Marriage and Family in the Biblical World - Paperback

by Ken M. Campbell (Editor)

Current debates about marriage and the family assume much about the history of these institutions. But what do we really know about the social and ethical arrangements of these institutions, especially during biblical times? Placing the history of marriage and family in context requires not only a study of biblical literature that traverses several millennia but also a grasp of extrabiblical literature and sources culled from several different cultural contexts. In this book Ken M. Campbellpresents the work of six scholars who trace out the dynamic contours of marriage and family as understood and practiced in six cultural settings: Victor H. Matthews on the ancient Near East, Daniel I. Block on ancient Israel, S. M. Baugh on Greek society, Susan M. Treggiari on Roman society, David W. Chapman on Second Temple Judaism and Andreas Köstenberger on the New Testament era.The result is a well informed and documented map that outlines the similarity and diversity of concepts and customs, including marriage, divorce, sexual ethics, gender roles, children, celibacy, adoption, abortion, contraception and family life, which surrounded and intersected Ancient Israel and the church in New Testament times.

Author Biography

Campbell retired as associate professor of biblical studies at Belhaven College in Belhaven, Mississippi. He earned the M.A. in 1967 at Aberdeen University, the B.D. in 1970 and Th.M. in 1971--both at Westminster Theological Seminary, and the Ph.D. in 1975 at the University of Manchester (where his supervisor was F. F. Bruce). In addition to teaching, Campbell has served as pastor of several churches in England, New York and Mississippi. His publications include The Credible Church(Bibal Press, 1999) and Our Awesome God (Christian Focus Publications, 1997). He has also written articles for journals such as Evangelical Quarterly, Scottish Journal of Theology and Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society.