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THE ACTS
OF
THE APOSTLES EDITED RV
PROFESSOR J. U. LUMBY. III).

GENERAL EDITOR
J, J. S, PEROWNE J) .0-
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THE ACTS
OF
THE APOSTLES

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Dean of Peterborough.

THE ACTS

OF

THE APOSTLES
WfTH MAPS, INTRODUCTfON AND NOTES.

BY

J. RAWSON LUMBY, D.D.,
NORRISIAN professor _of divinity.
^torary of

EDITED FOX TWE SYNDICS OF THE UNIWERSITY PRESS.

CDam6r%e :
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.
1890
[All Eights reserved.']

Camfcrftifrtr :
PRINTED DY 0. J. CLAY, M.A. & SONS,
AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

PREFACE
BY THE GENERAL EDITOR.

THE General Editor of The Cambridge Bible for
Schools thinks it right to say that he does not hold
himself responsible either for the interpretation of
particular passages which the Editors of the several
Books have adopted, or for any opinion on points of
doctrine that they may have expressed. In the New
Testament more especially questions arise df the
deepest theological import, on which the ablest and
most conscientious interpreters have differed and
always will differ. His aim has been in all such
cases to leave each Contributor to the unfettered
exercise of his own judgment, only taking care that
mere controversy should as far as possible be avoided.
He has contented himself chiefly with a careful
revision of the notes, with pointing out omissions, with

6 PREFACE.
suggesting occasionally a reconsideration of some
question, or a fuller treatment of difficult passages,
and the like.
Beyond this he has not attempted to interfere,
feeling it better that each Commentary should have
its own individual character, and being convinced
that freshness and variety of treatment are more
than a compensation for any lack of uniformity in
the Series.
Deanery, Peterborough.

CONTENTS.

PAGES
I. Introduction. i. Design of the Author  ix
ii. The Title  xv
iii. The Author  xvi
iv. Date of the work  xxiv
v. The Sources of the Narrative  xxxi
vi. On some alleged difficulties in the character of
the Narrative in the Acts  xxxiii
II. Text and Notes  i — 380
III. Index  381—387
Maps : — Palestine  loface Title
St Paul's First Missionary Journey  tofacep. 155
St Paul's Second Missionary Journey  to face p. 200
,, Third „  tofacep. 146

The Text adopted in this Edition is that of Dr Scrivener's
Cambridge Paragraph Bible. A few variations from the ordi
nary Text, chiefly in the spelling of certain words, and in the
use of italics, will be noticed. For the principles adopted by
Dr Scrivener as regards the printing of the Text see his Intro
duction to the Paragraph BibU, published by the Cambridge
University Press.

INTRODUCTION.

DESIGN OF THE AUTHOR.

The writer of the Acts of the Apostles sets forth, in his intro
ductory sentences, that the book is meant to be a continuation
of a " former treatise." It is addressed to a certain " Theophi
lus,'' and since, among the other books ofthe New Testament, the
third Gospel is written to a person of the same name, it is natural
to take these compositions to be the work of the same author,
and the unvarying tradition of antiquity has ascribed both works
to St Luke. Leaving however, for the present, the consideration
of this tradition, and turning to the contents of the book, we
find that the author describes his earlier work as a "treatise of
all that Jesus began both to do and teach until the day in which
He was taken up" (Acts i. I, 2). This description accords
exactly with the character and contents of St Luke's Gospel,
and, moreover, the opening sentences of the Acts are an ex
pansion and explanation of the closing sentences of that Gospel.
They define more completely the "promise ofthe Father" there
mentioned, they tell us how long the risen Jesus remained with
His disciples, they describe the character of His communications
during the forty days, and they make clear to us, what otherwise
would have been difficult to understand, viz. how it came to
pass that the disciples, when their Master had been taken from
them, "returned to Jerusalem with great joy" (Luke xxiv. 52).
When we read in the Acts of the two men in white apparel
who testified to the desolate gazers that the departed Jesus was
to come again as He had been seen to go into heaven, we can
comprehend that they would recall His words (John xiv. 28!

INTRODUCTION.

"I go away and come again unto you. If ye loved me ye
would rejoice because I said, I go unto the Father," and that
they would be strengthened to act upon them.
Thus, from the way in which this second account of the
Ascension supplements and explains the former brief notice in
the Gospel, it seems natural to accept the Acts as a narrative
written with the purpose of continuing the history of the
Christian Church after Christ's ascension, in the same manner
in which the history of Christ's own deeds had been set forth in
the Gospel. Now the writer declares that his object in the first
work had been to explain what "Jesus began to do and teach."
He had not, any more than the other Evangelists, aimed at
giving a complete life of Jesus, but only an explanation of those
principles of His teaching, and those great acts in His life, on
which the foundations of the new society were to be laid. If
then the second book be meant to carry on the history in the
same spirit in which it had been commenced, we shall expect to
find in it no more than what the disciples began to do and teach
when Jesus was gone away from them. And such unity of
purpose, and consequently of treatment, is all the more to be
looked for because both books are written to the same person.
That the Acts of the Apostles is a work of this character, a
history of beginnings only, will be apparent from a very brief ex
amination of its contents. We are told by the writer that Christ,
before His ascension, marked out the course which should be
taken> in the publication of the Gospel. " Ye shall be witnesses
unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria,
and unto the uttermost parts of the earth." Taking these
words for his theme the author directs his labour to shew in
what manner the teaching of the Apostles was begun in each of
these appointed fields of labour, and he does no more. He men
tions the eleven Apostles by name at the outset, to imply thereby
that each one took his due share in the work of evangeliza
tion, though it will not come within the historian's purpose to
describe that share. And with like brevity he relates how the
Apostolic band was completed by the election of Matthias into
the place of Judas* This done, he turns to his proper theme

INTRODUCTION.

which is what Jesus began to do through the Spirit after His
ascension. He tells us how the disciples, filled with the Holy
Ghost, preached in Jerusalem until it was declared by the lips
of their adversaries (Acts v. 28) that the city was filled with their
doctrine. After this commencement we hear but little of the
work done in Jerusalem. The author's next step is. to relate
how from the Holy City the mission of the disciples was ex
tended into Judaea and Samaria. To make this intelligible he
found it needful to describe with some detail the events which
led to the death of Stephen, and before that to point out the
position which the first martyr held in the new society. And as
the defence which Stephen made before the Jewish rulers forms
what may be called the Apology to the Jews for the universalism
of Christianity, we have the argument of that speech given at
some length. The time had arrived when the Gospel was to be
published to others than Jews, and we can see from the charges
laid against Stephen that this further spread of their labours
had been dwelt upon in the addresses of the Christian teachers.
Blasphemous words spoken against the Temple and the Law would
be but a vague accusation were it not explained by the defence
which was made in reply to it. From this defence we can see
that the provocation which had roused the Jews against Stephen
was the doctrine that God was the God not of the Jews only, but
also of the Gentiles, and that His worship was no longer to be
restricted to any particular locality as heretofore. To prove to his
hearers that this was shewn in their own history and taught by
their own prophets, Stephen points out that it was not in the
Holy Land, to which they attached such sanctity, that God first
appeared to Abraham, but in Mesopotamia ; that God was with
him also in Haran, and that when He had brought "the father of
the faithful" into Canaan, He gave no permanent possession
therein either to him or to his descendants for many generations.
Yet though the people of Israel were for a long time strangers
in Egypt God was with them there. He blessed them so that
they multiplied exceedingly, and manifested His constant care of
them in their slavery until at last He sent them a deliverer in
Moses. This prophet God had trained first in Pharaoh's court

INTRODUCTION.

and then in the land of Midian, and had manifested His presence
to him in a special manner in the wilderness of Mount Sinai,
and all these tokens of God's care for His people had been
shewn without any preference on the part of Jehovah for one
place above another.
The mention of Moses leads the speaker into a brief di
gression, in which he compares the rebellious behaviour of the
Israelites towards their deliverer, with the hostile disposition of
the Jews towards Jesus. But he soon resumes the thread of his
argument, and points out that the Tabernacle, and with it the
visible sign of God's presence among His chosen people, was
moving from place to place for forty years in the wilderness, and
that when the people came into Canaan there was no thought of
a fixed abode for the Tabernacle until the days of David : that
then God did not at once permit the building of the Temple
which that king designed to raise, and when Solomon was
allowed to build God's house, yet, as Stephen reminds his
hearers, the voice of their prophets still testified that the Most
High did not dwell in temples made with hands, but sat in
heaven, while earth was as His footstool, and that He was the
Maker and Preserver not of one race, but of all men. This
language, enforcing, from a review of their own history and pro
phecies, the position which Stephen had taken up in the defence
of the new doctrine, and rather going beyond, than defending
himself against, the accusation of his opponents, roused their
indignation, and, apparently perceiving this, the speaker con
cludes his defence not with a peroration, but with a solemn
rebuke, in which he says that, with all their zeal for the Law
they have not kept the true spirit of that heaven-sent deposit of
which they had been made the guardians., Provoked still more
by such a declaration the crowd breaks out into a furious rage,
and by stoning Stephen and persecuting all who adhered to his
cause, endeavours to stop the spread of the Christian doctrines,
but these persecutions become the cause of a still wider propa
gation of the new teaching and effect the very object to which
the Jews were so strongly opposed.
This is the longest speech contained in the Acts, and the

INTRODUCTION.

great prominence given to it by the author seems to harmonize
with what we judge to be his general design. For this address
was the first defence of the wider extension of the preaching
of the disciples, and on such initiatory stages of the movement
it is after the author's manner to dwell.
He next proceeds with the history of the propagation of
Christ's doctrine in Judaea and Samaria, and as if to indicate at
once that the message was now to be spread to the farthest
corners of the earth, Philip's mission to the Ethiopian eunuch
is mentioned that we may be informed concerning the firstfruits
of the faith in Africa ; but the story is carried no farther, nor have
we any after-record concerning Philip, except the notice (xxi. 8)
which seems to imply that he made his home for the future
in Caesarea, where the population would be mainly Gentiles.
Saul's conversion and Peter's visit to Cornelius may be called
companion pictures meant to display the two lines of activity by
which the conversion of the Gentiles was to be brought about.
The one mission, initiated by St Peter, was to those among the
heathen who, like the centurion of Caesarea, had been already
led to some partial knowledge of God, through the study of
the Jewish Scriptures. On the other hand the great Apostle of
the Gentiles was sent forth to his allotted work among those who
were to be turned (Acts xiv. 15) " from their vanities to serve
the living God which made heaven and earth and all things
therein." As soon as Peter's share in the beginning of this mission is
concluded, and he has twice testified concerning it (xi. 4 — 17,
xv. 7 — 11) that his action had been prompted by a Divine
revelation, and that the propriety of what he had done was
confirmed by the witness of the Holy Spirit, our historian dis
misses him, the most energetic of the original twelve, from his
narrative, because the other beginnings of Gospel-preaqhing
among the heathen can be better explained by following the
career of St Paul, the chief pioneer of the Christian faith as it
spread to the ends of the earth. Still through the whole of what
is related concerning the labours of that Apostle, we leam only
of the founding of Churches and societies, and of the initial

INTRODUCTION

steps of the Christian work in the places which he visited. We
are indeed told that St Paul proposed, some time after the
completion of their first missionary journey (xv. 36), that he and
Barnabas should go and visit those cities in which they had
already preached the word of the Lord. But that proposal
came to naught, and the Apostle with Silas then visited only
Lystra and Derbe, and that apparently for the sole purpose of
taking Timothy as a companion in his further labours. After
this visit, the account of which is summed up in three verses, the
whole of the second journey was made over new ground. Troas,
Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens and Corinth were visited, and
probably in all these places, and in others unnamed, the begin
nings of a Christian society were established. We know that it
was so in three of these cities. In returning by sea to Jeru
salem the Apostle touched at Ephesus, but remained there so
short a time that his real work in that metropolis can hardly be
dated from this visit. We are only told that he entered into the
Synagogue and reasoned with the Jews (xviii. 19), no mention
being made of what was his special work, the mission to the
Gentiles. But on his third journey, as though he had foreseen
how "great a door and effectual" was opened to him in Ephesus,
he chose that city as the first scene of his settled labours, and
continued there for the greater part of three years, and became
in that time, we cannot doubt, the founder of the Asiatic
Churches of the Apocalypse. From thence he passed over to
Macedonia, but though this journey is noticed there is no word
told us concerning the Churches which had been founded there
by St Paul and his companions on the previous visit, nor con
cerning his labours in Greece whither he afterwards went. Nay
even though he made a special halt on his homeward voyage at
Philippi, where was a congregation which above all others was
a deep joy to the Apostle, we have not a detail recorded of the
condition in which he found the brethren whom he so much
loved. Very little had been said concerning the results of the
former stay at Troas (xvi. 8—1 1) to indicate whether any Chris
tian brotherhood had been established there ; and it may be that
the missionaries were forbidden ofthe Spirit at that time to preach

INTRODUCTION.

in Troas as in the rest of Asia. For this reason, it seems, the
historian dwells more at length (xx. 6 — r2) on the residence of
St Paul in that city during his third journey, in such wise as to
make clear to us that here too the work of Christ was now begun.
After that, during the whole course of the voyage, with the ex
ception of the invitation ofthe Ephesian elders to Miletus and the
solemn parting address given to them there, in which we hear
repeated echoes of the language of St Paul's Epistles, there
is no mention of any stay at places where the work of Evan
gelization had already commenced. And when Jerusalem is
reached the imprisonment speedily follows, and the writer
afterwards records merely those stages in the Apostle's history
which led up to his visit to Rome. He might have told us
much of the two years passed in Caesarea, during which St
Paul's friends were not forbidden "to minister or to come unto
him." He might have told us much of those two other years
of the Roman imprisonment, of which he knew the termination.
But this entered not into his plan of writing. So he has made
no attempt to write a history of St Paul, any more than of
St Peter. As soon as we have heard that the message of the
Gospel was published first to the Jews and then to the
Gentiles in the empire-city of the world in that age, the author
pauses from his labour. He had completed the task which he
undertook : he had described what Jesus, through His messen
gers, began to do and teach, after His ascension into heaven, for
in reaching Rome the message of the Gospel has potentially
come " to the uttermost parts of the earth."

II. THE TITLE.
It will be clear from what has been already said of its contents
that the title, by which the book is known to us, can hardly have
been given to it by its author. The work is certainly not " The
Acts of the Apostles." It contains no detailed account of the
work of any of the Apostles except Peter and Paul. John is
mentioned on three occasions, but he appears rather as the com
panion of Peter than as the doer of any special act by himself.

INTRODUCTION.

Of James the son of Zebedee we have no notice except of
his execution by Herod, while much more space is devoted
to Stephen and Philip, who were not Apostles, than to him ; and
the same remark applies to the notices of Timothy and Silas.
We may conclude then that the title, as we now have it, was a
later addition. The author (Acts i. i) calls the Gospel "a
treatise " (Xoyor), a term the most general "that could be used ;
and if that work were styled by him " the first treatise," the Acts
would most naturally receive the name of " the second treatise."
Or it may be that the form of title given in the Cod. Sinaiticus
was its first appellation. There the book is called simply
"Acts," and for a while that designation may have been sufficient
to distinguish it from other books. But it was not long before
treatises came into circulation concerning the doings of indi
vidual Aposties and Bishops, and these were known by such
titles as " The Acts of Peter and Paul," " The Acts of Timothy,"
" The Acts of Paul and Thecla," &c. It would become neces
sary, as such literature increased and was circulated, to enlarge
the title of this original volume of "Acts," and from such exi
gency we find in various MSS. different titles given to it,
such as "Acts ofthe Apostles," " Acting of Apostles," "Acts of all
the Apostles," " Acts of the Holy Apostles," with still longer
additions in MSS. of later date.

III. THE AUTHOR.
All the traditions of the early Church ascribe the authorship
of the Acts to the writer ofthe third Gospel, and Eusebius {Hist.
Eccl. II. n) says, "Luke, by race a native of Antioch andbypro-
fession a physician, having associated mainly with Paul and
having companied with the rest of the Apostles less closely, has
left us examples of that healing of souls which he acquired from
them in two inspired books, the Gospel and the Acts of the
Apostles." Eusebius lived about 325 a.d. Before his time
TertuUian, A.D. 200, speaks {De jejuniis, 10) of the descent of
the Holy Ghost upon the Apostles and of Peter going up
to the housetop to pray, as facts mentioned in the com-

INTRODUCTION.

mentary of Luke. Also {De baptismo, io) he says, "We find in
the Acts of the Apostles that they who had received the baptism
of John had not received the Holy Ghost, of which indeed they
had not even heard." Similar quotations could be drawn from
Clement of Alexandria, a little anterior to Tertullian, and also
from Irenaeus, who wrote about a.d. 190. The earliest clear
quotation from the Acts is contained in a letter preserved in
Eusebius {H. E. v. 2) sent by the Churches in the south of Gaul
to the Christians of Asia and Phrygia and written A.D. 177,
concerning the persecutions of the Church in Gaul. Alluding
to some who had been martyred there, the writers say, " They
prayed for those who arranged their torments as did Stephen,
that perfect martyr, 'Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.'" In
still earlier writings there may be allusions to the Acts, but they
are not sufficiently distinct to warrant their insertion as quota
tions. But in the scarcity of writings at this early period we need
not be surprised if a century elapsed after the writing of the book
before we can discover traces of its general circulation. It was
probably completed, as we shall see, between A.D. 60—70, and if
in a hundred years from that time the Christians of Europe can
quote from it as a book well known to their brethren in Asia we
may feel quite sure that it had been in circulation, and generally
known among Christians, for a large portion of the intervening
century. Modern critics have doubted the existence of the Acts
at the date when this letter of the Churches of Vienne and
Lyons was written, and have argued thus : "The tradition of
St Stephen's martyrdom, and the memory of his noble sayings,
may well have remained in the Church, or have been recorded
in writings then current, from one of which indeed eminent
critics conjecture that ¦ the author of Acts derived his ma
terials1." As if it were easier to admit on conjecture the exist
ence of writings for which no particle, of evidence is forth
coming, than to allow, in agreement with most ancient tradition,
that "the Acts" was composed at the date to which, on the face
of his work, the writer lays claim.
In his book the author makes no mention of himself by
1 Supernatural Religion, in. 25.

INTRODUCTION

name, though in the latter part of his narrative he very fre
quently employs the pronoun "we," intimating thereby that he
was present at the events which in that portion of his work he is
describing. The passages in which this pronoun is found (xvi.
io — 17; xx. 5 — 38; xxi. 1 — 18; xxvii.; xxviii.) deserve special
notice. The author ofthe Acts, by his allusion in the opening
words to his "former treatise," leads us to the belief that in this
second work he is about again to use material which he gathered
from those who had been eyewitnesses and ministers in the scenes
which he describes. Much of this material he has clearly cast
into such a shape as fitted his purpose, and much which was
no doubt at hand for him he did not use because of the special
aim which in his treatise he had in view. It is very difficult to
believe that an author who has in other parts systematically
shaped other men's communications, many of which would
naturally be made to him in the first person, into a strictly his
torical narrative, should in four places of his work have for
gotten to do this, and have left standing the "we" of those persons
from whom he received his information. It seems much more
natural to infer that the passages in question are really the con
tributions of the writer himself and that, on the occasions to
which they refer, he was himself a companion of St Paul. For
whoever the writer may have been he was neither neglectful nor
ignorant of the rules of literary composition, as may be seen by
the opening words both of the Gospel and the Acts.
But it has been alleged that anyone who had been the com
panion of St Paul at those times, to which reference is made by
the passages we are considering, would have had much more
and greater things to tell us than the writer ofthe Acts has here
set down. This would be quite true if the author had set out
with the intention of writing a life of St Paul. But, as has been
observed before, this is exactly what he did not do. His book
is a description of the beginnings of Christianity. And with this
in mind we can see that the matters on which he dwells are
exactly those which we should expect him to notice. In the
first passage (xvi. 10 — 17) he describes the events which were
connected wilh the planting of the first Christian Church in

INTRODUCTION.

Europe at Philippi, and though the word "we" only occurs in the
verses cited above, it would be ridiculous to suppose that he,
who wrote those words implying a personal share in what was
done, was not a witness of all that took place while Paul and
Silas remained in Philippi. A like remark applies to the second
passage (xx. 5—38). Here too the word "we" is not found after
verse 1 S where we read " we came to Miletus." But surely having
been with St Paul up to this point, we have no reason to think
that the writer was absent at the time of that earnest address
which the Apostle gave to the Ephesian elders whom he sum
moned to Miletus to meet him ; an address which is exactly in
the style that we should, from his Epistles, expect St Paul to
have used, and which we may therefore judge the writer of the
Acts to have heard from the Apostle's lips,' and in substance to
have faithfully reported.
The next passage (xxi. 1 — 18) brings the voyagers to Jerusalem,
and there the writer represents himself as one who went with St
Paul to meet James and the Christian elders when the Apostle
was about to give an account of his ministry among the Gentiles.
But though after that the story falls again, as a history should,
into the third person, have we any right to conclude from this
that the writer who had come so far with his friend, left him
after he had reached the Holy City ? Surely it is more natural
to suppose that he remained near at hand,, and that we have
in his further narrative the results of his personal observation
and enquiry, especially as when the pronoun "we" again appears
in the document it is (xxvii. 1) to say " it was determined that
we should sail into Italy." The writer who had been the com
panion of St Paul to Jerusalem is at his side when he is to
be sent to Rome. The events intervening had been such that
there was no place for the historian to speak in his own person,
but the moment when he is allowed again to become St Paul's
companion in travel, the personal feature reappears, and the
writer continues to be eyewitness of all that was done till Rome
was reached, and perhaps even till the Apostle was set free, for
he notes carefully the length of time that the imprisonment
lasted. 1—2

INTRODUCTION.

That the writer of the Acts does not mention St Paul's
Epistles is what we should expect. . He was with St Paul, and
not with any of those congregations to which the Epistles were
addressed, while as we have said, the planting of the Church,
and not the further edification thereof was what he set before
him to be recorded in the Acts. Moreover we are not to look
upon St Luke as with St Paul in the same capacity as Timothy,
Silas, or Aristarchus. He was for the Apostle "the beloved
physician"; a Christian brother it is true, but abiding with
St Paul because of his physical needs rather than as a prominent
sharer in his missionary labours.
The passages in question seem to give us one piece of
definite information about their writer. They shew us that
he accompanied St Paul from Troas as far as Philippi, and
there they leave him. But they further shew that it was exactly
in the same region that the Apostle, when returning to Asia for
the last time, renewed the interrupted companionship, which
from that time till St Paul's arrival in Rome seems only to have
been interrupted while he was under the charge of the Roman
authorities. If we suppose, as the title given to him warrants us
in doing, that Theophilus was some official, perhaps in Roman
employ ; that he lived (and his name is Greek) in the region of
Macedonia ; then the third Gospel may very well have been
written for his use by St Luke while he remained in Macedonia,
and the Acts subsequently when St Paul had been set free. In
this way addressing one who would know how the writer came
to Macedonia with St Paul, and went away again as that
Apostle's companion, the places in which the author has allowed
" we " to stand in his narrative are exactly those in which the
facts of the case would dictate its retention.
Nor is this personal portion of the writer's narrative so unim
portant as has been alleged by some critics. The founding of
the Church - at Philippi may be called the recorded birthday of
European Christendom. And for the writer of the Acts it was
not unimportant to tell us that a Christian Church was es
tablished at Troas, when he had said in an earlier place that on
a former visit they were forbidden of the Spirit to preach the

INTRODUCTION.

word in Asia. Who moreover can reckon the address at
Miletus an unimportant document in early Church history?
Does it not shew us how the prescient mind of the Apostle
saw the signs of the times, the germs of those heretical
opinions which he lived to find more fully developed, and
against which he afterwards had to warn Timothy and Titus,
against which too almost all the letters of the other Apostles
are more or less directed? And how the 'Apostle of the Gen
tiles ' was brought to Rome was a subject which could not but
find full place in a history of the beginnings of the Gospel.
For though the writer of the Acts fully acknowledges the exist
ence of a Christian Church in Rome before St Paul's arrival,
it was a part of his purpose to shew us how that Church was
for the first time strengthened by the personal guidance and
direction of one of the Apostles.
The letters of St Paul bear their witness to St Luke's pre
sence with the Apostle when he was a prisoner in Rome; for
in the Epistle to Philemon, written from Rome during this first
imprisonment, the writer sends to Philemon the salutation of
Luke (ver. 24) as one of his fellow-labourers, and in the Epistle
to the Colossians (iv. 14) he is also mentioned as "Luke the
beloved physician." Indeed it seems very probable that St Luke
afterwards continued to be the companion of St Paul, for in a
later Epistle (2 Tim. iv. n) we find him saying, "Only Luke is
with me."
That " the beloved physician" was the writer both of the Gospel
and of the Acts may perhaps also be inferred from the use which
the author makes of technical medical terms in his description
of diseases, as in the account of Simon's wife's mother (Luke
iv. 38), in the story of the woman with the issue of blood
(viii. 43, 44) and in his narration of the agony of Christ
(xxii. 44). Also in the description of the cripple at the Temple
gate (Acts iii. 7), in the notice of the death of Herod Agrippa
(xii. 23), and when he writes of the blindness of Elymas (xiii. 1 1),
and of the sickness of the father of Publius in Melita (xxviii. 8).
A comparison of the Greek phraseology of the Gospel and
of the Acts leads also to the conclusion that the two books

INTRODUCTION.

are from the same hand. It should further be noticed that
there are more than fifty words used in the Gospel and also in
the Acts which are not found elsewhere in the New Testament.
This work, as well as the Gospel, being anonymous, attempts
have been made to refer the authorship to some other person
than St Luke, seeing that it is only assigned to him by tradition,
and his name never appears in the story as do the names of
other actors in the work. Some critics have suggested that
Timothy was the author of those sections in which the plural
pronoun "we" occurs, because in the letters addressed to the
Corinthians, Thessalonians and Philippians, St Paul mentions
Timothy with great affection as his fellow-preacher. It is
argued that whoever wrote the narrative of the Acts must have'
been in very close relation to St Paul at the time when he
visited Corinth and Thessalonica and Philippi, and that the
name of such a man would not have been omitted, at all events,
from the opening greetings of all these Epistles. But we can see
from Acts xx. 4 — 5 that there was an intimate companion of St
Paul, who for some reason remained at his side when the others
could leave him, and who there states expressly that he was
with the Apostle when Timothy had gone away. And the sug
gestion of those who think that Luke the physician was taken
with him by St Paul because of the bodily infirmities under
which the Apostle laboured, and that it is in this capacity,
rather than as a fellow-preacher, that St Luke was in such close
attendance during the missionary journeys, is worthy of con
sideration. If this were so, Luke, though the writer of the diary,
yet would not come so prominently before the Churches in the
various cities which were visited, as those companions of St
Paul who were fellow-missionaries, and this would explain why
he is omitted in the greetings of the letters afterwards written
by St Paul to the newly-founded congregations. Moreover, the
physician would be the one person who would naturally remain
in attendance, when the fellow-preachers had gone forth on their
several ways.
Nor is there any better ground for supposing, as some have
done, that Silas is the narrator who writes in the first person.

INTRODUCTION.

We have only to look at Acts xv. 22, where, in the portion of the
narrative which, according to this hypothesis, must have been
written by Silas, he is spoken of as a " chief man among the
brethren," to see that Silas could not be the writer of such a
notice concerning himself.
And the argument which would make Silas (Le. Silvanus),
and Luke (i.e. Lucanus), two names belonging to one and the
same person, because the one is derived from silva = a wood,
and the other from lucus=s. grove, and so their sense is
cognate, does not merit much consideration. It is said in
support of this view that Silas and Luke are never mentioned
together. But it is plain from the story of the preaching and
arrest of Paul and Silas at Philippi, that the writer who there
speaks in the first person plural was a different person from Silas
(cf. Acts xvi. 16 — 19). And with regard to the cognate signification
of the two names it should be borne in mind that when such
double appellations were given to the same person they were not
derived from the same language. Cephas and Thomas are
Aramaic, while Peter and Didymus are Greek. But Silvanus
and Lucanus have both a Latin origin.
With still less ground has it been suggested that Titus was
the author of these personal sections and that some later writer
incorporated them in his work. Titus was with St Paul in his
missionary journeys, as we know from the second Epistle to the
Corinthians, but to accept him as author of "the Acts" would be
to prefer a theory of modern invention before Ihe tradition which,
though not capable of exact verification, has the voice of long
antiquity in its favour. We are therefore inclined to give the
weight which it deserves to the ancient opinion, and to accept
the traditional view of the origin of both the Gospel and the
Acts, rather than any of the modern suppositions, which are
very difficult to be reconciled with the statements in the Acts
and the Epistles, and which are the mere offspring of critical
imaginations.

xxiv INTRODUCTION.
IV. DATE OF THE WORK.
That the writer was one who lived amid the events with
which he deals will be clear to any one who will consider how
he connects his narrative with contemporary history, and that in
no case can he be proved to have fallen into error. We find him
speaking of Gamaliel (Acts v. 34) exactly as what we know from
other sources about that doctor of the Law would lead us to ex
pect a contemporary to speak. In the same place he deals with
historical events in connection with Theudas and Judas, and it
has been shewn in the notes that there is great probability that
in all he says he is correct, for he speaks of the latter of these
rebels with more exactness than is found in Josephus, while the
former has probably been unnamed by that writer because the
rebellion in which Theudas was concerned was comprised under
the general description that he gives of the numerous outbreaks
with which Judaea was at that time disturbed.
Again, the writer of the Acts brings Caesarea before us
exactly in the condition in which we know it to have been under
Roman government in the period before the destruction of Je
rusalem. He alludes (xi. 28) to the famine in the days of
Claudius Caesar, in language which only one who had personal
knowledge of the event would have used. He gives a notice-of
Herod Agrippa which accords with Josephus in most minute
details, and which shews that the writer of the description was
most intimately acquainted with the circumstances which at
tended that monarch's death. In his mention of Cyprus he makes
it clear by the designation which he uses for the Roman governor
of that island that he was conversant with all the circumstances
of its government, which had but recently undergone a change,
as is pointed out in the notes on St Paul's visit to Cyprus.
Of the same character is his very precise notice of the magiste
rial titles in Thessalonica and Malta. He employs in his narra
tive about these places no general expression, signifying "ruler"
or "chief man," but gives the special names of the officials there
using words far from common, and which modern investigations
have proved to be of that precision which bespeaks a personal

INTRODUCTION.

acquaintance with the condition of the districts to which the
writer refers.
It is noteworthy too that he introduces at Ephesus the burn
ing of the books of magic exactly at that place where, almost
above any city in the whole of Asia, such acts were held in the
greatest repute. So too the whole dialogue which he records
when Paul was rescued by the chief captain in Jerusalem is full
of incidental allusions to the tumults and disorders with which
Judaea was afflicted at the time, allusions which would hardly
have been made, and certainly not so naturally and without all
comment, by a writer who put together the story of the Acts at
a time long after the Apostles were dead. The mention of the
large force told off to convey Paul to Caesarea is just one of those
notices which a later writer would never have invented. A body
guard of four hundred and seventy men for the conveyance of a
single prisoner would have seemed out of all proportion except
to one who when he wrote knew that the whole land was in
fested with bands of outlaws, and that these desperadoes could
be hired for any outrage at the shortest notice.
In the same way Felix, Festus and Agrippa are brought
before us in exact harmony with what we learn of their history
and characters from other sources, and with none of that descrip
tion which a late writer would have been sure to introduce, while
a contemporary would know it to be unnecessary. Even the
speech of Tertullus before Felix, both by what it says and what
it omits, in its words of flattery, is evidence that we are dealing
with the writing of one who lived through the events of which
he has given us the history.
But it is in the frequent notices of Jerusalem that the most
cogent evidence is to be found for the date of the writer. That
city was destroyed by the Romans A. d. 70, but in the whole of
the Acts there is no single word to indicate that the author of
this book knew anything of that event or even of the causes
whose operation brought it about. The city is always mentioned
as still in its grandeur ; the Temple services and sacrifices con
tinue to be observed ; at the great feasts the crowds of strangers
assemble as the Law enjoined, and among its population the

INTRODUCTION.

Scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees act the same parts which
they do in the Gospel histories ; localities such as Solomon s
porch, and the field Akeldama, the tower of Antonia and its near
neighbourhood to the Temple, are spoken of as though still ex
isting and as well-marked spots ; the synagogues erected in the
city for the foreign Jews are mentioned, and the writer speaks of
them as places which would be well known to his readers.
Annas and Caiaphas and Ananias are to him no characters re
moved by long years of past history, but recent holders of office
in the city which was still standing in all security. These features,
so many and so various, of contemporary knowledge mark the
Acts as a book which must have been written before the over
throw of Jerusalem, and as the narrative terminates about the
year 63 A. D., we conclude that its composition must have been
completed very soon after that date, and probably not later than
A.D. 66. About the latter year St Paul was martyred at Rome,
and had the writer of the Acts known of that event it is very
difficult to imagine that he should have made no allusion to it in
such passages as those in which the Apostle declares his ex
pectation of death and his readiness to suffer in the cause of
Christ But not only does the writer of the Acts move easily in his
narrative as if amid contemporary history, and give notices of
persons and places like one to whom actual experience in what
he writes about makes his footing sure, but he. has also left an
undesigned testimony to the date at which he wrote in the
character of his narrative. We know that before the end of the
first century the Christian Church was troubled by the rise of
much false doctrine. In the New Testament we have a few
allusions to false teachers, as when it is said of Hymenaeus and
Alexander (1 Tim. i. 19, 20) that they "have made shipwreck con
cerning the faith," and (2 Tim. ii. 17, 18) of Hymenasus and
Philetus, that they "have erred concerning the truth." But from
other sources we learn much more than from Holy Writ con
cerning these first heretical teachers. The earliest and most
prominent among them were the Gnostics, who derived their
name from the pretensions which they made to superior know-

INTRODUCTION.

ledge {gnosis). This knowledge, as they taught, distinguished the
more elevated among mankind from the vulgar, for whom faith
and traditional opinion were said to be sufficient. These teachers
also perverted "the Scriptures by great license in the use of
allegorical explanation ; they held that from God had emanated
generations of spiritual beings, whom they named AZons, and
who, from the description given of them, are seen to be imper
sonations of the Divine attributes. By the Gnostics matter was
declared to be evil, but superior knowledge could enable men
either by asceticism to become superior to it, or if they indulged
in excesses, to do so without harm. These heretics also denied
the resurrection of the body. One of their number, Cerinthus,
taught that Christ was one of the ^Eons, and that he descended
upon the man Jesus at His baptism, and gave Him the power of
working miracles, but departed from Him before His crucifixion.
There were many other forms assumed by their various heretical
doctrines, but what has been said will be a sufficient notice of
their character for us to see how free from all knowledge of such
speculations was the writer of the Acts. He mentions the op
position of the Judaizing Christians, those of the Circumcision,
and he records in many places the violent assaults made on the
first missionaries by those sections of the heathen population
who saw that the spread of Christianity would interfere with
their sources of gain, but of Gnosticism in any of its phases he
has never a word, though that kind of teaching was widely
spread before the end of the first century. It is therefore to be
believed that his history was composed before such heretical
teaching had spread, or even made itself much known, or else
we must suppose that the writer, though aware of the existence
of all these errors, has yet been able to compile a narrative of
the early years of the Church without giving us a hint of what
had been developed within her at the time when he wrote. He
has brought forward St Paul speaking at Miletus (xx. 29, 30), "I
know that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in
among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall
men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after
them ;" and yet on such a passage he has given no sign that the

INTRODUCTION.

words of the Apostle had been exactly verified. To suppose that
the writer could thus compose his book and never shew that he
knew of the later course of the history of the Church, if he did
know of it, is quite as difficult as to conceive that he was
aware of the overthrow of the Holy City, and yet, though making
mention of Jerusalem in almost every chapter, he has never let
fall a word in which he intimates his knowledge that the city no
longer existed. The only safe conclusion to which a considera
tion of these characteristics of the Acts can lead us is that the
author wrote as he has done because, at the time when he was
writing, Gnosticism had not been spread abroad, nor was Jeru
salem destroyed.
The absence of any allusions to the writings of St Paul in the
Acts is a piece of the same kind of evidence for the early date
of its composition. Many of the Pauline Epistles were no
doubt written and in the possession of those Churches to which
they were addressed before the composition of the Acts, but
they had not yet been widely circulated, and so were probably
unknown to St Luke. There are, however, some points in
the history, which he has given us, that derive support from
the Epistles. Thus the provision for widows, alluded to Acts
vi. i, was a new feature of social obligation introduced by
Christianity. In the narrative of St Luke we are shewn that
this was one of the earliest cares of the infant Church, and
that it even took precedence of all that we now embrace under
the name of public worship. Consonant with this part of the
early Christian organization are the regulations given by St Paul
to Timothy (i Tim. v. 9) concerning provision for the widows in
the Church over which he was to preside. Again the historian
gives in several places the account of Saul's conversion after" he
had been a persecutor of the Christians ; in entire accord with
this the Apostle speaks of himself (1 Tim. i. 13) as " a blasphemer
and a persecutor, and injurious," but as having " obtained mercy
because he did it ignorantly in unbelief." St Paul tells of his
escape from Damascus (2 Cor. xi. 32) in language which agrees
with what we read in the Acts (ix. 23 — 25). In like manner he
makes mention (Gal. i. 18) of his visit to Jerusalem to see Peter

INTRODUCTION.

and James exactly as St Luke mentions it in the history (Acts ix.
28). We learn from the Acts (xii. 17) that James was president
of the Church in Jerusalem, and with that agrees the testimony
of St Paul (Gal. ii. 9), while the persecutions which the Apostle
underwent in Lystra, Antioch and Iconium, of which the his
torian speaks at some length (Acts xiii., xiv.), are mentioned by
St Paul when he is writing to Timothy, a native ol Lystra (2
Tim.' iii. 10, 11), as matters about which the latter had full
knowledge. So too the letters of St Paul confirm the history in
the. Acts with reference to the sufferings endured by the Apostle
in his mission to Macedonia. Speaking of these sufferings he
reminds the Philippians (i. 30) that their conflict is of the same
kind as they had seen him endure. He alludes also (ii. 22) to
their knowledge of the character of Timothy whom St Luke
mentions as one of St Paul's companions in that journey. And
at an earlier period when writing to the Thessalonians (1 Thess.
i. 6) he makes mention of the great affliction under which they
had received the word of the Gospel, and specially names (ii. 2)
the shameful treatment to which he and his companions had
been subjected at Philippi. Then the teaching recorded at
Athens in which the Apostle points out how men from natural
religion should be led to " seek the Lord if haply they may feel
after Him and find Him " has its counterpart in what is said in
the opening of the Epistle to the Romans. There too St Paul
declares that the invisible things of God, even His eternal power
and Godhead, are clearly seen, being understood by the things
that are made, so that men are without excuse. While the quo
tation from Aratus in that same speech on Mars' Hill is exactly
in the style of St Paul as may be seen from similar quotations
made by him 1 Cor. xv. 33 and Titus i. 12, while no other N. T.
writer is found quoting from the works of heathen authors.
Again both history and letters shew us how St Paul laboured
with his own hands for the support both of himself and those who
were with him. St Luke mentions the working with Aquila and
PrisciUa at Corinth (xviii. 3) and puts a reference to the like
conduct at Ephesus into the Apostle's mouth (xx. 34) when he is
speaking to the elders at Miletus. The passages which confirm

INTRODUCTION.

this narrative in the Epistles wiU be found in I Cor. iv. 12 ; 2 Cor.
xi. 8 — 10 ; 1 Thess. ii. 9 ; 2 Thess. iii. 8 ; while from Rom. xvi. 4
and 2 Tim. iv. 19 we have evidence that these persons whom St
Luke tells us were fellow-workers with the Apostle as tent-
makers were really friends whom he valued highly as brethren
in Christ.
On another point we have similar confirmation of one docu
ment by the others. We know from the Acts how St Paul en
couraged the Gentiles to aid with their substance the poor
Christians in Judsea, and he mentions (Acts xxiv. 17) that it was
to bring some of the alms coUected in answer to his appeals that
he had come to Jerusalem when he was attacked in the Temple.
Writing to the Romans (xv. 25) the Apostle says " Now I go
unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints" and in the next
verse mentions the 'contributions' of Macedonia and Achaia.
We have also a proof (1 Cor. xvi. 1) that such collections were
directed to be made in the churches of Galatia as weU as at
Corinth, and the same subject is mentioned 2 Cor. viii. 1 — 4.
In Acts xix. 21, the historian tells us of St Paul's intention to
visit Rome, and to the Christians there the Apostle writes (Rom.
i. 13) " I would not have you ignorant that oftentimes I have
purposed to come unto you." We know from the Acts very
incidentally (xxvii. 2) that Aristarchus went with St Paul when
he was carried prisoner to Rome. This is confirmed by the
language which the Apostle uses in a letter written during
that imprisonment (Col. ivj 10) where he speaks of Aristarchus as
his fellow-prisoner, a term which might weU be used figuratively
by him to express the devotion of the friend who gave up his
own liberty that he might minister to the venerable prisoner.
Such coincidences of testimony in works written indepen
dently of each other are of the highest value, and could only be
found in writings produced by those who wrote from direct
personal knowledge. So that we are in this way brought to
the conclusion that the narrative of the Acts was composed
before the time when the Episties of St Paul had been brought
into circulation. For there is in the history no notice of the
letters, and yet the details betoken the same freshness, and

INTRODUCTION.

closeness to the events of which they speak, as is seen in the
confessedly contemporary allusions made by St Paul in his
Epistles. There can, therefore, be no great difference in their
date of composition between those Epistles of St Paul from
which we have quoted and St Luke's account in the Acts of the
Apostles. A consideration of these various features of the Acts, — that
the writer makes mention of contemporary secular history as
one who was living among the events of which he speaks ;
that in his work we find no indication that he knew of the fall
of Jerusalem ; that he displays no acquaintance with the here
tical tenets which were rife before the end of the first century ;
that he makes no reference to any of St Paul's Epistles, though
writing as one fully conversant witii the missionary-travels of
that Apostle, — forces us to the conclusion1 that the work was
written at some time between a. D. 63 and A. D. 70, and most
probably about midway between these dates.

V. THE SOURCES OF THE NARRATIVE.
In the preface to the Gospel of St Luke the writer states
definitely that the information which he is about to record for
Theophilus was derived from those "which from the beginning
were eye-witnesses and ministers of the word." And as he him
self was certainly not a disciple of Christ from the first, it was
necessary that in the earlier treatise he should consult others,
and it may have been needful to do so for the greater portion
of what he has there written. But in the later book the sources
of his information are not necessarily of exactly the same kind
as for the Gospel. So that the preface of the Gospel need not
be taken as having reference to the Acts likewise ; and it is
manifest from the passages in which the author in the Acts
speaks in the first person plural that he meant to imply that he
was himself an eye-witness of the events which he is there
describing. What has been said in the notes on iii. 8 about the
Graphic character of the language there used, and of its simi-

INTRODUCTION.

larity in style to the Gospel of St Mark, the vivid narratives of
which have much in common with the acknowledged language
of St Peter, it seems not improbable that the account of the
events at and after the Ascension and of the spread of the
Gospel in Jerusalem (Acts i. — v.) may have been drawn directly
or indirectly from that Apostle's information. We may also
ascribe to the same source all those portions of the narrative in
which St Peter plays a conspicuous part, and of which the
language is markedly of one character. Such portions would
include ix. 32 — xi. 18 and also xii. 1 — 19, much of which could
have come in the first instance from no other lips than those of
Peter himself. From some member of the Hellenistic party, of
whom St Luke would meet many during his travels with St
Paul, (just as we know (xxi. 8) that he dwelt with Philip the
Evangelist many days at Caesarea,) our author probably drew
the whole of that portion of his narrative which relates to the
appointment of the deacons and the accusation, defence, and
death of Stephen (vi. — vii.), as weU as those notices of the after
movements of the Hellenistic missionaries (viii. 1 — 40, xi. 19 —
30, xii. 25) which are found at intervals in the history.
The narrative of Saul's conversion (ix. 1—30) must have
been told by himself, and after xiii. 1 the remainder of the book
deals exclusively with the labours of that Apostle, and as the
writer had abundant opportunities while journeying with St
Paul of hearing all the history of his life before he became his
companion, we cannot suppose that he has recorded anything
of St Paul's doings except what was derived from the informa
tion of that Apostle or his fellow-labourers.
There remain the two historic notices (1) of the rest experi
enced by the Churches of Judaea and Galilee and Samaria
(ix. 31) and (2) of the death of Herod Agrippa (xii. 20 — 23) ;
but of these, if, as we have endeavoured to shew, he were living
amidst the events of which he writes, the author would be aware
from his personal knowledge ; and the natural manner in which
both these incidents are introduced indicates how weU the
writer knew that for his Christian readers as well as for himself
a slight hint would recall the bypast trials of Christ's Church.

INTRODUCTION.

VI. ON SOME ALLEGED DIFFICULTIES IN THE CHARACTER
OF THE NARRATIVE IN THE ACTS.
It has been said in recent criticism on the Acts that the book
represents the Gospel as intended not for Jews only but for
all mankind, in a manner at variance with the teaching of the
Gospels. Those who put forward this objection would assign
the teaching of the universality of the Gospel message to St
Paul alone and would set it down as his development of what
was meant at first to be only a modification of Judaism.
That in the Acts the preaching of the Gospel is represented
as for all nations is certainly true. St Peter says (ii. 39) " The
promise is unto you and to your children and to all that are
afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call." The
accusation laid against Stephen (vi. 14) was that he had said
"Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place and change the
customs which Moses delivered us " and his whole defence
shews that he had preached that not the Jews nor Jerusalem
were any longer to be God's special care, but all men were
now to be embraced in His covenant, while the whole of St
Paul's labours are directed to make of Jews and Gentiles one
worldwide Church of Christ. But the student of the Gospels
need surely find no stumblingblock here. For if we take that
which is on all hands accepted as the most Jewish of the Gos
pels, that of St Matthew, we can see that the universalism of
the Acts is therein foreshadowed from the first, and spoken of
definitely before the close. To God's ancient people His offers
of mercy were made first, and in accordance with this is the
conduct of all the preaching of the Acts, but Gentiles arc no
longer excluded when once Christ has been born. To lay the.
foundations of the Christian Church firmly in the short space
of the ministerial life of its Founder it was needful that the
labours both of Himself and His. disciples should be confined
within a limited range, and directed to a people prepared by
the Old Testament revelation and among whom some were
likely to be ready to hear the words of the Gospel message.

INTRODUCTION.

But while the infant Jesus is in His cradle we see wise men
from the East brought to be His earliest worshippers. The
voice of His herald proclaims that not the natural seed of
Abraham shall of necessity be heirs of the promises, but that
God is able of the very stones (and if so, much more from
among the rest of mankind) to raise up children unto Abra
ham. When the ministry of Christ is begun and He takes up
His abode in the border land of the Gentiles, we are reminded
that it had been made known of old that " the people which
sat in darkness were to see great light, and that light is sprung
up for them that sat in the region and shadow of death."
Then what can be more universal than the benedictions with
which the Sermon on the Mount begins ? The poor in spirit,
the mourners, the meek, the pure, the merciful, these are not
restricted to the Jewish race, and on these it is that Jesus
utters His first blessings. How often too does He shew that
the customs of the Jews were to be done away, the ceremonial
law, the fastings and the sabbaths to be disregarded, while
the moral law was to be widened and deepened so that all
men should learn that they were neighbours one of another?
How often does He select the Samaritans to illustrate His
teaching, and place them before us as those with whom He
was well pleased, while He points out (Matt. viii. io) that in the
Roman centurion there was faith manifested beyond what He
had found in Israel ? It is true that when Jesus first sent out
the twelve (Matt. x. 5) He said unto them "Go not into the
way of the Gentiles " but this was in the same spirit in which
all the teaching of Christianity had its commencement among
the Jews. Yet the Lord who gave the injunction that this
should be so, knew that those to whom the message was first
sent would largely refuse to hear. For He adds to his com
mission the warning that His ministers are going as 'sheep
among wolves,' and foretells that they should be persecuted
from one city to another (Matt. x. 16 — 23), and goes on to
say that His message is to be published far and wide, yea
even proclaimed, as it were, from the housetops. When He
speaks afterwards (Matt. xii. 18 — 21) of His own work in the

INTRODUCTION.

language of Isaiah He quotes "He shall shew judgment to
the Gentiles... and in His name shall the Gentiles trust" and
before the close of that same address He adds those words
which proclaim that not only the ties of race but even those
of family and kindred are to be disregarded in comparison
with the unity of all men in Him " Whosoever shall do the
will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother
and sister and mother."
Think too how he figures the kingdom of God. It is a
tree (Matt. xiii. 32) in whose branches the birds of the air
from all quarters shall come and find a home : it is a net
cast into the wide sea of the world and gathers (xiii. 47) of
every kind of fish ; while the field in which God's seed is to
be sown is not Judaea nor Palestine nor any limited region,
but in His own gracious exposition (xiii. 38) " The field is the
world." He makes known (Matt, xviii. 11) that His mission
is not to save one race only but to seek and save that which is
lost, and says to the professedly, but only outwardly, religious
among His own people (xxi. 31) "The publicans and harlots go
into the kingdom of God before you," and adds the solemn
warning afterwards (xxi. 43) " The kingdom of God shall be
taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits
thereof." And as the end of His life drew near Jesus spake even more
plainly. Thus He says (Matt. xxiv. 14) " This Gospel of the
kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto
all nations" and His final commission (xxviii. 19) bids His dis
ciples do what St Luke tells us in the Acts they did : " Go ye
therefore and teach all nations baptizing them. ..and teaching
them to observe aU things whatsoever I have commanded you."
When in one Gospel we find so many evidences of what the
character of the Christian preaching was meant to be, we need
not examine farther to see with how little ground it is asserted
that in the Acts St Luke paints Christianity in different colours
from anything that was known to the writers of the Gospels or
set forth in the life and teaching of Jesus. As the angels pro
claimed at the birth of the Lord, " the tidings of great joy " were
?— 2

INTRODUCTION.

to be "unto all people," and the newborn King while "the glory
of God's people Israel" was also heralded from the first as to
be " a light to lighten the Gentiles."
Another objection to the narrative in the Acts is that the book
marks no rupture with Judaism. To bring this objection into
prominence much stress is laid by those who use it on the
severity with which St Paul speaks of the Judaizers in some
parts of his letters, notably in the Epistle to the Galatians.
From the language there used it is argued that the Apostle had
broken altogether with Judaism, and that the picture of his life
and labours as we have received it in the Acts is untrustworthy.
Now first of all it is extremely unlikely that the preachers of
Christ's Gospel, with His example before them, would sever
themselves from their Jewish brethren until circumstances arose
which forced them to do so. Our Lord had been a devout Jew
while rebuking without measure what was deserving of rebuke in
Pharisaic Judaism. And what we have set before us in the Acts,
first in the doings of the twelve, and then in the story of St Paul
is in natural sequence to the Gospel history. Peter and John
going up to the temple at the hour of prayer is the link which
binds one history to the other, and it is a link which would not
lightly be broken, for who could be so powerfully appealed to by
the first Evangelists as those who had the ancient scriptures
already in their hands ?
And in St Paul's case a distinction should be made between
Judaism and Judaizers. He knew that Judaism must pass
away, yet how tenderly, lovingly he deals in his letters with the
devout Jew. The Judaizers, who were of set purpose an obstacle
and hindrance to the work of the Gospel, he cannot away with.
They are the men who desire merely " to make a fair shew in the
llcsh," who preach "another Gospel," and therefore are to the
Apostle anathema. But he could still see constantly in the Law
the paedagogue which was to bring men to Christ ; and how near
his heart his own people were we can discern from that Moses
like language of his written to the Romans at the same time that
he wrote in his severest strain to the misleading Judaizers among
the Galatians. In what a truly tender light St Paul regarded all

INTRODUCTION.

that was Jewish is seen from his words to the Romans (Rom. ix.
i — S) " I say the truth in Christ, 1 lie not, my conscience bearing
witness with me in the Holy Ghost, that I have great sorrow
and unceasing pain in my heart. For I could wish that I myself
were anathema from Christ for my brethren's sake, my kinsmen
according to the flesh : who are Israelites ; whose is the adoption ,
and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and
the service of God, and the promises ; whose are the fathers, and
of whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, who is over all, God
blessed for ever." Now this very same feeling is shewn to us in
the Acts. There to the Jews he becomes a Jew that he may gain
them for the Gospel. He follows the advice of the brethren in
Jerusalem and takes on him the Nazarite vow, and in his speech
before the Council he shrinks not from saying "I am a Pharisee,
a son of Pharisees," exactly in accord with the spirit which
dictates again his argument to the Romans (xi. i) " Did God
cast off His people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite."
And those whom God had not cast off we may rest sure St Paul
had not cast off, nor made with them such a breach as is sug
gested by those who argue from some expressions in his Epistles
that the behaviour described in the Acts is not such as St Paul
would have shewn to the other disciples nor they to him.
Again it is said that in the Acts Peter is represented as Pauline
in all he says and does and Paul's conduct is pictured as in
complete harmony with Peter's. But to those who believe that
these two were both Apostles of the same Jesus, both preachers
of the same Evangel, both guided by the same Holy Spirit,
there is nothing but what is natural in this. The historian
brings both before us as labouring for the same work, the
extension of the Gospel according to Christ's command from
Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. He gives us only short
abstracts of what either preacher said, and is it not to be
supposed that there would be great similarity in the drift of
their addresses ? Their main theme must be the Resurrection
as a proof of the Divinity and the Messiahship of Jesus. Their
chief exhortation " Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus
Christ for the remission of.your sins."

INTRODUCTION.

But this figment of a Pauline and a Petrine party never
entered into the thoughts of either Luke or Paul or Peter.
There were partizans of Paul and of Peter at Corinth, it is true,
but we know how they were rebuked by Paul himself, who bade
them remember that Christ was not divided. Nor is there
any evidence worth the name that His Apostles were divided.
Paul tells us how he rebuked Peter because he stood condemned
by the inconsistency of his own actions. But it was the rebuke
of a friend and not of an opponent, for in the same chapter
he speaks of Peter as one who had been entrusted by the
Spirit with the Gospel of the circumcision, and who had given
to him and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, as labourers
in a common cause though in different fields. But neither in
the Acts nor in the Epistles have we any warrant for that opinion
which is so prominent in the Clementine fictions of the second
century. There, without being named, St Paul is alluded to by
Peter " as the man who is mine enemy," and under the guise
of Simon Magus is attacked for reproving Peter at Antioch.
These writings are a most worthless ground on which to base.
any argument at all. Their author, whoever he may have been,
durst not mention St Paul by name, so doubtfulis he of the
acceptance which his work will meet with ; and yet it is of these
works that writers who deny the fidelity of the New Testament
documents assert "there is scarcely a single writing which is' of
so great importance for the history of Christianity in its first
stage." It is out of these fictions that the Petrine and Pauline
parties have been evolved. The writings of Justin Martyr, who
knew the sentiments of Christians in the Holy Land at the
beginning ofthe second century, have no trace of these parties,
neither is there a trace to be found in what is left us of the
writings of that Judaeo-Christian Hegesippus. And if these
men, who were in the position to know most about it, have no
word of the matter, we can only conclude that the opposition so
much dwelt on did not exist, but that, just as in the Acts we have
it set before us, the preaching of Peter and Paul was in entire
harmony. For them Christ was not divided, nor did their
doctrine differ except so far as was made necessary by the con-

INTRODUCTION.

dition of the audiences which they addressed. For a fuller
discussion of this subject than is here possible, and for demon
stration that there was no antagonism between Paul ajid the
rest of the Apostles, the reader is referred to Dr Lightfoot's
Essay on " St Paul and the Three" in his Edition of the Epistle
to the Galatians.

I have to thank several friends for their kind interest in the
first part of the Acts and for some suggestions which, as far as
was possible, have been embodied in the notes. But I desire
speciaUy to express my acknowledgement of the help which I
have derived in matters of Jewish learning and antiquities from
my friend Dr Schiller- Szinessy, to whose abundant stores of
knowledge the enquirer seems always welcome.

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.

i — 14. Link connecting this book with St Luke's Gospel.
Detailed account of ihe Ascension.
The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all 1
that Jesus began both to do and teach, until the day in 2
I. 1 — 14. Link connecting this book with St Luke's
Gospel. Detailed account of the Ascension.
The Title. According to the best MSS. this should be simply "Acts
of Apostles." The Cod. Sin. gives only "Acts." The former of these
titles, while having most authority, also most fitly describes the character
of the composition. The book is not The Acts of the Apostles, but
merely some Acts of certain Apostles which are related by the author,
intermixed with the acts of others among the Christian community,
where such additions were needful to make the story clear. The
writer tells us in the introduction how Christ, when ascending in glory,
declared what should be the course which His doctrine should take in
its extension, "Ye shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all
Judaea and Samaria, and to tlie uttermost part of the earth" (Acts
i. 8). To describe the fulfilment of this departing prophecy is that
on which the whole book is engaged. It is natural, therefore, to
find that the two chief actors are the energetic Peter, and, after his
conversion, the enthusiastic Apostle of the Gentiles. But even they
are only used as representative characters. The writer does not
aim at giving us full details of the work of either of these Apostles.
We see most of Peter and John while the preaching is confined to
Jerusalem, but the narrative leaves them to recount some acts of Philip,
because he was the pioneer of the Gospel in Samaria. Peter is again
brought before us engaged in preaching in Judaea and Samaria and con
firming the work which Philip and his companions had begun; and
because the conversion of Cornelius was the beginning of the proclama
tion of Christ's message beyond the Jewish race, we have a full account
of St Peter's mission to this first Gentile convert and of the debate which
arose among the Jews in consequence. But when Peter has been
present at the council of Jerusalem, at which was finally settled the
relation between the Jews and Gentiles who became Christians, we lose
sight of him, and the further spread of the Gospel is summarized in a
description of some of the labours of St Paul ; and when he has reached the

THE ACTS, I. [v. 3.

which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy
Ghost had given commandments unto the Apostles whom
3 he had chosen : to whom also he shewed himself alive after

capital of the west, to shew us that the writer contemplated no bio
graphy of St Paul, the history comes to what some have thought an
abrupt close. But the writer's task was done when he had told how
the great Apostle brought Christ's message to the capital of the Gentile
world. See Introduction.
1. The former treatise] In the original we have the superlative ad
jective used, but the idiom which speaks of the first of two is common
to Greek with many other languages. An example is found 1 Cor.
xiv. 30. So Cicero, de Invmiione, in his second book (chap. HI.) calls the
former book primus liber.
treatise] The original (X670S) indicates rather an inartistic narrative
than a history. It is a book more like a piece of Herodotus than
Thucydides. have I made] Better, I made. The time is indefinite, and we have
no warrant in the text for that closer union ofthe two books, iri point of
date, which is made by the language of the A. V.
Theophilus] Nothing is known of the person to whom St Luke ad
dresses both his Gospel and the Acts, but the adjective "most excellent"
applied to him in Luke i. 3 is the same which is used in addressing Felix
in a letter and in a speech (Acts xxiii. 26, xxiv. 3), and Festus (Acts
xxvi. 25) in a speech; from which we are perhaps warranted in con
cluding that Theophilus was a person of rank, and it may be a Roman
officer. Josephus uses the same word in addressing Epaphroditus, to
whom he dedicates the account of his life (Vit. Josephi, ad fin.). The
suggestion that Theophilus (= lover of God) is a name adopted by the
writer to indicate any believer, is improbable. Such personification is
unlike the rest of Scripture, and is not supported by evidence.
began] for the Gospel is not a history of all that Jesus did, but only an
account of the foundations which He laid and on which the Church
should afterwards be built. So this book is still an account of what the
Lord does and teaches from heaven.
to do and teach] As in the Gospel (Luke xxiv. 19) the disciples call
Jesus a prophet mighty m deed and in word." The acts and life spake
first, and then the tongue.
2. , tlie day in which he was taken up] The Gospel of St Luke closes
with a very brief notice of the Ascension : of which event fuller details
are given in this chapter, so as to form a connection between the two
treatises and to indicate the purpose with which the latter was written
See below on v. 8.
through the Holy Ghost] That the whole institution of the Christian
Church might be Divine. The Spirit of the Lord was upon the
Anointed Jesus in this as m His other works and words. Cp. Luke
3. after his passion] Literally, after he had suffered.

v. 4-] THE ACTS, I.

his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them
forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the
kingdom of God: and, being assembled together with them, 4
commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusa-
by many infallible proofs] The adjective here has no representa
tive in the original. The Greek word signifies some sign or token
manifest to the senses, as opposed to evidence given by witnesses. The
word infallible has been used in the A. V. to bring out this signification.
It is better to omit it. The proofs here meant are Christ's speaking,
walking and eating with His disciples on several occasions after His
resurrection, and giving to Thomas and the rest the clearest demonstra
tion that He was with them in the same real body as before His death,
and not in appearance only (Luke xxiv. 39, 43; John xx. 27, xxi. 13).
As the verity of the Resurrection would be the basis of all the Apostolic
preaching, it was necessary that such clear proofs as these should be
given by Christ to the twelve who were to be His witnesses.
being seen of them forty days] Better, appearing unto them by the
space of forty days. Christ was not continuously with the disciples, but
shewed Himself to them frequently at intervals during the forty days
between the Resurrection and the Ascension.- The period of forty days
is only mentioned here, and it has been alleged as a discrepancy between
the Gospel of St Luke and the Acts that the former (Luke xxiv.)
represents the Ascension as taking place on the same day as the Re
surrection. It needs very little examination to disperse such an idea.
The two disciples there mentioned (v. 13) were at Emmaus "towards
evening" on the day of Christ's resurrection; they returned to Jeru
salem that night and told what they had seen. But after this has been
stated the chapter is broken up at v. 36 (which a comparison with John
(xx. 26 — 28) shews to be an account of what took place eight days after
the Resurrection), and at vv. 44 and 50, into three distinct sections with
no necessary marks of time to unite them, and in the midst of the whole
we are told that Christ opened the mind of His disciples that they might
understand the Scriptures. No reasonable person would conclude that
all this was done in one day. Beside which the objectors prove too
much, for according to their reasoning the Ascension must have taken
place at night after the two disciples had come again to Jerusalem from
Emmaus. the kingdom of God] This expression is found most frequently in the
last three Evangelists, St Matthew's form being "the kingdom of
heaven." It has several significations, but here, as in Mark i. 14, it in
cludes the whole Christian dispensation, its message, progress and
economy. Some traces of the nature of these communications in the
forty days we find in the Gospels. The disciples were sent as Christ Him
self was sent (John xx. 21), their understandings were opened that they
might understand the Scriptures (Luke xxiv 45); the extent of their
commission was set before them, as well as the solemn issues of their
work (Mark xvi. 15, 16), and to that was added the promise of their
Lord's constant presence (Matt, xxviii. 10).

THE ACTS, I. [vv. 5—8.

lem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he,
5 ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water ;
but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many
6 days hence. When they therefore were come together, they
asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore
7 again the kingdom to Israel ? And he said unto them, It is
not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the
8 Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive
4. not depart from Jerusalem] This injunction is only mentioned
by St Luke (xxiv. 49). The importance of their keeping together until
the Holy Ghost was given is clear. It would thus be made more
manifest that, though hereafter scattered abroad, their inspiration was
supplied from one common source. To the Jews, to whom the Apostles
were first to speak, this would appeal, because their own prophet (Isa.
ii. 3) had said "Out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the
Lord from Jerusalem."
ye have heard of me] This promise is alluded to (Luke xxiv. 49) and
found in St John (xiv. 16, 26", xv. 26), "I will pray the Father, and he
shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever."
"The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, shall teach you aU things, ';
&c. " He shall testify of me." Thus were they to be prepared as wit
nesses for Christ.
5. ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost] Thus was now to be ful
filled that of which John the Baptist had spoken (Matt. iii. n), "He
shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and with fire." Such an event,
when it came to pass, could not fail to work mightily on the minds of
those among Christ's Apostles who had been disciples of John, as Andrew
had been (John i. 40), and probably some of the others.
6. wilt thou. ..restore] Literally, dost thou restore (or art thou re
storing), but the English future gives the sense.
the kingdom to Israel] The question was asked when all the Apostles
were gathered together, so that the enquiry was not dictated by the mis
taken notion of some single member. It shews, as do many other remarks
and questions (cp. Luke xxiv. 21, &c), how far the Apostles were even
yet from comprehending the spirituality and universality of the work to
which Christ was sending them. A temporal kingdom confined to
Israel is what they still contemplate. The change from the spirit which
dictated the question in this verse, to that in which St Peter (Acts ii.
38> 39) preached repentance and forgiveness to all whom the Lord
should call, is one of the greatest evidences of the miracle of Pentecost.
Such changes can only come from above.
7. It is not for you, &c] During the tutelage, as it may be called of
His disciples, our Lord constantly avoided giving a direct answer' to
enquiries which they addressed to Him. He checked in this way their
tendency to speculate on the future, and drew their minds to their duty
in the present. Cp. John xxi. 21, 22.
in his own power] The word here rendered power is not the same as

w. 9— n.] THE ACTS, I.

power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you : and ye
shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the
earth. And when he had spoken these things, while they 9
beheld, he was taken up ; and a cloud received him out
of their sight. And while they looked stedfastly toward io
heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in
white apparel ; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why n
that so rendered in the following verse. The sense of this first word is
"absolute disposal," and we might weU render it authority.
8. ye shall receive power] Something different from the profitless
speculations to which they had just desired an answer, even "a mouth
and wisdom which their adversaries could neither gainsay nor resist"
(Luke xxi. 15). Thus would they be enabled to become Christ's wit
nesses. in Jerusalem, and in all Judea] To which district all the ministra
tions of the Apostles were confined till the death of Stephen.
and in Samaria] Whither the first who went with authority was
Philip, one of the seven (Acts viii. 5), and afterwards Peter and John.
and unto the uttermost part ofthe earth] Commenced by the preach
ing of Paul, Barnabas, Mark, Silas and Timothy, and regarded as placed
on a secure footing when St Paul was once brought into the capital city
of the world.
The writer keeps before him from first to last the promise contained
in this verse, and leaves out of his narrative all that does not tend to
illustrate its fulfilment. The work of every agent is followed so far as
he is used to bring about this result and no farther. This will be
noticed at each stage as we proceed, and it will be seen that it explains
why among, "Acts of Apostles" some works are included which were
not carried on by Apostles, and why the histories of the chief agents are
left incomplete,
9. while they beheld] That they might have as clear proof of His
Ascension as they had received of the reality of His Resurrection, He is
taken from them while they are still gazing on Him and with His words
yet sounding in their ears. In the Gospel (xxiv. 51) it is "while He
blessed them." From the narrative in this place the witnesses of the
Ascension seem to have been only the eleven, and this is stated ex
pressly in St Mark's Gospel (xvi. r4), so that although in St Luke's
Gospel (xxiv. 33) the two disciples who had returned from Emmaus arc
related to have come unto the eleven to report what they had seen, we
are not to conclude that they remained with them during all the other
events recorded in that chapter, an additional evidence that that chapter
relates to events which happened in the course of several days and not
all in close sequence on the same day. Cp. i. 3, note.
10. as he went up] The preposition is not in the Greek, which has
simply, as he went.
in white apparel] They are called men, but they are evidently angels.

THE ACTS, I. [vv. 12, 13.

stand ye gazing up into heaven ? this same Jesus, which is
taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner
h as ye have seen him go into heaven. Then returned they
unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from
13 Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. And when they were
So the two angels are clothed in white (Johnxx. 12) whom Mary saw in
the sepulchre after the Resurrection, and one of these is called by St
Mark (xvi. 5) "a young man clothed in a long white garment." St
Luke in the Gospel calls them "two men in shining garments" (xxiv. 4).
So the "man in bright clothing," Acts x. 30, is described in xi. 13 as
"an angel." This was a common Jewish expression to signify angelic
or divine messengers. Cf. Talm. Jer. Joma v. 2, ad fin.
" Shimeon ha-Tsaddik (i. e. the righteous) served Israel forty years in
the High-priesthood, and in the last year he said to the people, ' In this
year I shall die.' They said to him : ' How dost thou know this?'
He said to them : ' Every year when I was going into the Holy of
Holies there was an Ancient one, clad in white garments and with a
white vail, who went in with me and came out with me ; but this year he
went in with me and did not come out with me.' [On this matter] they
asked of Rabbi Abuhu, 'But surely it is written : 'Nothing of mankind
shall be in the tent of meeting when he [the High-priest] goes in to
make atonement until his coming out again, ' not even those concerning
whom it is written [Ezek. i. 5] 'They had the likeness of a man,' even
they shall not be in the tent of meeting.' He said to them : ' What is
there [in this language of Shimeon] to tell me that it was a human being
at all? I say it was the Holy One."
11. Ye men of Galilee] The Galikean dialect was a marked pecu
liarity of the apostolic band. It seems also to have been our Lord's
manner of speech. For when Peter is accused (Matt. xxvi. 7-3) of being
one of Christ's followers the words of the accusation are " Surely thou
art one of them, for thy speech bewrayeth thee."
shall so come] This promise of the return of Jesus, on the immediate
expectation of which so many of the first Christians fixed their thoughts,
explains those words in the abridged account of the Ascension in St
Luke's Gospel (xxiv. 52), "They returned to Jerusalem with great
joy." 12. from the mount called Olivet] Elsewhere usually called the mount
of Olives, but in Luke xix. 29, xxi. 37, some texts give, as here,
Olivet which is from Jerusalem, &c] Literally, which is near unto Jerusa
lem, a sabbath day's journey off. The mount of Olives is on the east of
Jerusalem, and must be passed by those who go from Jerusalem to
Bethany. Hence St Luke's expression in the Gospel is (xxiv. 50) "He
led them out as far as towards (2ws irpoi) Bethany. "
The sabbath day's journey was two thousand yards or cubits [ammoth],
and in the Babylonian Talmud, Erubin 5 1 a, there is given an elabo
rate account of how this precise limit was arrived at, which is such

13] THE ACTS, I.

come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode
an interesting specimen of Rabbinical reasoning, that it seems worth
quoting at _some_ length. "We have a Boraitha [i.e. a Mishna not
taught officially in R. Jehudah ha-Nasi's lectures and so not embodied
in the Mishna proper, but incorporated amongst the Gemara or
in other ways] on Exod. xvi. 29, ' Abide ye every man in his place '
{takhiav), that means the lour yards (which is the space allowed
for downsitting and uprising), and in the same verse it says 'Let no
man go out of his place (makom), this is the two thousand yards.'"
The argument intended to be founded on this explanation is, that as
' Holy Writ, which does not uselessly multiply words, has used here two
different words for place, this is done because there is a different
meaning for each. "But (continues the questioner) how do you learn
this?" (viz. that makom implies two thousand yards). Rab Chisda says
' ' We have learnt the meaning of makom from the use of makom else
where, and we learn what that [second] makom means from nisah
(= flight, with which word, in one passage, it is connected), and what
nisah means we have leamt from another nisah, and the meaning of the
[second] nisah we gather from gebul (= border, which is found in
connection with it in a certain passage), and what gebul means we
gather from another gebul, and what that gebul means from khuts
( = extremity), and what khuts means from another khuts; for it is written
(Numbers xxxv. 5) 'and ye«hall measure from the extremity (mikhuts)
of the city, on the east side, two thousand yards.' "
So taking khuts in this last passage as defined, they, by an equation
khuts =gebul=nisah= makom, defined the second word place mentioned
in Exod. xvi. 29, as also equal to two thousand yards.
The Scriptural passages on which the above reasoning is based are
(1) Exod. xxi. 13, "I will appoint thee a place {makom) whither he
shall flee" (yanus), and from the verb yanus the noun nisah is formed;
(2) Numb. xxxv. 26, "But if the slayer shall at any time come without
the border (gebul) of the city of his refuge whither he is fled," which
passage connects gebul and nisah; and (3) Numb. xxxv. 27, "If the
avenger of blood find him without (mikhuts) the border of the city of his
refuge," which brings khuts into conneption with gebul.
A traditional development of an interpretation like this must have
been received, by him who announces it, from his teacher and must not
be his own invention, and in this way a very high antiquity is assured
for all such interpretations.
13. And when they were come in] i.e. into the city, from the open
country where the Ascension had taken place.
they went up into an [the] upper room] Probably the upper room which
has been mentioned before (Mark xiv. 15 ; Luke xxii. 12) as used by our
Lord and His disciples for the passover feast. The Greek word in the
Gospels is not the same as here, but in both cases it is evident that it
was some room which could be spared by the occupiers and which was
let or lent to the Galilaaan band and their followers. The next words
indicate the temporary occupancy, and would be better rendered where
they were abiding, namely Peter, &c. The eleven were the tenants of

THE ACTS, I. [v. 13.

both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and
Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of
Alpheus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.

the upper room, to which the other disciples resorted for conference and
communion. Peter, &c] The names ofthe Apostles are again given, though they had
been recorded for Theophilus in "the former treatise" (Luke vi. 14 — 16),
perhaps because it seemed fitting that the names of those who are now
to be the leaders ofthe new teaching should be recited at the outset, that
each one may be known to have taken his share in the labour, though it
will not fall within the plan of the writer to give a notice of their several
works ; and secondly, as all the twelve had fled before the Crucifixion,
this enumeration of them as again at their post, may shew that there had
been in all of them, except Judas, only weakness of the flesh, and not
unwillingness of the spirit.
It may be noticed that, whereas in the list of Apostles given in St
Luke's Gospel the name of Andrew stands second in the first group of four
and next after Peter, in this repeated list Andrew is placed fourth. The
history gives no reason for this change, but we see in the Gospels, when
important events occurred in Christ's ministry, such as the raising of the
daughter of Jairus, the Transfiguration, and the Agony in Gethsemane,
that the three disciples chosen to be present with Jesus are Peter, James
and John, but not Andrew. Whatever may have been the reason for
such an omission, the fact may in some degree explain the altered posi
tion of Andrew's name in the list of the twelve. It appears no more in
Holy Writ. FF
The order of the next group of four differs from their arrangement in
the Gospel, but as none of them are mentioned after this verse there is
nothing to explain the variation in order. In the next group the A. V.
is inconsistent in rendering James the son of Alphseus, and afterwards a
like construction by Judas the brother of James. It is more common to
find this dependent genitive in descriptions of a son, though the relation
ship of brother to brother is found so indicated. Judas is called the
brother of James here because it is assumed that he is the same per
son as the author of the Epistle of St Jude, who (Jude 1) calls himself
brother of James. But as it is not certain that the writer of that
Epistle was one of the twelve, it is better to render the two identical
constructions standing so close together in the same way, and so to
read Judas the son of James. James in that case would be the name
of some otherwise unknown person, but it was a very common name
among the Jews.
Simon Zelotes] called Simon the Canaanite (Matt. x. 4; Mark
iii. 18). The last-named title is a corruption of an Aramaic word of like
meaning with the Greek Zelotes, and signifying Zealot, a name applied
in our Lord's time to those Jews who were most strict in their observance
of the Mosaic ritual. Of this Simon we have no further mention in
Scripture history.

w. 14, 15.] THE ACTS, I.

These all continued with one accord in prayer and sup- M
plication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus,
and with his brethren.
15 — 26. Election of an Apostle into the place of fudas
Iscariot.
And in those days Peter stood up in the midst of the "5
disciples, and said (the number of names together were
14. These all continued, Sec] Prayer was the fittest preparation for the
gift which they were expecting. The words rendered and supplication
are omitted in the best MSS.
with the women] Better, with certain women. Literally, with women.
Probably some of those who during the life of Jesus had ministered to
Him of their substance and had been at the cross and at His grave (Luke
viii. 3, xxiv. 22 ; Matt, xxvii. 55). The frequent mention of these and
other women in the course of Christ's ministry is a noteworthy feature of
the Gospel story, and bespeaks more consideration shewn by Him for
women than was usual among His nation or with other great teachers.
Mary the mother of Jesus] who would naturally remain with St John,
to whose care she had been confided by Jesus at the Crucifixion (John
xix. 27). This is the last mention of the Blessed Virgin, and thus
Scripture leaves her on her knees. She is mentioned apart from the
other women as having a more deep interest in all that concerned Jesus
than the rest had.
and with his brethren] These, called (Matt. xiii. 55 ; Mark vi. 3)
James, Joseph (or Joses), Simon and Judas, are here clearly distinguished
from the Apostles, which shews us that James, the son of Alphaeus, and
James, the Lord's brother, were different persons.
15—26. Election of an Apostle into the place of Judas
Iscariot.
15. And in those days] i. e. the days intervening between the As
cension and Pentecost.
Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples] The best MSS. read
brethren for disciples. Here we have a formal assembling of all those
who were avowed followers of Jesus in Jerusalem, and the rising of
Peter to address them bespeaks the importance which he attached to the
duty they were about to perform in electing a successor to Judas.
the number, &c] Render, and there was a multitude of persons
(Gr. names) gathered together, about a hundred and twenty. For
this use of nam es= persons cp. Rev. iii. 4, "Thou hast a few names
even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments. "
The hundred and twenty here collected is in no way inconsistent with
St Paul's statement (1 Cor. xv. 6) that Christ shewed Himself on one
occasion, before His Ascension, to more than five hundred brethren at
once. Those were gathered from all parts of the land, and we have now
mention made only of such as had continued in the Holy City,

10 THE ACTS, I. [w. 16— 18.
¦6 about an hundred and twenty), Men and brethren, this
scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy
Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning
¦7 Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus. For
he was numbered with us, and had obtained part of this
is ministry. (Now this man purchased a field with the reward
16. Men and brethren] The original is meant for one epithet, and
would be fully enough rendered by brethren alone, here and in other
places where it occurs.
this scripture, &c] "This" is omitted by the best authorities. Read
The scripture, &c. It is to be noticed that Peter can thus speak because
he had now been taught to understand the Scriptures (Luke xxiv. 45).
must needs have been fulfilled] Christ was to die on the cross, be
trayed to death by one in whom He had trusted. David had spoken in
the Psalms of his own afflictions from a similar treachery and also of the
destruction which he invoked upon those who were guilty of such
infidelity. But while David spake of himself and of his own circum
stances, the Holy Ghost through him was speaking of the betrayal of the
" Son of David," and the words which had been true of David, must have
their still more complete fulfilment in the betrayal of the Saviour, by
him "who was guide to them that took Jesus" (Matt. xxvi. 47, &c).
17. For he was numbered with [among] us, and had obtained part of
this ministry] Literally, had received the lot of, &c. Judas fulfils the
conditions of the prophecy (Ps. cix. 2 — 5). His was the mouth of the de
ceitful, the lying tongue, the groundless enmity, the requital of evil for
good. But though numbered among the twelve that was not his true place.
18. It seems best to treat this verse and the following, which break
the connexion of St Peter's remarks on David's prophecies, as no part
of the Apostle's speech on the election of Matthias. St Luke most
likely derived the words from St Peter, from whom he no doubt gathered
the facts for this part of his history, and the Apostle would thus at a
later time emphasize to St Luke, by a minute description, the ruin which
came upon Judas, though in his public address he had only spoken in
the words of the Psalmist.
These two verses (18 and 19) are connected in themselves by the
copulative conjunction, but the particles which introduce verse 18 (phi
ofc) express no more than a confirmation of the statement in which they
occur, and a transition to some explanatory matter. They are frequently
employed in a. similar manner by the writer of the Acts (as v. 41,
xiii. 4, xvii. 30, xxiii. 22, xxvi. 9). But that which stamps the passage
as a parenthesis is the demonstrative pronoun which stands at the head
of it. The position of the Greek words would be represented by This
man you are to know acquired, &c. If it had been a continuous narra
tive we should have had some connection of the following kind : " He
had obtained^ part of this ministry, and yet he with the reward of his
iniquity, &c " without the insertion of any demonstrative, or indeed of
any pronoun at all, in the Greek.
Now this man purchased a field} Rather, acauired. which probably

V. 19.] THE ACTS, I. it
of iniquity ; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the
midst, and all his bowels gushed out. And it was known 19
unto all the dwellers at Jerusalem ; insomuch as that field
is called in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say,
was the sense intended by the A. V., as it was an old sense of the
English word purchase. This may be said not only of him who buys,
but of him who becomes the occasion of another's buying. The field was
bought by the chief priests (Matt, xxvii. 5 — 8) with the money which
Judas returned, but as they could not take that money for the treasury,'
they were likely to look upon what was purchased with it as still the
property of the traitor. St Luke's employment of the unusual word
"acquire" in a narrative where he calls the price of the land "the
reward of iniquity," and speaks ofthe immediate death of Judas, makes
it clear that he views (and that the people of Jerusalem did the same)
the field Akeldama as the field which Judas acquired, though it became,
from the circumstances, a public possession for a burial ground.
the reward of iniquity] This expression is only found in N. T. here
and 2 Pet. ii. 13, 15. So that it seems to be a Petrine phrase. The
A. V. conceals the identity of the Greek words in these three passages
by giving them in each place a different English rendering.
and falling headlong, &c] This can only have occurred after the
hanging mentioned by St Matthew (xxvii. 5). It appears from St Luke's
narrative here that the death of Judas, attended by all these dreadful
circumstances, took place in the spot which the chief priests eventually
purchased. This, if a fit place for an Eastern burying ground, would
be of a rocky character where caves abounded or could easily be made,
and it would be the more rugged, if, as St Matthew's narrative intimates,
it had been used for the digging of clay for the potters. If in such a place
the suicide first hanged himself and the cord which he used gave way, it
is easy to understand how in the fall all the consequences described in
this verse would be the result. For a similar result to bodies falling on
rocks, cp. 2 Chron. xxv. 12. Buxtorf (Rabb. Lex. s. v. 1DD) suggests
that the expression of StMatthew, "hanged himself, "might be rendered
"he was choked," as if by asphyxia, from over-excitement and anguish.
He says the Jews have so explained the end of Ahithophel, and that a
like explanation might suit in the Gospel. And St Chrysostom, Horn.
XXII. ad Antiochenos, uses the expression to be strangled by conscience.
But this view seems to be surrounded by far more difficulties than the
belief that St Matthew merely mentioned one single incident in the
suicide's fate, while St Luke, because his purpose seemed to ask it, has
described the death of Judas in such wise as to shew that his destruction
was as terrible as anything of which David had spoken in the. Psalms to
which St Peter had referred.
19. And it was known] Rather, became known. The fate of Judas,
if he died there, and the way in which the purchase money was obtained,
caused the name to be changed from "the Potter's Field" to "the Field
of Blood," all people recognizing the fitness of the new name.
is called] The use of expressions like this in the present tense shews
3—2

THE ACTS, I. [v- 20.

20 The field of blood.) For it is written in the book of
Psalms, Let his habitation be desolate, and let no
man dwell therein: and his bishoprick let another
that we are dealing with documents written before the destruction of Je
rusalem. in their proper tongue] i.e. in the language spoken by the Jews in
Jerusalem, which was Aramaic. The addition of these words and the
explanation of the name Akeldama point to this passage as an insertion
made by St Luke for the information of Theophilus, who, as his name
indicates, was probably of Greek origin, and, it may be, unacquainted
with the vernacular speech of Palestine. There could have been no
need for St Peter to make such an explanation to the one hundred and
twenty who listened to his address. Nor, indeed, is it probable that
the name "Field of Blood" became of such common use within the
time between the Crucifixion and the election of Matthias, as to make
it possible for St Peter to have used the words.
For a similar insertion of a significant name introduced into a com
piled narrative before the time at which the name was actually given,
cp. 1 Sam.iv. 1, where Eben-ezer is spoken of, though the circumstances
in which the name originated are not mentioned till 1 Sam. vii. 12.
20. The passages quoted by St Peter are from Ps. lxix. 25, where
it is written " Let their habitation be desolate, and let none dwell in
their tents; "and Ps. cix. 8, "Let his days be few, and let another take
his office." St Peter changes the plural of the former verse into the
singular in his quotation, for David was speaking of many enemies of
his own, yet though Judas was the instrument through which the many
enemies of Jesus wrought out their will, it is the punishment which came
on the chief offender that St Peter is now desirous to illustrate and
point to as a fulfilment of prophecy. The fulfilment in the case of the
Jewish nation came at a later date, though their days as a nation were
now few, and their destruction, when it came, as terrible as that of
Judas. Let his habitation be] Rather, become, or be made.
and his bishoprick] Now that this word has so restricted a meaning
in English it is better to use the more general term office which is
given in the margin. In v. 25 this ministry is used of the same
charge, and might be rendered this diaconale. A comma placed after
the second and in this verse will make it clear that there are two quo
tations from different places. There is no contradiction between the
two passages quoted by St Peter, for though the habitation of Judas is
to become desolate, and have none dwelling therein, the office which
he had been chosen to fill is still to be occupied, and the purpose of
God in the choice of the twelve is not to be left incomplete through
the offence of the traitor. And it is on the necessity for filling his place
that St Peter immediately dwells, saying, For this reason must a new
member be chosen. In one passage of the Psalmist the Spirit speaks
of the vacancy in the Apostolic office through Iscariot's transgression,
in the other of the necessity for filling it up.

w. 21— 23.J THE ACTS, I. 13
take. Wherefore of these men which have companied with 2,
us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among
us, beginning from the baptism of John, unto that same day 22
that he was taken up from us, must one be ordained to
be a witness with us of his resurrection. And they appointed n
two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was surnamed Justus, and
21. As the new Apostle is to be, like the rest, an eyewitness to the
life of Jesus, he must have been a disciple from the beginning of Christ's
ministry. Such a necessity would probably make the number from
whom choice could be made a very small one. It seems hardly proba
ble, if St Luke's design had been (as is so often asserted) to represent
St Paul as in every way like St Peter, that he would have dwelt so
strongly on this personal knowledge of JFesus during his ministerial life,
as a necessary qualification for the Apostolate.
the Lord Jesus went in and out] This expression, though used in the
O. T. to describe some position of leadership in war or otherwise (cp.
Deut. xxxi. 2; 1 Sam. xviii. 13), yet is apparently used here only = led
his life. So we have it again Acts ix. 28. Cp. also John x. 9.
22. to be a witness with us of his resurrection] The Resurrection was
the central truth, but to bear testimony that it was truly Jesus who had
risen, the witness must have known Him well before His crucifixion.
It is quite in accordance with the character of St Luke's narrative
that although he is careful to relate how the number of the Apostles was
made complete, and .the Church thus furnished with that same numbei
of leaders which Jesus had chosen from the first, yet when Matthias has
been chosen, he tells us no word about his special actions. These
were no doubt of the same character as those of the eleven, but the
writer's purpose is only to give typical instances of the Apostolic labours,
and to shew how the Gospel was spread abroad exactly as Christ had
foretold. 23. they appointed two] Thus exercising their own judgment to a
certain degree in the appointment, as they could rightly do from their
three years intimacy with those who had been disciples from the begin
ning. Joseph called Barsabas [Barsabbas in the best MSS.] who was sur
named Justus] From the identity of the names Joseph and Joses (see
note on v. 14) it has been thought that this Joseph is identical with Joses
surnamed Barnabas, mentioned iv. 36. But Barsabbas is apparently a
patronymic like Bartimasus, while Barnabas is interpreted as a significant
appellation in iv. 36 (see note there), so that there is no sufficient ground
for the identification. The name Justus, being of Latin origin, was*
probably used by Joseph in his intercourse with the Gentile inhabitants \
of the country. Thus Saul takes a Latin name, Paulus, at the commence
ment of his missionary labours. So Simon had a. Greek name, Peter
(and may not Christ have given it to him as the name by which he should
be known over all the world ?), and Thomas was called Didymus. To
judge from the mention of Joseph's three names, and from his standing

14 THE ACTS, I. [vv. 24—26.
24 Matthias. And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, which
knowest the hearts of all men, shew whether of these two
=s thou hast chosen, that he may take part of this ministry and
apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell, that he
ac might go to his own place. And they gave forth their lots ;
first in order in the mention of the chosen pair, he was of more account
among the Apostles than Matthias. Of his previous or future history
we know nothing.
and Matthias] He is said by Eusebius (H. E. I. 12. 1) and Epi-
phanius (I. 20) to have been one of the Seventy, and there was an apocry
phal Gospel which passed by his name (Euseb. ill. 23).
24. And they prayed, and said] Here we are not to conclude that
St Luke has recorded any more than the purport of the prayer of the
disciples, in the same way as in the speeches which he reports he has
only preserved a brief abstract of the speakers' arguments and language.
Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all men] By the lot the final
decision was left in the hands of God (cf. Prov. xvi. 33), who alone could
know which of these two, both having the needful qualifications as far
as man could see, would prove the more excellent Apostle. The same
expression is applied to God, Acts xv. 8.
shew whether of these two] Literally, shew of these two the one
whom thou hast chosen.
25. that he may take part] The best MSS. read that he may take
the place, &c. The Rec. Text has the same words here and in v. 17,
as is represented in the A. V. A scribe remembering the former would
easily assimilate the two places, and as the Greek word in v. 17 signifies
lot, he might perceive a fitness in its use in this part of the narrative.
from which Judas by transgression fell] Better, from which Judas
fell away. The Gk. has only a verb which literally = transgressed.
that he might go to his own place] He had been chosen into one place
by Jesus, but had made another choice for himself, which had ended in
destruction. That "his own place" when thus used was, to the Jewish
mind, an equivalent for Gehenna = the place of torment, may be seen
from the Baal Haturim on Numb. xxiv. 25, where it is said " Balaam
went to his own place, i.e. to Gehenna." A like expression is found
concerning Job's friends, Midrash Rabbah on Eccl. vii. 1.
26. And they gave forth their lots] Better, And ihey gave lots for
them, in accordance with MSS. The process probably was that each
member of the company wrote on a tablet or ticket the name of one of
the chosen two; the whole were then placed in some vessel and shaken
together, and that tablet which was first drawn out decided the election
The casting of lots, though not now permitted to the Jews (see Shulkhari
Aruch Joreh Deah par. 1 79. 1 ), was used by a provision of the Mosaic Law
(Lev. xvi. 8) for the selection of one out of the two goats for the Lord
"The goat upon which the Lord's lot fell " was offered for a sin offerint?'
The Apostles had not yet received the Spirit which was to " imidp tho™
into all truth." When the Holy Ghost had been given, thev as S? '
Chrysostom notices (/« Act. At- Horn- III.), used no more casting' of lots.

w. I— 3.] THE ACTS, II. 15
and the lot fell upon Matthias ; and he was numbered with
the eleven aposties.
1— 13. The Holy Ghost given at Pentecost. Effect first
produced thereby on the dwellers at ferusalem.
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were 2
all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came 2
a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it
filled all the house where they were sitting. And there 3
appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it
II. 1 — 13. The Holy Ghost given at Pentecost. Effect
FIRST PRODUCED THEREBY ON THE DWELLERS AT JERUSALEM.
1. the day of Pentecost] The second of the three great Jewish
feasts, the Passover being the first, and the third, the feast of Tabernacles.
Pentecost is the Greek name of the feast, derived from Pentecostos = fiftieth ;
because it was kept on the fiftieth day after the Passover-Sabbath. In
the Law it is called "the feast of harvest, the firstfruits of thy labours"
(Exod. xxiii. 16), and also, from being seven weeks after the Passover, it
is named "the feast of weeks" (Exod. xxxiv. 22; Deut. xvi. 9 — 10).
The offering in this festival was the two first loaves made from the first
portion of the wheat-harvest of the year, as a thank-offering.
This day was perhaps chosen for the outpouring of the Spirit upon
the Apostles, that there might be a greater multitude present in Jeru
salem, and so the tidings of this gift might at once be spread abroad.
It is perhaps for this reason that the very word employed is one which
indicates that the day was fully come, and so all that were intending to be
present at the feast were there. We find in ix. 2 that there were Christians
at Damascus before we read of any one of the Apostolic band visiting that
city. It may well be that among those who saw the gifts now bestowed,
and whose hearts were pierced by Peter's sermon, there were some
who went forth to this and other cities, bearing the fame and teaching
of the new society along with them. In like manner, we cannot doubt
that it was in order that more might hear His words, that our Lord so
frequently went to Jerusalem at the feasts. (John iv. 45, v. i, vii. 10,
x. 22, &c.)
they were all with one accord in one place] The best MSS. have they
were all together in one place. Doubtless in the upper room where the
Apostles abode, and where the disciples had met for the election of
Matthias. 2. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing
mighty wind] Rather, of the rushing of a mighty wind, lit., of a
mighty wind borne along. The verb employed to express the rushing of
the wind is used by St Peter (2 Ep. i. 17, 18) of "the voice which came
from heaven" at the Transfiguration, also (i. 21) ofthe gift of prophecy,
and the motion of the prophets by the Holy Ghost.
3. cloven tongues like as of fire] Better, tongues like as of fire parting

16 THE ACTS, II. [vv. 4—6.
4 sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the
Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the
s Spirit gave them utterance. And there were dwelling at
Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under
6 heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude

asunder; cf. Is. v. 24, where the Hebrew has "tongue of fire" while
the A. V. gives only "fire." It is also to be noticed that the appearance
is not called fire, but only compared unto fire. The idea conveyed by the
verb is that the flamelike tongues were distributing themselves through
out the assembly, and the result is expressed by what follows ; and it
sat upon each of them. The intention of the writer is to describe some
thing far more persistent than meteoric light or flashes of electricity.
The sound which is heard fills the house, and the flames rest for some
time on the heads of the disciples. (See v. 33.)
4. This verse describes a great miracle, and its simplicity of state
ment marks it as the record of one who felt that no additional words
could make the matter other than one which passed the human under
standing. they began to speak with other tongues] Spoken of as new tongues
(Mark xvi. 17). It means languages which they had not known before,
and from the history it would appear that some of the company spake
in one and some in another language, for the crowd of foreigners, when
they come together, all find somebody among the speakers whom they
are able to understand. ¦
5. there were dwelling at Jerusalem, &c] Probably, in addition to
the visitors, many religious Jews from foreign parts were permanent
residents in Jerusalem, for it was to the Jew a thing much to be desired,
that he might die and be buried near the Holy City. It is said (T. B.
Kethuboth, in a), "Everyone that is buried in the land of Israel is in
as good case as if he were buried under the altar," and there are many
other like expressions in the immediate context of this quotation. That
among the crowd were some residents seems the more likely, because
when they recognized the new tongues, some asked as though they
were acquainted with the speakers, "Are not these men Galiloeans?"
devout men] The adjective is used of the aged Simeon (Luke ii. 25),
and ofthe men who carried Stephen to his burial (Acts viii. 2).
out of every nation under heaven] Hyperbole, as we use from every
part ofthe world. So (Josephus, B. Jud. II. 16. 4) Herod Agrippa says,
"There is not a nation in the world which does not contain softie of us"
(Jews). Cp. ver. 10, note on Libya.
6. Now when this was noised abroad"] Rather, And when this sound
was heard. Qtovii though not the same word as is used for sound in
verse 2, yet is never found in the sense of a report or rumour, as is given
by the A. V. It is used for crying aloud, as in the mourning at Rama
and Christ's cry on the cross (Matt. ii. 18), or in John the Baptist's
preaching (Mark i. 3), and of voices from heaven frequently (Matt, xvii
5 ; Mark i. 1 1 ; Luke iii. 22 ; Acts ix. 4, &c), of the sound of the' wind

w. 7—9-] THE ACTS, II. 17
came together, and were confounded, because that every
man heard them speak in his own language. And they 1
were all amazed and marvelled, saying one to another,
Behold, are not all these which speak Galileans ? And s
how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we
were born ? Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the 9
which is used as a figure for the gift of the Spirit in Christ's conver
sation with Nicodemus (John iii. 8), and constantly of the heavenly
voices in the book of the Revelation (i. 10, v. 2, vi. 6, &c).
The sound which was sent forth, though heard around in the city, was
evidently such as could be traced to a central spot, for to the dwelling
of the Apostles, led by the sound, the multitude congregated. It would
need but a brief space for a crowd to assemble, and all the new comers
found among the disciples, now divinely prepared to be Christ's heralds,
some who were declaring what had come to pass, and the great things
which God had wrought with them, in the different languages of the
lands where the strangers had been born. This was clearly not a pro
clamation of the wonderful works of God in some one language, which
the Spirit, acting upon the hearers, caused them to appreciate as if it
were their own, for in that way the gift of the Holy Ghost ought to
have been described as poured out, not on the speakers but on the
listeners. 7. Galileans] No doubt the twelve came more prominently forward
than the rest, and in Jerusalem they had been known as Galiloeans before
the Crucifixion (Matt. xxvi. 69 — 73).
8. every man in our crwn tongue] i. e. language. There is no description
here of any jargon or incoherent speech, we are told of utterances tested
by the ears of those who had spoken these languages from their youth.
The only question on which from St Luke's description we are left in
uncertainty is this: whether the disciples did or did not understand the
new words which they were enabled to utter. The only other place in
the New Testament which throws any light on this matter is St Paul's
first Epistle to the Corinthians. For a consideration of the expressions
which St Paul there employs concerning these marvellous gifts, see note
after v. 13.
9, 10. Under all the nationalities mentioned in this and the following
verse we are to understand the Jews, either by birth or conversion (as is
indicated in the case of Rome), whose, homes were in the countries named.
Parthians] A people who occupied a. wide extent of country south
of the Caspian Sea, from which they were separated by Hyrcania. They
stretched in the Apostolic times from India to the Tigris, and no doubt
stand foremost in this list because of their great fame among the nations
of the time.
Medes] Their country lay east of Assyria, north-west of Persia and
south and south-west of the Caspian Sea.
Elamites] These dwelt in the district known to the Greeks and
Romans as Susiana. It lay at the north of the Persian Gulf and was

THE ACTS, II. [v. io.

dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, in
, Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and
in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome,

bounded on the west by the Tigris, touching Media on the north and
Persia on the south and east. They were a Semitic people, perhaps
taking their name from Elam, son of Shem (Gen. x. 22). " Shushan in
the province of Elam" is mentioned Dan. viii. 2.
Mesopotamia] The country between the Euphrates and the Tigris.
Judea] These would comprise the Jews from the neighbouring towns.
Cappadocia, Pontus, Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia) These were all
countries within Asia Minor, Pontus lying in the N.E. and forming, on
the north, part of the shore of the Euxine. Cappadocia was south of
Pontus, Phrygia was westward of Cappadocia, separated from it by
Lycaonia, while Pamphylia stretched on the south coast of Asia Minor
between Lycia on the W. and Cilicia on the E. By Asia in this verse,
and everywhere else in the Acts, is meant the Roman province known as
Proconsular Asia. It comprised all the western coast of Asia Minor
and may be roughly considered as embracing the countries known as
Mysia, Lydia and Caria. Its capital was Ephesus, and in this district
were the seven churches of the Apocalypse.
Egypt] The cities of the north of Egypt, and especially Alexandria,
were the abodes of great numbers of Jews.
Libya) was the name anciently applied to the African continent. The
parts of it about Cyrene means the district called Cyrenaica. This lay E.
of the Syrtis Major and contained five chief cities of which Cyrene was
the best known. We find Simon a Gyrenian living in Jerusalem at the
time of the Crucifixion (Matt, xxvii. 32). Josephus has a passage (Antiq.
xiv. 7. 2) which testifies to the wide dispersion ofthe Jews at this time,
and also mentions specially Egypt and the parts of Libya about Cyrene
as full of them.
"Strabo in another place bears witness to this [the wealth and
influence of the Jews] ; saying that when Sulla crossed over into
Greece to war against Mithridates, he also sent Lucullus to put down in
Cyrene the revolution raised there by our nation, of whom the whole
world is full. His words are : There were four classes in the city of the
' Cyrenians, that of citizens, that of husbandmen, that of resident aliens
and the fourth of the Jews. Now this last class has already spread into
every ; city, and it is not easy to find a place in the world which has not
admitted this tribe, and which is not swayed by them. And with regard
to Egypt and Cyrene as being under the same governors and many
portions of other countries, it has come to pass that they imitate them
[the Jews], and also give special support to companies of the Jews and
flourish from their adoption of the ancestral laws of the Jews. ' For
instance in Egypt there is a special district set apart for the Jews, and
beside this a large part of the city of Alexandria is apportioned to this
race. And a special magistrate is appointed for them, who governs
their nation and administers judgment, and takes charge of theii

•9

vv. n— 13.] THE ACTS, II.
Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them «
speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God. And "
they were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying one to
another, What meaneth "this ? Others mocking said, These 13
men are full of new wine.
contracts1 and agreements, as if he were the governor of an inde
pendent state."
strangers of Rome) Better, sojourners from Borne both Jews &c.
We know from the allusions to them in Latin writers that Jews were
numerous in Rome (Hor. Sat. I. 5; Juv. X. 14, &c). It is most
probable that converts from among these Romans founded the Church
which we know from Acts xxviii. 14, 15 was flourishing there when
St Paul first came to that city.
proselytes) Gk. 7rpooTJAuTos — one who has come over; here, and gene
rally, of converts from heathenism to the religion of the Jews.
11. Cretes] Dwellers in the well-known island which lies south of
the Cyclades in the Mediterranean, now called Candia. Christianity
may perhaps have been spread in Crete also from the converts at
Pentecost. Titus was made bishop of Crete.
Arabians] Inhabitants of the great peninsula which stretches between
the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf.
the wonderful works] More literally, the great works of God. So
(x. 46) of the first Gentile converts on whom the Holy Ghost came
it is said, "They heard them speak with tongues and magnify God."
And of those to whom the Spirit was given at Ephesus (xix. 6), "They
spake with tongues and prophesied."
12. they were all amazed, and were in doubt] Rather, and were
perplexed. The original means they did not know what to make of
what they saw and heard. They had no doubt of the facts, for their
ears bore testimony that in their own various mother-tongues the great
works of God were being published, and they had just said so.
13. Others mocking, &c] Better, But others mocking said; They
are full of new wine. There is no Greek for the words these men, as
is shewn by the italics of the A. V.
The sight presented to the bystanders on this occasion was certainly
unusual. We cannot but believe that the disciples would be in a
fervour of excitement and enthusiasm, and the people who composed
the several groups were likely to be no less moved by the account
to which they listened in their various languages, coming from the lips of
men whom some in the throng recognized for Galilseans, and whose
garb and manner would be like that of the ordinary natives of Jerusalem.
The excitement exhibited on both sides will account for the remark of
the mockers.
1 This is specially interesting as it corresponds with what was done in our own
country. The Jewish contract is called Shetar, and such contracts were taken care
of by the English authorities in old times, and from their name is derived what we
now write .S7a?--chamber.

THE ACTS, II. [v. 13.

new wine] Lit. sweet wine, defined as made of the drippings from
the clusters before the grapes were trodden.
In the above description of the events of the day of Pentecost, the
meaning which St Luke intends to convey is very plain in every respect,
except that we cannot with certainty gather from it whether the disci
ples, as well as speaking new languages, also understood what they
uttered. It would seem most reasonable to conclude that the Holy
Spirit with the one power also bestowed the other, and this may have
been so in the case of the disciples at Pentecost, even though it was not
so at other times and under other circumstances. The only Scripture
which bears upon the question is St Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthi
ans (xii. 10 — xiv. 30). There among the gifts of the Spirit the Apostle
enumerates "divers kinds of tongues" (xii. 10, 31), and as what might be
a separate gift not included in the first, "the interpretation of tongues,"
(xii. -io). He mentions in the next chapter the tongues of angels as well
as of men (xiii. 1), but not in such an enumeration as to connect the
words with our enquiry. It should be borne in mind that all which the
Apostle says in the Epistle is addressed to the Corinthians, not as mis
sionary labourers but as members of a settled Christian Church, and he
is instructing them what the best gifts are after which they should seek.
Now their labours and utterances were to be among their own people
and mostly among those already professing Christianity. St Paul
repeatedly dwells on "the church" as the scene of their labours, which
expression without necessarily always implying an edifice (which how
ever here seems to be its meaning, see xiv. 23, 27) indicates a Christian
community. The Apostle tells them that gifts of tongues are not for
these. Tongues are for a sign not to them that believe but to the unbe
lieving. To speak with tongues was therefore not the best gift to be
desired for the Church at Corinth. Yet we can fancy that some mem
bers longed for such a power, and it is to such as these that the Apo
stle's remarks are directed. In such a. congregation as theirs, he tells
them, "he that speaketh in a tongue, speaketh not unto men, but unto
God" (xiv. 2), meaning to teach them that if a man had this gift he
would yet profit his neighbours nothing, for they would not be men of a
foreign speech like the crowd at Pentecost, or like those in foreign lands
which the Christian missionaries must visit. Next he adds "he that
speaketh in a tongue edifieth himself" (xiv. 4), for he feels the power
and tells of the great works of God. The Apostle could wish "they
all spake with tongues," if, that is, there were an advantage to the
Church therein, but under their circumstances he rather wishes the gift
of prophecy, i.e. power of exposition of the Scriptures and preaching for
them. We next come to those sentences which bear directly upon
our enquiry (xiv 13), "Let him that speaketh in a tongue pray that
he may interpret." There were then in the Corinthian Church exam
ples of that division of these closely connected gifts which in the enumera
tion of spiritual gifts the Apostle seems to imply, some spake with toneues
who could not interpret, and others could interpret who did not sneak'
with tongues. And the next words confirm this view, "If I prav in a
tongue my spirit prayeth," (and in this way I edify myself, ) "but niv un
derstanding is unfruitful." Therefore the Apostle desires that icL, ~r

1 Apostle desires that form of

v. I4-] THE ACTS, II.

14 — 21. St Peter 's Sermon. Refutation of the Mockers.
But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lift up his voice, i4
and said unto them, Ye men of Judea, and alljp* that dwell
power for himself which in a congregation shall exercise both spirit and
understanding. He himself had this gift in great fulness, but in the
Church it is not that which he would desire, to use, lest the unlearned
should not be able to say Amen to his giving of thanks. For in the
ordinary church-assembly if the gift of tongues were exercised, it would
seem madness to those Corinthian unbelievers who came in, when they
heard a speaker uttering a foreign language to a congregation who were
all Greeks, and their minister a Greek likewise. St Paul therefore
ordains that if any man speak in a tongue in the Church, he must have
an interpreter or else must keep silence. From which ordinance also it
appears that there were those who, though endowed with the gift of
speaking with tongues, were yet not able to interpret to the congrega
tion the words which they were empowered to speak.
In these passages we have all the references to this gift of the Holy
Ghost which seem to help us to appreciate in some degree what its cha
racter was. Whatever may have been the case at Pentecost, certainly
in the Corinthian Church the power of speaking seems not always to
have had with it the power of interpretation, though in some cases it
had, and all were to pray for the one to be given with the other. Yet
in this whole account it is to be borne in mind that we have no indica
tion that such gifts were frequent in Corinth, but only that the mem
bers of the Church longed to possess them. From this wish the Apostle
dissuades them, because their duty was to minister to believers rather
than to unbelievers, whereas on those occasions where the gift was most
markedly bestowed, as related by the author of the Acts, viz. at the
house of Cornelius, and in the heathen and multilingual maritime city of
Ephesus, as well as at the outpouring on Pentecost, there was the pro
bability of having an audience on whom such a display of God's gifts
would be likely to produce the same kind of effect which had been
produced in Jerusalem on the first manifestation.
14 — 21. St Peter's Sermon. Refutation of the Mockers.
14. But Peter, standing up, &c] The twelve naturally take the
leading place among the disciples, and Peter, who had been spokesman
before, begins the general address now, directing it principally to those
who were dwellers in Jerusalem and the neighbouring country, for it
was more likely to be these who gave vent to the mocking speeches
than the foreigners who would better recognize the astounding nature of
what had come to pass.
and said unto them] Better, and spake forth unto them. The ori
ginal word is the same as that used to describe the gift which they had
just received. "They spake as the Spirit gave them utterance," lit. to
speak forth (ii. 4). St Paul employs it when Festus had said he was
mad. "I speak forth the words of truth and soberness" (xxvi. 25).

22

THE ACTS, II. [w. 15—18.

at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my
15 words : for these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing
16 it is but the third hour of the day. But this is that which
.7 was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to
pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of
my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, and your young men
shall see visions, and your old men shall dream
18 dreams: and on my servants and on my hand-
and hearken] The word is only found here in the N. T. It signi
fies to take anything into the ears.
15. ' are not drunken) Wine was drunk by the Jews with flesh only,
and, founding the custom on Exodus xvi. 8, they ate bread in the morn
ing, and flesh in the evening, and so took no wine till late in the day.
So Eccles. x. 16, 17, by the "princes who eat in the morning" are
meant those who eat to the full of all sorts of food and so take wine, and
their opposites are next described as those who eat in due season for
strength and not for drunkenness.
The paraphrase of this passage given in the Targum is worth notice
in illustration of the text ofthe Acts. It reads, "Woe to thee, O land
of Israel, when there shall reign over thee Jeroboam the wicked, and
shall exterminate from the midst of thee the offering of the moming
sacrifice, and when thy lords shall eat bread before any man has offered
the perpetual offering of the morning. Blessed art thou, land of Israel,
at the time when Hezekiah the son of Ahaz (who is of the genealogy
of the house of David) shall reign, who will be a mighty hero in the
law, and fulfil all the duties of the commandments, and thgn thy princes
shall only eat bread after the perpetual offering has been offered (i.e.
their eating shall be) at the fourth hour, from the labour of their hands
in the strength of the law, and not in faintness and blindness of the eyes."
third hour of the day] Only one quarter of the day was yet over.
The Jews divided the day and night each into twelve parts, which they
called hours but which varied in length as the daylight was less or more.
When the day was as long as the night the third hour would be nine
o'clock in the morning.
16. by (or through) the prophet Joel] Joel calls his prophecy "the
word of the Lord that came unto Joel." The passage is from Joel ii.
28 — 32. The order of the clauses differs slightly from the Hebrew
order, shewn in the A.V., but agrees generally with the LXX.
17. in the last days] These words are' an interpretation of the after
wards of the Hebrew, and after these things of the LXX. The expres
sion "the last days" is used in the Old Testament to signify the coming
of the Messiah. (Cp. Isa. ii. 2; Micah iv. 1.) The latter clauses of
this verse are transposed in Joel.
18. and on my servants, &c] The conjunctions of the original
demand a stronger rendering. Yea and, &c.

w. 19—22.] THE ACTS, II. 23
maidens I will pour out in those days of my Spi
rit; and they shall prophesy: and I will shew wonders 19
in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath;
blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke : the 20
sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon
into blood, before that great and notable day of
the Lord come: and it shall come to pass, that m
whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord
shall be saved.
22 — 36. Recital of God's witness by the Resurrection to the
Messiahship offesus.
Ye men of Israel, hear these words ; Jesus of Na- 22
zareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles
and they shall prophesy] See xix. 6, where this is the result of the
gift ofthe Spirit; cf. also Agabus (xi. 28), and the daughters of Philip
the Evangelist (xxi. 9).
19. and I will shew wonders, &c] By the figurative language
of this verse the prophet teaches that even when the kingdom of
Christ shall have come into the world, mighty troubles shall still
prevail. Cp. Christ's own words of like import (Matt. xxiv. 21 — 30).
20. that great and notable day] Instead of notable we have in
Joel terrible. The words of the N. T. are those of the LXX. The
Hebrew verbs to fear and to see have often been confounded in that
version. On the various senses of this expression cp. Lightfoot, Hor.
Hebr. Mark ix. 1. The prophecy of Joel was primarily and partially
fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, but also
looked onward to its destruction by the Romans.
21. shall be saved] Eusebius (H. E. m. 5. 3) tells how the
Christians were warned to leave Jerusalem before the destruction, and
went into a city of Perea called Pella.
22 — 36. Recital of God's witness by the Resurrection
to the Messiahship of Jesus.
22. men of Israel] As the prophecies which St Peter is about
to put forward were given before the nation was rent into two parts,
he calls them by a name which points to their union and common
descent from Jacob.
Jesus of Nazareth, a man, &c] He begins with the manhood
of Jesus as that which they would all confess.
approved] i.e. publicly demonstrated or set forth. Cp. the woids
of Nicodemus (John iii. 2), "No man can do these miracles that thou
doest except God be with him. "
among you] Better, unto you ; for the testimony had been given
not only among them, but presented unto them, cf. John xii. 37,

24 THE ACTS, II. [vv. 23—27.
and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the
23 midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: him, being
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified
=4 and slain : whom God hath raised up, having loosed the
pains of death : because it was not possible that he should
=5 be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning him, I
foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is
on my right hand, that I should not be moved :
26 therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was
glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:
27 because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, nei-

" Though he had done so many miracles before them yet they believed
not on him."
by miracles and wonders and signs] These distinct names are
given to Christ's marvellous works according to the light in which
they are viewed. The first name, miracles, lit. powers, is applied to
them because they proclaimed the might of Him who wrought them ;
they are named wonders, because they called forth that feeling when
they were wrought; and signs because they point out their author
as Divine.
God did] St Peter does not yet advance to the declaration of Christ
as God, only as God's agent, in works which their own eyes had seen.
23. him, being delivered, &c] i.e. given up unto you, as God
had decreed for the sake of man's redemption.
ye have taken, and by wicked hands, &c] The best MSS. omit the
word rendered have taken. Read, ye by the hand of wicked men have
crucified and slain. By the hand of 'isa. Hebrew formula for by means
of. Cp. Lev. viii. 36, "things which the Lord commanded by the
hand of 'Moses." So 2 Kings xiv. 25, &c.
wicked] Lit. lawless.
25. For David speaketh concerning him] The passage which St
Peter quotes is from Ps. xvi. 8—1 r, and he argues that it could not
be of himself that the Psalmist there spake, for they had evidence
that the words could not be truly said of him ; but that having regard
to God's promise he spake of Him who was to be born from his
line, as identified with himself. St Peter's quotation is from the LXX.
I foresaw] The Hebrew has, I set. Foresaw is here used as = saw.
26. my tongue was glad] The Heb. has my glory. Cp. Ps. cviii.
1, where the A. V. has, according to the Hebrew, "I will give praise
even with my glory" while the Prayer-book Version renders "with
the best member that I have."
shall rest] Lit. shall tabernacle.
27. in hell] The Greek word here and in v. 31 is Hades and
signifies the unseen world. '

w. 28—31.] THE ACTS, II.

25

ther wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see cor
ruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways 28
of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy
countenance. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto =9
you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried,
and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. Therefore being 30
a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath
to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh,
he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne ; he seeing 31
this before, spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul
was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption.
neither wilt thou suffer] Lit. give.
thine Holy One] The Hebrew word in the Psalm contains the idea
of beloved, as well as godly or holy. Our A. V. represents the Greek.
28. thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance] Thus
the LXX. paraphrases the Hebrew, which gives "in thy presence is
fulness of joy."
29. Here the Apostle begins his argument from the words of David,
and at the outset speaks to his hearers as brethren.
Men and brethren] See on i. 16.
let me freely speak] ' Better (with the margin), I may freely say
unto you of the patriarch David that he both died and was hurled,
i. e. none of you will contradict such a statement. As St Paul using
the same argument (xiii. 36), "David after he had served his own gene
ration fell on sleep and was laid unto his fathers."
and his sepulchre is with us] thus shewing that after death he did
not rise again. The sepulchre of the House of David was a famous ob
ject in the Holy City. Among the marvels of Jerusalem mentioned in
the Aboth de-Rabbi Nathan (c. 35), we are told, "There are no graves
made in Jerusalem except the tombs of the house of David and of
Huldah the Prophetess, which have been there from the days of the
first prophets."
On the burial of David in Zion, cp. 1 Kings ii. 10 with 2 Sam. v. 7.
30. knowing that God had sworn with an oatfi] See Ps. cxxxii. 1 1 ,
" of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne."
that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise
up Christ to sit on his throne] The words represented by " according
 Christ" are omitted in the best MSS. The clause as corrected
by them would be "of the fruit of his loins one should sit [or he would
set one] on his throne. "
31. spake of the resurrection of Christ] Better, of the resurrection
of the Christ, i. e. the Messiah, the anointed of Jehovah.
that his soul was not left in hell, &c] The words for his soul are not
found in the best MSS. Read, that neither was he left in hell nor
did Ms flesh, &c. This is an example of a kind of variation from the
earliest MSS. which is very common and can be most easily understood

26 THE ACTS, II. [vv. 32—35-

32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses.
33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and
having received of the Father the promise of the Holy
Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
34 For David is not ascended into the heavens : but he saith
himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on
35 my right hand, until I make thy foes thy foot-
and explained. On the margin of some early copy the words for
his soul were written as an explanation of the shorter expression used
in this verse by the more full language of the Psalm in ver. 27, and by
some later scribe the words were brought into the text.
32. This Jesus hath God raised up] (i.e. from the dead). The
verb here, and the noun translated resurrection in the previous verse, are
parts of the same word, and make the statement very forcible in the
Greek. David spake of a resurrection, which manifestly was not his
own, but here is now come to pass the resurrection of Jesus, of which
we all are witnesses. The all is probably to be confined to Peter
and the eleven, with whom he is more closely connected in this
speech (see v. 14) than with the rest.
33. Therefore being by [or at) the right hand of God exalted] i.e.
into heaven. For not only are the Apostles and disciples witnesses of
the Resurrection but also of the Ascension.
the promise of the Holy Ghost] called the promise of the Father in
i. 4. • Christ had told His disciples that the Father would send this
gift upon them in answer to His prayer. " I will pray the Father and
he shall give you another Comforter  he shall teach you all things"
(John xiv. 16, 26).
he hath shed forth] Better, he hath poured forth. Thus the
fulfilment of the prophecy is, as in the original, described by the same
word which is put into the mouth of the prophet in v. 17.
see and hear] It would seem from this that the appearance, like
as of fire, which rested upon each of them, remained visible for some
time, thus making it apparent how different this was from any meteoric
flashes into which some have endeavoured to explain away the miracle
which St Luke describes.
34. For David is not ascended] Better ascended not. He went
down to the grave, and " slept with his fathers."
but he saith himself] in Ps. ex. 1. Speaking as a prophet, and of
the' same person, whom, though he was to be born of the fruit of his
loins, he yet in the Spirit called his Lord. The words of this Psalm
the Jews in the discourse with our Lord (Matt. xxii. 44, 45) admit to
be spoken of the Christ.
The Lord [Jehovah] said unto [him whom I must even now call] my
Lord] as by prophetic insight I foresee how great he shall be.
Sit thou on my right hand] i. e. be thou a sharer of my throne and
power. This is a common Eastern expression. Cp. the request of the
mother of James and John when she desired places of influence for her

w. 36—38.] THE ACTS, II. 27
stool. Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, 36
that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have cruci
fied, both Lord and Christ.
37 — 40. Effect of St Peter's Sermon.
Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their 37
heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles,
Men and brethren, what shall we do ? Then Peter said 38
unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you
sons in what she supposed would be a temporal kingdom (Matt. xx.
21). 35. until 1 make thy foes thy footstool] To put the foot on the
neck of an enemy is an expression for complete victory. This was an
Oriental custom (cp. Josh. x. 24). Christ's enemies are to become His
footstool, but His power shall not end then. When they are all subdued
His kingdom shall continue and be more glorious.
36. let all the house of Israel know] Of course such an appeal can
only be made to Israel, for they only had known the prophecies, and
received the promises.
that God hath made, &c] The Greek has more force than the A. V.
gives. Render, God hath made him both Lord and Christ, even this
Jesus whom ye crucified. This is the close of the reasoning. Jesus,
who had been crucified, God has raised from the grave, God has exalted
to heaven and set Him on His own right hand, and thus shewn that He
is the Lord and the Anointed One.
37 — 40. Effect of St Peter's Sermon.
37. pricked in their heart) stung with remorse at the enormity of
the wickedness which had been committed in the Crucifixion, and at
the blindness with which the whole nation had closed their eyes to the
teaching of the prophecies which had spoken of the Messiah.
unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles] As specially the witnesses of
the Resurrection and Ascension, and being the recognized heads of the
new society.
Men and brethren) See i. 16, note.
what shall we do f] To escape the penalties which must fall on the
nation that has so sinned against light and knowledge ; who have had
the true Light in their midst, but have comprehended it not, and have
crucified the Lord of glory.
38. Repent] This was in accordance with the directions of Jesus
before His ascension (Luke xxiv. 47), "that repentance and remission
of sins should be preached in His name."
be baptized] Also enjoined by Christ (Matt, xxviii. 19), and while
there the baptism is " to be in the name of the Father and of the Son
and ofthe Holy Ghost," and here it is only said "in the name of Jesus
Christ," we are not to suppose any change made from the first ordi
nance, but only that as the Church was to be called Christ's, so in

28 THE ACTS, II. [vv. 39—41.
in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and
39 ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the pro
mise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are
40 afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And
with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying,
Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
41 — 47. The first Converts and their behaviour.
41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized :
mentioning the Sacrament for the admission of its members His name
was specially made prominent. It was belief in Christ as the Son of
God which constituted the ground of admission to the privileges of His
Church. This made the whole of St Peter's creed (Matt. xvi. 16)
when Christ pronounced him blessed.
ye shallreceive the gift of the Holy Ghost] This is expressly stated to
have been given to some of the converts (see viii. 17, x. 47, &c), and
we cannot doubt that it was largely bestowed on these earlier penitents.
39. the promise is unto you, and to your children] Just as "to
Abraham and his seed were the promises made" (Gal. iii. 16), so is it to
be under the new covenant.
all that are afar off] Peter knew from the first, we see, that the
Gentiles were to be admitted to the same privileges as Israel. But
Christ's commission said they were to preach first in Jerusalem and in
Judaea. Peter needed the vision of the great sheet let down from heaven
to tell him when^ God's time was come for the extension of the work;
and though in his dream the natural prejudice of his race was asserted,
yet when he awoke he went " without gainsaying as soon as he was
sent for " (x. 29), as he says to Cornelius. For Christ's words had been
"Go, teach all nations."
shall call] Better, shall call unto him. The verb is a compound not
the simple verb.
40. And with many other words did he testify, &c] Hence we learn
that there is no attempt made by the writer of the Acts to produce
more than the substance and character of what was here said. And we
may be sure that he uses the same rule always, and we need not there
fore be startled if we find an address followed by mighty results even
though St Luke's abstract of it may only extend over a few verses!
testify) The same word is translated charge in 1 Tim. v. 2r • 2 Tim
ii. 14, iv. 1, and would be well rendered here by the same word' Here
the address of Peter was not a bearing witness, but a direction what
they were to do.
untoward generation] Lit. crooked. The word is so translated
Phil. 11. 15 and might be here. The words "crooked generation" are
not strange to the A- V. (Deut. xxxii. 5), and the figure if made stronger
by the literal rendering. °
41-47. The first Converts and their behaviour.
41. Then they that gladly received his word] The oldest MSS. omit

vv. 42— 45-] THE ACTS, II. 29
and the same day there were added unto them about three
thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apo- 42
sties' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and
in prayers. And fear came upon every soul : and many 43
wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that 44
believed were together, and had all things common ; and <,*,
sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all
gladly. The latter clause of the verse is more literally, And there were
added on that day about three thousand souls, i.e. to the one hundred
and twenty of whom the Church consisted when the day began.
42. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine] i.e. They
allowed nothing to interfere with the further teaching which the Apostles
no doubt gave to the newly baptized. The converts would naturally
seek to hear all the particulars of the life of Him whom they had ac
cepted as Lord and Christ, and such narratives would form the greatest
part of the teaching of the Apostles at the first.
and fellowship] That communion, or holding all things common, of
which a more full description is given in the following verses, and which
would bind them most closely into one society.
breaking of bread) The earliest title of the Holy Communion and
that by which it is mostly spoken of in Scripture. (See Acts xx. 7;
1 Cor. x. 16, &c.) In consequence of the omission here and elsewhere
of any mention of the wine, an argument has been drawn for communion
in one kind. But it is clear from the way in which St Paul speaks of
the bread and the cup in the same breath, as it were, that such a putting
asunder of the two parts of the Sacrament which Christ united is
unwarranted by the practice of the Church of the Apostles.
and in prayers] The Greek has the article here, and stress has some
times been laid on this, as though the Church at this early date had
some settled form of prayer. But it is enough to refer to i. 14, where
the article is also found, but which few would wish to construe " they
continued stedfastly in the prayer."
43. And fear came upon every soul] The mockers were silenced by
what they saw and heard, and were deterred from further opposition
even though they did not listen to the call to repentance.
wonders and signs] See v. 22.
44. were together, and had all things common) With the words of
the angels still in their ears (i. n), "This same Jesus shall so come in
like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven," the disciples were no
doubt full of the thought that the return of Jesus was not far distant.
Such an opinion spreading among the new disciples would make them
ready to resign their worldly goods, and to devote all things to the use of
their brethren. For so the spreading of a knowledge of Christ could be
made the chief work of the whole body of believers.
45. And sold their possessions, &c] For the money which resulted
from such sales would be the most convenient form in which their bounty
could be bestowed on those who needed it.

