum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1527 Habakkuk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1535 Zephaniah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1542 Haggai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1548 Zechariah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1552 Malachi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1570 The Time Between the Testaments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1577 Key New Testament Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1584 New Testament Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1593 New Testament The Gospels & Acts: Accounts of Jesus and the Early Church . . . . . . . . . . .1597 Matthew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1604 Mark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1681 Luke . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1736 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1802 Acts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1865 The Letters & Revelation: Messages for the Growing Global Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1943 Romans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1945 1 Corinthians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1980 2 Corinthians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2019 Galatians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2042 Ephesians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2056 Philippians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2071 Colossians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2080 1 Thessalonians . . . . . . . . . . . . .2091 2 Thessalonians . . . . . . . . . . . . .2100 1 Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2105 2 Timothy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2117 Titus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2125 Philemon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2132 Hebrews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2138 James . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2164 1 Peter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2177 2 Peter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2188 1 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2197 2 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2206 3 John . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2208 Jude . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2212 Revelation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2216 Table of Weights and Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2273 Index of Articles in Canonical Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2275 Index of Articles in Alphabetical Order . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2281 Concordance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2287 Index to Maps at End of Study Bible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .0000 x | Table of Contents Charts Ancient Texts Related to the Old Testament . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxiv Old Testament Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .xxvii Major Covenants in the Old Testament . . . . . . . . . . .23 Major Types of Royal Covenants in the Ancient Near East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23 Eras of Mesopotamian History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Eras of Egyptian History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Integrated Chronology of the Patriarchs . . . . . . . . .37 The Tribes of Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 Egyptian Kings of the New Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . 107 Hebrew Calendar and Selected Events . . . . . . . . . 130 The Red Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 The Tabernacle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 Tabernacle Furnishings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 Old Testament Sacrifices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188 Zones of Purity in the Camp of Israel . . . . . . . . . . . 202 Sanctioned Relationships in the Ancient Near East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210 Weights and Measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214 Penalties for Sexual Offenses in Biblical and Mesopotamian Law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216 Old Testament Festivals and Other Sacred Days . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 Encampment of the Tribes of Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236 Canaan’s Borders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289 Treaty Formats and Biblical Covenants . . . . . . . . . 303 Major Social Concerns in the Covenant . . . . . . . . 329 Ancient Near Eastern Treaties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 342 The Pattern of Chronological Notices in Judges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 411 David’s Family Tree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 487 Temple Furnishings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 571 Chronology of Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 620 Chronology: Ezra-Nehemiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 765 The Achaemenid Dynasty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 802 Mesopotamian Literature Compared with Job . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 822 The Wise Son According to Proverbs . . . . . . . . . . 1029 Character Traits in Proverbs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1051 Ancient Near Eastern Monarchs: 750–530 BC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1107 Judean Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1121 Israelite Kings, Judean Kings, Assyrian Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1127 Egyptian Relationships Under Hezekiah . . . . . . 1167 Quotations from and References to Isaiah 53 in the New Testament . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1203 Chronology of Jeremiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1223 Ezekiel’s Temple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1399 Boundaries of the Land in Ezekiel’s Vision . . . . . 1410 The Last Kings of Judah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1419 The Neo-Babylonian Kings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1419 Dreams and Dream Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1437 Ptolemies and Seleucids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1446 Proposed Dates for the Book of Micah . . . . . . . . 1517 From Malachi to Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1583 Foreign Domination of Israel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1578 The Maccabean-Hasmonean Period . . . . . . . . . . . 1580 New Testament Chronology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1593 Jewish Sects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1658 One Arrangement of the Life of Christ . . . . . . . . 1665 House of Herod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1696 Major Archaeological Finds Relating to the NT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1732 Zechariah’s and Mary’s Songs Compared . . . . . 1739 Mary’s Allusions to Hannah’s Song . . . . . . . . . . . . 