Acts 23:1-10
Acts 23:1-10. ST PAUL BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN. DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 23:1-10. ST PAUL BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN. DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN THE PHARISEES AND SADDUCEES... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΤΕΝΊΣΑΣ ΔΈ, _and earnestly beholding_. 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 gene... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΔῈ�, _and the high priest Ananias_. This was Ananias the son of Nebedæus (Joseph. _Ant._ xx. 5. 2). In the time of the Emperor 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... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΎΠΤΕΙΝ ΣΕ ΜΈΛΛΕΙ Ὁ ΘΕΌΣ, ΤΟΙ͂ΧΕ ΚΕΚΟΝΙΑΜΈΝΕ, _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 conside... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤῸΝ�, _God’s high priest_. So styled because he sat on the judgment-seat as God’s representative, cf. Deuteronomy 17:8-13. In the Old Test, the priestly, and even other, judges are sometimes called by God’s own name ‘Elohim.’ (See Exodus 21:6; Exodus 22:8-9 and cf. Psalms 82:1.)... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓Κ ἬΙΔΕΙΝ, ἈΔΕΛΦΟΊ, ὍΤΙ ἘΣΤῚΝ�, _I knew not, brethren, that he was the high priest_. Several explanations 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 t... [ Continue Reading ]
ΦΑΡΙΣΑΊΩΝ for Φαρισαίου with אABC. _Vulg_. ‘Pharisæorum.’ 6. ΓΝΟῪΣ ΔΈ Ὁ ΙΙΑΥ͂ΛΟΣ, _but when Paul perceived_. 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 themselves apart; or to a Je... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΓΈΝΕΤΟ ΣΤΆΣΙΣ, _there arose a dissension_. The two parties began to take sides for and against the Apostle.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΣΑΔΔΟΥΚΑΙ͂ΟΙ ΜῈΝ ΓᾺΡ ΛΈΓΟΥΣΙΝ ΜῊ ΕἾΝΑΙ�, _for 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 develo... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΙΝῈΣ ΤΩ͂Ν ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΈΩΝ with ABC. The _Vulg_. does not represent τῶν γραμματέων τοῦ μέρους having only ‘quidam Pharisæorum.’ μὴ θεομαχῶμεν omitted with אABCE. Not represented in _Vulg_. 9. ἘΓΈΝΕΤΟ ΔῈ ΚΡΑΥΓῊ ΜΕΓΆΛΗ, _and there arose a great clamour_. The noise of an excited assembly. κραυγή is used i... [ Continue Reading ]
ΦΟΒΗΘΕῚΣ for εὐλαβηθεὶς with אABCE. _Vulg_. ‘timens.’ 10. Ὁ ΧΙΛΊΑΡΧΟΣ, _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. ΜῊ ΔΙΑΣΠΑΣΘΗ͂, _lest he should be pulled in pieces_. The Phari... [ Continue Reading ]
ΙΙαῦλε omitted with אABCE. Not represented in _Vulg_. 11. ΤΗ͂Ι ΔῈ ἘΠΙΟΎΣΗ ΝΥΚΤΊ, _and the night following_. The Apostle was now, though not rightly a prisoner, yet kept, that he might be out of harm’s way, under the charge of the Roman soldiers. The hearing of his case having been interrupted, anot... [ Continue Reading ]
PAUL IS CHEERED BY A VISION. THE JEWS CONSPIRE TO KILL HIM... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ ἸΟΥΔΑΙ͂ΟΙ with אABCE. _Vulg_. ‘quidam ex Judæis.’ 12. ΓΕΝΟΜΈΝΗΣ ΔῈ ἩΜΈΡΑΣ, _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 were ready by the next day, and as soon as it arrived th... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΛΕΊΟΥΣ ΤΕΣΣΕΡΆΚΟΝΤΑ, _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 t... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΟΙ͂Σ�, _to the chief priests and elders_. These most likely were Sadducees, and so would have no wish that Paul should be spared. ἈΝΑΘΈΜΑΤΙ�, _we have bound ourselves under a great curse_. Literally, ‘with a curse have we cursed ourselves.’ This is a Hebrew mode of expressing the intensity and ear... [ Continue Reading ]
