St. Paul's Ephesus: Texts and Archaeology

by Jerome Murphy-O'Connor

Overview

In this new volume, renowned scholar Jerome Murphy-O'Connor does for Ephesus what he did for Corinth in his award-winning St. Paul's Corinth. He combs the works of twenty-six ancient authors for information about ancient Ephesus, from its beginnings to the end of the biblical era. Readers can now picture for themselves this second of the two major centers of Paul's missionary work, with its houses, shops, and monuments, and above al the world-renowned temple of Artemis. After presenting the textual and archaeological evidence, Murphy-O'Connor leads the reader on a walk through St. Paul's Ephesus and describes the history of Paul's years in the city. Although Ephesus has been a ruin for many hundreds of years, readers of this book will find themselves transported back to the days of its flourishing.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780814652596
Publisher:	Liturgical Press
Publication date:	03/01/2008
Series:	Michael Glazier Bks.
Pages:	312
Sales rank:	248,256
Product dimensions:	6.22(w) x 8.96(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor (1935-2013), was one of the world's foremost authorities on the writings of Saint Paul of Tarsus. He had been a professor of New Testament at the École Biblique of Jerusalem since 1967. He was the author of numerous works, including St. Paul's Ephesus, St. Paul's Corinth, and Paul the Letter-Writer, all published by Liturgical Press.

Table of Contents

Foreword     xiii
Acknowledgments     xvii
List of Illustrations     xxi
The Ancient Texts
Historians
Strabo Introduces Ephesus     5
Marseilles, Daughter of Ephesus     5
Ephesus Founded by Amazons     7
Athens Colonizes Ionia     9
The Site of the First Settlement     9
The Name of Artemis     14
Wine Good and Bad     14
Ephesus, Birthplace of Artemis and Apollo     15
A Moving History     17
The Temple of Artemis     20
The Right of Asylum     24
The Harbors of Ephesus     26
Fishy Business in Ephesus     27
Worthies of Ephesus     29
North of Ephesus     31
Ephesus Passes into the Hands of Rome     33
South of Ephesus     35
The Road System around Ephesus     36
Appian     38
Hannibal in Ephesus     38
A Witticism of Hannibal     38
Ephesians Act against Rome     39
Ephesians Kill Italians     41
Ephesians Murder Zenobius     41
Ephesus Punished by Sulla     42
Pompey Departs from Ephesus     43
Mark Antony at Ephesus     43
The Excesses of Mark Antony     45
Athenaeus     47
The Foundation of Ephesus     47
Temple Museum     49
Seafood from Ephesus     49
Luxury Goods     50
Magic Spells     51
Caesar     52
Robbing the Bank     52
Cicero     54
Ephesus, the Gateway to Asia     54
Runaway Slaves     57
Another Hannibal Story     59
Dio Cassius     61
Mark Antony Violates the Temple of Artemis     61
Ephesus Honored     61
Cheap Glory     62
Astrologer Honored     63
Dio Chrysostom     64
The Bank of Asia     64
Herodotus     67
Artemis Protects Ephesus     67
Rich as Croesus     69
Greek Dialects     69
The Royal Road from Ephesus to Persia     71
A Harbor and Houses     72
A Tragic Error     73
Ignatius of Antioch     74
A Letter to Ephesus     74
Flavius Josephus     78
Exemption from Military Service      78
A Bizarre Report     79
Exemption from Military Service Extended     80
An Ephesian Decree     80
Security of the Temple Tax     81
Agrippa and Herod in Ephesus     83
Rome Again Confirms Its Laws     84
Medicine in Ephesus     84
Livy     86
The Temple of Artemis     86
Seleucid Control of Ephesus     87
The Harbor of Ephesus     88
Asia after Antiochus     90
Luke     92
Riot of the Silversmiths     92
Pausanias     96
Home Is Best     96
The Foundation of Ephesus     97
Hellenistic Ephesus     100
The Temple of Artemis     100
Pliny the Elder     104
The Site of Ephesus     104
Law at Ephesus     105
Staircase in the Temple of Artemis     106
Timber in the Temple of Artemis     107
Artists and Ephesus     108
The Five Amazons     113
The Temple of Artemis     116
Pliny the Younger     120
Travel North of Ephesus     120
An Appeal to Caesar      122
Plutarch     123
A Moral Lesson     123
Lysander at Ephesus     123
Asylum in Ephesus     125
Sulla Punishes Asia     125
A Swift Crossing     126
Buying Favors     126
Antony Taxes Ephesus     127
Preparations for War     128
Weird Stories     129
Seneca     130
The Population of Ephesus     130
Immigrants to Ephesus     131
Tacitus     134
A Rival to the Temple of Artemis     134
The Right of Asylum at Ephesus     135
Emperor Worship     137
Vitruvius     139
The Foundation of Ionia     139
Height and Width in Columns     140
Books on the Temple of Artemis     141
Architects of the Temple of Artemis     141
Interior Decorating     142
Vermilion     142
Architects' Fees     143
Moving Marble for the Temple of Artemis     143
Poets and Novelists
Achilles Tatius     149
Leucippe Seeks the Protection of Artemis     150
Clitophon Claims Asylum     150
The Test of Virginity      150
The Meaning of Asylum     151
Rescue at Sea     152
Acts of John     154
The Temple of Artemis     155
Acts of Paul     156
The Description of Paul     156
The Baptized Lion     157
The Feminist Lioness     158
Antipater of Sidon     160
Wonders of the World     160
Callimachus     166
Hymn to Artemis     166
Philostratus     168
Public Baths     168
In the Temple of Artemis     169
Plague in Ephesus     170
In Praise of Ephesus     171
The Death of Domitian     172
An Emperor Stimulates the Economy     173
A Covered Road to the Artemision     173
Holidays in Ephesus     175
Xenophon of Ephesus     177
The Procession of Artemis     177
Visit to an Oracle     179
Part 2
The Center of Ephesus in 50 C.E.     183
Paul in Jerusalem     183
A Quick Visit to Ephesus     186
A Walk with Paul through Ephesus     187
The State Agora     188
The Terrace Houses      192
The Square Agora and the Theatre     197
Paul's Ministry in Ephesus     201
Paul's Years in Ephesus     201
Hearing about Apollos     202
Johannite Disciples of Jesus     205
Separation from the Synagogue     207
Other Episodes     209
Missionary Expansion in Asia     210
Crisis in Galatia     212
Communications with Philippi     217
Imprisonment     220
The Third Letter to Philippi     221
Trouble in the Church at Ephesus     222
Letters to the Lycus Valley     225
Letters to Laodicea and Ephesus?     231
A Free Man Again     233
Consternation Caused by Corinth     235
Ephesus Much Later     243
Notes     246
Bibliography     262
Subject Index     269
Classical Author Index     280
New Testament Index     286

