Acts

L. Scott Kellum, Andreas J. Köstenberger, Robert W. Yarbrough, Andreas J. Köstenberger, Robert W. Yarbrough

• Publisher: B&H Academic
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781433676048
• eBook ISBN: 9781535915137
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

The Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (EGGNT) closes the gap between the Greek text and the available lexical and grammatical tools, providing all the necessary information for greater understanding of the text. The series makes interpreting any given New Testament book easier, especially for those who are hard pressed for time but want to preach or teach with accuracy and authority. Each volume begins with a brief introduction to the particular New Testament book, a basic outline, and a list of recommended commentaries. The body is devoted to paragraph-by-paragraph exegesis of the Greek text and includes homiletical helps and suggestions for further study. A comprehensive exegetical outline of the New Testament book completes each EGGNT volume.

IFoundations for the Church and Her Mission (1:1–2:47)

The introductory section of the book of Acts is presented in three movements. In the first movement, Luke describes the preliminary steps (1:1–14): a review of Jesus’s ministry and instructions for the disciples in the immediate present (1:1–5), followed by the ascension (1:6–14). These recapitulate the last passages of Luke (see Luke 24:50–53), marking the transition to Acts. Staying in Jerusalem is the fulfillment of both Luke 24:49 and Acts 1:8.

The second movement is the replacement of Judas (1:15–26). This new information shows how the disciples handled the difficult issue of Judas’s apostasy and highlights many of Luke’s important themes in the book of Acts (e.g., fulfillment of Scripture and God’s sovereignty).

The third movement contains the events at Pentecost (2:1–47). This includes not only the initial filling of the Spirit but also the first major evangelistic speech in the book of Acts. Many of the theological themes that highlight the book are presented in this ch. Thus, the first two chs. provide not only historical background but somewhat of a theological introduction to the book (Keener 1.647).

A. Preliminary Steps (1:1–14)

1. Review of Jesus’s Ministry and Instructions (1:1–5)

The first portion sets up the book by both looking backward to the Gospel of Luke and forward to at least the narrative at hand.

1:1–2 Mέν is a forward-looking device in Koinē Gk., expecting a related clause to follow (Runge 74). Bruce (Acts of the Apostles, 97) rightly suggests this is an example of anacoluthon, pointing to an unexpressed thought. Barrett agrees and suggests the unexpressed item is a ref. to the contents of the present book (citing 1:8, 1:65) connecting the two vols. A series of linguistic clues will suggest this is the correct understanding.

First, the two works are explicitly connected. All agree that πρῶτον λόγον refers to the Gospel of Luke. It does not imply more than two vols. (although the use of the superl. in CGk would; ZG 349; Z §151; cf. T 56). The distinction between the adj. “first,” πρῶτος, and “former,” πρότερος (πρότερος, -α, -ον) was blurring in the Koinē period. Πρῶτος had mostly superseded πρότερος (Keener 1.651). It does, however, closely connect the two. It was typical to employ λόγος when referring to a work that used more than one roll of papyrus (Bruce, Acts of the Apostles, 97). Ἐποιησάμην (1st sg. aor. mid. indic. of ποιέω) is an example of Luke’s CGk. influence. There, ποιέω often appeared in the mid. with a verbal noun (see T 56; ZG 349; Z §227) perhaps attracted to the pers. involvement in the verbal idea. This explicit connection is also made through the address to Theophilus (Θεόφιλε voc. sg. masc. of Θεόφιλος, -ου, ὁ). This is likely a ref. and dedication to Luke’s patron (the same man addressed at Luke 1:3) who would have provided room, board, and writing mats while the book was being produced (CCC 316).

Second, the former treatise is described as what ἤρξατο ὁ Ἰησοῦς ποιεῖν τε καὶ διδάσκειν. The use of ἤρξατο (3rd pl. aor. mid. indic. of ἄρχομαι, “begin”) with two compl. infs. (ποιεῖν and διδάσκειν [both pres. act. inf.]) suggests contrast to the present work. It is more likely that the base mng. of ἤρξατο is intended rather than a meaningless Sem. pleonasm (Bruce, Acts of the Apostles, 97; Keener 1.651–52). Thus, it implies that the content of Acts is the continuation of Jesus’s works. Its appearance with τε forms a closer connection than καί alone, and the joined words have a “logical affinity” (T 339). The description of the gospel as περὶ πάντων that Jesus did is clearly hyperbole yet indicates a comprehensive treatment (Keener 1.653).

A third matter that points to the present work as a continuation of the former is the case of the rel. pron. ὧν. Normally, one would expect it to be in the acc. case (as the obj. of ἤρξατο). Many note that it is not uncommon in Gk. for a rel. pron. to be attracted to the case of its antecedent (see, e.g., BDF §294 [153b–54]). It is likely that the subord. clause takes a highly prominent place in the argument. Altogether then, if the former treatise is about what Jesus began, the present one is about what Jesus continues.

