Acts · Chapter 21

V. 1. And when we were torn away from the in-Not without doing violence both to ourselves and them.

Verse 1. Came with a straight course] Having had, as is necessarily implied, wind and tide in their favour.

Coos] An island in the Archipelago, or Ægean Sea, one of those called the Sporades. It was famous for the worship of Æsculapius and Juno; and for being the birthplace of Hippocrates, the most eminent of physicians, and Apelles, the most celebrated of painters.

Rhodes] Another island in the same sea, celebrated for its Colossus, which was one of the seven wonders of the world. This was a brazen statue of Apollo, so high that ships in full sail could pass between its legs. It was the work of Chares, a pupil of Lysippus, who spent twelve years in making it. It was 106 feet high, and so great that few people could fathom its thumb. It was thrown down by an earthquake about 224 years before Christ, after having stood sixty-six years. When the Saracens took possession of this island, they sold this prostrate image to a Jew, who loaded 900 camels with the brass of it; this was about A.D. 660, nearly 900 years after it had been thrown down.

Patara] One of the chief seaport towns of Syria.

Verses 1-3. And after we were gotten — Greek, apospasqentav, were torn away; from them — Not without doing violence both to ourselves and them; we came with a straight course to Coos — Or Cos, now commonly called Lango, one of the islands termed Cyclades, famous for the worship of Æsculapius, and the temple of Juno; and for being the birth-place of Hippocrates, an eminent physician, and Apelles, a celebrated painter; and the day following unto Rhodes — Another island in the same sea, famous for the worship of the sun, and its Colossus, a prodigiously large brazen statue, erected across the mouth of the harbour, and dedicated to Apollo, or the sun, so high that ships, in full sail, could pass between its legs. The artificers were twelve years in making it; and it was deemed one of the seven wonders of the world. Sixty-six years after its erection, and about two hundred and twenty-four years before Christ, it was thrown down by a terrible earthquake, and lay prostrate almost nine hundred years. When the Saracens took possession of the island, about A.D. 660, they sold this image to a Jew, who, it is said, loaded nine hundred camels with the brass of it. And from thence unto Patara — A noted seaport town of Lycia, beautified with many temples, of which one was dedicated to Apollo, whose oracle therein, for credit and wealth, was not much inferior to that of Delphi. Here, finding a ship bound for Phenicia, they went on board, and leaving Cyprus on the left, sailed for Syria, and arrived at Tyre, where she was to unlade — Concerning Tyre, see the notes on Isaiah 23. That there should be Christians in Tyre, was foretold Psalm 87:4.

Verse 1. We came with a straight course to Coos, or Cos. See the map of St. Paul’s travels. It is the principal island of the group called Cyclades. Hypocrates the physician, and Apelles the painter, were born here. And the day following unto Rhodes, an island about forty miles in length, and fifteen in breadth. According to the poets, Minerva rained here a shower of gold; that is, made the inhabitants rich by the art of statuary, in which they surpassed all other nations. So Pindar states in his Olympia, ode

7. Ipsa cæsiis oculis dea præbuit illis ut in omni arte Præstantissimâ operâ manuum suarum mortales reliquos superarent. The erection of the collossal statue of brass, which stood with one foot on each head of the pier of the harbour, and under which a ship could enter in full sail, is proof of their genius and wealth. It stood seventy cubits high, and was so large that few men could grasp its thumb. This statue was one of the seven wonders of the world, and on account of which the Rhodians were for a long time called Colossians. But their peculiar glory was not antique: having stood about sixty years, the statue fell by an earthquake, two hundred and forty four years before our Saviour’s birth. See more in Pliny, lib. 34. cap. 37. Thus every Babel of human pride must be brought low: the glory of this world passeth away.

From thence to Patara, a maritime city of Lycia, thirteen miles south-west of Satalia.

1. We came—It was about the middle of spring (April 24, A.D. 58) when Paul’s ship cut its quiet and prosperous way through the “isles of Greece,” celebrated in poetry for their romantic beauty, and in history for wonderful events. But Paul journeys in a spirit of ever-increasing sadness. The lying in wait of the Jews (Acts 20:3) had interrupted the very commencement of his journey; at Miletus premonitions of a disastrous result weighed upon his own spirit, (Acts 20:22, 23;) at Tyre a presaging warning from others forbade him to proceed, (verse 4,) and at Cesarea an explicit prophecy foretold his surrender to the Romans, and the tears of all his friends implored him to proceed no farther. But he is “bound in spirit” to be in Jerusalem at the feast of Pentecost.

With a straight course—Favoured by the strong wind from the northwest, the ship cuts through the strait dividing Cos from the mainland point of Cnidus, and on Tuesday, April 25, might arrive at Rhodes. From its ever-shining sun and perpetual bloom of foliage, both the emblem and Greek name of this island are Rose. Patara—The day following, (Wednesday, April 26.)

Verse 2. Phœnicia] A part of Syria. See Clarke’s note on “Acts 11:19”.

Verses 1-3. And after we were gotten — Greek, apospasqentav, were torn away; from them — Not without doing violence both to ourselves and them; we came with a straight course to Coos — Or Cos, now commonly called Lango, one of the islands termed Cyclades, famous for the worship of Æsculapius, and the temple of Juno; and for being the birth-place of Hippocrates, an eminent physician, and Apelles, a celebrated painter; and the day following unto Rhodes — Another island in the same sea, famous for the worship of the sun, and its Colossus, a prodigiously large brazen statue, erected across the mouth of the harbour, and dedicated to Apollo, or the sun, so high that ships, in full sail, could pass between its legs. The artificers were twelve years in making it; and it was deemed one of the seven wonders of the world. Sixty-six years after its erection, and about two hundred and twenty-four years before Christ, it was thrown down by a terrible earthquake, and lay prostrate almost nine hundred years. When the Saracens took possession of the island, about A.D. 660, they sold this image to a Jew, who, it is said, loaded nine hundred camels with the brass of it. And from thence unto Patara — A noted seaport town of Lycia, beautified with many temples, of which one was dedicated to Apollo, whose oracle therein, for credit and wealth, was not much inferior to that of Delphi. Here, finding a ship bound for Phenicia, they went on board, and leaving Cyprus on the left, sailed for Syria, and arrived at Tyre, where she was to unlade — Concerning Tyre, see the notes on Isaiah 23. That there should be Christians in Tyre, was foretold Psalm 87:4.

2. Finding a ship—Their course takes them from their previous ship, but they are so fortunate as to find a ship waiting for them, as it were, at Patara, direct for Tyre. This, apparently, secures Paul the ample time for arriving at Jerusalem at Pentecost, occurring on May 9, A.D. 58, twenty-five years after the first Christian Pentecost.

V. 3. We landed at Tyre-That there should be Christians there was foretold, Psalm 87:4. What we read in that psalm of the Philistines and Ethiopians also may be compared with Acts 8:40; 27:4.

Verse 3. Cyprus] See Clarke’s note on “Acts 4:36”, and see the track of this journey on the map.

Tyre] A city of Phœnicia, one of the most celebrated maritime towns in the world. See Clarke’s notes on “Acts 12:20”; and see Clarke “Matthew 11:21”.

There the ship was to unlade her burden.] The freight that she had taken in at Ephesus she was to unlade at Tyre; to which place she was bound.

Verses 1-3. And after we were gotten — Greek, apospasqentav, were torn away; from them — Not without doing violence both to ourselves and them; we came with a straight course to Coos — Or Cos, now commonly called Lango, one of the islands termed Cyclades, famous for the worship of Æsculapius, and the temple of Juno; and for being the birth-place of Hippocrates, an eminent physician, and Apelles, a celebrated painter; and the day following unto Rhodes — Another island in the same sea, famous for the worship of the sun, and its Colossus, a prodigiously large brazen statue, erected across the mouth of the harbour, and dedicated to Apollo, or the sun, so high that ships, in full sail, could pass between its legs. The artificers were twelve years in making it; and it was deemed one of the seven wonders of the world. Sixty-six years after its erection, and about two hundred and twenty-four years before Christ, it was thrown down by a terrible earthquake, and lay prostrate almost nine hundred years. When the Saracens took possession of the island, about A.D. 660, they sold this image to a Jew, who, it is said, loaded nine hundred camels with the brass of it. And from thence unto Patara — A noted seaport town of Lycia, beautified with many temples, of which one was dedicated to Apollo, whose oracle therein, for credit and wealth, was not much inferior to that of Delphi. Here, finding a ship bound for Phenicia, they went on board, and leaving Cyprus on the left, sailed for Syria, and arrived at Tyre, where she was to unlade — Concerning Tyre, see the notes on Isaiah 23. That there should be Christians in Tyre, was foretold Psalm 87:4.

Ver. 3. And landed at Tyre, the ancient Tyre, described in Isaiah 23:1.

3. Cyprus—Through whose length Paul with Barnabas had preached Christianity. Left hand—From Patara they emerged from all the insular straits and launched “O’er the glad waters of the dark blue sea.” In these fresh days of spring, the snows still lingered on the rounded summits of Cyprus, but the shores were clad in rich verdure. The breeze was evidently fair and strong, and their sail now by night as well as by day, through a voyage of three hundred and forty miles, at a rate a little more than seven knots an hour, would land them on Monday, the thirtieth day of April, at Tyre.

V. 4. And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days-In order to spend a Sabbath with them.

Who told Paul by the Spirit-That afflictions awaited him at Jerusalem. This was properly what they said by the Spirit. They themselves advised him not to go up. The disciples seemed to understand their prophetic impulse to be an intimation from the Spirit, that Paul, if he were so minded, might avoid the danger, by not going to Jerusalem.

Verse 4. Who said to Paul through the Spirit] We cannot understand this as a command from the Holy Spirit not to go up to Jerusalem, else Paul must have been highly criminal to have disobeyed it. Through the Spirit, must either refer to their own great earnestness to dissuade him from taking a journey which they plainly saw would be injurious to him-and so Bp. Pearce understands this place; or, if it refer to the Holy Spirit, it must mean that if he regarded his personal safety he must not, at this time, go up to Jerusalem. The Spirit foretold Paul’s persecutions, but does not appear to have forbidden his journey; and Paul was persuaded that, in acting as he was about to do, whatever personal risk he ran, he should bring more glory to God, by going to Jerusalem, than by tarrying at Tyre or elsewhere. The purport of this Divine communication was, “If thou go up to Jerusalem the Jews will persecute thee; and thou wilt be imprisoned, &c.” As he was apprized of this, he might have desisted, for the whole was conditional: Paul might or might not go to Jerusalem; if he did go, he would be persecuted, and be in danger of losing his life. The Holy Spirit neither commanded him to go, nor forbade him; the whole was conditional; and he was left to the free exercise of his own judgment and conscience. This was a similar case to that of David in Keilah, 1 Samuel 23:9-13. David prevented the threatened evil by leaving Keilah: Paul fell into it by going to Jerusalem.

Verses 4-6. Finding disciples, we tarried there seven days — In order to spend a sabbath with them. Who said to Paul, through the inspiration of the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem — The meaning seems to be, that these disciples foreseeing, through the spirit of prophecy, the troubles which Paul would meet with in Jerusalem, if he went thither, themselves advised him not to go. It is necessary to understand the words thus, to account for Paul’s conduct; for had the Spirit absolutely forbidden his journey to Jerusalem, he doubtless would have obeyed, and not have gone thither. But he, considering it as being their own advice only, rejected it and went. Indeed, they seemed to have understood their prophetic impulse to be an intimation from the Spirit, that Paul, if he were so minded, might avoid the danger and trouble of which they warned him, by not going to Jerusalem. And when we had accomplished those days — Namely, the seven spoken of above; we departed and went our way — Fully purposing, notwithstanding all these admonitions, to embark again and proceed to Jerusalem; Paul deliberately judging that all the sufferings he might meet with in the course of his ministry would tend to the furtherance of the gospel; and that it was his duty to fulfil his engagements to the churches, in delivering their alms to the brethren there, whatever might happen. And they all brought us on our way, &c. — For though Paul did not yield to the persuasions of these his friends at Tyre, yet they showed him every imaginable token of respect; with their wives and children — Attending him and his company till they were out of the city, and had reached the shore — Where, before they parted, they kneeled down and prayed together — And then took leave of one another, as Paul and the elders of Ephesus had done.

Ver. 4. Finding disciples — who said to Paul, dia tou Pneumatov, by or through the Spirit of prophecy, that he should not go up to Jerusalem. How are we to understand this revelation? Subjunctively, it would seem, that he must not go up unless he were resolved to fight the battles of the Lord. So Paul must have understood both this and the more explicit one of Agabus, in ver. 10, 11; else he had been disobedient to the heavenly vision. He was like the heroes named by Virgil, who in battle do not know how to yield.

4. Finding disciples—Literally, searching out the disciples. Paul well knew that there was a Church there, and perhaps he inquired at the synagogue for its locality, or for the residue of the elders. Seven days— One week, as at Troas, (Acts 20:6.) Through the Spirit—Through the Spirit they learned the danger, and so warned Paul against going.

Verse 5. When we had accomplished those days] That is, the seven days mentioned in the preceding verse.

And they all brought us on our way, with wives and children] It is not likely that Paul, Silas, Luke, &c., had either wives or children with them; and it is more natural to suppose that the brethren of Tyre, with their wives and children are those that are meant; these, through affection to the apostles, accompanied them from their homes to the ship; and the coming out of the husbands, wives, and children, shows what a general and affectionate interest the preaching and private conversation of these holy men had excited.

Kneeled down on the shore, and prayed.] As God fills heaven and earth, so he may be worshipped every where; as well, when circumstances require it, on the seashore as in the temple. We have already seen, in the case of Lydia, that the Jews had proseuchas by the river sides, &c.; and an observation in Tertullian seems to intimate that they preferred such places, and in the open air offered their petitions to God by the seashore: Omissis templis, per omne littus, quocumque in aperto aliquando jam preces ad cœlum mittunt. Tertul. de Jejunio.

Verses 4-6. Finding disciples, we tarried there seven days — In order to spend a sabbath with them. Who said to Paul, through the inspiration of the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem — The meaning seems to be, that these disciples foreseeing, through the spirit of prophecy, the troubles which Paul would meet with in Jerusalem, if he went thither, themselves advised him not to go. It is necessary to understand the words thus, to account for Paul’s conduct; for had the Spirit absolutely forbidden his journey to Jerusalem, he doubtless would have obeyed, and not have gone thither. But he, considering it as being their own advice only, rejected it and went. Indeed, they seemed to have understood their prophetic impulse to be an intimation from the Spirit, that Paul, if he were so minded, might avoid the danger and trouble of which they warned him, by not going to Jerusalem. And when we had accomplished those days — Namely, the seven spoken of above; we departed and went our way — Fully purposing, notwithstanding all these admonitions, to embark again and proceed to Jerusalem; Paul deliberately judging that all the sufferings he might meet with in the course of his ministry would tend to the furtherance of the gospel; and that it was his duty to fulfil his engagements to the churches, in delivering their alms to the brethren there, whatever might happen. And they all brought us on our way, &c. — For though Paul did not yield to the persuasions of these his friends at Tyre, yet they showed him every imaginable token of respect; with their wives and children — Attending him and his company till they were out of the city, and had reached the shore — Where, before they parted, they kneeled down and prayed together — And then took leave of one another, as Paul and the elders of Ephesus had done.

5. Brought us on our way—But one short week had Paul been with these Tyrian Christians, and yet men, women, and children attend him on his way to the shore. There they prayed and parted. There was no chapel or proseucha; but they kneeled by the sea beneath the open sky.

Verse 6. Taken-leave] aspasamenoi; Having given each other the kiss of peace, as was the constant custom of the Jews and primitive Christians. They returned home] That is, the men, their wives, and their children.

Verses 4-6. Finding disciples, we tarried there seven days — In order to spend a sabbath with them. Who said to Paul, through the inspiration of the Spirit, that he should not go up to Jerusalem — The meaning seems to be, that these disciples foreseeing, through the spirit of prophecy, the troubles which Paul would meet with in Jerusalem, if he went thither, themselves advised him not to go. It is necessary to understand the words thus, to account for Paul’s conduct; for had the Spirit absolutely forbidden his journey to Jerusalem, he doubtless would have obeyed, and not have gone thither. But he, considering it as being their own advice only, rejected it and went. Indeed, they seemed to have understood their prophetic impulse to be an intimation from the Spirit, that Paul, if he were so minded, might avoid the danger and trouble of which they warned him, by not going to Jerusalem. And when we had accomplished those days — Namely, the seven spoken of above; we departed and went our way — Fully purposing, notwithstanding all these admonitions, to embark again and proceed to Jerusalem; Paul deliberately judging that all the sufferings he might meet with in the course of his ministry would tend to the furtherance of the gospel; and that it was his duty to fulfil his engagements to the churches, in delivering their alms to the brethren there, whatever might happen. And they all brought us on our way, &c. — For though Paul did not yield to the persuasions of these his friends at Tyre, yet they showed him every imaginable token of respect; with their wives and children — Attending him and his company till they were out of the city, and had reached the shore — Where, before they parted, they kneeled down and prayed together — And then took leave of one another, as Paul and the elders of Ephesus had done.

