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PERSPECTIVES ON LUKE-ACTS:
By Land and By Sea:
The We-Passages and Ancient Sea Voyages
Vernon K. Robbins
Originally appeared in: Perspectives on Luke-Acts. C. H. Talbert, ed.
Perspectives in Religious Studies, Special Studies Series, No. 5. Macon, Ga:
Mercer Univ. Press and Edinburgh: T.& T. Clark, 1978: 215-242.
See also the PDF version.
The accounts of Paul's travels throughout the Mediterranean world begin in Acts
13. Prior to this chapter Paul (Saul) was present at Stephen's death (8:1),
temporarily blinded and permanently converted on the road to Damascus (9:1 -9),
blessed and baptized by Ananias (9:17-19), and transported by night out of
Damascus so the Jewish residents could not kill him (9:20-30). After some time
Barnabas took Paul to Antioch where they spent a year together with the
Christian community (11:25-26). When Barnabas and Paul were selected to take
relief offerings to Jerusalem (11:29-30), they brought John Mark with them on
their return (12:25).
Throughout all of this, Paul travels on land. In fact, in all of Luke and Acts 1
-12 no one travels on the sea. In contrast to Mark and Matthew where Jesus
frequently travels on the Sea of Galilee, in Luke Jesus never even goes
alongside the sea (παρα την θαλασσαν). On two
occasions Jesus gets into a boat and goes onto or across "the lake"
(η λιμνη: 5:1, 2; 8:22, 23, 33). This "lake" is called Gennesaret in
5:1; never in Luke does Jesus go to or across "the Sea of Galilee."
The author's choice of vocabulary indicates that he distinguishes between
"the lake" and "the sea." "The lake" is a body of
inland water on the eastern edge of Galilee. A person can sail across this lake
(or "down" it, καταπλευω: 8:26) to the land
of the Gergesenes (or Gerasenes or Gadarenes) that lies opposite Galilee
[1] Thalassa occurs 18 times in Mark, 17 times in Matthew, and 3 times in Luke.
Each of the occurrences in Luke is in a saying rather than narration: Luke
17:2,6; 21:25.
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(αντιπερα τησ Γαλιλαιας: 8:26). In contrast,
"the sea" is that expanse of water which can take you to Cyprus,
Macedonia, Achaia, Crete, or Italy. Jesus sets a precedent for sea travel on the
lake, but Jesus himself never travels or voyages on the sea. Even Peter and John
never travel on the sea. Only Paul and his associates face the challenge,
adventure, and destiny of voyaging across the sea.
Sea travel appears for the first time in Acts 13. Paul and his company sail from
Seleucia to the island of Cyprus, then from Cyprus to Pamphylia (13:4,13). This
sea travel holds little adventure or danger. Only two short clauses relate the
means of travel; all the narrated episodes occur on land. Two more short clauses
recount sea transportation in this section of Acts. Paul and Barnabas are taken
back to Syrian Antioch in a boat (14:26), and Barnabas and John Mark go to
Cyprus in a boat after the disagreement with Paul (15:39). Still, however, no
detailed sea voyage occurs. Only in chapter 15 do extended sea voyages begin,
and when they occur, the narration moves into first person plural
"we."
The coincidence of sea voyages and first person plural narration in Acts is
striking. There are four we-sections in Acts: 16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:1 -18; 27:1
-28:16. In each instance, a sea voyage begins as the first person plural
narration emerges. While this observation can lead the interpreter in various
directions, it points vividly to accounts of sea voyages in antiquity. Sea
voyages are often couched in first person narration. Either the author narrates
it as a participant (I sailed to Byblos ... .) or the author stages a
participant recounting the voyage (he then said, "As I was sailing to
Byblos ...."). Sea voyage narratives in Greek and Roman literature,
however, become a distinct genre. One of the features of this genre is the
presence of first person plural narration. Undoubtedly the impetus for this is
sociological: on a sea voyage a person has accepted a setting with other people,
and cooperation among all the members is essential for a successful voyage.
Therefore, at the point where the voyage begins, the narration moves to first
person plural.
The author of Luke-Acts employs the sea voyage genre with great skill. His
narrative builds toward a conclusion that is reached through a dramatic sea
voyage. First plural narration emerges in the sections that present
"mission by sea." There is evidence to suggest that Paul's voyages
across the sea were in view during the composition of the first volume of the
work. To explain the role of the we-passages in Acts, we will undertake six
steps of analysis. (1) Since the we-passages in Acts present sea voyages, a
survey is made of narrative style that accompanies sea voyages in Greek and
Roman literature; (2) since third person narrative style surrounds the
we-passages in Acts, an investigation follows concerning historiographical
literature that is pervaded by third person narrative; (3) since there are other
texts that alternate between third person and first person plural narration,
Greek literature that reflects the same style of narration as Acts is presented;
(4) on the basis of the survey, the primary features of the sea voyage genre are
explored, and the we-passages are examined for the presence of these features;
(5) the position of the we-passages in the structure of Acts is investigated;
and (6) we posit a conclusion regarding the function of the we-passages in the
purpose of Luke-Acts. These explorations are intended to suggest that the author
of Luke-Acts is a versatile Hellenistic writer who is an intelligent participant
in the literary arena of Mediterranean culture. The author has employed first
person plural narration for the sea
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voyages, because it was conventional generic style within Hellenistic
literature. This style contributes directly to the author's scheme of
participation in history through narration of its dramatic episodes.
Narrative Style in Ancient Sea Voyages
There is a natural propensity for portraying sea voyages through the medium of
first person narration. This style for narrating voyages extends as far back as
the most ancient Mediterranean literature known to us. Two Egyptian tales, The
Story of Sinuhe (1800 B.C.) and The Journey of Wen-Amon to Phoenicia (11 cent.
B.C.), recount sea voyages through first person singular narration.[2] Also
Utnapishtim, in the Akkadian Epic of Gilgamesh, recounts his voyage upon the
waters in first person singular.[3] In the Egyptian and Mesopotamian accounts the
narrator uses first person singular "I," even when others are present
with him on the voyage.[4] Homer's Odyssey, in contrast, contains the
earliest example among Mediterranean literature of a sea voyage that employs
first person plural narration.
In books 9-12 of the Odyssey, the travels and adventures of Odysseus are
recounted to the Phaeacians at a banquet. The reader therefore hears about the.
breath-taking episodes from the lips of Odysseus himself. This narrative
technique allows the dynamics of traveling on the sea and encountering strange,
new peoples to emerge directly through personal narration. When Alcinous, king
of the Phaeacians, asks Odysseus to recount his adventures, he begins, after the
initial formalities, with:
From Ilios the wind bore me and brought me to the Cicones, to Ismarus. There I
sacked the city and slew the men .... (9.39-41).[5]
Here, first person singular narration begins the account, and first person
singular narration occurs frequently throughout these four books of the Odyssey.
However, first person plural narration becomes a formulaic means for launching
the ship, sailing for a number of days, and beaching the ship at the end of a
voyage. Therefore, first person plural formulaic clauses unify the sailing
accounts. Five times, voyages begin with all or part of the following first
person plural formula:
From there we sailed on, grieved at heart, glad to have escaped death, though we
had lost our dear comrades . . . .[6]
Twice, the length of a voyage is recounted in another first person plural
pattern:
For nine (six) days we sailed, night and day alike ... [7]
[2] James B. Pritchard, ed., Ancient Near Eastern Texts, pp. 18-22, 25-9.
[3] Tablet XI; ibid., pp. 92-7.
[4] See Wen-Amon 10, where he refers to "a man of my ship," and
Gilgamesh Xl:84, where he recounts that he made all his family and kin go aboard
the ship.
[5] The quotations from the NT are taken from the Revised Standard Version;
unless otherwise indicated, the quotations from Greek and Latin literature are
from the Loeb Classical Library edition of the work.
[6] Ενθεν δε προτερω
πλεομεν ακαχημενοι
ητορ, ασμενοι εκ
θανατοιο φιλους
ολεσαντες εταιρους. These two lines occur at 9.62-63; 9.565-566;
10.133-134. The first line occurs further at 9.105; 10.77. The variant ενθα
κατεπλεομεν occurs at 9.142.
[7] 10.28;10.80: Εννημαρ (Εξημαρ)
μεν ομως πλεομεν
νυκτας τε και ημαρ.
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The voyage ending is captured in first person plural clauses that depict the
beaching of the ship:
Then, on coming thither, we beached our ship on the sands, and ourselves went
forth upon the shore of the sea.[8]
In Homeric literature, therefore, first person narration transfers the
excitement and anxiety of a sea voyage in the most vivid narrative technique
available to the pen. Homeric couplets perpetuate the dynamics in poetic form,
and first person plural narration becomes as familiar as the Odyssey itself:
From there we sailed on, grieved at heart, glad to have escaped death, though we
had lost our dear comrades ... .[9]
The same technique is used by Vergil (70-19 B.C.) in books 2-3 of the
Aeneid.
Since the structure of the Aeneid imitates the Odyssey, Vergil's use of first
person narration results directly from Homeric influence.[10] Aeneas himself
recounts the destruction of Troy and the voyage that ends in a shipwreck
offshore Carthage. In book 3, his first person account to Dido turns from
the sack of Troy (book 2) to his subsequent travels that have brought him to
Carthage. With the launching of the boat, first person plural narration becomes
commonplace:
With Asian power and Priam's tribe uprooted,
though blameless, by heaven's decree; with Ilium's pride
fallen, and Neptune's Troy all smoke and ash,
God's oracles drove us on to exile, on
to distant, lonely lands. We built a fleet
down to Antander and Ida's Phrygian peaks,
uncertain which way Fate led or where to stop.
We marshaled our men. When summer first came on,
Anchises bade us trust our sails to fate (3.1 -9).[11]
These two examples come from the prestigious epic literature of Greek and Roman
culture. Their influence was pervasive in the literature of the Mediterranean
world. Sea voyages are not only adventurous but lead to the founding of new
cities and the establishment of new leaders. Shipwrecks create the setting for
man's display of strength and take the passengers, unplanned, to famous islands
and cities of the Mediterranean world. Through these voyages, destiny unfolds
and the ways of the gods with men are displayed.
From the seventh century B.C. onwards, Greek poetry contained sea voyage
imagery, and it is not unusual for the lines that contain this imagery to be
formulated in first person plural style. Two poems by the lyric poet Alcaeus (b.
ca. 620 B.C.) reflect this style. Both poems were cited by Heraclitus (1 cent.
