The topos of Divine Testimony in Luke-Acts
James R. McConnell Jr.
The topos of Divine Testimony in Luke-Acts
Copyright © 2014 James R. McConnell Jr. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.
Pickwick Publications
An Imprint of Wipf and Stock Publishers
199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3
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isbn 13: 978-1-62032-755-5
eisbn 13: 978-1-63087-363-9
Cataloguing-in-Publication data:
McConnell, James R., Jr.
The topos of divine testimony in Luke-Acts / James R. McConnell Jr.
xii + 322 pp. ; 23 cm. Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 13: 978-1-62032-755-5
1. Bible. Luke—Criticism, interpretation, etc. 2. Bible. Acts—Criticism, interpretation, etc 3. Word of God (Christian theology)—Biblical teaching. 4. Authority—Religious aspects—Christianity—Biblical teaching. I. Title.
BS2589.6 H62 M26 2014
Manufactured in the U.S.A.
To Susan, Luke and Mary, Evan, and Molly:
Εὐχαριστῶ τῷ θεῷ μου πάντοτε περὶ ὑμῶν
ἐπὶ τῇ χάριτι τοῦ θεοῦ τῇ δοθείσῃ ὑμῖν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ
1 Corinthians 1:4
Acknowledgments
I would be remiss not to recognize those without whom this project would have been impossible. Dr. Mikeal Parsons has been an outstanding mentor, teacher, supervisor, and friend; to him I am especially grateful for opening my eyes to the world of ancient rhetoric and narrative criticism, and for encouraging me to pursue publication of this work. This book would not exist without his help. I am thankful to Dr. Charles Talbert and Dr. David Jeffrey for their willingness to serve on my dissertation committee and for always providing such timely and insightful critique of my work. Of course, any errors in this volume are solely my responsibility.
But it is to my family that I owe the largest debt of gratitude. My wife, Susan, and children, Luke (and now Mary), Evan, and Molly, have exhibited incredible flexibility in allowing their lives to be interrupted and move across the country (and, in some cases, back again!) so that I might pursue the calling to minister to students through theological education. They have demonstrated great patience in allowing me the time I needed for my studies and research, and they have never failed to support and encourage me along the way. I am truly blessed beyond measure by my children and by my wife, who daily models and practices sacrificial love.
Abbreviations
Abbreviations for biblical books, ancient sources, and secondary sources referenced in this study have been adapted from The SBL Handbook of Style (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1999).
| AB | Anchor Bible |
| AJBI | Annual of the Japanese Biblical Institute |
| AJP | American Journal of Philology |
| AJT | American Journal of Theology |
| ANRW | Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt: Geschichte und Kultur Roms im Spiegel der neueren Forschung |
| BBR | Bulletin for Biblical Research |
| BDAG | Bauer, W., F. W. Danker, W. F. Arndt, and F. W. Gingrich. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago, 1999 |
| Bib | Biblica |
| BN | Biblische Notizen |
| BRev | Bible Review |
| BSac | Bibliotheca sacra |
| BZ | Biblische Zeitschrift |
| BZNW | Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft |
| CBET | Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology |
| CBQ | Catholic Biblical Quarterly |
| CJ | Classical Journal |
| Colloq | Colloquium |
| CQ | Classical Quarterly |
| CurTM | Currents in Theology and Mission |
| EKKNT | Evangelisch-katholischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament |
| ETL | Ephemerides theologicae lovanienses |
| EvT | Evangelische Theologie |
| ExpTim | Expository Times |
| HSCP | Harvard Studies in Classical Philology |
| HTKNT | Herders theologischer Kommentar zum Neuen Testament |
| HTR | Harvard Theological Review |
| Int | Interpretation |
| JBL | Journal of Biblical Literature |
| JES | Journal of Ecumenical Studies |
| JRS | Journal of Roman Studies |
| JSNT | Journal for the Study of the New Testament |
| JSNTSup | Journal for the Study of the New Testament: Supplement Series |
| JSOT | Journal for the Study of the Old Testament |
| JTS | Journal of Theological Studies |
| LASBF | Liber annuus Studii biblici franciscani |
| LB | Linguistica Biblica |
| LCL | Loeb Classical Library |
| L&N | Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. Edited by J. P. Louw and E. A. Nida. 2nd ed. New York, 1989 |
| LXX | Septuagint |
| NAC | New American Commentary |
| Neot | Neotestamentica |
| NIGTC | New International Greek Testament Commentary |
| NovT | Novum Testamentum |
| NovTSup | Supplements to Novum Testamentum |
| NRSV | New Revised Standard Version |
| NRTh | La nouvelle revue théologique |
| NTS | New Testament Studies |
| ProEccl | Pro ecclesia |
| PRSt | Perspectives in Religious Studies |
| RCT | Revista catalana de teología |
| ResQ | Restoration Quarterly |
| RevExp | Review and Expositor |
| RevScRel | Revue des sciences religieuses |
| RSR | Recherches de science religieuse |
| SBLDS | Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series |
| SBLSP | Society of Biblical Literature Seminar Papers |
| SBT | Studies in Biblical Theology |
| SJT | Scottish Journal of Theology |
| SNTSMS | Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series |
| SNTSU | Studien zum Neuen Testament und seiner Umwelt |
| SP | Sacra pagina |
| STRev | Sewanee Theological Review |
| TBei | Theologische Beiträge |
| Them | Themelios |
| TJ | Trinity Journal |
| TJT | Toronto Journal of Theology |
| TynBul | Tyndale Bulletin |
| TZ | Theologische Zeitschrift |
| VF | Verkündigung und Forschung |
| WBC | Word Biblical Commentary |
| WMANT | Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen Testament |
| WUNT | Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament |
| WW | Word and World |
| ZNW | Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche |
1 • Introduction
In the preface to Acts, the author, addressing Theophilus, describes the contents of the Third Gospel (τὸν . . . πρῶτον λόγον) as being about what “Jesus did and taught from the beginning” (Acts 1:1; emphasis added).1 In Acts 4, when Peter and John are called before the council