Dating Acts in its Jewish and Greco-Roman Contexts

Recent scholarship overwhelmingly favors a date of 62–63 CE for Acts, challenging the traditional 70–90 CE range due to historical, textual, and methodological flaws. A historiographical approach provides a strong framework for evaluating primary and secondary sources, resulting in a more accurate understanding of the book's historical context.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 248 pages
Publication date: 22 September 2022
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Recent years have witnessed a persistent lack of interest in the ongoing discussion surrounding the dating of Acts. While a significant majority of scholars over the past century have been swayed into believing that Acts was composed between 70 and 90 CE, a substantial majority of recent scholarship firmly asserts that this middle-range date is a convenient, political compromise. Karl Armstrong contends that a significant portion of the issue stems from a remarkable disregard for historical, textual, and source-critical matters. Furthermore, the methodological shortcomings among the approaches to the middle and late dating of Acts further exacerbate the problem. Armstrong effectively demonstrates that a historiographical approach to the debate provides a robust framework for assessing primary and secondary sources related to the book of Acts. By employing a historiographical approach, coupled with the backing of modern principles of textual criticism and linguistics, the historical context of Acts is determined to align with a date of 62–63 CE.

Dimension: 234 x 156 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780567698582