Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity: Unlocking New Testament Culture

Review
"In Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity, David deSilva equips us to interpret the biblical text more faithfully in its historical context and explores the practical significance of these four vital cultural dynamics. In this second edition, his updates are both expansive and insightful. It no doubt surpasses the first edition as the standard for understanding honor, patronage, kinship, and purity in the New Testament world." -- Jackson W., theologian-in-residence, Mission ONE
"David deSilva offers readers a thoroughly revised and expanded new edition of his influential and well-received Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity. What makes this book so important and so worth reading is its emphasis on the data that the 'native informants' provide, rather than the theoretical constructs that modern scholars imagine. DeSilva explores the 'social forms and cultural values that pervaded the Mediterranean cultures during the Greek and Roman periods' and how the culture of the New Testament makes sense in their light. It's the right approach and the results are insightful and rewarding." -- Craig A. Evans, John Bisagno Distinguished Professor of Christian Origins at Houston Baptist University
"Reading the New Testament is a crosscultural experience. Thankfully, David deSilva is an expert guide, offering insight into four key areas of the wider world of the early Christians. When students ask me how they can learn to read the New Testament with deeper understanding of the context, this is a textbook I am always quick to recommend. A new, expanded edition is very welcome, offering more insight and reflecting the latest scholarship." -- Nijay K. Gupta, professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary
"Great news―the best book about New Testament cultural values just got better! This book has transformed the way so many people, myself included, read Scripture and engage with people in ministry. Reflecting a deep knowledge of ancient texts, deSilva's keen explanations truly unlock the social and cultural world of early Christians. Aha moments fill each page. So if you want to better interpret Scripture and grow communities that embody biblical values, this is the book to read." -- Jayson Georges, author of Ministering in Honor-Shame Cultures and The 3D Gospel
"Many others have by now written on these essential themes of the culture in which the New Testament arose. Why another? Because deSilva gives careful attentiveness not only to the biblical world but also to today's social-religious issues. Intended for students and church groups, this book is a model of how to be well documented without being overly academic, and of laying out the social models in such a way that current nonexperts can grasp them and find that in the end, we are all pretty much the same." -- Carolyn Osiek, professor of New Testament emerita, Brite Divinity School
"Searching through the great moral teachers of the ancient world―from Aristotle to Seneca, from Musonius Rufus to the Wisdom of Ben Sira, and to so many others―David deSilva guides us through the distinct cultural assumptions of antiquity (i.e., honor, patronage, kinship, and purity). With his sharp exegetical mind, deSilva wisely and carefully encourages interpreters to become more sensitive to the social dynamics of ancient cultural assumptions informing the literature of the New Testament. There is no finer contemporary guide to this vital area of research." -- Emerson B. Powery, professor of biblical studies at Messiah University and author of The Genesis of Liberation
"Ever since its first publication, David deSilva's Honor, Patronage, Kinship, and Purity has been an essential resource for understanding the New Testament within its cultural and social contexts. This updated edition has only made it stronger. Not only does it engage with recent secondary literature and contain exegetical nuggets that have been unearthed through further years of writing commentaries and monographs, it also pr