Slides: Luke's Historiography
Slide 1
Luke 1:1-4 tells us much about sources available to Luke.
Written sources (1:1)
Oral sources (from eyewitnesses) (1:2)
Luke confirmed this with his own investigations (1:3)
Luke couldn’t “fudge,” since the material was already widely known in the early church (1:4)
Slide 2
Luke wrote between 60 and 90 (perhaps in the early 70s)
By the time he writes, many people have already written (1:1)
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us.
This means that many had written about Jesus’ life and teachings within three decades of the events
Are the events of three decades before us shrouded in amnesia?
Slide 3
ORAL Sources (1:2)
Just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word.
“handing down” is the technical language of oral traditioning
How accurate could this be?
Slide 4
How accurate was oral transmission?
We must consider memorization in antiquity
Notes; sayings collections
In the Gospels’ evidence for Aramaic rhythm
Prominence of eyewitnesses in the Church
Slide 5
Memorization
Storytellers (hours!)
Orators (memoria)
Elementary education
Disciples of teachers
Primary responsibility
Pythagorean example
Would learn deeds as well
Gathered into “lives” and sayings collections
Slide 6
Note taking
Rabbis’ disciples mainly memorized (like a cistern that never loses a drop)
But could take notes
Greek disciples’ notes could be quite accurate
Arrian for Epictetus
Quintilian’s students
Slide 7
Aramaic rhythm
Jesus probably often spoke Aramaic
The bilingual Jerusalem church probably fairly quickly moved to Greek (Acts6)
But sayings were often translated so carefully they retain Aramaic figures of speech
When translated back into Aramaic, about 80% have discernable rhythm—as if given in an easily memorized form
One warning: back-translation remains difficult
e.g. one attempt to translate Sirach back into Hebrew was later refuted by a discovery of a Hebrew manuscript of Sirach
The translator was wrong in every verse!
Slide 8
Eyewitnesses remained prominent in the early Church
Leaders of church (Gal 2:1, 1Cor 15)
Would eyewitnesses die for a claim they knew to be false?
The Gospels cite women on the resurrection- despite the prejudice against women’s testimony
Slide 9
Luke also carefully “investigated” or had “thorough knowledge” (1:3)
Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning… (1:3)
Historians used wording to show “thorough familiarity”
Best Hellenistic historians traveled to interview sources
How about Luke?
Slide 10
When could Luke have checked out these sources?
“We” in Acts 16:10- ch.28
some claim “fictional” device
some claim left over from travel journal
but “we” normally means “we” (Nock)
That we would grant the claim to any other ancient historian but Luke says something about our biases
Includes 2 years spent with Paul in Judea
Slide 11
Luke appeals to what was already common knowledge in the Church
So that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught (1:4)
You don’t make up things that contradict what your hearers already know!
Similarly, Paul cites his audience’s knowledge of his miracles
Paul claims witnesses for the resurrection that anyone could check out (1 Cor 15:6)
Slide 12
Other Evidence:
Later debates central to the church are missing in the Gospels (incl. Lk)
- Food laws (except Mk 7)
- Gentiles (except Mk 7, Matt 8)
- Circumcision (anywhere)
If the Church were making things up about Jesus, wouldn’t they have been a little more relevant to their time?
Slide 13
Paul, the earliest NT writer, sometimes attests what we have in the Synoptics
- The resurrection tradition and witnesses (1 Cor 15)
- The Lord’s Supper (1 Cor 11)—“passed on”
- The divorce saying (1 Cor 7)
- Jesus’ end-time teachings (1 Th 4-5; 2 Th 2)
- Possibly some of Jesus’ ethics (rom 12; 1 Th 4)
If writers were freely inventing stories
- We wouldn’t have “Synoptic” Gospels
- Or various parallels in John (which is mostly independent)
- Noted, e.g., by E. P. Sanders
Slide 14
Acts Correspondences with External history in 13-28
. Attestation of Sergii Paulii (13:7)
. Iconium ethnically Phrygian (14:6)
. Unlike most towns, Lystra preserved local language (14:11)
. Zeus and Hermes paired in local inscriptions (14:12)
. From south, Derbe before Lystra (16:1)
. Thessalonica’s demo ? politarchs (17)
18:2 fits likeliest time of the expulsion
Slide 15
19:35 title of Ephesus chief officer was grammateus
He theos for Artemis: Ephesian inscriptions
19:38; custom of governor holding courts in assize districts in Roman Asia
20:4; form Beroiaios fits local inscriptions
21:31, 35, 40: archaeology confirms Luke’s topography of the temple
“Claudius” Lysias (23:26) fits recent citizenship-acquisition
Citizenship cheaper toward end of Claudius’ reign (22:28)
Slide 16
Ananias is the correct high priest at the time (23:2)
Felix’s tenure fits narrative date (23:24; 24:27)
