Epigraphy and New Testament Exegesis

Within the diverse paths of New Testament exegesis, a new approach is presented here, namely, interpretation against the background of epigraphic sources. Although this approach has a prehistory in the 19th and 20th centuries, it is only now being taken up again with the project of an Epigraphical Commentary on the New Testament (ECNT). The article briefly describes the more precise procedure for compiling such a commentary and presents three examples from different areas of the New Testament to illustrate the types of insights that can be gained from inscriptions: on κατάκριμα (Rom 5:15, 18; 8:1); on the statement that someone is bound or in bonds (Phlm); and on the meaning of δικαιοσύνη as a virtuous quality in inscriptions, which influences interpretation of 1Tim, Mt, and Luke-Acts. The authors argue for recognizing the critically important role inscriptions in particular can play in illuminating the language and culture of the Mediterranean in the first century, and thus also of early Christian texts.