Acts 13:1-12
Acts 13:1-12. BEGINNING OF SAUL’S FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY. HE VISITS CYPRUS... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 13:1-12. BEGINNING OF SAUL’S FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY. HE VISITS CYPRUS... [ Continue Reading ]
τινες omitted with אABD. Unrepresented in _Vulg_. 1. ἮΣΑΝ ΔῈ ἘΝ ἈΝΤΙΟΧΕΊΑΙ ΚΑΤᾺ ΤῊΝ ΟΥ̓͂ΣΑΝ ἘΚΚΛΗΣΊΑΝ, _now there were at Antioch in the Church which 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... [ Continue Reading ]
ΛΕΙΤΟΥΡΓΟΎΝΤΩΝ ΔῈ ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ν ΤΩ͂Ι ΚΥΡΊΩΙ, _and as they ministered to the Lord_. The verb λειτουργέω is the one usually employed by the LXX. for the ministerial services in the Temple, as it is also Hebrews 10:11, but the parallelism with the next verse, where the service here mentioned is described as... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΌΤΕ ΝΗΣΤΕΎΣΑΝΤΕΣ. This verse indicates that there was a solemn dedication service at the end of the ministration and fasting with which the devotions of the Church had commenced.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΑΥ̓ΤΟῚ for οὖτοι with אAB. _Vulg_. ‘ipsi.’ 4. ἘΚΠΕΜΦΘΈΝΤΕΣ ὙΠῸ ΤΟΥ͂ ἉΓΊΟΥ ΠΝΕΎΜΑΤΟΣ, _sent forth by the Holy Ghost_. This repetition marks the solemn character which St Luke and also his informant attached to this new form which the Christian work was taking. ΕἸΣ ΣΕΛΕΎΚΕΙΑΝ, _unto Seleucia_, which... [ Continue Reading ]
ΓΕΝΌΜΕΝΟΙ ἘΝ ΣΑΛΑΜΙ͂ΝΙ, _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. ἘΝ ΤΑΙ͂Σ ΣΥΝΑΓΩΓΑΙ͂Σ ΤΩ͂Σ ἸΟΥΔΑΊΩΝ, _in the synagogues of the Jews_, who were in sufficient numbe... [ Continue Reading ]
ὍΛΗΝ added before ΤῊΝ ΝΗ͂ΣΟΝ with אABCDE. _Vulg_. ‘universam insulam.’ 6. ΔΙΕΛΘΌΝΤΕΣ ΔῈ ὍΛΗΝ ΤῊΝ ΝΗ͂ΣΟΝ ἌΧΡΙ ΠΆΦΟΥ, _and when they had gone through the whole island unto Paphos_. Probably teaching at other places in the same way as they had done in Salamis. Paphos was the capital of Cyprus, and the... [ Continue Reading ]
ὋΣ ἮΝ ΣῪΝ ΤΩ͂Ι�, _which was with the 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, wh... [ Continue Reading ]
ΖΗΤΩ͂Ν ΔΙΑΣΤΡΈΨΑΙ ΤῸΝ�, _seeking to turn aside the 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 cu... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ before ἈΤΕΝΊΣΑΣ omitted with אABCL. Not represented in _Vulg_. 9. ΣΑΥ͂ΛΟΣ ΔΈ, Ὁ ΚΑῚ ΠΑΥ͂ΛΟΣ, _but Saul, who also is called Paul_. In spite of Elymas, 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... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΧΘΡῈ ΠΆΣΗΣ ΔΙΚΑΙΟΣΎΝΗΣ, _enemy of all righteousness_. We may judge from this expression that St Paul recognised an earnest zeal for truth in the inquiries of the proconsul, and that his wrath against Elymas was not only because of what he did at the time, but for the tendency of all his teachings.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΧΕῚΡ ΚΥΡΊΟΥ, _the hand of the Lord_, i.e. of that Jehovah whose ways Elymas had perverted, for it could only have been after the Jewish faith that Sergius Paulus had made his inquiries of Elymas, who instead of teaching him to know the Lord, seduced him by his own pretensions. For the expression cf... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΌΤΕ ἸΔῺΝ Ὁ�.Τ.Λ., _then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed_. He was convinced by the miracle and by the words with which it was accompanied that the Apostles were teachers of that way of the Lord after which he had been seeking in vain from Elymas. We are not told that Sergius was bapt... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΝΑΧΘΈΝΤΕΣ ΔῈ�, _now having sailed from Paphos_. Their course would be N.W. to reach the south coast of Asia Minor. On the prompt departure from Paphos, Chrysostom says: ὅρα καὶ αὐτοὺς οὐκ ἐγχρονίζοντας αὐτόθι ἅτε τοῦ�, ἀλλ' εὐθέως τοῦ ἔργου ἐχομένους καὶ τὴν�. ΟἹ ΠΕΡῚ ΠΑΥ͂ΛΟΝ, _Paul and his compa... [ Continue Reading ]
THE APOSTLES VISIT PAMPHYLIA AND PISIDIA. JOHN MARK RETURNS TO JERUSALEM... [ Continue Reading ]
ΑΥ̓ΤΟῚ ΔῈ ΔΙΕΛΘΌΝΤΕΣ�, _but they having passed through from Perga_. διέρχομαι is a very correct expression and should be precisely rendered. The direction in which they went obliged them to cross a whole district. See below. ΕἸΣ ἈΝΤΙΌΧΕΙΑΝ ΤῊΝ ΠΙΣΊΔΙΑΝ, _to Antioch in Pisidia_. Pisidia lay inland t... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἼ ΤΙΣ ἜΣΤΙΝ ἘΝ ΥΜΙ͂Ν ΛΌΓΟΣ with אABC. _Vulg_. ‘si quis est in vobis sermo.’ 15. ΜΕΤᾺ ΔῈ ΤῊΝ�, _and after the reading of the Law and the Prophets_. Which was a prominent portion of the synagogue-service. For the better understanding of what was here done, and also at the time when our Lord ‘stood u... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑΤΑΣΕΊΣΑΣ ΤΗ͂Ι ΧΕΙΡΊ, _beckoning with his hand_. Cf. Acts 12:17, where it is explained that the gesture was for the purpose of procuring silence. ἌΝΔΡΕΣ ἸΣΡΑΗΛΙ͂ΤΑΙ ΚΑῚ ΟἹ ΦΟΒΟΎΜΕΝΟΙ ΤῸΝ ΘΕΌΝ, _men of Israel and ye that fear God_. The audience consisted of born Jews and proselytes as well as perha... [ Continue Reading ]
PAUL’S SPEECH AT ANTIOCH... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΘΕῸΣ … ΤΟῪΣ ΠΑΤΈΡΑΣ ἩΜΩ͂Ν, _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. In that history the LXX. continually represents God’s choice of Israel by this word ἐξελέξατο. Cf... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΤΡΟΦΟΦΌΡΗΣΕΝ for ἐτροποφόρησεν with ACE. _Vulg_. ‘mores eorum sustinuit.’ 18. ἘΤΡΟΦΟΦΌΡΗΣΕΝ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΎΣ, _He bare them as a nursing father_. This is the expression in Deuteronomy 1:31, where the LXX. have rendered, καὶ ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ταύτῃ … ὡς τροφοφορήσει σε κύριος ὁ θεός σου ὡς εἴ τις τροφοφορήσαι ἄνθ... [ Continue Reading ]
αὐτοῖς omitted after ΚΑΤΕΚΛΗΡΟΝΌΜΗΣΕΝ with אBD. _Vulg_. has ‘eis.’ 19. ἜΘΝΗ ἙΠΤΆ, _seven nations_. They are enumerated (Deuteronomy 7:1) before the people went over Jordan, viz. the Hittites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. ΚΑΤΕΚΛΗΡΟΝΌ... [ Continue Reading ]