V. 7. Having finished our voyage-From Macedonia, Acts 20:6, we came to Ptolemais-A celebrated city on the sea coast, anciently called Accos. It is now, like many other once noble cities, only a heap of ruins.

Verse 7. We came to Ptolemais] This was a seaport town of Galilee, not far from Mount Carmel, between Tyre and Cæsarea, where the river Belus empties itself into the sea. It was at first called Accho, (and this is the reading of the Syriac and Arabic,) and belonged to the tribe of Asher, Judges 1:31; it was enlarged and beautified by the first of the Egyptian Ptolemies, from whom it was called Ptolemais. This place terminated St. Paul’s voyage; and this is what is expressed in the text: And we came from Tyre to Ptolemais, where our voyage ended. See the Greek text.

Verses 7-9. And when we had finished our course — By sea; we came to Ptolemais — A celebrated city to the south of Tyre, on the same coast of the Mediterranean sea, anciently called Accho. It was enlarged and beautified by the first of the Egyptian Ptolemies, from whence it took its new appellation. It was the scene of many celebrated actions in that series of mad expeditions which was called the holy war. The Turks, who are now masters of all that region, call it Acca, or Acra; and when Maundrel was there, in 1697, like many other noble ancient cities, it was only a heap of ruins. Since then, however, it has again revived by the industry of Daher; and the works erected by Dejezzar, in his own time, have rendered it one of the principal towns on that coast. In 1799, aided by the British, under Sir W.S. Smith, it withstood a severe siege by the French, under General Bonaparte, who raised the siege, after failing in a twelfth assault, made over the putrid bodies of his soldiers. And saluted the brethren — For the disciples of Christ were now grown so numerous as to be found in every city of any note: and abode with them one day — After which they travelled by land to Cesarea — Where they abode many days with Philip the evangelist, and one of the seven deacons — Who, it seems, had for some years been settled there. Concerning him and his labours in those parts, as also of Cesarea, see the notes on chap. 8:5-40. The same man had four daughters — Unmarried, who prophesied; the miraculous gifts of the Spirit being sometimes communicated to women, as well as to men.

7. Ptolemais—The ancient Accho and the modern Acre. Lying between Tyre and Cesarea, it is older than either, and has outlasted them both.

V. 8. We came to Cesarea-So called from a stately temple which Herod the Great dedicated there to Augustus Cesar. It was the place where the Roman governor of Judea generally resided and kept his court. The evangelist, who was one of the seven deacons-An evangelist is a preacher of the Gospel to those who had never heard it, as Philip had done to the Samaritans, to the Ethiopian eunuch, and to all the towns from Azotus to Cesarea, Acts 8:5, 26, 40. It is not unlikely he spent the following years preaching in Tyre and Sidon, and the other heathen cities in the neighbourhood of Galilee, his house being at Cesarea, a convenient situation for that purpose.

We abode with him-We lodged at his house during our stay at Cesarea.

Verse 8. We that were of Paul’s company] oi peri ton paulon, This clause is wanting in ABCE, and many others; the Syriac, Coptic, Vulgate, Armenian, &c.

Came unto Cæsarea] This was Cæsarea of Palestine, already sufficiently described, see Clarke on “Acts 8:40”.

Philip the evangelist] One of the seven deacons, who seems to have settled here after he had baptized the eunuch. See Clarke on “Acts 8:40”.

Verses 7-9. And when we had finished our course — By sea; we came to Ptolemais — A celebrated city to the south of Tyre, on the same coast of the Mediterranean sea, anciently called Accho. It was enlarged and beautified by the first of the Egyptian Ptolemies, from whence it took its new appellation. It was the scene of many celebrated actions in that series of mad expeditions which was called the holy war. The Turks, who are now masters of all that region, call it Acca, or Acra; and when Maundrel was there, in 1697, like many other noble ancient cities, it was only a heap of ruins. Since then, however, it has again revived by the industry of Daher; and the works erected by Dejezzar, in his own time, have rendered it one of the principal towns on that coast. In 1799, aided by the British, under Sir W.S. Smith, it withstood a severe siege by the French, under General Bonaparte, who raised the siege, after failing in a twelfth assault, made over the putrid bodies of his soldiers. And saluted the brethren — For the disciples of Christ were now grown so numerous as to be found in every city of any note: and abode with them one day — After which they travelled by land to Cesarea — Where they abode many days with Philip the evangelist, and one of the seven deacons — Who, it seems, had for some years been settled there. Concerning him and his labours in those parts, as also of Cesarea, see the notes on chap. 8:5-40. The same man had four daughters — Unmarried, who prophesied; the miraculous gifts of the Spirit being sometimes communicated to women, as well as to men.

Ver. 8. Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven deacons. The accuracy of this description proves that Philip, who preached to the Eunuch, Acts 8:35, was Philip the apostle. The evangelists were colleagues of the apostles in preaching the gospel of Christ.

8. Departed—Left first the ship, and then the city, and took the land route to Cesarea. “Issuing from the southeastern gate, in ten minutes they would cross the Belus, now the Nahmen; then for three hours would proceed along the beach with the surf breaking at their feet; at the base of Carmel would ford the mouth of the Kishon, (El-mukatta,) and, turning that headland, follow the line of the coast of Cesarea. The distance hither from Akka (Ptolemais) is about forty miles.”—Hackett.

Cesarea—(See note on Acts 8:40.) Philip the evangelist—(See notes on Acts 8:26-40.) Residing at Cesarea, Philip may have still performed the work of an evangelist, or Gospel-preacher, wherever he was providentially called.

6. At Cesarea—Philip and Daughters—Agabus, 9-14.

Verse 9. Four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy.] Probably these were no more than teachers in the Church: for we have already seen that this is a frequent meaning of the word prophesy; and this is undoubtedly one thing intended by the prophecy of Joel, quoted Acts 2:17, 18, of this book. If Philip’s daughters might be prophetesses, why not teachers?

Verses 7-9. And when we had finished our course — By sea; we came to Ptolemais — A celebrated city to the south of Tyre, on the same coast of the Mediterranean sea, anciently called Accho. It was enlarged and beautified by the first of the Egyptian Ptolemies, from whence it took its new appellation. It was the scene of many celebrated actions in that series of mad expeditions which was called the holy war. The Turks, who are now masters of all that region, call it Acca, or Acra; and when Maundrel was there, in 1697, like many other noble ancient cities, it was only a heap of ruins. Since then, however, it has again revived by the industry of Daher; and the works erected by Dejezzar, in his own time, have rendered it one of the principal towns on that coast. In 1799, aided by the British, under Sir W.S. Smith, it withstood a severe siege by the French, under General Bonaparte, who raised the siege, after failing in a twelfth assault, made over the putrid bodies of his soldiers. And saluted the brethren — For the disciples of Christ were now grown so numerous as to be found in every city of any note: and abode with them one day — After which they travelled by land to Cesarea — Where they abode many days with Philip the evangelist, and one of the seven deacons — Who, it seems, had for some years been settled there. Concerning him and his labours in those parts, as also of Cesarea, see the notes on chap. 8:5-40. The same man had four daughters — Unmarried, who prophesied; the miraculous gifts of the Spirit being sometimes communicated to women, as well as to men.

Ver. 9. Four daughters, virgins, which did prophesy. Philip was married. Marriage was very much abstained from in the primitive missionaries for the great love they had to their Master’s work; but Paul tells the Corinthians that the preachers had a right to lead about a wife, or a sister, if that sister could be useful as a deaconess in the church. Œcumenius says that a married man might be a deacon, a priest, or a bishop. There is a slight apparent contradiction on the subject of Paul’s marriage, between the fathers. Ignatius affirms he had a wife; and Ambrose, that all the apostles were married, except St. Paul and St. John. Eusebius goes no farther than to say that three of the apostles were married, Peter, Paul, and Philip. Philip was not only married, but happy in his marriage. The holiness of the father had gained the daughters to the Lord, and the Lord had honoured their conversion with the gifts of prayer, of exhortation, and probably with some of the extraordinary endowments promised to women. Joel 2. and Acts 2. See also 1 Corinthians 9:5.

9. Virgins—Not nuns, devoted by a vow to celibacy. “Their virginity is probably referred to only as a reason for their being still at home, and not as having any necessary connection with their inspiration. We read of prophetesses under the old economy, not only wives of prophets, (Isaiah 8:3,) but themselves inspired, from Miriam (Exodus 15:20) and Huldah (2 Kings 22:14) to Noadiah (Nehemiah 6:14) and Anna, (Luke 2:36.) Joel’s promise of extraordinary spiritual gifts was to servants of both sexes, and to daughters as well as sons.”—Alexander. The prophetic character of the company now at Philip’s house providentially, especially after the arrival of Agabus, attests how high at this time, more than twenty years since the Ascension, was the spiritual life in the Church.

V. 10. A certain prophet came-The nearer the event was, the more express were the predictions which prepared Paul for it.

Verse 10. Agabus.] See Clarke’s note on “Acts 11:28”.

Verses 10-14. And as we tarried there many days — There being many disciples in that city, the fruit, as appears, of the ministry and miracles of Philip; there came from Judea a prophet named Agabus — Paul, and some part of his company, had become acquainted with this prophet some years before, at Antioch, where he foretold the famine which afterward happened in the days of Claudius Cesar, Acts 11:28. And when he was come unto us — Several of the disciples of Cesarea and Paul’s friends being together; he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet — In the manner that malefactors were wont to be bound when apprehended; and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost — By whose inspiration I now speak and act; So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle — Thus Agabus, like the prophets of old, accompanied his prediction with a significant prophetic symbol: and thus the nearer the event was, the more express and impressive were the predictions intended to prepare Paul for it. When we — Of Paul’s company; and they of that place — The brethren of Cesarea; heard these things — And believed if he went to Jerusalem the prediction would be fulfilled; we besought him not to go — In the most pressing manner, and with many tears of sincere and fervent affection, verse 13; being ignorant, it appears, that this and the former prediction were intended, not to hinder him from going to Jerusalem, but to make him the more courageous, by signifying to him beforehand what was to befall him, (Acts 20:22, 23,) and that he would not be put to death at Jerusalem. Then Paul — Sensibly touched with the concern which they expressed on his account, and yet resolutely bent upon following what he apprehended to be the call of duty, whatever sufferings it might expose him to; answered, What mean ye to weep and break my heart? — By these affectionate salutations? Observe, reader, the admirable mixture of tenderness and firmness of spirit manifested in this answer. I am ready, not to be bound only — And cast into prison; but also to die at Jerusalem — Or wherever else I may be called to it; for the name of the Lord Jesus — For he feared neither sufferings nor death in any form, if he might thereby defend the gospel, and promote the glory of its Author, which were the ends he had chiefly in view in all his labours and sufferings, and which he preferred to all other things whatever. And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased — It was not obstinacy in Paul that hindered his yielding to their persuasions, but true Christian resolution, not to relinquish what he believed to be the line of duty. We should never be persuaded either to do what we know to be evil, or to omit what we believe to be good, when it is in our power: saying, The will of the Lord be done — Which they were satisfied Paul knew.

Ver. 10, 11. There came down from Judea a certain prophet, named Agabus, of whom mention is made in Acts 11:28, as foretelling the famine in the second year of Claudius. His life had been spared for the space of twenty years since that prediction. He now bound himself with Paul’s girdle, the better to express the mind of God by signs, as well as words, like the prophets of old. Jeremiah 13:1. This was a clear prediction of Paul’s bonds, that the malice of the jews to destroy him, (which Agabus well knew) should be frustrated; that they should not stone him, nor assassinate him, as forty of them swore to do; and that the Romans would not be prevailed upon to put him to death. How luminous, how accurate were these predictions! How well calculated to fortify the apostle, and support the church, that the great hero of their faith suffered according to the will of God. Paul had seen the Lord, and would not deny his name.

10. Many days—At Cesarea Paul’s distance from Jerusalem was about seventy-five miles, or three days’ journey. So rapid under propitious gales had been his voyage that he has nine days to spare before Pentecost, which he can spend either at Jerusalem or at Cesarea. From motives of prudence, perhaps, he prefers the latter. Came down from Judea—Doubtless on having heard of Paul’s arrival at Cesarea, and, belonging to the Pauline section of the Jerusalem Church, anxious to welcome the apostle.

V. 11. Binding his own feet and hands-In the manner that malefactors were wont to be bound when apprehended.

So shall the Jews bind the man whose girdle this is-St. Paul's bonds were first particularly foretold at Cesarea, to which he afterward came in bonds, Acts 23:33.

Verse 11. Took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands, &c.] This was no doubt a prophet, in the commonly received sense of the term; and his mode of acting was like that of the ancient prophets, who often accompanied their predictions with significant emblems. Jeremiah was commanded to bury his girdle by the river Euphrates, to mark out the captivity of the Jews. Jeremiah 13:4. For more examples of this figurative or symbolical prophesying, see Jeremiah 27:2, 3; 28:4; Isaiah 20:1-6; Ezekiel 4:1-17; 12:1-28, &c. Into the hands of the Gentiles.] That is, the Romans, for the Jews had not, properly speaking, the power of life and death. And, as Agabus said he should be delivered into the hands of the Gentiles, he showed thereby that they would attempt to destroy his life. This prediction of Agabus was literally fulfilled: see Acts 21:33.

Verses 10-14. And as we tarried there many days — There being many disciples in that city, the fruit, as appears, of the ministry and miracles of Philip; there came from Judea a prophet named Agabus — Paul, and some part of his company, had become acquainted with this prophet some years before, at Antioch, where he foretold the famine which afterward happened in the days of Claudius Cesar, Acts 11:28. And when he was come unto us — Several of the disciples of Cesarea and Paul’s friends being together; he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet — In the manner that malefactors were wont to be bound when apprehended; and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost — By whose inspiration I now speak and act; So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle — Thus Agabus, like the prophets of old, accompanied his prediction with a significant prophetic symbol: and thus the nearer the event was, the more express and impressive were the predictions intended to prepare Paul for it. When we — Of Paul’s company; and they of that place — The brethren of Cesarea; heard these things — And believed if he went to Jerusalem the prediction would be fulfilled; we besought him not to go — In the most pressing manner, and with many tears of sincere and fervent affection, verse 13; being ignorant, it appears, that this and the former prediction were intended, not to hinder him from going to Jerusalem, but to make him the more courageous, by signifying to him beforehand what was to befall him, (Acts 20:22, 23,) and that he would not be put to death at Jerusalem. Then Paul — Sensibly touched with the concern which they expressed on his account, and yet resolutely bent upon following what he apprehended to be the call of duty, whatever sufferings it might expose him to; answered, What mean ye to weep and break my heart? — By these affectionate salutations? Observe, reader, the admirable mixture of tenderness and firmness of spirit manifested in this answer. I am ready, not to be bound only — And cast into prison; but also to die at Jerusalem — Or wherever else I may be called to it; for the name of the Lord Jesus — For he feared neither sufferings nor death in any form, if he might thereby defend the gospel, and promote the glory of its Author, which were the ends he had chiefly in view in all his labours and sufferings, and which he preferred to all other things whatever. And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased — It was not obstinacy in Paul that hindered his yielding to their persuasions, but true Christian resolution, not to relinquish what he believed to be the line of duty. We should never be persuaded either to do what we know to be evil, or to omit what we believe to be good, when it is in our power: saying, The will of the Lord be done — Which they were satisfied Paul knew.

Ver. 10, 11. There came down from Judea a certain prophet, named Agabus, of whom mention is made in Acts 11:28, as foretelling the famine in the second year of Claudius. His life had been spared for the space of twenty years since that prediction. He now bound himself with Paul’s girdle, the better to express the mind of God by signs, as well as words, like the prophets of old. Jeremiah 13:1. This was a clear prediction of Paul’s bonds, that the malice of the jews to destroy him, (which Agabus well knew) should be frustrated; that they should not stone him, nor assassinate him, as forty of them swore to do; and that the Romans would not be prevailed upon to put him to death. How luminous, how accurate were these predictions! How well calculated to fortify the apostle, and support the church, that the great hero of their faith suffered according to the will of God. Paul had seen the Lord, and would not deny his name.

