This monumental work by two Continental New Testament scholars is the first comprehensive social history of the earliest churches. Integrating the historical and social data, it locates the ancient Judeans and the Jesus Movement in their respective matrices. The Stegemanns deal with such issues as: conflict between the messianic communities and the rest of Judaism, religious pluralism, social stratification, group composition, gender division, ancient economics, and urban/rural distinctions. This volume offers both an introduction to these social issues, as well as fresh insights and analysis, and includes: integration of social history, social-scientific analyses, and theological analyses; focus on the role of women in the Jesus Movement and early churches; and maps charts and diagrams

“Remarkable for its comprehensiveness ... a most useful addition to any reference collection and certainly valuable as a textbook....”