The Meaning of the Phrase ‘And the Witnesses Laid Down Their Cloaks’ in Acts 7: 58

The present article seeks to understand the statement ‘and the witnesses laid down their cloaks’ in Acts 7:58. This incident does not immediately stand out to the reader as being significant in the context of Acts 7 in any real way, and is often overlooked by commentators. However, based on other an...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Jones, Brice C. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Sage [2011]
In: The expository times
Year: 2011, Volume: 123, Issue: 3, Pages: 113-118
IxTheo Classification:HC New Testament
Further subjects:B Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles
B Violence
B ancient gestures
B Gesture
B outer garments
B SIGNS & symbols
B STONING
B Death
B death of Stephen
B CLOAKS
B Bible. Apostelgeschichte 7,58
B Acts of the Apostles
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:The present article seeks to understand the statement ‘and the witnesses laid down their cloaks’ in Acts 7:58. This incident does not immediately stand out to the reader as being significant in the context of Acts 7 in any real way, and is often overlooked by commentators. However, based on other ancient episodes in which a cloak is removed, this article will call into question the meaning and function of the laying down of cloaks in Acts 7:58. It will be suggested that the gesture of shedding cloaks was a symbolic gesture which, on one level, signified impending violence or death. The conclusion will have implications for how we are to understand this gesture both in Acts and in the wider Greco-Roman world.
ISSN:1745-5308
Contains:Enthalten in: The expository times
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1177/0014524611421729