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AMERICAN COMMENTARY

ON THB

NEW TESTAMENT.

EDITED BY

ALVAH HOVEY, D.D., LL.D.

PHILADELPHIA:

AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY,

1420 Chkstnut Strkbt.

CA \,\yo\fi

COMMEISTTAEY

ON THE

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.

HOKATIO B. HAOKETT, D.D.,

PBOFESSOB OF BIBUCAL UTERATUBE IN NEWTON THEOLOGICAL INSTITUTION.

^ JSTE^W JEDITION',

REVISED AND GREATLY ENLARGED BY THE AITHOR.

EDITED BY

ALVAH HOVEY, D.D., LL.D.,

IN CONSULTATION WITH

EZRA ABBOT, LL.D.

PHILADELPHIA:
AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY,

1420 Chestnut Street.

Kntered, according to Act of Congress, in tho year 1882, by the

AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY,

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.

THE AUTHOR

Is Permitted to Inscrite tliis V0I111139

AUGUSTUS THOLUCK, D.D.,

WHOSE WRITINGS IN ILLUSTRATION OF THE SACRED WORD, AND WHOei

PERSONAL INSTRUCTIONS, HAVE CAUSED HIS INFLUENCE TO BE

FELT AND HIS NAME TO BE HONORED IN FOREIGN

COUNTRIES AS WELL AS IN HIS OWN.

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

It has been the writer's endeavor to present to the reader in this volume the
results of the present state of biblical study as applied to the illustration of the
Acts of the Apostles. Although our language contains already some valuable
works devoted to the same general object, it is hoped that the dependence of the
work here offered to the public on the original text, and the advantage taken
of the latest investigations in this department of criticism, will render it not su-
perfluous.

Of the importance of an acquaintance with the contents of the Acts it must
be unnecessary to speak. A single reflection will render this sufficiently obvious.
No person can be prepared to read the Epistles of the New Testament with the
greatest advantage until he has made himself familiar with the external history
of the apostle Paul and with his character and spirit, as Luke has portrayed them
in his narrative. Those portions of the Acts, constituting the greater part of the
whole, which relate to the great apostle must be thoroughly mastered before any
proper foundation is laid for the exegetical study of the Epistles. It is the object
of these Notes to assist the reader in the acquisition of this knowledge and disci-
pline ; to enable him to form his own independent view of the meaning of the
sacred writer in this particular portion of the New Testament, and, at the same
time, fiirnish himself to some extent with those principles and materials of crit-
icism which are common to all parts of the Bible. If the plan of the work and
the mode in which it is executed are such as to impart a just idea of the process
of biblical interpretation, and to promote a habit of careful study and of self-
reliance on the part of those who may use the book, it will be a result much
more important than that all the opinions advanced in it should be approved ;
it is a result beyond any other which the writer has been anxious to accomplish.
The grammatical references and explanations will enable the student to judge of
the consistency of the interpretations given with the laws of the Greek language.
The authorities cited will show the state of critical opinion on all passages that
are supposed to be uncertain or obscure. The geographical, archaeological, and
other information collected from many different sources will unfold the relations
of the book to the contemporary history of the age in which it was written, and

8 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

serve to present to the mind a more vivid conception of the reality of the scenes
and the events which the narrative describes.

No single commentary can be expected to answer all the purposes for which a
commentary is needed. The writer has aimed at a predominant object, and that
has been to determine by the rules of a just philology the meaning of the sacred
writer, and not to develop the practical applications or, to any great extent, the
doctrinal implications of this meaning. With such a design, no one will object to
the use which has been made of the labors of foreign scholars ; it would have
been a matter of just complaint not to have used them, although with a different
aim it would be equally inexcusable not to have brought into view more frequently
the connections which exist between the Acts and the practical religious literature
contained in our own language.

I am indebted to various friends for advice and co-operation in the performance
of this labor. Among these, it becomes me to mention in particular the Rev. B. B.
Edwards, D. D., professor at Andover. It is doubtfiil whether I should have un-
dertaken the work, or persevered in it, had it not been for his generous sympathy
and encouragement.

The author can recall no happier hours than those which he has spent in giv-
ing instruction on this book of the New Testament to successive classes of theo-
logical students. May the fruits of this mutual study be useful to them in the
active labors of the sacred work to which they are devoted ! They are now sent
forth into a wider sphere ; and here, also, may God be pleased to own them as a
means of contributing to a more diligent study and a more perfect knowledge of
his Holy Word !

Nkwton Theologicai- Institdtioii.
October 31, 1851.

PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION.

The present edition, as compared with the former, has been in parts rewritten,
And also enlarged by the addition of about a hundred pages. In the interval
since the work was first published the writer has continued to study the Acts
both in a private way and occasionally as the teacher of theological classes. As
the result of this further labor, the view on some passages has been modified ; ex-
pressions that were found to be obscure have been made plainer ; new points in
the text have been elucidated ; former explanations of a debatable character,
according to the apparent evidence in the case, have been placed in a stronger
light or advanced with less confidence ; and, in general, pains have been taken
in this revised form to render the notes not less critical than before, and yet
freer and more varied in their contents. The last six years, too, have been
signally fruitful in the appearance of valuable works relating to the Acts,
either directly exegetical or subsidiary to that end. The reader will find
ample proof in the following pages of the extent of my indebtedness to these
contributions to biblical literature, and, at the same time, will appreciate
the difficulty of using the abundant material with independence and judg-
ment.

It has been of some service to me that since the publication of the first edition
I have been enabled to visit the countries in which the Saviour and the apostles
lived and the cross gained its earliest victories. The journey has made it tenfold
more a labor of love to trace again the footsteps of Paul and his associates, and
should add something to the interpreter's power to unfold the history of their
sufferings and their triumphs.

Not to render the Commentary too heterogeneous, it has seemed best to dis-
card the idea of a supplement for the discussion of certain miscellaneous topics,
as was proposed at first. As a substitute for such an appendage, the points
which it was designed to embrace have been enlarged upon more fully in the
present notes, and references have been given to appropriate works in which
the student who desires will find more complete information. I will only add
that the Greek text has been reviewed more carefully in this edition, and, un-
less I have erred through some inadvertence, all the variations which affect the

10 PREFACE TO THE REVISED EDITION.

sense materially have been brought to the reader's notice. At the suggestion
of various friends, the Greek words in the notes have been translated in all
cases where the remarks might otherwise be obscure to the English reader, and
thus the explanations will be readily understood by all into whose hands the
work may fall.

May the divine blessing rest upon this renewed endeavor to illustrate this por-
tion of the Holy Scriptures !

Newton Centbe, March 1, 186S.

EDITOR'S PREFACE.

The Editor has the very great pleasure of presenting to the public a new edi-
tion of Dr. Haekett's Commentary, a standard work on the Acta of the Apostles — a
work which has merited and received the highest commendation from biblical
scholars in Europe and America, and which for thoroughness of investigation,
critical acumen, and beauty of diction is unsurpassed by any conunentary on the
same book with which the Editor is acquainted.

In preparing this Commentary for the use of persons who are not familiar with
the original text on which it is founded, the Editor, in consultation with Prof.
Ezra Abbot, LL.D., has made it his aim — (1) to preserve in its integrity every-
thing written by Dr. Hackett : to do this has been a pleasure as well as a duty,
and great care has been taken in this respect ; (2) to omit such Greek words or
sentences as could be spared without diminishing the clearness or value of the
Author's notes, or to substitute for them the words of the Common Version when-
ever this would be a help to the reader ; (3) to insert in brackets, generally over
his own initials, A. H., a few brief notes relating to the text or to its meaning.
The Editor is responsible for everything in brackets, and Dr. Hackett for the rest.
Since the second edition of this Commentary was published, the critical editions
of the New Testament by Tregelles, Tischendorf (VIII.), Westcott and Hort, and
the text adopted by the Anglo-American Revisers, have been issued, and it has
seemed advisable to make reference on many doubtful passages to the readings
found in these works, as well as to the principal manuscripts on which they are
based. And (4) to notice instances in which the fourth edition of Meyer's com-
mentary on the Acts (now translated) differs from the earlier editions used by
Dr. Hackett in this Commentary. The changes made by Meyer in his fourth
and last edition are somewhat numerous, and are for the most part favorable to
the views of Dr. Hackett.

To have examined in detail the later objections to the authenticity or trust-
worthiness of The Acts would have increased the size of the Commentary beyond
the prescribed limits, without adding greatly to its value. But it may be proper
to refer the reader to The Beginnings of Christianity, by Dr. Fisher, as con-
taining, especially in chapters xv. and xvi., important replies to these objec-

12 EDITOR'S PREFACE.

tions, and to express the belief that nothing has been discovered by the most
recent scholarship which ought to weaken in the least our confidence in this part
of the New Testament as being fully entitled to its ancient place in the canon of
Holy Scripture.

Although Dr. Abbot has been consulted in respect to the kind of notes which
might be wisely inserted in this volume, he is in no degree responsible for the
views expressed in any of them ; but the work has had the benefit of his accurate
and practised eye in reading the proofs — a service which he was induced to
render by his high regard for the Author of the Commentary, with whom he was
formerly associated in the great work of preparing the American edition of

Smith's Dictionary oj the Bible.

ALVAH HOVEY.
S^KWTON Cbntbk, Mass., March 5. 18S&

INTRODUCTION.

il. THE WRITER OF THE ACTS.

The evidence that the book of Acts was written by Luke, to whom the Christian
world are accustomed to ascribe it, is of a threefold character. It will be sufficient for
the "object here in view merely to indicate the line of argument which establishes the
correctness of that opinion, A more complete and systematic view of the evidence
must be sought in works which treat professedly of the formation and transmission of
the Canon of the Scriptures.

In the first place, we have the explicit testimony of the early Christian writers that
Luke wrote the Acts of the Apostles. Irenseus, who became Bishop of Lyons in A. D.
178, and who was born so early that he was intimate with those who had seen the
apostles, says expressly that Luke was the author of the Acts ; he quotes from him
various single passages, and in one place gives a distinct summary of the last twelve
chapters of the book (Adv. Hceres., 3. 14. 1). He treats this authorship of the work as
a matter which he had no occasion to defend, because no one of his contemporaries had
called, it in question. From the generation which separated Irenseus from the age of
Luke we have only a few scanty remains ; but these, although they contain expressions'
which, according to the admission of nearly all critics, presuppose an acquaintance with
the Acts, are silent respecting the writer. To have mentioned him by name would have
been at variance with the informal mode of citing the Christian Scriptures which dis-
tinguishes the writings of that early period. The next witness is Clemens of Alexandria,
who flourished about A. D. 190. This Father not only speaks of Luke as having com-
posed the Acts in his Stromata (lib. 5), but is known to have written a commentary on
it, which has not been preserved. TertuUian, who lived about A. D. 200, offers the same
testimony. He has not only quoted the Acts repeatedly, but named Luke as the author
in such a way as makes it evident that he merely followed in this the universal opinion
of his age [De Jejun., c. 10; De PrcBscript. Hceret., c. 22; De Bapt, c. 10, etc.). Euse-
bius wrote about A. d. 325. He has recorded both his own belief and that of his time
in the following important statement : " Luke, a native of Antioch, by profession a
physician, was mostly Paul's companion, though he associated not a little with the
other apostles. He has left us examples of the art of healing souls, which he acquired
from the apostles, in two divinely-inspired books ; first, in the Gospel which he testifies
to have written according to what eye-witnesses and ministers of the word delivered to
him from the beginning, all which, also, he says that he investigated from the first;*

^ See the passages, in Kirchhofer's Samvilung zur Oeschichte da N. T. Canons, p. 161, sq., in
Lardner's Credibility, and in similar works.

* As the relative may be neuter or masculine, many take the sense of the Greek to be, all
whom he accompanied; but the manifest allusion to Luke 1 : 2, 3 renders the other the more
obvious translation.

14 INTRODUCTION.

and, secondly, in the Acts of the Apostles, which he composed, not from report, as
in the other case, but according to his own personal observation " {Hist. Eccl., 3. 4).

It would be superfluous to pursue this testimony farther. It may be proper to add
that no trace of any opposition to it or dissent from it has come down to us from the
first ages of the church. Some of the early heretical sects, it is true, as the Marcionites,
Manicheans, Severiaus, rejected the religious authority of the Acts ; but as they did this
because it contradicted their peculiar views, and as they admitted without question the
source from which their opponents claimed to receive it, their rejection of the book,
under such circumstances, becomes a conclusive testimony to its genuineness.

In the second place, the relation in which the Acts of the Apostles stands to the
Gospel which is ascribed to Luke proves that the author of the two productions must
be the same individual. The writer introduces his work as a continuation or second
part of a previous history, and dedicates it to a certain Theophilus, who can be no other
than the person for whose special information the Gospel was written. As to the iden-
tity of the writer of the Acts with the writer of the Gospel attributed to Luke, no well-
founded question has been, or can be, raised. Consequently, the entire mass of testi-
mony which proves that Luke the Evangelist wrote the Gospel which bears his name
proves with equal force that he wrote also the Acts of the Apostles. Thus the Acts
may be traced up to Luke through two independent series of witnesses. And it may
be confidently asserted that, unless the combined historical evidence from this twofold
source be admitted as conclusive in support of Luke's claim to the authorship of the
Acts, there is then no ancient book in the world the author of which can ever be ascer-
tained by us.

In the third place, the literary peculiarities which distinguish the Gospel of Luke
mark also the composition of the Acts and show that it must have come from the same
hand. The argument here is founded on a different relation of the Gospel to the Acts
from that to which we have just adverted. Luke being acknowledged as the author of
the Gospel, we know from that source what the characteristics of his style are ; and it
is maintained that these re-appear in the Acts to such an extent that we can account for
the agreement only by referring the two productions to the same writer. The reality
of the resemblance here asserted is conceded by critics of every name. It will be neces-
sary to restrict the illustration of it to a few examples.^ In Luke's Gospel, verbs com-
pounded with prepositions are more numerous than in the other Evangelists ; they are
found in the same proportion in the Acts. Matthew has cvv three times ; Mark, five
times ; John, three times, or, according to another reading, but twice ; while Luke em-
ploys it in his Gospel twenty-four times, and in the Acts fifty-one times. Luke has used
ana^ in his two books thirty-five times ; whereas it occurs in all the others but nine
times. TTopEVEd-daL is found in the Gospel forty-nine times and in the Acts thirty-eight
times, but is rarely found in other parts of the New Testament. The construction of
tiiTEiv and TmIeIv with izp6c, instead of the dative of the person addressed, is confined
almost exclusively to Luke. No other writer, except John in a few instances, ever says
Eiirelv irp6g, and XaXeiv npdc occurs out of Luke's writings only in 1 Cor. 14 : 6 ; Heb. 5 : 5
and 11 : 18. As in Luke's Gospel, so in the Acts, we have a characteristic use of 6e Kai
to express emphasis or gradation ; a similar use of koX avrSc or avroi ; the insertion of
the neuter article before interrogative sentences ; the omission of 6i after fiev ovv ; the
uniform preference of 'lepovaak^p. to 'lepoadlv/ia ; and still others. Credner, in his Intro-

* They are drawn out more or less fully in Gersdorf s Beitraege, p. 160, sq. ; Credner's Eirdeitung
in das neue Testament, p. 130, sq. ; Ebrard's Kritik der evangelischen Oeschichte, p. 671, ed. 1850 ;
Guericke's Oesammtgesckichte des N. T., p. 166, sq. ; Lekebusch's Composition und Entstehung der
Apostelgeschichte, p. 37, sq. ; and Dr. Davidson's Introduction to the New Testament, vol. i. p. 190,
and vol. 11. p. 8.

INTRODUCTION. 15

duction to the New Testament, has enumerated not fewer than sixty-five distinct idioms
which he considers as peculiar to Luke's diction as compared with that of the other
New-Testament writers ; and nearly all these he points out as occurring at the same
time in both the Gospel and the Acts. It is impossible, then, to doubt, unless we deny
that any confidence can be placed in this species of criticism, that if Luke wrote the
Gk>spel which we accredit to him, he must also have written the Acts.

I 2. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF LUKE.

According to Eusebius, as already quoted, and Jerome, who may be supposed to
represent the opinion of their times, Luke was a native of Antioch. As he appears in
the Acts to have spent so much time at Philippi, some modern writers have conjectured
that he may have been a native or an inhabitant of that city. The historical testimony
deserves more regard than an inference of that nature. That he was a Gentile by
birth appears to be certain from Col. 4 : 11, 14, where Paul distinguishes him from
those whom he denominates those who are of the circumcision {oi dvrec tK nepiTon^q). His
foreign extraction is confirmed also by the character of his style, which approaches
nearer to the standard of classical Greek than that of any other writer of the New
Testament, with the exception of the apostle Paul. This feature of his language ren-
ders it probable that he was of Greek origin. Some have inferred this also from his
Greek name ; but it was not uncommon for Jews, as well as Romans and other foreigners,
to assume such names at this period. Whether he was a proselyte to Judaism before
his conversion to Christianity, or not, is a question on which critics differ. The sup-
position that he adopted first the Jewish religion, and had done so perhaps in early life,
accounts best for his intimate acquaintance with the opinions and customs of the Jews,
his knowledge of the Septuagint, and the degree of Hebraistic tendency which shows
itself in his style. It appears from Col. 4 : 14 that Luke was a physician ; and the
general voice of antiquity, in accordance with that passage, represents him as having
belonged to the medical profession. The effect of his following such an employment
can be traced, as many critics think, in various passages of Luke's writings. (Comp. the
note on 28 : 8.) The fact that he was trained to such a pursuit — that he was a man,
therefore, of culture and observing habits of mind — is an important circumstance. It
has been justly remarked that, as many of the miracles which the first promulgators of
the gospel wrought in confirmation of its truth were cases of the healing of maladies,
Luke, by virtue of his medical skill and experience, was rendered peculiarly competent
to judge of the reality of such miracles.'

Of the manner in which the writer of the Acts was brought to a knowledge of the
gospel we have no information. The suggestion of some of the later Fathers, that he
was one of the seventy disciples, is not only without ground, but opposed to his own
statement in the introduction of his Gospel, where he distinguishes himself from those
who had been personal attendants on the ministry of Christ. It is evident that after
his conversion he devoted himself to public Christian labors, for the most part in con-
nection with the apostle Paul, whom he accompanied from place to place and aided in
his efforts for the extension of the gospel. The first explicit allusion which he makes
to himself occurs in 16 : 10, sq., where he gives an account of the apostle's departure
from Troas to Macedonia. In that passage Luke employs the first person plural, and
thus shows that he was one of the companions of Paul on that occasion. He goes with
the apostle from Troas to Philippi, and speaks of himself again in 20 : 6 as one of the

' I have made no allusion in the text to 2 Cor. 8 : 18 ; for it is barely possible that the author
of our narrative can be meant there as " the brother whose praise is in all the churches." See
De Wette's note on that passage in his Exegetischea Handbuch zum N. Testament.

16 INTRODUCTION.

several individuals who sailed with Paul from the same city on his last journey to Jeru-
salem. Whether Luke had been separated from Paul during the interval, or remained
with him, cannot be certainly known. It is eminently characteristic of the sacred
writers that they keep themselves out of view in their narratives. Hence some have
argued that we are not to infer that Luke was necessarily absent when he employs the
third person, but rather that it was a sort of inadvertence, as it were, against his design
that he has now and then disclosed his personal connection with the history. The other
opinion is the surer one. We cannot be certain that Luke was in the company of Paul,
except at the times when his language shows that he was personally concerned in what
he relates. It is clear, even according to this view, that Luke, in addition to his accom-
panying Paul on his first journey from Troas to Philippi, remained with him, without
any known interruption, from the period of his leaving Philippi the second time to the
end of his career. He goes with the apostle to Jerusalem, where the latter was appre-
hended and given up to the custody of the Romans (20 : 6, sq. ; 21 : 1, sq.) ; he speaks
of himself as still with him at the close of his impnaonment at Csesarea (27 : 1) ; pro-
ceeds with him on his voyage to Rome (27 : 1, sq.) ; and, as we see from the Epistles
which Paul wrote while in that city, continued to be associated with him down to the
latest period of his life of which any record remains. The apostle mentions Luke as
residing with him at Rome in Col. 4 : 14; Phil. 24; and 2 Tim. 4 : 11. Of his sub-
sequent history nothing authentic has been preserved. The traditions which relate to
this period are uncertain and contradictory. According to Gregory Nazianzen, whom
several later writers follow, he suffered martyrdom ; according to others, and those
whose testimony has greater weight, he died a natural death.

§3. AUTHENTICITY OF THE ACTS.

The foregoing sketch shows us how ample were Luke's means of information in re-
gard to the subjects of which his history treats. Of most of the events which he has
recorded he was an eye-witness. The materials which compose the body of the work
lay within the compass of his own personal knowledge. The particulars which he com-
municates respecting Paul's life and labors before his own acquaintance with him he
could have learned at a subsequent period in his intercourse with that apostle. His ex-
tensive journeyings could hardly fail to have brought him into connection with most of
the other persons who appear as actors in the history. Some of his information he de-
rived, no doubt, from written sources. The official documents which he has inserted
(15 : 23, sq. ; 23 : 26, sq.) were public, and could have been copied. We assume nothing
at variance with the habits of antiquity in supposing that the more extended discourses
and speeches, which Luke himself did not hear, may have been noted down by others at
the time of their delivery, or soon afterward, while the impression made by them was
still vivid. If the writer of the Acts had any occasion for the use of such reports, his
travels from one country to another must have given him access to the persons who
could furnish them.^

We are to recollect, further, that the declaration which Luke makes at the com-
mencement of his Gospel applies equally to the Acts. It was his habit, as we learn
there, to avail himself of every possible source of inquiry, in order to ascertain the cer-
tainty of what he wrote. With such opportunities at his command, and with such a

1 Some critics, as Schleiermacher, Bleek, De Wette, have thrown out the idea that Luke may
have derived those parts of the Acts in which the narrator employs the first person plural from
a history of Paul's missionary labors written by Timothy. (See the note on 20 : 6.) Among the
writers who have shown the untenableness of that hypothesis are Ebrard, Kritik, u. s. w., p.
732, sq.; Lekebusch, Composition, u. s. w., p. 131, sq. ; and Davidson, Introditction, vol. ii
p 9, sq.

INTRODUCTION. 17

character for diligence in the use of them, the writer of the Acts, considered simply in
the light of an ordinary historian, comes before us with every title to confidence which
can be asserted in behalf of the best-accredited human testimony.

But this is not all. We have not only every reason to regard the history of Luke as
authentic, because he wrote it with such facilities for knowing the truth, but because we
find it sustaining its credit under the severest scrutiny to which it is possible that an
ancient work should be subjected.

First. This history has been confronted with the Epistles of the New Testament, and
it has been shown as the result that the incidental correspondences between them and
the Acts are numerous and of the most striking kind. They are such as preclude the
supposition of their being the result of either accident or design. It is impossible
to account for them, unless we admit that the transactions which Luke records really
took place in the manner that he has related. It is the object of Paley's HbrcB FauHnce
to develop this argument ; and the demonstration of the truth of the Acts, and of the
New Testament in general, which he has furnished in that work, no objector has ever
attempted to refute.

Secondly. The speeches in the Acts which purport to have been delivered by Peter,
Paul, and James have been compared with the known productions of these men ; and it
is found that they exhibit an agreement with them, in point of thought and expression,
which the supposition of their common origin would lead us to expect. The speeches
attributed to Peter contain peculiar phrases and ideas which impart a characteristic
similarity to them as compared with the other speeches, and which appear again in his
Epistles, but in no other portion of the New Testament. In like manner, the speeches
of Paul evince an affinity both to each other and to his Epistles, in the recurrence of
favorite words, modes of construction, and turns of thought, such as belong to no other
writer. We have but one address from James, but even here we discover striking points
of connection with the Epistle which bears his name. Occasion will be taken in the
course of the Commentary to illustrate this peculiar feature of the history.

Thirdly. We have a decisive test of the trustworthiness of Luke in the consistency
of his statements and allusions with the information which contemporary writers have
given us respecting the age in which he lived and wrote. The history which we read in
the Acts connects itself at numerous points with the social customs of diflFerent and dis-
tant nations; with the fluctuating civil affairs of the Jews, Greeks, and Romans; and
with geographical or political divisions and arrangements, which were constantly under-
going some change or modification. Through all these circumstances, which underlie
Luke's narrative from commencement to end, he pursues his way without a single in-
stance of contradiction or collision. Examples of the most unstudied harmony with
the complicated relations of the times present themselves at every step. No writer who
was conscious of fabricating his story would have hazarded such a number of minute
allusions, since they increase so immensely the risk of detection ; and still less, if he
had ventured upon it, could he have introduced them so skilfully as to baffle every at-
tempt to discover a single well-founded instance of ignorance or oversight. It adds to
the force of the argument to remark that in the pages of Luke every such allusion falls
from him entirely without effort or parade. It never strikes the reader as farfetched or
contrived. Every incident, every observation, flows naturally out of the progress of the
narrative. It is no exaggeration to say that the well-informed reader who will study
carefully the book of the Acts, and compare the incidental notices to be found on almost
every page with the geography and the political history of the times, and with the cus-
toms of the different countries in which the scene of the transactions is laid, will receive
an impression of the writer's fidelity and accuracy equal to that of the most forcible
treatises on the truth of Christianity.
2

18 INTRODUCTION.

The objections which sceptical writers have urged against the authenticity of the
Acts relate chiefly to the supernatural character of its narrations. It does not belong
to the province of biblical criticism to reply to such objections. They have adduced
also a few instances of alleged offence against history or chronology or archaeology, but
these result from an unnecessary interpretation. We may understand the passages
which are said to contain the inconsistency in a different manner, and thus remove en-
tirely the occasion for it.

§4. OBJECT AND PLAN OF THE BOOK.

The common title of the Acts — npa^eig tuv anoardhjv — is ancient, but is supposed
generally to have been prefixed, not by the author, but by some later hand. It is read
differently in different manuscripts. It is too comprehensive to describe accurately the
contents of the book. The writer's object, if we are to judge of it from what he has
performed, must have been to furnish a summary hisiory of the origin, gradual increase,
and extension of the Christian Church, through the instrumentality, chiefly, of the
apostles Peter and Paul. In fact, we have not a complete history, but a compendium
merely, of the labors of these two apostles, who were most active in their efforts to
advance the gospel, while the other apostles are only referred to or named incidentally
in connection with some particular occurrence. It is not to be supposed that Luke has
recorded all the facts which were known to him respecting the early spread of Christi-
anity. On what principle he proceeded in making his selection from the mass of
materials before him we cannot decide with certainty. He may have been influenced
in part by the personal relation which he sustained to the individuals introduced and
the events described by him. It is still more probable that the wants of the particular
class of readers whom he had in view may have shaped, more or less consciously, the
course of his narrative; and these readers, in the absence of any surer indication, we
may consider as represented by Theophilus, who was in all probability a convert from
heathenism. (See note on 1 : 1.)

In writing for such readers, we should expect that Luke would lean toward those
aspects of the history which illustrated the design of God in reference to the heathen ;
their right to participate in the blessings of the gospel without submitting to the forms
of Judaism ; the conflict of opinion which preceded the full recognition of this right ;
and the success more particularly of those apostolic labors which were performed in be-
half of heathen countries. It cannot be denied that the contents of the Acts exhibit a
predilection for this class of topics ; and to that extent the book may be said to have
been written, in order to illustrate the unrestricted nature of the blessings of the gospel.
On the other hand, it should be observed that this predilection is merely such as would
spring naturally from the writer's almost unconscious sympathy with his Gentile readers,
and is by no means so marked as to authorize us, according to the view of some writers,
to impute to him anything like a formal purpose to trace the relation of Judaism to
Christianity.

In accordance with this trait of the Acts here alluded to, we have a very particular
account of the manner in which Peter was freed from his Jewish scruples. The recep-
tion of the first heathen converts into the church is related at great length. The pro-
ceedings of the Council at Jerusalem with reference to the question whether circumcision
should be permanent occupy one of the leading chapters of the book. And the indi-
vidual of the apostles who preached chiefly to the Gentiles, and introduced the gospel
most extensively into heathen countries, is the one whom the writer has made the
central object of his history, and whose course of labor he has described in the full-
est manner.

INTRODUCTION. 19

Luke has pursued no formal plan in the arrangement of the Acts. The subject of
his history, however, divides itself naturally into two principal parts. The first part treats
of the apostolic labors of Peter, and hence particularly of the spread of Christianity
among the Jews, occupying the first twelve chapters ; the second, of the labors of Paul,
and henee the promulgation of the gospel in Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome, occu-
pying the remaining chapters. But the book contains other topics which are related to
these only in a general way. The following division marks out to view the different
sections more distinctly : 1. Outpouring of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, and the
antecedent circumstances ; 2. Events relating to the progress of the gospel in Judea
and Samaria ; 3. The transition of the gospel to the heathen, in the conversion of Cor-
nelius and others ; 4. The call of the apostle Paul, and his first missionary tour ; 5,
The Apostolic Council at Jerusalem ; 6. The second missionary tour of Paul ; 7. His
third missionary tour, and his apprehension at Jerusalem; 8. His imprisonment at
Csesarea, and voyage to Rome.

H. TIME AND PLACE OF WRITING THE ACTS.

The time when the Acts was written could not have been far distant from that of
the termination of Paul's imprisonment at Rome, mentioned at the close of the history.
The manner in which Luke speaks of that imprisonment implies clearly that at the
time when he wrote the apostle's condition had changed; that he was no longer a
prisoner, either because he had been liberated or because he had been put to death.

It does not affect the present question whether we suppose that he was imprisoned
twice or only once. (See note on 28 : 31.) If we suppose that he was set at liberty, we
have then a most natural explanation of the abrupt close of the book in the fact that
Luke published it just at the time of the apostle's release, or so soon after that event
that the interval furnished nothing new which he deemed it important to add to the
hi3tor)\ On the other hand, if We suppose that Paul's captivity terminated in his
martyrdom, it is not easy to account for the writer's silence respecting his death, except
on the ground that it was so recent and so well known in the circle of his readers that
they did not need the information. Thus, in both cases, the time of writing the Acts
would coincide very nearly with the end of the Roman captivity of which Luke has
spoken.

The question arises now. Do we know the time when that captivity ended, whether
it may have been by acquittal or by death ? Here we must depend upon the surest
chronological data which exist, though it is not pretended that they are certain. Ac-
cording to a computation which has received the assent of most critics, Paul was brought
as a prisoner to Rome in the year A. d. 61 or 62. In the year 64 followed the conflagra-
tion in that city, which was kindled by the agency of Nero, but which, for the sake of
averting the odium of the act from himself, he charged on the Christians, This led to
the first Christian persecution, so called, which is mentioned by Tacitus {Annul., 15. 44),
Suetonius {Ner., 16), and possibly Juvenal {Serm., 1. 146, sg.). If now Paul was set at
liberty after his confinement of two years, it must have been just before the commence-
ment of Nero's persecution — that is, in the year A. D. 63, or near the beginning of 64.
But if, according to the other supposition, the two years were not completed until the
persecution commenced, he must, in all probability, as the leader of the Christian sect,
have soon shared the common fate, and so have been put to death about the year 64.
Hence we may consider this date, or the close of A. D. 63, as not improbably the time
when Luke wrote, or at least published, the Acts of the Apostles.

But if Luke wrote the book thus near the expiration of the two years that Paul was
a prisoner at Rome, it is most natural to conclude that he wrote it in that city. This

20 INTRODUCTION.

was also the opinion of many of the early Christian Fathers. The probability of this
conclusion is greatly strengthened by the fact that Luke makes no mention of Paul's
liberation or martyrdom, as the case may have been. At Rome every reader of the
apostle's history knew, of course, what the result of his captivity there was ; and if Luke
wrote it at that place, the absence of any allusion to his fate would not seem to be so
very surprising. On the contrary, if Luke wrote it at a distance from the scene of the
apostle's captivity, the omission would be much more extraordinary.

2 6. CHRONOLOGY OF THE ACTS.

The subject of the chronology of the Acts is still attended with uncertainties which
no efforts of critical labor have been able wholly to remove. "After all the combina-
tions," says Schott,* " which the ingenuity of scholars has enabled them to devise, and
all the fulness of historical learning which they have applied to the subject, it has been
impossible to arrive at results which are satisfactory in all respects." The source of the
difficulty is that the notations of time are for the most part entirely omitted, or, if they
occur here and there, are contained in general and indefinite expressions. We must
content ourselves, therefore, with endeavoring to fix the dates of a few leading events
which may be ascertained with most certainty, and must then distribute the other
contents of the book with reference to these, on the basis of such incidental inti-
mations as may be found to exist, or of such probable calculations as we may be
able to form.

1. The Yeae of Paul's Conversion.

The date of this event is very uncertain, but an attempt has been made to approxi-
mate to it by means of the following combination. In Gal. 1 : 15-18, it is stated that
Paul went up to Jerusalem from Damascus three years from the time of his conversion,
and we learn from 2 Cor. 11 : 32 that Damascus, when Paul made his escape from it on
that occasion, was in the hands of Aretas, King of Arabia. As this city belonged to
the Romans, it is remarkable that it should have been just at that time wrested from
them, and the circumstances under which such an event took place must have been
peculiar. It is conjectured that a juncture like this may have led to that occurrence.
Josephus relates that an army of Herod Antipas had been defeated about this time by
Aretas, King of Arabia. Upon this, the Emperor Tiberius, who was a friend and ally
of Herod, directed Vitellius, Roman Governor of Syria, to collect an adequate force,
and to take Aretas prisoner or slay him in the attempt. Before Vitellius could execute
this order news came that the emperor was dead, and, as a consequence of this, the
military preparations on foot were suspended. This sudden respite afforded Aretas an
opportunity to march upon Damascus and reduce it to his possession. The city, how-
ever, supposing him to have become master of it, could not have remained long in his
power. We find that the difficulties with Arabia were all adjusted in the first years of
the reign of Caligula, the successor of Tiberius — i. e. within A. D. 37-39 ; and the policy
of the Romans would lead them, of course, to insist on the restoration of so important
a place as Damascus. If, now, we place the escape of Paul in the last of these years (so
as to afford time for the incidental delays), and deduct the three years during which he
had been absent from Jerusalem, we obtain A. D. 36 as the probable epoch of the
apostle's conversion. It is in favor of this conclusion, says Neander, that it gives us
an interval neither too long nor too short for the events which took place in the church
between the ascension of Christ and the conversion of Paul. Among others who fix
upon the same year, or vary from it but one or two years, may be mentioned Eichhorn,

• Erorterung einiger chronologischen Punkte in der Lebensgeschichte des Apostel Paul, g 1.

INTRODUCTION. 21

Hug, Hemsen, Schott, Guericke, Meyer, De Wette, Anger,* Ebrard, Alford, Howson.*
This date determines that of Stephen's martyrdom, which took place, apparently, not
long before Paul's conversion, and also that of Paul's first journey to Jerusalem and
his subsequent departure to Tarsus.

2. The Death of Herod Agbippa.

This occurred at Csesarea in the year A. D. 44. The statements of Josephus are de-
cisive on this point. He says that Agrippa, who, under Caligula, had reigned over only
a part of Palestine, received the entire sovereignty of his grandfather, Herod the Great,
on the accession of Claudius — viz. in the year A. D. 41 {Antt., 19. 5. 1), and, further, that
at the time of his death he had completed the third year after this extension of his
power {Antt., 19. 8. 2). This date fixes the position of several other important events ;
such as the execution of James the elder, the arrest and deliverance of Peter, the return
of Paul to Antioch from his second visit to Jerusalem, and his departure on his first
missionary excursion.

3. The Third Journey of Paul to Jerusalem.

In Gal. 2 : 1 the apostle speaks of going up to Jerusalem after fourteen years, which
are to be computed, in all probability, from the time of his conversion. It has been
made a question whether this journey is to be understood as the second or third of the
several journeys which Paul is mentioned in the Acts as having made to Jerusalem.
The general opinion is that it should be understood of the third — first, because the
object of that journey, as stated in 15 : 1, sq., coincides exactly with that which occa-
sioned the one mentioned in the Epistle to the Galatians ; and secondly, because the
circumstances which are described as having taken place in connection with the journey
in 15 : 1, sq., agree so entirely with those related in the Epistle.' Supposing, then, the
identity of the two journeys to be established, we add the fourteen years already men-
tioned to the date of Paul's conversion — viz. 36 — and we have A. D. 50 as the year when
he went up to Jerusalem the third time after he had become a Christian.* With this
year coincides that of holding the Council at Jerusalem. Paul departed on his second
missionary tour soon after his return to Antioch from this third visit to Jerusalem, and
hence we are enabled to assign that second tour to the year a. d. 51.

4. The Procubatorship of Felix.

The time of this officer's recall, on being superseded by Festus (see 24 : 27), is as-
signed by most critics to the year A. D. 60 or 61. The names of both these men are
well known in secular history, but it so happens that we meet with only indirect state-

1 De temporum in Actis Apostolorum ratione, p. 121, sq.

* Wieseler ( Chronologic des Apostolischen ZeiiaUers, pp. 175-213) assigns Paul's conversion to A. D.
40. It was gratifying to me to find that, with this exception, all his other dates agree with those
which I had been led to adopt before consulting his able treatise.

* The reasons for this conclusion are well stated by Hemsen, in his Der Apostel Patdut, u. s. w.,
p. 52, sq., translated by the writer in the Christian Review, 1841, p. 66. sq. Dr. Davidson has dis-
cussed the question with the same result in his Introduction, vol. ii. pp. 112-122. See, also, Cony-
beare and Howson, Life and Epistles of St PatU, vol. 1. p. 539, sq. (2d ed.), and Jowett On Gala-
tians, p. 252.

* It is proper to apprise the reader that some reckon the fourteen years hi Gal. 2 : 1 fix>m the
apostle's first return to Jerusalem (Gal. 1 : 18) ; and in that case his third journey to that city
would be dated three years later. But few, comparatively, adopt this view. The apostle's conver-
sion is the governing epoch, to which the mind of the render naturally turns back from Gal. 2 : 1,
as well as from Gal. 1 : 18.

22 INTRODUCTION.

ments relating to the point which concerns us here. It is generally agreed that these
statements justify the following opinion. It is certain that Felix could not have been
recalled later than the year 62. Josephus states [Antt., 20. 8. 9) that Felix, soon after
his return to Rome, was accused before the emperor, by a deputation from the Jews in
Palestine, of maladministration while in oflSce, and that he would have been condemned
had it not been for the influence of his brother Pallas, who stood high at that time in
the favor of Nero. This Pallas now, according to Tacitus {Ann., 14. 65), was poisoned
by Nero in the year 62. The only circumstance which impairs the certainty of this
conclusion is that Tacitus states [Ann., 13. 14) that Pallas had lost the favor of Nero
some time before this, and had been entirely removed from public business. Hence
some have placed the appointment of Festus as successor of Felix several years earlier
than A. D. 61. But there is reason to believe that the disgrace of which Tacitus speaks
may have been only temporary, and that Pallas may afterward have recovered his in-
fluence with the emperor. Since it is certain, according to Tacitus himself, that the
death of this favorite did not occur till A. D, 62, it can be more easily supposed that
Nero was again reconciled to him than that this revengeful tyrant should have suflered
him to live several years after he had become odious to him. De Wette, Anger, Meyer,
Wieseler, and others, admit this supposition, under the circumstances of the case, to be
entirely natural.

It is less easy to fix the limit on the other side. The general belief is that Festus
could not have succeeded Felix earlier than A. d. 60 or 61. Josephus relates {Antt, 20.
8. 11) that Festus, after having entered on his oflSce, permitted a deputation of the
Jews to repair to Rome, in order to obtain the decision of Nero in a controversy be-
tween himself and them, and that Poppsea, the wife of Nero, interceded for them, and
enablcf" them to gain their object. But this woman did not become the wife^ of Nero
until the year 62 (Tac, Ann., 14, 49 ; Suet., Ner., 35) ; and hence, as Festus must have
been in Judea some time before this difiiculty with the Jews arose, and as, after that,
some time must have elapsed before the case could be decided at Rome, Festus may
have received his appointment in the year 60 or 61. The best recent authorities, as
Winer, De Wette, Anger, Meyer, Wieseler, adopt one or the other of these years.

We reach very nearly the same result from what Josephus says of his journey to
Rome in behalf of the Jewish priests whom Felix had sent thither for trial before his
removal from office. He informs us in his Life (§ 3) that he made his journey in the
twenty-sixth year of his age, and, as he was born in the first year of the reign of Calig-
ula— i. e. A. D. 37 {Life, § 1) — ^he visited Rome on this occasion about 63. His narra-
tive, without being definite, implies that Felix at this time had not only been recalled,
but must have left Palestine two or three years earlier than this. Festus was the im-
mediate successor of Felix.

It is the more important to settle as nearly as possible some epoch in this portion of

1 Some, as Neapder, Wieseler, object to the stricter sense of yvio} in the passage of Josephus,
but it is defended by Schrader, Meyer, and others, as the more obvious sense, whether we con-
sider the historical facts or the usage of the word. Neander {Pflamung, u. s. w., vol. i. p. 493)
expresses himself with much hesitation respecting this date of the succession of Felix and
Festus. It is important, for the purpose of laying up in the mind a connected view of the his-
tory, to settle upon the precise years as nearly as possible ; and we ought not to deprive ourselves
of this advant^e merely because some of the conclusions, or the grounds of them, cannot be
placed entirely beyond doubt. It is admitted that, of the dates proposed in the above scheme of
chronology, the second (that of Herod's death) and the last in a lower degree (that of Paul's ar-
rival at Rome) are the only ones that can be brought to a state of comparative certainty. In
regard to the others I have not meant to daim for them anything more than the character of an
approximation to the truth.

INTRODUCTION. 23

the apostle's history, since there would be otherwise so much uncertainty as to the
mode of arranging the events in the long interval between this and Paul's third journey
to Jerusalem. Upon this date depends the year of the apostle's arrest in that city on
his fifth and last visit thither, before he was sent to Bome. His captivity at Caesarea,
which followed that arrest, continued two years, and must have commenced in the
spring of A. i>. 58 or 59.

5. The Abrival of Paul in Rome,
The extreme limit beyond which we cannot place this event may be regarded as
certain. It could not have been later than the year 62 ; for after 64, when the Chris-
tians at Rome began to be persecuted by the Roman Government, their situation was
such that the apostle could not have remained there and preached the gospel for two
years without molestation, as stated by Luke at the end of the Acts. It is impossible
to obtain a more definite result than this from secular history.' But the date in ques-
tion follows as a deduction firom the one considered in the last paragraph. It is evi-
dent from the Acts that Paul proceeded to Rome almost immediately after the entrance
of Festus on his office ; and if this took place in A. D. 60 or 61, he must have arrived in
Rome early in the spring of 61 or 62. Hence, if he arrived even in A. d. 62, he could
have remained two years in captivity and then have regained his freedom (if we adopt
that opinion), since Nero's persecution of the Christians did not commence till the
summer of a. d. 64.

I 7. THE CONTENTS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER.

A. D.

88. — Ascension of Christ. Appointment of Matthias as an apostle. Outpouring of
the Spirit at Pentecost. The gift of tongues conferred. Discourse of Peter.
Three thousand are converted. — Pilate, under whom the Saviour was crucified,
is still procurator of Judea. Tiberius continues emperor till A. D. 87.

83-85. — Peter and John heal the lame man. They are arraigned before the Sanhedrim
and forbidden to preach. Death of Ananias and Sapphira. The apostles are
scourged. Deacons appointed. Apprehension and martyrdom of Stephen.
Saul makes havoc of the church.
36. — Persecution scatters the believers at Jerusalem. Philip preaches the gospel in
Samaria. Hypocrisy of Simon the Magian. Baptism of the eunuch. The
word is made known in Phoenicia, Cypnis, and at Antioch in Syria. Christ
appears to Saul on the way to Damascus. Conversion of Paul.

87-39. — Paul spends these three years at Damascus and in Arabia. During the same
time other laborers spread the gospel in Judea, Galilee, and along the coast of
the Mediterranean. — Caligula becomes emperor in A. D. 37.
39. — Paul escapes from Damascus, and goes to Jerusalem for the first time since his
conversion. Barnabas introduces him to the disciples. He remains there fifteen
days, but is persecuted, and departs thence to Tarsus.

40-43. — During this period Paul preaches in Syria and Cilicia. Churches are gathered
there. Barnabas is sent to search for him, and conducts him to Antioch. In
the meantime Peter visits Joppa, Lydda, and Caesarea. Dorcas is restored to
life. Cornelius is baptized. Peter defends himself for visiting the heathen. —
Claudius becomes emperor in the beginning of A. D. 41. On his accession he
makes Herod Agrippa I. king over all Palestine.

1 Whether this result is confirmed by ry 9rpanw*6ipxa in 28 : 16 depends on the explanation of
the article. (See the note on that passage.)

24 INTRODUCTION.

A. D.
44. — Paul labors "a whole year" with Barnabas at Antioch. Agabus predicts a
famine in Judea. James the elder is beheaded at Jerusalem. Peter is cast into
prison ; his liberation and flight. — Herod Agrippa dies at Caesarea in the sum-
mer of this year. Judea is again governed by procurators.
45. — Paul goes to Jerusalem the second time, on the alms-errand, accompanied by
Barnabas. He returns to Antioch, and under the direction of the Spirit is set
apart by the church to the missionary work. In the same year, probably, he
goes forth with Barnabas and Mark on his first mission to the heathen.

46, 47. — He was absent on this tour about two years. He proceeds by the way of
Seleucia to Salamis and Paphos in Cyprus ; at the latter place Sergius Paulus
believes, and Elymas is struck blind. Crossing the sea, he lands at Perga,
where John Mark abruptly leaves him. He preaches in the synagogue at
Antioch. Labors with success at Iconium. At Lystra he is about to
be worshipped as a god, and afterward is stoned. Escapes to Derbe. Re-
traces his way to Perga. Sails from Attaleia, and comes again to Antioch
in Syria.

48, 49. — Here he abode, it is said, " a long time." We may assign these two years
to that residence. He extended his labors, no doubt, to the neighboring
regions.
60. — Apostolic Council at Jerusalem. Paul makes his third journey to that city, in
company with Barnabas and others, as delegates from the church at Antioch.
Returns to Antioch with the decrees. Paul and Barnabas separate.

61-54. — The apostle's second missionary tour. Silas, Timothy, and Luke are associated
»vith him. Paul revisits the churches in Syria and Cilicia. Plants the churches
in Galatia. At Troas he embarks for Europe, and, among other places, visits
Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth. In this last city he remained
at least a year and a half. Labored with Aquila at tent-making. Left the
synagogue and preached to Greeks. He is arraigned before Gallio. In this city
Paul wrote the First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians.' In the spring,
probably, of A. D. 54 he leaves Corinth, embarks at Cenchrese, touches at Ephe-
sus, lands at Caesarea, and from there goes for the fourth time to Jerusalem, and
thence to Antioch. We may allot three years, or three and a half, to this
journey. — Felix became procurator of Judea in A. D. 52. In A. d. 53, Claudius
bestowed on Herod Agrippa II. the former tetrarchy of Philip and Lysanias,
with the title of king. In A. d. 54, Nero succeeded Claudius as emperor.

54-67. — In the autumn of A, d. 54 according to some, or early in A. D. 55 according to
others, Paul entered on his third missionary tour. He goes through Galatia
and Phrygia to Ephesus, where he spends the greater part of the next three
years. Just before his arrival Apollos left Ephesus for Corinth. Certain dis-
ciples of John are baptized. Nearly all Asia hears the gospel. The exorcists
defeated. An uproar at Ephesus. The Asiarchs befriend Paul. During this
sojourn here Paul wrote the Epistle to the Galatians and the First Epistle to the
Corinthians. Within the same time he made, probably, a short journey to
Corinth, either directly across the ^gean or through Macedonia. While on
this excursion, some suppose that he wrote the First Epistle to Timothy, and
after his return to Ephesus that to Titus.

1 The reasons for assigning the difTerent Epistles to the times and places mentioned are stated
in the body of the CJommentabt.

INTRODUCTION. 26

A. D.

58, 69. — In the spring of A. D. 58, or perhaps A. d. 57 (if this tour began in 54), the
apostle leaves Ephesus and proceeds to Macedonia, where he writes his Second
Epistle to the Corinthians. He spent the summer in that region, and travelled
probably as far west as Illyricum. In the autumn or early winter of this year
he arrives at Corinth, and remains there three months. The Jews plot his de-
struction. At this time he wrote the Epistle to the Romans. In the ensuing
spring he returns through Macedonia to Troas, where he preached and " broke
bread." Miraculous recovery of Eutychus, At Miletus he addressed the Ephe-
sian elders. Landing at Ptolemais, he proceeded to Csesarea, and thence to
Jerusalem, which is his fifth and last visit to that city. This journey occupied
about four years.

58 or 69. — At Jerusalem, Paul assumes a vow, to conciliate the Jewish believers. He
is seized by the Jews in the temple, but is rescued by Lysias the chiliarch.
Speech to the mob from the stairs of the castle. His Roman citizenship saves
him from the torture. He stands before the Sanhedrim, and narrowly escapes
with his life. Forty Jews conspire against him. Lysias sends him as a state
prisoner to Felix at Csesarea.

59-61. — His captivity here continues two years. He pleads his cause before Felix, who
detains him in the hope of a bribe. The Jews renew their charge against him
before Festus. Paul is compelled to appeal to Caesar. He speaks in the pres-
ence of King Agrippa, and is pronounced innocent. — Felix was superseded by
Festus in A. D. 60 or 61.

62-64. — In the autumn of A. D. 60 or 61, Paul embarked at Csesarea for Rome, and ar-
rived there early in the following spring. He remains in custody two years.
During this period he wrote the Epistles to the Ephesians, Colossians, Philip-
pians, Philemon, and, if he suffered martyrdom at this time, the Second Epistle
to Timothy, jpst before his death. The Epistle to the Hebrews was written,
probably, in this latter part of the apostle's life. Most of those who maintain
that Paul was imprisoned twice at Rome suppose (the correct opinion, as it
seems to me) that he wrote the First Epistle to Timothy and that to Titus in the
interval between his first and second captivity, and his Second Epistle to
Timothy in the near prospect of his execution, after his second arrest.

C OMMENT^RY.

FOR THE READER.

The works on the Greek language to which most frequent reference has been made are the
following :

W., Wineb's Cframmatik des neutestamentliehen Spraehidioms, sixth edition, 1855 (the divis-
ions in the English translation, fourth edition, sometimes differ).

S., Pbof. Stttakt's Orammar of the New Testament Dialect, second edition.

K., Kuehneb's Greek Orammar, translated by Edwards and Taylor.

C, Crosby's Greek Orammar.

B., Buttmakn's, Robinson's translation.

Mt., Matthli:'s, third edition of the original, or Blomfield's translation.

Dnld., Or., Donaldson's Complete Greek Orammar (London, 1848).

Bernh., Synt., Bernhabdy's Wissemschaftliche Syntax.

Hart., PartkL, Habtung's Lehre von den Partikeln, u. «. w.

Kl., Devr., Demriut, De Gh. Ling. Particulis, edidit Klotz.

Lob., Phryn., Phrynichi Eclogm Nominum, edidit LoBECK.

Tittm., Synm., Tittmann, De Synonymis in N. Testamento.

Pape, Lex., Handvxirterbuch der Oriechisehen Sprache, von Db. W. Pape (Braunsschweig,
1842).

R. and P., Lex., Pasaow, Handtodrterbueh der Or. Sprache, neu bearbeitet, u. s. w., von Db.
RosT und Db. Palm (Leipzig, 1841-56).

Some other names, especially those of commentators or critics, mentioned often, as well as
titles of books quoted often, have been abbreviated. A list of such contractions will be found
at the end of the volume.

THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.

CHAPTER I.

THE former treatise have I made, O 'Theophilus, of
all that Jesus began both to do and teach.

1 The iformer treatise I made, O Theophilus, con*
cerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach.

-iQr.jtnt.

Ch. 1 : 1-3. RELATION OF THE ACTS
TO THE GOSPEL OP LUKE.

1. ftiv, solitarium — i. e. without any follow-
ing St. This omission, which occurs in the
best writers, is very common in this book.
(See V. 18 ; 3 : 13 ; 19 : 4 ; 26 : 4, etc. K. § 322.
R. 4; W. ? 63. 1. 2. e.) The writer frames the
clause in which he refers to his first history
{ney) as if he had intended to add here (Si)
that he would now relate how extensively the
name of Jesus had been made known, and by
what means. Being led, by the allusion to the
ascension of Christ, to state the circumstances
of that event, he drops the proposed antithesis
and leaves the subject of the book to unfold
itself from the course of the narrative. — vpSt-
Toi> (first) stands for the stricter nporipov {for-
mer), like the interchange of first and for-
mer in English. (Comp. John 1 : 15, 30 ; 15 : 18 ;
and perhaps Luke 2 : 2.)— Treatise, " his-
tory," as in Herod. (6. 19), and thence on-
ward.— Theophilus. He appears from Luke
1 : 3 to have been a man of rank, since most
excellent, when prefixed in the Acts to the
name of a person, refers, not to character, but
to station. (See 23 : 26 ; 24 : 3 ; 26 : 25.) From
the feet that Luke wrote his Gospel confessedly
for Gentile readers, and that both there and
here he has uniformly supplied such informa-
tion respecting Jewish customs and places as
they would need, we may conclude that The-
ophilus belonged to that class of readers, and
that he was not, therefore, a Jew or a resident
in Palestine. The manner in which the book
terminates (see Introduct., p. 21) favors the
supposition that he may have lived at Rome
or in Italy. Some have urged it as an argu-
ment for that opinion that Luke has merely
enumerated the names of places In Italy as if
his readers were familiar with them ; but the
proof is not conclusive. He takes for granted
a similar knowledge of the geography of Asia

Minor and Greece. He inserts no explanatory
notices in this part of the history, unless we
are to except 16 : 12; 27 : 12.— Which Jesus
both did and taught from the beginning

— viz. of his career. Stv {of which) stands by
attraction for o {which). Began carries back
the mind to the commencement of the Sav-
iour's history, and is equivalent in sense to
from the beginning. Hence this verb
marks the limit of the narrative in one di-
rection, as until what day does in the other.
This adverbial sense belongs usually to the
participle (Mt. g 558), but may be admitted also
in the verb. (Hmph.^ adopts this analysis in
his second edition.) It gives the same result,
though less directly, if we consider the expres-
sion as elliptical : which he began and pro-
ceeded both to do, etc. (Comp. v. 22 ; Matt.
20 : 8 ; Luke 23 : 5. See W. § 66. 1. c.) Other
explanations have been proposed. Meyer finds
in it an implied contrast between the labors of
Christ and those of the apostles. He laid the
foundation; they were to build upon it and
finish what he began. This seems to me far-
fetched. (But in his last edition Meyer retracts
this opinion, and says justly that "Itjo-oOv (Jesus)
with that contrastive force would naturally
precede the verb.) Olshausen thinks that
Luke intended to suggest by began (^pforo)
that Christ only commenced his work on
earth; that he still continues, and will com-
plete, it in heaven. Baumgarten' (p. 8, sq.)
contends for the same view, and deduces from
it what he supposes to be Luke's special design
in writing the Acts — viz. to represent the Sav-
iour after his ascension as still acting through
the apostles, and thus carrying forward by their
agency the merely incipient labors of his life
on earth. Of course, this activity of Christ, who
is ever present with his people (M«tt. m :7o), could
not fail to be recognized in the history (as in
3 : 26; 4 : 30; 19 : 13, etc.) ; but it is impos-

M Commentary on the Act* oj the Apottles, by W. G. Humphry, B. D., late Fellow of Trinity College, Cam-
bridge, etc. (London, 1854).
* Die ApottelgetehichU Oder der BntwicMungtgang der Kirehe von Jerutalem bit Rom, Ton M. Baumgarten (1862).

^ / ^ / ^

THE ACTS.

[Ch. I.

2 'Until the day in which he was taken up, after
that he through the Holy Ghost ^had given command-
ments unto the apostles whom he had chosen :

3 <ro whom also he shewed himself alive after his
passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them

2 until the day in which he was received up, after
that he had given commandment through the Holy

3 Spirit unto the apostles whom he had chosen: to
whom be also ^shewed himself alive after his
passion by many proofs, appearing unto them by the

aUark 1<:1»; Lake 9:61; 24:61; ver. 9; 1 Tim. 3: 16....6 Hatt. 28 : 19; Hark 16:15; John 25:21; oh. 10:11, i3....eUark
16 : U ; Luke 24 : 36 ; Joho 20 : 19, 26 ; 21 : 1, 14 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 5. 1 Or. prttenttd.

sible that the writer, with that object in view,
should have left it to be so obscurely intimated.
This alleged contrast between Luke's Gospel as
simply a beginning and the Acts as a continu-
ation of Christ's personal work, so far from
being put forward with prominence, as we
should expect, is not distinctly drawn out in
a single passage. The truth is, as Lekebusch
remarks {Composition, u. s. w., p. 203), the nar-
rative contains no hint of any such relation of
the two histories to each other, unless this be
found in began; and even this word, as we
have seen, admits much more naturally of a
different explanation. A caution against re-
garding this verb as superfluous here, or in any
passage, can hardly be needed. (See W. § 65.
7.d.)

2. What day (?« rin^pai) = the day in which
(t^? rjiiipai jj), as in Matt. 24 : 38 ; Luke 1 : 20.—
Had given command, I understand, with
Meyer and others, as referring to Christ's com-
mand to preach the gospel to all the world, as
recorded in Matt. 28 ; 19, and which, from its
memorable character, Luke could assume as
well known to his readers. De Wette supposes
it to be the command in v. 4 ; but we have then
an unnecessary repetition of the same thing,
and, contrary to the natural order, the allusion
first and the fuller notice last. Some have pro-
posed to extend the meaning of the word so as
to embrace all the instructions which Christ
gave to the apostles in relation to their future
work, but the term is too specific for so general
an idea ; and, besides, the obvious implication
is that the giving of the command was some-
thing almost immediately antecedent to the
ascension. — Through the Holy Spirit, his
influence, guidance. This noun, as so used,
may omit the article or receive it, at the option
of the writer, since it has the force of a proper
name. (W. § 19. 1. See also EUicott's note on
Gal. 4 : 6.) [Besides the careful statement of
Winer as to the New Testament use of the ar-
ticle (§ 19), see Buttmann's Gram, of the N. T.
Oreek (Thayer's translation), pp. 85-90; Green's
Oram, of the New Test., ch. ii. p. 28, f. ; and Bib.
Sac. 1882, pp. 159-190 : "The Article in the Re-
vised Version," by Prof. W. S. Tyler. The rule
given by Winer for the present case is that " ap-
pellatives, which, as expressing definite objects,

should have the article, are . . . employed in
certain cases without it. This omission, how-
ever, only takes place when it . . . leaves no
doubt in the mind of the reader whether the
object is to be understood as definite or indefi-
nite." Among the words that may thus take
or omit the article are "sun," "earth," "heav-
en," " God," " Lord," " Holy Spirit ;" and their
meaning is essentially the same whether used
with or without the article. It has indeed been
said that the designation " Holy Spirit," with-
out the article, refers to the operations of the
Spirit, and with the article to the Spirit as a
person ; but this distinction is precarious. In
English the appellative " Holy Scripture " may
be used either with or without the article, after
the analogy of the Greek words that are virtually
proper names. — A.H.] These words attach them-
selvesnaturallytotheparticiple(E.V.,hadgiven
command) which they accompany, and it is
forced, as well as unnecessary, to connect them
with the verb in the next clause. This passage,
in accordance with other passages, represents
the Saviour as having been endued abundantly
with the influences of the Spirit, and as having
acted always in conformity with its [his] dictates.
(See 10 : 38 ; Luke 4:1; John 3 : 34, etc.) That
subjection was one of the laws of his depend-
ent nature. That he revealed the command
through the Holy Spirit cannot be meant,
for the history shows that he gave this direction
to them in person. — Whom he had chosen.
The aorist stands often for our pluperfect after
a relative or a relative expression. (W. § 40. 5.)
— Was taken up — i. e. into heaven. (Comp.
Mark 16 : 19 and Luke 24 : 51.) The abbre-
viation shows how accustomed the early disci-
ples were to recur to this event.

3. To whom also. Also joins showed
himself to whom he had chosen. The
persons whom Christ had selected as his apos-
tles were the same to whom also he shewed
himself, etc. Thus they not only received
their office directly from Christ, but were able
to testify from their own personal knowledge to
the reality of his resurrection. (Comp. 2 : 32
and 3 : 15. See note on v. 22.)— After he had
suffered — viz. the death of the cross. (See
Heb. 13 : 12 and 1 Pet. 3 : 18.) The term oc-
curs thus absolutely in 3 : 18 and 17 : 3 (comp.

Ch. I]

THE ACTS.

forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to
the kingdom of Ood :

4 'Ana, being assembled together with them, com-
manded them that they should not depart from Jeru-
salem, but wait for the promise of the Father, »which,
taith he, ye have heard of me.

5 «For John truly baptized with water; ''but ye

space of forty days, and speaking the things con-

4cerning the kingdom of Goa : and, 'being assembled

together with them, he charged them not to depart

from Jerusalem, but to wail for the promise of the

5 Father, which, laid he, ye heard from me : for John

a Luke U.a, 4»....» Luke M:49; John li : 16, 26, 27 ; IS : 26; 16 : 7 ; ch. 2 : S3....e Uktt. S:U; eh. 11:16; U:«....ii Joel
S : 18; oh. 2:4; 11 : 15. 1 Or, «a(in« tsiCJk (*«m

also 26, 23), and is a striking usage. It arose
probably out of the impression which the pain-
ful nature of Christ's suiFerings had made on
the first disciples.— In many proofs, or if, as
De Wette suggests, the idea of the verb mingles
with that of the noun, in many convincing
manifestations. rtKixrifnov (proof) does not
occur elsewhere in the New Testament, and is
a very expressive term. Plato uses it to denote
the strongest possible logical proof, as opposed
to that which is weaker, and Aristotle employs
it to signify demonstrative evidence. The lan-
guage seems to show that the first Christians
had distinctly revolved the question whether
the Saviour's resurrection was real or not, and
had assured themselves of its reality by evi-
dence which did not admit in their minds of
the shadow of a doubt. Our infallible proofe"
(E. V. ; Gen. V : infallible tokens — both founded
on Beza's certissimis signis) does not express the
sense too strongly. (Compare the idea with 1
John 1 : 1.) — Daring forty days appearing
to them (as in all the earlier E. Vv.) — i.e. from
time to time, as related by the Evangelists ; not
pass, seen by them (E. V.). bnravoiMtvot (not else-
where in N. T.) agrees best as middle with the
active sense of the other verbs, and with 1 Kings
8:8 (Sept.). (See Tromm's Concord., s. v.) Wahl
( Clav. Apocr., s. opoat) should not have put down
the use in Tob. 12 : 9 as certainly passive. Some
have argued too positively from this word that
Clirist rose from the grave with a glorified body.
It represents his appearing to the disciples, per-
haps, as occasional and sudden (comp. u<^^ in
7 : 26), but does not decide whether the state
out of which he appeared was a spiritual and
invisible one, or merely some place of retire-
ment after a temporary absence. The Saviour
had accomplished the great end of his earthly
work when he rose from the dead, and after
that, until his ascension, appears to have min-
gled only at times with his followers. Some
mystery rests, no doubt, on the last days of his
life ; but the idea that he possessed a spiritual
body before he returned to heaven appears to
me irreconcilable with Luke 24 : 39 and John
20 : 27. (See the article on our Lord's resurrec-
tion body in Bibl Sac., vol. ii. p. 405, sq.) [There
are four views as to the body of Jesus during

the forty days between his resurrection and his
ascension : (1) That it was his natural body, un-
changed in its relations to his spiritual being,
but simply reanimated, as were those of the
widow's son and Jairus's daughter, the change
to a spiritual body being effected afterward at
his ascension. This view Dr. Hackett evidently
favors. It supposes that Jesus spent a very large
part of the forty days in some unknown place
or places of retirement; from which coming
forth occasionally and presenting himself to
his disciples, he is said to have appeared to
them. (2) That it was his " natural body," un-
changed at the moment of reanimation, but un-
dergoing through the forty days a gradual pro-
cess of transformation into the spiritual body
with which he ascended into heaven. (3) That
it was the same body which was laid in the
tomb, " but endued with new powers, proper-
ties, and attributes." (See EUicott, The Life of
our Lord, Lee. VIII., note 3.) This view ap-
pears to afford the most natural explanation
of the language of the sacred writers. (4) That
it was an ethereal body, something between
matter and spirit. This appears to be incon-
sistent with the passages referred to above by
Dr. Hackett.— A. H.]

4, 5. THE PROMISE OF THE SAVIOUR
TO SEND THE SPIRIT.

4. Being assembled (E. V.) — i. e. with
them, as mentioned in Luke 24 : 49; not as-
sembling them (Kuin., Olsh., and earlier
E. Vv.). Nearly all the later critics reject the
middle sense as unproved. — To await the
promise, its fulfilment, realization. (Comp.
Gal. 3 : 14.) Not promise = that promised —
i. e. the promised Holy Spirit (Rob., N. T. Lex.),
which is less congruous with the following verb.
(See W. § 34. 3.) It is said to be the promise of
the Father, because it was foretold in the Old
Testament that he would bestow it. (See 2 : 16 ;
Joel 3 : 1, 2.) — Which you heard from me,
as recorded in Luke 24 : 49. (See also John
15 : 26 ; 16 : 13.) For the verb with the accus-
ative and genitive, see K. f 273. R. 18; W. ? 30.
7. c. The style of discourse changes suddenly
from the indirect to the direct, as in 17 : 3; 23 :
22, and often. (W. ? 63. II. 2. ; S. ? 196. 2.)

5. With water, as the element by which.

THE ACTS.

[Ch. L

shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days
hence.

6 When they therefore were come together, they
asked of him, saying, *Lord, wilt theu at this time
^restore again the kingdom to Israel?

7 And he said unto them, "It is not for you to know
the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in
his own power.

indeed baptized with water ; but ye shall be bap-
tized >in the Holy Spirit not many days hence.

6 They therefore, when they were come together,
asked him, saying. Lord, dust thou at this time re-

7 store the kingdom to Israel ? And he said unto them,
It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the

aUtM.U:i....iln.l:M; Du. 7:17; AnuxS: ll....eHatt. 24 : M; UarklS:S2; 1 TheH. 6 : 1.

-1 Or, uHk

in the Holy Spirit, as the element in which,
the baptism is performed. The insertion of iv
{in) may be slightly localizing with reference
to a copious impartation of the Spirit's gifts and
influences. [The preposition iv is always ex-
pressed when baptism in the Holj' Spirit is
spoken of, but often omitted when baptism in
water is referred to — perhaps because the local
sense is sufficiently expressed by the verb when
followed by the customary element for immer-
sion, while it needs to be made certain when
that element is spiritual. — A. H.] Not after
these many dayS) after not many, a few.
This mode of inverting the signification of an
adjective is frequent in Luke's style. If this
assurance was given on the day of the ascen-
sion, only ten days were now to pass before the
promised efiFusion of the Spirit. (Comp. v. 3
with 2 : 1.) But if, as maintained below, we
are to uistinguish the meeting in v. 4 from that
in V. 6, we cannot decide exactly how long the
interval was, not knowing on which of the
forty days (v. 3) the earlier interview took
place. These, being the pronoun which points
out what is near at hand (tKtlvoi, what is more
remote), represents the days as closely connect-
ed with the present. It is not superfluous, there-
fore, but strengthens the idea of the brevity of
the interval.

6-11. HIS LAST INTERVIEW WITH
THE DISCIPLES, AND HIS ASCENSION.

6. They therefore (the them in v. 4)
having come together on a subsequent oc-
casion (Calv., Olsh., E. v., and earlier E. Vv.
except Wicl. and Rhem.), or they who came
together at the time spoken of in v. 4 (Vulg.,
Mey., De Wet., Alf.). [In his last edition— the
fourth— Meyer holds that this is a different
interview from the one spoken of in v. 4, thus
agreeing with Dr. Hackett.— A. H.] I incline
to the first view, because, as Olshausen sug-
gests, Luke in his Gospel (24 : 49 as compared
with V. 50) appears to assign the direction to
remain at Jerusalem to an earlier interview
than the one which terminated in Christ's as-
cension (as even De Wette admits in his Synop.
Evang., p. 298), and because <xvyt\^6vrtt (having
come together), when understood of the same

assembling, becomes so nearly tautological after
assembling with them in v. 4. o2<' (there-
fore) depends naturally on v. 3. The kingdom
of God having been the subject of so much
discourse between Christ and the apostles, they
therefore, in this last interview, asked him,
etc. Hence no necessary inference can be drawn
from thl3 particle (as Alf. urges) against suppos-
ing a separation after the coming together in
V. 4. — If in this time thou dost restore.
Their inquiry indicates an established faith in
him as the Messiah, but betrays, at the same
time, an expectation that his kingdom would
be to some extent a temporal one — that it would
free the nation from their dependence on the
Romans and restore to them their ancient pros-
perity and power. This worldly view may
have been the preponderant one in the ques-
tion which they ask, though we are to suppose,
of course, that, after having been so long asso-
ciated with Christ, they had far more intelli-
gent views respecting the spiritual nature of
the Messiah's mission than the great mass of
the Jews entertained. «l (if) introduces a di-
rect question, which is contrary to classical
usage, though not uncommon in the New Tes-
tament and the Septuagint. (K. §344. 5. i. ; W.
§ 57. 2.) Originally ei may have involved a
suppressed thought in such cases : saying, We
desire to know if, etc. (See Meyer on Matt. 12 :
10.) — Dost restore is present for an immediate
future. ( W. § 40. 2 ; K. g 255. R. 4.)

7. Times or occasions. (See Tittm., De
Syrian. N. T., p. 39.) It is one thing to know
the general period of an event; another, to
know the precise time of its occurrence. —
Which the Father arranged, or fixed, in
his own power — i. e. in the sovereign exer-
cise of it. (Comp. Matt. 21 : 23. De Wet., Mey.,
Hmph.) The implied inference is that he may
be expected to reserve the knowledge of such
decisions to himself. All the E. Vv. (as far as
I know) render hath pat (defended also by
Alf.) as = hath kept. The perfect would be the
more obvious form with that meaning, though
the aorist, put, " placed," may imply the same.
The question of the disciples, as Bengel ob-
serves, relates merely to the time when Christ

Ch. I.]

THE ACTS.

8 'But ye shall receive power, 'after that the Holy
Ghost is come upon you: and "ye shall be witnesses
unto me both in Jerusalem, aud'in all Judiea, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.

9 <'And when he had spoken these things, while they
beheld, 'he was taken up ; and a cluud received him
out of their sight.

10 And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven
as he went up, behold, two men stood by them /in
white apparel ;

H Which also said, » Ye men of Galilee, why stand
ye gazing up into heaven ? this same Jesus, which is
taken up from you into heaven, *shall so come in like
manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

8 Father hath Uet within his own authority. But ye
shall receive power, when the Holy Spirit is come
upon you : and ye shall be my witnesses both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judiea and Samaria, and unto

9 the uttermost part of the earth. And when he liad
said these things, as they witc looking, lie was taken
up ; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

10 And while they were looking stedfastly into hfavcR
as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white

11 apparel ; who also said. Ye men of Galilee, why
stand ye looking into heaven? this Jesus, who was
received up from you into heaven, shall so come in
like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven.

I eh. 2:1, i....b Luke 24 : 49.... e Luke 24:48; John 15 : 27 ; rer. 22: ch. 2:32....d Luke 24 : 51 ; John 6 : 62.... ever. 2..../ Matt.
38 : S : Mark 16 : 5 ; Luke 24 : 4 ; John 20 : 12 : oh. 10 : 3, 30.... gob. 2:7; 13 : 31. . . . A Dan. 7 : 13 ; Matt. 24 : 30 ; Mark 13 : 26 ; Lttk*
11 : IT ; John 14:3; 1 Theas. 1 : 10 ; 4 : 16 ; 2 Theas. 1 : 10 ; Rev. 1 : 7. 1 Or, appointed 6y

would establish his kingdom ; and his answer,
as here given, he confines to the same point.
Their remaining misconceptions as to the na-
ture of that kingdom were soon to be removed
more effectually than by any formal instruc-
tion.

8. But marks the opposition between what
was denied to the disciples on the one hand,
and what was to be granted to them on the
other. — Power, " efficiency " — i. e. every need-
ful qualification to render them efficient in
their apostolic sphere. (See Luke 24:49.) The
power of working miracles is included, but
does not exhaust the idea. — When the Holy
Spirit. This clause designates the time when
they should receive this power, as well as the
source of it. The construction is that of the
genitive absolute. The dependence of iri-eu/naTos
on Swofuv (we miss the article in that case) is
less easy, but is preferred by some. — Read moO
for noi after i<rt<r&t. [i. e. ye shall be my
witnesses, not witnesses for me. — A. H.]
Uttermost — i. e. part. Compare the language
here with Matt. 28 : 19 ; Mark 16 : 15. It is im-
possible that the disciples should not have un-
derstood from it that their sphere of labor was
to be coextensive with the world. (See the
remarks on 2 : 39.) The foregoing conversa-
tion may have taken place on Olivet (see v. 12)
or during the walk thither.

9. Saying these things, and still others
anke 24:51). His last acccnts were those of
love and benediction. — Was taken up — i. e.
into the air ; not yet into heaven, on account
of the next verb; hence different, also, from
was taken np in v. 2, which represents the
act as completed.— Received up (lit. " under,"
with the cloud as it were beneath him), and at
the same time, by a pregnant construction, away,
hence followed by iird (from). (See W. ? 66. 2.)
This verb describes the close of the scene, as far
as it was visible to the spectators.

10. As they were gazing toward heav>
'6

en. This compound imperfect is stronger than
the simple, both as to the duration of the act
and the prominence given to it. The student
should note this usage ; though not rare in the
classics, it is still more common in the New
Testament. (See Green's 6r., p. 103 ; K. § 238.
R. 7.) Kuinoel refers into heaven to went
up, which separates the words from their nat-
ural connection, and leaves were gazing with-
out any indirect object, as in 3 : 4, 12 ; 14 : 9,
and elsewhere. — Then behold = Heb. vihin-
neh. (Comp. Matt. 9 : 10 ; Luke 2 : 15; 24 : 4.)
This Hebraistic use of «« in the apodosis of a
sentence, after an expression or idea of time,
is frequent in the New Testament. (See Brud.,
Gi: Omcord., p. 456; W. §53. 3. f)— Men, in
form ; really, angels. (See Mark 16 : 5 ; Luke
24:4.) — Were standing while the disciples
gazed ; pluperf. = imperf. in this verb.

11. Who also said, as well as appeared to
them. (See on v. 3.) — Why stand ye, etc.
The precise import of this address of the angels
is not certain. As compared with such pas-
sages as Luke 24 : 5, 25, 26, and others, it may
suggest that the apostles should have been pre-
pared in some measure for the event which had
filled them with such astonishment. They had
been distinctly apprised by Christ (see John 6 :
62; 20 : 17) that he must ascend again to God,
from whom he came; and the wonders whioli
they had seen in their intercourse with him
should have diminished their surprise at what
had taken place. The inquiry, as so understood,
leads naturally to the announcement which fol-
lows. It should abate the astonishment of tlie
disciples at what had taken place to know that
it was not the only event of the kind wliidi
was to enter into the history of the Saviour ;
he whom they had seen ascend into heaven wsis
destined to come again in like manner. Ac-
cording to Calvin, the disciples linger on the
spot, distressed at the Saviour's sudden depart-
ure from them, and still gazing upward, not

THE ACTS.

[Ch. I.

12 'Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the
mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sab-
bath day's journey.

12 Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the
mount called Olivet, which is nigh unto Jerusalem,

a Late M : U.

without a hope that possibly he might reap-
pear. The address of the angels reproves them
for this exi)cctation, and at the same time con-
soles them with the assurance of his return at
some future time. Meyer's view is nearly tlie
same. — In like manner, lit. in what man>
ncr — i.e. visibly, and in the air (Bng., De Wet.,
Mey., Olsh.). The expression is never employed
to affirm merely the certainty of one event as
(•OTii|)are(l with another. Tlie as.sortion that

21 : 1 we have mount of the olives. Jose-
phus employs the designation which occurs
iiere in Antt., 7. 9. 2. Olive trees still grow on
the mount of ascension, and thus vindicate the
propriety of the ancient name. On their re-
turn to Jerusalem the disciples must have
passed Gethsemane. What new thoughts
would crowd upon their minds as they gazed
at the spot after the scene just witnessed ! — tx°>',
having) amounting to ; not=aWxoi', distant.

MOINT OF OLIVKS

the meaning is simi)ly that as Christ had de-
parted so also he would return is contradicted
by every passage in which the phrase occurs.
(See 7 : 28 ; Matt. 23 : 37 ; Luke 13 : 34; 2 Tim.
3 : 8.)

12-14. RETURN OF THE DISCIPLES TO
JERUSALEM.

I'i, From the monnt (defmite from the an-
nexed clause, though the article could be used ;
see Luke 19 : 29) which is called Olivet. '
We are indebted for this beautiful name to the ]
Latin OUvctum (in Vulg.) — i. e. a place set with I
olives; hence the exact import of ikoMav. This j
word is so accentuated also by Lchni., Tsch., I
Mey., even in Luke 19 : 29 and 21 : 37, instead |
of (AaiMv in the common editions. In Matt. |

as often represented. A Sabbath-day's journey
was the distance — about three-quarters of a
mile — to which "tlie traditions of the elders"
restricttni the Jews in travelling on the Sabbath.
In Luke 24 : 50, 51 it is said that our Saviour
led the disciples as far as to Bethany, and that
there, while in the act of blessing tliem, he was
parted from them and carried up into heaven.
It was at Bethany, therefore, or in the vicinity
of Bethany, that the ascension took place. That
account is entirely consistent with this. Beth-
any was on the eastern declivity of the Mount
of Olives, and, as appears from Mark 11 : 1 and
Luke 19 : 29, was reckoned as a part of it ; so
that the disciples, in returning from that place
to the city, took their way naturally across the

Ch. I.]

THE ACTS.

13 And when they were come in, they went up 'into
an upper room, where abode both ^I'eter, and James,
and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Hartholo-
mew, ana Matthew, James the son of Alpnxus, and
•Simon Zelotes, and ■'Judas tlie brother of James.

14 •I'he.se all continued with one accord in prayer
and supplication, with /the women, and Mary the
niother of Jesus, and with 'his brethren.

13 a sabbath day's Journey off. And when they were
come in, they went up into the upper chamber,
where thev were abiding; both Peter and John and
James ana Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholo-
mew and Matthew, James ilie son of Alpha:u8, and

14 8imon the Zealot, and J udas ihe ^son of James. These
all with one accord continued stedfastly in prayer,
^with the women, and Mary the niother of Jesus,
and with his brethren.

20: 8.... 6 Matt. 10:2,
g Matt. IS : 66.-

c Luke 6:15 dJude I ...eoh. 2:1, 46 /Luke 23:49, 55; 24:10....

-1 Or, brother. See Jude 1. . . .2 Or, leith oertalo women

mountain. (See Rob., Bibl. Res., vol. ii. p. 100 ;
or p. 431 in ed. of 1856.) Luke specifies here
the distance of Olivet from the city, instead of
that of Bethany, which was about two miles
(comp. John 11 : 18), because the former was
better known to most of his readers, and con-
veyed a sufficiently definite idea of the scene
of the ascension.

13. Had entered (tense as in v. 2), into the
city, probably, not the house. What precedes
suggests the place, rather than what follows. —
Into the upper room, of some private house,
not of the temple. The opinion that it was
the latter some have supposed to be required
by Luke 24 : 53. But coiitimially, as used
there, need not signify anything more than a
frequent resort ; they were in the temple always
on the occasions when men in their state of
mind would naturally repair thither. (See 2 :
46; Luke 2 : 37.) Even De Wette allows that
the passages involve no discrepancy. As the
disciples must have been well known as the
followers of Christ, we cannot well suppose
that the Jewish rulers would have allowed them
to occupy an ajjartment in the temple. The
upper room, either directly under the flat roof
or upon it with a roof of its own, was retired,
and hence convenient for private or social wor-
ship. The Hebrews were accustomed to use it
for such purposes. (See 20 : 8, and Dan. 6 : 10,
Sept.) Travellers describe such rooms at the
present day as airy and spacious. (See Bibl. Res.,
vol. ii. p. 229, ed. 1856.) On the formation of
iirep<JK)i', see W. ? 10. 2. — Where were abid-
ing. Weakened in E. V. (abode), as if it were
the simple imperf. (See on v. 10.) We could
understand this of constant residence, but more
naturally here of frequent resort for religious
conference and prayer (De Wet.). — James of
Alphaeus — i. e. son : James the son of
Alphaeus ; but after Judas we supply broth-
er: Judas the brother of James. (See Jude
1.) The nature of the relationship in such a
case is not determined by the construction, but
is left to the knowledge of the reader. (W.
2 30. 3; C. § 389.)— The Zealot = Kananite
in Matt. 10 : 4, from the Hebrew kanna. He

is supposed to have received this epithet on ac-
count of his former zeal as a supporter of Juda-
ism. As there was another Simon among the
apostles, he appears to have retained the name
after he became a disciple, as a means of dis-
tinction, though it had now ceased to mark the
trait of character from which it arose. It has
been said that he took tl>e appellation from his
having belonged to a political sect known as
the zealots, who are mentioned by Josephus ;
but the party distinguished by that name in
Jewish history did not appear till a later
period.

14. With one mind. The term character-
izes the entire harmony of their views and feel-
ings. (Comp. Rom. 15 : 6.)— Unto the (work
of ) prayer, where the points out that as the
appropriate way in which they were occupied.
And the supplication the best editors re-
gard as an addition to the text. It serves
merely to strengthen the expression. (Comp.
Phil. 4 : 6.)— With women. Among them
may have been those who followed Christ
from Galilee. (See Luke 23 : 55; 24 : 10.) It
is incorrect to suppose that they are meant ex-
clusively. The absence of the article forbids
that restriction. — And (among them especially)
Alary. Koi (and) combines often a part with
its whole for the sake of prominence. This is
the last time that the mother of Jesus is named
in the New Testament. — His brethren may
mean his brethren in a strict sense, or more gen-
erally his kinsmen, relatives. The same question
arises in regard to Matt. 13 : 55, though the
closer relationship there, as well as here, is tlie
more obvious one, and finds very strong sup-
port from Matt. 1 : 25. [That is, if, as Dr.
Hackett appears to have been satisfied, the
common text of that passage is correct. But
Lach., Tsch., Treg., West, and Hort, and tlie
Anglo-Am. Revisers omit her first-born,
and read till she had brought forth a son.
If their view of the text be adopted, the pas-
sage has no bearing on the point in question.
The reading of Luke 2 : 7, however, is sure ;
and it is said there that she brought forth her
first-born son, etc. This, with the evidence

THE ACTS.

[Ch. I.

15 % And in those dajrs Peter stocxl up in the midst
of the disciples, and said, (the numbt'r "uf names to-
gether were about an hundred and twenty,)

16 Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have
been fulfilled, *which the Holy Cihost by the mouth of
David spake before concerning Judas, 'which was
guide to them that took Jesus.

17 For <'he was numbered with ua, and had obtained
part of 'ttiis ministry.

18 /Now this man purchased a field with the reward

15 And in these days Peter stood up in the midst of
the brethren, and' said (and there was a multitude
of ipersons (/nt/itTed together, about a hundred and

16 twenty), Hrethren, it was needful that the scripture
should be fuUilled, which the Holy Spirit spake be-
fore by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who

17 was guide to them that took Jesus. For he was
numbered among us, and received his ^portion in this

18 ministry. (Now this man obtained a field with the
reward of his iniquity; and falling headlong, ha

a BCT. S: 4....fc Pi. 41 : 9; John IS : IB.... c Luke » : 47 : John I8:3....cl Matt.
10:24; SI : 19. . . . / Matt. 27:6,7,8... 0 Matt. 26 : 15; 2 Pet. 2 : 15.

eh. 12:25;

from other sources, seems to be more consist-
ent with the opinion that his brethren were
either the sons of Joseph and Mary, or of
Joseph by an earlier marriage, than with any
other opinion. — A. H.] The brethren of Jesus
had not believed on him at first (see John 7 : 5),
but we discover here that they had now joined
the circle of his followers.

15-22. THE ADDRESS OP PETER ON
THE CHOICE OF A NEW APOSTLE.

15. In those days is indefinite as a nota-
tion of time. The same language in Matt. 3 : 1
marks an interval of thirty years. (Comp. also
Ex. 2 : 11.) Here a short time only could have
elapsed, as the ascension of Christ forms the
limit on one side and the day of Pentecost on
the other. — t«. It is worth remarking that this
particlr" rarely occurs in the New Testament
out of the Acts and the writings of Paul.—
Names = men, as in Rev. 3:4; 11 : 13. The \
term may have acquired this sense from the |
practice of taking the census by registration or
enrollment, inasmuch as the names on such a
record are equivalent to persons. — «irt rb a.\n6 —
lit. unto the same place, implying an ante-
cedent motion. It means, not that they were
so many collectively, but that so many came
together at this time. (See 2:1; 3:1; 1 Cor.
11 : 20; 14 : 23.)— A hundred and twenty.
We are to understand these hundred and twenty
as the number of the disciples at Jerusalem,
not as the entire number of those who had be-
lieved. (See 1 Cor. 15 : 6.)

16. Men is not superfluous, but renders the
address more respectful. It is a compliment to
be recognized as men. (See 2 : 29, 37 ; 7:2;
13 : 15, and often.)— Was necessary. The
tense is past, because the speaker has his mind
on the part of the prediction already accom-
plished.— This refers to the double citation in
v. 20. The parenthetic character of vs. 18, 19
accounts for the distance of the antecedent,
which in this case follows the pronoun. (See
K. ^ 332. 8) —Which the Holy Spirit spake
beforehand, etc. We have a similar testi-
mony to the inspiration of the Scriptures from

the same apostle in 2 Pet. 1 : 21. — Concerning
Judas belongs by both position and construc-
tion to spake before, not to have been ful-
filled, iv or «jri would have followed the lat-
ter verb. — Who became (not was, E. V.)
guide, who acted so base a part, though pro-
fessedly a friend. (See Matt. 26 : 47 ; John 18 :
2, sq.)

17. Here the second passage in v. 20 was be-
fore the speaker's mind. That passage contem-
plates the case of an office transferred from one
person to another ; and, since forfeiture implies
previous possession, it is the object of for he
was, etc. (oTi . . . iv iiit.lv), to remind us that Ju-
das had fulfilled that condition of the passage :
for he was numbered among us — i. e. the
apostles. (For that limitation of us, see the
next clause, and also v. 26.) The full connec-
tion, therefore, is this: The prophecy speak.s
of a ministry which another shall take ; Judas
held such an office, for he was numbered,
etc. ; so that the words apply to him. To ren-
der on "although" (Hmph.) is not allowable. —
The lot, or office, of this ministry which
we possess — i. e. the apostleship. (Comp. Rom.
11 : 13.) Lot loses often its figurative sense, so
as to denote a possession without any reference
to the mode of its attainment. Our word
"clergy" comes from this terra, being founded
on the idea of the order as one divinely ap-
pointed.

18. This verse and the next are considered
by most critics as an explanatory remark of
Luke (Calv., Kuiri., Olsh., Hmph.), not as a
part of Peter's address. The reader might need
this information, but those who listened to the
apostle may be supposed to have been familiar
with the fate of Judas. It is evident that in-
somuch that, etc. (wore K\ri^v<u . . . at^arof),

though appropriate to the history, could hardly
have belonged to the discourse. For in v. 20
appears to demand this view of the interven-
ing verses. tKkv oiv does not forbid this suppo-
sition (Alf ), since Luke certainly could adjust
his own words to the context, as well as those
of Peter, reported by him. Some such horrible

Ch. I.]

THE ACTS.

of iniquity ; and falling headlong, he burst asunder
in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out.

burst asunder in the midst, and all bis bowels

end of the traitor was to be inferred (oSv, there-
fore) from the phrase this Scripture (see on
V. 20) ; and it was not at all unnatural that
Luke should interrupt the speech at this point,
and inform us how remarkably the death of
Judas agreed with this prediction. Further, it
is strange that the citation in v. 20 should be
kept back so long after this in v. 16, except on
tlie view that Luke inserted what intervenes.
Bengel restricts the parenthesis to the explana-
tion respecting Aceldama, inev stands alone,
as in V. 1. — Purchased, or caused to be pur-
chased, gave occasion for it — i. e. it was in
consequence of his act, and with the money
gained by his treachery, that the field was pur-
chased, as related in Matt. 27 : 6, sq. The great
body of critics adopt this view of the meaning
(Bez., Bretsch., Kuin., Frtz., Thol.,i01sh., Ebr.,
Mey., Rob.). This briefer mode of expression
is common in every language, and may be em-
ployed without obscurity where the reader is
presumed to be familiar with the facts in the
case, or when the nature of the act itself sug-
gests the proper modification. The following
are analogous examples in the New Testament.
Matt. 27 : 60 : " And Joseph laid the body of
Christ in his own new tomb, which he had
hewn out in a rock " — i. e. caused to be hewn
out for him ; John 4:1: "And when the Lord
knew that the Pharisees heard that Jesus made
and baptized more disciples than John " — i. e.
through his disciples ; for he himself baptized
not. (See 7 : 21 ; 16 : 22 ; Matt. 2 : 16 ; 1 Cor.
7 : 16; 1 Tim. 4 : 16.) These cases are plain
and no one refuses to admit the causative
sense (not directly expressed, but implied)
which belongs to the verb in such passages.
The principle which this mode of speaking in-
volves, the law recognizes even in regard to
actions in its well-known maxim. Qui facit per
alium, facit per se (" Who does a thing by an-
other does it himself"). It is only by refusing
to extend this usage to eicnjoraro that such writ-
era as Strauss make out their allegation of a

want of agreement between this passage and
Matt. 27 : 5. Fritzsche's suggestion* as to the
reason why Luke expressed himself in this un-
usual manner deserves notice. He finds in it
a studied, significant brevity, a sort of acerba
irrisio (" bitter mockery "), bringing the motive
and the result into pointed antithesis to each
other : This man thought to enrich himself by
his treachery, but all that he gained was that
he got for himself a field where blood was paid
for blood. — irpijvTjt (on the face) is strictly the
opposite of vrrrioi {on the back). His falling in
that position may have occasioned the burst-
ing asunder ; that view agrees well with yti'dfiei'o?,
though nprivrit admits also of the vaguer sense
headlong. — eA<ucT)<rc is the first aorist from Adcricw.
(W. § 15; K. § 230.)— In Matt. 27 : 5 it is said
that Judas, after having brought his money
and thrown it down in the temple, went and
hanged or strangled himself. Objectors have
represented that account also as inconsistent
with this, but without reason. Matthew does
not say that Judas, after having hanged him-
self, did not fall to the ground and burst asun-
der ; nor, on the contrary, does Luke say that
Judas did not hang himself before he fell to the
ground; and it is obvious that the matter
should have been so stated, in order to warrant
the charge of inconsistency. We have no cer-
tain knowledge as to the mode in which we
are to so combine the two accounts as to con-
nect the act of suicide with what happened to
the body. It has been thought not improbable
that Judas may have hung himself from the
limb of a tree on the edge of a precipice near
the Valley of Hinnom, and that, the rope
breaking by which he was suspended, he fell
to the earth and was dashed to pieces.' It will
be observed that Luke's statement is entirely
abrupt and supposes some antecedent history.
In this respect Matthew's account, instead of
involving any contradiction, becomes, in fact,
confirmatory of the other. It shows, first,
that Luke was aware that something preceded

1 In unpublished Notes on the Gospels.

* Evangeliunt Matthcei recensuil et cum Oammeniariis perpeluit edidil OaroL Pi: A. Priizsche, p. 799.

* As I stood in this valley on the south of Jerusalem, and looked up to the rocky terraces which hang over
it, I felt that the explanation proposed above is entirely natural. I was more than ever satisfied with it. I
measured the precipitous, almost perpendicular walls in different places, and found the height to be, variously,
forty, thirty-six, thirty-three, thirty, and twenty-five feet. Trees still flourish on the margin of these preci-
pices, and in ancient times must have been still more numerous in the same place. A rocky pavement exists,
also, at the bottom of the ledges; and hence on that account, too, a person falling from above would be liable
to be crushed and mangled, as well as killed. The traitor may have struck, in his fall, upon some pointed rock,
which entered the body and caused " his bowels to gush out."

THE ACTS.

[Ch. I.

19 And it WM known unto all the dwellers at Jeru-
salem : insomuch as that field is called in their proper
tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, The field of blocxi.

"20 For it is written in the book of I'salms, "Let his
habitation be desolate, and let no man dwell therein :
and ^bis bishoprick let another take.

21 Wherefore of these men which have companied
with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and
out among ua,

19 gushed out. And it became known to all the dwell-
ers at Jerusalem ; insomuch that in their language
that field was called Akeldama, that is. The field of

20 blood.) For it is written in the book of Psalms,

Let his habitation be made desolate,
And let no man dwell therein :
and,

His ^office let another take.

21 Of the men therefore who have companied with lu

a Pi. «:»....» Pi. 109: 8.-

-1 Or. ovtrteerthip

which he has omitted to mention ; and sec-
ondly, it puts us in the way of so combining
events as to account better for the incomplete
representation in the Acts than would other-
wise have been possible.

19. And it became known— viz. that he
came to so miserable an end. — Aceldama =
chakal dtma belongs to the Aramsean or Syro-
Chaldaic spoken at that time in Palestine. (On
that language, see Bibl. Repos., vol. i. p. 317, sq.)
It was for a twofold reason, therefore, says
Lightfoot, that the field received this appella-
tion : first, because, as stated in Matt. 27 : 7, it
had been bought with the price of blood ; and
secondly, because it was sprinkled with the
man's blood who took that price. This is the
common view, and so in the first edition ; but
I incline now to doubt its correctness. First,
falling headlong, in v. 18, does not define at
all where Judas fell ; secondly, that field here
recalls nx^turally field above merely as the field
purchased with " the reward of iniquity ;" and
thirdly, if Judas fell into the Valley of Hin-
nom, no spot there at the foot of the rocks
could well have been converted into a place
of burial. Nor does the conciliation with
Matt. 27 : 7 demand this view. Luke may be
understood here as saying that "the field of
blood" which the priests purchased with the
money paid to Judas, whether situated in one
place or another, was called Aceldama, because
the fact of the traitor's bloody end was so no-
torious. Matthew (« : s) mentions another rea-
son for the appellation, which was that the
money paid for the field was the "price of
blood " — not a different, but a concurrent, rea-
son, showing that the ill-omened name could
be used with a double emphasis. Tradition
has placed " the potter's field " (ii»u. « : e) on the
side of the hill which overlooks the Valley of
Hinnom. It may have been in that quarter,
for argillaceous clay is still found there, and
receptacles for the dead appear in the rocks,
proving that the ancient Jews were accustomed
to bury there."

20. The writer returns here to the address.
For specifies the prophecy to which this
points in v. 16; hence namely (as in Matt.
1 : 18). (See B. g 149; K. g 324. 2.) The first
passage is Ps. 69 : 25 slightly abridged from the
Septuagint, with an exchange of their for his.
Its import is. Let his end be disastrous, his
abode be desolate, and shunned as accursed.
It is impot^ible to understand the entire Psalm
as strictly Messianic, on account of v. 5: "O
God, thou knowest my foolishness, and my
sins are not hid from thee." It appears to be-
long rather to the class of Psalms which de-
scribe general relations, which contain proph-
ecies or inspired declarations which are verified
as often as individuals are placed in the partic-
ular circumstances which lay within the view,
not necessarily of the writer, but of the Holy
Spirit, at whose dictation they were uttered.
When Peter, therefore, declares that this proph-
ecy which he applies to Judas was spoken with
special reference to him (see v. 16), he makes
the impressive announcement to those whom
he addressed that the conduct of Judas had
identified him fully with such persecutors of
the righteous as the Psalm contemplates ; and
hence it was necessary that he should suflfei-
the doom deserved by those who sin in so ag-
gravated a manner.— The other passage is P?*.
109 : 8 in the words of the Seventy. We are
to apply here the same principle of interpreta-
tion as before. That Psalm sets forth, in like
manner, the wickedness and desert of those
who persecute the people of God ; and hence,
as Judas had exemplified so fully this idea, he
too must be divested of his office, and its honors
be transferred to another.

21. Therefore, since, as foretold, the place
of the apostate must be filled. — Of these men,
etc., depends properly on one, in v. 22, where the
connection, so long interrupted, is reasserted by
these. — In every time. The conception
divides the period into its successive parts. —
In which he came in nnto ns, and went
out — i. e. lived and associated with us. The

> I have Uken the liberty to repeat a few sentences here already published in another work. (See Illuslra-
tUmt of Scripture ntggetled by a Tour through the Holy Land, p. 266.) I have taken a similar liberty in a few
other passages.

Ch. I.]

THE ACTS.

22 •Beginning from the baptism of John, unto that
same day that 'he was taken up from us, must one be
ordtined i^o be a witness with us of his resurrection.

23 And tliey appointed two, Joseph called ■'Barsabas,
who Tas surnam^ Justus, and Matthias.

24 And they prayed, and said, Thou, Lord, «which
knowftt the hearts of all men, shew whether of these
two thou hast chosen.

all the time that the I^ord Jesus went in and went

22 out 'among us, beginning from the baptism of John,
unto the day that he was received up from us, of
these must one become a witness with us of his

23 resurrection. And they put forward two, Joseph
called Uarsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and

24 Matthias. And they prayed, and said. Thou, Lord,
who knowest the hearts of all men, shew of these

.&Ter. S....aJohn 16:37; Ter. 8; ob. 4:M....d ch. 15 : 22....e I Sam. IS : 7 ; 1 Chr. 38 :9; 29 : IT; Jer. 11 : 30;
17 : 10 ; «h. 15 : 8 ; Rev. 2 : 2». 1 Or, over

entire life or course of life is described by one
of its most frequent acts. It is a Hebrew mode
of speakiag (comp. Deut. 28 : 19 ; 31 : 2, etc.),
and is used properly of those who sustain
official relations or perform public labors.
(See 9 : 28.) An exact construction of the
Greek would have placed unto us after the
first verb, and inserted /rom vs after the second.
(W. ?66. 3.)

22, Beginning and continuing unto, etc.
The supplementary idea was too obvious to
need to be expressed. (See W. g 66. I. c.) —
From the baptism of John — i. e. from its
beginning, as a well-known epoch. The history
.shows that he had been baptizing a few months
before our Lord made his public appearance,
and continued to do so for a time afterward
(see John 3 : 27) ; but that difference, for the
purpose of so general a designation, was unim-
portant. Not from the close of John's baptism
(Hmph.), since Jesus called the other apostles
earlier, and not from his own baptism by John
(Kuin.), since the phrase does not admit of that
restriction. (Comp. 18 : 25 ; Mark 11 : 30 ; Luke
7 : 29, etc.)— To be a witness, etc. The resur-
rection is singled out as the main point to which
the testimony of the apostles related, because,
that being established, it involves every other
truth in relation to the character and work of
Christ. It proves him to be the Son of God,
the Justifier and Kedeemer of men, their Sov-
ereign and Judge. (See 4 : 33 ; John 5 : 22 ;
Rom. 1:4; 4 : 24; 10:9; Gal. 1 : 1, etc.)
Hence, Paul mentions it as one of the proofs
of his apostleship, and of his qualifications
for it, that he had seen Christ after his resur-
rection. (See 1 Cor. 9 : 1.)

23-26. THE APPOINTMENT OF MAT-
THIAS AS AN APOSTLE.

23. The act here is that of those addressed
(see V. 15), not that of the apostles merely. —
They placed two — i. e. before them, in their
midst (see 5 : 27 ; 6:6); or, according to some,
appointed two as candidates (De Wet.).—
Justus. It was not uncommon for the Jews

at this period to assume foreign names. (See on
13 : 9.) Barsabas is mentioned only here.
Some have conjectured, without reason, that
he and Barnabas (* : se) were the same person.
Alatthias also appears only in this transaction.
The traditional notices of him are not reliable.
(See Win., Realw.} vol. ii. p. 61.)

24. Praying they said (n'po<Tev(a/xfi'oc cTiroi'),
they prayed, saying. The participle con-
tains the principal idea. It may be supposed
to be Peter who uttered the prayer, since it was
he who suggested the appointment of a succes-
sor to Judas.— Thou, Lord, etc. Whether this
prayer was addressed to Christ or God has been
disputed. The reasons for the former opinion
are that Lord, when taken absolutely in the
New Testament, refers generally to Christ ;2 that
Christ selected the other apostles as stated in v.
2 ; that the first Christians were in the habit of
praying to him (see on 7 : 59 ; 9 : 14) ; and that
Peter says to Christ, in John 21 : 17, " Lord,
thou knowest all things," which is the import
exactly of KapUoyvi^MTra (hcart-kuower). The
reasons for the other opinion do not invalidate
these. That heart-knower is used of God in
15 : 8 shows only that it does not apply exclu-
sively to Christ. The call of Peter in 15 : 7,
which is ascribed to God, was a call, not to the
apostleship, but to preach the gosj)el to the
heathen ; and even if that case were parallel to
this, it would be an instance only of the com-
mon usage of referring the same or a similar
act indiscriminately to Christ or God. This
latter remark applies also to such passages as 2
Cor. 1:1; Eph. 1 : 1 ; 2 Tim. 1:1. To deny
that Peter would ascribe omniscience to Christ
because in Jer. 17 : 10 it is said to be the pre-
rogative of God to know the heart contradicts
John 21 : 17. Some have supposed the apostle
intended to quote that passage of the prophet,
but the similarity is too slight to prove such a
design ; nor, if the idea of heart«knower
were drawn from that source, would the appli-
cation of it here conform necessarily to its ap-
plication there. — iva (omitted in E. V. after

> Biblisches Realw&rlerbuch, von Dr. Georg Benedict Winer (3d ed. 1848).

* See Professor Stuart's article on the meaning of this title in the New Testament, Bibl. Rqm., toU L p.
733, sq.

THE ACTS.

[Ch. L

25 "That he may take part of this ministiy and
apostleship, from which Judas by transgression fell,
that he might go to his own place.

26 And they gave forth their lots; and the lot fell
upon Matthiaa ; and be was numbered with the eleven
apostles.

25 two the one whom thou hast chosen, to take the
place in this ministry and apostleship, from whi»:h
Judas fell away, that he might go to his own pl«ce.

2(> And they gave lots >for them; and the lot fell upon
Matthias; and he was numbered with the eleven
apostles.

■ 1 Or, I

Cranm.) belongs to ov, which one, or perhaps
in apposition, whom — viz. one that he, etc.
Tynd. and Cren. render that the one may
take, etc.

25. For lot (ka^pok), see on v. 17. — This
ministry and (that) an apostleship. And
(itot) adds a second term explanatory of the
first — i. e. essentially an instance of hendiadys
(Mey., De Wet.), the ministry of this apos-
tleship. From which he went aside, as
opposed to the idea of adhering faithfully to the
character and service which his apostleship re-
quired of him ; " ad normam Hebr. soor sq.
min =deserere munus" (Wahl). That he
might go unto his own place. The clause
is telle, depending on went aside. So long as
Judas retained his office, he was kept back, as
it were, from his proper destiny. He must re-
linquish it, therefore, in order to suffer his just
deserts. In this way the apostle would state
strongly the idea that the traitor merited the
doom to w^hich he had been consigned. The
following comment of Meyer presents the only
view of the further meaning of the passage
which has any respectable critical support:
"What is meant here by his own place is
not to be decided by the usage of place in
itself considered (for rdiros may denote any
place), but merely by the context. That re-
quires that we understand by it "Gehenna,"
which is conceived of as the place to which
Judas, in virtue of his character, properly be-
longs. Since the treachery of Judas was in
itself so fearful a crime, and was still further
aggravated by self-murder (which alone, ac-
cording to Jewish ideas, deserved punishment
in hell), the hearers of Peter could have had
no doubt as to the sense to be attached to own
place. This explanation is demanded also by
the analogy of Rabbinic passages — e. g. Baal
Turim on Num. 24 : 25 (see Lightfoot, Hor.
Hebr., ad loc.) : Balaam ivit in locum suiim —
t. e. in Crehennam." De Wette assents entirely
to this interpretation. Own place, therefore,
" is a euphemistic designation of the place of
punishment, in which the sin of Judas ren-
dered it just that he should have his abode"
(Olsh.).

26. And they placed (probably = Heb.
nathan, as often in the New Testament) their

lots in a vase or something similar, or perhaps
gave them to those whose business it was to
collect them, ovtwi' (T. R.), their, or avrcU (Lch.,
Tsch.), for them, refers to the candidates, be-
cause the lots pertained to them. The two
names were probably written on slips of parch-
ment, perhaps several duplicates of tiiem, and
then shaken up; the one first drawn out de-
cided the choice. The idea of throwing up the
lots agrees better with piKKtiv KXijpovt than with
this expression. — Fell, came out, without refer-
ence to any particular process. — The lot. Defi-
nite, because it was the decisive ore. — Was
numbered together with the eleven apos-
tles— i. e. was recognized as one of their order,
and had the character of an apostle henceforth
accorded to him. Hesychius sanctions this
sense of the verb, though it means properly
"to vote against," "condemn," which is out
of the question here. De Wette renders " was
chosen," "elected," which not only deviates
from the classic usage, but ascribes the result
to their own act, instead of to a divine inter-
position. The subsequent appointment of Paul
to the apostleship did not discredit or abrogate
this decision, but simply enlarged the original
number of the apostles. (See Guericke's remarks
on this point in his Church History, Prof. Shedd's
translation, p. 47.) [The appointment of Mat-
thias has sometimes been regarded as an un-
authorized transaction: (1) Because the spirit
of inspiration was not yet given to the apostles,
or to any of the disciples ; (2) Because there is
no further reference to Matthias (by name) in
the New Testament, or certain trace of his work
in early tradition ; (3) Because the full number
of apostles (twelve) was completed by the Lord's
choice of Paul; (4) Because the method of
selection here adopted (by casting lots) was
never afterward resorted to by the apostles.
But to these objections to the validity of the
transaction it has been answered : (1) That the
resort to lots was perhaps justified by the want
of inspiration, which would have rendered it
unnecessary ; (2) That several other apostles
are not referred to by name in the later writ-
ings of the New Testament, or by any trust-
worthy early traditions ; (3) That Paul may be
regarded as an extra apostle for the (Jentiles or
as filling the place made vacant by the early

Ch. II.]

THE ACTS.

CHAPTER II,

AND when "the day of Pentecost was fully come,
*they were all with one accord in one place.

2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as
of a rushing mighty wind, and 'it filled all the house
where they were sitting.

3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like
as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

1 And when the day of Pentecost 'was now come,

2 they were all together in one place. And suddenly
there came from heaven a sound as of the rushing
of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where

3 they were sitting. And there appeared unto them
tongues ^parting asunder, like as of fire ; and it sat

■ Lev. 13:16; Deat. 16 : »; oh. 20 : 18.

..&oh, 1 : 14 ecb. 4 : 31. 1 Or. wu being /uyUltd 2 Or, parting eunong than

Or, distributing themielvtt

martyrdom of James the Less ; (4) That there
was no occasion for the use of lots after the ef-
fusion of the Spirit at Pentecost. After noticing
certain grounds of doubt as to the validity of
this election, Dr. Ripley says : " Still, the trans-
action was performed in a very devout manner,
with a practical referring of it to Divine Prov-
idence." And it may probably be added that
the space given to this transaction in a very con-
densed history, the positive statement that Mat-
thias was numbered with the apostles, and the
total absence of any hint of a mistake on the
part of the apostles and disciples in what they
did, are valid arguments for Dr Hackett's view.
—A. H.]

1-4. DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

1. When the day of Pentecost was fully
come, arrived. (See Luke 9 : 51.) The action
of the verb (lit. to be completed) refers not to
the day itself, but to the completion of the
interval which was to pass before its arrival
(Olsh., Bmg.). Some translate while it is
completed — i. e. in the couree of it, on that
day (Mey., De Wet.). The present infinitive is
consistent with this view or that. — The Pente-
cost (lit. the fiftieth) the Greek Jews employed
as a proper name. ( See 20 : 16 ; 1 Cor. 16 : 8 ; 2
Mace. 12 : 32.) Day or feast determined the
form. This festival received its name from its
occurring on the fiftieth day from the second
day of the passover ; so that the interval em-
braced a circle of seven entire weeks — i. e. a
week of weeks. It is usually called in the Old
Testament, with reference to this circumstance,
the festival of weeks. Its observance took place
at the close of the gathering of the harvest, and
was no doubt mainly commemorative of that
event. (See Jahn's Archseol., g 355.) According
to the later Jews, Pentecost was observed also
as the day on which the law was given from
Sinai ; but no trace of this custom is found in
the Old Testament or in the works of Philo or
Josephus. It is generally supposed that this
Pentecost, signalized by the outpouring of the
Spirit, fell on the Jewish Sabbath, our Saturday.
According to the best opinion, our Lord cele-

brated his last passover on the evening which
began the fifteenth of Nisan (Num. S3 : s) ; and
hence, as he was crucified on the next day,
which was our Friday, the fiftieth day, or
Pentecost (beginning, of course, with the even-
ing of Friday, the second day of the passover),
would occur on the Jewish Sabbath. (See Wiesl.,
Chronologie, u. s. w., p. 19.) — All the believers
then in Jerusalem. (See 1 : 15.) — 6no»viiaS6v =
biJ.o<iivxo>t, with one accord. Its local .sense,
together, becomes superfluous, followed by in
one place. (See on 1 : 15.)

2. As of a mighty wind (lit. blast) rush-
ing along ; not genit. absolute, but dependent
on sound) ^x<x- (See v. 3.). irvo>j = irveC/ia. The
more uncommon word is chosen here, perhaps
on account of the different sense of irveCjia in
this connection — e. g. v. 4. As used of the
wind, <fr«pe<Tdot denotes often rapid, violent, mo-
tion. (See the proofs in Kypke's Obss. Sacr.,
vol. ii. p. 11, and in Kuin., ad loc.) Filled —
i. e. the sound, which is the only natural subject
furnished by the context. — House is probably
the hoitse referred to in 1 : 13 ; not the temple,
for the reasons there stated, and because the
term employed in this absolute way does not
signify the temple or an apartment of it. [The
note of Canon Cook on filled all the house
reads thus: "As a bath is filled with water,
that they might be baptized with the Holy
Ghost, in fulfilment of 1 : 5 ; Chrysostom, Hom.
iv. 2, on the Acts, and Hom. ii. 13, on the as-
cension and the beginning of the Acts." We
are not to suppose that a sound like that which
would have been made by a mighty wind rush-
ing against the outside of the building, or rush-
ing through the adjacent street, filled all the
house, but rather that a sound which seemed
like that of a rushing wind that entered and
filled the whole house filled it. In other words,
the Spirit's presence seems to have been signi-
fied and revealed by a sound that came with that
presence into the house and filled it. The aud-
ible sign filling the room announced the Power
represented by it as doing the same. — A. H.]

3. And there appeared to them tongues
distributed — i.e. among them— and one—

THE ACTS.

[Ch.il

4 And "they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and
began 'to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave
them utterance.

4 upon each one of them. And they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the bpirit gave them utterance.

• oh. l:S....»lUrkI6:n; eb. 10:M; »:6; 1 Cor. IS: 10, M, SO ; IS :1; 14; I, oto.

i. e. tongue — sat npon each of them. So Bng.,
Olsh., Wahl, De Wet., Bmg., Hmph., Rob., and
most of the later critics, as well as some of the
older, (Meyer comes over to this view in his
last ed.) The distributive idea occasions the
change of number in sat. (W. g 58. 4.) — To
them belongs strictly to the verb, but ex-
tends its force to the participle. According to
this view, the fire-like appearance presented it-
self at first, as it were, in a single body, and
then suddenly parted in this direction and
that ; so that a portion of it rested on each of
those present. It could be called a tongue, in
that case, from its shape, as extended, pointed,
and may have assumed such an appearance as
a symbol of the miraculous gift which accom-
panied the wonder. This secures to distrib-
uted its proper meaning (see v. 46 ; Matt. 27 :
35; Luke 23 : 34, etc.), and explains why the
first verb is plural, while the second is singular.
Calvin, Heinrichs (also Alf ), and many of the
older commentators, render the participle dis-
parted, cleft (as in the E. Vv. generally), and
suppose it to describe the flame as exhibiting
in each instance a tongue-like, forked appear-
ance. The objection to this view is that it rests
upon a doubtful sense of the word, and espe-
cially that it oflFers no explanation of the change
from the plural verb to the singular. De Wette,
after others, has adduced passages here from the
Rabbinic writers to show that it was a common
belief of the Jews that an appearance like fire
often encircled the heads of distinguished teach-
ers of the law. To this it has been added that
instances of a similar phenomenon are related
by the Greek and Roman writers. We are di-
rected by such coincidences to an important
fact in the history of the divine revelations,
and that is that God has often been pleased to
reveal himself to men in conformity with their
own conceptions as to the mode in which it is
natural to expect communications from him.
The appearance of the star to the Magians may
be r^arded as another instance of such accom-
modation to human views.

4. Were all filled with the Holy Spirit
(anarthrous, as in 1 : 2), a phrase referring
usually to special gifts rather than moral qual-
ities, and to these as transient rather than per-
manent. (Comp. 4 : 8, 31 ; 13 : 9, etc.) [It will
be instructive to compare all the other passages
in which this expression is found — viz. Lake

1 : 15, 41, 67 ; Acts 4 : 8, 31 ; 9 : 17 ; 13 : 9— or
the equivalent expression " full of the Holy
Spirit "—viz. Luke 4:1; Acts 6:3; 7 : 55 ; 11 :
24 — together with those which aj)parently refer
to the same endowment — viz. Acts 2 : 17 ; G : 8 ;
8 : 17, sq. ; 10 : 44, 46 ; 11 : 15, 16 ; 19 : 6. A
study of these passages leads to the conclusion
that "being filled with the Holy Spirit," or
" being baptized in the Holy Spirit," implies
a reception from the Spirit of extraordinary
powers, in addition to ordinary sanctifying
grace. These extraordinary powers might be
permanent, as the gift of prophecy to the apos-
tles, or they might be, and generally were, tem-
porary, as the gift of miracles. — A. H.] — Began
(like our "proceeded") to speak, as soon as
the symbol rested on them. This use of apxo-
fiai {to begin) as introducing what is next in
order has not been duly recognized in the New
Testament. With other tongues — i. e. than
their native tongue. That Luke designed to
state here that the disciples were suddenly en-
dued with the power of speaking foreign lan-
guages, before unknown to them, would seem
to be too manifest to admit of any doubt. It
is surprising that such a writer as Neander
should attempt to put a different construction
on the text. He objects that the miracle would
have been superfluous, inasmuch as the apostles
are not known to have employed this gift of
tongues in preaching the gospel. It may be
replied, first, that we have not sufficient infor-
mation concerning the labors of the apostles
to affirm that they may not have employed the
endowment for that purpose; and secondly,
that we are not obliged to regard such a use of
it as the only worthy object of the miracle. It
may have been designed to serve chiefly as an
attestation of the truth of the gospel, and of
the character of the apostles as divine messen-
gers. It is certain, at least, that Paul enter-
tained that view of the tongues spoken of in
1 Cor. 14 : 22 : " Wherefore tongues are for a
sign, not to them that believe, but to them that
believe not." The effect produced on this oc-
casion (see V. 12) shows how well suited such
a miracle was to impress the minds of those
who witnessed it. A miracle, too, in this form,
may have had a symbolic import which added
to its significancy. It was necessary that even
the apostles should be led to entertain more en-
larged views respecting the comprehensive de-

Ch. II.]

THE ACTS.

9 And thenrs were dwellhig at Jernsalem Jem, d»-

vout men, out of every nation under heaven.

6 Now when this was noised abroad, the multitude
came together, and were confounded, because that
every man heard them speak in his own language.

5 Now there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, de-

6 vout men, from every nation under heaven. And
when this sound was heard, the multitude came to-
gether, and were confounded, because that every
man heard them speaking in his own language.

sign of the New Dispensation. This sudden
possession of an ability to proclaim the salva-
tion of Christ to men of all nations (even if
we allow that it was not permanent) was adapt-
ed to recall their minds powerfully to the last
command of the Saviour, and to make them
feel that it was their mission to publish his
name to the ends of the earth. Such a mode
of conveying instruction to them was not more
indirect than that employed in the vision of
Peter (io:9, .«.), which was intended to teach
the same truth. But we are not left to argue
the question on grounds of this nature: the
testimony of Luke is explicit and decisive.
Even critics who would explain away the
reality of the miracle admit that it was the
writer's intention to record a miracle. Thus
Meyer says: "The other tongues are to be
considered, according to the text, as absolutely
nothing else than languages which were differ-
ent from the native language of the speakers.
They were Galileans, and spoke now Parthian,
Me(ian, Persian, etc., therefore foreign lan-
guages, and those too — the point precisely
wherein appeared the wonderful effect of the
Spirit — unacquired languages (new tongues in
Mark 16 : 17) — i. e. not previously learned by
them. Accordingly, the text itself defines the
sense of tongues as that of languages, and
excludes as impossible the other explanations,
diflTerent from this, which some have attempted
to impose on the word." — According as, in
respect to manner, since the languages were
diverse.

5-13. IMPRESSION OF THE MIRACLE
ON THE MULTITUDE.

5. Si, now, transitive. — Dwelling, whether
for a season or permanently ; hence more gen-
eral than sojourning (v. 10; 17 : 21), but not
excluding the sojourners there. No doubt
many of the Jews in question had fixed their
abode at Jerusalem, as it was always an object
of desire with those of them who lived in
foreign countries to return and spend the close
of life in the land of their fathers. The preva-
lent belief that the epoch had now arrived
when the promised Messiah was about to ap-
pear must have given increased activity to that
desire. The writer mentions this class of Jews
in distinction from the native inhabitants, be-
cause the narrative which follows represents
that many were present who imderstood dif-

ferent languages. The number of these stran-
gers was the greater on account of the festival
which occurred at that time. — Devout, God-
fearing. (See 8:2; Luke 2 : 25.) This sense is
peculiar to the Hellenistic Greek. The term is
applied to those only whose piety was of the
Old-Testament type. — Of those — i. e. being —
under heaven. The strong expression here
is a phrase signifying from many and distant
lands. A phrase of this kind has an aggregate
sense, which is the true one, while that deduced
from the import of the separate words is a false
sense.

6. When this was noised abroad {ytvoiihn^
. . . TovTTit). These words are obscure. The
principal interpretations are the following : (1)
<i»avrjt TttuTTjs {this voice or sound) refers to other
tongues in v. 4, and the implication is that
the voices of those who spoke were so loud
as to be heard at a distance, and in this way
were the occasion of drawing together the mul-
titude. This interpretation secures to this a
near antecedent, but has against it that voice
is singular, and not plural, and that the parti-
ciple is hardly congruous with the noun in that
sense. Neander, who adopts this view, regards
voice as a collective term. (2) ttxavri has been
taken as synonymous with ^nji^ : now when
this report arose — i. e. the report concerning
this. The meaning is good, but opposed to
the usage of the noun, while it puts this in
effect for concerning this, which is a hard con-
struction. Many of the older critics and the
authors of nearly all the E. Vv. understood the
expression in this way. (3) We may regard
voice as repeating the idea of sound in v.
2: now when this sound — that of the descend-
ing Spirit — occurred. (For that signification
of ifxavri, comp. Johu 3:8; Rev. 1 : 15 ; 9:9;
14 : 2, etc.) ytvonivrit appears to answer to tyivm
in v. 2, and favors this explanation. The ob-
jection to it is that this forsakes the nearer
for a remoter antecedent ; but that may occur
if the latter be more prominent, so as to take
the lead in the writer's mind. (See W. § 23. 1.)
This meaning agrees with the context. The
participial clause here may involve the idea of
cause as well as time ; and we may understand,
therefore, that the sound in question was audi-
ble beyond the house where the disciples were
assembled — that it arrested the attention of
those abroad, and led them to seek out the

THE ACTS.

[Ch. II.

7 And they were ril amazed and marrelled. saying
one to another, Behold, are not all these which speitk
•Galilseans ?

8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue,
wherein we were born ?

9 Parthians, and Medes, and Klamites, and the dwell-
ers in Mesopotamia, and in Judiea, and Cappadocia, in
Pontus, and Asia,

10 Pbrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the

7 And they were all amazed and marvelled, saying.
Behold, are not all these who speak Gaiilseans?

8 And how hear we, every man in our own language,

9 wherein we were Dorn? Parthians and Medes and
Klamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, in Ju-

10 dtea and Cappadocia, in Pontus and Asia, in I'hrj'gia
and Pamphylia, in Egypt and the parts of Libya
about Cyrene, and sojourners ftom Rome, both Jews

scene of the wonder. So Hess,' Schrader,
Meyer, De Wette, Alford, and others. The
house (v. 2) may have been on one of the ave-
nues to the temple, thronged at this time by a
crowd of early worshippers (v. 15). — Were
hearing. (Imperf.) — Every alone (v. 8) or
with one distributes often a plural subject.
(See 14 : 29 ; Matt. 18 : 35 ; John 16 : 32. K.
§ 266. 3.) — I8i<f, his own, usually emphatic.
(W. g 22. 7.)— Dialect = <onsrMe. (See v. 11.)
The term in its narrower sense here would be
too narrow ; for, though some of the languages
differed only as dialects, it was not true of all
of them. — Them speak. We are not to un-
derstand by this that they all spoke in the lan-
guages enumerated, but that one of them em-
ployed this, and another that. In so brief a
narrative the writer must have passed over
various particulars of the transaction. We
may suppose that at this time the apostles
had left the room where they assembled at
first, and had gone forth to the crowd col-
lected in the vicinity.

7. Not, which leads the sentence, belongs
properly to are. (Comp. 7 : 48. W. § 61. 4.)—
All (T. R.) was inserted here probably from
v. 12.— These, emphatic. — Galileans. They
were known as Galileans, because they were
known as the disciples of Christ. Had the
different speakers belonged to so many differ-
ent countries, the wonder would have been di-
minished or removed.

8. How, since they were all Galileans. The
object of hear follows in v. 11 ; but, the con-
nection having been so long suspended, the
verb is there repeated. Every, as in v. 6. —
In which we were born. This remark ex-
cludes the possibility of Luke's meaning that
the tongues were merely an ecstatic or impas-
sioned style of discourse.

9. In the enumeration of the countries named |
in this verse and the next the writer proceeds
from the north-east to the west and south.
Parthians. Partkia was on the north-east of
Media and Hyrcania and north of Aria, sur-
rounded entirely by mountains. — Aledes.

Media bordered north on the Caspian Sea,
west on Armenia, east on Hyrcania, and south
on Persia. Elamites — i. e. the inhabitants
of Elyinais or Elavi, which was east of the
Tigris, north of Susiana (annexed to it in Dan.
8 : 2), and south o*" Media, of which Ptolemy
makes it a part.— Judea. It has excited the
surprise of some that Judea should be men-
tioned in tris catalogue, because, it is said, no
part of the wonder consisted in hearing Ara-
maean at Jerusalem. But we need not view
the writer's design in that light. It was rather
to inform us in how many languages the dis-
ciples addressed the multitude on this occa.sion ;
and as, aft^r all, the native Jews formed the
greater part of the assembly, the account would
have been deficient without mentioning Judea.
It has been proposed to alter the text to Idu-
mea, but there is no authority for this. — The
catalogue now passes from Cappadocia and Pon-
tus, on the east and north-east, to the extreme
west of A.sia Minor. Asia. Phrygia being ex-
cluded here, Kuinoel and others liave supposed
Asia to be the same as Ionia ; but Winer says
it cannot be shown that in the Roman age
Ionia alone was called Asia. He thinks, with
an appeal to Pliny, that we are to understand
it as embracing Mysia, Lydia, and Caria, with
Ephesus as the principal city. (See his Realw.,
vol. i. p. 96.) Others, as Bottger,* whom De
Wette follows, understand Mysia, J^olis, Ionia,
Lydia, Caria. All admit that the term denoted
not so much a definite region as a jurisdiction,
the limits of which varied from time to time
according to the plan of government which the
Romans adopted for their Asiatic provinces.

10. Phrygia was separated by the Taurus
from Pisidia on the south, with Bithynia on
the north, Caria, Lydia, and Mysia on the west,
Galatia, Cappadocia, and Lycaonia on the east.
— Pamphylia was on the Mediterranean, ad-
jacent on other sides to Cilicia, Caria, and Pi-
sidia.— The parts of Libya toward Cy-
rene. Libya was an extensive region on the
west of Egypt. One of the principal cities there
was Cyrene (now Grenna), on the sea, origi-

> OetehicfUe und Sehrifien der Aposlel Jesu, vol. i. p. 24 (Zurich, 1820).
* iSchaupUUz der Wirktamieit de* Apoitelt JPaulut, u. s. w., p. 23.

Ch. II.]

THE ACTS.

parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, | 11 andj)roselyte8, Cretans and Arabians,^ we dojiear
Jews and proselytes, **■" ''' '" """ *""""°° ♦'"" r..,„v,«« «.»i.to ^<

11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak In
our tongues the wonderful works of (iod.

12 And they were all amazed, and were in doubt,
saying one to another, What meaneth this?

13 Others mocking said. These men are full of new
wine.

them speaking in our tongues the mighty works of
12Goid. And they were all amazed, and were per-
plexed, saying one to another, What meaneth tnis?
13 But others mocking said, They are filled with new
wine.

nally a Greek colony, but where at this time the
Jews constituted a fourth part of the popula-
tion. (See Jos., Antt., 14. 7. 2.) It was the
native place of Simon, who bore the Saviour's
cross to Golgotha (Luke 23 : 26). This part of
Africa comes into view in making the voyage
from Malta to Alexandria.— The Romans so-
journing at Jerusalem. (Comp. 17:21.) — Both
Jews and proselytes a few critics restrict to
Romans merely, but most (De Wet., Mey.,
Wiesl.) refer them to all the preceding nouns.
The Jews generally adopted the languages of
the countries where they resided. The prose-
lytes were originally heathen who had em-
braced Judaism. The words sustain the same
grammatical relation to Cretans and Ara-
bians, or, at all events, are to be repeated
after them. The last two names follow as an
after-thought, in order to complete the list.
[Proselytes, or Gentile converts to Judaism, were
evidently somewhat numerous at this time.
Many of them remained uncircumcised, and
were called " proselytes of the gate." These,
like Cornelius, were worshippers of the true
God and well prepared to listen to the gospel
of his grace. Others were circumcised and al-
lowed to take part in the great religious festi-
vals, as well as in the daily temple-service.
At a later period a Gentile became a " proselyte
of righteousness" by circumcision, baptism,
and an offering (Corban). Only the last two
ceremonies were required of women. The bap-
tism of men is thus described: "When the
wound [of circumcision] was healed, he was
stripped of all his clothes, in the presence of
three witnesses who had acted as his teachers,
and who now acted as his sponsors, the ' fathers '
of the proselyte {Ketvbh. xi., Erubh. xv. 1), and
led into the tank or pool. As he stood there,
up to his neck in water, they rei>eated the great
commandments of the law. These he promised
and vowed to keep ; and then, with an accom-
panying benediction, he plunged under the
water. To leave one handbreadth of his body
unsubmerged would have vitiated the whole
rite." (Smith's Diet, of the Bible, "Proselytes").
This, however, appears to have been a later
usage. There is no sufficient evidence that
proselyte baptism was introduced as early as
the time of Christ. (See Baptist Quarterly, 1 872,

pp. 301-332, "Jewish Proselyte Baptism," by
Dr. Toy.)— A. H.]

11. The declarative form which the English
Version assigns to the sentence here (we do
hear) is incorrect. The question extends to
of God. (See on v. 8.) [Tischendorf, Tregelles,
Meyer, and others agree with Dr. Hackett in
making the question beginning with v. 8 in-
clude this verse; but Westcott and Hort and
the Anglo-American Revisers suppose that the
question embraces only v. 8, while this verse is
declarative. It seems impossible to assign any
conclusive reason for either view in preference
to the other. The meaning is the same with
the one as with the other. A nice rhetorical
sense may lead to preference. — A. H.] — ^The
great things of God, done by him through
Christ for the salvation of men. (Comp. v.
38.)

12. Amazed describes their astonishment
at the occurrence in general ; in doubt, their
perplexity at being unable to account for it. —
What may this perhaps mean? av attaches
a tacit condition to the inquiry, if, as we think,
it must import something. (See W. ? 42. 1 ;
K. § 260. 4.) This is the question of the more
serious party. The hesitating form of it indi-
cates the partial conviction which the miracle
had wrouglit in their minds.

13. Others . . . said. Among those who
scoffed may have been some of the native in-
habitants of the city, who, not understanding
the foreign languages spoken, regarded the dis-
course of the apostles as senseless because it
was unintelligible to them. — XAeva^oi^e« is not
so well supported as fiiaxAeuo^orrcv, and expresses
the idea less forcibly. Calvin : " Nihil tam ad-
mirabile esse potest, quod non in ludibrium ver
tant, qui nulla Dei curA tanguntur." — on, that,

j declarative. — Sweet wine (yAcvVow), not netv,
as in the E. V. after all the earlier E. Vv. The
Pentecost fell in June, and the first vintage did
not occur till August. It is true gleukos desig-
nated properly the sweet, unfermented juice of
the grape, but it was applied also to old wine
preserved in its original state. The ancients
had various ways of arresting fermentation.
One of them, in use among the Greeks and
Romans, was this : "An amphora was taken
and coated with pitch within and without ; it

THE ACTS.

[Ch. II.

14 f But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted
up his voice, and said uuto them, Ye men or Judeea,
and all v that dwell at Jerusalem, be this Icnown unto
you, ana hearken to my words:

15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, "seeing
it is btU the third hour of the day.

16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet
Joel;

17 ^And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith
God, '\ will pour out of my (Spirit upon all ftesh : and
your sons and <<your daughters shall prophesy, and
your young men shall see visions, and your old men
shall dream dreams :

14 But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up
his voice, and spake forth unto them, sayinti, Ye uien
of Judx-a, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, lie this

15 known unto you, and give ear unto my words. 1 or
these are not drunken, as ye suiipose ; seeing it is '■(//

16 the third hour of the day ; but this is that which hatli
been spoken through the prophet Joel ;

17 And it shall be in the last days, saith God,

I will pour forth of my Spirit upon all flesh :
And your sous and your daughters shall proph-
esy,
And your young men shall see visions,
And your old men shall dream dreams :

alThen. 5:T....Mw.44:S; Bzek. 11:»; M:1T; Jm11:18, »; Zech. 12:10; John 7 : 38....eoh. 10 : 45....(leh. 21 : ».

was filled with mustum lixivium — f. e. the juice
before the grapes had been fully trodden — and
corked so as to be perfectly air-tight. It was
then immersed in a tank of cold fresh water
or buried in wet sand, and allowed to remain
for six weeks or two months. The contents,
after this process, were found to remain un-
changed for a year, and hence the name <i«l
7A«uKo« — i. e. semper mustum " (Diet, of Antt.,
art. " Vinum "i). Jahn says that sweet wine
was produced also from dried grapes by soak-
ing them in old wine and then pressing them
a second time. (See his Arcliseol., § 69.) This
species of wine was very intoxicating.

14-36. THE DISCOURSE OF PETER.

The address embraces the following points,
though interwoven somewhat in the discus-
sion : fir J, defence of the character of the apos-
tles (u, :5); secondly, the miracle explained as
a fulfilment of prophecy (w-Ji) ; thirdly, this
effusion of the Spirit an act of the crucified
but now exalted Jesus (so-ss) ; and fourthly, his
claim to be acknowledged as the true Messiah

(22-29 and 34-36).

14. With the eleven — i. e. in their name,
and with their concurrence in what he said.
As the multitude was so great, it is not improb-
able that some of the other apostles addressed
different groups of them at the same time.
(See on v. 6.) On such an occasion they would
all naturally pursue a very similar train of re-
mark.— Men of Jndea are the Jews bom in
Jerusalem; ye that dwell are the foreign
Jews and Jewish converts. (See on v. 5.) —
Hearken = Heb. hadzen, a Hellenistic word.

15. For justifies the call to attention. It
brings forward a refutation of the charge which
had been made against them. — These whom
they had heard speak (see v. 4, sq.), and who
were then present ; not the eleven merely with
Peter (Alf.). — The third hour — t. e. about nine
o'clock A. M., according to our time. This was
the first hour of public prayer, at which time
the morning sacrifice was oflFered in the temple.

During their festivals the Jews considered it
unlawful to take food earlier than this; stiil
more, to drink wine. (See Light., Hot. Hebr.,
ad loc.) The other hours of prayer were the
sixth (io:4) and the ninth (s:i).

16. Bn*. this (which you witness) is that
which was said. The Greek identifies the
prophecy with its fulfilment. — Through the
prophet) because he was the messenger, not
the author of the message. The expression
recognizes the divine origin of the book whicli
bears his name. (See the note on 1 : 16.) —
Tischendorf has no adequate reason for ojiiit-
ting Joel after prophet. [It is retained in his
8th ed. as well as by Treg., West, and Iiort,
Revisers' text, and fully justified by N A B C
E I P.— A. H.].

17. The citation which follows, from Joel 3 :
1-5 (2 : 28-32 in E. V.), runs for the most part
in the words of the Seventy. The two or tlnee

I verbal deviations from the Hebrew serve either
I to unfold more distinctly the sense of the orig-
inal passage or to enforce it. It is the object of
I the prophecy to characterize the Messianic Dis-
I pensation under its two great aspects— that of
I mercy, and that of judgment. To those who
I believe, the gospel is " a savor of life unto life ;"
i but to those who disbelieve, it is "a savor of
j death unto death." (See 2 Cor. 2 : 16.) Under
I its one aspect it was to be distinguished by the
j copious outpouring of the Divine Spirit on ,
! those who should acknowledge Christ; and
! under its other aspect it was to be distinguislied
' by the signal punishment awaiting those who
I should disown his authority and reject him. —
And it shall come to pass, etc., stands for Heb.
vShayah ahdr'e ken, rendered more closely in the
Septuagint by and it shall be after these
things. Peter's expression denotes always in
the New Testament the age of the Messiah,
which the Scriptures represent as the world's
last great moral epoch. The prophet designates
the same period under a more general phrase.
Again, Peter places saith God at the begin-

> DielUmary of Greek and Roman Antiquitiet, edited by W. Smith, London. The abbreviation in the text refera
always to this work.

Ch. II.]

THE ACTS.

18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I
will pour out in those days of my Spirit ; "and they
shall prophesy:

19 'Ana I will shew wonders in heaven above, and
signs in the earth beneath ; blood, and fire, and vapor
of smoke :

18 Yea and on mv 'servants and on my *hand-maid-

ens in those days
Will I pour forth of my Spirit ; and they shall
prophesy.

19 And I will shew wonders in the heaven above,
And signs on the earth beneath ;

Blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke :

aoh. 11:4, 9, 10; 1 Cor. 12 : 10, 28 ; U : 1, eto....i Joel2 : SO, SI.-

-1 Or. bondmen 2 Or. bondnuMenM.

ning of the declaration; the prophet, at the
close of it. The position of the words here
fixes attention at once upon the source of the
prophecy, and prepares the mind to listen to it
as God's utterance. — Will pour out is future, a
later Greek form. (W. g 13 : 3 ; K. g 154. R. 1.)
— And (consequential) thus they shall
prophesy. This verb in the New Testament
signifies not merely to foretell future events,
but to communicate religious truth in general
under a divine inspiration. It corresponds in
this use to nibbeoo in the original passage.
(See Gesen., Lex., s. v.) The order of the next
two clauses in the Hebrew and Septuagint Ls
the reverse of that adopted here — viz. first,
your old men shall dream dreams, then
your young men . . . see visions. Heng-
stenbergi suggests that the change may have
been intentional, in order to place the youth
with the sons and daughters and to assign to
the aged a place of honor. — Shall dream
AVith dreams. The dative, as in 4 : 17 ; 23 :
24. (W. g 54. 3.) Some authorities have
ivvvvM, the ace. dream s, which was proba-
bly substituted for the other as an easier con-
struction.

