Paul the Middle Platonist?: Exegetical Traditions on Timaeus 28c and the Characterization of Paul in Acts 17:16–31
Paul’s speech to the Areopagus in Acts 17 places the apostle in philosophical dialogue with Stoics and Epicureans. This article identifies important points of contact between Paul’s speech and Middle Platonic exegesis of a famous Platonic phrase from Timaeus 28c. There, the philosopher declares that...
| Published in: | Harvard theological review |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Cambridge Univ. Press
2022
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| In: |
Harvard theological review
Year: 2022, Volume: 115, Issue: 4, Pages: 477-495 |
| Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains: | B
Bible. Apostelgeschichte 17,16-31
/ Plato 427 BC-347 BC, Timaeus 28c
/ God Father
/ Schöpferkraft Gottes
/ Philosophy
/ Platonism
/ History 50 BC-200
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| RelBib Classification: | HC New Testament KAB Church history 30-500; early Christianity NBC Doctrine of God TB Antiquity VA Philosophy |
| Further subjects: | B
Middle Platonism
B Paul B Acts B Philosophy B Stoicism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Summary: | Paul’s speech to the Areopagus in Acts 17 places the apostle in philosophical dialogue with Stoics and Epicureans. This article identifies important points of contact between Paul’s speech and Middle Platonic exegesis of a famous Platonic phrase from Timaeus 28c. There, the philosopher declares that the maker and father of the world is hard to find, and even more difficult to talk about. Many later interpreters of Plato commented on the dictum. Middle Platonists such as Plutarch mused about the theological implications of naming god both "maker" and "father." Jewish and Christian interpreters like Philo and Justin employed Plato’s phrase to describe their access to divine revelation. The first portion of this article argues that the Areopagus speech contains evidence of similar exegesis, both in its references to god’s roles as maker and father and in Paul’s claim to declare the unknown god. These resonances do more than clarify the author’s philosophical background; they also have previously unexplored implications for our understanding of Paul’s characterization in Acts 17. The second half of the article argues that in aligning Paul with the Platonic tradition, the author participates in an established Greco-Roman practice of depicting the Platonists, Stoics, and Epicureans in theological dialogue. |
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| ISSN: | 1475-4517 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Harvard theological review
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1017/S0017816022000281 |