. . . the introductory formula probably refers to a single work, although many scholars have detected allusions to other texts within the quotation. In addition to Amos, some argue that Hosea, Jeremiah, and perhaps Isaiah have influenced the wording of the quotation.
Table
1.3. Comparison of Acts 15.16-18, Amos 9.11-12, Hos. 3.5, Jer. 12.15-16, and
Isa. 45.21
Amos 9.11-12 |
Acts 15.16-18 |
Hos. 3.5; Jer. 12.15-16; Isa. 45.21 |
ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἀναστήσω τὴν σκηνὴν Δαυιδ τὴν πεπτωκυῖαν καὶ
ἀνοικοδομήσω τὰ πεπτωκότα αὐτῆς καὶ τὰ κατεσκαμμένα αὐτῆς ἀναστήσω
καὶ ἀνοικοδομήσω αὐτὴν καθὼς αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ αἰῶνος, 12 ὅπως ἐκζητήσωσιν
οἱ κατάλοιποι τῶν ἀνθρώπων καὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη, ἐφʼ οὓς ἐπικέκληται τὸ ὄνομά
μου ἐπʼ αὐτούς, λέγει κύριος ὁ θεὸς ὁ ποιῶν ταῦτα. |
μετὰ ταῦτα ἀναστρέψω καὶ ἀνοικοδομήσω
τὴν σκηνὴν Δαυὶδ τὴν πεπτωκυῖαν καὶ τὰ κατεσκαμμένα αὐτῆς ἀνοικοδομήσω
καὶ ἀνορθώσω αὐτήν, 17 ὅπως ἂν ἐκζητήσωσιν
οἱ κατάλοιποι τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὸν κύριον, καὶ πάντα τὰ ἔθνη ἐφʼ οὓς ἐπικέκληται
τὸ ὄνομά μου ἐπʼ αὐτούς, λέγει κύριος ποιῶν ταῦτα 18 γνωστὰ
ἀπʼ αἰῶνος. |
3.5 καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα ἐπιστρέψουσιν
οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ καὶ ἐπιζητήσουσιν κύριον τὸν θεὸν αὐτῶν καὶ Δαυιδ τὸν
βασιλέα αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐκστήσονται ἐπὶ τῷ κυρίῳ καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς αὐτοῦ ἐπʼ ἐσχάτων
τῶν ἡμερῶν. 12.15-16 καὶ ἔσται μετὰ τὸ ἐκβαλεῖν με αὐτοὺς
ἐπιστρέψω . . . καὶ οἰκοδομηθήσονται ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ λαοῦ
μου 45.21 εἰ ἀναγγελοῦσιν, ἐγγισάτωσαν, ἵνα γνῶσιν
ἅμα τίς ἀκουστὰ ἐποίησεν ταῦτα ἀπʼ ἀρχῆς. τότε ἀνηγγέλη ὑμῖν Ἐγὼ
ὁ θεός, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλος πλὴν ἐμοῦ, δίκαιος καὶ σωτὴρ οὐκ ἔστιν πάρεξ ἐμοῦ.
|
On that day I will raise up the tend of David that is fallen
and rebuild its ruins and raise up its destruction, and rebuild
it as the days of old 12 in order that those remaining
humans and all the nations upon whom my name has been called might seek out
me, says the Lord, the one making these things. |
This agrees with the words of the prophets, as it is written, |
3.5 And after these things, the
sons of Israel shall return and seek the Lord their God and David
their king, and they shall stand in awe of the Lord and his good things in
the last days. |
The
dominant text is clearly Amos 9.11-12 with possible influences from Hos. 3.5,
Jer. 12.15-16, and Isa. 45.21. Granting these influences, we might tentatively
classify this quotation as a conflated citation. However, there are good
reasons for questioning the legitimacy of these allusions.
Acts 15.16
begins with μετα ταυτα rather than εν τη ημερα. It is difficult
to determine if μετα ταυτα
in Acts 15.16 evokes Hos. 3.5 or another text because μετα ταυτα is a common
expression in the LXX versions and is used multiple times in the NT as well
(e.g., Lk. 5.27; 12.4; 17.7-8; Acts 7.6-7; 13.20; 15.15-18; 18.1; etc.). Μετα ταυτα is also characteristic
of the author’s style (cf. Acts 7.7; 13.20; 18.1). It is suggestive that Acts
7.7 includes the phrase as an addition within a possible allusion to Exod.
3.12. Likewise, some scholars believe that γνωστα απ’ αιωνος (‘known from
long ago’) in 15.18 alludes to Isa. 45.21, but the commonness of the phrase απ’ αιωνος in the LXX versions
(e.g., Gen. 6.4; 1 Chron. 16.36; 29.10; Neh. 9.5; Pss. 24.6; 40.14; etc.)
cautions against attributing it to a single source, especially when the phrase
appears ag γνωσιν
. . . απ’
αρχης
in Isaiah. A few words are also similar to Jer. 12.15-16, which includes μετα, επιστρεψω, and οικοδημθησονται. But note
how these differ from Acts 15:
Jer. 12.15-16 |
Acts 15.16-18 |
μετα |
μετα ταυτα |
επιστρεψω |
αναστρεψω |
οικοδημθησονται |
ανοικοδομησω |
The
similarity with Jeremiah 12 rests mainly with the shared theme of compassion on
the nations when Judah is restored (cf. Jer. 12.14-15; Amos 9.8, 11-12). The
differences in wording of the citation of Amos 9.11-12 LXX in Acts 15.16-18 are
difficult to pin down to other sources. Meek concludes that ‘once we have
recognized the likelihood of other stylistics adaptations in the citation,
there is no need to explain these differences by strained connections to additional
texts’. (Gentile Mission, 63) (Sean A. Adams and Seth M. Ehorn, “Introduction,”
in Composite Citations in Antiquity, ed. Sean A. Adams and Seth M.
Ehorn, 2 vols. [Library of New Testament Studies 593; London: T&T Clark, 2018],
2:9-11)