1741 Caesar and Christ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1744 The Capernaum Synagogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1750 Parables of Jesus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1781 Resurrection Appearances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1799 Ex 33–34 and Jn 1:14–18 Compared . . . . . . . . . 1804 Miracles of Jesus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1808 One Suggested Harmony of the Gospels . . . . . . 1858 Answered Charges and Parallel Figures in Acts 7 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1881 Roman Damascus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1890 Timeline of Paul’s Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1894 Rhetoric and Paul’s Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1986 The Fruit of the Spirit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2053 Jesus’ Teachings as Background in 1 Thessalonians 4:13—5:11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2098 Jesus’ Teachings as Background in 2 Thessalonians 2:1–12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2102 Qualifications for Elders/Overseers and Deacons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2112 Selected Jewish and Christian Literature . . . . . . 2130 The “Greater Thans” in Hebrews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2142 Ex 7–10, Rev 8–9 and Rev 16 Compared . . . . . 2236 Table of Contents | xi Maps Table of Nations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28 Abram’s Travels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36 Jacob’s Journeys . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74 The Way of the Red Sea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 Lands of Jazer and Gilead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284 The Fall of Jericho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 368 The Northern Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 383 Dividing the Land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 393 Manassite Failure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 407 Five Cities of the Philistines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418 Gideon’s Battles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 424 Moab . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 450 Capture and Return of the Ark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470 David the Fugitive . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496 Exploits of David . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 504 Saul’s Last Stand . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507 David’s Conquests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 519 David’s “Empire” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 528 Rebellions Against David . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 539 Solomon’s Jerusalem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 561 The Divided Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 586 Lives of Elijah and Elisha . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 607 Assyrian Campaigns Against Israel and Judah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 646 Exile of the Northern Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 653 Nebuchadnezzar’s Campaigns Against Judah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 670 Exile of the Southern Kingdom . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 674 The City of the Jebusites/David’s Jerusalem . . . . 699 David and Solomon’s Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 727 Return from Exile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 763 Jerusalem of the Returning Exiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 780 Persian Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 803 Nations Targeted in Isaiah’s Prophecies . . . . . . . 1139 Nations and Cities Mentioned in Isaiah . . . . . . . . 1147 Nations and Cities Under Judgment in Jeremiah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1310 Nations and Cities Under Judgment in Ezekiel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1373 Gog, of the Land of Magog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1394 The Neo-Babylonian Empire 626–539 BC . . . . . 1426 Alexander’s Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1442 Ptolemies and Seleucids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1447 Nations and Cities Mentioned in Amos . . . . . . . . 1480 Palestine of the Maccabees and Hasmonean Dynasty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1579 Jesus’ Early Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1613 Jesus’ Baptism and Temptation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1615 House of Herod . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1696 The Decapolis and the Lands Beyond the Jordan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1699 The Territories of Tyre and Sidon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1705 Passion Week: Bethany, the Mount of Olives and Jerusalem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1722 Jesus in Judea and Samaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1815 Jesus in Galilee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1820 Countries of People Mentioned at Pentecost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1870 Paul’s First Missionary Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1900 Paul’s Second Missionary Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1908 Paul’s Third Missionary Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1921 Paul’s Journey to Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1936 Ephesus in the Time of Paul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2058 Philippi in the Time of Paul . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2073 Letter to Colossae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2082 Paul’s Fourth Missionary Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2110 Troas to Ephesus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2121 Titus Ministered on the Island of Crete . . . . . . . . 2126 Philemon Was a Member of the Church in Colossae . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2136 Peter Wrote This Letter to Provinces in Asia Minor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2179 Letters to the Seven Churches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2225 Rome’s Imports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2258 Author Introduction to the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Editor’s Note: This study Bible draws on the contributions of various scholars. The Old Testa- ment (OT) comprises three-quarters of the Bible, and to provide study notes and articles on this body of work, Dr. John Walton has drawn on the works of various contributors, including his own work, in the Zondervan Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Old Testament. Also drawing on a range of research, Dr. Craig Keener, author of The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, authored most NT notes, but others contributed some sidebars and “Quick Glance” notes. Both scholars have published heavily documented works that support the sort of background provided here on a more accessible level. Both have been studying, writing and lecturing around the world about the field of the Bible’s cultural backgrounds for the duration of their decades-long careers as academics. For whom has this study Bible