Scholars who discuss women, 1 Timothy, Ephesians, and NT backgrounds in general will want—and need—this resource in the library. Glahn examines a wide range of original sources, including literature, inscriptions, art, and epigraphs, some of them recently brought to public awareness, in order to help us understand the world of first-century Ephesus. And when we understand the original audience and culture, we can understand Paul better. Anyone offering exegesis of 1 Timothy 2 without mentioning Artemis will not have done his homework.

Dr. Cohick's expertise in 1st–3rd-century Roman culture enables her to set the words of Paul to the church in Ephesus firmly in its historical context. By doing so, she enlightens readers to issues that original hearers of Paul's letter would have been facing, explaining cultural and familial structures in place that impact how we understand Paul's words today. Her section on Chapter 5 with the household codes is exceptional.