Abstract
It is the purpose of this article to show that Acts 15.6-21 is a reinterpretation and adaptation of the LXX version of Deut. 4.29-35. In Deut. 4.29-31 Moses heralds the return of the exiled Israel to God. They will seek the Lord in the last days and they will find him for he is a God of mercy. In section 1 it is pointed out that Luke extends the object of this announcement to include the Gentiles. The quotation of Amos 9.11-12 LXX with its universal purport, replaces Deut. 4.29-31 in Acts 15.16- 17. The allusion to Isa. 45.21 in Acts 15.18, which is brought up for discussion in section 2, accounts for the temporal indications in Acts 15.7, 14. This twofold appeal to antiquity modifies the invitation to Israel in Deut. 4.32 to consider 'the days that are past'. Also of importance are Deut. 4.33 and 34, which refer to the revelation at Sinai and the Exodus. In section 3 it is shown that these unique experiences of Israel are linked by Luke to events in the recent past of believeing Gentiles as well.
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