_Persecution by Herod; St. Peter's deliverance_. κατʼ ἐκεῖνον τὸν καιρὸν : “about that time,” or more precisely “at that time,” Rendall, _cf._ Romans 9:9, so in Genesis 18:10; Malachi 3:5; Malachi 3:5 : in the early part of 44 A.D. Ἡρώδης ὁ β., Herod Agrippa I.: only in this chapter in the N.T.: on... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀνεῖλε, characteristic word, see on v. Acts 5:33. Ἰάκωβον τὸν ἀ. Ἰ.: St. Chrysostom reminds us of our Lord's prophecy in Mark 10:38 ff. (Matthew 20:23), distinguished thus from the James of Acts 1:13. Possibly his prominent position, and his characteristic nature as a son of Thunder marked him out a... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀρεστόν … τοῖς Ἰ : exactly what we should expect from the character and policy of Herod in his zeal for the law, and from the success with which during his short reign he retained the favour of Jews and Romans alike. Holtzmann, p. 370, seems inclined to doubt the truth of this description of Herod,... [ Continue Reading ]
ὃν καὶ πιάσας, Acts 3:7, really Doric form of πιέζω (_cf._ Luke 6:38, nowhere else in N.T.), used in this sense also in LXX, and elsewhere in N.T., _cf._ Song of Solomon 2:15, Sir 23:21 (not A). Modern Greek πιάνω = seize, apprehend. καὶ : “when he had taken him, indeed,” so Rendall, as if a delay h... [ Continue Reading ]
ὁ μὲν οὖν … προσευχὴ δὲ : both A. and R.V. regard προσ. δὲ in the same verse as the antithesis, but see Page's note, where the antithesis is found in Acts 12:6, ὅτε δέ. If we retain the former interpretation, Acts 12:5 may be regarded as a kind of parenthesis, the ὅτε δέ in Acts 12:6 forming a kind... [ Continue Reading ]
τῇ νυκτὶ ἐκείνῃ : “that very night,” _i.e._, the night before the trial. κοιμώμενος, _cf._ 1 Peter 5:7 and Psalms 127:2 : “for so He giveth His beloved sleep”: “and there too it is beautiful that Paul sings hymns, whilst here Peter sleeps,” Chrys., _Hom._, xxvi.: _cf._ Acts 16:25. to τὸ πᾶν ῥίψας ἐπ... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπέστη : often as here with the notion of coming suddenly, in classical Greek it is often used of dreams, as in Homer; or of the coming of heavenly visitors, very frequent in Luke, and with the same force as here, Friedrich, pp. 7 and 87, and almost always in second aorist, see also Plummer on Luke... [ Continue Reading ]
περίζωσαι, but simple verb in R.V., W.H [250], Weiss, Wendt; bind thy tunic with a girdle: during the night the long flowing undergarment was loosened, but fastened up by day, so as not to impede the movements. Wetstein, Weiss, Page, and others contrast Hor., _Sat._, i., 2, 132. “Colligit sarcinulas... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐδόκει δὲ ὅραμα βλέπειν : even those who regard the narrative as unhistorical can scarcely say that the writer cannot understand how to distinguish between an actual fact and a vision; moreover, this same writer describes visions such as that of Peter, Acts 10:10, and of Paul, Acts 22:17, as ecstaci... [ Continue Reading ]
φυλακὴν : “ward,” perhaps the best translation here with διελθόντες so often used of traversing a place. The first ward might be the place outside the cell where the other soldiers of the quaternion were on guard, and the second ward might refer to some other part of the prison or fortress Antonia ... [ Continue Reading ]
γενόμενος ἐν ἑαυτῷ, _cf._ Luke 15:17, and compare instances of similar phrases in Greek and Latin classical writers in Wetstein and Blass. Κύριος, see critical notes, if without the article Nösgen (so Weiss) takes it of God, Jehovah. ἐξαπέστειλε : a compound only found in Luke and Paul; four times i... [ Continue Reading ]
συνιδών, _cf._ Acts 14:6; so several times in Apocrypha, so in classical writers, and also in Josephus. It may also include a consideration of the future (Bengel and Wetstein), but the aorist refers rather to a single act and not to a permanent state (so Alford). Μαρίας : as no mention is made of Ma... [ Continue Reading ]