11. Bound his own hands—Impressing the mind most vividly by impressing the eyes, after the Old Testament prophetic fashion. “As Isaiah (chap. 20) loosed the sackcloth from his loins, and put off his shoes from his feet, to declare how the Egyptian captives should be led away into Assyria naked and barefoot, or as the girdle of Jeremiah, (ch. 13,) in its strength and its decay, was made a type of the people of Israel in their privilege and their fall.”—Conybeare & Howson. Jews bind the man— Agabus’ prophecy was not fulfilled in the letter, for the Jews did not themselves bind the man; but it is fulfilled in spirit, for they bound him with their muscular force, and delivered him into Roman custody and chains.

V. 12. Both we, (his fellow travellers,) and they of the place, besought him not to go up to Jerusalem-St. Paul knew that this prediction had the force of a command. They did not know this.

Verse 12. Besought him not to go up to Jerusalem.] For they all understood the prophecy to be conditional and contingent; and that it was in Paul’s power to turn the scale.

Verses 10-14. And as we tarried there many days — There being many disciples in that city, the fruit, as appears, of the ministry and miracles of Philip; there came from Judea a prophet named Agabus — Paul, and some part of his company, had become acquainted with this prophet some years before, at Antioch, where he foretold the famine which afterward happened in the days of Claudius Cesar, Acts 11:28. And when he was come unto us — Several of the disciples of Cesarea and Paul’s friends being together; he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet — In the manner that malefactors were wont to be bound when apprehended; and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost — By whose inspiration I now speak and act; So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle — Thus Agabus, like the prophets of old, accompanied his prediction with a significant prophetic symbol: and thus the nearer the event was, the more express and impressive were the predictions intended to prepare Paul for it. When we — Of Paul’s company; and they of that place — The brethren of Cesarea; heard these things — And believed if he went to Jerusalem the prediction would be fulfilled; we besought him not to go — In the most pressing manner, and with many tears of sincere and fervent affection, verse 13; being ignorant, it appears, that this and the former prediction were intended, not to hinder him from going to Jerusalem, but to make him the more courageous, by signifying to him beforehand what was to befall him, (Acts 20:22, 23,) and that he would not be put to death at Jerusalem. Then Paul — Sensibly touched with the concern which they expressed on his account, and yet resolutely bent upon following what he apprehended to be the call of duty, whatever sufferings it might expose him to; answered, What mean ye to weep and break my heart? — By these affectionate salutations? Observe, reader, the admirable mixture of tenderness and firmness of spirit manifested in this answer. I am ready, not to be bound only — And cast into prison; but also to die at Jerusalem — Or wherever else I may be called to it; for the name of the Lord Jesus — For he feared neither sufferings nor death in any form, if he might thereby defend the gospel, and promote the glory of its Author, which were the ends he had chiefly in view in all his labours and sufferings, and which he preferred to all other things whatever. And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased — It was not obstinacy in Paul that hindered his yielding to their persuasions, but true Christian resolution, not to relinquish what he believed to be the line of duty. We should never be persuaded either to do what we know to be evil, or to omit what we believe to be good, when it is in our power: saying, The will of the Lord be done — Which they were satisfied Paul knew.

12. We—Luke and the other attendants of Paul, joined by the Cesarean Christians. Philip and his inspired daughters, in lovely and loving human weakness, joined in the grief and the entreaties that Paul would avoid Jerusalem.

V. 13. Breaking my heart-For the apostles themselves were not void of human affections.

I am ready not only to be bound, but to die-And to him that is ready for it, the burden is light.

Verse 13. I am ready, not to be bound only] He was resolute and determined; but was under no constraining necessity. See Clarke’s note on “Acts 21:4”.

Verses 10-14. And as we tarried there many days — There being many disciples in that city, the fruit, as appears, of the ministry and miracles of Philip; there came from Judea a prophet named Agabus — Paul, and some part of his company, had become acquainted with this prophet some years before, at Antioch, where he foretold the famine which afterward happened in the days of Claudius Cesar, Acts 11:28. And when he was come unto us — Several of the disciples of Cesarea and Paul’s friends being together; he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet — In the manner that malefactors were wont to be bound when apprehended; and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost — By whose inspiration I now speak and act; So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle — Thus Agabus, like the prophets of old, accompanied his prediction with a significant prophetic symbol: and thus the nearer the event was, the more express and impressive were the predictions intended to prepare Paul for it. When we — Of Paul’s company; and they of that place — The brethren of Cesarea; heard these things — And believed if he went to Jerusalem the prediction would be fulfilled; we besought him not to go — In the most pressing manner, and with many tears of sincere and fervent affection, verse 13; being ignorant, it appears, that this and the former prediction were intended, not to hinder him from going to Jerusalem, but to make him the more courageous, by signifying to him beforehand what was to befall him, (Acts 20:22, 23,) and that he would not be put to death at Jerusalem. Then Paul — Sensibly touched with the concern which they expressed on his account, and yet resolutely bent upon following what he apprehended to be the call of duty, whatever sufferings it might expose him to; answered, What mean ye to weep and break my heart? — By these affectionate salutations? Observe, reader, the admirable mixture of tenderness and firmness of spirit manifested in this answer. I am ready, not to be bound only — And cast into prison; but also to die at Jerusalem — Or wherever else I may be called to it; for the name of the Lord Jesus — For he feared neither sufferings nor death in any form, if he might thereby defend the gospel, and promote the glory of its Author, which were the ends he had chiefly in view in all his labours and sufferings, and which he preferred to all other things whatever. And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased — It was not obstinacy in Paul that hindered his yielding to their persuasions, but true Christian resolution, not to relinquish what he believed to be the line of duty. We should never be persuaded either to do what we know to be evil, or to omit what we believe to be good, when it is in our power: saying, The will of the Lord be done — Which they were satisfied Paul knew.

13. What mean ye?—What do ye? or, What are you doing? A question of surprise, yet tenderness. Break my heart—In all their agony he could share; but not for a moment in their readiness to shrink from the duty and the suffering. Die… for… Jesus—They saw the danger and the death; he saw also the duty. Had they seen, even for themselves, the same duty and the same cause, doubtless they too, like him, would have moved on to danger and death: for it is a company of rare spirits who are here clustered by affinity around this holy apostle.

To Jerusalem, 15-17.

V. 14. And when he would not be persuaded-This was not obstinacy, but true Christian resolution. We should never be persuaded, either to do evil, or to omit doing any good which is in our power; saying, the will of the Lord be done-Which they were satisfied Paul knew.

Verse 14. The will of the Lord be done.] May that which is most for his glory take place! They plainly saw from the prophecy what would take place, if Paul went to Jerusalem; and every one saw that he had power to go, or not to go.

Verses 10-14. And as we tarried there many days — There being many disciples in that city, the fruit, as appears, of the ministry and miracles of Philip; there came from Judea a prophet named Agabus — Paul, and some part of his company, had become acquainted with this prophet some years before, at Antioch, where he foretold the famine which afterward happened in the days of Claudius Cesar, Acts 11:28. And when he was come unto us — Several of the disciples of Cesarea and Paul’s friends being together; he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet — In the manner that malefactors were wont to be bound when apprehended; and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost — By whose inspiration I now speak and act; So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle — Thus Agabus, like the prophets of old, accompanied his prediction with a significant prophetic symbol: and thus the nearer the event was, the more express and impressive were the predictions intended to prepare Paul for it. When we — Of Paul’s company; and they of that place — The brethren of Cesarea; heard these things — And believed if he went to Jerusalem the prediction would be fulfilled; we besought him not to go — In the most pressing manner, and with many tears of sincere and fervent affection, verse 13; being ignorant, it appears, that this and the former prediction were intended, not to hinder him from going to Jerusalem, but to make him the more courageous, by signifying to him beforehand what was to befall him, (Acts 20:22, 23,) and that he would not be put to death at Jerusalem. Then Paul — Sensibly touched with the concern which they expressed on his account, and yet resolutely bent upon following what he apprehended to be the call of duty, whatever sufferings it might expose him to; answered, What mean ye to weep and break my heart? — By these affectionate salutations? Observe, reader, the admirable mixture of tenderness and firmness of spirit manifested in this answer. I am ready, not to be bound only — And cast into prison; but also to die at Jerusalem — Or wherever else I may be called to it; for the name of the Lord Jesus — For he feared neither sufferings nor death in any form, if he might thereby defend the gospel, and promote the glory of its Author, which were the ends he had chiefly in view in all his labours and sufferings, and which he preferred to all other things whatever. And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased — It was not obstinacy in Paul that hindered his yielding to their persuasions, but true Christian resolution, not to relinquish what he believed to be the line of duty. We should never be persuaded either to do what we know to be evil, or to omit what we believe to be good, when it is in our power: saying, The will of the Lord be done — Which they were satisfied Paul knew.

Ver. 14. The will of the Lord be done. Paul was persuaded that good would result from the conflict he should have to maintain at Jerusalem; and thanking the prophet for his goodness, preferred the battle to a retreat. The prophecy however was not lost; it would confirm the church, and support them in submission to the divine will.

V. 15. We took up our carriages-Our baggage; which probably went by sea before. What they took with them now in particular was the alms they were carrying to Jerusalem, Acts 24:17.

Verse 15. Took up our carriages] aposkeuasamenoi; We made ourselves ready; packed up our things; got our baggage in order. This is what the text means.

Verses 15, 16. And after those days — Spent at Cesarea, how many there were is not said; we took up our carriages, and went — Or, their baggage, which probably went by sea before; containing, doubtless, the alms they were carrying to Jerusalem, Acts 24:17. And they had in their company some of the brethren of Cesarea, together with one Mnason, of Cyprus, an old disciple — Who lived in Jerusalem, and probably had been converted, either by Christ or the apostles, at the first opening of the gospel there. With him they were to lodge, which they were the more willing to do, as he was a person of established character and reputation in the church; and as, in those days, there were no inns for the accommodation of travellers, as with us.

15. Carriages—The things that were carried; their baggage, or luggage. Up to Jerusalem—Paul now goes “bound in spirit” from Cesarea up to Jerusalem; he will soon return, bound in Roman chains, from Jerusalem to Cesarea. His journey will best be illustrated, geographically, on his return. (See notes on Acts 23:31-33.)

V. 16. The disciples brought us to one Mnason, a Cyprian, an old disciple-He was a native of Cyprus, but an inhabitant of Jerusalem, and probably one of the first converts there.

Verse 16. And brought with them one Mnason, &c.] It is not very likely that they would bring a man with them with whom they were to lodge in Jerusalem; therefore, the text should perhaps be read as Bp. Patrick proposes: There went with us certain of the disciples of Cæsarea, bringing us to one Mnason, with whom we were to lodge. This is most likely, as the text will bear this translation. But it is possible that Mnason, formerly of Cyprus, now an inhabitant of Jerusalem, might have been down at Cæsarea, met the disciples, and invited them to lodge with him while they were at Jerusalem; and, having transacted his business at Cæsarea, might now accompany them to Jerusalem. His being an old disciple may either refer to his having been a very early convert, probably one of those on the day of pentecost, or to his being now an old man.

Verses 15, 16. And after those days — Spent at Cesarea, how many there were is not said; we took up our carriages, and went — Or, their baggage, which probably went by sea before; containing, doubtless, the alms they were carrying to Jerusalem, Acts 24:17. And they had in their company some of the brethren of Cesarea, together with one Mnason, of Cyprus, an old disciple — Who lived in Jerusalem, and probably had been converted, either by Christ or the apostles, at the first opening of the gospel there. With him they were to lodge, which they were the more willing to do, as he was a person of established character and reputation in the church; and as, in those days, there were no inns for the accommodation of travellers, as with us.

16. Brought with them—More correctly, brought us to Mnason, with whom, etc. These certain Cesarean disciples or Christians did not bring Mnason from Cesarea, but brought Paul and friends to Mnason’s house. An old disciple—An ancient Christian. He may have been one of Christ’s own hearers and followers, a probability not contradicted by his being of Cyprus.

The retinue with which Paul now entered Jerusalem was very large. Besides the original seven from Europe, (Acts 20:4,) there were Luke and a number of brethren from Cesarea. They came apparently as an embassy from the Church of the Gentiles, headed by the apostle of the Gentiles, to James, the representative of Christian Judaism at the capital of the religious world. It came bearing the money collections effected by Paul. (See note on Acts 19:21, and Acts 24:27.) We doubt not that the number was large in order to be impressive and weighty. Paul had a “sister’s son” now in Jerusalem, (Acts 23:16;) and there might have been a sister whose home was too small to entertain so large a body of guests.

Verses 17-19. The brethren received us gladly — The alms which they brought with them might be one, but certainly were not the only or the chief reason of the welcome reception they met with. The day following, Paul, and those who had attended him in his journey, waited on James — Commonly called James the Less, or the Lord’s brother, the only apostle then presiding over the churches in Judea. See notes on Acts 15:18. And all the elders were present — To receive so important a visitant, of whose arrival and errand they had doubtless been informed. And when he had saluted them — With cordial affection, and presented to them those that were of his company; he declared particularly what God had wrought among the Gentiles — Since he last left Jerusalem, informing them how many of the idolatrous Gentiles, in all the great cities of the Lesser Asia, Macedonia, and Greece, had embraced the gospel through his ministry; that he had planted churches in those cities, and that the gifts of the Holy Ghost had been communicated to many believers in every church; mentioning also his having visited most of them a second time, as well as taken a review of those in Cilicia, Pamphylia, Lystra, and other parts of Asia, with the plantation of which they had formerly been made acquainted, Acts 15:4. Moreover, in this account we may be sure he did not forget to mention the liberal contributions which the churches of the Gentiles through Asia and Europe had made for the poor of the saints in Judea, and which they had sent by his hands as a testimony of their gratitude for the knowledge of the true God, communicated to them by men of their nation. The collection, Paul, no doubt, now delivered, in presence of the messengers of the churches, to James and to the elders, to be by them distributed to the poor of the Jewish Christians, who by that expression of the good-will of the Gentile believers, ought to have been disposed to think favourably of them as their brethren.

17. Come to Jerusalem—The terminus of Paul’s third missionary tour, begun at Acts 18:23. where see notes. Brethren… gladly—It was doubtless cheering to Paul, saddened with the dark predictions of change and death at Jerusalem, to meet the face of smiling friends. These were the friends of his Cesarean friends, the progressive party of the Church, sympathizers with Christian Gentilism and its apostle.

HISTORIC REVIEW—Paul’s entrance into Jerusalem calls for a brief history of Judea from the death of Herod Agrippa, whose history is given in our note on Acts 12:1, and 21-25.

§ 1. Herod Agrippa left two daughters, who are mentioned in Acts, namely, Bernice and Drusilla, and an only son, AGRIPPA II. (See Herod’s family table in note on Matthew 2:1.) Bernice married her uncle Herod of Chalcis; and, on account of Agrippa’s extreme youth, the kingdom of his father was reduced to a province under procurators, subordinate to the Prefect of Syria resident at Antioch, while the treasury of the temple and the appointment of the high priests were intrusted to King Herod of Chalcis. The boy Agrippa was kept at the Roman court as the favourite of the Emperor Claudius.

CUSPIUS FADUS (A.D. 44) was the first and one of the wisest of the procurators, under whose administration the robber bands infesting the country were repressed and public peace secured.

TIBERIUS ALEXANDER, an apostate from Judaism to paganism, succeeded A.D.

46. During the four years of these two procurators occurred the great famine foretold by Agabus, (xi, 27.)

§ 2. VENTIDIUS CUMANUS, the third procurator, (A.D. 49,) ruled with a rashness that filled the province with commotion and bloodshed. Soon after his accession Herod, king of Chalcis, died, and young Agrippa II., though still remaining at Rome, succeeded to his crown, and to his control over the temple treasury and the high priesthood. Bernice, wife of this Herod and sister to Agrippa, returned to Rome; and such was the relation there between the brother and sister that the Roman poet Juvenal satirized them an incestuous barbarians.

During Cumanus’ rule some Galileans, in passing through Samaria to the Passover at Jerusalem, were assaulted by the Samaritans, and a number slain. The Jews forthwith appealed to Cumanus, who, bribed by the Samaritans, refused all justice. The indignant Jewish people resorted to arms, in which they were countenanced by the high priest, Ananias. Cumanus met a large body of the insurgents, and Roman discipline obtained an easy victory. Cumanus sent an exciting account of the rebellion to the Emperor Claudius; and it was in consequence of this that the frightened Claudius decreed the banishment of the Jews from Rome mentioned by Luke.