18. KaCyt = Heb. vigam annexes an emphatic
addition : and even (Hart., Partik., vol. i. p.
39G). — My, which is wanting in the Hebrew, is
retained here from the Septuagint. The prophet
declares that no condition of men, however
ignoble, would exclude them from the promise.
The apostle cites the prophet to that effect, but
takes occasion from the language — my ser-
vants, which describes their degradation in the
eyes of men — to suggest by way of contrast
their exalted relationship to God. Bengel :
" Servi secundum camem . . . iidem servi
Dei" ("servants according to the flesh . . . also
servants of God"). Similar to this is the lan-
guage of Paul in 1 Cor. 7 : 22 : " For he that is
called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's
freeman ; likewise also he that is called, being
free, is Clirist's servant." If we cast the eye
back over this and the preceding verse, it will
be seen that the effusion of the Spirit was to be
universal as to the classes of persons that were

to participate in it ; in other words, it was to be
without distinction of sex, age, or rank. — The
modes of divine revelation and of the Spirit's
operation which are specified in this passage
were among the more extraordinary to which
the Hebrews were accustomed under the ancient
Economy. These, after having been suspended
for so long a time, were now, at the opening of
the Christian Dispensation, renewed in more
than their former power. The prophecy re-
lates chiefly, I think, to these special commu-
nications of the Spirit, which were granted to
the first Christians. The terms of the proph-
ecy direct us naturally to something out of the
ordinary course ; and when we add to this that
the fiacts recorded in the Acts and the Epistles
sustain fully that view of the language, it must
appear arbitrary, as well as unnecessary, to re-
ject such an interpretation. Yet the prophecj'
has indirectly a wider scope. It portrays in
reality the character of the entire dispensation.
Those special manifestations of the Spirit at the
beginning marked the Economy as one that was
to be eminently distinguished by the Spirit's
agency. They were a pledge that those in all
ages who embrace the gospel should equal the
most fe.vored of God's ancient people ; they en-
joy a clearer revelation, are enlightened, sanc-
tified, by a Spirit more freely imparted, may
rise to the same or higher religious consolations
and attainments.

19. The apostle now holds up to view the
other side of the subject. He adduces the part
of the prophecy which foretells the doom of
those who reject Christ and spurn his salvation.
Having appealed to the hopes, the apostle turns
here to address himself to the fears, of men ,
he would persuade them by every motive to
escape the punishment which awaits the unbe-
lieving and disobedient. (See vs. 40 and 43, be-
low.) In the interpretation of the passage before
us, I follow those who understand it as having
primary reference to the calamities which God
inflicted on the Jews in connection with the
overthrow of Jerusalem and the destruction of
the Jewish state and nation. The reasons for
this opinion are briefly these : (1) The law of

1 Cfa-istology of the Old TesUanmt, and a Cbmrntntory on the PtedicHont of the Meuiah hy the PropheU, vol. liL p. 140
(Dr. Keith's translation).

THE ACTS.

[Ch. II.

20 "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the
moon into blood, before that great and notable day of
the Lord come :

21 And it shall come to pass, that ^whosoever shall
call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

20 The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,

Before the day of the Lord come,
That great and notable day :

21 And it shall be, that whosoever shall call on the

name of the Lord shall be saved.

aMatt. M:»: Hark U: 34; Lake SI : SS. . . .» Bom. 10 : IS.

correspondence would lead us to apply this part
of the prophecy to the same period to which
the other part has been applied — i. e. to the
early times of the gospel. (2) The expression,
the day of the Lord, in v. 20, according to a
very common use in the Hebrew prophets, de-
notes a day when God comes to make known
his power in the punishment of his enemies —
a day of the signal display of his vengeance for
the rejection of long-continued mercies and the
commission of aggravated sins. The subversion
of the Jewish state was such an occasion. It
appropriates fully every trait of that significant
designation. (3) Part of the language here co-
incides almost verbally with that in Matt. 24 :
29 ; and if the language there, as understood by
most interpreters, describes the downfall of the
Jewish state,! we may infer from the similarity
that the subject of discourse is the same in both
places. (4) The entire phraseology, when con-
strued according to the laws of prophetic lan-
guage, ;s strikingly appropriate to represent the
unsurpassed horrors and distress which attended i
the siege and destruction of Jerusalem, and to [
announce the extinction of the Jewish power and I
of the glory of the Jewish worship which that 1
catastrophe involved. Yet here too (see on v. j
18) we are to recognize the wider scope of the |
prophecy. The destruction of the Jews is held j
forth by the apostle as a type of the destruction j
which is to come upon every rejecter of the ;
gospel. (See v. 21.) For the sake of contrast,
Peter inserts the words above, signs, below,
which are not in the Hebrew. Wonders in
heaven, signs on the earth, means prodigies,
celestial and terrestrial, such as may appear in
the air or on the earth ; in other words, prodigies
of every sort and of the most portentous kind.
The idea is that calamities were to ensue ecjual
in severitj' and magnitude to those which the
most fearful portents are supposed to announce.
The mode of speaking is founded on the popu-
lar idea that when great events are about to oc-
cur wonderful phenomena foretoken their ap-
proach. Hence what the prophet would affirm
18 that disasters and judgments were coming
such as men are accustomed to associate with
the most terrific auguries ; but he does not mean

necessarily that the auguries themselves were to
be expected, or decide whether the popular be-
lief on the subject was true or false. — Blood,
fire, vapor of smoke, stand in apposition
with wonders and signs, and show in what
they consisted. Blood, perhaps, rained on
the earth (De Wet.), or as in Egypt (Ex. 7 : n), in-
fecting the streams and rivers (Hng.) ; fire —
i. e. appearances of it in the air — and vapor
of smoke, dense smoke, hence = Heb. temeroth
ashan; piilars, or clouds, of smoke, which
darken the heavens and earth. Many have sup-
posed these terms to signify directly slaughter
and conflagration, but their grammatical rela-
tion to wonders and signs decides that they
are the portents themselves, not the calamities
portended. That view, too, confounds the day
of the Lord with the precursors of the day.

20. The sun shall be turned into
darkness. Its light shall be withdrawn ; the
heavens shall become black. A day is at hand
which will be one of thick gloom, of sadness
and woe. (For the frequency and significance
of this figure in the prophets, see Ezek. 32 : 7 ;
Isa. 13 : 10; Amos 5 : 18, 20, etc.)— The moon.
Repeat here shall be turned. The moon, too,
shall give forth signs of the coming distress. It
shall exhibit an appearance like blood. Men
shall see there an image of the carnage and
misery which are to be witnessed on earth. —
Notable, illustrious, signal in its character
as an exhibition of divine justice. It conveys
the idea of nora (Heb.), fearful, but is less
definite.

21. Every one whosoever. (For ov with
this expansive effect, comp. v. 39 ; 3 : 22, 23 ; 7 :
3, etc.) The mercy is free to all who fulfil the
condition. (See the note on v. 39.) — Shall
have called upon. Subj. aor. after a.' = fut.
exact, in Latin. The act in this verb must be
past before the future in shall be saved can
be present. (See W. § 42. 1. 3. b.)— The name
of the liOrd— i. e. of Christ. (Comp. v. 36 ;
9 : 14 ; 22 : 16 ; Rom. 10 : 13.) Not simply upon
him, but upon him as possessing the attributes
and sustaining to men the relations of which
his name is the index. (Compare the note on
22 : 16.)— Shall be saved, from the doom of

> This view is defended in the Bibliotheea Sacra, 1843, p. 531, tq., and controverted in the same work, 1850, p.
462, ««.

Ch. IL]

THE ACTS.

22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words ; Jesus of Naz-
areth, a man approved of God among you "by miracles
and wonders and signs, which (iod did by him in the
midst of you, as ye yourselves also know :

23 Him, 'being delivered by the determinate coun-
sel and foreknowledge of (iod, 'ye have taken, and by
wicked hands have crucified and slain :

24 <<Whom God bath raised up, having loosed the

22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words : Jesus of Naz-
areth, a man approved of God unto you by 'mighty
works and wonders and signs, which God did by him
in the midst of you, even as ye yourselves know;

23 him, being delivered up by the determinate counsel
and foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of !<law-

24 less men did crucify and slay : whom God raised up,
having loosed the pangs of death : because it was not

■ John S: 2; 14:10, 11; ch. 10:38; Beta. 2 : 4... .& Matt. 26 : 24 ; Luke 22 : 22; 24 : 44; ch. 3 : 18; 4 : 28....ech. 5 : 30. . . .d ver. 32; ch.
S: U; 4: 10: 10:40; IS : SO, 34; 17 : 31 ; Rom. 4: 24; 8: 11; 1 Cor. 6: 14; IS : 16; 2 Cor. 4 : 14 ; Oal. 1:1; Epb. 1 : 20; Col. 2: 12-
1 Ttaeu. 1 : 10; Hob. 13 : 20 ; 1 Pet. 1 : 21. 1 Or. powert 2 Or, mm vithout tha law

those who reject Christ, and be admitted to the
joys of his kingdom.

23. Israelites = Jews in N. T.; here both
the native and foreign Jews. — yaiupaiov = Na^a-
palov. The former was the broader Syriac pro-
nunciation, as heard especially in Galilee.
Hence Peter's rustic speech (Matt. 26 : 73) be-
trayed him in the very words of his denial.
(See Win., Chald. Gr.,^ p. 12.) The epithet is
added for the sake of distinction, as "Jesus"
was not an uncommon name among the Jews.
— A man from God (as the source of the ap-
proval) accredited unto you (not, as in E. V.,
among you) ; shown forth* confirmed (25 :
7) — viz. in his Messianic character. The mean-
ing is that in the miracles which Christ per-
formed he had God's fullest sanction to all that
he did and taught — that is, to his claim to be
received as the Son of God, the promised
Saviour of men. Some put a comma after
God and render a man (sent) from God,
accredited as such by miracles, etc. The
ultimate idea remains the same, since to sanc-
tion his mission as from God was the same
thing as to sustain his truth as to what he
claimed to be. But the first is the more correct
view, because it renders the ellipsis (sent, not
apt to be omitted) unnecessary, and because (as
Alf. suggests) the point to be established was
that the Messiah was identical with a man
whom they had seen and known. We have
wo after the participle, instead of vwd, because
the approbation was indirect — i. e. testified
through miracles. (See W. f 47. 4 ; Bernh.,
S>/rU., p. 223.)— Miracles and wonders and
signs form obviously an intensive expression,
but they are not synonymous with each other.
Miracles are called powers, because they are
wrought by divine power; prodigies, because
they appear inexplicable to men; and <nintla
(signs), because they attest the character or
claims of those who perform them (» Cor. 12 : 12).
(See Olsh. on Matt. 8 : 1). It cannot be said
that the terms are used always with a distinct
consciousness of that diflference.— ot« (which)

is attracted into the case of its antecedent. —
Also after as good authorities omit. If re-
tained, it must connect know with did — what
he did ye also know ; or else strengthen your-
selves, also yourselves as well as we.

23. Him is both resumptive and emphatic.
(See Matt. 24 : 13; 1 Cor. 6:4. W. g 23. 4).—
According to the established (firmly fixed,
see Luke 22 : 22) counsel, plan ; the dative is
that of rule or conformity. (W. § 31. 6. b. ; K.
§ 285. 3.) Counsel and foreknowledge may
differ here as antecedent and consequent, since
God's foreknowledge results properly from his
purpose. — tKSoTov, delivered up to you — i. e. by
Judas. — Have taken (Ka^ovrtf) the best editors
regard as an addition to the text. — B y the hands
(«ia x»pwi' avonuv) OT hand (if after Grsb., Lchm.,
Tsch., and others, we read x"P<>«) <*f lawless
ones (partitive, hence without the article; see
on 5 : 16) — i. e. of the heathen, as Pilate and
the Roman soldiers. (Comp. Wisd. 17. 2 ; 1 Cor.
9 : 21.) The indignity which Christ suflFered
was the greater on account of his being cruci-
fied by the heathen. (See 3 : 13.) ivoiiMv (law-
less) may agree with x"'P<^>' (hands), lawless
hands ; but, as the adjective must refer still to
the heathen, it is not so easy a combination as
the other. — Having fastened to the cross — i. e.
with nails driven through the hands and feet
(John 20 : 25, 27). (See BynsBUS, De Morte Christi, L.
III. c. 6, and Jahn's Archxol., § 262.) [Also Amer.
addition to the art. "Crucifixion" in Smith's
Did. of the Bible. — A. H.] He imputes the act
of crucifixion to the Jews because they were the
instigators of it. (Comp. 4 : 10 ; 10 : 39.)— oi-eiAaT*
(ye slew) is first aorist, an Alexandrian form.
(W. § 13. 1 ; S. § 63. 11. R.)

34. Raised up, not into existence, as in
3 : 22, but from the dead. The context de-
mands this sense of the verb. (See v. 32.) —
The pains of death. Quoted apparently
from the Sept. for Heb. cheiU maveth in Ps.
18 : 5, cords of death. Having loosed
agrees better with the Hebrew idea ; but, taken
less strictly, having ended, it is not inappro-

» Orammar of the CfuUdee Language as eontaitied in the Bible and the Ihrgums, translated from the German by
the writer (Andover, 1845).
4

THE ACTS.

[Ch. II.

pains of death : because it was not possible that he
should be holden of it.

25 For David siieaketh concerning him, "I foresaw
the Lord always before my face, for lie is on my right
hand, that I should not lie moved :

26 Therefore did mv heart rejoice, and my tongue
was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope:

27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither
wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

25 possible that he should be holden of it. For David
saith concerning him,

1 l»eheld the Lord always before my face;
For he is on my right hand, that I should not be
moved :

26 Therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue re-

joiced ;
Moreover my flesh also shall 'dwell in hope :

27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in Hades,
Neither wilt thou give thy Holy One to see cor-
ruption.

-1 Or, tabtmade.

prjate to pangs. We may conceive, in the lat-
ter case, of the pains of death as not ceasing
altogether with the life which they destroy,
but as still following their victim into the
grave. Hence, though the Greek expression,
as compared with the Hebrew, changes the
figure, it conveys essentially the same thought,
and may have been adopted because it was
so familiar to the foreign Jews. Some con-
tend that itilvai; means cords in the Hellenistic
Greek (Kuin., Olsh.) ; but the assertion is des-
titute of proof. In that case, too, Luke would
have said their at the end of the sentence in-
stead of his, out of regard to the figure. Oth-
ers have found an allusion in the word to the
resurrection as a birth (see Col. 1 : 18), and
hence to death as enduring (so to speak) the
pangs Inseparable from giving back the dead
to life. It is strange that Meyer should revive
this almost forgotten interpretation. — Because
it was not possible, since the divine pur-
pose cannot fail. The confirmatory because
shows that to be the nature of the impossibil-
ity in the writer's mind.

25. The quotation is from Ps. 16 : 8-11, in
accordance with the Septuagint. It will be
observed that in vs. 29-31 Peter takes pains to
show that the portion of the Psalm under con-
sideration there could not have referred to
David, but had its fulfilment in Christ. In 13 :
36, Paul too denies the applicability of that
passage to David, and insists on its exclusive
reference to the Messiah. We may conclude,
therefore, that they regarded the entire Psalm
as Messianic ; for we have in it but one speaker
from commencement to end, and in other re-
spects such a marked unity of thought and
structure, that it would be an arbitrary pro-
cedure to assign one part of it to David and
another to Christ. (See Prof. Stuart's interpre-
tation of this Psalm in Bibl. Repos., 1831, p. 51,
tq.) — Concerning, in reference to, him. —
I saw the Lord before me (where wp6 is
Intensive merely), looked unto him as my only
helper and support; not foresaw (E. V., after
the Genv. V.), or saw beforehand (Tynd.). The

verb answers to Heb. shiwethe, I placed, ex-
cept that this marks more distinctly the effort
made in order to keep the mind in that post-
ure.— Because states why the eye is thus
turned unto Jehovah. — c* Scfiii' (on my right
hand) dc<jcribes one's position as seen off" from
the right. A protector at the right hand is one
who is near and can afford instantly the succor
needed. — Iva is telic, in order that. [The mean-
ing and use of 'iva are carefully discussed by
Winer (§ 53. 6. p. 457, sq., Thayer's transl.) and
by Buttmann (Gram, of the N. T. Greek, Thaj'er's
transl., p. 235, sq.). The latter maintains that
there are many predicates and constructions in
the New Testament " in which the idea of pur-
pose decidedly recedes into the background" and
" where the difference between the two rela-
tions (the telic and the ecbatic) [or that of pur-
pose and that of result — in order that, so that]
disappears, and it is nearer to the ecbatic sense
[so that] than to its original final sense." But
in the writings of Luke it almost always re-
tains its original telic sense. — A. H.]

26. €Vi)>pav^ (was glad). (On the augment
in verbs which begin with eS, see W. g 12. 1. 3 ;
K. g 125. R. 1.).— My tongue stands for Heb.
kebhodhe, my glory — i. e. soul — whose dignity
the Hebrews recognized in that way. The
Greek has substituted the instrument which
the soul uses in giving expression to its joy.
We may render both verbs as present if we
suppose them to describe a pennanent state
of mind. (K. g 256. 4.)— But further also,
climacteric, as in Luke 14 : 26. — My flesh,
body as distinguished from the soul.— Shall
rest — viz. in the grave, as defined by the next
verse. — In hope = Heb. labhetah, in confi>
deuce— i. e. of a speedy restoration to life.
The sequel exhibits the ground of this confi-
dent hope.

27. Because (not that) thou wilt not
abandon my soul into Hades. My soul,
according to Hebrew usage, an emphasized pro-
noun. Hades = Heb. Sheol denotes properly
the place of the dead, but also, by a frequent
personification, death itself, considered as a ra-

Ch. II.]

THE ACTS.

28 Tbou hast made known to me the ways of life ;
thou Shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance.

29 Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you
"of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and
buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day.

30 Therefore being a prophet, 'and knowing that
God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit
of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up
Christ to sit on his throne ;

31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection
of Christ, «that his soul was not left in hell, neither
his flesh did see corruption.

28 Thou madest known unto me the ways of life ;
Thou shalt make me full of gladness >with thy

countenance.

29 Brethren, I may say unto you freely of the patriarch
David, that he both died and was buried, and his

30 tomb is with us unto this day. Being therefore a
prophet, and knowing that (ioid had sworn with an
oath to nim, that of tne fruit of his loins ^^he would

31 set one upon his throne ; he foreseeing ihU spake of
the resurrection of the Christ, that neither was he

alKiaKs2: 10;oh. 13:36..

.6 2 Sam. 7 : 12, IS ; Pa. 132 : 1 1 ; Luke 1 : 32. 68 : Rom. 1 : 3 ; 2 Tim. 2:8.
1 Or, in tht pretene* 2 Or, one thould tit

.oFs. 16: 10; oh. 13:85.

pacious destroyer. (See Gesen., Heb. Lex., s. v.)
The sense then may be expressed thus : Thou
wilt not give me up as a prey to death ; he shall
not have power over me, to dissolve the body
and cause it to return to dust. On the ellipti-
cal 4Sov, see K. g 263. b. Later critics (Lchm.,
Tsch.) read fSifv, after A B C D and other au-
thorities.— To see, experience, as in Luke
2, 26.

28. Thon didst make known to me the
ways of life — i. e. those which lead from death
to life. The event was certain, and hence, though
future, could be spoken of as past. The mean-
ing is that God would restore him to life after
having been put to death and laid in the grave.
Kuinoel, De Wette, Meyer, concede that this is
the sense which Peter attached to the words;
and if so, it must be the true sense. The Greek
here expresses the exact form of the Hebrew. —
With {n€rA, not = ««£, by) thy presence — i. e.
with thee where thou art ; viz. in heaven. The
iledeemer was assured that he would not only
escape the power of death, but ascend to dwell
in the immediate presence of God on high. It
was for that "joy set before him, that he en-
dured the cross, despising the shame, and is set
down at the right hand of the throne of God "

(Heb. 12 : 2).

29. The object of the remark here is to show
that the passage cited above could not have re-
ferred to David. — i^ov, SC. i<rri, not e<rT<o, it is

lawfnl, proper.— With freedom, without
fear of being thought deficient in any just re-
spect to his memory. His death was recorded
in the Old Testament; no one pretended that
he had risen, and the Psalm, therefore, could
not apply to him. — David is called patriarch,
as being the founder of the royal family. This
title in its stricter use belonged to the founders
of the nation. — Among ns, here in the city.
The sepulchre of David was on Mount Zion,
where most of the kings of Judah were buried.
(See on 5:6.) The tomb was well known in
Peter's day. Josephus says that it was opened
by both Hyrcanus and Herod, in order to rifle
it of the treasures which it was supposed to

contain. The mosque, still shown as Neby
Dauid, on the southern brow of Zion, cannot
be far from the true site.

30. A prophet — i. e. divinely inspired (see
on V. 17), and so competent to utter the predic-
tion.— Therefore, since, unless David meant
himself, he must have meant the Messiah. —
And knowing— viz. that which follows. This
knowledge he received from the prophet Na-
than, as related in 2 Sam. 7 : 12-16. (See also Ps.
132 : 11 ; 89 : 35-37.) The resurrection of Christ
in its full historical sense involved two points :
first, his restoration to life ; and secondly, his
elevation to permanent regal power. Peter in-
serts the remark made here to show that David,
in predicting the main fact, had a view also of
Christ's office as a Sovereign. — To cause one
to sit, place him (comp. 1 Cor. 6 : 4. "Whl.,
Mey., De Wet.), or (intrans. oftener in N. T.)
that one should sit (Rob.). [Gloag (and
Dickson) translate Meyer's words (4th ed.), in-
correctly, to sit on his throne; for zu setzen auf
seinem Thron means, not to sit, but to seat or
place on his throne. Dr. Hackett's language
therefore represents correctly Meyer's latest
view. — A. H.] This descendant was to occupy
the throne as ruler in Zion, as Messiah. (Comp.
Ps. 2:6.) The Greek omits nva. {one) often
before the infinitive. (K. g 238. R. 3. e.)— After
his loins the received text adds that he
would raise up the Messiah after the
flesh. Scholz retains the words, but most edit-
ors omit them or mark them as unsupported.

31. Seeing this before repeats the idea
both of prophet and of knowing. Hav-
ing the knowledge derived from the sources
which these terms specify, David could speak of
the Messiah in the manner here represented. The
Christ is the official title, not a proper name.
—Neither was left (Tsch.) or was not left
behind (given up) unto Hades (T. R.) ; aorist
here (note the fut. in v. 27), because the speaker
thinks of the prediction as now accomplished.
His sonl (T. R.) should probably [almost cer-
tainly, with K A B C» D and all the later editors.
— A. H.] be dropped after the verb.

THE ACTS.

[Ch. II.

32 "This Jesus hath God raised up, 'whereof we all
are witnesses.

33 Therefore 'being by the right hand of God ex-
alted, and ''having received of the Father the promise
of the Holy (ihost, he 'hath shed forth this, wnich ye
now see and hear.

34 For David ij not ascended into the heavens: but
he saith himself, /The ix>KU said unto my Lord, 8it
thou on my right band.

32 left in Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. This
Jesus did (iod raise up. 'whereof we all are witnesses.

33 Being therefore =by the right hand of God exalted,
and having received of the Father the promise of
the Holy ."spirit, he hath poured forth this, which

34 ye see and near. For David ascended not into the
heavens : but he saith himself.

The Lord said unto my I^ord, Sit thou on my right
hand,

avtr. 14....6ob. liS-.^eih. 5:S1; Phil. !:•; HA. 10: ll....ii Joba 14:26; 15:«6; 18:7, IS; cb. 1 : 4....eob. 10 : 45; Eph.
4:8..../Pt.U0:l; UatU22:44; 1 Cor. 15:15; Kpb. I :20; Heb. 1 : 13. 1 Or, of wkom.... 2 Or, at

32. This (looking back to v. 24) Jeans, the

subject of such a prophecy. — Whose (masc. as
Wicl. after Vulg. ; comp. 5 : 32 ; 13 : 31), or, as
the verb suggests a natural antecedent (neut.),
of which — viz. his resurrection — we all are
witnesses (Mey. and E.V.). (See note on 1 : 22.)

33. The exaltation of Christ appears here
(therefore) as a necessary consequent of the
resurrection. (See on vs. 28, 30.)— Having
been exalted to the right hand of God
(Neand., De Wet., Olsh., Bing, Whl., Rob.);
not by the right hand (Calv., Kuin., Mey.,
Alf., E. Vv.). The connection (see especially
vs. 34, 35, and comp. 5 : 31) directs us quite in-
evitably to the first sense; and, though the
local dative whither may not occur in the
New Testament out of this passage and 5 : 31,
yet all admit that it is one of the uses of the
later Groek generally, and was not unknown to
the earlier Greek poetr>'. (See Bemh., Synt.,
p. 94.) Winer says (§ 31. 5) that we may trans-
late here to the right hand without any hesita-
tion.— Having received the promise — i. e.
its fulfilment in the bestowal— of the Holy
Spirit, genit. of the object. (See on 1 : 4.) —
Poured out. The eff'usion of the Spirit which
is ascribed to God in v. 17 is ascribed here to
Christ. — See refers to the general spectacle of
BO many speaking in foreign tongues, or possi-
bly to the tongues of fire visible on the speakers.
— Hear refers both to the languages spoken and
tx) what was spoken in them.

34. For confirms being exalted. The ex-
altation was not only incident to the resurrec-
iion, but was the subject of an express predic-
tion ; and that jjrediction could not apply to
David, for he did not ascend to heaven —
t. e. to be invested with glory and power at the
right hand of God. The order of thought, says
De Wette, would have been plainer thus : For
David says, Sit at my right hand, ete. ;
but he himself did not ascend into heav-
en— t. e. he says this, not of himself, but of the
Messiah.— Saith— viz. in Ps. 110 : 1. In Matt.
22 : 43 and Mark 12 : 36 the Saviour recognizes
David as the author of the Psalm, and attrib-

utes to him a divine inspiration in speakinpr
thus of the Messiah. He cites the same pa.s-
sage as proof of David's acknowledged inferi-
ority to himself — <t<£t»ou (imperf ) is for the purer
ita*7,<ro. (W. § 14. 4 ; Mt. § 236.) On my right
hand (see on v. 25) — i. e. as the partner of my
throne. The following remarks of Professor
Stuart^ are pertinent here : " In the New Testa-
ment, when Christ is represented as sitting at
the right hand of Divine Majesty (Heb. i : 3), or at
the right hand of God (Aot« 2 : 33 and Heb. 10 : 12), or
at the right of the throne of God (neb. 12:2),
participation in supreme dominion is most clear-
ly meant. (Comp. 1 Pet. 3 : 22 ; Rom. 8 : 34 ;
Mark 16 : 19 ; Phil. 2 : 6-11 ; Eph. 1 : 20-23.)
At the same time, the comparison of these
passages will show most clearly that Christ's
exaltation at the right hand of God means his
being seated on the mediatorial throne as the result
and reward of his sufferings (see particularly
Phil. 2 : 6-11, and comp. Heb. 12 : 2), and that
the phrase in question never means the original
dominion which Christ, as Logos, or God, pos-
sesses. The sacred writers never speak respect-
ing the Logos, considered simply in his divine
nature, as being seated at the right hand of
God, but only of the Logos incarnate, or the
Mediator, as being seated there. So, in Heb.
1 : 3, it is after the expiation made by the Son
of God that he is represented as seating himself
at the right hand of the Divine Majesty. And
that this inediatorial dominion is not to be con-
sidered simply as the dominion of the divine
nature of Christ as such is plain from the fact
that when the mediatorial oflBce is fulfilled the
kingdom of the Mediator as such is to cease.
Moreover, that the phrase to sit at the right
hand of God, or of the throne of God, does
not of itself mean original divine dominion is
clear from the fact that Christ assures his faith-
ful disciples they shall sit down with him on
his throne, even as he sat down with the Father
on his throne, (est. 3 : 21). It is exaltation, then,
in consequence of obedience and sufferings,
which is designated by the phrase in ques-
tion."

> Oammentary on the BpUtle to the Hebreuit, p. 559, sq. (1833).

Ch. II.]

THE ACTS.

35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool.

36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assured-
ly, that God "hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have
crucified, both Lord and Christ.

37 If Now when they heard this, 'they were pricked
in their heart, and said unto I'eter and to the rest of
the apostles. Men ami brethren, what shall we do?

38 Then Peter said unto them, "Kepent, and be bap-
tized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for
the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of
the Holy Ghost.

39 For the promise is unto you, and ''to your chil-

35 Till I make thine enemies the footstool of thy

feet.

36 Let 'all the house of Israel therefore know assuredly,
that God hath made him both Lord and Christ, this
Jesus whom ye crucified.

37 Now when they heard iMs, they were pricked in
their heart, and said uuto I'eter and the rest of the

38 apostles, Brethren, what shall we do? And I'eler
said unto them, liepent ye, and be baptized every
one of you in the name of Jesus Christ unto the re-
mission of your sins : and ye shall receive the gift

39 of the Holy Spirit. For to you is the promise, and

• Ob. 6: 81.. ..6 Zeoh. 13:10; Luke S: 10; oh. 9:6; 16 : 30.... c Luke M-.il; eh. 8 : 1». . . .dJoel 3:38; eh. 8:36.-

«very houtt.

-lOr,

35. Until) etc. The dominion here which
Christ received belonged to him as Mediator ;
and it is to cease, therefore, when the objects
of his kingdom as Mediator are accomplished.
(Comp. 1 Cor. 15 : 23-28.) The verse recognizes
distinctly that limitation.

36. All the house (race) of Israel. oTkos
(house) appears to omit the article, as having
the nature of a proper name. (W. § 17. 10.) —
That God made him both Lord and
Christ — to wit, this one, the Jesus whom,
etc. This one, the Jesus is in apposition
with him.

37-42. EFFECT OF THE DISCOURSE IN
THE CONVERSION OF THREE THOU-
SAND.

37. Not all, but many, of those addressed
must be understood here. This necessary lim-
itation could be left to suggest itself. Were
pierced in the heart, dative of the sphere in

which (Rom. 4 : 20 ; 1 Cor. U : 20). (W. § 31, 3.) SomC

editions have KapSiav (heart), accusative of the
part affected. [This reading is adopted by
Lach., Tsch., Treg., West, and Hort, Anglo-
Am. Revisers, with X A B C and other docu-
ments.— A. H.] The verb expresses forcibly
the idea of pungent sorrow and alarm. — What
shall we do? The answer to the question
shows that it related to the way of escape
from the consequences of their guilt. — For
men, see on 1 : 16.

38. Upon the name of Jesus Christ, as
the foundation of the baptism — i. e. with an
acknowledgment of him in that act as being
what his name imports (see on v. 21) — to wit,
the sinner's only hope, his Redeemer, Justifier,
Lord, final Judge. (For «>ri with this force, see
W. ? 48. c.) We see from v. 40 that Luke has
given only an epitome of Peter's instructions
on this occasion. The usual formula in rela-
tion to baptism is into the name as in 8 : 16 ;
19 : 5. It may have been avoided here as a
matter of euphony, since et$ follows in the

next clause (De Wet.).— In order to the for-
giveness of sins (Matt. 26: 28; Luke 3 : 3) WC Con-
nect naturally with both the preceding verbs.
This clause states the motive or object which
should induce them to repent and be baptized.
It enforces the entire exhortation, not one part
of it to the exclusion of the other. [Observe
(1) that forgiveness of sins is here conditioned
on repentance. Hence the doctrine that sin-
ners are forgiven unconditionally, in view of
the Saviour's propitiatory death, is an error.
Though mercy is offered, the wrath of God
abideth on him that believeth not. (See John
3 : 36.) If one may be said in a certain sense
to have been forgiven from eternity in con-
sideration of the Lamb slain from the founda-
tion of the world, it is because he was looked
upon as having exercised repentance toward
God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Out
of Christ the sinner is unforgiven. (2) That
repentance and the prescribed expression of it
by baptism are closely united. Peter did not
feel it necessary to provide for exceptional cases
in this address to the people. He saw that the
inward change and the ritual confession of it
were so knit together by nature that it was
enough for him to state them in their proper
order and sequence. Repentance and the first-
fruits of repentance were generally inseparable.
The former could not be genuine without man-
ifesting itself in the latter. And in the circum-
stances of that day a willingness to be bap-
tized was no slight evidence of a new heart.
—A. H.]

39. To your children— unto your de-
scendants (see 13 : 33) ; not your little ones
(Alf ), with an appeal to v. 17, for the sons and
daughters there are so far adult as to have
visions and to prophesy. — To all those afar
off— i. c. the distant nations or heathen. So,
among others, Calvin, Bengel, Olshausen, Har-
less.i De Wett€, Neander, Lange.* The ex-
pression was current among the Jews in that

1 Oommentar uber den Brirf Pauli an die Epheaier, p. 213, gq.
« Dot aposlolische Zeitalter, z welter Band, p. 42 (1853).

THE ACTS.

[Ch. II.

dren, and 'to all that are afar off, even as many as the
Lord our (io<l shall call.

4u And with many other words did he testify and
exhort, saying, ^>ave yourselves from this untoward
generation.

41 fThen they that gladly received his word were
baptized: and the same day there were added uiUu
Uitm about three thousand souls.

42 ^And they continued stedfastly in the apostles'

to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as

40 many as the Lord our (iod shall call unto him. And
with many other words he testified, and exhorted
them, saying. Save yourselves from this crooked

41 generation. They then 'that received his word
were baptized: and there were added unto them in

42 that day about three thousand souls. And they
continued stedfastly In the apostles' teaching and

• eh. 10:45; n:U, 18; M:n; U:S, 8, U; Bpb. 1 : 13, 17....& ver. M; cb. 1:14; Bom. U:U; Xph. •: 18; Ool. 4:3; Heb.

10 : 26. 1 Or, having reeeivtd

sense. (Clomp. Zech. 6 : 15 ; Isa. 49 : 1 ; 57 : 19 ;
Eph. 2 : 13, 17, where see Dr. Hodge in his
recent Commentary.) Even the Rabbinic writ-
ers employed it as synonymous with the
heathen. (Schott., ITor. Heb., voL i. p. 761.)
It has been objected that this explanation sup-
poses Peter to have been already aware that
the gospel was to be preached to the Gentiles ;
whereas it is said he afterward hesitated on the
subject, and needed a special revelation to point
out to him his duty. (See 10 : 10, sq.) But the
objection misstates the ground of the hesita-
tion ; it related to the terms on which the Gen-
tiles were to be acknowledged as Christians, not
to the fact itself. On this point how is it pos-
sible that he should have doubted ? The Jews
in general who expected a Messiah at all be-
lieved in the imiversality of his reign. The
prophets foretold distinctly that the Gentiles
under hii/ should form one people with the
Jews, that they should both acknowledge the
same God and be acknowledged of him. (See
e. g. Mic. 4 : 1, sq. ; Amos 9 : 12 ; Isa. 2 : 2, sq. ;
40 : 5 ; 54 : 4, sq., etc.) Add to this that the
Saviour himself before his ascension had
charged his disciples to go into all the world
and preach the gospel to every creature. The
relation in which the Gentile believers were to
stand to Judaism — how far they were to prac-
tise its rites, and in that respect assimilate to
the Jews — was not so well understood. On that
question, it is true, they needed and received
further instruction as to the course to be pur-
sued. Those who reject the foregoing explana-
tion suppose all that are afar off to denote
the foreign Jews. But they are included al-
ready in you, since many of those addressed
were pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem to
celebrate the present feast This sense of the
phrase renders it superfluous. — Whomsoever
the Lord shall have called. For the verbal
form, see the note on v. 21. The expression
imports that as many would secure a part in
the promise as it should prove that the divine
purpose had embraced.

40. Copies fluctuate between iuiM^ptro and
iM^oprvparo. The imperfect agrees best with
the next verb. — Save yourselves. For this

middle sense, see W. § 39. 2.— From this per-
verse (pbii. 2 : 15) generation — i. e. from partici-
pation in their guilt and doom, (Comp. 1 Cor.
11:32; Gal. 1 : 4.)

41. Therefore — viz. in consequence of
Peter's exhortation. — They (who were men-
tioned as penitent in v. 37) having received
his word -viz. that in v. 38, sq. (De Wet.,
Mey.). Many adopt the substantive construc-
tion : they who received (Bng., Kuin., E.
Vv.). The first view identifies those who be-
lieve here more distinctly with those in v. 37
who evince such a preparation for the exercise
of faith, and may be preferable on that account;
but the use of the participle in other respects
(as we saw on 1 : 6) involves an ambiguity.
Gladly elicits a correct idea, but is hardly
genuine. — Souls, persons. (See v. 43; 3 : 23;
7 : 14 ; 27 : 37.) The frequency of this sense
may be Hebraistic, but not the sense itself. —
Were baptized. Not necessarily at once
after the discourse, but naturally during the
same day, if we unite the next clause (the
same day ; see on 8 : 1) closely with this. But
the compendious form of the narrative would
allow us, with some editors, to place a colon
between the two clauses ; and then the baptism
could be regarded as subsequent to were
added to, taking place at such time and
under such circumstances as the convenience
of the parties might require. It is proper to
add (against Alf.) that the pools so numerous
and large which encircled Jerusalem, as both
those still in use and the remains of others tes-
tify at the present day, afibrded ample means for
the administration of the rite. The habits of
the East, as every traveller knows, would present
no obstacle to such a use of the public reservoirs.

42. Constantly applying themselves
unto the teaching of the apostles.
They sought to know more and more of the
gospel which they had embraced.— wal rj
Kotrwvui (comp. tXxo" toil'* in V. 44), and unto
the communication, distribution— t. e. of
money or other supplies for the poor (Heinr.,
Kuin., Olsh., Bmg., Hmph.) ; the fellowship
— t. e. the community, oneness of spirit and
eflFort which bound the first Christians to each

Ch. II.]

THE ACTS.

doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread,
and in prayers.

43 And fear came upon every soul : and "many won-
ders and signs were done by the apostles.

^fellowship, in the breaking of bread and the
prayers.
43 And fear came upon every soul : and many won-

• Mkrk le : n ; Ob. 4 : 83; 6 : 12.-

-1 Or, tit /eUotoiMp

other (Bng., Mey., Rob.) ; the communion,

meals in common {agapee, which were followed
by the Lord's Supper (Bez., Grot., De Wet.) ;
the sacrament itself (Lightf , Est., Wlf.). I
prefer the first sense of this doubtful word, be-
cause all the other nouns denote an act, not a
state of mind or feeling ; because the participle
applies to an act rather than an abstract qual-
ity (which are objections to the second sense) ;
because this use of the term is justified by
Rom. 15 : 26 ; 2 Cor. 8 : 4, especially Heb. 13 :
16; and because, as the contributions would
naturally be made at their meetings, the sev-
eral nouns relate then to a common subject —
viz. their religious assemblies. It may be added
that their Hberality toward the poor was so
characteristic of the first Christians that this
sketch of their religious habits might be ex-
pected to include that particular. Koinonia in
the sense of our communion, the Lord's Supper,
appears not to have prevailed before the fourth
century (Suicer, Thesaur., s. v., as cited by
Hmph.), and hence the last of the meanings
given above may be laid out of the account
here. The meals in common, or iydircu, were
known to be a part of the KXao-it toO iprov (see
below), and consequently would not need to be
specified in this connection by a separate term.
The E. V. unites ano<rT6\(ov with both nouns :
"the apostles' doctrine and fellowship" (also
Tynd., Cranm., Gen.). With that combination
we should have had regularly the genitive after
the second noun, without a repetition of the
article. (See W. g 19. 3. c.) Some assume a
hendiadys : " the communion in the breaking
of bread " (Vulg., Wicl., Blmf.). The analysis
is not only awkward, but opposed by the be-
fore breaking. The breaking of the
bread denotes the breaking of the bread as per-
formed at the Lord's Supper. (See 20 : 7, 11 ; 1
Cor. 10 : 16.) The expression itself may desig-
nate an ordinary meal, as in Luke 24 : 35 ; but
that here would be an unmeaning notice. There
can be no doubt that the Eucharist at this pe-
riod was preceded uniformly by a common re-
past, as was the case when the ordinance was
instituted. Most scholars hold tliat this was
the prevailing usage in the first centuries after
Christ. We have traces of that practice in 1
Cor. 11 : 20, sq., and, in all probability, in v. 46,
below. The bread only being mentioned here.

the Roman Catholics appeal to this passage as
proving that their custom of distributing but
one element (the cup they withhold from the
laity) is the apostolic one. It is a case, obvi-
ously, in which the leading act of the transac-
tion gives name to the transaction itself. [" The
prayers " (Revised Version) is a manifest im-
provement on the Common Version, since the
Greek article ought generally to be represented
in translation. And Luke refers, without
doubt, to the services of prayer which the dis-
ciples held, or, if not to distinct services of
prayer, to the prayers which held a very im-
portant place in their social meetings. (Se«
6 : 4.)— A. H.]

43-47. BENEVOLENCE OF THE FIRST
CHRISTIANS; THEIR JOY, THEIR IN-
CREASE.

43. Unto every soul, of those who heard
of the events just related — viz. the descent of
the Spirit, the miracle of tongues, the conver-
sion of such a multitude. (Comp. 5 : 5.) — Fear*
religious awe. (See Luke 1 : 65.) — Many* in
this position, belongs to both nouns. (See 17 :
12. W. § 59. 5.) Throngh the apostles, as
instruments, while the power was God's. (See
V. 22 and 15 : 12.)— Were wrought (imperf.),
during this general period. [Two or three re-
marks are suggested by the statement that mir-
acles were wrought through the apostles. (1) We
are not to suppose that the divine energy was
literally transmitted through them — i. e. through
their wills, hands, handkerchiefs — to the per-
sons restored by it ; but we must infer from the
narrative that the miracles were \NTOught in
answer to their believing word, or at least were
so connected with them as to ratify their
authority as ambassadors of Clirist (s:i6;t:i0;
9 : 84, 40). (2) Nearly all the miracles wrought
at the apostles' word were gracious. Evil
spirits were cast out (5 : w; le : is; w : 11), the lame
and the sick were healed (s:6-io; i4:8-is), and
the dead were raised to life (»:S«-40; M:», 10).
The only exceptions are the death of Ananias
and Sapphira and the temporary blindness of
Elymas. (3) The faith which led the apostles
to ask for miracles must have been distinguished
from that which they possessed in common
with all true Christians. It was a special char-
ism, a prophetic assurance as to the will of
God.— A. H.]

THE ACTS.

[Ch. II.

44 And all that believed were together, and "had all
things common ;

45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted
them to all men, as every man had need.

46 <And they, continuing dailv with one accord ■'in
the temple, and 'breaking bread from house to house,
did eat their meat with gladness and singleneiis of
heart,

47 Praising God, and /having favor with all the pe«-

44 ders and signs were done 'by the apostles*. And aL
that believeid were together, and bad all things com-

45 mon ; and they sold tneir possessions and goods, and
parted them to all, according as any man bad need.

46 And day by day. continuing stedfastly with one ac-
cord in the temple, and breaKiug bread at home, they
did take their Tood with gladness and singleness of

47 heart, praising God, and having favor with all the

• ok. 4:S2,M.

..6 In. 68:1....eob. 1 : U....d Luke 24 : 53; ch. 5 : 42....ach. 20: 7..../ Luke 2 :S2; cb. 4:S3;
1 Ur, through. . . .2 Mao; aaoient autboritiea add in JtnuaUm ; and great /ear mw upon all.

44. eiri Tb ovT<$, not kormonwut (Calv., Kuin.),
but together — i. e. they met daily in one
place, as explained in v. 46. (See on 1 : 15.) —
And they had all things common, looked
upon their possessions not as their own, but
held them as subject to the use of the church
as they were needed. The next words refer to
the act of disposing of their property, and hence
these describe the antecedent principle or spirit
which prompted the act. The remark is de-
fined by ovii cl; . . . iKtytv . . . tlvtu iu 4 : 32 :
neither did any one say, etc.

45. Their estates (lands) and other pos-
sessions.— Them — t. e. the proceeds of the
sale. (W. I 22. 3.)— As any one from time to
time had need, av, with the indicative, in a
relative sentence, denotes a recurring act. (W.
g 42. 3. a.) As this clause qualifies also sold
(imperf. as done again and again), it shows
that they did not alienate their property at
once, but parted with it as occasion required.

46. oiJLo&vfioMv, as in v. 1.— From house to
house ((far oIkoi') (comp. KOTO v6\iv in Tit. 1 : 5)
— i. e. in different houses, some in one, some
in another, or perhaps in different houses suc-
cessively (E. v., Kuin., Neand.), or at home,
in private. (See Phil. v. 2.) (Olsh., De Wet.,
Mey., Gen. V.) Even in the latter case we may
suppose that they met in separate parties at dif-
ferent places ; not necessarily (as Mey.) all in a
single place at once. Both renderings are just-
ifiable. The latter may be more exact in form,
since it brings out more strongly an apparent
contrast between the public worship and their
more private services. [See Jacob, Tlie Eccl.
Polity of the N. T., p. 191, sq. He remarks on
this expression that " the use of the singular
number, and without the article, shows that
when St. Luke wrote his narrative the custom
of meeting in these worship-rooms for united
devotions had become perfectly common and
familiar; otherwise, he would have written
«oTo rov% oIkovc. Just as wc would Say, "All the
people in the city were at church" meaning in
the different churches of the place; whereas a
stranger, unused to this custom, would say
"they were in the churches." — A. H.] iv in

the place of Kar& would have removed the am-
biguity. Neander {Pflanzung, u. s. w., vol. i. p.
36) observes that a single room would hardly
have contained the present number of converts.
He supposes that, in addition to their daily re-
sort to the temple, they met in smaller compa-
nies at different places, that they here received
instruction from their teachers or one another
and prayed and sang together, and as the mem-
bers of a common family closed their interview
with a repast, at which bread and wine were
distributed in memory of the Saviour's last
meal with his disciples. In conformity with
this view, breaking bread may refer to their
breaking bread in connection with the sacra-
ment, and did eat their meat to their re-
ception of food for ordinary' purposes. — With
simplicity of heart, with childlike affection
toward God and one another.

47. Favor, approbation (Luke 2:52). — Those
who are saved, or, more strictly, are be-
coming saved from day to day, since the
present tense denotes a process going on. (See
1 Cor. 1 : 18 and 2 Cor. 2 : 15.) The Greek
should have been the perfect participle, to
signify that they had already secured their
salvation ; and the future participle, to signify
that they were certain of its completion. (See
Green's Gr., p. 28.) The expression implies a
certainty resulting not so much from God's
purpose as from human conduct. The doc-
trine is that those who embrace the gospel
adopt the infallible means of being saved.
[The expression here used, " those that were being
saved" is in perfect accord with the language of
Paul in 2 Cor. 4:16: " Though our outward man
is decaying, yet our inward man is renewed " (or
is being renewed) " day by day ;" and in Col. 3 :
10: "And have put on the new man, who is
being renewed unto knowledge after the image
of him that created him." (Comp. 2 Cor. 3 :
18.) Luke's phraseology agrees with the doc-
trine of progressive sanctification, or of growth
in grace, rather than with the theory of "the
higher Christian life" as strenuously advocated
by some at the present day. (See the Editor'.^
little vol. entitled The Doctrine of the Higher

Ch. III.]

THE ACTS.

pie. And 'the Lord added to the church daily such as
should be saved.

people. And the Lord added 'to them day by day
those that were ^saved.

CHAPTER III.

NOW Peter and John went up together 'Into the tem-
ple at the hour of prayer, 'being the ninth hour.
2 And <'a certain man lame from bis mother's womb
was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the

1 Now Peter and John were going up into the tem-

2 pie at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour. And
a certain man that was lame from his mother's womb
was carried, whom they laid daily at the door of the

a oh. S : 14; II : U....b eb. S : M....e Pi. 66 : 17.. ..deb. U : 8. 1 Gr. together.. ..t Or, being $and

Chr. Life Compared with the Teaching of the
Holy Scriptures.) — A. H.] — Added (imperf.
with reference to daily) brings to view God's
agency in that acceptance of the gospel wliich
ensures salvation. [To the church is un-
noticed by Hackett, doubtless because he con-
sidered it a gloss. It is omitted by Lach., Tsch.,
Treg., West, and Hort, after K A B C. When
this is omitted, the phrase translated together
stands in the Greek text at the close of this
verse and just before the words Now Peter
and John (s : i) ; so that it may be joined with
either. The editors just named connect it with
this verse and with the verb was adding, thus :
And the Lord was adding together day
by day those that were being saved. For
together the Revised Version has to them,
and Alf. to their number. — A. H.]

1-10. HEALING OF THE LAME MAN
BY PETER AND JOHN.

1. Together («jrt rb outo), in company. (See
1 : 15.) [And note in brackets at the close of
Chapter II. — A. H.] — Were going up, because
the temple was on Mount Moriah, and even
from the gate where the miracle occurred (v. 3)
a flight of steps led to the Court of the Israel-
ites.—The ninth. This was our three o'clock
p. M., at which time the evening sacrifice was
offered. (See on 2 : 15.) The apostles and other
believers at Jerusalem had not yet withdrawn
from the Jewish worship (see also 21 : 23, sq.),
and it is probable that most of them continued
to adhere to the services of the temple until the
destruction of the temple abolished them. But
the spirit with which they performed these ser-
vices was no longer the Jewish spirit. Instead
of regarding their compliance with the ordi-
nances of the law as an act of merit, they recog-
nized Christ as " the end of the law for right-
eousness to every one that believeth." They
viewed the sacrifices which continued to be
offered, not as having any efficacy to procure
the remission of sin, or as typical of an atone-
ment still to be made, but as realized already in
the death of Christ, and hence as mementoes,
as often as they beheld them or participated in

them, of the " one sacrifice for sins " effected
"through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ." As in the case of circumcision, so
undoubtedly the Jewish Christians relinquish-
ed the other rites of Judaism only by degrees.
They were brought fully to this in part by
obtaining a clearer insight into the relation of
the ancient Economy to the new, and in part by
the occurrence of national circumstances which
hastened the result. From the Jewish syna-
gogues, on the contrary, they must have sepa-
rated at once as soon as their cistinctive views
became known. It was impossible to avow the
Christian faith and remain connected with those
communities. (Compare the note on 9:2.) We
have seen in the second chapter that, in con-
nection with the worship of the temple, the be-
lievers at Jerusalem maintained separate re-
ligious worship among themselves.

2. [Lame from his mother's womb. He
was now above forty years old(*:w). An ac-
count of this particular cure was probably in-
serted by Luke in his narrative, because the
lameness was congenital, and was therefore
deemed more incurable than any lameness oc-
casioned by disease or by accident. Hence the
miraculous character of the event was indu-
bitable, and the people were moved by it. —
A. H.] — Was carried along (relative imperf.),
just then, as the apostles arrived. — They laid
is imperf. with reference to the custom of pla-
cing the cripple here. — The one called Beau-
tiful. Most interpreters think that this was
the gate described by Josephus {Bel. Jud., 5. 5.
3; Antt., 15. 11. 3) as composed chiefly of Co-
rinthian brass, and as excelling all the other
gates of the temple in the splendor of its ap-
pearance, though it is not mentioned by him
under this particular appellation. If this be so,
the gate then was on the east side toward Olivet
{the eastern, says Jos.), and was an inner gate
leading from the Court of the Gentiles into the
Court of the Israelites. It is not against this
that Josephus speaks also of this gate as the one
without the te-\ple; for he must mean (the term
is not Itpoy) the one exterior to the temple strictly
so called, the sanctuary ; not (as Mey.) opening

THE ACTS.

[Ch. ni.

temple which is called Beautiful, «to ask alms of them
that entered into the temple :

3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the
temple asked an alms.

4 And I'cter, fastening his eyes upon him with John,
said, Look on us.

5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive
something oi' them.

6 Then I'eter said, Silver and gold have I none: but
such as I have give I thee: 'In the name of Jesus
Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him
up : and immediately his feet and ankle bones received
strength.

8 And he 'leaping up stood, and walked, and entered
with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and
praising God.

temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them

3 that entered into the temple ; who seeing Peter and
John about to go into the temple, asked to receive

4 an alms. And Peter, fastening his eyes upon hitn,
6 with John, said, Look on us. And he gave heed

unto them, expecting to receive something from

6 them. But Peter said. Silver and gold have I none ;
but what I have, that give I thee. In the name of

7 Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk. And he took him
by the right hand, and raised him up: and imme-
diately his feet and lii.s ankle-bones received strength.

8 And leaping up, he stood, and began to walk ; and
he entered with them into the temple, walking.

aJohnt:8....6oh.4: 10....elM. S5 : S.

from without into the enclosure of the sacred
precincts. The folds of this brazen gate were
fifty cubits high and forty broad, and were
covered with plates of gold and silver. Luke's
epithet Beaotifnl could not have had a more
pertinent application. Some have thought that
the gate to which he refers must have been one
of the outer gates, because what is related in v.
11, sq., took place in Solomon's porch, which
was in the Court of the Gentiles. But we may
suppose, as Lightfoot suggests, that the apostles,
having been with the lame man into the temple
— i. e. the Court of the Israelites (see v. 8) —
were returning, and had reached the Court of
the GentiicS when the concourse of the people
there spoken of took place. — In order to ask,
telic. This use of the infinitive with to5 to de-
note the object for which an act is performed
(comp. 18 : 10 ; 26 : 18 ; Mark 4 : 3, etc.) results
naturally from the nature of the genitive as the
whence-case. The older writers supplied ivtKa or
xaptf, but the construction is neither elliptical
nor Hebraistic. (W. ? 44. 4. b. ; S. § 165. 3. 2 ; K.
g 308. 2. b.)— Those entering into the tem-
ple— i. e. the court where the Jews worshipped,
if, as suggested above, the lame man sat at the
gate of that court. The temple here too may
be the temple in its aggregate sense ; not, per-
force, the outer court (Mey.). If a noun fol-
lows an intransitive verb compounded with a
preposition, it is common to repeat the preposi-
tion before the noun. (See vs. 3, 8 ; 22 : 6 ; Matt.
7 : 23, etc. W. ? 56. 2.)

3. Who (o«), stands often where this one
(oCrot) would be the ordinary connective. (K.
g 334. 3.) — To receive (omitted in v. 2) is not
strictly pleonastic, but expands the idea of
asked. (W. § 63. 4. d.) It is left out of some
copies, but is genuine.

4. Look upon ns. Their object appears to
have been to gain his attention more fully to
their words ; so that, as they said, " In the name

of Jesus Christ," etc. (v. 6), he might under-
stand to whom he was indebted for the benefit
conferred upon him.

5« tn-tlx'" avroit, sc. rbv vovv. Fixed his mind
upon them. (Comp. Luke 14 : 7.) The man's
eager expectation looked through his counte-
nance.— Something, in the way of alms. We
have no evidence that he recognized Peter and
John as the disciples of Christ and expected
that they would heal his infirmity. Their ad-
dress to him in the next verse precludes that
supposition.

6. In the name — i. e. we speaking in his
name, by virtue of his authority. (Comp. 16 :
18.) The language of Christ, on the contrarj',
when he performed a miracle, was I say to
thee, or to that effect. (See Luke 5 : 24.) —
Of Nazareth is added for the sake of dis-
tinction, as in 2 : 22. — Walk is imperative
present, and not aorist, like rise np, because it
denotes a continued act. (Comp. 8 : 26 ; 13 : 8,
etc. W. ? 43. 3. b. ; S. § 141. 5.) [It ought per-
haps to be stated that the three words rise up
and are omitted by Tsch., West, and Hort,
Revisers' text, and bracketed by Treg. They
are wanting in X B D, and probably formed no
part of the autograph of Luke. — A. H.]

7. Having taken him by the right hand,
and thus encouraged him to obey their com-
mand. (See Mark 9 : 27.) His exemplifies the
rule that a genitive which belongs to two or
more nouns usually precedes them. (W. ? 30.
3. 4.)— Feet, ankles. This particularity has
been reckoned among the traces of a profes-
sional habit for which Luke is distinguished.
(See on 28 : 8.)

8. Leaping forth, from the place where he
sat, and up only as involved ; not from his bed
(Mey., but dropped in his last ed.), since sat
(v. 10) shows that he was not reclining. — Stood,
for the first time since he was bom (v. 2). —
Walked to and fro, as if to make trial of his

Ch. III.]

THE ACTS.

9 «And all the people saw him walking and praising
God:

10 And thev knew that it was he which ^sat for alnis
at the Beautiful gate of the temple : and they were
filled with wonder and amazement at that which had
happened unto him.

11 And as the lame man which was healed held
Peter and John, all the people ran together unto them
in the porch «that is called Solomon's, greatly wonder-
ing.

12 1[ And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the
people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or
why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own
power or fioliness we had uiudc this man to walk ?

\'i ^he (iod of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob,
the God of our fathers, 'hath glorified his son Jesus ;
whom ye /delivered up, and 'denied him in the pres-
ence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.

9 and leaping, and praising Ood. And all the people
10 saw him walking and praising Ood: and they took
knowledge of him, that it was he who sat for alms
at the Beautiful (Jate of the temple: and they were
filled with wonder and amazement at that which
had happened unto him.

11 And as he held Peter and John, all the people ran
together unto them in the 'porch that is called Solo-

12 mon's, greatly wondering. And when Peter saw it,
he answered unto the people. Ye men of Israel, why
marvel ye at this 'man? or why fasten ye your eyes
on us, as though by our own power or godliness we

13 had made him to walk? The God of Abraham, and
of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath
glorified his ^Servant Jesus; whom ye delivered up,
and denied before the face of Pilate, when be had

ach. 4: 16, ]].... 6 Like John 9:8 e John 10:23; ch. 5: 12 doh. 5:S0 (John 7:39; 12: 16; 17:1 /Matt. 27 :2 p Matt

27 : 20 ; Mark 16 : U ; Luke 23 : 18. 20, 21 ; John 18 : 40 ; 19 : 16 ; ob. 13 : 28. 1 Or, portico. . . .2 Or, (A<ny. . . .3 Or, Child : aad to

In ver. 26; « : 27, SO. See Matt. 12 : 18; Ina. 42 : 1 : 52 : 13; 63 : 11.

newly-found strength. — Into the temple^ its
inner part, beyond the gate wliere the lame man
had been healed. (See on v. 2.) — In walking,
etc., Luke writes as if he were giving the recital
of some eye-witness.

10. They recognized him (upon attentive
scrutiny, hence imperf) that this one, etc.
The subject of the subordinate clause is attract-
ed here into the principal clause, and then re-
peated in this one. (So in 4 : 13 ; 9 : 20 ; 13 :
32; 16 : 3, etc.) The subject of the second
clause becomes in this way more prominent.
(W. g 66. 6 ; B. g 151. 1. 6. 7.) The ordinary
construction would omit him after recog>
nized) and make the sentence after that the
object of the verb. — For the alms which he
solicited.

11-26. THE TESTIMONY OF PETER
AFTER THE MIRACLE.

11. While he is holding them fast, or
keeping near to them. This latter signif-
ication, says De Wette, has not been fully
proved, but arises naturally out of the other.
Meyer adheres more correctly to the first mean-
ing: the man, in the ardor of his gratitude,
clung to his benefactors, and would not be
separated from them. He is considered the
correct reading, instead of the lame man
that was healed in the common text (Grsb.,
Mey., Lchm.). The addition has been trans-
ferred to the English Version. — Porch . . .
Solomon's. (See John 10 : 23.) This hall,
or porch, was on the eastern side of the temple,
in the Court of the Heathen. The general
opinion is that it was called the porch of
Solomon because it occupied the site of a porch
which had been connected with the first temple.
Liicke* thinks that it may have been a struc-
ture built by Solomon himself, which had

escaped the destruction of the first temple.
Tholuck' expresses the same belief. It accords
with this view that Josephus {ArUt., 20. 9. 7)
calls the porch " Solomon's work." In popular
speech, says Lightfoot, the Jews sometimes
meant the entire Court of the Gentiles when
they spoke of Solomon's porch. — Greatly
wondering agrees with people as a collective
term. (Comp. 5 : 16.)

12. Seeing their astonishment. — Proceed-
ed to speak (Hebraistic ; see 5 : 8), or perhaps
answered nnto the people (De Wet., Mey.),
since their looks of wonder seemed to ask for
some explanation of the miracle. (See v. 11.)
— firl rovry may be neuter at this thing (see
v. 10, E. Vv.), but more probably masculine, at
this one (Mey,, De Wet.), which prepares the
way for him, like the succession of this one
and him in v. 16. [In his last edition Meyer
considers this pronoun 7i«u^ = at this, refer-
ring to V. 10, where the astonishment and sur-
prise were occasioned by what had happened to
the lame man. — A. H.]— Upon us, emphatic,
as distinguished from Christ or God, to whom
the miracle ought to have turned their thoughts.
— Look ye takes its object in the dative (see
also 10 : 4 ; 14 : 9), or in the accusative with ei«.
(Comp. V. 4 ; 1 : 10 ; 6 : 15.)— As by onr own
(inherent or self-acquired) power, or (since
power had been exerted) piety, as the reason
of its being conferred on them. — Had made,
etc. ;— having effected (ecbatic infinitive)
that he should walk. (W. ^ 44. 4; S. |
165. 3.)

13. Glorified, honored ; not by the miracle
at this time (Mey.), but by all the mighty works
which attested his mission. (See 2 : 22.) — nalU,
not ton = vUc, but servant »• Heb. ebhedh, which
was one of the prophetic appellations of the

> Oommmiar aber das Evangelium de* Johannu, toI. ii. p. 361.
* OtmmeiUar cum JBoangelium Johannet, p. 266 (secbste Auflage).

THE ACTS.

[Ch. III.

14 But ye denied «the Holy One »and the Just, and
desired a murderer to be granted unto you ;

15 And killed the Prince of life, «whom God hath
raised from the dead ; ''whereof we are witnesses.

16 'And his name through faith in his name hath
made this man strong, whom ye see and know : yea,
the faith which is by him huth given him this perfect
soundness in the presence of you all.

17 And now, brethren, I wot that/through ignorance
ye did it, as did also your rulers.

14 determined to relea.se him. But ye denied the Holy
and Kighteous Oue, and a.sked for a murderer to be

ir) granted unto you, and killed the iPrince of life;
whom (iod raised from the dead ; "whereof we are

IG witnesses. And ^by faith in his name hath his name
made tbi.s man strong, whom ye behold and know:
yea, the faith which is through him hath given him
this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.

17 And now, brethren, 1 know that in ignorance y«

aPs. 18:10: Hark 1 : 24; Luke 1 : S5; oh. 2 : 27 ; « : lT....6oh. T : 52; n : 14; Heb. 2:10; 6:9; 1 .loba 5:11..
2 : 32.... e Matt. 9 22; ch. 4:10; 14 :«..../ Luke 23:34; John 16:3; ch. 13:27; 1 Cor. 2:8; I Tim. 1 : 13.-
2 Or, of Khom 3 Or, on the ground of

Messiah, especially in the second part of Isaiah.
(See Matt. 12 : 18, as compared with Isa. 42 : 1,
ft/.) The terra occurs again in this sense in v.
26; 4 : 27, 30.— (itV, as in 1 : 1. The antithetic
idea may have been that in v. 17. — Ye deliv-
ered up — viz. to Pilate.— Denied, refused to
acknowledge as Messiah. — Him. It will be
seen that the writer drops here the relative
structure of the sentence. — When^or although,
he decided — viz. that it was just to release
him. (See Luke 23 : 16; John 19 : 4.) eieeiVou
refers here to the nearer noun, and performs
the proper office of tovtov. (W. § 23. 1.) It is
not uncommon for Greek writers to interchange
these pronouns.

14. But contrasts their conduct with that of
Pilate. — The Holy One is a Messianic title, as
in Luke 4 : 34. — tov jixotoi', the Just One. The
epithets mark the contrast between his charac-
ter and that of Barabbas. — A murderer, not
merely a man, but a man who was a murderer.
(See Matt. 27 : 16, sq. ; Mark 15 : 7, sq.)

15. But the Prince of life, or the author
of life — i. e. as De Wette remarks, of life in
the fullest sense in which the Scriptures ascribe
that property to the Saviour ; viz., spiritual or
Christian life (corap. John 1:4; Heb. 2 : 10),
and also natural or physical life. (Comp. John
5 : 26 ; 11 : 25.) Olshausen and Meyer suppose
the main idea to be that of spiritual life ; but
the evident relation of life to killed shows
that the other idea is certainly not to be ex-
cluded. A terrible aggravation in this murder
was that he whom they deprived of life was
himself the One who gives life to all.— From
the dead. The article is usually omitted after
ef (out of), but inserted after iirci (from). (W.
§19.) — Of whom (i3:si), orof which, we are
witnesses. (See note on 2 : 32.)

16. Upon the faith in his name enter-
tained by us — i. e. on account of their faith as
the ground or condition, God had performed
this act. Some construe ini (upon) as telic:
upon the faith as the object — i. e. in order to
produce faith in the lame man and in others
(Olsh., Hmph.). This latter meaning not only

strains the preposition, but overlooks the man-
ifest parallelism in sense between this clause
and the following, and the faith. — oi/o>iotos is
the genitive of the object, and the expression is
like faith in God in Mark 11 : 22 and faith in
Jesus in Rom. 3 : 22. (W. ? 30. 1.)— Whom you
see, entirely restored now to bodily vigor, and
know, as a person who was formerly infirm,
helpless. — His name — i. e. he invoked by an
appeal to him as that which his name repre-
sents (see on 2 : 21) — made strong (a definite
past). The reason for expressing the idea in
this manner is evident from v. 6. — The faith
that is wrought in us through him (De Wet.,
Mey., Win.). The apostles here, it will be ob-
served, ascribe the origin, as well as the efficacy,
of their faith to Christ. (Comp. 1 Pet. 1 : 21.)
This second clause of the verse repeats essen-
tially the idea of the first, in order to affirm
more emphatically that it was not their own
power, but the power of Christ, which had
performed the miracle. — In the presence of
you all, and hence they must acknowledge
that no other means had been used to effect the
miracle.

17. Having set before them their aggravated
guilt, the apostle would now suggest to them
the hope of mercy. Brethren, Peter says
here, because he would conciliat« his hearers ;
but in V. 12, where the object is reproof, crimi-
nation, he says more formally, though court-
eously, men of Israel. One of the marks of
truth would be wanting without this accordance
between the style and the changing mental
moods of the speaker. — That ye acted in ig-
norance—t. e. of the full criminality of their
conduct. They had sinned, but their sin was
not of so deep a dye that it could not have been
still more heinous. The language of Peter con-
cedes to them such a palliation of the deed as
consisted, at the time of their committing it, in
the absence of a distinct conviction that he
whom they crucified was the Lord of life and
glory (see 13 : 27 and 1 Cor. 2:8); but it doe3
not exonerate them from the guilt of having
j resisted the evidence that this was his character

Ch. III.]

THE ACTS.

18 But "those things, which God before had shewed
^by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should
sulfer, he hath so fulfilled.

19 If 'Repent ve therefore, and be converted, that
your sins may be blotted out, when the times of re-
freshing shall come from the presence of the L«rd ;

18 did it, as did also your rulers. But the things which
God foreshewed by the mouth of all the prophets,

19 that his Christ should suffer, he thus fulfilled. Re-
pent ye therefore, and turn again, that your sins
may be blotted out, that so there may come seasons

a Lake M: 44; oh. 26 : n....6 Ps. IS; Int. 60:«; SS : 6, etc. ; Dan. »iM; I Pel. 1 : 10, II.... e eh. 3 : 38.

which had been furnished by his miracles, his
life, doctrine, and resurrection. TheSaviour him-
self, in his dying prayer, urged the same exten-
uation in behalf of his murderers: "Father,
forgive them, for they know not what they do."
Compare also the language of Paul in 1 Tim. 1 :
13 : " Who was before a blasphemer, and a per-
secutor, and injurious ; but I obtained mercy be-
cause I did it ignorantly in unljelief." — As also
your rulers, who were not present, and hence
are distinguished from those addressed.

18. But — J. e. while they did this they ac-
complished a divine purpose. — All the proph-
ets, instead of being taken strictly, may be
viewed as a phrase: the prophets as a
whole. For this restricted use of all in such
general expressions, see Matt. 3:5; Mark 1 :
37 ; John 3 : 26. Most of the books of the Old
Testament foretell distinctly the sufferings and
death of the Messiah. (Comp. Luke 24 : 27.)
Olshausen regards the entire history of the
Jews as typical, and in that view maintains
that all the ancient prophets prophesied of
Christ. — That the Christ (who was to come)
would, or must, suffer (De Wet.). After
verbs which signify "to declare," "believe;"
and the like, the infinitive implies often the
idea of necessity or obligation. (W. § 45, 3. b.)
[The true text, according to K B C D B and
Lach., Tsch., Treg., West, and Hort, Revisers'
text, and others, reads his Christ instead of
the Christ. — A. H.] — So refers to the previous
verse : thus, in this way — viz. by their agency.
(Comp. 13 : 27.) It is incorrect to understand
it of the accordance between the fulfilment and
the prediction.

19. Repent therefore, since your guilt is
not such as to exclude you from the mercy pro-
cured by the Saviour whom you have crucified.
— Turn — i. e. from your present course of cha-
racter unto Christ (9 :35; u :2i), or unto God
(14:15; 15:19). What is required here includes
faith as a constituent part of the act to be per-
formed. [The word translated repent has a deep
spiritual significance. It is an exhortation, not
merely to sorrow for sin, but rather to a com-
plete change of mind, in thought, feeling, and
purpose. It is the act by which the soul, under

the regenerating influence of the Holy Spirit,
renounces self and trusts in Christ, dies to sin
and the law, and rises to a new life in God. The
following verb {turn again) points to the same
act of the soul, but perhaps with a more dis-
tinct reference to its manifestation in conduct ;
so that the order of thought is naturally ex-
pressed by the order of words. — A. H.] — That
your sins may be blotted out, obliterated
as it were from the book or tablet where they
are recorded. (Comp. Col. 2 : 14 ; Isa. 43 : 25.)
—In order that (telle ; comp. Matt. 6 : 5) the
times of refreshing may come — i. e. to you
personally, that you may have part in the
blessings of the Messiah's kingdom, for which
men can be prepared only by repentance and
the pardon of their sins, av after oira>s followed
by the conjunctive represents the act of the
verb as dependent — i. e. in this case on their
compliance with the exhortation. (W. § 42. 6 ;
Hart., Partik., vol. ii. p. 289.) oirm as a particle
of time, when (as in E. V.), is foreign to the
New Testament idiom. (See Green's Gr., p. 77.)
We must discard that translation here. Schole-
field {Hints} etc., p. 40) pleads faintly for re-
taining it, but admits that the weight of evi-
dence is against it. It is not entirely certain
whether times of refreshing refers to the
present consolations of the gospel, or to the
blessedness which awaits the followers of Christ
at the end of the world, when he shall return
and receive them to himself in heaven. The
expression, in itself considered, would very
aptly describe the peace of mind and joy which
result from a consciousness of pardon and rec-
onciliation to God. So one class of commen-
tators understand it. Others think that the
time here meant must coincide with that in
the next verse, and hence suppose the apostle
to have in view Christ's second coming, when
those who have believed on him shall enter
upon their eternal rest in heaven. (Comp. Heb.
4 : 9-11.) Taken thus, the image of the future
state in iva.\\ivi»<a^ is that of reliefer refi-eshraent
of the wearied soul after toils and sorrows, and
is strikingly similar to Paul's rest, relaxation
— rest which God allots to the aflBicted in the
day of final recompense. (See 2 Thess. 1:7.)

1 Hints for Improvements in the Authorized Version of the New Testament, by the late Rev. James Scholefield, Pro-
fessor of Greek in the University of Cambridge, England (4th ed., 1857).

THE ACTS.

[Ch. III.

20 And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was 20 of refreshing from the presence of the Lord ; and

preached unto you :

This is the interpretation of Cbrysostom, Ols-
hausen, De Wette, Meyer, and others. The
order of the clauses decides nothing against
the latter opinion, since it may be as natural in
this instance to think first of the effect, and
then to assign the cause or occasion, as the re-
verse. It is in favor of this opinion that it re-
fers may come and shall send to the same
period or event, as the close succession of the
verbs would lead us to expect. — From the
presence of the Lord« since the blessings
in question (a Hebrew idiom) are laid up where
he is (see 2 : 28), and must be received thence.
liord, which may refer to Christ or God (see
on 1 : 24), applies to tlie latter here, since it
prepares the way for the subject of the next
verb.

20. And that (dependent still on onun) he
may send forth — viz. from heaven. (See v.
21 ; comp. he shall show, who is the bless-
ed and only Potentate, etc., 3<i(ei 6 luucdpiot
Kcu. lidvoi fiuva<rTT)s, <c. T. A., in 1 Tim. 6 : 15.) — Be-
fore appointed or prepared for you — i. c.
from eternity. (See 1 Pet. 1 : 20.) Announced
before is a less ai)proved reading. Nearly all
critics understand this jxissage as referring to
the return of Christ at the end of the world.
The similarity of the language to that of other
passages which announce that event demands
this interpretation. The apostle enforces his
exhortation to repent by an appeal to the final
coming of Christ, not because he would repre-
sent it as near in point of time, but because that
event was always iiear to tlie feelings and con-
sdousness of the first believers. It was the great
consummation on which the strongest desires
of their soul were fixed, to which their thoughts
and hopes were habitually turned. They lived
with reference to this event. They labored to
be prepared for it. They were constantly, in
the expressive language of Peter, looking for
and (in their impatience as it were) hastening
the arrival of the day of God (2 Pet. 3 : 12). It is
then that Christ will reveal himself in glory ;
will come to take " vengeance on them that
obey not the gospel," " and to be admired in all
them that believe" (»The«s. i:8) ; will raise the
dead (John 5 : M, »), invcst the redeemed with an
incorruptible body (pui. s : 21), and introduce
them for the first time, and for ever, into the
state of perfect holiness and happiness prepared
for them in his kingdom. The apostles, as well
as the first Cliristians in general, comprehended
the grandeur of that occasion. It filled their

that be may send the Christ who hath been ap-

circle of view ; stood forth to their contempla-
tions as the point of culminating interest in
their own and tlie world's history ; threw into
comparative insignificance the present time,
death, all intermediate events ; and made them
feel that the manifestation of Christ, with its
consequences of indescribable moment to all
true believers, was the grand object which they
were to keep in view as the end of their toils,
the commencement and perfection of their
glorious immortality. In such a state of in-
timate sympathy with an event so habitually
present to their thoughts, they derived, and
must have derived, their chief incentives to
action from the prospect of that future glory.
As we should expect, they hold it up to the
people of God to encourage them in affliction,
to awaken them to fidelity, zeal, peraeverance,
and, on the other hand, appeal to it to warn
the wicked and impress upon them the neces-
sity of preparation for the revelations of the
final day. For examples of this habit, the
reader may see 17 : 30, 31 ; 1 Tim. 6 : 13, sq. ;
2 Tim. 4:8; Tit. 2 : 11, sq. ; 2 Pet. 3 : 11, sq.,
etc. Some have ascribed the frequency of such
passages in the New Testament to a definite ex-
pectation on the part of the apostles that the
personal advent of Christ was nigh at hand ;
but such a view is not only unnecessary, in
order to account for such references to the day
of the Lord, but at variance with 2 Thess. 2 : 2,
The apostle Paul declares there that the ex-
pectation in question was unfounded, and that
he himself did not entertain it or teach it to
others. But, while he corrects the opinion of
those at Thessalonica who imagined that the
return of Christ was then near, neither he nor
any other inspired writer has informed us how
remote that event may be or when it will take
place. That is a point which has not been re-
vealed to men ; the New Testament has left it
in a state of uncertainty: "The day of the
Lord so cometh as a thief in the night ;" and
men are exhorted to be always prepared for it.
It is to be acknowledged that most Christians
at the present day do not give that prominence
to the resurrection and the judgment, in their
thoughts or discourse, which the New-Testa-
ment writers assign to them ; but this fact is
owing not necessarily to a difference of opinion
in regard to the time when Christ will come,
but to our inadequate views and impressions
concerning the grandeur of that occasion and the
too prevalent worldliness in the church, which

Ch. III.]

THE ACTS.

21 "Whom the heaven must receive until the times
of 'restitution of all things, "which God hath spoken
by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world
began.

22 For Moses truly said unto the fathers, ''A prophet
shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your
brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all
things whatsoever he shall say unto you.

23 And it shall come to pass, lIuU every soul, which
will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from
among the people.

21 pointed for you, even Jesus: whom the heaven must
receive until the times of restoration of all things,
whereof God spake by the mouth of his holy prophets

22 that have been from of old. .Moses indeed said, A
prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you from
among vour brethren, >like unto me ; to him shall
ye hearken in all things whatsoever he shall speak

23 unto you. And it shall be, that every soul, which
shall not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly

aoh. 1 :ll....tllatt. IT : 11... .e Lake 1 : TO.. ..d Deal. 18: IS, 18,19; eh. T : 8T.-

-1 Or, a* be raiaed up m«

5s the cause or consequence of such deficient
\iews. If modem Christians sympathized more
fully with the sacred writers on this subject, it
would bring both their conduct and their style
of religious instruction into nearer correspond-
ence with the lives and teaching of the prim-
itive examples of our faith.

21. Whom the heavens, indeed, mast
(according to the divine plan) receive, not
retain, which the usage of the verb forbids.
Though the ascension had taken place, we
have it is necessary (S«i), and not it was
necessary [iin), because the necessity of the
event is a permanent fact. Meyer explains Ul
as in effect an imperfect, an instance merely of
the rhetorical present for the past. [In his last
ed. Meyer adopts Hackett's view, thus: "Ul
does not stand for e8«t, as if Peter wished kis-
tarically to nan-ate the ascension ; but the present
tense places before the eyes the necessity of the
elevation of Christ into heaven as an absolute
relation, which as such is constantly present
until the parouMa." — A. H.] De Wette shifts
the peculiarity of the expresson from must to
receive, and renders whom it is necessary
the heavens should receive. He alleges for
this future sense that the ascension could be
viewed as still incomplete because it was so re-
cent. But the apostle, having just referred to
Christ as already in heaven, whence he is to aj)-
pear again (v. 20), would not be apt to speak in
the very next words as if he thought of him
as still lingering on the earth. Many of the
Jews believed that when the Messiah appeared
he would remain permanently among men.
(See John 12 : 34.) Peter corrects here that
misapprehension: the Saviour must return to
heaven and reign there for a season before
his final manifestation. The ti4v (which no
Si follows) has this antithesis in until the
times, etc. (De Wet.) : Christ would not be ab-
sent always, but for a certain time only ; not in
the preceding shall send, etc. (Alf ), since that
would make this the Si clause, not the iiiv, as it
is now. — Until {during is incorrect) the times
of the restoration of all things — t. «. to a
-jtate of nriraeval order, purity, and happiness,

such as will exist for those who have part in the
kingdom of Christ at his second coming. The
expression designates the same epoch as times
of refreshing (Olsh., Mey., De Wet.). — Which
God spake of, announced. (Comp. v. 24.)
The relative refers to times as the principal
word, and stands by attraction for ov« or jr«pt &y.
It does not refer to all things— the accom-
plishment of all things which, etc., for the
word rendered restoration will not bear that
meaning.— From the beginning. From the
earliest times of prophetic revelation. Such a
j)eriod of restoration to holiness and happiness
is the explicit or implied theme of prophecy
from the beginning to the end of the Old Testa-
ment. Some omit the expression or put it in
brackets, but the evidence for it preponderates.

23. For here (T. R. and E. V.) should be left
out. Unto the fathers, also, is supposed to
be a gloss. — niv here responds to «« in v. 24 :
Moses on the one hand, as well as all the
prophets on the other.— Said— viz. in Deut.
18 : 18, sq. The translation is partly that of the
Seventy, partly new. In 7 : 37, Stephen cites
this passage as having the same import which
Peter ascribes to it here. Their mode of apply-
ing it shows that the Jews were agreed in refer-
ring it to the Messiah. That this was the cur-
rent interpretation may be ai^ed also from
John 4 : 25. (See Hengstenberg's remarks in
his Christol., vol. i. p. 67, sq.) — Will raise up,
cause to appear = Heb. yakem. — Like me. The
context of the original passage (comp. w. 15,
16 with vv. 17, 18) indicates that the resem-
blance between them was to consist chiefly in
their office as mediator. The meaning is :
Since the Israelites had been unable to endure
the terrors of the Divine Majesty, God would at
some future time send to them another media-
tor, through whom he would communicate
with them as he had done through Moses
(Heng.). (See also Gal. 3 : 19; Heb. 9 : 15.)—
Whatsoever. (See 2 : 21.)

23. Peter interrupts the sentence here to in-
sert and it shall be, which is not in the He-
brew. It serves to call attention more strongly
to what follows. — Shall be utterly destroyed

THE ACTS.

[Ch. III.

24 Yea, and all the prophets from Samuel and those
that follow after, as many as have spoken, have like-
wise foretold of these days.

25 "Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the
covenant which (iod made wiih our fathers, saying
unto Abraham, 'And in thy seed shall all the kindreds
of the earth be blessed.

26 <Unto you first God, having raised up his Son
Jesus, •'sent him to bless you, <in turning away every
one of you from bis iniquities.

24 destroyed from among the people. Yea and all the
prophets from Samuel and them that followed after,
as many as have spoken, they also told of these days.

25 Ye are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant
which God 'made with your fathers, saying unto
Abraham, And in thy seed shall all the families of

26 the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having
raised up his Servant, sent him to bless you, in
turning away every one of you from your iniquities.

• •h.l:S>; Bom. 9:4,8; 15:8; Oal. S :»....» Oen. 11 : 3; 18 : 18; 31 : 18; M: 4; 28 : 14; Oal. 8 : 8. . . .e Matt. 10:
Lake 24 : 4T ; oh. IS : SI, S3, 48. . . .d vor. n. . . .* Matt. 1 : 21. 1 Or. covenanted.

from the people. This expression occurs
often in the Pentateuch, where it denotes the
sentence or punishment of death. The apostle
uses it here evidently to denote the punishment
which corresponds to that in relation to the
soul — i. e. as De Wette explains it, exclusion from
the kingdom of God. Peter has substituted this
expression here for the Heb. edhrosh m'eimmo,
as rendered in the Septuagint : I will exact
vengeance from him. The only difference
is that the Hebrew affirms the purpose of God
to punish, while the Greek employed by Peter
defines at the same time the nature or mode of
the punishment.

24. All the prophets, etc., stands concisely
for all the prophets from Samuel* both he
and they who followed. The appositional
dause is here merged in the genitive. From
Samuel shapes the construction, instead of the
remoter prophets. (Comp. Luke 24 : 27. W.
§67. 2.) The literal translation, from Samuel
on, and those who followed, involves a
tautology, the second clause being comprehend-
ed in the first. Samuel is mentioned next after
Moses, because so few prophets appeared in the
interval between them, or so few whose names
are recorded. They stand in the same proxim-
ity to each other in Ps. 99 : 6. We have no rec-
ord of all that the prophets taught, and the
apostle's assertion here that Samuel also bore
testimony to Christ does not need to be con-
firmed by specific passages. — As many as
spake (prophesied) shows, as related to the
next clause (note likewise), how uniformly
the theme of a coming Messiah had been held
forth in the instructions of the ancient messen-
gers of God. Yet the object may be to charac-
terize the teaching of the prophetic order as
such, and not of every single individual. (See
note on v. 18.)

25. Ye are the sons of the prophets,
and of the covenant — i. e. are those in the
first case to whom the predictions respecting

the Messiah especially appertain, and in the
second are those to whom God would first (v.
26) offer the mercies which he covenanted to
bestow on Abraham's spiritual seed — viz. such
as believe, and thus " walk in the steps of his
faith." (See Rom. 4 : 12.) Sons in this sense
of participation, appurtenance, is a common
Hebraism. (See Matt. 8 : 12 ; John 4 : 22 ; Rom.
9 : 4, etc.) Its ordinary significance, sons, de-
scendants, would be incongruous with cove-
nant, and should not be retained, therefore, in
connection with prophets.— Saying, etc. — viz.
in Gen. 12 ; 3. God repeated the promise to
Abraham and the other patriarchs at various
times. (See Gen. 18 : 18 ; 22 : 18 ; 26 : 4, etc.)—
In thy seed — viz. the Messiah (v. 26), as one
of his posterity, agreeably to Paul's view in Gal.
3: 16.

36. Unto you. Dependent on sent (see
13 : 26 ; 28 : 28) ; not /or you, dat. comm. (Mey.).
[Meyer's last ed. agrees with Dr. Hackett. — A.
H.], dependent on having raised up. — npuTov,
first, in the order of time. (Comp. 13:46;
Luke 24 : 47 ; Rom. 1 : 16.) Here too Peter
recognizes the fact that the gospel was to be
preached to the heathen. (See on 2 : 39.) —
Having raised up, as in v. 22. — TrorSa, ser-
vant, as in V. 13.— The E. V. follows the com-
mon text, which inserts Jesus after his ser-
vant, but contrary to the best authorities
(Grsb., Tsch., Mey.). — Blessing applies the
idea of the preceding be blessed to the Jews,
and requires you to be read with emphasis. —
In turning away, etc., states how he blesses
them : in that he turns away each one
from your sins— to wit, by his gospel, which
secures the pardon and sanctification of those
who accept it. (See on 2 : 47.) This verb has
elsewhere an active sense in the New Testament.
Some (Kuin., De Wet.) disregard that usage and
render in that each one turns away, ete. This is op-
posed also to blessing, which represents Christ
here as the actor — men rather as recipients.

Ch. IV.]

THE ACTS.

CHAPTER IV.

AND as they spake unto the people, the priests, and
the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came
upon them,

2 "Being grieved that they taught the people, and

S reached through Jesus the resurrection from the
ead.

3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in
hold unto the next dav : for it was now eventide.

4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word be-

1 And as they spake unto the people, Uhe priest*
and the captain of the temple ana the Sadducees

2 came upon them, being sore troubled because they
taught the people, and proclaimed in Jesus the resur-

3 rection from thedead. And they laid hands on them,
and put them in ward unto the morrow : for it was

4 now eventide. But many of them that heard the

a Matt. 22 : 23 ; AoU 23 : 8.-

-I Some ancient authoritin read Me chi^pfittU.

1-4. THE IMPRISONMENT OF PETER
AND JOHN.

1. iw4<miiray (came upon) implies common-
ly a hostile purpose. (See 6 : 12 ; 17 : 5 ; Luke
20 : 1.) The arrest appears to have taken place
while the apostles were still speaking. — The
priests who officiated in the temple at the
time, or some of their number. The priests
were divided into twenty-four classes, each of
which had charge of the temple-service for a
week at a time. (See 1 Chron. 24 : 3, sq. ; 2
Chron. 8 : 14 ; and also Jos., Antt., 7. 14. 7.)
The particular duties from day to day were as-
signed to individuals by lot. (See Luke 1:9.)
During the observance of the festivals the num-
ber of priests was increased, as the labors to be
performed were greater. (Win., Realiv., vol. ii.
p. 273.) It is j)ossible that the feast of Pente-
cost (2 : i) had not yet terminated. — The com-
mander of the temple was an officer having
a body of Levites under his command, who
preserved order about the temple, and in that
respect performed a sort of military service.
(See Jahn's Archxol., ? 365.) In 5 : 26 the
Levites so employed are called his servants.
Josephus speaks repeatedly of this guard {e. g.
Bell. Jud., 6. 5. 3), whose commander he desig-
nates in the same manner. In 2 Mace. 3 : 4 he
is termed the guardian of the temple. We read
of commanders of the temple in Luke 22 :
52, which is best explained by supposing that
the temple-guard was divided into several
companies, each of which had its commander,
though this title belonged distinctively to the
chief in command. — The Sadducees. The
Sadducees as a sect, since those who acted in
this instance represented the spirit of the party.
(Comp. Matt. 9 : 11 ; 12 : 14 ; Mark 8 : 11 ; John
8:3.) Meyer supposes the article to point out
those of them who were present at this time.
It was probably at the instigation of this class
of men that the apostles were now appre-
hended.

2. Being indignant. Restricted by some
(Mey., De Wet.) to the nearest noun, since
the motive assigned for the interference in
preached* etc., applies only to the Sadducees,

who denied the doctrine of a resurrection.
(See 23 : 8 ; Matt. 22 : 23.) But perhaps we
may regard because they taught the peo-
ple as more comprehensive than preached
. . . the resurrection, etc., instead of being
merely defined by it, and in that case may
refer the participle to the priests as well as the
others. The priests, though they might not
share the hostility of the Sadducees to the doc-
trine of a future state (see on 23 : 8), would
naturally be indignant that their office as
teachers should be assumed by men like
Peter and John (see Matt. 21 : 23), and es-
pecially that the Jesus whom they themselves
had crucified should be proclaimed as the
Messiah. (See 5 : 28.) Are announcing in
Jesus the resurrection — i. e. in his example,
in the fact of his alleged restoration to life.
(Comp. tv ritilv in 1 Cor. 4 : 6.) This is the best
and the generally - approved interpretation
(Bng., Kuin., De Wet., Mey.). Others ren-
der ar6 announcing the resurrection in
virtue of Jesus, by his power. (See 1 Cor.
15 : 22.) The E. Version, through Jesus,
while the earlier E. Vv. have in him, appears
to express that meaning. But it was not .so
much the general resurrection as that of Christ
himself which the apostles proclaimed at this
stage of their ministry. (See 1 : 22 ; 2 : 24 ; 3 :
15, etc.) The single concrete instance, how-
ever, as the Sadducees argued, involved the
general truth, and, if substantiated, refuted
their creed.

3. Into prison. (Comp. in the common
prison, in 5 : 18.) This word denotes a place
of custody (see Pape, Lex., s. v.) as well as the
act, though the latter is the proper force of
such a termination. (K. § 233. b. a.) — Unto
the morrow, as the limit. (See Matt. 10 : 22 ;
1 Thess. 4 : 15.)— For it was already even-
ing, and hence no judicial examination could
take place until the next day. It was three
o'clock when the apostles went to the temple.
(Comp. 3:1.)

4. The word, the well-known message of
Christ. — iytiri&ii = iyivtTo, became--t. e. in con-
sequence of the present addition. The use of

THE ACTS.

[Ch. IV.

lieved ; and the number of the men was about fire
thousand.

5 % And it came to pass on the morrow, that their
rulers, and elders, and scribes,

6 And 'Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and
John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the
kindred of the high priest, were gathered together
at Jerusalem.

word believed : and the number of the men cams to
be about five thousand.

5 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their
rulers and elderx and scribes were gathered together

6 in Jerusalem ; and Annas the high priest was t/usre,
and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and aa
many as were of the kindred of the high priest.

a Luke S : 2 ; John 11 : «; 18 : 13.

this form is peculiar to the later Greek. (W.
g 15; Lob., Ad Phryn., p. 108.)— The number
of the men who had embraced the gospel up
to this time (Kuin., Mey., De Wet., Alf.). (Sec
1:15; 2: 41.) A retrospective remark like
this was entirely natural after having spoken
of the many who believed at this time. Some
suppose the new converts alone to have amount-
ed to five thousand ; but that is less probable,
as the apostles could hardly have addressed so
great a multitude in such a place. Men com-
prehends, probably, both men and women,
like souls in 2 : 41. (Comp. Luke 11 : 31.) An
emphasized or conscious restriction of the term
to men would be at variance with that religious
equality of the sexes so distinctly affirmed in
the New Testament, (See Gal. 3 r28.)

5-7. THEIR ARRAIGNMENT BEFORE
THE SANHEDRIM.

5. Their before rulers refers to tlie Jews,
as implied in vv. 1 and 4 (De Wet., Win.) ; not
to the believers, as if to contrast their conduct
with that of their rulers (Mey. formerly, but
now as above) ; and certainly not to the apostles
(Stieri).— Their rulers, etc. The Sanhedrim
is here described by an enumeration of the
three orders which composed that body — viz.
the chief priests, who are mentioned last in
this instance ; the elders, or heads of families ;
and the scribes, or teachers of the law. (Comp.
5 : 21 ; Matt. 2:4; 26 : 59. ) Rulers designates
the Sanhedrists in general, since they were all
rulers, while and annexes the respective classes
to which they belonged : and (more definitely,
comp. 1 : 14) the elders, etc. It was unneces-
sary to repeat the article, because the nouns
have the same gender. (W. § 19. 4 ; S. g 89. 9.)
[For an able though brief account of the San-
hedrim the reader is referred to Kitto's Biblical
Cyclopaedia, edited by W. L. Alexander, under
the word " Sanhedrim," or to an article on the
same topic in McClintock and Strong's Cydo-
psedia, etc., founded on the one in Kitto. Still
briefer, but giving the principal facts, is the
article in Smith's Diet, of tlie Bibh. The origin
of this Jewish court is now generally assigned
to "a period subsequent to the Macedonian

supremacy in Palestine." "The earliest his-
torical trace of its existence," though under
another name, is supposed to be found in 2
Mace. 1 : 10 ; 4 : 44 ; 11 : 27. Dr. Hackett has
named the classes of men which composed
this great tribunal of the Jews. They were
probably distributed as follows: twenty-four
priests, twenty-four elders, and twenty-two
scribes or lawyers. Only men who were
morally and physically without fault were
eligible to membership. They must be middle-
aged, tall, good-looking, wealthy, and learned."
They must also be fathers, and must have
passed through various lower offices. The firet
place provided for this council appears to have
been a hall named Gazith, in the centre of the
south side of the temple-court ; a later one was
located, it is said, on the east side of the temple-
mount. — A. H.] — Unto Jerusalem, as some
of the rulers may have lived out of the city
(Mey., De Wet.), especially at that season (see
2 : 1), when the heat had begun to be severe.
tit is not put loosely for iv (Kuin.) ; for the dis-
tinctive force of the prepositions may always
be traced, and the notice merely that they as-
sembled in Jerusalem would be unnecessary.
The substitution of iv (in) for el? (unto) in the
text (Lchm.,Tsch.) is unwarranted. [Lach.,Treg.,
West, and Hort, with the Anglo- Am. Revisers,
insert iv (I'ji), and are supported by A B D E ;
while Tsch. (8th ed.) decides for «is (into), in
agreement with K P. The former seems there-
fore to be much better sustained than the latter ;
and there is nothing in the context or structure
of the sentence recommending one more than
the other.— A. H.]

6. Those named here are prominent individ-
uals among the rulers (v. 5), not a separate
class. Annas the high priest. The actual
high priest at this time was Caiaphas (see John
11 : 49), but Annas, his father-in-law, had held
the same office, and, according to the Jewish
custom in such cases, retained still the same
title. He is mentioned first perhaps out of re-
spect to his age, or because his talents and ac-
tivity conferred upon him a personal superiority.
(See John 18 : 13.) It is entirely unnecessary

> Die Rtden der Apotlel nach Ordnung uttd Zutammenhang autgelegt, von Rudolf Stier (zwei Bfiode).

Ch. IV.]

THE ACTS.

7 And when they had set them in the midst they
asked, "By what power, or by what name, have ye done
this?

8 »Then Peter, filled with the Holv Ghost, said unto
them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,

9 If we this day be examined of the ^ood deed done
to the impotent man, by what means be is made whole ;

7 And when they had set them in the midst, they in-
quired, Hy what power, or in what name, have ye

Sdoiiethis? Then I'eter, filled with the Holy Spirit,
said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders,

9 if we this day are examined concerning a good deed
done to an impotent man, 'by what means this man

oEz. 2: 14; Matt. 21:23; ch. 7 : 2T....t Luke 12 : 11, 12.-

-I Or, in vhom

to charge Luke with committing an error here,
as Zeller so confidently affirms.* It is a familiar
usage in every language to speak of " the gov-
ernor," " the president," " the senator," and the
like, though the person so termed is no longer
in office. — John and Alexander. We know
nothing positive of these men beyond the inti-
mation here that they were priests and active at
this time in public affairs. Alexander is an-
other instance of a foreign name in use among
the Jews. (See 1 : 23.) It is improbable that he
was the Alexander mentioned in Josephus
{AiM., 18. 8. 1), who was a brother of Philo
and Alabarch of the Jews at Alexandria. In
that case he must have been visiting at Jeru-
salem, and hence was present in the council as
a guest only, or else had not yet removed to
Egypt. And as many as were of the pon-
tifical family — i. e. those nearly related to the
high priests = pontifical family, embra-
cing, as that title was applied among the Jews,
the high priest properly so called, his predeces-
sors in office, and the heads of the twenty-four
sacerdotal classes. (See on v. 1.) Many points
relating to the organization of the Sanhedrim
are irretrievably obscure, but it is generally
agreed that the twenty-four priestly orders
were represented in that body. (See Win.,
RecUw., vol. ii. p. 271.) The attendance of so
many persons of rank on this occasion evinced
the excited state of the public mind and gave
importance to the decisions of the council.
This is Meyer's view of the meaning. [In his
last ed. Meyer agrees with Hackett, saying,
" Besides Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, all
the other relatives of the high priest were
brought into the assembly." — A. H.] But a
narrower sense of high priest's kindred
may be adopted. It appears to me more simple
to understand that John and Alexander were
related to Annas and Caiaphas, and that the as
many, etc., were the other influential members
of the same family. That the family of Annas
was one of great distinction appears in the fact
that five of his sons attained the office of high

priest. (See on 9 : 1.) Some vary the meaning
of yivovi, and translate as many as were of
the class of the chief priests. This sense
renders the description of the different branches
of the Sanhedrim more complete, but assigns a
forced meaning to the noun.

7. Them — viz. the apostles, last mentioned
in V. 3. — In the midst, before them, so as to
be within the view of all. (Comp. John 8 : 3.)
It is said that the Jewish Sanhedrim sat in a
circle or a semicircle, but we could not urge the
expression here as any certain proof of that
custom. — By what power, efficacy; not by
what right, authority, which would require
tfouaia, as In Matt. 21 : 23. (See Tittm., Synm.,
p. 158.)— Or (in other words) in virtue of
what uttered name. This appears to be a
more specific form of the same inquiry. — This
— viz. the cure of the lame man. Olshausen
understands it of their teaching, which is not
only less appropriate to the accompanying
words, but renders the answer of the apostles
in vs. 9, 10 irrelevant.

8-12. TESTIMONY OF PETER BEFORE
THE COUNCIL.

8. Filled with the Holy Spirit— i. e.
anew. (See v. 31 ; 2:4.) Peter was thus ele-
vated above all human fear, and assisted at the
same time to make such a defence of the truth
as the occasion required. The Saviour had
authorized the disciples to expect such aid
under circumstances like the present. (See
Mark 13 : 11 ; Luke 21 : 14, 15. For the absence
of the article, see on 1 : 2.)

9. If we are examined, as is confessedly
the case. *i {if), in the protasis with the indic-
ative, affirms the condition, and is logically
equivalent to cTrei, mice. (K. § 339. I. a. ; W.
g 41. b. 2.) The occasion for the present defence
was a reproachful one to the Jews, and hence
the speaker alludes to it thus dubiously, in
order to state the case with as little offence as
possible. The apodosis begins at be it known.
— In respect to a good deed, benefit con-
ferred on an infirm man. (Comp. John 10 :

1 TheologUche Jahrbucher (Jahrgang 1849), p. 60. It is due to the reader to place before him some examples of
this writer's style of criticism. His articles on the composition and character of the Acts, published in dif-
ferent numbers of the periodical named above, are considered as remarkable for the industry and acuteness
which they display in setting forth the Internal difficulties that are supposed to embarrass Luke's history. Th»
articles have been thrown into a volume, but I have not seen them in that form.

THE ACTS.

[Ch. IV.

10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of !
Israel, 'that b^' the name of Jesus ('hrist of Nazareth, j
whom ye crucified, 'whom Ciod raised from the dead, '
ev^n by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

11 «This is the stone which was set at nought of you
builders, which is become the head of the corner.

12 'Neither is there salvation in any other : for there
is none other name under heaven given among men,
whereby we must be saved.

10 is 'made whole ; be it known unto you all, and to all
the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, whom ye criicilied, whom Uod raised
from the dead, eien in 'him doth this man stand

11 here before you whole. He is the stone which was
set at nought of you the builders, which was made

12 the head of the corner. And in none other is there
salvation : for neither is there any other name under
heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must
be saved.

aeh. S: 6, 16.. ..6 Ota. S : M.

Ota. 10 : i3 ; 1 Tim. 3 : 6, «.-

32.) Observe that neither noun has the article.
iv^fHinov is the objective genitive. (Corap. 3 :
16 ; 21 : 20 ; Luke 6:7. S. ? 99. 1. c. ; K. g 265.
2. b.)— Whereby, how (De Wet., Mey.), not by
whom (Kuin.). The first sense agrees best with
the form of the question in v. 7. — This one.
The man who had been healed was present.
(See vs. 10, 14.) He may have come as a spec-
tator, or, as De Wette thinks, may have been
summoned as a witness. Neander conjectures
that he too may have been taken into custody
at the same time with the apostles. — Has been
made AVhoIe. The subject of discourse de-
termines the meaning of the verb.

10. By the name of Jesus Christ (the
latter appellative here), through their invoca-
tion of his name. The question how (v. 9) is
here answered. — Of Nazareth identifies the
indiviJial to whom the apostle applies so ex-
alted a name. (See on 2 : 22.) — Whom God
raised, etc., is an adversative clause after
whom ye crucified, but omits the ordinary
disjunctive. (For this asyndetic construction,
see W. g 60. 2; K. g 325.) It promotes com-
pression, vivacity of style. (For the anarthrous
vtKfntv, dead, see on 3 : 15.) — In this may be
neuter = in this name (Mey.); or masculine,
in this one (Kuin., De Wet.), which is more
natural, since whom is a nearer antecedent,
and this one follows in the next verse (and so
also Mey. at present). Stands (E. V.) ; perf =
present. (See on 1 : 10.)

11. This one — viz. Christ, who is the prin-
cipal subject, though a nearer noun intervenes.
(See 7 : 19. W. g 23. 1 ; S. ? 123. N. 1. Com-
pare the note on 3 : 13. For the passage re-
ferred to, see Ps. 118 : 22.) The words, as Tho-
luck' remarks, appear to have been used as a
proverb, and hence are susceptible of various
applications. The sense for this place may be
thus given : The Jewish rulers, according to
the proper idea of their office, were the builders
of God's spiritual house, and as such should
have been the first to acknowledge the Messiah
and exert themselves for the establishment and

> Utbertetzung und AxuUgung der Ptalmen, p. 49S.

extension of his kingdom. That which they
had not done God had now accomplished, in
spite of their neglect and opposition. He had
raised up Jesus from the dead, and thus con-
firmed his claim to the Messiahship; he had
shown him to be the true Author of salvation
to men, the Comer-stone, the only sure Foun-
dation on which they can rest their hopes of
eternal life. (Comp. Matt. 21 : 42 ; Luke 20 :
17.) The later editors consider oiKoS6iJ.uiy more
correct than olKoSonovtrrui'. — Which became
the head of the corner. Predicated, like
that was set at nought, of the stone, as
identical with this one. Head of the cor-
ner is the same as chief corner stone in 1 Pet.
2 : 6. (Comp. Isa. 28 : 16.) It refers, prob-
ably, not to the copestone, but to that which
lies at the foundation of the edifice, in the
angle where two of the walls come together,
and which gives to the edifice its strength and
support. (See Gesen., Heb. Lex., s. rash. 4.)

12. The salvation which the gospel brings,
or which men need. (Comp. John 4 : 22. For
the article, see W. § 18. 1.) The contents of the
next clause render it impossible to understand
the term of the cure of the lame man. It was
not true that the apostles proclaimed the name
of Christ as the one on which men should call,
in order to be healed of their diseases. — For
neither is there any other name. It has
just been said that Christ is the only Saviour.
It is asserted here that he is such, because no
other has been provided. — Which is given,
since the gospel is the fruit of mercy.— Among
men, as the sphere in which the name is known ;
not dat. comm. for men. (See W. § 31. 6.) The
latter is a resulting idea, but not the expressed
one. — In which we (as men, and hence true
of the human race) must be saved. It is
necessary (Stl) is stronger than it is lawful
(e{«<TTi), and means not may, but must, as the
only alternative, since God has appointed no
other way of salvation. The apostle would
exclude the idea of any other mode of escape
if this be n^lected. (See Heb. 2 : 3.) [The

Ch. IV.]

THE ACTS.

13 I Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and
John, "and perceived that they were unlearned and
ignorant men, they marvelled ; and they took know-
ledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

14 And beholding the man which was healed 'stand-
ing with them, they could say nothing against it.

15 But when they had commanded them to go aside
out of the council, they conferred among themselves,

16 Saying, 'What shall we do to tliese men ? lor that
indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them u-
■'manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem ; and we
cannot deny it.

17 But that it spread no further among the people,

13 Now when they beheld the boldness of Peter and
John, and had perceived that they were unlearned
and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took
knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

14 And seeing the man who was healed standing with

15 them, they could say nothing against it. But when
they had commanded them to go aside out of the

16 council, they conferred among themselves, saying,
What shall we do to these men? fur that indeed a
notable 'miracle hath been wrought tlirough them,
is manifest to all that dwell in Jerusalem; and we

17 cannot deny it. But that it spread no further among
the people, let us threaten them, that they speak

a Matt. II: 25; I Cor. 1 : »....& oh. S :U....c John II : 47....<tob. S :», 10.-

-I Or. ttffn.

interpretation of this important verse by Dr.
Hackett is a model of brevity and clearness.
It is the only one, I think, that fully answers
to the language of Peter. And the truth which
it brings to light affords a perfect explanation
of the fact that the apostles made the Lord
Jesus, and especially his death on the cross, the
central theme of their preaching. It also ac-
counts for their zeal in preaching the word,
and especially for the marvellous devotion of
Paul to his great mission of carrying "the
good news " of salvation through Christ to the
heathen. — A. H.]

13-18. DECISION OF THE SANHEDRIM.

13. Beholding (t»e«opofli/Tes) is the appropri-
ate word here. It denotes not seeing merely
(like p\inovrti, v. 14), but seeing earnestly or
with admiration. (Tittm., Synm., p. 121.) —
Having perceived, from intimations at the
time, such as their demeanor, language, pro-
nunciation (Str.) (comp. Matt. 26 : 73), or
having ascertained by previous inquiry
(Mey., Alf.). Meyer in his last edition pre-
fers the first meaning to the second. The
tense, it will be observed, differs from that of
the other participle. — Unlearned and igno-
rant, illiterate — i. e. untaught in the learn-
ing of the Jewish schools (see John 7 : 15), and
obscure, plebeian (Kuin., Olsh., De Wet). It
is unnecessary to regard the terms as synony-
mous (E. v., Mey., Rob.). Their self-possession
and intelligence astonished the rulers, being so
much superior to their education and rank in
life.' — And they recognized them that
they were with Jesus during his ministry,
were among his followers (Wicl., Tynd.) ; not
had been (E. V.). Their wonder, says Meyer,
assisted their recollection ; so that, as they ob-
served the prisoners more closely (note the
imperf), they remembered them as persons
whom they had known before. Many of the
rulers had often been present when Christ
taught publicly (see Matt. 21 : 23 ; Luke 18 : 18 ;
John 12 : 42, etc.), and must have seen Peter

and John. That the latter was known to the
high priest is expressly said in John 18 : 15.

14. The order of the words here is admi-
rably picturesque. — With them — viz. the apos-
tles, not the rulers. (Corap. them, just before.)
— Standing there, and by his presence, since
he was so generally known (see 3 : 16). utter-
ing a testimony which they could not refute.
Bengel makes the attitude significant : s'nnd-
ing firmo talo, no longer a cripple. — Had poth-
ing to object, against the reality of the mir-
acle or the truth of Peter's declaration.

15. Having commanded them to de-
part out of the council. The delibera-
tions of the assembly were open to others,
though the apostles were excluded ; and hence
it was easy for Luke to ascertain what was
said and done during their absence. Some
of the many priests who afterward believed
(see 6:7) may have belonged to the council at
this time, or, at all events, may have been
present as spectators. It is not improbable
that Saul of Tarsus was there, or even some
of the Christian party who were not known in
that character.

16. For that a notorious miracle— a deed
undeniably of that character — has been done*
yvioarov (notable), in the sense of widely known,
adds nothing to the text, since it merely repeaf
the subsequent majzt/esi. — Through them, an(^
hence accredited (see on 2 : 22) as the agents of
a higher power. — Manifest agrees with that t
notable, etc., and is the pretlicate nominativ*
after i<rri understood.— We are not able to
deny it. (See 3 : 9, 11.) They would hav«
suppressed the evidence had it been possible.

17. That it (t. e. the sign) may not spread.
With a knowledge of the miracle the people
would associate inevitably the doctrine which
the miracle confirmed. The subject of the
verb involves the idea of teaching, but it
would be arbitrary to supply tliat word as the
direct nominative. Some have supposed th*
last clause in the verse to require it.— Let u»

1 Walcb maiotaiiM this distinctioQ io his Dutertationes in Ada ApoMtolorum, p. 69, *q. ( Jeaa, 1766).

THE ACTS.

[Ch. IV.

let us straitly threaten them, that they apeak hence-
forth to no man in this name.

18 "And they called them, and commanded them not
to speak at all nor teach in the name of Je.'<us.

19 lint Peter and John answered and said unto them,
^Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken
unto you more than unto (iod, judge ye.

2u 'Kor we cannot but speak the things which <<we
have seen and heard.

21 So when they had further threatened them, they
let them go, finding nothing how they might punisn
them, 'because of the people : for all men glorified Uod
for /that which waa done.

22 For the man was above furty years old, on whom
this miracle of healing was shewed.

18 henceforth to no man in this name. And they
called tliem, and charged them not to speak at all

19 nor teach in the name of Jesus. But Peter and
John answered and said unto them. Whether it be
right in the sight of (iod to hearken unto you rather

20 than unto (iod, judge ye: for we cannot but speak

21 the things which we saw and heard. And they,
when they had further threatened them, let them
go, finding nothing how they might punish them,
because of the people ; for all men glorified God for

22 that which was done. For the man was more than
forty years old, on whom this 'miracle of healing
was wrought.

• eh. (:M....ta)i.&:»....eeh.l:8: 1:SS.

.<loh. n:I5; I John 1 : 1, S....« Matt. 31:2«; Lake 20:*, »; 32 : S; ob. 5 : M
..../ oh. S : 1, 8. 1 Or. *ign.

severely (lit. unth a threat) threaten them.

Winer (§54. 3) regards this combination of a
verb and noun as an expedient for expressing the
infinitive absolute with a finite verb in Hebrew.
(See Gesen., Heb. Or., g 128. 3.) But we meet
with the idiom in ordinary Greek. (See
Thiersch, De Pent. Vers., p. 169.) The fre-
quency of the construction in the New Testa-
ment is undoubtedly Hebraistic. [Severely, or
lit. with a threat, is omitted by the best editors,
Lach., Treg., Anglo-Am. Revisers, in agree-
ment with KABD. The only uncial copies
that are quoted for it by Tsch. 8 ed. are E P.
There is therefore very slight reason to supjwse
that it was written by Luke.— A. H.]— Upon
this uhmej as the basis of their doctrine or
authority. (Ctomp. v. 18 ; 5 : 28, 40. W. g 48. c.)

18. t6 (the) before *d*yye<ri><u (to speak),
points that out more distinctly as the object
of the prohibition. It is not a mere sign of
the substantive construction. (W. § 44. 3. c.) —
Nor to teach npon the name of Jesus
specifies the part of their preaching which the
rulers were most anxious to suppress. The
other infinitive does not render this super-
fluous.

19-22. THE ANSWER OF PETER AND
JOHN.

19. In the sight of God (Hebraistic), whose
judgment is true, and which men are bound
to follow as the rule of their conduct. — To
hearken nnto, to obey. (See Luke 10 : 16 ;
16 : 31 ; John 8 : 47.)— jiaAAof, not more, but
rather. (See 5: 29.) The question was whether
they should obey men at all in opposition to
God, not whether they should obey him more
or less. (See further on 5 : 29.)

20. For we cannot, etc. confirms the
answer supposed to be given to their appeal in
whether it is right, etc. We must obey
God, for we cannot (morally — i. e. in accord-
ance with truth and duty) not speak — i. e.
withhold, suppress — our message. The double

negation states the idea strongly. The impos-
sibility which they felt was that of refraining
from giving publicity to their knowledge; it
was not sufficient that they taught no error.
To be silent would have been treachery. —
Which we saw and heard — i. e. during the
life of the Saviour, when they beheld his
mighty works and listened to his instructions.
The verbs are in the aorist, not perfect (as in
E. v.).

21. Having threatened them farther —
i. e. than they had done already. (See v. 18.) —
Finding nothing, no means, opportunity. —
Namely, how, on what pretence. (Comp,
22 : 30; Luke 1 : 62; 9 : 46, etc.) This use of
the article before single clauses distinguishes
Luke and Paul from the other writers of the
New Testament. It serves to awaken attention
to the proposition introduced by it. (See W.
§ 20. 3.) — Because of the people belongs to
the participle (Mey.), rather than to let them
go. The intervening clause breaks off the
words from the latter connection. The idea,
too, is not that they were able to invent no
charge against the apostles, but none which
they felt it safe to adopt, because the people
were so well disposed toward the Christians.

22. For he was of more years, etc. The
cure wrought was the greater the longer the
time during which the infirmity had existed.
irCiv (years) depends on was (V) as a genitive
of proi^erty, (K. § 273. 2. c. ; C. ^ 387.)— Than
forty years, governed by rAtio^ui' (more) as
a comparative. (Comp. 25 : 6.) De Wette as-
sumes an ellipsis of ^, which puts the numeral
in the genitive, because that is the case of the
preceding noun. But most grammarians rep-
resent 5 as suppressed only after nxtov, irA«i«,
and the like. (Comp. Matt. 26 : 53 as correctly
read. K. § 748. R. 1 ; Mt. § 455. A. 4.)— The
healing, the act of it which constituted
the miracle; genitive of apposition. (W.
i 48. 2.)

Ch. IV.]

THE ACTS.

23 % And being let go. "they went to their own com-
pany, and reported alltna
nad said unto them.

lat the chief priests and elders

24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their
voice to God with one accord, and sai^, Lord, 'thou arl
God, which bast made heaven, and earth, and the sea,
and all that in them is :

25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast
said, "Why did the heathen rage, and the people imag-
ine vain things?

20 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers
were gathered together against the Lord, and against
his Christ.

23 And being let go, they came to their own com-
pany, and reported all that the chief priests and the

24 elders had said unto them. And they, when they
heard it, lifted up their voice to (Jod with one ac-
cord, and said, O >Lord, Hhou that didst make the
heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in

25 them is: ^who by the Holy Spirit, by the mouth of
our fattier David thy servant, did.st say,

Whv did the Gentiles rage.

And the peoples ^imagine vain things?

26 The kings of the eartn set themselves in array.
And the rulers were gathered tojjether,
Against the Lord, ana against his ^Anointed:

a eb. 11: 12.... 61 Ungi IS : l&....e Pi. 2 : 1. 1 Or, jr<u(er.... 2 Or, t»o« art h» that did make.

olauw U lomewbkt anoertain 4 Or, meditate. . . .6 Or. Chritt,

.i Tbe Greek text in this

23-31. THE APOSTLES RETURN TO
THE DISCIPLES, AND UNITE WITH
THEM IN PRAYER AND PRAISE.

23. Unto their own friends, in the faith.
(Comp. 24 : 23 ; Tit. 3 : 14.) Nothing in the
context requires us to limit the term to the
apostles, — The chief priests (those of the
first class) and the elders. This is another
mode of designating the Sanhedrim. (See v. 5.)

24. With one accord must denote, as else-
where (1:14; 2:46; 7:57, etc.), a concert of hearts,
not of voices. If they all joined aloud in the
prayer, the proof must not be drawn from this
word or from lifted up their voice — which
could be said though but one uttered the words
while the others assented — but rather from the
nature of the service. The prayer on this oc-
casion was chiefly praise, and, as the words
quoted were so familiar to all, it is quite pos-
sible that they recited them together. (See
16 : 25, and the remarks there.) Baumgarten's
view (ApostelgeschicfUe, u. s. w., p. 93) may be
near the truth: the whole company sung the
second Psalm, and Peter then applied the con-
tents to their situation in the terms recorded
here. — SeoTrora (Lord) is applied to God as ab-
solute in power and authority. It is one of the
titles of Christ also. (See 2 Pet. 2:1; Jude 4.)
— Thon art the God, or thoa the God*
nominative of address. The latter, says Meyer,
accords best with the fervid state of their
minds.

25. By the month, etc.— viz. in Ps. 2 : 1, 2.
By citing this passage the disciples express their
confidence in the success of the cause for which
they were persecuted ; for it is the object of the
second Psalm to set forth the ultimate and com-
plete triumph of the gospel, notwithstanding
the opposition whicli the wicked may array
against it. The contents of the Psalm, as well
as the other quotations from it in the New
Testament, confirm its Messianic character.
(See 13 : 33 ; Heb. 1 : 5 and 5 : 5.)— I^a W (why)

is abbreviated for Iva w yivrfrai (why is it). (W.
§ 25. 1 ; K. 1 344. R. 6.) The question challenges
a reason for conduct so wicked and futile. It
expresses both astonishment and reproof. —
Raged, or, which is nearer to the classic
sense, showed themselves restive, refrac-
tory. The aorist may be used here to denote
a recurrent fact. (K. g 256. 4. b.) The active
form is used only in the Septuagint (Pape,
Lex., s. v.). The application to this particular
instance does not exhaust the prophecy. The
fulfilment runs parallel with the history of the
conflicts and triumphs of the cause of truth.
— Peoples, masses of men, whether of the
same nation or of different nations. Hence
this term includes the Jews, whom e*»T| would
exclude. — Vain, abortive, since such must be
the result of all opposition to the plans of Je-
hovah.

26. Stood np, stood near,with a hostile
design, which results, however, from the con-
nection, not the word itself — Assembled. In
Hebrew, sat together, with the involved idea
in both cases that it was for the purpose of
combination and resistance. — His Christ, his
Anointed One, answering to M^sheho in the
Psalm. The act of anointing was performed
in connection with the setting apart of a
prophet, priest, or king to his office, and, ac-
cording to the Hebrew symbology, denoted
his receiving the spiritual gifts and endow-
ments which he needed for the performance
of his duties.* (Comp. the note on 6:6.) The
act accompanied consecration to the office as-
sumed, but was not the direct sign of it, as is
oflen loosely asserted. It is with reference to
this import of the symbol that the Saviour of
men is called The Christ — i. e. the Anointed — by
way of eminence, because he possessed the
gifts of the Spirit without measure, was fur-
nished in a perfect manner for the work which
he came into the world to execute. (See on
1:2.)

1 B&hr's Sj/mbolUt de* Mo*aUehen CuUut, toL ii. p. 171, jg.

THE ACTS.

[Ch. IV.

27 For •of a truth against Hhr holy child Jeaus,
•whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius
Pilate, with the (ientiles, and the people of Israel,
were gathered together,

28 «{■ "or to do wnataoever thy hand and thy counsel
determined before to be done.

29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and
grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they
may speak thy word,

30 by stretching forth thine hand to heal ; /and that
signs and wonders may be done »by the name of *thy
holy child Jesus.

31 ^ And when they had prayed, 'the place was
shaken where they were assembled together; and
they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, *and they
spake the word of (iod with boldness.

32 And the multitude of them that believed 'were
of one heart and of one soul : *>neither said any of them

27 for of a truth in this city against thjr holy Servant
Jesus, whom thou didst anoint, both Herod and Pon-
tius Pilate, with the Cientiles and the peoples of Is-

28 rael, were gathered together, to do whatsoever thy
hand and tny counsel foreordained to come to pass.

29 And now. Lord, look upon their threatenings: and
grant unto thy 'servants to speak thy word with all

30 boldness, while thou stretches! forth thy hand to
heal ; and that signs and wonders may be done

31 through the name of thy holy Servant Jesus. And
when they had prayed, the place was shaken where-
in they were gathered together ; and they were all
filled with the Holy Spirit, and they spake the word
of (iod with boldness.

32 And the multitude of them that believed were of
one heart and soul : and not one of them said that
aught of the things which he possessed was his own ;

a Matt. 2t:S; Luke 12 -.i; Xl:l. 8....6Loke 1 :.%.... e Luke 4: 18; John 10 : M.... etch. 3:33; 3: ie....«reri. 13, 31; ch. 9:27;

13 :M; 1« : 3 ; 19:8; 36:36; 28:31: Epfa. 6 : 19 / ch. 3 : 43 : 6 : 13 a ch. 3:6, !«....» rer. 37....<ch. 2:2, i; 16 : 26....* ver.

39 toh. S : 13; Bom. 1& :&, 6; 3 Cor. 13 : 11 ; Phil. I : 27 ; 2:3; 1 Pet. 3 : 8....m eh. 3 : U. 1 Gr. bond-ttrvanU.

27. For illustrates the significance of the
prophecy. It had been spoken, not without
meaning ; for in truth, etc. — After of a
truth we are to read in this city. The words
are left out of the E. V., and I believe of all the
earlier translations into English, except the two
made from the Vulgate. They are to be re-
tained. They are found in A B D E, and more
than twenty others, supported by the unani-
mous voice of ancient versions, and many eccle-
siastical writers." (See Green's Developed Criti-
cism,^ etc., p. 94.)— Against thy consecrated
servapt. (See on 3 : 13.) — Didst anoint, with
that rite inaugurate as king. — And peoples
of Israel (see on v. 25), either because the
Jews who put the Saviour to death belonged
to different tribes, or because so many of them
had come to Jerusalem from distant lands (comp.
2 : 5), and so represented different nationalities
(Mey.). It is not at all probable that the
singular and the plural are confounded here
(Kuin.).

28. In order to do in reality, though not
with that conscious intention on their part. —
ii x»> denotes the power, i) ^ovA^ the counsel,
purpose, of God. Determined adapts itself
per zeugma to both nouns. The verbal idea re-
quired by the former would be executed.

29. Lord — t. e. God, which is required by
God in V. 24, and thy servant in v. 30. (Ck>mp.
on 1 : 24.)— Look upon their threats, in
order to see what grace his servants needed
at such a crisis. They pray for courage to en-
able them to preach the word, not for security
against danger. — Entire, the utmost. (See 13 :
10 ; 17 : 11, etc.) In that sense vat (all) does not
require the article. (W. § 18- 4 ; K. g 246. 5.)

30. In that thou dost stretch forth thy
hand for healing, the effect of which as a
public recognition of their character on the
part of God would be to render them fearless ;
or, as some prefer, the construction may denote
time, while thou dost stretch forth, etc. ; so
that in the latter case they ask that they may
declare the truth with power as well as with
courage. — And that signs and wonders
may be wrought (Kuin., Mey., De Wet.).
The clause is telic and related to stretch forth,
like for healing. Some make it depend on
give, which is too remote, and others repeat
in that after and (koi).- Thy child, or thy
servant.

31. The place was shaken. They would
naturally regard such an event as a token of the
acceptance of their prayer, and as a pledge that
a power adequate to their protection was en-
gaged for them. — Were all filled with the
Holy Spirit, etc. They were thus endued
both with courage to declare the word of God
and with miraculous power for confirming its
truth. They had just prayed for assistance in
both respects.

32-37. THE BELIEVERS ARE OF ONE
MIND, AND HAVE ALL THINGS COMMON.

32. ti (but), slightly adversative, turns our
attention from the apostles (v. 31) to the church
at large. — The multitude of those who
believed, like the multitude of the disciples in
6 : 2. This description of the union of heart
and the liberality which distinguished the dis-
ciples applies to all of them, as the unqualified
nature of the language clearly intimates. Meyer
supposes those only to be meant who are men-
tioned as new converts in v. 4 ;' but the mind

> A Omrte of Developed Criticism on Postage* of the New Testament materially affected by various Readings, by Rev.
Thomas Sheldon Green, late Fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge, etc. (London, 1856).

» I am not surprised to find that Meyer has corrected this opinion in his new edition. [In his last ed. he
•ays: "These — ». e. the multitude, etc.— are designated as having become believers, in reference to verse 4; but in

Ch. IV.]

THE ACTS.

that aught of the things which he possessed was his
own ; but they had all tnings common.

33 And with "great power gave the apostles 'witness
of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus : and "great grace
was upon them all.

34 Neither was there any among them that lacked :
'for as many as were possessors of lands or bouses
■old them, and brought the prices of the things that
were sold,

35 'And laid thfin down at the apostles' feet: /and
distribution was made unto every man according as
he had need.

36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed

33 but they had all things common. And with great
power gave the aoostlcs their witness of the resur-
rection of the Lora Jesus' : and great grace was upon

34 them all. For neither was there among them any
that lacked : for as many as were (Msscssors of lands
or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the

35 things that were sold, and laid them at the apostles'
feet: and distribution was made unto each, accord-
ing as any one had need.

36 And Joseph, who by the apostles was surnamed
Barnabas (wbich is, being interpreted. Son of -ex-

aeh. 1 : 8....i eh. 1 : 22....eoh. 2 : IT.

-I Some anelent anthoritle*

does not recall readily so distant a remark. —
ov£< (It, not even one. — Said that it was his

own — i. e. insisted on his right to it so long as
others were destitute. (See v. 34.) — Common,
in the use of their property ; not necessarily in
the possession of it. (C!omp. the note on 2 : 44,
sq.) "It is proper to remark," says Bishop
Blomfield,^ "that although an absolute com-
munity of goods existed, in a certain sense,
amongst the first company of believers, it was
not insisted upon by the apostles as a necessary
feature in the constitution of the Christian
Church. We find many precepts in the Epis-
tles which distinctly recognize the diiference of
rich and poor and mark out the respective
duties of each class, and the apostle Paul, in
particular, far from enforcing a community of
goods, enjoins those who were affluent to make
a contribution every week for those who were
poorer (i Cor. i6:2, s). Yet the spirit of this
primitive system should pervade the church
in all ages. All Christians ought to consider
their worldly goods, in a certain sense, as the
common property of their brethren. There is
a part of it which by the laws of God and na-
ture belongs to their brethren, who, if they can-
not implead them for its wrongful detention
before an earthly tribunal, have their right
and title to it written by the finger of God him-
self in the records of the gospel, and will see it
established at the judgment-day."

33. With great power, with convincing
effect on the minds of men. (See Matt. 9 : 29 ;
Luke 4 : 32.) Among the elements of this
power we are to reckon, no doubt, the miracles
which the disciples performed ; but the singular
number forbids the supposition that power
can refer to miracles, except in this indirect
manner. — Grace some understand of the favor
which the Christians enjoyed with the people
in consequence of their liberality (see 2 : 47)

(Grot., Kuin., Olsh.). It is better, with De
Wette, Meyer, Alford, and others, to retain tlie
ordinary sense: divine favor , grace, of which
their liberality was an effect. (Comp. 2 Cor.
9 : 14.)

34. For (a proof of their reception of such
grace) there was no one needy, left to suf-
fer, among them. — Estates, landed posses-
sions. (See 5:3-8; Matt. 26 : 36; Mark 14 :
32.) — iruAovi^et «{>(pov, sold and brought. This
combination illustrates the occasional use of the
present participle as an imperfect. (W. § 45. 1.
a.; S. ?173. 2.)

35. Placed them at the feet of the
apostles. (See v. 37 ; 5 : 2.) The frequency
of the act is determined by that of the previous
verb. This appears to have been a figurative
expression, signifying to commit entirely to
their care or disposal. It may have arisen
from the Oriental custom of laying gifts or
tribute before the footstool of kings. — Distri-
bution was made. The verb is impersonal.
— As any one had need occurs as in 2 : 45.

36. ae (and) subjoins an example in illus-
tration of what is said in vv. 34, 35. — [Joses.
Rather Joseph, according to the oldest MSS.
and the critical editors. XABDE, together
with the Vulgate and Syriac versions, have Jo-
seph, while there is very little early authority for
Joses. — A. H.] — Barnabas is the individual
of this name who became subsequently so well
known as Paul's associate in missionary labors.
(See 13 : 2, sq.) The appellation which he re-
ceived from the apostles describes a particular
trait in his style of preaching. Most suppose it
to be derived from Bar-nibhooah (Syro-Chaldaic)
— t. c. "son of prophecy" — but in a more re-
stricted sense of the phrase as equivalent to
son of consolation, since prophecy in-
cludes also hortatory, consolatory discourse.
(Comp. 1 Cor. 14 : 3. For other conjectures,

Buch a way that it is not merely those many (t. 4) that are meant, but they, and at the same time aU others tcho
had till now become believers. This is required by the mullUude, which denotes the Christian people generally, u
contrasted with the apostles." Hackett's interpretation is simple and aufficient.— A. H.]
i Lectures on the Actt qf the ApotUet (third edition), p. 28.

THE ACTS.

[Ch. V.

Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted. The son of
consolation,) a I^evite, and of the country of Cyprus.
37 'Having land, sold U, and brought the money, ana
laid U at the apostles' feet.

37 hortation), a Invite, a man of Cyprus by race, hav-
ing a field, sold it, and brought the money, and laid
it at the apostles' feet.

CHAPTER V.

BUT a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira
his wife, sold a possession,

2 And kept back fiirt of the price, his wife also being
privy to U, ^and brought a certain part, and laid it at
the apostles' feet.

3 «But Peter said, Ananias, why hath "^Satan filled
thine heart to lie to the Uolv Ghost, and to keep back
jxurt of the price of the lancf?

1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sappliira

2 his wife, sold a possession, and kept back part of the
price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a

3 certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But
Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan tilled thy heart
to Uie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back 'part of

aren.S4, U; eh. 6: 1,1 6oh. i:ST e Num. 30 :2; Deut. 33 : II ; Boelet. 6:4 d Luke 33:3.-

see Kuinoel, ad he.) — A Levite. He was
probably a LeTite^ in distinction from a
priest — t. e. a descendant of Levi, but not of
the family of Aaron. [See also the important
treatise of Samuel Ives Curtiss, Jr., on The Le-
vUical Priests : A ContribtiHon to the Criticism of
the Pentateuch, which, in addition to its value
as a defence of the Mosaic origin of the Penta-
teuch, sets forth very clearly the principal facts
pertaining to the priests and the Levites. — A. H.]
— Cypriote by race describes him as a Jew
bom in Cyprus. (Comp. 18 : 2, 24.)

37. He having land. It is not said that
this estate was in Cyprus, but that is natmnlly
inferred. The Levites, as a tribe, had no part
in the ^°neral division of Canaan (see Nam.
18 : 20) ; but that exclusion did not destroy the
right of individual ownership^ within the forty-
eight cities and the territory adjacent to them,
which were assigned to the Levites (Num. 35 : i-s).
(Comp., e. g., Lev. 25 : 32 ; Jer. 32 : 8.) After
the Exile they would naturally exercise the
same right even out of PaJestine. — The
mone7) which is the proper sense of the
plural. (Comp. 8 : 18-20 ; 24 : 26.)

,1-11. THE FALSEHOOD OF ANANIAS
AND SAPPHIRA, AND THEIR DEATH.

1. We enter on a new chapter here in a two-
fold sense of the expression. As Olshausen re-
marks, " the history of the infant church has
presented hitherto nn image of unsullied light ;
it is now for the first time that a shadow falls
upon it. We can imagine that a sort of holy
emulation had sprung up among the first
Christians ; that they vied with each other in
testifying their readiness to part with everj'-
thing superfluous in their possession, and to
devote it to the wants of the church. This
zeal now bore away some, among others, who
had not yet been freed in their hearts from the
predominant love of earthly things. Such a

person was Ananias, who, having sold a portion
of his property, kept back a part of the money
which he received for it. The root of his sin
lay in his vanity, his ostentation. He coveted
the reputation of appearing to be as disinterest-
ed as the others, while at heart he was still the
slave of Mammon, and so must seek to gain by
hypocrisy what he could not deserve by his
benevolence." — But puts the conduct of An-
anias in contrast with that of Barnabas and the
other Christians. — A possession, of the na-
ture defined in v. 3.

2. Kept back — reserved for himself— from
the price. The genitive, which in classical
Greek usually follows a partitive verb like this
(K. ^ 271. 2), depends oftener in the New Testa-
ment on a preposition. (W. § 30. 7. c.) — Being
conscious of it to herself, aware of the res-
ervation just mentioned (comp. v. 9.) ; not know-
ing it as well as he, since it is the object of also
to hint the collusion of the parties. — A certain
part, which he pretended was all he had re-
ceived.

3. Why demands a reason for his yielding
to a temptation which he ought to have re-
pelled. The question recognizes his freedom
of action. (Comp. James 4 : 7.) The sin is
charged upon him as his own act in the next
verse. — Has filled, possessed, thy heart.
(Comp. John 13 : 27.)— That thou shonldst
deceive the Holy Spirit— i. e. the apostles,
to whom God revealed himself by the Spirit.
The infinitive is telic [denoting purpose, in
order thai] (Mey., De Wet.), and the purpose
is predicated, not of Ananias, but of the
tempter. Satan's object was to instigate to
the act, and that he accomplished. Some make
the infinitive ecbatic [denoting result, or that],
and, as the intention of Ananias was frustrated,
must then render that thou shonldst at-
tempt to deceive. This is forced and un-
necessary. — The land, the estate, field.
(See 4 : 34.)

> See Saalschatx, Dot MuaUcAe Eecht, vol. L p. 149.

Ch. v.]

THE ACTS.

4 Whiles It remained, was It uot thine own? and
after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why
hast thou concnved this thing in thine heart ? thou
hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

5 And Ananias hearing these words "fell down, and
gave up the ghost : and great fear came on all them
that heard these things.

6 And the young men arose, 'wound him up, and
carried him out, and buried him.

4 the price of the land? While it remained, did It not
remain thine own? and after it was sold, was it not
in thy power? How is it that thou hast conceived
this thing in thy heart? thou hast not lied unto men.

.5 but unto God. And .\nauias hearing these words fell
down and gave up the ghost: and great fear came

6 upon all that heard it. And the >youn^ men arose
and wrapped him round, and they carried him out
and burled blm.

a vers. 10, 11. . . .1 John 19 : 40.-

-1 Qr. toungtr.

4. Did it not, while it remained unsold,
remain to you as your own property? and
when sold was it not — i. e. the money re-
ceived for it — in your own power? This
language makes it evident that the community
of goods, as it existed in the church at Jeru-
salem, was purely a voluntary thing, and not
required by the apostles. Ananias was not
censured because he had not surrendered his
entire property, but for falsehood in professing
to have done so when he had not. — ri bri stands
concisely for W i<mv on, as in v. 9 ; Mark 2 : 16 ;
Luke 2 : 49 (Frtz., Mey., De Wet.). It is a
classical idiom, but not common. — Didst
thou put in thy heart? conceive the thing.
(Comp. 19 : 21.) The expression has a Hebra-
istic coloring (comp. sem al-lebh in Dan. 1 : 8
and Mai. 2 : 2), though not unlike the Homeric
iv <(>pt<T\ *i<ri»(u. The aorist (not perf., as in E.
V.) represents the wicked thought as consum-
mated.— Thou hast not lied, etc., is an in-
tensive way of saying that the peculiar enor-
mity of his sin consisted in its being committed
against God. David takes the same view of his
guilt in Ps. 51 : 6. Ananias had attempted to
deceive men as well as God ; but that aspect
of his conduct was so unimportant, in compar-
ison with the other, that it is overlooked, de-
nied. (Comp. Matt. 10 : 20 ; 1 Thess. 4 : 8. See
W. § 59. 8. b.) It is logically correct to trans-
late not so much . . . as, but is incorrect in
form and less forcible. Hast lied governs the
dative here, as in the Septuagint, but never in
the classics. (W. § 31. 5.)

