Greek Testament Critical Exegetical Commentary Acts》
] [And] from all things, from which ye could not in
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- Christ shall do for you all that the law could not do
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39.] [And] from all things, from which ye could not in (under) the law of Moses be justified, in Him (as ἐν χριστῷ, ἐν κυρίῳ passim) every believer is (habitual pres.) justified. ἀπὸ πάντων ( ἀφʼ) ὧν, from all things (sins), from which.… but not implying that in the law of Moses there might be justification from some sins;—under the law there is no justification ( ἐν νόμῳ οὐδεὶς δικαιοῦται παρὰ τῷ θεῷ, Galatians 3:11):—but = Christ shall do for you all that the law could not do: leaving it for inference, or for further teaching, that this was absolutely ALL: that the law could do nothing. The same thought is expanded Romans 8:3-4, τὸ γὰρ ἀδύνατον τοῦ νόμου, ἐν ᾧ ἠσθένει διὰ τῆς σαρκός, ὁ θεὸς κ. τ. λ.… ἵνα τὸ δικαίωμα τ. νόμου πληρωθῇ ἐν ἡμῖν. This interpretation will be the more clearly established, when we remember that δικαιοῦν ἀπὸ ἁμαρτίας was not in any sense, and could not be, the office of the law, by which came the knowledge of sin. The expression δικαιοῦν ἀπὸ is only once used again by Paul (ref.), and that where he is arguing against the continuing in sin. ὁ πιστεύων is not to be joined with ἐν τούτῳ, which (see above) is contrasted with ἐν νόμῳ ΄. It is quite in Paul’s manner to use πᾶς ὁ πιστεύων thus absolutely: see Romans 1:16; Romans 3:22; Romans 10:4 (Galatians 3:22). Still less, with Luther, can we take as far as δικαιωθῆναι with Acts 13:38, and make ἐν τούτῳ.… δικαιοῦται a separate sentence. Verse 40
40.] The object of preaching the Gospel to the Jews first was for a testimony to them: its reception was almost uniformly unfavourable: and against such anticipated rejection he now warns them. τοῖς προφ.] The book of the prophets: see ch. Acts 3:18, note. Verse 41
The prophecy was spoken of the judgment to be inflicted by means of the Chaldæans: but neither this nor any other prophecy is confined in its application to the occasion of which it was once spoken, but gathers up under it all analogous procedures of God’s providence: such repeated fulfilments increasing in weight, and approaching nearer and nearer to that last and great fulfilment of all the promises of grace and all the threats of wrath, by which every prophetic word shall be exhausted. Verse 42
ἐξιόντων αὐτ., As they (the congregation) were going out, they (the same) besought. On the N.T. construction, παρεκάλουν λαληθῆναι, i.e. the passive inf. after verbs of commanding, exhorting, &c., see Buttmann, Grammatik des N. T.-lichen Sprachgebrauchs, § 141. 5, p. 236. He traces it to the influence of the Latin jubere and the like. See, among his many examples, Mark 5:43; Mark 6:27; ch. Acts 5:21; Acts 22:24; Acts 25:21. τὸ μεταξὺ σάβ. appears, by the usage of Luke, to mean the next sabbath-day, not ‘the following week.’ This last rendering would hardly suit εἰς, which fixes a definite occasion,—nor Acts 13:44, which gives the result. The ref. to Josephus abundantly justifies this use of μεταξύ. Verse 43
οἵτινες] Paul and Barnabas; and αὐτοῖς, to the Jews and proselytes: not vice versâ, as Calvin inclines to believe: see a similar expression ch. Acts 11:23. There too, we have ἡ χάρις τοῦ θεοῦ similarly used of the work of the Gospel begun in the hearts of the converts. See also reff. Verse 44
συνήχθη] ‘In the synagogue;’ it was the sight of the Gentile crowds in their house of prayer which stirred up the jealousy of the Jews. Verse 45
Verse 46
46. πρῶτον] See ch. Acts 3:26; Romans 1:16. Verse 47
47.] Agreeing with LXX-(71) (72), (73) reading δέδωκα for τέθεικα. They refer the σε not to themselves as teachers (as Meyer seems to think), but to Christ. Verse 48
