Kirsopp Lake was a well-known New Testament scholar in his day, teaching at both University of Leyden and Harvard. Dr. Peter Toon writing in Who's Who in Christian History says of Lake, "In the study of Christianity's origins and in New Testament textual criticism, Lake was a pioneer." Today, Lake's work is frequently cited in Bible dictionaries, encyclopedias, and theological journal articles dealing with Pauline studies.
The Earlier Epistles of St. Paul fills in the background details surrounding Paul's letters to the Thessalonians, Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans. Lake engages the "literary and critical questions introductory to these letters, concerning their integrity, destination, and history." He also explores the "intricate question of the world of religious thought to which the earliest Gentile Christians belonged—the world of the Hellenistic Mystery Religions."
