Highly respected scholar Carl R. Holladay offers an in-depth critical commentary on the book of Acts in this new work from the acclaimed New Testament Library series. Holladay offers a theological, contextual, and literary interpretation, paying attention to Acts as a rich narrative that accounts for the development of the early Christian church. He sees Luke's literary style as an expression of its theological purpose. Holladay writes, "Convinced that Jesus' life and death and the emergence of the early Christian movement occurred under divine guidance and continued the biblical story by fulfilling God's ancient promises, Luke decided to incorporate them into a grandly conceived narrative told in a dignified yet dramatic style. Acts reflects the close relationship between medium and message, yet it also illustrates how the medium is the message." Holladay's commentary is theologically rich and steeped in narrative analysis that understands the high level of literary style as an expression of the theological content and the telling of the Christian origin.

The New Testament Library series offers authoritative commentary on every book and major aspect of the New Testament, providing fresh translations based on the best available ancient manuscripts, critical portrayals of the historical world in which the books were created, careful attention to their literary design, and a theologically perceptive exposition of the biblical text. The contributors are scholars of international standing. The editorial board consists of C. Clifton Black, Princeton Theological Seminary; M. Eugene Boring, Brite Divinity School; and John T. Carroll, Union Presbyterian Seminary.

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Reviews

"Based on a lifetime of reading Acts and texts from both the Jewish and Greco-Roman worlds, Carl Holladay has produced a commentary on both Acts and the world in which it was set. This is erudition devoted to a contemporary reader. It is historical-critical scholarship at its very best. I highly recommend it to all who take the text seriously." — Gregory E. Sterling, The Reverend Henry L. Slack Dean and Lillian Claus Professor of New Testament, Yale Divinity School

"Professor Holladay's reputation for precision while simultaneously entertaining his audiences with spellbinding episodes from the past continues unabated in his magnificent retelling of Luke's account of the continuation of the life-transforming events of Jesus, Lord and Christ, into the movement of his apostles from the center of Jewish faith in Jerusalem to the vortex of the nations in Rome. In his own inimitable way, Carl Holladay combines accuracy of description in summoning events and personages and cultural-classical texts critical to Luke's telling, while at the same time extracting with magnetic-like force their importance in the much larger theological-missional intent of Luke's interactive narrative arc. As a highly skilled historian, Holladay enables the lasting significance of Luke's kerygmatic message to present itself from within the historical-literary-cultural contexts that he highlights so well. His new telling will soon become the commentary of choice for scholars of antiquity and people of faith." — David P. Moessner, A. A. Bradford Chair of Religion, Texas Christian University

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Carl R. Holladay is Charles Howard Candler Professor of New Testament at Emory University. He is the author of several books and coauthor of Biblical Exegesis: A Beginner's Handbook, published by Westminster John Knox Press. He is the 2016-17 President of the Society of New Testament Studies.