48. τεταγμένοι] The meaning of this word must be determined by the context. The Jews had judged themselves unworthy of eternal life: the Gentiles, as many as were disposed to eternal life, believed. By whom so disposed, is not here declared: nor need the word be in this place further particularized. We know, that it is GOD who worketh in us the will to believe, and that the preparation of the heart is of Him: but to find in this text pre-ordination to life asserted, is to force both the word and the context to a meaning which they do not contain. The key to the word here is the comparison of ref. 1 Cor. εἰς διακονίαν τοῖς ἁγίοις ἔταξαν ἑαυτούς, with ref. Rom. αἱ οὖσαι ( ἐξουσίαι) ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ τεταγμέναι εἰσίν: in both of which places the agents are expressed, whereas here the word is absolute. See also ch. Acts 20:13. The principal interpretations are: (1) Calvin, &c., who find here predestination in the strongest sense: ‘orainatio ista nonnisi ad æternum Dei consilium potest referri’ … ‘ridiculum autem cavillum est referre hoc ad credentium affectum, quasi Evangelium receperint qui animis rite dispositi erant.’ So the Vulgate, ‘præordinati:’ and Aug(74) ‘destinati: (2) ‘Qui juxta ordinem a Deo institutum dispositi erant’ (Franz, Calov.: but not Bengel (as De W.), who explains it as I have done above): (3) ‘Quibus, dum fidem doctrinæ habebant, certa erat vita beata’ (Morus, Kuinoel): (4) ‘Qui ad vitam æternam se ordinarant’ (Grot., Limborch, Wolf, al.): (5) ‘Quotquot erant dispositi, applicati, i.e. apti facti oratione Pauli ad vitam æt. adipiscendam’ (Bretschneider): (6) taking τετ. militari sensu, ‘Qui de agmine et classe erant sperantium vel contendentium ad v. æ.’ (Mede, and similarly Schöttg.) There are several other renderings, but so forced as to be mere caricatures of exegesis: see Meyer. It may be worth while to protest against all attempts to join ἐπίστευσαν with εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον, which usage will not bear. Wordsworth well observes that it would be interesting to enquire what influence such renderings as this of præordinati in the Vulgate version had on the minds of men like St. Augustine and his followers in the Western Church in treating the great questions of free will, election, reprobation, and final perseverance: and on some writers in the reformed churches who, though rejecting the authority of that version, were yet swayed by it away from the sense of the original here and in ch. Acts 2:47. The tendency of the Eastern Fathers, who read the original Greek, was, he remarks, in a different direction from that of the Western School. Verse 50
50. τὰς σεβ. γυν.] Women had a strong religious influence both for and against Christianity: see for the former ch. Acts 16:14; Acts 17:4; Philippians 4:3; 1 Corinthians 7:16; for the latter, compare Josephus’s statement (B. J. ii. 20.2), that the majority of the wives of the Damascenes were proselytes, with ch. Acts 9:22-25. Strabo (vii. 3: C. and H. i. p. 219) says, ἅπαντες τῆς δεισιδαιμονίας ἀρχηγοὺς οἴονται τὰς γυναῖκας αὗται δὲ καὶ τοὺς ἄνδρας προκαλοῦνται πρὸς τὰς ἐπὶ πλέον θεραπείας τῶν θεῶν καὶ ἑορτὰς καὶ ποτνιασμούς. These were proselytes of the gate, or at least inclined to Judaism. ἐξέβαλον] Though the πρῶτοι τῆς πόλεως, at the instigation, probably, of their wives, were concerned, this seems to have been no legal expulsion: for we find them revisiting Antioch on their return, ch. Acts 14:21;—but only a compulsory retirement for peace, and their own safety’s sake. Verse 51
51.] As commanded by our Lord, Matthew 10:14, where see note. ἰκόνιον] A populous city, east of Antioch in Pisidia, lying in a fertile plain at the foot of, and almost surrounded by, Mount Taurus. It is reckoned by Xenophon (Anab. i. 2. 19) as belonging to Phrygia,—by Strabo (xii. 568) and Cicero (ad Famil. xv. 4) to Lycaonia, of which it was practically the capital,—by Ammianus Marcellinus (xiv. 2) to Pisidia. At this time, it was the capital of a distinct territory, ruled by a tetrarch (Plin. N. H. Acts 13:27), and probably on that account is not reckoned to any of the above-mentioned districts. It became famous in the middle ages as the capital of the Seljukian Sultans, and had a great part in the growth of the Ottoman empire. It is now Konín, a town of 30,000 inhabitants. (Winer, Realw.; C. and H. i. pp. 220, f.) Verse 52