30 THE ACTS, II. Evv. 46, 47-
46 men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily
with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from
house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and single-
47 ness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the
people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as
should be saved.
as every man had need] Better, according as any man had need.
We gather from this that the first converts kept their homes and things
needful for themselves, but held the rest as a trust for the Church to' be
bestowed whenever need was seen. This is an earlier stage than that
in which the money was brought and put at the disposal of the Apostles.
46. And they, continuing daily with one accord, in the temple] The
Greek is more emphatic. Render, And day by day attending con
tinually with one accord, &c.
At the Temple they were likely to meet with the greatest number of
devout listeners ; and we shall find that the first Christians did not cease
to be religious Jews, but held to all the observances of their ancient faith,
its feasts, its ritual, and its hours of prayer, as far as they could do so
consistently with their allegiance to Jesus. We find (xxi. 20 — 24) the
elders of the Church in Jerusalem urgent on St Paul that he should shew
his zeal for the Law by taking upon him the vow of a Nazarite, and
should so quiet the scruples of Jews, and of such Christian brethren
as were more zealous for the Law than St Paul himself.
and breaking bread from house to house) Perhaps better, breaking
bread at home ; though the A. V., if rightly understood, gives the sense
very well. What is meant is, that the specially Christian institution of
the breaking of bread was not a part of the service in the Temple, but
was observed at their own homes, the congregations meeting now at
one house now at another. The connection of the Lord's Supper with
the Passover meal at its institution, made the Christian Sacrament
essentially a service which could be celebrated, as at the first institution
it was, in such a room as that where the Passover meal was eaten.
did eat their meat] i. c. took their food, their ordinary meals.
with gladness, &c] because those who were able to contribute to the
support of the poorer members of the Church were delighted to do so,
and thus all over-anxious care for the morrow was removed from the
whole community.
singleness of heart] Having but one end in view, that the faith of
Christ should be spread abroad as widely as possible.
47. praising God] because their hearts were full of thankfulness for
the knowledge of Jesus as His Christ.
having favour with all the people] As it was said of Christ, "the
common people heard Him gladly" (Mark xii. 37), so it seems to have
been with His Apostles. The first attack made on them is (iv. 1) by
the priests, the captain of the Temple and the Sadducees.
And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved] The
oldest MSS. agree in omitting to the church, and the literal rendering of

1,2.] THE ACTS, III.

31

1 — 10. Healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of
the Temple.
Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at 3
the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain 2
man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they
the most authoritative text is, And the Lord added day by day together
such as were in the way of salvation, i.e. brought into the communion
" such as" (literally) " were being saved, " the work of whose salvation was
begun but needed perseverance ; who had set foot on the way and were
heirs through hope of ultimate salvation. By this rendering the Greek
words iirl ri abro = to the same place, together, which in the Rec. Text
are at the beginning of chapter iii., are taken into this verse in ac
cordance with the authority of the oldest MSS.
III. 1 — 10. Healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate
of the Temple.
1. Now Peter and John went up together] The word together has
been transferred to the previous verse. See the last note. The verb is
in the imperfect tense, and would be more correctly rendered were going
up. The Temple stood above the city on Mount Moriah.
into the temple] While earnestly labouring for the spread of Christ's
teaching, they did not cast off regard for that schoolmaster which had
been appointed to bring men to Christ.
at the hour of prayer] The preposition indicates the period of time
towards which their movement tended, and may be well rendered for
the hour, &c. They were on their way, and would get there at the time
appointed for prayer.
We read in Scripture of three specified hours of prayer, in accordance
with which the Psalmist speaks of his own custom (Ps. Iv. 17), " Evening,
and morning, and at noon, will I pray." And in like manner Daniel
prayed "three times a day" (Dan. vi. 10). The hour of morning prayer
was the third hour, and Peter went up to the housetop to pray (Acts
x. 9) about the sixth hour, which was noon, and the evening prayer was
this to which Peter and John were going up.
being the ninth hour] At the Equinox this would be three o'clock in
the afternoon, but when the daylight was longer it would 'be later, so
that if there were 18 hours day and 6 hours of darkness; each hour of
the day would be an hour and a half long, and the hours of the night
only half an hour each. At such time the ninth hour would be at
half-past four.
2. And a certain man lame from his mother's womb] There is the
verb expressed in the original, and it should be translated a certain man
who was, &c.
was carried] i.e. regularly every day, and the position in which he
had been daily set for the greater part of his forty years' life (see iv. 22)
made it certain that he would be widely and well known. So Bartimasus
sat by the wayside to beg (Mark x. 46).

32 THE ACTS, III. [vv. 3—7.
laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beau-
3 tiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple ; who
seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked
1 an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with
5 John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed unto them,
6 expecting to receive something of them. Then Peter said,
Silver and gold have I none ; but such as I have give I
thee : In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and
7 walk. And he took him by the right hand, and lift him up:
and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength,
whom they laid daily at the gate ofthe temple which is called Beautiful]
The gateways of the Temple gave admission to the inner court from the
court of the Gentiles and the court of the women ; there were three on
the north and the same number on the south, but the Beautiful Gate
meant in this verse was probably the gate on the east which led from
the court of the women. The other gates, Josephus says (B.J, v. 5. 3),
were overlaid with gold and silver, but this one was "made of Corinthian
bronze, and much surpassed in worth those enriched with silver and
gold." 3. asked an alms] Alms is singular number, and was in early times
spelt almesse, which is derived from the Greek ehernioirovn, which in
German becomes Almosen=a. gift of charity.
4. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him, &c] And doubtless, like
Paul at Lystra (xiv. 9), "perceiving that he had faith to be healed."
For the man's first act after his cure — "he entered into the temple"
(v. 8) — may be taken as an indication of his devout frame of mind.
6. Silver and gold have I none] The Apostles, we may see from this,
made no claim for themselves upon the contributions of the richer con
verts. but such as I have give I thee] Better literally, what I have that give
I thee. We are nowhere told how much time had passed since the day
of Pentecost, and it is probable that this was not the first miracle which
Peter wrought (see ii. 43). For he speaks as not without experience of
what works God will enable him to do. His language is that of firm
assurance, "what I have," though in a moment he adds "In the name
of Jesus Christ."
Jesus Christ of Nazareth] According to St John's account, the name
Nazareth was included in the title on Christ's cross (John xix. 19), and
we can see that the place was despised in the eyes of the Jews (John
i. 46) from Nathanael's question to Philip. This despised origin, as well
as the shameful death of Jesus, was a stumbling-block to the Jews.
rise up and walk] The best MSS. have only the last verb walk. So
that the arguments which have been based on these words to shew that
St Luke in the Acts has drawn his picture here from what is recorded
of Christ's language (Luke v. 23) in the Gospel, fall to the ground.
7. his feet and ankle bones] The words in the original are found
nowhere else in the N. T. They are of a technical character, and their

vv. 8— io.] THE ACTS, III. 33
and he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with s
them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising
God. And all the people saw him walking and praising 9
God: and they knew that it was he which sat for alms 10
use, together with the other features of exact description of the cripple's
case, indicate that we have before us the language of the physician
(Col. iv. 14). And it is hardly possible to dwell too strongly on indica
tions of this kind, which indirectly mark in the history something
which is likewise noted in the Epistles. Those who would assign the
second century as the date of the composition of the Acts, must assume
for their supposed writer the keenest appreciation of every slight allu
sion in the letters of St Paul, and at the same time an ability to let his
knowledge peep out only in hints like that which we find in this verse.
Such persons, while rejecting all that is miraculous in the story as we
have it, ask us to believe in such a writer as would himself be almost a
miracle, for his powers of observation and the skill with which he has
employed them.
received strength] Though from want of use, they must have been
withered before.
8. and he leaping up stood] There is no hesitation in the man's
manner; he does not question the power, but obeys at once.
entered with them into the temple] He doubtless felt that this was the
best visit he could make with his new powers, and he would be the more
anxious to go there as Peter and John were going too.
leaping) For delight at his new strength he cannot put it too much in
exercise. This exidtant use of the gift was a part of his "praising
God." We can hardly fail to see, if we compare the narrative of this miracle
with that of the similar one wrought at Lystra by St Paul (xiv.), to
which we have already referred, that St Luke has used faithfully the
materials with which he was furnished by "eye-witnesses," and has
given the accounts as he received them without any colouring of his
own. In this chapter we have a description such as a painter would
desire ; the scene is brought vividly before us, and all the characters are
in lively action. It is just such an account as we find in St Mark's
Gospel of the cure of the demoniac child (Mark ix. 14 — 27), and both
are quite in accord with all that we know of St Peter's mode of speaking,
and from St Peter it is most probable that the narrative in this chapter
is derived. On the contrary, the story of the cure wrought at Lystra by
St Paul is told in the fewest possible words and with no touch of the
graphic power of which this description is so full. The difference be
speaks the faithfulness of the writer of the Acts, and shews us that
he has left the narratives as they came to his hand, without any attempt
to stamp on them an individuality of his own.
9. all the people saw him] There was abundance of testimony to the
reality of the cure, and that by many persons who had seen the cripple
for years. This the Jewish authorities (iv. 16) admit.
10. and they knew that it was he, &c] The same verb is rendered

34

THE ACTS, III. [w. u— 13.

'3

at the Beautiful gate of the temple : and they were filled
with wonder and amazement at that which had happened
unto him. 1 1 — 26. St Peter's discourse to the crowd.
And as the lame man which was healed held Peter and
John, all the people ran together unto them in the porch
that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering. And when
Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of
Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on
us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made
this man to walk ? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac,
(iv. 13) they took knowledge, and that sense is perhaps the better here.
It can hardly have been intended to say that the whole of the people
knew the man.11—26. St Peter's discourse to the crowd.
11. And as the lame man which was healed held Peter, &c] The
oldest MSS. give And as he held Peter, &c. The additional words have
crept in from some marginal note of explanation.
the porch that is called Solomon's) As the name of Solomon was so
intimately connected with the Jewish Temple, it is natural enough that
one of its porches (or cloisters) should be called after him. There is
no account of any such porch in Solomon's own Temple, but Josephus
tells us (Ant. XX. 9. 7) that there was an eastern porch in Herod's
Temple called by this name. The mention of this feature in the building
is a sign that the writer, from whom St Luke drew, was one acquainted
with the localities about which he speaks, and that the account was
written before the fall of Jerusalem, or he would not have said is called,
or if he had done so would have been convicted of inconsistency of lan
guage by those to whom his work was first presented.
12. when Peter saw it] i. e. their wonder, as may be inferred from
his opening words.
he answered] Often used although no previous remark or question
precedes. Cp. Acts v. 8, where Peter is said to have ansivered Sapphira,
though she had said nothing, as far as we are told, and where the
Apostle's words are a question.
why marvel ye at this?) Probably we should supply man, because the
pronoun at the close of the verse is only the personal and not the de
monstrative, and we should read " made him to walk," and not as the
A. V. "made this man to walk."
look ye so earnestly) The verb is rendered "to fasten the eyes on " in
v. 4.
by our own power) As he had done to the cripple, so also he makes
it clear to the crowd that the name of Jesus is the power by which he
has wrought.

vv. 14—16.] THE ACTS, III. 35
and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son
Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence
of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye ¦
denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer
to be granted unto you ; and killed the Prince of life, whom ¦
God hath raised from the dead ; whereof we are witnesses.
And his name through faith in his name hath made this 1
man strong, whom ye see and know : yea, the faith which is
13. hath glorified his Son Jesus] The Greek is not vibs but 7rais, and
should be rendered Servant, and this would carry the mind back, as
St Peter no doubt intended, to Isaiah xiii. 1, "Behold my servant whom
I uphold," a passage which St Matthew (xii. 18) applies to Jesus.
denied him in the presence of Pilate] alluding to Pilate's question
(John xix. 15), "Shall I crucify your king?" to which they answered,
' ' We have no king but Csesar."
when he was determined, He] Rather, when he had given sentence
to release him. For Pilate had pronounced Jesus innocent (John xix. 4).
14. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just] Whom even the
demoniac (Mark i. 24) had confessed to be "the Holy' One of God."
desired a murderer] Barabbas, who had committed murder, Mark xv.
7 ; Luke xxiii. 19.
15. the Prince of life] The saane word applied to Jesus (Heb. xii.
2) is rendered " author and finisher of our faith," and in the same
epistle (iL 10) "'the captain of their salvation." It is probably in the latter
sense that St Peter, whose thoughts are on the Resurrection, uses the
word here, thinking of Christ as the firstfruits of them that slept (1 Cor.
xv. 20), but the other sense, that " in him was life " (John i. 4), is also
embraced in the word.
whom God hath raised] Better, whom God raised, i. e. once for all.
whereof we are witnesses] The relative is here better, referred to
Christ, "of whom we are witnesses." Not merely did they bear witness of
the Resurrection, though that was a most important portion of their
testimony, but of all Christ's teaching and deeds. Cp. i. 22, where
Matthias was chosen to be such a witness.
16. And his name, &c] There is more force in retaining the order
of the Greek, And through faith in his name, his name hath made
strong this man whom ye see and know. This use of name = power,
and even as an absolute equivalent for God, is very Jewish; cp. iv. 12.
The usage grew out of such passages as Ps. cvi. 8, " He saved them for
His name's sake." In the literature of the. Jews great power was at
tributed to the name of God even when only inscribed, e.g. as it was
said in tradition to have been on the rod of Moses. By this power he
is reported to have wrought the miracles in Egypt and in the wilderness.
But St Peter's language here explains that it is no such power of which
he is now speaking, for the name of Jesus does not work the miracle
per se but only because of the faith of the believer.
the faith which is by him] St Peter uses the like expression (1 Pet

36 THE ACTS, III. [vv. 17—19.
by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the pre-
17 sence of you all. And now, brethren, I wot that through
18 ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But those
things, which God before had shewed by the mouth of all
his prophets, that Christ should suffer, he hath so fulfilled,
19 Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may
be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from
i. 21), "You who by Him do believe in God." Christ is " the author
and finisher of our faith."
17. I wot] This antiquated word is the present tense of the verb
to wit (A. S. witan) = to know, and its past tense is I wist. Had I wist
=had I known.
through ignorance] Ignorance has many degrees and can arise from
many causes. The Jewish multitude were ignorant from want of teach
ing, their rulers from mental perverseness in looking only on one part
of the prophecies concerning the Messiah. Yet of both these it may be
said that through ignorance (i.e. want of knowledge, however caused,)
they crucified Jesus.
18. by the mouth of all his prophets, &c] The best MSS. connect
the pronoun his with the next clause. Read, by the mouth of all the
prophets that his Christ should suffer. The purpose of the whole of
the Scripture is to set forth the redemption of men through the suffering
of Christ. So .that from the first mention of the bruising of the heel
of the seed of the woman (Gen. iii. 15), there had been a constant
chain of testimony that the Christ should suffer.
he hath so fulfilled] Turning your evil deed to a purpose of sal
vation. 19. Repent ye therefore] i.e. because you see the greatness of your
offence. and be converted) Lit. turn again, i.e. from the evil of your ways.
The word 'convert has received much ongrowth of meaning since the
A. V. was made. The same word is well rendered (xi. 21I, "a great
number believed and turned unto the Lord."
when the times of refreshing shall come] Srrws av cannot be trans
lated when the times... shall come, but that the times... may come. These
particles indicate a purpose, the accomplishment of which still lies in
doubt. So the Apostle's argument is, Repent, that your sins may be
blotted out, that m this way (i.e. by your penitence) the times of refresh
ing may come. The particles are rendered in this sense Acts xv. 17
" that the residue of men might [better may) seek after the Lord "
times of refreshing] The Greek word signifies " appointed times,"
i.e. which God hath appointed and which He keeps in His own power, :
but which the penitence of men will hasten. They are called " times of "
refreshing," i.e. peace and blessedness, for the Apostle describes them "
afterwards as the coming of the Christ But by the prophecies which
he quotes he shews that the refreshing is for those only who repent
(v. 23) and hear the prophet whom God sends. The anticipation of

w. 20— 22.] THE ACTS, III. 37
the presence of the Lord ; and he shall send Jesus Christ, 20
which before was preached unto you : whom the heaven as
must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which
God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets
since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the 2J
a speedy return of Christ from heaven was common among the first
believers. St Peter here does not directly state this opinion, but we
can see how current it was from St Paul's second Epistle to' the Thes
salonians, where he finds it necessary to warn the Christians of that
Church against the disquiet which the immediate expectation of the
second Advent was causing among them.
20. and he shall send] The construction is continued from the
previous verse. Read, and that he may send.
In the rest of this verse both the order of the words and the reading
of the Tex. Rec. is different from that of the best MSS. The sentence
should read : the Christ wliich was appointed for you, even Jesus.
Not only is this the more authoritative reading but it agrees with the
proofs which St Peter presently cites (v. 25), "Ye are the children of
the covenant which God made with our fathers. " The Christ, the Mes
siah, had been appointed and promised unto the Jewish nation, and now
the promise of the covenant is fulfilled in Jesus.
21. whom the heaven must receive] and retain, as we are witnesses
that He has been taken up into heaven.
until the times of restitution] Better, restoration of all things, i. e.
at Christ's second coming. But this phrase, "the restoration of all
things," is used in two senses in N.T. First it is said (Matt. xvii. 11 ;
Mark ix. 12) that Elias must "first come and restore all things."
There it signifies the beginning of Christ's Kingdom. As Christ's
death was for all men's redemption, the restoration of all things may be
said to have begun then. In the present verse the words have refer
ence to the time when the course of that restoration shall be com
pleted. which God hath spoken] Better, of which [i. c. times) God hath
spoken. all his holy prophets] All is omitted in the best MSS.
since the world began] See v. 1 8.
22. For Moses truly said] Truly is here the rendering of the particle
lUr, and is likely to be misunderstood, as though it meant verily.
Read For indeed Moses said. Here the Apostle cites the prophecies to
which he has been alluding. First from Deut. xviii. 15 he points out
that the prophet who had been promised was to be of their brethren, as
Moses had been. This was a comparison which the Jews themselves were
fond of making, and they often identified the prophet of whom Moses
spake with the Messiah. Thus the Midrash Rabbah on Eccl. i. 9 says,
"Rabbi Berakhiah in the name of Rabbi Yizkhak [Isaac] says: 'As
was the former redeemer so shall the latter redeemer be. ' While of the
former redeemer it is said (Exod. iv. 20), 'And Moses took his wife
and his sons and set them upon an ass,' so of the latter : for it says

38 THE ACTS, III. [vv. 23—25.
fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise
up unto you of your brethren, like unto me;
him shall ye hear in alj things whatsoever he shall say
*3 unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every
soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be de-
14 stroyed from among the people. Yea, and all the prophets
from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have
25 spoken, have likewise foretold of these days. Ye are the
children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God
(Zech. ix. 9), 'He is lowly and riding upon an ass.' And while the
former redeemer brought down manna, as it says (Exod. xvi. 4), 'Be
hold I will rain bread from heaven for you,' so the latter redeemer will
bring down manna. For it says (Ps. lxxii. 16), 'There shall be abund
ance of corn in the land.' And as the former redeemer caused the
well to spring up (see Numb. xxi. 17), so the latter redeemer shall also
cause the waters to spring up. For it says (Joel iii. 18), 'A fountain
shall come forth of the house of the Lord, and shall water the valley of
Shittim.'" him shall ye hear] i.e. those who have "ears to hear'' when the pro
phet comes and speaks- The next verse shews that all the nation were
not included in the "ye."
24. all the prophets from Samuel) To other prophecies St Peter
only makes a general reference. We learn (Midrash Shemuel, c. 24)
that Samuel was called by the Jews " Rabban," the chief and teacher
of the prophets, and there are several reasons why he is put in this fore
most place. (1) We never read of a school of the prophets before his
time. (2) His mother Hannah is the first person in Holy Writ who
speaks of the Messiah (1 Sam. ii. 10), "God's anointed." (3) Jewish
tradition says that the man of God who came to Eli (1 Sam. ii. 27) was
Elkanah. The Targum on 1 Sam. x. 12, "But who is their father F
explains father by Rabbi, and refers the word to Samuel, so that the ques
tion in that verse would imply : " Why do you wonder at Saul among
the prophets? Who is it that instructs the prophets? Is it not Samuel?
And has not Saul been with him just now and been anointed by him?"
All this could be said without the speaker having any knowledge that
Saul was to be king. For the use of father as= teacher or Rabbi cf.
Elisha's cry to Elijah (2 Kings ii. 12), " My father, my father."
as many as have spoken, have likewise foretold of these days] The
verbs, are aorist. Read, as many as spake they also told of these days.
The latter verb is without the preposition irpo in the best MSS., and so
is not=foretold but told. The prophet was one who spoke for God,
gave a message from Him, but was not necessarily a foreteller of the
future. 25. Ye are the children [better, sons] of the prophets] i. e. of the
same race, and therefore what the prophets spake is meant for you.
The prophet foretold by Moses is raised up for you.
and [sons] of the covenant] Therefore, heirs to its promises and its

39

w. 26; i.] THE ACTS, III. IV.
made with our fathers, saying unto Abraham, And in thy
seed shall all the kindreds of the earth be bless
ed. Unto you first God, having raised up his Son Jesus, ee
sent him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from
his iniquities.
i — 12. First arrest of the Apostles. Their hearing and
defence.
And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the 4
captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,
obligations. So (2 Kings xiv. 14) hostages are called literally sons of the
pledgings or compacts.
saying unto Abraham] Gen. xxii. 18.
26. Unto you first] That the Jews might first receive the blessing
themselves, and then spread'it abroad.
God, having raised up] Not spoken here of the resurrection of Jesus,
but recalling the promise of Moses (v. 22) that a prophet should be
raised up and sent unto the people.,
his Son Jesus] his Servant (as v. 13). The best authorities omit
Jesus. sent him to bless you] by the times of refreshing alluded tot/. 19.
The way and means to which blessing is to be by the repentance and
turning again to which the Apostle has been exhorting them.
IV. 1 — 12. First arrest of the Apostles. Their hearing
AND DEFENCE.
1. And as they spake unto the people] The movements of the Apostles
had by this time become an object of concern to the authorities in Jeru
salem. See their complaint (v. 28). There is no note of time at the
beginning of chap. iii. to indicate what period had elapsed since Pente
cost before the lame man was healed. But news soon spread in the
city as we can learn from the events related in the previous chapter.
the priests] Those whose duty it was at the time to take charge of the
Temple services, and who probably had taken offence at the multitudes
assembled in the Temple court. The division of the priests was into
twenty-four courses, each of which was to serve in the Temple for a week,
see r Chron. xxiv. 1 — 19; 2 Chron. xxiii. 8. It was during such service
in the order of his course, that the promise of the birth of John the
Baptist was made to Zechariah the priest (Luke i. 5—8). Some
authorities read high priests.
and the captain of the temple) There is mentioned in the O. T. an
officer whose title is "the ruler of the house of God" (1 Chron. ix. n;
2 Chron xxxi. 13; Neh. xi. n). He was not a military officer, but had
charge of the guard of priests and Levites who watched the Temple at
night. There are two titles given to such an officer in the later writings

40 THE ACTS, IV. [v. i.
of the Jews, (i) the Memunneh (Mishna Tamidi.), a kind of prefect
of the Temple guard, and (2) a higher officer called "the captain of the
mountain of the [Lord's] house." (Mishna Middoth 11.) Rabbenu
Shimshon describes this second officer as "the Commander who was set
over every watch of those that watched in the less sacred portion of the
Temple. He was apparently a civil as well as religious official, for we
find (v. 26) that he goes with "the officers" to make the second arrest
of the Apostles.
and the Sadducees] This was the name of one of the most influential
sects among the Jews in our Lord's time. Their name has been variously
explained. The Jewish authorities state that the name, which they
write Tsedukim, is derived from Tsadok (Zadok) the proper name, and
that thus they are "the followers of Zadok." The Zadok from whom
they derive the title is said to have been a disciple of Antigonus of Socho.
This Antigonus is the second in order of the Jewish Fathers whose
sayings are recorded in the Pirke Aboth, and the commentators thereon
mention two of his pupils, Zadok and Baithos, to the latter of whom,
and to his followers, they attribute the teaching that "there was nothing
for them in the world to come." But it is perhaps more probable, from
their constant connection with the priests, that the name of the Sad
ducees was derived from the more famous Zadok who became high
priest in the reign of King Solomon (1 Kings ii. 35). We read of the
distinction of his descendants as "the sons of Zadok" and "the priests
the Levites of the seed of Zadok" even as late as the description of
Ezekiel's Temple (Ezek. xl. 46, xliv. 15). The probability of this
priestly descent of the sect of the Sadducees is strengthened by the way
in which they are mentioned Acts v. 17, "Then rose up the high priest
and all they that were with him (which is the sect ofthe Sadducees)." The
derivation which makes their name the plural of the Hebrew adjective
Tsaddik= righteous, has not much authority to support it.
The teaching of the Sadducees is partly described Acts xxiii.' 8.
They "say that there is no resurrection neither angel nor spirit." In
addition to this they attached no authority to the Oral Law, while the
Pharisees maintained that the greater portion thereof had been trans
mitted to them from Moses. The Sadducees also taught the doctrine
of the freedom of the will of men. The statement that they rejected
all the Old Testament Scriptures except the Pentateuch has no con
firmation in Josephus and has arisen from a confusion of the Sadducees
with the Samaritans. Josephus (Antiq. xviii. 1. 4) says " their doctrine
is accepted only by a few, but yet by those of the greatest dignity,"
a statement fully borne out by the influential position in which we find
them when the history of the Acts opens. They play no very pro
minent part in the Gospel history, because the teaching of Christ while
on earth was directed more specially against the formalism and outward
show of religion that prevailed among the Pharisees. It is only when
the doctrine ofthe resurrection begins to be preached that the hostility
of the Sadducees makes itself apparent.
came upon them] to arrest them. The same word is used as of the
action of the chief captain (xxiii. 27), "Then came I (upon them) with
an army and rescued him. " See note there.

vv. 2—4.] THE ACTS, IV. 41
being grieved that they taught the people, and preached *
through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they 3
laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next
day : for it was now eventide. Howbeit many of them 4
which heard the word believed; and the number of the
2. being grieved] Better, being troubled. The word signifies thoroughly
pained. It is used (xvi. 18) of St Paul's feeling when the "damsel
possessed with a spirit of divination" cried after him at Philippi.
that they taught the people] One objection which the scribes and priests
would feel towards the Apostles would be that they were "unlearned
and ignorant men" (v. 13), and so not deemed fit to teach.
and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead] Better,
and published in Jesus. This would rouse the feelings ofthe Sadducees.
The resurrection is said to be in Jesus, because His resurrection was a
pledge that all should rise. " In Christ all shall be made alive" (1 Cor.
xv. 22). The language of the Apostles in the Acts does not dwell on
this as a consequence of the resurrection of Jesus, for like all Jewish
teaching, what they said was historical rather than doctrinal.
3. and put them in hold] i.e. in prison. The word means ward,
safe keeping. And it is worth noticing on the use of it, that the Jews
only employed imprisonment for this precautionary purpose. It was
not a mode of punishment with them, and where we find mention of it
so used in the Scripture records, the authorities who inflicted it were
not Jewish.
unto the next day: for it was now eventide] The Jews were not
allowed to give judgment in the night, and their day ceased with the
twelfth hour. It was already about the ninth hour when Peter and
John were going up to the Temple (iii. 1), so that before the address
of Peter and the arrest of him and John was completed it would be
too late to enter on a judicial enquiry. The Rabbis founded the
prohibition on Jer. xxi. 12, " O house of David, thus saith the Lord,
Execute judgment in the morning" In Mishna Sanhedrin IV. 1 it
is said : "Judgments about money may be commenced in the day
and concluded in the night, but judgments about life must be begun
in the day and concluded in the day." And even the rule about
the declaration of the new moon, which was looked on as a judicial
proceeding, is similarly regulated (Mishna Rosh ha-Shanah III. 1), and
it may not be declared unless the examination of the witnesses, and all
other preliminaries enjoined before its proclamation, be completed before
dark. 4. Howbeit] Better, But, i.e. not being deterred by the arrest of
the Apostles.
many of them which iieard the word believed] on Jesus ; for Peter
had set Him before them as that Prophet concerning whom Moses had
spoken. and the number ofthe men was] [better, came to] about five thousand]
That is, the society had been increased by nearly two thousand converts
since the day of Pentecost (ii. 41).

42

THE ACTS, IV [w. 5, 6.

5 men was about five thousand. And it came to pass on the
6 morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes, and Annas
5. And it came to pass on the morrow] When the investigation
was permitted to be held.
that their rulers, and elders] Here we see that the _ party of the
Sadducees was the party of power and influence at this time.
and scribes) For these were not only the copyists, but the inter
preters and expounders of the Law to the people, and any new teaching
would naturally be disliked by them. On the difference between
Christ's teaching and that of the scribes see Matt. vii. 29.
6. and Annas the high priest) was there. The verb is understood,
Annas (called Ananus in Josephus), son of one Seth, was made high-
priest (a.d. 7) by the Roman governor Quirinus [Cyrenius], and so
continued till A. D. 14 (Joseph. Antiq. XVIII. 2. 1). We do not find
that he was ever again appointed to the office, though St Luke here
calls him high-priest. But (he way in which he is mentioned at the
time of the trial of Christ, who was brought, as we read, before Annas
first (John xviii. 13), and sent by him afterwards bound unto Caiaphas,
shews that, though not actual high-priest, yet his position in the eyes •
of the people of Jerusalem was one which justified them in bringing
Jesus to him as soon as he was seized. It is difficult to explain from
the words of the New Test, the relation of these two men in their
office. Caiaphas is expressly called high-priest by St John, yet we
are not told why Christ was not at once brought to him. It may be
that one was acting high-priest, while the other was nasi or president
of the Sanhedrin. Moreover it is not improbable that Annas, having
been high-priest before, and only deposed from the office by the
Roman governor Gratus, would, both during the short high-priesthood
of his son Eleazar (a.d. 16), and the longer high-priesthood of Caiaphas,
his son-in-law (a.d. 25 — 37), exercise much influence by reason of
his age and experience, and might, from his former tenure of the
office, even be spoken of as high-priest. It is clear that he was at
the head of one of the most influential Jewish families, for before his
death, five of his sons had been high-priests (Joseph. Antiq. XX. 9. 1).
We can see from Luke iii. 2, where both Annas and Caiaphas are
said to be high-priests, that there was some laxity in the common use
of the title. So far only does the New Testament carry us, but when
we come to examine the Old Testament, and the records of later
Jewish literature, there seems every reason to conclude that the ex
pressions which seem somewhat hard to reconcile are exactly those
which would naturally be employed. We find that Moses, who is
himself counted (Ps. xcix. 6) God's priest on the same level with Aaron,
anointed not Aaron only, but his sons at the same time (Exod. xl.
12—15) to be high-priests. Also (Numb. xxxi. 6) Phinehas'the son
of Eleazar is sent to the war against the Midianites with "the holy
instruments" (i. e. the Urim and Thummim), which shews that he was
high-priest at the same time as Eleazar his father. Again in later
times (2 Kings xxv. 18) we have mention made of "Seraiahthe
chief priest and Zephaniah the second priest," which the Targum ex-

v. 6.] THE ACTS, IV. 43
the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander,
plains as "high-priest and Sagan" or deputy high-priest. The
Talmud makes it very clear that there was a special arrangement for
providing on some occasions such a deputy for the high-priest. Thus
(Mishna Joma I. 1) it says, "Seven days before the day of atone
ment they remove the high-priest from his house to the chamber of
the assessors, and they provide another priest in his place lest any
disqualification should befal him."' On this passage Rashi's note is
"to be high-priest instead of him:" and a little later on in the same
treatise (T. B. Joma 39 a) it is said concerning the services of the day of
atonement: "Rabbi Khanina the Sagan of the priests (and so one
qualified to speak on the duties of the office) said : Why does the Sagan
stand on the right hand of the high-priest (when the lots are being cast
for the goats)?" The answer is, "So that if any disqualification
should befal him, the Sagan may go in (to the Holy of1 Holies) and
perform the service in his stead." Cp. also Midrash Rabbah on Le
viticus (par. 20 ad fin.). " If there was any defilement on Aaron, Eleazar
served (as high-priest), and if there was any defilement on Eleazar, t
Ithamar served." (On the slight matters which caused such ceremonial
defilement, see note on x. 28.) And in the same chapter we find
"Had not Elisheba (Exod. vi. 23, the wife of Aaron) joy in this world
who saw five crowns (i.e. subjects for rejoicing) in one day? her
brother-in-law (Moses) a king (Deut. xxxiii. 5) ; her brother (Naashon)
nasi, i.e. president, ofthe tribe of Judah; her husband high-priest; her
two sons, sagans of the high-priest; and Phinehas her grandson
anointed for the war." These notices make it clear that from the
earliest times down to a period posterior to the date of the Acts,
there were occasions, and these not unfrequent, when two men were
called high-priests at the same time.
That one who had been high-priest should still retain the title may
be seen from the principle laid down in several places in the Talmud,
(see Mishna Shekalim VI. 6, ed. princ. Jerus.), viz. that "you may
elevate in a sacred office or service, but you cannot bring down," as
with us "once a Bishop, always a Bishop." The illustration given is
that you might lay the shewbread on a marble table first, and after
wards on a golden one, but the contrary order of proceeding was for
bidden. (For another illustration, see note on vi. 3.) Therefore
Annas, having been high-priest, could, according to Jewish usage,
never be called by any lower title.
The relationship between Annas and Caiaphas and the seniority
of the former is enough to explain the conduct of the crowd in bringing
Jesus to him first: while the omission of the word high-priest (Acts
iv. 6) with the name of Caiaphas is no more a proof that he was not
also known to be high-priest, as well as Annas, than the words of
St Mark's Gospel (xvi. 7), "Go your way, tell his disciples and Peter,"
can be made evidence that Peter was not one of the disciples. For
a similar phrase cp. v. 29 and the note there.
and Caiaphas] He was also called Joseph, and was son-in-law to
Annas. S— 2

44 THE ACTS, IV. [vv. 7—9,
and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were
7 gathered together at Jerusalem. And when they had set
them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what
s name, have ye done this ? Then Peter, filled with the Holy
Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and
9 elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of the good
and John] This is the same name as Johanan, and Lightfoot con
cludes that this person was the famous Johanan ben Zaccai, who by
his influence with Vespasian procured permission for many of the
Jews to settle in Jamnia (Yavneh) after the destruction of their city,
and himself became head of the synagogue there.
and Alexander] of whom nothing is known more than can be
gathered from this mention of him.
and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest] And these '
would probably all be of the Sadducees' party.
were gathered together at (MSS. in) Jerusalem] These words which
A. V. places , at the end of v. 6 are in the Greek a part of v. 5, and
it is better to insert them there, because the MSS. of most authority
make the names in v. 6 all nominatives and subjects to a new verb.
It may have been that some of the authorities were not residents in
Jerusalem, but had to be summoned.
7. And when they had set them in the midst] The council or
Sanhedrin was assembled as, the Beth-dint in the house of judgment.
they asked, By what power, or by what name, &c] For power, the
original has the same word as is used so often of Christ's miracles, and
generally rendered mighty works. Name is = authority. The force
of the expression is perhaps felt better, if the preposition iv be rendered
literally in rather than by; certainly so in the second member of the
sentence. 8. Then Peter, filled wilh the Holy Ghost] The Spirit of God upon
him had changed him "into another man." Cf. 1 Sam. x. 6.
said unto them, Ye rulers of the people) For this was the highest
judicial tribunal which the Jews had.
and elders of Israel] The best authorities omit of Israel. The
council was composed of the chief priests, i. e. the heads of each of the
twenty-four classes into wliich the priests were divided, the scribes, men
who were skilled in all the Jewish law, and the elders, grave and learned
men chosen to complete the number, which is stated to have been in
all seventy-one.
9. if we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent
man] Both the nouns are without the article. Read "a good deed
done to an impotent man." Of = concerning, as we still use it in "to
speak of." St Peter's words imply that perhaps there would be some
other charge brought against them, for teachers of a new doctrine who had
in a brief space gained five thousand followers must have attracted much
notice in Jerusalem. Nor is it long before we hear (vi. 13) blasphemy
"against the Temple and the law" laid to the charge of Stephen whose

vv. io— 12.] THE ACTS, IV. 45
deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made
whole ; be it known unto you all, and to all the people of 10
Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom
ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him
doth this man stand here befoie you whole. This is the "
stone which was set at nought of you builders,
which is become the head of the corner. Neither "
is there salvation in any other : for there is none other
name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved.preaching (for this accusation precedes Stephen's defence) must have
been of the same character as that of Peter and John.
by what means he is made whole) The Greek has this (man), the
demonstrative pronoun, for the man was there in the council-house to be
seen by all. See v. 14.
10. by the name of Jesus] Read in the name, as before.
whom ye crucified] i.e. by the Roman soldiers. So (2 Sam. xii. 9)
David is said to have killed Uriah, though it is added "by the sword of
the children of Amnion."
even by him] The Greek seems rather to refer back to the former
clause of the verse, and to be better rendered even in this (name).
11. This (i. c. Jesus) is the stone which was set at nought of you [the]
builders] There is the definite article in the original. The council are
fitly called the builders, for on them depended the whole religious and
civil government of the people. St Peter, with his mind now en
lightened to apply the Scriptures, uses the words of the Psalmist
(cxviii. 22) as spoken prophetically of Christ. Christ had already
(Matt. xxi. 42) applied these words to Himself and to the way in which
He was being rejected of the Jews, in the close of one of His parables
which the Pharisees felt had been spoken against them.
which is become the head of the corner] Christ, now exalted into
heaven, is no longer the despised, but has become the most important,
stone in the new building of the Christian society, cp. Eph. ii. 20 — 22.
St Peter uses this quotation in his Epistle (1 Pet. ii. 7), and joins with
it a passage (Isa. xxviii. 16) where the like figure is employed propheti
cally of the Messiah, "the foundation stone laid in Zion."
12. Neither is there salvation in any other] Rather, And our salva
tion is not in any other. The article with the noun (ij trwnpla.) seems
thus better expressed. St Peter thus intimates that the cure of the
lame man is only a sign of the power of salvation for the soul which
was in Jesus. The people were to draw from the effect produced by
"Arise and walk," the conclusion that the same power could as surely
give the greater blessing, "thy sins be forgiven thee" (Matt. ix. 5).
given among men] Communicated to men by God, as a means of
salvation. whereby we must be saved] . Through whom we must of necessity seek
our salvation if we would be saved.

46 THE ACTS, IV. [vv. 13—16.
13 — 22. The Apostles are dismissed unpunished.
,3 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and
perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they
marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they
i4 had been with Jesus. And beholding the man which was
healed standing with them, they could say nothing against
15 it. But when they had commanded them to go aside out of
16 the council, they conferred among themselves, saying, What
shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle
hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell
13 — 22. The Apostles are dismissed unpunished.
13. the boldness) The word implies freedom and readiness of speech
such as would not be expected from the unlearned.
of Peter and John] Here we have evidence that not all the speeches
which were made are reported by St Luke, for we have no record of any
word spoken by John, yet his boldness of speech, no less than St Peter's,
is observed by the council. Christ's speeches had produced a like effect
(John vii. 15).
ignorant men] The Greek signifies plebeian, as opposed to noble
men. Render, common.
they took knowledge of them] These words have been interpreted as
though they meant that the members of the Sanhedrin now for the first
time discovered the relation in which the two Apostles stood to Jesus.
Those who press such a rendering must overlook the force of the very
same verb as used in iii. 10, "They knew that it was he which sat for
alms." The men of whom this is said had known the cripple for years,
but now observed in addition that he was a cripple no longer, though
still the same man whom they had so long seen begging. Just so with
the Jewish authorities; they could hardly fail to have known the con- "
nection of the preachers with Jesus after the sermon on the day of
Pentecost and the events which followed it, and now they further (eVi)
notice that as the Master's words had been powerful, so there was like
power in the language of those who had been with Him. We are told
(John xviii. 15) of one disciple, taken always to be St John himself, who
was known to the high-priest before the Crucifixion.
14. It has been asked on this verse : Why the sight of the healed
man so utterly confounded the judges that they had nol a word to say.
We may see from what happened afterwards that there were men in the
council not without the thought that God was really working through
the Apostles. Gamaliel says (v. 39) "If this work be of God," and if
this feeling operated in him, the recognized head of the Jewish court,
it is not unlikely that others were silent with the consideration that
"haply they might be fighting against God."
15. to go aside out of the council] To leave the council chamber,
while the members of the council discussed what should be done.
16. manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem] Because all the

w. 17—21.] THE ACTS. IV. 47
in Jerusalem ; and we cannot deny it. But that it spread 17
no further among the people, let lis straitly threaten them,
that they speak henceforth to no man in this name. And 18
they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all
nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John 19
answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the
sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God,
judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we *°
have seen and heard. So when they had further threatened ™
inhabitants knew the beggar at the Temple-gate, and that he had been
lame all his life. There could only be two grounds on which, in refer
ence to the cure of the cripple, the Apostles could be worthy of punish
ment: (1) If it were a case of imposture, but this nobody in the council
or anywhere else insinuated, or (2) if the miracle had been wrought by
some unlawful agency (Deut. xiii.). The question of the Sanhedrin
points in this direction, "By what power have ye done this?" But Peter
from the first (iii. 13) had ascribed the miracle to the "God of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob," and again testifies that it is God through Jesus Christ
that hath made the man whole. So that there was no charge possible
on the second ground.
17. But that it spread] i. e. the fame of the miracle and the conse
quent belief in the Divinity of Jesus.
let us straitly threaten them] The best MSS. omit the word here
rendered straitly. The literal translation of the Received Text is
"let us threaten them with a threat," a Hebrew mode of expression
often imitated in the N.T., but apparently not found here in the
earliest copies.
in this name] The preposition here is M, not ev, as in v. 7. The
force of it is the same which it has in John xii. 16, "they remembered
that these things were written of him." The Apostles were forbidden
to preach about the name, i. e. the authority and Divinity, of Jesus.
18. And they called them] back again into the council chamber.
and commanded them] The verb is frequently used of the injunctions
which our Lord gave that His miraculous deeds should not be spread
abroad (Mark vi. 8; Luke v. 14, &c). The pronoun them is not found
in the best MSS.
19. Peter and John] Both alike express their determination to pub
lish the news of Christ's life and. resurrection. The reason why both
names are here mentioned may be that each was separately appealed to
for a promise to desist. For an instance of like firmness in a good
cause cp. 2 Mace. vii. 30.
judge ye] Come to whatever decision you please. " We are not
careful to answer you in this matter."
20. the things which we have seen and heard] Better, which we
saw and heard. For their testimony related to the whole life of Jesus.
21. further threatened] This was all they could venture on, because
the multitude knew that the lame man had been healed, and that there

48 THE ACTS, IV. [vv. 22—24.
them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might
punish them, because of the people : for all men glorified
22 God for that which was done. For the man was above forty
years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.
23 — 31. The Apostles released. Their Prayir and its
Answer.
'3 And being let go, they went to their own company, and
reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto
=4 them. And when they heard that, they lift up their voice
to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God
was no charge against the Apostles for which they deserved punish
ment. They could not say that the miracle was untrue, for there was
the man standing by, and proving its reality ; and they could not inflict
a punishment "for a good deed," nor could they find any ground for a
charge in the declaration that the man had been healed in the name of
Jesus. how they might punish] = on what pretext, or, in what way, without
enraging the populace.
all men glorified God] St Peter's speech had made it clear whence
the power to heal was given. See iii. 13.
22. the man was above forty years old] To one who looked on the
circumstances with a physician's eye, as St Luke would (Col. iv. 14),
this feature would be most noticeable. For limbs unused shrink and
wither, and become disproportionate to the other parts of the frame.
The physician's description is also evident in the two unique words
(pdceis and crcpvpa) which are used (iii. 7) to describe the cure of the
cripple. on whom this miracle of healing was shewed] The word here used for
miracle = sign. This the A.V. has endeavoured to represent by the nse
of the verb shewed. Lit., "on whom this sign of healing was wrought"
23—31. The Apostles released. Their Prayer and its
Answer.
23. to their own company] Perhaps still abiding in the upper room
which they had occupied before Pentecost. Because St Peter on a
later occasion (xii. 12) made his way, after his deliverance from prison,
to the house of Mary the mother of John Mark where many were
gathered together praying, some have thought that this was the house
where the Apostles had dwelt from the first. Such men at such a time
would have neither means (see iii. 6) nor inclination to change from
house to house. And Christ's injunction (Luke x. 7), "Go not from
house to house," was given with a purpose which the Apostles would be
likely to bear in mind and act upon.
24. And when they heard that (better it)] The Greek=a»i
having heard.
(hey lift up their voice to God with one accord, and said] The words

vv. 25—27.] THE ACTS, IV. 49
Which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all
that in them is : who by the mouth of thy servant David 25
hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the
people imagine vain things'! The kings of the =6
earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered to
gether against the Lord, and against his Christ.
For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast 27
anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gen-
of the prayer which follows have so direct a reference to the circum
stances which had just occurred that we cannot interpret otherwise than
that to the prayer, uttered by the lips of one, all the rest, with one
mind, pronounced fervent Amens. " The author (says Zeller) takes no
forbidden liberty when he collects the concordant expressions of indi
viduals into one common expression."
Lord] Lit. Master. The word is not often used of God (Luke ii. 29)
or Christ, but it is worth notice that St Peter (2 Pet. ii. 1) and
St Jude (4) apply it to Jesus.
thou art God) The words art God are not in the oldest MSS. but
the clause reads, O Lord, thou that hast made, &*c.
25l In the first part of this verse there is some confusion in the
Greek text. The most authoritative reading may be translated who by
the Holy Ghost [through] the mouth of our father David thy servant hast
said. From the Rec. Text there has been omitted "the Holy Ghost,"
and perhaps the preposition by was repeated before "the mouth." But
the order in which the Greek words stand makes it difficult to see what
has happened, for even in the best MSS. their arrangement is much
involved. The Apostle now proceeds to apply the words of the second Psalm,
which has been admitted by the Jews themselves lo be Messianic, to
the circumstances under which Christ was put to denlh.
Why did the heathen rage] Better,' the nations, or the Gentiles, as it is
rendered v. 27.
The Psalm in its first application probably referred to some revolt
against the king of Israel. We have such a revolt mentioned in Da
vid's reign (2 Sam. viii.), where the Syrians, Moabites, Ammonites and
other nations were conquered by David, after being in vain rebellion.
The words of the Psalm are quoted from the Septuagint.
27. For of a truth) Here the best MSS. insert the words in this city.
The Apostle proceeds here to apply the language of the Psalmist to the
events preceding the Crucifixion. The insertion of in this city is very
natural under such circumstances.
against thy holy child Jesus] Read here, Servant Jesus, as iii. 13,
for the original is the same though differently translated in the A.V.
whom thou hast anointed] By the descent of the Holy Ghost at His
Baptism. (Matt. iii. 16.)
both Herod] The representative of the rulers of the Jews. This
Herod was Antipas the son of Herod the Great by his Samaritan wife

So THE ACTS, IV. [vv. 28— 31.
28 tiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, for
to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined
29 before to be done. And now, Lord, behold their threaten-
ings : and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness
30 they may speak thy word, by stretching forth thine hand to
heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the
31 name of thy holy child Jesus. And when they had
prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled
together ; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and
they spake the word of God with boldness.
Malthace. He was tetrarch of Galilee and Perea (Luke iii. 19), and
because our Lord belonged to Galilee Pilate took occasion to send Jesus
to be examined by him, as Herod was in Jerusalem to keep the feast of
the Passover.
and Pontius Pilate] who was the Roman Governor, and so in his
person were represented many nations at this time under the sway of
Rome. His officials and soldiers would be drawn from all lands, and
the mockery to which Jesus was exposed at their hands might well be
described as the rage of the Gentiles.
Pontius Pilate] was the sixth Roman procurator of Judaea ; he was
appointed A.D. 25 — 6 in the twelfth year of Tiberius, and he continued
to hold the office till A.D. 36, when he was sent to Rome by Vitel-
lius under an accusation brought against him by the Samaritans. Of
his after life and his death there are many legends, but no history.
28. for to do, &c] God made the passions, which the enemies of
Jesus indulged, to be the instruments for working out His will. So men
when they suppose they are choosing their own way, have the ends
thereof shapen by God "rough-hew them how they will." Their mis
deeds are made to execute the will of God, yet they are not on that
account exempt from blame.
29. behold their threalenings] The Apostles are not disheartened,
they are only drawing near to God for aid lest they should be in danger
of becoming so.
with all boldness) The same freedom of speech which (iv. 13) had
been afforded to them when they were before the council. Cp. Christ's
promise that this should be so. (Luke xxi. 15.)
30. by stretching forth, &c] Lit. while thou stretchest forth. Thus
the mighty works were to be a sign and testimony to the words which
the Apostles spake. For as had been said of their Master, none could do
the works which they did except God were with him. (John iii. 2.)
by the name of thy holy child Jesus] Here we have the same word as
in v. 27. Read "thy holy Servant Jesus."
31. the place was shaken] That they might feel at once that the God
of all nature, to whom they had appealed (v. 24), was among thera.
In their immediate need an immediate answer is vouchsafed and a
token with it that their prayer was heard. Cp. xvi. 26 of the 'shaking
ofthe prison at Philippi after the prayers of Paul and Silas

vv. 32— 34] THE ACTS, IV. 51
32 — 37. Unanimity and Love among the first Christians.
And the multitude of them that believed were of one 32
heart and of one soul : neither said any of them that ought
of the things which he possessed was his own; but they
had all things common. And with great power gave the 33
apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus : and
great grace was upon them all. Neither was there any 34
among them that lacked : for as many as were possessors
spake the word of God] i. e. wherever they found occasion and oppor
tunity, neglecting the threats of the council, and endowed with the bold
ness for which they had prayed.
32 — 37. Unanimity and Love among the first Christians.
32. of one heart and of one soul] A Hebrew form of expressing com
plete accord. Thus (1 Chron. xii. 38) "all the rest of Israel were of one
heart to make David king," and (Jer. xxxii. 39) "I will give them one
heart and one way"
neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was
his own] It is more emphatic in the Greek, and not one of them said, &c.
Each felt that he held his possessions only as ¦% trust, and if occasion
called for it, they were to be given up. Such love towards one another,
Christ had foretold, should be a mark of His disciples (John xiii. 35).
All those who have sketched a perfect society, as Pinto in his
Republic, and Sir Thos. More in his Utopia, have placed among their
regulations this kind of community of goods which was established by
the first Christians. In theory it is the perfection of a commonwealth, but
there is need of perfection in the citizens before it can be realized.
There can be no question that an expectation of Christ's immediate re
turn from heaven, acting along with the unity of thoughts and feeling,
made these men willing to part with their possessions and goods, there
being, as we shall see from the case of Ananias, no constraint upon them
to do so.
33. And with great power gave the apostles witness] [Better, their
witness.] The Greek verb implies a great deal more than our English
gave. It is the word so constantly used for paying a debt (Matt, xviii. 25 ;
Luke vii. 42), or rendering an account (Matt. xii. 36; Heb. xiii. 17).
So that there is implied in it the sense of obligation under which the
Apostles felt themselves to lie of declaring "the things which they saw
and heard" (v. 20).
anil great grace was upon them all] i. e. like their Master, while ex
periencing the favour of God, they were also finding favour with men.
Cp. Acts v. 13.
34. Neither was tjiere any among them that lacked] The A.V. omits
the word for, which is represented in the Greek and is needed for the
sense. "For neither was there, &c." This was one reason for their
favour among men. All could see and admire the spirit of self-sacrifice
which was exhibited by what they were doing.

THE ACTS, IV. [w. 3S-37.

of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices ofthe
3s things that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles'
feet : and distribution was made unto every man according
36 as he had need. And Joses, who by the apostles was sur
named Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of
37 consolation,) a Levite, aitd of the country of Cyprus, having
brought the prices ofthe things that were sold] The language here ex
pressly avoids saying that these men sold all they had. They sold some
things, and the sum realized by what was sold was offered to the common
store. We never hear that a similar fund was raised in any place except
Jerusalem. 35. and laid them down at the apostles' feet) A significant act,
whereby it was shewn that they gave the Ap°stles entire control over
the bestowal of these sums. For the figure, cp. Ps. viii. 6, and Cicero
pro Flacco (xxvii. § 68), ante pedes praetoris in foro expensum est auri
pondo centum paullo minus.
and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need]
Better, unto each according as any had need. There were no doubt
many who were not in need, and they of course lived on their own. The
distribution was intended only for the needy, as widows, &c, and for
those who could not otherwise support themselves while they took part,
as many did, in the active propagation of the new faith. It may be,
too, that some were deprived of the means of support because they had
become Christians. Cp. the threat of the authorities, John ix. 22.
36. And Joses] The same name as Joseph, which form the oldest
MSS. give.
who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas] He was the companion
of St Paul in his first missionary journey (Acts xiii. 2), and is often
mentioned by St Luke. He was invited by St Paul to join him on his
second journey, but as they disagreed about taking John Mark with
them, they did not labour again, as far as we know, in the same field,
and the writer leaves Barnabas (xv. 39) with the mention that "he took
Mark and sailed to Cyprus."
which is, being interpreted] The explanation is added for the sake of
Theophilus, who may have had no knowledge of the Hebrew (see
i. 19).
son of consolation] More probably, son of exhortation. The Greek
may be thus rendered, and the Hebrew noun nebuah is from the same
root as the common word for prophet. The title may have been given to
Barnabas from his ability as a preacher (xi. 23), though in this he seems
(Acts xiv. 12) to have been less prominent than St Paul, as most men
must have been. In describing the work of Barnabas in xi. 23 the verb
used, "he exhorted," is that from which the noun in this verse is derived,
and is akin to the word "Paraclete," which is so often translated "Com
forter" when applied to the Holy Ghost, but rendered "advocate" in
1 John ii. 1 when used ofthe intercession of Jesus.
a Levite] The Levites in the Holy Land had no inheritance given to

v. I.] THE ACTS, IV. V. S3
land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the
apostles' feet.
i — ii. Account of Ananias and Sapphira.
But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his 5
them, but were scattered through all the tribes; the same regulation
may not, however, have applied to the Levites in other countries ; and
we are not informed where the field was situated which Barnabas sold.
He may also have been a married man, and have held lands from his
marriage. ofthe country of Cyprus] The island still so called in the eastern part
of the Mediterranean Sea. We find Jews settled there in the Maccabean
times (i Mace. xv. 23). It was one of the places to which Paul and
Barnabas went in their missionary journey, and it had been previously
visited by some of the Christian teachers who were driven from Jerusa
lem by the persecution which succeeded the death of Stephen (Acts
xi. 19).
37. having land] Lit, afield. It seems likely that Joses is chosen
as an example of the primitive liberality of the Christian body, because
there was something remarkable in the kind of gift or the nature of the
sacrifice which he made.
V. 1 — 11. Account of Ananias and Sapphira.
The narrative with which this chapter commences is one which
none but a veracious narrator would have inserted where it stands.
The last chapter concludes with a description of the unity of heart
and soul which prevailed among the brethren, and expressly notices
that all were filled with the Holy Ghost. But as among the twelve
Apostles there was a Judas, so into the infant Church there had in
truded two at least whose professions were not sincere, and who were
unworthy of the gifts of grace which, with the rest, they had received.
The offence of Ananias and Sapphira shewed contempt for God, vanity
and ambition in the offenders, and utter disregard of the corruption
which they were bringing into the society. Such sin, committed in
despite of the light which they possessed, called for a special mark
of Divine indignation, and to those who, likewise filled with the Spirit,
knew all that had been done and why it was done, there is no shock
produced by the terrible doom of the sinners, nor any language
employed in the narration but the simplest and plainest. A late-
compiled story would have enlarged and spoken apologetically on the
reasons for such a judgment, and would not have presented us with
a bare recital of facts without comment.
1. But a certain man] It is not by way of contrast that the
story of Ananias is put side by side with that of Barnabas, therefore
much stress is not to be laid on the word But. Verse 36 of the
last chapter begins, in the original, with the same conjunction, and
it is often employed in narratives where only a simple connection

54 THE ACTS, V. [vv. 2; 3.
2 wife, sold a possession, and kept back part of the price,
his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part,
3 and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias,
of clauses is intended. Thus, Acts viii. 1 — 3, the same conjunction
occurs four times over without any adversative sense.
named Ananias] The name was common. See Acts ix. 10 — 17,
and xxiii. 2, xxiv. 1. It is the same as Hananiah, Jer. xxviii. 1;
Dan. i. 6, 7, &c, where it is the Hebrew name of Shadrach, which
is spelt Ananias in the " Benedicite," and that form of the name
is found Tobit v. 1.2. It signifies "one to whom Jehovah has been
gracious." with Sapphira his wife] A name probably derived from the name
of the precious stone sapphire, which word is found both in Hebrew
and Greek.
sold a possession] The word may signify either lands, or buildings,
or any kind of property. It is the word used of the young man who
went away sorrowful from Jesus "for he had great possessions," Matt
xix. 22; Mark x. 22. The LXX. use it of vineyards (Hos. ii. 15).
2. and kept back part of the price] i.e. while at the same time
they professed to be bringing the whole sum into the common fund.
The portion which was kept back was probably not large, for other
wise the general sense of the value of the land would have made it
conspicuous. The word translated "kept back" is the same which
is rendered Tit. ii. 10 purloining, and in classical Greek it has fre
quently the meaning to rob.
his wife also being privy to it] This is mentioned to shew that
the offence was an aggravated one, and had not been committed
without deliberation and set purpose. She was a willing accomplice
in the intended fraud. 1
and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet) Thus
professing equal devotion with all the others who were making sacri
fices for the cause of the faith. We are not told what they hoped
to gain by their act, whether in reputation among the people (ii. 47),
or, by giving what was supposed to be their whole estate (which may
be implied in the vague word possession), to procure for themselves in
perpetuity a maintenance from the common funds. The former am
bition was most probably what led to their offence. They thought
more of the display made at the Apostles' feet than of the offence before
God's eyes. And we know from St Peter's Epistle (2 Pet. ii. 3)
that it was soon foretold that men would arise in the Christian com
munity, who "through covetousness would with feigned words make
merchandise of" the society, and at a later date (Jude 11), these men
are described as those who run "greedily after the error of Balaam
for reward." We may therefore be convinced that in the example
of Ananias we have a typical instance of the kind of offence into which'
at this time the Christian community was in danger of being tempted.^
3. But Peter said, Ananias, why, &c] The interrogative particle
is of a strengthened form in the original, and seems to indicate thai

v. 4] THE ACTS, V. 55
why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost,
and to keep back part of the price of the land ? Whiles it 4
remained, was it not thine own ? and after it was sold, was
it not in thine own power ? why hast thou conceived this
thing in thine heart ? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto
there had been a possibility of resisting the influence which led to
this offence, had Ananias been desirous to do so. We must believe
that the Holy Spirit gave Peter knowledge of the deception which
Ananias was seeking to practise on the Church, and most likely also
of the punishment which should come upon the offender. Otherwise
we can hardly account for the calm manner of the Apostle when such
a startling judgment was inflicted in an instant.
hath Satan filled thine heart] i.e. made thee bold enough. Cp. Esth.
vii. 5, "that durst presume in his heart," and Eccles. viii. 11.
to lie to the Holy Ghost] for it was the power of the Holy Ghost
that was manifested in the Apostles. It is much to be noticed how
from the first the Apostles disclaim any power in themselves. It is
Christ who works the miracles, the God of Abraham who gives the
power of healing, and the Holy Ghost who is grieved by sins like
that of Ananias. There is no trace of any seeking after consideration
for themselves and their deeds among the records of these Acts of
the Apostles, and no sign could be more indicative of the earliest age
of the Christian Church. Before the apostolic age was past the internal
character of the Church was much altered from this.
and to keep back part of the price of the land] As before, the sense
is that of fraudulent concealment and purloining.
4. Whiles it remained, was it not thine own?) The verb in the
original is repeated. Whiles it remained, did it not remain thine
own? That is, there was no compulsion on him to sell it, the only
thing expected from him being that, if he were moved to sell, he
should honestly set forth what he had done. There seems to have
been no necessity to give at all to the common fund unless a man
felt that he could well afford to do so, nor to give all that he either-
had or realized by any sale, provided only he made honest declaration
of what his gift really was. This is implied in the words which follow,
which declare that the sum produced by any sale was at the seller's
disposal until he made it over to the common fund.
why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart?) The original
is a translation of a Hebrew expression which is repeated several times
in the prophet Haggai (i. 5, 7, ii. 18), and is rendered by the A. V.
Consider. The force of the expression is "to lay anything (as a plan
or a precept) deep in the heart," and it implies long and deep delibera
tion on the part of this offender. It was not a case of yielding to a
sudden temptation, but the plan had been accepted into the heart, and
fostered there till there seemed to be a way of carrying it out. Satan
had filled his heart, but he had made no effort to cast out the intruder.
thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God] It is not intended to
say that Ananias had not lied unto men at all, but that the gravity

56 THE ACTS, V. [vv. 5, 6.
sGod. And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and
gave up the ghost : and great fear came on all them that
6 heard these things. And the young men arose, wound him
of his offence was that he thought to deceive God. In v. 3 it is
said that the deception had been practised towards the Holy Ghost,
and so we learn hence the Divinity of the third Person of the Trinity.
5. And Ananias hearing these words fell down] Smitten through
the power of that Spirit whom he had intended to deceive. Here is no
description of a death from apoplexy or mental excitement under the
rebuke of the Apostle, but a direct intervention of the Divine power.
Terrible as this Divine judgment was, we cannot wonder that it should
be inflicted, for it was so done to check that kind of offence which
brought in all the troubles of the early Church, and which though they
be not so punished now, when Christ's Church has attained more firm
hold on the world, yet would, if not terribly visited in these earlier
days, have overthrown the whole work of the Apostles. Of a like
character is the apparent severity of the penalty inflicted on Aaron's
sons, Nadab and Abihu, at the commencement of the Jewish priest
hood (Lev. x. 2) ; and the way in which Aaron and his family are for
bidden to mourn for those whom God so punished may teach us what
interpretation to put upon the judgment inflicted on Ananias and
Sapphira. For they were of the members of the infant Church ; they had
presumed to come nigh unto God and in a wrong spirit. On them,
we may conclude, some gifts had been bestowed, and in this they differed
from Simon Magus (viii. 20) and Elymas (xiii. 11), with whom they
are sometimes compared, so that the words which God spake of Nadab
and Abihu may be used of these offenders, "I will be sanctified in
them that come nigh me." We see what evils the spirit of greed and
hypocrisy wrought in the Corinthian Church, even to the profanation
of the Lord's Supper (1 Cor. xi. 17 — 21). Every good institution would
have been thus perverted and, as is said of some in later times (Jude 4),
they would have "turned the grace of God into lasciviousness." The
very community of goods which here was instituted for a time, was in
this way perverted and turned into an argument for a community of all
things, which resulted in the vices for which the Nicolaitans (Rev. ii. 6,
15) are so severely censured in the Scriptures. The death of Ananias
and his wife is the finger of God interposed to save his Church from
danger, just as He interposed to build it up by stretching forth His
hand to heal, and that through the name of His Servant Jesus mighty
works might be wrought by the first preachers.
and great fear came on all them that heard these things] In the best
MSS. these things is omitted. Read "that heard it."
This fear would deter for a while all who were not thoroughly in
earnest from making profession of Christianity, a profession which
the favour that had been shewn towards the society (iv. 33) might have
induced many to make who would have been rather a hindrance than
a help to the cause.
6. And the young men arose] (Lit. the younger.) Some have sug-

vv. 7— 9.] THE ACTS, V. 57
up, and carried him out, and buried him. And it was about 1
the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing
what was done, came in. And Peter answered unto her, *
Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much ? And she
said, Yea, for so much. Then Peter said unto her, How 9
is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the
gested that these were persons connected with the Church whose busi
ness it was to take charge of funerals. But it seems unlikely that, at
a time when assistance had not been provided to relieve the Apostles
from "serving tables" and distributing the funds to those who needed
(vi. 1—4), there should already have been an organization for this less
pressing necessity. The Greek word used here is not the same as in
v. 10, and this variation seems to shew that " the young men " were
not in any official position, but were only the most able physically to
perform such an office as is here described. On the way in which the
Jews looked on attention to funeral rites see note on viii. 2.
wound him up) wrapped the dead body about with the robe which
he was wearing at the time.
and carried him out, and buried him] We know from what took
place after the Crucifixion that graves were made ready beforehand, and
in the caves where the dead were deposited, as we can see from the
account of the raising of Lazarus, there (John xi. 43) needed little pre
paration, and they were closed by the simple means of a stone placed
at the cave's mouth. So that it would not need much time to complete
the whole work of burial. In hot climates burial must needs follow
quickly after death. Cp. the brief time which Jehu allowed to pass
after Jezebel's death (2 Kings ix. 34) before he gave orders for her
burial. 7. the space of three hours after) Time enough for the bestowal of
the dead body, but yet so short that the news of what had befallen her
husband had not reached Sapphira. It may have been that their home
was in the country at a distance from Jerusalem, and that the husband
alone came in to offer the money by reason of the distance.
came in] i. e. to the room where Peter and the rest of the congrega
tion were assembled.
8. And Peter answered unto her) This use of the English verb
answer, where no question has preceded and often where no remark
has gone before, is not uncommon in the Bible (cp. 1 Kings xiii. 6 ;
Dan. ii. 14, 15, 26; Luke iii. 16), but in the present verse what St
Peter says is not an answer but a question.
Tell me] The Apostle's question might have made Sapphira suspect
that their scheme was discovered, but she is as firm in her story as her
husband had been.
whether ye sold the land for so much?) i.e. and no more. St Peter
mentioned the sum which Ananias had brought in, or perhaps it was
lying on the ground where he had put it at the first.
9. ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord] To try
acts 6

58 THE ACTS, V. [vv. io, n.
Lord ? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy hus-
10 band are at the door, and shall carry thee out. Then fell
she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost:
and the young men came in, and found her dead, and,
n carrying her forth, buried her by her husband. And great
fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard
these things.
whether the deception which you had planned would be found out;
whether God's Spirit would make it known to us.
behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the
door] They were heard returning from the burial of Ananias.
and shall carry thee out] Better, and they shall, &c. thus making it
clear that the verb refers to the bearers. St Peter, as before, was
prompted by the Holy Ghost in what he said, and was enabled to pre
dict the punishment of Sapphira for her persistent dissembling. We
are not told that St Peter knew what would befal Ananias, but as the
Spirit shewed him what was to come on the wife we may perhaps con
clude that he knew what the fate of the husband would be also.
10. Then fell she dcavn straightway at his feet) Close to the place
where the money, for which they had sinned, had been laid, and where
perhaps it was still lying. For we cannot think that St Peter would be
willing to mix an offering given in such a hypocritical spirit with the
more pure offerings of the other brethren. It may be that as he spoke, \
in v. 8, he pointed to the money still lying there unaccepted, " Did ye \
sell the \a.na\for so much ? "
and yielded up the ghost] The verb is only used in the N. T. of the
death of this husband and wife, and of the end of Herod Agrippa (Acts
xii. 23).
and the young men came in, and found her dead] They came to join
the congregation again, for the worship appears not to have ceased
during the time between the death of Ananias and the arrival of
Sapphira. And this may be the explanation of the wife's ignorance of
her husband's fate. None had gone forth but the younger men to bury
the dead body.
and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband] Probably all that
was required to be done was to roll a stone from some cave's mouth and
place the body within.
11. And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as
heard these things] Lit. upon the whole church and upon all that heari",
&c. To produce such a fear as should deter others from a like offence
was God's intention in this miracle of punishment. And St Luke
seems to have pointed to the reason by making here for the first time
any mention of "the church" (see note on ii. 47). The true ecclesii
must be free from such hypocritical professors, or its work could not
advance. The lesson was to be stamped into the hearts of all who
were fit to be of " the church," though at the same time it would strike
deep into the minds of all others who leamt how the Spirit of God had

vv. 12, 13.] THE ACTS, V. 59
12 — 16. Miraculous powers of the Apostles. Continued
growth of the Church.
And by the hands of the apostles were many signs and »
wonders wrought among the people; (and they were all
with one accord in Solomon's porch. And of the rest durst '3
no man join himself to them : but the people magnified
punished the lying lips of those who sought the praise of men rather
than that of God.
12 — 16. Miraculous powers of the Apostles. Continued
growth of the church.
12. And by the hands of the apostles, &c] By the hands may here
only be the Hebrew mode of expressing by. Cp. (Josh. xiv. 2) "By lot
was their inheritance as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses."
But as in the description of our Lord's miracles we very often read "he
laid his hands upon a few sick folk" (Mark vi. 5, &c), and as it is said
ofthe Apostles (Mark xvi. 18) "they shall lay their hands on the sick
and they shall recover," it seems better to understand the words here of
such acts of imposition of hands, though we presently find (v. 15) that
the multitudes believed that a cure could be wrought without such an
act. and they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch) This must refer
to such assemblies as were held by the Apostles for conference and in
struction when they went up at the usual times of prayer. Thus all will
signify the whole company assembled on some such occasions, and not
embrace every person who had joined the new teaching. They came to
Solomon's porch, both teachers and hearers, with one common purpose,
to tell and know more of the religion of Jesus. But it is not necessary
to interpret the sentence to signify that they took a regular possession of
this cloister as their place for worship (see iii. n).
13. And of the rest durst no man join himself to them] The sentence
seems to convey an opposition to what has been stated in v. 12, and
should begin with But. The sense intended is that the assemblies of
Christians made the porch of Solomon their special rendezvous when
they went up to the Temple, seeing that it was there that the first
addresses in the Temple-precincts had been given by St Peter. And
while they were so assembled none of the other people who had not yet
joined the new community ventured to attach themselves intrusively to
the Christian body. The verb Ko\\ao8ai is used of Philip (viii. 29) when
he is commanded "Go near and join thyself to this chariot," where the
action meant by it is one that was to press some notice of Philip upon
the eunuch. From such intrusion all who were not Christians held back,
and left the worshippers in Solomon's porch alone,
but the people magnified them] Render, howbeit the people, &c. This
is necessary because we have taken bul as the conjunction at the begin
ning of the verse. There are two different conjunctions in the
original.
6—2

60 THE ACTS, V. [vv. 14—16.
i4 them. And believers were the more added to the Lord,
is multitudes both of men and women.) Insomuch that they
brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid them on
beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of Peter
16 passing by might overshadow some of them. There came
also a multitude out of the cities round about unto Jerusa-
Although the people (=the rest, who were not of the Church) held
back from pressing themselves among the congregation, yet they greatly
praised them for the words and works of which they heard and saw.
14. And believers were the more added to the Lord] In the Greek it
is clearly seen that the words rendered to the Zon/belong quite as closely
to believers as to were added. "Persons believing in the Lord were
added to His Church." The addition of this verse makes clear what
has been said on v. 13, that the joining there mentioned was an in
trusion into the congregation when they were assembled for public
instruction. For the increase of the Church was not hindered in any
degree. The Christians were held in reverent regard, and the faith which
they preached gained multitudes of adherents.
15. Insomuch that they brought forth thesick into the streets] Instead
of the preposition into, the best authorities read even. ..into, "they even
brought forth," &c.
These words are a description of one way in which the new believers
gave evidence of their faith. To bring a sick person on a couch to the
presence of Jesus was accepted by Him (Mark ii. 5) as a sign of true
faith, and for the sake of the faith shewn by those who brought him the
paralytic was made whole. So here, though we are not told of any
cures wrought by the shadow of Peter, we may conclude that to the like
faith God would give a like blessing.
and laid them on beds and couches] The warm climate making it
possible for the sick to be exposed in the open air.
that at the least the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow some of
them] The order in the original is, that, as Peter came by, at the least his
shadow might, &c. Peter is alone mentioned here because he was the
most prominent figure, but we are not to conclude that no mighty works
were done by the rest. These men who gave such an exhibition of faith
have been described (v. 14) as believers in the Lord. There can there
fore be no question as to what they regarded as the power which was to
heal their sick. They did not believe on Peter, though they magnified *
him as the Lord's instrument; they did not ascribe healing power to"
Peter's shadow, though it might please God to make that a sacrament of
healing, as to Israel in old times He had made the brazen serpent. They
had seen health bestowed through the Apostle by the name of Christ,
and to demonstrate their faith in that name, they bring their afflicted
friends into the way of salvation.
16. There came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto
Jerusalem] The best MSS. have no word for unto. The construction
without that preposition would be and there came also together the multi-

v. I7-] THE ACTS, V. 61
lem, bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with
unclean spirits : and they were healed every one.
17 — 32. Arrest of the Twelve. Their miraculous deliverance
and their Defence before the Sanhedrin.
Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were 17
tude out of the cities round about Jerusalem. The use of the word city
(irtAu) is common even when the places so called are very insignificant,
as of Nazareth (Matt. ii. 23), Nain (Luke vii. 11), and Arimathcea
(Luke xxiii. 51).
bringing sick folks, and them which were vexed with unclean spirits)
It was recognized that the power of the Apostles extended not only to
physical, but also to spiritual maladies. Indeed the whole history
being of a supernatural character, the cures wrought on ordinary maladies
were of the nature of signs and wonders, and spake of a power which
was not human. The power here displayed is that which in Christ's
own life was confessed to be that ofthe Son of God (Luke iv. 40, 41).
The verb in the original for vexed is found only here and in Luke
vi. 18 in the N.T., and like the word rendered "gave up the ghost"
(w. 5, 10), is used frequently in the works of Greek medical writers,
so that it is such a word as we should expect to find a physician
using in the description of this malady.
unclean spirits] are those which are called wicked in other parts of the
New Testament (Matt. xii. 45, &c), and the former epithet is probably
applied to them because the sufferer in his state of frenzy wandered into
places where he would incur ceremonial defilement, as the demoniac
who had his dwelling among the tombs (Mark v. 3), the latter on
account of the evil effects so often patent in the condition of the afflicted
person, as loss of speech, hearing and other senses, the belief of the Jews
1 being that spirits afflicted with such maladies were the cause of the like
affliction in human beings.
and they were healed every one] For it was only a complete faith
which had prompted the bringing them unto the Apostles, and to such
faith all things had been promised by Christ (Mark ix. 23).
17 — 32. Arrest of the Twelve. Their miraculous deliver
ance and their Defence before the Sanhedrin.
17. Then the high priest rose up] The conjunction at the beginning
of the sentence should be But. While the multitudes thronged to be
healed, the effect on the authorities was to provoke them to opposition.
rose up] The Greek word is used in this chapter of the insurrections
of Theudas and Judas (vv. 36, 37) and in the next chapter (vi. 9) of the
disputants with Stephen. It is often found without the sense of oppo
sition which it has here and in those verses.
and all they that were with him] A phrase more comprehensive than
that used in iv. 6, "as many as were of the kindred of the high priest.
The opposition has had time to gather its forces and now represents not
only the family of Annas, but the heads of the party of the Sadducees.

62 THE ACTS, V. [vv. 18, 19.
with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were
is filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles,
19 and put them in the common prison. But the angel of the
which is the sect] The word is that which St Paul uses in his defence
(Acts xxiv. 14) before Felix, "after the way which they call heresy."
But he employs it without any sense of blame (xxvi. 5) about the Pha
risees, and it is used of them also xv. 5. With a bad sense it is
applied to the Nazarenes (xxiv. 5), and similarly xxviii. 22.
of the Sadducees) From v. 2 1 it will be seen that the statement of
Josephus concerning the influence of this sect is fully borne out (Antiqj
xiii. 11. 6), for they had the rich on their side. We have no certain
evidence in Scripture that Annas was a Sadducee, but Josephus (Antiq.
XX. 9. 1) tells us that his son Ananus [or Annas] was of this sect.
and were filled with indignation] The word used to express their
feeling might better be rendered jealousy. What the historian is de
scribing is an outbreak of party-feeling. The whole influence of the
Sadducean party is called forth by their antagonism to the doctrine of
the resurrection and their envy of the growth of the new movement.
IS. and laid their hands on tlie apostles] The best MSS. omit
their. The whole of the twelve are now seized, for the authorities are
roused to activity. It is clear from this that, though St Luke has only
mentioned the speeches of Peter, with some slight notice that John also
was a speaker, yet all the Apostles were busy, and could have been
quoted as preachers and teachers had it been any part of the compiler's
purpose to write a history of all the Apostles.
and put them in the common prison] The noun is the same as in iv. 3,
and the notion — that of ward, as a place of temporary imprisonment
till the formal summoning of the council next day — should here be pre
served. Read, in public ward. Such confinement was only precau
tionary and formed no part of the punishment intended by the Sad
ducees. 19. But the angel of the Lord] Better, an angel by night opened the >
prison-doors. As if for a protest against the actions of those who
taught that "there was neither angel nor spirit." There is no possi
bility of explaining St Luke's words into anything but a miraculous
deliverance. He gives no word that can be twisted into any other
meaning. It was not an earthquake, it was not a friendly human being
who interposed to procure the release of the Apostles. The writer rea
dily acknowledges in this very chapter the intervention of Gamaliel and
its effect, but he is here speaking of supernatural aid. If it be re
marked that the Apostles make no mention of their miraculous deliver
ance when they are called upon for their defence, it may be answered
that they in no case dwell on the miracles either wrought by or for
them, except where they have been wrought under the eyes of men and
are to be used as signs of the Divine power which was working in and
for the Church. To enter on a description of a miracle which had been
wrought as this deliverance had been, and to ground their claims to be
heard upon circumstances of which the eyes of those to whom they

vv. 20, 21.] THE ACTS, V. 63
Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them
forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the 20
people all the words of this life. And when they heard 21
that, they entered into the temple early in the morning, and
taught. But the high priest came, and they that were with
him, and called the council together, and all the senate of
the children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have them
spoke did not bear testimony, is foreign to the whole character of the
Apostolic ministry.
20. Go, stand and speak in the temple) There is a conjunction in
the Greek which is not here expressed. Render, Go ye and stand and
speak. There was to be no attempt made to conceal their escape. They
were to go back to the same place where their most frequent teachings
had been given before, and they were to continue the same teaching.
-They are not directed to appeal to the multitude for sympathy, nor to
try and excite any feeling against those who had arrested them.
to the people all the words of this life] Here we have another of the
words by which St Luke emphasizes in the most natural manner the
point at issue between the Sadducees and the Apostles.
this life) i.e. this future life, the promise of which has received its
first fulfilment in the resurrection of Jesus. This was the teaching which
the Sadducees could not tolerate, but which in spite of opposition was
to be persisted in.
21. early in the morning) The words indicate a time as soon as
possible after day dawn. They lost no time in obeying the command.
How early it was possible for them to come to the Temple we find from
the directions in the Talmud concerning the morning sacrifice. It is
said (Mishna Joma III. 1), "The Memunneh (see note on iv. 1) said to
them: Go ye out (on to the Temple wall or roof) and see whether the
time for killing the sacrifice has arrived. If it had arrived, the out-
looker said, 'It has flashed forth' (i.e. day has dawned). Matthia ben
Shemuel said [that the form of question was] ' Has the whole face of
the east become lit up as far as to Hebron? And the man answered, Yes.'
So that the first sacrifice took place at the very peep of day." A like
explanation is found Mishna Tamidiw. t.
But the high priest came] i.e. into the council chamber, to consult on
what should be done with the prisoners, of whose release they had as yet
heard nothing.
called tlie council together] This was evidently deemed a case of the
utmost consequence, and all pains are bestowed to gather to the hearing
the combined wisdom of the whole authorities, for now, as is seen from
Gamaliel's presence, not Sadducees alone were called. The word here
rendered council means probably the smaller Sanhedrin.
and all the senate of the children of Israel] Senate is here used in its
original sense = the older men, and is a literal rendering of the Greek
gerousia, meaning the great Sanhedrin of 71 elders. The name indicates

64 THE ACTS, V. [vv. 22—25.
22 brought. But when, the officers came, and found them not
23 in the prison, they returned, and told, saying, The prison
truly found we shut with all safety, and the keepers stand
ing without before the doors : but when we had opened, we
24 found no man within. Now when the high priest and the
captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these
things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow.
25 Then came one and told them, saying, Behold, the men
that these were assessors added to the council by reason of their age and
weight of character. We find from the Jewish literature that such as
sessors were often appointed. In the extract Mishna Joma I. 1 , quoted
on iv. 6, the word for " assessors" is parhedrin, i.e. the Greek rripeSpoi,
and the adoption of such a word into the Jewish vocabulary shews
that the office was not Jewish in origin but had become so firmly
grafted among them as to justify the adoption of a foreign expression to
describe it.
22. But when the officers came] The name may imply a military
body or it may have been only some of the Levitical guard who were
sent. The same word is used (Luke iv. 20) of the "minister" of the
synagogue. 23. The prison truly found we shut] The word rendered truly is
omitted in the best MSS.
and the keepers standing without before the doors] The best MSS.
read, and the keepers standing at the doors. Of course they were un
conscious that their charge was no longer there.
24. Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple] The,
best MSS. have only Now when tlie captain of the temple. The word
which in the A. V. is rendered high priest is s\mp\y= priest, but the like
usage is common enough in Hebrew.
On the captain ofthe temple, see iv. 1 ; and on chief priests, iv. 23.
heard these things] Better, these words. It refers simply to the report
which the officers had just brought back.
they doubted of them whereunto this would grow] i. e. they were at a loss
about what was said, and did not know what step to take next. It is
worthy of notice that when the Apostles are brought before thein in the
end, the magistrates avoid all questions about how they had been re
leased. They clearly wished to have no more testimony to the super
natural powers which had been so often manifested in connection with
Jesus and His followers. Caiaphas and his party could not be ignorant
how Jesus Himself had risen out of His grave to the great terror of the
Jewish guard set over it. With the opinions these authorities held, we
can quite understand their perplexity and their silence on the subject,
at all events before the disciples and the multitude.
25. Then came one and told them] Better, And there came, &c.
The English then is often in such a position taken for an adverb of time.
The proceedings were evidently well known, and the hall of judgment
was not far from where the Apostles were teaching at the very time.

vv. 26—29.] THE ACTS, V. 65
whom ye put in prison are standing in the temple, and
teaching the people. Then went the captain with the 26
officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared
the people, lest they should have been stoned. And when 27
they had brought them, they set them before the council:
and the high priest asked them, saying, Did not we straitly =8
command you that you should not teach in this name ? and
behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and
intend to bring this man's blood upon us. Then Peter and =9
are standing in the temple, and teaching tlie people]- The order of the
original should be preserved: are in the temple standing, &c, for the
words look back to the command of the angel in v. 20. This standing
implies the prominent and undaunted position which the Apostles had
taken up. They were not like prisoners who had escaped, and so were
seeking a place to hide themselves ; but like men whose work had been
interfered with, and who, as soon as they were able, had come back to
it again. 26. without violence] Nor can we suppose that the Apostles were at
all likely to offer resistance, for their examination before the council
would afford them an opportunity of proclaiming the message of the
Gospel. lest they should have been stoned] We have already had evidence of
the favour with which the disciples were looked upon by the people,
and we can see from the account of the death of Stephen that the sudden
outbreak of popular rage might result in the death of him against whom
this feeling was displayed. And that the Jewish people were ready
enough thus to take the law into their own hands, we can see from the
Gospel history (John x. 31 — 33), and the parables of Jesus speak of such
proceedings as though they were of no very rare occurrence (Matt.
xxi. 35).
27. And when they had brought them] i. e. to the judgment hall.
28. Did not we, straitly command you) The best authorities have here
an affirmative sentence, We straitly charged you. The charge had been
given only to Peter and John, but the council assume that it would have
been by them conveyed to the rest of the twelve.
that you should not teach in this name] They go at once to that which
is the great offence in their eyes. The name of Jesus of Nazareth, whom
they knew to have been crucified, but who was proclaimed to be alive
again, and whose followers manifested such mighty works, was the
object against which their power was directed.
and behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine] A testimony
from the mouth of enemies that the Apostles had laboured diligently and
successfully to fulfil the first portion of Christ's command, that their
preaching begin at Jerusalem.
and intend to bring this man's blood upon us] Better, and ye wish to
bring, &c. It is a marvellous spectacle to see the judges take the place
of culprits, and deprecate accusation where they would naturally be

66 THE ACTS, V. [vv. 30— 32.
the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey
30 God rather than men. The God of our fathers raised up
31 Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God
exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for
32 to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And
dealing out penalties. But the invocation of the people before Christ's
crucifixion, "His blood be upon us and upon our children" (Matt.
xxvii. 25), was felt by the council to be likely to be brought to fulfil
ment. 29. Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said] The
Greek has no word for other. It is quite like the style of the New
Testament to say "Peter and the apostles," and it is not implied hereby
that Peter was excluded from the number' of the Apostles, but, as he
probably was the chief speaker, his name is singled out for prominence
in the narrative (see note on iv. 6). Here again we have evidence that
St Luke has made no attempt to do more than produce for us the sub
stance of such speeches as he notices.
We ought to obey God rather than men] Better, We must," &c. In
substance, though not in words, this is the argument used by Peter and
John (iv. 19), though here more stress is laid upon the impossibility of
doing otherwise than as they had begun.
30. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus) As Peter did in iii. 13,
so here the Apostles point out that there is no severance of themselves
from the worship of the Covenant God of Israel, but that they were
teaching that His promise through Moses had now been fulfilled, for
that in Jesus the promised prophet had appeared. Cp. Deut. xviii. 15,
and St Peter's speech, Acts iii. 22.
whom ye slew and hanged on a tree] Better, whom ye hanged on a
tree and slew. This sentence describes the Roman, and not the Jewish
mode of execution. With the latter people only those who were already
dead were to be hanged (Deut. xxi. 22; Josh. x. 26).
In the word which they use for slew the Apostles intimate that the
guilt of the Crucifixion was as truly upon the Jews as if the act had been,
done by their hands, and not by those of the Roman soldiery.
The phrase hanged on a tree is used by St Peter again (x. 39), and by
nobody else in the N.T. He also has a similar expression, tree fox
cross (1 Pet. ii. 24), "He bare our sins in his own body on the tree."
31. Him hath God exalted with his right hand] The right hand is
the symbol of might. Cf. Exod. xv. 6, and "His right hand, and his
holy arm, hath gotten him the victory" (Ps. xcviii. 1).
to be a Prince and a Saviour] Mark how with the claim of sovereignf
there is closely joined the promise of salvation. If Christ seeks to nil
over men it is that He may save them.
for lo give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins] Thus offering
the way of salvation to all those who were ready to accept it. These.
words to a Jew would have great significance, for they had a saying
(T. B. Sanhedrin 113 a) that salvation was one of the things which God

vv. 33, 34-] THE ACTS, V. 67
we are his witnesses of these things; arid" so is also the Holy
Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him.
33 — 42. Effect of the Apostles' defence. Counsel of Gamaliel.
Release and subsequent conduct of the Twelve.
When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, 33
and took counsel to slay them. Then stood there up 34
one in the council, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doc-
kept in His own power. If Christ then was to bestow this gift on Israel
He must be owned by them as God.
32. And we are his witnesses of these things] The best texts omit
his, while some ancient authorities add in him in place of his.
these things] i. e. the Crucifixion and the Resurrection and Ascen
sion. and so is also the Holy Ghost) Also is not found in the best MSS.
Christ had said, while alive, concerning the Holy Ghost, "He shall
testify of me" (John xv. 26). This He did in the minds of the Apostles
by "bringing all things to their remembrance," and enlightening them
to see how Christ's life had fulfilled the prophecies, and also in the
mighty powers which through the outpouring of the Spirit they now
possessed. whom God hath given to them that obey him] Thus the disciples
declare that the obedience to God, which at the outset (v. 29) they had
proclaimed as their bounden duty, was also the reason why the Holy
Ghost had been bestowed upon them, and leaving it to be gathered that
what God has done He will do again, and bestow His gifts of grace on
those who are willing to obey Him.
33 — 42. Effect of the Apostles' defence. Counsel of Gama
liel. Release and subsequent conduct of the Twelve.
33. When they heard that, they were cut to the heart) There is no
Greek here for to the heart, but as in the only other place in the N. T.
where this verb is found (Acts vii. 54) those words are added to it, it is
best here to supply them to complete the sense, which is the same here
as in that passage. The effect described is not the compunction which
leads to penitence, but the annoyance that results in more furious anger.
and took counsel to slay them] The best texts read, and wished to slay
them. So to get rid of the fear of one man's blood being brought upon
* them, they would take the lives of twelve more.
34. Then stood there up one in the council] Better, But there stood
up, &c. See note on v. 25.
a Pharisee, named Gamaliel) It may very well be believed that some
small sympathy towards the Christian teachers would be roused in the
breast of a Pharisee, because they maintained, as he did, the doctrine of
a resurrection, but there is nothing in the speech of this Pharisee beyond
a policy of inactivity.
This Gamaliel, called here a doctor of the law, is no doubt the same

68 THE ACTS, V. [vv. 35, 36.
tor of law, had in reputation among- all the people, and
35 commanded to put the apostles forth a little' space; and
said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed to your-
36 selves what ye intend to do as touching these men. For
person who is mentioned (Acts xxii. 3) as the teacher of St Paul. He
is known in Jewish writings as Gamaliel ha-Zaken (i.e. the older), and
was the grandson of Hillel. He was alive during the time when
Herod was beautifying the Temple. For in Tosephta Shabbath xiv. (id.
Lemberg) we read, "Rabbi Jose said, It happened that Rabbi Khalaphta
went to Rabban Gamaliel (the younger, and grandson of the Gamaliel
in our text) to Tiberias, and found him sitting at the table of Rabbi
Jochanan ben-Nozaph, and in his (Gamaliel's) hand was the book of Job
in Targum (i.e. in the Chaldee paraphrase), and he (Gamaliel) was read
ing in it. Rabbi Khalaphta said to him, I remember concerning Rabban
Gamaliel the elder, the father of thy father, that he was sitting on a step
in the Temple mount, and they brought before him the book of Job, in
Targum, and he said to the builder, "Sink it (bury it) under this course
of the wall." This could only have been when the walls were in
building. Gamaliel is said to have died 18 years before the Temple was destroyed.
In T. B. Abodah Zarah n a, in allusion to the custom of burning
beds, clothes, and other things, at the funerals of great men (see Jer.
xxxiv. 5), it is said, " When Rabban Gamaliel the elder died, Onkelos
the proselyte burned in his honour the worth of 70 mina? of Tynan
money." So great was Gamaliel's fame that we read (Mishna Sotah IX. 15)
when he died "the glory of the Torah ceased, and purity and sanctity
died out also.'- We can therefore understand that he was "had in
reputation among all the people."
and commanded to put the apostles forth a little space] Instead of tin
apostles, the best authorities have tlie men. He wished them to be
removed for a short time from the council room, that the conversation of
himself and his colleagues might be the more unrestrained.
35. Ye men of Israel] It has been remarked upon the frequent
occurrence of this and similar formulae in the introduction of speeches in
the Acts, that they are evidence that the speeches themselves are the
composition of the writer of the book, and are only his own thoughts of
the matter put into the mouths of the various speakers. After what has
been said on the character of all the speeches, that they make no attempt
to set before us all that was said on each occasion, but only the sub
stance of what St Luke had received from eye and ear-witnesses, it can
in no wise detract from the substantial veracity of all that is reported,
if we find the compiler of the Acts, who was himself a Greek, giving the
usual Greek form of introduction to the speeches of which he has shewn
so often that he intends to supply only an outline.
take heed to yourselves) The phrase implies that thought is required
before any action be taken. It is not, as the English words are some
times taken to be, a warning against some danger which was impending.

v. 36.] THE ACTS, V. 69
before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be
36. For before these days rose up Theudas] Gamaliel proceeds to
give illustrations that mere pretenders will come to naught. But about
the mention of Theudas much discussion has been raised, because it is
declared that the statements of Gamaliel contradict the facts recorded
by Josephus, and therefore cannot be received as historic. In this way
discredit would be thrown on all the rest of his speech.
It is true that Josephus mentions a Theudas (Antiq. XX. 5. 1) who
rose up and professed himself a prophet, in the time when Fadus was
procurator of Judsea, about A.D. 45 or 46, and persuaded a great part of
the people to take their goods and follow him .to the river Jordan,
through which he promised he would afford them a miraculous passage.
This man, who with many of his followers was destroyed , could clearly
not be the leader of the revolt which took place before that raised by
Judas of Galilee in the time of the taxing which took place some few
years after our Lord was born. But when we turn to the history which
Josephus gives of the events which preceded this rebellion of Judas
we find him saying (Antiq. XVII. 10. 4), "At this time [i.e. in the
days when Varus was president of Syria] there were ten thousand
other disorders in Judcea, which were like tumults." Of these in
numerable disturbances he gives account of no more than four, but
presently in the same chapter says: "Judaea was full of robberies,
and whenever the several companies of the rebels could light upon any
one to head them, he was created a king immediately." Then in
a brief space after (Antiq. xviii. 1. 1) Josephus proceeds to mention
Judas of Galilee, though he calls him sometimes (Antiq. xvm. 1.6;
XX. 5. 2; B. J. II. 8. r, and 17. 8) a Galilean and sometimes a
Gaulonite (XVIII. 1. 1), and his rebellion in the days of the taxing.
Now amid so many outbreaks, spoken of but not described, there is no
violence in supposing that one may have been led by a Theudas, a name
not very uncommon, and thus the order of events as stated by Gamaliel
would be perfectly correct The great multitude of the followers of the
later Theudas indicates a far larger number than the four hundred of
whom Gamaliel speaks. Moreover while Gamaliel's Theudas was killed
and his followers dispersed, Josephus says that many of the adherents of
his Theudas were slain, and many taken prisoners. There seems, there-
, fore, more reason to identify this Theudas of whom mention is made by
Gamaliel with some of the ten thousand rebels whom Josephus speaks of
before the time of the census, than to suppose that Gamaliel, who is
correct in his account of Judas, has mentioned in the other case a rebel
who did not rise till long after the time of which he is speaking.
That such false leaders were numerous and had caused a terror in the
minds of the more thoughtful among the Jews we can see from the
Jewish literature which has come down to us. Thus (T. B. Sanhedrin
97 b) Rabbi Shemuel bar Nachmani on the authority of Rabbi Jona
than, expounding Habakkuk ii. 3, says, "It means, may his spirit be
blown away (perish) whosoever over-anxiously calculates about the
ends. For people have said [in consequence of such calculations] when
the end [so calculated] came, and he [Messiah] did not come, that he

70 THE ACTS, V. [vv. 37—39.
somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hun
dred, joined themselves: who was slain; and all, as many
as obeyed him, were scattered, and brought to nought.
37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days of the
taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also
perished ; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dis-
38 persed. And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men,
and let them alone : for if this counsel or this work be of
39 men, it will come to nought: but if it be of God, ye cannot
would never come at all. Yet wait anxiously for him, for it says if he
tarry wait anxiously for him." We have here the despairing echo of
Gamaliel's words, "Let them alone."
boasting himself to be somebody] Literally, saying that he was, &c.
Of course each one of these leaders professed himself to be the Messiah,
for that was what the people in their distress were ever looking for.
37. Judas of Galilee] With this account agrees the history of Josephus
(Antiq. xviii. 1. 1), except that, as has been already noticed, he calls
Judas a Gaulonite, but as when speaking of the same man again (xx.
5- 2) he calls him Judas of Galilee, and in the same sentence alludes to?
the history before narrated "as we have shewn in a foregoing book,"'
we can have no hesitation in accepting Gamaliel's story as the correct
one, while at the same time we may learn from this example what
value we ought to place on the accuracy of Josephus when we have to
weigh his statements against those of the New Testament.
in the days of the' taxing] Not the same which is mentioned Luke
ii. 1. That was rather an enrolment or census-taking preliminary to
taxation. The revolt of Judas, about seven years later, was caused by
the actual imposition of a tax. Josephus says of it (xviii. 1. 1) : "Cy
renius came into Judara to take an account of their substance," and
afterwards " Judas said that this taxation was no better than an intro
duction to slavery, and exhorted the nation to assert their liberty."
drew away much people after him] The Greek word rendered much
is wanting in the best MSS. Read, drew away [some of the] people
after him.
he also perished] Josephus gives no notice of the fate of Judas and,
his party, though he mentions the revolt several times and says (B. J.
11. 8. 1) that this "Judas was a teacher of a peculiar sect of his own."
38. it will come to nought] As the verb is the same as that in the
following verse it is better to render, it will be overthrown.
39. but if it be of God] The verb is not in the same mood as in
the previous clause, and had the construction been in classical Greek, it
might have indicated some opinion on Gamaliel's part of the truth of
Christianity = " If it is [as it is] of God." But in the N. T. the con
struction indicates no more than a simple conditional. Yet to mark
the difference of phrase, read here, But if it is of God.
ye cannot overthrow it) The best authorities read, ye will not be able
to overthrow it.

vv. 40— 42; 1.] THE ACTS, V. VI. 71
overthrow it ; lest haply ye be found even to fight against
God. And to him they agreed : and when they had called 40
the apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they
should not speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
And they departed from the presence of the council, re- 41
joicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for
his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, 4=>
they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.
1 — 7. Murmuring about the distribution ofthe common fund.
Measures for allaying it.
And in those days, when the number of the disciples was 6
lest haply ye be found, &c] The clause depends on, " Take heed to
yourselves..." (v. 35).
40. and when they had called the apostles] i.e. back again to the
judgment-hall. and beaten them] As the guilty parties in the controversy (see Deut.
xxv. 1—3).
41. worthy to suffer shame] The Apostles count as their glory
what the world would count as shame, cp. Gal. vi. 14, " God forbid
that I should gloiy save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." This
figure of speech (called oxymoron, and consisting in the effective con
trast of words apparently opposite) is common in the New Testament.
Cp. 2 Cor. vi. 8 — 10.
for his name] Read with the best authorities, for the Name. That
name of which St Peter had said (iv. 12), "There is none other name
under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved."
42. And daily in the temple, and in every house) Read, as in ii. 46,
in the temple and at home. These are their two fields of labour, in the
Temple, while they may be there, and then in their own houses ; and it
may be that some would not be able to go to the Temple, yet these at
home were teachers still.
Jesus Christ] Better, Jesus the Christ, i.e. the anointed, the Mes
siah. This is the Name of v. 41. .
VI. 1 — 7. Murmuring about the distribution of the
common fund. Measures for allaying it.
By the confession of the high-priest himself (Acts v. 28) Jerusalem
was now filled with the teaching of the Christians, and thus the first step
was accomplished in the course which Christ had ordained (i. 8) for the
publication of the Gospel. Now, therefore, the historian of the Church's
progress turns to deal with other events and different persons, because
he has to tell of a persecution which caused Christian missionaries to go
forth for the next stage of the work, the spread of the faith through
Judaea and Samaria (viii. 1). The means which God employed for this
end are not such as an inventor in the second century would have been

72 THE ACTS, VI. [v. i,
multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against
the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the
likely to hit upon, nor such as any writer who merely desired to magnify
the Apostles would have adopted. A system for the more effectual
relief of the widows among the congregation is devised, and an outburst
of popular rage, causing the death of one of the dispensers of the relief-
funds, also disperses the greater part of the Church of Jerusalem^ A
person who was free to choose (as an inventor would have been) would
scarcely have selected one of the seven deacons for the first Christian
martyr, and have left the Apostles out of sight, while giving the history
of Stephen. The choice of such a writer would have surely fallen
upon one of the twelve to be the first to die for the faith.
1. And in those days] Better, these. The narrative which follows
is closely connected with v. T4, where it is said, "believers were added
to the Lord, midtitudes both of men and women."
•when the number of the disciples was multiplied] Better, was multi
plying. The participle is in the present tense, and its meaning should
be fully expressed. It was at the time when this sudden increase was in
progress that the difficulty arose which led to the murmuring. The
numbers of the society increased so rapidly that the superintendence of
the relief of the needy claimed the full devotion of the Apostles, and
proved in the end more than they could discharge.
there arose a murmuring] By the readiness with which the Apostles
took measures to remedy what was complained of, we may infer that
there had been shewn sufficient cause for complaint. This may easily
have come to pass without any fault on the part of the twelve, simply
from the sudden growth of the number of Christians.
ofthe Grecians agdinst the Hebrews] The first-named, who are called
in the original Hellenista, were either Jews who had been born in
countries where Greek was the vernacular, and so did not speak Hebrew,
nor join in the Hebrew services of the Jews of the Holy Land, but had
synagogues of their own in Jerusalem, or else they were proselytes. In
either case they had embraced Christianity as Jews, for as yet the
Gospel had been preached to Jews only. That provision was made for
a Greek service for the foreign Jews, we may see from T. Jerus. Sotah
vii. 1 (Gemara), "Rabbi Levi, the son of Hithah, went to Caesarea, and
heard the voice of the people saying the Shema (the name given to the
Hebrew confession 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, Jehovah is one,'
from its first word) in Hellenistic. He desired to prevent them. Rabbi
Jose heard of it and was angry, and said, Thus I say, that whosoever
does not know how to read it correctly in Hebrew shall not read it
at all [in that language], but does his duty [by reading it] in any lan
guage which he knows how to speak."
the Hebrews) These were the born Jews who lived in the Holy Land
and spoke the language which the New Testament calls Hebrew.
because their widows were neglected] The very persons who, speaking
a foreign language and being desolate, would be likely to be overlooked
amid the increased number of applications for help.

vv. i, 3.] THE ACTS,, VI. 73
daily ministration. Then the twelve called the multitude ?
of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not reason that
we should leave the word of God, and serve tables. Where- 3
fore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of honest
in the daily ministration] The original word is the same as that
which in xi. 29 is rendered relief, and from the class of persons on whose
behalf the complaint was made it is clear that it bears the same sense
here. This word diakonia has, however, caused the name of deacons to
be attached to these officers, whose appointment was at first made that
they might have care of and distribute the funds contributed by the rich
members for the relief of the needy. We can nevertheless see from St
Stephen's work that the labours of the seven were not confined to these
duties alone, for he is a mighty preacher and endued with gifts of the
Holy Ghost in the same way as the Apostles. It is deserving of notice
that, before we find any special arrangements made for what we now
understand by "divine service," the regulation of the relief of those in
need had become so engrossing a part of the duty of the twelve as to
have thrust aside in some degree the prayers and ministration of the
word, which were especially their charge. In these early days they
appear to have acted according to St James' teaching (i. 27), "Pure
religion (Bp-naKela) and undefiled before God and the Father is this, to
visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself
unspotted from the world."
2. Then the twelve called the multitude of the disciples unto them]
They found that there was cause for the complaint, and at once prepared
to provide a remedy. By "the multitude of the disciples" we are not
to suppose that an attempt was made to gather every one who in Jerusa
lem called himself a Christian, but that a large and special meeting was
convened, before which the Apostles laid their plan. The funds had
been given by various persons, and were for the common relief; it was
therefore fit that a change in the distributors should be considered in
common. and said. It is not reason] The word properly means pleasing, and
the idea meant to be conveyed is that it was not meet that the Apostles
should leave the higher functions to which they had been specially
appointed, and spend their whole time in the business duties to which
the present emergency had given rise.
that we should leave the word of God, and serve tables] Better, "for
sake the word. " The verb in the original is a strong form, and indicates
that the whole time of the twelve was being spent on this disbursement.
By tables is meant the bench or counter at which the money was dis
tributed. Both in Hebrew and Greek bankers are "tablers." Cf. "the
tables ofthe moneychangers" (Matt. xxi. 12).
The word for serve is diakonein, akin to the noun in the previous
verse. 3. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among you] The word where
fore should according to the best MSS. be but, and the end of the sen
tence should be "from among you."
acts 7

74 THE ACTS, VI. [vv. 4, 5.
report, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom, whom we may
4 appoint over this business. But we will give ourselves
s continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word. And
the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose
Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and
seven men of honest report] Lit. attested, i. e. well reported of (as
1 Tim. v. 10). It is rendered " of good report" below (x. 22).
The number seven was no doubt fixed on because that was the num
ber of persons chosen to manage public business in Jewish towns. See
Mishna Megillah III. 1 , " The men ofthe city who dispose of city market
places- may buy with the price thereof a synagogue, or if they sell a
synagogue, they may buy an ark (to keep the Law in), or if they sell an
ark, they may buy wrappers (the ornamental and costly covers in which
the Law was rolled) for the Law, and if they sell these wrappers they
may buy books (i.e. the Prophets and the flagiographa), and if they
sell books they may buy a copy of the Torah, but if they have sold a
Torah they may not buy books," and so on in the contrary order.
On this ordinance it is said, T. B. Megillah 26 a, " Raba says, This
is only applicable when the seven good men of the city sell anything in
the presence of the men of the city."
full of the Holy Ghost -and wisdom] The best MSS. omit holy.
Read, "full of the Spirit, &c." They were to be approved both by
God and man. Men could judge of their wisdom, and God had in
these days shed forth the Spirit on many.
whom we may appoint over this business] While leaving to the
assembled brethren the selection of the men, the Apostles keep some
control still with themselves. They certainly would judge best con
cerning the spiritual fitness of the chosen seven.
4. But we will give ourselves continually] The Greek word is used
several times in describing the earnest conduct of the disciples. Thus
(i. 14) "these all continued with one accord in prayer," and (ii. 42)
"they continued stedfastly in the Apostles' doctrine." So ii. 46, and
St Paul employs it (Rom. xii. 12), "continuing instant in prayer."
to prayer, and to the ministry of the word] ' Which explains what is
meant by "leave the word of God" in v. 2. Here again we have
the word diakonia to describe the Apostle's duty of preaching and
teaching. Each office was, if duly performed, a part of the service
which was laid upon the whole Church. Cp. Milton, Sonnet XIX.
" They also serve who only stand and wait."
5. And the saying pleased the whole multitude] There was clearly
no thought of neglecting any, and when the oversight was known and
a remedy proposed all were rejoiced thereat.
and they chose Stephen, &c] If we may conclude about the men
who were chosen from the names they bear, every one of the seven was
of the Grecians. The names are all Greek, and such a choice marks
the desire of all the Church to put an end to every cause of complaint,
and as it were to say, We know that as we should not wilfully overlook .

w. 6— 8.] THE ACTS, VI. 75
Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Par-
menas, and Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch : whom they set 6
before the apostles : and when they had prayed, they laid
their hands on them. And the word of God increased; ,
and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem
greatly ; and a great company of the priests were obedient
to the faith.
8 — 15. Of Stephen's Preaching, Arrest and Accusation.
And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders a
a Greek who was in need, so no Greek Christian would of purpose
neglect a Hebrew widow, and to shew our trust we choose Greeks to
have the whole oversight of this duty.
Of the men who were chosen, except Stephen, we hear in future only
of Philip (viii. 5) as a preacher in Samaria, and he is supposed to be
and probably is trie same person as " Philip the evangelist" mentioned
xxi. 8.
There is a tradition that Nicolas was the originator of that error of
the Nicolaitanes against which St John speaks in such condemnatory
terms in the Apocalypse (Rev. ii. 6, 15). But even in the early ages
of the Church there was much uncertainty about this matter, and there
is no trustworthy evidence for connecting this Nicolas v>dth the licen
tious body whom St John condemns. (See Burton';}' Eccl. Hist.
p. 364.)
Nicolas a proselyte of Antioch] Some have thought that, from this"r
description of Nicolas, he was the only prbselyte among the seven, but
the distinction of such a special addition may have been given to him
because he came from Antiocii, while the other six were of Jerusalem.
6. whom they set before the apostles] That they might confirm,
as they had proposed to do, the selection made by the whole congre
gation. they laid their hands on them] As a solemn dedication of them to
the work for which they had been chosen. Cf. Numb, xxvii. 18, 23.
7. And the word cf God increased) i.e. was more widely spread
now that the Apostles were freed from secular cares, and left to give
themselves unto the ministry of the word. (Cp. for the expression
xii. 24, xix. 20.)
a great company of the priests] To these men the sacrifice would be
greater than to the ordinary Israelite, for they would experience the
fullest weight of the hatred against the Christians, and would lose their
status and support, as well as their friends. This is no doubt the rea
son why such special mention is made of them.
were obedient to the faith) As faith in Christ was the first demand
made from those who desired to enter the new communion, it is easy to
understand how the Christian religion gained from the earliest times
the name of "the Faith." Cf. xiii. 8, xiv. 22, xvi. 5, xxiv. 24.
7— 2

76 THE ACTS, VI. [v. 9.
> and miracles among the people. Then there arose certain
of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the
Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and of them
8—15. Of Stephen's Preaching, Arrest and Accusation.
8. And Stephen, full of faith] The best MSS. read grace.
and power] i.e. of working miracles. He at least among the seven
appears almost as largely gifted by the Holy Ghost, as were the twelve.
9. Then there arose certain] It is better to render the connecting
particle But, it is no note of time.
of the synagogue, which is called the synagogue of the Libertines] Lit,
of them that were of the synagogue coiled, &c. The number of syna
gogues in Jerusalem was very great. The Libertines were most likely the
children of some Jews who had been carried captive to Rome by Pom-
pey (B.C. 63), and had been made freedmen (libertini) by their captors,
and after their return to Jerusalem had formed one congregation and
used one synagogue specially. There is an interesting illustration of
this severance of congregations among the Jews from a like cause in
the description of the modern Jewish communities in Malabar and
Cochin. It is in a MS. in the Cambridge University Library (Oo. 1. 47)
which was written in 1781. "At this time are found in their dwelling-
places about forty white householders, and in all the other places are
black Jews found, and their forefathers were the slaves of the white Jews,
and now the black Jews as found in all the places are about five hun
dred householders, and they have ten synagogues while the white Jews
have only one. And the white Jews dwell all together and their ritual
is distinct from that of the black Jews, and they will not count them
[the black Jews] among the ten [necessary for forming a congregation]
except a few families of them; but if any of the white Jews go to their
[the black Jews'] synagogues, they will admit him as one of the ten."
and Cyrenians] Read, and of the Cyrenians. On the Jews in Cy
rene see ii. 10 note.
and Alexandrians] Read, and of the Alexandrians. There were in.
Christ's time, and had been long before, as we learn from the account of
the Septuagint translation, Jews resident in Alexandria. In the Talmud
we are told that they were very numerous. Thus T. B. Succah 51b it is
said, "Rabbi Jehudah said: He that hath not seen the amphitheatre;
at Alexandria (apparently used for the Jewish worship) in Egypt has
not seen the glory of Israel. They say it was like a great Basilica with]
gallery above gallery. Sometimes there were in it double the number'
of those who went out from Egypt, and there were in it seventy-one
seats of gold corresponding to the seventy-one members of the great
Sanhedrin, each one of them worth not less than twenty-one myriads of
talents of gold, and there was a platform of wood in the midst thereof,
and the minister of the synagogue stood upon it with flags in his hand,
and when the time [in the service] came that they should answer Amen,
then he waved with the flag and all the people answered Amen." In
spite ofthe exaggeration of the numbers in this story we may be certain
from it that there was ". very large Jewish population in Alexandria,

w. 10—13.] THE ACTS, VI. 77
of Cilicia and of Asia, disputing with Stephen. And they 10
were not able to resist the wisdom and the spirit by which
he spake. Then they suborned men, which said, We have u
heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses, and
against God. And they stirred up the people, and the 1=
elders, and the scribes, and came upon him, and caught
him, and brought him to the council, and set up false wit- 13
and that they were likely to have a separate synagogue in Jerusalem.
For another portion of this story see note on xviii. 3.
and of them of Cilicia] Cilicia was at the S.E. corner of Asia Minor.
One of its principal towns was Tarsus, the birthplace of St Paul, and
there were no doubt many other Jews there, descendants of those Jews
whom Antiochus the Great introduced into Asia Minor (Joseph. Antiq.
XII. 3. 4), two thousand families of whom he placed there as well dis
posed guardians, of the country.
and of Asia] See note on ii. 9.
disputing with Stephen] The original word is used frequently of the
captious questionings of the Pharisees (Mark viii. n), and the scribes
(Mark ix. 14), with Jesus and His disciples.
11. Then they suborned men] Suborn = to provide, but nearly
always used in a bad sense. Subornation of perjury is the legal phrase
for procuring a person who will take a false oath.
which said, &c] The charge here laid against. Stephen is afterwards
defined. Blasphemous words against Moses and against God was the
construction which these witnesses .put upon language which had pro
bably been uttered by Stephen in the same way as Christ had said
(John iv. 21), "The time cometh when ye shall neither in this moun
tain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father."
12. And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and the scribes]
of whom the latter two classes had already been exasperated against
the Apostles. And now that it was told them that the glory of the
Temple was spoken against, the common people would be readily roused,
for the Temple was the object of great admiration and pride, as we can
see from the words of Christ's disciples (Matt. xxiv. 1).
and came upon him] As the scribes and Pharisees upon Jesus in the
Temple (Luke xx. 1).
and caught him, and brought kim to the council] A fit prelude to
their still more violent proceedings after Stephen's defence was ended
(vii. 57)-
13. and set up false witnesses which said] Their falseness consists
in the perverted turn which they gave to the words of Stephen. Though
we have no words of his hitherto recorded, we can see from the cha
racter of his defence in the next chapter that he must have been heard
to declare that the worship of God was no longer to be restricted as it
had been to the Temple at Jerusalem. And just as in the accusation of
Christ (Matt. xxvi. 61) the witnesses (called, as here, false, and for a like ¦
reason) perverted a saying of Jesus, " Destroy this temple and in three

78 THE ACTS, VI. VII. [vv. 14, 15; 2.
nesses, which said, This man ceaseth not to speak blasphe-
¦4 mous words against this holy place, and the law : for we
have heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth shall
destroy this place, and shall change the customs which
15 Moses delivered us. And all that sat in the council, look
ing stedfastly on him, saw his face as it had been the face
of an angel. 1 — 53. Stephen's Defence.
1 Then said the high priest, Are these things so? And he
days I will raise it up," which St John (ii. 21) explains, into "lam
able to destroy the temple of God and to build it in three days," so the
words of Stephen which spake of a worship now "to be bound to no
fixed spot, and fettered by no inflexible externality" (Zeller), were
twisted into blasphemy against the Temple and the law, called in v. 1 1
blasphemy against Moses and against God ; and by the use of these two
phrases as equivalent the one to the other, they shew us how God and
Moses meant for them no more than their Temple and its ritual.
This man ceaseth not to speak blasphemous words] The best author
ities omit blasphemous.
14. for we have heard him say] No doubt there was some handle
afforded by Stephen's words for their statement.
that this Jesus of Nazareth shall destroy this place] What the tenor
of Stephen s language must have been may be gathered from vii. 48,
"The Most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands." And to
Jewish people at this time to seve.r worship from Jerusalem was the
same thing as to destroy the Temple. The attempt which has been
made to shew that the charge against Stephen is merely a reproduction
of that made against Jesus is seen to be futile when we observe that in
Stephen's case the witnesses know nothing of "the raising up again of
the temple," and that Stephen himself, by not contradicting but explain
ing their accusation, in his defence points out that their statement had a
widely different origin from that which gave cause to the accusation of
Jesus. 15. And ail that sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him) As
they would naturally in expectation of what he was about to say in his
defence. saw his face as it had been the face of an angel) Either because of
the calm dignity which Stephen's natural look displayed; he was
calm and undisturbed, confident in his good cause and supported by
the Spirit: or as his gaze soon afterwards (vii. 56) beheld the open
heavens and the glory of Christ enthroned on high, it may be that the
sense in this verse is also supernatural, and that the face of Stephen
was already illumined with the radiancy of the new Jerusalem.
For the expression cp. vii. 20 note.
VII. 1 — 53. Stephen's Defence.
\. Then said the high- priest, Are these things so?) Read, And tlie

v. 3-] THE ACTS, VII. 79
said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken; The God of glory
appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Meso
potamia, before he dwelt in Charran, and said unto him, Get 3
high priest said, &c. Thus he called upon Stephen to answer the charges
laid against him.
2. And he said, Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken] Omit men.
Cp. i. 16, note. For an account of the argument in Stephen's speech
and its connection with the whole design of the writer of the Acts, see
Introduction pp. ix. x.
The God of glory) A not very common expression (see Ps. xxix. 3),
but probably chosen designedly as an introduction to this discourse,
which deals with the several stages of God's manifestation of Himself.
The term is applied (John i. 14) to the incarnate Word; "we beheld
his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. "
appeared unto our father Abraham, when he was in Mesopotamia] The
ancestral home of Abraham is called "Ur of the Chaldees" (Gen.
xi. 31), and it is said (Josh. xxiv. 2, 3) to have been "on the other side
ofthe flood," i.e. beyond the Euphrates. It is not possible to determine
the site of Ur, but the most probable opinion seems to be that which
places it at Edessa, now called Orfah, and said to have been called
Orrha in early times. If this were the place the journey thence to
Charran (O.T. Haran), i.e. Carrhce, would not have been so very
formidable for the father of the patriarch to undertake, and at Charran
Terah remained till he died (Gen. xi. 32). Abraham when without his
father could remove with greater ease to the distant Canaan.
our father Abraham] If Stephen were merely a proselyte he might
yet use this expression, for Abraham is regarded as the father of
proselytes. On Genesis xii. 5, "The souls which they had gotten [Heb.
made) in Haran," the Targum of Onkelos explains "The souls which
they (Abraham and his family) had brought to serve the Law," i.e.
made them proselytes : and on the same text Berashith Rabbah, par. 39,
has "Rabbi Eliezer, the son of Zimra, said: If all the men in the world
were to combine to create even a single gnat, they could not infuse into
it a soul; and thou sayest, 'The souls which they made.' But these
are the proselytes whom they brought in. Yet, if so, why does it say
they made them ? This is to teach thee that when anybody brings near
the stranger, and makes him a proselyte, it is as good as if he had
created him."
before he dwelt in Charran] The Greek verb rendered dwelt is one
which implies a settled residence, though it conveys no idea of permanent
abode. Itis used (Matt. ii. 23) of Joseph and Mary dwelling at Nazareth,
and (Matt. iv. 13) of Christ's less fixed dwelling in Capernaum.
3. and s.aid unto him] It does not appear from the narrative in
Genesis whether there had been some Divine communication which
caused the first removal from Ur to Haran. We are only told (xi. 31)
that Terah took his family and removed, but as it is there added "to go
into the land of Canaan," and as in the following chapter, where God's
order to remove is expressly given (xii. 1), it is also said that "they went
forth to go into the land of Canaan," we may conclude that the first re-

So THE ACTS, VII. [vv. 4, c.
thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and
1 come into the land which I shall shew thee. Then
came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in
Charran : and from thence, when his father was dead, he
5 removed him into this land, wherein ye now dwell. And
he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to
mov.il had been enjoined by God, and that it was only on account of
Terah's age that the country for which they set forth was not reached at
once. In Gen. xv. 7 God says "I am the Lord that brought thee out
of Ur of the Chaldees," language which implies a command given for
the first removal. Cp. Neh. ix. 7. Gen. xii. 1 should be rendered
"Now the Lord saidvnto Abrarri," not "had said," as A.V.
Get thee out of thy country [land], and from thy kindred, and come
into the land which I shall shew thee] The word for land is the same in
both clauses. In Gen. xii. 1 the words "and from thy father's house"
are added after "kindred." The destination of the emigrants was known ;
before they started from Ur.
4. Then came he out of the land of the Chaldeans, and dwelt in
Charran] The Chaldaeans were the people of that country which had
Babylon for its capital. The extent of the country signified by "the land
of the Chaldeans must have varied at different periods.
when his father was dead] According to the order of the narrative in
Genesis, this seems to be so, but when the ages of Terah and Abraham ;
are noticed, it appears that Abraham left Haran before his father's death.
For Terah was 70 years old when Abraham was born (Gen. xi. 26), and
Abraham was 75 years old when he departed out of Haran (Gen. xii. 4),
so that of Terah's 205 years there were yet (205 - 145) = 60 years un
expired when his son went away. On this Jewish literature has the
explanation (Midrash Rabbah on Genesis, cap. 39) that God absolved
Abraham from the care of his father, and yet, that Abraham's departure
from Terah should not lead others to claim the same relaxation of a
commandment for themselves, Terah's death is noticed in Holy Writ
before Abraham's departure, and it is also added, to explain the mention
of death, that "the wicked (and among them Terah is reckoned, see
Josh. xxiv. 2) are called dead while they are alive."
he removed him] i. e. God caused him to migrate. There is a slight
vagueness in the English, but none in the Greek.
5. And he gave him none inheritance in it] The first settlement of
Abraham in Canaan is said (Gen. xii. 6) to have been at the place of
Sichem [Shechem] at the plain [rather, oak] of Moreh. He next dwelt
on the east of Bethel, and in both these places he probably purchased
land, for he built an altar at each; and on returning from Egypt (xiii. 3)
he came "to the place where his tent had been at the beginning, between
Bethel and Hai," which he hardly could have done unless the land had
been his own, for he " was very rich in cattle."
no, not so much as to set his foot on] For the land, when God gave it,
would be held in very different manner from that in which Abraham held
the land which he had bought or hired.

w. 6— 8.] THE ACTS, VII. 81
set his foot on : yet he promised that he would give it to
him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet
he had no child. And God spake on this wise, That his 6
seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that
they should bring them into bondage, and entreat
them evil four hundred years. And the nation to 7
whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said
God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve
me in this place. And he gave him the covenant of cir- 8
yet he promised] Better, and he promised. The conjunction is the
ordinary copulative.
that he would give it to him. for a possession] More literally, in posses
sion. The promise "unto thy seed will I give this land" was first made
(Gen. xii. 7) when Abraham was at the place of Shechem, and in its
greater fulness when he returned from Egypt (xiii. 15, 16).
when as yet he hail no child] We cannot learn from Holy Writ how
long a time Abraham lived after the promise before Isaac was born, but
we can see that it was a long period, for when he went down to Egypt
Sarah was <i fair woman in the prime of her beauty (Gen. xii. 14), and
she was "waxed old" (xviii. 12) before her son was born.
6. And God spake on this wise] The words are substantially those
which we find in Gen. xv. T3, 14.
four hundred years) This number agrees with the number stated in
Genesis; but in Exod. xii. 40, and also by St Paul (Gal. iii. 17), the
time is said to have been four hundred and thirty years. The period is
reckoned so as to include part of the lives of the patriarchs in Canaan,
and the variation may be accounted for if one number dates back to the
first call, and the second only to the departure from Haran ; or the one
may be reckoned from the time of the covenant of circumcision, and the
other from the promise of the land. Or it may be that one is merely a
round number and the other an attempt at greater exactness. We can
come to no certain conclusion in the matter, but we can see that both
numbers were current among the Jews, for Josephus (Ant. 11. ijj. 2)
makes the time 430 years, and elsewhere (Ant: II. 9. t, and Bell. Jud.
v. 9. 4) 400 years.
7. after that shall they come forth) The first prophecy (Gen. xv. 14)
of tliis Exodus adds "with great substance."
and serve me in this place] These words are not in the promise given
to Abraham, but are taken from Exod. iii. 12, 'where the original
promise is repeated and sent to the Israelites through Moses, and the
place meant in that verse is Sinai, called there Horeb, the mountain of
God. Stephen in his speech combines the two that he may describe
the promise in its fulness, and he mentions the worship of God in that
place, because the one great object of his address is to demonstrate that
what is laid to his charge concerning the highest worship of God being
no longer restricted to the Temple and Jerusalem, is nothing more than
they were taught 'by a study of their own history.

