PRAXAPOSTOLOS
(Acts and General Letters)
Book reviews

Author

Dr. W. A. Strange is currently a Vicar in Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, England. He holds degrees from the Universities of Cambridge and Oxford. He taught Biblical studies at Oxford from 1982 to 1987. This, his first book, started out as a doctoral thesis at Oxford.

Structure

This book deals with questions about the text of Acts that arise as a result of a group of manuscripts called the "western text." These manuscripts have material that is not included in the "non-western texts." The non-western texts are used as a basis for our present day version of Acts. The author begins by tracing the history of thought on the "western" versions of the text of Acts. Second, he tries to show that the additions that are evident in the western text do not come out of second century editorial activity. Instead, he tries to show that the group of western texts developed from a common source that predates second century concerns. Third, the author attempts to show that the additions are in line with both Luke's linguistic style and his theological tendencies. Fourth, he makes the case that many of the difficult readings in the western text can be explained by marginal notes that were merged into the text when the source document was first "edited." Finally, the author presents a case that the book of Acts was never finalized and published by Luke. Instead, he suggests that the unfinished manuscript with Luke's editorial work in the margins gave rise to both the western and non western texts. He postulates that the editor of the non-western text took a conservative stance, leaving out most of the marginal notes and making only minor editorial corrections. In contrast, he postulates that the editor of the western text included the marginal notes. He says that, in many cases, this editor merely added the notes directly into the middle of the base text rather than editing the base text from the notes. The result was a text which is difficult to work with in its present form.

Evidence

The primary "western" evidence that the author worked with was Codex Bezae (D). He also made use of other manuscripts that reflect the "western" text of Acts, including patristic writings and non Greek manuscripts. Because there is a fairly wide variation among the western texts, the author used many of the tools of textual criticism to postulate what the original western text might have looked like. In the process of establishing an "original" text, he postulated that some of the original western text must have been made up of marginal notes. He suggested that an "editor" did not want to lose either the original wording or the marginal notes. Because both versions were kept, the text has grammatical and contextual difficulties. These difficult passages led to variations in later texts as copyists tried to smooth and correct these passages. The author also used extensive linguistic examples from the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts to establish Luke's writing style and theological concerns. This allowed him to compare western with non-western texts on the basis of Luke's overall style.

Example

One of the important things which the author tried to prove was that, in many cases, the western text was more in line with Luke's overall style than the non-western text. The story of Philip and the Ethiopian official (Acts 8:26-40) is an example where the western and non-western texts disagree. In verse 39, the non-western text says that Philip was transported by "the Spirit of the Lord". In the western text, Philip was transported by "an angel of the Lord". The author reviewed the use of both phrases in the rest of Luke-Acts and concluded that it is very unusual for Luke to attribute physical action to "the Spirit of the Lord". The author determined that, in Luke-Acts, Luke almost always has "the Spirit of the Lord" work through people. Luke uses "an angel of the Lord" whenever he expresses some divine physical action that is not affected through people. As a result, the author concluded that the western version of verse 39 is more in keeping with Luke's overall manner of expression than the non-western version. In another example, the author points out that it would be unusual for Luke to suggest that Circumcision originated with Moses (Acts 15:1). In the non western text, Acts 15:1 reads ". . . unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses . . .". In the western text, Acts 15:1 reads ". . . unless you are circumcised and walk according to the custom of Moses . . .". The author suggests that the western reading is more in line with Luke's understanding of circumcision (as found in his phraseology in other passages - cf. Acts 7:8). {Reviewer's note: If Luke had intended to specifically relate to the "circumcision party" mentioned by Paul in Galatians 2:12, we might expect Luke to have left out the reference to "the custom of Moses".}

Reader Response

The author intended this book to be read by those who understand the techniques for analyzing variations in manuscripts (textual criticism). The author also assumes that the reader has an extensive knowledge of Greek. I was fascinated by the detective work involved in trying to solve the puzzle of the western text. The book provides a good picture of how the techniques of textual criticism can be used to analyze a group of texts. Textual criticism appears to be as much an art as a science. Those who have a particular interest in the book of Acts will find this book to be a valuable resource for learning about the history of the text of Acts.

The author has made a bold assertion that has implications which go far beyond textual questions. Part of what the author asserts is that Luke wrote Acts in the first century. The author reasons that since it was never finished and published, it was not available until it was later found, edited, and published (in two versions) in the second half of the second century. The author notes that the western version still does not provide any further information about Paul's imprisonment in Rome. If the western text had been the result of second century editorial additions, presumably the editor would have provided further information about Paul's fate. These assumptions contradict a common assumption that the book of Acts was a late writing and that the ending of Acts was merely a literary device. It will be interesting to see if this work has any impact on our 19th and 20th century assumptions about the book of Acts.

AUTHOR:  

This commentary was written by Ernst Haenchen.  He describes the original work as a brief outline which came into being in 1946.  The work went through many revisions.  The initial work was done in Switzerland while the author was being treated for an undisclosed illness.  The book went through two major revisions and fifteen editions.  This edition was translated from the original German into English by Professor R. McL. Wilson.  The author appears to have intended the book for serious Biblical scholars who are already familiar with other researchers' commentaries on the Acts of the Apostles.

STRUCTURE:

The book begins with a preface in which the author describes the history of the text. There follows a short note to the English Edition by Professor R. McL. Wilson. Following the Table of Contents is a Table of Abbreviations used in the book. A survey of historical and critical research begins on Page 3 and terminates on page 50. The introduction continues through 116 pages and discusses the difficulty of the text of the Acts of the Apostles. It also reviews the language and style, the chronology, and the source questions as pertains to the Acts. The author's actual commentary on the Acts of the Apostles begins on page 135. The author, here, discusses Acts 1:1-8. He points out that in verse 1, Luke makes clear that this is the "second book of a large historical work." Haenchen addresses each chapter and verse in this way. The book concludes with Acts 28:17-31 and the author's commentary on Paul in Rome.

EVIDENCE:

The author, Ernst Haenchen, presents a commentary on Acts that is supported by a tome of serious scholarly research.  It is clearly written for Biblical scholars and, appears to me, to be aimed at those who are already familiar with the work that others have done prior to this.  On the very first page of the text, Haenchen begins with no words of introduction or preparation.  He jumps right into his material; quoting and footnoting Harnack, Bihlmeyer, H. W. Bartsch, W. Smithals, and others.  All names that the advanced scholar would be familiar with.  The text is heavily researched and footnoted throughout its 737 pages.

EXAMPLE:

An example of the extent of referencing of other works that Haenchen does can be found in his commentary on Acts 1:9-12.  The Ascension.  The commentary is five pages long (pp148-152).  Almost three full pages of these five pages are bibliographic material and footnotes.  The author goes to great lengths to describe the manner in which Luke tells the story of the Ascension, "the story is unsentimental, almost uncannily austere," he writes on page 151.  Haenchen explains Luke's presentation of the Ascension story in relation to the people for whom it was intended and the time in which it was written.  He writes, "For no matter what this or that dogmatist may decree, Christian preaching in the first century no more moved in a vacuum than it does in the twentieth (p.152)."  The heavy research of the book proves, to me, that Haenchen does not make his interpretations in a vacuum either.

READER RESPONSE:

May I be forgiven for quoting our fellow student, Lois Merrifield's book report.  I, also, would not pretend for a moment that I understand all that the author was presenting here.  I have to say, however, that I am fascinated by interpretation of Biblical texts as is done in this work by Ernst Haenchen.  I wish that I could be a perpetual student and thus have more time to read deeply of this genre.

