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The Preface of Luke-Acts and Historiography

Terrance Callan

New Testament Studies / Volume 31 / Issue 04 / October 1985, pp 576 - 581

DOI: 10.1017/S0028688500012108, Published online: 05 February 2009

Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0028688500012108

How to cite this article:

Terrance Callan (1985). The Preface of Luke-Acts and Historiography. New Testament
Studies, 31, pp 576-581 doi:10.1017/S0028688500012108

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576 BEN WITHERINGTON
According to St. Mark (London, 1972) 318; A. H. M'Neile, The Gospel According to St. Matthew
(London, 1965) 271.
[20] Cf. F. Hauck and S. Schulz, 'jropiV, in TDNT VI, 591; Nembach, 'Ehescheidung', 165 ff.
[21 ] D. Daube, The New Testament and Rabbinic Judaism (London, 1956) 81-2.
[22] B. T. Sanhedrin 58a, The Babylonian Talmud (trans. H. Freedman; ed. I. Epstein; London,
1935) 393 ff.
[23] His audience may have been either Jewish and Gentile Christians or simply Gentile Christians.
In either case, his inclusion of the exceptive clauses would be relevant.
[24] Fitzmyer, 'The Matthean Divorce Texts', 221.
[25] C. K. Barrett, A Commentary on the First Epistle to the Corinthians (New York, 1968) 162.

New Test. Stud. vol. 31,1985, pp. 576-581

THE PREFACE OF LUKE-ACTS AND HISTORIOGRAPHY

It has long been almost taken for granted that Luke-Acts is a historical
work.1 Recently, however, C. H. Talbert has argued that Luke-Acts is
biography rather than history,2 thereby re-opening the question of the
genre of Luke-Acts. In what follows I will discuss one feature of Luke-
Acts which does not support the contention that it is biography. I will
argue that the preface of Luke-Acts resembles the prefaces of histories
more than those of biographies or any other ancient prose writings. And
I will further attempt to specify what historical prefaces it most resembles,
and thus what sort of historian, on the evidence of the preface, the author
of Luke-Acts was. Comparison of prefaces cannot by itself settle the ques-
tion of the genre of Luke-Acts, but it may make an important contribution.
It is often true (and certainly true in the case of Luke-Acts) that the author
speaks most directly in his preface. Because of this the preface may pro-
vide the best indication of the writer's own understanding of what he is
doing, which is an important consideration in addressing the question of
genre.

THE NATURE OF THE COMPARISON

The preface of Luke-Acts has often been compared with others on the
basis of vocabulary and style. Most recently V. K. Robbins has argued on
the basis of such comparisons that Luke-Acts is biography.3 I have not
attempted that here because similarities of this sort seem to derive from
the common origin and function of all prefaces. Prefaces for prose works
were modeled on the prefaces of orations,4 and it seems that to some ex-
tent the vocabulary conventional in rhetorical prefaces was adopted by

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 THE PREFACE OF LUKE-ACTS 577
prose writers. For example, it has been argued that the use of polloi in
Luke 1. 1 is such a rhetorical convention which the preface of Luke-Acts
shares with many other prefaces, both of speeches and of prose works. 5
Not only do prefaces resemble one another because they make use of
conventional vocabulary, they also resemble one another because they
have the same function, a function like that of the rhetorical preface. This
common function means that all prefaces tend to address the same topics.
According to Quintilian the purpose of the preface of a speech is 'to pre-
pare our audience in such a way that they will be disposed to lend a ready
ear to the rest of our speech' (Institutio Oratoria 4.1.5). 6 He goes on to say
that this is to be accomplished by making the audience well-disposed (bene-
volus), attentive (attentus) and ready for instruction (docilis),1 and gives
detailed advice about achieving all three. The prefaces of prose writings
tend to resemble one another in attempting to render their readers well-
disposed, attentive and ready for instruction in similar ways.
If all prefaces tend to resemble one another in vocabulary and style
because of their common origin and function, then such similarities are
not significant for determining the genre of the writing which they pref-
ace. 8 But what sort of similarities might be significant? I suggest that simi-
larity in content, not in the words used or the topics addressed, but in
what is said on those topics, may point to genre. And I further suggest
focusing on two features of the content of the preface of Luke-Acts:
a) in order to render the audience ready for instruction, Quintilian recom-
mends providing a brief summary of what is to follow (Institutio Ora-
toria 4.1.34); the author of Luke-Acts gives such a summary when he
says 'it seemed good also to me . . . to write for you an orderly (narra-
tive of the things fulfilled among us)' (v 3; cf. v 1).
b)and he goes on to state the purpose of doing so, i.e., 'in order that you
may know the certainty of the things concerning which you have been
informed' (v 4). 9
Comparing the author of Luke-Acts' summary of contents and his state-
ment of purpose with other writers' statements of the same sort in their
prefaces should contribute to identification of the genre of Luke-Acts.