Meantime the Prefect of Syria, Quadratus, at Antioch, thought it due time for himself to interpose. Upon examination he found Cumanus guilty of bribery and Ananias guilty of rebellion, and sent them both to Rome, the latter in chains, for trial before the emperor. The eloquent Jewish Jonathan went to defend the case of his nation. And now there appears upon the stage a person with whom Paul came in important contact. § 3. Pallas and Felix (the latter subsequently procurator) were two Greek slaves imported by Antonia, mother of Claudius, probably from Arcadia. Their manners and talents won her confidence, and they both became favourite courtiers. When the emperor’s wife was executed, Pallas was so fortunate as to advocate the claims of Agrippina (Nero’s mother) to succeed her. Agrippina became empress, and Pallas and Felix were all-powerful. Through young King Agrippa a compact was formed, by which Jonathan should petition the Jewish nation that Felix might be appointed procurator, and Pallas and Felix, combined with Agrippa and Agrippina, should secure the Emperor’s decision in favour of Ananias and the Jews against Cumanus and the Samaritans. They gained the case, and it is probable that Jonathan was appointed to the high priesthood vacated by Ananias.

FELIX now became procurator, (A.D. 51,) and, though Tacitus tells us that “he ruled with the cruelty and lust of a despot and the meanness of a slave,” his administration, at first, had its merits. He destroyed the robber bands, and gave so much peace and prosperity to the country that Tertullus (see note on 24:2) was not wholly a false flatterer.

Two years after Felix’s appointment Agrippa II., now aged twenty-six, left Rome, having been transferred from Chalcis to the former tetrarchy of Philip, comprising Trachonitis, Gaulonitis, Batanea, Iturea, and Abilene. He fixed his court at Cesarea Philippi, (Matthew 16:13;) but he also had an ancestral palace at Jerusalem. Thither he made frequent visits, and at one of them heard the celebrated defence of Paul. Bernice accompanied him to Palestine with unimproved reputation. (See note on Acts 25:23.) She then in order to terminate the scandal, married Polemo, king of Cilicia, on condition that he would be circumcised, but afterward deserted him. Bernice some years later won the heart of the Emperor Titus, became the inmate of the palace, and would have become his wife but for the opposition of the Roman public, which compelled the emperor to dismiss her.

Drusilla, the other sister of Agrippa above mentioned, married Asisus, king of Emesa; but as both of these attractive ladies often accompanied Agrippa to Rome, Felix became enamoured with Drusilla. By the arts, it is said, of a second Simon Magus, (see note on Acts 8:24,) who was employed for the purpose by Felix, she was induced to desert the king and marry the procurator. Agrippa and Felix were, therefore, brothers-in-law. § 4. When Paul arrived at Rome, in A.D. 58, Felix had been six or seven years in office. Claudius had died, NERO was emperor, (see notes on Acts 9:31, and Acts 19:10,) and Agrippa was in royal favour. Jonathan, who had procured the appointment of Felix, had so often and so boldly presumed to rebuke him, that the procurator employed an assassin to murder him at Jerusalem with a poinard concealed under his vestments. From the Latin name of the poniard used, sica, the word sicarii became the term for a class of assassins who subsequently became fearfully multitudinous. They entered the most sacred places, and so skilfully committed their murders in the crowd that detection was impossible. The high priesthood, now vacated by the assassination of Jonathan, was for a long time vacant, and Ananias, as named in Acts xxii, was perhaps no genuine high priest. This lengthened vacancy arose from the fact that Agrippa, who had the appointing power, was absent, by Nero’s order, in a distant war.

§5. Shortly before Paul’s arrival occurred the overthrow of the Egyptian false prophet mentioned in Acts 21. Though a native of Egypt, he was probably a Jew lately landed in Judea. Announcing himself as the messenger of God to restore the kingdom of Israel, he drew four thousand followers into the Judean wilderness. His soldiers so increased that he took possession of the Mount of Olives with a force of thirty thousand to put down the Roman power. Felix bravely attacked him with horse and foot, aided by the Jerusalemites, who detested the impostor, slew four hundred insurgents, captured others, and routed the whole. The Egyptian escaped; but the whole city was in search of him, and Lysias was in hopes that he was caught in the person of Paul. (Acts 21:38.) V. PAUL IN COUNCIL WITH JAMES—ARREST—SENT TO CESAREA, Acts 21:18, TO Acts 23:35.

1. Paul, James, and Elders, 18-25.

V. 18. Paul went in with us-That it might appear we are all of one mind, to James-Commonly called the Lord's brother; the only apostle then presiding over the Churches in Judea.

Verse 18. Went in with us unto James] This was James the Less, son of Mary; and cousin to our Lord. He appears to have been bishop of the Church in Jerusalem, and perhaps the only apostle who continued in that city. We have already seen what a very important character he sustained in the council. See Acts 15:13.

All the elders were present.] It appears that they had been convened about matters of serious and important moment; and some think it was relative to Paul himself, of whose arrival they had heard, and well knew how many of those that believed were disaffected towards him.

Verses 17-19. The brethren received us gladly — The alms which they brought with them might be one, but certainly were not the only or the chief reason of the welcome reception they met with. The day following, Paul, and those who had attended him in his journey, waited on James — Commonly called James the Less, or the Lord’s brother, the only apostle then presiding over the churches in Judea. See notes on Acts 15:18. And all the elders were present — To receive so important a visitant, of whose arrival and errand they had doubtless been informed. And when he had saluted them — With cordial affection, and presented to them those that were of his company; he declared particularly what God had wrought among the Gentiles — Since he last left Jerusalem, informing them how many of the idolatrous Gentiles, in all the great cities of the Lesser Asia, Macedonia, and Greece, had embraced the gospel through his ministry; that he had planted churches in those cities, and that the gifts of the Holy Ghost had been communicated to many believers in every church; mentioning also his having visited most of them a second time, as well as taken a review of those in Cilicia, Pamphylia, Lystra, and other parts of Asia, with the plantation of which they had formerly been made acquainted, Acts 15:4. Moreover, in this account we may be sure he did not forget to mention the liberal contributions which the churches of the Gentiles through Asia and Europe had made for the poor of the saints in Judea, and which they had sent by his hands as a testimony of their gratitude for the knowledge of the true God, communicated to them by men of their nation. The collection, Paul, no doubt, now delivered, in presence of the messengers of the churches, to James and to the elders, to be by them distributed to the poor of the Jewish Christians, who by that expression of the good-will of the Gentile believers, ought to have been disposed to think favourably of them as their brethren.

Ver. 18, 19. The day following Paul went in with us to James, the only apostle now in the city, and he rehearsed to them what a gracious work the Lord had wrought in Greece, as he had before recited the great work in Asia minor: Acts 15:4, 5.

18. Went in with us—As principal with his followers. This is a formal and fully appointed assemblage on both sides. James—Our readers may trace him through our notes on Matthew 10:3; John 7:3; Acts 1:14, and 15 entire. A fuller portraiture of his remarkable character we hope to furnish introductory to the Epistle of James. No contemporaneous proof whatever exists that he was ever ordained to an official order above the eldership. If, however, there was any man living at this primitive day who could claim to be a pope, a universal pontiff and bishop of the Christian Church, it was this brother of Christ, this spiritual potentate to whom the embassy and the tribute are paid, this prince of the house of David in David’s ancient capital.

Elders were present—As Paul is attended by his full suite, so the presbytery of James receive them in full session. The two bodies, therefore, meet, headed by the two illustrious personages whom, perhaps, the unanimous vote of each of the two great sections of the Church, the Judaic and Gentilic, would have recognised as the representative men. The great question of the Church of that age is before them as stated in notes on Acts 10:1; 11:19; and 15:6.

Verse 19. Declared particularly, &c.] He no doubt had heard that they were prejudiced against him; and, by declaring what God had done by him among the Gentiles, showed how groundless this prejudice was: for, were he a bad man, or doing any thing that he should not do, God would not have made him such a singular instrument of so much good.

Verses 17-19. The brethren received us gladly — The alms which they brought with them might be one, but certainly were not the only or the chief reason of the welcome reception they met with. The day following, Paul, and those who had attended him in his journey, waited on James — Commonly called James the Less, or the Lord’s brother, the only apostle then presiding over the churches in Judea. See notes on Acts 15:18. And all the elders were present — To receive so important a visitant, of whose arrival and errand they had doubtless been informed. And when he had saluted them — With cordial affection, and presented to them those that were of his company; he declared particularly what God had wrought among the Gentiles — Since he last left Jerusalem, informing them how many of the idolatrous Gentiles, in all the great cities of the Lesser Asia, Macedonia, and Greece, had embraced the gospel through his ministry; that he had planted churches in those cities, and that the gifts of the Holy Ghost had been communicated to many believers in every church; mentioning also his having visited most of them a second time, as well as taken a review of those in Cilicia, Pamphylia, Lystra, and other parts of Asia, with the plantation of which they had formerly been made acquainted, Acts 15:4. Moreover, in this account we may be sure he did not forget to mention the liberal contributions which the churches of the Gentiles through Asia and Europe had made for the poor of the saints in Judea, and which they had sent by his hands as a testimony of their gratitude for the knowledge of the true God, communicated to them by men of their nation. The collection, Paul, no doubt, now delivered, in presence of the messengers of the churches, to James and to the elders, to be by them distributed to the poor of the Jewish Christians, who by that expression of the good-will of the Gentile believers, ought to have been disposed to think favourably of them as their brethren.

Ver. 18, 19. The day following Paul went in with us to James, the only apostle now in the city, and he rehearsed to them what a gracious work the Lord had wrought in Greece, as he had before recited the great work in Asia minor: Acts 15:4, 5.

19. He… saluted… declared—It was seven years before this that young Paul, as second to Barnabas, yet fresh in his unproved apostolate, had appeared at the Jerusalem Council to discuss the same question. He had now grown in years, in labours, and achievements, and in a widespread and singular renown. Where were the twelve? Save Peter, little is heard of their labours or names. But this Christian hero, now grown a veteran, comes, relating his own wonderful history, pointing to the monuments of his success, yet meekly bearing a peace-offering in his hand.

V. 20. They are all zealous for the law-For the whole Mosaic dispensation. How astonishing is this! Did none of the apostles, beside St. Paul, know that this dispensation was now abolished? And if they did both know and testify this, how came their hearers not to believe them?

Verse 20. How many thousands] posai muriadev; How many myriads, how many times 10,000. This intimates that there had been a most extraordinary and rapid work even among the Jews; but what is here spoken is not to be confined to the Jews of Jerusalem, but to all that had come from different parts of the land to be present at this pentecost. They are all zealous of the law] The Jewish economy was not yet destroyed; nor had God as yet signified that the whole of its observances were done away. He continued to tolerate that dispensation, which was to be in a certain measure in force till the destruction of Jerusalem; and from that period it was impossible for them to observe their own ritual. Thus God abolished the Mosaic dispensation, by rendering, in the course of his providence, the observance of it impossible.

Verses 20, 21. When they heard it, they glorified the Lord — The Lord Christ, for this wonderful demonstration of his presence and grace, with his servant; and said, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe — Many of these, doubtless, had come from different parts of the country, and some, probably, from remote provinces to Jerusalem, on occasion of this feast. Well might our Lord compare his religion to a grain of mustard-seed, seeing it had spread so extensively in so short a time. Its beginning was small, the instruments employed in propagating it apparently mean, the prejudices and obstinacy of the Jews very great, and yet, in about twenty-eight or thirty years after the ascension, the number of those who had embraced it, and were at one time in the same city, is stated at many thousands, or rather myriads, (muriadev,) or ten thousands. And they are all zealous for the law — For the whole Mosaic dispensation, as supposing it to be of perpetual obligation on all the Jewish nation, without excepting those that had embraced Christianity. And they are informed of thee — Through the prejudice and falsehood of thine enemies; that thou teachest all the Jews to forsake Moses, &c. — This, it appears, was a false charge brought against Paul. We have no proof that he taught the Jews to forbear circumcising their children, or to forsake the law of Moses. On the contrary, it seems, knowing that law to be the civil or political law of Judea, he always enjoined them to comply with its institutions, as the means of preserving their political rites and privileges, till Jerusalem should be destroyed, (which he foresaw it would be,) and their commonwealth dissolved; even as he enjoined the converted Gentiles to obey the good laws of the countries where they resided. What he really taught concerning the law of Moses was, that neither Jew nor Gentile could be saved by its institutions, which was the doctrine likewise of James, and of the elders, and of all the more intelligent members of the church at Jerusalem; as is implied in what James says, verse 25; as touching the Gentiles which believe, we have concluded that they observe no such thing. For if the Gentiles did not need to observe the law of Moses, obedience thereto could not be necessary to the salvation of any person whatever.

Ver. 20. They — said to him, thou seest, brother Saul, how many thousands of jews there are which believe. The Greek is, myriads, ten thousands. This no doubt is true, if Luke speaks here of believers in all the six provinces of Palestine; and they are all zealous of the law. This advice was good, and very prudent, to prevent dissension in the church, when they saw that Paul himself lived and walked as a pharisee in the order of his sect. — This advice was founded on the reports that Paul had abrogated the law; when, in fact, he had refused only to burden the myriads of gentile converts with circumcision and the ritual obligations. Moses nowhere makes that law binding on the gentile world.

20. Glorified the Lord—With James and the eldership the question is clear and settled. How can they presume to set a repressing foot upon this magnificent outspread of Christianity over the Gentile world? How many thousands—It was Pentecost, a Christian as well as a Jewish anniversary, and the assembled Christian attendants from Judea, Galilee, and Samaria were doubtless present. The Greek word for thousands is in the original myriads or tens of thousands. Yet its ordinary use is that of an indefinite, but large number. The word is so used in 1 Corinthians 4:15; 14:19. (See note on Luke 12:1.) Zealous—Greek, zealots. A word at that day appplied to the most fanatical section of Jews, whose rebellion brought about the destruction of Jerusalem. It is here applied to the ultra Jewish Christians, and, perhaps, somewhat disapprovingly. James and the elders fully recognised Paul. But the less informed masses suspected him, and we are now to have a final proposition for conciliating them.

V. 21. They have been informed concerning thee, that thou teachest the Jews-not to circumcise their children,

nor to walk after the customs-Of the Mosaic law. And so undoubtedly he did. And so he wrote to all the Churches in Galatia, among whom were many Jews. Yea, and James himself had long before assented to Peter, affirming before all the apostles and all the brethren, Acts 15:10, That this very law was a yoke which (said he)

neither our fathers nor we were able to bear-Amazing! that they did not know this! Or, that if they did, they did not openly testify it at all hazards, to every Jewish convert in Jerusalem!

Verse 21. Thou teachest-to forsake Moses, &c.] From any thing that appears in the course of this book to the contrary, this information was incorrect: we do not find Paul preaching thus to the Jews. It is true that, in his epistles, some of which had been written before this time, he showed that circumcision and uncircumcision were equally unavailable for the salvation, of the soul, and that by the deeds of the law no man could be justified; but he had not yet said to any Jew, forsake Moses, and do not circumcise your children. He told them that Jesus Christ had delivered them from the yoke of the law; but they had, as yet, liberty to wear that yoke, if they pleased. He had shown them that their ceremonies were useless but not destructive; that they were only dangerous when they depended on them for salvation. This is the sum of what Paul had taught on this subject.

Verses 20, 21. When they heard it, they glorified the Lord — The Lord Christ, for this wonderful demonstration of his presence and grace, with his servant; and said, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe — Many of these, doubtless, had come from different parts of the country, and some, probably, from remote provinces to Jerusalem, on occasion of this feast. Well might our Lord compare his religion to a grain of mustard-seed, seeing it had spread so extensively in so short a time. Its beginning was small, the instruments employed in propagating it apparently mean, the prejudices and obstinacy of the Jews very great, and yet, in about twenty-eight or thirty years after the ascension, the number of those who had embraced it, and were at one time in the same city, is stated at many thousands, or rather myriads, (muriadev,) or ten thousands. And they are all zealous for the law — For the whole Mosaic dispensation, as supposing it to be of perpetual obligation on all the Jewish nation, without excepting those that had embraced Christianity. And they are informed of thee — Through the prejudice and falsehood of thine enemies; that thou teachest all the Jews to forsake Moses, &c. — This, it appears, was a false charge brought against Paul. We have no proof that he taught the Jews to forbear circumcising their children, or to forsake the law of Moses. On the contrary, it seems, knowing that law to be the civil or political law of Judea, he always enjoined them to comply with its institutions, as the means of preserving their political rites and privileges, till Jerusalem should be destroyed, (which he foresaw it would be,) and their commonwealth dissolved; even as he enjoined the converted Gentiles to obey the good laws of the countries where they resided. What he really taught concerning the law of Moses was, that neither Jew nor Gentile could be saved by its institutions, which was the doctrine likewise of James, and of the elders, and of all the more intelligent members of the church at Jerusalem; as is implied in what James says, verse 25; as touching the Gentiles which believe, we have concluded that they observe no such thing. For if the Gentiles did not need to observe the law of Moses, obedience thereto could not be necessary to the salvation of any person whatever.

