Over the coming weeks, I plan to write a series of posts that outline some background issues that seem particularly relevant for New Testament interpretation. Of the numerous points of historical background that could be included here, four dimensions of the period leading up to the turn of the era will initially receive attention. These background dynamics will include: (1) the Greek conquest and its continuing effects, (2) the Maccabean revolt and the Hasmonean period, (3) the Roman conquest, and (4) sectarian developments within Judaism. As the series grows, if other areas suggest themselves as being particularly salient, thoughts about additional topics will certainly be welcome.
Lastly, as a final “programming note,” in this series, discussion of the hermeneutical justification for this background material’s relevance and its possible role(s) will be left to the side and addressed separately at some other point. For the present, an assumption of value, at least within the context of a certain kind(s) of interpretive activity, may simply be made, though some indicators of one possible means of justifying this material’s significance may be found in this blog’s first post.
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