The topos of Divine Testimony in Luke-Acts. James R. McConnell

      

      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

      Eugene, OR 97401

      www.wipfandstock.com

      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