Theology
Vitor Hugo Schell
Die Areopagrede des Paulus und Reden bei Josephus
Eine vergleichende Studie zu Apg 17 und dem historiographischen Werk des Josephus
[Paul's Areopagus Speech and Josephus' Representations. A Comparative Study of the Acts of the Apostles 17. and Josephus' Historiographical Work.]
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Published in German.
According to Vítor Hugo Schell, the Book of Acts is a historical work of art. In this volume, his comparative analysis of Paul's Areopagus sermon in Acts 17 and Hellenistic-Jewish historian Flavius Josephus' written observations lead to the discovery of new facets of the Luke-Acts author's literary strategies. The Areopagus speech is juxtaposed to the Bellum and Antiquities speeches, the two longest Josephus representations and the only surviving examples of a limited »subgenus« within early Jewish historiography. Fundamental questions posed by this study are how Josephus' writings facilitate a better understanding of both Paul's Areopagus speech and the Acts' author, and how Josephus is perceived as an ancient historian. The comparison of formal and thematic characteristics makes a specific contribution to interpreting the apostle's famous address to the Athenians and the entire Lucan work.