BBL 450 New Testament
Backgrounds
CLASS I: Introduction and NT Chronology
Dr. Esa Autero
Intro and NT Chronology
1.1 Introduction to NT Backgrounds
 What does NT “backgrounds” mean?
 Why study “backgrounds”?
 How to study “backgrounds”?
 Reading ancient texts (primary sources)
 Knowing history
 Studying archaeology
 Connecting with NT texts
Intro and NT Chronology
• Translating words or message?
 What difficulties would a Chinese historian in year
AD 4014 have understanding these text?
“Coach Tim had this say about Noah’s Perfect Game - despite
the warnings of severe weather. “Tonight was the best control
that I have seen from Noah. Noah was as strong with his fastball
at the end of the game as he was at the beginning. Noah was
very efficient by locating his fastball the entire game. He kept
hitters off balance with his off speed pitches. Everything was
working to “perfection” for Noah.””
“Give someone an inch, he/she will take a mile”
Intro and NT Chronology
• What is the meaning
of the following sayings?
 “The tallest three will be knocked down first by wind”
 “The nail that sticks up will be hammered down” (China)
 “The squeaky wheel gets the grease”
 “I think therefore I am” (R. Descartes)
 “We relate therefore I am” (Africa)
 Hidden, taken-for-granted assumption &
worldview
Intro and NT Chronology
• New Testament World in its Context
 Shared stories and worldviews
 Jewish people
 Greco-Roman world
 Early Christians
 Assumptions about how the world works
 Concrete things of daily life (scroll; privacy [Lk 11:5-8]; transp.)
 Cultural assumptions (e.g. honor-shame; patronage)
 Belief in God/gods, religion & miracles
Intro and NT Chronology
 Historical particularity of all NT writings
 History – real space and time
 1st century culture – customs, beliefs, rituals
 Hermeneutical issues
 Texts need a context for proper understanding
“Text without context is nothing but a
pretext for whatever you want it to mean”
 Background history & archaeology
 Texts, history, archaeology require interpretation
Intro and NT Chronology
1.2 Some Examples from the NT
 What was Jesus’ last name?
 Jesus of Nazareth – (also son of David; Messiah/Christ)
 Known per location, descend, title
 What about Judas?
 Judas Iscariot
 Ish-Kerioth  Man from Kerioth [Sicarii; liar; red…]
 Names and naming in the NT world
 Father; religious/political affiliation; town
 John son of Zebedee; Simon the Zealot; Saul of Tarsus
Intro and NT Chronology
 Paul/Barnabas meet Sergius Paulus & Bar-Jesus (Acts 13:6-12)
 Sergius Paulus
 Proconcul of Paphos
 Roman governor of Equestrian order (Sen.; equest; dec.)
 Cyprus – a senatorial province in the Roman Empire
 Senatorial vs. imperial provinces
 Rich, noble, and powerful – “intelligent man” (Acts 13:7)
 Bar-Jesus as Sergius’ counselor
Intro and NT Chronology
W
Intro and NT Chronology
 Bar-Jesus – magician; Jewish false prophet; Elymas
 Magician (Gk. magos – orig. Persian; cf. Matt 2:1)
 Wise man of high status; astrologist; healer OR
 Charlatan; deceiver
 False prophet – prophecy for gain (cf. Jer 29:8-9, 29-32)
 Bar-Jesus – what’s in the name?
 Bar/Ben [son] + Jesus [savior] = son of Jesus (cf. Col 4:11)
 Barsabbas (Acts 1:23); Barnabas (Acts 4:34)
 Bar-Jesus Elymas [magician] = Son of the Savior
Intro and NT Chronology
 A Jew – Jews as astrologers
 Moses and “other magicians”
 Magic formulae in Hebrew & Aramaic
 Knowledge of “sacred name” (YHWH)
But for the marriage of Drusilla with Azizus, it was in no long time afterward
dissolved upon the following occasion: While Felix was procurator of Judea,
he saw this Drusilla, and fell in love with her; for she did indeed exceed all
other women in beauty; and he sent to her a person whose name was
Simon one of his friends; a Jew he was, and by birth a Cypriot, and one who
pretended to be a magician, and endeavored to persuade her to forsake her
present husband, and marry him; and promised, that if she would not refuse
him, he would make her a happy woman. Accordingly she acted ill, and
because she was desirous to avoid her sister Bernice's envy, for she was
very ill treated by her on account of her beauty, was prevailed upon to
transgress the laws of her forefathers, and to marry Felix; and when he had
had a son by her, he named him Agrippa. (Ant. 20.141-2)
Intro and NT Chronology
The astrologers also urged him [Otho] to action, predicting
from their observation of the heavens revolutions, and a
year of glory for Otho. This is a class of men, whom the
powerful cannot trust, and who deceive the
aspiring,…Many of these men were attached to the secret
councils of Poppæa and were the vilest tools in the
employ of the imperial household. One of them,
Ptolemæus, had attended Otho in Spain, and had there
foretold that his patron would survive Nero. Gaining credit
by the result, and arguing from his own conjectures and
from the common talk of those who compared Galba's age
with Otho's youth, he had persuaded the latter that he
would be called to the throne. Otho however received the
prediction as the words of wisdom and the intimation of
destiny, with that inclination so natural to the human mind
readily to believe in the mysterious. (Tacitus, Hist. 1.22)
Intro and NT Chronology
• Connecting background and biblical
text
 Possible connections b/w Acts 13:4-12 & background info
 Why did Sergius Paulus want to see Paul & Barnabas?
