As in our reading of some of the lives of People of Old Testament Times, historical and archaeological resources provide us with helpful information about the world of New Testament times. Among them are these ...

JOSEPHUS: THE ESSENTIAL WORKS: by Paul L. Maier.
NEW TESTAMENT SURVEY: by Merrill C. Tenney.
THE NEW TESTAMENT: Its Background, Growth, and Content: by Bruce M. Metzger.
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF JESUS THE MESSIAH: by Alfred Edersheim.
THE BIBLICAL WORLD: A Dictionary Of Biblical Archeology: Edited by Charles F.
     Pfeiffer.
THE BIBLE AND ARCHEOLOGY: by J. A. Thompson.
A HANDBOOK OF LIFE IN BIBLE TIMES: by J. A. Thompson.
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF BIBLE LANDS: by Fred H. Wight.
THE ILLUSTRATED BIBLE DICTIONARY: Douglas, J. D., Organising Editor.

Merrill Tenney for example, in the opening chapters of his book, New Testament Survey, describes conditions in The Political World, The Social and Economic World, and The Religious World at the time the events recorded in the New Testament occurred.

Josephus also provides us with much historical detail of New Testament times. On the inside of the cover flap of Maier's illustrated condensation of his writings we are told that ...

   Next to the Bible in importance, the works of Jewish historian Flavius Josephus are the most authoritative ancient source for illuminating the people, places, and events recorded in the Old and New Testaments. Born in Jerusalem only four years after Jesus' crucifixion, Josephus was an eye witness to much of what he reported in the first century A.D. Josephus provides a court history of the four generations of Herods who populate the Gospels and also supplies fascinating details on the Roman governors and conquerors.

With those resources in mind to help you with further background information, here are some of the People of New Testament times for you to read about.