STRUCTURE

Text structured - It contains an Introduction consisting of nine chapters which deals with the mechanics of Acts, such as historical and critical research, text, chronology, source questions, Luke as theologian, historian and writer, and Luke and Paul. The remainder of the book is Commentary research.

EVIDENCE

Haenchen deals with the source question in The Acts of the Apostles. He states that the source question is a problem for Acts, as comparison with Luke’s Gospel is full of risks. There is a difference between the situation in Acts & Luke. Problems being that we have one of the sources of Luke - Gospel of Mark, also another Q - which can to a large extent be inferred. Unfortunately we have none of these for Acts. No source can therefore be discerned in Acts by stylistic criteria.

EXAMPLE

Acts 1:1 - (to Theophilus). We do not know who Theophilus was (even Jews bore the name) e.g. a high priest mentioned in Josephus, "Antiquities XVII 12.3); perhaps it was a pseudonym (for Flavius Clemens?)...

READER RESPONSE

This is a very big and old edition. It can be difficult to read with all of the footnotes (I found them distracting). The type is very small and it became difficult to read for any length of time. The commentary was very well done and much easier reading.

Author
The editor, Richard Bauckham, is chair of New Testament Studies at St. Mary's College, University of St. Andrew's in Scotland. He completed his editing work in November, 1994. This is a multiauthor book, a collaboration of scholars from around the world. The authors intend to reach serious students and scholars, to provide a background for better understanding of the growth and development of first century Christianity in Palestine. The book goes into a level of detail well beyond that which would interest a casual reader. In the preface Bauckham makes reference to the 1955 book, The Book of Acts in History, by Henry Cadbury, and indicates that the present series is intended to be an update and expansion of the material presented in that work. Bauckham states that, in the time interval, there have been considerable advances in our understanding of Jewish Palestine during this period.

Structure
This book is volume four in a series of six volumes. The series explores in depth and in detail the cultural, historical, geographical, political and religious background of the Acts of the Apostles. This book consists of 15 chapters, each by a different author. The editor, Richard Bauckham, also authored one of the chapters, "James and the Jerusalem Church". Each chapter is written so as to be able to be read independently, and in whatever sequence may best meet the reader's interests.

A summary opens each chapter, the text is divided into subchapters, and there are abundant footnotes. Chapter topics include: Josephus, Roman policy, geography, the Jewish officials, the pre-Christian career of Paul, and several chapters addressing the cultural context.

Evidence
The authors draw directly on Acts, other ancient texts (Josephus and others), and the latest archeological findings. Scholarly research on these primary sources has been utilized as well. The
authors seem to have spared no effort in being accurate and detailed.

Example
A good example is the chapter "Palestinian Jewish Personal Names in Acts", by Margaret Williams. The author gives a compendium of most of these names which appear in Acts. She explains the linguistic roots (Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek) of the various names, usage of the name in the time period, and a brief summary of individuals having the name. All material is extensively cross-referenced.

Reader Response
As I tackled this book early in our course (and this being my first course on the Bible) I felt overwhelmed by the diversity of subject matter and the level of detail. Returning to the book a few weeks later after having acquired some of the basic background information about Acts itself, I found the book to be much less intimidating. This is not the sort of book to sit down and read from cover to cover, but rather to read selectively by chapter. I would recommend that each student be aware of this series, and sit down to browse the table of contents in each volume. This series is a very valuable research tool.

Author

Martin Hengel was a professor of New Testament and Early Judaism in the University of Tuebingen (Germany). This book was translated into English by John Bowden in 1979.

Structure

This book is an academic look at the book of Acts as history as well as a critique of the historical-critical method as a means to understand the Acts of the Apostles. The book is divided into three main sections. In the first Hengel begins with a discussion of how histories were written in the ancient world and follows this with a discussion of various sources and an overview of the historical critical method. The second half of the book is a discussion of developments between the Jerusalem church and the apostolic council. The third section is a summary of the writer’s thoughts on the historical method and the New Testament as a historical source.

Evidence

The most interesting section of the book is the second part. In it Hengel sites and challenges several early historians in their interpretation of early history. For example in the calling of Paul Hengel shows how the report preserved by Jerome would have Paul not as a full citizen but only as a freedman. He then refers to Luke’s description of Paul as having been in the school of Gamaliel I (Acts 22:3). He continues to use scripture as a basis to discuss the history of the early church. His anti-historian bias can be seen in statements like "reliable traditions...had not yet been completely suppressed by pseudoepigraphical, fictitious fabrications" (pg. 92).

Example

One example of interpretation of the text by Hengel concerns Luke’s account of Barnabus and Paul bringing a collection to Jerusalem at the request of the church in Antioch to support the distressed communities in Judea. He refers to Gal.2:2 to show that Paul cannot have taken part in this journey. He goes on to show why he believes Paul’s journey into the border regions of Asia Minor related in Acts 13 and 14 was not a consequence but a presumption of the apostolic council. He says "Paul’s fear in Gal.2:2, ‘lest I should run or have run in vain’, in fact points to quite a considerable activity of mission preaching which already lies behind him" (pg. 111).

Reader’s response

I struggled through the first section of the book which I found to be quite academic and uninteresting. It, however, laid the groundwork for the author’s perspectives as he began his interpretation of the text. In the second section, the author systematically covers points of history as traditionally interpreted and gives his own, sometimes unique, interpretation. If I had a more thorough understanding of history and scripture I would probably be able to make a more informed commentary on his work. I would recommend the book (particularly section 2) to any student of Acts because first of all it is brief (entire book=135 pgs) and secondly because it is well organized and the author makes his point in a concise manner. I hate verbosity...especially in a subject I know little about.

Pervo, Richard I: Profit with Delight; the Literary Genre of the Acts of the Apostles (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1987). [Jennie A. Barrington]

AUTHOR:

At the time of publication, Richard I. Pervo was the Associate Professor of New Testament and Patristics at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, Evanston, Illinois. This study began as a Harvard University dissertation in 1979.

STRUCTURE:

Its structure is one of this book’s strengths. It has a brief preface and conclusion, between which lie five highly-focused chapters. They are invitingly titled as: 1) Luke-Acts: The Eye of the Storm; 2) When All Seems Lost: Adventure in the Acts of the Apostles; 3) Diversions Less Adventurous: Other Forms of Entertainment in Acts; 4) The Ancient Novel: Its Origins and Nature; and 5) Historical Novels: Pagan, Jewish, and Christian. Its notes are all at the end, encompassing 43 pages. There are also detailed and helpful indexes.

The Ancient Novels to which Pervo compares Acts are: (see p. 139)

Pervo also makes excellent use of subsections with separate headings in each of his chapters. This enables the student to easily relocate information found noteworthy in an earlier reading.

EVIDENCE:

Primarily, Pervo is exploring Acts and the Apocryphal Acts in minute detail. He compares these to the eleven ancient novels listed above, and also cites numerous secondary works, collections, journals, and series. The bibliography is 21 pages long. In the preface, he states that his work is based on original Greek and Latin documents.