Antipatris is the right stop between Jerusalem and Caesarea
. Also, the road is now known (23:31)
. Also the right place (among Gentiles) to relieve the infantry
Cilicia was under the Syrian governor in precisely this period (23:34)
Drusilla was married to Felix at this time (24:24, though he had two previous marriages)
Slide 17
Arrival of Porcius Festus at the right time (24:27)
Bernice was with Agrippa II at precisely this time (vs. her marriages; 25:13)
They were known to visit new officials (25:13)
In Act 27:1- 28:15:
. the itinerary, weather conditions, and sailors’ actions
. correct often down to minute details
Slide 18
Adolf von Harnack: Paul’s letter corroborate Acts (39 examples)
E.g., Jerusalem as starting place (Gal 2, Rom 15)
Persecution of Judean churches (1Th 2:14)
Judean churches kept law (Gal 2:12)
Paul wondered how Jerusalem church would accept him (Rom 15:31)
Twelve led Jerusalem church (Gal 1:17; 1Cor 15:5)
Barnabas as apostle, but not one of the Twelve (1Cor 9:5-6, 15:7)
Slide 19
Among 12, esp. Peter and John (Gal 2:9)
Peter as leader (Gal 1:18; 1Cor 15:5)
Peter made journeys (Ac 9; Gal 2:7-8, 11)
Lord’s brothers (not =12) (1Cor 9:5)
James heads “Lord’s brothers” and is important leader (1Cor 15:7; Gal 2:9, 12)
Barnabas as Paul’s chief coworker in earliest mission (Gal 2; 1Cor 9:6)
Mark closely connected to Barnabas (Ac 15:37; Col 4:10)
Silas as Paul’s companion, Timothy as subordinate (1Th 1:1; 2Cor 1:19)
Slide 20
Many members of Jerusalem at early period (1Cor 15:6)
Baptism used for initiation
Signs and wonders with apostles (2Cor 12:11-12)
Paul persecuted Christians (Gal 1:13-14; 1Cor 15:9; Phil 3:6)
Paul on par with Peter (Gal 2:7)
Paul converted near Damascus by revelation of the Lord (Gal 1:12; 1Cor 15:8)
Paul escaped Damascus in a basket from the wall (2Cor 11:32)
Slide 21
Paul went to Jerusalem afterward (Gal 1:18-19)
Paul ministered in Jerusalem (Rom 15:19)
Cities of Paul’s ministry in Acts 13-14 fit 2 Tim 3:11
Ac 13:38-39: fit Paul’s teaching about justification by faith
But not just Harnack……
Slide 22
Thomas Campbell’s chronology of Paul (slightly augmented)
Persecution (Gal 1:13-14)
Conversion (Gal 1:15-17a)
To Arabia (Gal 1:17b; not in Acts)
To Damascus (Gal 1: 17c)
To Jerusalem (Gal 1:18-19)
To Syria and Cilicia (Gal 1:21)
To Jerusalem 14 years later (Gal 2:1-10)
Antioch (Gal 1:11)
To Philippi (1Thess 2, Phil 4:15-16)
To Thessalonica (1Thess 2:1-2)
Slide 23
To Athens (1Th 3:1-3)
To Corinth (2Cor 11:7-9)
To Ephesus (1Cor 16:8-9)
To Troas (2Cor 2:12)
To Macedonia (2Cor 2:13;8-9)
To Corinth (2Cor 9:4; 7:5)
To Jerusalem (Rom; 22-25)
To Rome (Rom 15:22-25)
Slide 24
Vielhauer’s critique of Luke “non-Pauline” theology
All agree that Luke wrote up the speeches in his own words
But students’ emphases may differ from teachers
Moreover, natural theology in Acts 17/Rom 1 close (Bruce, Porter, others)
Acts 9:20 (Son of God); 13:38-39 (justification)
Acts 20 even includes wording (“we” material)
Major problem in Vielhauer: Paul keeps law
But reflects Vielhauer’s theological misreading of Epistles (as often noted now)
Also 1Cor 9:19-23
Slide 25
Observations on Lukan historiography
Challenges where we would expect them
- Acts 5:36-37 (speech behind closed doors)
- Cf. Acts 25
Most accurate where we would expect for an ancient historian
- Accurate and detailed in we-narratives
- Fits chronological sequence wherever available in Paul’s letters
- Preserves the substance of Mark (and “Q”) in the Gospel
Slide 26
The Speeches in Acts
About one-quarter of the book’s content
Many are apologetic:
- Answer Jewish charges (Acts 7)
- Paul’s defense speeches (Acts 22-26)
Others are evangelistic:
- Synagogue sermon (Acts 13)
- Proclamation to farmers (Acts 14)
- To Philosophers (Acts 17)
Slide 27
Historians used speeches
To summarize likely speech-events
To communicate different points of view (practicing prosopopoiia)
To provide perspective on events
Slide 28
How accurate were speeches?
That depends on who wrote them and how much information they had:
Josephus on the speech at Masada
But usually followed basic thrust when available (Thucydides)
Later historians often simply rewrote earlier historians’ speeches
- Hence substance put in new way
Slide 29
- Dibelius: historians rhetorically composed speeches
- yet even Livy follows basic substance
- truth somewhere between:
notes if they were present; gist
prosopopiia: knowledge (when available) of the speechmaker’s style and proper speechmaking technique
historical verisimilitude- get as close as possible
authentic by ancient standards
different genre than modern historiography
Slide 30
Compare Jesus’ sayings in Luke
Luke does edit to emphasize consistent themes (apostolic message)
But should have had access to the substance of those speeches
Speeches themselves considered historical events worthy of memory
Rhetorical historians elaborated- vs. Luke’s speech summaries.