 Had Sergius heard of God of Israel through Bar-Jesus?
 Why did Bar-Jesus oppose Paul and Barnabas?
 Threat to his position as wise counselor?
Intro and NT Chronology
 Why did Paul respond with harsh words and blindness?
(13:9-11)
 False prophet – “full of deceit…”
 “blind…not able to see the sun”
Son of darkness experiences lit. darkness
astrologer unable to use sun in calculations
 Luke’s intention – the bigger picture in Acts
 Power of the gospel over magic
 Missionaries/apostles are not charlatans
 Gospel wins over an intelligent and high ranking man
 Fulfills Jesus’ words in Acts 9:15
 Historically credible account
Intro and NT Chronology
 Pliny’s letter to Sabianus:
 http://www.archive.org/stream/letterswithengli02plinuoft#page
/220/mode/2up
 Pliny the Younger (AD 62-115)
 Roman Senator
 What NT text sounds remarkably similar?
 Philemon
 Read both texts and indicate similarities and differences
Intro and NT Chronology
2.1 NT Chronology – Historical Foundations
 Difficulties in establishing NT chronology
 How did the ancients calculate time?
 Kings’ rule; tenure of governors; local rulers; high priest
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, when Pontius Pilate was
governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip was tetrarch
of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene,2 in the high
priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias,
in the wilderness. (Luke 3:1-2)
 Correlating events b/w NT and other sources
 Emperor Tiberius; Pontius Pilate etc.
 Greek, Roman, Jewish, Christian sources & archaeology
Intro and NT Chronology
 Source criticism – comparing sources
 Sometimes ancient sources inconsistent
 Temple const. began 18th (Ant. 15.380) or 15th yr. (War 1.401)?
 Establishing fairly reliable dates
 Comparison of sources
 Evaluating reliability of sources
 Building a hypothesis
Intro and NT Chronology
2.2 Some of the more established dated in NT
 When was Jesus born? --- 12/25/00?
 The birth of Jesus – b/w 8-4 BC
 Jesus’ birth during Herod the Great (Matt 2:1-21)
 Herod the Great † b/f April/March 12, 4BC (Ant. 17.190-1; War 1.665)
 Jesus born b/f April 12th 4BC
 Babies 2yrs. And younger killed (Matt 2:16) --- 6-4 BC
Intro and NT Chronology
 Ministry of John started on the 15th yr. of Tiberius (Luke 3:1-2)
 1st years of Tiberius AD 12-14  AD 27-29 (Jesus’ baptism)
 Jesus about 30yrs. when baptized (3:23)  4-3 BC c. birth
 “Destroy this Temple” (John 2:19-20) – Temple in making 46 yrs.
 Josephus – Temple building started 18th/15th yr. of Herod
 Year 20-19BC [Herod the Great 37-4BC]
 John 2:20 incident AD 26 [minus app. 30yrs. = 4BC]
Intro and NT Chronology
 Some additional problems with dating Jesus’ birth
 Census and Quirinius (Luke 2:1-2; Ant. 18.1-10; War 7.253; Tac. An. 6.41)
 “first” (adj.) or “before” (adv.; cf. Jh 15:18)
 Quirinius’ earlier military campaigns (Tac. An. 3.48; Florus Rom.Hist. 2.31)
 Jesus’ birth not widely celebrated b/f 4th century
 Early church: 25th Dec. (West) or 6th Jan. (East)?
 Dec. 25th & celebration of Solis Invictus (cf. Mal 4:2)
•
Length and time of Jesus’ public ministry
 John, Jesus, and the 15th year of Tiberius c. AD 26-27 (Luke 3:1-2)
 Pilate as procurator of Judea (AD 26-36) – Ant. 18.63-64
 Length of Jesus’ ministry – no of Passovers (Jh 2:13; 5:1; 11:55; [6:4?])
 AD 26/28-29/31 or AD 30-33
Intro and NT Chronology
• Death of Jesus (AD 30-31/33) – Mt 27:62; Mk 15:42; Lk 23:54; Jh
19:31, 42
 Crucifixion - John and the synoptics
 AD 30/33, Nisan 14th or 15th
 John: Nisan 14, as Passover lambs were sacrificed (13:1; 18:28;
19:14, 31, 42)
 Synoptics: Nisan 15th, on the day of Passover (e.g. Mk 14:12)
 What about Matt 12:30 “three days and three nights”?