82 THE ACTS, VII. [w. 9— 14,
cumcision : and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised
him the eighth day; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat
9 the twelve patriarchs. And the patriarchs, moved with envy,
IO sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him, and delivered
him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and
wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he
„ made him governor over Egypt and all his house. Now
there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Canaan,
and great affliction : and our fathers found no sustenance.
12 But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent
13 out our fathers first. And at the second time Joseph was
made known to his brethren; and Joseph's kindred was
i4 made known unto Pharaoh. Then sent Joseph, and called
his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and
8. the covenant of circumcision) Given the year before Isaac was
born (Gen. xvii. 21).
9. the patriarchs, movedwith envy, sold Joseph] The same word is
used (xvii. 5) of the hostile feelings of the Jews at Thessalonica against
Paul and Silas. In the history (Gen. xxxvii. 4, 5) it is said "his
brethren hated him," and (xxxvii. 11) "they envied him."
sold Joseph into Egypt] See Gen. xxxvii. 28 for the way in which
this was done.
but God was with him) Read, and God, &c. The conjunction is Kal.
The statement is from Gen. xxxix. 2, 21, 23, and is used by Stephen here
to give point to his argument that God's presence is not circumscribed,
and so neither should His worship be tied to place.
10. For the history see Genesis xxxix. — xii.
11. Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Canaan, &c]
The oldest MSS. omit "the land of."
our fathers found no sustenance] The noun in Greek is generally
used of food for cattle rather than men. See LXX. Gen. xxiv. 25,
32, &c. But we must suppose that, though in the history the sufferings
of the people are most noticed, the famine also affected the supplies of
cattle-food, and the one word is used to embrace all.
12. he sent put our fathers first] i.e. before he himself went away
from Canaan into Egypt.
13. was made known] The original is not the same in the two
clauses for this expression. Read in the latter "Joseph's kindred
became known" &c. •
14. threescore and fifteen souls] This number is taken from the LXX.
In the Hebrew (Gen. xlvi. 8 — 27) the number is but seventy including
Jacob himself. The five additional names given in the LXX. are
Machir the son and Galaad the grandson of Manasseh, and the two
sons of Ephraim, Taam and Soutalaam, with Soutalaam's son, Edom.
So in Exodus i. 5 the Hebrew has 70, and the LXX. 75. There were
many traditions current on this subject, and the Rabbis notice too that

w. IS, 1 6.] THE ACTS, VII. 83
fifteen souls. So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, 15
he, and our fathers, and were carried over into Sychem, and 16
69 persons (they exclude Jacob) are reckoned for 70 in the account given
Gen. xlvi. In the Midrash Shemuel, c. 32, there are various suggestions
thrown out. First it is said the one wanting was Jochebed, who became
wife of Amram and mother of Moses, for it is mentioned (Numb. xxvi.
59) that she was a daughter of Levi born in Egypt, and the tradition is
that she was born "between the walls," i. e. just as the people were
entering Egypt, and so she is to be counted in the number. Another
tradition is attached to Gen. xlvi. 23, "The sons of Dan, Hushim." As
the last word is a plural form, and sons are spoken of in the verse, there
fore it is thought that there were two Hushim, an elder and a younger.
Also (T. B. Baba Bathra 123 a ad fin.) there is mentioned the tradition
that there was a twin with Dinah. We may thus see that there were
traditions current which probably were well known to the translators
ofthe LXX., and gave rise to their number. They however are not con
sistent, for in Deuteronomy (x. 22) they give 70 as the number which
went down into Egypt. Stephen, as was to be expected from the other
quotations in this book, and also because he was a Grecian Jew, follows
the LXX.
15. So Jacob went down into Egypt] Now the whole race whom
God had chosen to Himself was in Egypt, away from the land of promise,
and remained there for a long period, yet God was with them in their
exile, and His worship was preserved for the whole time. This seems the
point which Stephen desires to emphasize by so frequent a repetition of
the words "into Egypt."
and died, he, and our fathers] Better, and he died, himself, and our
fathers. Of the transportation of the bodies of the patriarchs to Canaan
we have no record in Holy Writ. Josephus (Antiq. 11. 8. 2) says "the
posterity and sons of these men, after some time, carried their bodies and
buried them at Hebron." In the discussion of Exodus xiii. 19, Carry
up my bones away hence with you, it is said (Mechilta, ed. Weiss, 1865,
Vienna, 8vo p. 30) that the bodies of the patriarchs were carried out of
Egypt with the returning Israelites, and it is argued that this is implied
in the expression with you, which Moses quotes as uttered by Joseph,
who must have known that his brethren to whom he was speaking
would all be dead before the Exodus. Therefore with you could only
be used if their bodies were to be transported as well as his own.
16. and were carried over into Sychem, &c] This Sychem is the
Old Test. Shechem. The oldest authorities give for the latter part of
the verse "ofthe sons of Emmor In Shechem."
The statement in this verse appears incapable of being reconciled
with the record of the Old Testament. There we find (Gen. xlix. 30)
that Abraham bought the field and cave of Machpelah, which is before
Mamre (i. e. Hebron), from Ephron the Hittite. This is there spoken
of as the general burial-place ofthe family; there were buried Abraham
and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, and Jacob's wife Leah. And of Jacob
we read (Gen. xxxiii. 19), "he bought a parcel of a field where he had
spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, Shechem's father."

84 THE ACTS, VII. [w. 17—19.
laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of
17 money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem. But
when the time of the promise drew nigh, which God had
sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in
18 Egypt, till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.
19 The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil entreated
We are not told that this was for a burial-place, and it is rather to be
judged that it was not so, because it is added "he erected there an
altar." Moreover it is in Machpelah that Jacob desires to be buried
(Gen. xlvii. 30, xlix. 30) and is buried (1. 13). We have seen (note on
v. 5) that "the place of Shechem" was one of the resting-places of
Abraham when he came first into Canaan, and that probably he bought
a possession there, for he built an altar. The bones of Joseph were
laid in Shechem (Josh. xxiv. 32). There were two burial-places con
nected with the patriarchal families. In the report of Stephen's speech.
we find that Abraham is said to have bought what Jacob really purchased;
but there may also have been land purchased by Abraham "in the
place of Shechem." We have only to suppose that in his speech
Stephen, speaking of the burial of the whole family, mentioned, in
accordance with the tradition of Josephus, the burial of the fathers in
Hebron, which Abraham bought, and noticed the laying of Joseph's
bones at Shechem which Jacob bought, and that into the report dj
what he said a confusion has been introduced by the insertion ol
Abraham's name for Jacob's in the abbreviated narrative. We have
pointed out in several places that the speeches recorded can be no more
than abstracts of what was said, and the degree of inaccuracy here
apparent might readily be imported in the formation of such an abstract,
and yet the original speech have correctly reported all the traditions.
Stephen dwells on "Shechem" in the same way as before he had
dwelt on "Egypt," to mark that in the ancient days other places were
held in reverence by the chosen people, and they served God there,
though at the time when he was speaking Shechem was the home of
their enemies the Samaritans.
17. But when [as] the time of the promise drew nigh] i. e. for its
fulfilment. The fathers "all died in faith, not having received the
promises, but having seen them afar off" (Heb. xi. 13).
which God had sworn, &c] The oldest authorities give had vouchsafed
(&iio\byntrei>). The same word is used (Matt. xiv. 7) of the promise
made by Herod to the daughter of Herodias.
the people grew and multiplied in Egypt] God blessed them there.
(See Exod. i. 7, 12.) The number of those who came out of Egypt
(Exod. xii. 37) was "six hundred thousand on foot that were men,
beside children."
18. till another king arose, which knew not Joseph) The oldest
authorities have, till there arose another king over Egypt, &c.
19. The same dealt subtilly with our kindred [race] The word is
from the LXX. (Exod. i. 10), "Let us deal wisely (i.e. craftily) with
them " are the words of the new king.

w. 20^23.] THE ACTS, VII. 85
our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the
end they might not live. In which time Moses was born, 20
and was exceeding fair, and nourished up in his father's
house three months : and when he was cast out, Pharaoh's 21
daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son.
And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, 22
and was mighty in words and in deeds. And when he was 23
full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his
and evil entreated our fathers) Beside the hard tasks put upon
the people according to the record in Exodus, Josephus adds (Antiq.
II. 9. 1) that the Egyptians "made them to cut a great many channels
for the river, and set them to build pyramids, forced them to learn all
sorts of mechanical arts and to accustom themselves to hard labour. "
so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not
live] Better, in causing their young children to be cast out, &c. The
words are rather a description of what the Egyptian king did in his
tyranny (Exod. i. 22), than (as A. V.) of what the Israelites were
driven to by their despair.
20. In which time Moses was born, and was exceeding fair] The
last phrase is literally "fair unto (i.e. in the sight of) God." This is
a Hebrew mode of expressing a high degree of any quality. Thus
(Jonah iii. 3) "Nineveh was an exceeding great city," is "a city great
unto God." Similar instances are found, Gen. x. 9, xxiii. 6, xxx. 8,
&c. In the Pirke de-Rabbi Eliezer, c. 48, we have "The parents of
Moses saw his face as [that of] an angel of God."
and [he was] nourished up in his father's house three months]
Modern English would omit up in this sentence.
21. nourished him for her own son] Jewish tradition says that
the king had no son, and so Moses was designed by the king's daughter
to succeed to the kingdom. Josephus (Antiq. II. 9. 7), where she
speaks of him as " a child of a divine form and generous mind."
22. And Moses was learned [instructed] in all the wisdom of the
Egyptians] As was to be expected if he were designed for the kingdom.
The wisdom on which the Jewish traditions most dwell is the power
of magic, and such knowledge as Pharaoh's wise men are represented
as having in the book of Exodus.
and was mighty in [his] words and in deeds] The same traditions
tell of Moses as a great captain among the Egyptians, and as leading
them to victory against the Ethiopians (Josephus, II. 10. 2).
23. And when he was full forty years old] Better, But when he
was well-nigh forty years old. The verb in the original intimates that
the forty years were just being completed. For the fixing of this
time we have no authority in the Old Testament. We learn thence
that Moses was eighty years old when he was sent to speak before
Pharaoh for the deliverance of the Israelites (Exod. vii. 7), and that
he was a hundred and twenty years old when he died (Deut. xxxiv. 7).
In Midrash Tanchuma on Exodus ii. (5, we are told "Moses was in the

86 THE ACTS, VII. [vv. 24— 29.
24 brethren the children of Israel. And seeing one of them
suffer wrong, he defended him, and avenged him that was
25 oppressed, and smote the Egyptian : for he supposed his
brethren would have understood how that God by his hand
26 would deliver them : but they understood not. And the
next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove, and
would have set them at one again, saying, Sirs, ye are hre-
27 thren; why do ye wrong one to another? But he that did
his neighbour wrong thrust him away, saying, Who made
28 thee a ruler and a judge over us? Wilt thou kill me, as
29 thou didst the Egyptian yesterday? Then fled Moses at
this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Madian, wheie
palace of Pharaoh twenty years, but some say forty .years, and forty years
in Midian, and forty years in the wilderness." Stephen's words agree
with this tradition.
it came into his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel) The
verb in the original, which is here rendered visit, is the same as in
Luke vii. 16, " God hath visited his people," and means to look upon
(generally with kindness, James i. 27), and this was the old sense of
the English visit. Cf. Shaks. Rich. II. 1. 3. 275 :
" All places that the eye of heaven visits."
24. and smote the Egyptian] i.e. killed him. See Exod. ii. 12.
25. for he supposed his brethren would have understood how thai
God by his hand would deliver them) Better, and he supposed that
his brethren understood how that God by his hand was giving them
deliverance. There is no condition in the sentence. The traditions,
in the atmosphere of which Stephen moved, represent the death of the
Egyptian as no mere ordinary killing by superior strength, but as
brought about by mysterious Divine power, which Moses feeling within
himself expected his kindred to recognize.
-26. And the next day he shewed himself unto them as they strove)
i.e. to "two men of the Hebrews" (Exod. ii. 13). This quotation
from Exodus is but. a forcible way of representing what up to this
point had been left unexplained, that the persons contending in this
second case were Israelites.
28. Wilt thou kill me, as thou didst the Egyptian yesterday,!]
For didst read MUedst. The verb is repeated in the original.
29. Then [And] fled Moses at this saying] Josephus (Antiq. II.
n. 1 ) makes no mention of this reason for the flight of Moses, but
says that the Egyptians were jealous of him, and told the king " that
he would raise a sedition, and bring innovations " into the land. In
consequence of the plots against him because of these suspicions Moses
fled away secretly.
and was a stranger in the land of Madian] Lit. "and became a
sojourner," &c. Madian is the Greek form for Midian, which fot

W. 30-35-] THE ACTS, VII. 87
be begat two sons. And when forty years were expired, 30
there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an
angel of the Lord in a flame of fire in a bush. When 31
Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight : and as he drew
near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him,
saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, 32
and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then
Moses trembled, and durst not behold. Then said the 33
Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place
where thou standest is holy ground. I have seen, I have 34
seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I
have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver
them. And now come, I will send thee into Egypt. This 35
Moses whom they refused, saying, Who made thee a ruler
and a judge? the same did God send to be a ruler and a
deliverer by the hand of the angel which appeared to hirh
clearness' sake would be better here. By " the land of Midian," which
is only found in Scripture history, is probably meant the peninsula
on which Mount Sinai stands (see Exod. iii. 1 ).
where he begat two sons] Gershom and Eliezer; their mother was
Zipporah the daughter of Jethro (Exod. xviii. 2 — 4).
30. And when forty years were expired] Thus making, with the
forty years mentioned in v. 23, eighty years, the age at which Moses
went unto Pharaoh (Exod. vii. 7).
there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an angel of
the Lord] It is better to conform the ' New Testament orthography in
familiar names to that of the Old, and so write Sinai. The oldest
authorities omit the words "ofthe Lord."
31 — 34. Here we have in substance the history as given in Exodus
iii. 2 — 10.
32. the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob] The oldest authorities omit "the God" in the second and
third places.
34. / have seen, I have seen] The Greek is an attempt to imitate an
emphatic Hebrew construction, and is literally "having seen, I have
seen," which in idiomatic English="I have surely seen," by which
words the Hebrew is rendered (Exod. iii. 7).
35. Stephen here begins to point out how in old time the people had
rejected Moses, though he had the witness of God that his commission
was Divine, that he may shew his hearers how they are acting in the
same manner toward Jesus.
This Moses. ..the same did God send to be a ruler and a deliverer by the
hand of the angel] The best MSS. read, him hath God sent... with
the hand, &c. The verb is in the perfect tense in the original, and con
stitutes the form of Stephen's appeal to history. God, says he, hath

88 THE ACTS, VII. [vv. 36—38-
36 in the bush. He brought them out, after that he had shewed
wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red
37 sea, and in the wilderness forty years. This is that Moses,
which said unto the children of Israel, A prophet shall
the Lord your God raise up unto you of your bre-
38 thren, like unto me; him shall ye hear. This is he,
that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel
which spake to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers:
sent back the rejected Moses to be a ruler and deliverer, and he leaves
them to draw the conclusion that what God had done in the case of
Moses, he would also do in the case of the prophet whom Moses had
foretold as to be like himself. Cp. Gal. iv. 23; 1 Tim. ii. 14; Heb.
vii. 6.
by the hand ofthe angel] i. e. with the power. Cp. Acts xi. 2 1, "The
hand of the Lord was with them." And of the angel it is said (Exod,
iii. 4) "When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto
him," so that the whole expression means, "with the power of God, who
appeared to him," &c
36. He brought ped] them out] Having God's power with him in
all these wanderings.
after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt] The
oldest MSS. omit "the land of." Read, having wrought wonders and
signs in Egypt.
and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years] The Jewish
traditions make the plagues sent on the Egyptians. at the Red Sea
more than those which had been sent to them in Egypt. Thus in the
Mechilta (ed. Weiss, p. 41) the Egyptians are said to have received
ten plagues in Egypt, but fifty at the Red Sea, because the magicians
speak of the afflictions in Egypt (Exod. viii. 19) as "the finger of God,"
while at the Red Sea it is said (Exod. xiv. 31) "And Israel saw that
great work [Heb. hand] which the Lord did upon the Egyptians."
37. The prophecy is in Deut. xviii. 15, and has been already quoted
by St Peter (iii. 22) as referring ultimately to the Messiah. Its quota
tion to those who had rejected Jesus is the key-note of what is more
openly expressed in v. 51, "as your fathers did, so do ye."
38. This is he, that was in the church [congregation] in the wilder
ness] i. e. with the congregation of Israel assembled at Mount Sinai.
with the angel which spake to him in the mount Sina [Sinai] As in
v. 35, the angel is God Himself; just so in v. 31 the voice which spake is
called "a voice of the Lord."
and with our fathers] Jewish tradition says that the whole world was
present at Sinai. Thus Midrash Rabbah on Exodus, cap. 28 ad fin.:
"Whatever the prophets were to utter in prophecy in every generation
they received from Mount Sinai," and presently after, commenting on
the words of Moses (Deut. xxix. 15), Him that is not here with us this
day, it is said, "These are the souls which were yet to be created,"i.e. to
be sent into the world; and to explain (Deut. v. 22) and he added no

w. 39— 42.] THE ACTS, VII. 89
who received the lively oracles to give unto us : to whom 39
our fathers would not obey, but thrust him from them, and
in their hearts turned back again into Egypt, saying unto 4o
Aaron, Make us gods to go before us: for as for this
Moses, which brought us out of the land of Egypt,
we wot not what is become of him. And they made a 41
calf in those days, and offered sacrifice unto the idol, and
rejoiced in the works of their own hands. Then God 4=
turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven;
more, (on which they found the teaching that all revelation was com
pletely given at Sinai,) they say, "The one voice was divided into seven
voices, and these were divided into the seventy tongues," which Jewish
tradition held to be the number of the languages of the world.
who received the lively oracles to give unto us] Who (i. e. Moses) re
ceived living oracles, &c. Moses is thus shewn to have been a mediator
(see Gal. iii. 19), and thus to have prefigured the mediator of a better
covenant (Heb. viii. 6) and of the New Testament (Heb. ix. 15), even
Jesus (Heb. xii 24).
The oracles are called living, just as "the word of God" is called
living [A.V. quick] (Heb. iv. 12), because it is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart. On this effect cp. St Paul's language concern
ing the law (Rom. vii. 9), "When the commandment came, sin revived,
and I died." But there is at the same time the other sense in the word,
which appears when (John vi. 51) Christ calls Himself " the living bread
which came down from heaven." For the law pointed onward to Christ,
who should lead His people "unto living fountains of waters" (Rev.
vii. 17). For the thought, cp. 1 Pet. i. 23, "The word' of God which
liveth and abideth for ever. " '
39. to whom our fathers would not obey [be obedient], but thrust him
from them] For they said (Numb. xiv. 4), "Let us make a captain, and
let us return into Egypt." This was after the return of the spies, when
the people became discontented with the leadership of Moses and
Aaron. and in their hearts turned back again into Egypt] As is told, Exod.
xvi. 3, Numb. xi. 4, 5, in which passages the desires of the people are
all represented as turned to the good things which they had enjoyed in
the land of their slavery.
40. saying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before us] Lit. which
shall go before us. The passage is almost word for word the report
given in Exod. xxxii. 1.
41. and rejoiced) It was not the voice of them that shout for the
mastery, nor of them that cry for being overcome, but the noise of them
that sing which Moses (Exod. xxxii. 18) heard when he came down from
the mount.
42. Then God turned] Read, But. Cp. Josh. xxiv. 20, " If ye for
sake the Lord and serve strange gods, then he will turn and do you
hurt." acts 8

90 THE ACTS, VII. [v. 43-
as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house
of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and
sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?.
43 Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and the
star of your god Remphan, figures which ye made
and gave them up to worship [serve] the host of heaven] God had
previously warned them against this kind of idolatry (Deut. iv. 19), but
we learn from the records of their historians (2 Kings xvii. 16) and theh
prophets (Jer. xix. 13; Zeph. i. 5) that the warning was given in
vain. as it is written in the book of the prophets] The Hebrews divided theii
Scriptures into three sections, the Law, the Prophets, and the Hagiogra-
pha (called the Psalms, Luke xxiv. 44), and each of these parts is looked
upon as a special and separate book. The Law comprised the five books
of Moses. The earlier prophets were the books of Joshua, Judges,
Samuel, and Kings : the later prophets were Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
and the twelve which we now call Minor Prophets. The Hagiographa
consisted of the following books in the order here given: Psalms (and
the expression of Luke xxiv. 44 will be understood because the Psalms
stand first in this section), Proverbs, Job, the Song of Songs, Ruth,
Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther (these five last mentioned were called.
the five rolls, being written on separate rolls for use at special festival
and fast services), Daniel, Ezra (Nehemiah), and Chronicles.
0 ye house of Israel, have ye offered, &c] It is more emphatic to
keep the order of the Greek. Read, Did ye offer unto me slain beasts
and sacrifices forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? The
whole passage to the end of v. 43 is a quotation from Amos (v. 25—27).
The question in this verse is to be answered in the negative, for in
their hearts, though they were sacrificing to Jehovah, they had turned
back into Egypt, and such service God counts as no service at all.
43. Yea, ye took up, &c] Read, And ye took up. The conjunction
is the ordinary copulative, and the thought is continuous, "Your hearts
were after your idols, and ye took up their images," more truly than my
ark. In the Hebrew the word for "took up" is that regularly employed
for the "bearing" the ark ofthe covenant.
the tabernacle cf Moloch] The Hebrew word which the LXX. have
rendered tabernacle is not the usual form for that word. There is
little doubt that it is intended for a proper name, Siccuth.
and the star of your god Remphan [Rephan, the] figures which ye made
to worship them] This clause differs widely from the Hebrew, which
gives, "And Chiun your images, the star of your god which ye made to
yourselves." The LXX. seem to have read the words in a different
order. Rephan, which is by them substituted for Chiun, is said to be
the Egyptian name for Saturn (see Spencer, de Leg. Heb. p. 667), and
may have been used by them as an equivalent for the other name which
is found nowhere else but in Amos. The whole idea of the passage seems
to be that the stars were being worshipped, and so it is an illustration

w. 44, 45.] THE ACTS, VII. 91
to worship them: and I will carry you away beyond
Babylon. Our fathers had the tabernacle of Witness in the 11
wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, that
he should make it according to the fashion that he had
seen. Which also our fathers that came after brought in 45
with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, whom God
suited for Stephen's argument. "To worship them" is an addition not
.in the LXX.
and I wUl carry you away beyond Babylon] The Hebrew of Amos
and the LXX. say beyond Damascus. But as Babylon was the place
most connected in the mind of the Jew with captivity, the alteration in
the quotation may be due either to the prominence of such connection
in Stephen's mind, or in the thoughts of the reporter of the speech, who
thus inadvertently wrote Babylon. At this point Stephen closes the
digression which began at the 37th verse, and which is meant to point
out that the Jews are doing towards Jesus just what their fathers did to
Moses and against God. He now resumes the argument that God's
worship was not meant to be always fixed to one place.
¦44. Our fathers had the tabernacle of Witness [of the testimony] in the
wilderness] The name is found first Exod. xxxviii. 21. The ark is also
called the ark of the testimony, as Exod. xxv. 22, &c, and the name
was no doubt given because all the contents of the ark, which was the
most sacred part of the Tabernacle fittings, were testimonies to God's
rule or to His power exerted for His people. Aaron's rod, the pot of
manna, and the tables of the Law were all stored up therein. And this
ark above which God made His presence seen was in the wilderness and
moving from place to place.
as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses, &c] Better, even as he
had appointed who spake, &c. For the command see Exod. xxv. 9, 40,
xxvi. 30, xxvii. 8.
45. Which also our fathers that came after] Better, having received
it after. For all the generation that came out of Egypt was dead at the
entry into Canaan except Caleb and Joshua.
brought in with Jesus [i.e. Joshua] It is better here and in Heb. iv. 8
to let the Greek orthography give place to the form of the word used
in the Old Testament.
into the possession ofthe Gentiles) The preposition is not into but in,
and the noun does not mean the land possessed by the nations, but the
act of the Israelites in taking possession of it for themselves. Read,
when they took possession of the nations, (lit. in their taking possession,)
•whom . God drave [thrust] out before the face of our fathers, unto the days
of David. Till this time the Tabernacle existed, and as the history tells
was not always in one place in the land of Canaan, and at the time
when the first proposal for a permanent Temple is made by David
(2 Sam. vii. 2) and approved by Nathan, God forbids the building of it
by David. AU which goes to strengthen Stephen's argument that the
worship should not be fettered to one place. S  -,

THE ACTS, VII. [vv. 46—51.

drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the days of
46 David; who found favour before God, and desired to find
47 a tabernacle for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built
,8 him a house. Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in
,9 temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven
is my throne, and earth is my footstool : what house
will ye build me? saith the Lord: or what is the
5o place of my rest? Hath not my hand made all
these things?
si Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye
do always resist the Holy Ghost : as your fathers did, so do
46. to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob) referring to Ps. cxxxii. 5,
"Until I find out a place for the Lord, an habitation for the mighty
God of Jacob." A reading which is largely accepted gives, "for the house
of Jacob," but in spite of the ancient authority for it, it is so unsuitable
to the drift of the argument, that it seems better to conclude that it is an
error of the earliest scribes, rather than to accept it in the text.
48. Howbeit the most High dwelleth not in temples made with hands;
as saith the prophet] The oldest authorities omit temples. We must
supply some English word to complete the sense; perhaps houses.
Stephen allows that in the days of Solomon there seemed to be a more
permanent abode appointed for God's worship, but instantly points out
that God through His prophet (Isaiah Ixvi. i, 2) had taught that He was
not controlled by or confined to any place.
49. Heaven is my throne, &c] The quotation is nearly verbatim
from the LXX.
61. Ye stiffnecked] A charge often brought against the Jews in the
Old Testament, cp. Exod. xxxii. 9, xxxiii. 3, &c, so that it is a very
suitable expression when Stephen is declaring that the people of his time
were "as their fathers."
and uncircumcised in heart and ears] As the rite of circumcision
was the sign of submission to the Jewish religion in its fullest require
ments, so the word uncircumcised became a synonym for obstinate
resistance to what God had revealed, and the phrase in the text con
sequently signifies "ye who shut your heart and ears against the truth."
For this metaphorical application cp. Lev. xxvi. 41; Deut. x. 16; Jer,
vi. 10.
It seems very likely that at this part of his discourse Stephen saw that
the language he had been using was distasteful to his audience, and
therefore he applied to them words which implied how far they were
from being God's people though they called themselves Israelites. They
were in his eyes as those whom they called "sinners of the Gentiles."
(Gal. ii. 15.)
ye do always resist the Holy Ghost] From the days of Moses, whom
their fathers would not obey, down to the days of Jesus, whom they had
crucified.

w. 52—55.] THE ACTS, VII. 93
ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? 52
and they have slain them which shewed before of the
coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the
betrayers and murderers : who have received the law by the 53
disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
VII. 54— VIII. 1. Effect ofthe Speech. Death of Stephen.
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, 54
and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being 55
62. Which of tlie prophets have not your fathers persecuted?) Better,
did not your fathers persecute? Cp. the history, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 16,
"They mocked the messengers of God and despised his words and
misused his prophets." And Christ (Matt, xxiii. 37) brought the same
charge against Jerusalem, "thou that killest the Drophets."
the Just One] The same epithet is applied to Jesus by St John
(1 John ii. 1), and is found so used in the Acts (iii. 14, xxii. 14).
of whom ye have been [become, even] now the betrayers] Thus proving
yourselves true children of those who misused the prophets.
53. who tiave received] Better, ye who received the Law from Sinai.
by the disposition of angels] Better, at the ministration of angels.
St Paul (Gal. iii. 19) has the same expression concerning the Law, that
it was "ministered by angels." The LXX. have in Deut. xxxiii. 2,
speaking of the giving of the Law, "On his right hand were angels,"
and Josephus (Antiq. xv. 5. 3) represents the same tradition, " We have
learned from God the most excellent of our doctrines and the most holy
part of our Law by angels." So Pesikta Rabbalhi, par. 21, "There
came down with the Holy One to Sinai twenty-two thousand ministering
angels like the camp ofthe Levites."
and have not kept it] Read, and kept it not. Stephen here points
back along the whole history of the Jews, and shews how the Law,
which was intended to lead men to Christ, had not been guarded in its
best sense, the spirit having been sacrificed to the letter, and so the
result iiad been that they rejected and slew Him of whom the whole
Law was speaking. The Law, given by angels, was the glory of Israel,
the perverse use of it had turned to their shame and destruction.
VII. 64— VIII. 1. Effect of the Speech. L^eath of Stephen.
64. When they heard these things, they were cut to tlie heart] There
is a conjunction in tlie original which is not expressed in the English.
Read, Now when, &c. On the last verb, which is only found here and
in v. 33, see note there. It expresses the sort of cutting that would be
made by a saw, and its effect is always one of irritation, and at last it
came to be synonymous with gnashing the teeth for rage, with which
expression it is here combined.
and they gnashed on him with their teeth] More literally, gnashed theit
teeth at him.

94 THE ACTS, VII. [w. 56-58.
full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven,
and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right
56 hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened,
and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.
s? Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their
58 ears, and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out
of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down
65. saw the glory of God] Some visible sign of God's presence such
as the Shechinah had been to the Jews of old. See Exod. xvi. 10,
xxiv. 1 7, in the latter of which passages it is described as like devouring
fire. It is defined by the Jews as the concentration of God's omni
presence. and Jesus standing on the right hand of God) i. e. he was permitted
to behold Jesus triumphing in the flesh in which He had been crucified.
The position of standing rather than that of sitting as described else
where (Matt. xxvi. 64, &c.) may have been to indicate the. readiness of
Jesus to strengthen and help His martyr.
56. the Son of man] This title, which in the Gospels is only used
by Christ when speaking of Himself, is here first employed by another,
and can fitly be so employed now, for the prophecy which Christ uttered
of Himself (Matt. xxvi. 64), "Hereafter ye shall see the Son of man
sitting on the right hand of power," is now fulfilled, and its fulfilment is
to be preached to the world.
57. Then they cried out) Better, But, &c.
and stopped their ears] Thus shewing that they merited the descriptioi^
given in v. 51. The verb signifies, to compress, to hold tight together^
On the action thus described cp. T. B. Kethuboth 5 b, "Wherefore id
the whole ear hard but the flap soft? That if any hear an unbecoming
word he may press up the flap and shut his ear."
and ran [rushed] upon him with one accord] As though he were one
convicted of idolatry, in which case (Deut. xiii. 9, 10) "the hand of all
the people" was to be upon the offender.
58. and cast him out of the city, and stoned him] In accordance
with the Law (Lev. xxiv. 14) the person to be stoned must be carried
without the camp, and to the people of Jerusalem the walls of the city
were as the limits of the camp. Though there was much populat
excitement exhibited in this proceeding, we are not to think that it was
looked upon by those who were actors in it as other than the carrying
out of the Law.
There was a place set apart for such punishment. The person to be
stoned was placed on an elevation twice the height of a man, from
whence with his hand^ bound he was thrown down, and then a stone as
much as two men could carry was rolled down upon him by the
witnesses, after which all the people present cast stones upon him.
and the witnesses laid down their clothes] i.e. their loose outer
garments, that they might be more ready for the task which they had
to discharge. The law which- ordained that the first stone should be

vv. 59, 60; 1.] THE ACTS, VII. VIII. 95
their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.
And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, 59
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled down, and 60
cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their
charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. And 8
Saul was consenting unto his death.

thrown by the witnesses was meant to restrain hasty accusation. Men
would only bring an accusation for grave reasons when they knew that
their own hand must be first upon the condemned person.
at a young man's feet) Saul was already of such an age that the
authorities could entrust him (ix. 2) with the duty of going to Damascus
to arrest the Christians in that city. The Greek word is applied to
persons up to the age of forty. In the Epistle to Philemon (9) St Paul
speaks of himself as aged. That Epistle was probably written about
A. D. 63, and the death of Stephen took place about A. D. 35, therefore
Saul may well have been between 30 and 40 years of age.
whose name was Saul] Lit. called Saul. The name is the same as that
ofthe first King of Israel, and signifies "one asked for" (i.e. in prayer).
This Saul was also of the tribe of Benjamin, and had come from his
home at Tarsus in Cilicia to attend on the lessons of the great teacher
Gamaliel (Phil. iii. 5, 6; Acts xxii. 3).
69. And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God] The last word is
supplied to make the sense clear in English, but from the words which
follow it is better to read "the Lord" instead of "God," for it is the
Lord Jesus who is invoked.
and saying. Lord Jesus, receive my spirit] i. e. at its departure from
my body; which he knew was soon to take place.
60. And he kneeled down] in prayer, probably before the stoning
had commenced.
Lord, lay not this sin to their charge) i.e. Reckon it not against
them. The original word is the same as in Rom. x. 3, "going about to
establish their own righteousness," as it were to shew a reckoning in
their favour. It is to be observed that both the prayers of Stephen are
addressed to Jesus as God. The tone of both cannot but bring to the
memory the words of Jesus addressed to the Father in His agony, " Into
thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke xxiii. 46), and "Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they do" (Luke xxiii. 34). As Christ
had died, so did His servant learn to die.
And when he had said this, he fell asleep] The last verb is the same
which is used (Matt, xxvii. 52) of "the saints which slept" and arose
at the crucifixion of Jesus.
VIII. 1. And Saul was consenting unto his death) i. e. approving
of all that was done. We have the same word, Luke xi. 48, "Ye
allow (i.e. praise and approve of) the deeds of your fathers." St Paul
says of himself (Acts xxii. 20), "When the blood of thy martyr Stephen
was shed I also was standing by and consenting unto his death."

96 THE ACTS, VIII. [v. 2.
1 — 4. Persecution after Stephen's Death.
And at that time there was a great persecution against
the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all
scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and
Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried .
Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
VIII.. 1 — 4. Persecution after Stephen's Death.
1. And at that time there was a great persecution] Better, And
tliere arose on that day, &c. The persecution was in immediate suc
cession to the death of Stephen. Having once proceeded to such a
length, the rage ofthe people turned upon the whole Christian body.
against tlie church which was at Jerusalem) i.e. the congregation
which had grown up since the day of Pentecost.
and they were all scattered abroad] Thus the rage of their enemies
brought about the dispersion which Christ had foretold (Acts i. 8). By
the word all we need not understand every member of the Christian
body, but only those who had been most active and so were in special
danger from the persecution. We find (v. 3) that there were many
left, both men and women, in the city, whom Saul seized upon as
"disciples ofthe Lord" and carried to prison. Perhaps Ananias who
visited Paul at Damascus (ix. 19, 25) may have been among those now
scattered abroad, but see ix. 2 note.
throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria] According to the
order of extension indicated by Jesus. The teaching of the Apostles
must have been with great power to break through the long-standing -.¦
prejudices of their Jewish converts against the Samaritans.
except the apostles] Jerusalem would of necessity be looked upon as
the headquarters of the Christian band. Thither all the wanderers
would refer for guidance and help. The twelve therefore must remain
at their post, in spite of all the persecution.
2. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial) On devout, see
ii. 5 note.
The verb often means "to prepare a dead body for burial," but in
Thuc. VI. 72 it is found exactly as used here.
The Jews paid great attention to funeral rites. Cp. Midrash Rabbah
on Gen. xlvii. 29 (par. 96), "Deal kindly and truly with me," literally,
"Do with me kindness and truth." Is there then a kindness offalsehood,
that he says, kindness and truth ? How is this ? There is a common
proverb which says, "Is the son of thy friend dead?" Put on the load
(i.e. bear the burden with him). Is thy friend himself dead? Put off
the load (his survivors will not requite you for your sympathy). There
fore he says to him, ' ' If thou wilt do me a kindness after my death,
that is a kindness of truth." And in all Ashkenazic prayer-books it is
said : " These are the works of which a man reaps the interest in this
world, and the capital endures in the world to come; the honouring
of father and mother, the doing of acts of mercy,... the bearing forth

w. 3—6.] THE ACTS, VIII. 97
As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into 3
every house, and haling men and women committed them
to prison. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went 4
every where preaching the word.
5 — 13. Philip's Preaching in Samaria and its effects.
Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and 5
preached Christ unto them. And the people with one 6
the dead, the reconciliation of a man to his neighbour, but the study of
the Torah is above them all." Cp. Mishna Peah 1. 1 for a part of this.
and made great lamentation over him] The word expresses the beat
ing on the breast which is one of the outward expressions of great
sorrow. The Hebrew word for mourning (Gen. xxiii. 2 ; 2 Sam. iii.
31, &c.) has the same sense. It must have needed no little, courage at
such a time to perform the funeral rites for one who had fallen as Ste
phen had, by the fury of the whole people.
3. As for [But] Saul, he made havock ofthe churcli] His own words
will best describe his action (xxii. 4), "I persecuted this way unto the
death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. " The
same word is used by the LXX. (Ps. lxxx. 13) of the ravages of wild
beasts. entering into every house] i. e. making his search everywhere that
none should escape.
and haling men and women] i. e. dragging them forth. We have
the word still in the form " to haul," and the halyaxds of a ship.
committed them to prison] Because the number of arrests made it
impossible that they should all be brought to trial at once.
4. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where [went
about] preaching the word] In these words we have the general effect
of the persecution. One particular history of such preaching is given
immediately. 5—13. Philip's Preaching in Samaria and its effects.
5. Then [kai] Philip] The second named in the list of the seven
deacons (vi. 5). He is only mentioned in this chapter and xxi. 8 where
he is called Philip the Evangelist.
went down to the city of Samaria] i. e. the capital city of the district
of Samaria. It was at this time called Sebaste= Augusta, in honour of
Augustus Caesar (Joseph. Antiq. xv. 8. 5).
and preached [proclaimed] Christ unto them] Better, the Christ.
His preaching was that Jesus was the promised Messiah. The verb is
not the same as that rendered "preaching" in the previous verse, but is
used (Matt. iii. 1, iv. 17) of the commencement of John the Baptist's
preaching, and of Christ's. In like manner, Philip goes forth uttering
his voice in the new fields of labour.
6. And the people [multitudes] with one accotd gave heed] The ori
ginal words imply that crowds of the people gave their faith and con
sent to the new teaching.

98 THE ACTS, VIII. [w. 7— 9.
accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake,
7 hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean
spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were
possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that
s were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that
9 city. But there was a certain man, called Simon, which
beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched
the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some
hearing and seeing the miracles which he did) Better, when they
heard and saw the signs which he wrought. They heard what had been
done in other places and saw what was done each under his own obser
vation. The miracles are described by that characteristic which they
were specially intended to have in this instance. They were to be
signs that the message which Philip was bringing was from God. The ¦
signs here enumerated are such as could leave no doubt in the minds of
those who witnessed the cures. .
7. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that
were possessed with them] There are some variations in the Gk. Text
of this clause, but the most authoritative text would give ; For from
many of them which had unclean spirits they came out crying with a
loud voice. On unclean spirits cp. v. 16 note.
9. a certain man, called Simon) From the Gk. word magos=sot-
cerer or magician, this man is usually spoken of as Simon Magus.
According to Justin Martyr (Apol. I. 26) he was born at Gitton, a
village of Samaria. The history which is given of him after the events
mentioned in this chapter describes him as persistently hostile to St
Peter and as following that Apostle to Rome to oppose his teaching.
But much that is related is of very doubtful authority. He is said to
have been deified at Rome, but it seems probable that Justin mistook a
tablet, which was discovered in the sixteenth century with an inscription
" Semoni Sanco deo fidio " which was erected in honour of the Sabine
Hercules, for a record of Divine honours paid to this Simon Magus.
which beforetime in the same city used sorcery] There is no word for
" same" in the original. The sorcery which Simon, and men like him,
used was probably no more than a greater knowledge of some of the
facts of chemistry by which they at first attracted attention and then
traded on the credulity of those who came to consult them. From the
time of their sojourn in Egypt the Jews had known of such impostors,
and in their traditional literature some of the "wisdom" of Moses par
takes of this character.
and bewitched [amazed] the people of Samaria] The same verb is
used (v. 13) of the feeling produced in Simon himself by the sight of
Philip's miracles, and is there rendered "wondered."
giving out that himself was some great one] The general expectation
that some great person was to arise among the Jews dictated the
"form in which impostors would proclaim themselves and aided them
in procuring credence for what they said.

w. 10—13.] THE ACTS, VIII. 99
great one: to whom they all gave heed, from the least to «»
the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God.
And to him they had regard, because that of long time he »
had bewitched them with sorceries. But when they believed >=
Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God,
and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both
men and women. Then Simon himself believed also : and 13
10. This man is the great power of God) The A. V. translates
the Tex. Rec. , but the best MSS. give, This man is the power of God
that is called great. We can see from the language of the N. T. that
"powers" was a word current to express angelic or heavenly influences
(Rom. viii. 38 ; 1 Pet. iii. 22) ; and without assuming such a partition
of the celestial host as is seen in the later Alexandrine writings we
can understand the thought of these Samaritans that in Simon they
had an incarnation of Divine power, which deserved the title of great
preeminently. 11. And to him they had regard] Read, And they gave heed to
him. This is an instance of that fondness for change of expression
which is so marked a feature of the A. V. The word in the original
is exactly the same as in the preceding verse.
of long time he had bewitched [amazed] them with sorceries] His
birthplace was in Samaria, and it is most probable that he had lived
there a great part of his life. Tradition (Clement. Horn. II. 22)
makes him to have been educated in Alexandria, but he is also said
to have been a pupil of Dositheus a Gnostic teacher in Samaria, so
that he had probably been but a short time away from his native
country. 12. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning
the kingdom of God] The oldest MSS. omit the things. The verb
"preaching" is the same as in v. 4, and contains the notion of
"gospel" or "glad tidings." Now that the field of the preachers'
labour is being extended we have a further definition of the character of
the message which they carried everywhere. "The kingdom of God "
was the subject of Christ's converse with the disciples during the
forty days after His resurrection (i. 3).
and the name of Jesus Christ] i.e. that He was the Messiah of
whom there was knowledge and perhaps some expectation among
the Samaritans (John iv. 25, 42). The question of the woman of
Samaria " Is not this the Christ?" was answered by Philip's preaching.
13. Then [And] Simon himself believed also] We can see from the
history which follows that the belief here described was of a very
imperfect nature. It perhaps amounted to no more than the con
viction that in Philip was some power greater than his own. We
have an example of a like imperfect belief described in like words in
St John's Gospel (viii. 31), "Then said Jesus to those Jews which
believed on him," and all that follows in the chapter shews that the
belief which they professed was not enough to prevent them from
plotting for Christ's death.

ioo THE ACTS, VIII. [vv. 14, 15.
when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and won
dered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
14 — 25. Peter and fohn sent down to Samaria. Conduct of
Simon Magus.
¦4 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heaid
that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto
,5 them Peter and John: who, when they were come down,
prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost:
and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered
[was amazed] St Luke's words imply that Simon was only wonder-
struck at the sight of the works wrought by Philip, just as his own works
had made the Samaritans to wonder.
beholding the miracles and signs which were done] Better, beholding
the signs and great miracles wrought. There is apparently a dis
tinction intended by St Luke between the belief of the Samaritans and
that of Simon. When they believed, it was the preaching and the
glad tidings to which they most gave heed, but the verb used in this
verse seems to paint Simon as one who gazed with wonder only on
a sight which was beyond him to explain.
14 — 25. Peter and John sent down to Samaria. Conduct
of Simon Magus.
14. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem] The whole
twelve still abiding there (v. 1) and evidently all taking their part
in the administration of the affairs of the Church, though it does
not fall within St Luke's purpose to notice what each did or said.
heard that Samaria had received the word of God] There was a
communication kept up between the fugitives from Jerusalem and
the twelve even from the first. Samaria here means the district, for
although Philip's preaching was in one city, the newly-baptized would
spread abroad in every part, and carry the teaching forth as the
woman of Samaria did her "new learning" (John iv. 28). They
had received the word of God as their countrymen before, so as
" to know that this is indeed the Christ the Saviour of the world."
they sent unto them Peter and John) We gather from this passage
that there was no special preeminence assigned to any among the
twelve in these earliest days. Peter and John were sent forth on
their mission by the decision of the whole body. These two were
probably chosen for such a work, as they had taken the most active
part and in concert (iii. 1) in establishing the Church in Jerusalem.
15. who, when they were come down, &c.] It is clear from the
whole history that the special gift of the Holy Ghost, bestowed at this
period on the Christian converts in various places, was not given except
through the Apostles. The case of Ananias, sent by God's special
command to Saul, differs from all others. Peter could promise it
(ii. 38) to those who should repent and be baptized, but the Samaritan

w. 16—20.] THE ACTS, VIII.

(for as yet he was fallen upon none of them : only they 16
were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then '7
laid they their hands on them, and they received the
Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on 18
of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered
them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on 19
whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.
But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, 20
because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be pur-
converts whom Philip had made received no share of such powers till
the arrival of Peter and John. But the Apostles make it manifest by
their prayer that the gift was not theirs either to impart or withhold, but
was "of God," as Peter calls it (v. 20).
16. they were baptized in [into] the name, &c] The preposition,
which is the same that is used by Christ (Matt, xxviii. 19) at the institu
tion of the Sacrament, implies the tie by which the new converts are in
baptism bound to Christ as His followers, servants, worshippers.
17. Then laid they their hands on them] That there might be some
outward sign of this imparted grace. So Ananias (ix. 17) laid his hands
on Saul, and he received the Holy Ghost. But on Cornelius and his
companions (x. 44) the same gift was bestowed while Peter spake unto
them. 18. And when Simon saw, &c] Simon's conduct now makes it
clear how limited his faith had been. As he offered to buy the power,
so we may be sure he meant to sell it. His faith, such as it was, had
only sprung from his amazement.
he offered them money] From his name, all trafficking in sacred
things has since been called Simony.
19. saying, Give me also this power) The character of the man is
shewn by what he asks for. He does not desire the Holy Ghost for
himself as a spiritual gift to seal his baptism, but that he may be able to
bestow, what he looks upon as a higher power than his own magic,
upon others. We can learn from this narrative that the gift of the Holy
Ghost had been made apparent by the new powers conferred on those
who received it. Their works and words Simon had seen and heard,
and hence his application to the Apostles.
20. But Peter said unto him, Thy money [silver] perish with thee) It
is clear from what follows that this terrible invocation of doom upon
this offender is to be qualified by the condition supplied from v. 22,
where repentance and prayer are pointed out as means whereby even so
great a sinner may find forgiveness. And St Peter may have thus joined
Simon in the same destruction as his money, because he foresaw that
there was little or no hope that such a man could be brought to repent
ance unless the consequence of his sin were set before him in all its
terror. because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with
money] Better, because thou thoughtest to purchase, &c. Simon had

THE ACTS, VIII. [vy. 21-24.

21 chased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this
™ matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Re
pent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if
perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee.
23 For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in
24 the bond of iniquity. Then answered Simon, and said,
given no heed to the prayer of the Apostles that the gift of the Spirit
should be sent down. He thought not of it as a "gift of God," but by
the language which St Peter here employs of him, he considered that if
it could be once secured by him it would be his own at all times and for
ever. 21. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter (or word)] By the
word "lot" the thought is carried back to the election of Matthias.
(i. 26). In that case the choice had been left to the " Lord who knows!
the hearts of all men," but Simon's character is patent to all ; "his heart '
was not right with God." If the literal rendering, "in this word," be
adopted, the reference is to v. 14, where it is said, "Samaria had re
ceived the word of God."
22. Repent therefore, &c] On this condition not only could the
stem wish of Peter be averted, but the anger of God also. We see
therefore that the words of the Apostle in v. 20 must have been!
coupled in his mind with such condition, but the further language of this
verse seems to imply that to Peter's mind there was not much hope of
such repentance.
and pray God] The oldest MSS. read "the Lord," and this is what
was to be expected, for the offence was specially against Christ. Simon,
with corrupt motives, was seeking to be enrolled among those who were
called by Christ's name.
if perhaps the thought of thine heart may [shall] be forgiven thee) The
word rendered "thought" is found in the N.T. only here, and gives the
idea of a matured plan. The Apostle sees how full the mind of Simon
has been of the scheme which he has conceived, and the knowledge of
this seems expressed in the "if perhaps" with which this clause begins.^
He will not declare that there is not hope even for such an offender, but '
the covetousness, which is idolatry, makes repentance almost impos
sible. 23. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the
bond of iniquity] The preposition in makes a great difficulty in this
verse. The word in the original means into or for. The construction
has been compared with that of the Hebrew preposition b =for after the
verb "to be" in passages such as Ezek. xxxvii. 22, "I will make them
one nation," literally, "unto one nation." But instances of this con
struction are not common enough in the O.T. for an imitation of it in
the N.T. to be probable. It seems better therefore not to take "gall
of bitterness" and "bond of iniquity" as thus in apposition with the
subject ofthe sentence, but rather to regard the preposition as used with
. the sense of motion towards a place or state and subsequent rest there.

vv. 25, 26.] THE ACTS, VIII.

103

Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which
ye have spoken come upon me. And they, when they 25
had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned
to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of
the Samaritans. 26 — 40. Philip baptizes an Ethiopian Eunuch.
And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, 26
Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth
So it is found in Luke xi. 7, "My children are with me in (els) bed,"
where the meaning is "They have come into and are remaining in bed. "
For the expression "gall of bitterness," cp. Deut. xxix. 18, where those
who serve false gods are spoken of as "a root that beareth gall and
wormwood." See also the "root of bitterness," Heb. xii. 15. The
second expression is found as "bands of wickedness" (Isa. lviii. 6). The
whole sentence would thus imply that Simon had gone from one evil
to another till he had reached and was remaining in a stage which de
served the reprobation spoken against idolatry in the O.T., and had
allowed evil to make him its prisoner.
24. that none of these [the] things which ye have spoken come upon
me] Simon shews by the character of his petition that he is not moved
by a true spirit of repentance. He utters no word of sorrow for the
evil of his thought, but only petitions that he may suffer no punishment.
Yet we can see that he had not taken the expression of St Peter in
j. 10 as a curse invoked upon him by the Apostle, but only as a
declaration of the anger of God, and of the certainty of a penalty upon
wilful continuance in such sin. His entreaty may be compared with
that oft-repeated petition of Pharaoh to Moses (Exod. viii. 8, 28, ix. 28,
x. 17) "Intreat the Lord for me," extorted by fear and followed by no
change of conduct.
25. And they [They therefore], when ihey had testified and preached
[spoken] the word of the Lord, returned to [towards] Jerusalem, and
preached the gospel in [to] many villages of the Samaritans) Peter and
John had not been sent forth to make an extended missionary journey,
but only to confirm the work of the Evangelists who had first preached
and baptized in Samaria, by laying their hands upon the converts.
This done they returned to their place in Jerusalem, but by the way
preached in such villages of Samaria as lay in their road.
26—40. Philip baptizes an Ethiopian Eunuch.
26. And the angel of the Lord) The Gk. has an angel. While
Peter and John were carrying on the work of Philip in Samaria, God
directs the Evangelist to a new scene of labour.
spake unto Philip] Most probably in a vision as to Cornelius (x. 3)
and to Peter (xi. 5).
saying, Arise, and go toward the south] Gaza was the southernmost
ofthe five great cities which the Philistines had formerly occupied, and

104 THE ACTS, VIII. [w. 27, 28.
»7 down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he
arose and went: and behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch
of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians,
who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to
28 Jerusalem for to worship, was returning, and sitting in his
was on the route which a traveller from Jerusalem to Egypt would
follow. In 96 B.C. the city of Gaza had been destroyed and its inhabit
ants massacred by Alexander Jannseus (Joseph. Ant. xiii. 13. 3), but it
had been rebuilt by Gabinius (Antiq. xiv. 5. 3), though it is said that
the restored city was nearer the sea than the ancient one. It continued
to be a city of importance (see Antiq. XV. 7. 3 and XVII. 11. 4), and it
could not therefore be to the city that the word "desert" which follows
must be referred. From Samaria Philip would come directly south,
and leaving Jerusalem on the east strike the road at some distance from
that city.
unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza) There was
more than one road from Jerusalem to Gaza, the more northern route
went first to Ascalon and then by the coast to Gaza, another road was
by Hebron and through the more desert country which lay to the west
of it, and this is most likely the road intended in the narrative.
which is desert] The Greek puts these words in a separate clause,
"this is desert," as is common in Hebrew. This disjunction has
raised the question whether they belong to the direction which the
angel was giving to Philip, or are an insertion by St Luke to mark the
scene of the interview more clearly. If they had been inserted as an
explanation it is not likely they would have been so brief, whereas if we
regard them as a portion of the speech of the angel they contain all
that was needed for Philip's instruction. That road toward Gaza which
passed through the desert explains exactly the place to which he was
to go.
27. behold, a man of Ethiopia] It is better to supply the substantive,
' verb here, "behold there was, &c." otherwise the conjunction at the
commencement of the next verse is left untranslated.
Ethiopia, like Cush in the O. T., is a general name given to the
country which is now called Nubia and Abyssinia. Its northern por
tion was the great kingdom of Meroe, which we know was ruled over
by queens for a long period (Plin. H. N. vi. 29), and it is from this
kingdom, most probably, that the eunuch had come. Jews were
abundant in Egypt, and this man had become a proselyte to their
religion. under Candace queen of the Ethiopians] We are told by Pliny (Lc.f
that this was the name of a series of queens of Meroe, just as Pharaoh
at an early period and Ptolemy subsequently were general names for
the kings of Egypt, and Csesar for the Roman emperors.
and had come io Jerusalem for to worship] As proselytes did, as well
as Jews. This we learn from the enumeration of those who were pre
sent at the feast of Pentecost (ii. 10), among whom proselytes are

w. 29—31.] THE ACTS, VIII. 105
chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto =9
Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And 30
Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet
Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?
And he said, How can I, except some man should guide 31
expressly named. So (John xii. 20) we find Greeks coming up to the
feasts at Jerusalem.
28. was returning] The original has a conjunction, "and was
returning," i.e. at the termination ofthe feast.
read Esaias [Isaiah] the prophet] He was evidently reading aloud
(see v. 30), and this was common among Orientals and was specially
the practice of the Jews, who accompanied the reading with a good
deal of bodily motion and considered this helpful to study. Thus T. B.
Erubin 53 b ad fin. "Beruriah found a student who was reading, but
not aloud; she pushed him and said to him, Is it not written 'Only
when it is well ordered then it is kept'? If it is put in order by all thy
two hundred and forty-eight limbs [thy study] will abide, but if not it
will not abide. We have heard of a pupil of Rabbi Eliezer who studied
but not aloud ; and after three years he had forgotten his learning."
And a little afterwards we read " Shemuel said to Rab Jehudah,
Clever fellow! Open thy mouth when thou readest the Bible, and
open thy mouth when thou studiest the Mishna, in order that the
reading may abide, and that thy life may be prolonged. For it says
(Prov. iv. 22), For life are they to them that find them" (or as the
Rabbis preferred to interpret it, "to them that utter them forth").
29. Then [And] the Spirit said unto Philip] i. e. by a prompting
from within.
Go near, and join thyself to this chariot) No doubt this royal trea
surer had a numerous retinue, and a single traveller on a desert road
would be doing what was natural in attaching himself to a train of
people who were journeying in the same direction. Philip would
therefore be able to approach and hear what was read without being
deemed an intruder.
30. And Philip ran thither to him] Better, ran up. There is
only the verb in the Greek.
Understandest thou, &c] Philip's question refers to the application
of the words. Of their reference to Jesus the eunuch could of course
know nothing, but he might have heard some of the Jewish expositions
of the passage. There is a play on the words in the original which
it is impossible to reproduce in a translation.
31. except some man [one] should [shall] guide me] The eunuch,
living far away from the received expounders of the Scriptures, feels
that in a dark passage like that which he was reading he has need
of trained instruction. He uses therefore the word which is employed
for the guidance given by teacher to pupil. Our Lord uses it [Matt
xv. 14 ; Luke vi. 39] reproachfully of the blind guidance which the
scribes and Pharisees in His day were giving to the people who came
to them for instruction. He uses the same word for the guidance of

106 THE ACTS, VIII. [w. 32—33.
me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and
3a sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was
this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and
like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he
33 not his mouth: in his humiliation his judgment was
taken away: and who shall declare his generation?
34 for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch
answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the
35 prophet this? of himself, or of some other man ? Then Philip
the Holy Spirit (John xvi. 13). It was a marked feature in the
teaching of the Jews that explanations of Scripture were received
from generation to generation, and that only was highly valued by
them which a man had received from his teachers. Such a system
accounts for the permanence of all their traditions.
And he desired [besought] Philip that he would come up and sit
with him] The verb implies a very earnest request, and betokens the
great desire which the eunuch had for more enlightenment.
32. The place of the scripture] The A. V. omits the conjunction
at the beginning of this verse. Read, Now the place, &c. The word
rendered "place" signifies the whole context of the passage. The
eunuch was studying the whole account of the sufferer whom the
prophet here describes. The verses quoted here are Isaiah liii. 7, 8,
and are given word for word from the LXX. which it is most probablt>
that the eunuch was reading, as being made in Egypt that version
was most likely to be circulated among those Jews with whom this
man would be brought into communication. Philip also belonging
to the Grecians (vi. 5) would be most familiar with the Greek trans
lation. It will be seen that the translation differs in some points
from the original, but yet it is sufficiently close in sense to express
the intention of the prophet or rather the " mind of the Spirit in
the prophecy, and on this translation therefore Philip founds his
teaching. 33. in his humiliation, &c] The Hebrew text signifies " Through
oppression and through judgement (i. c. punishment) he was taken
away." who shall declare his generation ?] i. e. who shall describe his con
temporaries, men who under a form of judicial punishment oppressed^
the* sufferer, and put him to death ?
for his life is taken from the earth] The Hebrew has "for he was
cut off out of the land of the living." It will be seen from a com
parison of the Hebrew and the LXX. that the latter is in some parts
rather a paraphrase than a translation.
Some of the Jews interpreted this passage of the Messiah and some
of the congregation of Israel. In the Targum of Jonathan these two
interpretations run side by side.
34. of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other
man ?) As Isaiah Ixi. was held by the Jews to relate to Isaiah himself,

w. 36—39.] THE ACTS, VIII. 107
opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and
preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, 3*
they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See,
here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And 37
Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.
And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand 38
still : and they went down both into the water, both Philip
and the eunuch ; and he baptized him. And when they 39
were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught
"The Spirit ofthe Lord God is upon me, &c," so the eunuch enquires
whether the words he has been reading have the same reference.
35. and began at the same [this] scripture, and preached unto him
Jesus] It can hardly be doubted that during his sojourn in Jerusalem
the eunuch had heard the history of the new teachers who had created
such an excitement in the city, and so he would have had some story
told him of the founder of the new community, but his informants
would have been Jews, and he would only have heard from them such
a version of what had been done as represented Jesus as one of the
many deceivers who abounded in those times.
36. And as they went on their [the] way] We must suppose that
Philip travelled for some time with the eunuch, for not only has he
explained that in Jesus was fulfilled all that the prophets had spoken
concerning the sufferings of the Messiah, but has taught him that
believers in Jesus are to be admitted into the Christian Church by
baptism, of which sacrament he desires to be a partaker at once.
37. And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou
mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the
Son of God] The whole of this verse is omitted in the oldest MSS.
It probably found its way into the text of those MSS. where it does
exist from the margin. Such a margin would be'formulated by those
who, when the Church had become more extended, and formal pro
fessions of faith were the rule before baptism, felt that there was a
want of completeness in the narrative unless some such confession
were supposed to have been made. Thus the margin became a kind
of exposition, and in the end found acceptance in the text.
38. And lie commanded the chariot to stand still) i.e. he ordered the
chariot-driver to stop, and of course the whole retinue would see what
took place, and they may certainly be regarded as the nucleus of a con-
¦ gregation to be established in Ethiopia. Tradition tells us that the
eunuch laboured to evangelize his countrymen, and none were more likely
to be influenced by his teaching than those who were present at his bap
tism and were, with him, witnesses of the way in which Philip was
1 taken from them.
and they went down both into the water] As was the custom among
the Jews. Thus John baptized his followers in the Jordan.
. 39. the Spirit ofthe Lord caught away Philip) Just as Obadiah ex-

108 THE ACTS, VIII. IX. [w. 40; 1.
away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he
40 went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus:
and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he
came to Cesarea.
1 — 9. Sauls mission to Damascus and his Conversion.
9 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter
against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
pected Elijah would be caught away while he himself went on his errand
to Ahab (1 Kings xviii. 12). Compare the language of Ezekiel (iii. is,
14, viii. 3, &c), " So the spirit lifted me up and took me away."
that [and] the eunuch saw him no more] This marvellous removal of
Philip would- confirm the eunuch and his companions in their faith.
They would recognize that he who had been sent unto them was a man
of God.
and he went on his way rejoicing] The Greek says "for he went,
&c," and thus gives the reason why Philip was seen no more of the
eunuch. He did not go back, like the sons of the prophets at Jericho, '¦
who went to seek Elijah, but being filled with joy at the new light
which God had sent to him, felt no anxiety for the messenger by whom
God had sent it, but an assurance that he was cared for by the hand
which had sent him forth.
40. But Philip was found at Azotus] That is, he appeared again
and continued the work of his ministry. The expression is a translation
of a Hebrew verb which is often rendered in A.V. "to be present."
Cp. Esther i. 5, "that were present," and in the margin, Heb.
"found." Azotus is the ancient Ashdod (1 Sam. v. 1 — 7), one of the five chief
cities of the Philistines when the Israelites settled in Canaan.
till he came to Cesarea] This was Caesarea Sebaste, so called in
honour of Augustus (Greek, Sebastos) Csesar (Joseph. Antiq. XVI. 5. 1).
It was the chief city of Palestine under the Roman rule, and lay at the
extreme north of the plain of Sharon. It is mentioned in the Acts
as the place at which Cornelius was stationed (x. 1), and it seems that
Philip made his home there (xxi. 8).
IX. 1 — 9. Saul's mission to Damascus and his Conversion.
1. And [But] Saul, yet breathing out threatenings [threatening] It^
is better to translate the conjunction adversatively here, as the new
subject is not connected except with the first sentence of chap. viii.
The verb in this clause should be rendered " breathing," not
"breathing out." Threatening and slaughter was, as it were, the
atmosphere in which Saul was living.
and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord] We are not told
of any other death, but Stephen's, In which Saul was a participator,

vv. 2, 3.] THE ACTS, IX. 109
and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, ,
that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or
women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as 3
but we can gather from his own words (Acts xxvi. 10) " when they
were put to death, I gave my voice [vote] against them," that the
protomartyr was not the only one who was killed in the time of
this persecution. It has been suggested that the zeal which Saul
shewed at the time of Stephen's death led to his election into the
Sanhedrin, and so he took a judicial part in the later stages of the
persecution, and, it may be, from a desire to justify the choice of
those who had placed him in authority, he sought to be appointed
over the enquiry after the Christians in Damascus. We gather from
xxvi. 10 that before this inquisitorial journey he had been armed with
the authority of the chief priests in his search after the Christians in
Jerusalem. went unto the high priest] who would most likely be the authority
through whom the power, which the Great Sanhedrin claimed to
exercise, in religious matters, over Jews in foreign cities, would be
put in motion.
2. and desired of him letters) These are the papers which con
stituted his "authority and commission" (xxvi: 12). From that passage
we learn that the issuing of these papers was the act of the whole
body, for Paul there says they were "from the chief priests. "
to Damascus] Of the history of this most ancient (Gen. xiv. 15)
city in the world, see the Dictionary of the Bible. It had from the
earliest period been mixed up with the history of the Jews, and great
numbers of Jews were living there at this time, as we can see from
the subsequent notices of their conduct in this chapter. We are told
by Josephus (B. J. 11. 20. 2) that ten thousand Jews were slaughtered
in a massacre in Damascus in Nero's time, and that the wives of the
Damascenes were almost all of them addicted to the Jewish religion.
to the synagogues] As at Jerusalem, so in Damascus the synagogues
were numerous, and occupied by different classes and nationalities.
Greek-Jews were sure to be found in so large a city.
that if he found any of this way] Better, "any that were of the
Way." The name "the Way" soon became a distinctive appellation
of the Christian religion. The fuller expression "the way of truth"
is found 2 Pet. ii. 2 ; and the brief term is common in the Acts. See
xix. 9, 23, xxii. 4, xxiv. 14, 22.
whether. ..men or women] We can mark the fury with which Saul
raged against the Christians from this mention of the "women"
as included among those whom he committed or desired to commit
to prison. Cp. viii. 3 and xxii. 4. The women played a more con
spicuous part among the early Christians than they were allowed lo
do among the Jews. See note on i. 14.
he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem] That the whole authority
of the Great Sanhedrin might be employed for the extinction of the
new teaching.

THE ACTS, IX. [v. 4.

fie journeyed, he came near Damascus : and suddenly there
4 shined round about him a light from heaven : and he fell to
the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul,
3. And as he fourneyed] There were two roads by which Saul
could make his journey, one the caravan road which led from Egypt
to Damascus, and kept near the coast line of the Holy Land till it
struck eastward to cross the Jordan at the north of the Lake of Tiberias.
To join this road Saul must have at first turned westward to the sea.
The other way led through Neapolis and crossed the Jordan south
of the Sea of Tiberias, and passing through Gadara went north
eastward to Damascus. We have no means whereby to decide by
which road Saul and his companions took their way. The caravan
road was a distance of one hundred and thirty-six miles, and occupied
six days for the journey.
he came near Damascus) The original is more full. Read, "it
came to pass that he drew nigh unto Damascus." The party must
have reached the near neighbourhood of the city, for his companions
(v. 8) "led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus" after
the vision.
and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven] In
xxii. 6 we are told that the time of the day was "about noon" when
the vision was seen, and in xxvi. 13, Paul says that "at mid-day"
the light was "above the brightness of the sun." The mid-day glare
of an Eastern sun is of itself exceedingly bright, and the hour was
chosen, we cannot doubt, in order that " the glory " of this heaven- '
sent light should not be confounded with any natural phenomenon. It
was in the midst of this glory that Christ was seen by Saul ( 1 Cor.
xv. 8), so that he can enumerate himself among those who had beheld
the Lord after His resurrection.
4. And he fell to ihe earth] Dazzled by the intense brightness.
From xxvi. r4 we find that not only Saul but his companions were
struck down by the light, though there was more in the vision which
he beheld than was made evident to them, and by reason of the
greater glory which was manifested to him, his natural sight was
blinded. and heard a voice] We cannot represent in English the different
case of the noun in this verse, and in 7. The Greek puts here the
accusative case and there the genitive, and thus indicates that there
was a difference in the nature of the hearing of Saul and of his com
panions. And Paul in xxii. 9 marks the distinction in his own
narration, for he says " They heard not the voice (accusative) of him
that spake to me." As this difference is made both in St Luke's first
account, and m the speech of St Paul at Jerusalem, it seems reasonable
to accept the explanation which has long ago been given of this
grammatical variation, and to understand that Saul heard an articulate
sound, a voice which spake to him, while his companions were only
conscious of a sound from which they comprehended nothing. St
Paul then is precise when he says "they heard not the voice" which

w. 5,6.] THE ACTS, IX.

why perseeutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, 5
Lord ? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou perse
eutest : it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And <>
he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have
me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into
' I heard, and St Luke is correct when in v. 7 he says "they heard
a sound." saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why perseeutest thou me ?] It is very
noteworthy that in all the three accounts of the vision the Greek text
of Saul's name is a transliteration of the Hebrew, shewing that we
have here a very close adherence to the words of Jesus. The Lord
spake in the language of His people, and both the Evangelist and the
Apostle have preserved for us this remarkable feature of the heavenly
address. The only other place where the Hebrew form of Saul's
name is retained is in the speech of Ananias when (ix. 17) he comes
to see the convert in his blindness. As he also had received a com
munication from Jesus in connection with Saul's conversion, we can
understand how the same form of the name would have been given
to him. Moreover he was himself, to judge from his name, a Hebrew,
and therefore that form would be most natural on his lips. Except
in these cases St Luke always employs the Greek form ofthe word.
Christ speaks of Himself as persecuted by Saul, because "in all the
affliction of his people he is afflicted" (Isa. lxiii.9),and " whoso toucheth
them, toucheth the apple of his eye" (Zech. ii. 8).
5. And he said, Who art thou, Lord?) Saul is sensible of the Divine
nature of the vision, and shews this by his address. The appearance of
Christ, though in a glorified body, must have been like that which He
wore in His humanity, and since Saul does not recognize Jesus, we may
almost certainly conclude that he had not known Him during His minis
terial life.
And the Lord said] The best texts have only "And he," the verb
"said" being understood.
I am Jesus whom thou perseeutest] In xxii. 8 St Paul gives the fuller
form ofthe sentence, "I am Jesus of Nazareth." By using this name,
the being whose Divine nature Saul has already acknowledged by calling,
him "Lord," at once and for ever puts an end to Saul's persecuting
rage, for he is made to see, what his master Gamaliel had before
suggested (v. 39), that to persecute Jesus was to "fight against God."
it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 6. And he trembling and
astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? And the Lord said
unto him) These words have been inserted here in some MSS. for the
sake of making in this place a complete narrative by the combination
and adaptation of the additional particulars given in xxvi. 14 and xxii. 10.
It is easy to understand the desire which prompted such a combination.
The best MSS. omit the words here, giving them where they more
naturally find place, in the personal narratives of St Paul himself.
6. Arise] The MSS. which omit the above words insert a conjunc-

112

THE ACTS, IX. [w.7,8.

7 the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And
the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hear-
s ing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the
earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but
they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
tion here. Read, But arise. Saul had continued prostrate as he had .
fallen down at the first.
and go into the city] A proof that the party of travellers had arrived
very nearly at Damascus. Tradition here, as in many other instances,
has fixed on a spot as the scene of this Divine vision. It is placed out
side the eastern gate, and about a mile from the city. Such a situation
answers very well, but its fitness is the only ground for attaching any
weight to the tradition.
and it shall be told thee what thou must do] In xxvi. 16 — 18 we have
an abstract given by the Apostle of the labours for which Christ designed
him, and the words in that passage are placed as a portion of the Divine
communication made before Saul entered Damascus, but as in that
narrative no mention is made of Ananias or his visit, we may conclude
that we have instead a brief notice of the message which Ananias
brought to him, and that therein is contained a declaration of what Jesus
in the vision only spoke of as "what thou must do."
7. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless] Cp.
Dan. x. 7, "I Daniel alone saw the vision, for the men that were with
me saw not the vision, but a great quaking fell upon them."
Saul was not only furnished with authority, but also with men who
were to carry out his intentions and bring the prisoners to Jerusalem.
Painters have represented the travellers as riding on horseback, but
there is no warrant for this in any form of the narrative.
stood here means "remained fixed," "did not move." They had been
stricken down as well as Saul (xxvi. 14).
hearing a [the] voice] On the variation of case here, and the probable
difference of meaning, see note on v. 4.
but seeing^ [beholding] no man] The verb is the same that is used by
Stephen (vii. 56), "Behold, I see the heavens opened." In their
astonishment, and guided by the sound, Saul's companions lifted up
their faces to the sky, but as with the words so with the appearance of
Jesus ; it was unseen by all but one, but to him was manifest enough to
form a ground of his confidence in his Apostolie mission : "Have I not
seen Jesus Christ our Lord?" (1 Cor. ix. 1).
8. and [but] when his eyes were opened, he saw no man [nothing]
The vision had struck him blind. He opened his eyes, but their power
had been taken away. Thus his physical condition becomes a fit repre
sentation of the mental blindness which he afterwards (xxvi. 9) deplores:
"I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary
to the name of Jesus of Nazareth."
but [and] they led him by the hand] His companions saw all things as
before, and were able to guide him who had started forth as the leadei
in their mission of persecution.

w. 9, io.] THE ACTS, IX. 113
And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat 9
nor drink.
10 — 22. Saul's sight restored. He preaches in Damascus.
And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named «
Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias
9. And he was three day s witlwut sight) During this time we cannot
but think the illumination of his mind was being perfected by the Spirit.
He had been convinced by the vision that Jesus was risen from the dead
and ascended into heaven. But more than this was needed for the
preparation of this mighty missionary. He himself (Gal. i. 16) speaks
of God revealing His Son not only to but in him, and that his confer
ences were not with flesh and blood, and we are told below (v. 12) that
the coming of Ananias had been made known unto him by vision. To
this solemn time of darkness may also perhaps be referred those "visions
and revelations ofthe Lord"which the Apostle speaks of to the Corinthians
(2 Cor. xii. 1 — 4). While his bodily powers were for a time in suspense,
he may fitly describe himself as not knowing, whether what he saw was
revealed to him "in the body or out of the body," and it was the spiritual
vision only which saw the third heaven and paradise, and the spirit
heard those "unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter."
and neither did eat nor drink] The mental anguish for a time over
powered the natural craving for food. The newly called Apostle was
contemplating in all its enormity his sin in persecuting the Church of
Christ, and though there were times of comfort and refreshing before
Ananias came, yet the great thought which filled Saul's mirid would be
sorrow for his late mad and misdirected zeal, and so the three days of
blindness formed a period of deep penitence.
10—22. Saul's sight restored. He preaches in Damascus.
10. And [Now] there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named
Ananias] Of this disciple we have no further mention in Holy Writ
except in chap. xxii. 12, where St Paul describes him as "a devout
man according to the Law, having a good report of all the Jews which
dwelt " at Damascus. Whether he had become a Christian during the
life of Jesus, or was among the Jewish converts on the day of Pentecost
or at some subsequent time and had been forced to flee from Jerusalem
by the persecution which followed on the death of Stephen, we are not
told, but we can gather, from the words which he employs in expressing
his reluctance to visit Saul, that he had much and trustworthy com
munication still with the Holy City, for he knows both of the havock
which the persecutor has caused, and of the purpose of his mission to
Damascus. On the name Ananias see v. 1, note.
and to him said the Lord in a vision] As Saul had been prepared for
the visit by a vision, so Ananias is by a vision instructed to go to him.
Dean Howson's remarks (Life and Epistles of St Paul, 1. 101) on this
preparation and its similarity to the preparation of Peter and Cornelius

114 THE ACTS, IX. [vv. n— 15,
" And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said
unto him, AriSe, and go into the street which is called
Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called
" Saul, of Tarsus: for behold, he prayeth, and hath seen in a
vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his
13 hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then
Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this
man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusa-
14 lem : and here he hath authority from the chief priests to
¦5 bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him,
deserve to be dwelt on. " The- simultaneous preparation of the hearts
of Ananias and Saul, and the simultaneous preparation of those of Peter
and Cornelius — the questioning and hesitation of Peter and the question
ing and hesitation of Ananias — the one doubting whether he might '*
make friendship with the Gentiles, the other doubting whether he
might approach the enemy of the Church — the unhesitating obedience of
each when the Divine will was made clearly known — the state of mind
in which both the Pharisee and the Centurion were found — each waiting
to see what the Lord would say unto them — this close analogy will not
be forgotten by those who reverently read the two consecutive chapters,
in which the baptism of Saul and the baptism of Cornelius are narrated
in the Acts of the Apostles." When so much criticism has been ex
pended to shew that the Acts is a work of fiction written at a late
period to minimize certain differences supposed to exist between the
teaching of St Paul and that of St Peter, it is well to know that others
have seen, in these undoubted analogies, proofs of the working of a God
who is ever the same, and who would have all men to be saved through
Jesus Christ.
11. into the street which is called Straight] A long straight street
still runs through Damascus, and is probably (so persistent is every
feature of Oriental life) the same in wliich Ananias found Saul in the
house of Judas.
12. and hath seen in a vision] The oldest MSS. omit "in a
vision." It could only have been in this wise that Saul had been
informed, and the words are merely a gloss.
13. / have heard by [from] many, &c] These words seem to point
to a longer residence of Ananias in Damascus than he could have made
if he had only left Jerusalem after the death of Stephen; and so do the
words (xxii. 12) which speak of his good report among all the Jews
that dwelt at Damascus.
how much evil he hath done to thy saints, &c] The Christian converts
were probably called ' 'saints, " i. e. " holy persons, " at a very early period
after the death of Christ because of the marvellous outpourings of the
Holy Spirit upon the first converts, cp. 1 Pet. i. 15. The word is of
frequent occurrence in the greetings of St Paul's Epistles
14. all that call on thy name) To call on Christ is the same as to

w. 16— 18.] THE ACTS, IX. 115
Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my
name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of
Israel : for I will shew him how great things he must suffer 16
for my name's sake. And Ananias went his way, and 17
entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said,
Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee
in the way as thou earnest, hath sent me, that thou mightest
receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And 18
immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales :
be a believer in Him. The expression is used as an apposition to
"saints" in 1 Cor. i. 2, and thence we see what in the Pauline language
was meant by the word "saints."
15. he is a chosen vessel unto me] Literally, " a vessel of election."
This is a Hebrew form of expression, cp. Jer. xxii. 28, where King
Coniah is called "a vessel wherein is no pleasure." So Jer. Ii. 34, " He
hath made me [to be] an empty vessel," literally, "vessel of emptiness."
to bear my name] i. e. this shall be the load or duty which I will lay
upon this my chosen instrument.
before the Gentiles] This was doubtless a revelation to Ananias, who
as a devout Jew would not yet have contemplated the inclusion of the
whole world in the Church of Christ. The Gentiles are placed first in
the enumeration, because among them specially was Saul's field of
Jabour to be. For the wide spirit in which the Apostle embraced his
commission, see Rom. i. 13, 14, &c.
and kings] As before Agrippa (xxvi. 1, 32) and at Rome, in conse
quence of the appeal to be heard before Caesar.
16. for I will shew him how great [many] things he must suffer]
Cp. Paul's own words (xx. 23), "The Holy Ghost witnesseth in every
city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me." The truth of this is
home out by that long list of the Apostle's sufferings which he enumerates
in his letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor. xi. 23 — 28) and the less detailed
list in the same Epistle (vi. 4 — 5).
17. Brother Saul] The Hebrew form of the name, see v. 4, note.
the Lord, even Jesus] Combining the name ' ' Lord " used by Saul
when the vision appeared, with that "Jesus" which Christ, speaking
from His glory, uttered in answer to Saul's enquiry, Who art thou ?
that appeared unto thee in the way] Thus was brought to Saul after
his three days' blindness a confirmation from without of the reality of
what he had seen on the road as he came. The words at the same time
give an earnest that here was the teacher who would explain to him
what he was to do.
and be filled with the Holy Ghost] On this occasion the Holy Ghost
was bestowed without the laying on of the hands of one of the twelve.
18. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales) The
word rendered " scales " is used as a technical term for a disease of the
eye by Hippocrates, and the verb derived from it is found (Tobit xi. 13)
used of the cure of a disease of similar character. " And the whiteness

u6 THE ACTS, IX. [vv. 19, 20,
 .  —  "^
and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was bap- f
19 tized, and when he had received meat, he was strengthened; i,
Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at
ao Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the

pilled away from the corners of his eyes." This " whiteness " is rendered
in the margin (Tob. ii. 10) "white films," and was clearly something
like the "scales" which caused Saul's blindness, and a process for the
cure thereof is called (iii. 17) "to scale away the whiteness of Tobit's
eyes." St Paul (xxii. 1 1) ascribes his blindness to the glory of the
heavenly light, and it may have been some secretion, caused by the
intensity of that vision, which formed over them, and at his cure fell
away. Some have thought that his constant employment of an amanu
ensis, and the mention of the large characters in which he wrote in his
Epistle to the Galatians (vi. 11) "Ye see in what large letters I have
written to you," are indications that the Apostle suffered permanently»in
his eyesight from the heavenly vision.
and he received [recovered, and so in 1 7] sight forthwith] The oldest
MSS. omit the last word.
and arose, and was baptized] In the fuller account (xxii. 16) we learn
that the exhortation to be baptized was part of the message with which
Ananias was charged, and so was divinely commissioned to receive Saul
thus into the Christian Church.
19. and when he had received [taken] meat, &c] Needed after his
three days fast, but (says Calvin) "he refreshed not his body with meat
until his soul had received strength."
Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus)
The word Saul is not found in the oldest MSS. Read "And he was,
&c." The expression rendered "certain days" is the same which in
x. 48, xv. 36, xvi. 12, xxiv. 24, and xxv. 13 is used by St Luke, and in
all cases the time indicated by them must have been brief. It was for
this amount of time that Peter tarried with Cornelius, the words are
applied to a short period spent by Paul and Barnabas at Antioch, to the
time of St Paul's stay at Philippi, to the short time which Paul was
detained at Caesarea before his hearing by Felix, and to a like period
between the arrival of Festus and the visit which Agrippa made to
salute him as the new Governor. In most of these instances the time
intended must have been very brief, and it is important to notice this
here, because in v. 23 we shall find another expression which .is
translated " many days " and seems designed by the writer to indicate a
somewhat longer period. It is clear, from the way in which ' ' disciples "
are here mentioned, that there was a numerous body of Christians in
Damascus at this early period. Saul dwelt with them now not as an
enemy but as a brother, by which name Ananias had been directed to
greet him.
20. And straightway he preached Christ [proclaimed Jesus] in the
synagogues, that he is the Son of God] The best MSS. read Jesus in this
verse, and this naturally is correct. The preaching which was to be to

w. 2i, 22.] THE ACTS, IX. 117
synagogues, that he is the Son of God. But all that heard 21
him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed
them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came
hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto
the chief priests? But Saul increased the more in strength, 22
and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving
that this is very Christ.
the Jews a stumbling-block was that Jesus of Nazareth was the Christ,
their long-expected Messiah.
He went, as was Christ's custom also, into the synagogues as the
most likely places where to find an audience who would listen to his
proclamation. His letters to the synagogues (v. 2) were not delivered,
but he came as the herald of one of higher authority than the chief
priests. For St Paul's constant practice of teaching in the Jewish
synagogues, see xiii. 5, xiv. 1, xvii. 1, 10, xviii. 4, 19, xix. 8.
21. But all that heard him were amazed ] Saui's fame as a persecutor
of Christians was well known to the Jews of Damascus, and the
authorities of the synagogues may have been instructed beforehand to
welcome him as a zealous agent. If so their amazement is easy to under
stand. It is clear from what follows in this verse that they knew of his
mission and the intention thereof, though Saul did not bring them his
"commission and authority." We should gather also from the strong
expression "destroyed, "used to describe Saul's career in Jerusalem, that
the slaughter of the Christians there had not been limited to the stoning
of Stephen.
22. Bui Saul increased the more in strength] i. e. he became more and
more energetic in his labours and the Holy Ghost gave him more power.
His fitness for the labour on which he was entering was very great. He
possessed all the Jewish learning of a zealous pupil of Gamaliel, and
now that he had seen Jesus in the glory of the Godhead, he could use
his stores of learning for the support of the new teaching in such wise as
to commend it to those Jews who were looking for the consolation of
Israel. But these would naturally be the smallest portion of his hearers.
The rest of the Jews were confounded. They heard their Scripture
applied by a trained mind, and shewn to be applicable to the fife of
Jesus. They could not at this time make an attack on Saul, for they
were paralysed by what they heard, and it was only when some time
had elapsed that they resolved to continue in their rejection of Jesus,
and then, at a later time, their persecution of Saul began.
proving that this is very [the] Christ] The word here rendered
"proving" is used again in xvi. 10, and translated "assuredly gather
ing." The idea conveyed by it is that of putting things side by side,
and so making a comparison and forming a conclusion. Thus Saul,
well equipped with a knowledge of the ancient Scriptures, set before his
hearers a description of the Messiah as he is there portrayed, and re
lating the life history of Jesus, shewed them that in Him the Scriptures
of the prophets had been fulfilled.

118 THE ACTS, IX. [w. 23, 24.
23 — 25. A Plot against Saul's Life. His Flight from
Damascus.
23 And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took
24 counsel to kill him : but their laying await was known of
23—25. A Plot against Saul's Life. His Flight from
Damascus.
23. And after that [when] many days were fulfilled ] As the visit to
Jerusalem mentioned in v. 26 seems to follow closely upon the events
narrated in v. 25, and as that visit was not made till after the retire
ment into Arabia of which St Paul speaks (Gal. i. 17, 18) thus:
"Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them that were Apostles before
me, but I went into Arabia and returned again unto Damascus. Then
after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, " we must place
the visit to Arabia between the events recorded in v. 22 and the fresh
narration which commences in this verse. St Luke has marked, as it
seems, the two periods as distinct by calling one time of residence
"certain days," and the other "many days." The following seems to
have been the order of events. Saul preached for "certain days "in
Damascus immediately after his conversion. He then made his journey
into Arabia, either for preaching or for retirement and spiritual com
munion, after which he made a second visit to Damascus, on which
latter occasion his enemies sought to take his life. This latter visit is
here spoken of as lasting "many days." The words thus translated are
used in several places of the Acts; as in this chapter, v. 43, of the
stay made by Peter at Joppa after the raising of Dorcas ; also xviii. 18,
of the time, "a good while," which St Paul spent in Corinth after he
had been brought before Gallio; and in xxvii. 7 ofthe "many days" of
slow sailing during the Apostle's voyage to Rome. It is clear from
these examples that the period covered by the words is very indefinite,
but if we reckon the "three years" (Gal. i. 18) from Saul's conversion,*
then the first and last times of residence in Damascus would be included
in that period, and we need not then extend either the stay in Arabia or
the duration of this later visit to Damascus over a great while, especially
if we remember that, to a Jew, one whole year with the end of -the
preceding and the beginning of the succeeding one was counted for three
years. the Jews took counsel to kill him] The deliberation and previous*
preparation implied in this expression are such as would take place, not*
among the people who were "confounded" by Saul's first preaching,
but when they had become enraged against him after his second visit,
when his words would be even more full of power than before, by reason
of the time spent in preaching in Arabia, or more probably in spiritual
communion to prepare himself for the labours which God had set before
him. 24. but their laying await [plot] was known of Saul) Perhaps from
the information of some of the Christian disciples, who would be well

v. 25.] THE ACTS, IX. 119
Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill
him. Then the disciples took him by night, and let him 25
down by the wall in a basket.
disposed to Saul by what they had heard of him from Ananias, and
who played the part of friends in aiding his escape from Damascus.
And they watched the gates day and night to kill him] The gates were
the places to which one fleeing from death would naturally make his
way. St Paul says (2 Cor. xi. 32) of the circumstances under wliich
this plot was made against his life, that "In Damascus the governor
[Ethnarch] of King Aretas kept the city of the Damascenes with a
garrison, desirous to apprehend me." Hence it appears that it was no
mere attack made by the Jews resident in Damascus, but they had
gained the support of the authorities for the time being. We do not
know enough of the history of Syria and Arabia at this period to be able
to explain with certainty how an Ethnarch of Aretas, who was king of
Arabia Petrsea, came to be holding Damascus. But we do know
(Joseph. Antiq. xviii. 3. 1 — 4) that Aretas had been at war with Herod
Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee, who in consequence of his attachment to his
brother Philip's wife, had forsaken his own wife, who was the daughter
of Aretas. Herod had appealed to Rome, and been promised the help
of the Roman power, but the death of Tiberius (a.d. 37) checked the
march of Vitellius, the Roman governor of Syria, into Arabia, and he
thereupon returned to Antioch. It may have been that Aretas, en
couraged by this withdrawal, had advanced, and in the general confusion
had taken possession of Damascus. He had, in a former stage of the
war, destroyed the army of Herod ; and some of the Jews, who hated
Herod, spoke of this destruction of his troops as a Divine judgement for
his murder of John the Baptist. We can understand then that the Jews
in Damascus might under such circumstances favour Aretas, and in re
turn for their support be aided by his Ethnarch in an attempt on the
life of SauL
Or the occupation of Damascus by Aretas may have been (as Dean
Howson suggests) in consequence of the change of policy which took
place so widely at the death of Tiberius ; and Caligula, in contradiction
of what his predecessor had been designing, to crush Aretas, may have
put the Arabian king in command of the city of Damascus for a
time. 25. Then the disciples took him by night] The oldest MSS. read
"But his disciples, &c," and this well-supported reading favours the
explanation of the "many days" given in v. 24. On his second visit
Saul had remained long enough to have gathered round him a party of
followers who accepted him as their teacher.
and let him down by [through] the wall in a basket] In 2 Cor. xi. 33
S,t Paul says, "And through a window, in a basket was I let down by the
wall and escaped." Such apertures can be found in the walls of houses
in all defenced cities, and it was by such a way that Rahab let the spies
escape from Jericho (Josh. ii. 15), and Michal aided David's escape
(1 Sam. xix. 12). The basket here mentioned (spuris) is the same that

120 THE ACTS, IX. [w. 26, 27.
26 — 31. Saul visits ferusalem. He is sent away to Tarsus.
The Churches have rest.
=s And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to
join himself to the disciples : but they were all afraid of
27 him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Bar-
is spoken of (Matt. xv. 37) at the feeding of the four thousand in the
mountain district west of the Sea of Galilee. It appears to have been
large and soft, fit for carrying a large quantity of miscellaneous articles
from the plain into the hills, while the baskets (cophinoi) spoken of at
the feeding of the five thousand (Matt. xiv. 20) were such as the multi
tude, which in that case had followed Jesus on foot out of the cities,
would be likely to carry in their hands. In a basket of the former kind
Saul might easily be wrapped and then lowered over the city wall.
26 — 31. Saul visits Jerusalem. He is sent away to Tarsus.
The Churches have rest.
26. And when Saul [he] was come to Jerusalem] The oldest MSS.
omit the proper name. Saul had never visited Jerusalem since the day
when he set out on his inquisitorial journey to Damascus, and he could
only be known at that time to the Christians as their determined
enemy. he assayed to join himself to the disciples) If as a Jew he had gone to
Alexandria or any other city where Jews were numerous, his first
thought would have been to search out his co-religionists ; so he acts
now. He seeks to join the Christian community. But his own language
(Gal. i. 16) shews us that he had made no attempt to spread the news of
his changed feelings among the Christian congregations. "I conferred
not with flesh and blood," he says, "but I went into Arabia, and re
turned to Damascus. " An absence of three years, mainly in a region
whence little news could come of his conversion and labours, and the
memory of what evil he had done in days gone by, were enough to jus
tify some hesitation about receiving him, on the part of the disciples.
but [and] they were all afraid of him] The conjunction is the ordinary
copulative, and connects the two clauses, Saul's desire and the behaviour
of the disciples. In Gal. i. 18 St Paul says his wish was to see Peter,
and this we can very well understand, for though Saul had received
his commission directly from Jesus, there were many things in the history
of the life of Christ which could be best learned from the lips of him
who had been with Jesus from the commencement of His ministry. But
at first Saul came to the Christians at Jerusalem as an ordinary be
liever. and believed not that he was a disciple] Here wo see how little was
known in Jerusalem of the history of Saul since his conversion, and we
can understand those words of his own (Gal. i. 22), "I was unknown by
face unto the Churches of Juda;a which were in Christ." God had been
training him for his work among the Gentiles, and although he was
brought to Jerusalem that all might know that the Gospel was one, and

w. 28, 29.] THE ACTS, IX. 121
nabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and de
clared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way,
and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached
' boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. And he was 28
with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. And he =9
spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed
that Saul was sent forth even as the twelve, yet no attempt is made by
St Luke at this point, where it might have been most expected, to set
forth the unanimity of Paul and Peter. It is left for St Paul himself to
tell us of his desire to see Peter, and the historian only says they all
were afraid of him.
27. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles] i.e. to
such of the Apostles as happened to be then in Jerusalem. During a
short space of fifteen days it is easy to understand that all but Peter and
•James might be absent from Jerusalem. St Paul tells us he only saw
these two during his visit (Gal. i. 19), and all that he says is perfectly
consistent with St Luke's narrative. Barnabas, who introduced Saul to
the Apostles, has already been mentioned as a Levite of Cyprus (iv. 36),
and from the proximity of Cyprus to Cilicia, and the distinction of the
schools of Tarsus, a conjecture has been hazarded that Barnabas may
have been known to Saul before they came to Jerusalem. This would
explain how it came to pass that while the other disciples were afraid of
him, Barnabas listened to his statement and repeated it to the rest of the
Church. and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, &c] It
is worthy of notice in how many forms the statement of the appearance
of Jesus to Saul is repeated. This was indeed the turning-point of the
Apostle's life, Jesus of Nazareth seen as the glorified Son of God.
and how he had preached [spoken] boldly at Damascus in the
name of Jesus) Whether the knowledge of Barnabas was derived
from Saul himself or from other sources we are not told, but
in the political turmoil of the times (see v. 24, note) we may easily
suppose that the teachings of a preacher who appeared for a brief
space, and then retired from Damascus, and who had only lately
reappeared, would not be widely known among the Church at Je
rusalem. 28. And he was with them, &c] i.e. for the fifteen days during
which his visit lasted he was received into the fellowship of the
Church. 29. And he spake boldly, &c] The conjunction is left out in the
best MSS. Read, "speaking boldly, &c."
in the name of the Lord Jesus] The last word is omitted in the
oldest MSS.
and disputed against the Grecians] The Greek text says ' ' and he
spake and disputed, &c." These Grecians were the Greek-Jews at
whose instigation Stephen had been put to death. Now Saul, who
had consented unto that martyrdom, is exposed to the like persecution.
acts IO

THE ACTS, IX. [vv. 30-32.

against the Grecians : but they went about to slay him.
JO Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to
31 Cesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus. Then had thei
churches rest throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria, '
and were edified ; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and
in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.
32 — 35. Peter heals a paralytic at Lydda.
32 And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all
The very same word "disputed" is here used which was employed
to describe the controversies with the protomartyr (vi. 9), and it is
found nowhere else in this book. But it is worth notice that the
attack is now reversed. The Grecians disputed with Stephen, now
Saul disputes with them.
but they went about [sought] to slay him] As the Jews in Damascus
had done.
30. Which when the brethren knew] Lit. " And when the brethren
knew it." The disciples were informed as those of Damascus had
been of the plot in that city.
they brought him down to Cesarea] i. e. to the seaport so called, not
to Caesarea Philippi, for the latter place was only touched by the road
which led from Tyre to Damascus. The former was a place from
which Tarsus could be reached either by sea or by the road which
ran northward along the coast of Syria.
and sent him forth to Tarsus] where he was born, and which
perhaps, next to Jerusalem, would appear to be the best centre from
which his work could be carried on. For an account of Tarsus and
its fame as a seat of heathen learning, see Diet, ofthe Bible.
31. Then had the churches rest, &c] Better, "So the Church
throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace." In the'
best texts the noun and all the verbs agreeing with it are in the singular
number, and what is meant is the whole Christian body, not the
various congregations. The cause of this peace for the Christians was
that the attention of their persecutors the Jews was turned from them
to resist the attempt made by Caligula (Joseph. Antiq. xvm. 8. i)
to have his statue erected in the Temple at Jerusalem. This profanation
was averted partly by the determined opposition of the Jews, and
partly by the intercession of King Agrippa with the mad Emperor.
32—35. Peter heals a paralytic at Lydda.
32. as Peter passed throughout all quarters] The history now turns
from Saul to Peter, to shew us that when the former had been prepared
for his special work the latter was taught by revelation that the
time had arrived for the next and complete extension of the Church
among all nations. Peter had been labouring, as no doubt all the
rest of the twelve also (for we have seen that only two were at Je-

w.33— 36.] THE ACTS, IX. 123
quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at
Lydda. And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, 33
which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the
palsy. And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ 34
maketh thee whole : arise, and make thy bed. And he
arose immediately. And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron 3s
saw him, and turned to the Lord.
36 — 43. Dorcas raised to life. Peter's stay at foppa.
Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, 36
rusalem when Saul came thither), in building up the Churches in Judaea
and Samaria, and the narrative of two miracles which follow in the
history makes intelligible to us the position of Peter when Cornelius
is warned to send for him.
he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda) On saints,
see above on v. 13.
Lydda] The Hebrew Lod, 1 Chron. viii. 12. It was afterwards
called Diospolis. It was near to Joppa, and a. day's journey from
Jerusalem. Josephus (Antiq. XX. 6. 2) calls it "a village not less than
a city in largeness."
33. which had kept his bed eight years] There could therefore be
no doubt cast upon the miraculous nature of his cure.
34. Jesus Christ maketh thee whole] As in the cure of the cripple
at the Temple-gate (iii. 6), the Apostle makes known that he is but
the messenger, and that the healer is Christ. We are not told that
./Eneas was a disciple, but it may be inferred that he was among "the
saints," and that thus Peter was brought unto him.
35. all thai dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him] No doubt his
case of eight-years-long paralysis was well known to the dwellers in
the village and neighbourhood, and to see such a one about in their
midst again would be a cause for general remark and enquiry into
the manner of his restoration. "When the Scripture saith all it 1
doth not comprehend every one, how many soever it noteth, but it
putteth all for the more part, or for many, or for the common sort of
men" (Calvin on this verse).
Saron] Heb. Sharon. It is doubtful whether by this name is
intended some village in the neighbourhood of Lydda or the whole
district known as the "plain of Sharon," and extending along the
coast from Joppa to Caesarea. No place of this name has been noticed
in the neighbourhood, and as in the original the word has the article,
" tlie Sharon," it is better to refer it to the district.
36 — 43. DORCAS RAISED TO LIFE. PETER'S STAY AT JOPrA.
36. Now there was at Joppa u certain disciple] For an account
of Joppa, one of the great seaports on the coast of Palestine, see
Dictionary of the Bible. 10 — a

124 THE ACTS, IX. [vv. '37-40.
which by interpretation is called Dorcas : this woman was
37 full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. And it
came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died 1
whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper
38 chamber. And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa,
and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent
unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to
39 come to them. Then Peter arose and went with them,
When he was come, they brought him into the upper
chamber : and all the widows stood by him weeping, and
shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while
4» she was with them. But Peter put them all forth, and

Dorcas is called a disciple that it may be seen that under the gospel
there is no distinction between male and female (Gal. iii. 28).
named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas] Tabitha
is the Aramaic form of a Hebrew proper name (2 Kings xii. 1) which
signifies a gazelle (cp. Song iv. 5), as does the Greek word Dorcas;
this woman was full of good works, &c] A favourite form of ex
pression with St Luke. Cp. " Stephen full of faith and power"
(vi. 8); Elymas, "full of all subtilty" (xiii. 10); and the Ephesians
"full of wrath" (xix. 28). The sense is "given up to" or "devoted
to." 37. that she was [fell] sick, and died] The proceedings which
followed on her death are evidence of its reality. . The probable
reason for deferring the burial was the knowledge that Peter was
close at hand, and the hope of the disciples that the power of Jesus,
might be exercised through him for the restoration to life of so eminenflj
a disciple as Dorcas.
38. desiring him that he would not delay to come to them] The
best MSS. give a more graphic form to the sentence by the use of the
direct entreaty. Read, " intreating him, Delay not to come on to us."
It is as though their supplication were " We have heard ofthe mighty
works which Jesus has wrought by thy hands; extend thy journey to
us, for we are in great need."
39. Then [And] Peter arose and went with them) We may be
sure that the Apostle knew, by the Spirit, that it would please God to
do something for the help of the distress at Joppa, when he set out
with the messengers.
and all the widows stood by him weeping] These were the women
who, with the dead Dorcas, had been busy in the good works to
which they were all devoted. The petition of such a company was
sure to have power with the Apostle, and their action shews how
they place the good deeds of her whom they had lost far above their
own. 40. But Peter put them all forth] As Christ had done (Matt,

w. 41— 43-] THE ACTS, IX. 125
kneeled down, and prayed ; and turning him to the body
said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes : and when
she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand, and 41
lift her up, and when he had called the saints and widows,
presented her alive. And it was known throughout all 4=
Joppa ; and many believed in the Lord. And it came to 4,i
pass, that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a
tanner. ix. 25) at the raising of Jairus' daughter, on which occasion Peter had
been present.
and kneeled down, and prayed] Asking God that the consolation
to be given to these mourners might be the restoration of the dead
woman to life.
and turning him to the body] When by the Spirit's admonition he
knew that his prayer was heard.
said, Tabitha, arise] If he spake in the Aramaic dialect, as is most
probable, his utterance must have been nearly the same as that of our
Lord (Mark v. 41), Talitha cumi, at the raising of the daughter of
Jairus. But when both these utterances are interpreted in the places
where they occur, it is astonishing to find those who would suggest
that the Tabitha of this verse is an adaptation of the Talitha of the
Gospel. 41. when he had called the saints and widows] These words make
it evident that the petition sent to Peter had been the supplication
of the whole Christian Church of Joppa, "Come on unto us and help
us." 42. and many believed in the Lord] There seems to be intended
by these words a fuller acceptance of the faith of Jesus than when it
is said "they turned to the Lord" (see above, v. 35). The belief
here wrought by the resurrection of Dorcas is like that mentioned
(John xi. 45) of those who were won to the faith by the raising of
Lazarus. 43. he tarried many days] On the indefinite nature of the time
indicated here see above, v. 23, note.
with one Simon a tanner] The trade of a tanner was held as
abominable by the Jews. A wife, it is said, could claim a divorce
from a husband who became a tanner (Mishna Khethuboth VII. 10,
where is recorded the following story): "It happened at Sidon that
a tanner died, and left a brother who was also a tanner. The sages
held that his (childless) widow had a right to plead, Thy brother I
could bear but I cannot bear thee," and so in this case the woman
might refuse to marry her husband's brother.
It is a sign that in the mind of St Peter some usages and pre
judices of the Jews were already becoming of small account, when he
makes his abode at the house of Simon a tanner. Such a step prepares
us for the history of the next chapter, where he is instructed to go and
preach to and baptize the Gentile Cornelius.

126 THE ACTS, X. [vv^i.s,
i — 8. Cornelius is divinely warned to send for Peter.
10 There was a certain man in Cesarea called Cornelius, a
2 centurion of the band called the Italian band, a devout
X. l — 8. Cornelius is divinely warned to send for Peter.
St Luke now brings to our notice the circumstances which attended
the first preaching of the gospel to the Gentiles. - The Apostles, though
informed by Christ's commission that they were to " leach all nations,"
yet tarried the Lord's leisure, and waited till the Spirit, who was theit
constant guide, shewed them a door opened for such extension of their
labours. The first Gentile converts seem to have been living in some
sort of communion with the Jews of Cccsarea, for Cornelius, the repre
sentative figure among them, was "of good report among all that
nation," but yet from the complaints ofthe brethren at Jerusalem, when
they heard what Peter had done, we can see that Cornelius was one of
the "sinners ofthe Gentiles." "Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised
and didst eat with them " expresses the shock, which the strict observers
of the Law experienced in this new development of the Church, and
even Peter himself, though chosen to inaugurate the preaching to the
Gentiles, was not always proof against the scruples and remonstrances
of his brethren ofthe circumcision (Gal. ii. 12).
1. There was a certain man in Cesarea) The oldest MSS. omit
the verb was here, and make the sentence read, " Now a certain man
in Caesarea. ..a devout man. ..which gave much alms. ..saw in a vision,
&c." Caesarea is the same, place which is mentioned viii. 40, and was
usually the residence of the Roman Procurator (see xxiii. 23 — 26, xxv.,
1 — 4). The soldiers over whom Cornelius was centurion were the
necessary troops to support the state and authority of the Roman repre
sentative, who at this time was Herod Agrippa, whom Claudius had
made king over Judaea and Samaria.
called Cornelius] Lit. "Cornelius byname." The name shews he
was a Roman, and perhaps, he may have been of the famous Cornelian
(iens. But there were also many plebeians of this name, for Sulla
(Appian B.C. 1. 100) bestowed the Roman franchise on 10,000 slaves
and called them after his own name, "Comelii."
a centurion] This was not a distinguished office. He was com
mander of the sixth part of a -cohort, i.e. of half a maniple. The name
must have been given to 'such officer when his command was over a
hundred men. The Roman legion in these times was divided into ten
cohorts, and each cohort into three maniples, so that the nominal
strength of the legion would be 6000 men. J
ofthe band] i.e. the cohort. Such a troop was stationed in Jerusalem "
at the time ofthe Crucifixion (Matt, xxvii. 27).
called the Italian band] The name at first would be given to it from
the country in which it was raised, but no doubt it would afterwards be
recruited from other parts, and yet still retain its original title. Tacitus
(Hist. I. 59 &c.) mentions an Italian legion. A centurion of a similar
band, which was styled "Augustan," is mentioned (xxvii. 1) below.

vv, 3— 5-] THE ACTS, X. 127
man, and one that feared God with all his house, which
gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.
He saw in a vision evidently, about the ninth hour of the 3
day, an angel of God coming in to him, and saying unto
him, Cornelius. And when he looked on him, he was <
afraid, and said, What is it, Lord ? And he said unto him,
Thy prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial
before God. And now send men to Joppa, and call for 5
2. a devout man] i. e. he was a worshipper of the true God, but had
not joined himself to the Jews in the observance of tha Law. The
language of St Peter in v. 28 shews us that he was not a complete prose
lyte. Wherever in the N. T. we find mention made of Roman centurions
they appear to have been good men, Matt. viii. 5 ; Luke vii. 2, xxiii. 47.
and one that feared God with all his house] The earnestness of his
devotion to God is evidenced by the character of his household. If his
family be here meant, he had instructed them in the worship of God,
and had provided that those who attended on him should also be of the
same character. The soldier, whom he sends to Peter, is called ' ' de
vout " in v. 7.
which gave much alms to the people] i.e. to the Jewish people among
whom he was stationed. He was like the centurion (Luke vii. 5) of
whom the Jews said, " He loveth our nation and hath built us a syna
gogue." and prayed to God alway] thus shewing himself anxious for greater
knowledge of God's way, which from xi. 14 we learn must have been
the purport of the prayer of Cornelius.
3. He saw in a vision evidently [openly] i.e. he was not in a trance,
as we read afterwards concerning Peter, but was employed in prayer
when the angel appeared. See below, v. 30.
about the ninth hour of the day] This was the hour for evening
prayer, see iii. 1. So we can see that Cornelius had adopted the Jewish
hours of prayer.
i. And when he looked on him] Literally, " having fastened his eyes
on him." The angel is called (v. 30) "a man in bright clothing."
Such a sight would rivet the centurion's gaze at the first, and then the
heavenly nature ofthe visitor made itself evident, and he was afraid.
What is it, Lord ?] His language expresses his readiness to perform
what shall be commanded, and his question implies, " What wilt thou
have me to do?"
Thy prayers and thine alms are come [have gone] up] The idea is
that of the prayers, like incense, when offered ascending up to God.
Cp. Rev. viii. 3, 4, also v. 8, " vials full of odours which are the prayers
of saints." Cf. Ps. cxli. 2.
for a memorial before God] They have oeen such as to be remem
bered before God, and now He is about to answer them. The portion
of the meal offering which the priest was commanded to burn upon the
altar to be an offering of a sweet savour unto the Lord (Lev. ii. 2) was

128 THE ACTS, X. [w. 6-9.
6 one Simon, whose surname is Peter : he lodgeth with one
Simon a tanner, whose house is by the sea side : he shall tell
7 thee what thou oughtest to do. And when the angel which
spake unto Cornelius was departed, he called two of his
household servants, and a devout soldier of them that
b waited on him continually; and when he had declared all
these things unto them, he sent them to Joppa.
9 — 16. Peter is prepared for their visit by a Vision.
9 On the morrow, as they went on their journey, and drew
nigh unto the city, Peter went up upon the house to pray
called a "memorial," and the allusion is to the offerings of this kind.
Cp; the words of the angel (Tobit xii. 12), "I did bring the remembrance
of your prayers before the Holy One," where the Greek word for "re
membrance" is that which is here rendered "memorial."
6. he shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do) These words are not
in the oldest MSS. In Peter's own account of the visit to Cornelius (xi,
14) we have " who shall tell thee words whereby thou and all thy house
shall be saved;" and this is one of the numerous instances found in
some later texts of the Acts where an attempt has been made to form a
complete narrative in the earlier chapters by gathering together and
adapting statements which appear in their proper place in later chapters.
The prayers of Cornelius had been for more knowledge and greater
light, and the angel directs him to the instructor whom he desires. The
inserted words probably first appeared as a note on the margin.
7. And when the angel which spake unto Cornelius [him] was
departed] The proper name does not appear in the oldest MSS. When
the additional note on the last verse had found its way into the text, the
name of Cornelius was placed instead of the pronoun for greater clear
ness. The reality of the angelic presence is strongly marked by these
words which speak of his going away from the sight of Cornelius as any
human being would have departed.
a devout soldier of them that waited on him continually] Better, "of
them that attended on him." The soldier was attached to the personal
service of Cornelius in the same way as that in which the soldiers were
under that other centurion (Luke vii. 8) who could say to one, " Go,"
and he was obeyed.
8. And when he had declared all these things unto them) Omit
" these " which is not in the Greek. The confidence which Cornelius
placed in those who attended on him is shewn by this open communi
cation with them at once on the subject of his vision. They had known
all his former hopes and prayers, and so were fit persons to be made
sharers in what seemed to be the answer.
9—16. Peter is prepared for their visit by a Vision.
9. Peter went up upon the house] With the flat roofs of Eastern

w. 10—12.] THE ACTS, X. 129
about the sixth hour : and he became very hungry, and m
would have eaten : but while they made ready, he fell into
a trance, and saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel «
descending unto him, as it had been a great sheet knit at
the four corners, and let down to the earth: wherein were >=
all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts,
houses, to which access could be obtained from outside without passing
through the rooms of the building, the housetop formed a convenient
place for retirement. It was the place chosen by Samuel (1 Sam. ix.
25 — 26) for his conference with Saul before he anointed him king. Cp.
also 2 Sam. xi. 2.
to pray] We find that the housetop was used for religious purposes
(Jer. xix. 13; Zeph. i. 5). These instances are of worship paid to false
gods, but if the one worship, we may believe that the other also was
performed there.
about the sixth hour] i.e. midday, and the second of the Jewish stated
hours of prayer. We see from w. 23 and 24 that the journey from
Joppa to Caesarea occupied more than one day, so that the vision of
Cornelius took place on the day before the trance of St Peter and the
messengers had time almost to accomplish their journey before the
Apostle, by his vision, was prepared to receive them. The distance
between the two places was 30 Roman miles.
10. he fell into a trance] So that the vision was seen by him only
mentally, when he was rapt out of the body, and beheld all things as a
man in a dream.
11. and saw [beholdeth] heaven opened) To shew him that the
teaching of the vision was sent to him from God.
and a certain vessel descending unto him) The oldest MSS. omit the
two last words.
as it had been a great sheet knit at the four corners, and let down to the
earth] The oldest MSS. only give "a great sheet let down by four
comers upon the earth." The word rendered "corners " is used of the
" end of a cord " in Herod. IV. 60, but it seems that for such a sense
there must be added either a noun or adjective for explanation. What
the Apostle saw was an extended sheet, the four corners of which were
held up as it were by cords let down from the four extremities of the
opened sky. The significance of the outstretched sheet, as a figure of
the wide world, and the four corners as the directions into which the
gospel was now to be borne forth into all the world, has often been dwelt
upon. 12. wherein were] i. e. appeared to be in the vision.
\ all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts] The
^ldest MSS. omit the last six-words. They have been inserted here that
the text might more exactly correspond with what St Peter says in xi. 6
(see note on v. .6). The vision represented the whole animal creation.
There were in it living creatures typical of each kind, not a multitude of
the same sort of birds and beasts.

'3°

THE ACTS, X. [w. 13—16.

