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CRAIG A. EVANS and JAMES A. SANDERS, Luke and Scripture: The Function of Sacred Tradition in Luke-Acts (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993). Pp. xiv + 247. Paper $16.
The authors describe their book as a collection of exploratory studies probing Luke's understanding of the nature and continuing function of Scripture. These are the studies by Craig A. Evans: Jesus and the Spirit: On the Origin and Ministry of the Second Son of God" (pp. 26-45); "The Function of the Elijah/ Elisha Narratives in Luke's Ethic of Election" (pp. 70-83); "'He Set his Face': On the Meaning of Luke 9:51" (pp. 93-105); "Luke 16:1-18 and the Deuteronomy Hypothesis" (pp. 121-39); "The Twelve Thrones of Israel: Scripture and Politics in Luke 22:24-30" (pp. 154-70); "Prophecy and Polemic: Jews in Luke's Scriptural Apologetic" (pp. 171-211); "The Prophetic Setting of the Pentecost Sermon" (pp. 212-24). The essays by James A. Sanders are these: "Isaiah in Luke" (pp. 14-25); "From Isaiah 61 to Luke 4" (pp. 46-69); "Sins, Debits, and Jubilee Release" (pp. 84-92); "The Ethics of Election in Luke's Great Banquet Parable"(pp. 106-20); "A Hermeneutic Fabric: Psalm 118 in Luke's Entrance Narrative"(pp. 140-53).
As with any collection, this volume does not lend itself to comprehensive review. One must be content to identify the dominant theme or trend and to single out what one perceives to be the more significant or interesting essays. The first concern is facilitated by the authors' joint opening essay: "Gospels and Midrash: An Introduction to Luke and Scripture"(pp. 1-13). There, E. looks to the question of genre. He proposes "rewritten Bible" as the earliest form of the reapplication of Scripture and instances...