Paul in Athens

The Popular Religious Context of Acts 17

by Clare K. Rothschild

Extent: 215 pages

Publisher: Mohr Siebeck

Subjects: Biblical Studies

Series: Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament

Series volume number: 341

Language: English

Hardback (Published)

(November 2014)

ISBN: 9783161532603

6.57 x 9.13 inches

Price: $143.00

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Synopsis
Contributing Authors
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Paul’s visit to Athens, in particular the Areopagus speech, is one of the most well known excerpts of early Christian literature. It is the most significant speech by Paul to a Gentile audience in Acts functioning as a literary crest of the overall narrative. Yet critical analyses also describe it as an ad hoc blend of Greek and Jewish elements. In this study, Clare K. Rothschild examines how the nexus of popular second-century traditions crystallizing around the Cretan prophet Epimenides explains these seemingly miscellaneous and impromptu aspects of the text. Her investigation exposes correspondences between Epimenidea and the Lukan Paul, not limited to the altar to “an unknown god” and the saying, “In him, we live, and move, and have our being” (17:28a), concluding that in addition to popular philosophical ideals, the episode of Paul in Athens utilizes popular ‘religious’ topoi to reinforce a central narrative aim.

Paul’s visit to Athens, in particular the Areopagus speech, is one of the most well known excerpts of early Christian literature. It is the most significant speech by Paul to a Gentile audience in Acts functioning as a literary crest of the overall narrative. Yet critical analyses also describe it as an ad hoc blend of Greek and Jewish elements. In this study, Clare K. Rothschild examines how the nexus of popular second-century traditions crystallizing around the Cretan prophet Epimenides explains these seemingly miscellaneous and impromptu aspects of the text. Her investigation exposes correspondences between Epimenidea and the Lukan Paul, not limited to the altar to “an unknown god” and the saying, “In him, we live, and move, and have our being” (17:28a), concluding that in addition to popular philosophical ideals, the episode of Paul in Athens utilizes popular `religious’ topoi to reinforce a central narrative aim.

By (author) Clare K Rothschild

"Paul in Athens is a work of fine scholarship that reflects broad awareness, new advances in scholarship, and a constructive interpretation that challenges traditional assumptions about Acts 17:16-34 and the narrative's engagement with the Epimenidea. For these very reasons, interpreters of Acts will reckon with, learn from, and be indebted to Rothschild's study for many years to come." --Troy M. Troftgruben, Wartburg Theological Seminary, Review of Biblical Literature 3.16.17
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