Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Acts 13:11

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. LXX. Exodus 9:3, ἰδοὺ χεὶρ κυρίου ἐπέσται ἐν τοῖς κτήνεσί σου, and 1 Samuel 12:15, καὶ ἔσται χεὶρ κυρίου ἐφ' ὑμᾶς.

τυφλὸς μὴ βλέπων, blind, not seeing. As the infliction is still in the future, and so only a conception in the mind of St Paul, however firmly settled, it is reasonable to use the subjective negative μὴ. Cf. for an exactly similar expression Luke 1:20, σιωπῶν καὶ μὴ δυνάμενος λαλῆσαι.

ἄχρι καιροῦ, for a season. The punishment inflicted on Elymas is lighter than that of Ananias and Sapphira, because in their case the hypocrisy of their conduct would have brought ruin to 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.

ἀχλὺς καὶ σκότος, 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.

καὶ περιάγων ἐζήτει χειραγωγούς, and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand.

περιάγειν = to lead about, is also used in N.T. in the intransitive sense, ‘to go about,’ cf. Mark 6:6, καὶ περιῆγεν τὰς κώμας κύκλῳ διδάσκων.

χειραγωγός is rare, and only here in N.T. The verb is found in the LXX. (some texts) Judges 16:26.

As Elymas perceives 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.

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Acts 13:11

Old Testament

New Testament