A.D.) as
[8] 9.546-547:12.5-7:
νηα μεν ενθ ελθοντες
ελελσαμεν εν ψαμαθοισιν,
εκ δε και αυτοι βεμεν
επι ρεγμινι θαλασσες.
Variations of this pattern occur at
9.149-151; 9.169. Cf. 9.85; 10.56;'11.20.
[9] Cf. Werner Suerbaum, "Die Ich-Erzahlungen des Odysseus," Poetica,
II (1968), 176-7, n. 58. Also W. J. Woodhouse, The Composition of Homer's
Odyssey, p. 44: "The sea-stories proper constitute the content of a
comparatively short portion of the life of the hero... in the string of
adventures supposed to be narrated by Odysseus himself at the court of king
Alkinoos, Homer has raised these age-old stories to a power of illusive reality,
to an artistic and ethical level, that together give this portion of the Odyssey
its own special undying quality."
[10] Cf. Brooks Otis, Virgil: A Study in Civilized Poetry, pp. 215-312.
[11] Vergil,
The Aeneid, trans, by Frank O. Copley, p. 49.
219
allegories of political trouble in the state.[12] Alcaeus 6 maintains first
person plural throughout the scene of sailing on dangerous waters:
This wave again comes [like?] the one before:
it will give us much labour to bale out,
when it enters the vessel's [...]
[...] let us fortify the [...] with all speed,
and run into a secure harbour.
And let not unmanly hesitance take hold of any one [of us]:
a great [...] is clear before us.
Remember our [toils] of yesterday:
now let each prove himself a steadfast man.
And let us not disgrace [by cowardice]
our noble fathers lying under the earth . .. ,[13]
Alcaeus 326 alternates between first person singular and plural as the poet
captures the anxiety that attends the injury inflicted on a ship in a storm:
I cannot tell where the wind lies;
one wave rolls from this side,
one from that,
and we in their midst
are borne along with our black vessel
Toiling in a tempest passing great.
The bilge is up over the masthold,
all the sail lets the daylight through already,
and there are great rents along it,
And the woodings are slackening,
the rudders . .. both feet stay [entangled]
In the sheets: that alone it is that [saves] me;
the cargo ... is carried away above .. . ,[14]
Theognis (fl. 544-541 B.C.) continues this imagery and style of narration in the
section of his lyric poetry that treats the city-state metaphorically as a ship
on a turbulent sea:
Now we are borne along with white sails, casting about on the open sea near Melos through the dark night; The crew does not want to bale; and the sea casts
over us on both sides of the ship . . . (671 -674).[15]
The metaphor of the city-state as a ship on the sea also appears in tragic
poetry. In Seven Against Thebes, Aeschylus (525/4-456 B.C.) has a messenger
announce the successful defense of the city against its aggressors in these
[12] Allegories of Homer 5; available in Felix Buffiere, Heraclite: Allegories
d'Homere, pp. 4-5.
[13] Alcaeus 6 (Diehle)/A6 (Lobel and Page); this translation is from Denys L.
Page, Sappho and Alcaeus, p. 183.
[14] Alcaeus 326 (Diehle)/Z2 (Lobel and Page); translation from ibid., p. 186.
[15] Author's translation; for the text with commentary, see David A. Campbell,
Greek Lyric Poetry, pp. 85-6, 368-70. Pindar (518-438 B.C.) used sea voyage
imagery metaphorically to describe the process of writing an ode; see Gogo
Lieberg, "Seefahrtund Werk," G/f, XXI (1969), 209-13. Nemea 4.36-8 is
especially interesting for its use of first person plural; for analysis of this
passage, see Jacques Peron, Les Images maritimes de Pindare, pp. 90-100. For a
detailed study of first person in Pindar, see Mary R. Lefkowitz, "ΤΩ ΚΑΙ
ΕΓΩ" The First Person in Pindar," HSCP, LXVII (1963), 177-253.
220
words:
Both in fair weather and in the many blows of the surging
sea the city has not shipped water.
The bastion is water-tight
and we have bulwarked her ports with champions
who in single-handed fight have redeemed their pledge
(795-798).[16]
The attack on the city is like a storm that threatens to destroy a ship at sea.
With disciplined effort and gradual abatement of the storm, the ship is
successfully kept afloat. Aeschylus also uses sea voyage imagery in a speech by
Electra in The Libation-Bearers:
But the gods whom we invoke, know
by what storms we are tossed like sailors.
Yet, if it is our fate to win safety,
from a little seed may spring a mighty stock (201 -203).
The difficult situation faced by Electra and her companions calls forth the
danger of sailing on the sea. Mortals have little choice but to turn their
petitions to heaven and hope for a successful outcome. First person plural
narration attends this imagery in epic, lyric, and tragic poetry. During later
centuries, this literature is copied, quoted, and read, and its influence is
found in widespread sectors of Hellenistic and Roman civilization.
In his Menippean Satires, Varro (116-27 B.C.) provides evidence that first
person style persists in voyage imagery during the first century B.C.17
Fragments 276 and 473, preserved by Nonius Marcellus (early 4th cent. A.D.),
read respectively: [16]:
276:
Here at the crossroads we boarded a swampboat,
which the barge boys pulled along through the
sedge with a rope. [17]:
473:
Wherever we wanted to go, the wind blew against us.[18]
Nonius also recounts that Varro knew a two-book satire entitled
Periplous
(Voyage),[19] and fragment 418, from book 2, contains first person plural
narration.[20]
[16] See the translation and commentary in Howard D. Cameron, Studies on the
Seven Against Thebes of Aeschylus, p. 63.
[17] See Eduard Norden. Agnostos Theos, p. 313. I have been informed at many
places in this paper by his appendix, "Zur Komposition der Acta
Apostolorum,"
pp. 311 -32.
[18] These fragments are most readily available in Petronii Sarturae, ed. by F.
Buecheler, pp. 193, 214:
276: hic in ambivio naven conscendimus palustrem, quam
nautici quisones per ulvam ducerent loro.
473: quocumque ire vellemus, obvius flare.
I am indebted to my colleague, Professor David F. Bright, for the translations
of the material from Buecheler.
[19] See M. Terenti Varronis, Saturarum Menippearum, ed. by Alexander Riese, pp.
197-8.
[20] Buecheler, Petronii Sarturae, p. 208: ". . . lest we wander, that
there were many bypaths, and that the way was quite safe but slow going."
et ne erraremus, ectropas esse multas, omnino tutum, esse sed spissum iter.
221
By the first century A.D., sea voyages, interrupted by storms, were an
established part of Mediterranean literature outside of epic. And first person
narration of voyages appears to be not only fashionable but preferred. Dio
Chrysostom (A.D. 40-after 112), from whom portions of 78 discourses are extant,
most frequently recounts tales in third person narration. But in the seventh
discourse, when a sea voyage, which ends in a shipwreck and a journey, is
recounted, he uses first person narration:
... at the close of the summer season I was crossing from Chios with some
fisherman in a very small boat, when such a storm arose that we had great
difficulty in reaching the Hollows of Euboea in safety (7.2).
After a short while on shore, a hunter invites him to travel with him. The
narrative thus continues:
As we proceeded on our way, he told me of his circumstances and how he lived
with his wife and children . . . (7.10).
Dio's use of first person narration for this tale of voyage and adventure
suggests that he was responding to the genre itself. This style had established
itself within the cultural milieu, and writers found it natural to respond to
this convention.
Within sea voyage accounts, the shipwreck became an increasingly attractive
feature. Petronius (1st cent. A.D.) exhibits this interest in shipwreck accounts
and also shows the natural propensity for first person narration in them. It
only seemed proper to recount the dangerous episode with first person plural:
While we talked over this matter and others, the sea rose, clouds gathered from
every quarter, and overwhelmed the day in darkness .... One moment the wind set
towards Sicily, very often the north wind blew off the Italian coast, mastered
the ship and twisted her in every direction; and what was more dangerous than
any squall, such thick darkness had suddenly blotted out the light that the
steersman could not even see the whole prow . . . (chap. 114).
Even the Jewish historian Josephus mentions a sea voyage and a shipwreck in his
biography. And little surprise it is that he shifts from first person singular
to first person plural as he recounts it:
I reached Rome after being in great jeopardy at sea. For our ship foundered in
the midst of the sea of Adria, and our company of some six hundred souls had to
swim all that night. About daybreak, through God's good providence, we sighted a
ship of Cyrene, and I and certain others, about eighty in all, outstripped the
others and were taken on board (3; sections 14-16).
By the first century A.D. the sea voyage, threatened by shipwreck, had
established itself as a distinct genre. An essential feature of this genre was
first person narration. The status of the genre provided the possibility for
authors to employ the situation of a sea voyage to interpret many situations in
life. Thus Ovid, in Tristia 1.2.31 -34 (composed A.D. 8-9), compares his life in
exile to a sea voyage threatened by shipwreck:
The helmsman is confused nor can he find what to avoid or what to seek; his very
skill is numbed by the baffling perils. We are surely lost, there is no hope of
safety. . .
Being in exile is like being thrown on a ship that starts on a voyage. One is
dependent upon the crew for the outcome, but even the crew cannot predict the
fortune of the journey. Together they face the peril of the sea, and when the
wind becomes a storm and the waves begin to threaten, every occupant of the ship
faces the same jeopardy. Together they experience the confusion, the fear, and
222
the hope that all is not lost. As Ovid uses this situation on
the sea to explain his experience in exile, he expresses the anguish in first
person plural: "We are surely lost, there is no hope of safety. . . ."
In the second century A.D., Lucian (A.D. 125-180) wrote a sea voyage parody
entitled A True Story. If Ovid's use of a sea voyage to interpret his exile
leaves any doubt with regard to the status of this genre, Lucian's parody gives
even firmer evidence. In his work Lucian recounts a fantastic voyage with tongue
in cheek. His parody reveals the essential features of the sea voyage genre. He
narrates the voyage as Odysseus, Aeneas, Dio Chrysostom and Josephus narrate
theirs. He begins in first person singular and shifts to first person plural at
the embarkation.
Once upon a time, setting out from the Pillars of Hercules and heading for the
western ocean with a fair wind, I went a-voyaging .... For a day and a night we
sailed before the wind making very little offing, as land was still dimly in
sight; but at sunrise on the second day the wind freshened, the sea rose,
darkness came on, and before we knew it we could no longer even get our canvas
in.... On the eightieth day the sun came out suddenly and at no great distance
we saw a high, wooded island .... Putting in and going ashore, we lay on the
ground for some time in consequence of our long misery . . . (1.5-6).
