Acts 1:1

I wrote ¹  the former ²  account, ³  Theophilus, ⁴  about all that Jesus began to do and teach

Mt 4:23,24; Mt 11:5; Lu 1:3; Lu 1:24; Lu 7:21-23; Lu 24:19; Joh 10:32-38; Joh 18:19-21; Ac 2:22; 1Pe 2:21-23

¹ tn Or “produced,” Grk “made.”

² tn Or “first.” The translation “former” is preferred because “first” could imply to the modern English reader that the author means that his previous account was the first one to be written down. The Greek term πρῶτος (prwtos) does not necessarily mean “first” in an absolute sense, but can refer to the first in a set or series. That is what is intended here – the first account (known as the Gospel of Luke) as compared to the second one (known as Acts).

³ tn The Greek word λόγος (logos) is sometimes translated “book” (NRSV, NIV) or “treatise” (KJV). A formal, systematic treatment of a subject is implied, but the word “book” may be too specific and slightly misleading to the modern reader, so “account” has been used.

sn The former account refers to the Gospel of Luke, which was “volume one” of the two-volume work Luke-Acts.

⁴ tn Grk “O Theophilus,” but the usage of the vocative in Acts with ὦ (w) is unemphatic, following more the classical idiom (see ExSyn 69).