The Problem of the Text of Acts [Paperback]

Argues that editorial changes after Luke's death led to the existence of two versions of Acts.This study puts forward the ingenious thesis that Luke left Acts unfinished at his death, and that the work of his posthumous editors has led to the existence of the two versions of Acts which appear in our manuscripts.This study puts forward the ingenious thesis that Luke left Acts unfinished at his death, and that the work of his posthumous editors has led to the existence of the two versions of Acts which appear in our manuscripts.Some manuscripts of the book of Acts have a slightly longer version of the book that is familiar to us, a version called the Western Text, which is made up of small amounts of additional material scattered throughout the work. Various theories have been proposed to account for the existence of the Western Text, although no real consensus has emerged. In recent years this material, long thought to be inauthentic, has been reexamined by a number of scholars who have come to the conclusion that it may derive from Luke, the author of Acts. This study puts forward the ingenious thesis that Luke left Acts unfinished at his death, and that the work of his posthumous editors has led to the existence of the two versions of Acts that appear in our manuscripts.Preface; List of abbreviations; 1. The study of the Text of Acts; 2. The nature of the Western Text of Acts; 3. Lucanism and the Western Text of Acts; 4. Marginal annotation and the origin of some Western readings in Acts; 5. The composition and editing of Acts; Appendix: Textual witnesses; Notes; Bibliography.