Even though Lucian made light of sea voyage accounts by presenting one of the
most fantastic voyages imaginable, the sea voyage genre had a firm place within
the literature of the culture. Thus Achilles Tatius (A.D. second century)
includes a sea voyage in the Adventures of Leucippe and Clitophon, and the
appeal of the account is strengthened by first person narration:
... as we arrived at the harbour of Berytus, we found a ship just sailing, on
the very point of casting loose: so we asked no questions as to her destination,
but embarked all our belongings aboard . . . (2.31.6).
On the third day of our voyage, the perfect calm we had hitherto experienced was
suddenly overcast by dark clouds and the daylight disappeared, a wind blew
upwards from the sea full in the ship's face, and the helmsman bade the sailyard
be slewed around . . . (3.1.1).
In 4.9.6. these adventures are summarized in first person plural:
We escaped the terrors that awaited us at home, only to suffer shipwreck; we
were saved from the sea,... [lacuna]; we were rescued from the robbers, only to
find madness waiting for us.
This style continues in the third century (A.D. 220-250) in
Heliodorus'
Ethiopian Story about Theagenes and Chariclea. The author has established third
person style of narration up to this point, so he leads into the voyage with
this style:
When they got on board the Phoenician vessel, he said, in their flight from
Delphi, the beginning of their voyage was quite agreeable, as they were borne
along by a following wind of moderate strength . . . (5.17).
But after only a few lines, Heliodorus turns the narrative over to Calasiris for
a personal account of the voyage.
Calasiris then pursued his narrative thus: "We made our way through the
strait, he said, "and when we had lost sight of the Pointed Isles, we
fancied that we could distinguish the headland of Zacynthus creeping into our
view like a dark
223
cloud . . ."(5.17).21
Since first person narration emerged naturally in relation to sea voyage
literature, there could be no complete reversal of the trend. The dynamic of
voyaging on the sea brings with it the experience of working with others to
achieve a safe voyage and of sharing with others the fear and desperation when
storm threatens to end the voyage in shipwreck. The social setting that emerges
through a voyage on the sea gave rise to the sea voyage genre recounted with the
personal plural dynamic: "We thought we were lost, we did what we could,
and we made it through."
Third Person Narration in Greek Literature
But now it is necessary to look at the genre where third person narration
dominates. If the examples given thus far suggest a natural affinity between
first person narration and sea voyages, they do not reveal the strong bias
toward third person narration in Greek and Latin prose literature. At least as
early as Thucydides (ca. 460-400 B.C.) a standard had been set for narrative
historiography that included third person narrative style. Thucydides carried
this style through with remarkable candor, so that, beginning with book 4 of the
History of the Peloponnesian War, he recounted his own activities in the army in
third person narration. Thus he introduces himself into the narrative with these
words:
... the opponents of the traitors... acting in concert with Eucles the
general... sent to the other commander of the Thracian district, Thucydides son
of Olorus, the author of this history, who was at Thasos, a Parian colony, about
a half-day's sail from Amphipolis, and urged him to come to their aid. And he,
on hearing this, sailed in haste with seven ships which happened to be at hand
... (4.104.4ff).
Thucydides, the objective, truthful narrator features himself in the narrative
for a number of pages, never using first person narration. By this means
Thucydides hopes to persuade his readers that his account is based on the finest
evidence and presented in the most accurate manner (1.1.1 -2).
Xenophon (428/7-354 B.C.) used this same style for the Anabasis and the
Hellenica. Therefore he introduces himself into the narrative in book 3 of the
Anabasis in the following way:
There was a young man in the army named Xenophon, an Athenian, who was neither
general nor captain nor private, but had accompanied the expedition because
Proxenus, an old friend of his, had sent him at his home an invitation to go
with him; Proxenus had also promised him that if he should go, he would make him
a friend of Cyrus ... (3.1.4). Xenophon ... after offering the sacrifices to the
gods that Apollo's oracle prescribed, set sail, overtook Proxenus and Cyrus at
Sardis as they were on the point of beginning the upward march, and was
introduced to Cyrus .... It was in this way, then, that Xenophon came to go on
the expedition .. . (3.1.8).
From this point on Xenophon becomes a participant in the action and the
dialogue. Never, however, does the author use first person narration for his own
participation.[22] Both Thucydides and Xenophon consider third person
narration
[21] Heliodorus, Ethiopian Story, trans, by Walter Lamb, pp. 123-4.
[22] Xenophon, in contrast with Thucydides, does not even claim authorship of
the
224
to be the proper historiographical style. They even recount sea voyages in this
style.
From the same century as Xenophon's works, a sailing manual for mariners has
been preserved.[23] This Periplus of the Mediterranean Sea, as it is
entitled, is attributed to Scylax the Younger. The author starts the manual with
first person singular: "I will begin [my description] from the Pillars of
Hercules...." After this, the journalistic description of cities, people
and distances is given in third person except for fourteen interjections where
he says, "Now I will return to the coast, from which I turned away [in my
description]."[24] This document is too non-literary to be influenced
by the historiographical tradition. Yet it does represent sea voyage information
in a third person informational style.
A similar manual tradition emerges in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (A.D.
50-95).[25] This document is a third person description of the harbors, cities
and peoples along the coastline of the Indian Ocean. Even in this account,
however, the propensity for first person plural is exhibited. When the author is
describing a dangerous section of the coastline, he automatically slips into
first person plural style.
Navigation is dangerous along this whole coast of Arabia, which is without
harbors, with bad anchorages, foul, inaccessible because of breakers and rocks,
and terrible in every way. Therefore we hold our course down the middle of the
gulf and pass on as fast as possible by the country of Arabia until we come to
the Burnt Island . . . ,[26]
Thus, even in third person manual periploi, first person is likely to intrude.
A rather forthright perpetuation of third person historiographical style appears
in the works of Arrian (A.D. 96-ca. 180) who imitated Xenophon in his Anabasis
of Alexander and Herodotus in his Indica[27] Therefore his account of
Nearchus' sea voyage in Indica 8.20.1 -8.36.9 is recounted in third person,
though the reader is told that it is Nearchus' personal account.
On this Nearchus writes thus: Alexander had a vehement desire to sail the sea
which stretches from India to Persia; but he disliked the length of the voyage
and feared lest, meeting with some country desert or without roadstands, or not
properly provided with the fruits of the earth, his whole fleet might be
destroyed (8.20.1f) .... And Nearchus says that Alexander discussed with him
whom he should select to be admiral of his fleet (8.20.4).... At length
Alexander accepted
Anabasis, evidently because he was a participant in it.
Instead, he claims, in Hellenica 3.1.2., that the Anabasis was written by
Themistogenes of Syracuse.
[23] Walter W. Hyde, Ancient Greek Mariners, pp. 19,116. Text in Karl Muller,
Geographi Graeci Minores, I, 15-96.
[24] επανειμι δε παλιν
επι την ηπειρον,
οθεν εξετραπομην (with slight
variation): 7,13, 29, 34, 48, 53, 58, 67 (twice), 97, 98, 99 (twice), 103. In 21
he refers to νησοι ων εχο ειπειν
τα ονοματα
and in 40 to η οδος προσ την
επι ημων θαλασσαν.
[25] Wilfred H. Schoff, The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, pp. 8-9. Text in
Muller, Geographi, pp. 257-305.
[26] Schoff, Periplus, p. 30. Also in 57, first person emerges: κατα
τον καιρον τον παρ
ημιν, ετησιον εν
το Ινδικο πελαγει
ο λιθοντος
φαινεται
[ιππαλος]
προσονομαζεσθαι
[απο τεσ προσεγοριασ
του προτοσ εξευρεκοτος
τον διαπλουν].
[27] See Lionel Pearson, The Lost Histories of Alexander the Great, p. 112. A
similar style is perpetuated by Apollonius of Rhodes in Argonautica.
225
Nearchus' willing spirit, and appointed him admiral of the entire fleet
(8.20.7)...Now when the trade winds had sunk to rest . . . they put to sea . . . (8.21.1).
Arrian, however, is credited with a Periplus of the Euxine Sea.
Because the
author formulated the account as a letter to Hadrian, he was able to recount the
voyage in first person plural.[28]
While Arrian perpetuated the third person historiographical style as employed by
Xenophon, Caesar (1st cent. B.C.) allowed first person plural comments within a
third person narrative style. Most frequently, in the Gallic Wars, first person
plural emerges in accounts of battle. But in at least one voyage account the
author allows first person plural to intrude.
When the ships had been beached and the camp thoroughly well entrenched, Caesar
left the same forces as before to guard the
ships . . . . Here in mid-channel is an island called Man;... some have written that in midwinter, night there
lasts for thirty whole days. We could discover nothing about this by inquiries;
but by exact measurements, we observed that the nights were shorter than on the
continent (5.11).
In Caesar's account, therefore, an autobiographical feature is allowed within
historiography, especially in battles and a voyage. Is it too much to suggest
that this becomes a characteristic typology for historiography in the 1st
century B.C. and A.D., and that the writer of Luke-Acts construes his narrative
in relation to this typology?
This survey has been designed to show two things: (a) the genre of sea voyage
narrative within Greek literature uses first person plural narration; (b) the
standards of historiography brought in a necessity for third person narration,
but, in spite of this, first person plural narration emerges in accounts of
battles and voyages.
Parallels to the Voyages in Acts
But if the we-passages in Acts are to be understood in
relation to these features in narrative literature, are there not more precise
parallels? In Acts the narration shifts from third person to first person
plural, and the narrator is not the main actor. A precise parallel exists in the
Voyage of Hanno the Carthaginian.[29] This document exists in Greek and
was written down between 350-125 B.C. It reflects the convergence of the
historiographical tradition and sea voyage tradition as it appears in Acts. Some
interpreters suggest it was translated from Punic into Greek under the influence
of the historian Polybius; others suggest the influence of Herodotus.[30] This
three page account begins with third person
[28] Text in Müller, Geographi, pp. 370-401. On the letter form as a technique
for presenting the account as a personal voyage, see Henry Chotard, Le Periple
de la Mer Noire par Arrien, pp. 3-7.
[29] Text in Müller, Geographi, pp. 1 -14. At this point I must express my
sincere gratitude to Professor Emeritus John L. Heller who called my attention
to this document. His conversation with me about the shift from third person to
first person plural in this voyage account inspired this entire investigation.
