The Relationship of Jewish and Gentile Believers to the Law Between A.D. 30 and 70 in the Scripture

itself. It is a mistake to think that the land of Palestine preserved a "pure" form of Judaism and that the diaspora was the home of adulterated or diluted forms of Juda– ism.12 49 At least one thing is clear: it is difficult to define the terms used by Luke from historical sources alone. In reality the best clues to the meaning of the term come from the pen of Luke himself. He only uses·E.111111vtcrTtjc; one other time in the book (9:29). 13 In this passage Luke refers to persons who, by their actions, identify themselves to be religiously zealous Jews. Windisch notes: "Of course, the· E.111111vtcrTaf with whom Paul disputed in 9:29 , and who tried to destroy him, were fanatical orthodox Jews of the dispersion. " 14 The closer context gives sufficient clues to understand Luke ' s use of the term as well . From what we have seen, whatever the religious tendencies were of those outside the land , the Greek-speaking populace within the land of Palestine appears to be zealous of the Law (9:29). Those who dispute with Stephen (6:9) , though not specifically termed hellenists, ,.,. trace their origins to the diaspora (Alexandria, Cyrene, Cilicia and Asia) and these are the fi rst to express fierce loyalty to Moses . Again in 21:27 it is "Jews from Asia" who incite the crowds in Jerusalem with charges against Paul ' s fidelity to Moses and the Temple. Thu , although we may not be absolutely certain what the term means because of Luke's wide variety of meanings, it would seem most likely in the context of Acts 6 and 9 that tho e Je 12 haye J . D . Cohen , From the Maccabees to the Mishnah, Library of Earl hri - tianity, ed. Wayne A. Meeks (Philadelphia: The We tminster Pre , 1987), 7. 13 Another po ible reference (11: 19-20) would upport our ie but i n t t tuall firm . In thi pa age (11 : 19-20) when Luke de ire to ompar diff r nt ra nd ultur , 1. , Je and reeks he u e and diff rent term ('Iou8a101 c; and ., 111111 ac; ) upp rting th u g tion th t Lu ref r to m r differ nee of languag h n h u th t rm • ~P touc; and' £.AAT"J tcrTtjc;. Thi r din 1 tt t d b p 7 4, , , and D r 1 mg in th B te t. th rm nu cript (B , , P) r d ' AA17 tcrTac;. In 1: 7 Lu u th d rbi 1 form (' 1 ""11 tan) , hich h th en of langu nl . 14 Wmdi ch, ... L 111117 , " 11 1