Lesson 4: Understanding the Context
People of the Book
When most people hear “historical-cultural context,” they quickly think about the historic cultures outside and around the Bible: the Ancient Near East, the Babylonian Empire, the Roman Empire, etc. These surrounding cultures certainly shaped the Bible in its form, languages, and history.
But we ought to begin by looking to the Bible itself. The Bible is a major part of its own historical-cultural context. Biblical authors lived and wrote as people of the Book. The Bible’s stories shaped their imaginations. The Bible’s prophecies shaped their hopes and fears. The Bible’s history shaped their identity. The God of the Bible was their God. In order to interpret the Bible within its own historical-cultural setting, we ourselves must know the Book as they did.
From Bethlehem to Moab
For example, when we read in Ruth 1:1 that a man from Bethlehem went to seek refuge in Moab, the biblical author expects us to know the history of Israel’s dealings with Moab. Moab was a nation born from incest (Gen 19:36-37). When Israel journeyed through the wilderness, the Moabites hired Balaam to curse them instead of providing them with food and water (Deut 23:4). We cannot forget Eglon either, the king of Moab who oppressed Israel for 18 years. The author of Ruth expects us to know all this about Moab as we interpret Elimelech’s actions. He expects us to see the faithlessness of Elimelech, who sought refuge among the enemies of Israel instead of in the God of Israel, the very One to whom the famine was meant to direct him (Leviticus 26).
Biblical History Quiz
The quiz below assesses how well you know biblical history. For all of us, this quiz should motivate us to keep reading and rereading our Bibles as we increasingly become people of the Book.
For fill-in-the-blank questions, type only the names. Do not include any punctuation.
Old Testament History
Place the following people in chronological order: David, Daniel, Joshua, Gideon.
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
What era do the ten plagues occur in?
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
Place the following people in chronological order: Samuel, Noah, Boaz, Jeremiah.
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
Place the following people in chronological order: Moses, Elijah, Abel, Solomon.
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
In what era do the ten northern tribes of Israel rebel?
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
New Testament History
In what city was the Apostle Paul located when the book of Acts ends?
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
Jesus traveled and ministered in only Jewish districts, never Gentile districts.
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
In which Greek city did Paul preach to a group of philosophers?
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
In what cities did Paul and his missionary team evangelize on his second missionary journey? (check all that apply)
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.
1 Peter is written to believers scattered about the central and northern regions of what modern nation?
Log in / create an account to enroll or continue where you left off.