Locating Paul: Places of Custody as Narrative Settings in Acts 21-28 (Academica Biblica)

Luke's story of Paul's imprisonment under the Romans provides an unexpected setting for considering the proclamation of the word. This narrative-critical study explores the custody settings of Acts 21â€"28 as places that frame and amplify the detained Paul's social marginality to powerful interests and contends that the settings serve as new venues for Paul's continuing yet redirected missionary vocation. The book provides a penetrating discussion of the relationship between the young church and imperial Rome, suggesting that the accounts of Paul's activity and divine assistance, narrated within settings intended to enforce Roman control, constitute a subtle yet powerful confrontation with and manipulation of the social and religious powers.