αὔριον omitted with אABCE. Not represented in _Vulg_. 15. ΝΥ͂Ν ΟΥ̓͂Ν ὙΜΕΙ͂Σ … ΣῪΝ ΤΩ͂Ι ΣΥΝΕΔΡΊΩΙ, _now therefore do ye with the council signify_, &c. ἐμφανίζω in this sense of giving notice or information is frequent in LXX. Cf. Esther 2:22, καὶ αὐτὴ ἐνεφάνισε τῷ βασιλεῖ τὰ τῆς ἐπιβουλῆς. See also... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΚΟΎΣΑΣ ΔῈ Ὁ ΥἹῸΣ ΤΗ͂Σ�, _but Paul’s sister’s son heard_, &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... [ Continue Reading ]
ἝΝΑ ΤΩ͂Ν ἙΚΑΤΟΝΤΆΡΧΩΝ, _one of the centurions_. 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 i... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΑΡΑΛΑΒῺΝ ΑΥ̓ΤῸΝ ἬΓΑΓΕΝ, _he took him and brought him_. With soldier-like obedience and raising no questions. Ὁ ΔΈΣΜΙΟΣ ΠΑΥ͂ΛΟΣ, _Paul the prisoner_, a title which the Apostle used often afterwards to apply to himself. Cf. Ephesians 3:1; Ephesians 4:1; Philemon 1:1; Philemon 1:9, &c.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΠΙΛΑΒΌΜΕΝΟΣ ΣῈ ΤΗ͂Σ ΧΕΙΡΌΣ, _and having taken him by the hand_. The messenger sent by 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 after his conversation with him to favour Paul... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤῸΝ ΠΑΥ͂ΛΟΝ ΚΑΤΑΓΆΓΗΙΣ ΕἸΣ ΤῸ ΣΥΝΈΔΡΙΟΝ with אABE. _Vulg_. ‘producas Paulum in concilium.’ ΜΈΛΛΩΝ for μέλλοντες with אABE. _Vulg_. represents the plural. 20. ὩΣ ΜΈΛΛΩΝ ΤΙ�, _as though thou wouldest enquire somewhat more accurately_. μέλλων is to be preferred to μέλλοντες, for in addressing the chi... [ Continue Reading ]
ΣῪ ΟΥ̓͂Ν ΜῊ ΠΕΙΣΘΗ͂ΙΣ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΙ͂Σ, _do not thou therefore yield to them_. The οὖν refers to the idea of a scheme in which the chief captain was to be made use of; this has only been suggested in the previous verse, not directly stated. ἈΝΕΘΕΜΆΤΙΣΑΝ ἙΑΥΤΟΎΣ, _they have bound themselves under a curse_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΜῈΝ ΟΥ̓͂Ν ΧΙΛΊΑΡΧΟΣ�, _so the chief captain let the young man depart_. For ἀπολύειν = to _dismiss_ a person, and let him go, Cf. 2Ma 12:25, ἀπέλυσαν αὐτὸν ἕνεκα τῆς τῶν�. ὍΤΙ ΤΑΥ͂ΤΑ ἘΝΕΦΆΝΙΣΑΣ ΠΡῸΣ ἘΜΈ, _that thou hast shewed these things to me_. Here the sentence which began in the _oratio obliq... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΙΝᾺΣ ΔΎΟ, _two_. The effect of τινάς is to intimate that the number is not precisely given; ‘two or so,’ ‘about two.’ But this cannot be put into acceptable English. ὍΠΩΣ ΠΟΡΕΥΘΩ͂ΣΙΝ ἝΩΣ ΚΑΙΣΑΡΕΊΑΣ, _to go unto Cæsarea_. ἕως literally ‘as far as.’ Cæsarea was the residence of the Roman governor an... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΤΉΝΗ ΤΕ ΠΑΡΑΣΤΗ͂ΣΑΙ. Here we have the contrary change to that noted in Acts 23:22. With ἑτοιμάσετε began a direct order, and this is continued in the _oratio recta_ down to the close of Acts 23:23. But with 24 the construction is oblique, as if some verb like ἐκέλευσεν had preceded παραστῆσαι. Cons... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΠΙΣΤΟΛῊΝ ἜΧΟΥΣΑΝ ΤῸΝ ΤΎΠΟΝ ΤΟΥ͂ΤΟΝ, _a letter after this form_. As both the writer and receiver of the letter were Romans, it is most likely that Latin was the language in which it was written, and that St Luke has given us a representation of the substance of the document rather than its very word... