PORTER Did Paul Baptize Himself? 93
- Interpretations of Acts 22.16
In order to appreciate the issues involved in Acts 22.16 regarding baptism,
it is important to note that the verb, (3a7TTi£co, is used in the middle voice,
as is the following verb, aTroAouo|ja i. By contrast, in the parallel passage
in Acts 9.18, the passive form of fiaTTTi^co, s(3aTrna0r), is used. There are
a number of issues that could be raised by Acts 22.16 in terms of the nar-rative of Acts and its harmonization with parallel accounts in Acts 9 and
26, but I wish to focus here upon the use of the aorist middle voice form of
the verb, fkximoai.
In a survey of scholarly discussion of the issue of the use of the middle
voice verb, (3dTTTiaou, there are two major ways of approaching the inter-
pretation of Acts 22.16. The first is simply to ignore the problems raised by
the use of the verb. This position appears to be represented by a surprisingly
large number of commentators, including some who are often cited as
exemplary in their work on the Greek of other passages. A typical pattern of
commentating, when this part of the verse is not completely ignored, is
simply to cite the parallel in Acts 9.18. Scholars who do not treat the issues
involved in this verse include, among others, W. Beyer, P. Bossuyt and
J. Radermakers, J. Calvin, H. Conzelmann, E. Haenchen, J. Jervell, E.R.
Lewis, G. Ludemann, I.H. Marshall, W. Neil, R.B. Rackham, G. Schille,
F.S. Spencer, C.H. Talbert, R.H. Tannehill, C.S.C. Williams, and R. Wallace
and W. Williams.^7 It is perhaps surprising in commentaries—meant to make- W. Beyer, Die Apostelgeschichte (NTD, 5; Gottingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht,
5th edn, 1949); P. Bossuyt and J. Radermakers, Temoins de la Parole de la Grace: Actes
des Apotres (Brussels: Editions de l'lnstitut d'Etudes Theologiques, 1995); J. Calvin,
Acts (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1995); H. Conzelmann, Acts of the Apostles
(Hermeneia; Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1987 [1972]); E. Haenchen, The Acts of the
Apostles: A Commentary (trans. B. Noble and B. Shinn; Philadelphia: Westminster
Press, 1971 [1965]); J. Jervell, Die Apostelgeschichte (MeyerK; Gottingen: Vanden-
hoeck & Ruprecht, 1998); E.R. Lewis, The Acts of the Apostles and the Letters ofSt Paul
(London: J. Clarke, 1960); G. Liidemann, Early Christianity according to the Traditions
in Acts: A Commentary (trans. J. Bowden; Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989 [1987]);
I.H. Marshall, The Acts of the Apostles (TNTC; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1980);
W. Neil, The Acts of the Apostles (NCBC; London: Oliphants, 1973); R.B. Rackham,
The Acts of the Apostles: An Exposition (London: Methuen, 8th edn, 1919); G. Schille,
Die Apostelgeschichte des Lukas (THKNT, 5; Berlin: Evangelische Verlagsanstalt, 3rd
edn, 1989); F.S. Spencer, Acts (Readings; Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997);
C.H. Talbert, Reading Acts: A Literary and Theological Commentary on the Acts of the