Acts 16:1-12. 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... [ Continue Reading ]
τινος omitted with אABCDE. Not represented in _Vulg_. 1. ΚΑΤΉΝΤΗΣΕΝ. The preposition in this verb seems to have little or no force. Cf. its use in 2Ma 4:21; 2Ma 4:44. ΕἸΣ ΔΈΡΒΗΝ ΚΑῚ … ΛΎΣΤΡΑΝ, _to Derbe and Lystra_. This is the beginning of that revisiting spoken of in Acts 15:36. See notes on Act... [ Continue Reading ]
ὍΣ ἘΜΑΡΤΥΡΕΙ͂ΤΟ, _who was well reported of_. The same word is used about Cornelius (Acts 10:22), and by Paul about Ananias (Acts 22:12). ὙΠῸ ΤΩ͂Ν ἘΝ ΛΎΣΤΡΟΙΣ ΚΑῚ ἸΚΟΝΊΩΙ�, _by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium_. The ‘brethren’ are the members of the Christian Churches. Five or six years... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΕΡΙΈΤΕΜΕΝ ΑΥ̓ΤΌΝ, _he 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 become a fellow-worshipper in the Christian Churches with a Gentile who remained... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΑΡΕΔΊΔΟΣΑΝ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΙ͂Σ, _they delivered to them_, i.e. to the converts in the several cities. 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... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΣΤΕΡΕΟΥ͂ΝΤΟ ΤΗ͂Ι ΠΊΣΤΕΙ, _were established in the faith_. This verb is peculiar to the Acts, and is used (Acts 3:7; Acts 3:16) of the strengthening of the limbs of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple. So its employment here indicates that thus the Church was now prepared to make great... [ Continue Reading ]
ΔΙΗ͂ΛΘΟΝ with אABCDE. _Vulg_. ‘transeuntes.’ 6. ΔΙΗ͂ΛΘΟΝ ΔΈ, _and they passed through_. The reading διελθόντες of the _Text. recept_. is probably due to the participle which immediately follows and has no conjunction. ΤῊΝ ΦΡΥΓΊΑΝ ΚΑῚ ΓΑΛΑΤΙΚῊΝ ΧΏΡΑΝ, _Phrygia and the region of Galatia_. This was sc... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἸΣ before ΤῊΝ ΒΙΘΥΝΊΑΝ with אABCD. _Vulg_. ‘in Bithyniam.’ ΤῸ ΠΝΕΥ͂ΜΑ ἸΗΣΟΥ͂ with אABCDE. _Vulg_. ‘Spiritus Jesu.’ 7. ἘΛΘΌΝΤΕΣ ΔῈ ΚΑΤᾺ ΤῊΝ ΜΥΣΊΑΝ, _and being come over against Mysia_. The ‘to’ of A.V. is incorrect. The course of the journey seems to have been through Galatia and Phrygia, until th... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΑΡΕΛΘΌΝΤΕΣ ΔῈ ΤῊΝ ΜΥΣΊΑΝ, _and having passed by Mysia_, i.e. without preaching there. Mysia was a district of Proconsular Asia, where they were forbidden, by the Spirit, to preach. ΕἸΣ ΤΡΩΆΔΑ, _to Troas_, the well-known seaport on the coast of Mysia.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΩ͂Ι ΠΑΎΛΩΙ ὬΦΘΗ with אBDE. _Vulg_. ‘Paulo ostensa est.’ ἈΝῊΡ ΜΑΚΕΔΏΝ ΤΙΣ ἮΝ ἙΣΤῺΣ ΚΑῚ with אABCE. _Vulg_. ‘vir Macedo quidam erat stans et deprecans.’ 9. ΚΑῚ ὍΡΑΜΑ ΔΙᾺ ΝΥΚΤῸΣ ΤΩ͂Ι ΠΑΎΛΩΙ ὬΦΘΗ, _and a vision appeared to Paul by night_. That such divine communications should be made after the descen... [ Continue Reading ]
ΘΕῸΣ for κύριος with אABCE. _Vulg_. ‘Deus.’ 10. ἘΖΗΤΉΣΑΜΕΝ, _we sought_. The steps taken would be in the way of inquiry how and when they could cross into Europe. For ζητεῖν with a verb of going, cf. LXX. 1 Kings 11:22, ἰδοὺ σὺ ζητεῖς�. At this point the writer begins to speak in the first person... [ Continue Reading ]
