AFTER THESE THINGS,.... The Arabic version renders it, "after these words, or discourses"; after the apostle's disputation with the philosophers, and his sermon in the Areopagus, the effects of which are before related: PAUL DEPARTED FROM ATHENS, AND CAME TO CORINTH; the metropolis of Achaia, or Pe... [ Continue Reading ]
AND FOUND A CERTAIN JEW NAMED AQUILA,.... This seems to have been his Roman name, which he had took, or was given him, while he was at Rome; very likely his Jewish name was נשד, "Nesher", which signifies an eagle, as "Aquila" does: unless it should rather be thought to be a Greek name; and as "Olymp... [ Continue Reading ]
AND BECAUSE HE WAS OF THE SAME CRAFT, Art, occupation, or trade: HE ABODE WITH THEM; in the same house in which they were: AND WROUGHT; with his own hands, to support himself, for he was a stranger in this place; and as yet here was no church to minister to him; and when there was, he would take n... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE REASONED IN THE SYNAGOGUE EVERY SABBATH,.... In Corinth there was a synagogue of the Jews, in which they met together for worship on the seventh day of the week, which was their sabbath; and hither Paul went, and took the opportunity of reasoning with them out of the Scriptures, concerning Ch... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN SILAS AND TIMOTHEUS WERE COME FROM MACEDONIA,.... Not from Berea in Macedonia, for from hence they came to the apostle while at Athens, and from whence he sent them, at least Timothy, to Thessalonica, to know the state of the saints there, as appears from 1 Thessalonians 3:1 and from hence... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN THEY OPPOSED THEMSELVES,.... To the truth, and contradicted themselves in many instances, and their own prophecies; or those books which they themselves allowed to be the oracles of God, and blasphemed both Christ, and the apostle, and the doctrine which he taught; and railed at him, and sp... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE DEPARTED THENCE,..... Not from Corinth, but from the synagogue: AND ENTERED INTO A CERTAIN MAN'S HOUSE NAMED JUSTUS; he did not return to Aquila and Priscilla, because they were Jews, lest he should be thought not to abide by his words, that he would henceforth go to the Gentiles; wherefore... [ Continue Reading ]
AND CRISPUS, THE CHIEF RULER OF THE SYNAGOGUE,.... This was a Jewish name; frequent mention is made of R. Crispa in the Jewish writings k this person, either through hearing Paul before he departed from the synagogue, or when in Justus's house, which was hard by the synagogue, believed on the Lord w... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN SPAKE THE LORD TO PAUL IN THE NIGHT BY A VISION,.... On a certain night as he was asleep, the Lord Jesus Christ appeared to him in a dream, and spake after this manner to him: BE NOT AFRAID; it is very likely that after the baptism of Crispus and his family, and of many of the Corinthians, tha... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR I AM WITH THEE,.... According to his promise, Matthew 28:20 not only to assist in the ministry of the word, to give light into it, and liberty to preach it, and success in it, but to keep and preserve him from being hurt by men: AND NO MAN SHALL SET ON THEE; attack thee, or lay hands on thee:... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE CONTINUED THERE,.... At Corinth, as the Syriac version, and some copies, read; he was obedient to the heavenly vision: in the Greek text it is, "he sat" there, answerable to the Hebrew word ישב, which signifies to sit, continue and abide: he stayed there in all a year and six months; which w... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN GALLIO WAS THE DEPUTY OF ACHAIA,.... This province, which was now become a Roman one, Pliny the younger q calls true and mere Greece; it went by the name of Aegialus r, and now it is called Livadia: it has on the north the country of Thessaly, and on the west the river Acheloo, or Aracheo,... [ Continue Reading ]
