Theophilus
E30497
Theophilus is the otherwise unknown individual addressed in the prefaces of the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, likely a patron or symbolic “lover of God” to whom these New Testament works are dedicated.
Aliases (2)
Statements (29)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
New Testament person
→
biblical figure → |
| addressedIn |
Acts 1:1
→
Luke 1:3 → |
| associatedWithAuthor |
Luke the Evangelist
→
|
| associatedWork |
Luke–Acts
→
|
| canonicalContext |
New Testament
→
|
| describedAs |
most excellent Theophilus
→
|
| gender |
male
→
|
| hasNo |
independent historical attestation outside biblical text
→
|
| historicalCertainty |
identity uncertain
→
|
| honorificTitleUsed |
most excellent
→
|
| languageOfName |
Greek
→
|
| literaryFunction |
dedicatee of a two-volume work
→
|
| mentionedIn |
Acts of the Apostles
→
Gospel of Luke → |
| nameMeaning |
friend of God
→
lover of God → |
| possibleRole |
literary patron of Luke
→
symbolic figure representing a lover of God → |
| possibleSocialStatus |
Roman official
→
high-status individual → |
| purposeOfAddress |
to provide certainty about taught things
→
|
| relationshipToAuthor |
recipient of Luke’s orderly account
→
|
| religiousTradition |
Christianity
→
|
| roleInText |
addressee of Luke–Acts prefaces
→
|
| textualStatus |
otherwise unknown outside Luke–Acts
→
|
| traditionViews |
may be a real historical person
→
may be a symbolic addressee representing all believers → |
Referenced by (5)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Dorotheus
→
|
collaboratedWith |
|
Acts of the Apostles
→
|
dedicatedTo |
|
Theophilus
("most excellent Theophilus")
→
|
describedAs |
|
Theo
→
|
shortFormOf |
|
Cyril of Alexandria
("Theophilus of Alexandria")
→
|
succeeded |