Kenneth D. Litwak, «Israel’s Prophets Meet Athens’ Philosophers: Scriptural Echoes in Acts 17,22-31», Vol. 85 (2004) 199-216
Generally, treatments of Paul’s speech note biblical parallels to Paul’s wording but find no further significance to these biblical allusions. This study argues that Luke intends far more through this use of the Scriptures of Israel beyond merely providing sources for Paul’s language. I contend that, through the narrative technique of "framing in discourse", Luke uses the Scriptures of Israel to lead his audience to interpret Paul’s speech as standing in continuity with anti-idol polemic of Israel’s prophets in the past. As such, read as historiography, Luke’s narrative uses this continuity to legitimate Paul’s message and by implication, the faith of Luke’s audience. Luke’s use of the Scriptures here is ecclesiological.
Israel’s Prophets Meet Athens’ Philosophers:
Scriptural Echoes in Acts 17,22-31
Acts 17,22-31 does not cite the Scriptures of Israel directly, but as
many have observed, Paul’s words parallel many scriptural texts.
Generally, studies on Acts 17 address matters such as natural theology
or the Greek philosophical background of the speech, but do not focus
upon the role of the scriptural references as such, even when the
presence of such intertextual connections is recognized. This study
focuses on the specific role of the scriptural intertexts that are echoed
in Paul’s speech in order to contribute to a better understanding of the
function of the Scriptures of Israel in both this passage and, implicitly,
Luke-Acts generally. In contrast to how scriptural parallels in Paul’s
speech are generally treated by scholars, I will show that Luke uses
intertextual echoes of the Scriptures of Israel in Acts 17,22-31 to
present Paul’s message as “prophetic speechâ€. Paul’s speech stands in
continuity with those of Israel’s prophets in the past. This continuity
(recognized by scholars in other regards) serves an important purpose
in Luke’s narrative. Luke establishes continuity in order to validate
that Paul’s message is of God, and by extension, Luke’s audience, and
their faith that is based upon the preaching of the gospel, such as that
done by Paul. I will first examine the speech itself, looking for
intertextual echoes of Israel’s Scriptures. Then I will discuss the larger
function of these echoes beyond that of serving in Paul’s apologetic.
This study will contribute to a greater understanding of the function of
the Scriptures of Israel in Paul’s speech and Luke-Acts as a whole.
1. Paul as Prophet in Acts
As a preface to my argument, it is useful to observe that Luke
characterized Paul as a prophet (1). Several pieces of data support this
(1) I am not considering Luke’s characterization of others in Luke-Acts as
prophets. For this, see D. MOESSNER “‘The Christ Must Suffer’: New Light on the
Jesus – Peter, Stephen, Paul Parallels in Luke-Actsâ€, NT 28 (1986) 225, who
argues that “the characters of Jesus, Peter, Stephen and Paul are conceived of as
prophets. Peter, Stephen and Paul are “Deuteronomistic rejected prophets†(227).
See also D.P. MOESSNER, “Paul and the Pattern of the Prophet Like Moses in
Actsâ€, SBL Seminar Papers, 1983 (SBLSP 22; Chico, CA 1983) 202-212, who
FOLLOW US