Studies in the Acts of the Apostles

Collected Essays

Rick Strelan

• Publisher: Pickwick Publications
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781532676277, 9781532676284
• eBook ISBN: 9781532676291
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

This collection of essays is indicative of the years of research that the author has devoted to the Acts of the Apostles. In a very easy style, some of the intriguing episodes in Acts are understood through the lens of ancient literature and the worldview that is reflected in it. The intention is to try and read them as an early Christian might have heard them even if, from a modern perspective, that reading appears quite strange. It is hoped that the modern reader might be intrigued and even inspired to read Acts again and so to explore its strange events and people even more deeply. More broadly, such an exploration might lead to an appreciation that all writings that many Christians now hold as "inspired and authoritative" are deeply embedded in an ancient cultural context.

The Keys to the Gate Beautiful (Acts 3:1–10)

In Acts 3:2, it is said that a crippled man used to be placed every day πρὸς τὴν θύραν τοῦ ἱεροῦ τὴν λεγομένην Ὡραίαν, which is commonly translated, “at the gate of the Temple called Beautiful.” The same location is mentioned again later in the episode (3:10) when the healed man is identified as the one who used to sit ἐπὶ τῇ Ὡραίᾳ Πύλῃ, translated, again commonly, “at the Gate Beautiful.” This name is striking, but attempts by scholars to locate this gate have met with little success or agreement.45 Scholars have suggested both the upper inner gate, the Nicanor, and the lower outer gate, the Shushan, as candidates for the Beautiful Gate.

There are at least three obstacles in satisfactorily identifying this gate: (1) Extant primary sources do not mention the Beautiful Gate (the Mishnaic tractate Middoth; Josephus, Ant. 15.410–25; Wars 5.190–221). (2) The manuscript traditions at Acts 3:11 are confused. One tradition implies that the Beautiful Gate is in the outer walls of the Temple precincts, thus favoring the Shushan identification. The Western text, however, has the disciples and the healed man pass out through the gate into Solomon’s Porch, indicating that the gate is further inside the Temple, and thus supports the Nicanor theory. In addition, it is not clear when Luke understands τὸ ἱερόν to refer only to the sanctuary itself and when to the whole Temple precincts—if he intends any distinction at all. Also, the gate entering Solomon’s Porch (3:11) had no door (Josephus, Wars 5.5; Middoth 2) and yet Acts 3:2 says the crippled used to be placed at a Temple “door” (θύρα). (3) Luke’s knowledge of the Temple is problematic. As Haenchen says: “It is by no means certain that we may assume in Luke our own knowledge of the Temple, let alone a better.”46

For my purposes, it is not necessary to repeat the arguments in favor of identifying the gate with either Nicanor or Shushan.47 Suffice it to say with Hengel: “It is hardly possible to arrive at a really satisfying conclusion.”48 I do not propose to solve the problem, but rather to offer three very similar keys in an effort to unlock the mysteries of this Temple gate. The first key is to read the adjective ὡραίος not in its aesthetic sense of “beauty,” but according to its common meaning, “ripe”; the second, to locate Acts 3:1–10 as taking place during the Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkoth); and the third key is to use the Hallel psalms, recited during Tabernacles, as a text through which to read the passage.

The “Ripe Gate”?

It is clear that the gates of the Temple were known by different names not only in their history but also in their function. This makes sense of the fact that numerous names are given to the Temple gates and doors in the literary sources. For example, in the Mishnah, the eastern gate—often identified as the gate of Acts 3—is known by seven different names.49 Mowinckel claims that Temple and processional gates were given symbolic names, noting as an example the “Gate of Righteousness,” referred to in Ps 118:19–20, and claiming that this was so called because it was the gate through which the righteous entered in festive procession.50 Whether Mowinckel is correct about that particular gate or not, there is no doubt that some gates were named according to what was brought through them: The Gate of the Firstborn, The Gate of Burning, the Water Gate, The Gate of the Offering, to name a few (Middoth 1–2).

In addition, it seems that some Temple gates were only used for activities that related to Temple ritual. For example, in Ezek 46:1 the Lord commands that “the gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut on the six working days, but on the sabbath day it shall be opened and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.” The passage goes on to command the prince to take a special role and place at the gate and for the priests and people to worship at the gate’s entrance on those holy days (Ezek 46:2–8).

It seems reasonable to suggest, therefore, that the gate through which Peter and John enter...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Permissions
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• “We Hear Them Telling in Our Own Tongues the Mighty Works of God” (Acts 2:11)
• The Keys to the Gate Beautiful (Acts 3:1–10)
• Gamaliel’s Hunch
• The Running Prophet (Acts 8:30)
• Tabitha: The Gazelle of Joppa (Acts 9:36–41)156
• Who Was Bar Jesus (Acts 13:6–12)?186
• Strange Stares: Atenizein in Acts
• Recognizing the Gods (Acts 14:8–10)
• Acts 19:12: Paul’s “Aprons” Again
• Going In and Out: Israel’s Leaders in Acts
• Midday and Midnight in the Acts of the Apostles413
• Luke’s Use of Isaiah LXX in Acts
• Bibliography