The Acts of the Apostles: A Newly Discovered Commentary

404 Pages·2014·17.26 MB·English

by  J. B. Lightfoot

]. B. LIGHTFOOT
The Acts of the Apostles
A Newly Discovered Commentary
THE LIGHTFOOT LEGACY SET
•
Volume
1
Edited by
BEN WITHERINGTON Ill
and TODD D. STILL
'N
IVP Academic
,\n imprint of lnter\'ars1ty Pres,;
Downers l;ro\r, lllmon,
Inter Varsity Press
P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
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©2014 by Ben Witherington III and Todd D. Still
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Cover design: David Fassett
Interior design: Beth McGill
Images: Joseph Lightji,ot, English theologian and Bishop of Durham, Lock and Whitfield (19th century) I Private
Collection I@ Look and Learn I Elgar Collection I Bridgeman Images
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glossy insert page images courtesy of Durham Cathedral Library I© Chapter of Durham Cathedral
ISBN 978-0-8308-2944-6 (print)
ISBN 978-0-8308-9673-8 (digital)
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lightfoot, Joseph Barber, 1828-/889.
The Acts of the Apostles: a new commentary I by J.B. Lightfoot;
edited and annotated by Ben Witherington III and Todd D. Still;
assisted by Jeanette M. Hagen.
pages cm.-(1he Lightfi,ot legacy; Volume One)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8308-2944-6 (hardcover: alk. paper)
/. Bible. Acts-Commentaries. /. Witherington, Ben, III, 1951-
editor. II. Title.
BS2625.53.L54 2014
226.6'07-dc23
20/4024728
P 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Y 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14
Figure 1. J.B. Lightfoot

QUOTATIONS REGARDING
J. B. Hrs
LIGHTFOOT AND WORK
(ON ACTS)
"Lightfoot had looked forward to writing a commentary on the Acts:'1
F J. A. Hort
"His editions and commentaries ... as well as his critical dissertations have an im
perishable value, and even where it is impossible to agree with his results, his
grounds are never to be neglected. The respect for his opponent which distinguished
him ... has brought him the highest respect of all parties .... There never has been
an apologist who was less of an advocate than Lightfoot. ... He [was] an inde-
pendent, free scholar ... in the absolute sense of the words. He has never defended
a tradition for the tradition's sake. But how many times, when the tradition was
previously defended inadequtely and so threatened to lose its reputation, has he
saved the tradition with sweeping reasons!"2
Adolf von Harnack
"In the great bulk of his literary work Bishop Lightfoot depended entirely on his own
labours. He never employed an amanuensis; he rarely allowed anyone else even to
verify his references. The only relief which he would accept was the almost me
chanical correction of the proof/sheets of the new editions, as they were called for,
of his Epistles of St Paul:'3
H. E. Savage
"His lectures on the Greek New Testament were distinguished not only by their
ability but also by their spiritual power. A pupil who attended one of the earliest
IF. J. A. Hort, "Lightfoot, Joseph Barber,'' in The Dictionary of National Biography, ed. L. Stephen
(London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1885), 33:238. Hort wrote the biographical entry on Lightfoot.
2 Adolf von Harnack, review of Essays in Biblical Greek by Edwin Hatch, Theologische Literaturzei
tung 15, no. 1 2 ( 1890): 298. Cf Hort, "Lightfoot;' pp. 239-40.
3G. R. Eden and F. C. Macdonald, eds., Lightfoot of Durham (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1932), p. 110.
courses remarks: 'I remember well how much the class was impressed, when, after
giving us the usual introductory matter, Lightfoot closed the book and said, ''After
all is said and done, the only way to know the Greek Testament properly is by prayer"
and dwelt further on this thought:"4
1he Cambridge Review
"We are glad to be able to hope, from hints which have from time to time reached
the public ear, that a large portion of the whole field was covered by Dr. Lightfoot's
labours, and that some of the MSS. which are in the care of his literary executors
will in due course be published; for even if they are only posthumous fragments, the
student ... will thankfully welcome them:'
Anonymous obituary to Lightfoot in the Contemporary Review, 1890
4Cited by Eden and Macdonald, Lightfoot of Durham, p. 13.
To the two most recent Lightfoot Professors of Divinity at
Durham University, J. D. G. Dunn and John M. G. Barclay,
as well as to C. K. Barrett, another University of Durham
professor of divinity of blessed memory.

CONTENTS
Abbreviations 13
Foreword 21
Editors' Introduction: J. B. Lightfoot as Biblical Commentator 27
Part One: Introduction to Commenting in General 41
Part Two: Introduction to Acts-Preliminary Matters 53
Part Three: The Commentary on Acts 67
The Superscript 69
The Preface 70
Ascension, Judas' Demise, the Filling Up of the Twelve
(Acts 1) 75
Excursus: On the Historical Problem of the
Varying Accounts of Judas' Demise 80
Pentecost and Its Aftermath (Acts 2) 86
The Beginnings and Trials of the Church in Jerusalem
(Acts 3-6) 92
Excursus: The Sanhedrin and the High Priests 98
Excursus: The Primacy of Peter 102
Excursus: The Diaconate 105
The First Martyr for Christ (Acts 7) 108
Excursus: The Tabernacle 113
Excursus: The Authenticity of the Speech of St. Stephen 126
Simon, the Samaritans, and Philip (Acts 8) 137
Excursus: Simon Magus 139
Excursus: Conversion of the Ethiopian 146
The Conversion of Saul (Acts 9) 148