Our detailed study is ended, and the time has come to summarise and discuss the implications of our results – as well as to consider what avenues future research on questions raised in this study might follow.

Review and summary of results

We began by observing the importance of the Miletus speech for two interlocking debates (chapter 1): concerning the relationship between the portrait of Paul found in Acts and that derived from the epistles; and concerning whether Luke knew the Pauline epistles. We also reviewed the history of scholarship on this speech – a ‘set piece’ for most modern critical approaches to Acts. We set out to examine the speech in its Lukan contexts (within Acts and in relation to the whole of Luke-Acts), and to consider potential parallels in 1 Thessalonians. Our aim was to see how Lukan and how Pauline the speech is.

We then outlined our method (chapter 2), and discussed how parallels are to be recognised. We acknowledged the inevitable subjective element in seeking parallels, but sought a measure of objectivity by using a hierarchical approach, beginning with lexical parallels (including cognate words and compounds) before considering synonyms, conceptual parallels, and parallel styles of argumentation. We saw ‘clustering’ of such parallels in particular passages as likely to be significant. We explained our decision to focus on one Pauline letter, by contrast with traditional approaches which compare the Miletus speech with a wider Pauline letter-group.