1. ©McGraw-Hill Higher Education Chapter 1 An Overview of the New Testament

2. ©McGraw-Hill Higher Education Key Topics/Themes New Testament: twenty-seven documents Four Gospels A church history Letters An apocalypse Other Christian documents Diversity of early Jesus movement

3. ©McGraw-Hill Higher Education What Is the New Testament? The New Testament as “scripture” Appreciating the cultural world of the New Testament –A society far different from ours –The Jewish world of Jesus: Palestine –An agrarian, peasant society –Interaction of Palestinian Jewish and Greco-Roman cultures

4. ©McGraw-Hill Higher Education The New Testament and the Hebrew Bible Relationship between the New Testament and the Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible as Scripture for early Christians

5. ©McGraw-Hill Higher Education Testament and Covenant The nature of the covenant with Yahweh in the Hebrew Bible The promise of a “new covenant” (Jer. 31:31) Jesus’ declaration of a new covenant

6. ©McGraw-Hill Higher Education The Septuagint Written in Alexandria, Egypt Beginning about 250 B.C.E. Legend in the Letter of Aristeas Abbreviation: LXX Standard biblical text for Jews in New Testament period Version most frequently quoted in New Testament

7. ©McGraw-Hill Higher Education Language and Literature of the New Testament Koinē Greek New Testament literary forms –Gospel –Church history –Letters, or epistles –Apocalyptic literature –Subgenres within New Testament books

8. ©McGraw-Hill Higher Education Diversity and Unity in the New Testament Documents Early Christians ethnically and theologically diverse Gentile Christians Jewish Christians Community of the Gospel of John Pseudonymous works Diverse views toward Roman authority

9. ©McGraw-Hill Higher Education Other Early Christian Literature Struggle for orthodoxy and contents of the New Testament Diverse interpretations of importance of Jesus in God’s plan The Gospel of Thomas

10. ©McGraw-Hill Higher Education Scholarly Approaches to the New Testament Scholarly vs. devotional approaches Development of analytical methods for biblical research Biblical criticism Coordinating critical methodologies and spiritual concerns

11. ©McGraw-Hill Higher Education Summary New Testament –Greek documents –Written ca. 50-140 C.E. Hebrew Bible (Tanak) Other Christian documents Diversity of early Christianity Importance of scholarly analysis