Does the New Testament Imitate Homer?: Four Cases from the Acts of the Apostlesdiv In this provocative challenge to prevailing views of New Testament sources, Dennis R. MacDonald argues that the origins of passages in the book of Acts are to be found not in early Christian legends but in the epics of Homer. MacDonald focuses on four passages in the book of Acts, examines their potential parallels in the Iliad, and concludes that the author of Acts composed them using famous scenes in Homer’s work as a model. |
From inside the book
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... Zeus to Agamemnon and the vision of the serpent and the sparrows. The third example is Peter's escape from Herod's prison (Acts 12:1–17), gener- ally considered a rescue miracle (Befreiungswunder) that Luke preserved nearly intact from ...
... Zeus to punish Agamemnon . The king of the gods thus decided to send him a " destructive dream . " Hera , Zeus's wife , stiffly opposed Troy , so without telling her or any other god , the Olympian ordered Oneiros , “ Dream , " to tell ...
... Zeus , ” usually and aptly translated “ a messenger of Zeus . " Greek artists sometimes depicted Oneiros as a young man with wings , similar to angels in Christian art.3 The poet next turns to the appearance of the ❝yyɛλoç to Agamemnon ...
... Zeus " now has planned an evil deceit and commands me to return to Argos infamous after having lost so many men . ” The troops were free to return home . After nine years of futile warfare , they understandably broke for the ships . To ...
... Zeus promised the Greeks a swift victory , they were doomed . Only after losing many heroes does Agamemnon recognize that the god had deceived them.13 The first criterion for detecting mimesis - and a necessary condition for it — is the ...
Contents
1 | |
17 | |
Pauls Farewell at Miletus and Iliad | 67 |
The Selection of Matthias and Iliad | 103 |
Peters Escape from Prison and Iliad | 121 |
Conclusion | 146 |
Greek and Latin Parallels | 153 |
List of Abbreviations | 167 |
Notes | 171 |
Bibliography | 209 |
Index | 221 |