[30] W. Aly, "Die Entdeckung des Westens," Hermes, LXII (1927),
317-339, suggests Polybian influence; G. Germain,, "Qu'est-ce que le Périple d'Hannon? Document, amplification
littéraire ou faux intégral?", Hesperis, XLIV (1957), 205-48, suggests that a later writer was influenced by
Herodotus' style.
226
narration and shifts into first person narration in the following manner:
It pleased the Carthaginians that Hanno should voyage outside the Pillars of
Hercules, and found cities of the Libyphoenicians. And he set forth with sixty
ships of fifty oars, and a multitude of men and women, to the number of thirty
thousand, and with wheat and other provisions. After passing through the Pillars
we went on and sailed for two days' journey beyond, where we founded the first
city.... Having set up an altar to Neptune, we proceeded again, going toward the
east for half the day ... (1-3}.[31]
First person plural narration continues to the end of the document, where, on
account of the lack of further supplies, they return to Carthage.
Another parallel to the style of narration in Acts is present in a four-column
papyrus dated ca. 246 B.C., which is best entitled Episodes from the Third
Syrian War.[32] I.1-II.11 contains third person narration. In II.12 the
narration shifts to first person plural as a sea voyage is recounted:
. . . Arzibazos, the satrap in Cilicia, intended to send [the captured money] to
Ephesus for Laodice's group, but when the people of Soli and the satraps
immediately agreed among themselves, and the associates of Pythagoras and
Aristocles vigorously helped, and all were good men, it happened that the money
was kept and both the city and the citadel became ours. But when Arzibazos
escaped and reached the passes of the Tauros and some of the inhabitants cut him
off at the entrance, he went back to Antioch. Then we (made ready) the things on
the ships, and, when the first watch began, we embarked in as many ships as the
harbor of Seleucia (at Orontes) was likely to hold and sailed to a port called
Poseidon and we anchored ourselves at the eighth hour. Then, getting away from
there in the morning, we went to Seleucia. And the priest and rulers and other
citizens and officers and soldiers, crowned with wreaths, met us ... (2.6-25).[33]
In second and third century Christianity, two documents of the Acts-genre
contain first person plural in relation to sea voyages. Undoubtedly the first
century Acts of the Apostles has influenced these documents. It is informative,
however, to observe first person plural narration in the midst of sea voyage
material. In the Antiochene Acts of the Martyrdom of Ignatius, third person
narration shifts unannounced to first person plural as the author gives a
summary of the voyage:
. .. passing through Philippi he [Ignatius] journeyed by land across Macedonia
and the part of Epirus which lies by Epidamnus. And here on the sea coast he
took ship and sailed across the Hadriatic sea, and thence entering the Tyrrhene
and passing by islands and cities, the holy man when he came in view of Puteoli
was eager himself to disembark, desiring to tread in the footsteps of the
Apostle Paul; but forasmuch as a stiff breeze springing up prevented it, the
ship being driven by a stern wind, he commended the love of the brethren in that
place, and so sailed by. Thus in one single day and night, meeting with
favourable winds, we ourselves were carried forward against our will, mourning
over the separation which must soon come between ourselves and this righteous
man . . . .[34]
[31] Wilfred H. Schoff, The Periplus of Hanno, p. 3.
[32] The first edition of the text is found in John P. Mahaffy, The Flinders
Petri Papyri, II, III: XLV (II, pp. 145-9), CXLIV (III, pp. 334-8).
The re-edited text is available in L. Mitteis and U. Wilcken, Grundzüge und
Chrestomathie der Papyruskunde, Vol. I, Part 2, pp. 1-7.
[33] Translation by the author, consulting Mahaffy.
[34] J. B. Lightfoot, The Apostolic Fathers, II, 577.
227
In these three texts and the book of Acts, third person narration is established
as the style for recounting the events that occur. However, when a sea voyage
begins the narration shifts, without explanation, to first person plural.
Yet another text holds interest for this study, although it does not represent
an exact parallel to the narrative style of Acts. In The Acts of Peter and the
'Twelve Apostles, Nag Hammadi codex VI.1, the narrative alternates between first
person and third person narration. Unfortunately, the first part of the text has
been destroyed, so that it is impossible to know if the document began with
first person or third person narrative style. The extant portion begins with a
scene in which Peter and the apostles covenant with one another to take a
special voyage on the sea. Immediately after this scene, they go down to the sea
and begin their venture. First person plural narration governs the composition
of the se two episodes.
[...] which [...] purpose [.... after...] us [...] apostles [...]. We sailed
[...] of the body. [Others] were not anxious in [their hearts]. And in our
hearts, we were united. We agreed to fulfill the ministry to which the Lord
appointed us. And we made a covenant with each other.
We went down to the sea at an opportune moment, which came to us from the Lord.
We found a ship moored at the shore ready to embark, and we spoke with the
sailors of the ship about our coming aboard with them. They showed great
kindliness toward us as was ordained by the Lord. And after we had embarked, we
sailed a day and a night. After that, a wind came up behind the ship and
brought us to a small city in the midst of the sea (VI.1.1-29).[35]
The first person plural narrative style shifts to first person singular when the
boat arrives at the dock.
And I, Peter, inquired about the name of this city from residents who were
standing on the dock. [A man] among [them] answered, [saying, "The name] of
this [city is Habitation, that is], Foundation [. . .] endurance." And the
leader [among them ... holding] the palm branch at the edge of [the dock]. And after
we had gone ashore [with the] baggage, I [went] into [the] city, to seek
[advice] about the lodging (VI.1.30-2.10).
At this point it appears that the narrative is recounted entirely in first person
with Peter telling the story. A little further on, however, Peter is presented,
without comment, through narration by the author in third person style.
[The men asked Peter] about the hardships. Peter answered [that it was
impossible to tell] those things that he had heard about the hardships off [the]
way, because [interpreters were] difficult [. . .] in their ministry.
He said to the man who sells this pearl, "I want to know your name and the
hardships of the way to your city because we are strangers and servants of God.
It is necessary for us to spread the word of God in every city
harmoniously." He answered and said, "If you seek my name, Lithargoel is my name, the interpretation of which is, the light, gazelle-like
stone" (VI.5.2-19)
[35] The quotations from The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles are taken
from The Nag Hammadi Library in English, ed. James M. Robinson, trans, of this
document by Douglas M. Parrott and R. McL. Wilson, p. 454-9, and are used by
permission of Hamper and Row. I am grateful to Professor George W. MacRae,
Harvard University, for calling these references to my attention.
228
As the story continues, the narrative style alternates, without explanation
between first person and third person narration. Sometimes, in other words,
Peter is telling the story, and at other times Peter is talked about in third
person as a participant in the events. Finally, the document ends with a third
person account of "the Lord" with the disciples (VI.10.14-12.22).
For the purposes of this study, it would be informative to know if The Acts of
Peter and the Twelve Apostles began, as well as concluded, with third person
narration. There is a possibility that it began with third person narrative
style adopted first person narrative style in the context of the sea voyage,
then returned to third person style at the end of the account. Without further
evidence, it is impossible to know. It does seem fair to conclude that this
document probably written during the latter part of the second century[36] has
been influenced both by the sea voyage material in the canonical book of Acts
and by first person narrative style in romance literature.[37] Among the
apocryphal Acts material, it attracts special interest because of the
coincidence of first plural narration with a sea voyage. During the second and
third centuries, however, first person narrative style influenced the apocryphal
material beyond the context of sea voyages.[38]
In conclusion, there are three texts, in addition to the book of Acts, where
third person narrative style shifts to first person plural when a sea voyage is
initiated. In a fourth text, The Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles, the
narration shifts freely among first person plural, first person singular, and
third person narration.
It may be well to notice a feature of Luke-Acts that has not yet been mentioned.
The author begins his narrative with a first person singular preface to Luke and
another at the beginning of Acts. Therefore, the author uses first person
narration in the prefaces, third person narration in the basic text, and first
person plural narration in the accounts of sea voyages. Luke evidently adapts
his style to the content that he presents. The we-passages fit the genre of sea
voyage narratives. Such accounts would be expected to contain first person
narration, whether or not the author was an actual participant in the voyage.
Without first person narration the account would limp. By the first century
A.D., a sea voyage recounted in third person narration would be considered out
of vogue, especially if a shipwreck or other amazing events were recounted. For
this reason an alert writer like Luke would place himself on the journey by
using first person plural.
The We-Passages as Sea Voyage Literature
The we-passages in Acts have captivated interpreters from Irenaeus[39] to the
present.[40] And, for the most part, Irenaeus' shadow has fallen over the whole
[36] Ibid., p. 265.
[37] For a discussion of first person narration in romance literature, see Ben
E. Perry, "Appendix III: The Ego-Narrative in Comic Stories," The
Ancient Romances, pp. 325-9.
[38] See, e.g., Acts of John and Acts of Thomas 1, in The Apocryphal New
Testament. trans. M. R. James, pp. 228-70, 365.
[39] Against Heresies 3.14.1.
[40] See Ernst Haenchen, The Acts of the Apostles and Ward Gasque, A History of
Criticism of the Acts of the Apostles.
229
enterprise. For Irenaeus, the we-passages demonstrated that the author of
Luke-Acts was a companion of Paul. Many interpreters since Irenaeus have left
the impression that an author who used first person plural narration in his
account must, by necessity, have been a participant in those events or must have
used a diary of a participant.
Internally, however, the we-passages are not a unity. The variation from
"we," which includes Paul, to "Paul and us" (16:17; 21:18)
exhibits the use of first person plural as a stylistic device by the author
himself. Also, the tension between "we" and "they" in Acts
27:1-44 reflects the author's employment of first person plural for sea
voyaging even when it is difficult to sustain the personal narration in the
context of the events that occur on the voyage.
Eduard Norden was aware that the we-passages in Acts represent the sea voyage
genre.[41] Henry J. Cadbury read Norden's work and knew that these
sections were a different genre from the other material in Acts.[42] He
mentioned that it was a "regular custom for the periplous, as the account
of a coasting voyage was called, to be written in first person .. .,"[43]
but he did not take the next step. He concluded that the abrupt shift from third
person narration to "we" was "peculiar and unexplained."[44]
The evidence within contemporary Mediterranean literature suggests that the
author of Luke-Acts used "we" narration as a stylistic device. The
influence for this lies in the Classical, Hellenistic, and Roman literary
milieu.[45]
This first plural technique is simply a feature of the sea voyage genre in
Mediterranean antiquity. All of the features of this genre arise out of the
dynamics of sailing on the sea, landing in unfamiliar places, and hoping to
establish an amiable relationship with the people in the area where the landing
occurs.[46] During the short stay on land, before resuming the voyage, two kinds
of episodes are especially frequent. First, an event often occurs in which some
people of the area are friendly toward the voyagers. This event usually leads to
an invitation to stay at someone's home.[47]
[41] Ibid., pp. 313-27.
