The “We” Passages in the Acts of the Apostles

This book explores the narrative significance of the “we” passages in Acts within the
boundaries of acceptable ancient grammatical practice. It contends that the occasional firstperson
plural narrator represents a character whose entrance at crucial moments in Paul’s
career parallels the role of Barnabas, the apostle’s earlier companion. Although consistent
with the grammatical practice of ancient writers, the use of the “we” style in Acts nonetheless
represents a variation of those conventions because the author of Acts wrote anonymously
and never claimed personal participation in the events narrated. In analyzing the function of
the narrator as narrative character, the book presents narrative literary strategy as a fruitful
approach to these enigmatic texts whose narrative possibilities have in the past been
subordinated to their historical potential.

Paperback edition is available from the Society of Biblical Literature (www.sbl-site.org)