THE IVP

BIBLE

BACKGROUND

COMMENTARY

NEW TESTAMENT

Craig S. Keener

InterVarsity Press

downers grove, illinois 60515

© Copyright 1993 by Craig S. Keener

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from InterVarsity Press, P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, Illinois 60515.

InterVarsity Press® is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship®, a student movement active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, write Public Relations Dept., InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, 6400 Schroeder Rd., P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53707-7895.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are the author’s own translation.

Maps © Copyrighted 1993 by International Bible Society. Used by permission.

ISBN 0-8308-1405-1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Keener, Craig S.

The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament/Craig S. Keener.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 0-8308-1405-1

1. Bible. N.T.—Commentaries. I. InterVarsity Press.

II. Title.

BS2341.2.K445 1993

225.7—dc20 93-40939

CIP

This book is dedicated to our brothers and sisters

on the frontline of evangelism in Africa, Asia, Latin America,

the inner cities of North America and the many other places

where followers of Jesus are paying a high price

to proclaim his gospel in truth. Many of them have not had

the time or opportunity to pursue the original cultural context

of the New Testament, but I pray with all my heart

that this book will be useful to them in their service

to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Acknowledgments

The list of scholars in New Testament, Judaic studies and Greco-Roman antiquity to whose writings I am indebted could fill many pages, and for this reason I forgo it. The list of scholars with whom I have studied personally is shorter, but still I list only a few of my academic mentors: Ben Aker, Mary Boatwright, Morna Hooker, Dale Martin, Eric Meyers, Ramsey Michaels, Jim Moyer, E. P. Sanders, D. Moody Smith, Wesley Smith and Orval Wintermute.

More direct acknowledgment must be made to my faithful and patient editors at InterVarsity Press, Rodney Clapp and Ruth Goring Stewart. About two years after I had decided that IVP would be the ideal publisher for a commentary like this one if I ever got the time to write it, Rodney contacted me and asked if I would be interested in writing a book for IVP. Since that time I have appreciated not only the editorial help but also the spiritual encouragement my friends at IVP have provided.

Finally, I must thank my students and members of congregations over the years who have afforded me the opportunity to test out the ideas in this commentary. They are the ones who helped me sift through which elements of background were genuinely important to communicating the message ...