13 and creeping things, and fowls of the air. And there came
.4 a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not
so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or
15 unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second
time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.
16 This was done thrice: and the vessel was received up
again into heaven.
,13. Rise, Peter; kill, and eat] As he was hungry before he fell into the
trance, here is presented the means of satisfying his hunger, and by the
command in which he is directed to kill without distinction among all
that he sees, this divinely-communicated abrogation of the law of Moses
concerning the choice among living creatures afterwards informs his ¦
waking mind that now all the nations are to be alike included among,
God's people.
14. Not so, Lord] Cp. Ezek. iv. 14, where the prophet being shewn
that the children of Israel shall eat defiled bread among the Gentiles,
exclaims in words very like St Peter's: " There never came abominable!
flesh into my mouth." For the care with which the devout Jew observed*-
the ceremonial distinction between clean and unclean, see Dan. i. 8 — n;1
2 Mace. vi. 18.
common or unclean] The oldest authorities read "common and
unclean." The use of "common" in the sense of impure according to
the Mosaic ritual is, as were the ordinances about which this language
was employed, peculiar to the Jews. But it is easy to trace the steps by
which the word came to be used thus. All persons who were not Jews
were viewed as the "common" rabble, shut out from God's covenant,
then whatever practices of these outcasts differed from those of the
chosen people were called "common" things, and as these "common"
things were those forbidden by the Law, all such prohibited things or
actions became known as "common." Cp. Mark vii. 2, where the
margin explains that "defiled hands" is in the original " common hands."
15. And the [a] voice spake unto him again the second time] coming,
from heaven as the first voice had come. There is no verb in the
original, and it would perhaps be better to supply "came" rather thin
"spake." What God hath cleansed, that call [make] not thou common] The
heaven-sent voice revokes what had been enjoined from heaven at the
giving of the Law. The power which made the restriction can remove
it. That it would be removed Christ had intimated (Matt. xv. ti),
"Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man." The old dis
pensation is now to give place to the new, and Peter is taught by the
vision that men are not to make such distinctions and separations foi
themselves. " For meat destroy not the work of God" (Rom. xiv. 20).
16. This was done thrice] The original has a conjunction "And" at
the commencement of the sentence.
The repetition of the vision three times over was made that no doubt
might remain in the Apostle's mind, and the reception of the whole into

w. 17—20. THE ACTS, X. 131
17 — 24. Arrival of the Messengers from Cornelius ; Peter
goes with them to Ccesarea.
Now while Peter doubted in himself what this vision
which he had seen should mean, behold, the men which
were sent from Cornelius had made inquiry for Simon's
house, and stood before the gate, and called, and asked
whether Simon, which was surnamed Peter, were lodged
there. While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said
unto him, Behold, three men seek thee : arise therefore, and
get thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing : for I
heaven again was designed to point out that it was a lesson which God
had as directly sent as of old He sent the Law on Sinai. Cp. the
repetition of Pharaoh's dream (Gen. xii. 32) and Joseph's explanation
thereof. Peter would also remember when he came out of his trance
the thrice-repeated charge given to him by Jesus (John xxi. 15 — 1 7),
"Feed my sheep."
17—24. Arrival of the Messengers from Cornelius: Peter
goes with THEM TO C/ESAREA.
17. Now while Peter doubted (was much perplexed) in himself] The
original verb implies "to be thoroughly at a loss, and not know which
way to turn." It is used (Luke ix. 7) of Herod's perplexity about
' Christ, when men said that John the Baptist was risen from the dead.
Peter, aroused from his trance, was to apply what he had seen and
heard, but he knew not how to begin the work.
stood before the gate] Literally, at the porch. The position of the
house had been described to Cornelius (v. 6), and when his messengers
found the details true, it must have given them confidence that their
errand was to be a successful one.
18. and called] ie. on some one within the house to come forth.
These messengers, like Cornelius himself, were most probably Gentiles,
and so might not feel justified in entering a Jewish house without giving
notice of their presence.
19. While Peter thought on the vision) The original has a conjunc
tion "Now" at the beginning of this verse.
Peter was turning over his difficulty in his mind, and asking what
God would have him learn by this lesson about the abolition of
differences in meats. And while he was thus pondering the explana
tion came.
the Spirit said unto him] Thus the arrival of the three men was, by
the inward admonition of the Spirit, connected with his vision.
three men] The two servants and the soldier whom Cornelius had sent
(v. 7).
20. get thee down] Peter was still on the housetop.
doubting nothing] The oldest texts give the verb here in the middle
voice, as in Jas. i. 6, "nothing wavering," but in the parallel passage,

132 THE ACTS, X. [w. 21—24.
" have sent them. Then Peter went down to the men
wliich were sent unto him from Cornelius; and said, Be
hold, I am he whom ye seek : what is the cause wherefore
^ ye are come ? And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a
just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report
among ail the nation of the Jews, was warned from God
by a holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to
'3 hear words of thee. Then called he them in, and- lodged
them. And on the morrow Peter went away with them, and
'4 certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him. And the
xi. 12, it is active, and signifies "making no distinction," i.e. be
tween Jew and Gentile. The latter was used by the Apostle when
events had taught him precisely what the vision and the spiritual
exhortation meant. The Spirit's teaching is given little by little as
Christ had told His disciples that it should be, "He shall guide you
(lit. lead you on the way) unto all truth" (John xvi. 13). The vision
had given no hint of a journey to be taken; now Peter is informed of it,
and so too when the end of the journey is reached the "nothing waver
ing " is shewn to mean "putting no distinction between Jews and other
men, " and thus the vision was made intelligible little by little and the
perplexity removed.
21. Then (And) Peter went down to the men which were sent unto
him from Cornelius) The last seven words are not in the oldest Greek
texts, and are clearly an addition of later date to make the text quite
clear. 22. of good report among all the nation of the Jews] For the alms-
deeds which he did, and on account of his reverence for the true God.
They say not only among the people of Caesarea was the piety of
Cornelius known, but among all the Jews.
was warned from God] There is no Greek for "from God," but the
verb is one constantly used of messages from above. Thus of Joseph's
warnings (Matt. ii. 12, 22), of Simeon's Divine revelation (Luke ii. 26),
and of the admonitions sent to Moses (Heb. viii. 5), and to Noah
(Heb. xi. 7).
to hear words of thee] i. e. to receive commandments from thee and
learn what God would have him to do (cp. xl. 14). By the Jews the ten
commandments are constantly called "the ten words" "God spake
these words, saying," &c. (Exod. xx. 1).
23. Then called he them in, and lodged them] This was the first
step towards laying aside the scruples to which the Jews were so much
attached. And on the morrow Peter went away with them] The best texts
read "And on the morrow he arose and went forth with them."
and certain brethren from Joppa accompanied him] In xi. 12 we are
told they were six in number, and in v. 45 of this chapter they are
called "they of the circumcision which believed." So these men were

w. 25— 27.] THE ACTS, X. . 133
morrow after they entered into Cesarea. And Cornelius
waited for them, and had called together his kinsmen and
near friends.
25 — 33. Arrival of Peter. Cornelius explains why he had
sent for him.
And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him, and fell 25
down at his feet, and worshipped him. But Peter took him 26
up, saying, Stand up ; I myself also am a man. And as he 27
talked with him, he went in, and found many that were
Jews, and Peter took them for his companions that he might, if need
were, afterwards appeal to them for testimony of what was done, and
to explain why he had acted as he did. No doubt they were informed
by him ofthe message which the servants of Cornelius had brought, and
the good repute of this devout man would weigh with them and make
them ready to go.
24. And the morrow after they entered into Cesarea) Their road
lay all the way along the coast, and as Apollonia was situate about
halfway between Joppa and Caesarea, it is most likely that they passed
the night there.
And Cornelius waited (was waiting) for them] His attitude of pre
paration shews how convinced he was of the reality of his vision,
and that God was about to give him an answer to his prayers.
his kinsmen and near friends] These we can hardly doubt were men
of hke mind with Cornelius in their faith and worship, and so had
naturally been told of the answer which he was expecting, and invited
to be present when Peter arrived.
25 — 33. Arrival of Peter. Cornelius explains why he
had sent for him:
25. And as Peter was coming in] The Greek is literally, "And as
it came to pass that Peter entered," i.e. before he went in, for we read
of his entrance in v. 27.
worshipped him] paying him the religious reverence which the super
natural direction of the angel concerning Peter would be likely to
prompt. This act of obeisance in the Roman officer marks most strongly
his sense that Peter was God's messenger. Such acts were not usual
among Roman soldiers.
26. But Peter took (raised) him up] Cp. with the way in which
Peter here declines to permit such reverence, the way in which the
angel (Rev. xix. 10) refused such worship, " See thou do it not. I am
thy fellowservant."
27. And as he talked with him, he went in) So that the previous
part of the interview had been without. The action of Cornelius in
thus coming forth to meet Peter is in the spirit of that other centurion in

134 THE ACTS, X. [w. 28, 29.
*s come together. And he said unto them, Ye know how that
it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep
company, or come unto one of another nation; but God
hath shewed me that / should not call any man common or
29 unclean. Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as
soon as I was sent for : I ask therefore for what intent

the Gospel, who said (Luke vii. 6), "I am not worthy that thou shouldest
enter under my roof." The Greek word here rendered "talked" in
dicates the communication made during an interview of some length:
The subsequent remarks of St Peter shew us that he had been told
many things by Cornelius, which are not specially mentioned, but com
prehended under this word "talked."
and found (findeth) many, &c] For the character of Cornelius had
won him many attached friends.
28. Ye know how that it is an unlawfid thing, &c] It is said
expressly by Maimonides, Hilechoth Rozeakh, &°c. XII. 7, "It is for
bidden to a Jew to be alone with heathens, because they are suspected
of (lightly) shedding blood, nor must he associate with them on
the road." And in the Midrash Rabbah on Leviticus, cap. 20 (ad fin),:
there is an interesting example of the sort of ceremonial defilement
which association with the heathen might bring about, "It happened
that Shimeon the son of Kimkhith (who was high-priest) went out
¦to speak with the King of the Arabians, and there came a fleck of
spittle from the King's mouth upon the priest's garment and so he
•was unclean; and his brother Judah went in and served instead of
him in the high-priest's office. That day their mother saw two
of her sons high-priests." The Apostle speaks of the prohibition as'
a thing well known to those who heard him, and the action of the
messengers of Cornelius in standing outside the house of Simon and
calling out some one to question in the open air shews that they were
aware of the dislike of the Jews to associate with Gentiles. We
have evidence that this dislike was well known wherever the Jews
resided from the words of Juvenal (xiv. 103), "Non monstrare vias
eadem nisi sacra colenti." So Tacitus (Hist. v. 5), "separati epulis,,,
discreti cubilibus. "
to keep company] Lit. "to join himself." The word is the same as
in the command to Philip (viii. 29), "Go near and join thyself lo this
chariot; and signifies intimate intercourse. The ordinary dealings of
life must constantly have forced Jews to be in the company of Gentiles,
but it was to be avoided if possible.
but God hath shewed me that I should nol call any man common or un
clean] The Spirit's command " Go with them doubting nothing, for 1
have sent them ' has taught Peter how he is to interpret the figure
shewn to him in his vision.
29. without gainsaying] Following in faith the guidance of the SpiriU
though I only saw dimly what God would have me to do.

w. 30— 36.] THE ACTS, X. 13;
ye have sent for me ? And Cornehus said, Four days ago I 3°
was fasting until this hour ; and at the ninth hour I prayed
in my house, and behold, a man stood before me in bright
clothing, and said, Cornelius, thy prayer is heard, and thine 3'
alms are had in remembrance in the sight of God. Send 3?
therefore to Joppa, and call hither Simon, whose surname
is Peter ; he is lodged in the house of one Simon a tanner
by the sea side : who, when he cometh, shall speak unto
thee. Immediately therefore I sent to thee ; and thou hast 33
well done that thou art come. Now therefore are we all
here present before God, to hear all things that are com
manded thee of God.
34 — 43. Speech of Peter to Cornelius and his friends.
Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth 1 34
perceive that God is no respecter of persons : but in every 35
nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is
accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the 36
30. Four days ago I was fasting until this hour, &c] The oldest
MSS. have "Four days ago until this hour I was keeping the ninth
hour of prayer in my house." This makes the time of Peter's arrival to
be after the ninth hour of the day. The prayer-service to which
Cornelius refers had begun and been continued for some time before the ,
appearance of the angel.
in bright clothing] See above, i. 10, note.
32. who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee] These words are
not in the oldest MSS., though they are found in some very good
authorities. 33. to hear all things that are commanded thee of God] The oldest
authorities read "ofthe Lord." In "hear" there is implied the
intention to obey. For the words which the centurion expected to hear
from Peter were words " whereby he and all his house might be
saved."
!_ 34—43. Speech of Peter to Cornelius and his friends.
34. Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons] i.e. I
am now fully convinced, from what I have heard of God's angel
appearing to Cornelius and from the connection of that vision with my
own, that God is making Himself known to all the workers of righteous
ness whether they be Jews or Gentiles.
35. is accepted with him) i.e. is acceptable unto Him. God has
no longer a chosen people, but calleth all men to repent, and will
accept them.

136 THE ACTS, X. [vv. 37-39,
children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ : (he is
37 Lord of all :) that word, / say, you know, which was pub
lished throughout all Judea, and began from Galilee, after
38 the baptism which John preached ; how God anointed
Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power:
who went about doing good, and healing all that were
39 oppressed of the devil ; for God was with him. And we
36. Tlie word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preach
ing peace by Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all)] The construction and
meaning of this and the two following verses are somewhat involved.
The relative "which " is left out of this verse by the oldest MSS., and
" God " is not represented in the Greek. So that the literal translation
would be, "He (i.e. God, mentioned in the previous verse) sent the
word unto the children of Israel, preaching the gospel of peace by
Jesus Christ (he is Lord of all). The " word " in this verse is the "
message of the Messiah proclaimed by angels (Luke ii. 14) as a message
of glad tidings, and of peace on earth, through the birth of a Saviour
which is Christ the Lord. This was first preached unto Israel as God's
chosen people, but now God is the giver of remission of sins to every
one that believeth on Him (see v. 43). The message of peace now
was not only to be between God and the chosen race, but between
God and the Jew and Gentile alike.
37. that word, I say, you know] Better, "ye know the tidings." The
Greek rendered "word" here is not the same which is so translated in
the previous verse. The former refers to the whole message of salvation
through Christ, the latter to the tidings about Jesus which had gone abroad
after the preaching of John the Baptist. These tidings Peter either as
sumes Cornelius and his friends to know because of the teaching which
had already extended as far as Caesarea (viii. 40), or else he has learnt that
they have this knowledge about the facts of the life of Jesus from the
conversation which he held with the centurion at his first arrival. Hence
he says "ye know of the history of Jesus."
began from Galilee) where Christ's ministerial life commenced. See
Matt. iv. 12; Marki. 14.
38. how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth] It seems better to take
the name "Jesus of Nazareth" as in apposition with the tidings men
tioned in the previous verse, making the connection thus : Ye know the
tidings, &c, "even Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed him," &c.
This is the whole scope of what was preached, that Jesus had lived as a
man in Nazareth, but yet had been God's Anointed, the Messiah, and
shewn to be so by the mighty works which He did.
healing all that were oppressed of the devil) This is perhaps mentioned
as shewing that the power of Jesus was to be not only over physical but
over moral evil likewise, and this alone is mentioned because in the
healing of the greater, the power to cure the less evil is implied.
for God was with him] As Nicodemus confessed, "No man can do
these miracles that thou doest except God be with him" (John iii. 2).

w. 40—43] THE ACTS, X. 137
are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land
of the Jews, and in Jerusalem ; whom they slew and hanged
on a tree: him God raised up the third day, and shewed 40
him openly; not to all the people, but unto witnesses 41
chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink
with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded 42
us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he
which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and'
dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through 43
39. And we are witnesses of all things] Because they had been with
Jesus from the beginning of His ministerial life (Luke xxiv. 48).
whom they slew and hanged on a tree] Rather (with the oldest MSS.)
"whom also they slew, hanging him on a tree." For the latter part of
the expression cp. v. 30 note.
40. kim God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly (gave him
to be made manifest)] The literal translation implies more than the
A. V. Christ was not openly shewed, but by many proofs it was made
clear to those who saw Him that it was the same body, even though
now glorified, which had been wounded on the cross, that was alive
again. 41. not to all the people] For they, having rejected Moses and the
prophets, who foretold Christ's coming, and the nature of His Kingdom,
were not likely, as Jesus Himself had said of some others of like
character, to be converted by the rising of any one from the dead.
¦witnesses chosen before of God] Christ Himself speaks (John xvii. 6)
of the Apostles as given unto Him by God.
even to us] Cp. 1 Cor. xv. 6 — 8.
who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead] See Luke
xxiv. 42, 43. And in the narrative John xxi. 12 — 15 it is to be inferred,
especially from the last verse, that Jesus Himself partook of the food
which He gave to the rest.
42. And he commanded us to preach unto the people] This was among
the commandments alluded to Acts i. 2. Compare the charge given by
Christ, Matt, xxviii. 19, where the wide commission "Go ye, teach all
nations," is one that anticipated the preaching of the Gospel not only to
Cornelius, but to all other Gentiles.
that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and
dead) Cp. Christ's words to the Jews (John v. 22, 27), "For the Father
judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son,"
"and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is
the Son of man."
43. To him give all the prophets witness] Cp. Isa. xlix. 6, " I will
also give thee for a light to the Gentiles that thou mayest be my salvation
unto the end of the earth." Also Joel ii. 32, "Whosoever shall call on
tlie name of the Lord shall be delivered." So that under the Law the
redemption of the Gentiles was seen afar off. The way in which St Peter
ACTS I I

138 THE ACTS, X. [w. 44—48.
his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission^
of sins.
44 — 48. The Holy Ghost is sent upon Cornelius and his
friends, and they are baptized.
44 While Peter yet spake these Words, the Holy Ghost fell ,
4s on all them which heard the word. And they of the cir
cumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came
with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured
46 out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them
speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered
47 Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not
be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as
48 we ? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name *
of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.
uses the Jewish Scriptures to enforce his arguments is an evidence that
Cornelius and his household were familiar with those writings.
44 — 48. The Holy Ghost is sent upon Cornelius and his
friends, and they are baptized.
45. they ofthe circumcision] The six Jewish Christians mentionedin
xi. 12 as companions of St Peter.
46. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God]
The same kind of manifestation of God's gifts was here made as in
Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. See ii. 11.
47. Can any man forbid water, &c] Though the gift of the Spirit
has been made so apparent, yet St Peter does not omit the outward sign'
which Christ had ordained (Matt, xxviii. 19) for the admission of mem
bers into His Church.
as well as we] Thus does he recognize that God had chosen Gentiles
as well as Jews, and given the same grace to each.
48. And he commanded them to be baptized] Peter seems to have
refrained from baptizing converts, and we know that St Paul did so,
and the latter indicates a reason which may have influenced all the
twelve to appoint others to baptize, lest factions should arise, and men
sever the Christian unity by calling themselves by the name of some one
of the Apostles. Cp. 1 Cor. i. 13 — 16.
in the name of the Lord] The oldest MSS. have "in the name of
Jesus Christ."
Then prayed they him to tarry certain days] It is probable that Peter
consented to stay (see xi. 3), and thus shewed that he was prepared to
act according to the teaching of the vision. We know that afterwards
(Gal. ii. n— 13) he wavered in his determination, and was rebuked by
St Paul for so doing; but even the account of that rebuke shews us that
Peter had laid aside his Jewish prejudices in a great degree, and had

w. 1—3.] THE ACTS, XI. 139
1 — 18. The fudceo- Christians blame Peter. He makes his
defence at ferusalem.
And the apostles and brethren that were in Judea heard 11
that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And 2
when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of
the circumcision contended with him, saying, Thou wentest 3
only acted, in the way which was blamed, through the influence of some
still strict Jews who had come from Jerusalem to Antioch. St Luke is
not to be supposed to be ignorant of that wavering action of St Peter
because he does not mention it. For a similar Christian reticence, in a
like case, see xiii. 13 and note there.
XI. X — 18. The Jud^eo-Christians blame Peter. He
MAKES HIS DEFENCE AT JERUSALEM.
L the apostles and brethren... heard] The news reached them before
the return of St Peter to Jerusalem.
that the Gentiles had also received the word of God] At this news,
had there been no additional information about Peter's eating with
Cornelius, the disciples would have rejoiced, and would have welcomed
this further spread of the word, as they did (viii. 14) the conversion of
the Samaritans, but to some, who were not only Christians, but strict
observers of Jewish ritual, it was a cause of offence that Peter had con
sented to become the guest of a Gentile.
2. they that were of the circumcision] This must have been the
whole Church, at the time when the event occurred, for there were no
Christians as yet except Jews and proselytes, but St Luke's narrative
was compiled at a time when "they that were of the circumcision" had
become a distinct party, and when their influence had begun to work
division in the Christian societies. He therefore employs a name which
when he wrote was full of significance, although it had its origin only in
the circumstances to which he here applies it. Those who had been
bom Jews and knew of Jesus as conforming to the Law, and who had
not heard of Peter's vision nor seen the gift of the Holy Ghost to
Cornelius and his friends, as those who had been with Peter had done,
were to be pardoned, if their scruples caused them to question the con
duct of the Apostle at this time ; yet when they heard his story they
were satisfied (see v. 18), but many Jewish Christians elsewhere con
tinued to make this subject a cause of contention. See xv. 1.
contended with him] The verb is a very significant one. It is the
same that is used with a negative in x. 20, xi. 12, "nothing doubting,"
and xv. 9, "making no difference." The thought of these men who con
tended was that the difference between Jew and Gentile should still be
maintained, and that any close fellowship (such as was involved in living
at the same board) with those who accepted Christianity otherwise than
through the gate of submission to the Mosaic Law, should be avoided.
As the Jews in Caesarea had (x. 22) behaved towards Cornelius, before
he became a Christian, so would the Judaizing feeling have prompted

140 THE ACTS, XI. [w. 4— i2l
4 in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. But
Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and ex-
5 pounded it by order unto them, saying, I was in the city of
Joppa praying : and in a trance I saw a vision, A certain
vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from
6 heaven by four corners ; and it came even to me : upon the
which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and
saw fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and
7 creeping things, and fowls of the air. And I heard a voice
8 saying unto me, Arise, Peter ; slay and eat. But I said
Not so, Lord : for nothing common or unclean hath at any
9 time entered into my mouth. But the voice answered me
again from heaven, What God hath cleansed, that call not
jo thou common. And this was done three times : and all
" were drawn up again into heaven. And behold, imme
diately there were three men already come unto the house
™ where I was, sent from Cesarea unto me. And the Spirit
bade me go with them, nothing doubting. Moreover these
six brethren accompanied me, and we entered into the
the Church of Christ to deal with him still. And when we think on the
prejudice which, by generations of ceremonial observance, had grown up
among the Jews, we cannot wonder greatly at what they did. A whole
nation is not brought to a change of feeling in a day.
3. Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised] The expression shews
the strength of feeling against what Peter had done. The men with
whom he had mixed are not called Gentiles, but the uncircumcised, the
word of greatest reproach in the mouth of a Jew.
and didst eat with them) Among men with whom there would be no
regard to the character of the food, nor to the way in which it was pre
pared. 4. But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded ,;
it by order unto them] Better, "But Peter began and rehearsed the:!
matter in order unto them. "
6. I considered] Better, "I beheld."
11. And behold, immediately there were three men already come unto
the house where I was] With the oldest MSS. read, "And behold im
mediately three men stood before the house in which we were."
12. nothing doubting] The oldest MSS. give "making no differ
ence.'- On this change ofthe verb from the middle to the active voice,
and for a reason why Peter, after having been at Caesarea and having
heard the statement of Cornelius and seen the gift ofthe Spirit, adopted
this form in his address at Jerusalem, see x. 20 note. '
Moreover [And] these six brethren accompanied me] Those who had
been his companions to Caesarea were brought by Peter to Jerusalem,

w. 13—18.] THE ACTS, XI. 141
man's house : and he shewed us how he had seen an angel 13
in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to
Joppa, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter ; who i4
shall tell thee words, whereby thou and all thy house shall
be saved. And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell iS
on them, as on us at the beginning. Then remembered 16
I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed
baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the
Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like i7
gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus
Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God? When 18
they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified
God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted
repentance unto life.
that their testimony might support his statement, and that they might
declare to the Church what they had seen. The change in the number
of the verb in v. n, "we were" for "I was," which has the support •
of the best MSS., makes it probable that these brethren were his com
panions in the journey which he was making "throughout all quarters"
(ix. 32), and so were lodging with him at Simon's house in Joppa.
13. and he shewed us how he had seen an angel] The Greek has
"and he related to us how he had seen the angel." Before St Peter
made this defence, and long before St Luke put it down in the Acts, the
story of Cornelius and his vision would be well known, and so the
definite article would be used in speaking of it, i. c. " the angel" of whom
all men had heard.
said unto him] The oldest MSS. omit the last two words.
Send men to Joppa) " Men " is omitted in the best MSS. This is one
of the numerous insertions by which a repetition of a narrative in this
book has been brought into exact verbal accord with the previous form.
There have been times when devout men thought much of this verbal
accord. It is therefore worth notice that the writers of the N. T. disre
garded it utterly. The words in such a solemn inscription as that above
the Cross differ in all the four Gospels, and St Peter, when in the
Second Epistle (i. 17) he speaks of the heavenly voice heard at the
Transfiguration, varies verbally from each of the accounts of the
Evangelists. 15. at the beginning] i. e. at the feast of Pentecost.
16. the word of 'the Lord] Recorded above, i, .5.
17. who believed] The words refer alike to "them" and to "us,"
and so the two cases are made parallel, as in v. 15. For just as in the
case of Peter and the Apostles, their faith was existing before the gift of
the Spirit, so in Cornelius and in his companions there existed a degree
of faith, or there could have been no sincere prayer offered by them.
18. they held their peace) But though those who heard the account
of St Peter were satisfied that God had called Gentiles as well as Jews,

142 THE ACTS, XI. [w. 19—21.
19 — 26. Further spread of the Gospel as far as Antioch,
19 Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecu
tion that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice,
and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but
20 unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus
and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake
2I unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the
hand of the Lord was with them : and a great number be-
there were others who, some perhaps with a real but misguided zeal for
the Law, some, as St Paul says (Gal. vi. 13), from vain-glory, maintained
the necessity for the observance of the older covenant, and hence arose
dissensions in the Church from a very early time.
19 — 26. Further spread of the Gospel as far as Antioch.
19. about Stephen] See above, viii. 1.
as far as Phenice [Phoenicia] The district in which were the import
ant towns of Tyre and Sidon. See Dictionary ofthe Bible.
Antioch] The capital city of Syria, about 16 miles from the sea-
coast, on the river Orontes. It was the residence of the Roman pro
consul of Syria. St Paul made this his starting-point in all his three
missionary journeys. For its history see Dictionary ofthe Bible.
unto the Jews only] For they had not been warned, as Peter was,
that the time was come to carry out Christ's prophetic command
(Acts i. 8) to its fullest extent.
20. And [But] some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene) in
whose minds, from their more cosmopolitan education, there was less
scruple about mixing with Gentiles than existed among the Jews of
Palestine, the home of the nation, and by consequence the stronghold of
their prejudices.
spake unto the Grecians] The best MSS. have Greeks, and this is
clearly the correct reading. The N.T. uses Hellenists = Grecians, to
mean those Jews who had been born abroad and spoke the Greek
language, or else for proselytes, but Hellenes = Greeks, when the heathen
population is spoken of. Now it is clear that it would have been no
matter of remark had these men preached to Greek-Jews, for of them
there was a large number in the Church of Jerusalem, as we see from
the events related in chap. vi. 1, and most probably these Grecian and
Cyprian teachers were themselves Greek- Jews; but what calls for special
mention by St Luke is that they, moved perhaps by some spiritual im
pulse, addressed their preaching in Antioch to the Gentiles as well as to
the Jews.
21. And the hand of the Lord was with them) The expression is a
common one in the O. T. to express the direct interposition of God in
the affairs of the world. Cp. Exod. xiv. 31, "And Israel saw that great
work [Heb. hand) which the Lord did upon the Egyptians." So the
Egyptian magicians (Exod. viii. 19), "This is the finger of God."

w. 22—24.] THE ACTS, XI. 143
lieved, and turned unto the Lord. Then tidings of these 22
things came unto the ears of the church which was in
Jerusalem : and they sent forth Barnabas, that he should go
as far as Antioch. Who, when he came, and had seen 23
the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them all, that
with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord.
For he was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and 24
22. Then tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church
which was in Jerusalem) Better more literally, "And the report con
cerning them, &c," i.e. concerning these Gentile converts. These
events took place, and were known to the Church in Jerusalem, before
they heard ofthe visit of Peter to Cornelius. But what had happened
at Antioch caused the Church no disturbance, because' we read of no
such breaking through the restrictions of the ceremonial Law as was
made in Caesarea when Peter took up his abode with Cornelius. The
Jewish preachers mingled no further with the Gentiles to whom they
preached at Antioch than the intercourse of everyday life forced them to
do constantly.
and they senl forth Barnabas, that he should go as far as Antioch]
The oldest MSS. omit "that he should go." He was sent forth, as
Peter and John before had been sent into Samaria (viii. 14), to confirm and
give the sanction and direction of the mother Church to the work which
had begun at a new centre. Barnabas being a native of Cyprus would
most likely be well known to the Cyprians who were preaching at
Antioch, and so he was a most fit person to be selected for this
errand. 23. and had seen the grace of God] exhibited in the faith, and conse
quent turning to Christ, of these Gentiles.
¦was glad] He saw nothing in the new movement which could call
for disapproval, and that more members should be added to the Church
was a source of joy.
and exhorted them all, that with purpose of heart (in the purpose of
their heart) they would cleave unto the Lord] Their determination was
at present formed, and they had turned to the Lord ; the purport of
Barnabas' exhortation was that continuing in the same determination
they should hold fast their faith and allow nothing to shake their attach
ment to Christ. The heathen converts to Christianity had much to
endure for Christ's sake, and to the weak there were many temptations
to relapse.
24. full of the Holy Ghost and of faith] The same character is given
to Stephen (vi. 5), and a man of like character with that most eminent
among the Greek-Jews would exert much influence in Antioch, where
Greeks and Greek- Jews were the chief part of the population. It was
in consequence of the persecution after Stephen's death that these
preachers had come to Antioch, and some of them were probably of
those Grecians who had been forward in the work for whiph Stephen
was martyred.

144

THE ACTS, XI. [w. 25—27.

of faith : and much people was added unto the Lord.
H Then departed Bamabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul : and
when he had found him, he brought him unto Antioch.
And it came to pass, that a whole year they assembled-
themselves with the church, and taught much people, and
the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
27 — 30. Agabus at Antioch foretells a famine, and in con
sequence the Church at Antioch sends relief to ferusalem.
27 And in these days came prophets from Jerusalem unto
and much people was added unto the Lord] The sanction of the
Church of Jerusalem to what had been done, as it was given by the joy
and encouraging words of the " Son of Consolation," would quicken the
zeal of these already earnest labourers for Christ.
25. Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus] The oldest MSS. omit
"Barnabas." Read, "And he went forth to Tarsus."
for to seek Saul] that he, to whom the Lord had appeared, and who
had been marked as a "chosen vessel " (ix. ij) to bear the name of Christ
before the Gentiles, might come with him to share in this new work df
preaching to the Gentiles at Antioch.
26. a whole year] This long period, spent with success in the first
field where the preaching to the Gentiles had begun, will account for the
constant return to Antioch after each missionary journey of the Apostle
of the Gentiles. He had preached at Damascus and at Jerusalem,
but it was always with his life in his hand. At Antioch he first found
a quiet Church with a wide scope for all his earnestness.
and the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch) It is most
probable that this name was given them by the heathen in ridicule.
The disciples of Jesus never give it to themselves, and as the use of it
would imply that those who bore it were the followers of the Messiah,
the Christ, it is certain it would not be given to them by the Jews. The
reason for a new distinctive term is apparent. When these new Gentile
converts were joined to the Church of Antioch, none of the former
distinctive appellations would embrace the whole body. They were no
longer all Nazarenes or Galilaeans or Greek -Jews, and as to the people
of Antioch they probably seemed a strange medley, they would not be
unlikely to apply to them such a hybrid form as " Christian," a Greek
word with a Latin termination. The name is probably used in mockery
by Agrippa (Acts xxvi. 28), "With but little persuasion thou wouldest
fain make me a Christian," but in the only other and later instance ofthe
use of the name in the N. T. (1 Pet. iv. 1 6) we can see that what had been
at first a taunt had soon come to be a name in which to glory, "If
any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed."
27 — 30. Agabus at Antioch foretells a famine, and in
consequence the church at antioch sends relief to
Jerusalem.
27. And in these days] i.e. while the Church at Antioch was being

w. 28— 30.] THE ACTS, XI. H5
Antioch. . And there stood up one of them named Agabus, 28
and signified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth
throughout all the world :¦ which came to pass in the days
of Claudius Cesar. Then the disciples, every man accord- 29
ing to his ability, determined to send relief unto the
increased with a great multitude of Gentile converts, during the year's
residence there of Barnabas and Saul.
came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch] That there should be
prophets in the Church was but the fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel
which Peter had quoted in his Pentecostal sermon (ii. 1 7). We cannot
gather from the N. T. records any clear description of what office is to
be understood by the word "prophet." The men to whom it is applied
are sometimes occupied in preaching and explaining the Word of God,
and sometimes have the power of foretelling future events, as Agabus
did here. See Acts xiii. 1, xv. 32, xix. 6, xxi. 9, 10; Rom. xii. 6;
1 Cor. xii. 10, 28, 29, xiii. 2, 8, xiv. 6, 29 — 37.
28. one of them named Agabus] He is mentioned again xxi. 10,
where by a significant action, as well as by his words, he foretells the
imprisonment of St Paul at Jerusalem.
and signified by the Spirit] So too xxi. 1 1, the words of Agabus are,
"Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the
man that owneth this girdle. "
great dearth] This famine is mentioned by Josephus (Antiq. XX. 2. 5),
who tells how Helena, queen of Adiabene, being at Jerusalem, suc
coured the people by procuring for them corn from Alexandria and a
cargo of figs from Cyprus. The date of this severe famine was
A.D. 45.
throughout all the world) Though one region might be specially
afflicted by the failure of its crops^ all the rest of the Roman empire
would be sure to suffer in some degree at the same time, and especially
when famines were, as at this time, of frequent recurrence.
in the days of Claudius Cesar] The oldest MSS. omit "Csesar."
The reign of Claudius (a.d. 41 — 54) was remarkable for the famines
with which various parts of the empire were afflicted. The first,
second, fourth, ninth and eleventh years of this Emperor's reign are
recorded as years of famine in some district or other. See Suetonius,
Claudius, 28; Tacitus, Ann. XII. 43; Josephus, Antiq. XX. 2. 5, Dio
Cassius ix. p. 949, Euseb. H. E. 11. 8.
29. Then the disciples] i.e. ofthe Church of Antioch.
relief unto the brethren which dwelt in Judea] No doubt the Christian
Church in Judaea would be much impoverished. At first the poorer con
verts had been sustained by the common fund, but persecution had driven
away great numbers of the Christians, and those would be most likely
to depart who possessed means to support themselves in other places.
Thus the mother-church would be deprived of those members who
were best able to give relief in such a severe time of distress.
30. to the elders] The Greek word =presbyters. This is the first time
we come upon the term in the Christian history. In xx. 17 they are again

146 THE ACTS, XI. XII. [vv. 30; 1—3.
30 brethren which dwelt in Judea : which also they did, and
sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and SauL
1 — 12. Herod' s persecution of the Church. Peter's
miraculous deliverance from prison.
12 Now about that time Herod the king stretched forth his
2 hands to vex certain of the church. And be killed James
3 the brother of John with the sword. And because he saw
mentioned and there called "presbyters," though in the same narra
tive (v. 28) they are termed "overseers," episcopoi, i.e. bishops. No
doubt at first the office of elder or presbyter comprised, beside the work
of teaching, the general oversight of one, or it may be more, Churches.
As the Church increased in numbers these duties were separated and the
general superintendence and control assigned to one who was called
overseer or bishop.
by the hands of Barnabas and Saul] The character and labours of
these had marked them out as the most fit men to be bearers of this
help, and it was from Jerusalem that Barnabas had been sent at first to
Antioch. XII. 1 — 12. Herod's persecution of the Church.
Peter's miraculous deliverance from prison.
1. Now about that time) The events here narrated must have
shortly preceded Herod's death, and so the chronological note here given
must refer to some date near A.D. 43.
Herod the king) This was Herod Agrippa I. He was the son of
Aristobulus and grandson of Herod the Great. See Dictionary ofthe
Bible. stretched forth his hands to vex (injure) certain of the church] Agrippa,
according to Josephus (xix. 7. 3), was anxious to be esteemed a devout
Jew : " He loved to live continually at Jerusalem, and was exactly care
ful in the observance of the laws of his country. He therefore kept
himself entirely pure, nor did any day pass over his head without its
appointed sacrifice." Such a man might easily be roused, by the Jews
whom he was so anxious to please, to the perpetration of cruelties upon
the Christians.
2. And he killed James the brother of John] One of the two sons of
Zebedee, who had been among the three specially favoured disciples of
Jesus. It is therefore likely that he would take a leading part in the
labours of the Church, and so Agrippa's attention would be drawn to
him as a proper person to be first struck down. All the accusations
which had been laid against Stephen, that the Christian leader spake
against the Temple and the Law, would be used with effect to such a
' zealous observer of Mosaic ritual as Herod Agrippa was.
with the sword] This was the third in order of the modes of execu
tion appointed among the Jews. These are stoning, burning, decapitation,

w. 4, 5.] THE ACTS, XII. 147
it pleased the Jews, he proceeded further to take Peter also.
(Then were the days of unleavened bread.) And when he 4
had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered
him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him ; intending
after Easter to bring him forth to the people. Peter there- 5
and strangulation. In connection with the execution of James the
words of the Mishna are interesting: "The manner of putting to death
by the sword is as follows: the man's head is cut off with the sword as
is wont to be done by royal command." See Surenhusius on Sanhedrin
p. 238 (misprinted 248), where there is a discussion about the position
of the prisoner, whether he should stand erect or have his head on a
block. 3. And because he saw it pleased the Jews] Which was so great
an object with him. This Josephus notices (Antiq. XIX. 7. 3), for, com
paring Agrippa with the Herod who ruled before him, he mentions that
the latter "was more friendly to the Greeks than to the Jews," in which
matter he says Agrippa "was not at all like him."
he proceeded further to take Peter also] The Greek is a rendering of a
common Hebrew form. Literally, "he added to take Peter also."
Peter was the other most conspicuous figure among the twelve, for John,
as in his Gospel he keeps himself from view under the designation ' ' that
other disciple " (John xx. 2, 3, xxi. 20, 23), so in the work of the early
Church he is but little noticed after the first persecution at Jerusalem.
Then were the days of unleavened bread] Literally, "and those were,"
&c. The expression refers to the whole feast, as may be seen from
Luke xxii. 1, " The feast of unleavened bread, which is called the Pass
over." 4. And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison] To
keep him a prisoner till the termination of the feast.
and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep [guard] him]
A quaternion was a set of four men,* which number was at one time
occupied in the work of the guard, two soldiers being chained to the
prisoner, and two keeping guard outside. These latter are called (v.
10) " the first and second ward." There were four such sets appointed
to have charge of Peter, one company for each of the four watches by
day and by night
intending after Easier (the Passover)] The rendering " Easter " is an
attempt to give by an English word the notion of the whole feast. That
this meaning and not the single day of the Paschal feast is intended by
the Greek seems clear from the elaborate preparation made, as for a
longer imprisonment than was the rule among the Jews. Peter was
arrested at the commencement ofthe Passover feast (14th of Nisan), and
the king's intention was to proceed to sentence and punish him when
the feast was at an end on the 2 1st of Nisan.
to bring him forth to the people] that they might take notice ofthe zeal
for Judaism which would be shewn by the sentence passed upon Peter.
The verb is employed by St Luke about the trial of Jesus (Luke xxii.
66), "As soon as it was day... they led him into their council."

148 THE ACTS, XII. [vv. 6-8.
fore was kept in prison : but prayer was made without
6 ceasing of the church unto God for him. And when Herod
would have brought him forth, the same night Peter was
sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains : and
7 the keepers before the door kept the prison. And behold,^
the angel of the Lord came upon him, and a light shined in
the prison : and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him
up, saying, Arise up quickly. And his chains fell off from
s his hands. And the angel said unto him, Gird thyself, and
5. Peter therefore was kept in prison] Another indication of the
longer duration of the imprisonment, and that he was not arrested on
the day of the Paschal sacrifice with the purpose of being brought forth
on the morning ofthe 15th of Nisan, as some have maintained.
but prayer was made without ceasing [earnestly] ofthe church unto God
for him] The same Greek word is used in the description of our Lord's
prayer (Luke xxii. 44), " Being in an agony he prayed more earnestly!' %
The prayers of the Church were offered by assemblies of Christians
meeting in various private houses (see v. 12), for the persecution would
now render public Christian services dangerous, as we know was often
the case in the early days of Christianity.
6. And when Herod would have brought him forth] Literally, "was
about to bring him forth," and this should be expressed, because it is an
additional note of the delay and lapse of time between the arrest and the
intended punishment.
and the keepers before the door] Read, "and guards before the door,"
i. e. the two soldiers of the quaternion who were not chained to the
prisoner. 7. And behold, the [an] angel ofthe Lord came upon him] The verb
is the same which is used (Luke ii. 9) of the angel appearing to the
shepherds. The idea conveyed is that the heavenly visitor appeared
over those to whom he was sent. The passage just quoted continues
"and the glory of the Lord shone round about them," words which
are strikingly parallel with this description of St Peter's release, "and
a light shined in the prison."
in the prison) The word is not the same as in the last verse. To
make the distinction clear read here " cell "or " chamber. " The light
was due to the presence of the angel who came with the glory of the
Lord. and he smote Peter on the side, and raised him up) Rather, roused
him up. The verb indicates that he awoke him from his sleep, but not
that he helped him to arise.
8. Gird thyself] A binding up of the loose Oriental robe, so as to
be fit for expeditious movement. Thus the Passover was to be eaten
(Exod. xii. 11) as if by persons prepared to depart at once. So Gehazi
was bidden (2 Kings iv. 29) to make himself ready for his journey*
the house of the Shunammite.

vv. g— 12.] THE ACTS, XII. 149
bind on thy sandals. And so he did. And he saith unto
him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow me. And 9
he went out, and followed him ; and wist not that it was
true which was done by the angel ; but thought he saw a
vision. When they were past the first and the second ward, 10
they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto the city;
which opened to them of his own accord : and they went
out, and passed on through one street ; and forthwith the
angel departed from him. And when Peter was come to u
himself, he said, Now I know of a surety, that the Lord
hath sent his angel, and hath delivered me out of the hand
of Herod, and from all the expectation of the people of the
Jews. And when he had considered the thing, he came 12
to the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname
was Mark ; where many were gathered together praying.
Cast thy garment about thee] The Greek word signifies the outer
dress as distinguished from the under tunic.
10. Whenthey were past the first and the secondward] i. e. the warders,
who were stationed one nearer to the inner door of the prison and
another at some further distance away.
they came unto the iron gate that leadeth unto [into] the city] This
description, with the words which immediately follow about the street
into which they came, make it probable that the prison in which Peter
was kept was in the midst of the city.
which opened to them of his own accord] It is better to discard in
sentences like the present the old English form "his" and read "its."
" His " was good and almost the only English use when the A. V. was
made, but is now obsolete.
For the expression " of its own accord" cp. Lev. xxv. 5, "Thatwhich
groweth of its own accord;" Wisdom xvii. 6, "A fire kindled of itself,"
where, as here, what is meant is that there was no human agency em
ployed in what was done.
the angel departed from him] Leaving the other steps, in which su
pernatural aid was unnecessary, to be taken by the Apostle of himself.
11. And when Peter was come to himself] This and other sub
jective features of the narrative shew that the account must have been
derived from St Peter himself. No one else could describe the astonish
ment and the after realization that all was truly enacted and no vision.
all the expectation of the people ofthe Jews] Whose gratification at
the death of James had been great, and who now hoped to see another
of the Apostles put to death.
12. And when he had considered the thing] Rather, " when he
comprehended it." At first he had been "like them that dream"
(Ps. cxxvi. 1) at his deliverance from captivity, but at length his mind
grasped the whole truth and he could act upon it.
Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark] This Mary

150 THE ACTS, XII. [vv. 13 — 16. •
1 3 — 1 g. Surprise ofthe brethren, and anger of Herod.
13 And as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a damsel
m came to hearken, named Rhoda. And when she knew
Peter's voice, she opened not the gate for gladness, but ran
15 in, and told how Peter stood before the gate. And they
said unto her, Thou art mad. But she constantly affirmed ¦
•6 that it was even so. Then said they, It is his angel. But
Peter continued knocking : and when they had opened the .
was sister to Barnabas, as we learn Col. iv. 10, where Mark is called
sister's son to Barnabas. This relationship accounts for the way in
which the uncle clung to his nephew, even when St Paul declined to
have Mark as a companion on their second proposed missionary journey.
We do not read of the father of Mark anywhere, so it is probable that
Mary was a widow, and, like her brother, was possessed of means which
enabled her to put a house, or a part thereof, at the service of the
Church, as a meeting-place for prayer.
gathered together praying) The Greek has " and praying." The in
troduction of the conjunction seems to indicate not that this was a
special or solitary occasion when the disciples were gathered at the
house of Mary, but rather that this house was a place in which such
gatherings were usual, and at the time when Peter was delivered such
an assembly was there and making supplication (v. 5) for his deliver
ance. 13 — 19. Surprise of the brethren, and anger of Herod.
13. at the door ofthe gate] The first named is the wicket which was
opened for anyone's admission; the second is the porch into which
admission was obtained by the small door.
a damsel came to hearken] Perhaps we have here a trace of the
danger which at this time surrounded the disciples from this zeal for
Judaism on the part of Herod. Saul had entered into every house and
carried off men and women to prison (viii. 3), and there was a prospect
of a like persecution. So Rhoda was not minded to open till she knew
who was seeking for admission.
14. And when she knew Peter's voice] We know that his speech
was the cause of his being recognized on a previous occasion (Matt. xxvi.
73)- she opened not the gate for gladness) Cp. with this action the de
scription of the disciples (Luke xxiv. 41) when they recognized Jesus,
" they believed not for joy."
15. she constantly affirmed) i.e. confidently, with determination;
which was the old meaning of the word in the A. V. Cp. Frith, Workts,
Life, foi. 3, "he so constantly defended himself, that he had prevailed,
if he might have been heard."
It is his angel] The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews (i. 14)
expresses in part the opinion of the Jews concerning angels when he

w. 17, 1 8.] THE ACTS, XII.

iSi

door, and saw him, they were astonished. But he, beckon- 17
ing unto them with the hand to hold their peace, declared
unto them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison.
And he said, Go shew these things unto James, and to
the brethren. And he departed, and went into another
place. Now as soon as it was day, there was no small 18
asks, "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for
them who shall be heirs of salvation?" The Jewish belief was that each
man had a guardian angel assigned to him. Cp. Midrash Rabbah on
Eccles. iv. 4, where it is said that "six hundred thousand of the angels of
the presence came down on Sinai at the giving of the Law, and each one
bore a crown to crown Israel, one for each Israelite." Cp. also our
Lord's language (Matt, xviii. io).
17. the Lord had brought him out of the prison] Which had been his
exclamation when he came to himself, ' ' The Lord hath sent his
angel. "
Go shew] There is only one verb in the Greek, which signifies
"to bear word." This the A.V. has attempted to render fully by the
two verbs.
unto James] This is no doubt the James who is afterwards (xv. 13)
described as presiding over the council at Jerusalem concerning circum
cision, and giving his sentence on that question. Thus he seems to
have been at the head' of the Church at Jerusalem, and to him it was
natural for Peter to send the first news of his deliverance.
This James must have been either the son of Alphaeus or the James
who is one of the Lord's brethren, but it is not easy to decide whether the
persons called by these names were one and the same. It seems how
ever safest not to identify the Apostle, James the son of Alphaeus, with
the Lord's brother, for these brethren of Jesus did not believe in Him
till a very late period of His ministerial life, long after the twelve were
chosen. But the James in our narrative is probably the Lord's brother,
because St Paul gives to the James who was one of the pillars of the
Church at Jerusalem (Gal. ii. 9) when St Paul visited that city, the
express title of "the Lord's brother " (Gal. i. 19). This James, bishop
of Jerusalem, was, as we learn from a tradition preserved by Eusebius
[H. E. II. 23), cast clown from the pinnacle of the Temple, whither the
Jews had brought him, in the expectation that he would disown Christ.
' When, on the contrary, he still held to his belief, he was thrown down,
and not being killed by the fall, was slain by a blow from the club of a
fuller. and to the brethren] Though it was in the middle of the night when
his deliverance took place, Peter sends to the various centres where, as
in the house of Mary, prayer was also being offered to God for his
deliverance. went into another place] The peril of death was so imminent, if he
had been seized, that he takes refuge by hiding where he cannot be
found. The times are altered since the day when after his former

152 THE ACTS, XII. [w. 19, 20,
19 stir among the soldiers, what was become of Peter. And
when Herod had sought for him, and found him not, he
examined the keepers, and commanded that they should be
put to death. And he went down from Judea to Cesarea,
and there abode.
20 — 25. Death of Herod Agrippa 1 \ Growth of the
Church.
;o And Herod was highly displeased with them of Tyre and
Sidon : but they came with one accord to him, and having
deliverance he could dare to go and speak in the day-dawn to the
people in the Temple. Then the populace were a protection to the
Church, and saved them from violence of the authorities, now the Jewish
people are in expectation of a second execution.
18. stir among the soldiers] For the guards who had been chained
to the prisoner would discover as soon as they awoke, that he had
escaped from between them, and they would know that their lives would
probably answer for the life of Peter.
19. commanded that they should be put to death] The Greek is
literally, "commanded that they should be led forth," implying how
ever that such a proceeding was the prelude to their execution. It is
the verb so often rendered "lead away" in the accounts which the
Gospels give of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus.
And he went down from Judea to Cesarea, and there abode] By
Caligula there had been conferred on Herod Agrippa the tetrarchies of
Herod, Philip and Lysanias mentioned Luke iii. 1. He afterwards
received the tetrarchy of Antipas, and was honoured with the title of
king. He therefore, and hot a Roman governor, was in power at
Caesarea at this date, for Josephus tells us (Antiq. xx. 8. 2) that he had
received from Claudius Judaea and Samaria, in addition to the districts
over which he had ruled under Caligula.
20—25. Death of Herod Agrippa I. Growth of the
Church.
20. And Herod was highly displeased] The oldest MSS. omit Herod.
Read, "Now he," &c. The verb implies a deep-seated feeling of anger,
It is not found elsewhere in the N.T.
with them of Tyre and Sidon] They were still seats of maritime
industry, and perhaps Herod's regard for the people of Berytus (Beyrout),
another Phoenician seaport a little north of Sidon, may have been con
nected as cause or effect with his anger at the people of the two older
cities. Josephus (xix. 7. 5) gives an account of splendid buildings
which this king provided for Berytus. It is clear that the way in which
the royal anger had made itself felt was one which interfered with th|j!
commercial prosperity of Tyre and Sidon.
but they came with one accord to him] i. e. they joined in a common

w. 21— 24.] THE ACTS, XII. 153
made Blastus the king's chamberlain their friend, desired
peace; because their country was nourished by the king's
country. And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal 21
apparel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto
them. And the people gave a shout, saying, ft is the voice 22
of a god, and not of a man. And immediately the , angel 23
of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory :
and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. But 24
embassy and sent persons from both towns to make representations and
use their influence to appease Herod's anger.
Blastus the king's chamberlain] Probably, as his name implies, some
Roman who had taken office under this Eastern king who rejoiced in
the favour of the Roman Emperor.
desired (asked for) peace] We are not to understand from these
words that Agrippa was making war on Tyre and Sidon, but only
that he was on unfriendly terms with them and was impeding their
trade. nourished by the king's country] The extent of Herod's rule was very
great, and if he encouraged another port, and made regulations by which
traffic was diverted from the towns of Tyre and Sidon, it was in his
power to take away from them at least one-half of the commerce which
was their support.
21. And upon a set day] The day was one appointed (as Josephus
tells us) for holding a festival on which to make vows for Caesar's safety.
Herod, arrayed (having arrayed himself) in royctl apparel) See the
extract from Josephus given below.
23. And immediately the (an) angel ofthe Lord smote him. ..and he was
eaten of worms) Cp. the fate of Antiochus Epiphanes (2 Mace. ix. 9),
and Herod the Great's death (Josephus, Ant. xvii. 6. 5). The passage
in which Josephus describes these events is so important in its bearing
on the N. Test, narrative that it deserves to be read in its entirety. He
writes (Antiq. XIX. 8. 2), "Now when Agrippa had reigned three years
over all Judaea, he came to the city Caesarea, which was formerly called
Strato's Tower, and there he exhibited shows in honour of Caesar, upon
his being informed that there was a certain festival celebrated to make
vows for his safety. At which festival a great multitude was gotten
together of the principal persons and such as were of dignity through
out his province. On the second day of which shows he put on a gar
ment made wholly of silver and of a contexture truly wonderful, and
came into the theatre early in the morning, at which time the silver of
his garment being illuminated by the fresh reflexion of the sun's rays
upon it, shone out after a surprising manner, and was so resplendent as
to spread a dread and shuddering over those that looked intently upon
it, and presently his flatterers cried out, one from one place and another
from another (though not for his good) that he was a god. And they
added 'Be thou merciful to us, for although we have hitherto reverenced
thee only as a man yet shall we henceforth own thee as superior to
acts 1 2

154 THE ACTS, XII. [v. 24.
mortal nature.' Upon this the King did neither rebuke them nor
reject their impious flattery. But as he presently afterwards looked up
he saw an owl sitting upon a certain rope over his head, and im
mediately understood that this bird was the messenger of ill tidings, as
it had once been the messenger of good tidings to him ; and fell into
the deepest sorrow. A violent pain also arose in his belly, having begun!
with great severity. He therefore looked upon his friends and said, 'I
whom you call a god, am commanded presently to depart this life, while
Providence thus reproves the lying words you just now said to me; and
I who was called by you immortal am immediately to be hurried away by
death. But I am bound to accept what Providence allots as it pleases God,
for we have by no means lived ill, but in a splendid and happy manner.'
When he had said this his pain became violent. Accordingly he was
carried into the palace, and the rumour went abroad everywhere that
he would certainly die in a little time  And when he had been
quite worn out by the pain in his bowels for five days he departed this
life." We can see from this extract that among the throng who flattered
Herod, there were some who were suing for mercy to be shewn to
them ; that the day was a set day, that Herod was clad in royal robes,
that the flattery consisted in calling him a god, that he did not rebuke
them ; that he was stricken immediately so that he had to be carried to
his palace, that he acknowledged that the stroke came from God as a
rebuke for accepting such flattery, and everybody expected him to die at
once. With reference to the latter portion in which Josephus speaks of a
violent pain increasing in vehemence very rapidly, and the N. Test, says
he was eaten of worms ; it is noticeable that, in the account of the death
of Antiochus, already alluded to, we have these two features of the same
disease mentioned and that they are described separately. First, 2 Mace
ix. J, "The Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, smote him with an in
curable and invisible plague, for as soon as he had spoken these words a
pain of the bowels that was remediless came upon him and sore torments
of the inner parts." Then after a verse or two describing the pride of
Antiochus we read, "So that the worms rose up out of the body of
this wicked man."
Josephus (by whom Herod, as one who favoured Jews, was regarded
as of no bad character, and was moreover looked upon with an eye of
admiration as having been raised to the highest pitch of power through
Roman influence, to which Josephus himself was very ready to pay
court) has merely described the form in which the malady made it
self apparent at first, and has left out the more loathsome details from
the death story of one who in his eyes was a great king; while Holy
Writ has given the fuller account, because the object of the writer ofthe
Acts was to emphasize in all its enormity the sin for which Josephus
tells us that Herod himself felt that he was stricken. The points of
accord in the two accounts are so many, and the difference so slight and
so easy to be accounted for, that this extract from Josephus must always
be regarded as a most weighty testimony to the historic accuracy and
faithfulness of St Luke's narrative. For other instances of death by

w. 25; I.] THE ACTS, XII. XIII. 155
the word of God grew and multiplied. And Barnabas and 23
Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their
ministry, and took with them John, whose surname was
Mark. 1 — 12. Beginning of SauPs first Missionary journey. He
visits Cyprus.
Now there were in the church that was at Antioch cer- 13
tain prophets and teachers ; as Barnabas, and Simeon that
was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen,
this loathsome malady, see Herodotus iv. 205; Eusebius viii. 16;
Tertullian ad Scapul. hi. A similar account is given of the death of
Philip II. of Spain.
24. But the word of God grew and multiplied] Cp. vi. 7 and xix.
20. "The seed is the word," said Christ, and so the Christian historian
tells us that the word was as seed, when it was cast forth diligently it
waxed and brought forth fruit.
25, And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem] i.e. to their
labours among the Gentile converts in Antioch.
when they had fulfilled their ministry [ministration] viz., the giving
into the care of the Church the contributions of the disciples in Antioch
for the support of their brethren in Judaea during the famine which
Agabus had foretold (xi. 28).
John, whose surname was Mark] See above on v. 12.
XIII. 1—12. Beginning of Saul's first Missionary
JOURNEY. HE VISITS CYPRUS.
1. Now there were in the church that was at Antioch] Rather,
"Now there were at Antioch in the church that was there."
We now come to the history of those three great journeys which the
Apostle of the Gentiles undertook in his special work. It is fitting that
the point of departure should be Antioch, the city in which Gentiles had
first in large numbers been joined to the Church, and where as yet
there had risen no difficulty about the way in which they were re
ceived. prophets and teachers] Cp- ii. 17. The prophecy of Joel was now to
receive a wider fulfilment.
Simeon that was called Niger] The first name points out the man as
of Jewish origin, and the second is a Latin adjective = black, which may
have been assumed, or given to him, as a name from his dark complexion.
Jews were, and are still, in the habit of having another name beside their
national one, for use when they mixed among foreign nations.
Lucius of Cyrene] This name is Latin, though his birthplace or
home may indicate that he was one ofthe Jews who abounded in Cyrene
and the other parts of the North of Africa. Perhaps it is he who is
mentioned in Rom. xvi. 21.
e. Menahem. This name is Jewish, and is found in

156 THE ACTS, XIII. [w. 2, 3.
which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and
2 Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the
Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the
3 work whereunto I have called them. And when they had
fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent
Josephus (Antiq. xv. 10. 5) as the name of an Essene who foretold that "
Herod the Great would become king. It may well be that the name
became, when the prophecy had received its fulfilment, a favourite one
among those who were attached to or favoured the rulers of the Herodian
family. which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch] Rather, "foster-
brother of Herod, &c.^' The Vulgate gives "collactaneus." Herod fie
Tetrarch (Antipas) had a brother Archelaus by the same mother. Manaen
would hardly be said to have "been brought up with" one brother and
not with the other.
The various connections and nationalities of the men who are here
named, are worthy to be noticed when we reflect on the work which
was to have its beginning from Antioch. One a Cypriote, another a
Cyrenian, another, a Jew, but from his double name accustomed to mix
among non-Jews, one a connection of the Idumean house of Herod,
and Saul the heaven-appointed Apostle of the Gentiles, the list may be
deemed in some sort typical of "all the world," into which the Gospel
was now to go forth.
2. As they ministered to the Lord] The word is the one usually
employed by the LXX. for the ministerial services in the Temple, as.it
is also Heb. x. 11, but the parallelism with the next verse, where the
service here mentioned is described as "fasting ixndprayer," shews us that
we are not to attach the former strict signification to it. Such has been
the mind of the Church also, for from this verb comes our word
"Liturgy." The old order is giving place to the new, and the termin
ology is receiving a new sense.
and fasted] as a solemn act of devotion in the prospect of the work
which was before them.
the Holy Ghost said) Speaking to and through the prophets who
were there.
Separate me Barnabas and Saul] Saul had from the first been a
"vessel of election," and so specially severed for this work, and we can
see why Barnabas, who had been the first to introduce Saul to the
Church at Jerusalem, and whose education may have been very like his
own, (for there was much inter-communication between Cyprus and
Tarsus,) was appointed to be the sharer of Saul's labours.
for the work whereunto I have called them] As the one portion of
this admonition was from the Holy Ghost, we may perhaps be warranted
in concluding that the whole course of this first great missionary journey
was pointed out also by the Spirit. There is no notice of a delibera
tion in the Church about the best way for the Apostles to set forth.
¦5. This verse implies a solemn dedication service at the end of the

w.4— 7-3 THE ACTS, XIII. 157
them away. So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, 4
departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to
Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they preached 5
the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews : and they
had also John to their minister. And when they had gone 6
through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer,
a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus : which 7
ministration and fasting with which the devotions of the Church had
commenced. 4. sent forth by tlie Holy Ghost] A repetition which marks the
solemn character which St Luke and also his informant attached to this
new form of the Christian work.
unto Seleucia] which was the seaport of Antioch at the mouth of the
Orontes. See Dictionary ofthe Bible.
and from thence they sailed to Cyprus) Probably, if not specially
directed, the missionary'Apostles were induced to take this route be
cause Cyprus was the birthplace of one of them, and there were in the
island already many Jews resident, and also some Cypriote Christians
(xi. 20), who perhaps had been in Jerusalem at the feast of Pentecost
among the various nationalities then assembled, and who had, when
driven away by persecution, turned their steps homeward and preached
Jesus to their fellow-countrymen (xi. 19).
5. And when they were at Salamis) Salamis was the nearest port of
Cyprus for voyagers from Seleucia. It is at the eastern end of the island
in the bay which is now called Famagousta.
in the synagogues ofthe Jews] who were living in Salamis in sufficient
numbers to need several synagogues.
they had also John to [as] their minister] This is John Mark, the
nephew of Barnabas. His office may have been to baptize, from which
service the Apostles seem to have refrained where it was possible (see
above on x. 48). But there is perhaps also implied in the word rendered
"minister" some degree of the same service which in old times Elisha
rendered to Elijah (2 Kings iii. n). The same Greek word is used for
the minister in a synagogue (Luke iv. 20).
6. And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos] Probably
teaching at other places in the same way as they had done in Salamis.
Paphos was the capital of Cyprus, and therefore the residence of the
Roman governor. It was the more modern city, not the old city of
Paphos, to which Paul and Barnabas came. See Dictionary of Bible.
they found a certain sorcerer [magician], a false prophet, a Jew] That
there were living among the Jews persons well known as pretenders to
magic powers we can see from a story told T. B. Berakhoth 59 a, of a
certain Rab Katina who, in his walk, as he was passing the door of one
who was known as a professor of witchcraft and magic arts, felt a slight
shock of an earthquake. He thereupon called out and asked "Does this
wizard diviner, know what that shock is ? " Upon this the man cried with
a sanctimonious promptness worthy of his profession, ' ' In the hour when

158 THE ACTS, XIII. [vv.8,9.
was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent
man ; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to
s hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so
is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to
9 turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also
the Holy One, blessed be He, remembers His children who dwell in
sorrow among the nations of the world, He lets fall two tears into the
great sea, and that is the cause of the tremor of the earth." Chaldaan
astrologers and impostors are mentioned by Juvenal (VI. 561;
XIV. 248) and Horace (Sat. I. 2. 1) and by many other Latin writers,
and these were probably Babylonian Jews. See Lucian, Necyomantia,„
where u. wonderful story is told of a magician named Mithrobarzanes.
Also Lucian, Philopseudes, where one of the wonder-workers is described
as "a Syrian from Palestine."
Bar-jesus] This was his Jewish name. The Arabic name or title
Elymas=wise, was a self-assumed designation; and for that reason he
is called " Magus " = the magician, a name originally applied to the
Persian priests, who were deemed the wise men of the realm both in
policy and religion, though their title in after times was degraded to
baser arts and persons.
7. which was with the deputy of the country [proconsul], Sergius
Paulus] Under Augustus the Roman provinces were divided into two
classes, one class of which (needing the presence of troops for their
government, and the possession of which gave the Emperor the control
of the army) was called imperatorial, while the others were called
senatorial provinces. The former were governed by an officer named
proprietor, the latter by a. proconsul. We know from Dio Cassilis
(liii. 12) that Cyprus was originally an imperatorial province, and
therefore under a propraetor. This also Strabo confirms (xiv. 685), but
says that Augustus made it over to the people along with Cyprus and
part of Galatia, and took instead of these Dalmatia for one of his pro
vinces. So that the government was at St Paul's visit held by a pro
consul for the Roman Senate, as is here recorded ; and this is another
instance of the historic faithfulness of St Luke's record.
Of Sergius Paulus we know nothing, but the opportunities now
afforded, by the English occupation of Cyprus, for the investigation of
the antiquities of the island, may lead to some discovery of his name and
office in coin or inscription.
a prudent man] The presence of Elymas among his staff shews that
the proconsul was a man of enquiring mind, and the same is displayed
by his desire to hear Barnabas and Saul.
8. seeking to turn away [aside] the deputy [proconsul] from the faith]
Sergius had not yet accepted the doctrine of the Apostles, though we
may presume that both he and Elymas had heard much about their
teaching since their landing at Salamis. Report going before had
roused the proconsul's curiosity and the magician's fear, and the wish of
the latter was to divert the attention of Sergius, that he might not send
for the new teachers,

w. io, u.] THE ACTS, XIII. 159
is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on
him, and said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou 10
child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou
not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now n
behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt
be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately
9. Then [But] Saul, who also is called Paul] The proconsul had
been determined in his purpose, and Saul had come before him. At
this point we first meet the name by which the great Apostle is best
known throughout the Christian Church, and many reasons have been
given why he assumed this name, and why at this time. - Some have
thought that the name was adopted from the proconsul's, his first
convert of distinction, but this is utterly alien to all we know of the
character of St Paul, with his sole glory in the cross of Christ. Far
more likely is he to have been attracted to it, if it were not his before,
by the meaning of the Latin word (paullus— little) and its fitness to be
the name of him who called himself the least of the Apostles. But
perhaps he only did what other Jews were in the habit of doing when
they went into foreign lands, and chose him a name of some significance
(for the Jews were fond of names with a meaning) among those with
whom he was about to mix. Dean Howson (Life and Letters of St
Paul, 1. p. 164) compares Jose — Jason; Hillel — Julus, and probably the
similarity of sound did often guide the choice of such a name, and it
may have been so with the Apostle's selection. St Luke, recognizing
that the history of St Paul is now to be his chief theme and that the
work for which he was separated was now begun, names the Apostle
henceforth only by the name which became most current in the
. Churches. filled with the Holy Ghost] So that the punishment inflicted on
Elymas was dictated to the Apostle by the Spirit, and he knew from
the inward prompting thereof, that what he spake would come to pass.
set [fastened] his eyes on him] For Elymas was standing by, doubt
less ready to catch at anything which he might be able to turn to the
discredit ofthe Apostles.
10. enemy of all righteousness] We may judge from this expression
that St Paul recognized an earnest zeal for truth in the enquiries of the
proconsul, and that his wrath against Elymas was not only for what he
was doing at the present time, but for his long-continued leading astray
of those who were desirous to know the ways of the Lord.
11. the hand of the Lord] Of the Jehovah whose ways he had per
verted, for it could only have been after the Jewish faith that Sergius
Paulus had made his enquiries of Elymas, who instead of teaching him
to know the Lord, seduced him by his own pretensions. For the ex
pression cp. Exod. ix. 3 and Judges iL 15, " The hand of the Lord was
against them for evil."
for a season] The punishment inflicted on Elymas is lighter than that
ef Ananias and Sapphira, because in their case the hypocrisy of their

160 THE ACTS, XIII. [vv. 12-14.
there fell on him a mist and a darkness ; and he went about
<* seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy,
when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at
the doctrine of the Lord.
13 — 15. The Apostles visit Pamphylia and Pisidia. Mark
returns to ferusalem.
13 Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos,
they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing
M from them returned to Jerusalem. But when they departed
conduct would have brought ruin on the Church, if it had not been
severely punished, and their sin was against greater light and gifts of
grace than had been bestowed on the magician of Cyprus.
a mist and a darkness] There is a gradation in the words which
implies that the withdrawal of his sight was somewhat gradual. At first
the eyes began to cloud over, and as the film increased upon them he
became quite blind.
and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand] As he per
ceives the darkness closing in upon him he turns in the direction where
he had last noticed some friend, and endeavours to get a guide. For
such a man would wish to shew as little as possible how exactly the
Apostle's words had come to pass.
12. Then the deputy [proconsul], when he saw what was done, be
lieved] He was convinced by the miracle and by the words with which
it was accompanied, that the Apostles were teachers of the way of the
Lord after which he had been seeking in vain from Elymas. We are
not told that Sergius was baptized, but we have other instances of the
like omission of notice (see v. 48), yet as baptism was the appointed
door into Christ's Church, such omission of the mention thereof should
not be thought to warrant us in believing that the sacrament was neg
lected on any occasion.
13—16. The Apostles visit Pamphylia and Pisidia. Mark
returns to jerusalem.
13. Now when Paul and his company] Literally, "those around
Paul." Henceforth the Apostle of the Gentiles becomes the central
figure in nearly every scene of the Acts.
loosed [sailed] from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia] They
would sail to the north-west. Pamphylia was about the middle part of
the southern seaboard of Asia Minor, and Perga was its capital We
are not told of any missionary labours in Perga at this time either
because there was no opening for their commencement, or it may be that
the Apostles were troubled at the departure of Mark. They did preach
in Perga on their return visit (xiv. 25).
and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem) There is no
reason given for his departure either here or elsewhere, but the cause as
signed had clearly not been one which satisfied St Paul (xv. 38). John

w. 15, 16.] THE ACTS, XIII. 161
from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into
the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down. And is
after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers
of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and
brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people,
say on. r6 — 41. Paul's speech at Antioch.
Then Paul stood up, and beckoning with his hand said, *¦(¦
Mark, most probably the same person as the writer of the second
Gospel, afterwards was an earnest labourer for Christ, and St Paul (Col.
iv. 10) speaks of him with affection. If St Luke knew the cause of his
present withdrawal, the remembrance of his subsequent zeal sealed his
'lips on the subject. Cp. x. 48, note.
14. But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in
Pisidia) Better, "But they having passed through from Perga, came,"
&c. Pisidia lay inland to the N. of Ramphylia, and Antioch was in its
extreme northern part, so that the verb "passed through" is very
correct, for they crossed the whole district. Dean Howson (Life and
Epistles of St Paul, 1. 175) suggests that itwas perhaps in this journey
that St Paul and his companion were exposed to those "perils of
robbers" of which he speaks 2 Cor. xi. 26. Pisidia was a mountainous
district rising gradually towards the north, and the quotations given by
Dr Howson from Xenophon and Strabo shew that there was a great
deal of brigand-like life there even in these times, from which Paul and
his company may have been in danger.
and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and sat down]
Though he is the Apostle of the Gentiles it is ever to the synagogue that
St Paul first finds his way. For the law of Moses ought to be a better
schoolmaster to bring men to Christ than the law of nature.
15. And after the reading of the law and the prophets] For the
better understanding of what was here done, and also at the time when
our Lord " stood up for to read " in the synagogue at Nazareth (Luke
iv. 16), it seems worth while to give a somewhat detailed account of the
manner in which the Law and the Prophets are read by the Jews1.
the rulers ofthe synagogue sent unto them] They having the control
of the arrangements for calling up readers and preachers.
Ye men and brethren] Read " Brethren, " see i. 16.
if ye have any word of exhortation for the people] Barnabas was called
(iv. 36) "Son of exhortation," where there is the same word in the
original as here. The purport of the "word of exhortation" is well
seen in Heb. xiii. 22, where the writer calls his whole Epistle by that
name. 16 — 41. Paul's speech at Antioch.
16. beckoning with his hand] Cp. xii. 17, where it' is explained that
the gesture is to procure silence.
1 See Excursus at the end of the Chapter.

162 THE ACTS, XIII. [vv. 17-21.
17 Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience. The
God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted
the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of
Egypt, and with a high arm brought he them out of it.
18 And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners
r9 in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven
nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to
20 them by lot. And after that he gave unto them judges about
the space of four hundred and fifty years, until Samuel the
*i prophet. And afterward they desired a king : and God
gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe
Men of Israel, and ye that fear God] The audience consisted of bom
Jews and proselytes as well as perhaps some Gentiles. See w. 42
and 43. When the audience and the subject and the end aimed at are
so entirely in accord on all three occasions we cannot be surprised that
the address of St Paul at Antioch partakes largely of the character and
also of the language of those of St Peter at Pentecost and St Stephen in
his defence. St Paul had heard the last of these, and the vision on the
way to Damascus had taught him to speak with boldness on the truth of
the resurrection.
17. The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers] He commends
his words to their hearing by dwelling on the historic facts of their
national life as God's chosen people.
18. suffered he their manners in the wilderness] This expression has
the highest MSS. support. Yet the change of one letter in the Greek
verb (reading irpotpotpbprjireii for irpinrotboprjirev) introduces a sense so
much more beautiful, and at the same time so thoroughly in accord with
the O. T. history and language, that it commends itself for acceptance;;
above the Received Text. The rendering of the modified reading whicfi
has the support of many ancient authorities would be "he bare them as
a nursing father in the wilderness." This is the expression in Deut. i.
31, where the LXX. have the Greek verb which this slight change
would bring in here. There is no such close parallel found in the books
of Moses for "he suffered their manners."
19. seven nations] They are enumerated (Deut. vii. 1) before the
people went over the Jordan, viz. .the Hittites, the Girgashites, the
Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites,
In the latter part of this verse and in the next the oldest authorities
read, " He gave their land for an heritage, about the space of four
hundred and fifty years ; and after these things he gave them judges
until Samuel the prophet." This text would carry back the possession
of the land to the first promise thereof at the time when Abram •&
called, for according to the received chronology about four hundred and
fifty years elapsed between that event and the death of Joshua.
On Samuel, as the prophet par excellence, cp. iii. 24 note.
21. Saul  , a man of the tribe of Benjamin] And to the speaker

w. 22—27.] THE ACTS, XIII. 163
of Benjamin, by the space of forty years. And when he had ^
removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their
king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have
found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine
own h eart, which shall fulfil all my will. Of this man's =3
seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel
a Saviour, Jesus : when John had first preached before his »4
coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of
Israel. And as John fulfilled his course, he said, Whom *s
think ye that I am? I am not he. But behold, there
cometh one after me, whose shoes of his feet I am not
worthy to loose. Men and brethren, children of the stock =<*
of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to
you is the word of this salvation sent. For they that dwell =7
at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not,
himself the same words applied. The forty years duration of Saul's
reign is only to be gathered indirectly from Holy Writ, but Josephus
(Antiq. vi. 14. 9) expressly states that time as the length of his reign,
and as Ishbosheth, Saul's son, whom Abner set on the throne after his
father's death, was forty years old when he began to reign (2 Sam. ii. 10),
we may conclude that the length assigned in the text is correct.
22. / have found David, Sec] This sentence is a combination and
adaptation from two separate verses out of the O. Test. First, ' ' I have
found David my servant," Ps. lxxxix. 20; and "The Lord hath sought
him a man after his own heart and the Lord hath commanded him
to be captain over his people," 1 Sam. xiii. 14.
23. Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto
Israel a Saviour, Jesus] The word "his" has no place in the Greek
text, and the oldest MSS. for "raised" read "brought."
The promise alluded to here is preserved for us in Ps. exxxii. n, "Of
the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy seat, " and in many other similar
declarations in the prophets. Cp. Zech. iii. 8 — 9.
24. the baptism of repentance] Cp. Mark i. 4.
25. Whom think ye that I am?) The oldest MSS. give "What
think ye that I am?" For John's words, see John i. 20, 27; Matt. iii.
11; Mark i. 7; Luke iii. 16.
26. Men and brethren] Read "Brethren," see i. 16, note.
to you is the word of this salvaiion sent [forth] The oldest MSS. read
"to us, &c," and this is quite in accord with the language of v. 17,
" God chose our fathers." The Apostle through the whole address
avoids, as far as may be, wounding any Jewish prejudice and so classes
himself with his hearers where the subject allows him to do so.
27. they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew
him not] Cp. the very similar language of St Peter at the Temple gate
(iii. 17), "I wot that through ignorance ye did it as did also your
rulers."

1 64 THE ACTS, XIII. [vv. 28— 33.
nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sab-
28 bath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. And
though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired
=9 they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had
fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down
30 from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. But God raised
31 him from the dead : and he was seen many days of them
which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who
32 are his witnesses unto the people. And we declare unto
you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made
33 unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their
28. they found no cause of death in him] These words are a part of
the declaration of Pilate (Luke xxiii. 22).
29. all that was written of him] The Greek is rather more full,
"all the things which were written of him," meaning the various
prophecies which received their fulfilment in the betrayal, harsh treat
ment, and the other circumstances that attended on the death of Jesus.
30. But God raised him from the dead] This was the proof that
God had now fulfilled the promise made unto Abraham and to David,
that of their seed should one come, in whom all the nations of the earth
should be blessed, even as St Paul says below, by being justified from
all things, from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses.
And elsewhere (Rom. i. 4) the Apostle says that Jesus " was declared to
be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the
resurrection from the dead."
31. them which came up with him from. Galilee to Jerusalem) The
Apostles, and the body of Christ's followers, were drawn from Galilee,
insomuch that, before the Crucifixion, Galilarans was a name by which
they were known (Mark xiv. 70).
who are his witnesses unto the people] The oldest MSS. read "who
now are, &c." St Paul has not mentioned the ascension of Jesus, but
the addition of this word implies that He was no longer on earth that
men might see Him. The Apostle also thus marks out what was the
especial work of those who had been with Christ during His life.
32. And we declare unto you glad tidings) While the first com
panions of Jesus are His witnesses, we are His Evangelists, the bringers
of good news.
how that the promise, &c] Better, "of the promise," making this
the direct object of the preceding verb.
33. God hath fulfilled the same] Better, " how that God hath," &c.
The "glad tidings " are concerning the promise, and the precise message
which is the cause for gladness is contained in the announcement that
the promise has been fulfilled.
hath fulfilled] The verb in the original is a strengthened form and
indicates "complete fulfilment."
unto us their children] The Greek order of the words is emphatic,

w. 34— 36.] THE ACTS, XIII. 165
children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is
also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this
day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he 34
raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to
corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure
mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another 35
psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to
see corruption. For David, after he had served his own 36
generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid
"unto their children, even us.' There are some good MSS. which read
"unto our children," but this weakens the language greatly, for what
the audience whom St Paul addressed would desire was a fulfilment for
themselves. Their children would inherit what they received, but a
promise to be fulfilled to their children would not move them so much
as one of which they were to be sharers themselves.
in that he hath raised up Jesus again] i. e. from the dead. This is
necessary to the Apostle's argument, which is on the resurrection of
Jesus as a proof that He was the Messiah. The quotation which follows
need not refer alone to the birth of Jesus into this world. He was also
the first-begotten from the dead, the firstfruits of them that slept.
as it is also written in the second psalm] The reading of many good
MSS. is "in the first psalm." What we now call the first psalm was
formerly regarded as an introduction to the whole and not counted in
the numbering. The quotation which follows is, according to the
present order ofthe Psalms, taken from Ps. ii. 7.
34. he said on this wise) Better, " He [i. e. God] hath spoken on
this wise." The words are from Is. Iv. 3.
I will give you the sure mercies of David] Rather, "I will give you
the holy and faithful (mercies) of David." There is no word for "mercies"
in the original; but the word rendered "holy" is one which the LXX.
have frequently used to represent the Hebrew word for "mercies." St
Paul to the audience at Antioch used the Greek version, though no
doubt he carried along with him the thought of the Hebrew. But
having this Greek rendering as an interpretation of the "everlasting
covenant " of which Isaiah speaks in the verse here quoted, he connects
the "holy and faithful things of David" with that verse of David's
Psalm (xvi. 10) which tells how God will not give his Holy One to see
corruption. 35. Wherefore he saith] Better, " Because he saith." These words
of Ps. xvi. which David was inspired to utter cannot refer to David, and
this St Paul proceeds to shew. Cp. ii. 29 — 3 1 notes.
36. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of
God, fell on sleep] It is possible to render the Greek, "For David, after
that in his own generation he had served the will of God, fell on sleep, "
but the A. V. seems better. For it must be borne in mind that the con
trast which most aids the Apostle's argument is that, while David's ser
vices could benefit only those among whom he lived, and could not be

166 THE ACTS, XIII. [vv. 37—42.
37 unto his fathers, and saw corruption : but he, whom God
3s raised again, saw no corruption. Be it known unto you
therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is
39 preached unto you the forgiveness of sins : and by him all
that believe are justified from all. things, from which ye
40 could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware there
fore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the
4t prophets; Behold ye despisers, and wonder, and pe
rish: for I work a work in your days, a work which
you shall in no wise believe, though a man de
clare it unto you.
42 — 52. Further preaching both to fews and Gentiles.
fealousy of the fews, and expulsion of the Apostles from
Antioch.
42 And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the
extended to other generations, Christ by His resurrection, never more to
die and see corruption, is a Saviour for all generations, and remission of
sins through Him can be promised to every one that believeth.
38. the forgiveness of sins] Just as Jesus in His lifetime on earth de
clared that His miracles were only signs that "the Son of man hath
power on earth to forgive sins," so the Apostles preach concerning the
Resurrection. Cp. *. 43, the conclusion of St Peter's speech in the
houseof Cornelius.
40. lest that come upon you] viz. a moral and spiritual overthrow as great
as the destruction which the Chaldseans and Nebuchadnezzar wrought
upon the land and people at the time of the Babylonish captivity to
which the prophecy (Hab. i. 5) quoted in the next verse refers.
41. Behold ye despisers] This is the rendering of the LXX. and
some other versions. The Hebrew text gives, as A.V., "Behold, ye
among the heathen." The LXX. either had, or thought they had, a
different text.
a work which you shall in no wise believe] It is the result of long- '
continued^ evil-doing that those who live in it grow incredulous and
proof against all warnings. Their hearts are allowed to wax gross and
their ears to become dull of hearing.
42—62. Further preaching both to Jews and Gentiles.
Jealousy of the Jews, and expulsion of the Apostles
from Antioch.
42. And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles
besought, &c] The oldest MSS. give, "And as they were going out of
the synagogue they besought, &c." The desire was expressed by the
congregation both of Jews and proselytes as they left the synagogue.

w. 43— 45.] THE ACTS, XIII. 167
Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to
them the next sabbath. Now when the congregation was 43
broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes fol
lowed Paul and Barnabas : who, speaking to them, per
suaded them to continue in the grace of God. And the 44
next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to
hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multi- 45
tudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those
things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blas-
We do not read of the Gentiles joining the throng of listeners until the
next Sabbath (v. 44).
that these words (tidings)] The whole declaration of the Christian
faith. It is not the ordinary Greek term for "word." Cp. x. 37.
the next sabbath] The Greek words differ from those below in v.
44, and have been rendered by some "during the intervening week."
As is pointed out in the Excursus on v. r5, the Jewish congregations had
a portion of the Law read in the synagogues not only on the Sabbath,
but on the Monday and on the Thursday mornings, that they might not
be for three days without hearing the Scripture. The peculiar expression
in this verse may apply to the meetings in the synagogue on those days,
and that then the people desired to hear once more the message which
St Paul had just preached to them. As a different expression is used
so immediately, for "on the next Sabbath," it is but just to suppose
that the historian had some reason for the variation of his language in
the two verses.
43. religious (devout) proselytes] Perhaps applied to the proselytes
of righteousness as distinguished from the proselytes of the gate.
persuaded them to continue in the grace of God] as Barnabas in like
circumstances had urged on the converts at Antioch in Syria (xi. 23).
Here, though we haye no mention of actual converts, the Apostles must
have had regard to the "purpose of their hearts" when they spake to
these enquirers as though they were already "in the grace of God."
44. almost the whole city] Shewing that the Apostles must have
been diligently labouring both among Jews and Heathen during the
intervening days, and giving additional probability to the explanation
suggested above on v. 42.
45. they were filled with envy (jealousy)] The exclusive spirit, which
was so engrafted in the Jewish race, asserted itself as soon as they saw
the Gentiles gathered to hear the Apostles. The teaching of men who
would admit all mankind to the same privileges, was abhorrent to them.
For themselves and for proselytes they could accept a message as God-
sent, and tolerate some modifications in their teaching and practice, but
they could not endure that the Gentiles should be made equal with God's
ancient people.
contradicting and blaspheming] The first two words are omitted in
the oldest texts. See for similar conduct of the Jews at Corinth under
like circumstances, xviii. 6.

168 THE ACTS, XIII. [w. 46-56.
46 pheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said,
It was necessary that the word of God should first have
been spoken to you : but seeing ye put it from you, and
judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to
47 the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying,
I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that
thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of
48 the earth. And when the Gentiles heard this, they were
glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: and as many
49 as were ordained to eternal life believed. And the word of
50 the Lord was published throughout all the region. But the
Jews stirred up the devout and honourable women, and the
46. It was necessary that the word of God should -first have been
spoken to you) That, as Christ came first unto His own, so His mes
sengers should declare their glad tidings first unto Jews, but if they re
ceived not the word, then it was to be proclaimed to all who would
receive it.
judge yourselves unworthy] i. e. pronounce the sentence upon your
selves by your actions. Cp. Matt. xxii. '8, "They that were bidden" to
the marriage supper "were not worthy." They had been deemed
worthy by him who sent to call them, but had declared they were not
so by their refusal to come.
47. so hath the Lord commanded us] And the Lord's command
which the Apostle quotes is from Isaiah xlix. 6, which shews that
from the prophetic times the reception of the Gentiles was made mani
fest in the counsels of God. Whether the words of Isaiah are referred
to himself or to Christ it is clear that, along with the Jews, the Gentiles
also are to be recipients of the promised blessings.
48. and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed] In the
controversies on predestination and election this sentence has constantly
been brought forward. But it is manifestly unfair to take a sentence out
of its context, and interpret it as if it stood alone. In v. 46 we are
told that the Jews had judged themselves unworthy of eternal life, and
all that is meant by the words in this verse is the opposite of that ex
pression. The Jews were acting so as to proclaim themselves un
worthy ; the Gentiles were making manifest their desire to be deemed
worthy. The two sections were like opposing troops, ranged by them
selves, and to some degree, though not unalterably, looked upon as so
arranged by God on different sides. Thus the Gentiles were ordering
themselves, and were ordered, unto eternal life. The text says no word!
to warrant us in thinking that none could henceforth change sides.
50. the devout and honourable women] The conjunction is omitted
in the best texts. Read, "the devout women of honourable estate."
We read that in Damascus, and we may suppose that it was likely to
be the case in other large towns and cities in which Jews abounded*:
the wives of the men in high position among the heathen were much

w. 51, 52.] THE ACTS, XIII. 169
chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul
and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts. But 51
they shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came
unto Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy, and 52
with the Holy Ghost.
inclined to the Jewish religion (Josephus, B.J. 11. 20. 2). These
would be 'easily moved by the Jews to take action against the
Apostles. and the chief men ofthe city] As the Jews in Jerusalem fiad appealed
to Pilate and the' Roman power to carry out their wishes at the Cruci
fixion, so the Jews in Antioch excite their heathen magistrates against
Paul and Barnabas.
out of their coasts] i.e. "from their borders." Antioch and all Pisidia
was inland. But the old English "coast" was used for any borderland,
and not as now for the "sea-board."
51. shook off the dust of their feet against them] This significant
action, like that ofthe "shaking ofthe raiment" (xviii. 6), implied that
those against whom it was done were henceforth left to go their owr.
way. Cp. Neh. v. 13, Matt. x. 14.
Iconium] a city in Pisidia to the east of Antioch. It is still a large
town, and preserves the trace of its old name, being now called Konieh.
See Dictionary of the Bible.
52. the disciples were filled with joy] Rejoicing in accordance with
the Lord's exhortation (Matt. v. 12) when men reviled and persecuted
them, which was the very treatment which they had received in
Antioch.

ON THE JEWISH MANNER OF READING THE
SCRIPTURES.
The Jewish division of the Scriptures is (1) the Law, i~e. the five
Eooks of Moses. (2) The Prophets, under which title the Jews include
Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, as well as Isaiah, Jere
miah, Ezekiel and the twelve minor prophets. (3) The Hagiographa,
containing Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamen
tations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and the two Books
of Chronicles. The command which enjoins the reading of the Pen
tateuch is found Deut. xxxi. 10, "At the end of every seven years in
the solemnity of the year of release in the Feast of Tabernacles, when all
Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place which
He shall choose, thou shalt read this Law before all Israel in their
hearing. Gather the people together, men and women and children and
thy stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear."
This appointment which prescribes the reading of the whole Pentateuch
on the Feast of Tabernacles was probably soon found to be impracticable,
and it is not unlikely that from a very early time the people arranged to
acts 1 3

i7o THE ACTS, XIII.
read through the Pentateuch in seven years by taking a small portion on
every Sabbath, beginning with the Sabbath after the Feast of Taber
nacles in one year of release, and ending with the Feast of Tabernacles
in the next year of release. Thus would they in some sort be fulfilling
the commandment. That such an early subdivision of the Pentateuch
into small portions took place seems likely from what we know of the
later arrangements for the reading of the Law. The existence of such
a plan for reading would account for some of the divisions which exist
(otherwise unexplained) in various copies of the Jewish Law.
Fdr (i) we learn (T. B. Megillah 29 b) that the Jews of Palestine
broke up the Pentateuch into sections for each Sabbath in such a manner
as to spread the reading thereof over three years (and a half?). They
arranged no doubt that the concluding portions of their second reading
should be on the Feast of Tabernacles in the year of release ; and they
began again on the following Sabbath. In this way they read through the
whole Law twice in the seven years, and by concluding it on the Feast
of Tabernacles in the year of release observed the commandment1, and
hereby may be accounted for some other of the unused subdivisions of
the copies of the Jewish Law.
2. The Babylonian Jews in the 4th century after Christ, and pro
bably much earlier, and all Jews down to this day, have the Pentateuch
so divided that it is read through once every year, such reading be
ginning on the Sabbath after the Feast of Tabernacles, and concluding'
on the so-called last day of that Feast in the next year, the day really
being the day of "rejoicing in the Law" (simkhath Torah). Thus they
bring their reading to an end in each year, and so of course in the
release-year, on the day appointed, and observe the command in this
manner. This comparatively modern, though almost universally prevailing
arrangement, accounts for the present larger divisions of the Law for
reading, and these divisions have each of them its proper name. For
the whole Pentateuch has 54 weekly portions, one for each Sabbath.
No year however contains 54 Sabbaths, and beside this, some festivals
(or rather, holy convocations) may fall on the Sabbath, and when that
happens the Scripture appointed for the festival is read, and not the
appointed weekly portion in its sequence. In order that the whole Law
may still be read through on the Sabbaths, it is provided that occasion-'
ally two weekly sections are combined and read on one Sabbath8.
These weekly sections of the Pentateuch (Parshioth) are each divided
into seven portions, and seven readers are called up from the congrega
tion. These are to be (r) an Aaronite (and if such be in the congrega
tion he may not be passed over), (2) a Levite, (3) five ordinary Israelites.
These must all be males and at least 13 years and one day old. Prac
tically, in Europe at least, though these are still called up in the congre-
1 This arrangement is stili observed partially in the Jewish " Temple" at HaliM]
burg, founded in 1818, and there is at this moment (see Jewish Chronicle, Feb. %
1879) a movement on foot for introducing a similar arrangement in the West London
Synagogue of British Jews.
2 Of cuurse there will be less need for this arrangement in an intercalated year,
which will have four sabbaths extra.

THE ACTS, XIII. 171
gations, they do not themselves read, but a reader is appointed to read
to them. There are congregations in which as a mark of honour
more than seven are called up, but this is discountenanced by some
Rabbis as likely to lead to abuses.
When the reading of the Law in this manner is concluded the seventh
section or part thereof is repeated, and any person may be asked to do
this. Such reader is called Maphlir, i.e. the Haphtarist (the person
whose reading terminates the reading of the Law). With this is con
nected the subsequent reading of the selected portions of the Prophets.
In olden times the Haphtarist was also the person invited to be the
preacher, and this must have been the position occupied by St Paul at
Antioch, and by Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth.
The sections of the prophets selected for Sabbath reading and called
Haphtaroth have always some bearing upon the appointed portion of the
Law for that Sabbath, e.g. with the first section of Genesis (Gen. i.
1 — vi. 8), which contains the account of the Creation, there is appointed
as the prophetical reading the passage (Isaiah xiii. 5—21) which begins
"Thus saith God the Lord, he that created the heavens," Sec. With
the next section of the Law, which contains the history of Noah (Gen.
*i. 8 — xi. 32), the prophetical leading is Isaiah liv. i — 10, in which
passage is found "This is as the waters of Noah unto me." The next
section of the Law (Gen. xii. 1 — xvii. 27) contains the history of
Abraham, and the reading from the Prophets begins with Isaiah xl.
27 — xii. 16, and in the passage there occurs "Who raised up the righteous
man from the East, called him to his foot, " &c, and a like arrangement
is observed throughout the year.
On the Sabbath afternoons the Jews in their synagogues read, to three
people, the first seventh of the portion of the Law which is set apart for
the following Sabbath, and do so again on Monday and Thursday
mornings. So that during the week this part is read four times over.
No' prophetic portions are read along with this, but (T. B. Shabbath
u 6 b) in the old times, as early as the commencement of the 3rd
century, we find that on the Sabbath afternoons portions of the Hagio-
grapha were read along with this smaller section of the Law, and we
cannot doubt that the same principle would be observed in their
selection, and that passages similar in character to the selections from
the Pentateuch would be chosen in these cases also, though we have no
indication what they were1.
Festivals and Fasts had their own portions of the Pentateuch ap
pointed, and therewith corresponding portions of the Prophets.
On quasi-festival Sabbaths the ordinary portions of the Law were
read, but beside this occasionally other additional portions of the Law
were chosen for the Haphtarist to read with reference to the festival,
and instead of the usual prophetical section appointed for these days,
such passages from the Prophets were chosen as bore on the nature
of the quasifestival.
These quasi-festivals are
(1) Should the Sabbath be (a) the day before the New Moon, or (b)
tire day coincident with the New Moon.
* Thus would be accounted for many still unexplained divisions in the Hagiographa.IS — 2

172 THE ACTS, XIII.
Partaking of the character of a quasi-festival there is also the so-
called "great Sabbath1," which is the Sabbath that precedes the
Passover. On tliis day the portion of the Law to be read is
neither varied rior increased, but as in (i) the appointed Haph-
tarah is changed for one of a suitable character. The same sort
of change of the Haphtarah, but not of the portion of the Law
to be read, takes place for the Sabbath between New Year and
the Day of Atonement (i — io ofthe month Tishri).
(2) The Maccabaean festival of the Dedication, which as it lasted for
8 days might include two Sabbaths.
(3) Four semi-festivals which are in one string.
a. The Sabbath preceding the New Moon of Adar, or coincident
with that New Moon. This is called Shekalim ( =the shekels),
and the special portion of the Law then additionally read is
Exod. xxx. n — 16.
b. The Sabbath before Purim (the Haman-festival) called Zacor
= remember, for which the special additional portion of the
Law is Deut. xxv. 1 7 — 19.
c. The Red Heifer Sabbath. This is a moveable semi-festival,
but must fall between (b) and (d). It is a preparation of Puri
fication for Passover, and its special additional portion of
the Law is Numb. xix.
d. Ha-K7iodesh=the month. The Sabbath preceding or co
incident with the New Moon of Nisan, for which the special ;
portion of the Law is Exod. xii. 1 — 20.
(4) To the above six must be added two Sabbaths if they fall in the
middle holidays of the Feasts of Passover and Tabernacles, for such
Sabbaths are even of a higher dignity than the other quasi-festivals,.
(5) The three Sabbaths before the commemoration of the destruction
ofthe city and Temple (1) by Titus, even as before, (2) by Nebuchad
nezzar. On these Sabbaths the portion of the Pentateuch appointed
for the day is retained, but prophetic portions are selected which
suit the circumstances. These are known as the three "Sabbaths
[commemorative] of Punishment and Troubles."
(6) Besides these there are seven Sabbaths called " Sabbaths of Con
solation, " for which, in the same way, special prophetic passages are
read, which must all be chosen from the latter part of Isaiah (chap.
xl. and after), and in the last of them probably occurred the passage
(Isaiah Ixi. 1), read by Jesus at Nazareth 2. For although at pre
sent the Haphtarah from that chapter is marked to begin at v.
10 there are indications in some MSS.3 that the selected portion
1 It may be mentioned that the name " great Sabbath " is by the Italian Jews ap
plied also to the Sabbath preceding Pentecost.
2 That there is no anachronism, in supposing that these "Sabbaths of Consolation"-'.
were observed in our Lord's time, may be inferred from the strict way in which ;¦<
Jewish traditions always identify, in everything but time, the destruction of the two '
Temples by Nebuchadnezzar and by Titus, and the obsbrvances in connection there
with. And we take it as a further proof ofthe antiquity of this observance .that though
there are slight variations in the ordinary Haphtarnth in the various Jewish rituals,
those for the " Sabbaths of Consolation " are the same in all.
3 See a South Arahian {Yemen) Codex, Brit. Museum, MSS. Oriental, 1470.

w. i, 2.] THE ACTS, XIV. 173
i—7- Preaching at Iconium. Tlie Apostles forced to flee.
And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both 14
together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that
a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks
believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, 2
formerly began at an earlier point, and this for coherence could
hardly be elsewhere than at v. 1. It seems probable that in
post-Christian times the verses read by our Lord have designedly
been cut off from the special prophetic passage. For although any
charge against the Jews of altering the words of Scripture on ac
count of Christianity must be dismissed as utterly unfounded, it is
on the other hand beyond question that they abolished the most
ancient and hallowed custom of reading the ten words during the
morning prayers daily, "because ofthe murmuring ofthe heretics"
(minin), and by this word (tninin) the Jews meant the earliest
Judajo-Christians (T. B. Berakhoth 12 a), who, after Christ's example
in the Sermon on the Mount, laid great stress on the ten com
mandments of the Moral Law to the depreciation of ceremonial
regulations.
XIV. 1 — 7. Preaching at Iconium. The Apostles forced
to FLEE.
1. they went both together, &c] These words probably refer not to
one special visit, but to repeated occasions on which Paul and Barnabas
appeared as fellow-labourers before the Jewish congregation in Iconium.
and so spake] on various occasions, on some of which not only Jews
but Gentiles were hearers of the word.
also of the Greeks) Here the word in the original is Hellenes, used
in other places by St Luke to signify Gentiles, in contradistinction to
Hellenistce, by which he means Greek- Jews. It has been thought that
here Greek-Jews can only be intended, and that the word must there
fore be used in a sense different from that which it has in other places
in the Acts. But clearly the visit of the Apostles to Iconium lasted a
considerable time, and it is not to be supposed that, while there, they
refrained from speaking the word in any place but in the solitary
synagogue. They went, as their wont was, to the synagogue first, that
was the scene of their joint labours on many occasions, and there many
of the Jews were won to the faith. But they spake elsewhere the same
glad tidings which they published to the Circumcision, and thus many
Gentiles also were converted. This seems a simpler explanation than
to make St Luke say Hellenes here, when he means Hellenistce.
The verse condenses the account of the Apostolic labours, marks that
their commencement was at the synagogue, that Jews became be
lievers, and then without further specification of a place of preaching
adds "and ofthe Gentiles," to describe the whole result.
2. But the unbelieving Jews] Better, " But the Jews that were dis-

174 THE ACTS, XIV. [vv. 3-5,
and made their minds evil affected against the brethren.
3 Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the
Lord, which gave testimony unto the word of his grace,
and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
? But the multitude of the city was divided : and part held
5 with the Jews, and part with the apostles. And when there
was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the
Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone

obedient." The verb is the same which is found John iii. 36, where the
rendering should be "He that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life."
The word is stronger than "unbelieving," it expresses unbelief breaking
forth into rebellion, and so exactly describes the character of these Jews
who were persecuting Paul and Barnabas.
made their minds evil affected] The verb is an unusual one in this
sense. It is that by which the "harm" done to the Church by Herod
Agrippa is described (xii. 1). It implies not only an ill disposition
aroused towards the brethren, but injury also done to the minds in which
the feeling was stirred up.
3. Long time therefore abode they] There are two results described '
in this and the following verse as the consequences of the Jewish oppo
sition. First, a long stay was necessary that by the words of the Apos
tles and by the mighty deeds following wherewith God confirmed them, ,
the faith of the new converts might be fully established before the
Apostles departed. Secondly, there came about a division among
the people, the Christians and non-Christians became distinctly marked
parties. speaking boldly] The original word expresses that "freedom ol
speech" for which the Apostles prayed (iv. 29), and it is to be noted that
as in their prayer so in God's working, the freedom of speech is in close
connection with the stretching forth of God's hand to heal, and with the
signs and wonders that were done in the name of Jesus.
the word of his grace] i. e. the word of the truth of the Gospel, which
is glad tidings, a word of grace. It is to be remarked that the signs
mentioned here, as elsewhere, follow after the faith and do not pre
cede it.
4. part held with the Jems, Sic] For a similar division see the
history of the preaching at Thessalonica, xvii. 4 — 5. That His word
should cause such division had been foretold by Jesus (Luke xii. 51).
6. when there was an assault made] The noun does not necessarily
imply that any direct attack had been made, which, from what follows,
we can see was not the case. It rather applies to the excitement, urging,
and instigation which the Jews were applying to their heathen com
panions, and which was likely to end in violence.
with their rulers] The word is of the most general character, and
it is impossible to form any conjecture from it what these authorities
were.

w. 6, 7-] THE ACTS, XIV. 175
them, they were ware of *'/, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, 6
• cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round
about : and there they preached the gospel. 7
and to stone them] From this we see that the prompting came from
the Jews. Stoning was their mode of punishment for blasphemy, and
such they would represent the teaching of the Apostles to be. We need
not suppose that any regular legal stoning like that of Stephen was
intended, or that to accomplish that object the rulers here mentioned
were such Jewish authorities as could be gathered together in Iconium,
and that they are indicated by a vague term because they had no very
settled position. The previous verb "to use them despitefully" rather
points to the opposite conclusion, and marks the intended proceeding as
a piece of mob-outrage, for which the countenance of any authority was
gladly welcomed.
In connection with St Paul's residence at Iconium, there exists a
story of the conversion of a maiden named Thecla, of which the
apocryphal "Acts of Paul and Thecla" represents the form into which
the legend had grown in the fourth century. Thecla, who was espoused
to Thamyris, is said to have been deeply affected by the preaching of
the Apostle, which she accidentally heard, and when the Apostle was
put in prison on the accusation of -being a magician, she bribed the
gaoler and visited the prisoner, and was fully instructed by him in the
Christian faith. The Apostle was punished and sent away from
Iconium. Thecla was condemned to die for her refusal to marry
Thamyris, but was miraculously saved, and after many troubles joined
St Paul in his missionary travels, and ultimately made her home in the
neighbourhood of Seleucia, where she led the life of a nun till her
death, which took place when she was ninety years old.
This story may at first have had-some basis of truth to rest on, but it
has been so distorted with inconsistent details, that it is impossible now
to judge what the foundation of it may have been.
6. they were ware of it] Among the party which sided with the
Apostles there would be some who would get information about any
attack which was being planned against them. It is to be noticed
that throughout the history there is no attempt to exaggerate the suffer
ings of the Christian teachers. Here was a narrow escape from stoning,
and as such it is recorded with no more expansion than is absolutely
unavoidable. and fled unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the
region that lieth round about] What the Apostles actually did is more
truly represented if we preserve the Greek order, "fled unto the cities
of Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the region round about." From
the violence of a mob excited by the Jews' they fled into a wilder
region where were few or no Jews, and the cities are enumerated in the
order in which they were visited, while some to which they went are un
named but included in the general term "the region round about."
The flight of the Apostles is exactly in accord with Christ's injunction
(Matt. x. 23).

176 THE ACTS, XIV. [vv. 8, g.
8 — 1 8. Cure of a Cripple at Lystra. The heathen people
regard the Apostles as gods.
8 And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his
feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never
9 had walked : the same heard Paul speak : who stedfastly
8 — 18. Cure of a Cripple at Lystra. The heathen people
regard the apostles as gods.
8. And there sat a certain man) Perhaps this cripple, like that
other in Jerusalem (iii. 2), was brought by his friends to some much-fre
quented place that he might ask alms of them that passed by. There is
no mention of a synagogue in Lystra, and it is very improbable that
there was one. The Apostles therefore would seek out some place of
public resort where they might proclaim their message, and such a
position would also be most adapted for the purposes of a begging
cripple. at Lystra] This place lay almost south from Iconium, if the site
generally assigned to it, at the foot of the Kara-dagh, be the correct
one. See Diet, of the Bible. It is most probable that this was the
home of Timothy. We cannot conclude this absolutely from xvi. 1,
because both Derbe and Lystra are there mentioned, but in xx. 4 we
have an enumeration in which are the words ' ' Gaius of Derbe and
Timotheus, " where the form of the expression makes it almost certain
that the latter was not of Derbe. Further, when St Paul recalls to
Timothy his sufferings undergone at this period (2 Tim. iii. 10— 11), he
says "Thou hast fully known  the persecutions and afflictions which
came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra," words which seem to
connect Timothy with the last-named place, and when taken in con
nection with the other passages to be conclusive that Timothy did not
live at Derbe.
That Timothy was made a convert to Christianity at this first visit of
St Paul is plain from xvi. r, where on the Apostle's second visit he is
called "a disciple." It is also clear from the same passage (xvi. 3) that
there could have been but few Jews at Lystra at this time, or else the
son of a religious Jewess would hardly have remained uncircumcised till
he had reached man's estate. Some, however, have thought that this
may have come to pass through the influence of the Greek father of
Timothy. impotent in his feet, &c] It is worth while to notice once again how
minutely Luke, the physician, describes the nature of this and other
maladies throughout the history.
9. the same heard Paul speak) The verb in the Text, recepl. is here
the imperfect, but some MSS. have the aorist. The former seems to be
the more suitable. What happened was that the Apostles preached on
several occasions, and that the lame man was at his station and heard
repeatedly the teaching of the Gospel, and by his earnest attention and
manner indicated that what was spoken had been accepted by him
with faith. This attracted the attention of St Paul.

w. 10,11.] THE ACTS, XIV. 177
beholding him, and perceiving that he had faith to be
healed, said with a loud voice, Stand upright on thy feet 10
And he leaped and walked. And when the people saw what "
Paul had done, they lift up their voices, saying in the speech
who stedfastly beholding him (fastening his eyes upon him)] The
verb is common with St Luke, and is used several times of St Paul, as in
xiii. 9, where he fixes his gaze on Elymas, and xxiii. 1, where he atten
tively beholds the council. From the context of the latter passage, in
which we learn that the Apostle did not recognize the high-priest,
some have thought that this straining earnest gaze, so frequently
ascribed to St Paul, was due to some weakness of sight remaining ever
since his blindness at the time of his conversion.
and perceiving (seeing) that he had faith to be healed] The man's
heart shone out in his face, and the Spirit within the Apostle recognized
that here was a fit object to be made, by his cure, a sign unto the men of
Lystra. 10. said with a loud voice] i.e. raising his tone above that in which
he was speaking to the rest of .the people.
Stand' upright on thy feel] It has been noticed in chap. iii. how
different is the narration of this miracle from that wrought by St Peter
at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. The two were of exactly the same
character, and had the historian been giving his own words only and
aiming at producing a harmony in his picture between the words and works
of St Paul and St Peter, no finer opportunity could have been found than
by making the narratives in these two places as much as possible alike.
A careful perusal leaves the impression that the latter may have been
written from personal observation (see below on v. 22) or from the
information of St Paul, but that the former was drawn from an entirely
different source, and that the historian has faithfully preserved the
distinct character of the two sources from which he derived his in
formation. And he leaped and walked) The oldest MSS. give these verbs in
different tenses. The first is aorist, as expressing one act, the upward
spring, which shewed once for all that the cute was wrought; the second
is imperfect, and indicates that the act of walking was continued, that
he henceforth was able to exercise his new power.
11. in the speech of Lycaonia) Which would come more naturally to
their lips than any other. The people were bilingual, and St Paul had
been speaking to them in Greek. This fact may give us some additional
light on the question of what the gift of tongues was, which was bestowed
upon the Apostles. ' Clearly, from what we see here, it was not such a
power as enabled them at once to understand and converse in the various
dialects of all the people into whose countries they might be brought in
their missionary labours. For it is manifest that neither Paul nor Bar
nabas understood the cry of these Lycaonians. If they had, we cannot
suppose that they' would have allowed a moment to elapse before they
corrected the false impression which the words conveyed, and at which,
when they came to know its purport, they expressed such horror. They,

178 THE ACTS, XIV. [vv. 12, 13.
of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness
12 of men. And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul,
13 Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker. Then the
priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen
and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice
however, left the place where the multitude of listeners had been
assembled, and departed to their own lodgings without any knowledge <
of what the mistaken people were about to do.
The gods are come down to us] Nothing was more familiar to the
heathen mind than the thought of the gods assuming human shape and
going about among mankind, and it has often been noticed that the
scene of the legend of Baucis and Philemon related by Ovid (Metam. vm.
61 1 seqq.), and in which Jupiter and Mercury are said to have wandered
on earth and to have been received as guests by Baucis and Philemon, is
laid in Phrygia, which province was close to Lycaonia.
12. And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius] Ol"
course this was not known until afterwards, and St Luke in his narrative,
as a Greek, gives the Greek names of the gods, Zeus and Hermes. We
can understand how the heathen people concluded that if any deity came
to visit them with a beneficent purpose it would be that god Jupiter
whose temple was before their city and to whom therefore their chief
worship was paid ; and Mercury was counted as the principal attendant
on Jupiter, and moreover as the god of eloquence. It was obvious,
therefore, to assign that name to the chief speaker, and the name of
Jupiter to that one of the two Apostles who had the more commanding
presence. That St Paul was not such a figure we know from his own
words, and tradition describes him as "little in height, with a bald
head and crooked legs " (Acta Apocryph. p. 41, Tischendorf).
because he was the chief speaker] Literally, "the leader of the
speech." This character is always assigned to Mercury by the heathen
writers, and almost the very words of the text are used of him by Iam-
blichus, de Myst. ad init.
13. the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city] i.e. "whose
temple was before their city." He was their tutelar divinity, and it was
to his priest that the people ran with their cry, and brought him, with
all the preparations for a sacrifice, to the gate of the house where the
Apostles were lodged.
brought oxen and garlands] The latter were sometimes put on the
heads of the victims, and sometimes used by the worshippers for their
own decorations at religious rites. Probably in this case they were
meant to make gay some temporary altar.
unto the gates) The word here used in the original is the same which
is used for the porch or vestibule of the house of Mary the mother of
Jchn Mark (xii. 14), and that is its sense here. The Apostles were
within the house, and as it was meet to offer the victims to the supposed
gods in their presence rather than on the altar at Jupiter's temple, it was
to the house of their host that the procession came.

vv. 14 — 17.] THE ACTS, XIV. 179
with the people. Which when the apostles, Barnabas and n
Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among
the people, crying out, and saying, Sirs, why do ye these 15
things ? We also are men of like passions with you, and
preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities
unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth,
and the sea, and all things that are therein: who 16
in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he 17
did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful sea-
14. Which when the apostles... heard of] As they did first from the
clamour and excitement of the would-be worshippers.
ran in among the people (multitude)] The best MSS. read "sprang
forth among the multitude," and this is no doubt the correct reading.
They were horror-stricken at what was contemplated, and with garments
rent to shew, by signs as well as by words, their repudiation of such
worship, they sprang forth from the house, through the vestibule, and
into the midst of the crowd, that they might put an end to the delusion
ofthe people. Cp. 2 Kings xviii. 37, xix. 1.
15. and preach unto you] Literally, "bring you the good tidings,"
as the message must be which sets forth to men the living God in the
place of dumb idols.
that ys should turn from these vanities (vain things)] "Vanity" is a
name of constant use in the Old Test, for the false gods of the heathen.
See 1 Sam. xii. 21.
16. who in times past (by-gone generations) suffered all nations (all
the heathen) to walk in their own ways] God had chosen Israel only
for His own people before the coming of Christ, and had given to the
rest of the world no revelation of Himself except what they could read in
the pages of the book of nature. But that, St Paul says, spake clearly
of a careful creator and preserver of the world.
17. he left not himself without witness] This is the same argument
which the Apostle employs (xvii. 27) to the more philosophic multitude
whom he addressed on Mars' hill. God's natural teaching is meant to
speak alike to all men. Cp. also the similar reasoning in Rom. i. 19,
20. and gave us rain] The oldest MSS. read "gaveyou," and this is the
more natural language, for the Apostle could not include himself among
those to whom God's appeal was made through the gifts of nature only.
A few rather unusual words and forms which occur in this verse have
suggested to some that we have here a fragment of a Greek poem on the
bounties of nature, which the Apostle quotes, as he sometimes does
quote the Greek poets, to illustrate his speech from the language familiar
to his hearers. Attempts have therefore been made to arrange the
words into some dithyrambic metre. But it is hardly probable that
St Paul would quote Greek poetry to the people in Lycaonia, to whom

180 THE ACTS, XIV. [vv. 18, 19,

18 sons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. And with
these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they
had not done sacrifice unto them.
19 — 28. Change of feeling in the multitude. Paul is stoned.
The Apostles visit Derbe, and then return, by the route by
which they came, to Antioch in Syria.
19 And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and
Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned
Greek was not sufficiently familiar for them to appreciate its literature to
the extent which this supposition presumes, and certainly the other quo
tations which he makes from Greek authors (Acts xvii. 28 ; 1 Cor. xv,
33; Tit. i. 12) are used to much more cultured audiences.
18. that they had not done sacrifice unto them) i.e. "from doing
sacrifice," &c.
19—28. Change of feeling in the multitude. Paul is stoned.
The Apostles visit Derbe, and then return, by the
route by which they came, to antioch in syria.
19. certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium] Their anger, like that
of " the circumcision " in Jerusalem, was roused against the Apostles,
whom they knew to be born Jews, but who were casting away the legal
restraints to which they themselves clung, and so they followed them to
other places and represented them 'no doubt as renegade Jews, and
probably taught the heathen people, that what they had seen done was
done by evil powers and not by beneficent ones. Some such argument
they must have used. The mighty work of the cured cripple bore
witness for the reality of the Apostles' power. It was only left, therefore,
to ascribe it to evil agency, as the Jews aforetime said of Christ "He
casteth out devils through Beelzebub."
who persuaded the people] Dean Howson (Life and Epp. of St Paul, -
I. 208) quotes from the Scholiast on Homer (//. iv. 89 — 92) a passage
in which the Lycaonians are described as untrustworthy, ahd Aristotle is
given as authority for the statement. For a similar sudden change of
temper in the populace, cp. the conduct of the multitude at Jerusalem
just before the Crucifixion, and the sudden change of opinion in the
people of Melita (Acts xxviii. 6).
and, having stoned Paul) Their jealous rage carried them to such a
length that they became themselves the active agents in taking
vengeance on the "chief speaker" of the two missionaries. This must
be the stoning to which St Paul alludes (2 Cor. xi. 25), "Once was I
stoned." And Paley (Hora Paulince, p. 69) calls attention to the close
agreement between the history of St Luke and the letter of St Paul.
At Iconium St Paul had just escaped stoning; at Lystra he was stoned.
The two circumstances are mentioned by the historian, only the actual
suffering by the Apostle himself. Nothing but truth to guide them, says

vv. 20. 21.] THE ACTS, XIV. 181
Paul, drew him out df the city, supposing he had been
dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, 20
he rose up, and came into the city : and the next day he
departed with Barnabas to Derbe. And when they had 21
preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they
returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,
Paley, could have brought the two writers so close "to the very brink of
contradiction without their falling into it."
drew him out of the city] The stoning had not been in a place set
apart for such executions, for there were few Jews in Lystra, but it had
been done publicly in the midst of the city, perhaps in the place of
public resort where St Paul had been wont to preach.
20. as the disciples stood round about him] Among these we may
well believe that the young Timothy was included. Braving all danger
that might attend on their act, the believers at Lystra gathered about
what they deemed the corpse of their teacher, and their sorrowing
thoughts were perhaps concerned how they might procure it reverent
burial. he rose up] The Greek conveys the impression that this was as a
resurrection from the dead, and that the restoration of the Apostle, and
his immediate exhibition of vigour, and boldness to enter again into the
¦ city, was the effect of a miracle. That one stoned and left for dead by
a savage mob should revive and go about as if nothing had befallen him
must have been a still more striking evidence of the mighty power of
God present with these teachers than what the people had seen before
in the restoration of the cripple.
and the next day he departed] Having been sheltered for the night in
the house of some disciple, perhaps in that of Eunice and Lois, the
mother and grandmother of Timothy, of whose faith the Apostle
speaks (2 Tim. i. 5) as one who has been witness of its fruits in their
lives. with Barnabas to Derbe] Barnabas had not been an object of jealousy
of the Jews. His power, though great as the "son of exhortation or ,
consolation," was not so demonstrative as that of his fellow- Apostle.
Derbe, the town to which the Apostles next went, was to the east of
Lystra. We have no mention of any other places in Lycaonia than
these two as visited by Paul and Barnabas, but from v. 6 we gather
that their preaching was extended to other parts of the surrounding
country. 21. and had taught many] Better, "and had made many disciples."
Perhaps "Gaius of Derbe," whom St Luke mentions as one of Paul's
companions in a subsequent journey (xx. 4), may have been one of these.
This is the more probable because he is there mentioned in the same
clause with Timothy, who undoubtedly was converted by St Paul during
this visit to Lycaonia.
they returned again] Going back over the ground which they had
travelled before, that they might provide for the spread of that seed of
the word which they had imperilled themselves so greatly to sow.

