I am pleased to announce that my essay "The Improper Temple Offering of Ananias and Sapphira" is now in print with
New Testament Studies. At the risk of too much self-disclosure, I feel as proud of this essay as any other project I've completed.
In this business, nothing is quite as satisfying as taking an age-old puzzle and solving it to one's own satisfaction. I'll try to remember to post a pdf of the essay on my personal webpage (
www.anthonyledonne.com ) later this week. For now, here is the abstract:
In Acts 1–7, the Holy Spirit functions as the restored temple presence of the Lord that will restore the kingdom to Israel via the
Ekklesia. The Holy Spirit acts through the
Ekklesia as one would expect the Lord's temple presence to act. When Barnabas, Ananias, and Sapphira bring their offerings to the temple, they place them at the feet of the leadership of the new religio-fiscal center of restored Israel. As proof that the Lord's presence has indwelled this eschatological temple community, an improper act can, and does in this case, result in immediate death.
-anthony
Good stuff. Interesting. Not so convinced about the location though, that is obviously a weak point in the argument. Maybe community is esx temple and then you don't need some additional transition later in Acts. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteSolomon's Portico is clearly designated as the location. Twice. No other location is given.
Delete-anthony
Solomon's Portico is clearly designated as the location of two other events (3.11; 5.12). No location is specified for the intervening events except for the more general 'Jerusalem' in 4.5 (cf. v16), and the very vague 'place' in 4.31. But both 2.46 and 5.42 mention both temple and houses as locations for ministry. And houses have doors (cf. 5.9).
ReplyDeleteI see no reason to bracket out 5:12-13 as if this summary has no relation to the previous narration. Moreover, the "signs and wonders" referred to in the summary apt describe the preceding.
DeleteMuch more problematic are attempts to reconcile the connection between "None of the rest dared to join them" (v.13) and "Yet more than ever believers were added to the Lord, great numbers of both men and women" (v.14).
-anthony