EXAMPLES:

Pervo’s thesis concept is both daring and fairly complex. In the preface, he asserts that Acts is like the "popular" literature of its day in that it presents edifying (i.e., informing, improving, teaching) messages in an attractive and entertaining form (p. xi). Pervo’s extensive research has illuminated the adventure, intrigue, jealousy, humor, irony, rowdiness, pathos, and exotica in Acts and Apocryphal Acts. As such, he seeks to broaden the somewhat-colorless lense with which we have always read them. Yet in calling Acts a novel, Pervo does not intend to minimalize Luke as a theologian and evangelist. In fact, Pervo believes the entertaining nature of Acts—while rendering it less than accurate historically—furthers Luke’s vision better than a more literal work would have done. In the conclusion, Pervo writes, "Luke proposed that the world be Christianized . . . At the time of its origin it certainly seemed mad . . . Christianity ... had both the interest in and the means for elevating the rude and unwashed masses, for promoting urbanity and ethics, community, and loyalty. Luke was something of a prophet who wished to share a vision . . . What he needed was a form in which to cast his vision of a Utopia. The historical novel was just such a form." (p. 138)

READER RESPONSE:

Much about this book would make it worth owning. Pervo has found for us legitimate grounds for the intrigue, wit, irony, and rowdiness—in short, the entertainment and color—in Acts. Personally, I would not want to be a Bible student who misses these things by "having blinders on." Pervo is saying to us, "No, Acts is not historically accurate, but look at all it _does_ have to offer us!" When using certain verses from Acts in preaching or a Bible study group, I would highly recommend using Pervo’s index to look at his entertaining "take" on those verses. Doing so would stimulate animated discussion. To some extent, this was Luke’s original intent.

Another strength is this book’s assistance in enabling us to harken back to the time in which Acts was written. I am grateful for Pervo’s research and imagination in this regard.

Conversely, I found several portions of this book to be slow reading. Its vocabulary is a challenge; its sentences densely-packed with scholarly ideas. In saying this, I do not mean to discourage anyone from reading it. However, utilizing small sections independently may prove more fruitful for the busy seminarian than attempting to read it from front to back.

Overall, I am envigorated by Pervo’s innovative theory of Acts as an historical novel. Even those of us far less familiar with Acts and its time period can gain much from Pervo’s remarkable knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, "Dr. Luke’s" second volume.

Profit With Delight, The Literary Genre of the Acts of the Apostles, by Richard I. Pervo, Fortress Press, Philadelphia, PA,1987. [Lois E. Merrifield]

AUTHOR

Richard I. Pervo wrote this book from his Harvard University dissertation of 1979. Its purpose is to contribute to the "contemporary quest for links between early Christian and other narrative literature." The author emphasizes a kind of form-critical insight, comparing the writings of Luke to other popular writings of the Greco-Roman world. The title of the book emerges from the following quotation: "The one who combines profit with delight, equally pleasing and admonishing the reader, captures all the plaudits" (Horace Ars poetica 343-44). The author contends that most studies on the Gospels and Acts have concentrated on the "profit" and ignored the "delight." Therefore, the major task of this book is to make clear the "entertaining nature" of Acts. Although clearly a theological book and a presentation of history, Acts also seeks to entertain. One should appreciate Luke’s interest in providing the reader with a pleasurable account of Christian origins. The reader of this book will most likely be a scholar, interested in a study of the social analysis and description of the early Christian world and will find in this writing stimuli for his/her own writings and research.

STRUCTURE

The author makes his case that Luke’s writings are "entertaining" and not just historical by bringing out the adventurous and humorous aspects of the text. He cites no less than 33 examples of adventurous drama in the Book of Acts that would compare to, and exceed, other great writings of that day. Many of these adventures consists of riots, plots to kill, torture, trials, imprisonments, and shipwrecks; all of which make entertainment for the reader. Pervo then delves into the humorous aspect of Luke’s writings by breaking them down into categories such as: humor and wit, irony, burlesque and rowdy episodes, and cleverness and wit. Devoting an entire chapter on the ancient novel, the author compares Luke’s writings to such great works as The Odyssey, Life of Aesop, Joseph and Asenath, Daphnis and Chloe, and Metamorphoses, noting numerous parallels to these and other ancient novels.

EVIDENCE

Pervo studied previous scholarly presentations in order to thoroughly understand the genres of ancient writings. He cites scholars such as Erwin Rohde (Der Griechische Roman und seine Vorlaufer), B. P. Reardon (Eritica Antiqua), W. Heintze, E. Schwartz, and J. Ludvikovsky, plus many others. Pervo’s conclusion is that "novels are not a unified phenomenon with a single Lex operis (generic formula). They cannot be dealt with by reference to a single theory." )pg 101) "For the type of audience Luke apparently addressed, the edifying historical novel was then the genre most appropriate to his purposes and most available." )pg 137)

EXAMPLE

Pervo believes that Luke presents humor, wit, and irony in his writings and he proves this by citing several incidences. One example is Acts 12:5-17: St. Peter and the doors of death. This story artfully combines humor with suspense. Peter cruelly chained to two guards, sleeps so soundly that the bright light radiating from the angel’s presence does not arouse him. When this glow fails to awaken Peter, the angel kicks him. Awakened, Peter stumbles to his feet, stiff from chains and sleeping on a dungeon floor. Like a patient parent, the angel must supervise his getting dressed. There are four shifts of four guards each for this prisoner, often rotated and alert. But, with the angel’s help, all are eluded. Then comes the awesome barrier of the iron gate, which opens on its own accord, and Peter proceeds out into the street. The angel leaves Peter at this point, perhaps a bit prematurely. Peter finds his way to Mary’s gate and knocks on the door. Rhoda, a flighty slave girl, answers his knock and, seeing him in the light, foolishly leaves him standing in the hostile street as she rushes back in with the good news. Those inside take a realistic approach: Peter has been executed and Rhoda has seen his guardian angel. The debate is lively, but in the meantime, Peter is still left out in the cold and has no choice but to hammer at the door desparately. This will surely arouse the neighbors, who are already suspicious of Christians. Finally, a solution to the argument about Rhoda’s crazy vision emerges: send someone to investigate. Thus, an angel opens one gate, but Peter is blocked at another because he is mistaken for an angel. He believes he is dreaming, the others believe Rhoda is seeing things. She is like a figure from New Comedy. Where is the irony? Wicked Herod will not escape. By the toe of an angel Peter is brought to safety and Herod to a well-merited death.

READER RESPONSE

I would not pretend for a moment that I understood all that Pervo was presenting here, however, I did enjoy reading about his process of comparing Acts to other literary genres. Having read this book, I will never read the Book of Acts again in the same light. Reading the journeys of Paul as "adventur" rather than "history" gives the reader a sense of excitement, knowing that Paul was a "risk taker" for Christianity - and who doesn’t admire one who takes enormous risks for Christ? Although I believe the book to be very scholarly, I think that the Book of Acts, taken in this context, would make a fascinating Bible study for anyone, including the average Christian.

Pervo, Richard I. Profit With Delight: The Literary Genre of The Acts of the Apostles. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1987 [Nathan Richards]

AUTHOR

As an off-shoot from his dissertation in 1979 at Harvard University, Richard Pervo developed this study to explain the "entertaining" aspects of the book of Acts. Using a form-critical approach, Pervo attempts to draw parallels between Acts and other ancient narratives to strengthen his argument that the author of Acts borrowed various compositional techniques to tell his story. Pervo’s book, although entertaining, is more suited for the student pursuing different opinions in regards to the New Testament, and in particular the book of Acts.

STRUCTURE

Within the books five chapters, the author cites a variety of ancient novels and texts, comparing them to the book of Acts. Pervo also uses various tables to help clarify his positions. The collation made by the author between Acts and other literature provides the evidence for his ideas.

