Are you looking for a fine, conservative New Testament background for your studies? This volume appears to me to be aimed more at pastors and Bible students than scholars, though you will be made familiar with more important scholarly questions.

Part One was exceptional in the big picture background of the NT. The history from the end of the OT to the beginning of the NT well sets the stage. Daily life and the unique religious background of the times are carefully explained. The chapter on the text illumined canonicity in a small compass.

Part Two combines a study of the background of Jesus’ ministry and of the Gospels themselves. The four chapters on Jesus’s ministry and its changing geographical emphasis are essential to properly understanding the New Testament.

The balance of the book covers Paul and the Epistles. It ends with a chapter on Revelation where various viewpoints are covered. Each NT book has its contents, unique features, themes, and an outline given.

There are helpful charts interspersed throughout the text. One of the best traits of this volume that is often missing in such volumes is that it reads well. I recommend it.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.