ἀναχθῆναι, see above on Acts 13:13. ἀποσ., _cf._ Acts 20:30, “were parted from them,” R.V. The word expresses a separation difficult and painful; it adds to the pathos of the scene, and marks the close affection which could not bear the thought of a parting, “divulsi ab eorum complexu,” Blass (see C... [ Continue Reading ]
They went at Patara on board a ship about to start on the direct Syrian course, ἐπιβ., _cf._ Acts 20:18.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀναφ.: “when we had come in sight of,” R.V., Doric form of 1st aorist active, Winer-Schmiedel, p. 112, here a technical word (only in Luke, _cf._ Luke 19:11, but in a different sense), _i.e._, after we had rendered Cyprus visible (to us) = _facere ut appareat_ (Blass); Virgil, _Æneid_, iii., 275, 29... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀνευρόντες τοὺς μ.: more than simply to find, _quærendo reperire_, Blass; “having found out,” as colloquially “having looked up”; only in Luke, _cf._ Luke 2:16, but in middle, Malachi 3:14; Malachi 3:14. τοὺς μαθ.: W.H [349] The article indicates that the existence of the disciples was known, but it... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐξαρτίσαι : here in the sense of accomplishing the days, _i.e._, finishing the time, the seven days during which we had to remain for the cargo to be unloaded or for other business = ἀπαρτίζειν (and _cf._ Luke 14:28), Vulgate, “expletis diebus,” Chrys., πληρῶσαι, so Oecum., Theoph. The verb is only... [ Continue Reading ]
R.V. ἀπησπασάμεθα ἀλλ. “bade each other farewell,” see critical note. ἀπασπάζομαι : only here in N.T., in Tobit 10:13 ([351] [352] _al_ [353]); Himerius, p. 194; here of salutations at departure as simple verb in Acts 21:7, of salutations on arrival (1Ma 12:17). τὸ πλοῖον : article indicates that it... [ Continue Reading ]
διανύσαντες : “and when we had finished the voyage from Tyre we arrived at Ptolemais,” R.V. (so in effect A.V.), but Page (so Wendt) renders “but we having (thereby) completed our voyage (_i.e._, from Macedonia, Acts 20:6), came from Tyre to Ptolemais,” on the ground that διανύω would not be used of... [ Continue Reading ]
φ. τοῦ εὐαγγ.: the title, as Wendt and Hilgenfeld think, may have been given to Philip on account of his evangelising work, _cf._ Acts 8:12; Acts 8:40; “the Evangelist”: the honourable title gained by some signal service to the Gospel; and the two incidents noted in his career, his preaching to the... [ Continue Reading ]
παρθένοι : an unwedded life might enable them to wait on the Lord without distraction, and thus to be more free for the exercise of their gift of prophecy, but nothing is said of any separate order, or anything to lead us to suppose that they did not share the home life of their father, or that they... [ Continue Reading ]
ἡμέρας πλείους : “many days,” R.V., “some” margin; literally “more days,” the phrase is used vaguely with what Ramsay calls Luke's usual defective sense of time, _cf._ Acts 13:31; Acts 25:14. The phrase is also found in Acts 27:20, so that it occurs twice in the “We” sections and twice in the rest o... [ Continue Reading ]
ἄρας τὴν ζώνην : the symbolic action by Agabus reminds us of the O.T. prophets, _cf._ 1 Kings 22:11; Isaiah 20:2; Jeremiah 13:1; Ezekiel 4:5 Agabus as a dweller in Jerusalem would know something of that bitter feeling against Paul, and would wish to warn him. παραδώσ. εἰς χ., _cf._ the words of our... [ Continue Reading ]
παρεκ. ἡμεῖς : St. Luke joins in the entreaty. ἐντόπ., _i.e._, the Christians of Cæsarea, including of course the inmates of Philip's house; not in LXX or Apocr., but in classical Greek. τοῦ μὴ ἀναβ., Burton, p. 159.... [ Continue Reading ]
τί ποιεῖτε κλαί.: what do ye, weeping? (as we might say “what are you about?” etc.), _cf._ Mark 11:5 (Acts 14:15). συνθ.: in Attic Greek, to break, to break in pieces, and so ἀποθρύπτω is used of (1) breaking in pieces, (2) breaking in spirit, enervating τὰς ψυχάς, _cf._ Plat., _Rep._, 495 E.; here... [ Continue Reading ]
ἡσυχάσαμεν : only in Luke and Paul, _cf._ Luke 14:3; Acts 11:18. In LXX, Job 32:6; Nehemiah 5:8. τὸ θέλ. τοῦ Κ., _cf._ Matthew 6:10; Luke 22:42, and also St. Paul's own expression in Acts 18:21; 1 Corinthians 4:19; 1 Corinthia [ Continue Reading ]