EVIDENCE

For Pervo, the similarities between Acts and other works of the time point to links in a style that incorporated such literary vehicles as irony, satire, romance, and humor. By examining Acts, Apocryphal Acts, ancient novels, as well as previous studies that were presented by other scholars, Pervo has come to the conclusion that the author of Acts utilized a genre similar to the historical novel.

In Pervo’s opinion, the author of Acts presented it in this fashion because it was a style familiar to the time and his audience. It is not Pervo’s intention, however, to imply that the author of Acts totally fabricated his story.

EXAMPLE

An illustration of these points can be seen in Pervo’s subsection, in chapter two, entitled "Sacred Incarcerations." In both the Acts of the Apostles and other ancient novels, arrests serve a similar function. They introduce to the reader great danger while evoking sympathy. Like Paul, who could scarcely visit a city without being put in jail {Acts 16:19-40, Acts 21:31-36}, characters from ancient novels often suffered the same fate: "In a moment the entrance was thrown open....The whole house was packed with magistrates and their servants and a non-descript herd of people. At once two of the lictors clapped me on the shoulder ‘In the name of the law’ and began to haul me off...It seemed the whole city had turned out...{They} streamed out and filled the pit of the theater. {Apuleius 3.2}" Often, as in Acts, the threat of the detention of an individual provides a reason for travel. The stories centered around possible incarcerations furnishes exciting reasons for Paul’s hasty departure from city to city, while still providing the reader with the historicity of his visits to those locations.

READERS RESPONCE

PROFIT WITH DELIGHT is an interesting and unique book. The views of the author offered me a fresh perspective on the book of Acts. Although the book sometimes seems repetitive in the author’s use of examples, Pervo demonstrates that he is obviously a fine scholar. Readers of the book for the first time will probably want to read Acts again to fully appreciate Pervo’s work. I recommend this book to any student interested in furthering their vision of the book of Acts.

Winter, Bruce W. and Andrew D. Clarke, eds. The Book of Acts In Its Ancient Literary Setting. The Book of Acts In Its First Century Setting (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1993) 226.6/B644a v.1 [Mary Anne Wallace]

Author: Bruce Winter, editor and author or one chapter, is a Warden of Tyndale House, Cambridge, and is also a member of the university’s Divinity Faculty. Co-editor Andew D. Clarke is research librarian, Tyndale House. Winter and Clarke have brought together the research of fourteen ancient historians and New Testament scholars from five countries. Their teaching responsibilities and publications include a concentration of supporting and overlapping academic interests - The Roman Empire, Revelations, the speeches in Acts, textual criticism, classical Greek history, the early church fathers. The scholars first presented nine of the fourteen papers at a Cambridge symposium in March 1993. The editorial intent is to stimulate and encourage a multi-disciplinary approach to the Book of Acts. As such, the serious scholar is the expected reader of the text. Even without the editors’ prefatory remarks, one is aware of the intended audience as the book has the characteristics of a scholarly work - specialized vocabulary, extensive footnotes, numberous Greek passages, etc.

Structure: In addition to the fourteen essays, Ancient Literary Setting, the first of a six part series, has four indexes: Biblical references, ancient authors, modern authors, and subjects. Each chapter opens with a precis and most concluded with a summary of the author’s findings. Discipline-wise, the book can be informally divided into five sections. The first three chapters focus on historical sources. This is followed by a comparative analysis of Luke/Acts with the Old Testament, then with the Acts of Paul, and concludes with a discussion of the structural relationshp between Luke and Acts. The next section concentrates on literary parallels and presents some comparisons between the autobiographies/biographies of three historic figures and the Pauline letters and Acts. Speeches and rhetoric are the next focus. The final chapters examine Acts from contemporary literary criticism and manuscript analysis approaches.

Evidence: Athough current thinking often restricts the term "literary" to belles lettres, the word refers to a variety of written documents. As the sources cited and examined are extensive, the following is a selective list: 1st century historical monographs, 1st and 2nd century intellectual biographies, the Old Testament, Old and New Testament apocrypha, public speeches as reported by historians, court proceedings, classical rhetoric handbooks.

The majority of the scholars employ a form critical approach and compare/contrast the Book of Acts’ form and content with the sources listed above.

Example: One of the most clearly presented arguments is made by Bruce Winter in the chapter titled "Official Proceedings and the Forensic Speeches in Acts 24-26." He first provides an overview of the form and content found in the more than 250 extant manuscripts of early Roman Empire court proceedings. In addition, he includes documentation printed in the rhetoric handbooks written by Cicero and Quintilian. He then proceeds to apply these standards to the Book of Acts. He also make comparisons between the court documents and the forensic speeches (24:1-8; 24: 10b-21; 26: 1-23) in Acts.

Reading his discussion of Acts: 24 10b-21, Paul’s defense speech, we learn there are five customary parts to a defendant’s plea - exordium, narratio, probatio, refutatio, and peroratio. Winter states that Paul’s defense begins in 10b in which Paul addresses Felis, the governor. Included in this exordium(beginning) is a captatio benevolentiae or appeal to the wisdom and experience of the governor. In the next verse(narratio) Paul states he been in Jerusalem 12 days and came to worshp. The probatio or confirmatio (vv 12-13) is that his accusers have no evidence. His rufutatio (vv 14-180 is that the only difference between him and his accusers is the manner in which they worshp, that he has a clear conscience, that he came to Jerusalem to bring alms, and that he was in the temple without a crowd being there. He concludes with the peroratio (vv 18-19) in which he states his accusers are not present. Winter expands upon the above points and applies the same form criticism to the other court speeches in Acts. Winter makes the reader aware, as does Conrad Gempf whose essay is titled "Public Speaking and Published Accounts," that the court proceedings and publish accounts of other public talks are summaries of the actual speeches. They are "records of events rather than transcripts of words."

Reader Response: In a sense, reading this book was similar to being dropped in the middle of a foreign country where I had limited knowledge of the language and even less knowledge of the social, political, and cultural history. There was specialized vocabulary that I didn’t know and even though I have a recent unabridged dictionary, I could not always find a definition. That was frustrating as not to know the meaning of the word sometimes meant I didn’t understand a comparison. Although I am familiar with interdisciplinary approaches, as an Americanist, I have no background in the time period nor do I recognize the names of the scholars or know their areas of expertise or their theories when they are briefly cited by the authors. Given the above, is my reaction to Winter, Clarke et al a negative one? NO!! Years and years of study and determination went into the text of the book. I am always fascinated by the research process and have great admiration for those who pursue it. Variations of "Remember the cultural context" and "Step outside your 20th century perspective" were words that were repeated over and over in my grad program. Winter and Clarke’s book helps us step into the cultural context of Paul’s world. It reminds us of the importance of individual words and sentence structure in a text. To use an overworked word, it helps us find the subtext of the time.

As to whom might profit the most from reading Ancient Literary Setting, I would suggest it would be a person interested in the New Testament, early Christianity or the Roman Empire who had strong reading skills and a willingness, in some chapters, to be mentally stretched beyond his/her interests.

Meeks, Wayne A.: The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul (New Haven: Yale University, 1983) [Paul B. Putnam].

Introduction

This is a report on the book by Wayne A. Meeks entitled The First Urban Christians: The Social World of the Apostle Paul. This book was published by the Yale University Press in New Haven, Connecticut and London, England in 1983, and it was printed by the Vail-Ballou Press in Binghamton, NY. It can be found in the Library of Congress: ISBN 0-300-03244-7 (pbk.) AACR2.

