Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary

Acts

Clinton E. Arnold

Clinton E. Arnold general editor

ZONDERVAN

Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary: Acts

Copyright © 2002 by Clinton E. Arnold

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, 3900 Sparks Dr. SE, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49546

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Zondervan illustrated Bible backgrounds commentary / Clinton E. Arnold, general editor.

p.cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-310-28725-2

1. Bible. N.T.—Commentaries. I. Arnold, Clinton E.

BS2341.52.Z66 2001

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

CONTENTS

Introduction

List of Sidebars

List of Charts

Index of Photos and Maps

Abbreviations

Acts

Clinton E. Arnold

Credits for Photos and Maps

INTRODUCTION

All readers of the Bible have a tendency to view what it says through their own culture and life circumstances. This can happen almost subconsiously as we read the pages of the text.

When most people in the church read about the thief on the cross, for instance, they immediately think of a burglar that held up a store or broke into a home. They may be rather shocked to find out that the guy was actually a Jewish revolutionary figure who was part of a growing movement in Palestine eager to throw off Roman rule.

It also comes as something of a surprise to contemporary Christians that “cursing” in the New Testament era had little or nothing to do with cussing somebody out. It had far more to do with the invocation of spirits to cause someone harm.

No doubt there is a need in the church for learning more about the world of the New Testament to avoid erroneous interpretations of the text of Scripture. But relevant historical and cultural insights also provide an added dimension of perspective to the words of the Bible. This kind of information often functions in the same way as watching a movie in color rather than in black and white. Finding out, for instance, how Paul compared Christ’s victory on the cross to a joyous celebration parade in honor of a Roman general after winning an extraordinary battle brings does indeed magnify the profundity and implications of Jesus’ work on the cross. Discovering that the factions at Corinth (“I follow Paul … I follow Apollos …”) had plenty of precedent in the local cults (“I follow Aphrodite; I follow Apollo …”) helps us understand the “why” of a particular problem. Learning about the water supply from the springs of Hierapolis that flowed ...