Texts in Conversation
Acts follows Jewish traditions of restoration using language similar to Sirach 36, which includes appeals for new signs, the gathering of Israel, and fulfillment of prophecy. Sirach’s plea for divine action matches the description of Pentecost.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Sirach 36:6
Ben Sira, Ecclesiasticus
Deuterocanon
1 Have mercy upon us, O Lord the God of all, and look at us with favor; 2 and send your fear upon all the nations. 3 Lift up your hand against the foreign nations and let them see your mighty power. 4 As you showed your holiness in us before them, so be magnified in them before us. 5 Let them know you, as we also have known you, that there is no God but only you, O God. 6 Show new signs, and work various wonders. 7 Glorify your hand and your right arm. 8 Raise up indignation and pour out wrath. 9 Take away the adversary and destroy the enemy. 10 Hasten the time and remember your oath. Let them declare your mighty works. 11 Let him who escapes be devoured by raging fire. May those who harm your people find destruction. 12 Crush the heads of the rulers of the enemies who say, “There is no one but ourselves.” 13 Gather all the tribes of Jacob together, 16 and take them for your inheritance, as from the beginning. 17 O Lord, have mercy upon the people that is called by your name, and upon Israel, whom you likened to a firstborn. 18 Have compassion upon the city of your sanctuary, Jerusalem, the place of your rest. 19 Fill Zion. Exalt your oracles and fill your people with your glory. 20 Give testimony to those who were your creatures in the beginning, and fulfill the prophecies that have been spoken in your name. 21 Reward those who wait for you, and men will put their trust in your prophets.
Date: 195–180 BCE (based on scholarly estimates)
Acts 2:3
New Testament
1 Now when the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like a violent wind blowing came from heaven and filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And tongues spreading out like a fire appeared to them and came to rest on each one of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit, and they began to speak in other languages as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were devout Jews from every nation under heaven residing in Jerusalem. 6 When this sound occurred, a crowd gathered and was in confusion because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Completely baffled, they said, “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? 8 And how is it that each one of us hears them in our own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and the province of Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, 11 both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own languages about the great deeds God has done!” 12 All were astounded and greatly confused, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” 13 But others jeered at the speakers, saying, “They are drunk on new wine!”
Date: 70–90 CE (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Third, the pouring of the Spirit (Acts 2:1-13) upon the Twelve is bound up with the messiah's enthronement, an event, by definition, bound up with Israel's restoration. As we have noted above, the pouring out of the Spirit has been underscored as having primary importance for Israel's restoration. Luke now attempts to explain the relevance of this event (2:14-36). According to Luke, the outpouring of the Spirit is the event of "the last days." As both Annette Steudel and John J. Collins have demonstrated from their study of this motif in EJL, the end of days is most often described as a time of testing as well as a time of incipient salvation or restoration for Israel. Luke draws on this understanding, but revises it in light of a heavenly messiah who pours out the Spirit on the Twelve and other followers, who subsequently find themselves, as did their messiah, in conflict with both (non-Christian) Jews and Rome ... As with other early Jewish or New Testament accounts of restoration in which references to the Babylon's destruction of Israel occur, Luke's reference to Israel's 6th century exile is informative for understanding his interpretation of Israel's plight and restoration. (... the second Temple restoration is reflected positively or at least without critique in many early Jewish writings e.g., Letter of Aristeas; 1 Maccabees; Sirach; compare Sirach 36; 48). In other sources, however, it is considered inferior or secondary to what is expected to come (e.g., Tobit 13-14; 4Q390; 11QTemple Scroll; 4QFlorilegium) ..."
Michael E. Fuller, The Tradition of Restoration: An Examination of the Motifs of Israel's Re-Gathering and the Fate of the Nations in Early Jewish Literature and Luke-Acts (Durham University, 2005), 284–288.
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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