The Acts of the Apostles

THE SOURCES AND THEIR VAEUE 183
The protest of St. Peter (" We must obey God rather
than men"). The purpose of the Council to condemn
the Apostles to death is changed by a speech
of Gamaliel. The scourging and release of the
Apostles (v. 21^-41).
6. The Apostles continue their teaching in the
Temple and at home (v. 42).
It is, in my opinion, so clear that we have here a
second narrative of the same events, that one can
only wonder that the knowledge that this is so has
not long ago become common property. The corre-
spondence becomes still more striking if we add to
the first account (A) the story from the Jerusalem-
Caesarean section (vide supra) of the miraculous deliver-
ance of St. Peter from prison by an angel during the
night (chap. xii. ; here also without the knowledge of
the guards) ; and this we ought to do (as Weiss also
thinks). The first recension (A) is, however, far
superior to the second recension (B). We may with
confidence leave it to the reader to test that this is so
both on the whole and in detail (the editorial touches
of St. Luke in both recensions do not often afiect
the subject-matter, and can be easily discerned ; ^ St.
Luke did not perceive that he was reproducing two
traditions concerning the same occurrences, so that
the connection of events in the narrative which he
has compiled is altogether poor, illogical, and incred-
ible). In B there is no clear motive given either for
^ St. Luke's character as an historian quite excludes the hypo-
thesis that the recension B is a free invention of his ; there is,
however, no doubt that here as elsewhere he has added his own
touches.