Preachers and liturgy planners will find The Cultural World of the Prophets a companion to John Pilch's The Cultural World of Jesus Sunday by Sunday series and The Cultural World of the Apostles series. Each essay offers historical, literary, and Eastern Mediterranean cultural information about the first reading and responsorial psalm of the liturgy of each Sunday.

The Cultural World of the Prophets relates the first reading and responsorial psalm to the Gospel as intended by the architects of the Lectionary. It encourages readers to pursue in-depth study and helps them appreciate the specific verses of the first reading and the responsorial psalm in their own right.

John J. Pilch, a highly-regarded biblical scholar and author, taught at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and passed away in 2016. Among his numerous publications areThe Cultural World of Jesus, and The Cultural World of the Apostles series, and Cultural Tools for Interpreting the Good News, published by Liturgical Press.