5. Lit. breathed out his soul, expired. —
And great fear came upon all, etc. Luke
repeats this remark in v. 11. It applies here
to the first death only, the report of which
spread rapidly and produced everywhere the
natural effect of so awful a judgment. Some
editors (Lchm., Mey., Tsch.) strike out these
things after heard. It is wanting in A B D,
Vulg., et aZ., and may have been inserted from
v. 11. [It is also wanting in N and is rejected
by Lach., Tsch., Treg., Anglo-Am. Revisers,
but is retained by West, and Hort. — A. H.]
If it be genuine, however, it may refer to a
single event, especially when that is viewed

in connection with its attendant circumstances.
The plural does not show that the writer would
include also the death of Sapphira — i. e. that
he speaks here proleptically — which is De
Wette's view.

6. The younger men = young men {vtayC-
«ricoi) in V. 10. They were probably the younger
men in the assembly, in distinction from the
older (Neand., De Wet., Alf.). It devolved on
them naturally to perform this service, both on
account of their greater activity and out of re-
spect to their superiors in age. So also Walch
decides {Dmertati&nes, etc., p. 79, sq.). Some
have conjectured (Kuin., Olsh., Mey.) tliat they
were a class of regular assistants or officers in
the church. That opinion has no support, un-
less it be favored by this passage. — ovviaTtiXav
(wound . . . up) is less certain than lias been
commonly supposed. The E. V. renders wound
up shrouded or covered, which is adopted also
by Kuin., De Wet., Alf., and others. Rost and
Palm {Lex., s. v.) recognize this as the last of
their definitions, but rely for it quite entirely
on this passage and Eurip., Troad., 382. Walch
(Dissertationes, etc., p. 79, sq.) argues in favor of
this signification, and with success, if it be true,
according to his assumption, that wepurriWeiv and
(TvoreAAeiv denote the same thing as used of the
rites of burial. The Vulgate has amoverunt,
which the older E. Vv. appear to have followed :
thus, moved away (Wicl.) ; put apart (Tynd.,
Cranm.) ; took apart (Gen.) ; removed (Rhem.).
This sense is too remote from any legitimate
use of the verb to be defended. A third ex-
planation, which keeps nearer both to the ety-
mology and the ordinary meaning, is placed
together— laid out or composed — his stiffened
limbs, so as to enable the bearers to take up
and carry the body with more convenience.
Meyer insists on this view, and contends that
irrirAoK rvftoToAifaai' in Eurip., as referred to
above, can be translated only were laid out
(dressed at the same time) in robes. It is cer-
tain that no mode of preparing the body which
was formal at all, requiring delay, could have
been observed in an emergency like the pres-
ent.— Having carried forth, out of the house and
beyond the city. Except in the case of kings

THE ACTS.

[Ch.V.

7 And it was about the apace of three hours after,
when bis wife, not knowing what was done, came in.

8 And Peter answered unto her. Tell me whether ye
sold the land for so much? And she said. Yea, for so
much.

9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have
agreed together "to tempt the t^pirit of the Lord ? be-
hold, the feet of them woich have buried thy husband
are at the door, and shall carry thee out.

10 *Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and
yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and
found her dead, and, carrying /ler forth, buried /ler by
her husband.

11 «And great fear came upon all the church, and
upon as many as heard these things.

7 And it was about the space of three hours after,
when his wife, not knowing what was done, came

Sin. And Peter answered unto her. Tell me whether
ye sold the land for so much. And she said, Yea,

9 for BO much. But Peter said unto her, How is it
that ye have agreed together to try the .Spirit of the
Lord? behold, the feet of them who have buried thy
husband are at the door, and they shall carry thee

10 out. And she fell down immediately at his feet, and
gave up the ghost : and the young men came in and
found her dead, and they carried her out and buried

11 her by her husband. And great fear came upon the
whole church, and upon all that heard these things.

arer.S; Matt. 4 : 7....6 ver. 5....e ver. 5; eb.S:4S; 19: IT.

or other distinguished persons, tlie Jews did not
bnry within the walls of their towns, (See
Jahn's Archseol., g 206.) This circumstance ac-
counts for the time which elapsed before the
return of the bearers. It was customary for
the Jews to bury the dead much sooner than
is common with us. The reason for this des-
patch is found partly in the fact that decompo-
sition takes place very rapidly after death in
warm climates (comp. JoJin 11 : 39), and partly
in the peculiar Jewish feeling respecting the
defilement incurred by contact with a dead
body. (See Num. 19 : 11, sq.) The interment
in the case of Ananias may have been hastened
somewhat by the extraordinary occasion of
his death , but, even under ordinary circum-
stances, a person among the Jews was com-
monly buried the same day on which he died.
(See Win., Realw., vol. ii. p. 16.) Even among
the present inhabitants of Jerusalem, says
Toblcr,! burial, as a general rule, is not de-
ferred more than three or four hours.

7. Now it came to pass ... an interval
of about three hours . . . then, etc. An
interval, etc., is not here the subject of was
or came to pass (= iyivt-ro), but forms a paren-
thetic clause, and «« (see on 1 : 10) introduces
the apodosis of the sentence (Frtz., De Wet.,
Mey.). For the same construction, comp. Matt.
15 : 32 ; Mark 8 : 2 (in the correct text) ; Luke
9 : 28. (See W. § 62. 2.) The minute specifica-
tion of time here imparts an air of reality to
the narrative. — Came in — i. e. to the place of
assembly.

8. Answered her, addressed her. He-
braistic, after the manner of Heb. anah. (See
on 3 : 12.) De Wette inchnes to the ordinary
Greek sense, answered— t. e. upon her saluta-
tion.— roo-ouTou is the genitive of price — for so
much, and no more — pointing, says Meyer, to
the money which lay there within sight. Kui-
noel's better view is that Peter named the sum ;

but, it being unknown to the writer, he substi-
tutes for it an indefinite term like our "so
much " or " so and so." This sense is appropri-
ate to the woman's reply.

9. Why is it that it was agreed, coit-
certed, by you ? The dative occurs after the
passive, instead of the genitive with vird, when
the agent is not only the author of the act, but
the person for w^hose benefit the act is per-
formed. (K. g 284. 11.) — To tempt, put to
trial, the Spirit, as possessed by the apostles,
whether he can be deceived or not. (See on v.
3.) — Behold, the feet of those who buried
thy husband. Behold directs attention to
ths sound of their footsteps as they approached
the door. Wbat occurred before their entrance
occupied but a moment.

10. Straightway, immediately, after this
declaration of Peter. It is evident that the
writer viewed the occurrence as supernatural.
The second death was not only instantaneous,
like the first, but took place precisely as Peter
had foretold. The woman lay dead at the
apostle's feet as the men entered who had just
borne her husband to the grave.

11. (See note on v. 5.) Great fear came,
etc. To produce this impression both in the
church and out of it was doubtless one of the
objects which the death of Ananias and Sap-
phira was intended to accomplish. The punish-
ment inflicted on them, while it displayed the
just abhorrence with which God looked upon
this particular instance of prevarication, was
important also as a permanent testimony against
similar oflences in every age of the church.
"Such severity in the beginning of Christi-
anity," says Benson,* " was highly proper, in
order to prevent any occasion for like punish-
ments for the time to come. Thus Cain, the
first murderer, was most signally punished by
the immediate hand of God ; thus, upon the
erecting of God's temporal kingdom among the

> DenkblUtUr aui JenuaUm, von Dr. Titus Tobler, p. 32.5 (St. Gallen, 1853).
» IfUtory of the FiTil Planting of the Christian Religion, etc., toI. i. p. 105.

Ch. v.]

THE ACTS.

12 If And "by the hands of the apostles were many
signs 'and wonders wrought among the people ; ('and
they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch.

13 And 'of the rest durst no man join him>elf to
them : <<but the people magnitied them.

14 And believers were the more added to the Lord,
multitudes both of men and women.)

15 Insomuch that they brought forth the sick into the
streets, and laid ihem ou beds and couches, 'that at the

12 And by the hands of the apostles were many signs
and wonders wrought among the people ; and they

13 were all with one accord in Solomon s porch. Ilut
of the rest durst no man join himself to them: how-

14 belt the people magnitied them ; "and believers were
the more added to the l..ord, multitudes both of men

15 and women; insomuch that they even carried out
the sick into the streets, and laid them on beds and
•couches, that, as I'eter came by, at the least his

aoh. 1:43; U:S; 19:11; Rom. 1&:1>; 2 Cor. 12:12: Heb. 2:4.. ..teh. S:ll; 4 : 32... .e John » : 22 ; 12:42; 19 : 38... cleh.
2 : 47 ; 4 : 21. ...e Matt. 9 : 21 ; 14 : S«; oh. 19 : 12. 1 Or, and tk*rt vtre th» more added to them, believing on (JU lMrd....i Or,

p<UleU

Jews, Nadab and Abihu were struck dead for
oflFering strange lire before the Lord ; and Korah
and his company were swallowed up alive by
the earth for opposing Moses, the faithful ser-
vant of God ; and the two hundred and fifty
men who offered incense upon that occasion
were consumed by a fire which came out from
the Lord ; and, lastly, Uzzah, for touching the
ark, fell by as sudden and remarkable a divine
judgment when the kingdom was going to be
established in the house of David, to teach
Israel a reverence for God and divine things.
Nay, in establishing even human laws, a severe
punishment upon the first transgressors doth
oft prevent the punishment of others, who are
deterred from like attempts by the suffering of
the first criminals."

12-16. THE APOSTLES STILL PREACH,
AND CONFIRM THEIR TESTIMONY BY
MIRACLES.

12. And, now, continuative. — Many in this
position qualifies the two nouns more strongly
than when joined with the first of them, as
in 2 : 43. The first and last places in a Greek
sentence may be emphatic. (K. § 348. 6.) [It
i*doubtful whether many (iroAAa) had the last
place in Luke's autograph. The principal edi-
tors, with X A B D E, etc., put it after signs
and wonders, but before among the peo«
pie. Were ivronght, it may be added, is
according to decisive evidence in the imperfect
tense = were being wrought, describing a suc-
cession of miraculous events. The textiis recep-
tus gives the verb in the aorist, but upon very
insufficient maimscript authority. — A.H.] And
they were all with one mind in Solo-
mon's porch — i. e. from day to day. It was
their custom to repair thither and preach to
the people whom they found in this place of
public resort. All refers to the apostles men-
tioned in the last clause (Kuin., Olsh., Alf ).
Some understand it of all the believers (Bng.,
De Wet., Mey.), in disregard both of the nat-
ural antecedent and of the improbability that
so many would assemble at once in such a
place. The apostles or individuals of them are
meant certainly in v. 42 ; and, from the simi-

larity of that passage to this, we naturally infer
that Luke speaks of the same class of persons
here as there.

13. But of the rest, who did not belong to
the party of the apostles, who were not Chris-
tians; the same, evidently, who are called the
people just below. — No one ventured to
associate with them (see 9 : 26 ; 10 : 28)—
viz. the apostles ; lit. join himself to them.
So deeply had the miracles wrought by the
apostles impressed the Jewish multitude that
they looked upon those who performed them
with a sort of religious awe and were afraid to
mingle freely with them. The rest, taken as
above, need not include any but unbelievers,
even if we confine all to the apostles. If we
extend all to the disciples generally, the notion
that the others are believers as well as unbeliev-
ers (Alf) falls away still more decisively. That
the apostles should have inspired their fellow-
Christians with a feeling of dread disturbs all
our conceptions of their relations to each other,
as described or intimated elsewhere. — A comma
is the proper point after them. — But, as op-
posed to what they refrained from doing. —
Magnified them, regarded them with wonder
and extolled them.

14. This verse is essentially parenthetic, but
contains a remark which springs from the one
just made. One of the ways in which the peo*
pie testified their regard for the Christians was
that individuals of them were constantly pass-
ing over to the side of the latter. — And still
more. (Comp. 9 : 22; Luke 5 : 15.)— The
Lord — here Christ — many connect with be-
lievers ; but a comparison with 11 : 24 shows
that it depends rather on the verb. — Multi-
tudes both of men and women. The ad-
ditions were so great that Luke counts them no
longer. (Seel : 15; 2 : 41 ; 4 : 4.)

15. Insomuch binds this verse to v. 13. We
have here an illustration of the extent to which
the people carried their confidence in the apos-
tles.—Along the streets. (See W. ? 49. d.)—
Upon beds and pallets. The latter was a
cheaper article used by the common people.
(See Diet, of Antt., art. " Lectus ;" and R. and P.,

THE ACTS.

[Ch. V.

leAst the shadow of Peter passing by might overshadow
some of them.

16 There came also a multitude out of the cities
round about unto Jerusalem, bringing "sick folks, and
them which were vexed with unclean spirits: and they
were healed everv one.

17 ^ 'Then the ^igh priest rose up, and all they that
were with him, ( which is the sect of t he iSadducees,)
and were filled with indignation,

18 «And laid their hands on the apostles, and put
them in the common prison.

19 But ''the angel of the Lord by night opened the
prison doors, ana brought them forth, and said,

16 shadow might overshadow some one of them. And
there also came together the multitude from the
cities round about Jerusalem, bringing sick folk,
and them that were vexed with unclean spirits:
and they were healed every one.

17 Hut the high priest rose up, and all they that were
with him (who were the sect of the Sadducees), and

18 they were filled with jealousy, and laid hands on the

19 apostles, and put them in public ward. But an angel
of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and

a Mark 18: IT. 18; John U: I2....»eb. 4: 1, t,e....e Lak<21 : n....<Ich. 12 : 7; 16:26.

Lex. s. aitt>wovs.) The rich and the poor grasped
the present opportunity to be healed of their dis-
eases. Instead of beds many read little beds,
with reference to their portable size. We may
adopt that reading, and yet distinguish the
terms as before; for these couches need not
have been larger than the others, in order to be
more valuable. — As Peter was passing.
The genitive does not depend on shadow,
but is absolute. — itiv = (c<u Hv, at least, so
much as {vd certe). (CJomp. Mark 6 : 56; 2
Cor. 11, : 16.) The separate parts can hardly
be traced in this idiom. Some evolve them
from an ellipsis : in order that, if Peter came,
he might touch some of them, even if it were
only his shadow (Mey.). (See Klotz, AdDevar.,
vol. ii. p. 139, sq.)

16. aa9tvtlt (sick) omits the article here, but
has it in v. 15. It is there generic, here parti-
tive: sick, so. persons. (K. § 244. 8.) Vexed,
etc., being added to sick persons, distinguishes
the possessed or demoniacs from those affected
by ordinary maladies. (Comp. 8 : 7.) — Un-
clean— i. e. morally corrupt, utterly wicked.
(Comp. 19 : 12.)

17-25. RENEWED IMPRISONMENT OF
THE APOSTLES, AND THEIR ESCAPE.

17. But (Si) this success (v. 16) calls forth
persecution. — Rising up, not from his seat in
the council (for the council is not said to have
been in session), but as it were mentally, be- j
coming excited, proceeding to act. Kuinoel j
calls it redundant. (See further on 9 : 18.) — 1
The high priest is probably Annas, who was I
before mentioned under that title. Some sup- 1
pose Caiaphas, the actual high priest, to be in- i
tended. (See on 4 : 6.) — Those with him are I
not his associates in the Sanhedrim (for they |
are distinguished from these in v. 21), but, ac- j
cording to the more obvious relation of the j
words to sect of the Sadducees, those
with him in sympathy and opinion — i. e.
members of the religious sect to which he be-
longed. (Comp. 14 : 4.) [The word translated 1

sect (atpe<Tis) occurs more frequently in this book
than in any other part of the New Testament.
Here it is applied to the Sadducees as a religious
party ; in 15 : 5 and 26 : 5, to the Pharisees ; and
in 24 : 5-14 and 28 : 22, to the Christians. In
Gal. 5 : 20 the same word is translated parties,
and in 1 Cor. 11 : 19 factions (margin, heresies) ;
while in 2 Pet. 2 : 1 it is rendered heresies in the
text, but sects in the margin. It is the original
of the English term " heresy." Thus, in the
New Testament, it generally denotes a religious
party separated from others by its creed or
opinion. The distinctive belief of the party
may be right or wrong, but it will naturally be
stigmatized as error by those who reject it. Hence
the word "sect" carries with it, even in the New
Testament, an intimation of popular disap-
proval, though it may be applied to the fol-
lowers of Christ. — A. H.] Josephus states that
most of the higher class in his day were scep-
tics or Sadducees, though the mass of the people
were Pharisees. — Indignation (is : «), not en-
vy. A Hebraistic sense.

18. Upon the apostles— viz. Peter (v. 29)
and others of them, but probably not the en-
tire twelve. They were lodged in the public
prison, so as to be kept more securely. It is
far-fetched to suppose that Srinoaia {pxMic) was
meant to suggest that they were treated as com-
mon malefactors.

19. The account of a similar escape is more
fully related in 12 : 7, sq. — During the night,
and not far from its close, as the two next verses
seem to indicate. Fritzsche^ concedes this sense
of «ia here, also in 16 : 9 and 17 : 10, but pro-
nounces it entirely abnormal. Classic usage, it
is true, would require through the night, its en-
tire extent, and it would then follow, strangely
enough, that the doors of the prison must have
stood open for houi-s before the apostles went
forth from their confinement. Meyer insists on
tliat as the true meaning here. It is more rea-
sonable to ascribe to Luke a degree of inaccuracy
in the use of the preposition. (See W. § 47. i.)

1 Fritzschiorum Oputcvla Academica, p. 165.

Ch. v.]

THE ACTS.

20 Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people
■all the words of this life.

21 And when they heard that, they entered into the
temple early in the morning, and taught. *liut the
high priest came, and they that were with him, and
called the council together, and all the senate of the
children of Israel, and sent to the prison to have
them brought.

22 But when the officers came, and found them not
in the prison, they returned, and told,

23 Saying, The prison truly found we shut with all
safety, and the keepers standing without before the
doors: but when we had opened, we found no man
within.

24 Now when the high priest and Hhe captain of the

I 20 brought them out, and said. Go ye, and stand and
speak in the temple to the people all the words of
I 21 this I>ife. And wnen they heard ihis, they entered
' into the temple about daybrciik, and taught. liut
\ the high priest came, and they that were with him,
I and callea the council together, and all the senate
I of the children of Israel, and .sent to the prison-

22 house to have them brought. But the officers that
came found them not in the prison ; and they re-

23 turned, and told, saying. The prLson-house we found
shut in all safety, and the keepers standing at the
doors : but when we had openea, we found no man

24 within. Now when the captain of the temple and

■ Joho6:68; 1T:8; 1 JobiiS: U....&eh. 4 : S,6....« LakeSI : «; eh.«:l.

An extreme purism in some cases is one of
Meyer's faults as a critic. [By a mistranslation
Gloag (and Dickson) represent Meyer as giving
the same interpretation to this expression as
Dr. Hackett, thus : " Per noctem — i. e. during the
night ; so that the opening, the bringing out of
the prisoners, and the address of the angel oc-
curred during the course of the night, and to-
ward morning dawn the apostles repaired to
the temple." But Meyer wrote, "Per noctem —
i. e. the night through (die Nacht hindurch) ; "so
that," etc. It seems proper to mention this
mistake in a translation which is generally
correct and is likely to be in the hands of
many persons. — A. H.] — Opened the doors (see

12 : 10), which were then closed again. (See v.
23.) — Having brought them forth, while
the keepers were at their post (v. 23), but were
restrained by a divine power from seeing them
(see on 12 : 10), or, at all events, from interpos-
ing to arrest them.

20. Go and speak are present, because they
denote acts already in progress. The prisoners
were to proceed on their way to the temple,
and to persist there in proclaiming the offensive
message. (See on 3 : 6.) — The words of this
life, eternal life, which you preach. (Comp.

13 : 26. W. § 34. 2. b.) Olshausen refers this
to the angel : this life of which I speak to
you; Lightfoot, to the Sadducees: this life
which they deny. According to some, this
belongs to the entire expression, these words
of life, agreeing as a Hebraism with the de-
pendent noun, instead of the governing one.
(See Green's Or., p. 265.) An adjective may be
so used, but not the pronoun.

21. At early dawn. The temple had
already opened its gates to the worshippers
and the traffickers (John » : i«, •».) accustomed to
resort thither. Hence the apostles could begin
their work of instruction as soon as they ar-
rived. The people of the East commence the
day much earlier than is customary with us.
The arrangements of life there adjust them-

selves to the character of the climate. During
a great part of the year in Palestine the heat be-
comes oppressive soon after sunrise, and the in-
habitants, therefore, assign their most import-
ant duties and labors to the early hours of the
day. Nothing is more common at the present
time than to see the villagers going forth to
their employment in the fields while the night
and the day are still struggling with each other.
Worship is often performed in the synagogues
at Jerusalem before the sun appears above
Olivet. — Having come — i. e. to the place of
assembly, which was probably a room in the
temple (see 6 : 14 ; Matt. 27 : 3, sq.), and whence,
apparently, the chief priest and his coadjutors
sent out a summons (called . . . together, <rw«-
KoXtaav) to their colleagues to hasten together.
On some occasions the Sanhedrists met at the
house of the high priest. (See Matt. 26 : 57.)—
And all the eldership, senate connected
with the Sanhedrim. (Comp. 4 : 5 ; 22 : 5.) The
prominence thus given to that branch of the
council exalts our idea of its dignity. The
term reminds us of men who were venerable
for their years and wisdom. Kuinoel would
emphasize vaaav, as if the attendance of that
order was full at this time, but was not always
so. Some (Lightf , Olsh., Str., Mey.) think that
this was not an ordinary session of the San-
hedrim, but that the elders of the nation at
large were called upon to give their advice in
the present emergency.

22. The servants who executed the orders
of the Sanhedrim. (See v. 26.) Some of the
temple-guard may have acted in this capacity.
(See on 4 : 1.)

24. The priest, by way of eminence (1
Mace. 15:1; Jos., Aritt., 6. 12. 1); hence =
high priest, as the same functionary is termed
in V. 17 and 4 : 6. — On the high priests, see 4 :
6. — Were perplexed concerning them — i. e.
the words reported, not the apostles (Mey., Alf.).
Words is the more obvious antecedent; and,
besides, nothing would embarrass the rulera so

THE ACTS.

[Ch. V.

temple and the chief priests heard these things, they
doubted of them whereuuto this would grow.

'25 Then came one and told them, saying. Behold,
the men whom ye put in prison are standing in the
temple, and teaching the people.

2U Then went the captain with the officers, and
brought them without violence: "for they feared the
people, lest they should have been stoned.

27 And when they had brought them, they set them
before the council : and the high priest asked them,

28 Saying, 'Did not we straitly command you that
ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye
have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, 'and intend
to bring this man's •'blood upon us.

29 II Then Peter and the other apostles answered and
said, «We ought to obey Uod rather than men.

the chief priests heard these words, they were much
perplexed concerning thera whereunto this would

25 grow. And there came one and told thera. Behold,
the men whom ye put in the prison are in the tem-

26 pie standing and teaching the jieople. Then went
the captain with the officers, and brought them, but
without violence; for they feared the people, lest

27 they should be stoned. And when they had brought
them, they set them before the council. And the

28 high priest asked them, saying. We straitly charged
you not to teach in this name : and behold, ye have
filled Jerusalem with your teaching, and intend to

29 bring this man's blood upon us. But Peter and the
apostles answered and said, We must obey God rather

1 Uatt. 21 : 26. . . . 6 cb. 4 : ] 8. . . .e ch. 2 : 23, 36 ; 3 : 15 ; T : 52. . . . d Matt. 23 :

27:25....ech. 4:19.

much as the circulation of such reports at this
precise moment. — What this would become,
how it would affect the public mind in regard to
the Christians and their doctrine. This refers
to the miraculous liberation, and confirms what
was said of them.

26-28. THEY ARE ARRESTED AGAIN
AND BROUGHT BEFORE THE COUNCIL.

26. For captain, or commander, see on
4 : 1. — That they might not be stoned we
are to connect probably with without vio-
lence : They brought them without vio-
lence that they might not be stoned.
For they feared the people forms a paren-
thetic remark, the logical force of which is the
same as if it had stood at the close of the sen-
tence. The E. Versions generally (also May.)
attach the last clause to feared instead of
brought, but the proper connectives after
verbs of fearing are uri, fi^Trus, and the like,
and not tva ixr,. (See W. ^ 56. 2. R.) Tischen-
dorf puts a comma after violence, instead
of a colon, as in some editions.

28. Straitly command. (Seethe note on
4 : 17.) — Upon (as their authority, see 4 : 18)
this name, which they left unspoken as well
known, or perhaps disdained to mention. — To
bring this man's blood — i. e. fix upon us
the guilt of having shed his blood as that of
an innocent person. (Comp. Matt. 23 : 35.) —
This man is not of itself contemptuous (comp.
Luke 23 : 47 ; John 7 : 46), but could have that
turn given to it by the voice, and was so ut-
tered probably at this time.

29-32. THE ANSWER OF PETER, AND
ITS EFFECT.

29. And the other apostles. Peter spoke
in their name. (See 2 : 14.) — To obey . . . men.
The Jews, though as a conquered nation they
were subject to the Romans, acknowledged

the members of the Sanhedrim as their legiti-
mate rulers; and the injunction which the
Sanhedrim imposed on the apostles at this
time emanated from the highest human au-
thority to which they could have felt that they
owed allegiance. The injunction which this
authority laid on the apostles clashed with
their religious convictions, their sense of the
rights of the Infinite Ruler, and in this con-
flict between human law and divine they de-
clared that the obligation to obey God was
paramount to every other. The apostles and
early Christians acted on the principle that
human governments forfeit their claim to obe-
dience when they require what God has plain-
ly forbidden or forbid what he has required.
They claimed the right of judging for them-
selves what was right and what was wrong,
in reference to their religious and their polit-
ical duties, and they regulated their conduct by
that decision. It is worthy of notice that in
4 : 19 they propound this principle as one
which even their persecutors could not con-
trovert— i. e. as one which commends itself to
every man's reason and unperverted moral
feelings.* In applying this principle, it will
be found that the apostles in every instance
abstained from all forcible resistance to the
public authorities. They refused utterly to
obey the mandates which required them to
violate their consciences, but they endured
quietly the penalties which the executors of
the law enforced against them. They evaded
the pursuit of their oppressors if they could
(2 Cor. n : 32, S3), sccrcted themselves from arrest
(i2:i9), left their prisons at the command of
God ; yet when violent hands were laid upon
them, and they weredi-agged before magistrates,
to the dungeon, or to death, they resisted not
the wrong, but " followed his steps, who, when

1 Socrates avowed this principle when in his defence he said to his judges, "But I will obey God rather than
you" (Plat., Apol., 29 D); and, unless the plea be valid, he died as a felon, and not as a martyr. (See other
heathen testimonies to the same effect in Wetstein's Novum Testamentum, toI. ii. p. 478.)

Ch. v.] THE ACTS. 81

30 'The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye
slew and 'hanged on a tree. , , j, .

31 «Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be
*& Prince and 'a Saviour, /for to give repentance to
Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

32 And «we are his witnesses of these things; and .10
is also the Holy Ghost, *whom God hath given to them
that obey him.

33 1i <\Vhen they heard thai, they were cut to we heart,
and took counsel to slay them.

34 Then stood there up one in the council, a Phari-
see, named HiramaUel, a doctor of the law, had in repu-

aob S- IS 15- JJ •!«.... 6 oh. 10: S9: IS: 29; Q«l. 3 : 13 ; 1 Pet. » : 2«....cch. 2 : SS, 36 ; Phil. 2 : 9; Heb. 2 : 10; 12 : 2....d ch. 3 : 15

«Uatt. i : ji..../ I.uke 24 : «7 ; oh. S: 28; 13 :38; Kph. 1:7; Col. 1 : U....0 Joho 15: 26, 27....Ach. 2:4; 10 : 44.... i oh. 2 : 37 ;

T : &4... .t ch. 22 : S. 1 Or, at 2 Some ancient authoritiea add in Aim 3 Or. «ayinyf 4 Some aoolent authoritiea read and Ood

kol* iriven IA« Hoit QhOMt to them that obey him.

30 than men. The God of our fathers raised up Jesus,

31 whom ye slew, hanging him on a tree. Him did
God exalt iwith his right hand to be a Prince and a
Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and remls-

32 sion of sins. And we are witnesses- of these ^things ;
4and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God hath given to
them that obev him.

33 Hut thev, when thev heard this, were cut to the

34 heart, and were minded to slay them. Hut there
stood up one in the council, a Pharisee, named Ga-
maliel, a doctor of the law, had in honor of all the
people, and commanded to put the men forth a little

he suffered, threatened not, but committed
himself to him that judgeth righteously"

(l Pet. 2: 32, is).

30. Onr fathers recalls to mind the series
of promises which God had made to provide a
Saviour. (Comp. 3 : 25.> -Raised up, sent
into the worid. (Comp. 3 : 22 ; 13 : 23.) So
Calvin, Bengel, De Wette, and others. Some
supply from the dead, raised up from the
dead; but that idea, being involved in ex-
alted, below, would introduce a repetition at
variance with the brevity of the discourse. —
Whom ye slenr (26 : 21) by hanging, not slew
and hanged (E. V.).— Wood, tree = cross, a
Hebraism. It occurs especially where the Jews
are spoken of as having crucified the Saviour

(lO:S»; 13:29).

31. Prince and Saviour belong as predi-
cates to this one : this one (as, who is) a prince
and a Saviour; not to the verb: exalted to be a
prince, etc. (E. V.). — To his right hand. (See
note on 2 : 33.) — To give repentance — i. e.
the grace or disposition to exercise it. (Comp.
3 : 16 ; 18 : 27 ; John 16 : 7, 8.) Some under-
stand it of the opportunity to repent, or the
provision of mercy which renders repentance
available to the sinner (De Wet.). The expres-
sion is too concise to convey naturally that
idea, and place of repentance is employed for
that purpose in Heb. 12 : 17. In both cases the
exaltation of Christ is represented as securing
the result in question, because it was the con-
summation of his work, and gave effect to all
that preceded.

33. fxaprvpcf (witnesses) governs here two
genitives, one of a person, the other of a thing.
(See Phil. 2 : 30 ; Heb. 13 : 7. W. § 30. 3. R. 3 ;
K. § 275. R. 6.) Since their testimony was true,
they must declare it ; no human authority could
deter them from it. (Comp. 4 : 20.)— And the
Holy Spirit (8<) too is his witness. [The im-
portant MSS. K A B D* 33 and others omit «.'
(abo); so do the editors Lach., Tsch., Treg.,
West, and Hort, and Anglo-Am. Revisers. —
6

A. H.] — To those who obey him — i. e. by

receiving the gospel. (Comp. 6 : 7.) Many
suppose the apostle to refer chiefly to the
special gifts which the Spirit conferred on so
many of the first Christians, in order to con-
firm their faith as the truth of God. What
took place on the day of Pentecost was a tes-
timony of this nature, and that or some equiv-
alent sign was repeated on other occasions.
(Comp. 10 : 45 ; 19 : 6 ; Mark 16 : 20.) But to
that outward demonstration we may add also
the inward witness of the Spirit, which believ-
ers receive as the evidence of their adoption.
(Comp. Rom. 8 : 16 ; Gal. 4 : 6 ; 1 John 3 : 24.)
Neander interprets the language entirely of this
internal manifestation. Since the Holy Spirit
testified to the gospel in both ways, and since
the remark here is unqualified, we have no rea-
son to consider the expression less extensive
than the facts in the case.

33. Were convulsed with rage — lit. were
sawn asunder, torn in pieces. The E. V. supplies
"to the heart" after the verb (see 7 : 54), but
the Greek text has no such reading. Some ren-
der sawed their teeth, gnashed them, which would
require tous bSomat as the expressed object of
the verb. — Resolved, determined (see 27 : 39
and John 12 : 10) ; but on the representation
of Gamaliel they recalled their purpose. The
issue was averted, and hence the tense is im-
perfect. [The imperfect tense would perhaps
justify us in translating were resolving, were
coming to a determination. — A. H.] Instead
of passing a formal vote, it is more probable
that they declared their intention by some tu-
multuous expression of their feelings. The
verb may denote the act as well as the result
of deliberation, took counsel, consulted; but
men exasperated as they were would not be
likely to pay much regard to parliamentary
decorum.

34-39. THE ADVICE OF GAMALIEL.

34. ti'mkk governs Aai as allied to words de.
noting judgment, estimation. (See W. | 31. 6.

THE ACTS.

[Ch. V.

tatiou among all the people, and commanded to put
the apostles forth a little space ;

35 And said unto them, Ye men of Israel, take heed
to yourselves what ye intend to do as toucning these
men.

36 For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting
himself to be somebody : to whom a number of men,
about four hundred, joined themselves: who was slain :
and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, ana
brought to nought.

35 while. And he said unto them. Ye men of Israel,
take heed to yourselves as touching these men, what

36 ve are about' to do. For before these days rose up
Theudas, giving himself out to be somebody ; to
whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined
themselves : who was slain ; and all, as many as
obeyed him, were dispersed, and came to nought.

b. ; Mt. ? 388.) The character which Luke
ascribes to Gamaliel in this passage agrees
with that which he bears in the Talmud. He
appears there also as a zealous Pharisee, as un-
rivalled in that age for his knowledge of the
law, as a distinguished teacher (see 22 : 3), and
as possessing an enlarged, tolerant spirit, far
above the mass of his countrymen. He is said
to have lived still some fifteen years or more
after this scene in the council. (See Herz.,
Encyk., vol. iv. p. 656.^) — fipaxv {short) refers ev-
idently to time (in Wicl., for a while), not to
space (E. v.).

35. Said. What follows is probably an
outline of the speech. — As touching these
men some join with take heed — take heed
unto yourselves in respect to these men
(E. v.); others with what ye are about to
do in respect to these men (Kuin., De Wet.,
Mey.). Both constructions are admissible (W.
§ 55. 4) ; but, as to do something in respect
to one is not uncommon in Greek (see exam-
ples in Wetst., N. T.), it is better to recognize
an instance of that expression here.

36. Before these times. This is not the
first time that zealots or seditionists have ap-
peared ; they may have come forth with great
pretensions, but ere long have closed their
career with defeat and ignominy. For the
sake of effect (observe for), Gamaliel puts the
case as if the prisoners would turn out to be
persons of this stamp ; but before closing he is
careful to remind his associates that there was
another possibility. (See v. 39.) — Theudas.
Josephus mentions an insurrectionist named
Thettdas who appeared in the reign of Claudius,
some ten years after the delivery of this speech.
Gamaliel, therefore, must refer here to another
man of this name; and this man, since he
preceded Judas the Galilean (v. 37), could not
have lived much later than the reign of Herod
the Great. The year of that monarch's death,
as Josephus states, was remarkably turbulent ;
the land was overrun with belligerent parties,

under the direction of insurrectionary chiefs,
or fiinatics. Josephus mentions but three of
these disturbers by name; he passes over the
others with a general allusion. Among those
whom the Jewish historian has omitted to name
may have been the Theudas whom Gamaliel
has here in view. The name was not an un-
common one (Win., Realw., vol. ii. p. 609) ;
and it can excite no surprise that one Theudas
who was an insurgent should have appeared in
the time of Augustus, and another fifty years
later, in the time of Claudius. Josephus gives
an account of four men named Simon who fol-
lowed each other within forty years, and of
three named Judas within ten years, who were
all instigators of rebellion. This mode of rec-
onciling Luke with Josephus is approved by
Lardner, Bengel, Kuinoel, Olshausen, Anger,
Winer, and others.* Another very plausible
supposition is that Luke's Theudas may have
been identical with one of the three insurgents
whom Josephus designates by name. Sonntag,
who agrees with those who adopt this view, has
supported it with much learning and ability.'
He maintains that the Theudas mentioned by
Gramaliel is the individual who occurs in Jose-
phus under the name of Simon, a slave of
Herod, who attempted to make himself king in
the year of that monarch's death. He urges
the following reasons for that opinion : first,
this Simon, as he was the most noted among
those who disturbed the public peace at that
time, would be apt to occur to Gamaliel as an
illustration of his point; secondly, he is de-
scribed as a man of the same lofty pretensions

{tlvax ifiot i\wirat waft ovrivavv = Acywv tXvai rifa

iavTov) ; thirdly, he died a violent death, which
Josephus does not mention as true of the other
two insurgents; fourthly, he appears to have
had comparativelj' few adherents, in conformity
with Luke's about four hundred; and lastly,
his having been originally a slave accounts for
the twofold appellation, since it was very com-
mon among the Jews to assume a different

1 Herzog's Real-EncyklopddieJUrproleatantische JTieologie und Kirehe [Ist edition],

* Jost, the Jewish historian {Oeschichte der Israelilen, Band ii., Anh., p. 76), assents to this explanation, and
admits the credibility of Luke as well as of Josephus.

sin the Theologiiche Studien und Kritiken (1837), p. 622, aq., translated by the writer in the Bibliotheea Sacra
(1848), p. 409, sq.

Ch.V.]

THE ACTS.

37 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the
days of the taxing, and drew away much people after
him : lie also perished ; and all, eim. as many as obeyed
him, were dis|>ersed.

3H And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men,
and let them alone : "for if this counsel or this work
be of men, it will come to nought:

39 'But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it;
lest haply ye be found even «to fight against God.

87 After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in the days
of the enrolment, and drew away some of the people
after bim : he also perished ; and all, as many as

38 obeyed him, were scattered abroad. And now 1 say
unto you. Refrain from these men, and let them
alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it

39 will be overthrown : but if it is of God, ye will not
be able to overthrow them ; lest haply ye be found

aProT.21:S0; In. 8:10; Matt. 15 : IS.... 6 Lake 21 : 15; 1 Cor. 1 : 25....aah. T : 51; > : 6 ; tS :9.

name on changing their occupation or mode
of life. It is very possible, therefore, that Ga-
maliel speaks of him as Theudas, because, hav-
ing borne that name so long at Jerusalem, he
was best known by it to the members of the
Sanhedrim ; and that Josephus, on the contrary,
who wrote for Romans and Greeks, speaks of
him as Simon, because it was under that name
that he set himself up as king, and in that
way acquired his foreign notoriety, (Tacit.,
His., 5. 9.) — There can be no valid objection to
either of the foregoing suppositions ; both are
reasonable, and both must be disproved before
Luke can be justly charged with having com-
mitted an anachronism in this passage. — Was
some one of importance. tU (some one)
has often that emphatic force. (W. § 25. 2. c.)
37. Judas the Galilean, etc. Josephus
mentions this Judas the OalUean, and his ac-
count of him either confirms or leaves unde-
nied every one of the particulars stated or in-
timated by Luke. (See BeU.Jud., 2. 8. 1; Antt.,
18. 1. 6; 20. 5. 2.) He calls him twice the
Galilean, though he terms him also the
Gaulonite in Antt., 18. 1. 1, from the fact
that he was born at Gamala, in Lower Gaul-
onitis. He was known as the Galilean, be-
cause he lived subsequently in Galilee (De
Wet.), or because that province may have in-
cluded Gaulonitis. The epithet served to dis-
tinguish him from another Judas, a revolution-
ist, who appeared some ten years earlier than
this.— In the days of the registration —
t. e. in this instance of persons and property
with a view to taxation (Jos., Antt., 15. 1. 1).
The awoypcuini in Luke 2 : 2, which is so care-
fully distinguished from this tumult, and
which took place at the birth of Christ, is
supposed generally to have been a census
merely of the population. We learn from Jo-
sephus that soon after the dethronement of
Archelaus, about the year a. d. 6 or 7, the
Emperor Augustus ordered a tax to be levied
on the Jews. The payment of that tax Judas
instigated the people to resist, on the ground of
its being a violation of their allegiance to Je-
hovah to pay tribute to a foreign power. (Comp.

Matt. 22 : 17.) He took up arms in defence of
this principle, and organized a powerful oppo-
sition to the Roman Government. — And he
also, etc. Josephus relates that this rebellion
was effectually suppressed, and that many of
those who had taken part in it were captured
and crucified by the Romans. He says nothing
of the fate of Judas himself. — Were dispersed
describes very justly such a result of the enter-
prise. Coponius was then Procurator of Judea,
and Quirinus [Quirinius], or Cyrenius (Luke s : »),
was Proconsul of Syria.

38. And now, in the light of such ex-
amples.— Let them alone, not suffer them
to depart. — From men, in distinction from
God (v. 39). (Comp. Matt. 21 : 25.)— This
counsel, this plan, enterprise, or (more
correctly) work, since it was already in prog-
ress.— Will be frustrated — i. e. without any
interference on your part.

39. In if it is of God (comp. if it be, just
before) the speaker reveals his sympathy with
the prisoners. (See on 4 : 9.) Without declaring
the truth to be on their side, he at least argues
the question from that point of view. — Lest
haply, etc. Critics differ as to the dependence
of this clause. Some supply before it see to it
or an equivalent word (see Luke 21 : 34) : Take
heed lest ye be found (in the end) also fighting
against God, as well as men (Grot., Kuin.,
Rob.). Others find the ellipsis in Ye cannot^
destroy them (more correct than avT6, it) and,
therefore, I say, should not attempt it, lest ye
also, etc. (Bng., Mey.). Also in both cases in-
cludes, naturally, the idea both of the impiety
and the futility of the attempt. De Wette as-
sents to those who connect the words with let
them alone, in the last verse. [The true read-
ing appears to be atrt avrov't. So Lach., Tsch.,
Treg., West, and Hort, after N A B C. But
this does not necessarily affect the interpreta-
tion. (Comp. Matt. 15 : 14.)— A. H.] This is
the simplest construction, as Mn^or* (lest) fol-
lows appropriately afler such a verb, and the
sense is then complete without supplying any-
thing. In this case some editors would put

I what intervenes in brackets ; but that is incor-

1 [The tatui* tense, will not be able, etc., is the best-supported reading.— A. H.]

THE ACTS.

[Ch. V.

40 And to him they agreed : and when they had
•called the apostles, *aud beaten them, they com-
manded that ihey should not speak in the name of
Jesus, and let them go.

41 II And they departed from the presence of the
council, 'rejoiCiUg that they were counted worthy to
suiter shame for hL; name.

42 And daily ''in the temple, and in every house,
•they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ.

40 even to be fighting against God. And to him they
agreed: and when they had called the apostles unto
them, they beat them and charged them not to speak

41 in the name of Jesus, and let them go. They there-
fore departed from the presence of the council, re-
ioicing that they were counted worthy to sutler dis-

42 honor for the >.'ame. And every day, in the temple
and at home, they ceased not to teach and to preach
J esus OS the Christ.

ach. i: 18 I Matt. 10 : 17 ; 23:34; Mark 13 : 9.... c Matt. 5 : 12; Bom. 5:3; 2 Cor. 12 : 10; Phil. 1 :29; Beb. 10:34; James

1:2; IPet 4: 13, 16....d ell. 2 : 46....e cb. 4 : 20, 2».

rect, inasmuch as the caution here presupposes
the alternative in but if it is of God. — The

advice of Gamaliel was certainly remarkable,
and some of the early Christian Fathers went
so far as to ascribe it to an unavowed attach-
ment to the gospel. The supposition has no
historical support, and there are other motives
which explain his conduct. Gamaliel, as Ne-
ander remarks, was a man who had discern-
ment enough to see that if this were a fanatical
movement, it would be rendered more violent
by opposition ; that all attempts to suppress
what is insignificant tend only to raise it into
more importance. On the other hand, the man-
ner in which the apostles spoke and acted may
have produced some impression upon a mind
not entirely prejudiced, and so much the more
since their strict observance of the law and their
hostile attitude toward Sadduceeism must have
rendered him favorably disposed toward them.
Hence the thought may have arisen in his mind
that possibly, after all, there might be some-
thing divine in their cause.

40-42. THE APOSTLES SUFFER JOY-
FULLY FOR CHRIST, AND DEPART TO
PREACH HIM ANEW.

40. Were persuaded by him — i. e. to spare
the lives of the apostles, whom they had (see v.
33) resolved to put to death. They could not
object to the views of Gamaliel, they were so
reasonable ; they were probably influenced still
more by his personal authority. Still, their
rage demanded some satisfaction : they must
punish the heretics, if they could not slay
them. — Having scourged. The instrument
frequently used for this purpose was a whip, or
scourge, consisting often of two lashes "knotted
with bones, or heavy indented circles of bronze,
or terminated by hooks, in which case it was
aptly denominated a scorpion " {Diet, of Antt.,
art. "Flagrum"). The punishment was in-
flicted on the naked back of the sufferer.

(Comp. 16 : 22.) A single blow would some-
times lay the flesh open to the bones. Hence,
to scourge a person {SsLfua) meant properly to
excoriate, flay him. Paul says that he suffered
this punishment five times (2 cor. 11:24). It is
affecting to remember that the Saviour was
subjected to this laceration.

41. oi niv. The antithesis does not follow. —
oCv, illative — i. e. in consequence of their release.
[See the Revised Version, above, for the proper
translation. — A. H.] — That, because, appends
an explanation of the participle rejoicing, not
of the verb. — In behalf of the name — i. e.
of Jesus, which is omitted, either because it has
occurred just before, or more properly because
" the name " was a familiar expression among
the disciples, and as such required no addition.
(Comp. 3 John 7.) It is a loss to our rehgious
dialect that the term in this primitive sense has
fallen into disuse. The common text, indeed,
reads his after name (Greek), but without
sufficient authority. — Were counted, etc. — a
bold oxymoron: were accounted worthy
to be disgraced. For an explanation of the
paradox, see Luke 16 : 15. The verbs refer to
different standards of judgment.

42. From house to house, or at home}
refers to their private assemblies in different
parts of the city, as distinguished from their
labors in the temple. Those who reject the
distributive sense in 2 : 46 reject it also here.
[See Jacob, Ecd. Pol. of N. T., p. 191, sq.—A. H.]
Ceased not to teach, in defiance of the pro-
hibition which blows as well as words had just
now enforced on them (v. 40). The GreeK in
such a case employs a participle, not the infini-
tive, as the complement of the verb. (K. § 310.
4. f. ; W. ? 45. 4.)— Announcing the glad
tidings of the Christ (first as emphatic)
Jesus, the latter the subject here, the former
the predicate. (Comp. 9 : 20-22.) This clause
defines the preceding one.

Ch. VI.]

THE ACTS.

CHAPT

AND in those days, 'when the number of the disci- '
pies was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of
the Virecians agaiust the Hebrews, because their wid-
ows were neglected 'in the daily ministration.

2 Then the twelve called the multitude of ihe disci-
ples H,Uuthem,and said, ■'it is not reason that we should
leave the word of Uod, and serve tables.

3 Wherefore, brethren 'look ye out among you seven
men of honest report, full of the Holy Uhost and wis-
dom whom we may appoint over this business.

4 But we /will give ourselves continually to prayer,
and to the ministry of the word.

ER VI.

1 Now in these days, when the number of the dis-
ciples was multiplying, there arose a murmuring of
the Hirecian Jews against the Hebrews, becau.'^e their
widows were neglected in the dally ministration.

2 And the twelve called the multitude of the disciples
unto them, and said, it is not -tit that we should for-

3 sake the word of uod, and ^^serve tables, ■'l^ook ye
out therefore, brethren, from among you seven men
of good report, full of the tspirit and of wisdom, whom

4 we may appoint over this business, liut we will con-
tinue stediastly in prayer, and in the ministry of the

>«h 2-41- 4-4- 5U- Ter 7....iob. 9:»; 11 : 20....C cb. ♦ : 35....d Ex. 18 : 17....« Deut. 1 : 13; ch. 1 : Jl; 16 : 2; 1 Tim. 3:7....
/'ch.'-itii.- '—l'Gr.'BeUenUU....t Or. pUtuing....3 Or, minuter to tablf 4 Some sDeleDt autboriUei r««d But, breVtren, look y*

out from among you.

1-7. APPOINTMENT OF ALMS-DISTRIB-
UTERS IN THE CHURCH AT JERUSALEM.

1. In these days. (See on 1 : 15.) We may
assign the events in this chapter to the year A. D.
35. They relate more or less directly to the his-
tory of Stephen, and must have taken place short-
ly before his death, which was just before Paul's
conversion. —Was multiplied = becoming
numerous. — Ti>v 'ewtiviittuv should be rendered,
not Greeks, but Hellenists. They were the
Jewish members of the church who spoke the
Greek language. The other party, the Hebrews,
were the Palestine Jews, who spoke the Syro-
Chaldaic, or Aramaean. (See Win., Chald. Or.,
p. 19, sq.) — Were overlooked is imperfect, be-
cause the neglect is charged as one that was
common. — Ministration, distribution of alms
— i. e. either of food or the money necessary to
procure it. Olshausen argues for the former
from the adjective daily.

2. The twelve. Matthias must have been
one of them, and the validity of his choice as an
apostle is placed here beyond doubt. (See on
1 : 26.)— The multitude, mass, of the dis-
ciples. It has been objected that they had
become too numerous at this time to assemble
in one place. It is to be recollected, as De
Wette suggests, that many of those who had
been converted were foreign Jews, and had left
the city ere this. — That we, forsaking the
word of God, etc. It is not certain, from the
narrative, to what extent this labor of providing
for the poor had been performed by the apostles.
The following remarks of Rothe present a rea-
sonable view of that question : " The apostles
at first appear to have applied themselves to
this business, and to have expended personally
the common funds of the church. Yet, occu-
pied as they were with so many other more im-
portant objects, they could have exercised only
a general oversight in the case, and must have
committed the details of the matter to others.

Particular individuals may not hare been ap-
pointed for this purpose at the beginning ; and
the business may have been conducted in an
informal manner, without any strict supervision
or immediate direction on the part of the apos-
tles. Under such circumstances, especially as
the number of believers was increasing every
day, it could easUy happen that some of the
needy were overlooked ; and it is not surprising
that the Hellenistic Christians had occasion to
complain of the neglect of the widows and
other poor among them."* The complaint,
therefore, implied no censure of the apostles,
but was brought naturally to them, both on ac-
count of their position in the church and the
general relation sustained by them to the sys-
tem under which the grievance had arisen. —
To serve tables, provide for them. (Comp.
Luke 4 : 39; 8 : 3.) Some render the notm
money-tables, counters, as in John 2 : 15; but
the verb connected with it here forbids that
sense. The noun is plural, because several
tables were supported. " Locutio indignitatem
aliquam exprimit ; antitheton ministerium verbi "
(Bng.).

3. Look ye out, etc. The selection, there-
fore, was made by the body of the church ; the
apostles confirmed the choice, as we see from
we will appoint, and from the consecration
in v. 6. [But the selection was restricted to
members of the church who were (1) of good
repute (comp. 1 Tim. 3:2; Tit. 1 : 6, 7), and (2)
full of the Spirit and of wisdom. The word
Holy is omitted by Lach., Tsch., Treg., West,
and Hort, Revisers' text, with K B C D, etc. —
A. H.] icaTcurni«r«>iev (T. R.), we may appoint
(E. v.), is a spurious form.— Testified to, of
good repute. (See 10 : 22 and 16 : 2.)— Busi-
ness— lit. an affair which is held to be neces-
sary.

4. Prayer, the (service of) prayer. The
article points out the importance of the duty

1 Die Anjange der CArUUichen Kirche und ihrer Verfassung, p. 164.

THE ACTS.

[Ch. VI.

6 f And the saying pleaa«d the whole multitude: I
and they i-huse Stephen, "a uian full of faith and of '
the Holy dhust, and ^I'hilip, and rrochurus, and Nl- |
canor, and 'I'iuiou, and rariueuaa, and '> icolait a proit-
elyte of Antloch :

t> Whom they set before the apostles: and 'when
they had prayed, they laid ihrir hands on them.

7 And /the word of Liod increa:ieil : and the number
of the discipU's multiplied in .leruitalem greatly ; and
a great company 'of the priests were obedient to the

5 word. And the saying pleased the whole multitude :
and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of
the Holy ."Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Ni-
canor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and I<icola.s a

6 proselyte of Antioch: whom they set before the
apostles: and when they had prayed, they laid their
hands on them.

7 And the word of God increased ; and the number
of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem exceedingly ;
and a great company of the priests were obedient to
the laitb.

■ oh. ll:M....kok. •:&,

I; U :8....eBmr. 1 : C, U....deb. I :24....«eb. 8 : IT; < : IT ; U : S; I Tim. 4:14; 6:»; 1 Tim.
l:«..../eh. 11: M; IS: 20; Col. l:8....9John 12:42.

(i : u). Prayer, evidently in this connection
for the success of the word, is recognized as
their legitimate work, as much as preaching. —
We will give ourselves. This remark does
not imply that they had been diverted already
from their proper work, but that they wished
to guard against that in future by committing
this care to others. They now saw that it re-
quired more attention than they had bestowed
upon it.

5. A man fall of faith and of the Holy
Spirit. We may retain oyiov (Holy), but the
word is uncertain. [This remark was doubt-
less intended for the word Holy in verse 3 (see
added note), for the adjective here is not ques-
tioned.— A. H.] The same terms describe the
character of Barnabas in 11 : 24.— Of Philip
we read again in 8 : 8, sq. ; 21 : 8. The others
are not known out of this passage. That Nico-
laus was the fotinder of the sect mentioned in
Rev. 2 : 6 is a conjecture without proof Many
have supposed that the entire seven were chosen
from the aggrieved party. Gieseler thinks that
three of them may have been Hebrews, three
Hellenists, and one a proselyte {Ck. Hist., ? 25).
Their Greek names decide nothing. (See on
1 : 23.) The distributers would be taken natu-
rally from both sides, but in what proportion
we cannot tell. It would depend on their per-
sonal traits, after all, more than on their nation-
ality, whether they were able to satisfy the dis-
affected.— Luke does not terra the men dea-
cons, though we have an approach to that ap-
pellation in V. 2. In 21 : 8 they are called the
Seven. Some of the ancient writers regarded
them as the first deacons; others, as entirely
distinct from them. The general opinion at
present is that this order arose from the insti-
tution of the Seven, but by a gradual extension
of the sphere of duty at first assrigned to them.
[It is difficult to ascertain the precise duties of
deacons in the apostolic churches. But that
there were persons bearing this title and en-
trusted with some kind of service in the
churches is evident from Phil. 1 : 1 and 1
Tim. 3 : 8-12. The view which has most in

its favor is that they were helpers of the pas-
tors, especially in visiting the sick, providing
for the poor, and entertaining strangers. Only
those who were grave, sincere, benevolent, spir-
itual, could perform such service with the high-
est benefit to the cause. But they were not re-
quired to he, like the pastors of the chtirches,
" apt to teach," though many of them doubt-
less possessed this gift also. Their service was
therefore similar to that which the Seven were
expected to render, and in principle the ap-
pointment of the Seven was the introduction
of diaconal service. The latter would easily
grow out of the former. But when Paul wrote
to Timothy, miraculous gifts were no longer
very frequent or necessary in the churches;
hence, neither bishops nor deacons were re-
quired to be men "full of the Holy Spirit" —
i. e. possessed of supernatural gifts. For the
office of " deaconess," see notes on Rom. 16 : 1,
2 and 1 Tim. 3 : 11.— A. H.]

6. Laid) etc. — viz. the apostles. The nature
of the act dictates this change of the subject.
[So, likewise, does the expression whom we
will appoint in verse 3, the statement whom
they (the brethren) set before the apostles
— evidently for some purpose wholly unsug-
gested, unless the apostles performed the laying
on of hanils — and the probability that the apos-
tles offered prayer on the occasion. — A. H.]
The imposition of hands, as practised in ap-
pointing persons to an oflSce, was a symbol of
the impartation of the gifts and graces which
they needed to qualify them for the oflBce. It
was of the nature of a prayer that God would
bestow the necessary gifte, rather than a pledge
that they were actually conferred.

7. The prosperity related here is a proof that
harmony had been restored, and that the
prayers and labors of the apostles had suf-
fered no interruption.— The word of God
grew, spread and strengthened itself as a
system of belief or doctrine. The next clause
repeats the idea concretely by stating how rap-
idly the recipients of this fjaith were multi-
plied. (See note on 12 : 24.)— And a great

Ch. VI.]

THE ACTS.

8 And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great
wonders and miracles anion^ the people.

9 11 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, which
is cailled the suna<jo(jue of the Libertines, and Cvrenians,
and Alexand.rians, and of them of Cilicia and of Asia,
disputing with Stephen.

lU And othey were not able to resist the wisdom and
the spirit by which he spake.

8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, wrought

9 great wonders and signs among tne people. But
there arose certain of them that were of tne syna-
gogue called the synagogue of the Libertines, and of
the Cvrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of them

10 of Cilicia and Asia, disputing with Stephen. And
they were not able to withstand the wisdom and

aLak«21:I5; ob. 5 : 39; MeBx. « : 12; I«a. M : IT.

moltitnde of priests. According to Ezra
2 : 36-39, the priests amounted to four thou-
sand two hundred and eighty-nine at the time
of the return from Babylon ; they must have
been still more numerous at this period. Such
an accession of such converts was a signal
event in the early history of the church. —
The faith, faith system — i. e. the gospel.
(Comp. Rom. 1:5; Gal. 1 : 23, etc.) This mode
of epitomizing the plan of salvation confirms
the Protestant view of it, in opposition to that
of the Catholics. (See Rom. 11 : 6.)

8-15. THE ZEAL OF STEPHEN, AND
HIS VIOLENT APPREHENSION.

8. Full of grace — i.e., by metonymy, of
gifts not inherent, but conferred by divine
favor. (See v. 3.) This is the correct word
rather than faith, which some copies insert
from V. 5. — Power, efficiency (i : s), which
was one of the gifts, and, as indicated by the
next words, included an ability to work mir-
acles.— Did (imperf.) shows that he repeated
the miracles.

9. Certain from the STuagogne so
called of the Libertines — i. e. libertini
freedmen; viz. Jews, or the sons of Jews, who,
having been slaves at Rome, had acquired their
freedqp, and, living now at Jerusalem, main-
tained a separate synagogue of their own.
When Pompey overran Judea, about b. c. 63,
he carried a vast number of the Jews to Rome,
where they were sold into slavery. Most of
these, or their children, the Romans afterward
liberated, as they found it inconvenient to have
servants who were so tenacious of the peculiar
rites of their religion. The Jews usually named
their synagogues from the countries whence
those who attended them had come ; and hence
Luke inserts here the so called, in order to
reconcile the ear, as it were, to this almost
nnheard-of designation. Some contend that
Ai^fpnVwv is also a patrial name, Libertinians —
t. e. Jews from a place named Libertum. Not
only has the participle no apparent force in this
case, but the existence of such a town is alto-
gether uncertain. — And Cyrenians, etc. The
construction here is doubtful. The simplest
view is that which repeats nvH (certain) be-
fore each of the genitives with the implication

that the Cyrenians, Alexandrians, Cilicians,
and Asiatics formed so many distinct syna-
gogues— i. e. including the Libertines five differ-
ent assemblies in all (De Wet., Mey.). The
Rabbinic writers say — with some exaggeration,
no doubt — that Jerusalem contained four hun-
dred and eighty synagogues. The would be
proper before Cyrenians and Alexan-
drians, but, as they refer to towns well
known, could be omitted, as before Egyp*
tians in 7 : 22 and Thessalonians in 20 : 4.
— Them of Cilicia may be simply = Cili-
cians, and the article does not arise, neces-
sarily, out of a different relation to certain.
Some repeat from the synagogue as well as
certain before the successive genitives, with
the same result, of course, as to the number of
synagogues. It is awkward to supply so many
words, and also to shut up the so called to
the first clause, as we must in that case, since it
is so plainly inappropriate to the other names.
According to others, we are to connect Cyre-
nians and Alexandrians with Libertines,
understanding these three classes to constitute
one synagogue, and the Cilicians and Asiatics
to constitute another. (See W. § 19. 5, marg.)
It may be objected to this (though no interpre-
tation is wholly unencumbered) that it unites
so called too closely (for the reason given
above) with the second and third noun, and
also that so large a number of foreign Jews as
the populous cities referred to would be likely
to send to Jerusalem could not meet conveni-
ently in a single place of worship. Wieseler
(Chronologic, p. 63), in support of his opinion
that Paul acquired his Roman citizenship
(22 : 28) as libertinus, or the descendant of a lib-
ertinus, would take and before Cyrenians as
explicative — namely, to wit ; so that they
were all libertini, and belonged to one syna^
gogue. This is extremely forced and arbitrary.
— Among the Cilicians who disputed with
Stephen may have been Saul of Tarsus. (See
7 : 58.) — For the extent of Asia, see on 2 : 9.

10. The Spirit. (See v. 5.)— In with which
he spake [the verb is imperf, denoting con-
tinuous action = was speaking. — A. H.], the
relative belongs in sense to both noims, but
agrees with the nearest. (Comp. Luke 21 : 15.

THE ACTS.

[Ch. VI.

11 "Tben they suborned men, which said, We have
heard him gpealc blasphemous words against Moses,
and against (iod.

12 And they stirred up the peopie, and the elders,
and the 8cril>es, and came upon him, and caught him,
and brought liim t<> the council,

i;< And set up false witnesses, which Haid, This man
ceaseth nut tu speuk blasphemous words ugaiust this
holy place, and the law :

14 °l-'or we have heard him say, that this Jesus of
Nazareth shall 'destroy this place, and shall change
the customs which Moses delivered us.

15 And all that sat in the council, looking stedfastly
on him, saw his face as it had been the face of am
angel.

11 the Spirit by which he spake. Then they suborned
men, who said. We have heard him speak blas-
phemous words against Moses, and against (Jod.

12 And they stirred up the people, and the elders, and
the scrit)es, and came upon him, and seized him,

13 and brought him into the council, and set up false
witnesses, who said. This man ceaseth not to speak

U words against this holy place, and the law: for we
have heard him sav, that this Jesus of Nazareth
shall destroy this place, and shall change the cus-

15 toms which Moses delivered unto us. And all that
sat in the council, fastening their eyes on him, saw
hia fiice as it bad been the tace of an angel.

alUnctll :10, IS; Matt. X : 69, eO....» oh. S5 : 8....eDsn. » : St.

Stephen experienced the truth of the promise
recorded in that passage.)

11. Secretly instructed, suborned. It was
concerted between them what should be said,
and to what point it should be directed. — Blas-
phemons, in the judicial sense, which made it
a capital offence to utter such words. Contempt
of Moses and his institutions was contempt of
Jehovah, and came within the scope of the law
against blasphemy as laid down in Deut. 13 : 6-10.
It was on this charge that the Jews pronounced
the Saviour worthy of death. (See Matt. 26 :
60, tq.)

12. The elders and the scribes — i. e.
those of these classes who belonged to the San-
hedrim. The appeal was made more especially
to them, iMicause, in addition to their influence,
they were mostly Pharisees, and the present ac-
cusation was of a nature to arouse especially the
spirit of that sect. Hence they take the lead at
this time, rather than the Sadducees. — Caught.
The subject here is strictly certain, etc. (see v.
9), but we think of them naturally as acting in
concert with those whom they had instigated to
join with them.

13. Placed before them, introdiiced (see 4 :
7) ; others, set up, procured. — False wit-
nesses. They accused Stephen of having
spoken contemptuously of the law and the
temple, and of having blasphemed Moses and
(Jod. Their testimony in that form was grossly
false. It was opposed to everything which
Stephen had said or meant. Yet, as Neander
and others suggest, he had undoubtedly taught
that the Christian Dispensation was superior to
that of Moses ; that the gospel was designed to
supersede Judaism ; that the law was unavail-
ing a« a source of justification ; that henceforth
true worship would be as acceptable to God in
one place as another. In the clearness with
which Stephen apprehended these ideas, he has
been jtistly called the forerunner of Paul. His

accusers distorted his language on these points,
and thus gave to their charge the only sem-
blance of justification which it possessed. — For
this man, sec 5 : 28. — Does not cease betrays
the exaggerating tone of a "swift witness." —
The holy place is the temple (21 :28; Ps. u-.z, etc.j,
in some part of which they were assembled, as
appears from this in the next verse.

14. Who said, etc. They imputed to Stephen
these words, as authorizing the inference in v. 13.
— This [in the Greek] repeats Jesus with a tone
of contempt. — Will destroy, ete. It is not
impossible that he had reminded them of the
predictions of Christ respecting the destruction
of the city and the temple. — This place, be-
cause the present session was held in some room
or court of the temple. — Customs required to
be observed, hence laws, as in 15 : 1 ; 21 : 21,
ete. — Delivered may apply to what is written
as well as what is oral (R. and P., Lex., s. v.).

15. Looking stedfastly, etc. They were
all gazing upon him, as the principal object
of interest in the assembly, and so nmch the more
at that moment in expectation of his reply to
so heinous a charge. The radiance, therefore,
which suddenly lighted up the countenance
of Stephen was remarked by every one present.
That what they saw was merely a natural ex-
pression of the serenity which pervaded his
mind can hardly be supposed. As if the face
of an angel seems to overstate the idea, if it
be reduced to that; for the comparison is an
unusual one, and the Jews supposed the visible
appearance of angels to correspond with their
superhuman rank. (Comp. 1 : 10 ; Matt. 28 : 3 ;
Luke 24 : 4 ; Rev. 18 : 1, etc.) The countenance
of Stephen, like that of Moses on his descent
from the mount, shone, probably, with a pre-
ternatural lustre, proclaiming him a true wit-
ness, a servant of him whose glory was so fitly
symbolized by such a token. The occasion was
worthy of the miracle.

Ch. VII.]

THE ACTS.

CHAPTER VII.

1-53. DISCOURSE OF STEPHEN BE-
FORE THE SANHEDRIM.

The speaker's main object may be considered
as twofold : first, to show that the charge
against him rested on a false view of the An-
cient Dispensation — not on his part, but on
that of his accusers ; and secondly, that the
Jews, instead of manifesting a true zeal for the
temple and the law in their opposition to the
gospel, were again acting out the unbelieving,
rebellious spirit which led their fathers so often
to resist the will of God and reject his greatest
favors. It appears to me that the latter was
the uppermost idea in Stephen's mind, both
because it occupies so much space in the body
of the address (vv. 27, 39-44), and becaxise, near
the close of what is said (v. 51, sq.), it is put for-
ward very much as if he regarded it as the con-
clusion at which he had been aiming. It may
be objected that this view renders the discourse
aggressive, criminatory, in an unusual degree ;
but we are to remember that Stephen (see on v.
54) was interrupted, and but for that, in all
probability, after having exposed the guilt of
his hearers, he would have encouraged them to
repent and believe on the Saviour whom they
had crucified. (Bmg. has a remark to the same
effect.) Yet both parts of the speech, as so un-
derstood, converge to one point — viz. that the
speaker was not guilty of maligning the Ancient
Economy : first, because even under that Dis-
pensation the divine favor was bestowed inde-
pendently of the law ; and secondly, because
the teachers of that Economy held up the same
view of its spiritual nature and encountered a
similar opposition.

In the interpretation of the speech I proceed
on the principle that most of Stephen's hearers
were so well acquainted with his peculiar views,
with his arguments in support of them, and his
mode of illustration, that they had no occasion
to be distinctly reminded of his doctrine at this
time. (See the note on 6 : 13.) Hence, Stephen
could assume that the bearing of the different
remarks or occurrences brought forward in the
address would suggest itself to the minds of his
judges ; without pausing to tell them this means
that or that means this, he could leave them to
draw silently the conclusions which he wished
to establish. Stephen illustrates his subject
historically. That mode of argument was well
chosen. It enabled him to show the Jews that
their own history, in which they gloried so

much, condemned them ; for it taught the in-
efficacy of external rites, foreshadowed a more
perfect spiritual system, and warned them
against the example of those who resist the
will of God when declared to them by his
messengers. Stephen pursues the order of
time in his narrative; and it is important to
remark that feature of the discourse, because
it explains two peculiarities in it : first, that the
ideas which fall logically under the two heads
that have been mentioned are intermixed, in-
stead of being presented separately; and
secondly, that some circumstances are intro-
duced which we are not to r^ard as signif-
icant, but as serving merely to maintain the
connection of the history.

But the address is so discursive and complex,
and the purport of it has been so variously
represented, that it is due to the subject to
mention some of the other modes of analysis
that have been proposed.

The following is Neander's view of it. Ste-
phen's primary object was certainly apolo-
getical ; but, as he forgot himself in the sub-
ject with which he was inspired, his apologetic
efforts relate to the truths maintained by him,
and impugned by his adversaries, rather than
to himself. Hence, not satisfied with defend-
ing, he developed and enforced, the truths he
had proclaimed, and at the same time reproved
the Jews for their unbelief and their opposition
to the gospel. Stephen first refutes the charges
made against him of enmity against the people
of God, of contempt of their sacred institutions,
and of blaspheming Moses. He traces the pro-
cedure of the divine providence in guiding the
people of God from the times of their progen-
itors; he notices the promises and their pro-
gressive fulfilment to the end of all the prom-
ises— the advent of the Messiah, and the work
to be accomplished by him. But with this
narrative he blends his charges against the
Jewish nation. He shows that their ingrati-
tude and unbelief became more flagrant in pro-
portion as the promises were fulfilled or given
with greater fulness ; and their conduct in the
various preceding periods of the development
of God's kingdom was a specimen of the dis-
position they now evinced toward the publi-
cation of the gospel.*

According to Olshausen,* the speaker recapit-
ulated the Jewish history at such length simply
in order to testify his r^ard for the national in-

1 Quoted from Ryland's translation of ITie Planting and Tinining <fflAe Ckriittan Church.
• Oammeniar iiber dot Neue Testament, vol. il. p. 719.

THE ACTS.

[Ch. VII.

THEN siUd the high priest. Are these things soT
2 And be said, 'Men, brethren, and fathers, heark-

l Akd the high priest said, Are these things soT
2AiMlheaaid,

stitations, to conciliate his hearers, and show
indirectly that he could not have uttered tlie
bla^henioiu words imputed to him. (See 6 : 11.)
That those addressed saw tlicir own moral
image reflected so distinctly from the narra-
tive results from the subject, not from the speak-
er's intention.

Luger develops the course of thought in this
way : Stephen is accused of blaspheming the
temple and the law ; he vindicates himself by
exhibiting the true significance of the temple
and the law. The main pointsare, first, that the
law is not something complete by itself, but was
added to the promise given to Abraham — yea,
contains in itself a new promise, by the fulfil-
ment of which the law is first brought to com-
pletion. Secondly, the temple cannot be ex-
clusively the holy place ; it is one in a series of
places which the Lord has consecrated, and by
this very act foreshadowed that future com-
pletion of the temple to which Solomon and
the prophets point. Thirdly, it being a cause
of special offence to the Jews that the Jesus re-
jected by them should be represented as the
Perfecter of the law and the temple, Stephen
showed that no objection against him could be
derived Ii om that fact, since the messengers of
God had been treated with the like contempt at
all periods. Fourthly, these three topics are
presented, not after each other, but in each
other. The history of Israel forms the thread
of the discourse, but this is related in such a
manner that examples of the different points
come into view at every step.'

Baur's exposition of the plan has been highly
commended. The contents of the discourse
divide themselves into two parallel parts: on
the one side are presented the benefits which
God from the earliest times conferred on the
Jewish nation ; on the other side is exhibited
in contrast their conduct toward him. Hence
the main thought is this : The greater and more
extraordinary the favors which God from the
b^;inning b^towed on the Jews, the more un-
thankful and rebellious from the beginning was
the spirit which they manifested in return ; so
that where a perfectly harmonious relation
should have been found the greatest alienation
appeared. The greater the effort which God
made to elevate and draw the nation to him-

self, the more the nation turned away from
him. In presenting this view of the Jewish
character, the speaker defended indirectly his
own cause. He was accused of having spoken
reproachfully, not only against the law, but in
particular against the temple. Hence, the direc-
tion which he gave to the speech enabled him
to show that the idolatrous regard of the Jews
for the temple exemplified in the highest de-
gree that opposition between God and them-
selves which had been so characteristic of
them from the first.*

It may be added that the peculiar character
of the speech impresses upon it a seal of au-
thenticity, *br no one would think of framing
a discourse of this kind for such an occasion.
Had it been composed ideally or after some
vague tradition, it would have been thrown
into a different form ; its relevancy to the
charge which called it forth would have been
made more obvious. As to the language in
which Stephen delivered it, opinions are di-
vided. His disputing with the foreign Jews
(6:9) would indicate that he was a Hellenist
(comp. 9 : 29), and in that case he spoke prob-
ably in Greek. The prevalence of that lan-
guage in Palestine, and especially at Jerusa-
lem, would have rendered it intelhgible to
such an audience.' The manner, too, in which
the citations agree with the Septuagint favors
this conclusion.

1-16. History of thb Patbiabchs, ob Aqb
OF THE Promises.

1. Then (M) binds this verse to 6 : U.—Are
then these things so, as the witnesses testify?
Hence this was the question to which Stephen
replied, and must furnish the key to his an-
swer. We must construe the speech so as to
find in it a refutation of the charge in 6 : 13.
«i is direct here, as in 1 : 6. apa = " rebus ita
comparatis," under these circumstances. (See
Klotz, Ad Devar., vol. ii. p. 176.) The ques-
tion is asked in view of the accusation. The
particle is not to be struck out of the text, as
in some editions. [It is eUded by Lach., Tsch.,
Treg., West, and Hort, Anglo-Am. Revisers,
on what appears to be satisfactory evidence —
e. ^. K A B C— A. H.]

2. Brethren are the spectators, fathers the
members of the council, like our "civil fa-

' Ueber Zveck, Tnhalt, und Eigenthumlichkeit itr Rfde da Strphanut, Ton Friedrich Luger.
» Paultts sein Lrben und H'ir*^fi, sriTie Brief' und .irinf Ijthrr, p. 42.

« In proof of this, see Hug's mnlettuMg \% das Neae Titlament, Tol. iL p. 37, »q., fourth edition, and the Biblieal
Bepontory (18S2), p. 530.

Ch. VII.]

THE ACTS.

en ; The God of glory appeared unto our father Abra-
ham, when he was in Mesoputamia, before he dwelt in
Charran,

3 And said unto him, "Get thee out of thy country,
and from thy kindred, and come into the land which I
shall shew tbee.

4 Then 'came he out of the land of the Chaldtcans,
and dwelt in Charran: and from thence, when his

Brethren and fathers, hearken. The Ood of glory
appeared unto our Tather Abraham, when he was in

3 Mesopotamia, before be dwelt in Haran, and said
unto him, (jet thee out of thy land, and from thy
kindred, and come into the land which I shall shew

4 thee. Then came he out of the land of the CbaU
daeans, and dwelt in Haran : and from thence, when

a Oea. 12 : 1....6 Qen. 11 : 31 ; 12 : 4, 5.

there." (Comp. 22 : 1.) Men qualifies both
nouns. (See on 1 : 16.) The English Version
makes three distinct classes, instead of two. —
The God of the glory (the, because peculiar
to him) = hakkabhodh in the Old Testament, or,
among the later Jews, haslishekenah — i. e. the
light or visible splendor amid which Jehovah
revealed himself; the symbol, therefore, of his
presence (Mey., De Wet., Blmf.). (Comp. Ex.
25 : 22 ; 40 : 34 ; Lev. 9:6; Ezek. 1 : 28 ; 3 : 23 ;
Heb. 9 : 5, etc.) Appeared (<i<fr*ij) points to
that sense here. (See also v. 55.) Paul speaks
of this symbol in Rom. 9 : 4 as one of the pe-
culiar distinctions with which God honored
the Hebrew nation. Those miss the sense who
resolve the genitive into an adjective, the glo-
rious God (Kuin., Hmph.). — When he was
in Mesopotamia. Imperf , as often in nar-
ration. (W. 1 46. 6.) Abraham resided first in
Ur of the Clialdees (oen. ii : as), which lay prob-
ably in the extreme North of Mesopotamia,
near the sources of the Tigris. The Chaldee
branch of Peleg's family, to which Terah and
his sons belonged, spread themselves originally
ih that region.' Xenophon found Chaldeans
here in his retreat from Babylonia with the
Ten Thousand. (See further on v. 4.) — In
Charran. Charran = Cfiaran (Qen. n : si) was
also in the north of Mesopotamia, but south
of Ur. It was the later Oxrrie of the Greeks
and Romans, where Crassus was defeated and
slain by the Parthians. Its position tallies
remarkably with the sacred narrative. The
ruins have been identified a few miles south
of Urfa, on a road from the north to the south-
em ford of the Euphrates. It is a perversion
of the text to suppose Stephen so ignorant of
the geography here as to place Charran on the
west of the Euphrates. His meaning evidently
is that Abraham's call in that city was not the
firet which he received during his residence in
Mesopotamia. We have no account of this
first communication to the patriarch in the
Old Testament, but it is implied distinctly in
Gen. 15 : 7 and Neh. 9 : 7. Philo and Josephus
relate the history of Abraham in accordance
with the statement here that he was called
twice.

3. Said unto him, in Ur, before the mi-
gration to Charran. — Go forth from thy
country, etc. This is quoted from Gen. 12 :
1, sq., where it appeare as the language ad-
dressed to Abraham when God appeared to
him at Charran. But his earlier call had the
same object precisely as the later; and hence
Stephen could employ the terms of the second
communication, in order to characterize the
import of the firet. And hither, with an im-
perative force ; the term adapted to the speaker's
position, like this, in v. 4. — Whichever (see
on 2 : 21), since he " went forth not knowing
whither he goes " (Heb. ii : s).

4. Then, after this command. — Having
gone forth from the land of the Chal«
dees, which, therefore, did not extend so far
south as to include Charran. It is barely pos-
sible that having gone forth may reach for-
ward to removed (the change of subject there
is against it), and in that case the second re-
moval would have been a part of the journey
from Chaldea. (Comp. Gen. 11 : 31.) The
early history of the Chaldees is too obscure
to allow us to define the limits of their terri-
tory. (See Herz., Encyk., vol. ii. p. 617.) —
Land of the Chaldeans suggests a region
rather than a city, and Ur (for which the Sept.
renders "country" in Gen. 11 : 28) was prob-
ably the name of a district among the steppes
of Northern Mesopotamia. Some would iden-
tify Ur with the modem Urfa, the Edessa of
the Greeks; but, though the name (dropping
the last syllable) may seem to favor that com-
bination, the surer etymology derives Urfa (as
a corruption) from the Syriac Urhoi, and thus
destroys all connection between Ur and Urfa.
(See Tuch, p. 284, and Delitzsch, p. 407, Cber
die Genesis.) Had Ur, either as a city or re-
gion, been in Babylonia, as some conjecture,
Charran, so far to the west, would have been
out of the way in a migration to Canaan. —
After his father was dead. According to
(Jen. 11 : 32, Terah died at Haran at the age of
two hundred and five, and according to the
usual inference drawn from Gen. 11 : 26 he was
only seventy years old at the birth of Abra-
ham ; so that, since Abraham left Charran at

» For the ethnography of the subject, see Knobel's VdlkerUtfel der OtnetU, p. 170, j^.

THE ACTS.

[Ch. VII.

father was dead, he removed him into this land, where-
in ye now dwell.

S And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not *o
much 114 to set his foot on : 'yet he promL>ied that he
would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed
after Imu, when as yet he had no child.

his father was dead, God removed him into this land,
5 wherein ye now dwell: and he gave him none in-
heritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on :
and he promised that he would give it to him in
possession, and to his seed after bim, when (u yet he

• 0«D. ll:T; 1S:16; U:>, IS; 11:8; M:S.

seventy-five (o«o. u : 4), Terah, instead of being
dead at that time, must have lived (205 — [70 +
75] — ) sixty years after his son's departure from
Chamin. Here, again, some writers insist tliat
Stephen has shown a gross ignorance of the
patriarchal history. But this apparent dis-
agreement admits of a ready solution if we
suppose that Abraham was not the oldest son,
but that Haran, who died before the first mi-
gration of the family (oen. n : m), was sixty years
older than he, and that Terah, consequently,
was one hundred and thirty years old at the
birth of Abraliam (130 + 75 = 205). The rela-
tion of Abraham to the Hebrew history would
account for his being named first in the gene-
alogy. We have other instances entirely par-
allel to this. Thus in Gen. 5 : 32 and else-
where Japheth is mentioned last among the
sons of Noah, but according to Gen. 9 : 24 and
10 : 21 he was the oldest of them. Lightfoot
has shown that even some of the Jewish
writers, who can be suspected of no desire to
reconcile Stephen with the Old Testament,
concede that Abraham was the youngest son
of Terah. The learned Usher founds his sys-
tem of chronology on this view. The other
explanations are less probable. It appears
that there was a tradition among some of the
Jews that Terah relapsed into idolatry during
the abode at Haran, and that Abraham left
him on that account — i. e. as the Talmudists
express it after his spiritual death. Kuinoel,
Olshausen, and others, think that Stephen may
have used was dead in that sense; so that
the notice of Terah's natural death in Gen. 11 :
32 would be proleptic— t. e. in advance of the
exact order of the historj'. The tradition of
Terah's relapse into idolatry may have been
well founded. Bengel offers this suggestion:
" Abrani, dum Thara vixit in Haran, domum
quodammodo patemam habuit in Haran, in
terra Canaan duntaxat peregrinum agens ; mor-
tuo autem patre, plane in terra Canaan domum
unice habere coepit" ["While Terah lived in
Haran, Abram had in a manner a paternal
home in Haran, though living as a stranger in
the land of Canaan ; but when his father was
dead, he b^an manifestly to have his only
home in the land of Canaan "]. The Samaritan

Codex reads one hundred and forty-five in Gen.
11 : 32, which would remove the difficulty, had
it not been altered probably for that very pur-
pose. The Samaritan text has no critical au-
thority when opix)sed to the Masoretic'
Caused him to remove, to migrate, by
a renewed command. (See Gen. 12 : 1, sq.) —

; Into which, because ye dwell ((taTonteire),
implies an antecedent motion. — Yon, instead

j of we, because, as a foreign Jew, Stephen ex-

I eludes himself.

I 5. And he gave to him (during his life) no

; inheritance in it, no actual possession, but

! a promise only that his posterity should occupy

' it at some future period. It is not at variance
with this that he subsequently purchased the
field of Ephron as a burial-place (oen. 23 : s, .?.) ;
for he acquired no right of settlement by that

i purchase, but permission merely to bury " his
dead," which he sought as a favor because he

I was "a .stranger and a sojourner" in the land.

; I>e.st the passage should seem to conflict with
that transaction, some (Kuin., Olsh.) would
render not loiVi ii.'* not yet (ouirai) and gave
as pluperfect. De Wette agrees with Meyer in
restricting the remark to the period of Abra-
ham's first arrival in Canaan. He purchased
the field of Ephron near the clcse of his life. —
Not even a foot-breadth, a single foot.
(Comp. Deut. 2 : 5.) — That he would give
it to him for a possession, not necessarily
in his own person, but in that of his descend-
ants. The country might be said to be Abra-
ham's in prospect of that reversion. So, in
Gen. 46 : 4, God says to Jacob on his descent
into Egj'pt : " I will bring thee up again " — i. e.
him in his posterity. Others understand pos-
session of Abraham's own residence in the
Land of Promise. — When he had no child.
This clause, as well as the general connection,
recalls to mind the strength of Abraham's
faith. It was in that way that he pleased God
and obtained the promise, and not by legal ob-
servances; for circumcision had not yet been
instituted or the law given. Paul reasons in
that manner from Abraham's historj^ both in
Rom. 4 : 9, sq., and in Gal. 3 : 17, sq. Stephen
may have expanded his speech at this point so
as to have presented distinctly the same con-

> See Geseniua, De PfntateueH Samaritani Origine, Indole, tt AuetoritaU.

Ch. VII.]

THE ACTS.

6 And God spake on this wise, "That his seed should
sojourn ii) a strange land ; and that they should bring
them into bondage, and entreat them evil 'four hun-
dred years.

7 And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage
will I judge, said God : and after that shall they come
forth, and "serve me in this place.

8 <'.\nd he gave him the covenant of circumcision :
•and so Abraham begat Isaac, and circumcised him the
eighth day ; /and Isaac begat Jacob ; and fjacob begai
the twelve patriarchs.

6 had no child. And God spake on this wise, that hia
seed should sojourn in a strange land, and that they
should bring them into bondage, and entreat them

7 evil, four hundred years. And the nation to which
they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and
after that shall they come forth, and serve me in

8 this place. And he gave him the covenant of cir-
cumcision : and so Abrahani l>egat Isaac, and circum-
cised him the eighth day ; and Isaac begat Jacob, and

a Oen. IS : 18, It.

..tBx. U:M; Oal. 3:lT....oEz. S : 12....(I Oen. 17:9, 10, U.
g Gen. 29 : 31, etc. ; SO : 5, etc. ; 35 : 18, S3.

.«Ckii. 31:1, S, 4..../0«a. 15 :M...

elusion ; or, as remarked in the first analysis,
most of his hearers may have been so familiar
with the Christian doctrine on the subject that
they perceived at once that import of his allu-
sions.

6. The speaker quotes here the passage to
which he had merely alluded.— Now (««) sub-
joins this fuller account of the promise; not
hut, although he was childless (Mey., taken
back in his last ed.). — Thus, to this effect —
viz. in Gen. 15 : 13-16. — Shall be, not should
(E. v.). The citation mingles the indirect form
with the direct. — Strangers shall enslave,
strangers, as the subject, being involved in in
a strange land. (See W. § 64. 3. b.)— Four
hundred years, in agreement with Gen. 15 :
13 ; but both there and here a round number,
since in Ex. 12 : 40 " the sojourning of Israel
who dwelt in Egypt " is said to have been four
hundred and thirty years. But here arises a
chronological question to which it is necessary
to advert. In Gal. 3 : 17, Paul speaks of the
entire period from Abraham's arrival in Canaan
until the giving of the law as embracing only
four hundred and thirty years — a calculation
which allows but two hundred and fifteen years
for the sojourn in Egypt; for Isaac was bom
twenty-five years after that arrival, was sixty
years old at the birth of Jacob, and Jacob was
one hundred and thirty years old when he went
to reside in Egypt (430 - [25 + 60 + 130] = 215).
The Seventy, in Ex. 12 : 40, and Josephus, in
Antt., 2. 16. 2, follow the same computation.
There are two solutions of this difficulty. One
is that the Jews had two ways of reckoning this
period, which were current at the same time ;
that it is uncertain which of them is the correct
one, and for all practical purposes is wholly un-
important, since, when a speaker or writer, as
in this case of Stephen, adopted this mode or
that, he was understood, not to propound a
chronological opinion, but merely to employ a
familiar designation for the sake of definiteness.
The other solution is that the four hundred and

thirty years in Ex. 12 : 40 embrace the i)eriod
from Abraham's immigration into Canaan until
the departure out of Egypt, and that the sacred
writers call this the period of sojourn or servitude
in Egypt a potiori — i. e. from its leading charac-
teristic.^ They could describe it in this manner
with so much the more propriety, because even
during the rest of the time the condition of the
patriarchs was that of exiles and wanderers.
The current chronology, Usher's system, adopts
two hundred and fifteen as the number of years
during which the Hebrews dwelt in Egypt.

7. I (emphatic, as one able to punish) will
judge (Hebraistic), implying the execution of
the sentence. — After these things, after both
so long a time and such events. These things
refers to will judge, as well as to the other
verbs. — And shall worship me in this
place. This clause is taken from a different
passage — viz. Ex. 3 : 12, which records the dec-
laration that God would bring the Israelites
where Moses then was. But, as the words
there also relate to the deliverance from Egypt,
Stephen could use them to express more fully
the idea in Gen. 15 : 16. In the communication
to Moses, place refers to Sinai or Horeb, but is
applied here very properly to Canaan, since the
worship in the desert was a pledge of its per-
formance in the Promised I^and. Shall wor-
ship may intimate that God accepted their
worship before they had any temple in which
to offer it.

8. The covenant of circumcision — t. e.
the one of which circumcision is the sign.
(Comp. sign of circumcision in Rom. 4 : 11.) —
And thus (ovtw«) — i. e. agreeably to the cove-
nant, Gk>d gave the promised child, and Abra-
ham observed the appointed rite. Such briefly
were the contents of the covenant (see Gen.
17 : 2, sq.), and begat and circumcised very
naturally recall them here. out«i>* as merely
then (Mey.), in lieu of W or «« in this speech
elsewhere, expresses too little in such a place.
[Changed by Meyer in his last ed. : " So — t. e.

1 Baumgarten, in common with others, inclines to this view in his Theologitcher OammetUar «vm PtntateueK,
vol. 1. p. 190.

THE ACTS.

[Ch. VII.

9 'And tlie patriarchs, moved with enrjr, sold Joseph
into Egypt : 'but Ciod was with him,
lU And delivered him out of all his afflictions, mnd

fkve him favor and wisdom in the sight of I'haraob
ing of Kgypt ; and he made Mm governor over Egypt
and all his house.

11 'Now there came a dearth over all the land of
Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction : and our fa-
thers found no sustenance.

12 'Uut when Jacob heard that there was corn in
Eg>'pt, he sent out our fathers first.

13 /And at the second time Joseph was made known
to hia brethren ; and Joseph's kindred was made known
unto I'haraoh.

14 Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to
Aim, and *ali tiia kinared, threescore and fifteen souls.

9 Jacob the twelve patriarchs. And the natriarchs,
moved with jealousy against Joseph, sold him into

lOEgvpt: and (jod was with him, and delivered him
out of all his afflictions, and gave him favor and
wisdom before I'haraoh king of Egypt; and he made

11 him governor over Egypt and all his house. Now
there came a famine over all Egypt and Canaan, and
great affliction : and our fathers found no sustenance.

12 But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt,

13 he sent forth our fathers the first time. And at tne
second time Joseph was made known to his breth-
ren ; and Joseph's race became manifest unto Pha-

14 raoh. And Joseph sent, and called to tiim Jacob his
father, and all ttis kindred, threescore and fifteen

• a«e. n:4, U, tSi Pi. 106: IT.. ..ft Gm. W : 2, 21. t3 ...e 0«a. 41 :S7; *i.»....4 0«n. 41 :M....*Oca. 42 : 1..../ Oen.
46:4, l8....yO«a. 46:S, 2T....kO«n. 4<:2T; Dent. 10 : 22.

standing in this new relation to God ... as
the bearer of the covenant of circumcision." —
A. H.] — On the eighth day, etc. (See Gen.
21:4.)

9. Sold (s : 8) into Egypt — i.e. to be carried
thither; thus concisely in Gen. 45 : 4 (Heb. and
Sept.). — God was with him, though he was
exposed to such envy and injustice. It was a
memorable instance in which the rejected of
men was approved of God and made the pre-
server of his people. (See on v. 37.) The anal-
ogy between Jaseph's history in this respect and
that of Christ must have forced itself on Ste-
phen's hearers.

10. Fa-^or (with the king) and wisdom,
both the gifts of Go<l, but the latter helping in
part to secure the former. Meyer, contrary to
his first opinion, understands favor of the di-
vine favor toward Joseph ; but the two nouns
belong alike to before Pharaoh, and asso-
ciate themselves readily as cause and effect.
The wisdom was that which Jo.seph displayed
as an interpreter of dreams, as the king's coun-
sellor and minister. — His house, the palace
of the sovereign, from which, in the East, all
the acts of government emanate. In other
words, Joseph was raised to the office of vizier,
or prime minister.

12, For the history, see Gen. 42 : 1, aq. — ivra
(being, translated was), instead of the in-
finitive after heard, represents the plenty in
Egypt as indubitable, notorious. (K. ? 311. 1.)
The place of the abundance was well known,
and in Egypt after the participle (T. R.) is a
needless corruption for into Egypt, which be-
longs to the next verb. — Sent oar fathers
first, while Jacob himself remained still in
Canaan. (See v. 15.)

13. Was recognized by his brethren
CDe Wet., Mey.), on declaring his name to
them. (Comp. Gen. 45 : 1.) The reflective sense,
made himself known (Rob.), would be ex-

ceptional, and is not required here. — And the
race of Joseph was made known to
Pharaoh- \ e. the fact of their presence, their
arrival. (See Gen. 45 : 16.) It does not mean
that the king ascertained now Joseph's Hebrew
origin, for he knew that already (oen. 4i : 12), nor
that Joseph's brethren were presented to him.
The introduction took place at a later period.
(See Gen. 47 : 2.)

14. In seventy«five souls — i.e. (consisting)
in, etc. (For iy, see W. g 48. 3.) From so
feeble a beginning the Hebrews soon grew to a
mighty nation. (See v. 17.) Stephen would
suggest to the mind that contrast. According
to Gen. 46 : 27, Ex. 1 : 5, and Deut. 10 : 22,
Jacob's family at this time contained seventy
persons ; but the Septuagint has changed that
number in the first two passages to seventy -five.
In Cren. 46 : 26 the Hebrew says that Jacob's
descendants, on his arrival in Egypt, were
sixty-six, and in the next verse adds to these
Jacob himself, Joseph, and his two sons, thus
I making the nnmher seventy. On the other hand,
the Septuagint interpolates, in v. 27, And sons
of Joseph were bom to him in the land of Egypt,
nine souls; and adding these nine to the sixty-
six in V. 26 makes the number seventy-five. It
is evident from this interpolation that the
; Seventy did not obtain their number by add-
I ing the five sons of Ephraim and Manasseh
I (i chron. T : i4-2s) to the scveiity persons mentioned
I in the Hebrew text. That mode of accounting
j for their computation has frequently been as-
signed. If sons be taken in its wider sense,
those sons and grandsons of Joseph may have
j been among the nine whom they added to the
sixty-six, but it is not known how they reck-
oned the other two. They may have included
some of the third generation, or have referred
to other sons of Joseph, of whom we have no
account. But, in whatever way the enumera-
tion arose, its existence in the Greek version

Ch. VII.]

THE ACTS.

15 «So Jacob went down into Egypt, »and died, he,
and our fathers,

16 And 'were carried over into Sychem, and laid in

15 souls. And Jacob went down into Egypt; and he

16 died, himself, and our fathers ; and they were car-
ried over unto Sbechem, and laid in the tomb that

aG«n. 4S:5....6Qcii. 4»:SS; Rz. 1 : 6....e Ex. 13 : 19; Joah. M : SI.

shows that it was current among the Jews.
That it was an erroneoiis one is incapable of
proof, for we do not know on what data it was
founded. At all events, Stephen could adapt
himself to the popular way of speaking with
entire truth as to the idea which he meant to
convey ; for his object was to affirm, not that
the family of Jacob, when he went down to
Egypt, consisted of just seventy-five persons, in
distinction from seventy-six or seventy, or any
other precise number, but that it was a mere
handful compared with the increase which
made them in so short a time " as the stars of
heaven for multitude." (See Deut. 10 : 22.) That
among those whom Joseph is said to have
called into Egypt were some who were already
there, or were bom at a subsequent period,
agrees with Gen. 46 : 27 ; for it is said that " the
sons of Joseph " were among " the souls of the
house of Jacob that came into Egypt" with
him. That representation springs from the
Hebrew view, which regarded the descendants
as existing already in their progenitor. (Comp.
Gen. 46 : 15 ; Heb. 7 : 9, 10.) It is equivalent
here to saying that the millions to which Israel
had grown on leaving Egypt were all comprised
in some seventy-five persons at the commence-
ment of the residence there.'

16. It is mentioned in Gen. 50 : 13 that Jacob
was buried in Abraham's sepulchre at Hebron
(see Gen. 23 : 19), and in Josh. 24 : 32 that the
bones of Joseph were laid in Jacob's tomb at
Shechem, or Sychem ; as to the burial of Jacob's
other sons, the Old Testament is silent. In this
passage, therefore, our fathers may be taken
as the subject of were carried over without
himself. Such brevity was natural in so rapid
a sketch, and not obscure where the hearers
were so familiar with the subject in hand.
That Joseph's brothers were buried with him
at Sychem rests, doubtless, on a well-known
tradition in Stephen's time, "According to
Josephus {Antt., 2. 8. 2), the sons of Jacob
were buried at Hebron. According to the
Rabbins (Light., Wetst.), the Israelites took
the bones of their fathers with them to Pales-
tine, but say nothing of Sychem ; since, how-
ever, they do not include the eleven patriarchs
among those who were buried at Hebron, they
probably regarded Sychem as the place of their
burial" (De Wet.). Jerome, who lived but a

day's journey from Sychem, says that the tomba
of the twelve were to be seen there in his time.
— In the tomby etc., presents a more serious
difficulty. It is clear from Gen. 33 : 19 that
Jacob purchased the family tomb at Sychem,
and from Gen. 23 : 1, sq., that Abraham pur-
chased the one at Hebron. On the other hand,
according to the present text, Stephen appears
to have confounded the two transactions, repre-
senting, not Jacob, but Abraham, as having
purchased the field at Sychem. It is difficult
to resist the impression that a single word of
the present text is wrong, and that we should
either omit Abraham or exchange it for Jacob.
— Bonght, without a subject, could be taken
as impersonal: one purchased = was par>
chased. (See W. g 58. 9.) That change would
free the passage from its perplexity. It is true,
manuscripts concur in the present reading, but
this may be an instance where the internal evi-
dence countervails the external. The error lies
in a single word; and it is quite as likely,
judging a priori, that the word producing the
error escaped from some early copyist as that
so glaring an error was committed by Stephen,
for as a Jew he had been brought up to a know-
ledge of the Scriptures, had proved himself
more than a match for the learned disputants
from the synagogues (e : lo), and is said to have
been " full of the Holy Spirit " (e : 5). Some at-
tribute the difficulty to the concise, hurried
style of the narrative. Biscoe states that opin-
ion in the following terms: "The Hebrews,
when reciting the history of their forefathers
to their brethren, do it in the briefest manner,
because it was a thing well known to them.
For which reason they made use of frequent
ellipses, and gave but hints to bring to their
remembrance what they aimed at. This may
be the case here ; and, as nothing is more easy
than to supply the words that are wanting, so,
when supplied, the narration is exactly agree-
able to history delivered in the Old Testament :
'And were carried into Sychem, and were laid,'
— i. e. some of them ; Jacob at least — ' in the
sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of
money,' and others of them ' in that (bought)
from the sons of Emmor, the father of Sychem.'
Here we repeat merely and in that before
from the sons, which words were easily un-
derstood and supplied by those to whom Ste-

^ See Hengstenberg's AulAerUie de* JtHlaltuefut, toI. ii. p. 857, tq.

THE ACTS.

[Ch. VII.

■the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of
money of the sons of Kniuior the jather of Sycheni.

17 But when Hhe time of the promise drew nigh,
whii-h God liad sworn to Abraham, 'the people grew
and multiplied in Kgypt,

18 Till another king arose, which knew not Joseph.

19 The same dealt subtilly with our kindred, and
evil entreated our fathers. 'so that they cast out their
young children, to the end they might not live.

Abraham bought for a price in silver of the sons of

17 'Hamor in Shocheni. Hut aa the time of the promise

drew niijh, which God vouchsafed unto Abraham, the

people grew and multiplied in ligypt, till there arose
another king over Egypt, who knew not Joseph. The
same dealt subtiUy with our race, and evil entreated
our fathers, that i'they should cast out their babes to

aO«n. a:lf; 8S :»....» 0«b. U: U; Tw.e....<ls. 1 : T, 8,9; Pt. 106 : M, XS....ii Kz. 1 : 21.-

-1 Or. Smmor. . . .2 Or, ik«.

phen addressed himself."* Again, some have
deemed it sufficient to say that Stephen was
not an inspired teacher in the strict sense of the
expression, and that, provided we have a true
record of the discourse on the part of Luke, we
may admit an error in the discourse itself, with-
out discrediting the accuracy of the sacred
writers. Dr. Davidson thinks that Luke must
have been aware of the discrepancy, and has
exhibited his scrupulous regard for the truth
by allowing it to remain, instead of correcting
it. Calvin sanctions a still freer view: "In
nomine Abrahse erratum esse palam est ; quare
hie locus corrigendus est " [" In the name of
Abraham there is evidently an error; where-
fore this passage should be corrected "]. — Em-
mor* the father of Sychem. (See on 1 : 13,
[where it is stated that the connection or known
facts of the case must be considered in supply-
ing the omitted noun, whether son, or father,
or broths-— A. H.].)
17-46. The Age of Moses, oe the Jews

UNDER THE LaW.

17. Not when, but as, in the degree that ;
hence, drew near, was approaching. —

The time of tJie (fulfilment of the) promise (v.
7). (See on 1 : 4.)— Instead of wMOfftF (T. R.),
8 ware, we are to read probably atioK6yT)<T*v,
declared (Lchm., Tsch., Mey.). [Also Treg.,
West, and Hort.— A. H.]— Grew and multi-
plied represent the growth in power as con-
sequent on the increase of numbers; not a
citation, but reminiscence, probably, of Ex.
1 : 7, 20.

18. Until, for this signal prosperity had its
limit. Thoif^h baffled in his first scheme, Pha-
raoh tried other means more effectual. (See on
V. 19.) — Who knew not Joseph, had no re-
gard for his memory or services ; not was
ignorant tliat such a person had lived (Mey.).
How could the author of such important re-
forms have been forgotten among a people ad-
dicted, like the Ej^yptians, to recording their
national events ? It has been supposed that a
new dynasty may have ascended the throne at
this time. According to Sir J. G. Wilkinson,*

this " new king" was Amosis, or Ames, first of
the eighteenth dynasty, or that of the Dios-
politans from Thebes. Some hold (e. g. Heeren,
Jost)thattheHyksos, or shepherd-kings, had just
been expelled from Egypt, and that the oppres-
sor of the Hebrews was the first native prince
who reigned after that event. The present
knowledge of Egyptian history is too imperfect
to admit of any positive conclusion on such a
point. (For the later views and literature, see
on "Ancient Egypt" in Herz., Encyk., vol. i.
p. 138, sq.)

19. Treating subtly our race. (See Ex.
1 : 10; Ps. 115 : 25. His policy is characterized
in this manner, because his object, without be-
ing avowed, was to compel the Hebrews to de-
stroy their children, that they might not grow
up to experience the wretclicd fate of their
parents. — Oppressed our fathers, in order
that they should cast out their infants,
that these might not be preserved alive.
Both verbs (Gr.) are telic. The first states the
king's object in the oppression ; the second,
the object of the exposure on the part of the
parents. It was using the parental instinct for
destroying the child ; it was seething the kid in
the mother's blood [milk]. For toC itoitlv (that
they should make— i. e. their children — out-
casts), see on 3 : 2. The plan of the Egyptians
failed; for "the more they afflicted the He-
brews, the more they multiplied and grew"
(kx. 1 : 12) — i. e. they spared their children, in-
stead of putting them to death, and continued
to increase. Pharaoh after this took a more
direct course to accomplish his object : he issued
a decree that all the male children of the He-
brews should be killed at birth or thrown into
the Nile. (See Ex. 1 : 16-22.) The sense is dif-
ferent if we make toO iroitl*- ecbatic: so that
they cast out their infants, etc. Accord-
ing to this view, the king's policy was in part
successful ; the Hebrews exposed their children
of their own accord, that they might not see
them doomed to so hopeless a bondage. But
the infinitive construction with toC (the) is
rarely ecbatic ; and, further, had the Hebrews

* JV AcU of the Apottlet, eonflrmed from ot/ttr Authors, p. 395, ed. 1840.

* Manners and Cuttomi (if the Ancient Egypliant, rgl. i. p. 42, tq. (2d ed.).

Ch. VII.]

THE ACTS.

20 •In which time Moses was born, and 'was exceed-
ing fair, and nouriiihed up in his father's house three
months :

21 And 'when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter
took him up, and nourished him for her own son.

22 And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the
Egyptians, and was <<mighty in words and in deeds.

23 'And when he was full forty years old, it came
into his heart to visit his brethren the children of
Israel.

24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended
Aim, and avenged him that was oppressed, and smote
the Egyptian :

25 For he supposed his brethren would have under-
stood how that God by bis hand would deliver them:
but they understood not.

20 the end they might not Uive. At which season Mo
ses was born, and was ^exceeding fair; and he was

21 nourished three months in his father's house : and
when he was cast out, I'haraoh's daughter took him

22 up, and nourished him for her own son. And .Moses
was instructed in all the wi-sdom of the Egyptians;

23 and he was mitjhty in his words and works. Hut
when he was well-nigh forty years old, it came into
his heart to visit his brethren the children of Israel.

24 And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defendcil
him, and avenged him that was oppressed, smiting

25 the Egyptian: and he supposed that his brethren
understood how that Uod by his hand was giving

aEz. I : t 6 Heb. 11 : 13 oEz. 2 : S-10 i Luke 24 : 19. . . .e Kx. 2 : II, 12. 1 Or. h* pretervedalive 2 Or, /Ur unto Ood.

destroyed their children as a voluntary act, a
subsequent decree for murdering them would
have been unnecessary (bx. i : 1&-22). It is harsh
to make toC woitlv epexegetical : oppressed
them (viz. by a decree) that they must cast
out, etc. It is difficult with tliis sense to see
the force of treating subtly (xaracrot^urafxexot).
Besides, the history shows that the Egyptians
were to execute the inhuman order (Bx. 1 : 22),
not the Hebrews. The object of putting Moses
in the ark was to save, not destroy, him.

20. In which time — viz. this season of op-
pression.— Fair for God — i. e. in his view who
judges truly. (Comp. a city great for God
in Jon. 3 : 3, Sept.) It is a form of the Hebrew
superlative. ("W. ? 36. 3; Green's Gr., p. 277.
For the dative, see on 5 : 34.) Josephus (Antt.,
2. 9. 7) speaks of the extreme beauty of Moses.
(See also Heb. 11 : 23.) — His father, named
Amram (ex. « : 20).

21. Him (a«T<5>'), with the participle, is not
an accusative absolute, but depends on the
verb, and is then repeated. (Comp. Mark 9 :
28.) It is changed in some of the best copies
to avTov. [The latter reading is much better
supported than the former, having N A B C D.
Lach., Tsch., Treg., West, and Hort, Anglo-Am.
Revisers approve it. With this reading the
English Version is correct. — A. H.] — Took up,
not from the water or the ark, but like toUere
liberos, adopted. This use both of the Greek
and the Latin word is said to have arisen from
the practice of infanticide among the ancients.
After the birth of a child the father took it up
to his bosom, if he meant to rear it ; otherwise,
it was doomed to perish. — As a son, apposi-
tional like 7 before that which a person or
thing becomes (W. § 32. 4. b.) ; not telic, to be
a son (Mey.), since the relation was an imme-
diate one, and not prospective merely.

22. Was instructed in all the wisdom,
made familiar with it ; dative of the respect or
manner. Tischendorf reads in before wisdom.

Some render was trained by the wisdom as

the means of culture ; dative of the instrument
(De Wet., Mey.). This may be easier grammat-
ically, but looks like modernizing the idea.
The accusative would be the ordinary case after
this passive (was taught the wisdom); but
it could be interchanged with the dative. (See
W. § 32. 4.) — Mighty in words. In point of
mere fluency he was inferior to Aaron (ex. 4 : 10),
but excelled him in the higher mental attri-
butes on which depends mainly the orator's
power over the minds of others. His recorded
speeches justify Stephen's encomium. — For
deeds, comp. v. 36. [Probably it should read
in his words and deeds. — A. H.]

23. By him, dative of the agent. [Lit.
But when a fortieth yearly time was
fulfilled by him.— A. H.] (See on 5 : 9.)—
A fortieth annual time — i. e. when he was
forty years old. (See the note on v. 30.) — It
came upon his heart = Heb. alah al-lebh.
(See Jer. 3 : 16.) — To visit his brethren, in
order to show his sympathy for them and min-
ister to their relief. The Hebrews lived apart
from the Egyptians, and Moses as a member
of the royal family may have had hitherto but
little intercourse with his countrymen.

24. Wronged, injured — viz. by blows, which
the Hebrew was then receiving, as stated in the
history. (See Ex. 2 : 11.)— Wrought redress,
avenged. (See Luke 18 : 7.)— The one over-
powered— lit. exhausted, worn out, implying
a hard contest, and (the participle is present) a
rescue just in time to ward off the fatal blow.
—By smiting the Egyptian (who did the
wrong) so as to kill him, see v. 28.

25. Was supposing in this interposition,
and as the reason for it. This use of ii, for
(E. v.), is one of its metabatic [transition-
making] offices. (Hart., Partkl., vol. i. p. 167.)
On what ground Moses expected to be known
so readily, we are not informed. He may have
thought that his history, so full of providential

THE ACTS.

[Ch. VII.

26 ■And the next day he shewed himself unto them
as they strove, and would have s t theui at one again,
saying, Sirs, ye are brethren ; why do ye wrong one to
another?

27 Hut he tliat did his neighbor wrong thrust hiui
away, saying, *\Vho made thee a ruler and a judge
over us?

28 Wilt thou kill me, as thou didst the Egyptian
yesterday ?

29 'Then fled Moses at this saying, and wa.s a
stranger in the laud of Madian, where ne begat two
sons.

'M ''.Vnd when fxrty years were expired, there ap-
peared to liiui in the wilderness or mount .'^ina an
angel of the Ix>rd in a dame of Are in a bush.

:<1 When .Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight:
and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord
came unto him,

26 them 'deliverance ; but they understood not. And
the day following he appeared unto them as they
strove, and would have set them at one again, say-
ing, ."^irs, ye are brethren ; why do ye wrong one to

27 another .' But he that did his neighbor wrong thrust
him away, saying. Who made tliee a ruler and a

28 judge over us? Wouldest thou kill nie, as thou
29killcdst the Egyptian yesterday? And Moses fled

at this saying, and became a sojourner in the land

30 of Midiaii, where he begat two sons. And when
fortv years were fulfilled, an angel appeared to him
in the wilderness of mount ."^inai, in a flame of fire

31 in a bush. And when Moses saw it, he wondered at
the sight: and as he drew near to behold, there

• Kz. !:»....» S«e Lake It : 14; eh. « : T....e Ex. 1 : 1&, 21; i -.M; 18 : S, 4. . . .d Ix. !l : >.-

-I Or, •oIvaMon.

intimations, had pointed him out to the Israel-
ites as their predestined deliverer. Stephen
makes the remark evidently for the puq)ose of
reminding the Jews of their own similar blind-
ness in regard to the mission of Christ. (Comp.
V. 35.)— Not would deliver (E. V.) — lit. gives
deliverance ; present either because the event
was so near (see on 1 : 6), or because the deliver-
ance begins with this act (Mey.).

26. Appeared, showed himself, with the
involved idea, perhaps, that it was unexpected.
— To them — t. c. two of his countrymen (kx.
» : iJ). The expression is vague, because the
facts are supposed to be familiar. — Set them
at one, mged them unto peace, reconciliation.
— vfttU after «<rr« should be left out. — For Ivari,
see on 4 : 25. — Men belongs to brethren
— men related as brethren are ye (comp. 1 : 16;
2 : 29-37)— not = Sirs as the nominative of ad-
dress (E. v.). The relationship aggravated the
outrage. It was more unseemly than when the
combatants, as on the day before, had been He-
brew and Egj-ptian. With the same appeal
Abraham says to Lot, " Let there be no strife,
I pray thee, between thee and me, and between
my herdmen and thy herdmen ; for we are
men brethren" (Gen. 13 : 8 in Heb. and Sept.).

29. At this word, which showed that his
attempt to conceal the murder had failed. (See
Ex. 2 : 12.) His flight wjis now necessary to
save his life ; for " when Pharaoh heard this
thing, he sought to slay Moses." — In the land
of Madiam, or Midian. " This would seem,"
says Gesenius, " to have been a tract of country
extending from the ea-steni shore of the Elan-
itic Gulf to the region of Moab on the one
hand, and to the vicinity of Mount Sinai on
the other. The people here were nomadic in
their habits, and moved often from place to

> The subject is an intere«ting one, but does not fall properly within our present limits. The reader will find
it discussed in i>mith's Scripture TeMinumy to thr Messiah, vol. i. p. 482, tq., and in Hengstenberg's ChrUtology vol
L p. 165, $q. Valuable supplementary matter (for the object ii to deal only with the later objections) will be

place." It is common for y^ (land) to omit the
article before the name of a country. (See v.
36; 13: 19 W. ^9)

30. Forty years having been completed.
Stephen follows the tradition. It wa.s said that
Moses lived forty years in Pharaoh's palace,
dwelt forty years in Midian, and governed Is-
rael forty years. That he was one hundred and
twenty years old at the time of his death, we
read in Deut. 34 : 7.— In the desert of the
mount Sinai, in the desert where this mount
was situated. According to Ex. 3 : 1, this ap-
pearance of the angel took place at Horeb.
Both names are given in the Pentateuch to
the same locality. Of this usage the common
explanation has been that "Sinai" designated
a range of mountains, among which Horeb
was the particular one from which the law
was given. Dr. Robinson assigns reasons for
thinking that " Horeb " was the general name
and "Sinai" the specific one. (See his Bihl.
Res., vol. i. p. 120, ed. 1856.) Hengstenberg,
Winer, Ewald, and others reject the old opin-
ion.— In the fiery flame of a bush. — Fire
supplies the place of an adjective. (Comp. 9 :
15 ; 2 Thess. 1 : 8. W. ? 34. 3. b. ; S. § 117. 6.)

31. To observe, contemplate— viz. the vis-
ion (see v. 32) ; not to understand, learn the
cause, which would be unsuitable in the next
verse.— The voice of the Lord. It will be
seen that the angel of Joliovah in v. 30 (comp.
Ex. 3 : 2) is here called Jehovah himself. Ex-
amples of a similar transition from the one
name to the other occur often in the Old Testa-
ment. It has been argued from this usage, as
well as on other grounds, that the Revealer,
under the ancient dispensation, was identical
with the Revealer or Logos of the New Dis-
pensation.'

Ch. VII.]

THE ACTS.

32 Saying "I am the God of thy fathers, the God of
Abraham, and the (iod of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold.

33 »Then said the Lord to him, Put oil" thy shoes
from thy feet: tor the place where thou standest is
holy ground.

34 «1 have seen, I have seen the affliction of my peo-
ple which is in Egypt, and 1 have heard their groaning,
and am come down to deliver them. And now come, I
will send thee into Kgypt.

36 This iloses whom they refused, saying, Who made
thee a ruler and a judge? the same did God se[)d to he
a ruler and a deliverer •'by the hand of the angel which
appeared to him in the bush.

3ii 'lie brought them out, after that he had /shewed
wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, vand in the
Red sea, *and in the wilderness forty vears.

37 \ This is that Moses, wliicb said unto the chil-

32 came a voice of the I>ord, I am the God ol thy fa>
thers, the God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Ja-
cob. And Moses trembled, and durst not behold.

33 And the Lord said unto him, l^oose the shoes from
thv feet: for the place whereon thou standest is

34 holy ground. I have surely seen the atttiction of
my people which is in Egypt, and have beard their
groaning, and 1 am come down to deliver them :

35 and now come, I will send thee into Egypt. This
Moses whom they refused, saying. Who made thee a
ruler and a judge? him hath ood sent to be both a
ruler and a 'deliverer with the hand of the angel

30 who appeared to him in the bush. This man led
them lorth, having wrought wonders and signs in
Egypt, and in the Ked sea, and in the wilderness

37 forty years. This is tliat Moees, who said unto the

• Itott. n-.li; Heb. 11: IS.... I Ex. 3:6: Joah. 6:15....eKz. i:t....d Kz. 14:19; Nam. 20 : l«....«Ex. 1S:11; 83:1.
/Ex. 7-11; 14; Pa. 10& : 27....0 Ex. 14 : 21, 27-29....* Ex. 16 : 1, 35. 1 Qr. r«l««m«r.

32. I am the God, etc. In this way Jeho-
vah declares himself to be the true God, in op-
position to the idols of the heathen, and espe-
cially the author of those promises to the pa-
triarchs which were now on the eve of being
fulfilled. — Durst not behold — i. e. the sight.
In Ex. 3 : 6 it is said further that " Moses hid
his face " — an act prompted by his sense of the
holiness of him in whose presence he stood.
(Comp. 1 Kings 19 : 13.)

33. Loose the sandal of thy feet. San-
dal is a distributive singular, for the plural.
(W. § 27. 1.) It was a mark of reverence in
the East to take off the shoes or sandals in the
presence of a superior, so as not to approach
him with the dust which would otherwise
cleave to the feet. On this principle, the Jew-
ish priests officiated barefoot in the tabernacle
and the temple. Hence, too, none enter the
Turkish mosques at present except with naked
feet, or, in the case of foreigners, with slippers
worn for the occasion.— In is holy ground
Luger finds a special reference to vv. 30, 32.
The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob was
present, and where he appears the place is holy,
though it be in the wilderness.

34. Truly I saw. istov eTSov = Heb. rook
raethe, and so in the following verbs the
tense is aorist: I heard when they groaned
and came down (not am come) when I
saw and heard. In Hebrew the infinitive
absolute before a finite verb denotes the re-
ality of the act, or an effect of it in the highest
degree ; after the verb, it denotes a continuance
or repetition of the act. (See Gesen., Heb. Gr.,
§ 128. 3 ; W. ? 45. 8.) The easier Greek con-
struction for this idiom is that noticed on 4 : 17.
For I will send (T. R.) read I send (Tsch.,

Mey.), but with a future sense. (See W.
§ 13. 1.)

35. This (toOtoi') is here emphatic. This
(oCtos) introduces the next three verses with
the same effect. — Denied. The verb is plural,
because, though the rejection was one person's
act (v. 27), it revealed the spirit of the nation.
— As a ruler and redeemer. (Comp. 5 :
31.) Stephen selects the words evidently with
reference to the parallel which he would insti-
tute between Moses and Christ. — In the hand
stands for Heb. beyadh, by the hand, agency
(comp. Gal. 3 : 19), since it was through the
angel in the bush that God called Moses to de-
liver his people. Tischendorf [also Lach., Treg.,
West, and Hort, after X B C D E, correctly, with-
out doubt. — A. H.] reads irvv x«ipi (unusual, but
well supported), with tlie hand — i. e. attended by
the angel's aid and power, an adjunct of the
same rather than the verb. — The bush (tj
fiiru) is feminine here and in Luke 20 : 37, but
masculine in Mark 12 : 26.

36. Led them forth, out of Egypt. Hence
we cannot render iroi>j<ro«, after he had shown,
performed (E. V.), because the miracles in the
desert were not antecedent to the Exodus. The
participle expresses here an accompanying act
of led forth, performing (Vulg. facieru),
since the leading forth formed a general epoch
with which the associated events, whether his-
torically prior or subsequent, could be viewed
as coincident in point of time. On the force
of the participle in sucli a ca.se, see on 21 : 7. —
For the difference between wonders and signs,
see on 2 : 22. Lachinann inserts if before yjj, but
on slight evidence. — Aiyvwry is more correct than

Ai-yuirrou (T. R.).

37. A prophet, etc. For the explanation

found in Kurtz's article, Der Enget den Herm, in Tholuck's LiUerartteher .Ameiger, 1846, Nos. 11-14, and inserted,
for substance, in the author's OeschichU de* alien Bundes, vol. i. pp. 121-126.

100

THE ACTS.

! ClI. VII.

dren of Israel, 'A prophet shall the Lord your Ood
raise up unto you oi your brethren, like unto me ; 'him
shall ye hear.

'M 'This is he, that was in the church in the wilder-
ness with ^ihe angel which spake to him in the mount
^ina, and u-iM our fathers: 'who received the lively
/oracles to give unto us:

3y To whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust
him from them, and in their heart« turned back again
into Egypt,

40 'baying unto Aaron, Make us gods to go before

I ohildren of Israel, A prophet shall God raise up
I unto you tioin among vour brethren, ilike unto me.
I 38 This is he that was in the -church in the wilderness
I with the angel who spake to him in the mount Sinai,
and with our fathers: who received living oracles

39 to give unto us: to whom our fathers would not be
obedient, but thrust him from them, and turned

40 back in their hearts unto Egypt, saying unto Aaron,
Make us gods which shall go before us: for as for

• DMt 18: IS, 18: eh. 3 : n.... 6 Matt. lT:6....oKz. »:t, n....d Urn. 63: 9; Oal. 3: 19: Heb. 2:2....eEz. 21:1; Seat.
6: IT, SI; 33 : i; John 1 : IT / Bom. 3 : 2....; Kx. 32 : 1. 1 Or, a§ be nUed up me 2 Or, congregation.

of this prophecy, see on 3 : 22. No one can
doubt that Stephen r^arded Christ as the
prophet announced by Moses; yet it will be
observed he leaves that unsaid, and relies on
the intelligence of his hearers to infer his
meaning. Here is a clear instance in which
the speech adjusts itself to those suppressed re-
lations of the subject on which, as I suppose,
its adaptation to the occasion so largely de-
pended. By quoting this prediction of Moses,
Stephen tells the Jews in effect that it was they
who were treating the lawgiver with contempt ;
for, while they made such pretensions to re-
spect for his authority, they refused to acknow-
ledge the prophet whom he foretold and had
commanded them to obey. Lord and our be-
fore God (T. R.) are doubtful. Him shall ye
hear wc inserted probably from 3 : 22 (Lchm.,
Tsch., Mey.).

38. Who was (lit. became* entered into
connection) with the angel and with onr
fathers. The meaning is that he brought the
parties into association with each other, acted
as mediator between God and the people. (See
Gal. 3 : 19.) This fact is mentioned to show
how exalted a service Moses performed, in con-
trast with the indignity which he experienced
at the hands of his countrymen. He was a
type, Stephen would say, of the Jesus despised,
crucified, by those whom he would reconcile
unto God.— In the congregation — t. e. of the
Hebrews assembled at Sinai at the time of the
promulgation of the law. So all the best
critics and the older E. Versions (Tynd., Cran.,
Gen., Rhem.) translate this word. It is evi-
dent that ecclesta here affords no countenance
to the idea that the Hebrew nation, as such,
constitute<l the church under the Ancient Econ-
omy. [The word rendered church («(citAi)ffia)
signifies, in classical Greek, " an assembly of
the citizens summoned by the crier," or "a 1^-
islative assembly." It is used in the Septuagint
to denote the people of Israel when called to-
gether in an assembly (oeat n-.ao-, Joeh. s : 36: Jodg.
fi: 8; Heb. 1:12). It is employed by the writers
of the New Testament about ninety times to

denote a society of Christians who meet to-
gether for worship, who duly observe the or-
dinances, and who maintain discipline among
themselves. But these writers furnish no evi-
dence that the various churches, scattered
through the provinces and cities of Western
Asia and bouth-eastem Europe, were in any
sense orie organized body or society. In certain
passages the word "church" may perhaps sig-
nify a regular assembly of disciples meeting for
social worship, but not large enough to be or-
ganized into an independent society (e. g. Rom.
16 : 5; Philem. 1). In other passages it seems
to be used of the whole company of believera
in Christ, ideally considered as a great spiritual
assembly (Kpb. 5:23, »j.). In one place (Act«9:3i)
it may represent all the Christians in certain
provinces. The expression "Jewish Church"
is sometimes used, even by Baptist writers as
accurate as Dr. 0. S. Stearns (perhaps in accom-
modation to the practice of others), in a sense
not strictly warranted by the Scriptures. — A. H.]
— Lively characterizes oracles with reference,
not to their effect (comp. Rom. 8:3; Gal. 3 : 21),
but their nature or design : life-giving ora-
cles, commands. (Comp. Rom. 7 : 12.) The
inadequacy of the law to impart life does not
arise from any inherent defect in the law itself,
but from the corruption of human nature.

39. Turned with their hearts unto
Egypt— t. e. longed for its idolatrous worship,
and for the sake of it deserted that of Jehovah
(Calv., Kuin., DeWet., Mey.). The next words
are epexegetical, and require thi.s explanation.
Some have understood it of their wishing to
return to Egypt; but that sense, though it
could be expressed by the language, not only
disregards the context, but is opposed to Ex.
32 : 4 and Neh. 9 : 18. The Jews are there rep-
resented as worshipping the golden calf for
having brought them out of Egj'pt, and not
as a means of enabling tliem to return thither.

40. Gods who shall go before us— to
wit, as guides, protectors. This is a literal
translation from Ex. 32 : 1. The plural is best
explained as that of the pluralis excellentix.

Ch. VII.]

THE ACTS.

101

us : for a.i for this Moses, which brought us out of the
land of l^^gypt, we wot not what is become of him.

41 "And they made a calf in those days, and offered
sacrifice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of
their own hands.

42 Then *God turned, and gave them up to worship
Hhe host of heaven ; as it is written in the book of the
prophets, ''O ye house of Israel, liave ye offered to me
slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in
the wilderness?

43 Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch, and
the star of your god Kemphan, figures which ye made

this Moses, who led us forth out of the land of

41 Egypt, we know not what is become of him. And
they made a calf in tho.se days, and brought a sacri-
fice unto the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their

42 hands. But God turned, and gave them up to serve
the host of heaven ; as it is written iu the book of
the prophets.

Did ye offer unto me slain beasts and sacrifices
Forty years in the wilderness, U house of Israelf

43 And ye took up the tabernacle of Moloch,
And the star of the god Kephau,

aDeut. 9: 16; Pi. 106: 19....1P(. 81 : 12; Eiek. 30 : 25, 39; Rom. 1 : 24 ; 3 Tbeu. 2 : ll....e Deot. 4: 19; IT : 3; 2 Kinn IT: IS;

21 : 3 ; Jer. 19 : 13. . . .d Amo* 5 : 25, 26.

since Aaron made but one image in compli-
ance with this demand of the people (called
gods, elohim, in Ex. 32 : 8), and since the He-
brews would naturally enough transfer the
name of the true God to the object of their
idolatrous worship. De Wette hesitates be-
tween this view and that of gods as abstract,
deity, divine power. The latter is better, per-
haps, than Meyer's categorical plural — gods,
such as the calf represented. — For as to this
Moses who led us forth, etc. This is con-
temptuous, like iste. The nominative absolute
strengthens the sarcasm. ("W. §29. 1.) For al-
leges the disappearance of Moses as a reason
why they should change their worship ; possibly,
because it freed them from his opposition to
their desires, but more probably because, wheth-
er he had deserted them or had perished, it
showed that the God whom he professed to
serve was unwortliy of their confidence.

41. Made a calf («fxo<rx<"fO''')<^«'') is elsewhere
unknown to tlie extant Greek. They selected
the figure of a calf, or more correctly bullock,
as their idol, in imitation, no doubt, of the
Egyptians, who worshipped an ox at Memphis,
called Apis, and another at Heliopolis, called
Mnevis. (Win., Realw., i. p. 644 ; Herz., En-
cyk., vol. vii. p. 214.) Mummies of the animals
so worshipped are often found in the catacombs
of Egypt. — Rejoiced, made merry, refers
doubtless to the festive celebration mentioned
in Ex. 32 : 6. — The works is plural, because
the idol was the product of their joint labors.
Meyer supposes it to include the various im-
plements of sacrifice, in addition to the image
(in his last edition, works such as this).

42. Turned away, withdrew his favor.—
Gave up (Rom. 1 : 2i) = Suffered in 14 : 16 ; he
laid, for the present, no check upon their in-
clinations. In consequence of this desertion,
they sunk into still grosser idolatry. — The

host of heaven — f. e. the sun, moon, and
stars. This form of worship is called Sabaism,
from tsabba (Heb.), as applied to the heavenly
bodies. — In the book of the prophets — i. e.
the twelve minor prophets, whom the Jews
reckoned as one collection. The passage is
Amos 5 : 25-27. — Have ye offered, etc. This
sign of a question requires a negative answer,
and that answer is to be understood in a rela-
tive sense. (See W. f 57. 3.) Did ye offer
unto me sacrifices and offerings? — t. e.
exclusively. The reply is left to their con-
sciences. Even during the eventful period in
the wilderness, when the nation saw so much
of the power and goodness of God, they de-
serted his worship for that of other gods, or,
while they professed to serve him, unitetl his
service with that of idols. The question ends
here.

43. And ye took up, etc. The tacit answer
precedes : No, ye apostatized, and took up
the tabernacle of Moloch— i. e. to carry it
with them in their marches or in religious pro-
cessions. This tabernacle was intended, no
doubt, to resemble tlie one consecrated to Je-
hovah. Stephen follows the Septuagint. Mo-
loch stands there for Heb. Mcdkikem — i. e. the
idol worshipped as your king, which was the
Moloch of the Amorites. The Seventy supply
the name of the idol as well known from tra-
dition. But there is almost equal authority,
says Baur,' for reading Milkom, a proper name.
That variation would bring the Greek into still
closer conformity with the Hebrew. — The star
of the god — i. e. an image resembling or rep-
resenting a star worshipped by them as a god.
— By Remphan (also written Replian, Rampha,
Rompha) the Seventy express kiyyoon (Heb.),
which, like most of the ancient translators, they
took to be a proper name. Some of the ablest
modern scholars* defend the correctness of that

• Dtr Prophet Amos erkldrt, von Dr. Gustav Baur, p. 362.

* See especially Movers, Ueber die PhUnixier, vol. i. p. 289, sq.
proper name in various Oriental languages.

He maintains that kiyyoon may b« traced as »

102

THE ACTS.

[Ch. VII.

to worship them : and I will carry you away beyond I
Babylon. !

44 Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the
wilderness, as he had appointed, speaking unto Moses,
■that hi' should make It accurding to the fashion that
he had seen. i

4.') 'Which also our fathers that came after brought
in with Jesus into the possession of the Gentiles, 'whom
(iod drave out before the face of our fathers, unto the
days of David ;

The figures which ye made to worship them :

And i will carry you away beyond Babylon.

44 Our fathers had the tabernacle of the testimony in

the wilderness, even as he appointed who spake unto

Moses, that he should make it according to the figure

4.5 that he had seen. Which also our fathers, in their

turn, brought in with 'Joshua when they entered

on the possession of the nations, whom (iod thrust

out l>efore the face of our fathers, unto the days of

«Kz. 15:40; M:M; Htb; 8: »....6 Joih. I : U....C Neb.9 : M; Fi. 44 : S; T8 : &5; oh. IS : 19.-

translation. In this case the Greek name must
have sprung from a corrupt pronunciation of
the Hebrew name. (See Gesen., Lex., p. 463.)
According to others, kiyyoon should be rendered
statue, or statxies, and the idol would then be
unnamed in the Hebrew. So Gesenius, Robin-
son (iV'. T. Lex., s. v.), and others. Admitting
that sense, it was unnecessary for Stephen to
correct the current version ; for he adduced the
passage merely to establish the charge of idol-
atry, not to decide what particular idol was
worshipped. Whether the star-god to which
they paid their homage was Saturn, Venus, or
some other planet cannot be determined. — The
figures* in apposition with tabernacle and
star. The term was so much the more appro-
priate to the tabernacle, as it contained probably
an image of Molot;h. — jieroiitii (will carry
away) is the Attic future. — Beyond Baby-
lon, whui ; the Hebrew and Septuagint have
beyond Damascus. The idea is the same,
for the pretliction turned, not upon the name,
but the fact — viz. that God would scatter them
into distant lands. The Babylonian Captivity
was the one best known, and, besides, in being
exiled to the remoter place the Jews were trans-
ported beyond the nearer.

44. The tabernacle of witness ^ Ohd
haedhooth (Num. 9 : IS; 17 : 23), the tabcmacle of
the testimony, or law, so called because it
contained the ark in which the tables of the
Decalogue were kept. The law is termed a
testimony, because it testifies or declares the
divine will. Biihr's explanation (Symbolik, vol.
i. p. 80) is different : the tabernacle was a testi-
mony or witness of the covenant between God i
and his people. — That he should make it
according to the pattern which he had
seen— viz. on Mount Sinai. (See Ex. 25 : 9, 40.)
By this reference Stephen reminds the Jews of
the emblematical import, consequently the sub-
ordinate value, of the ancient worship. Moses, ]
under the divine guidance, constructed the j
earthly tabernacle, so as to have it image forth
certain heavenly or spiritual realities that were '
to be accomplished under " the better covenant 1
of which Jesus is the Mediator." Here we have i

the rudiments of the view which pervades the
Epistle to the Hebrews. (See especially Heb. 8 :
5.) What was true of the tabernacle was true
also of the first and the second temple : they
were built after the same model, and were
in like manner antitypes, or shadows of the
heavenly. That application of the remark
could be lef^ to suggest itself. [Anything like a
full account of the Jewish tabernacle would re-
quire more space than can be given to it in this
Commentary ; but the reader will do well to
consult the treatise of Edw. E. Atwater on the
History and Significance of the Sacred Tabernacle,
also chap. iv. of Fergusson on The Temple of the
Jews, and the articles on the tabernacle in
Smith's Diet, of the Bible, Kitto's Biblical Cy-
clopxdia, edited by W. L. Alexander, and
McClintock and Strong's Cydopsedia, etc. —
A. H.]

45. Also adds brought in to should
make.— Having received (the tabernaclp)
— viz. from Moses or his contemporaries, sin(>e
those who entered Canaan were a later genera-
tion ; not inherited ( Alf.), a false meaning, and not
who came after, successors (E. V., retained from
Cranm.), since that substantive construction
would require the article. (See Pape, s. v.) —
With Joshua, as their leader, under his guid-
ance.— Into the possession of the heathen,
the territory inhabited by them. (Comp. let the
land be given unto us for a possession in
Num. 32 : 5.) ei* (in) shows that the idea of
rest predominates over that of motion. Meyer
and De Wette translate on taking possession
of the heathen, on their subjugation. The
other meaning is better, because it supplies an
indirect object after brought in, and adheres
to the prevalent passive sense of possession.
(See Rob., Lex., s. v.)— Unto the days of
David belongs to brought in, employed sug-
gestively : brought the tabernacle into the land,
and retained it until (inclusive) the days of
David. Some join the words with whom
God drave out, which exalts a subordinate
clause above the principal one and converts the
aorist into an imperfect: was expelling from
Joshua until David.

Ch. VII.]

THE ACTS.

103

46 'Who found favor before God, and desired to
find a tabernacle for the (iod of Jacob.

47 "But Solomon built him an house.

4B Howbeit ■'the most High dwelleth not in temples
made with hands ; as saith the prophet,

49 'Heaven ui my throne, ana earth is my footstool :
what house will ye build me ? saith the Lord : or what
w the place of my rest ?

50 Hath not my hand made all these things ?

51 ^ Ye /stifibecked and ^uncircumcised in heart and
ears, ye do always resist the Holy Uhost: as your
fathers did, so do ye.

52 *\Vhich of the prophets have not your fathers

Eersecuted? and they have slain them which shewed
efore of the coming of 'the Just One ; of whom ye
have been now the betrayers and murderers :

53 *Who have received the law by the disposition of
angels, and have not kept it.

46 David ; who found favor in the sight of God, and ask-

47 ed to find a habitation for the God of Jacob. But

48 Solomon built him a house. Howbeit the Most
High dwelleth not in hoiuet made with hands; aa
saith the prophet,

49 The heaven is my throne,

And the earth the footstool of my feet :

What manner of house will ye build me? saith

the Lord:
Or what is the place of my rest?

50 Did not my hand make all these things?

51 Ye stitTnecked and uncircumcised in heart and
ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your

52 fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets did
not your fathers persecute? and they killed them
who shewed before of the coming of the Righteous
One; of whom ye have now become betrayers and

53 murderers; ye who received the law 'as it was or-
dained by angels, and kept it not.

a 1 Sun. 16:1; 3 Sun. T : 1 ; Ps. 89 : 19; eh. IS : 22....& 1 Kingi 8 : 17; 1 Cbron. 22: 7; Pa. »2 : 4, 5....e 1 KiD(i 6: 1; 8:20; 1 Chroo.
17: 12; 2 Chron. t:l....d 1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chron. 2 : S; 6 : 18 ; oh. 17 :24....elu. 66 : I, 2 ; Matt. 5 : 34. S-S ; 23 : 22..../ Kx. S2 : 9;

33 : 3 ; !■>. 48 : 4 g Lev. 26 : 41 : Deut. 10 : 16 ; Jer. 4:4; 6 : 10 ; » : 26 ; Ezek. 44 : 9. . . .A 2 Chron. 36 : 16 : Matt. 11 : 36 ; 23 : 34, 37 ;

1 Thess. 2 : 15 < ch. 3 : 14 k Ex. 20 : 1 ; Oal. 3 - 19; Heb. 2 : i. 1 Or, a* the ardinanct of angtU Or. unto ordinatice* o/ angtU.

