Acts 24:10

On the language of the speech see Bethge, p. 229. This short apology before Felix is not without its traces of Paul's phraseology, e.g., ἐλπίδα ἔχων, Acts 24:15, with which we may compare Romans 15:4; 2 Corinthians 3:12; 2 Corinthians 10:15; Ephesians 2:12; 1 Thessalonians 4:13, in all of which we have the phrase ἐλπ. ἔχειν (only once elsewhere in N.T., 1 John 3:3); προσδέχονται in Acts 24:15, with which we may compare Titus 2:13; προσφοράς, Acts 24:17, cf. Romans 15:16; διʼ ἐτῶν, Acts 24:17, with Galatians 2:1 (διά with genitive of time, only once elsewhere in N.T., Mark 2:1), and more especially ἀπρόσκοπον συνειδ., cf. 1 Corinthians 10:32; Philippians 1:10, and for συνείδησις, see Acts 23:1 (cf. Nösgen, Apostelgeschichte, p. 54, and Alford, Acts, Introd., p. 14). Wendt regards the whole speech as a free composition of the author of Acts, and even this view contrasts favourably with what Wendt himself calls the wilful attempts to refer different words and phrases in the speech to various Redactors, see for illustrations of this arbitrariness his note on p. 369 (1899). νεύσαντος : in N.T., elsewhere only John 13:24. Friedrich draws attention to the frequent mention of beckoning, or making signs, as characteristic of Luke's writings, p. 29, cf. Luke 1:22; Luke 1:62 (διανεύω, ἐννεύω), Acts 5:7 (κατανεύω); Acts 13:16; Acts 26:1; Acts 24:10, etc. Ἐκ πολλῶν ἐτῶν : in view of the constant change of procurators a period of five to seven years would quite justify St. Paul's words. Ewald argued for ten years from the statement, Tac., Ann., xii., 54, that Felix had been joint procurator with Cumanus before he had been appointed sole procurator of Judæa, Samaria, Galilee, Peræa. But no mention is made of this by Jos., Ant., xx., 7, 1. If, however, so it is argued, Felix had occupied a position of importance in Samaria in the time of the rule of Cumanus without being himself actually joint procurator, this would perhaps account for Jonathan the high priest asking that he might be appointed procurator after the departure of Cumanus (Jos., Ant., xx., 8, 5, B.J., ii., 12, 6); such a request is difficult to understand unless Jonathan had some ground for supposing that Felix would be acceptable to the Jews. But the description of Tacitus, l.c., is also difficult to understand, since we naturally ask what was the relative rank of Felix and Cumanus? or were there two procuratorial districts? and the statement of Josephus seems clearly to intimate that Felix was first appointed to the province after the deposition of Cumanus, and that he went to Palestine as his successor, B.J., ii., 12, 6, cf. Ant., xx., 8, 5, Schürer, Jewish People, div. i., vol. ii., p. 173 ff., and “Felix,” Hastings' B.D. Both Tacitus and Josephus are taken to imply that Felix succeeded Cumanus in 52 A.D. as procurator, Ann., xii., 54, Jos., Ant., xx., 7, 1. But if O. Holtzmann and McGiffert are right in placing St. Paul's imprisonment in Cæsarea in 53 55 A.D., it seems scarcely intelligible that St. Paul should speak of the “many years” of the rule of Felix, unless on the supposition that Tacitus is right and that Felix had ruled in Samaria and Judæa whilst Cumanus had ruled in Galilee. Harnack, Chron., i., 236, following Eusebius, assigns the eleventh year of Claudius, 51 A.D., as the year in which Felix entered upon office, and thinks that a procuratorship lasting from 51 54 might be described in St. Paul's words, but, as Wendt justly points out (1899), the expression πολλὰ ἔτη is much more fitting if spoken some years later. Schürer follows Josephus, Jewish People, div. i., vol. ii., p. 173 ff., and so more recently Dr. A. Robertson, “Felix,” Hastings' B.D., and Dr. Zahn, Einleitung, ii., p. 635 (so also article, Biblical World, Nov., 1897), whilst Wendt, p. 58 (1899), would appear to incline to the same view. But it is to be noted that St. Paul speaks of Felix as κριτής, and in this expression it may be possible to find a point of reconciliation between the divergencies resulting from a comparision of Josephus and Tacitus. Felix may have held an office during the procuratorship of Cumanus which may have given him some judicial authority, although of course subordinate to the procurator, whilst on the other hand his tenure of such an office may well have prompted Jonathan's request to the emperor that Felix should be sent as procurator (a request upon which both Schürer and Zahn lay such stress). The phrase πόλλα ἔτη may thus be further extended to include the tenure of this judicial office which Felix held earlier than 52 A.D., see also Turner, “Chronology,” Hastings' B.D., i., 418, 419, McGiffert, Apostolic Age, p. 358, O. Holtzmann, Neutest. Zeitgeschichte, p. 128, Ramsay, St. Paul, p. 313, Gilbert, Student's Life of Paul, p. 249 ff., 1899. κριτὴν, see above, p. 480; on the addition δίκαιον, defended by St. Chrysostom (so, Syr. H.), Blass remarks “continet adulationem quæ Paulum parum deceat, quidquid dicit Chrysostomus”. τῷ ἔθνει τούτῳ : St. Paul is speaking of the Jews as a nation in their political relationship, in addressing a Roman governor, not as God's people, λαός. εὐθυμότερον : adverb only here in N.T., not in LXX, but in classical Greek, for the adjective see Acts 27:36 (2Ma 11:26), and the verb εὐθυμεῖν, Acts 24:22. St. Paul also begins with a captatio benevolentiæ, but one which contains nothing but the strict truth; he might fairly appeal to the judicial experience of Felix for the due understanding of his case. τὰ περὶ ἐμαυτοῦ : for the phrase τὰ περί τινος as characteristic of St. Luke, three times in Gospel, eight times in Acts (six times in St. Paul's Epistles and not in other Gospels, except Mark 5:27, R.V.), cf. Hawkins, Horæ Synopticæ, p. 38, Friedrich, p. 10 (so Lekebusch and Zeller). ἀπολογοῦμαι : only in Luke and Paul, Luke 12:11; Luke 21:14; Acts 19:33; Acts 25:8; Acts 26:1-2; Acts 26:24; Romans 2:15; 2 Corinthians 12:19, each time in Acts, except Acts 19:38, with reference to Paul: R.V. “I make my defence”; see Grimm-Thayer, sub v., for the construction of the verb, in classical Greek as here, Thuc., iii., 62, Plat., Phædo, 69 D. In LXX, cf. Jeremiah 12:1 2Ma 13:26.