Acts 8:40

But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea. BUT PHILIP WAS FOUND AT, [ heurethee (G2147) eis (G1519)], q.d., 'was found brought to:' see Winer, 50. 4, b, and 65. 8]. The idea is that of 'made his appearance,' or 'was next heard of at;' an expression confirming the miraculous manner of his transportation: AZOTUS - the ancient "Ashdod," (1 Samuel 5:1, etc.) AND PASSING THROUGH HE PREACHED IN ALL THE CITIES - lying along the coast, proceeding northwards-Lydda, Joppa, etc. TILL HE CAME TO CESAREA - 55 miles northwest of Jerusalem, on the Mediterranean, just south...

40._He was found at Azotus. _It is well known, out of the book of Joshua 11:22, that Azotus was one of the cities out of which the sons of Anak could not be expelled. It is distant from Ascalon almost two hundred furlongs; the Hebrews call it Ashdod. Thither was Philip carried; there began he to take his journey on foot after the manner of men, sowing the seed of the gospel wheresoever he became, [passed.] This is surely rare and wonderful stoutness, (568) that he spreadeth the name of godliness in his journey. And whereas Luke saith expressly that he preached in all cities until he came to Cesarea, and doth not declare that he returned to Samaria, we may thereby conjecture that he staid at Cesarea for a time; and yet I leave this indifferent....

26-40 Philip was directed to go to a desert. Sometimes God opens a door of opportunity to his ministers in very unlikely places. We should study to do good to those we come into company with by travelling. We should not be so shy of all strangers as some affect to be. As to those of whom we know nothing else, we know this, that they have souls. It is wisdom for men of business to redeem time for holy duties; to fill up every minute with something which will turn to a good account. In reading the word of God, we should often pause, to inquire of whom and of what the sacred writers spake; but especially our thoughts should be employed about the Redeemer. The Ethiopian was convinced by the teaching of the Holy Spirit, of the exact fulfilment of the Scripture, was made to understand the nature of the Messiah's kingdom and salvation, and desired to be numbered among the disciples of Christ....

Verse Acts 8:40. _PHILIP WAS FOUND AT AZOTUS_] Prom the time he left the eunuch, he was not heard of till he got to Azotus, which, according to Dr. Lightfoot, was about 34 miles from Gaza, and probably it was near Gaze that Philip met the eunuch. The Azotus of the New Testament is the Ashdod of the old. It was given by Joshua to the tribe of Judah, Joshua 15:47. It was one of the five lordships which belonged to the Philistines, and is a seaport town on the Mediterranean Sea, between Gaza on the _south_, and Joppa or Jaffa on the _north_. Herodotus reports, lib. ii. cap. 157, that Psammeticus, king of Egypt, besieged this city 29 years, which, if true, is the longest siege which any city or fortress ever endured. _PREACHED IN ALL THE CITIES, TILL HE CAMS TO CAESAREA._] T

BUT PHILIP WAS FOUND - That is, he came to Azotus, or he was not heard of until he reached Azotus. The word is often used in this sense. See 1 Chronicles 29:17, margin; 2 Chronicles 29:29, margin; Genesis 2:20; see also Luke 17:18; Romans 7:10. In all these places the word is used in the sense of to be, or to be present. It does not mean here that there was any miracle in the case, but that Philip, after leaving the eunuch, came to or was in Azotus. AZOTUS - This is

EXPOSITION ACTS 8:1 _There arose on that day _for _at that time there was, _A.V._; in _for _at, _A.V. SAUL WAS CONSENTING TO HIS DEATH. St. Paul's repeated reference to this sad episode in his life is very touching (see Acts 22:2,; 1 Corinthians 15:9; 1 Timothy 1:13). (For the word συνευδοκεῖν_, _to consent, see Acts 22:20; Luke 11:48; Rom 1:32;...

BUT PHILIP WAS FOUND AT AZOTUS,.... The same with the Ashdod of the Philistines, famous for the temple of Dagon, 1 Samuel 5:1 where the Septuagint call it Azotus, as here: and so it is called in the Apocrypha: "Howbeit all the hindmost of them were slain with the sword: for they pursued them unto Gazera, and unto the plains of Idumea, and AZOTUS, and Jamnia, so that there were slain of them upon a three thousand men.'' (1Mac 4:15) "Whereof when Apollonius heard, he took three thousand horsemen, with a great host of footmen, and went to AZOTUS as one that journeyed, and therewithal drew him forth into the plain. because he had a great number of horsemen, in whom he put his trust.'' (1Mac 10:77) "But Jonathan set fire on AZOTUS, and the cities round about it, and took their spoils; and the temple of Dagon, with them that were fled into i

Acts 8:4. _Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did._ We cannot tell how far the soil had been prepared for the sowing of the gospel seed by our Lord's visit to Sychar, a city of Samaria. The influence of the converts in that place may have inclined the people of the city of Samaria to give the more heed to the preaching of Philip. The work of a great and good man may seem sometimes to die out, but its effects remain, and extend beyond the place where he laboured. Acts 8:7. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with t

PART II The Witness to Samaria. Saul's Conversion and Peter's Witness in Caesarea. Chapter s 8-12 CHAPTER 8 _ 1. The first great persecution (Acts 8:1)._ 2. The preaching of the scattered believers. Philip in Samaria (Acts 8:4). 3. Events in Samaria (Acts 8:9). 4. The Gospel in many villages of Samaria (Acts 8:25). 5. Philip and the Eunuch (Acts 8:26). The final testimony to the rulers of the people had been given. It was rejected, and the Spirit filled messenger killed. The last offer had therefore been completely rejected

PHILIP AND THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH. Philip appears again; we are not told where, but the instruction given him by the angel shows that he was not at Jerusalem; he is to go southward (_mg._ at noon; not suitable for a long journey) to the Jerusalem-Gaza road. That the road was forsaken _was in its favour in this_ instance. Arrived at the junction of the two roads, from Tyre and from Jerusalem, Philip sees a chariot; it contains an Ethiopian eunuch, the treasurer at an African court under Candace (a dynastic title rather than a name). He is returning home from Jerusalem, where he had gone to worship; whether he was a Jew or a proselyte we are not told. An angel suggested Philip's journey; the Spirit now bids him approach the chariot. He hears the eunuch reading aloud from Isaiah words which have recently received a _new_ interpretation among followers of Jesus. The eunuch is a modest man; he...