THE COMPARISON

Given this statement of the question, it is almost obvious that the preface
of Luke-Acts most resembles the prefaces of histories. Especially in being
summarized as a narrative of events, Luke-Acts seems clearly closer to
history than to any other prose genre. For example, the summary of con-
tents in Luke 1. 3 seems closer to that of Herodotus, who writes of 'the
great and marvellous deeds done by Greeks and foreigners' (1.1), than to

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578 TERRANCE CALLAN
those of Hippocrates - 'a statement and exposition of what the art (of
medicine) is' (Ancient Medicine 1) - or Josephus in Ag. Ap. - 'I thought it
necessary to write briefly concerning all these things (i.e. the truth of the
antiquity of the Jews and why they were not mentioned by Greek his-
torians)' (1.3). The preface of Luke-Acts has been compared to both of
the latter prefaces with respect to vocabulary and style, but clearly these
similarities say nothing about the genre of Luke-Acts.
More pertinently, the summary of contents in the preface of Luke-Acts
is not particularly close to those found in the prefaces of biographies. All
the biographies I have looked at specify in their prefaces that they are
accounts of the life of someone.10 For example Philo summarizes the con-
tents of his Life of Moses by saying 'I intend to write the life of Moses'
(1.1). Since the preface of Luke-Acts does not specify that the content
of the writing is an account of someone's life, it does not confirm sugges-
tions that Luke-Acts is biography.11 However, the resemblance between
the summary of contents in the preface of Luke-Acts and those to be found
in historical prefaces does confirm that Luke-Acts is history. Of course, the
prefaces of histories summarize their contents differently according to
whether they are universal histories or the history of some particular period
or people or event. But they are the same in generally claiming to be narra-
tives of events.12
If the summary of contents in the preface of Luke-Acts marks it as his-
tory, what of its statement of the purpose of the work? It should first of
all be noted that the concern for truth which this purpose implies is con-
sonant with the identification of Luke-Acts as history. Of course, concern
for truth is not unique to history, but there is reason to think that it is
characteristic of history. In his essay How to Write History Lucian argues
that history differs from encomium and poetry precisely in its commit-
ment to truth (7-14). Later he says 'the historian's sole task is to tell the
tale as it happened. .. . (39) This... is the one thing peculiar to history
. .. (40).' Similar statements can be found in the writings of many his-
torians.13
But not all historians state in their prefaces, as it is stated in the preface
to Luke-Acts, that confirmation of the truth is their purpose for writing.
Most are concerned with truth, but for various reasons. Greater precision
about the different purposes for writing history which are mentioned in
the prefaces of ancient histories should help to locate Luke-Acts more
exactly among those histories. On the basis of the statements of purpose
found in their prefaces, it seems that we can distinguish four main types
of histories:
a) Herodotus wrote simply to preserve the memory of the past; he says his
purpose is 'that the things which have happened may not be blotted out
from among men by time' (1.1). Thucydides does not state his purpose

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 THE PREFACE OF LUKE-ACTS 579
explicitly in his preface, but he seems to imply that his purpose is like
that of Herodotus (1.1.1).
b) in the 4th century BCE two new reasons for writing history developed:14
1) inspired by Gorgias, Ktesias seems to have been the first to write
history on the model of poetry, for the purpose of working on the
emotions of the reader, and in this he was followed by Duris and
Phylarchus. No histories of this sort have survived except in frag-
ments, but their influence can be seen in occasional references to
pleasing the reader as one of the purposes for writing history.1S The
relationship of Aristotle's theories to this type of history continues
to be debated.16
2) under the influence of Isocrates other historians wrote to be useful,
educational. This implies a greater concern for factual accuracy than
does the goal of pleasing the reader, but the knowledge is sought for
its utility.17 Thucydides had already mentioned the usefulness of his-
torical knowledge (cf. 1.22.4), but as a subordinate matter; under
Isocrates' influence it becomes a major part of the purpose of almost
every surviving history from the 4th century BCE to the 1 st century
CE. Polybius says 'there is no more ready corrective for men than the
knowledge of things which have happened before' (1.1). Perhaps the
most famous expression of this view of history is found in Livy's
preface:
What chiefly makes the study of history wholesome and profitable is this, that
you behold the lessons of every kind of experience set forth as on a conspicuous
monument; from these you may choose for yourself and for your own state what
to imitate, from these mark for avoidance what is shameful in the conception
and shameful in the result (10).
Other histories which state in their preface that to be useful in this
sense (i.e. edifying) is an important part of their purpose are the
LetterofAristeas2,5,7-8; Sallust, War with Jugurtha 4.1-6; Diodorus
Siculus, Library of History 1.1-2; Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman
Antiquities 1.1-2; 1.2.1; 1.6.4;Josephus,,4w/. 1.3-5,9,14; and perhaps
Tacitus, Histories 1.3.
c) in view of this very widespread utilitarian purpose for writing history, it
is striking that beginning in the 1st century BCE some writers do not
say that being useful is the purpose of their history, but simply write to
present a true account of something. In part this seems to be a return to
the first type of history. Sallust's On the Conspiracy of Catiline is the
earliest extant example of such a history (4.2-3). In his preface to /. W.
Josephus says 'I thought it unfitting to allow truth in such great matters
(the Jewish war with Rome) to go astray' (1.6) (cf. Ant. 1.3-4). Other
histories which state in their preface that their primary purpose is to
present a reliable account of something are Tacitus, Annals 1.1; Arrian,

