b. Acts 3.22-23: Deuteronomy 18.15-16, 19 and Leviticus 23.29

As Peter’s speech from Solomon’s portico of the temple continues, he cites Moses (Μωυσης . . . ειπεν):

Μωϋσῆς μὲν εἶπεν ὅτι Προφήτην ὑμῖν ἀναστήσει κύριος ὁ θεὸς ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ὑμῶν ὡς ἐμέ· αὐτοῦ ἀκούσεσθε κατὰ πάντα ὅσα ἂν λαλήσῃ πρὸς ὑμᾶς. 23 ἔσται δὲ πᾶσα ψυχὴ ἥτις ἂν μὴ ἀκούσῃ τοῦ προφήτου ἐκείνου ἐξολεθρευθήσεται ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ.

The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to him you shall give heed to everything he says to you. 23 And it will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.

In his discussion of this passage, Gert Steyn offers three different explanations: ‘explicit quotation’, ‘explicit references’, and ‘free quotation from memory’. When he does not suggest is a composite citation. There is, however, some question as to whether this is a composite citation, in particular whether the conflation of Deut. 18.15-16 and 19 would constitute a composite citation, and whether the passage incorporates and follows Lev. 23.29 more closely in the second part. There are several observations to make about this quotation. The first is that the final two words in Acts 3.22, ‘to you’, are not found in the Deuteronomy passage. A second is that Deut. 18.19 is connected to vv. 15-16 by the use of the conjunction of δε translated by the NASB as ‘and’. Third, the entire quotation is introduced simply by the words ‘Moses said’, which does not indicate the scope of what follows.

The passages that are probably combined are Deut. 18.15-16 and 19, and Lev. 23.29, each f which refers to God raising up a prophet that is to be heeded.

Table 4.9. Comparison of Acts 3.22-23, Deut. 18.15-16, 19, and Lev. 23.29

Deut. 18.15-16, 19

προφήτην ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν σου ὡς ἐμὲ ἀναστήσει σοι κύριος ὁ θεός σου, αὐτοῦ ἀκούσεσθε 16 κατὰ πάντα, ὅσα ᾐτήσω παρὰ κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ σου . . .

19 καὶ ὁ ἄνθρωπος, ὃς ἐὰν μὴ ἀκούσῃ ὅσα ἐὰν λαλήσῃ ὁ προφήτης ἐπὶ τῷ ὀνόματί μου, ἐγὼ ἐκδικήσω ἐξ αὐτοῦ.

(‎ נביא מקרבך מאחיך כמני יקים לך יהוה אלהיך אליו תשׁמעון׃16 ככל אשׁר־שׁאלת מעם יהוה אלהיך

. . .

‎ והיה האישׁ אשׁר לא־ישׁמע אל־דברי אשׁר ידבר בשׁמי אנכי אדרשׁ מעמו׃)

The Lord thy God shall raise up to thee a prophet of thy brethren, like me; him shall ye hear; according to all things which thou didst desire of the Lord thy God . . .

19 And whatever man shall not hearken to whatsoever words that prophet shall speak in my name, I will take vengeance on him.

Acts 3.22-23

Προφήτην ὑμῖν ἀναστήσει κύριος ὁ θεὸς υμων ἐκ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ὑμῶν ὡς ἐμέ· αὐτοῦ ἀκούσεσθε κατὰ πάντα ὅσα ἂν λαλήσῃ πρὸς ὑμᾶς.

23 ἔσται δὲ πᾶσα ψυχὴ ἥτις εἂν μὴ ἀκούσῃ τοῦ προφήτου ἐκείνου ἐξολεθρευθήσεται ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ.

The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brethren; to him you shall give heed to everything he says to you. And I will be that every soul that does not heed that prophet shall be utterly destroyed form among the people.

Lev. 23.29

πᾶσα ψυχή, ἥτις μὴ ταπεινωθήσεται ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ταύτῃ, ἐξολεθρευθήσεται ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ αὐτῆς

(כי כל־הנפשׁ אשׁר לא־תענה בעצם היום הזה ונכרתה מעמיה)

Every soul that shall not be humbled in that day, shall be cut off from among its people.

There are a number of significant changes applied to the two passages that are quoted in Acts. In the first part of the quotation, Deut. 18.15-16, the Hebrew and Greek versions are very similar. It appears nevertheless that the author of Acts, on the basis of his word order, rather than that of the Septuagint, is following the Hebrew text, at least until v. 16. At that point the author of Acts departs from the Hebrew, but only follows the first two words of the Septuagint. In the second part, the author seems to follow the Septuagint version of Deut. 18.19, even though the Hebrew and Greek versions are similar, by virtue of his mentioning the prophet. The end of the verse, however, apparently draws Lev. 23.29 into the citation, because Leviticus refers to being cut off from his people, rather than simply it being required of him or his being punished.

There is evidence of use of Deuteronomy 18, especially the verses that are used in this passage, in a number of contemporary Jewish works (e.g., 4Q175 5-8; possibly 1QS 9.11), as well as in early Christian works (e.g., Ps.-Clement, Recog. 1.36; cf. Barn. 3.3 citing Lev. 23.29). As a result, Barrett speculates that the ‘prophet like Moses’ quite possibly was connected with Jewish messianic expectations, very early recognized in Jewish Christianity. Barrett thinks that ‘Probably Luke is simply following here what had in his time become an accepted Christian testimonium’.

Somewhere in the process, the tradition was shaped into this composition citation. The quotation from Deuteronomy 18 has been abbreviated by deleting intervening material. Leviticus 23.29 has then been incorporated into the citation so as to provide a stronger and more explicit conclusion with reference to punishment for those who fail to hear the prophet.