ὩΣ ἜΤΕΣΙΝ ΤΕΤΡΑΚΟΣΊΟΙΣ ΚΑῚ ΠΕΝΤΉΚΟΝΤΑ. ΚΑῚ ΜΕΤᾺ ΤΑΥ͂ΤΑ with אABC. Supported by _Vulg_.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚἈΚΕΙ͂ΘΕΝ, _and after that_. The word indicates _from that point_ in their history where Samuel appears they began to clamour for a king, and thus the local becomes a temporal meaning in the adverb. ΤῸΝ ΣΑΟῪΛ ΥἹῸΝ ΚΑΊΣ, ἌΝΔΡΑ ἘΚ ΦΥΛΗ͂Σ ΒΕΝΙΑΜΕΊΝ, _Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjami... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕὟΡΟΝ ΔΑΥΕῚΔ Κ.Τ.Λ., _I have found David_, &c. This sentence is a combination and adaptation from two separate verses out of the O. Test. (1) ‘I have found David my servant,’ Psalms 89:20; (2) ‘The Lord hath sought Him a man after His own heart, and the Lord hath commanded him to be captain over His... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΟΎΤΟΥ Ὁ ΘΕῸΣ … ΚΑΤ' ἘΠΑΓΓΕΛΊΑΝ ἬΓΑΓΕΝ … ἸΗΣΟΥ͂Ν, _from this man’s seed hath God according to promise brought unto Israel a Saviour Jesus_. The promise alluded to here is preserved for us in Psalms 132:11 ‘Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy seat,’ and in many other similar declarations in... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΡῸ ΠΡΟΣΏΠΟΥ is only the rendering of the Hebrew לפני = _at the face of_, and means no more than πρό, and the A.V. has rightly rendered it only by _before_. ΒΆΠΤΙΣΜΑ ΜΕΤΑΝΟΊΑΣ, _the baptism of repentance_, i.e. baptism which was to be an outward sign of an inner change of life and mind. Cf. Mark 1:... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΊ ἘΜῈ for τίνα με with אAB. _Vulg_. ‘Quem me.’ 25. ΤΊ ἘΜῈ ὙΠΟΝΟΕΙ͂ΤΕ ΕἾΝΑΙ, _what think ye that I am?_ For John’s words see Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:7; Luke 3:16; John 1:20; John 1:27.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ ἘΝ ὙΜΙ͂Ν ΦΟΒΟΎΜΕΝΟΙ ΤῸΝ ΘΕΌΝ. Cf. above on Acts 13:16. ὙΜΙ͂Ν Ὁ ΛΌΓΟΣ … ἘΞΑΠΕΣΤΆΛΗ, _to you was the word of this salvation sent forth_. Some of the oldest authorities read ἡμῖν here, and for the Apostle to say ‘to us’ is quite in accord with the language of Acts 13:17, ‘God chose _our fathers_.’... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΟΥ͂ΤΟΝ�, _because they knew Him not_. Cf. the very similar language of St Peter at the Temple (Acts 3:17), ‘I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers,’ and see note there.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ΜΗΔΕΜΊΑΝ ΑἸΤΊΑΝ ΘΑΝΆΤΟΥ ΕὙΡΌΝΤΕΣ, _and though they found no cause of death in Him_. These words are part of the declaration of Pilate (Luke 23:22).... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΆΝΤΑ ΤᾺ ΠΕΡῚ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂ ΓΕΓΡΑΜΜΈΝΑ, _all the things which have been written of Him_. Various prophecies received their fulfilment in Christ’s sufferings, some in the betrayal, others in harsh treatment, and agony which preceded His death, the greatest of them all.... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΔῈ ΘΕῸΣ ἬΓΕΙΡΕΝ ΑΥ̓ΤῸΝ ἘΚ ΝΕΚΡΩ͂Ν, _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 justifie... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΠῸ ΤΗ͂Σ ΓΑΛΙΛΑΊΑΣ, _from Galilee_. The Apostles, and the main body of Christ’s followers, were drawn from Galilee, in so much that, before the Crucifixion, Galilæans was a name by which they were known (Mark 14:70). ΟἽΤΙΝΕΣ ΝΥ͂Ν ΕἸΣῚΝ ΜΆΡΤΥΡΕΣ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΥ͂, _who now are His witnesses_. St Paul has not... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ἩΜΕΙ͂Σ ὙΜΑ͂Σ ΕΥ̓ΑΓΓΕΛΙΖΌΜΕΘΑ, _and we declare unto you glad tidings_. While the companions of Jesus are to be His witnesses, we are His Evangelists, the bringers of the good news of His salvation. ΤῊΝ … ἘΠΑΓΓΕΛΊΑΝ …, _of the promise which was made unto the fathers_. Thus ἐπαγγελίαν becomes the... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΟΙ͂Σ ΤΈΚΝΟΙΣ ἩΜΩ͂Ν with אABCD. _Vulg_. ‘filiis nostris.’ ἘΝ ΤΩ͂Ι ΠΡΏΤΩΙ ΨΑΛΜΩ͂Ι with D. _Vulg_. ‘in Psalmo secundo.’ But see notes. 33. ὍΤΙ ΤΑΎΤΗΝ Ὁ ΘΕῸΣ ἘΚΠΕΠΛΉΡΩΚΕΝ. Render, _how that God hath completely fulfilled this_. The ‘glad tidings’ are about the promise, and the precise message which is... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟὝΤΩΣ ΕἼΡΗΚΕΝ, _He_ [i.e. God] _hath spoken on this wise_. The quotation is from Isaiah 55:3. ΔΏΣΩ ὙΜΙ͂Ν ΤᾺ ὍΣΙΑ ΔΑΕΥῚΔ ΤᾺ ΠΙΣΤΆ, _I will give you the sure_ (_faithful_) _mercies of David_. τὰ ὅσια is often used by the LXX. to represent the Hebrew word for ‘mercies’ as here. St Paul speaking to the... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΙΌΤΙ ΚΑῚ ἘΝ ἙΤΈΡΩΙ ΛΈΓΕΙ, _because He saith also in another place_. These words of Psalms 16, which David was inspired to utter, cannot refer to David himself, and this St Paul now proceeds to shew. Cf. on the whole passage Acts 2:29-31 notes.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΑΥΕῚΔ ΜῈΝ ΓᾺΡ … ἘΚΟΙΜΉΘΗ, _for David, after he had served his own generation by the counsel of God, fell on sleep_. There are several other constructions possible in this verse. Thus βουλῇ might be taken as dependent on ὑπηρετήσας, ‘after that in his own generation he had served the counsel of God,... [ Continue Reading ]
ἌΦΕΣΙΣ ἉΜΑΡΤΙΩ͂Ν, _forgiveness of sins_. Just as Jesus in His lifetime on earth declared 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. Cf. Acts 10:43, the conclusion of St Peter’s speech in the house o... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΠῸ ΠΆΝΤΩΝ ὮΝ, _from all things from which_. On the non-repetition of a preposition before the relative when it precedes the antecedent, see note above on Acts 13:2.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐφ' ὑμᾶς omitted with אBD. _Vulg_. ‘vobis.’ 40. ΜῊ ἘΠΈΛΘΗΙ, _lest there come about_, viz. a moral and spiritual overthrow as great as the destruction which the Chaldæans and Nebuchadnezzar wrought upon the land and people at the time of the Babylonish captivity, to which the prophecy (Habakkuk 1:5)... [ Continue Reading ]
