Acts 26:1-23
Acts 26:1-23. PAUL’S DEFENCE BEFORE AGRIPPA... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 26:1-23. PAUL’S DEFENCE BEFORE AGRIPPA... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΠΕΛΟΓΕΙ͂ΤΟ, _made his defence_. The verb is the same as before (Acts 19:33; Acts 24:10; Acts 25:8), and intimates that what is coming is an _apologia_. St Luke here as in other places notices the gesture of the speaker (ἐκτείνας τὴν χεῖρα).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἭΓΗΜΑΙ ἘΜΑΥΤῸΝ ΜΑΚΆΡΙΟΝ, _I think myself happy_. Because Agrippa was sure to understand much of the feeling imported into the case which would be entirely obscure to a Roman magistrate. Paul would thus be able to make his position clear, and get it explained through Agrippa to the Roman authorities.... [ Continue Reading ]
σου after ΔΈΟΜΑΙ omitted with אABE. Not represented in _Vulg_. 3. ΜΆΛΙΣΤΑ ΓΝΏΣΤΗΝ ὌΝΤΑ ΣΕ, _especially because thou art expert_. Some have joined μάλιστα with γνέστην, ‘because thou art especially expert.’ But there is nothing to shew that this was so. He knew, as other Jews knew, the character and... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤῊΝ ΜῈΝ ΟΥ̓͂Ν ΒΊΩΣΊΝ ΜΟΥ, _now my manner of life_. βίωσις is only found here in N.T. and nowhere in profane authors. We have the word in the prologue to Ecclus., ὅπως … ἐπιπροσθῶσι διὰ τῆς ἐννόμου βίωσεως, ‘that … they may profit in living according to the Law.’ This is said of exactly such a life a... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΡΟΓΙΝΏΣΚΟΝΤΈΣ ΜΕ ἌΝΩΘΕΝ, ἘᾺΝ ΘΏΛΩΣΙ ΜΑΡΤΥΡΕΙ͂Ν, _having knowledge of me from the first, if they be willing to testify_. ἄνωθεν is found Luke 1:3, where the Evangelist is describing his perfect understanding of the Gospel story ‘from the very first.’ When we remember that the early part of his Gospe... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἸΣ ΤΟῪΣ ΠΑΤΈΡΑΣ ἩΜΩ͂Ν with אABCE. _Vulg_. ‘ad patres nostros.’ 6. ΚΑῚ ΝΥ͂Ν … ἝΣΤΗΚΑ ΚΡΙΝΌΗΕΝΟΣ, _and now I stand here to be judged_, i.e. I am on my trial. ἘΠ' ἘΛΠΊΔΙ ΤΗ͂Σ ΕἸΣ ΤΟῪΣ ΠΑΤΈΡΑΣ ἩΜΩ͂Ν ἘΠΑΓΓΕΛΊΑΣ Κ.Τ.Λ., _for the hope of the promise made by God unto our fathers_, i.e. because I entertai... [ Continue Reading ]
τῶν before ἸΟΥΔΑΊΩΝ omitted with אABCEHILP. ΒΑΣΙΛΕΥ͂ at the end of the verse, omitting βασιλεῦ Ἀγρίππα with אBCEI. _Vulg_. puts ‘rex’ at the end. 7. ΕἸΣ ἭΝ, _unto which_ (_promise_). This makes it clear that the promise was the sending of the Messiah, that in Him all the families of the earth shou... [ Continue Reading ]
ΤΊ ἌΠΙΣΤΟΝ ΚΡΊΝΕΤΑΙ ΠΑΡ' ὙΜΙ͂Ν ΕἸ Ὁ ΘΕῸΣ ΝΕΚΡΟῪΣ ἘΓΕΊΡΕΙ; _why is it judged incredible with you if God doth raise the dead?_ The last clause is not to be understood hypothetically, but ‘If God doth, as He hath done in the case of Jesus.’ So that it is equivalent to ‘Why should you not believe that J... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΡῸΣ ΤῸ ὌΝΟΜΑ, _contrary to the name_, i.e. to the faith of Jesus Christ, into whose name believers were to be baptized. Cf. Acts 5:41, note. ‘Name’ is constantly used in O.T. as the equivalent of ‘Godhead,’ and any Jew who heard the language of such a verse as this would understand that the Christi... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ἘΠΟΊΗΣΑ ἘΝ ἸΕΡΟΣΟΛΎΜΟΙΣ, _which thing I also did in Jerusalem_. Saul must have been a most active and prominent agent in the work of persecution in Jerusalem, for we learn here that the death of Stephen was not the only one for which he had given his vote. He had also had the warrant of the chie... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ΚΑΤᾺ ΠΆΣΑΣ ΤᾺΣ ΣΥΝΑΓΩΓᾺΣ ΠΟΛΛΆΚΙΣ ΤΙΜΩΡΩ͂Ν ΑΥ̓ΤΟΎΣ, _and punishing them often in all the synagogues_. This shews how zealous Saul’s labours against the Way had been. Of the synagogues as places where offenders were accused and punished, cf. Matthew 10:17; Matthew 23:34; Mark 13:9; Luke 12:11; Lu... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ after ἘΝ ΟἾΣ omitted with אABCEI. Not represented in _Vulg_. 12. ἘΝ ΟἿΣ, _wherein_, i.e. in doing this work. The margin of Rev. Ver. represents the sense very well, ‘on which errand.’ ΜΕΤ' ἘΞΟΥΣΊΑΣ ΚΑῚ ἘΠΙΤΡΟΠΗ͂Σ ΤΗ͂Σ ΤΩ͂Ν�, _with the authority and commission of the high priests_. Saul was the... [ Continue Reading ]
ἩΜΈΡΑΣ ΜΈΣΗΣ, _at midday_. There could be no question about the supernatural character of a light which overpowered the midday glare of an Eastern sun.... [ Continue Reading ]
ΛΈΓΟΥΣΑΝ ΠΡΌΣ ΜΕ with אABCI omitting καὶ λέγουσαν afterwards. The _Vulg_. has only ‘loquentem mini.’ 14. ἬΚΟΥΣΑ ΦΩΝῊΝ ΛΈΓΟΥΣΑΝ ΠΡΌΣ, _I heard a voice saying unto me_. Saul alone gathered the import of what was said. His companions merely heard the sound, but nothing of the words. Cf. Daniel 10:7.... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΔῈ ΚΎΡΙΟΣ ΕἾΠΕΣ with אABCEIL. _Vulg_. ‘Dominus autem dixit.’ 15. ΤΊΣ ΕἾ, ΚΎΡΙΕ; _who art thou, Lord?_ The readiness with which ‘Lord,’ an expression of allegiance, comes to the Apostle’s lips lends probability to the notion that God’s promptings had been working in his heart before, and that the... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΡΟΧΕΙΡΊΣΑΣΘΑΊ ΣΕ ὙΠΗΡΈΤΗΝ, _to appoint thee a minister_. Cf. for the verb, Acts 22:14. It implies a deliberate selection and appointment. For this reason St Paul was σκεῦος ἐκλογῆς (Acts 9:15). ΚΑῚ ΜΆΡΤΥΡΑ ὮΝ ΤΕ ΕἾΔΕΣ, _and a witness both of those things which thou hast seen_. The Rev. Vers, gives... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΞΑΙΡΟΎΜΕΝΌΣ ΣΕ ἘΚ ΤΟΥ͂ ΛΑΟΥ͂, _delivering thee from the people_. The verb implies that the Apostle will be seized, and that the deliverance will be a rescue. From the first even in Damascus Saul found this, and he knew that in every city bonds and persecutions were to be his lot. ΕἸΣ ΟΞΣ ἘΓῺ�, _un... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΝΟΙ͂ΞΑΙ ὈΦΘΑΛΜΟῪΣ ΑΥ̓ΤΩ͂Ν, ΤΟΥ͂ ἘΠΙΣΤΡΈΨΑΙ, _to open their eyes that they may turn_. Here we have another shade of meaning of the genitival infinitive. By the opening of their eyes the Gentiles will be enabled to turn. Cf. LXX. 1 Kings 8:58, ἐπικλῖναι καρδίας ἡμῶν ἐπ' αὐτὸν τοῦ πορεύεσθαι ἐν πάσαις... [ Continue Reading ]
ΟΥ̓Κ ἙΓΕΝΌΜΗΝ�, _I was not disobedient_. More literally, ‘I did not become, or prove, disobedient.’ The thought goes back to the ‘kicking against the pricks,’ the opposition of previous times. That was at an end now. Jesus was ‘Lord,’ and Saul’s only question ‘What wilt thou have me to do?’ ΤΗ͂Ι ΟΥ... [ Continue Reading ]
ΚΑῚ ἘΝ ἹΕΡΟΣΑΛΎΓΟΙΣ, _and at Jerusalem_. Cf. Acts 9:29. Here he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians, so that they went about to kill him. ΠΑ͂ΣΆΝ ΤΕ ΤῊΝ ΧΏΡΑΝ ΤΗ͂Σ ἸΟΝΔΑΊΑΣ, _and throughout all the country of Judæa_. This accusative of place after ἀπαγγελλει... [ Continue Reading ]
ἝΝΕΚΑ ΤΟΎΤΩΝ, _on account of these things_. R.V. very well ‘for this cause.’ ἸΟΥΔΑΙ͂ΟΙ ΣΥΛΛΑΒΌΜΕΝΟΙ, _the Jews having seized me_. The verb implies an arrest with violence. ἘΠΕΙΡΩ͂ΝΤΟ ΔΙΑΧΕΙΡΊΣΑΘΑΙ, _endeavoured to kill me_. St Paul combines the riot in the Temple with the subsequent plot before he... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΠΙΚΟΥΡΊΑΣ ΟΥ̓͂Ν ΤΥΧῈΝ ΤΗ͂Σ�, _having therefore obtained the help that is from God_. The connexion by οὖν implies that only help divine could have saved him in such perils. ἐπικουρία means such succour as an ally gives, and recalls God’s promise, ‘Surely I will be with thee.’ ἌΧΡΙ ΤΗ͂Σ ἩΜΈΡΑΣ ΤΑΎΤΗ... [ Continue Reading ]