V. 22. What is it therefore-What is to be done?

The multitude must needs come together-They will certainly gather together in a tumultuous manner, unless they be some way pacified.

Verse 22. The multitude must needs come together] Whether this refers to a regular convocation of the Church, or to a tumult that would infallibly take place when it was heard that the apostle was come, we cannot pretend to say; but it is evident that James and the elders wished some prudent steps to be taken, in order to prevent an evil that they had too much reason to fear.

Verses 22-25. What is it therefore — Which may not be apprehended on such an occasion? Or, what is to be done? the multitude must needs come together — They will certainly be gathered together in a tumultuous manner, unless they be some way pacified. For they will hear that thou art come — And will immediately form their judgment of the truth or falsehood of the information they have received, by what they discover in thy present behaviour, of regard or disregard to the Mosaic ceremonies. Do therefore this, &c. — To show them, how far soever thou art from imposing the Mosaic ceremonies on any Jews or Gentiles, as necessary to salvation, or teaching men to seek justification by them, yet thou dost not think there is any intrinsic evil in them, nor teach it as a matter of duty, that believers in Christ, of Jewish extraction, should disuse and reject them; do this that we say to thee — As the best expedient we can think of, for immediately taking off any ill impressions which might otherwise be apprehended. We have four men — Converts to the gospel; which have a vow on them — Of Nazariteship; take them — As thy companions and partners; and purify thyself with them — According to the Jewish ritual; and be at the necessary charges with, (or, rather, for,) them, that they may shave their heads — And offer the sacrifices which the law has appointed in that case. These sacrifices are specified Numbers 6:13, &c., by which it appears, that the charges of these four would be the price of eight lambs and four rams, besides oil, flour, &c., and it was not uncommon among the Jews; for the rich to assist those Nazarites that were poor in bearing these charges: and all may know — Namely, all that come up to the temple, and see thee in these circumstances; that those things whereof they were informed are nothing — Have no reality or truth in them; but that — Instead of forbidding the observance of these ceremonies to others; thou thyself walkest orderly, and keepest the law — Avoiding all unnecessary occasion of offence. “It is evident from hence, that whatever might have passed between Paul and James on this head in private, (Galatians 2:2,) James and the brethren thought it most regular and convenient, that the Jewish ritual should still be observed by those of the circumcision who believed in Christ; and considering what tribulation the church at Jerusalem must otherwise have been exposed to from the sanhedrim, who, no doubt, would have prosecuted them to the utmost as apostates, and also how soon Providence intended to render the practice of it impossible, and to break the whole power of the Jews, by the destruction of the temple, and city, and nation; it was certainly the most orderly and prudent conduct to conform to it, though it were looked upon by those that understood the matter fully, (which it was not necessary that all should,) as antiquated and ready to vanish away, Hebrews 8:13.” Locke and Doddridge.

22. What—What is, therefore, the true course before us? The multitude… together—This clause is, without due reason, rejected by some critics from the text. The intelligence of Paul’s arrival, it means, will collect together a body of the believers inquisitive about Paul, and discussing adversely his views and character.

V. 23. Therefore-To obviate their prejudice against thee: do this that we say to thee-Doubtless they meant this advice well: but could Paul follow it in godly sincerity? Was not the yielding so far to the judgment of others too great a deference to be paid to any mere men?

Verse 23. We have four men which have a vow] From the shaving of the head, mentioned immediately after, it is evident that the four men in question were under the vow of Nazariteship; and that the days of their vow were nearly at an end, as they were about to shave their heads; for, during the time of the Nazariteship, the hair was permitted to grow, and only shaven off at the termination of the vow. Among the Jews, it was common to make vows to God on extraordinary occasions; and that of the Nazarite appears to have been one of the most common; and it was permitted by their law for any person to perform this vow by proxy. See the law produced in my note, see Clarke on “Numbers 6:21”. “It was also customary for the richer sort to bestow their charity on the poorer sort for this purpose; for Josephus, Ant. lib. xix. cap. 6, sec. 1, observes that Agrippa, on his being advanced from a prison to a throne, by the Emperor Claudius, came to Jerusalem; and there, among other instances of his religious thankfulness shown in the temple, nazaraiwn xurasqai dietaxe mala sucnouv, he ordered very many Nazarites to be shaven, he furnishing them with money for the expenses of that, and of the sacrifices necessarily attending it.” See Bp. Pearce.

Verses 22-25. What is it therefore — Which may not be apprehended on such an occasion? Or, what is to be done? the multitude must needs come together — They will certainly be gathered together in a tumultuous manner, unless they be some way pacified. For they will hear that thou art come — And will immediately form their judgment of the truth or falsehood of the information they have received, by what they discover in thy present behaviour, of regard or disregard to the Mosaic ceremonies. Do therefore this, &c. — To show them, how far soever thou art from imposing the Mosaic ceremonies on any Jews or Gentiles, as necessary to salvation, or teaching men to seek justification by them, yet thou dost not think there is any intrinsic evil in them, nor teach it as a matter of duty, that believers in Christ, of Jewish extraction, should disuse and reject them; do this that we say to thee — As the best expedient we can think of, for immediately taking off any ill impressions which might otherwise be apprehended. We have four men — Converts to the gospel; which have a vow on them — Of Nazariteship; take them — As thy companions and partners; and purify thyself with them — According to the Jewish ritual; and be at the necessary charges with, (or, rather, for,) them, that they may shave their heads — And offer the sacrifices which the law has appointed in that case. These sacrifices are specified Numbers 6:13, &c., by which it appears, that the charges of these four would be the price of eight lambs and four rams, besides oil, flour, &c., and it was not uncommon among the Jews; for the rich to assist those Nazarites that were poor in bearing these charges: and all may know — Namely, all that come up to the temple, and see thee in these circumstances; that those things whereof they were informed are nothing — Have no reality or truth in them; but that — Instead of forbidding the observance of these ceremonies to others; thou thyself walkest orderly, and keepest the law — Avoiding all unnecessary occasion of offence. “It is evident from hence, that whatever might have passed between Paul and James on this head in private, (Galatians 2:2,) James and the brethren thought it most regular and convenient, that the Jewish ritual should still be observed by those of the circumcision who believed in Christ; and considering what tribulation the church at Jerusalem must otherwise have been exposed to from the sanhedrim, who, no doubt, would have prosecuted them to the utmost as apostates, and also how soon Providence intended to render the practice of it impossible, and to break the whole power of the Jews, by the destruction of the temple, and city, and nation; it was certainly the most orderly and prudent conduct to conform to it, though it were looked upon by those that understood the matter fully, (which it was not necessary that all should,) as antiquated and ready to vanish away, Hebrews 8:13.” Locke and Doddridge.

Ver. 23. We have four men which have a vow. Paul was advised, as coming from gentile nations, to purify himself with them. This would not only preserve peace with the church, but would appear better before the jewish council.

23. We say—It is the body of the elders who give this advice, James doubtless concurring, and being perhaps spokesman. We have—This implies that the four Nazarites belong to the Christian body.

V. 24. And all will know-that thou thyself walkest orderly, keeping the law-Ought he not, without any reverence to man, where the truth of God was so deeply concerned, to have answered plainly, I do not keep the Mosaic law; neither need any of you. Yea, Peter doth not keep the law. And God himself expressly commanded him not to keep it; ordering him to go in to men uncircumcised, and to eat with them, Acts 11:3, which the law utterly forbids.

Verse 24. Be at charges with them] Or, rather, be at charges for them: help them to bear the expense of that vow. Eight lambs, four rams, besides oil, flour, &c., were the expenses on this occasion. See the notes on Numbers 6:1-21.

Thou-walkest orderly and keepest the law.] Perhaps this advice meant no more than, Show them, by such means as are now in thy power, that thou art not an enemy to Moses; that thou dost still consider the law to be holy, and the commandment holy, just, and good. Paul did so, and bore the expenses of those who, from a scruple of conscience, had made a vow, and perhaps were not well able to bear the expense attending it. Had they done this in order to acquire justification through the law, Paul could not have assisted them in any measure with a clear conscience; but, as he did assist them, it is a proof that they had not taken this vow on them for this purpose. Indeed, vows rather referred to a sense of obligation, and the gratitude due to God for mercies already received, than to the procuring of future favours of any kind. Besides, God had not yet fully shown that the law was abolished, as has already been remarked: he tolerated it till the time that the iniquity of the Jews was filled up; and then, by the destruction of Jerusalem, he swept every rite and ceremony of the Jewish law away, with the besom of destruction.

Verses 22-25. What is it therefore — Which may not be apprehended on such an occasion? Or, what is to be done? the multitude must needs come together — They will certainly be gathered together in a tumultuous manner, unless they be some way pacified. For they will hear that thou art come — And will immediately form their judgment of the truth or falsehood of the information they have received, by what they discover in thy present behaviour, of regard or disregard to the Mosaic ceremonies. Do therefore this, &c. — To show them, how far soever thou art from imposing the Mosaic ceremonies on any Jews or Gentiles, as necessary to salvation, or teaching men to seek justification by them, yet thou dost not think there is any intrinsic evil in them, nor teach it as a matter of duty, that believers in Christ, of Jewish extraction, should disuse and reject them; do this that we say to thee — As the best expedient we can think of, for immediately taking off any ill impressions which might otherwise be apprehended. We have four men — Converts to the gospel; which have a vow on them — Of Nazariteship; take them — As thy companions and partners; and purify thyself with them — According to the Jewish ritual; and be at the necessary charges with, (or, rather, for,) them, that they may shave their heads — And offer the sacrifices which the law has appointed in that case. These sacrifices are specified Numbers 6:13, &c., by which it appears, that the charges of these four would be the price of eight lambs and four rams, besides oil, flour, &c., and it was not uncommon among the Jews; for the rich to assist those Nazarites that were poor in bearing these charges: and all may know — Namely, all that come up to the temple, and see thee in these circumstances; that those things whereof they were informed are nothing — Have no reality or truth in them; but that — Instead of forbidding the observance of these ceremonies to others; thou thyself walkest orderly, and keepest the law — Avoiding all unnecessary occasion of offence. “It is evident from hence, that whatever might have passed between Paul and James on this head in private, (Galatians 2:2,) James and the brethren thought it most regular and convenient, that the Jewish ritual should still be observed by those of the circumcision who believed in Christ; and considering what tribulation the church at Jerusalem must otherwise have been exposed to from the sanhedrim, who, no doubt, would have prosecuted them to the utmost as apostates, and also how soon Providence intended to render the practice of it impossible, and to break the whole power of the Jews, by the destruction of the temple, and city, and nation; it was certainly the most orderly and prudent conduct to conform to it, though it were looked upon by those that understood the matter fully, (which it was not necessary that all should,) as antiquated and ready to vanish away, Hebrews 8:13.” Locke and Doddridge.

24. Them take—The elders here advise Paul to adopt the expedient of Herod Agrippa, who had not long since, in order to give a public attestation of his Judaism, when he came to Jerusalem from Rome, laid out a considerable sum in defraying the expense of absolving several Nazarites of their vow. Paul had himself lately finished a vow at Cenchrea by the cutting of his hair, but probably without any Jewish ablutions or expressive sacrifices. (For the vow of a Nazarite, see Numbers 6:1-21.) Shave— Or shear or cut the hair. The wearing long hair was a part of the vow; the cutting the hair was its termination. Paul consented to this proposal, with the hope that it would give him the very object of his visit, access to the ears of these Judaic Christians fully to explain his course, and bring them also to the true position. How glorious a prospect did it open of so bringing the Christianity of Jerusalem into harmony with his own expanded views, and thus put a stop at the fountain head to the Judaizing schism by which he was perpetually assailed and Christianity endangered! What a blessed harmony would be attained! But for the interference, as we soon shall see, of the Antichristian Jews, this would have doubtless been the result.

Verse 25. As touching the Gentiles] See the notes on Acts 15:1-21, and the additional observations at the end of that chapter. See Clarke “Acts 15:41”

Verses 22-25. What is it therefore — Which may not be apprehended on such an occasion? Or, what is to be done? the multitude must needs come together — They will certainly be gathered together in a tumultuous manner, unless they be some way pacified. For they will hear that thou art come — And will immediately form their judgment of the truth or falsehood of the information they have received, by what they discover in thy present behaviour, of regard or disregard to the Mosaic ceremonies. Do therefore this, &c. — To show them, how far soever thou art from imposing the Mosaic ceremonies on any Jews or Gentiles, as necessary to salvation, or teaching men to seek justification by them, yet thou dost not think there is any intrinsic evil in them, nor teach it as a matter of duty, that believers in Christ, of Jewish extraction, should disuse and reject them; do this that we say to thee — As the best expedient we can think of, for immediately taking off any ill impressions which might otherwise be apprehended. We have four men — Converts to the gospel; which have a vow on them — Of Nazariteship; take them — As thy companions and partners; and purify thyself with them — According to the Jewish ritual; and be at the necessary charges with, (or, rather, for,) them, that they may shave their heads — And offer the sacrifices which the law has appointed in that case. These sacrifices are specified Numbers 6:13, &c., by which it appears, that the charges of these four would be the price of eight lambs and four rams, besides oil, flour, &c., and it was not uncommon among the Jews; for the rich to assist those Nazarites that were poor in bearing these charges: and all may know — Namely, all that come up to the temple, and see thee in these circumstances; that those things whereof they were informed are nothing — Have no reality or truth in them; but that — Instead of forbidding the observance of these ceremonies to others; thou thyself walkest orderly, and keepest the law — Avoiding all unnecessary occasion of offence. “It is evident from hence, that whatever might have passed between Paul and James on this head in private, (Galatians 2:2,) James and the brethren thought it most regular and convenient, that the Jewish ritual should still be observed by those of the circumcision who believed in Christ; and considering what tribulation the church at Jerusalem must otherwise have been exposed to from the sanhedrim, who, no doubt, would have prosecuted them to the utmost as apostates, and also how soon Providence intended to render the practice of it impossible, and to break the whole power of the Jews, by the destruction of the temple, and city, and nation; it was certainly the most orderly and prudent conduct to conform to it, though it were looked upon by those that understood the matter fully, (which it was not necessary that all should,) as antiquated and ready to vanish away, Hebrews 8:13.” Locke and Doddridge.

25. We have written—The elders here refer to the decree of the Jerusalem Council, (Acts 15:28, 29,) in order to show that not even this compliance would be necessary for Paul’s Gentile attendants, or for any other Gentiles.

2. Paul’s Arrest—Rescue by Romans, 26-40.

V. 26. Then Paul took the men-Yielding his own judgment to their advice, which seemed to flow not out of spiritual but carnal wisdom; seeming to be what he really was not: making as if he believed the law still in force.

Declaring-Giving notice to the priests in waiting, that he designed to accomplish the days of purification, till all the sacrifice should be offered, as the Mosaic law required, Numbers 6:13.

