Palestine in the Time of Jesus: Social Structures and Social Conflicts Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Palestine in the time of Jesus is an excellent resource for students of scripture, preachers, and anyone who is interested in life at the time of Jesus Christ. The book pays attention to the archeological evidence that can help us better understand scripture, but its greatest strength is the way in which it looks at the social world of Jesus' days. Hansen and Oakman delve into topics such as kinship, patronage, public religion (as opposed to personal faith) and economic realities. Some of the information in the book can be somewhat complicated, especially when a twenty first century reader attempts to think in terms of the mindset of a person living in ancient Palestine, but thinking in the mindset of a person in the ancient world can help a reader better understand the world Jesus was speaking to and apply the message to the world of today. Preachers who are tired of delivering the same old sermon or homily can find new twists for old passages after reading this book--insights that can challenge congregations to think about scripture in a new way without upsetting the faith.
The book has an ample bibliography fore students doing research. It also contains a scriptural and ancient writings index, an author cited index, as well as a general index for quick reference.
Just an interesting note: When I first purchased this book two years ago, I looked for reviews by putting the name Douglas Oakman in a search engine. In the process I came across his own website that includes a listing of his other publications as well as links to other scripture related sites. H e also includes links to some of his other interests including jazz and railroads.

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Product Description:
Hanson and Oakman's award-winning and illuminating volume has become a widely used and cited introduction to the social context of Jesus and the early Jesus movement. This second edition updates all the discussions in light of more recent scholarship, improves clarity and readability of diagrams and maps, provides additional diagrams and images to enhance the book for student use, and includes new classroom resources, for professors and students, on a Companion Web site.
Along with an overview of the ancient Mediterranean worldview, Palestine in the Time of Jesus explores major domains and institutions of Roman Palestine: kinship, politics, economy, and religion.