Sean A. Adams and Seth M. Ehorn vs. Acts 15:16-18 being a Composite Quotation and not a Quotation of Amos 9:11-12 only

 . . . 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, 16 ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the dwelling of David, which has fallen; from its ruins I will rebuild it, and I will set it up, 17 so that all other peoples may seek the Lord—even all the Gentiles over whom my name has been called. Thus says the Lord, who has been making these things 18 known from long ago.’	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. 12.15-16 And It shall be after I have cast them out, I will turn . . . and they shall be built up in the midst of my people. 45.21 If they will declare it, let them draw near so that they may know together who made from the beginning these things that are to be heard. Then it was declared to you, I am God, and there is no other besides me; there is no righteous one or savior except me.

 

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)