τὸν μὲν πρῶτον λόγον, a reference beyond all reasonable doubt to St. Luke's Gospel. Not merely the dedication of both writings to Theophilus, but their unity of language and style is regarded by critics of all schools as convincing proof of the identity of authorship of Acts and the third Gospel; se... [ Continue Reading ]
ἄχρι ἧς ἡμέρας. In Matt. ἄχρι occurs once or twice, in Mark and and John not at all, in Luke four times, and in Acts sixteen; whilst the commoner μέχρι is found only once in the Gospels and twice in the Acts (Winer-Schmiedel, p. 227, and on the use of the form ἄχρι or ἄχρις see Grimm-Thayer, _sub v.... [ Continue Reading ]
οἷς καὶ παρέστησεν, “he also showed himself,” R.V., but margin “presented himself” (_cf._ Acts 9:41), _praebuit se_, Vulg. In Acts 9:41 _monstravit_, h. 1. magis _demonstravit_ (Blass). The verb is used thirteen times in Acts (once in a quotation, Acts 4:26), both transitively and intransitively. St... [ Continue Reading ]
συναλίζομενος : a strong array of modern commentators renders “eating with them,” following the Vulgate _convescens illis_ (so both A. and R.V. in margin, and Wycl. and Rhem.). It is thus rendered by Overbeck (as against De Wette), Wendt, Holtzmann, Felten, Weiss, Matthias, Knabenbauer, and Blass, w... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν πνεύματι : the omission of ἐν before ὕδατι and its insertion before πνεύμ. may be meant to draw a distinction between the baptism with water and the baptism _in_ the Spirit (R.V. margin “in”). But in Matthew 3:11 we have the preposition ἐν in both parts of the verse; _cf._ John 1:31. On ἐν with t... [ Continue Reading ]
οἱ μὲν οὖν : the combination μὲν οὖν is very frequent in Acts in all parts, occurring no less than twenty-seven times; _cf._ Luke 3:18. Like the simple μέν it is sometimes used without δέ in the apodosis. Here, if δέ is omitted in Acts 1:7 after εἶπεν, there is still a contrast between the question... [ Continue Reading ]
χρόνους ἢ καιρούς : Blass regards the two as synonymous, and no doubt it is difficult always to maintain a distinction. But here χρόνους may well be taken to mean space of time as such, the duration of the Church's history, and καιρούς the critical periods in that history. ὁ μὲν καιρὸς δηλοῖ ποιότητ... [ Continue Reading ]
ἔσεσθέ μου μάρτυρες, “my witnesses,” R.V., reading μου instead of μοι, not only witnesses to the facts of their Lord's life, _cf._ Acts 1:22; Acts 10:39, but also _His_ witnesses, His by a direct personal relationship; Luke 24:48 simply speaks of a testimony to the facts. ἔν τε Ἱερουσαλὴμ κ. τ. λ.:... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπήρθη : the word in Acts 1:2 is different, and ἐπήρθη seems not merely to denote our Lord's first leaving the ground (as Weiss, Overbeck), but also to be more in accordance with the calm and grandeur of the event than ἀπήρθη; this latter word would rather denote a taking away by violence. καὶ νεφέλ... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀτενίζοντες ἦσαν : this periphrasis of ἦν or ἦσαν with a present or perfect participle is very frequently found in St. Luke's writings (Friedrich, pp. 12 and 89, and compare the list in Simcox, _u. s._, pp. 130 134). The verb is peculiar to St. Luke and St. Paul, and is found ten times in Acts, twic... [ Continue Reading ]
ἄνδρες Γαλ.: the ἄνδρες in similar expressions is often indicative of respect as in classical Greek, but as addressed by angels to men it may denote the earnestness of the address (Nösgen). St. Chrysostom saw in the salutation a wish to gain the confidence of the disciples: “Else, why needed they to... [ Continue Reading ]
τότε : frequent in Acts and in St. Luke's Gospel, but most frequent in St. Matthew; on its use see Grimm-Thayer, and Blass, _Gramm. des N. G._, p. 270. ὑπέστρεψαν : a word characteristic of Luke both in his Gospel and in Acts, occurring in the former over twenty times, in the latter ten or eleven ti... [ Continue Reading ]