46. Who found favor, etc. (Comp. 13 :
22.) The tacit inference may be that, had the
temple been so important as the Jews supposed,
Grod would not have withheld this honor from
his servant. — Asked for himself, as a privi-
lege. We have no record of this prayer, though
it is implied in 2 Sam. 7 : 4, sq., and in 1 Chron.
22 : 7. In the latter passage David says, " As
for me, it was in my mind to build an house
unto the name of the Lord my God." In that
frame of spirit he indited the hundred and
thirty-second Psalm. — To find . . . Jacob
coincides with Ps. 132 : 5 (Sept.). To express
the object of David's request, Stephen avails
himself of the language contained in that pas-
sage. Translate, a habitation (=oTkoi' in v.
47, place of abode, temple) for the God of
Jacob ; not tabernacle ( = o-itijvij in v. 44), as
in the E. Version. The tabernacle existed
already, and it was not that structure, but a
temple, which David was anxious to build.
The confusion arises from rendering the dif-
ferent Greek terms by the same word.

47-53. Period of the Temple and the
Peophets.

47. But {&i, adversative). What was denied
to David was granted to Solomon. (See 2
Chron. 6 : 7, 8.) Yet even the builder of the
temple acknowledged (2 ciirou. 6 : is) that God is
not confined to any single place of worship.
The tenor of the speech would be apt to remind
the hearers of that admission.

48. Howbeit . . . dwelleth. The temple
was at length built, but was never designed to
circumscribe the presence of the Infinite Archi-
tect (see V. 50) or to usurp tlie homage that be-
longs to him alone. The remark here was
aimed, doubtless, at the superstitious reverence
with which the Jews regarded the temple, and
at their proneness in general to exalt the forms

of religion above its essence. For not in this
position, see on 2 : 7. Temples is probably a
gloss from 17 : 24. — As saith, etc. To give
greater effect to his reproof, Stephen quotes
the testimony of the prophet — viz. Isa. 66 : 1, 2.

51. There is no evidence that Stephen was
interrupted at this point. Many critics assume
that without reason. The sharper tone of rep-
rehension to which the speaker rises here be-
longs to the place ; it is an application of the
course of remark which precedes. We have
no right to ascribe it to Stephen's irritation at
perceiving signs of impatience or rage on the
part of his hearers. — Uncircumcised, etc. —
i. e. destitute of the disposition to hear and love
the truth, of which their circumcision should
have been the sign. (Comp. Lev. 26 : 41 ; Jer. 6 :
10 ; Rom. 2 : 29.) For the heart, see 2 : 37.—
Ye do always resist the Holy Spirit,
under whose influence the messengers of God
— e. g. Christ and the apostles — spoke to them.
To reject their testimony was to reject that of
the Spirit himself. What follows appears to
restrict the language to that meaning. — Also
you, where so would state the comparison
more exactly. (See W. § 53. 5.)

52. Whom of the prophets, etc. Stephen
would describe the general conduct of the Jews
toward their prophets ; he does not alBrm tliat
there were no exceptions to it. Other passages,
as 2 Chron. 36 : 15, 16, Matt. 23 : 37, and Luke
13 : 33, 34 make the same representation.—
Those who announced beforehand, etc.,
designates the prophets with reference to the

' leading subject of their predictions. (See on
3 : 21-24.)— The Just One (3 : u), slain by
them as a malefactor. — Now, as the climax
of the nation's guilt.— Traitors. (See 3 : 13.)

53. Those who were thus guilty (». 52) acted
in the character of those who (olrtFtt, such

104

THE ACTS.

[Ch. VII.

54 f "When they heard these things, they were cut
to the heart, and tney enoshed on him with their teeth.

65 But he, ^being fiiTl of the Holy (ihost, iooked up
Btedfaatly into heaven, and saw the glory of Uod, ana
Jesus standing on the right hand of (iod,

5() And said, Ifehold, 'I see the heavens opened, and
the "t^on of wan standing on the right hand of Ciod.

97 Then they cried out with a loud voice, and
(topped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,

M And *ca8t kirn out of the city, /and stoned Mm:

M Now when they heard these things, they were cut
to the heart, and thev gnashed on him with their

65 teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, loolced
up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God,

66 and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and
said. Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son

67of man standing on the right hand of (iod. But they
cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears,

58 and rushed upon him with one accord ; and they cast
him out of the city, and stoned him : and the wit-

«eh. S:3S....k«b.6:6.

.«Kuk.l:li Matt. S:ie; oh. 10 : II... .4 Dmn. 1: U....«l Klof* 11:13; Luke 4 : » ; Heb. U:
..../Lev. M: 16.

as) received, etc.— The law as (tU predica-
tive sign; see on v. 21) ordinances (plural
with reference to law as an aggr^ate of single
acts) of angels, the latter not as the authors
of them, in which sense they were God's, but
as commiuiicated through them. (Comp., in
Heb. 2:2, the word spoken through angeis,
and especially, in Gal. 3 : 19, ordained on the
part of God through angels.) The elliptical
explanation, reckoned unto ordinances, as
of that rank or class, affords the same mean-
ing, but is not so simple. (See W. ? 32. 4. b.)
Some translate upon the ministrations,
agency of; but that both strains the use of
the preposition (not necessarj' even in Matt.
12 : 41) and employs the noun differently
from Rom. 13 : 2 (not elsewhere in New Testa-
ment). The presence of angels at the giving
of the law is not expressly stated in the Old
Testameii', but is alluded to in Gal. 3 : 19 and
Heb. 2 : 2. Philo and Josephus testify to the
same tradition. The Seventy translate Deut.
33 : 2 in such a manner as to assert the same
fact. It is implied, perhaps, in Ps. 68 : 18.
The Jews regarded this angelic mediation as
both ennobling the law and as conferring
special honor on themselves, to whom the law
was given. (For a striking proof of this Jewish
feeling, see Jos., Antt., 15. 5, 3.) From another
point of view — viz. that of Christ's superiority
to angels — this angelic intervention showed the
inferiority of the law to the gospel, which is
the view taken in Heb. 2 : 2, and probably in
Gal. 3 : 19.— And yet ye kept it not. Law,
as the principal word, .supplies the object, and
not iuirayii (E. V.). In this verse, therefore,
we have the apostle's idea in Rom. 2 : 23,
where he says that the Jews gloried in the
law, while they dishonored God by their vio-
lations of it.

54-60. THE DEATH OF STEPHEN.

54. It is disputed whether Stephen finished
his speech or not. The abrupt manner in
which he closes, and the exasperation of the
Jews at that moment, render it probable that
he was interrupted. Hearing, as present,
favors the saii.e view, but is not decisive. (See

5:5; 13 : 48.)— For were cut to the heart,

see on 5 : 33.

55. Full of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit
revealed to his soul this scene in heaven. It
was not a vision addressed to the senses. It is
needless, therefore, to inquire, as Meyer now
admits, whether our martyr could see the
opened sky through the roof or a window. —
For the glory of God, see on v. 2.— Stand-
ing, instead of sitting, as at other times. The
Saviour had risen, in order to intimate his
readiness to protect or sustain his servant
(Bug., Kuin., Mey.). It appears to me doubt-
ful whether we are to attach that or any other
significancy to the particular attitude in which
he appeared.

56. Behold, etc. This declaration would
tend to exasperate them still more. They are
now told that he whom they had crucified, and
whom they were ready to slay anew in the per-
son of his followers, was exalted to supreme
dominion at the right hand of God. (See re-
marks on 2 : 34.)

57. Crying. Among other things, perhaps,
that he should be silent, or that he should be
put to death. (Comp. 19 : 32 ; Matt. 27 : 23 ;
John 19 : 12.)— Stopped, etc. They affected
to regard his words as blasphemous, and
stopped their ears as an expression of their
abhorrence. — Ran upon him, etc. Under the
Roman laws, the Jews had no power to inflict
capital punishment without the sanction of the
procurator or his proxy. (See John 18 : 31.)
Nearly all critics at present concur in that
view. Hence the stoning of Stephen was an
illegal, tumultuous proceeding. The Roman
governors connived often at such irregularities,
provided the Roman interest or power suffered
no detriment. As Pilate was deposed in a. d.
35 or 36, some have thought that his ofllce
may have been still vacant (see on 6 : 1), and
that the Jews took greater liberty on that ac-
count.

58. Out of the city, because a place so
holy was not to be defiled with blood. (See
Lev. 24 : 14. Comp. the note on 14 : 19.) [At
what place outsids the city walls is not cer-

Ch.

VII.]

THE

ACTS.

105

and «the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young
man's feet, whose name was Saul.

nesses

laid down

their

garments at the feet of •

aDeut. 1S:9, 10;

lT:T;oh.8-

1; n

30.

tainly known. But in Conder's Tent - Work in
Palestine, vol. i. pp. 371-376, important reasons
are assigned for believing that it was a spot
known by tradition as "The Place of Stoning."
This place is situated near the main road to
Shechem, on the east side, a little north of
the Damascus gate. The writer says: "The
stony road comes out from the Damascus gate,
and runs beside the yellow cliff, in which are

Jesus was crucified, as well as the spot wh'ere
Stephen was stoned. — A. H.] — And the wit-
nesses laid off their garments, that
they might have the free use of their arms
in hurling the stones. The law of Moses
required the witnesses in the case of a
capital offence to begin the work of death.
(See Deut. 13 : 10 ; 17 : 7.) The object of the
law, it has been suggested, may have been to

PLACE OF STONING.

excavated caverns. . . . Above the cliff, which
is some thirty feet high, is the rounded knoll
without any building on it, bare of trees, and
in spring covered in part with scanty grass,
while a great portion is occupied by a Moslem
cemetery. To the north are olive-groves ; to
the west, beneath the knoll, is a garden. . . .
The place is bare and dusty, surrounded by
stony ground and by heaps of rubbish, and ex-
posed to the full glare of the summer sun.
Such is the barren hillock which, by consent
of Jewish and Christian tradition, is identified
with the Place of Stoning, or of execution ac-
cording to the Jewish laws." Mr. Conder sup
poses that this knoll was the Calvary on which

prevent inconsiderate or false testimony. Many
would be shocked at the idea of shedding blood
who would not scruple to gain a private end
or to gratify their malice by misrepresentation
and falsehood. — At his feet, for safekeeping.
(Comp. 22 : 20.) Their selecting Saul for this
purpose shows that he was already known as a
decided enemy of the Christians. His zeal and
dialectic skill in the controversy with Stephen
(see on 6 : 9) could not have failed to establish
his claim to that character. — A yonng man, a
designation which the Greeks could apply to a
person till he was forty years old, but perhaps
in common speech would rarely extend beyond
the age of thirty. This term, thereforet is very

106

THE ACTS.

[Ch. VIII.

89 And they stoned Stephen, «ealltng upon God, and I 69 young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen,

laying, I-<ord .Ie.sus. 'receive my spirit.

6U And he 'kuceleU down, and cried with a loud
voice, <'lx>rd, lay not this sin to their charge. And
when he had said this, he fell asleep.

calling upon the Lord, and saying. Lord Jesus, re-
eOcelve my spirit. And lie kneeled down, and cried
with a loud voice. Lord, lay not this sin to their
charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
And Saul was consenting unto his death.

CHAPTER
ND <Saal was consenting unto hia death. And at I 1
L that time there was a great persecution against the

VIII.

And there arose on that day a great persecution

• eh. t:U....tPi. Il:ft; Lata U : «S....«ab. ts M; 10:86; SI : 6.. ..4 Matt. 6 :M; Lak*6:28; 23 : M....ecb. T :&8; 22 : tO.

indefinite as an indication of Saul's age at the time
of this occurrence. In all probability, he was
not far from thirty when he was converted —
not much less, as the Sanhedrim would hardly
have entrusted so important a commission to a
mere youth (see 9 : 1, sq.), and not more, as his
recorded life (closing about a. d. 64) would
otherwise be too short for the events of his
history.*

59. Calling upon — viz. Christ. Lord
Jesus, just before, supplies the only natural
object after this participle. "That the first
Christians called on Jesus," says De Wette —
t. e. addressed prayer to him — '' is evident from
9 : 14, 21 ; 22 : 16 ; comp. 2 : 21 ; Rom. 10 : 12,
sq." See further on 9 : 14. — As the dying Sav-
iour said to the Father, "Into thy hands I
commend my spirit," so the dying Stephen
said now to the Saviour, receive my spirit.
[The Greek term for Lord (kv>io«) signifies one
who has absolute power, authority, or control over
persons or things. It is properly translated lord,
master, owner, etc. — e. g. lord of a realm, master
of a slave, owner of a vineyard. It is some-
times applied, as a form of respectful Oriental
address, to persons having no real claim to the
title. But it is used most frequently in Scrip-
ture as a designation of God the Supreme Ruler,
or of Jesus Christ his Son, who, as Mediatorial
King, is Head over all things to the church.
" In the Greek version of the Old Testament it
represents the Hebrew Adonai one hundred and
fourteen times ; Adonai Elohim, twenty-nine
times ; El, forty-one times ; Jah, twenty-two
times; Jehovah, more than fifteen hundred
times" (Moses Stuart). In the New Testament
it is used as one of the distinctive appellations
of God the Father and of Jesus Christ, being
generally applied in the Gospels to God, and in
the Epistles of Paul to Jesus Christ, and being
nsed, like proper names, either with or without
the article. "There are those who teach that.

with the exception of words borrowed from the
Old Testament, . . . Paul never designates God,
but always Christ, by the term Lord. But,
omitting instances of doubtful interpretation,
. . . it is at once evident that in the words
'and to each as the Lord gave' (icor. 3:5), the
Lord must signify God, because of the words
that follov/, especially the words 'according
to the grace of God which was given to me'
(t. 10). On the contrary, I hold that in the ex-
pres.sion ' when we are judged, we are chastened
by the Lord' (icor. n:S2), the reference is to
Christ, because of 10 : 22 compared with 21."
(Grimm, Lexicon of the N. T., sub voce. See, be-
sides Grimm, Cremer, Biblico- Theological Lex.
of the N. T., under icv'pioj, and Stuart in Bibl.
Repos., i. pj). 733-776.)— A. H.]

60. Establish not this sin to them,
reckon or count it not to them (Rob., De Wet.).
Christ had .set an example of this duty, as well
as enjoined it by precept. No parallel to this
prayer of Stephen can be found out of Chris-
tian history. The Greeks expressed a dehortatory
command or wish by fuj with the subjunctive
aorist when the act was one not yet com-
menced. (Comp. on 10 : 15.) This is Her-
mann's rule. (See Mt. § 511. 3; K. § 259. 5.)
—Fell asleep, died. (Comp. 13:36; 1 Cor.
15 : 18, etc.) Heathen writers employed the
verb occasionally in that sense ; but its deriva-
tive, cemetery (koi/itjt^pioi') — i. e. a place where
the body sleeps in the hope of a resurrection —
was first used by Christians. It marks the in-
troduction of the more cheerful ideas which
the gospel has taught men to connect with the
grave.

1-3. THE BURIAL OF STEPHEN.

1. The first sentence here would have closed
more properly the last chapter.— Consenting,
approving with, them— viz. the murderers of
Stephen ; so that he shared their guilt without

' For information in regard to the early life and training of the apostle Paul (a topic important to a just view
of his character and history), the student may consult Dr. Davidson's Introduction to the New TeslamerU, vol. ii. p.
122, tq. ; Conybeare and Howson's Lifi- and EpUUes of St. Paul, vol. i. p. 40, tq. (2d ed.) ; Selections from German
IMercUure (Edwards and Park), p. 31, sq. ; Schrader's Der Apotlel Paulut, zweiter Theil, p. 14, sq.; Hemsen's Das
LAen de* Apottelt, u. s. w. erstes Kapitel ; and Tholuck's Vermischte Schriften, Band ii. p. 272, sq.

Ch. VIII.]

THE ACTS.

107

church which was at Jerusalem ; and "they were all
scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and
Samaria, except the apostles.

2 And devout men carried Stephen to hit burial, and
'made great lamentation over him.

3 As for Saul, "he made havock of the church, enter-
ing into every house, and haling men and women
committed them to prison.

4 Therefore 'they that were scattered abroad went
everywhere preaching the word.

against the church which was in Jerusalem; and
the^ were all scattered abroad throughout the
regions of Judxa and Samaria, except tlie apostles.

2 And devout men buried Stephen, and made great

3 lamentation over him. Hut .Saul laid waste the
church, entering into every house, and dragging
away men and women committed them to prison.

4 They therefore that were scattered abroad went

aoh. ll:lS....&Oen. 23:1; 60:10; SS*ni. 8 : Sl....eeb. 7 : S8; >: 1, IS, 11; 32 : 4; M : 10, 11; 1 Oor. 15:9; 0»1. 1:11; Phil.
8:6; 1 Tim. 1 : 13. . . .d Matt 10:13; oh. 11 : U.

participating so directly in the act. In Rom.
1 : 32, Paul lays it down as one of the worst
marks of a depraved mind that a person can
bring himself to applaud thus coolly the sins
of others, and in 22 : 20 he says that he himself
had exhibited that mark of depravity in rela-
tion to the death of Stephen. Luke here re-
cords, probably, a confession which he had
often heard from the lips of the apostle. For
was with the participle, see on 1 : 10. — On
that day (comp. 11 : 19) ; not indefinite, at
that time, which would require the noun to be
plural. The stoning of Stephen was the signal
for an immediate and universal persecution. —
All need not be pressed so as to include everj^
individual. (See on 3 : 18.) Zeller clings to the
letter, and then argues against the truth of the
narrative from the improbability of such a
panic. Many of those who fled returned,
doubtless, after the cessation of the present
danger. It is not to be supposed that the
church which we find existing at Jerusalem
after this was made up entirely of new mem-
bers.— Throughout the regions. They fled
at first to different places in Judea and Sama-
ria ; but some of them, probably the foreign
Jews, went afterward to other countries. (See
v. 4 and 11 : 19.) [Except the apostles. Two
reasons have been assigned for their remaining
in Jerusalem. Canon Cook suggests that they
did so because they " were not exposed to this
persecution, being Hebrews, regular attendants
at the temple-service, revered and beloved for
their miracles." Meyer says that they remained
" because of their great steadfastness. In tlie
absence of more special divine intimation, they
resolved to remain still at the centre of the
theocracy." The latter view is preferable to
the former. — A. H.]

2. Bore away together — i. e. to the grave
--joined to bury, or simply buried, as the
force of the preposition is not always trace-
able in this verb. (See Pape, s. v.) — Now (8<)
carries back the mind to Stephen after the di-
gression in v. 1 ; not but, in spite of, the perse-
cution, for it was not only permitted among

the Jews, but required, that the bodies of those
executed should be buried.— Devout men are
pious Jews (see on 2 : 5) who testified in this
way their commiseration for Stephen's fate and
their conviction of his innocence. The Chris-
tians would not have been allowed to perform
such an office; they too would have been
designated as disciples or brethren. — Lamen-
tation, as expressed in the Oriental way
by clapping the hands or smiting on the
breast.

3. Now (Si) presents Saul again as the prin-
cipal person, or possibly but (E. V.), contrasting
his conduct with that of the devout. — Into
the houses, one after another. The preiwsition
marks both direction and succession. — Drag-
ging, bearing off with violence. (Comp. 14 :
19 ; 17 : 6. See Tittm., Synm., p. 57, sq.) We see
the man's ferocious spirit in his manner. " Hal-
ing," in the English translation, is an old word
for hauling or hawling. — Not only men, but
Avomen. Repeated also in 9 : 2 and 22 : 4 as a
great aggravation of his cruelty.

4-8. THE GOSPEL IS PREACHED IN
SAMARIA.

4. Those therefore dispersed, taken as
a substantive. (Comp. 1 : G.) The clause is
illative [or inferential] as well as resumptive,
since it was in consequence of the persecution
(v. 1) that the disciples were led to new fields
of labor. — Went abroad— lit. through ; i. e.
different places. Luke intimates the circuit of
their labors more fully in 11 : 19. [Preach-
ing the word. The word is the tnith in re-
spect to Christ and salvation ; and preaching
is announcing this word as good news. The
violent dispersion of these earnest disciples re-
sulted in a rapid diffusion of the gospel. In a
simple, unofficial, but effective way the mes-
sage of life was carried to multitudes who
might not have heard it for a long time if
the members of the church in Jerusalem had
been suffered to abide peaceably in that city.
Thus even persecution has been made to fur-
ther the cause which it sought to destroy.—
A. H.]

108

THE ACTS.

[Ch. VIII.

5 Then •Philip went down to the city of SamarU,
and preached Ciirist unto theni.

li And the people nith one accord gave heed uuto
those things which I'hilip spake, bearing and aeeiog
the miracles whicli he did.

7 For ^unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came
out of many that were poiisess d tcilh Ihein: and many
taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.

8 And there was great joy iu that citv.

9 But there waa a certain man, called Simon, which

6 about preaching the word. And Philin went down
to the city of Samaria, and proclaimea unto them

6 the Christ. And the multitudes gave heed with
one accord unto the things that were spoken bv
I'hilip, when they heard, and saw the signs which

7 he did. 'lor /rum many of those who had unclean
spirits, they came out, cr^-ing with a loud voice:
and many that were palsied, and that were lame,

8 were healed. And there was much joy in that city.

9 But there was a certain man, bimon by name, who

• •h. 6 : 6.. ..k Mark M: IT.— —I Or, J'or mrnig <tf Uto** who had tmeteaniplriu that eritd with a toud voice eam4 fi>r(»

5. This is the Philip mentioned in 6 : 5 and
21 : 8 ; not the apostle of that name, for he re-
mained still at Jerusalem. (See v. 1.) Having
come down, because he journeyed from Je-
rusalem (v. 15) ; to go to that city was to go up.
— Unto the city of Samaria, genitive of ap-
position (Grot., Kuin., Win., Rob.), or a city
in that country (Olsh., Neand., De Wet., Mey.).
That the capital was called Samaria at this time,

not the cause, but the time or occasion. (K.
§ 289. 1. 2.)

7. For from many who had nnclean
spirits, they (the spirits) went forth, etc.
Many {noKXiv) depends on from (c() in the
verb (Mey., De Wet.). (Corap. 16:39; Matt.
10 : 14.) Some (Bng., Kuin.) make spirits the
subject o." the verb, and supply them after
having (Revis. had). The other is the more

KLI.S.S OF COLONNADE OF SA.MARIA.

as well as SebasU, we see from Jos., Antt., 20. 6. 2.
City droAii-), with that reference, may omit the
article, because Samaria defines it. (Comp. 2
Pet. 2:6. W. ? 19. 2.) It would be most natu-
ral to repair at once to the chief city, and it
was there that such a man as Simon Magus
(see V. 9) would be most apt to fix his abode. —
Multitudes, in v. 6, indicates a populous city.
If it was not the capital, it may have been
Sychar, where the Saviour preached with so
much effect (Olsh.). (See John 4 : 5, 47.)— Unto
them. The antecedent lies in city. (Comp.
18 : 11 ; Matt. 4 : 23; Gal. 2:2. W. ? 67. 1. d.)

6. Attended, listened with eager interest;
not believed (Kuin.), which anticipates the re-
sult in V. 12. — When they heard, and saw,
etc. In (iy) with the infinitive denotes here,

natural order.— Crying with a loud voice,

and testifying to the Mes.siahship of Jesus or
the truth of the gospel. (Comp. Mark 3 : 11 ;
Luke 4 : 41.) The expression would suppose
the reader to be acquainted with tlie fuller ac-
count of such cases in the history of Christ.
Some understand the cry here to have been an
exclamation of rage or indignation on the part
of the demons, because they were compelled to
release their victims.— And many, etc. Here,
too (see on 5 : 16), ordinary diseases are distin-
guished from demoniacal possession.

9-13. SIMON THE SORCERER, AND HIS
PROFESSED BELIEF.

9. Simon. For the history of this impostor
his character, and the traditions of the church
respecting him, the reader is referred to Nean-

Ch. VIIL]

THE ACTS.

109

beforetime in the same city 'used sorcery, and be-
witched the people of Samaria, 'giving out that him-
self was some great one :

10 To whom they all gave heed, from the least to
the greatest, saying. This man is the great power of
God.

11 And to him they had regard, because that of long
time he had bewitched them with sorceries.

12 But when they believed I'hilip preaching the
things 'concerning the kingdom of God, and the
name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men
and women.

13 Then Simon himself believed also: and when he
was baptized, he continued with l^hilip, and won-
dered, beholding the miracles and signs which were
done.

14 Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they
sent unto them Peter and John :

beforetime in the city used sorcery, and amazed the
'people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some

10 great one : to whom ihey all gave heed, from the least
to the greatest, saying. This man Is that power of <iod

11 which IS callea (ireat. And they gave heed to him,
because that of long time he had umazid them with

12 his sorceries. Hut when they believed I'hilip preach-
ing good tidings concerning the kingdom of dod and
the name of Jesus (.'hrist, iliey were baptized, both

13 men and women. And .Simon ul.so himself believed :
and being baptized, he continued with Philip; and
beholding signs and great -miracles wrought, ne waa
amazed.

14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem
heard that Samaria had received the word of God,

a oh. U:6....&eh. S:Sa....eeb. I : S.-

-1 Or. nattom. . . .1 Or. powtn.

der's Church History, vol. i. p. 454, or his Plant-
ing of the Church, p. 46, sq. (See note on v. 24.)
— Was there before — i. e. the arrival of
Philip — and had been for a long time. (See v.
11.) — Using sorcery states in what character
and by what arts he secured so much power. —
Bewitching the nation, either because he
traversed the country or drew to himself crowds
in the city where he dwelt.

10. From small unto great — i. e. both
young and old. (See Heb. 8 : 11 ; Jon. 3 : 5,
Sept.) The expression has been called a Hebra-
ism, but examples of it occur in Greek writers
(Mey.).— This one is the great power of
God — i. e. through him is exhibited tliat power ;
they supposed him to perform wonders which
evinced his possession of superhuman gifts.
The language is similar to that in Rom. 1 : 16,
where the gospel is said to be God's power
unto salvation [see Bib. Sac, vol. xxxix. p.
171. — A. H.] — i. e. an instrumentality exhib-
iting the power of God in the salvation of men.
This is the more obvious view of the sense, and
is the one commonly received. Neander would
ascribe to the words a theosophic, concrete mean-
ing. He supposes the Samaritans to have rec-
ognized Simon "as more tlian a man : the great
power which at first emanated from the invis-
ible God, and through whicli he created every-
thing else, had now appeared in a bodily form
on the earth." It appears to be exacting too
much from the language to understand it in
that manner. Saying that himself was
some great one, in v. 9 (comp. 5 : 36; Gal.
2 : 6), would not show that he himself carried
his pretensions so far ; and the people are not
likely to have conceded to him more than he
claimed. — The variation ^ icoAov^fVij ntyakri
(which is called great — i. e. is truly so, de-
serves the epithet) is well supported (Grsb.,
Mey., Tsoh.). [Also Lach., Treg., West, and

Hort, Anglo-Am, Revisers, with X A B C D E,
etc. — A. H.] De Wette thinks called a gloss,
added to weaken the idea: called great, but
not so in reality.

11. For a long time. The dative stands for
the ordinary accusative, as in 13 : 20 ; John 2 :
20; Rom. 16: 25. (W. ? 31.9; S. §106.4.)— They
had been beAvitched by his sorceries (lit.
put beside themselves), not he had bewitched
them (Vulg., E. V.). The perfect i(t<rraKiv<u, says
Scholefield {Hints, etc., p. 40), does not admit a
transitive sense. (See also Brud., Cone, s. v.). [The
form here used is transitive. See 1 Mace. 10 : 20 ;
11 : 34.— A. H.] It was necessary that men delud-
ed to such an extent should be reclaimed by ar-
guments addressed to the senses. (Seevv.6, 7, 17.)

13. And Simon also himself believed —
viz. the word preached ; i. e. professed to be a
disciple, and was baptized in that character.
The verb describes him with reference to his
supposed or apparent state, not his actual posi-
tion. He may have been not wholly insincere
at first, but soon showed that he had no correct
views of the gospel, that he was a stranger to
its power. (See on v. 18.)— Miracles, or pow-
ers, differs from signs, a.s explained on 2 : 22.
Editors hesitate between miracles and great
signs and signs and great miracles.

14-17. PETER AND JOHN ARE SENT
TO SAMARIA.

14. There is no inadvertence here. The
apostles had remained at Jerusalem (». i). —
Samaria may be the name of the city or the
country. (See on v. 5.) The application here
would not control it there. Neander refers it
to the country. In that case, as Philip had
preached at one place only, we must regard the
idea as generalized: his success there was hailed
as the pledge of success in all Samaria. — Unto
them, in that city or country ; the antecedent
implied, as in v. 5.

110

THE ACTS.

[Ch. VIIL

15 Who, when they were come down, prayed for
them, ■that they tiii^ht receive the Holy (ihcst:

16 (For his yet he was fallen upon none of them :
only 'they were baptized in 'the name of the lx>rd
Jesus. )

17 Then 'laid they t/ieir hands on them, and they re-
ceived the Holy (ihost.

18 And when Simon saw that through laving on of
the apoKtles' bunds the Holy Cihost was given, he of-
fered tbem money,

ly Saying, Ciive me also this power, that on whomso-
ever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy tihost.

20 Rut I'eter said unto him. Thy money perish with
thee, because /thou hast thought that 'the gift of Uod
may be purchased with money.

15 they sent unto them Peter and John : who, when
they were come down, prayed for them, that they

16 might receive the Holy Spirit: for as yet it was
fallen upon none of them: only they had been bap-

17 tired into the name of the l-ord Jesus. Then laid
they their hands on them, and they received the

18 Holv Spirit. Now when Simon saw that through
the laying on of the apostles' hands the iHoly Spirit

19 was given, he ofl'ered them money, saving. Give ine
also this power, that on whomsoever I lay my hands,

20 he may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter said unto
him, Thy silver perish with thee, because thou hast

:S8....teh. It : l....e Matt. U : 19; eh. 1 : S8....deta. 10:48; 19 : 5.. ..cob. 6 : 6: 19:6; Heb. 6 : 2..../ Uatt. 10:8;
■MJKtncaft: 16 ...(ob.t:S8; 10:i6; 11 : 17. 1 8«m« aocient autboritle* omit iToty.

15. Having come down. Their impart-
ing the Spirit was consequent on the journey
hither ( post hoc), but is not said to have been
the object of it (propter hoc). That none but
the apostles were eniix)wered to bestow this
gift has been affirmed by some and denied by
others. (See 1 Tim. 4 : 14.) If it was a pre-
rogative of the apostles (who had no successors
in the church), the inference would be that it
ceased with the extinction of that order. The
Roman Catholics and those who entertain
Roman Catholic views appeal to this scrip-
ture as showing the inferiority of the pastor to
the bishop. — Prayed^ etc. The Samaritans
had received already the converting influences
of the Cpirit; and hence the object of the
prayer was that their faith might be confirmed
by a miraculous attestation. (See on 5 : 32.) —
6»«»« (that), with the finite verb, circumscribes
the infinitive. (Corap. 25 : 3 ; Matt. 8 : 34, De
Wet.) Better here as telic, since prayer may
be viewed as a necessary condition of the gift.
(Comp. Y. 24.)

17. Laid is the imperfect of a repeated act.
For the import of the symbol, see on 6 : 6. —
And they received the Holy Spirit, as the
Author of the endowments conferred on them.
Among these may have been the gift of tongues
(see 2:4; 10 : 46), and also that of prophecy, as
well as the power of working miracles. Mid-
dleton's rule is that the anarthrous nvtOiia
(Spirit) denotes only some effect or actual
oijeration of the Spirit, while to nvtiiia (the
Spirit) signifies the Divine Person in general,
without reference to any particular instance or
mode of operation. (See Green's Gr., p. 229.)
The distinction affects no question of a doc-
trinal nature ; it may agree well enough with
some passages, but is purely arbitrary in its ap-
plication to others. The true principle is that
stated on 1 : 2.

18-24. THE HYPOCRISY OF SIMON, AND
ITS EXPOSURE.

18. ^tacaiiivo^ (which means to see with
interest, or desire) has less external support
than ISvv (to see). Meyer retains the former,
on the principle that the more common word
would displace the less common, instead of the
reverse. [In his last ed. Meyer accepts iSuv as
the original word. So Lach., Tsch., Treg.,
West, and Hort. The evidence in its favor is
convincing. — A. H.] The ambition or cupidity
of Simon had .^lumbered for a time, but wits
now aroused at the sudden prospect of obtain-
ing a power which would enable him to gratify
his selfish desires, which would place at his
command unbounded wealth and influence.
He had seen Philip perform miracles, but had
seen no instance until now in which that power
had been transferred to others. The interval
between this development of his true character
and his profession of the Christian faith w:is
probably not long. — Offered to them money.
This act has originated our word simony, which
Webster defines as " the crime of buying or
selling ecclesiastical preferment, or the corrupt
presentation of any one to an ecclesiastical
benefice for money or reward." It is fortu-
nate for us that our religious institutions in this
country require us to obtain our knowledge of
the term from a lexicon.

19. To me also, that I may possess it like
you ; not to me as well as to others, since no
example of such transfer was known to him. —
Upon whomsoever. (See on 2 : 21.)— This
power refers to v. 18— this power, authority,
which he had seen them exercise— not to the
clause following. Hence Iva is not definitive,
to wit, that, but telic, in order that.

20. May thy money flit, thy silver'] with
thee (=and thou) perish— lit. be for de-
struction, consigned thereto. This is the
language of strong emotion ; it expresses tlie
intense abhorrence which the proposal excited
in the mind of Peter. That it was not a delib-
erate wish or an imprecation is evident from v.

Ch. VIII.]

THE ACTS.

Ill

21 Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter : for
thy heart is not right in the sight of Ciod.

22 Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray
God, oif perhaps the thought of thine lieart may be
forgiven thee.

23 For I perceive that thou art in 'the gall of bitter-
ness, and in the bond of iniquity.

24 Then answered Simon, and said, «Pray ye to the
Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have
spolcen come upon me.

21 thought to obtain the gift of God with moner. Thou
hast neither part nor lot in this >maiter : for thv heart

22 is not right before (iod. Kepent therefore of this thy
wickedness, and pray the Lord, ifperhaps the thought

23 of thy heart shall be forgiven thee. For 1 see that
thou *art in the gall of bitterness and in the bond

24 of iniquity. Ana Simon answered and said, Prajr
ye for me to the Lord, that none of the things whic*
ye have spoken come upon me.

• Daa.4:n; 1 Ttm. 2: 25.... I Heb. 12 : IS c Oen. 20 : 7, 17 ; Ex. 8: 8; Num. 21 : 7 ; 1 Kingi 1S:S; Job 42 : 8; James 5: IS.

1 Or. vord 2 Or, teitt h»comt gaU (or, a gait root) of bittemu* and a bond of iniquU)/

22, where the apostle points out to Simon the
way to escape tiie danger announced to hira.
With thee some take to mean with thee
who art in the way to destruction — i. e. may
thy money share the doom to which thou art
devoted. But the clause contains only one
verb, and it is violent to make it thus optative
and declarative at the same time. — Because
thou didst think) deem it possible (aor., be-
cause the proposal made was the sin), to ac-
quire (not passive, as in the Eng. V.) the gift
of God with money. The gift stands op-
posed to to acquire with money, and hence
means that which God bestows gratuitously on
those who are qualified to receive it, not that
which it is his prerogative to give in distinction
from men.

21. Thou hast no part nor lot. The first
term is literal, the second figurative ; they are
conjoined, in order to affirm the exclusion
spoken of with more emphasis. — In this
wordy doctrine or gospel, which we preach
(Olsh., Neand.), or in this thing — viz. the
gift of the Spirit (Bng., Mey., De Wet.).
[Meyer's last ed. says " in this word " — i. e. in
the power, or authority, to be a medium of
the Spirit. — A. H.] The first sense accords
better with the usage of the word, and is also
stronger and more comprehensive ; for if the
state of his heart was such as to exclude him
from the ordinary benefits of the gospel, much
more must it render him unfit to receive the
higher communications of the Spirit, or to be
honored as the medium of conferring them on
others.

22. Repent) etc., occurs in sejisu prxgnanti
for repent and turn from this thy wicked-
ness. (Comp. repentance from dead works, in
Heb. 6:1. W. g 66. 2.)— For the received God
after pray, most manuscripts read the Lord.
—If perhaps the thought of thy heart
shall be forgiven thee. Some idea like and
thus see if appears to lie between the impera-
tive and the indicative future. (See W. g 41. p.
268.) Some attribute the problematical form
of the expression to an uncertainty on the
part of Peter whether the man had sincerely

repented or would repent of his sin. That
view assigns the qualifying effect of opo (per-
haps) to the first clause, instead of the second,
where it stands. Others, more correctly, find
the ground of it in the aggravated nature of
the sin, or in the apostle's strong sense of its
aggravated nature, leading him to doubt wheth-
er he ought to represent the pardon as certain,
even if he repented. — The thought* wicked
purpose ; a vox media.

23. For I see that thou art in the gall
of bitterness. The gall of noxious reptiles
was considered by the ancients as the source
of their venom ; and hence gall* with an al-
lusion to that fact, becomes an expressive meta-
phor to denote the malice or moral corruption
of the wicked. (Comp. this with Job 20 : 14 ;
Eom. 3 : 13.) Root of bitterness, in Heb.
12 : 15, is a different figure. Bitterness de-
scribes a quality of gall, and is equivalent to
an adjective, bitter gall (see on 7 : 30) ; so that,
transferring the idea from the figure to the sub-
ject, the expression imports the same as malig-
nant, aggravated depravity. — And in the bond
of iniquity — i. e. not only wicked in principle,
but confirmed in the habit of sin, bound to it
as with a chain. — tU (lit. unto) belongs also to
the second clause, and in both cases implies
the idea of abandonment to the influence or
condition spoken of

24. Pray ye, etc. We may infer from Luke's
silence as to the subsequent history of Simon
that the rebuke of the apostles alanued only
his fears — that it produced no reformation in
his character or his course of life. This con-
clusion would be still more certain, if it were
true, as some maintain, that this Simon was
the person whom Josephus mentions under
the same name as the wicked accomplice of the
Procurator Felix {Antt., 20. 7. 2). Neander
held at one time that they were the same, but
afterward receded from that opinion. So com-
mon a name is no proof of their identity, and
it is proof against it that this Simon, according
to Justin Martyr, belonged to Samaria, while
the other is said to have been a native of
Cyprus.

112

THE ACTS.

[Ch. VIII.

25 And they, when they bad testified and preached
the word of the lx>rd, returned to Jerusalem, and

fireached the gospel in many villages of the £^amar-
lans.

Jt'i And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip,
saying, Ari»e, and go toward the south unto the wav
that goeth down from Jerusalem unto (jaza, which u
desert.

25 They therefore, when they had testified and spoken
the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and
preached the gospel to many villages of the Samar-
itans. . „, ,,.

26 But an angel of the Lord spake unto PhiUp, say-
ing. Arise, and go 'toward the south unto the way
that goeth down from Jerusalem unto tiaza: tba

' 1 Or, a< noon

25-35. CONVERSION OP THE ETHIO-
PIAN.

25. And they— viz. Peter and John, prob-
ably unattended by Philip. — Preached {tiriyyt-
Kiaayro, T. R.) may State the result of their
labors while they had been absent, or what took
place on their return to Jerusalem. The latter
view agrees best with the order of the narra-
tive, and is required if we read were return-
ing and were preaching (Lchm.,Mey.,Tsch.).
[Add Treg., West, and Hort, Anglo-Am. Re-
visers after K A B C D E.— A. H.] This verb,
according to a later Grecism (Lob., Ad Phryn.,
p. 267), may take its object in the accusative,
as well as the dative. (Comp. v. 40 ; 14 : 15,
21; 16:10; Luke 3 : 18 ; Gal. 1 : 9. W. g32. 1.)

26. But (i«) answers to niv in v. 25.— Spake,
etc. Philip appears to have received this direc-
tion in Samaria (t. is), and soon after the de-
parture of the apostles. Zeller conjectures
{Theol. Jahrb., 1851) that he had come back to
Jerusalem in the mean time ; but the terras of
the communication are against that view. —
Arise involves an idiom explained in the note
on 9 : 18. — Go. For the tense, see on 3 : G. —
Down to the south, because in Samaria he
was so far to the north of Jerusalem. This
expression points out, not the direction of the
road from Jerusalem to Gaza, but that in which
Philip was to travel, in order to find the road.
The collocation joins the words evidently to
the verb, and not, as some have represented, to
the clause which follows. — Gaza was about
sixty miles south-west from Jerusalem. — This
is desert. Some refer the pronoun to Gaza,
and, as that city was demolished a short time
before the destruction of Jeru.salem, they sup-
pose that Luke by desert would describe its
condition in consequence of that event. This
is the opinion of Hug, Scholz, Meyer (former-
ly), Lekebusch, and others. But, unless Luke
wrote the Acts later than a. d. 64 or 65 (see
Introduction, g 5), this explanation cannot be
correct; for Gaza was not destroyed by the
Romans till after the commencement of the
Jewish war which resulted in the overthrow
of Jerusalem. Most of the critics who contend

for a later origin of the book derive their chief
argument for it from this assumed meaning of
desert. But further, even supposing Luke to
have written just after the destruction of Gaza,
it appears improbable that the novelty merely
of the event would lead him to mention a cir-
cumstance so entirely disconnected with his
history. Others refer this to way, but differ
on the question whether we are to ascribe the
words to Luke or the angel. According to
Bengel, Olshausen, Winer (Realw., i. p. 395),
De Wette, and others, they form a parenthetic
remark by Luke, who would give the reader an
idea of the region which was the scene of so
memorable an occurrence. I prefer this opin-
ion to any other. According to some, the words
belong to the communication of the angel, and
were intended to point out to the evangelist the
particular road on which he would find the
eunuch. In that case it seems to me that the
relative pronoun would have introduced them
more naturally than this (yet see W. ? 22. 4) ;
and besides, if it were so that any one road to
Gaza was known as "desert" beyond others,
Luke naay have inserted the epithet for the
reader^s information, as well as the angel for
the sake of Philip. " There were several ways,"
says Dr. Robinson, " leading from Jerusalem to
Gaza. The most frequented at the present day,
although the longest, is the way by Ramleh.
Anciently there appear to have been two more
direct roads — one down the great Wady es-Surar
by Beth-Shemesh, and then passing near Tell
es-Safieh ; the other through Wady el-Musurr
to Betogabra or Eleutheropolis, and thence to
Gaza through a more southern tract" (Bill.
Res., ii. p. 640, or p. 514, ed. 1856). Another
route still proceeded by the way of Bethlehem
and Bethzur to Hebron, and then turned across
the plain to Gaza. It passed through the south-
ern part of Judea, and hence through a region
actually called "the desert" in Luke 1:80.
This description would apply, no doubt, to
some part of any one of the roads in question.
The Hebrews termed any tract "a desert"
which was thinly inhabited or unfitted for till-
age. (See more on v. 36.) Lange* spiritualizes

' Dai apottoluehe Zeitalter, cweiter Band, p. 109.

Oh. VIII.]

THE ACTS.

113

27 And he arose and went: and. behold, "a man of
Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Caudace
queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all
her treasure, and »had come to Jerusalem for to wor-
ship,

28 Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read
Esalas the prophet.

29 Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and
Join thyself to this chariot.

30 And Philip ran thither to him, and beard him
read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou
what thou readest?

27 same is desert. And he arose and went: and be-
hold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunucli uf great authority
under Candace, queen of the i-itliiopians, who was
over all her treasure, who had coiue to Jerusalem

28 for to worship ; and he was returuiug and sitting
in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah.

29 And the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join
3(J thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran to him, and

beard bim reading Isaiah the prophet, and said,

« Zepb. S : 10.. ..I John It : tO.

the expression : this is desert (morally), the an-
gel's reason why the evangelist should seek to
enlighten also this benighted region.

27. An Ethiopian may refer to the country
where he resided (comp. 2 : 9) or to his extrac-
tion. Hence some suppose that the eunuch
was a Jew who lived in Ethiopia, but most that
he was a heathen convert to Judaism. Observe
the meaning of Ethiopians in the next clause.
It was customary for proselytes, as well as for-
eign Jews, to repair to Jerusalem for worship.
(Comp. 20 : 2; John 12 : 20.)— A eunuch, in
the proper import of the word ; not a minister
of state, courtier, to the exclusion of that im-
port, because it would then render of great
authority superfluous. The latter term, a
state officer, is a noun both in form and usage
(De Wet., Rob.), and is not to be translated as
an adjective with eunuch (Kuin., Mey.*). —
Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians.
Ethiopia was the name of the portion of Africa
known to the ancients south of Egypt, of which
Meroe, a fertile island formed by two branches
of the Nile, constituted an important part.
Win., Realw., ii. p. 439: "It is evident both
from Strabo and Dio that there was a queen
named Candace in Ethiopia who fought against
the Romans about the twenty -second or twenty-
third year of the reign of Augustus Cs9sar. (Dio
calls her queen of the Ethiopians dwelling above
Egypt.) It is clear also from Pliny, who flour-
ished in the reign of the Emperor Vespasian,
that there was a queen of Ethiopia named
Candace in his time; and he adds that this had
been the name of their queens now for many
years. It is beyond all doubt, therefore, that
there was a queen of Ethiopia of this name at
the time when Philip is said to have converted
[baptized] the eunuch. Eusebius tells us that
this country continued to be governed by
women even to his time." (See Biscoe, p. 47.)
"Candace" was the name, not of an individual,
but of a dynasty, like " Pharaoh " in Egypt or
"Caesar" among the Romans. — Over (as in

12 : 20) the treasure. — In order to wor-
ship proves, not that he was a Jew, but that
he was not a heathen.

28. Was reading, aloud, as we see from v.
30, and probably the Greek text, not the He-
brew, since the Septuagint was used mostly out
of Palestine. It is still a custom among the Ori-
entals, when reading privately, to read audibly,
although they may have no particular intention
of being heard by others.' It was common for
the Jews to be occupied in this way, especially
when they were travelling (Schottg., Hor. Heb.,
ii. p. 443). — It is not improbable that the eunuch
had heard at Jerusalem of the death of Jesus
and of the wonderful events connected wiUi it
— of his claim to be the Messiah, and the exist-
ence of a numerous party who acknowledged
him in that character. Hence he may have
been examining the prophecies at the time that
Philip approached him, with reference to the
question how far they had been accomplished
in the history of the person concerning whom
such reports had reached him. The extraordi-
nary means which God employed to bring the
Ethiopian to a knowledge of the gospel, and
the readiness with which he embraced it,
authorize the belief that in this way, or some
other, his mind had been specially prepared for
the reception of the truth.

29. Attach thyself to this chariot, keep
near it, follow it. He heard the eunuch read
for a time unobserved before he addressed
him.

30. Dost thou understand then what
thou readest? y* serves to render the ques-
tion more definite. The answer after ipa is
more commonly negative. (Comp. Luke 18 :
8. Klotz, Ad Devar., ii. p. 180, sq.; W. § 57. 2.)
This is given as the rule for prose. — Yira<rcc(c A
avayivuuTKHi {ginoskeis ha anaginoskeis) is a paron-
omasia (comp. 2 Cor. 3:2), and is too striking
to be accidental. Philip spoke, no doubt, in
Greek, and would arouse the mind through the
ear.

> [Meyer's last ed. agrees with Dr. Hackett'a explanation.— A. H.]
>8ee Jowett'a Rutarche* in Syria, p. 443.

114

THE ACTS.

[Ch. VIII.

31 And he said. How can I, except some man should
guide mt> '.' And he desired I'liilip that he would come
up and sit with him.

■i'2 The place of the scripture which he read was
this, 'lie WU.S le<l as a sheep to the slaughter ; and like
a lamb dumb before his snearer, so opened he not bis
mouth:

'M In his humiliation his judgment was taken away:
and who shall declare his generation? for his life is
taken from the earth.

'M And the eunuch answered I'hilip, and said,] pray
thee, of whom spcaketh the prophet this? of himself,
or of some other man?

;(.') Then I'hilip oi>ened his mouth, ^and began at the
same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.

31 rnderstandest thou what thou readest? And he
said. How can 1, except some one shall guide me?
And he besought I'hilip to come up and sit with

32 him. Now the place of the scripture which he was
reading was this.

He was led as a sheep to the slaughter ;
And a-s a lamb before his shearer is dumb,
.So he opeiieth not his mouth:

33 In his humiliation hisjudgment was taken away:
His generation who shall declare?

For his life is taken from the earth.

34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray
thee, of whom spcaketh the prophet this? of nim-

35 self, or of some other? And Philip opened hij
mouth, and beginning from this scripture, preached

• Iia.SS:T,S....»LakeM:n; eh. 18:».

31. For how coald I— f The form of the

reply attaches itself to the implied negative
which precedes. — Should guides instruct,
similar to John 16 : 13.

32. Now the contents (conip. 1 Pet. 2 : 6)
of the passage (De Wet., Mey.) ; not of the
scripture in general, section, because scrip-
ture, being limited by the relative clause,
must denote the particular place which he was
reading. (Comp. v. 35; Luke 4 : 21.) — Was
this— viz. Isa. 53 : 7, 8, quoted almost vetixUim
from the Septuagint.— Was led— i. e. Heb.
ebhedh, the so-vatit of Jehovah, or the Mes.siah. —
And as a lamb, etc. This comparison repre-
sents the uncomplaining submission with which
the SavKiUr yielded himself to the power of his
enemies. The death of Christ was so distinctly
foretold in this passage that Bolingbroke was
forced to assert that Jesus brought on his own
crucifixion by a series of pix-concerted measures,
merely to give the disciples who came after
him the triumph of an appeal to the old
propliecies.*

33. In his humiliation, etc., admits most
readily of this sen.se: In his humiliation —
t. e. in the contempt, violence, outrage, which
he suffered— his judgment was taken away
— viz. the judgment due to him ; he had the
rights of justice and humanity withheld from
him. The Hebrew yields essentially the same
moaning: Through violence and punish*
ment he was taken away — t. e. from life
(De Wet.). — And his generation who shall
fully declare ? — i. e. set forth the wickedness
of his contemporaries in their treatment of
him (Mey., De Wet., Rob.). The Hebrew sus-
tains fully that translation. It is possible, also,
to render the Greek and the original thus:
Who shall declare his posterity, the
number of his spiritual descendants or fol-

lowers? The prophet in this case points, by
an incidental remark, from the humiliation of
Christ to his subsequent triumph, or glorifica-
tion. Hengstenberg prefers the last meaning.'
[The same is true of Meyer in his la.st ed., thus:
** But his offspring who shall describe?
— i. e. How indescribably great is the multi-
tude of those belonging to him, of whom he
will now be the family Head (comp. Phil. 2 :
10) ! for . . . his life is taken away from
the earth ; so that he enters upon his heav-
enly work relieved from the trammels of
earth." — A. H.] — For his life conforms to
the first sense of the clause which precedes
better than to the second.

34. Addressing (see 3 : 12), or answer-
ing, in further reply to the question in v. 30
(Mey.). The passage froiti Isaiah is cited for
the information of the reader, and this verse
follows historicallj' after v. 31. — Of himself,
etc. The perplexity of the eunuch in regard
to the application of the prophecy indicates
that he was a foreigner rather than a Jew.
The great body of the Jewish nation under-
stood this poition of Isaiah to be descriptive of
the character and sufferings of the Messiah.'
" The later Jews," says Gesenius, " no doubt
relinquished this interpretation, in consequence
of their controversy with the Christians."

35. Opening his mouth is an imperfect
Hebraism— i. e. was not peculiar to the Hebrew
or Hellenistic writers, but most common in
them. (See W. § 3.) It arises from the Orien-
tal fondness for the minute in description, the
circumstantial. The expression occurs properly
before important, weighty remarks. (Comp. 10:
34 ; Job 3 : 1 ; 32 : 20.)— And beginning from
the same scripture is elliptical for and be-
ginning from this passage and proceeding
thence to others. (W. § 66. 1. c.)

' Chalmers, Evideneet of ChrittianUy, chap. Ti.
* For a fuller view of the original passage, the reader
»q., and to Professor Alexaader's OommerUary on Isaiah.
»See the proofs in Hengstenberg's Chrittology, vol. i. p.

is referred to Hengstenberg's ChrUtology, vol. i. p. S18,
484,«v.,and Schottgen's Horae BOiraicce, vol. U. p. 647, *gi

Ch. VIII.]

THE ACTS.

115

36 And as tbey went on their way, they came unto a
certain water : and the eunuch said, See, here is water ;
owhat doth hinder me to be baptized?

37 And Philip said, »lf thou believest with all thine
heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, •! be-
lieve that Jesus Christ is the !^u of (iod.

38 And he commanded the chariot to stand still : and

36 unto him Jesus. And as tbey went on the way,
they came unto a certain water; and the eunuch
saith, Behold, here is water; what doth hinder me to

38 be baptized?' And he commanded the chariot to

a ch. 10: 4T....6 Matt, ffi: 19; Mark 16: 16.... e Matt. 16: IS; John 6 : 89; 9 : SS, S8: 11 : 27; oh. 9 : 20; 1 John 4: 16; 6:5, 13.

1 Some ancioDt authoritiea ioserC, wbnllc or in part, ver. 37 And Philip taid, 1} (Aou hMeottt wUk aU fiky heart, thou maytt. And h»
annttred and taid, I btlievc that Jt*u* Chritt it tht Son of Qod.

36-40. THE BAPl'ISM OF THE EU-
NUCH.

36. On their way, along (5 : i&) the way.
— Unto a certain water, not some, as the

genitive would follow that partitive sense. (C.
§ 362. fi.) — What hinders (what objection is
there) that I should be baptized? This is
the modest expression of a desire on the part
of the eunuch to declare his faith in that man-
ner, provided the evangelist was willing to ad-
minister the ordinance to him. (Comp. 10 : 47.)
As De Wette remarks, the question presupposes
that Philip, among other things, had instructed
him in regard to the nature and necessity of
baptism. As the road on which the eunuch
journeyed is unknown (see on v. 26), it cannot
be ascertained where he was baptized. It may
interest the reader to state some of the conjec-
tures. Eusebius and Jerome concur in saying

that it took place at Bethzur (Josh, is : 68 ; Neh. 3 : 16),

near Hebron, about twenty miles south of Jeru-
salem. The site has been identified, bearing
still the ancient name. The water there at
present issues from a perennial source, a part
of which runs to waste in the neighboring
fields, and a part is collected into a drinking-
trough on one side of the road, and into two
small tanks on the other side. It was formerly
objected that no chariot could have passed here,
on account of the broken nature of the ground ;
but travellers have now discovered the traces
of a paved road and the marks of wheels on
the stones. (See Ritter's Erdkunde, xvi. 1. p.
266, and "Wilson's Lands of the Bible, i. p. 381.)
The writer found himself able to ride at a rapid
pace nearly all the way between Bethlehem and
Hebron. The veneration of early times reared
a chapel on' the spot, the ruins of which are
still to be seen. Von Raumer defends the gen-
uineness of this primitive tradition. In the
age of the crusaders the baptism was transferred
to Ain Haniyeh, about five miles south-west of
Jerusalem. A fountain here on the hillside,
which irrigates freely the adjacent valley, is
known among the Latins as "St. Philip's
Fountain." One of the ancient roads to Gaza
passed here, but appears to have been less trav-

elled than the others. Dr. Robinson thinks
that the parties must have been nearer to Gaza
at the time of the baptism, and would refer the
transaction to a wady in the plain near Tell el-
Hasy. {Bvbl. Res., ii. p. 641 ; or p. 514, 1856.)
[Dr. Thomson {The Land and the Book, new
ed., 1880) supposes that Philip set out from
Samaria, and on that hypothesis remarks:
" He would then have met the chariot some-
where south-west of Mtr6n. There is a fine
stream of water, called Mardbah, deep enough
in some places even in June to satisfy the ut-
most wishes of our Baptist friends. This M^-
rdbah is merely a local name for the great Wady
Siirar, given to it on account of copious foun-
tains which supply it with water during sum-
mer."— A. H.]

37. This verse is wanting in the best author-
ities. The most reliable manuscripts and ver-
sions testify against it. The few copies that
contain the words read them variously. Meyer
suggests that they may have been taken from
some baptismal -liturgy, and were added here
that it might not appear as if the eunuch was
baptized without evidence of his faith. Most
of the recent editors expunge the verse. (In
regard to the passage, see Green's Developed
Criticism, p. 97, and Tregelles On the Text of the
N. T, p. 269.) Yet the interpolation— if it be
such — is as old, certainly, as the time of Ire-
nseus ; and Augustine, in the fourth century,
though he objected to a certain misuse of the
text, did not pronounce it spurious. (See
Humphry's note here.) Those who contend
for the words remind us that the oldest manu-
scripts represent a later age than that of these
Fathers. Bomemann puts them in brackets,
as entitled still to some weight. — The Son of
God is the predicate after is.

38. And he ordered (viz. the charioteer^
that the carriage should stop — lit. stand.
An Instructive use of the word for 9 : 7. The
eunuch's equipage corresponded with his rank.
—And both went down into the water,
not here unto it (which «i« may also mean),
for it stands opposed to out of the water (U
ToC C«ot<k), in the next verse; besides, they

^PaUlstina, von Karl von Raumer (1850), p. 411, tq.

116

THE ACTS.

[Ch. Vlil.

they went down both into the water, both Philip and
the eunuch ; aud he baptized him.

3i> And when ihey were come up out of the water,
■the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the
eunuch saw him no more : and he went on his way re-
joicing.

40 But Philip waa found at Acotus: and passing

stand still : and they both went down into the water,
both Philip and the eunuch ; and he baptized him.

39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit
of the lx)rd caught away Philip; and the eunuch
saw him no more, for he went on his way rejoicing.

40 But Philip was found at Azotus : and passing through

• 1 Unci 18 : II ; lKiB(sl:I6: Kick. S : II, U.

would have occasion to enter the stream, or
pool, in order to be baptized into it. (Corap.
was baptized into the Jordan, in Mark
1:9. See Rob., Lex., p. 118.) [Dr. Plumptre,
in Ellicott's New Test. Chminentary, says: "The
Greek preposition (t. e. tW) might mean simply
'unto the water,' but the universality of immer-
sion in the practice of the early church supports
the English Version." — A. H.] The preposition
in KaTiprt<ray (Went down) may refer to the
descent from the higher ground to the water,

clause, but is put here for the sake of brevity.
— Tradition says that the eunuch's name was
Indich, and that it was he who first preached
the gospel in Ethiopia. It is certain that
Christianity existed there at an early period,
but its introduction, says Neander, cannot be
traced to any connection with his labors.

40. But Philip, etc., not was — ^v (Kuin.),
but was found at (lit. unto, from the idea
of the journey thither) Azotns — i. e. was next
heard of there, after the transaction in the

or to the entrance into the water, but not to
the descent from tlie chariot, for this verb cor-
responds to oM^ifffoK in V. 39, they went up,
whereas the eunuch only returned to the car-
riage.

39. Out of the water (ix roC vtaroc), where
some render from, which confounds «« with
airo. — The Spirit of the Lord seized (hur-
ried away) Philip. The exj)ret*-sion a.sserts
that he left the eimuoh suddenly, imder the
impulse of an urgent monition from above, but
not that the mode of his departure was miracu-
lous in any other resi>ect. This la.st certainly
is not a necessarj' conclusion. — For he went
his way, returned to his country, r^oicing.
Rejoicing belongs logically to a separate

desert. This place was the ancient Ashdod, a
city of the Philistines, near the sea-coast. The
ruins consist of a mound covered with broken
pottery, and of a few pieces of marble. (See
Amos 1:8.) A little village not far off, called
Esdud, perpetuates the ancient name.— Cities
does not depend on the participle, but on the
verb, as in v. 25. Among the towns through
which he passed between Azotus and Ciesarea
must have been Lydda and Joppa. Csesarea
was Philip's home. Here we find him again,
after the lapse of more than twenty years, when
the Saul who was now " breathing menace and
murder against the disciples " was entertained
by him as a Christian guest. (See 21 : 8.)— Luke's
narrative brings us frequently to Csesarea. It

Ch. IX.]

THE ACTS.

117

through he preached in all the cities, till he came to
Ceesarea.

he preached the gospel to all the cities, till he came
to Cjesarea.

CHAPTER IX,

AND "Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and
slaughter against the disciples of the i^ora, went
unto the high priest,

2 And dudireu of him letters to Damascus to the syn-
agogues, that if he found any of this wav, whether
they were men or women, he might bring them bound
unto Jerusalem.

1 But Saul, yet breathing threatening and slaughter
against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high

2 priest, and asked of him letters to Damascus uuto
the synuguguus, that if he found any that were of
the Way, wnether men or women, he might briug

• ch. 8 : S; Oal. I : U; 1 Tim. 1 : 18.

was about sixty miles north-west from Jerusa-
lem, on the Mediterranean, south of Carmel.
It was the ancient Thwer of Strata, which Herod
the Great had rebuilt and named "Ceesarea"
in honor of Augustus. It was now the resi-
dence of the Roman procurators. Its inhabi-
tants were mostly heathen ; the Jewish popula-
tion was small. (For an account of this city in
its splendor and in its present state of desola-
tion, see Conybeare and Howson's Life and
Epistles of St. Paul, vol. ii. p. 344, sq.)

1-9. CHRIST APPEARS TO SAUL ON
THE WAY TO DAMASCUS.

1. But turns the attention again to Saul. —
Yet connects this verse with 8 : 3. — Breathing
menace and murder. In 2G : 11, being ex-
ceedingly mad. The figure is founded apparently
on the fact that a person under the excitement
of strong emotion breathes harder and quicker,
pants, struggles to give vent to the passion of
which he is full (Wetst., Kyp., Kuin., Olsh.).
To breathe of something (wtlv tico*), to be redo-
lent, is a different expression. The genitive in
this construction denotes properly that from or
out of which one breathes, as the cause, source ;
the accusative, that which one breathes, as the
substance, element. (See W. ^ 30. 9. c ; Mt. §
376.) Meyer translates innvimv, inhaling; but
iv in this compound was generally lost. (See
Tromm's Concord., s. v.) [In his last ed. Meyer
expresses a different opinion, in substantial
accord with that of Dr. Hackett, thus : " In
iiinviotv observe the compound, to which against
tlie disciples, belonging to it, corresponds; so
that the word signifies to breathe hard at or
upon an object." — A. H.] — The high priest.
If Saul was converted in a. d. 36, the high
priest was Jonathan, the successor of Caiaphas
(deposed in a. d. 35), and a son of Ananus, or
Annas; but if he was converted in a. d. 37 or
38, the high priest was Theophilus, another son
of Annas.

2. Letters, which were not merely com-
mendatory, but armed him with full power to

execute his object. (See v. 14 ; 26 : 12.) Foi
the apostle's age at this time, see on 7 : 58.
The Jews in every country recognized the San-
hedrim as their highest ecclesiastical tribunal.
In 26 : 10 (comp. v. 14, below), Paul says that
he received his authority from the high
priests ; and in 22 : 5, from the presbytery ;
which are merely different modes of designat-
ing the Sanhedrim. (See on 4 : 5.) He says
here that he had his commission from the
high priest, which harmonizes entirely with the
other passages, since the high priest represented
the Sanhedrim in this act. On receiving Saul's
application, he may have convened that body,
and have been formally instructed to issue the
letters. The proposal was sufficiently import-
ant to engage the attention of the entire coun-
cil.—To Damascus states the local designa-
tion of the letters. This ancient capital of
Syria was still an important city and had a
large Jewish population. It lay north-east of
Jerusalem, distant about one hundred and forty
miles, making, for those times, a rapid journey
of five or six days. The route of Saul on this
expedition can only be conjectured. If the
Roman roads in Syria had been opened as early
as this, he went, probably for the sake of de-
spatch, by the way of Bethel or Gophna to
Neapolis, crossed the Jordan near Scythopolis,
the ancient Bethshean (now Beisan), and pro-
ceeded thence to Gadara, a Roman city, and so
through the modern Hauran to Damascus. By
another track, which coincided in part with
the preceding, he passetl along the base of
Tabor, crossed the Jordan a few miles above
the Sea of Tiberias (where Jacob's Bridge now
is), and then either ascended to Cajsarea Phil-
ippi, at the foot of Hcrmon, or turned more
abruptly to the right, and travcrsetl the desert,
as before, on the east of Anti-Lebanon. (For
the details, see Conybeare and Howson's Life
and Eitistles of Paul, vol. i. p. 83 : Scribner, 1854.)
— Unto the synagogues — i. e. the officers of
them, who were the rulers of the synagogue;
(Luke 8 : a), and the elders associated with them
(Lake T : s). The fomicr term was sometimes ap-

118

THE ACTS.

[Ch. IX.

3 And •as he journeyed, he came near Damascus:
and suddenly tht-re shined round about biiu a light
from heavi-n :

4 And he Tell to the earth, and heard a voice saying
unto him, Saul. Saul, ^why persecutest thou uie?

f> And lie said. Who art thou, L^rd? And the Lord
said, 1 am Jesus whom thou persecutest: *U U hard for
thee to kick against the pricks.

6 And he trembling and astonished said, I>ord,<'what
wilt thou have me to do? And the Ix>rd saiU unto
hira. Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told
thee what thou must do.

3 them bound to Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, it
came to pass that he drew nigh unto Damascus: and
suddenly there shone round about him a light out

4 of heaven: and he fell upon the earth, and heard a
voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest

» thou me? And he said. Who art thou. Lord .' And

6 he taiJ, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest : but rise,
and enter iDto'4he city, and it shall be told thee what

■ eb. »:6; 16:11; I Cor. I6:8....6 lUtt. » : M, rV!....eeh. 5 : S9....d LnkeS : 10; ob. 1:ST; 16:30.

piled to them both. (See 13 : 15; Mark 5 : 22.)
These rulers formed a college, whose province
it was, among other duties, to punish those who
deserted the Jewish faith. (De Wet., Ileb. Arclm-
ol., § 244.) Hence it belonged to them to dis-
cipline those who joined the Christian party,
or, as it was proi>osed in this instance to carry
them to Jerusalem, it was their duty to aid Saul
in his efforts to apprehend the delinquents. —
The way— I. e. kot' i(ox^v, of the (well-known
Christian) way* in regard to faith, manner of
life, etc. (Comp. 19 : 9, 23 ; 22 : 4 ; 24 : 14, 22.
See the idea expressed more fully in 16 : 17 ;
18 : 25. W. § 18. 1.) Way depends on that
were (E. V.) under the rule of appurtenance,
proiJerty. (K. ? 273. 2 ; C. § 387.)

3. Now while he journeyed, it came to
pass (Hebraistic) that he« etc. — Damascus
(AaM««i> depends on the verb (K. g 284. 3. 2),
not the dative of the place whitlier. — A light
gleamed around him. The preposition in
the verb governs him. In 22 : 6 it is repeated,
according to the rule stated on 3 : 2. In 22 : 6,
Paul says that the light which he saw was a
powerful light, and in 26 : 13 that it exceeded
the splendor of the sun at noonday. That
Luke's statement is the more general one,
while the intenser expressions occur in Paul's
recital. Is what we should expect from the
truth of the history.

4. Having fallen to the earth, probably
from the animal which he rode. (See 22 : 7.) —
Heard, etc. (See also 22 : 7; 2G : 14.) The
necessary inference is tliat Saul heard audible
words, and not merely that an impression was
made uixjii him as if he heard them. It was a
jmrt of the miracle that those who accompanied
him heard the voice of the sf)eaker, but failed
to distinguish the words uttered. The commu-
nication was intende<l for Saul, and was under-
stood, therefore, by him only.

5. Who art thou, Lord? He did not
know yet that it was Christ who addressed
him. Hence Lord has the significance which
belongs to it as recognizing the fact that an
angel, or perhaps God himself, was now speak-
ing to him from heaven. To suppose it used

by anticipation — i. e. as denoting him who
proved to be Christ — makes it Luke's word,
and is unnatural. Yet Saul's uncertainty could
have been but momentary : " Conscientia ipsa
facile diceret, Jesum esse " [" His own conscience
would readily suggest that it was Jesus "] (Bng.).
— The remainder of the verse, as it stands in
the common text — viz. it is hard, etc. — has
been transferred to this place from 26 : 14. (See
Green's developed Criticism, p. 98.)

6. Most of tlie manuscripts begin this verse
with but. The sentence trembling ... to
do? (which the English translation has cop-
ied) is wanting in the best authorities. It rests
chiefly upon some of the early versions. The
words And the Lord said unto him have
been derived from 22 : 10. — But (aAAa) occurs
often before a command abruptly given. (Comp.
10 : 20 ; 26 : 16. W. ? 53. 7 ; K. ? 322 ; R. 12.)—
And it shall be told thee, etc. It would
appear from the speech before Agrippa (see 26 :
16-18) that Christ may have made to Saul at
this time a fuller communication than Luke has
reported in this place. The verb here (it shall
be told thee, etc.) does not exclude that sup-
position ; for it may import that on his arrival
in the city he should be confirmed in what he
had now heard, or instructed further in regard
to his future labors. But some prefer to con-
sider Paul's narrative before Agrippa as the
abridged account. The message wliich An-
anias delivered to Saul (intimated here in v.
15, but recorded more fully in 22 : 14-16) was a
message from Christ ; and, as the apostle makes
no mention of Ananias in 26 : 16, sq., it is very
possible that he has there, for the sake of brevity,
jjassed over the intermediate agency and referred
the words directly to Christ which Christ com-
municated to him through Ananias. This would
be merely applying the common maxim, Quod
quis per alium facit, id ipse fecisse putatitr
[" What one does through another, that he is
supposed to have done himself "J.— WXa/ thou
viuiil do is the answer, probably, to Saul's ques-
tion Ti »o.ij<r«, What shall Idof recorded in 22 : 9.
Must refers, not to duty, but the divine pur*
pose, destination. (See 22 : 10.)

Ch. IX.]

THE ACTS.

119

7 And the men which journeyed with him stood
speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.

8 And Saul arose from the earth ; and when his eyes
were opened, he saw no man : but they led him by the
hand, and brought him into Damascus.

7 thou must do. And the men that journeyed with
him stuod speechless, hearing the 'voice, but behold-

8 iug no man. And Saul arose from the earth ; and
when his eyes were opened, he saw nothing; and
they led him by the band, and brought him into

a Dan. 10 : T ; Me eb. 31 : 9; M : IS.-

-I Or, Mound

7. Were standing (see on 1 : 10) speech-
less, having stopped instantly, overcome by
amazement and terror. (CJomp. were afraid, in
22 : 9.) The adjective is more correctly written
iytoi. (W. ? 5. 1.) This verb often means to
stand, not as opposed to other attitudes, but to
be fixed, stationary, as opposed to the idea of
motion. (Comp. 8 : 38 ; Luke 5 : 2. See the
Class. Lexz., s. v.) In this sense the passage is
entirely consistent with 26 : 14, where it is said
that when they heard the voice they all fell to the
ffroujid. Plainly, it was not Luke's object to
say that they stood erect, in distinction from
kneeUng, lying prostrate, and the like, but
that, overpowered by what they saw and heard,
they were fixed to the spot — they were unable
for a time to speak or move. The conciliation
Which some adopt (Bng., Kuin., Bmg.) is that
they fell to the ground at first, but afterward
rose up and stood. It is unnecessary to urge
this view; but Zeller's objection to it — that
«i<m>K(t<rav, as pluperfect, excludes a previous
falling — is ungrammatical. — Hearing indeed
the voice. The genitive after this verb points
out the source or cause of the hearing ; the ac-
cusative (see v. 4), that which one hears. (See
the note on v. 1.) In 22 : 9, Paul says, in refer-
ence to the same occurrence, -niv Si imviiv oi*
qKoixrov rov AoAovi^oc moi, which we may render
but they understood not the voice of him speak-
ing to me. In adding who spake the writer
shows that he had in mind the sense of ^v^v
(voice), and not the mere sound. To hear
(ojtovio^ like the corresponding word in other
languages, means not only to hear, but to
hear so as to understand. Of the latter
usage the New Testament furnishes other clear
examples. 1 Cor. 14 : 2 : " For he that speak-
eth in an unknown tongue, speaketh not unto
men, but unto God ; for no man understands
him" — lit. no one heareth. (Comp. v. 16, where
heareth passes into understandeth.) Mark 4 :
33 : " And with many such parables spake he
the word unto them, as they were able to
understand it " — lit. as they wo-e able to hear.
Some reckon here John 6 : 60, Gal. 4 : 21,
and other passages. (For instances of this
sense in the classics, see Rob., Zer., s. v.) The
same usage exists in the Hebrew. One of
the definitions of shama (see Gesen., Lex., a. v.)
is to understand. In Gen. 42 : 23 it is said

that Joseph's brethren "knew not that he
heard them" — t. e. understood, in the E. V.—
" for he spoke unto them by an interpreter."
(See also Gen. 11 : 7.) The English language
has the same idiom. We say that a person is
not heard, or that we do not hear him, when,
though we hear his voice, he speaks so low or
indistinctly that we do not understand him.
The intelligence of the writer of the Acts for-
bids the idea of a palpable contradiction in the
two passages. Since in 22 : 9 we have ^mif
(voice) in the accusative case, and here in v. 7
in the genitive, <fr«»^«, some would attribute to
the latter a partitive sense — i. e. something of
the voice, or indistinctly. But the difference
does not hold ; for, in 22 : 7, Paul says of him-
self I heard a voice (<^«i^s genitive), where he
cannot mean that he had only a confused per-
ception of what was said to him. Some prefer
to vary the sense of ^fq — viz. Tioise or soutid
in this place, but voice in 22 : 9. But, allowing
the word to admit of that distinction (see on
2 : 6), it is much less common than the pro-
posed variation in to hear, and much less prob-
able here, since the use of the verb would be
varied in passages so remote from each other,
whereas ^vi) would have different senses in
almost successive verses. — Bat seeing no one
who could have uttered the voice. This appears
to be denied of Saul's companions, in opposi-
tion to what was true of him — viz. that simul-
taneously with the light he had seen a personal
manifestation of Christ. (Comp. v. 17 ; 22 : 18.)
That he saw the speaker as well as heard him,
we may infer from the language of Barnabas in
V. 27, and that of Ananias in v. 17 and 22 : 14.
To the fact of his having a view of the glorified
Saviour at this time Paul alludes, probably, in
1 Cor. 9 : 1, where he mentions his having seen
the Lord as an evidence of his equality with the
other apostles. (See the note on 1 : 3.) Neander,
De Wette, Meyer, Osiander, Thiersch, and others
find such an allusion in that passage.

8. And when his eyes were opened —
i. e. his eyelids, which he had spontaneously
closed when struck with the gleaming light.
This expression refers usually to the recovery
of one's eyesight, as in Matt. 9 : 30 ; John 9 :
10, 20, etc. — Saw no one — i. e. of his com-
panions, because he was now blind ; or, which
is a better reading, saw nothing) and henc^

120

THE ACTS.

[Ch. IX.

9 And he was three days without sight'and neither
did eat nor drink.

10 f And there was a certain disciple at Damascus,
•named Ananias; and to him said the lx>rd in a visiun,
Ananias. And he said. Behold. I am here, I^rd.

11 And the ImtiI niiil unto Dim, Arise, and go into
the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the
house or Jtidas for o)ie called Saul, ^if Tarsus : for, be-
hold, he prayeth,

Vi And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias
coming in, and putting hit hand on him, thai he might
receive his sight.

9 Damascus. And he was three days without sight,
and did neither eat nor drink.

10 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus,
named Ananias ; and the I>ord said unto him in a
vision, Ananias. And he said, ISehold, I am here,

11 Lord. And the Lord laid unto him, Arise, and go
to the street which is called .Straight, and inquire
in the house of Judas for one named Saul, a man of

12 Tarsus: for behold, he prayeth; and be hath seen
a man named Ananias coming in, and laying hia

• eta. a :!>....» eh. n:M; tt:S.

being unable to see at all, must be led by the
hand ; not no one from whom the voice came
(Bng.), since we must have here an explanation
of the next clause.

9. Withont sight (subjective n^ative), not
seeing, as opposed to a possible idea of the
reader that Saul might have r^ained his sight
ere this; whereas ov (objective), in the next
clause, states the historical fact. (W. g 55. 5.)
Meyer, in his last edition, recalls his remark
that the n^atives are interchanged here.

DAMAS<1'8 — STRAIGHT STREET.

10-18. ANANIAS IS SENT TO SAUL,
AND BAPTIZES HIM.

lO. That Ananias was one of the seventy
disciples is an unsupported conjecture of some

of the older writers.— The Lord — i. e. Christ.
(See V. 17.)— Behold me = Heb. Hinriene. This
answer implies that the person hears and waits
to listen further. (Comp. Gen. 22 : 1, 7 ; 27 : 1 ;
1 Sam. 3 : 8, etc.)

11. For arise, see on v. 18. — pu'miiv, street,
or more strictly alley, lane (comp. Luke 14 :
21) = <rT«i*»iro« (narrow passage) in the later
Greek. (See Lob., Ad Phryn., p. 40, and R. and
P., Lex., s. V.)— Which is called Straight.
The principal street in Damascus at present
runs through the city from east to west, and is
remarkably straight in some parts, as well as
narrow. The Oriental Christians say that this
is the street in which Saul lodged. The traces
of a triple colonnade are reported to be found
in the adjacent houses on both sides of the
street; and if so, they show that the present
street, though not so wide, follows at least the
line of an ancient street of the city. But even
in that case it may be questioned whether pvy.ii
would be applied to a thoroughfare adorned with
works of so much splendor. — A native of
Tarsus (k : s). (See on v. 30.)— For he prays.
The act is then taking place, and is mentioned
as a reason why Ananias might be sure of a
favorable reception. He is informed of the

ision also because that served in like manner
In prepare the way for his visit.

12. And saw a man (made known to him
in the vision as) Ananias by name, a brevil-
oquence like that in 15 : 9.— Placing hand
upon him, as a sign of the benefit which he
WHS to be the medium of communicating.
(Comp. on G : 6.) The expression is indefinite,
like that in 12 : 1. Lachmann thinks the
authority sufficient to read his hands, as in
V. 17. [Tsch., Treg., West, and Hort, Anglo-
Am. Revisers, also give the plural hands,
either with or without the article, represented
properly in English by his. His hands may
therefbre be accepted as the true reading.— A.
H.]— Might look up, open his eyes and see.
This sense is not common out of the New Tes-
tament. It is found (a case not usually cited)
at the close of Plut., De sera Num. vindicta.

Ch. IX.]

THE ACTS.

121

13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by
many of this man, "how much evil he hath done to
thy saints at Jerusalem :

14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests
to bind all ''that cnll on thy name.

15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way : for «he
is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before
'the Gentiles, and 'kings, and the children of Israel:

16 For /I will shew him how great things be must
suffer for my name's sake.

17 #And Ananias went his way, and entered into the
house ; and ^putting his hands on him said. Brother
iSaul, the Lord, even .Jesus, that appeared unto thee in
the way as tliou earnest, hath sent me, that thou
mightest receive thy sigat, aud <be filled with the
Holy Ghost.

13 bands on him, that he might receive his tight. But
Ananias answered. Lord, 1 hare heard from many
of this man, how much evil he did to thy saints at

14 Jerusalem: aud here be hath authority from the
chief priests to bind all that call upon thv name.

15 But the Lord said unto him. Go thy way : for he is
a 'chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name l>efore
the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel:

16 for I will shew liim how many things he must sutler

17 for my name's sake. And Ananias departeil, and
entered into the house; and laying his hands on
him said, Brother .Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, who
appeared unto thee In the way which thou earnest,
bath sent me, that thou mayest receive thy sight,

I ver. 1. . . .& ver. 21 ; oh. 7 : S8 ; n : 16 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 1 ; 3 Ttm. 2 : 22 e cb. IS : 2 ; 22 : 21 ; 26 : IT ; Rom. 1:1:1 Cor. U : 10 ; Oal. 1 : U ;

Kpb. S: 7, 8; 1 Tim. 2 : 7 ; 8 Tim. I :ll....(i Rom. 1 : 5; II : 13; Okl. 2:7,8 ech. 25:22, 23; 26: I. «to... ./ Ob. 20:23; 21 : 11;

2 Cor. 11 -.a.... gch.fi: 12, IS....k cb. 8 : 17....i oh. 2 : 4; 4 : 31 ; 8 : 17 ; 13 : &2. 1 Or. veuel of election.

13. The reply of Ananias shows how fearful
a notoriety as a persecutor Saul had acquired.
(Comp. 26 : 10.)— How great evils.— Unto
thy saints — ;. e. those consecrated to him, and
so his. This term as applied in the New Testa-
ment refers to the normal or prescribed standard
of Christian character, rather than the actual
one. (See 1 Cor. 1 : 2, as compared with 1 Cor.
3:2; 11 : 21, etc.) It belongs to all who pro-
fess to be disciples, and does not distinguish
one class of them as superior to others in point
of excellence.

14. Hath authority. Ananias may have
received letters from the Christians at Jerusa-
lem, or those who came with Saul may have
divulged the object of the journey since their
arrival. — Those who call upon, invoke in
prayer, thy name. (Coinp. 2 : 21; 7 : 59; 1
Cor. 1:2.) This participle is middle, not pas-
sive. The Greek for those on whom thy name is
called would be like that in 15 : 17. The ex-
pression here is the one which the Seventy
commonly use to translate kara bhfshem, a well-
known formula in the Old Testament signifying
to worship. Gesenius (Lex., p. 938) says with
reference to this phrase : To call on the name of
God is to invoke his name — i. e. to praise, cel-
ebrate, worship God. Of course, we are to
attach the same meaning to the words in the
New Testament. Hence this language, which
states a fact so characteristic of the first Chris-
tians that it fixed upon them the name of
callers upon Christ, shows that they were ac-
customed to offer to him divine honor. (See on
7 : 59.)

15. A vessel (2 cor. 4 : t), instrument, of choice
— i. e. a chosen instrument. For this use of
the genitive, see on 7 : 30. The similar exam-
ples in Greek belong rather to poetry. It is a
common idiom in Hebrew. (Gesen. Heb. Gr.,
I 104.)— To bear continues the metaphor in

vessel (Alf.).— Kings, rulers of the highest
class. (Comp. 17 : 7; John 19 : 15.) Paul
stood as a witness for Christ before the Gov-
ernors of Cj'prus, Achaia, and Judea, and be-
fore Herod Agrippa, and probably Nero. —
Children of Israel. The progress of the
narrative will show how faithfully he executed
this part of his mission. Though he was the
great apostle of the Gentiles, he never ceased to
preach to his countrymen.

16. For 1 will show him, by experience —
will cause him to learn in the course of his
life (Bng., Mey.). According to De Wette, it
means that God would teach him by revelation ;
but this verb is not employed to denote the
communication of knowledge in that manner.
The statement here confirms the declaration
that Saul would accomplish so much for the
cause of Christ, for (yip) he was to suffer much,
and his labors would be efficient in proportion
to his sufferings.

17. Said, etc. The address of Ananias to
Saul is reported more fully in 22 : 14, sq. He
salutes him as brother (o8«A.^«)— not as of the
same stock nationally (2:29; 21 :i; 28:17), but as
having now "obtained like precious faith"
with himself. He could apply that title to Saul
with confidence afler having received such in-
formation in regard to the state of his mind and
the sphere of labor to which Christ had called
him. — Jesus, who appeared, . . . earnest.
Luke's account of the communication to Ana-
nias passes over this part of it. — Which (jj) in
this clause, in which, omits the preposition,
because the antecedent has it (a species of at-
traction). (Comp. to which I have called in 13 :
2. Mat. ^ 595. 4. c.)— And mayest be filled
with the Holy Spirit— «. e. receive abun-
dantly the extraordinary giffe and qualifica-
tions which be would need as an apostle.
(Comp. Gal. 2:7,$q. See the note on 1 : 8.)

122

THE ACTS.

[Ch. IX.

18 And immediatelr there fell fh>m his eyen u it
had been scales : and ne receiTed sight forthwith, and
aro-ne, and wa.s baptized.

19 And when he had received meat, he waa strength-
ened. 'Then was .^aiil certain days with the disciples
which were at l>aiiiaM.'us.

'20 And straightway he preached Christ in the syna-
gogues, Hhat he is the .S>n of Ciod.

i\ But all thnt heard Aim were amazed, and said;
'Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this
name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent,
I hut he might bring them bound unto the chief
priests?

2.' But Saul increased the more in strength, 'and
confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, prov-
ing that this is very Christ.

2:i^ And after that many days were fulfilled, the
Jews took counsel to kill bun :

18 and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And straight-
way there fell from his eyes as it were scales, and
he received his sight ; and he arose and was bap-

19 tired ; and he tooli food and was strengthened.

And he was certain days with the disciples who

20 were at Damascus. And straightway in the syna-
gogues he proclaimed Jesus, that he is the t^ou of

21 (jod. And all that heard him were amazed, and
said, Is not this he that in Jerusalem made havock
of them who called on this name? and he had come
hither for this intent, that he might bring them

22 bound Iwfore the chief priests. But !?aul increased
the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who
dwelt at Damascus, uroving that this is the Christ.

23 And when many oays were fulfilled, the Jews took

aeli. M:10....»eli.8:3T....eeh. 8:8; T«r. 1; Oal. 1 : 13, tS....<leb. 18 : 28....ieh. a : 12; 25:3; 2 Cor. II : 28.

18. There fell off from his eyes as if
scales. This means that he experienced a
sensation as if such had been the fact. As if
shows that it was so in appearance, not in
reality. (Comp. 2:3; 6 : 15, etc.) The nature I
of the injurj' which his eyes had suffered we '
cannot detemiine, but it is certain that the re- I
covery from the injury was instantaneous and i
complete. We may suppose that Luke had
often heard Paul relate how he felt at that i
moment. — Having risen up, and (if need be)
gone forth to the place of baptism. {Comp. |
Luke 4 : 38. See Rob., Lex., a. v. ii. 1. a), or '
simply having made himself ready— t. e. '
without Jolay. (Comp. Luke 15 : 18.) On this
Hebraistic use of the word, see Gesen., Lex., |
p. 919 ; W. § 65. 4. c. It is impossible to infer i
from it that he was baptized in the house of \
Judas, or that he was not. Damascus at the I
present day abounds in water, and all the bet- '
ter houses have a reservoir in their court or |
stand beside a natural or an artificial stream. '
(See Robinson, vol. iii. p. 400.) — Having;
taken food, after the fast of the three days, j
(See V. 9.) '

19-23. THE LABORS OF PAUL AT
DAMASCUS. j

19. With the disciples, in private inter- ;
course with them.— Certain days denotes too
brief a period to apply to the entire residence at !
Damascus (Neand., De Wet., Mey.). I

20. And immediately, after the days '
spent in the society of the Christians there.— |
Preached Jesus that he is, etc. = preached
that Jesus is, etc. (See on 3 : 10.) Jesus is
the individual or personal name of the Saviour ;
and it was the apostle's object to establish the :
identity of Jesus with the Son of God or the '
promised Messiah. (Comp. v. 22.) '

21. Who destroyed, put to death. (See 22 : I
3.)— This name— viz. that of Jesus (v. 20). !
The form of the remark adapts itself to the I

narrative.— Hither, after a verb of motion;
fiere in v. 14. — For that intent anticipates the
next clausv''. — For chief priests, see on 4 : 6.
— The astonishment expressed here proceeded
from the Jews, whom Paul addressed in the
synagogues. Most of the Christians at Damas-
cus must have been apprised of the change in
his character before he appeared in public.

22. But Saul was more strengthened —
i. e. in his faith. (See 16 : 5 ; Rom. 4 : 20.) This
remark describes his state after the lapse of
some time subsetiuent to his conversion. It is
made, apparently, not merely to indicate his
Christian progress, but to suggest why he
preached with such convincing power. — Prov-
ing that this one is the Christ. This re-
calls Jesns, in v. 20 — the more readily because
TouTo intervenes in v. 21.

23-25. THE FLIGHT OF PAUL FROM
DAMASCUS.

23. Now when many days were ac-
complished. At this place, probably, we are
to insert the journey into Arabia, which the
apostle mentions in Gal. 1 : 17. So Neander,
Hemsen, Meyer, and others. That Luke makes
no allusion to this journey agrees with the sum-
mary character of his history generally, in re-
lation to the early portion of Paul's life. It
will be observed he does not say that the
"many days" were all spent at Damascus,
but that many had elapsed since his first ar-
rival, before the escape which took place under
the circumstances narrated. Hence the lan-
guage leaves us at liberty to suppose that he
passed more or less of the intermediate period
elsewhere. The time that Paul was absent in
Arabia belongs, probably, to the earlier part of
the many days, rather than the latter; for in
Gal. 1 : 17 he mentions Arabia before Damas-
cus, as if the former country was the first im-
portant scene of his apostleship. The time
which he spent in Arabia formed, not improb-

Ch. IX.]

THE ACTS.

123

24 'But their laying await was known of Saul. And
they watched the gates day and night to kill him.

2n Then the disciples took him by night, and Met
him down by the wall in a basket.

26 And 'when .'^aul was come to Jerusalem, he as-
sayed to join himself to the disciples : but they were
all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a dis-
ciple.

27 'But Barnabas took him, and brought Mm to the
apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the
Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, •and

24 counsel together to kill him : but their plot became
known to 8aul. And they watched the gates also

25 day and night that they might kill him: but his
disciples took him by 'night, and let him down
through the wall, lowering him in a basket.

26 And when he was come to Jerusalem, he assayed
to join himself to the disciples : and they were all
afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.

27 But Barnabas took him, and brought him lo the
apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen

a 2 Cor. 11 : S3.. ..6 So Joah. 2 : It ; 1 Bun. 19 : 12.. ..e oh. 22 : IT; CM. 1 : IT, 18....<ieh. 4 : M; U : *....« Jtn. 20, ».

ably, a large part of the three years before his
return to Jerusalem ; for that supposition ex-
plains best the fact that he was still so unknown
there as a Christian, (See v. 26.) Some critics,
as Olshausen, Ebrard, Sepp,* would place the
excursion into Arabia between v. 25 and v. 26.
The objection to that view is that the apostle
must then have come back to Damascus (re-
turned again into Damascus in Gal. 1 : 17),
in the face of the deadly hostility on the part
of the Jews which had already driven him from
that city.

24. Became known by Saul, to him. For
the dative after the passive, see on 5 : 9. The
discovery enabled the apostle to escape the
danger. — Were watching the gates — i. e.
with the aid of soldiers whom the governor
placed at their disposal, so that the act of
guarding the city could be ascribed to the
Jews, as in this passage, or to the ethnarch,
as in 2 Cor. 11 : 32. The Jews at this time
were influential as well as numerous at Da-
mascus, and could easily enlist the government
on their side.— Through the wall, and at the
same time through a window through the wall,
as is stated in 2 Cor. 11 : 33 — t. e. as common-
ly understood through the window of a house
overhanging the wall. (Comp. Josh. 2 : 15 ; 1
Sam. 19 : 12.) Houses are built in that manner
in Eastern countries at the present day. A wood-
cut representing such a window may be seen
in Conybeare and Howson, vol. i. p. 124.' — In
a basket. That those who aided Paul's escape
should have used a basket for the purpose was
entirely natural, according to the present cus-
toms of the country. It is the sort of vehicle
which people employ there now if they would
lower a man into a well or raise him into the
upper story of a house. (See lUustrationt of
Scripture, p. 69.)

26-31. PAUL RETURNS TO JERUSALEM,
AND FROM THERE GOES TO TARSUS.

26. This is Paul's first journey to Jerusalem
since his conversion, and took place in a. d. 39.
(See Introduct., § 6. 1.) His motive for this step,
as he states in Gal. 1 : 18, was that he might make
the acquaintance of Peter. — To join himself,
etc., to associate with them as one of their own
faith. — Were all afraid, et«. If Paul had
spent most of the last three years at Damascus,
we should suppose that the report of his labors
during that time would have reached Jerusalem
and prepared the way for his more cordial re-
ception. On the contrary, if he had been with-
drawn for the most part from their knowledge,
in the more retired region of Arabia, it is less
surprising that they now regarded him with
suspicion. [Especially if, with Da vies, in
Smith's Diet, of the Bible, Am. ed., p. 2366, we
suppose that he was "seeking seclusion (there),
in order that, by conferring, ' not vnth flesh and
blood,' but with the Lord in the Spirit, he might
receive more deeply into his mind the commis-
sion given him at his conversion." — A. H.] The
language, according to either view, it will be
observed, does not aflSrm that they had never
heard of his conversion, but that they could
not readily persuade themselves that it was
sincere. The sudden appearance of Voltaire
in a circle of Christians, claiming to be one
of them, would have been something like
this return of Saul to Jerusalem as a professed
disciple.

27. Barnabas stood high among the dis-
ciples at Jerusalem (4:s«; 11:22). No one out
of the circle of the apostles could have inter-
posed a more powerful word in behalf of Saul.
— Unto the apostles — viz. Peter and James
(o»i. 1:19). The other apostles were probably
absent from Jerusalem at this time. — Related

> Das Leben OirUU, von Dr. Joh. Nep. Sep, Band iv. p. 47.

* Possibly another explanaticxn may be the correct one. A few steps to the left of Bab-es-Shurkeh, the K«t«
on the east side of Damascus, I observed two or three windows in the external face of the wall, opening into
houses on the inside of the city. If Saul was let down through such a window (which belongs equally to the
house and the wall), it would be still more exact to interchange the two expressions— that is, we could say, as
in the Acts, that he escaped " through the wall," or, as in the Epistle to the Corinthians, that he escaped
"through a window through the wall."

124

THE ACTS.

[Ch. IX.

bow he had preached boldlj at DamaMus in the name
of Jesus.

28 And 'he was with them coming in and going out
at Jerusalem.

29 And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord
Je8u^(, and disputed against the Kirecians: 'but they
went about to slay him.

'M W/iieh when the brethren knew, they brought
him down to Ciesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.

the Ix)rd in the way, and that he had spoken to
him, and how at Daniascns lie had preached boldly

28 in the name of Jesus. And he was with them going

29 in and going out of Jerusalem, preaching boldly in
the name of the Lord : and he spake and disputed
against the "Grecian Jews ; but tney went about to

30 kill him. And when the brethren knew it, thev
brought him down to Ceesarea, and sent him forth
to Tarsus.

• OaL 1 :»....» eh. •: I; 11 :«>....« ver. tS; S Cor. U : «.-

-1 Or. HMeniMtt.

fnlly* since they may have heard a report of the
occurrence, but had received no definite informa-
tion concerning it. He could add, also, his own
|>er8onal testimony to the truth of what had
come to their ears. — How he had preached
boldly. He had been himself, probably, a wit-
ness of Paul's zeal at Damascus ; and for that rea-
son, and because his labors there were more re-
cent, he says nothing of the residence in Arabia.
— In the name of Jesns, as the sphere of his
preaching (Mey.); not in virtue of authority
from him.

28. Was with them, during fifteen days, as
we learn from Gal. 1 : 18. — Going in and go-

29. To the Hellenists. (See note on 6 : 1.)
He addresse<l himself to them because he him-
self was a foreign Jew and was familiar with
the Greek, which they also spoke. It has been
conjectured that one of the festivals may have
been in progress at this time, and that these
Hellenists had come to Jerusalem on that ac-
count. (Comp. John 12 : 20.)— Went about,
attempted. Imperfect, because they were
seeking the opportunity to kill him. We are
not to suppose that they had ventured as yet on
any open act.

30. But the brethren having ascer-
tained — viz. their hostile design. Paul de-

ing out— t. e. in the exercise of his ministry, [ parted, in conformity with their advice We
as results from the next clause. For the import learn from 22:17 that another motive con
of this Hebraism, see on 1 : 21. | curred with this : he was informed in a vision

Ch. IX.]

THE ACTS.

125

31 oThen had the churches rest throughout all Judxa
and Galilee and Samaria, and were editied ; and walk-
ing in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the
Holy Ubost, were multiplied.

31 So the church throughout all Judiea and Galilee
and Samaria hud peace, being 'editied ; aud, walk-
ing "in the fear of the Lord and 'in the comfort of
the Holy Spirit, waa multiplied.

• 8Mah.8:l.-

-1 Or. buUded up. . . .2 Or, 6|r

that God would have him occupy a different
field of labor. Without that revelation he
might have thought it best to remain, in de-
fiance of the present danger, and notwithstand-
ing the importunity of his friends. (Comp.
21 : 13.) It is a mark of truth that we find
Luke stating the outward impulse ; the apostle,
the inner ground. — In brought . . . down the
preposition marks the descent to the sea-coast.
— For Csesarea^ see on 8 : 40. For the route
hither from Jerusalem, see on 23 : 31. — And
they sent him forth to Tarsus. This city
was the capital of Cilioia, on the river Cydnus.
It possessed at this time a literary reputation
which rivalled that of Athens and Alexandria.
It liad received important political privileges
both from Antony and Augustus, but did not
enjoy the right of Roman citizenship. (See the
note on 22 : 29.) — We might conclude from the
statement here that Paul went directly to Tar-
sus by sea. That inference, it has been said,
contradicts Gal. 1 : 21, where, s{>eaking of his
journey, Paul puts Syria before Cilicia, as if he
went to the latter country through the former.
It is to be noticed that these two countries are
always named in that order (see 15 : 23, 41), and
that order agrees with the land-route from Jeru-
salem to Cilicia, which was the one more com-
monly taken. Hence, Paul may have adhered
ti) that order in Gal. 1 : 21 from the force of as-
sociation, though in this instance he went first
to Cilicia, and fronx there made missionary ex-
cursions into Syria. But if any one prefers, he
can suppose, with De Wette, that Paul took
ship at Csesarea, and then landed again at
Seleucia; or, with Winer, Riickert, and others,
that Syria, in the Epistle to the Galatians, in-
cluded a part of the region between Jerusa-
lem and Csesarea. The term had sometimes
that wider sense. Some have fixed on Csesarea
[Philippi] in the North of Palestine as the
place meant here; but in that case the epi-
thet which distinguishes the less celebrated
city from the other would have been added,
as in Matt. 16 : 13 ; Mark 8 : 27. — In these
regions of Syria and Cilicia, Paul remained
four or five years; for he went thither from
Jerusalem in a. d. 39 (see on v. 26), and left
for Antioch in a. d. 43 (see on 11 : 26). That he
was occupied during this time in laboring for
the spread of the gospel is not only to be in-
ferred from the character of the man, but is ex-

pressly stated in Gal. 1 : 21-23. Further, in the
sequel of the narrative (is : m, 4i) we find churches
existing here, the origin of which is unknown,
unless we suppose that they were planted by
Paul's instrumentality at this time. It is not
an irrelevant reflection which Conybeare and
Howson suggest— that during this residence of
Paul in his native land " some of those Chris-
tian ' kinsmen,' whose names are handed down
to us (Rom. i«:T. II, ii) — possibly his sister, the
playmate of his childhood, and his sister's son,
who afterward saved his life (23 : w, »«.) — may
have been gathered by his exertions into the
fold of Christ." The apostle reappears next
in 11 : 25.

31-35. PETER PREACHES AT LYDDA,
AND HEALS A PARALYTIC.

31. The churches now . . . had peace
— i. e. rest from the persecution which they
had suffered since the death of Stephen. It
had continued for three years (see v. 26), if the
subject of this paragraph be next in order after
the preceding one. It is not certain that Luke
mentions the cause of this respite. As Lard-
ner, De Wette, and others suggest, it may have
been owing to the troubles excited by the order
of Caligula to have his image set up in the
temple. (Jos., Antt., 18. 8. 2-9.) The Jews may
have been too much engrossed by their opposi-
tion to that measure to pursue the Christians.
ovv in that case takes up again the main thread
of the history after the digression relating to
Paul. Meyer makes it strictly illative from
vv. 3-30, as if the iieace was the result of Paul's
conversion and labors. But, as he began to
act on the side of the Christians so soon after
the death of Stephen, we should then have too
brief an interval for the persecution. Copies
vary between churches and church, but favor
the latter. [E. g.H ABC and others ; so that
it is adopted by Lach., Tsch., Treg., West, and
Hort, Anglo- Am. Revisers. "Observe," says
Meyer, " with the correct reading, . . . the
aspect of unity, under which Luke, mrveying
the whole domain of Christendom, comprehends
the churches which had been already formed
(o»i. I : «) and were in course of formation.
(Comp. 16 : 5.) The external bond of this
unity was the apostles ; tlie internal, the Spirit;
Christ the one Head ; the forms of the union
were not yet more fully developed than by the
gradual institution of presbyters (ii:»o) and

126

THE ACTS.

[Ch. IX.

32 1 And it came to pass, as Peter passed 'through-
out all qiiartrrt, be cauie down also to the saiuts which
dwelt at Lydda.

33 And there he found a certain man named ii<:neas,
which had kept his bed eight years, and was siclc or
the palsy.

34 And I'eter said unto him, JEneaa, Mcsus Christ
maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And be
arose immediately.

:» And all that dwelt at Lydda and «Saron saw him,
and 'turned to the I>ord.

'M> * Now there was at Joppa a certain diMiiple named
Tabitha, which by interoretation is called iHtrcas: tlii.s
woman was full 'of gooa works and almsdeeds which
she did.

37 And it came to pass in those days, that she was
sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they
laid her in /an upper chamber.

32 And it came to pass, as Peter went throughout all
parts, he came down also to the saints who dwelt at

33 Lydda And there he found a certain man named
A-.uesLS, who had kept his "bed eight years; for he

3-1 was palsied. And Peter said unto him. A:neas, Je-
sus (hrist healeth thee: arise, and make thy ibed.

35 And straightway he arose. And all that dwelt at
l>ydda and in Sharon saw him, and they turned to
the Lord. . ,. . , ,

36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named
Tabitha, who by interpretation is called «Dorcas:
this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds

37 which she did. And it came to pass in those days,
that she fell sick, and died: and when they had
washed her, they laid her in an upper chamber.

• ek. 8:lt....»eb. >:(, 16; t : 10.

.el Chron. 5 : 16. . . .<! eli. 11 :71....«1 Tim. t: 10; Tit 8: 8..../ eh. 1 : !».■
pmlUt 2Tbati«, OattlU.

-lOr,

deacons."— A. H.]— Galilee. This is our only
notice of the existence of churches in that na-
tive land of the aix>stles.— Being built up—
». e. in faith and piety. (See 1 Cor. 8:1; 14 :
4; 1 Thess. 5:11, etc.) It is contrary to usage
to understand it of external organization. It
does not refer to the increase of numbers, since
that is the idea of the verb which follows.
The E. V. makes this participle a verb, and
separates it from its natural connection in the
sentence. — Walking. A common Hebraism
(see Heb. halak) to denote a course of conduct.
— In the fear of the Lord, in conformity
with that state of mind ; dative of rule or
manner. \,\\. ? 31. 6. b.)— And in the com-
fort, etc. (E. v.), belongs, not to walking,
but to were (or was) multiplied, of which
it assigns the cause: and by the aid, i)er-
suasive energy (Kuin., Mey., Rob.), of the
Holy Spirit were multiplied. That sense
of vapoxAqafi (comfort) [froiu the same verb as
Paraclete, Comforter (E. V.) — A. H.] is not cer-
tain. De Wette : The power of consolatory
discourse conferred by the Spirit on those who
preached. (Comp. 4 : 36.)

32. Peter may have leflJerusalem soon after
the departure of Paul. (See on v. 27.)— Passing
through all the believers in that part of the
country. After all supply saints (Bng., Mey.,
De Wet.), not places (Kuin., Wiesl.). (Comp.
20:25; Rom. 15:28.) The narrative assumes that
the gospel had been preached here already (see
8 : 44), and this was a tour of visitation. — Also
includes the saints at Lydda among the all.
In crossing the plain from Yafa, or Joppa, to
Raraleh the traveller sees a village with a tall
minaret in the south-east, and on inquiring the
name is told that it is Lud or Lid. It stands
on the ancient line of travel between Jerusalem
and Csesarea. It is the modem representative
of the Lydda in our text.

33. His name may indicate that iEneas was

a Greek or Hellenistic Jew. He was probably
a believer, as faith was usually required of those
who received the benefits of the gospel. — Since
eight years, for so long a time. — Bed, pal-
let, as in 5 : 15.

34. Spread for thyself— i. e. thy bed; not
in future (Kuin.), but immediately (De Wet.,
Mey.). Others had performed that office for
him hitherto. He was now to evince his res-
toration by an act which had been the peculiar
evidence of his infirmity. The object of the
verb suggests itself; it is not strictly an ellipsis.

35. Saw him, after his recovery, whom
they had known before as a confirmed para-
lytic.— All may be restricted, as suggested on
3 : 18.— The Saron = Heb. hashsharon, the
Plain. It extended along the sea-coast from
Joppa to Caesarea, about thirty miles. Here
the part nearest to Lydda appears to be meant.
Some have thought (Win., Realw., ii. p. 383)
that Saron may designate here a village of that
name. — Who, influenced by the miracle,
turned unto the Lord (see v. 42); not who
had turned (Kuin.). In the latter case the
import of the remark would be that the mir-
acle was a credible one, because it was so well
attested. Such an apologetic interest is foreign
to Luke's manner.

36-43. PETER VISITS JOPPA.

36. Joppa (Jon. 1 : s) was north-west from
Lydda (see on v. 32), the present Japha, or
Yafa, on the sea-coast.— Tabitha = Tibheta is
Oialdee, and means a gazelle. We may infer
from it her Jewish origin. To her Greek friends
she may have been known also by the other
name. — And (especially) alms, deeds of char,
ity ; and explicative.

37. Having washed, they placed her
in the upper chamber, of the house where
they were. As the limitation suggests itself,
the article is omitted. (W. § 19. 1.) It is in-
serted in v. 39, because there it points back to

Ch. X.]

THE ACTS.

38 And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and
the disciples had lieard that I'eter was there, they sent
unto him two men, desiring Itim that he would not de-
lay to come to thcin.

;i9 Then Peter arose and went with them. When
he was come, they brought him into the upper cham-
ber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and
shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made,
while she was with them.

-II) Hut Peter "put them all forth, and *kneeled down,
and prayed ; and turning him to the body 'said, Tabi-
tha, arise. And she opened her eyes : and when she
saw I'eter, she sat up.

41 And he gave her kis hand, and lifted her up, and
when he had called the saints and widows, presented
her alive.

42 And it was known throughout all Joppa; <<and
many believed in the Lord.

43 And it came to pass, that he tarried many days in
Joppa with one 'Simon a tanner.

38 And as Lvdda was nigh unto Joppa, the disciples,
hearing that Peter was there, sent two men unto
tiim, intreating him, Delay not to come on unto us.

39 And I'eter arose and went with them. And when
he was come, they brought him into the upper
chamber: and all the widows stood by him weep-
ing, and shewin|^ the coats and garments which

40 Dorcas made, while she was with them. Hut I't ter
put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed;
and turning to the body, he said, Tabitha, arise.
And she opened her eyes ; and when she saw I'eter,

41 she sat up. And he gave her his hand, and raised
her up; and calling the saints and widows, he pre-

42sentea her alive. And it became known through-
out all Joppa: and many believed on the houL

43 And it came to pass, that he abode many days in
Joppa with one bimon a tanner.

THERE was a certain man in Ciesarea called Cor-
nelius, a centurion of the band called the Italian
band,

CHAPTER X.

1 Now there vxu a certain man in Csesarea, Cornelius
by name, a centurion of the band called the Italian

aH>U.9:2&....&oh. T:

.e Hark 5 : 11, 4!i; John \\:a....d John 11 : 46; 12 : ll....eoli. 10 : «.

this place. It was customary among the He-
brews for women to perform this rite ; but, as
Luke would specify here the act rather than
the agency, he employs the masculine of the
participle, equivalent to the indefinite " they."
(W. ? 27. 6.)

38. Nigh to governs Joppa (dat.) as an
adverb. The distance between the places is
ten or twelve miles. — Sent. It is not said
that they sent for him with any definite ex-
pectation of a miracle. It was natural that
they should desire his presence and sympathy
at such a time.

39. Into the upper chamber. The body
was usually kept here when, for any reason,
the interment was delayed. (See Jahn's Archse-
ol., § 204 ; Win., Realw., i. p. 467.) They had
been waiting in this instance for the arrival of
Peter. — The widows, who had been the
objects of her benevolence, and who now
mourned the death of their benefactress.
Every one must be struck at the natural
manner in which this beautiful incident is
introduced. — Tonics and coats, such as were
worn by men and women. The omission of
the article (suggestive of a wrong sense as in-
serted in E. V.) shows that they presented
specimens only of her industry. Some of the
garments may have been worn by those present,
and others have been laid up for future distri-
bution.— o<ro, which all, which so many, not
= « simply, which. — Made (imperf.), was ac-
customed to make.

40. But having put all forth, caused
them to retire ; not with violence. (See Mark
5 : 40 ; John 10 : 4.) The object may have been
to secure himself from observation and inter-

ruption while he prayed with fervor and agony.
Elisha pursued the same course — for the same
reason, probably — when he restored to life the
Shunammite's son. (See 2 Kings 4 : 33 ; also
Matt. 9 : 25.) — Prayed. Peter would address
his prayer to Christ ; for the apostles wrought
their miracles in his name. (See v. 34 ; 3:6,
16; 4 : 10.) — Arise, stand erect. Peter speaks
as one who felt assured that his prayer had pre-
vailed. (See Matt. 17 : 20.)

42. It became draws its subject from the
context — viz. the miracle. — Upon the Lord,
Christ, whose gospel had been so signally at-
tested as true.

43. Peter remained here many days, be-
cause the place was large and the people
evinced a preparation for the reception of the
word. — A tanner. The more scrupulous Jews
regarded such an occupation as unclean, and
avoided those who pursued it. The conduct
of Peter here shows that he did not cany his
prejudices to that extent.

1-8. THE VISION OF CORNELIUS THE
CENTURION.

1. iKarovripxnt (ccuturiou) is often mter-
changed with iKarovriipxo^ (ji : sj; « : », tt.). The
first is the prevalent form in the later Greek.
(W. ? 8. 1.) The word has a uniform termina-
tion in some copies of the text. — Italian band.
Some suppose this cohort to have belonged to
the legio ItcUica, or Italica prima, of wliich we
read in Tacitus (Hist., 1. 59, 64, etc.) ; but the
fact stated by Dio Cassius (55. 24) is overlooked
— that this legion was raised by Nero, and con-
sequently was not in existent^ at this period

128

THE ACTS.

[Ch. X.

2 •A devout mnn, and one that ^feared (iod with all <
his bouse, which gave much alms to the people, and
prayed to Ciod alway.

S '}{e saw in avi.sion evident! v about the ninth hour
of the day an angei of God coming in to him, and say-
ing unto nim, Cornelius.

4 And when he looked on him, he was afraid, and
said. What is it, I^rd? And he said unto him. Thy
prayers and thine alms are come up for a memorial
before (iod.

5 And now send men to Joppa, and call for on« Simon,
whose surname is Peter:

6 He lodgeth with one 'Simon a tanner, whose house
is by the sea side : 'he shall tell thee what thou oughtett
to do.

2 'bnnd, a devout man, and one that feared God with
all his bouse, who gave much alms to the people, and

3 prayed to Goid alway. He saw in a vision openly, as
it were about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of
God coming in unto him, and saying to him, Cor-

4 nelius. And he, fasteninc his eyes upon him, and
being affrighted, said. What is it. Lord? And he
said unto hini. Thy prayers and thine alms are gone

5 up for a memorial before (iod. And now send men
to Joppa, and fetch one Simon, who is surnamed

6 Peter : he lodgeth with one Simon a tanner, whoae

• w. tt; oh. 8:1; n: U....» T«r. S5....e ver. SO; oh. II : lS....rfeb. » : 4S....«eh. 11 : li.-

-I Or, eokort.

of our narrative. While no ancient writer has
left any notice confirming Luke's accuracy in this
passage, it so happens that an inscription in Gru-
ter* informs us that volunteer Italian cohorts [a
volunteer Italian cohort] served in Syria — i. e.
Italian or Roman soldiers who enlisted of their
own accord, instead of being obliged to perform
military service. (See IHct. ofAntt., art. " Velo-
nes.") It is generally supposed that the Roman
cohorts, instead of being incorporated always
with a particular l^on, existed often sepa-
rately. It is probable that such an independ-
ent cohort was now stationed at Ceesarea, called
the Italian because it consisted of native Ital-
ians, whereas the other cohorts in Palestine
were levied, for the most part, from the country
itself. (S'^ Jos., Antt., 14. 15. 10 ; BeU. Jud., 1.
17. 1. Ck)mp. the note on 27 : 1.) It is worthy
of remark, as Tholuck* suggests, that Luke
places this Italian cohort precisely here. Caes-
area was the residence of the Roman procurator
(see on 8 : 40), and it was important that he
should have there a body of troops on whose
fidelity he could rely.

2. Devout and fearing God. All the cen-
turions in the New Testament appear in a favor-
able light (Hmph.). (See 27 : 3; Matt. 8:5;
Luke 7:2.) The one here was a worshipper of
Jehovah, but had not submitted to circumcision
or avowed publicly the Jewish faith. The opin-
ion that he was a proselyte disagrees with vv.
28, 34 ; 11 : 1, 8 ; 15 : 7, for those passages show
that he was regarded by the Jews at this time
as belonging still to a heathen community.
Cornelius was one of those men, so numerous
in this efiete age of idolatry, who were yearn-
ing for a better worship, and under that im-
pulse had embraced the pure theism of the
Old Testament, so much superior to every
other form of religion known to them. They
attended the synagogues, heard and read the
Scriptures, practised some of the Jewish rites.

and were in a state of mind predisposing them
to welcome the gospel of Christ when it was an-
nounced to them. This class of persons fur-
nished the greater part of the first Gentile con-
verts.—The people— viz. of the Jews. (Comp.
V. 42 ; 26 : 17, 23 ; 28 : 17.) Perhaps Luke 7 : 5
brings to view one of the ways in which he ap-
plied his benefactions.

3. In a vision may be understood of an in-
ner or of an outward vision (Neand.). — Evi-
dently^ di.stinctly, applies better to a percep-
tive act than to an act of consciousness. Saw
is ambiguous in that respect. — About the
ninth hour* in the course of it; accusative
of time how long. (Bernh., Synt., p. 116.)
This hour was one of the Jewish hours of
prayer (3: i).

4. What is it which is designed or desired?
— For Lord) see the remark on 9 : 5. — Prayers
and alms, which belong to one verb here, are
assigned to two verbs in v. 31. — For a memo-
rial, as such (see on 7 : 21) — i. e. he was now to
receive evidence of his being remembered, in-
asmuch as God was about to open a way for his
attainment of the peace of mind which he had
so anxiously sought.

5. Joppa was about thirty miles south of
Csesarea. — Send (fi'vairem^ou) is middle, because
he was to execute the act through the agency
of others. (K. §250. R. 2; B. g 135. 8.) Simon
. . . Peter. Both names are given, so as to
prevent mistake as to the individual whom the
messengers were to find. This, too, is the
reason for describing so minutely his place
of abode.

6. By the sea-shore— viz. that of the Med-
iterranean. Luke states a fact here ; the ground
of it we learn from other sources. The sani-
tary laws of the ancients, it is said, required
tanners to live out of the city : " Non solum ob
mortua animalia, quorum usum ipsa eorum
opificii ratio efflagitabat, sed etiam ob foetidos

' Copied in Ackerman's Numirmatie IlluttrtUiotu <tfthe Narrative Portions ojthe New TulamerU, p. 34.
* Die OlaubwUrdigkeit der Svangelite/un GuchiehU, p. 174.

Ch. X.]

THE ACTS.

129

7 And when the aneel which spake unto Cornelius
was departed, he called two of his household servants,
and a aevout soldier of them that waited on him con-
tinually ;

8 And when he had declared all thete things unto
them, he sent them to Joppa.

9 ^ On the morrow, as they went on their journey,
and drew nigh unto the city, "Peter went up upon the
housetop to pray about the sixth hour :

10 And he became very hungry, and would have
eaten: but while they made ready, be fell into a
trance,

7 house is by the sea side. And when the angel that
spake unto hira was departed, he called two of his
household-servants, and a devout soldier of them

8 that waited on him continually : and having re-
hearsed all things unto them, he sent them to
Joppa.

9 Now on the morrow, as they were on their jour-
ney, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went up
upon the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour:

10 and he became hungry, and desired to eat: but

a oh, U : 6, eto.

in eorum officinis et sedibus odorea et sordes "
[" Not only because of the dead animals which

BXTERIOB OF 8UPPOSKD HOUSE OF SIMON THE
TANNEE.

the nature of their btisiness called them to use,
but also because of the disagreeable odor
and filth of their premises "]. (Walch, Dis-
tertationes, etc., vol. i. p. 125.) The con-
venient prosecution of their business re-
quired that they should be near the water.
He shall tell thee, etc., at the close of
this verse in the common text, was inserted
in conformity with 9:6; 10 : 32.

7. And when the angel, etc. He de-
spatched the messengers, therefore, on the
same day, although it was so far advanced
(t. s). (Comp. immediately in v. 33.)—
Which spake (4 \a\uv) must be taken as
imperfect. (Comp. John 9:8; De Wet.)
— Of those (t. e. soldiers) who waited
upon him, who stood ready to perform
those personal services which he might re-
quire. Kuinoel's idea is that they acted as
a house-sentry. — Devout accords with the
description of the centurion's family in v. 2.

9-16. THE VISION OF PETER.

0. On the morrow, after their departure
from Csesarea.— Upon the housetop, the
roof, which, according to the Oriental man-
ner, was flat or but slightly inclined. It was
the place often chosen for the performance of
religious duties. (Jahn'a Archseol., g 24.) The
9

situation does not expose one necessarily to pub-
lic view. A wall or balustrade three or four feet
high surrounds many of the roofs in the East,
where a person may sit or kneel without being
observed by others. Moses required (Deut. 22 : s)
that every house should have such a protection.
10. vp6<nreivot occurs Only here. The law of
analogy shows it to be intensive, very hungry.
— Desired to eat, not would have eaten.
— While they now (not but) were prepar-
ing— i. e. for the evening repast. (See v. 9.)
The pronoun refers to those in the family
where Peter was entertained. — Ecstasy = in
Spirit (Rev. 1 : 10) — i. e. a trance, or rapture, where-
by (if we may so express it) he was transported
out of himself and put into a mental state in
which he could discern objects beyond the ap-
prehension of man's natural powers. (See 11 :
5 ; 22 : 17.) — In the mode of instruction which

EASTERN HOUSETOP.

Qod employed in this instance, he adapted him-
self to the peculiar circumstances in which
Peter was placed. " The divine light that was
making its way to his spirit revealed itself in
the mirror of sensible images which proceeded
from the existing state of his bodily frame"
(Neand.).

130

THE ACTS.

[Ch. X.

II And ■«aw heaven opened, and a certain vessel
descending unto him, ax it had been a great sheet knit
at the four corners, and let down to the earth :

1'2 Wherein were all manner of fuurfooted beasts of
the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping things, and
fowls of tne air.

i:t And there came a voice to him, Ki.se, I'eter; kill,
and eat.

14 But I'eter said. Not so, Ix)rd ; 'for I have never
eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

m And the voice .t/mAt unto him again the second
time, 'What (iod hath cleansed, that call not thou
common.

16 This wa.-* done thrice: and the vessel was received
up again into heaven.

17 Now while I'eter doubted in himself what this
vision which he had seen should mean, behold, the
men which were sent from Cornelius had made in-
quiry for tiimon's houae, and stood before the gate,

11 while they made ready, he fell into a trance; and
he beholdeth the heaven opened, and a certain ves-
sel descending, as it were a great sheet, let down by

12 four corners upon the earth : wherein were all man-
ner of fourfooted beasts and creeping things of the

Ui earth and fowls of the heaven. And there came a

U voice to him, Hisc, I'eter; kill and eat. But I'eter
said. Not so, Lord ; for I have never eaten any thing

15 that is common and unclean. And a voice came
unto him again the second time, What God hath

ICi cleansed, make not thou common. And this was
done thrice : and straightway the vessel was re-
ceived up into heaven.

17 Now while Peter was much perplexed in himself
what the vision which he had seen might mean, be-
hold, the men that were sent by Cornelius, having
made inquiry for Simon's bouse, stood before th«

aoh. T:M; Bev. 19: ll....tL«T. 11:4; W: 25; Deut. 14:3, 7; Kzek. 4 : I4....0 MaU. 15:11; ver. 28; Rom. 14:14, 17, 20;

I Cor. 10 : 25 ; 1 Tim. 4 : 4 ; Tit. 1 : 15.

11. Beholds, with wonder. (See on 4 : 13.)
— A certain vessel, receptacle, wliich Ls de-
scribed more definitely as a great sheet. —
Bound by four corners, or ends (anarthrous,
since the number was not definite of itself),
and (thus) let down upon the earth. The
conception of the scene suggested by the text
is that of the sheet upheld by cords attached to
its four points, and suspended from above by
an unseen j)ower. This is the common view,
and, I think, the correct one. Meyer under-
stands corners of the four comers of heaven —
». e. east, west, north, and south — to which the
four end. of the sheet were fjastened. Neander
inclines to that interpretation. Corners with
such a reference would seem to demand the
article, as much as the translation into English
and German. — Lachmann expunges bound,
and, after ABC and some other authorities
[as, at present, Tsch., Treg., West, and Hort,
Anglo-Am. Revisers. — A. H.] ; but probably
the omission of the words in 11 : 5 led to their
omission here.

12. All the quadrupeds— t. e. as to their
varieties, not individually. Tlie text here is
confused. Of the earth is to be retained, no
doubt, but should follow creeping things
(Lchm., Mey., Tsch.).— And wild beasts be-
fore and creeping things is not found in the
controlling manuscripts. It is evident that the
text in 11 : 6 has influenced the text in this
passage.

13. Rise. (See on 9 : 18.) Yet Peter may
have been kneeling or reclining at that moment
(Mey.). — Slay and eat— «. e. any one of the
creatures exhibited to him, without regard to
the distinction of clean or unclean.

14. All (wiy), preceded by the negative, is a
Hebraism for nothing (ovWf). (Comp. Matt.
24 : 22; Rom. 3 : 20; Eph. 5 : 5.) The two
modes of expression present the idea from

different points of view. That of the Hebrews
excepts evTything from the action of the verb ;
that of the Greeks subjects nothing to it. (Ge-
sen., Heb. Or., 1 149. 1 ; W. g 26. 1.)— Common
((totfov) is the opposite of holy (aYtof). As this
sense was unusual, the more explicit unclean
follows.

15. What God cleansed — i. e. declared by
this symbolic act to be clean. The aorist and
perfect should not be confounded here. Verbs
j in Hebrew have often this declarative sense.
! (Comp. Lev. 13 : 3, 8, 13; 16 : 30; Ezek. 43 : 3;
' Jer. 1 : 10, etc. See Gesen., Heb. Lex., s. tahar.)
\ An approximating usage exists in Greek. —
> Call not thou common. Thou is con-
i trasted with God. It is not usual to insert
i the first or second personal pronoun as the
' subject of a verb, unless it be emphatic. (K.
i ? 302. 1 ; B. § 129. 14.) The imperative is pres-
j ent because he was committing the prohibited
act at the time. (Comp. the note on 7 : 60.)
I 16. This refers to the repetition of the voice,
not to the vision as seen three times. Those
j who understand it in the latter way overlook
again a second time, just before. The com-
mand was reiterated, in order to impress the
i words more deeply on the mind of Pet«r.
I 17-22. THE MESSENGERS ARRIVE AT
: JOPPA.

j 17. Doubted, was perplexed, uncertain.
I —What it might be, signify. (Comp. Luke
! 8 : 9; John 10 : 6.) He must have been con-
1 vinced that such a revelation was not designed
merely to announce the abolition of a ceremo-
nial custom, but it was not yet evident to him
how much tlie principle comprehended, and
j especially in what practical manner he was to
exhibit his liberation from the scruples by
which he had been bound hitherto.— Which
he had seen. (Comp. on 1 : 2.)— Then be-
hold, as in 1 : 10. — inptorfiaavrt^, a strengthened

Ch. X.]

THE ACTS.

131

18 And called, and asked whether 8imon, which was
Burnamed Peter, were lodged there.

19 1i While I'eter thought on the vision, "the Spirit
said unto him. Heboid, three men seek thee.

20 'Arise therefore, and get thee down, and go with
them, doubting nothing: for I have sent tliera.

21 Then I'eter went down to the men which were
sent unto him from Cornelius ; and said, liehold, 1 am
he whom ye seek : what in the cause wherefore ye are
come?

22 And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just
man, and one that feareth Uod, and ■'of good report
among all the nation of the Jews, was warned from
God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house,
and to hear words of thee.

23 Then called he them in, and lodged them. And on
the morrow Peter went away with them, 'and certain
brethren from Joppa accompanied him.

24 And the morrow after they entered into Csesarea.
And Cornelius waited for them, and had called to-
gether his kinsmen and near friends.

25 And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met him,
and fell down at his feet, and worshipped him.

18 gate, and called and asked whether Simon, who was
19surnamed Peter, were lodging there. And while

Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said unto
20 him, liehold, three men seek thee. But arise, and

get thee down, and go with them, nothing doubts
2irng: for I have sent them. And Peter went down

to the men, and said, liehold, I am he whom ye

seek: what is the cause wherefore ye are come?

22 And they .said, (_'orneliu8 a centurion, a righteous
man and one that feareth (iod, and well reported
of by all the nation of the Jews, was warned of God
by a holy angel to send for thee into his house, and

23 to hear words from thee. So he called them in and
lodged them.

And on the morrow he arose and went forth with
them, and certain of the brethren from Joppa ac-

24companied him. And on the morrow Uhey entered
into Csesarea. And Cornelius was waiting for them,
having called together his kinsmen and his near

25 friends. And when it came to pass that Peter en-
tered, Coroelius met him, and fell down at Us feet,

a oh. II : 12....&ob. 15: 7.... e vera. 1, 2, etc.. ..d oh. 22 : 12....0 ver. tf; oh. 11 : 12.-

-1 Some aocieat antborlties read ht.

sense, having inquired out. The tanner was
an obscure man, and not to be found in a mo-
ment.— Unto the gate, which opened directly
into the house or court ; not the porch, vesti-
bule, since the more splendid houses only had
that appendage (De Wet.). (Comp. Matt. 26 : 71.)

18. And called (see v. 7), having called,
some one, or, without any object, having
called, announced their presence. — If he
lodges. The present tense turns the question
into a direct form. The ase of the two names
again (v. 5) is not unmeaning. So many per-
sons were called "Simon" that the strangers
must be minute in their inquiry.

19. ii.tv&vii.oviJ.ivov is stronger than iv&uiiovnivov
in the common text: earnestly considering.
The first is the better-attested word. — Three
before men should be omitted. It was added
from V. 7 ; 11 : 11.

20. But turns the discourse to a new point.
(Comp. 9 : 6.) — Making no scruple — i. e. to
go with them, although they are heathen. —
I :== Spirit in v. 19.— Sent them, not perfect
(E.V.).

21. Which were sent from Cornelius
to him defines men ; and since, in the public
reading of the Scriptures, a new section began
here, the words were necessary, in order to sug-
gest the connection. This accounts for our find-
ing them in a few copies. The preponderant
teetimffny is against them.

22. Of good report occurs as in 6 : 3. — Was
divinely instructed. (Comp. Matt. 2 : 12.)
In the classics this word refers to a communi-
cation made in reply to a question, but in the
New Testament and the Septuagint it drops that
relative sense. — Words, instruction. (Comp.
shall speak to thee in v. 32.) The first ac-

count of the vision (y.*,tq.) omits this par-
ticular.
23-33. PETER PROCEEDS TO C.ESAREA.

23. On the morrow, after the arrival of
the messengers. — Certain of the brethren.
They are the six men mentioned in 11 : 12.
We are not informed of their object in ac-
companying the apostle. They may have gone
as his personal friends merely, or from a natu-
ral desire to know the result of so extraordinary
a summons. In his defence before the church
of Jerusalem (see 11 : 1, sq.), Peter appealed to
these brethren to confirm his statements. Some
have conjectured that he may have foreseen the
necessity of that justification, and took the
precaution to secure the presence of those who
would be acknowledged as impartial Jewi^
witnesses.

24. On the morrow, after leaving Joppa.
(Comp. V. 9.) Thirty miles (see on v. 5) was
more than a single day's journey in the East.
It must be the truth which brings out such ac-
curacy in these details. — For «i« in the verb re-
peated before the noun, see on 3 : 2. — His near
friends, his intimate friends. The classical
writers combine the words with that meaning
(Kypk., Wetst.).

25. Now as it came to pass that Peter
was entering, Cornelius having met him
— viz. at the door or in the court of tlie house.
The first interview appears to have taken place
there, and then the centurion and the apostle
proceeded to the room where the company were
assembled. (See v. 27.)— Upon the feet— viz.
of Peter, which he may have embraced at the
same time. (Comp. Matt. 28 : 9.)— Fell down,
paid reverence — viz. by prostrating himself
in the Oriental manner. Since Cornelius ac-

132

THE ACTS.

[Ch. X.

26 But Peter took him up, saying, •Stand up ; I my-
self also am a man.

27 And as he talked with him, he went in, and found
many that were come together.

28 And he said unto tnem. Ye know how Hhat it is
an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep
company, or come unto one of another nation ; but
•God bath shewed me that 1 should not call any man
common or unclean.

26 and worshipped him. But Peter raised him up,
27 saying, .^tand up; 1 myself also am a man. And as
he talked with him, he went in, and findeth many
28 come together: and he said unto them. Ye your-
selves know >how that it is an unlawful thing for a
man that is a Jew to join himself or come unto one
of another nation ; and yet unto me hath God shewed
that I should uot call any man common or unclean :

• eh. U:I4, 15; Bar. 19:10; n:t....»John 4 :»; 18 : 18; oh. II : S; Qal. i:lt, 14..

haw wtlamoful it Ufar a man eto.

.ocb. 15:8, «; Kph. 3:6.-

•lOr,

knowledged Jehovah as the true God, and
must have r^arded him as the only proper
object of worship, it is difficult to believe that
he intended this as an act of religious homage.
The description of his character in v. 2 and v.
22 cannot be easily reconciled with the im-
putation of such a design. (See more on the
next verse.)

26. Raised him ap* caused him to rise by
the command addressed to him. — I also my-
self am a man, as well as you. Peter may
have been surprised at such a mode of saluta-
tion from a Roman, whose national habits were
so diiferent ; he had reason to fear that the cen-
turion had mistaken his character — was exceed-
ing the proper limits of the respect due from
one man to another. He recoiled at the idea of
the possibility of having a homage tendered to
him which might partake of the reverence that
belongs only to God. In other words, it is more
probable that Peter, in his concern for the divine
honor, warned the centurion against an act
which he apprehended, than that the centurion
committed an act so inconsistent with his re-
ligious faith. That inconsistency is so much the
less to be admitted, because Peter had just been
represented in the vision so distinctly as a man.
The apostles claimed no ability to know the
hearts or thoughts of men, except as their ac-
tions revealed them. Compare with this con-
duct of Peter that of Paul and Barnabas at
Lystra (u : i*. »«.). The Saviour, on the contrary,
never repressed the disposition of his disciples
to think highly of his rank and character. He
never reminded them of the equality of his
nature with their own, or intimated that the
honor paid to him was excessive. He received
their homage, whatever the form in which they
oifered it, however excited the state of mind
which prompted it. This different procedure
on the part of Christ we can ascribe only to
his consciousness of a claim to be acknow-
ledged as divine.

27. Conversing with him (Whl., Rob.).
(Comp. talked in 20 : 11 ; 24 : 26; Luke 24 :
14, 15.) Some render accompanying him,
which is too self-evident to be stated so form-
ally. The first sense is peculiar to Luke. —

Went in, perhaps into an upper room. (See
on 1 : 13.)

28. in may qualify the adjective, how, in what
degree (Mey.), or the verb, how it is (know-
ledge and fact accordant). — adiimrov, unlawful.
The Jews professed to ground this view on the
laws of Moses ; but they could adduce no ex-
press command for it, or just construction of
any comn.and. No one of the N. T. writers
employs this word, except Pet«r here and in 1
Pet. 4 : 3. — To associate with (s : is), or come
unto, one of another nation. The second
verb evolves the sense of the first. Strangers
is applied to the Philistines in 1 Sam. 13 : 3-5
(Sept.), and to the Greeks in 1 Mace. 4 : 12. It
has been said that Luke has betrayed here an
ignorance of Jewish customs, since the Jews,
though they refused to eat with the uncircum-
cised (oai. 2 : 12), did not avoid cdl intercourse with
them. But the objection presses the language
to an extreme. We are to limit such general
expressions by the occasion and the nature of
the subject. The intercourse with the Gentiles,
represented here as so repugnant to Jewish
ideas, was such intercourse as had now taken
place : it was to enter the houses of the heathen,
partake freely of their hospitality, recognize
their social equality. In accordance with this,
we find to associate with exchanged for
didst eat with in 11 : 3 ; the word there may
be supposed to define the word here. De Wette
objects that the act of eating has not been men-
tioned ; but it is not mentioned anywhere, and
yet the subsequent accusation against the apos-
tle alleges it as the main offence. The act was,
doubtless, a repeated one. (See v. 48.) An in-
stance of it may have preceded the utterance
of the words here in question. Nothing would
be more natural, at the close of such a journey,
than that the travellers should be supplied with
the means of refreshment before entering form-
ally on the object of the visit. Considered in
this light, Peter's declaration in this verse agrees
entirely with that of Josephus {Cmt. Ap., 2.
28) : " Those foreigners (aW6(i>v\oL) who come to
us without submitting to our laws, Moses per-
mitted not to have any intimate connections
with us." (See also 76., 2. 36. Comp. John 18 :

Ch. X.]

THE ACTS.

133

29 Therefore came I unto you without gainsaying, as
soon as 1 was sent for: I ask therefore for what intent
ye have sent for me ?

30 And Cornelius said, I''our days ago I was fasting
Until this hour; and at the ninth hour I prayed in my
house, and, behold, "a man stood before me Hn bright
clothing,

HI And said, Cornelius, "thy prayer is heard, "'and
thine alms are bad in remembrance in the sight of
Uod.

32 Send therefore to Joppa, and call hither SimoiK
whose surname is l^eter ; he is lodged in the house of
(m« Simon a tanner by the sea side : who, when he
Cometh, shall speak unto thee.

33 Immediately therefore 1 sent to thee ; and thou
hast well done that thou art come. Now therefore are
we all here present before God, to hear all things that
are commanded thee of God.

29 wherefore also I came without gainsaying, when I
was sent for. I ask therefore with what intent ye

30 sent for me. And Cornelius said, I-'our days ago,
until this hour, I was keeping the ninth hour of
prayer in my house; and behold, a man stood be-

31 fore me in bright apparel, and saith, Cornelius, thy
prayer is heard, and thine alms are had in remem-

32 orarice in the sight of God. Send therefore to Joppa,
and call unto thee Simon, who is surnamed I'eter ;
he lodgeth in the house of Simon a tanner, by the

33 sea side. Forthwith therefore I sent to thee; and
thou hast well done that thou art come. Now
therefore we are all here present in the sight of
God, to hear all things that have been commanded

aob. 1 : 10... .6 Matt. 38 : S; Hark 16 : 6; Luke 24 : 4.. ..ever. 4, etfl.; Dan. 10: ll....cl Heb. 8 : 10.

28.) — And (in opposition to that Jewish feel-
ing) God showed me — viz. by the vision.