been designed? This study Bible is for those who want more out of the study of the Bible than they can get by just reading the text on their own. The notes, illustrations, charts and other study tools offer con- tent for understanding that goes beyond most study Bibles. It is for the reader who isn’t content with being told what they should understand from the text, or with being given what they could figure out on their own. It is for the reader who already understands the importance of reading in context and seeing each book of the Bible as a whole. It is for the reader who is serious about the Bible itself, but has not had advanced training in the world in which the message of the Bible first came alive. Can’t I read and understand the Bible just from the text itself? Study Bibles often focus on helping readers apply the Bible to daily life. To be sure, applying the Bible to daily life is very important. Yet those who read the Bible enough can glean most principles from the Bible directly. After all, God’s story in the Bible is designed to be understood by children. As Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children” (Mt 11:25), and “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Mt 18:3). Hearing God’s personal challenge from the Bible itself is more direct than hearing a challenge from someone else’s comments. Spiritual life comes from God’s Word itself. The complication is the gulf between the world of the Bible and the modern reader’s world. The problem is normally not that the modern reader doesn’t know their own world; it’s that the reader is not familiar with the world of the Bible. It is here that a study Bible can help most by explaining the language, literature and culture of the Bible. How does this study Bible differ from others that are available? What these notes supply is background— the missing pieces of information that the biblical writers did not need to state explicitly because their original audiences intuitively knew them. Understanding these nuances help the reader “hear” the Bible in a way much closer to the way the Bible’s first audience heard it. Although the best study Bibles today include some background, this study Bible is unique in the massive wealth of background that it provides. Author Introduction | xiii How will understanding the Bible’s cultural background improve my faith walk? There is no such thing as a story or a teaching that doesn’t have a cultural setting. That is not to say that a story or teaching is not relevant for another setting, but to remember that it comes to us from a particular place and in a particular language. God sent his Son Jesus Christ in the flesh, in a specific home, nation, town and era. Likewise, God didn’t send the Bible as a transcultural feeling or impression, but gave it to us through the experiences that real people had in real his- torical situations. This Bible’s notes are meant to help readers hear and visualize the story closer to the way it was originally written, so they can get to know the people and places in the Bible more on their own terms. Readers from different cultures bring a range of experiences and insights to their Bible read- ing. The place where we come together, however, is when we read God’s Word in the concrete framework in which he gave it. It is especially when we hear the message in its authentic, original cultural setting that we can reapply it afresh for our own different settings most fully, because we understand what issues were really being addressed. You should keep this purpose in mind as you read the notes. Tell me about the notes in this Bible. The study tools in this Bible are not meant to tell the reader everything about the biblical text— especially not what will be self-evident from the context. They do not always tell readers what is most important or what applies most directly to life, because these are points that mature readers can learn to do on their own. What they do is equip readers to study the Bible more on its own terms so they can discover its most valuable treasures for themselves. Not every proposed background is equally relevant or certain, though the authors of the study notes have tried to screen out the least relevant and least certain proposals. New discoveries, es- pecially in archaeology, also periodically invite us to revise older views, but the vast information available already allows us to affirm much biblical background with full confidence. How can we know for sure what the Bible’s ancient culture was like? As a result of the recovery of over a million texts from the ancient world, and a century of persis- tent research by scholars, we are now in a position to add significant nuances to our understand- ing of the life and thought of those who lived in Israel in Bible times. The end result is a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of the text. Through understanding the background, we can better understand why people spoke and act- ed the ways they did and can better identify with them. Besides helping us understand the world that people in the Bible lived in, study of ancient texts from the cultures in the biblical world can provide information that we really need to understand the biblical material. If, as readers, we are isolated from the cultural background of the Bible, we might be inclined to think that the ideas in the biblical text have no anchors in time and culture. How was Israelite culture shaped by its surrounding culture? Though the Bible is unique in its inspiration, we find that God often communicated through cul- ture rather than in total isolation from it. Becoming aware of this continuity with the ancient and classical worlds can help us see these ideas in a larger context. God was replacing his people’s views of God with a better one, but he was not replacing all of their culture. Even when a Biblical text persuasively corrects its contemporary culture, we must be aware of how the text interacts with then-current thinking and literature. The biblical text formulated its discussion in relation to the thinking found in the ancient literature. It would be no surprise, then, if areas of similarity should be found. This is far different from the contention that Israelite literature is simply derivative mythology. There is a great distance between borrowing from a particular piece of literature and resonating with the larger culture that has itself been influenced by its literatures. Can you provide a modern example of this? When Americans speak of the philosophy of “eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die,” they are resonating with an idea that has penetrated society over thousands of years rather than xiv | Author Introduction simply borrowing from the writings of Epicurus. In a similar way, an observer from the distant future would fail to understand American culture of the 21st century if they did not understand the foundations of individualism, personal rights, or consumerism (just to name a few of the influ- ences). To offer a more specific example: a reader in the distant future would need some histori- cal background to understand a familiar American question from the early twenty-first century: “Where were you on 9/11?” The question assumes a shared understanding of background that the asker does not bother to state. Successful interpreters must try to understand the cultural background of the Bible just as successful missionaries must learn the culture, language and worldview of the people they are trying to reach. This is the rationale for us to study the Bible in light its cultural context. What we would contend, then, is that comparative work has three goals in mind: 1. We study the history of the biblical world as a means of recovering knowledge of the events that shaped the lives of people in the ancient world. 