[42] Henry J. Cadbury, The Making of Luke-Acts, pp. 60-1.
[43] Ibid., p. 144.
[44] Ibid., p. 358.
[45] During this time period, Semitic voyages do not use first person plural
narrative style. Neither the biblical accounts of Noah nor Jonah use this
technique. The voyage of Jonah raises the most interesting possibilities because
of its widespread popularity. Beginning with the end of the third century A.D.,
Jonah's voyage appears frequently in sarcophagi. For this information, see
Cornelia C. Coulter, "The 'Great Fish' in Ancient and Medieval Story,"
TAPA, LVII (1926), 32-50; Joseph Engemann, Untersuchungenzur Sepulkralsymbolik
der späteren römischen Kaizerzeit, pp. 70-4. First person plural narration does
appear in the Islamic account of Jonah's voyage: Koran Sure 37;139-141; see
Richard Delbrueck, Probleme der Lipsanothek in Brescia, pp. 22-3. For a study of
the Jonah traditions in the NT, see Richard A. Edwards, The Sign of Jonah.
[46] For all kinds of information about ships and sea travel on and around the
Mediterranean, including information about Paul's voyages, see the four works by
Lionel Casson: Travel in the Ancient World; Ships and Seamanship in the Ancient
World; The Ancient Mariners. For an account of the search for the remains of
ancient ships, and the estimates regarding the number of ships that traveled the
Mediterranean and went down in the deep, see Willard Bascom, Deep Water, Ancient
Ships.
[47] Cf. Voyage of Hanno 6; Vergil, Aeneid 3.80-83, 306-355; Dio Chrysostom
7.3-5;
230
The voyagers seldom remain neutral visitors in a locale where they land. Thus a
second event will divide the people of the area over whether or not these
voyagers are to be trusted. Usually the leader of the voyage will become
involved in a major episode in which his extraordinary abilities are displayed.
Often he will speak eloquently and perform some unusual feat.[48] If the voyagers
are not driven forcibly from the place where they have landed, an emotional
farewell scene occurs in which the people bring provisions and other gifts to
the boat.[49]
A sea voyage account often opens with a statement regarding the purpose of the
voyage, a comment about preparations for it, and a list of some of the
participants in it.[50] When the voyage is under way, there is an account of the
places by which the voyagers sail, and frequently short descriptive comments are
given about the places. Also, the length of time it takes to sail from one place
to another usually is indicated, and frequently the span of time is linked with
the direction and force of the wind.[51] Gods are portrayed as determining the
fate of the voyage. Visits of the gods, and signs and portents, frequently
attend the voyage. In response, prayers are offered, altars are built, and
sacred rituals are enacted.[52] At some point, almost every good sea voyage
account portrays a storm that threatens or actually ends in a shipwreck.[53]
Virtually all of the features of ancient sea voyage literature are present in
the we-passages in Acts. The first we-section, 16:10-17, begins in response to a
vision which occurs during the night. In this vision a Macedonian says to Paul,
"Come over to Macedonia and help us:" (16:9). The narrator interprets
this summons to mean that God is calling them to this area to preach the gospel
(16:10). The success of this venture is assured by divine destiny no matter what
obstacles threaten to undo it. Especially the sea voyages of Odysseus and Aeneas
established visions, signs, and portents as a characteristic feature of this
kind of literature. The first we-section emerges in the narrative of Acts with a
dynamic that is well-known in Mediterranean sea voyage literature.
As first person plural narration begins and the boat is launched for Macedonia,
the narrator recounts the places by which they sail and the time it takes to
sail the distance (16:11-12). This is the first instance of a detailed account
of a voyage in Acts, and it includes a comment about the prestige and role of
Philippi — a typical feature in a sea voyage account. The narration of the
voyage ends with the statement: "We remained in this city some days."
This is a customary clause at the end of a paragraph in a voyage manual.[54]
Once they land at Philippi, a series of events occur that lead to the
[48] Lucian, A True Story 1.33; 2.34; Achilles Tatius 2.33; Heliodorus,
Ethiopian Story 5.18. 48 Cf. Odyssey 9.43-61, 195-470.
[49] Cf. Vergil, Aeneid 3.463-505; Lucian, A True Story 2.27; Achilles Tatius
2.32.2.
[50] Cf. Voyage of Hanno 1; Lucian, A True Story 1.5.
[51] Cf. Voyage of Hanno
2-6, 8-17; Vergil Aeneid 3.124-127, 692-708.
[52] Cf. Voyage of Hanno 4; Vergil, Aeneid 3.4-5,19-21, 26-48, 84-120,
147-178, 358-460, 373-376, 528-529; Lucian, A True Story 2.47;
Achilles Tatius 2.32.2; 3.5.1 -4; 3.10.1-6.
[53] Cf. Odyssey 9.67-73; Vergil, Aeneid 3.192-208; Dio Chrysostom 7.2; Lucian,
A True Story 2.40; 2.47; Achilles Tatius 3.1.1 -3.5.6; Heliodorus, Ethiopian
Story 5.27.
[54] Cf. Voyage of Hanno 6:
παρ οις εμειναμεν
αχρι τινος, φιλοι
γενομενοι.
231
imprisonment and spectacular release of Paul and Silas. Only the first two
events are narrated in first person plural. In the first event (16:13-15) the
voyagers meet some women and begin to talk to them. A woman named Lydia
"opens her heart" so that she invites them to come to her house and
stay. This scene is a typical component of voyage narratives, and it contains
first plural narrative style.
The second event (16:16-18) begins with first person plural narration but makes
a transition to third person narration in 16:17. This event has a dynamic that
is often present in sea voyage accounts. Paul performs an extraordinary act of
power, and this act causes a disturbance among the local people. In this
instance, Paul drives a spirit of divination out of a slave girl who brings
money to her owners by soothsaying. As the episode develops into a detailed
event in the city, first plural narration is left behind. With the re-emergence
of third person narrative style, the events move from the sea to "the
land." The next series of events does not conclude with a return to the
boat; Paul and his company travel to Amphipolis, Apollonia, and Thessalonica on
foot (17:1).
The transition from first plural to third person narration is achieved through
the phrase "Paul and us" (16:10). This phrase is a signal to the
reader that the events lead away from the boat to the land and its challenges.
The same technique appears at the end of the third we-passage (21:18). At the
end of the final we-passage, the transition is made by indicating that Paul was
permitted to remain "by himself" with only the soldier guarding him
(28:16). In all three instances the transition takes the event away from the
sea; third person narration centers on Paul's influential activity on land.
The second we-section, 20:5-15, is the first half of a sea voyage to Jerusalem.
First person plural narration emerges at the conclusion of a list of people who
accompany Paul on the voyage (20:4). As in the first we-section, the voyage
opens with a detailed account of the places to which they sailed and the
duration of time. This introduction ends with the comment that they stayed in
Troas for seven days (20:5-6). Again, first person plural narration begins as a
boat is launched on the sea, and the opening verses are a typical beginning for
a sea voyage account.
An event is recounted at Troas before the voyage continues, and it is narrated
in first plural style (20:7-12). The episode begins as a farewell scene (20:7),
but it ends as a spectacular event performed by Paul. When Paul's speech lasts
far into the night, and a young man falls out of a third story window and is
dead, Paul embraces him and revives him. This miraculous event is placed on the
first day of the week, and Paul appears to "break bread" both before
and after he brings the young man back to life. This setting for the event is
not interpreted by the narrator, but it creates a context similar to the one
created by the vision at the outset of the first voyage. This voyage is in the
hands of God. Paul carefully follows the religious rites of the Christian
community, and the power of God works through him. The reader knows (1 9:21 )
that Paul is headed for Jerusalem, and the reader also knows what happened to
Jesus at Jerusalem. As the danger of taking this voyage to Jerusalem becomes
prominent in the narrative, the will of God for Paul to go to Rome (19:21)
becomes increasingly important. If Paul truly is an apostle through God's will,
then he will fulfill the proper religious rites and receive the benefits of
God's favor. For a person in the Hellenistic world, this feature is a natural
part of a sea voyage account. It was the will of Zeus/Jupiter that both Odysseus
and Aeneas complete their voyages without suffering death. All the
232
delays, hardships, and apparent reversals of the decision are overcome by the
rituals the voyagers perform and the destiny the supreme gods refuse to alter.
The final part of the second we-section (20:13-16) contains a typical detailed
account of sailing from place to place and meeting people to take them on board.
It ends by thematizing the purpose of the voyage: Paul "was hastening to be
at Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost" (20:16). At this point
there is an interlude in the voyage. They have sailed as far as Miletus, and
Paul summons the elders of the church at Ephesus to come to him there. This
event features Paul giving a speech, and third person narration is used to
recount Paul's meeting with these church leaders (20:17-38).
The third we-section begins as soon as the Ephesian elders bring Paul back to
the ship. The parting scene depicts them kneeling in prayer and bidding Paul
farewell with weeping, embracing, and kissing. As the first person plural
narration resumes, again there is a detailed account of the voyage that ends
with a remark about the length of their stay in the city where they landed (21:1-4). This opening part reiterates the purpose of the voyage as the disciples
tell Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.
The next two verses contain another typical parting scene. All the disciples,
with their wives and children, accompany the voyagers to the beach, pray with
them, and bid them farewell (21:5-6). After this, typical voyage narration
occurs until they reach Caesarea (21:7-8). At Caesarea a prophet enacts a scene
that foretells Paul's arrest and delivery to the Gentiles when he reached
Jerusalem (21:8-14). In the sphere of literature in the Hellenistic world, this
scene is like Odysseus' encounter with the prophet Teiresias in Odyssey
11.90-137. Both the reader and the protagonist in the story know the dangers
that lie ahead and the outcome. For the moment, however, Paul forgets that
"he must go to Rome" (19:21). He is ready "not only to be
imprisoned but even to die at Jerusalem" (21:13). The destination at
Jerusalem is the sole concern of the voyage, and scenes that are typical
components of sea voyage literature are used to emphasize the danger that lurks
at the end of the voyage.[55]
The final verses of the third we-section describe the trek from Caesarea to
Jerusalem (21:15-18). Since the destination of the sea voyage is Jerusalem,
first person plural narration continues until Paul goes in to James and the
elders (21:18). At this point the events are committed to land, and the
narration moves back to third person style. As the first we-section stopped once
Paul and his company began the activity which brought them before the leaders of
the city (16:17), so the second and third we-sections stop once Paul and his
company begin the consultation with James and the elders at Jerusalem. The
trials that ensue are Paul's mission on land once he has voyaged to this area.