οὕτως ὥστε, as in E. V.; not ἐγένετο.… ὥστε …, as Vater. ἑλλήνων] Probably here these are the σεβόμενοι τὸν θεόν [see ch. Acts 13:43; Acts 13:50; Acts 16:14; Acts 17:4; Acts 17:17; Acts 18:7 and ch. Acts 10:2 reff.], those of the uncircumcised who were more or less attached to the Jewish religion. Verse 2
2.] The past part. indicates who believed not, viz. when Paul preached. ἐκάκωσαν, ‘male affecerunt,’— κακούργως διέθηκαν, Chrys. So Jos. Antt. xvi. 1. 2, κακοῦν,.… καὶ τῆς εὐνοίας ἧς εἶχεν εἰς τοὺς παῖδας ἀφαιρεῖν. Acts 14:3 gives the sequel of Acts 14:1,—Acts 14:4, of Acts 14:2. The μὲν οὖν, as usual (see ch. Acts 11:19), takes up the narrative which had been interrupted. Verse 3
3. παῤῥ. ἐπὶ τ. κυρ.] A pregnant construction:—‘speaking with boldness, which boldness was grounded on confidence in the Lord.’ τῷ κυρίῳ is GOD: see ch. Acts 4:29-30, and ch. Acts 20:32, τῷ θεῷ κ. τῷ λόγῳ τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ. διδόντι, without καί, defines μαρτυροῦντι: viz. by giving, &c. Verse 4
4.] So Virg. Æn. ii. 39, ‘Scinditur incertum studia in contraria vulgus.’ Such a split into two factions was a common occurrence, on far less important occasions, in these cities of Oriental Greeks. (C. and H. i. p. 223.) τοῖς ἀποστόλοις] This is the first place where Paul and Barnabas are so called. St. Paul constantly vindicates the title in his Epistles: cf. Romans 1:1; 1 Corinthians 1:1; 1 Corinthians 9:1; 1 Corinthians 15:9; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Galatians 1:1; Colossians 1:1; 1 Timothy 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:1; Titus 1:1. It seems to have been borne in this higher sense also by James the Lord’s brother: see Galatians 1:19, and note, and the prolegg. to the Epistle of James: and by Barnabas, here and in 1 Corinthians 9:5-6; see also Galatians 2:9. So that there were, widening the word beyond the Twelve, fifteen Apostles, usually so called. The word was also used in a still wider sense: see Romans 16:7; 2 Corinthians 8:23; 1 Thessalonians 2:6; in which latter place Silvanus and Timotheus seem to be included in it. Verse 5
Verse 6
6. λύστραν] τὰ λ. also, Acts 14:8. This, as well as Derbe (of both which very little further is known), was probably a small town at the foot of the singular mountain-mass known as the Kara-dagh, or black mountain, Lystra being S., and Derbe S.E. from Iconium. The sites are very uncertain. There are the ruins of about forty Christian churches on the north side of the Kara-dagh, at a place called by the Turks Bin-bir-Kilisseh (the 1001 churches), which the most recent travellers believe may be Lystra (C. and H. i. pp. 225 ff.). In one of these places (probably at Lystra, see note, ch. Acts 16:1) Paul found and took up Timothy on his second journey; and from τέκνον, 1 Corinthians 4:17, compared with πατήρ, as defined ib. 1 Corinthians 14:15, we are justified in concluding that he had been converted by the Apostle; and, if so, during this visit. There appear to have been few Jews in the district: we hear of no synagogue. λυκαονίας] Strabo describes Lycaonia (xii. 6) as a hilly plain among the mountain-spurs of Taurus, very ill watered, cold and bare, but exceedingly adapted for sheep-pasture and the growth of wool. Verse 8
8. ἐκάθητο] Not ‘dwelt,’ as Kuin., but sat, probably in the forum or some place of resort. περιεπάτησεν is the historic past: who never walked. The pluperfect seeming more apt, it has been altered in the later MSS. accordingly. Meyer supposes the alteration to have been the other way, from “the constant preference which the Greeks gave in narration to the aorist over the plusq. perf.:” but qu.? Verse 9