τὸ ὑπερῷον : “the upper chamber,” R.V., as of some well-known place, but there is no positive evidence to identify it with the room of the Last Supper, although here and in Mark 14:15, as also in Luke 22:12, the Vulgate has _cœnaculum_. Amongst recent writers Hilgenfeld and Feine see in this definit... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ ἦσαν προσκαρτεροῦντες : on the construction see Acts 1:10. In N.T. found only in St. Luke and St. Paul (except once in St. Mark 3:9); most frequently with the dative of the thing, of continuing steadfast in prayer; _cf._ Acts 6:4; Romans 12:12; Colossians 4:2, and _cf._ also Acts 2:42 or Acts 2:... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ταύταις : St. Luke often employs such notes of time, used indefinitely like similar expressions in Hebrew _e.g._, 1 Samuel 28:1, both in his Gospel and in Acts. Friedrich, p. 9, Lekebusch, p. 53. ἀναστὰς : it is very characteristic of St. Luke to add a participle to a finite verb... [ Continue Reading ]
Ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί : a mode of address indicating not only respect but also the solemnity of the occasion and the importance of the subject. There is nothing unclassical in this use of the vocative without ὦ at the beginning of speeches. Demosthenes, at least on some occasions, used the phrase Ἄνδρες Ἀθ... [ Continue Reading ]
ὅτι κατηριθμημένος ἦν κ. τ. λ. For the construction see Acts 1:10. ὅτι introduces the ground upon which the Scripture to be cited, which speaks of the vacancy in the Apostolic office, found its fulfilment in Judas; “he was numbered,” “triste est _numerari_ non manere,” Bengel. καὶ ἔλαχεν τὸν κλῆρον... [ Continue Reading ]
οὗτος μὲν οὖν κ. τ. λ. This verse and the next are regarded in R.V. as a parenthesis (compare also W.H [107]), μὲν οὖν making the transition from St. Peter's own words to the explanatory statement of St. Luke; see Rendall's Appendix on μὲν οὖν, although he would place Acts 1:20 also in a parenthesis... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ γνωστὸν … πᾶσιν τοῖς κατοικοῦσιν Ἱερουσ.: the words have been taken to support the view that we have here a parenthesis containing the notice of St. Luke, but if St. Peter was speaking rhetorically he might easily express himself so. But many critics, who refuse to see in the whole of the two ve... [ Continue Reading ]
The quotation is twofold, the first part from Psalms 69:26 (LXX, 68); in the LXX we have αὐτῶν, changed here into αὐτοῦ with reference to Judas, whilst ἐν τοῖς σκηνώμασιν is omitted and the words ἐν αὐτῇ, referring to ἔπαυλις, are added. The omission would make the application of the words more gene... [ Continue Reading ]
δεῖ οὖν, see Acts 1:16. As the one prophecy had thus already been fulfilled, so for the fulfilment of the other it was imperative upon the Church to elect a successor to Judas. εἰσῆλθε καὶ ἐξῆλθεν : a Hebraistic formula expressing the whole course of a man's daily life; Acts 9:28; _cf._ LXX Deuteron... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀρξάμενος, _cf._ note on Acts 1:1. The word need not be restricted to our Lord's own baptism, but would include the time of the baptism preached by John, as his baptism and preaching were the announcement of, and a preparation for, the Christ. If St. Mark's Gospel, as there is every reason to believ... [ Continue Reading ]
ἔστησαν, not ἔστησεν : the latter reading, “nimium Petro dat, nihil concilio relinquit” (Blass). “They put forward,” R.V., not “appointed,” A.V., for the appointment had not yet been made. Ἰωσὴφ τὸν καλ. Βαρσαβᾶν, “Joseph called Barsabbas”. We cannot identify him with Joseph Barnabas (Acts 4:36), or... [ Continue Reading ]
Κύριε καρδιογνῶστα … ὃν ἐξελέξω. The words may well have been addressed to Christ: St. Peter had just spoken of Him as the Lord, his own experience and that of his fellow-disciples must have taught him that Jesus was One Who knew the hearts of all men (John 2:25; John 21:17), and he had heard his Ma... [ Continue Reading ]
τὸν κλῆρον : R.V. τόπον marking the antithesis between the place in the Apostleship and “his own place” to which Judas had gone, Vulg. _locum_. τῆς διακονίας ταύτης καὶ ἀποστολῆς : as above we have not only the word διακονία used but also ἐπισκοπή, Acts 5:17; Acts 5:20, so here too we have not only... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ ἔδωκαν κλήρους αὐτῶν, “they gave forth their lots,” A.V. But R.V. reads αὐτοῖς, “they gave lots for them”. R.V. margin, “unto them”. It is difficult to decide whether the expression means that they gave lots unto the candidates themselves or whether they cast lots for them _i.e._, on their behal... [ Continue Reading ]