1 82 THE ACTS, XIV. [vv. 22—26.
22 confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to
continue in the faith, and that we must through much tri-
23 bulation enter into the kingdom of God. And when they
had ordained them elders in every church, arid had prayed
with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom
24 they believed. And after they had passed throughout Pi-
25 sidia, they came to Pamphylia. And when they had
preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia :
16 and thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been
recommended to the grace of God for the work which they
22. confirming the souls of the disciples] The strengthening indi
cated by this word is that which Peter was charged to afford to his
fellow-disciples. "When thou art converted strengthen thy brethren,"
i. e. by warnings and exhortations drawn from thy own trials and thy
deliverance from them. We see that this was the purport of St Paul's
charge to the Churches.
and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of
God] From the use of the pronoun "we" in this sentence some have
thought that, although unmentioned, the writer of the Acts was present
with Paul and Barnabas in this first missionary journey as well as in the
others. St Luke only indicates his presence at Troas and elsewhere in
the same manner (xvi. 10 — 12, &c), though in those passages the
mention is more conclusive than in the verse before us.
23. elders in every church] i.e. men who should have the oversight,:.
and care for the growth, of these infant Churches.
and had prayed with fasting) using the same solemn service at the
dedication of these men to their duties which had been used when they
were themselves sent forth from Antioch for their present labour
(xiii. 3).
they commended them to the Lord) Cp. St Paul's parting commenda
tion of the elders of Ephesus who had come to meet him at Miletus
(xx. 32). The Lord was able here also to build these men up, and to
give them an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.
25. when they had preached (spoken) the word in Perga] which they
do not appear to have done when they passed through it before. See
xiii. 13, 14, note.
Attalia] A seaport of Pamphylia, at the mouth of the river Catar-
, rhactes. For its history see Dictionary ofthe Bibie. The Apostles had
sailed, as they came from Paphos, directly to Perga, which they reached
by coming some way up the river Cestrus. Now they go by land from
Perga to the seacoast at Attalia, where there was more likelihood of
finding a vessel in which they could sail into Syria.
26. from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God)
Better, "had been commended." The verb is not the same as inn.
23, but the sense is. The old English verb "recommended" had the
meaning which now belongs only to "commend."

vv. 27,28.] THE ACTS, XIV. 183
fulfilled. And when they were come, and had gathered the 27
church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with
them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the
Gentiles. And there they abode long time with the dis- 28
ciples. 27. and had gathered the church together] \. c. the Christian congre
gation at Antioch who had been moved by the Spirit (xiii. 2) to send
them forth. It was fitting therefore that to them should be made a
declaration of the results of the Apostolic mission.
opened the door of faith) i. e. had made faith the ground of admission
to His kingdom. It was now no longer through circumcision that men
should enter in and be known as God's people, but the Gospel privileges
were offered to every one that believed.
28. And there they abode long time with the disciples] The
oldest MSS. omit "there." Render literally, "And they abode no
little time with the disciples." St Paul was naturally more attached to
Antioch than to Jerusalem, for here was the centre where Gentiles had
first formed a Church, and where consequently he found most sympathy
with his special labours.
The termination of St Paul's first missionary journey seems no unfit
ting place for a notice of the character of the Apostle's labours. We
must assign a space of three or four years to this first mission, and as
the district traversed was but small, a considerable time must have been
spent at each place chosen for a centre of labour. The narrative of
St Luke indicates this very clearly. He tells us (xiii. 49) how from
Antioch "the word of the Lord was published throughout all the re
gion." Again he speaks (xiii. 52, xiv. 22) of "the disciples" as though
converts had been made in no small numbers. Then at Iconium he
mentions (xiv. 1) that "a great multitude both of Jews and Greeks be
lieved," and (xiv. 3) that " long time" was spent there in striving to
overcome the opposition of the "unbelieving Jews," and at last the
whole city appears to have been divided into two great factions. Such
a result was not produced by two unknown Jewish missionaries, except
after the lapse of a long time. So too at Lystra they abode long enough
to gain many adherents, and form a congregation of earnest disciples.
And the abundant fruit of the labours of the missionaries is clearly seen
in the need for the ordination of elders, and in the provisions made for
orderly church government. The language of St Paul too (xv. 36)
when he speaks of revisiting " the brethren in every city where they
had before preached the word of the Lord" indicates that he felt that
a good foundation had been laid in the different places where they had
ministered. It seems from this that the course adopted by the Apostle
was to tarry in some centre of population, and continue his preaching
till a sufficient number of converts had been gained to carry on the work
after he left them, and till some of these were so far instructed as to be
able to take oversight of the infant churches.
But it is when we read of the Christian congregations that the nar-

184 THE ACTS, XIV. [v. 28.

rative of St Luke becomes most full of interest. St Paul had been by a
revelation (Acts xxii. 21) sent to be the Apostle of the Gentiles, and he
testifies himself to this statement of St Luke in his Epistle to the Gala
tians (Gal. ii. .7). Yet the history shews him to us quite in harmony
with the feelings expressed in his letter to the Romans (x. 1) as one
whose heart's desire for Israel is that they may be saved ; and in full
accord with that language in which in the same epistle (xi. 1) he
identifies himself with the children of Israel. Throughout all this
missionary journey St Paul never neglects to publish the message of
salvation first to his own people. No, not even after repeated rejec
tions of his teaching. In Cyprus he and Barnabas are mentioned as
going first to the synagogue at Salamis. To the Gentiles they preached
with much effect, but the Jews had heard their doctrine first. At
Antioch they began their mission work in the synagogue, where they
took their places as members of the Jewish congregation, and were
invited by the rulers to address the assembly as being brethren and of
the same faith. This address, which St Luke has preserved for us in
substance, echoes more than once the language of the Epistle to the
Romans. If in the epistle (iii. 18) St Paul says "We conclude that a
man is justified by faith without the deeds of the Law," St Luke relates
(Acts xiii. 39) how he said to the Jews of Antioch in precisely similar
terms, ' ' By Him all that believe are justified from all things from which
ye could not be justified by the Law of Moses." So too just as the
Apostle explains to the Romans (x. 19) that the purpose of God had
been to rouse His ancient people to jealousy by them that are no people,
so to the Antiochene Jews (Acts xiii. 46) is he represented as saying,
"It was necessary that the word of God should have been first spoken
to you, but seeing ye judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo,
we turn to the Gentiles." And the action is just in the same spirit as
the language which is used in Rom. i. 16. There the Gospel is pro
claimed to be the power of God unto salvation to every one that be
lieveth, but the order in which it is offered is "to the Jew first and
afterwards to the Gentiles."
To compare in this way the language of St Paul's chief epistle with
the abstracts of his speeches in the Acts is of much importance. For
some have been found to maintain that the St Paul of the Epistles is
a very different teacher from the Apostle whose history is recorded in
the Acts. Those passages in the letters where St Paul speaks so
severely of the opposition which he experienced from the Jews have
been unduly dwelt on, and the theory of two sections in the early
Church (a Pauline and a Petrine party) has been widely accepted, and
the Acts described as a work of late date written with a view to bring
about harmony between them. We cannot therefore dwell too often on
all those points in the narrative of St Luke which find a counterpart in
the letters of St Paul. And the farther such a comparison be carried on
the more will it be apparent that the agreement between the Apostle,
and the historian exists because the latter is faithful to what he saw
and heard, and so his record cannot but harmonize with the spirit
and words ofthe chief actor in the history.

vv. t, 2.] THE ACTS, XV. 185
[ — 5. Al Antioch some maintain that Gentile converts must
be circumcised. A mission to ferusalem about the question.
Reception of those who were sent.
And certain men which came down from Judea taught 15
the brethren, and said, Except ye be circumcised after the
manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved. When therefore 2
Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and disputation
XV. 1—6. At Antioch some maintain that Gentile converts
must be circumcised. A Mission to Jerusalem about the
question. Reception of those who were sent.
The history now approaches that subject of controversy which was
certain to arise as soon as Christianity spread beyond the limits of
Palestine. The first converts to the new faith were made among the
Jews, but few of them were likely to cast aside those prejudices of religion
in which they had long been educated. As soon as Gentiles who had
not first become proselytes to Judaism joined the Christian Church,
Jewish exclusiveness received a violent shock, and there was no small
danger lest the new community should be rent asunder almost at its
beginning. "The covenant," by which expression the devout Jew
specially meant "circumcision," was constituted a cry by Judaizing
agitators, and the opposition, first brought into prominence at Antioch,
proved a continuous source of trial through the whole ministry of St
Paul, and has left its traces on most of the writings both of the N. T.
and of early Christian literature.
1. which came down from Judea] The words of the new comers
would derive authority from this. They would be received as the
latest ordinance of the heads of the church at Jerusalem. Thus the
mission of enquiry to Jerusalem was rendered necessary.
taught the brethren] These were a mixed body, composed of Jews,
proselytes and Gentiles (see xi. 19, 20 and the notes there). Thus it
was precisely the place where such a question would arise. Gentile
converts who had not passed into Christianity by the gate of Judaism
would be sure to be regarded as wanting something, by the people in
whose mouths "uncircumcised" had been from old times the bitterest
term of reproach. (Cp. 1 Sam. xvii. 26 and Acts xi. 3.) The tense of the
verb used implies that these men were persistent in their teaching, they
kept constantly to this theme.
after the manner (custom) of Moses] The word is found before (Acts
vi. 14) "the customs which Moses delivered" and signifies those rites and
usages which had their foundation in the law (cp. Luke i. 9, ii. 42 ; Acts
xxi.2i) and so were more than a "manner" or "fashion." Cp. also John
vii. 22, for circumcision as the ordinance given to the people by Moses.
ye cannot be saved) A statement likely to cause dissension and
questioning among those who had just learnt (xiv. 27) that "God had
opened the door of faith" (independent of the observance of the ceremo
nial law) "unto the Gentiles."
2. When therefore Paul 'and Barnabas] These Apostles would at

THE ACTS, XV. [vv. 3,

with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and
certain other pf them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the
3 apostles and elders about this question. And being brought
on their way by the church, they passed through Phenice
and Samaria, declaring the conversion of the Gentiles : and
4 they caused great joy unto all the brethren. And when
once repeat their testimony of what " God had done with them " among
the Gentiles, and thus become the opponents of the ' ' men from Judsea."
dissension and disputation] The authorities of best account give a
simple instead of compound noun for the last word, and it would be
well rendered " questioning," (so R. V.) as the subject in dispute is
called a "question" at the end of the verse. The first noun rendered
' ' dissension " does not imply any angry disputation, but only a division.
They took different sides in the debate.
they determined (appointed)] i.e. the brethren of the church of
Antioch. The verb, as well as the whole context, shews that the
mission was sent by the whole Christian community, to which the
question was one of most vital importance, probably affecting a large
part of their members.
apostles and elders] Peter, John, and James we find were now at
Jerusalem, and these seem, from other notices in the N. T. (Gal.' i. 18,
19, and ii. 9), to have been the Apostles who continued to live in the
holy city. These with the elders appear now as the governing body of
the infant church. And Jerusalem was for the Jew, until its destruc
tion, the place of chief authority (cp. Is. ii. 3). The overthrow of the
holy city did as much as anything to help on the knowledge of the
universality of the Christian religion. Those who had been bred in
Judaism, could not (as devout Jews to this day do not) cast away the
thought that Jerusalem is "the place where men ought to worship."
3. brought on their way) It was not an uncommon mark of affec
tion or respect that a part of the church at any place should attend its
chief teachers for a short way on their journeys. (Cp. infra xx. 38,
xxi. 16.) And for the antiquity of the custom among the Jews, see
Gen. xviii. 16, where Abraham brings his heavenly visitors on theirway.
Among the companions of Paul and Barnabas on this journey must
have been Titus, for we read qf him, and the question raised about his
circumcision, in St Paul's own notice of this visit (Gal. ii. 3).
through Phenice (Phoenicia) and Samaria) The road would take
them along the coast through Berytus, Tyre and Sidon, which at this
time were places of great importance, and most likely to have bodies of
Christians among their inhabitants.
declaring the conversion of the Gentiles) This would naturally be*
St Paul's great theme. Among those who were going up to Jerusalem
with him would be members of the Judaizing party, but their presence
was no check on the Apostle's zeal that all men should hear of the
bringing in of Gentiles to the faith of Christ. The verb used implies
that he gave his story with all details, and we may be sure that he
dwelt on the way in which the Spirit of God had set a seal upon the
work, though the converts of whom he spake were all uncircumcised.

v. 5.] THE ACTS, XV. 187
they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the
church, and ofthe apostles and elders, and they declared all
things that God had done with them. But there rose up 5
certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying,
That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command
them to keep the law of Moses.
unto all the brethren] We see therefore that it was only some of the
Jews who demanded from the. Gentiles complete conformity to the Law.
At Jerusalem (v. 5) the Judaizing party is described as ' certain of
the sect of the Pharisees which believed,' and the Gospel history repre
sents the Pharisees on all occasions as determined supporters of the
ceremonial law. Probably their party was most numerous at Jerusalem,
where all the ritual observances could be most completely carried out.
In the more remote congregations the joy over the Gentile con
versions would be unalloyed.
4. they were received of the church] "The church" is perhaps named
first because there would on such a visit be an assembly of the whole
Christian body to hear the story of the missionary labours of Paul and
Barnabas before the question about which they had specially been sent
from Antioch came to be discussed. The account of the spreading of
the faith was for all, while the question of circumcision would be
discussed only by the heads of the church, and those who could speak
with authority. This preliminary meeting must have lasted for a con
siderable time, even if only a mere abstract of the labours, sufferings
and success of Paul and Barnabas were given to those who met them.
Such a recital was the best introduction that could be conceived for the
question wliich was afterwards to be discussed and legislated on.
God had done with them] The preposition (p.era) implies that the
Apostles deemed themselves fellow-workers with God (cp. Mark xvi. 20),
but that they were only instruments whom God employed is also shewn
below (v. 12) where the same labours are spoken of as "what God
had wrought among the Gentiles by (Sia) them."
5. But there rose up, &c] The margin of the A.V. takes this
sentence as part ofthe narration of Paul and Barnabas, "there rose up,
said they, certain, &c." But it is much more natural to consider them
to be St Luke's account of what happened at Jerusalem. The teachers
at Antioch had not been described as Pharisees though they probably
were so. But in no other passage of the N.T. are the Pharisees
mentioned away from Jerusalem. As soon as the Apostolic narrative
was heard by the church certain of their party stood forth from the
church body and lodged their protest against what had been done. The
Pharisaic teaching concerning the necessity of circumcision was based
on such passages as Is. lvi. 6, where the covenant mentioned was held
to be that of circumcision. And they supported their position by such
passages as Is. Iii. 1, where the uncircumcised are excluded from the
holy city.
saying, That it was needful] Better, "saying, It is needful, &c."
The words are a direct utterance, and suit better so rendered with
14 — 2

i38 THE ACTS, XV. [vv. 6,7.
6 — 1 2. The Council at ferusalem ; the debate and the speech
of Peter. Narration of the work of Barnabas and Paul.
6 And the apostles and elders came together for to consider of
7 this matter. And when there had been much disputing, Peter
St Luke's narrative, in which he is describing what occurred before
the church at Jerusalem.
The visit of St Paul to Jerusalem which St Luke here describes is
now generally admitted to be the same of which St Paul speaks in
Gal. ii. 1 — 9. The chronology offers no obstacle to this conclusion,
while the purpose of the visit, and the companionship of Barnabas and
the persons who were at the head of the church in Jerusalem are all
accordant in the two notices. In the Epistle, St Paul tells us that he
took Titus with him, and nothing is more likely than that while he had
the company of some members of the Judaizing party, he would also
take a companion with him from among those converts on whose behalf
he was making the journey. He says too that it was ' by revelation' that
he went up, while the narrative of the Acts represents him as sent by
the church of Antioch. But here need be no contradiction. An inward
monition may have furnished the true reason why the Apostle consented
to make an appeal to the central authorities in Jerusalem. St Luke
would not necessarily be aware of this ; it was important in St Paul's
argument to the Galatians that he should mention it. (For a fuller
comparison of the two notices, see Bp Lightfoot's Ep. to Galatians,
note, pp. 122 — 127.)
6 — 12. The Council at Jerusalem ; the debate and the
speech of Peter. Narration of the work of Barnabas
and Paul.
6. And the apostles and elders came (were gathered) together]
These words refer to a formal summoning to discuss the difficult
question which had been brought forward. That there was a space
between the first welcome of the Apostles by the church and the
assembly of the synod suits St Paul's words (Gal. ii. 2) that he ex
plained his position " privately to them which were of reputation." This
private conference was a necessary preparation for the more public
discussion which alone is noticed by the history.
7. much disputing) [R. V. questioning] For the Pharisaic ele
ment would find its warmest supporters at Jerusalem. And it is to that
party that the disputing must be ascribed, for it is plain, from the sum
ming up of St James at the close of the discussion, that the other
apostles were of the same mind with Paul and Barnabas, and as is said
in the Epistle to the Galatians (ii. 9), "they gave unto them the right
hands of fellowship."
Peter rose up) It is worth notice that Barnabas and Paul leave
arguments and reasons to those who had laboured most among Jewish

w. 8— io.] THE ACTS, XV. 1S9
rose up, and said unto them, Men and brethren, ye know
how that a good while ago God made choice among us,
that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of
the gospel, and believe. And God, which knoweth the »
hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost,
even as he did unto us ; and put no difference between us 9
and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore "
why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the
converts, and merely content themselves with telling their experience of
what God had wrought through them.
Men and brethren] See note on i. 16.
a good while ago] Lit. " from early days. " Alluding to the conver
sion of Cornelius (chap, x.) which probably took place some ten years
before the meeting of this synod. This was at an early period of the
apostolic ministry, and the great and numerous events which had inter
vened made the time seem long ago.
by my mouth] That he may not seem to be claiming a distinction
for himself as the one chosen of God for- this work, St Peter is careful
to call himself no more than the mouthpiece of God.
8. which knoweth the hearts) The word is only here and in Acts i.
24, and on both occasions it is St Peter who uses it. Such witness could
admit of no appeal ; and God had put the uncircumcised on the same
level with the circumcised by giving to them the same gifts of the Spirit.
9. And put no difference) i.e. made no distinction. The Apostle
looks on God's testimony to the Gentiles in two lights. What was
given to the new converts was the same which had been given at the
first outpouring of the Spirit. And God made no mark of distinction to
sever Jews from Gentiles. Faith had purified the hearts of Cornelius
and his house, and the outward observances of the law of Moses were
of no account when the heart was clean before Him who alone could
judge of the purity thereof. In these words of his St Peter clearly
agrees to all that St Paul had taught about the admission of the Gentiles.
purifying their hearts, &c] The verb is the same which is used in
the account ofthe vision (x. 15) "what God hath cleansed, &c.,".and St
Peter is clearly referring to that narrative.
10. Now therefore] When you have this evidence of how God has
already accepted the Gentiles.
why tempt ye God) Men are said " to tempt God" when they dis
trust his guidance, and in consequence disobey his revealed will (cp.
Ps. xcv. 9). So the Jews tempted God in the wilderness (Heb. iii. 9)
when they saw His mighty works and yet murmured at His leaders :
so they are said to have tempted Christ (1 Cor. x. 9) when they were
punished by the fiery seipents ; and Ananias and Sapphira are said to
"have agreed to tempt the Spirit of the Lord," by acting as though
they thought they could deceive God in their offering. From these
instances the force of the question in the text will be seen. Those
who should act as the Pharisaic party would recommend, would be dis-

190 THE ACTS, XV. [w. n, 12.
disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to
11 bear ? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord
« Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they. Then all the
multitude kept silence, and gave audience to Barnabas
and Paul, declaring what miracles and wonders God had
wrought among the Gentiles by them.
trusting God's knowledge of the hearts of men, and refusing to be guided
by what His Spirit had made known in the conversion of Cornelius.
a yoke) So St Paul (Gal. v. 1) calls the ceremonial law " a yoke of
bondage." Christ uses the word "yoke" for his own precepts, knowing
that a yoke was needed for men's guidance, but He calls it "easy" (Matt.
xi. 30).
aide to bear] How this was felt is shewn by the Rabbinic injunction
to "make a hedge about the law," i.e. so to fence in its precepts by
additional regulations of their own, that there should be no chance
of infringing the commandment. These additions, commandments of
men, as our Lord styles them, had made the ceremonial observances
into a killing load.
11. But] Translation fails to give' the force of this conjunction.
It implies an exhortation for which the remainder of the verse states
the reason. But cease now from such a course, for we believe, &c.
through the grace of fhe Lord Jesus] (The most ancient authorities
omit Christ!) It is not to our having conformed to the Jewish law, St
Peter urges, that we look for salvation, but to the grace of the Lord.
even as they) . i.e. in like manner as they believe. Thus the argu
ment is : If our belief and hope are the same, and no other, than theirs,
why should these new converts be urged to adopt observances which
form to us no ground for our hope of salvation ? In the N. T. history
St Peter's name appears no more, and when we call to mind the opposi
tion which, at the close of the first, and in the second century, was
represented as existing between the teaching of Paul and Peter, we
cannot think that it was without meaning that this last appearance of
the Apostle of the circumcision in the Scripture story sets him before
us in full accord with the Apostle of the Gentiles.
12. Then all the multitude) Though the apostles and elders are
alone mentioned (v. 6) as coming together, it now appears that the
assembly was a large one.
kept silence) The authority with which he could speak through whom
God had first opened the door of faith to the (lentiles must have
silenced opposition. For he like themselves had had prejudices to
overcome before his mission to Cornelius.
and gave audience] Here the imperfect tense implies the steady
continuous attention to the whole narrative of that first missionary
journey of St Paul.
what miracles) The word is that usually rendered signs ; and the
two nouns are the same which occur in the prayer of the disciples
(iv. 30) ' that signs and wonders may be done through the name of tlry

vv. 13—16.] THE ACTS, XV. 191
13 — 21. fames sums up the discussion, and pronounces the
decision of the Church on this controversy.
And after they had held their peace, James answered, 13
saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto me : Simeon hath i4
declared how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take
out of them a people for his name. And to this agree the 15
words of the prophets ; as it is written, After this I will 16
holy servant Jesus.' The prayer was now being answered abundantly.
It is well that the English rendering should accord in these places.
by them] See note on v. 4 above.
13 — 21. James sums up the discussion, and pronounces the
decision of the Church on this controversy.
13. James] i.e. the brother of the Lord, and bishop of Jerusalem,
see above on xii. 17.
Men and brethren] See note on i. 16.
hearken unto me] The president's summary takes no note of the
"much disputing" (v. 7) but points out that a divine revelation had
been made to Peter, and that it was accordant with the words of Old
Testament prophecy. On these warrants he based his decision.
14. Simeon (Symeon)] This more Jewish form of the name of the
Apostle Peter is found also at the commencement of St Peter's. second
Epistle. The Jews after they came to have much intercourse with
Gentiles had frequently two forms of name, one of which was employed
on religious and solemn occasions, the other in intercourse with non-
Jews and in the ordinary transactions of life. Thus in the Apocrypha
(1 Mace. v. 17, &c.) .the name of the Maccabean prince is written
Simon, though on his coins it stands Symeon (see Gesenius, s.v.).
how God at the first] Better, how God did first visit, &c. It was not
at the first, but some time after the mission of the Holy Ghost on the
Apostles that Cornelius was converted. What St Peter had narrated
was the first acceptance of a Gentile into the church.
visit the Gentiles] In the old sense of "look upon," and generally
with the accompanying notion of kindness. (Cp. Luke i. 68, 78, vii.
16 ; Heb. ii. 6.)
a people for his name) Thus " the ehosen people" were no longer to
be Jews only, and so those ceremonial ordinances which had hitherto
marked out Jews from Gentiles might be seen to be unnecessary.
15. And to this agree] i.e. with this action on God's part the
statements of His prophets are in harmony. They had foretold that it
should be so. Only one prophet is here quoted, viz. Amos (ix. n, 12),
but the audience would recall other like passages, as St Paul does
Rom. xv. 9 — -12, quoting from the books of Moses, David and Isaiah.
16. After this] Lit. after these things, (so R. V.) It will be seen on
reference to the words of Amos that the quotation here given is not

ig2 THE ACTS, XV. [v. 17.
return, and will build again the tabernacle of David,
which is fallen down; and I will build again the
'» ruins thereof, and I will set it up: that the residue
of men might seek after the Lord, and all the Gen
tiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the Lord,
made from the Hebrew, which is correctly represented by the A.V.
in the book of Amos. Whether St James himself spoke at the synod
in Greek, or St Luke has represented in Greek what the speaker himself
uttered in Aramaic we cannot know. But the words in the text cor
respond very nearly with the LXX. which here (either because they
read the Hebrew consonants differently or because they merely gave the
sense without attempting an exact rendering), varies from the Hebrew
text. Yet St Luke does not give exactly the words of the LXX. He
may have quoted from memory or have modified them somewhat lo
adapt them to the form of his sentence. The words of the LXX. run
thus, "In that day I will set up the tabernacle of David which hath
fallen down, and I will build up the fallen parts thereof, and the ruins
thereof 1 will set up, and I will build it up as the days of eternity, that
the residue of men may seek (unto it) and all the Gentiles upon whom
my name is called saith the Lord who doeth all these things.
/ will return, and will build] This is not the form of either the
Hebrew text or the LXX. , but it is a favourite Hebrew mode of expression
to signify "I will do a thing again." Cp. Eccl. iv. 1, "I returned and
considered" = I considered once again. Also Eccl. iv. 7, ix. n. This
favours the opinion that St James, in this specially Jewish synod, may
have spoken in Aramaic.
the tabernacle of David] The word used by Amos signifies one of
those booths used by the people at the Feast of Tabernacles, when
tbey lived in frail dwellings in order to be reminded that God
was their protector. This word may be applied to the estate of the
jews when the Deliverer should come, to indicate that they should be
brought very low, but yet should find in him a Saviour.
17. might seek after the Lord] The Hebrew of Amos differs widely
here; and in the LXX. "the Lord" is not expressed. But the Spirit
enabled St James to give the full interpretation of the prophetic words.
The original paints the restored tabernacle, and of course the people of
David restored along with it, as possessors of the remnant of Edom and
all the heathen. The nations shall be joined unto the Lord's people.
The LXX., as an exposition, speaks of "the residue of men seeking unto
the restored tabernacle." St James makes both clear by shewing tliat
"to seek after the Lord " is to be the true up-building both of the house
of David and of all mankind besides.
The Hebrew word for "man" is Adam which differs very slightly
from the word Edom. So that the variation between "remnant of
Edom" and "residue of men" may be due only to the various reading
of that noun.
upon whom my name is called) An Aramaic mode of saying "who

vv. 18—20.] THE ACTS, XV.

'93

who doeth all these things. Known unto God are all >s
his works from the beginning of the world. Wherefore my 19
sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among
the Gentiles are turned to God : but that we write unto 20
them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from
are called by my name." The expression is so translated James ii. 7
(cp. Deut. xxviii. 10, &c).
who doeth) Here the most ancient texts connect the words of this
verse with those of the following, and have nothing to represent the
English "all" in v. 17, or "unto God are all his works" in v. 18, so
that the sense becomes either (1) "the Lord, who maketh these things
known from the beginning of the world," or (2) "the Lord, who doeth
these things that were known from the beginning of the world." The
first of these renderings is the more difficult to understand, and it must
be taken as somewhat hyperbolic. God made known by His prophets
the calling of the Gentiles in very early days, and this early revelation
may be all that is intended by the stronger phrase. But the second
sense seems to suit better with the context. This reception of the Gen
tiles seems to the Jew a new and startling thing, but God has revealed
it by His prophets, and He who is doing it is but carrying out what
He had known and designed from the beginning ofthe world.
19. Wherefore my sentence is] Lit. I decide. The pronoun is
emphatically expressed, and indicates that the speaker is deciding with
authority. that we trouble not them] The verb is only found here in N. T., and
signifies to trouble by putting obstacles in the way of another. Thus
the idea of the speaker is "We will not by needless impediments deter
the new converts from joining us."
which from amotigthe Gentiles are turned to God] The same phrase
is used elsewhere in the Acts (cp. ix. 35, xiv. 15, xxvi. 20), but of
the converts at Antioch (xi. 21) the whole expression is "a great
number believed and turned unto the Lord" thus shewing what consti
tuted the true turning unto God.
20. But that we write unto them] The word is used primarily of a
charge sent by a messenger, but also, as in Heb. xiii. 22, is often used of
what is sent by letter (and hence comes the English word epistle), and
there can be little doubt that this is the sense in the present case, for
though messengers were sent, they carried with them the decision of
the synod of Jerusalem in a formal manner committed to writing (v. 23).
that they abstain from pollutions of idols) This is explained in v.
29 by "meats offered (i.e. sacrificed) to idols." Ofthe necessity for such
an injunction in the early church, where congregations were to be now
composed of both Jews and Gentiles, we can judge from St Paul's
argument to the Corinthians (1 Cor. viii. 1 — 10, *. 19), and we can
also see how he would have the Gentile converts deal tenderly with the
scruples of their Jewish fellow-worshippers, however needless they
themselves might deem such scruples.

194 THE ACTS, XV. [v. 20.
fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.
The word rendered pollutions is unknown to classical Greek and of
very rare occurrence. So far as the construction of the original is con
cerned, it might refer to the other forbidden things that follow "pollu
tions of idols and of fornication, &c." But as in the other places where
the cognate is found (Dan. i. 8; Mai. i. 7, 12; Ecclus. xl. 29) it has
always reference to defilement caused by food, it is better to confine
the connexion in the same way here, and as in A.V. supply a preposi
tion before the second noun, "and from fornication."
As the ordinance of the synod is for the settling of Jewish minds, we
may understand the sort of offence which they were likely to feel from
Daniel's refusal to eat of the food supplied by King Nebuchadnezzar.
Meat was often sold in the markets from beasts that had been offered in
sacrifice to idols, and this food and those who ate it the Jew would
abhor. The Gentile converts might not be careful, when they had once
come to think of the idol as nothing, and might join still in banquets
with their non-Christian friends, and St Paul (1 Cor. viii. 9) supposes
an extreme case, that such men might even sit down to meat in an idol-
temple. If Jew and Gentile were to beoome one in Christ, much
respect must be paid to the feelings which had been sunk deep into the
minds of Israel by long years of suffering for their own idolatry.
and from fornication] This injunction must not be understood as a
simple repetition of a moral law binding upon all men at all times, but
must be taken in connexion with the rest of the decree, and as forbid
ding a sin into which converts from heathenism were most prone to fall
back, and which their previous lives had taught them to regard in a very
different light from that in which a Jew would see it. The Levitical
law against every form of unchastity was extremely strict (Lev. xviii.
and xx.), and it is probably to the observance of these ordinances that
we may ascribe the persistence of the Jewish type, and the purity of
their race at this day. Whereas among the heathen unchastity was a
portion of many of their temple rites, and persons who gave themselves
up to such impurities were even called by the names of the heathen
divinities. To men educated in the constant contemplation of such a
system, sins of unchastity would have far less guilt than in the eyes of
those to whom the law of Moses was read every sabbath-day.
and from things strangled (lit. from what is strangled), and from
blood] The prohibition of blood was made as soon as animal food was
given to men (Gen. ix. 4), and it was frequently enforced in the Mosaic
law (Lev. iii. 17, vii. 26, xvii. 10, 14, xix. 26). To eat blood was
counted a sin against the Lord in the days of Saul ( 1 Sam. xiv. 33), and
with strict Jews it is an abomination to this day. Things strangled
are not specially mentioned in the law of Moses, but that they should
not be eaten follows from the larger prohibition. Lev. vii. 26 does,
however, make mention of the blood of fowls, and it would be in the
use of them that the eating of blood began first to be practised. And
in breaking the neck of an animal the Jew held that the blood was
caused to flow into the limbs in such wise that it could not be brought
out even by salt. See T. B. Chullin, 113*.

vv. 21, 22.] THE ACTS, XV.

»9S

For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach 21
him, being read in the synagogues every sabbath day.
22 — 29. Answer and deputation sent from ferusalem. The
letter ofthe Synod to the Christians of Antioch.
Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole 22
21. For, Moses of old time (lit. from generations of old) hath in every
city, &c] Here we have the reason why these injunctions are to be
laid upon the Gentile converts. It is necessary however to take the
whole verse into consideration before we can decide on the force of the
reason. Laying stress chiefly on the expression "from generations of
old," some have thought that St James' argument meant that the Mosaic
ritual having been preached for so long a time and found to be a load
too heavy to bear, must now be given up, except in these specified
points. Again the verse has been taken to mean that there was no
need for the Christian church to legislate about tlie observance of the
Mosaic law other than in these few points, because there was public
teaching on the subject everywhere in the Jewish synagogues. Jewish
Christians were therefore supplied with guidance, and would be so
supplied until by degrees Judaism had entirely given place to Chris
tianity. No doubt the Apostle contemplates the retention by the
Jewish Christians of much of their old ritual, and that they would
make no breach with the services of the synagogue. But in these
enactments, which were apparently only for a time (since St Paul no
where alludes to them in his Epistles), and to promote peace between
Gentiles and Jews, we must" remember that the Jews were regarded
as the weaker brethren. And the argument of tlie council may be
supposed to run thus : We may make this concession to the Gentiles
without fear of doing any injury to the Jew. It is not probable that his
feelings and prejudices will be interfered with, or the Mosaic law in its
other portions set aside ; ' For Moses, &c.'
being read in the synagogues] On the Jewish manner of reading the
law, see additional note at the end of chap. xiii.
22 — 29. Answer and deputation sent from Jerusalem. The
letter of the Synod to the Christians of Antioch.
22. Then pleased it] The word is one often used in the official
announcements of what has been decreed by authority, or of public
resolutions (cp. Herod. 1. 3 ; Thuc. IV. 1 18, &c). So the more formal
rendering, "It seemed good to," would come nearer to the force of the
word. the apostles and elders, with the whole church] So the decree was the
voice of the whole church, and the deputies sent were chosen by the
whole body, and it is in the name of 'apostles, elders and brethren'
that the letter runs (v- 23).

196 THE ACTS, XV. [v. 23.
church, to send chosen men of their own company to
Antioch with Paul and Barnabas ; namely, Judas surnamed
*3 Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren : and
they wrote letters by them after this manner ; The apostles
and elders and brethren send greeting unto the brethren
to send chosen men of their own company] More literally (with R. V.),
to choose men out of their company and send them, which rendering
makes it clear that the election of those sent was the work of the
whole assembly.
with Paul and Barnabas] That the church of Antioch might have
the confirmation of the decree from the lips of others beside these two,
for they might be supposed to favour especially all that was considerate
towards Gentile converts.
Judas surnamed Barsabas] The oldest texts give 'Judas called
Barsabbas.' Of this man nothing more is known than what we learn
from this chapter. But as Barsabbas is clearly a patronymic,it has been
conjectured that he was the brother of Joseph called Barsabbas, men
tioned in Acts i. 23, where the MSS. and editions have the same
variation of spelling.
Silas) This is probably the same person who in St Paul's Epistles
(2 Cor. i. 19; 1 Thess. i. 1 ; 2 Thess. i. 1) and by St Peter (1 Pet. v.
12) is called Silvanus. For an account of similar contracted names cp.
Winer's Gram. (ed. Moulton), pp. 127, 128. The mention of Silas is
frequent in the Acts in this and the next three chapters. He was one
of St Paul's companions in the first missionary journey into Europe.
23. And they wrote letters by them after this manner] From the
form in which the document is here given, we should judge that the
original was in Greek. A translation from a Hebrew original would
hardly have begun with a greeting and ended with " Fare ye well." It
seems likely that this was so too, because the population of Antioch,
the chief town in Syria, would use Greek much more than Hebrew, at
this date. The construction of the Greek in the beginning of this verse
is not strictly grammatical, but such irregularities are not unusual in a
passage which begins impersonally, as does v. 22.
by them (lit. by their hand)] This is a Hebraism. The letter was
not delivered to Paul and Barnabas, but to the two ambassadors from
Jerusalem. It is the oldest synodical circular letter in existence, and
the only one of Apostolic times which has come down to us. Bengel
suggests that it was composed by James, in the name and at the request
of the assembly.
The apostles and elders and brethren] The oldest MSS. omit the
second and, thus making the Epistle run in the name of the apostles and
elder brethren, and this rendering is adopted in R. V. The conjunc
tion of the two last words to signify ' the elders ' is very unusual, and
after what has been said in the previous verse about the decree ex
pressing the voice of the whole church as well as of the apostles and
elders, it seems much more in accord with the rest of the narrative

vv. 24, 25.I THE ACTS, XV. 197
which are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia :
Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which went out 24
from us have troubled you with words, subverting your
souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law : to
whom we gave no such commandment : it seemed good 35
unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen
to adhere to the Text. Rec. which has a large amount of good MS.
support. in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia] As we have no mention of this
decree of the synod of Jerusalem in St Paul's Epistles, we may suppose
that the agitation on the subject, begun at Antioch, had spread only
into Syria and Cilicia, and that the authoritative decision of the mother
church quieted the controversy there, while it did not arise in the same
form in other places.
24. which went out) These words are not represented in the Greek
of some MSS., but they seem to give force to the history. The dis
turbing teachers had come from Jerusalem, but their want of any au
thority is contrasted strongly with the commission of Judas and Silas
(v. 27). The first men went of themselves, the new messengers were
the choice of the church.
subverting your souls] In N.T. the verb occurs only here and is not
found in the LXX. In classical Greek, it is applied mostly to an entire
removal of goods and chattels either by the owners or by a plundering
enemy. The devastation wrought in the minds of the Gentile converts
through the new teaching is compared to an utter overthrow.
saying, Ye must be circumcised, and keep the law] The oldest autho
rities omit the Greek of these words, which look somewhat like a
marginal explanation that has crept into the text, especially as "to
keep the law " is an expansion, though of course a correct one, of the
statement made in v. 1, about the teaching that was given. There
circumcision alone is mentioned as the point on which disturbance was
created. to whom we gave no such commandment] The insertion of the italic
such was made necessary by the presence of the clause "saying, &c."
but if that be omitted, the sentence becomes a more complete disavowal
of any connexion with the Judaizing disturbers. ' To whom we gave
no commandment at all,' So the R. V.
25. being assembled with one accord] The words may be so rendered
and passage be compared with Acts ii. 1, iv. 24, v. 12. But in those
passages there is only the substantive verb elpX, while here ytyveoffai has
its proper sense of "becoming." It seems therefore better and more
accordant with the sense of the passage to translate ' having become of
one accord' or 'having come to one accord.'
to send chosen men unto you] The participle here is not passive and
so should not be referred to Judas and Silas, but to those who sent
them. Render literally " that having chosen out men we should send
them, &c." i.e. "to choose out men and send them." So R- V.

THE ACTS, XV. [vv. 26— 29.

26 men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men
that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord
27 Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who
28 shall also tell you the same things by mouth. For it seemed
good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no
29 greater burden than these necessary things ; that ye abstain
from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from
things strangled, and from fornication : from which if ye
keep yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well.

with our beloved) The intention of the whole letter is to shew the
honour which the church in Jerusalem felt was due to these missionary
labourers. Hence the adjective "beloved " which in N.T. is specially
applied to those who are closely united in faith and love. St Peter
applies it to St Paul (2 Pet. iii. 15).
Barnabas and Paul) The name of Barnabas is put first here perhaps
because he had been formerly (xi. 22) sent as a special messenger from
the church in Jerusalem to Antioch.
26. Men that have hazarded their lives] What the English sentence
leaves uncertain the Greek makes quite plain, viz. that these words refer
to Barnabas and Paul and to the many dangers into which their first
missionary journey had brought them (cp. xiii. 50, xiv. 2, 5, 19).
for the name] Here, as often, name signifies the Messianic dignity
and divine authority of Jesus. They have preached everywhere Jesus
as the Christ.
27. by mouth] The Greek has by word. Our modern phrase com
bines the two, by word of mouth, and is given in R. V.
28. For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us] A third time in
this clause of the narrative from 22 — 29 does this official word occur,
from which is derived the noun dogma. It had been promised that to
the Apostles there should be given the Spirit of truth, who should guide
them into all truth (John xvi. 1 3) and the historian of the Acts often
speaks of them as " filled with the Spirit." They put forward therefore
this unerring guide as the warrant for their decree. And as they at
the suggestion of the Spirit were laying aside their longstanding pre
judices against intercourse with Gentiles, they claim that the Gentiles
in their turn should deal tenderly with the scruples of Jews.
no greater burden] The Jews themselves could speak thus of the load
of legal observances (cp. supra v. 11). They had chosen out but a
small part thereof, which the circumstances of the time made necessary
to be observed.
29. ye shall do well] Not "ye shall be doing what is right," but "it
shall be well with you " (R. V.), "you shall be in a good state."
Fare ye well] This termination and the greeting at the commence
ment of the letter are in the style of Western epistolary language.
See above on verse 23.

w- 30— .33-] THE ACTS, XV. 199
30 — 35. Reception of the letter and messengers at Antioch.
Departure of fudas. Silas continues in Antioch.
So when they were dismissed, they came to Antioch : and 30
when they had gathered the multitude together, they de
livered the epistle: which when they had read, they rejoiced 31
for the consolation. And Judas and Silas, being prophets 3*
also themselves, exhorted the brethren with many words,
and confirmed them. And after they had tarried there a 33
space, they were let go in peace from the brethren unto the
30—35. Reception of the letter and messengers at Antioch.
Departure of Judas. Silas continues in Antioch.
30. came to Antioch] An early reading preferred by recent editors
is came down, as in Acts viii. 5, Jerusalem being regarded as the chief
seat of ghurch-government, and the centre of authority. Throughout
the Bible the chosen place is always spoken of as one to which men
go up.
gathered the multitude] An expression which shews of how great
concern the question had become to the whole Christian body. The
same word is used above (v. 12) of the assembly of Christians at Jeru
salem. 31. rejoiced for the consolation] Barnabas " the son of consolation "
(iv. 36) was a fit member of such an embassy. The consolation would
be felt both by Jews and Gentiles, by the former because they knew how
much was to be asked of their Gentile fellow-worshippers, by the latter
because they were declared free from the yoke of Jewish observances.
The noun very often signifies exhortation, but that sense is neither so
apt here, nor is it borne out by the character of the letter, which sets
forth a ground of peace and comfort, but is not hortatory.
32. being prophets also themselves] " Prophet " is here used in the
. earlier and less special sense ; not as one who foretells the future, but
who, being filled with the Spirit, speaks with His authority in expiana-
t'onof the will of God. Judas and Silas being thus endowed were well
fitted to exhort and confirm the disciples. The exhortations would
be most necessary for the Gentiles who were to consent to more strict
living than in times past, while the confirmation would uphold the
Jews who otherwise might feel unwilling to allow the non-observance
of a part of their law. The prophetic character of the speakers would
give to their words the force of revelation. Such confirmation or
strengthening of the brethren is the special charge laid on St Peter
(Luke xxii. 32) who . was to be the first preacher of Christ to the Gen
tiles, and had first received the lesson that what God had cleansed was
not to be called common.
33. they were let go in peace] This is the translation of a Hebrew
expression, and does not signify 'they were allowed to go quietly away,'

THE ACTS, XV. [w. 34— 39-,

34 apostles. Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there
3s still. Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch, teach
ing and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others
also.36 — 41. A new Mission-journey proposed. Contention be
tween Paul and Barnabas. They separate, and Paul
with Silas goes through Syria and Cilicia.
36 And some days after Paul said unto Barnabas, Let us go
again and visit our brethren in every city where we have
37 preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do. And
Barnabas determined to take with them John, whose
38 surname was Mark. But Paul thought not good to take
him with them, who departed from them from Pamphylia,
39 and went not with them to the work. And the contention
but "in peace " means " with a blessing or prayer for peace, as a part
ing word."
unto the apostles] The oldest MSS. read "unto those that had sent
them forth." So R. V.
34. This verse is omitted in many ancient MSS., and in others the
Greek words vary. It may very well be a marginal note placed to
explain v. 40, where Paul, who did not leave Antioch, is said to have
chosen Silas for his companion in his next journey. Silas therefore
must have remained in Antioch after Judas was gone, and such an
explanation some reader put on the margin of his copy.
35. teaching and preaching the word of the Lord) In such a com
munity there was need not only of setting forth Jesus as the Saviour,
but of much instruction concerning the ways in which God had shewn
that the Gentiles were now to be made partakers of the new covenant.
So that the two verbs should not be taken one as an explanation of the
other.36 — 41. A new Mission-journey proposed. Contention be
tween Paul and Barnabas. They separate, and Paul
with Silas goes through Syria and Cilicia.
36. visit our brethren] The oldest MSS. omit the pronoun, and
read the brethren only. So R. V.
37. And Barnabas determined] The Greek of the best MSS. gives
a weaker verb "wished." The reason of Barnabas' choice was pro
bably because Mark was his nephew (Col. iv. 10). R. V. renders "was
minded." whose surname was] The Greek is merely " who was called."
38. who departed from them] See above xiii. 14. He turned back
to Jerusalem from Perga.
39. And the contention was so sharp,... that, &c] More literally
{with R. V.), And there arose a sharp contention so that, &c. The Greek

30 eif \32 615 \S4 617 \30 621 \M 623

w. 40, 41; 1.] THE ACTS, XV. XVI. 201
was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one
from the other: and so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed
unto Cyprus ; and Paul chose Silas, and departed, being 4o
recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God. And 4i
he went through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.
1— 12. Paul revisits Derbe and Lystra, chooses Timothy
for a companion in his mission, and circumcises him.
They pass through Phrygia and Galatia, and come into
Mysia and to Troas. By a vision Paul is called into
Macedonia. He crosses the sea and remains some days at
Philippi.
Then came he to Derbe and Lystra : and behold, a 16
word (from which our English paroxysm comes) intimates a temporary
rather than a prolonged dispute, although it may for the time be severe.
The result to the church was that two missionary journeys were under
taken instead of one. Though the Apostles might differ in their estimate
of Mark, they were at one with reference to the work of the Gospel.
Barnabas is mentioned no more in the Acts after this chapter. His
name occurs in St Paul's Epistles, 1 Cor. ix. 6; Gal. ii. 1, 9, 13 ; and
Col. iv. 10, in which last passage, written no doubt after the events
here related, we can see that Mark had been again received as a fellow-
worker by St Paul. We learn too from 2 Tim. iv. 1 1 and Philemon 24
that St Paul became warmly attached to him afterwards.
sailed unto Cyprus] In which island Barnabas, and it may be Mark
also, was born (iv. 37). They chose therefore for their labours a dis
trict in which they were likely to have some influence.
40. being recommended] The more usual word in this sense in
modern English is commended. (R. V.)
unto the grace of God] The best MSS. have " grace of the Lord."
41. Syria and Cilicia] These were the districts in which the teach
ing of the Judaizers had been most active, and the presence of Paul,
with Silas as a representative of the church in Jerusalem, would allay
all doubts and questionings, and lead to those results which are men
tioned xvi. 5, the establishing of the churches, and their daily increase
in numbers. This duty St Paul first discharged before he went on to
visit any of the churches which himself had founded.
XVI. 1 — 12. Paul revisits Derbe and Lystra, chooses Timo
thy for a companion in his mission, and circumcises
him. They pass through Phrygia and Galatia, and come
into Mysia and to Troas. By a vision Paul is called into
Macedonia. He crosses the sea and remains some days
at Philippi.
1. to Derbe and Lystra] Thus beginning the revisiting spoken of
in xv. 36. See notes on xiv. 6.
acts 1 5

202 THE ACTS, XVI. [vv. 2, 3.
certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a
certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed ; but his
2 father was a Greek : which was well reported of by the bre-
3 thren that were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul
have to go forth with him ; and took and circumcised him
was there] The verb does not make it certain that Lystra, to which
itcei is most naturally referred, was the birthplace of Timothy, but only
his home at the date' of Paul's visit. He must however have resided
there a good while to have earned the favourable report of the people
both of that place and Iconium.
named Timotheus] The Timothy to whom St Paul addresses two
Epistles and who was the companion of his labours in this journey until
his return into Proconsular Asia (xx. 4). He was the son of a Jewish-
Christian mother, and his father was a Greek, whether a proselyte of
the gate or not, we are not told. The mother's name was Eunice
(2 Tim. i. 4) and the grandmother's Lois. Timothy is spoken of as a
fellow-worker with St Paul (Rom. xvi 21). From 1 Cor. iv. 17 we
find that he was St Paul's messenger to that church, and he is joined
with that Apostle in the greeting of 2nd Corinthians. He also went to
and fro between St Paul and the church in Thessalonica (1 Thess. iii.
2, 6) and must have been at Rome with St Paul, soon after the Apo
stle's arrival there, for he is mentioned in the Epistles to the Philippians
(i. r, ii. 19), to the Colossians (i. 1) and to Philemon (v. 1). An im
prisonment which he underwent is alluded to (Heb. xiii. 23), but we can
not be certain when or where it was. According to tradition (Eus. H. E.
in. 14) he was the first bishop of Ephesus, and is said to have suffered
martyrdom at the hands ofthe populace (Niceph. H. E. III. 11).
the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed] More
strictly and according to the oldest texts, ' ' the son of a Jewess which
believed." (So R. V.) Her earnest education of her son in the holy
Scriptures (2 Tim. iii. 15) from his early youth marks the character of
the woman, and makes it probable that the husband of such a woman
was at least a proselyte of the gate. Timothy's father is so little men
tioned that it seems likely he had died early.
a Greek] Le. a Gentile by birth. The word was used widely of all
who were not Jews.
2. well reported of] The same expression is used of Cornelius (x.
22) and by Paul of Ananias (xxii. 12).
by the brethren] i.e. the members of the Christian churches. Five
or six years had elapsed since the previous visit of St Paul, so that the
congregations had become somewhat formed, and the characters of
their more earnest members well known.
at Lystra and Iconium] Thus we can see that there was an inter
change of kindly offices between the newly-founded churches.
3. and circumcised him) It must be remembered that the decree of
the synod of Jerusalem only related to the exemption of Gentiles from
circumcision. It was a very different thing for a Jew to consent to

w. 4-6.] THE ACTS, XVI. 203
because pf the Jews which were in those quarters : for they
knew all that his father was a Greek. And as they went 4
through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to
keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which
were at Jerusalem. And so were the churches established s
in the faith, and increased in number daily.
Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the 6
region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to

become a fellow-worshipper in the Christian churches with a Gentile
who remained uncircumcised, and to tolerate, at this time, the non-
observance of the rite by one who was counted for a Jew. For by the
Rabbinical code the child of a Jewish mother was reckoned as a Jew
(T. J. Jebamoth, ii. 6). It was because of this prejudice that Timothy
was circumcised. It could be no offence to the Gentiles, and would
render the labours of Timothy more acceptable to the Jews. Because
he was the child of a mixed marriage the rite had been unobserved,
and so long as he did not come forward as a teacher, there would be no
need felt that it should be enforced, and there would be doubtless many
others of a like class. But when he was to tak<j a share in the mis
sionary labours of St Paul all this was altered. He would at once have
been met with the objection from the Jews, that he who had been but a'
bad Jew was not likely to guide others right as a Christian teacher.
That St Paul saw no inconsistency in what was done in this matter is
clear, for the narrative of St Luke tells us in the next verse that to the
churches to which they went forth he delivered the decrees of the synod
at Jerusalem.
4. they delivered them] i.e. they gave to the Gentile-Christians the
decrees to observe, for there was nothing in them which a Jew would be
likely to disregard. All that would be needed for the Jews in such
cities would be to explain the terms on which Gentiles were to be
admitted to the Christian communion.
6. established in the faith] The verb is peculiar to the Acts, and is
used (iii. 7, 16) ofthe strengthening ofthe limbs ofthe lame man at the
Beautiful Gate of the Temple. So its employment here indicates that
thus the church was now prepared to make great progress. The barrier
to Gentile admission was removed, and so the number of Christians
multiplied daily.
6. Now when they had gone throughout) The oldest MSS. merely
say and they went through.
Phrygia and the region of Galatia] Scarcely the direction, so far as
population was concerned, which would have been chosen by them of
their own accord, but the inner admonition of the Holy Ghost kept them
from entering Proconsular Asia. The news of the events at Jerusalem
on the day of Pentecost- were known to some in Phrygia already (ii. 10),
but of Galatia the history has yet made no mention, though we know
from St Paul's Epistle to that church that he afterwards had the warmest
15—2

204 THE ACTS, XVI. [w. 7—10.
7 preach the word in Asia, after they were come to Mysia, they
assayed to go into Bithynia : but the Spirit suffered them not.
® And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a
vision appeared to Paul in the night ; There stood a man
of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into
10 Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the
vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia,
interest in and greatest anxiety concerning the Christians there, among
whom Judaizers wrought like mischief with that done in Antioch.
From some expressions of St Baul (Gal. iv. 19) it seems likely that it
was from his own preaching at this time that churches in Galatia
were founded.
and were forbidden] Better, having been forbidden. As they had
been forbidden the one route, they went by the other. Probably <t
St Luke says little about the events in this part of the journey, for his
language below (v. 10) seems to shew that he only joined St Paul at
Troas. in Asia] See note on ii. 9.
7. were come to Mysia] The Greek scarcely says this. The prepo
sition would be better rendered over against. The course of the jour
ney seems to have been through Galatia and Phrygia, until they got so
far to the west as to be opposite to, and on the borders of, Mysia. From
this point they were inclined to go north into Bithynia, rather than
further to the west, but were again hindered of their intention.
they assayed) i.e. 'made the attempt,' 'tried.' Cp. Coverdale's
Works (Parker Soc), p. 113: "As long as the physician hath any
hope of the recovery of his patient, he assayeth all manner of means
and medicines with him."
but the Spirit suffered them not] The oldest authorities read "the
Spirit of Jesus suffered them not." In like manner (Rom. viii. 9) the
"Spirit of God" is called also the "Spirit of Christ." Cp. also Gal.
iv. 6; Phil. i. 19; 1 Pet. i. n.
8. And they passing by Mysia] i. e. without preaching in that district,
which was a part of Proconsular Asia, where they were not permitted
to preach.
came down to Troas] The well-known seaport on the coast of Mysia.
9. a vision appeared] So also to Ananias (ix. 10). Cp. also x.
3, 17, 19, xi. 5, xii. 9, xviii. 9. This was a part of the fulfilment of
the prophecy of Joel about which St Peter spake on the day of
Pentecost (ii. 17).
a man of Macedonia) The words which he spake made clear his
nationality. 10. we endeavoured] More literally and better, we sought. (So
R. V.) The steps taken would be in the way of enquiry how and when
they could get across the sea to Europe. Here the writer begins to
speak in the first person as if at this point he became a sharer in
St Paul's labours. This he continues till v. 17,

vv. II, 12.] THE ACTS, XVI. 205
assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to
preach the gospel unto them. Therefore loosing from n
Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and
the next day to Neapolis ; and from thence to Philippi, 12
which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a
colony : and we were in that city abiding certain days.
13 — 34. Preaching on the Sabbath at Philippi. Conversion
and baptism of Lydia. A spirit of divination cast out by
Paul. Anger of those who made gain thereby. Paul and
to go into Macedonia) The word is stronger than the ordinary verb
"togo"and = go forth, an expression very suitable to the first missionary
journey from Asia into Europe. This is also as R. V.
assuredly gathering] The verb has the sense of "coming to a con
clusion from putting things side by side." So it is rendered " proving "
in ix. 22 and elsewhere. Here it means "deeming it to be proved."
11. Samothracia] This island lies in the north of the Aegean Sea,
opposite to that part of the Thracian coast at which the river Hebrus
empties itself.
Neapolis] The port of Philippi. This place is generally identified
with the modem Kavalla. On the discussion about its identity, see
Dictionary ofthe Bible (s. v.)
12. and from thence to Philippi) As the same verb is used for the
whole description of the journey, it seems that the whole was made
by ship.
•which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony] Better
and more in accord with the oldest MSS. "which is a city of Macedonia,
the first of the district, a colony." (So R. V.) Philippi and the country
round had long been famous by reason of the neighbouring gold mines.
At the time of St Paul's visit it was held by the Romans, and a colony
had been founded there by Augustus. The civil magistrates and the
military authorities were Roman. Hence the fear when they heard
that prisoners whom they had scourged were Roman citizens. For
a history of Philippi, see Diet, ofthe Bible.
It should be borne in mind that a Roman colony was not like what
we now call a colony. The inhabitants did not settle as they pleased, but
were sent out by authority from Rome, marching to their destination
like an army with banners, and they reproduced, where they settled, a
close resemblance of Roman rule and life. They were planted on the
frontiers of the empire. for protection, and as a check upon the pro
vincial magistrates. The names of those who went were still enrolled
in the lists of the tribes of Rome. Latin was their language, and they
used the Roman coinage, and had their chief magistrates sent out or ap
pointed from the mother city. Thus were they very closely united with
Rome, and entirely free from any intrusion on the part of the governors
of the provinces.

206 THE ACTS, XVI. [vv. 13, 14.
Silas are seized, brought before the authorities, scourged and
imprisoned, but the prison doors are opened by a miracle.
Conversion and baptism of the jailor and his household.
13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side,
where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and
14 spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a
certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city
of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us : whose heart
13 — 34. Preaching on the Sabbath at Philippi. Conversion
and baptism of Lydia. A spirit of divination cast out by
Paul. Anger of those who made gain thereby. Paul
and Silas are seized, brought before the authorities,
scourged and imprisoned, but the prison doors are opened
by a miracle. conversion and baptism of the jailor and
his household.
13. where prayer was wont to be made] Proseuche here and in v.
16 is the place of prayer, and, adopting the reading now most accepted,
the English would be "where we supposed there was a place of prayer."
(So R. V.) The Jews had such proseuchai sometimes in buildings,
sometimes in the open air, as was the case in this instance. The word
is found in this sense in Josephus, De vita sua, 54. They are described
by Philo (ed. Mang.) II. 282. They were very numerous in Rome (see
Mayor, Juvenal, III. 296). Because of Jewish ceremonial washings
they were, when in the open air, as often as might be, near a river-side
or on the sea-shore. Cp. Ezra viii. 15, and 2r. And no doubt the
language of Ps. cxxxvii. 1, "By the rivers of Babylon we sat down"
applies to a similar state of things.
we sat down] The attitude adopted by Jewish teachers.
unto the women which resorted thither] Better (as R. V.), "which
were come together." The Greek refers to those gathered together on this
particular occasion only. Considering the little regard which the Jews
had for women as persons to be conversed with and taught, it is note
worthy how large a part women play both in the Gospel History and
in the Acts. It was one effect of Christianity to place woman in her
true position.
14. named Lydia) This may have been her proper name, or it
may only have been that by which she passed among the colonists
of Philippi, being from the Lydian town of Thyatira. From inscriptions ,
which have been found on the site of the ancient town, itis clear that
dyeing was one ofthe staple trades of Thyatira, and it was from thence
that Lydia brought over the purple which she sold in Philippi.
Thyatira] On the river Lycus in Lydia. To be distinguished from
the river of the same name in Phrygia on which were situated Laodicasa,
Hierapolis and Colossse, in all which places the congregations afterwards
became objects of St Paul's great affection and interest. Col. iv. 13.

vv. is, 16.] THE ACTS, XVI. 207
the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which
were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her 15
household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to
be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide
there. And she constrained us. And it came to pass, 16
as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with
a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters
which worshipped God] i.e. had become a proselyte of the Jewish
faith. whose heart the Lord opened] St Luke recognizes that without this
the word would have made no entrance. He probably makes special
mention of this here because he had previously stated that the Lord
had called them to preach at Philippi. Having pointed out their work,
He helps them to perform it.
that she attended) She gave such heed as to be convinced of their
truth. The same verb occurs viii. 6, and from the context both there
and here we see that it implies "gave credence unto."
16. and her household] Of a like baptizing of a household see
below (v. 33), and-also cp. xi. 14. We are not justified in concluding
from these passages that infants were baptized. " Household " might
mean slaves and freedwomen.
and abide there] Like the two disciples who followed Jesus (John
i. 38) Lydia was anxious to have the teachers, whose lessons she found
so suited to the needs of her opened heart, near unto her.
she constrained us] Used only by St Luke in N. T. here and Luke
xxiv. 29 of the two disciples at Emmaus. The force used was that
of a prayer which would hear no " Nay."
16. as we went to prayer] Better, as we were going to the place
of prayer, see on v. 13. For though the Greek noun here is without
the article it is clearly to be rendered as in the previous verse. This
must have been on another occasion than that on which Lydia was
converted. For in the expression " she constrained us " it seems implied
that they had already taken up their abode there before the events
recorded in this verse.
'possessed with a spirit of divination] More literally, and according
to the oldest MSS. which make the two nouns in apposition, having
a spirit, a Python. According to Plutarch (De def. Orac. a) those
persons who practised ventriloquism, called also £yyaoTptp.v$oi, were
named Pythons. But the damsel in this history dearly laid claim
to some prophetic power, and was used as a means of foreknowing
the future. So that word Python is here better referred to the name
of Apollo, the heathen god of prophecy, and the A.V. "spirit of
divination " gives the correct idea.
her masters] Some persons, who having found a strange power in
the maiden, made use of it, as has oft been done, for their own purposes
of gain, and persuaded the people to resort unto her with their
questions.

208 THE ACTS, XVI. [vv. 17—19.
17 much gain by soothsaying : the same followed Paul and
us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the
most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation.
18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved,
turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name
of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the
19 same hour. And when her masters saw that the hope
of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and
by soothsaying] The word is only found here in the N.T., and
wherever it occurs in the LXX. it is always used ofthe words of lying
prophets (Deut. xviii. 10; 1 Sam. xxviii. 8; Ezek. xiii. 6, 23; Mic.
iii. 11); so that here we are constrained to take it in the same sense
"by pretending to foretell the future."
17. followed Paul and us, and cried] Whatever the nature of the
mental and spiritual malady under which this damsel suffered, it pro
duced on her the like effect which is recorded of evil spirits in the
history of Jesus (Mark i. 25 ; Luke iv. 41), and forced her to confess
to the true character of the Christian teachers. The devils believe and
tremble (James ii. 19).
After this verse the writer ceases for a time to indicate by his lan
guage that he was with St Paul, but in xx. 5, where the Apostle comes
once again to Philippi, the first person plural appears in the narrative.
It seems therefore not improbable that St Luke was left behind to
labour for the spread of the Gospel in Macedonia and only taken
away again by St Paul after the work had been well established.
most high God] Cf. the words of the demoniac, Mark v. 7.
shew unto us] The older reading is " unto you."
18. this did she many days] Whether this following took place only
on the sabbaths, when the Apostles were going to the place of prayer,
in which case the Apostles must have remained in Philippi some weeks,
or whether it was on every occasion on which they appeared in public,
we are not told.
Paul, being grieved] The Greek verb is somewhat stronger, and
signifies " to be thoroughly worn out with annoyance." It is used (iv. 2),
and nowhere else but here besides in N. T., of the annoyance of the
priests and Sadducees at the teaching of the Apostles.
said to the spirit] As Christ had acted when on earth, so Paul now
will not allow the cry of the evil spirit, even though the words proclaim
that he and his companions are servants of the Most High God. So in
Christ's name he bids the evil power come forth.
19. that the hope of their gains was gone] The verb is exactly the
same as in the last clause of the previous verse. When the evil spirit
came out, there came out also the chance of more gain. What the
damsel herself may have thought of her own power we cannot tell, but
probably, for their end of money-making, the masters had persuaded
her that her ravings were prophetic.

w. 20-24.] THE ACTS, XVI. 209
drew them into the market-place unto the rulers, and 20
brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being
Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, and teach customs, 2]
which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe,
being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against 22
them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and com
manded to beat them. And when they had laid many 23
stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the
jailor to keep them safely: who, having received such a 24
they caught Paul and Silas] As being the two most prominent mem
bers of the mission party.
into the market-place] The great place of concourse, and where, as in
the Roman forum, would be the seat ofthe authorities.
unto the rulers] The Greek word is the general one for rulers, and
signifies "the authorities," the special members thereof being indicated
by the next verse.
20. and brought them to the magistrates] These strategoi were the
duumviri, the two praetors specially appointed to preside over the
administration of justice, in cases where there was no appeal to Rome,
in the municipia and colonies of the Romans. The title in the Greek '
seems to indicate somewhat of => military authority, which could ad
minister summary punishment.
being Jews] On the ways in which Roman aversion was aroused and
exhibited towards the Jews, for their religious excliisiveness, see Mayor,
Juvenal, xiv. 96 — 106 notes, with the authorities there given.
do exceedingly trouble] Only found here in the N. T. The kind of
trouble is indicated xvii. 6, "These that have turned the world upside
down " is their description.
21. and teach customs] Better, set forth (So R. V.), make proclama
tion of; the word refers to the preaching of the Apostles.
22. the multitude rose up together] i. c. together with the aggrieved
proprietors of the damsel.
the magistrates rent off their clothes] i.e. the clothes of Paul and Silas,
as is clear from the Greek verb, but not so evident from the A.V.
Better, "rent their clothes off them." (So R. V. only changing clothes
into garments.)
and commanded to beat them] The Greek signifies "to beat them with
rods," which was the office of the Roman lictor, who carried rods for
the purpose when attending on the magistrates. The use of this special
word is an indication that St Luke was aware of the particular kind of
beating, and perhaps beheld the infliction. This is one of the occasions,
no doubt, to which St Paul alludes (2 Cor. xi. 25), "Thrice was I
beaten with rods. "
23. cast them into prison) So that they should have no chance of
teaching any longer. They appear (see v. 35) to have intended to keep
them one night in prison and then to turn them out of the city.

THE ACTS, XVI. [vv. 25—27.

charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their
feet fast in the stocks.
25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises
26 unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly
there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations
of the prison were shaken : and immediately all the doors
17 were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And
the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and
seeing the prison doors open, drew out his sword, and
24. the inner prison] Necessarily a place dark and without ventila
tion, and hence foul and loathsome; perhaps underground, like the
Tullianum at Rome (Varr. L. L. v. § 161; Lev. xxix. 22).
their feet fast in the stocks] The stocks (lit. wood) was a means of
additional security and additional torture. The feet passed through
holes and held secure made rest almost impossible. The instrument
was of early use (cp. Job xiii. 27, xxxiii. n), and the Greeks, as well as
ourselves, had also the pillory, -and had it made with five apertures for
head, hands and feet (Aristoph. Eq. 1049).
25. And at midnight] Sleep being out of the question, they passed
the night in devotions. The imperfect tenses of the verbs in this verse
imply that the prayers and singing were continued. But it is unnecessary
to render (as R. V.) "Paul and Silas were praying. ..and the prisoners
were listening, &c."
unto God] Whose bondservants the damsel had called them (v. 17).
Now they are in bonds for His name, and He gives them His comfort
and refreshing in a manner strange to those who are not His ser
vants. and the prisoners heard them] The inner prison appears to have held
more than Paul and Silas, or it may be that bars in the inner walls
allowed the sound to pass into other cells. The verb is not the common
one for "hearing," and is rarely found anywhere. It indicates attentive
hearkening. 26. And suddenly there was a great earthquake] Just as the place
wherein the Apostles prayed (iv. 31) was shaken, so here God testifies
that He is near at hand.
and every one's bands were loosed] The sense in which these words
are to be taken may be gathered from the rest of the description. The
chains (Se<r,ud) were made fast to the wall, and the shock which burst
asunder the bolts of the doors also released the fastenings which held
the chains in the masonry.
27. And the keeper of the prison] The word is rendered jailor in
23, and might well be so here (as R. V.), otherwise the English reader
supposes the Greek to be varied from this variation of translation.
awaking out of his sleep] The word is only found here in N.T., and
has the sense of a startled rousing.
drew out his sword) We now say rather "drew his sword." He

w. 28—31.] THE ACTS, XVI.

would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners
had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, 28
Do thyself no harm : for we are all here. Then he called 29
for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell
down before Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and 30
said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, 31
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,

probably slept in such a place that on rising he could observe at a
glance whether the prison doors were secure, and had his weapon
close at hand so that he might seize and use it on any emergency. He
must also have been so near to the open doors before he manifested any
design of suicide that the prisoners within could see what he was doing.
St Paul out of the dark could observe him before the jailor could see
farther than the opened doors.
would have killed himself] He knew what his fate would be. See
xii. 19; and compare xxvii. 42, for the way in which Roman officials
must answer with their lives for the escape of prisoners. Suicide under
such circumstances would to the jailor's mind present the easiest way
out of his difficulties, and the teaching of even the greatest minds both
of Greece and Rome was that it was justifiable and under some circum
stances praiseworthy. The suicide of Cato (Catonis nobile letum)
furnished a constant text for such teaching. (Cp. Cic. Tusc. 1. §§
9—1 19, Plat. Apol. 40.)
28. But Paul cried) The sound of one voice would arrest the
action, for at the sight of the open doors he had concluded that all had
made use of the opportunity and had escaped.
29. Then he called for a light] The Greek has "lights." He
would summon all the help he could, and wish to make his inspection
as speedy as possible.
and came trembling] Lit. and being terror-stricken. He connected
all that had occurred with the two prisoners Paul and Silas, and as
they were not fled away, a change of feeling came over him, and he at
once judged them to be more than other men. So his attitude
becomes one of supplication and worship.
30. and brought them out] There could be no fear that they would
flee now who had remained when the open doors made flight easy.
and said, Sirs] The Greek word Kbpioi implies an acknowledg
ment of great superiority. Those who had been his prisoners are now
his "Lords."
what must I do to be saved?) He had probably heard about the testi
mony of the possessed damsel, that Paul and Silas shewed the way of
salvation, and now without knowing what it fully meant, he cries out
fin his misery, when despair had prompted suicide) asking for the teach
ing which they had to give.
31. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ] The oldest authorities omit
Christ. The word would not have the same significance for a Gentile

THE ACTS, XVI. [vv. 32— 34.

32 and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of
33 the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he
took them the same hour of the night, and washed their
stripes j and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set
meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with
all his house.

as for a Jew, and may well have been omitted in the address to the
jailor. What was asked from Gentile converts was to accept Jesus as
their Lord. The men whom he had just called " Lords" point him to
the only "Lord."
and thy house] With the thought that what the head of the family
did would be followed by the members. (Cp. verse 15.) They were,
we see in the next verse, willing hearers.
32. the word of the Lord) Preached to him the doctrine of Christ,
as it was then only possible to do it, by the narrative of His life and its
purpose. 33. the same hour of the night] It was midnight, see verse 25.
But a new day, a birthday, had already begun for him and it must be
kept as a feast, and he does his utmost to shew his rejoicing by care for
those who had caused it.
washed their stripes] An act of attendance that had not been
bestowed before. They were thrust into the inner prison, with all
their wounds bleeding and uncared for.
34. he set meat (Greek, a table) before them] He would not leave
them a moment in the dungeon, but testify to them, how the dawning
of faith had filled him with joy.
and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house] The Greek adverb
which is represented by the last four words in English would be better
combined with the first verb, "and rejoiced with all his house." (So
R. V.) The concluding verb gives the reason for the joy, and would
be more fully rendered "having believed in God" or "having believed
God." "To believe on the Lord Jesus" was the exhortation in verse
31. By this later expression we understand what was implied in the
first. The belief on Jesus is to believe what God has revealed con
cerning Him. This had been explained in "the word of the Lord"
which they had heard — the word which told how Jesus fulfilled all the
prophecies, and by His acts on earth shewed that He was the Son of
God. It is scarcely possible to help being struck in this chapter with the
account of the effect of the first preaching of the Gospel in Europe.
We see at once its universality and its power. The first notable
convert is Lydia, the Asiatic settler, a woman evidently of wealth,
position and refinement ; then the demoniac slave-girl is made an
instrument of proclaiming the presence and power of the Most High
God ; and last, the Roman jailor, of a class, insensible as a rule and

vv. 35—37] THE ACTS, XVI. 213
35 — 40. The magistrates would send them away, but Paul
refuses to be thus dismissed. He announces that they are
Romans, and the magistrates in fear beseech them to depart.
They take leave of Lydia and the brethren and leave Philippi.
And when it was day, the magistrates sent the sergeants, 35
saying, Let those men go. And the keeper of the prison 36
told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to
let you go : now therefore depart, and go in peace. But 37
Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncon-

hardened by habit, and also disposed to despise the Jews who were the
bearers of the message of the Gospel. The converts of Philippi were
types and an earnest of how Christ's cause would make its way.
36 — 40. THE MAGISTRATES WOULD SEND THEM AWAY, BUT PAUL
REFUSES TO BE THUS DISMISSED. He ANNOUNCES THAT THEY
are Romans, and the magistrates in fear beseech them to
depart. They take leave of Lydia and the brethren and
leave Philippi.
35. the Serjeants] These are the lictors, who were the attendants
upon the prsetors (duumviri), and who probably had on the previous day
scourged Paul and Silas. Their Greek name rabdouchoi signifies "rod-
bearers." 36. the keeper of the prison] As before, in v. 27, the jailor.
told this saying] The Greek text best supported has no pronoun.
Better "reported the words." -(So R. V.) No doubt he came with
great joy, and it is evident that Paul and Silas had gone back to their
prison after the events at midnight. To make the sentence run smoothly
it will be needful to insert the word saying before the next sentence,
now that the pronoun is removed.
now therefore depart] Better, " come forth," as R. V. The verb in
the original gives clear indication that they were still in confinement.
37. But Paul said unto them] i.e. to the lictors, through the jailor.
It is highly probable that the conversation of the Roman officers would
be in Latin, and that the proceedings of the previous day may have
been conducted in that language. In this way, if Paul and Silas were
unfamiliar with the Latin speech, we might account for the non-
mention or the disregard of their Roman citizenship. If either the
Apostle did not comprehend all that was going on or could not, amid
the confusion of such a tumultuous court, make himself understood, the
message which he now sends to the magistrates might have had no
chance of being heard before the scourging was inflicted.
They have beaten us openly] i.e. publicly. (So R. V.) For no
doubt they had been lashed to the palus or public whipping-post in
the sight of the people.

214 THE ACTS, XVI. [vv. 38—40.
demned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison;
and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but
38 let them come themselves and fetch us out. And the
sergeants told these words unto the magistrates: and they
39 feared, when they heard that they were Romans, and they
came and besought them, and brought them out, and
40 desired them to depart out of the city. And they went
out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia:
and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them,
and departed.
uncondemned] For all that had been listened to was the charge of
the accusers, who, leaving out all mention of the real reason of their
charge, viz., that they had lost a source of money-making, put forward
the plea that the missionaries were disturbers of public law and order.
The crowd shouted with the accusers, and the magistrates, forgetting
their position, joined with the mob (verse 22) in the assault on the
Apostles. being Romans] The Greek is more full=#z2» that are Romans, (so
R. V.) and is in marked contrast with the charge of the accusers,
which ran, "These men, being Jews." The laws which had been
violated by this act were the Lex Valeria (B.C. 508) and the Lex
Porcia (B.C. 300). On the outrage, compare Cicero's language in the
Verrine orations (v. 66), ' Facinus est vinciri civem Romanum,
scelus verberari, prope parricidium necari.'
thrust us out privily] The Apostle would say : let our dismissal
from prison be as widely published as was our previous punishment.
38. and they feared] Because each Roman citizen had the right of
appeal to the Emperor, and the penalty for outraging the rights of such
a man was severe.
39. And so finding they had offended in this way, they come in the
humblest wise, beseeching that the disciples by departing from Philippi
will relieve them of their anxiety.
40. into the house of Lydia] Waiting there probably till they were
fit to travel farther. But in the midst of the suffering they still exhort
and comfort the Christians whom in their stay they had gathered into a
church. How deep the mutual affection which existed between St Paul and
these Philippians, his first European converts, is manifest in every line
of the Epistle which he wrote to them from Rome in his first imprison
ment. They are his greatest joy, they have given him no cause for
sorrow, and from first to last have ministered to his afflictions, and made
manifest how they prized their "Father in Christ." The jubilant language
of the letter is marked by the oft-repeated " Rejoice in the Lord."

w. 1, 2.] THE ACTS, XVII. 215
1 — 9. Paul and Silas journey through Amphipolis and
Apollonia to Thessalonica, where some of the fews raise
an uproar against them and f asm their host.
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and 17
Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a syna
gogue of the Jews : and Paul, as his manner was, went 2
in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them
XVII. 1—9. Paul and Silas journey through Amphipolis and
Apollonia to Thessalonica, where some of the Jews raise
an uproar against them and jason their host.
1. they had passed through) The verb occurs in N. T. only here
and in Luke viii. 1 . The use of the same expressions is a noticeable
point in support of the identity of authorship of the two books.
Amphipolis and Apollonia] The journey is made to the south and
west. Amphipolis was about 33 miles distant from Philippi, along the
Egnatian road. It had been a famous place in the time of the Pelopon-
nesian war, and was in St Paul's time a great Roman military station.
Its name was given to it because it was as nearly as possible enclosed
by the winding stream of the river Strymon. Apollonia was about 30
miles farther on, in the district of Macedonia known as Mygdonia, and
was about 37 miles from Thessalonica. The Apostle and his com
panions appear not to have made any stay in these towns.
Thessalonica) The modern Saloniki; to the Christians of which
place St Paul afterwards addressed the two earliest of his extant epistles.
From very early times Thessalonica had been a famous place. Its old
name was Therma, and it was called Thessalonica after a sister of
Alexander the Great. It is now one of the most important towns in
European Turkey, and it played a great part in the history of the
Middle Ages as the bulwark of Christendom in the East. It was
captured by the Saracens a.d. 904, then by the Crusaders in 1184, and
lastly by tie Turks in 1430. Even now there is a large Christian
element among its population, and a still larger number of Jews.
a synagogue) The Text. Rec. gives the definite article "the syna
gogue," though it is overlooked in the A.V., and we cannot 'always be
sure that we represent the force of the Greek article by the English one.
(R. V. retains "a synagogue"). But there was apparently no synagogue
at Philippi, and it may very well be that in Thessalonica dwelt the
greatest number of Jews and therefore the facilities for their worship
had there alone been advanced so far as to secure them a building for
their meetings, which would be known therefore as " the synagogue."
2. as his manner was) See xiii. 5, 14 ; xiv. 1, &c.
went in unto them] And was no doubt asked (cf. xiii. 15) to offer
any exhortation to the people which he might feel moved to do.
three sabbath days] Of course tlie Jews would assemble on that day
in greater number, and for the other days of the week be less ac
cessible.

216 THE ACTS, XVII. [vv. 3, 4.
3 out of the scriptures, opening and alleging, that Christ
must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead-
and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.
4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul
and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude
3. opening] St Luke (and he only in the N.T.) xxiv. 32 uses this
verb of making plain what before was not understood. We may see
from that passage what had been St Paul's work in Thessalonica, "He
began at Moses and all the prophets and expounded unto them in
all the scriptures the things concerning Christ."
and alleging] The more modern use of allege, =to assert, has some
what obscured the older English meaning, which was merely "to set
forth." The Greek verb here translated by it signifies primarily "to set
out food, &c. on a table," and then figuratively "to set out arguments "
but without the idea of. assertion. St Paul reasoned but only out of
the Scriptures. For the English word, cf. Coverdale, Works (Parker
Soc), p. 14, "We will first declare our mind out of Scripture and allege
(i.e. set before you) somewhat more for the better understanding of the
matter." that Christ must needs have suffered] Better, "that it behoved the
Christ to suffer," i.e. the Messiah, whom the Jews expected, but whom
they looked for in New Testament days only as a mighty conqueror
who should deliver them from their oppressors. Their wishes had
been father to their thoughts, and they overlooked all that spake of the
Messiah as the "Man of sorrows." This portion of the Scriptures it was
which St Paul opened. 1
and risen again from the dead] Better, " and to rise again from the
dead." For they like the disciples themselves in earlier days (John
xx. 9) "understood not the scriptures (such as Ps. xvi. 10) that he
must rise again from the dead. "
and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ] The force
of the words will be improved if " said he" be inserted to introduce the
direct address. Read (as R. V.) "this Jesus, whom (said he) / pro
claim unto you is the Christ." For He has both suffered and risen
again in accordance with the teaching of the Scriptures, and we are
witnesses of His resurrection and ascension into heaven.
4. And some of them believed (were persuaded)] For St Paul's
teaching was by arguments of which they all were able to form an
estimate. and consorted with] The notion conveyed by the Greek and by the
English so far as its derivation is concerned is of "casting in their lot
with the disciples," deciding to join their community.
and ofthe devout Greeks] These were proselytes of the gate, heathens
by birth, who had embraced in part the Jewish faith. (Cp. xiii. 43, 50,
and below, verse 17.)
a great multitude] For these had not the prejudices which clung so
close about the born Jews.

vv. s, 6.] THE ACTS, XVII. 217
and of the chief women not a few. But the Jews which 5
believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain
lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company,
and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of
Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And 6
when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain
brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that
5. But the Jews which believed not] In the oldest MSS. the last
three words are unrepresented in the Greek. These are very likely a
gloss which has crept into the later texts, the reader who made it on
his margin wishing to note that not ail the Jews were adverse to
the Apostle.
moved with envy (jealousy)] They did not like to see numbers of
men and women drawn away from their party.
certain lewd fellows of the baser sort] The Greek is more nearly
represented in modern English by "vile fellows of the rabble. " ayopdios,
" of the rabble," is properly the man who having no calling lounges
about the ayopd, the market-place, in the hope of picking up a chance
living, and who is ready for anything bad or good that may present
itself. We have no English word sufficiently dignified to use for such a
term in translation. "Loafer" comes nearest, but of course is too
colloquial. The word "lewd" meant in old English "people," but
afterwards came to signify (1) "the common people" and (2) "the
ignorant and rude among the people," which is the sense intended
by the A. V. The word nearest akin to "lewd" is the Germ, leute—
people. set all the city on an uproar] There is no word in the Greek for
"all." The Jews in Thessalonica must have been numerous and
influential to bring about such a tumult, but they preferred to raise (see
v. 7) the cry that the new teachers were enemies of the Roman power.
This would gain them a larger following.
the house of Jason] Manifestly the host of Paul and Silas. Beyond
what is said of him in the following verses (6 — 9) we know nothing.
The name is found, Rom. xvi. 21, in a list of those whom St Paul
speaks of as his "kinsmen," but this may be quite a different person.
He is most likely to have been a Jew, whose proper name perhaps was
Joseph, and Jason, which is Greek, may be only that which he used in
his intercourse with Gentiles.
bring them out to the people) So that the excited mob might inflict
summary vengeance on them.
6. they drew Jason] The word is expressive of considerable vio
lence. Better, "dragged." It is used of Saul (viii. 3) "haling" men
and women, and committing them to prison.
certain brethren] We see therefore that in these three weeks a
congregation or church had been formed.
the rulers of the city) The title irdKirdpxqs is found nowhere in
literature but in this chapter. But an inscription connected with this
acts 16

218 THE ACTS, XVII. [vv. 7— 10.
have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
7 whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the
decrees of Cesar, saying that there is another king, one
8 Jesus. And they troubled the people and the rulers of
9 the city, when they heard these things. And when they
had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them
go- 10 — 15. Paul and Silas sent away to Berea. Noble cha
racter of the Bereans. The fews from Thessalonica follow
after Paul, and by reason of their enmity he is conducted to
Athens.
10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas
very city of Thessalonica has been preserved on an arch which spans a
street of the modern city. It contains some names which occur as the
names of St Paul's converts, Sosipater, Gaius, Secundus, but the
inscription is probably not earlier than the time of Vespasian (see
Boeckh, Inscr. 2, p. 52, u. 1967). There the title of the magistrates is
given in this precise form ; a striking confirmation of the truthfulness of
the account before us.
the world] Lit. "the inhabited earth." A phrase used in later
Greek to signify the whole Roman Empire, which then embraced a very
large portion of the known world (cp. Luke ii. 1). It speaks much for
the spread of Christianity and its powerful influence, that words like
these should come from the lips of enemies.
7. hath received] As guests into his house, and therefore he may
be counted a sympathizer with their teaching.
these all] Implying that Paul and Silas, whom they had not found,
would also be included in their accusation, if they could be caught.
another king, one Jesus] So far as this chapter gives an account of
St Paul's preaching, he had drawn the attention of the Jews to the
sufferings of the Messiah, but we cannot doubt that he had also spoken
of His kingdom. Such language the mob would be urged to seize on,
and make it the justification for their uproar. For Thessalonica though
a free city was subject to the Emperor.
8. And they troubled the people] i.e. spread alarm among them at
the prospect of insurrection, and made them eager to punish the Apo
stles. 9. And when they had taken security of Jason] i.e. having made
him responsible either by his finding securities to be bound with and
for him, or by making him give some deposit as a pledge for his good
conduct, they took measures for securing, so far as those at present in
custody were concerned, that they should commit no treason.
and ofthe other] Other is, often found in old English as a plural,
Cp. Bp, Pilkington's Works (Parker Soc), p. 7: "Phinees.. .punished
that wickedness which other winked at."

vv. ii— 14.] THE ACTS, XVII. 219
by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into
the synagogue of the Jews. These were more noble than u
those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word
with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures
daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of 12
them believed; also of honourable women which were
Greeks, and of men, not a few. But when the Jews of 13
Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was
preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also,
and stirred up the people. And then immediately the 14
10 — 15. Paul and Silas sent away to Berea. Noble character
of the Bereans. The Jews from Thessalonica follow
after Paul, and by reason of their enmity he is conducted
to Athens.
10. sent away Paul and Silas] The after-conduct of the Thessa-
lonian Jews shews that they were resolved to bring the missionaries into
danger, therefore their friends sent them secretly away.
Berea] Still the journey is south-west. The old name of Bercea may
be recognized in the modern Verria.
synagogue ofthe Jews] See above, v. 2.
11. more noble) Applied first to nobility of birth (which is the
primary sense of nobilis), the word in its secondary sense implies, as
here, nobility of character.
received the word] i.e. the word of God. It was the same teaching
which had been given to the Jews in Thessalonica. This we see
because the Beroeans go to the O. T. Scriptures to examine into the
truth of what they hear. Here we have a noteworthy.instance of the
right of private judgment. Even an Apostle's word is not to be taken
for granted. The noble Beroeans were ready to listen, and then
diligent to examine into the grounds of what was said.
and searched the scriptures] The word is not the same as in the
well-known passage John v. 39. The present verb has more the
sense of examining and sifting evidence. It was used in Attic law of
the steps taken by the lawyers to see whether an action would lie.
12. also of honourable women] The same word is found xiii. 50, of
the women of Antioch in Pisidia, and signifies that they -were of honour
able estate, distinguished for their position, influence and wealth.
which were Greeks) The adjective refers specially to the women, but
it probably is intended to define the men too. The Jewish converts
had been mentioned as examiners of the Scriptures. The men and
women mentioned afterwards were probably all Gentiles.
13. the word of God] The ' Thessalonian Jews would not have
termed it so, to such an extent had prejudice and long training in the
later Jewish teaching blinded their eyes. When Moses was read there
was a vail over their hearts, and they saw not the glory.
and stirred up the people) In the oldest texts there are two verbs
16 — 2

220 THE ACTS, XVII. [v. 15.
brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea:
is but Silas and Timotheus abode there still. And they
that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and re
ceiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for
to come to him with all speed, they departed.
here, " stirring up and troubling the multitudes." The first contains
the figure of a storm at sea, where all is disturbed down to the very
depths, a figure apt enough for the confusion which these men desired
to create ; the second verb is the same that occurs in v. 8, and it is
probable from this that the way in which the trouble was produced here
was the same as there, by the statement that the Apostles were traitors
to the Roman power. (For the figurative language cp. Isaiah lvii. 20.)
14. immediately] As from Thessalonica so from Bercea, the depar
ture is made in all haste, so much has the charge of conspiring against
Caesar's power disturbed the whole people.
to go as it were to the sea] This rendering of the Text. Rec. conveys
the idea that for a while the travellers made as though they would go
in the direction of the sea, and then to baffle pursuit turned and took
the land road to Athens. But the reading of tus for lis, which has the
support Ofthe most ancient authorities, makes the sense to be "to go as
far as to the sea," and this is to be preferred for several reasons. For
it is difficult to understand that St Paul would have gone on through
Thessaly and all the intervening districts which lie north of Attica, and
never have sought an opportunity of preaching the word anywhere till
Athens was reached. But if he were conveyed to the sea and took ship
and was thus brought to Athens, then it is easy to understand that the
next place mentioned in the journey is Athens. It is clear too from the
whole account of St Paul's travels, that he was a person who by reason
of his infirmities could not easily travel alone. That such a person
should have been brought so long a distance by land, where the sea-
voyage was so accessible and easy, is hardly to be imagined. It may
well be that at the departure from Bercea the design was to wait at the
coast till his proper companions could come to him, but that when the sea
was reached there was found a speedy opportunity of sailing into Attica,
which the Apostle embraced, as his conductors were willing to go all
the journey with him.
abode there still) Because Silas and Timothy had played a less
prominent part and were not in the same peril as St Paul.
15. they that conducted Paul) The use of the Greek verb (which
is only found here in N. T. in this sense) gives the idea that the whole
care and ordering of the journey was in their hands rather than the
Apostle's. brought him unto Athens) And of course saw him safely settled where
he could wait for his fellow-missionaries, which he seems to have
designed to do, without preaching, had not his spirit been roused by the
sights he saw.
with all speed] As at present he was alone, and not able to set
about his work so promptly.

vv. 16— 18.] THE ACTS, XVII. 221
16 — 21. Paul, provoked by the prevalence of idolatry at
Athens, first addresses the fews and then the Gentiles.
So?ne of the philosophers question him on his teaching, and
bring him to the Areopagus that they may hear him more at
full. Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was 16
stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to
idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with 17
the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market
daily with them that met with him. Then certain philo- 18
sophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered
16—21. Paul, provoked by the prevalence of idolatry at
Athens, first addresses the Jews and then the Gentiles.
Some of the philosophers question him on his teaching,
and bring him to the areopagus that they may hear him
more at full.
16-. his spirit was stirred in him] But the stirring was of the
sharpest. The verb is akin to the noun which in xv. 39 is used of the
paroxysm of contention between Paul and Barnabas. His spirit was
provoked within him, till he could not forbear to speak, could not wait
till Timothy and Silas arrived.
when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry] Better (with R. V.)
"as he beheld the city full of idols." This, the marginal rendering
of the A. V., appears, from the analogy of similar words, to be the
closer meaning, and it- agrees somewhat better with the facts. What
St Paul beheld was the numerous statues erected some to one god,
.. some to another. That the city was wholly given to idolatry was the
inference from this abundance of idols. The mutilation of the busts of
, Hermes before the Sicilian expedition in the Peloponnesian war shews
how numerous were the statues erected to one divinity only. Time
had added many to the number before St Paul's visit.
17. Therefore disputed (reasoned) he in the synagogue] Going first
to the Jews, and naturally expecting sympathy from them in his ex
citement against idolatry.
the devout persons] As before, the proselytes of the gate. Cp. xiii.
50, and above v. 4.
and in the market daily] One cannot but be reminded of the way in
which Socrates some centuries earlier had thus gone about in the same
city seizing eagerly on every one who would listen, and trying, according
to his light, to shew them higher things, to open their eyes that they
might discern between real knowledge and conceit without knowledge.
18. philosophers ofthe Epicureans and ofthe Stoicks] In St Paul's
day these two systems of philosophy were most prominent throughout
the Roman world, and were regarded as conflicting though in many
points they bear a strong likeness to one another. Both were the

222 THE ACTS, XVII. [v. 18.
result of a desire to find some better principle for the guidance of man's
moral nature than could be found in the so-called religious systems of
Greece and Rome. But before the Christian era much that was best
in both schools had sadly degenerated from its pristine character.
The founder of the Stoics was Zeno of Citium in Cyprus. His precise
date is uncertain, but he flourished in the century between B.C. 350—
250. The first lesson of his teaching was that the highest duty of the
philosopher was to practise virtue. For the doing this knowledge was
necessary, and the only knowledge that could be relied on was that
which was based upon sensation. Reality belonged only to material
things such as the senses could appreciate. In this manner the Stoic
philosophy became materialist. For though owning the existence of
God and of the soul in man, Zeno and his followers spake of these as,
in some sense, material. But they termed God the soul of the universe,
and taught that all things are produced from him, and will at last be
absorbed into him again. And then a new world-cycle will begin and
be in all respects like that which went before. So the Stoics were
Pantheists. They taught moreover that the universe was governed by
unchanging law, that the lot of individuals, and the occurrence of
particular events were all uncertain. The care of Providence was for
the fabric of the universe, and only indirectly extended to particulars or
individuals whose lot was bound up with the unchanging course of fixed
law. The Stoics therefore were fatalists. The way in which the
individual could make the nearest approach to happiness was by bring
ing himself, through knowledge, into harmony with the course of the
universe. But so unimportant did the individual appear to these phi
losophers, that suicide was held to be lawful, and at times praiseworthy.
They were conscious of both physical and moral evil in the world, and
from this men might escape by self-inflicted death. They taught howr
ever that, though the virtuous might have to suffer, no real evil happens,
to them, nor real good to the vicious. Fortified with this thought, the
Stoic trained himself to be proudly independent of externals, and to
bear evils, should they come, with indifference, and thus he strove to
secure undisturbed peace of mind. Materialism, Pantheism, Fatalism
and pride, were the features of one of the systems into contact with
which St Paul was brought at Athens.
The Epicureans (named from Epicurus, born at Samos B.C. 342)
agreed with the Stoics that philosophy should seek to promote the
happiness of man, but maintained that this end could be best gained by
the pursuit of pleasure. By this language they did not intend profligate
pleasure, but a state wherein the body was free from pain and the
mind from disturbance. They too made the senses their means of ¦
judging of what is pleasure, and so with them man became the measure
of all good for himself. Thus the Epicureans were materialists. But
differing from the Stoics they taught the world was formed by chance,
and that the gods had no concern in its creation. Their gods were
described as perfectly happy, dwelling apart and caring neither for the
world nor its inhabitants. Thus the Epicureans were practical atheists.
With them man might approach to a state of happiness by circum
scribing his wants, so that life might be free from care. To restrain

v. io.] THE ACTS, XVII. 223
him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other
some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods:
because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.
And they took him, and brought him unto Areopagus, 19
the senses was the Epicurean road to happiness, to crush them as much
as possible into insensibility was the path of the Stoic. But having
such thoughts of the gods, neither system had in any way run counter
to the popular theology. By doing so the Stoic would fear lest he
should be thought to deny God altogether, while the Epicurean, though
thinking all such worship folly, yet felt it too great an interruption to
the pleasure which he sought to become an advocate of the abolition of
idol worship. So St Paul found Athens crowded with the images and
altars of the gods.
What will this babbler say] Better, What would, &c. The A.V.
conceals the fact that will here signifies "meaneth" or "wisheth" to
say, "What would he go on to say if we wpuld listen?"
The word rendered "babbler" is not found elsewhere in N.T. In
profane writers it is used of birds picking up scattered grain, and then
figuratively of men who pick up a living as best they may, and hence
are willing to flatter for the sake of what they can get, and so are men
without principle or ground in what they say.
a setter forth of strange gods] The word Saipivia here rendered
"gods" is the word from which the English "demon" is derived. It
was used in classical Greek mostly to denote some inferior order of
divine beings. It was one of the accusations brought against Socrates
and the charge on which he was condemned that he introduced new
daimonia (Xen. Mem. 1. I, 2 ; Plato, Apol. 40 A &c). It has been
thought by some that the Athenians, by using the plural word, under
stood that "Jesus" was one new divinity and "Anastasis" (the Resur
rection) another. But it is not necessary to suppose this. They might
very well speak of a preacher of Jesus as a setter forth of new divinities.
For they evidently saw that he had more to say than they had yet heard.
Times seem changed at Athens since the prosecution of Socrates, for
it is not anger, but scornful curiosity which prompts the language of the
speakers. They do not mean to assail Paul for his teaching, and amid
the abundance of idols, they perhaps now would have felt no difficulty
in allowing Jesus a place, provided he did not seek to overthrow all the
rest of their divinities.
The nature of St Paul's teaching "in the market-place" has not been
mentioned until we are told that it was of "Jesus and the resurrection."
We may take this as a specimen of the way in which the author of the
Acts has dealt with his materials. He has not seen it needful here to
do more than specify in half-a-dozen words what St Paul had spoken
about ; and so when we have a report of a speech we need not suppose
that he has given, or intended to give, more than a summary of what
the speaker said; and, adhering to the subtance, has cast his abbreviated
record into such form as best fitted his narrative.
19. And they took him] Better, took hold of him. (As R. V.) But

224 THE ACTS, XVII. [v. 20.
saying, May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou
20 speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange things to
our ears : we would know therefore what these things mean.

there is no need to suppose that any violence was used or intended.
The same verb is used" often of taking by the hand to aid or protect
(so Mark viii. 23 ; Acts xxiii. 19), and is the word by which the action
of Barnabas is described (Acts ix. 27) when "he took Paul and brought
him to the apostles." Moreover tie whole context shews that the
action of the crowd was in no sense that of an arrest, for we read
(v. 33) when his speech was done "Paul departed from among them,"
evidently having been under no kind of restraint.
and brought him unto Areopagus] More clearly expressed if we read
"the Areopagus." This place, the name of which is translated " Mars'
hill" below in the text and here in the margin of the A.V., was an
eminence to the west of the Acropolis at Athens. It was famous in
classic literature as the meeting-place of the Athenian council of Areo
pagus which took its name from the place where it met. To this hill
of Mars (Ares) the philosophers led St Paul, probably at a time when it
was unoccupied (though some suppose that the court was sitting), that
they might the better hear him away from the bustle of the market
place, and that he might more conveniently address a larger audience.
May we know] The verb here rendered " may "= literally "are we
able." But there is no doubt that its force is well given by the A.V.
For the literal force "to be able" often merged itself in that of "to
wish" or "to be willing." Cp. Luke xi. 7, where the verb is trans
lated "I cannot (=1 am not able to) rise and give thee," but the sense
is " / don't wish to rise, " for after importunity he does arise and do all
that is asked. The Stoics and Epicureans were not likely to doubt
their own ability to understand all that St Paul might say to them.
what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is) Better (with R. V.),
"what this new doctrine is which is spoken by thee." The sense
conveyed by the verb (AaXeii') is often in N.T. that of announcing or
publishing, and the word is not unfrequently used of messages spoken
by God or by his prophets (cp. Luke i. 45, 55, 70, xxiv. 25 ; Acts iii.
21, 24 ; James v. 10). The Apostle was not speaking to the Athenians
about the doctrine, his words were the doctrine.
20. strange things] The original is not an adjective, but a parti
ciple, and signifies "something which strikes a person as strange." So
that the effect is indicated which had been produced on the minds of
the hearers. The words had filled them with surprise. In the middle
voice the word is found 1 Pet. iv. 4, 12 = " to think anything strange."
what these things mean] See above on v. 18.
21. This verse is a parenthesis explanatory of what has gone before.
The audience had been struck with the strange teaching, and that it
was strange was enough. Novelty was their life's pursuit. So without
having any regard for the importance of the teaching, they were ready
to listen because it was new.

w. 21, 22.] THE ACTS, XVII. 225
(For all the Athenians and strangers which were there 21
spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or
to hear some new thing.)
2 2 — 3 1. Speech of St Paul at Athens.
Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, 2I
Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too
strangers which were there] The words will bear a fuller rendering,
"strangers sojourning there." (So R. V.) The place was famous, and
all seekers after novelty came there from every quarter.
spent their time] More literally "had leisure for." But the one
sense is the complement of the other. If all the time be spent in one
way, there is no leisure left for any thing else. But the word has the
further sense of "finding a favourable opportunity." The Athenians
could find time for the pursuit of novelty, but for nothing beside. The
imperfect tense of the verb also implies that this was their constant state
of mind.
either to tell, or to hear some new thing] This character of the
Athenian populace is confirmed by many statements of classical authors.
In Thuc. hi. 38 Cleon is represented as complaining of his countrymen
that they were in the habit of playing the part of "spectators in
displays of oratory, and listeners to the stories of what others had
done;" and a like charge is made more than once by Demosthenes in
his speeches on the vigorous policy of Philip of Macedon, which he
contrasts with the Athenian love of talk and news.
22 — 31. Speech of St Paul at Athens.
Taking notice of the extreme religious scrupulousness, which had led
the Athenians to raise an altar to an unknown God, the Apostle
declares to them the God whom alone they ought to worship, and
whom as yet they did not know. This God was the Maker and
Preserver of all things, and the Father of all men, and He desired to
bring all to a knowledge of Himself. Athenian poets had spoken
of this Fatherhood of God. Such a God is not fitly represented by
graven images, and He would have men cease from such ignorant
worship, for he will be the Judge as well as Father of men, and has
given proof of the reality of the judgment and of the world to come by
the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
22. in the midst of Mars' hill) Better, in the midst ofthe Areopagus.
See on v. 19. There is no need for translating the name in one way
there, and in another here.
Ye nun of Athens] The language of the Apostle's address takes
exactly the form which it would have assumed in the mouth of one of
their own orators. This may be due either to St Paul's knowledge of
Greek literature, and to his desire, everywhere manifest, to find words
acceptable to his audience; or it may be that St Luke giving an
abstract of the speech has cast the initial words into a form which

226 THE ACTS, XVII. [v. 23.
23 superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your de
votions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE
UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly wor-
Demosthenes would have employed. In the latter case it is no mark of
unfaithfulness in the author, who clearly in these ten verses can only
mean to give a skeleton of what the Apostle really uttered. St Paul
spake at length, we cannot doubt, when he stood in such a place and
before such an audience. The historian in the Acts gives the barest
outline of what was spoken, and cannot be thought to have meant his
words to be otherwise accepted, seeing that what he has given us would
hardly occupy five minutes in the utterance.
ye are too superstitious] The Greek adjective which the Apostle here
employs has two shades of meaning, " superstitious," as in the A.V., and
" religious" in a better sense. At the outset St Paul would not wish to
give offence, and so the more complementary sense is to be preferred.
As the word is of the comparative degree, this sense may be expressed
either by "somewhat superstitious" (as R. V.) or "very religious. The
first would imply only a small shade of the less acceptable meaning,
the latter would be an expression of praise of the Athenians above
other people. The former is to be chosen, for St Paul did not wish to
give praise, but after some slight blame to point out a more excellent
way. For a description of the SetoiSalpoiv, which exactly answers to
what we call "superstitious," see Theophrastus Charact. c. xvii.
23. For as I passed by (along)] The word refers to the whole of the
Apostle's walk about the city.
and beheld your devotions] Better, " and noticed the objects of your
worship." (With R. V.) The verb is that which in the previous verse
is translated "I perceive," only that here it is strengthened by a pre
position which gives it the force of " fully observe." The Apostle had
not only seen the statues but read the inscriptions. The noun can only
mean "a thing that is worshipped" not " the act of worship" as is the
sense of the A.V.
I found an altar] The Greek has an emphatic conjunction, which
might be represented by "I found also an altar," i.e. beside other things
which I noticed.
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD] The original has no article and
would be correctly rendered " To an unknown God." But it is not
always correct to omit the article in English because it does not appear
in the original : here however it does not influence the meaning. When
the altar was erected, it was in consequence of some visitation of which
the cause was not apparent, and which could be ascribed to none of
the existing divinities. We may conceive the Athenians speaking of the
power which caused the visitation either as "an unknown God" or as
"the unknown God" whose wrath they would deprecate, and, in an in
scription, representing all that was intended without the article. We
have abundant evidence of the existence in Athens of such altars as that
to which St Paul alludes. But the words in which they are described
generally run in the plural number, and speak of " the unknown gods."

v. 24.] THE ACTS, XVII. 227
ship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world 24
and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and
Thus Pausanias (1. i. 4) describing one of the ports of Athens tells us
that there were there " altars to gods styled unknown," and Philostratus
in his Life of Apollonius says "at Athens there are erected altars for
unknown gods. There is a like allusion in (pseudo) Lucian's Philo-
patris, but it is doubtful whether that is not drawn from this passage of
the Acts. And Jerome writing on Tit. i. 12, says "The inscription on
the altar was not, as Paul stated, ' To the unknown God ' but ' To the
unknown gods of Asia and Europe and Africa, to unknown and foreign
Gods.' But, because Paul required to speak of only one unknown God,
he used the word in the singular." But it is better to suppose that
St Paul saw what he says he saw, and as evidence that such an in
scription was not improbable, we may quote the Latin inscription found
on an altar at Ostia, now in the Vatican, representing a sacrificial
group in connexion with the worship of Mithras, the Sun-god of the
later Persian mythology (Orelli, Inscr. Gel. \\. 5000), "Signum indepre-
hensibilis dei" which is a very near approach in Latin to what the
Greek inscription to which the Apostle alludes would mean. The word
" unknown must not be pressed too far into the sense of ' ' unknow
able," because of what comes after. Paul says that " he is prepared to
set forth to them that power which they were worshipping in ignorance."
So though man by searching cannot find out God, yet he would desire
to teach the Athenians, what he says elsewhere, that "the everlasting
power and divinity of God may be clearly seen through the things that
are made " (Rom. i. 20).
Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship] The best MSS. give the
relative in the neuter. The better rendering therefore is What therefore
ye worship in ignorance. (As R. V.) The A. V. seems to convey the
sense that the worship was of an ignorant character : whereas what
the Apostle intends to say is not any reflection on the nature of their
worship, but only that they offered it in ignorance, and this he was
ready to dispel. He accepts their religious character, takes his stand
on their own confession that they are in ignorance about God, and so
offers his teaching.
him declare I unto you] Of course in harmony with the previous
clause the pronoun is here also neuter. "This set I forth unto you,"
(As R. V.) In the verb which he employs the Apostle takes up their
own word (verse 18) when they said "He seemeth to be a setter forth
of strange gods." It is well that the similarity of word should be re
tained in the English.
24. God that made the world, &c] Better, The God, &c, which is
specially needed when the neuter pronouns are read in the previous
verse. This was no Epicurean god, who dwelt apart and in constant repose ;
nor was the world a thing of chance as those philosophers taught, but
God's own handiwork, and all things in it were of His creation.
seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth] And therefore supreme
possessor and disposer of all that is therein.

228 THE ACTS, XVII. [vv. 25— 27.
=5 earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is
worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any
thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all
26 things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for
to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined
the times before appointed, and the bounds' of their
=7 habitation, that they should seek the Lord, if haply they
might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far
dwelleth not in temples made with hands] Of which Athens had some
of the most renowned in the world. A special interest attaches to these
words as being so like those of Stephen (vii. 48). If true of the temple
at Jerusalem, a fortiori, it is true of all Christian churches.
25. neither is worshipped with (served by) men's hands] The verb
implies the sort, of service yielded by a steward to his master, or a minis
ter to his King, a service in which the superior is not independent of his
inferior, and could not well do without him. This is seen in the next
clause. God is not like earthly masters and kings. He gives all, and
men can only offer to Him themselves in return. Cp. Pss. 1., Ii. for like
teaching. 26. and hath made of one blood] All the best MSS. omit the word
"blood." And this seems to bring out more fully what the Apostle
desires to dwell on ; the Fatherhood of God. It is not that men are all
of one family and so all equal in God's eyes, and ought to be in the eyes
of one another. But when we read "they are made of One" we are
carried back to the higher thought of the prophet (Malachi ii. 10),
" Have we not all one Father?" This was a philos6phy not likely to
be acceptable to the Athenians among whom the distinction between
Greeks and Barbarians was as radical as that which has grown up in
America between white man and "nigger," or between Europeans and
natives in India.
for to dwell on all the face ofthe earth] For His children the Father
provided a home.
and hath determined the times before appointed] The word irpoereray-
pAvovs has more authority than irpoTeTayp-ivovs and gives a better sense.
The times (rather seasons) are appointed unto men, but it is not so clear
what " before-appointed" could mean. Read " And hath determined
their appointed seasons." (So R. Vi) The " seasons " referred to are
those which God has ordained for seed-time and harvest, summer and
winter, day and night, which are fixed by his decree and make the
earth a fitting abode for men.
and the bounds of their habitation) i. e. where they can dwell and where
they cannot.
27. that they should seek the Lord] The best authorities read "seek
God." This was the lesson which God meant His creation and provi
dence to teach, that through His works men should see Him.
if haply they might feel after him, and find him] The world was to
be man's book in which he should read God's power and love j thus

w. 28—30.] THE ACTS, XVII. 229
from every one of us: for in him we live, and move, 23
and have our- being; as certain also of your own poets
have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as 29
we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the
Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven
by art and man's device. And the times of this ignorance 30
God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where
stimulated, a desire to know more might grow, and by efforts, which
the graphic word of the Apostle compares to the exertion of one
groping in the dark, more knowledge would come, and at last the full
discovery would be made. God would be found. He is the rewarder
of them that diligently seek Him.
though he be not far from every one of us] And so can reveal Him
self according to the measure of zeal shewn by those who seek Him.
28. for in him we live] i.e. through or by Him. All our existence
is through His care, therefore He must be near to all of us. The pre
position is rendered by in verse 31, "By that man whom he hath
ordained." and move] More literally, are moved. The word does not refer to
the motion of persons from place to place, but to those internal move
ments of the mind and spirit of which the outward actions are the
effect. St Paul means that the feelings of men are acted on by God,
who speaks to the heart through all nature if men will but hearken.
This is the truth of which Pantheism is the caricature.
your own poets have said] The words are a quotation from Aratus,
Phenomena, 5, and are also found in Cleanthes' Hymn to Jupiter, 5.
Aratus was a native of Cilicia, and St Paul may in consequence be
suppbsed to have known of his writings as of those of a fellow-country
man. By quoting from their own literature to the Athenians, St Paul
illustrates his own declaration that in his labours "he became all
things to all men." Such a quotation was also very well devised for
arresting the attention of these cultivated hearers, and winning it may
be some consideration for the speaker, as also being a man of culture.
29. we ought not to think, &c] As man is of more honour than
material things, how far above these must the Godhead be. The
Athenians, the Apostle would teach them, had formed not too high but
too low a conception of themselves.
30. And the times of this ignorance] There is no pronoun in
the original, and the conjunctions are feebly represented by "and."
The sense is more nearly conveyed by "Having however overlooked
the times of ignorance." (Cp. Rom. iii. 25.) " To wink at " is now
used with the meaning of "to connive at." St Paul, however, only
means that God has not imputed to men the errors which they com
mitted in ignorance, but now the case is changed. Men cannot plead
ignorance, who have heard of Christ. (Cp. Luke xii. 48.)
but now commandeth] If the translation of the first clause be taken
as above, the conjunction "but" (which has no Greek representative)

23P THE ACTS, XVII. [w. 31, 32.
31 to repent: because he hath appointed a day, in the which
he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom
he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all
men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.
32 — 34. Effect of St Paul's speech. Some mocked, but others
believed.
32 And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead,
some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again
is not needed. The best Greek text would be literally translated
"He now commandeth men that they all everywhere should repent"
(as nearly R. V.). "Repentance" means that they shall amend the lives
which hitherto they have lived wrongly through ignorance.
31. because he hath appointed, &c] The day of judgment had long
ago been appointed in God's foreknowledge, but through Christ man's
resurrection and immortality have been made more clear. He knows
now, who knows of Christ, that the Son of Man has been raised up,
as the first-fruits of a general resurrection. The rising of Christ proved
Him to be divine and stamped His doctrine as true. But a part of that
doctrine is (Matth. xxv. 32) " Before him shall be gathered all nations:
and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth
the sheep from the goats." By the resurrection of Jesus, God has given
to men assurance that what Jesus taught was true, therefore because, of
the judgment which Christ foretold, men should repent everywhere, for
the whole world shall be judged.
It is worth while to notice how St Paul's argument advances through
its various stages. He speaks first of God as the Creator of the world
and of men, and of the ordinances which He has made for man's
abode on earth. Then he argues that all this should inspire men with
the thought that as they are more worthy than material things, so God
is far exalted above men. This ought to have led them to seek after
Him, and even in the darker days those who sought could find Him.
But now the days of God's revelation through nature are at an end.
He has spoken through that Son of Man whom the resurrection.proved
to be the Son of God. Through Him will God judge the world, for
which judgment men should prepare themselves by repentance.
It may be that at this point the Apostle's speech was stopped.
Neither party among the hearers would have any sympathy with the
doctrine of a resurrection and a final judgment. Had the address been
completed, St Paul would have probably spoken in more definite
language of the life and work of Jesus.
32—34. Effect of St Paul's speech. Some mocked, but
others believed.
32. some mocked] Just as (Acts ii. 13) did some men on the day of
Pentecost. To the Epicurean this life was all, and the Stoic's teaching;

w. 33, 341 i.] THE ACTS, XVII. XVIII. 231
of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. How- ^
beit certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the
which was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named
Damaris, and others with them.
1 — n. Paul goes from Athens to Corinth, labours there
with his own hands for his maintenance. He is encouraged
in his preaching by a vision ofthe Lord.
After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came 18
that all should finally be absorbed into the Godhead, forbade the belief
that the dead should rise again. So of these men the Epicureans would
most likely be the mockers, the Stoics might be expected to give more
heed ; and theirs perhaps would be the decision to hear the Apostle again.
The Greek ofthe best accepted MSS. makes the last clause run, " We
will hear thee yet again concerning this."
34. Dionysius the Areopagite] i.e. one of the members of the upper
council of Athens. He must have been a man of position and influence,
for no one could be a member of this council unless he had filled some
high office of state, and was above 60 years of age. Tradition (Euseb.
H. E. in. 4; iv. 23) says that this Dionysius was the first bishop of
Athens, and that he was martyred. The works which long circulated
among Christians as his compositions, and which even at the time of
the Reformation occupied much of the thoughts and labours of such
men as Dean Colet, are no doubt forgeries of a much later date than the
days of this Dionysius.
XVIII. 1—11. Paul goes from Athens to Corinth, labours
there with his own hands for his maintenance. He is
encouraged in his preaching by a vision of the Lord.
1. After these things Paul departed] The best authorities omit the
name ofthe Apostle, merely reading "he departed." So R. V.
came to Corinth) As Athens was the seat of culture, so Corinth was
the seat of commerce in the south of Greece. The city, at this time the
political capital of Greece and the residence of the Roman pro-consul,
stood on the isthmus which united the Peloponnesus to the mainland, and
through it all land traffic between the peninsula and the rest of Greece
must pass, while its two harbours, one on each side of the neck of land
on which Corinth stood, made it the resort of seafaring traders both
from east and west. Of Lechaeum, the western port, on the Corinthian
gulf, we have no mention in the New Testament, but Cenchreae, the
harbour on the Saronic gulf, by which communication with the East
was kept up, is mentioned in verse 18. The city was also made famous
for its connexion with the Isthmian games, from which St Paul in his
Epistles draws frequent, illustrations when writing to the Corinthian
Church. (See 1 Cor. ix. 24 — 27, &c.) For further particulars of the
history of Corinth see Diet, of Bible, s. v.

232 THE ACTS, XVIII. , [w. 2, 3.
2 to Corinth; and found a certain Jew named Aquila, born
in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife PrisciUa;
(because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart
3 from Rome :) and came unto them. And because he was of
2. a certain Jew named Aquila) The name Aquila is a Latin word,
and it is not likely that this was the man's Jewish name, but as the
custom was among the Jews, he had probably assumed a Roman name
during his dwelling in Italy and in his intercourse with the Gentiles.
See above on xiii. 9. The name is identified, by the Jews, with that of
Onkelos, who wrote a Targum on the Pentateuch, and some make that
Onkelos to be the same with Aquila who translated the Old Testament
into Greek, of which translation part is preserved to us in Origen's
Hexapla. born in Pontus] Lit. a man of Pontus by race. The provinces of
Asia Minor abounded with Jewish families of the Dispersion, as we may
see from the whole history in the Acts. In Acts ii. 9 — 10 many of
these districts are mentioned as contributing to the number of worship
pers who had come to Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost. Pontus
came under Roman sway when its king Mithridates was conquered by
Pompey, and this connexion may have led Aquila to leave his native
country for Italy. Aquila and his wife are mentioned Rom. xvi. 3
as though they were again in Rome, so that probably they had formed
ties there which were only temporarily severed by the Claudian edict
mentioned in this verse. (It is however questioned whether the salu
tations in Rom. xvi. form part of the Epistle as it was sent to the
Romans. ) They were with St Paul when he wrote the first Epistle to
the Corinthians (1 Cor. xvi. 19), and were so far settled in Ephesus,
where that Epistle was written, as to have a house which they could
place at the service of the Christians there, as a place to worship in.
And if (as is most probable) Timothy was in Ephesus when the
second Epistle (2 Tim. iv. 19) was addressed to him, they were in
that city again at this later date (for PrisciUa is only the diminutive
form of Prisca as the name of the wife is there written). More than
this is not known of their changes of abode.
Claudius had commanded aU Jews to depart from Rome] The Jews
were often objects of persecution in Rome, but this particular occasion
is probably that mentioned by Suetonius, Claud. 25, where we read
that by reason of Jewish tumults at the instigation of one Christus (or
Chrestus) they were driven out of the city. Whether this was the name
of some Jew then resident in Rome, or whether it is a reference to some
disturbance that had arisen from the Jewish expectation of "the
Christ" or Messiah, and the name Christus is mistakenly used by
Suetonius as though it were that of some agitator actually present, we
cannot teU. Or it may have been some movement of the Jews against
the Christians because they taught that the "Christ" was already come.
In that case the name "Christus" would come into great prominence,
and might give rise to the statement of Suetonius that a person of that
name had been the instigator of the disturbances.

w. 4,5-1 THE ACTS, XVIII. 233
the same craft,, he abode with them, and wrought: for
by their occupation they were tentmakers. And he reasoned 4
in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and
the Greeks. And when Silas and Timotheus were comes

3. And because he was of ihe same craft] Among the Jews every
Rabbi deemed it proper to practise some handicraft, and they have a
proverb about R. Isaac, who was a smith, "Better is the sentence
of the smith (R. Isaac) than that of the smith's son (R. Jochanan),"
thus marking their opinion that the pursuit of a craft was no injury
to the teacher's wisdom (T. B. Sanhedrin, g6a). Thus our Lord is
spoken of (Mark vi. 3) as "the carpenter."
he abode with them, and wrought] Some ancient authorities read
and they wrought. This change in the number seems awkward. The
mention already made of the craft of Aquila and his wife conveys the
information that they wrought : what the sentence seems to need is the
addition which the singular gives that "he wrought." In a passage
from T. B. Sukkah, 51 b, part of which has already been quoted
on vi. 9, we read in a description of the Jewish synagogue at Alexandria,
"The people did not sit mixed together, but goldsmiths by them
selves, and silversmiths by themselves, and ironworkers by themselves,
and miners by themselves, and weavers by themselves, and when a poor
man came there he recognised the members of his craft, and went there,
and from thence was his support, and that of the members of his house."
This may explain how readily Paul found at Corinth some persons who
were of his own craft.
by their occupation they were tentmakers] What they made was most
probably tent-cloth. This was of goats' hair, and the plaiting of it into
strips and joining these together was a common employment in Cilicia,
to such an extent that the district gave name to the material and the
articles made of it, a soldier's and sailor's rough hair rug being named
Cilicium. As the trade was intended in such cases as St Paul's merely
to be used as a resource under circumstances of need which were not
likely to come about, we can understand that while complying with
Jewish feeling in the matter, a trade would be chosen for the boy which
would not consume a. large part of his time in learning. Mishnah
Qiddushin iv. 14 says " let a person teach his son a trade both clean
and easy." The most common handicraft of Tarsus offered just such
a trade in the making of this rough goats' hair cloth.
4. and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks] There are no articles in
the original and they are omitted in the Revised Version. No doubt,
as in other Gentile cities, the religion of the Jews in Corinth gained the
attention of many among the Gentiles, who as proselytes or inclining
thereto would form part of the Sabbath audience in the synagogue.
According to his rule St Paul addressed himself to the Jews first.
5. And (But) when Silas and Timotheus were come (came down)
from Macedonia) The particle at the beginning of the verse is better
regarded as adversative. We have in this verse an account of a change

acts

17

234 THE ACTS, XVIII. ' [vv. 6, 7.
from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in spirit, and testified to
6 the Jews that Jesus was Christ And when they opposed
themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and
said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am
1 clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. And he
departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house,
named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house
in the character of the Apostle's preaching after the arrival of Silas and
Timothy, who had been left at Beroea (xvii. 14). It may well be that
he had encouragement by their presence in his work, and also that
it was not so necessary for him to consume his whole time on his craft
because the Philippians had sent a contribution for his support (Phil. iv.
15; 2 Cor. xi. 9).
Paul was pressed in spirit] The best texts read, was constrained by
the word (so R. V.), and the Vulg. "instabat verbo " is evidence in its
favour. The sense seems to be, he was earnestly occupied in preaching
the Word, and felt himself more urged on, and also more able, to preach,
because of his freedom from the necessity of constant labour. It was
apparently only on the Sabbath that he had reasoned with the people
before. The usus loquendi favours the passive meaning. Meyer (3rd
ed.) renders "he was apprehended, seized by the word " in the sense of
internal pressure of spirit.
testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ] This sentence
which is of the participial form in the original intimates the manner in
which the greater earnestness of the Apostle was exhibited. He gave
in all its fulness his solemn testimony, no doubt confirmed from Scrip
ture and by the narrative of his own miraculous conversion, that this
Jesus, whom he had formerly persecuted, was the Christ, the Messiah
whom the Jews had long expected.
6. opposed themselves] The word implies very strong opposition,
as of a force drawn up in battle array. It was an organized opposi
tion. and blasphemed] The same word is used in 2 Pet. ii. 2, "The way of
truth shall be evil spoken of." And the same conduct, though the
word is different, is described in the next chapter (xix. 9), "speaking
evil ofthe Way before the multitude." ,
he shook out his raiment] Figurative of entire renunciation of them.
Nothing that pertained to them should cling to him; and in like
manner he would cast them off from his thoughts (cp. xiii. 51). For
the action cp. Neh. v. 13.
Your blood be upon your own heads] He says "blood" in the sense
of "destruction," using figuratively the language which in Josh. ii. 19 is
used literally.
/ will go unto the Gentiles] i. e. the Gentiles in Corinth. For in
future preaching elsewhere (see xix. 8) he addressed the Jews and went
to the synagogue, as had been his custom from the first.
7. a certain man's house, named Justus] He used this house for the

w. 8, 9.] THE ACTS, XVIII. 235
joined hard to the synagogue. And Crispus, the chief*
ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all
his house ; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed,
and were baptized. Then spake the Lord to Paul in 9
the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold
. purposes of teaching and worship. We may suppose that for his own
lodging, he still remained with Aquila and PrisciUa. Some MSS. give
the name Titus Justus to this man, and the double name is adopted in
the Revised Version, but there is good authority for the received text.
one that worshipped God] He was a Proselyte. The word is used
of religious proselytes (xiii. 43) and of devout Greeks (xvii. 4). His
house was therefore an appropriate place in which both Jews and
Gentiles might meet, and to which Gentiles would be more ready to
come than to that of a Jew by birth.
whose house joined hard to the synagogue] It is likely that St Paul,
though he came no more to the synagogue at Corinth, chose not to
betake himself far away, because he would be ready to receive any of
his brethren who might change their feelings and come to him. But we
can see how, while his near neighbourhood gave opportunity for this,
the meetings of those who came to the synagogue with those who were
going to the 'house of Justus, would be likely to cause bitterness,
especially when the number of St Paul's adherents began to increase,
and a ruler of the synagogue was counted among them.
8. And Crispus, the chief ruler ofthe synagogue] It is better to omit
"chief" otherwise this part ofthe word is twice translated. (So R. V.)
, This Crispus is alluded to, 1 Cor. i. 14, as one ofthe few whom St Paul
himself baptized. His previous distinguished position among the Jews,
and the conversion of his whole family, would make him noticeable
among the Christian converts. There may have been more than one
synagogue in Corinth. In verse 17 we read of Sosthenes, the ruler of
the synagogue. But it is quite possible that this man may have been
appointed immediately after the conversion of Crispus, and may have
been desirous to shew his zeal against the Christian teachers by laying
an immediate information against Paul before the proconsul.
and many of the Corinthians... were baptized] St Paul mentions that
he himself only baptized (in addition to Crispus) Gaius and the house
hold of Stephanas. But Silas and Timothy were now by his side and
would care for the admission of the new converts to baptism.
9. Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision) The ren
dering of the first word makes it seem as though the original were an
adverb of time. Render, " And the Lord said, &c." We may judge
from the language used to him that for some reason the heart of the
Apostle was beginning to wax faint, and that he was in danger of
bodily maltreatment. The communication was made in the same way
as the call to come over into Macedonia (xvi. 9, 10). Only here the
Lord appeared to his servant.
speak, and hold not thy peace) An exhortation to even more con
tinuous preaching than before. Let nothing stop thy testimony.

236 THE ACTS, XVIII. [vv. 10—12..
10 not thy peace : for I am with thee, and no man shall set on
thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
11 And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the
word of God among them.
1 2 — 17. Paul is accused before Gallio, who declines to consider
the charge against him. In consequence the populace fall at
once on Sosthenes, a chief man among the fews, but Gallio
lets their assault pass unnoticed.
12 And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews
10. for I am with thee] The pronoun is expressed emphatically
in the Greek, and no man shall set on thee to hurt [harm] thee. There
will be assailants. Christ does not promise him freedom from attack.
But the enemy shall not be able to do him violence. And this appear
ance of Christ would give the Apostle the confidence of the prophet of
old (2 Kings vi. 16), "They that be with us are more than they that be
with them."
for t have much people in this city] How important and extensive
was the Christian community at Corinth we may gather from the
Epistles which St Paul wrote afterwards to the Church there. And as
the city was one of the great centres of commercial activity at this
period, we can see how important it was (humanly speaking) for the
Church to make good its footing there from the first. The Lord
mercifully by this vision gave his servant assurance that his words
should be largely blessed, and rising up thus comforted, he was ready
for any task.
11. And he continued [dwelt] there) In these words the historian
seems to be expressing the content which pervaded the Apostle's mind
after the vision. Neither the A. V. nor the Revised rendering gives to
the full the meaning of the Greek. The verb is generally rendered " to
sit down," and here seems to be applied purposely to the restful state of
the Apostle's mind after the comforting revelation. The same verb is
used by St Luke (xxiv. 49), " Tarry ye in the city, until ye be clothed
with power from on high," where the admonition is of like character
with the advice given here to St Paul. In no other place in the New
Testament is the word similarly used.
a year and six months] And beside his teaching to the Corinthians he
wrote at this time the two Epistles to the Thessalonians which are the
first in order of date among the Apostolic letters, and probably the
earliest part of the whole New Testament.
12 — 17. Paul is accused before Gallio, who declines to
consider the charge against him. In consequence the
populace fall at once on Sosthenes, a chief man among
the Jews, but Gallio lets their assault pass unnoticed.
12. And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia) Better, But when

vv. 13, 14-] THE ACTS, XVIII. 237
made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought
him to the judgment seat, saying, This fellow persuadeth 13
men to worship God contrary to the law. And when Paul 14
was now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the
Galliowas proconsul of Achaia (so R. V.). The narrative is about to enter
on something which was adverse to the spirit of quiet rest mentioned in
the previous verse, therefore "but " is the fitting conjunction. To give
the governor of the province his proper title is of much importance, and,
here forms a mark of the fidelity of the narrative. Achaia was a
Roman province. Such provinces belonged either to the Senate or to
the Emperor. When they were senatorial the governor was styled Pro
consul. Now Achaia had been a senatorial province under Augustus,
but under Tiberius was an imperial province for a time, but after A. D.
44 under Claudius (Suet. Claud, xxv.), which is the reign in which
these events in St Paul's life occurred, it was once more made senatorial
and so had a Proconsul at this period for its governor. This Gallio was
the brother of the famous philosopher Seneca, who was tutor and for a
time minister of the Emperor Nero. Originally Gallio was called
Marcus Annaeus Novatus, and took the name of Gallio from the orator
Lucius Junius Gallio, by whom he was adopted. The character of
Gallio as described by his Roman contemporaries is that of a most
bright, popular, and affectionate man. He is spoken of as " Sweet
Gallio," and Seneca declares that " those who love him to the utmost,
don't love him enough."
the Jews made insurrection [Better (with R. V.), rose up] with
one accord against Paul] They probably thought to avail themselves
• of the inexperience of a newly arrived proconsul, and by appearing in a
body to obtain the expulsion of the Apostle from their city.
and brought him to the judgment seat] To Gallio they would seem a
company of Jews accusing one of their own race, of some erroneous
teaching. If he had only lately come from Rome, he would be likely
to have heard there of the troubles about "Christus" (see above on
verse 2), and he would consider that he had come into the midst of a
quarrel about the same matter.
13. contrary to the law] i. e. the Jewish law. Their religion was one
of those allowed throughout the Roman Empire, and their hope is to
induce the proconsul to protect the Jewish law by Roman law. But the
majesty of Roman power was far too august to be invoked for settling
a quarrel between the members of a merely "tolerated" religion.
He would not meddle in their matters.
14. And (But) when Paul was now about to open his mouth] There
is nothing in the Gk. which requires the word "now." The Roman has
too much contempt for the whole matter and all who are concerned in
it to listen to any defence. For the law of the Jews, its breach or its
observance, he has no care, and will not be used by either party.
Gallio said unto the Jews] He does not need to hear both sides of a
question about which he will give no opinion.

238 THE ACTS, XVIII. [vv. 15—17.
Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, 0 ye
is Jews, reason would that I should bear with you : but if it
be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye
16 to it ; for I will be no judge of such matters. And he drave
17 them from the judgment seat. Then all the Greeks took
If indeed it were a matter of wrong or of wicked lewdness (vulany)]
The old word " lewdness " has grown to have a different meaning from
that which it had when the A. V. was made. The two things of which
the magistrate would take account are (1) any evil doing (cp. xxiv. 20),
an act of injustice, or (2) any unscrupulous conduct involving moral
wrong. He would be, that is, a minister of law and equity, for that was
his duty.
reason would that I should bear with you] He shews by his language
how far he feels the Roman citizen above the tolerated Jews. But if
their case called for its exercise they should have the benefit of tolera
tion and he would inquire into matters that were the business of his
office. IB. But if they are questions about words and names] The oldest
authorities give the plural "questions," and there would no doubt have
been many points brought forward from St Paul's teaching to which
the Jews would object. And whether Jesus was the Christ or not
would seem to the Roman a matter entirely of definition, and on
which the law had no bearing. If he had heard the name of " Christus"
at Rome, it would make Gallio the more ready to imitate his
royal master, and get rid of the disputants as fast and as far as
possible. and of your law] Better, and of your own law. The words are
literally "the law among (or according to) you." The accusers had
without doubt been striving to make out that in teaching a different
manner of worship (ver. 13) Paul was bringing forward a religion not
enjoying toleratioh by the Roman government. But Gallio sees through
their intention, and counting them all for Jews, he will not be drawn
into their questions.
look ye to it] Better, look to it yourselves (as R. V.). The pronoun
is very emphatic in the Greek.
for I will be no judge of such matters] The oldest authorities omit
"for," and the Revised Version makes it plain that "will" is not here
an auxiliary verb, as it often is in English. " / am not minded to be
a, judge of these matters." Gallio knows his own business and will only
mind that. It is not a case where his jurisdiction can interfere, and so
he leaves the whole untouched'. There is no question here about his own
regard and disregard of enquiries about religion. He sits to administer
Roman law, and this dispute among the Jews at Corinth lies outside his
cognizance altogether.
16. And he drave them from the judgment seat] The description
given by St Luke makes it probable that the seat of Gallio was in
some open public place, where all might come and bring their plaints.

I7-] THE ACTS, XVIII.