ἀποσ.: A.V., “took up our carriages,” but the latter word is not used now in a passive sense for luggage or _impedimenta_, as in O.T., Judges 18:21, 1 Samuel 17:22; Isaiah 10:18, _cf._ Shakes., _Tempest_, Acts 21:1; Acts 21:3 : “Time goes upright with his carriage” (burden); see also Plumptre's inte... [ Continue Reading ]
ἄγοντες παρʼ ᾧ ξενισ.: A. and R.V. render “bringing with them Mnason with whom we should lodge,” but Meyer Wendt, so Page and Rendall, render “bringing us to _the house of_ Mnason,” etc., _cf._ also Spitta, _Apostelgeschichte_, p. 234. This is more in accordance with Codex [356], on which see critic... [ Continue Reading ]
There is no good reason to doubt that they were in time for the Feast; it is a legitimate inference from their tarrying at Cæsarea that they were easily able to reach Jerusalem: possibly the presence of Jews from Asia may be taken, as Rendall points out, to indicate that the time of the Feast was ne... [ Continue Reading ]
τῇ ἐπιούσῃ, three times in “We” sections, twice in rest of Acts; nowhere else in N.T. (in Acts 7:26 with ἡμέρᾳ), Hawkins, _u. s._ σὺν ἡμῖν : the writer thus again claims to be an eyewitness of what passed; it may well have been the occasion for the reception of the alms collected from the Churches.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀσπαζ.: used of farewell greetings, Acts 20:1; Acts 21:6, and of greetings on arrival, Acts 18:22; Acts 21:7, for its use here _cf._ 1Ma 11:6. ἐξηγ., see on Acts 10:8, etc. καθʼ ἕν ἕκαστον : “one by one,” R.V., _cf._ Ephesians 5:33. διακονίας, see note on Acts 6:1-2.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐδόξ.: “recte imperf. quia finis verbo εἶπαν indicatur,” Blass. θεωρεῖς : the word seems to imply that Paul had already become cognisant of the fact by his own observations in his ministerial work. ἀδελφέ : St. Paul is recognised as an ἀδελφός not only by St. James but by the assembled elders (see a... [ Continue Reading ]
κατηχήθησαν : the word seems to imply definite instruction, not merely _audierunt_, Vulgate. Hort refers to the term as implying here assiduous talking and lecturing, _Judaistic Christianity_, p. 107. ἀποστασίαν, _cf._ Malachi 2:15; Malachi 2:15 (ἀπόστασιν) when the officers of Antiochus Epiphanes,... [ Continue Reading ]
τί οὖν ἐστι; _cf._ 1 Corinthians 14:15; 1 Corinthians 14:26; cf. 1 Corinthians 6:3 in [359] text. δεῖ πλῆθος συνελθεῖν, see critical note. ἀκούσονται, _i.e._, the Judaising Christians referred to in κατηχήθησαν, Acts 21:26. The words refer, not to an assembly of the whole Church, or to a tumultuary... [ Continue Reading ]
εἰσὶν ἡμῖν, _cf._ Acts 18:10. The four men certainly seem to have been members of the Church at Jerusalem, _i.e._, Jewish Christians. εὐχὴν ἔχοντες : a temporary Nazirite vow, Numbers 6:1 ff. The length of time was optional, but thirty days seems to have been the shortest time, Jos., _B.J._, ii., 15... [ Continue Reading ]
παραλαβὼν, _cf._ Acts 21:26; Acts 15:39 (Acts 16:33): take in a friendly way, associate thyself with them as a companion. ἁγνίσθητι σὺν αὐτοῖς : the advice is characteristic of the Apostle who had lived as St. James had lived, Eusebius, _H.E._, ii., 23, and it certainly seems to demand that St. Paul... [ Continue Reading ]
ἡμεῖς, _cf._ reading in [360] text, but in any case ἡμεῖς is emphatic, intimating that St. James and the Church at Jerusalem could not condemn St. Paul's attitude towards Gentile Christians, since they had themselves consented to place these Gentile Christians on a different footing from that of the... [ Continue Reading ]
τότε ὁ Παῦλος : St. Paul's conduct was another illustration of the rule laid down for himself when writing to Corinth, _cf._ 1 Corinthians 9:20. This is in itself an answer to the captious criticism which doubts the truth of his action on this occasion, so amongst recent writers Hilgenfeld (1896). T... [ Continue Reading ]
αἱ ἑπτὰ ἡμέραι : it does not appear that the seven days were enjoined by the law not even in Numbers 6:9; indeed it would appear from Jos., _B.J._, ii., 15, that a period of thirty days was customary before the sacrifice could be offered. The seven days cannot therefore include the whole period of t... [ Continue Reading ]