Verse 26. To signify the accomplishment, &c.] diaggellwn, Declaring the accomplishment, &c. As this declaration was made to the priest, the sense of the passage is the following, if we suppose Paul to have made an offering for himself, as well as the four men: “The next day, Paul, taking the four men, began to purify, set himself apart, or consecrate himself with them; entering into the temple, he publicly declared to the priests that he would observe the separation of a Nazarite, and continue it for seven days, at the end of which he would bring an offering for himself and the other four men, according to what the law prescribed in that case.” But it is likely that Paul made no offering for himself, but was merely at the expense of theirs. However we may consider this subject, it is exceedingly difficult to account for the conduct of James and the elders, and of Paul on this occasion. There seems to have been something in this transaction which we do not fully understand. See Clarke’s note on “Numbers 6:21”. “Besides their typical and religious use, sacrifices were also intended for the support of the state and civil government; inasmuch as the ministers of state were chiefly maintained by them: so that the allotments to the priests out of the sacrifices may be considered as designed, like the civil-list money in other nations, for the immediate support of the crown and the officers of state. On these principles we are able to account for Paul’s sacrificing, as we are informed he did, after the commencement of the Christian dispensation; an action which has been severely censured by some as the greatest error of his life: hereby he not only gave, say they, too much countenance to the Jews in their superstitious adherence to the law of Moses, after it was abrogated by Christ, but his offering these typical sacrifices, after the antitype of them was accomplished in the sacrifice of Christ, was a virtual denial of Christ, and of the virtue of his sacrifice, which superseded all others. Paul’s long trouble, which began immediately after this affair, some have looked upon as a judgment of God upon him for this great offense. But, if this action were really so criminal as some suppose, one cannot enough wonder that so good and so wise a man as Paul was should be guilty of it; and that the Apostle James and the other Christian elders should all advise him to it, Acts 21:18, 23, 24. It is likewise strange that we find no censure ever passed on this action by any of the sacred writers; not even by Paul himself, who appears so ready, on other occasions, to acknowledge and humble himself for his errors and failings: on the contrary he reflects with comfort on his having complied with the customs of the Jews in order to remove their prejudices against him and his ministry, and against the Gospel which he preached, and to win them over to embrace it: ‘Unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; and this I do for the Gospel’s sake.’ 1 Corinthians 9:20, 23.

“To elucidate this point; we are to consider that there was a political as well as a typical use of sacrifices; and that, though the typical ceased upon the sacrifice of Christ, yet the political continued till God in his providence broke up the Jewish state and polity about forty years after our Saviour’s death. Till that time it was not merely lawful, but matter of duty, for good subjects to pay the dues which were appointed by law for the support of the government and magistracy. Now, of this kind was the sacrifice which Paul offered; and in this view they were paid by Christians dwelling in Judea, as well as by those who still adhered to the Jewish religion. So that, upon the whole, this action, for which Paul has been so much censured, probably amounts to nothing more than paying the tribute due to the magistrate by law, which the apostle enjoins upon all other Christians in all other nations, Romans 13:6.” -Jennings’ Jewish Antiquities, p. 17.

Verses 26-28. Then Paul took the men — Agreeably to the advice which he had received from James and the elders. And the next day, purifying himself with them — According to the rites of the law; entered into the temple, to signify — To the priest; the accomplishment — That is, their resolution to accomplish the seven days of purification — Till all the sacrifices should be offered which the Mosaic law required. And when the seven days of purification were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia — Where Paul had preached so long, and who were especially enraged against him; when they saw him in the temple — Utterly disregarding this proof of his respect for the law; stirred up all the people — Greek, suneceon panta ton oclon; threw into confusion the whole multitude; and laid hands on him — In a violent and outrageous manner; crying out — To all that were present; Men of Israel, help — If ye be indeed men of Israel, that have a concern for your religion and your country, now is your time to show it by helping to seize an enemy to both. This is the man that teacheth all men everywhere — In all parts of Asia and Greece; against the people — By telling the Jews that they ought not to circumcise their children, and by assuring the Gentiles that they may be saved without becoming proselytes to Judaism; and the law and this place — By predicting that both shall be destroyed. Every thing contrary to the law would be justly interpreted as contrary to the temple, which was so evidently supported by a regard to it: but perhaps Paul might have declared that the time of the destruction of the temple was approaching, a declaration which, we know, was charged on Stephen as a great crime, Acts 6:14: and brought Greeks also into the temple — Any foreigner might worship in that part which was called the court of the Gentiles; but these zealots, upon an uncertain conjecture and rumour, and without any proof, imagined Paul had brought some uncircumcised Greeks into the inner court, appropriated to the people of Israel, which no foreigner might enter, as was notified by the Greek and Latin inscriptions on several of the pillars which stood in the wall that separated it: Mh dei allofulon parienai, No foreigner must enter here. It must be observed, however, that a proselyte who by his circumcision had declared his submission to, and acceptance of the whole Jewish religion, was no longer looked on as a foreigner, but as one naturalized, and so a fellow-citizen, to which there seems to be an allusion Ephesians 2:19.

26. Then Paul—One of the most momentous turning points of Paul’s life has now arrived. He is to become for years an apostle in bonds. He now marches as a victim to the scene of his arrest.

Paul enters, doubtless through Solomon’s portico, on the east, into the court of the Gentiles; and, within finds himself walking on a beautiful pavement of variegated stone. He next passes, ascending, as up a terrace, through the Beautiful Gate into the court of the women, where are rooms for the ceremony of release from a Nazarite vow. Here Paul, with his four, is to signify, or announce to the priests there waiting, the accomplishment (now to be accomplished in a period of seven days) of the purification.

V. 27. And when the seven days were about to be accomplished-When after giving notice to the priests, they were entering upon the accomplishment of those days. It was toward the beginning of them that Paul was seized.

The Jews that were from Asia-Some of those Jews who came from Asia to the feast.

Verse 27. The Jews which were of Asia] These pursued him with the most deliberate and persevering malice in every place; and it appears that it was through them that the false reports were sent to and circulated through Jerusalem.

Verses 26-28. Then Paul took the men — Agreeably to the advice which he had received from James and the elders. And the next day, purifying himself with them — According to the rites of the law; entered into the temple, to signify — To the priest; the accomplishment — That is, their resolution to accomplish the seven days of purification — Till all the sacrifices should be offered which the Mosaic law required. And when the seven days of purification were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia — Where Paul had preached so long, and who were especially enraged against him; when they saw him in the temple — Utterly disregarding this proof of his respect for the law; stirred up all the people — Greek, suneceon panta ton oclon; threw into confusion the whole multitude; and laid hands on him — In a violent and outrageous manner; crying out — To all that were present; Men of Israel, help — If ye be indeed men of Israel, that have a concern for your religion and your country, now is your time to show it by helping to seize an enemy to both. This is the man that teacheth all men everywhere — In all parts of Asia and Greece; against the people — By telling the Jews that they ought not to circumcise their children, and by assuring the Gentiles that they may be saved without becoming proselytes to Judaism; and the law and this place — By predicting that both shall be destroyed. Every thing contrary to the law would be justly interpreted as contrary to the temple, which was so evidently supported by a regard to it: but perhaps Paul might have declared that the time of the destruction of the temple was approaching, a declaration which, we know, was charged on Stephen as a great crime, Acts 6:14: and brought Greeks also into the temple — Any foreigner might worship in that part which was called the court of the Gentiles; but these zealots, upon an uncertain conjecture and rumour, and without any proof, imagined Paul had brought some uncircumcised Greeks into the inner court, appropriated to the people of Israel, which no foreigner might enter, as was notified by the Greek and Latin inscriptions on several of the pillars which stood in the wall that separated it: Mh dei allofulon parienai, No foreigner must enter here. It must be observed, however, that a proselyte who by his circumcision had declared his submission to, and acceptance of the whole Jewish religion, was no longer looked on as a foreigner, but as one naturalized, and so a fellow-citizen, to which there seems to be an allusion Ephesians 2:19.

27. The seven days—During this period Paul either stays in the temple or daily visits it; probably the latter, as he in seen meantime walking the streets with Trophimus, verse 29. Of Asia—And especially of Ephesus, (verse 29,) where for three years Paul had thinned the synagogue, and depreciated the commerce of the great temple. Gentiles had endeavoured then to destroy Paul in their theatre; Jews have him now in the temple.

V. 28. Against the people-The Jewish nation; and the law-Of Moses;

and this place-The temple.

Yea, and hath even brought Greeks into the temple-They might come into the outer court. But they imagined Paul had brought them into the inner temple, and had thereby polluted it.

Verse 28. This is the man that teacheth, &c.] As much as if they had said: This is the man concerning whom we wrote to you; who in every place endeavours to prejudice the Gentiles against the Jews, against the Mosaic law, and against the temple and its services.

Brought Greeks also into the temple] This was a most deliberate and malicious untruth: Paul could accomplish no purpose by bringing any Greek or Gentile into the temple; and their having seen Trophimus, an Ephesian, with him, in the city only, was no ground on which to raise a slander that must so materially affect both their lives. Josephus informs us, War, lib. v. cap. 5, sec. 2, that on the wall which separated the court of the Gentiles from that of the Israelites was an inscription in Greek and Latin letters, which stated that no stranger was permitted to come within the holy place on pain of death. With such a prohibition as this before his eyes, was it likely that St. Paul would enter into the temple in company with an uncircumcised Greek? The calumny refutes itself.

Verses 26-28. Then Paul took the men — Agreeably to the advice which he had received from James and the elders. And the next day, purifying himself with them — According to the rites of the law; entered into the temple, to signify — To the priest; the accomplishment — That is, their resolution to accomplish the seven days of purification — Till all the sacrifices should be offered which the Mosaic law required. And when the seven days of purification were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia — Where Paul had preached so long, and who were especially enraged against him; when they saw him in the temple — Utterly disregarding this proof of his respect for the law; stirred up all the people — Greek, suneceon panta ton oclon; threw into confusion the whole multitude; and laid hands on him — In a violent and outrageous manner; crying out — To all that were present; Men of Israel, help — If ye be indeed men of Israel, that have a concern for your religion and your country, now is your time to show it by helping to seize an enemy to both. This is the man that teacheth all men everywhere — In all parts of Asia and Greece; against the people — By telling the Jews that they ought not to circumcise their children, and by assuring the Gentiles that they may be saved without becoming proselytes to Judaism; and the law and this place — By predicting that both shall be destroyed. Every thing contrary to the law would be justly interpreted as contrary to the temple, which was so evidently supported by a regard to it: but perhaps Paul might have declared that the time of the destruction of the temple was approaching, a declaration which, we know, was charged on Stephen as a great crime, Acts 6:14: and brought Greeks also into the temple — Any foreigner might worship in that part which was called the court of the Gentiles; but these zealots, upon an uncertain conjecture and rumour, and without any proof, imagined Paul had brought some uncircumcised Greeks into the inner court, appropriated to the people of Israel, which no foreigner might enter, as was notified by the Greek and Latin inscriptions on several of the pillars which stood in the wall that separated it: Mh dei allofulon parienai, No foreigner must enter here. It must be observed, however, that a proselyte who by his circumcision had declared his submission to, and acceptance of the whole Jewish religion, was no longer looked on as a foreigner, but as one naturalized, and so a fellow-citizen, to which there seems to be an allusion Ephesians 2:19.

Ver. 28. Men of Israel, help. This is the man that teaches everywhere against the people of the Hebrew nation, against the law of Moses, and against this place, the holy temple. We now have him in our power; let his life pay for his crimes. The tumult spread to the city, and the people crowded the outer court of the gentiles. The men who gave the alarm were jewish teachers of the law; and coming from the province of Asia, they had seen the success which had attended his labours at Ephesus.

28. Men of Israel—A popular patriotic war cry. Brought Greeks—(See note on John 2:14.) To the inscription upon the wall of this court Titus, the Roman destroyer of Jerusalem, once made a most indignant reference: Have ye not, O ye accursed, by our permission put up this partition wall before your sanctuary? Have not you been allowed to put up the pillars thereto belonging at due distances, and on it to engrave in Greek, and in your own letters, this prohibition, that no foreigner should go beyond that wall? Have we not given you leave to kill such as go beyond it, though he were a Roman?”—Wars, 4:2, 4.

29. Trophimus—(See note on Acts 20:4.)

V. 30. And immediately the gates were shut-Both to prevent any farther violation of the temple; and to prevent Paul's taking sanctuary at the horns of the altar.

Verse 30. They took Paul] They tumultuously seized on him; and drew him out of the temple, out of the court of the Israelites, where he was worshipping: and-the doors were shut; the doors of the court of the Gentiles, probably to prevent Paul from getting any succour from his friends in the city; for their whole proceedings show that they purposed to murder him: they brought him out of the court of the Israelites, that court being peculiarly holy, that it might not be defiled by his blood; and they shut the court of the Gentiles, that they might have the opportunity unmolested of killing him in that place; for the court of the Gentiles was reckoned to be less holy than than that of the Israelites.

Verse 30. And all the city was moved — Was in an uproar. Although the people had little holiness themselves, yet they had a great veneration for the temple; and when they heard of its being polluted, they were up in arms presently, being determined to stand by it with their lives and fortunes. And the people ran together — In a tumultuous manner; and the concourse was the greater because of the prodigious number of Jews from foreign countries, who had come to the feast of pentecost. The Jews, on this occasion, showed just such zeal for God’s temple as the Ephesians did for that of Diana, when Paul was represented as an enemy to it. But God does not reckon himself at all honoured by any zeal for him which transports people into such irregularities, and causes them, while they pretend to be concerned for his honour and service, to act in such an unreasonable, brutish, and barbarous manner. And they took Paul, and drew him out of the temple — That is, out of the court of Israel, into that of the Gentiles, as one who had polluted the temple. And forthwith the doors were shut — Both to prevent any further violation of the temple, and to prevent Paul’s taking sanctuary at the horns of the altar.

Ver. 30. They took Paul, and drew him out of the temple, lest his blood should defile the holy place. Claudius Lysias, the chief captain, the commandant, ciliarcov, the commander of a thousand men, the military tribune, ran down with centurions and soldiers to rescue Paul, mistaking or supposing him to be the seditious Egyptian, who about two years before had escaped the hand of justice. This commandant resided in the palace, now converted into a castle.

A word or two about this castle may tend to elucidate these events. John Hyrcanus succeeded his father Simon, as prince and highpriest of the jews, about one hundred and thirty years before the birth of Christ, and reigned as prince and priest for twenty nine years. He built this castle on the northern mount of the temple, with four towers, as the palace of the Asmonean princes. The staircase descended from the palace into the court of the gentiles. Herod the first converted it into a castle, and called it Antonia, in gratitude to Mark Antony. The Roman commanders, with their guards, occupied at that time the castle, because it commanded the temple and the city. See Josephus: Bell. Jud. 13.

30. All… moved—That four Gentiles, led by a noted renegade, should be committing the capital crime of entering the holy precinct, was enough to startle all Jerusalem. A general rush is made at the outcry, and a mob pours into the immense court to seize and destroy the profane intruders. Drew him out of the temple—From the women’s court into the court of the Gentiles. Doors were shut—The folds of the Gate Beautiful, being of solid Corinthian brass, opening from the women’s court to the court of the Gentiles. Of this gate Josephus relates the following supernatural event as occurring shortly before the destruction of the city: “Moreover, the eastern gate of the inner, (court of the temple,) which was of brass, and vastly heavy, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty men, and which rested upon a basis armed with iron, and had bolts fastened very deep into the firm floor, which was there made of one entire stone, was seen to be opened of its own accord about the sixth hour of the night. Now those that kept watch in the temple came hereupon running to the captain of the temple, and told him of it, who then came up thither, and not without great difficulty was able to shut the gate again. This also appeared to the vulgar to be a very happy prodigy as if God did thereby open them the gate of happiness. But the men of learning understood it: that the security of their holy house was dissolved of its own accord, and that the gate was opened for the advantage of their enemies.” The gate is now witnessing one sin, or rather one part of the great sin for which that predicted ruin was sent, the rejection of the Gospel of Christ. The door was closed at this moment to shut out the tumult and prevent bloodshed in the holier place. (See note on Acts 4:1, 2.)

V. 31. And as they went about to kill him-It was a rule among the Jews, that any uncircumcised person who came into the inner temple, might be stoned without farther process. And they seemed to think Paul, who brought such in thither, deserved no better treatment.

Word came to the tribune-A cohort or detachment of soldiers, belonging to the Roman legion, which lodged in the adjacent castle of Antonia, were stationed on feast days near the temple, to prevent disorders. It is evident, Lysias himself was not present, when the tumult began. Probably he was the oldest Roman tribune (or colonel) then at Jerusalem. And as such he was the commanding officer of the legion quartered at the castle.

Verse 31. The chief captain of the band] The Roman tribune, who had a troop of soldiers under him, which lodged in general in the castle of Antonia, which was built at the angle where the northern and western porticoes of the outer court of the temple were joined together. This castle was built by John Hyrcanus, high priest of the Jews: it was at first called Baris, and was the royal residence of the Asmoneans, as long as they reigned in Jerusalem. It was beautified by Herod the Great, and called Antonia, in honour of his friend Mark Antony. By this castle the temple was commanded, as it stood on higher ground. Josephus describes this castle, War, b. v. chap. 5, sec. 8, “as having four towers, from one of which the whole temple was overlooked; and that one of the towers was joined to the porticoes of the temple, and had a double pair of stairs from it, by which soldiers in the garrison were used to come down with their arms to the porticoes, on the festival days, to keep the people quiet; for, as the temple was a guard to the city, so this castle was a guard to the temple.” “It seems, therefore,” says Bp. Pearce, “to me very plain, that the place where the Jews were about to kill Paul was the court of the Gentiles, the porticoes being there; and that the chief captain came down there to his rescue.” The name of this chief captain, or tribune, was Claudius Lysias, as we learn from Acts 23:26.

