The First Urban Churches 3: Ephesus (Writings from the Greco-Roman World Supplements 9)

Investigate the challenges, threats, and opportunities experienced by the early church in Ephesus The third installment of The First Urban Churches focuses on the urban context of Christian churches in first-century Ephesus. As with previous volumes, contributors illustrate how an investigation of the material evidence will help readers understand properly the challenges, threats, and opportunities that the early Ephesian believers faced in that city. The essays demonstrate decisively the difference that such an approach makes in grappling with the meaning and context of the Pauline epistles in the New Testament, including particularly Ephesians, Acts, and Revelation. Features "This third installment of The First Urban Churches edited by James R. Harrison and L.L. Welborn focuses on the urban context of Christian churches in first-century Ephesus. Building on the methodologies introduced in the first volume, contributors illustrate how an investigation of inscriptions, papyri, archaeological remains, coins, and iconography helps readers understand properly the challenges, threats, and opportunities that the early Ephesian believers faced in that city. As with previous volumes, this one underscores the importance of employing both the upper-class literary evidence and contemporary archaeological remains in our reconstructions of the urban environment of the first churches."--Back cover Cover 1 Contents 6 Abbreviations 8 An Epigraphic Portrait of Ephesus and Its Villages 22 An Ephesian Tale 90 The Jewish Community in Ephesus and Its Interaction with Christ-Believers in the First Century CE and Beyond 114 Acclaiming Artemis in Ephesus 148 The Gladiator Graveyard of Ephesus as Evidence for the Study of Martyrdom 192 Ἐκκλησία in Ephesians as Godlike in Heavens, in Temple, in γάμος, and in Armor 214 From Zeus or by Endoios? 256 Ephesian Cultic Officials, Their Benefactors, and the Quest for Civic Virtue 274 Ephesus and the Numismatic Background to νεωκόρος 320 Contributors 354 Primary Sources Index 358 Modern Authors Index 376 This collection of essays examines the urban context of early Christian churches in the first-century Roman world. A city-by-city investigation of the early churches in the New Testament clarifies the challenges, threats, and opportunities that urban living provided for early Christians. Readers will come away with a better understanding of how scholars assemble an accurate picture of the cities in which the first Christians flourished--Publisher's website