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THE SHIPWRECKS OF ODYSSEUS AND PAUL

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 1999

DENNIS R. MACDONALD
Affiliation:
Claremont School of Theology, 1325 N. College Avenue, Claremont, CA 91711–3199, USA

Abstract

Acts 27–28 frequently points to the shipwrecks of Odysseus in Odyssey Books 5 and 12, the second of which the hero narrates in the first person. The shipwrecks of Odysseus and Paul share nautical images and vocabulary, the appearance of a goddess or angel assuring safety, the riding of planks, the arrival of the hero on an island among hospitable strangers, the mistaking of the hero as a god, and the sending of him on his way. Luke's intention in relating Paul's shipwreck to those of Odysseus was to exalt Paul and his God by comparison.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1999 Cambridge University Press

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