The Genre of Acts and Collected Biography: 156 (Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series, Series Number 156) - Hardcover

Adams, Sean A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 110704104X ISBN 13: 9781107041042

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2013

Synopsis

It is widely accepted by New Testament scholars that the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles probably originated as two parts of one work by a single author. In spite of this, the books have been assigned to very different genres: Luke is traditionally viewed as a biography of Jesus, and Acts as a history of the early church. Comparing in detail the structure and content of Acts with the formal features of history, novel, epic and biography, Sean A. Adams challenges this division. Applying both ancient and modern genre theory, he argues that the best genre parallel for the Acts of the Apostles is in fact collected biography. Offering a nuanced and sophisticated understanding of genre theory, along with an insightful argument regarding the composition and purpose of Acts, this book will be of interest to those studying the New Testament, Acts, genre theory and ancient literature.

About this title

Book Description:

Adams applies ancient and modern genre theory to provide an insightful reading of the composition and purpose of the Acts of the Apostles, and to propose that it is a work of collected biography, rather than history. This nuanced study will interest those studying the New Testament and ancient literature.

About the Author:

Sean A. Adams is British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Edinburgh. He is co-editor of Issues in Luke-Acts (with Michael Pahl, 2012) and Paul and the Ancient Letter Form (with Stanley E. Porter, 2010), and is also the author of Baruch and Epistle of Jeremiah (2014).

About this edition

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 110704104X
• ISBN 13: 9781107041042
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 332