Original Research

Do the writing methodologies of Greco-Roman historians have an impact on Luke’s writing order?

Benjamin W.W. Fung, Aida B. Spencer, Francois P. Viljoen
HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies | Vol 73, No 3 | a4623 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/hts.v73i3.4623 | © 2017 Benjamin W.W. Fung, Aida B. Spencer, Francois P. Viljoen | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 02 May 2017 | Published: 07 September 2017

About the author(s)

Benjamin W.W. Fung, Faculty of Theology, North-West University, South Africa
Aida B. Spencer, Faculty of Theology, North-West University, South Africa and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, United States
Francois P. Viljoen, Faculty of Theology, North-West University, South Africa

Abstract

Luke in the preface of his Gospel says that he is going to write ‘in an orderly account’ (Lk 1:3). However, scholars have no consensus about the kind of order Luke is seeking. Many believe that Luke writes as a historian. Because Greco-Roman historians seem to have a practice to indicate in their prefaces the writing methodologies of their writings, this article aims to ascertain Luke’s writing order through a comparison of Luke’s two prefaces with those in the writings of the Greco-Roman historians. This article proposes that Luke most likely adopts the common writing methodologies of the Greco-Roman historians and writes in chronological order.

Keywords

Luke; chronological; logical; writing order; Greco-Roman and Jewish historians

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