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580 TERRANCE CALLAN
Anabasis of Alexander Preface; Dio Cassius, Roman History 1.2; and
Herodian, History of the Empire 1.3.18
The stated purpose of Luke-Acts seems to mark it as a history of this
fourth type, one written to provide a true account of something.19 Several
of these historians are critical of their predecessors.20 Since the preface of
Luke-Acts mentions predecessors and then goes on to say that the present
account was written to provide assurance of the truth, at least mild criticism
of those predecessors seems implied. We might think that epecheiresan in
v 1 implies that the predecessors of Luke-Acts have been unsuccessful
attempts to narrate the things accomplished among the Christians, or re-
call Cadbury's thesis that Luke-Acts was written to correct Theophilus'
misinformation about Christianity.21 Or it seems possible that the author
of Luke-Acts simply writes to provide a reliable account, hitherto lacking,
without either a very negative judgement of his predecessors or the inten-
tion of countering false information.
If this identification of the genre of Luke-Acts is correct, then Luke-
Acts is one of the first examples of a new type of history which began to
be written in the first century BCE, which de-emphasized the didactic
function of history and returned to earlier classical models, especially
Thucydides. Only Sallust's On the Conspiracy of Catiline and Josephus'
J.W. precede Luke-Acts as representatives of this new type of history.
More knowledge of this development in ancient historiography might shed
considerable light on the character of Luke-Acts, its author and the circum-
stances in which it was composed. TERRANCE CALLAN

NOTES
[1] For example C. K. Barrett (Luke the Historian in Recent Study [London: Epworth, 1961])
says that 'both the form and the matter of his work place Luke among the historians' (9).
[2] C. H. Talbert, Literary Patterns, Theological Themes, and the Genre of Luke-Acts (SBLMS
20; Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1974); What Is A Gospel? (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1977).
[3] V. K. Robbins, 'Prefaces in Greco-Roman Biography and Luke-Acts', SBLSP (Missoula, MT:
Scholars Press, 1978) 2,193-207.
[4] See for example F. H. Colson, 'Notes on St. Luke's Preface', JTS 24 (1923) 300-9; H. J. Cad-
bury, The Making of Luke-Acts (New York: MacMillan, 1927) 194-5; and T. Janson, Latin Prose
Prefaces Studies in .Literary Conventions (Acta Universitatis Stockholmiensis: Studia Latina
Stockholmiensia 13; Stockholm: Almqvist & Wiksell, 1964) 24-6,158.
[5] J. Bauer, 'POLLOI Luk 1,1', NovT 4 (1960) 263-6; E. Haenchen, 'Das "Wir" in der Apostel-
geschichte und das Itinerar', ZTK 58 (1961) 362-6.
[6] All references to, and quotations of, ancient authors are based on the text and translation of
the LCL.
[7] According to Lucian, the historian in his preface omits the appeal for a favourable hearing
(eunoia) and seeks only to render the reader interested (prosoche) and ready for instruction (eu-
matheid) (How to Write History 53). This may have been true for prose writers in general.
[8] Robbins ('Prefaces', 195-206) discusses the influence of rhetorical and epistolary conventions
on the preface of Luke-Acts and argues that 'since speeches and letters are standard components of
biography, this influence is paralleled by other biographical prefaces' (195). He does not recognize

