The "Children of Abraham" in Luke-Acts

This essay investigates the use and meaning of the expression “Abraham’s son/daughter” in the pericopes assigned to the 'special material' (L) of Luke. First, the three pericopes usually assigned to L are examined in order to establish the meaning of this particular expression. Being a “child of Abraham” is a title that qualifies someone to achieve a certain privilege or, in the protagonist’s viewpoint, is a reason for requesting such a privilege. Afterwards, a survey of the references to Abraham and his offspring in Luke-Acts is presented, illustrating that Luke attributed a particular significance to kinship with Abraham. The conclusion is that references to the “children of Abraham” in the L material rather seem to reveal Luke’s own redactional hand, and do not stem from the pre-Lukan source.