Tag: Book Overviews

Historical Setting Thessalonica was a large and important port city. In Acts 16 Paul gets thrown out of Philippi for preaching and from there he goes to Thessalonica. In Acts 17 Paul preaches at the synagogue there. Some Jews responded; other Jews rejected Paul. There was an uproar and the Christians in the city had READ MORE

Author and Dating The priest Mattathias began the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid dynasty in 167BC. Judas Maccabeus was his third son. Judas had a place of leadership and honor among the people (see 1 Macc 2:66 and 1 Macc 5:63-64). Early Jewish literature referred to the family as the Hasmoneans. The actual author of READ MORE

Genre The book is classified among the prophetic literature, and is included among the twelve minor prophets Date In 1:6 the Chaldeans are mentioned. In the late 7th and early 6th centuries BC, the Chaldeans conquered the Assyrians and were the primary force in the Near East world. The book is generally dated somewhere between READ MORE

Both letters to Timothy, along with the letter to Titus, are known as the “pastoral epistles.” All were written by an anonymous author (or authors) in the Pauline tradition, and they were accepted by the church as such. Most scholars date them very late, around 100 AD. The purpose of all the pastoral epistles was READ MORE

Date There is no doubt this was a prison letter, but which imprisonment is impossible to say. It could be Paul’s Roman imprisonment around 61-63AD. Or an earlier one in Ephesus around 56-57AD. The letter was likely written the same time as Colossians. Colossians 4:9 mentions that Onesimus will be traveling with the person delivering READ MORE

Genre This book is wisdom literature, which gives rules of proper conduct, usually in the form of maxims, pithy insights, and “words to live by.” Wisdom literature attempts to show the way things are and the way things should be. Also of this genre are Job, Proverbs, and the book of Wisdom. The goal of READ MORE

Author This is an undisputed letter, meaning that it’s universally accepted that Paul wrote it. Date This letter is not easily dated but 4:13 suggests that Paul wrote it after his second visit to the region. It could have been written as early as 54AD. Audience Galatia was a province in Asia whose inhabitants were READ MORE

Genre The book is classified among the prophetic literature and is included among the twelve minor prophets Author and Date The Hebrew which is rendered Malachi is simply the words “my messenger.” Rather than a name, it is a generic title of the person’s function: messenger. The book gives us little insight into the person. READ MORE

The books Ezra and Nehemiah are closely related and often lumped together, “Ezra-Nehemiah.” Author and Date This is the last of the books originally written in Hebrew – written somewhere between 400-200BC. It was written after the return from the Babylonian exile. The people returned from exile with a renewed longing to know their story READ MORE

Genre The book is classified among the prophetic literature and is included among the twelve minor prophets Date Micah prophesied in the last half of the 700s BC into the early 600s BC. The early 700s were a time of war and also internal corruption. Worship of God had intermingled with worship of other gods READ MORE