The Formal Education of the Author of Luke-Acts

Description

Steve Reece proposes that the author of Luke-Acts was trained as a youth in the primary and secondary Greek educational curriculum typical of the Eastern Mediterranean during the Roman Imperial period, where he gained familiarity with the Classical and Hellenistic authors whose works were the focus of study. He makes a case for Luke’s knowledge of these authors internally by spotlighting the density of allusions to them in the narrative of Luke-Acts, and externally by illustrating from contemporary literary, papyrological, and artistic evidence that the works of these authors were indeed widely known in the Eastern Mediterranean at the time of the composition of Luke-Acts, not only in the schools but also among the general public. Reece begins with a thorough examination of the Greek educational system during the Hellenistic and Roman Imperial periods, emphasizing that the educational curriculum was very homogeneous, at least at the primary and secondary levels, and that children growing up anywhere in the Eastern Mediterranean could expect to receive quite similar educations. His close examination of the Greek text of Luke-Acts has turned up echoes, allusions, and quotations of several of the very authors that were most prominently featured in the school curriculum: Homer, Aesop, Euripides, Plato, and Aratus. This reinforces the view that Luke, along with other writers of the New Testament, lived in a cultural milieu that was influenced by Classical and Hellenistic Greek literature and that he was not averse to invoking that literature when it served his theological and literary purposes. This work identifies and evaluates the echoes, allusions, and quotations of Greek authors such as Homer, Aesop, Epimenides, Euripides, Plato, and Aratus in the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles and accounts for them by proposing that the author experienced at least the primary and secondary levels of the traditional Greek education available in the 1st century CE in the Eastern Mediterranean world. This is a monograph-length project on Classical and Hellenistic influences on the author of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles. The project begins with a thorough treatment of the educational system of the Eastern Mediterranean world during the Hellenistic and Imperial Roman periods. The educational curriculum was very homogeneous, and children growing up anywhere in the Eastern Mediterranean could expect to receive quite similar educations, at least at the primary and secondary levels. Reece’s close examination of the Greek text of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles has turned up echoes, allusions, and actual quotations of the very authors that were most prominently studied in the school curriculum. It is therefore his contention that Luke experienced a typical Greek education through the primary and secondary levels, but that he probably did not continue through the tertiary level, which concentrated either on rhetoric or philosophy. The monograph includes individual chapters on Homer, Aesop, Epimenides, Euripides, Plato, and Aratus. The monograph is intended for Biblical scholars, Classicists, students in graduate programs and divinity schools, and the interested public. Passages in ancient languages are translated by the author into English. Cover page LIBRARY OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES Title page Copyright page Dedication Contents Figures Preface 1 Introduction to the Project 2 The Author of Luke-Acts Some Traditions about the Author of Luke-Acts What the Text of Luke-Acts Itself Tells Us about Its Author 3 The Education of the Author of Luke-Acts Ancient Education Illustrations of Ancient School Exercises Did Luke Know Latin? 4 What Greek Authors would Luke have Known? Reading Lists for Students Advocated by Ancient Rhetoricians and Grammarians The Material Remains of Literary Papyri, Generally, and of School Texts, Specifically, in Hellenistic and Roman Egypt Quotations and Citations of Ancient Literary Works by Luke’s Contemporaries Conclusion 5 Luke and Homer Homeric Resonance in Luke’s Account of Paul’s Sea Voyage and Shipwreck (Acts 27:1–28:16) 6 Luke and Aesop The Rejection of Jesus in Nazareth and Aesop in Delphi (Lk. 4:14-30) Two Possible Quotations from Aesop’s Fables in the Double Tradition An Aesopic Quote Unique to the Gospel of Luke “Christianization” of the Aesopic Corpus “Aesopification” of the Christian Corpus Aesopic Influence within the Context of Luke’s Cultural Milieu Conclusion 7 Luke and Epimenides and Aratus (Acts 17:23, 28a, and 28b) Aratus Τοῦ γὰρ καὶ γένος ἐσμέν (Acts 17:28b) “For we too are his off spring” Epimenides Ἀγνώστῳ Θεῷ (Acts 17:23) “To the unknown god” Epimenides Ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ ζῶμεν καὶ κινούμεθα καὶ ἐσμέν (Acts 17:28a) “For in him we live and move and are” 8 Luke and Euripides—Part One: How Did Luke Know the Dramas of Euripides? How Might Luke Have Been Exposed to Euripides? Theaters that Luke Likely Encountered What Was Performed in First-Century ce Theaters? 9 Luke and Euripides—Part Two: Thematic and Verbal Echoes of Euripides’ Bacchae in the Acts of the Apostles Was Luke Familiar with the Cult of Dionysus? Did Luke Know the Bacchae of Euripides Specifically? Some Thematic and Verbal Echoes of the Bacchae in the Acts of the Apostles Acts 26:14: σκληρόν σοι πρὸς κέντρα λακτίζειν “it is difficult for you to kick against the goads” 10 Luke and Plato The Study of Plato’s Apology of Socrates in the Ancient Educational Curriculum Familiarity with Plato’s Apology of Socrates among Luke’s Contemporaries Luke’s Portrayal of Jesus as a Socratic Figure in the Gospel of Luke Luke’s Portrayal of Peter (and Other Apostles) as a Socratic Figure in Acts 4 and 5 Luke’s Portrayal of Paul as a Socratic Figure in Acts Appendix I: Earliest Known Manuscript of the Gospel of Luke Appendix II: Latin Literary Texts Preserved on Documents Contemporary with Luke Bibliography Index of Modern Authors Index of Ancient Passages