Verses 31-36. And as they went about to kill him — It was a rule among the Jews, that any uncircumcised person who came within the separating wall, mentioned above, might be stoned to death without any further process. And they seemed to think Paul, who, as they supposed, had brought such in thither, deserved no better treatment. Tidings came unto the chief captain of the band — Greek, tw ciliarcw thv speirhv, to the tribune of the cohort, called Lysias. A cohort, or detachment of soldiers, belonging to the Roman legion which lodged in the adjacent castle of Antonia, were stationed on feast days near the temple, to prevent disorders. It is evident Lysias himself was not present when the tumult began. Probably he was the oldest Roman tribune then at Jerusalem, and, as such, was the commanding officer of the legion quartered at the castle. Who immediately took soldiers, &c. — And ran down unto them, namely, to suppress the riot, knowing how much it was his concern to check such proceedings. And when they saw the chief captain and soldiers, they left beating of Paul — Which it appears they had begun to do in such a manner, that, had he not been thus seasonably rescued in this critical moment, his life must soon have fallen a sacrifice to their rage. Then the chief captain — Having made his way through the multitude, came near and took him — Into his custody. And how many great ends of Providence were answered by this imprisonment! It was not only a means of preserving his life, (after he had suffered severely for worldly prudence,) but it gave him an opportunity of preaching the gospel safely, in spite of all tumult, Acts 22:22; yea, and that in those places to which otherwise he could have had no access, verse 40. And commanded him to be bound with two chains — Taking it for granted he was some notorious offender. And thus the prophecy of Agabus was fulfilled, though by the hands of a Roman. And demanded — Of those that seemed most enraged against him; who he was — Against whom such a general outcry was raised; and what he had done — To deserve it. And some cried one thing and some another — So great was the confusion of this riotous assembly, who neither knew one another’s mind, nor their own; though every one pretended to give the sense of the whole body. And when he could not know the certainty for the tumult — For the noise, clamour, and contradictory speeches that were uttered; he commanded him to be carried into the castle — The tower of Antonia, where the Roman soldiers kept garrison. And when he came upon the stairs — Leading to the castle. It was situated on a rock, fifty cubits high, at that corner of the outward temple where the western and northern porticoes joined, to each of which there were stairs descending from it. So it was that he was borne of the soldiers — Up from the ground; for the violence of the people — Who, if they could, would have pulled him limb from limb. And, when they could not reach him with their hands, they pursued him with their clamorous invectives: crying, Away with him — Observe, reader, how the most excellent persons and things are often run down by a popular clamour: Christ himself was so treated, while they cried, Crucify him, crucify him, though they could not mention any evil he had done.

31. Went about to kill him—Were seeking to kill him; that is, dragging him to a place where bloodshed was permissible, and beating him. The surprise of some commentators that the Christians did not come to the rescue of Paul is absurd. Nothing could have been more rash than thus to have drawn on their own heads the vengeance of the Jewish government and people.

Tidings came unto—The commotion would be visible to the Roman sentries stationed on the cloisters at the Fort Antonia, and report would be instantly made to the commander. (See note on Matthew 21:12.) Chief captain of the band—The ciliarcov, chiliarch, or commander of a thousand men, nearly equivalent to our colonel. Forthwith a large share of his force (which in full would consist of a thousand soldiers led by ten centurions) is upon the mob in the court of the Gentiles near the gate.

Verse 32. Ran down unto them] Ran down the stairs to the porticoes mentioned above.

Verses 31-36. And as they went about to kill him — It was a rule among the Jews, that any uncircumcised person who came within the separating wall, mentioned above, might be stoned to death without any further process. And they seemed to think Paul, who, as they supposed, had brought such in thither, deserved no better treatment. Tidings came unto the chief captain of the band — Greek, tw ciliarcw thv speirhv, to the tribune of the cohort, called Lysias. A cohort, or detachment of soldiers, belonging to the Roman legion which lodged in the adjacent castle of Antonia, were stationed on feast days near the temple, to prevent disorders. It is evident Lysias himself was not present when the tumult began. Probably he was the oldest Roman tribune then at Jerusalem, and, as such, was the commanding officer of the legion quartered at the castle. Who immediately took soldiers, &c. — And ran down unto them, namely, to suppress the riot, knowing how much it was his concern to check such proceedings. And when they saw the chief captain and soldiers, they left beating of Paul — Which it appears they had begun to do in such a manner, that, had he not been thus seasonably rescued in this critical moment, his life must soon have fallen a sacrifice to their rage. Then the chief captain — Having made his way through the multitude, came near and took him — Into his custody. And how many great ends of Providence were answered by this imprisonment! It was not only a means of preserving his life, (after he had suffered severely for worldly prudence,) but it gave him an opportunity of preaching the gospel safely, in spite of all tumult, Acts 22:22; yea, and that in those places to which otherwise he could have had no access, verse 40. And commanded him to be bound with two chains — Taking it for granted he was some notorious offender. And thus the prophecy of Agabus was fulfilled, though by the hands of a Roman. And demanded — Of those that seemed most enraged against him; who he was — Against whom such a general outcry was raised; and what he had done — To deserve it. And some cried one thing and some another — So great was the confusion of this riotous assembly, who neither knew one another’s mind, nor their own; though every one pretended to give the sense of the whole body. And when he could not know the certainty for the tumult — For the noise, clamour, and contradictory speeches that were uttered; he commanded him to be carried into the castle — The tower of Antonia, where the Roman soldiers kept garrison. And when he came upon the stairs — Leading to the castle. It was situated on a rock, fifty cubits high, at that corner of the outward temple where the western and northern porticoes joined, to each of which there were stairs descending from it. So it was that he was borne of the soldiers — Up from the ground; for the violence of the people — Who, if they could, would have pulled him limb from limb. And, when they could not reach him with their hands, they pursued him with their clamorous invectives: crying, Away with him — Observe, reader, how the most excellent persons and things are often run down by a popular clamour: Christ himself was so treated, while they cried, Crucify him, crucify him, though they could not mention any evil he had done.

32. Left beating—The sight of the approaching military, even before its arrival, checks the violence of the mob. Wonderfully swift of wing is the Roman eagle lighting down upon his prey!

V. 33. Then the tribune-Having made his way through the multitude, came near and took him-And how many great ends of providence were answered by this imprisonment? This was not only a means of preserving his life, (after he had suffered severely for worldly prudence,) but gave him an opportunity of preaching the Gospel safely, in spite of all tumult, Acts 22:22, yea, and that in those places to which otherwise he could have had no access, Acts 21:40.

And commanded him to be bound with two chains-Taking it for granted he was some notorious offender. And thus the prophecy of Agabus was fulfilled, though by the hands of a Roman.

Verse 33. And took him] With great violence, according to Acts 24:7, probably meaning an armed force.

To be bound with two chains] To be bound between two soldiers; his right hand chained to the left hand of the one, and his left hand to the right of the other. See Clarke’s note on “Acts 12:6”.

Verses 31-36. And as they went about to kill him — It was a rule among the Jews, that any uncircumcised person who came within the separating wall, mentioned above, might be stoned to death without any further process. And they seemed to think Paul, who, as they supposed, had brought such in thither, deserved no better treatment. Tidings came unto the chief captain of the band — Greek, tw ciliarcw thv speirhv, to the tribune of the cohort, called Lysias. A cohort, or detachment of soldiers, belonging to the Roman legion which lodged in the adjacent castle of Antonia, were stationed on feast days near the temple, to prevent disorders. It is evident Lysias himself was not present when the tumult began. Probably he was the oldest Roman tribune then at Jerusalem, and, as such, was the commanding officer of the legion quartered at the castle. Who immediately took soldiers, &c. — And ran down unto them, namely, to suppress the riot, knowing how much it was his concern to check such proceedings. And when they saw the chief captain and soldiers, they left beating of Paul — Which it appears they had begun to do in such a manner, that, had he not been thus seasonably rescued in this critical moment, his life must soon have fallen a sacrifice to their rage. Then the chief captain — Having made his way through the multitude, came near and took him — Into his custody. And how many great ends of Providence were answered by this imprisonment! It was not only a means of preserving his life, (after he had suffered severely for worldly prudence,) but it gave him an opportunity of preaching the gospel safely, in spite of all tumult, Acts 22:22; yea, and that in those places to which otherwise he could have had no access, verse 40. And commanded him to be bound with two chains — Taking it for granted he was some notorious offender. And thus the prophecy of Agabus was fulfilled, though by the hands of a Roman. And demanded — Of those that seemed most enraged against him; who he was — Against whom such a general outcry was raised; and what he had done — To deserve it. And some cried one thing and some another — So great was the confusion of this riotous assembly, who neither knew one another’s mind, nor their own; though every one pretended to give the sense of the whole body. And when he could not know the certainty for the tumult — For the noise, clamour, and contradictory speeches that were uttered; he commanded him to be carried into the castle — The tower of Antonia, where the Roman soldiers kept garrison. And when he came upon the stairs — Leading to the castle. It was situated on a rock, fifty cubits high, at that corner of the outward temple where the western and northern porticoes joined, to each of which there were stairs descending from it. So it was that he was borne of the soldiers — Up from the ground; for the violence of the people — Who, if they could, would have pulled him limb from limb. And, when they could not reach him with their hands, they pursued him with their clamorous invectives: crying, Away with him — Observe, reader, how the most excellent persons and things are often run down by a popular clamour: Christ himself was so treated, while they cried, Crucify him, crucify him, though they could not mention any evil he had done.

33. Two chains—(See note on Acts 12:6.)

Verses 31-36. And as they went about to kill him — It was a rule among the Jews, that any uncircumcised person who came within the separating wall, mentioned above, might be stoned to death without any further process. And they seemed to think Paul, who, as they supposed, had brought such in thither, deserved no better treatment. Tidings came unto the chief captain of the band — Greek, tw ciliarcw thv speirhv, to the tribune of the cohort, called Lysias. A cohort, or detachment of soldiers, belonging to the Roman legion which lodged in the adjacent castle of Antonia, were stationed on feast days near the temple, to prevent disorders. It is evident Lysias himself was not present when the tumult began. Probably he was the oldest Roman tribune then at Jerusalem, and, as such, was the commanding officer of the legion quartered at the castle. Who immediately took soldiers, &c. — And ran down unto them, namely, to suppress the riot, knowing how much it was his concern to check such proceedings. And when they saw the chief captain and soldiers, they left beating of Paul — Which it appears they had begun to do in such a manner, that, had he not been thus seasonably rescued in this critical moment, his life must soon have fallen a sacrifice to their rage. Then the chief captain — Having made his way through the multitude, came near and took him — Into his custody. And how many great ends of Providence were answered by this imprisonment! It was not only a means of preserving his life, (after he had suffered severely for worldly prudence,) but it gave him an opportunity of preaching the gospel safely, in spite of all tumult, Acts 22:22; yea, and that in those places to which otherwise he could have had no access, verse 40. And commanded him to be bound with two chains — Taking it for granted he was some notorious offender. And thus the prophecy of Agabus was fulfilled, though by the hands of a Roman. And demanded — Of those that seemed most enraged against him; who he was — Against whom such a general outcry was raised; and what he had done — To deserve it. And some cried one thing and some another — So great was the confusion of this riotous assembly, who neither knew one another’s mind, nor their own; though every one pretended to give the sense of the whole body. And when he could not know the certainty for the tumult — For the noise, clamour, and contradictory speeches that were uttered; he commanded him to be carried into the castle — The tower of Antonia, where the Roman soldiers kept garrison. And when he came upon the stairs — Leading to the castle. It was situated on a rock, fifty cubits high, at that corner of the outward temple where the western and northern porticoes joined, to each of which there were stairs descending from it. So it was that he was borne of the soldiers — Up from the ground; for the violence of the people — Who, if they could, would have pulled him limb from limb. And, when they could not reach him with their hands, they pursued him with their clamorous invectives: crying, Away with him — Observe, reader, how the most excellent persons and things are often run down by a popular clamour: Christ himself was so treated, while they cried, Crucify him, crucify him, though they could not mention any evil he had done.

34. Cried one thing—It was difficult for the mob to make out a charge against the prisoner which would be intelligible to the Roman. If a Greek had entered into the holy place he was liable to death; but Paul was notoriously a Jew; nor was there any Greek to be found on the spot. The incoherent maledictions flung out upon Paul would therefore simply perplex the chiliarch. Castle—Literally, the pretorium, or camp; probably the barracks of the soldiers within the court of the castle Antonia. These barracks, or soldiers’ lodgings were in the interior area enclosed by the wall of the castle, and afforded rooms for at least a thousand men, kept as guard over the temple grounds. But the “whole cohort,” (Matthew 27:27,) was probably kept in the “pretorium,” (of John 18:28,) in the western part of the city.

Paul was now taken in custody by the soldiers, and, with the chains fastened on his wrists, was led to the northwest corner of the Gentile court, where by a flight of stairs he would ascend to the gallery, and, entering the gate of the fort, would pass down into the barracks within its area.

V. 35. When he came upon the stairs-The castle of Antonia was situate on a rock fifty cubits high, at that corner of the outward temple, where the western and northern porticos joined, to each of which there were stairs descending from it.

Verse 35. And when he came upon the stairs] Those mentioned in the note on Acts 21:31.

Verses 31-36. And as they went about to kill him — It was a rule among the Jews, that any uncircumcised person who came within the separating wall, mentioned above, might be stoned to death without any further process. And they seemed to think Paul, who, as they supposed, had brought such in thither, deserved no better treatment. Tidings came unto the chief captain of the band — Greek, tw ciliarcw thv speirhv, to the tribune of the cohort, called Lysias. A cohort, or detachment of soldiers, belonging to the Roman legion which lodged in the adjacent castle of Antonia, were stationed on feast days near the temple, to prevent disorders. It is evident Lysias himself was not present when the tumult began. Probably he was the oldest Roman tribune then at Jerusalem, and, as such, was the commanding officer of the legion quartered at the castle. Who immediately took soldiers, &c. — And ran down unto them, namely, to suppress the riot, knowing how much it was his concern to check such proceedings. And when they saw the chief captain and soldiers, they left beating of Paul — Which it appears they had begun to do in such a manner, that, had he not been thus seasonably rescued in this critical moment, his life must soon have fallen a sacrifice to their rage. Then the chief captain — Having made his way through the multitude, came near and took him — Into his custody. And how many great ends of Providence were answered by this imprisonment! It was not only a means of preserving his life, (after he had suffered severely for worldly prudence,) but it gave him an opportunity of preaching the gospel safely, in spite of all tumult, Acts 22:22; yea, and that in those places to which otherwise he could have had no access, verse 40. And commanded him to be bound with two chains — Taking it for granted he was some notorious offender. And thus the prophecy of Agabus was fulfilled, though by the hands of a Roman. And demanded — Of those that seemed most enraged against him; who he was — Against whom such a general outcry was raised; and what he had done — To deserve it. And some cried one thing and some another — So great was the confusion of this riotous assembly, who neither knew one another’s mind, nor their own; though every one pretended to give the sense of the whole body. And when he could not know the certainty for the tumult — For the noise, clamour, and contradictory speeches that were uttered; he commanded him to be carried into the castle — The tower of Antonia, where the Roman soldiers kept garrison. And when he came upon the stairs — Leading to the castle. It was situated on a rock, fifty cubits high, at that corner of the outward temple where the western and northern porticoes joined, to each of which there were stairs descending from it. So it was that he was borne of the soldiers — Up from the ground; for the violence of the people — Who, if they could, would have pulled him limb from limb. And, when they could not reach him with their hands, they pursued him with their clamorous invectives: crying, Away with him — Observe, reader, how the most excellent persons and things are often run down by a popular clamour: Christ himself was so treated, while they cried, Crucify him, crucify him, though they could not mention any evil he had done.

35. Borne… of—In ascending the stairs leading from the Gentile court up into the tower of Antonia, (which stood against the northwest corner of the temple,) so rapid was the rush of the populace behind, and yet so prompt the exertion of the soldiers to rescue him, that Paul is seen by Luke (probably gazing on the scene) as lifted from his feet and carried upward in their hands! So did unconscious Gentilism on that day, in the hands of Providence, rapidly rescue her great apostle from Judaism and death.