239

Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him
before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of
those things.
18—23. Paul leaves Corinth to go into Syria, halting a short
time at Cenchrea and somewhat longer at Ephesus. He
lands at Cesarea, goes up to ferusalem and from thence to
Antioch, and after a time departs on his third missionary
journey.
The proconsul would be attended by his lictors and other officials, and
those he now commands to clear the place of these troublesome
cavillers about words and names. The new magistrate found perhaps
enough to do in matters which came within his jurisdiction in the busy
mercantile life of Corinth.
17. Then all the Greeks took Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the syna
gogue) The conjunction is too strongly rendered in the A.V. The
oldest MSS. omit "the Greeks" which is very like a marginal gloss
that has been introduced into the text by some scribe. Here as before
(ver. 8) omit "chief." Render (with R. V.), And they all laid hold on
Sosthenes the ruler of the synagogue. The verb is used (xxi. 30) of the
violent action of the mob at Jerusalem, and just afterwards (xxi. 33) of
the chief captain's conduct when he rescued Paul. Neither would be
very gentle measures. And we may understand something of the same
kind here. The surrounding crowd, of whom no doubt most would be
Greeks, catching the tone of the magistrate, prepared to follow up his
decision by a lesson of their own, of a rather rough kind. Sosthenes
had probably been the spokesman of the Jews, and Paul would not
improbably have some sympathizers among the Gentiles. And "Jew-
baiting " was not unknown in those days. So with impunity the crowd
could wreak their own vengeance on these interrupters of the proper
business of the court, and beat Sosthenes before he was out of the
magistrate's presence. The name Sosthenes was a very common one,
and we need not identify this man with the Sosthenes mentioned in
1 Cor. i. 1.
And Gallio cared for none of those things] Neither for the questions
raised nor for those who raised them. How little Jewish life was
regarded by the Romans is shewn in many places in their literature (see
Farrar's St Paul, vol. 1. Exc. xiv.). Tiberius banished four thousand of
them to Sardinia, saying that if the unhealthy climate killed them off
" it would be a cheap loss " (Tac. Ann. II. 85). Coming from Rome
where such feeling was universal, the lives and limbs of a few Jews
would appear of small importance, and like the Emperor just named
he may have thought it mattered little what became of them.
18 — 23. Paul leaves Corinth to go into Syria, halting
a short time at Cenchrea and somewhat longer at
Ephesus. He lands at Cesarea, goes up to Jerusalem

240 THE ACTS, XVIII. [w. 18, 19.
r* And Paul after' this tarried there yet a good while, and
then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into
Syria, and with him PrisciUa and Aquila : having shorn his
'9 head in Cenchrea : for he had a vow. And he came to
and from thence to Antioch, and after a time departs
on his third missionary journey.
18. And Paul after this tarried there yet a good while) Lit many
days. This appears to be after the appearance before Gallio. We are
told (ver. n) that he settled quietly for a year and six months. Then
came an opportunity of attacking him on Gallio's arrival. Of this the
Jews tried to avail themselves, and when their attempt was at an end,
the Apostle had another time of peace among his converts. So that the
whole stay in Corinth extended over more than a year and a half.
sailed thence into (better, for) Syria] We have no motive given why
the Apostle at this time sailed back. Some have suggested that he was
carrying a contribution to the brethren in Jerusalem. It is clear that
when the return was resolved on, he wished to reach Jerusalem as soon
as possible, for he declined to tarry in Ephesus even though his preach
ing was more readily received there than by the Jews in many other
places. It may have been the wish to fulfil his vow, which could only
be brought to its conclusion by a visit to the temple in Jerusalem.
having shorn his head in Cenchrea: for he had a vow] We can observe
all through the narrative of the Acts that St Paul, although the Apostle
of the Gentiles, did not cease to regard the festivals and ceremonies of
the Jews in things which did not militate against the Christian liberty.
For some reason, either during sickness or in the midst of his conflict
at Corinth, he had taken a vow upon himself of the nature of the Naza
rite vows (Numb. vi. 1 — 21). This could only be brought to its fitting
close by a journey to Jerusalem to offer up the hair, which it was a part
of the vow, to leave uncut. At Jerusalem when the ceremony was
completed the head was shaven (see Acts xxi. 24), but it seems to have
been allowed to persons at a distance to cut the hair short and to bring
that with them to the temple and offer it up when the rest was shaven.
This appears to be what St Paul did at this time, at Cenchrese, before
starting on the voyage to Syria. The Greek word for "having shorn"
stands in the original next to Aquila, and some have contended from
this that it was he who had the vow, and cut his hair. They have
pointed out also that the order of the names "PrisciUa and Aquila"
seems to have been adopted purposely to make this connexion of words
possible. But the name of the wife stands before that of her husband
in Rom. xvi. 3 ; see also 2 Tim. iv. 19; and may have been so placed
because by her zeal she made herself a very conspicuous member of the
Church wherever she lived. But it seems very unlikely that all this
detail of a vow and its observance would be so prominently mentioned
in connexion with Aquila, who played but a small part in St Luke's
history ; while it is a most significant feature in the conduct of St Paul
that he so oft conformed to Jewish observances.

v.20, 21.] THE ACTS, XVIII. 241
Ephesus, and left them there : but he himself entered into
the synagogue, and reasoned with the Jews. When they 20
desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented
not ; but bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means «
19. And he [they] came to Ephesus) The oldest authorities have
the plural number here. Ephesus was the famous city, capital of Ionia,
and afterwards the scene of a large period of St John's labours. It
stood not far from the sea on some hilly ground by a small river which
flows into the sea in the district lying between the greater rivers, the
Hermus and the Meander. In St Paul's day it was by far the busiest
and most populous city in Proconsular Asia. For a more complete
account of its inhabitants and the special worship of Artemis (Diana) for
which it was celebrated, a fitting place will be found in the notes on
chap. xix.
and left them there] Aquila and PrisciUa probably had business
connexions with the large city of Ephesus, which caused them to end
their journey here. These people though working at their trade appear
to have been above the position which would be implied by Dr Farrar's
expression {St Paul I. 573) " his lodging in the squalid shop of Aquila
and PrisciUa. " They travelled about and lived now at Rome, now at
Ephesus, and now in Corinth (1 Cor. xvi. 19; Rom. xvi. 3; 2 Tim. iv.
19), and on their condition when in Ephesus, see above on verse 2.
entered into the synagogue] He could not give up his own people,
though he was constantly exposed to hard usage by them ; so he seeks
them out again here as soon as he arrives. In Ephesus however his
message seems to have been received with less hostility, for those who
heard him begged him to stay a longer time. The cosmopolitan
character of the Ephesian population may have had something to do
with this.
20. And when they desired (asked) him to tarry a longer time with
them] The oldest texts omit the last two words. The verb is one most
frequently rendered "to ask." We need not suppose that more im
pression had been produced on this occasion than made the Jews willing
to give him a patient hearing.
21. but bade them farewell) This is the same verb as in verse 18,
and should be rendered in the same way. "But took his leave of them"
The oldest authorities and the best modern editors, followed by the
Revised Version, omit a large portion ofthe verse, reading thus : "but
taking his leave of them, and saying, I will return again unto you, if
God will, ht set sail from Ephesus" The words thus omitted are
deemed to have been an insertion suggested by xx. 16. It is not only on
the authority of a small number of uncials that the words are rejected ;
their omission is supported by several cursives, as well as by the
Vulgate and some other versions.
There has been much discussion on the question whether it was the
feast of the Passover or the Pentecost which the Apostle desired to keep
in Jerusalem. If we accept the omission, as the authorities seem fully
to warrant, the question is not raised.

242 THE ACTS, XVIII. [w. 22, 23.
keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem : but I will return
again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus.
22 And when he had landed at Cesarea, and gone up, and
23 saluted the church, he went down to Antioch. And after
he had spent some time there, he departed, and went over
all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthen
ing all the disciples.
24 — 28. Visit of Apollos to Ephesus, and his teaching there.
He is more fully instructed by Aquila and PrisciUa, and
I will return again unto you] Having the opportunity, he soon
redeemed his promise, see xix. 1.
22. Cesarea] (See viii. 40.) This was the home of Philip the
Evangelist, and we may suppose that St Paul would make the success
of his distant mission known to his fellow-labourer. He made the
house of Philip his home in Caesarea on a later occasion (xxi. 8).
gone up] i. e. from the coast town to the city of Jerusalem.
and saluted the church) This is a very brief notice of a visit to the centre
of all church life and action at this time. And we cannot but be sur
prised that there is no mention (as in xiv. 27) of a gathering of the
church, and of the report of what the great missionary had been enabled
to effect. Dr Farrar (St Paul, 11. 5) suggests that St Paul met with
a cold and ungracious reception, and that the position which he assumed
towards the Law in his preaching to Gentile converts, raised him up
adversaries among the Christians in Jerusalem, who were naturally
zealous for the Law. It is certainly strange that even the name of the
city is not mentioned, nor are we told a word about the fulfilment ofthe
vow. For some reason or other, the Apostle hastened, as soon as his
salutations were ended, to the more congenial society of the Christians at
Antioch who had rejoiced over his success on a former visit.
23. And after he had spent some time there] Having felt for them
selves the troubles of the Judaizers, the people at Antioch would
sympathize with the Apostle, if he were experiencing like opposition
now to his own work.
he departed] Starting from Antioch as on both his former missions.
and went over all the country (region) of Galatia and Phrygia in
order] Taking no doubt the same direction as before, and so visiting
Lystra and Derbe, before he came to the more northern portions of Asia
Minor. strengthening all ihe disciples] The verb is elsewhere always ren
dered "confirming" both in the A.V. and in the Revised Version (cp.
xiv. 22 ; xv. 32, 41). Here in the Rev. Ver. it is changed to "stablish-
ing" which does perhaps contain the idea of "making firm" a little
more fully than " strengthen " does. " Confirming " was to be avoided
here because of the use of that word now as signifying the Church's
rite of " Confirmation. "

w. 24, 25.] THE ACTS, XVIII. 243
afterwards passing over into Achaia, preaches Christ there
.with great power.
And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, 24
an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, came to
Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way ofthe Lord; 25
24—28. Visit of Apollos to Ephesus, and his teaching
there. he is more fully instructed by aquila and
priscilla, and afterwards passing over into achaia,
preaches Christ there with great power.
24. And [Now] a certain Jew named Apollos] As this interposed
narrative about Apollos is an unconnected digression, preparatory to
what will be mentioned in the following chapter, it is better to render
the conjunction by a less distinctly conjunctive word. So "Now" is
better than "And."
The name Apollos is an abbreviation of Apollonius, which is read in
one MS. (D). His influence as a Christian teacher made itself most
felt in Corinth. (Cp. 1 Cor. i. 12, iii. 5, iv. 6.)
born at Alexandria (lit. an Alexandrian by birth)] On Alexandria
as a place abounding with Jews cp. vi. 9. It was in Alexandria and by
Jews that the Septuagint Version of the Old Testament was made.
an eloquent man] The word in the original expresses not only
ability as an orator, but also the possession of stores of learning.
Hence the Rev. Ver. gives "learned." Either rendering only gives half
the idea. He was learned and could use his learning with effect.
came to Ephesus, and he was mighty in the Scriptures] This is the
arrangement and construction of the original. The study of the Old
Testament flourished greatly in Alexandria, and Apollos had great
power in the exposition and application of these Scriptures. The
literary activity and philosophic pursuits of the Greek population of
Alexandria were not without their effect on the more conservative Jews,
and we find from many sources that the Jewish writings were studied
with all the literary exactness which marked the Greek scholarship of
the time, and the Jews, conscious of the antiquity of their own records
and yet impressed with the philosophic character of their cultured
fellow-citizens, bent themselves greatly to find analogies between the
Mosaic writings and the teachings of the schools. In study like this
Apollos had no doubt been fully trained.
25. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord) Nothing is
gained by pressing the tense of the original into the "had been
instructed" of the Revised Version. If he had been instructed he con
sequently was instructed. The word for instructed is that from which
comes the English "catechize." Hence it implies a course of teaching
distinct from his own study of the Scriptures. We know from Jose
phus (Antiq. xviii. 5. 2) that the teaching^and baptism of John pro
duced great effect among the Jews. We need not therefore wonder at
finding among Jews at Jerusalem and Ephesus men who had accepted

244 THE ACTS, XVIII. [v. 26.
and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught dili
gently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of
26 John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue :
the Baptist's teaching about Jesus. But in considering such cases we
must remember where such instruction as they had received would
stop short. They would know that John baptized in preparation for
the coming of the kingdom, they would have heard that he pointed to
Jesus as the Lamb of God, being certified thereof when He came to be
baptized. But when John was dead and the life of Jesus was brought
to a close on Calvary, except the few of John's disciples who had
joined the followers of our Lord, none would know of the way in
which the foundations of the heavenly kingdom were laid, none would
understand the institution of the Sacraments, nor the sending down of
the Holy Ghost, nor the teaching of repentance, and of the gift of
salvation to the faithful through grace. Of these things John had
known nothing, and we must not forget in our attempt to estimate his
work and its effects, that there came to himself a day when' he sent to
Christ to ask "Art thou He that should come?" (Matth. xi. 3.)
and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught carefully the things
concerning Jesus] These variations from the A.V. are warranted by
the best texts of the original. As "the spirit" intended is Apollos'
own it is better to omit the article. The adverb rendered " carefully"
indicates the accuracy with which he proclaimed all that he had been
taught. "The things ofthe Lord" seems to have been the suggestion
of some one who did not understand the plain statement of the text.
In the previous expression "the way of the Lord" we have only the
Old Test, words (Is. xl. 3) quoted by the Evangelists concerning
John's preaching. (Matth. iii. 3; Mark i. 3.) There may have been
some timidity felt about the further statement that Apollos taught the
things "concerning Jesus," and so the reading ofthe early part of the
verse was brought in here also. But after what has been said above we
can see how this Alexandrian Jew might publish with the utmost accu
racy all that John had proclaimed about the coming of the Kingdom of
Heaven, and enforce it from his own studies of the Old Testament
Scriptures, he might declare how John had pointed to Jesus, and
might even relate much of the works and words of Christ, as an evi
dence that God was sending greater prophets than they had known for
long, and that therefore Christ's life was a testimony that redemption
was near. All this he might know and preach most carefully, and yet
lack all that further knowledge which Aquila and PrisciUa imparted.
knowing only the baptism of John] In this sentence we have the
solution of any difficulty which there may seem to be in the verse.
He knew nothing of that other baptism, which is the entrance into
Christ's kingdom, and therefore he could merely be looking forward
for the fulfilment of the prophecies, and the power of his teaching
would consist in the zealous way which he published that the voice of
God in His older Revelation proclaimed Messiah's advent very near.
26. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue] For the Jews

v. 27.] THE ACTS, XVIII. 245
whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him
unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more
perfectly. And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, a?
were not all ready to listen to announcements of the approach of
the Messiah. The speaker must be prepared with arguments as well
as courage who dwelt on this theme, about which the Jews had been
deluded by many impostors.
But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him] This is the commence
ment of a new sentence in the original, and the oldest texts put the
name of the wife before that of her husband as in ver. 18. By joining
her in this marked way with Aquila in the communications with
Apollos, the historian indicates that she was a woman of great power
and zeal among the Christians. It has been suggested that she was
perhaps a born Jewess and her husband not so, which might account
for the prominence given in several places to her name. It may be
noted here, as so often, that Aquila and his wife, like the other Judseo-
Christians, still attended the worship of the synagogue.
they took him unto them] He would be much more in sympathy
with them than with the Jewish congregation. He was prepared
to accept the Messiah, but did not yet understand that Jesus was He.
and expounded unto him the way of God more carefully] The
adverb here is the same as in the previous verse, and the use of it
seems to shew that the studies of Aquila and his wife in the Scriptures
had been of the same earnest kind as those of Apollos. By the " way
of God " we must understand God's further working out of the Old
Testament prediction in the closing events of the life of Jesus, and
in the gift of the Holy Ghost That Joel's prophecy, quoted by St
Peter on the day of Pentecost (Acts ii. 16), had been thus fulfilled,
was new learning for the eloquent Alexandrian. As also the newly
appointed means of grace in baptism and the breaking of bread, with
the promise of salvation to faith in Christ. These also may be included
as part of the "way of God," being means whereby men are brought
nearer to Him.
27 And when he was minded to pass over into Achaia] The
original expresses more than an inclination on his part; he wished
to go. We find from xix. 1 that the centre of his labours there was
Corinth. Being acquainted with the philosophy and learning of Greece
he was well fitted to be a preacher to the Greeks as well as to the
Jews, and he may have felt that Corinth was the place where he
could do most good. We are not told of any Apostolic commission to
Apollos, but we know from 1 Cor. i. 12, &c. that he came to be regarded
by some Corinthians as the equal of St Paul, and that there arose
some strong party feeling in that Church, which is rebuked in St
Paul's letter to them. We cannot suppose that this was brought about
by Apollos, for St Paul speaks of him as watering what he himself
had planted, and it may be that the knowledge of the existence of
such a spirit accounts for the unwillingness of Apollos to come back
to Corinth (1 Cor. xvi. 12) which we read of somewhat later.

246 THE ACTS, XVIII. XIX. [vv. 28 ; 1.
the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him :
who, when he was come, helped them much which had be-
28 lieved through grace : for he mightily convinced the Jews,
and that publickly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was
Christ. r— 7. Paul returning to Ephesus finds there some disciples
of fohn the Baptist.
19 And it came to pass that, while Apollos was at Corinth,
the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him] Here the
A. V. makes the disciples in Achaia the object of the exhortation.
The construction in the original is not quite clear, but the order of
the words seems in favour of the Revised rendering, "the brethren
encouraged him and wrote to the disciples, &c." though the pronoun
"him " is not expressed in the Greek. Here we find_ the first instance
of letters of commendation sent from one Church to another. " The
brethren" at Ephesus must have been a small number, but Aquila
and Priscilla would be well known to the Christians in Corinth.
who, when he was come, helped them much which had believed
through grace] So far as the Greek is concerned the last two words
may be connected either with "helped" or "believed." But as the
history is occupied with the work of Apollos, it seems more natural
to explain the "grace" spoken of, as the gift which was already in
Apollos, and which the more full instruction that he had just received
had tended to increase. He had formerly been but partially en
lightened. Now that he knows the truth in Christ, his former ability
becomes more helpful still. His work seems rightly estimated by
St Paul, "he watered" what the Apostle had "planted " (1 Cor. iii. 6).
28. for he mightily convinced the Jews] The verb expresses more
than is given thus. He brought the objections of the Jews to the test
of Scripture and confuted them. The disciples, who had already
believed, appear to have been suffering from Jewish gainsayers. It
was by his power in the Scriptures that Apollos was helpful against
these adversaries of the faith. The Revised Version has changed
"mightily" into "powerfully'- to little profit. Shakespeare says
" you have mightily persuaded " (As you Like it, I. 1. 218).
and that publickly] By his discourses in the synagogue. This was
an important feature in the help that Apollos gave. He was a learned
Jew, able to set forth to whole Jewish congregations how their Scrip
tures were receiving their fulfilment. Thus they who already believed
would be strengthened.
shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ] See above,
on ver. 5. The Jews had complained before Gallio that St Paul's
teaching was a religion "contrary to the law." Those who heard
Apollos leamt that in Jesus they were accepting the "fulfiller ofthe
law."

vv. 2, 3.] THE ACTS, XIX. 247
Paul having passed through the upper coasts came to
Ephesus : and finding certain disciples, he said unto them, 2
Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed ? And
they said unto him, We have not so much as heard whether
there be any Holy Ghost. And he said unto them, Unto 3
XIX. 1 — 7. Paul returning to Ephesus finds there some
disciples of John the Baptist.
1. And it came to pass that, while Apollos was at Corinth) The
digression concerning Apollos being ended, the history now returns to
St Paul. Apollos found, no doubt, that Corinth was the most effective
centre for his work in Achaia, and apparently made that his head
quarters. Paul having passed through the upper country] The English word
"coasts" (A. V.) is now confined in meaning to the sea-shore, formerly
it signified any "border-land." The parts actually visited by St Paul
were far away from the sea. Indeed the adjective rendered " upper "
signifies "that part to which men go up, away from the sea." It is
applied here to the more Eastern parts of Asia Minor. The Apostle's
journey was most likely through the districts of Lycaonia, Galatia and
Phrygia which he had visited before.
came to Ephesus] In fulfilment of the conditional promise made by
him when he left (xviii. 21).
and finding certain disciples) The participle, indicated by the A. V.,
is not supported by the oldest texts. Read with R. V. "and found."
These men are called disciples, because they were, like Apollos, to a
certain extent instructed concerning Jesus, and what they already knew
drew them to listen to St Paul who could teach them more.
2. and he said unto them] The different reading in the last verse
renders a conjunction needful here, and this the oldest MSS. have.
Did ye receive the Holy Ghost when ye believed?] The two verbs
in the original are in the same tense, and there is nothing to justify the
" since " of the A. V. The description of the state of these disciples is
not easy to understand. St Paul addresses them as believers. But this
perhaps is only because they presented themselves among the real
Christian disciples, and his recent arrival made it impossible for him
to know the history of all who appeared among the members of the
congregation. He presumes they are believers from the company in
which he finds them.
And they said unto him, Nay, we did not so much as hear whether
the Holy Ghost was [given] This rendering of the Revised Version
makes the sense more clear than did the A. V., but even yet requires
explanation. Of the existence of the Holy Ghost no disciples of John
could (as might be conceived from the A.V.) be ignorant, for in his-
preaching he had proclaimed that the baptism of Him who was to come
after him should be with the Holy Ghost and with fire. But in the
Greek where, as in this verse, the expression "Spirit" or "Holy
Spirit" is found without an article (although in English we are forced

248 THE ACTS, XIX. [w. 4, 5
what then were ye baptized ? And they said, Unto John's
4 baptism. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the
baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they
should believe on him which should come after him, that is,
5 on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized
to put "the" before it) it signifies not the personal Comforter, but an
operation or gift of the Holy Spirit. Thus in John vii. 39, the A. V.
rightly renders " the Holy Ghost was not yet given" although there is
no verb for "given," because the noun is without an article in the
Greek, and so signifies "a spiritual outpouring." These disciples at
Ephesus, then, imply by their answer not that the name " Holy Ghost"
was strange, but that they were unacquainted (as was the Baptist him
self) with any special bestowal of the gifts of the Spirit.
3. And he said) The oldest authorities omit " unto them," and it
is more natural to do so in the account of these brief questions and
answers. Into what then were ye baptized?) The New Testament phrase is
"baptized in" or "into," to express the close union with God into
which men are brought by baptism.
And they said, Into John's baptism] They may have been disciples
of Apollos and have been baptized by him before his more full in
struction by Aquila and Priscilla.
4. Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repent
ance] More simply, And Paul said. The best MSS. omit the word
for "verily." Such was John's description of his own baptism
(Matt. iii. n), but after the day of Pentecost the language ofthe
Christian preacher (Acts ii. 38) is, "Repent and be baptized in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the
gift of the Holy Ghost." These Ephesian disciples knew nothing of
baptism for the remission of sins, or of the other sacrament of the Lord's
Supper, nor of the gift of the Spirit to the church, nor of the doctrines
of faith in Christ and salvation by grace through faith.
saying unto the people, that they should believe] The demand for
faith makes the difference between the preaching of Christ and the
preaching of John. The latter said " Prepare by repentance for the
coming King," Christ says (and John also spake of this) "Believe on
me, for I am He that should come."
on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus] The
oldest MSS. omit " Christ." In his preaching John had constantly
used the phrase "He that cometh after me. " This was the stage of
instruction at which these disciples had arrived. They knew that John
spake of one who was to come. St Paul's teaching made clear to them
that this was Jesus. The closing words of the sentence are a conden
sation of all the explanations by which the Apostle convinced them, ,
that Jesus, whom he preached, was the prophet whom John announced.
St Luke does not anywhere give speeches or arguments in extenso, but
only so much as is needed to explain the results which he describes.

w.6,7-] THE ACTS, XIX. 249
in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid 6
his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them ; and
they spake with tongues, and prophesied. And all the men 7
were about twelve.

5. And when they heard this] The A. V. omits the conjunction
which stands in the Textus Receptus. What they heard was not the
mere statement that Jesus was the Messiah; but all the arguments
with which St Paul demonstrated that this was so, and proved that in
Him the Scriptures were fulfilled. The conviction need not have been
sudden, though its description is brief.
they were baptized Into the name of the Lord Jesus] They followed
the order appointed for admission to the privileges of the Christian
covenant. No argument can be drawn from this verse for a repetition
of baptism. These disciples had never received such a baptism as
Christ ordained. John's baptism was but a washing symbolical of the
repentance which he preached ; baptism into the name of Christ is the
pledge of a covenant of salvation.
6. And when Paul, &c] The gift of the Holy Ghost to these
disciples appears to have been a special provision of the Spirit for
the great work which was to change Ephesus, from the city wholly
devoted to the goddess Diana, into the centre of Christian life through
out the west of Asia Minor for several centuries.
and they spake with tongues] A Pentecostal outpouring, for as in
Jerusalem the gift wrought its effect among the Jews then gathered
there from every quarter, so was the Spirit given in this great centre
of Gentile activity that a like result might follow, and that the amaze
ment and marvel at such a power might win attention to the message
and gain converts to Christ.
and prophesied] Probably in this case to be understood of the ex
position of Old Testament prophecy, and the power of preaching be
stowed on them by the gift of the Holy Ghost. The foretelling of
future events would be no such help to the cause of Christ as would the
power of prophecy in the other sense.
7. And all the men were about twelve) The Revised Version " And
they were in all about twelve men," is a more- strict rendering of the
Greek, but it does not give a different sense, and "men" in that position
receives an undue accent.
' The verse has been the cause of much remark. Why the inspired
historian should speak with an " about," has been asked by some. With
that we are not concerned, only to observe that the Spirit has not
prompted him to speak otherwise. Some have seen in the number and
the circumstances a resemblance to the Apostles and their supernatural
endowment ; others have looked back as far as the Patriarchs and have
made of these men the beginning of another Israel. May it not be that
the "about" was written to admonish us ofthe unprofitableness of such
speculations? Cp. Josh. vii. 5.

250 THE ACTS, XIX. [vv. 8, 9.
8 — 20. Paul preaches to the fews first and afterwards to the
Gentiles. The Word of God prevails mightily.
8 And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly for
the space of three months, disputing and persuading the
9 things concerning the kingdom of God. But when divers
were hardened, and believed not, but spake evil of that
way before the multitude, he departed from them, and
8 — 20. Paul preaches to the Jews first and afterwards to
the Gentiles. The Word of God prevails mightily.
8. And he entered into the synagogue] As the incident of John's
disciples is mentioned before anything else, it seems likely that St Paul
found them among the few Christian brethren in Ephesus, and began
his teaching of them before he commenced his visits to the synagogue.
and spake boldly for the space of three months] Going there, that is, on
all occasions of religious service, and so giving to his brethren of Israel
a full opportunity of hearing aii his reasoning, and inquiring whether
what he taught was in accordance with the Scriptures. The abiding a
longer time with them, which they had asked for (xviii. 20) on his
previous visit, does not seem to have gained him more adherents among
the Jews. Perhaps he had noticed when the request was made that it
was not with great fervour. Otherwise, it is not like the Apostle to pass
by an opened door.
disputing [Better, reasoning] and persuading the things concerning
the .kingdom cf God] The Rev. Ver. has improved the translation in
"reasoning," but the italic "asto" before " the things " is needless. The
first participle is the same word as in xvii. 2, and though " from the
Scriptures is not added here as there, we may surely understand it, and
that the persuasion spoken of afterwards was no greater display of
gentleness than the Apostle used at other times.
9. But when divers were hardened, and believed not] Perhaps there
may be a little gain to those unfamiliar with older Enghsh in putting
(as Rev. Ver.) " some " for " divers," there seems to be none in giving
" and disobedient " instead of " and believed not. " The original looks
back to the verb " persuade " in the previous verse. The Apostle tried
to persuade, these men refused lo , be persuaded. That seems better ex
pressed by the A. V.
but spake [better, speaking-] evil of that [the] way before the multi
tude] The evil speaking is the final manifestation -of the hardening.
The Apostle continued his exhortations to stony-hearted hearers for
three months, but when their obstinacy changed into malignity he left
them. "The way" was soon given as a distinctive name to "the
Christian religion." See note on ix. 2 and cf. below ver. 23.
It was not mere opposition to the arguments of the Apostle which
these Jews employed, they took occasion to excite the crowds of the
city against him. And it would seem from verse 33, where the Jews
attempt to put forward a spokesman in the tumult, that they wished the

v. io.] THE ACTS, XIX. 251
separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of
one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space of two 10
years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the
heathen populace to understand that Paul was not approved of by his
own nationality.
he departed from them] i.e. ceased to take part in the public services
at the synagogue.
and separated the disciples] The Christian part of the congregation,
with any of the Jews who were more interested than the rest in his
teaching. disputing [Better, reasoning] daily) The verb is the same as in the
previous verse. Among these more sympathizing hearers, he would
only have to set forward the arguments for the faith which he preached
unto them. His teaching now could go on constantly, and was not
confined to the synagogue times of service.
in the school of one Tyrannus] The best authorities omit " one." The
teacher, whether a heathen or a Jew, was a man well known. Other
wise we can conceive no reason for the mention of a proper name. As
the name is Greek, some have thought that the place meant was the
lecture-room of a philosophic teacher ; others, thinking that St Paul
would hardly have chosen such a place for his preaching, have pre
ferred to consider it a Jewish school or Beth-Hammidrash, in which his
Jewish hearers would be more willing to assemble. Since the listeners
are described, in the next verse, as being partly Jews, and partly Greeks,
it is impossible to arrive at a conclusion. No doubt the Jews in Ephesus
were numerous enough to render such "schools" necessary for their
education, and in their intercourse with Gentiles they not unfrequently
adopted a Gentile name in addition to their Jewish one. So Tyrannus
may have been a Jew.
10. And this continued by the space of two years] The Rev. Ver.
changes " by " into " for." As Englishmen still take a house at so much
"by the week, or the year," the older phrase might well be retained, as
the Revisers do in xx. 31. Speaking to the Ephesian elders at Miletus
the Apostle says he ceased not to admonish the church there for " three
years." The two statements need not be conflicting. To the two years
mentioned here when the three months of verse 8 are added, and the
time which may have preceded his teaching in the synagogue (see on
ver. 8), the duration of the Apostle's stay in Ephesus would be described
in Jewish reckoning as " three years," which in their mode of speech
need only consist of one whole year, and parts of that which preceded,
and that which followed it. Cp. The reckoning of three days between
the crucifixion and the resurrection.
so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard, &c] The oldest authorities
omit " Jesus " from this clause. By Asia is meant " proconsular Asia "
(see note on ii. 10). The seed of the seven churches of the Apocalypse
was sown in thesetwo years. It is evident from the tumult described in
this chapter that the Christian teaching was making as much way
among the Gentiles as among the Jews. The language of St Luke here

252 THE ACTS, XIX. [vv. n, 12.
h word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. And God
12 wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul : so that from
his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons,
and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits
went out of them.
implies that the audience of St Paul was made up not of the settled
inhabitants of Ephesus only, but of those who visited the city for busi
ness or pleasure, and carried news of the preacher and his message to
all corners of the district. Philemon from Colossae may have been one
of St Paul's converts during this time.
11. And God wrought special miracles [Gr. powers] by ihe hands of
Paul] The language of the historian is noteworthy. God works,
Paul is the instrument. (Cp. The mighty hand of Moses, Deut. xxxiv.
12.) The imperfect tense of the verb in the Greek implies that these
manifestations of God's power were continued during the Apostle's stay.
This was no mere spasmodic excitement over some powerful discourse.
' ' By the hands" is probably only the Jewish mode of expressing " by."
See note on v. 12.
12. so that from his body were brought unto the sick] In the oldest
MSS. the verb signifies "to be carried away from." The Rev. Version
brings out the meaning fully, and in a verse like this it is well to
keep, as much as may be, the Greek order of the words. Read " Inso
much that unto the sick were carrjed away from his body." St Luke is
careful to intimate that the Apostle did not of himself adopt or recom
mend these methods, but the faith of the converts was such that it
manifested itself in this way, and God was pleased to bestow blessings
because of their faith. In the city of Ephesus where, as we find from
this chapter, exorcism and " curious arts of witchcraft and incantation
were familiarly exercised, God appears to have made the cures that
were wrought to be specially evidences of the power of faith. Paul
does not go to the sick, and even the sons of Sceva (ver. 13) recognise
that it is not to Pattl, but to Jesus whom he preacheth, that the
"powers" are to be ascribed. Thus was God's minister made to differ
from the pretenders to miraculous power with which the Ephesian
people were familiar. A specimen of these may be seen in the life of
Apollonius of Tyana, iv. 3 (Kayser, p. 66).
_ handkerchiefs or aprons] Some take the latter word to signify the
cincture, by which the loose robes of the Orientals were gathered toge
ther round the waist. This would be expressed by "belts" or " girdles."
Others think they were the aprons used by the Apostle while working
at his trade. The derivation of the word favours the latter sense.
They seem to have been employed to cover the front half of the dress
during work.
and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of
them] The oldest texts omit the last two words. These converts
acted on the popular belief, that virtue proceeded from the bodies of
our Lord and His Apostles. St Luke notices this belief in his Gospel

w. 13, 14.] THE ACTS, XIX. 253
Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon 13
them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of
the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul
preacheth. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, 14
(viii. 44) and St Mark says of Jesus (v. 30) "perceiving in himself that
the power proceeding from him had gone forth." The words of Scrip
ture can hardly be made to countenance, though they recognise, the
popular belief. Yet, even though these men employed means which
were unnecessary and superstitious to display their faith, because of
the reality of this faith God did not suffer it to lose its reward.
13. Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists] The best MSS.
have "And certain also, &c." In addition to the real, though ignorant,
faith of the converts alluded to in verse 12, some impostors, who had
no faith, tried to win more credit for their jugglery by employing the
names of Paul and Jesus. These were certain Jews who went about
from place to place, professing by charms and spells to cure diseases.
The A.V. " vagabond" conveys in modem language a moral censure,
which probably these men well deserved, but which is not in the
Greek. The Rev. Ver. has adopted strolling, which gives the sense
of the original. We read in Josephus (Ant. viii. 2. 5) that " God
gave Solomon skill against demons for the help and cure of men.
And he arranged certain incantations whereby diseases are assuaged,
and left behind him forms of exorcism, wherewith they so put to flight
the overpowered evil spirits that they never return. And this method
of curing is very prevalent among us up to the present time." The
Jews at Ephesus were professors of this pretended art of healing.
took upon them to call [Better, to name] over them which had evil
spirits the name of the Lord Jesus) From an early date the traditional
literature of the Jews ascribed great effects to the utterance of the
incommunicable divine name. By means of tliis (they say) it was that
Moses slew the Egyptian, and Elisha brought destruction on the
mocking children "by the name of Jehovah." We can understand
therefore, if tlie fame of St Paul were become known, and the name
of Jesus connected with' his preaching and with the powers vouch
safed, how these men would make a pretence to the possession of the
same secrets by which, as they would declare, the cures were
wrought. saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth] The oldest
texts give the singular, I adjure, and this no doubt is correct, for the
words would be uttered only by the one person, who was performing
the act of exorcism. It is easy to see how the plural form of the
first part of the verse suggested the change.
14. And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of
the priests] The Greek says simply a chief priest, and so Rev. Ver.
We cannot tell why the title is given to him, but it is most likely that
the name was applied to the heads of the twenty-four courses of the
Levitical priesthood, who are called in the Old Testament "heads
of fathers' houses."

254 THE ACTS, XIX. [vv. 15—17.
15 and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit
answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but
16 who are ye ? And the man in whom the evil spirit was
leapt on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against
them, so that they fled out of that house naked and
17 wounded. And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks
which did so) i.e. which agreed to adopt this form of words in their
exorcisms. There is no need to suppose that the whole seven were
present in the case about to be named, but only that they were all
exorcists, and in their wish to seem the best of their class they deter- .
mined to use words which should connect them with the Christian
preacher through whom many miracles were known to have been
wrought. 15. And the evil spirit answered and 'aid] The most ancient texts
add unto them. They had taken upon them to use the name of Jesus,
but the result was far contrary to their wishes and intentions. " Evil
spirit" is used for the man in whom the spirit was. Cp. Mark iii.
n. Jesus I know, and Paul I know] The verbs are not the same,
though it is hardly possible in a translation to mark the difference. In
the first there seems to be intended a recognition and admission of
power, in the other a recognition of an appointed ministry thereof.
The spirit speaking through the man would intimate: I recognise that
Jesus has power over evil spirits, and I know that Paul is a true ser
vant of Jesus, through whom Jesus manifests His power.
but who are ye ?] Who are not followers of Jesus, and so are mere
pretenders in the use of His name.
16. And the man in whom the evil spirit was leapt on them] With
that power, more than natural, so often displayed by madmen.
and overcame them] Here we have a singular variation from the
texts of the oldest MSS. These read, both of them, a reading which
seems to preserve for us the information that only two of the seven sons
were present on this occasion. This reading is not likely to have been-
substituted for the more simple one, but it is easy to see how the ,
simpler pronoun would come in after the mention of the seven, and
when there was in the story only this hint that five of them were not
there. It is no objection to the acceptance of this old reading, that
other words in the verse referring to these brethren are plural, and not
dual. Plural verbs and adjectives are not unfrequently used of dual
subjects. The verb is more closely translated in the Rev. Ver. mas
tered. and prevailed, &c] He tare their clothes to shreds, and left marks
of the fierce tearing on their bodies.
17. And this was known to all) It is better to render, with
Rev. Ver., the verb literally, "became known." It was no doubt
a gradual spreading of the story. We may be sure that the "sons
of Sceva" said little about it.

w. 18, 19.] THE ACTS, XIX. 255
also dwelling at Ephesus ; and fear fell on them all, and the
name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many that 18
believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.
Many also of them which used curious arts brought their 19
books together, and burned them before all men : and they
the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus] Better, both Jews
and Greeks, that dwelt at Ephesus. The A. V. does not shew "Jews
and Greeks" to be an explanation of the preceding "all," which it is
in the original. Exorcists were plentiful enough at Ephesus, and the
event would be looked on as a warning.
¦and fear.. .magnified] The "fear" was the first feeling and the
most widely prevailing, for that would touch all who heard the history ;
the magnifying of the Lord Jesus was the later effect produced among
those to whom Jesus was becoming known and worshipped.
18. And many that believed] i.e. who had made a profession of
their faith. It was clearly as yet but an imperfect faith. The Rev.
Ver. " had believed" is the more correct tense.
came, and confessed] Came ' before the Apostle and the Christian
brethren, and in their fear owned that their profession had not been
followed completely by their practice.
and shewed their deeds] The verb implies "making a public an
nouncement," therefore "declaring" (as R. V.) is perhaps nearer to the
sense. The " deeds " were those courses of action, connected with
witchcraft, sorcery, and exorcism, that were inconsistent with the
Christian life. Thus " deeds of the body " is used for evil deeds only
(Rom. viii. 13). Cp. Luke xxiii. 51.
19. Many also of them which used curious arts] The Greek has
not the same word for "many" here, as in the previous verse. To
mark this the Rev. Ver. has here "not a few." The " curious arts "
were magic, jugglery and all such practices as make pretence to
supernatural agency. The word is used of magic arts both in classical
and patristic Greek, and the kindred verb is used of Socrates (Plato,
Apol. 8) because of his statement concerning his inward spiritual
monitor or daemon.
brought their books together] We have seen above that the Jews had
. receipts for incantations and exorcisms professedly dating back to
the days of Solomon, and among the heathen population of Ephesus
such writings were vastly abundant. Indeed '.'Ephesian letters"
was a common expression, signifying charms composed of magic words
and worn as amulets, and supposed to be efficacious against all harm.
We are told of a wrestler who could not be thrown while he wore
such a charm, but who was easily overcome when it was taken away.
Some of these amulets were said to be composed of the letters which
were upon the crown and girdle and feet of the statue of Artemis in
the temple at Ephesus. See Farrar's St Paul, 11. 26, and the autho
rities there quoted.
and burned them before [rather, In the sight of] all men. That is,

256 THE ACTS, XIX. [vv. 20, 21.
counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces
ao of silver. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
21,22. St Paul 's Plans for his fourney from Ephesus.
21 After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the
spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia,
to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must
where all might see who were there. We must remember that what
they burnt were rolls of written material, not books after the modern
fashion, which are extremely difficult to burn. Such a burning pile
must have attracted much notice, and was a proof that the descent
of the Holy Ghost (ver. 6) had wrought in Ephesus in the same way
as aforetime in Jerusalem.
and they counted the price of them] And in the sacrifice we must
think not only of the cost of the books, but of the hopes of gain
which were thrown also into the fire by those to whom "curious arts"
had been a revenue.
and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver] As the scene of this
abjuration was among a Greek population, it is almost certain that
the Attic drachma is the coin in which the reckoning is made. As
24 of these were a little more in value than our English pound, we
may consider that more than two thousand pounds worth of rolls
and slips of magic treatises was consumed.
20. So mightUy grew the word of God, &c] The oldest Greek texts
have "the word of the Lord" (adopted by R. V.). The full sense of
the words rendered "mightily" is "with overpowering force and
strength, which nothing could resist."
21, 22. St Paul's Plans for his Journey from Ephesus.
21. After these things were ended] The foundations of the Ephe
sian Church seemed fully laid, when sacrifices of such a kind had
been made by the converts, and so St Paul feels that he may leave
the seed sown in good hope that it will grow.
Paul purposed in the spirit] i. e. had settled it in his own mind.
when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia] Intending, no
doubt, as was his wont, to visit the churches which had been founded
on his^ previous mission (chapp. xvi. — xviii.) from Philippi to Corinth.
to go to Jerusalem] With contributions, as we know, collected
throughout the other- churches for the needs of the central organization
of the Christian movement. See 1 Cor. xvi. 1 — 3. There this intended
journey through Macedonia and to Corinth is alluded to, and the
reason assigned for the Apostle's lingering in Ephesus (ver. 8, 9) " I
will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost, for a great door and effectual
is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries. " The opening of
the door was manifest in the burning piles of magic books, of the many
adversaries we read in this chapter in a description which might justify
the Apostle in using the language of the Psalmist, "Great bulls of

w. 22— 24.] THE ACTS, XIX. 257
also see Rome. So he sent into Macedonia two of them 22
that ministered unto him, Timotheus and Erastus; but he
himself stayed in Asia for a season.
23 — 41. Heathen Outbreak against St Paul and his Teaching.
And the same time there arose no small stir about that way. 23
For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made 24
Bashan close me in on every side." Perhaps such a thought was in
his mind when he wrote of " fighting with beasts at Ephesus " (1 Cor.
xv. 32).
saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome] Of the long
cherished desire which he had to visit the Imperial City, the Apostle
speaks Rom. i. . 13, in which passage he intimates that the purpose had
been often entertained, but hitherto disappointed.
22. So he sent into Macedonia] No doubt, that the contributions
of the churches might be in readiness, and that there should be no
gatherings when Paul himself came, as he says to the Corinthians
(r Cor. xvi. 2).
two of them that ministered unto him] The verb is that from which
the noun "deacon" is derived, and at first the chief duties of these
ministers were in regard of the alms of the churches.
Timotheus and Erastus] The former had laboured in Macedonia
and in Greece when St Paul was there before ; the latter is mentioned
(2 Tim. iv. 26) as having stayed at Corinth, at the later period when the
second Epistle to Timothy was written. He can hardly be the same
person as Erastus the chamberlain of the city of Corinth spoken of in
Rom. xvi. 23.
but he himself stayed in Asia for a season] We may perhaps infer
from this that St Paul did not remain constantly at Ephesus, at all
events when the congregation there became firmly established, but
making that city his head-quarters, went out into other districts of the
province of proconsular Asia.
23—41. Heathen Outbreak against St Paul and his Teaching.
23. And the same time] Literally, And about that time. There is
some gain in accuracy of rendering of these connecting phrases. The
literal rendering allows of the lapse of some period between the action
of the converts in burning their magic books, and the uproar of the
silversmiths. No doubt one movement was in part, but need not have
been entirely, a consequence of the other, and the A. V. connects them
more closely than is done by the original.
about that way] Render, about the Way, see above on verse 9.
24. For a certain man  shrines for Diana] Better, shrines of
Diana. These appear to have been little models in silver either of the
temple or of the shrine in which the image was preserved. We may be ¦
quite sure that the ingenuity of Greek artists devised forms enough and
sizes enough to suit all needs. Smaller specimens might be carried

258 THE ACTS, XIX. [vv. 25, 26.
silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the crafts-
25 men ; whom he called together with the workmen of like oc
cupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have
26 our wealth. Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at
Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath per-
about and worn as ornaments and amulets at the same time; the larger
could be kept in the houses of their possessors, and would be a sign of
wealth as well as of devotion.
The Greek name rendered Diana is Artemis, but this Ephesian
Artemis was totally distinct from Artemis the Greek goddess, the sister
of Apollo. It is believed that the Ephesian worship was originally
Asiatic, and that when the Greeks sent colonies to Asia Minor they
found it already established there, and from some resemblance which
they discovered in the worship they gave the Asian divinity the name of
Artemis. The Ephesian Artemis was the personification of the fruitful
and nurturing powers of nature, and so the image in the temple repre
sented her with many breasts. Her whole figure is said to have been
like a mummy, standing upright and tapering downwards to a point.
Her crown and girdle and the pedestal on which the figure stood had
engraved signs or letters, and the body was covered with figures of
mystical animals. All these things would furnish abundant variety for
the craft of the silversmiths.
brought no small gain unto the craftsmen) The Rev. Ver. renders
"no little business" The word no doubt means primarily "employ
ment" by which a living is made. But we have it used twice in
chap. xvi. 16, 19 of the "gain " made by the Philippian masters from
the ravings ofthe girl who was possessed. And here too "gain" seems
the better sense. It was because their gains were going that the uproar
was made, and probably Demetrius himself, the most fierce of all the
rioters, did none of the work, but through employing many workmen
had a large share of the gains. He calls the gain a business or craft
(the same word) in verse 25, that being, as has been said, the first sense
of the word, but there is no need to cast aside the other sense of the
word here.
25. whom he called [Better, gathered] together with the workmen of
like occupation] His own special craft was the carving and engraving of
these shrines, as we learn from the word rendered silversmith. But
before the work reached that higher stage, the materials had to pass
through many hands in preparation, and from the smelter of the metal ,
up to him who added the final touches of adornment and polishing, all
were concerned in the threatened loss of trade.
and said.  our wealth] He appeals to them at once because they
are enriched and make gain by their craft
26. Moreover ye see and hear] Better, And ye, &c. They were eye
witnesses of what had taken place in Ephesus, and the faUing-off in the
demand would be made known from all the country round, for the
preaching and preachers spread far and wide.

v. 27.] THE ACTS, XIX. 259
suaded and turned away much people, saying that they be
no gods, which are made with hands : so that not only this 27
our craft is in danger to be set at nought ; but also that the
temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and
that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia] Beside
Ephesus itself we have only notices through St Paul's writings of
churches founded at ColossEe, Laodicaea and Hierapolis. But in the
Apocalypse we find beside these, Pergamus, Smyrna, Thyatira, Sardis
and Philadelphia, places whose position shews us that through about
two-thirds of the coastline of Asia important centres of Christian life
were formed before that book was written, and we cannot doubt that
from St Paul and his fellow- workers the Gospel was preached in all that
district. Hence the alarm of Demetrius.
this Paul] If we think of the bodily presence of St Paul which he
himself always describes as insignificant, and which would be familiar to
the hearers of Demetrius, we can fancy the scorn which would be thrown
into the words as they fell from angry lips.
hath persuaded and turned away, &c] From their devotion to
Artemis, and so from the purchase of shrines.
27. so that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought)
This is an instance where the Rev. Ver., though more literal, gains
nothing in force, and loses in diction. "And not only is there danger
that this our trade come into disrepute." The requirements of the con
nexion would be sufficiently met by, "and not only is this, &c."
The word for "craft" means literally our "interest," our "share"
(i.e. in the profits of trade).
but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana) This was one
of the wonders of the ancient world, and the glory and pride of all the
Ephesians, and the recent explorations of Mr Wood (see Wood's
Ephesus) have made us aware of the grandeur of the edifice and the
consequent reason for this pride. Even the fragments of the archi
tecture in the British Museum make it plain that the whole temple must
have been a work of unsurpassed magnificence. No expense had been
spared on its building, and the munificence of worshippers maintained it
in full splendour. It was also used as a divinely-secured treasure-house,
and those who made use of it in this way no doubt paid liberally for the
protection. Tradition said, as it said of many another heathen idol, that
the image in the shrine fell down from heaven. The description of this
image (see ver. 24) is taken from coins which were current at the date
when the Acts ofthe Apostles was written.
should be despised] More literally (as Rev. Ver.) "be made of no
account." As would be the case if men began to think that they were
no gods which were made with hands. In his eagerness to save the
. trade, Demetrius forgets to put forward what the townclerk mentions
afterwards (verse 35), that the image was held to have come down from
heaven. He is only interested in the support of what supplied his
wealth.

260 THE ACTS, XIX. [w. 28, 29.
her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and
1 the world worshippeth. And when they heard these sayings,
they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana
1 of the Ephesians. And the whole city was filled with con
fusion : and having caught Gains and Aristarchus, men of
Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed with
and her magnificence should be destroyed] According to the best
supported reading : and that she should even be deposed from her
magnificence. The Greek word rendered " magnificence " is not un-
frequently used to express the "majesty" of God.
whom all Asia and the world worshippeth] For wealth from the
East, as well as from Greece, was bestowed on this gorgeous shrine.
28. And when they heard these sayings] The A.V. indicates that
there is no Greek for the two last words. It is enough, with the Rev.
Ver., to say "this."
they were full of wrath] The verb in the original expresses that the
anger grew as they listened. So better, filled with, as Rev. Ver.
Demetrius had appealed to them in such wise as to excite them more by
each fresh argument. Their self-interest first, and their pride1 and
superstition afterwards.
and. ..Diana of the Ephesians] Here as before (ver. 24) the Greek
name is Artemis.
29. And the whole city was filled with confusion] The oldest texts
omit "whole" and add an article before "confusion." It is the special
tumult which is meant. The city was not so much interested in the
gains of the silversmiths, but equally with them in the glory and
magnificence which Ephesus had, as the seat of the worship of Artemis.
So that the noise, that began in the meeting which Demetrius had
gathered, was taken up by the whole Ephesian population, and they
needed a wider space for the crowds now pouring together from every
side. The word for " confusion " intimates that the throng gathered in
great excitement.
and having caught Gaius and Aristarchus, men of Macedonia, Paul's
companions in travel] These men must have been seized by the crowd
because they were not able to find Paul. We may see therefore that
between the meeting of the craftsmen and the greater assembly in the
theatre, there had been search made by the mob that they might lay
hands on the Apostle. It is interesting to note that the companionship
of these Macedonian converts gives evidence of the permanent effect of
the labours of St Paul in that country on his previous journey. The
brevity of the record in the Acts makes it important to observe such in
dications wherever they are given undesignedly. This Gaius is not
identical with any other of the same name met with in Acts xx. 4, and
Rom. xvi. 23, 1 Cor. i. 15. Of Aristarchus we hear again in xx. 4 and
xxvii. 2, for he accompanied St Paul in his voyage to Rome and is men
tioned in the Epistles written at that time (Col. iv. 10; Philemon 24).
As natives of Colossas, and most probably Philemon himself, came to

w. 30, 31.I THE ACTS, XIX. 261
one accord into the theatre. And when Paul would have 30
entered in unto the people, the disciples suffered him not.
And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, sent 31

Ephesus and heard the preaching of St Paul there, Aristarchus may
have been personally known to those to whom the Apostle sends his
greeting in the above-named letters.
they rushed with one accord into the theatre] To preserve the order of
the Greek, the Rev. Ver. places this clause before the preceding. The
A.V. is more in agreement with the genius of the English language.
The theatre was the scene of all the great games and exhibitions of the
city. Its ruins still remain and give evidence that when this crowd
assembled there it was a building that could hold 25,000 or 30,000
people, (see Wood's Ephesus, p. 68 ; Fellowes, Asia Minor, p. 274).
As Gaius and Aristarchus were not Jews, but the former perhaps of
Roman extraction, if we may judge by his name, and the latter a Greek,
wilh rights which even the Ephesian mob would not venture to outrage,
we do not read of anything more done to them, than their being dragged
along with the crowd towards the place of meeting. It might be
thought that they could tell how St Paul was to be found, and when
they could not, they were let go.
30. And when Paul would have entered in unto the people] This
scarcely gives the idea of St Paul's wish, which the Greek contains.
Read, with Rev. Ver., was minded to enter in. Through a strength
- hot his own, the Apostle, feeble in frame though he seems to have been,
waxed bold in danger and where an opportunity appeared to be offered
of testifying unto Christ.
the disciples suffered him not] The Christian brethren, to some of
whom the storm that was rising would be known much sooner than to
the Apostle, had evidently conveyed him from his usual abode, and were
taking care of him until the excitement was allayed. They would tell
him, of course, all that they heard of what was doing, and it was
on hearing this, that he wanted to go and appear before the crowd in the
theatre. 31. And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends] The
Greek is one word, literally "Asiarchs." These were officers in the
various cities of proconsular Asia, who were appointed to preside over
the games and religious festivals. The Rev. Ver. is " And certain also
ofthe chief officers of Asia, being his friends." In Ephesus, these officers
would be men of some importance, for in addition to the other games
over which they would preside, the whole month of May was sacred to
Artemis, being called Artemision, and was given up to festivals in
honour of the city's idol. We read of an Asiarch at Smyrna in the
narrative ofthe martyrdom of Polycarp (Euseb. H. E. iv. 15).
It would seem, from the fact that some of these prominent officials
were friends to St Paul, that though presiding over the games and
festivals for the satisfaction of the populace, they had no great care for
Artemis or her worship.

262 THE ACTS, XIX. [vv. 32—34.
unto him, desiring him that he would not adventure himself
32 into the theatre. Some therefore cried one thing, and some
another : for the assembly was confused ; and the more part
33 knew not wherefore they were come together. And they
drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him
forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and
34 would have made his defence unto the people. But when
they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the
sent unto kim, desiring him that he would not adventure himself into the
theatre] The original says more than " desiring. " The Greek word is of
frequent occurrence in the Gospels and is generally rendered "beseech,"
which the Rev. Ver. has given here : sent unto him and besought him.
The fuller rendering marks better the personal interest these officers had
in the Apostle's safety, and we gather frorh the narrative that they knew
where he was, though the mob had not found him.
32. Some therefore, &c] As the craftsmen had not secured St Paul
there was no central object to which attention could at once be called,
and one general cry raised.
for the assembly was confused] The confusion in the city (ver. 29) had
become intensified by the rush to the theatre.
and the more part, &c] All that would be heard by many would be
the shouts of the mob, from which nothing could be gathered about St
Paul as the offender. Amid cries of " Artemis for ever " or " Hurrah
for Demetrius," little would be learnt of how the tumult had begun.
33. And they drew (Rev. Ver. brought) Alexander out of the multi
tude] There is a various reading in the verb here ; and the sense may
be "And some of the multitude instructed Alexander." The verb in
the Text. Recept. is the same which is used of the daughter of Herodias
being instructed by her mother what she should ask. What appears to
have been intended was that Alexander should explain on behalf of the
Jews, that he and his fellow-Jews had no more sympathy with St Paul
than the heathen multitude. It is just possible that this Alexander may
be the same with him who is mentioned 2 Tim. iv. 14.
the Jews putting him forward] This appears to make it clear that
he was no Christian. For the Jews could have had no interest in bring
ing forward anybody who would speak in defence of St Paul. But they
were clearly concerned in hindering, if they could, this uproar, raised
against one who to the heathen would be counted as a Jew, from de
veloping into a general attack on their race. We see that this might
be no unlikely result, for the crowd, recognising the Jewish face of the
intending speaker, would not hear a word that he had to say.
And Alexander... his defence unto the people) Better, a defence. There
was no charge against which he had to defend himself, and he need
never have been heard of, had not the Jews put him forward to be the
mouthpiece of their disclaimer.
34. Bui when they knew that he was a Jew] Better (with Rev.

v. 35.] THE ACTS, XIX. 263
space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephe
sians. And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he 35
said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not
how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the
great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from
Ver.), perceived. The stamp of his nationality was on his face, and no
doubt on his dress also.
all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out] They now
had one object against which to direct their uproar and thus became all
of one cry. It is clear from this that Jews were not popular, and that
as a Jew was the object at which Demetrius and the workmen were ex
cited, the whole body of Jews might well be anxious lest an attack
should be made on all the race.
Great is Diana (Artemis) of the Ephesians) The cry, first raised by
the workmen, now became general, and was persisted in with all the
energy of a fanatical mob.
35. And when the townclerk] It is not easy to find an English word
which comes at all near the significance of this title. " Recorder " has
been proposed, because he had charge of the city archives, and Luther
calls him "chancellor." He was a most important personage, and his
title is found at times on the coinage, and he gave name in some places
to the year, like the Archon at Athens. Through him all public com
munications were made to the city, and in his name replies were given.
It is this part of his duty which has led to the rendering "town
clerk." had appeased the people] Better (with the Rev. Ver.) had quieted the •
crowd. The appeasing was done afterwards by his speech. All that
he could effect at first, was by the influence of his presence, to induce
the assembled mob to mitigate their clamour and give him a hearing.
he said] Gk. he saith. The speech is full of ability, and shews
that the man was fitted for his eminent position. It seems to shew
also that the higher classes (as has been noticed in the case of the
Asiarchs) were not so devoted to the service of the goddess as were the
common people.
Ye men of Ephesus... is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana]
The oldest MSS. omit "goddess" and only read "the great Artemis."
The word rendered "worshipper" is literally "temple-sweeper." The
name no doubt was first used to imply that any office in the service of
so magnificent a goddess was a grand distinction; and not in Ephesus
only did the worshippers of a special divinity apply this title to them
selves. The Rev. Ver. gives "temple-keeper."
and of the image which fell down from Jupiter] The same was said
of the Palladium ofthe Trojans (Verg. Aen. II. 183). The first clause
of the speech is directed to point out how uncalled for their uproar is.
There is no need for them to shout about the greatness of the Ephesian
goddess. Everybody in the world is aware how devoted the city is
to her worship and how glorious is her temple.

264 THE ACTS, XIX. [vv. 36—39.
36 Jupiter? Seeing then that these things cannot bespoken
against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly.
37 For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither
robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.
38 Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with
him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and
39 there are deputies : let them implead one another. But if
36. Seeing. ..cannot be spoken against) Better, gainsaid with Rev.
Ver. Paul had spoken, and others would speak, against the worship,
nobody could gainsay the facts, they were incontrovertible.
ye ought to be quiet] The verb is the same as is used in veise 35, of
his own quieting the people, which is another reason why the rendering
there should be changed.
and to do nothing rashly] The last word is better taken as an adjec
tive, "rash." The word describes the headstrong, outrageous uproar for
which there was no reason, and from which no good could come, and
also their conduct in seizing two persons who were not the offenders
and against whom, as it appears, they could take no proceedings.
37. For... robbers of churches] Better, robbers of temples with
Rev. Ver. As the temple at Ephesus had a great treasure-chamber,
the offence might not be unknown among them. All that was placed
under the guardianship of the goddess would be for the time the pro
perty of the temple, to steal which would be sacrilege.
nor yet blasphemers of your goddess] The "yet" has nothing to
represent it in the original, and the oldest MSS. read " our goddess."
In a popular address it is natural that such a speaker would identify
himself with his fellow-citizens. We may gather from this verse that
the language of St Paul and his companions had been measured when
they had spoken about the special worship of Ephesus. They had
inculcated the great principle that those were no gods which were
made with hands and had allowed that to do its work. We find the
same restraint put on himself by St Paul at Athens, though he was
greatly moved to see the city wholly given to idolatry. Different
conduct in either of these cities would most likely have deprived him
of all chance of a hearing.
38. Wherefore if.. .have a matter against any man] i.e. have any
charge which they wish to bring. For the concerns in which they are
interested will be such as the legal tribunals can attend to.
the law is open] This gives the general sense. The words are in
the plural number and mean either " court-days are appointed," i.e.
there are proper times fixed when such causes can be heard ; or per
haps better, because of the verb which seems to imply that the oppor
tunity of legal action is even now open, "court-meetings are now
going on." This the Rev. Ver. appears to have adopted by rendering
"the courts are open."
and there are deputies] The word is the same which in xiii. 7, 8, 12
should be rendered " proconsul," and that word is rightly given here

v.40.] THE ACTS, XIX. 265
ye inquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be
determined in a lawful assembly. For we are in danger to 40
be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no
by the Rev. Ver., for Asia was a proconsular province (see on this
matter Conybeare and Howson, 11. 78). The difficulty in the present
verse has arisen from the use of the plural number, for there was only
one proconsul over a province at the same time, and there could only
be one in Ephesus when the townclerk was speaking. But if we con
sider that he is speaking merely of the provision made by the institu
tions of the empire for obtaining justice in a case of>wrong, we can see
that his words need not occasion much trouble. "Proconsuls 'are (he
says) an imperial institution. In every province like ours there exists
such a supreme magistrate, and so there is no fear about obtaining
redress for real injuries." Another explanation (due to Basnage, and
alluded to in the notes of Conybeare and Howson, u. s.) is that after
the poisoning of Silanus the proconsul, (as related Tac. An. XIII. 1)
Celer and ^Elius, who governed the province of Asia as procurators,
might be intended by this plural title. Others have thought that there
might be present in Ephesus some other proconsul from a neighbour
ing province, as Cilicia, Cyprus, Bithynia or elsewhere ; but what was
first said seems the easier explanation.
let them implead one another] Implead is somewhat antiquated now,
and the Rev. Ver. substitutes accuse. Of course the accusations would
be only from the one side, which the other would be called on to
answer. 39. But if ye inquire any thing concerning other matters] Rev. Ver.
But if ye seek anything about other matters. The " seeking" which the
townclerk means is by a legal process. If the matter were of such a
character as to come before the proconsul, there he was, ready to hear
the cause. It was, as we might say, " assize time." But if the ques
tion was of another kind, one for the jurisdiction of the ordinary city
courts, then they could apply at the proper time and place.
it shall be determined in a lawful assembly] This conveys a wrong
idea to the Enghsh reader. Of course the court where the proconsul
sat was a "lawful assembly," though the contrary might be inferred
from A.V. The word rendered "lawful" signifies "appointed by
law." The days and time of the meeting of the city courts were
defined by law. Thus the Rev. Ver. " it shall be settled in the regular
assembly" is a better rendering, and distinguishes the ordinary, legal,
appointed days of hearing in the regular courts, from the assize of the
proconsul. 40. For we are in danger to be called in question for this day's
uproar. The A. V. seems here to be incorrect. The word for
"uproar" ought not to be joined with "this day." The construction
is contrary to N.T. usage, and the adoption of it has caused some vio
lence to be done to the other words. The verb rendered "called in
question" is the verb used in verse 38 in the sense of " accuse," while
the word for "uproar" means "riot,?' "sedition." So the Rev. Ver.
acts 1 9

266 THE ACTS, XIX. XX. [w. 41 ; 1.
cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse.
41 And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.
1 — 6. Paul journeys through Macedonia and Greece, and
returns as far as Troas.
20 And after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him
the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to go
gives, as an alternative version, "For indeed we are in danger to be
accused of riot concerning this day." Of course the town-clerk did not
want himself to call it riot, but he intimates to them that other people
may do so. He only styles it a "concourse."
there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse]
Here the readings of the oldest MSS. raise a considerable difficulty.
Their repetition of ob after irepl ov gives another form to the sentence
altogether. But it is not possible to decide with certainty whether the
two letters in question should or should not be part of the text West
cott and Hort place them in their text, but do not think that thus the
reading is correct. The rendering of the Received Text is that of the
A.V. The text with the additional ob is translated in the Rev. Ver.
"there being no cause for it : and as touching it we shall not be
able to give account of this concourse."
But the alternative rendering of the Rev. Ver. given above for the
first clause of the verse may be taken, with the rendering of the Text.
Recept. in the second clause. The Rev. Ver. adheres to "this day's
riot," but this involves a transposition of the preposition in the Greek,
of which no other example is found in the N.T.
41. And  assembly] This he could do in his official capacity.
Probably the last argument which he used would have most weight
with his audience. If such riotous conduct were reported at Rome it
might lead to a curtailment of the privileges of their city.
XX. 1—6. Paul journeys through Macedonia and Greece,
AND RETURNS AS FAR AS TROAS.
1. And after the uproar was ceased) Some little time may have
elapsed and public feeling have become calm enough for a meeting of
the Christian congregation.
Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them] The oldest
authorities read "Paul having sent for the disciples," and then add
" and exhorted them" (adopted by R. V.). The word rendered "em
braced" signifies as it is rendered in xxi. 6, "to take leave of," "to
make parting greetings." He did not probably feel that it would be
wise to leave till he saw the Church in quiet once more.
and departed for to go into Macedonia] In fulfilment of the purpose
mentioned in xix. 21. We see from 2 Cor. ii. 13 that he went first to
Troas expecting to meet Titus there. He did not find him till he
reached Macedonia, from which country he wrote the second letter to
Corinth.

w. 2, 3.] THE ACTS, XX. 267
into Macedonia. And when he had gone over those 2
parts, and had given them much exhortation, he came into
Greece, and there abode three months : and when the Jews 3
2. And when he had gone over those parts] Visiting specially, of
course, the churches of Philippi, Thessalonica and Bercea, among
which St Luke may have been left from the former visit, and have
laboured to carry on the work which St Paul had begun. Some have
judged this to be very probable, and that in this Macedonian residence
- St Luke's Gospel may have been written. It was also, as it seems,
at this time that St Paul made the journey into IUyricum alluded
to in Rom. xv. 19.
and had given them much exhortation] We may form some idea of
the topics which would be embraced by such exhortation, if we read
the two Epistles to the Thessalonians which had been written to that
Church since St Paul's former visit to Macedonia. The most marked
language in the first Epistle is against sorrowing immoderately for the
dead. By the words of St Paul on this subject the Christian congre
gation had been much troubled concerning the nearness of the coming
of the Son of Man, and the second letter is written to bring them to a
calm and thoughtful mind. The Apostle's much exhortation would be
an echo of what he had said in his letters, "Watch and be sober,"
" Abstain from every form of evil," " Be at peace among yourselves. "
he came into Greece] There is nothing said of the places which
St Paul visited in this journey, but as he was always anxious to
strengthen any work which he had before begun we may feel sure that
Athens and Corinth, on this account, as well as for their importance as
centres of'intellectual and commercial life, were the places in which he
spent the greater part of his three months' stay. In the latter Church
especially there were many things to be set in order. He had already
written to the Corinthians his two Epistles. In the first, sent from
Ephesus, he had found it necessary to rebuke them for the party-spirit
in the Church, some calling themselves by the name of Peter, some of
Apollos and some of Paul himself, instead of finding true unity in
Christ ; he had also censured the disorders in the Eucharistic feast,
had given his judgment on a notorious offender, and on many topics
raised by the difficulties of a Christian Church rising up amid heathen
surroundings. These matters, and the guidance into a right channel of
the exercise of those special gifts of preaching and speaking with
tongues with which God endowed the Church in Corinth, would give
the Apostle little rest during his brief stay even if he bestowed his
whole time on Corinth alone.
3. and there abode three months] More literally, with Rev. Ver.,
"and when he had spent three months there" connecting it, as the
Greek does, with what follows.
and when the Jews laid wait for him] The English of the A.V.
defines too precisely the form ofthe danger. Read "And when a plot
was laid against him by the Jews." The Jews, who had tried to
engage Gallio in their matters on St Paul's last visit to Corinth, now

268 THE ACTS, XX. [v. 4.
laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into Syria, he
4 purposed to return through Macedonia. And there ac
companied him into Asia Sopater of Berea; and of the
Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus ; and Gaius of
take a secret instead of a public means of wreaking their vengeance on
him. And we may judge that St Paul anticipated some trouble from
the Judaizing party at Corinth by the tone of the latter portion (after
chap, ix.) of his second Epistle written to them while he was on his
way, but detained in Macedonia. There were persons in Corinth who
spoke slightingly of the Apostle. His bodily presence was weak and
his speech contemptible. And in opposition to the remarks of these
opponents, the Epistle concludes with an assertion of St Paul's equality
to the chiefest Apostles, a recital more full than in any other place of
his sufferings for the Gospel, and an account of revelations divinely
made unto him. It is clear therefore that among those who would be
counted as Christians St Paul was not everywhere accepted. The
Jews under such circumstances would have some abettors in their
animosity even among the Judeeo-Christians, and seem to have planned
some means whereby St Paul might be attacked on his sea-voyage to
Syria. No doubt the intention was to kill him. The word in the
original is that used (ix. 24) when the Jews watched the gates of
Damascus night and day to kill him.
as he was about to sail into Syria] The rendering of the Rev. Ver.
gives the sense more vividly "as he was about to set sail for Syria."
He had apparently gone so far as to arrange for his passage and go on
board, and was nearly departed, before he got the warning news.
Perhaps some heart, among the people to whom the plot was known
on shore, was moved to give a hint of the great peril at the last
moment. This is the more probable if we suppose some previous
communications between the Jews and the Judaizers among the
Christians. he purposed to return through Macedonia) Better, he determined,
with Rev. Ver. As the scheme for killing him had been meant to be
carried out at sea, the choice of an overland journey and a prompt
departure made the forming of a new plan impossible to the con
spirators. 4. And there accompanied him into Asia] The literal rendering of
the last words is "as far as Asia," but they are altogether omitted by
the oldest MSS. We find Trophimus went to Jerusalem (xxi. 29) ana
that Aristarchus was with St Paul in the voyage to Rome (xxvii. 2).
Sopater of Berea] The oldest MSS. add the son of Pyrrhus. A
various reading here has Sosipater, a name which is found in Rom. xvi.
21, but there is no reason for connecting the two persons. We know
nothing of Sopater beyond the mention of him in this verse.
and ofthe Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus] Aristarchus has
been before mentioned (xix. 29), and in the Epistles written during the
Roman imprisonment, to Philemon (24) he is one of those who sends

w. 5, 6.] THE ACTS, XX. 269
Derbe, and Timotheus; and of Asia, Tychicus and Tro
phimus. These going before tarried for us at Troas. 5
And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of un- 6
leavened bread, and came unto them to Troas in five days ;
where we abode seven days.
greeting, and also to the Colossians (iv. 10) in which placethe Apostle
calls him his fellow-prisoner, shewing that he shared in a great degree
the whole hardships of St Paul's life at Rome. Secundus is only men
tioned here.
and Gaius of Derbe, and Timotheus] As Timotheus was probably of
Lystra, these men may have been friends from an early period and the
former may have been a convert at the same time as the latter. We
only know of him from this , verse, and he has no connexion with any
other Gaius named in the New Testament.
and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus] Of the former of these we
have mention several times. In Eph. vi. 21, he is called a beloved
brother and faithful minister, and St Paul states that he is about to send
him to Ephesus. To the Colossians (iv. 7) he writes, " All my state shall
Tychicus declare unto you." From both which notices we see that
Tychicus was with St Paul in his first Roman imprisonment. He was
also at hand when the Apostle wrote to Titus (Tit. iii. 12), and also had
been with St Paul in the later imprisonment, when the second Epistle
to Timothy was written (iv. 12) and had again been sent to Ephesus.
Perhaps Tychicus like Trophimus was by birth an Ephesian. Trophi
mus also continued much with St Paul, for we read (2 Tim. iv. 20)
that the Apostle at that time had left him detained by sickness at
Miletus. 5. These going before tarried for us at Troas] Better (with Rev.
Ver.), But these had gone before and were waiting for us, &c.
What the writer wants to point out is that these men before-mentioned
did not stop like St Paul at Philippi, nor indeed tarry at all in Mace
donia. As in this verse the change of pronoun indicates that the writer
of the narrative again becomes a fellow-traveller with St Paul, we may
presume, as has before been said, that he had been left here by the
Apostle, who now separated himself for a brief time from his companions
that he might pick up St Luke.
6. And we. ..unleavened bread] St Paul seems to have stayed in
Philippi because of the Jewish feast. As there could be no sacrifice of
the Passover out of Jerusalem, the Apostle would feel no difficulty about
remaining at any other form of the feast, and we know how loath he was
to sever 'himself from his people in all things which he might lawfully
share with them.
and came unto them. ..seven days] Troas could not be without much
interest both to St Paul and Luke and Timothy, for at least these
three had been here together, on that former visit when they were called
over to Macedonia by a vision. Aristarchus and Secundus represented
in part the fruits which God had granted to their work.

270 THE ACTS, XX. [vv. 7— 9.
7 — 12. Paul preaches at Troas. Eutychus is restored to life.
7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples
came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them,
ready to depart on the morrow ; and continued his speech
8 until midnight. And there were many lights in the upper
9 chamber, where they' were gathered together. And there
sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus,
7 — 12. Paul preaches at Troas. Eutychus is restored
to LIFE.
7. And upon the first day of the week] Which had now, in memory
of the Resurrection, begun to be observed as a holy day by Christians. In
an Epistle written before this visit to Troas (1 Cor. xvi. 2) the day is
appointed by St Paul as the special time when the Christian alms should
be laid aside.
when the disciples came together to break bread] The oldest authorities
give (and the Rev. Ver. represents) "when we were gathered together,"
&c. We can see how the alteration has been introduced by some one
who felt the awkwardness of the following "them" Wherever a congre
gation was organized the natural service of the Christian worshippers
was the communion of the body and blood of Christ.
Paul preached unto them) Except here and in verse 9 the verb is no
where else rendered " preach. " Better, " discoursed with them" The
meeting was one where reasoning and conversation were used to solve
doubts and clear away difficulties .which might be. in the minds of the
Christians at Troas. For we can perceive that there was a Church esta
blished here. Indeed wherever St Paul came he was enabled to leave
that mark of his visit behind him. It is true the meeting was only still
in an upper chamber, but the " many lights " shews that it was not a mere
gathering of one or two with the Apostle and his friends, but a settled
Christian congregation.
ready [intending] to depart on the morrow) They had met first for an
evening service, but the consolation of Christian intercourse and the
additional zeal infused into the church by the Apostle's visit caused
the irregular conversational meeting to be protracted beyond the in
tended time.
and continued his speech until midnight) The " prolonged" of the
Rev. Ver. is no improvement. It rather gfves the impression that the
Apostle had worn out all his hearers.
8. And there were, Sec.) Our thoughts go back to the upper room
in Jerusalem where (Acts i. T3) the first preachers of Christianity waited
for the promised gift of the Holy Ghost.
9. And there sat in a [better, the] window] The window in that
climate was only an opening in the wall, and not as in our country pro
vided with a framework, the bars of which would have prevented the
accident which is here described.
a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep]
The last verb signifies borne down, overpowered, and the Rev. Ver. gives

w. io, ii.] THE ACTS, XX. 271
being fallen into a deep sleep : and as Paul was long
preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from
the third loft, and was taken up dead. And Paul went 10
down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble
not yourselves; for his life is in him. When he therefore n
was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and
"borne down with deep sleep." He was not a careless hearer, but
sleep at the late hour overcame his youthful frame and he could resist it
no longer.
and as Paul was long preaching] Better, " and as Paul discoursed yet
longer " with Rev. Ver. The comparative degree refers to the expecta
tion or the wearied powers of the young man. The discourse went on
longer than he thought it would, or than he could keep awake.
he sunk down with sleep] The verb is the same as before. Read
" being borne down by his sleep," as the word is a participle.
and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead] To join on
with the participial sentence preceding, render he fell down from the
third story and, Sec. The latticework with which such windows were
closed in the East would be set wide open to admit the cool air into the
crowded room. The lad fell out, and down to the floor of the courtyard.
There has been much debate whether the restoration of Eutychus was
meant to be described as miraculous; whether, that is, "dead" may
not be taken for "in a swoon like death." But St Luke's expression
(ver. 12) "They brought him alive" seems to leave no room for ques
tion. That life was gone by reason of the fall and was restored by the
prayer of the Apostle is the natural reading of the story, which has all
the vividness that marks the narrative of an eyewitness.
10. And Paul... fell on him] The access to Eastern houses was by a
staircase on the outside, so that the way down would be at hand. The
action of the Apostle recalls that of Elijah (1 Kings xvii. 21) and of
Elisha (2 Kings iv. 34). No doubt the Apostle, like the Old Testament
prophets, accompanied his action with a cry unto the Lord.
and embracing him said ] As he clasped the child in his arms, he
would feel the returning motion, and know that his prayer was heard.
The boy seems to have been left to the care of some members .(perhaps
women) of the congregation, who tended him till the service was over.
Trouble not yourselves] The Rev. Ver. gives " Make ye no ado," evi
dently conforming to the rendering of this same Greek word in Mark
v. 39, but while in English we find " this ado" and " much ado " and " no
more ado, " the expression " no ado " seems not to occur. The two open
syllables are not agreeable, and that probably caused the combination
to be avoided. What the Apostle means is, " Don't make any tumult or
distress yourselves. "
11. When he therefore was come up again) Better (with Rev. Ver.),
" And when he was gone up." The Apostle's calmness, as well as his
words, was not without effect on the congregation. He returns to the
upper room, and the unfinished act of worship is completed.

272 THE ACTS, XX. [vv. 12—14.
talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.
12 And they brought the young man alive, and were not a
little comforted.
13 — 16. Paul goes on foot to Assos, then by sea to Miletus.
13 And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there
intending to take in Paul : for so had he appointed, mind-
14 ing himself to go afoot. And when he met with us at
and had broken bread] The best texts give "the bread," i.e. the
bread of the Eucharistic service.
and eaten] i.e. partaken of the more substantial meal of the " Agapse,"
which in the early church followed after the Communion.
and talked a long while] The verb implies the talking of persons one
with another, the talk of friendly intercourse, as distinguished from the'
previous discourse on more solemn subjects of the spread of Christ's
kingdom and the part each of them might take in helping it on. So the
Rev. Ver. well, " and had talked with them a long while."
12. And they brought the young man alive) Here is a different noun,
and the Rev. Ver. rightly gives " the lad." It would seem as though
those who had had the care of him brought him, before the congregation
broke up, perhaps even before the Apostle's departure, back again into
the upper room.
13 — 16. Paul goes on foot to Assos, then by sea to Miletus.
13. And we went before to ship] The conjunction should be adversa
tive. The writer is describing now what the rest, without St Paul, did.
Read "But we," i.e. St Luke and some of the other companions ofthe
Apostle, "going before to the ship," i.e. before St Paul!s departure
from the congregation and those events by which it was attended.
and sailed unto Assos] Better " set sail for Assos." The verb is only
indicative of the putting-out to sea. Assos was in Mysia, on the north
shore of the gulf of Adramyttium. Opposite and about seven miles
out at sea lay the island of Lesbos. There was a Roman road from
Troas passing through Assos. So while the ship went round the cape
Lectum, the Apostle was able to come by land and be taken on board by
his companions.
there intending, ..to go afoot] The last verb when opposed to a journey
by sea, need not necessarily signify a pedestrian journey, but may mean
only "by land." This (as Rev. Ver.) seems the better rendering here,
for although the distance between Troas and Assos is only 20 miles, yet
after the labours and excitement ofthe past night, a walk of that length
would scarcely have been contemplated by the Apostle, when his com
panions in the ship already had the start of him. Many reasons have
been suggested why St Paul separated for a few hours from his friends :
that he wished for solitude : that he would not be at sea one moment
before he could help it: that there was some Christian duty which he

w. 15, 16.] THE ACTS, XX. 273
Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene. And we n
sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios;
and the next day we arrived at Samos, and tarried at
Trogyllium ; and the next day we came to Miletus. For
Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because he would
could perform on the way : or for his health's sake. The historian, who
probably knew, has not told us, and conjectures in such a case are
valueless. 14. And. ..Mitylene] The voyage was a coasting voyage, the nights
being each spent in some harbour. Mitylene was the capital of Lesbos,
to which place they went from Assos, because probably it had a better
anchorage. There could have been little time for anything on St Paul's
land journey like meeting Christian friends, since the vessel left Troas
in the morning, and by an indirect course came to Mitylene before
nightfall. 15. And we sailed thence, and came the next day over against Chios],
As the word for " next" here is not the same as that so rendered in the
following clause, the Rev. Ver. gives (with more closeness to the Greek)1
And sailing from thence we came the following day, Sec. The island of
Chios is about five miles distant from the mainland. It was in the
shelter of the roadstead that the Apostle and his companions passed the
night in their vessel.
and the next day we arrived [touched] at Samos] The verb is a tech
nical seafaring word, which the Rev. Ver. has thus represented. The
island of Samos lies off that part of the coast of Asia Minor where the
ancient Ionia joined on to Caria. It has been famous both in ancient
Greek and modern European history (see Diet, of Greek and Roman.
Geogr. s.v.). On the mainland opposite, at the termination ofthe ridge
of Mycale, lay Trogyllium, for which the Apostle's vessel made without
stopping in Samos.
and tarried at Trogyllium] The. oldest MSS. omit these words.
How they came into the text, if they be an addition, is not easy to
explain. As the previous verb only implies the "touching" at Samos,
some early marginal annotator knowing the country may have thus
suggested the night's halting-place, which the historian did not mention.
and the next day we came to Miletus] Here is yet another Greek
phrase for "next day." The A.V., which often gives a varied English
for the same Greek, has here for varying Greek given the same Eng
lish three times over. The Rev. Ver. has "the day after," and thus
marks the variation in the original. Miletus had been a most famous
sea-port in the earlier Greek history, but in the days of St Paul its
fame was eclipsed by Ephesus. It lay on the coast of Caria, some 20
or 30 miles distant by land southward from the city of Ephesus, and:
one day's sail from Trogyllium. The site of the town is now some-
distance from the sea, and was not close to it in the Apostle's time, as;
we shall see below (verse 38).
16. For Paul, Sec.) In the midst of a large Christian congregation,
such as we know to have existed in Ephesus, there would have arisen

274 THE ACTS, XX. [vv. 17, 18.
not spend the time in Asia: for he hasted, if it were
possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.
17 — 38. Paul sends for the Elders from Ephesus, gives them
his parting Charge and leaves Miletus.
17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the
18 elders of the church. And when they were come to him,
he said unto them,
many causes of delay which the Apostle in this rapid journey desired
to avoid. Perhaps too there might have been some hostility roused
against him, and either from a wish not to awaken this or from fear lest
the allaying of it should consume time he resolved to send for the
heads ofthe church to confer with him at Miletus.
because he would not spend the time in Asia) Better (with Rev. Ver.),
that ne might not have to spend time in Asia. He felt that he could
not go to Ephesus and leave again in a day.
for he hasted] Better, was hastening. The verb expresses the
whole character of his journey, and we can only conclude that there
was some difficulty in finding a vessel at Troas, or he would not have
stayed there so long as he did and not have given a day to Ephesus,
which he felt he was hardly likely to see again.
if... Pentecost] Pentecost at Jerusalem must have been a high Chris
tian as well as a Jewish festival. There would be at such a time an
opportunity for the Apostle to meet the more prominent members of
the Christian body, and, while bringing his contributions from the
churches which he had founded, to gladden them with the news of
what God had enabled him to do.
17 — 38. Paul sends for the Elders from Ephesus, gives
them his parting Charge and leaves Miletus.
17. And... Ephesus] At Miletus the Apostle and his party must
have tarried more than one day. It would take quite that time to
send his messenger and summon those whom he wished to see. If
they came to him on the next day, that would be consumed in their
conference and leavetaking, and the voyage could hardly be begun
again till the third day at the earliest.
and. . .elders of the church] , To express the force of the preposition
in the compound verb the Rev. Ver. gives "called to him." For
"elders" the Gk. word is presbuteroi, and might be rendered "pres
byters." These men are called (ver. 28) episcopoi, i.e. "bishops" or
"overseers." It is well established that the titles "presbyter" and
"bishop" were in the early days ofthe church synonymous.
18. And. ..he said unto them] This is the only speech recorded in
the Acts of the Apostles which we can be sure that the writer heard
St Paul make. This is probably the reason why we have it somewhat
in detail, and why it is so marked, as we shall see it is, with expressions
that are to be found in the Apostle's letters. While giving other

v. I9-] THE ACTS, XX. 275
Ye know, from the first day that I came into Asia, after
what manner I have been with you at all seasons, serving 19
the Lord with all humility of mind, and with many tears,
and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the
speeches in abstract St Luke employs his own diction or that of some
who were his authorities.
Ye know) The pronoun is emphatically expressed, and for this
reason the Rev. Ver. says, " Ye yourselves know." Had St Luke
been giving the speech in substance, his Greek training would have
made him commence, as he so often does, "Men and brethren."
That he has not done so in the speech which he gathered from St
Paul's own lips is an evidence of a faithful reporter.
from the first day that I came into Asia] The Rev. Ver. brings out
the force of the Greek verb " I set foot in." The Apostle is appealing
not only to what he had done in Ephesus itself, but to what they had
heard of his labours elsewhere in Asia. Ephesus was no doubt the
greatest centre of Christian life in Proconsular Asia, and all that was
done elsewhere would be reported there, and the lesser churches would
seek for intercommunion with a church in which they could learn so
much of what St Paul had taught.
after what manner I have been with you at all seasons] The A.V.
neither represents duly the last noun, which is singular, nor the tense
of the verb. Read (with Rev. Ver.) I was with you all the time. The
Apostle is appealing to his behaviour from first to last during his
residence in Asia. It is not that he had been with them at all
seasons which he desires to note, but how he had borne himself while
he was among them.
19. serving... humility of mind) The Rev. Ver. here has "low
liness of mind," as the word is rendered Phil. ii. 3, but the version is
not consistent, for the same rendering is not kept (Col. iii. 12) where it
might just as well have been. Probably the translators of 161 1 did not
like the collocation all lowliness. St Paul is careful to point out that
the service in which he spent himself was done unto the Lord as His
Apostle. and with many tears] The oldest authorities omit "many.' The
adjective is a comment from the statement in verse 31. In 2 Cor. ii. 4
St Paul says " I wrote unto you with many tears."
and temptations, which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jews]
The old sense of "temptation" is lost. Read (with Rev. Ver.) "and
with trials...*)' the plots of the Jews. We could only see in the
account of the tumult at Ephesus that there were some indications
that the Jewish population were anxious to make it plain that
they had no sympathy with the Apostle who was so obnoxious to the
Gentiles. Here we have, an express declaration made before those
who knew all the circumstances that plots had been laid against Paul's
life by the Jews. It did not fall in with St Luke's purpose to tell us
of them, but he manifestly knew about them, for he feels no difficulty

276 THE ACTS, XX. [vv. 20—22.
20 Jews : and how I kept back nothing that was profitable
unto you, but have shewed you, and have taught you
zi publickly, and from house to house, testifying both to the
Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and
22 faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And now behold, I go
in recording the Apostle's own mention of them here, nor has he
a thought that his narrative will be held for other than true, though
men may point out here an allusion to events of which he had made no
mention before. We cannot too often bear in mind that the book is
not meant for a history of either one or other Apostle, but a record of
how the course of the Gospel was guided according to Christ's injunc
tion, "beginning at Jerusalem" and ending when an Apostle had pro
claimed Christ in the Imperial capital.
20. and how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, bid
have shewed you] The Rev. Ver. makes of these clauses, in which
there is nothing for "and" or "but," only one, rendering " How that
I shrank not from declaring unto you anything that was profitable"
The form of the sentence corresponds with verse 27'below. The vford
"how" takes up the "after what manner" of verse 18. The first
verb implies the wrapping up of something to keep it out of sight, or
out ofthe way, and is used of "furling" sails. Hence the metaphor
ical sense of "wrapping up" or "cloaking" what ought to be spoken
out. The Apostle declares that he had never from any fear or under
any circumstances done this. What he means by "that which was
profitable," we may leam from his own expression (1 Cor. x. 33) "the
profit of many, that they may be saved." This would call for rebuke as
well as encouragement, and would not always be a congenial work,
however necessary.
and have taught you publickly, and from house to house] To connect
with what has gone before, read " and teaching you, Sec." Here we
are afforded another glimpse into the zealous character of St Paul's
work. It was not only in the school of Tyrannus that he waited for
and taught those who came to hear, but he also went about among the
people, seeking to impress any who would listen.
21. testifying, Sec. ..to the , Greeks] The Rev. Ver. omits 'the"
before both nouns, the Greek having no article. "Both to Jews and
to Greeks." By "testifying" is meant "proclaiming the need of."
And this message the Apostle would support by his own witness.
repentance. ..Christ] By some MSS. the last word is omitted.
Some have seen in these two clauses a reference to the character of the
preaching, "repentance" indicating what was most needful for the
Gentiles, and "faith toward our Lord" the demand made upon the
Jews. This however seems fanciful, especially when we remember the
Pentecostal sermon of St Peter (Acts ii. 38) which was certainly ad
dressed to Jews rather than Gentiles, " Repent, and be baptized every
one of you."
22. And now... Jerusalem] The Apostle refers to his own spirit,

vv. 23, 24.] THE ACTS, XX. 277
bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things
that shall befall me there : save that the Holy Ghost wit- 23
nesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide
me. But none of these things move me, neither count 1 24
my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course
with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the
the constraint which in his own mind was laid upon him. Some
therefore to make this plain would render "in my spirit." The verb
implies that he felt there was no freeing himself from the impulse to
go, but it has no such sense as that he already regards himself as a
prisoner, that he will be seized and deprived of his liberty when he
arrives at Jerusalem.
not knowing... there] This shews that the Holy Ghost had not
given to the Apostle more than a general sense that in all places he
would be called on to suffer for Christ.
23. save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city] The oldest
MSS. add "unto me." Rev. Ver. "testifieth unto me." The Holy
Ghost had called him to the work (xiii. 2) and moved the disciples
(xxi. 4) and Agabus (xxi. n) to warn him of the sufferings which were
at hand. We may suppose too that such warnings came more fre
quently than St Luke has recorded them.
saying... abide me] The two nouns are combined in Phil. i. 16, " sup
posing to add affliction to my bonds," where the sense is, as most likely
here, mental grief in addition to bodily constraint. Such "afflictions"
were harder to bear than the " bonds."
24. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear
unto myself) The oldest MSS. omit the words for "neither count I,"
and following these the Rev. Ver. has translated, "but I hold not my
life of any account, as dear unto myself." The feebleness and tautology
of this sentence are enough to condemn it, and the "as" is a mere substi
tute for the " neither" of the A. V., which it quite implies. In a very
clear paper on the verse Dr Field has shewn that there is probably
some omission before " dear unto myself" ofthe same character, though
not exactly the same, as what is supplied in the A. V. , and that the
reading of X, B, and C, which the Rev. Ver. has tried to give in English,
arose after the words, of which he suggests the loss, had fallen away
from some very early exemplar. The literal English of Dr Field's sug
gestion would be " Neither make I account of anything, nor think my
life dear unto myself. "
so that I might finish my course with joy) Better, " may accomplish."
The figure of the Christian life as a race is common enough in St Paul's
language (cp. xiii. 25). The Apostle signifies by his words that the race
will last as long as life lasts, and that he must not faint in the middle,
whatever suffering may be in store. The "joy" would arise from the
sense of duty done, or, at all events, striven to be done.
and tlie ministry, which I have received, Sec] Better to omit the
" have" with Rev. Ver. The Apostle refers to the commission which

278 THE ACTS, XX. [vv. 25—27.
25 Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And
now behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone
preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.
26 Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure
27 from the blood of all men. For I have not shunned to

he received at his conversion. The work and the sufferings are both
foretold to Ananias from the first (Acts ix. 15, 16), and St Paul speaks of
this ministry or service by the same word (1 Tim. i. 12), " I thank him
that enabled me, even Christ Jesus our Lord, for that he counted me
faithful, appointing me to his service."
to testify. ..God] To bear witness to men ofthe good news that, God
is willing to be gracious. In the context of the passage just quoted
(1 Tim. i. 14) St Paul shews how fit a person he was to bear such testi
mony. He had been a blasphemer, a persecutor and injurious, but had
obtained mercy... and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ abounded exceed-

25. And... ye all] We cannot be sure that the Apostle never again
came to Ephesus. For we learn from Philemon 22 that, toward the
close of his imprisonment at Rome, he had hopes and the intention of
visiting Philemon, who was at Colossse, and we can hardly think that if
he went to Colossae he would fail on the way to stay at Ephesus.
Some have therefore been inclined to lay a great stress on the word
" all" in this clause, as though the Apostle only meant that they were
sure some of them to be dead before he paid their city another visit. It
seems better to take the words as the conviction of the Apostle's mind
at the moment. He was impressed with the belief that he would never
come back. We have seen, however, just above that the Spirit did not
give him definite knowledge of what would befall him in every place.
And the sense that he was to be seized and imprisoned might make him
sufficiently alive to the chances of his martyrdom for Christ to warrant
the words which he here uses.
among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God] The oldest
MSS. omit " of God." The verb is more fully rendered by the Rev.
Ver. "I went about." Though speaking to the Ephesians only the
memory of the Apostle recalls those missionary visits throughout Pro
consular Asia which we may feel sure that he made during his " three
years' residence at Ephesus." For the use of "kingdom" alone =
kingdom of God, cp. Matth. iv. 23 ; ix. 35, &c.
26. Wherefore I take you to record this day] The Rev. Ver., to
explain the older English, gives " I testify unto you." The sense seems
a little more than this. The Apostle not only gives his own testimony,
but challenges them to confirm or refute it.
that. . .all men] St Paul looks upon himself as one like the watchmen
of the house of Israel (Ezek. xxxiii. 8) to each of whom God says, if
he warn not the wicked from his way, ' ' his blood will I require at thine
hand."

v. 28.] THE ACTS, XX. 279
declare unto you all the counsel of God. Take heed there- «
fore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the
Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of
27. For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God)
The Rev. Ver. as in ver. 20, " For I shrank not from declaring unto you
thewhole, Sec" The " counsel of God" means the whole plan of salva
tion ; what God offers and what he asks ' of men. This includes the
" repentance and faith" as well as the " grace and mercy."
28. Take heed therefore unto yourselves) The best MSS. omit " there
fore." The Apostle now resigns into their hands a charge which before
had been his own, and the form of his language would remind them
that the discharge of their duty after his example would be the means
of saving both themselves and those over whom they were placed.
and to all the flock] He commits to them, as Christ had at first to
St Peter, the charge to feed both lambs and sheep, in the name, and
with the word, ofthe "good Shepherd" himself.
over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers] These men
who are called "elders," i.e. " presbyters" before (ver. 17) he now calls
"overseers," i.e. "bishops," (see note there). The Rev. Ver. gives
"In the which, Sec  bishops." We have no information how these
"elders" had been chosen or appointed, but we can see from this verse
that there had been some solemn setting apart of the men for their office.
The Church, as in xiii. 2, had .recognised some indication that they were
to be placed over the church. By reminding them from whence their
appointment came, St Paul would enforce on them the solemnity of
their position. Though they be " in the flock " they are not as others,
more has been given unto them, and so more will be required.'
to feed the church of God) Perhaps no text in the New Testament
has been more discussed than these words. "Many ancient authorities
(says Rev. Ver. in a note,) read the Lord" instead of "God." The Re
visers have kept "God" in the text, and that reading is accepted as of
most authority by Westcott and Hort. The variation, which has much
support from MSS., has been discussed and the evidence for it most
fully stated by Dr Ezra Abbott, of Harvard University. The text as
it stands asserts most strongly the Divinity of our Blessed Lord, but
the form of the sentence implies, from what follows, the use of such a
phrase as "the blood of God" which is not like the New Testament
mode of expression, though it is found in the Epp. of Ignatius, who
perhaps derived it from this passage. Because in other places where " the
Church of God "is used "God "cannot be taken, as it must here, to mean
Christ, some have given a strong force to the word own, which follows, and
have explained "His own blood," i.e. "the blood of His own Son."
And as the Greek text, which has been accepted, as of most authority,
by Westcott and Hort, reads aSJuarros tov Idtov, it has been suggested that
after this peculiar collocation of words, vtov has fallen away in very
early times. This would make all easy, rendering "with the blood of
his own Son." But there is no evidence that the word " Son" was ever
there, and though the death of Christ is in Scripture spoken of as

280 THE ACTS, XX. [w. 29, 30.
29 God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. For I
know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves
30 enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your
own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw
something "given up" ,by the Father "for us all" (Rom. viii. 32), yet
the price paid and the purchase made are as definitely (1 Cor. vii. 22, 23)
referred to Christ. The direct assertion of Christ's Godhead has been
the occasion of the questioning of this text, and may in early times
have led to the various readings. That doctrine does not stand or fall
by this verse, but as the authority of MSS. is in favour of the reading
"God" we gladly accept it, and feel that to the first readers the harsh
ness of the expression "blood of God" was not much regarded, as the
words are not so written, but only suggested by the close of the verse.
which he hath purchased... blood] Better, as the price was paid once
for all, "which he purchased. " The verb implies the "making of what
is bought peculiarly one's own." It is not the usual word for "buying."
29. For I know this] The oldest MSS. (and the Rev. Ver.) have
only " I know."
that after my departing] This noun is only used here, and most
frequently in classical Greek signifies "arrival," though not always.
But as the person who departs from one place arrives at another, it is
only a difference of the point of view. Here there can be no doubt of
its meaning. It does not refer to the Apostle's death, but his leaving
Asia, with the thought that he should return no more.
shall grievous wolves. ..flock] The Apostle seems first to refer to false
teachers who should come in from without. He must have been familiar
with the dangers to which the Ephesian church was exposed, and we
know from his Epistles how much harm was already inflicted on the
Christian Church by the Judaizers and Gnostics. Even when writing
to so undisturbed a church as that in Philippi, we find the Apostle
giving warning against both kinds of error. And if we turn to those
early parts of the Apocalypse in which the condition of the churches
of Asia is described, we can read of a crop of errors the sowers of which
St Paul may have had in his mind as he spake at Miletus. "Nicolai-
tans," " those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue
of Satan," "those that hold the teaching of Balaam," "the woman
Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess," all these could not have
risen in a moment, .but must have given indications of their existence
long before they became so prominent as they were when St John
wrote. He must have read the New Testament with little appreciation
who speaks of the words here ascribed to St Paul as a "prophecy
after the event " made by the writer of the Acts in the second century.
30. Also of your own selves, Sec] Better (with Rev. Ver.) "And
from among your own selves." This gives an idea of the greater near
ness of the apostasy wliich the Apostle predicts. Not some who may
come of those to whom he speaks, but even out of the present existing
Christian body. We know from St Paul's own experience that he

w. 31, 32.] THE ACTS, XX. 281
away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, 31
that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every
one night and day with tears. And now, brethren, I com- 32
mend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is

had learnt how out of the professedly Christian body some would go
back like Demas (2 Tim. iv. 10) through love of this world's good
things, and some would err concerning the truth, like Hymenseus and
Philetus, and that their word would eat like a canker, and they would
overthrow the faith of some. These are the speakers of perverse
things, things which should twist even the Apostle's own words into a
wrong sense.
shall men arise. ..draw away disciples after them] Better, "the disci
ples" i.e. other members of the Christian body. It is not that these
men will desire and endeavour to gain disciples, but they will do their
best, after their own falling-away, to drag others likewise from the
true faith. This is expressed also by the verb which implies the tearing
away from that to which they are already attached, and this more literal
translation of the verb expresses the labour and exertion which these
false teachers will spend to achieve their object.
31. Therefore watch) The sort of watching implied is that unsleep
ing alertness which can never be taken by surprise.
and remember, that by the space of three years] As the verb here is a
participial form the Rev. Ver. translates "Wherefore watch ye, remem
bering, Sec," in which there is this gain, that the watchfulness which
the Apostle enjoins is thus enforced by his own example. Be ye
watchful, because ye know that I was so night and day while I was
among you. The " three years " may be a speaking in round numbers,
yet it cannot have been far from the length of time which Paul spent
at Ephesus. See notes on xix. 8, 10.
/ ceased not to warn [admonish, Rev. Ver.) every one night and
day with tears] We know from his appeal to the Corinthians
(2 Cor. xi. 29) and other places, how sympathetic St Paul was in all
that concerned his flock. " Who is weak, and I am not weak ? who is
offended, and I burn not ?" And if for weakness and offences, how much
more in a city like Ephesus where idolatry was rampant everywhere.
We need not confine the "every one" to the presbyters, St Paul's
labour was spent on the whole Ephesian Church.
32. And now, brethren, I commend... his grace] The oldest authorities
omit "brethren." I am to leave you, but I commend you to One who
will help you as He has helped me, and who will not leave you. "The
word of His grace " means the gracious promises of the Gospel, such
as those which Christ gave to His disciples when He foretold the mission
of the Comforter (John xvii. 7 — 12), and which the Christian preachers
might repeat as His words to the converts who believed on His name.
which, Sec] This must refer to God, and not to the intervening
explanatory clause concerning the "word of God's grace." It is God
who can build up His people, and give them their heavenly inheritance.
acts 20

282 THE ACTS, XX. [w. 33—35.
able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among
33 all them which are sanctified. I have coveted no man's
34 silver, or gold, or apparel Yea, ye yourselves know, that
these hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to
35 them that were with me. I have shewed you all things,

and to give you an inheritance] The oldest texts give "the in
heritance." The figure is taken from the apportionment of the promised
land among the Israelites. The part of each of God's servants in the
heavenly Canaan is to be regarded as definitely as were the possessions
of the chosen people in the earthly Canaan.
among. . .sanctified] The tense is literally ' ' that have been sanctified."
But just as the Apostle uses "saints" frequently in his Epistles to
mean those who have been called to be such, so here his words do
not indicate that those of whom he speaks have attained the perfection
of holiness. When they reach their inheritance, then they will have
been perfected in Christ.
33. I have coveted] Rev. Ver. ¦• / coveted." But this seems un
necessary. The Apostle implies that the state of mind was his when
he was with them and continues still.
apparel] In which Oriental wealth largely consisted. Hence Naaman
brings "changes of raiment" as well as money among the rewards
which he expects to give for his cure (2 Kings v. 5), and the same
may be noticed in many other parts of the Scripture history. Cp.
Gen. xxiv. 53; xiv. 22 ; 2 Kings vii. 3, &c.
34. Yea, ye yourselves know] The oldest texts omit " Yea." The
working in company with Aquila and Priscilla, which the Apostle
began in Corinth, was probably continued when they came together
to Ephesus, and so the Apostle's trade and his steady pursuit of it
would be well known to many of the listeners. It has been suggested
that he was a partner in trade-matters with Philemon during this resi
dence at Ephesus. Cp. Philemon 17.
that .these hands have ministered] No doubt, he held them forth, and
they bore marks that not only while at Ephesus, but since that time
they had laboured for the means of living.
unto... them that were with me] We cannot determine under what
circumstances the Apostle felt himself called upon to minister by his
hand-labour to the support of his companions. We may be sure
however that the necessity was there, and that St Paul, working him
self, did not countenance indolence in others. And when we read
of Timothy's " often infirmities " (1 Tim. v. 23) we may conjecture
that there were those among the companions of St Paul who were
less able to work with the hands than the Apostle himself.
S6. I have shewed you all things] Better (as Rev. Ver.) "In all
things I gave you an example." The verb is cognate with that noun
which Jesus uses (John xiii. 15), "I have given you an example that
ye should do as I have done unto you."

v. 36.] THE ACTS, XX. 283
how that so labouring ye ought to support .the weak, and to
remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is
more blessed to give than to receive.
And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, and 36

how that so labouring] i.e. in like manner as the Apostle laboured.
And the verb implies "wearying toil." He had spared for no fatigue.
He speaks of this toil (2 Cor. xi. 27), "in labour and travail."
ye ought to support [Rev. Ver. "help "] the weak] By " weak " does
St Paul here mean those standing in need of material or moral help?
Grimm (s. v.) takes it for the poor, those who are in want from any
cause, as those must have been who could not support themselves, and
whose wants the Apostle supplied by his own labour. Yet this is a
very rare sense, as he admits, for the verb to have, and " feebleness "
of faith and trust is much the more common meaningi And that sense
suits well here. If among new converts large demands should be
made for the support of those who minister, they who are weak in the
faith as yet, may be offended thereby, and becoming suspicious, regard
the preacher's office as a source of temporal gain. An example like
St Paul's would remove the scruples of such men, and when they
became more grounded in the faith, these matters would trouble
them no more. For the use of "weak" in the sense of moral, rather
than physical, weakness, cp. Job iv. 3, 4 ; Is. xxxv. 3.
and to remember... Jesus] He appeals to them as though the saying
was well-known, and as we notice this, we cannot but wonder at the
scanty number of the words which have been handed down as " words
of Jesus" beyond what we find in the Gospel. This is the only one in
the New Testament, and from all the rest of the Christian literature we
cannot gather more than a score of sentences beside. See Westcott,
Introd. to Study ofthe Gospels, pp. 428 seqq.
how he said] The Greek has an emphatic pronoun, which is repre
sented in the Rev. Ver. "he himself said."
It is. ...receive] In support of what has just been said about
strengthening the feeble in faith, these words seem as readily applicable
to that view of the Apostle's meaning, as to the sense of "poverty."
What would be given in this special case, would be spiritual strength
and trust; what is referred to in "receive" is the temporal support
of the preacher, which St Paul refrained from claiming. We cannot
doubt that he felt how much more blessed it was to win one waverer to
Christ than it would have been to be spared his toils at tent-making by
the contributions of his converts.
36. The kneeling posture marks the special character and solemnity
of the prayer. We find the Apostle doing the same in his parting from
the brethren at Tyre (xxi. 5). On the usual custom of standing in
prayer, cp. Mark xi. 25 and the account of the Pharisee and publican
(Luke xviii. n — 13). It has often been noticed that the historian, who
gives the speech with unusual fulness, does not venture to record the
prayer.

284 THE ACTS, XX. XXI. [w. 37, 38; 1.
37 prayed with them all. And they all wept sore, and fell on
38 Paul's neck, and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the
words which he spake, that they should see his face no
more. And they accompanied him unto the ship.
1 — 6. Paul's Voyage from Miletus, and his Stay in Tyre.
21 And it came to pass, that after we were gotten from them,
and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Cos,
and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto
37. kissed him] The word is not the simple verb but expresses
earnest, sorrowing salutations.
38. sorrowing... the words which he spake] More literally "the
word which he had spoken " (Rev. Ver.).
that they should see, Sec] The word in the original is not that which the
Apostle uses in verse 25, when he says he shall not come again. So the
Rev. Ver. has well given "behold." The Greek expresses the earnest
reverent gaze, with which we can fancy those who knew the Apostle and
his work would look upon him. His presence filled not only the eye,
but the mind, they contemplated all which the sight of him would recall.
And they accompanied him unto the ship) Rev. Ver. "And they
brought him on his way, &c." thus making the rendering of the verb
here agree with the language of xv. 3 and xxi. 5. They would not lose
one look or one word before they were forced to do so. We can see
from these words that the harbour was at some distance from the town
of Miletus. See on verses 15 and 17.
XXI. 1 — 6. Paul's Voyage from Miletus, and his Stay in
Tyre.
1. And it came to pass, that after we were gotten from them, and had
launched] The Rev. Ver. has reproduced the Greek construction, but
the sentence is not a happy one, nor the gain worth the sacrifice. " And
when it came to pass that we were parted from them, and had set sail."
It gives perhaps a little more of the sense of difficulty in tearing them
selves away which is in the original, but it is not what an Englishman
would say.
The vessel in which they sailed from Troas to Patara seems to have
been under the Apostle's control, and they could stay wherever and as
long as they pleased.
we came... Cos] The name, sometimes spelt Coos, should be written
Cos. It is a small island, now called Stanchio, on the coast of Asia
Minor, just at the entrance of the Archipelago, and in old times was
famous for its wines and some light-woven fabrics. There was also in
the island a temple of Aesculapius to which was attached a medical
school. and ihe day following unto Rhodes) In xx. 15 the A. V. gave three

w. 2, 3.] THE ACTS, XXI. 285
Patara : and finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia, we 2
went aboard, and set forth. Now when we had discovered 3
Cyprus, we left it on the left hand, and sailed into Syria,
and landed at Tyre : for there the ship was to unlade her
times over "the next day," and in each case the Greek was different, and
here we have a fourth form in the original for the same sense. In one
case in the former chapter the Rev. Ver. left "next day," and they
make that change here, but as the Greek is not the same it is not easy
to see why the A.V. should not be left alone.
Rhodes is the famous island at the south-west extremity of Asia Minor,
off the coast of Caria and Lycia. The city of Rhodes and the island of
which it is the capital were famous in the times of the Peloponnesian
war. It was well supplied with timber fit for shipbuilding and hence
became famous for its navy, and its position has caused the island to
play a conspicuous part in European history from that time onward.
It was celebrated for the great Temple of the Sun, whose worship in the
island is marked by the head of Apollo on the coinage. With this
worship was connected the great statue known as the Colossus, which
was meant as a figure of the sun, and was one of the wonders of the
world. In the Roman times many privileges were granted to Rhodes
by the Roman emperors, while in mediaeval history this was the last
Christian city which resisted the advance of the Saracens.
Patara] This was a city on the coast of Lycia. It was devoted to
the worship of Apollo, who is hence sometimes called by classical
writers Patareus. The city was not far from the river Xanthus, and
Patara was the port of the city of Xanthus. We can understand, there
fore, why St Paul's voyage in the coasting vessel should end here,
because at such a port he would be likely to find a larger vessel to carry
him to Syria.
2. And finding a ship sailing over unto Phenicia] Rev. Ver. liter
ally, " having found a ship crossing, Sec" Phoenicia was the country on
the coast of the Levant, north of Palestine. It contained the important
cities of Tyre and Sidon.
we went aboard, and set forth] Rev. Ver. " set sail."
3. Now when we had discovered Cyprus] Rev. Ver. " And when we
had come in sight of." "Discover" has now acquired the special sense
of "finding for the first time." On Cyprus, see notes on xiii. 4 seqq.
we. ..Syria] This was the general name for the whole district lying
along the Mediterranean from Cilicia down to Egypt.
Tyre] One of the chief ports of Phoenicia, and a city of very great
antiquity. It was built partly on the mainland and partly on an island,
and is often mentioned both in Scripture and in profane literature. It
is noticed as a strongly fortified city as early as Joshua xix. 29. We
read of its fame in the time of Solomon in connexion with the building of
the temple, and Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, was the daughter of Ethbaal,
called King of the Sidonians in Scripture, but in Josephus (Ant.vui. 13,
2) King of Tyre. The city was besieged by Shalmaneser and afterwards
by Nebuchadnezzar, and was captured by Alexander the Great.

286 THE ACTS, XXI. [vv. 4, 5.
4 burden. And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days:
who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should not go
s up to Jerusalem. And when we had accomplished those
days, we departed and went our way; and they all brought
us on our way, with wives and children, till we were out of
Christ went on one of his journeys from Galilee into the neighbour
hood of Tyre, if not to the city itself, which was about 30 miles from
Nazareth, and it must have been then in much the same condition as at
this visit of St Paul.
there the ship, Sec] And so most probably the further voyage to
Ptolemais was made in a different vessel, this one going no farther.
4. And finding disciples] Better, "And having found the disciples"
with Rev. Ver. This means the members of the Christian church of
Tyre, not some disciples who by chance happened to be at Tyre. That
there was already a Christian congregation there is probable from the
account of the spread of the Gospel given in xi. 19, and as brethren in
Phoenicia are spoken of in xv. 3. If there were such anywhere in that
country, they would presumably be in Tyre.
we tarried there seven days) The Apostle now finds that he can
easily accomplish his journey to Jerusalem in time, and so he no longer
hastens as he did when all the probable mishaps of a coasting voyage
were before him.
who said to Paul through the Spirit] Rev. Ver. "and these said, &c."
The Apostle himself was urged by some inward prompting to go on to
Jerusalem "not knowing what might befall him." The Spirit warns
these disciples of the dangers which would come upon him. We need
not judge that these things are contrary one to the other. The Apostle
knew that bonds and afflictions were to be his lot everywhere, and
though the Spirit shewed to his friends that he would suffer, yet the im
pulse of the same Spirit urged him forward, because it was God's will
that he should suffer thus in the cause and for the greater furtherance of
the gospel.
that he should not go up to Jerusalem] The oldest texts give a
reading which the Rev. Ver. represents "should not set foot in"
5. And when we had accomplished those days] Rev. Ver. very literally
"And when it came to pass that we had accomplished the days"
This means, of course, the seven days mentioned above. The verb
rendered "accomplished" is very unusual in this sense, though the
Vulgate explains it so, and Chrysostom gave it that meaning, so we may
accept it. Some, keeping to a more common use of it "to fit out," have
proposed to understand the word "ship" as the object of it, and to
render " when we had refitted (the ship) during those days."
we departed and went our way] Because of the word "way" coming
in the next clause for different Greek, the Rev. Ver. has here "went on
our journey."
and they all brought us on our way; with wives and children) i.e.
with their wives and children, the whole Christian community escorting

vv. 6— 8.] THE ACTS, XXI. 287
the city: and we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed.
And when we had taken our leave one of another, we took 6
ship; and they returned home again.
7 — 14. Paul's fourney to Cesarea, and his Stay there.
And when we had finished our course from Tyre, we came 7
to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and abode with them
one day. And the next day we that were of Paul's company s
departed, and came unto Cesarea : and we entered into the
house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven ;

the Apostle to the shore. The existence of these families shews that
" the disciples" (ver. 4) is required. They were the Church of Tyre.
and we kneeled down on the shore, and prayed) To follow the reading
of the oldest text, the Rev. Ver. joins the construction of this verse with
the following, " and kneeling down on the beach, we prayed and bade each
other farewell." On the action cp. xx. 36.
6. The best text requires here for the last clause, " and we went on
board the ship, but they returned home again." There is nothing in the
Greek to tell us whether the ship was the same in which they had come,
or not. 7 — 14. Paul's Journey to Cesarea, and his Stay there.
And when... Ptolemais] For "our course" Rev. Ver. has "the voyage"
and for "came to" reads "arrived at." For the same verb in xvi. 1,
" came to " is left.
Ptolemais is the name given during Macedonian and Roman rule to
the city anciently called Accho (Judges 1. 31), and known in modern
history as St Jean d Acre or often simply Acre. In the earliest times
it was the most important town on that portion of the coast, but at the
beginning of the Christian era was far surpassed by Caesarea, which
was the residence of Herod and of the Roman governor.
and saluted the brethren] There was therefore a Christian society in
Ptolemais also. As the place lay on the great high-road by the coast,
it was certain to be visited by some of the earliest preachers, when the
disciples were dispersed from Jerusalem after the death of Stephen.
8. And the next day] Rev. Ver. "And on the morrow."
we that were of Paul's company] The Greek for the last five of these
words is omitted in the best MSS. We can see at once how such a
marginal comment, thought useful by the reader of an early MS., would
be brought into the text without scruple by the next copyist.
unio Cesarea) Though it was possible to have made this journey by
sea, the verb seems rather to leave us to infer that it was a land journey.
The road between the two places was of the best.
and we entered... and abode with him] Rev. Ver. (as Greek) "and
entering.. .we abode, Sec" Philip is named next after Stephen in the

THE ACTS, XXI. [vv. 9— 11.

9 and abode with him. And the same man had four daughters,
to virgins, which did prophesy. And as we tarried there many
days, there came down from Judea a certain prophet, named
ti Agabus. And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's
girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus

narrative (vi. 5) of the choosing of the seven, and though no such pro
minent exhibition of his zeal is narrated as of Stephen, yet we are told,
that he went away from Jerusalem and was the first to carry the Gospel
to the Samaritans (Acts viii. 5). He also was directed by the angel
of the Lord to go and baptize the Ethiopian eunuch (viii. 20 — 38), thus
being doubly an ambassador to the Gentiles, and earning his title of
" Evangelist." He preached afterwards at Ashdod, and from the chapter
before us we may conclude that he had made his home at Caesarea.
Such a situation, the meeting-place of Gentiles with Jews, was the
proper scene for such a missionary to labour in, and such a labourer
would rejoice greatly to welcome to his house the great apostle who
had gone forth once and again unto the Gentiles and with such mighty
blessing on his work.
9. And the same man... prophesy] Rev. Ver. "Now this man had, Sec."
The family of the Evangelist were walking in their father's steps. These
daughters, instead of resting at home, took upon them the hard duty of
publishing the message of the Gospel. The English word "prophesy"
has come to have, since about the beginning of the seventeenth century,
only the one sense of " to predict what is yet to come. " In the time of
Queen Elizabeth " prophesyings " meant "preachings," and Jeremy
Taylor's famous work on the " Liberty of Prophesying," was written to
uphold the freedom of preaching. These women were, in their degree,
Evangelists also.
10. And as we tarried there many days] The word rendered "many"
is not the one commonly so translated. It is equal to " some " as Rev.
Ver. in margin, and implies that the Apostle made a suitable stay, such
as was seemly with a host of such a kind.
there... Agabus) Perhaps the same who (xi. 28) at Antioch foretold
the coming famine. The prophets mentioned on that occasion had also
come up from Jerusalem, and the name being somewhat unusual, makes
the identity very probable.
11. And when he was come... he took... and bound his own hands and
feet] The oldest MSS. have "feet and hands," and fkeRev. Ver. adopts
the Greek construction, " And coming... and taking... he bound, &c."
His adoption of this figurative action makes it almost certain that the
man was a Jew. Similar actions are common with the Old Testament
prophets. Thus Isaiah (xx. 3) walks naked and barefoot. Jeremiah
(xiii. 5) hides his girdle by the river Euphrates, and (xix. 10, 11) breaks
the potter's vessel in the Valley of Hinnom ; Ezekiel (iv. 1 — 3) draws
on a tile a picture of the siege of Jerusalem, and (v. 1 — 4) cuts off his
hair and burns and destroys it as God commanded. So too Zedekiah

w. 12—14.] THE ACTS, XXI. 289
saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind
the man that oweth this girdle, and shall deliver him into
the hands of the Gentiles. And when we heard these 12
things, both we, and they of that place, besought him not to
go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, What mean ye 13
to weep and to break mine heart ? for I am ready not to
be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of
the Lord Jesus. And when he would not be persuaded, we 14
ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.
the son of Chenaanah made horns of iron (1 Kings xxii. 11). With this
act of Agabus may be compared our Lord's words to St Peter (John
xxi. 18).
The girdle was that band with which the loose Oriental robe was
drawn together at the waist. It was of considerable size, and served
the purposes of a pocket, the money being carried in it. To judge from
the verb employed in describing the prophet's action, it seems that
St Paul had laid aside his girdle and that it was taken up by Agabus
from the place where it lay.
and said... Gentiles] That we may observe the Apostle's zeal to carry
out the Lord's will, once more we are told how the Holy Ghost made
known to him through others that he was about to be made a prisoner,
and still we see him go forward unmoved, because though others might
know that he was to suffer, and might in their affection strive to hold
him back, he was convinced that such suffering was the Lord's way for
him, and so he went on.
12. we, and they of that place] We (i. e. St Luke and the rest who
were his fellow-travellers) and the Christians of Caesarea. The act
of Agabus was in all probability done with some publicity.
13. Then Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine
heart] Better (with Rev. Ver.), "What do ye, weeping and breaking
my heart?" The sentence is little more than an emphatic question,
"Why do ye weep?" implying, of course, the exhortation, " Don't
weep, &c." The verb for "break" is found only here in N. T., and
signifies the weakening of purpose in any one. So the Apostle inti
mates not that they intended, as we should say "to break his heart" by
adding to his sorrow, but to weaken his determination, and deter him
from his journey.
for,..Jesus] The pronoun "I" stands emphatically in the Greek, and
shews that the Apostle had long ago counted the cost of Christ's ser
vice, and found the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be
compared with the glory that was to be revealed.
14. And. ..be done) They gathered from the language of St Paul
that he had a higher leading than theirs in what he was doing, and
feeling that Christ's guidance was better than any other, they quieted
their minds with the thought that the work was "for the name of the
Lord Jesus," who would strengthen His servant to do His will.

290 THE ACTS, XXI. [vv. 15, 16.
15, 16. The fourney to ferusalem.
'5 And after those days we took up our carriages, and went
¦e up to Jerusalem. There went with us also certain of the
disciples of Cesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of
Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.

