Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 34:4 (Autumn 2020)
Article: Book Review "Priscilla: The Life Of An Early Christian" By Ben Witherington III (IVP Academic, 2019)
Author: Jonathan Tysick

PP 34:4 (Autumn 2020) p. 29

Book Review
Priscilla: The Life Of An Early Christian
By Ben Witherington III (IVP Academic, 2019)

Jonathan Tysick

Jonathan Tysick is pursuing a Master of Theological Studies at Wycliffe College (University of Toronto). He graduated with distinction from the South African Theological Seminary with a BTh. He formerly worked with the School of Biblical Studies (University of the Nations) in Cape Town, South Africa. Jonathan is especially interested in how theological and NT studies impact contemporary issues in the church and society and how these fields can equip Christians to live out their faith in a pluralistic world.

Author Profile

Ben Witherington III is Jean R. Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary, near Lexington, Kentucky, where he has taught since 1995. He is the author of over sixty academic and popular books, including the Christianity Today award-winning The Jesus Quest (1995) and The Paul Quest (1998) as well as commentaries on the entire NT. Witherington is ordained in the United Methodist Church.

Background And Purpose Of The Book

From Lew Wallace’s Ben-Hur (1880) to Lloyd C. Douglas’s The Robe (1942) to the more recent Mark of the Lion trilogy (1993–1995) by Francine Rivers, the first-century NT era has been the setting of many entertaining novels. In recent years, IVP Academic has enlisted biblical scholars to write works of historical fiction that educate readers about the NT. These include a novel by Paula Gooder in 2018 about Phoebe (see Rom 16:1–2)1 as well as the seven-volume Week in the Life series (2012–2020), which includes two volumes by Witherington. To this recent corpus of Bible-based historical fiction, Witherington adds a novella about the NT figure Priscilla (see Acts 18:2, 18–28, Rom 16:3, 1 Cor 16:19, 2 Tim 4:19).

Witherington seeks to fulfill two purposes in writing Priscilla: The Life of an Early Christian. Foremostly, he answers the question, “Who was Priscilla?” Referencing common questions about this enigmatic biblical woman, he posits answers to questions such as: “Why is she mentioned before her husband? Does her instruction of Apollos mean that women taught in the church? What is her story?”2

Secondly, recognizing Priscilla’s recurring pre...