Author

Wayne A. Meeks is the Woolsey Professor of Biblical Studies at Yale University. He also wrote The Origins of Christian Morality. Professor Meeks wrote The First Urban Christians with the help of a Grant from Yale University because he found a general lack of reliable historical information concerning what it was like to be a Christian in the first century. Published in 1983, Prof. Meeks says he had spent eighteen years trying to answer questions about the first century Christians posed by his college students, and as a result researched and wrote the book to fill the void of information.

Structure

With an introduction plus six chapters Professor Meeks takes the reader from his reasons for writing, along with some discussion of certain debates he was thrust into, to a summary of patterns of beliefs and life among early Christians. Along the way he discusses the urban environment they lived in, the social level of most believers, and the formation, government, and ritual of the Church. Over one third of the book, that is over one hundred of the two hundred ninety-nine pages are filled with Notes, Bibliography, and appendices. These are well organized and very useful.

Evidence

Prof. Meeks makes every effort to draw reliable source material from the scriptures, both Old and New Testaments. This is evidenced by over eleven hundred scripture references in the index. He also draws on a great number off sources, both religious and secular, that present information about the first century. The Bibliography indicates the good professor to be fluent in at least three modern languages: English, French, and German, while context indicates more than a passing knowledge of Greek and Hebrew. While much of the urban environment and the social setting of the time can be drawn from secular archeological and historical sources, the only real insight we have into the early church subculture is through the writings of those early Christians that have come down to us. Of those early writings, the most reliable ones are the scriptures, themselves. Thus, Professor Meeks spends considerable time setting the scene of early Christianity from secular sources, and then with that knowledge in hand, so to speak, he proceeds into the scriptures, especially those that are relatively authenticated, such as the letters of Paul.

Example

In defining the fellowship and its boundaries, Professor Meeks refers to "the language of belonging." Throughout the scriptures one finds words that are meant to make one feel a part if an "in" group, such as "Saints," "the elect," those that are "called," and many others. Even in modern times "special" words are used by subcultures to set themselves apart, and to give a sense of "belonging." By contrasting secular sources with non-secular one readily finds such words for the first century Christian. Not only are the identifiable, but the choice of words reveals much about the philosophy of those using them. It reveals what was important to them and perhaps w even where there were differences or division within the subculture.

Specifically, one might look at page 86 in the Chapter entitled "Formation of the Ekklesia." In the opening of the first full paragraph, Meeks says, "Especially striking is the language that speaks of the members of the Pauline groups as if they were a family." He points out how Paul speaks of them as children of God and also of the Apostle in first two chapters of I Thessalonians.. He then enlarges on this theme by pointing to the rich emotional language as evidenced by references to the Thessalonians as "brothers beloved by God" and the "joy of the Holy Spirit" because of their conversion (I Thess. 1:4, 6). On the next page Prof. Meeks points out that the phrase "My Brothers…" is used sixty-seven times in the undoubtedly authentic Pauline letters and seven times in II Thessalonians, but not at all in Colossians, Ephesians, or the Pastorals. This would not only be an argument concerning authorship, but give a strong indication of Paul’s attitude toward "the Brethren." Paul indeed saw all believers as family, and included that concept in the Gospel he preached.

Reader Response

The reader can’t help but be impressed with quantity of information packed into a relatively small book. The author certainly did his homework, and this causes one to read carefully and with respect. I believe I will use it often as a reference book. There is too much to digest in one reading. Anyone who wants to understand the message and the roots of Christianity better will benefit greatly by spending time with this book.

Meeks, Wayne A., The First Urban Christians:The Social World of the Apostle Paul (New Haven: Yale University press, 1983) [Dianne Graham]

Author

Wayne Meeks had been a professor at Dartmouth, Indiana and Yale Universities up to the printing of this book. It was his students at those universities that Mr. Meeks implies deserve the "first thanks in his preface." He notes that after years of scholastic work earning degrees, his students did not find his teaching intelligible. Thus this delightfully readable book, which omits the usual scholarly vocabulary that, prohibits "lay readers", and students that have yet to receive their doctorate.

Structure

The structure of this book is laid out so that the average reader can grasp the reality of the urban dweller within the Roman Empire and how the social world within that environment was conducive to the formation and expansion of the early Christian movement. Meeks weaves together the social life and work of Paul through his letters and the book of Acts, often beginning and ending with questions many of us ask. In other words, Meeks does not always offer a conclusive opinion but leads us to the realization that in many instances there were various possibilities and various aspects of the social structure that presupposed those options. There are many ah – ahas in this book and it is eye opening to see how much influence the urban social structure influenced the Christian movement.

Evidence

In the first chapter the author gives us a tour of life in the urban centers of the Roman Empire. We are given insight to the social structure of the people within the cities, and how that social structure could and did change on occasion. Urban cities were small in size but the average population was extremely dense, perhaps "two hundred people per acre- an equivalent found in modern Western cities only in industrial slums". (P 28) With this amount of density it is easy to see how the Christian movement, or any movement, might expand rapidly within the urban environment. After giving the reader a solid foundation to the social norms within urban Roman life, Meeks builds a structure that exposes how perfectly ripe the urban centers were for Paul’s missionary work. The founding of intimate local churches and the significance of belonging to a larger, worldwide movement which coincides with the tightness of urban dwelling yet the knowledge of being part of the much larger Roman Empire. There are many such similarities in the social world of the urban dweller and the early Christian movement.

Example

In chapter three "The Formation of the Ekklesia" Meeks brings out many of those similarities. Such as the small groups that formed a household consisted of more than a single-family unit. Although the unit was often referred to as a family, it often contained extended family, slaves and their families, people who were under the care and welfare of the head of the household and perhaps tenants and artisans, or tradesmen that ran shops within that structure. In Paul’s letters we often hear of the "households" of people such as the "household of Chloe", or the "household of Stephanas". These households would consist of many unrelated individuals but those living together under the care and welfare of the head of that household. It would be that in such a high density, within a small area that there would be several people living under one roof. This would make it convenient to have a ready-made congregation within a house. A house-church was a small unit, intimate and distinguished from other households and yet part of the wider Christian church within that city as well as the area and throughout the Empire and than some. There were other small groups within the social structure of urban areas. There were schools of philosophy and rhetoric, and voluntary associations, so the idea of intimate small groups was nothing new or foreign to the society of the early Christian.

Reader’s Response

This is a book worth owning, not only is it a great read, it is chock full of great resources both scriptural (seven pages) as well as a thirty-five page bibliography. This book is a great companion to all of Paul’s work. I highly recommend it as a preaching aid as it helps to create an environment in which to read much of the New Testament

Knox, John. Chapters in a Life of Paul, Revised Edition. Edited with an introduction by Douglas R. A. Hare (Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 1987) [Krista Gary]

AUTHOR

John Knox originally wrote Chapters in a Life of Paul in 1950, to present his ideas about the chronology of the life of Paul presented in Paul’s Letters as compared to The Acts of the Apostles. The hypothesis of this book has its foundation in two articles published by John Knox, "Fourteen Years Later: A Note on the Pauline Chronology" (Journal of Religion, 1936) and "The Pauline Chronology" (Journal of Biblical Literature, 1939).

