The Formal Education of the Author of Luke-Acts (The Library of New Testament Studies, 669)

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 1 LIBRARY OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDIES 2 Title page 4 Copyright page 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Figures 9 Preface 11 1 Introduction to the Project 14 2 The Author of Luke-Acts 28 Some Traditions about the Author of Luke-Acts 28 What the Text of Luke-Acts Itself Tells Us about Its Author 33 3 The Education of the Author of Luke-Acts 42 Ancient Education 43 Illustrations of Ancient School Exercises 48 Did Luke Know Latin? 58 4 What Greek Authors would Luke have Known? 64 Reading Lists for Students Advocated by Ancient Rhetoricians and Grammarians 65 The Material Remains of Literary Papyri, Generally, and of School Texts, Specifically, in Hellenistic and Roman Egypt 70 Quotations and Citations of Ancient Literary Works by Luke’s Contemporaries 83 Conclusion 97 5 Luke and Homer 100 Homeric Resonance in Luke’s Account of Paul’s Sea Voyage and Shipwreck (Acts 27:1–28:16) 106 6 Luke and Aesop 132 The Rejection of Jesus in Nazareth and Aesop in Delphi (Lk. 4:14-30) 135 Two Possible Quotations from Aesop’s Fables in the Double Tradition 140 An Aesopic Quote Unique to the Gospel of Luke 147 “Christianization” of the Aesopic Corpus 151 “Aesopification” of the Christian Corpus 153 Aesopic Influence within the Context of Luke’s Cultural Milieu 156 Conclusion 158 7 Luke and Epimenides and Aratus (Acts 17:23, 28a, and 28b) 160 Aratus Τοῦ γὰρ καὶ γένος ἐσμέν (Acts 17:28b) “For we too are his off spring” 162 Epimenides Ἀγνώστῳ Θεῷ (Acts 17:23) “To the unknown god” 168 Epimenides Ἐν αὐτῷ γὰρ ζῶμεν καὶ κινούμεθα καὶ ἐσμέν (Acts 17:28a) “For in him we live and move and are” 171 8 Luke and Euripides—Part One: How Did Luke Know the Dramas of Euripides? 184 How Might Luke Have Been Exposed to Euripides? 184 Theaters that Luke Likely Encountered 188 What Was Performed in First-Century ce Theaters? 190 9 Luke and Euripides—Part Two: Thematic and Verbal Echoes of Euripides’ Bacchae in the Acts of the Apostles 200 Was Luke Familiar with the Cult of Dionysus? 200 Did Luke Know the Bacchae of Euripides Specifically? 202 Some Thematic and Verbal Echoes of the Bacchae in the Acts of the Apostles 205 Acts 26:14: σκληρόν σοι πρὸς κέντρα λακτίζειν “it is difficult for you to kick against the goads” 215 10 Luke and Plato 222 The Study of Plato’s Apology of Socrates in the Ancient Educational Curriculum 222 Familiarity with Plato’s Apology of Socrates among Luke’s Contemporaries 224 Luke’s Portrayal of Jesus as a Socratic Figure in the Gospel of Luke 229 Luke’s Portrayal of Peter (and Other Apostles) as a Socratic Figure in Acts 4 and 5 233 Luke’s Portrayal of Paul as a Socratic Figure in Acts 235 Appendix I: Earliest Known Manuscript of the Gospel of Luke 244 Appendix II: Latin Literary Texts Preserved on Documents Contemporary with Luke 246 Bibliography 250 Index of Modern Authors 272 Index of Ancient Passages 278 "Steve Reece argues that the author of Luke-Acts was aware of many literary works that formed a part of basic Hellenistic literate education, and makes his case by proving that many Greek authors were well known (from papyrological and citational data) at the likely time of Luke's composition. By focusing solely upon Luke-Acts, Reece is able to explore the evident Hellenistic education of the author, including the content of the curriculum, and the papyrological evidence of school exercises, his potential familiarity with Greek authors, and the influence of each of these major authors upon his work"-- Provided by publisher