The fourth we-section, 27:1 -28:16, presents the final, climactic sea voyage of
Paul and his company. There is a dramatic progression in the length and drama of
the we-sections in Acts. The first we-section is brief (16:10-17), and it takes
Paul and his associates on a straight sailing course from Troas to Philippi
(16:11). The drama of the voyage arises from the vision at the outset, the
invitation to stay at Lydia's house, and the encounter with the slave girl who
has a spirit of divination. The second and third we-sections are longer
(20:5-15; 21:1-18), and
[55] Cf. the danger that awaits Odysseus when he returns to Ithaca.
233
they take Paul and his company on an episodic, tearful voyage that
systematically moves to Jerusalem. The drama of the voyage emerges through the
farewell speech that develops into a miraculous event when Paul revives a young
man (20:7-12), the farewell speech and scene with the Ephesian elders at Miletus
(20:17-38), the farewell scene at Tyre (21:5-6), and the prophetic enactment at
Caesarea of Paul's imprisonment and delivery to the Gentiles (21:8-14). The
fourth we-section is longer yet, and more dramatic.
As Paul is taken to the boat to sail for Rome, first plural narrative again
emerges in Acts (27:1). The opening part contains the typical information about
sailing from port to port, and passing islands and other places (27:1-8).
Beginning with 27:4, the narrator introduces the dynamic that furnishes the
drama for this voyage. The wind is against them, and the sailing becomes more
and more difficult. The second part of the section thematizes the danger that is
increasing and features Paul in conversation with the people in charge about
their plight (27:9-12). Paul's advice that the voyage temporarily be aborted is
overruled by a majority of the people on the boat. The narration of the
increasing danger impels the action to the next part with skill. The wind grows
into the fury of a storm, and the detailed portrayal of the inability to control
the ship, the necessity of throwing the cargo overboard, and the absence of sun
and stars for many days takes the reader to the heart of the sea voyage
narratives (21:13-20). Paul knows the divine destiny of the voyage that includes
storm and shipwreck, just as Odysseus knows what will happen when the Sirens,
Scylla and Charybdis threaten to kill every mortal on board including himself (Odyssey 12.35-126). Therefore, Paul tells them they should have listened to
him, and he tells them what the outcome of this storm will be (27:21 -26). As
Paul predicts, the ship runs aground as the crew attempts to beach it, and
everyone is forced to abandon ship and escape to the island of Malta (27:27-44).
The detailed description of the maneuvering of the ship by the sailors, the
sounding for fathoms, the casting of anchors, and the manning of ropes and sails
ranks this account among the most exciting depictions of storms and shipwrecks
in the sphere of Greek and Roman literature. In the midst of it Paul takes
bread, gives thanks to God, breaks it in the presence of all, and begins to eat
(27:35). As all the members of the ship eat, the sacred ritual for receiving
God's favor is performed. Everyone escapes safely to land, in spite of plans by
the crew to abandon the ship (27:30) and intentions by the soldiers to kill the
prisoners (27:42). Divine destiny holds the controlling hand when storm and
shipwreck dash ships and mortals back and forth upon the sea.
The storm and shipwreck take the voyagers to the island of Malta. The opening
scene portrays the islanders as unusually friendly (28:1-6), and the islanders
become even more kindly disposed before the voyagers depart. When a viper bites
Paul and he does not fall down dead, the islanders perceive Paul as every bit as
godlike as Odysseus or Aeneas (28:6). The warm relationship between the
islanders and Paul grows even more when Paul heals the father of the chief man
of the island. Not only does the chief man receive them and entertain them for
three days, but the scene develops into a general healing episode after which
the islanders bid them farewell by bringing gifts and provisions to the boat
(28:7-10). These events on the island are narrated in typical sea voyage style.
All detail is suppressed except the information that highlights the welcome to
the island, the spectacular abilities of the protagonist on the voyage, and the
farewell scene.
234
The final part of the voyage contains the customary sailing information as the
boat proceeds from Malta to Rome (28:11-16). Details about putting in at ports
and staying for a few days are included; the favorable winds and the warm
receptions at the harbors also receive attention. As the boat lands, Paul offers
the proper prayer to God and takes courage that the voyage has concluded with
God's favor still upon him (28:15). The voyage is ended, and third person
narration emerges once again as Paul turns toward his new mission on land
(28:18).
The final we-section in Acts represents the sea voyage genre par excellence.
Each time a we-section begins, the drama heightens; movement through space
becomes a voyage across the sea. The final voyage takes the gospel to ports and
islands far away, and the adventure, danger, and fear bring "Paul and
us" to Rome with thanksgiving.
The We-Passages in the Structure of Luke-Acts
If the dynamic of sea voyaging is crucial for understanding the we-sections in
Acts, the place of the passages in the arrangement of this two volume work is as
important. There are two perspectives from which the arrangement is important
for interpretation. First, the we-sections occur in the last half of Acts.
Comparison of Luke with Acts indicates that both volumes contain a long travel
narrative that leads into the concluding scenes. This feature suggests that the
volumes contain some type of parallel structure. Second, the portion of Acts in
which the we-sections occur represents the last fourth of this two volume
narrative. In this final segment, Paul's travels spread the gospel "to the
end of the earth" (1:8; 13:47). It will be important to discover the
techniques by which the author has brought the entire narrative to its dramatic
conclusion. The first aspect of the arrangement will be discussed here; the
second aspect will be discussed in the next section.
The we-sections occur in a portion of Acts that shows significant points of
relation with Luke. The journey narrative in Luke 9:51 -19:28 is a distinctive
feature of the Lukan narrative,[56] and the journeys of Paul in Acts 13:1-28:16
comprise the highpoint of the narrative of Acts. In general terms, Jesus'
journey in Luke corresponds to Paul's journey in Acts. The journeys reflect the
movement through time and space that is a central feature of Luke-Acts.
Closer observation reveals that specific architectonic parallels exist between
the journeys in Luke and Acts.[57] There are three sections in Acts that
correspond to three sections in the Lukan travel narrative. Paul's mission to
the churches in Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Greece (Acts 13:1-19:20) corresponds
to the mission of the seventy (Luke 10:1 -24).58 Paul's journey to Jerusalem
(Acts 19:21 -21:26) corresponds to Jesus' journey to Jerusalem (Luke
13:22-19:46). Agrippa's handing over of Paul to a centurion to be escorted to
Rome (Acts 27:1 -28:16) corresponds to Pilate's handing over of Jesus to the
chief priests, rulers, and
[56] Cf. Hans Conzelmann, The Theology of St. Luke, trans. G. Buswell, pp.
60-73.
[57] For an explanation of architectonic structure and the correspondences
between Luke and Acts, see Charles H. Talbert, Literary Patterns, Theological
Themes and the Genre of Luke-Acts, esp. pp. 1-65.
[58] Ibid., p. 20.
235
people to be crucified (Luke 23:26-49). Because of these correspondences, this
study could include detailed analysis of Luke as well as Acts. Our immediate
goal, however, is to interpret the role of the we-sections in the overall
setting of Paul's journeys. Therefore, having noticed this parallel
architectonic structure, we will proceed with analysis in Acts only. In the next
section, more features of Luke will come into the discussion.
All three sections of Paul's journeys contain we-passages, and the length of the
we-sections increases as the end of the narrative draws near. The first journey
section (13:1 -19:20) only contains eight verses of first plural narration.
(16:10-17). The second journey section (19:21-21:26) contains twenty-nine verses
of first plural narrative style, and the third journey section (27:1 -28:16) is
entirely a we-section (60 verses). Of course, the increasing amount of first
plural narration is linked with the increasing amount of sea travel. The
increasing length of sea voyage material affects the structure of Acts 13-28.
Perhaps the most striking aspect of the structure in the journey sections is the
chiastic arrangement that unifies the first and second sections. The second half
of the first section (15:1 -19:20) and the second section (19:21 -21:26)
represent a generally balanced chiastic structure.[59] The perimeters of the
chiasmus are the Jerusalem council in 15:1 -33 and Paul's return visit to
Jerusalem in 21:15-26. The inside of the chiasmus is filled out by three
balancing units and a series of episodes at the center. The travel and
imprisonment in 15:36-17:15 is balanced by the travel and prophecy of arrest and
imprisonment in 21:1 -14. The speech at Athens in 17:16-24 is balanced by the
speech at Ephesus in 20:17-38. The assembly at Corinth and subsequent travel in
18:1-23 is balanced by the assembly at Ephesus and subsequent travel in 19:21
-20:16. The center of the chiastic structure is found in 18:24-19:20. This,
therefore, is the chiastic outline:
|
A 15:1-34 Jerusalem council
|
A' 21:15-26 Report to Jerusalem Leaders |
|
B 15:36-17:15 Travel and Imprisonment
|
B' 21:1-14 Travel and Scene of Binding |
|
C 17:16-24 Speech at Athens
|
C' 20:17-38 Speech at Ephesus |
|
D 18:1-23 Assembly at Corinth and Travel
|
D' 19:21-20:16 Assembly at Ephesus and Travel |
E 18:24-19:20 Spreading the Gospel Throughout Asia from Ephesus
The center of a chiastic structure, in relation to the outside portions, reveals
the essential dynamic of the literary arrangement.[60] Events at Ephesus where
Paul corrects inadequate or improper understanding of the gospel stand at the
center. Paul's encounters with the authoritative leaders at Jerusalem stand on
the perimeters of the structure. The literary arrangement presents an interplay
between Jerusalem and Ephesus as centers for spreading the gospel. Ephesus is
the center for preaching the gospel to all residents of Asia, both Jews and
[59] Ibid., pp. 56-8. Our analysis varies some from Talbert's, though agreement
with regard to the extent of the chiasmus exists.
