An Introduction to the New Testament and the Origins of Christianity

Christianity arose in Palestine, the homeland of the Jewish people. This region touches the Mediterranean Sea on the west, the Arabian desert on the east, Syria on the north, and Egypt on the south. In the first century ce, Palestine belonged to the Greco-Roman world, a world governed by the Roman Empire but united by Greek language and culture. This government and culture prevailed in the lands surrounding the Mediterranean. To understand the emergence of Christianity, therefore, we must have some knowledge of the history of Palestine and the culture of the Greco-Roman world to which it belonged.

PALESTINE UNDER ANCIENT ISRAEL

According to the Hebrew Scriptures, a man named Moses led a group of Hebrew slaves out of Egypt into the wilderness. After Moses' death, his assistant Joshua led the people into the land of Canaan, or Palestine, which they began to take over from its former inhabitants. These Hebrew people, traditionally divided into twelve tribes, called themselves and their land “Israel.” Eventually the Israelites established a monarchy, and the second king, David, subjugated the entire land. The people of Israel believed that their God, Yahweh, had promised this land to their ancestors – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – and that Yahweh had brought them out of Egypt to possess it. The kingdom of Israel reached its peak under David's son Solomon. During this period of peace and prosperity, Solomon built a Temple for Yahweh in the capital city, Jerusalem.