The People of the Parables: Galilee in the Time of Jesus

Drawing from Greco-Roman history, Second-Temple Jewish studies, archaeology, the social world of the New Testament, parable studies, and the burgeoning literature on Galilee, The People of the Parables describes life in first-century Galilee as it was experienced by the characters in Jesus' parables. R. Alan Culpepper assesses both primary literature and recent research on Galilee—including important archaeological discoveries—and fashions a new and insightful social history of Galilee, the people of the parables, and the historical context of Jesus' ministry.

Culpepper builds this history by elucidating the lives of first-century Galileans featured in Jesus' parables: children, women, daughters, mothers, widows, fathers, sons, landowners, tenants, day laborers, debtors, farmers, fishermen, shepherds, merchants, travelers, innkeepers, masters, slaves, tax collectors, judges, Pharisees, priests, Levites, Samaritans, bandits, and, finally, Jesus. Who these people were—their place in Galilean society, how they lived, socialized, worshiped, and conducted business; how they were educated—is described in straightforward, nontechnical language. Culpepper brings new meanings to the parables for today's readers by shedding light on the people of Galilee in the time of Jesus.