ΣΑΜΟΘΡΆΙΚΗΝ, _Samothrace_. 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. ΝΈΑΝ ΠΌΛΙΝ, _Neapolis_, the port of Philippi. This place is generally identified with the modern _Kavalla_. On the discussion about its i... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚἈΚΕΙ͂ΘΕΝ ΕἸΣ ΦΙΛΊΠΠΟΥΣ, _and from thence to Philippi_. As there is no change of the verb (εὐθυδρομήσαμεν) for the whole description of the journey, we may conclude that it was all made by ship. ἭΤΙΣ ἘΣΤῚΝ … ΚΟΛΩΝΊΑ _which is a city of Macedonia_, the _first of the district, a colony_. Philippi and... [ Continue Reading ]
ἜΞΩ ΤΗ͂Σ ΠΎΛΗΣ with אABCD. _Vulg_. ‘foras portam.’ ἘΝΟΜΊΖΟΜΕΝ ΠΡΟΣΕΥΧῊΝ ΕἾΝΑΙ with אABC. _Vulg_. ‘videbatur oratio esse.’ 13. ΤΗ͂Ι ΤΕ ἩΜΈΡΑΙ ΤΩ͂Ν ΣΑΒΒΆΤΩΝ, _and on the sabbath_. The form of the phrase is common in the LXX. Cf. Leviticus 24:8; Numbers 28:9; Jeremiah 17:21-22. But ἡ ἡμέρα τοῦ σαβάτο... [ Continue Reading ]
PREACHING ON THE SABBATH AT PHILIPPI. CONVERSION AND BAPTISM OF LYDIA. A SPIRIT OF DIVINATION CAST OUT BY ST 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 BA... [ Continue Reading ]
ΛΥΔΊΑ, _Lydia_. This may have been the woman’s 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, it is clear that dyeing was one of the sta... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ Ὁ ΟἾΚΟΣ ΑΥ̓ΤΗ͂Σ, _and her household_. Of a like baptizing of a household see below (Acts 16:33), and also cf. Acts 11:14. We are not justified in concluding from these passages that infants were baptized. ‘Household’ might mean slaves and freedwomen. ΜΈΝΕΤΕ, _abide there_. Like the two disciple... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΝΕΥ͂ΜΑ ΠΎΘΩΝΑ with אABCD. _Vulg_. ‘spiritum pythonem.’ 16. ΠΟΡΕΥΟΜΈΝΩΝ ἩΜΩ͂Ν ΕἸΣ ΤῊΝ ΠΡΟΣΕΥΧΉΝ, _as we were going to the place of prayer_ (see on Acts 16:13). This verse must refer to a different occasion from that on which Lydia was converted. In the previous παρεβιάσατο it is implied that they c... [ Continue Reading ]
ὙΜΙ͂Ν before ὉΔῸΝ with אBDE. _Vulg_. ‘vobis.’ 17. ΚΑΤΑΚΟΛΟΥΘΟΥ͂ΣΑ ΤΩ͂Ι ΠΑΎΛΩΙ ΚΑῚ ἩΜΙ͂Ν, _following Paul and us_. Whatever may have been the nature of the mental and spiritual malady under which this damsel suffered, it produced on her the like effect which is oft recorded of evil spirits in the hi... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΟΥ͂ΤΟ ΔΈ ἘΠΟΊΕΙ ἘΠῚ ΠΟΛΛΆΣ ἩΜΈΡΑΣ, _this she did for 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 appea... [ Continue Reading ]
ὍΤΙ ἘΞΗ͂ΛΘΕΝ Ἡ ἘΛΠῚΣ ΤΗ͂Σ ἘΡΓΑΣΊΑΣ ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ν, _that the hope of their gain was gone_. The verb ἐξῆλθεν is the same word which was used of the spirit coming out of the damsel. We cannot produce the same effect by English words. When the spirit _went out_, the hope of their gain _went out_ also. What th... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΡΟΣΑΓΑΓΌΝΤΕΣ ΑΥ̓ΤΟῪΣ ΤΟΙ͂Σ ΣΤΡΑΤΗΓΟΙ͂Σ, _having brought them to the magistrates_. These στρατηγοί were the _duumviri_, the two _prætors_ specially appointed to preside over the administration of justice, in cases where there was no appeal to Rome, in the _municipia_ and _coloniæ_ of the Romans. The... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ΚΑΤΑΓΓΈΛΛΟΥΣΙΝ ἜΘΗ, _and set forth customs_. The verb refers to the proclamation or preaching of the Apostles.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ΣΥΝΕΠΈΣΤΗ Ὁ ὌΧΛΟΣ, _and the multitude rose up together_, i.e. along with the aggrieved proprietors of the damsel. ΠΕΡΙΡΉΞΑΝΤΕΣ ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ν ΤᾺ ἹΜΆΤΙΑ, _rent their_ (i.e. Paul and Silas’s) _clothes off them_. ἘΚΈΛΕΥΟΝ ῬΑΒΔΊΖΕΙΝ, _they commanded to beat them_. ῥαβδίζειν, to beat with rods was the off... [ Continue Reading ]
ἜΒΑΛΟΝ ΕἸΣ ΦΥΛΑΚΉΝ, _they cast them into prison_. So that they should have no chance of teaching any longer. They appear (see Acts 16:35) to have intended to keep them one night in prison and then to turn them out of the city.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἸΣ ΤῊΝ ἘΣΩΤΈΡΑΝ ΦΥΛΑΚΉΝ, _into the inner prison_. Necessarily a place dark and without ventilation, and hence foul and loathsome, perhaps underground, like the Tullianum at Rome (Varr. _L. L._ 5. § 161; Liv. 29:22). ΚΑῚ ΤΟῪΣ ΠΌΔΑΣ ἨΣΦΑΛΊΣΑΤΟ ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ν ΕἸΣ ΤῸ ΞΎΛΟΝ, _and made their feet fast in the s... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑΤᾺ ΔῈ ΤῸ ΜΕΣΟΝΎΚΤΙΟΝ, _and at midnight_. Sleep being out of the question they passed the night in devotion. The imperfects ὕμνουν and ἐπηκροῶντο in the verse indicate that the prayers and singing were continued; but we have no means of adequately representing this by idiomatic English. ΟἹ ΔΈΣΜΙΟΙ... [ Continue Reading ]
ΣΕΙΣΜῸΣ ἘΓΈΝΕΤΟ ΜΈΓΑΣ, _there was a great earthquake_. Just as the place wherein the Apostles prayed (Acts 4:31) was shaken, so here God testifies that He is near at hand. ΠΆΝΤΩΝ ΤᾺ ΔΕΣΜᾺ�, _every one’s bands were loosed_. The sense in which these words are to be taken may be gathered from the rest... [ Continue Reading ]
ἜΞΥΠΝΟΣ ΔῈ ΓΕΝΌΜΕΝΟΣ Ὁ ΔΕΣΜΟΦΎΛΑΞ, _and the jailor awaking out of his sleep_. For ἔξυπνος cf. 1Es 3:3, ὁ βασιλεὺς … ἐκοιμήθη καὶ ἔξυπνος ἐγένετο. It is only found in N.T. in this verse. ΣΠΑΣΆΜΕΝΟΣ ΜΆΧΑΙΡΑΝ, _having drawn his sword_. The jailor probably slept in such a place that on rising he could... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΦΏΝΗΣΕΝ ΔῈ ΦΩΝΗ͂Ι ΜΕΓΆΛΗΙ ΠΑΥ͂ΛΟΣ, _but Paul cried with a loud voice_. The sound of even one voice would arrest the jailor’s action, for at the sight of the open doors he had concluded that all had made use of the opportunity and had escaped.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΑἸΤΉΣΑΣ ΔῈ ΦΩ͂ΤΑ, _and having called for lights_. He would summon all the help he could, and would wish to make an inspection of his charge as speedily as possible. ἜΝΤΡΟΜΟΣ ΓΕΝΌΜΕΝΟΣ, _being terror-stricken_. For the word see above, Acts 7:32. It is also found in LXX. Daniel 10:11; Wis 17:9; 1Ma 13... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ΠΡΟΑΓΑΓῺΝ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΎΣ, _and having brought them out_. For there could be no fear that they would flee now who had remained when the open doors made escape easy. ΚΎΡΙΟΙ, _Sirs_, literally, ‘Lords.’ He acknowledges by the word their great superiority. ΤΊ ΜΕ ΔΕΙ͂ ΠΟΙΕΙ͂Ν ἽΝΑ ΣΩΘΩ͂; _what must I do to... [ Continue Reading ]
