Acts

This is the third volume to appear in the Paideia Commentary series, “aimed squarely at students” and providing commentary “in terms of larger rhetorical units.” For each pericope of the text there is discussion of introductory matters, tracing the train of thought (narrative or rhetorical flow), and theological consideration of issues “of interest to the contemporary Christian.” The commentaries confessedly give less attention to historical context and interpretation in the secondary literature. From his earlier writings Parsons is known for his softening of the unity of Luke and Acts; he dates the publication of the latter up to thirty years after the composition of the former (ca. A.D. 110) and emphasizes that Acts presupposes all the Gospels and not just Luke (some twenty non-Lukan Gospel parallels or echoes are claimed but not gathered together into a list; see 27, 287, etc.). He notes that Acts would have been read aloud by a lector (though this does not significantly affect his commenting), and above all he traces the rhetorical shape of the book as a whole and in its parts and devotes special attention to identifying and describing the rhetorical devices used by Luke; this slant makes his commentary distinctive over against most previous work and gives it special value. [Full Review]