Acts 1:21-23

Wherefore of these men which have companied with us Who have associated and conversed intimately with us, and attended all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out, &c. That is, exercised his ministry among us, and presided over us, and so can testify of all he did and said; beginning from the baptism of John When he first entered on his ministry; unto that same day that he was taken up Into heaven; must one be ordained to be a witness To make up the number twelve, the number first chosen by Christ, answering to the twelve tribes of Israel. They might reasonably suppose that that number of the apostles, appointed by Christ, should be kept up; to be a witness with us of his resurrection That great and fundamental fact upon which the proof of his being the Messiah evidently rests, and of the circumstances which preceded and followed it. And they appointed two It is impossible, as well as quite unnecessary, that we should, at this distance of time, be able to assign a reason why the two that are afterward mentioned, and no more, were proposed as candidates. Perhaps a longer and more intimate acquaintance with our Lord than the other disciples present had enjoyed, might entitle them to a preference on this occasion. Joseph called Barsabas Some manuscripts read, Barnabas, but Dr. Benson seems to have assigned solid reasons for concluding this was not Barnabas the Cyprian, (Acts 4:36,) of whom we read so often in this history, whose name was also Joses, or Joseph, (which are both the same,) but rather the Joseph mentioned Matthew 27:56; and Mark 6:3; the son of Cleophas, or Alpheus, and brother to, at least, two of the apostles, James the Less, and Jude.