ἀτεν. αὐτ.] See note on ch. Acts 13:9. Verse 10
Verse 11
11. λυκαονιστί] The nature of this dialect is uncertain: its existence is further mentioned by Steph. Byzant., cf. τῇ τῶν λυκαόνων φωνῇ, in note on Acts 14:20. The notice is inserted to shew that the Apostles had no knowledge of the inference drawn by the crowd, till they saw the bulls being brought to their doors, Acts 14:13. So Chrysostom: οὐκ ἦν τοῦτο οὐδέπω δῆλον τῇ γὰρ οἰκείᾳ φωνῇ ἐφθέγγοντο, λέγοντες κ. τ. λ. διὰ τοῦτο οὐδὲν αὐτοῖς ἔλεγον (meaning, “for this reason they, the Lycaonians, spoke unintelligibly to the Apostles:” ἔλεγον taking up the λέγοντες. Wordsw. has, in his ardour to vindicate Chrysostom from heterodoxy, fallen into the mistake of rendering, “therefore the Apostles said nothing to them”)· ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἶδον τὰ στέμματα, τότε ἐξελθόντες κ. τ. λ. Hom. xxx., p. 235 f. See, on the real nature of the gift of tongues, and the bearing of notices of this kind on its consideration, the note on ch. Acts 2:4. These ἐπιφάνειαι of the gods are frequent subjects of heathen poetry and mythology. Hom. Od. ρ. 484, says, καί τε θεοὶ ξείνοισιν ἐοικότες ἀλλοδαποῖσι παντοῖοι τελέθοντες ἐπιστρωφῶσι πόληας. It was in the neighbouring country of Phrygia that Jupiter and Mercury were said to have wandered, and to have been entertained by Baucis and Philemon: ‘Jupiter huc, specie mortali, cumque parente Venit Atlantiades positis caducifer alis.’ (Ov. Met. viii. 626, f.) Dio Chrysostom (Orat. xxxiii. p. 408) says, φασὶ τοὺς οἰκιστὰς ἥρωας ἢ θεοὺς πολλάκις ἐπιστρέφεσθαι τὰς αὑτῶν πόλεις. (From Mr. Humphry’s note.) Verse 12
12.] This distinction is (besides the reason given) in accordance with what Paul himself cites (as the saying of his adversaries, it is true, but not therefore without some physical foundation), ἡ παρουσία τοῦ σώματος ἀσθενής. So Chrysostom, ἐμοὶ δοκεῖ καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ὄψεως ἀξιοπρεπὴς εἶναι ὁ βαρνάβας, Hom. xxx., p. 237. ἡγούμενος τοῦ λόγου] So Iamblichus, of Hermes, in reff.: ‘vocis et sermonis potens,’ Macrob. Saturn, i. 8: λόγου προφήτης, Orph. H. xxvii. 4: λαλίστατος κ. λογιώτατος θεῶν ἁπάντων, Lucian, Gallus, 2. Verse 13
ταύρους κ. στέμματα] Not for ταύρους ἐστεμμένους: the garlands may have been to hang on the doors of the house where the Apostles were: or for manifold purposes connected with the sacrifice. ‘Ipsæ denique fores, ipsæ hostiæ, ipsiæ aræ, ipsi ministri et sacerdotes eorum coronantur.’ Wetst. τοὺς πυλῶνας are not the gates of the city, but the doors of the outer court of the house: see ch. Acts 12:13. Verse 14
14. οἱ ἀπόστολοι] See note on Acts 14:4. The Apostles were within: on being told, they ἐξεπήδησαν—rushad forth, into the crowd. Verse 15
θεὸν ζῶντα, without the articles, is characteristic of Paul: see Romans 9:26; 2 Corinthians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 6:16; 1 Thessalonians 1:9; 1 Timothy 3:15; 1 Timothy 4:10 al. It also occurs Hebrews 3:12; Hebrews 9:14; Hebrews 10:31; Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 7:2. Verse 16
Verse 17
17.] Compare Romans 1:19-20. The words οὐρανόθεν ὑετοὺς διδούς had a remarkable applicability in a country where we have seen from Strabo (on Acts 14:6) that there was great scarcity of water. He relates that in one city of Lycaonia, where water was reached by digging the wells very deep, it was sold for money. The idea of Mr. Humphry, that the conclusion of this speech is a citation from some lyric poet, seems improbable on other accounts, and is rendered more so by the above-noticed propriety. Verse 19
19. πείσαντες τοὺς ὄχλ.] ἄπιστοι γὰρ λυκάονες, ὡς καὶ ἀριστοτέλης μαρτυρεῖ. Schol. on Homer, Il. δ. 88, 92. They stoned him, not in the Jewish method, but tumultuously and in the streets, dragging him out of the city afterwards. He refers to this stoning, 2 Corinthians 11:25, ἅπαξ ἐλιθάσθην. Verse 20
