As far as Luke was concerned, the conversion of Paul was the single most important result of the “Stephen affair.” Its importance is borne out by his threefold repetition of the story here, in 22:5–16, and in 26:12–18. Luke’s authority must have been Paul himself. The three accounts differ in detail, and it is not easy to say to what extent this was due to Paul—or to Luke—though we may be reasonably certain that some, at least, of the variations were Paul’s as he adapted the later accounts to his different audiences (see further the disc. on 21:37–22:5). In any case, the central fact of a climactic experience is established beyond any doubt in Paul’s own writings (1 Cor. 9:1; 15:8f.; 2 Cor. 4:6; Gal. 1:12–17; Phil. 3:4–10; 1 Tim. 1:12–16).

The story is told as though what happened had obj…