The Stephen Speech

This book is developed from a doctoral dissertation entitled A Literary and Redactional study of Acts 7,2-53; that dissertation and this book have this in common, that they try to explain how vv 2-16 of Stephen's speech are integrally related to vv 17-53 of the same speech. This explanation, or exegesis, is the core of this book, and the subject of Part Two of these pages; from the exegesis offered there it is clear that vv 2-16 are essential to the meaning and impact of Stephen's speech. Not only, however, is our goal in the exegetical section to explain the function of Stephen's verses 2-16; we give an interpretation of the entire speech and og a number of problems of comprehension which still disturb exegetes today. Preceding this section of exegesis is a history of exegetical opinion about the meaning of Stephen's speech, about its sources, its relationship to the accusations against the Saint, about the significance of vv 2 - 16 within the total speech. Following our exegesis is an Appendix in which we offer data of varying value to show not only that one man's style is evident throughout Stephen's speech, but that this style is the style of the rest of the Acts of the Apostles and very close to that of the Gospel of Luke.

This book represents a major contribution to ongoing studies on the Acts of the Apostles, particularly on the manner in which the New Testament writer quotes and interprets the Old Testament. The discussion confines itself to an examination of the nine explicit quotations in Stephen’s speech of Acts 7, which are identified with introductory formulae. Adopting text-historical, methodological, and hermeneutical approaches, this study brings the reader up-to-date in this ever-growing and important field in New Testament studies, and provides the harvest of decades of research into the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. It will be of interest to all students, ministers, and scholars alike, and to anyone wanting to go deeper into the heart of the Bible.

Acts is the sequel to Luke's gospel and tells the story of Jesus's followers during the 30 years after his death. It describes how the 12 apostles, formerly Jesus's disciples, spread the message of Christianity throughout the Mediterranean against a background of persecution. With an introduction by P.D. James

This historical reappraisal of the Acts of the Apostles, written in narrative form, allows the reader to understand the biblical author's worldview, historical and ideological assumptions, and purposes as they were communicated through portions of this work. Marion Soards analyzes the speech texts by comparing them to writings from ancient history, rhetoric, and midrashic interpretation of scripture. He points out the interesting features in the speeches and highlights the thematic similarities. Soards provides a clear picture of the manner of writings in Acts, the theology, and the encompassing history of the early Christian period, and he supplies a sound basis for contemporary Jewish-Christian relations.

In this era of increased knowledge the essence of religious phenomena eludes the psychologists, sociologists, linguists, and other specialists because they do not study it as religious. According to Mircea Eliade, they miss the one irreducible element in religious phenomena--the element of the sacred. Eliade abundantly demonstrates universal religious experience and shows how humanity's effort to live within a sacred sphere has manifested itself in myriad cultures from ancient to modern times; how certain beliefs, rituals, symbols, and myths have, with interesting variations, persisted.