20.] κυκλ., not to bury him, but, as would naturally be the case, in mournful anxiety and regret. ἀναστάς] The prima facie, and I think the right impression is, that this recovery was supernatural. It is not indeed so strongly implied, as to leave no doubt: especially as a blow from a stone would be likely to stun and occasion the appearance of death. δέρβην] See above, on Acts 14:6. Strabo, xii. 6, says of it, τῆς δʼ ἰσαυρικῆς ἐστιν ἐν πλευραῖς ἡ δέρβη, μάλιστα τῇ καππαδοκίᾳ ἐπιπεφυκός, τὸ τοῦ ἀντιπάτρου τυραννεῖον τοῦ δερβήτου (cf. Cicero, Epp. xiii. 73, ‘Cum Antipatro Derbete mihi non solum hospitium verum etiam summa familiaritas intercedit’) … ἐφʼ ἡμῶν δὲ καὶ τὰ ἴσαυρα κ. τὴν δέρβην ἀμύντας εἶχεν, ἐπιθέμενος τῷ δερβήτῃ, κ. ἀνελὼν αὐτόν. And Stephanus Byzantinus, δέρβη φρούριον ἰσαυρίας καὶ λιμήν (for this, evidently an error, the French translators of Strabo propose to read λίμνη. There is a large lake, now called Ak Göl, near the presumed site of Derbe, see C. and H. i. 239).… τινὲς δὲ δέλβειαν, ὅ ἐστι τῇ τῶν λυκαόνων φωνῇ ἄρκευθος. (Wetst.) From this variety of the name, δέλβεια, Mr. Hamilton thought the modern Divlé might be Derbe. Mr. Lewin (i. 167) objects, that there is no lake near Divlé: but this objection only affects the conjectural emendation mentioned above. From Derbe not being enumerated, 2 Timothy 3:11, with Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra, as the scene of any of Paul’s sufferings, we may perhaps infer that none befell him there. They may have fled to Derbe, as being in a different jurisdiction from Lystra; the latter being comprised in the Roman province of Galatia, whereas Derbe seems to have belonged at this time to Antiochus, king of Commagene. See Lewin, i. p. 168; Strabo, xiv. 5; Dio, lix. 8; lx. 8; Jos. Antt. xix. 5. 1. Verse 21
Verse 22
22. ἡμᾶς] Is not this a token of the presence of the narrator again? My own conjecture would be, that he remained in Antioch during the journey to Iconium, &c., and back. The events between those two limits are much more summarily related than those before or after. In an art. in the Journal of classical and sacred philology, Camb., March, 1856, where the justice of the above conjecture is called in question, the writer says, ‘here δεῖ ἡμᾶς εἰσελθ. &c. is the language of the preachers themselves, as the word ὅτι shews:’ and proceeds to remark justly on the transition from the oblique to the direct narrative, as especially characteristic of St. Luke’s style, and corroborative of the unity of authorship between different parts of the Acts, and between the Acts and the Gospel. But if so, should we not rather look for ὑμᾶς than ἡμᾶς? The writer, I am glad to see, joins with me in rejecting the ‘common’ explanation (see Prolegg. § i. 13) that ἡμᾶς is used by the writer ‘as a Christian, and of all Christians:’ to what then would he have it referred? I would rather, regarding the ὅτι as marking a transition to the direct narrative, take ἡμᾶς as an insensible translation into the first person on the part of the narrator, speaking of an exhortation which he heard and felt. Verse 23
προσευξ. μ. νηστ. belongs to παρέθ., not to χειροτον. Verse 25
Verse 26
26.] ὅθεν, as being the centre whence their apostolic commission had spread. Verse 27
27.] μετʼ αὐτῶν, with (i.e. in dealing with) them, see reff.: not to them, as usually: nor per ipsos, as Beza, &c. θύραν πίστ.] The same metaphor is used in the reff. by Paul, and shews, perhaps, his hand in the narrative. On χρόν. οὐκ ὀλίγ., see chronol. table in Prolegg. Directory: New%20Testament -> 44Acts -> 44Acts-E 44Acts-E -> Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary – Acts (Vol. 1)》 44Acts-E -> Preparations for a gentile mission-the calling of a new apostle Download 4.82 Mb. Share with your friends:
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