SAYING, THIS FELLOW PERSUADETH MEN TO WORSHIP GOD CONTRARY TO THE LAW. Meaning either to the law of the Romans, which forbad the bringing in of any new gods, without the leave of the senate; Acts 16:21; or rather to the law of Moses: the Arabic version reads, "our law"; though this was false, for M... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN PAUL WAS NOW ABOUT TO OPEN HIS MOUTH,.... In his own defence, and plead his own cause, and answer to the charge exhibited against him: GALLIO SAID UNTO THE JEWS, IF IT WAS MATTER OF WRONG; of injury to any man's person or property, as murder, theft, c. OR WICKED LEWDNESS as fraud, forgery... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT IF IT BE A QUESTION OF WORDS,.... "Or of the word", what the Jews called the word of God, which Gallio did not pretend to understand: "and names"; as the names of God, of Jesus, and of Christ, whether he is God, and the Messiah: AND OF YOUR LAW; concerning circumcision, whether these Christians... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE DRAVE THEM FROM THE JUDGMENT SEAT. He would not hear, and try the cause; but dismissed them with threatening them, if ever they brought an affair of that kind to him any more.... [ Continue Reading ]
THEN ALL THE GREEKS TOOK SOSTHENES,.... These were not the Greeks or Gentiles that were devout persons, or converted to Christianity, and were on the side of Paul, and fell foul on Sosthenes, as being his chief accuser; for this is not agreeably to the spirit and character of such persons, but the p... [ Continue Reading ]
AND PAUL AFTER THIS TARRIED THERE YET A GOOD WHILE,.... A year and a half, as in Acts 18:11 for this insurrection might follow immediately upon the vision the apostle had; and who by that was encouraged to continue in this city, notwithstanding the treatment he met with; he not doubting of the promi... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE CAME TO EPHESUS,.... The metropolis of Asia; according to Pliny c, it had been called by many names; at the time of the Trojan war, Alopes, then Ortygia and Morges, also Smyrna Trachea, Samornion and Prelea, and which he calls the work of the Amazons: some say d it was called Ephesus, because... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEN THEY DESIRED HIM TO TARRY LONGER TIME WITH THEM,.... Either Aquila and Priscilla, whom he left here, for here they were, as is certain from AC 18:24,26 or rather the Jews with whom he reasoned, who might be desirous of further conference with him, upon the subject they had disputed about; eithe... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT BADE THEM FAREWELL, SAYING,.... As follows: I MUST BY ALL MEANS KEEP THIS FEAST THAT COMETH IN JERUSALEM; which perhaps was the passover, since that often went by the name of the feast: the why he must by all means keep it, was not because it was obligatory upon him; nor did he always observe i... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN HE HAD LANDED AT CAESAREA,.... This was Caesarea Stratonis, formerly called Strato's tower: it would have been nearest for the apostle to have landed at Joppa, in order to go to Jerusalem, but that haven was a dangerous one; this was the safest, and which therefore Herod had repaired at a v... [ Continue Reading ]
AND AFTER HE HAD SPENT SOME TIME THERE,.... At Antioch: HE DEPARTED; from thence: AND WENT OVER ALL THE COUNTRY OF GALATIA AND PHRYGIA IN ORDER, STRENGTHENING ALL THE DISCIPLES; that were in those parts, confirming them in the faith of Christ, and fortifying their minds against the temptations of... [ Continue Reading ]
AND A CERTAIN JEW NAMED APOLLOS,.... Who by some is thought to be the same with Apelles, Romans 16:10, his name is Greek, though he was a Jew, not only by religion, but by birth, being of a Jewish extract: BORN AT ALEXANDRIA; in Egypt, which was built by Alexander the great, from whence it had its... [ Continue Reading ]
THIS MAN WAS INSTRUCTED IN THE WAY OF THE LORD,.... Which John, whose baptism he only knew, came to prepare: the word here used signifies "catechised"; and suggests, that he was trained up by his parents in this way, who might have been the disciples of John, though afterwards removed from Judea to... [ Continue Reading ]
AND HE BEGAN TO SPEAK BOLDLY IN THE SYNAGOGUE,.... Of the Jews at Ephesus; using great freedom of speech, and showing much intrepidity and greatness of soul, and presence of mind; not fearing the faces of men, nor the revilings and contradictions of the Jews: WHOM WHEN AQUILA AND PRISCILLA HAD HEAR... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN HE WAS DISPOSED TO PASS INTO ACHAIA, c. The chief city of which was Corinth, and whither Apollos went, as appears from Acts 19:1. What disposed him to go thither, after he had received a greater degree of light and knowledge, was no doubt that he might communicate it, to the good of others... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR HE MIGHTILY CONVINCED THE JEWS,.... His reasoning was so strong and nervous, his arguments so weighty and powerful, and the passages he produced out of the Old Testament so full and pertinent, that the Jews were not able to stand against him; they could not object to the texts of Scripture he ur... [ Continue Reading ]