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 THE PREFACE OF LUKE-ACTS 581
that the rhetorical nature of prefaces in general insures that the prefaces of all kinds of writing are
quite similar in vocabulary and style.
[9] Lucian says that the historian makes the reader ready for instruction both by providing a
summary of contents and by setting forth causes (aitiai) (How to Write History 53).
[10] This is true of Plutarch, Demosthenes 3.1; Theseus 1.1; Dion 1.1; Tacitus, Agricola 1.4,
which, along with Philo, Life of Moses, are the biographies cited by Talbert (Literary Themes, 138,
n. 41) as having prefaces like that of Luke-Acts. It is also true of the additional biographies cited
by Robbins ('Prefaces', 194,198): Eunapius, Livesof the Philosophers and Sophists 454; Plutarch,
Agis and Cleomenes and the Gracchi Compared 1.1; Aratus 1.3. Xenophon.Memorafti'/w and Plu-
tarch, Z,' ^urgus have no real preface.
[11] *. ^bins' starting point is that the secondary preface of Acts does seem to summarize the
conte •: of Luke as a biography of Jesus ('Prefaces', 193). However, it remains a problem that the
preface to the whole work does not summarize its content as a biography.
[12] Many historical prefaces give detailed summaries of contents, but some also have briefer sum-
maries comparable to that found in Luke 1. 3. Cf. Diodorus Siculus 'the affairs of the whole world,
beginning from most ancient times... up to his own times' (Library of History 1.3.6); Dionysius
of Halicarnassus the whole ancient life of the city (Rome)' (Roman Antiquities 1.8.2); Livy 'the
achievements of the Roman people from the foundation of the city' (Preface, 1).
[13] Cf. Diodorus Siculus'in it (history) words agree with facts' (Library of History 1.2.7); Diony-
sius of Halicarnassus 'truth, the source of both prudence and wisdom, is enthroned (in history)'
(Roman Antiquities 1.1.2); Josephus./.H'. '(in history) it is necessary to speak the truth and labori-
ously collect the facts' (1.16). This point is fully discussed by A. W. Mosley, 'Historical Reporting
in the Ancient World', NTS 12 (1965-6) 10-26.
[14] F. Wehrli, 'Die Geschichtsschreibung im Lichte der Antiken Theorie', Eumusia. Festgabe fur
Ernst Howald (Erlenbach-Zurich: Eugen Rentsch, 1947) 54-71.
[15] Cf. Polybius 1.4.11; Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities 1.8.3; Herodian./ftsrory
of the Empire 1.1.3. Lucian is wary of this purpose for writing history (How to Write History 9-13).
[16] For example, Wehrli ('Die Geschichtsschreibung', 69) argues that Peripatetic history was of a
very different sort and resembled the other main type of 4th century history, that influenced by
Isocrates. On the other hand K. von Fritz ('Die Bedeutung des Aristoteles fur die Geschichtsschrei-
bung', Entretiens sur VAntiquite" Classique 4. Histoire et Historiens dans VAntiquiti [Geneva: Van-
doeuvres, 1956] 85-128), after giving a good summary of the debate, suggests that Aristotle's ideas
were taken up by this first type of historian, at least by Duris.
[17] Cf. Lucian's statement that 'there is one task and end of history, what is useful, which comes
only from the truth' (How to Write History 9).
[18] Despite the statement quoted in n. 17 above, and some other references to the usefulness of
history (How to Write History 9,42,53), it seems likely that Lucian also assumes that history is of
this fourth type. He is much more emphatic about the need for factual accuracy in history than
about its usefulness (cf. in addition to the passages mentioned on p. 578 above, 41, 42, 44, 47, 50,
61, 63). And the only time he explains what he means by the usefulness of history, he does so in
direct dependence on Thucydides (42), suggesting that he includes this element in his understanding
of the purpose of history mainly because he finds it in Thucydides.
[19] W. C. van Unnik ('Remarks on the Purpose of Luke's Historical Writing (Luke 1:1-4)', Sparsa
Collecta [NovTSup 29; Leiden: Brill, 1973] 6-15) comes to a similar conclusion on the basis of a
comparison between thepreface of Luke-Acts and that of JosephuSi4nf. Van Unnik says that Luke's
Svork was not to serve the purpose of imparting benefit in a pleasing manner, to give examples or
a lesson for life with or without a religious tendency. Luke wanted to bring to light the asphaleia
ton logon. . . .' (p. 13).
[20] Josephus, J.W. 1.1-2,7-8; Tacitus, Annals 1.1; Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander, Preface 2-3;
Herodian, History of the Empire 1.1-2.
[21] H. J. Cadbury, 'The Purpose Expressed in Luke's Preface', The Expositor 21 (1921) 431-41.

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