A key mission of the BYU New Testament Commentary series is to make New Testament scholarship accessible to Latter-day Saints as they study this book of sacred scripture. As stated on the project’s website (byuntc.com), “With a rapidly growing number of studies on the New Testament, the time has come to offer a responsible, carefully researched, multi­volume commentary that illuminates both the historical and cultural settings as well as the linguistic heritage of this scripture for Latter-day Saints. A virtual river of discoveries during the past one hundred years in the Near Eastern and the Mediterranean regions highlights the need to bring together information that not only elucidates the New Testament documents but also unpacks their rich legacy for all readers.” While individual volumes in the series provide information about these discoveries as they relate to specific books of the New Testament, this volume provides a ­single resource for readers that illuminates the history and scholarship behind these sacred texts collectively. This volume, edited by S. Kent Brown and Joshua M. Matson, sheds light on the historical and cultural settings of the New Testament and serves as a complement to the renditions and commentaries provided in each volume of the series. We invite you to study each chapter and become immersed in the world of the people and texts of the New Testament.