This original edition was first prepared as an oral delivery for the Quillian Lectures at Emory University and was later edited into book form. The revised edition, on which this review will focus, was published in 1987 with a new introduction and editing by Douglas Hare. This edition takes up debates on the subject which have arisen since the 1950 publishing. The current Chapters in a Life of Paul uses Knox’s more recent essay on this subject which was published in Colloquy on New Testament Studies (1983) in addition to his previous works and study. Hare explains, in the introduction, when he states, "In it Knox has incorporated a good deal of material from his essay in Colloquy, since it well represents the modifications of his original outline which years of reflection and the current debate have suggested." (xviii) This book presents in a clear and concise way the authors ideas on the life of Paul, the sources, chronology, and person himself.

STRUCTURE

Knox divides his book into three separate parts. Part one deals with the sources for constructing a life of Paul. Knox asserts that even the hint of something in a Letter of Paul’s carries more authority than a blatant statement in The Acts of the Apostles. He does allow, however, that even the Letters of Paul have been edited and altered, and at places may not contain the apostle’s own words. Part two focuses on the career of Paul.

Here he reconstructs Paul’s missionary work from the evidence of Paul’s Letters, using Acts only when he feels it is supported by evidence within the Letters. His general assertion in this section is that Luke had a motive for having Jerusalem be Paul’s ‘headquarters’ for his missionary work. Also, Luke had reason to portray any disagreements among the leaders of the Church as being resolved early on in the ministry of Paul. However, Paul’s own letters do not support this. While Luke may have recounted some valid Paul traditions, their place and date may be misrepresented due to Luke’s biases. Part three looks at Paul’s understanding of Christ. This section deals with his conversion, his understanding of the new creation in Christ, and his deliverance of these ideas to his churches. This section deals almost exclusively with Paul’s own letters. The structure of this books gives a thorough overview of the different aspects of a study of Paul’s life, presenting the problems one may encounter and the areas where Paul provides us with much useful information.

EVIDENCE

As evidence for his hypothesis, Knox turns almost solely to the scriptures.

He asserts that Paul did not make three ‘missionary journeys’ as Luke puts forth, but spent considerable time with each of his churches, only going to Jerusalem when he felt it necessary. As Paul became busier with the administration of his churches, Ephesus, not Jerusalem, became his headquarters. Knox also asserts that Paul made only three trips to Jerusalem, and was not connected with Jerusalem at all before his conversion. These three trips are recorded in Acts, but in an incorrect order. Paul’s first trip was to meet Peter (Acts 9:26-27). His second trip was the Jerusalem council, which according to Paul took place late in his career (Acts: 15:1-29). Paul’s final visit to Jerusalem was to bring the offering he had gathered for the Jerusalem church. Luke records this as taking place even before the Jerusalem council, in Acts 11:29-30. The other two visit recorded in Acts are provided by Luke to make a strong connection between Paul and Jerusalem and did not take place, according to the evidence in Paul. Knox cites the scriptures, and studies done by several who had entered into this debate since the original publication of this book, to support this hypothesis.

EXAMPLE

To explain more fully the hypothesis presented above, I will provide an example of a disagreement between the Letters of Paul and Luke’s account in Acts. It is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles that Paul went up to Jerusalem shortly after his conversion to meet with the brethren. Acts 9ff records his conversion, preaching in Damascus, and almost immediate travel to Jerusalem and return to Jerusalem several times.

However, in Galatians, Paul asserts that he did not go to Jerusalem for three years, and then only to meet with Cephas. He did not meet with the other apostles for fourteen more years, at which time he attended the Jerusalem council. By this time he was seventeen years into his career and had already done much of his missionary work, without being endorsed by those in Jerusalem. In the Acts account, however, the Jerusalem council took place early in the career of Paul, and resolved the tension between Paul and the Jerusalem brethren.

The Paul account leaves room for more dissension between Paul and the Jerusalem apostles. Luke was motivated to make it appear that these dissensions had been cleared up early and the later years of Paul and the brethren were not fraught with tension.

READER RESPONSE

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in reading about the life and work of Paul. I felt that the author treated Paul with respect, without making him into a super-human character. He pointed out his strengths, as well as weaknesses, and gave a fascinating study of Paul’s faith life in the last section of the book. Also, I felt that John Knox presented Acts in a very positive light. He did not come across as discounting the book of Acts, but rather explained its use to us as students of the life of Paul. He presented Luke’s motivations in a fair and respectful light. As one interested in the career and thought of Paul, I recommend this book with my highest praise and regard.

Strecker, Georg: The Johannine Letters: A commentary on 1,2 and 3 John. (Minneapolis: Fortress, Press, 1996) 227.94 St83j [Michael Huddy]

AUTHOR

Georg Strecker was Professor of New Testament at the University of Göttingen from 1968-1994. His doctorate was earned under Rudolf Bultmann at the University of Marburg. He is the author of a number of books in German.

This volume is part of the Hermeneia commentary series, which, in particular, is designed to be a critical and historical biblical commentary. It makes use of a wide range of tools, including textual criticism and the history of religion. The series itself is designed for the "serious student" of the Bible, making full use of the original languages. The aim of the series, as well as a description of who the intended audience is can be summed up thusly: "Insofar as possible, the aim is to provide the student or scholar with full critical discussion of each problem of interpretation and with the primary data upon which the discussion is based." (from the Foreword, p. xi). Strecker himself notes that, "Above all, I seek critical readers who are open-minded enough to question traditional positions." (from the Preface, xiii).

Professor Strecker passed away in 1994. This volume was translated by Linda Maloney and edited by Harold Attridge.

STRUCTURE

As one would expect from any commentary, the book begins with the first verse (I John 1) and ends with the last verse (3 John 15). In between, however, we find the verses broken down into sections, based on themes. This is most evident in the section on I John, which, as the longest book, has more detail. For instance, Strecker labels the section I John 1:5-2:17 as Communion with God Must Be Realized in Freedom from Sin and in Mutual Love. That is further broken down, as in the section I John 1:5-10, which is headed "Johannine Dualism (Light and Darkness, Truth and Falsehood) and the Problem of Sin." Unlike other attempts at division (which Strecker acknowledges) he gives greater stress to the polemical quality.

The analysis of the text proceeds in a straightforward manner. The passage at hand is presented at the top of the page (the English presented for the Johannine Epistles is taken from Professor Strecker’s own German translation), the commentary occupies the middle, and footnotes to the commentary appear at the bottom. At various points one finds an "excursus" again based on themes (i.e. on ‘Light and Dark’ for I John 1:5-10).

EVIDENCE

The evidence used, to my mind, is comprehensive. He uses Patristic witnesses to identify the historical tradition, drawing on Polycarp, Justin, Papias, Ireneus, Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Jerome, to name but a few. The history of the text itself is considered - using manuscript evidence: "...the exegesis of the Johannine Letters may not ignore the insecurity of the acceptance of manuscript text groups, and the following discussion must deal with the question of the original reading not primarily by applying general criteria but differently from one case to another. In this process it is not the external manuscript witnesses but the internal criteria that must be the decisive factors in determining the quality of one reading or another" (p. xxxii). In a similar fashion, the place of the letters in the history of the canon is examined. The three letters themselves were probably in use in churches in the 2nd century, even if their canonical status wasn’t gained until later. There are many factors that led to canonicity - among them authorship by an apostle, and general use and acceptance (catholicity - which most likely was influenced by the supposed authorship). Another piece of evidence is the close relationship between the Johannine letters and the Gospel of John, so much so that scholars speak of a "Johannine circle". Strecker says it is more accurate to speak of a "school", since the differences and agreements point to school traditions and a teacher-pupil relationship. This model could also explain the gaps and abrupt transitions within the letter themselves (as nonliterary oral traditions).

