Atos 28:15
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And from thence, when the brethren heard of us... — Better, the brethren having heard about us. The seven days at Puteoli had given ample time for the news of the Apostle’s arrival to reach the disciples at Rome. Among these “brethren” were many, we may believe, of those whom he had known at Corinth, and to whom he had sent messages of greeting in Romanos 16 : Aquila and Epænetus, Andronicus and Junias, Herodion, and those of the household of Narcissus. Most of these were Jews by birth, of the libertini or freed-man class. All had probably read or heard the Epistle to the Romans. They were yearning, some for the presence of the friend whom they had known seven years before at Corinth, some for a glimpse of one whom, though they had not known him, they had learnt to love. It is clear, from the salutations sent to Aquila and Priscilla and the rest in Romanos 16, that the decree of Claudius banishing the Jews from Rome had been rescinded or allowed to lapse. The influence of Poppæa, now dominant at Rome, was probably in their favour, and secured their protection. Herself a proselyte to Judaism, after the fashion of her class she would extend her protection to the Jews of Rome, as she did, about the same time, to those of Jerusalem. (See Note on Atos 26:32.)
They came to meet us. — The practice of going some miles from the city to meet one whom men delighted to honour was a common one. So the Jews of Rome had gone out to meet the Pseudo-Alexander who claimed to be a son of Herod (Jos. Ant. xvii. 12, § 1). So the Romans had poured forth to meet Germanicus (Sueton. Calig. c. 4) when he lived, and to do honour to his remains after his death (Tacit. Ann. iii. 5). So in earlier days, Cicero had been welcomed on his return from exile, journeying from Brundusium on the self-same Appian Way on which St. Paul was now travelling, senate and people alike going forth to meet him (Cic. pro Sext. 63, in Pison. 22).
Appii forum. — There was an obvious reason for their not going further than this, as they could not tell whether the Apostle and his companions would come by the canal or the road. The town took its name probably from the Appius under whom the road had been made, and was so called as being a centre of local jurisdiction — an assize-town, as it were. So we have Forum Julium (now Friuli), Forum Flaminium, &c. Horace (Sat. i. 5, i. 4), had condemned the town to a perpetual infamy, as
“Inde Forum Appî,
Differtum nautis, cauponibus atque malignis.”
[“With sailors filled, and scoundrel publicans.”]
Now, we must believe, on the evening when the two parties met, the wretched little town, notorious for its general vileness, was the scene of a prayer-meeting, thanksgivings and praises pouring forth from rejoicing hearts.
The three taverns. — Better, the Three Tabernœ. The Latin word has a wider range than the English, and is applied to a booth or shop of any kind, requiring the addition of an adjective such as “diversoria” or “cauponaria” before it becomes a “tavern” in the modern sense. The Roman itineraries place this town at a distance of ten miles from Appii Forum, and therefore thirty-three from Rome, Aricia forming a kind of half-way stage between the Three Tabernæ and the capital. It is mentioned more than once by Cicero in his letters, and appears to have been on the Via Appia, at a point where a road from Antium fell into it (Ad Att. ii. 10). It was accordingly a town of considerable importance. No traces of the name are found now near that position, but it could not have been far from the modern Cisterna. The transfer of traffic from the old Via Appia to the new road of the same name (the Via Appia Nuova), which takes a more circuitous route from Castella to Terracina, probably deprived it of its importance and led to its decay. A local tradition, indeed, but probably of very late date, finds the name of Tre Taberne at a distance of about twelve miles from Rome, on the old Via Appia. Here, it is clear, a second detachment of friends met him, who had either started later than the others or had felt unequal to the additional ten miles.
He thanked God, and took courage. — The words imply a previous tendency to anxiety and fear. There had been no possibility of any communication with Rome since he had left Caesarea, and questions more or less anxious would naturally present themselves. Would he find friends there who would welcome him, or would he have to enter Rome as a criminal, with no escort but that of the soldiers who kept him? Were those Roman disciples to whom he had written so warmly still safe and well, and sound in the faith? Had persecution driven them from their homes, or had the Judaisers perverted their belief? The language of Romanos 1:10, shows how prominent they were in his thoughts and prayers. To these questions the arrival of the disciples was a full and satisfying answer, and the Apostle resumed his journey with an eager and buoyant hope.