29. Therefore I also came — i. e. he was
not only instructed, but obeyed the instruction.
Also connects came with showed. — Without
gainsaying (dva>^ipp^Ti<>«) = without delay
{avafji<l».fi6\u>i) (Hesych.). It is a later Greek
word. — With what reason, for what object ;
dative of the ground or motive. (W. g 31. 6. c.)
Peter was already apprised that Cornelius had
sent for him, in consequence of a revelation,
but would desire, naturally, to hear a fuller state-
ment of the circumstances from the centurion
himself. The recital may have been necessary,
also, for the information of those who had as-
sembled.

30. Four days ago, etc., has received dif-
ferent explanations. (1) From the fourth
day (prior to the vision) was I fasting unto
this hour — i. e. unto an hour corresponding to
that which was then passing; viz. the ninth
(Hnr., Neand., De Wet.). According to this
view, Cornelius had been fasting four days at
the time of the angel's appearance to him.
(2) From the fourth day (reckoned back-
ward from the present) unto this hour — i. e.
he was observing a fast which began four days
before and extended up to the time then pres-
ent. It was on the first of the days that he
saw the angel. But was, as past, represents
the fast as having terminated, and so would ex-
clude this hour. Meyer in his second edition
abandons this view for the next. (3) From
the fourth day (reckoning backward as before)
— i. e. four days ago unto this hour in which
he was then speaking (Bng., Kuin., Olsh.).
The fast commenced with the day and had
continued unbroken until the ninth hour, when
the angel appeared. This view agrees with tlie
number of days which had elapsed since the
angel's communication — viz. four — and allows
\ime enough for the abstinence to justify the

use of fasting. — Viji* (was) is an imperfect
middle, rare out of the later Greek. (W. ? 14.
2. b ; B. § 108. IV. 2.)— And during the ninth
hour (accusative, as in v. 3), so that (this =
ninth) it was about three o'clock in the after-
noon when Peter arrived at Caesarea. — A man
in bright clothing = an angel of God, in
V. 3. (See 1 : 11.)

31. Was heard (not is in E. V.), and so
were (not are) remembered. (Comp. also
V. 4.) He is assured now of the approval of
his acts ; the acts were approved when he per-
formed them. — Thy prayer refers more espe-
cially to his prayer at this time. But the an-
swer to this prayer was an answer to his other
prayers, since the burden of them had doubtless
been that God would lead him to a clearer
knowledge of the truth and enable him to at-
tain the repose of mind which a conscience en-
lightened, but not yet " purged from a sense of
evil," made it impossible for him to enjoy. Hence
prayers, in v. 4, could be exchanged here for
the singular.

32. Send, therefore, because in this way
he would obtain the evidence that he was ap-
proved.— fitTOKaXtacu. (call for thee) exemplifies
the usage of the middle noticed on v. 5. — The
verbal accuracy here, as compared with v. 5, is
natural. There was but one way to report the
words of such a message. The angel's voice
and mien had left an impression not to be ef-
faced.

33. Immediately agrees with the narrative
in V. 7.— Thou hast done well (see 3 John 6),
a common phrase expressive of the gratification
which a person derives from the act of another
(Wetst., Raph.). For the construction, comp.
Phil. 4 : 14.— In the sight of God, with a
consciousness of his presence, and hence pre-
pared to hear and obey his message. This is a
reason why Peter sliould speak with freedom
and confidence. "Terra bona; inde fructus

134

THE ACTS.

[Ch. X.

34 % Then Peter opened hU mouth, and said, ■Of a
truth I perceive that (iod is no respecter of persons:

3.') Hut *in every nation he that feareth him, and
worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

3G The word which God sent unto the children of
Israel, 'preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (<'he is Lord
of all : )

37 That word, / tay, ye know, which was published

34 thee of the Lord. And Peter opened his mouth,
and said,
Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of

35 persons: but in every nation he that feareth him,
and worketh righteousness, is acceptable to him.

36iThe word which he sent unto the children of Is-
rael, preaching ^good tidings of peace by Jesus

37 Christ (.he is Lord of all j— that saying ye yourselves

«at. 10:17; 2 Chron. IS: 7: Job S4:lt; Rom. f.ll; Oal. 2:6; Kpb. 6:9; Col. 3: 25; 1 Pet. 1: 17....6cb. 15
:22, 2>i 10:12, IS; 1 Cor. 12 : 13; Gal. S:2S: Epb. 2 : 13, 18; 3 :«.... elu. 57 : 1» ; Epb. 2: 14, 16, 17; Ool. 1 : 2

;om. 10 : 12 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 27 ; Epb. 1 : 20, 22 ; 1 Pel. 3 : 22 ; Bar. 17 : H ; 19 : 16. 1 Many aorient autboritiea n

Hie 2 Or, Ike gvpeU

9 ; Rom. 2 : IS, 27 ;

_ dMatt. 2S: 18;

read Be tetU the word

celerrimiis" ["Good soil; thence the most
speedy fruit"] (Bng.).
34-43. THE ADDRESS OF PETER.

34. See the remark on opened his month
in 8 : 35. — irpo<rwiroAqrT7}c is a word coined to ex-
press concretely the idea of the Heb. Tiasa
panem, respecter of persons — i. e. here par-
tial in the way of regarding one man as better
than another, on the ground of national de-
scent.

35. Is acceptable to him — i. e. his right-
eousness, his obedience to the divine will, as
far as it extends, is as fully approved of God,
though he be a Gentile, as if he were a Jew.
It is evident from I perceive, that he that
feareth him and worketh righteousness
descnbes the centurion's character before his
acceptance of the gospel, and, consequently,
that acceptable to him applies to him as a
person ~t'll destitute of faith in Clirist. That
Peter did not intend, however, to represent his
righteousness, or that of any man, prior to the
exercise of such faith, as sufficient to justify
him in the sight of God, is self-evident ; for in
v. 43 he declares that it is necessary to beUeve
on Christ, in order to obtain " the remission of
sins." (Comp. also 15 : 11.) The antithetic
structure of the sentence indicates the mean-
ing. He that feareth him, etc., is the oppo-
site of respecter of persons — i. e. God judges
man impartially ; he approves of what is excel-
lent in those of one nation as much as in those
of another ; he will confer the blessings of his
grace as readily upon the Gentile who desires
to receive them as upon the Jew. In other
words, since the apostle has reference to the
state of mind which God requires as prepara-
tory to an interest in the benefits of the gospel,
the righteousness and the acceptance of which
he speaks must also be preparatory — t. e. rela-
tive, and not absolute.'

36. The construction is uncertain, but the
most simple is that which makes word (x6yov)
depend on ye know (». S7) in apposition with

word (p^Ms) : The word which he sent . . .
(I say) ye know the thing that was done,

etc. So, essentially, Kuinoel, Meyer, Winer,
and others. (See W. ^ 62. 3.) Others refer
word to what precedes, and supply accord-
ing to (Kara) or take the accusative as abso-
lute : the word (viz. that God is thus impar-
tial) which he sent, etc. (Bng., Olsh., De
Wet.). That mode of characterizing the con-
tents or message of the gospel is unusual. The
structure of the sentence is no smoother in this
case than in the other. A recent writer* has
proposed to construe preaching as a predicate
of he that fears God is acceptable to
him, . . . having announced (to him) as
glad tidings, peace, etc. But the participle
in this position cannot be separated without
violence from the subject of sent, nor is the
accusative in any other instance retained after
this verb in the passive. (Comp. Matt. 11:5; Heb.
4:2.) The construction would be correct in
principle, but is not exemplified. — Sent to the
sons of Israel — i. e. in the first instance, as
in 3 : 26 ; 13 : 26. That priority Peter concedes
to the Jews.— Peace, reconciliation to God
procured through Christ (comp. Rom. 5 : 1, 10),
not union between the Jews and Gentiles (De
Wet.) — an effect of the gospel too subordinate
to be made so prominent in this connection.
The apostle restates the idea in v. 43. — This
one is Lord of all. All {navnov) is mascu-
line, not neuter. Peter interposes the remark
as proof of the universality of this plan of rec-
onciliation. The dominion of Christ extends
over those of one nation as well as of another ;
they are all the creatures of his power and care,
and may all avail themselves of the provisions
of his grace. (Comp. Rom. 3 : 29, 30 ; 10 : 12.)
3T. Ye know, etc., implies that they had
already some knowledge of the life and works
of Christ. The fame of his miracles may have
extended to Csesarea (see Matt. 15 : 21 ; Mark
7 : 24), or Philip, who resided there (s : «), may
have begun to excite public attention as a

1 Keander's remarks on this passage, in hia PtanHng oj the Otrittian Church, deserve attention. See the closa
of the second section or book.
> Is the Theologitehe Studien und KrUiken, 1860, p. 402, «y.

Ch. X.]

THE ACTS.

135

throughout all Judeea, and "began from Galilee, after
the baptism which John preached;

38 tfow HJod auointed Jesus of Nazareth with the
Holy (ihost and with power : who went about doing
good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil ;
•for Uod was with him.

39 And ■'we are witnesses of all things which he did
both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem ; 'whom
they slew and hanged on a tree :

40 Him /(iod raised up the third day, and shewed
him openly ;

41 'Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen

know, which was published throughout all Judtea,
beginning from Galilee, after the baptism which

38 John preached; even Jesus of Nazareth, how that
(iod anointed him with the Holy .Spirit and with
power: who went about doing good, and healing all
that were oppressed of the devil ; for (iod was with

39 him. And we are witnesses of all things which he
did both in the country of the Jews, and in Jeru-
salem; whom also they slew, hanging him on a

40 tree. Him God raised up the third day, and gave

41 him to be made manifest, not to all the people, but

: 14.... 6 Luke 4 : 18; oh. X : SS; i:3T; Heb. 1 :9....c John 3 : 2....(lob. 2 : St....«oii. S : SO..../ob. S: 34....a Joba
14 : 17, i% ; cb. 13 : 31.

preacher of the gospel. Some think that C!or-
nelius was the centurion who was present at

the crucifixion of Christ (M»tt. ST : 44 ; Mark is : S9 ;

Luke 23 : 47), siucc it was customary to march a
portion of the troops at Csesarea to Jerusalem
for the preservation of order during the festi-
vals. It is impossible to refute or confirm that
opinion. Peter procee<3s to communicate to
them a fuller account of the Saviour's history,
and of the nature and terras of his salvation.
— Word (p^/na) = word (Aoyoi') in v. 36 (Kuin.,
Mey.), or thing (De Wet.), which is more con-
gruous with happened) and associates the
word with the indubitable facts on which it
rested. — After the baptism — i. e. the completion
of John's ministry. The Saviour performed
some public acts at an earlier period, but did
not enter fully on his work till John had fin-
ished his preparatory mission. The difference
was so slight that it was sufficiently exact to
make the beginning or the close of the fore-
runner's career the starting-point in that of
Christ. (See on 1 : 22.)

38. Jesns transfers the mind from the gos-
pel-history to the personal subject of it. The
appositional construction is kept up still. From
Nazareth, as the place of his residence. (See
Matt. 2 : 23.) — How God anointed him with
the Holy Spirit, etc. (See note on 1 : 2 and
on 4 : 26.) Power is defined by what follows
as power to perform miracles. — Went from
place to place. (Comp. 8 : 4.) — Healing
those oppressed by the devil. His tri-
umph over this form of Satanic agency is
singled out as the highest exhibition of his
wonder-working power. [Compare the briefer
exposition of Canon Cook : " Three accusatives
are put forward — 1st, the word, in y. 36; 2d,
the word, in v. 37 ; 3d, Jesus of Nazareth, in v.
38 — all of them governed by ye know. And it
is to be noted that the word in v. 37 is quite dis-
tinct from that in v. 36, in apposition with it,
and explanatory of its meaning. Ye know . . .
the teaching or message which God sent; yc
know, again, . . . the matter, or the fact, the

subject or basis, of the teaching which took
place throughout all Judea, the area of our
Lord's teaching and miracles. Once more ye
know Jesus of Nazareth." — A. H.]

39. Are {iaiiiv) supplies the correct word
after we (iiiJitU), but is not genuine. — Both in
the country of the Jews and in Jerusa-
lem, the capital of the nation and its territory
here opposed to each other. The Jews inhabited
not only Judea, but Galilee and a r^ion on the
east of the Jordan. — Whom also, an addi-
tional fact (Luke 22: 24) ill the Saviour's history
(De Wet.), showing the extent of their ani-
mosity and violence. Winer (§ 66. 3) suggests
a brachylogy : whom (of which also we are
witnesses) they slew, etc. This is too com-
plicated.—By hanging. (See note on 5 : 30.)
Here again the E. Version represents the Sa-
viour as put to death before he was suspended
on the cross.

41. Not unto all the people— t. e. of the
Jews. (Comp. on v. 2.)— But unto witnesses
before appointed by God. The choice of
the apostles is ascribed indifferently to him or
to Christ (i : 2). irp<5 (before) in the participle
represents the selection as made before Christ
rose from the dead, not as purposed indefinitely
before its execution. — The exception here made
to the publicity of the Saviour's appearance ac-
cords with the narrative of the evangelists ; they
mention no instance in which he showed him-
self to any except his personal followers. Paley
founds the following just remarks on that rep-
resentation of the sacred writers : " The history
of the resurrection would have come to us with
more advantage, if they had related that Jesus
had appeared to his foes as well as his fnen(Js,
or even if they asserted the public appearance
of Christ in general unqualified terms, without
noticing, as they have done, the presence of his
disciples on each occasion, and noticing it in
such a manner as to lead their readers to sup-
pose that none but disciples were present. If
their point had been to have their story be-
lieved, whether true or fistlse, or if they had

136

THE ACTS.

[Ch. X.

before of God, even to us, 'who did eat and drink with
him after he rose from the dead.

42 And 'he commanded u« to nreach unto the people,
and to testify 'that it is he which was ordained of Ctod
to be the Judge •'of auick and dead.

43 •To him giveall the prophets witness, that through
his name /whosoever believeth in him shall receive re-
mission of sins.

44 <; While Peter yet spake these words, nhe Holy
Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.

45 *And they of the circumcision which believed
were astonished, as many as came with I'eter, fbecause
that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of
the Holy Ubost.

unto witnesses that were chosen before of God, even
to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose

42 from the dead. And he charged us to preach unto
the people, and to testify that this is he who is or-
dained of (iod to be the Judge of quick and dead.

43 To him bear all the prophets witness, that through
his name every one that believeth on him shall re-
ceive remission ol sins.

44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy

45 Spirit fell on all them who heard the word. And
they of the circumcision who believed were amazed,
as inany as came with Peter, because that on the
Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy

■ Lake M:SO, 4S; John tl : IS.... (Matt. »:», 30; cb. 1 : 8....e JohD 6 : n, IT ; eb. IT : 31....ii Bom. 14:9, 10; 2 Cor. 5:10; « Tim.
4:1; 1 Pel. 4 :&....« In. 53: U; Jer. S1:S4; Dan. 9:24; Uio. T: 18; Zeob. IS : 1 ; Mai. 4:1; Ob. S6 : 22..../ ob. 15:9; 26: 18;
Rom. 10:11; Oat. S : 22....; eb. 4 : 31; 8 : 15, M, IT ; 11 : 15....» ver. 23....ieb. 11 : 18; Oal. 3 : 14.

been disposed to present their testimony, either
as personal witnesses or as historians, in such a
manner as to render it as specious and unobjec-
tionable as they could — in a word, if they had
thought of anything but the truth of the case
as they understood and believed it, — they would,
in their account of Christ's several appearances
after his resurrection, at least have omitted this
restriction. At this distance of time, the ac-
count, as we have it, is perhaps more credible
than it would have been the other way, because
this manifestation of the historian's candor is of
more advantage to their testimony than the dif-
ference in the circumstances of the account would
have been to the nature of the evidence. But this
is an effect which the evangelists could not fore-
see, and is one which by no means would have fol-
lowed at the time when they wrote." — Who ate
and drank with him. (See Luke 24 : 43 ; John
21 : 13.) Hence they testified to a fact which
they had been able to verify by the most pal-
pable evidence. (Comp. the note on 1 : 3.) After
he rose from the dead belongs to the clause
which immediately precedes. It was afler his
resurrection that they had this intercourse with
him. The punctuation of some editors refers
the words incorrectly to v. 40.

42. To preach to the people* as above.
Peter alludes to the sphere of their ministry
which they were directed to occupy at first.
(Comp. 1:8; 3 : 26, etc.)— That himself, and
no other. (W. g 22. 4.) — Judge of the living
and dead — t. e. of all who shall be on the
earth at the time of his final appearance (i Tbe...
4 : it), and of all who have lived previously and
died. For other passages which represent Christ
as sustaining this office of universal judge, see
17 : 31 ; 2 Tim. 4 : 1 ; 1 Pet. 4 : 5. Olshausen and
8ome others understand the living and dead to be
tfie righteous and wicked ; but we are to attach to
the words that figurative sense only when the
context (Malt. 8 : 22) or some explanatory adjunct
(Bpb. 2 : i) leads the mind distinctly to it.

43. For this one (dat. comm.) testify all
the prophets. (Comp. on 3 : 24.) — Whoso-
ever believeth, etc., states the purport of their
testimony. This clause presents two ideas —
first, that the condition of pardon is faith in
Christ ; and secondly, that this condition brings
the attainment of pardon within the reach of
all: every one, whether Jew or Gentile, who
believes on him shall receive remission
of sins. (See Rom. 10 : 11.) For the explana-
tion of his name, see on 2 : 21.

44-48. CORNELIUS AND OTHERS RE-
CEIVE THE SPIRIT, AND ARE BAP-
TIZED.

44. Still speaking. Hence, Peter had not
finished his remarks when God vouchsafed this
token of his favor. (See 11 : 15.) The Spirit
— i. e. as the author of the gifts mentioned in
V. 46. The miracle proved that the plan of
salvation which Peter announced was the di-
vine plan, and that the faith which secured its
blessings to the Jew was sufficient to secure
them to the Gentile. A previous submission
to the rites of Judaism was shown to be un-
necessary. It is worthy of note, too, that
those who received the Spirit in this instance
had not been baptized (comp. 19 : 5), nor had
the hands of an apostle been laid upon them.
(Comp. 8 : 17.) This was an occasion when
men were to be taught by an impressive exam-
ple how little their acceptance with Grod de-
pends on external observances. — All restricts
itself to the Gentiles (v. 2t), since they were prop-
erly the hearers to whom Peter was speaking,
and not the Jews.

45. They of the circumcision — i. e. the
Jewish brethren mentioned in v. 23. (Comp.
11:2; Rom. 4:12; Col. 4 : 11.)— Believed
{wurroC = nirrtvovrti) . (See 16 : 1 ; John 20 : 27.)
" Verbal adjectives in t6«, which have usually a
passive signification, have often in poetry, and
sometimes in prose, an active signification."
(See K., Ausfuhr. Gr., ? 409. 3. A. 1.)— That also

Ch. XI.]

THE ACTS.

137

4( For they heard them speak with tongues, and
magnify God. Then answered Peter,

47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not
be btptized, which have received the Holy Ghost "as
well M we?

48 'And he commanded them to be baptized "in the
name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry
certain days.

46 Spirit. For they heard them speak with tongues,

47 and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any
man forbid the water, that these sliould not be bap-
tized, who have received the Holy Spirit as well as

48 we 7 And he commanded them to De baptized in
the name of Jesus Christ. Then prayed they him
to tarry certain days.

CHAPTER XI.

AND the apostles and brethren that were in Judaea
heard that the Gentiles had also received the word
of God.

2 And when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, <'they
that were of the circumcision contended with him,

1 Now the apostles and the brethren that were in
Judsea heard that the Gentiles also had received

2 the word of (iod. And when i'eter was come up to
Jerusalem, they tliat were of the circumcision con-

• elLlltlT; U:8,9; Bom. 10 : 12....M Cor. 1 : lT....eob. 3 :<8; 8: 16... .4 eb. 10: 46; 0«1. 1 : 11.

upon the heathen, as well as upon the Jews.
The assertion is universal, because this single
instance established the principle.

46. Were hearing them, while they spoke.
— With tongues, new; before unspoken by
them. The fuller description in 2 : 4 prepares
the way for the conciser statement here.

47. Can perhaps any one forbid the
water that these should not be baptized?
The article may contrast vSup and irv«vfxa with
each other, or more naturally designate the
water as wont to be so applied. The import
of the question is this : Since, although uncir-
cumcised, they have believed and received so
visible a token of their acceptance with God,
what should hinder their admission into the
church ? Who can object to their being bap-
tized, and thus acknowledged as Christians in
fall connection with us? As forbid (kwXuw)
involves a negative idea, m"? {not) could be
omitted or inserted before should be bap-
tized. The distinction may be that the in-
finitive with firj expresses the result of the
hindrance; without (xij, that which the hin-
drance would prevent. (See Woolsey On the
Alcestis, V. 11.) jiij after such verbs has been
said to be superfluous (K. § 318. 10), or simply
intensive (Mt. § 534. 3). Klotz {Ad Devar., ii. p.
668) suggests the correct view. (See also Bemh.,
Synt., p. 364.) [Some writers have inferred
sprinkling or pouring from forbid water:
"The water was to be brought to the converts;
and this suggests aflFusion, not immersion " ( Can-
on Cook). Better thus : " The water is in this
animated language conceived as the element
offering itself for the baptism. So ui^ent now
appeared the necessity for completing, on the
human side, the divine work that had miracu-
lously appeared" (Meyer). — A. H.]— As also
we received — viz. (see 11 : 15) in the be-
ginning.

48. Commanded that the rite should be
performed by others ; he devolved the service
on his attendants. Peter's rule in r^ard to the
administration of baptism may have been simi-
lar to that of Paul. (See 1 Cor. 1 : 14.) [The best
text reads: And he commanded them to
be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
Thus the name of Jesus is represented as the
spiritual element in which the act of baptism
takes place, just as in 2 : 38 it is spoken of as
the divine basis or authority for that act, and
as in 19 : 5 it is conceived of as the end to which
baptism relates. But in none of these passages
is the verbal formula used by administrators
given.— A. H.] — To tarry— i. e. with them.
(Comp. 28 : 14.)

1-18. PETER JUSTIFIES HIMSELF AT
JERUSALEM FOR HIS VISIT TO CORNE-
LIUS.

1. Peter, John, and James were among the
apostles now at Jerusalem {a-.u-.it: j), and no
doubt others. — Throughout (comp. 15 : 23)
Judea, since the brethren belonged to dif-
ferent churches in this region. (See Gal. 1 :
22.) — The heathen, while still uncircumcised.
(See V. 3.)

2. When he went up. There is no evi-
dence that Peter was summoned to Jerusalem
to defend his conduct. He had reason to fear
that it would be censured until the particulars
of the transaction were known, and he may
have hastened his return, in order to furnish
that information.— They of the circumcis-
ion are the Jewish believers, aa in 10 : 45, not
here a party among them more tenacious of
circumcision than the others. It is implied
that this tenacity was a Jewish characteristia
The narrower sense of the expression occurs in
some places.

138

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XL

3 Saving, •Thou wentest in to men uncircumciied,
*and didst eat with them.

4 Hut Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning,
•nd expounded it «by order unto them, saying,

5 'I was in the city of Joppa praying : and in a trance
I saw a vision, A certain vessel descend, as it had been
a great sheet, let down from heaven by lour corners ;
and it came even to me:

6 Upon the which when I had fa.steiied mine eyes, I
consiaered, and saw fourfooted beiusts of the earth,
and wild beasts, and creeping things, and fowls of the
air.

7 And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter ;
slay and eat.

8 But I said, Not so. Lord : for nothing common or
unclean bath at any time entered into my mouth.

9 But the voice answered me again from heaven.
What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common.

10 And this was done three times: and all were
drawn up again into heaven.

11 And, behold, immediately there were three men
already come unto the bouse where I was, sent from
Ctesarea unto me.

12 And 'the spirit bade me go with them, nothing
doubting. Moreover /these six brethren accompanied
me, and we entered into the man's house:

1^ 'And be shewed us how he had seen an angel in
his house, which stood and said unto him. Send men to
Joppa, and call for !^imon, whose surname is Peter;

H Who shall tell thee words, whereby thou end all
thy house shall be saved.

15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on
them, *as on us at the beginning.

16 Then remembered 1 the word of the Lord, how
that he said, 'John indeed baptized with water ; but
*ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.

1 3 tended with him, saying. Thou wentest in to nen
' 4 uncircumcised, and didst eat with them. But Feter
' began, and expounded the vwiti'r unto them in order,
f) saying, 1 was in the city of Joppa praying: and in
I a trance I saw a vision, a certain vessel descending,

as it were a great sheet let down from hearin by
; C four corners ; and it came even unto we : upon the
I which when 1 had fastened mine eyes, 1 considered,
I and saw the four-footed beasts of the earth and wild

beasts and creeping things and fowls of the heaven.
I 7 And I heard also a voice saying unto me. Rise, Pe-
I 8ter: kill and eat. Hut I said, Not so, Lord: for

nothing common or unclean hath ever entered into
9 my mouth. But a voice answered the second time

out of heaven, What God hath cleansed, make not
I 10 thou common. And this was done thrice: and all
j 11 were drawn up again into heaven. And behold,
! forthwith three men stood before the bouse in

which we were, having been sent from Ciesarea
VI unto me. And the Spirit bade me go with them,

making no distinction. And these six brethren

also accompanied me; and we entered into the
I.Oman's house: and he told us how he had seen the

angel standing in his house, and saying, Send to

Joppa, and fetch Simon, whose surname is Peter;
, 14 who shall speak unto thee words, whereby thou
; ISshalt be Si-ved, thou and all thy house. And as I

began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them, even
, 16 as on us at the beginning. And I remembered the
i word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed
I baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized Un

aeli.lO:28....&Oal. 3 : 12. . . .< Luke 1 :S....(ieh. 10 : 9, He e John IS: IS; ch. 10:19; 15: 7 .../ch. 10 : 23....ach. 10:30

....ikoh. 2:4....<llut.3:ll; John 1 : 26, 33; oh. 1:5; 19 : 4....* lu. 44 : 3; Joel 2: 28; 3: 18. 1 Or, wUk t»<<r

3. (See the remarks on 10 : 28.) Notice the
ground o" the complaint. It was not that
Peter had preached to the heathen, but that
he had associated with them in such a manner
as to violate his supposed obligations as a Jew.
(Comp. the note on 2 : 39.) We may infer that
he had avoided that d^ree of intimacy when
he himself entertained the Gentile messengers.

(l0:23).

4. Commencing — i. e. proceeding to speak
(see on 2 : 4), or, beginning with the first
circumstances, he related nnto them, etc.
This repetition of the history shows the im-
portance attached to this early conflict between
the gospel and Judaism.

5. For the omission of the before city, see on
8 : 5. — Vision denotes here what was seen, and
differs from its use in 10 : 3. — Let down, sus-
pended, by four corners — i. e. by means of
cords fastened to them. Luke abbreviates here
the fuller expression in 10 : 11. [For Dr. Hack-
ett's exposition of w. 6-11, see his notes on
10 : 11-16, where the same narrative is given.
—A. H.]

12. By a mixed construction, SiaKpiv6(uvov
agrees with the suppressed subject of <nivt\&tlv,
instead of fiot. (C. §627. fi.; Mt. § 536.)— These
six brethren. (See 10 : 23.) They had, there-
fore, accompanied Peter to Jerusalem, either as

witnesses for him or for his own vindication,
since they had committed the same offence.

13. The angel, known to the reader from
the previous narrative (lo : 3, 22). Those ad-
dressed had not heard of the vision, and must
have received from Peter a fuller account of it
than it was necessary to repeat here. — Men has
been transferred to this place from 10 : 5.

14. All thy family. The assurance embraces
them because they were prepared, as well as
Cornelius, to welcome the apostle's message.
(Comp. 10 : 2.) This part of the communica-
tion has not been mentioned before.

15. Began is not superfluous (Kuin.), but
shows how soon the Spirit descended after he
began to speak. (See on 10 : 44. W. § 67. 4.)
—In the beginning— i. c. on the day of Pen-
tecost. The order of the narrative indicates
that the conversion of Cornelius took place
near the time of Paul's arrival at Antioch.
Some ten years, therefore (see on v. 26), had
passed away since the event to which Peter
alludes. (Comp. on 15 : 7.)

16. And I remembered the declaration
of the Lord— t. e. had it brought to mind with
a new sense of its meaning and application.
(Comp. Matt. 26 : 75 ; John 12 : 16.) The Sa-
viour had promised to bestow on his disciples
a higher baptism than that of water (see 1:5;

Ch. XI.]

THE ACTS.

139

17 •Forasmuch then as God gave thera the like gift
as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus
Christ ; 'what was I, that I could withstand God ?

18 When they heard these things, they held their
peace, and glorified (.iod, saying, "'llien hath God also
to the (ientiles granted repentance unto life.

19 If *Now they wliich were scattered abroad upon
the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as
far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching
the word to none but unto the Jews only.

20 And some of them were men of Cyprus and

17 the Holy Spirit. If then God gave unto them the
like gift as he did also unto us, when we believed on
the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I, that 1 could with-

18 stand God? And when they heard these things,
they held their peace, and glorified God, saying,
Then to the Gentiles also bath God granted repent-
ance unto life.

19 They therefore that were scattered abroad upon
the tribulation that arose about Stephen travelled as
far as Phoenicia, and Cyprus, and Antioch, speaking

20 the word to none save ouly to Jews. But there were

aob. 15:8, 9....& oh. 10:47.... eitom. 10: 12,13; 15:9, 16.... dob. 8: 1.

Luke 24 : 49) ; and the result proved that he
designed to extend the benefit of that promise
to the heathen who should believe on him, as
well as to the Jews. — How he said. (See on
1:5.)

17. Gave* as mentioned in 10 : 44. — Also
connects us with them. — Having believed
refers to both pronouns { De Wet.,Mey . ) — i.e. they
all received the same gift in the same character ;
viz. that of believers. Bengel (to whom Mey.
assents now) limits the participle to us. — «>« M
Tc't riixyiv, K. T. K., combines two questions (W.
§ 66. 5) : Who then was I? Was I able to
withstand God? — i. e. to disregard so distinct
an intimation of his will that the heathen
should be recognized as worthy of all the priv-
ileges of the gospel, without demanding of
them any other qualification than faith in
Christ. Able suggests that such opposition
would have been as presumptuous and futile as
a contest between man's power and infinite
power. Si with «'« strengthens the question, as
in 2 Cor. 6 : 14. It is left out of some copies,
but not justly.

18. Were silent, refrained from further
opposition (v. j). (Comp. 21:14.) — Glorified
{tS6(aiov, imp.) expresses a continued act. The
sudden change of tenses led some to write the
aorist (iSoicurav). [The critical editors now give
the aorist rather than the imperfect tense of
the verb. — A. H.] — Therefore then (ipoy«;
comp. Matt. 7 : 20; 17 : 26). More pertinent
here than the interrogative whether then
(ipayt, 8 : 30). The accentuation varies in dif-
ferent editions. — For granted repentance see
the note on 5 : 31. — «i« ^co^;/, ecbatic, unto life —
t. e. such repentance as secures it. (Comp. 2
Cor. 7 : 10.)

19-24. THE GOSPEL IS PREACHED AT
ANTIOCH.

19. Those therefore dispersed recalls the
reader to an earlier event in the history. (See
8 : 4.) — From (as an effect of) the persecu-
tion. (Whl., Win., Mey. Comp. 20 : 9; Luke
19 : 3.) This is better than to render since
the persecution. It is more natural to be
reminded here of the cause of the dispersion

than of the time when it b^an. — Upon Ste-
phen, on his account. (Comp. 4 : 21 ; Luke
2 : 20. W. § 48. c.)— Travelled as far as.

(See 8 : 4, 40.) — Phcenicia, in this age, lay
chiefly between the western slope of Lebanon
and the sea, a narrow plain reaching from the
river Eleutherus, on the north, to Carmel, on the
south. Its limits varied at different times.
Among the Phoenician cities were Tyre and
Sidon ; and the statement here accounts for the
existence of the Christians in those places, men-
tioned so abruptly in 21 : 4 ; 27 : 3. — Antioch.
Here we have the first notice of this important
city. Antioch was the capital of Syria, and
the residence of the Roman governors of that
province. It was founded by Seleucus Nicator,
and named after his father, Antiochus. It
stood " near the abrupt angle formed by the
coasts of Syria and Asia Minor, and in the
opening where the Orontes passes between the
ranges of Lebanon and Taurus. By its harbor
of Seleucia it was in communication with all
the trade of the Mediterranean, and through
the open country behind Lebanon it was con-
veniently approached by the caravans from
Mesopotamia and Arabia. It was almost an
Oriental Rome, in which all the forms of the
civilized life of the empire found a representa-
tive " (Conybeare and Howson, i. p. 149). (See,
further, on 13 : 4.) It is memorable in the first
Christian age as the seat of missionary opera-
tions for the evangelization of the heathen.

20. Whether the preachers came to Antioch
before the conversion of Cornelius or afterward
the narrative does not decide. Some prefer to
place the arrival after his baptism, lest Peter
might not seem to be the first who preached the
gospel to the Gentiles. (See the note on 15 : 7.)
— But (««) distinguishes the course pursued by
certain of them from that of the other scat*
tered ones. The general fact is first stated, and
then the exception. — Men of Cirprus — t. e.
Jews bom in Cyprus. (See 2 : 5, 9.)— Unto the
Greeks, opposed to Jews, in the foregoing
verse. The received text has Hellenists
(•EAAijfMrTat) (see ou 6 : 1), and the mass of ex-
ternal testimony favors that reading. [West.

140

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XI.

Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch,
spake unto nhe (irecians, preaching the Lord Jesus.

21 And Hhe hand of the Lord was with them : and a
great number believed, and nuriied unto the I^rU.

22 V Then tidinp of these things came unto the ears
of the church which was in Jerusalem : and they sent
forth 'Karnabaii, that he should go as far as Antioch.

23 Who, when he came, and nod seen the grace of
God, was glad, and 'exhorted them all, that with pur-
pose of heart they would cleave unto the Ix>rd.

24 For he was a good man. and /full of the Holy
Ghost and of faith : 'and mucn people was added unto
the Lord.

25 Then departed Barnabas to ^Tarsus, for to seek
Saul:

26 And when he bad found him, he brought him

• eh.6:I; «: V....»Loke I :tt; eh.t : t1....enb. 9:96.... d eh. 9 :«....* eh. U : U; 14 : 23..../ eh. 6: 6.... aver. 31; eh.6:U....

k eh. 9 : SO. 1 Uutj ancleot •utborlUu read Orecian /MM. . . .1 Some •Doieat •othoriUei remd that then mnud eUave unto Oa fw-

po*t eif Uuir luart <» lit Lord.

some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when
they were come to Antioch, spake unto the 'Greeks

21 also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of
the iMTd was with them : and a great number that

22 believed turned unto the Lord. And the report
concerning them came to the ears of the church
which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth Bar-

23 nabas as far as Antioch : who, when he was come,
and had seen the grace of (iod, was glad; and he
exhorted them all, 'that with purpose of heart they

24 would cleave unto the I^ord: for he was a good man,
and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith : and much

25 people was added unto the Lord. And he went

26 lortn to Tarsus to seek for Saul : and when he had

and Hort also adopt it. — A. H.] Wordsworth's
note* presents the evidence on that side in a
strong light. On the contrary, the internal
aigument appears to demand Greeks fEAAij-
vat). Some of the oldest versions and a few
manuscripts support that as the original word.
The majority of critics, in view of this twofold
evidence, decide for Greeks (Grsb., Lchm.,
Tsch., De Wet., Mey.). It would have been
nothing new to have preached at this time to
the Greek-speaking Jews. (See e. g. 2:9; 9 :
29.) If we accept 'EAAij^o*, the Greeks addressed
at Antioch must have been still heathen in
part, and not merely Jewish proselytes. No
other view accoimts for Luke's discrimination
as to the sphere of the two classes of preachers.
—Men of Cyrene. (See on 2 : 10.)

21. For hand of the Lord, comp. 4 : 30 ;
6tike 1 : 66. — With them who preached at
Antioch. The subject of discourse, both in
the last verse and the next, requires this refer-
■mce of the pronoun.

22. Came to the ears (lit. was heard
<nto the ears) is a Hebraism, says De Wette,
without any instance exactly parallel in He-
4»rew. — Tidings, the report. Of these
things excludes the idea that it was a com-
munication sent from the brethren at Antioch.
'-Sent forth derives its subject from in Jeru-
salem. (Comp. Gal. 2 : 2.) That he should
go — t. e. with the direction that he should go
(comp. 20 : 1) ; lefl out of some of the early
versions as if unnecessary. (See W. ? 65. 4. d.)
[Lach., Tsch., Treg., West, and Hort, and
Anglo-Am. Revisers, with K A B, omit this
verb.— A. H.]— Barnabas. (See 4 : 36 ; 9 :
27.)

23. The grace, or favor, of God, as
manifested in the conversion of the heathen.
— Exhorted all who had believed. We find

him exercising here the peculiar gift for which
he was distinguished. (See on 4 : 36.) With
the purpose of the heart — i. e. a purpose
sincere, earnest.

24. Because he was a man good and
full of the Holy Spirit, etc. This descrip-
tion states why he exerted himself so strenu-
ously to establish the converts in their faith.
Sent forth, in v. 22, is too remote to allow us to
view it as the reason why they selected him for
such a service. — And much people was add-
ed, etc. The labors of Barnabas resulted also
in the accession of new believers.

25, 26. PAUL ARRIVES AT ANTIOCH,
AND LABORS THERE.

25. Our last notice of Paul was in 9 : 30. —
In order to seek out, find by inquiry or ef-
fort. It was not known at what precise point
the apostle was laboring. (See Gal. 1 : 21.) —
When he had found indicates the same un-
certainty. Barnabas would naturally direct his
steps first to Tarsus, whither he would proceed
by sea from Seleucia (see on 13 : 4) or track his
way through the defiles of the intervening
mountains. Conybeare and Howson : " The
last time the two friends met was in Jerusalem.
In the period since that interview 'God had
granted to the Gentiles repentance unto life'
(». 18). Barnabas had ' seen the grace of God '
(». 23), and under his own teaching ' a great mul-
titude ' (t. J*) had been ' added to the Lord.' But
he needed assistance; he needed the presence
of one whose wisdom was greater than his
own, whose zeal was an example to all, and
whose peculiar mission had been miraculously
declared. Saul recognized the voice of God in
the words of Barnabas, and the two friends
travelled in all haste to the Syrian metrop-
olis."

26. A whole year— viz. that of a. d. 44,

> ne yew Tutammt in the Original Oreeh, with Ifottt, by Cbr. Wordsworth, D. D., Canon of Westminster (Lon>
4on, 1857).

Ch. XI.]

THE ACTS.

141

unto Antioch. And it came to pass, that a whole year
they assembled themselves with the church, and taught
much people. And the disciples were called Christians
first in Antioch.

27 If And in these days came "prophets from Jerusa-
lem unto Antioch.

28 And there stood up one of them named 'Agabus,
and signified by the Spirit that there should be great
dearth throughout all the world : which came to pass
in the days of Claudius Ctesar.

found him, he brought him unto Antioch. And it
came to pass, that even for a whole year they were
gathered together >with the church, and taught
much people; and that the disciples were called
Christians first in Antioch.

27 Now in these days there came down prophets from

28 Jerusalem unto Antioch. And there stood up one of
them named Agabus, and signified by the Spirit
that there should be a great famine over all -the
world : which came to pass in the days of Claudius.

a«h. 2: IT; U: I; 15: S3; 31:9; 1 Cor. 13:38; Eph. 4 : 11....6 cb. 31 : 10. 1 Or. tn....i Qr. the bthaUttdtartk.

since it was the year which preceded Paul's
second journey to Jerusalem, at the time of
the famine. (See on 12 : 25.) The apostle had
spent the intervening years, from a. d. 39 to 44,
in Syria and Cilicia. (See on 9 : 30.) They
came together in the church, the public
assembly — i. e. for the purpose of worship and,
as we see from the next clause, for preaching
the word: and taught a great multitude
(comp. 14 : 21), many of whom, no doubt, they
won to a reception of the truth. Meyer ex-
plains came together of the hospitality shown
to the teachers, with an appeal to Matt. 25 : 35.
But the context, which should indicate that
sense, is opposed to it here. [Meyer's last ed.
says : To be brought together — i. e. to join them-
selves for common work " — an explanation
almost identical with Dr. Hackett's. — A. H.] —
And the disciples were first named
Christians at Antioch. Thus ten years or
more elapsed after the Saviour left the earth
before the introduction of this name. Its origin
is left in some uncertainty. Xpio^Tiacoi has a
Latin termination, like 'HpuSiai'oi, in Matt. 22 :
16 and Mark 3 : 6. We see tlie proper Greek
form in Na^eapatos, in 2 : 22, or 'ItoAucos, in 10 : 1.
Hence some infer (Olsh., Mey.) that it must
have been the Roman inhabitants of the city,
not the Greeks, who invented the name. The
argument is not decisive, since LatinLsms were
not unknown to the Greek of this period. It
is evident that the Jews did not apply it first to
the disciples, for they would not have admitted
the implication of the term — viz. that Jesus was
the Messiah. It is improbable that the Chris-
tians themselves assumed it ; such an origin
would be inconsistent with its infrequent use
in the New Testament. It occurs only in
26 : 28 ; 1 Pet. 4 : 16, and in both places pro-
ceeds from tliose out of the church. Tlie
worthy name by which ye are called, in James
2 : 7, may be the Christian name. The be-
lievers at Antioch had become numerous ;
they consisted of Gentiles and Jews; it was
evident that they were a distinct community
from the latter; and probably the heathen,
whether they were Greeks or Romans or na-

tive Syrians, needing a new appellation for the
new sect, called them Christians, because the
name of Christ was so prominent in their doc-
trine, conversation, and worship. The term
may not have been at first opprobrious, but
distinctive merely. [The last ed. of Meyer
agrees with Dr. Hackett : " The origin of the
name must be derived from the heathen in
Antioch." In a note he remarks : " Ewald (p.
441, etc.) conjectures : from the Roman magis-
trates;" but evidently without approving this
conjecture. —A. H.]

27-30. BARNABAS AND SAUL ARK
SENT WITH ALMS TO JERUSALEM.

27. In these days — i. e. about the time
that Paul himself came to Antioch; for it is
reasonable to suppose that an interval of some
extent occurred between the prediction and the
famine. — Prophets, inspired teachers.
(See on 2 : 17.) Agabus, at least, possessed
the prophetic gift, in the strict sense of that
expression.

28. Having stood up, in order to declare
his message more formally. — Agabus is known
only from this passage and 21 : 10. — Made
known (see 25 : 27), not intimated merely. —
Famine (Aijiov), in the later Greek, is mascu-
line or feminine; hence some copies have a
masculine adjective, great ; others, a feminine
(See W. g 8. 2. 1.)— Was about to be contains
a double future, as in 24 : 15 ; 27 : 10. The read-
ing varies in 24 : 25. As one of its uses, the first
infinitive in such a case may represent the act
as fixed, certain; the second, as future. The
famine that was to take place was decreed.
(See Mt. § 498. e; C. ? 583.)— Over all the
inhabited land — t. e. Judea and the adjacent
countries, or, according to some, the Roman
Empire. The Greek and Roman writers em-
ployed the inhabited (land) (^ oixovfi'i^) to de.
note the Greek and the Roman world, and a
Jewish writer would naturally employ such a
term to denote the Jewish world. Josephus
appears to restrict the word to Palestine in
Antt., 8. 13. 4. Speaking of the efforts of Ahab
to find the prophet Elijah, he says that the
king sent messengers in pursuit of him

142

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XII.

29 Then the disciples, every man according to his
ability, detennlncd to send 'relief unto the brethren
which dwelt in Judeea:

3U *Which also they did, and sent it to the elders by
the bands of Uaruabas and Saul.

29 And the disciples, every man according to his ability,
determined to send 'relief unto the brethren that

30 dwelt in Juda-a: which also they did, sending it to
the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

CHAPTEK XII.
OW about that time Herod the king stretched forth | 1 Now about that time Herod the king put forth
his bands to vex certain of the church.

aBom. 15:M; 1 Cor. It : 1 ; t Cor. » : !....» oh. U : 25.-

-1 Or. for m<n<((ry.

throughout all the earth, or land — i. e. of
the Jews. Ancient writers give no account of any
universal famine in tlie reign of Claudius, but
they speak of several local famines which were
severe in particular countries. Jo-sephus (AiM.,
20. 2. 6 ; lb., 5. 2) mentions one which prevailed
at that time in Judea and swept away many of
the inhabitants. Helena, Queen of Adiabene,
a Jewish proselyte, who was then at Jerusalem,
imported provisions from Egypt and Cyprus,
which she distributed among the people to
save them from starvation. This is the famine,
probably, to which Luke refers here. The
chronology admits of this supposition. Ac-
cording to Josephus, the famine which he de-
scribes took place when Cuspius Fadus and
Tiberius Alexander were procurators — i. e. as
Lardner suggests, it may have begun about the
close of A. D. 44 and lasted three or four years.
Fadus was sent into Judea on the death of
Agrippa, which occurred in August of the
year a. d. 44. If we attach the wider sense to
the word {oUoviiivriv), the prediction may im-
port that a famine should take place through-
out the Roman Empire during the reign of
Claudius (the year is not specified below), and
not that it should prevail in all parts at the
same time. (So Wordsworth, Notes, p. 58.) —
In (lit. upon) the reign of Claudius. On
iwi (ujwn) in such chronological designations,
see K. § 273. 4. b. The Greek idiom views the
events as resting upon the ruler as their source
or author ; the English idiom, as taking place
under his guidance or auspices. — Caesar after
Claudius (T. R.) is not warranted.

29. Of the disciples depends by attrac-
tion on every one. The ordinary construction
would be (Mey., De Wet.) : The disciples in
proportion as any one was prospered
determined each of them, etc. The
apostle Paul prescribes the same rule of con-
tribution in 1 Cor. 16 : 2. For the augment in
qviropttTo (was prospered), see on 2 : 26. For
every one after a plural verb, see on 2 : 6. —
For relief — lit. ministration ; t. e. to their
wants. The act liere suggests the idea of its
result or object.— To send— t. e. something. —

In Judea. Xot the capital merely, but other
parts also, since the famine was general and be-
lievers were found in different places. (See v. 1
and Gal. 1 : 22.)

30. Also connects did with determine :
they executed their determination. — Unto the
elders, either those at Jerusalem, wlio could
easily forwaid the supplies to the destitute else-
where, or those in Judea at large, whom the mes-
sengers visited in person. The latter idea presents
itself very readily from Judea, just before, and
has also this to commend it — that Paul would
have had an opportunity to preach now in that
province, i>s mentioned in 26 : 20. (See note there.)
— For the office of the presbyters, see on 14 : 23. —
Bapvifia is the Doric genitive (of Barnabas).
(Comp. 19 : 14 ; Luke 13 : 29 ; John 1 : 43, etc.
W. g 8. 1 ; K. § 44. R. 2.)— Meyer finds a con-
tradiction between this passage and Gal. 2 : 1,
as if Paul could not have gone to Jerusalem at
this time, because he has not mentioned it in
the Epistle. It is impossible to see why the
reason commonly assigned for this omission
does not account for it. Paul's object in writ-
ing to the Galatians does not require him to
enumerate all his journeys to Jerusalem. In
the first chapter there he would prove that as
an apostle he was independent of all human
authority ; and in the second chapter, that the
other apostles had conceded to him that inde-
pendence. He had no occasion, therefore, to
recapitulate his entire history. Examples of
the facts in his life were all that he needed to
bring forward. He was not bound to show
how often he had been at Jerusalem, but only
that he had gone thither once and again, under
circumstances which showed in what character
he claimed to act and how fully the other apos-
tles had acknowledged this claim.

1, 2. RENEWED PERSECUTION AT JE-
RUSALEM, AND DEATH OF JAMES.

1. About that time— t. e. when Barnabj>a
and Saul went to Jerusalem, as has just been
related. (See on v. 25.)— Herod. This Herod

Ch. XII.]

THE ACTS.

143

2 And he killed James nbe brother of John with the
sword.

3 And because he saw it pleased the Jews, he pro-
ceeded further to take Peter also. (Then were Hhe
days of unleavened bread.)

4 And °w hen he had apprehended him, he put Aim
in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of
solaiers to keep him ; intending after Laster to bring
him forth to the people.

5 Peter therefore was kept in prison : but prayer

2 his hands to afflict certain of the church. And he
killed James the brother of John with the sword.

3 And when he saw that it pleased the Jews, he pro-
ceeded to seize Peter also. And ihose were the aays

4 of unleavened bread. And when he had taken him,
he put him in prison, and delivered him to four
quaternions of soldiers to guard him ; intending
after the Passover to bring him forth to the people.

5 Peter therefore was kept in the prison : but prayer

aUktt. 4:21; 20 : 2S....6BX. 12 : U, IS; 23 : 16. . . .e John 21 : 18.

was Herod Agrippa I., son of Aristobulus, and
grandson of Herod the Great. On the acces-
sion of Caligula he received, as king, the for-
mer possessions of Philip and Lysanias (see
Luke 3:1); at a later period, the tetrarchy of
Antipas ; and in the year a. d. 41, Samaria and
Judea, which were conferred on him by Clau-
dius; so that, like his grandfather Herod, he
swayed the sceptre at this time over all Pales-
tine.i — Stretched forth his hands does not
mean attempted (Kuin.), but put forth
violent hands. (Comp. 4:3; 5:18; 21:
27.) — To oppress^ maltreat. The E. Version
derives "vex" from Tyndale. — Of the church
(lit. from), since the idea of origin passes read-
ily into that of property, adherence. (W.
i 47. 4.)

2. Slew him with the sword, beheaded
him. The article fails, because the idea is
general, abstract. (Comp. 9 : 12. W. g 19. 1.)
On the mode of execution among the Jews, see
Jahn's Archieol., | 257. Agrippa had the power
of life and death, since he administered the
government in the name of the Romans. (See
the note on 7 : 59.) The victim of his violence
was James the Elder, a son of Zebedee and

brother of John (Matt. 4 : 21 ; 10 : 2 ; Mark 1 : 19, eto.) .

He is to be distinguished from James the
Younger, the kinsman of the Lord (oai. i:i9),
who is the individual meant under this name
in the remainder of the history (T.n;i5:is;2i:i8).
The end of James verified the prediction that
he should drink of his Master's cup. (See
Matt. 20 : 23.) Eusebius (2. 9) records a tradi-
tion that the apostle's accuser was converted
by his testimony and beheaded at the same
time with him. "The accuracy of the sacred
writer," says Paley, " in the expressions which
he uses here, is remarkable. There was no
portion of time for thirty years before, or ever
afterward, in which there was a king at Jeru-
salem, a person exercising that authority in
Judea, or to whom that title could be applied,
except the last three years of Herod's life,
within which period the transaction here re-
corded took place." The kingdom of Agrippa

II., who is mentioned in 25 : 13, did not em-
brace Judea.
3-5. THE IMPRISONMENT OF PETER.

3. Seeing that it is pleasing, etc. The
motive of Agrippa, therefore, was a desire to
gain public favor. Josephus {AtM.^ 19. 7. 3)
attributes to this ruler the same trait of charac-
ter ; he describes him as eager to ingratiate him-
self with the Jews. — He apprehended still
further Peter also, an imitation of the Heb.
vayyoseph with the infinitive. (Comp. Luke
20 : 11, 12. W. § 54. 5; Gesen., Heb. Or., g 139.)
— The days of unleavened bread — i. e. the
festival of the passover, which continued seven
days, and was so named because during that
time no leaven was allowed in the houses of
the Jews. The common text omits the before
days, which the best editors insert as well
attested. It is not grammatically necessary.
(W. § 19. 2.)

4. Also carries the mind back to to take
(avWapelv), in V. 3, the idea of which appre-
hended (iria<rat) repeats. — To four quater-
nions, four companies of four, who were to re-
lieve each other in guarding the prison. The
Jews at this time followed the Roman practice of
dividing the night into four watches, consisting
of three hours each. Of the four soldiers em-
ployed at the same time, two watched in the
prison and two before the door, or perhaps, in
this case (see on v. 10), were all stationed on
the outside. — Meaning, but disappointed in
that purpose. — After the passover — t. e. not
the paschal supper, but the festival which it
introduced. (Comp. Luke 21 : 1 ; John 6:4.)
The reason for deferring the execution was that
the stricter Jews regarded it as a profanation to
put a person to deatli during a religious festival.
Agrippa himself may have entertained, or af-
fected to entertain, that scruple. — To bring
him up — i. e. for trial and execution. (Comp.
Luke 22 : 66.) But Herod was nearer his end
than Peter.— For the people (dat. comm.) —
t. e. that they might be gratified with his death.

5. Therefore, committed to such a guard.
— In the prison, mentioned in v. 4. — Intent*

1 See Introduction, { 6. 2.

144

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XII.

was made without ceasing of the church unto God for
him.

6 And when Herod would have brought him forth,
the same night Peter was sleeping between two sol-
diers, bound with two chains: and the keepers before
the door kept the prison.

7 And, behold, "the angel of the Lord came upon
him, and a light shined in the prison : and he smote
Peter on the side, and raised him up, saying, Arise up
quickly. And his chains fell ofl" from hu hands.

8 And the angel said unto him, (>ird thyself, and
bind on thy saudals. And so he did. And he saith
unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and follow
me.

9 And he went out, and followed him ; and 'wist not
that it was true which was done by the angel ; but
thought «he saw a vision.

10 When they were past the first and the second
ward, they came uuto the iron gate that leadeth unto
the city ; <<which opened to them of his own accord :

was made earnestly of the church unto God for him.

6 And when Herod was about to bring him forth, the
same night. Peter was sleeping between two soldiers,
bound with two chains: and guards before the door

7 kept the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord
stood by him, and a light shined in the cell: and
he smote Peter on the side, and awoke him. saying,
Kise up quickly. And his chains fell off irom his

8 hands. And the angel said unto him. Gird thyself,
and bind on thy sandals. And he did so. And he
saith unto him, Cast thy garment about thee, and

9 follow me. And he went out, and followed ; and he
knew not that it was true which was done 'by the

10 angel, but thought he saw a vision. And when
they were past the first and the second ward, they
came uuto the iron gate that leadeth into the city ;

loh. 5:19....6Ps. 126 :!....« cb. 10 : 3, 17; 11 : S....dch. 16 : 26.-

-1 Or, through

earnest, not unceasing, constant. [Better, the
adverb, intently* earnestly {iKTtvm). So Lach.,
Tsch., Treg., West, and Hort, etc.— A. H.] (See
Luke 22 : 44 ; 1 Pet. 4:8.) It is a word of the
later Greek. (Lob., Ad Pliryn., p. 311.) All the
English translators from Wiclif downward
adopt the temporal sense. — Church. The
members of the church were so numerous that
they must have met in different companies.
One of them is mentioned in v. 12.

6-11. THE MIRACULOUS LIBERATION
OF PETER.

6. In that night, preceding the day when
he was i; have been executed. — Bound with
two chains. The Roman mode of chaining
prisoners was adopted in this case, and was the
following : " The soldier who was appointed to
guard a particular prisoner had the chain fast-
ened to the wrist of his left hand, the right re-
maining at liberty. The prisoner, on the con-
trary, had the chain fastened to the wrist of his
right hand. The prisoner and the soldier who
had the care of him were said to be tied (alli-
gati) to one another. Sometimes, for greater
security, the prisoner was chained to two
soldiers, one on each side of him" {Diet, of
Antiq., art. "Catena"). Paul was bound with
two chains on the occasion mentioned in 21 :
33. — And keepers before the door (perhaps
two at one station and two at another) were
guarding the prison, not, after v. 5, were
keeping gunrd (Raph., Walch).

7. In the abode = the prison. This was
an Attic euphemism which passed at length
into the common dialect. — Having smitten,
in order to rouse him from sleep. — Arise
{avaara) is a second aorist imperative. (Comp.
Eph. 5 : 14.) Grammarians represent the form
as poetic in the earlier Greek. (K. § 172. R. 5 ;
W. g 14. 1. h.)— His chains fell off from
his hands, or wrists. Hand (x*>-p) the

Greeks could use of the entire fore-arm or any
part of it.

8. Gird thyself. For convenience, he had
unbound the girdle of his tunic while he slept.
The garment {lixinov) which he threw around
him was the outer coat, or mantle, worn ovei"
the tunic (xt™i'). There was no occasion for
a precipitate flight, and the articles which he
was directed to take would be useful to him.
Note the transition to the present in the last
two imperatives.

9. True, actual, as distinguished from a
dream or vision. Peter's uncertainty arose
from the extraordinary nature of the interpo-
sition ; it was too strange to be credited. He
was bewildered by the scene, unable at the
moment to comprehend that what he saw and
did was a reality.

10. Having passed through the first
and second watch — i. e. as Walch {Devinculis
Petri) suggests, first through the two soldiers
stationed at Peter's door (t. e), and then through
two others near the gate which led into the
city. He supposes the two soldiers to whom
Peter was bound (v. 6) were not included in the
sixteen (v. 4), since their office would not re-
quire them to remain awake, and consequently
to be changed during the night, like the others.
A more common opinion is that the first
watch was a single soldier before the door,
and the second another at the iron gate, and
that these two soldiers, with the two by the
side of Peter, made up the quaternion then on
duty. But having passed through suggests
a plural sense of watch, and must be said
loosely, if applied to a single person. This
participle after went out, in v. 9, indicates a
different position of the first watch from that
of the two soldiers who guarded Peter in his
cell. Some have proposed that explanation.
The numeral renders the article unnecessary.

Ch. XII.]

THE ACTS.

14^

and they went out, and pas-sed on through one street ;
and forthwith the angel departed from hiiu.

11 And when Peter was come to himself, he said,
Now I know of a surety, that "the Lord hath sent his
angel, and 'hath delivered me out of the hand of
Herod, and from, all the expectation of the people of
the Jews.

12 And when he had considered the thing, 'he came
to the house of Mary the mother of "ijohn, whose sur-
name was Mark ; where many were gathered together
•praying.

13 Aud as Peter knocked at the door of the gate, a
damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda.

14 And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened not
the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told how Peter
stood before the gate.

15 And they said unto her. Thou art mad. But she
constantly atfirmed that it was even so. Then said
they, /It is his angel.

which opened to them of its own accord : and they
went out, and passed on through one street; and

1 1 straightway the angel departed from him. And
when Peter was come to himself, he said, Now I
know of a truth, that the Lord hath sent forth his
angel and delivered me out of the hand of Herod,
and from all the expectation of the people of the

12 .Jews. Aud when he had considered the thing, he
came to the house of Mary the mother of John
whose surname was Mark ; where many were gath-

13ered together and were praying. And when he
knocked at the door of the gate, a maid came to

14 answer, named Khoda. And when she knew Pe-
ter's voice, she opened not the gate for joy, but ran

15 in, and told that Peter stood before the gate. And
they said unto her, Thou art mad. But she con-
fidently affirmed that it was even so. And they

a Pi. Si : T ; Dan. 8 : !

I; 8:21; Heb. 1 . 14.... 6 Job 6 : 19; Ps. S3 : 18, 19; 84 : 22; 41 : 2 ; 97 : 10; 3 Cor. 1 : 10 ; 2 Pet. 2:9....
ooh. i : 28.. ..dob. 15 : .<I7....« rer. 6..../ 0«ii. 48 : 16; Matt. 18 : 10.

(W. ? 19. 2.) That Peter passed the watch un-
opposed, or perhaps unobserved (see v. 18), was
a part of the miracle. (See on 5 : 19.) — Unto
the iron gate, etc. The precise situation of
the prison is unknown. The iron gate may
have formed the termination of a court, or
avenue, which connected the prison with the
town. De Wette, after Lightfoot, Walch, and
others, thinks that the prison was in a tower
between the two walls of the city, and that this
was the outer gate of the tower. Others have
proposed other conjectures. — Of itself is equiv-
alent to an adverb, spontaneously. (K. § 264.
3. c; B. g 123. 6.) The gate opened without
any visible cause. — Went forward one street,
or lane (9 : ii). The angel accompanied him
until he was beyond the reach of pursuit. —
Immediately, on having come thus far.

11. Having come to himself, recovered
from the confusion of mind into which he had
been thrown. — Sent forth, from heaven. —
From all the expectation, of the Jews,
who were so eager for his execution, and look-
ing forward to it with confidence.

12-17. PETER REPAIRS TO THE HOUSE
OF MARY, WHERE SOME OP THE
BELIEVERS HAD ASSEMBLED FOR
PRAYER.

12. Having become aware (uis), con-
scious to himself of the state of things. (Whl.,
Alf., Mey.) Luke reminds us of this fact again
(see V. 11), as if it might appear strange that
Peter acted with so much deliberation. Some
render considering — i. e. either what he should
do or where he should find an assembly of the
disciples. Both the meaning and the tense of
the participle favor this explanation less than
the other.— John . . . Mark. This John Mark
is called simply John in 13 : 5, 13, and Mark
in 15 : 39. He is supposed to have been the

same Mark whom Peter terms his son in 1 Pet.
5 : 13 — i. e. in a spiritual sense, converted by his
instrumentality. There is no reason for ques-
tioning his identity with the evangelist who
wrote the Gospel of Mark. (See, further, on
V. 25.)— Praying. One of the objects for
which they were praying was the safety of
Peter (v. 5).

13. A maid-servant. Her Greek name,
Rhoda, does not disprove her Jewish origin.
(See on 1 : 23.) The porter among the Jews
was commonly a female. (See John 18 : 16.)
That the person should be known after so long
a time shows how minute was Luke's informa-
tion.— To hearken (iiroKoOo-ot). This was the
classical tenn signifying to answer a knock or
call at the door.

14. And having recognized his voice
(s: 10; 4: 13). Peter may be supposed to have
announced his name, or to have given it in
reply to her inquiry. — For gladness. Noth-
ing could be more lifelike than the description
of the scene which follows. Rhoda, in the
excess of her joy, forgets to open the door,
runs into the house, declares the news, while
Peter is left in the street still knocking and ex-
posed to arrest. The passage has all the vivid-
ness of the recital of an eye-witness. Mark was
undoubtedly in the house at the time, and may
have communicated the circumstances to Luke
at Antioch, or Luke may have obtained his in-
formation from Barnabas, who was a relative
of the family. (See Col. 4 : 10.)

15. jtVo-xupt^eTo, affirmed confidently. — It
is his angel — /. e. his tutelary angel, with his
form and features. It was a common belief
among the Jews, says Lightfoot, that every
individual has a guardian angel, and that
this angel may assume a visible appearance
resembling that of the person whose destiny is

146

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XII.

16 But Peter continued knocking: and when they
had opened the door, and saw him, they were aston-
ished.

17 But lie, "Ijeckoning unto them with the hand fo
hold their |>eace, declared unto them how the Lord had
brought him out of the prison. And he said, (io shew
these things unto .lames, and to the brethren. And he
departed, and wont intu another place.

18 Now as soon as it was day, there was no small stir
among the soldiers, what was hecome of I'eter.

I'J And when Herod had sought for him, and found
him not, he examined the keepers, and commanded
that they should be put to death. And be went down
from Judea to Ctesarea, and there abode.

16 said, It is his angel. But Peter continued knock-
ing: and when they had opened, they saw him, and

17 were amazed. But he, beckoning unto them with
the hand to hold their peace, declared unto them
how the Lord had brought him forth out of the prison.
And he said, Tell these things unto James, and to
the brethren. And he departed, and went to an-

18 other place. Now as soon as it was day, there wa«
no small stir among the soldiers, what was become

19 of I'eter. And when Herod had sought for him,
and found him not, he examined the guards, and
commanded that they should be 'put to death. And
he went down from Judeea to Ctesarea, and tarried
there.

a eh. IS : 16 ; 19 : S3 ; 11 : 40.-

-1 Or. ltd avay to death.

committed to him. This idea appears here, not
as a docrine of the Scriptures, but as a popular
opinion which is neither affirmed nor denied.

17. Having motioned with the hand
downward } as a signal that he would speak
and wished them to hear. Their joy was so
tumultuous that he could make them under-
stand a gesture better than a word. — To hold
their peace. His object was not to prevent
their being overheard, and so discovered, by
their enemies, but to secure to himself an op-
portunity to inform them how he had been
liberated. — The Lord^ as the angel had been
sent by him. (See vv. 7, 11.) — James is dis-
tinguished from the others on account of his
office as pastor of the church at Jerusalem.
(See on v. 2.) — And (probably on the same
night) having gone forth — i. e. from the
house, as the context most readily suggests ;
hence into another place is indefinite, and
may denote unto another place, in the city
or out of it. It is most probable that he left the
city for a time, as he must have foreseen (see
v. 19) that vigorous efforts would be made to
retake and destroy him. We find him at Jeru-
salem again a few years after this. (See 15 : 7.)
He may have returned even sooner than that,
as Agrippa lived but a short time after this
occurrence. Catholic writers and some others
hold that Peter proceeded to Rome at this time,
and labored for the Jews there as the apostle of
the Circumcision (g»i. » : 7 : i Pet. i : i). If this be
true, he must have then been the founder of the
church in that city, or, at all events, have es-
tablished a relation to it, personal and official,
stronger than that of any other teacher. It is
entirely adverse to this view that Paul makes
no allusion to Peter in his Epistle to the Ro-
mans, but writes with a tone of authority which
his avowed policy, his spirit of independence
(» Cor. 10 : 18), would not havc sufTered him to
employ had it belonged more properly to some
other apostle to instruct and guide the Roman
church. The beat opinion from traditionary
sources is that Peter arrived at Rome just before

the outbreak of Nero's persecution, where he soon
perished as a martyr. It is related that he was
placed on the cross, at his own request, with
his head downward, as if unworthy to suffer
in the posture of the Master whom he had de-
nied. [Compare, on this question. Was Peter in
Rome and Bishop of the Church at Rome ? by J.
EUendorf, translated in Bib. Sacra, xv. pp. 569-
621 and xvi. pp. 82-106 ; also Schaff's Hist, of
the Apostolic Church (New York, 1854), pp. 348-
374.— A. H.]

18, 19. TRIAL AND EXECUTION OF
THE SOLDIERS.

18. When day had come. If the soldiers
to whom Peter was bound had been changed
at the expiration of each watch (see on v. 10),
why did they not ascertain the escape sooner?
Wieseler {Chronologic, u. s. w., p. 220) replies
that the flight took place in the last watch, not
long before break of day. This is doubtful, a.s
it would abridge so much the time allowed for
the interview at the house of Mary and for the
departure from the city. The question requires
no answer if Walch's opinion, as stated in v.
10, be well founded. — Stir, commotion, par-
taking of the nature both of inquiry and alarm.
The former part of the idea leads the way to the
question which follows. Tliere was reason for
fear, because the soldiers, in such a case, were
answerable for the safety of the prisoner, and,
if he escaped, were liable to suffer the punish-
ment which would have been inflicted on him.
(Comp. 16 : 27 ; Matt. 28 : 14.) Soldiers would
include naturally the entire sixteen (v. t), though
the four who were on guard at the time of the
escape had most reason to tremble for their
Hves.— What then (syllogistical, since he was
gone) was become of Peter?

19. Having examined, tried, them for a
breach of discipline. (See 4:9; Luke 23 : 14.)
—We need not impute to Herod such barbarity
as that of putting to death the entire detach-
ment.—Keepers may be understood of those
who were more immediately responsible for
the prisoner's safety.— To be led away— i. e.

Ch. XII.]

THE ACTS.

147

20 If And Herod was highly displeased with them of
Tyre and Sidon : but they came with one accord to
him, and, having made Blu.stus the king's chamberlain
their friend, desired i)eace ; because "their country was
nourished by the king's country.

21 And upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal ap-
parel, sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto
them.

22 And the people gave a shout, taping, II it the voice
of a god, and not of a man.

to execution. The word was a vox solennis in
this sense, as Losner, Kypke, and others have
shown. The Romans employed ducere in the
same absolute way. — And he went down*
etc. Herod resided usually at Jerusalem, and
went now to Caesarea, as Josephus informs us,
to preside at the public games in honor of the
Emperor Claudius.

20-24. DEATH OP HEROD AGRIPPA
AT C^SAREA.

20. The reader should compare the narra-
tive of this event with that of Josephus in
Antt., 19. 8. 2. The Jewish historian has con-
firmed Luke's account in the most striking
manner. He also makes Csesarea the scene of
the occurrence ; he mentions the assembly, the
oration, the robe, the impious acclamations of
the people, the sudden death of Herod, and
adds to the rest that his terrible end was a
judgment inflicted upon him for his impiety.
— Was highly displeased may refer to an
open war or violent feeling of hostility. As
Josephus makes no mention of any actual out-
break between Agrippa and the Phoenicians,
the latter is probably the sense of the word
here. The Phoenicians may either have ap-
prehended a war as the result of Agrippa's
anger, or they may have been threatened with
an interruption of the commerce carried on
between them and the Jews. — Came unto
him — i. e. in the person of their representa-
tives ; lit. were present, the antecedent motion
being applied. (W. § 50. 4.) — Having per-
suaded, brought to their interest. — Blastus,
judging from his name, may have been a Greek
or a Roman. His influence with the king was
the reason why they were so anxious to obtain
his mediation. A bribe may have quickened
his sympathy with the strangers. — Over his
bedchamber, his chamberlain. His office
placed him near the king's person, and enabled
him to hold the keys to his heart (Bmg.). —
Desired peace — t. e. according to the circum-
stances of the case sought to avert a rupture of
it, or, if it was already impaired, to effect its
restoration. Their desire for this result may
have been increased by the existing famine. —
Because their country was sustained, etc.

20 Now he was highly displeased with them of Tyre
and Sidon : and they came with one accord to him,
and, having made Ulasius the king's cliamberlain
their friend, they asked for peace, because their

21 country was fed from the kind's country. And
upon a set day Herod arrayed himself in royal ap-
parel, and sat on the ^throne, and made an oration

22 unto them. And the people shouted, toying. The

a I Kings ft : >, II ; Kiek. 27 : 17.-

-1 Or, judgmmt^MU

The Tyrians and Sidonians were a commercial
people, and procured their supplies of grain
chiefly from Palestine in exchange for their
own merchandise. This relation of the two
countries to each other had existed from early
times. (See 1 Kings 5:9; Ezra 3:7; Ezek.
27 : 17.)

21. On an appointed day, which, accord-
ing to Josephus, was the 1st of August, and the
second day of the public games. — Arrayed, etc.
The circumstances related by Josephus may be
combined (Conybeare and Howson, i. p. 158)
with Luke's account, as follows : " On the sec-
ond day of the festival Agrippa came into the
theatre. The stone seats, rising in a great semi-
circle, tier above tier, were covered with an ex-
cited multitude. The king came in clothed in
magnificent robes, of which silver was the
costly and brilliant material. It was early in
the day, and the sun's rays fell upon the king ;
so that the eyes of the beholders were dazzled
with the brightness which surrounded him.
Voices from the crowd, here and there, exclaimed
that it was the apparition of something divine.
And when he spoke and made an oration to
them, they gave a shout, saying, ' It is the voice
of a god, and not of a man.' But in the midst
of this idolatrous ostentation an angel of God
suddenly smote him. He was carried out of
the theatre a dying man, and on tlie 6th of
August he was dead." — Upon the seat, or
throne, provided for him in the theatre. (See
on 19:29.) Spoke publicly, because, though
he directed his speech to the deputies, he was
heard also by the people who were present
(t. 22). The Phoenicians were there as suppli-
ants for peace, and the king's object now was
to announce to them his decision. The giving
audience to ambassadors and replying to them
in public was not uncommon in ancient times.
— Unto them — i. e. the Tyrians and Sidonians,
as represented by their agents. The pronoun
does not refer to the common people («^mo«).
(See W. g 22. 3. 1.) It was the messengers, not
the Csesareans, who awaited the king's an»
swer.

22. Shouted thereupon, again and again.
It enhanced the eloquence, no doubt, thai w)ia«

148

THE ACTS.

[Ch. Xlll.

23 And immediately the angel of the Lord 'smote
him, because 'he gave not God the glory : and he was
eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.

24 ti I'ut "'he word of Uod grew and multiplied.

2a And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem,
when they hud I'utlilled their ministry, and ''took with
them 'Jobu, whose surname was Mark.

23 voice of a god, and not of a man. And immediately
an angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave
not God the glory : and he was eaten of worms, and
gave up the ghost.

24 Hut the word of God grew and multiplied.

25 And liarnabiis and .-^aul returned 'from Jerusalem,
when they had fulfilled their ministration, taking
with them John whose surname was Mark.

CHAPTER XIII.

Now there were /In the church that was at Antioch
certain prophets and teachers : as 'Barnabas, and
bimeon that was called Niger, and *Lucius of Cyren^
and Mauaen, which had been brought up with llerod
the tetrarch, and Saul.

1 Now there were at Antioch, in the church that
was Iheri', prophets and teachers, Karnabas, and
Symeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cy-
rene, and Mauaen the foster-brother of Herod the

• I S>m. » : 38 ; 2 Sun. 24 : 17....6 Pi. 116 : I... e Isa. 65 : 11 ; ch. 6 : T ; 18:20; Col. l:6....d cb. 13:S, 13; 15 : 3T....e ver. 12
/ Ob. 11 : 27; 14 : 28; 1& : S6 ;cb. 11 : 22-26....* Rom. 16 : 21. 1 Uauy ancient autboritiea read toJerutaUm.

they had heard accorded with their wishes. In
such a city the bulk of the assembly would be
heathen (see on 8 : 40), and of a god may be
taken in their sense of the term.

23. Because he gave not glory to God —
i.e. did not repel the impious flattery; was will-
ing to receive it. Some editors in.sert the be-
fore glory. — And having been eaten with
worms, he expired. In ascribing Agrippa's
death to such a cause, Luke makes it evident
that he did not mean to represent it as instan-
taneous. His statement, therefore, does not
oppose that of Josephus, who says that Herod
lingered for five days after the first attack, in
the greatest agony, and then died. It is evident
also, for ;he same reason, that Luke did not
consider the angel as the author of Herod's
death in any such sense as to exclude the inter-
vention of secondary causes.

24. But contrasts slightly the fate of Herod,
the persecutor of the church, with the prosper-
ity of the church itself. — The word of God
grew, was diffused more and more, and in-
creased—i. e. (comp. 6:1) was embraced by
increasing numbers. Word suggests the com-
plex idea of doctrine and disciples, and the
verbs which follow divide the idea into its
parts.

25. BARNABAS AND SAUL RETURN
TO ANTIOCH.

25. This verse appears to be introductory to
the subject of the next chapter. It was proper
to apprise the reader that Barnabas and Saul
returned to Antioch (see 11 : 30), since the nar-
rative of what next occurred in that city im-
plies that they were'there, and no mention has
been made of their return. Paul and Barnabas
made this journey to Jerusalem probably near
the b^inning of the year a. d. 45 ; for the famine
commenced at the close of the preceding year
(see on 11 : 28), and the supplies collecte<i in
anticipation of that event would naturally be
forwutled before the distress began to be severe.

That the journey took place about this time re-
sults also from its being mentioned in connec-
tion with Herod's death. The two friends ap-
pear to have remained at Jerusalem but a short
time, as may be inferred from the object of their
mission, and still more decisively from the ab-
sence of any allusion to this journey in Gal. 2 :
1, sg. — John. John was a relative of Barnabas,
as we learn from Col. 4 : 10, and this relation-
ship may have led to the present connection.
He appears next in the history as their associate
in missionary labors (is : s).

1-3. BARNABAS AND SAUL ARE SENT
TO PREACH TO THE HEATHEN.

1. The narrative mentions three different
journeys of Paul among the heathen ; the ac-
count of the first of these commences here. —
Certain {nvii; probably not genuine) would
indicate that those named were not all the
teachers at Antioch. — In Kara riji' iKK\ri(rCay the
preposition may be directive as well as local:
in the church and for its benefit. The oflSce
supplied a correspondent (icoTa) want. Or the
idea may be that of distribution : such teachers
belonging to the different churches (comp. 14 :
23), the writer's mind passes along the series to
those at Antioch.— Prophets (see on 2 : 17) is
the specific term ; teachers, the generic. The
prophets were all teachers, but the reverse was
not true. (Comp. note on 14 : 23.)— Symeon
is otherwise unknown. He was evidently a
Jew, and hence in his intercourse with Gentiles
(see on v. 9) was called also Niger. The latter
was a familiar name among the Romans, and
is a precarious reason for inferring (Alf.) that he
was an African proselyte.— Lucius may be the
Lucitui who is mentioned in Rom. 16 : 21. Some
have thought that Luke, the writer of the Acts
(no doubt a native of Antioch), may be intend-
ed here; but Lucius and Lucianus, or Lu-

Ch. XIII.]

THE ACTS.

149

2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the
H0I7 Ghost said, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for
the work 'whereunto I have called them.

3 And "when they had fasted and prayed, and laid
their hands on them, they sent them away.

2tetrarch, and Saul. And as they ministered to the
Lord, and fasted, the Holy Spirit said. Separate me
Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have

3 called them. Then, when they bad fasted and prayed
and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

aNnm. 8 : U: oh. 9 : 15; 2] :31; Bom. 1:1; Gal. I : 15; 2 : 9.... 6 Matt. 9:38; eh. 14:26; Bom. 10:15; Epb. S:T, 8; 1 Tim.
2:7; 2 Tim. 1:11; Ueb. 5 : 4....och. 6 : 6.

cas, are different names. (See W. 1 16. 4. R. 1.)
—Of Cyreue. (See on 2 : 10.)— Manaen -=

Heb. Menahem (s Kings is : i*) occurs only here.
— Herod the tetrarch. This Herod was the
one who put to death John the Baptist — a son
of Herod the Great, and an uncle of Agrippa,
whose death has just been related. He was
now in exile on the banks of the Rhone, but,
though divested of his office, is called tetrarch,
because he was best known under that title.
(See on 4 : 6.) There are two views as to the
import of irvvrfxyftot. One is that it means com-
radt — lit. one broitghi up, educated, with another.
It was very common for persons of rank to as-
sociate other children with their own, for the
purpose of sharing their amusements and
studies, and by their example serving to excite
them to greater emulation. Josephus, Plutarch,
Polybius, and others speak of this ancient prac-
tice. So Calvin, Qrotius, Schott, Baumgarten,
and others. The more approved opinion is that
it means collactaneus, nourished at the same
breast, foster-brother. Kuinoel, Olshausen, Tho-
luck, De Wette, and others, after Walch {De
Menachemo), adopt that meaning. The mother
of Manaen, according to this view, was Herod's
nurse. In either case the relation is mentioned
as an honorary one.

2. Ministered refers here to the rites of
Christian worship, as prayer, exhortation, fast-
ing. (See vv. 3, 15 ; 14 : 23.) [The word which
is here translated ministered {KtirovpyovvTuv) is
found in only two other passages of the New
Testament — viz. in Heb. 10 : 11, where it refers
to religious service in the temple and is followed
by an expression which denotes the " offering
of sacrifices," and in Rom. 15 : 27, where it re-
fers to charitable service in temporal things.
The corresponding noun (Aeiroupyia) is used in
the same way — first of rendering direct service

to God in the temple (Lukel :2SanaHeb. 9:«;corop.

Phil. 2:17; Heb. 8:8); and secoudly, of giving pe-
cuniary help to those in need (2 cor. 9:12; Phii.
2 : so). The derived adjectives are also significant
of both kinds of service. Yet the ministry of
direct worship may be regarded as the leading
sense of these words ; so that service in worldly
things is represented by them as in a true sense
religious. — A. H.] — They — t. e. the prophets
and teachers. The participation of others in

the service is not asserted or denied. It is pos-
sible that they were observing a season of prayer
with reference to this very question, What were
their duties in relation to the heathen ? [Meyer
insists forcibly that they refers to the church,
including the five named, and not to the latter
only. Thus: "The reference of avruv (they),
not to the collective church, but to the prophets
and teachers named in v. 1, ... is not, on ac-
count of separate me, and of v. 3, to be ap-
proved. The whole highly-important mission-
ary act would, according to this view, have been
performed only in the circle of five persons, of
whom, moreover, two were the missionaries
destined by the Spirit, and the church as such
would have taken no part at all, not even being
represented by its presbyters — a proceeding
which neither agrees with the fellowship of
the Spirit in the constitution of the apostolic
church, nor corresponds with the analogous
concrete cases of the choice of an apostle (oh. 1)
and of the deacons (oh. 6). (Comp. also 14 : 27,
where the missionaries, on their return, make
their report to the church.") — A. H.] — Sepa>
rate now for me — i. e. for the Holy Spirit.
The Spirit makes the revelation, selects the
missionaries, assigns to them their work. The
personality of the agent may be inferred from
such acts. The command in this form was ad-
dressed to the associates of Barnabas and Saul,
but the latter would hear the same voice point-
ing out to them their duty and directing them
to perform the service laid upon them. — Now
(J^) strengthens the command. (See 15 : 36 ;
Luke 2 : 15. K. g 315. 1.) The verb contains
the idea both of selection and consecration. —
Unto which (5), without the preposition, be-
cause the antecedent has it. (Comp. which
thou camest R. V., J vp\ov, in 9 : 17.)— I have
called has a middle sense. (W. § 39. 3.) The
nature of this work— not stated here — we learn
from the subsequent narrative : they were to go
into foreign countries and publish the gospel to
Jews and Gentiles. The great object of the
mission was doubtless to open more effectually
" the door of faith to the heathen."

3. Then having fasted, etc. This was
a different fast from that spoken of in v. 2.
and observed, probably, by the body of the
church. [According to the words of Christ

160

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XIII.

4 T So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, de-
parted unto Seleucla ; and from thence they sailed to
•Cyprus.

4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went
down to Seleucla; and from thence they sailed to

preserved in Matt. 9 : 14, 15 (also Mark 2 :
18-20 ; Luke 5 : 33-35), fasting is a natural ex-
pression, not of satisfaction, but of sorrow, of
trouble. And it is never appropriate unless it
is spontaneous. But even when it is spon-
taneous, it should not be paraded in public
with outward shows of mortification (Matt. 6:
»-i8). Hence the impossibility of a genuine
national fast, unless it be in time of great ca-
lamity. But Jesus does not in any of these
passages condemn fasting on the part of Chris-
tians. We cannot, indeed, be certain that he
anywhere enjoins it on his followers as a duty ;
for Matt. 17 : 21 is probably a gloss added to the
true text, while the words "and fasting," in
Mark 9 : 29, are at least doubtful ; but the ex-
ample of Christ and of apostolic Christians

(Matt. 4 : 1, »j. ; AcU 10 : 30 ; IS : », J ; 1* : w), together with

the prediction of Jesus (Matt. »: 15), the implied
approval of Paul (1 Cor. 7:5), and the Saviour's
direction as to the proper manner of fasting
(Matt. « : 16-18), provc beyond a doubt that fasting
has its place at times in the best forms of
Christian living. — A. H.] — On laid their
hands oi> them, see 6 : 6. The act was a
representative one, and, though performed by
a part, involves the idea of a general participa-
tion. Paul was already a minister and an
apostle (see Gal. 1 : 1, sq., where he claims this
character from the outset), and by this service
he and Barnabas were now merely set apart for
the accomplishment of a specific work. They
were summoned to a renewed and more syste-
matic prosecution of the enterprise of convert-
ing the heathen. (See on 9:30; 11:20.)—
Sent away. That the subject of this verb
includes the Antiochian Christians in general
may be argued from the analogous case in 15 :
40. The brethren commended Paul to God as
he departed on his second mission.

4-12. THE JOURNEY TO CYPRUS, AND
ITS RESULTS.

4. Being sent forth. We may place this
mission in the year a. d. 45. It does not appear
that they remained long at Antioch before their
departure. (See the note on 12 : 25.) — Unto
Selencia. Selencia lay west of Antioch, on
the sea-coast, five miles north of the mouth of
the Orontes. It was situated on the rocky emi-
nence forming the southern extremity of the
hilly range called Pieria. The harbor and mer-
cantile suburb were on level ground toward the

west. A village called Antakia and interesting
ruins point out the ancient site. " The inner
basin, or dock (there were two ports), is now a
morass ; but its dimensions can be measured,
and the walls that surround it can be distinctly
traced. The position of the ancient floodgates,
and the passage through which the vessels were
moved from the inner to the outer harbor, can
be accurately marked. The very piers of the
outer harbor are still to be seen under the water.
The stones are of great size — some of them
twenty feet long, five feet deep, and six feet
wide — and a'-e fastened to each other with iron
cramps. The masonry of ancient Seleucla is
still so good that not long since a Turkish pacha
conceived the idea of clearing out and repair-
ing the harbor." (See authorities in Conybeare
and Howson.) Those piers were still unbroken,
this great seaport of the Seleucids and the
Ptolemies was as magnificent as ever, under
the sway of the Romans, when Paul and Bar-
nabas passed through it on their present mis-
sion. Whether they came down (Ka-rfiX^ov)
from the interior to the coast by land or by
water is uncertain. The windings of the river
make the distance about forty-one miles, but
by land it is only sixteen miles and a half. At
present the Orontes is not navigable, in conse-
quence of a bar at the mouth and other obstruc-
tions; but Strabo says (16. 2) that in his time
they sailed up the stream in one day. The
road, though it is now mostly overgrown with
shrubs, was then doubtless a well-worn track
like the road from the Piraeus to Athens, or
from Ostia to Rome. At Seleucia the two mis-
sionaries with their companion went on board
(ojreVAeuo-ai', Sailed from) one of the numerous
ves.sels which must have been constantly ply-
ing between that port and the fertile Cyprus.
"As they cleared the port the whole sweep of
the bay of Antioch opened on their left — the
low ground by the mouth of the Orontes, the
wild and woody country beyond it, and then
the peak of Mount Casius, rising symmetri-
cally from the very edge of the sea to a height
of five thousand feet. On the right, in the
south-west horizon, if the day was clear, they
saw the island of Cyprus from the first. The
current sets northerly and north-east between
the island and the Syrian coast. But with a
fair wind a few hours would enable them to
run down from Seleucia to Salamis; and the

Ch. XIII.]

THE ACTS.

151

5 And when they were at Salamis, 'they preached
the word of God in the syna^o^ues of the Jews : and
they had also Mohn to their minister.

6 And when they had gone through the isle unto
Paphos, they found 'a certain sorcerer, a false prophet,
a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus :

6 Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they pro-
claimed the word of God in the synagogues of the
Jews: and they had also John as their attendant.

6 And when thev had gone through the whole island
unto Paphos, they found a certain 'sorcerer, a false

arer. 4e....&oh. 12:S5; IS : ST....eoh. 8 : 9.-

-1 Or. Magu* : H In U%U,. 2 : 1, T, 16.

land would rapidly rise in forms well known
and familiar to Barnabas and Mark" (Cony-
beare and Howson, i. p. 169). The fact that
Barnabas was a native of Cyprus (4:»6) may
have induced them to give this direction to
their journey.

5. And having arrived in Salamis. This
town was on the eastern shore of Cyprus, " on
a bight of the coast to the north of the river
Pediseus. A large city by the sea-shore, a wide-
spread plain with corn-fields and orchards, and
the blue distance of mountains beyond, com-
posed the view on which the eyes of Barnabas
and Saul rested when they came to anchor in
the bay of Salamis." — The synagogues indi-
cates that the Jews here were numerous, since
in other places where they were few they had
only one synagogue. (Comp. 17 : 1 ; 18 : 4.)
This intimation is confirmed by ancient testi-
mony. In the time of Trajan (a. d. 116), the
Jews in Cyprus were so powerful that they rose
and massacred two hundred and forty thousand
of the Greek inhabitants (Dio Cass., 68. 32). In
revenge for this slaughter, Hadrian, who was
afterward emperor, landed on the island and
either put to death or expelled the entire Jew-
ish population. At the time of Paul's visit
many of the Cyprian Jews must have resided
at Salamis, which was the seat of a lucrative
commerce. — And they had also John (see
12 : 25) as an assistant — in what? Also, as
I think, recalls most naturally preached the
word ; and the answer would be that he as-
sisted them in the declaration of the word.
(Comp. 26 : 16; Luke 1 : 2; 1 Cor. 4 : 1.) But
the view of most critics is different : they sup-
pose John to have had charge of the incidental
cares of the party, so as to leave Paul and Bar-
nabas more at liberty to preach the gospel. We
are not informed how long they remained at
Salamis or what success attended their labors.

6. And having passed through the
whole island unto Paphos, which was at
the other end of Cyprus. The city intended
here was New Paphos, in distinction from the
old city of that name, which was several miles
farther south. The distance from east to west
was not more than a hundred miles. The
Peutingerian Table^ (which dates probably

from the time of Alexander Severus — i. e.
about A. D. 230) represents a public road as
extending from Salamis to Paphos. If that
road existed at this earlier period, Paul arrived
at Paphos in a short time and without difficulty.
The present Baffa occupies the site of that city.
— Found a certain Magian, which was his
professional title, since it stands for Elymas in
V. 8; not sorcerer (E. V.), which would be op-
probrious.— False prophet is the narrator's
term for describing him ; he was a fortune-
teller, but his art was an imposition. It may
appear singular that a person of his character
should so mislead and captivate the prudent
Sergius. But the incident presents, in fact, a
true picture of the times. At that period (I
abridge Conybeare and Howson's paragraph
here) impostors from the East pretending to
magical powers had great influence over the
Roman mind. The East, but recently thrown
open, was the land of mystery to the Western
nations. Reports of the strange arts practised
there, of the wonderful events of which it was
the scene, excited almost fanatically the imag-
ination both of the populace and the aristoc-
racy of Rome. Syrian fortune-tellers crowded
the capital and appeared in all the haunts of
business and amusement. The strongest minds
were not superior to their influence. Marius
relied on a Jewish prophetess for regulating the
progress of his campaigns. Pompey, Crassus,
and Caesar sought information from Oriental
astrology. Juvenal paints to us the Emperor
Tiberius " sitting on the rock of Capri with his
flock of Chaldseans round him." The astrol-
ogers and sorcerers, says Tacitus, are a class of
men who " will always be discarded and always
cherished." [With this statement may be com-
pared the treatise of Tholuck on the Nature and
Moral Influence of Heathenism (translated for the
Biblical Repository, vol. ii. p. 286), where many
illustrations are given. The multitude of sooth-
sayers at this period is said to have been enor-
mous. "The Indians, Persians, Egyptians,
Gauls, and Germans had their soothsayers;
and among the Romans this art had been car-
ried to such an extent that Fabricius enumer-
ates toward a hundred different modes of divi-
nation." (See also Uhlhorn, The Conflict of

> See Forbiger'i Handtmch <kr AUen Geographie, toI. 1. p. 469, *q.

152

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XIII.

7 Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius
PauluB, a prudent man ; who called for Barnabas and
Saul, and desired to bear the word of (iod.

8 But "Klyniaa the sorcerer (for so is bis name by in-
terpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away
the deputy from the faith.

9 Then Saul, (who also u coiled Paul,) ^filled with
the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him.

7 prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-Jesus ; whc
was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of
understanding. The same called unto him Bar-
nabas and Saul, and sought to hear the word of

8 God. But Ely mas the 'sorcerer (for so is his name
by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn

9 aside the proconsul from the faith. But Saul, who
is also ciUled Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, fas-

aKz. 7:11; 2 Tim. S.': 8....leb. 4 : 8.-

-1 Or. Magv : at Id MaU. 2 : 1, 7, It.

Christianity with Heathenism, pp. 63, 316, etc. ;
Pressens^, Early Years of Christianity, p. 66,
etc.: C. Scribner, 1870; DoUinger, The QentiU
and the Jew, vol. ii. passivi. — A. H.]

7. Who was with the proconsul Sergius
Paulus. It would not have been correct to
apply this title to the governor of every Roman
province, or even to the governor of the same
province at diiferent periods. It was so diflBcult
to observe accuracy in the use of the varying
titles given to Roman magistrates that several
of the classic authors of this period have, be-
yond all question, misapplied them in various
instances. Luke was exposed to error in this
passage on the right hand and on the left. On
the establishment of the empire, Augustus di-
vided the provinces into two classes. Those
which required a military force he retained in
his own hands, and the others he committed to
the care of the Senate and the Roman people.
The officers or governors sent into the emperor's
provinces were styled propraetors or legates
{proprsetores, legati, or avTurTpaTrrfoi, nptvPtxnai) ;
those sent into the people's provinces were
called proconsuls { proconsules, av&vnaroi.). Cy-
prus, then, must have been a senatorian prov-
ince at this time, or Luke has assigned to Ser-
gius a false title. But, further, the same province
was often transferred from one jurisdiction to
another. Thus, in the present instance, Au-
gustus at first reserved Cyprus to himself and
committed its administration to propraetors,
or legates. Strabo informs us of that circum-
stance, and there leaves the matter. Hence it
was supposed for a long time that Luke had
committed an oversight here, or had styled
Sergius proconsul without knowing the exact
import of the appellation. But a passage was
discovered at length in Dio Cassius (53. 12)
which states that Augustus subsequently re-
linquished Cyprus to the Senate in exchange
for another province, and (54. 4) that it was
governed henceforth by proconsuls : And so
proconsuls also began to be sent to those nations.
Coins, too, have been found, struck in the reign
of Claudius, which confirm Luke's accuracy.
Bishop Marsh mentions one on which this very
title /)rocon*ui (awWiraTot) is applied to Corainius
Proclus, a governor of Cyprus. It was in the

reign of Claudius that Paul visited this island.
(For similar confirmations of our history, see
on 18 : 12; 19 : 38.)— Prudent, intelligent
discerning. It may have been his possession
of this quality that prompted him to seek the
acquaintance of Elymas ; he may have hoped
to gain from him that deeper knowledge of
futurity and of the mysteries of nature which
the human mind craves so instinctively. It cer-
tainly was proof of his discernment that he
was not deceived by the man's pretensions —
that, on hearing of the arrival of Paul and
Barnabas, he sent for them, and on the strength
of the evidence which confirmed their doctrine
yielded his mind to it. — Desired earnestly.
— The word of God designates the new doc
trine from Luke's point of view (Mey.).

8. Elymas is an Arabic word which means
the wise. It was a title of honor, like the Ma-
gian (6 fiayoi), to which it is here put as equiv-
alent. He was born, perhaps, in Arabia, or had
lived there, and may have assumed this name
in a boastful spirit, or may have received it
from others as a compliment to his skill. —
Seeking to turn aside the proconsul
from the faith — i. e. from adopting it ; for
he was not yet a believer. (See v. 12.)

9. The also Paul (6 koI noOAos) = the (one)
also called Paul.— The (A) is the article
here, not a pronoun. (W. § 18. 1.) The origin
of this name is still disputed. Among the later
critics, Olshausen and Meyer adhere to the older
view — that Paul assumed it out of respect to
Sergius Paulus, who was converted by his in-
strumentality. But had the writer connected
the name with that event, he would have in-
troduced it more naturally after v. 12. He
makes use of it, it will be observed, before
speaking of the proconsul's conversion. Ne-
ander objects, further, that it was customary
among the ancients for the pupil to adopt the
name of the teacher, not the teacher to adopt
that of the pupil. There is force, too, in his
remark that, according to this view, the apostle
would seem to recognize the salvation of a dis-
tinguished person as more important than that
of others ; for that Sergius was his first convert
from heathenism, and received this honor on
that account, assumes incorrectly that he had

Ch. XIII.]

THE ACTS.

153

10 And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief,
•thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteous-
ness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of
the Jjord ?

11 And now, behold, Hhe hand of the Lord is upon
thee, and thou shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a
season. And immediately there fell on nim a mist and
a darkness ; and he went about seeking some to lead
him by the hand.

12 Then the deputpr when he saw what was done,
believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

18 Now when Paul and his company loosed from

10 tened his eyes on him, and said, O full of all guUe
and all villany, thou son of the devil, thou enemy
of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert

11 the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the
hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt bo
blind, not seeing the sun 'for a season. And imme-
diately there fell on him a mist and a darkness;
and he went about seeking some to lead him by the

12 hand. Then the proconsul, when he saw what was
done, believed, being astonished at the teaching of
the Lord.

13 Now Paul and his company set sail from Paphos,

alUtt.U:S8; Jolm8:U; IJohnS :8....t Bz.9 :S; 1 Bam. 6 : 6.-

-1 Or, vnta

preached hitherto to none but those of his own
nation. It is more probable that Paul acquired
this name like other Jews in that age, who,
when they associated with foreigners, had often
two names — the one Jewish, the other foreign ;
sometimes entirely distinct, as Onias and Mene-
laus, Hillel and PoUio, and sometimes similar in
sound, as Tarphon and Trypho, Silas and Sil-
vanus. In like manner, the apostle may have
been known as Saul among the Jews and Paul
among the heathen ; and, being a native of a
foreign city, as Lightfoot suggests, he may have
borne the two names from early life. This ex-
planation of the origin of the name accounts
for its introduction at this stage of the history.
It is here for the first time that Luke speaks
directly of Paul's labors among the heathen;
and it is natural that he should apply to him
the name by which he was chiefly known in
that sphere of his ministry. According to some,
the name changes here, because Luke has fol-
lowed, hitherto, written memoranda, in which
the apostle was called Saul (Neand., Alf).
This hypothesis is unnecessary and improb-
able. Luke had no need of such memoirs, as he
could learn from Paul himself all that he has
related of him ; and, further, the style of what
precedes, instead of indicating a diiferent hand,
is homogeneous with that which follows. Zel-
ler, though he denies that Luke wrote the Acts,
maintains that a single author must have writ-
ten it. — Filled Avith, etc. He was thus im-
pelled to expose the man's wickedness and to
announce his punishment.

10. Subtilty, deceit, refers to his occupa-
tion ; mischief, wickedness, to his character.
—Son of the devil. The kindredship is that of
disposition, moral resemblance. (See John 8 :
44.) The second noun is sufficiently definite to
omit the article. (W. g 19. 1.) It has the arti-
cle, however, in other passages, except 1 Pet. 5 :
8, where it stands hi apposition. — Wilt thou
not cease to pervert — i. e. to misrepresent,
malign — the right ways of the Lord? — viz.
those which he requires men to follow, as re-
pentance, faith, obedience. It was Christian

truth, the gospel, which he opposed. Most
critics prefer the interrogative form of the sen-
tence as more forcible than the declarative. Not
denies cease = persist (W. § 57. 3), and implies
the ordinary affirmative answer. Right sug-
gests, possibly, a contrast with the impostor's
own ways, so full of deceit and obliquity.

11. Hand of the Lord. Here Crod, per-
haps, as the phrase is common in the Old Tes-
tament.— Upon thee — viz., i. «., for punish-
ment; in a good sense, in 11 : 21. — Not seeing
states a consequence ; hence iiij, not ov. — Until
a season, a certain time. (Comp. Luke 4 : 13.)
The infliction would be temporary, either be-
cause the object (see next verse) did not require
it to be permanent, or because the mildness
might conduce to the man's repentance. — A
mist and darkness, related as cause and
effect, or by degrees — first one, and then the
other. — Seeking states his habit (imperf.)
during the period of his blindness.

12. Being astonished at the doctrine
of the Lord — i. e. its confirmation by such
a miracle. (Comp. Mark 1 : 27.) [Not merely,
perhaps, at " its confirmation by such a mira-
cle," but at the doctrine concerning Christ,
which was so new and extraordinary in itself,
as well as so wonderfully attested by the mir-
acle. The breviloquence of Luke would be
fully accounted for by this view. It would
probably be incorrect to say, with Canon Cook,
that "the doctrine concerning the Lord im-
pressed the proconsul's mind more than the
miraculous visitation." Teaching and miracle
went together, and the wonder was due to their
combined influence. — A. H.]

13-15. THEY PROCEED TO PERGA,
AND THENCE TO ANTIOCH IN PISIDIA.

13. Loosed, having put to sea — lit. hav-
ing gone up (note the etymology), because the
sea appears higher than the land. Paphos was
on the sea-shore, and they would embark at
that place. — Paul and his companions (ot
mpi rhv navAov — lit. those ahout Paul). About
(n-fpl) presents the name after it as the central
object of the group. (See John 11 : 19. W

154

THE ACTS.

[Ch. xm.

Paphos, tbey came to Perga in Pamphylia: and 'John
departing fruni ttiem returned to Jerusalem.

14 U but wlu'u they departed from I'erea, they came
to Antioch in I'isidfa, and 'went into the synagogue
on the sabbath day, and sat down.

15 And 'after the reading of the law and the proph-
ets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying,
Ye men atul brethren, if ye nave 'any word of exhorta-
tion for the people, say on.

and came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John de-

14 parted from them and returned to Jerusalem. But
they, passing through from Perga, came t« Antioch
of Pisidia; and they went into the synagogue on

15 the sabbath day, and sat down. And after the
reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of
the synagogue sent unto them, saying. Brethren, if
ye bare any word of exhortation for the people, say

• ell.I6:S8....»eh. 1<:M; 17:1; 18 : 4....e Luke 4 : 1<; ver. »....<{ Heb. 13 : 23.

§ 53. i.) Hitherto the order has been Barnabas
and Saul ; but from this time Paul appears in
the narrative as the principal person, and Bar-
nabas as subordinate. — Came unto Ferga.
They must have " sailed past the promontories
of Drepanum and Acamas, and then across the
waters of the Pamphylian Sea, leaving on the
right the cliffs (six hundred feet high) which
form the western boundary of Cilicia to the
innermost bend of the bay of Attaleia." Perga
was the chief city of Pamphylia, situated on
the Oestrus, about seven miles from its mouth.
A bar obstructs the entrance of this river at
the present time, but Strabo (14. 4) says ex-
pressly that it was navigable in his day as far
up as Perga. The ruins of this city are to be
seen still, sixteen miles north-east of the mod-
em Adalia, or Satalia. They consist of " walls
and towers, columns and cornices, a theatre
and a stadium, a broken aqueduct, and tombs
scattered on both sides of the site of the town.
Nothing else remains of Perga but the beauty
of its natural situation, between and upon the
sides of two hills, with an extensive valley in
front, watered by the river Oestrus, and backed
by the mountains of the Taurus." ' — And John,
etc. Why John Mark left them so abruptly is
unknown. It is certain from 15 : 38 (see the
note there) that his reason for turning back
was not one which Paul approved. He re-
turned, not to Antioch, but Jerusalem, where
his home was (u -. i»).

14. They — i. e. they themselves, unac-
companied by their former associate. — From
Perga. The stay at Perga, therefore, was
brief; they did not even preach there at this
time. (Oomp. 14 : 25.) What occasioned this
singular haste? Very possibly, as Oonybeare
and Howson suggest, they arrived there in the
spring of the year, and in order to prosecute
their journey into the interior were obliged to
advance without delay : " Earlier in the season
the passes would have been filled with snow.
In the heat of summer the weather would have
been less favorable for the expedition. In the
autumn the disadvantages would have been

still greater, from the approaching difficulties
of winter." On the journey from the coast to
the interior, Paul may have encountered some
of the "perils of robbers" and "perils of
rivers " to which he alludes in 2 Oor. 11 : 26.
The maurauding habits of the people on the
mountains which he now crossed were noto-
rious in all ancient history. The country
swarmed ^'ith banditti of the most desperate
character. The physical character of the
r^on exposed him, also, to the other class
of dangers. The streams here are numerous
and violent beyond those of any other tract
in Asia Minor. Torrents "burst out at the
base of huge cliffs or dash down wildly
through narrow ravines." (See Oonybeare and
Howson for fuller information on these points.)
— To Antioch. AiUioch, which lay north from
Perga, was on the central table-land of Asia
Minor, on the confines of Pisidia and Phrygia.
It was built by the founder of the Syrian An-
tioch. Under Augustus it rose to the rank of
a colony. It was now an important city, in-
habited by many Greeks, Romans, and Jews,
in addition to its native population. The site
of Antioch was first identified by Mr. Arundel
in 1833.— Day, of the Sabbath— i. e. the
rest-season. The plural arose, probably, from
the fact that such a season included often more
than one day. (See W. § 27. 3.)

15. After the reading, etc. The practice of
reading the Scriptures in this manner grew up,
probably, during the Exile. (Win., RecUw., ii.
p. 548.) Law here designates the Pentateuch ;
prophets, the other books of the Old Testa-
ment. (See Matt. 5 : 17 ; Luke 16 : 16, etc.) The
Psalms formed sometimes a third division. (See
Luke 24 : 44.) The rulers of the synagogue
(see on 9:2) sent unto them a servant
(Luke 4 : Jo). It may have been known that they
were teachers, or, as Hemsen suggests, they
may have occupied a seat which indicated that
such was their office.— In you, in your minds.
(Oomp. Gal. 1 : 16 ; Phil. 1 : 5.)— Exhortation.
The object was to incite them to a stricter ob-
servance of the law.

> Sir C. Fellows't Ana Minor, pp. 190-193.

Ch. XIII.]

THE ACTS.

155

16 Then Paul stood up, and •beckoning with hU
hand said, Men of Israel, and 'ye that fear God, give
audience.

17 The God of this people of Israel 'chose our fathers,
and exalted the people ''when they dwelt as strangers
in the land of Egypt, 'and with an high arm brought
he them out of it.

18 And /about the time of forty years suffered he
their manners in the wilderness.

19 And when 'he had destroyed seven nations in
the land of Chanaan, ^he divided their land to them
by lot.

20 And after that 'he gave unto them judges about the

16 on. And Paul stood up, and beckoning with the
band said.

Men of Israel, and ye that fear God, hearken.

17 The God of this people Israel chose our fathers, and
I exalted the people when they sojourned in the land

of Egypt, and with a high arm led he them forth
I 18 out of It. And for about the time of forty vears 'as
j a nursing-father bare he them in the wilderness.
I 19 And when he bad destroyed seven nations in the
i land of Canaan, he gave them their land for an in-
I heritance, for about four hundred and fifty years:
I 20 and after these things be gave them judges until

aoh. 12:lT....iTers. 26, 42, 4S; oh. 10 : 3$....e D«at. T : 6, T....<I Kx. 1 : 1 ; P8. 105:23,24; oh. 7 : lT....«Kz. 6 : 6; 18:14, 16..../ Ex.

16:S5; Num. 14: 33. 34; P«. 95:9, 10; cb. 7 : 36. . . .o Deut. 7 : 1....A JoBb. 14:1, 2; Pi. 78 : 66....< Jod. 2:16. 1 Manr aocient

•utboritiei read ntffered he tluir maniurt. See Deui. 1 : 31.

16-41. THE DISCOURSE OF PAUL AT
ANTIOCH.

The topics are — first, the goodness of God to
Israel, especially in having promised to send to
them a Saviour (16-25) ; secondly, Jesus has been
proved to be this Saviour by his death and res-
urrection, in accordance with the prophecies
of the Old Testament (26-37) ; and thirdly, it is
the duty of men to receive him in this charac-
ter, since they can be saved in no other way

(38-4l).

16. Beckoning with his hand (comp. on
12 : 16) was the customary gesture on rising to
speak. It betokened respect for the audience
and a request for attention. — Who fear God,
as in 10 : 2 — t. e. Gentiles who were friendly to
Judaism, but uncircumcised. They occupied,
it is said, a separate place in the synagogue.
The contents of the address show that the
Israelites greatly outnumbered that class of the
hearers. This discourse deserves the more at-
tention as furnishing so copious an illustration
of the apostle's manner of preaching to the
Jews.

17. Exalted) made them numerous and
powerful. — In the land {iv yjj). For the ab-
sence of the article, see on 7 : 29. — With a high
arm — i. e. one raised on high, and so ever ready
to protect and defend them. (Comp. Ex. 6 : 6.)

18. Carried them as a nurse (in the arms,
as it were ; iTp9^o^pr)V€v = us rpjx^ot ifiavraatv), sus-
tained, cared for them. The term is derived,
probably, from Deut. 1 : 31. Most of the later
editors prefer this to endured their manners
(«T/>oiro<^dpij<rei'). It suits the connection better
than the other word, since what the apostle
would bring to view here is not so much the
forbearance of God toward his people as his
interposition, his direct efforts, in their behalf.
It is well attested, also, though the evidence is
not decisive.

19. Seven nations. (See their names in
Deut. 7 : 1.) They were the principal tribes in

Palestine at that time. — In (the) land, anar-
throus, as above. — Assigned to them as a
possession. Hellenistic for the Hiphil of
rutchal} Their land, by promise, gift ; or, better,
henceforth theirs and that of their descendants.
30. After these things — viz. the conquest
and occupation of the country. — During
about four hundred and fifty years he
gave judges. For the dative, see on 8 : 11.
This number is the sum of the years assigned
in the Old Testament to the administration of
the judges, from the time of Joshua to the
death of Eli, added to the sum of the years
during which the nation was subject to foreign
oppressors. Hence it would be very natural
for the Jews to speak of four hundred and fifty
years as the proximate number of years during
which the judges ruled. But, whether the
computation arose in that way or some other,
it was certainly in use among the Jews; for
Josephus {Antt., 8. 2. 1) gives the time from
the departure out of Egypt till the building of
the temple as five hundred and ninety-two
years. If we deduct from that the forty years
in the wilderness, twenty-five for the adminis-
tration of Joshua {Antt., 5. 1. 29 ; not stated in
the Old Testament), forty for Saul's reign (see
V. 21), forty for David's, and four under Solo-
mon (1 Ki»g« 6 : 1), we have for the period of the
judges four hundred and forty-three years,
which the apostle could call, in round num-
bers, about four hundred and fifty years.
It is evident, therefore, that Paul has followed
here a mode of reckoning which was current
at that time, and which, being a well-known
received chronology, whether correct or incor-
rect in itself considered, was entirely correct
for his object, which was not to settle a question
about dates, but to recall to the minds of those
whom he addressed a particular portion of the
Jewish history. The Hebrews had still an-
other computation, as appears from 1 Kings
6 : 1. The time from the Exodus to the build-

1 For the origin of such Hebrftisms, see the writer*! HArew Ezercuet, p. 96.

156

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XIII.

space of four hundred and fifty years, *until i^amuel
the prophet.

21 'Aud afterward they desired a king: and God
gave unto them Saul the son of lis, a mun of the tribe
of lienjaiuin, by the space of fortv vears.

2*2 And "when he had ren>ove<l nim, ^he raised up
unto them David to be their kins; to whom also he
gave testimony, and said, 'l have found David the ton
of Jesse, /a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil
all my will.

23 »0f this man's seed hath God according *to his
promise raised unto Israel 'a .Saviour, .lesus:

24 *When John had first preached before his com-
ing the baptism of rei>entaDce to all the people of
Israel.

25 And as John fulfilled his course, he said, 'Whom
think ye that I am? I am not he. But, behold, there

21 Samuel the prophet. And afterward they asked for
a king: ana Ciod gave unto them Saul the son of
Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for the space

22 of fortv years. And when he had removed him, he
raised up David to be their king; to whom also he
bare witness, and said, I have found David the son
of Jesse, a man after my heart, who shall do all my

23 'will. Of this man's seed hath God according to

24 promise brought unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus; when
John had first preached 'before his coming the bap-

25 tism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And
as John was fulfilling bis course, he said, What sup-

I I Sun. 3 :20 i 1 Sam. 8:5; 10 : 1 el Sam. 15 : tS, 26, 28; 18 : 1 : H<w. 13 : 11 dl Sam. 18 : 13; 3 Sam. 2:4; 5:8 « Ps.

)<9 : 20 /I Sam. 13 : U; eh. T : 48 g Ina. 11 : 1 ; Luke 1 : 32, e»; eh. 2 : 30: Rom. 1 : 3 A 2 Sam. T : 12; Pi. 132 : 11 i Matt.

1 :2I; Rom. 11 : 26....* MaU. 3 : 1 ; LukeS : 3....1 Matt. 3 : 11; Mark 1 :;; Luke 3 : 16; John 1 : 20, 27. 1 OT.tMU....i Qr.be/ora

the fact at Au tnXtrinfi in.

ing of the temple is there given as four hun-
dred and eighty years, wliich (deducting the
other dates as stated above) would allow but
two hundred and thirty-one years for the period
of the judges. (In regard to such differences, see
also on 7 : 6.) Some of the best critics read
about four hundred and fifty years, and
after these things. The four hundred and
fifty years belong, then, to the preceding verse,
and may be the years from the birth of Isaac,
when God showed that he had chosen the
fathers, to the distribution of the land of Ca-
naan. Adding together sixty years from the
birth of Isaac to that of Jacob, one hundred
and thirty as the age of Jacob on going into
Egypt, two hundred and fifteen as the sojourn
there, and forty-seven thence to the settlement
of the tribes, the sum is four hundred and fifty-
two. (See again on 7 : 6.) This reading is
found in the oldest manuscripts (ABC) [also
K B D], etc., and is approved by Griesbach (par-
tially), Lachmann, Luthardt,i Green, Words-
worth, and others. The text may have been
changed to relieve the difficulty (Mey.), but it
is singular that the three oldest witnesses con-
cur in that variation. A summary decision is
not to be pronounced here. [It will be noticed,
however, that the chief critical editors — Griesb.,
Lach., Tsch., Treg., West, and Hort, and Anglo-
Am. Revisers — adopt the reading which removes

'i\m And thereafter {Koxtl^tv) is here an ad-
verb of time. — Asked for themselves, etc.
(See 1 Sam. 8:5; 10 : 1.)— Forty years, which
agrees with Josephus (.4?i«., 6. 14. 9). The Old
Testament does not mention the length of Saul's
reign.

22. Having removed him — i. e. from life
(De Wet.) or from his office (Kuin.). The two
events were coincident in point of time. Saul
reigned until his death, though David was an-
ointed as prospective king during his lifetime.
To whom (i dat. comm.) also he testified,
saying. The dative depends on the participle.
The apostle quotes the substance of 1 Sam. 13 :
14 and Ps. 89 : 21. This commendation is not
absolute, but describes the character of David
in comparison with that of Saul. The latter
was rejected for his disobedience and impiety ;
David, on the contrary, was always faithful to
the worship of Jehovah, and performed his
commands as they were made known to him
by revelation or the messengers whom God sent
to him.

23. Jesus could not be the Messiah, unless
he were descended from David. This man's
stands first, in order to give prominence to his
descent, from that source. — According to
promise, as made to the fathers (v. 32), not to
David merely.

24. John. The Jews acknowledged John's

the difficulty. Their agreement is a strong rea- I authority as a prophet, and were bound, there-

son for believing that their judgment is sound,
— A. H.] — Unto Samuel, who is to be includ-
ed, probably, among the judges ; or ««? may be
taken as exclusive. How long he governed is
not mentioned in 1 Sam. 7 : 15, nor in 28 : 3.
The tradition (Jos., Antt., 6. 13. 5), which is not,
perhaps, of much value, makes it twelve years.
ut would allow us to add these years to four
hundred and fifty, if any one prefers that.

fore, to admit his testimony. Before his en-
trance—!, e. upon his public ministry. (See
Matt. 11 : 10; Luke 7 : 27.)— Baptism of re-
pentance—t. c. such as required repentance
on the part of those who received it. (See
19 : 4.)

25. Now as John was finishing his
course, was near its close (De Wet., Mey.),
not while he was completing it (Kuln.,

i In Reuter't Hqaertorium, p. 205 (Jahrgang 1855).

Ch. XIII.]

THE ACTS.

157

Gometh one after me, whose shoes of hi* feet I am not
worthy to loose.

2G Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abra-
ham, and whosoever among you feareth Uod, 'to you
is the word of this salvation sent.

27 For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers,
♦because they knew him not, nor vet the voices of the
prophets "which are read every sabbath day, •'they have
lulhlled them in condemning him.

28 'And though they found no cause of death in Aim,
/yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain.

29 'And when they had fulfilled all that was written
of him, Hhey took him down from the tree, and laid
him in a sepulchre.

pose ye that I am ? I am not he. But behold, there
cometh one after me, the shoes of whose feet I am

26 not worthy to unloose. Brethren, children of the
stock of Abraham, and those among you that fear
(jod, to us is the word of this salvation sent forth.

27 For they that dwell in Jerusalem, and their rulers,
because they knew him not, nor the voices of the
prophets which are read every .sabbath, fulfilled

28 them by condemning him. And though they found
no cause of death in him, yet asked they of l-'ilate

29 that he should be slain. And when they had ful-
filled all things that were written of him, they
took him down from the tree, and laid him in

• Uatt. 10: 6; I.uke M : 47 ; rer. 46; eh. S: M....6 I.nke 28 : 34 ; eh. S: IT; 1 Cor. 2 : 8 evert. 14, 15; eh. 15 : ll....<f LnkeM : M, 44;

ch. 20:2.2: 28:23....e Mktt. 27:22; Mark 15: IS, 14; Luke 23:21, 22; John 19 : S, 15..../cb. S : IS, 14.... (Lake 18:31; 24:44;
John 1< : 28, 30, 36, 37....* Mitt. 27 : 5S; Mark 15 : 46; l.uke 23 : 53; John 19 : 38.

Olsh.). The forerunner was about to be im-
prisoned when he bore this testimony to his
Successor.— Whom do ye suppose that I
am? I am not — viz. the Messiah. The pred-
icate is omitted as well known. (Comp. Mark
13 : 6 ; Luke 21 : 8 ; John 13 : 19.) Some critics
(Calv., Raph., Kuin.) exclude the question, and
render he whom (Wf a = ovriva) ye suppose^ I
am not. This punctuation does violence to
the pronoun, while the sense has no advantage
over the other. (See W. §25. 1.) — Comes after
me, etc. In this way he would express strong-
ly his official and personal inferiority to Christ.
It was an office of the lowest servants, not only
among the Jews, but the Greeks and Romans,
to bind and unbind the sandals of their mas-
ters. (See Jahn's Archseol., § 123.)

26. Men, at the same time brethren; not
different classes. — You includes both Jews and
proselytes. — Of this salvation, which they
preached (comp. 5 : 20), or procured by Jesus,
named in v. 23. — Was sent forth — i. e. from
God, the Author of the word.

27. For confirms the implication in this
salvation, in v. 26 — viz. that Jesus, whom
Paul preached, was the promised Saviour ; for
(■yap) he had suflFered and been put to death,
and so had fulfilled what was predicted of the
Messiah. De Wette, Winer (? 57. 6), and others
maintain this view of the connection. Meyer
(followed by Alf.) opposes you in v. 26 to they
that dwell here — i. e. the foreign Jews, being
less guilty, had the message of salvation sent
to them, which the other Jews had forfeited.
This explanation arrays the passage against
other passages — e. g. 2 : 38 ; 3 : 17, 26. It was
not true that those who crucified the Saviour
excluded themselves from the offers of the
gospel. — This one — viz. Jesus — not having
known, failed to recognize, and the voices
of the prophets (not having known), they
fulfilled them — viz. the prophecies — by con>
demning him to death. This is the simplest
translation, and the one most approved (Calv.,

Grot., Kuin., Hmph.). The principal English
versions agree in this sense. Not having
known is milder than denied, in 3 : 13.
(See note there.) In this case we must sup-
ply pronouns after in condemning and ful-
filled, which refer to different antecedents.
The construction may be harsh, but occasions
no obscurity. Meyer renders : Since they
knew not this one . . . they also fulfilled
the voices, etc. The Jews are usually repre-
sented as rejecting Christ because they failed to
discern the import of the predictions concern-
ing him. The thought here would be inverted
somewhat ; the rejection appears as the reason
why they misunderstand and fulfil the proph-
ets. De Wette construes not having kpown
(ayvoijo-ovret) as a Verb : They knew him not,
and the voices . . . fulfilled. This anal-
ysis secures more uniformity in the structure
of the sentence ; but such a use of the parti-
ciple is infrequent. Scholefield translates : Be-
ing ignorant of this word, and the voices
of the prophets, . . . fulfilled it by con-
demning him. He assigns in this way a
nearer antecedent to this one (him, E. V.),
but must set aside the more obvious subject
suggested to the mind by the context. It is
not clear in what sense he would have us re-
gard the rejection of Christ as fulfilling the
word or gospel. — Which are read every
Sabbath, and hence their ignorance was the
more inexcusable.

28. Although they found no cause of
death, none that justified it. (See 28 : 18.)
They charged him with blasphemy and sedi-
tion, but could not establish the accusation.
(See 3 : 13; Matt. 27 : 24; Luke 23 : 22.)

29. Laid has the same subject as the other
verbs. (See v. 27.) The burial, however, was
the particular act of Joseph of Arimathea and
Nicodemus. (See John 19 : 38, sq.) What the
apostle would assert is that Christ had fulfilled
the prophecy which announced that he should
be put to death and rise again. It was not im*

158

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XIII.

90 "But God raised him from the dead :

31 And 'he was seen many days of them which came
u^ with him ^rom (ialilee to Jerusalem, 'who are his
witnesses unto the people.

32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that
*the promise which was made unto the fathers,

33 (iod hath fultilled the same unto us their chil-
dren, in that he hath raised up Jesus again ; as it is
also written in the second psalm, /Thou art my Son,
this day have I begotten thee.

80a tomb. But God raised him from the dead:

31 and he was seen for many days of them that came
up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are

32 now his witnesses unto the people. And we bring
you good tidings of the promise made unto the

33 fathers, how that (Jod hath fulfilled the same unto
our children, in that he raised up Jesus ; as also it
is written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son,

aXMt. »:6; oh. 1:24; S:13, 15, M; 5 : 90.... & Matt. 38 : 16; oh. 1 : 8; I Cor. 15 : &, 6, 7....ceh. l:ll....iich, 1:8; S: SI;
S:I5; 5:81....«Q«n. S: 15; 13 : S; tt : 18; eh. M : 6; Bom. 4: 13; Oal. 3 : 18..../ Pi. 3 : 7; Bob. 1:5; 6:5.

portant that he should discriminate as to the
character of the agents in the transaction.
Some translate those who took him down
placed him, etc. The participle, in that re-
lation to the verb, would require the article.

31. Those who came up with him — i.e.
the Galilean disciples who attended him on his
last journey to Jerusalem. They knew, there-
fore, what they testified ; their means of know-
ledge had been ample. This idea occurs in the
Acts often. — Now. The resurrection rested,
not on tradition, but on the testimony of living
men. The English Version, after the received
text, omits this particle. [But it is well sup-
ported by N A C D, Vulg., Cop., Syr., and in-
serted by Lach., Tsch., West, and Hort, Anglo-
Am. Revisers, and Treg. (in marg.). Of its
importance no reader can entertain a doubt.
— A. H.] — Unto the people — i. e. the Jews.
(Seev. 24; 10 : 42, etc.)

32. And so we — i. e. in view of these vari-
ous proofs that Jesus is the Messiah. (See w.
23, 25, 27, 31.)— Declare (tvayytKiiofjitSa) has a
double accusative only here. (W. ^ 32. 4.) —
Glad tidings stands in the first clause with
the usual effect of that attraction. (See on
3 : 10.)

33. Has completely fulfilled, stronger
than fulfilled, in v. 27, because the resurrec-
tion, considered as involving the ascension and
exaltation, was essentially the finishing act in
the fulfilment of the promise relating to the
Messiah. — Having raised up Jesus means,
as Luther, Schott, Stier, De Wette, Meyer,
Hengstenberg, Tholuck, and others decide,
having raised up Jesus from the grave,
not having brought him into existence
(Calv., Bng., Kuin., Olsh.). The mind attaches
that sense to the word most readily after v. 30.
It was unnecessary to insert from the dead,
because the context suggests the specific mean-
ing. (Comp. 2 : 24, 32.) avourr^ira^, in the sense
of having raised up merely, expresses too little for
the prophecy which that event is said to have
fulfilled. The original passage refers, not to the
incarnation of the Messiah, but to his inaugu-
ration or public acknowledgment on the part

of God as the rightful Sovereign of men. To
no moment in the history of Christ would such
a prediction apply with such significance as to
that of his triumphant resurrection from the
dead. The progression of the ai^ument in the
next verse demands this interpretation. To
the assertion here that God had raised Jesus to
life again, the apostle adds there that this life
was one which death would invade no more. —
As also — i. e. what took place was foretold. —
First psalm. The second Psalm in our Eng-
lish Version is named here the first, because in
some manuscripts the Hebrews reckoned the
first Psalm merely as prefatory. Second has
much less support. [According to the critical
editors, this is not now the case. In favor of
second («evT<p<j>) are KBCEGHLP, while
Tsch. alleges for first (irpdru) but a single uncial
codex — viz. D. West, and Hort, with Anglo- Am.
Revisers, retain second. Dr. Hackett as well as
others may have been influenced by the as-
sumed improbability that first would have been
substituted, intentionally or unintentionally,
for second. But may not the change have
been made by a transcriber who trusted to
his memory for the instant, or, better, by one
who was acquainted with "some manuscripts"
which treated the first psalm as prefatory f I
perceive that Westcott and Hort urge this con-
sideration. They say: "The authorities for
vpwTf here and for the combination of the two
Psalms are in each case Western; so that a
'Western' scribe, being probably accustomed
to read the two Psalms combined, would be
under a temptation to alter second to first, and
not vice versd." (Comp. Scrivener, 2d ed., p.
538.)— A. H.]— Thou art my Son, etc. (Pt.
2 : 7) affirms the Sonship of the Messiah, which
included his divine nature. (See Rom. 1 : 4.)
Hence I have begotten thee cannot refer to
the origin of this relationship, but must receive
a figurative interpretation ; either I have be-
gotten thee — brought thee into a state of
glory and jwwer such as Christ assumed after
his resurrection as Mediator at the right hand
of God — or, according to a familiar Hebrew
usaf^, I have declared, exhibited, thee as

Ch. XIIL]

THE ACTS.

150

34 And as concerning that he raised him up from
the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said
on this wise, "I will give you the sure mercies of
David.

36 Wherefore he saith also in another psalm. Thou
Shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

36 For David, after he had served his own genera-
tion by the will of God, <fell on sleep, and was laid
unto his fathers, and saw corruption :

34 this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning
that he raised him up from the dead, now no more
to return to corruption, be hath spoken on this
wise. 1 will give you the holy and sure blessings of

35 David. Because be saith also in another psalm,
Thou wilt not give thy Holy One to see corruption.

36 For David, after be bad 'in his own generation
served the counsel of Uod, fell on sleep, and was

a In. 56: S....6 Ps. 18 : 10; eb. 3 : SI c I Kings 2 : 10; ch. 2 : 'iH. 1 Ur, lerved hi* own generation by the eouiueJ of God,

fdl on sleep Or, served hit oan generation, fell on lieep fry the eouneei of God

begotten — i. e. as my Son ; viz. by the resur-
rection from the dead. The thought here is
entirely parallel to that in Rom. 1:4. As to
the declarative sense of Hebrew verbs, see the
note on 10 : 15. — To-day designates the pre-
cise point of time on which the prophet's eye
was then fixed — viz. that of Christ's assumption
of his mediatorial power, or that of his open
proclamation as Messiah on the part of God
when he raised him from the dead.

34. Further (as proof) that he raised
him up from the dead as one who would
die no more. Si is progressive. Raised up
repeats the idea of the foregoing having raised
up (t. ss), for the purpose of describing this res-
urrection more fully : it would be followed by
no return to death. From the dead does not
distinguish the two words as to sense, but draws
attention more strongly to the contrast between
the death which he had suffered and his exemp-
tion from death in future. No more to re-
tnm, etc., as appUed to Christ, whose body
underwent no change while it remained in the
grave, must be equivalent to dieth no more,
in Rom. 6 : 9. The dissolution or corruption
of the body is the ordinary consequent of
death ; and hence, in common speech, to return
to corruption and to die, or the opposite, not to re-
turn to corruption and not to die, are interchange-
able expressions. Bengel saw this import of
the phrase. (See "W. § 66. 10.) The perpetuity
of Christ's existence is an important truth in
the Christian system. In Rom. 5 : 10, Paul urges
it as a ground of certainty that if men believe
on Christ they will be finally saved, and in
Rom. 6 : 9 as a pledge that, inasmuch as he
" dies no more, we shall live with him." (See
also John 14 : 19 ; Heb. 7 : 25, etc.) This inci-
dental agreement of the address with Paul's
circle of doctrine speaks for its genuineness. —
That (oTi) is the sign of quotation [but is nat-
urally omitted in translation. — A. H.]. I will
give, etc., expresses the substantial sense of
Isa. 55 : 3 : I will give to you, perfonn unto
you, the holy, inviolable promises of David
— t. e. made to him — the sure. The language
is very nearly that of the Seventy. One of
these promises was that David should have a

successor whose reign would be perpetual, the
throne of whose kingdom Qod would establish
for ever and ever. (See 2 Sam. 7 : 13, sq.) It
was essential to the accomplishment of that
promise that the Messiah should be exempt
from death; and hence, as Jesus had been
proved to be the Messiah by his resurrection,
that promise made it certain that he would
live and reign henceforth, without being
subject to any interruption of his existence
or power.

35. Therefore also — i. e. because he was
not mortal, in further confinnation of that
fact. — In another — i. e. Psalm; viz. 16 : 10.
(See on 2 : 25, sq.) The inspired declaration
that the Messiah should not experience the
power of death had not only been verified in
his resurrection, but guaranteed that he would
not experience that power at any future period.
— Saith — i. e. God; viz. through David. (See
V. 34 ; 1 : 16, etc.)

36. For vindicates the reference of the pas-
sage to Christ, since it could not apply to David.
— f/iiv is antithetic to Si in v. 37. — His own
generation, etc., admits of a twofold transla-
tion. Generation may depend on having
served: having served his own genera-
tion (been useful to it), according to the
purpose of God (dative of norm or rule).
Our English translators, Calvin, Doddridge,
Robinson, and others, adopt this construction.
Olshausen, Kuinoel, De Wette, Meyer, and
others refer purpose to the participle: hav-
ing in his own generation (dative of time),
or for it (dat. coram.), served the purpose,
plan, of God — i. e. as an instrument for the
execution of his designs. (Comp. v. 22.)
Generation, if connected with the participle,
secures to it a personal object, and in that way
forms a much easier expression than purpose
with the participle. The main idea of the
clause is that David, like other men, had but
one generation of contemporaries — that he ac-
complished for that his allotted work, and then
yielded to the universal law which consigns the
race to death. Some join by the purpose, or
will, with fell asleep, which renders the re-
mark much less significant. — And he waf

160

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XIII.

37 But be, whom God raised again, saw no corrup-
tion.

38 if Be it known unto you therefore, men cmd breth-
ren, that "through this man is preached unto you the
forgiveness of sins :

Sy And 'by him all that believe are Justified from all
things, from which ye could uot be justified by the law
of Moses.

40 Reware therefore, lest that come upon you, which
is spoken of in the prophets:

41 Itehold, ve despisers, and wonder, and perish : for
I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in
no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.

37 laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption : but he

38 whom (jod raised up saw no corruption. Be it
known unto you therefore, brethren, that through
this man is proclaimed unto you remission of sins:

39 and by him every one that believeth is iustified
from all things, from which ye could uot be justl-

40fied by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest
that come upon yov, which is spoken in the
prophets ;
41 Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and 'perish ;
For 1 work a work in vour days,
A work which ye shall in no wise believe, if one
declare it unto you.

• J«r.Sl:S4: D>a.9:M; Lake M:4Ti 1 John 3 : 13....» I«a. 6S : 11; Rom. 3:38; 8:3; Heb. T : U....e lis. 3»: U; Hab. 1 : S.

1 Or, iMutUk atoag

added unto his fathers. This expression
recognizes the existence of the soul in a future
state (Bng., Olsh., Doddr.). Gesenius says that
it is distinguished expressly both from death
and burial in Gen. 25 : 8 ; 35 : 29 ; 2 Kings 22 :
20. (See Lex., s. dsaph.) — Saw corrnptioBy as
to his mortal part. (Comp. 2 : 31.)

38. Therefore (oSv), illative. Jesus has
been shown to be the Messiah, and he is,
therefore* the Author of pardon and salva-
tion to those who believe on him. — Through
this one belongs to forgiveness rather than
the verb: through this one the forgiveness
of sins (having been procured) is announced
unto you. (Comp. 10 : 36; Luke 24 : 47.)
The next verse reaffirms and amplifies the prop-
dsition.

39. The sentence here depends still on that
(on, T. 38;. A comma is the proper point be-
tween this verse and the last. The apostle de-
clares now — first, that the forgiveness which
Christ has procured is not partial, but extends
to all the sins of the transgressor; secondly,
that all men need it, since no other way of
pardon remains for those who are condemned
by the law ; and thirdly, since faith in Christ is
the only condition annexed to it, this salvation
is free to all. — And that from all things —
t. e. sins — from which (= o<>' S>v by attraction)
ye were not ahle by the law of Moses to
be Justified, etc. We cannot suppose this to
mean, according to a possible sense of the words,
tnat the gospel merely completes a justification
which the law has commenced or accomplished
in part; for such an admission would be at
variance with the doctrine of the New Testa-
ment in r^ard to the utter inefflcacy of all
It^l obedience to cancel the guilt of trans-
gression, and the necessity of an exclusive re-
.lance on the work of Christ for our justifica-
tion. We must adopt a different view of the
meaning. As Olshausen suggests, we may re-
gard from which, after from all, not as a
supplementary clause, but as explanatory of
the uuie>, or coextensive with it— viz. yrom cJi

sins from which (t. e.from all which sins) ye were
unable, etc. In other words, the first clause
affirms the sufficiency of the gospel to justify
from all sins, while the second clause affirms
the insufficiency of the law to the same extent
— i. e. to justify from any sins. (Comp. Rom.
8 : 3, sq.) To represent this meaning to the
ear, we should read from all with an empha-
sis, and from which ye could not be jus>
tified, etc., as parenthetic. Neander {Pflanzung,
i. p. 195) declares himself strongly for this
sense of the words. Alford's comment (similar
to Meyer's) represents a different view : " Christ
shall do for you all that the law could not do,
leaving it for inference or for further teaching
that this was absolutely cM — that the law could
do nothing.^' According to some, the apostle
concedes a certain value to the rites of Juda-
ism : they were the appointed means of obtain'
ing the pardon of offences which concerned the
ritual merely and social or public relations.
(See Lange's Geschichte der Kirche, ii. p. 171.)
This explanation rests on a false view of the na-
ture of the Hebrew rites. As in, or by, this
one stands opposed to in, or by, the law, it
belongs to is justified, not to believeth.

40. Beware, therefore, since ye are thus
guilty and exposed. — Lest that spoken, etc.,
lest the declaration be fulfilled, verified in your
case. The mode of citing the prophecy shows
that the apostle did not regard it as spoken in
view of that occasion. — In the prophets — i. e.
the part of the Old Testament which the Jews
so named. (Comp. v. 15 ; 7 : 42 ; John 6 : 45.
See W. § 27. 2.) The passage intended is Hab.
1 :5.

41. The citation follows very nearly the
Septuagint, and agrees essentially with the
Hebrew. In the original passage the prophet
refers to a threatened invasion of the Jewish
nation by the Chaldeans, and he calls upon his
countrymen to behold the judgment to which
their sins had exposed them, and to be aston-
ished, to tremble, on account of it. Of this
language the apostle avails himself in order to

Ch. XIIL]

THE ACTS.

161

42 And when the Jews were gone out of the syna-
gogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might
be preached to them tlie next sabbath.

43 Now when the congregation was broken up, many
of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and
Barnabas : who, speaking to them, 'persuaded them to
continue in ^the grace of God.

44 ^ And the next sabbath day came almost the
whole city together to hear the word of God.

42 And as they went out, they besought that these
words might be spoken to them the next sabbath.

43 Now when the synagogue broke up, many of the
Jews and of the devout proselytes followed Paul
and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, urged them
to continue in the grace of God.

