Continuing from the previous post on the literary genre of Acts which left dangling some unusual problems with the Ephesian Riot scene in Acts 19, two of which are:
- Paul is not involved in the riot at all, so what is the significance of this lengthy graphic narrative?
- A previously unmentioned Jew is put forward to address the crowd but gets nowhere: what is the narrative point of this detail?
- Who was leading the riot, how could they hold such sway, and why do they disappear in the heat of the moment, and why is the crowd so easily persuaded to disperse?
Pervo’s Profit with Delight discussion of the Ephesian Riot scene in Acts 19 is picked up and viewed from another angle in his Dating Acts (pp.179-183). Here Pervo draws heavily on Robert Stoops’ article, Riot and Assembly: The Social Context of Acts 19:23-41.
Continue reading “Making sense of the Ephesian Riot in Acts”