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This is a collection of pivotal essays by E. A. Judge, who initiated many important discussions in the establishment of social scientific criticism of the Bible.

What is it that made the work of Judge in 1960 and in subsequent years so important? Judge was the first in scholarship after the mid-twentieth century to clarify early Christian ideals about society by defining what the social institutions of the broader cultural context were and how they influenced the social institutions of the early Christian communities. Judge points out that earlier scholars had entered into this field of inquiry, but that, in general, they failed due to the lack of careful definitions of the Greco-Roman social institutions at the time based on a thorough use of the primary sources.

Thus, Judge was the “new founder” ( a turning point in scholarship) of what came to be called social-scientific criticism of the New Testament. Social-scientific criticism is the term in scholarship that refers to the use of social realities (e.g. institutions, class, factors of community organization) in the critical study of literary sources available (this is an advance over “merely” literary and traditional historical questions).

“For everyone who wants to understand early Christianity in its natural setting—the history of Roman provincial society in the early Empire—the work of Edwin Judge is indispensable. Those who already know that work will rejoice to have these pivotal essays, still as fresh and provocative as when they were first published, brought together in one volume. Those readers who have not previously encountered Judge’s quiet brilliance will find here a rare feast for the mind.”
— Wayne A. Meeks, Wolsey Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies, Yale University

“For almost fifty years E. A. Judge has pioneered intensive social historical analysis of the NT and early church. Always imaginative, always abundant in epigraphic, inscriptional, and papyrological evidence, always with a nose sensitive to social implications, always critical in the best sense, Judge’s work reliably exposes us to the social world of Christian antiquity. Finally a volume that now makes this rich research available to an international audience!”
— John H. Elliott, Professor Emeritus of New Testament, University of San Francisco

“It is a delight to see these seminal essays of E. A. Judge back in print and brought together for the first time. Scholars of the social world of early Christianity already know what a great contribution they have made. Now a new generation can discover the insights of a scholar who has been foundational for contemporary interpretation of the New Testament.”
— Carolyn Osiek, Charles Fischer Catholic Professor of New Testament, Brite Divinity School of Texas Christian University

Reviews

“Study of the social context of the New Testament has become an important part of current scholarship, bringing into play the methods of the social sciences, archaeology, and early Christian history—as well as close analysis of the biblical text and other Jewish and Greco-Roman literature from the ancient world. One of the pioneers of this fruitful approach was the Australian professor Edwin A. Judge. While his foundational essays were well known to a small circle of scholars in this field, many others were ignorant of his work and several of his publications are difficult to locate. Hence the value of this collection of his essays assembled by David Scholer, a professor of New Testament at Fuller Seminary and himself an expert in this field. He brings together eight of Judge’s most important essays—virtually all of them on Paul—and also includes a comprehensive bibliography of Judge’s publications.”
—The Bible Today

“It is true that Judge offered no detailed analysis of the social issues he addressed in his writing. He rather provided a kind of prolegomena that encouraged scholars who followed to break into new fields of research, applying modern methods and making use of the ever-growing volume of historical source material. Therefore, his contribution to early Christian studies is invaluable, and his programmatic goal 'to help revive interest in the social ideas of the New Testament'(118) has been achieved. David M. Scholer’s decision to gather the most important studies of E. A. Judge and present them in a small, readable volume was correct; this edition will not only honor Judge but will also provide the opportunity to a broad audience to become acquainted with his work.”
—Review of Biblical Literature

“These essays, collected by David M. Scholer, helped inaugurate the study of the social world of early Christianity. “The Social Pattern of the Christian Groups in the First Century” (pp. 1 -56), first published in 1960, is the earliest essay, and “The Teacher as Moral Exemplar in Paul and in the Inscriptions of Ephesus” (pp. 175-88), first published in 1992, the most recent. Readers today will turn to Judge’s essays not only because of their place in the history of scholarship but also because Judge’s keen insights continue to provoke (both agreement and disagreement) and because his insistence on identifying and drawing on epigraphic and papyrological sources to illuminate the complexities of social organization remains methodologically challenging. Many of the essays were published in outlets that are currently unlisted in major databases; the 1960 essay on the social pattern of Christian groups, for example, was originally released as a pamphlet by Tyndale. Not surprisingly, the pamphlet is out-of-print. This convenient collection thus belongs on the shelves of college, university, and seminary libraries.”
—Catholic Biblical Quarterly

“Social Distinctives of the Christians in the First Century is a collection of important essays written over the last forty-eight years by E. A. Judge. It provides NT researchers with insight into the social identity of the early Christ-movement. David Scholer in the introduction understands Judge as ‘the new founder of social-scientific criticism of the New Testament,’ but also recognizes that Judge rejects key developments within the field with regard to social determinism and the imposition of sociological models (p. xiv). Scholer is to be commended for doing a vital service for researchers of the early Christ-movement by gathering in one place Judge’s research which is often difficult to access. The result is that these foundational articles are available to a new generation of researchers who will find stimulating analysis and probative examples of inter-disciplinary research between classical and biblical studies.”
—Criswell Theological Review

“E. A. Judge is undoubtedly a seminal figure in the development of the social-scientific study of the NT and this volume collects into one place eight of his most influential works, including the full text of his booklet on The Social Pattern of the Christian Groups in the First Century. Judge was one of the first among modern biblical scholars to advocate giving attention to the social world of the early Christians. In 1960, he indicated a need to know more about the external appearances and social function of early Jesus groups. Some twenty years later, he still had need to write that “[U]ntil the work of mapping out their social identity and behaviour has been developed much further in juxtaposition with the conventions and practices of contemporary society, we are in no position to say who or what the first Christians were.” Despite another quarter-century of work, the need continues, and Judge’s essays remain as fresh and provocative as when first published. Scholer has provided a great service in producing an easily accessible and affordable repository of some of the most important essays among Judge’s extensive publications.”
—Religious Studies Review

"Until retirement, Edwin A. Judge taught history in the Department of Ancient History, Macquarie University, Australia, while his editor David M. Scholer continues to teach New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary. Scholer’s aim in this book is to provide an introduction and context for an appreciation of Judge’s sociological work by a new generation, followed by a fair sampling of representative articles produced by Judge. In so doing, Scholer provides the reader with the means to make an independent assessment of a scholar whose work has pioneered some new approaches to biblical study. All eight essays have appeared in earlier publications from 1960 to 1992, but they are conveniently presented in this arrangement for the first time, followed by a comprehensive bibliography of Judge's writings. . .Judge’s work as a pioneer is focused on the investigation of social realities and on integrating social, economic and political data to construct a social history. He also pays some attention to the social organization of the early Christians. While Judge doesn’t employ the theory and models of the social sciences to analyze biblical texts, nevertheless he offers a rich exegetical feast."
—Toronto Journal of Theology

Edwin A. Judge is one Australia’s most famous academics. After studying at Cambridge, Professor Judge moved to Sydney University and then on to Macquarie where he was appointed the first professor in Ancient History. For twenty-five years, and since his retirement, he has been a leader in Ancient History and the study of Early Christianity. Professor Judge helped to collect the study materials in the Ancient History Documentary Research Centre and to establish the Museum of Ancient Cultures, one of the finest institutions of its kind. He has published widely (over 400 articles, books, and essays) and served as editor of the Journal of Religious History. Professor Judge has served Macquarie University as an administrator in many capacities: as a department head, an elected member of the University Council, Pro Vice-Chancellor and Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor. In 1995 he received Membership of the Order of Australia, and in 1999 the Australian Academy of the Humanities elected him an Honorary Fellow.

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