Death and Resurrection: The Shape and Function of a Literary Motif in the Book of Acts

Dennis Horton highlights the shape and function of the death-and-resurrection motif by applying William Freedman's criteria of a literary motif to the Acts narrative. By analyzing the statements about death and resurrection together with the examples of this messianic pattern among the experiences of major and minor characters, the motif becomes clear. This central theme then becomes intensified through contrast with a secondary motif, that of death and decay. Death and Resurrection provide...