[60] For an excellent analysis of chiastic structure see Joanna Dewey, "The
Literary Structure of Controversy Stories in Mark 2:1 -3:6," JBL, XCII (1973), 394-401.
236
Greeks (19:10). This assertion stands at the heart of the Ephesus events
Jerusalem is the locale from which Paul's mission to Jews and Gentiles is
authorized.
The relation of the we-passages to the chiastic arrangement introduces another
dimension of this portion of Acts. There are no we-passages in the first half of
the initial travel section (13:1-14:28), and this part of the first section is
not a segment of the chiasmus. In other words, all of the we-sections except for
the final dramatic voyage are included in the material that has been given a
chiastic structure. This means that only with the chiasmus is mission "by
land" and "by sea" emphasized.
With regard to structure, therefore, the initial travel section (13:1 -19:20)
has two halves. The Jerusalem council (Acts 15) stands between the first and
second half. The first half portrays Paul establishing and nurturing churches in
Galatia and Cyprus. This mission is inaugurated by the Holy Spirit who says,
"Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called
them."[61] After the prophets and teachers at Antioch fast and pray, they lay
their hands on Barnabas and Saul and send them off (13:2-3). The Barnabas and
Saul mission occurs in 13:1-14:28. This mission does not have the blessings of
the Jerusalem leaders and it does not take Paul "to the other side of the
sea." Travel by boat is included in this first half (13:4,13; 14:26), and
"Saul" becomes "Paul" after he has "sailed" to
Cyprus (13:9). Paul and Barnabas travel by boat, but their mission occurs prior
to the Jerusalem council and is limited to the easternmost portion of the
Mediterranean Sea.
With the Jerusalem council (15:1-35) a new phase enters into Paul's mission
activity. He no longer travels with Barnabas, and his mission is not limited to
the environs of the eastern portion of the Mediterranean. Beginning with the
Jerusalem council, the material is balanced chiastically, and after this council
there is an interplay of mission "by land" and "by sea."
Paul's authoritative mission "by land" begins in Acts 15:36. Severing
his relation with Barnabas, Paul chooses Silas and establishes a valid mission
to the churches in Syria and Cilicia by delivering to them "the decisions
which had been reached by the apostles and elders who were at Jerusalem"
(16:4). But Paul does not stop with this; his mission by land is on the move in
a way it could not be before the Jerusalem council. Paul and Silas travel
through Phrygia and Galatia and would appear to have "a clear road
ahead." But then the mission by land is temporarily hindered. The Holy
Spirit will not allow Paul and Silas to speak the word in Asia, so they are
forced to go down to Troas (16:6-7).
The apparent hindrance to Paul's mission by land inaugurates a new phase:
mission "by sea." The first we-section introduces this phase
(16:10-17). In contrast to the previous sea travel by Paul (13:4,1 3; 14:26),
now the destination lies "on the other side" of the sea. In a night
vision a man of Macedonia says to Paul, "Come over to Macedonia and help
us" (16:9). In response, the first true sea voyage is launched, first
plural narration emerges, and a new mission area opens to Paul and Silas.
Once Paul and Silas have reached Macedonia, their mission spreads "by
[61] For the relation of statements by the Holy Spirit and prophets, see Ernst
Haenchen, The Acts of the Apostles, p. 395.
237
land" (16:19-17:13). When Paul goes to another new area, Achaia,[62] again he
goes "by sea" (17:14-15). The effort of the author to assert this mode
of opening the mission at Athens has created an unusual grammatical construction
in 17:14. The verse states that the brethren at Beroea sent Paul out "to go
as far as upon the sea" (πορευεσθαι εως
επι την θαλασσαν). The
peculiarity of εως and επι in sequence caused copyists either to omit εως or
replace it with ως.[63] The problem evidently arises because Beroea is not a
coastal city, and the author wanted to indicate that Paul went to Athens
"by sea." The meaning is clear, because the verse is constructed in
parallel with 17:15a: οι δε καθισταντες
τον
Παυλον ηγαγον εως
Αθηνων
("those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens"). In like
manner, the brethren at Beroea sent Paul out to go (by land) as far as
"upon the sea." The narrator distinguishes between spreading the
gospel "by land" and "by sea." The gospel spreads to new
areas, e.g., Macedonia and Achaia, "by sea." Once Paul and his company
arrive at a new area, the gospel spreads "by land." Later in the
narrative, Paul travels "by land" between Achaia and Macedonia (20:2),
but the initial mission is "by sea."
The irony of the chiastic structure is that mission "by sea" to
Macedonia is balanced with mission "by sea" to Jerusalem. It would be
wrong to think this is accidental. The voyage that takes Paul and Silas to
Philippi where they are imprisoned and miraculously released (16:10-40) is
balanced by the sea voyage that takes Paul to Caesarea where the prophet Agabus
symbolically enacts the binding of Paul and his delivery to the Gentiles (21:1-14).
Both voyages are we-sections, and Paul's voyage to Jerusalem is mission
"by sea." Prior to this Paul has not had an opportunity to spread the
gospel in Jerusalem. This area was closed to him. Now he goes to Jerusalem
"ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die at Jerusalem for the name
of the Lord Jesus" (21:13). His voyage to Jerusalem opens up an extensive
mission "by land" from Jerusalem to Caesarea. Paul spreads the gospel
not only to the people in Jerusalem (22:1 -21) but also to the Sanhedrin in
Jerusalem (23:1 -10), the governor Felix in Caesarea (24:10-21), and to King
Agrippa (26:1 -29). Mission by sea has taken Paul not only to Macedonia and
Achaia; it has taken Paul to Jerusalem itself and the political leaders who rule
the area. Counterbalanced we-sections open both areas of mission to Paul
"by sea."
As Paul's mission by sea to Macedonia provides the base for mission by sea to
Jerusalem, so Paul's mission by sea to Jerusalem provides the base for mission
by sea to Rome. All three missions are by sea, and all three missions are
inaugurated by we-sections. The long, dramatic voyage to Rome (27:1-28:16)
stands in notable contrast with the circumscribed beginnings of Paul's mission
in the easternmost part of the Mediterranean Sea (13:1-14:28). On the way to
Rome Paul even has a mission "upon the sea." When the voyage becomes
dangerous, Paul begins conversation with the people in charge (27:10), and when
a storm
[62] During the first century, Achaia included the areas in which both Athens and
Corinth were located, but it did not include the area in which Philippi and
Thessalonica were located.
[63] Evidently the reading with εως would mean that they sent Paul away
pretending that he would go by sea but actually going by land: "as though
to go upon the sea" or "to go as it were upon the sea." See Bruce
M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, p. 455.
238
begins to hurl them mercilessly about on the sea, Paul has the opportunity to
tell the people on the ship about the God to whom he belongs and whom he
worships (27:21-26). The foreknowledge of events that he received from an angel
of his God not only proves to be accurate, but it provides the opportunity for
Paul to take bread, give thanks to God in the presence of all, and eat (27:35).
And, says the narrator, "they all were encouraged and ate some food
themselves" (27:36). This imagery will certainly not be missed by the
reader; Paul has "broken bread" with the entire group on the ship. But
this still is not enough. Paul's mission on the sea is made complete by miracles
that attend his leadership.[64] When he sustains a viper bite, the natives on
the island of Malta think he is a god (28:3-7); and when Paul heals the father
of the chief man, Publius, all the diseased come to him and are cured (28:7-10).
This mission "upon the sea" takes Paul to Rome. The remaining part of
Acts presents Paul's mission by land in and around Rome.
The we-sections play a decisive role in the section in Acts that narrates the
journeys of Paul. These sections add mission by sea to mission by land. By
careful structuring throughout chapters 13-28, the author includes sections of
sea voyage material that open new areas until the gospel spreads "to the
end of the earth." By composing the journeys in three sections (13:1-19:20;
19:21-21:26; 27:1-28:16), the author develops a linear schema that portrays the
spreading of the gospel from the land east of the Mediterranean to Italy. By a
chiastic arrangement of the episodes from the Jerusalem council to Paul's return
to Jerusalem (15:1-21:26), the author counterbalances the mission "to
Macedonia and Achaia" with the mission "to Jerusalem and its
environs." The first person plural sea voyages furnish the dynamic for the
movement through space, and the careful structuring of the episodes relates
Paul's mission to Jerusalem and Rome.
The Function of the We-Passages in Luke-Acts
Analysis of the structure of Acts 13-28 indicates that the author uses the
we-sections to create a special role for mission by sea. In this section of the
paper the analysis moves a step further. Three aggregates of information suggest
that the entire two volume work is designed to replace the Sea of Galilee, which
dominates Mark, with the Mediterranean Sea. The we-passages systematically
increase in length to focus all attention on the Great Sea that lies between
Jerusalem and Rome. We recall that Paul's journeys in Acts 13:1-28:16 correspond
to the long journey of Jesus in Luke 9:51 -19:46. This suggests that the travel
sections in Acts were designed to bring Lukan themes and actions to a dramatic
conclusion. Our interest is to find any relationship between Luke and Acts that
illumines the role of the we-passages.
The first items of importance are found in the vocabulary of Luke and Acts. The
author never allows Jesus to go alongside or onto a "sea" (thalassa)
in Luke. This stands in notable contrast to Matthew and Mark where Jesus does
both many times.[65] This difference arises, because the Sea of Galilee is never
mentioned in Luke; it does not seem to exist in Lukan geography. Instead, there
is a place on the eastern edge of Galilee which the author calls "the
lake" (η
[64 ] Cf. Acts 19:11 -20.
[65] See n. 1.
239
λιμνη: Luke 5:1,2; 8:22,23,33). Once this lake is called the Lake of Gennesaret
(5:1).
The existence of "the lake" but not "the sea" in Luke
appears to relate to the overall purpose of the author. It is designed to limit
Jesus' activity in a particular way. Jesus is allowed to go to the lake only
twice in Luke. All other occasions when Jesus went to the Sea of Galilee in Mark
are omitted. On the first occasion, Jesus goes out in a boat with Simon, and
James and John, the sons of Zebedee (5:1 -11). The entire episode moves toward
the conclusion in which the three fishermen become disciples of Jesus and turn
to "catching men" (5:10-11). On the second occasion, Jesus gets in a
boat and sails to the other side of the lake (8:22). This setting allows for the
inclusion of the accounts of the calming of the storm and the healing of the
demoniac in the country of the Gerasenes (8:22-39).
