Table of Contents

Abbreviations
Foreword
Editors? Introduction: J. B. Lightfoot as Biblical Commentator
Part I: Introduction to Commenting in General
Part II: Introduction to Acts—Preliminary Matters
Part III:The Commentary on Acts
The Superscript
The Preface
Ascension, Judas? Demise, the Filling Up of the Twelve (Acts 1)
Excursus: On the Historical Problem of the Varying Accounts of Judas? Demise
Pentecost and Its Aftermath (Acts 2)
The Beginnings and Trials of the Church in Jerusalem
(Acts 3?6)
Excursus: The Sanhedrin and the High Priests
Excursus: The Primacy of Peter
Excursus: The Diaconate
The First Martyr for Christ (Acts 7)
Excursus: The Tabernacle
Excursus: The Authenticity of the Speech of St. Stephen
Simon, the Samaritans, and Philip (Acts 8)
Excursus: Simon Magus
Excursus: Conversion of theEthiopian

The Conversion of Saul (Acts 9)
The Surprising Story of Cornelius (Acts 10)
Trouble in Zion—Peter Explains (Acts 11)
The Persecuted Church and the Dawn of the Mission of the Persecutor (Acts12)
The First Missionary Journey (Acts 13?14)
Excursus: St. Paul?s Apostolic Journeys
The Apostolic Council and Its Aftermath (Acts 15)
The Second Missionary Journey (Acts 16)

Macedonia and On to Athens (Acts 17)
Excursus: The History of St. Paul?s Days at Thessalonike
And So to Corinth (Acts 18)
Finally at Ephesus (Acts 19)
The Third Missionary Journey (Acts 19:21?21:39)
Excursus: Timothy and Erastus
Excursus: The Speech of St. Paul at Miletus
Conclusions on the Rest of Acts
Appendix A: Lightfoot?s Article on Acts for Smith?s Dictionary of the Bible
Appendix B: Illustrations of the Acts from Recent Discoveries
Appendix C: St. Paul?s History After the Close of the Acts
Appendix D: The Obituary/Homage to Lightfoot
Author Index
Scripture Index

About the Author

Joseph Barber Lightfoot (1828–1889), also known as J. B. Lightfoot, was an English theologian, preacher, canon of St Paul's Cathedral and bishop of Durham. His writings include essays on biblical and historical subject matter, commentaries on Pauline epistles and studies on the Apostolic Fathers as well as four posthumously published volumes of sermons. Lightfoot attended King Edward?s School in Birmingham before attending Trinity College in Cambridge where he was elected a Fellow of his college. He became a tutor of Trinity College in 1857 and later a professor of divinity, editing the Journal of Classical and Sacred Philology from 1854 to 1859. In 1871, Lightfoot became canon of St. Paul?s Cathedral, preaching regularly and participating in various ecclesiastical activities. He gained enormous popularity for his work Essays on the Work Entitled Supernatural Religion, a defense of the New Testament in response to Walter Richard Cassel?s Supernatural Religion. In 1870, Lightfoot became Bishop of Durham, where he continued his theological study, writing, and preaching. Lightfoot wrote commentaries on Galatians, Philippians and Colossians and Philemon, and his newly discovered commentary notes on Acts, John, 2 Corinthians and 1 Peter are being published in the three-volume Lightfoot Legacy set.

Todd D. Still (PhD, University of Glasgow) is Charles J. and Eleanor McLerran DeLancey Dean and the William M. Hinson Professor of Christian Scriptures at the George W. Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University. He is the author of Thinking through Paul: A Survey of His Life, Letters, and Theology (coauthored with Bruce W. Longenecker), Philippians Philemon, and Jesus and Paul Reconnected: Fresh Pathways into an Old Debate.

Ben Witherington III (PhD, University of Durham) is Jean R. Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. He has written over forty books, including The Jesus Quest and The Paul Quest, bothof which were selected as top biblical studies works by Christianity Today. His books also include The Indelible Image, Women and the Genesis of Christianity, The Gospel Code, A Week in the Life of Corinth, and commentaries on the entire New Testament.

Reviews

"The Acts of the Apostles is a helpful addition to the library of any student of the New Testament and the early church. Pastors may also find his discussion questions and lecture style helpful as they prepare to teach and preach."
*Jon Jordan, Bible Study Magazine, March/April 2015*

"Here is a Lightfoot feast indeed. Although long deceased, Lightfoot speaks new and afresh once again."
*Peter Rodgers, Religious Studies Review, September 2015*

"Editors Witherington and Still have compiled a volume that has something for everyone. The pastor and seminarian will benefit from the articles and lectures that both precede and follow the main commentary. The scholar will thoroughly enjoy this candid look in to the personal notes of a towering figure in biblical scholarship and will find in the concise commentary a number of suggestive observations that merit further exploration. . . . We can be grateful to the editors for unearthing Lightfoot's notes, making them available in this unique volume, and acquainting us with a man whose learning and piety is an inspiration to scholar and pastor alike."
*Benjamin R. Wilson, Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, September 2015*

"While the commentary may not specifically address a particular passage or issue, the volume is a worthwhile addition to any scholar or pastor's Acts shelf simply because for those passages and topics Lightfoot does address, he provides not only well-reasoned, well-grounded arguments but also often offers unexpected intertextual connections that carry profound interpretive implications. . . . It would be a shame indeed to miss it, for reading Lightfoot's notes is an unprecedented opportunity to watch one of the greatest academic minds of the last century at work on a text that has held special significance for members of the Stone-Campbell Movement."
*Judith Odor, Stone-Campbell Journal, Spring 2015*

"This volume of Lightfoot's notes will guide you patiently and reverently through much of the text of Acts. You will be encouraged to pause to notice the details of the text and occasionally look over the broad landscape to see how the details of the text relate to the broader picture of the New Testament account of the work of the Lord Jesus in building his church."
*Alan J. Thompson, Themelios, December 2015*