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΩ͂Ι ΚΡΑΤΊΣΤΩΙ ἩΓΕΜΌΝΙ ΦΉΛΙΚΙ ΧΑΊΡΕΙΝ, _to the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting_. The infinitive χαίρειν is governed by λέγει or some similar verb understood. See above, Acts 15:23. The title κράτιστος ‘most excellent’ is that which is given by St Luke at the beginning of his Gospel t... [ Continue Reading ]
LETTER OF CLAUDIUS LYSIAS TO FELIX.... [ Continue Reading ]
αὐτόν after ἘΞΕΙΛΆΜΗΝ omitted with אABE. Not represented in _Vulg_. 27. ΤῸΝ ἌΝΔΡΑ ΤΟΥ͂ΤΟΝ ΣΥΛΛΗΜΦΘΈΝΤΑ ὙΠῸ ΤΩ͂Ν ἸΟΥΔΑΊΩΝ … ἘΞΕΙΛΆΜΗΝ. _This man who was taken of the Jews … I rescued_. συλλαμβάνειν implies a seizure or arrest. It is used (Matthew 26:55; Mark 14:48) of the party of men who came to se... [ Continue Reading ]
ΒΟΥΛΌΜΕΝΌΣ ΤΕ ἘΠΙΓΝΩ͂ΝΑΙ, _and desiring to know_. The method by which the chief captain proposed to satisfy this desire was by scourging the prisoner (cf. Acts 22:24). ΤῊΝ ΑἸΤΊΑΝ ΔΙ' ἭΝ, _the cause wherefore_. For which we had in Acts 22:24 the attracted form δι' ἥν αἰτίαν.... [ Continue Reading ]
ὋΝ ΕὟΡΟΝ ἘΓΚΑΛΟΎΜΕΝΟΝ, _whom I found to be accused_. 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 leader... [ Continue Reading ]
μέλλειν ὑπὸ τῶν Ἰουδαίων omitted with אABE. The _Vulg_. has ‘quum mihi perlatum esset de insidiis quas paraverant illi. ἔρρωσο omitted with AB. _Vulg_. ‘vale.’ 30. ΜΗΝΥΘΕΊΣΗΣ ΔΈ ΜΟΙ ἘΠΙΒΟΥΛΗ͂Σ ΕἸΣ ΤῸΝ ἌΝΔΡΑ ἜΣΕΣΘΑΙ ἘΞ ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ν, _and when it was shewn to me that there would be a plot against the man... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἹ ΜῈΝ ΟΥ̓́Ν ΣΤΡΑΤΙΩ͂ΤΑΙ … ἈΝΑΛΑΒΌΝΤΕΣ ΤῸΝ ΠΑΥ͂ΛΟΝ, _so the soldiers … took Paul and_, &c., i.e. they formed a party for his escort and placed him in their midst. On this escort Chrysostom remarks: καθάπερ βασιλέα τινὰ δορυφόροι παρέπεμπον μετὰ τοσούτου πλήθους καὶ ἐν νυκτὶ φοβούμενοι τοῦ δήμου τὴν... [ Continue Reading ]
PAUL IS BROUGHT TO CÆSAREA, AND KEPT PRISONER BY FELIX... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΠΈΡΧΕΣΘΑΙ for πορεύεσθαι with אABE. 32. ΤΗ͂Ι ΔῈ ἘΠΑΎΡΙΟΝ, _but on the morrow_. That part of the escort which now seemed no longer needed returned, and would get back to Jerusalem on the day of the intended plot. Those who returned were the στρατιῶται and the δεξιολάβοι. ἘΆΣΑΝΤΕΣ ΤΟῪΣ ἹΠΠΕΙ͂Σ�, _h... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟἽΤΙΝΕΣ, _who_, i.e. the horsemen who went on with St Paul. It is better with Rev. Vers. to break up the relative into a conjunction and personal pronoun. ‘And they, when,’ &c. ΠΑΡΈΣΤΗΣΑΝ ΚΑῚ ΤῸΝ ΠΑΥ͂ΛΟΝ ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ι, _presented Paul also unto him_. If the letter as given above be a rendering of the ori... [ Continue Reading ]
ὁ ἡγεμὼν omitted with אABE. Not represented in _Vulg_. 34. ἘΚ ΠΟΊΑΣ ἘΠΑΡΧΊΑΣ ἘΣΤΊΝ, _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 decided that... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΕΛΕΎΣΑΣ for ἐκέλευσέ τε with אABE. _Vulg_. ‘jussitque.’ 35. ΔΙΑΚΟΎΣΟΜΑΊ ΣΟΥ, _I will hear thee_. The verb implies a full and thorough hearing of a case. ‘I will give thee a fall hearing.’ The Rev. Vers. renders ‘I will hear thy cause.’ ὍΤΑΝ ΚΑῚ ΟἹ ΚΑΤΉΓΟΡΟΊ ΣΟΥ ΠΑΡΑΓΈΝΩΝΤΑΙ, _when thine accusers... [ Continue Reading ]