The Double Entendre of Paul's Trade as σκηνοποιοζ (Acts 18:3) Working for Israel's Restoration in the Greco-Roman World

The word sigma kappa eta nu omicron pi omicron iota omicron zeta (Acts 18:3), a hapax legomenon, has been the subject of intense scrutiny because it may disclose the socio-economic nature of Paul's trade. However, attempts to reconstruct historically his trade have not confidently identified its accurate historical reference. Since this difficulty derives from Luke's choice of vocabulary-he uses a word that is very rare in the canon of Greco-Roman literature-this study attends to the word's rhetorical setting that may explain Luke's lexical choice. This choice would enhance the word's symbolic value although weakening its referential value. Sigma kappa eta nu omicron pi omicron iota omicron zeta is plausibly an instance of Lukan etymological wordplay that draws on the continued symbolism of oxpii in Luke-Acts-a term that captures Luke's restoration eschatology.

Automated summary

The rare word ΣΚΗΝΟΠΟΙΟΖ may reveal the socio-economic nature of Paul, but historically reconstructing his trade has proven difficult. Luke's choice of vocabulary may be for rhetorical purposes, enhancing the word's symbolic value.