Acts 3:1

Πέτρος δέ. In accordance with the change made in the last verse of chap. 2.

1. ἀνέβαινον, were going up. The verb is in the imperfect tense and to render it exactly adds much to the vividness of the narrative. On the close attachment always seen between Peter and John, Chrysostom observes, παντάχου φαίνονται οὗτοι πολλὴν ἔχοντες πρὸς�. τούτῳ νεύει ὁ Πέτρος. ὁμοῦ εἰς τὸν τάφον ἔρχονται οὗτοι. περὶ αὐτοῦ φησὶν τῷ Χριστῷ, οὗτος δὲ τί;

The Temple stood above the city on Mt Moriah.

τὸ ἱερόν. While earnestly labouring for the spread of Christ’s teaching, they did not cast off their regard for that schoolmaster which had been appointed to bring men to Christ.

ἐπί. The preposition indicates the period of time towards which their movement tended, and may be well rendered for the hour, &c. They were on their way, and would get there at the time appointed for prayer. This is not the most common use of ἐπὶ with the accusative of time. It more frequently denotes that space of time over which any action is extended. Cf. Acts 13:31 ἐπὶ ἡμέρας πλείους = during many days. See Winer-Moulton, pp. 508, 509.

We read in Scripture of three specified hours of prayer in accordance with which the Psalmist speaks of his own custom (Psalms 55:17), ‘Evening, and morning, and at noon will I pray.’ And in like manner Daniel prayed ‘three times a day’ (Daniel 6:10). Cf. also ‘The Teaching of the twelve Apostles,’ chap. 8, τρὶς τῆς ἡμέρας οὕτω προσεύχεσθε. The hour of morning prayer was the third hour, and Peter went up to the housetop to pray (Acts 10:9) about the sixth hour, which was noon, and the evening prayer was this to which Peter and John were going up.

ἐνάτην. This orthography has the support of much authority. See Tischendorf’s Prolegomena, p. 49, ed. 7.

At the Equinox the ninth hour would be three o’clock in the afternoon, but when the daylight was longer it would be later, so that if there were 18 hours’ day and 6 hours of darkness, each hour of the day would be an hour and a half long, and the hours of the night only half an hour each. At such time the ninth hour would be at half-past four. See Acts 2:15 note.