Acts 18:1. Paul goes from Athens to Corinth, labours there with his own hands for his maintenance. He is Encouraged in his preaching by a Vision of the Lord 1. _After these things Paul departed_ The best authorities omit the name of the Apostle, merely reading " HE _departed_." So _R. V._ came to... [ Continue Reading ]
_a certain Jew named Aquila_ The name _Aquila_is a Latin word, and it is not likely that this was the man's Jewish name, but as the custom was among the Jews, he had probably assumed a Roman name during his dwelling in Italy and in his intercourse with the Gentiles. See above on Acts 13:9. The name... [ Continue Reading ]
_And because he was of the same craft_ Among the Jews every Rabbi deemed it proper to practise some handicraft, and they have a proverb about R. Isaac, who was a smith, "Better is the sentence of the smith (R. Isaac) than that of the smith's son (R. Jochanan)," thus marking their opinion that the pu... [ Continue Reading ]
_and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks_ There are no articles in the original and they are omitted in the _Revised Version_. No doubt, as in other Gentile cities, the religion of the Jews in Corinth gained the attention of many among the Gentiles, who as proselytes or inclining thereto would form pa... [ Continue Reading ]
_And_( BUT) _when Silas and Timotheus were come_( CAME DOWN) _from Macedonia_ The particle at the beginning of the verse is better regarded as adversative. We have in this verse an account of a change in the character of the Apostle's preaching after the arrival of Silas and Timothy, who had been le... [ Continue Reading ]
_opposed themselves_ The word implies very strong opposition, as of a force drawn up in battle array. It was an organized opposition. _and blasphemed_ The same word is used in 2 Peter 2:2, "The way of truth shall be evil spoken of." And the same conduct, though the word is different, is described i... [ Continue Reading ]
_a certain man's house, named Justus_ He used this house for the purposes of teaching and worship. We may suppose that for his own lodging, he still remained with Aquila and Priscilla. Some MSS. give the name Titus Justus to this man, and the double name is adopted in the Revised Version, but there... [ Continue Reading ]
_And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue_ It is better to omit "chief" otherwise this part of the word is twice translated. (So _R. V._) This Crispus is alluded to, 1 Corinthians 1:14, as one of the few whom St Paul himself baptized. His previous distinguished position among the Jews, and the... [ Continue Reading ]
_Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision_ The rendering of the first word makes it seem as though the original were an adverb of time. Render, "And the Lord said, &c" We may judge from the language used to him that for some reason the heart of the Apostle was beginning to wax faint, and... [ Continue Reading ]
_for I am with thee_ The pronoun is expressed emphatically in the Greek, _and no man shall set on thee to hurt_[HARM] _thee_. There will be assailants. Christ does not promise him freedom from attack. But the enemy shall not be able to do him violence. And this appearance of Christ would give the Ap... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he continued_[DWELT] _there_ In these words the historian seems to be expressing the content which pervaded the Apostle's mind after the vision. Neither the A. V. nor the Revised rendering gives to the full the meaning of the Greek. The verb is generally rendered "to sit down," and here seems t... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul is accused before Gallio, who declines to consider the charge against him. In consequence the populace fall at once on Sosthenes, a chief man among the Jews, but Gallio lets their assault pass unnoticed 12. _And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia_ Better, BUT _when Gallio was_ PROCONSUL _of A... [ Continue Reading ]
_contrary to the law_ i.e. the Jewish law. Their religion was one of those allowed throughout the Roman Empire, and their hope is to induce the proconsul to protect the Jewish law by Roman law. But the majesty of Roman power was far too august to be invoked for settling a quarrel between the members... [ Continue Reading ]
_And_( BUT) _when Paul was now about to open his mouth_ There is nothing in the Gk. which requires the word "now." The Roman has too much contempt for the whole matter and all who are concerned in it to listen to any defence. For the law of the Jews, its breach or its observance, he has no care, and... [ Continue Reading ]
_But if_ THEY ARE QUESTIONS ABOUT _words and names_ The oldest authorities give the plural "questions," and there would no doubt have been many points brought forward from St Paul's teaching to which the Jews would object. And whether Jesus was the Christ or not would seem to the Roman a matter enti... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue_ For the Jews were not all ready to listen to announcements of the approach of the Messiah. The speaker must be prepared with arguments as well as courage who dwelt on this theme, about which the Jews had been deluded by many impostors. BUT _when Prisci... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when he was_ MINDED _to pass_ OVER _into Achaia_ The original expresses more than an inclination on his part; he wished to go. We find from Acts 19:1 that the centre of his labours there was Corinth. Being acquainted with the philosophy and learning of Greece he was well fitted to be a preacher... [ Continue Reading ]
_for he mightily convinced the Jews_ The verb expresses more than is given thus. He brought the objections of the Jews to the test of Scripture and CONFUTED them. The disciples, who had already believed, appear to have been suffering from Jewish gainsayers. It was by his power in the Scriptures that... [ Continue Reading ]