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Cultural World of the New Testament

  1. Lesson One
    Honor and Shame in the Greco-Roman World
    8 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  2. Lesson Two
    Honor and Shame in 1 Peter
    7 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  3. Lesson Three
    Patronage and Reciprocity in the Greco-Roman World
    7 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  4. Lesson Four
    Patronage and Reciprocity in Hebrews
    7 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  5. Lesson Five
    Kinship and the Household in the Greco-Roman World
    7 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  6. Lesson Six
    Kinship and the Household in 1 Peter
    7 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  7. Lesson Seven
    Purity and Pollution in the Greco-Roman World
    7 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  8. Lesson Eight
    Purity and Pollution in Hebrews
    7 Activities
    |
    1 Assessment
  9. Course Wrap-Up
    Course Completion
    2 Activities

Participants 5

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That these three senses were held together by the one word charis—generous disposition, gift, and grateful response—implicitly reinforces what moralists throughout the Greco-Roman world teach explicitly. Grace must be met with grace; a gift must always be met with gratitude.

– David deSilva, PhD

In this lesson, you learned how to:

  1. Explain key features of patronage and reciprocity in first-century culture.
  2. Reflect on how the practices of patronage and reciprocity shaped how the early church related to God and to each other.
  3. Identify ways to integrate an understanding of patronage and reciprocity in New Testament culture into your own Bible reading.

Continue to Lesson 4:Patronage and Reciprocity in Hebrews to see how the writer of Hebrews uses the concepts of patronage and reciprocity to discuss the relationship between Christians and God.