These ten books will get you to stop guessing what Bible verses mean and start grasping the original point made by the authors. These books about Bible backgrounds will introduce you to the cultural context that defined the meaning of words, phrases, and entire genres found in Scripture. If you want to discern how the Bible directs us today, you must first understand how it redirected the conversations and communities in ancient near eastern cultures. So read these books. Process them in community. And refer to them as you study Scripture. I now give to you the top 10 Bible study books about the historical and cultural context of Scripture.

The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls has given us remarkable insight into the holy huddles of Jesus’s day.The religious community at the ancient site of Qumran on the Dead Sea thought they were better than everyone else. They considered themselves the “sons of light.” Like Jesus, they considered the Sadducees and priestly elite in Jerusalem to be corrupt. The holy huddle at Qumran called the Jewish power players in Jerusalem the “sons of darkness.” In the The War Scroll found in Cave 1 at Qumran, they predicted God’s impending judgment of the “sons of darkness”—those Jews in Jerusalem who were colluding with the Romans and breaking the covenant.
 
How did those Jews in Jerusalem break the covenant? That story started long before the time of Jesus. After the successful second-century BC revolt of the Maccabees and the reestablishment of an independent Jewish state, the Hasmonean kings (from the Maccabee family) eventually assumed not only the kingship but also control of the high priesthood. The king and high priest became one. 
 
The Zadokites among the Essenes considered the non-Zadokite priests usurpers and declared their Temple sacrifices illegal. Although they could not function as priests in the Temple anymore, they followed the holiness standards for priests in ways deemed more authentic to the Torah. They separated themselves from the mainstream to form exclusive communities of the righteous. They studied the Prophets carefully and looked for God’s impending judgment of Jerusalem’s unfaithful leaders. They believed their community was the beginning of a renewed people of God in earth.
 
Jesus held many of the same beliefs. It has led some to theorize that Jesus himself should be called a Separatist, or even equated with the Teacher of Righteousness who led the Qumran community. But we have to look more closely at the Separatist communities to see where Jesus agreed and where he called for an even more radical way forward.

Did God create the universe in 6 literal 24-hour days? That controversial question has divided churches and derailed journeys toward Jesus. It has become the litmus test to measure whether you believe the Bible is true for Answers in Genesis—creators of the Creation Museum and Noah’s ark in the Ohio river valley. Bible readers have combed through the language and structure of Genesis 1 to devise and defend their position. But before you decide on the right answer, is it even the right question?

Jesus’ commentary makes it clear that the widow felt the impact of her contribution much more than all the rich people giving money they didn’t need. She gave the only money she had to buy food to survive. Her sacrifice had painful consequences in her poverty.
 
We have historically assumed Jesus is commending the widow’s example to us. We typically interpret the significance of the story just like Joy Allmond does on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association blog:

​Before we can jump to personal application like this article does, we need to make sure we understand Jesus’ original meaning. Is the point of Jesus’ observation to praise the sacrificial heart and actions of the widow?

After Jewish leaders questioned Jesus the night he was arrested, they brought him to the palace of the Roman governor (seeJohn 18:1-28). They needed a politician to enforce their idea. The prefect of the Roman province of Judea, Pontius Pilate, met them outside and asked, “What charges do you bring against this man?” (John 18:29). After their discussion, “Pilate went back into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him:

We have historically celebrated Jesus' death on Friday because the Gospels placed it the day before a Sabbath. But did you know that Jews celebrated Special 'Sabbaths' that did not take place on Saturday?

Figuring out when Jesus ate the Last Supper with his disciples and which day he died on the cross is not easy. Why? First of all, Jews started new days each evening! Our days (in the Gregorian calendar) begin and end in the middle of the night and consider daylight the middle of the day. Jewish days began at dusk with the first half of a day being the dark night and the second half of the day being the daylight. That's why Genesis 1 says, "there was evening and morning on day one." That's also why we get confused about the timeline of Jesus' death and resurrection in the Gospels.

If Jesus actually died on Friday afternoon when we celebrate 'Good Friday,' then he would have only been in the grave for 2 nights. But Jesus said he would be in the grave for 3 nights. So either Jesus is wrong (see matthew 12:40), or our holiday is wrong. It's worth investigating.

Jesus had more to say about money than both heaven and hell, but he didn’t have much good to say about it. Specifically, Jesus was quick to judge people with money. He put it simply in Luke 6:24, “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full.” The “woe” statement is a prophetic announcement that judgment is coming. He assumed the wealthy in first-Century Israel had done something wrong to deserve judgment.

We often miss Jesus' tough message about money because we hear only the parts we want to believe. 

​The Gospel of Mark hinges on a climactic turning point. After Jesus spends 8 chapters doing miracles that only the Son of God would do, the disciples finally figure out who he is. While other Israelites thought he was a special prophet like Jeremiah or Elijah, Peter proclaimed in Mark 8:29, “You are the Messiah.” That identification changes the trajectory and content of Mark’s Gospel.
 
Everything leading up to Mark 8:29 is designed to reveal who Jesus is, but everything afterwards redefines what the disciples think about the Messiah. Jesus immediately begins to correct their assumptions about what the Messiah will do. “And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). Jesus had to teach them about his torturous destiny over and over again (Mark 9:12, 31-32; 10:33-34). Why? Because the disciples already thought the Messiah would kill all the bad guys, not get killed by them.