CHAPTER XXIII. _Paul defending himself before the high priest, he commands him_ _to be smitten on the mouth_, 1, 2. _Paul sharply reproves him, and, being reproved for this by one_ _of the attendants, accounts for his conduct_, 3-5. _Seeing that the assembly was composed of Pharisees and_ _Sad... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:2. _THE HIGH PRIEST, ANANIAS_] There was a high priest of this name, who was sent a prisoner to Rome by Quadratus, governor of Syria, to give an account of the part he took in the quarrel between the Jews and the Samaritans; see Joseph. Antiq. lib. xx. cap. 6, s. 8; but whether he eve... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:3. _GOD SHALL SMITE THEE_, THOU _WHITED WALL_] Thou hypocrite! who sittest on the seat of judgment, pretending to hear and seriously weigh the defense of an accused person, who must in justice and equity be presumed to be innocent till he is proved to be guilty; and, instead of acting... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:5. _I WIST NOT, BRETHREN, THAT HE WAS THE HIGH PRIEST_] After all the learned labour that has been spent on this subject, the simple meaning appears plainly to be this:- St. Paul did not know that Ananias was high priest; he had been long absent from Jerusalem; _political changes_ we... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:6. _I AM A PHARISEE, THE SON OF A PHARISEE_] Instead of φαρισαιου, _of a Pharisee_, ABC, some others, with the _Syriac_ and _Vulgate_, have φαρισαιων, _of the Pharisees_; which, if acknowledged to be the genuine reading, would alter the sense thus, _I am a Pharisee, and a disciple of t... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:7. _AND THE MULTITUDE WAS DIVIDED_] St. Paul, perceiving the assembly to consist of Sadducees and Pharisees, and finding he was not to expect any justice, thought it best thus to divide the council, by introducing a question on which the Pharisees and Sadducees were at issue. He did so... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:8. _THE SADDUCEES SAY THAT THERE IS NO RESURRECTION_] It is strange, since these denied a future state, that they observed the ordinances of the law; for they also believed the five books of Moses to be a revelation from God: yet they had nothing in view but _temporal good_; and they u... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:9. _THE SCRIBES - AROSE, AND STROVE_] διεμαχοντο, They contended forcibly-they came to an open rupture with the Sadducees; and, in order to support their own party against them, they even admitted as truth, St. Paul's account of his miraculous conversion, and therefore they said, _if a... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:10. _THE CHIEF CAPTAIN - COMMANDED THE SOLDIERS TO GO DOWN_] It appears that the chief captain was present during these transactions, and that he had a body of soldiers in readiness in the castle of Antonia; and it was from _this_ that he commanded them to _come down_; for the rescue a... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:11. _BE OF GOOD CHEER, PAUL_] It is no wonder if, with all these trials and difficulties, St. Paul was much dejected in mind; and especially as he had not any direct intimation from God what the end of the present trials would be: to comfort him and strengthen his faith, God gave him t... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:12. _THAT THEY WOULD NEITHER EAT NOR DRINK_, c.] These forty Jews were no doubt of the class of the _sicarii_ mentioned before, (similar to those afterwards called _assassins_,) a class of fierce zealots, who took justice into their own hand and who thought they had a right to despatc... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:15. _AND WE, OR EVER HE COME NEAR, ARE READY TO KILL HIM._] We shall lie in wait, and despatch him before he can reach the chief captain. The plan was well and deeply laid; and nothing but an especial providence could have saved Paul.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:16. _PAUL'S SISTER'S SON_] This is all we know of Paul's family. And we know not how this young man got to Jerusalem; the family, no doubt, still resided at Tarsus.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:17. _BRING THIS YOUNG MAN UNTO THE CHIEF CAPTAIN_] Though St. Paul had the most positive assurance from Divine authority that he should be preserved, yet he knew that the Divine providence acts by reasonable and prudent means; and that, if he neglected to use the means in his power, he... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:23. _TWO HUNDRED SOLDIERS_] στρατιωτας, _Infantry_ or _foot_ _soldiers_. _HORSEMEN THREESCORE AND TEN_] There was always a certain number of horse, or cavalry, attached to the _foot_. _SPEARMEN_] δεξιολαβους, Persons who held a spear or javelin in their hand; from εν τῃ δεξιᾳ λαβει... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:24. _PROVIDE THEM BEASTS_] One for Paul, and some others for his immediate keepers. _FELIX THE GOVERNOR._] This Felix was a freed man of the Emperor Claudius, and brother of Pallas, chief favourite of the emperor. Tacitus calls him _Antonius Felix_; and gives us to understand that he... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:25. _HE WROTE A LETTER AFTER THIS MANNER_] It appears that this was not only the _substance_ of the letter, but the _letter_ _itself_: the whole of it is so perfectly formal as to prove this; and in this simple manner are all the letters of the ancients formed. In this also we have an... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 30. _I SENT STRAIGHTWAY TO THEE_] As the proper person before whom this business should ultimately come, and by whom it should be decided. _FAREWELL._] εππωσο, _Be in good health_.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 31. _ANTIPATRIS._] This place, according to Josephus, Antiq. lib. xiii. cap. 23, was anciently called _Capharsaba_, and is supposed to be the same which, in _1 Macc. vii. 31_, is called _Capharsalama_, or _Carphasalama_. It was rebuilt by Herod the Great, and denominated _Antipatris_, in honou... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse 32. _ON THE MORROW THEY LEFT THE HORSEMEN_] Being now so far from Jerusalem, they considered Paul in a state of safety from the Jews, and that the seventy horse would be a sufficient guard; the four hundred foot, therefore, returned to Jerusalem, and the horse went on to Caesarea with Paul. W... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:33. _WHO_] That is, the seventy horsemen mentioned above.... [ Continue Reading ]
Verse Acts 23:35. _I WILL HEAR THEE_] διακουσομαι σου; I will give thee a fair, full, and attentive hearing _when thy accusers are come_; in whose presence thou shalt be permitted to defend thyself. _IN HEROD'S JUDGMENT-HALL._] εν τω πραιτωριω, _In Herod's_ _praetorium_, so called because it was bu... [ Continue Reading ]