The World of the Bible

John Drane, Lion Hudson

Too often the Bible is studied in churches in total isolation from its broad historical context.  Knowing something about the world of the Bible is not the same thing as understanding its message.  But the message of the Bible cannot be fully appreciated or understood, without taking its historical, social, and spiritual circumstances into account.

This book by well-respected author John Drane provides us with an outline of the many different contexts from which the pages of the Bible emerge, and the different social, cultural and religious worlds the writers of the scriptures inhabited.

The book explores the culture and religion of the ancient Israelites and the nations that surrounded them. It begins with what we know of the earliest humans and ancient cultures, the development of writing, the progress through the major developments in history to the Roman world in Jesus’ time.  Drane covers areas such as social and economic spheres, home life and the place of women, and cultural and religious practices in this beautifully illustrated and eminently readable look at the world behind the Bible.

The World of the Bible is an excellent resource for anyone who wants a better understanding of the contexts from which the books of the Bible emerged.

Karyl Davison