44 And the next sabbath almost the whole city was

aoh.U:2S; U:n....» Tit. 1:11; Heb.U:U; lPat.5:U.

warn the Jews whom he addressed of the pun-
ishment which awaited them if they rejected
the message which they had now heard. Cal-
vin: "Paulus fideUter accommodat in usum
suum prophetae verba, quia sicuti semel mina-
tus fuerat Deus per prophetam suum Habacuc,
ita etiam semper fuit sui similis" ["Paul ac-
commodates legitimately to his own use the
words of the prophet ; for as at a former time
God had threatened through his prophet, so he
was always like himself"]. — Ye despisers
occura in the Septuagint, but not in the He-
brew. The apostle could retain it in perfect
consonance with the original, because it is the
incredulity of the wicked, their contempt of
God's threatenings, which occasions their ruin.
What suggested the word to the Seventy is un-
certain. It is thought that they may have read
bogSdhem, deceitful* proudly impious, instead
of baggoyem, among the heathen. — And
wonder* be astonished — i. e. at the fearful
certain destruction which God prepares for his
enemies. The spectacle to which the prophet
directs attention here is that of the Chaldeans
mustering their hosts to march against the
guilty Jews. — And perish, unable to escape
the punishment which their sins have pro-
voked. This word elicits an idea which the
Hebrew text involves, though it is not ex-
pressed here. Paul has retained it from the
Septuagint. — A work of judgment I work,
execute. The future act is represented as pres-
ent, because it was near. — The second work
Paul inserts for the sake of emphasis. The
copies which omit it were corrected, probably,
after the Septuagint. — Which ye will not
believe, though any one should fully
declare it to you — i. e. although apprised
ever so distinctly of their danger, they would
not heed it ; they are infatuated, they cling to
their delusive hopes of safety. The New Tes-
tament, like most of the later Greek, employs
often the subjunctive aorist in the sense of the
indicative future. (W. g 56. 3 ; Lob., Pknjn.,
p. 723, tq.) 5, at the head of the clause, is a
better reading than ^. That the dative, how-
ever, is not a false construction, see Rom. 10 : 16.
11

42-49. THEY PREACH A SECOND TIME
AT ANTIOCH.

42. The best editions insert they in place of
the Jews from the synagogue in the com-
mon text, and omit the Gentiles before be-
sought. They must refer to Paul and Bar-
nabas. [The words are rendered by Alford,
Davidson, Bible Union: And as they (Paul
and Barnabas) were going out, they (the peo-
ple) besought,etc.— A.H.] The phrase translat-
ed the next Sabbath {tU t6 fierofu <ra00aTov) cor-
responds evidently to the next Sabbath (ry
ixoy.ivi^ aafiParif) in V. 44, and means upon (lit.
unto, as the limit) the next Sabbath (Neand.,
Mey., De Wet.) ; not during the intermedi-
ate week, as explained by some of the older
critics. ixtTofv has this sense in the N. T. here
only, but belongs to the later Greek. That tlie
apostles were not inactive during the interval,
but labored in private circles, may be taken for
granted.

43. When the synagogue was broken
up seems, at first view, superfluous after as
they went out. The procedure, says Neander,
may have been this: As Paul and Barnabas
were going out before the general dispersion of
the assembly, the rulers of the synagogue may
have requested that they would repeat their
discourse on the next Sabbath. The people
having then withdrawn, many of the Jews
and proselytes followed the speakers, for the
purpose of declaring their assent to what they
had heard or of seeking further instruction. —
Worshipping— t. e. God— not devout (E. V.)
above others, but simply worshippers of Jeho-
vah (see 16 : 14), and not of idols, as formerly.
— The grace of God — i. e. the gospel, which
is the fruit of his undeserved favor.

44. Almost the entire city assembled.
Where, is not stated. Paul and Barnabas on
that Sabbath may have spoken to different
audiences. If they both repaired to the same
synagogue, the crowd must have filled not only
the synagogue itself, but every avenue to it.
(Comp. Mark 2 : 2, sq. ; Luke 8 : 19.) The
hearers on this occasion were Gentiles as well
as Jews.

162

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XIII.

45 But wlien the Jews saw the multitudes, they were
filled with eiivy, und 'spalce agaiust those things
which were spoken by I'aul, contradicting and blas-
pheming.

46 Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said,
*It was necessary that the word of CJod should first
have been spoken to you : but "seeing ye put it from
jrou, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting
life, lo, ''we turn to the Gentiles.

47 For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, •!
have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou
8hould.st be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they were
glad, and glorified the word of the Lord: /and as
many as were ordained to eternal life believed.

45 gathered together to hear the word of iGod. But
when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled
with jealousy, and cuntrudicted the things which

46 were spoken by Paul, and -bla.splicined. And Paul
and Barnabas spake out boldly, and said, It was
necessary that the word of (iod should first be spo-
ken to you. iSeeing ye thrust it from you, and juage
yourselves unworthy of eternal life, lo, we turn to

47 the Gentiles. For so hath the Lord commanded us,
saying,

I have set thee for a light of the Gentiles,
That thou shouldest be for salvation unto the
uttermost part of the earth.

48 And as the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and
glorified the word of 'God : and as many as were or-

• eh. 18:6: 1 Pet. 4:4; Jude 10 b Matt. 10 : 6 ; oh. 3:26; Ter. M ; Rom. 1 : 16 c Kz. 32 : 10 ; Deat. 32 : 21 ; lu. 66 : 5 ; Mstt.

21 : 43; Etom. 10 ; 19 d ch. 18:6; 28 : 28....e Iia. 42 : 6; 49:6; Luke 2 : 32 /oh. 2 : 47. 1 Man; ancient authorities read the

Lard....iOT,raa*d.

45. With indignation, as in v. 17. — Con-
tradicting is neither superfluous nor Hebra-
istic, but, like the participle united with its finite
verb in the classics, emphasizes spake against
(Mey.) : not only contradicting, but bias-
pheming. The second participle defines the
extent or criminality of the act stated by the
first. (W. H6- 8.)

46. Unto you it was necessary, because
the plan of God required it. (Comp. on 3 : 26.)
First, first in time, as in 3 : 26. — And ye judge
yourselves not worthy of the eternal life
— viz. which we preach. (See on 5 : 20.) This
mode of speaking is not common ; it rests on
the just view that a man's actions may be
taken as his own self-pronounced verdict as to
hischaiacterand deserts. — Unto the heathen.
In that place. In like manner, the Jews whom
they left to their doom were those at Antioch.
They did not turn from the Jewish nation, as
such, to labor in future for the exclusive benefit
of the Gentiles. (See 18 : 5, sq. ; 19 : 8, sq.)

47. So, as they had done. — I have set thee,
etc. See Isa. 49 : 6. The prophet announces
there that the Messiah whom God promised to
send would be the Saviour of the Gentiles as
well as the Jews ; that all nations would be
called to share in the blessings of his kingdom.
The passage is quoted to show that in turning
now to the heathen they were merely carrj'ing
cut the plan of (rod as revealed in the Old Testa-
ment (see also Isa. 11 : 1, 10 ; Rom. 9 : 25, sq.) ;
the announcement of his purpose in regard to
the unrestricted design of the gospel required
them, as his messengers, to publish it to the
Gentiles.

48. They glorified, extolled, the word of

message as well as rejoiced to hear it. — And as
many as were appointed unto eternal
life believed. This is the only translation
which the philology of the passage allows. So
Calvin, I'uinoel, Olshausen, Usteri,^ De Wette,
Winer, Meyer, and others. In this position the
demonstrative part of 6aot {those who) must be
the subject of the first verb, and the relative
part the subject of the second. Hence, it is
impossible to render those who believed were ap-
pointed. Some translate the Greek participle
{rtrayyiivoi.) disposed, inclined ; but this term as
passive, though it may signify disposed exter-
nally— as, e. g., drawn up in military order — was
not used to denote an act of the mind. In 20 •
13 the form is middle with an accusative vir-
tually (see note there), and in 1 Cor. 16 : 15 the
form is active with an accusative ; those cases,
therefore, so unlike this, are not to be cited
here. Mr. Humphry, after Whitby and others,
defends still that signification, and appeals for
proof of it to 2 Mace. 6 : 21. The Greek there,
however, does not mean " those who were set
or bent on mercy" (Hmph.), but "those ap-
pointed for the distribution of unlawful flesh,"
(See Wahl's Clav. Libr. Vet. Apocrph., and Biells
Lex. in LXX., s. <rirXayx>'«»'M-o«-) The use of
T€TaYfi«Voi in that passage not only fails to sup-
jMjrt the alleged meaning, but confirms the
other. Unto eternal life is not to be torn
from its connection and joined to believed.
In what sense men are appointed by God (comp.
Rom. 13 : 1) unto eternal life is not taught very
distinctly here, but must be gathered from a
comparison with other passages. (For exam-
ple, see Rom. 8 : 28, sq.; 9:11; Eph. 1 : 4, 11 ;
2 Thess. 2 : 13 ; 2 Tim. 1 : 9 ; 1 Pet. 1 : 2.) The

the Lord. They expressed their joy and grat- ; explanations of this text which have been op-
itude for the mercy which had embraced them posed to the foregoing are forced and unsatis-
in the plan of salvation, and had given them I factorj'. Dr. Wordsworth (to give a favorable
this opportunity to secure its benefit*. We see specimen) expounds it thus : Those who had
from the next clause that they received the set, or marshalled, themselves to go forward in
• EiUxeickelung (ff.^ PauliniteAen Lehrbegriffes, p. 271 (1851).

Ch. XIV.]

THE ACTS.

163

49 And the word of the Lord was published through-
out all the region.

50 But the Jews stirred up the devout and honorable
women, and the chief men of the city, and "raised
persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled
them out of their coasts.

61 *But they shook off the dust of their feet against
them, and came unto Iconium.

52 And the disciples 'were tilled with Joy, and with
the Holy Ghost.

49 dained to eternal life believed. And the word of the
Lord was spread abroad throughout all the region.

50 But the Jews urged on the devout women of honor-
able estate, and the chief men of the city, and stirred
up a persecution against I'aul and Barnabas, and cast

51 them out of their borders. But they shook off the
dust of their feet against them, and came unto Ico-

62 nium. And the disciples were filled with joy and
with the Holy Spirit

CHAPTEE XIV.

AND it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both
together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so
spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and
also of the Greeks believed.
2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles,

1 AxD it came to pass in Iconium, that they entered
together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake,
that a great multitude both of Jews and of Greeks be-

2 lieved. But the Jews that were disobedieut stirred

a2Tlm.S :!!....& Matt. 10: U; Hark 6: 11; Lake»:6; oh. 18 : 6.... e Matt. S: 12; John 16: 22; eh. 2: 46.

the way to eternal life professed their faith
boldly in the face of every danger.

49. And the word of the Lord was
conveyed through all the region — i. e. in

the vicinity of Antioch. This rapid extension
of the gospel we must attribute, in some meas-
ture, to the zeal of the recent converts. Paul
and Barnabas also may have visited personal-
ly some of the nearest places ; for Luke may
have passed over an interval between this verse
and the next, during which the missionaries
could have made such excursions.

50-52. THEY ARE PERSECUTED, AND
DEPART TO ICONIUM.

50. The devout women. They were Gen-
tile women who had embraced Judaism (see
17 : 4), and could be easily excited against a
sect represented as hostile to their faith. At
Damascus, as Josephus states {BeU. Jud., 2. 20.
20), a majority of the married women were
proselytes. Honorable refers to their rank
(it : 12; Mark 15 : 43) as the wivcs of the first Toen of
the city. It was the object of the crafty Jews to
gain the men through the influence of the
women, and thus effect the expulsion of the
apostles from the city. Paul alludes to this
persecution in 2 Tim. 3 : 11.

51. Against them =for a testimony against
them, in Luke 9 : 5. Shaking off the dust of
the feet imported disapprobation and rejection.
The act derived its significancy from the idea
that those renounced in this way were so un-
worthy that the very dust of their land was de-
filing. In taking this course Paul followed the
direction of Christ given in Matt. 10 : 14.—
Iconium, to which they came next, was about
forty -five miles south-east from Antioch. It
was the principal city of Lycaonia, situated at
the foot of the Taurus. Its present name is
Konieh. Leake, who approached Iconium from
the mountains which separate Antioch from
Philomelium, says ( Travels in Asia Minor, p. 45) :

" On the descent from a ridge branching east-
ward from these mountains, we came in sight
of the vast plain around Konieh, and of the
lake which occupies the middle of it; and we
saw the city, with its mosques and ancient
walls, still at the distance of twelve or fourteen
miles from us." " Konieh," says another trav-
eller, " extends to the east and south over the
plain far beyond the walls, which are about two
miles in circumference. Mountains covered
with snow rise on every side, excepting toward
the east, where a plain as flat as the Desert of
Arabia extends far beyond the reach of the
eye."

52. The disciples— t. e. at Antioch, where
the persecution still continued. (See 14 : 22.)—
Were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
The relation is that of effect and author. (See
Gal. 5 : 20.) The idea suggested is that, though
they were called to suffer as adherents of the
new faith, they had sources of consolation
opened to them which more than counter-
balanced their tnaJs.

1-7. THEY PREACH AT ICONIUM, BUT
ARE PERSECUTED, AND FLEE TO LYS-
TRA.

1. Together {Kara rh ovTO — like iiri li avrd in

3:1), not in the same manner, as they were
wont. — And they spake so — viz. with this effect
— that («<JT€) a great multitude, etc. (Mey., De
Wet.) ; not unth such power that. So antici-
pates the next clause, and makes it more
prominent. (B. § 140. 4.)— Greeks. As the
Greeks here were present in the synagogue,
they appear to have been proselytes (comp.
13 : 43), and hence were a different class from
those in 13 : 20.

2. But tliose who disbelieved — viz. when the
others believed. The present participle (o»t»-

164

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XIV.

and made their minds evil affected against the breth-
ren.

;{ Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in
the Lord, 'which gave testimony unto the word of his
grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by
their hands.

4 But the multitude of the city was divided : and
part held with the Jews, and part with the 'apostles.

6 And when there was an assault made both of the
Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, «to use
them despitefully, and to stone them,

6 Tliey were ware of il, and ''fled unto Lystra and
Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth
round about:

up the souls of the Gentiles, and made them evil af-

Sfected against the brethren. Long time therefore

they tarried Ifwre speaking boldly in the Lord, who

bare witness unto the word of his grace, granting

4 signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But
the multitude of the city was divided ; and part held

5 with the Jews, and part with the apostles. And
when there was made an onset both of the (ientiles
and of the Jews with their rulers, to entreat them

6 shamefully, and to stone them, they became aware
of it, and tied unto the cities of Lycaonia, Lystra

a Hark 16 : 20; Heb. 2 : 4....&oh. 13 : 3.. ..c 3 Tim. 3 : ll....<i Matt. 10 : 23.

^vyrtt, as in some editions) is less correct than
the aorist. — Rendered evil, hostile. This sense
is found in Josephus, but not elsewhere (Mey.).
How the Jews produced this effect on the minds
of the heathen we are not told. They some-
times alleged for that purpose that the Chris-
tians were disloyal — that they had a King of
their own, and would prove dangerous to the
Roman supremacy. (See 18 : 5-9.)

3. Therefore — i. e. because they had so
much success (see v. 1), notwithstanding the
opposition excited against them. Meyer re-
gards the third and fourth verses as an infer-
ence from the first and second : " In conse-
quence of that approbation (». i) and this
hostility (v. 2) they preached boldly indeed for
a time, but a dissension also arose among the
people." — Long time. The entire journey
was evidently a rapid one, and a stay here of
a few months would be comparatively a long
time. This is our only notice respecting the
time spent at the places visited on this tour. —
Speaking boldly upon the Lord — i. e. in
dependence upon him. It was their reliance
on Christ that inspired them with so much
courage. — The best authorities omit and be-
tween gave testimony and granted : who
testifies by granting that, etc. (Comp. 4 :
30.)

4. The multitude of the city— i. e. the
Gentile population. Some of them may have
favored the Christian party, without having at-
tached themselves to it. (Comp. 19 : 31). —
Were with the Jews — i. c. in sympathy es-
poused their side. (See 5 : 17.) [Here, and in
v. 14, Barnabas appears to be called an apostle
in the highest sense of tlie word as applied to
men. The same title is supposed to be given to
Timothy and Silvanus in 1 Thess. 2 : 6, and,
possibly, to Andronicus and Junias in Rom.
16 : 7. But the words who all are of note among
the apostles, in the last passage, probably mean
who are highly esteemed in and by the apos-
tolic circle. In the other instances it will be
observed that no one of these companions of

Paul is anywhere called an apostle when spoken
of alone. Only as associated with Paul, and pos-
sibly then for brevity's sake, is the designation
given to them. Certainly they are not to be
regarded as apostles in the highest official sense,
as are the twelve and Paul. — A. H.]

5. Assault, rather impulse, as in James
3 : 4 (Mey., Alf ) ; not onset [though this
is given in the Revised Version], because
having become aware (v. 6) would then
be superfluous, and because the object of
the flight was to escape an attack. Plot,
purpose, is too strong a sense of the word.
— With their rulers — i. e. those of both
nations ; viz. the heathen magistrates and the
officers of the synagogue. Some restrict their
to the Gentiles ; others, to the Jews. Here, at
this distance from Jerusalem, members of the
Sanhedrim could not well be meant (Rob.).

6. Having become aware — viz. of this
feeling. Meyer lays no stress at present on the
preposition, as if they discovered the danger as
well as others. — In order to stone them.
*' Once was I stoned," says Paul in 2 Cor. 11 :
25, which was the instance mentioned in v. 19.
Hence, says Paley, " had this meditated assault
at Iconium been completed; had the history
related that a stone was thrown, as it relates
that preparations were made both by Jews and
Gentiles to stone Paul and his companions ; or
even had the account of this transaction stopped
without going on to inform us that Paul and
his companions were ' aware of the danger and
fled,' — a contradiction between the history and
the Epistles would have ensued. Truth is ne-
cessarily consistent, but it is scarcely possible
that independent accounts, not having truth to
guide them, should thus advance to the very
brink of contradiction without falling into it."
—Lycaonia. The district of Lycaonia ex-
tends from the ridges of Mount Taurus and the
borders of Cilicia, on the south, to the Cappa-
docian hills, on the north. " It is a bare and
dreary region, unwatered by streams, though
in parts liable to occasional inundations. Across

Ch. XIV.]

THE ACTS.

165

7 And there thej preached the gospel.

8 f "And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent
in his feet, being a cripple from his motlier's womb,
who never had walked:

9 The same heard Paul speak : who steadfastly be-
holding him, and 'perceiving that he bad faith to be
healed,

7 and Derbe, and the region round about : and there
they preached the gospel.

8 And at Lystra there sat a certain man, impotent
in his feet, a cripple from his mother's womb, who

9 never had walked. The same heard Paul speaking:
who, fastening his eyes upon him, and seeing that

a«b. S : 2.. ..6 Matt. 8 : 10; 9 : 28, 2».

some portion of this plain Paul and Barnabas
travelled both before and after their residence
in Iconium. After leaving the city the two
most prominent objects still in view are the
snowy mountains of Mount Argaeus, rising high
above all the intervening hills in the direction
of Armenia, and the singular mass called the
' Kara-Dagh,' or ' Black Mount,' south-east-
ward, in the direction of Cilicia. This latter
mountain is gradually approached, and dis-
covered to be an isolated mass, with reaches
of the plain extending round it like channels
of the sea" (Conybeare and Howson, i. p.
224). — Lystra and Derbe were not far from
the base of the Black Mountain. Their exact
situation is not yet certainly known. Lystra is
marked on Kiepert's map as nearly south of
Iconium, about twenty miles distant ; Derbe, as
nearly east from Lystra, south-east from Iconi-
um. Kiepert appears to have followed Leake's
conjecture as to the site of Lystra, though no
traveller speaks of any ruins at that place. Mr.
Hamilton agrees with Kiepert in the position
of Derbe, because it occurs on the line of a
Roman road, and Divle, the modem name,
resembles the ancient one. Leake, on the con-
trary, would place Derbe (not quite so far to
the east) at Bin-bir-Kilesseh, a Turkish town,
where some remarkable ruins have been found
— among the rest, those of numerous churches.
Others, again, think that these ruins mark the
site of Lystra. since they correspond better with
the early ecclesiastical reputation of this city
than that of Derbe. — The region about desig-
nates the country in the vicinity of the places
just named. A few critics have proposed to
extend the term so as to include even Galatia,
and would thus assign an earlier origin to the
churches in that country than it is usual to as-
sign to them. " But the region about (ntpixiopov)"
says Neander, " cannot denote an entire prov-
ince ; and still less the province of Galatia, on
account of its geographical situation. Hence,
the supposition that Paul preached the gospel
to the Galatians on this first missionary-tour
is certainly to be rejected." (See the note on
16 : 6.)

7. And there — viz. in those cities and the
adjacent region. — Were pablishing glad

tidings implies that they pursued their la-
bors here for some time.

8-13. PAUL HEALS A LAME MAN AT
LYSTRA.

8. At Lystra (iv Av<rrpots), neuter plural, as
in 2 Tim. 3 : 11, but feminine singular in vv.
6, 21 ; 16 : 1,— Sat (Mey., De Wet.), because
he was lame and had never walked; others,
dwelt (Kuin., Rob.), which is Hebraistic, and
rare in the New Testament. — Had walked
(nepineraTyjKti). Some editors write this pluper-
fect with an augment; others more correctly
omit it. (W. § 12. 9; K. § 120. R. 2.)

9. Was hearing, while Paul preached.
The Jews at this place were probably few, as
no synagogue appears to have existed here.
Hence the missionaries repaired to the market
or some other place of public resort (comp.
17 : 17), and there entered into conversation
with such as they could induce to listen to
them. The scene reminds us of the manner
in which those who carry the same message of
salvation to the heathen at the present day
collect around them groups of listeners in Bur-
mah or Hindostan. It was on one of these
occasions, as Paul was preaching in some thor-
oughfare of the city, that the lame man heard
him ; his friends, perhaps, had placed him there
to solicit alms. (See 3 : 10 ; John 9 : 8.)— Who
looking intently upon him and seeing —
viz. from the expression of his countenance,
which Paul scrutinized with such rigor. The
manner in which the participles follow each
other directs us to this sense. Some think that
the apostle may have had at the moment a
supernatural insight into the state of the man's
heart. The language of the text contains no
intimation of that nature.— The faith of
being healed. The infinitive depends on
the noun as a genitive constniction. (CJomp.
Luke 1 : 57. See W. ? 44. 4.) The faith so de-
scribed may be faith that the Saviour whom
Paul preached was able to heal him, or, which
accords better with the mode of expression,
faith such as made it proper that he should
receive that benefit. (See on 9 : 33.) The req-
uisite degree of faith would include, of course,
a persuasion of Christ's ability to bestow tlia
favor in question. Paul may have been refer-

166

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XIV.

10 Said with a loud voice, •Stand upright on thy feet.
And he leaped and walked.

11 And when the people saw what Paul had done,
they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of
Lycaonia, ^Tbe gods are couie down to us in the like-
ness of men.

12 And they called Barnabas, Jupiter ; and Paul,
Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.

13 Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their
city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gr.tes, 'and
would have done sacrifice with the people.

10 he had faith to be made whole, said with a loud
voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped up

Hand walked. And when the multitudes saw what
I'aul had done, they lifted up their voice, saying in
the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to

12 us in the likeness of men. And they called Bar-
nabas, Uupiter; and Paul, ^Mercury, because he

13 was the chief speaker. And the priest of »Jupiter
whose temple was before the city, brought oxen and
garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacri-

a Iw. 36 : 6....6 oh. 8 : 10; S8 : 6....e Dan. 3 : M.-

-I Or. Znu. . . .2 Or. Bermt*.

ring in his remarks to the Saviour's miracles
of healing, in illustration of his readiness and
power to bless those who confide in him.

10. With a loud voice (inyaXj) rj <t»>>vlj).
The article designates the voice as that of Paul
(see V. 11 ; 26 . 24), while the adjective refers to
the tone with which he spoke. With the idea
that his voice was a powerful one, loud {ntyaXji)
would have stood between the article and noun,
or after the noun with the article (nj) repeated.
[The critical editors Lach., Tsch., Treg., West.
and Hort, omit the article as an addition to the
true text. — A. H.] — Stand upright, etc. Luke
makes no mention here of any direct appeal to
the name of Christ before the performance of
the miracle. (See on 3 : 6.) That omission may
be owing to the brevity of the record, or the
tenor of Paul's discourse may have been so ex-
plicit in regard to the source of his authority
as to render the usual invocation unnecessary.
— Leaped, sprung up, a single act. For this
aorist, see W. ^5 ; K. § 149. R. 2. The imper-
fect (^AAfTo) occurs in some copies, but ha.s no
adequate support. The next verb passes to the
imperfect, because it expresses a repeated act.

11. The multitudes. Their conduct shows
how imperfectly they had understood the ad-
dress of Paul and the object of the miracle.
They saw nothing beyond what was present
and palpable ; they confounded the instrument
of the work with its author. — What he had
done. (See on 1 : 2.) — In Lycaonic — i. e.
the native dialect of the province. Of the na-
ture of this dialect nothing is known with cer-
tainty. No relic of it remains, or at least has
been identified ; no description of it has been
banded down to us. Those who have exam-
ined the question differ in their conclusions.
According to one opinion, the Lycaonic was
allied to the Assyrian ; according to another, it
was a corrupt species of Greek.* We have no
reliable data for forming any opinion. Luke
mentions that the Lystrians spoke in their

native tongue that we may know why the
multitude proceeded so far in their design be-
fore Paul and Barnabas interposed to arrest it.
In conferring with the people they had used,
doubtless, the Greek, which formed at that
period an extensive medium of intercourse be-
tween those of different nations.

13. Jupiter, Mercury. They fixed upon
these gods because Jupiter had a temple there,
and Mercury, who appeared in the pagan
mythology as his attendant, excelled in elo-
quence. So Ovid, Met., 8. 626 :

"Jupiter hue specie mortali cumque parente
Venit Atlantiades positis caducifer alia." *

(See also Hor., Od., 1. 10. 1-5.) Some suggest,
as a further reason for such a distribution of
parts, that Barnabas may have been an older
man than Paul and more imposing in his per-
sonal appearance. (Comp. 2 Cor. 10 : 1, 10.) —
He who leads the discourse is the chief
speaker. (Comp. 14 : 12.)

13. The priest — i. e. the principal one, or
the one most active, at this time. The pagan
worship at Lystra must have required several
priests. — Of Jupiter who was before the
city — i. e. who had a statue and temple there
consecrated to him. The temple of the tute-
lary god stood often outside of the walls.—
Garlands, which were to adorn the victims,
and perhaps the priest and the altar (De Wet.).
(See Jahn's Archxol., g401. 5.) They had the
garlands in readiness, but had not yet placed
them on the heads of the animals. Some con-
strue bullocks and garlands as = bullocks
adorned with garlands (De Wet., Rob.).
With that idea the writer would have used
naturally that expression.— Unto the gates
of the city (Neand., Rob., Alf, Mey. in his
last ed.), since city precedes and the term is
plural (as consisting of parts or being double) ;
or, less probably, of the house where the apos-
tles lodged (Olsh., De Wet.).— Would sacri-

(See

> Jablonsky and GQhling, who wrote dissertations on the subject, arrived at the results stated above.
Win., Realir., ii. p. 37.)

* [" llither Jupiter came in human form, and with his parent came the caduceus-bearing grandson of Atlas
having laid aside his wings."]

Ch. xrv.]

THE ACTS.

167

14 Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul,
heard of, Hbey rent their clothes, and ran in among
the people, crying out,

15 And saying, Sirs, »why do ye these things ? "We
also are men of like passions with you, and preach
unto you that ye should turn from '*theae vanities
•unto the living God, /which made heaven, and earth,
and the sea, and all things that are therein :

IG 'Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in
their own ways.

17 ^Nevertheless he left not himself without wit-
ness, in that he did good, and 'gave us rain from heav-
en, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food
and gladness.

18 And with these sayings scarce restrained they

14 fice with the multitudes. But when the apostles,
Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they rent their gar-
ments, and sprang forth among the multitude, cry-

ISing out and saying. Sirs, why do ye these things?
We also are men of like 'passions with you, and
bring you good tidings, that ye should turn from
these vain things unto the living God, who made
the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that

16 in them is: who in the generations gone by suffered

17 all the nations to walk iu their own ways. And yet
he left not himself without witness, in that he did
good, and gave you from heaven rains and fruitful
seasons, filling your hearts with food and gladness.

18 And with these sayings scarce restrained they the
multitudes from doing sacrifice unto them.

a Matt. 28: 65.... teb. 10 : 26.... e Janus 6 : IT; Rer. 19:I0....d 18am. 12 : 21 ; 1 Kings 16 : IS; Jer. 14:22; Amos 2: 4; 1 Cor. 8:4....

«I Thess. l:B..../Oen. 1:1; Ps. 33:6; 146:6; Rev. 14 :7 gVs. 81 : 12; ch. 17 : 30; 1 Pet. 4:3 A oh. IT : 27; Bom. 1 : 20

< Lev. 26 : 4 ; Deut. 11 : 14 ; 28 : 12 ; Job 5 : 10 ; Ps. 65 : 10 ; 68 : 9 ; 147 : 8 ; Jer. 14 : 22 ; Uatt. 5 : 45. 1 Or, nature.

fice, but were disappointed (De Wet.), or was
about to sacrifice, since the verb used (i&iKu)
may denote an act on the point of being done.
(See Mt. §498. e ; C. §583.)

14-18. THE SPEECH OF PAUL TO THE
LYSTRIANS.

14. Having heard — i. e. a report of what
was taking place; brought to them, perhaps,
by some of the converts. — Having rent their
garments — i. e. according to the Jewish cus-
tom, from the neck in front down toward the
girdle. (See Jahn's Arcfiseol., § 211.) The Jews
and other nations performed this act not only
as an expression of sorrow, but of abhorrence on
hearing or seeing anything which they regard-
ed as impious. Garments may refer to the
plural subject of the verb, but more probably
to their outer and inner garments. (Comp.
Matt. 26 : 65.) — Sprang forth unto the
crowd — t. e. from the city, of which we think
most readily after city in v. 13, or from the
house, if the people had assembled in the street.
The preposition (eg) in the verb, therefore, does
not settle the question in regard to unto the
gates. The English translation, " ran in among
them," rests upon a now rejected reading.

15. And connects what is said with what
was in the mind : Ye are men, and we are
men like constituted with you. Passing
over the first clause, the speaker hastens at
once to the main thought. Of like passions
means that they had the same nature, passions,
infirmities. Declaring to you as glad tid-
ings— viz. that you should turn, etc. This
requisition that they should renounce their
idols is called glad tidings, because it was
founded on the fact that God had provided a
way in the gospel in which he could accept
their repentance. You {vniir) answers here to
the dative, as in 8 : 25. — From these vanities,
nonentities, such as Jupiter, Mercury, and the
like. These points back to those names.
Paul and Barnabas had heard in what light

the populace looked upon them. Vanities
(naToiiov) does not require gods. It is used
like Heb. hUbhalem, Ctvanem, which the Hebrews
applied to the gods of the heathen as having
no real existence. (Comp. 1 Cor. 8:4.) Kuinoel
renders the word vain practices, idolatry, which
destroys the evident opposition between the
term and the living God. — Who made, etc.
This relative clause unfolds the idea of living.

16. Left them, withdrew the restraints of
his grace and providence. (Comp. on 7 : 42 and
17 : 30.) In Rom. 1 : 23 the apostle brings to
view other connections of this fact. The rea-
son why God abandoned the heathen was that
they first abandoned him. — To walk (see on
9 : 31) in their own ways, dative of rule or
manner. Ways includes belief and conduct.

17. Although indeed he left himself
not without witness. The desertion on the
part of God was not such as to destroy the evi-
dence of their dependence on him, and their
consequent obligation to know and acknow-
ledge him. The apostle's object does not lead
him to press them with the full consequences
of this truth. It lies at the foundation of his
argument for proving the accountabilitj' of the
heathen, in Rom. 1 : 19, sq. (See also 17 : 27,
sq.) — Doing good, giving rain, filling, etc.,
are epex^etical of without witness, but the
second participle specifies a mo<ie of the first,
and the third a consequence of the second. —
You before from heaven is the correct read-
ing (Grsb., Lchm., Mey.), instead of the re-
ceived us. With food, including the idea of
the enjoyment afforded by such fruits of the
divine bounty. With that accessory idea, food
is not incongruous with hearts, and your
hearts is not a circumlocution for you (Kuin.).
(See W. § 22. 7.) The common text has our,
which appears in the English Version.

18. Did not sacrifice states the result of
restrained, not the object : they hardly re-
strained them that they did not sacrifice

168

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XIV.

the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto
them.

19 H "And there came thither certain Jews from An-
tioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, *and,
having stoned Paul, drew Aim out of the city, suppos-
ing he had been dead.

20 Howbeit, a» the disciples stood round about him,
he rose up, and came into the city : and the next day
he departed with Barnabas to Uerbe.

21 And when they had preached the gospel to that
city, 'and had taught many, the^ returned again to
Lyatra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,

19 But there came Jews thither from Antioch and
Iconium: and having persuaded the multitudes,
they stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the city,

20 supposing that he was dead. But as the disciples
stood round about him, he rose up, and entered into
the city : and on the morrow he went forth with

21 liaruabas to Derbe. And when they had preached
the gospel to that city, and had made many disci-
pies, they returned to Lystra, and to Iconium, and

aeh. 18 : ti....b 1 Cor. 11 : IS; 1 Tim. S : 11.. ..e Matt. 28 : 19.

to them. (See the note on 10 : 47.)— It is in-
teresting to compare this speech at Lystra with
the train of thought which Paul has developed
in Rom. 1 : 19, sq. It will be seen that the
germ of the argument there may be traced
distinctly here. The similarity is precisely such
as we should expect on the supposition that he
who wrote the Epistle delivered the speech.
The diversity in the different prominence
given to particular ideas is that which arises
from applying the same system of truth to
different occasions.

19-28. THEY PROCEED TO DERBE,
AND THEN RETRACE THEIR WAY TO
ANTIOCH IN SYRIA.

19. The Jews will be found, with two excep-
tions, to stir up every persecution which Paul
suffers. (See on 19 : 23.)— The crowds. They
were mo3*^ly heathen (see on v. 9), but that
some Jews resided at Lystra is evident from
16 : 1. — Having stoned Paul. Barnabas es-
capes, because his associate here and in the
other cities was the prominent man. The na-
ture of the outrage indicates that the Jews not
only originated this attack, but controlled the
mode of it. Stoning was a Jewish punishment.
In the present instance, it will be observed, they
had no scruple about shedding the blood of
their victim in the city. It was otherwise at
Jerusalem. (See on 7 : 58.) An incidental
variation like this attests the truth of the nar-
rative.— Supposing that he was dead inti-
mates a mere belief as opposed to the reality.
A slight accent on the first word brings this out
as the neces-sary meaning.

20. The disciples having surrounded
him. Here we learn incidentally that their
labors had not been ineffectual. Kuinoel de-
cides too much when he says that the di-^ciples
collected around Paul in order to bury him ; it
may have been to lament over him or to ascer-
tain whether he was really dead. In that sor-
rowing circle stood, probably, the youthful
Timothy, the apostle's destined associate in so
many future labors and perils. (See 16 : 1 ; 2
Tim. 3 : 11.) — He rose up, etc. After the ex-

pression in V. 19, we can hardly regard this as
an instance of actual restoration to life. If we
recognize anything as miraculous here, it would
be more justly the apostle's sudden recovery
after such an outrage, enabling him to return
at once to the city, and on the next day to re-
sume his jc'imey. Paul alludes to this stoning
in 2 Cor. 11 : 25. The wounds inflicted on him
at this time may have left some of those scars
on his body to which he alludes in Gal. 6 : 17
as proof that he was Christ's servant. — Unto
Derbe. (See on v. 6.) A few hours would be
sufficient for the journey hither. We have now
reached the eastern limit of the present expe-
dition.

21. Having made many disciples (iiatt.
M : 19), as the result of the preaching mentioned
in the other clause. One of the converts was
probably Gains, who is called a Derbean in 20 : 4.
Their labors in this city appear to have been un-
attended by any open opposition. Hence, in 2
Tim. 3 : 11, Paul omits Derbe from the list of
places associated in the mind of Timothy
with the "persecutions, afflictions," which the
apostle had been called to endure. Paley re-
fers to that omission as a striking instance
of conformity between the Epistle and the
Acts : " In the apostolic history Lystra and
Derbe are commonly mentioned together ; in 2
Tim. 3 : 11, Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, are
mentioned, and not Derbe. And the distinc-
tion will appear on this occasion to be accu-
rate ; for Paul in that passage is enumerating
his persecutions, and, although he underwent
grievous persecutions in each of the three cit-
ies through which he passed to Derbe, at Derbe
itself he met with none. The Epistle, therefore,
in the names of the cities, in the order in which
they are enumerated, and in the place at which
the enumeration stops, corresponds exactly with
the history. Nor is there any just reason for
thinking the agreement to be artificial ; for had
the writer of the Epistle sought a coincidence
with thehistorj' upon this head, and searched the
Acts of the Apostles for the purpose, I conceive
he would have sent us at once to Philippi and

Ch. XIV.]

THE ACTS.

169

22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and «ex- I 22 to Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples,

horting them to continue in the faith, and that »we
must tnrough much tribulation enter into the king-
dom of God.
23 And when they had 'ordained them elders in

exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that
tlirough many tribulations we must eiiier into the
231cingdom of Uod. And when they bad appointed

aoh. 11:3S; U : 4S....6 Uatt. 10 : 8S; 16:2«; Luke 22: 28, 39; Bom. 8: IT; STliiL 2:11,12; S: ll....eTiU 1 : 5.

Thessalonica, where Paul suffered persecution,
and where, from what is stated, it may easily be
gathered that Timothy accompanied him, rather
than have appealed to persecutions as known to
Timothy, in the account of which persecutions
Timothy's presence is not mentioned, it not be-
ing till after one entire chapter, and in the his-
tory of a journey three or four years subsequent
to this (16 :i), that Timothy's name occurs in
the Acts of the Apostles for the first time." —
Turned back. Advancing still eastward from
this point, they would soon have reached the
well-known " Cilician Gates," through which
they could have descended easily to Cilicia, and
then have embarkel from Tarsus for Antioch.
They had the choice, therefore, of a nearer way
to Syria ; but their solicitude for the welfare of
the newly-founded churches constrains them
to turn back and revisit the places where they
had preached.

22. Confirming the souls of the dis-
ciples, not by any outward rite, but by in-
struction and encouragement, as we see in the
next clause. (Comp. 15 : 32, 41; 18 : 23.)— To
adhere to the faith (see 6:7; 13 : 8) — i. e.
of Christ or the gospel. (Comp. 3 : 16 ; 20 : 21,
etc.) — That depends on exhorting, which at
this point of the sentence passes to the idea of
affirming, teaching. — Stl may mean it is neces-
sary, because such was the appointment of God
(»: 16; 1 Cor. 15:25), or bccause in the nature of
things it was inevitable. (Comp. 2 Tim. 3 : 12.)
The first is the more pertinent view, since it
suggests a more persuasive motive to submis-
sion and fidelity in the endurance of trials. —
We, who are Christians. (Comp. 1 Thess. 4 :
17.) — The kingdom of God — t. e. the state
of happinass, which awaits the redeemed in
heaven. The expression can have no other
meaning here, for those addressed were already
members of Christ's visible kingdom, and the
perseverance to wliich the apostle would incite
them has reference to a kingdom which they
are yet to enter.

23. Now having appointed for them
elders in every church. The verb used
here, to extend the hand (xtiporovtiv), signifies
properly to elect or vote by extending the
hand, but also, in a more general sense, to
choose, appoint, without reference to that for-

mality. That formality could not have been
observed in this instance, as but two individ-
uals performed the act in question. When the
verb retains the idea of stretching forth the
hand, the act is predicated always of the sub-
ject of the verb, not of those for whom the act
may be performed. Hence the interpretation
having appointed for them by their outstretdied
hands — i. e. by taking their opinion or vote in
that manner — is unwarranted ; for it transfers
the hands to the wrong persons. Whether
Paul and Barnabas appointed the presbyters
in this case by their own act solely, or ratified
a previous election of the churches made at
their suggestion, is disputed. If it be clear
from other sources that the primitive churches
elected their officers by general suffrage, the
verb here may be understood to denote a con-
current appointment, in accordance with that
practice ; but the burden of proof lies on those
who contend for such a modification of the
meaning. Neander's conclusion on this subject
should be stated here : " As regards the election
to church offices, we are in want of sufficient
information to enable us to decide how it was
managed in the early apostolic times. Indeed,
it is quite possible that the method of proced-
ure differed under different circumstances. As
in the institution of deacons the apostles left
the choice to the communities themselves, and
as the same was the case in the choice of dejiu-
ties to attend the apostles in the name of the
communities (2Cor. 8:19), we might argue that
a similar course would be pursued in filling
other offices of the church. Yet it may be
that in many cases the apostles themselves,
where they could not as yet have sufficient
confidence in the spirit of the first new com-
munities, conferred the important office of
presbyters on such as in their own judgment,
under the light of the Divine Spirit, appeared
to be the fittest persons. Their choice would,
moreover, deserve in the highest degree the
confidence of the communities (comp. 14 : 23 ;
Tit. 1 : 5), although, when Paul empowers
Titus to set presiding officers over the commu-
nities who possessed the requisite qualifications,
this circumstance decides nothing as to the
mode of choice, nor is a choice by the com-
munity itself thereby necessarily excluded. The

170

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XIV.

every church, and had prayed with fasting, they com-
manded them to the Lord, on whom they Mlieved.

'2i And after they liad pa^jsed throughout I'isidia,
they came to Pamphylia.

for them elders in every church, and had prayed

with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on

24 whom they had believed. And they passed through

r^ular course appears to have been this : The
church offices were entrusted to the first con-
verts in preference to otliers, provided that in
other respects they possessed the requisite quali-
fications. It may have been the general prac-
tice for the presbyters themselves, in case of a
vacancy, to propose another to the commimity
in place of the person deceased, and leave it to
the whole body either to approve or decline
their selection for reasons assigned. (Clem.,
cap. 44.) When asking for the assent of the
community had not yet become a mere fonnal-
ity, this mode of filling church offices had the
salutary effect of causing the votes of the ma-
jority to be guided by those capable of judg-
ing and of suppressing divisions ; while, at the
same time, no one was obtruded on the com-
munity who would not be welcome to their
hearts " ( Ch. Hist., Dr. Torrey's tr., vol. i. p. 189).
— Elders in every churcli. The term is
plural, because each church had its college of
elders (see 20 : 17 ; Tit. 1 : 5), not because there
was a church in each of the cities. The elders,
or presbyters, in the official sense of the term,
were those appointed in the first churches to
watch over their general discipline and welfare.
With reference to that duty, they were called,
also, overseers (ewtVicoiroc) — i. e. superintendents,
or bishops. The first was their Jewish appel-
lation, transferred to them, perhaps, from the
similar class of officers in the synagogues ; the
second was their foreign appellation, since the
Greeks employed it to designate such relations
among themselves. In accordance with this
distinction, we find the general rule to be this :
Those who are called elders in speaking of Jew-
ish communities are called bishops in speaking
of Gentile communities. Hence the latter term
is the prevailing one in Paul's Epistles. That
the names with this difference were entirely
synonymous appears from their interchange in
such passages as 20 : 17, 28 and Tit. 1 : 5, 7. It
may be argued, also, from the fact that in Phil.
1 : 1 and 1 Tim. 3 : 1, 8 the deacons are named
immediately after the bishops, which excludes
the idea of any intermediate order. Other ap-
pellations given to these officers were pastors,
leaders, presidents of the brethren. The presby-
ters, or bishops, were not, by virtue of their
office, teachers or preachers at the same time,
nor, on the other hand, were the two spheres
of labor incompatible with each other. We
see from 1 Tim. 5 : 17 that some of those who

exercised the general oversight preached also
the word. (Comp. also 1 Tim. 3 : 2.) The
foregoing representation exhibits the view of
Mosheim, Neander, Gieseler, Rothe, and others
eminent in such inquiries. [From 1 Tim 3 : 2
and Tit. 1 : 9 (comp. 1 Cor. 12 : 28, 30 ; Eph. 4 ;
11), it must be inferred that teojching was con-
sidered in the apostolic age a normal function
of the church officers called elders, bishops,
pastors, ete. For the first passage declares
that "the bishop must be . . . apt to teach,"
and the second that he must " hold the faithful
word, . . . that he may be able to exhort in
the healthril doctrine and convict the gainsay-
ers ;" while it is pretty evident that the Chris-
tian workers classified as "teachers" in 1 Cor.
12 : 28, 30, and as "pastors and teachers" in
Eph. 4 : 11, were identical in position with
those frequently denominated elders or bish-
ops. But against this view may be urged the
language of 1 Tim. 5 : 17 : " Let the elders that
rule" (preside) "well be counted worthy of
double honor, especially those who labor in
the word and in teaching," which has been
thought to distinguish between presiding and
teaching elders. Yet the word translated " labor "
means, literally, "to beat out one's self with
labor ;" and the apostle may intend to say that
such overseers as give themselves w'Ao%and ex-
haiistively to their ministry should receive more
honor (in the way, perhaps, of compensation)
than others. The passage scarcely proves that
any part of the elders did not preach at all.
Nor is this proved by the circumstance that in
many of the churches there were more bishops
than one ; for a college of bishops might easily
find enough preaching to do in a pagan city.
The only other church officers besides bishops
recognized in the New Testament appear to be
deacons, whose duties were probably of a partly
secular and partly spiritual character. They
often preached the gospel as evangelists. —
A. H.]— Having prayed belongs to the fol-
lowing verb, not to the subordinate clause
which precedes.— Them is defined by on
whom they had believed, and must refer
to the believers in general, not to the elders
merely.

24. Having passed through Pisidia.
Antioch was on the northern limit of Pisidia,
and hence they traversed that district from
north to south. Their journey was a descent
from the mountains to the plain.

Ch. XV.]

THE ACTS.

171

25 And when they had preached the word In Perga,
they went down into Attaiia:

2(i And thence sailed to Antioch, "from whence they
had been 'recommended to the grace of (jod for the
work which they fulfilled.

27 And when they were come, and had gathered the
church together 'they rehearsed all that God had done
with them, and how he bad ''opened the door of faith
unto the Gentiles.

2S And there they abode long time with the dis-
eiples.

25 Pisidia, and came to Pamphylia. And when they
had spoken the word in rerga, they went down to

26 Attaiia; and thence they sailed to Antioch, from
whence they had been committed to the grace of

27 God for the work which they had fulfilled. And
when they were come, and had gathered the church
together, they rehearsed all things that God had
done with them, and how that he had opened a

28 door of faith unto the (jcutiles. And they tarried
no little time with the disciples.

CHAPTER XV.

ND 'certain men which came down from Judaea
L taught the brethren, and said, /Except ye be cir-

1 AXD certain men came down from Judsea and
taught the brethren, saying, Except ye be circum-

aoh. 13:1, 3.... 6 oh. IS : 40... .e oh. 15:4,12; n.\9....d 1 Cor. 16:9; 2 Cor. 2 : 12; Col. 4 : 3; Ber. 3:8....«Oal. 2:12..
/ John T : 22; Tor. 5; Gal. 5:2; Phil. 3:2; Col. 2 : 8, 11, 16.

25. In Perga. They now preached in
Perga, as they appear not to have done on
their first visit. (See on 13 : 13.) Luke's si-
lence as to the result may intimate that they
were favored with no marked success. — To
Attaiia. Instead of taking ship at Perga and
sailing down the Oestrus, which they had as-
cended on their outward journey, they travelled i
across the plain to Attaleia, a seaport on the
Pamphylian Gulf, near the mouth of the Ca- i
tarrhactes. The distance between the two places |
was about sixteen miles. (See on 13 : 13.) The j
founder of Attaleia was Attains Philadelphus, !
King of Pergamus. It occupied the site of the j
modem Satalia, which Admiral Beaufort de- '
scribes " as beautifully situated round a small \
harbor, the streets api^earing to rise behind each {
other like the seats oif a theatre, . . . with a dou- |
ble wall and a series of square towers on the |
level summit of the hill." (See a view of the |
town in Lewin's Life and Ep. of St. Paul.) j

26. Sailed away unto Antioch, though i
they may have disembarked at Seleucia, as the
town and its port are one in such designations, i
(Comp. 20 : 6.) — From whence, etc. stands in !
sensu prsegnanti for whence, having been i
committed to the favor of God, they were
sent forth. (See 13 : 3. W. § 54. 7.)— For
the work (telic), for its performance. j

27. How great things (on their journey)
God wrought with them — i. e. in their be-
half (i5 : 4; Luke 1 : 72) ; not by tJiem, whicli would
be «i' avTuv, as in 15 : 12. The phrase comes
from Heb. 'asah 'im. (Comp. Josh. 2 : 12 ; Ps.
119 : 65, etc.) According to Meyer, with them
is = being with them, allied with them,
which is less simple. — That he opened to
the Gentiles a door of faith — i. e. had given
them access to the gospel, participation in its
blessings, as well as to the Jews ; not that he
had opened to the apostles a door of access to
the heathen. This metaphor is a favorite one

with Paul (l Cor. 16 : 9; 2 Cor. 2 : 12; Col. 4 : 3), and may

have become familiar to Luke in his inter-
course with him (Alf.).

28. Abode, etc. It is necessary to inquire
here how long the apostle was probably absent
on the tour followed by this residence at An-
tioch. We must be content with a somewhat
vague answer to this question. The Apostolic
Council at Jerusalem was held in a. d. 50 {Ii>
trod., g 6. 3) ; and, as Paul departed on his first
mission in a. d. 45 (see on 13 : 3), we must
divide the interval from a. d. 45 to 50 between
his journey among the heathen and his subse-
quent abode at Antioch. The best authorities,
as Anger, Wieseler, Meyer, Winer, De Wette,
and others, agree in this result. How we are
to distribute the intermediate years is more un-
certain. It will be found that the apostle trav-
elled more extensively during his second mis-
sionary-tour than during the first ; and, as the
limitations of time in that part of the history
allow us to assign but three years, or three and
a half, to that excursion, we may consider two
years, perhaps, as sufficient for this journey.
This conclusion would place the return to An-
tioch near the close of a. d. 47, since the apostle
mu.st have set forth somewhat late in the year
A. D. 45. (Comp. the note on 12 : 25 with that
on 13 : 3.) Accordingly, the years a. d. 48 and
49 would be the period not brief (xpo"^*- ov«c
h\iyov) which Paul and Barnabas spent at An-
tioch between their return and the Council at
Jerusalem. While they resided in that citj',
for the most part, they would be able, both by
their own personal efforts and their supervision
of the efforts of others, to extend the gospel in
the regions around them.

1-5. PAUL AND BARNABAS ARE SENT
AS DELEGATES TO JERUSALEM.

1. From Judca — i. e. from Jerusalem in
Judea. (Comp. certain from us, in v. 24.) It
is barely possible that Luke may include the

172

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XV.

cumcised "after the manner of Moees, je cannot be
saved.

2 When therefore Paul and narnabos had no small
dissension and disputation with tbeni, they determined
that ^I'aul and iJurnabas, and certain other of them,
should go up to Jeruiialem unto the apostles and elders
about this question.

3 And 'being brouglit on their way bj; the church,
they pa^iscd through I'henice and t^amaria, ■'declaring
the conversion of the (ientiles: and they caused great
joy unto all the brethren.

4 And when they were come to Jerusalem, they were
received of the church, and cjf the apostles and ciders,
and they declared all things that God bad done with
them.

cised after the custom of Moses, ye cannot be saved.

2 And when Paul and P>arnaba8 had no small dissen-
sion and questioning with them, Ike brethren ap-
pointed that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other
of them, sliould go up to Jerusalem unto the apos-

3 ties and elders about this question. They there-
fore, being brought on their way by the church,
passed through bKith I'hcenicia and Samaria, declar-
ing the conversion of the Gentiles: and they caused

4 great joy unto all the brethren. And when they
were come to Jerusalem, they were received of the
church and the apostles and the elders, and they
rehearsed all things that God had done with them.

aO«n. 17:10; Lev. 12 :S....( OU. I: I....eBom. IS : 24; 1 Cor. 16: 6, II.. ..deb. U : 2T....e ver. 12; cb. 14:27; n : 19.

other churches in that country. We are not
to confound this party of Judaizers with those
in Gal. 2 : 12 who " came from James " {i. e. the
church over which he presided) and caused
Peter to dissemble his convictions from fear
of their censure. Tlie notice in the Epistle
refers to a different and later event. (See on
18:23.) — Were teaching. They had not
broached the error merely, but were inculcat-
ing it. — That unless ye are circumcised,
etc. This transition to the direct style gives
vividness to the narrative. — According to the
custom, law (tu i^i, see 6 : 14), dative of rule
or manner. — Ye cannot be saved. It was
this enforced submission to the rite as necessary
to salvation which made the error so fatally
pemicioui. (Comp. the note on 16 : 3.) The
doctrine in this form was nothing less than an
utter subversion of the scheme of Christianity.
It denied the sufficiency of faith in Christ as
the only condition of pardon and reconciUation.
It involved the feeling that circumcision was an
act of merit, and that those who submitted to it
acquired a virtual right to the divine favor. In
a word, it substituted the law of works for the
gratuitous justification which the gospel de-
clares to be the only way in which sinners
can be saved. (See Gal. 5 : 1, sq.)

2. Dissension, in their views; discus-
sion, on the points which that difiference in-
volved.— Small belongs to both nouns (De
Wet.). The adjective is not repeated, because
the words are of the same gender. (W. § 59. 5.)
— Them refers to certain men, in v. 1. Paul
and Barnabas were the disputants on one side,
and the individuals from Judea on the other.
It does not appear that the Christians at Antioch
took any open part in the controversy. The
heresy reappeared among them at a later
period, and became so prevalent as to endanger
the safety of the entire church. (See Gal. 2 :
11, sg.) Even Barnabas at that time compro-
mised the principle for which he was now so
earnest. — They — i. e. the brethren in v. 1 — ap-

pointed that they should go up, etc. It
appears from Gal. 2 : 2 that Paul went also, in
compliance with a divine command. Whether
the revelation was first and the action of the
church subsequent, or the reverse, it is impossi-
ble to say. It may be that Paul was instructed
to propose the mission to Jerusalem, or, if th»
measure originated with the church, that he
was instructed to approve it and to go as one
of the delegates. Either supposition harmon-
izes the notice in Gal. 2 : 2 with this passage. —
Certain others, as delegates. One of them
may have been Titus, since we read in Gal. 2 :

I that he accompanied the apostle at this tune.
Yet perhaps taking along also Titus, in
that place, may indicate that they travelled to-
gether as friends, and not as official associates.
The fact, too, that, being uncircmncised, he was
a party in some sense to this Jewish question
may have disqualified him for such an ap-
pointment.

3. They having been sent forward — i. e.
attended part of the way by some of the church
as a mark of honor. (Comp. 20 : 38 ; 21 : 5 ;
3 John 6.) The word, says Meyer, does not in-
clude the viatica, or supplies for the journey,
unless the context point that out as a part of
the service rendered, as in Tit. 3 : 13. — Passed
through Phoenicia and Samaria. (See on

II : 19.) As Galilee is not mentioned, they
travelled, probably, along the coast as far south
as Ptolemais (21 : 7), and then crossed the plain
of Esdraelon into Samaria. — Unto the breth-
ren in the various towns on their way. We
see here the fruits of the seed which had been
scattered in those regions (s : 5; u : 19).

4. Were cordially received. (Comp. 18:
27.) It was not certain that, coming on such
an errand, they would be greeted with entire
favor. It weakens the sense to restrict it to
their official recognition as messengers. [The

critical editors prefer naptUx^Ttaav to aittiix&naav,

followed by Dr. Hackett, but the former may
have the meaning which Dr. H. gives to the

Ch. XV.]

THE ACTS.

173

5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Phari-
sees which believed, sayiug, •That it ^aa needful to
circumcise them, and to commaud then to keep^he
law of Moses.

ti 11 And the apostles and elders came together for to
consider of this matter.

7 And when there had been much disputing, Peter
rose up, and said unto them, 'Men arul orethren, ye
know bow that a good while ago God made choice
among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear
the word of the gospel, and believe.

8 And God, 'which knoweth the hearts, bare them

5 But there rose up certain of the sect of the Phari-
sees who believed, saying, It is needful to circum-
cise them, and to charge them to keep the law of
Moses.

6 .And the apostles and the elders were gathered to-

7 getlier to consider of thb matter. And when there
had been much questioning, i'eter rose up, and said
unto them.

Brethren, ye know how that 'a good while ago
God made choice among you, that by my mouth the
Gentiles should hear the word of the gospel, and be-

8 lieve. And God, who knoweth the heart, bare them

arm. !....» oh. 10:M; II : 12.. ..el Cbron. 18:9; eb. 1 : S4.-

-1 Or. from earln daj/*.

latter. — A. H.]. This was the apostle's third
visit to Jerusalem since his conversion, and
was made in the year a. d. 50. {Introd., § 6. 3.)
— The churchy in general, while and adds the
prominent parts. (See on 1 : 14.) The exist-
ence of presbyters at Jerusalem is first recog-
nized in 11 : 30. Luke does not inform us at
what time or in what manner they were ap-
pointed. It was evidently no part of his inten-
tion to unfold any particular scheme of eccle-
siastical polity. The information which he
gives on that subject is incidental and imperfect.
—Toward them, in their behalf. (See on
14 : 27.)

5. But there arose (in the assembly at Je-
rusalem) some of those from the sect of the
Pharisees. It is entirely natural that indi-
viduals of this class appear as the party who
insist on circumcision. The attachment to
forms which rendered them Pharisees out of
the church rendered them legalists in it. These
are the persons, evidently, of whom Paul speaks
so strongly in Gal. 2 : 4. — Them — viz. the Gen-
tile believers in the communication just made
(v. «). — Some regard the contents of this verse
as a continuation of the report (v. <), as if the
objectors were those at Antioch, and not at
Jerusalem ; but in that case we should have
expected and how or thcU as the connective be-
tween declared and there rose up, etc.

6-12. SPEECH OF PETER IN THE AS-
SEMBLY.

6. Came together, etc. This assembly is
often (;alled the first Christian Council ; but we
must use some license to apply the term in that
way, since a Council consists properly of dele-
gates from various churches, whereas two
churches only were represented on this occa-
sion.— The apostles and elders are men-
tioned on account of their rank, not as com-
posing the entire assembly. It is evident from
V. 23 that the other Christians at Jerusalem
were also present, and gave their sanction to
the decrees enacted. (See also v. 12, compared
with V. 22.)— In Gal. 2 : 2, Paul states that, be-
sides the communication which lie made to the

believers in a body, he had also a private inter-
view with the chief of the apostles. That inter-
view, we may suppose, preceded the public
discussion. The object of it appears to have
been to put the other apostles in full possession
of his views, and of all the facts in relation to
his minbtry among the heathen ; so that, forti-
fied by their previous knowledge of the case,
he might have their support in the promiscuous
assembly, where prejudice or misunderstanding
might otherwise have placed him in a false
hght. — This matter, subject of discussion (De
Wet.) ; not this expression, in v. 5 (Mey.),
because the dispute had an earlier origin.

7. Since remote days, a long time ago.
(Comp. in the beginning, in 11 : 15.) The
conversion of Cornelius took place during the
time that Paul was at Tarsus (see on 11 : 15) ;
and the several years, so eventful in their cha-
racter, which had elapsed since that period,
would appear in the retrosf)ect a long time. —
Made choice among us (the apostles) that
by my mouth, etc. (Mey., De Wet., Win.).
The subsequent clause forms the proper object
of made choice. Some supply needlessly
me (ifii) (Olsh.), and others incorrectly make
among us a Hebraistic accusative, selected
me or us. (See W. ? 32. 3.) The meaning is
not necessarily that no heathen had heard or
embraced the gospel till Peter preached it to
them, but that it was he whom God appointed
to convey the gospel to them under circum-
stances which showed it to be manifestly his
will that they should be admitted into the
church without circumcision. — For the generic
nations = Gentiles, see on 11 : 1. [This sense
of the word is sometimes ciilleii Jewish, because
the word was applied by the Jews to all who
were not Israelites, with the understanding that
they were idolaters, ignorant, for the most part,
of the true God. The adjective ethnic is often
applied to heathen religions in modem litera.
ture.— A. H.]

8. The heart-knowing God (who could
judge, therefore, of the sincerity of their re-
pentance and faith) testified for them (dat

174

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XV.

witness, 'giring them the Holy Ghost, even as he did
unto us;

9 'And put no diflercnce between us and them,
•purifying their hearUi by faith.

10 Now therefore whv tempt ye God, ''to put a yoke
upon the neck of the disciples, which neitlier our fa-
thers nor we were able to bear ?

11 But <we believe that through the grace of the
Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they.

12 \ Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave
audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what mira-
cles and wonders God bad /wrought among the Gen-
tiles by them.

witness, giving them the Holy Spirit, even as he did
9 unto us; and he made no distinction between us

10 and them, cleansing their hearts by faith. Now
therefore why try ye God, that ye should put a
yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither

11 our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we be-
lieve that we shall be saved through the grace of
the Lord Jesus, in like manner as they.

12 And all the multitude kept silence; and they
hearkened unto Barnabas and I'aul rehearsing what
signs and wonders God had wrought among the Gen-

■ eh. 10: 44. ...6 Soiil. 10: 11.... cob. 10 : 15; 28 : 43; 1 Cor. I :2; 1 Pet. 1 :22....d HaU. 2S:4; Oal. 5:1.
Eph. 2:8; Tit. 2:11; 3 : 4, 5..../ cb. 14 : 27.

.eBom. S:34;

coram.). The testimony consisted of the mirac-
ulous gifts which he imparted to them. (See
10 : 45.) He had thus shown that ceremonial
obedience was not essential to his favor ; for he
had granted the sign of acceptance to those who
were entirely destitute of that recommendation.

9. And made no distinction between
us, who had practised the Jewish rites, and
them, though they were still heathen in that
respect (without law, icor. 9:21). The next
clause states how he had manifested this impar-
tiality.—In that by faith he purified their
hearts — i. e. in connection with their reception
of the gospel had made them partakers of the
holiness which renders those who possess it
acceptable in his sight. He had bestowed this
blessing as fully and freely on the uncircum-
cised b*^lieving Gentiles as he had upon the
circumcised believing Jews. Peter represents
the purification as effected by faith, in order to
deny the error which would ascribe that efficacy
to circumcision or any other legal observance.
The Jewish feeling was that the heathen were
unclean so long as they were uncircumcised.
The Spirit is the efficient Author of sanctifica-
tion ; but faith, as used here, is a belief of the
truth (2The»». 2:18), especially of that which re-
lates to the atonement of Christ (1 John 1 : 7), and
the Spirit employs the truth as the means of
sanctification.

10. Now therefore — i. e. aftersuch evidence
that God does not require the heathen to sub-
mit to Jewish rites.— Why do ye tempt God,
make presumptuous trial of his power ana pa-
tience by demanding new proofs of his will.
(See 5:9; Matt. 4 : 7 ; 1 Cor. 10 : 9.) This sense
is partly Hebraistic, and we must compare the
verb with the Heb. nasnh, in order to obtain the
full idea.— To put (= putting), etc., that you
should place (= by placing) a yoke, etc.
This is a lax use of the epexegetioal infinitive.
(W. 1 44. 1.)— Which neither our fathers, etc.
" By this yoke," says Neander, " which Peter
represents as having been always so irksome to
the Jews, he certainlv did not mean the exter-

nal observance of ceremonies simply as such,
since he would by no means persuade the Jew-
ish Christians to renounce them. But he meant
the external observance of the law, in so far as
this proceeded from an internal subjection of
the conscience to its power, such as exists when
justification and salvation are made to depend
on the performance of legal requirements.
Those in this state of mind must fear lest they
peril their sjilvation by the slightest deviation
from the law ; they suffer the painful scrupu-
losity which leads to the invention of manifold
checks, in order to guard themselves, by a self-
imposed constraint, against every possible trans-
gression of its commands."

11. But marks this connection : With such
an experience as to the law, we no longer ex-
pect salvation from that source, but through
the grace of the Lord Jesus believe that
we shall be saved. — Also they — viz. the
heathen converts. The remark suggests its
own application. If the Jews had renounced
their own law as unable to benefit them, and
had taken the position of the Gentiles, it was
inconsistent as well as useless to require the
Gentiles to depend on the system of the Jews.
The train of thought in Gal. 2 : 15, sq., is sin-
gularly coincident with this. — The reference of
they to our fathers (v. 10) introduces an idea
irrelevant to the subject.

12. Became silent recalls us to the much
disputing in v. 7. Peter's address had calmed
the excitement; so that they refrained from
speaking and gave Paul and Barnabas an oj)-
portunity to be heard. (Comp. had held
their peace, in the next verse.) — Gave au-
dience or hearkened (^kouoi', imperf) im-
plies a copious narration on the part of the
speakers.— Declaring, etc. They gave this
prominence to the miracles, because these ex-
pressed so decisively God's approval of their
course in receiving the heathen without cir-
cumcision. That was now the main point in
question. We see from Gal. 2 : 7, sq., that the
narrative embraced also other topics.

Ch. XV.]

THE ACTS.

175

13 T And after they had held their peace, •James
answered, saying, Men and brethren, hearken unto
me:

14 *Simeon hath declared how God at the first did
visit the Ueutiles, to take out of them a people for his
name.

15 And to this agree the words of the prophets; as
it is written,

IC 'After this I will return, and will build again the
tabernacle of David, which is fallen down ; and I will
build again the ruins thereof, and 1 will set it up :

17 That the residue of men might seek after the
Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is
called, saith the Lord, who doeth all these things.

13 tiles by them. And after they had held their peace,
James answered, saying,

14 Brethren, hearken unto me: Symeon hath re-
hearsed how iirst God did visit the Gentiles, to take

15 out of them a people for his name. And to this
agree the words of the prophets; as it is written,

16 After these things 1 will return,

And I will build again the tabernacle of David,

which is fallen ;
And 1 will build again the ruins thereof,
And 1 will set it up :

17 That the residue of men may seek after the Lord,
And all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is

called,

ach. I2:lT....»Ter. t....eAmai9:U, 11.

13-21. SPEECH OP THE APOSTLE

JAMES.

13. The speaker is the James mentioned in
12 : 17. Paul names him before Peter and
John in Gal. 2 : 9, because he was pastor of
the church at Jerusalem, and perhaps president
of the Council. — Proceeded to speak (see 3 :
12), or, very properly, answered, since the posi-
tion of the Judaistic party challenged a reply.

14. Symeon (see 13 : 1), as m 2 Pet. 1 : 1,
elsewhere Simon, after the Heb. variation
Shemon (i chr. 4 : 20) and ShimSon (oen. 29 : ss). This
apostle is not mentioned again in the Acts. His
speech in the Council is the last act of Peter
which Luke has recorded. — At first answers to
since remote days in v. 7. — Graciously vis-
ited, like pakadh in its good sense. — After his
name (Luke 1 : S9) — i. e. who should be called by it,
known as his people (De Wet.). (Comp. v. 17 ;
Deut. 28 : 10; Isa. 63 : 19; 2 Chr. 7 : 14, etc.)
But the critical editions omit upon = after
(«7ri), and the dative depends then on the in-
finitive— i. e. for thy name, its acknowledg-
ment, honor.

15. And with this (not masculine — viz.
Peter — but neuter — viz. the fact just stated)
agree the words of the prophets. As
an example of their testimony, he adduces
Amos 9 : 11, sq.

16. The citation conforms very nearly to the
Septuagint.— I will return and will rebuild.
The expression implies a restoration of favor
after a temporary alienation. (Comp. Jer. 12 :
15.) Some recognize here the Hebraism which
converts the first of two verbs into an adverb
qualifying the second : I will again rebuild.
Meyer, De Wette, Winer (? 54. 5), reject that
explanation. It is the less apposite here, as
re = again {avd) repeats the adverbial idea in
the three following verbs. — I will rebuild the
tabernacle of David which has fallen—
i. e. will restore the decayed splendor of his
family ; to wit, in the person of his Son after
the flesh (Eom. i : s), in the Messiah. — Tabernacle
represents the family as having fallen into j

such obscurity as to occupy the humble abode
of a booth or tabernacle. The next words of
the text describe the same condition still more
strongly.

17. That (telic, because the Saviour must
be first sent) the rest (lit. those left re-
maining) of men and all the heathen
may seek out the Lord. The Greek
particle here used {iv) implies that it de-
pends on them whether the purpose will
be attained or defeated. (See W. g 42. 6 ; K.
g 330. 4.) The rest of men are the others of
them besides the Jews, and these others are all
the heathen. The last clause is explicative,
not appositional. The Hebrew has they — i. e.
the people of God — shaU possess the residue of
Edom — 1'. e. those of Edom reserved for mercy
— and all the (other) heathen. The Seventy may
have confounded some of the original words
with other similar words ; but the apostle fol-
lowed their translation of the passage, as it
contained the essential idea for which he ap-
pealed to it. The many foreign Jews who
were present were familiar with the Greek
Scriptures, but not the Hebrew. — Upon whom
my name has been called — i. e. given, ap-
plied to them as a sign of their relationship to
God. (Comp. James 2 : 7. See the references
on V. 14.) Observe that the verb is perfect.
The application of the name was future when
the prophecy was uttered, and was still future,
to a great extent, when cited at this time ; but
the prediction was as good as already verified,
because the purpose of God made it certain. —
Upon them (iir' ainovt) is a Hebraism founded
on the use of 'Usher as the sign of relation (Olsh.,
De Wet., Mey.). (Gesen., Heb. Gr., ? 121. 1.)
The foregoing citation from Amos was perti-
nent in a twofold way : first, it announced that
the heathen were to be admitted with the Jews
into the kingdom of Christ; and secondly, it
contained no recognition of circumcision or
other Jewish ceremonies as prerequisite to their
reception.— All with these things (T. R.) ia
not approved.

176

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XV.

18 Known unto fiod are all his works from the be-
ginning of the world.

ly \V herefore •my sentence is, that we trouble not
them, which from among the Gentiles ^are turned to
Cod:

•JO But that we write unto them, that they abstain
*from pollutions of idols, and <^jium fornication, and
Jrom things strangled, 'and Jioin blood.

21 lor mioses of old time hath in every city them
that preach him, /being read in the synagogues every
■abbath day.

18 Saith the Lord, >wbo maketh these things known

from of old.

19 Wherefore my judgment is, that we trouble not
them who from among the Gentiles turn to God;

20 but that we "■'write unto them, that they abstain
from the pollutions of idols, and from fornication,

21 and from what is strangled, and from blood. For
Moses from generations of old hath in every city
them that preach him, being read in the synagogues
every sabbath.

a Merer. 28.... M Then. I:9....e0ea. 3S : 3; Ex. 20: 3, 23; Etek. 20:30; 1 Cor. 8:1; Rev. 2 : 14, 20; «: 20, 21....ii 1 Cor. 8:9,18;

Oal. &: 19; Rpb. &:3; Col.3:5; 1 Thesa. 4:3; 1 Pet. 4 : 3....e Oen. » : 1; Lev. 3 : 17; Oeut. 12 : 16, 23..../ch. 13:15,27. 1 Or,

wAo iotih thue thingt wbicb were knotm. . . .2 Or, er\join them

18. The words here are a comment of James
on the prophecy.— Known from the begin-
ning unto God are all bis works. The

present call of the Gentiles, after having been
so long foretold, was an evidence and illustra-
tion of the truth here a-sserted. Hence, the
apostle would argue, if God, in extending the
gospel to the heathen without requiring them
to be circumcised, was carrying into effect an
eternal purpose, it became them to acquiesce in
it; their opposition to his plan would be as
unavailing as it was criminal. — The variations
of the text in this verse are numerous, but
nearly all yield the same meaning. They may
be seen in Griesbach, Hahn, Tischendorf, Green,
and others. Lachmann adheres to the common
reading, with the exception of Lord for God,
and work for works.

19. I ffor my part, without dictating to
others) jndge, decide as my opinion. On I
(cyw), as thus restrictive, see W. § 22. 6. The
verb affords no proof that the speaker's author-
ity was greater than that of the other apostles.
(Comp. 16 : 4.) — Tbat we ought not to dis-
quietf molest — i. e. impose on them the yoke
of Jewish ceremonies. (See v. 10.) The infin-
itive includes oflen the idea of obligation or
necessity. (W. § 44. 3. b.) Meyer urges the
separate force of (iropa) further — i. c. in addition
to their faith, not justified, apparently, by usage ;
better, in his last edition, thereby, along with
their conversion.

20. Tbat we should write to them, direct
by letter, tbat they abstain.— Pollutions
of idols ^things sacrificed to idols, in
v. 29. The parts of the victim not used in
sacrifice the heathen sold in the market as
ordinary food or ate them at fea-sts. The Jews,
in their abhorrence of idolatry, regarded the
use of such fllesh as allied to the guilt of parti-
cipating in idol-worship itself. (See Rom. 14 :
15, sq. ; 1 Cor. 8 : 10, sq.) — And from fornica-
tion = licentiousness (Calv., Kuin., Olsh., Mey.,
De Wet.) Repeat from before this noun. The

other practices, it will be observed, relate to
things which are not sinful per se, but derive
their character from positive law or from cir-
cumstances. The reason, probably, for associ-
ating this immorality with such practices is that
the heathen mind had become so corrupt as al-
most to have lost the idea of chastity as a virtue.'
Other senses of fornication (vopvtCa), as idol-
atry, incest, marriage with vmbelievers, concu-
binage, have been proposed. It is against any
such unusual signification of the word that it
occurs again in the enactment (v. 29). The ob-
ject of the decree would require it to be framed
with as much perspicuity as possible, and would
exclude the use of terms out of their ordinary
acceptation. — And from what has been
strangled — i. e. from the flesh of animals put
to death in that way. The Jews were not al-
lowed to eat such flesh, because it contained
the blood. (See Lev. 17 : 13, 14 ; Deut. 12 : 16-
23.)— And from blood, which the heathen
drank often at their idolatrous feasts, and at
other times and in various ways mingled with
their food. [See an instructive discussion of
the meaning of James, etc., in Fisher's The
Beginnings of Christianity, p. 303. — A. H.]

21. This verse assigns a reason for the pro-
posed restrictions, and that is that the Jewish
believers, being so accustomed to hear the
things in question forbidden, were naturally
sensitive in regard to them ; and hence it was
necessary, for the sake of peace and harmony,
that the heathen converts should refrain from
such practices. This view of the connection
is the most natural one. Calvin, Hemsen, 01s.
hausen, De Wette, Meyer, and others agree in
it. Neander follows Chrysostom, who supposes
the words to explain why it was proposed to
instruct the Gentiles only: the Jews had no
occasion to be informed what the law required
of them, for Moses in every city, etc. Thia
interpretation not only turns the mind abruptly
from one train of thought to another, but ap-
pears to concede more to the advocates of cir-

> See Tboluck, The Natvrc and Moral Influence of HeaihenUm, in the Biblical RepotUory, voL IL p. 441, so.

Ch. XV.]

THE ACTS.

177

22 Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the
■whole church, to send chosen men of their own com-
pany to Autioch with Paul and Barnabas; namely,
Judas surnamed oliarsahas, and tsilas, chief men among
the brethren -.

23 And they wrote leliers by them after this manner;
The apostles and elders and brethren send greeting
unto the brethren which are of the Gentiles In Anti-
och and Syria and Cilicia:

24 Forasmuch as we have heard, that certain which
went out from us have troubled you with words, sub-
verting your souls, saying, Ye must be circumcised, and
keep the law : to whom we gave no mch command-
ment:

25 It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one
accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved
Barnabas and Paul

22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders,
with the whole church, to choose men out of their
company, and send them to Antioch with I'aul and
liariiubas; namely, Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas,

23 chief men among the brethren : and they wrote thus
by them, 'The apostles and the elders, brethren, unto
the brethren who areof the<;eniiles in Antioch and

24 Syria and Cilicia, greeting: Korasiiiuch as we have
heard that certain ^who went out from us have
troubled you with words, subverting your souls; to

25 whom we" gave no commandment ; it seemed good
unto us, having come to one accord, to choose out
men and send them unto you with our beloved liar-

aelk. 1 :2S....b Wc

I ; 0>l. > : 4} 6 : U ; Tit. 1 : 10, U. 1 Or, th» apoiOet and Iha elder brttltran.

Ities omit who went out.

.3 Somt aneieat aDthar-

cumcision than the question at issue would
allow. To have justified the prohibitions on
such ground would be recognizing the per-
petuity of the Mosaic i ites, so far as the Jews
were concerned; and we cannot suppose that
the apostles at this time either entertained that
view or would give any direct countenance to
it in the minds of others.

23-29. THEY APPOINT MESSENGERS
TO THE CHURCHES, AND SEND A LET-
TER BY THEM.

22. Then the apostles . . . resolved,
having selected men from themselves^
to send them, etc. The participle, having
selected (cjcAtfafttVow*), passes into the accusa-
tive, because the object of the governing verb,
apostles (airooToAots), scrvcs at the same time
as the subject of the infinitive. (K. g 307. R. 2.)
— Judas is known only from this notice. His
surname opposes the conjecture that he was
Judas Thaddeus, the apostle. There is no
proof that he was a brother of Joseph Barsa-
bas, the candidate for the apostleship (i : lo). —
Silas became Paul's associate in his second
missionary-tour (v. 40). For Silas in the Acts
we have always Silvanus in the Epistles.
The former was his Jewish name, probably ;
the latter, his Gentile or foreign name. (See
on 13 : 9.)— Chief men, leading, eminent
for reputation and authority (LukeMtao).

23. Writing, E. V. wrote. The nomina-
tive of a participle refers ofteti to a preceding
substantive in a different case, when that sub-
stantive forms, in fact, the logical subject of the
clause. (K. § 313. 1 ; W. g 64. II. 2.) The imper-
sonal expression at the head of the sentence is
equivalent to a transitive verb with the dative
as nominative. (K. § 307. R. 5.) — Throughout
Antioch and Syria, etc., since the brethren
were in different places. We see here how ex-
tensively the Judaizers had attempted to spread
their views. The scene at Antioch (». i) was only 1

an example of what had occurred in many
other places. [The several lands are a unity
with reference to the heathen converts, and
hence the first only requires the article in
Greek. Antioch is the capital, and is named
separately on that account. — A. H.] As to the
origin of the churches in Syria and Cilicia, see
on V. 41. — Greeting (xcu'p<i»'). It is remark-
able, says Neander, that this word, as a form
of epistolary salutation, occurs only here and
in James 1 : 1, with the exception of 23 : 26,
where it is a Roman who employs it. It would
account for the coincidence, if we suppose that
the apostle James drew up this document. His
office as pastor of the church would very nat-
urally devolve that service on him. The occur-
rence of greeting here and in the Epistle,
Bengel, Bleek, and others point out as an in-
dication that the two compositions are from
the same hand.

24. From ns, which accords with v. 1. —
Troubled, or disquieted, perplexed. (See Gal.
1 : 7.) — Words may have, as Stier thinks, a
disparaging force : with words merely, as ojv
posed to the truth or sound doctrine. — Sub-
verting your souls — i. e. unsettling, removing
them from the pure faith of the gospel. This
clause describes the effect or tendency of the
views which those who received the decrees
were urged by the false teachers to adopt. —
That ye must be circumcised, and keep
the law. For this power of the infinitive, set;
on v. 19. Must {S<lv) \s not to be supplied.' —
Whom we did not command — i. e. instruct,
authorize. This declaration may be aimed at a
pretence on their part that they had been sent
forth by the church at Jerusalem, or at least that
they represented the sentiments of that church.

25. Having met together (Vulg., Neand.),
but better having become of one mind,
unanimous (Bng., Str., Mcy.). Kuinocl and
De Wette are undecided. Acconling to tlie

1 [The clause may be an interpolation.— A. H.]

178

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XV.

26 "Men that have hazarded their lives for the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ.

27 We have sent therefore Judas and Silas, who shall
also tell you the same things by mouth.

28 For it seemed good to the Holy (ihost, and to us,
to lay upon you no greater burden than these neces-
sary things;"

29 ^That ye ab.stain from meats offered to idols, and
•from blood, and from things strangled, and from for-
nication : from which if ye keep yourselves, ye shall
do well. Fare ye well.

30 So when they were dismissed, they came to Anti-
och: and when they had gathered the multitude to-
gether, they delivered the epistle :

26 nabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives

27 for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have
sent therefore Judas and Silas, who themselves also
shall tell you the same things by word of mouth.

28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to
lay upon you no greater burden than these neces-

29sary things; that ye abstain from things sacrificed
to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled,
and from fornication ; from which if ye keep your-
selves, it shall be well with you. Fare ye well.

30 So they, when they were dismissed, came down
to Antiocb ; and having gathered the multitude to-

a oh. 13:50; U:l»; I Cor. 15:30; I Cor. 11 : 33, 36.... ft ver. 30; cli.3I:35; Rot. 2 : U. 20.... e Lev. IT : 14.

latter view, the expression represents this per-
fect harmony as having been attained after
some diversity of opinion. (See v. 5.) Chosen
(eaAefoMcVovt) exemplifies again the construction
in v. 22. — Barnabas and Paul. This devia-
tion from the usual order of these names since
13 : 13, as De Wette remarks after Bleek, testi-
fies to the writer's diplomatic accuracy. Pavd
had spent but little time at Jerusalem, and
Barnabas was still a more familiar name there
(comp. 9 : 27) than that of the apostle to the
Gentiles.

26. Men who have given up, jeoparded,
their lives. (Comp. 9 : 24 ; 13 : 50 ; 14 : 5, 19.)
There was a special reason, no doubt, for this
commendation of Paul and Barnabas. It would
serve to counteract any attempts which the
Jewish party might make, or had made, to
discredit their religious views and impair their
reputation as teachers.

27. Therefore — t. e. in conformity with the
conclusion in v. 25. — Also themselves by
word announcing (when they shall be pres-
ent) the same things — t. e. that we now write
to you (Neand., Mey., De Wet.) ; not the same
things that Paul and Barnabas have taught.
By word indicates clearly that the oral com-
munication was to confirm the contents of the
letter or the written communication. "Judas
and Silas," says Stier {Reden der Apostel, i. p.
90), " should certify that the letter had actually
proceeded from a unanimous resolve of the
church at Jerusalem, and that Barnabas and
Saul were thus honored and beloved there;
they should give fuller information respecting
the decrees, and answer every inquiry that
might be proposed, as living epistles, con-
firmed by the letter and confirming it in re-
turn ; and thus by their word they should re-
store again the harmony which those unsent
members of their church had disturbed."

28. For it seemed good — i. e. and especial-
ly how it seemed good. For specifies the part
of the letter which the writers had more par-

ticularly in view in the same things (t. 27).
— To the Holy Spirit and to us = to the
Holy Spirit in us (Olsh.). (See 5 : 3 and
note there.) The expression represents the two
agencies as distinct from each other, as well as
consentaneous (De Wet.). — Us includes all (see
V. 23) who took part in the action of the Coun-
cil. They were conscious of having adopted
their conclusions under the guidance of the
Spirit, and claimed for them the authority of
infallible decisions. — The (ji>v) renders neces-
sary («jravayic«t) an adjective. (B. § 125. 6.) The
things in question are said to be necessary — not
(excepting the last of them) because they were
wrong in themselves, but because the Gentile
Christians were bound by the law of charity
(see Rom. 14 : 15) to avoid a course which,
while it involved no question of conscience on
their part, would offend and grieve their Jew-
ish brethren and lead inevitably to strife and
alienation.

29. To wit, that ye abstain. For this de-
finitive use of the infinitives, see W. § 44. 1 ; C.
§ 623. — It is not, perhaps, accidental that forni>
cation has here a different position from that
in V. 20. (See also 21 : 25.)— From which if
ye keep yourselves Neander compares with
to keep himself unspotted from the
world, in James 1 : 27. The similarity is
striking, and may indicate the same hand in
the two passages. (See on v. 23.) — Ye tvill do
well, what is right and commendable. (See 10 :
33; 3 John 6.)— Fare ye well, like the Latin
vaMe.

30-35. PAUL AND BARNABAS RETURN
TO ANTIOCH.

30. Therefore, since the forgoing decision
was preliminary to their departure.— Having
been dismissed— t. c. in all probability with
religious services (v.s3; is:3), and perhaps with
an escort for some miles on the way (v. 3). —
The multitude. (See v. 12 and 6:2.) They
call at once an assembly of the believers to hear
their report.

Ch. XV.]

THE ACTS.

179

SI Wliich when they had read, they rejoiced for the
consolation.

32 And Judas and Silas, being prophets also them-
selves, "exhorted the brethren with many words, and
confirmed them.

33 And after they had tarried there a space, they
were let 'go in peace from the brethren unto the apo»-
Ues.

34 Notwithstanding it pleased Silas to abide there
stiU.

35 'Paul also and Barnabas continued in Antioch,
teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with
many others also.

3ti \ And some days after Paul said unto Barnaba.s,
Let us go again and" visit our brethren ''in every city
where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see
how they do.

37 And Barnabas determined to take with them
•John, whose surname was Mark.

31 gether, they delivered the epistle. And when they

32 had read it, they rejoiced for the 'consolation. And
Judas and Silas, being th' niselves al.so prophets, -ex-
horted tlie brethren witii many words, and confirmed

33 then). And after they had spent some time there,
they were dismissed in peace from the brethren

35 unto those that had sent them foitb.^ But Paul
and Barnabas tarried in Antioch, teaching and
preaching the word of the Lord, with many others
also.

36 And after some days Paul said unto Barnabas, Let
us return now and visit the brethren in every city
wherein we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and

37 see how thev fare. And Barnabas was minded to
take with tlxem John also, who was called Mark.

a«h. 14:23; 18 : 33. . . .& 1 Car. 16:11; Heb. 11 :31....eoh. li:l....d eh. 13:4, IS, 14, 61; 14 : 1, 6, 34, 35....* eh. 13:13, 3&; 13:5;

Col. 4 : 10 ; 2 Tim. 4 : 11 ; Philem. 24. 1 Or, txhortation 2 Or, eam/orted....i Some BDOieot anthoritiei inaert, with varUtioai,

▼er. 34 But it itemed good unto Sitae to abide there.

31. At the consolation (lit. upon, as the
cause), furnished by the letter. They approve
of what had been done; they rejoice at the
prospect of so happy a termination of the dis-
pute. Some understand TropoucA^orei of exhor-
tation, which certainly is not required by that
sense of the verb in the next verse (Mey.), and
does not accord well with the contents of so
authoritative a letter.

32. Also themselves being prophets —
t. e. as well as Paul and Barnabas, and so com-
petent to give the instruction needed. — Ex-
horted— viz. in view of the present danger —
that they should rely on Christ for salvation,
and not cleave to the law of works. — Con-
firmed shows the happy effect of their la-
bors.

33. With peace, the parting salittation

(l6: 36: Mark 5: 34; Luke 7: 50). The brethren tOOk

leave of them with the best wishes for their
safety and welfare. Judas and Silas both re-
turned to Jerusalem, as their commission
would require, but Silas must have soon re-
joined Paul at Antioch, since we find him
there in v. 40. Luke has passed over that
second journey.

34. Griesbach, Lachmann, Tischendorf, and
others strike out this verse. Most of the manu-
scripts omit it or read it variously. It is a gloss,
probably, supposed to be required by v. 40. If
the text be genuine, and Silas remained at An-
tioch, we must understand the plural in v. 33
as including one or more persons along with
Judas, who had also come down from Jeru-
salem, though the narrative is otherwise silent
concerning them.

35. Continued. This was the interval be-
tween the return to Antioch (r. so) and the de-
parture on the next missionary-tour (▼• 4o).
Some propose to insert here the scene de-

scribed in (Jal. 2 : 11, sq. ; but that such a re-
action in favor of Judaism as appeared on that
occasion should have taken place so soon after
the decision at Jerusalem is altogether unprob-
able. [On that supposition, Peter must have
come to Antioch almost directly from the Coun-
cil, and must at once have declared himself— by
his action, at least — against the decision which
he had so strenuously supported at Jerusalem.
Moreover, the statement in v. 31 certainly im-
plies that the Judaistic question was set at rest
for the present. It is also clear, from 16 : 4, 5,
that the churches generally were at rest after
the adoption of the decrees ; and surely Antioch
should not be supposed to be an exception. —
A. H.] (See note on 18 : 23.) — And adds
preaching, etc., to the other participle as ep-
exegetical : what they taught was the glad tid-
ings or the gospel, not instructed believers and
preached to those who had not believed (Alf.).
(See4 : 18; 5 : 42; 11: 26; 28 : 31.)

36-41. PAUL AND BARNABAS RESUME
THEIR WORK IN DIFFERENT FIELDS OF
LABOR.

36. Now after certain days denotes, ap-
parently, a short period. (Comp. 9 : 19 ; 16 :
12.) — 8^ strengthens the exhortation. (See 13 :
2.) — Let us visit, etc., may involve an attrac-
tion— viz. that of the subject of the last clause
drawn into the first: let us go to see . . .
how the brethren are (W. ? 66. 5) ; or an
ellip.sis: let us visit the brethren, and see
(as in the E. V.) how they are.— In which =
where is plural, because every city is collec-
tive. (W. §21. 3; K. §332. 5.)— How they
are, in the mind of Paul, would have respect
mainly to their spiritual welfare.

37. Determined. (See vv. 5, 33 ; 27 : 39.)
The feelings of Barnabas may have influenced
him in this decision more than his judgment,

180

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XV.

38 But Paul thought not good to take him with them,
•who departed from them from Pamphylia, and went
not with them to the work.

39 And the contention was so sharp between theni.
that they departed asunder one from the other: and
so Barnabas took Mark, and sailed unto Cyprus;

40 And I'aul chose Silas, and departed, 'being rec-
ommended by the brethren unto the grace of (iod.

41 And he went through Syria and Cilicia, 'conflrm-
log the churches.

38 But Paul thought not good to take with them him
w)io withdrew from them from Pamphylia, and

39 went not with them to the work. And there arose
a sharp contention, so that they parted asunder one
from the other, and Barnabas took Mark with him,

40 and sailed away unto Cyprus; but Paul chose Silas,
and went forth, being commended by the brethren

41 to the grace of the Lord. And he went through
Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches.

«ob. IS : 13.. ..6 ch. 14 : 26.. ..e oh. 1« : &.

since he and Mark were cousins (ivei^ioi. See
Col. 4 : lO;, Wished is an ancient reading, but
on the whole less approved, in part because it
softens down the altercation, and may have
been added for that reason. [Yet the evidence
of early MSS. (X A B C E against H L P) and
versions preponderates so greatly in favor of
the milder term, wished, that Griesb., Lach.,
Tsch., Treg., West, and Hort, Anglo- Am, Re-
visers, accept this as the word written by Luke.
The narrative Is clear and consistent with either
word. — A. H.]

38. Deemed it just, fitting. Paul viewed
the question on its ethical side, and not as a
personal matter. — Who departed from them
(is : 13), in dereliction of his duty. (Comp. Luke
8 : 13.) — This one (emphatic here), who
proved so fickle. — It is pleasing to know that
Mark did not forfeit the apostle's esteem so as
to be u"^able to regain it. He became subse-
quently Paul's companion in travel (Coi. 4:io),
and in 2 Tim. 4 : 11 elicits from him the com-
mendation that he was " profitable to him for
the ministry."

39. A severe contention arose. Barna-
bas insisted on his purpose ; Paul, on his view
of the merits of the case ; and, as neither would
yield, they parted. Some writers lay all the
blame on Barnabas (Bmg.), in spite of the im-
partiality of the text. There was heat, evi-
dently, on both sides. — So that they depart-
ed from one another. This separation re-
fers, not to the rupture of their friendship, but
to their proceeding in different directions, in-
stead of laboring together as heretofore. The
infinitive after so that (<i<7T«) is said to repre-
sent the act as a necessary or logical sequence
of what prece<les; the indicative, as an abso-
lute or unconditioned fact. (See Klotz, Ad
Devar., ii. p. 772.) It deserves to be remarked
that this variance did not estrange these breth-
ren from their work or occasion any perma-
nent diminution of their regard for each other.
3n 1 Cor. 9 : G, which was written after this oc-
currence, Paul alludes to Barnabas as a Chris-
tian teacher who possessed and deserved the
fullest confidence of the churches. The passage

contains fairly that implication. Even the
error of Barnabas in yielding to the Jewish
party (oai. 2 : 13) leads Paul to speak of him as
one of the very last men (and Barnabas —
i. e. even he) whom any one would suppose
capable of swerving from the line of duty.
And who can doubt that Barnabas reciprocated
these sentiments toward the early, long-tried
friend with whom he had acted in so many
eventful scenes, and whom he saw still ani-
mated by the same affection toward himself,
and the same devotion to the cause of their
common Master ? Luke does not mention the
name of Barnabas again in the Acts. It is im-
possible to trace him farther with any certainty.
One tradition is that he went to Milan, and died
as first bishop of the church there ; another is
that after living some years at Rome and Ath-
ens he suffered martyrdom in his native Cyprus.
The letter, still extant, which was known as
that of Barnabas even in the second century,
cannot be defended as genuine. (See Neander's
Church History, vol. i. p. 657.) That such a
letter, however, was ascribed to him at that
early period shows how eminent a place he oc-
cupied among the Christians of his own and the
succeeding age.

40. Having chosen for himself (comp.
V. 22), not thereupon — viz. this disagreement.
— Having been committed unto the grace
of God by the brethren. Perhaps we may
infer from this remark that the believers at An-
tioch took Paul's view of the point at issue be-
tween him and Barnabas. — Went forth is used
of going forth as a missionary in Luke 9 : 6 and
in 3 John 7. — The departure on this second
tour we may place in a. d. 51 ; for if Paul went
to Jerusalem in the year 50 (see on 15 : 4), the
remainder of that year, added (if any one
chooses) to the early part of the ensuing year,
would suffice, probably, for the sojourn at An-
tioch indicated by certain days in v. 36. It
is impossible to be more definite than this.

41. Syria and Cilicia lay between Antioch
and the eastern limit of the apostle's first jour-
ney. We have had no account of the planting
of any churches there, but they date, undoubt-

Ch. XVI.]

THE ACTS.

181

CHAPTER XVI

THEN came he to "Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a
certain disciple was there, *named Timotheus, "the
son ot' a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and be-
lieved ; but his father w<ui a Greek :

2 Which ''was well reported of by the brethren that
were at Lystra and Iconium.

3 Him would Paul have to go forth with him ; and
"took and circumcised him because of the Jews which
were in those quarters: for they knew all that his
father was a Greek.

1 And he came also to Derbe and to Lystra: and
behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timo-
thy, the son of a Jewess who believed ; but his

2 father was a Greek. The same was well reported
of by the brethren that were at l^ystra and iconi-

3 um. Him would Paul have to go forth with him ;
and he took and circumcised him because of the
Jews that were in those parts: for they all knew

a oh. 14:6 6 Ob. 19:32; Bom. 16:21; 1 Cor. 4 : 17; Phil. 2: 19: 1 Tbess. 3: 2; 1 Tim. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1 : 2.... e 2 Tim. 1:5.

d oil. 6 : 3 el Cor. 9 : 20 ; Qal. 2:3; aee Gal. 5 : 2.

edly, from the period of Paul's residence in
that region, mentioned in Gal. 1 : 21. (See
9 : 30 and note there.) — Confirming the
churches, not candidates for admission to
them. (See 14 : 22.) One of these churches
may have been at Tarsus, which Paul would
naturally revisit at this time.

1-5. PAUL AND SILAS REVISIT THE
CHURCHES AND DELIVER THE DE-
CREES.

1. Derbe and Lystra are mentioned in
this order (the reverse of that in 14 : 6), be-
cause the missionaries travel now from east to
west. — Luke's exclamation, and behold, shows
how much this meeting with Timothy interest-
ed his feelings. — There — viz. at Lystra. Some
refer the adverb to Derbe ; but that view, so far
from being required by of Derbe (Aep/Satos), in
20 : 4, is forbidden by the text there. Lystra
stands nearest to there, and is named again in
the next veree, where Luke surely would not
pass over the testimony of those who had been
acquainted with Timothy from early life.
Wieseler combines the two opinions by sup-
posing that Timothy may have been a native
of Lystra, but was now living at Derbe. — For
the family and the early education of Timothy,
see 2 Tim. 1:5; 3 : 15. Paul terms him my
son [lit. child] in 1 Cor. 4 : 17, probably because
he had been the instrument of his conversion.
(Comp. 1 Cor. 4 : 15 ; Gal. 4 : 19. See the note
on 14 : 20.) — Certain is to be erased before
woman.— Believing. (See on 10 : 45.) The
mother's name was Eunice. It was an instance
of the mixed marriages of which Paul writes
in 1 Cor. 7 : 17, sq. — A Greek, and still a
heathen, or at all events not a proselyte in
full, as otherwise the son would have been
circumcised.

2. Was attested, well reported of. (See
6:3; 10 : 22.) Supposing Timothy to have
been converted during Paul's first visit to
Lystra (see on 14 : 20), he had now been a dis-

ciple three or four years. During this time he
had exerted himself, no doubt, for the cause
of Christ both in Lystra and Iconium, and
had thus given proof of the piety and talents
which rendered him so useful as a herald of
the cross.

3. To go forth with him, as a preacher
of the word. (See 2 Tim. 4 : 5.) — Having
taken, he circumcised him, either by his
own hand (Mey., De Wet.) or procuring it to
be done (Neand.). The Jews had no particular
class of persons who performed this act. The
Jewish custom, it is said, required merely that
the administrator should not be a heathen.
(See Win., Realw., i. p. 157.)— On account of
the Jews, etc. It would have repelled the
Jews from his ministry to have seen him asso-
ciated with a man whom they knew to be un-
circumcised. Paul took this cotxrsc, therefore,
in order to remove that obstacle to his useful-
ness. The history presents Paul here as acting
on the principle stated in 1 Cor. 9 : 20 : Unto the
Jews Ibecame as a Jew, that I might gain Jews, etc.
It was under circumstances totally different
that he refused to circumcise Titus, as related
in Gal. 2 : 3, sq. He was then in the midst of
those who would have regarded the act as rati-
fying their doctrine that circumcision was ne-
cessary to salvation. (See on 15 : 1.) In the
present instance he knew (that admission is
due to his character for intelligence as well as
consistency) that his conduct would not be
misunderstood or perverted ; that the believers
would view it as an accommodation merely to
the prejudices of the Jews ; and that the Jews
themselves were in no danger of supposing him
to countenance the idea that their keeping the
law would entitle them to the favor of God. —
Other passages extend our knowledge of this
transaction. Timothy was not only circum-
cised, but set apart to the ministry " with the
laying on of the hands of the presbytery" and
of the apostle, was endued with special gifts for
the office (i rim. * : i4 ; 2 Tim. 1 : 6), and received at
the time prophetic assurances of the success
which awaited him in his new carter (i tu*. i : is).

182

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XVI.

4 And as they went through the cities, they deliv-
ered thera the decrees for to keep, "that were ordained
of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.

5 And 'so were the churches established in the faith,
and increased in number daily.

6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and
the region of (iaiatia, and were forbidden of the Iloly
Ghost to preach the word in Asia,

4 that his father was a Greelc. And as they went on
their way through the cities, they delivered them
the decrees for to keep, which had been ordained
of the apostles and elders that were at Jerusalem.

5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and
increased in number daily.

6 And they went through the region of Phrygia
and Galatia, having been forbidden of the Holy

ach. 15 : 28, 29.. ..ft ob. 15 : 11.

— For all knew his father that, etc. The
structure of the sentence is like that in 3 : 10.
[That is, if the textus receptiis is followed, but
not if the text required by X A B C and other
documents, and approved by Griesb., Lach.,
Treg., West, and Hort, is correct. For with
this text the construction is as follows : for all
knew that his father was a Greek, the word
Greek being emphatic by reason of its place in
the clause. — It should be noticed that Paul cir-
cumcised Timothy, not on account of the Jew-
ish believers, who might thus be led to think
circumcision important, but on account of
Jewish unbeUevers whom he hoped to attract
to his ministry. — A. H.]

4. As they journeyed through the
cities, on the route pursued by them. They
would visit, naturally, all the churches in
Syria and Cilicia (i5:«), and most of those on
the main land, gathered during the apostle's
former tour. As Antioch and Perga were so
remote from their general course, it is possi-
ble that they transmitted copies of the decrees
to those places. It is not certain that the word
had taken root in Perga. (See on 14 : 25.) —
Delivered (orally or in writing) to them the
decrees to keep. The infinitive may be
telic : that they should keep them ; or may in-
volve a relative clause: which they should
keep. (Comp. which they received to hold,
in Mark 7 : 4. See W. § 44. 1.) Them refers
to the believers in these cities, not to the
heathen converts merely (Mey.), since the de-
crees affected also the Jews.

5. Therefore — i. e. as the result of this
visit, and of the adjustment of the controversy
which had divided and enfeebled the churches.
— In the number, of their members.

6-10. THEY PROSECUTE THEIR JOUR-
NEY TO TROAS.

6. Phrygia. (See on 2 : 10.) To reach
Phrygia from Iconium or Antioch, they would
direct their way to the north-east. — Region of
Galatia. Galatia was bounded on the north
by Paphlagonia and Bithynia; on the east, by
Pontus and Cappadocia (separated from them
by the river Halys) ; on the south, by Cappa-
docia and Phrygia ; and on the west, by Phry-
gia and Bithynia. Among the principal cities

were Ancyra, made the metropolis by Augus-
tus, and Pessinus. Kiepert draws the line of
Paul's course on his map so as to include these
places, on the natural supposition that he would
aim to secure first the prominent towns. (See
on 18 : 1.) It is evident from the Epistle to the
Galatians (see, e. g., 4 : 19) that it was the apos-
tle Paul who first preached the gospel in this
country ; and, since he found disciples here on
his third missionary-tour (see 18 : 23), it must
have been at this time that he laid the founda-
tion of the Galatian churches (oai. 1:2). Such
is the opinion of the leading critics. (See note
on 14 : 6.) — Being restrained by the Holy
Spirit, etc. The act of this participle, it will
be observed, was subsequent to that of had
gone through and prior to that of were
come (v. 7). The course of the movement
may be sketched thus : The travellers, having
passed through the eastern section of Phrygia
into Galatia, proposed next to preach the word
in Proconsular Asia. (See on 2 : 9.) With that
view, they turned their steps to the south-west,
and, crossing the north part of Phrygia, came
down to the frontier of Mysia, the first province
in Asia which they would reach in that direc-
tion. Being informed here that they were not
to execute this design, they turned again to-
ward the north and attempted to go into Bithy-
nia, which was adjacent to Mysia. Restrained
from that purpose, they passed by Mysia — i. e.
did not remain there to preach — and proceeded
to Troas. — This portion of the apostle's travels,
though they embrace so wide a circuit, admits
of very little geographical illustration. Phrygia
and Galatia are parts of Asia Minor of which
the ancient writers have left but few notices,
and which remain comparatively unknown to
the present day. We must infer from 18 : 23
that Paul gained disciples in Phrygia at this
time, but in what places is uncertain. Colosse
was a Phrygian city, and may have received
the gospel on this journey, unless it be forbid-
den by Col. 2 : 1. The opinion of the best
critics is that the apostle includes the Colos-
sians in that passage among those who had not
" seen his face in the flesh." — The Spirit of
Jesus— i. c. which he sends. There is no par-
allel passage, unless it be Rom. 8 : 9. Jesus

Ch. XVI.]

THE ACTS.

ISJ

7 After they were come to Mysia, they assuyed to go
into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.

8 And they passing by .Mysia "caiue down to Troas.

9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There
stood a 'man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying,
Come over into Macedonia, and helj) us.

10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately
we endeavored to go "into Macedonia, assuredly gath-
ering that the Lord had called us for to preach the
gospel unto them.

11 Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a

7 Spirit to speak the word in Asia ; and when they
were come over against Mysia^ they assayed to go
into liithynia; and the .Spirit of Jesus suffered
8 them not; and passing by Alysia, they came down
9 to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the
night ; There was a man ol .Macedonia standing,
beseeching him, and saying, Come over into Mace-
lOdonia, and help us. And wlien he had seen the vis-
ion, straightway we sought to go forth into Mace-
donia, concluding that God had called us for to
preacn the gospel unto them.
11 Setting sail therefore from Troas, we made a

a 1 Cor. S : 13 ; 3 Tim. 4 : 13 6 oh. 10 : SO. . . .e 2 Cor. 2 : 13.

has been lost from some copies, but belongs to
the text. The Spirit, says Reuss, appears here
in a sphere of activity made more prominent
in the Acts than in all the other writings of
the New Testament: "Thus, it is the Spirit
who conducts Philip in the road to Gaza (s : 29) ;
who instructs Peter to receive the messengers
of Cornelius (10 : w ; u : 12) ; who causes Barnabas
and Paul to be sent to the heathen (is : 2-4) ; who
directs the missionaries in the choice of their
route (18 : 6, 7) ; who urges Paul to Jerusalem
(20 : 22) ; who chooses the pastors of the churches

(20:28), etc." *

8. Having passed by Mysia, having left
it aside without remaining to preach there.
(Comp. to sail by, in 20 : 16, and to pass by,

in Mark 6 : 48.) Wieseler (Chronologie, p. 36),
Alford, Conybeare and Howson apparently, and
others prefer this meaning here. Some render
having passed along Mysia — i. e. the border
of Mysia Minor, which belonged to Bithynia ;
whereas Mysia Major belonged to Proconsular
Asia (De Wet.). The boundary was a political
one, and no distinct frontier existed which the
travellers could have had any motive for tra-
cing so exactly. — Came down, from the inner
highlands to the coast. — Unto Troas, the
name of a district or a city ; here the latter,
called fully Alexandria Troas, on the Helles-
pont, about four miles from the site of the an-
cient Troy. It was the transit-harbor between
the north-west of Asia Minor and Macedonia.
Paul passed and repassed here on two other oc-
casions (20 : 8 ; 2 Cor. 2 : I2). It is COXTCCt that Lukc

represents Troas here as distinct from Mysia.
Under Nero, Troas and the vicinity formed a
separate territory, having the rights of Roman
freedom (De Wet., Bottg.).

9. A vision. Whether Paul saw this vis-
ion in a dream or in a state of ecstasy (see 10 :
10 ; 22 : 17) the language d6es not decide. In
the night suggests one of the conditions of
the first mode, but would not be inconsistent
with the other. — A man revealed to him as a
Macedonian. (Comp. 9 : 12.) — Having

crossed — i. e. the northern part of the .^gean.
— Help us, because the one here represented
many.

10. We sought — i. e. by immediate inquiry
for a ship (Alf ). Paul had made known the
vision to his associates. Here, for the first
time, the historian speaks of himself as one
of the party, and in all probability because he
joined it at Troas. The introduction would be
abrupt for the style of a modern work, it is
true ; but, on the other hand, to have had from
Luke any formal account of the manner in
which he became connected with the apostle
would have been equally at variance with the
simplicity and reserve which distinguish the
sacred writers. Nor does it account at all more
naturally for this sudden use of the plural to
imagine (it is a figment purely) that Luke
adopts here the narrative of another writer ;
for we may just as well suppose him to speak
thus abruptly in his own name as to allow
him to introduce another person as doing it
without apprising us of the change. (See
marginal note on p. 16.)

11-15. PAUL AND HIS ASSOCIATES AR-
RIVE IN EUROPE, AND PREACH AT
PHILIPPI.

11. We ran by a straight course. In the
nautical language of the ancients, as in that of
the moderns, to run meant to sail before the
wind. (See 27 : 16.) Luke observes almost a
technical precision in the use of such terms.
His account of the voyage to Rome shows a
surprising familiarity with sea-life. — Unto
Samothrace, which they reached the first
day. This island, the present Samothraki, is
about halfway between Troas and Neapolis,
and is the highest land in this part of the
JEgean, except Mount Athos. The ordinary
currents here are adverse to sailing northward,
but southerly winds, though they are brief,
blow strongly at times, and overcome entirely
that disadvantage. With such a wind, " the
vessel in which Paul sailed would soon cleave
her way through the strait between Tenedos

1 Histoire de la Th6ologie Chrelienne, tome second, p. 603 (Strasbourg, 1852).

184

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XVI.

straight course to Saniothracia, and the next duy to
Neapolis ;

12 Aud from thence to "Philippi, which is the chief
city of tliat part of Mncedonia, ami a colony: and we
were in that city abiding certain days.

straight course to Saniothrace, and the day follow-
12iiig to Xeapolis; and from thence to I'hilippi, which
is a city of Macedonia, the first Of the district, a Ro-
man colony : and we were in this city tarrying cer-

and the main, past the Dardanelles, and near
the eastern shore of Imbros. On rounding the
northern end of this island they would open
Samothrace, whioli had hitherto appeared as a
higher and more distant summit over the lower
moimtains of Imbros. Leaving this island, and
bearing now a little to the west, and having the
wind still (as our sailors say) two or three points
abaft tlie beam, they steeretl for Samothrace,
and under the shelter of its high shore anchored
for the night." (See the nautical proofs in Cony-
beare and Howson.) — Unto Neapolis, a Thra-
cian city on the Strymonic gulf, the modern

Gangas, or Gangitas. It was at some distance
east of the Strj'mon, and not on that river, as
some have said. The adjacent plain is memo-
rable in Roman historj' as the place where the
battle was fought between the republicans,
under Brutus, and the followers of Anthony
and Augustus. — Which is a chief city of
the province of Macedonia, being a col-
ony. First, or chief, designates it as one of
the first places there, and colony explains the
ground of the epithet. Augustus had sent a
colony thither (see Diet, of Antt., s. colonia),
which had conferred upon it new iraport-

NEAPOLIS.

Kavalla. It was north-west from Samothrace,
but even with a southerly wind could be reached
in seven or eight hours. As the same verb de-
scribes the remainder of the journey, it might
seem as if they merely touched here, but did
not land, proceeding along tlie coast to some
harbor nearer to Pliilippi than this. Some
writers would place the port of that city far- ,
ther west than the present Kavalla. It is gen- j
orally agreed, however, that Neapolis was the ]
nearest town on the sea, and hence, though the |
distance was not less than ten miles, was iden- i
tical with Philippi as to purposes of travel and
trade. Kavalla is the nearest port at present,
and the shore appears to have undergone no
change, either from recession or advance.^

12. Philippi was on a steep acclivity of the
Thracian Hernias, where this range slopes
toward the sea, on the small stream called

ance. Some understand first geographically:
first as they entered Macedonia, which Winer
calls the simplest explanation. That Neapolis
lay farther east does not clash with this view ;
for those who adopt it take Macedonia here in
the Greek sense, which assigns Neapolis to
Thrace. It is a stronger objection that Luke
would then mean Greek Macedonia here, but
elsewhere the Roman province so named— i. e.
Northern Greece, in distinction from Achaia,
or Southern Greece. (See on 18 : 5.) Further,
is indicates a permanent distinction ; whereas
was would have been more natural to mark
an incident of the journey (was first on their
way). The proper capital of Macedonia (hence
not first in that sense) was Thessalonica. If
the earlier division into four parts still con-
tinued, Amphipolis was politically first in pars
prima. "It may be added," says Akerman,

1 My thanks are due to the Rev. Dr. Hill of Athens for inquiries in relation to this point.

Ch. XVI.]

THE ACTS.

185

13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a
river side, where prayer was wont to be made ; and we
sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted
thither.

13 tain days. And on the sabbath day we went forth
without the gate by a river side, where we supposed
there was a place of prayer; and we sat down, and
spake unto the women who were come together.

"in confirmation of the words of Luke, that
there are colonial coins of Philippi from the
reign of Augustus to that of Caracalla." It is
frequently said that this was the first place on
the continent of Europe where the gospel was
preached ; but we have no certain knowledge
of the origin of the church of Rome, and, very
possibly, it may have been founded by some of
the converts on the day of Pentecost. The church
at Philippi was the first church in Europe
which the apostle Paul established. — Certain
days denotes apparently the few days which
they spent there before the arrival of the Sab-
bath.

13. Instead of the received ont of the city,
the later criticism would read out of the gate.
This part of the narrative often shows the pres-
ence of the historian. — Beside a river — viz.
the Gangas. The name was unimportant, but
could hardly fail to be known to Luke, who
was so familiar with Philippi. (See on v. 40.)
[" I incline to think," writes Dr. Hackett in
1860, after visiting the site of Philippi, "that
we have an intimation here that the critics are
right who suppose that Luke stayed at Philippi
until the apostle's second arrival here. Being
an inquisitive man, as we know from the proem
of his Gospel, no doubt he sought out the name
of the river on his first arrival, when his curi-
osity was still fresh ; and, had he afterward re-
membered the place merely as a traveller, he
would have been led quite naturally to insert
the name when he wrote his history. But if,
on the contrary, he was there so long that his
ear became accustomed to the popular expres-
sion ' the river,' ' water,' ' stream ' " (for, as the
only river in the neighborhood, it would prob-
ably be thus referred to by the people.— A. H.),
" it is, then, conceivable that when he came to
write out his memoranda or recollections he
would pass over the name, and speak uncon-
sciously as the old habit dictated " {Bib. Sac.,
xvii. p. 875).— A. H.] The river may possibly
have been the more distant Strymon (Neand.,
Mey.), though, if gate be the correct word, the
stream intended must be a nearer one. In
summer the Gangas is almost dry, but in win-
ter or after rains may be full and swollen. [In
his last ed. Meyer recedes from his earlier view
and adopts that of Dr. Hackett. In the month
of December, 1858, soon after issuing the second
edition of this Commentary, Dr. Hackett had
the pleasure of visiting the sites of NeapolLs

and Philippi. (See Bib. Sac., xvii. p. 866, etc.)
He was anxious to see the Gangas full of water,
and not merely the dry bed of a winter-torrent.
Nor was he disappointed: "Suddenly, as we
drew nearer, a roaring noise broke upon me.
There was no visible cause for it; it seemed
almost as if some convulsion of nature was at
hand. A few steps farther, and the mystery
was cleared up: there, rushing and pouring
over its rocky bed, was a wild winter-torrent,
which had been formed by the recent rains.
The proper bed of the stream measured, in
width, sixty-six feet. One-half of this space
was covered with water, varying from one and
a half and two feet to four and five feet. The
stones at the bottom were rounded and worn,
and showed the action of a still more powerful
current at times. Its course was winding as it
ran past Philippi; and it is evident that the
direction of the walls had been adjusted to that
of the stream. It skirts the east or south-east
side, and then trends off to the south-west. . . ,
We crossed the stream, and at the distance of
three hundred and fifty feet from its margin
found a break in the line of the dilapidated
walls which showed clearly where the gate had
been on that side of the city. . . . Paul and his
company must have entered the town here.
It may be supposed to have been out of this
gate that they passed when they went to preach
on the river-side ; for the place on the banks,
as remarked already, was near the gate, and,
situated as Philippi was, no other gate would
have brought them so directly to the river as
this." — A. H.] — Where (according to an ancient
usage in that city) was wont to be a place
of prayer (Kuin., Neand., Mey., De Wet.).
The Jews preferred to assemble near the water,
on account of the lustrations which accompa-
nied their worship. Neander illustrates this
usage from what Tertullian says of them {De
Jejun., c. 16) : " Per onme litus quocunque in
aperto . . . precem ad aelum mittunt" ["On
every shore, in whatever open place, they send
prayers to heaven "]. (See also Jos., Antt., 14.
10. 23.) The place of prayer (irpo<revx^) here
appears to have been, not an edifice, but a space
or enclosure in the open air consecrated to this
use. The word was so well known as the des-
ignation of a Jewish chapel or oratory that it
passed into the Latin language in that sense.
The rendering where prayer was wont to
be made (E. V.) does not agree easily with

186

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XVI.

14 T And a certain woman named Lvdia, a seller of
purple, of the citv of Thyatira, which worshipped
God, heard us: whose 'heart the I^rd opeued, that
she attended unto the things which were spoken of
Paul.

15 And when she was baptized, and her household,
she besought us, saying, If ye have judged uie to be

14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of pur-
ple, of the city of Thyatira, one that worshipped
God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, to
rive heed unto the things ^itich were spoken by

15 Paul. And when she was baptized, and her house-
hold, she besought us, saying. If ye have judged me

a Lake U : ii.

was. Instead of the substantive verb, the
predicate would be was made {yivtv^u, n : 6,
or nonta&ai, 1 Tim. I : i). — In wc . . . spake Luke
appears as one of the speakers. — The women
who came together, for prayer. The ab-
sence of a synagogue shows that the Jews here
were not numerous. Those who met for prayer
were chiefly women, and even some of these
were converts to Judaism.

14, Lydia was a very common name among
the Greeks and the Romans. It is not surpris-
ing, tlierefore, that it coincided with the name
of her country. Possibly she may have borne
a different name at home, but was known
among strangers as Lydia or the Lydian
(Wetst.). She is said to have been a seller
of pnrple (sc. cloths) from Thyatira. That
city was on the confines of Lydia and Mysia,
and the Lydians, as ancient writers testify, were
famoxis for precisely such fabrics. They pos-
sessed that reputation even in Homer's time.
(See H., 4. 141.) An inscription, " the dyers,"
has been 'bund among the ruins of Thyatira.
— Was hearing (^Kouev, relative imperf.) while
he discoursed (u:9;i5:ii), not when the act
(opened) took place (Alf.). — Whose heart
the Lord opened — i. e. in conformity with

other passages (Matt, ll : 25, »?. ; Luke ii : 45 ; I Cor. 3 : 6, 7),

enlightened, impressed by his Spirit, and so
prepared to receive the truth. — So as to at-
tend (ecbatic), or, less obvious, to attend (telic).

15. When she was baptized. It is left
indefinite whether she was baptized at once or
after an interval of some days. — And her
house, family. "Here," says De Wette, "as
well as in V. 33 ; 18 : 8 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 16, some would
find a proof for the apostolic baptism of chil-
dren ; but there is nothing here which shows
that any except adults were baptized." Ac-
cording to his view (in Stud, und Krit., p. 669,
1830) of the meaning of 1 Cor. 7 : 14, it is im-
possible that baptism should have been applied
to children in the primitive churches. In ar-
guing from the case of children to that of mar-
ried persons, one of whom is an unbeliever, in
order to justify the continuance of the relation,
" the ap)OStle must appeal to something which
lay out of the disputed case, but which had a
certain similarity and admitted of an applica-
tion to it. This something is nothing else than

the relation which the children of Christian
parents in general sustain to the Christian
Chvu-ch, and the expression 'your children'
refers to all the Corinthian Christians. The
children of Christians were not yet received
properly into a Christian community — were not
yet baptized — and did not take part in the de-
votional exercises and love-feasts of the church ;
accordingly, they might have been regarded as
unclean (oKa^apra) with as much reason as the
unbelieving converts could be so regarded. In
this passage, therefore, we have a proof that
children had not begun to be baptized in the
time of the apostles." The her household,
as Meyer remarks, consisted, probably, of wom-
en who assisted Lydia in her business. " When
Jewish or heathen families," he says further,
" became Christians, the children in them could
have been baptized only in cases in which they
were so far developed that they could profess
their faith in Christ, and did actually profess
it ; for this was the universal requisition for the
reception of baptism. (See also vv. 31, 33 ; 18 :
8.) On the contrary, if the children were still
unable to believe, they did not partake of the
rite, since they were wanting in what the
act presupposed. The baptism of children is
not to be considered as an apostolic institu-
tion, but arose gradually in the post-apostolic
age, after early and long-continued resistance,
in connection with certain views of doctrine,
and did not become general in the church till
after the time of Augustine. The defence of
infant baptism transcends the domain of exe-
gesis, and must be given up to that of dogmat-
ics." Since a confession of faith preceded bap-
tism, says Olshausen, "it is improbable in the
highest degree that by 'her household' (oIkos
aiirrji) children of an immature age are to be
understood : those baptized with her were rela-
tives, servants, grown-up children. We have
not, in fact, a single sure proof-text for the bap-
tism of children in the apostolic age, and the
necessity of it cannot be derived from the idea
of baptism." He says on 1 Cor. 1 : 17 that
"nothing can be inferred in favor of infant
baptism from the word ' household ' (oIkoj), be-
cause the adult members of the household
(comp. 1 Cor. 16 : 15), or the servants in it, may
alone be meant." Neander maintains the same

Ch. XVI.]

THE ACTS.

187

faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide
tlu>.re. And "she constrained us.

16 If And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a
certain damsel ^possessed with a spirit of divination
met us, which brought ber masters 'much gain by
sooothsaying :

to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and
abide there. And she constrained us.

16 And it came to pass, as we were going to the place
of prayer, that a certain maid having la spirit of
dlrination met us, who brought her masters much

aG«n. 19:3; 33:11; Judg. 19:21; Luke 24:29; Heb. IS : 2 &1 Sam. 28 : T eob. I9:2i.-

-1 Or. a ipirit, a Python.

view of this class of passages : " Since baptism
marked the entrance into communion with
Christ, it resulted, from the nature of the rite,
that a confession of fiiith in Jesus as the Re-
deemer would be made by the person to be
baptized. As baptism was closely united with
a conscious entrance on Christian communion,
faith and baptism were always connected with
one another ; and thus it is in the highest de-
gree probable that baptism was performed only
in instances where both could meet together,
and that the practice of infant baptism was
unknown at this period. We cannot infer the
existence of infant baptism from the instance
of the baptism of whole families; for the
passage in 1 Cor. 16 : 15 shows the fallacy
of such a conclusion, as from that it appears
that the whole family of Stephanus, who were
baptized by Paul, consisted of adults. . . .
From whom (if it belonged to the first Chris-
tian age) could the institution of infant bap-
tism have proceeded? Certainly it did not
come directly from Christ himself. Was it
from the primitive church in Palestine, from
an injunction given by the earlier apostles?
But among the Jewish Christians circumcision
was held as a seal of the covenant ; and hence
they had so much less occasion to make use of
another dedication for their children. Could
it, then, have been Paul that first introduced
among heathen Christians this change in the
use of baptism ? But this would agree least of
all with the peculiar Christian characteristics
of this apostle. He who says of himself that
Christ sent him, not to baptize, but to preach
the gospel ; he who always kept his eye fixed
on one thing, justification by faith, and so
carefully avoided everything which could give
a handle or a support to the notion of justifica-
tion by outward things (carnal), — how could
he have set up infant baptism against the cir-
cumcision that continued to be practised by the
Jewish Christians? In this case the dispute
carried on with the Judaizing party on the ne-
cessity of circumcision would easily have given
an opportunity of introducing this substitute
into the controversy, if it had really existed.
The evidence arising from silence on this topic
has, therefore, the greater weight."* It may

be proper to regard the decisions of such men
as representing the testimony of the present
biblical scholarship on this controverted sub-
ject. It is the more proper to accord to them
this character, because they proceed from men
whose ecclesiastical position would naturally
dispose them to adopt a different view — who
contend that infant baptism, having been in-
troduced, is allowable, notwithstanding their
acknowledgment that it has no scriptural war-
rant.—If ye have judged — i. e. by admitting
her to baptism, and thus declaring their confi-
dence in her. If (tl) is preferred to since (iwtC)
out of modesty. — Trusting to the Lord — i. e.
having faith in him ; a believer. (Comp. 10 :
45 ; 16 : 1.) — Constrained us. Not that they
needed so much entreaty, but that she could
not employ less, in justice to her grateful feel-
ings. Some think that they were reluctant to
accept the proffered hospitality, lest they should
seem to be actuated by mercenary motives. The
apostle was by no means indifferent to that im-
putation (20 : 34; 2 Cor. 12 : 17, 19), but it is inCOrrCCt

to say that he never showed himself unmindful
of it. He was the guest of Gains at Corinth
(Rom. 16 : 23), and was aided repeatedly by Chris-
tian friends when his circumstances made it

necessary (24 : 23 ; 28 : lO ; PMI. 4 : 15, »«.).

16-18. HEALING OP A DEMONIAC
WOMAN.

16. Now it came to pass, on a subsequent
day (Neand., De Wet.). — Unto the place of
prayer, which may omit the article as definite,
because it was the only such place there. But
some editors (Grsb., Lchm.) insert the. — A fe-
male slave (osi. 4 : 22) having the spirit of a
pythoness — i. e. of a diviner who was supposed
to have received her gift of prophecy from
Apollo. Luke describes the woman according
to her reputed character ; he does not express
here his own opinion of the case. His view
agreed, no doubt, with that of Paul ; and what
that was we learn from the sequel. To suppose
him to acknowledge Apollo as a real existence
would contradict 1 Cor. 8 : 4. — Procured.
Winer (g 38. 5) says that the active is more
appropriate here than the middle (comp. 19 :
24; Col. 4:1; Tit. 2 : 7), because the gain was
involuntary on her part. — Unto her masters.

Abridged from Byland's translation (lyiamung, v. *. w., Band L p. 2K).

188

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XVI.

17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying,
These men are the servants of the most high God,
which shew unto us the way of salvation.

18 And this did she many days. But Paul, "being
grieved, turned and said to the .spirit, I command thee
in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. 'And
he came out the same hour.

19 1; And <wheu her masters saw that the hope of
their gains was gone, •'they caught Paul and Silas, and
*drew them into the marketplace unto the rulers,

20 And brought them to the magistrates, saying,
These men, beiug Jews, /do exceedingly trouble our
city,

21 And teach cu.stoms, which are not lawful for us
to receive, neither to observe, being Komans.

17 gain by soothsaying. The same following after
Paul and us cried out, saying, These men are 'ser-
vants of the Most High God, who proclaim unto you

IS^the way of salvation. And this she did for many
days. But Paul, being sore troubled, turned and
said to the spirit, 1 charge thee in the name of Je-
sus Christ to come out of her. And it came out that
very hour.

19 But when her masters saw that the hope of their
gain was *gone, they laid hold on Paul and Silas,
and dragged them into the marketplace before the

20 rulers, and when they had brought them unto the
♦magistrates, they said, These men, being Jews, do

21 exceedingly trouble our city, and set fortn customs
which it IS not lawful for us to receive, or to observe.

a See Hark 1 : 25, 31....6 Uark 16 : 17....C ch. 19 : 25, 26.... d 'i Cor. 6 :&....« Matt. 10 : 18..../ 1 Kings 18:17; cfa. 17 : 6.-
1 Ur. bondtervanU. . . .2 Or, a tray 3 Qr. coma out....* Gr. prator:

A slave among the ancients who possessed a
lucrative talent wsis often the joint-property of
two or more owners. — By divining (navrevo-
lifvri) was the heathen term to denote the act.
Luke would have said, more naturally, by
prophesying {irpo<t>rrrevov(ra), had he been affirm-
ing his own belief in the reality of the preten-
sion.— The woman was, in fact, a demoniac
(see V. 18) ; and, as those subject to the power
of evil spirits were often bereft of their reason,
her divinations were probably the ravings of
insanity. The superstitious have always been
prone to attach a mysterious meaning to the
utterances of the insane. We may take it for
granted that the craft of the managers in this
case was exerted to assist the delusion.

17. Thee men are servants, etc. Some
have supposed that she merely repeated what
she had heard tlicm declare of themselves, or
what she had heard reported of them by others.
But the similarity of the entire account to that
of the demoniacs mentioned in the Gospels re-
quires us to refer this case to the same class of
phenomena. (See Matt. 8 : 29 ; Mark 3 : 11 ;
Luke 4 : 41 ; 8 : 28, etc.) According to those pas-
sages, we must recognize the acknowledgment
here as a supernatural testimony to the mission
of Paul and his associates, and to the truth of
the gospel which they preached.

18. The participle here used (Siairovri^tii) He-
sychius defines by being grieved (Av7nn>«is).
With that sense it would refer to Paul's com-
miseration of the woman's unhappy condition.
Taken as in 4 : 2, being indignant, it would
show how he felt to witness such an exhibition
of the malice of a wicked spirit. (Comp. Luke
13 : 16.) The latter meaning directs the act of
the participle to thesame object as that of turned
and said. It is better to preserve a unity in
that resj^ect. — To the spirit, who is addressed
here as di.stinct from the woman herself. The
apostle deals with the case as it actually was,
and his knowledge as an inspired teacher would
enable him to judge correctly of its character.

19-24. IMPRISONMENT OF PAUL AND
SILAS.

19. That the hope of their gain went
forth — i.e. with the exorcism (De Wet.). —
Having laid hold upon Paul and Silas.
Luke and Timothy may have been out of reach
just at that moment (comp. 17 : 5), or may have
been spared because they were Greeks. — Into
the marketplace. In ancient cities the seats
of the magistrates were erected commonly in
the markets or near to them. — Before the
rulers, called, in the next verse, governors.
The chief magistrates in a Roman colony were
the duumviri or quatuorviri, as the number was
not always the same. They frequently took,
however, the name ofprmtors, as one of greater
honor, and that in Greek was governors
(oTpoTiryoi). It appears, therefore, that the
magistrates at Philippi affected this latter title.
It is worthy of notice that this is the only oc-
casion in the Acts on which Luke applies the
term to the rulers of a city. Here, in a Roman
colony, the government would be modelled
naturally after the Roman form ; and the man-
ner in which the narrative reveals that circum-
stance marks its authenticity.

20. Being Jews. They say this at the
outset, in order to give more effect to the sub-
sequent accusation. No people were regarded
by the Romans with such contempt and hatred
as the Jews. It is not probable that the Philip-
pians at this time recognized any distinction
between Judaism and Christianity; they ar-
raigned Paul and Silas as Jews, or as the
leaders of some particular Jewish sect.

21. Customs, religious practices.— Which
are not lawful, etc. The Roman laws suffered
foreigners to worship in their own way, but did
not allow Roman citizens to forsake their relig-
ion for that of other nations. This was the
general policy. But, beyond that, Judaism had
been si)ecially interdicted. "It was a reliffio
liciia for the Jews," says Neander, "but they
were by no means allowed to propagate thek

Cm. XVI,]

THE ACTS.

189

22 And the multitude rose up together against them :
and the magistrates rent off their clothes, "and com-
manded to beat them.

ia And when they had laid many stripes upon them,
they east them into prison, charging the jailor to keep
them safely:

'H Who, having received such a charge, thrust them
into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the
stocks.

22 being Romans. And the multitude rose up together
against them: and the >ma^;iMlrates rent their gar-
ments off theiu, and commanded lo beat them with

23 rods. And when they had laid many stripes upon
them, they cast them into prison, charging the Jailor

24 to keep them safely: who, having received such a
charge, cast them into the inner prison, and made

a 3 Cor. 6 : 6; II : 23, 25 ; 1 Thui. 2 : 2.-

-1 Or. i>WE(f«r.

religion among the Roman pagans; the laws
expressly forbade the latter, under severe pen-
alties, to receive circumcision. It was the case,
indeed, at this time, that the number of prose-
lytes from the pagans was greatly multiplied.
This the public authorities sometimes allowed
to pass unnoticed, but occasionally severe laws
were passed anew to repress the evil" {Ch.
Hist., vol. i. p. 89). Still, the charge in this
instance, though formally false, since they were
not making proselytes to Judaism, was true
substantially. It was impossible that the gos-
pel should be preached without coming into
collision with the Roman laws. The gospel
was designed to subvert one system of false re-
ligion as well as another. It proposed to save
the souls of men, without respect to the par-
ticular government or political institutions un-
der which they lived. The apostles, in the pro-
mulgation of their message, acted under a
higher authority than tliat of the Caesars ; and
the opposition between Christianity and hea-
thenism soon became apparent, and led to the
persecutions which the Roman power inflicted
on the church in the first centuries.

22. And the multitude rose up together
against them. The prisoners were now in
the hands of the officers ; hence, we are not to
think here of any actual onset upon them, but
of a tumultuous outburst of rage, a cry on all
sides for the punishment of the offenders. The
magistrates hasten to obey the voice of the mob.
— Having torn off their garments, not their
own, but those of Paul and Silas. The rulers
are said to do what they ordered to be done.
(Comp. circumcised, in v. 3.) It was cus-
tomary to inflict the blows on the naked body.
Livy (2. 5) : " Missique lictores ad sumendum
supplicium, nudatos virgis csedunt" ["And
tiio lictors, being sent to inflict punishment,
boat the naked [youths] with rods"]. — Or-
dered to beat with rods. The verb declares
the mode a.s well as the act. Observe the offi-
cial brevity of the expression. The imperfect
describes the beating in its relation to rose up
against, or as taking place under the eye of
the narrator. For the latter usage, see W. g 40.
3. d. ; Mt. § 505. II. 1. In 2 Cor. 11 : 25, Paul

says that he was "thrice beaten with rods."
This was one of the instances ; the other two
the history has not recorded. Such omissions
prove that Luke's narrative and the Epistles of
Paul have not been drawn from each other —
that they are independent productions.

33. Many stripes shows that no ordinary
rigor would satisfy their exasperated feelings.
(See also v. 33.) The Jewish law restricted the
blows to " forty save one." The severity of the
punishment among the Romans depended on
the equity or caprice of the judge. In regard
to the silence of Paul and Silas under this out-
rage, see on v. 37.

24. Who having received such a com-
mand. We need not impute to the jailer any
gratuitous inhumanity ; he obeyed his instruc-
tions.— Into the inner prison, the remotest
part, whence escape would be most difficult.
Some confound this prison with the dungeon,
which was under ground, and would be dif-
ferently described. Walch's Dissertatio de vin-
adis Apostoli Paulli treats of this passage. — And
secured their feet into the block {=nervus).
This was an instrument for torture as well as

IN TUB STOCKS.

confinement. It was a heavy piece of wood
with holes into which the feet were put, so far
apart as to distend the limbs in the most pain-
ful manner. Yet in this situation, with their
bodies still bleeding from the effect of their re-
cent chastisement, and looking forward to the
morrow only in the expectation that it would
renew their pains, they could still rejoice ; their
prison at midnight resounds with the voice of

190

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XVI.

25 % And at midnight Paul and Silas prared, and
sang praises unto (iod: and tlie prisoners heard tliein.

20 'And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so
that tlie foundations of the prison were shalcen : and
immediately 'all the doors were opened, and every
one's bands were loosed.

27 And the Iceeper of the prison awalcening out of
his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, ne drew
out his sword, and would have killed himself, suppos-
ing that the prisoners had l)een tied.

•Is Hut I'aul cried with a loud voice, saying. Do thy-
self no harm : for we are ail here.

29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and
came trembling, and fell down before I'aul and Silas,

:{U And brought them out, aud said, 'Sirs, what must
I do to be saved?

25 their feet fast in the stocks. But about midnight
Paul and Silas were praying and sinking hymns
unto (iod, and the prisoners were listening to them ;

2Gand suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that
the foundations of tlie prison-house were shaken:
and immediately all the doors were opened ; and

27 every one's bands were loosed. And the jailor be-
ing "roused out of sleep, and seeing the prison doors
open, drew his sword, and was about to kill himself,

28 supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul
cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no barm :

29 for we are all here. And he called for lights, and
sprang in, and, trembling for fear, fell down before

30 Paul and Silas, and brought them out, and said, Sirs,

aeh. 4:SI....&eh. 6: 19; 12 : T, 10....e LakeS : 10; oh. 2:37; 9:6.

prayer and praise. Neander cites here Tertul-
lian's fine remark : " Nihil cms sentit in nervo,
qiuim animus in cselo est " [" Nothing the limb
feels in the stocks when the mind is in heaven "].
25-29. AN EARTHQUAKE SHAKES
THE PRISON.

25. Praying, they praised God. Their
prayers and praises were not distinct acts (hence
the form of theexpression),but their worshipcon-
sisted chiefly of thanksgiving, the language of
which they would derive more or less from
the Psalms. The Hebrews were so familiar
with the Old Testament, especially its devotional
parts, that they clothed their religious thoughts
si)ontaneously in terms borrowed from that
source. Se", e. g., the songs of Mary and Eliz-
abeth (Luke l:»9,*j)i and of ZachariaS (Luke l: 67,

•9) and Simeon (Luke 2:28, »i.). — Heard, lis-
tened to them while they sung. The imper-
fect describes the act; the aorist would have
related it merely.

