The first volume of the new series "Papyri and the New Testament" introduces students, teachers, and scholars to the value of the study of papyrological documents and their impact on the understanding of early Christ groups. Papyri, ostraca, and tablets document social, economic, political, and multilingual circumstances of the Greco-Roman period and are one of the best sources for understanding New Testament times. Compared to the first studies devoted to papyri and the New Testament some hundred years ago, the amount of available material has increased twentyfold. In addition, the days have passed when papyri were found exclusively in Egypt: a significant number of texts from Israel, Syria, North Africa, Britain, Switzerland, and other Greco-Roman regions demonstrate that these sources shed light on general conditions throughout the Roman Empire. The volume both introduces the main issues of comparing papyri with New Testament texts and presents a great variety of comprehensive examples.
