Papyri and the Social World of the New Testament

Description

In this book Sabine R. Huebner explores the world of the New Testament protagonists and the early Christians using the rich papyrological evidence from Roman Egypt, a resource which gives us unparalleled insights into the everyday lives of a nonelite population. What were the daily concerns and difficulties experienced by a carpenter’s family or by a shepherd looking after his flocks? How did the average man or woman experience a Roman census? What obstacles did women living in a patriarchal society face in private, in public, and in the early church? Given the flight of Jesus’ family into Egypt, how mobile were the lower classes, what was their understanding of geography, and what costs and dangers were associated with travel? This volume gives us a better understanding of the structural, social, and cultural conditions in which figures from the New Testament lived. List of Illustrations page viii Acknowledgments xi Maps xiii I Egypt and the Social World of the New Testament 1 II The Social Milieu of Early Christians in Egypt: Who Were the First Readers of the New Testament Gospels? 18 III “In those days a decree went out . . .”: The Herodian Kingdom and the Augustan Provincial Census System 31 IV “But these words seemed to them an idle tale”: Discrimination and the Struggle for Women’s Equality in Early Christianity 51 V “The Carpenter’s Son”: The Family and Household of a Craftsman 65 VI “In those days Mary set out . . .”: Travel by the Lower Classes in Roman Times 87 VII “In that region there were shepherds living in the fields . . .”: An Occupation on the Margins of Society 115 VIII Afterword 135 Notes 138 Bibliography 165 Index Locorum 183 General Index 189