The Three Worlds of Paul of Tarsus

Rating:
Summary: Two and a Half of the Three Worlds of Paul
Review: This is an excellent book to fill out the background within which Saul of Tarsus - St. Paul - is to be understood. The authors are classical historians who have put a great deal of work into documenting the world of the 1st Century A.D., as it applies to Paul and the rise of early Christianity. The bibliography is thorough and up-to-date, and there is real depth in the information. I found it easy and exciting to read (though I may not be a typical reader!). The major sections - The Geography of Paul's World, Travelling the World, The Native Cultures, Hellenisation in the Near East, Roman Rule in the Near East, The Life of the Polis, and The Individual's Self-Identification - are all good to excellent. The final section on "Paul's Cities", though full of good detail, is inevitably a little "bitsy", and hence a slightly weak ending to the book. Why only four stars? And why "Two and a half of the three worlds of Paul"? Two things would have really helped complete the book. The most important thing is that the book deals excellently with the Roman and Greek "worlds" of Paul, but falls down on the Jewish world. It's good on political and social history, but weak on the history of ideas side. Some treatment of Judaism as a religion in the period, particularly as a background to Paul's ideas, would really have helped. Likewise, it would have helped to deal with some of the cross-disciplinary research that looks at Paul from an anthropological point of view. But that would be icing on the cake of what is already a good book. If you're seriously interested in St. Paul, this is one to get.