Acts 9:7

And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. AND THE MEN WHICH JOURNEYED WITH HIM STOOD SPEECHLESS, [ enneoi (G1767), or, as the best manuscripts write it, eneoi (G1769)]. If the word "stood" here is to be taken literally for the standing posture, it seems inconsistent with the apostle's own account in Acts 26:14, where he says they all "fell to the earth." One explanation of this is, that while all fell, Saul remained prostrate, while the rest quickly arose. (So Bengel and Baumgarten). Another is, that they first stood transfixed with wonder, and then sank down (so Grotius); while DeWette, Meyer, Olshausen, and Humphrey see no need to reconcile the two st...

7._And the men. _He speaketh now briefly of the companions of Paul, that they were witnesses of the vision. Yet it seemeth that this narration doth not in all points agree with that of Paul, which we shall see in the 22nd chapter, (Acts 22:9.) For he will say there, that his companions were terrified with the light, but they heard no voice. Some there be who think that it was a fault, (577) and that through ignorance of the writer (578) the negation is placed out of its right place. I think that it is no hard matter to answer it; because it may be that they heard the sound of the voice, yet did they not discern either who it was that spake, or what was spoken. “They heard not,” saith he, “the voice of him that spake with me.” Surely this is the meaning of these words, that he alone knew the speech of Christ. It foll

1-9 So ill informed was Saul, that he thought he ought to do all he could against the name of Christ, and that he did God service thereby; he seemed to breathe in this as in his element. Let us not despair of renewing grace for the conversion of the greatest sinners, nor let such despair of the pardoning mercy of God for the greatest sin. It is a signal token of Divine favour, if God, by the inward working of his grace, or the outward events of his providence, stops us from prosecuting or executing sinful purposes. Saul saw that Just One, ch. Acts 22:14; Acts 26:13. How near to us is the unseen world! It is but for God to draw aside the veil, and objects are presented to the view, compared with which, whatever is most admired on earth is mean and contemptible. Saul submitted without reserve, desirous to know what the Lor...

Verse Acts 9:7. _STOOD SPEECHLESS, HEARING A VOICE, BUT SEEING NO MAN._] The men were εννεοι, _stupified_, hearing τηςφωνης, _the voice_ or _thunder_, but not distinguishing the _words_, which were addressed to Saul alone; and which were spoken _out_ of the thunder, or in a small, still voice, _after_ the peal had ceased. The remarkable case, 1 Kings 19:11, may serve to illustrate that before us. _And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord;_ _and the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the_ _mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lard; and_ _after the wind an earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire; and_ _after the fire a still small voice; and when Elijah heard it, he_ wrapped his face in his mantl...

AND THE MEN WHICH JOURNEYED WITH HIM - Why these men attended him is unknown. They might have been appointed to aid him, or they may have been travelers with whom Saul had accidentally fallen in. STOOD SPEECHLESS - In Acts 26:14, it is said that they all fell to the earth at the appearance of the light. But there is no contradiction. The narrative in that place refers to the immediate effect of the appearance of the light. They were immediately smitten to the ground together. This was before the voice spake to Saul, Acts 26:14. In this place Acts 9:7 the historian is speaking of what occurred after the first alarm. There is no improbability that they rose from the gro

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 THE MEN WHICH JOURNEYED WITH HIM,.... Out of respect to him, to keep him company; or rather to assist him in his designs: STOOD SPEECHLESS: astonished and amazed, they had not power to speak one word, nor to rise from the ground, and move one step forward; they were as if they were thunderstruck, and fastened to the earth; for this standing is not opposed to their being fallen to the earth, but to their going forward, and only expresses the surprise and stupidity that had seized them: HEARING A VOICE, BUT SEEING NO MAN; that is, they heard the voice of Saul, saying, who art thou? and what wilt thou have me to do? but saw nobody that he spoke to, which surprised them; for it is certain they did not hear the voice of Christ, that spake to him, Acts 22:9 or if they heard the voice of Christ, it was only the sound of his voice, but did not understand what he

Acts 9:1. _And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 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._ His very breath was hot with malice against the saints, he could not live without venting his spite upon the disciples of Christ. He showed this by the fact that he not only sought to arrest men, but he was equally cruel towards women, who, from their weakness, one would have thought might have been let alone but he expressly desired it to be written in the letters that, «whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.» Acts 9:3. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and sudden

VOICE Compare (Acts 22:9); (Acts 26:14). A contradiction has been imagined. The three statements should be taken together. The men heard the "voice" as a sound (Greek, "phōnē"), but did not hear the "voice" as articulating the words, "Saul, Saul," etc)....

CHAPTER 9 __ 1. The vision of Glory on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:1). 2. Instructions given to Ananias (Acts 9:10). 3. Saul filled with the Spirit, is baptized and preaches that Jesus is the Son of God (Acts 9:17). 4. Saul persecuted and back in Jerusalem (Acts 9:23). 5. Further Acts of Peter (Acts 9:32). The previous chapter must be looked upon in its main part as a parenthesis. The record now leads us back to the close of the seventh, and the person who was connected with the great tragedy enacted there is prominently brought n