Peloponnesus & Bible Study

I start all my Biblical book studies with a section on isogogics – the study of things around or surrounding the text like who the author is, when it was written and by and to whom, and other information. When we can better understand these sorts of things we potentially gain better ears to hear what the author was saying and why. Not all studies include this sort of information but I find it very helpful.

One such example? Prior to starting preparations for this study on 1 Corinthians I didn’t realize there was an isthmus separating Greece into two main sections. I didn’t realize that Corinth’s location near this isthmus led to a very old and storied history of commercial vitality as the city had access not just to a western port leading towards Italy and Europe but an eastern port leading towards Turkey and the Orient. And because my geography knowledge is so sparse (I’m American), I didn’t know that the region where Corinth is situated separated by this isthmus from the rest of Greece is known as the Peloponnesus.

Just another reason I prefer to research and prepare my own Bible studies rather than rely on something someone else has prepared. I may never need to know some of these details, but I feel like they’re helpful in some small way to my larger appreciation not just of the Word of God as it impacts actual people and places, but the Creation of God as a whole.