Following up on his two recent, widely acclaimed studies of ancient Israelite history and society, William Dever here reconstructs the practice of religion in ancient Israel from the bottom up. Archaeological excavations reveal numerous local and family shrines where sacrifices and other rituals were carried out. Intrigued by this "folk religion" in all its variety and vitality, Dever writes about ordinary people in ancient Israel and their everyday...

Discover new dimensions of insight with a behind-the-scenes tour of the ancient world. You've heard many Bible stories hundreds of times, but how many details are you missing? Sometimes a little context is all you need to discover the rich meaning behind even the most familiar stories of Scripture. That's what the NRSV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible provides. Every page of this NRSV Bible is packed with expert insight into the customs, culture,...

How did the imperial cult affect Christians in the Roman Empire?     "Jesus is lord, not Caesar." Many scholars and preachers attribute mistreatment of early Christians by Roman authorities to this fundamental confessional conflict. But this mantra relies on a reductive understanding of the imperial cult. D. Clint Burnett examines copious evidence-literary, epigraphic, numismatic, and archaeological-to more accurately reconstruct Christian...