 EXAMPLE

RESPONSE

I am firmly convinced that no commentary was ever designed to be read like a novel! (and a technical one, at that). However, the introductions and excurses do make for interesting reading. While this commentary (and the others in the series, I would assume) is best used for looking up information, I found this one to be extraordinarily detailed. The arrangement of the page was almost like three layers - the text, the commentary, and then the footnotes on the commentary - and one almost gets the sense of being an archeologist as one digs deeper and deeper into the levels of meaning.

Neyrey, Jerome H.: 2 Peter, Jude. A New Translation With Introduction and Commentary,   The Anchor Bible Dictionary (Vol. 37c) (New York, NY: Doubleday, 1993) [Ernest Vinal Kneeland]

AUTHOR

Jerome H. Neyrey is a Jesuit priest and professor of New Testament at the University of Notre Dame. He is past associate editor of the Catholic Biblical Quarterly and present associate editor of the Biblical Theological Bulletin. Nerey received his Ph.D. from Yale University. This commentary is written primarily for academia, but would benefit any biblical student.

STRUCTURE

The book is volume 37c of a series of commentaries, by various authors. This series covers the entire bible and is published by the Anchor Bible Dictionary. The text contains two separate commentaries, one for each epistle. Each commentary has the following structure:

EVIDENCE

Neyrey uses a unique approach to his exegesis. He uses the concepts of cultural anthropology and several social science models, of the historical period in question, to arrive at his conclusions. Neyrey uses five major models, which are honor and shame, patron client relationships, purity and pollution, references to the physical body and the group oriented person vs. the modern individualist. He also draws upon the form and structure of the Greek text and historical critical interpretations.

A REPRESENTATIVE EXAMPLE

Nerey uses the group person vs. the modern individual model, the structure of Hellenistic prophecy and the prophetic categorizing scheme of Aunne, to speculate upon the audience of 2 Peter. Aunne differentiates between oracular figures that are attached to civic or national shrines and "free prophets". He further subcategorizes "free prophets" into four categories. Namely, a. technical diviners b. inspired diviners c. collector and interpreter of oracles and d. magical diviners. Neyrey categorizes the biblical "Peter" as a "free prophet" and uses the subcatagories to stress his belief that the audience of 2 Peter was multicultural and not written to a specific Jewish or Greek audience.

" "Peter" in the New Testament is the frequent recipient of revelations from Jesus; in 1:16-18 he is best understood as an "inspired diviner." Yet in 1:20-21, appeal is made to prophetic "writing" (graph s); and according to 3:1-2 and 15-16 other prophetic writings are cited. Hence, the author might well be understood as a "collector and interpreter of oracles," a chr smologos. This comparison with common Hellenistic understandings of oracles and prophets indicates one more instance of the author’s attempt to express himself in multicultural terms." (page 181)

RESPONSE

I thoroughly enjoyed the text. It brought an interesting perspective to the epistles in question and would have been an excellent source for my previous paper. I highly recommend it to anyone writing their exegetical paper on either of these two epistles, especially 2 Peter.

I thought I would add the author’s speculations on authorship, date, location and audience, for any that have chosen Jude or 2 Peter. I hope that it is helpful.

JUDE

Author: Does not commit to a specific author, but states that it is one of the "better" possibilities for authentic authorship. He characterizes the author as having a strong Jewish and scribal background and also well educated.

Date: Discusses the prevailing theories, but does not commit to a specific date.

Location: He leans towards Alexandria, but offers several other possibilities.

Audience: An internal faction within the local church.

2 PETER

Author: Pseudonymous author, very well written in Greek, which suggests that the author was formally educated and most likely, a scribe.

Date: Earlier than most critics who believe that the epistle was written against unknown Gnostics. Neyrey takes the position that the opponents were the Epicureans. He believes that this epistle was written after Jude.

Location: A city and not a rural town, in Asia Minor.

Audience: Bicultural, Jewish and Greek.

Focus: The delay of the parousia, which was an issue for the Epicureans.

Neyrey is in agreement with me, that the author of 2 Peter incorporates the material of Jude. He also mentions the formation of an Old Testament Canon as a probable reason that the author of 2 Peter drops the references to Jewish apocryphal writings included in Jude.

Wilson, Stephen G: The Gentiles and the Gentile Mission in Luke-Acts (Cambridge: University Press, 1973) [Kristen Bjorn]

Author

The book is based on a Ph. D. thesis. Apparently some sections remained unaltered, while other sections were greatly abbreviated. The goal of the book was to take the results of the study of Luke’s treatment of the Gentile theme "to assess modern approaches to the interrelated problems of the theology and historical-reliability of Luke-Acts".

Structure

The book begins with an introduction of Jesus’ attitude towards the Gentiles and with the question did Jesus foresee a historical Gentile mission? The first chapter gives examples of Jesus ministry toward the Gentiles. There are many examples in which Wilson describes Jesus’ hesitancy toward the Gentiles. To Wilson, Jesus had a positive hope for the Gentiles, but he believed that Jesus’ hope would be fulfilled in the apocalyptic events of the Endtime. According to Wilson it would only be at the Endtime that the Gentiles would enter the kingdom of God.

The majority of the book focuses on Luke and Acts and the different stories within Acts such as Matthias’ election, Paul's conversion, and the conversion of Cornelius, just to name a few. Wilson compares the study of the Gentiles in Luke's Gospel with the Markan view also. His hope is to clarify what has happened to the tradition from Jesus up to and including Mark. Of course there are many contradictions which Wilson tries to point out and clarify.

Evidence

Wilson’s bibliography is quite long. He used much material from many well known theologians such as R. Bultmann, A. Harnack, F. Spitta, and F. Hahn. His professors guided him every step of the way also. It is also evident that he is very good at Greek so he was able to go back to the Greek to decipher many verses of scripture.

Example

An example that Wilson gives in regards to the ministry of Jesus and the house of Israel is given in Matthew 15:24. Here he gives an example of a Syrophoenician woman who is begging for Jesus to heal her daughter.

Wilson draws these conclusions: 1. Jesus is reluctant to heal and is surprised at the woman’s faith. 2. In the first instance the woman comes to Jesus; he does not go out of his way to meet her. 3. The woman appears to recognize the priority of the Jews. 4. The healing of the Gentile woman’s daughter is treated by Jesus as an exception to the rule, which is to confine himself to the Jews.

Reader Response

I had a difficult time getting into the book. I am not really sure why, perhaps it was because it was a new idea or an idea that I had never looked at before. I did, however, get some new ideas and some new insights into Jesus and his mission. I am sure that as I read the Gospels again, I will take a new look at the mission of Jesus in regards to the Gentiles. Others may find the book interesting and enjoyable. I would not recommend it as a Bible study for young Christians. Perhaps Christians who are more scholarly would enjoy this book.

Michaels, J. Ramsey: 1 Peter; [Word Biblical Commentary] 49 (Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1988). [AbbyLynn Campbell]

AUTHOR

J. Ramsey Michaels was Professor of Religious Studies at Southwest Missouri State University and presently adjunct professor at the Portland Campus of Bangor Theological Seminary. He wrote this commentary on 1 Peter for the Word Biblical Commentary series in 1988. Michaels presents scholarly and technical information about 1 Peter in a useful and understandable form. The series is meant to reach an audience that spans the spectrum from beginning student, to preacher/teacher, to professional scholar.

