Ancient Letters and the New Testament

A Guide to Context and Exegesis

by Hans-Josef Klauck

Published by: Baylor University Press

Imprint: Baylor University Press

Sales Date: 2006-09-01

Paperback
ISBN 9781932792409
539 Pages

$44.99

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Digital
ISBN 9781602581005
539 Pages

$39.95

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Digital
ISBN 9781481301251
539 Pages

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Description
Contents
Authors
Praise

This volume places the New Testament letters squarely in the middle of all the important letter corpora of antiquity. Chapters cover the basic letter formula, papyrus and postal delivery, non-literary and diplomatic correspondence, Greek and Latin literary letters, epistolary theory, letters in early Judaism, and all the letters of the New Testament. Part I of each chapter surveys each corpus, followed by detailed exegetical examples in Part II. Comprehensive bibliographies and 54 exercises with answers suit this guide to student and scholar alike.

Preface

Abbreviations

General Bibliographies

List of Bibliographies

List of Exercises

Inroduction

1. Foundations--Two Letters of Apion and Two Letters
of the "Elder"

2. Practical Realities--Paper and Postal System

3. Nonliterary and Diplomatic Correspondence

4. Poetry and Philosophy--Literary Letters

5. Epistolary Theory and Rhetoric

6. Letters in Early Judaism

7. New Testament Letters I: Overview

8. New Testament Letters II: Selected Texts

Epilogue

Answer Key

Index of Ancient Sources

Index of Modern Authors

Index of Subjects

Hans-Josef Klauck (Th. D. University of Munich) is the Naomi Shenstone Donnelly Professor of New Testament and Early Christian Literature at the University of Chicago.

This is an outstanding book, since it combines basic syllabus material with advanced philological and exegetical scholarship. Its author displays a profound knowledge both of Early Christianity and of the Hellenistic-Roman world. A special asset consists of the numerous little-known examples of ancient letters which are presented in a most convenient and easily accessible way in this rich book.
~Samuel Vollenweider, University of Zurich, Switzerland

This splendid book is vintage Klauck. He offers a close reading of a wide range of ancient letters as well as brief discussion of ancient epistolary theory and of rhetoric. He strikes just the right balance between basic instruction and original insight.
~Abraham J. Malherbe, Buckingham Professor Emeritus of New Testament Criticism and Interpretation, Yale Divinity School

The ancient world--Jewish, Greek, Roman, and Christian--was through and through a culture of letter writing. Ancient Letters and the New Testament is a must for anyone seriously concerned to understand ancient epistolary communication.
~Troels Engberg-Pedersen, University of Copenhagen

Ancient Letters and the New Testament is a remarkable achievement and extremely informative. Klauck's grasp of the primary texts and command of the subject matter can hardly be overstated. He has provided readers with an immensely useful textbook with hermeneutical and exegetical implications.
~Alan S. Bandy, Louisiana College, Bulletin for Biblical Research