 Idiom: 1 day + portion of day + portion of day (Gen 42:17-18;
1 Sam 30:12-13; 2 Chr 10:5, 12; Esth 4:16-5:1 [TDNT 2:949-50])
Intro and NT Chronology
• Death of Herod Agrippa I (AD 44)
 Acts 12:1-23; cf. Eccl.Hist. 2.10.1-10
And when he had been quite worn out by the pain in his belly
for five days, he departed this life, being in the fifty-fourth
year of his age, and in the seventh year of his reign; for he
reigned four years under Caius Caesar, three of them were
over Philip's tetrarchy only, and on the fourth he had that of
Herod added to it; and he reigned, besides those, three
years under the reign of Claudius Caesar; in which time he
reigned over the forementioned countries, and also had
Judea added to them…
(Ant. 19.343-352)
Intro and NT Chronology
• Paul’s
Conversion (b/w AD 31 and 36)
 Some chronological markers…
 Paul’s visits to Jerusalem:
 “after three years…” (Gal 1:18); “after fourteen years” (2:1)
 Either 14 or 17 yrs. after conversion
 Paul’s visits acc. to Acts
 Acts 9:23-30 – “after many days…”
 Acts 11:28-30 – famine relief (AD 45-47? – Ant. 20.51-53, 101)
 Acts 15 – Jerusalem council AD 48/49 (not = Gal 2:1)
 South Galatian theory – AD 31
 North Galatian theory – AD 35/36
Intro and NT Chronology
• Expulsion
of Jews from Rome by Claudius (AD 49 [41?])
 Priscilla and Aquila to Corinth (Acts 18:2)
 Jews expelled from Rome as told by ancient authors:
 Josephus (Ant. 18.65, 80-84); Tacitus (Ann. 2.85);
 Suetonius (Lives of Caesars, Claud. 15.4 [25.4])
“Jew made…disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus…”
 Dio Cassius, Roman History (57.18.5)
 AD 49 fairly confident date
 Fits Paul’s chronology – Paul in Corinth AD 49
Intro and NT Chronology
• Paul’s appearance before proconsul
But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia,
the Jews with one accord rose up against
Paul and brought him before the judgment
seat (Acts 18:12)
 Paul 18 months in Corinth, AD 51
Gallio (AD 51)
Proconsul =
Governor of
senatorial province
 Gallio mentioned by Seneca (Epist. Mor. 104.1) & Pliny (Nat. Hist. 31.31)
 Gallio inscription discovered in Delphi
 Includes reference to 26th acclamation of the emperor
 Gallio was the proconsul of Achaia from AD 51-52
 Overlaps Paul’s 18th-month stay in Corinth
Paul in Corinth c. late AD 49 to AD 51/52
Paul’s missionary journeys c. AD 48-58
Intro and NT Chronology
Tiberius Claudius
Caesar…greetings…I
have been devoted to
the city of
Delphians…as for the
many reports…just as
Lucius Junius Gallio,
my friend and
proconcul of Achaia
wrote…
•
http://users.wfu.edu/horton/r102/gallio.html [Gallio inscription]
Intro and NT Chronology
Delphi
Intro and NT Chronology
• Felix and Festus
 Paul’s imprisonment in Caesarea (c. 2 yrs.)
 Overlapped governorship of Felix/Festus [&Agrippa II] (Acts 21:27-26:32)
 Felix and Festus mentioned by
 Josephus (Ant 20.137-138, 142-144, 182; War 2.247, 252-254, 271)
 Tacitus (Hist. 5.9; Ann. 12.54)
 Eusebius (Hist. Eccl. 2.19.1-22.8)
 Acts account corroborates well with extra-biblical sources
 Paul’s imprisonment c. AD 55-57
Intro and NT Chronology
• Paul’s
death (AD 62-68)
 Not mentioned in Acts – only Paul’s imprisonment (28)
 Clement (AD 96) “reached the limits of the west” (1Cl 5.7)
 Was Paul released a/f 1st Rom. imprisonment? (2Tim 4:16-17; Eccl.
Hist. 2.25.1-8)
 Tertullian (Prescript. 36.3) – Paul beheaded in Rome
 Eusebius (Eccl. Hist. 2.25.1,5) – Nero beheaded Paul
 Nero’s persecution started AD 62 († AD 68)
 Paul’s death b/w AD 62-68
Intro and NT Chronology
•
James the brother of Jesus (Mk 6:3; Mt 13:55; Acts 12:17; 15:13-21; Gal 1:19;)
 Leader of Jerusalem church (Acts 12:17; 15:13-21; 21:18-26; Gal 2:9-10)
 Epistle of James AD 62-64 (if authentic)
 Josephus: James killed by Ananus (AD 62) the high priest
“convened the judges of the Sanhedrin and brought before them a man
named James, the brother of Jesus who was called Christ, and certain
others…delivered them up to be stoned…” (Ant. 20.197, 199-201; War 2.166)
 Agrippa II removed Ananus (meeting w/ Sanhedrin w/o permission)
 Ananus - high priest for only 3 months in AD 62
*For more dates, see pp. 18-21
Intro and NT Chronology
• Conclusion:
 NT events are grounded in the real historical events
 NT time, culture, and life were different from ours
 Historical particularity of Revelation
 Need to interpret historical data
“Text without context is nothing
but a pretext for whatever you
want it to mean”
Intro and NT Chronology
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