STRUCTURE

1 Peter follows the Word Biblical Commentary series format. Genre, socio-historical, literary and theological information is presented for the whole of the text of 1 Peter in the introduction. Following the introduction is an in-depth study of the individual passages that make up 1 Peter. Each unit (chapter) begins with an extensive bibliography and is followed by the author’s own translation of the text with textual notes as to the different readings of different manuscripts. Following the notes is the ‘Form/Structure/Setting’ section which deals with the identification and significance of the passage in regards to modern scholarship. The ‘Comment’ section investigates the meaning of the passage and the ‘Explanation’ draws all sections together and demonstrates the way in which the passage relates to our life and work with Scripture.

EVIDENCE

Information on the different manuscripts and their different translations are provided in the ‘notes’ section. Scholarly research is presented in the ‘bibliography,’ the ‘Form/Structure/Setting,’ and the ‘Comment’ sections. The evidence is interpreted in the ‘Comment’ and ‘Explanation’ sections. In the ‘Explanation’ section Michaels makes hermeneutical leaps and demonstrates how we can relate to the text in our times. Michaels may point to significant metaphors, interpret a piece based on doctrine of 1 Peter or perhaps contrast the passage to Pauline, Synoptic or Early Church Fathers doctrine.

EXAMPLE

In his chapter "Humility and Exaltation (5:6-11)" Michaels translates 6:11 to read "To him belongs the might forever. Amen." (pg292). In his ‘notes’ section Michaels informs the reader that certain texts contain a longer ending, "forever and ever" but that this ending is omitted from other texts and so it may well be a liturgical expansion. In ‘Form/Structure/Setting’ Michaels highlights certain parallels that this passage in 1 Peter has with James 4:7-10 and 1 Clem. 30.1-3 so as to further understand 1 Peter as related to "Persecution-Form" material. The ‘Comment’ section explains the intent and effect of this doxology in relation to other doxologies in 1 Peter. The doxology of vv 11 emphasizes the earlier promised deliverance in such a manner that praises the God of all grace and might. In the ‘Explanation,’ Michaels points out how Peter’s strong doxology offers hope and reassurance to the scattered churches in Asia Minor.

RESPONSE

Any of the books in the Word Biblical Commentary series are very useful in writing an exegesis. I always begin my exegetical search with this particular series because they contain excellent bibliographic material and outline the major arguments in such a concise manner. The book becomes pleasurable to read when I have a particular question in mind because it either offers a treasure or gives me another clue as to where I can go to hunt so more. However, I find that my mind often wanders away from the book when I am not hunting for specific information. The writing is so dense with information and so technical in its arguments that I really have to work hard in understanding what I am reading.

For the treasure hunt of an exegesis, it is a great resource for inspiration and insight. For pleasure reading, I assume it would satiate those who have a particular hunger for this type scholarly work. As for myself, I needed to be disciplined in scheduling reading time for it.

Kee, Howard Clark, Good News to the Ends of the Earth: The Theology of Acts, (Philadelphia, Trinity Press International, 1990). 226.6 K24g

Author

Howard Clark Kee, Professor Emeritus, Boston University, has written many books on the New Testament during his teaching career at Drew University, Bryn Mawr, and most recently at Boston University, where he was chairman of the graduate division of religious studies.

This work focuses on the theology of Acts; Kee argues that treating Acts as a debate between clearly defined Jewish and Gentile positions is to miss the point. Rather, Acts must be viewed in the context of the Roman world in which the early church existed and it is "essential to examine the fluid and varied answers to the widespread and urgent question among Jews as to what constituted their identity as the heirs to God’s covenantal promises and as those addressed by God through the legal and prophetic traditions of ancient Israel." (p.5) There were many differing ideas among Jews about who and what a messiah would be, and what membership in the religious community meant.

Structure

Kee presents the theology of Acts by exploring how different concepts and words are used in the book, as Acts provided a scriptural context for the messiahship of Jesus and the spread of the new church. Kee discusses how Jesus and the role of Spirit are presented in Acts, how the apostles and their role in the growth of the new religion in the first century were presented, and how the structure of the new community was outlined. Kee concludes with a discussion of the importance of witnesses in the early church.

Evidence

Kee uses the Book of Acts and other New Testament writings to illustrate how the author of Acts developed justification for Jesus’ role as messiah, for the role of the Holy Spirit, for the role of the disciples and the spreading of the message from Old Testament scripture. The author of Acts wrote about the growth of the early church in an environment where varying approaches to covenantal relationships with God existed. Through the use of specific words and arguments from Old and New Testament passages, he constructed a skillful argument for Jesus as the Messiah and for the foundation of the new church, with its outreach into the larger community. He showed how the new religion would exist with Gentiles within the Graeco-Roman community, in addition to portraying leadership roles for apostles, elders, deacons, and brethren.

Example

The author of Acts claimed that the connections and continuity between what God did with Jesus and continued to do after Jesus’s death are through the Holy Spirit. To illustrate this, the Spirit is referred to 58 times in Acts, more than in the gospels combined. In Acts 10:38-42, Jesus is ordained by God and the Holy Spirit is the agent that enabled Jesus to fulfill his destiny. The Spirit is presented in Acts 1:8 as the instrument through which the program of Jesus is to be carried out through the disciples. The story of tongues in Acts 2 is evidence of the power of the Spirit. The author of Acts ties it to Old Testament scripture Joel(3:1-5),where the prophet proclaims that God will restore Jerusalem by gathering "all the nations" at the time of judgement. Thus Kee argues that the author of Acts portrays covenant renewal as world-wide and inclusive, so when the apostles reach out beyond birth- right Jews in Acts 6, the scriptural argument has been laid out. Greek-speaking Stephen is "full of faith and of the Holy Spirit" (6:5) Stephen’s death as a martyr, paralleling that of Jesus, is heightened by his vision of Jesus seated at the right hand of God, a vision granted by the Spirit (7.55) The Spirit guides the Antioch church to appoint Barnabas and Paul to preach to the Gentile regions (13:1)

The author of Acts also portrays the Spirit as assisting in confirmation of community membership , as when James refers to the Holy Spirit in Acts 15:28 in guiding them to require only minimum adherance to law from the Gentiles. The Holy Spirit acts as the agent of empowerment and guidance, as when the Spirit guides Paul (20:22-23) in his journey, and as instrument of judgement, as when Ananias fell to his death after lying to the Holy Spirit ( 5:3-5).

Reader Response

I found Kee’s book readable and well argued. Viewing the author of Acts as one whose main focus was to construct a deliberate theological argument makes some of the editorial discrepancies we have noted in Acts somewhat less important. This is not a long book but broad in scope. If anything, I would have liked more historical data. I recommend this thoughtful work.

Lüdemann, Gerd. Early Christianity According to the Traditions in Acts: A Commentary.   Translated by John Bowden. London: SCM Press, 1987. [Kate Winters]

 AUTHOR

What I appreciated most about Lüdemann’s book was the freedom it affords one in studying the Bible texts to be imaginative and to be bold in one’s biblical excursions. It does this in two ways. First, it lays out the range of opinion that exists in the biblical "experts." One is essentially left to one’s own reading and assessment of biblical text after exploring the diverse interpretations of those for whom this is a life’s work and passion. Their work informs, but does not prescribe how to look at any one book or text. Secondly, I am intrigued by a commentary based on "reconstructed traditions" – essentially, rigorous exercises of the imagination. Though this certainly does not read like a "story book," it engages one in a creative glimpse of the early Christian church.