15, 16. The Journey to Jerusalem.
15. And after those days we took up our carriages) Rev. Ver. " our
baggage." In the English of the A.V. " carriages " were things which
were carried. The word is found in this sense, 1 Sam. xvii. 22; Is. x.
28, as well as in this passage. So in Shakespeare, and cp. Earle's
Microcosmographie (Arber), p. 41, "His thoughts are not loaden with
any carriage besides." But the use is quite lost now. The verb indi
cates rather "packing up" for the purpose of removal, than "taking
up " in the act of moving.
16. There went with us also., of Cesarea] The Greek text has
a conjunction to introduce the sentence, "And there went, &c...'.ftom
Ccesarea." The Evangelist had formed a Church where he had settled,
and the congregation were, like their teacher, concerned at St Paul's
danger, and so some went with him to Jerusalem. Perhaps the nucleus
of the Church may be dated from the baptism of Cornelius, and Philip
settling in Caesarea carried on what had been begun by St Peter.
and brought with them] There is no special word in Greek for the
last two English words. The original is a participle, meaning " lead
ing." Therefore the Rev. Ver. renders "bringing" and adds "with
them" in italics. But seeing that " to lead " is " to bring somebody
with you," the A.V. seems justified in printing "with them" in
Roman letters as being necessary to the sense and implied in the
meaning of the verb.
one Mnason of Cyprus] This man belonged to Cyprus, but had
now his home in Jerusalem. Just as Barnabas and his sister Mary,
the mother of John Mark, who were also Cypriotes, seem to have
done. an old disciple) Rev. Ver. "early." He had become a Christian in
the first days of the gospel preaching, in the beginning of the Church
of Jerusalem.
with... lodge] At such a time this was no unnecessary precaution,
for at the Feast Jerusalem was certain to be full of people, and by this
arrangement made in Caesarea, the whole party was saved the trouble
of searching for a lodging when they arrived. To find a house in
which the Apostle and those with him might all be received would
probably have been attended with much difficulty. To be the owner
of such a house Mnason must have been one of the wealthier members
of the congregation. His name is Greek, and he was most likely one
of the Hellenists. Or, if he were a Jew, Mnason was perhaps substi
tuted for some Jewish name, e.g. Manassek-

w. 17—20.] THE ACTS, XXI. 291
17 — 36. Arrival at ferusalem. Paul's Reception by the
Church and by the People.
And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren 17
received us gladly. And the day following Paul went in is
with us unto James ; and all the elders were present. And 19
when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what
things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said 20
17 — 36. Arrival at Jerusalem. Paul's Reception by the
Church and by the People.
17. And. ..gladly] The brethren, whose joy is here spoken oi,
would be those Christians who first learnt of the arrival of Paul at
Mnason's house. It is not the public reception which is here intended,
for however welcome Paul may have been to individuals, the heads of
the Church were manifestly apprehensive of trouble which might arise
from his presence in Jerusalem.
18. And the day following... James] This was the Church's recep
tion of the returned missionaries. Notice of their arrival would soon
be given, and the authorities who were at the time resident in Jeru
salem were gathered together. There was not any Apostle there or
St Luke would hardly have failed to mention the fact, as he was one of
those present. Paul took with him to tliis interview all who had
shared in his labours, that their work, as well as his own might receive
the recognition of the mother church of Christ. The James here men
tioned is the same who appears recognised as the head of the congrega
tion in Jerusalem (xii. 17, xv. 13). He was most probably one of our
Lord's brethren. See note on xii. 17.
and... present] These men, with James, formed the government of
the Church, and were the persons to whom the Apostle would naturally
desire to give an account of his labours. In the proceedings which
follow, the narrative does not, as in the council at Jerusalem, represent
James as taking the lead, or being spokesman ; he is only mentioned
as the person to whom the missionaries specially went. The advice
given to St Paul is couched in the plural number, as if the elders had
jointly tendered it.
And... saluted them] The verb is used both of the greetings at part
ing and arrival, and these in the East were of a much more formal
character than is common in Western countries.
he declared particularly what things] More literally (with Rev. Ver.),
"he rehearsed one by one the things which." Such a narrative must
have consumed a long time, though St Luke, having previously given
a sketch of what the Apostle had done, omits any speech of St Paul here.
God... by his ministry] We cannot doubt, from what remains to us
of St Paul's writings, that this was the tone of all that he would say.
God had been pleased to use him, and for His own glory had made St
Paul's weakness effective.
20. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord] The oldest

292 THE ACTS, XXI. [v. 21.
unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of
Jews there are which believe ; and they are all zealous of
21 the law: and they are informed of thee, that thou teach
est all the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake
Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their
MSS. read God. They took up the strain of thanksgiving which had
run through all the Apostle's story.
and said unto him] Their anxiety makes itself apparent at once,
and we come here face to face with what must have been one of the
greatest difficulties for the early Christians. Before Jerusalem was
destroyed there must ever have been at that centre a party zealous for
the law, with whom labour among the Gentiles would find small favour.
Thou seest, brother] The verb is not the ordinary one for to see.
It implies that there had been an opportunity for the Apostle to behold
some Christian gathering. At this feast the Christians would have as
much interest in a commemorative assembly as the Jews.
how many thousands] The Greek is "myriads," but the word is
used indefinitely, like our "thousand," to signify a iarge number.
of Jews there are which believe] The most authoritative Greek text
is rendered by the Rev. Ver. "there are among the Jews of them which
have believed." These were persons who, as was not unnatural,
accepted Christianity as the supplement of Judaism, but made no break
with their old faith, of the observances of which their life-long training
had made them tenacious. To such men, as Christianity rested on the
Old Testament Scripture, there would seem little need to make a rent
between their old life and the new.
and they are all zealous of (for) the law] i. e. rigorous maintainors
of all the ceremonial of the Mosaic code. The word is the same as the
name of the sect, Zealots.
21. and they are informed of thee) More clearly and in accordance
with modern English, the Rev. Ver. "they have been informed con
cerning thee." The verb is a very significant one, from which comes
our English " catechize." It implies, therefore, that the process of educat
ing public opinion in Jerusalem about St Paul had been a diligent
business. They had taught the lesson persistently till their hearers
were fully trained in it. We can hence understand the great hostility
which the Apostle experienced, and his strong language about these
Judaizers. They must have had their partizans at work in preparation
for his visit, and have poisoned men's minds against him.
that thou teachest. ..to forsake Moses] The calumniators made use
of the Apostle's earnest words to Gentile converts, that they should not
accept Judaism first as a door to Christianity, to bring a charge that, to
Jews also, he spake of the law as no longer to be regarded. We can
see from what we know of his words and actions how false this was, but
at such a time and amid such a populace the charge would rouse great
animosity, and have no chance of being refuted.
saying that they ought not to circumcise their children] More simply

w. 22— 24-1 THE ACTS, XXI. 293
children, neither to walk after the customs. What is it **
therefore ? the multitude must needs come together : for
they will hear that thou art come. Do therefore this that 23
we say to thee : We have four men which have a vow on
them ; them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at 24
(with Rev. Ver.), "telling them not to," &c. This had so long been the
mark of the Jew, and the expression "uncircumcised" meant something
so abhorrent to his mind, that we cannot wonder that this is put in the
forefront of the charge. For the sense of contempt and abomination
in the name, cf. 1 Sam. xvii. 26; Ezek. xxviii. 10, xxxii. 29, 30.
neither to walk after the customs] The customs being the ceremonial
law of the Jews. There is quite a Jewish sound in the frequent Old
Testament phrase "to walk after."
22. What is it therefore?) i.e. How stands the matter? An ex
pression used as introductory to the consideration of what is best to be
done. the multitude must Heeds come together] The oldest texts omit all but
the word here rendered "needs," giving only, "they will certainly hear
that thou art come," for the rest of the verse. Some keeping the Greek
of the Textus Receptus, have translated ' ' A multitude will certainly, &c. "
But the reading of the oldest MSS. seems to give the most natural sense.
The gathering before whom Paul had been speaking was composed of
only the conspicuous members of the Christian body, to hear a report
on the day after St Paul's arrival. The rest ofthe speech addressed to the
Apostle gives no hint of a crowd to be gathered, but recommends a
policy by which the Judaeo-Christians might learn gradually in their own
visits to the temple that the Apostle against whom they had heard
such reports was there himself taking part in the observance of the
Mosaic customs.
23. Do therefore... vow on them] They advise St Paul to take a
part in the ceremonies of a Nazarite vow. He could not go through
the whole course of the observance, for these men had already for some
time had the vow upon them, but it was permitted among the Jews for
anyone who wished, to join in the final purification ceremonies of this
vow ; and this was the more readily permitted, if the person wishing to
take a share, only in this concluding portion, bore the charges of the
person or persons to whom he joined himself. It is significant of the
intense clinging to the older ceremonial in the Jewish Church that
among the Christian congregation there were men found who had taken
this vow upon them. If the authorities knew of St Paul's previous
observance of a like vow (xviii. 18) they would have no scruple in
urging him to take part in a similar service again. For an account of
the Nazarite's vow, see Numbers vi. 1 — 21. It is not there specified
how long the observance of the vow lasted, and the time may have
varied in different cases, but the final ceremonies appear to have lasted
seven days.
24. them take, and purify thyself with them] i.e. make thyself one

294 THE ACTS, XXI. [v. 25.
charges with them, that they may shave their heads: and
all may know that those things, whereof they were informed
concerning thee, are nothing ; but that thou thyself also
25 walkest orderly, and keepest the law. As touching the
Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that
they observe no such thing, save only that they keep them-
of their company, and observe all the ordinances, with regard to purifi
cation and keeping from what is unclean, which they observe.
and be at charges with (better, for) them] Josephus (Antiq. xix. 6. 1)
tells how Agrippa took upon him the expenses of many Nazarites. Cp.
also Bell. Jud. II. 15. 1, from which passage it appears that the whole
time of the Nazarite's vow there mentioned was thirty days.
that they may shave their heads) Which was done at the conclusion of
the vow, and when the victims were offered, the hair was burnt in the
fire which was under the sacrifice of the peace-offering. The charges
which had to be borne by St Paul would be the cost of the victims and
other things connected with the sacrifice.
and all may know] The oldest texts read, "and all shall know."
that those things, whereof they were informed concerning thee, are
nothing] Rev. Ver. " that there is no truth in the things whereof they
have been informed concerning thee." The " are nothing " of the A. V.
is an attempt to keep closer to the Greek, and means "have no founda
tion in fact." Cp. xxv. ri.
but that. ..and keepest (Rev. Ver. keeping) the law] The participial
clause expresses the nature of the orderly walk. It was in the special
manner which the Jews so regarded.
25. As touching the Gentiles which believe] The clause should
commence with But, which is expressed in the Greek. The elders, while
urging on Paul the course they have described in consideration of
Jewish prejudices, are yet careful to distinguish from this the Uberty
of the Gentiles, and to confirm. that liberty, and shew to the Apostle
that they were of the same mind as when the council was held (Acts xv.),
they refer now to the decisions then arrived at.
we have written] Better (with the Rev. Ver. ), we wrote. This is
said in reference to the time when the decrees were first published (Acts
xv. 23). The verb used in that account for "write" (xv. 20) is the
same which the elders employ here, and it is not the usual one, shewing
that an exact reference is made to the proceedings of the former
synod. and concluded] Better (with Rev. Ver.), " giving judgment." This
word also refers back to xv. 19, where James then said, "My judg
ment is, &c." And although he is not specially named here as the
speaker, there must have been one who at this time also gave utterance
to the advice of the whole presbytery, and none was more likely to do so
than he.
that they observe no such thing, save only) The oldest texts omit all
these words, and they appear merely to be a marginal comment, echoing

v. 26.] THE ACTS, XXI. 295
selves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and
from strangled, and from fornication. Then Paul took the 26
in part, but with a negative, the language of xv. 5, 24. They do not
represent any part of the form given in that chapter of the letter of the
synod. that they keep themselves from things offered to idols. ..and from
strangled, Sec] The Rev. Ver. makes both the meaning and the
English clearer : " that they should keep themselves from things sacri
ficed to idols... and from what is strangled, Sec." On the prohibitions
and the reasons for them see notes on xv. 20.
26. Then Paul took the men] This consent of Paul to the advice
of James and the elders has been taken by some for a contradiction of
the words and character of the Apostle as represented in his own
writings. But he has testified of himself (1 Cor. ix. 19 — 23) that for
the Gospel's sake he was made all things to all men, unto the Jews
becoming as a Jew that he might gain the Jews, and for the same end,
to them that are without law, as himself without law. And these
brethren of the Church of Jerusalem to whom St Paul joined himself
were Christians, and therefore were not clinging to legal observances as
of merit towards salvation, but as ordinances which were of divine
origin, and which education had made them careful to observe. The
same spirit had actuated the Apostle to manifest by an outward act his
thankfulness for some deliverance when, on a former occasion, he took
this vow on himself without the suggestion of others (xviii. 18). In the
Christian services of the earliest days there was very little outlet for the
expression by action of any religious emotion, and we cannot wonder
that a people whose worship for a long time had been mainly in ex
ternal observance should cling still to such outward acts, though they
had grown to estimate them as of no saving virtue in themselves.
With reference to the supposed contradiction in the two pictures
of St Paul as given by St Luke and by himself, we need only
compare his language about Judaizers in the Epistle to the Galatians
with what he says of the preaching of the Gospel at Rome by similar
adversaries, when he was writing to the Philippians, to see that the
Apostle in what he said and did had ever an eye to the circumstances.
To the Galatians he speaks in the strongest terms against the Judaizers
because their influence was to draw away the Christians in Galatia from
the simple Gospel as offered by him in Christ's name to the Gentiles,
and to make them substitute for it the observance of the law of Moses
as a necessary door to Christianity. He has no words strong enough
to express his horror of such teachers in such a place. But the same
Paul at Rome, the condition of whose people may be learnt by a perusal
of the first chapter of his letter to that Church, says (Phil. i. 15 — 18),
"Some preach Christ even of envy and strife, supposing to add affliction
to my bonds. Notwithstanding every way, whether in pretence or in
truth, Christ is preached, and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice."
Assuredly there is as much of so-called contradiction between Paul as
described in different places by himself, as between his own description

296 THE ACTS, XXI. [v. 27.
men, and the next day purifying himself with them entered
into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days
of purification, until that an offering should be offered for
27 every one of them. And when the seven days were almost
ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in
and what St Luke has left us of his history. Contradiction it is not, but
only such concession as might be expected from one strong in the faith
as St Paul was when he was dealing, as he was called upon to deal,
with two classes of men who could never be brought to the same stand
point. To observe the ceremonial law was not needful for the Gentiles,
therefore the Apostle decried its observance and opposed those who would
have enforced it. The ceremonial law was abolished for the Jew also in
Christ, but it had a divine warrant for those who had been trained in it
from their youth up, therefore all that the Apostle here desired was
that their true value only should be set on externals. He felt that
time would develop Christian worship to fill the place which the Temple
Service for a long time must hold among the Christians of Jerusalem.
and the next day. ..temple] The regulation was that the Nazarite
should avoid all persons and things that would cause ceremonial defile
ment, and that this might be more thoroughly accomplished the closing
days of the vow appear, at this time, to have been passed within the
Temple precincts. This, of course, must have been a later arrangement
than any which is spoken of in the institution ofthe vow (Numb. vi.).
to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification] Rev. Ver.
"declaring the fulfilment, &c." The meaning is that St Paul gave
notice to the proper of the officials of the Temple that the completion of
the vow would be at a certain time. It would be needful for him to do
this, as otherwise they would have expected him to keep the full number
of days which others observed. After his explanation that he was only
a sharer for a time in the vow of his companions, it would be under
stood that his days of purification should terminate when theirs did.
until that an offering should be offered for every one of them) Rev. Ver.
"Until the offering was, &c. " The offering is better, for it means that
special one which was enjoined by the law. The words are a part not of
St Paul's notice to the priests, but of St Luke's history. The Apostle
did these things and continued as a Nazarite till the whole ceremonial
for all of them was ended.
27. And when the seven days were almost ended) Rev. Ver. " com
pleted." This seems to have been the period devoted to the more
secluded residence in the Temple.
the Jews which were of Asia] Lit. (with Rev. Ver.) " the Jews from
Asia.' So that it would seem that a portion of the visitors to Jerusa
lem had known the Apostle in his missionary labours, and may have
come after him, in their enmity, to damage his reputation, by calum
nious reports of his teaching, reports which had as much ground in
truth as the story about Trophimus from which the tumult arose at
this time in Jerusalem.

W. 28, 29.] THE ACTS, XXI. 297
the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him,
crying out, Men of Israel, help : This is the man, that 28
teacheth all men every where against the people, and the
law, and this place : and further brought Greeks also into
the temple, and hath polluted this holy place. (For they 29
had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian,
when... stirred up all the people, Sec] Rev. Ver. "multitude." These
Asian Jews were coming up to the Temple for their worship, and may
even have been of the company in the ship by which the Apostle and
his companions came from Patara. They certainly had known, or
found out, that Trophimus was an Ephesian and a Gentile. If they
had seen the Apostle in familiar converse with him, this would be
enough to rouse their indignation, especially as Paul and his companion
would be living together in the same house and at the same board (cp.
Acts xi. 3).
28. crying... help] The cry as if an outrage had been committed,
and they, the strangers visiting Jerusalem, were the persons who could
afford the best testimony to what had been done. For had they not seen
and heard Paul in Ephesus and elsewhere ?
This... people] They would intimate that he was bringing the whole
nation into contempt. The Jews no doubt were treated with contempt
among the Gentiles, and to hear that one of their own nation had
helped this on would rouse them as much as anything could.
and the law, and this place] How great a change has come over the
Apostle since the day when he joined with those who" charged Stephen
(ch. vi. 13), with speaking blasphemous words against this holy place
(the Temple) and the law. Now a like multitude brings similar charges
against him.
and further brought (Rev. Ver. "and moreover he brought") Greeks
also into the temple] There was in the Temple a "court of the Gentiles"
but the accusation against the Apostle was, that during his own sojourn
in the sacred precincts he had brought his companions into places
which were forbidden to them. How unscrupulous their charge was
is indicated by the plural "Greeks," whereas the only person to whom
such a term could be applied was Trophimus.
and hath polluted (Rev. Ver. " defiled ") this holy place] They them
selves as Jews were in the court allotted to their nation, and which was
deemed more sacred than that of the Gentiles. The Greek word is
literally "made common," and carries the thought back to St Peter's
vision, where the Gentiles were figured by the beasts which the Apostle
deemed "common or unclean" (Acts x. 14).
29. For they had, Sec] Hence we see that Trophimus had come
with the Apostle not only " as far as Asia " (see note on xx. 4), but
all the way to Jerusalem. His name bespeaks the man a Greek, and,
from the anger of these Asiatic Jews, he was doubtless a convert to
Christianity without having been a proselyte of Judaism. It is notice
able that so ready were these men to find a cause for attacking St Paul,
acts 2 1

298 THE ACTS, XXI. [w. 30—32.
whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)
3o And all the city was moved, and the people ran together :
and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple : and
31 forthwith the doors were shut. And as they went about to
kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band,
32 that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. Who immediately
that they began it on a mere thought, "They supposed Paul had brought
him into the temple."
30. And. ..ran together] This is a proof that what James and the
elders had stated was true, the whole Jewish community had been
" catechized" on the doings of St Paul among the Gentiles. The least
spark set the whole train on fire.
and they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple) This rendering
hardly does justice to the Greek. Read (with Rev. Ver.) " they laid hold
' on Paul and dragged him" Sec Their design was probably to get him out
of the Temple precincts before they proceeded to further violence. It
is clear that all the ceremonies of the Apostle's vow were not yet
accomplished, and had they not laid violent hands on him, he might
have fled to the altar for safety. That such a murder as they contem
plated was possible in Jerusalem at this period we have evidence in
the case of Stephen.
and forthwith the doors were shut] We need not suppose that any of
the Levites, the gatekeepers of the Temple, were of the same mind with
the rioters. Their action in closing the gates was only to prevent any
profanation of the building by the uproar which they saw to be begin
ning. 31. And as they went about (Rev. Ver. " were seeking ") to kill him]
The object of the mob was clearly, now that they had the Apostle in
their power, to beat him to death in the crowd, and thus avoid a charge
of murder against any individual.
tidings came unto (Better with Rev. Ver. up to) the chief captain of
the band] The chief military officer of the Romans in Jerusalem was
stationed in the tower of Antonia, which was situate on the N.W. of
the Temple on the hill Acra. It had been built by Herod and was
so close to the scene of the tumult that news would be brought at once.
The military officer (probably a tribune) is called in the Greek, chiliarch,
that is, officer over a thousand men. On the word "band" for a
Roman cohort, or troop of soldiers, cf. x. 1. The verb "came up to "
shews that the writer was familiar with the locality and had the whole
scene in his mind.
that all Jerusalem was in an uproar] Rev. Ver. " in confusion." At
the time of the feast religious party feeling would run very high, and
the multitudes of strangers visiting the city would think to shew their
zeal for the temple and the law by their eagerness to avenge any sup
posed profanation.
32. Who immediately took soldiers and centurions] Clearly he had
charge of a considerable troop, which perhaps might just then be aug-

vv. 33, 34.] THE ACTS, XXI. 299
took' soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them : and
when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left
beating of Paul. Then the chief captain came near, and 33
took him, and commanded him to be bound with two
chains ; and demanded who he was, and what he had done.
And some cried one thing, some another, among the 34
multitude : and when he could not know the certainty for
the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle.

mented in anticipation of any disturbance to which such a concourse, as
would come together for the feast, might give rise.
and ran down unto them] Rev. Ver. "upon them." The tower was
on the height above the temple, so that the verb is very correct.
and when they saw. ..left beating of Paul] The Rev. Ver. alters the
last four words into " left off beating Paul" which gives a rhythm not
so pleasant, and the older English was not misunderstood. The mob
probably knew that Roman law would do justice, and that if the
Apostle were found by the chief captain to have been wrongfully
treated they would be brought to an account.
33. Then. ..took him] The last verb implies a formal arrest, there
fore the Rev. Ver. rightly gives " laid hold on him" The chief captain
did not come with a view to relieve St Paul, but to find out what was
the matter, and seeing the Apostle in the hands of the mob, himself
arrested him, that he might not be killed without a hearing.
and. ..two chains) (Cp. xii. 6.) Evidently, as appears from his lan
guage afterwards, regarding him as some desperate criminal. The
chief captain would have thought little of any question about Jewish
law (see xxiii. 29).
and demanded... done] The English word demand had in early times
the sense of "ask," "inquire." Cp. Cymbeline, in. 6. 92, "We'll
mannerly demand thee of thy story." But it has in modern times only
the stronger meaning of imperative questioning. Therefore Rev. Ver.
"and Inquired." The inquiry was made of the crowd, not of the
Apostle. 34. And some cried [R. V. shouted]  another] The verb is the
same which St Luke uses for the din of the multitude which shouted
against Jesus (Luke xxiii. 21), "Crucify him;" also for the adulatory
shouting in honour of Herod Agrippa (Acts xii. 22). No other New
Testament writer uses the word. The chief captain appears to have
made an effort to learn what was laid to the charge of the Apostle.
and when  tumult [R. V. uproar]. Perhaps as at Ephesus (xix.
32) a large part of the shouters hardly knew themselves for what the
clamour was raised.
he. ..to be carried [R. V. brought] into the castle] The Greek word
signifies " an encampment," but was employed to designate the barracks
wliich the Romans had in the Tower of Antonia. The same word is
rendered "army" in Heb. xi. 34.

300 THE ACTS, XXI. [vv. 35—38.
35 And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was
36 borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people. For
the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away
with him. 37 — 40. Paul asks leave to address the Crowd.
37 And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto
the chief captain, May I speak unto thee ? Who said, Canst
38 thou speak Greek ? Art not thou that Egyptian, which be-
35. And. ..stairs] This was the flight of steps leading from the
Temple area up to the Tower where the soldiers were stationed. The
stairs were not covered in, for St Paul is able to address the multitude
while standing on them (verse 40).
so it was. . for the violence of the people [R. V. crowd]. The crowd
pressed on St Paul with all the more fury because they saw that he
was now to be taken out of their hands. Hence it came to pass, that
some of the soldiers were obliged, in order to keep him safe, to lift
him from his feet and carry him up till he was out of reach, their
comrades meanwhile keeping back the people from the foot of the
stairs. 36. For. ..Away with him] The same cry which (Luke xxiii. 18)
was used by the Jews before Pilate in reference to Jesus.
37 — 40. Paul asks leave to address the Crowd.
37. And as Paul was to be led into the castle] More clearly (with
Rev. Ver.) " was about to be brought, Sec" This must have been when
Paul with the soldiers had reached some place where he could be
allowed to stand.
he said [Gk. saith]. ..May I speak unto thee?) Literally, (with Rev.
Ver.), " May I say something unto thee?"
Who said, Canst thou speak Greek?) More closely, as Rev. Ver. "And
he said, Dost thou know Greek ?" The chief captain had evidently come
down with a preconceived notion who the offender was about whom
the disturbance had arisen. And from some source or other he appears
to have known that the Egyptian, whom he supposed St Paul to be,
could not speak Greek.
38. Art not thou that Egyptian] Better (as Rev. Ver.), "Art thou
not then the Egyptian?" Thus we see more clearly the reason of the
previous question which the chief captain had asked. The Egyptian to
whom allusion is here made was a sufficiently formidable character, if we
only reckon his followers at four thousand desperadoes. Josephus (Ant.
xx. 8. 6 ; Bell. J. n. 13. 5) tells how he was one of many impostors of
the time, and when Felix was governor came to Jerusalem, gave him
self out as a prophet, gathered the people to the Mount of Olives in
number about 30,000, telling them that at his word the walls of Jerusa
lem would fall down, and they could then march into the city. Felix

w. 39,40-] THE ACTS, XXI. 301
fore these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the
wilderness four thousand men that were murderers ? But 39
Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in
Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee,
suffer me to speak unto the people. And when he had 40
with the Roman soldiers went out against him. The impostor and a
part of his adherents fled, but a very large number were killed and others
taken prisoners. The narrative of Josephus does not accord with the
account of St Luke, but if the former be correct, we may well suppose
that the numbers and the occasion spoken of by the chief captain relate
to an event anterior to that great gathering on the Mount of Olives.
The fame of the impostor may have grown ; indeed, must have done so
before he could collect the number of adherents of which Josephus
speaks. which before these days madest an uproar] The verb, which is found
besides in Acts xvii. 6; Gal. v. 12, is active and requires an object.
Read " stirred up to sedition " (as Rev. Ver.), and make this verb, like
the one which follows, relate to the incitement of the four thousand.
and... murderers] Read (with R. V.) "and led out into the wilderness
ihe four thousand men of the assassins." The Gk. name is Sicarii
(i.e. men armed with a dagger), and Josephus (B. J. 11. 13. 3), in an
account of the lawless bands which infested Judaea in these times, says
(after relating how a notorious robber named Eleazar had been taken
with his followers and sent in chains to Rome), "But when the country
was thus cleared there sprang up another kind of plunderers in Jeru
salem called Sicarii. They kill men by daylight in the midst of the
city. Particularly at the feasts they mix with the crowd, carrying small
daggers hid under their clothes. With these they wound their adver
saries, and when they have fallen the murderers mix with the crowd and
join in the outcry against the crime. Thus they passed unsuspected^ for a
long time. One of their earliest victims was Jonathan the high priest."
39. But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus) The
A.V. does not often follow the Greek so closely as this. And here it is
better to read with the Rev. Ver., "I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia"
(see vi. 9, notes).
a citizen of no mean city] Tarsus was the metropolis of Cilicia, and
a city remarkable for its culture, and the zeal of its inhabitants for
philosophic studies.
and.. .people] An objection has been here raised that it is extremely
improbable that the chief captain could have held this conversation with
St Paul amid the tumult, and also that he would have granted permission
to speak to a man whom he had just taken as his prisoner, and whom he
afterwards arranges to examine by scourging (xxii. 24). But we have only
to remember that the Apostle and his interlocutor were high up above
the crowd, and so away from the noise ; that the staircase crowded with
soldiers, who could not rapidly be withdrawn because they were re
straining the multitude, made some delay absolutely unavoidable, and

302 THE ACTS, XXI. XXII. [w. i, 2.
given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned
with the hand unto the people. And when there was made
a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue,
saying, 1 — 21. St Paul's Defence.
22 Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I
2 make now unto you. (And when they heard that he spake
in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence :
that, added to this was the surprise of the chief captain that his prisoner
could speak Greek, and we have enough warrant for accepting the story as
it is here told. Moreover the Greek which the Apostle used was of a very
polished character, shewing the education and refinement of the speaker,
and making good his claim to respect.
40. And when he had given him licence [leave, R. V.]. And as the
same verb occurs in the previous verse, the Rev. Ver. has there "give me
leave to speak, &c. " It is fitting that in such passages the renderings
should be uniform.
Paul... people) Apparently the chief captain had also been so far im
pressed by the conversation of his prisoner, that he allowed at least one
of his hands to be released from its chain while he spake to the multi
tude, and this he waved to ask for silence.
And. ..great silence] The unusual circumstance, and the gesture which
could be seen through the whole crowd, would gain an audience very
readily. Beside which an Oriental mob is less persistent than those of
the western world.
he spake. ..in the Hebrew tongue [language, R. V.) This alone, as soon
as it was heard, would gain the speaker an audience with many. It was
their own speech. For by "Hebrew" here is meant the Aramaic
dialect of Palestine. XXII. i-r-21. St Paul's Defence.
1. Men, brethren, and fathers] The Greek is amply rendered (with
Rev. Ver.) by "Brethren and fathers." See note on i. 16.
hear ye my defence which I make now unto you) The Rev. Ver. sub
stitutes the for my and puts now before make. There seems nothing
gained by either change, the former of which leaves a pronoun which is
in the original without anything to represent it. The A. V. does repre
sent it, though not exactly after the manner of the Greek construction.
2. And. ..Hebrew tongue] The beckoning with the hand (xxi. 40)
had procured silence enough for the Apostle's first words to be heard,
and now they caught the sound of their own dialect.
they kept the more silence] The noun in the original refers not only
to peace from cries and shouts, but to general quietness, such as would
be produced by refraining from all movements. It expresses a very
high degree of quietness. Rev. Ver. has "they were the more quiet."

w. 3,4.] THE ACTS, XXII. 303
and he saith,) I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in 3
Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the
feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner
of the law of the fathers, and was zealous towards God, as
ye all are this day. And I persecuted this way unto the 4
death, biriding and delivering into prisons both men and
3. / am verily a man which am a Jew] The word rendered verily
is omitted in the oldest MSS. The Rev. Ver. has "Lam a Jew," and
this renders the original fully enough. Cp. note on verse 1 above.
These first words of the Apostle would correct many wrong impressions
among the crowd, for we may be sure that many, beside the Chief Cap
tain, had the notion that St Paul was one of those foreign desperadoes
with which Judaea abounded at this time,
born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia) Better, "born in Tarsus of Cilicia"
with the Rev. Ver. On Tarsus see note on vi. 9.
brought up in this city] St Paul means not that from his infancy he
had lived in Jerusalem, but that, when he had reached an age fitted for
it, he was sent from home to be educated under Gamaliel. The verb
is used in this sense in classical Greek. On Gamaliel, see note on
'¦ 34-
at the feet] (Cp. Luke x. 39.) The most usual position of teacher
and pupils at the time of St Paul was that both should sit, the former
on a higher level than the latter. For the evidence on this matter
from the Talmud, see Taylor, Pirke Aboth, pp. 28, 29.
and taught [instructed] according to the perfect [strict] manner ofthe
law ofthe [our] fathers, and was [being] zealous, Sec] For an account
by the Apostle himself of his Jewish birth, education, and character,
cf. Phil. iii. 5, 6. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, and his language
shews how learned he was in all that concerned his own people. He
makes frequent allusions to Jewish customs, laws, and festivals, and
reckons his time by the Jewish calendar. He was also a Pharisee, and
none of his contemporaries surpassed him while but few equalled him
in strictness of legal observance.
as ye all are] The Apostle wishes to put himself in an acceptable
light before them, and for that reason explains that he was, like them
selves, a zealous observer of the law.
4. And I persecuted this way, Sec] On " the Way" as the designa
tion ofthe Christian religion, cp. note on ix. 2. We are not told of any
Christians who were put to death through Saul's zealous persecution,
for in the case of Stephen he was not a very active agent, but his own
statement in this verse, and the stronger expression xxvi. io, " when
they were put to death I gave my voice against them, " make it certain
that the persecutions in which he took part were carried beyond im
prisonment even to the martyrdom of the accused.
into prisons] The original has the plural " prisons," and it is pro
bably intended to express by it, what in chap. xxvi. is given in more
detail, the wide field over which Saul's zeal was exerted, "being ex-

304 THE ACTS, XXII. . [w. 5—7.
5 women. As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and
all the estate of the elders : from whom also I received letters
unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them
which were there, bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
6 And it came to pass that, as I made my journey, and was
come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone
7 from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto
the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul,
ceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange
cities." 5. the high priest doth bear me witness] The Apostle refers not to
the high priest at the time when he was speaking, but to him who had
held that office when (ix. 1) in his earnestness against the Christians he
had desired a commission from the authorities to carry his persecuting
measures as far as Damascus. Josephus (Ant. xviii. 5, 3) tells us that
in a.d. 37 Theophilus, son of Ananus, was made high priest in the
place of his brother Jonathan. The high priest to whom St Paul
here alludes was one of these two brothers, for Theophilus held office
till he was removed by Agrippa and his place occupied by Simon,
called Kantheras (see Jos. Ant. xix. 6, 2, and cp. Farrar's St Paul, 1.
178). Ananias was high priest at the time of St Paul's arrest. See
xxiii. 2.
and all the estate of the elders] Though it was now more than twenty
years since St Paul's conversion, yet it was not improbable that some
members of the Sanhedrin which granted him his commission were
still alive, and the records of the transaction were doubtless preserved
and could be appealed to.
letters unto the brethren) i.e. to the Jewish authorities in Damascus.
The Jews spake of all their race as brethren from early times (cp. Deut.
xviii. 15).
to bring them which were there, bound unto Jerusalem] The English
of the A. V. is not free from ambiguity. The Greek is plain, and the
Rev. Ver. gives the sense clearly "to bring them also which were there
unto Jerusalem in bonds."
6. about noon] The time of the day at which the vision occurred
is not noticed in chap, ix., but in chap. xxvi. the Apostle also mentions
that it was "at mid-day," at which time the heavenly brightness must
have been very overpowering to shine above the glare of an Eastern
sun. 7. and heard a voice) As in chap. ix. 4 and 7, so here, and below
in verse 9, the case ofthe noun is varied, so as to mark that the hearing
in St Paul's case was different from the hearing of his companions.
The verb can be connected with either a genitive or accusative case.
In both the narratives a variation is made, and it was not without its
significance (see notes on chap. ix.). St Paul heard intelligible words,
the others heard a sound, but it was not speech to them. Cp. the.
narrative in Daniel x. 6 — 9.

vv. 8— 12.] THE ACTS, XXII. 305
why perseeutest thou me ? And I answered, Who art thou, &
Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth,
whom thou perseeutest. And they that were with me saw 9
indeed the light, and were afraid ; but they heard not the
voice of him that spake to me. And I said, What shall 1 10
do, Lord ? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into
Damascus ; and there it shall be told thee of all things
which are appointed for thee to do. And when I could not u
see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them
that were with me, I came into Damascus. And one Ana- 12
nias, a devout man according to the law, having a good
8. of Nazareth] This is found only here in chap, xxii., the other
two accounts omitting the words, though in some MSS., to make one
story exactly like the other, they are inserted in ix. p. Such assimila
tion of verses to each other is not uncommon in the Acts.
9. and were afraid] These words are omitted in the oldest MSS.
and have been left out in the Rev. Ver. But they are not like any
thing in the other two accounts, the one of which (ix. 7) describes
Saul's companions as being "speechless," the other (xxvi. 14) as "all
falling to the ground." Therefore it seems best to retain them, as not
being due to any annotation, or to the assimilation of one form of the
story to another. The last three letters of this phrase are the same
as those of the phrase preceding it, and the eye of a scribe in early
times may have passed from one to the other, and thus words belonging
to the earliest form of the narrative may have been omitted.
heard not the voice] i.e. the words which were spoken to Saul.
They were only conscious of a sound around them. See above on
verse 7.
10. which are appointed for thee to do] God explained this to
Ananias (see ix. 15), how Saul was n chosen vessel to bear His name
before Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel ; and still more
about his labours was to be revealed to the new Apostle himself.
According to xxvi. 16 — 18 the character of the work to which he was
called was from the first indicated to Saul ; though as no mention is
made of Ananias in that passage, it may well be that the Apostle there
brings into one statement both the words he heard on the way, and
those which were afterwards spoken to him by Ananias.
11. could not see for the glory of that light) This explanation of the
reason of the Apostle's blindness is only given in this place.
12. Ananias, a devout man according to the law, Sec] The Apostle
neglects nothing in his address which can conciliate his audience, and so
he tells them that the messenger whom God sent to him was "well
reported of by all the Jews that dwelt in Damascus." (For Ananias see
note on ix. 10.) The hostility towards Christians, which was so strong
in Jerusalem, had not at the time of St Paul's conversion manifested itself

306 THE ACTS, XXII. [vv. 13—16.
13 report of all the Jews which dwelt there, came unto me, and
stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight.
.4 And the same hour I looked up upon him. And he said,
The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest
know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the
¦5 voice of his mouth. For thou shalt be his witness unto all
16 men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why
so greatly in Damascus, since Ananias "a disciple" was still in good
repute with the Jews there.
13. and stood ] The fuller force of the compound verb is given by
the Rev. Ver. " and standing by me."
receive thy sight... I looked up, Sec] The verb is the same in both
places, and this the Rev. Ver. has noted in the margin. But the word
is used in both senses elsewhere in N. T. , as of Jesus (Luke xix. 5) look
ing up and seeing Zacchjeus in the sycomore tree, and (John ix. 11) of
the blind man who received his sight.
And the same hour] Rev. Ver. with strict grammatical warrant, "and
in that very hour"
14. The God of our fathers, Sec] Ananias spake naturally as one
Jew to another. At the commencement of the Christian Church there
was no thought of a rupture with Judaism, and nothing is more to be
noticed in the Acts than the gradual advance made by the Apostles and
their companions in apprehending what the result of their mission
would be.
hath chosen thee] The verb, which is found only in the Acts in the
N. T., has the sense of committing a work into anyone's hands. So
Rev. Ver. "appointed."
that thou shouldest know his will) For this reason it is that St
Paul so often in the commencement of his Epistles speaks of himself as
an Apostle according to the will of God. 1 Cor. i. 1 ; 2 Cor. i. 1 ;
Eph. i. 1 ; Col. i. 1, &c. The whole passage Eph. i. 1 — 11 is a
comment on this clause.
and see that Just One] Rev. Ver. " see the righteous One," i.e. Jesus,
called "the Holy One and the Just" (Acts iii. 14) and " the Just One"
(vii. 52), in both which places the R. V. reads " Righteous," thus connect
ing all the passages with 1 John ii. i, "We have an Advocate with the
Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. "
and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth) Rev. Ver. " a voice from,
Sec." In this way Paul was taught of Jesus as the other Apostles,
15. For thou shalt be his witness, Sec] Thus the commission of the
later-called Apostle was in the same terms as those in which Christ had
spoken (Acts i. 8) to the eleven before his Ascension.
unto all men] Paul does not utter the word " Gentiles " until he
is forced to do so.
of what thou hast seen and heard] For by revelation the Apostle was
made aware of the whole scope of Christian truth, and of those doctrines
which Christ in His life on earth had communicated to the Twelve.

w. 17, 18.] THE ACTS, XXII. 307
tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy
sins, calling on the name of the Lord. And it came to pass 17
that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I
prayed in the temple, I was in a trance, and saw him say- "8
16. why tarriest thou?) According to the narrative in ix. 15 the
message of Ananias had already proclaimed the gift of the Holy Ghost
to Saul, and the favour of God had been shewn in the recovery of his
sight. So the question of Ananias becomes parallel to that of St Peter
in the house of Cornelius : "Can any man forbid water that these should
not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we?"
arise, and be baptized] Though the gift of the Spirit was announced,
yet God directs that the means of grace, the sacrament of baptism,
which the Apostle must offer to others, should also be received by
himself. and wash away thy sins] The close connexion of the sacramental
sign with renewing grace is spoken of in like terms by the Apostle in
his Epistle to Titus (iii. 5) " according to His mercy He saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. "
calling on the name ofthe Lord] The oldest authorities give ' ' calling
on His name," which refers back to " the Just One." Probably the
Textus Receptus is due to a, desire to make the phrase accordant with
ii. 21.
17. when I was come again to Jerusalem] Rev. Ver. " had returned." '
This refers to that visit of the Apostle recorded in Acts ix. 26 seqq. We
learn from Gal. i. 18 that three years had elapsed between the conversion
of Saul and this visit to Jerusalem, which period is supposed, to have
been consumed in Arabia (cp. Gal. i. 17). The preaching of Saul at
Jerusalem we are told in the Acts roused the anger of the Greek-speak
ing Jews, and that in consequence of their attempts against Saul the
Christian congregation sent him away first to Caesarea and then to
Tarsus. even while I prayed in the temple] It is worthy of note how often
in this address St Paul incidentally expresses himself in such wise as to
conciliate the crowd. His visit to the temple for the purpose of prayer
was at once a proof that he was not likely to despise Jewish ordinances
and religious observances.
/ was in a trance] Better (with Rev. Ver.), " I fell into a trance."
This was the occasion of one of those ' ' visions and revelations of the
Lord" of which St Paul speaks to the Corinthians (2 Cor. xii. 1) and
with which, from his conversion onwards, he was many times instructed
and comforted.
18. and saw him saying unto me] In Acts ix. 29—30 no mention
is made that a vision had appeared to Saul commanding him to depart
from Jerusalem. It is only said that "the disciples" sent him away.
But these two statements are not inconsistent with each other. Saul
might be warned to go, and the disciples at the same time prompted to
send him. In the same way two different causes, one natural, the other

308 THE ACTS, XXII. [w. 19—21.
ing unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusa
lem : for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.
19 And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in
20 every synagogue them that believed on thee : and when the
blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing
by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of
21 them that slew him. And he said unto me, Depart : for I
will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
supernatural, are mentioned Acts xiii. 2 — 4, viz. the prompting of the
Holy Spirit, and the act of the Church of Antioch. And still more like
is the statement of St Paul (Gal. ii. 2), that he went up to Jerusalem
"by revelation," when it is placed side by side with Acts xv. 2 where
we are told that the Christians of Antioch determined that Paul and
Barnabas should go up to consult the church in Jerusalem.
get thee quickly out of Jerusalem] We know from Gal. i. 18 that the
duration of the Apostle's stay was but fifteen days.
receive thy testimotiy concerning me] Better (with Rev. Ver.), " receive
of thee testimony, &c." The Apostle, as is clear from what follows in
the next verse, considered that he would be specially a messenger likely
to persuade and convince men of the truths of the Christian faith.
God, in the vision, points out that this will not be so.
19. Lord, they know, Sec] The Rev. Ver. gives "they themselves
know" to mark that the pronoun is emphatic. This is not English, but
there seems to be no other way of indicating in our language the
emphasis which is expressed in the original. Saul is confident that he
will be well known by many to whom he is speaking, and that his
zealous persecution of the Christians less than four years before cannot
have fallen out of men's memories.
/ imprisoned and beat] The Greek implies that this conduct was of
some continuance. Saul was regularly engaged in the work.
in every synagogue] For the synagogues as places where such punish
ment was inflicted cp. Matth. x. 17, xxiii. 34, Mark xiii. 9, Luke xxi. 12.
That they were also places in which charges were heard is seen from
Luke xii. 1 1 .
20. thy martyr Stephen) Better, " Stephen, thy witness." The
Greek word had not yet come to be applied as it afterwards was to
those Christians who bore witness to the truth by their death.
and consenting unto his death) The oldest authorities omit the last
three words, which are added to bring the phrase into exact accord with
viii. 1.
kept the raiment] cp. vii. 58.
21. I will send thee far hence, Sec] Rev. Ver. "-will send thee forth
far hence, &c." We need not understand the command as implying
that the Apostle's missionary labours were to begin from that moment,
but that God's work for him was now appointed, and would begin in
His own time, but would be not among Jews or Greeks at Jerusalem,
but among the Gentiles in distant places.

w. 22— 24.] THE ACTS, XXII. 309
22 — 29. Fury of the fews. The Chief .Captain orders Paul
to be scourged, but on hearing that he is a Roman, recalls
the order in alarm.
And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lift 22
up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the
earth : for it is not fit that he should live. And as they 23
cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the
air, the chief captain commanded him to be brought into 24
unto the Gentiles] St Paul had kept back the word which he was
sure would rouse their anger as long as ever he could, and we may well
suppose from the conciliatory tone of much of his speech that the atten
tion of the crowd had been enlisted, for the speaker was a man of culture
and spake their own tongue. But when the Gentiles are spoken of as
recipients of God's message they break forth into all the excitement of
an Oriental mob.
22—29. Fury of the Jews. The Chief Captain orders Paul
to be scourged, but on hearing that he is a roman,
recalls the order in alarm.
22. unto this word] It is probable that, though listening, they were
not well-pleased at some things which they heard. Their pent-up feel
ings broke into instant execration at the hated word.
and then lift up] The Rev. Ver. omits " then" for which there is no
word in the original, but it is needed for the English sense, and would
be therefore better retained.
for it is not fit] The best authorities read " It was not fit." And
this no doubt expresses the feeling of the mob. They had listened for
a time, but when the speaker made mention of " the Gentiles " they were
at once clear that he ought long ago to have been destroyed. He had
been all along a man who was not fit to live.
23. cast iff their clothes] i. e. the loose upper robe, which could
easily be laid aside, and which in such an excitement would interfere
with their movements. Compare the conduct of the crowd when our
Lord rode into Jerusalem, and also the behaviour of Jehu's friends,
2 Kings ix. 13.
and threw dust into the air] Compare the action of Shimei, 2 Sam.
xvi. 13, where the marginal rendering shews that the dust was thrown
at David. Perhaps it may have been meant in the present case to be
thrown at St Paul, who was above the crowd, at the top of the stairs.
The attempt to reach him with what they threw was futile, but it shewed
what they would fain have done. For a like action as a sign of grief
cp. Job id. 12.
24. the chief captain, &c] Probably the chief captain knew nothing
of what St Paul had been saying, and would be surprised at the out
break of rage on the part of the people, and conclude from it that there

310 THE ACTS, XXII. [vv. 25—28.
the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourg
ing; that he might know wherefore they cried so against
25 him. And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto
the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a
26 man that is a Roman, and uncondemned ? When the cen
turion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying,
Take heed what thou doest : for this man is a Roman.
27 Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me,
28 art thou a Roman ? He said, Yea. And the chief captain
answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And
was some serious charge laid against him which he might best ascertain
by subjecting his prisoner to torture till he should confess.
wherefore they cried so against him] The Rev. Ver. has ' ' for what
cause they so shouted against him," and the verb is rendered "gave a
shout" (Acts xii. 22), but there it is the voice of the applauding crowd
that is spoken of. In this verse and Luke xxiii. 21 (the only other
passage in which the word is found in N. T.) "cry" seems to express
tetter in English the utterance of an infuriated mob. It is true that a
different verb is rendered by " cry" in verse 23, but that proves that the
Greeks had two verbs which they could use for the noise of a mob,
while in English we appear not to be so rich. In the A. V. "shout"
seems always used of triumph and exultation.
26. And as they bound him with thongs] Rev. Ver. "And when they
had tied him up with the thongs." This gives more of the force of the
verb in the Greek which implies the stretching of the prisoner forward,
so that he may be in a position to receive the blows. Some have trans
lated "for the thongs,' but the word rendered "thongs "is one which is
always used for straps employed for straining or binding tight, and
rarely, if ever, for the implement by which the chastisement is in
flicted. the centurion that stood by] He was superintending the work of
fastening the prisoner to the whipping-post, which was done by the
common soldiers.
a man that is a Roman] It wa> an offence punishable with the
severest penalties for a man to claim to be a Roman citizen, if he were
not qne. The peril of such an assertion, if it were not true, convinces
the centurion at once, and though we are not told so expressly we may
feel sure that the operation of " tying up" was stopped.
26. Take heed what thou doest] The oldest texts omit the word for
"take heed" and so make the remainder to be a blunt question
" What art thou about to do?" And thus Rev. Ver. It was forbidden,
under heavy penalty, by the Lex Portia, to scourge a Roman citizen
(Liv. a. 9).
28. obtained I this freedom) Better " this citizenship" (Rev. Ver.).
Probably at the time when the A. V. was made "freedom" conveyed
somewhat of this sense as we speak still of bestowing on any one the

w. 29, 30-] THE ACTS, XXII. 311
Paul said, But I was free bora Then straightway they de- 29
parted from him which should have examined him : and the
chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a
Roman, and because he had bound him.
30. The Chief Captain brings Paul before the Sanhedrin.
On the morrow, because he would have known the cer- 30
tainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him
from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all
"freedom " of a city, meaning thereby all the rights of a citizen. It was
the Roman boast "lama Roman citizen" (Cic. in Verr. \. 63). The
sale of the freedom of Rome was at times the perquisite of some of the
Imperial parasites and favourites, who made what they could of such a
privilege. / was free born] Rev. Ver. " I am a Roman born." How St Paul
came to be a Roman citizen by birth we cannot tell, probably some
ancestor for meritorious conduct had been rewarded with enfranchise
ment. Tarsus was a free city, and had its own laws and magistrates,
but that did not constitute its inhabitants Roman citizens.
29. which should have examined him] This is old English for ' ' which
were about to examine him" which the Rev. Ver. gives. The verb is
euphemistically employed for the scourging which it was proposed to
administer to obtain information from St Paul.
because he had bound him] i.e. bound him for the purpose of scourging.
To be bound with a chain as a prisoner was not prohibited in the case
of Romans. Hence we find St Paul speaking often in the Epistles,
written during his imprisonment at Rome, of the bonds and the "chain"
with which he was afflicted. Cp. Phil. i. 7, 13, 14, 16; Col. iv. 18;
Philem. 10, 13. Also Acts xxviii. 20, while the next verse in this
chapter shews that though the Apostle was unloosed from the whipping
post, he was still kept in bands.
30. The Chief Captain brings Paul before the Sanhedrin.
30. because he would have known) Literally and better (with Rev.
Ver.) " desiring to know." The Chief Captain was anxious as a Roman
officer, that justice should be done, and this could only be by having
both sides before some authoritative council.
he loosed him from his bands] The oldest MSS. do not contain the
last three words, but they are to be understood, whether expressed or
not. and commanded the chief priests] He had discovered thus much that
the offence charged against his prisoner was concerning the religion of
the Jews. He therefore summons the chief religious authorities as those
who were best able to decide whether any wrong had been done.
and all their council) The oldest text omits " their." The council
intended was the whole Jewish Sanhedrin.

312 THE ACTS, XXIII. [w. 1, 2.
their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him
before them.
1 — 10. St Paul before the Sanhedrin. Disagreement between
the Pharisees and Sadducees.
23 And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men
and brethren, I. have lived in all good conscience before
2 God until this day. And the high priest Ananias com-
to appear] i. e. to be assembled in some place to which he might bring
Paul, and have the case fairly discussed. The place where the San
hedrin met for their own consultations was called Lishkath-Haggazith
and was a hall built of cut stone so situate that one half was built on
holy, the other half on the profane ground, and it had two doors, one to
admit to each separate section. T. B. Joma 25°. But whether this
was the place of meeting at this time we have no means of deciding.
brought Paul down] The castle was situate on the highest part above
the temple, so that wherever he had to go, the Chief Captain must come
down. set him before them] He appears to have left him there (see xxiii. 10)
and to have given him over to them for examination, though still taking
care that he should not be the victim of mob-law.
XXIII. 1 — 10. St Paul before the Sanhedrin. Disagreement
BETWEEN THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES.
1. And Paul, earnestly beholding'the council) The verb is one which
St Luke very frequently employs to note a speaker's expression at the
commencement of a speech, and it is one of those features in the Acts
which shew us where the compiler has acted as editor to the narratives
which he used. He very generally gives some word to indicate the
gesture or look ofthe person who speaks. This verb is often rendered in
A.V. "looking stedfastly" and that rendering the Rev. Ver. gives here.
Men and brethren] Better, " Brethren." See note on i. 16.
I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day) The
pronoun " I " is emphatically inserted in the Original. It is as though
the Apostle would say, 'You see me before you as though I were an
offender, but personally I feel myself innocent.' The verb is one
which in profane authors signifies 'to discharge the duties of a citizen.' .
St Paul implies by its use that he has been obedient to God's laws, .
as a good citizen would be to the laws of his country. So far as being
devoted to God's service, his whole life up to the present moment had
been of one piece, it was only that his conscience had been enlightened,
and so his behaviour had changed. He had at first lived as a con
scientious and observant Jew, his conscience now approved his conduct
as a Christian.
2. And the high priest Ananias] This was Ananias the son of
Nebedaeus. (Joseph. Ant. xx. 5, 2.) In the time of the Emperoi

vv. 3— 5-J THE ACTS, XXIII. 313
manded them that stood by him to smite him on the
mouth. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, 3
thou whited wall : for sittest thou to judge me after the law,
and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?
And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest? 4
Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high s
Claudius he had been suspended from his office for some offence and
sent to Rome (Ant. xx. 6. 2) but afterwards seems to have been held
in great reputation in Jerusalem (Ant. xx. 9. 2).
to smite him on the mouth] No doubt St Paul's address, before the
high priest gave this order, had extended much beyond the single
sentence which St Luke records, and he only preserves for us that
which appears to have moved the anger of the authorities, by his claim
to have led a life of which in God's sight he was not ashamed. The
action was intended to put a stop to what would be counted the pre
sumptuous language of St Paul.
3. God shall smite thee, thou whited wall) Here we may see how
very far even the excellence of St Paul comes short of the behaviour
of the Divine Master, who when he suffered threatened not, and when
reviled, reviled not again. We need not however consider that St Paul's
language here was a wish for evil upon the high priest, but only an
expression of confidence in God that such conduct as that of Ananias
would not be allowed to go unpunished. We know from Josephus
(Wars, Ii. 17. 9) that Ananias did come to a violent end. St Paul
calls him "whited wall" because he bore the semblance of a minister
of justice, but was not what he seemed. Cp. "whited sepulchres"
(Matth. xxiii. 27).
for sittest thou, Sec] The original has merely the copulative con
junction, which the Rev. Ver. consequently represents by " and sittest
thou, Sec." The translation misses the force of the Greek, which has
the pronoun emphatically expressed. The connexion seems to be this.
The Apostle had just named the high priest "a whited wall;" he then
continues "and dost thou (such an one) sit, &c." »
after the law] i. e. according to the law (as Rev. Ver.). Cp. Pr. Bk.
"Deal not with us after our sins."
contrary to the law] For St Paul had not yet been heard. Cp.
John vii. 51.
• 4. Gods high priest) So styled because he sat on the judgment-
seat as God's representative, cp. Deut. xvii. 8 — 13. In the Old Test.
the priestly, and even other, judges are sometimes called by God's own
name "Elohim." (See Exod. xxi. 6, xxii. 8, 9 and cp. Ps. lxxxii. 1.)
6. / wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest] Several ex
planations have been given of this statement of St Paul. Some think
that it may have been true that St Paul from defect of sight, with
which he is supposed to have been afflicted, could not distinguish that
the speaker was the high priest ; others that the high priest was not
in his official position as president of the court ; or that owing to the

314 THE ACTS, XXIII. [v. .6.
priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of
6 the ruler of thy people. But when Paul perceived that
the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he
cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee,
the son of a Pharisee : of the hope and resurrection of the
troublous times, and St Paul's recent arrival in Jerusalem, he was not
aware who was high priest ; or that he was speaking in irony, and
meant to imply that the action of the judge was of such a character
that none would have supposed him to be high priest ; or that he
meant by "I wist not " that for the moment he was not thinking of
what he was saying. It is most consonant with St Paul's character
to believe that either his own physical deficiency, or some lack of the
usual formalities or insignia, made him unable to distinguish that he
who had given the order was really the high priest.
for it is written] The quotation is from Exod. xxii. 28 and is
another illustration of what was said above on verse 4. The whole
sentence ofthe O.T. is "Thou shalt not revile the gods, nor curse
the ruler of thy people " and the marginal note on " gods " is " Or,
judges" which margin should be in the text. The Rev. Ver. in this
verse omits "the" before "high priest" and renders "o ruler" instead
of "the ruler."
6. But when Paul perceived, &c] We are not told in what way the
knowledge which the Apostle here acted on was gained. Perhaps the
Pharisees, as in the parable of the Pharisee and publican, kept them
selves apart ; or to a Jewish eye some mark of their dress may have
been enough to bespeak a difference of party. St Paul used this party
spirit in a perfectly legitimate manner. What he did was not done
merely to set them by the ears, but to secure an opportunity for
speaking on that central doctrine of Christianity, the resurrection of
the dead. (Cp. xxiv. 21.)
Men and brethren] Better " Brethren.'' See note on i. 16.
the son of a Pharisee] The best MSS. give a son of Pharisees.
This reading has the advantage of removing St Paul's language beyond
the questioning which has sometimes been raised about it. " I am a
Pharisee," he says. And the question has been raised, whether he had
a right, to describe himself thus. When he continues " a son of Pharisees"
we see that he is stating that by descent and birth his family had for
generations been members of that party. Having said this, he then
propounds that doctrine which, of all their teaching, was that which
severed them from the Sadducees. That this point also was the central
doctrine of Christianity makes St Paul's address not disingenuous, but
an appeal to those who agreed with him thus far in his belief, to hear
what he had further to say which might meet with their acceptance.
And it is not as if the Apostle had raised the question in their midst
on some side-issue. The whole teaching of the Christian church rested
on the truth of the resurrection, and therefore with much wisdom and
without any thought of deception he cries, "I am a Pharisee, and for

vv. 7— io.] THE ACTS, XXIII. 315
dead I am called in question. And when he had so said, 7
there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sad
ducees : and the multitude was divided. For the Sadducees 8
say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit :
but the Pharisees confess both. And there arose a great 9
cry : and the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose,
and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man : but if a
spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against
God. And when there arose a great dissension, the chief 10
teaching the doctrine of the resurrection (which they hold) I am now
called in question.'
1. and the multitude [Rev. Ver. assembly] was divided] The verb
in the original is that from which our English " schism " is derived, and
this points to the character of the division. God made the division
work for the safety of his servant, as He many times brings good out
of evil.
S. the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection] It is said that
their teaching had its rise in the thought that "God's servants should
not do service with the hope of reward. " As the life to come would be
a reward we are told that their doctrine developed into the denial
of the Resurrection. As we meet with them in the New Testament,
they are mainly members of the priestly order, and appear to have
accepted only the written Law, as distinct from tradition, yet in spite
of the mention of angels in the Pentateuch they appear to have ex
plained the language in such wise as to identify these angelic appear
ances with some manifestation of the divine glory, and thus to have
come to deny the existence of any spiritual beings distinct from God
Himself. In political matters they were on the side of Rome, and
in consequence are found uniting at times with the Herodians.
9. And there arose a great cry [Rev. Ver. clamour] The noise was
of an excited mob. It is the same word that is used in the parable of
the Ten Virgins, to describe the shout "the bridegroom cometh."
and the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part] The best authorities
read "some of the scribes ofthe Pharisees' part"
let us not fight against God] These words are not found in the oldest
MSS, and it may be that St Luke left the sentence as an incomplete
exclamation. This the Rev. Ver. has endeavoured to represent by
rendering the preceding clause "And what if a Spirit hath spoken to
him, or an angel." The temper of these Pharisees is so very much
akin to the counsel of Gamaliel in chap. v. 39, that it is not difficult to
understand how a thoughtful reader filled up on his margin the un
finished exclamation by an adaptation of Gamaliel's language, and that
these words found their way in a short time into the text.
10. the chief captain) He must have been in some position where
he could watch all the proceedings, though we can hardly think that he
was presiding in the Sanhedrin.

316 THE ACTS, XXIII. [vv. n, 12.
captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces
of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take
him by force from among them, and to bring him into the
castle. n — 25. Paul is cheered by a Vision. The fews conspire to
kill him.
" And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said,
Be of good cheer, Paul : for as thou hast testified of me in
" Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. And
when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and
pulled in pieces of them] The Pharisees had constituted themselves
protectors of the Apostle, and so the possession of his person had
become the object of a struggle between them and their opponents.
commanded the soldiers) They were in the tower of Antonia, over
looking the Temple-precincts, and so were ready to interfere in the
struggle as soon as they were bidden. They were in considerable
numbers, for below (ver. 27) the A.V. renders this word by "army."
Jerusalem was at this time in such an excited state that the presence of
a large Roman force was necessary.
11 — 25. Paul is cheered by a Vision. The Jews conspire to
kill him.
11. And the night following] The Apostle was now, though not
rightly a prisoner, yet kept, that he might be out of harm's way, undei
the charge of the Roman soldiers. The hearing of his case having been
interrupted, another time was to be appointed when the examination
should be completed.
the Lord stood by him] Appearing in a vision as before at Corinth,
cp. xviii. 9.
Be of good cheer] The Apostle could hardly be otherwise than down
cast with the events of the previous day. He had entered the Temple
and undertaken the Nazarite vow with a view of conciliating the Jews
and he had only been saved from being torn in pieces of them through
the interference of the Roman commander.
so must thou bear witness also at Rome] He had already written to
the Roman church of his "longing to see them," and that "oftentimes
he had purppsed to come unto them (Rom. i. 11 — 13)," and St Luke
(Acts xix. 21) records the intention in the history of St Paul's stay at
Ephesus. The way to compass such a visit had not yet been found,
but now it is pointed out by the Lord Himself.
12. And when it was day] While Paul was receiving comfort from
the Lord, the Jews were plotting to secure his destruction and they
let no time be wasted. Their plans are ready by the next day, and
as soon as it arrived they set about their execution.
certain of the Jews banded together] The best MSS. omit certain of.
The addition looks like a marginal comment of some one who felt that

w. 13—15.] THE ACTS, XXIII. 317
bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would
neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. And they 13
were more than forty which had made this conspiracy.
And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We 14
have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat
nothing until we have slain Paul. Now therefore ye with 15
the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him
down unto you to morrow, as though ye would inquire some
thing more perfectly concerning him : and we, or ever he
the plot would only be contrived by the Sadducees. The men who
banded themselves thus together were probably belonging to the Zealots
of whose fanaticism Josephus gives several instances.
bound themselves under a curse] Lit. placed themselves under an
anathema. The noun is used in very solemn language twice over by
St Paul (Gal. i. 8, 9), "Let him be accursed." It was an invocation
of God's vengeance upon themselves, if they failed to do the work
which they undertook.
tliey would neither eat nor drink] So that there was no time to be
lost ; their work must be promptly executed.
13. more than forty] Shewing the excited state of popular feeling
at this moment among the Jews. They may have been prompted to
this method of getting rid of the Apostle, because they had not the
power of life and death any longer, and were not likely to procure
Paul's death at the hands of the Roman authorities, on any accusation
connected with a religious question.
14. they came to the chief priests and elders] Who were most likely
of the Sadducees' part, and who therefore would have no wish to save
St Paul's life.
We have bound ourselves under a great curse] Lit, "with a curse
have we cursed ourselves." A Hebrew mode of expressing the intensity
and earnestness of any action. Cp. " to die the death, &c."
that we will eat nothing] More literally (with Rev. Ver.) "to taste
nothing." 15. Now therefore ye with the council, Sec] Rev. Ver. " do ye" to
mark more clearly the imperative. The chief priests and elders, of the
Sadducees' party, were to use their influence in the council, that a
request might proceed from the whole body of the Sanhedrin, that
Paul should be again brought before them by the chief captain. From
what we read of the Sadducees, in the N. T. and Josephus, it is easy
to believe that they would be in a majority.
that he bring him down] i. c. from the tower of Antonia to the place
where the Sanhedrin held its meetings.
unto you to morrow] The oldest MSS. omit the last word. It is
found in verse 20 below, and may have been early inserted here to
make that verbal accord of the desire for which the received text of
the Acts of the Apostles furnishes so many illustrations.

318 THE ACTS, XXIII. [w. 16— 18.
16 come near, are ready to kill him. And when Paul's sister's
son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into
i7 the castle, and told Paul. Then Paul called one of the
centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto
the chief captain : for he hath a certain thing to tell him.
18 So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and
said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me
as though ye would inquire something mor perfectly concerning him)
Rev. Ver. ' ' as though ye would judge of his case more exactly," which
is more in accordance with the classical meaning of the verb.
we., are ready to kill him] So that the suspicion of complicity in
the crime would not fall upon the chief priests and elders. Their
intention would appear to have been to give St Paul a fair hearing, and
the murder would seem to be the work of some fanatics unconnected
with the Council.
16. And when Paul's sister's son, &c] The Rev. Ver. keeps to the
Greek construction, "But Paul's sister's son heard... and he came, &c."
We have no other mention of the family of St Paul anywhere in the
history. It seems improbable that, the sister and her son were settled
inhabitants of Jerusalem, or we should have been likely to hear of them
on Paul's previous visits. His imprisonment at this time was only to
keep him from being killed, and so any relative or friend was permitted
to come to him.
he went and entered into the castle) The margin of the Rev. Ver.
gives the rendering of the text with a different punctuation : "he heard
of their lying in wait, having come in upon them and he entered, &c."
17. Then Paul called one of the centurions, Sec] The Apostle was
under the charge of a military guard, and so would have no difficulty in
getting his message conveyed. And the knowledge that he was a
Roman citizen, and that by birth, would have spread among the
soldiery and would not be without its influence.
for he hath a certain thing [Rev. Ver. something] to tell him] We
have nothing to guide us to a knowledge of how Paul's nephew became
acquainted with the plot to murder his uncle. As we know nothing of
any kinsmen of St Paul being Christians we may perhaps be right in
supposing that the young man was a Jew, present in Jerusalem on
account of the feast, and that he had heard among the Jewish popu
lation about the uproar, and the undertaking of the would-be assassins.
In his interview with the chief captain it is clear that he was prepared
with evidence which was convincing to that officer.
18. he took him, and brought him, &c] With soldier-like obedience
and raising no questions.
Paul the prisoner] A name which St Paul was often afterwards to
apply to himself. Cp. Eph. iii. i, iv. 1 ; Philemon 1 and 9, &c.
and prayed me] In the older English the verb "pray" as here used
is no more than "ask," which latter verb is here given by the Rev. Ver.,
but it is a needless interference with the older diction.

w. 19—22.] THE ACTS, XXIII. 319
to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to
say unto thee. Then the chief captain took him by the 19
hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him,
What is that thou hast to tell me ? And he said, The Jews 3U
have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down
Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would
inquire somewhat of him more perfectly. But do not thou 21
yield unto them : for there lie in wait for him of them moe
than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath,
that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him :
and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee.
So the chief captain then let the young man depart, and 22
charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed
19. the chief captain took him by the hand) The messenger from
a Roman citizen was entitled to some consideration, and the action of
the chief captain is meant to encourage the young man. The chief
captain would naturally incline to favour Paul after his conversation
with him, rather than his Jewish accusers. We can gather this from
the tone of the letter which he subsequently sent to Caesarea.
and went with him aside privately, and asked him] The adverb
"privately" is better joined with the verb " asked" as in the Rev. Ver.:
this is more in accordance with the Greek order, and such an adverb is
somewhat out of place with the first verb, in which privacy is implied
without such an addition.
20. as though they would inquire] The oldest MSS. give "as though
thou wouldest inquire." It is more probable that this older reading was
altered to agree with the plural in verse 15, than that the plural was
changed into the singular. It was natural enough for the speaker
among the Zealots to say to the chief priests "as though ye would
inquire," and it is equally natural that Paul's nephew, speaking to the
chief captain, who had control of the whole proceedings, should say
"as though thou wouldest inquire."
21. But do not thou yield unto them] More literally, "Do not thou
therefore yield, &c." (with Rev. Ver.).
which have bound themselves with an oath] The Greek is the same
as in verse 12. It is better therefore to render as there "bound them
selves under a curse." Beside which, the invocation implied in the
original is much stronger than is indicated by our English "oath.'' And
to vary the English rendering gives an idea of variation in the Greek,
which in one continuous narrative should be avoided.
looking for a promise) Rev. Ver. " the promise " i. e. the one which
they are coming to ask you to make.
22. So the chief captain then let the young man depart] There is
but one conjunction in the original, which is doubly rendered here by
So and then. It is better to omit the latter.
and charged him*, See thou tell no man, Sec] The Rev.. Ver. has

320 THE ACTS, XXIII. [w. 23— 25.
23 these things to me. And he called unto him two centurions,
saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Cesarea, and
horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at
24 the third hour of the night ; and provide them beasts, that
they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the
25 governor. And he wrote a letter after this manner :
"charging him, Tell no man, &c." The Greek is literally "charging
him to tell, &c." but though this is correct enough in Greek when a
sentence like " that thou hast shewed, &c." is to follow it cannot stand
in English ; so for the infinitive "to tell" an imperative or its equivalent
must be substituted. The A. V. has taken the one, the Rev. Ver. the
other way of rendering.
that thou hast shewed [Rev. Ver. signified] &c] This change is
made because the same word was so rendered in verse 1 5.
23. to go to Cesarea] The residence of the Roman governor and
the seat of the chief jurisdiction. The preposition is not the usual one.
Hence the Rev. Ver. gives "to go as far as Caesarea." The distance
between Jerusalem and Caesarea is about 70 miles.
and spearmen] The Greek word is an unusual one, and signifies
'graspers by the right hand.' Hence it has been explained, as in the
A. V. , of soldiers who carried a spear in their right hand ; others have
thought a military guard was meant who kept on the right hand of
the prisoners of whom they had charge. The Vulgate gives lancearii,
lancers. at the third hour of the night] This would be, according to Jewish
reckoning, at 9P.M.
24. and provide them beasts] Here is an infinitive, in dependence
on the verb in the previous verse, to mark which the Rev. Ver. inserts
he bade them.
Felix the governor] He was made procurator of Judaea by Claudius
in A.D. 53. He was the brother of Pallas, the favourite freedman of
Claudius, and it was by the interest of his brother, that Felix was
advanced, and retained in his position even after the death of Claudius.
The character of Felix, as gathered both from Roman and Jewish
historians, is that of a mean, profligate and cruel ruler, and even the
troublous times in which he lived are not sufficient to excuse the
severity of his conduct. After his return to Rome, on the appointment
of Festus to be governor in his. stead, Felix was accused by the Jews
of Caesarea and only saved by the influence which his brother Pallas
had with Nero, as he had had with his predecessor. Felix was con
nected with the Herodian family by his marriage with Drusilla the
daughter of Herod Agrippa I. He continued to hold office at Caesarea
for two years after St Paul's coming there (xxiv. 27) and during the
whole of that time the Apostle was his prisoner.
25. a letter after this manner] [Rev. Ver. form]. As both the
writer and receiver of the letter were Romans, it is most likely that
Latin would be the language of the original, and that St Luke has

w. 26— 28.] THE ACTS, XXIII. 321
26 — 30. Letter of Claudius Lysias to Felix.
Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix 26
sendelh greeting. This man was taken of the Jews, and 27
should have been killed of them: then came I with an
army, and rescued him, having understood that he was
a Roman. And when I would have known the cause 28
given us a representation of the substance of the document rather than
its very words. 26—30. Letter of Claudius Lysias to Felix.
26. the most excellent governor] The title " most excellent " is that
which is given by St Luke at the beginning of his Gospel to the
Theophilus for whom he wrote it. Hence it is probable that Theophilus
held some official position, it may be under the Romans in Macedonia,
where St Luke remained for some time and where he may probably
have written his gospel.
sendelh greeting] The Rev. Ver. omits the first word. The original
has only the infinitive " to rejoice " which is of course governed by some
word indicating a wish, i.e. = "biddeth to rejoice," " wisheth joy."
27. This man was taken of the Jews) The verb implies a seizure
or arrest. It is used (Matth. xxvi. 55 ; Mark xiv. 48) of the party of
men who came to seize our Lord, and (Acts xii. 3) of Herod Agrippa's
arrest of St Peter.
It is to be noted that the chief captain employs the word for man,
which in the original implies respect, no doiibt because he was presently
about to mention that he was a Roman citizen. The same distinction
exists in Latin as in Greek, so that the original may have been in
either language. There can be little doubt that Roman officers at this
time were familiar enough with Greek to write in it, if need were.
and should have been killed of them] The Rev. Ver. modifies the
obsolescent English, and reads "was about to be slain of them." The
chief captain does not give a very exact report of what had happened.
He says nothing about the strife between the two religious parties ; per
haps he did not understand its nature and cause.
then came I with an army, and rescued him] Rev. Ver. " when I came
upon them with the soldiers, and, Sec." This must refer rather to the first
rescue from the mob in the Temple-precincts (xxi. 32). There is no word
said of what happened afterwards, the binding with two chains, and the
intention of scourging the prisoner.
having understood [R. V. learned] that he was a Roman] The chief
captain put this in such wise as to .claim credit for interference on behalf
of a Roman citizen, and in so doing omits to state that it was only when
Paul was about to be scourged and protested against it, that he was dis
covered to be a citizen of Rome by birth.
28. And when I would have known, Sec] The Rev. Ver. more
literally "and desiring to know, &c." The method by which the chief

322 THE ACTS, XXIII. [vv. 29— 32.
wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their
29 council: whom I perceived to 'be accused of questions
of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy
3o of death or of bonds. And when it was told me how that
the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee,
and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before
thee what they had against him. Farewell.
31 — 35. Paul is brought to Cesarea, and kept prisoner by
Felix.
31 Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul,
32 and brought him by night to Antipatris. On the morrow
captain proposed to learn the charge against Paul was by scourging the
prisoner. Cp. xxii. 24.
29. whom I perceived [R. V. found] to be accused, &c] At first he
would have discovered that the outcry against St Paul had something to
do with the regulations of the temple, then that there was a dispute
about the resurrection of those who were dead, and that on this point
some of the Jewish leaders sided with Paul. Such questions about theii
law would seem to the Roman officer quite as unworthy of consideration
as they did to Gallio at Corinth (xviii. 15).
30. And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the
man] In the oldest MSS. there is no mention made of "the Jews."
The Rev. Ver^ therefore renders "and when it was shewn to me that
there would be a plot against the man."
/ sent straightway to thee] i.e. I sent him. The pronoun is supplied
in the Rev. Ver. as needful to the sense. Of course Lysias implies by
his language that he felt that Felix was a more fit person than himself to
deal with such a case.
and gave commandment, Sec] By reason of the text in the oldest
MSS. the Rev. Ver. has, in the latter part of this clause, "to speak
against him before thee." The word "Farewell" is also unsupported
by the earliest authorities.
31 — 35. Paul is brought to Cesarea, and kept prisoner
by Felix.
31. Then [So] the soldiers, Sec. ..took Paul] i.e. they formed a party
for his escort, and took him among them.
and brought him by night] i. e. that same night, starting off early in
the night and travelling during night-time, thus getting clear away from
Jerusalem before the ambush of the Jews was prepared.
to Antipatris] This place was 42 miles from Jerusalem and 26 from
Caesarea. It was in early times called Capharsaba, but Herod the
Great rebuilt it and named it Antipatris in memory of his father Anti-
pater. It lay in a beautiful part of the Vale of Sharon and was both
well watered and rich in wood. The remains of a Roman road have been

w. 33-350 THE ACTS, XXIII. 323
they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the
castle: who, when they came to Cesarea, and delivered the 33
epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.
And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of34
what province he was : and when he understood that he was
of Cilicia; I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are 35
found close by it. For notices of the older city, see Josephus, Ant. xvi.
5. 2; 1 Mace. vii. 31 ; of the place as rebuilt, see Josephus, B.J. 1. 4.
7; II. 19. 1 and 9; IV. 8. 1.
32. On. the morrow] The original has a conjunction which the Rev.
Ver. represents by " But." These men would return to Jerusalem again
on the day of the intended plot.
they left the horsemen to go with him] Now that they were far away
from Jerusalem and in no fear of a surprise, seventy horsemen were
guard enough for the remainder of the way. But it may give us some
idea of the dangerous state of the country at the time when we consider
that the chief captain thought it needful to send with this one prisoner a
guard of 470 soldiers. We may also form some idea of what the
garrison in Jerusalem must have been when so many men could be
detached at a moment's notice.
and returned to the castle] Apparently coming back as quickly as
it was possible for them to do so. As the road was one much travelled
they were probably able to obtain a change of horses here and there.
33. who, when they came to Cesarea] The Rev. Ver. breaks up the
relative into a conjunction and a personal pronoun. "And they, when,
&c." This makes the reference to the horsemen more clear.
and delivered the epistle [letter] to the governor] It is not easy to see
what led the A.V. to give "epistle" here and "letter" for the same
word in ver. 25. Sometimes rhythm may account for such a variation,
but that is not the case here.
presented Paul also] If the letter as given above be a copy of the
original, the prisoner was not mentioned in it by name, but the soldiers
would merely declare that this was the man that had been committed to
their charge.
34. And when the governor had read the letter] The oldest MSS.
have nothing either for "the governor" or "the letter." Read (with
Rev. Ver.) "And when he had read it."
of what province he was] Cilicia had been at one time, and perhaps
still was, attached to the province of Syria. It was so in the time of
Quirinus. This will explain why at once Felix without question de
cided that, at the proper time, he would hear the cause.
35. / will hear thee] The verb implies a complete and thorough
hearing of a case. "I will give thee a full hearing." The Rev. Ver.
renders "I will hear thy cause."
when thine accusers are also come) Assuming that they would appear,
since they had been bidden to do so by the chief captain, as he had
explained in his letter. Of course Lysias had not said a word of this

324 THE ACTS, XXIV. [v. i.
also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's
judgment hall.
i — 9. Arrival of the Accusers. Speech of Tertullus, their
advocate.
24 And after five days Ananias the high priest descended
with the elders, and with a certain orator named Tertullus,
to the Jews when his letter was written, but intended to do so when
Paul was safely on the road to Caesarea.
to be kept in Herod's judgment hall] The word rendered "judgment
hall" is "pra?torium," and may signify either the palace of a prince, the
tent of a general, or the barracks of the soldiery. Here it is probably
the name of the palace which Herod had erected for himself, and which
now was used as the governor's residence. It seems (from xxiv. 24 —
26) that it was close to the quarters of Felix himself, and that Paul could
speedily be sent for. Render "Herod's palace" (with Rev. Ver.). The
verb employed in the sentence only implies that Paul was to be taken
care of; he was not kept in close imprisonment. "A Roman and un
condemned" would not be subject to needless indignities, when his
accusers were Jews who could make no such claim for consideration.
Cf. xxiv. 23.
XXIV. 1 — 9. Arrival of the Accusers. Speech of Tertullus,
THEIR ADVOCATE.
1. And after five days] Most naturally this means after St Paul's
arrival in Caesarea, and the events narrated at the end of chap, xxiii.
But it may mean five days after the departure of the Apostle from Jeru
salem. The chief captain would give notice to the high priest of what
he had done as soon as it was safe to do so. After learning that they
must go to Caesarea with their accusation, the enemies of St Paul would
spend some little time in preparing their charge for the hearing of Felix,
and in providing themselves with an advocate. And as they would not
probably travel with as much haste as St Paul's convoy did, five days is
not a long interval to elapse before they arrived in Caesarea.
Ananias the high priest] He would be sure to be hot against the
Apostle after that speech about the " whited wall. "
descended] Rev. Ver. [came down], i.e. from the capital to the sea-
coast city of Csesarea.
with the elders] The best MSS. have " with certain elders" It is not
likely that all the elders came. There would be some, who belonged to
the Pharisees, who would rather have spoken in favour of St Paul.
Those who came would be Sadducees, and so only a portion of the
Council. and with a certain, orator named Tertullus] Rev. Ver. "and with an
orator, one Tertullus." This man, as we may judge from his name,
which is a modification of the Latin Tertius, was a Roman, and would
be chosen because of his knowledge of Roman law, and his ability

vv,2,3.] THE ACTS, XXIV. 325
who informed the' governor against Paul. And when he was 2
called forth, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying,
Seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness, and that
very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy provi
dence, we accept it always, and in all places, most noble 3
to place the case before Felix in such a light as to make it seem that
Paul was dangerous to the Roman power, and not merely a turbulent
and renegade Jew. We see below that he endeavoured to do this.
¦mho informed, &c] Better with Rev. Ver. "And they informed."
Thus it is shewn that the relative in the original refers not merely to
Tertullus but to the whole deputation. The verb is one which St Luke
uses in other places (Acts xxv. -t, 15) of the laying a formal information
before a judge. It is also used, Esther ii. 22, of Esther laying the
information of the plot of the two chamberlains before king Ahasuerus.
2. And when he was called forth) There is nothing in the original
to represent "forth" which is consequently omitted by the Rev. Ver.
The " calling " referred to is that of the crier of the court calling on
the case.
- Tertullus began to accuse him] St Luke has given us but the digest
of ihe advocate's speech. The seven verses, in which it is included,
and a large part of which is occupied with compliments to the judge,
would not have occupied three minutes in the delivery.
Seeing that by thee we enjoy great quietness] [much peace] The orator
seizes on almost the only point in the government of Felix on which he
could hang any praise. By severity he had put down false Messiahs,
and the partizans of an Egyptian magician, as well as riots in Caesarea
and Jerusalem, so that the country was in a more peaceful condition
than it had been for a long time past.
and that very worthy deeds are done unto this nation by thy providence]
Better (with Rev. Ver. and in accordance with the oldest M.SS.) " and
that by thy providence evils are corrected for this nation." The word
rendered "providence" is found 2 Mace. iv. 6 where what is literally
" without the king's providence " is rendered " unless the king did look
thereto." It was by the severe looking thereto of Felix that disorders
were corrected, though we learn from Tacitus (Hist. v. 9 ; Ann. XII. 54)
that his severity in the end bore evil fruit, and it seems probable that
his main motive in suppressing other plunderers was that there might
be the more left for himself.
3. we accept it always [Better, in all ways] and in all places] The
word rendered " in- all ways " is only found here in N. T. and does not
mean " always." Some would join "in all ways and in all places" with
the former part of the sentence thus : "evils are corrected for this nation
in all ways and in all places." " We accept it" means "we acknow
ledge and are glad of it."
most noble [R. V. excellent] Felix] The adjective is the same title
which was given to Felix in the letter from Claudius Lysias, and which
is afterwards given to Festus by St Paul (Acts xxvi. 25).

326 THE ACTS, XXIV. [vv. 4— 6.
4 Felix, with all thankfulness. Notwithstanding, that I be
not further tedious unto thee, I pray thee that thou wouldest
5 hear us of thy clemency a few words. For we have found
this man a pestilent fellow, and a mover of sedition among
all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the
6 sect of the Nazarenes : who also hath gone about to pro-

4. be not... tedious] The notion in the verb is that of stopping a
person's way and so hindering him. Tertullus would imply that Felix
was so deeply engaged in his public duties that every moment was
precious. 5. For we have found this man a pestilent fellow] The Greek
literally says "a pestilence." The same word in the plural is translated
"pestilent fellows" in 1 Mace. x. 61, and it is further explained there
by "men of a wicked life." When they say "we have found" it is
implied that they have already spent some pains in detecting the evil
ways of the prisoner.
and a mover of sedition] (insurrections, with oldest MSS. and Rev.
Ver.). The first charge had been one of general depravity. On
coming to particulars Tertullus puts that first which would most touch
the Roman power, and against which Felix had already shewn himself
to be severe. Insurrections were of such common occurrence that one
man might at this time be readily the prime mover in many.
among all the Jews throughout the world] We must bear in mind
that Paul had been assailed at a time when Jerusalem was full of
strangers come to the feast. It is not improbable that from some of
the Jewish visitors particulars had been gathered about the Apostle's
troubles at Philippi, Corinth, Ephesus and elsewhere, which in
the minds and on the lips of his accusers would be held for seditious
conduct, conduct which had brought him at times under the notice of
the tribunals. This Tertullus would put forward in its darkest colours.
"The world" at this time meant "the whole Roman Empire." Cp.
Caesar's decree (Luke ii. 1) that " all the world " should be taxed.
a ringleader] The word is used in classical Greek of the front-rank
men in an army.
of the sect of the Nazarenes) The adjective is used as a term of
reproach equivalent to " the followers of him of Nazareth," which origin
was to the mind of the Jews enough to stamp Jesus as one of the many
false Messiahs. Cp. on the despised character of Nazareth, John i. 46.
6. who also hath gone about [who moreover assayed R. V.) to pro
fane the temple] The old English "gone about" was equivalent to
" attempted." Cp. Shaks. Mids. Nt. D. iv. 1. 2 12 : "Man is but an ass,
if he go about to expound this dream." But the expression is somewhat
obsolete now.
It is noteworthy that the Jews no longer adhere to their definite
charge as made xxi. 28, but only impute to St Paul the attempt at
profanation.

vv. 7, 8.] THE ACTS, XXIV. 327
fane the temple : whom we took, and would have judged
according to our law. But the chief captain Lysias came ,
upon us, and with great violence took him away out of our
hands, commanding his accusers to come unto thee: by 8
examining of whom thyself mayest take knowledge of all
whom we took] i.e. by main force. They would represent their
proceedings as an arrest of a grave offender.
and would, Sec] These words, as well as verse 7 and verse 8 down
to "come unto thee" are omitted in nearly all the oldest MSS., and by
the Rev. Ver., while the Greek Text, in those MSS. where it is found,
exhibits many variations. But in spite of this it is very difficult to see
how the advocate could have avoided some allusion to the circumstances
mentioned in these words. Of course he puts the matter in a light
most favourable to the Jews. " We would have judged him according
to our law" is very different language from that in which (xxiii. 27)
Lysias describes Paul as in danger to be killed by the Jews. The
action of Lysias too is described by Tertullus as one of great violence.
Probably the Roman soldiers would not handle the mob tenderly.
But Tertullus is trying to cast blame upon the chief captain and to
represent his party as doing all things according to law.
according to our law] Tertullus identifies himself, advocate-like, with
the Jews whose mouthpiece he is.
7. But the chief captain Lysias) If this verse be an interpolation,
it differs from others in the Acts very greatly. In other parts of the
book such insertions have merely been made to bring the whole of a
narrative under view at once, and there has been no variation of an
account -previously given elsewhere. But here we have a passage not
representing the facts as stated before, but giving such a version of
them as might make Lysias appear to have been in the wrong, and
to have exercised his power in Jerusalem most arbitrarily against men
who were only anxious to preserve the purity of their sacred temple.
As both the Syriac and the Vulgate represent the passage it is not
quite satisfactory to reject it.
8. commanding his accusers to come unto thee] Which Lysias had
not done till Paul was removed beyond reach of pursuit.
by examining of whom] In'the A.V. the relative "whom" is here
naturally referred to "accusers." A glance at the Greek shews that this
cannot be, for it is in the singular number. The Rev. Ver. gives the
literal rendering ofthe passage thus, "From whom thou wilt be able, by
examininghim thyself, to take knowledge, Sec" If the supposed interpola
tion be accepted as text, then "whom" and "him" would most properly
be referred to Lysias. Felix might on the arrival of the chief captain
question him and learn the truth of what had taken place. And with
this the remark of Felix in verse 22 fits in, "When Lysias the chief
captain shall come down, I will determine your matter." If however
the doubtful words be rejected, then the pronouns must refer to St Paul.
But it is curious, to say tlie least, that Tertullus should suggest to Felix

328 THE ACTS, XXIV. [vv. 9— n.
9 these things, whereof we accuse him. And the Jews also
assented, saying that these things were so.
10 — 21. St Paul's answer to the charge.
IO Then Paul, after that the governor had beckoned unto
him to speak, answered, Forasmuch as I know that thou
hast been of many years a judge unto this nation, I do the
11 more cheerfully answer for myself: because that thou
mayest understand, that there are yet but twelve days since
that the truth of his case should be supported by an examination of
the person accused. It has therefore been suggested that the word
rendered " examining" has regard to some process of torture by which
o. prisoner might be forced to confess the truth. But for this no
sufficient support has been found. The noun derived from this verb is
employed (xxv. 26) for the inquiry before Agrippa. On the whole there
seems quite as much to be said in favour of the Textus Receptus from
internal evidence, as can be brought against it by the evidence of MSS.
9. And the Jews also assented] [Rev. Ver. joined in the charge.]
The verb implies much more than assent. They made common cause
with their representative, and by their own language reiterated the
accusation. saying (R. V. affirming) that these things were so] Ananias and the
elders must have first instructed their orator. So that the speech was
what they had supplied him with, and must have their accord.
10 — 21. St Paul's answer to the charge.
10. Then Paul, Sec] When the governor had given him leave to
speak the Apostle addressed his defence to the points charged against
him. He had not excited the people, nor been the leader of any body
of Nazarenes, nor had he polluted the temple.
thou hast been of many years a judge] We have arrived in the history
at about A. D. 58 or 59, and Felix had been made procurator in A. D. 52.
So that " many years ' is about six or seven. But many of the governors
were recalled before they had held office so long. In verse 17" many
years" must be about four or five.
/ do the more cheerfully, &c] The best MSS. have the positive, "I
cheerfully make my defence." St Paul was so far of good courage, be
cause the experience of Felix, and his knowledge of Jewish manners and
customs, would enable him to appreciate the statements which related to
the Apostle's presence in Jerusalem.
11. because that thou mayest understand) Rev. Ver. taking a
slightly different reading, "Seeing that thou canst take knowledge."
The Apostle means that it was easy to find evidence about all that had
happened in such a short space of time. Beside which Felix's know
ledge of Jewish customs would tell him that this was just the time at
which foreign Jews came to Jerusalem.
that there are yet but twelve days] The Rev. Ver. has the more

w. 12—14.] THE ACTS, XXIV. 329
I went up to Jerusalem for to worship. And ,they neither 12
found me in the temple disputing with any man, neither
raising up the people, neither in the synagogues, nor in the
city: neither can they prove the things whereof they now i3
accuse me.' But this I confess unto thee, that after the way M
which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers,
modern English, which is also closer to the Greek, "that it is not more
than twelve days." The time may be accounted for thus : the day of
St Paul's arrival, the interview with James on the second day, five days
may be given to the separate life in the temple during the vow, then the
hearing before the council, next day the conspiracy, the tenth day St
Paul reached Caesarea, and on the thirteenth day (which leaves five
days (xxiv. 1), as Jews would reckon from the conspiracy to the hearing
in Caesarea) St Paul is before Felix. See Farrar's St Paul, II. 338 (note).
since I went up to Jerusalem for to worship] The Rev. Ver. gets rid
ofthe antiquated English by rendering, "since I went up to worship at
Jerusalem." But the A. V. gives more of the emphasis which St Paul
intended to lay on the object of his visit. He went on purpose to wor
ship. Was it likely that he would try to profane the temple? And the
verb which he uses expresses all the lowly adoration common among
Orientals. The Apostle probably chose it for this reason. He would
have Felix know that it was in a most reverent frame of mind that he
came to the feast.
12. And they neither found me, &c'.J The Apostle gives a flat denial
to the charge of insurrection, and challenges them to prove any single
point of it. He had not even entered into discussion with any man.
raising up the people] Rev. Ver. "stirring up a crowd." For the
crowd was gathered by the Jews.
13. neither can they prove (Rev. Ver., with MS. authority, adds to
thee) the things, &c] The proof must be such as the law required, not
the mere multiplied assertions of the accusers. The verb » implies a
formal setting-forth of evidence, and is used by Josephus (De vita sua,
6) of an array of proof which he has set forth to shew that his fellow-
countrymen did not enter on a war till they were forced.
14. after the way which they call heresy] Better (with Rev. Ver.)
"after the Way which they call a sect." The word is the same which
is used inverse 5 for the "sect" ofthe Nazarenes. St Paul employs the
expression "the Way," in that sense in which it soon became well
known, to signify "the Christian religion." See note on ix. 2.
so worship I the God of my fathers] Better, as Rev. Ver., "so serve
I the God of our fathers." The verb is not the same as in verse 11.
Here the notion is of service which a man is bound to pay. The Apostle
means that he has cast off no morsel of his old allegiance. The ad
jective can equally be rendered by "my fathers" or "our fathers," but St
Paul's aim is to shew that he has not severed himself from the ancestral
faith of the whole nation, and so his thought would include himself with
them. acts 2 3

330 THE ACTS, XXIV. [w. 13—17.
believing all things which are written in the law and the
is prophets : and have hope towards God, which they them
selves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of
16 the dead, both of the just and unjust. And .herein do
I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of
17 offence toward God, and toward men. Now after many
years I came to bring alms to my nation, and offerings.
believing all things which are written in the law and the prophets]
The Rev. Ver. gives very literally "all things which are according to
the Law, and which are written in the Prophets." The Apostle thus
testifies to his complete acceptance of all the Jewish Scriptures. Some
times the division is given as "the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms"
(Luke xxiv. 44), but more frequently, as in the text, only two sections
are named (cp. Matt. vii. 12, xi. 13, xxii. 40; Luke xvi. 16; John i.
45)- 15. and have (R. V. having) hope. . .which they themselves also allow]
(R. V. look for). Here the Apostle is of course alluding only to the
Pharisees among his own people, but he puts them as representatives of
the larger part ofthe nation. The Rev. Ver. renders "which these also
themselves look for." If the Apostle employed the words in that sense
he would be turning towards the body of Jews in the court rather than
to the Sadducees and their spokesman.
that there shall be a resurrection of the dead] The best MSS. give
nothing for the last three words. St Paul adheres to the point which
had before provoked the anger of Ananias and his party, and they must
have been the more irritated because the words of the Apostle declare
their opponents, the Pharisees, to be holding the true faith, and imply
that such is the general belief of the Jewish people.
both of the just and unjust) Speaking in the presence of Felix, the
Apostle seems to have chosen words to touch the conscience of the
Procurator. 16. And herein do I exercise myself) "Herein" i.e. in the worship,
faith and hope spoken of in the two last verses. While holding this
belief, and because I hold it, I try to keep my conscience clear. "I ex
ercise myself" that I may, by constant training and striving, at length
get near to what I aim after.
to have always a conscience void of offence, &c] The Rev. Ver., to
preserve the Greek order, puts "alway" at the end ofthe verse. A man
who strove for such an object was neither likely to be a profaner of the
Temple, nor a pestilent mover of sedition. His religion was worked
into his life.
17. Now after many years] He had come to Jerusalem on the
return from his second missionary journey in a.d. 53. It was now
A. D. 58, so that his absence had lasted four or five years (see note on
verse 10).
/ came to bring alms to my nation] These consisted of the money
which had been collected in the churches of Macedonia and Achaia at

w. 18— 20.] THE ACTS, XXIV. 331
Whereupon certain Jews from Asia found me purified 13
in the temple, neither with multitude, nor with tumult.
Who ought to have been here before thee, and object, 19
if- they had ought against me. Or else let these same 23
here say, if they have found any evil doing in me, while
St Paul's request, and which is often alluded to in his epistles (cp. 1 Cor.
xvi. 1 ; Rom. xv. 26 ; 2 Cor. viii. 4, &c). There could be no desire to
wound the feelings of the Jews in a man who had come for such a pur
pose. It is noticeable too that he describes the alms as not for the
Christians only, but for his nation, conveying by the word the impres
sion of his great regard for all the Jews.
and offerings] These were the sacrifices connected with the vow
which he had undertaken. They must be offered iri the Temple, and
the offerer was not likely to be one who thought of profaning the holy
place. IS- Whereupon] According to the best MSS. the relative here, by
its gender, must be referred to the "offerings" which have just been
named.' Read (with Rev. Ver.) Amidst which, i.e. engaged in offering
which oblations.
certain Jews from Asia] These words should, according to all
authorities, be placed in the latter clause of the verse. Read "Amidst
•which they found, &c. "
found me purified] i.e. abstaining from all things forbidden by the
law ofthe Nazarites. See Numb. vi. 3 — 8.
neither with multitude, Sec] The gathering of a crowd and raising a
disturbance would have been the first steps towards some act of profa
nation. But even this he had not done. The original requires that we
should continue the sentence, "but there were certain Jews from Asia,"
as in the Rev. Ver. It was from the Asiatic Jews, perhaps those from
Ephesus, that the uproar had at first been originated. It would appear
also that part of Tertullus' argument was derived from their information.
Of these Asiatic Jews St Paul was now about to speak, but he checks
himself, and does not say any word against them, only that they ought
to have been here to explain the offence for which he had been as
sailed. 19. and object] Better (with Rev. Ver.), " and to make accusation."
They had set the cry against him, and now did not come to say what he
had done wrong. They were probably on their way home, now that the
feast was over.
20. Or else let these same here (R. V. these men themselves) say] i. e.
the Sadducees with Ananias. The assailants of St Paul were of two
classes, first the Asiatic Jews, who were furious against him because of his
preaching among the Gentiles in their cities, then those in Jerusalem
who hated him for preaching the resurrection. He challenges them
both, and when the former do not appear, he turns to the other.
if they have found any evil doing in me] The oldest MSS. have
"what wrong doing they found," omitting "in me." 23 — 2

332 THE ACTS, XXIV. [vv. 21— 23.
21 I stood before the council, except it be for this one voice,
that I cried standing among them, Touching the resur
rection of the dead I am called in question by you this
day. 22 — 27. Adjournment of the cause. Felix 's treatment of
St Paul.
22 And when Felix heard these things, having more perfect
knowledge of that way, he deferred them, and said, When
Lysias the chief captain shall come down, I will know
23 the uttermost of your matter. And he commanded a
while (Better, when) I stood before the council] Up to the moment,
when in the presence of the council he had spoken of the resurrection
and so produced a division in the assembly, there was no act of St Paul
which had to do with any disturbance. The tumult in the temple and
while he was speaking from the Tower-stairs was all caused by the
Jewish mob.
21. except it be for this one voice] i.e. this exclamation or cry. From
xxiii. 6 we see that St Paul lifted up his voice, when he mentioned the
resurrection. I am called in question by (R. V. with MSS. before) you) "To call in"
question " means " to put one on his trial." Cf. Shaks. Henry IV. (pt. 2)
1. j.. 68, "He that was in question for the robbery."
22—27. Adjournment of the cause. Felix's treatment of
St Paul.
22. having more perfect knmuledge of that way] Better " the way,"
i.e. the Christian religion, for which this soon became the accepted
name. See on ix. 2. Felix was more likely to understand something
of the relations between Judaism and Christianity, because he had
a Jewish wife, Drusilla, daughter of Herod Agrippa I., one who had
been brought by her position into connexion with the movements of
the time.
For those introductory words of this verse represented in A.V. by
"when he heard these things," there is no Greek in the oldest MSS.
Read (with Rev. Ver.) " But Felix, having, &c."
When Lysias the chief captain shall come down] There had been
nothing said in the letter of Lysias, so far as we have it, about his
coming to Cesarea, but no doubt he went often between Jerusalem and
the residence of the governor. The language of this verse gives some
support to the genuineness of verse 7. (See note there.)
/ will know the uttermost of your matter] Better, "I will determine "
Cp. xxui. 15.
23. And he commanded a centurion] The Greek noun has the
article, therefore the Rev. Ver. gives "the centurion." Tt might

v. 24.] THE ACTS, XXIV. 333
centurion to keep Paul, and to let him have liberty, and
that he should forbid none of his acquaintance to minister
or come unto him. And after certain days, when Felix 24
came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent
perhaps be one of the two whom Lysias had put in charge of the
conveyance of Paul (xxiii. 23). One might be appointed to go on to
Caesarea, while the other returned with the larger part of the convoy
from Antipatris.
to keep Paul] The best MSS. omit the proper name. Read (with
Rev. Ver.) " that he should be kept in charge." The verb only conveys
the idea of safe keeping, not of severe detention, and it is clear that for
some reason Felix shewed himself well-disposed towards the Apostle.
Either his conscience moved him, or his hope of gain, or perhaps the
flattery and compliments of Tertullus had overshot their mark.
and to let him have liberty] Better, " and should have indulgence. ''
That is, there should be a relaxation, of prison rules in his case.
and that he should forbid none of his acquaintance] In order to join
on better with the previous clause, read (with Rev. Ver.) "and not to
forbid any of his friends." The original has a word stronger than
" acquaintance. " It refers more particularly to such matters as country,
home, family and friends, which are specially a man's own. Here
from our limited knowledge we are only able to think of Philip the
Evangelist who would be particularly a friend of St Paul, but he
had been more than once before in Caesarea, and he had no doubt
made himself known there as in other places. Those unnamed disciples
of Caesarea (xxi. 16) would be among those who had a warm interest in
St Paul, and it is clear from St Luke's language that there were friends
at hand and ready to visit the Apostle when they were allowed.
to minister or come unto him] The best MSS. have no Greek for
"or come." The verb "minister" implies the doing of those services
of which a prisoner even under such liberal conditions must ever stand
in need. They would be his means of communication with the outer
world. And the cupidity of Felix may have suggested that through
these friends the means might be supplied for purchasing the Apostlejs
release. 24. And after certain days, when Felix came, Sec] To conform to
the Greek more strictly, the Rev. Ver. reads " But after certain days,
Felix came, Sec." It is difficult to say what is gained by this. Felix
did not always reside in Csesarea. After the first hearing of St Paul's
cause he had gone away for a time, but on his return he sent. for the
Apostle to question him on his doctrine. Perhaps those words about
the resurrection of the just and the unjust had made him uneasy.
with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess] She was a daughter of
Herod Agrippa I. and so sister of Agrippa II. and of Bernice. She
had formerly been married to Azizus, King of Emesa, but had been
induced by Felix to leave her husband, and become his wife. Though
she had been only six years of age when her father died (Acts xii. 23!
she may have heard of the death of James the brother of John, and the

334'

THE ACTS, XXIV. [vv. 25, 26.

for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ.
25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and
judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go
thy way for this time; when I have a convenient, season,
26 1 will call for thee. He hoped also that money should
marvellous delivery of St Peter from prison. For such matters would
be talked of long after they had happened, and perhaps her father's
sudden death may have been ascribed by some to God's vengeance
for what he had done against the Christians. Her marriage with the
Gentile Felix shewed that she was by no means a strict Jewess, and
what she had heard of Jewish opposition to St Paul's teaching may
have made her, as well as her husband, desirous to hear him.
sent for Paul] The Apostle was lodged in some part of the procu
rator's official residence (see xxiii. 35, note) and so was close at hand.
and heard him concerning the faith in Christ] The best MSS. add
Jesus. What St Paul would urge was not only a belief in the Christ,
for whose coming all Jews were looking, but a belief that Jesus of„
Nazareth was the Messiah whom they had so long expected.
25. And as he reasoned... and judgment [R.V. the judgement] to
come] It was to be no barren faith which St Paul commended, but
was to have its fruits in the life. Felix perhaps expected some philo
sophical dissertation on the subject of the resurrection, and the life
after death. His own conduct, of- which Tacitus (Ann. XII. 54, Hist.
v. 9) speaks as mean and cruel and profligate, would make the subjects
on which St Paul addressed him peculiarly disturbing. For what if
this man's teaching should be true ?
Felix trembled) The expression is much stronger. It implies that
he was filled with fear. Therefore the Rev. Ver. gives "was terrified."
It can hardly be conceived that St Paul was ignorant of the character
of those to whom he was speaking. Felix had been in office long
enough to be well known. And the Apostle's themes were exactly
those by which he could find the joints in the governor's harness. Of
" righteousness " his life's history shews no trace, and for temperance,
i. e. self-control, the presence of Drusilla by his side proved that he had
no regard. Well might such a man be full of fear at the thought, as
St Paul would urge it home, of the judgment after death. But the
influence of his terror passed away, for we do not read that the Apostle
ever beheld such signs of penitence as led him to quiet the terror, by
preaching Christ as the atonement for sin.
when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee] [Rev. Ver. call
thee unto me]. The convenient season never arrived. Felix did not
change his conduct. When two years more of his rule were ended and
he was superseded by Festus, the Jews in Caesarea brought an accusation
against him before Nero, and had it not been for his brother Pallas'
influence he would have been punished for his cruelty and .injustice.
We have no record of how long he lived after his recall from Caesarea.
26. He hoped also (Rev. Ver. withal) that money should have been

v.27.] THE ACTS, XXIV. 335
have been given him of Paul, that he might loose him:
wherefore he sent for him the oftener, and communed
with him. But after two years Porcius Festus came into 27
Felix' room: and Felix, willing to shew the Jews a plea
sure, left Paul bound.
(R. V. would be) given him of Paul) He had heard the Apostle speak
of the contributions which he had gathered for the Jews in Jerusalem.
His thought would naturally be that if he could raise money for the
needs of others, he could do so for his own release.
that he might loose him] These words are unrepresented in the
oldest MSS., and read exactly like a marginal explanation which in
time made its way into the text.
wherefore (R. V. wherefore also) he sent... communed with him] The
original gives two reasons why Felix sent for Paul. First he desired
to hear about the faith in Christ, and secondly to give the Apostle. a
chance of offering him a bribe. The verb " communed " implies that
he brought about somewhat of a friendly intercourse with his prisoner.
In this way the proposal for any terms of release would have been
made easy.
27. But after two years] More literally the Rev. Ver. "But when
two years were fulfilled ; " and it may be that St Luke would indicate
by his expression, that it was not a reckoning of time such as was usual
among the Jews, where portions of a year were sometimes counted for a
whole, but that the Apostle's detention endured for two years complete.
Porcius Festus came into Felix' room] Festus was made governor by
Nero probably in A. D. 60 and died in about two years. Josephus (B. J.
II. 14. 1) gives him a far better character than his predecessor, but he
had the same kind of difficulties to deal with in the outbreaks of the
populace and the bands of assassins with which the country was
infested. (Jos. Ant. xx. 8. 10) The Rev. Ver. "Felix was succeeded
by Porcius Festus " comes nearer to the literal rendering " Felix re
ceived Porcius Festus as a successor, " but does not make the meaning
clearer, and to put "Felix" as the subject in this sentence and in that
which immediately follows gives an awkward sound to the English,
which was neatly avoided in A.V.
and Felix, willing to shew the Jews a pleasure] The literal sense is
"to store up for himself favour with the Jews," therefore the Rev. Ver.
gives the proper rendering, " and desiring to gain favour with the Jews."
Of course it may be said that if he shewed favour to them he would
gain favour with them. But what he particularly desired at this time
was to blunt the anger which the Jews (especially those of Caesarea)
felt against him, that they might be less bitter in their charges against
him on his recall. And so he used Paul as his "Mammon of un
righteousness" and left him detained that he might make himself
friends thereby.
left Paul bound) [R. V. in bonds.] This seems to indicate that
before his departure Felix withdrew the indulgence which had been

336 THE ACTS, XXV. [vv. 1—3.
1 — 12. Arrival of Festus. Paul's cause heard before him.
Paul appeals to the Emperor.
25 Now when Festus was come into the province, after
2 three days he ascended from Cesarea to Jerusalem. Then
the high priest and the chief of the Jews informed him
3 against Paul, and besought him, and desired favour against
previously granted to Paul, and put him in bonds, so as to give to his
successor the impression, which the Jews desired, that he was deserving
of punishment. It would be very interesting to know what St Paul
did during the two years that he was kept at Caesarea. Various con
jectures have been ventured on, but none with any ground of certainty.
Some, accepting St Paul as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews,
point to this period as the time of its composition. Others assign to
this imprisonment those letters of the Apostle which speak so much of
his bonds, viz. to the Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians and
Philemon, but the evidence in favour of Rome as the place whence
they were written seems far to outweigh all that can be said on behalf
of Caesarea. Our only reflection on such a gap as this in the history
of St Paul's work must be that the Acts was not intended to be a
narrative of any man's labours, but how God employed now this
servant, now that, for the establishment of the Kingdom of Christ.
The remembrance of this will prevent us seeking from the book what it
was not meant to give.
XXV. 1 — 12. Arrival of Festus. Paul's cause heard before
him. Paul appeals to the Emperor.
1. Now when Festus was come into the province] This may either
mean "when he had reached Ceesarea," to which, as the seaport, he
would naturally come first; or, with margin ofthe Rev. Ver., "when he
had entered upon his province." The former seems to be the preferable
sense because of what follows.
after three days he ascended (R. V. went up)] He took a very short
time to make himself acquainted with what would be his principal resi
dence, and then went up to the capital.
2. Then the high priest] R. V. "And the chief priests." For the best
MSS. give the plural. No doubt Ananias, as before, was the leader of
the accusation, but he got others of his own class to support him in
Jerusalem. He was their representative when the hearing was in
Caesarea. and the chief of the Jews] This might mean "the chief part ; '' there
fore it is better, with R. V„ to read "the principal men of the Jews."
The wealthiest men of the nation belonged to the Sadducees.
informed him against Paul] The verb indicates that the proceedings
here assumed a legal form. It was no mere mention in any irregular
way, but a definite charge was made, no doubt in the same terms which
Tertulhis had used before.

vv. 4-6.] THE ACTS, XXV. 337
him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem, laying
wait in the way to kill him. But Festus answered, that 4
Paul should be kept at Cesarea, and that he himself would
depart shortly thither. Let them therefore, said he, which 5
among you' are able, go down with me, and accuse this man,
if there be any wickedness in him. And when he had 6

3. and desired favour against him] i. e. they begged that their case
might have some special consideration. They were many and rich; the
accused man was alone and an obscure person, and it was much easier
to bring one man from Caesarea, than for their whole body to undertake
a journey from Jerusalem thither. No doubt too they hoped that with
a new governor their influence and good position would not be without
weight. laying wait in the way to kill him] They still adhered to their plan
of assassination, than which no crime was more common at this time in
Judasa. Perhaps too those men who had bound themselves by a vow,
though they had been forced to break it, yet felt dissatisfied that Paul
was still alive.
4. But Festus answered, that Paul should be kept, Sec] This hardly
gives the force of the original, which is better rendered in the Rev. Ver.,
"that Paul was kept in charge at Caesarea." The governor's position
was that the prisoner had been placed by his predecessor in a certain
state of custody, and that this could not be interfered with.
would (R. V. was about to) depart shortly thither] A governor newly
arrived must move about actively, and could not remain long even in the
capital. To have waited till all the arrangements, which the accusing
party were supposed 'to be ready to make, were complete, would have
consumed time, which must be occupied in learning the details of his .
' provincial charge.
5. Let them therefore.. .which among you are able) R. V. " which are
of power among you." The words of Festus do not refer to whether
some. of them could go to Caesarea or not, but to the character of those
who should go down, that they should be men of influence and
character, such as would fitly represent the powerful body who appealed
to him.
go down with me] For they were evidently wealthy persons, whose
companionship on the journey might be no discredit to the governor.
, Festus was no doubt willing to conciliate the influential people in the
nation, though he had refused to break through a regulation of his pre
decessor at their request.
and accuse this man, if there be any wickedness in him] A large
number of MSS., with the Text. Rec, give no word for " wickedness."
But in some of the oldest Texts there is a word which signifies " out of the
way." The Rev. Ver. therefore gives "and if there is anything amiss in the
man, let them accuse him." The adjective is the same that is so
rendered, Luke xxiii. 41, "This man hath done nothing amiss."

338 THE ACTS, XXV. [w. 7— 9.
tarried among them more than ten days, he went down
unto Cesarea; and the next day sitting in the judgment
i seat, commanded Paul to be brought. And when he
was come, the Jews which came down from Jerusalem
stood round about, and laid many and grievous complaints
s against Paul, which they could not prove. While he
answered for himself, Neither against the law of the Jews,
neither against the temple, nor yet against Cesar, have
9 1 offended any thing at all. But Festus, willing to do
6. more than ten days] The oldest texts read "not more than eight
or ten days." This seems the more likely reading. It is more probable
that the writer would use words to mark the shortness of the stay, than
a form which would seem to describe ten days as a long residence at
Jerusalem. Festus was evidently full of business and anxious to get it
done. and the next day] Rev. Ver. "on the morrow." The Jewish autho
rities must have accepted the governor's invitation, and have gone down
along with him, so that the hearing could begin at once.
7. the Jews which came, Sec] Better, with Rev. Ver., "which had
come, &c."
stood round about] The best authorities give "round about him."
They were eager to set upon him, and so compassed him on every
side. and laid many and grievous complaints against Paul] The best
MSS. have nothing for the last two words. Read, with Rev. Ver.,
following a slightly different text, "bringing against him many and
grievous charges." In the two years lapse of time they had gathered up
every rumour which they could collect, and these they brought forward,
even though they could not support them by evidence.
8. While he answered for himself] Rev. Ver., with MSS., "While
Paul said in his defence. " He offered an "Apologia" for himself. He
did not make a, defence against the unsubstantiated charges, but alluded
only to those points on which they would try to prove their case, i. e. his
alleged attempt to defile the Temple, his breaches of the Jewish law,
and any insurrectionary outbreaks, in which the accusers would try to
prove him a leader, and which might be construed into opposition to
the Roman power. On this last his accusers would lay most stress.
St Luke has only given us the three heads of St Paul's Apologia.
Neither against the law of the Jews] The accusation on the former'
occasion had not dwelt on this point, but in the course of two years they
had discovered that the Apostle had taught among the Gentiles that
circumcision was no necessary door for admission to Christianity, and
this they would construe into an offence against the Jewish law.
have I offended any thing at all) Rev. Ver., " have I sinned at all. "
9. But Festus, willing to do the Jews a pleasure] Better (with R. V.)
' ' desiring to gain favour with the Jews. " Cp. xxiv. 27. Though he had

vv. 10—12.] THE ACTS, XXV. 339
the Jews a pleasure, answered Paul, and said, Wilt thou
go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these things
before me? Then said Paul, I stand at Cesar's judgment 10
seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews have I
done no wrong, as thou very well knowest. For if I 1,
be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of
death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these
things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver
me unto them. I appeal unto Cesar. Then Festus, when 12
not consented to their request when he was in Jerusalem, he now went
some way towards doing so by his question to Paul.
Wilt thou. ..before me) What Festus proposed was equivalent to
acquitting the Apostle of any charge which would come under Roman
law. He is therefore appealed to on the other accusations. The
offences against the law of the Jews and against the Temple must be
heard before the Sanhedrin. Would Paul accept an acquittal on one
count and submit to a trial before his own people on the rest? And
Festus would be present to see that right was done.
10. I stand at Cesar 's judgment seat] Better (with Rev. Ver.) "I am
standing before Caesar's judgment seat." This represents more nearly
the sense of the original, which implies, " I have been and am standing."
The Roman authorities had taken charge of him and had kept him in
custody for two years. Of this he reminds the governor, and refuses to
be turned over to another tribunal, where he would have for judges, if
he ever were allowed to live till his trial, those persons who had been
cognizant of the plot to murder him.
where I ought to be judged] Because I am a Roman citizen.
as thou very well knowest] Rev. Ver. "-as thou also, Sec." St Paul
does not mean to say that Festus is to be blamed for his proposal.
Probably he saw that the governor was acting with a view to conciliate
the Jews. But he intends to say that after all that the governor has
heard, any man would say at once that there was no case against the
prisoner. 11. For if I be an offender) The best MSS. have not " For." Read,
with Rev. Ver., "If then I am a wrong-doer." He has asserted that
he was innocent so far as the Jews are concerned. If there be anything
against him, it is for the civil jurisdiction of Rome, not for the religious
tribunal at Jerusalem, to decide upon.
no man may deliver me unto them] The full idea of the verb is ex
pressed by the margin of the Rev. Ver., "no man may grant me by
favour." The use of this word confirms the notion that St Paul saw
through what the governor was doing. The word "may" represents the
Greek "is able," and therefore the "can" ofthe Rev. Ver. is to be ap
proved. There is no power anywhere which can give me up to them.
/ appeal unto Cesar] The final tribunal being the hearing of the
Emperor himself.

340 THE ACTS, XXV. [vv. 13, 14.
he had conferred with the council, answered, Hast thou
appealed unto Cesar? unto Cesar shalt thou go.
13 — 22. Festus consults King Agrippa about his prisoner.
Agrippa wishes to hear Paul's defence.
13 And after certain days king Agrippa and Bernice came
14 unto Cesarea to salute Festus. And when they had been
there many days, Festus declared Paul's cause unto the
king, saying, There is a certain man left in bonds by
12. when he had conferred with the council] Having taken the opinion
of those who sat as assessors with him. Such persons would be specially
needed for a new governor, and the governors of Judaea were changed
frequently. Of the existence of such assessors in the provinces, see
Suetonius Tib. 33; Galba 19.
13 — 22. Festus consults King Agrippa about his prisoner.
Agrippa wishes to hear Paul's defence.
13. And after certain days] More literally, but with no manifest
gain, Rev. Ver. gives "Now when certain days were passed."
king Agrippa] This was Herod Agrippa IL, son of Herod Agrippa
I., and consequently a great-grandson of Herod the Great. He was
therefore brother of Bernice and Drusilla. On account of his youth he
was not appointed to succeed his father when he died. But after a time
the Roman Emperor gave him the kingdom of Chalcis, from which he
was subsequently transferred to govern the tetrarchies formerly held by
Philip and Lysanias, and was named king thereof. His kingdom was
afterwards increased by the grant of other cities which Nero gave him.
At the fall of Jerusalem he retired to Rome, with his sister Bernice, and
there died a. d. 100. He had sided with the Romans in the war against
the Holy City. Festus was likely to avail himself of an opportunity of
consulting Agrippa, for he would expect to be soundly advised by him
on any question of Jewish law.
and Bernice] She was the eldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I.
She had first been married to her uncle Herod, king of Chalcis. Her
connexion with her brother Agrippa II. was spoken of both by Roman
and Jewish writers as sinful. She was subsequently married to Polemon,
king of Cilicia, but soon left him and lived with Agrippa II. in Rome.
came unto Cesarea to salute Festus] Rev. Ver., following MSS., gives
"arrived at Csesarea, and saluted Festus," with a marginal rendering
" having saluted." This would seem to imply that the salutation had
taken place elsewhere than at Csesarea. This is very improbable.
Caesarea was the official residence of the governor, and thither would
the vassal-king Agrippa come to pay his formal visit of welcome to the
representative of Rome.
14. And when they had been there many days] Rev. Ver. "And as
they tarried there many days;" a rendering which may be taken to
mean that the length of their stay was a reason why Festus set Paul's

vv. 15—19.] THE ACTS, XXV. 341
Felix: about whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief is
priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, desiring
to have judgment against him. To whom I answered, 16
It is not the manner of the Romans to deliver any man
to die, before that he which is accused have the accusers
face to face, and have licence to answer for himself con
cerning the crime laid against him. Therefore, when they 17
were come hither, without any delay, on the morrow I sat
on the judgment seat, and commanded the man to be
brought forth. Against whom when the accusers stood 18
up, they brought none accusation of such things as I
supposed : but had certain questions against him of their 19
own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead,
cause before the king. This is not the sense of the Greek, so the A.V.
appears the better rendering.
15. the chief priests] See note on verse 2.
desiring to have judgment against him] The older MSS. give a
stronger word for "judgment" than the Text. Reccpt. It implies that
they held there could be but one opinion and that a condemnatory
sentence might be at once pronounced, even by the newly arrived
governor. 16. to deliver any man to die] The best MSS. omit the Greek for
the last two words. Rev. Ver. renders "to give up any man." The
verb is the same as in verse 1 1, and implies the granting as a favour.
The language throughout shews that the Jews thought the influence of
their party was enough to gain from Festus the condemnation of this
so obscure a prisoner, whatever might be the merits of his case.
and have licence to answer for himself] The Greek word for licence
is literally "place," and is here used figuratively for "opportunity." So
Rom. xv. 23 St Paul says "having no more place in these parts," by
which he means that there is no further opportunity for preaching the
Gospel there. So Rev. Ver. gives "have had opportunity to make his
defence. "
17. when they were come hither] The Greek is (as Rev. Ver.)
"come together here."
18. of such things as I supposed] Following the authority of some
ancient MSS. the Rev. Ver. gives "of such evil things as, &c."
19. of their own superstition [R. V. religion]. The noun used here
is cognate to the adjective employed by St Paul in speaking to the
Athenians (xvii. 22). It is a term which might be employed by any
one without offence in speaking of a worship with which he did not
agree. -Addressing Agrippa, Festus would not wish to say a word that
might annoy, any more than St Paul wished to irritate the Athenians
by his speech.
of one Jesus] Neither in the hearing of the cause before Felix nor

342 THE ACTS, XXV. [w. 20—23.
20 whom Paul affirmed to be alive. And because I doubted
of such manner of questions, I asked him, whether he would
go to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters.
21 But when Paul had appealed to be reserved unto the
hearing of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till
22 I might send him to Cesar. Then Agrippa said unto
Festus, I would also hear the man myself. To morrow,
said he, thou shalt hear him.
23 — 27. Assembly of the Court, and address of Festus.
23 And on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and Ber-
when Festus made his inquiry, does St Luke record any mention of the
name of Jesus, but it is clear from the explanation here given that not
only had Paul stated the doctrine of the Resurrection generally, which
the Pharisees accepted, but had also asserted in proof of it that Jesus
had risen and " become the firstfruits of them that sleep."
20. And because I doubted of such manner of questions] Rev. Ver.,
with ancient authorities, gives "And I, being perplexed how to inquire
concerning these things." The whole subject was a strange one to
Festus, and when he found that some Jews in part at least agreed with
St Paul, while others of them were his bitter opponents, he could find
no better plan than to turn to a Jew for an explanation. He did not
himself know how to conduct an inquiry on such a subject, and yet
the Jews' religion, being now allowed by the Empire, must have its
causes adjudicated on.
21. to be reserved unto the hearing of Augustus] Rev. Ver. "to be
kept for the decision of the Emperor." The verb is that which occurs
xxiv. 23 where the centurion was commanded to "keep" Paul. He
desired to be under the care of the Roman authorities until his case
could be properly heard. "Augustus," the title given first to Octavianus,
was afterwards conferred on his successors, and so came to mean "His
Imperial Majesty," whoever might be on the throne. The present
"Augustus" was Nero. In the noun rendered "hearing" we have a
word which implies " thorough inquiry."
22. I would also hear the man myself] Rev. Ver. "I also could
wish [marg. was wishing] to hear, &c." The marginal rendering here
given is the most literal and appears to bring out the meaning best.
What Agrippa means to say is that he had for some time been wishing
to see and hear St Paul.
23—27. Assembly of the Court and address of Festus.
23. with great pomp] The children follow in the steps of their
father, who formerly had sat on his throne in Caesarea arrayed in royal
apparel, to listen to the flatteries ofthe Tyrian deputation (xii. 21).

vv. 24— 27] THE ACTS, XXV. 343
nice, with great pomp, and were entered into the place of
hearing, with the chief captains, and principal men of the
city, at Festus' commandment Paul was brought forth. And 24
Festus said, King Agrippa, and all men which are here
present with us, ye see this man, about whom all the multi
tude of the Jews have dealt with me, both at Jerusalem, and
also here, crying that he ought not to live any longer. But 25
when I found that he had committed nothing worthy of
death, and that he himself hath appealed to Augustus, I
have determined to send him. Of whom I have no certain 26
thing to write unto my lord. Wherefore I have brought him
forth before you, and specially before thee, O king Agrippa,
that, after examination had, I might have somewhat to
write. For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a 27
prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against
him. were entered] The A.V. of 161 1 has " was entered," and so it will in
consequence be found printed in most English Bibles. The correction
is required by the original which is plural. So Rev. Ver.
the place of hearing] The word is found nowhere else in N. T. It
was no doubt some special room attached to the governor's palace,
where causes were tried. In classical Greek it signifies "a lecture-
room." chief captains] The Greek word chiliarchos is constantly used in
N.T. for the " prefect " of a Roman cohort.
24. have dealt with me] Rev. Ver. "made suit to me." In all other
places of the N.T. this word is used of " making intercession " to God.
and also here] No doubt the Sadducees from Jerusalem had been
able in the course of two years to work up a great deal of feeling
against Paul among their party in Caesarea. So when Festus came ,
he was appealed to by the great men of the residential city as well as
by those from Jerusalem.
25. committed nothing worthy of death) To ask for the life of a
prisoner because of some offence against the religious observances of
the Jews would be absurd in the eyes of a Roman officer. The best
texts give at the beginning of this verse " But I found that, &c."
to Augustus] See note on verse 21.
26. unto my lord] Octavianus by an edict forbade the title " Lord "
to be given to him. The practice had its rise from parasites. But you
find "Dominus" often used in Pliny's letters to Trajan. So that not
many emperors were like Octavian.
before you] Spoken with a glance towards the chief priests and great
persons who were present on the bench.
specially before thte] i.e. as one most likely to be able to clear up the
difficulties which I feel about the prisoner.