Editorial Reviews

This is a real must-have work for the student of the New Testament. The amount of material collected and made available is invaluable. For anyone preaching through the Book of Ephesians, the Book of Acts, or the life of Paul, this volume will be a resource of exceptional value.
The Master’s Seminary Journal


. . . a useful collection of classical texts for those planning a visit to Ephesus as well as those studying the New Testament.
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly


. . . St. Paul’s Ephesus is, to be sure, first a compendium of useful texts and artifacts, vividly illuminating a city of tremendous importance in early Christianity. For at least this reason, the book will reward careful reading, and the author is to be warmly thanked.
Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society


. . . St. Paul’s Ephesus stands highly recommended; students, scholars, and visitors to Turkey who will make a day stop at Ephesus—all of them will benefit significantly from this useful book.
Review of Biblical Literature


I would recommend the book for anyone interested in obtaining a strong, visceral sense of ancient Ephesus, of the critical role that Paul’s time there played in the development of the Church, and of the social context and circumstances in which Paul wrote most of his letters.
Catholic Books Review


Anyone who is aware of New Testament history or has been a visitor to the site of Ephesus in modern-day Turkey realizes the importance of this metropolis in the Roman Empire and in the establishment of the church in the first-century Mediterranean world, and will be grateful for this book.
The Bible Today


[A] must for any biblical history shelf and anyone who wishes to learn more of this ancient city.
Midwest Book Review

From the Publisher