Acts 9:29

And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him. AND HE SPAKE BOLDY IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS, AND DISPUTED AGAINST THE GRECIANS - the Hellenistic or Greek-speaking Jews (see the note at ). He seems to have specially directed his addresses to this class as being himself one of them, and, in the days of his ignorance, notorious for his virulence against the new Faith. BUT THEY WENT ABOUT TO SLAY HIM. Thus was he made to feel, throughout his whole Christian course, what he himself had made others so cruelly to feel-the cost of discipleship....

29._He disputed with the Grecians. _Erasmus noteth well in this place that those are here called Grecians, not which came (624) of Grecians, but rather those Jews who were scattered throughout divers parts of the world. Those men were wont to come together (625) to Jerusalem to worship. And it is to be thought that Paul disputed rather with strangers and aliens, (626) than with those who dwelt at Jerusalem, (627) because this latter sort would never have abidden him, neither had it been wisely done to come in their sight. Therefore being excluded from those who knew him before he tried whether there were any hope to do good amongst men whom he knew not, so that he did most stoutly whatsoever concerned the duty of a valiant soldier. _They would have slain him. _Behold, again, fury instead of zeal

23-31 When we enter into the way of God, we must look for trials; but the Lord knows how to deliver the godly, and will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape. Though Saul's conversion was and is a proof of the truth of Christianity, yet it could not, of itself, convert one soul at enmity with the truth; for nothing can produce true faith, but that power which new-creates the heart. Believers are apt to be too suspicious of those against whom they have prejudices. The world is full of deceit, and it is necessary to be cautious, but we must exercise charity, 1 Corinthians 13:5. The Lord will clear up the characters of true believers; and he will bring them to his people, and often gives them opportunities of bearing testimony to his truth, before those who once witnessed their hatred to it. Christ now appeared to Saul, and ordered him to go quickly out of Jerusalem, for he must...

Verse 29. _DISPUTED AGAINST THE GRECIANS_] That is, the _Hellenistic Jews_, viz. those who lived in Grecian cities, spoke the Greek language, and used the Septuagint version for their scriptures. And thus the _Syriac_ version has interpreted this place. Acts 6:1, Acts 6:1, where this subject is largely explained....

AND SPAKE BOLDLY - He openly defended the doctrine that Jesus was the Messiah. IN THE NAME ... - By the authority of the Lord Jesus. AGAINST THE GRECIANS - See the word “Grecians” explained in the notes on Acts 6:1. It means that he not only maintained that Jesus was the Christ in the presence of those Jews who resided at Jerusalem, and who spoke the Hebrew language, but also before those foreign Jews who spoke the Greek language, and who had come up to Jerusalem. They would be as much opposed to the doctrine that Jesus was the Christ as those who resided in Jerusalem. THEY WENT ABOUT - They sought to slay him; or they formed a purpose to put him to death as an apostate. See...

EXPOSITION ACTS 9:1 _But _for _and, _A.V.; _breathing _for _breathing out, _A.V.; _threatening _for _threatenings, _A.V. THREATENING AND SLAUGHTER. The phrase ἐμπνέων ἀπειλῆς κ.τ.λ., is rather a difficult one, and is variously explained. Schleusner takes the genitives in "threatening and slaughter" as genitives of the thing desired, "punting after threatening and slaughter" (comp. Amos 2:7). Meyer explains it "out of the threatenings and murder [in his heart] breathing hard at the disciples"—an expression indicating passion. Alford, taking nearly the sense of the A.V., makes "threatenings and slaughter" to be as it were the very material of his breath, whether breathed out or breathed in. Considering that ἐμπνέω means "to br

AND HE SPAKE BOLDLY IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS,.... He spoke the Gospel of Christ boldly, as it ought to be spoken; he spoke it openly, publicly, freely, and faithfully, not fearing the faces or revilings of any: the Vulgate Latin and Ethiopic versions add, "to the Gentiles"; but this is not in any of the Greek copies: and disputed against the Grecians; or Hellenists, that is, the Hellenistical Jews; by whom are meant, not Greeks proselyted to the Jewish religion, but Jews who had been born and brought up in Greece, or at least had learned the Greek language, and used the Greek Bible; and so the Syriac version renders it, "he disputed with the Jews that knew Greek"; perhaps the same persons, of the synagogue of the Libertines, Alexandrians, Cyrenians, and of Cilicia and Asia, who disputed with Stephen, with whom he had before joined, Acts 6:9 BUT THEY WENT ABOUT TO SLAY HIM; he

Acts 9:1. _And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,-_ Notice that little word «yet.» «Saul yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord;» but there was to be a point beyond which he could not go. I pray God that there may be such a «yet» as that put into the histories of any here who are opposing God and his Christ. «Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter,» as if they were his very breath, as if he only lived to blaspheme the name of Christ, and to persecute his followers, «went unto the high priest,» Acts 9:2. _And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem._

GRECIANS Hellenists, that is, Grecian Jews....

ACTS 9:29 ~Ellhnista,j {A} The weight of the manuscript evidence is decisively in support of ~Ellhnista,j, usually rendered “Hellenists” (i.e., Greek-speaking Jews). See also the comment on 11.20....