This book presents in as clear a way as possible the New Testament material dealing with women and their roles in the context of the movement Jesus began. Dr Witherington begins by illustrating the roles of women in Judaism, in the Hellenistic world, and in the Roman Empire. She goes on to show how [...]

The first definitive account of what scholars and the media are calling 'the most important archaeological discovery' about Jesus and his family. This is the definitive story of the recent discovery of the first-century ossuary (limestone bone box) with the legend 'James, son of Joseph, brother of J[...]

Interprets Paul?'s letter in light of its rhetorical content and cultural context
Skeptical of the trend among many biblical scholars to analyze Paul?'s short, affectionate letter to the Philippians in light of Greco-Roman letter-writing conventions, Ben Witherington instead looks at Philippians[...]

Paul's two letters to the Thessalonians stand as some of the very earliest Christian documents, yet they appear quite late in Paul's missionary career, giving them a unique context well worth exploring. In this first full-scale socio-rhetorical commentary on "1 and 2 Thessalonians", Ben Witherington[...]

"This commentary offers the first sustained attempt to read the Gospel of Mark both as an ancient biography and as a form of ancient rhetoric. Ben Witherington applies to Mark the socio-rhetorical approach for which he is well known, opening a new perspective on the earliest Gospel that also emphasi[...]

Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians, Volume 2 is the third of three volumes extending Ben Witherington's innovative socio-rhetorical analysis of New Testament books to the latter-Pauline and non-Pauline corpora. By dividing the volumes according to the socioreligious contexts for which th[...]

Making a Meal of It explores the background and implication of the Lord's Supper. Delving into its historical and Scriptural origins, Witherington argues that the Lord's Supper is a sacramental celebration of the community of God, designed to incorporate people of varying backgrounds. Excavating t[...]

Baptism has been a contested practice from the very beginning of the church. In this volume, Ben Witherington rethinks the theology of baptism and does so in constant conversation with the classic theological positions and central New Testament texts. By placing baptism in the context of the coven[...]

Ben Witherington III attempts to reenchant our reading of Paul in this creative reconstruction of ancient Corinth. Following a fictitious Corinthian man named Nicanor through an eventful week of business dealings and conflict, you will encounter life at various levels of Roman society--eventually me[...]