What did Luke write to Theophilus?

Answer 1

A:Luke's Gospel is the only New Testament gospel apparently addressed to a specific person. In verse 1:3 it is addressed to an otherwise unknown Theophilus, as is verse 1:1 of Acts, by the same author. Theophilus could have been a real person, but the Gospel was not merely private correspondence to this one person, being written from the outset for a wider audience.

It was common in ancient times to acknowledge a patron who has provided financial support during the period an author wrote a lengthy work, placing the acknowledgement in the introduction of the work. However, a short work, such as Luke's Gospel is, would not normally have contained such an acknowledgement.

It has been suggested that the address to Theophilus could also be a mimesis flag indicating that the author drew some of his material from the works of Josephus, just as modern authors use citations when drawing material from other authors. Josephus had addressed his works to his patron, Epaphroditus. Mimesis flags were expected to be hidden in the text, and reversion was one of the means by which they could be hidden.

As a name Epaphroditus was not uncommon, but has the meaning, 'Touched by Aphrodite'. Theophilus, which means 'Lover of God', is a reversion of Epaphroditus, the name of Josephus' patron. Since we know Luke and Acts contain material apparently copied from Josephus, the reference to Theophilus could have been an acknowledgement of this source.

Answer 2

A:When we look at Luke's Gospel and Acts of the Apostles, both written anonymously but attributed to Luke, we see that they have an opening dedication to an otherwise unknown person called Theophilus. This is somewhat consistent with common in ancient times to dedicate a major literary work to the patron who financially supported the author during the months or years that it took to write it, except that the Gospel is too short for such an explantion. The other gospels, including non-canonical gospels do not contain a dedication.

Some Christian theologians suggest that Theophilus was not a real person, but that he was intended to represent the entire body of the Christian Church. This explains the unusual format of the two books, but appears strained to some.

The name 'Theophilus' means 'Loved by God' in the Greek language. Some point to strong evidence that the author of Luke's Gospel relied on material from the works of the Jewish historian, Josephus, in order to provide a semblance of history to his own works. Josephus had dedicated Antiquities of the Jews to Epaphroditus (Greek: 'Touched by Aphrodite') in 93 CE. Thus, 'Theophilus' could simply have been a Christian reversal of Epaphroditus.

It would then be appropriate to wonder why the author of Luke and Acts would bother dedicating his books to Theophilus if this person never really existed. In Greek culture, before the modern forms of source citation had been developed, it was expected of authors to provide a 'flag' to alert the readers of any source used in the book. It was considered boring to make the attribution obvious, with a preference for flags that had to be deciphered. Thus the reversal from the pagan Epaphroditus to the Christian Theophilus.

Thus, we have three possible explanations for the unusual dedication to Theophilus. It is possible, if less likely, that the two New Testament books were actually written to a wealthy or influential man called Theophilus.