A few more examples:
The Accuracy of the Book of Acts
[snip]...In more recent times, Henry J. Cadbury, the liberal scholar of Harvard University, authored a volume titled, The Book of Acts In History, in which he introduced many examples of the amazing accuracy of Luke’s second letter to Theophilus.Luke records an abundance of details, and this allows the careful student to check the ancient historian for credibility.
For instance, the physician/historian mentions thirty-two countries, fifty-four cities, and nine Mediterranean islands. In addition, he alludes to ninety-five different people, sixty-two of which are not mentioned by any other New Testament writer. Twenty-seven of these are unbelievers, chiefly civil or military officials (Bruce Metzger, The New Testament – Its Background, Growth, and Content, pp. 171-172). The book of Acts will definitely stand the test of historical examination.
- Did ancient readers generally read aloud (8:30)? Yes.
- Why would it take two days to sail from Troas to Neapolis, yet five days to accomplish the return trip (16:11; 20:6)? Because of prevailing winds.
- Was Sergius Paulus a “proconsul” (13:7)? Yes, though 68 years earlier the same position would have been occupied by a “propraetor.”
- Did “tanners” customarily live by the seaside (10:6)? They did, because tanners used seawater in tanning hides, and the sea breezes diffused the stench of their trade...
Cordially,