Luke notes the extent of Jesus’s incarnational ministry through the prep. phrase ἄχρι ἧς ἡμέρας . . . ἀνελήμφθη (3rd sg. aor. pass. indic. of ἀναλαμβάνω) ref. to the ascension. Only Luke narrates it in the Gospels, at the end of Jesus’s ministry in the flesh. Acts picks it up at the beginning of the apostolic ministry and beyond. The placement of the rel. pron. (ἧς) in the same phrase as its antecedent (ἡμέρας, acc. sg. fem. of ἡμέρα, -ης, ἡ) is unusual and prominent. It is rightly understood as “until the very day” (BHGNT 3). The adv. temp. ptc. ἐντειλάμενος (nom. sg. masc. of aor. mid. ptc. of ἐντέλλομαι, “command”) is best understood as a ref. to Luke 24:49 (so Bruce, Acts of the Apostles, 99; Bock 53; Haenchen 139; Keener 1.661). The more disputed question is what does the prep. phrase διὰ πνεύματος ἁγίου reference? Since it falls outside the rel. clause phrase that follows (οὓς ἐξελέξατο, “whom he chose”) it is unlikely to be modifying ἐξελέξατο (3rd sg. aor. mid. indic. of ἐκλέγομαι, “chose”) but rather ἐντειλάμενος (so Bock 55; Barrett 1.69; contra Haenchen 139). If so, the continuity between the Spirit speaking through Jesus and the promise of the Spirit to speak through the apostles is hard to miss (Keener 1.661).

1:3 A second rel. pron. clause (with οἷς), modifying ἀποστόλοις in v. 2, describes the forty days between the crucifixion and the ascension. Ἑαυτόν (“himself) and ζῶντα (acc. sg. masc. of pres. act. ptc. of ζάω) are in a double-acc. cstr. with παρέστησεν (3rd sg. aor. act. indic. of παρίστημι, “present”). Mετά with an aor. inf. παθεῖν (aor. act. inf. of πάσχω) and an acc. subj. of the inf. αὐτόν is a temp. cstr. mng. “after he suffered.” (A sim. pres. temp. cstr. in Luke’s writings uses ἐν and a pres. inf.; see, e.g., Luke 2:43). The effects of the presentation are described by the nature of the proofs Jesus gave. Tεκμηρίοις (dat. pl. neut. of τεκμήριον, -ου, τό, “proof”) is a NT hapax signifying a decisive proof (BDAG 994a). This is apparently repeatedly done over the forty days (ἐν πολλοῖς τεκμηρίοις, “by many proofs,” functions as an instr. clause). The substance of the presentation is contained in two adv. ptcs. The first, ὀπτανόμενος (nom. sg. masc. of pres. mid. ptc. of ὀπτάνομαι, “appear”), speaks of Jesus’s appearances. The second, λέγων (nom. sg. masc. of pres. act. ptc. of λέγω), in conjunction with the prep. phrase (nominalized by the acc. neut. pl. τά), describes the theme of Jesus’s discourses during that time: the kingdom of God.

1:4 Συναλιζόμενος (nom. sg. masc. of pres. mid. ptc. of συναλίζω, “gather”; temp.; NT hapax) could also mean “eating with” (a cognate with ἅλας, “salt”). If the latter, the setting is a meal (so Barrett 1.71; Bock 56; Haenchen 141). In favor of a meal, 10:41 does ref. post-resurrection meals and may echo 1:4 (BDAG 964b). The major objection to the normal mng. “gathering” is the singular. However, the use of the singular agrees with the finite vb. it modifies and explains the usage (BHGNT 5). Thus, the objection to the singular is not particularly weighty. At a minimum, either legitimate interpretation implies a gathering (Keener 1.675). That the group is described in v. 6 as οἱ συνελθόντες, “the ones who gathered,” would suggest the normal reading. The command is expressed in indir. discourse (employing infs. as vbs.: μὴ χωρίζεσθαι [pres. pass. inf. of χωρίζω, “do not depart”] and περιμένειν [pres. act. inf. of περιμένω, “wait”]). Πατρός is a subj. gen. Ἣν ἠκούσατέ μου is another ref. to Luke 24:49. The indir. discourse transitions to dir. discourse (ZG 35; note the i...

Table of contents

• Dedication
• Endorsements
• Acknowledgments
• Publisher’s Preface
• General Introduction to the EGGNT Series
• Abbreviations
• Introduction
• I: Foundations for the Church and Her Mission (1:1–2:47)
• II: The Early Church in Jerusalem (3:1–6:7)
• III: Initial Expansion: Stephen, Samaria, and Saul (6:8–9:31)
• IV: Continued Expansion: The First Gentile Converts (9:32–12:24)
• V: The Gentile Mission: Part 1, Asia Minor (12:25–16:5)
• VI: The Gentile Mission: Part Two, Greece (16:6–19:20)
• VII: To the Ends of the Earth: On to Rome (19:21–28:31)
• Exegetical Outline
• Grammar Index
• Scripture Index