344 THE ACTS, XXVI. [vv. 1—5.
1 — 23. Paul's defence before Agrippa.
26 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to
speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the hand, and
answered for himself:
2 I think myself happy, king Agrippa, because I shall
answer for myself this day before thee touching all the things
3 whereof I am accused of the Jews : especially because I know
thee to be expert in all customs and questions which are
among the Jews : wherefore I beseech thee to hear me
4 patiently. My manner of life from my youth, which was at
the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know all the
5 Jews ; which knew me from the beginning, if they would
XXVI. 1 — 23. Paul's defence before Agrippa.
1. and answered for himself] Rev. Ver. "and made his defence."
The verb is the same as before (xix. 33, xxiv. 10, xxv. 8) and intimates
that what is coming is an apologia. St Luke here as in other places
notices the gesture of the speaker.
2. I think myself happy] Because Agrippa was sure to understand
much of the feeling imported into the case which would be entirely
obscure to a Roman magistrate. Paul would thus be able to make his
position clear, and get it -explained through Agrippa to the Roman
authorities. because I shall answer for myself] As in the previous verse, "that I
am to make my defence. '
3. especially because I know thee to be expert] Rev. Ver. quite
correctly "especially because thou art expert." The margin which
R. V. gives "because thou art especially expert" might be accepted, but
we have no reason to think that Agrippa was more than other persons
of his station expert in Jewish customs.
4. at the first] Better (with Rev. Ver.) "from the beginning." The
Apostle though bom in Tarsus yet came early to Jerusalem for his
education, and it was in the Holy City that his character was formed
and his manner of life shewed itself.
among mine own nation at Jerusalem) The oldest MSS. say "and
at Jerusalem." This would imply that even before coming to Jerusalem,
the Apostle had always dwelt among his own people, and so was not
likely to be one who would undervalue Jewish privileges or offend
against Jewish prejudices.
know all the Jews] Because in the persecution of the Christians he
had made himself a conspicuous character, had been in favour with the
chief priests and allowed to undertake the mission to Damascus.
5. which knew me from the beginning, if they would testify) Better
(with Rev. Ver.) "having knowledge of me from the first, iif they be
willing to testify." The word for " from the first " is the same which

w. 6, 7.] THE ACTS, XXVI. 345
testify, that after the most straitest sect of our religion I
lived a Pharisee. And now I stand and am judged for the 6
hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers : unto 7
which promise our twelve tribes, instantly serving God day
St Luke uses (Luke i. 3) to indicate his perfect understanding of the
Gospel story " from the very first." When we remember that the early
part of his Gospel can hardly have been gathered from anybody but the
Virgin Mary, who alone could know many of the details, we may well
think that the word implies that St Paul had been known from his very
childhood. The rest of the sentence seems to intimate that there were
some among those who were now his accusers who could give evidence
about his previous years if they were so minded.
the most straitest] There is nothing in the Greek to warrant the
double superlative. Read "straitest."
sect] The word is that which is rendered " heresy " by the A. V. in
xxiv. 14. Everywhere else in the Acts it is sect. In the Epistles,
where the plural only occurs, it is " heresies."
our religion] The word refers more especially to the outward cere
monials of worship, such as those by which the Pharisees were specially
distinguished. 6. And now I stand and am judged] Rev. Ver. "And now I stand
here to be judged." The idea is " I am on my trial."
for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers] i. e. because
I entertain the hope that the promise which God made to the patriarchs
and to David shall be fulfilled to us. The "promise" must be of the
Messiah and of His coming into the world as King. For this is what
the ten tribes were looking for. But this in St Paul's view embraced
the doctrine of the resurrection, because that was God's assurance to
the world (Acts xvii. 31) that He who was so raised up was to be the
judge of quick and dead.
7. unto which promise] This makes it clear that the promise was
the sending of Him in whom all the families of the earth should be
blessed. our twelve tribes) For the Jews regarded themselves as representing
the whole race, and not merely the two tribes of the kingdom of
Judah. And this no doubt was true. For tribal names continued to
be preserved and with the people of Judah there came back many of the
members of the previous captivity of Israel. Thus in the N. T. we •
find (Luke ii. 36) that Anna was of the tribe of Aser, and St James
addresses his Epistle (i. 1.) "to the twelve tribes that are scattered
abroad" and Paul himself knew that he was of the tribe of Benjamin.
Cp. also 2 Chron. xxxi. r. for evidence of the existence of some of the
ten tribes after the Captivity. In T. B. Berachoth 2oa Rabbi Jochanan
says " I am from the root of Joseph."
instantly serving God) i.e. earnestly serving God (as R. V.). The
old use of the word " instantly" has disappeared, and is not very common
in any writings but such as are marked by the use of Scripture
phraseology, e.g. Latimer's Sermons, Bishop Pilkington's Works, &c.
acts. 24

346 THE ACTS, XXVI. [vv. 8— Ii.
and night, hope to come. For which hope's sake, king
8 Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be
thought a thing incredible with you, that God should raise
9 the dead ? I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do
many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
io Which thing I also did in Jerusalem : and many of the saints
did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the
chief priests ; and when they were put to death, I gave my
ri voice against them. And I punished them oft in every
synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme ; and being
For which hope's sake, king Agrippa] The two last words are omitted
in many MSS., in some only the last one.
/ am accused of the Jews] Emphatically placed to mark the in
consistency of the position. The Jews accuse Paul because he looks for
the promise which was made to the forefathers of the Jewish race.
8. Why should it be thought a thing incredible... that God, Sec] More
literally (with Rev. Ver.) "Why is it judged incredible with you if God
doth raise the dead." The last clause is not to be understood hypotheti-
cally, but " If God doth, as he hath done in the case of Jesus." So
that it is equivalent to "Why should you not believe that Jesus has
been raised from the dead?"
9. contrary to the name] i. e. to the faith of Jesus Christ, into whose
name believers were to be baptized. Cp. v. 41, note. " Name " is con
stantly used in O. T. as the equivalent of " Godhead," and any Jew who
heard the language of such a verse as this would understand that the
Christians held Jesus to be a divine Being.
of Jesus of Nazareth] Whom we preach now as raised by God from
the dead, and as the fulfiller of the promises made to the fathers.
10. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem] Saul must have been a
most active and prominent agent in the work of persecution in Jeru
salem, for we learn here that the death of Stephen was not the only
one for which he had given his vote. He had also had the warrant
of the chief priests for other arrests beside those he intended to make
in Damascus. We can see that the slaughter of the Christians was'
not in all cases the result of a sudden outburst of rage at some act or
speech, but that some of them were imprisoned, then subjected to a form
of trial, and afterwards put to death as men condemned by law.
11. And I punished them oft in every synagogue] The Gk. continues
with a participial construction, represented in Rev. Ver. "and punish
ing...™ all the synagogues." This closer representation of the original
seems to add strength to the description of Saul's former zeal as a perse
cutor. Of the synagogues as places where offenders were accused and
punished, cp. Matth. x. 17, xxiii. 34; Mark xiii. 9; Luke xii. 11, xxi.
12. and compelled them to blaspheme] Rev. Ver. "I strove to make them
blaspheme." The verb is that which is frequently rendered "constrain"

vv. 12—15.] THE ACTS, XXVI. 347
exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto
strange cities. Whereupon as I went to Damascus with "
authority and commission from the chief priests, at midday, 13
0 king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the
brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them
which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to 14
the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in
the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why perseeutest thou me ?
it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And I said, is
Or " compel," but being in the imperfect tense, it seems to signify that the
attempt was repeated often, and needed to be so, . for it was not in some
cases successful. Saul kept on with his constraint. "To blaspheme,"
i.e. the name of Jesus into which they had been baptized. They were
to be forced to renounce the belief in the divinity of Jesus. Cp. on
blasphemy ofthe divine Name, Lev. xxiv. 11 — a 6.
even unto strange [R. V. foreign] cities] That is, cities outside the
country of the Jews proper. So that, as it appears, Damascus was but
one among several cities to which Saul had gone on his errand of punish
ment. 12. Whereupon] The Greek has "in which things," and the sense is
given well by the margin of R. V. "on which errand."
with authority] Rev. Ver. "with the authority." Saul was the com
missioner sent by the Jewish magistrates, and at this particular time
Damascus had been assigned as the district where he was to search for
the Christians.
13. at midday] There could be no question about the supernatural
character of a light which overpowered the midday glare of an Eastern
sun. 14. I heard a voice' speaking unto me, and saying] The oldest MSS.
have only " a voice saying unto me." Saul alone gathered the import
of what was said. His companions only heard the sound, not the
words. Cp. Dan. x. 7.
in the Hebrew tongue [R. V. language] Which is therefore repre
sented by a different orthography of the proper name, not " Saulos," the
usual Greek form, but "Saoul," a transliteration of the Hebrew.
it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks [goad] This is the only
place where the oldest MSS. give these words. See note on ix. 5. The
figure is from an ox, being driven on in his work. When restive or lazy,
the driver pricks him, and in ignorance of the consequences, he kicks
back, and so gets another wound. The words would imply that God
had been guiding Saul towards the true light for some time before, and
that this zeal for persecution was a resistance of the divine urging. It is
not unusual for men who are moved to break away from old traditions
at such times, by outward acts, to manifest even more zeal than before
for their old opinions, as if in fear lest they should be thought to be
falling away. This may have been Saul's case, his kicking against the
goads. 24 — 2

348 THE ACTS, XXVI. [w. 16— 18.
Who art thou, Lord ? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou
16 perseeutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet : for I have
appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister
and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and
17 of those things in the which I will appear unto thee ; deliver
ing thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom
18 now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God,
IB. Who art thou, Lord] The readiness with which "Lord," an
expression of allegiance, comes to the Apostle's lips lends probability to
the notion that God's promptings had been working in his heart before,
and that the mad rage against "the Way" was an attempt to stifle them.
16. to make [R. V. appoint] thee a minister] The verb is that which
in xxii. 14 is rendered "have chosen" (R. V. appointed), and implies a
deliberate selection and appointment. Saul was "a chosen vessel" (ix.
15)- and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen] Rev. Ver. "a
witness both of the things wherein thou hast seen me," with a certain
amount of MS. authority, though A.V. is well supported. St Paul
dwells not unfrequently in his Epistles on his having seen Jesus. Cp.
1 Cor. ix. 1, xv. 8, &c, and he makes this the ground of his independ
ence in the Apostolic work, so that he can say he is not a whit behind
any of the other Apostles.
and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee] St Paul was
more favoured than the rest of the Apostles, as far as we gather from the
N.T. records, with visions from God to guide and comfort him at
critical points in his work. Cp. Acts xviii. 9, xxiii. n ; and 2 Cor. ii. 2.
It was specially important that Paul should have seen Jesus, so that
he might bear independent witness to the truth of his resurrection.
17. delivering thee] i. e, though they may and will seize upon thee
and persecute thee, yet I am with thee and will save thee from their
hands. From the first the Apostle knew that in every city persecution
was to be his lot.
the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee] The best authorities (with
Rev. Ver.) omit "now." The verb "send" is that from which the word
"Apostle" comes, and its force is "I make thee my Apostle." In the
oldest texts the /is emphatically expressed. "Thou art, as well as the
rest, an Apostle chosen by me the Lord Jesus." The mission to the
Gentiles seems to have been made clear to Saul from the very first.
Compare his own language Gal. i. 16. And in Acts ix. 29 his preaching
appears to have been rather directed to the Greek -Jews than to the
members of the Church in Jerusalem.
18. to open their eyes, and to turn them] More literally Rev. Ver.
"that they may turn." A sentence full of hope and promise of success.
If the eyes of the Gentiles be but opened, then they will turn. In blind
ness the Jews often said (as Paul found) "We see," therefore their sin
remained.

w. 19—21.] THE ACTS, XXVI. 349
that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance
among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto 19
the heavenly vision : but shewed first unto them of Damas- 20
eus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of
Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and
turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. For these 21
causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about
them which are sanctified by faith that is in me] Better, with Rev.
Ver., "by faith in me." It is by their belief in Jesus that men are
sanctified. And here "sanctified," as so often "saint" in St Paul's
Epistles, is applied to those who have been set on the way of salvation,
and not to those who are perfect in holiness. To that they will be
brought if they persevere.
19. / was not disobedient] The verb should be more fully translated
" I did not become disobedient. " The thought goes back to the ' ' kick
ing against the pricks," the opposition of previous times. That was at
an end now. Jesus was " Lord," and Saul's only question "What wilt
thou have me to do?"
20. but shewed [R. V. declared] The word signifies the delivery
of a message. Saul was henceforth God's evangelist.
and at Jerusalem] Cp. ix. 29. Here he spake boldly in the name
of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians, so that they went
about to kill him.
and throughout all the coasts of Judcea] Of this ministration we
are only told, ix. 30, that the brethren finding Saul in danger in Jeru
salem, brought him to Csesarea, and thence sent him to Tarsus. But
as we see in the history of Felix (cp. xxiii. 34, note) that Cilicia was some
times reckoned as a part of the province of Judaea, the preaching in
Cilicia may be included in the expression "country of Judsea." And
we 'may feel sure that Paul, wherever he might be, never laid aside the
character which Christ's mission had imposed upon him.
and do works meet for repentance] Rev. Ver., more literally and
better, "doing works worthy of repentance" or "worthy of their re
pentance." For the works were to be a sign of their repentance and
turning unto God ; the means whereby the reality of their sorrow, and
the earnestness of their desire, was to be shewn.
21.- For these causes] Lit. "on account of these things" which the
R. V. better represents by "for this cause."
the Jews caught me [R. V. seized me] The word implies an arrest
with violence.
and went about [R. V. assayed] to kill me] St Paul combines the
riot in the Temple with the subsequent plot before he was sent to
Caesarea. Or he may be alluding only to the violence by which he
was nearly torn in "pieces before the chief captain came to his rescue.
The verb rendered "kill "indicates the laying violent hands on anyone,
and so favours the latter view.

350 THE ACTS, XXVI. [vv. 22, 23.
22 to kill me. Having therefore obtained help of God, I con
tinue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great,
saying none other things than those which the prophets and
23 Moses did say should come : that Christ should suffer, and
that he should be the first that should rise from the dead,
and should shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.
22. Having therefore obtained help of God [R. V. the help that is
from God.] The "therefore" implies that against such attempts the
help which alone could deliver him was divine. The word for " help"
means the succour of an ally, and recalls God's promise " Surely I will
be with thee."
I continue [R. V. stand] unto this day) The Apostle has in mind
the many attempts to cast him down which had been made by Jews,
and Gentiles too, during his missionary journeys. He has been rescued
in many ways, and is still there standing safe and sound through the
help which God hath sent him. He does not forget human agency,
but this, whatever it was, was all sent of God.
witnessing [R. V. testifying] both to small and great] He was now
before two who would be named great, and he knew that God had
declared that he should testify "before kings" (ix. 15).
the prophets and Moses] i.e. the whole Old Testament Scriptures.
The form of the phrase is usually " Moses and the prophets "^according
to the order of the O.T. books. Sometimes we have "the' Law and
the prophets," and once (Luke xxiv. 44) "the law of Moses, the prophets
and the Psalms."
23. that Christ should suffer] Rev. Ver. " How that the Christ
must suffer," but giving in the margin on "How that" or "if" or
"whether." The Greek is the conjunction ordinarily rendered "if,"
and the literal meaning is "If the Christ be one who has to suffer." The
original puts it as though it were a question on which there was debate
among the Jews. As indeed there was. See John xii. 34. And out of
the Scriptures Paul says he answered the question whether this should
be so. As his answer was a positive one the sense is nearly enough
represented by "that" in the A.V., but we should read "the Christ."
and that he should be the first that should rise from the dead, and
should shew light] The Rev. Ver. gives a better representation of the
original thus, " and how that he first by the resurrection of the dead
should proclaim." Christ was the firstfruits of them that sleep: His
resurrection was an earnest of the general resurrection. Thus life
and immortality were brought to light. " Should proclaim " ="is about
to proclaim," for this is the gospel which is to be preached from
generation to generation.
light unto the people, and to the Gentiles] The best MSS. insert
" both " before "unto." The " people," i. e. of the Jews. Christ was
spoken of in like terms by the aged Simeon. " A light to lighten the
Gentiles and to be the glory of thy people Israel." And he could
say this because in Jesus he beheld God's "salvation." He could

w. 24— 26.] THE ACTS, XXVI. 351
24 — 32. Interruption by Festus. Appeal to Agrippa.
Consultation and decision.
Aijd as he thus 'spake for himself, Festus said with a loud 24
voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth
make thee mad. But he said, I am not mad, most noble 25
Festus ; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness.
For the king Icnoweth of these things, before whom also 1 26
speak freely : for I am persuaded that none of these things
are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a
"depart in peace," being sure that "to die" was only the pledge of "to
rise again."
24—32. Interruption by Festus. Appeal to Agrippa. Con
sultation AND DECISION.
24 Festus said with a loud voice) Probably what had last fallen
from Paul seemed to him little better than lunatic ravings. The Gospel
of the Cross did appear as " foolishness" to the Gentile world. And this
'Gospel he had just heard in all its fulness : that the Christ by suffering
of death and rising to life again should be the source of true enlighten
ment both to Jews and Gentiles.
Paul, thou art beside thyself [R. V. mad]. As the same word is taken
up in the following verse, it is better that it should be rendered alike
in both places.
much learning doth make thee mad] Lit. (with R. V.) "doth turn
thee to madness." But there is nothing gained by construing thus,
and much is lost in English vigour. "Much learning" is literally "the
many writings." As in John vii. 15, where the same word is rendered
"letters," it may mean study and learning, generally. But it seems
better to take it of those writings (viz. the Old Testament) to which
Paul had been appealing. For as a religious literature no nation, not
even the polished Greeks, had anything to place in comparison with
the Sacred Books of the Jews.
25. - most noble [R. V. excellent] Festus] The same title of respect
which is given to Felix (xxiii. 26, xxiv. 3). As St Chrysostom remarks
the Apostle now answers with gentleness, not as to the high priest
(xxiii. 3).
soberness] The word, in classical Greek, is the opposite to that
" madness " unto which Festus had said Paul was turned.
26. none of these things are hidden from him] i.e. the history of
the life and works of Jesus, of His death and resurrection, of the
marvellous gifts of Pentecost, and the preaching of the Gospel since
Jesus had been crucified.
for this thing was not done in a corner] Of the truth of this we can
be sure from the excitement caused both in the religious and political
world by the work of Jesus during his life, by the efforts put forth to
stop his teaching, which culminated in ~ trial in which both Jewish

352 THE ACTS, XXVI. [vv. 27—29
27 corner. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets ? I
28 know that thou believest. Then Agrippa said unto Paul,
29 Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. And Paul
said, I would to God, that not only thou, but also all that
hear me this day, were both almost, and altogether such as
and Roman magistrates were consulted, and by the exclamation of the
Pharisees (John xii. 19) "The world is gone after him," and the de
claration (Acts xvii. 6) " These that have turned the world upside down."
27. believest thou the prophets] Whose writings foretell these events
of which I am speaking, and which have had their fulfilment in the
history of Jesus of Nazareth.
/ know that thou believest] The Apostle answers his own question,
for he is sure that Agrippa would not have given a different answer,
seeing how anxious all his family were, in spite of their relations with
Rome, to be accepted of the Jewish nation. St Paul does not imply
by his words any conviction about the character of Agrippa's faith in
the Scriptures.
28. Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian] Rev. Ver. "With
but little persuasion thou wouldest fain make me a Christian." The
original is "with [or in] little (labour or time) thou art persuading
me, &c." It would seem therefore that the Rev. Ver. represents
Agrippa's words more nearly than A. V. " With little labour or "in
a little time " implies that the king despised the attempt which had
been made to convince him, and mocked at the language of St Paul
in so readily taking for granted that the king was in accord with him.
It is as though he said "You are supposing that I accept these words
of the prophets in the same sense as you do, and you are a fool for your
pains, to think that with so little trouble and in so short a space you
could win me over to your side. And such a side ! To be a Christian."
The name had, no doubt, been given, when it was first applied (Acts
xi. 26), to the adherents of Jesus as a term of reproach, and it is likely
that it had not yet won its way to be a name of credit, at all events
among such men as Agrippa and his friends. For we have no reason
to suppose that the king was influenced at all by Paul's words.
29. both almost, and altogether] The literal rendering of the Greek
is given by the Rev. Ver. "whether with little or with much," and it
is difficult to see how the sense of the A. V. can be extracted from the
words. The Apostle takes up the jeer of the king in a serious tone, and
replies : " I may have seemed to use little persuasion, and suddenly to
have jumped at the conclusion that you accept the teaching of the
prophets as I myself receive it; but whether it need little or much
persuasion, or little or much time, my prayer to God is, for you and
for all who listen to me that they may become such as I am, save as to
my bonds."
were. ..such as I am] Better with Rev. Ver. "might become such as
I am." Paul avoids the word "Christian," which for himself he might
willingly have accepted (cp. 1 Pet. iv. 16), but which was used by the

vv. 30—32; 1, 2.] THE ACTS, XXVI. XXVII. 353
I am, except these bonds. And when he had thus spoken, 30
the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they
that sat with them : and when they were gone aside, they 3'
talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing
worthy of death or of bonds. Then said Agrippa unto 3s
Festus, This man might have been set at liberty, if he had
not appealed unto Cesar.
1 — 44. Paul's voyage and shipwreck.
And when it was determined that we should sail into 27
Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners unto
one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus' band. And *
king in a mocking sense, and therefore would not have made his wish
seem an acceptable one. You may call me "Christian" in mockery,
my joy and hope and faith in Christ are such, that I know no better
prayer for any. than to wish you all the like blessings.
except these bonds] From this it is clear, in spite of the leniency with
which Paul had been at first treated by Felix, that either because his
case was deemed more serious in consequence of his being left in prison
so long, or because he was just now before the court as a prisoner, the
Apostle had been put in chains.
30. And when he had thus spoken] The oldest MSS. omit these
words. they that sat with them) i. e. the chief captains and the principal men
of Caesarea. (See xxv. 23.) The authorities withdrew to consult upon
what they had heard.
31. they talked between themselves] R. V. "they spake one to another."
This is more literal and conveys better the idea that they were all of
one mind about the case.
32. might have been set at liberty] Thus Agrippa, looking at the
question from the Jewish stand-point, confirms the opinion of the Roman
magistrate (cp. xxv. 25). So that St Paul was acquitted on all hands,
and Festus may rightly be deemed guilty because he had driven an
innocent man to appeal to a higher court, from fear that he would be
delivered into the power of his enemies. But God was using human
means for bringing the Apostle to Rome, and so fulfilling his servant's
great desire, and in such wise that he should be heard before kings in
behalf of the Gospel.
if he had not appealed] The appeal put an end to all powers of a
lower court either to condemn or absolve.
XXVII. 1 — 44. Paul's voyage and shipwreck.
1. they delivered Paul] i.e. the soldiers who had the care of him
did so, by order of Festus.
a centurion] This was generally the rank of the officers appointed
to such a charge. Cp. xxi. 32, xxiv. 23, &c.
of Augustus' band] Rev. Ver. "Of the Augustan band." The

3S4 THE' ACTS, XXVII. [v. 3.
entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning
to sail by the coasts of Asia ; one Aristarchus, a Macedonian
3 of Thessalonica, being with us. And the next day we
touched at Sidon. And Julius courteously entreated Paul,
and gave him liberty to go unto his friends to refresh him-
word rendered "band" might be translated "cohort" as in the margin
of R. V., and it is said that in the time of Octavianus Augustus there
were some legions to which the title "Augustan" (Gk. Sebastos) was
given, as being specially the Imperial troops, and that perhaps among
the soldiers in Caesarea there was a detachment of these legions. But
as Caesarea was itself called "Sebaste" it seems more likely that the
soldiers were Samaritan troops belonging to Caesarea itself. And
Josephus (Wars ii. 12. 5) makes mention of troops which had their
name, Sebasteni, from this city Caesarea Sebaste.
2. And entering into (R. V. embarking in)] The verb is the technical
term for "going on board."
Adramyttium] a seaport on the coast of that district' of Asia Minor
called Mysia, and in early times ^Eolis. It appears to have been in
St Paul's time a place of considerable trade, and Pliny (v. 30) mentions
it as an assize town. The reason why the Apostle and his companions
embarked on board a vessel from this port was that it was probably
the easiest way of getting into the line of vessels going from Asia to the
West. The isle of Lesbos lay off the gulf on which Adramyttium was
situated, and to which it gave name, and the town was in close connexion
with Ephesus, Miletus, Pergamos and Troas, and so was a considerable
centre of commerce.
we launched, meaning to sail] The best MSS. make the participle
refer to the ship and not to the Apostle and his company. So read,
with Rev. Ver. "a ship... which was about to sail unto the places on
the coast of Asia, we put to sea. " For in a voyage of such a character
they would be very likely to find, in some of the ports at which they
touched, a vessel that would convey them to Italy.
Aristarchus] Mentioned before (xix. 29) as one of those whom the
mob in Ephesus seized in their fury against St Paul. He went, as it
seems, with the Apostle into Europe, for he is enumerated amongst those
who accompanied St Paul (xx. 4) on his return. After the present
notice of him, we learn nothing more of his history except that from
Col. iv. 10 and Philem. 24 we can gather that he remained with the
Apostle during his first Roman imprisonment.
3. Sidon] The well-known seaport on the coast of Phoenicia.
courteously entreated Paul] "To entreat" is in modern English only
used as "to beseech" "to supplicate." In the older language it had
the same sense as "to treat, ""use "has now. Cp. Shaks. Hen.VI. (pt. 2)
ii. 4. 81 "Entreat her not the worse, in that I pray you use her well."
The R. V. has "treated Paul kindly."
to refresh himself] The Greek is literally "to receive attention."
The Apostle no doubt knew some of the residents in Sidon, and at his

w. 4—8.] THE ACTS, XXVII. 355
self. And when we had launched from thence, we sailed 4
under Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. And when 5
we had sailed over the sea of -Cilicia and Pamphylia, we
came to Myra, a city of Lycia. And there the centurion 6
found a ship of Alexandria sailing into Italy ; and he put us
therein. And when we had sailed slowly many days, and 7
scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not suffer
ing us, we sailed under Crete, over against Salmone ; and 8
request the centurion allowed him, while the vessel stayed there, to
enjoy their company and kind offices.
4. And when we had launched from thence] R. V. "And putting
to sea from thence." "Launch" has become a little restricted in
meaning in modern English, but compare, for the sense, Christ's words
to Peter (Luke v. 4), " Launch out into the deep."
we sailed under Cyprus] i. e. between Cyprus and the mainland,
so as to have the shelter of the island on their left to protect them
from the contrary winds. R. V. "under the lee of Cyprus."
5. the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia] R. V., more correctly, "the
sea which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia." These two countries formed
the coast of Asia Minor in that portion which is opposite Cyprus.
Myra] Lies about 20 stadia (2J miles) from the coast on the river
Andriacus. 6. a ship of Alexandria] They found a means of transport into
Italy sooner perhaps than they had expected. It may be that the
same strong contrary winds from the ,west which had altered already
the course of their voyage from Sidon, had carried this vessel across
the Mediterranean to the Asiatic coast Myra was certainly out of the
way for persons sailing from N. Africa to Italy.
7. sailed slowly many days] Kept back by the same head- winds.
and scarce were come over against Cnidus] The word rendered
"scarce" would be better "with difficulty." They had been forced
to hug the coast all the way from Myra, and when off Cnidus they
were only opposite to the S.W. extremity of Asia Minor. Cnidus was,
as its remains demonstrate, a famous seaport town in ancient times,
and we find that Jews dwelt there in the days of the Maccabees
(1 Mace. xv. 23). It was a notable seat of the worship of Aphro
dite. the wind not suffering us] Better, with R.V. , "not further suffering
us," i.e. not allowing us to make further progress.
under Crete] Rev. Ver., "under the lee of Crete." See above on
verse 4. Crete is the modern island of Candia. Salmone was the
eastern extremity of the island, off which when they came they sheltered
themselves under the island, and sailed to the south of it, to avoid the
wind as much as might be.
8. and hardly passing it] "Hardly" is in the original the same
word which was rendered "scarce" in the previous verse. Read (with

356 THE ACTS, XXVII. [vv. 9— II.
hardly passing it, came unto a place which is called The
9 fair havens ; nigh whereunto was the city of Lasea. Now
when much time was spent, and when sailing was now
dangerous, because the fast was now already past, Paul
10 admonished them, and said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that
this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of
¦1 the lading and ship, but also of our lives. Nevertheless the

R. V.) " with difficulty coasting along it." The verb represents the
voyage as made by keeping close in to the southern shores of the
Island. came unto a place] i.e. on the coast of Crete. The Gk. gives (as
R.V.) "a certain place."
which is called The fair havens] R. V. " called Fair Havens. " This
place, though mentioned nowhere else in literature, yet is known by
the same name still. It is on the south of Crete, four or five miles
east of Cape Matala, which is the largest headland on that side of the
island. Lasea] This city has also been identified very recently. Its ruins
were discovered in 1856, a few miles east of Fair Havens. See Smith's
Voyage and Shipwreck of St Paul, App. in. pp. 262, 263.
9. Nino when much time was spent] Waiting for a change of wind,
and in debate on what course should next be taken.
and when sailing (R. V. and the voyage) was now dangerous] It had
come to be dangerous by the late season of the year. In St Paul's day
navigation both among the Jews and other nations was only attempted
for a limited portion of the year.
because the fast was now already past] The fast here meant is that
on the great Day of Atonement, which falls on the tenth day of Tishri,
the seventh month of the Jewish year. This corresponds to a part of
September and October of our calendar. So that a stormy season was
to be expected.
10. Sirs, I perceive that this (R. V. the) voyage will be with hur*
and much damage (R. V. injury and much loss)]. ' Evidently the character
of the Apostle had won him the regard and respect of those in charge
of the vessel as well as of the centurion. He must have had some ex
perience of sailing in the Mediterranean, and so was fitted to speak on
the question which was now being debated. We should bear in mind
too that he had seen more of perils by sea already than we gather from
the Acts. For some time before this voyage to Rome, he wrote to the
Corinthians (2 Cor. xi. 25), "Thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and
a day I have been in the deep. "
The verb rendered "I perceive" implies the results of observation,
and does not refer to any supernatural communication which the Apostle
had received. This is clear from the end of the verse where St Paul
speaks of hurt to the lives of those on board, which did not come to
pass (verse 44).

w. 12—13.] THE ACTS, XXVII. 357
centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship,
more than those things which were spoken by Paul. And 12
because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the
more part advised to depart thence also, if by any means
they might attain to Phenice, and there to winter ; which is
a haven of Crete, and lieth toward the south west and north
west. And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that 13
thty had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed
11. the centurion believed (R. V. gave more heed to)] As the cen
turion was in charge of prisoners for the Imperial tribunal, his wish
would be much regarded by both owner and sailing-master. And it
was natural when they recommended the attempt to proceed that he
should not listen to Paul's advice and remain where they were.
the master] i. e. the sailing-master. The original means "pilot,"
which term must here be understood of that officer who had charge of
the navigation.
the owner ofthe ship] Who was probably owner of the cargo too, and
if, as is most likely, this was com, he would be sailing with it, that he
might dispose of it to the best advantage when they reached Italy.
12. not commodious to winter in] And this was what they most
likely would have to do, wherever they stopped, as the season for sailing
was nearly over.
to depart thence also] The oldest MSS. do not represent the last
word. (R. V. "to put to sea from thence)." The word is the technical
term, and not the ordinary word for "depart."
they might attain to Phenice) (R. V. "they could reach Phcenix.")
Phcenix is no doubt the correct orthography of the name. The place
is mentioned both by Strabo and Ptolemy, and has been identified with
the modem port of Lutrb (Spratt's Crete ii. 250 seqq.).
and lieth toward the south west and nortk west] (R. V. looking north
east and south-east) The original is "looking down the south-west
wind and down the north-west wind." To look down a wind is to
look in the direction in which it blows. So as a south-west wind would
blow towards N.E., the Rev. Ver. appears to give the correct sense,
and the haven of Lutro answers these conditions, being open towards
the east.
13. the south wind blew softly) The storm appeared to have in some
, degree abated, and the change of wind must have been very complete,
for (see verses 7, 8) they had previously sailed under the lee of Crete to
get shelter from the north wind.
loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete] (R. V. "They weighed
anchor and sailed along Crete, close in shore)." The word for "close
in shore" is asson, and it has been by some taken for a proper name
and endeavours been made to discover traces of some place so named
in Crete. But though the translation "when they had loosed from
Assos" is as old as the Vulgate, there can be little doubt that the

358 THE ACTS, XXVII. [w. 14—16.
14 close by Crete. But not long after there arose against it a
15 tempestuous, wind, called Euroclydon. And when the ship
was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her
16 drive. And running under a certain island which is called
Greek word is really the comparative degree of an adverb signifying
"near." So it literally means "nearer," and is probably used to in
dicate that the coasting voyage now being made was one in which the
coast was hugged more closely than usual. This is intended by R. V.
"close in shore."
14. there arose against it] The word "it" must mean the last-
mentioned subject, the island Crete. Thus the A. V. would state that
the south wind, which already had begun to blow, became tempestuous,
and dashed against the island. But if so, it must have carried the
vessel with it. Whereas, what really happened was that they were
driven southward to the island of Clauda. It is therefore better to
take the preposition =down from, a sense which it often has in such
a construction, than to give the verb the more literal meaning from
the margin of A. V., and to construe (with R. V.) "there beat down
from it, Sec." The !wind suddenly changed from south to north, and
coming over the land carried the vessel southward away from Crete.
Such changes are not unusual in the Mediterranean (Smith's Voyage of
St Paul, p. 99).
a tempestuous wind] The adjective is one from which the word
"typhoon" is derived.
called Euroclydon] (R. V. "which is called Euraquilo"). This
reading of R. V. is supported by the oldest MSS., and has the Vulgate
"Euroaquilo" in its favour, and it exactly describes the wind which
would carry the vessel in the direction indicated. It is known in Greek
by the name "Ccecias" and is a north-east wind. Some have thought
that the reading of the A. V., which has the support of many MSS.,
arose from a corruption in the mouths of sailors. For the word
"Euraquilo" is a hybrid, the first portion being Greek, the latter
Latin. The form in the Text Rec. gives it a look of being all Greek,
and the words "which is called" seem to intimate that the name was
one known to the sailors, rather than a word of general use. Whereas
"Euraquilo" would have needed no such introductory expression, but
have been understood at once by its etymology.
15. and could not bear up into the wind] (R.V. "face the wind").
This comes nearer to the original, which is literally "to look the wind
in the eye. "
we let her drive] (R. V."we gave way to it, and were driven.) The
literal rendering is "having given way we were driven." The general
usage of the verb in the sense of "yielding to superior force" makes
it most probable that the meaning is "we yielded to the wind." The
A. V. makes the sense "we yielded the vessel up."
16. And running under a certain island which is called Clauda]
(R. V. And running under the lee of a small island, called Cauda")

vv. 17, 18.] THE ACTS, XXVII. 359
Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat : which 17
when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the
ship ; and fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands,
strake sail, and so were driven. And we being exceedingly 18
tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship ;
For the verb cp. above on verses 4 and 7. The word for "island" is
here in the original a diminutive form, hence "small island." The
name "Cauda" which has the best MS. support agrees well with the
form which the name has assumed in modern times, "Gozzo" and
"Gaudo." But the form in A.V. is warranted by the orthography of
Ptolemy (Claudos) and Pliny (Glaudos).
we had much work to come by the boat] This is most idiomatic old
English, but is changed in R. V. into "we were able, with difficulty, to
secure the boat. " The boats in old times were not as in modern ships
made fast round about the vessel, but were carried on in tow. In stormy
weather, there was of course much danger that the boat would be
washed away. This was the case here, and as soon as ever they had
gained the shelter of the island, they set about making sure of its safety
by hauling it on board, but this they were not able to do without much
difficulty, probably because it had been already filled with water.
17. which when they had taken up] [R.V. "and when they had
hoisted it up "]. The sense of the verb is thus fully brought out, as it
indicates the labour which the work required.
helps] These were strong cables, which were drawn several times
round the hulls of vessels, to help in keeping the timbers from parting.
The technical term for the operation is "to frap" a vessel, and it is
only in modern times that the process has been abandoned.
should fall into the quicksands] [R.V. "lest they should be cast
upon the Syrtis"]. The Syrtis Major and Syrtis Minor are two quick
sands on the north coast of Africa, of which the Syrtis Major lies most
to the east, between Tripoli and Barca, and was the shoal on to which'
the sailors at this time were afraid of being driven.
strake sail) [R. V. "lowered the gear"] The noun is a very general
one, signifying "tackling" or "implements" of any kind. What was
done was to lower everything from aloft that could be dispensed with.
They could not have struck sail, because to do so would be to give up
all the chance which remained of using the wind to avoid the Syrtis,
which was what they desired to do.
18. And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest] Better, with
R. V. " and as we laboured exceedingly with the storm." The storm
waxed in violence.
the next day they lightened the ship] This is not as precise as the
original. Read "they set about throwing the cargo overboard." The
verb is an imperfect, and the noun is used in classical Greek for "a
cargo cast forth." The ship was probably carrying com from Alexandria
to Italy, and if so the load would be a heavy one and its removal a great
relief to the struggling vessel. On the African supply of com to Italy
cp. Juv. Sat. v. 118 seqq.

360 THE ACTS, XXVII. [vv. 19—23.
19 and the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling
20 of the ship. And when neither sun nor stars in many days
appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we
21 should be saved was then taken away. But after long
abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said,
Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed
22 from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And
now I exhort you to be of good cheer : for there shall be no
23 loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship. For there
19. we cast out with our own hands] The oldest MSS., with R. V.
read "They cast out with their &c." which is much more likely than
that the writer of the narrative, even if he were a fellow-traveller with
St Paul in this voyage, was employed in such a work, which is pre
eminently that which the sailors alone would undertake.
the tackling] (Gk. furniture). The word is closely akin to that used
in verse 17 for "gear." As that signified all that could be spared from
aloft, so this seems to mean all that could be removed from the deck
or the hull of the vessel.
20. in many days appeared] [R. V. shone upon us for many days].
This does not imply a continuous darkness like night, but that the mist
and spray made the. whole sky obscure both by day and night. In
such a state of things we can understand how hopeless seemed the case
of the Apostle and his fellows. They were at the mercy of the storm,
and could neither know the direction in which they were carried, nor
see if they were nearing any danger.
21. But after long abstinence) As this sentence stands in A.V. it
seems to indicate that the Apostle had been observing this long
abstinence before he spake to his companions. The Gk. means that
everybody on board had been without food for a long time. Read
(with R.V.) "when they had been long without food." This was in
consequence of the excitement which made it impossible to eat, as well
as the condition of the vessel which made the preparation of food very
difficult. They had been living on anything that happened to be
attainable, and that had been very little.
and not have loosed [R. V. set sail] from Crete] His exhortation had
been that they should stay at Fair Havens, even though it was not so
very commodious as a harbour.
and to have gained [gotten R. V.) this harm [injury R. V.) and loss]
"To gain a loss" is a Greek, though not an English expression, and
signifies "to prevent, the loss by avoiding the danger." The negative of
the previous clause must not therefore be taken with this clause too,
but the whole read as meaning "ye would not have set sail from Crete,
and so would have escaped (been the gainers in respect of) this harm
and loss from which ye now suffer. "
22. And now] i.e. though my advice was formerly rejected I offer
it again.

vrv. 24—27.] THE ACTS, XXVII. 361
stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and
whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought 2<
before Cesar : and lo, God hath given thee all them that
sail with thee. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer : for I be- 25
lieve God, that it shall be even as it was told me. Howbeit 26
we must be cast upon a certain island.
But when the fourteenth night was come, as we were 27
driven up and down in Adria, about midnight the shipmen
there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship]
R. V. "no loss of Ufe among you, but only of the ship." This is more
literal, but does not alter the sense. The Apostle now speaks in the
confidence of a revelation. Formerly (verse 10) he had reasoned from
the probabilities of the case.
23. the angel of God] [R. V. an angel of the God]. In speaking to
heathens this would be the sense which the Apostle designed to convey.
They had their own gods. But St Paul stood in a different relation
to his God from any which they would acknowledge towards their
divinities. To him God was a Father, and therefore all obedience and
service were His due. Cp. the language of Jonah when he was among
the heathen sailors. (Jonah i. a.)
24. thou must be brought [R. V. stand] before Cesar] i. e. " and that
this may come to pass, thou shalt be saved from the present danger."
. God hath given [R. V. granted] thee] This must be understood as in
answer to prayer on the part of St Paul. In the midst of such peril,
though no mention is made of the fact; we cannot doubt that the
Apostle cried unto the Lord in his distress, and the gracious answer
was vouchsafed that all should be preserved. It is not with any thought
of boastfulness that he speaks thus to the heathen captain and centurion.
All the praise is ascribed to God, and thus the heathen would learn
that St Paul had God very near unto him.
25. for I believe God] And he implies " I would have you do so too."
In the midst of danger, few things could be more inspiriting than such
an address. And by this time all in the ship must have learnt that they
had no common prisoner in the Jew who had appealed from his own
people to the Roman Emperor.
26. upon a certain island] Hence it appears that in the vision
some details of the manner of their preservation had been made known
to St Paul by the divine messenger.
27. the fourteenth night] i.e. from the time of their sailing away
from Fair Havens. Since that time they had been constantly driven
to and fro.
in Adria] [R. V. in the sea of Adria]. That part of the Mediterranean
which lies between Greece, Italy and Africa is so called. The name
embraced a much wider extent of sea than the present Gulf of Venice,
which is called "the Adriatic." Cf. Strabo, II. 123.
the shipmen deemed] [R. V. surmised]. Their knowledge of the sea
would enable them to form an opinion from things which others would
acts 25

362 THE ACTS, XXVII. [vv. 28—31.
28 deemed that they drew near to some country; and sounded,
and found it twenty fathoms : and when they had gone a ,
little further, they sounded again, and found it fifteen
29 fathoms. Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon
rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished
30 for the day. And as the shipmen were about to flee out of
the ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea,
under colour as though they would have cast anchors out
3i of the foreship, Paul said to the centurion and to the
hardly notice, some alteration in the currents or the different character
and sounds of the waves, dashed as they would be against the land.
28. and sounded] In ancient times, this must have been the only
means of feeling their way in dark and stormy weather. The lead
must have been in constant use.
found it twenty fathoms] The original has no word for "it," which
is therefore omitted by R.V. What is meant is "they found twenty
fathoms' depth of water." The same omission is found at the end of
the verse also.
and when they had gone a little further] The verb has no sense of
"going," but only implies that they allowed an interval to elapse. The
movement of the vessel meanwhile is of course understood, but the
simpler rendering of the R. V. "after a little space" is to be preferred.
fifteen fathoms] So rapid a decrease in the depth of the water shewed
them that they would soon be ashore.
29. lest we should have fallen upon rocks] [R. V. should be cast
ashore on rocky ground]. That rocks were near was evident from the
dashing of the waves. But the morning, even with the faint light
which appeared through the dark clouds, might enable them to make
for a part where the coast was not so full of danger.
out ofthe stern] Thus trying as best they might to keep the head of
the vessel towards the land and yet let her come no nearer to it, until
they could make out what it was like.
_ wished for the day] Or the verb may be rendered "prayed." The
similarity of the circumstances to those in Jonah's voyage would thus
be made still greater, for then the heathen sailors prayed to their own
gods. 30. were about to flee] The Greek is better represented by the R. V.
"were seeking to flee." They had hit upon a device which they thought
would enable them to have the first chance for safety and now they set
about to carry it out. Everybody would agree that it was the most
important matter at the moment to hold the ship in her position. So
they professed to be anxious to make her secure fore as well as
aft, and to lay out anchors from the foreship. For doing this they
made out that the boat must be lowered from the deck, and that having
been done, they intended to avail themselves of it and to row towards
the shore. Paul s interference stopped them.

w. 32— 35.] THE ACTS, XXVII. 363
soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.
Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and let her 32
fall off. And while the day was coming on, Paul besought 33
them all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth
day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken
nothing. Wherefore I pray you to take some meat : for this 34
is for your health : for there shall not a hair fall from the
head of any of you. And when he had thus spoken, he 3s
took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them
31. Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers] These would
probably be able to stop the intended desertion better than the captain
of the vessel. At all events they were strong enough in numbers to
take the matter into their own hands, and cut the boat adrift. It seems
too (from verse 11) that the centurion had much to do with the direction
of the ship. Probably he had chartered her for the conveyance of his
prisoners and so had the right to be consulted on all that was done.
Except these abide in the ship] We see from this that every human
effort was still to be made, although God had revealed to Paul that they
should all be saved. If the sailors had left, the ignorance of the soldiers
and other passengers would not have availed to save them at such a
time. The skill of the sailors was to be exerted to carry out what God
had promised.
32. cut off [R.V. away] the ropes of the boat] i.e. cut asunder the
ropes which attached the boat to the ship.
33. while the day was coming oh) Before it was light enough to see
what had best be done. Here again we may notice how every means
was to be employed for safety. Paul urges them to take now a proper
meal that when the time for work arrives they may be in a condition to
undertake it. The remaining clauses of the verse are not to be under
stood as implying that the fast had been entire for so long a time. Such
a thing is impossible. But what the Apostle means is that the crew
and passengers had taken during all that time no regular food, only
snatching a morsel now and then when they were able, and that of
something which had not been prepared.
34. to take some meat] "Meat" in the older English was used foi
any kind of food, which is what the Greek signifies, "nourishment."
Therefore in these verses the R.V. has everywhere "food."
this is for your health] [R. V. safety.] The R. V. is the better
rendering of the Greek, and agrees with what has been said on verse 32.
The men when they had eaten would be able to do more towards their
own preservation.
there shall not a hair fall, Sec] The best MSS. have "perish" instead
of "fall," and so R. V. The phrase is a proverbial one to express com
plete deliverance. Cp. 1 Sam. xiv. 45 ; 2 Sam. xiv. 11 ; 1 Kings i. 52 ;
Luke xxi. 18.
35. gave thanks to God) As he had advised, so he set the example
25 — 2

364 THE ACTS, XXVII. [w. 36—39.
36 all : and when he had broken it, he began to eat. Then
were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat.
37 And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and
38 sixteen souls. And when they had eaten enough, they
lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea.
39 And when it was day, they knew not the land : but they
of taking food. But he did more than this. He made an Eucharist
of this meal. In the sight of the heathen soldiers and sailors, he brake
the bread in solemn thanksgiving, and thus converted the whole into a
religious act, which can hardly have been without its influence on the
minds of some, at all events, of those who had heard St Paul's previous
words about the revelation which God had made to him.
36. all of good cheer] Paul's hopeful spirit had breathed hope into the
whole company, and doubtless tfie religious character infused into the
meal was not without a calming influence.
took some meat] The "some" of the A.V. seems warranted by the
genitive case in the original, and is therefore to be preferred to the
"took food" ofthe R. V.
37. two hundred threescore and sixteen) As we do not know the
number of prisoners and soldiers, it is impossible to form any conclusion
about the manning of such a ship as this. The number here mentioned
is very large, and we cannot suppose that a merchantman from Alex
andria to Rome would carry a very large crew. But to accept the read
ing (supported by very little authority) which makes the whole company
"about threescore and sixteen" has equal difficulty on the other side,
and the way in which it arose can be easily explained from the use of
letters for numerals among the Greeks. A vessel which could have four
anchors cast from the stem, and still have more to spare for the foreship,
must have been of large size and have needed many hands. The occa
sion of the numbering was probably the near expectation of coming
ashore, and so it was needful to have all told, for the captain, in respect
of the crew, and for the centurion, that of his prisoners and soldiers none
might be allowed to escape or be missing. The mention of the number
at this point of the history is one of the many very natural features of
the narrative.
38. And when they had eaten enough] Gk. " And having been satis
fied with food." When they had satisfied their present need, there was
no use in trying to save more of the food which they had. So they set
about lightening the ship. This is implied by the tense of the verb, and
the next clause tells us the way they did it. They cast into the sea the
corn which had been the first cargo of the vessel from Alexandria. No
doubt this was the heaviest part of the freight, and would relieve the
vessel greatly.
39. they knew not the land] We are not from this to suppose that
none of the sailors were acquainted with the island of Malta, but that the
point of the land close to which they were was unrecognised by them.
When they were close in shore, and amid stormy weather, this could

vv.40.4i-] THE ACTS, XXVII. 365
discovered a certain creek with a shore, into the which they
were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship. And
when they had taken up the anchors, they committed them
selves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoised
up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore. And .
falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship
very well happen, as they were a long way distant from the usual
harbour. but they discovered a certain creek with a shore] Better (with R. V.)
"they perceived a certain bay with a beach." The word is used to
signify such a sandy beach as might allow a ship to be run aground upon
it without the danger of her immediately coming to pieces.
into the which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the
ship) Better (with R. V.) "and they took counsel whether they could
drive the ship upon it," i.e. they saw that the beach was such that they
had a chance of landing there, and they discussed the best way of doing
so, in their present maimed condition.
40. And when they had taken up the anchors] The verb in the
original implies that they cast loose all the anchors round about the
stem of the vessel where they had laid them out. So the R. V. rightly
gives "And casting off the anchors." When they had thrown overboard a
load of com, they would have no wish to encumber themselves with the
weight of the anchors or to take the trouble of hauling them up.
they committed themselves unto the sea] The italics of the A. V. shew
that "themselves" is unrepresented in the original. It is far better to
refer the verb to the anchors already mentioned, and render (with R. V.)
"they left them in the sea."
and loosed the rudder bands) The original has an adverb which is
feebly represented by the conjunction of the A. V. Read (asR. V.) "at
the same time loosing," &c. The rudders, of which the ancient ships
had two, had been made fast, and raised out of the water, when the
anchors were laid out in the stern. Now that an attempt is to be made
to steer the ship toward the beach they are let down again into the
water. and hoised up the mainsail] The Gk. word "artemon" here used,
was in old times the name given to the "foresail" of the vessel, and
so it should be rendered here. Cognate words are now employed for
the larger sails of vessels in the Mediterranean, but the " foresail" was
all they here had left.
toward shore] i. e. toward this beach, which seemed a suitable place
where they might try to land.
41. And falling into a place where two seas met] The conjunction
should here be rendered adversatively "But." The verse goes on to
describe some circumstances which defeated the intention of the sailors.
Read "But lighting upon a place, &c." This is one of the features of
the narrative by which the locality can almost certainly be identified.
The little island of Salmonetta forms with the Maltese coast near St

366 THE ACTS, XXVII. [v v. 42— 44.
aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained un-
moveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence
4= of the waves. And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the
prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.
43 But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their
purpose; and commanded that they which could swim
44 should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land : and
Paul's Bay exactly such a position as is here described. From the sea
at a little distance, it appears as though the land were all continuous,
and the current between the island and the mainland is only discovered
on a nearer approach. This current by its deposits has raised a mud-
bank where its force is broken by the opposing sea, and into this bank,
just at the place where the current meets the sea-waves, was the ship
driven, the force of the water preventing the vessel from reaching the
beach just beyond. So it came to pass that though they got much
nearer to the shore than at first, yet after all they had to swim for their
lives. but the hinder part was broken) Read (as R. V.) "the stem began
to break up." The verb in the orginal expresses an incomplete and
gradual process. When the foreship was immoveable, the stern would
also be held fast, and so be acted on by the waves with great violence and
begin to go to pieces.
with the violence of the waves] The best MSS. do not represent the
last three words. Of course they are to be understood, if they be not
there. 42. to kill the prisoners] This was the advice of the soldiers because,
by the Roman law, they were answerable with their own lives for the
prisoners placed under their charge.
43. But the centurion, willing to save) The Gk. word indicates an
active desire, and not a mere willingness. Read (with R. V.) "desiring
to save." The centurion could not fail to feel that it was to the Apostle
that the safety of the whole party was due, and he could hardly help
feeling admiration for the prisoner, after all he had seen of him. From
the first (see verse 3) he had been well disposed toward Paul, and the
after events would not have lessened his regard. So to save him, he
stops the design of his men, and saves the whole number of the
prisoners. kept them] Better, "hindered them" or (with R. V.) "stayed them."
The verb is a forcible word, and shews that the centurion was in full
command of his men, and had not in the confusion lost his thoughtful-
ness and presence of mind.
they which could swim] This was the wisest course to adopt Thus
there would be a body ready on the shore to help those who only could
float thither by the aid of something to which they were clinging. As
St Paul had already been thrice shipwrecked and had been in the deep
a night and * day (2 Cor. xi. 25) we may be sure that he was among
those who were told off to swim ashore.

w. I, 2.] . - THE ACTS, XXVIII. 367
the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the
ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to
land. 1 — 10. The shipwrecked company hospitably entertained in
Malta. Paul, bitten by a viper, feels no hurt. Cure of
the father of the chief magistrate.
And when they were escaped, then they knew that the 28
island was called Melita. And the barbarous people shewed 2
should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land] [R.V. "should
cast themselves overboard and get first to the land'] What is represented
in the A.V., by "into the sea" is merely the preposition compounded
with the verb "to cast." This the R. V. represents by "overboard,"
and so brings the' word "first" into its proper and emphatic position.
The swimmers were to get into safety first of all, that then they might
be in readiness to succpur those who drifted to the land on the floating
spars and planks.
44. ".nd the rest] The nominative is here left pendent, both in the
original and the translation. We supply readily in thought the needful
words "should get to the land."
some on boards [R. V. planks] and some on broken pieces of [Ii. V.
other things froin] the ship] The R. V. is the closest rendering of the
Greek, but the A. V. gives the sense. The things on which they were
saved were pieces which on the stranding of the vessel would be broken
away from the main timbers. Everything that was needless to be kept
on board they had already thrown over, and so we cannot think here of
loose furniture of the vessel, but only of the framework itself.
escaped all safe] [R. V. all escaped safe]. The transposition of
R.V. makes the emphasis clear. "All safe" might be read as if it
meant "quite safe," and "all" were merely an adverb qualifying the
adjective. XXVIII. 1 — 10. The shipwrecked company hospitably
entertained in Malta. Paul, bitten by a viper, feels
no hurt. Cure of the father of the chief magistrate.
1. And when they were escaped) The oldest MSS. give the first
person plural in this verse. Render (with R. V.) "when we were. ..we
knew." Melita] They would at once leam what the land was from the
natives whom they found on the shore. Tradition has from the earliest
times identified Melita with the modern Malta. But Constantine
Porphyrogenitus (de Adm. Imp. p. 36) and .others after him have at
tempted to shew that Meleda, a small island in the Adriatic Sea, not
far from the coast of Illyria, was the scene of the shipwreck. They have
supported this opinion by confining the sense of Adria (xxvii. 27) to the

368 THE ACTS, XXVIII. [v. 3.
us no little kindness : for they kindled a fire, and received
us every one, because of the present rain, and because of
3 the cold. And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks,
and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat,
modem Adriatic Sea, by their explanation of "barbarians" in the next
verse of this chapter, and by the absence of vipers at the present time
from the island of Malta. But the latter circumstance is not without a
parallel. The advance of cultivation and alteration of temperature have
destroyed poisonous beasts out of other districts besides Malta, and the
two first arguments are founded on mistakes. Moreover it is hardly
possible to conceive that a ship should be driven for fourteen days in the
Adriatic without going ashore, and the direction in which they sailed
after finding a fresh vessel (xxviii. 11, 12) is also completely opposed to
the idea that they were wrecked in the Gulf of Venice.
2. _ And the barbarous people] [R. V. barbarians] The word is
used in the original, as it was used by the ancient Greeks and Romans.
Those who did not speak their language were to them always "bar
barians " not necessarily in our modern sense but as strange and foreign
folks. The language spoken in Malta was probably a Phoenician dialect,
as the island had received most of its inhabitants from Carthage, but
had come under Roman rule in the second Punic war (Livy, XXI. 51).
shewed us no little [R. V. no common] kindness] The same Greek
expression is used xix. n of St Paul's miracles. There both versions
give "special" as the rendering. And we might here read "shewed us
especial kindness."
received us every one] [R. V. all] i.e. took us under their care. At
first of course the hospitality would be shewn by kind treatment on the
beach, evidenced by their lighting a fire. Afterwards, as the stay was
of three months' duration, the sailors and prisoners would find quarters
in the dwellings of the natives. Paul, the centurion, and some others
were received into the house of the chief magistrate. The rain con
tinued after they had got ashore, and the storm had so lowered the
temperature that the first thing to be done was to make a large fire.
3. And [R. V. But] when Paul had gathered) This is only another
sign of the active spirit of the Apostle. Whatever was to be done,
if he were able to take a part in it, he was never wanting, whether it
was in counselling about a difficulty, in comforting under danger, or
helping by bodily labour to relieve the general distress.
a bundle of sticks] The word in the original would apply very fitly to
the brushwood and furze which is said to be tl ¦ only material growing
near St Paul's Bay of which a fire could be made.
there came a viper] Dr Farrar (Life of St Paul, II. 384, note) has
noticed that the viper has disappeared from the isle of Arran, as it
is now said to have done from Malta.
out ofthe heat] [R. V. by reason of the heat] The original has the
preposition usually rendered "from." The R.V. gives the better
explanation of its meaning here. The creature had been numbed by

w. 4— 7-1 THE ACTS, XXVIII. 369
and fastened on his hand. And when the barbarians saw 4
the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among
themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though
he hath escaped the sea, yet Vengeance suffereth not to live.
And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. 5
Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or 6
fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a
great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed
their minds, and said that he was a god. In the same 7
quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island,
the cold, and feeling the sudden warmth, woke up and sprang away
from it.
4. saw the venomous beast) There is nothing in the Greek to repre
sent "venomous," though it was because the inhabitants knew that
such was its character that they were so astonished at what happened.
Vengeance suffereth not to live) [R. V. "Justice hath not suffered
to live"] This is an instance in which the A.V. expresses far more
truly than the R. V. the sense of the Greek. The indefinite meaning
of the Greek aorist is often more like what we call the English present
than the perfect. "I eat" does not necessarily mean "I am eating"
and covers more time than "I have eaten." It may be present, but it
can refer both, to past and future time. What the people meant to say
was that Justice, as her wont is, is finding out the wrong-doer.
5. And [R. V. Howbeit] he shook off the beast] The rendering of
the particles by the R. V. is to be preferred. The verb is the same
which is used (Luke ix. 5) of shaking off dust from the feet. The idea
conveyed is that Paul was quite composed in what he did, and that the
beast was no cause of alarm to him.
6. Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen] Better (with
R.V.) "But they expected that he would have swollen." Such being
the usual effect of the viper's bite, and making itself apparent in a very
short time.
but after they had looked a great while] [R. V. "but when they were
long in expectation."] The verb is the same as in the first clause of the
verse, and does not express merely the gazing upon Paul, but the thought
in their minds of what was to come. The pluperfect of the A.V. is the
better English. So read "when they had been long in expectation."
saw no harm] [R.V. "beheld nothing amiss."] The adjective
is the same which is used, Luke xxiii. 41, "This man hath done
nothing amiss," and can be applied to anything abnormal, whether
it be as there a breach of a law, or as here a change of condition.
and said that he was a god] Compare the conduct of the Lycaonians
in Lystra (xiv. 11 seqq.), whose behaviour afterwards shews that the
opinion quickly formed was unstable, and liable to change as suddenly
as it came.
7. In the same quarters were possessions of Sec/) The A.V. omits

370 THE ACTS, XXVIII. [vy. 8—10.
whose name was Publius ; who received us, and lodged us
8 three days courteously. And it came to pass, that the
father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flixe :
to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on
9 him, and healed him. . So when this was done, others also,
which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed :
10 who also honoured us with many honours ; and when we
the conjunction, and the indefinite word "possessions" is improved on
by R. V. " Now in the neighbourhood of that place were lands belong
ing to, &c." The nearest place to what is believed to have been the
scene of the wreck is the town now called Alta Vecchia.
the chief man ofthe island] The Greek word is "Protos," which is
known from inscriptions (see Bochart, Geogr. 11. 1. 26) to have been
the official title of the governor of Melita. The island of Melita be
longed to the province of the Sicilian Prsetor (Cicero, Verr. iv. 18),
whose legate Publius probably was. Tradition makes him become
bishop of Malta.
who received us] This was only natural in the Roman official, for
Paul was under the charge of a Roman officer, and had appealed for
hearing to the Roman Emperor.
andlodged [R. V. entertained] us three days] This was until arrange
ments could be made for a more permanent dwelling-place. As they
must remain in the island through the stormy weather of winter, before
they could start again, it would be needful to provide them with settled
quarters. They could not be guests for the whole three months.
8. And it came to pass, that] [R.V. "and it was so, that"]. The
R. V. is the better modern rendering. The expression means "It hap
pened that, &c," not that after the arrival of St Paul the father fell ill,
which might be taken as the meaning of the A.V.
of a fever and of a bloody flixe] [R. V. "of fever and dysentery"].
The words are technical such as a physician, as St Luke is reputed to
have been, would be likely to use in describing the disease. The first,
which is in the plural number, implies the fits of fever which occur at
intervals in such diseases as ague.
9. others also] [R. V. the rest also] The latter rendering is to be
preferred. It was not a few who came, but during the three months of
their stay all the others who were in sickness and heard of what had
been done for the father of the chief magistrate (and it was sure to be
widely noised abroad) came to be cured.
who also honoured us), i.e. the whole people upon whom these bene
fits had been conferred honoured Paul and for his sake the rest of the
party. with many honours] No doubt these included gifts of money and
such things as would be needed by travellers who had lost everything
in the shipwreck : but to restrict the word to the sense of " honorarium "
or fee, such as might be paid to a physician, is to narrow the meaning
needlessly, and to put a construction on the proceeding which it cannot

vv. ii, 12.J THE ACTS, XXVIII. 371
departed, they laded us with such things as were neces
sary. 11 — 16. The voyage from Malta and the arrival in Pome.
And after three months we departed in a ship ofn
Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign was
Castor and Pollux. And landing at Syracuse, we tarried "
bear. The Apostle who prayed, and laid his hands on the sick and
healed them was not the sort of person to whom they would offer money
as a fee.
and when we departed] [R. V. sailed] This is better, for the word
is one constantly used of putting out to sea, and not of any ordinary
departure by other modes of travel.
they laded us with such things as were necessary] [R. V. " they put
on board such things as we needed"]. The bounty must have been
large if we consider the number of those for whom it was given. But
Publius would set the example and others would not be slow to
follow it.
11 — 16. The voyage from Malta and the arrival in Rome.
11. And after three months] The proper season for sailing having
again come round, now that the winter was over.
we departed) [R. V. set sail]. The verb is the same as in the pre
ceding verse.
in a ship of Alexandria] Another vessel employed in the same trade
probably as that in which (xxviii. 6) they had embarked at Myra, and
suffered so many perils.
which had wintered in the isle] Having got so far on the voyage out
before the stormy weather came on. As the harbour was then where
it now is, the ship had wintered in what is now Valetta.
whose sign was Castor and Pollux) [R. V. the Twin Brothers], The
Greek is Dioscuri, the name given to Jupiter's two sons bom of Leda, ¦
who, when they were translated to the sky, became a constellation of
special favour towards sailors. Horace speaks of them as " lucida
sidera" (Od. 1. 3. 2), where he describes their beneficent influence on
the ocean. By " sign" is meant what we now call "figure-head," only
that the ancient ships had such signs both at stem and stern, and often
the figure was that of some divinity.
If for no other reason than the description of the vessel in which the
further journey was performed we cannot accept the theory that the
wreck took place in the Adriatic sea. It would be hard to conceive of
a vessel from Alexandria, which had stopped on its voyage to Italy to
avoid the storms of winter, being found so far out of its course as
Meleda in the Adriatic.
12. And landing [R. V. touching] at Syracuse] The vessel takes
the regular road, sailing north from Valetta to Sicily. Syracuse was
one of the chief towns of Sicily lying on the south-eastern extremity,

372 THE ACTS, XXVIII. [w. 13, 14.
13 there three days. And from thence we fet a compass, and
came to Rhegium : and after one day the south wind blew,
i4 and we came the next day to Puteoli : where we found
brethren, and were desired to tarry with them seven days :
and was famous in classical history as the scene of many of the disas
ters of the Athenian fleet and army in their expedition to Sicily during
the Peloponnesian war.
13. we fet a compass] [R. V. "made a circuit "] The old English
phrase of the A.V. is not uncommon, cp. 2 Sam. v. 23 ; 2 Kings iii.
9. They made this winding course because the favourable wind, foi
which they had probably been waiting during the three days' stay at
Syracuse, did not come. " Fet" is the old preterite of " fetch " and is
found often in the version of 1611, but has been changed by modern
printers. came to [R. V. arrived at] Rhegium) The modem Reggio situated at
the southern point of Italy, on the straits of Messina. At this place
Caligula designed to construct a harbour for these com ships coming
from Egypt to Italy, but his intention was never carried out.
the south wind blew] Better (with R. V.) "a south wind sprang up."
Thus by a change of wind they were able to go speedily forward,
instead of tacking as they had been obliged to do from Syracuse to
Rhegium. to Puteoli] This is the modern Pozzuoli, near Naples. In St Paul's
day it was a principal port of Rome, and to it came most of the corn
supply from Egypt.
14. where we found brethren) i.e. there was a Christian Church
established in Puteoli, and it was to such a degree well known, that the
Apostle on his arrival at once learnt of its existence. From this we
may gather that the Christians in Italy had already spread to a consi
derable extent, and hence it seems very probable that Chi istianity had
been carried into that country from Jerusalem soon after the first Pen
tecostal preaching, at which time Roman visitors were present in the
Holy City. Of course in such a place as Puteoli the Jews were likely
to congregate, for the sake of trade, more than in many other places of
Italy, and from their body the earliest converts to Christianity must
have been made. But that, without any previous recorded visit of an
Apostle, there should already be in Puteoli a numerous band of
Christians is evidence of the zeal with which the new faith was being
propagated. For it was now only about 28 years since the death of
Jesus. and were desired] [R. V. intreated]. The stronger word represents
the original better. It has generally been thought that the duration of
this stay was arranged so that the Apostle might be present with the
Church in Puteoli at least over one Lord's day. Thus the Christian
congregation would be able to gather in its entirety, and to hear from
the Ups of the great Apostle ofthe Gentiles, the Gospel for which he
was now "an ambassador in bonds." We do not know whether any
circumstances occurred to detain Julius in Puteoli, but if it were not so

v. IS-] . THE ACTS, XXVIII. 373
and so we went toward Rome. And from thence, when the 15
brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as Appii
forum, and The three taverns : whom when Paul saw, he
it is a token of the great influence which St Paul had obtained over the
centurion, that he was permitted to stay such a long time with his
Christian friends, when the capital was so near at hand.
and so we went toward Rome] The Greek is more nearly represented
by the R. V. "and so we came to Rome." The narrative at first
speaks of the completed voyage, and then in verse 15 mention is made
of some details which relate to the short land journey from Puteoli to
the capital.
15. when the brethren heard of us) Between Puteoli and Rome
there was constant communication, and the seven days of the Apostle's
sojourn in the port were amply sufficient to make the whole Christian
body in Rome aware of his arrival in Italy and of the time when he
would set out towards the city.
they came to meet us] If it were quite certain that the sixteenth
chapter of the Epistle to the Romans was part of the letter which was
sent to that Church we might make sure of the names of some who
would be of the party which started from Rome to welcome St Paul on
his arrival in Italy. Aquila and Priscilla, Epsenetus ; Andronicus and
Junias, who are both spoken of as having been formerly fellow-prisoners
with the Apostle; Rufus, Herodion and Apelles, who are mentioned
there in terms of the greatest affection, could hardly have failed to be
among the company at Appii Forum. But the whole closing chapter
of the Epistle to the Romans appears to apply better to some Asiatic
Church, probably Ephesus, than to Rome, and so it is unsafe to con
clude that the Christians there mentioned were those who now met
St Paul and cheered him on his way.
as far as Appii forum] [R. V. the Market of Appius] The name
'Forum' seems to have been given by the Romans to places such as we
should now call Borough-towns. The town here mentioned was
situated on the Appian Way, the great road from Rome to Brundusium.
Both road and town owed their name to the famous Appius Claudius,
the Roman Censor, and this town is mentioned by Horace as crowded
with sailors, and abounding in tavemkeepers of bad character (Sat. I.
5. 4). It was distant rather more than forty miles from Rome, and as
the Appian Way was only one of two ways by which travellers could
go from Appii Forum to the Imperial City, it was natural that the
deputation from Rome should halt here and wait for the Apostle's
arrival. The three taverns] The name " Taberna had in Latin a much
wider signification than the English " Taverns" and was applied to any
shop whatever, not as the English word to one where refreshments are
sold. The site of. this place has not been identified, but it is said to
have been about ten miles nearer to Rome than Appii Forum; and the
body of Christians who came as. far as this had perhaps set out from
Rome later than their brethren. The whole distance from Puteoli to

374 THE ACTS, XXVIII. [v. 16.
i6 thanked God, and took courage. And when we came to
Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain
of the guard : but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself
with a soldier that kept him.
Rome was about 140 miles. "Tres Tabernae" is placed 33 miles from
Rome. he thanked God, and took courage] When thinking and writing about
his coming to Rome, Paul had never thought that his first visit to it
would be as a prisoner. He had hoped (Rom. i. n — 12) to come as
the bearer of some spiritual blessing, and to be comforted himself, by
the faith of the Roman brethren. How different was the event from
what he had pictured. But yet here were some of the brethren, and
their faith and love were made manifest by their journey to meet the
Apostle, and no doubt they brought with them the salutations of all
the Church. This was somewhat to be thankful for. The prisoner
would not be without sympathy, and the spiritual gift might be im
parted even though Paul was no longer free. The cause of Christ was
advancing; and cheered by the evidence of this the Apostle's heart
revived. 16. And when we came to Rome] There was much that might have
been said of this land journey from Puteoli to Rome, and the writer of
the Acts was one of the fellow-travellers. But it is foreign to his pur
pose to dwell on anything which does not concern the spread of the
Gospel according to the command of Jesus (Acts i. 8), and so he leaves
all the glorious sights and scenery unmentioned, and tells us no word
of the many monuments which stood along the Appian Way, only
noticing, what his history required, the two little bands, that repre
sented Christ's cause and the work of the Gospel, in the great city to
which they were approaching.
the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but]
For these words there is no text in the oldest Greek MSS. which we
possess. But the words are not of the same character as many of the
sentences which seem introduced into the text of the Acts by later
hands. They are entirely independent of anything either in the Acts or
the Epistles of St Paul, and it is not easy to understand why they should
have been added to the original text. There is moreover such similarity
between the ending of the first and last words in the clause, that the eye
of an early scribe may have passed over from the one to the other, and
thus omitted the clause, and in this way may have originated the text of
the MSS. which leave the passage out.
The "Captain of the Guard" here alluded to was probably the
"prasfectus prartorio," one of whose duties was to take charge of those
persons from the provinces whose causes were to be brought before the
Emperor. Paul was suffered to dwell [R. V. abide] by himself] This lenity was
probably due to the commendation of the centurion Julius, who cannot
but have found that he had charge of no ordinary prisoner in St Paul,

vv. 17, 18.] THE ACTS, XXVIII. 375
17 — 28. St Paul's interview with the fews in Pome.
And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called 17
the chief of the Jews together : and when they were come
together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I
have committed nothing against the people, or customs of
our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into
the hands of the Romans. Who, when they had examined 18
and having been saved and aided by the Apostle's advice would natu
rally wish to do something in return.
with a soldier that kept [R. V. guarded] him] The custom was
that the prisoner should be chained by one hand to the soldier while
he was on guard. And to this chain the Apostle often makes allusion
in the Epistles (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon)
written during this imprisonment. See also below, verse 20. The
frequent change of the person who guarded him would give the
Apostle an opportunity of spreading the knowledge of his cause, and
the message of the Gospel, very widely among the Prsetorian guards
who had him in charge, and many things would have been heard by
them from the soldiers who had sailed with St Paul, which would
make them ready to attend to the narrative of their prisoner.
17—28. St Paul's interview with the Jews in Rome.
17. after three days] At first the Apostle would naturally desire to
learn all he could of the Christian congregations at Rome from those
who had been the first to welcome him on his approach to that city.
But for this, three days sufficed. Then he set about explaining his
position to those of his fellow-countrymen, not Christians, who were of
most importance in Rome. For to them would most probably be
forwarded an account of the charges to be laid against the Apostle,
and of the evidence by which they were to be supported.
Paul called the chief ofthe Jews together) Keeping still to the rule to
offer the Gospel first to the Jews, even here in Rome, where he had
good reason to think that his message would not be received. The
decree by which in the reign of Claudius all the Jews had been banished
from Rome (xviii. 2) was evidently no longer in force. For clearly
there was an important body of them resident in the city.
Men and brethren] See note on i. 16.
though I have committed [R. V. had done] nothing against the people,
or customs of our fathers] For everywhere had he shewn himself
desirous that his own people should hear the message of the Gospel
first, and for Jews he had never forbidden circumcision, only insisting
that Gentile converts, should not be forced to submit to the Jewish law
before they were received into the Christian Church.
delivered prisoner... into the hands of the Romans] He describes the
result, rather than the steps by which it was brought about. The chief
captain had rescued him from the violence of the Jewish mob, and he

376 THE ACTS, XXVIII. [vv. 19—21.
me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of
19 death in me. But when the Jews spake against it, I was
constrained to appeal unto Cesar; not that I had ought to
20 accuse my nation of. For this cause therefore have I
called for you, to see you, and to speak with you : because
that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.
21 And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of
Judea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that
had never since been out of the care of the Roman authorities. Yet
but for the Jews he never would have been a Roman prisoner, and
when the Sadducees in Jerusalem found that he was not to be given up
to them, they made themselves his accusers before Felix and Festus.
18. would have let me go] [R. V. "desired to set me at liberty"]
Alluding most probably to Agrippa's remark (xxvi. 32) and the state
ment of Festus (xxv. 25). It seems probable that Felix would have
found means to set Paul free had the requisite bribe been offered to
him (xxiv. 26). All were convinced of his innocence.
19. not that I had ought to accuse my nation of] St Paul shews
himself the patriotic Jew. He knew how many things his fellow-
countrymen had suffered at the hands of the Roman power, and he
did not wish in any way to bring on them any more trouble. He
therefore explains that he had taken the course of appealing to Caesar
only because he saw no other means of obtaining his release. If that
were secured he wished to lay no charge at the door of his accusers or
their brethren in Rome.
20. For this cause therefore have I called for you to see you, and to
speak with you] [R.V. "did I intreat you to see and to speak with
me") As the marginal note in the R. V. shews, the A. V. may be a
correct rendering of the Greek, and it is more probable that Paul would
say that he wished to speak to the Jews than that he wished them to
come and speak with him.
because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain] The
hope of Israel is the general expectation of Messiah. In Jesus Paul
believed that the expected Saviour had appeared, and for preaching
this he had been attacked and made a prisoner. He held the same
faith as all the Jews, only going in this matter farther than they in that
he believed the ancient promise was now fulfilled. We can see from
the reply of the Jews that they understood his position exactly.
21. letters out of [R. V. from] Judea concerning thee] This may
easily be understood. For no ship starting later than that in 'which
St Paul sailed was likely to have arrived in Rome before he reached
that city, and the Jews who conducted the accusation would take a
little time for drawing up all the details which they desired to lay
before the court of appeal, so that their despatch would be sent later
than the time of Paul's sailing. For before it was determined that he
should be sent to Rome they would see no necessity for informing the
Jews there concerning his case.

w. 22, 23.] THE ACTS, XXVIII. 377
came shewed or spake any harm of thee. But we desire to 23
hear of thee what thou thinkest : for as concerning this sect,
we know that every where it is spoken against. And when 23
they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into
his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the
neither any ofthe brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee]
[R. V. " nor did any of the brethren come hither and report or speak &c. "]
The English of the A. V. makes the words refer to any who might have
come to Rome from Judaea at any time. And it is conceivable that
during the time between Paul's first arrest and his arrival in Rome
many opportunities might have arisen for news about the prisoner to
have been sent to Rome. But in the original it appears as if only the
present time were in the minds of the speakers, and what they want
to say is represented by the R.V. "Nobody has come in connection
with this trial and appeal to tell us any evil about thee." They seem
not to have been at all anxious to move in the matter. At whatever
time the edict of Claudius was withdrawn it could only be within the
last few years (ten at the most) that the Jewish population had been
again permitted to come to Rome. They were probably loath therefore
to call public attention again to their nation by appearing before the
court of appeal in a cause connected with their religion.
22. But we desire to hear of thee] He was a Jew, one of then-
own nation, and was likely to be able to put his belief before them in
its true light. They professed to be open to reason, but this may have
been only because they knew not what else to do.
concerning this sect] It is clear from this expression that they had _
learnt from St Paul's speech, though St Luke does not record the
words, that he was an adherent of Jesus of Nazareth, and held that in
Him " the hope of Israel" had been fulfilled.
we know] [R. V. "it is known to us"]. The change has the merit of
being very literal. Other merit it would be hard to find in it.
every where it is spoken against] They were doubtless aware of many
of the attacks which had been made by their countrymen on the
Christians both in the cities of Asia and Europe, and would have heard
them spoken of as the men who were turning the world upside down.
The result of the conference was that a day was fixed, on which the
Apostle should set forth to them his opinions, so that, as they had no
other means for deciding on their course of action, they might discover
for themselves what would be the best course to take.
23. many] The original is the comparative degree, and implies
that the first visitors had been only a small deputation, but that on the
set day they and their fellows appeared "in greater numbers."
into his lodging] From this it would seem that for the first portion
of the time that Paul was in Rome, he was allowed to accept the
hospitality of the Christian body, and though chained to his guard, yet
to be resident in a house which his friends had provided for him, and
where he was, as far as he could be under the circumstances, treated as
their guest. acts 26

378 THE ACTS, XXVIII. [w. 24—27.
kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both
out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from
24 morning till evening. And some believed the things which
»s were spoken, and some believed not. And when they
agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul
had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by
26 Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, saying, Go unto this
people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not
understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not per-
^ceive: for the heart of this people is waxed gross,
and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes
have they closed; lest they should see with their
to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God] [R. V. "ex
pounded the matter, testifying the, &c."] i.e. bearing witness that the
Messianic hope, which the Jews all spake of as the kingdom of God, or
the kingdom of heaven, had now been revealed.
from morning till evening) It is clear from what follows that as in
Jerusalem so here, there were some to whom the Apostle's words were
not all unwelcome. This accounts for their staying to hear him the
whole day through.
24. some believed not] [R. V. disbelieved]. No doubt both the
Sadducees and the Pharisees had their representatives here as elsewhere
among the Jewish population.
25. agreed not among themselves] This may have been the real cause
of their inaction in the matter of the Apostle's trial. He would not
have been without a party of supporters among their own body.
unto our [R. V. your] fathers] The change of pronoun has the sup
port of the oldest MSS., and is more in accord with the spirit in which
St Paul is speaking. He would wish to distinguish these obstinate Jews
from himself and others who received the words of the Old Testament
as fulfilled in Jesus.
26 saying, &c] The passage which the Apostle quotes is from
Isaiah vi. 9, and had already been quoted by our Lord himself against
the Jews (Matt. xiii. 14; Mark iv. 12; Luke viii. 10; see also John
xii. 40) when He was explaining why all His teaching was given in
parables. He spake in this wise first because had He said openly all that
He wished to teach He would have had far less chance of acceptance than
when His message was veiled under a parable; and next He so spake
that those only who cared to manifest a desire to know the deeper
meaning of His words might be able to do so. His words were for
those who had ears to hear. But most of those to whom He spake had
not. Hearing [R. V. "By hearing"] i.e. with the outward organs ye shall
catch what is said, but since ye have no heart for the message, ye shall
not understand.

w. 28—30.] THE ACTS, XXVIII. 379
eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with
their heart, and should be converted, and I should
heal them. Be it known therefore unto you, that the =s
salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they
will hear it. And when he had said these words, the Jews 29
departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.
And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, 30
27. and should be converted] [R. V. "and should turn again"] The
new rendering is to be preferred on account of the restricted meaning
which in modern speech has become attached to the word "convert."
In the older language it signified "to turn round and go back again."
2«. the [R. V. this] salvation of God] The oldest MSS. add "this,"
and it has been almost surely omitted in later MSS. by the carelessness
of the scribes. The Apostle would be anxious to emphasize that the
doctrine which he was preaching to them and which they were rejecting,
that this, was God's very message of salvation.
and that they will hear it] This is certainly a wrong sense of the
original. The Apostle does not wish to convey, as the English Version
does, a taunt to the Jews that they come behind the Gentiles. What
he wants to express is, that now the message has been given according to
Christ's command to the Jews everywhere, for Rome may be regarded
as the centre of the then known world, and now the time has come when
the Gentiles should in their turn be privileged to have everywhere the
offers ofthe Gospel. Therefore read (with R. V.) "they will also hear"
(i. e. as well as you), though looked upon by strict Jews as beyond the
pale of salvation.
29. And when. Sec] This verse is omitted in the oldest MSS. and
in R. V.
30. And Paul] The proper name is omitted in the oldest MSS.,
and this omission supports the rejection of verse 29. It is only the in
sertion of that verse which rendered the word "Paul" here needful to
the sense.
two whole years] Of these years we have no history, except such as
we can gather from the four Epistles which were written from Rome
during the time (see above on verse 16). We know that from first to
last the chain galled both his body and mind (Eph. iii. 1, iv. 1 ; Phil, i-
13, 16; Col. iv. 18; Philem. verses 1, a, 10), and that his case was at
times an object of much anxiety (Phil. ii. 23, 24). We also leam from
the same letters that beside Luke and Aristarchus (Acts xxvii. 27), he
had also the fellowship, for some time at least, of Tychicus, who (Eph.
vi. 21) was the bearer of his letter to Ephesus; of Timothy, whom
(Phil. i. 1 ; Col. i. 1 ; Philem. 1) he joins with himself in the greeting
to the Churches of Philippi and Colossae and also in that to Philemon.
In the former of these Churches Timothy had been a fellow-labourer
with the Apostle. Epaphroditus came with the Philippian contributions
to the need of the imprisoned Apostle (Phil. iv. 18). Onesimus found
out St Paul when in flight from his master he made his way to Rome

380 THE ACTS, XXVIII. [v. 31.
31 and received all that came in unto him, preaching the
kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern
the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man for
bidding him.
(Col . iv. 9 j Philem. 10) Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, was also
there, and another Jewish convert, Jesus, called Justus, of whom we
only know that the Apostle considered him worthy to be called a
fellow-worker unto the kingdom of God (Col. iii. 12). Epaphras, from
the churches in Laodicea and Hierapolis, had come to visit Paul, and
to bring him the greetings doubtless of the Christians there, and carry
back some words of earnest counsel and advice from the Roman
prisoner (Col. iii. 12). Last of all Demas was there, soon after to be
mentioned as having forsaken the good way through love of this
present world (Col. iii. 14; 2 Tim. iv. 10). More than this and the few
words in this verse we do not know of this first imprisonment.
in his own hired house] [R. V. dwelling] The means for such hiring
were provided by the liberality of the Philippians and others, for the
Apostle could no longer with his own hands minister even to his own
wants. all that came [R. V. went] in unto him] For the fulness of Gospel
freedom had now been reached, and the word of God and the kingdom of
God were open to all who sought unto them.
with all confidence, no man forbidding him] The word rendered
"confidence" [R.V. "boldness"] implies that "freedom of speech"
which was looked upon by the Athenians as the great mark of their
liberty. For Englishmen there must arise the thought that perhaps
from some of those Roman soldiers who heard Paul in his prison the
message of the Gospel came first to our island.
The historian had now reached the end of his work, and does not even
tell the manner of the Apostle's release, though as he mentions the
duration of the imprisonment, he must have known how he came to be
liberated. But that concerned not the purpose of his record, and so he
has no word more. " Victoria Verbi Dei. Patdus Romce. Apex
Evangelii. Actorum Finis " (Bengel).

INDEX.

Abbot (Dr), note of, 279
about, use of, 240
Achaia, notice of, 237
Acts, not a work of the second century,
¦3,3 r
— title of, 1
— purpose of writer, i, 5
— design of, ix
— a history of beginnings, x
— title of, not original, xv
— testimony to, from the Epistles,
xxi
— suggested authors of, xxii
— date of, xxiv
— sources pf narrative, xxxii
— difficulties in, considered xxxiii
seqq.
Adramyttium, 354
Adria, meaning of, 361
Africa, corn supply from, 359
Agapas, 272
Agrippa, Herod II., 340
— pomp of, 342
Akeldama, name of Potter's field, 12
Alexander at Ephesus, 262
Alexandria, 243
— ships of, 355
— Jews in, 76
ahnost=with little labour, 352
alms for the Jewish Christians, 330
Amos, quotation from, 192
Amphipolis, 215
Ananias, 305
— of Damascus, 1 13
— sin and death of, 53
— the high-priest, 312 _
Andrew, not in same place in list of the
twelve, 8
angel, face of an, 78
angelic aid to the disciples, 62
angels, Jewish belief concerning, 149
, _ present at Sinai, 93
Annas the high-priest, 42
Antioch, Church at, 185
— in Pisidia, Paul's visit to, 161

Antioch in Syria, 142
Antiochus Epiphanes, his death, 133
Antipatris, 322
Antonia, tower of, 298, 316
Apollonia, 215
— situation of, 133
Apollos, 243
apostles, names of recited, why, 8
— did not baptize, why, 138
apparel, element of oriental wealth, 282
aprons, brought from Paul's body, 252
Appii Forum, 373
Aquila, 232, 241, 245
Arabia, Saul's retirement to, 118
Aratus, quoted, 229
Areopagus, council of, 224
Aretas, king of Arabia Petrea, 119
Aristarchus, 260, 268, 354
Ascension, not on the same day as
Resurrection, 3
— witnesses of, 5
Asia, meaning of, 251
— Churches in, 259
— what meant by, 18
Assos, 272
Athenians, lovers of news, 225
Athens, idols in, 221
— Paul's speech at, 225
Attalia, seaport of, 1S2
Augustan band, 353
Augustus, title„of Roman emperors, 342
Azotus =Ashdod, 108
babbler, meaning of, 223
baptism, by descent into the water, 107
— even after the gift of the Spirit,
138
Barjesus, Jewish name of Elymas, 158
Barnabas, 52
— introduces Saul, 121
— is sent to Antioch, 143
— named before Paul, 198
basket, Saul let down in, 119
Baucis and Philemon, story of, 178
beautiful gate of the Temple, 32

382

INDEX.

Berea, 219
Bernice, 340
Berytus {Beyrouth fostered by Herod
Agrippa, 152
Beth-din, 44
Beth-Hammidrash, 251
bishops = overseers, 279
Blastus, perhaps a Roman, 153
blood, of the eating of, 194
books, of charms, 255
— burnt, value of, 256
breaking of bread, 270
breaking of bread, name for the Holy
Communion, 29, 30
burial near Jerusalem highly valued, 16
burial-places, character of Jewish, 57
burials, Jewish care concerning, 96
Caesar, appeal to, 339
Cassarea, Paul's imprisonment at, 333
— Palestina, 108
Caiaphas, high-priest, 42
Caligula would place his statue in the
Temple, 122
Canaanite=Zelotes, 8
Candace, name of a series of queens, T04
captain of the temple, 39
Castor and Pollux, 371
Cenchrea?, port of Corinth, 240
centurions, high character of, in Gospels,
127
chains, prisoners bound with, 299
charges, to be at, 294
Charran = Haran, 79
chief of Asia, explained, 261
chief priest, 253
Chios, 273
Christ, brethren of, 9
— often at the feasts, 15
— manifested only to His disciples, T37
Christians, flight of to Pella, 23
— name first given, why, 144
Cilicia, attached to the province of Syria,
323. .
— position of, 77
Cilicium, 233
circumcision, they of the, 139
Clauda or Cauda, 358
Claudius, edict of, 232
— Lysias, 321, 327
clothes, casting off, 309
cloven tongues, what, 15
Cnidus, 355
Coincidences in Acts with the Epistles,
xxix
collections for Judaea, 286
commendation, letters of, 246
common, all things held in, 29, 51
Corinth, city of, 231
— Christians at, 236
— Apollos preaches there, 245
Cornelius the centurion, 126
Cos, 284
council, Jewish great, 44

counsel of God explained, 279
Crete, 355
cripple, cure of, at Lystra, 176
Crispus, 235
crucifixion, Roman punishment, 66
curse, binding under a, 317
customs, Jewish, 317
Cyprus, birthplace of Barnabas, 201
— governor of, called proconsul, 158
Cyrene, Jews in, 18
Daimonia, what, 223
Damascus, antiquity of, 109
— roads towards, no
— Saul's stay there, 116
Daniel, scruples of, concerning eating,
194
David's prophecy of Christ, 24, 26
David, sepulchre of, 25
— is not raised, 165
deacons, appointment of, 73
— all Hellenists, 75
defilement, fear of, 43
— instances of, 134
Demetrius the silversmith, 257
departing, explained, 280
deputies, explained, 294
Derbe, 201
— Paul's visit to, 177, 181
description, marked difference of lan
guage used in, 33
Diana of the Ephesians, 258
Dinah, tradition of a twin to, 83
Dionysius the Areopagite, 231
disciples, did not sell all they had. 52
— residence of, in Jerusalem, 48
dispersion after Stephen's death, 96
— the Jewish, 232
Divine Name, power of, 253
divorce, a woman could claim, if her hus
band became a tanner, 125
Dorcas, meaning of, 124
Drusilla, wife of Felix, 333
dust, shaking from the feet, 169
— throwing in the air, 309
ears, why the flap of, is soft, 94
Eastern houses, windows of, 270
Edoin, perhaps various reading of Adam,
192
Egypt, why so often mentioned by
Stephen, 83
Egyptian bondage, time of, 81
— rebels, 300
Elamites, 17
Elkanah, 38
Elymas, the sorcerer, at Cyprus, 157
— why less punished than Ananias,
159
Ephesian letters, 255
Ephesus, 241
— Paul at, 250
— ruins of, 259
— theatre of, 261

INDEX.

383

Ephesus, elders of, 274
Epicureans, 222
Epistles of St Paul not noticed in Acts
xxviii
Ethiopia, a general name, 104
Ethiopian eunuch, baptism of, 104
Euroclydon, 358
Eutychus, restoration of, 270
execution, Jewish modes of, 146
Fair Havens, 356
faith, exhibition of, 61
famines, numerous in time of Claudius,
M5
Fast ofthe Day of Atonement, 356
fear upon all, why, 58
feasts, great Jewish, 15
Felix, governor of Judaea, 320
— character of, 325
— Paul before, 328
fellowship, what it was, 29
Field (Dr), note of, 277
figurative actions, 288
fire, tongues of, were persistent, 26
forty days, Christ's lesson during the, 3
Gaius, 260, 269
— of Derbe, 181
Galatia, 203
Galilee, dialect of, 6
gall of bitterness, 102
Gallio, proconsul, 237
Gamaliel, notices of, 67^
garlands, use of, in sacrifice, 178
Gaza, roads to, 103
Gentiles, admission of, always borne in
mind, 28
— did not go at once into a Jewish
house, 131
— avoided by the Jews, 134
girdle, use of, 289
God, to tempt, 189
grace, renewing in baptism, 307
Grecians= Hellenists, 72, 121
Greece, Paul's visit to, 267,
Greek=Gentile, 202
— particles, force of, 36
Greeks in the Temple, 297
"hang on a tree," a Petrine phrase, 66
Hannah, first spake of Messiah, 38
Hebraism, 196, 199
Hebrew = Aramaic, 302
— idiomatic expression in, 87
— form of Saul's name used, in
Helen, queen of Adiabene, helps the
Jews in a famine, 145
hell = Hades, 24
HeUetuSy question ofthe reading, 773
Heresy=sect, 329, 345. .
Heresies not much noticed in Acts, xxvx
Herod Antipas, 49
Herod Agrippa I., 146 seqq.
Herod's judgment-hall, 324

high-priest, often more than one, 42
history contemporary alluded to in Acts,
xxiv seqq.
Holy Ghost, divinity of, 56
— the giving of the, 247
Horeb, place appointed for God's wor
ship, 81
hours of the Jewish day, 22
household, meaning of, 207
Hushim, meaning of, 83
hyperbole, example of, 16
Iconium, Paul visits, 173
idols, pollutions of, 193
ignorance, degrees of, 36
ignorant, senses of the word, 46
image which fell from Jupiter, 263
imprisonment, use of among the Jews, 41
invocation of punishment, conditional, 101
Italian band, 126
James, of Alphseus, 8
James, son of Zebedee, killed, 146
James, bishop of Jerusalem, 151, 191, 291
Jason, perhaps a Jew, 217
Jerusalem, why the disciples remained
at, 4
— filled with Chnstian teaching,
65
— Apostles resident at, 186
— largely garrisoned, 323
Jesus, i.e. Joshua, 91
— words of, 283
Jewish life, little regarded, 239
— mothers, children of, are Jews,
203
Jews, their denial of Christ, 35
— dislike to, 209
— all taught a trade, 233
Jochebed, where born, 83
Johanan ben Zaccai, 44
John, baptism of, 243, 248
Joppa, Peter visits, 124
Josephus, confusion in statements of, 70
— his account of the flight of
Moses, 86
— on the death of Herod Agrippa,
153
journey, conducting on, 186
Judaizers, 187
Judas, of Galilee, rebellion of, 70
Judas, of James, 8
Judas Iscariot, death of, 11
Judas, named Barsabbas, 196
judgments, not given in the night, 41
Jupiter, why Barnabas was so called,
178
Just One (the), 306
Justus, 234
kingdom of God, 3
kneeling, 283
Lasea, 326

384

INDEX.

Law, a hedge about, 190
— and the prophets, 330
lawful assembly, explained, 265
legion, Roman, complement of, 126
Libertines, synagogue of, 76
lictors at Philippi, 209, 213
loss, to gain a, 360
lots, casting of, 14
Luke's narrative, character of, 13
Luke, his use of technical words, 32
— has a physician's eye, 48
— medical terms used by, 370
— probably remainednear Philippi, xx
— tradition ascribes Acts to, xvi
LXX., variation of, from the Hebrew, 91,
106
— version of, used by the Ethiopian
eunuch, 106
Lycaonia, language of, 177
Lychus valley, Churches in, 206
Lydda, Paul heals /Eneas at, 123
Lydia, 206
Lystra, 201
— Paul visits, 175
Madian= Midian, 86
mainsail, 365
Manaen=Menahem, 155
martyr= witness, 308
Mary, mother of John-Mark, 149
Matthias, notices of, 14
Melita= Malta 367
Memmuneh, 63
mercies, sure, of David, 165
Mercurius, why Paul so called. 178
Messiah, first mention of, 38
— Jewish calculations concerning, 6g
Midrash Kabbah on Gen. xii. 4, 80; Eccl.
i- 9» 37
Miletus, 273
— Paul's address at, 277
ministration, daily, what, 73
miracles, various names for, 24
miraculous recovery of St Paul after
being stoned, 181
Mitylene, 273
Mnason, 290
Moloch, tabernacle of, 90
morning sacrifice, time of, 63
Moses, custom of, 185
— =the books of Moses, 195
— power of his rod, 35
— parallel between him and Christ,
37
— exceeding fair, 85
— learning of, 85
— age of at various events, 86
— sons of, 87
much learning=the many writings, 351
murmuring of, the Hellenists, 71
Myra, 355
name, the significance of, 71
— Jews often had more than one, 13

narrative, personal portions of, not unim
portant, xx
nations, seven cast out of Canaan, 162
Nazarenes, sect of, 326
Nazarite, vow of, 293, 296
Neapolis, 205
Nicolaitanes, 7$
no little = special, 368
number of those who went down into
Egypt, 82
one that worshipped God, 235
" once a bishop, always a bishop," 43
oracles, living, why so called, 89
oriental robes, character of, 148
orthography of Old TesL best preserved
in New Test., 87, 91
outbreaks of rage, sudden, 65
Paphos, capital of Cyprus, 157
Parthians, 17
Patara, 285
particles, force of, 10
patriarchs, burial of, 83
Paul, plot against, 267
— education of, 303
— politic conduct of, 314
— how a Pharisee, 314
— preaching before Felix, 334
— his visit to Jerusalem, 188
— and Barnabas, contention between,
200
— perhaps unfamiliar with Latin, 213
— probable course of journey of, 220
— visions of, 235, 316, 361
— vow of, 240
— patriotism of, 376
— lodging of, 377
— first imprisonment of, 379
— why Saul took the name, 159
— stoned at Lystra, 180
— journeys of, xiv
Paul's sister s son, 318
— speech compared with Stephen's,
228
— preaching at Jerusalem, 349
Pentecost, why chosen for the gift of the
Spirit, 15
— feast of, 274
Perga visited by St Paul, t6o
Peter, change in, after Pentecost, 4
— graphic language of, 33
— shadow of, not the healin
60
— vision of, and its meaning, 126
seqq.
— brought out of prison, 149
— words peculiar to, 189
— mentioned for the last time, 190
— t dismissed from the history, xiii
Pharisees, mentioned away from Jerusa
lem, 187
Philemon at Colosse, 278
— Paul perhaps a partner with, 282

iling power,

INDEX.

385

Philip, preaching of, 97
— caught away by the Spirit, 108
— the Evangelist, 242, 287
Philippi, 205
— magistrates of, 209
— Paul's stay at, 269
Philippians, Paul's joy over the, 214
Phoenicia, 186
Phoenix, 357
Phrygia, 203
Pilate, Roman governor, 50
Politarches, magistrate of Thessalonica,
218
Porcius Festus, 335
possessions, not all sold, 55
poverty of Jewish Church, reasons of, 145
power of God, the great, 99
powers = miracles, 252
prayer, hours of, 31
preaching, forbidden by the Spirit, 204
— in Europe, first effect of, 212
preparation of Ananias to visit Saul, 114
pricks, meaning of, 347
priests, duties of Jewish, 39
— why specially mentioned as converts,
75
?rince of Hfe,^ 35
riscilla= Prisca, 232, 241, 245
prisoner, bound for scourging, 310
prisoners, why to be killed, 366
proconsul, proper title of the governor of
Cyprus, 158
pronoun, zst pers. plur. use of, 208
prophecy, David's, of Judas explained,
TO, 12
— gifts of, 23
— what, 249
prophesyings, what, 288
prophets bear witness to Christ, 137
— at Antioch, 145
proselytes, as if new creations, 79
?roseuche=place of prayer, 206
rotos, title of governor of Malta, 370
psalm, primary meaning of second, 49
Ptolemais, 287
punishment of Ananias, why so severe, 56
Puteoli, 372
Python, spirit, 207
raiment, shaking of, 234
reading aloud, Jewish custom of, 105
refreshing, times of, 36
Reniphan, star of, 90
repetition of a vision, reason for, 130
rest for the Church, reason of, 122
restitution, times of, 37 . ,
reward of iniquity, a Petrine phrase, 11
Rhegium, 372
Rhodes, 285
Roman colony, 205 ., ... e
— officials, responsibility of, 211
— chief captain, 298
, — citizenship, 311
Romans, not to be scourged, 214
ACTS

Rome, Paul's wish to visit, 257
— Christians at, 373
roofs of houses flat in the East, 129
Rhoda, behaviour of, 150
sabbath day's journey, 6
"sabbath, the next," meaning of, 167
Sadducees, name and tenets of, 40
— why angry at the disciples, 63
— tenets of, 315
saints, use of the word, 282
Salmonetta, island of, 365
salvation kept in God's own power, 66
Samaria, the city of, 97
— Peter and John sent into, 100
Samos, 273
Samothrace, 205
Samuel, head of the prophets, 38
Sanhedrin, meeting place of, 312
Sapphira, her sin, 54
Saul among the prophets explained, 38
— length of his reign, 163
— present at Stephen's death, 95
— fierce persecution by, 346
Sceva, sons of, 253
scribes, duties of, 42
Scriptures, Jewish division of, 90
— Jewish manner of reading, 169
seqq.
— to search the, 219
Secundus, 268
security, to take, 218
Seleucia, seaport of Antioch, 156
senate of Israel, 63
Septuagint, variation of, 192
Sergius Paulus, proconsul of Cyprus,
158
services of Jews in Greek, 72
seven, why that number of deacons, 74
Sharon, plain of, 123
Shimeon ha-Tsaddik, story of, 6
sicarii, 301
Sichem, place of, 80
Sidon, 354
— its commerce hindered how, 152
Silas, 195
— stays at Antioch, 200
Silvanus not — Lucanus % xxiii
silver shrines, 258 '
Simeon, called Niger, 155
— = Simon, for Peter, 191
Simon Magus, 98
simony, 101
Sinai, all the world present at, 88
Socrates, habit of, 221
soldiers on guard, 375
Solomon's porch, 34
" Son of Consolation," 42
soothsaying, 208
Sopater, 268
Sosthenes, 239
sound at Pentecost, character of, 17
spearmen, meaning of word, 320
speech of disciples at Pentecost not
jargon, 17 27

386

INDEX.

spirit, guidance of the, 198
— persons possessed with the, 207
spirits, unclean, 61
Stephen, appointment of, 74
— accusation of, 78
— deaih of, 95
Stephen's speech, analysis of, xi
— why reported so fully, xii
stocks, 210
Stoics, 222
stoning, process of, 94
St Paul's Bay, 366
street called Straight, 114
suicide, though justifiable, 211
superstition = religion, 341
superstitious, meaning of, 226
synagogue, same trades set together in
the, 233
Syracuse, 371
Syrtes, the, 359
tabernacle, not stationary in Canaan, 91
Tabitha, meaning of, 124
tanner, trade of, abominable, 125
Targum on Eccl. x. 16 — 17, 22
Tarsus, capital of Cilicia, 77
taxing, days of, 70
temple, why the Apostles frequented it,
¦3°r
— site of, 31
— captain of, 39
tentmakers, 233
Terah, ^death of, 80
Tertullus, a Roman orator, 324
text, Greek, alteration in, 31, 49
Thecla, Acts of Paul and, 175
Theophilus, a person of rank, 2
Theudas, rebellion of, discussed, 69
Thessalonians, Epistles to the, 236
Thessalonica, 215
Thyatira, 206
Timothy, 202, 257
— probably a native of Lystra, 176
Titus, with St Paul, 186
Tobit, blindness of, 116
tombs in Jerusalem, 25
tongues, to speak with, 16, 20
— gift of, 249
torture, use of, 328
town-clerk, office of, 263
trance, Paul in a, 307
Tres Tabernas, 373
Troas, 204
— Paul tarries at, 269

Trogyllium, 273
Trophimus, 269
Trophimus, an Ephesian, 297
twelve tribes (the), 345
Tychicus, 269
Tyrannus, school of, 251
Tyre, 285
— its commerce hindered how, 251
uncircumcised, a term of great reproach,
92
unknown God, altar to the, 226
unleavened bread, days of, 147
upper room, 7
Ur of the Chaldees, 79
vagabond Jews, 253
vessel, chosen, 115
vipers, disappearance of, from Malta,
368
Virgin Mary, last mention of, g
visions, 204
voice, how heard at Paul's conversion,
no
way=the Christian religion, 303, 332
— the, a name for the Christian so
ciety, 109
"we,'" does the writer hereby include
himself? 182
we, passages with this pronoun consider
ed, xviii
weak, meaning of, 283
white apparel, men in=angels, 6
whited wall, 313
wilderness, plagues in the, 88
wine, when the Jews drank, 22
wink at (to) meaning of, 229
witnesses, false, at Stephen's trial, 77
wolves, false teachers so called, 280
women, position of among early Chris
tians, 9
— roused against the Apostles, 168
— regard to, by Christianity, 206
— honourable, 219
words, peculiar, 203, 216
world (the)=the Roman Empire, 218
worshipper, explained, 263
worms, persons eaten of, 155
worship refused by St Peter, 133
young men, not officials, 57
zealots, who were they, 8

INDEX.

38?

EXPLANATION OF WORDS AND PHRASES.

accord, of its own, 149
allege, 2x6
alms, 32
answer, 34
approve, 23
assay, 204
barbarous, 368'
bishoprick= office, ra
call in question, 332
carriages, 290
coasts, 247
come by, 359
common, 130
constantly, 150
converted, 36
door of faith, 183
elders, 146
entreat, 354
ethnarch, 119
fetch a compass, 372
first = former, 2
frap. 359
glory = tongue, 24
go about, 326
go in and out, 13
hand of, by the, 2$.
implead, 265
infallible proofs, 3
launch, 355

lewd, 217
meat, 363
name = power, 35, 44
names = persons, 9
noise = voice, 16
one heart and one soul, 51
openly, 213
other (p).), 2I8
place, his own, 14
power, 5
proselyte, 19
purchase, 10
quaternion, 147
right hand, 26
scales, 115
sect, 62
star- chamber, 19 n,
suborn, 77
sustenance, &a
temptation, 257
testify, 28
untoward, 28
vanities, 179
visit, 86
ward, 149
warned from God, 132
words, 132
wot, 36

CAMBRIDGE: PRINTED BY C. J. CLAY, M.A. AND SONS, AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS.

THE CAMBRIDGE BIBLE FOR
SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES.
General Editor, The Very Rev. J. J. S. Perowne,
Dean of Peterborough.
<BpinUms$ of the $«&*?
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able for general use." — Academy.
" One of the most popular and useful literary enterprises of the
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" The value of the work as an aid to Biblical study, nol merely in
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knowledge of the Scriptures, cannot easily be over-estimated" — The
Scotsman.

The Book of Judges. J. J. Lias, M.A. " His introduction is clear
and concise, full of the information which young students require, and
indicating the lines on which the various problems suggested by the
Book of Judges may be solved." — Baptist Magazine.
1 Samuel, by A. F. Kirkpatrick. "Remembering the interest
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as a subject for school work in our boyhood, we have looked with some
eagerness into Mr Kirkpatrick's volume, which contains the first instal
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and variety in the materials, with which schools are now supplied. A
clear map inserted in each volume, notes suiting the convenience of the
scholar and the difficulty of the passage, and not merely dictated by the
fancy of the commentator, were luxuries which a quarter of a century
ago the Biblical student could not buy. " — Church Quarterly Review.
"To the valuable series of Scriptural expositions and elementary
commentaries which is being issued at the Cambridge University Press,
under the title 'The Cambridge Bible for Schools,' has been added
The First Book of Samuel by the Rev. A. F. Kirkpatrick. Like
other volumes of the series, it contains a carefully written historical and
critical introduction, while the text is profusely illustrated and explained
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10,000
23/rO/93

i CAMBRIDGE BIBLE FOR SCHOOLS TTCOLLEGES.
II. Samuel. A. F. Kirkpatrick, M.A. " Small as this work is
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purpose that we know of. The opening sections at once prove the
thorough competence of the writer for dealing with questions of criti
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a few special difficulties with a full knowledge of the data, and a judicial
reserve, which contrast most favourably with the superficial dogmatism
which has too often made the exegesis of the Old Testament a field for
the play of unlimited paradox and the ostentation of personal infalli
bility. The notes are always clear and suggestive; never trifling or
irrelevant ; and they everywhere demonstrate the great difference in
value between the work of a commentator who is also a Hebraist, and
that of one who has to depend for his Hebrew upon secondhand
sources." — Academy.
"The Rev. A. F. Kirkpatrick has now completed his commentary
on the two books of Samuel. This second volume, like the first, is
furnished with a scholarly and carefully prepared critical and historical
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original language — to gather up the precise meaning of the text. Even
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far better than quantity, and we have it here." — Sword and Trowel.
I. Kings. "This is really admirably well done, and from first to
last there is nothing but commendation to give to such honest work." —
Bookseller. II. Kings.' "The Introduction is scholarly and wholly admirable,
while the notes must be of incalculable value to students." — Glasgow
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makes an admirable text book .for Bible-classes." — Scotsman.
"It would be difficult to find a commentary better suited for general
use." — Academy.
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far surpassed by the detailed exegesis ofthe book. In this Dr Davidson's
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it represents the results of many years of labour, and it will greatly help
to the right understanding of one of the greatest works in the literature
of the world." — The Spectator.
" In the course of a long introduction, Dr Davidson has presented
us with a very able and very interesting criticism of this wonderful
book. Its contents, the nature of its composition, its idea and purpose,
its integrity, and its age are all exhaustively treated of.. ..We have not
space" to examine fully the text and notes before us, but we can, and do
heartily, recommend the book, not only for the upper forms in schools,
but to Bible students and teachers generally. As we wrote of a previous
volume in the same series, this one leaves nothing to be desired. The

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.

notes are full and suggestive, without being too long, and, in itself, the
introduction forms a valuable addition to modern Bible literature."— The
Educational Times.
"Already we have frequently called attention to this exceedingly
valuable work as its volumes have successively appeared. But we have
never done so with greater pleasure, very seldom with so great pleasure,
as we now refer to the last published volume, that on the Book of Job,
by Dr Davidson, of Edinburgh.. ..We cordially commend the volume to
all our readers. The least instructed will understand and enjoy it;
and mature scholars will learn from it." — Methodist Recorder.
Job — Hosea. " It is difficult to commend too highly this excellent
series, the volumes of which are now becoming numerous. The two
books before us, small as they are in size, comprise almost everything
that the young student can reasonably expect to find in the way of helps
towards such general knowledge of their subjects as may be gained
without an attempt to grapple with the Hebrew ; and even the learned
scholar can hardly read without interest and benefit the very able intro
ductory matter which both these commentators have prefixed to their
volumes. It is not too much to say that these works have brought
within the reach of the ordinary reader resources which were until
lately quite unknown for understanding some of the most difficult and
obscure portions of Old Testament literature." — Guardian.
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say that they are in every respect worthy of Dr Plumptre's high repu
tation as a scholar and a critic, being at once learned, sensible, and
practical. . . . An appendix, in which it is clearly proved that the
author of Ecclesiastes anticipated Shakspeare and Tennyson in some
of their finest thoughts and reflections, will be read with interest by
students both of Hebrew and of English literature. Commentaries are
seldom attractive reading. This little volume is a notable exception." —
The Scotsman.
"In short, this little book is of far greater value than most of the
larger and more elaborate commentaries on this Scripture. Indispens
able to the scholar, it will render real and large help to all who have to
expound the dramatic utterances of The Preacher whether in the Church
or in the School." — The Expositor.
"The 'ideal biography' of the author is one of the most exquisite
and fascinating pieces of writing we have met with, and, granting its
starting-point, throws wonderful light on many problems connected with
the book. The notes illustrating the text are full of delicate criticism,
fine glowing insight, and apt historical allusion. An abler volume
than Professor Plumptre's we could not desire." — Baptist Magazine.
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well treated on pp. xxx., 396, and the question of Baruch's relations
with its composition on pp. xxvii., xxxiv., 317. The illustrations from
English literature, history, monuments, works on botany, topography,
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series."— Church Quarterly Review, April, 1881.
" Mr Streane's Jeremiah consists of a series of admirable and well-
nigh exhaustive notes on the text, with introduction and appendices,
drawing the life, times, and character of the prophet, the style, contents,

4 CAMBRIDGE BIBLE FOR SCHOOLS & COLLEGES.
and arrangement of his prophecies, the traditions relating to Jeremiah,
meant as a type of Christ (a most remarkable chapter), and other
prophecies relating to Jeremiah." — The English Churchman and Clerical
Journal. Obadiah and Jonah. " This number of the admirable series of
Scriptural expositions issued by the Syndics of the Cambridge Uni
versity Press is well up to the mark. The numerous notes are
excellent. No difficulty is shirked, and much light is thrown on the
contents both of Obadiah and Jonah. Scholars and students of to-day
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and pointed, but full and reliable." — Churchman.
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this small volume Dr Maclear, besides a clear and able Introduc
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hundreds of valuable and helpful notes. In short, he has given us
a capital manual of the kind required — containing all that is needed to
illustrate the text, i. e. all that can be drawn from the history, geography,
customs, and manners of the time. But as a handbook, giving in a
clear and*succinct form the information which a lad requires in order
to stand an examination in the Gospel, it is admirable  I can very
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OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.

With the help of a book like this, an intelligent teacher may make
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greater profit by the fifth and sixth, in conjunction with the original
text." — The Academy.
"St Luke. Canon Farrar has supplied students of the Gospel
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variety of illustration, ingenuity of suggestion, and general soundness of
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and eloquent editor. Any one who has been accustomed to associate
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tary may be made interesting in the Highest degree, and that without
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"Canon Farrar's contribution to The Cambridge School Bible
is one of the most valuable yet made. His annotations on The Gospel
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and an erudition at least as wide and varied as those of the editors of
St Matthew and St Mark, are rendered telling and attractive by a
more lively imagination, a keener intellectual and spiritual insight, a
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ation can well be given." — The Expositor.
"St Luke. Edited by Canon Farrar, D.D. We have received with
pleasure this edition of the Gospel by St Luke, by Canon Farrar. It is
another instalment of the best school commentary of the Bible we pos
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It is admirable in every way, and contains just the sort of informa
tion needed for Students of the English text unable to make use of the
original Greek for themselves." — The Nonconformist and Independent.
"As a handbook to the third gospel, this small work is invaluable.
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formation. . . The notes are pithy, vigorous, and suggestive, abounding
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appointed by our examination of the volume before us. It reflects very
faithfully the learning and critical insight of the Canon's greatest works,
his 'Life of Christ' and his 'Life of St Paul', but differs widely from
both in the terseness and condensation of its style. What Canon Farrar
has evidently aimed at is to place before students as much information
as nossible within the limits of the smallest possible space, and
in this aim he has hit the mark to perfection."— The Examiner.

6 CAMBRIDGE BIBLE FOR SCiiOGiS ik COLLEGES.
The Gospel according to St John. "Of the notes we can say with
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Commentary will be found a valuable aid to the better understanding
of the Sacred Text." — School Guardian.
"The new volume of the 'Cambridge Bible for Schools' — the
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careful and thorough work as either of its predecessors. The intro
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and to the Apostle's First Epistle, and the usual subjects referred to in
an 'introduction'." — The Christian Church.
"The notes are extremely scholarly and valuable, and in most cases
exhaustive, bringing to the elucidation of the text all that is best in
commentaries, ancient and modern." — The English Churchman and
Clerical Journal.
"(i) The Acts of the Apostles. By J. Rawson Lumby, D.D.
(2) The Second Epistle of the Corinthians, edited by Professor Lias.
The introduction is pithy, and contains a mass of carefully-selected
information on the authorship of the Acts, its designs, and its sources.
 The Second Epistle ofthe Corinthians is a manual beyond all praise,
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contents, and the fulness and value of its introduction." — Examiner.
"The concluding portion of the Acts of the Apostles, under the very
competent editorship of Dr Lumby, is a valuable addition to our
school-books on that subject. Detailed criticism is impossible within
the space at our command, but we may say that the ample notes touch
with much exactness the very points on which most readers of the text
desire information. Due reference is made, where necessary, to the
Revised Version ; the maps are excellent ; and we do not know of any
other volume where so much help is given to the complete understand
ing of one of the most important and, in many respects, difficult books
of the New Testament."' — School Guardian.
"The Rev. H. C. G. Moule, M.A., has made a valuable addition
to The Cambridge Bible for Schools in his brief commentaiy on
the Epistle to the Romans. The 'Notes' are very good, and lean,
as the notes of a School Bible should, to the most commonly ac
cepted and orthodox view of the inspired author's meaning ; while the
Introduction, and especially the Sketch of the Life of St Paul, is a model
of condensation. It is as lively and pleasant to read as if two or three
facts had not been crowded into well-nigh every sentence." — Expositor.
"The Epistle to the Romans. It is seldom we have met with a
work so remarkable for the compression and condensation of all that
is valuable in the smallest possible space as in the volume before us.
Within its limited pages we have ' a sketch of the Life of St Paul,'
we have further a critical account of the date of the Epistle to the
Romans, of its language, and of its genuineness. The notes are
numerous, full of matter, to the point, and leave no real difficulty
or obscurity unexplained." — The Examiner.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.

' ' The First Epistle to the Corinthians. Edited by Professor Lias.
Every fresh instalment of this annotated edition of the Bible for Schools
confirms the favourable opinion we formed of its value from the exami
nation of its first number. The origin and plan of the Epistle are
discussed with its character and genuineness." — The Nonconformist.
" The Second Epistle to the Corinthians. By Professor Lias. The
General Epistles of St Peter and St Jude. By E. H. Plumptre, D. D.
We welcome these additions to the valuable series of the Cambridge
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have from the first publication given to this edition of the Bible. It is
enough to say that Professor Lias has completed his work on the two
Epistles to the Corinthians in the same admirable manner as at first.
Dr Plumptre has also completed the Catholic Epistles. "—Nonconformist.
The Epistle to the Ephesians. By Rev. H. C. G. Moule, M.A.
" It seems to us the model of a School and College Commentary —
comprehensive, but not cumbersome; scholarly, but not pedantic. —
Baptist Magazine.
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" Another capital volume of 'The Cambridge Bible for Schools and
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criticism." — Baptist Magazine.
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Sunday School Chronicle.
"The General Epistle of St James, by Professor Plumptre, D.D.
Nevertheless it is, so far as I know, by far the best exposition of the
Epistle of St James in the English language. Not Schoolboys or
Students going in for an examination alone, but Ministers and Preachers
of the Word, may get more real help from it than from the most costly
and elaborate commentaries." — Expositor.
The Epistles of St John. By the Rev. A. Plummer, M.A., D.D.
"This forms an admirable companion to the 'Commentary on the
Gospel according to St John,' which was reviewed in The Churchman
as soon as it appeared. Dr Plummer has some of the highest qualifica
tions for such a task ; and these two volumes, their size being considered,
will bear comparison with the best Commentaries of the time. — / He
Churchman. " Dr Plummer's edition of the Epistles of St John is worthy of its
companions in the 'Cambridge Bible for Schools' Series. The
sumertftoUEh not apparently extensive, is really one not easy to
rSt and requiring t<Tbe treated at length, owing to the constant
treat, and ^quir B h Johannine writings. Dr Plummet
nlTne6 his"ical task well."-** Saturday Review.

THE CAMBRIDGE GREEK TESTAMENT
FOR SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES
with a Revised Text, based on the most recent critical authorities, and
English Notes, prepared under the direction of the General Editor,
The Very Reverend J. J. S. PEROWNE, D.D.
*' Has achieved an excellence which puts it above criticism." — Expositor.
St Matthew. " Copious illustrations, gathered from a great variety
of sources, make his notes a very valuable aid to the student. They
are indeed remarkably interesting, while all explanations on meanings,
applications, and the like are distinguished by their lucidity and good
sense." — Pall Mall Gazette.
St Mark. ' ' The Cambridge Greek Testament of which Dr Maclear's
edition of the Gospel according to St Mark is a volume, certainly
supplies a want. Without pretending to compete with the leading
commentaries, or to embody very much original research, it forms a
most satisfactory introduction to the study of the New Testament in
the original.. ..Dr Maclear's introduction contains all that is known of
St Mark's life; an account of the circumstances in which the Gospel
was composed, with an estimate of the influence of St Peter's teaching
upon St Mark ; an excellent sketch of the special characteristics of this
Gospel ; an analysis, and a chapter on the text of the New Testament
generally. " — Saturday Review.
St Luke. "Of this second series we have a new volume by
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scholarship. We have a most attractive Introduction. Then follows
a sort of composite Greek text, representing fairly and in very beautiful
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exposition of each chapter of the Gospel are a few short critical notes
giving the manuscript evidence for such various readings as seem to
deserve mention. The expository notes are short, but clear and helpful.
For young students and those who are not disposed to buy or to study
the much more costly work of Godet, this seems to us to be the best
book on the Greek Text ofthe Third Gospel."— Methodist Recorder.
St John. " We take this opportunity of recommending to ministers
on probation, the very excellent volume of the same series on this part
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will prefer to study the volume in the Cambridge Greek Testament for
Schools." — Methodist Recorder.
The Acts of the Apostles. "Professor Lumby has performed his
laborious task well, and supplied us with a commentary the fulness and
freshness of which Bible students will not be slow to appreciate. The
volume is enriched with the usual copious indexes and four coloured
maps." — Glasgow Herald.,
I. Corinthians. "Mr Lias is no novice in New Testament exposi
tion, and the present series of essays and notes is an able and helpful
addition to the existing books."— Guardian.
The Epistles of St John. "In the very useful and well annotated
series of the Cambridge Greek Testament the volume on the Epistles
of St John must hold a high position... The notes are brief, well
informed and intelligent." — Scotsman.

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