Χριστόν omitted with אAB. Unrepresented in _Vulg_. 31. ΠΊΣΤΕΥΣΟΝ ἘΠῚ ΤῸΝ ΚΎΡΙΟΝ ἸΗΣΟΥ͂Ν, _believe on the Lord Jesus_. The word Χριστὸς which is inserted here in the _Text. recept_. would not have the same significance for a Gentile as for a Jew, and may well have been omitted in the address to the... [ Continue Reading ]
ΣῪΝ for καὶ before ΠΑ͂ΣΙΝ with אABCD. _Vulg_. ‘cum.’ 32. ΤῸΝ ΛΌΓΟΝ ΤΟΥ͂ ΚΥΡΊΟΥ, _the word of the Lord_, i.e. he preached to him the doctrine of Christ, in the only way then possible, by the narrative of His life and its purpose.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΝ ἘΚΕΊΝΗΙ ΤΗ͂Ι ὭΡΑΙ ΤΗ͂Σ ΝΥΚΤΌΣ, _in that same hour of the night_. It was midnight, see Acts 16:25. But a new day, a birthday, had already begun for him and it must be kept as a feast. So he does his utmost to shew his rejoicing by care for those who had caused it. ἜΛΟΥΣΕΝ�, _he washed their strip... [ Continue Reading ]
αὐτοῦ omitted after αἶκον with BCP. _Vulg_. ‘in domum suam.’ 34. ΠΑΡΈΘΗΚΕΝ ΤΡΆΠΕΖΑΝ, _he set meat_ (lit. _a table_) _before them_. He would not let them remain longer in the dungeon, but took means to testify how the dawn of faith had filled him with joy. ΚΑῚ ἨΓΑΛΛΙΆΣΑΤΟ ΠΑΝΟΙΚῚ ΠΕΠΙΣΤΕΥΚῺΣ ΤΩ͂Ι Θ... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΟῪΣ ῬΑΒΔΟΎΧΟΥΣ, _the serjeants_. Literally, ‘rodbearers.’ These were the lictors, that attended on the prætors (duumviri, στρατηγοί), probably the same persons who on the previous day had scourged Paul and Silas, and were now sent to see that they were got rid of.... [ Continue Reading ]
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.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΠΉΓΓΕΙΛΕΝ ΔῈ … ΤΟῪΣ ΛΌΓΟΥΣ ΤΟΎΤΟΥΣ, _and he reported these words_. 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. ἘΞΕΛΘΌΝΤΕΣ ΠΟΡΕΎΕΣΘΕ, _come forth and go_, i.e. out of the prison, in which they were still remainin... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΔῈ ΠΑΥ͂ΛΟΣ ἜΦΗ ΠΡῸΣ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΎΣ, _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 Sila... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΦΟΒΉΘΗΣΑΝ ΔΈ, _and they were afraid_, because a Roman citizen had a right of appeal to the emperor, and outrage on such a man was visited with severe penalties. ῬΩΜΑΙ͂ΟΊ ΕἸΣΙΝ, _they are Romans_. The words are reported exactly as the messengers would utter them; ὅτι is no more than a mark of quota... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΠΕΛΘΕΙ͂Ν� with אAB. _Vulg_. ‘egrederentur de urbe.’ 39. ἨΡΏΤΩΝ ΑΠΕΛΘΕΙ͂Ν�, _they desired them to depart from the city_. Finding how much they had offended, they become very humble, and beg the disciples to relieve them of their anxiety by quitting Philippi. We are not told how Paul and Silas estab... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΡῸΣ ΤῊΝ ΛΥΔΊΑΝ with אABDEHLP. _Vulg_. ‘ad.’ ΠΑΡΕΚΆΛΕΣΑΝ ΤΟῪΣ� omitting αὐτούς with אAB. _Vulg_. ‘visis fratribus consolati sunt eos.’ 40. ΠΡῸΣ ΤῊΝ ΛΥΔΊΑΝ, _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 an... [ Continue Reading ]