Who is Luke?
Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2021 4:51 pm
I've never given much thought to the "historical Luke" before, so it's something new for me to explore. And I don't necessarily mean the supposed author of the gospel of Luke (though I'm not discounting the possibility), but rather the person in Paul's letters who is thought to have written Luke (and Acts). Who is this guy, and what sources are there for him?
What makes me wonder about him is the detail that he was a physician. How reliable is that? Since I already suspect that Paul's follower Epaphroditus could have written Luke and Acts, given that Paul says that he had survived a severe illness, I'm wondering if Epaphroditus could have known and been treated by Luke (and if not then that's fine).
But it looks like the only NT reference to Luke in what is thought to be a genuine Pauline letter (at least by some, including me) is Philemon 1:23-24:
And it looks like the only reference to Luke being a physician is in Col. 4:14, which is generally not thought to be genuine (including by me):
The only other reference to Luke I can find is in 2 Tim. 4:11, which I've also thought is not genuine. And while that's not much to go on and I could leave it at that, I'm curious to see the earliest references to Luke outside of the NT.
What makes me wonder about him is the detail that he was a physician. How reliable is that? Since I already suspect that Paul's follower Epaphroditus could have written Luke and Acts, given that Paul says that he had survived a severe illness, I'm wondering if Epaphroditus could have known and been treated by Luke (and if not then that's fine).
But it looks like the only NT reference to Luke in what is thought to be a genuine Pauline letter (at least by some, including me) is Philemon 1:23-24:
Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings, as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.
And it looks like the only reference to Luke being a physician is in Col. 4:14, which is generally not thought to be genuine (including by me):
Our dear friend Luke, the doctor, and Demas send greetings.
The only other reference to Luke I can find is in 2 Tim. 4:11, which I've also thought is not genuine. And while that's not much to go on and I could leave it at that, I'm curious to see the earliest references to Luke outside of the NT.