Abstract:
This article aims at elaborating on the commonly held judgment that the
Apocryphal Acts of the Apostles have somehow been influenced by the
Hellenistic novels. It is argued that the one evolved from the other.
Three stages can be traced. A first stage consists of Christian allegorizing
of the novels based on the many striking crucifixion and empty tomb
passages, followed by a second stage of writing Christian allegories
based on the Old Testament heritage of Christianity. Joseph and
Asenath being the sole surviving example. Finally, the third stage is the
explicit composing of Christian versions of the picaresque romantic
adventure novels, namely the Apocryphal Acts.