ἼΔΕΤΕ, ΟἹ ΚΑΤΑΦΡΟΝΗΤΑΊ, _behold, ye despisers_. This the rendering of the LXX. and of 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. ἜΡΓΟΝ Ὃ ΟΥ̓ ΜῊ ΠΙΣΤΕΎΣΗΤΕ, _a work which ye shall in no wise believe... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΞΙΌΝΤΩΝ ΔῈ ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ν for ἐξιόντων δὲ ἐκ τῆς συναγωγῆς τῶν Ἰουδαίων with אABCDEI. _Vulg_. ‘exeuntibus autem illis.’ τὰ ἔθνη omitted with אACDI. Unrepresented in _Vulg_. 42. ἘΞΙΌΝΤΩΝ ΔῈ ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ν, ΠΑΡΕΚΆΛΟΥΝ, _and as they were going out, they besought_. The congregation had been in the synagogue where... [ Continue Reading ]
FURTHER PREACHING BOTH TO JEWS AND GENTILES. JEALOUSY OF THE JEWS, AND EXPULSION OF THE APOSTLES FROM ANTIOCH... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΩ͂Ν ΣΕΒΟΜΈΝΩΝ ΠΡΟΣΗΛΎΤΩΝ, _of devout proselytes_. This name may have been used to distinguish those proselytes who conformed entirely to Judaism from the proselytes of the gate. ἜΠΕΙΘΟΝ ΑΥ̓ΤΟῪΣ ΠΡΟΣΜΈΝΕΙΝ ΤΗ͂Ι ΧΆΡΙΤΙ ΤΟΥ͂ ΘΕΟΥ͂, _persuaded them to continue in the grace of God_, as Barnabas in like... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΥΡΊΟΥ for θεοῦ with אAB. _Vulg_. ‘Dei.’ 44. ΣΧΕΔῸΝ ΠΑ͂ΣΑ Ἡ ΠΌΛΙΣ, _almost the whole city_. Shewing that the Apostles must have been labouring diligently, both among Jews and heathen during the intervening days.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΠΛΉΣΘΗΣΑΝ ΖΉΛΟΥ, _they were filled with jealousy_. That spirit of exclusion, 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 t... [ Continue Reading ]
ὙΜΙ͂Ν ἮΝ�.Τ.Λ., _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 messengers should declare their glad tidings first unto Jews, but if they received not the word, then it was to be proclaimed to all who would receive it. ΚΑ... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟὝΤΩΣ ΓᾺΡ ἘΝΤΈΤΑΛΤΑΙ ἩΜΙ͂Ν Ὁ ΚΎΡΙΟΣ, _for thus hath the Lord commanded us_. The Lord’s command which the Apostle quotes is from Isaiah 49:6, and it shews that from the prophetic times the reception of the Gentiles was made manifest in the counsels of God. Whatever application be made of the words of... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ἘΠΊΣΤΕΥΣΑΝ ὍΣΟΙ ἮΣΑΝ ΤΕΤΑΓΜΈΝΟΙ ΕἸΣ ΖΩῊΝ ΑἸΏΝΙΟΝ, _and as many as were ordained unto 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... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ before ΤᾺΣ ΕΥ̓ΣΧΉΜΟΝΑΣ omitted with אABCD. _Vulg_. ‘et.’ 50. ΤᾺΣ ΣΕΒΟΜΈΝΑΣ ΓΥΝΑΙ͂ΚΑΣ ΤᾺΣ ΕΥ̓ΣΧΉΜΟΝΑΣ, _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... [ Continue Reading ]
αὐτῶν omitted with אABC. Unrepresented in _Vulg_. 51. ΟἹ ΔῈ ἘΚΤΙΝΑΞΆΜΕΝΟΙ ΤῸΝ ΚΟΝΙΟΡΤῸΝ Κ.Τ.Λ., _but they having shaken off the dust of their feet against them_. This significant action, like that of the ‘shaking of the raiment’ (Acts 18:6), implied that those against whom it was done were hencefor... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ ΔῈ ΜΑΘΗΤΑῚ ἘΠΛΗΡΟΥ͂ΝΤΟ ΧΑΡΑ͂Σ, _and the disciples were filled with joy_. Rejoicing in accordance with the Lord’s exhortation (Matthew 5:12) when men reviled and persecuted them, which was the very treatment which they had received in Antioch. ΚΑῚ ΠΝΕΎΜΑΤΟΣ ἉΓΊΟΥ, _and with the Holy Ghost_. This... [ Continue Reading ]