The Christians Who Became Jews: Acts of the Apostles and Ethnicity in the Roman City

A fresh look at Acts of the Apostles and its depiction of Jewish identity within the larger Roman era

When considering Jewish identity in Acts of the Apostles, scholars have often emphasized Jewish and Christian religious difference, an emphasis that masks the intersections of civic, ethnic, and religious identifications in antiquity. Christopher Stroup’s innovative work explores the depiction of Jewish and Christian identity by analyzing ethnicity within a broader material and epigraphic context. Examining Acts through a new lens, he shows that the text presents Jews and Jewish identity in multiple, complex ways, in order to legitimate the Jewishness of Christians.