What Are the Disciples Doing around Paul? The ‘Ring-Dance’ in Acts 14.20a

Abstract

Acts 14.20a contains a peculiar genitive absolute phrase that has been consistently overlooked by scholars and commentators. After Paul is stoned in Lystra and dragged out of the city, Luke notes that the disciples ‘encircle’ him before he gets up (ἀναστὰς). These disciples seem to appear from nowhere, and the standard interpretive options for their ‘encircling’ fall short. In this article, I evaluate all the available interpretive options and suggest that this ‘encircling’ is best understood as a ring-dance, an early Christian practice about which little is known today. I conclude that the ring-dance supplies the best explanation for the sudden appearance of the disciples and has some important implications both for our knowledge concerning the significance of this motif in early Christian literature as well as for Luke’s characterization of Paul.