The Acts of the Apostles

APPENDIX III 41
the whole book (and is incredible in itself) ; and the
other hypothesis, that St. Luke composed his book at
the conclusion of this Sierla must likewise be rejected,
for in that case he must have written, " Paul has
now been in Rome two full years " ; instead of which,
he has quite clearly described the residence in the
hired lodging at Rome as a closed episode.
The problem, therefore, takes the following form :
Why is it that St. Luke, who in the last quarter of
this book has described the fortunes of St. Paul in
such detail, has not proceeded further with his narra-
tive of the history of the Apostle, but has concluded
his account with the two years'* residence in Rome
which he, moreover, disposes of in the same cursory
fashion that he disposes of similar visits which are
recorded elsewhere in the book (arrival ; duration of
the visit ; relations with Judaism, xxviii. 17^. ; rela-
tions with the authorities, xxviii. 31 [a/cwX^ro)?] ; the
content of the Apostle's teaching) ? Why has he not
related what happened to St. Paul, and what he did
after he had again left Rome ?
Proposed in this form the problem is, in my
opinion, capable of solution if one rightly discerns
the aim and method of the book, while it remains
insoluble if one follows the hypothesis, not suggested
by the form of the concluding verse, that in the
mind of the author the Sieria closed with the execu-
tion of the Apostle, concerning which nothing is
said. In spite of first impressions the book, even
in its second half, does not profess to narrate the
history of St. Paul, but to describe the way in which,
according to the predestined purpose of God, Salva-
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