Each of the occasions when Jesus is linked with the lake in Luke has a twofold
dimension in Luke-Acts. On the one hand, the occasions set a precedent for later
action in the narrative. When Jesus goes onto the lake in 5:1-11, circles
around, and comes back, he evokes the image of the disciple as one who travels
on water and fishes for men. It appears to be important that he does not go
"across" the lake. This episode set a precedent that corresponds to
the situation in Acts 13:1 -14:28. We recall that this section in Acts presents
the first instance of sea travel. The Holy Spirit calls Barnabas and Saul to
"the work" to which they have been called (13:2), and they sail out
from Antioch in a circle to Cyprus, then to Pamphylia, and back to Antioch
(13:4, 13; 14:26). When Paul and Barnabas return, they are sent to Jerusalem
where they are sanctioned as apostles to the Gentiles (15:23-29). Paul and
Barnabas have traveled on the sea; therefore they "have risked their lives
for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ" (15:26). Paul has been called to his
work as the disciples are called to their work in Luke 5:1-11. But Paul does not
go "across" the sea until after the Jerusalem council.
In Luke 8:22-39 Jesus sets the precedent for "crossing over" the sea
that occurs for the first time in the initial we-section (Acts 16:10-17). In the
Lukan episode, Jesus gets into the boat and announces, "Let us go across to
the other side of the lake" (8:22). This corresponds to the Macedonian's
call to Paul, "Come over to Macedonia and help us" (Acts 16:9). With
the voyage across the body of water, God's work is spread to a new region. The
author of Luke revises Markan vocabulary in the account of the storm on the lake
to orient the story toward the climactic voyage and storm in which Paul
participates at the end of Acts. Jesus and the disciples "set out from
shore" (ανηχθησαν: Luke 8:22), just as Paul and
his company "set out" on a boat many times.[66] As they are
"sailing along" (πλεοντων αυτων: Luke
8:23), Jesus falls asleep. References to sailing are frequent in the
voyages of Paul.[67] The revision of Markan vocabulary suggests that the
author already has the sea voyages of Paul in view as he composes.
The other dimension of these two episodes in Luke has already been mentioned,
but it must be recalled as we move to the next reference to "the sea"
in episodes with Jesus and the disciples. Only Paul and his company voyage on
the sea. In the first episode not only Jesus but Simon Peter is in the boat. But
Peter never voyages on the sea in Luke-Acts; he was called to his work by
sailing
[66] Cf. Acts 13:13; 16:11; 18:21; 20:3,13; 21:1, 2; 27:2, 4, 12, 21;
28:10, 11.
[67] Cf. Acts 21:3; 27:2, 6,24.
240
in a boat on "the lake" (Luke 5:1, 2). Likewise, the author suppresses
any reference to "the sea" in the storm episode. Instead of saying the
wind and sea obey Jesus (Mark 4:41), the disciples refer to the winds and
"the water" (Luke 8:25).
The selection of vocabulary in the first volume suggests that the author is
setting precedents during the time of Jesus which become the major challenge
during the time of the church. In order to do this, the author presents
corresponding episodes in Luke and Acts, and he suppresses certain features in
the account in Luke so these features can be more dramatically carried out
during the time of the church.[68]
This vocabulary usage grows in importance when other information Is added to it.
Although the author never depicts Jesus on or alongside a "sea," he
betrays special interest in "the sea" in sayings of Jesus. He does not
refrain from including the saying about being cast into the sea with a millstone
around one's neck (Luke 17:2) and the saying about the sycamine tree that can be
rooted up and planted in the sea by faith (Luke 17:6). Luke is the only
gospel that refers to the "distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring
of the sea and the waves" in the apocalyptic discourse (Luke 21:25). The
sea has a special place in his theology even in the gospel of Luke, but the
author will not link Jesus directly with it. The sea is linked with Paul's
mission to new regions around the Mediterranean. This conception is further
indicated by the references to God "who made the heaven and the earth and
the sea" in Acts 4:24 and 14:15. Also it is probably not accidental that
Simon Peter is associated with "Simon a tanner, whose house is by the
sea" in the dramatic sequence of episodes in which the Gentile Cornelius is
converted and blessed by Simon Peter (10:6, 32). Mission on the sea presupposes
mission to Gentiles as well as Jews, and the author systematically builds toward
mission by sea in Luke and Acts 1-12.
Perhaps the most important piece of information which indicates that the author
is composing toward a dramatic finish that is achieved through sea voyages is
"the great omission" in Luke.[69] Luke shows dependence upon
Mark as a source for most of the material in Mark 1-6:44. But beginning with
Mark 6:45, and continuing through Mark 8:26, Markan material is not recounted in
Luke. The proposal in this paper is that the manuscript of Mark that the author
of Luke-Acts used contained Mark 6:45-8:26. He omitted this section of Mark
because it took the ministry of Jesus too far into the type of mission that he
wanted to portray for Paul.
As Luke used the material in Mark 1-6:44, he systematically omitted references
to the sea.[70] As we have just previously noticed, Luke places the call of the
disciples (Mark 1:16-20), the stilling of the storm (Mark 4:35-41), and the
healing of the Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:1-20) on "the lake." In this
way he avoids reference to the sea. But when he gets to Mark 6:45, the mission
of Jesus
[68] For a well known example of the technique in Luke-Acts, cf. Mark 14:62 with
Luke 22:69 and Acts 7:56.
[69] For a summary of discussions of the great omission, see Walter E. Bundy,
Jesus and the First Three Gospels, pp. 265-7. He concludes that "there is
no satisfactory explanation for this omission" (p. 265).
[70] Mark used thalassa 12 times in 1:1-6:44.
241
develops into a mission all around the Sea of Galilee and deep into Gentile
territory. Precisely with the episode where Jesus walks on the sea (Mark
6:45-52), the author begins to omit all of the material. After this episode,
Jesus and his disciples cross the sea again (Mark 6:53-56), a rationale for
Gentile mission is established (Mark 7:1 -23), then Jesus travels through Tyre
and Sidon (7:24-37). Since the boat and the sea continue to play an important
role through 8:21, the author of Luke omits all the episodes in the section from
the walking on the sea (Mark 6:45-52) until the confession of Peter in 8:27-33.
By omitting this material, the author narrates an uninterrupted ministry of
Jesus in Galilee without excursions into Tyre and Sidon and other Gentile
territory. Also, the author keeps Jesus out of a boat and off a body of water
that may begin to play a major role in his ministry.
In sum, the vocabulary of Luke, the two episodes where Jesus goes onto the lake,
and the great omission indicate that the two volume work of Luke-Acts has been
designed to replace the Sea of Galilee with the Mediterranean Sea. The role of
the we-passages is to orient early Christianity toward the sea that lies between
Jerusalem and Rome. The author disapproves of the emphasis upon the Sea of
Galilee in Mark. No inland body of water in Palestine should be called "the
sea." The sea that explains the history of early Christianity is the Great
Sea that extends to the end of the earth.
Conclusion
Why, then, does the author use first plural "we" as he narrates those
voyages that move the Christian church "across the sea?" First, it
appears that the natural tendency to employ first person plural style within the
sea voyage genre was a major factor. The second reason appears in the preface to
Luke. As the author, a member of the church, pens his narrative sitting in Rome,
the question is how "we" got here when we started out in Jerusalem.
This author feels a strong sense of union with the early Christian leaders about
whom he writes. He says that all of the things about which he writes have been
accomplished "among us" (Luke 1:1). This includes all of the events he
recounts in the gospel of Luke as well as the narrative of Acts. For him, the
conception and birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:5-80) is an example of an event
that happened "among us." The author participates in these events even
when they are transmitted to him by others (Luke 1:2). Therefore, he can say
both that these things happened among us and that they were delivered to us. As
he sits in Rome, he participates in the events of the Christian church, and
explains to "Theophilus" how his community of believers got to be
where they are (Luke 1:3-4). A Christian in Rome who knows the events well
enough to pen them as this author does becomes a full participant in them.
This is true even if he has experienced these events only through oral
transmission and the written page. Thus he can say in his preface that the
activities of Jesus, the disciples, and the apostles happened "among
us." As Paul voyaged across the sea, "we" got here.
If we think it would be impossible for an author who did not participate in the
events to compose in this style, we need to entertain one more piece of
information. Xenophon, we recall, used third person narration throughout the
Anabasis, even for scenes in which he depicts himself as a participant. A later
copyist of the Anabasis, obviously not a participant in the events, wrote a
242
concluding summary which he attached to the narrative. From his pen flowed these
words:
The governors of all the king's territories that we traversed were as follows:
Artimas of Lydia, Artacamas of Phrygia, Mithradates of Lycaonia and Cappadocia,
Syennesis of Cilicia .... The length of the entire journey, upward and downward,
was two hundred and fifteen stages, one thousand, one hundred and fifty
parasangs, or thirty-four thousand, two hundred and fifty-five stadia; and the
length in time, upward and downward, a year and three months (7.8.25-26).[71]
This copyist, and many writers, entered into the narrative as a participant even
though later analysts can see that the style of narration does not comply with
the rest of the document. Perhaps we should suggest that Luke participated in
the sea voyages precisely in this way.
If the author felt such a close relation to all of the events he wrote about,
why did he not use first person plural all the way through? Why did he use it
only in the we-sections? He did not use first person plural only in the
we-sections. He used it in the two settings where it is eminently appropriate if
the author construes his work in the genre of historical biography in the
Hellenistic milieu toward the end of the first century A.D. These two settings
are prefaces and sea voyages.[72]
[71]"Αρχοντες δε
οιδε τες βασιλεος
χωρας,
οσην επηλθομεν.
Λυδιας
Αρτιμας,
Φρυγιας
Αρτακαμας,
Λυκαονιας
και Καππαδοκιας
Μιθραδατης,
Κιλικιας Συεννεσις
....
αριθμος συμπασης
της οδου της αναβασεως
και καταβασεως
σταθμοι διακοσιοι;
παρασαγγαι χιλιοι
εκατον πεντηκοντα,
σταδια τρισμυρια
τετρακισχιλια
διακοσια
πεντηκοντα
πεντε. Χρονου πληθος
τος αναβασεως και
καταβασεως ενιαυτος
και
τρεις μηνες."
[72] I am grateful to the University of Illinois Research Board at the
Urbana-Champaign campus for funds that facilitated the final production of this
study. See my forthcoming study of the prefaces to Luke and Acts in SSL 1978
Seminar Papers (Missouia: Scholars, 1978).
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