The Acts of the Apostles

CHAPTER I
CHRONOLOGICAL DATA^
In the prologue to his twofold historical work St.
Luke has announced that he wishes to write down
everything " /caOe^^?." This word, as well as the
synonym " e^^?,'' occurs in the New Testament only
in the Lukan writings (St. Luke i. 3 ; viii. 1 ; Acts
iii. 24 ; xi. 4 ; xviii. 23 ; e^rjg : St. Luke vii. 11 ;
ix. 37; Acts xxi. 1; xxv. 17; xxvii. IS).^ The
word does not necessarily denote a chronological
arrangement, though as a rule it means this, and its
use in the other places suggests that this signification
is to be understood here. We have not in all cases
the means of judging how far St. Luke has succeeded
in establishing a correct chronological arrangement.
In his gospel it is obvious that he does not come up
to an even moderate chronological standard ; but in
the Acts every one allows that he had the oppor-
tunity of doing, and has done, better things. His
procedure in regard to chronology in the Acts, so
far as I know, has not yet been subjected to a
1 This chapter was read at a meeting of the Prussian Academy,
and was published in their reports [Sitzungsberichten, 25th April
1907). It appears here in a somewhat different and more developed
form.
2 Throughout this book the numbers in bolder type denote
passages in the " we "-sections,
A