Acts 3:22-23 to Leviticus 23:29

OT Source(s):

Leviticus 23:29 ("Anyone who does not deny himself on that day shall be cut off from his people")

Source: Beale & Carson (eds.), Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (2007); Theoretical

Reference Type: Allusion

Connection Method(s): Redemptive-Historical Progression + Analogy

Significance: Acts 3:23's "cut off" language (exolethreuthēsetai ek tou laou, "will be utterly destroyed from the people") conflates Deut 18:15-20's "cut off" penalty for rejecting the prophet-like-Moses with the Day of Atonement "cut off" formula from Lev 23:29. The LXX term exolethreuthēsetai ("will be utterly destroyed/cut off") in Acts 3:23 is stronger than the standard Deuteronomic karath (simply "cut off"), and the intensified form corresponds more closely to the Levitical ve-nikhrethah hanefesh hahi ("that soul shall be cut off") of Lev 23:29. This conflation is typical of Second Temple citation practice and suggests Peter is applying not only the Deuteronomic prophet-text but the broader Levitical principle of covenant exclusion for those who fail to respond to God's appointed means of grace. The connection is Theoretical as it is not documented in public-domain cross-references but identified through textual analysis.