26. All the doors. Some ascribe this
opening of the doors to the shock of the
earthquake; others, more reasonably, to the
power which caused the earthquake. — And
the chains of all — i. e. the prisoners (see
V. 28)— were loosened. {avi&,i, were loosened,
is first aorist passive from awVi. B. g 108 ; S.
§ 81. I.) That the other prisoners were re-
leased in this manner was, no doubt, miracu-
lous ; it was adapted to augment the impression
of the occurrence, and to attest more signally the
truth of the gospel. That they made no effort
to escape may have been owing to the terror of
the scene, or to a restraining influence which the
author of the interposition exerted upon them.

27. Was about to kill himself. The
jailer adopted this resolution because he knew
that his life was forfeited if the prisoners had
escaped. (Conip. 12: 19; 27 : 42.)— Supposing
the prisoners to have fled, and to be gone;
infin. perfect, hooause the act, though past, was
connected witli the present. (W. §44. 7.)

28. With a voice loud. (See note on 14 :
10.) — Do thyself no injury. For the mode
and tense, see on 7 : 60. How, it has been
asked, could Paul have known the jailer's in-
tention ? The narrative leaves us in doubt on
that point, but suggests various possibilities.
It is not certain that the prison was entirely
dark (see on v. 29), and the jailer may have
stood at that moment where Paul could dis-
tinguish his form, or, as Doddridge suggests, he
may have heard some exclamation from him
which disclosed his purpose. The fact was re-
vealed to the apostle, if he could not ascertain
it by natural means. — We are all here. We
do not know the structure of the prison. The
part of it where the apostle was, and the posi-
tion in which he sat, may have enabled him to
see that no one of the prisoners had passed
through the open doors, or he may have been
divinely instructed to give this assurance.

29. Having called for lights, which
could be carried in the hand. The noun ia
neuter and in the plural, not singular (E. V.).
The ordinary night-lamps, if such had been
kept burning, were fastened, perhaps, or fur-
nished only a faint glimmer. Lights may be a
generic plural, but refers, more probably, to the
jailer's summoning those in his service to pro-
cure lights, to enable him to ascertain the con-
dition of the prison. The sequel shows that
the whole family were aroused. — Fell down,
cast himself at their feet in token of reverence.
(See Mark 3:11; Luke 8 : 28.) He knew that
the miracle was on their account.

30-34. CONVERSION OF THE JAILER
AND HIS FAMILY.

30. Having led them forth out— t. e. of
the inner prison into another room, not into
his own house. (See v. 34.)— What must I
do in order that I may be saved? Their
answer, in the next verse, shows with what
meaning the jailer proposed '•his question. It
cannot refer to any fear of punishment from

Ch. XVl.j

THE ACTS.

lul

31 And they said, «BeliSTe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

:<2 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord,
and to all that were in his house.

3o And he took them the same hour of the night, and
washed their stripes ; and was baptized, he and all his,
■traightway.

31 what must I do to be saved 7 And they said, Believe
on the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved, thou

32 and thy house. And they spake the word of 'the
Lord unto him, with all that were in his house.

33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and
washed their stripes ; and was baptized, he and all

a John S : 16, M ; C : 47 ; 1 John 5 : 10.-

-1 Some ■nolent authorities read God.

the magistrates; for he had now ascertained
that the prisoners were all safe, and that he
was in no danger from that source. Besides,
had he felt exposed to any such danger, he
must have known that Paul and Silas had no
power to protect him ; it would have been use-
less to come to them for assistance. The ques-
tion in the other sense appears abrupt, it is
true, but we are to remember that Luke has
recorded only parts of the transaction. The
unwritten history would perhaps justify some
such view of the circumstances as this. The
jailer is suddenly aroused from sleep by the
noise of the earthquake ; he sees the doors of
the prison open; the thought instantly seizes
him, "The prisoners have fled!" He knows
the rigor of the Roman law, and is on the
point of anticipating his doom by self-murder.
But the friendly voice of Paul recalls his pres-
ence of mind. His thoughts take at once a
new direction. He is aware that these men
claim to be the servants of God — that they pro-
fess to teach the way of salvation. It would
be nothing strange if, during the several days
or weeks that Paul and Silas had been at
Philippi, he had heard the gospel from their
own lips, had been one among those at the
river-side or in the market whom they had
warned of their danger, and urged to repent
and lay hold of the mercy oifered to them in
the' name of Christ. And now suddenly an
event had taken place which convinces him in
a moment that the things which he has heard
are realities ; it was the last argiiment, perhaps,
which he needed to give certainty to a mind
already inquiring, hesitating. He comes trem-
bling, therefore, before Paul and Silas, and asks
them to tell him — again, more fully — what he
m^st do to be saved.

81. And thou shalt be saved and thy
family. They represent the salvation as
ample ; it was free not only to him, but to all
the members of his household who accept the
proffered mercy. The apostle includes them,
because, as we see from the next verse, they
were present and listened with the jailer to the
preaching of the gospel. As Meyer remarks,

thy house belongs in effect to believe and b«
saved, as well as thou.

32. And they spake to him the word of
the Lord, and to all who were in his
house. This refers to the more particular
instruction respecting the way of salvation,
which they proceeded to give after the gen-
eral direction in the preceding verse. — Those
in his family (rols iv t^ oIkIo. outoO) cannot em-
brace infants, because they are incapable of re-
ceiving the instruction which was addressed to
those whom the expression designates here.

33. Taking them along, say Conybeareand
Howson correctly, implies a change of place.
The jailer repaired with Paul and Silas from the
outer room (see out («fu), in v. 30) to the water,
which he needed for bathing their bodies. —
Washed from their stripes stands concisely
for washed and cleansed them from their
stripes. (W. § 47, 5. b.) This verb, says Dr.
Robinson {Lex. N. T., s. v.), signifies to wash
the entire body, not merely a part of it, like
nipto (vinru). Trench says: "vCnrtiv {niptein)
and vixjiaiT^ai {nipsasthai) almost always express
the washing of a part of the body (the hands,
in Mark 7:3; the feet, in John 13 : 5 ; the face,
in Matt. 6 : 17 ; the eyes, in John 9:7); while
Aoiitii' {louein), which is not so much ' to wash '
as ' to bathe,' and Aou<ri>ai (louesthai), ' to bathe one's
self,' imply always, not the bathing of a pjirt
of the body, but of the whole. (Comp. Heb. 10 :
23 ; Acts 9 : 37 ; 2 Pet. 2 : 22 ; Rev. 1:5; Plato,
Phsed., 115 a."i To the same effect, see Tittm.,
Synm. N. T., p. 175.')— Was baptized. The
rite may have been performed, says De Wette,
in the same fountain or tank in which the
jailer had washed them. " Perhaps the water,"
says Meyer, "was in the court of the house;
and the baptism was that of immersion, which
formed an essential part of the symbolism of
the act. (See Rom. 6 : 3, sq.)" Ancient houses,
as usually built, enclosed a rectangular reservoir
or basin (the impluvium so called) for receiving
the rain which flowed from the slightly-inclined
roof. Some suggest that they may have used a
KoAv/x^>i^pa {colwnbethra) or swimming-bath, found

1 Synonym* of the Nttv Testament (p. 216), by Richard Chenevix Trench, King's College, London (New Yozi^
18S7).

102

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XVI.

34 And when be had brought them into his house,
•he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believiug in
God with all his house.

sa And when it was day, the magistrates sent the
Serjeants, saying, Let those men go.

36 And the Iceeper of the prison told this saying to
Paul, The mugistrates have sent to let you go: now
therefore depart, and go in peace.

•i~ Kut Paul said unto them, They have beaten us
openly uncondemned, 'being Romans, and have cast

34 his, immediatply. And he brought them up into
his house, and set 'meat before them, and rejoiced
greatly, with all his house, *having believed in God.

35 But when it was day, the 'magistrates sent the

36 <serjeanta, saying, I.,et those men go. And the jailor
reported the words to Paul, naying, The ^magistrates
have sent to let you go: now therefore come forth,

37 and go in peace. But Paul said unto them, They
have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men that

a Luke 6 : 29 ; U : 6. . . .& oh. S3 : 15. 1 Or. a t4M» S Or, lutoing helitvtd Ood. . . .3 Or. prator$ 1 Or. Ucton.

within the walls of the prison (Grab., Rosnm.,
Kuin.). Such a bath was a common appurte-
nance of houses and public edifices among the
Greeks and Romans. Whether the Gangas
flowed near the prison, so as to be easily ac-
cessible, cannot be decided. — And all his are
evidently the all in his house to whom they
had just preached the word, as stated in v. 32.

34. Having brought them up into his
house* which appears to have been over the
prison. — He rejoiced with all his family —
i. e. he and all his family rejoiced. Having
believed in God states the object or occa-
sion of their joy. (Comp. 1 Cor. 14 : 18.) This
act, like that of the verb, is predicated of tlie
jailer's family as well as of himself.

35-40. THEY ARE SET AT LIBERTY,
AND DEPART FROM PHILIPPI.

35. The sergeants = the rod-bearers {lictores),
who wf^ited upon Roman magistrates and exe-
cuted their orders. In the colonies they carried
staves — not fasces, as at Rome. It deserves
notice that Luke introduces this term just here.
Though applied occasionally to Greek magis-
trates as bearing the staff of authority, it was
properly in this age a Roman designation, and
is found here in the right place as denoting the
attendants of Roman officers. — Release them.
The rulers did not command them to leave the
city, but expected them, doubtless, to use their
liberty for that purpose. It is uncertain how
we are to account for this sudden change of
disposition toward Paul and Silas. The mag-
istrates may have reflected in the interval on
the injustice of their conduct and have relented,
or possibly, as they were heathen and super-
stitious, they had been alarmed by the earth-
quake, and feared the anger of the gods on
account of their inhumanity to the strangers.

36. The jailer reported these words
nnto Paul — i. e. from the lictors, who, there-
fore, did not accompany him into the prison.
The same verb occurs in v. 38, of the answer

which the lictors conveyed to the magistrates.
— That they have sent — sc. a message, or
messengers. — In peace* unmolested. (See on
15 : 33.) The jailer anticipates their ready ac-
ceptance of the offer.

37. Said unto them* the lictors — i. e. by
the mouth of the jailer.— Having scourged
us publicly uncondemned, men who are
Romans. Almost every word in this reply
contains a distinct allegation. It would be dif-
ficult to find or frame a sentence superior to it
in point of energetic brevity. Both the Lex
Valeria and the Lex Porcia made it a crime to
inflict blows or any species of torture on a
Roman citizen : " Facinus est vinciri civem
Romanum, scelus verberari, prope parricidium
necari"! (Cic. in Verr., 5. 66). — Publicly. It
would have been a crime to have struck them
a single blow, even in secret ; they had been
cruelly scourged in open day, and before hun-
dreds of witnesses. — Uncondemned. The
Roman laws held it to be one of the most
sacred rights of the citizen that he should be
tried in due form before he was condemned :
" Causa cognita multi possunt absolvi ; incog-
nita quidem condemnari nemo potest"* (Cic. in
Verr., 1. 9). Even slaves had an admitted legal
as well as natural right to be heard in their de-
fence before they were punished. — Romans.
In 22 : 28, Paul says that he was " free-bom."
In regard to the probable origin of his Roman
citizenship, see the note on 22 : 25. It appears
that Silas possessed the same rights, but it is
not known how he obtained them. At first
view it may appear surprising that Paul did
not avow himself a Roman at the outset, and
thus prevent the indignity to which he had
been subjected. " But the infliction of it," says
Biscoe, " was so hasty that he had not time to
say anything that might make for his defence ;
and the noise and confusion were so great that,
had he cried out with ever so loud a voice that
he was a Roman, he might reasonably believe

> [" It is a crime to bind a Roman citizen ; a heinous offence to scourge him ; almost a parricide to put Mm to
death."]

* [" When a case has been tried many may be acquitted ; but while it ia yet untried no one can be oon<
demned."]

Ch. XVI.]

THE ACTS.

193

vA Into prison ; and now do they thrust us out privily 7
nay verily ; but let them come themselves and retch us
out.

38 And the Serjeants told these words unto the mag-
istrates : and they feared, when they heard that they
were Romans.

39 And they came and besought them, and brought
t/iem out. and "desired thtm to depart out of the city.

40 Ana they went out of the prison, ^and entered
into the home of Lydia : and when they had seen the
brethren, they comforted them, and departed.

are Romans, and have cast us into prison ; and do
they now cast us out privily? nay verily; but let

38 them come themselves and bring us out. And the
^Serjeants reported these words unto the -magis-
trates : aud tney feared, when they heard that they

39 were Romans; and they came and besought them:
and when they had brought them out, they askea

40 them to go away from the city. And they went out
of the prison, and entered into Ihf. house of Lydia :
and when they had seen the brethren, they ^m-
forted them, and departed.

a Matt. 8 :S4....6 ▼«.!«.-

-1 Or. Ueton 3 Or. proton.... S Or, exhorted

that he should not be regarded. Seeing also
the fury of the multitude (t. w), it is not im-
probable he might think it most advisable to
submit to the sentence pronounced, however
unjust, in order to quiet the people and prevent
a greater evil ; for he was in danger of being
forced out of the hands of the magistrates and
torn in pieces. But, whatever were the true
reasons which induced the apostle to be silent,
the overruling hand of Providence was herein
plainly visible ; for the conversion of the jailer
and his household was occasioned by the exe-
cution of this hasty and unjust sentence." —
And do they now send us forth secretly?
Some render the verb thrast forth, which is
too strong (comp. 9 : 40) and draws away the
emphasis from secretly, to which it belongs.
— No, certainly (ou yap), they do not dismiss
us in that manner. In this use, yi (resolving
yap into its parts) strengthens the denial, while
•pa shows the dependence of the answer on
what precedes : not according to that — i. e. after
such treatment. Klotz (Ad Devar. ,ii. p. 242),
Winer (? 53. 8. b), and others adopt this anal-
ysis.— They themselves, instead of sending
their servants to us. — In asserting so strongly
their personal rights, they may have been in-
fluenced in part by a natural sense of justice,
and in part by a r^ard to the necessity of
such a vindication of their innocence to the
cause of Christ at Philippi. It was important
that no stain should rest upon their reputa-
tion. It was notorious that they had been
scourged and imprisoned as criminals ; and
if, after their departure, any one had sus-
pected or could have insinuated that possibly
they had suffered not without cause, it would
have created a prejudice against the truth. It
was in their power to save the gospel from that
reproach, and they used the opportunity. It
may be proper at times to allow the wicked or
misguided to trample upon our individual
rights and interests if they choose, but those
13

who are " set for the defence of the gospel "
owe their good name and their influence to
Christ and the church, and have a right to
invoke the protection of the laws against
any invasion of their means of public use-
fulness.

38. Reported back. (See on v. 36.) —
Were afraid. They had cause for apprehen-
sion. (Comp. 22 : 29.) A magistrate who pun-
ished a Roman citizen wrongfully might be
indicted for treason ; he was liable to suffer
death and the confiscation of all his prop-
erty (Grot.).

39. Entreated, b^ged (»:»). This was not
an unexampled humiliation for a Roman offi-
cer. Lucian mentions a case of false imprison-
ment in which the governor of a province not
only acknowledged his error, but paid a large
sum of money to those whom he had injured,
in order to bribe them to be silent.

40. Unto Lydia, whose guests they were
(t. 15), and where the disciples may have been
accustomed to meet. — The brethren, who
had been converted at Philippi, and who
formed the beginning of the church afterward
addressed in the Epistle to the Philippians.
This church was founded, therefore, about a. d.
52. We have evidence in that letter that no
one of all the churches planted by Paul pos-
sessed so entirely his confidence or exhibited
the power of the gospel in greater purity. —
Exhorted — viz. to be firm, to cleave to the
gospel (comp. 11 : 23) ; not comforted, which
would be too specific for the occasion. — They
went forth. The narrator, it will be seen,
proceeds now in the third person, and main-
tains that style as far as 20 : 5. Some have
inferred from this that Luke remained at
Philippi until Paul's last visit to Macedonia.
We find Timothy with the apostle at Berea
(iT:ii), but whether he accompanied him at
this time or rejoined him afterward cannot be
decided. (See further on 17 : 10.)

194

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XVIL

CHAPTER XVII.

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and
Apollonia, thev came to Thessalonica, where was a
synagogue of the Jews :

2 And I'aul. as his manner was, 'went in unto them,
and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the
scriptures,

3 Opening and alleging, ^that Christ must needs have
suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this
Jesus, whom 1 preach unto you, is Christ.

1 Now when thev had passed through Amphipolis
and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, wnere

2 was a synagogue of the Jews: and Faul, as his cus-
tom was, went in unto them, and for three 'sabbath

3 days reasoned with them from the scriptures, open-
ing and alleging, that it behoved the Christ to suffer,
and to rise again from the dead ; and that this Jesus,
whom, said he, I proclaim unto you, is the Christ.

a Lake « : 16 ; ch. 9 : 20 ; IS : 5, 14 ; Hi I; 18 : 13 ; It) : 8. . . .<> Luke 2« : 26, 46 ; ch. 18 : 28 ; Gal. 3 : 1.-

-1 Or, week!

1-4. THEY PROCEED TO THESSALO-
NICA, AND PREACH THERE.

1. The place which invited their labors next
was Thessalonica, about a hundred miles south-
west of Philippi. They travelled thither on
the great military road which led from Byzan-
tium to Dyrrachium, or Aulona, opposite to
Bnindusium, in Italy. It was the Macedonian
extension of the Appian Way. They could
accomplish the journey in three or four days
(Wiesl.). — On leaving Philippi they came first
to Amphipolis, which was south-west, distant
about thirty miles. This place was about three
miles from the sea, on the eastern bank of the
Strymon, which flowed almost round it and
gave to it its name. — Apollonia, their next
station, was about the same distance south-
west from Amphipolis. They remained a
night, perhaps, at each of these towns. —
Thessaionica was a rich commercial city

Pind., p. 157) and read : From Philippi to Am-
phipolis, thirty-two miles ; from Amphipolis to
Apollonia, thirty-two miles; from Apollonia
to Thessalonica, thirty-six miles. — The syna-
gogue, definite, because the Jews in that re-
gion may have had but one such place of wor-
ship. (W. § 17. 1.)

2. Here, again, according to his custom,
Paul betakes himself first to the Jews. (Comp.
13 : 5, 14 ; 14 : 1.) Custom (e«oi>6i) has the con-
struction of a noun, but governs the dative as
a verb. (Comp. Luke 4 : 16.) The genitive
would have been the ordinary case. (W. ^ 31.
7. N. 2.) — From the Scriptures. He drew
the contents of his discourse from that source.
(W. § 47. p. 333.)

3. Opening — i. e. the Scriptures — unfolding
their sense. (Comp. Luke 24:32.) — Pro-
pounding, maintaining. — That the Mes-
siah must sutfer, in order to fulfil the

THESSALONICA.

near the mouth of the Echedorus, on the
Thermaic Gulf, about twenty-eight miles near-
ly west of Apollonia. It is now called Sa-
loniki, having a population of seventy thou-
sand, of whom thirty thou.sand are Jews.
Luke's record almost reminds us of a leaf
from a traveller's note-book. He mentions
the places in their exact order. We turn to
the Itinerarium Antonhii Avrpisti (ed. Parth. et

i Scriptures. (Comp. 3:18; Matt. 26:54, 56;
Mark 14 : 49.) — And that this one — viz. he
who was to die and rise again — is the Mes-
siah Jesus — {. c. the Jesus called Messiah —
whom I announce unto you. The scope
of the argument is this : The true Messiah must
die and rise again ; Jesus has fulfilled that con-
dition of prophecy, and is therefore the prom-
ised Messiah. (Comp. 2 : 24, sq. ; 13 : 27, sq.)

Cn. XVII.]

THE ACTS.

195

4 •And some of them believed, and consorted with
Paul and 'Silas; and of the devout CJreeks a great
multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

5 % But the Jews which believed not, moved with
envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser
sort, and gathered a companv, and set all the city on
an uproar, and assaulted the house of 'Jason, and
sought to bring them out to the people.

6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason
and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, cry-
ing, ''These that have turned the world upside down
are come hither also;

4 And some of them were persuaded, and consorted
with I'aul and !?ilas; and of the devout Greeks a
great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

Sfiut the Jews, being moved with jealou.sy, took unto
them certain vile fellows of the rabble, and gather-
ing a crowd, set the city on an uproar ; and assault-
ing the house of Jason, they sought to bring them

6 forth to the people. And when they found them
not, they dragged Jason and certain brethren before
the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned

a eb. 18 : 24. . . .» Ob. IS : 22, 37, SI, 40. . . .e Bom. 16 : 21. . . .<! oh. 16 : 20.

4. Certain of them — i.e. of the Jews. (See
w. 1 and 2.)— Attached themselves (middle
sense) to Paul and Silas (Olsh., Whl., Rob.).
This is the easier sense, and receives support
from V. 34 and 14 : 4, where we meet with the
same thought in like circumstances. Others
render were allotted, granted to them, as it were
by divine favor. This may be the surer philo-
logical sense, and is adopted by Winer (§ 39. 2),
De Wette, Meyer, and Alford. — And of the
first women (comp. 13 : 50) not a few. The
women were evidently " devout " {irtfioiievuv) or
proselytes (comp. 13 : 50), as well as the men ;
so that all those mentioned as converts in this
verse were won to Christianity from the Jewish
faith, not from a state of heathenism. But in
1 Thess. 1 : 9, Paul speaks as if many of the
Thessalonian Christians had been idolaters (ye
turned to God from idols). Hence it is
possible, as Paley conjectures, that this verse
describes the result of Paul's labors during the
three weeks that he preached in the synagogue
(v. »), and that an interval which Luke passes
over preceded the events related in vv. 5-10.
During this interval the apostle, having been
excluded from the synagogue by the bigotry of
the Jews, may have preached directly to the
heathen. Another opinion is that he preached
to the Gentiles during the week-time, while on
the Sabbath he labored for the Jews in their
public assemblies (Neand.).

5-9. THE JEWS ACCUSE PAUL AND
SILAS BEFORE THE MAGISTRATES.

5. Which believed not (T. R.) lacks sup-
port.—Lewd fellows, or market-loungers
{.itibrostrani, subbasilka7ii). Had it been in the
East, where such people loiter about the gates,
the term would have been inappropriate. It is
instructive to observe how true the narrative is
to the habits of different nations, though the
scene changes so rapidly from one land to an-
other. But why should the Jews seek such
coadjutors? The reason is found in their situ-
ation: the Jews out of Judea had but little

power, and must secure the aid of the native
inhabitants. — Jason was their host (▼. t), and
also a relative of Paul, if he was the one men-
tioned in Rora. 16 : 21. In the latter case he
must have been at Corinth when Paul wrote
the Epistle to the Romans. So common a
name amounts to little as proof of the relation-
ship.— Sought to bring them unto the
people, and at the same time to the rulers
of the city (v. e) — i. e. into the forum, where
the magistrates were accustomed to try causes
in the presence of the people. (Comp. 16 : 19.)
They raised a mob (6xAoiroi^<7a>a^e«), in order to
arrest the offenders, but to the people shows
that they expected the trial to take place before
an orderly assembly.

6. But not having found them, they
dragged Jason and certain brethren
before the city rulers. Instead of chang-
ing their plan on failing to apprehend the
leaders, they seized upon such others as fell in
their way, and treated them as they had designed
to treat Paul and Silas. Lange's remark is in-
correct that they would have sacrificed the
strangers at once to the popular fury, but must
be more cautious in dealing with citizens. The
brethren appear to have been with Jason at
the time of the assault; probably they were
some of the Thessalonians who had believed.
— These are Paul and Silas, since they are
those whom Jason entertained. — Are present
also here, as they have been in other places,
and for the same purpose. — Here and in v. 8,
Luke terms the magistrates of Thessalonica
politarchs ; and his accuracy in this respect
is confirmed by an inscription of that place.
(See Boeckh's Corpus, vol. ii. p. 53, No. 1967.)
The inscription, which is of the Roman times,
gives a list of seven magistrates bearing this
title. This is the more worthy of remark be-
cause the title is a very rare one, and might
easily be confounded with that of poliarchs,
which is another appellation of magistrates in
Greek cities.'

1 This note is due to President Woolsey, in the Aew Englander, vol. x. p. 144.

196

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XVII.

7 Whom Jason hath received : and these all do con-
trar>' to the decrees of Ceesar, 'saying that there is an-
other king, one Jesus.

S And they troubled the people and the rulers of the
city, when they heard these things.

■J And when they had taken security of Jason, and
of the others, they let thciu go.

10 % And *the brethren iuiuieidiately sent away Paul
and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming M/Mer went
into the synagogue of the Jews.

1 1 These were more noble than those in Tbessalonica,
in that they received the word with all readiness of
mind, and ^searched the scriptures daily, whether
those things were so.

7 'the world upside down are come hither also; whom
Jason hath received: and these ail act contrary to
the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another

8 king, one Jesus. And they troubled the multitude
and the rulers of the city, when they heard these

9 things. And when they had taken security from
Jason and the rest, they let them go.

10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul
and Silas by night unto P.ercca: who when they
were come thither went into the synagogue of the

11 Jews. Now these were more noble than those in
Thes.salonica, in that they received the word with
all readiness of mind, examining the scriptures

• Lak* n : 1 i John 19 : 11 ; 1 Pet. S : 13.

.6 Ob. 9:25; rer. 14. ...e lu. S4 :
habited earth.

IS ; Luke 16 : 29 ; John 5 : 39.-

7. All these— viz. Paul, Silas, and their
followers. The pronoun includes more than
its grammatical antecedent. — The decrees
of Caesar — i. e. the Roman laws against re-
bellion or treason. They are said to be the
decrees of the emperor — t. e. of each suc-
cessive emperor — because they emanated from
him, guarded his rights, and had the support
of his authority. The reigning emperor at this
time was Claudius. — Another king, sovereign.
(Comp. John 19 : 15 ; 1 Pet. 2 : 13.) [It is no-
ticeable also that the preaching of Paul in this
city must have contained references to a future
coming and reign of Christ which may have
been laid hold of and perverted by enemies,
esi>ecially as they seem to have been misunder-
stood bv some who believed. (See 1 Thess.
4 : 14; 5 : 2, 23; 2 Thess. 1 : 7, 8; 2 : 1-12.)—
A. H.] The Greeks applied this term to the
emperor, though the Romans never styled him
rex.

8. Troubled, etc. The statement alarmed
them, because the existence of such a party in
their midst would compromise their character
for loyalty and expose them to the vengeance
of their Roman masters. (See on 19 : 40.)

9. Having taken bail, or security. Said
to be a law-phrase adopted in Greek for satis
accipere. What they engaged would naturally
be that, as far as it depended on them, the pub-
lic peace should not be violated, and that the
alleged authors of the disturbance should leave
the city (Neand.). Instead of combining the
two objects, some restrict the stipulation to the
first point (Mey.), while others restrict it to the
last (Kuin.). — The others who had been
brought before the tribunal with Jason. (See
v. 6.)— Let them go, dismissed them from i
custody — viz. the Thessalonians, not the mis- I
sionaries who had escaped arrest. j

10-13. PAUL AND SILAS PROCEED TO I
BER(EA. I

10. Immediately, on the evening of the j
day of the tumult. Paul and Silas had spent j

three or four weeks at least in Tbessalonica
(see V. 2), and very possibly some time longer.
(See on v. 4.) Weiseler proposes six or eight
weeks as the term of their residence in that
city. Being obliged to leave so hastily, Paul
was anxicus for the welfare and stability of
the recent converts, and departed with the in-
tention of returning as soon as the present ex-
asperation against him should be allayed so as
to justify it (iThesa. 2:18). Subsequent events
frustrated this purpose, and under that disap-
pointment he sent Timothy to them to supply
his place (iThes.. s:2). It may be added that
while Paul was here he received supplies twice
from the church at Philippi. (See Phil. 4 : 15,
16.) From this source, and from his own per-
sonal labor, he derived his support, without
being dependent at all on the Thessalonians.
(See 1 Thess. 2 : 9; 2 Thess. 3 : 8.)— During
the night. This secrecy indicates that they
were still in danger from the enmity of the
Jews. (Comp. 20 : 3.) — Unto Berea. Berea,
now Verria, was about forty-five miles south-
west of Tbessalonica, on the Astraeus, a small
tributary of the Haliacmon. (See Forbg.,
Handb., iii. p. 1061.) The modem town has
six thousand inhabitants, of whom two hun-
dred are Jews, ten or fifteen hundred Turks,
and the rest Greeks.

11. More noble, in their disposition. — For
all without the article, see on 4 : 29. — From
day to day. T?ie (to) particularizes the repeti-
tion or constancy of the act. (W. ? 20. 3.)— If
these things taught by Paul were so, as he
affirmed — i. e. when examined by the Scriptures.
[A rare encomium ! And if it was a proof of
true nobleness in the Bereans to test the
apostle's doctrine by comparing it with the
sacred Scriptures in their possession, it must
be a proof of true nobleness to do the same
thing now — to prove all things and hold fast
that which is good (iThe«». 5:2i), to subject novel
opinions to a thorough comparison with the
established word of God. The duty of private

Ch. XVII.]

THE ACTS.

197

12 Therefore many of them believed ; also of hon-
orable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a
few.

13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica had know-
ledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at
Uerea, they came thither also, and stirred up the peo-
ple.

14 "And then immediately the brethren sent away
Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timo-
theus abode there still.

15 And they that conducted Paul brought him unto
Athens: and ^receiving a commandment unto Silas
and Timotheus for to come to him with all speed, they
departed.

16 ^ Now while Paul waited for them at Athens,

12 daily, whether these things were so. Many of them
therefore believed ; also of the Greek women of hon-

ISorable estate, and of men, not a few. Hut when the
Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word
of God was proclaimed of Paul at llercea also, they
came thither likewise, stirring up and troubling the

14 multitudes. And then immediately the brethren
sent forth Paul to go as far as to the sea: and Silas

15 and Timothy abode there still. But they that con-
ducted Paul brought him as far as Athens : and re-
ceiving a commandment unto Silas and Timothy
that thev should come to him with all speed, they
departed.

16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, bis

a Matt. 10 : 2S....t oh. 18 : 5.

interpretation is therefore plain. Whoever can
understand the words spoken by a living teacher
can, if he will, interpret the same words when
written in a book, or compare them with other
written words. There is also in this passage
clear evidence that Luke and the Bereans, and
the apostle likewise, looked upon the Old-Testa-
ment Scriptures as being a suitable standard by
which to try the preaching of Paul, and there-
fore as possessing divine authority. — A. H.]

12. Many of them believed [t. e. of the
Jews just described. A large part of those
who resorted to the synagogue for worship
were probably of Jewish derivation, though
some of them may have been proselytes from
heathenism. — A. H.]. Greek (adj.) agrees
with both women and men. The men were
Greeks as well as the women. (See the note on
2 : 42.)— For honorable, see 13 : 50.— Few
(oAt'yot) may be masculine, because men is the
nearer word, or out of r^ard to the leading
gender.

13. Also associates Berea with Thessalonica.
— There also belongs to the participle, not to
the verb. They excited the populace there
also as they had done in Thessalonica. —
Luke's narrative implies that the Jews were
somewhat numerous and influential at Berea.
Coins of this city are still extant, and, unlike
most other examples of ancient money, have
on them no pagan figure or symbol. Akerman
suggests (Num. lUustr.) in explanation of this
singular fact that the magistrates may have re-
jected such devices as a concession to the feel-
ings of the Jewish population.

14. 15. PAUL ADVANCES TO ATHENS.
14. To go as it Avere to the sea — lit. to

Jonrney as upon the sea ; i. e. as if with
such a purpose. The Greek particle here used,
(is) with upon (eiri), unto (eis), or toward (irpd«),
denotes design, but leaves it uncertain whether
the design be executed or professed merely. (See
W. § 65. 9 ; K. f 290. R. 2 ; B. § 149.) Lach-
mann would substitute unto (;«««) for as {in)— as

far as unto the sea — but against the evidence.
[With Lach. agree Tsch., Treg., West, and Hort,
Anglo- Am. Revisers, after K A B E, many cur-
sives, and the Vul., Syr., and Copt, versions.
The evidence now is therefore for rather than
against unto (iws). — A. H.] Some suppose the
movement here to have been a feint — that
Paul's conductors, having set out ostensibly
for the sea, afterward, in order to elude pursuit,
changed their course and proceeded to Athens
by land (Grot., Bng., Olsh.). But in that event
they would have passed through various im-
portant places on the way, and Luke might be
expected to name some of them, as he has done
in V. 1. The journey by land would have been
two hundred and fifty-one Roman miles (Itiner.
Anton.). [Besides, if the best-supported text is
followed, the basis for a conjecture that going to
the sea may have been a feint is taken away. —
A. H.] With a fair wind Paul and his party
could have sailed from Berea or the mouth of
the Haliacmon to Athens in about three days
(Wiesl.) ; and the probability is that they took
this more expeditious course (Win., De Wet.,
Wiesl., Mey.). (For an interesting sketch of
the places and objects which would be seen on
such a voyage the reader is referred to Cony-
beare and Howson, i. p. 403, «g.)— Timothy
was last mentioned in 16 : 1.

15. Those who conducted — lit. set him
along on the journey, whether by sea or land.
— Having received before their departure,
rather than receiving (E. V.), which might
imply that they returned in consequence of the
command. — With all speed, or as soon as
possible (K. f 239. R. 2. d) — t. e. afl«r perform-
ing the service for which they had remained.
Whether they rejoined the apostle at Athens or
not is uncertain. (See on the next verse.)

16-18. HOW HE WAS AFFECTED BY
THE IDOLATRY AT ATHENS.

16. While he was waiting for them —
viz. Silas and Timothy. The most natural in-
ference from 1 Thess. 3 : 1 is that Timothy, at

198 THE

ACTS. [Ch. XVIL

•his spirit was stirred is him, when he saw the city
wholly given to idolatry.

spirit was provoked within him, as he beheld the

a 1 PM. 1 : 8.

least, soon arrived, in accordance with Paul's
expectation, but was immediately sent away
by the apostle to Thessalonica. As Silas is not
mentioned in that passage, it has been supposed
that he may have failed for some reason to come
at this time, or, if he came, that, like Timothy,
he may have left again at once, but for a dif-
ferent destination ; which last circumstance
would account for the omission of his name
in that passage of the Epistle. Our next notice
of them occurs in 18 : 5, where they are repre-
sented as coming down from Macedonia to C!or-
inth ; and we may suppose either that they went
to that city directly fix>m Berea, without hav-

otherwise unknown to the extant Greek, but is
formed after a common analogy (e. g. KardfiinXot,
KaToUvipoi, KaTd<t>opot, etc.). The epithet applies
to the city, not directly to the inhabitants. A
person could hardly take his position at any
point in ancient Athens where the eye did not
range over temples, altars, and statues of the
gods almost without nmnber. Petronius says
satirically that it was easier to find a god at
Athens than a man. Another ancient writer
says that some of the streets were so crowded
with those who sold idols that it was almost im-
possible for one to make his way through them.
Pausanias declares that Athena had more lin-

ing followed Paul to Athens, or that they re-
turned from Athens to Macedonia and pro-
ceeded from there to C!orinth. The latter view
assumes that Luke has passed over the inter-
mediate journey in silence. Such omissions are
entirely consistent with the character of a frag-
mentary history like that of the Acts. Still
other combinations are possible. — His spirit
was aroused in him. (Comp. 15 : 39; 1 Cor.
13 : 5.) This verb represents the apostle as
deeply moved with a feeling allied to that of
indignation at beholding such a profanation of
the worship due to God as forced itself uiwn
his view on every side. — Full of idols (<caT«i-
j«Aov), not given to idolatry. The word is

ages than all the rest of Greece put together.
Wetstein quotes Xenophon, Isocrates, Cicero,
Livy, Strabo, Lucian, and others as bearing the
same testimonj'. Luke, therefore, has not ap-
plied this epithet at random. The Greek lan-
guage offered to him a hundred other terms
which would have stated what was true in re-
lation to a heathen city, but we see that he has
chosen among them all the very one which de-
scribes the precise external aspect of Athens
that would be the first to strike the eye of a
stranger like Paul. This mark of accuracy in
the writer those obliterate, or very nearly oblit-
erate, who make the expression refer to the de-
votion of the Athenians to idolatry.*

> Hermann {Ad Vig., p. 638, ed. 1824) turns aside to correct this error: " KarctSwAet »dAi«, Actor. Apost. 17 16
non est, uti quidam opinantor, timtUaerii dedita urbt, sed rimulacrit re/erta."

Ch. XVII.]

THE ACTS.

199

17 Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the
Jews, and with the devout persons, and iu the marliet
daily with them that met with him.

1« Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and
of the Stoics, encountered him. And some said. What
will this babbler say ? other some, He seemeth to be a
setter forth of strange gods : because he preached unto
them Jesus, and the resurrection.

17 city full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue
with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the
marketplace every day with them that met with

18 him. And certain also of the Epicurean and Stoic
philosophers encountered him. And some said.
What would this babbler say? other some, He
seemeth to be a setter forth of strange ^gods: be-

1 Or. dtnoM.

17. The apostle's ordinary course was to ad-
dress himself exclusively at first to his own
countrymen and the Jewish proselytes. At
Athens he departed from this rule.— There-
fore— i. e, being aroused by the sight of so
much idolatry. The spectacle around him
urges him to commence preaching simultane-
ously to Jews and Greeks, Some adopt a
looser connection: therefore — i. e. being at
Athens (De Wette). Some restrict therefore
to the second clause : his zeal impelled him to
preach in the market. It is arbitrary to divide
the sentence in that manner. — In the market
— ^i. e. of the city, not the one in which he hap-
pened to be (Mey.). It is generally admitted
that the Athenians had properly but one mar-
ket, although Leake has shown it to be probable
that " during the many centuries of Athenian
prosperity the boundaries of the Agora, or at
least of its frequented part, underwent consider-
able variation."! The notices of ancient writers
are somewhat vague as to its course and extent,
but it is agreed that the site was never so
changed as to exclude the famous Poecile (crroa
irouct'Ajj), which, according to Forclihammer's
Plan, stood off against the Acropolis on the
west.^ Iff Ifiis porch, as is well known, the
philosophers, rhetoricians, and others were
accustomed to meet for conversation and dis-
cussion; and hence it lay entirely in the
course of things that some of these men
should fall, as Luke states, in the way of
the apostle.

18. The Epicureans. The Epicureans were
the " minute philosophers," the Greek Saddu-
cees of the age ; they admitted the existence of
gods, but regarded them as indolent beings who
paid no attention to the actions or aflFairs of
men ; they had no faith in a providence or in
accountability or in any retribution to come.
Their great practical dogma was that a wise
man will make the most of all the means of
enjoyment within his reach. Epicurus, the
founder of the sect, had taught a higher idea
of happiness, but his followers in the Roman
age, and earlier still, had reduced it to the
grossest sensualism. The frivolous spirit of

this sect appears, perhaps, in the first of tlie
questions addressed to Paul. — The Stoics.
Tlie ^oics were distinguished in some respects
for a more reflecting turn of mind ; they ex-
tolled virtue, insisted on subjecting the passions
to reason, and urged the importance of becom-
ing independent of the ordinary sources of en-
joyment and suffering. Some of the most ad-
mired characters of antiquity belonged to this
school. But the Stoics were essentially fatalists
in their religious views; they were self-com-
placent, boasted of their indifference to the
world, and affected a style of morals so im-
practicable as to render them almost neces-
sarily insincere or hypocritical. In Epicurean-
ism, it was man's sensual nature which arrayed
itself against the claims of the gospel ; in Stoi-
cism, it was his self-righteousness and pride of
intellect ; and it is difficult to say which of the
two systems rendered its votaries the more in-
disposed to embrace the truth. It might have
seemed to the credit of Christianity had it been
represented as gaining at least a few proselytes,
in this centre of Grecian refinement, from the
ranks of its scholars and philosophers; but
Luke has no such triumphs to record. He
relates the case as it was ; the apostle was
ridiculed, his message was treated with con-
tempt.— Encountered him, conversed or
disputed with him (E. V., De Wet. ; comp.
4 : 15) ; not met with Mm, as in 20 : 14 (Bng.
Mey.), since the form, as iraperf., applies better
to a discussion than to a single contact of the
parties such as Luke mentions here. And said
agrees with either sense. [There is but a sliglit
difference between the view of Meyer in his last
ed. and that of Dr. Hackett. For Meyer says :
" That it was Epicureans and Stoics who fell
into conflict with him, . . . and not Academics
and Peripatetics, is to be explainal . . . from
the greater contrast of their philosophic tenets
with the doctrines of Christianity. The one
had their principle of pleasure, and the other
their pride of virtue. And both repudiated
faith in the Divine Providence." Only, the
imperfect tense of the verb is favorable to the
translation given by Dr. Hackett. — A. H.] —

1 Athent and Demi, p. 217.

200

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XVII.

19 And they took him. and brought him unto Are-
opagus, saving, May we know wliat this new doctrine,
whereof thou speakest, is f

19 cause he preached Jesus and the resurrection. And
they took hold of him, and brought him >unto 'the
Areopagus, saying, May we know wliat this new

t Or, »^lN^....l Or, tlukiUof Man

What would this babbler say? does be
mean to say. The particle {Iv) sharpens the
taunt: if he has any meaning (Mey.). (See
W. § 42. 1 ; C. g 604.) The word translated
babbler (owcpMoAcfyot) denotes strictly a seed-
gatherer, and then, as used here, one who picks
up and retails scraps of knowledge without
sense or aim, an idle prater. — Strange, or
foreign, gods, hitherto unknown to us. As
the expression is cited from the mouth of the
Greeks, we are to attach to it their sense of
demon {laxtiovutv), which was different from
that of the Jews. The noun may be plural,
because it refers to Jesus as an example of the
class or category (see W. ? 27. 2 ; S. g 96. 2), or
it may be founded on what Paul had said to
them concerning God, especially his agency in
raising up Christ from the dead. (Comp. v.
31.) The latter is the best view (De Wet.).
Both Jesus and the God of whom they now
heard were new to them. Many of the older
critics, and some of the more recent, explain the
plural as embracing resurrection (ai/a<rTa<ni'),
supposing the Athenians to have understood
Paul to speak of some goddess when he
preached to them the resurrection. But one
can hardly conceive that the apostle would
express himself so obscurely on this subject
as to give them any occasion for falling into
so gross a mistake, and we are not authorized
by any intimation in the narrative to impute to
them a wilful perversion of his language.

19-21. PAUL REPAIRS TO MARS' HILL
TO EXPLAIN HIS DOCTRINE.

19. And taking hold upon him, not with
violence, which would be at variance with the
general spirit of the transaction, but rather by
the hand, for the purpose of leading him on-
ward. (Comp. 9 : 27 ; Mark 8 : 23 ; Luke 9 : 47.)
— Upon Mars' Hill — i. e. the top of it. (Comp.
10 : 9; Matt. 4:5; 24 : 16, etc.) The Areopa-
gus, whither Paul was now brought, was a
rocky eminence a little to the west of the
Acropolis. (See Leake's Athens, p. 165.) The
object of the movement was to place the apos-
tle in a situation where he could be heard by
the multitude to greater advantage. The fol-
lowing is Dr. Robinson's description of this
important locality : " This is a narrow, naked
ridge of limestone rock rising gradually from
the northern end, and terminating abruptly on
the south over against the west end of the

Acropolis, from which it bears about north,
being separated from it by an elevated valley.
This southern end is fifty or sixty feet above
the said valley, though yet much lower than
the Acropolis. On its top are still to be seen
the seats of the judges and parties, hewn in the
rock ; and toward the south-west is a descent
by a flight of steps, also cut in the rock into
the valley below. Standing on this elevated
platform, surrounded by the learned and the
wise of Athens, the multitude perhaps being
on the steps and the vale below, Paul had
directly before him the far-famed Acropolis,
with its Wonders of Grecian art ; and beneath
him, on his left, the majestic Theseium, the
earliest and still most perfect of Athenian
structures; while all around other temples
and altars filled the whole city. On the Acrop-
olis, too, were the three celebrated statues of
Minerva — one of olive-wood ; another, of gold
and ivory, in the Parthenon, the masterpiece
of Phidias ; and the colossal statue in the open
air, the point of whose spear was seen over the
Parthenon by those sailing along the gulf"
{Bibl. Res., i. p. 10, sq.). The reader would do
well to consult the admirable article on
"Athens" in Smith's Dictionary of Greek
and Roman Geography. He will find a plan
of that city and a view of the Acropolis re-
stored, as seen from the Areopagus, in Cony-
beare and Howson's work. To understand the
peculiar boldness and power of the speech we
must have distinctly before us the objects and
scenes which met the apostle's view at the
moment. — Some translate iit\ rov 'Aptiov wiyov
before the Areopagus, instead of upon
Mars' Hill (comp. 16 : 19; 18 : 12; 24 : 8),
and maintain that Paul was arraigned at this
time before the celebrated court of that name,
and underwent a formal trial on the charge of
having attempted to change the religion of the
state. But this opinion rests entirely upon two
or three expressions which, like the one just
noticed, are ambiguous in themselves; while
in other respects the entire narrative, as well
as the improbability of such a procedure, tes-
tify against the idea. First, we find here no
trace whatever of anything like the formality
of a legal process ; secondly, the professed ob-
ject of bringing the apostle upon Mars' Hill
was to ascertain from him what his opinions
were, not to put him on his defence for them

Ch. XVIL]

THE ACTS.

201

20 For thou bringest certain strange things to our
ears: we would know therefore what these things
mean.

21 (For all the Athenians and strangers which were
there spent their time in nothing else, but either to
tell, or to hear some new thing.)

20 teaching is, which is spoken hy thee? For thou
bringest certain strange things to our ears: we
xouta know therefore what these things mean.

21 (Now all the Athenians and the strangers sojourn-
ing there 'spent their time in nothing else, but

1 Or, had leiture for notMng eltt.

before they were known ; thirdly, the manner m
which the affair terminated would have been a
singular issue for a judicial investigation in the
highest court of Athens ; and finally, the speech
which Paul delivered on the occasion was pre-
cisely such as we should expect before a pro-
miscuous assembly, whereas, if he had stood
now as an accused person before a legal tribu-
nal, his plea has most strangely failed to con-
nect itself, at any single point, with that pecu-
liarity of his situation. It proves nothing in
r^ard to the question to show that the court
of the Areopagus had powers (that is admitted)
which would have given to it jurisdiction in
the case of Paul, supposing that he had been
charged at this time with subverting the estab-
lished worship, since the narrative on which
we must rely for our information as to what
was done not only contains no evidence that
the Athenians took this serious view of his
doctrine, but ascribes their eagerness to hear
him to a mere love of novelty. (See v. 21.)
Calvin, Kuinoel, Neander, Winer, Olshausen,
De Wette, Meyer, Baur, Doddridge, and the
best critics genergjly, at present reject the opin-
ion that PauTwas carried before the Areopagus
for a judicial examination. The authority of
Chrysostom, among the ancient critics, stands
in favor of it. A few among the Germans, as
Hess, Hemsen, Scholz, follow on that side, ex-
cept that some of them would say (this is true
of Hemsen) that the Areopagus was called to-
gether, not exactly to try the apostle, but to
hear from him some account of his doctrine.
"The process," says Wordsworth, "may have
been only a preparatory inquiry. . . . They
who laid hands on him may have intended to
frighten the apostle by the judicial associations
of the place, and to drive him out of the city."
Most of our English commentaries assume that
Paul was arraigned at this time as a religious
innovator. The other ambiguous expressions
which have been supposed to favor this view will
be noticed in their place. — Can we know?
Would it not have been an excess even of the
Attic politeness to have interrogated a pris-
oner at the bar in this manner ? The object,
too, of the inquiry, as defined by the accom-
panying terms, shows clearly that they did not
regard him as occupying that position.

20. Strange, surprising, since the things
were foreign, unheard of before. — Thou brings
est to our ears. This phrase, drawn from
common life, has an appearance of reality in
this connection. — What these things mean
{ri av i>«Aoi). (See on V. 18.) The singular what
(W), in apposition with these things (raDra),
should be noticed. It is not precisely like the
plural. " The singular (ri)," says Kriiger {Or.,
§61. 8. 2), "may stand in such connections as
whai are these {ri raOra «<rTt), when the question
is, What sort of a whole — what combined re-
sult— do the particulars form?" [It may be
remarked, however, that the text is doubtful.
Lach., Tsch., Treg., West, and Hort, and the
Anglo- Am. Revisers, in accord with X A B and
several cursive MSS., give nVa &i\ti., instead of
Ti OK i>«Aoi. It is difficult to decide between the
readings, but fortunately the meaning is nearly
the same with either. — A. H.]

21. The object of this verse is to explain why
they addressed to him such inquiries. Their
motive for proposing them was that their curi-
osity might be gratified. — Now all Athenians.
The omission of the article unites the charac-
teristic more closely with the name as its in-
variable attendant. (K. § 246. 5. a.) — Stran>
gers, etc. — i. e. the foreigners permanently
resident there (comp. 2 : 10), whence the same
customs, as Bengel remarks. — Spent their
leisure for nothing else. This sense of
the verb is a later usage. (Lob., Ad Phryn.,
p. 125.) The imperfect does not exclude the
continued existence of the peculiarity, but
blends the reference to it with the history.
(See similar examples in 27 : 8 ; John 11 : 18 ;
18 : 1 ; 19 : 14. K. ? 256. 4. a ; C. 567. >.)— New-
er, sc. than before. (W. § 35. 4 ; S. § 118. 4 ;
K. §323. R. 7.) The comparative or the posi-
tive form of the adjective could be used in this
phrase, but the former characterizes their state
of mind more forcibly than the latter. Bengel
has hit the point of the idiom : " Nova statim
sordebant ; noviora quserebantur " [" New things
were presently despised ; — newer things were
sought"]. — It is worth remarking that this
singular scene of setting up the apostle to
speak for the entertainment of the people oc-
curs, not at Ephesus or Philippi or Corinth,
but at Athens — not only the only place in all

202

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XVII.

his journeying where Paul met with such a
reception, but just the place where the incident
arises in perfect harmony with the disposition
and the tastes of the people. We know from
the testimony of ancient writers that this fond-
ness for hearing and telling some new thing,
which Luke mentions, was a notorious charac-
teristic of the Athenians. Their great orator
reproaches them with the same propensity :
Tell me, do you wish, going aboui from market-
place to marketplace, to inquire : What new thing
is said f etc. {Philipp. I. 43.) The entirely in-
cidental manner in which the exempUfication
of this trait comes forth in the narrative here
bears witness to its authenticity.

Outline of the Course of Thought.—

The speech which Paul delivered at this time
is remarkable for its adaptation, not only to the
outward circumstances under which he spoke,
but to the peculiar mental state of his auditors.
De Wette pronounces it "a model of the apol-
ogetic style of discourse." "The address of
Paul before this assembly," says Neander, " is
a living proof of his apostolic wisdom and elo-
quence ; we perceive here how the apostle, ac-
cording to his own expression, could become
also a heathen to the heathen that he might
win the heathen to a reception of the gospel."
" The skill," says Hemsen, " with which he was
able to L-ing the truth near to the Athenians
deserves admiration. We find in this discourse
of Paul nothing of an ill-timed zeal, nothing
like declamatory pomp ; it is distinguished for
clearness, brevity, coherence, and simplicity of
representation." Dr. Robinson, speaking under
the impression produced on his mind by a per-
sonal survey of the scene, says that, " masterly "
as the address is as we read it under ordinarj'
circumstances, " the full force and energy and
boldness of the apostle's language can be duly
felt only when one has stood upon the spot." ^
The writer can never forget the emotions of
thrilling interest which were excited in his own
mind as he read and rehearsed the discourse on
that memorable rock. — We have first the intro-
duction, which, in the technical language of
rhetoric, is eminently conciliatory. The apos-
tle b^ns by acknowledging and commending
the respect of the Athenians for religion (tv. 22.
js). He states next, at the close of v. 23, his
design, which is to gxxide their religious in-

stincts and aspirations to their proper object
-^. e. to teach them what God is, his nature
and attributes, in opposition to their false views
and practices as idolaters. He goes on then, in
pursuance of this purpose, to announce to them
— first, that God is the Creator of the outward,
material universe (». m) ; secondly, that he is
entirely independent of his creatures, having
all-sufficiency in himself (v. 25); thirdly, that
he is the Creator of all mankind, notwithstand-
ing their separation into so many nations and
their wide dispersion on the earth (v. se) ; and
fourthly, that he has placed men, as individuals
and nations, in such relations of dependence on
himself as render it easy for them to see that
he is their Creator and Sovereign Disposer, and
that they are the creatures of his power and
goodness, and that it is their duty to seek and
serve him 'w. 27, 28). The ground has thus been
won for the application which follows. At this
point of the discourse, stretching forth his
hand, as we may well suppose, toward the gor-
geous images within sight, he exclaims: "We
ought not, therefore, to suppose that the Deity
is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, sculptured
by the art and device of men " (v. 29). And that
which men ought not to do they may not safely
do any longer. It was owing to the forbearance
of God that they had been left hitherto to pur-
sue their idolatry without any signal manifesta-
tion of his displeasure ; they were 7iow required
to repent of it and forsake it (v. 30), because a
day of righteous judgment awaited them which
had been rendered certain by the resurrection
of Christ (v. 31). Here their clamors interrupted
him. It is not difficult, perhaps, to conjecture
what he would have added. It only remained,
in order to complete his well-known circle of
thought on such occasions, tliat he should have
set forth the claims of Christ as the object of
religious hope and confidence — that he should
have exhorted them to call on his name and be
saved. — It will be seen, therefore, bj' casting the
eye back, that we have here all the parts of a
perfect discourse — viz. the exordium, the prop-
osition or theme, the proof or exposition, the
inferences and application. It is a beautiful
specimen of the manner in which a powerful
and well-trained mind practised in pubUe
speaking conforms spontaneously to the rules
of the severest logic. One can readily believe,
looking at this feature of the discourse, that it

> Some object that the speech has been overpraised, because Paul did not succeed in bringing it to a formal
close. The astonishment which one feels as he reads the address is not that the speaker was interrupted at
length when he came to announce to the Athenians the peculiar doctrines of Christianity, but that he could
command their attention so long while he bore down with such effect on their favorite opinions and prejudices,
exposed their error, aud arraigned them as guiltj of the grossest inconsistency and absurdity of conduct.

Ch. XVII.]

THE ACTS.

203

22 f Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and
said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye
are too superstitious.

23 For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I

22 either to tell or to hear some new thing.) And
I'aul stood in the midst of the Areopagus, and said,

Ye men of Athens, in all things I perceive that

23 ye are >very religious. For as I passed along, and

1 Or, tovumhat mpentUiou*.

was pronounced by the man who wrote the
Epistles to the Romans and Galatians, where
we see the same mental characteristics so
strongly reflected. As we must suppose, at all
events, that the general scheme of thought —
the nexvs of the argument — has been preserved,
it does not affect our critical judgment of the
discourse whether we maintain that it has been
reported in full or that a synopsis only has
been given. On this point opinions differ.

22-31. THE SPEECH OF PAUL ON
MARS' HILL.

22. Stood. Paul spoke, of course, in the
open air. A skilful hand has pictured to us
the scene : " He stood on that hill in the centre
of the Athenian city, and with a full view of it.
The temple of the Eumenides was immediately
below him ; and if he looked to the east, he
beheld the Propyhea of the Acropolis fronting
him, and the Parthenon rising above him ; and
on his left the bronze colossus of Minerva, the
champion of Athens ; and the temple of Victory
to the rightrp-behind him was the temple of
Theseus ; and a countless multitude of
smaller temples and altars in the Agora
and Ceramicus below him" (Wordsworth,
p. 85. Sec also his Athens and Attica, ch.
xi.). — lu the midst of Mars' Hill could
be said of a place or an assembly. It is
one of the ambiguous cxpres-sions advert-
ed to above (p. 201), which leave it un-
certain whether Mars' Hill is to be un-
derstood of the hill or the court assem-
bled there. — Men of Athens. The
remark just made is to be repeated here.
It is the style of address wliich Paul
would necessarily use in speaking to a
concourse of Athenians, and, at the same
time, he might use it in speaking before
judges. In the latter case, however, the
Greeks oftener said 0 men judges (i oi/ipe«
«i«a<rTai). (See Stalb., Plat. ApoL, 17. A.)
— In every respect, as it were, in every
possible mode of exhibition. — As {«?) — i. e.
those who correspond to this character
— more religions (sc. than others) I
see yon (De Wet., Win. See W. § 35.
4). For the suppressed term of the com-
parison, see on v. 21. Josephus (Contr. Ap.,
2. 11) calls the Athenians t?ie most devout of

the Greeks. See other testimonies in Wetstein.
The word just translated more religious
(viz. ItiaiBaitiovtcripovi, a VOX media) may sig-
nify also more superstitions. It is improb-
able, as a matter of just rhetoric, that the
apostle employed it in that reproachful sense
at the outset of his remarks. That he used
it in a good sense is evident for another rea-
son. " He proceeds," says Neander, " to de-
duce their seeking after God (which he doubt-
less considered as something good) from this
deisidaimonia (comp. 25 : 19), or religious pro-
pensity, so prevalent among the Athenians.
He announced himself as one who would guide
their deisidaimonia, not rightly conscious of its
object and aim, to a state of clear self-conscious-
ness by a revelation of the object to which it
thus ignorantly tended."

23. And closely observing the objects
of yonr religious veneration, I found
also an altar. Sehasmata denotes, not acts
of worship, devotions (E. V.), but temples,
images, altars, and the like. It is a generic
term, under which also arranges altar as one

AKE«iJ-AliL>, ATHENS,

of the class. — Had been inscribed (pluperf.)
includes the present, and is to be explained likt

204

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XVII.

found an alUr with this inscription, TO THE UN-
KNOWN (iOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly wor-
ship, him declare I unto you.

observed the objects of your worship, I found also
an altar with this inscription, 'to an unknown
ooD. What therefore ye worship in ignorance, this

1 Or, TO TBB UNKNO WN OOD.

the imperfect in v. 21. — To an unknown God

(iyvwoTy d«€p). "That there was at least one
altar at Athens with this inscription," says
Meyer, "would appear as historically certain
from this passage itself, even though other tes-
timonies were wanting, since Paul appeals to a
fact of his own observation, and that, too, in
the presence of the Athenians themselves."
But the existence of such altars at Athens is
well attested by competent witnesses. Philos-
tratus, in his Life of ApoUonius (6. 2), says: "It
M more discreet to speak well of all the gods, and
especially at Athens, where are erected altars also
of unknown gods." Pausanias (in his Description
of Attica, 1. 1) says that such altars (altars of
unknown gods) existed at Phaleron, one of the
harbors of Athens. It has been made a ques-
tion how we are to understand the use of the
plural in these passages — whether as referring
to the number of the altars on which the in-
scription occurred, or to the number of the
gods to whom the altars were dedicated. Some
have assumed the latter as the correct view,
and have said that Paul Itas arbitrarily changed
the plural into the singular, in order to accom-
modate ti.e fact to his purpose, or even that the
writer, by this inaccuracy, has betrayed him-
self as a person who had no direct knowledge
of the circumstances which he professes to re-
late. But even if the inscription on these altars
was in the plural, it does not follow that Paul
may not have found one having the language
which he recites. Here would be Luke's posi-
tive testimony to the fact, and that outweighs
the mere silence of other writers. Such appears
to be Bengel's view. Again, it would not fol-
low that he has necessarily misrepresented the
sense, admitting that he may have substituted
the singular for the plural. The heathen
writers often employed gods to convey the gen-
eral idea of divine power, providence, deity,
and the like.* With that meaning, the plural
could be relinquished for the singular or the
singular for the plural, just as an individual
pleased. Here the apostle might have preferred
god, merely for the sake of its stricter formal
accordance with the doctrine which he was
about to advance. Kuinoel appears at a loss
to decide whether the plural in the case under
remark has reference to the number of the

altars or to that of the gods. Some, as Calvin
and Olshausen, apparently concede that Paul
deviated from the strict form of the inscription,
but deny that he violated its proper import or
availed himself of any unworthy artifice. — But
even the appearance of a difficulty here van-
ishes entirely when we give to the language of
Philostratus and Pausanias the interpretation
which is beyond any reasonable doubt the cor-
rect one. Winer states his view of the case
thus : " It by no means follows from the pas-
sages (of the writers above named) that each
single one of the altars mentioned by them had
the inscription (to) unknown gods in the plural,
but more natural that each one separately was
dedicated (to) an unknown god, but this singular
the narrators were obliged to change into the
plural, because they spoke of all those altars in
a collective way. It appears, therefore, that
there were several altars in different places at
Athens with the inscription to an unknown god."
(See his Realw., i. p. 111.) Such is the decision,
also, of Eichhom, Hess, Hemsen, Meyer, De
Wette, and others. It should be added that
several of the older commentators render agnosto
theo, to the unknown God, supposing the God of
the Jews — i. e. Jehovah — to be meant. Such a
view mistranslates the Greek and violates all
historical probability. — The precise historical
origin of the altars at Athens bearing this in-
scription has been disputed. The conjectures
are various. One is that they were very ancient
and that it was at length forgotten to whom
they had been originally built, and that the
words in question were placed on them at a
later period to apprise the people that it was
unknown to what gods they belonged. If that
was their character, it is not easy to see what
proper point of connection the apostle could
have found for his remark with such a relic of
sheer idolatry. Another is that in some time
or times of public calamity the Athenians, not
knowing what god they had offended— whether
Minerva or Jupiter or Mars — erected these altars
so as to be sure of propitiating the right one.
The same objection may be made as before,
since their ignorance in this case relates merely
to the identity of the god whom they should
conciliate, and involves no recognition of any
power additional to their heathen deities. The

> For examples of this interchange, see the passages collected by Planner in his Syttema TheoloffUt Oenlilii
Puriorit, p. 102, and elsewhere.

Ch. XVII.]

THE ACTS.

205

24 <God that made the world and all things therein,
seeing that he is ^Lord of heaven and earth, <dwelleth
not in temples made with hands ;

25 Neither is worshipped with men's bands, ■'as

24 set I forth unto you. The God that made the world
and all things therein, he, being lx>rd of heaven
and earth, dwelleth not in Hemples made with

25 hands ; neither is be served by men's bands, as

a Ob. li : U....6 Matt. U : 25.. ..e oh. I : «8....<i Pi. 60 : 8.-

-1 Or, tanetuarUt

most rational explanation is unquestionably
that of those who suppose these altars to have
had their origin in the feeling of uncertainty,
inherent, after all, in the minds of the heathen,
whether their acknowledgment of the superior
powers was sufficiently full and comprehensive ;
in their distinct consciousness of the limitation
and imperfection of their religious views, and
their consequent desire to avoid the anger of
any still unacknowledged god who might be
unknown to them. That no deity might pun-
ish them for neglecting his worship or remain
uninvoked in asking for blessings, they not
only erected altars to all the gods named or
known among them, but, distrustful still lest
they might not comprehend fully the extent
of their subjection and dependence, they erect-
ed them also to any other god or power that
might exist, although as yet unrevealed to
them. — No one can say that this explanation
ascribes too much discernment to the heathen.
Not to insist on other proofs which might be
adduced, such expressions as the comprehen-
sive adflress, At o deorum quicquid in cxlo regit,
etc. [" But, all ye gods who rule in heaven,"
etc.] (Horat., Epod., 5. 1) ; the oft-used formula
in tlie prayers of the Greeks and Romans, Si
deo, si dex ; and the superstitious dread which
they manifested in so many ways, of omitting
any deity in their invocations, — prove the ex-
istence of the feeling to which reference has
been made. Out of this feeling, therefore,
these altars may have sprung, because the sup-
position is so entirely consistent with the genius
of polytheistic heathenism ; because the many-
sided religiousness of the Athenians would be so
apt to exhibit itself in some such demonstra-
tion; and especially because Paul could then
appeal with so much effect to such an avowal
of the insufficiency of heathenism, and to such
a testimony so borne, indirect, yet significant,
to the existence of the one true God. — Under
these circumstances, an allusion to one of these
altars by the apostle would be equivalent to his
saying to the Athenians thus : " You are cor-
rect in acknowledging a divine existence be-
yond any which the ordinary rites of your
worship recognize ; there is such an existence.
You are correct in confessing that this Being
is unknown to you ; you have no just concep-
tions of his nature and perfections." He could

add then with truth. Whom, therefore, not
knowing, ye worship, this one I an-
nounce unto you. The inverted order gives
point to the declaration. Not knowing has
the same object as the verb, and means having
no just knowledge of him whom they wor-
shipped; not ignorantly, as if they did not
know whither their worship was directed.
The word points back evidently to unknown
{ayvuMTTif). Later editors read what . . . this
(& . . . toCto) instead of whom . . . this one
(oi' . . . rovTov) ; in which case god (d«<?) in the
inscription would be taken more abstractly as
a divine power. The external evidence is not
decisive. Meyer defends the common reading
in his first edition, and the other in his second.
[Lach., Tsch., Treg., West, and Hort, and the
Anglo-Am. Revisers adopt the neuter on the
strong evidence of *<* A* B D. — A. H.] The
personal sense of god may have been thought
to concede too much to heathenism, and so
have caused the pronouns to be changed.
Worship (ev<rej5«rTe) has Seemed to some a
strong term, as the cognate words in the New
Testament always express the idea of true
piety; but the term occurs further only in 1
Tim. 5 : 4, and denotes there, not the exercise
of piety, but of something merely kindred to
it — filial reverence. It needs only a similar
modification to adapt it to the use required
here.

34. The God whom Paul announced is the
Maker of all things, and, as such, necessarily
distinct from their false gods. That is the
point of connection between this verse and the
preceding. — This one (by his right as Creator)
being the Lord, Sovereign, of heaven and
earth. It was self-evident, therefore, that he
was not to be confounded with any of their
idols, whose existence was limited by the space
which they occupied. — Made with hands is
contrasted with that made the world, etc. —
In temples. The statues or images were kept
in the recesses of the temple. — Dwelleth. The
mass of the heathen in practice make no dif-
ference between the symbol and its object ; the
block was the god. (Comp. 19 : 26.)

35. The apostle illustrates the character of
the true God still further by another contrast
between him and the deities of the heathen.
He is independent of his creatures ; he needs

206

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XVII.

though he needed any thing, seeing 'he giveth to all
life, and breath, and all things;

26 And hath made of one blood all nations of men
for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath de-

though he needed any thing, seeing he himself giv-

26eth to all life, and breath, and all things; and he

made of one every nation of men for to dwell on all

a Gen.] :T ; Mum. 16:23; Job 12 : 10; 2T : 3; SS : 4; In. 42 : 5; 67 : 16; Zeeb. 12 : 1.

nothing from tliem; they can earn no merit
by serving him. — And (after a preceding neg-
ative) he is not ministered unto by hu-
man hands, or hands of men. Human

is a more correct reading than of men (T. R.).
The verb here implies more than mere wor-
ship. The heathen considered it meritorious
to lavish wealth on the temples and shrines
of their idols; they brought to them costly
gifts, and even offerings of food and drink, as
if they stood in need of such things, and could
be laid under obligation to their worshippers.
The prayer of Chryses, priest of Apollo {II., 1.
37, sq.), expresses the true spirit of heathenism
in this respect :

" If e'er with wreaths I hung thy sacred fane,
Or fed the flames with fat of oxen slain,
God of the silver bow ! thy shafts employ :
Avenge thy servant, and the Greeks destroy."

— As if needing something besides — i. e.

(note the compound, irpoo-JeoJtevo*) out of him-
self as necessary to his perfection. — Since he
himself gives. Himself is emphatic as op-
posed to the idea that his creatures are able to
give to him. — The whole — i. e. of the things
which they enjoy. In such an expression, the
article (ra) restricts the adjective to the class of
objects intimated by the preceding words or the
context. Some editors omit the article here.
(Comp. Rom. 8 : 32; 1 Cor. 9 : 22; Phil. 3 : 8,
etc.) But in most of these passages, too, the
manuscripts fluctuate.

26. And he made of one blood every
nation of men that they should dwell.
This is the more obvious view of the construc-
tion, and is the one which has been generally
adopted. Yet several of the best critics (Kuin.,
De Wet., Mey., Alf ) regard made here as an
instance of its use with an accusative and in-
finitive, like that in Matt. 5 : 32 ; Mark 7 : 37,
and translate : and he caused every nation
of men (sprung) from one blood to dwell.
To dwell {KaroiKtlv) conuccts itself more easily
in this way, it is true, with the rest of the sen-
tence ; but the facility thus gained renders the
expression hard at of one blood ; so that we
must supply a word to make the thought flow
smoothly. [Lach., Tsch., Treg., West, and
Hort, and Anglo-Am. Revisers omit the word
blood (aliiaroi) as an addition to the text. It is
wanting in X A B and other documents. — A.H.]

The main idea, beyond question, is that God
has created the entire human race from a com-
mon stock; and the more prominent way,
therefore, in which the translation first stated
brings forward this proposition appears to me
to be a reason for preferring it. It is an objec-
tion to the other mode that it assigns a too sub-
ordinate place to the principal thought. But
why does the apostle single out thus the uni-
versal brotherhood of the race? Olshausen
says it was intended as a reproof to the Athe-
nians for their contempt of the Jews ; Meyer,
Neander, De Wette, and others consider it as
directed essentially against the polytheism of
the heathen. If all are the children of a com-
mon parent, then the idea of a multiplicity of
gods from whom the various nations have de-
rived their origin, or whose protection they
specially enjoy, must be false. The doctrine
of the unity of the race is closely int«rwoven
with that of the unity of the divine existence.
This more comprehensive view of the meaning,
however, does not exclude the other, since, if
all nations have the same Creator, it would at
once occur that nothing can be more absurd
than the feeling of superiority and contempt
with which one affects to look down upon an-
other. As the apostle had to encounter the
prejudice which was entertained against him
as a Jew, his course of remark was doubly
pertinent, if adapted, at the same time, to re-
move this hindrance to a candid reception of
his message. — To dwell (KaroLKtlv) is the infin-
itive of design. The various lands which the
different families of mankind occupied, with
all the advantages connected with their posi-
tion, God had assigned to them. (Comp. Deut.
32:8; Ps. 115:16.) Yea, he had proceeded
from the very first with a view to their welfare.
He designed, in creating men, that they should
inhabit and possess the earth as their own ;
that they should all of them enjoy the mani-
fold blessings allotted to them in the various
places of their abode. It was to him that they
were indebted for what they enjoyed, and not
to accident or their own enterprise or the favor
of some imaginary god. The remark, made as
applicable to all lands, has its justification in
the fact that, notwithstanding the inequalities
which diversify the condition of nations, they
have severally their peculiar advantages ; it is
natural for every people to esteem their own

Ch. XVII.]

THE ACTS.

207

termined the times before appointed, and "the bounds
of their haoitation ;

27 'That they should seek the Lord, if haply they
might feel after him, and hud him, '^though he be not
far from every one of us :

the face of the earth, having determined their ap-
pointed seasons, and the bounds of their habitation :
27 that they should seek God, if haply they might feet
after him, and find him, though he is not far from

aOeatS3:8 i Bom. 1 : 20 eeh. U: IT.

country — in some respects, at least — as the best.*
But the remark was specially aimed, beyond
doubt, at the feeling of self-congratulation
with which the Athenians were prone to con-
template the peculiar felicity of their own po-
sition, tlieir national renown, their past and
present prosperity. This view of the meaning
prepares the way for the thought which is next
introduced. — Having fixed the appointed
seasons and limits of their abode. The
second participle repeats the idea of the first,
not superfluously, but with the evident effect
of affirming it more strongly. (The approved
reading is jrpo(rT«Ta7/ti€«'ovs, rather than irpoT«TOY/iie'-
vovf, T. R.) The apostle, by adding this, admon-
ishes the Athenians that they, like every other
people, had not only received their peculiar ad-
vantages from the common Creator, but that
they could hold them only during the continu-
ance of his good-wilL-and favor. In assigning
to the nations their respective abodes he had
fixed both the seasons of their prosperity and
the limits of their territory — i. e. it was he who
decided when and how long they should flourish
and how far their dominion should extend.
We have the same idea exactly in Job 12 : 23.
The remark was adapted both to rebuke their
spirit of self-elation and to warn them of the
danger of slighting a message from him who
had their destiny so perfectly at his command.
Some explain tliese last words as referring to
the limits which God has assigned to the Uves
of men individually : they have their appoint-
ed seasons and bounds, beyond which they
cannot pass. But that idea lies out of the
present circle of view, aa the subject of dis-
course here relates to nations, and not to indi-
viduals. It is also philologically inadmissible,
since their can naturally refer to men only as
connected with every nation. — The anti-poly-
theistic aim, which forms to such an extent the
ground-tone of the discourse, is to be recog-
nized, perhaps, also in this part of it. The
separation of men into so many different na-
tions might seem to oppose the idea of their
common parentage; that separation itself is
therefore represented by the apostle as having
been contemplated in the divine plan. — It will
be observed that what the apostle afiirms in

this verse as true of God is also intended to be
denied in regard to polytheism. The concep-
tion, therefore, thus brought before the minds
of his heathen auditors was a vast one. All
that power exerted in giving existence to men.
controlling their destiny, exalting entire na-
tions or casting them down, which they had
parcelled out among such an infinity of gods,
they are now led to concentrate in a single pos-
sessor ; they obtain the idea of one infinite Cre-
ator and Ruler.

27. To seek (irrrtiv), telle, that they shonld
seek. This infinitive attaches itself more par-
ticularly to the part of the sentence which
commences at should dwell, and states the
moral object which God had in view with ref-
erence to men in making such provision for
their convenience and happiness. It was that
they might be led by such tokens of his good-
ness to seek him — i. e. a more perfect know-
ledge of him and of their obligations to him.
Some, on the contrary, make the infinitive
depend almost wholly on the clause just be-
fore, and find the connection to be this — that,
excited by the proofs of his power, as mani-
fested in the varying fortunes of nations, they
should seek, etc. But, as already explained, the
controlling idea in that clause is that of the
goodness of God (subject, as to its continuance,
to the divine pleasure) ; while that of his
power, as displayed in the infliction of judg-
ments, is only incidentally involved. Again,
that clause is a subordinate one, as its structure
shows, and that it should break off shovJd seek
so much from the main part of the sentence
would be violent. — If perhaps they might
feel after him and find him. Feel after
{<lni\ou}>ri(Tti.av) dcuotcs, properly, the motions of
a blind man who gropes along after an object
in the dark. On the peculiar .Slolic termina-
tion, see W. H3. 2. d; K. gll6. 9; B. §103.
marg. 14. This verb is chosen, as well as the
problematical form of the expression («i ipayt),
because the apostle would concede the compar-
ative indistinctness of the light which the hea-
then have to guide them. — Although indeed.
This clause is added to show that the conces-
sion just made was not intended to exculpate
the heathen for their estrangement from God.

I Tacitus has recognized this principle in his fine remark (Oerm., § 2) : " Informem terris, asperam c»lo, nuf
»» palria tit.''

208

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XVII.

28 For 'in him we live, and move, and have our be-
ing ; 'as certain also or your own poets have said, For
we are also his offspring.

2S Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God,
*y\e ought not to think that the Godheaa is like unto

gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's
evice.

iiu And •'the times of this ignorance God winked at ;
but 'now conunandeth all men every where to repent :

28 each one of us : for in him we live, and move, and
have our being; ascertain even of your own poets

29 have said, 1' or we are also his offspring. Being
then the offspring of God, we ought not to think
that ithe Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or

30 stone, graven by art and device of man. The times
of ignorance therefore God overlooked ; but now he
^ommandeth men that they should all everywhere

I Col. 1: 17; Heb. 1 : S....»Tit. 1 : 12....cl««. 40: 18 d ch. U : 16; Rom. 3 : 25.... e Luke 24 :47; Tit. 2 : 11, 12; 1 Pet. 1 :14;

4 : 3. 1 Or, that wMc* U divint. . . .2 Some ancient autborities read declarelh to men.

Although SO benighted as to be compelled to
grope for the object of their search, it was still
within reach ; they had not, after all, so far to
go for a knowledge of God that they might not
find it if they would. (Compare the sentiment
with 14 : 17, and especially with Rom. 1 : 20.)

28. We live and move and exist. The
diiferent verbs present the idea on every side.
We derive our existence solely from God ; we
depend on him every instant for life, activity,
being itself. Without him we should neither
continue to live, nor be such as we are, nor
have been at all. From creatures thus de-
pendent the evidence of a creator cannot be
very deeply hidden, if they have only a dispo-
sition to seek for it. — As also — i. e. the senti-
ment is not only true, but has been acknow-
ledged.— Among you — i. e. Greeks, in distinc-
tion from Jews ; not Athenians, in distinction
from other Greeks.— For his offspring also
are we. Derivation implies dependence. The
creature cannot exist apart from the Creator.
The apostle brings forward the citation cor-
rectly, tlierefore, as parallel in sentiment to in
him we live, etc. He quotes it as an avowal
that we owe our being and its preservation to
a higher Power ; the mythological idea of Ju-
piter does not enter into the meaning.^ The
genitive article (toC) stands here for the pro-
noun. (W. ? 17. 1 ; S. § 94. 1.) The words form
the first half of a hexameter, and are found in
Aratus, a Cilician poet, who flourished about
B. c. 270. The celebrated hymn of Cleanthes to
Jupiter (v. 5) contains almost the same words
—viz. for we are offspring of thee. The same idea,
variously expressed, occurs in several other
Greek writers. The form of the citation the
apostle took, undoubtedly, from Aratus, but
says certain have said, because he would
generalize the idea as if he had said, The truth
is so plain that even your poetry recognizes it.
(See on v. 18.) According to some, he uses

the plural because he had in mind other pas-
sages where the thought is found, or, according
to others, because he inferred that so obvious
a remark must be a common one. For also,
as Meyer observes correctly, has no logical con-
nection with Paul's speech, but is to be viewed
merely as a part of the citation, which it was
necessary to retain on account of the verse.

29. Forasmuch, then, or since, there-
fore, we are the offspring of God. The in-
ference drawn here is that idolatry is supreme-
ly absurd, inasmuch as it makes that which is
destitute of life, motion, intelligence, the source
of these attributes to others. (Comp. Isa. 44 :
9, sq.) — In we ought Paul connects himself
with them, and thus softens the rebuke. — A
thing graven stands in apposition with the
nouns which precede — i. e. the state or form
of the materials just enumerated, artificially
wrought.

30. The relation of this verse and the one
following to the preceding verse is this : Since
such is the nature of idolatry, you must there-
fore (ovv) repent of it, because God now lays
upon you his command to this effect, in view
of the retributions of a judgment to come.
The most important word here is winked
at (vnepiSuv). It does not occur further in
the New Testament, but is found often in the
Septuagint, where it signifies " to neglect,"
which is its proper classical sense, then "to
despise," but especially "to suffer to pass as
if unnoticed," " to withhold the proof of no-
ticing a thing which is, at the same time, a
matter of distinct knowledge " — a frequent sense
of the Hebrew 'alam in Hiphil and Hithpael.
(See Deut. 22 : 3, 4, etc.) In this last significa-
tion the verb represents perfectly the apostle's
meaning here. God had hitherto permitted
the heathen to pursue their own way without
manifesting his sense of their conduct, eithei
by sending to them special messengers to testify

1 No more than in the words of Milton :

"Fame is no plant that grows on mortal soil;

But lives and spreads aloft by those pure eyea,
And perfect witness of all-judging Jove."

Ch. XVII.]

THE ACTS.

209

31 Because he hath appointed a day, In the which
■he will judge the world in righteousness by thai man
whom he hath ordained ; whi-reof he hath given as-
surance unto all men, in that ^he bath raised him from
the dead.

32 1[ And when they heard of the resurrection of the
dead, some mocked : and others said. We will hear thee
again of this matter.

'SA So Paul departed from among them.

34 Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and be-
lieved: among the wtiich was Dionysius the Areo-
pagite, and a woman named Damaris, and others
with them.

' 81 repent : inasmuch as he hath appointed a day, in

I the which he will judge 'the worla in righteousness

; 2by 3the man whom he hath ordained ; whereof he

' hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath

raised him from the dead.

32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the

dead, some mocked ; but others said, We will hear

.33 thee concerning this yet again. Thus I'aul went

34 out from among them. But certain men clave unto

him, and believed: among whom also was Dionysius

the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris, and

others with them.

a ch. 10 : i2 ; Bom. 2 : 16 ; U : 10. . . .1 oh. 2 : 24.-

-1 Or. the inhabited earth. . . .2 Gr. te. . . .S Or, a man.

against it, as he did to the Jews, or by inflict-
ing upon them at once the punishment de-
served. The idea is virtually the same, there-
fore, as that of suffered («ia<re), in 14 : 16, and
gave them np {vapeS<aKtv), in Rom. 1 : 24. To
understand overlooked {vvtpiSuy) as meaning
that God would not judge or punish the hea-
then for the sins committed in their state of
idolatry would be at variance with Paul's the-
ology on this subject as he has unfolded it in
Rom. 1 : 20 ; 2 : 11, «g. Not only so, but the
repentance which the apostle now calls upon
them to exercise presupposes their guilt.

31. Because states the reason why the hea-
then also, as well as others, must repent : they
could not, without this preparation, be safe in
the day of righteous judgment which awaited
them. — In (the person of) the man whom he
appointed. Man omits the article, because a
definite clause follows. (W. § 21. 4 ; S. § 89.
3.) The dative of the pronoun (cf) stands, by
attraction, for the accusative. — Having af-
forded assurance to all) confirmation — viz.
of a judgment to come. It is impossible to say
just how much the apostle intended to repre-
sent as proved by the resurrection of Christ.
He himself referred to it, undoubtedly, in the
first place, as establishing the possibility of such
a resurrection of all men from the dead as was
involved in his doctrine of a general judgment ;
but whether he had yet developed this doctrine
so far that the Athenians perceived already this
bearing of the fact is uncertain. It was enough
to excite their scorn to hear of a single instance
of resurrection. Again, the resurrection of
Christ from the dead confirms the truth of all
his claims ; and one of these was that he was
to be the Judge of men. (See John 5 : 28, 29.)
But whether the apostle meant to extend the
argument to these and other points we cannot
decide, as he was so abruptly silenced.

32-34. PAUL IS INTERRUPTED, AND
LEAVES THE ASSEMBLY.

32. The apostle was heard with attention
until he came to speak of the resurrection,
when, at the announcement of a doctrine

which sounded so strangely to the ears of the
Athenians, some of them broke forth into ex-
pressions of open contempt. — A resurrection
of the dead. Both nouns omit the article in
this frequent combination, except in 1 Cor. 15 :
42. (W. § 19.) As we do not know how much
of Paul's idea the Athenians had apprehended,
it is doubtful whether we are to take the plural
here as generic or numerical — i. e. whether
Christ merely be meant, or men in general. —
We will hear thee again concerning this
— viz. matter. Not so naturally masc, with
reference to him, in v. 31. It is disputed
whether we are to understand this as said
seriously, or as a courteous refusal to hear any-
thing further from him. The latter is the
prevalent view : and so Kuinoel, Hemsen, De
Wette, Meyer, Bloomfield, Conybeare and How-
son. The manner in which Paul now left the
assembly, the immediate termination of his la-
bors at Athens, and the adversative but (fie), in
V. 34, favor this interpretation. Such a mode
of speaking, too, was entirely consonant to the
Athenian character. Calvin, Grotius, Rosen-
miiller, Alford, are among those who impute a
serious meaning to the language.

33. So — lit. and thus; i. e. after these
events, or with such a result. (Comp. 20 : 11 ;
28 : 14.) — From among them — i. e. of those
whom he had addressed, not from the city.
(Comp. 18 : 1.)

34. Howbeit, rather but certain (Mey.,
De Wet.), appears to be contrasted in the writ-
er's mind with what is stated in v. 32 respect-
ing the effect of Paul's speech ; the favorable is
opposed to the unfavorable. Yet the conjunc-
tive (««') may be continuative. — Clave, etc., not
adhering, but joining, attaching, themselves,
to him. — The Areopagite — i. e. one of the
judges in the court of the Areopagus. The
number of these judges varied at different
times. Eusebius and other ancient writers say
that this Dionysius became afterward bishop
of the church at Athens and ended his life as
a martyr. — And a woman, not the wife of
Dionysius, as some have said, for the article

iilO

THE ACTS.

[Oh. XVlil.

CHAPTER XVIII.

AFTER these things Paul departed from Athens, and
came to Corinth ;
2 And found a certain Jew named 'Aquila, born in
Pontus, lately come from Italy, with hia wife Priscilla ;

1 After these things he departed from Athens.

2 and came to Corinth. And he found a certain Jew
named Aquila, a man of Pontus by race, lately come

a Bom. 16 : S ; I Cor. 1« : 19 ; 1 Tim. 4 : U.

and pronoun would then have been added
(comp. 5 : 1), or at least the article. (Comp.
24 : 24.) It has been inferred, from her being
singled out thus by name, that she was a
woman of rank, but beyond this nothing is
known of her.

1-11. ARRIVAL OF PAUL AT CORINTH,
AND HIS LABORS THERE.

1. From Athens. Wieseler limits the apos-
tle's stay at Athens to fourteen days. The esti-
mate is necessarily conjectural. It is certain
that, although Paul spent the most of the two
next years in Corinth and the vicinity, he did
not direct his steps again to that city. On his
third missionary-tour he came once more into
this part of Greece, but at that time passed by
Athens, certainly once and again, without re-
peating his visit thither. [If it be asked, Why
did he not return again and again to this beau-
tiful city, "the eye of Greece," the home of
art and philosophy and liberal thought? the
only answer which his character allows is this :
The people of other cities were more likely to
welcome the gospel. "It is a serious and in-
structive fact that the mercantile populations
of Thessalonica and Corinth received the mes-
sage of God with greater readiness than the
highly-educated and polished Athenians." (See
Conybeare and Howson, vol. i. p. 381 : C. Scrib-
ner, 1854.)— A. H.]— To Corinth. The dis-
tance from Athens to Corinth by land is about
forty-five miles. The summit of the Acropolis

OOKIHTH AND ACKOCORINTHU8.

of the one city can be distinctly seen from that
of the other. Came does not show how Paul

travelled. The voyage, says Wieseler, could be
made easily in two days. A Greek seaman
informed the writer that with a very fair wind
he had made the passage in three hours, though
on the average in five or six hours ; that in bad
weather he had been five days on the way.
The steamers between the Piraeus and Kali-
maki, the eastern port of the modem Corinth,
occupy usually four hours. — Oorinth at this
period was the seat of the Roman proconsulate
for Achaia, or the southern province of Greece.
" In consequence of its situation," says Nean-
der, " this city furnished a very important cen-
tral point for the extension of the gospel in a
great part of the Roman Empire ; and hence
Paul remained here, as in other similar places,
a longer time than was otherwise usual for
him."

54. Aquila. The nominative is ^yMi/a5('A»tvXa«,
T. 26). Aquila and Priscilla, or Prisca (Rom.
16:3), were Roman names, and it was common
for Jews to assume such names when they lived
out of Palestine. (See on 13 : 9.) That Aquila
was bom in Pontus harmonizes with 2 : 9 and
1 Pet. 1 : 1, for we see from those passages that
Jews resided in that country. As we have
no account of his conversion at Corinth, the
probability is that Aquila embraced the gospel
at Rome. So Hemsen, Olshausen, Neander,
Wieseler, and others conclude. Some allege a
certain Jew as proof that he was still uncon-
verted (Mey., De Wet.) ; but he is introduced
in that manner on account of what follows.
The notice apprises us that he was one of the
all Jews whom the decree banished. At this
early period no distinction would be made be-
tween Jews and Jewish Christians. Aquila
accompanied Paul to Ephesus (w. is, 26), and
was still there when the apostle wrote the
First Epistle to the Corinthians (i cor. i6 : i»).
We find him at Rome again when Paul wrote
the Epistle to the Romans (Rom. i6:3,.j.), and
at a still later period at Ephesus a second time
(2 Tim. 4:19). The nature of his business (t. 3)
led him frequently to change the place of his
residence. — Because Claudius had order-
ed, etc. Luke refers unquestionably to the
edict mentioned by Suetonius (Claud., c. 25) :
"Judseos, impulsore Chresto, assidue tumultu-
antes Roma expulit " ["The Jews, constantly

Ch. XVIII.]

THE ACTS.

211

(because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to de-
part from Rome :) and came unto them.

'i And because he was of the same craft, he abode
with them, 'and wrought : for by their occupation they
were tentmakers.

4 ^And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath,
and persuaded the Jews and the Oreeks.

5 And 'when 8ilas and Timotheus were come from
Macedonia, Paul was ■'pressed in the spirit, and testi-
fied to the Jews that Jesus was Christ.

from Italy, with hia wife Priscilla, because Claudius

had commanded all the Jews to depart from iiome :

Sand he came unto them; and because be was of the

same trade, he abode with them, and they wrought;

4 for by their trade they were tentmakers. And he
reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and 'per-
suuded Jews and Greeks.

5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from
Macedonia, Paul was constrained by the word, testi-

a oh. 20:84; 1 Cor. «:U; 1 Thou. 2:»; 2 Tbou. S:8....lch. 17 :2....ech. IT : U, 15.

—1 Gr. sought to periuade.

.d Job 32 : 18 ; eb. IT : 3 ; ver. 28.

making disturbance, Chrestus being the instiga-
tor, he expelled them from Rome"]. Neander
remarks on that passage as follows : " We might
suppose that some factious Jew then living, of
this name, one of the numerous class of Jewish
freedmen in Rome, was intended. But as no
individual so universally known as the Chres-
tus of Suetonius seems to have been considered
by that writer is elsewhere mentioned, and as
Christos (XpioTos) was frequently pronounced
Chrestos (Xpijerrdv) by the pagans, it is quite
probable that Suetonius, who wrote half a
century after the event, throwing together
what he had heard about the political expec-
tations of a Messiah among the Jews and the
obscure and confused accounts which may
have reached him respecting Christ, was thus
led to express himself in a manner so vague
and indefinite" (Church History, vol. i. p. 49).
The Roman historian does not mention the
year of that expulsion, and we may suppose
it to have been about a. d. 52, in accordance
with our plan of chronology. Lately shows
that it was still a recent event when Paul ar-
rived at Corinth. Some writers would identify
this decree with that De mathematicis Italia pel-
lendis which Tacitus mentions. (Ann., 12. 52.)
The mathematici, or, as they are called, ChcU-
dxi, were banished on the ground of their aid-
ing conspirators against the emperor by the
use of their art as astrologers. Wieseler ( Chro-
noloffie, p. 121, sq.) argues that the Jews may
have been confounded with that class of men,
and were consequently banished by the same
decree. If that point were established, it would
furnish a striking confirmation of the correct-
ness of our chronology ; for the edict to which
Tacitus refers can be shown to have been pub-
lished in A. D. 52. But it must remain uncertain
whether the two events have any chronological
connection with each other.

3. Wrought, labored for his subsistence.
He reminds the Corinthians of this fact in 1
Cor. 9 : 6, sq., and ^ Cor. 11 : 7, sq.— For they
were tentmakers as to the trade, or
(with Tp T<x»T?. according to Lchm., Tsch.) [also
Tr^., West, and Hort, Anglo-Am. Revisers,

with K A B E L P, certainly the true reading. —
A. H.] in respect to the trade (which they
had). The accusative {■nit' Ttxvriy) would be a
limiting accusative like in like manner (to>'
Tp6wov) in Jude, v. 7. (W. ? 32, 6 ; K. § 279. 7.)
The Jews, more especially after the Exile, held
the mechanic arts in high estimation. It was
a proverb among them that the father who
neglected to bring up his son to a trade taught
him to be a thief. The composition of tent-
makers (ffKijvojToioi) indicates a definite sense.
It is difficult to see why some should suppose
it to mean manufacturers of tent-cloth. It has
not been shown that the usage differed from
the etymology. Tent-making was a common
trade in Cilicia, the native country of the apos-
tle. A coarse species of goat's hair, called cii-
icium, was produced there in great abundance,
and was much used for that purpose. A per-
son accustomed to work on that material could
work, doubtless, on any other. Paul had ac-
quired the trade, in all probability, during his
boyhood, while he lived at Tarsus.

4. Reasoned, or discoursed (SitKiytn,
imperf.), from week to week ; whereas dis-
coursed {Su\ix^, aorist), in v. 19, refers to a
single occasion. — Greeks — i. e. Greek prose-
lytes who attended the synagogue. (Comp.
13 : 43 ; 14 : 1.) The apostle had not yet ad-
dressed himself to the heathen. (See v. 6.)

5. In Now when [or as] they came
down, when (««) is not merely temporal
(Alf.), but represents the was pressed etc.
as immediately consequent on the arrival of
the two friends. — Macedonia denotes here
the Roman province of that name, comprising
Northern Greece as distinguished from Achaia,
or Southern Greece. (See on v. 1.) It is left
uncertain, therefore, from what particular place
Silas and Timothy arrived at this time. (Comp.
on V. 16.) — Was pressed, or was engrossed
(lit. held together), with the word (Vulg.,
Kuin., Olsh., De Wet., Bmg., Rob.). The ar-
rival of his associates relieved him from anx-
iety which had pressed heavily upon him
(comp. 1 Thess. 3 : 6, sq.), and he could now
devote Ijim.self with unabated energy to his

212

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XVIII.

6 And 'when ther opposed themselves, and blas-
phemed, *be shook Am raiment, and said unto them,
*your blood be upon your own heads ; '^1 am clean : 'from
henceforth I will go unto the uentiles.

7 t And he departed thence, and entered into a cer-
tain mitn's house, named Justus, une that worshipped
(Jod, whose houfte joined hard to the synagogue.

8 /And C'rispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue,
believed on the Lord with all his house; and many
of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were bap-
tized.

9 Then 'spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a
Tisioii, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy
peace:

lU *For I am with thee, and no man shall set on

6 fying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. And
when they opposed themselves, and ^blasphemed,
he shook out nis raiment, and said unto them. Your
blood he upon your own heads; I am clean: from

7 henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. And he de-
parted thence, and went into the house of a certain
man named Titus Justus, one that worshipped God,

8 whose house joined hard to the synagogue, And
Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, -believed in the
Lord with all his house ; and many of the Corinth-

9 ians hearing believed, and were baptized. And the
Lord said unto Paul in the night by a vision. Be

10 not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace : for I

• eh. 13:46; 1 Pet. 4:4....&Neh. {i:lS; Matt. 10: U; cb. 13 : 51....e Lev. 20:9, II, 12; 2 Sam. 1 :16; Ecek. 18:13; 33 : 4....<i Ezek.

S: 18, 1»; 33:9; cb. 20 : 26....< ch. 13 : 46; 28: 28.... /I Cor. 1 : 14....0ch. 23 : 11 h Jer. 1 : 18, 19; Matt. 28:20. 1 Or.raUed

.... 2 Or. believtd tht Lord.

work. He had the support, also, of their per-
sonal co-operation. We see from 2 Cor. 1 : 19
that Silas and Timothy took an active part in
the proclamation of the gospel at Corinth. We
see also from 1 Cor. 2 : 3, where the apostle says
that he was among the Corinthians " in weak-
ness and in fear and much trembling," that he
was in a state of mind to need urgently the
presence and sympathy of such coadjutors.
Some say it means simply that Silas and Tim-
othy found Paul employed thus anxiously
when they arrived (Mey., Alf ) ; but, unless
they had something to do with the fact, it
would be unimportant whether it occurred
before or after their coming: its interest, in
that oflse, lay wholly in its being a part of the
apostle's experience. The common text has
by the Spirit after was engrossed : he
was impelled by the Spirit, or by his
•wn spirit, his fervent zeal. (Comp. v. 25.)
The evidence decides for the word (T<f k&yif)
as the original term (Grsb., Mey., Tsch.).

6. But they opposing themselves is not
to be taken as explanatory of was engrossed
(against Mey.), but as describing the conduct
of the Jews occasioned by the apostle's being
engrossed. — Blaspheming, sc. his words, mes-
sage. (Comp. 13 : 45; 19 : 9.)— Shaking out
kis garments — i. e. the dust upon them — as
a witness against them. For the significancy
of the act, see on 13 : 51. — Your blood — i. e.
the consequences of your guilt. (Comp. 20 : 26 ;
Ezek. 33 : 5.) — Upon your head— i. e. let it
come. (Comp. Matt. 23 : 35.)— I am pure,
have discharged my duty. Some point the
text so as to read, pure I henceforth will
turn unto the Gentiles (Lchm., Alf). The
two clauses utter the idea more forcibly than
one, and are better suited to so grave a declara-
tion. (Comp., also, 20 : 26 and Matt. 27 : 24.)
On the nature of this desertion of the Jews,
see on 13 : 46.

7. Having departed from there — i. e. the

synagogue (see v. 4), not from the city or from
the house of Aquila. — Went into the house
of a certain Justus. The meaning is, not
that he left Aquila and went to lodge with
Justus (Alf.), but that he preached in future at
the house of the latter, which was so much the
more convenient because it was near the syna-
gogue where they had been accustomed to as-
semble. Paul pursued precisely the same course
at Ephesus. (See 19 : 9.) — Worshipping God
describes Justus as a foreigner who had em-
braced Judaism, but was not yet a believer.
He opened his house for the use of the Chris-
tians, because he had more sympathy with
them than with the Jews. His moral position
was certainly unique, and it is easy to believe
that he soon exchanged it for that of a be-
liever.

8. Crispus was one of the few persons at
Corinth whom Paul himself baptized. (See 1
Cor. 1 : 14.) — Believed with all his house.
Here is another instance in which a whole
family received the gospel. (Comp. 16 : 15 ; 1
Cor. 1 : 16.) The Apostolical Constitutions (VII.
46) say that Crispus became Bishop of .^gina.
— The Corinthians who believed were native
Greeks, not Jews at Corinth. — Believed is im-
perfect [denoting a continued act], from the re-
lation of the act to hearing.

9. By, or through, a vision, as the me-
dium of communication ; a form was seen as
well as a voice heard. (Comp. 9 : 12; 16 : 9 ;
22 : 18.)— Fear not. The form of the imper-
ative implies that he was beginning to despond.
(See the note on 10 : 15.) — Speak — i. e. con»
tinue to speak. Observe the use of the sub-
junctive aorist in the next verb.

10. And no man— lit. and no one — shall
attack thee (telic) to injure thee — i. e. no
one shall attempt it with success (De Wet.) ; or
ecbatic, so as to injure thee. The infinitive
with the genitive article (toO) denotes more
commonly a purpose. The Jews made an

Ch. XVIII.]

THE ACTS.

213

thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this
city.

11 And he continued <A«/-e a year and six months,
teaching the word of God among them.

12 If And when tiallio was tlie deputy of Achaia, the
Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul,
and brought him to the judgment seat,

13 Saying, This fellow persuadeth men to worship
God contrary to the law.

14 And when Paul was now about to open his mouth,
Gallic said unto the Jews, 'If it were a matter of wrong

am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to harm

11 thee : for 1 have much people in this city. And he
dwelt there a year and six mouths, teaching the
word of God among them.

12 13ut when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the
Jews with one accord ruse up against Paul, and

13 brought him before the judgment-seal, saying, This
man persuadeth men to worship God contrary to

14 the law. Put when i'aul was about to open his
mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If indeed it wera

a oh. 23 : 29 ; 25 : 11, 19.

effort to destroy the apostle after this promise
(t. 12, »«.), but were defeated. — Because I have
much people — i. e. many who are appointed
to become such. (See 13 : 48 and 15 : 17.)
Hence the activity of the apostle must have
free scope until they were converted.

11. And he abode a year and six
months. It has been questioned whether
this designation of time extends merely to
the arrest mentioned in v. 12 (Mey.) or em-
braces the entire sojourn at Corinth. " I re-
gard the latter view," says Wieseler {Chrorwl-
offie, p. 46), " as undoubtedly the correct one.
This appears, in the first place, from the par-
ticle and (t«), w^hich connects this verse in the
closest manner with what precedes, and conse-
quently with 'The Lord said, Fear not, but
speak and be not silent ; . . . and so (W. § 53.
2) he abode a year and six months, teaching
among them the word of God.' [But the con-
nective re is not so well attested as St. The
latter is found in X A B, etc., and adopted by
Lach., Tsch., Treg., West, and Hort, and Anglo-
Am. Revisers. — A. H.] The main thought of
the words which the Lord addresses to Paul in
the vision (tv.9, lo) is unquestionably 'Speak in
this city, and be not silent,' and accordingly the
period of time, in v. 11, during which the apos-
tle obeys this command of Christ, must refer to
the whole time in which he had spoken at Cor-
inth and was not silent — i. e. must include the
time until his departure. In the second place,
this follows from the general nature of the
statement : ' He abode there a year and six
months.' (Comp. Luke 24 : 49.) " " Anger (p.
63) adopts the same conclusion. De Wette
calls it the prevalent view, but prefers the
other. — Among them, in the city (v. lo). (See
on 8 : 5.)

12-17. PAUL IS ARRAIGNED BEFORE
GALLIO.

12. Gallio was a brother of Seneca, the
celebrated moralist. His original name was
Novatus. He assumed that of Gallio out of
gratitude to a distinguished rhetorician of that
name who adopted him as a son. Seneca dedi-
cated his books De Ira and Be Vita Beaia to

this brother. In one of his Letters (104) he
speaks of Gallio as having resided in Achaia,
though he does not mention in what capacity
he was there. Luke's narrative represents him
as acting a part in striking harmony with his
reputed character. He was known among his
contemporaries as the " dulcis Gallio." He had
the social qualities which make a man a gen-
eral favorite. " Nemo mortalium," says Seneca,
" uni tam dulcis est, quam hie omnibus " [" No
mortal is as pleasant to one person as he was
to all "] {Qusest. Nat., L. 4. Pra^f.). Luke's cared
for none of these things, in v. 17, indicates
the easy temper which contributes so much to
personal popularity. Gallio, like his brother,
was put to death by the murderous Nero. —
Was the deputy, etc. — lit. was governing
Achaia as proconsul. This province (see
on V. 1) consisted of Hellas and the Pelopon-
nesus. Here, too, we have a striking example
of Luke's accuracy. Under Tiberius (Tac.,
Ann., 1. 76) and Caligula, the two preceding
emperors, Achaia had been an imperial prov-
ince, governed by proprietors. But Claudius
had restored it to the Senate (Suet., Claud., c.
25), and under that form of administration its
governors were styled proconsuls. Paul was
at Corinth in the reign of Claudius. (Comp.
the note on 13 : 7.) — Before the tribunal
(€iri t6 firiiia). The tribunal (/J^^a) was a seat
or chair from which the Roman magistrates
dispensed justice. It was sometimes fixed in
one place and was sometimes movable, so as to
accommodate the judge, wherever he might
wish to hold his court.

13. Contrary to the law, not of the Ro-
mans, but of the Jews (comp. and of your
law, in V. 15) ; not of both Romans and Jews
(Lange), as the charge in that form demanded
investigation. What Luke has stated here is a
summary of the charge. That the Jews went
more into detail is evident from Gallio's reply
in v. 13.

14. Wrong and wicked villany designate
the act perhaps legally and ethically — this, as
an offance against morality ; that, as an offence
against the state or the personal rights of

214

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XVIII.

or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I
should bear with you :

15 But if it be a question of words and names, and
qf your law, look ye to it; for I will be no Judge of
such matters.

16 And he drave them from the Judement seat.

17 Then all the (ireeks took ■iM>st{ienes, the chief
ruler of the synagogue, and beat Ai»t before the judg-
ment seat And Uailio cared for none of those things.

a matter of wrong or of wicked villany, O ye Jews,

15 reason would that I should bear with you : but if
they are questions about words and names and
your own law, look to it yourselves; i am not

16 minded to be a judge of the.se matters. And he

17 drave them from the judgment-seat. And they
all laid hold on Sosthenes, the ruler of the syna-
gogue, and beat him before the judgment-seat.
And Gallio cared for none of these things.

others.— I wonld have suffered yon, would
have listened patiently to your complaint ; but,
the condition in the protasis not being true, he
could not now do it. (For av with the aorist
indicative in the subordinate clause, see W. g 43.
2; B. § 139. 3. 2; K. § 327. b.) Gallio makes
known his decision as a thing settled.

15. Concerning a doctrine (vcpi Aoyov) and
names {hvoixanav), because they had accused
Paul of teaching that Jesus was the Messiah.
—For I do not wish to be judge of
these things. For (yip) (T. R.) is logically
correct, but comes from a copyist. It was out {
of his province to take cognizance of such |
questions. The Roman laws allowed the Jews |
to regulate their religious affairs in their own !
way. Lysias (as : 29) and Festus (js : is) placed i
their refusal to interfere on the same ground. 1
— The reply which Luke attributes to Gallio 1
has been justly cited as a mark of that candor
which f'istinguishes the truth. A panegyrist, a
dishonest narrator, says Paley, would be too jeal-
ous for the honor of his cause to represent it as
treated superciliously by those of eminent rank.

16. Drove them away, dispersed them.
The verb shows that they left reluctantly, but
not that any violence was used. A peremptory
refusal, a decisive manner, would be sufficient
for the purpose.

17. The interpretation of this passage has
influenced the text. Some of the younger
manuscripts insert the Jews after all, as if
the Jews, disappointed in their design against
the apostle, attempted, as their next resort, to
avenge themselves on one of his principal fol-
lowers. But the evidence for this reading is
entirely inadequate ; and it is incredible, also,
that Luke should mention Sosthenes merely as
a ruler of the synagogue, if he had become in
fact a Christian. The best authorities have all
without any appendage, and the Greeks in
the common editions must be viewed as a gloss,
correct as an explanation, but textually spuri-
ous. As the Jews could have had no motive
for maltreating one of their own number, all
must be the body of those present, such as the
subalterns of the court and the Greeks whom the
tumult bad drawn together. Sosthenes was

probably the successor of Crispus (t. s), or, as
Biscoe conjectures, may have belonged to an-
other synagogue in the city. He appears to
have taken an active part in the prosecution ;
and hence the Greeks, who were always ready
to manifest their hatred of the Jews, singled
him out as the object of their special resent-
ment. In winking at this, says De Wette,
Gallio may have carried his impartiality too
far. If he was the Sosthenes who is called
"the brother" in 1 Cor. 1:1, he must have
been converted after this, and have removed
to Ephesus. The coincidence in the name
is the only reason for supposing the same
person to be meant in both places. — Beat
{irvitTov, imperf.) shows how thorough a
beating Sosthenes received. It may not be
wronging Gallio to suspect that he looked
through his fingers and enjoyed the scene. —
None of these things {ovUv rovrav) includes
most naturally the dispute between the Jews
and Christians, as well as the abuse of Sos-
thenes.— Was a care to (eV«Aei'), when used
as a personal verb, requires in prose a neuter
subject. (K. ? 274. R. 1 ; Mt. § 348. R. 2.) The
indifference of Gallio is not mentioned in com-
mendation of him, but as suggesting why the
affair had such a termination. Owing to the
proconsul's disposition, the Jews were unsuc-
cessful ; so far from inflicting any injury on
the apostle, their attempt recoiled in disgrace
and violence upon themselves. [The narrative
of Luke bears the stamp of complete accuracy.
Even his remark that Gallio cared for none
of these things may have been made with
no intention of either blaming or commending
him. But, in the light of this remark, we can-
not suppress the feeling that the easy-going in-
difference of this amiable ruler to matters of
religion (as well as to the abuse of Sosthenes)
was inconsistent with any deep moral earnest-
ness. He could not have been, in any true
sense, a " seeker after God." He may safely be
classed with those who make this world their
portion. It is not, therefore, surprising that
many interpreters have fixed their minds on
the bearing of this remark upon the attitude
of Gallio toward religion, and have looked on

Ch. XVIIL]

THE ACTS.

18 f And Paul nfltr ihU tarried there yet a good while,
and then took his leave of the brethren, atid sailed
thence into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila;
having "shorn hU head in WJencbrea: for he had a

18 And Paul, having tarried after this yet many
days, took his leave of the brethren, and sailed
thence for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila;
having shorn his bead in Cencbrete: for be bad a

aNniii.«:18; eh. SI : M.... 6 Bom. 16:1.

him as a specimen of those who are careless
about God and eternal life. — A. H.]

18-22. PAUL PROCEEDS BY THE WAY
OP EPHESUS AND C^ESAREA TO JERU-
SALEM, AND FROM THERE TO ANTIOCH.

18. Having remained yet many days,
after the arrest. Whether the arrest took place
at the end of the year and a half mentioned in
V. 11, or in the course of that time, is subject,
as we have seen, to some doubt. Even if the
arrest was subsequent to the year and six
months, the many days here need not be sup-
posed to extend the sojourn at Corinth beyond
a few additional months (Wiesl.). During this
period the apostle planted churches in other
parts of Achaia, either by his own personal
labors or by the instrumentality of his con-
verts. (See 2 Cor. 1 : 1.) It was during this
visit at Corinth, also, that Paul wrote the First
and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians.
That he wrote the first of them here appears
firom several circumstances: first, Paul had
been separated from the Thessalonians but " a
short time" (i ThwB. j : it) ; secondly, Timothy
and Silas were with him (i Thesg. i : i), as they
were according to Luke (i8:5); thirdly, the
apostle had been lately at Athens (iTbess. 3 :i),
and whence, also, according to our narrative
(18 : 1), he came directly to Corinth ; and finally,
he writes to the Thessalonians as recent con-
verts whose knowledge was very imperfect.
The date of this Epistle, therefore, would be
A. D. 52 or 63. (See note on 18 : 23.) If the
First Epistle was written at Corinth, the Second
must have been written at the same place.
Timothy and Silas were still with the apostle
(j Thes«. 1:1); and, as the object of the Second
Epistle was to correct a wrong impression
made by the First (comp. 2 Thess. 2 : 1, sq.,
with 1 Thess. 4 : 16, sq., and 5 : 1, sq.), the in-
terval between the two must have been short.
— Having bid adieu (dirorafdfxcvof) is an Al-
exandrian sense. (See Lob., Ad Phryn., p. 24.)
Among others, he now took leave of Silas, and
perhaps of Timothy, though we find the latter
with him again at Ephesus (19 : m). — Unto
Syria, as his remoter destination; he em-
barked for Ephesus in the first instance (v. i»).
Having shorn the head most critics under-
stand of Paul (Chryst., Calv., Neand., Olsh.,
Hems., De Wet,, Win., Wdsth.) ; some of Aquila

(Grot., Kuin., Wiesl., Mey.). Paul (naCAo«) is
the leading subject, and the reader connects
the remark spontaneously with him. It is
only as an act of reflection, on perceiving that
Aquila ('AituAas) stands nearer, that the other
connection occurs to the mind as a possible one.
And with him Priscilla and Aquila may
intervene between having shorn and Paul,
because the clause is so evidently parcntlietic,
and because sailed has a tendency to draw its
several subjects toward itself. It is urged for
the other view that Luke has placed the man's
name after that of the woman, contrary to the
natural order ; but that no stress can be laid on
that circumstance is clear from Rom. 16 : 3 and
2 Tim. 4 : 19, where the names follow each
other in the same manner. Some principle
of association, as possibly that of the relative
superiority of Priscilla, made it customary to
speak of them in that order. — In Cenchreae,
which was the eastern port of Corinth, distant
about ten miles. A church had been gathered
here (Rom. le : 1). The modem name is Kikriee,
a little south of Kalamaki, and under the trav-
eller's eye, therefore, who crosses the isthmus.
— For he had a vow — i. e. one resting upon
him ; not assumed at this time. This clause
states why he shaved his head. The cutting
oflf of the hair was a Jewish practice, and took
place at the expiration of a vow, not at the
commencement of it. It is an erroneous
statement, therefore, that the apostle subjected
himself to the vow at this time and went to
Jerusalem to obtain absolution from it. Nean-
der would support that opinion from Joseplius
(Bel. Jud., 2. 15), but he adopts for tliat purpose
an interpretation of the passage which nearly
all others reject. The nature of Paul's vow on
this occasion is uncertain. It could not have
been a strict Nazarite vow — i. e. such a vow ob-
served in due form — for a person could absolve
himself from such an obligation only at Jeru-
salem, where his hair, which had grown during
the time that he had been a Nazarite, was to be
cut off and burnt as an offering in the temple
(Num. 6 : 2, »«.). (Scc Jahu's Archsdol., § 395.) We
have no account of any deviation from that rule.
Yet it is not unreasonable to suppose that in
later times tlie original institution may have
been relaxed or modified — that afler the Jews
came to be dispersed it was held to be lawfiil

216

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XVIII.

19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there :
but he himself entered into the synagogue, and rea-
soned with the Jews.

2U When they desired him to tarry longer time with
them, he consented not;

21 But bude them farewell, saying, ■! must by all
means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem : but
I will return again unto you, ^if Uod will. And be
sailed from Ephesus.

22 And when be had landed at Ceesarea, and gone
up, and saluted tbe church, be went down to An-
Uocb.

19 vow. And they came lo l-.phesiis, and he left them
there: but he himself entered into the synagogue.

20 and reasoi ed with the Jews. And when they aslced

'il him to abide a longer time, he consented not; but
taking his leave of them, and saying, I will return
again unto you, if (jod will, he set sail from Eph-

22e8us. And when he had landed at Csesarea, be
went up and saluted the church, and went down to

aoh. 19:21; 30 : 16....» 1 Cor. 4 : 19; Heb. C:S; Junes 4: IS.

to terminate a Nazarite vow at other places,
adhering to the prescribed usages as near as the
circumstances allowed. If it was not a vow of
this peculiar character, it may have been of the
nature of a thank-offering, and not subject to
the regulations to which the Nazarite was re-
quired to conform. It must be confessed that
the present knowledge of Jewish antiquities is
not sufficient to clear up fully the obscurity of
the passage. It contains, says De Wette, a Gor-
dian knot still untied.

19. Unto Ephesus, which was on the Cay-
ster, not far from its mouth. It could be ap-
proached at that time by water, though the site
of the ancient city is now two or three miles
from the coast. With a favoring wind, the
passage from Corinth to Ephesus could be
made in two or three days. Cicero mentions
that he on one occasion, and his brother Quin-
tus on ant. ther, occupied two weeks in passing
from Ephesus to Athens (Ad Attic. Ep., 6, 8. 9 ;
ib., 3, 9) ; but the voyage in both instances was
retarded by extraordinary delays. (See further
on 28 : 13.)— But he himself (ai-Tos 5«). This
emphasis brings forward Paul again as the
prominent person, after the information that
his companions stayed at Ephesus. The order
of statement outruns the history a little, as oc-
curs in other cases. (Comp. v. 1.) Luke can-
not well mean that the apostle separated him-
self from Priscilla and Aquila and went into
the synagogue without them (Mey.). So unim-
portant a circumstance would not be made so
prominent. Nor is it at all probable that there
(auToO) was opposed in the writer's mind to tlie
synagogue as being out of the city (Alf.) ; for
in that case some intimation like without the
city (see 16 : 13), or at least going out, would
hardly be withheld from the reader.

21. Some critics reject all in this verse from
must to Jerusalem (Bng., Grsb., Neand.,
Lchm., Tsch.) ; others defend the clause (Olsh.,
De Wet., Wiesl., Mey., Bmg., Alf.). The words
may be doubtful, but with the present evidence
should not be separated from the text. As
Meyer suggests, they may have been omitted

from rtot perceiving the reference of gone up
{avafidi), in V. 22, and consequently any occa-
sion for such haste in prosecuting the journey.
— The coming feast. It must have been one
of tlie principal feasts which Paul was so anx-
ious to keep at Jerusalem — in all probability,
the passover or Pentecost. In either case, we
discover hore that the apostle made the jour-
ney in the spring of the year. Wieseler (p. 48)
thinks that it was the later festival, Pentecost,
chiefly because Paul embarked at Corinth in-
stead of travelling through Macedonia, as the
state of navigation would have rendered expe-
dient earlier in the season. — For keep — lit. do
(iroi^aoi) — comp. keep — lit. do — the passover
(iroti t6 irao-xa), in Matt. 26 : 18. — At Jerusalem.
(See on 8 : 40.) — But I will return again, etc.
The apostle soon fulfilled that promise (»: i).

22. And having landed — lit. having
come down, from the sea to the land.
(Comp. 27 : 5.) — Ctesarea was the most
convenient seaport in the vicinity of Ju-
dea. (See further on 8 : 40.) — Having gone
up — i. e. to Jerusalem (Calv., Neand., Olsh.,
Mey., De Wet., Wiesl.). This absolute use of
the verb occasions no obscurity after the state-
ment respecting Paul's destination in v. 21. A
few have understood it as going up into the city
above the harbor. But to mention that cir-
cumstance in addition to the arrival would
give to it a singular prominence as contrasted
with the general rapidity of the narrative. —
Went down (icaTe^j}), at the close of the verse,
would be inappropriate to the geographical re-
lation of Caesarea to Antioch (Neand.). — The
church — i. e. at Jerusalem. It should be no-
ticed that this is the fourth journey which Paul
has made to that city since his conversion. No
doubt he arrived in season to observe the feast,
as nothing is said of any disappointment in
that respect.— Into Antioch. How long the
apostle was absent on the tour, which termi-
nated with his return to Antioch, can only be
conjectured. The year and six months at Cor-
inth (t. n) would be likely to constitute the
greater portion of the period. Wieseler pro-

Ch. XVIII.]

THE ACTS.

217

23 And after he had spent some time there, he de-
parted, and went over <dl the country of "Galatia and
Phrygia in order, *8treugthening all the disciples.

24 11 "And a certain Jew named ApoUos, born at
Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scrip-
tures, came to Ephesus.

23 This man was instructed in the way of the Lord ;
and being ''fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught

23 Antioch. And having spent some time there, he de-
parted, and went through the region of Galatia and
Phrygia in order, stablishing all the disciples.

24 Kow a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian
by race, 'a learned man, came to Ephesus; and he

25 was mighty in the scriptures. This man bad been
Hnstructed in the way of the Lord ; and being fer«

a Oal. 1 : 2 ; 1 : 14.

.6 Ob. 14:11; U:32, 41....eICor. 1:11; 3:5,6; 4:S; Tit. 3:
^mt man 2 Or. tauglU ly word of mou(A.

IS....1I Rom. 11:11.-

-1 Or, •» «<o-

poses six months as the time occupied between
leaving Antioch and the arrival at Troas (le : s).
He would allow six months, also, for the apos-
tle's labors in Europe before his arrival at Cor-
inth. The time which this estimate allows for
the Asiatic part of the tour may^e too limited.
The apostle visited extensively the churches in
Syria and Cilicia, planted new churches in
Phrygia and Galatia, and travelled very cir-
cuitously throughout his journey between An-
tioch and Troas. It may be safer to assign a
year at least to such varied labors. According
to this view, the apostle was absent on his sec-
ond mission about three years ; and if we place
his departure early in a. d. 51, he reached An-
tioch again in the spring or summer of 54,
Anger, Wieseler, Meyer, Winer, and others
agree in supposing Paul to have arrived in Cor-
inth in the autumn of A. d. 52. The admission
of the date fixes the main point in this part of
the chronology.

23. DEPARTURE OP PAUL ON HIS
THIRD MISSIONARY-TOUR.

33. A certain time. The time now spent
at Antioch was apparently short. It was dur-
ing this time, as most critics suppose, that Peter
arrived here and the scene took place between
him and Paul, of which we have an account
in Gal. 2 : 11, sq. (See on 15 : 35.) Neander
(Pflanzung, i. p. 351) agrees with those who in-
sert the occurrence here. Baumgarten (ii. p.
331) adds himself to the same class. The apos-
tle's when Peter came, in Gal. 2 : 11, affords no
clue to the time. We may assume that the
apostle went forth again to the heathen about
the beginning of the year a. d. 55. — In succes-
sive order. This refers, probably, not to the
countries named, but to the difiFerent places in
them where churches existed. In accordance
with the representation on Kiepert's map, we
may suppose that Paul went first to Tarsus,
thence in a north-western direction through
Galatia, and then, turning to the south-west,
passed through Phrygia, and so on to Ephe-
sus. That course accounts for Luke's naming
Galatia before Phrygia, instead of the order in
16:6.

24-28. APOLLOS COMES TO EPHESUS,

AND IS MORE FULLY INSTRUCTED IN
THE GOSPEL.

24. Meyer calls this section "a historical
episode." Luthardt says that it is entirely
germane to the narrative : while Paul labors
in Asia, another builds still farther upon the
foundation laid by him in Europe. — Apollos
= ApoUonius. As a native of Alexandria he
had received, probably, says Neander, " the Jew-
ish-Grecian education peculiar to the learned
among the Jews of that city, and had acquired
also great facility in the use of the Greek lan-
guage."—Eloquent (AoYio«), (Olsh., De Wet.,
Mey.), or learned (Neand.). The first sense
is the best, because mighty in the scrip-
tures ascribes to him then a different talent,
and because his superior faculty as a speaker
appears to have been the reason why some of
the Corinthians prefen-ed him to Paul. (See 1
Cor. 1 : 12 ; 2 : 4 ; 2 Cor. 10 : 10.) In the scrip-
tures. He was familiar with them, and could
use them with power as a source of argument
and appeal. (See v. 28.) This clause points
out the sphere of his eloquence.

25. This one was instructed in the way
of the liord) probably by some disciple of
John who had left Judea before the Saviour
commenced his public course, or possibly by
John himself, whose earlier ministry Apollos
may have attended. Some infer from the
things concerning Jesus that Apollos was
aware that Jesus was the Messiah ; but the fol-
lowing knowing, etc., limits that expression,
and, if explained correctly below, excludes a
knowledge of that fact. His ignorance in this
respect was one of the defects in his religious
belief, and at the same time his views of the
deeper Christian doctrines must have been
meagre in comparison with those possessed by
the apostles. For the construction of way
(6i6v), see W. ? 32. 5; K. ? 281. 2.— Being fer-
vent in spirit, zealous in his disposition. It
is less correct to understand spirit of the
Holy Spirit, since that gifl appears in the New
Testament as the proper fruit and seal of the
Christian faith, which Apollos had not yet
adopted. (See Gal. 3 : 2.) For other places
where spirit refers to the mind, comp. 19 : 21 ;

218

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XVIII.

diligently the things of the Lord, 'knowing only the
baptism of Julin.

26 And he began to spealc boldly in the synagogue:
whom when Aquila and I'riscilla had beard, they toolc
him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of
Qadi more perfectly.

27 And when he was disposed to pass into Achaia,
the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive
him : who, when ne was come, 'helped them much
which had believed through grace :

28 For he mightily convinced the Jews, and that
publicly, 'shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was
Christ.

vent in spirit, he spake and taught carefully the
things concerning .lesus, knowing only the baptism
26 of John: and hebeean to speak boldly in the syna-
gogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him,
they took him unto them, and expounded unto him

27 the way of God more carefully. And when he was
minded to pass over into Achaia, the brethren en-
couraged him, and wrote to the disciples to receive
him : and when he was come, he 'helped them much

28 who had believed through grace : for he powerfully
confuted the Jews, '^and that publicly, shewing by
the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

AKD it came to pass, that, while ''Apollos was at
Corinth, Paul having pas.«ed through the upper
coasts came to Kphesus : and finding certain disciples.

CHAPTER XIX.

1 And it came to pass, that, while Apollos was at
Corinth, Paul having passed through the upper
country came to Ephesus, and found certain disci-

a eh. 19:3 i I Cor. 3 : 6.... e oh. 9 : 22;

17 : S ; ver. 5 d\ Cor. 1 : 13 ; 3:5, 6. 1 Or, lulped much throtigh grace tJum

tltat had believed 2 Or, thetaing jmblicln

John 11 : 33; 13 : 21 ; Rom. 12 : 11 (probably) ;
2 Cor. 2 : 12.— Accurately (r. 26) — i. e. his doc-
trine was correct as far as his knowledge ex-
tended.— Knowing only the baptism of
John, which differed from that of the apos-
tles mainly in these respects : first, that theii-s
recognized a Messiah who had come; and
secondly, that it was attested by the extraor-
dinary gifts of the Spirit (i9:6). Since John,
however, taught that the Saviour was about to
appear, and that repentance, faith in him, and
holiness were necessary to salvation, Apollos,
though acquainted only with his teaching, could
be said with entire truth to be instructed in
the way of the Lord. It is not aflSrmed that
lie had submitted to John's baptism, but we sup.
pose that from the nature of the case. That he
was rebaptized, Luke does not assert ; though, if
we regard his moral position as analogous to
that of the Johannean disciples mentioned in
the next chapter, we should infer from what
is related there that such was the fact. Meyer
considers the cases dissimilar, and denies that
Apollos was rebaptized.

26. Began, but did not preach long with such
imperfect views. As soon as Aquila and Pris-
cilla heard him they proceeded to instruct him
more fully. — The verb (trappi;<ru»^«<7-i><u) means to
speak boldly. He exposed their sins, re-
quired them to repent and be prepared for the
kingdom of the Messiah. (Comp. Matt. 3 : 2,
sq.) — More perfectly, more accurately.

27. Unto Achaia, of which Corinth was
the capital. (See on v. 1.) It was that city
which he proposed to visit. (Comp. 19 : 1 ; 1
Cor. 1 : 12; 3:4.) What he heard from Pris-
cilla and Aquila may have turned his thoughts
to this field of labor.— They wrote and ex-
horted (lit. exhorting they wrote). The participle
contains the principal idea. (See 1 : 24.) Some
supply him after exhorted (Calv., Kuin.) ; but

that assigns to the verb and participle different
objects and confuses the sentence. Besides,
Apollos wa^ not averse to the journey (was
disposed, ^vKoixivov), and had no need of ex-
hortation. In 2 Cor. 3 : 1, Paul alludes to this
letter of commendation, or to the practice of
granting such letters, exemplified in this case
of Apollos. — Contributed (as a helper) much
to those who have believed, and still be-
lieve. (See W. ? 40. 4. a.) It is not meant that
he confirmed them in their faith as Christians,
but that he co-operated with them in their pro-
mulgation and defence of the truth. The next
verse explains the remark. — Through grace
belongs to the participle [had believed] (De
Wet.), not to the verb [helped] (Mey.) The
natural sense is that which results from the order
of the words. The doctrinal idea is that of the
faith which is through him, in 3 : 16.

28. Powerfully that the Messiah was
Jesus, none other than he. (Comp. v. 6.)

1-7. PAUL COMES TO EPHESUS, AND
REBAPTIZES CERTAIN DISCIPLES OF
JOHN.

1. While Apollos was at Corinth. This
notice apprises us that Paul did not arrive at
Ephesus till after the departure of Apollos.
(■AiroAA<i — the regular genitive ; see 1 Cor. 3 : 4 —
here rejects v in the accusative. Comp. 21 : 1.
K. §48 R 1 ; W. ? 8. 2.)— The upper parts,
in the interior, as compared with the coast.
The expression may be understood of the
mountains on the frontier of Phrygia and
Asia, which the apostle would cross on his
route. — Certain disciples. Luke ascribes to
them that character (comp. when ye be-
lieved, in V. 2), because, though their know-
ledge was so imperfect, they were sincere ; they

Ch. XIX.]

THE ACTS.

219

2 He said unto them, Have ye received the Holy
tiliost since ye believed? And they said unto him,
■We have uot so much as beard whether there be any
Holy Ghost.

3 And he said unto them. Unto what then were ye
baptized ? And thev said, *Unto John's baptism.

4 Then said I'aul, «John verily baptized with the
baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that
they should believe on him which should come after
him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

6 When they heard this, they were baptized ''in the
name of the Lord Jesus.

Spies: and he said unto them, Did ye receive the
Holy Spirit when ye believed ? And they »aid unto
him. Nay, we did not so much as hear whether 'the

3 Holy Spirit was giveji. And he said, Into what then
were ye baptized? And they said, Into John's bap-

4tism. Ana Paul said, John baptized with the bap-
tism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they
should believe on him who should come after him,

5 that is, on Jesus. And when they heard this, they
were baptized into the name oi the Lord Jesus.

• Ob. 8 : 16 ; we 1 Sam. 8 : T.

.boh. 18:15.... e Matt. 3 : 11 ; John 1 : 15, 27, SO; 0I1.I16; U:16; 18:24, 25. . . .<i oh. 8 : 16.
1 Or, (Aer< it a Htly Spirit

possessed the elements of a tame faith, and
acknowledged the name of Christ as soon as
the apostle made it known to them. It is prob-
able that they were strangers who had just ar-
rived at Ephesus, and when the apostle found
them had not yet come in contact with any
of the Christians there.

3. For if («i) in a direct question, see on 1 : 6.
The inquiry appears abrupt, because we have so
broken an account of the circumstances of the
case. Undoubtedly, something preceded which
led the apostle to suspect that the men enter-
tained inadequate or mistaken views of the
gospel. — The Holy Spirit here means the
Spirit as the author of miraculous gifts, as is
made evident by v. 6, — Did ye receive (note
the aorist) when ye believed ? (cAa^ere vurrtv-
<riuT«s). The participle refers to the same time
as the verb. — But we did not hear (when
baptized) even if there be a Holy Spirit.
A negative usually precedes but not with this
force (= No — on the contrary), but could be
omitted with the effect of a more earnest de-
nial. (See W. g 53. 7.) The Holy Spirit must
have the meaning in their reply which it had
in Paul's question. Hence it is unnecessary
and incorrect to supply given {ho^tv) or poured
out {tKxwoiJLtvov) after be. (Comp. John 7 : 39.)

3. Unto what, as the object of faith and
confession, therefore, were ye baptized?
— Unto the baptism of John should have
the sense here which it has in other passages
(comp. 1 : 22 ; 10 : 37 ; Matt. 3:7; Luke 7 : 29,
etc.) — viz. the baptism which John adminis-
tered, or such as he administered. They may
have received the rite from John himself, or
from some one whom he had baptized, but who
had not advanced beyond the point of know-
ledge at which John's ministry had left his
disciples. That ApoUos had baptized them is
not at all probable ; for the presumption is that
he had left Ephesus before their arrival (see on
v. 1), and because, if he had not, they would
have received from him more correct views,
after his own better acquaintance with Chris-

tianity. The answer of the men, therefore, was
not that they had been baptized unto John as
the Messiah, and the idea that their error was
that of adhermg to him as the Messiah has no
support from this expression. That some, how-
ever, at a very early period entertained that
opinion of John is a fact well established.
The Zabians, or Nazorseans, or Mendseans, as
they are variously called, who were discovered
in the East about the middle of the seventeenth
century, are supposed to be a remnant of that
sect. (See Neand., Ch. Hist., vol. i. p. 376, and
Christian Review, January, 1855.)

4. Indeed {ii.iv) after John, which some
editors reject, is genuine (Mey., Tsch., De Wet.).
The reply of Paul is apparently this : "John in-
deed preached repentance and a Saviour to come {as
you know); but the Messiah whom he announced
has appeared in Jesus, and you are now to believe
on him as John directed." — That is presents the
adversative idea, instead of the ordinary and
(«e). (W. g 63. I. 2. e; K. ? 322. R. 4.)— Bap-
tized («j3d7rTi(r«) gOVemS baptism (/SaTmo-fui),
on the principle of affinity in point of sense.
(Comp. Luke 7 : 29. W. ^2. 2 ; K. § 278. 1.)—
Christ is common before Jesus, but is un-
warranted here.

5. Now they (whom Paul addressed) hav-
ing heard were baptized. Whether Paul
himself or some assistant performed the rite the
history does not decide. Their prompt recep-
tion of the truth would tend to show that the de-
fect in their former baptism related not so much
to any positive error as to their ignorance in re-
gard to the proper object of faith. Some of the
older writers maintained that Luke records these
words as a continuation of Paul's remark : Now
they (whom John addressed) having heard were
baptized. It was the object of such commentators
to rescue the passage from those who appealed to
it, in order to justify rebaptism. They main-
tained this exegesis not only against the Anabap-
tists, but, as Baumgarten mentions, against the
Catholics, who disparaged John's baptism for the
purpose of exalting the Christian sacraments

220

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XIX.

6 And when Paul bad ■laid hii bands upon them,
the Holy (ihost came on them ; and Hbey spake with
tongues, and prophesied.

7 And ail the men were about twelve.

8 'And he went into the synagogue, and spake boldly
for the space of three month.s disputing and persuad-
ing the tilings ''concerning the kingdom of Gwi.

a But 'when divers were haniened, and believed not,
but spake evil /of that way before the multitude, he
departed from them, and separated the disciples, dis-
puting daily in the school of one Tyrannus.

10 And rthis continued by the space of two years ;

I 6 And when Paul bad laid his bands upon them, the
Holy Spirit came on tbem ; and they spake with

7 tongues, and prophesied. And they were in all
about twelve men.

8 And he entered into the synagogue, and spake
boldly for the space of three months, reasoning and
persuading as to the things concerning the kingdom

9 of God. iSut when some were hardened and dis-
obedient, speaking evil of the Way before the mul-
titude, he departed from them, and separated the
disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.

10 And this continued for the space of two years; so

• oh. 6:6; 8:n....iob. l:i; 10 : 4<....eob. 17 : 1 ; 18 : 4....(i oh. 1 : S
/ See oh. » : 3 ; 23 : 4 ; 24 : 14 ; Ter. 13.

38: 23.... « 2 Tim. 1 : 15; 2 Pet. 3:3; Jade 10

.; See ch. 30 : 31.

as distinguished from those of the first dispen-
sation. Tlie Council of Trent, for instance,
asserted : "Si quis dixerit baptismum Johannis
eandem vim cum baptism© Christi habuisse,
Anathema esto " [i. e. " If any one shall say that
the baptism of John had the same efficacy as
the baptism of Chri.st, let him be anathema." —
A. H.] (Sess. VII., J}e Baptisnm, C. 1). This in-
terpretation not only sets aside the more obvious
meaning for a remote one, but palpably mis-
states the fact in regard to John's baptism : he
did not administer it in the name of Jesus. This
view of the passage may be said to be obsolete
at present. [In the name of the Lord
Jesns. Better into, or unto, the name of the
Lord Jesus. Luke does not give the formula
of Christian baptism, but briefly indicates that
by their baptism they were consecrated to the
service of the Lord Jesus. (Comp. (Jal. 3 : 27 :
For as many of you as have beeti baptized into Christ
have put on Christ.) — A. H.]

6. Compare this verse with 10 : 44-46. —
With tongues — i. e. other (3 : 4), or new (M»rk
16 : 17). — For prophesied, see on 2 : 17.

7. All the men, together. All (was), in this
adverbial sense (= t6 irav, ra irdiTo), occurs es-
pecially in connection with numerals. (Comp.
27 : 35.) It is rare to find the adjective with
this force before the substantive. (See K. Ausf ,
Gr., § 489. p ; Vig. ed. Herm., p. 135.)— And thus
those twelve men who came forward so abrupt-
ly in our history disappear as suddenly, leaving
us in doubt whence they came, where they had
been, and in some respects what particular
phase of religious belief they represented. The
episode is one of strange interest from the very
fact of its suggesting so many questions the
solution of which our imperfect knowledge
of the first Christian age has put beyond our
reach.

8-12. PAUL PREACHES AT EPHESUS,
AND CONFIRMS THE WORD BY MIRA-
CLES.

8. For spake boldly =preac?ied boldly, see
on 18 : 26. — Persuading — i. e. them, persuad-
ing them of the things. (Comp. 28 : 23.) The

first accusative specifies the aim of the act. (K.
?279.4.)

9. Divers, or some — i. e. of the Jews, as re-
sults from synagogue, in v. 8. — That way
— lit. the way ; i. e. of Christian belief and prac-
tice ; not concretely, sect, party. (Comp. v. 23 ;
9 : 2.) — Before — i. e. in the presence of the
multitude. This attempt to prevent others
from believing showed how hardened (cctkAtj-
pvvovTo) they were more fully than their own
rejection of the gospel. — Separated the dis-
ciples— i. e. from the Jews in the synagogue.
— In the school — viz. the place where he
taught. This Tyrannus, otherwise unknown,
was probably a teacher of philosophy or rhet-
oric who occupied the apartment at other
hours. Whether he rented it to the Christians
or gave them the use of it is uncertain.