Verse 36. Away with him.] That is, Kill him; despatch him! for so much this phrase always means in the mouth of a Jewish mob. See Clarke on “Luke 23:18”, and see Clarke “John 19:15”.

Verses 31-36. And as they went about to kill him — It was a rule among the Jews, that any uncircumcised person who came within the separating wall, mentioned above, might be stoned to death without any further process. And they seemed to think Paul, who, as they supposed, had brought such in thither, deserved no better treatment. Tidings came unto the chief captain of the band — Greek, tw ciliarcw thv speirhv, to the tribune of the cohort, called Lysias. A cohort, or detachment of soldiers, belonging to the Roman legion which lodged in the adjacent castle of Antonia, were stationed on feast days near the temple, to prevent disorders. It is evident Lysias himself was not present when the tumult began. Probably he was the oldest Roman tribune then at Jerusalem, and, as such, was the commanding officer of the legion quartered at the castle. Who immediately took soldiers, &c. — And ran down unto them, namely, to suppress the riot, knowing how much it was his concern to check such proceedings. And when they saw the chief captain and soldiers, they left beating of Paul — Which it appears they had begun to do in such a manner, that, had he not been thus seasonably rescued in this critical moment, his life must soon have fallen a sacrifice to their rage. Then the chief captain — Having made his way through the multitude, came near and took him — Into his custody. And how many great ends of Providence were answered by this imprisonment! It was not only a means of preserving his life, (after he had suffered severely for worldly prudence,) but it gave him an opportunity of preaching the gospel safely, in spite of all tumult, Acts 22:22; yea, and that in those places to which otherwise he could have had no access, verse 40. And commanded him to be bound with two chains — Taking it for granted he was some notorious offender. And thus the prophecy of Agabus was fulfilled, though by the hands of a Roman. And demanded — Of those that seemed most enraged against him; who he was — Against whom such a general outcry was raised; and what he had done — To deserve it. And some cried one thing and some another — So great was the confusion of this riotous assembly, who neither knew one another’s mind, nor their own; though every one pretended to give the sense of the whole body. And when he could not know the certainty for the tumult — For the noise, clamour, and contradictory speeches that were uttered; he commanded him to be carried into the castle — The tower of Antonia, where the Roman soldiers kept garrison. And when he came upon the stairs — Leading to the castle. It was situated on a rock, fifty cubits high, at that corner of the outward temple where the western and northern porticoes joined, to each of which there were stairs descending from it. So it was that he was borne of the soldiers — Up from the ground; for the violence of the people — Who, if they could, would have pulled him limb from limb. And, when they could not reach him with their hands, they pursued him with their clamorous invectives: crying, Away with him — Observe, reader, how the most excellent persons and things are often run down by a popular clamour: Christ himself was so treated, while they cried, Crucify him, crucify him, though they could not mention any evil he had done.

36. Away with him—The apostle is rejected in the same fierce terms as was his Master by the same Jerusalem more than twenty years ago. (Luke 28:18; John 19:15.) Yet in the midst of this wild storm of human passions a Divine result is being worked out. Paul had foreseen that his mission was to go to Jerusalem, and after to see Rome. He has now been to Jerusalem, and he is yet to see Rome; yet not, as he had expected, at his own cost. The iron arm of the Roman power will take him, and at its own expense place him in Rome; but with sufferings and martyrdoms that shall enable him to be a pattern for the Church, to all ages, of heroism for Christ.

V. 37. As Paul was about to be brought into the castle-The wisdom of God taught to make use of that very time and place.

Verse 37. Canst thou speak Greek?] Claudius Lysias was not a Roman; he had, as himself informs us, purchased his citizenship of Rome with a great sum of money; (see Acts 22:28;) and it is very likely that he was but imperfectly acquainted with the Latin tongue; and the tumult that was now made, and the discordant noise, prevented him from clearly apprehending what was said; and, as he wished to know the merit of the cause, he accosted Paul with, eJllhnisti ginwskeiv, Dost thou understand Greek? And when he found that he did understand it, he proceeded to question him as below.

Verses 37-40. And as Paul was going to be led into the castle — To which the soldiers were conducting him; he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? — The wisdom of God teaching him to make use of that very time and place: Who — Hearing him speak in the Greek language; said — With some surprise; Canst thou speak Greek? Art not thou that Egyptian — Who came into Judea when Felix had been some years governor there, (see note on Matthew 24:26;) and, calling himself a prophet, drew much people after him: and, having brought them through the wilderness, led them to mount Olivet, promising that the walls of the city should fall down before them. But Felix marching out of Jerusalem against him, his followers were quickly dispersed, many of whom were taken or slain, but he himself made his escape. To the tribune’s question, Paul replied that he was a Jew, born in Tarsus, in Cilicia, and begged that he would suffer him to speak to the people. And when he had given him license — To say what he pleased; Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with his hand unto the people — To show that he was going to speak to them. And when there was made great silence — Their curiosity concurring with other motives to make them desire to hear what he could say in his own defence; he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue — Or that dialect of it which was then commonly spoken at Jerusalem.

37. Thou speak Greek?—Paul, amid the storm, is the self-possessed master of his position. He avails himself, with undisturbed skill, of every advantage within reach, first to assuage the chiliarch, and then the people, in order to attain both safety for himself and triumph for the truth. The very dialect of the first words he utters wins the chiliarch.

V. 38. Art not thou that Egyptian-Who came into Judea when Felix had been some years governor there! Calling himself a prophet, he drew much people after him; and having brought them through the wilderness, led them to Mount Olivet, promising that the walls of the city should fall down before them. But Felix marching out of Jerusalem against him, his followers quickly dispersed, many of whom were taken or slain; but he himself made his escape.

Verse 38. Art not thou that Egyptian, &c.] The history to which Claudius Lysias refers is taken from Josephus, Ant. lib. xx. cap. 7, sec. 6, and War, lib. ii. cap. 13, sec. 5, and is in substance as follows: An Egyptian, whose name is not known, pretended to be a prophet, and told his followers that the walls of Jerusalem would fall down before them, if they would assist him in making an attack on the city. He had address enough to raise a rabble of 30,000 men, and with these advanced as far as the Mount of Olives; but Felix, the Roman governor, came suddenly upon him, with a large body of Roman troops, both infantry and cavalry: the mob was speedily dispersed, four hundred killed, two hundred taken prisoners, and the Egyptian himself, with some of his most faithful friends, escaped; of whom no account was ever afterwards heard. As Lysias found such an outcry made against Paul, he supposed that he must be some egregious malefactor, and probably that Egyptian who had escaped, as related above. Learned men agree that St. Luke refers to the same fact of which Josephus speaks; but there is a considerable difference between the numbers in Josephus, and those in Luke: the former having 30,000, the latter only 4000. The small number of killed and prisoners, only 600 in all, according to Josephus, leads us to suspect that his number is greatly exaggerated; as 600 in killed and prisoners of a mob of 30,000, routed by regular infantry and cavalry, is no kind of proportion; but it is a sufficient proportion to a mob of 4000. Dean Aldridge has supposed that the number in Josephus was originally 4000, but that ancient copyists mistaking the Greek D delta, four, for L lambda, thirty, wrote 30,000, instead of 4000. See Havercamp’s edition, vol. ii. p. 177. There is another way of reconciling the two historians, which is this: When this Egyptian impostor at first began to make great boasts and large promises, a multitude of people, to the amount at least of 30,000, weary of the Roman yoke, from which he promised them deliverance, readily arranged themselves under his banners. As he performed nothing that he promised, 26,000 of these had melted away before he reached Mount Olivet: this remnant the Romans attacked and dispersed. Josephus speaks of the number he had in the beginning; St. Luke, of those that he had when he arrived at Mount Olivet. That were murderers?] Sikariwn: Sicarii, assassins: they derived their name from sica, a sort of crooked knife, which they concealed under their garments, and privately stabbed the objects of their malice. Josephus.

Verses 37-40. And as Paul was going to be led into the castle — To which the soldiers were conducting him; he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? — The wisdom of God teaching him to make use of that very time and place: Who — Hearing him speak in the Greek language; said — With some surprise; Canst thou speak Greek? Art not thou that Egyptian — Who came into Judea when Felix had been some years governor there, (see note on Matthew 24:26;) and, calling himself a prophet, drew much people after him: and, having brought them through the wilderness, led them to mount Olivet, promising that the walls of the city should fall down before them. But Felix marching out of Jerusalem against him, his followers were quickly dispersed, many of whom were taken or slain, but he himself made his escape. To the tribune’s question, Paul replied that he was a Jew, born in Tarsus, in Cilicia, and begged that he would suffer him to speak to the people. And when he had given him license — To say what he pleased; Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with his hand unto the people — To show that he was going to speak to them. And when there was made great silence — Their curiosity concurring with other motives to make them desire to hear what he could say in his own defence; he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue — Or that dialect of it which was then commonly spoken at Jerusalem.

Ver. 38. Art not thou that Egyptian which leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers. Sikariwn Sicarions, from the Latin sica. Cicero uses the term for a short pocket dagger, crooked at the point, to do the greater interior mischief on the infliction of a wound. Of the bacchanalians at Rome, Livy has given a full account, but Josephus is brief concerning this fraternity of robbers and assassins. They were strangers, and had come to Jerusalem under the cloak of devotion; but subsisted by rapine and murder, and often killed their enemies in the temple, and escaped in the throng. The Egyptian is called a sorcerer, and in that respect the sect resembled the bacchanalians who affected to disclose the Elysian mysteries. The Sicarions were known in Jerusalem, for Felix the governor had most basely employed them to murder Jonathan, the highpriest. The issues of this desperate fraternity were a revolt against the Romans, with a promise from their Egyptian leader, that on assaulting the city, the walls, like those of Jericho, would fall down. On their arriving at the mount of Olives, Felix so hotly charged them both with horse and foot, that four hundred were slain, and two hundred made prisoners, while the rest escaped. — Joseph. Antiq. 20. cap. 6. Euseb. Hist. lib. 2. cap. 21.

38. Art not thou—The question, as put in the English translation, implies that an affirmative answer is expected. It should imply a negative answer. Thou art not, then, that Egyptian, as I supposed? (For this Egyptian, see our Hist. Revelation at verse 17, § 5.)

Verse 39. I am a man which am a Jew] A periphrasis for, I am a Jew. See Clarke’s note on “Acts 7:2”.

Of Tarsus-no mean city] In Clarke’s notes on “Acts 9:11”, I have shown that Tarsus was a city of considerable importance, and in some measure a rival to Rome and Athens; and that, because of the services tendered to the Romans by the inhabitants, Julius Cæsar endowed them with all the rights and privileges of Roman citizens. When St. Paul calls it no mean city, he speaks a language that was common to those who have had occasion to speak of Tarsus. XENOPHON, Cyri Anabas. i., calls it, polin megalhn kai eudaimona, a great and flourishing city. JOSEPHUS, Ant. lib. i. cap. 6, sec. 6, says that it was parJ autoiv twn polewn h axiologwtath mhtropoliv ousa, the metropolis and most renowned city among them (the Cilicians.) And AMMIANUS MARCELLINUS, xiv. 8, says, Ciliciam Tarsus nobilitat, urbs perspicabilis: “Tarsus, a very respectable city; adorns Cilicia.”

Verses 37-40. And as Paul was going to be led into the castle — To which the soldiers were conducting him; he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? — The wisdom of God teaching him to make use of that very time and place: Who — Hearing him speak in the Greek language; said — With some surprise; Canst thou speak Greek? Art not thou that Egyptian — Who came into Judea when Felix had been some years governor there, (see note on Matthew 24:26;) and, calling himself a prophet, drew much people after him: and, having brought them through the wilderness, led them to mount Olivet, promising that the walls of the city should fall down before them. But Felix marching out of Jerusalem against him, his followers were quickly dispersed, many of whom were taken or slain, but he himself made his escape. To the tribune’s question, Paul replied that he was a Jew, born in Tarsus, in Cilicia, and begged that he would suffer him to speak to the people. And when he had given him license — To say what he pleased; Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with his hand unto the people — To show that he was going to speak to them. And when there was made great silence — Their curiosity concurring with other motives to make them desire to hear what he could say in his own defence; he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue — Or that dialect of it which was then commonly spoken at Jerusalem.

39. A citizen—Implying a full possession of all the civil rights of a great free city. No mean city—The metropolis of Cilicia, rich by commerce, and noted for its schools of philosophy. It was open by good roads, to the north by the Cilician Gates, and into Palestine by the Syrian Gates. The graceful Greek, the honourable origin, and the impressive manner of the apostle, are producing their effect upon the chiliarch. He doubts his first impression that a criminal or culprit is before him; and, by the very boldness of Paul’s request, put with the unconscious air of conscious power, he is inspired with the idea that the prisoner may be able to appease and sway the angry mob, and explain his own mysterious case.

V. 40. In the Hebrew tongue-That dialect of it, which was then commonly spoken at Jerusalem.

Verse 40. Paul stood on the stairs] Where he was out of the reach of the mob, and was surrounded by the Roman soldiers.

Beckoned with the hand] Waving the hand, which was the sign that he was about to address the people. So VIRGIL says of Turnus, when he wished, by single combat between himself and Æneas, to put an end to the war:-

Significatque manu, et magno simul incipit ore:

Parcite jam, Rutuli; et vos tela inhibete, Latini.

He beckoned with his hand, and cried out with a loud voice, Desist, ye Rutulians; and, ye Latins, cease from throwing your javelins. He spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue] What was called then the Hebrew, viz. the Chaldalo-Syriac; very well expressed by the Codex Bezæ, th idia dialektw, in their own dialect.

Never was there a more unnatural division than that in this chapter: it ends with a single comma! The best division would have been at the end of the 25th verse.

PAUL’S embarkation at Tyre is very remarkable. The simple manner in which he was escorted to the ship by the disciples of Tyre, men, women, and children, and their affectionate and pious parting, kneeling down on the shore and commending each other to God, are both impressive and edifying. Nothing but Christianity could have produced such a spirit in persons who now, perhaps for the first time, saw each other in the flesh. Every true Christian is a child of God; and, consequently, all children of God have a spiritual affinity. They are all partakers of the same Spirit, are united to the same Head, are actuated with the same hope, and are going to the same heaven. These love one another with pure hearts fervently; and these alone are capable of disinterested and lasting friendship. Though this kind of friendship cannot fail, yet it may err; and with officious affection endeavour to prevent us from bearing a necessary and most honourable cross. See Acts 21:12, 13. It should, therefore, be kept within Scriptural bounds.

ACTS

Verses 37-40. And as Paul was going to be led into the castle — To which the soldiers were conducting him; he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? — The wisdom of God teaching him to make use of that very time and place: Who — Hearing him speak in the Greek language; said — With some surprise; Canst thou speak Greek? Art not thou that Egyptian — Who came into Judea when Felix had been some years governor there, (see note on Matthew 24:26;) and, calling himself a prophet, drew much people after him: and, having brought them through the wilderness, led them to mount Olivet, promising that the walls of the city should fall down before them. But Felix marching out of Jerusalem against him, his followers were quickly dispersed, many of whom were taken or slain, but he himself made his escape. To the tribune’s question, Paul replied that he was a Jew, born in Tarsus, in Cilicia, and begged that he would suffer him to speak to the people. And when he had given him license — To say what he pleased; Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with his hand unto the people — To show that he was going to speak to them. And when there was made great silence — Their curiosity concurring with other motives to make them desire to hear what he could say in his own defence; he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue — Or that dialect of it which was then commonly spoken at Jerusalem.

Ver. 40. When he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, which led from the court of the gentiles to the castle; and, though his body was sore with the beating he had just received from the jews, he had great presence of mind while addressing one of the most crowded auditories that had ever attended in that court.

40. On the stairs—From this precarious rostrum, with fetters upon both wrists, does this apostle make his, perhaps, last appeal to this people of Jerusalem. As he stands above their reach and beyond their power there is a pause, and the very beckon of his fettered hand secures a silence. He addresses them as a Hebrew in their ancestral dialect, the very syllables of which had a charm to subdue their unwilling ears. While he then talks as a Jew, he is allowed to talk as long as he will of Jesus; but his mouth is shut as soon as he utters the fatal word, Gentiles! Jesus, at any rate, was a Jew; and if, as those Jerusalem Nazarenes who attend the temple and keep the law declare, he is to come again and completely fulfil all prophecy, he may after all give supremacy to Israel. But for this renegade and traitor, who talks of giving the kingdom of God to the Gentiles, Aire auton! Away with him!