Preface
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 February 2010
Summary
It is a strange, but nonetheless true, fact that the only chronicle we have of the life of the early church from about AD 30–AD 60 has gone through long periods of relative neglect in twentieth century NT scholarship, especially in the English-speaking world. A testimony to this fact is that there has been no major commentary on Acts written in English since the work of F. F. Bruce a generation ago, and before that one must go back to the seminal contributions of H. J. Cadbury and his collaborators in The Beginnings of Christianity. All of this, however, is now changing. As I write, the first volume of what is likely to be a landmark study by C. K. Barrett on the Acts is about to appear in the prestigious ICC commentary series. One may add to this the recent helpful commentaries of L. T. Johnson and J. B. Polhill, several important studies in the SNTS monograph series, the detailed work of C. J. Hemer, The Book of Acts in the Setting of Hellenistic History, a crucial monograph by C. C. Hill, and finally a projected series of volumes emanating from Cambridge including The Book of Acts in its Literary and Regional Settings, The Book of Acts in its Diaspora Setting, The Book of Acts in its Prison Settings, The Book of Acts in its Theological Setting, The Book of Acts in its Graeco-Roman Setting, The Book of Acts in its Palestinian Setting, and finally a commentary on the Greek text of Acts.
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- History, Literature, and Society in the Book of Acts , pp. xi - xxPublisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1996