Intended as a companion volume to Dr. Tenney's widely successful New Testament Survey, this book provides a short reconstruction of the cultural milieu in which Christianity arose and developed from the time of the Maccabean Revolt to A.D. 138. The book begins with an explanation of the relevance of the historical, political, social, and economic background of the first century to the proper understanding of the New Testament, taking into account all the possible historical sources -- canonical and non-canonical, literary and archaeological. - Jacket flap.