Ἄνδρες Ἰσ.: the title which would remind them of the special dignity and glory of their nation, of its hopes and obligations. βοηθεῖτε : as if against some outrage, or perhaps as if to apprehend Paul, or to attack him in doing _anything_ to admit the Gentiles, ἔθνη, to God's fold, St. Paul was expos... [ Continue Reading ]
τὸν Ἐφέσ.: if some of these Jews, as is very probable, came from Ephesus, they would have recognised Trophimus. The latter had not only come “as far as Asia,” Acts 20:4, but had evidently accompanied Paul to Jerusalem; on the statement and its bearing upon 2 Timothy 4:20, see Salmon, _Introd._, p. 4... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐκινήθη, as in Acts 6:12, _cf._ Acts 24:5. συνδρομὴ τοῦ λ., Judges 3:18; Malachi 3:8; Malachi 3:8, used of a tumultuous concourse of people, Arist., _Rhet._, iii., 10, 7, Polyb., i., 67, 2. ἐπιλ. τοῦ Π.: see p. 368, here of violent seizing; they wanted to get Paul outside the Temple precincts, so th... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀνέβη φάσις : “tidings came up,” R.V., vividly, of the report which would reach the Roman officer in the tower of Antonia, overlooking and connected with the Temple at two points by stairs. The ἀνέβη seems to indicate that the writer was well acquainted with the locality. Stier supposes that a repor... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐξαυτῆς, _cf._ Acts 10:33. παραλ. στρ. καὶ ἑκατοντ., indicating that he thought the tumult considerable. κατέδραμεν ἐπʼ αὐτούς, “ran down upon them” from Antonia, so R.V. vividly; verb found only here in N.T. In Job 16:10 (11) A we have the verb with accusative and ἐπί. ἐπαύσαντο τύπτοντες after παύ... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπελ. αὐτοῦ : with a hostile intention, see Acts 17:19. δεθ. ἁλύσεσι δυσὶ : as a malefactor and seditious person, Acts 21:38, to be guarded securely as the cause of the tumult, _cf._ Acts 12:6. τίς ἂν εἴη, καὶ τί ἐστι πεποιηκώς : the difference in the moods in dependent sentences after τις may be no... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐβόων : if we read ἐπεφώνουν, see critical note, a verb peculiar to St. Luke, Luke 23:21; Acts 12:22; Acts 22:24 = “shouted,” R.V., _cf._ Acts 19:31. μὴ δυνάμ., see critical note. τὸ ἀσφαλὲς : adjective, three times in St. Luke with this same shade of meaning, Acts 22:30; Acts 25:26 (_cf._ Acts 2:36... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐγέν. ἐπὶ, _cf._ Acts 21:17, and Luke 24:22, Grimm, _sub_ γίν., 5, g. ἀναβ.: the steps which led up to the fortress from the Temple area. _B.J._, v., 5, 8, describes the surroundings of the scene vividly, and the καταβάσεις which led down from Antonia to the Temple; see above on Acts 21:31, and O. H... [ Continue Reading ]
ἠκολούθει, imperfect, “kept following”. Αἶρε αὐτόυ : the cry was continuous; it was the same cry which had been raised against another and a greater prisoner Who had been delivered to the Romans as a malefactor, _cf._ Luke 23:18; John 19:15, and also Polycarp, _Martyr_, iii., 19.... [ Continue Reading ]
παρεμβ., see on Acts 21:34. εἰ, _cf._ Acts 1:6. Ἑλλη. γινώσκεις; no need to supply λαλεῖν, _cf._ Xen., _Cyr._, vii., 5, 31; so in Latin, _Græcè nescire_, Cic., _Pro Flacco_, iv., Vulgate, literally, _Græcè nosti?_... [ Continue Reading ]
οὐκ ἄρα σὺ εἶ : _mirantis est, cf._ Arist., _Av._, 280 (Blass). Vulgate, Eras, render _Nonne tu es …?_ but emphasis on οὐκ “Thou art not then” (as I supposed). No doubt the false prophet to whom reference is made by Josephus. Whilst Felix was governor he gathered the people around him on the Mount o... [ Continue Reading ]
Ἐγὼ ἄνθρωπος μέν εἰμι Ἰ.… δέομαι δέ …: there is no strict antithesis, “I am indeed a Jew of Tarsus” (and therefore free from your suspicion); but without speaking further of this, and proceeding perhaps to demand a legal process, the Apostle adds “but I pray you,” etc. Mr. Page explains, from the po... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπιτρέψ.: because he no doubt saw that Paul's purpose was to inform and pacify the people, so that there is nothing strange in such permission to speak. κατέσεισε, see on Acts 12:17. “What nobler spectacle than that of Paul at this moment! There he stands bound with two chains, ready to make his def... [ Continue Reading ]