“WithThe Blackwell Companion to the New Testament highly recommended for its biblical scholarship, The Blackwell Companion to the Bible and Culture seems more reader-friendly but just as thorough as indicated by its ample citations and impressive bibliographies at the end of each chapter. Both books also make excellent reference guides without overlapping. i.e., Instead of presenting approaches that influence our ... Read moreunderstanding of a biblical text,The Blackwell Companion to the Bible and Culture shows the influence of the Bible on literature, art, music, psychology, and even history and politics.”  (Bible Reviewer, 7 December 2013) “Most of the chapters offers substantial treatments of the topics under consideration, including excellent overviews of current trends in NT scholarship.”  (Journal for the Study of The New Testament, 1 August 2012) "This comprehensive introduction to the literature of the NT contains thirty-eight articles by thirty-four scholars, women and men representing the best of Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish scholarship." (The New Testament, 1 October 2010) Clear sign of scholarly writing set on engaging clearly with the text of the New Testament. . . This is an objective work throughout, not set on conversion and more set on information and illumination. A work well worth waiting for and, inevitably and praiseworthily, likely to stimulate further inquiry and debate." (Philosophy and religion, October 2010) "It is admirably structured, apparently comprehensive and upto-date, with one important qualification, in that it covers the academic approach to the New Testament through the historical-critical Method . . . this work is an impressive compilation, an excellent indicator of the range and depth of current New Testament scholarship." (Church Times, 22 October 2010) “With contributions from an international team of distinguished scholars, this Companion offers a comprehensive orientation to the New Testament’s books, their cultural and religious contexts, and the most important critical approaches to their interpretation. The volume’s greatest strength lies in its masterly compression of the field’s rich history of scholarship. Written with clarity and insight rare in a work of multiple authorship, this is a commendable handbook for advanced students, their teachers, and a broad audience of educated readers.” —C Clifton Black, Princeton Theological Seminary "A concise and authoritative guide to current critical scholarship on the New Testament … offering 16 sharp and well-focused thematic essays on NT backgrounds, canons, and critical methods followed by 21 chapters addressing the critical agenda for the individual books of the NT,and a wonderfully informative chapter on the NT apocrypha. Sharp enough to engage the attention of seasoned scholars in the field, yet concise enough to whet the appetite of students, each essay makes a distinctive contribution in its own right and offers a select but well-chosen bibliography for further exploration. An indispensable resource." —Loveday Alexander, University of Sheffield Show Less