2024.04.03 | Mark S. Giacobbe. Luke the Chronicler: The Narrative Arc of Samuel-Kings and Chronicles in Luke-Acts. Bible Interpretation Series 211. Brill, 2023. 289 pp. $144.00. 

Review by Ched Spellman, Cedarville University.

In the opening of the Gospel of Luke, the author includes a prologue that overviews his purpose in writing this “orderly narrative” and identifies elements of his method (Luke 1:1–4). Beyond these orienting authorial comments, is it possible to detect any specific textual template that Luke might have made use of as he structured his narration and interpretation of the story of Jesus and the early church?

In this monograph, Mark Giacobbe argues that the author does indeed utilize the textual precedent of the prophetic histories of the Hebrew Bible in the composition of his work. Giacobbe’s central contention is that Luke’s “major literary model” as he composed the two-part work of Luke-Acts was “the two-part narrative of Israel’s history which is found in the OT books of Samuel-Kings and Chronicles” (p. 1). More specifically, Giacobbe argues that “Luke patterns his Gospel on the life of David, with Jesus presented as the promised ultimate Davidide” and then “broadly bases Acts on the story of the kings” that follow David with the apostles and disciples presented as “the heirs of the kingdom of David—albeit in a transformed manner, with a strong element of eschatological inversion” (p. 1). 

In order to demonstrate this overall thesis, Giacobbe seeks to show an assortment of verbal, structural, and thematic corollaries between the OT books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles (what he refers to as the “Samuel-Kings Narrative Arc,” SKNA) and the NT books of Luke and Acts. One of the strengths of this study is its relentless self-awareness of the nature and method of its argument. Drawing on philosophy and argument theory (particularly Bayes’ Theorem), Giacobbe recognizes that he needs to demonstrate not only the likelihood that Luke drew upon the SKNA based on textual evidence but also the prior probability that an ancient author like Luke might have utilized this kind of technique. Because he must examine and assess multiple lines of evidence in a project like this, Giacobbe also utilizes “abductive reasoning,” where he will seek to infer the best explanation based on the given array of facts (pp. 25–36).

Accordingly, Giacobbe first establishes that using the SKNA was a legitimate option for an author like Luke. Luke likely had access to the text of the SKNA, these books had a coherent message on their own terms, and they were often read together by Jewish readers in the Second Temple period (pp. 43–78). Alongside this Jewish background, there were also literary techniques like mimesis that were well-established in the Greco-Roman literary world of the first century CE. There were a variety of ways that an author might directly draw upon a previous work while also doing something distinctly new (e.g., an imitation of phrases or writing style, the continuation of a storyline, or a comparable overarching structure). Luke was likely an author who was familiar with Greco-Roman literature and also aware of the specific technique of narrative mimesis (pp. 79–109).  

With this historical and comparative framework in place, Giacobbe proceeds to examine textual and thematic references to the SKNA in Luke and Acts (pp. 110–35). In his Gospel in particular, Luke shows an awareness of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles. Many of the prominent themes in the SKNA are also important in Luke’s narrative (e.g., the priority of the temple, the concept of the kingdom of God, and the promises of the Davidic covenant). The well-known resonance between the plot, style, and themes of Luke’s infancy account and the opening to the book of Samuel cement this intertextual pillar of Luke’s story. 

Turning to the book of Acts, Giacobbe highlights the way that Luke characterizes the disciples as “heirs of the Davidic Kingdom” (p. 137). Just as 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles shifted a strong narrative focus from David’s life to various “sons of David,” so too Luke moves from the life of Jesus as the fulfillment of the Davidic messiah to an account of the disciples as royal citizens in the Christ’s kingdom. “Uniquely among the evangelists,” Luke portrays the apostles and disciples as “royal figures and vice-regents of Jesus” (p. 158). The structure of Luke and Acts is also an example of “theological geography” that moves toward and away from Jerusalem. Within this narrative movement, Luke also includes strategic speeches, prayers, and summary statements (literary elements that are prevalent in the SKNA). 

Bringing the major elements of his argument together, Giacobbe includes an examination of several interesting textual connections at significant locations in each of the books (e.g., the emphasis on the temple and the kingdom at the end of Luke and the beginning of Acts). For Giacobbe, “this means that not only are there discernible thematic and verbal parallels with the SKNA throughout Luke’s double work, but, moreover, they are in all the right places” (p. 200). The conclusion drawn from all of this argumentation is that Luke utilizes the OT prophetic history in order to structure his work and develop its key themes. In this way, Luke functions in a similar mode as the Chronicler (see the concluding comments on pp. 227–38). 

From the perspective of biblical and theological studies, much of Giacobbe’s study will be compelling, partly because many of the connections have been studied at length and are well-established in scholarly discussions (e.g., intertextuality in Luke 1–2). The key contribution here is assembling these various planks into a constructive argument about the nature of Luke’s major literary model. Giacobbe’s work also opens up several interesting and even exciting lines of reflection for biblical-theological reflection (e.g., the themes of the kingdom and the role of the disciples in redemptive history).

Some parts of the book are perhaps over-argued. For example, beyond the insightful clarification about the nature of probability arguments, most of the space given to the mathematical precision of Bayes’ theorem is probably unnecessary for the target audience. Other aspects of the thesis are perhaps under-developed. For example, as Giacobbe helpfully acknowledges, the parallels that are present in the Gospel versus the book of Acts are of a different kind in many respects.

Giacobbe does not make the case that the use of the SKNA explains every detail of Luke’s purpose and structure. Rather, what he does very well is provide the strongest case possible that Luke utilized the SKNA as a significant part of his compositional strategy. The evidence marshalled here demonstrates that the narrative arc of the prophetic books of Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles serve as an extensive intertextual model that is present in Luke’s own text and bears a complementary relationship to Luke’s other major influences (e.g., the allusive connections to books like Genesis and Isaiah). This insight into Luke and Acts will assist readers as they examine individual texts and also trace some of the biblical-theological themes in these books that help weave the storyline of the Old and New Testament together. In this vein, this volume is a substantive contribution to the study of Luke and Acts that is worth careful consideration.

Ched Spellman
Cedarville University
cspellman [at] cedarville.edu