Inscriptions, Paul, Acts, and historyThe survey given above hints at ways in which our comprehen-
sion of the career of the apostle Paul can be enriched and enlarged
by study of the society and culture of Rome’s eastern provinces
at the time of his missionary journeys. The study of pertinent
inscriptions has provided a chronological anchor for his travels;
it has provided a suggestive solution to the reasons underlying
his otherwise unexplained visit to Antioch in Pisidia; and it has
hinted at ways in which the gospel message might have been
heard by some of its target audience. There are, however, limits
as to what such an analysis can tell us. Paul, after all, was a Jew,
and no amount of elucidating his Roman context will compen-
sate if that pertinent fact is ignored. In addition, we should not
be misled by the verisimilitude of Actsinto mistaking it for
dispassionate history. Its positive portrayal of the Roman author-
ities is in contrast to a depiction of Jews and Jewish authorities
that is often alarmingly hostile. As much as the letters of Paul,
or indeed the tracts of apologists in the second and third centuries,
Actsis a text with a particular argument to communicate. Any
reading of it needs to bear this in mind.
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