THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES A Commentary by ERNST HAENCHEN THE WESTMINSTER PRESS Philadelphia The Acts of the Apostles Translated from the 14th German edition (1965) by per mission of Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Gottingen, by Bernard Noble and Gerald Shinn, under the supervision of Hugh Anderson, and with the translation revised and brought up to date by R. McL. Wilson. © in this translation Basil Blackwell 1971 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photo copying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN 0-664-20919-X Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 78-161218 Published by The Westminster Press Philadelphia, Pennsylvania IJ) PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 3456789 To H. J. Cadbury, in gratitude PREFACE Fifty-six years ago, in my first semester, I bought as my first books the Nestle Novum Testamentum Graece and Wendt's commentary on Acts, which had just appeared in its 9th edition in the Meyer commentary series. At that time I did not suspect that Acts one day would claim the major part of my time and effort for 20 years on end, and that as author of the 10th edition I was to be Wendt's successor. Probably neither of these things would have come about had I not had to travel to Switzerland for a cure in 1944. It was then strictly for bidden to take books across the frontier. Only in Davos did I discover that Nestle (thin-paper edition) had made the journey with me in my coat pocket. This was all I had when I began to occupy the time of my convalescence with some serious work. That was a great blessing. For when I now sought to penetrate more deeply into Acts, I was not led astray by any secondary literature which was primarily interested in Luke's sources. So I came quite independently to the question what the author of Acts had wanted to say to his readers through the varied scenes of his book, and I sought myself to become his reader. In this way there came into being, in 1946, the first brief outline of my work, which before the appearance of the book grew into a com prehensive volume. For now an answer had also to be found for the many other questions which Acts presents to the expositor. By the 15th edition (1968) the commentary had been twice substantially revised, and the English translation also contains many new insights. So comprehensive a volume does not come into being without many helpers. Joachim Jeremias and Ernst Kasemann read the entire manu script of the first edition in its various stages with a critical eye, and this I would recall once again with gratitude today. In regard to literature from outside Germany I am particularly indebted to the writings of Dom Jacques Dupont and H. J. Cadbury. The treasures of The Begin nings of Christianity have been consulted again and again. viii Preface Many hands have worked on the translation into English; Professor R. MeL. Wilson has finally brought it to a successful conclusion. Special thanks are due to him, and also to Miss S. Williams of Blackwell's, who with other willing helpers has contributed substantially to the success of the work. ERNST HAENCHEN Munster (Westf.), 22 November 1970 NOTE TO THE ENGLISH EDITION Where foreign books are known to be available in English, the fact has been noted, but no attempt has been made to identify every reference except in the case of the frequently cited Studies in Acts by Dibelius. Quotations have been translated direct from the Gennan in most cases, without reference to existing English translations. In the case of books originally published in English, however, quotations have of course been traced and conformed to the original. In the making of books an important but all too often unacknow ledged part is played behind the scenes: by the printer and his readers, and particularly by the editorial supervisor in the publisher's office. In the present case a very special tribute is due to Miss Susan Williams, who not only saw the book through the press, but earlier, when arrange ments for the retyping of the heavily-corrected script broke down, gallantly undertook the gigantic task in addition to her other work. Every reader owes her a debt which only the editor can fully appreciate. R. MeL. W. CONTENTS Page Preface vii Note to the English Edition ix Abbreviations xv Introduction 1. The Church's Oldest Witnesses for Acts and its Author 1 2. Survey of Historical and Critical Research into the Acts of the Apostles 14 3. The Text of Acts 50 4. The Chronology of Acts 60 5. The Language and Style of Acts 72 6. The Source-Question 81 7. Luke as Theologian, Historian and Writer 90 8. Luke and Paul 112 9. The Work Continues 116 Commentary (1) 1.1-8 Retrospect and a Farewell Speech 135 (2) 1.9-12 The Ascension 148 (3) 1.13-14 The Disciples return to Jerusalem, where they form the First Congregation 153 (4) 1.15-26 The Completion of the Apostolic Circle 157 (5) 2.1-13 The Miracle of Pentecost 166 (6) 2.14-41 Peter's Speech at Pentecost 176 (7) 2.42-47 The Way of Life of the First Community 190 (8) 3.1-10 Peter heals a Cripple 197 (9) 3.11-26 Peter's Speech before the Temple 203 (10) 4.1-22 Peter and John before the High Council 213 (11) 4.23-31 The Congregation prays and is heard 225 (12) 4.32-37 Community of Goods in the Primitive Church 230 (13) 5.1-11 Ananias and Sapphira 236 (14) 5.12-16 The Miracles of the Apostles 242