To a first century Jew or Gentile, one of the potentially scandalous aspects of the teachings of Jesus and his followers was the assumption that men and women were of equal standing in law and before God. Their lip service to the morality of Aristotle (that slaves, women and children should submit to the pater familias) probably fooled no one. This close reading of household codes in the New Testament epistles in their first-century contexts shows how early Christians transformed cultural values about the family.

DAVID INSTONE-BREWER is a research fellow at Tyndale House, which is linked to Cambridge University. His current interest is rabbinic traditions that can be dated to New Testament times. David is author of Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible: The Social and Literary Context. He has a wife and two daughters.