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

93 foods. It may be a parable whose terms of reference are much wider. 11 2 Thus, according to this view the vision, though cast in terms of animals, is intended to be understood figuratively and applies only to people. It thus provides divine encouragement for Peter to begin the Gentile mission and, contrary to the previous view, it does so without reference to Israel's obligation to the Law. The basis for this type of meaning is discovered in Luke's careful interpretation of the vision in the continuing narrative of 10: 17-11: 18. We will now seek to validate this view through the interpretation of the remainder of the text. The literary presentation of the vision Although Peter's experience involved only a vision of foods rather than literal foods, Luke records that he became hungry while those in the house prepared for a meal. As mentioned previously, against Dibelius, this does not necessarily imply that the vision was _, intended literally to apply to foods. Rather, Peter's hunger may function in a literary way to heighten his· response in the dialogue of the vision. That is, even though Peter was hungry and thus presumably was tempted to eat, he instantly recoiled at the thought of eating unclean food and refused to comply, showing his absolute fidelity to the food laws . The text states that in the sheet were "all (rravTa) kind of four-footed animal and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air" (10: 12) . Mo t likely Peter aw both clean and unclean animals in front of him. 113 Some have asked whether Peter could not ha e killed and eaten one of the clean animal and not vio lated the Law . Bru e mment that " . . . he wa particularly candalized by the unholy mi ture of clean animal ith un 1 an; 112 • Wil on, The entile and the entile Mi ion in Luke- £ r e am nt tudie Mono aph rie , d . M tth Bla k nd R . L . ( m- bnd . , 1 73) , 174. 113 ontra M r h 11 h m i t th t nl un I n nimal pp r d in th h t ar h 11 , ct , 185 .