{It seemed good to me also} (edoxe kamoi). A natural
conclusion and justification of Luke's decision to write his
narrative. They had ample reason to draw up their narratives.
Luke has more reason to do so because of his fuller knowledge and
wider scope. {Having traced the course of all things}
(par(886b)olouth(886b)oti p(8373)in). The perfect active participle of a
common verb of the ancient Greek. Literally it means to follow
along a thing in mind, to trace carefully. Both meanings occur
abundantly in the ancient Greek. Cadbury (Appendix C to
_Beginnings of Christianity_, Vol. II, pp. 489ff.) objects to the
translation "having traced" here as implying research which the
word does not here mean. Milligan (_Vocabulary_) is somewhat
impressed by this argument. See my discussion of the point in
Chapter XVI of _Studies in the Text of the N.T._ (The
Implications in Luke's Preface) where the point is made that Luke
here claims fulness of knowledge before he began to write his
book. He had the traditions of the eyewitnesses and ministers of
the word and the narratives previously drawn up. Whether he was a
personal contemporary with any or all of these events we do not
know and it is not particularly pertinent. He had _mentally_
followed along by the side of these events. Galen used this verb
for the investigation of symptoms. Luke got himself ready to
write before he began by full and accurate knowledge of the
subject. Akrib(9373) (accurately) means going into minute details,
from akron, the topmost point. And he did it {from the first}
(an(9374)hen). He seems to refer to the matters in Chapters
 1:5-2:52 , the Gospel of the Infancy. {In order} (kathex(8873)).
Chronological order in the main following Mark's general outline.
But in  9:51-18:10  the order is often topical. He has made
careful investigation and his work deserves serious
consideration. {Most excellent Theophilus} (kratiste
Theophile). The name means god-lover or god-beloved. He may have
been a believer already. He was probably a Gentile. Ramsay holds
that "most excellent" was a title like "Your Excellency" and
shows that he held office, perhaps a Knight. So of Felix ( Ac
23:26 ) and Festus ( Ac 26:25 ). The adjective does not occur in
the dedication in  Ac 1:1 .