Spirit in the Gospels and Acts: Divine Purity and Power, The

The Spirit in the Gospels and Acts: Divine Purity and Power. By Craig S. Keener. Peabody: Hendrickson, 1997, xxi + 282 pp., $24.95.

This work, based on Keener's dissertation written under D. Moody Smith at Duke University, "traces samples of two strains of Jewish understanding of the Spirit in early Christian narrative literature" (p. 1). Those two strains are prophecy and purification. In the introduction, Keener is careful to point out that the book "is not a survey of all (or even most) relevant texts" related to the Holy Spirit (p. 1). Instead, its primary goal is "to investigate historical questions" (p. 4) in a way which "underline[s] the pervasively Spirit-centered character of early Christian experience" (p. 5).

In order to carry out this objective, Keener begins with a survey of "The Spirit of Purity and Prophecy in Early Judaism," including non-Jewish literature, early Judaism, rabbinic literature, and nonrabbinic Jewish sources. He then works in detail with samples from Mark (1:9-11), Matthew (3:1-4:11; 12:1-45; 9:35-10:15), John (1:31-33; 2:1-11; 3:1-8; 4:21-24; 7:37-39), and Acts (1:1-2:47). Of these samples, those from Mark, Matthew and Acts highlight the theme of prophecy and those from John highlight the theme of purification.

The problem is, however, that the book's title raises certain expectations that its introduction cannot completely erase. To compound those expectations, the book jacket announces, "We are rewarded... with perhaps the most detailed study of the Holy Spirit in the Gospels and Acts in light of the ancient evidence of the religious world in which these texts emerged." In fact, the gospel of Luke-in which the Holy Spirit plays a particularly prominent role-is omitted completely, and in some cases the reader learns less about the Holy Spirit than about other historical and theological (particularly Christological) issues. Also, the conclusions that Keener reaches on these issues are strongly influenced by the fact that, throughout his work, he assumes the two-source hypothesis, the existence of Q, late dating (e.g. post-AD 70 for Matthew), and the use of the redaction-critical method. Some of the results are, therefore, different from those of readers who work from a different starting point. Two minor criticisms relate to the notes. First, although they are extensive (225 per chapter on average; 339 in the chapter on John) and detailed, their sheer volume makes them annoying as endnotes. Second, when seeking a primary-source reference, the reader sometimes encounters a secondary source instead.

Nevertheless, once the reader can come to terms with the fact that he or she is reading a detailed exegetical study of selected NT passages related to one another by the mention of the Holy Spirit, there is much to commend this book. It contains a wealth of exegetical work, including a thorough investigation of historical questions related to the passages examined. Keener handles both the Biblical text and extra-Biblical sources carefully and even-handedly. He refers consistently to primary sources, and he has included extensive bibliographical resources and indexes. His tracing of the theme of water as a means of purification in the chapter on John's gospel is particularly interesting, and the comparatively brief chapter on Acts (12 pages of text) provides a good overview of the Spirit as the source of prophetic empowerment. These strengths may well make this book one you will want to own.

John D. Harvey

Columbia Biblical Seminary & Graduate School of Missions, Columbia, SC

Copyright Evangelical Theological Society Dec 1999
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