The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary

by Ben Witherington III

Publisher:

Eerdmans

, 1998

Overview

The commentary on Acts is written in a readable style, drawing on the best new insights from a number of disciplines (narrative, archaeology, social scientific study, rhetorical analysis, and comparative studies) to provide the reader with the benefits of recent innovative ways of analyzing the text. In addition, Witherington provides detailed attention to major theological and historical issues: the question of the relationship of Acts to the Pauline letters; the question of early Christian history and how the church grew and developed; the relationship or tension between first-century Judaism and early Christianity; and the relationship between Christianity and the officials of the Roman Empire.

Praise for the Print Edition

This impressive commentary on the Acts of the Apostles exemplifies Professor Witherington's usual close and cautious reading of the biblical text with careful research in and response to relevant secondary literature. Overall, it is thorough, thoughtful, and balanced, though grounded without apology in his Christian faith perspective on the issues raised by the text.

—Biblica

Witherington has done students, pastors, and scholars a great favor by providing an analysis of the book of Acts that is fully conversant with the enormous secondary literature on Acts yet neither loses sight of Luke’s text nor bogs down in scholarly minutiae. His appraisal of Luke’s second volume in relationship to his Gospel and against the backdrop of classical rhetoric and ancient social sensibilities makes this book an instructive companion for readers of Acts.

—Joel B. Green, Asbury Theological Seminary

This is a very fine commentary that, unlike many others, takes seriously all dimensions of Luke’s text—historical, social, rhetorical, and theological. It is full of fresh insights and balanced assessments of controverted issues. It will be of great value as much to the expert scholar as to the reader approaching the study of Acts for the first time.

—Richard Bauckham, University of St. Andrews

Product Details

• Title: The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary
• Author: Ben Witherington III
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Publication Date: 1998
• Pages: 903

About Ben Witherington III

Ben Witherington III is Professor of New Testament Interpretation at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky. He received his M.Div. degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from the University of Durham in England. He is now considered one of the top evangelical scholars in the world, and is an elected member of the prestigious SNTS, a society dedicated to New Testament studies. A prolific writer, he has twice won the Christianity Today best Biblical Studies book-of-the-year award. Among his other books are The Christology of Jesus and Jesus, Paul, and the End of the World and The Jesus Quest. A popular lecturer, Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings not only in the United States but also in England, Estonia, Russia, Europe, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Australia.

Contents

Top Highlights

“The major point of all this is that the Spirit overcomes all barriers, even of languages, to witness to the various parts of the known world, even to ‘the ends of the earth.’” (Page 135)

“There is no hard evidence that Luke intended Theophilus to think of Pentecost as the Tower of Babel in reverse, not least because the Spirit does not eliminate the difference in languages, but rather allows each to hear in those different languages.” (Page 131)

“There are a variety of hints in the text of Acts 15 that what is being prohibited is the attending of temple feasts and all that they entail.” (Page 462)

“What one can say is that Luke intends his audience to know that repentance, faith, baptism, the name of Jesus, and reception of the Spirit were all important elements when the matter of ‘what must we do’ or how people enter the community of Christ comes up.” (Page 154)

“If you go to Acts to answer all of the later questions about infant baptism, church order, or apostles after the first generation, you will be frustrated because of a lack of complete, and sometimes any, answers. Luke’s agenda was not ours.” (Page 1)

Product Details

• Title: The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary
• Author: Ben Witherington III
• Series: Socio-Rhetorical Commentary Series
• Publisher: Eerdmans
• Print Publication Date: 1998
• Logos Release Date: 2008
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. N.T. Acts › Commentaries; Bible. N.T. Acts › Criticism, interpretation, etc; Bible. N.T. Acts › Socio-rhetorical criticism
• ISBNs: 9780802845016, 0802845010, 9780853648864, 0853648867
• Resource ID: LLS:SORHET65AC
• Resource Type: Bible Commentary
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-06-17T16:03:59Z

About Ben Witherington III

Ben Witherington III (PhD, University of Durham) is Jean R. Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. A prominent evangelical scholar, he is also on the doctoral faculty at St. Andrews University in Scotland. Witherington has written over forty books, including The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest, both of which were selected as top biblical studies works by Christianity Today. His other works include The Indelible Image, Women and the Genesis of Christianity, The Gospel Code, A Week in the Life of Corinth and commentaries on the entire New Testament. He also writes for many church and scholarly publications and is a frequent contributor to Patheos and Beliefnet. Witherington is an elected member of the prestigious Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, a society dedicated to New Testament studies. He is a John Wesley Fellow for Life, a research fellow at Cambridge University and a member of numerous professional organizations, including the Society of Biblical Literature, Society for the Study of the New Testament and the Institute for Biblical Research. He previously taught at institutions like Ashland Theological Seminary, Vanderbilt University, Duke Divinity School and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. An ordained pastor in the United Methodist Church and a popular lecturer, Witherington has presented seminars for churches, colleges and biblical meetings around the world. He has led numerous study tours through the lands of the Bible and is known for bringing the text to life through incisive historical and cultural analysis. Along with many interviews on radio and television networks across the country, Witherington has been seen in programs such as 60 Minutes, 20/20, Dateline and the Peter Jennings ABC special Jesus and Paul—The Word and the Witness.