τὴν θ. τοῦ πυλῶνος : the door of the gateway, _cf._ Acts 10:17. πυλών as in Matthew 26:71, of the passage leading from the inner court to the street, so that strictly the door in the gateway opening upon this passage would be meant, _cf._ εἰσδ., Acts 12:14 (and προσῆλθε, Acts 12:13). κρούσαντος : to... [ Continue Reading ]
τῆς χαρᾶς : with article, the joy which she felt at the voice of Peter, _cf._ Luke 24:41 for the same emphatic expression. εἰσδ.: see above on Acts 12:10, only here in N.T., _cf._ 2Ma 5:26.... [ Continue Reading ]
Μαίνῃ : used as in a colloquial expression, not meaning literal insanity, see Page's note on Acts 26:24, so in 2 Kings 9:11, ἐπίληπτος seems to be used. διϊσχυρίζετο : only here and in Luke 22:59 (_cf._ Acts 15:2 [252]). In Luke, A.V. renders “confidently affirmed” as it should be here, and as it is... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπέμενε, _cf._ John 8:7, with a participle as here; only found elsewhere in N.T. in Luke and Paul; see on Acts 10:48. ἀνοίξ., another natural touch; those assembled went to the door themselves.... [ Continue Reading ]
κατασείσας … σιγᾶν : only in Acts 13:16; Acts 19:33; Acts 21:40, prop. to shake down (as fruit from trees), thus to shake up and down (the hand), to beckon with the hand for silence, used with accusative, and later with dat [253] instrument. χειρί : so in classical Greek and Josephus, _cf._ Ovid, _M... [ Continue Reading ]
τάραχος (generally ταραχή): only in Acts 19:23, although several times in LXX. οὐκ ὀλίγος : only found in Acts, where it occurs eight times (litotes), _cf._ Acts 19:11; Acts 20:12; Acts 27:14, and for similar expressions Luke 15:13 (Acts 1:5), Acts 7:6 : see Klostermann, _Vindiciæ Lucanæ_, p. 52, an... [ Continue Reading ]
μὴ for οὐ, as often with a participle. Simcox, _Language of the N. T._, p. 188. ἀνακρίνας, Acts 4:9; Acts 24:8; Acts 28:18; Luke 23:14, of a judicial investigation, _cf._ also 1 Corinthians 9:3 for this judicial use by St. Paul, see Grimm _sub_ _υ_ _._ ἀπαχθῆναι “to be put to death,” R.V., only here... [ Continue Reading ]
θυμομαχῶν : lit [254], “to fight desperately” Polyb., ix., 40, 4; xxvii., 8, 4, and it might be used not only of open warfare, but of any violent quarrel; here almost = ὀργίζεσθαι. There could be no question of actual warfare, as Phœnicia was part of the province of Syria, and Herod had no power to... [ Continue Reading ]
τακτῇ : only here in N.T.; _cf._ Jos., _Ant._, xix., 8, 2 (_cf._ xviii., 6, 7), δευτέρᾳ δὲ τῶν θεωριῶν ἡμέρᾳ. It is quite true that Josephus says nothing directly of the Tyrians and Sidonians, but the audience was evidently granted to them on the second day of the public spectacle; _cf._ for the exp... [ Continue Reading ]
δῆμος : only in Acts 17:5; Acts 19:30; Acts 19:33, but in the same signification in classical Greek. ἐπεφώνει : later Greek in this sense (_cf._ the flatterers in the description of Josephus, _u. s._, ἀνεβόων, that Herod was θεός, and so in the words εὐμενὴς εἴης). In N.T. only in Luke, _cf._ Luke 2... [ Continue Reading ]
παραχρῆμα, see above, p. 106. ἐπάταξεν, _cf._ Exod. 11:23, 2Sa 24:17, 2 Kings 19:35; 1 Chronicles 21:15; Isaiah 37:36 1Ma 7:41. See p. 188. On the confusion in the reading of Eusebius, _H.E._, ii., 10, where for the owl whom Josephus describes as appearing to Herod as ἄγγελος κακῶν we have the readi... [ Continue Reading ]
δὲ, marking the contrast, not only between the death of the persecutor and the growth of the Word, but also between the persecution and the vitality of the Church. ηὔξανε καὶ ἐπληθ. imperfects, marking the continuous growth in spite of all obstacles; _cf._ Luke 8:11, Matthew 13:32, 2 Corinthians 9:1... [ Continue Reading ]
ὑπέστρεψαν ἐξ Ἱ., see critical notes, and Ramsay, _St. Paul_, pp. 63, 64, and note on Acts 22:17, below. πληρ. τὴν διακ.; if the visit extended over as long a period as Ramsay believes, _viz._, from the time when the failure of harvest in 46 turned scarcity into famine until the beginning of 47 (_u.... [ Continue Reading ]