ΕἸ ΠΑΘΗΤῸΣ Ὁ ΧΡΙΣΤΌΣ, _that the Christ should suffer_. Literally ‘if the Christ be one who has to suffer.’ And the Apostle having in his mind the facts, puts the sentence as a topic on which there was debate among the Jews, as indeed there was (see John 12:34). And St Paul says he answered this ques... [ Continue Reading ]
ΜΕΓΆΛΗΙ ΤΗ͂Ι ΦΩΝΗ͂Ι ΦΗΣΊΝ, _says with a loud voice_. Probably what had last fallen from St Paul seemed to Festus little better than lunatic ravings. The Gospel of the Cross did appear as ‘foolishness’ to the Gentile world. And this Gospel he had just heard in all its fulness: that the Christ by suff... [ Continue Reading ]
INTERRUPTION BY FESTUS. APPEAL TO AGRIPPA. CONSULTATION AND DECISION... [ Continue Reading ]
Ὁ ΔῈ ΠΑΥ͂ΛΟΣ with אABE. _Vulg_. ‘et Paulus.’ 25. ΚΡΆΤΙΣΤΕ, _most excellent_. On this title cf. above, Acts 23:26; Acts 24:3. St Chrysostom remarks here that the Apostle now answers with gentleness, not as to the high-priest (Acts 23:3). ΣΩΦΡΟΣΎΝΗΣ, _soberness_. In classical Greek the word is the e... [ Continue Reading ]
ΛΑΝΘΆΝΕΙΝ ΓᾺΡ ΑΥ̓ΤΌΝ ΤΙ ΤΟΎΤΩΝ ΟΥ̓ ΠΕΊΘΟΜΑΙ ΟΥ̓ΔΈΝ, _for I am persuaded that none of these things is hidden from him_, i.e. none of the history of the life and works of Jesus, of His death and resurrection, of the marvellous gifts of Pentecost, and the preaching of the Gospel since Jesus had been cr... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΙΣΤΕΎΕΙΣ … ΤΟΙ͂Σ ΠΡΟΦΉΤΑΙΣ; _believest thou the prophets?_ Whose writings foretell the events about which I am speaking, and whose predictions have had their fulfilment in the history of Jesus of Nazareth. ΟἾΔΑ ὍΤΙ ΠΙΣΤΕΎΕΙΣ, _I know that thou believest_. The Apostle answers his own question, for... [ Continue Reading ]
ΠΟΙΗ͂ΣΑΙ for γενέσθαι with אAB. _Vulg_. ‘fieri’ representing γενέσθαι. 28. ἘΝ ὈΛΊΓΩΙ ΜΕ ΠΕΊΘΕΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΙΑΝῸΝ ΠΟΙΗ͂ΣΑΙ, _with but little persuasion thou wouldest fain make me a Christian_. The literal rendering is, ‘with (_or_ in) little (labour _or_ time) thou art persuading me so as to make me a Chri... [ Continue Reading ]
εῖπεν omitted with אAB. Not represented in _Vulg_. ΜΕΓΆΛΨ for πολλῷ with אAB. _Vulg_. ‘magno.’ 29. ΚΑῚ ἘΝ ὈΛΊΓΩΙ ΚΑῚ ἘΝ ΜΕΓΆΛΩΙ, _whether with little or with much_. The Apostle takes up the jeer of the king in a serious tone, and replies: ‘I may have seemed to use little persuasion, and suddenly t... [ Continue Reading ]
καὶ ταῦτα εἰπόντος αὐτοῦ omitted with אAB. Not represented in _Vulg_. 30. ΟἹ ΣΥΓΚΑΘΉΜΕΝΟΙ ΑΥ̓ΤΟΙ͂Σ, _they that sat with them_, i.e. the chief captains and the principal men of Cæsarea. (See Acts 25:23.) The authorities withdrew to consult upon what they had heard.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἘΛΆΛΟΥΝ ΠΡῸΣ�, _they spake one to another_. This literal sense brings out more clearly that they were all of one mind about the case.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἈΠΟΛΕΛΎΣΘΑΙ ἘΔΎΝΑΤΟ, _might have been set at liberty_. Thus Agrippa, looking at the question from the Jewish standpoint, confirms the opinion of the Roman magistrate (cf. Acts 25:25). So that St Paul was acquitted on all hands, and Festus may rightly be deemed guilty because he had driven an innocen... [ Continue Reading ]