2. We study archaeology as a means of recovering the lifestyle reflected in the material culture of the ancient world. 3. We study the literature of the ancient world as a means of penetrating the heart and soul of the people who inhabited that world. These goals are at the heart of comparative studies and will help us understand the Bible better. How do we understand the Bible—a book that billions have turned to over multiple centuries and many cultures—as literature in its ancient context? Readers today approach very differently such different sorts of writings as satire, news reports or a declaration of war. Knowing how a work was intended is an important key for understanding it. It should therefore be no surprise that the inspired authors adapted genres (literary types) that already existed in the larger culture; otherwise the first audiences would not have known what these works were meant for. Whether we are looking at wisdom literature, hymnic literature, his- torical literature, legal literature or the letters in the NT, we find generous doses of both similarities to and differences from the Biblical text and the literature of the time. Understanding the genre of a piece of literature is necessary if we want to more fully under- stand the author’s intentions. Since perceiving an author’s intentions is essential to our theo- logical interpretation of a text, we recognize that understanding genre contributes to legitimate theological interpretation. Some genres will operate differently in the ancient world than do the most similar genres in our own culture so we must become familiar with the mechanics of the genres represented in the ancient Near East and the Greco-Roman world. In light of all of this, we can logically concluded that without the guidance of comparative studies, readers in cultures removed from the ancient world are bound to misinterpret the text at some points. But why is the study of cultural backgrounds so important? This field of research is important because grasping the original audience’s perspective helps us understand the setting to which the inspired authors communicated their message. A text is a complex of ideas linked by threads of writing. Each phrase and each word com- municates by the ideas and thoughts that they will trigger in the reader or hearer. Biblical writers normally could take for granted that their audiences shared their language and culture; some matters, therefore, they assumed rather than stated. But what happens when later readers from different cultures approach these texts? As each person hears or reads the text, the message takes for granted underlying gaps that need to be filled with meaning by the audience. (To use a previ- ous example, in a message today, we might take for granted that our audience understands the term “9/11.”) Interpreters have the task of filling in those gaps, and when we are interpreting authoritative texts, it is theologically essential that we fill them appropriately. This approach is critical to practical application, because information from the original culture often fills those gaps in ways different from those we might guess, and these differences can sometimes yield quite theological insights. As readers who are interested in understanding the text’s message, we should value comparative studies that highlight conceptual issues intended to illumine the cultural dynamics behind the text. Another importance to cultural backgrounds, then, is that by becoming aware of the ways that Author Introduction | xv ancient people thought, we can see the differences between them and us. If we know nothing of the ancient world, we will be inclined to impose our own culture and worldview on the biblical text. This will always be detrimental to our understanding. What do I need to know before I begin? Readers should carefully weigh how to use information in our notes, which we have deliberately kept concise. Information present may show contrasts as well as similarities. Here are therefore some principles to consider when comparing biblical texts with their ancient contexts: 1. Both cultural similarities and cultural differences must be considered. 2. Similarities may suggest a common cultural heritage rather than borrowing from a specific piece of literature. 3. It is common to find similarities at the surface but differences at the conceptual level or vice versa. 4. All elements of the text must be understood in their own context as accurately as possible before cross-cultural comparisons are made. 5. Proximity in time, geography and spheres of cultural contact all increase the possibility of interaction leading to influence. 6. A case for literary borrowing can rarely be made and requires identification of likely chan- nels of transmission. 7. Similar functions may be performed by different genres in different cultures. 8. When literary or cultural elements are borrowed they may in turn be transformed into something quite different. 9. A single culture will rarely be monolithic, either in a contemporary cross-section or in consideration of a passage of time. 10. Cultural terms in the text of the notes (e.g., use of the term “Palestine” in the Old Testa- ment, which refers to the larger region in which the people of Israel lived), do not refer to current political realities unless the notes indicate as such. For more information, please see the article “Major Background Issues from the Ancient Near East,” p. XXXX. Acknowledgments The editors would like to thank the following individuals and institutions for their contributions to the editorial and composition stages of the NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. Editors of the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Old Testament David W. Baker Daniel Block Daniel Bodi Eugene E. Carpenter Mark W. Chavalas R. Dennis Cole Izak Cornelius Paul W. Ferris, Jr. Roy E. Gane Duane Garrett Richard S. Hess John W. Hilber Andrew E. Hill Kenneth G. Hoglund Philip S. Johnston V. Phillips Long Tremper Longman III Ernest C. Lucas Frederick J. Mabie Dale W. Manor Daniel M. Master Victor H. Matthews Alan R. Millard John Monson Iain Provan Simon Sherwin J. Glen Taylor Anthony Tomasino Steven Voth Bruce Wells Edwin M. Yamauchi Other Content Providers • InterVarsity Press for their permission to use portions of the IVP Bible Background Commentary for both the Old and New Testaments • Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary for their permission to use fifteen articles in the New Testament from the NIV Archaeological Study Bible NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible Editorial and Composition Team • Natalie J. Block, content editor • John R. Greco, New Testament theological reviewer • Ron Huizinga, interior and cover designer • Peachtree Editorial and Proofreading Service • Holly Lynne Smith, Old Testament theological reviewer • Michael Vander Klipp, editor • Jonathan Walton, editorial assistant and illustrator • Kim Walton and Kim Tanner, visual editors • Sherri Hoffman and Nancy Wilson, page composition