Transitioning Authority and Paul's Farewell Address

Paul’s discourse in Acts 20 contains many elements of the ancient farewell address, but with one glaring exception—the actual death of the apostle. This forces the question, why does the speech take on the form of a farewell address only to eliminate the most distinct feature? An examination of Jewish farewell addresses reveals that a fundamental aspect of these discourses is to signal the transition of authority and this function explains the usage of the form in Acts 20.