10. By the space of two years. These
two years are exclusive of the three months
mentioned in v. 8 ; for this opposes expressly
the preaching in the school of Tyrannus to that
in the synagogue. It is probable that they are
exclusive, also, of the time occupied by the
events which took place after v. 21 ; for in 20 :
31, Paul reminds the Ephesians that he had
labored three years among them ; so that nine
months, or six months at least (if we regard
three years there as a general expression),
must be added to the two years and three
months mentioned here. The retrospective
remark in v. 20 would be a very natural one
for the writer to make on the completion of a
distinct period. — It was during this abode of
Paul at Ephesus, and probably not long after
his arrival there, that he wrote the Epistle to
the Galatians. In Gal. 4 : 13, Paul speaks of
the former time (rh vporepov) when he preached
in Galatia; and hence (taking the expression
in its strict import) he had been there twice
when he wrote the Epistle. He must have
written it, therefore, on his third missionary-
tour (at least, not before it), since he founded
the Galatian churches on his second tour (see
on 16 : 6) and confirmed them on his present
journey to Ephesus. (See 18 : 23.) Further,

Cn. XIX.]

THE ACTS.

221

80 that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of
the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

U And •Uod wrought special miracles by the hands
of Paul :

rz »So that from his body were brought unto the
sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed
from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.

13 U "Then certain of tne vagabond Jews, exorcists,
•itook upon them to call over them which had evil
spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying. We adjure
you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.

that all they that dwelt in Asia beard the word of
11 the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. .\nd God wrought
12 special 'miracles by the hands of Paul: insomuch
that unto the sick were carried away from his body
handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed
13 from them, and the evil spirits went out. But cer-
tain also of the strolling Jews, exorcists, took upon
them to name over those who had the evil spirits
the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by

a Mark 16 :20; ob. U : S....t eh. 6 : 16; tee 2 Kingii: t9....e)Iatt. 12 : 2T....({ SMMark»:S8; Lake»:4S.-

-1 Or. ptuen.

if SO soon, in Gal. 1 : 6, refera (as, on the
whole, I think it does) to the brief interval
since Paul was among the Galatians, it follows
that he wrote his Epistle to them during the
early part of his sojourn at Ephesus. In this
city Paul could obtain easily the knowledge of
the Galatian heresy which gave occasion to the
letter. A partial conclusion may be drawn from
another argument. If we are to place Paul's
rebuke of Peter between his second and third
journeys (see on 18 : 23), he could not have
written to the Galatians, at all events, before his
departure on this tour. The foregoing data are
not decisive, but furnish the best-supported
opinion. We may refer the Epistle to the
year a. d. 56. (See note on 21 : 17.) — So that
all who inhabited Asia — viz. the Roman
province of that name (2:9). Ephesus was the
capital of this province, the centre of commerce
and religious worship (». 26), to which the people
resorted from all parts of the country. Hence
the apostle had an opportunity to preach to a
vast number, in addition to those who resided
in the city ; and at the same time, through the
agency of those converted through his labors,
he could have introduced the gospel into re-
gions which he did not visit in person. It was
but forty years after this that Pliny, in his cel-
ebrated letter to Trajan, says, even in reference
to the more distant Bithynia: "Multi omnis
setatis, omnis ordinis, utriusque sexfls etiam,
vocantur in periculura et vocabuntur. Neque
enim civitates tantum, sed vicos etiam atque
agros superstitionis istius contagio pervagata
est" ["Many of every age, of every rank, and
also of either sex, are brought, and will be
brought, into peril. For the contagion of this
superstition has not only spread through cities,
but also through villages and country places."
—A. H.]

11. Special — lit. not casual; i. e. uncommon,
extraordinary. (Comp. 28 : 2.) As the sequel
shows (r. 12), the miracles were remarkable, be-
cause they were performed without the personal
agency or presence of the apostle. They were
not generically different from those wrought on
other occasions. — By, or through, the hands

of Paul, not as laid upon the sick (some of
the results being involuntary on his part), but
through his instrumentality.

12. So that (because God so wrought by
him) also — i. e. among other miracles. — Were
brought, etc. — i. e. were carried from his
body, to which the articles had been touched
for the purpose of receiving the healing power
that was supposed to reside in him. (See Luke
8 : 46.) They resorted to this course, probably,
because the throng was so great that the sick
could not be brought directly to the apostle, or
in some instances were too infirm to be re-
moved from their houses. [It pleased God to
work the miracles through Paul in that way,
because it was in that way that the Ephesians
expected the miracles, and hence would receive
them as a testimony for Paul and his teaching.
—A. H.] — Handkerchiefs (Lat. sudaria) — lit.
sweat-cloths. They had their name from the
use to which they were principally applied. —
Aprons, such as artisans and servants wore
when engaged about their work. This too is a
Latin word {semidnctia) which had passed into
the later Greek. (See on 11 : 26.) — It is evident
from the diseases and the evil spirits that
the writer made a distinction between ordinary
diseases and those inflicted by evil spirits.
(Comp. on 5 : 16 ; 8 : 7.)

13-17. THE DEFEAT OF CERTAIN JEW-
ISH EXORCISTS.

13. The common text has certain of the
vagabond, etc. The more approved reading
is certain also of the vagabond, etc. (Grsb.,
Tsch., Mey.). Also joins certain of with
Paul, with reference to the act in to call :
they also attempted to call, as he called. —
Not vagabond opprobriously, but wandering
from place to place in the practice of their arts. —
Exorcists. That was their professed, reputed
occupation. They appear to have r^arded Paul
as one of their own class, but of a higher order.
They supposed he had obtained a name more po-
tent than any employed by them, and tliat by
means of it he could perform in reality the won-
ders to which they merely pretended. — We ad-
jure, etc., rather I abjure yon by the Jesus.

222

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XIX.

14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew,
and chief of the priests, which did so.

15 Aud the evil spirit answered and said, Jesna I
know, and Paul 1 know; but who are ye?

Iti And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped
on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against
them, so that they fled out of that bouse naked and
wounded.

17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks
also dwelling at Ephesus : and "fear fell on them all,
aud the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

IK And many that believed came, and ^confessed,
and shewed their deeds.

lU Many of them also which used curious arts
brought their books together, and burned them be-
fore all me}t : and they counted the price of them, and
found it fifty thousand^ecej of silver.

14 Jesus whom Paul preachetb. And there were seven
sons of one Sceva, a Jew, a chief priest, who did this.

15 And the evil spirit answered and said unto them,
Jesus I 'know, and Paul 1 know; but who are ye?

16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on
them, and mastered both of them, and prevailed
against them, so that they fled out of that house

17 naked and wounded. And this became known to
all, both Jews and Greeks, that dwelt at Ephesus;
and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the

18 Lord Jesus was magnified. Many also of them that
had believed came, confessing, and declaring their

19 deeds. And not a few of them that practised ^curi-
ous arts brought their books together, and burned
them in the sight of all : and they counted the price
of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.

aLokel : 65; 7 : 16; eh. 2 : 43; 5 : 5, II.... » Matt. 3:6.-

-1 Or, recognize 2 Or, magietU

For the double accusative, compare Mark 5:7;
1 Thess. 5 : 27. (See W. § 32. 4 ; C. ? 428.)

14. For the Doric form of the name Sceva
(Sxeva), see on 11 : 30. — And chief of the
priests — lit. a chief priest, a priest of the
higher class. (See on 4 : 6.) — Seven. The
numeral is too remote from certain {nvit) to
be indefinite, several. (See on 23 : 23.) —
Which did so. [This, a participial expression
in the Greek] denotes a habit. The next verse
relates an instance of their practice.

15. The evil spirit — viz. the one whom
they were attempting to exorcise on a certain
occasion. — Jesus I know — i.e. the Jesus (whom
you invoke) I know ; i. e. his authority and power
— and the Paul (whom you name) I know
well as the servant-messenger of God. (Comp.
16 : 17.) The article is probably significant
here, though, as the nouns are proper names,
it may be a little uncertain. — Ye precedes who
[in the Greek text], because it takes the em-
phasis.

16. And the man (impelled by the evil
spirit) leaping upon them. — Overcame,
having overpowered them, and prevailed —
lit. was strong — showed himself such against
them, or both ; viz. by tearing oflT their gar-
ments and beating them. Both is more correct
than them (Grsb., Mey., Tsch.).— Naked need
not be taken in its strict sense. It could be
applied to those stripped partially of their rai-
ment. (Comp. John 21 : 7.) — Out of, or from
out of, that house, where the transaction
took place. The pronoun reveals a more def-
inite scene in the writer's view than he has de-
scribed.— In the occurrence related here we are
to recognize a special design on the part of God.
It was important, says Neander, that the divine
power which accompanied the gospel should
in some striking manner exhibit its superiority
to the magic which prevailed so extensively at
Ephesus, and which by its apparently great
effects deceived and captivated so many. It

would have a tendency to rescue men from
those arts of imposture, and prepare their
minds for the reception of the truth.

18-20. MANY ARE CONVERTED, AND
CONFESS THEIR SINS.

18. And many that believed, or and
many of the believers (convinced by such evi-
dence)— lit. of those who have believed, and still
believe. The language ascribes to them a def-
inite character, but does not decide when it
began. They were probably new converts (De
Wet., Alf.), as the confession made by them
would be inconsistent with the life required
of those who had been recognized as Christians.
They were a different class, also, from those
spoken of in the next verse; hence, not the
jugglers themselves, but their dupes — those
who had confided in them and been accessory
to the wicked delusion. — Came (imperf.), one
after another. — Their deeds, superstitious
practices (Olsh., Mey.. De Wet.), not their sins
in general (Kuin.). It is better to restrict the
meaning in this connection, especially as with
the other sense the more obvious term would
be sin^ (i/iopTt'os), and not deeds (wpdfei?).

19. Many of them also, better and
many of those who practised magic arts
— lit. things overwrought, curious, recondite. —
Their books, or the books which con-
tained their mysteries— i. e. magical signs, for-
mulas of incantations, nostrums, and the like.
— Burned (imperf.) {xarfKaiov) describes them
as throwing book after book into the blazing
pile. — And found, etc., and they found, as
the sum, fifty thousand (i. e. drachmas) of
silver money. It was common in such des-
ignations to omit the name of the coin. (See
Bemh., Synt., p. 187.) The Attic drachm passed
at this time among the Jews and Romans for a
denarim, and was worth about fifteen cents ; so
that the books amounted to seventy-five hun-
dred dollars. Some supply shekel as the ellip-
tical word, which, reckoning that coin at sixty

Ch. XIX.]

THE ACTS.

223

20 "So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.

21 1[ 'After these things were ended, Paul 'purposed
in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia
and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have
been there, <'I must also see Rome.

22 So he sent into Macedonia two of •them that

20 So mightily grew the word of the Lord and pre-
vailed.

21 Now after these things were ended, Paul purposed
in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia
and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying. After I have

22 been there, I must also see Rome. And having sent

aeh.<:T; 12 : ]4....i Bom. 1& : 25; Oal. 2 : l....coh. 20 : 22....iloh. 18 : 21 ; 23:11; Bom. 15 : 24-28.... • oh. IS : S.

cents, would make the amount four times as
great. But as the occurrence took place in a
Greek city, and as Luke was not writing for
Jews, it is entirely improbable that he has
stated the sum in their currency. All books in
ancient times were expensive, and especially
those which contained secrets or charms held
in such estimation,

20. Grew . . . and prevailed, or grew and
was strong, mighty. The first verb refers to
the general extension of the gospel ; the second,
to its influence on the conduct of those who
embraced it. What precedes illustrated the re-
mark in both respects. [Instead of the word
of God, the better manuscripts read the word
of the Lord. — A. H.] — This verse presents a
striking coincidence as compared with 1 Cor.
16 : 9. It was here at Ephesus, and about this
time, that Paul wrote the First Epistle to the
Corinthians. That it was written at Ephesus is
certain from 1 Cor. 16 : 8. But Paul visited this
city only twice — the first time when he touched
here on his way to Jerusalem (is, i9), and again
at this present time of his prolonged residence
here. He could not have written the Epistle
on his first visit, because the church at Corinth,
so recently gathered, would not answer then to
the character which it bears in the Epistle, and
still more decisively because ApoUos, who was
the head of one of the parties there (i cor. i : 12),
did not proceed to Corinth (18:27) till shortly
before Paul's second arrival at Ephesus. Again,
Paul speaks in 1 Cor. 4 : 17 of having recently
sent Timothy to Corinth (comp. 1 Cor. 16 : 10),
and here in the Acts (19:22) Luke speaks evi-
dently of the same event, which he represents
as preparatorj' to the apostle's intended visit to
the same place. As Paul now left Ephesus in
the spring of a. d. 57 (see note on 20 : 1), he
wrote his First Epistle to the Corinthians a few
months before his departure.

21, 22. THE APOSTLE PROPOSES TO
LEAVE EPHESUS.

21. A new epoch begins here — viz. that from
the end of the year and three months to Paul's
departure. — These things, up to this time
since the arrival at Ephesus, not so naturally
those relating merely to the exorcism and its
effects. — Purposed in the spirit, or placed
in his mind, purposed. (See on 5 : 4.) —

Macedonia and Achaia occur here also in
the Roman sense. The order of the names in-
dicates that the apostle intended at this time, to
have proceeded directly from Corinth to Jeru-
salem. An unexpected event (see 20 : 3) com-
pelled him to change his plan. — I mnst also,
sq. It is necessary that I should see also
Rome, not in order to fulfil any revealed pur-
pose of God, but to satisfy his own feelings. He
was anxious to visit the believers there, and to
preach the gospel in that metropolis of the
world. (See Rom. 1 : 11, 14.) — Paley institutes
a striking comparison between this verse and
Rom. 1 : 13 and 15 : 23-28 : " The conformity
between the history and the Epistle is perfect.
In the first passage of the Epistle we find that
a design of visiting Rome had long dwelt in
the apostle's mind ; here, in the Acts, we find
that design expressed a considerable time before
the Epistle was written. In the history we find
that the plan which Paul had formed was to
pass through Macedonia and Achaia ; after that,
to go to Jerusalem ; and when he had finished
his visit there, to sail for Rome. "When the
Epistle was written, he had executed so much
of his plan as to have passed through Mace-
donia and Achaia, and was preparing to pur-
sue the remainder of it by speedily setting out
toward Jerusalem ; and in this point of his
travels he tells his friends at Rome that when
he had completed the business which carried
him to Jerusalem he would come to them when
he should make his journey into Spain." Nor
is the argument to be evaded by supposing the
passages to have been adjusted to each other in
this manner : " If the passage in the Epistle
was taken from that in the Acts, why was
Spain put in ? If the passage in the Acts was
taken from that in the Epistle, why was Spain
left out ? If the two passages were unknown
to each other, nothing can account for their
conformity but truth."

22. Timothy was at Corinth when last men-
tioned (i8 : 5). He would be likely to cross over
to Ephesus on hearing of Paul's arrival there.
But what connection is there between the
apostle's sending Timothy into Macedonia and
his own purpose to proceed to Achaia? We
obtain an answer to that question from 1 Cor.
4 ; 17-19. We learn there that Timothy was

224

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XIX.

ministered unto him, Timotheus and 'Erastus; but be
bimself staved in Asia for a season.

23 And *tlie same time there arose no small stir about
•that way.

'H I'or a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith,
which made silver shrines lor Diana, brought <'do small
gain unto the craftsmen ;

25 Whom he called together with the workmen of
like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this
craft we have our wealth.

2ti Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Epfae-
8us, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath
persuaded and turned away much people, saying that
they be no gods, which are made with hands :

27 So that not only this our craft is in danger to be

into Macedonia two of them that ministered unto
him, Timothv and Erastus, he himself stayed in
Asia for a while.
23 And about that time there arose no small stir con-
24cerijing the Way. For a certain man named De-
metrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of
^Diana, brought no little business unto the crafts-

25 men ; whom he gathered together, with the work-
men of like occupatiou, and said. Sirs, ye know that

26 by this business we have our wealth. And ye see
and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost
throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and
turned away much people, saying that they are no

27 gods, which are made with hands : and not only is

a Bom. ie:lS; 1 Tim. 4 : 10....»S Car. 1:8.

.eSee ch. 9:2....ileh. 18:16, 19.
1 Gr. Artemi*.

.«Pi. 115:4; Im. 44:10-20; Jer. 10:3.

not to stop in Macedonia, but to pass on to
C!orinth, the capital city of Achaia, and pre-
pare the church for the approaching visit of
the apostle. Thus " the narrative agrees with
the Epistle ; and the agreement is attended with
very little appearance of design. One thing at
least concerning it is certain — that if this pas-
sage of Paul's history had been taken from his
letter, it would have sent Timothy to Corinth
by name, or at all events into Achaia." — Eras-
tus may be the person of that name in 2 Tim.
4 : 20, but, as he travelled with Paul, the best
critics distinguish him from the Erastus in
Rom. 16 : 23 (Neand., De Wet., Win.). The
office of the latter as " treasurer of the city "
would demand his more constant presence at
Corinth. — He himself stayed — lit. he him-
self (while they departed) kept back unto
Asia ; unto not in (De Wet., Rob.), and not /or
as dat. comm. (Win.), uncommon before a
proper name, but unto as the direction toward
which (Mey.).

23-27. DEMETRIUS EXCITES A TUMULT
AT EPHESUS.

23. As at Philippi (is : w), so here, the Greeks
instigated the riot ; their motive was the same
— fear of losing the means of their ill-gotten
wealth. (See note on 14 : 19.) — The same
time — lit. about that time; viz. that of Paul's
intended departure. — About that way, or,
ymceming the way. (See on 9 : 2.)

24. For, etc., explains why a tumult arose.
— Silver shrines (not for, in E. V., but) of
Artemis. These were small portable images
resembling the temple at Ephesus and contain-
ing a figure of the goddess. The manufacture of
these shrines was a lucrative business, as they
were in great request; they were set up in
houses as objects of worship, or carried about
the person as having the supposed power to
avert disease and other dangers. They were
not only sold here in Asia, but sent as an arti-
cle of traffic to distant countries. Demetrius,
it would seem, was a wholesale dealer in such

shrines. He executed orders for them, and em-
ployed artisans, who received lucrative wages
[see R. v.] for their labor. — (Comp. vaptixtro
with the active form in 16 : 16.)

25. Whom he called together, etc., or
'Whom having assembled and the other
workmen in his employ. The artisans {rtxvL-
Tcu) performed the more delicate processes, and
the workmen («pydTot) the rougher work. So
Bengel, Kuinoel, Hemsen, and Meyer distin-
guish the two nouns from each other. It ap-
pears improbable that Demetrius would confine
his appeal to his own men. It may be better to
understand workmen of the laborers in gen-
eral who were devoted to such trades, whether
they exercised them on their own account or
that of some employer. — Of like occupation.
The Greek (ra roiaCra) limits the reference to
shrines — i. e. definitely, such things as those.
(Comp. Matt. 19 : 14 ; 2 Cor. 12 : 2, 3. K. § 246.
4.) It is incorrect to extend the pronoun so as
to include statuary, pictures, coins, and the
like (Blmf.). — Ye know = ye know Avell.
(See V. 15.) — This refers to making shrines
in Luke's narrative. It stands, therefore, for
some equivalent term or idea in the speech of
Demetrius. — Wealth, prosperity.

26. Of, or from (not at), Ephesus depends
on much people as a genitive of possession.
— Asia has, no doubt, its Roman sense. The
effect ascribed here to Paul's labors agrees with
the statement in v. 10. — Turned away, or
turned aside — i. e. from our mode of wor-
ship.— That they be, etc., that they are
not gods which are made by hands.
The mode of speaking illustrates the disposi-
tion of the heathen to identify their gods with
the idols or temples consecrated to them. (See
on 17 : 24.) We can imagine the eflFect of these
words on such auditors, uttered with a look
or gesture toward the splendid temple within
sight.

27. This our craft. Rather, this part,
branch, of our labor (Kyp., Mey.). The idea

Ch. XIX.]

THE ACTS.

225

set at nought ; but also that the temple of the great
goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnit-
fcence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the
world worshippeth.

28 And when they heard these sayings, they were full
of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great U Diana of the
£^hesians.

29 And the whole city was filled with confuaion:
and having caught "Gaius and 'Aristarchus, men of

there danger that this our trade come into dis-
repute ; but also that the temple of the great god-
dess >Diana be made of no account, and that she
should even be deposed from her magnificeiice,

28 whom all Asia and 'the world worshippeth. And
when they heard this, they were filled with wrath,
and cried out, saying, (ireat is 'Diana of the Ephe-

29 sians. And the city was filled with the confusion :
and they rushed with one accord into the theatre,

a Rom. 16:33; I Cor. 1 : U....6oh. 20 : i; 27:2; Col. 4:10; Phllem. 24.-

-1 Or. irttmit 2 Or. tht inkaibUtd earth.

is that their art as silversmiths, of whatever
use it might be in other respects, would soon
be ruined, as to this particular application of it.
—For US (rintv, dat. incomm.), toour detriment.
Their receipts had declined perceptibly already,
and at this rate would soon be cut off alto-
gether.— But also, etc., but also the tem-
ple of the great goddess Artemis is in
danger, etc. Is in danger extends also into
this clause and governs the following infinitive.
Great was one of the special titles of the Ephe-
sian Diana. In regard to her temple, reckoned
as one of the wonders of the world, the reader
will find ample details in Conybeare and How-
son. The edifice in Paul's time had been built
in place of the one burnt down by Herostratus
on the night of Alexander's birth, and was
vastly superior to it in size and grandeur. No
ruins of it remain at present on the spot ; but
the traveller sees some of the columns in the
mosque of St. Sophia, at Constantinople, orig-
inally a church, and in the naves of Italian
cathedrals. — The words translated should be
despised mean to come into contempt
(Mey.); in redargutionem venire (Vulg.) — i. e.
to be confuted, rejected (De Wet.). The noun
occurs only here, and its meaning must
be inferred from its relation to the cognate
words. A result of confutation is shame, loss
of character ; and hence the expression could
be used to signify that they feared lest their
business should lose its credit in the public
estimation. — And her magnificence, etc.,
and also that her glory will he destroyed, etc.
The discourse here changes from the direct
to the indirect, as if he said had introduced
this part of the sentence. We have a similar
transition in 23 : 24. (See W. § 64. III. 2.)
And (t«, needlessly exchanged by some for U)
joins the clause with what precedes, while also
[see Dr. Hackett's translation] adds another
argument to enforce the speaker's object. —
The world (^ olKovtiivii). (Comp. on 11 : 28.)
The temple at Ephesus had been built at the
common expense of all the Greek cities of
Asia. Pilgrims repaired thither from all na-
tions and countries. — The speech of Demetrius
deserves attention for its artful character. He
15

takes care, in the first place, to show his fellow-
craftsmen how the matter affected their own
personal interest; and then, having aroused
their selfishness, he proceeds to appeal with so
much the more effect to their zeal for religion.
His main reliance, as Calvin thinks, was upon
the first : " Res ipsa clamat non tam pro aris
ipsos quam pro focis pugnare, ut scilicet culinam
habeant bene calentem " [" The nature of the
case makes it evident that they are fighting, not
so much for their altars as for their household
fires; that, forsooth, they may have their
kitchens well warmed"].

28-34. THE MOB SEIZE TWO OF
PAUL'S COMPANIONS AND RUSH TO
THE THEATRE.

28. Full of wrath, against Paul and the
Christians. — Cried out, continued crying.
The Greeks lived so much in the open air De-
metrius may have harangued his men in pub-
lic ; if in private, the rioters had now gone into
the street. Perhaps they traversed the city for
a time with their outcry before executing the
assault spoken of in the next verse, and swelled
their number with recruits on the way.

29. And the whole city was filled with
confusion, or tumult, the tumult, if we
read the article. The evidence for the article
is not decisive [but it is very strong, K* A B D*
H L P ; so that the critical editions now all
insert it. On the other hand, the evidence
for whole before city is not decisive. — A. H.].
— And they rushed with one accord into
the theatre. The subject of the verb here
includes those who excited the disturbance and
those who joined in it. They rushed to the
theatre, because it was the custom of the Greeks,
though not of the Romans, to use their theatres
for public business as well as for sports. (See
on 12 : 21.) The multitude had evidently no
definite plan of action, and no definite idea of
the cause of the present excitement. (See v.
32.) All they knew was that some danger
threatened their religion, and under that im-
pression they hastened as with one impulse
{oito^vikcMv) to the usual place of concourse for
further inquiry or for consultation. Remains
of the theatre at Ephesus are still visible. Its

226

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XIX.

Macedonia, Paul's companions in travel, they rushed
with one accurd into the theatre.

3U And whun Paul would have entered in unto the
people, the disciples suffered hiiu not.

31 And certain of the chief of Asia, which were his
friends, sent unto him, desiring liim ttiat he would not
adventure himself into the theatre.

32 8onie therefore cried one thing, and some another :
for thea.>iseuibly was confused ; and the more part knew
not wherefore they were come together.

33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude,
the Jews putting him forward. And 'Alexander ^beck-

having seized Gains and Aristarchus, men of Mace-

SOdonia, Paul's companions in travel. And when

Paul wa.s minded to enter in unto the people, the

31 disciples suffered him not. And certain also of the
•Asiarchs, being his friends, sent unto him, and be-
sought him not to adventure himself into the thea-

32 tre. Some therefore cried one thing, and some an-
other : for the assembly was in confusion ; and the
more part knew not wherefore they were come to-

IWgether. ^And they brought Alexander out of the
multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And

at Tim. 1 : 20; 3 Tim. 4 : U....ich. 12 : 17. 1 i. e. offloers having charge of feativalB in the Eomao province of Asia.

And some of th* multitude instructed Alexander.

..2 Or,

outline can be traced, showing ita dimensions
to have been larger than those of any other
theatre known to us from ancient times. It
was built on the side of a lofty hill, with the
seats rising in long succession one above an-
other, and, like similar edifices among the an-
cients, was entirely open to the sky. A recent
traveller judges that it was large enough to con-
tain thirty thousand persons. The temple of
Diana could be seen from it, at no great dis-
tance, across the marketplace. Luke has vio-
lated no probability, therefore, in representing
so many people as assembled in such a place. —
Having caught {<rvvapnaaai>rti), after having
seized along (out of the house, prior to
mshed, upnyiaav), or (coincident with the verb),
having seized along when they rushed. (See
note on 21 : 7.) Meyer prefers the first mode ;
De Wette, the second. (See W. g 45. 6. b. For
a different explanation of <rvv in the participle,
see Rob., Lex., a. v.) — Gains, or Cains, who
was a Macedonian, is not the one mentioned in
20 : 4, or in Rom. 16 : 23 and 1 Cor. 1 : 15 ; for
the former belonged to Derbe; the latter, to
Corinth. — Aristarchus was a Thessalonian
(20:4). (See further on 27 : 2.)

30. Paul. Paul may have been absent from
his abode at the time of the assault, as was the
case at Thessalonica (i7 : e). Unto the people
in the theatre (v. si). His idea may have been
that his appearance there in person, or a decla-
ration that he was willing to have his conduct
examined, would allay the tumult. (Comp. v.
37.) His anxiety mast have been the greater
from hLs not knowing to what danger the
friends who had fallen into the hands of the
mob might be exposed. — The disciples, who
were, no doubt, native Ephesians. They under-
stood their countrymen too well to encourage
the apostle's inclination.

31. The chief of Asia. The Asiarchs were
ten men (Mey.) chosen annually from the chief
towns in Proconsular Asia to superintend the
games and festivals held every year in honor
of the gods and the Roman emperor. They

were chosen from the wealthier class of citizens,
since, like the Roman sediles, they were re-
quired to provide for these exhibitions at their
own expense. Those who had filled the office
once retained the title for the rest of life. One
of the number acted as chief Asiarch, who re-
sided com-iionly at Ephesus. The Bithyniarchs,
Galatarchs, Syriarclis, were a similar class of
magistrates in other provinces of Western Asia.
— Akerman oflFers here the following just re-
mark : " That the very maintainers and presi-
dents of the heathen sports and festivals of a
people to whom the doctrine of Christ and the
resurrection was foolishness were the friends of
Paul was an assertion which no fabricator of a
forgery would have ventured upon. We can-
not penetrate the veil which antiquity has
thrown over these events, and are only left to
conjecture, either that Christianity itself had
supporters, though secret ones who feared the
multitude, in these wealthy Asiatics, or that,
careless of the truth of what the apostle
preached, they admired his eloquence and
wished to protect one whom they considered
so highly gifted."

3'.$. Therefore (oSi-), resumptive, as in 9 : 31 ;
8:4. It puts forward the narrative from the
point reached in v. 29. The two preceding
verses relate to a collateral circumstance.

33. And they drew, etc. Now out of
the crowd, from their midst, they — viz. the
Jews— urged forward Alexander. "As the
Jews here lived in the midst of a numerous
Greek population who viewed them with con-
stant aversion, any special occasion roused
their slumbering prejudices into open violence,
and they had then much to sufier. Hence the
Jews on this occasion feared that the anger of
the people against the enemies of their gods —
especially as many of them did not know who
were really intended— would be directed against
themselves, and they were anxious, therefore,
that one of their number, a man by the name
of Alexander, should stand forward, in order
to shift the blame from themselves upon tlie

Ch. XIX.]

THE ACTS.

227

oned with the hand, and would have made his defence
unto the people.

34 But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with
one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great
is Diana of the Ephesians.

33 And when the townclerk had appeased the peonle,
he said. Ye men of ICphesus, what man is there that
knowetn not how that the city of the Ephesians ia a
worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the
image wnich fell down from Jupiter?

Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would
84 have made a defence unto the people. But when
they perceived that he was a Jew, all with one
voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great
35 ii iDiana of the t^phesian.s. And when the town-
clerk had quieted the multitude, he saith, Ye men
of Ephesus, what man is there who knoweth not
how that the city of the Ephesians is temple-keeper
of the great iDiana, and of the image which fell

1 Gr. Arttmit.

Christians ; but the appearance of such a per-
son, who himself belonged to the enemies of
their gods, excited in the heathen still greater
rage, and the clamor became more violent."
This is the view of Neander, and is the one
adopted by Kuinoel, Hemsen, Olshausen.Winer,
and most others. Some, on the contrary, as
Calvin, Meyer, Wieseler, understand that Alex-
ander was a Jewish Christian, and that the
Jews, who recognized him as such, pushed him
forward, in order to expose him to the fury of
the populace. Would have made his de-
fence has been said to favor this opinion ; but
it may refer to a defence in behalf of the Jews
as well as of the Christians. The Alexander
in 2 Tim. 4 : 14 could hardly have been the
same person ; the coppersmith may have
been added there to distinguish him from this
individual. — The Jews thrusting (putting)
him forward. The subject of this subordi-
nate clause is the same as that of the principal
clause which precedes ; whereas, according to
the ordinary rule, it is only when the subjects
are different that the genitive absolute is em-
ployed. The participle wpo^aAAdi'Toii' {thrusting)
would have been regularly in the nominative.
Exceptions like this occur in the classics. The
idea of the secondary clause acquires in this
way more prominence. (See K. § 313. R. 2, as
compared with g 312. 3.)

34. [A literal rendering would be : And per-
ceiving that he was a Jew there was one voice from
all for about two hours, crying, Great is Diana,
etc. The Greek participle {imyvovrtt) translated
perceiving] is nominative, as if all cried out
{i(i>u>vri<Tav airavTtt) had followed, instead of one
voice from all {<t><avrt fiia . . . « >ra>T<oi'). (See
W. ? 63. 1. 1.) The expression with that change
would have been more correct, but less forcible,
(fiia «<e iravTiav is a colUda junctura which will ar-
rest the reader's attention.)— About the space
of two hour.s. Their unintermitted cry for
about two hours. Great is Diana of the
Ephesians I not only declared their attach-
ment to her worship, but, according to the
ideas of the heathen, was itself an act of wor-

ship. (Comp. 1 Kings 18 : 26 ; Matt. 6 : 7.) The
Mohammedan monks in India at the present
time often practise such repetitions for entire
days together. They have been known to say
over a single syllable having a supposed relig-
ious efficacy until they exhaust their strength
and are unable to articulate any longer. * — It
has been remarked that the reverberation of
their voices from the steep rock which formed
one side of the theatre (see on v. 29) must have
rendered the many-mouthed, frenzied exclama-
tion still more terrific.

35-40. SPEECH OP THE CITY RECORD-
ER. WHO QUELLS THE UPROAR AND
DISPERSES THE MULTITUDE.

35. The town-clerk == the recorder. In
the cities of Asia Minor, as appears from notices
and inscriptions, this was the title of a very
important magistrate with various functions,
though his more immediate province was to
register the public acts and laws or to preserve
the record of them. (See Win., Realw., i. p. 649.)
He was authorized to preside over public as-
semblies, and is mentioned on marbles as acting
in that capacity. He stood next in rank to the
municipal chief, and performed his duties dur-
ing the absence or on the death of that officer. A
recorder, or town-clerk, of Ephesus is often
mentioned on coins of that city. (See New
Englander, x. p. 144.)— Had appeased the
people, or having stilled the crowd, by
showing himself to them and making a sign
(18 : 16) that he wished to speak. — In for what
man is there, the conjunction refers to a sup-
pressed thought : You have no occasion for this
excitement, for what human being is there,
etc. Of men (comp. 1 Cor. 2:11), and not man
(T. R.), is to be read here. [Literally : Who of
men is there, etc. — A. H.] — That knoweth
not, etc., or who does not know, that the
city of the Ephesians is keeper, guardian,
of the great Diana ; and hence it was unbe-
coming in them to be so sensitive, as if their
reputation was at stake. Goddess after great
(T. R.) should be omitted. Worshipper — lit.
temple-sweeper — became at length an honorary

1 See Tholuck's Autlegung der Bergpredigt (3d ed.), p. 328, sq.

228

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XIX.

36 Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken
against, ye ought to be ouiet, and to do nothing rashly.

:<7 For ye have brought hither these men, wnich are
neither robbers of churclies, nor yet blasphemers of
your goddess.

38 Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which
are with him, have a matter against any man, the law
is open, and there are deputies : let them implead one
another.

39 But if ye inquire any thing concerning other
matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly.

36 down from '.Tupiter? Seeing then that these things
cannot be gainsaid, ye ought to be quiet, and to do

37 nothing rash, l-or ye have brougnt hither these
men, ■who are neither robbers of temples nor blas-

.38phemers of our goddess. If therefore Demetrius,
and the craftsmen that are with him, have a matter
against any man, 'the courts are open, and there

39 are proconsuls: let tliem accuse one another. But
if ye seek any thing al)out other matters, it shall be

1 Or, htaven. ...% Or, court daja are kept

title, and as such was granted to certain Asiatic
cities in recognition of the care and expense be-
stowed by them on the temple and worship of
their favorite deities. It is found on coins of
Ephesus struck about Paul's time. — The image
which fell — lit. the image fallen from Ju-
piter, and hence so much the more sacred.
There was a similar tradition in regard to a
statue of Artemis in Taurus (Eurip., Iph. T.,
977), and also one of Pallas at Athens (Pausan.,
i. 26. 6).

36. These things— viz. the established rep-
utation of the Ephesians for their attachment
to the worship of Diana, and the well-known
origin of her image. Hence the argument is
twofold : They had no reason to fear that such
a people (temple-keeper) could be induced
to abandon a religion which so wonderful an
event (fallen from Jupiter) had signalized.
— Ye cMght— lit. it is necessary that yon ;
t. e. morally, you ought.

37. For confirms the implication in rashly
— i. e. that they had acted rashly. — These re-
fers to Gains and Aristarchus. (See v. 29.)
Paul was not present. — Robbers of temples,
not of churches. It is singular that the latter
translation, so incorrect, should be found in all
the English versions except Wiclif's and the
Rheims, which, being drawn from the Vulgate,
have " sacrilegious." The temples among the
heathen contained votive offerings and other
gifts, and were often plundered. — Nor yet,
etc. — lit. nor blaspheming your goddess.
It was the effect of Paul's preaching to under-
mine idolatry and bring the worship of Arte-
mis into contempt ; but as at Athens, so here,
he had refrained from denunciation, oppro-
brium, ridicule, and had opposed error by con-
tending for the truth. Hence the recorder
could urge that technical view of the apostle's
conduct and deny that he had committed any
actionable offence. It would almost seem as if,
like the Asiarchs, he was friendly at heart to
the new sect.

38. Wherefore, better therefore, since the
men are innocent in r^ard to such crimes as

sacrilege and blasphemy. — With him — i. e.,
his associates in the complaint against Paul.
(Comp. 5 : 17.) The speaker knew of their
connection with the case from something
which they had done or said in the assembly,
which Luke has not related. — The law is
open — lit. court-days are kept, observed.
The days are so called because the courts were
held in the forum. (Comp. 16 : 19 ; 17 : 5.) It
is contended by some that this adjective (oydpaioi)
should be marked as proparoxytone in this
sense, but as circumflex when used as in 17 :
[ 5. (See W. § 6. 2.) The distinction is a doubt-
ful one. — And there are deputies — i.e. pro-
consuls. The plural is generic (comp. Matt.
I 2 : 20), as but one such officer presided over a
province. The coins of Ephesus show that the
i proconsular authority was fully established
I there in the reign of Nero. Akerman gives
I the engraving of one which has the head of
that emperor on the obverse, and on the re-
verse a representation of the temple of Diana,
with the words : [Money] of the Ephesians, Neo-
cori, jEchnwcles Aviola, Proconsul. — Let them
implead each other is a technical phrase.
39. They were a mob, and could transact no
public business. — Inquire, etc. But if ye
make any demand (stronger than the simple
verb) concerning other things than those
of a private nature.— In the [not a] lawful
assembly, which this is not. "Legitimus
coetus est qui a magistratu civitatis convocatur
ct regitur"' (Grot.). [Canon Lightfoot saj-s
that " by a ' lawful assembly ' he means one of
those which were held on stated days already
predetermined by the law, as opposed to
those which were called together on special
emergencies out of the ordinary course, though,
in another sense, these latter might be equally
' lawful.' An inscription found in this very
theatre in which the words were uttered illus-
trates this technical sense of ' lawful.' It pro-
vides that a certain silver image of Athene shall
be brought and ' set at every lawful (reg-alar)
assembly above the bench where the boys sit.' "
Occasional assemblies might be lawful, if prop-

» " A legitimate assembly is one which is convoked by the magistrate of the city, and over which he presides."

Ch. XX.]

THE ACTS.

229

40 For we are in danger to be called in question for
this day's uproar, there being no cause whereby we
may give an account of this concourse.

41 And when he bad thus spoken, he dismissed tfa«
assembly.

40 settled in the regular assembly. For indeed we are
in danger to be 'accused concerning this day's riot,
there being no cause /ur it: and as touching it we
shall not be able to give account of this concourse.

41 And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the
assembly.

CHAPTER XX.

AND after the uproar was ceased, Paul called unto him
the disciples, and embraced them, and 'departed for
to go into Macedonia.

1 And after the uproar was ceased, Paul having Bent
for the disciples and exhorted them, took leave of

a 1 Cor. 16 : 5 ; 1 Tim. 1 : 3.-

-] Or, acctued of riot concerning thi$ dan

erly conducted, without undertaking to do what
belonged to those appointed beforehand. — A. H.]
40. For justifies the intimation in lawful
as to the character of the present concourse.
— We are in danger. They were in danger
of being called to account by the proconsul.
The Roman Government watched every ap-
pearance of insubordination or sedition in the
provinces with a jealous eye. Thousands were
often put to death in the attempt to suppress
such movements. It was a capital offence to
take any part in a riotous proceeding. The
speaker's hint, therefore, was a significant one.
— Uproar depends on concerning) not on the
verb. (The accent on mpi is not drawn back,
though its noun precedes (B. g 117. 3), because
an adjective phrase follows.) — There being no
cause explains, not why they were liable to be
arraigned, but how seriously it would terminate
if the affair should take that direction. —
Whereby, or in virtue of which. — This speech
is the model of a popular harangue. Such
excitement on the part of the Ephesians was
undignified, as they stood above all suspicion
in religious matters (w. 35, se) ; it was unjustifi-
able, as they could establish nothing against
the men {v. 37) ; it was unnecessary, as other
means of redress were open to them (tt. ss, 39) ;
and finally, if neither pride nor justice availed
anything, fear of the Roman power should re-
strain them (t. 40). [The publication in 1877 of
Discoveries at Ephesits, including the Site and Re-
mains of the Great Temple of Diana, by J. T.
Wood, F. A. S., has confirmed almost every
important comment of Dr. Hackett on this
narrative, as well as the remarkable agreement
of the narrative itself with the religious, civil,
and architectural condition of Ephesus at that
time. After calling attention to the discoveries
of Mr. Wood, and especially to several very in-
structive inscriptions. Canon Lightfoot — a most
competent authority — remarks: "With these
facts in view, we are justified in saying that an-
cient literature has preserved no picture of the
Ephesus of imperial times . . . comparable for
its lifelike truthfulness to the narrative of St.

Paul's sojourn there in the Acts" {Cont. Rev.,
1878, p. 288, etc.). The inscriptions published
by Mr. Wood confirm the representation that
Ephesus was called "the temple-warder of
Artemis " and " the nurse of its own Ephesian
goddess ;" that Artemis was called " the great
goddess," and even " the greatest goddess ;" that
the making of gold and silver shrines of the god-
dess was a flourishing business in the city ; that
regular and occasional assemblies were held in
the theatre ; and that " the proconsul," " the
recorder," and " the Asiarchs " were well-known
officials, the duties of the recorder being very
important and often mentioned. — A. H.]

1-6. PAUL PROCEEDS A SECOND TIME
TO GREECE, AND RETURNS FROM THERE
TO TROAS.

1. And after the uproar = iVbw after tfie
tumult had ceased. This clause shows that Paul
left Ephesus soon after the disturbance, but
furnishes no evidence, says Neander, that his
departure was hastened by it. We may con-
clude that Paul "tarried at Ephesus until
Pentecost," pursuant to his intention expressed
in 1 Cor. 16 : 8, and, consequently, that he left
that city in the spring or summer of a. d. 57 or
68. (Comp. note on 18 : 23 with that on 19 :
10.) — Before taking leave of Ephesus we must
notice another event which Luke has not re-
corded, but which belongs to this part of the
history. In 2 Cor. 12 : 14 (written on the way
to Greece) the apostle says : Behold, this third
time I am ready to come unto you. The connec-
tion decides that third time belongs to com^. It
cannot refer to a third intention merely to visit
the Corinthians; for he is saying that, as he
had " not been burdensome to them " hitherto
when he was among them, so in his present
visit he would adhere to the same policy.
Again, in 2 Cor. 13 : 1, he says, This third tiine
I am coming. Here it is expressly said that the
apostle was now on the point of making his
third journey to Corinth. The correct inter-

230

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XX.

2 And when be bad gone over tbose parts, and bad
given them much exhortation, he came Into Greece,

2 them, and departed for to go into Macedonia. And
when he haa gone through those parts, and had
given them much exhortation, he came into Greece.

pretation of 2 C!or. 1 : 15, 16 presents no obstacle
to this construction of the passages here re-
ferred to. The sixteenth of these verses ex-
plains the fifteenth. The apostle has reference
in V. 16 to a journey to Corinth which he had
proposed, but had failed to execute — viz. a
journey into Macedonia by the way of Corinth,
and then a return to Corinth from Macedonia ;
and in v. 15 he says that this plan would have
secured to the Corinthians " a second benefit "
(SevT'.pav x<»pt>') in conncctlon with the tour pro-
posed— i. e. the benefit of his presence, not once
merely, but a second time. There is every rea-
son to suppose, therefore, that Paul had been at
Corinth twice when he wrote his Second Epistle
to the church in that city. So conclude, among
others, Michaelis, Schrader,Bleek, Liicke, Schott,
Anger, Riickert, Credner, Neander, Olshausen,
Meyer, Wieseler, Osiander, Cony, and Hws. But
where in Luke's narrative are we to insert this
second journey to Corinth? Of the different
answers given to this question, I regard that as
the most satisfactory which places the journey
within the period of Paul's residence of three
years at Ephesus. It would have been easy for
him to have crossed over from the one city to the
other uf any time ; and, considering the urgent
reasons for such a visit furnished by the con-
dition of the Corinthian church, one would
think that he could hardly have refrained from
availing himself of the opportunity. As his
stay there was probably verj' brief and unat-
tended by any important event, Luke has made
no mention of it. Schrader, Riickert, Olshausen,
Meyer, Wieseler, Conybeare and Howson, and
others intercalate the journey at this point.
Neander suggests that Paul, at the commence-
ment of this missionary-tour, may have ex-
tended his travels before his arrival at Ephe-
sus so far as to have included Greece. Anger,
Schott, and some others think that Paul's
second visit to Corinth may have been a re-
turn to that city from some excursion which
he made into the neighboring regions during
the j'ear and a half of his first sojourn at Cor-
inth (18:1, . J.). — Embraced, having embraced,
them. How many tears of affection must have
been shed ! How many prayers must have been
offered for each other and for the cause of
Christ ! From such hints as those in vv. 37,
38 and in 21 : 5, 6, we can call up to ourselves
an image of the scene. They must have parted
with a presentiment, at least, that the apostle
was now taking his final leave of Ephesus.

(See vv. 25, 38.)— Departed— lit. went forth
to go into Macedonia. The direction which
the apostle took we learn from 2 Cor. 2 : 12, 13.
He proceeded to Troas, where he had expected
to meet Titus, whom he had sent to Corinth, in
order to ascertain the effect of his First Epistle
to the church in that city. It was his intention,
apparently, to remain and labor for a time at
Troas, in case the information for which he
was looking should be favorable. But not
finding Titus there, and being unable to en-
dure a longer suspense, he embarked at once
for Macedonia. On his arrival there he met
with Titus, and was relieved of his anxiety.
(See 2 Cor. 7:6.)

'Z. Those parts — i. e. the region of Macedo-
nia.— And had given them, etc. — lit. having
exhorted them; viz. the believers [with much dis-
course]. (See on 16 : 40.) The expression shows
that he now revisited the places where he had
preached on his first visit here — viz. Philippi,
Thessalonica, Berea. It was here and now
that Paul wrote his Second Epistle to the Co-
rinthians. That he wrote the letter in Mace-
donia is evident from 2 Cor. 9 : 2-4. He speaks
there of his boasting to the churches of Mace-
donia of the liberality of the Corinthians, and
of the possibility that some of the Macedonians
would accompany him to Corinth. (See, also,
2 Cor. 7:5.) The apostle now, as far as we
know, was in that country only three times.
When he was there first, he had not yet been
at Corinth at all (i6 : a) ; and when he passed
through that province on his last return to
Jerusalem (v. 3), he was going in the opposite
direction, and not advancing to Corinth, as
stated in the Epistle. He wrote the Second
Epistle to the Corinthians, therefore, on this
second journey through Macedonia, in the
summer, probably, or early autumn, of a. d. 58.
(See note on 21 : 17.)— In Rom. 15 : 19, Paul
speaks of having published the gospel a^far as
lUyricum, which was a country on the west of
Macedonia. It was at this time, probably, that
he penetrated so far in that direction. It could
not have been on his first visit to Macedonia
(16 : 12, tq.) ; for the course of his journey at that
time is minutely traced in the Acts, from his
landing at Philippi to his leaving Corinth. He
moved along the eastern side of the peninsula,
and was kept at a distance from Illyricum.
When he passed through Macedonia next (v. 3),
he had already written the Epistle to the Ro-
mans. Lardner pronounces this geographical

Ch. XX.]

THE ACTS.

231

3 And there abode three months. And "whedx^he
Jews laid wait for him, as he was about to sail into
Syria, he purposed to return through Macedonia.

4 And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of
Berea ; and of the Thessalonians, 'Aristarchus and Se-

8 And when he had spent three months there, and a
plot was laid against him by the Jews, as he was
about to set sail for Syria, be determined to return

4 through Macedonia. And there accompanied him
>as far as Asia Sopater of Bercea, the ton of Pyrrhus ;

aeh. 9:33; 23:12; 26:1; 2 Cor. II : 26.... & oh. 19 : 29; 37:3; Ool. 4 : 10.-

-1 Many anoient aathoritlei omit <u /or ai AMia.

coincidence sufficiently important to confirm
the entire history of Paul's travels. — Into
Greece, which stands here for Achaia (is : 12;
19 : 21), as opposed to Macedonia. Wetstein has
shown that Luke was justified in that use of
the term. Paul was proceeding to Corinth, the
capital of the province. (Comp. Rom. 16 : 1.)

3. The three months spent here preceded
the summer of this year. (See v. 6.) The stay
was thus brief because the apostle was anxious
to return to Jerusalem (». is). The Jewish plot
was contemporaneous with his leaving, but did
not occasion it. — (»roii)<rat is anacoluthic for wonj-
oatm. See 19 : 24.) — It was just before his de-
parture from Corinth that Paul wrote the
Epistle to the Romans. That it was written at
Corinth admits of being proved by several dis-
tinct arguments. One is that Paul was the
guest of Gaius at the time (Kom. le : 28) ; and
Gains, as we learn from 1 Cor. 1 : 14, was one
of the converts at Corinth whom Paul baptized.
Again, he commends to the Roman Christians
Phoebe, a deaconess of the church at Cenchrese
(see on 18 : 18), who was on the point of pro-
ceeding to Rome (Bom. is :i), and was probably
the bearer of the letter. Further, the apostle's
situation, as disclosed in the Epistle, agrees
with that in the Acts at this time. Thus he
was on the eve of departing to Jerusalem (Eom.
15 : 25), was going thither with contributions for
the Jewish believers (nom. 15 : 25, 26), and after
that was meditating a journey to Rome. The
date of the Epistle, therefore, was the spring of
A. D. 58 or 59. — As he was, etc. — lit. as he is
about to embark for Syria, with the intention of
going directly to Jerusalem. (See, also, 19 : 21.)
The effect of the conspiracy was to change his
route, but not to cause him to depart prema-
turely. He came with the design of passing
only the winter there. (See 1 Cor. 16 : 6.) —
He purposed, it was thought best tJiat he should
return through Macedonia. The infinitive de-
pends on purpose {yvmiiri) as a sort of apposi-
tional genitive. The expression indicates that
he took this course as the result of advice or
consultation. [In his explanation of this clause
Dr. Hackett follows the textus receptus, in which
judgment, or purpose {yvutnti), is the subject of
became {iyivrro) — lit. a judgment, or purpose, was
formed of his returning — i. e. that he should return
— through Macedonia. And with this text there

appears to be an implication that the judgment
in question was a " result of advice or consul-
tation." But no such implication is contained
in the best-supported text (reading yvco^iis in-
stead of yvutiit)), which may be literally trans-
lated he became of {or came to have) a judgment
(or purpose) to return through Macedonia. This
reading is adopted by the recent editors and re-
quired by NAB* E. It will be noticed that
the Revised Version does not differ in sense
from the Common Version, and that they re-
produce the meaning of the best Greek text.
Whether, then, the apostle's purpose was formed
with or without consultation is wholly uncer-
tain.— A. H.] How his journeying by land
rather than by sea would enable him to escape
the machinations of the Jews is not perfectly
clear. The opinion that he was waiting to
have the navigation of the season reopen, but
was compelled to hasten his departure before
that time, is certainly incorrect ; for it is said
he was on the point of embarking when the
conspiracy of the Jews was formed or came to
be known. It is possible that the Jews intend-
ed to assault him on his way to the ship, or else
to follow and capture him after having put to
sea. Hemsen's conjecture {Der Apostel Paulus,
u. s. w., p. 467) is that he had not yet found a
vessel proceeding to Syria, and that his ex-
posure at Corinth rendered it unsafe for him
to remain, even a few days longer, until the
arrival of such an opportunity.

4. Accompanied, or followed, him,
formed his party. This could be said, though
they did not travel in company all the time.
The verb belongs to all the names which fol-
low, but agrees with the nearest. — The best
manuscripts read Pyrrhus after Sopater,
genitive of kindredship (see on 1 : 13), Sopater
son of Pj/rrhus. This addition distinguishes
Sopater, perhaps, from Sosipater, in Rom. 16 :
21, since they are but different forms of the
same name (Win.). — Of the Thessalonians
is a partitive genitive. — Aristarchus was men-
tioned in 19 : 29. The Gaius in that passage
must be a different person from the one here,
since they belonged to different countries.
This Gaius is probably the individual of this
name to whom the apostle John wrote his
Third Epistle. Some critics (Kuin., Olsh.,
Neand.) would point the text so as tu make

232

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XX.

ciindus; and 'Gaius of Derbe, and ^Timotheus; and of
Asia, 'Tychicus and "Trophimus.

5 These goine before tarried for us at Troas.

6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the days
of unleavened bread, and came unto them /to Troas in
five days; where we abode seven days.

7 And upon 'the first day of the week, when the dis-

and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secun-

dus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and of

(Asia, Tychicus and Trophinius. But these 'had

gone before, and were waiting for us at Troas.

6 And we sailed away from Philippi after the days
of unleavened bread, and came unto them to Troas
in five days; where we tarried seven days.

7 And upon the first day of the week, when we were

I Ob. 19: »....6ch. 1« : I....C Kph. 6 : 21 ; Col. 4 :T; 2 Tim. 4: 12; Tit. 3 : I3....dch. 21 :29; 2 Tim. 4:20 e Bx. 12 : U, IS ; 23: 16

..../ ch. 16 : 8; 2 Cor. 2 : 12; 2 Tim. 4 : lS....f 1 Cor. 16: 2; Ber. 1 : 10. 1 Many aneiCDt sathorlties read come, ami mere

teaiHng.

Gaius one of the Thessalonians, and join of
Derbe with Timothy. But that division not
only puts and out of its natural place, but
disagrees with 16 : 1, where Timothy appears
as a native of Lystra. — Secundus is otherwise
unknown. — Luke supposes Timothy's origin
to be familiar to the reader, and so passes it
over (De Wet., Mey.). — Tychicus is named
in Eph. 6 : 21 ; Col. 4 : 7 ; Tit. 3 : 12 ; and 2
Tim. 4 : 12. He was one of the most trusted
of Paul's associates. — Trophimus, who was
an Ephesian, appears again in 21 : 29 and 2 Tim.
4 : 20. He, and probably Aristarchus (27:2),
went with the apostle to Jerusalem. The others
may have stopped at Miletus, since the language
in v. 13 intimates that the party kept togetlier
after leaving Troas. Consequently, into Asia
would state the destination of the majority of
the travellers and would be consistent with the
fact that two of them went farther. [Many
ancient authorities omit "as far as Asia" {Re-
vised Version). — A. H.].

5. These — viz. the seven mentioned in v. 4,
not the two named last. It is entirely arbitrary
to limit the reference of the i)ronoun. — Going
before^ or having gone forward, from Corinth
in advance of Paul and Luke. It is barely
possible that they shipped at once for Troas,
but it is more probable that tliey journeyed
through Macedonia, both because followed
(t. 4) suggests a common route of the parties,
and because Sopater and the others may have
been sent thither to finish the alms-collection
which Paul had commenced. — Us. Luke re-
sumes here the first person plural, which has
not occurred since 16 : 17. (See the remarks on
16:40.)

6. We must include the writer of the narra-
tive, Paul, and possibly others, in distinction
from those who had gone forward to Troas.
As Timothy was one of those who preceded
the apostle, it is evident that he and the writer
of the narrative were diflFerent persons. Tho-
luck, Lange,! Ebrard, and others pronounce
this passage suflicient of itself to disprove the
hypothesis that Timothy, not Luke, wrote the

portions of the Acts in which the historian
speaks as an eye-witness. — We sailed forth
from Philippi — i. e. from its harbor on the
coast. (See note on 16 : 12.) — After the days
of nnleavened bread* the festival of the
passover (see on 12 : 3), which no doubt they
observed, not in the Jewish spirit any longer,
but with a recognition of Christ as the true
Paschal T<amb. (See John 1 : 36 and 1 Cor. 5 :
7.) Some think that they remained at Philippi
for the sake of the celebration (Mey.) ; but we
must view that as an inference altogether, since
Luke mentions the passover only in its chron-
ological relation to the voyage. Calvin sug-
gests as the motive for remaining that Paul
would find the Jews more accessible to the
truth during the season of such a solemnity. —
In five days — lit. unto five days, as the limit
reached ; they were so long on the way. The
passage on the apostle's first journey to Europe
occupied two days only. (See 16 : 11.) Adverse
winds or calms would be liable, at any season
of the year, to occasion this variation. — Seven
days may be indefinite, a week's time. (Comp.
21 : 4; 28 : 14.) They arranged it so as to
bring a Sabbath within the time spent there.
If the number be exact, then they arrived just
at the close of the week, since they left the day
afl^r the Sabbath (v. 7).

7-12. PAUL PREACHES AT TROAS, AND
ADMINISTERS THE SACRAMENT.

7. On the first day of the week, not on
one of th£ Sabbaths, Jewish festivals, which
overlooks the article, and not on the one of thetn
next after their arrival, since that would imply
that they passed more than one such festival
here, contrary to Luke's statement that they
left on the day following. In the New Testa-
ment one (ets) stands generally for first (irpirot)
in si)eaking of the days of the week. (See
Matt. 28 : 1 ; Mark 16 : 2 ; John 20 : 19, etc. W.
g 37. 1.) It is an imitation of the ordinal sense
oi'dchadh. (See Gesen., Heh. Gr., g 118. 4.) The
passages just cited, and also Luke 24 : 1, John
20 : 1, and 1 Cor. 16 : 2, show that week is one of
the senses of saibata. The Jews reckoned the

1 Dot Leben Jetu nach den Evangdien dargettelU, Erstes Buch, p. 251.

Ch. XX.]

THE ACTS.

233

ciples came toget her "to break bread, Paul preached
unto them, ready to depart on the morrow ; and con-
tinued his speech until midnight.

8 And there were many lights 'in the upper chamber,
where they were gathered together.

9 And there sat in a window a certain young man
named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep : and

gathered together to break bread, Paul discoursed
with them, Intending to depart on the morrow ; and

8 prolonged his speech until midnight. And there
were many lights in the upper chamber, where we

9 were gathered together. And there sat in the win-
dow a certain young man named Eutychus, borne

aoh.3:42,46; ICor.lO.lS; 11 : 20, eto....ieh. 1 : U.

day from evening lo morning, and on that
principle the evening of the first day of the week
would be our Saturday evening. If Luke
reckons so here, as many commentators sup-
pose, the apostle then waited for the expiration
of the Jewish Sabbath, and held his last relig-
ious service with the brethren at Troas at the
beginning of the Christian Sabbath — i. e. on
Saturday evening — and consequently resumed
his journey on Sunday morning. But, as
Luke had mingled so much with foreign
nations and was writing for Gentile readers,
he would be very apt to designate the time in
accordance with their practice; so that his
evening or night of the first day of the week
would be the end of the Christian Sabbath,
and the morning of his departure that of
Monday. Olshausen, Neander, De Wette,
Meyer, and most other critics recognize here
a distinct trace of the Christian Sabbath in that
early age of the church. (See also 1 Cor. 16 :
2 and Rev. 1 : 10.) It is entirely immaterial,
of course, to the objects of the day or the valid-
ity of the apostolic example, whether the first
Christians began their Sabbath in the Jewish
way, on Saturday evening, or at midnight, a
few hours later. ' ' Since the sufferings of Christ, ' '
says Neander, " appeared as the central point of
all religious experience and life ; since his res-
urrection was considered as the foundation of
all Christian joy and hope, — it was natural that
the communion of the church should have
specially distinguished the day with which the
memory of that event had connected itself."
But the introduction of the Sabbath was not
only in harmony with Christian feeling, but,
as we have good reason to believe, was sanc-
tioned and promoted by the special authority
of the apostles. " It is in the highest degree
probable," says Meyer, "that the observance
of the Sabbath rests upon apostolic institution.
Since the gospel was extended among the
heathen, who had not been accustomed to the
Jewish Sabbath, it was natural and necessary
that the apostles should instruct them in re-
gard to such a day, on account of the import-
ance of the resurrection of Christ; and this
supposition is an indispensable one, in order to
account for the very early and general cele-

bration of the Christian Sabbath." In support
of the last remark, this author refers to Justin
Martyr, who, bom at the beginning of the
second century, says {Apol. I.) that the Chris-
tians of his time, " both in the cities and the
country, were accustomed to assemble for wor-
ship on the day called Sunday " (tjj toO iikCov
ktyofiivjf rinip^). — When the disciples came
together, rather we being assembled, not
the disciples, the received reading, which our
version follows. The latter term may have
been inserted to provide an antecedent for
them. The use of the pronoun is like that
in 8 : 5.— For to break bread, see on 2 : 42,
46.

8. Many lights, better now there were
many lamps; and hence the fall of the
young man was perceived at once. So Meyer
explains the object of the remark. But tliat
relation of the circumstance to the rest of
the narrative is not clearly indicated. It has
much more the appearance of having proceeded
from an eye-witness, who mentions the inci-
dent, not for the purpose of obviating a diffi-
culty which might occur to the reader, but
because the entire scene to which he refers
stood now with such minuteness and vividness
before his mind. The moon was full at tlie
passover (v. e), and after the lapse now of some-
what less than three weeks only appeared a.s a
faint crescent in the early part of the night
(Conybeare and Howson). — In the upper
room, which, as appears from the next verse,
was on the third story. (See note on 1 : 13.)—
Not where they were, but where we
were, assembled. In the received text the
verb is they were (^aoi/), which accords with
the variations in the last verse.

9. In a window— lit. upon the window,
the seat of it. " It will be recollected that there
were no windows of glass ; and the window
here mentioned was a lattice of joinery or z
door, which on this occasion was set open on
account of the heat from the many lights and
the number of persons in the room. It should
be observed that the windows of such places in
general reached nearly to the floor ; they would
correspond well to what our word ' window '
signified originally — viz. vnndore, wind-door; i. e.,

234

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XX.

«s Paul was long preaching, be sunk down with sleep,
and fell down U'om the third loft, and was taken up
dead.

10 And I'aul went down, and "fell on him, and em-
bracing him said, *Trouble not yourselves; for bis life
is in him.

11 When he therefore was come up again, and had
broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even
till break of dar, so be departed.

12 And they brought the young man alive, and were
not a little comforted.

13 ^ And we went before to ship, and sailed unto
Assos, there intending to take in Paul : for so bad he
appointed, minding himself to go afoot.

down with deep sleep; and as Paul discoursed yet
longer, being borne clown by his sleep he fell down

10 from the third story, and was taken up dead. And
Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing
bim said. Make ye no ado; for his life is in him.

11 And when he was gone up, and had broken the
bread, and eaten, and had talked with them a long

12 while, even till break of day, so he departed. And
they brought the lad alive, and were not a little
comforted.

13 But we, going before to the ship, set sail for Assos,
there intending to take in Paul: for so had he ap-

a 1 Kingt IT : II ; 2 Kings 4 : S4....i Hmtt. 9 : 24.

a door for the admission of wind or air." • —
Being fallen into, or being overcome
with, deep sleep. — Sunk down — lit. hav-
ing been borne down from (the effect of)
the sleep into which he had sunk. This sec-
ond participial clause states a result of the con-
dition described by the first. — Fell down.
The window projected (according to the side
of the room where it was situated) either over
the street or over the interior court ; so that, in
either case, he fell from the third story upon
the hard earth or pavement below. — Was
taken up dead, which it is entirely foreign to
any intimation of the context to qualify by
adding " in appearance " or " as they supposed."

10. VeW upon him, and having em«
braced him, after the fashion of Elisha in
2 Kings 4 : 34. As in that instance, so in this,
the act appears to have been the sign of a mir-
acle.— Trouble not yourselves, or Do not
lament, which, according to the Oriental
habit and the import of the word, they were
doing with loud and passionate outcry. (Comp.
Matt. 9 : 23 ; Mark 5 : 39. See on 10 : 15.)—
For his life is in him, which he could say,
whether he perceived that it was not extinct or
had been restored.

11. Broken bread, the bread already' spo-
ken of in V. 7. The article, which the T. R.
omits, belongs here (Tsch., Lchm., Mey.). The
fall of Eutychus had delayed the Lord's Sup-
per, which Paul now proceeds to administer. —
And eaten, or having eaten, because, prob-
ably, they connected a repast with the sacra-
ment. (See on 2 : 42.) — A long while may
refer to the time occupied in the entire service,
or, more naturally in this connection, to the re-
mainder of the night after the preceding inter-
ruption.— Even till, or until, daybreak,
about five o'clock a. m. at that season (Alf ). —
So, or thus, after these events. (C!omp. 17 :
33 ; 28 : 14.)— Departed, went forth-^. e. on
his journey. Yet the term may not exclude a
brief interval between the religious services and

his departure, and during that time the vessel
could weigh anchor and start for Assos. (See
on V. 13.)

12. Brought the young man into the as-
sembly (Hems., Mey.), not to his home. The
subject of the verb is indefinite. This circum-
stance is supplementary to what is stated in
V. 11, not subsequent to it in point of time.
— Alive, or living, which suggests as its an-
tithesis that he had been dead, or, at least,
that such was their belief — Were comforted,
or consoled — viz. by his restoration to them.
Some understand it of the effect of Paul's dis-
course, which is incorrect, as that is not here
tlie subject of remark. — Not a little, very
much. Observe the litotes.

13-16. THEY PROSECUTE THE JOUR-
NEY TO MILETUS.

13. We — viz. the writer and the other com-
panions of the apostle. — Went before — lit.
having gone forward, though, from the
circumstances of the case, it could not have
been long first. They may have left as soon
as the assembly broke up, while Paul still re-
mained a short time (see on v. 11), or, in order
to reach Assos in good season, may have left
even before the conclusion of the service.
They spent the entire week at Troas, as well
as Paul (see v. 6), and hence could not have
preceded him before the end of that time. —
Unto Assos, which was a coast-town in Mysia,
south of Troas.— There— lit. from there, be-
cause the writer has his mind, not on their ar-
rival, but the subsequent departure or progress.
—For so (that they should take him at that
place) he had arranged for himself, the
passive in the sense of the middle. (W. g 39. 3.)
—Minding (ja.AAui.) refers to his intention.— To
go afoot. This foot-journey, according to the
best evidence, was about twenty miles. A paved
road extended from Troas to Assos; so that,
starting even as late as seven or eight o'clock a. m.,
Paul could have reached Assos in the afternoon.
A friend of the writer, a native of Greece, stated

* JUtutratcd Qtmmeniary, vol. t. p. 206.

Ch. XX.]

THE

235

14 And when he met with us at Assos, we took him
in, and came to Mitylene.

15 And we sailed thence, and came the next ilay over
against Chios ; and the next ility we arrived at Samos,
and tarried at Trogy Ilium ; and the next day we camo
to Miletus.

14 pointed, intending himself to go 'by land. And
when be met us at Assos, we took him iu, and came

15 to Mitylene. And sailing from theuce, we came the
following day over aguiust Chios: and the next day
we touched at Samoa; and Hbe day after we came

1 Or, on foot. . . .3 Many anolent autboritie* iaaert lutaing tarritd at TrogfUium.

that he himself had travelled on foot between
the two places in five hours. The distance by
sea is about forty miles. His object, it is con-
jectured, may have been to visit friends on tlie

day^ the second from Troas. — Over against
— i. e. opposite to — ChioS) the modem Scio,
south of Lesbos. The language intimates that,
instead of putting into the harbor, they lay off

AS80S, FROM THE SEA.

way, or to have the company of brethren from
Troas whom the vessel was not large enough
to accommodate.

14. And when, or as, he met with us seems
to imply that he found them already there. —
At A880S — lit. unto, because the preceding
verb implies the idea of the journey thither
on the part of Paul. Alitylene, where they
appear to have stopped over-night, was on the
east side of Lesbos, the capital of tliat island.
The distance from Assos by sea was thirty
miles; so that the voyage hither from Troas
was an easy one for a day. Ca.stro, the present
capital, stands on the site of the ancient city.
The name of the island is now Metilino or
Metelin, a corruption of Mitylene.

16. The next day, or on the following

the coast during the night. — And upon the
next day (the third from Troas) we put along
unto Samoa. This island is still farther down
the Mgean. At one point it approaches within
six miles of the mainland. It retains still the
ancient name. They may have touched here,
but, as appears from the next clause, did not
stop long.— And tarried— lit. and having re-
mained at Tro^yllium, which was their next
night-station, since on the following day,
being the fourth, they arrived at Miletus. Tro-
gyllium most commentators suppose to be the
promontory and tlie town of that name in South-
em Ionia, opposite Samos where it is nearest to
the shore. There wjvs also an island of the ssame
name on the coast of tliis jiromontory (Strab.,
14. 636), which, says Forbiger {Handb., ii. p.

236

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XX.

16 For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, be-
cause he would not spend the time in Asia : for ■he
hasted, if it were possible for him, Ho be at Jerusalem
<the day of Pentecost.

16 to Miletus. For Paul bad determined to sail past
Ephesus, that he might not have to spend time in
Asia; for he was hastening, if it were possible for
him, to be at Jerusalem the day of Pentecost.

aoh. 18:21; U:H; tl:4, U....6oh. M : lT....eoh. 1 : 1; 1 Cor. 16 : 8.

170), was unquestionably the Trogyllium in-
tended in this passage. The apostle would
have been nearer to Ephesus at Trogyllium on
the mainland than he was at Miletus, but a
better harbor or greater facility of intercourse
may have led him to prefer the more distant
place for his interview with the elders. [The
words tarried at Trogyllium ; and are omitted by
the later editors, in agreement with X A B C E
and other documents. — A. H.] — Miletus was

friends had evidently some control of the ves-
sel. The number being so great, they may
have chartered the craft (as is very common in
the Levant at present) ; at all events, they must
have had sufficient influence with the captain
to induce him to consult their wishes. — Be-
cause he would not, ur, that it might not
happen to him—/, e. tliat he might avoid in-
ducements— to spend time in Asia. He
might have gone to Ephesus and returned

VIEW OF HITTLENS.

on the confines of Caria, twenty-eight miles
south of Ephesus, and just below the mouth
of the Meander. They reached here on the
fourth day from Troas, hence either on Wednes-
day or Thursday, some doubt existing (see on
V. 7) as to the day of the week when they
sailed from Troas.

16. The external testimony requires xtxpUtt
instead of Upive (Grsb., Lchm., Mey.) : For he
had determined to sail past Ephesus,
which explains why they had left that city at
the north ; they were opposite to it when at
Samos. As it depended on his decision wheth-
er they stopped or proceeded, Paul and his

during the time that he remained at Miletus ;
but he feared to trust himself there, lest the
importunity of friends or the condition of the
church might detain him too long, or even lead
him to alter his purpose. — For he hasted, or
was hastening, if it were possible for him,
etc. More than three of the seven weeks be-
tween the passover and Pentecost had elapsed
already. One had expired before they left Phil-
ippi ; they were five days on their way to Troas,
remained there seven days, and were four days
on the way to Miletus. — For Pentecost, see on
2 : 1. — To be {ytvia^ai) — lit. to come to be —
implies motion, and takes after it unto, at (ei«).

Ch. XX.]

THE A

237

17 IT And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called
the elders of the church.

18 And when they were come to him, he said unto
them, Ye know, "from the first day that I came into
Asia, after what manner I have been with you at all
leasons,

19 Serving the Lord with all humility of mind, and

17 And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called

18 to him the 'elders of the church. And when they
were come to him, he said unto them.

Ye yourselves know, from the first dav that I set
foot in Asia, after what manner I was with you all

19 the time, serving the Lord with all lowliness of

a Ob. 16 : 19 ; 19 : 1, 10.-

-I Or, pretbfttn

17-35. THE ADDRESS OF PAUL TO THE
EPHESIAN ELDERS AT MILETUS.

17. His subject is fidelity in the ministerial
office — first, as illustrated in his own example ;
and secondly, as required of those whom the
Spirit has called to this office. In vv. 18-21 he
reminds his hearers of his conduct while he
lived among them; in vv. 19-25 he informs
them that he is about to be separated from

ordinary English reader, which now it is not."
— Luke speaks only of the Ephesian elders as
summoned to meet the apostle at Miletus ; but,
as the report of his arrival must have spread
rapidly, it could not have failed to draw to-
gether others also, not only from Ephesus, but
from the neighboring towns where churches
had been established. (See on v. 25.)
18. Ye is emphatic. (See on 10 : 15.) — From

VIEW OF THEATRE, ANCIENT MILETUS.

them, to meet no more on eartli ; and in vv.
26-35 he charges them to be watchful for the
safety of the flock which had been entrusted
to them, and was to be exposed in future to so
many dangers. — Elders = overseers (v. 28).
(Comp. note on 14 : 23.) Our English trans-
lators render the latter term "overseers" in v.
28, contrary to their usual practice. "The
E. v.," says Mr. Alford, very candidly, " has
hardly dealt fairly in this case with the sacred
text, since it ought there, as in all other places,
to have been ' bishops,' that the fact of elders
and bisfiops having been originally and apos-
tolically synonymous might be apparent to the

the first day I came unto Asia we are to
connect with after what manner I have
been with you^ or how I conducted (Kuin.,
De Wet.), not with ye know (Mey.). As
was to be foreseen, Meyer corrects himself
here in his last edition. — The duration of the
j period (the whole time) is stated in v. 31. The
position of the before all or whole is exceptional,
as in Gal. 5 : 14 and 1 Tim. 1 : 16. (See K. g 246.
5. p.)

19. With all, the utmost (see on 4 : 29),
lowliness of mind, humility; its opposite
is minding high things (Rom. u .- w). (Comp. Phil.
2 : 3 and 1 Pet. 5 : 5.) This use of cdl, says The-

238

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XX.

with manr tears, and teinptaUons, which befell lue *by
the lying in wait of »he .lews :

20 And how ^1 kept back nothing that was profitable
unto 1/011, but have shewed you, and have taught you
publicly, and from house to house.

21 ^Testifying both to the .lews, and also to the
Greeks, ''repentance toward dod, and faith toward
our Lord Jesus Christ.

22 And now, behold, <I go bound in the spirit unto
Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me
there:

mind, and with tears, and with trials which befell

20 me by the plots of the .lews: how that I shrank not
from declaring unto you anything that was profit-
able, and teaching yoii puMicly, and from house to

21 house, testifying both to .lews and to Greeks repent-
ance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus

22 'Christ. And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit
unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall

..trer. 2T....ech. 18 : S....(i Hark 1:15; Luke 24:47; oh. 2:38.. ..eeh. 19:

omit Chrttt.

■ 1 Many ancient antboritlM

luck,* is eminently Pauline. (Comp. Eph. 1 :
3-8 ; 4 : 2 ; 6 : 18 ; 2 Cor. 12 : 12 ; 1 Tim. 3:4;
2 Tim. 4:2; Tit. 2 : 15; 3 : 2.)— With tears,
of solicitude for their salvation. (See v. 31.
Comp. 2 Cor. 2 : 4 and Phil. 3 : 18.) Many
before tears, in the common text, should be
dropped (Grsb., Mey., Tsch.). — Temptations,
trials, persecutions which he suffered from his
countrj'men. Luke has not spoken distinctly of
these Jewish machinations at Ephesus, but in
19 : 9 he describes a state of feeling on the part
of the Jews, which must have been a prolific
source of hostility both to the person of the
apostle and to the objects of his ministry.
That his situation there was one of constant
peril we see from 1 Cor. 15 : 31, 32 ; 16 : 9 ; and
2 Cor. 1 : 8-10.

20. HoAV I kept back nothing depends
still on ye know (v. is), but illustrates, at the
same time, the intervening how I Avas with
you, etc. : how (not (hat) I kept back noth-
ing of the things expedient — i e. out of
regard to men's censure or their favor. How
perfectly this remark harmonizes with Paul's
character weiiave proof in such passages as 2
Cor. 4:2; Gal. 1 : 10 ; 1 Thess. 2 : 4.— But have
showed, etc. [The structure of the Greek is
different — viz.] that I should, or might (telic,
as if in denial of the possibility that he could
mean to preach less than the entire truth), not
announce unto you and teach you — viz.
the tilings expedient for them. But both
clauses contain a negative idea, and the rule
stated on 10 : 47 may apply here : he withheld
nothing from them that he should (as the
effect of such withholding) not announce
and teach. In other words, the infinitive
states, not the object of kept back, as before,
but a consequence of the suppression if unhin-
dered. (See W. § 44. 4. Comp. v. 27, below.)
— Publicly, in public, as in the synagogue
(i»:8) or in the school of Tyrannus (i9:9). —
From house to house, better in houses,
private assemblies.

21. Repentance toward God— lit. the
repentance (which is meet) in respect to

God; i.e. exercised toward him as especially
wronged by transgression. (See Ps. 51 : 4.) De
Wette supposes a breviloquence, as in 8 : 22 :
repentance (with a return) unto God.
(Comp. 26 : 20.) The first sense agrees best
with the use of unto, or in respect to (eit),
in the next clause. " In God the Father," says
Olshausen, "lies expressed the idea of the strict
righteousness to which the repentance directs
itself ; in Christ, the idea of the compassion to
which the faith has reference." — "It appears,"
says Tholuck, "to belong to the peculiarities
of the apostle that he in particular appeals so
often to his blameless manner of life. The
occasion for this lies sometimes in the calum-
nies of his enemies, as when he says, in 2 Cor.
1 : 12, ' For our boasting (kou'xijo-is) is this, the
testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity
and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wi.sdom,
but by the grace of God, we have had our con-
versation in the world, and more especially
among you.' The eleventh chapter shows what
adversaries he had in view in this self-justifica-
tion. But often these appeals spring only from
that just confidence with which he can call
upon others to imitate him, as he himself imi-
tates the Saviour. Thus, in 1 Cor. 11 : 1, he
cries, ' Be ye followers of me, even as I also am
of Christ;' and in Phil. 3 : 17, 'Brethren, be
followers together of me, and mark them who
walk so as ye have us for an ensample.' Such
personal testimonies are not found in the other
Epistles of the New Testament, nor are they
frequent in the writings of other pious men ;
on which account we are authorized to con-
sider their occurrence in this discourse (w. 18-21)
as a mark of its historical character."

22. Bound in the spirit— i. e. his own, in

his mind, feelings (is»:2i), constrained by an

invincible impulse or sense of duty (Hnr.,

Kuin., De Wet., Rob.), so as to be indifferent

1 to danger on the one hand (v. 23), and perhaps

1 Die Reden rfei Apnttels Pauliu in der Apostelgeschic/Ue, mii seinen Brie/en verglichen, in the fHudien und Kriiiken,
1839, p. 305, *q. I have drawn several of the notes on this address from that instructive article.

Ch. XX.]

THE ACTS.

239

23 Save that "the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every
city, saying that bonds and atflictions abide me.

24 But 'none of these things move me, neither count
I my life dear unto myself, 'so that 1 might finish my
course with jov, ''and the ministry, «whieh I have re-
ceived of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the
grace of God.

23 befall me there : save that the Holv Spirit testifieth
unto me in every city, saying that bonds and afflio-

24 tions abide me. But I hold not my life of any ac-
count, as dear unto myself, >so that I may accom-
plish my course, and the ministry which I received
urom the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the

aoh. 11:4, 11; 1 Tbesi. S:8....»oh. 21 : 13; Horn. 8:S5; 2 Cor. 4:18....e2 Tim. 4 : T....dch. I : IT; 2 Cor. 4:
1:1; Tit. 1 : 8. 1 Or, in eompariton qf aecomplUhing my courta

immovable under any remonstrance or appeal
on the other (2i:is). The expression may be
compared with our mode of speaking when we
say " bound in good faith, in conscience," and
the like. Some understand spirit of the Holy
Spirit: urged by his influence or command
(Calv., Kypk., Wdsth.). But that meaning is
the more doubtful here, because the Holy, in
the next verse, appears to be added to distin-
guish that Spirit from this. The sense bound
in the spirit — i. e. viewing himself as already
in chains, a prisoner in imagination, though
not yet in body (Chrys., Grot., Bng., Conybeare
and Howson) — anticipates the sequel of the
sentence, and is too artificial where all the rest
is expressed with so much simplicity. Meyer's
first explanation was bound on the Holy Spirit
(Bom. 7:2; 1 Cor. 7:27) — i. 6. dependent on him;
but I am pleased to see that in his last edition
he defends the first of the views given above.

23. Save — i. e. but knowing. — From city
to city, as he pursued the present journey. —
Witnesseth, testifies fully to me, not by
an inward revelation (for why should he have
received that from city to cityf), but through
the prophetic announcement of others. Luke
has not recorded the instances ; they may have
occurred at Philippi, at Troas, at Assos. He
mentioned two such communications which
were made to Paul after this. (See 21 : 4, 11.)
The common text leaves out to me, which be-
longs after the verb. — Await me, not wher-
ever he went, but at Jerusalem. I go . . .
unto Jerusalem determines the place. — Paley
compares this verse with Rom. 15 : 30, which
Epistle the apostle had just written at Corinth.
He there entreats the Roman Christians "to
strive together with him in their prayers to
God for him, that he might be delivered from
them who believed not in Judea." The two
passages, therefore, " without any resemblance
between them that could induce us to suspect
that they were borrowed from one another,
represent the state of Paul's mind, with re-
spect to the event of the journey, in terras of
substantial agreement. They both express his
sense of danger in the approaching visit to
Jerusalem ; they both express the doubt which

dwelt upon his thoughts concerning what might
there befall him."

24. None of these things move me — lit.
I make account of nothing ; i. e. which I
may be called to suflFer. On the contrary, as
he says in 2 Cor. 12 : 10, " I take pleasure in
infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in per-
secutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake." An-
other reading draws the two clauses of the com-
mon text into one : hut of no accouvi do I esteem
my life worthy for myself. The construction is
less simple than the other, and may have given
place to it on that account (Tsch., Mey., Alf.).
[This reading is very well given in the Revised
Version : But I hold not my life of any ac-
count, as dear unto myself. The reading
is without doubt correct, being supported by K*
B C D' and several of the earliest versions. —
A. H.]— So that I might, etc.— lit. thus {i. e.
with this aim, to wit) in order to finish my
course. That he should shrink from no dan-
ger, that he should be willing to offer up his
life for the sake of the gospel, he regarded as
due to his office, as essential to his character as
an approved minister of Christ. So, or thus,
strengthens merely the telic force of the con-
struction. It occurs with the infinitive here
only (unless we add 17 : 14), and in the phrase
as I may so say («« eiros tlirtlv, Heb. 7 : 9). (W.
? 44. 1.) Alford refers so to dear — held not
his life so precious as to finish, etc. But he must
arbitrarily insert for that purpose the correlative
"so," and even then translates the common
reading only, and not the one received into his
text. — Some critics (Lchm., Mey., Tsch.) [also
Treg., West, and Hort, Anglo-Am. Revisers,
with K A B D, and the Syr., Coptic, Vulg. Vss.
— A. H.] omit with joy after my course. It
is wanting in several important authorities. —
To testify the gospel, etc., defines in what
the ministry consisted. The infinitive may
depend on the verbal idea involved in that
noun (De Wet.) : (commanding or requiring)
that I should testify fully, etc. ; or it may
follow as epexegetical. — In the sublime lan-
guage of this verse we hear distinctly the
voice of the man who on approaching the
end of his career could say, " I am now ready

240

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XX.

25 And now, behold, ol know that ye all, among whom
I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, snail see
my face no more.

26 Wherefore I take vou to record this day, that I
atn *pure from the blood of all Tnen.

27 For "I have not shunned to declare unto you all
'the counsel of God.

28 % "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to
all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost /hath

25 grace of God. And now, behold, I know that ye
all, among whom I went about preaching the king-

26dom, shall see my face no more. Wherefore I tes-
tify unto you this day, that I am pure from the

27 blood of all men. Vot I shrank not from declaring

28 unto you the whole counsel of God. Take heed
unto yourselves, and to all the flock, in the which

aver. 88; Horn. 16 : 2S....& ch. 18: S; 2 Cor. 7: 2.... ever. 20.... d Luke 7:30; John 15:15; Epb. I : 11.

IPeL 5:2..../l Cor. 12:28.

.<! Ttm. 4:16;

to be offered, and the time of my departure is
at hand. I have fought a good fight, I liave
finished my course, I have kept the faith.
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown
of righteousness, which the Lord, the right-
eous judge, sliall give me at that day " (2 Tim.
4:6-8). (Comp. also Phil. 2 : 17.)

25. And now resumes the thought in v. 22.
— Know expresses, not an apprehension or a
presentiment, but a conviction. For I know
this (T. R.) has more against it than for it.
Paul's I know having been fulfilled, Zeller
sees evidence of the post eventum character of
the word in that agreement. — That ye all
shall see my face no more, etc. If Paul's
Roman captivity closed with his death, he cer-
tainly never saw the Ephesian elders after this
interview. " Nor, if we suppose him to have
been liberated, can any contradictory result be
urged on that ground, since the traditions of
the fathers decide nothing in regard to the
journeys of the apostle between his supposed
liberation and his second captivity" {Meyer).
It has been proposed to emphasize all, as if
some of them, at least, might hope to renew
their intercourse with him ; but the qualifica-
tion is inconsistent with vv. 37, 38.— Among
whom I have gone, or among whom I
went about, may intimate a wider circuit of
labor than that furnished by a single city. The
apostle either addressed those who had come
from different churches in the region (see on v.
17), or at this point of the discourse recognized
those before him as representatives of these
churches. Some understand / went about to
describe Paul's labors in various parts of Ephe-
sus, or the visit which he made to the houses
of the presbyters. The expression favors the
wider view, says Neander, but is not incon-
sistent with the other. [Preaching the king-
dom of God, rather the kingdom, for the
words of God are probably an addition to the
text. But they are unnecessary, for no other
kingdom than that of God or of Christ could
be calletl the kingdom by Paul in such a con-
nection as this. And there is something very
suggestive in these brief expressions : the way,
the word, the kingdom, the brotherhood. They

condense a great movement into a term of
childlike simplicity. — A. H.]

26. Wherefore, or therefore, since it was
proper for him to close his ministry with sucli
a testimony. — I take you to record {napTvponai
= fjLopTvpiio), I testify, declare as a witness, as in
Gal. 5 : 3 and Eph. 4 : 17, and occasionally in
the classics (Pape, Lex., s. v.). It means prop-
erly obtest, call to witness, with the accusative
of a peijon. — That I am pure, etc. (See on
18 : 6.) The expression is peculiar to Paul'?
speeches. In this clause am may have been
displaced from the text (Grsb., Lach., Mey.).
[It has been restored by all the late editors,
Tsch., Treg., West, and Hort, Anglo-Am. Re-
visers, as well as by those named by Dr. Hack-
ett, and it is justified by K B C D E, Pesh., Cop.
—A. H.]

27. For I have not shnnned — lit. for I
shrunk not back (while among you) that I
should not declare unto you. (Comp. on
V. 20.) — All the counsel — i. e. the whole
plan — of God as to the way of saving men
unfolded in the gospel.

28. Take heed, therefore (since in future
the responsibility will rest on you), unto
yourselves (that ye be faithful) and unto
all the flock (that they be kept from error).
Here Paul speaks just as he writes in 1 Tim.
4 : 16. — Over the which, strictly in which»
since the bishops made part of the flock, while
they had the direction of it. — The Holy Spirit
hath made may refer to tlieir having been
chosen under the direction of the Spirit (is:2;
H : 2.1), or to their having been qualified for their
office by the Spirit (1 cor. 12 : s). — To feed in-
cludes the idea not only of instruction, but of
government and of supervision in general.
(Comp. 1 Pet. 5 : 2. See the note on 14 : 23.)—
The church, etc. The church of the Lord
or God. The reading here is disputed. The
external testimony preponderates in favor of
the JLord, and most of the recent critics ac-
cept that as the original word, as Griesbach,
Lachmann, Bomemann, Tischendorf, Meyer,
Tregelles. Some, as Bengel, Rinck, Scholz,
Mill, Alford, decide for God. The internal
argument is claimed on both sides. It is said

Ch. XX.]

THE ACTS.

241

made you overseers, to feed the church of (jod, "which
he hath purchased 'with his own blood.
2y For I know this, that after my departing "shall

grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the
ock.

30 Also <'of your own selves shall men arise, speak-
ing perverse things, to draw away disciples after
thim.

31 Therefore watch, and remember, that 'by the
space of three years I ceased not to warn every one
night and day with tears.

32 And now, brethren, I commend vou to God, and
/to the word of his grace, which is able fto build you
up, and to give you ''an inheritance among all them
which are sanctified.

the Holy .'>pirit hath made you 'bishops, to feed the
church of nhc Lord, which he 'purchased with his

29 own blood. 1 know that after my departing griev-
ous wolves shall enter in among you, not sparing

30 the flock ; and from among your own selves shall
men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away

31 the disciples alter them. Wherefore watch ye, re-
membering that by the space of three years I ceased
not to admonish every one night and day with tears.

32 And now I conunend you to *God, and to the word
of his grace, who is able to build yuu up, and to give
you the inheritance among all them that are sancti-

• Bph. 1:7, 14; Col. 1 : U, Heb. S : 12 ; 1 Pet. 1 : 19; Rev. 6:9....bSee Heb. 9: 14.... e Matt. 7 . IS; 1 Pet. 'i: 1....<I 1 Tim. 1 :20;
I John 2 : 19. . . .e eh. 19 : 10. . . ./ Beb. 13 : 9. . . .0 ch. 9 : 31. . . . A ch. 20 : 18 ; Eph. 1 : 18 ; Col. 1 : 12 ; 3 : 24 ; Heb. 9 : 15 ; 1 Pet. 1 : 4.

1 Or, overseen..., iSmat UMient autboritiea, Inolodlog the two oldeit MSS., read 0o<i... .3 Or. a«9i(<re<i... .4 Some uiclentau-

thoritiee read (Jk< Lord.

that God agrees best with the usage of Paul,
since in his Epistles church of Ood occurs
eleven times, church of Christ once, but never
church of the Lord, It is replied to this that
the uncommon expression is more likely to
have been exchanged for the ordinary one
than the reverse.' Wordsworth inclines to &eov
(God), mainly for internal reasons. (See Hum-
phry's note on the other side.) The variations
the Lord God, the God and Lord, and the Lord
. and God are too slightly supported to require
notice. — Which he purchased, or which he
(redeemed and thus) obtained for himself (as a
possession). (Comp. that fie might redeem us
from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a pe-
culiar people (tu. 2 : u) and o people for posses-
sion {1 Pet. 2:9). — With his own blood repre-
sents the atonement as consisting pre-eminent-
ly in the sacrifice and death of Christ. (See
Matt. 20 : 28 ; Rom. 3 : 24 ; Eph. 1 : 7 ; 1 Tim.
2:6; Heb. 9 : 12 ; 13 : 12, etc.)

39. This gives prominence to the following
clause. (Comp. 9:21.) — Shall enter in is said
of those who should come to tliem from other
places. — After my departing, or departure,
not after my decease (De Wet.). The same ex-
pression occurs in Herodotus (9 : 17). — Griev-
ous— I. e. violent, rapacious — wolves, which
represent here, not persecutors, but false teach-
ers. (See V. 30 and Matt. 7 : 15.) These men
would be as far from corresponding to their
professed character as guardians of the flock
as fierce wolves are unlike the faithful shep-
herd.

30. Of your own selves, or from you
yourselves — t. c. from their own community,
not necessarily from the number of those pres-
ent.— That the danger which Paul announced

was realized we learn from the Epistles to Tim-
othy (see especially 2 Tim. 2: 17) and from Rev.
2 : 2. The latter passage shows that some of
these false teachers, in order to strengthen their
influence, laid claim to the authority of apos-
tles.

31. Therefore watch, since their vigilance
should be equal to the dangers which threat-
ened them. — And remember — lit. remem-
bering, etc. How they should watch, with
what constancy and solicitude, they had been
taught by his own example. — The space of
three years may be a proximate expression,
but must come nearer to three years than two.
(See the note on 19 : 10.) In Rev. 2 : 2, 3 we
have an interesting proof that the apostle's ad-
monition was not in vain. " Thou hast tried
them," it is said of the church at Ephesus,
" who say that they are apostles and are not,
and hast found them liars; . . . and for my
name's sake hast labored and hast not fainted."

32. I commend you to God and to the
word of his grace — i, e. in this connection
to the power of this word, as the instrumen-
tality which God employs for the religious con-
firmation and security of his people. [It is
not, however, to be supposed that " the word
of his grace " is the only instrumentality em-
ployed by God. His Spirit and providence are
also directed to the same end ; but the word is
named because of its great importance in build-
ing up the people of God in faith and love and
holy activity. — A. H.] — Brethren fails in so
many copies as to be doubtful. — Which (or
who) is able it is best to refer to God as the
principal word (Calv , Bng., Mey., De Wet.),
not to word (Hnr., Kuin.). — To build you
up. To build up further (a compound verb.

> For a view of the testimonies in the case, see Davidson's Lecturer on Biblical CrUicism, p. 175, »g. He adopts
the Lord as the probable reading. Green (p. Ill) comes to the same conclusion. [See also Dr. Ezra Abbot On
the Reading "C3iurch of God," AcU iO : t8, Bib. Sac., 1876, p. 313, sq., and Westcott and Hort, 27ie Neto l^i. in Greek,
Appendix, p. 98, *q. — A. H.]
16

242

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XX.

33 "I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or ap-
parel.

34 Yea, ye yourselves know, Hhat these bands have
ministered unto my necessities, and to them that were
with me.

35 I have shewed you all things, "how that so labor-
ing ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the

33 fied. I coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.
.S4ye yourselves know that these hands ministered

unto my necessities, and to them that were with
So me. In all things I gave you an example, how that

so laboring ye ought to help the weak, and to re-

al SuQ. 12:3; 1 Cor. »:I2; 2 Cor. 7:2; U :•; U:lT....»oh. 18 :S; 1 Cor. 4:12; 1 Tbeu. 2:9; 2 Then. 3:8..
IS : 1 ; I Cor. » : 12 ; 2 Cor. 11 : 9, 12 ; 12 : 13 ; Eph. 4 : 28 : 1 Theas. 4 : 11 ; 6 : 14 ; 2 Then. 3 : 8.

T. R.) is Pauline, but has less support here
than to build up. " This term reminds us of Eph.
2 : 20, and can be taken only in the sense of
that passage. Remarkable, also, is the expres-
sion an inheritance among all them that
are sanctified. Here all gives prominence
to the idea of a great company of the holy,
and reminds us again of Eph. 3 : 18. The ex-
pression an inheritance among the sanc-
tified— i. e. participation in the spiritual bless-
ings which exist among them — is likewise pe-
culiarly Pauline, and occurs further only in
the words of Paul in 26 : 18 and in Eph. 1 : 18 "
{Tholuck).

33. He warns them against avarice, against
a sordid spirit. — Have coveted — lit. coveted
when he was with them , not perf., as in E. V.
—Apparel, raiment. The wealth of the
Orientals consisted in part of costly garments ;
they trafficked in them or kept them in store
for future use. (See Ezra 2 : 69 ; Neh. 7 : 70 ;
Job 27 : 16 ; 2 Kings 5 : 26.) This fact accounts
for the allusion to the destructive power of the
moth, as well as rust, in Matt. 6 : 19 and James
8:2.

34. And to those that were with me is
an instance of varied construction : and to
(the wants of) those with me. (W. § 63. II.
1.) Those referred to here are Timothy, Eras-
tus, Luke, and others who traversed sea and
land with the apostle, attached to him as per-
sonal friends, and still more as friends of the
cause which they served. — These hands,
which we may suppose him to have held up
to view as he spoke, and which may have
been marked with traces of the toil to which
they were inured. (See the note on 17 : 10 and
18 : 3.) — This allusion to the apostle's habit of
manual labor while he was at Ephesus accords
remarkably with 1 Cor. 4 : 11, 12. Luke has
said nothing of it in his narrative of Paul's
residence in that city {\9:i,$q.). But in the
above-named passage of the Epistle, which
Paul wrote just before his departure from Eph-
esus, we find him saying, "Unto this present
fumr ... we labor, working with our own
hands." Nothing could be more undesigned
than this agreement. " It is manifest that if
the history in this passage had been taken

from the Epistle, this circumstance, if it ap-
peared at all, would have appeared in its place
— that is, in the direct account of Paul's trans-
actions at Ephesus. The correspondence would
not have been effected, as it is, by a kind of re-
flected stroke — that is, by a reference in a sub-
sequent speech to what in the narrative was
omitted. Nor is it likely, on the other hand,
that a circumstance which is not extant in the
history of Paul at Ephesus should have been
made the subject of a fictitious allusion in an
Epistle purporting to be written by him from
that place, not to mention that the allusion
itself, especially in time, is too oblique and gen-
eral to answer any purpose of forgery what-
ever" {Paley).

35. All things. Not all things as the ob-
ject of I have shewed (E. V., Hmph.), but ad-
verbial, in all ways — i. e. by doctrine and by
example. (Comp. 1 Cor. 10 : 33; Eph. 4 : 15.)—
So laboring — viz. as I have done. — That you
ought to assist the weak, feeble — i. e. the
poor, whom this mode of designation contrasts
with the rich, who are strong, powerful (Chrys.,
Kuin., Olsh., De Wet., Rob., Cony, and Hws.).
The examples in Wetstein sanction this mean-
ing of the weak. (See also Rob., Lex., s. v.) But
the stricter sense of the word (4 : 9 ; 5 : is ; Matt. 25 :
39, etc.) is entirely appropriate: the weak — i.e.
those unable, in consequence of physical in-
firmity, to labor for their own support. The
apostle would enforce here the duty of indus-
try and self-denial, in order to procure the
means of relieving those who are disabled by
any cause from taking care of themselves. He
holds up to them his own example — his dili-
gence in labor, his disinterestedness — as worthy
of their imitation. (Comp. 2 Thess. 3 : 7, »q.) —
Others understand the weak of the weak in
their religious faith or principles. The apostle's
object, as they argue, was to exhort the elders
to maintain themselves by their own labor, out
of regard to those who would not appreciate
their claim to support, who would take offence
at the appearance of anything like a mercenary
spirit in their teachers. So Calvin, Bengel,
Neander, Meyer, Tholuck, and others. It is
alleged that this interpretation is necessary, in
order to make the cases parallel— that, as Paul

Ch. XX.]

THE ACTS.

243

words of the Lord Jesus, bow he said, It is more blessed
to give than to receive.

36 ^ And when he had thus spolien, he 'icneeled
down, and prayed with them all.

37 And they all wept sore, aDd ^fell on FanTa neck,
and kissed him.

member the words of the Lord Jesus, how he him-
self said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

36 And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down,

37 and prayed with them all. And they all wept sore,

aoh. T:CO; 31 : 6....6 Oen. 45 : U; 48:29.

labored for his own support, so the object of
their labor must be the same. But so labor-

ing does not require that sort of correspond-
ence. Instead of the same application of the
fruits of his industry, the so may refer equally
well to the vianner and spirit of his labor — i. e.
to his assiduity in it — and his benevolence,
which he would have them imitate, though
the class of persons to be benefited in the two
cases was different. The positive objections to
this exegesis are — first, that the language is too
mild, as understood of such illiberality ; sec-
ondly, that some word or the context should
define weak, qualified by in the faith in Rom.
14 : 1, sq., and in effect by in their conscience in
1 Cor. 8 : 9 (compared with v. 7) ; and thirdly,
that it destroys the opposition between the
giving of personal favors and the reception of
them, as contemplated in the words of Christ.
The use of the weak in 1 Thess. 5 : 14 weakens,
it is true, the second objection. It may be
added that Paul, although he waived his own
right to a maintenance from those to whom he
preached, was remarkable for the decision with
which he asserted that right in behalf of others.
(Comp. Rom. 15 : 27 ; 1 Cor. 9 : 13, 14 ; Gal. 6 :
6 ; 1 Tim. 5 : 17, 18. See also the Saviour's
rule on this subject, in Luke 10 : 7.) Hence,
if the explanation under remark were correct,
it would array the author of the speech against
the Epistles. It would justify Zeller's objec-
tion that the true Paul, after representing his
own assumption of the expenses of his sup-
port (for example, in 1 Cor. 9 : 1-27) as unpre-
scriptive and voluntary, would not so forget
himself as to impose his example in that re-
spect upon the Ephesian teachers as one which
they must follow. — How he said, or that he
himself said. Our English translation over-
looks the emphasis. — It is more blessed to
give than to receive. The evangelists have
not recorded this saying of Christ. It comes
down to us here as an interesting specimen of
the many such words that fell from his lips
and were treasured up in the memory of the
first disciples, but which no similar application
has rescued from oblivion. It will be noticed
that Paul alludes to the remark as familiar to
his hearers.— The best authorities read rather to
give (^oMov fiiWi-ou) instead of the inverse order.

—Nothing is wanting to attest the Pauline ori-
gin of this Miletian speech. It agrees with Paul's
history, reflects Paul's character, bears the stamp
of Paul's style. This last point deserves a fuller
illustration. The following examples show the
linguistic affinity between the discourse and the
apostle's writings. To serve the Lord, God, or
Christ (SovAevcii' T Kvpi'w, &t!f OX Xpi<rT) occurs in
V. 19, above, six times in Paul, elsewhere only
in Matt. 6 : 24 and Luke 16 : 13 ; lowliness of
mind (Tairei.vo<^po<rivri) is found only in v. 19, five
times in Paul, and once in 1 Pet. 5:5; shunned,
or kept out {ynoariXkut) in vv. 20, 27 and in Gal.
2 : 12 ; the profitable (t6 (rvfi^epox) in v. 20, once
in Heb. 12 : 20, and three times in the First
Epistle to the Corinthians; service, or ministry
{UoKovia), in V. 24, and twenty-two times in Paul ;
testify (jiiapTvponat) in v. 26 and in Gal. 5 : 3 and
Eph. 4 : 17 ; sparing (<.€i6o/xoi) in v. 29, in 2 Pet.
2 : 4, and seven times in Paul ; warn, admonish
(vov^ertlv) in V. 31, and seven times in Paul;
laboring {Ktnnav) in v. 35, in Paul, on the con-
trary, thirteen times ; and the hortatory watch
(vpjjyopetTe) in V. 31, elsewhere only in 1 Cor. 16 :
13. (See Lekebusch, Composition der Apostd-
geschichte, p. 339.)

36-38. PAUL PRAYS WITH THE
ELDERS, AND EMBARKS AGAIN.

36. He kneeled down, or having kneeled
(t:60;9:4o). This was the attitude in prayer
which prevailed among the early Christians,
except on the Sabbath and during the seven
weeks before Pentecost, when they generally
stood. They regarded the latter posture as the
more appropriate one for the expression of
gratitude, and adopted it, therefore, on joyful oc-
casions (Hmph.). It cannot be shown that the
distinction was observed at this early period.

37. The scene here was a touching one ; the
simplicity of Luke's description heightens the
effect of it. We feel instinctively that the eye
must have seen what the pen has portrayed in
so natural a manner. — And fell on Paul's
neck, or and having fallen npon the neck
of Paul. In the same manner Joseph mani-
fested his strong affection for Benjamin his
brother (oen. 45:14), and for Jacob his father
(oen. 46: m), after their long separation from each
other. It was in accordance with Oriental
manners. — Kissed, or kissed tenderly (com-

244

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXI.

38 Sorrowing most of all for the words "which he
spake, that the^ should see his face no more. And
tuey accompanied him unto the ship.

38 and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him, sorrowing
most of all for the word which he had spoken, that
they should behold his face no more. And they
brought him on bia way unto the ship.

CHAPTER XXI.

AND it came to pass, that after we were gotten from
them, and had launched, we came with a straight
course unto Coos, and the day following unto Khodes,
and from thence unto Patara:

2 And finding a ship sailing over unto Pbenicia, we
went aboard, and set iortb.

1 And when it came to pass that we were parted
from them, and had set sail, we came with a straight
course unto Cos, and the next day unto Rhodes, and

2 from thence uuto Patara: and having found a ship
crossing over unto Phoenicia, we went aboard, and

pound) and (imperf.) again and again. The

evangelist uses this word to describe the affect-
ed earnestness of the traitor's kiss (Matt. 26 : 49).

38. Words which he spake, more accu-
rately the word which he had spoken

(pluperf.) ; dative by attraction. — That (on) is
declarative. — See {^eaptlv — deao/x<u. Tittra., De
Syn., p. 120), behold, contemplate. It sug-
gests the idea of the interest and affection with
which they looked upon that countenance for
the last time. The writer's tact in using this
word of the Ephesians, but shall see (oi^e^de)
of Paul, in v. 25, should be noticed. — Accom-
panied, or sent him forward, escorted him,
unto thr ship. (See the note on 15 : 3 and
the illustration on 21 : 5.) It is implied that
the roadstead where the vessel lay was at some
distance from the town. The site of Miletus,
though originally on the coast, has gradually
receded, till it is now ten miles from the sea.
It must have lost its maritime position long
before the apostle's time, though not so far
inland then as at present.

1-6. THEY CONTINUE THE VOYAGE
TO TYRE.

1. And it came to pass, etc., when now
it came to pass that we put to sea. The

construction is like that in v. 5. Luke cer-
tainly, as one of the we, Trophimus (21:29),
and Aristarchus (27 : 2) accompanied Paul to
Jerusalem. As the others who belonged to the
company (20:4) are not mentioned again, the
probability is (ex silerUio) that they proceeded
no farther. Some suppose that Timothy went
at this time from ililetus to Ephesus, and as-
sumed or resumed the oversight of the church
there. — After w^e were gotten from them
— i. e. having departed from them (De Wet.,
Rob.) ; less probably, having torn ourselves away
(Chrys., Kuin., Mey.). Usage weakened the
etymological sense, and in Luke 22 : 41 an

emphasis appears to me out of place. — Hav-
ing run straight shows that the wind was in
their favor. (See on 16 : 11.) — (Ki is for Kuv,
like 'AjroAAoi, in 19 : 1.) Coos. Cos was about
forty miles from Miletus, directly south, and
could have been reached in six hours. It was
one of the smaller islands of the archipelago, on
the Carian coast, between the promontories, on
which stood Cnidus and Halicamassus. Its pres-
ent name is Stanchio, which has arisen from a
slurred pronunciation of es tan kon, like Stambul
from es tanpolin. — Having rounded Cape Crio, the
ancient Triopium, they turned their prow east-
ward and sailed along the southern shore of
Asia Minor. Rhodes was at the entrance of
the ^gean, on the coast of Caria. The cele-
brated Colossus was prostrate at this time, hav-
ing been overthrown by an earthquake. — Pa-
tara was a coast-town of Lycia, at some distance
from the left bank of the Xanthus. " Now its
port is an inland marsh, generating poisonous
malaria, and the mariner sailing along the coast
would never guess that the sand-hills before
him blocked up the harbor into which St. Paul
sailed of old."i Patara was best known for its
celebrated oracle of Apollo, which in the height
of its authority had almost rivalled that of Del-
phos. How near to it, in the person of these
wayfaring men, was now brought the Power
which was to subvert that great delusion of
heathenism ! How soon after this could it be
said, in the words of Milton's Hymn on the Na-
tivity of Christ,

" The oracles are dumb ;
No voice or hideous hum
Runs through the archtd roofs in words deceiving.
Apollo from his shrine
Can no more divine,
With hollow shriek the steep of Delphos leaving.
No nightly trance or breathf-d spell
Inspires the pale-eyed priest from the prophetic cell."

2. The party take now another vessel. We
are not informed of the reason for this measure.
The vessel which had brought them thus far

1 IHivels in Lycia, by Spratt and Forbes, vol. i. p. 31.

Ch. XXI.]

TfRE ACTS.

246

3 Now when we had discovered Cyprus, we left it on
the left hand, and sailed into Syria, and landed at
Tyre : for there the ship was to unlade her burden.

4 And finding disciples, we tarried there seven days:
'who said to Paul through the Spirit, that he should
not go up to Jerusalem.

3 set sail. And when we had come in sight of Cyprus,
leaving it on the left hand, we sailed unto Syria,
and landed at Tyre: for there the ship was to un-

4 lade her burden. And having found the disciples,
we tarried there seven days : and these said to I'aul
through the Spirit, that be should not set foot in

aver. 11; oh. 20 : 23.

may have been adapted only to sailing along
the shore, or they may have engaged the use of
it (see on 20 : 16) only until they should find
an opportunity like the present. Sailing over,
crossing over, just as they arrived. This par-
ticularity is as graphic "as if taken from a
journal written during the voyage." The
present participle denotes often an appointed
or approaching act. (Comp. v. 3 ; 27 : 6. W.
§ 45. 1. b.)

3. And when we had discovered, or
and having had a view of, Cyprus — lit.
having had it brought up to sight, made
visible to us above the horizon. The language
is that of an eye-witness, and of one familiar
with the phraseology of seamen, who are ac-
customed to speak of raising the land when
they approach it. The opposite expression is
to conceal the land. (See Kriig., On Thtia/d., 5.
65; Stallb., On Prot., 338. A.) The correspond-
ing Latin words, says Mr. Humphry, are aperire
and abscondere. (Virg., jEn., 3. 275, 291.) Some
render being shown Cyprus, having it pointed out
to us in the distance (Rob.) , but the composite
form indicates a more specific sense. This verb,
which in the active governs a dative and ac-
cusative, retains the latter in the passive. (W.
g 39. 1 ; K. I 281. 3.)— We left it, [or in the
participial form of the Greek] having left it
behind. — On the left is an adjective, not an
adverb. (K. § 264. 3. a.) They passed, there-
fore, to the south of the island. They must
have had a fair wind to enable them to take
that course. The view of Cyprus mu.st have
carried back the apostle's mind to the days
which he and Barnabas had spent there in the
missionary work. — We sailed unto Syria
refers to the voyage to Tyre; for in the Ro-
man age Syria included Phoenicia (Win.), of
of which Tyre was the commercial emporium.
(For its present state, see Rob., Bibl. Res., iii.
392, sq.) The most important ruins lie at pres-
ent beneath the sea. It was with melancholy
interest that I looked down upon them through

the calm waters in the long twilight which closed
the 10th of May, 1852. — [The next clause] is best
taken as brachylogical : for having come thith>
er, the ship was unlading — i. e. about to un-
lade— the cargo. (See W. g 45. 5.) This use
of the participle coincides essentially with that
m V. 2. (See, further, Matt. 26 : 28 ; Luke 22 :
19.) Some understand thither of the convey-
ance of the freight from the ship to the town :
for thither (after the arrival) was the ship
unlading the cargo (Mey., De Wet.). The
writer would not be likely to specify so minute
a circumstance. Thither {tKtlat) is not to be
confounded with there {tKtl). The clause as-
signs the reason (yap) for their stopping at this
port. The voyage from Patara to Tyre need
not have exceeded two days, if the wind was
fair and the vessel in a good condition. The
distance is three hundred and forty geograph-
ical miles.*

4. And finding— lit. and having found
— out the disciples who lived there, because,
being strangers, they must make inquiry. The
English Version overlooks both the preposition
and the article. The gospel had been preached
here at an early period. (See on 11 : 19.) The
Saviour had performed some of his miracles in
the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon. (See Matt. 15 :
21 ; Mark 7 : 24.)— We tarried. (See on 10 :
48.) — Seven days may be indefinite, as was re-
marked on 20 : 6. We cannot doubt that they
occupied the time spent here in making known
the word, and in consulting for the welfare of
the Tyrian church. — Who said to Paul
through the Spirit that he should not go
up unto Jerusalem — i. e. if he had any re-
gard to his own safety or personal welfare, or
to their affectionate solicitude on his account.
(Comp. besought, etc., in v. 12.) They were in-
formed by the Spirit that bonds and afflic-
tions awaited the apostle at Jerusalem ; but it
was not revealed to them as the will of Grod
that he should desist from his purpose to pro-
ceed thither.

» The writer embarked at Beirut (on the coast, to the north of Tyre) at half-past six o'clock p. m. ; the next
day, at ten o'clock, we arrived off against Lamica, on the island of Cyprus, and on the following night, at two
o'clock A. M., came to anchor in the harbor of Rhodes. This was very nearly the apostles track, except in the
inverse order. An ancient vessel, under circumstances entirely favorable, would almost equal the speed of a
Levant steamer.

246

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXI.

6 And when we had accomplished those days, we de-
parted and went our way ; and they all brought us on
our way, with wives ana children, till we were out of
the city : and "we kneeled down on the shore, and
prayed.

6 And when we had taken our leave one of an-
other, we took ship; and they returned 'home
again.

7 And when we had finished our course from Tyre,
we came to Ptolemais, and saluted the brethren, and
abode with them one day.

8 And the next day we that were of Paul's company
departed, and came untoCssarea: and we entered into
the house of Philip the evangelist, <*which was one of
the seven ; and abode with him.

5 Jerusalem. And when it came to pass that we had
accomplished the days, we departed and went on
our journey; and they all, with wives and children,
brought us on our way, till we were out of the city :

6 and kneeling down on the beach, we prayed, and
bade each other farewell ; and we went on board
the ship, but they returned home again.

7 And when we had finished the voyage from Tyre,
we arrived at Ptolemais; and we saluted the breth-

8ren, and abode with them one day. And on the
morrow we departed, and came unto Caesarea : and
entering into the house of Philip the evangelist,
who was one of the seven, we abode with him-

acb. 20:36....i Johnl : II cEph. 1:11; 2 Tim. 1 : 5....dch. 6 : 5; 8:26,40.

5. And when we had accomplished —
t. e. Avhen it came to pass that we had ac-
complished. (See the first clause in v. 1.) —
Those days, rather the days named in v. 4.
— All sending us forward, etc. (See on 20 :
38.) — Till out of the city, quite out of it,
beyond the suburbs, where they could be alone
and undisturbed. — Upon the beach. The
word denotes a smooth shore, as distinguished
from one precipitous or rocky. (Comp. 27 : 39.)
[See also Matt. 13 : 2. By the kindness of a
friend, I am able to refer also to two passages
of Herodotus which illustrate the special sense
of this word — viz. vii. 59 and vii. 188. — A. H.]
Luke manifests an autoptic accuracy here. A
level, sandy beach extends for a considerable |
distance on both sides of the site of the ancient
Tyre. — Modem missionary life presents its par-
allels to the scene so briefly sketched in this
verse. The following extract occurs in the
journal of a college friend, whose field of labor
is in the r^on of Paul's birthplace. Speaking
of his departure with his family from Aintab
for a temporary absence, the missionary says :
" More than a hundred of the converts accom-
panied us out of the city ; and there, near the
spot where one of our number had once been
stoned, we halted, and a prayer was offered
amid tears. Between thirty and forty escorted
us two hours farther, on horses and mules,
singing hymns as we proceeded on our way.
Then another prayer was offered, and with sad-
dened countenances and with weeping they
forcibly broke away from us. It really seemed
as though they could not turn back."i

7-16. FROM TYRE THEY PROCEED TO
PTOLEMAIS, AND THENCE TO C^ESAREA
AND JERUSALEM.

7. And when we had finished, etc. — lit.
Now we, completing (thereby) the voyage,
came down from Tyre to Ptolemais.
When the participle and the verb combined thus
are both in the past tense, the act of the participle

may be antecedent to that of the verb or simul-
taneous with it. The sense must decide this
ambiguity. — From Tyre, in this position, be-
longs to the verb came down, not to voyage
or course (E. V.). Their arrival at Ptolemais
terminated the sea part of their journey. The
distance is a moderate day's journey by land. A
vessel with a good breeze would make the run
in a few hours. This city was the ancient Accho
(jadg. 1 : 31), Still Called Akka by the Arabians,
and Acre, or St. Jean d'Acre, by Europeans.
It is on the Mediterranean, at the north angle
of a bay which bears the same name, and
sweejw in the form of a semicircle toward the
south as far as Mount Carmel. The graceful
curve of the bay appears to great advantage
from the top of that mountain. — The breth-
ren who were there. (See on v. 4.)

8. They now travelled by land. Issuing
from the south-eastern 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 to Cse-
sarea. The distance hither from Akka is about
forty miles. — Thereceived that were of Paul's
company, before departed, is untenable. A
church reading began here, and a more definite
subject than we was needed to suggest the
connection. The gloss has passed into our
English translation. — Unto Csesarea. This
is the third time that Paul has been at Csesarea.
He was there on his journey from Jerusalem
to Tarsus (9:3o), and again on his return to
Antioch from his second missionary progress
(18 : 22). Philip. (See on 8 : 40.)— The evan-
gelist. This title appears to have been given
to those who had no stated pastoral charge, but
travelled from place to place and preached as
they had opportunity. (See Eph. 4 : 11 ; 2 Tim.
4 : 5.) Which was — better who was — of the

1 Rev. B. Schneider, in the Mutionary Herald, vol. xlviii. p. 201 (1852).

Ch. XXI.]

't'HE ACTS.

^±i

9 And the same mau bad four daughters, virgins,
"which did prophesy.

10 And as we tarried iherf. many days, there came
down from Judsea a certain prophet, named ''Agabus.

11 And when he was come unto us, he took Paul's
girdle, and bound his own hands ana feet, and said.
Thus saith the Holy (ihost, «So shall the Jews at Jeru- '
salem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall '
deliver him into the bands of the Gentiles.

12 And when we heard these things, both we, and
they of that place, besought him not to go up to Jeru-
salem.

13 Then Paul answered, ^What mean ye to weep and
to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound
only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the
Lord Jesus.

9 Now this man had four daughters, virgins, who did

10 prophesy. And as we tarried there some days, there
came down from Judxa a certain prophet, named

11 Agabus. And coming to us, and taking Paul's gir-
dle, he bound his own feet and hands, and said.
Thus saith the Holy Spirit, 8o shall the Jews at
Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle,
and shall deliver him into the hands of the Uen-

12 tiles. And when we heard these things, both we
and they of that place besought him not to go up

13 to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, What do ye,
weeping and breaking my heart? for I am ready
not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem

a Joel 2: 38; ob. 2 : lT....6eb. U : 18....e ver. 33; ob. 20: 23....iIoh. 20 : 24.

seven (K. V.) recalls Philip as already known to
us in another capacity. (See 6 : 5.) But the best
critics reject the Greek article (toC) rendered who
or which; and the participle (oitos), translated
was, becomes then ambiguous : either causal,
since he was of the seven (De Wet., Alf.), or
simply historical, as in the other case. (See
Green's Or., p. 190.) It is improbable that the
office merely influenced Paul, and so much the
less since, according to this view, it would be
the inferior office which Philip no longer held,
and not his present one. The participle (ojtos)
follows the tense of the other verbs, and is
past. (W. §45. 1.) Philip, as an evangelist,
had relinquished his service at Jerusalem ;
perhaps the occasion for it had been only
temporary.

9. And the same man, or now this one
had four daughters, etc. Luke mentions
the fact as remarkable, and not as related in
any way to the history. It is barely possible
that they too (see v. 10) foretold the apostle's
approaching captivity.

10. And as we tarried — lit. remaining
several days (comp. 13 : 31 ; 27 : 20), a longer
time than in the other places on the way. Hav-
ing travelled rapidly since he left Miletus, and
being now within two days of Jerusalem, the
apostle had no occasion to hasten his journey.
(See 20 : 16.) — Agabus has been mentioned in
11 : 28. He cannot well be a different person,
as some have thought ; for not only his name,
but office (prophet) and residence (from Ju-
dea), are the same in both instances. Wheth-
er he had heard of Paul's arrival and came to
Csesaxea on that account (Bmg.) must be left
undecided.

11. And bound, etc. The prophet per-
formed the act on himself, not on Paul. The
pronoun should be his own {avrov), not his
(avToO). (Many of the best manuscripts read
<avTov.) So shall bind, etc., so shall bind

at Jerusalem the Jews. The Romans put
the apostle in chains, but they did it at the
instigation of the Jews. — Agabus, like the an-
cient prophets, accompanied his prediction
with a symbolic act which served to place the
event foretold more vividly before them; the
scene, being thus acted out before their eyes,
was rendered present, real, beyond what any
mere verbal declaration could possibly have
made it.

"Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem
Quam quee sunt oculis subjecta fidelibus, et quae
Ipse sibi tradit spectator." i

Examples similar to this are frequent in the
Old Testament. (See 1 Kings 22 : 11 ; Isa. 20 :
1, sq. ; Jer. 13 : 1, sq. ; Ezek. 4 : 1, sq., etc.)

12. We— viz. the writer, Trophimus, Aris-
tarchus (see on 20 : 4), and possibly others. —
The natives restricts itself to the Christians
of the place.

13. What mean ye is the language of re-
monstrance : What are you doing that you weep,
etc. The same mode of expression occurs in
Mark 11 : 5. — For I am ready, etc. Their
opposition was not only painful to him (to
break mine heart), but was useless, for (yap)
he was not to be shaken in his purpose (De
Wet.) ; or, which agrees better with I am
ready, their distress was tmnecessary, for he
deemed it a privilege, not a hardship, to suffer
in the cause of Christ. (Comp. 5 : 41.) [Was
it right for Paul to persist in going up to Jeru-
salem? Agabus had uttered a true prediction,
and we may assume that Paul believed it to be
true. But Agabus brought no command from
the Lord to Paul. Was, then, this prediction
sent to him as an intimation that he ought to
forbear rushing into such danger? This is not
affirmed. Or was it made to him that he might
be prepared for the result, and accept it as a
part of God's plan of his life ? Neither is this

1 " Those things which enter through the ear affect our minds more slowly than those that are presented to
the faithful eyes, and which the spectator himself delivers to himself."

248

THE ACTS.

LCh. XXI.

14 And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased,
saying, "The will of the Lord be done.

15 And after those days we took up our carriages,
and weut up to Jerusalem.

16 There went with us also certain of the disciples
of Csesarea, and brought with them one Mnason of
Cyprus, au old disciple, with whom we should lodge.

17 'And when we were come to Jerusalem, the breth-
ren received us gladly.

14 for the name of the Lord Jesus. And when he
would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The
will of the Lord be done.

15 And after these days we Hook up our baggage, and

16 went up to Jerusalem. And there went with us also
cerlain of the disciples from Csesarea, bringing with
them one Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with
whom we should lodge.

17 And when we were come to Jerusalem, the breth>

aHatt.6:10; 26:42; Lukell:2; 22 : 42....& ob. 15 : 4. 1 Or, made ready

affirmed. But the apostle may perhaps have
believed that the latter was God's design, and
he may have been right in his belief. His own
purpose seems not to have wavered ; and it
surely may have been the Spirit of Christ who
gave him courage to persevere in the way he
had chosen. — A. H.]

15. The text fluctuates here, but the word
{iin<TKfva.aati.tvoi) which signifies having packed
np our baggage, having placed it upon the
beasts of burden, has decidedly the best sup-
port. (Comp. ciri(7Kevaa'a/ievoi iurofiryia, in Xen.,

Hell,., 7. 2. 18.) This is ever an important item
in Eastern travelling ; and it was natural that
Luke, a companion of the journey, should
mention it. If the alms which they were car-
rying to Jerusalem (24 : 17) consisted in part of
raiment or provisions, the loading and unload-
ing woulu require more than ordinary atten-
tion. Another reading {aitoaK€vaaa.y.evo>. ) signi-
fies having packed away our baggage — i. e. at
Caesarea, where they left it, or at least the su-
perfluous part of it (Olsh.). The reason for
such a step is not obvious. If it was their
sea-luggage and unnecessary for the rest of the
way, it is surprising that they did not leave it
at Ptolemais, where they ended the voyage.
Some insist that if we adopt this word rather
than the other we may obtain from it the
same meaning : having packed our baggage away
— i. e. from the place where they had stored it
— in order to carry it with them (Mey., De
Wet.). That appears to me a forced interpre-
tation. [In his last ed. Meyer agrees with this

remark. — A. H.] (Trapaaicevao-afKi'Oi and airoTofa-

itevoi are explanatory variations.) — "The Eng-
lish Version," says Mr. Humphry, "uses the
word 'carriage' in the sense of 'things car-
ried,' baggage, as in Judg. 18 : 21 and 1 Sam.
17 : 22. Cranmer has ' took up our burdens,'
and the Geneva Version ' trussed up our far-
dels.' " — For the route in " going up " to Jeru-
salem, see on 23 : 31.

16. And there went with us also of the
disciples [i. e. certain of the disciples, nvU
being understood]. (Comp. John 16 : 17. W. ? 64.
4.) — Bringing ns to Mnason with whom we
should lodge (Olsh., Mey., DeWet. ayoi^<{ . . .

tivatrutvi, stands by attraction for ayovrt^ napi. tiva-

vuvatrap (|> ^tvur^untv) . His relation to them as their
host was more important to them than his name,
and presents itself first, therefore, in the order
of statement. Mnason could depend possibly
on bringing — bringing us to Mnason (W.
g 31. 5) ; but the construction is hard. Some
render bringing Mnason — i. e. with them from
Csesarea, which attributes to them an improb-
able act, while it leaves the dative equally ir-
regular.— An old — i. e. an ancient (not an aged)
— disciple, one who had long been such. He
may have been converted on the day of Pente-
cost (comp. in the beginning, in 11 : 15) or have
been a personal follower of Christ.

17-26. PAUL ASSUMES A VOW TO CON-
CILIATE THE JEWISH BELIEVERS.

17. The apostle arrives now at Jerusalem —
for the fifth time since he left it on his perse-
cuting errand to Damascus. It is the last re-
corded visit that he ever made to the Jewish
capital. His present return could not have
taken place later than the spring of a. d. 59,
since we must reserve two years for his im-
prisonment at Cajsarea (24 : 27), and two for his
imprisonment at Rome, before we come to a. d.
64. (See Introduction, §6. 5.) If we fix upon
this limitation on that side, we have then four
years as the term of the apostle's third mission-
ary excursion, which we may distribute as fol-
lows : He left Antioch about the beginning of
I A. D. 55 (see on 18 : 23), and reached Ephesus in
\ the spring of that year. Here he spent about
three years (20 : 31), and proceeded to Macedonia
; in the spring of a. d. 58. (See on 20 : 1.) He
j was occupied here and in other parts of North-
[ em Greece during the summer and autumn of
I that year (see on 20 : 2), and arrived at Corinth
1 early in the following winter. Having spent
the next three months in that city (20 : 3), he re-
turned to Macedonia and embarked for Syria
in the spring of a. d. 59. Or our scheme of
chronology admits of a sHghtly different com-
bination : If we suppose two years and six
months or nine months to exhaust three years,
in 20 : 31, we may assign Paul's return to Jeru-
salem to the spring of the preceding year — viz.
that of a. D. 58. The apostle may have left

Ch. XXI.]

THE ACTS.

249

18 And the day following Paul went in with us Unto
"James; and all the elders were present.

19 And when he had saluted them, »he declared par-
ticularly what things God had wrought among the
tientiles 'by his ministry.

20 And when they heard ii, they glorified the Lord,
and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many
thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they
are all ''zealous of the law :

21 And they are informed of thee, that thou teach-
est all the Jews which are among the Uentiles to forsake
Moses, saying that thev ought not to circumcise their
children, neither to walk after the customs.

18 ren received us gladly. And the dav following Paul
went in with us unto James ; and all the elders were

19 present. And when he had saluted them, he rehearsed
one by one the things which God had wrought among

20 the Gentiles by his ministry. And they, when they
heard it, glorified God ; and they said unto him, Thou
seest, brother, bow many ^thousands there are among
the Jews of them who have believed ; and they are

21 all zealous for the law : and they have been informed
concerning thee, that thou teachest all the Jews
who are among_ tne Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling
them not to circumcise their children, neither to

• ob.lS:U; Oal.I: 19; 1:S.

..6 eh. 16:4, 1%; Rom. 16 : 18. 19....cch. 1:17; 20: 24.... d oh. 32 : 8; Bom. 10:2; Oal. 1 : 14.
1 Gr. myriad*.

Antioch on hia third tour sufficiently early in
A. D. 54 (see on 18 : 22) to have spent several
months at Ephesus before Pentecost in a. d. 55 ;
and he could then have completed the two re-
maining years of his residence in that city at
Pentecost in a. d. 57. The advantage of this
computation would be that it frees us from the
necessity of crowding the two years of the apos-
tle's Roman captivity so near the year a. d. 64.
— The brethren received us gladly. This
may refer to the more private friendly greet-
ings which preceded the interview on the next
day. Luke may have been struck with this
cordiality the more because Paul and his friends,
as preachers to the heathen, had reason to ap-
prehend some coldness. (See the note on 15 : 4
and Rom 15 : 31.) The interview would be
likely to take place in the house of Mnason,
but the brethren is too general to be under-
stood merely of him and his family.

18. The notice here relates to a more public
reception. — On the following day, after
their arrival. — With us — viz. Luke and Paul's
other companions. It was now, probably, that
the gifts of the foreign churches were delivered
up to the ahnoners. — James. This is James
the Younger, who presided over the church at
Jerusalem. (Comp. 12 : 17.) As no one of the
other apostles is mentioned in this part of the
narrative, it is probable that they were either
not living or were laboring in foreign lands. —
The elders. The pastor and the presbyters are
named as the principal persons (see 15 : 6), not
as excluding others.

19. Had saluted them— lit. having em-
braced them. He had performed the same
act of courtesy on his preceding visit to them.
(See 18 : 22.)— Through his ministry, in the
course of his recent journey.

20. How many thousands, rather how
many myriads, stands for a large but indef-
inite number: what mvMitudes. (Comp. 1 Cor.
4 : 16 and 14 : 19.) — Zealous of the law, or
zealots for the law, an objective or causa-
tive genitive. (Comp. Gal. 1 : 14. K. §266. 2. b.)

21. That thou teachest, etc. — lit. that
thou dost teach apostasy from Moses,

etc. Neander presents the following just view
of the transaction related here : " This accusation
against Paul was certainly false in the form in
which it was alleged ; for he opposed the ex-
ternal observance of Judaism only so far as the
justification and sanctification of men were made
to depend upon it. It was his principle that no
one should abandon the national and civil re-
lations in which he stood at the time of his
conversion, except for important reasons ; and,
in accordance with this principle, he allowed
the Jews to adhere to their peculiarities, among
which was the observance of the Mosaic law
(i Cor. 7 : 18). But it could uot fail to happen that
those who entered into Paul's ideas of the re-
lations of the law to the gospel, and were thus
freed from their scrupulous regard for the
former, would be led into a fr-eer line of con-
duct in this respect; and individuals might
carry this disposition farther than Paul desired.
It may be that such instances gave occasion to
the charge that he persuaded the Jewish Chris-
tians to release themselves from the law. It is
indeed true that, when it was once admitted
that circumcision avails nothing as a means of
obtaining an interest in the kingdom of God, this
rite must sooner or later fall away of itself. But
Paul would not hasten this result by any arbi-
trary or violent act ; he would leave it to be the
work of time, and would have no one break
away capriciously from the relations in which
he has been called to be a Christian. Hence,
without deviating from the principles of strict
sincerity, he could repel that accusation of the
Jewish zealots. He was far from entertaining
the hatred against Judaism and the ancient
theocratic nation with which his violent oppo-
nents charged him. In conformity with the
principle avowed in his Epistles — viz. that he
became a Jew to the Jews, as he became a
heathen to the heathen and weak to those who
were weak — he declared himself ready to do
what James proposed to him, in order to refute

250

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXI.

22 What is it therefore? the multitude must needs
come together: for they will hear that thou art come.

23 Do therefore this that we say to thee : We have
four men which have a vow on them ;

24 Them take, aud purify thyself with them, and be
at charges with them, that thev may "shave their heads:
and all may know that those things, whereof they were
informed coiiceroing thee, are nothing; but <Aat thou
thyself also walkesl orderly, and keepest the law.

22 walk after the customs. What is it therefore ? they

23 will certainly hear that thou art come. Do there-
fore this that we say to thee: We have four men

24 who have a vow on them ; these take, and purify
thyself with them, and be at charges for them, that
they may shave their heads: and all shall know
that there is no truth in the things whereof they
have been informed concerning thee ; but that thou

a Num. 6 : 2, 13, 18 ; oh. 18 : 18.

that accusation. He consented to refute it by
taking part in the Jewish worship in a mode
which was highly esteemed by pious Jews."

22. What) therefore, is it? — viz. which
the occasion requires. (Comp. 1 Cor. 14 : 15,
16.) — The multitude, etc. — lit. it is en-
tirely necessary (inevitable) that a mul-
titude (viz. of the Jewish Christians) should
come together; i. e. around Paul as he
appeared in their public assemblies, in the
temple and elsewhere, in order to watch his
conduct and see whether their suspicions of
him were just. It is not meant that the
church would assemble in a body for the pur-
pose of consultation (Calv., Grot.) ; for with
that idea we should have had tlie before mul-
titude. (Comp. 4 : 32 ; 15 : 12, 30.) Nor does
the language intimate that Paul's advisers ap-
prehended any violent outbreak on the part of
the Jewish Christians (Kuin.) ; the subsequent
riot which led to his apprehension originated,
not with them, but with the unbelieving Jews.
(Comp. V. 27.) [It may also be noted that Tr^.,
"West, and Hort, and the Anglo-Am. Revisers
omit the words a multitude must come together as
an addition to the original text. Treg. adduces
B C*, the Peshito and Harklean Syriac, the Mem-
phitic. Thebaic, and Armenian versions for the
omission. For the whole verse with these words
omitted, see the Revised Version above. — A. H.]

23. This that, or which, we say to thee
— viz. James and the elders ; for the subject of
this verb must be the same as that of said, in
v. 20. The narrative does not allow us to sepa-
rate James from the others, as if he merely ac-
quiesced in the proposal, while the responsibility
of suggesting it laj' wholly with them (against
Cony, and Hws.). — The four men were cer-
tainly Jews, and may be supposed, from the
relation implied in we have, to have been also
Jewish believers. — Which have, or having, a
vow upon themselves, which, as appears
from every circumstance of the description,
must have been a Nazarite vow. This vow
bound those who assumed it to let the hair
grow, to abstain from intoxicating drink, and
in other respects to maintain a life of ascetic
rigor (»uiB.6:2,«i.). It was left to their option

how long they continued such a vow, though
it seems to have been customary among the
Jews of this period to extend it at least to
thirty days (Jos., Bell. Jud., 2. 15. 1). " When
the time specified in the vow was completed, the
Nazarite offered a ram of a year old for a burnt-
offering, a t;heep of the same age for a sin-offer-
ing, a ram for a thank-offering, a basket of un-
leavened cakes, and a libation of wine. His hair
was shaven off at the gate of the sanctuary, and
cast into the fire where the thank-offering was
burning. He oflFered as a wave-offering to God
the shoulders of the thank-offering and two
cakes, which were both given to the priest"
(Jahn's Archxol., ? 395).

24. Them take— lit. these taking — with
thyself, as associates in the vow. — Purify thy-
self with them, enter upon the same course of
abstinence and religious consecration. Cony-
beare and Howson understand purify thyself
of the ordinary ablutions before entering the tem-
ple ; but in that case with them loses its sig-
nificance, since the apostle's purification would
have no more relation to them than to any
other Jews. — And be at charges with them,
strictly spend upon thera, incur expense on their
account. "As, in some instances, the Nazarites
had not sufficient property to enable them to
meet the whole expense of the offerings, other
persons who possessed more defrayed the ex-
pense for them or shared it with them, and in
this way were made parties to the vow." The
Jews looked upon it as an act of special merit
to assist a Nazarite in this manner. Josephus
relates (Antt., 19. 6. 1) that Agrippa I., on his
arrival at Jerusalem after having obtained the
sovereignty of Palestine, paid the expense of
numerous indigent Nazarites who were wait-
ing to be released from their vows. He intended
it as a thank-offering for his good fortune. —
And all may know. [According to the true
text, N A B C D E, and other documents, it
must be translated with Dr. Hackett] and all
shall know, by this act. The readings {yvSxri and
yvtio-wKToi) rendered all may know (E. V.) are gram-
matical corrections, founded on the false view
that this clause depends on that, in the previous
clause. Thyself also, as well as other Jews.

Ch. XXI.]

THE ACTS.

251

25 As touching the Gentiles which believe, «we have
written and concluded that they observe no such thing,
save only that they keen themselves from things offered
to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from
fornication.

26 Then I'aul took the men, and the next day puri-
fying himself with them 'entered into the temple, to
signify the accomplishment of the days of purifica-
tion, until that an offering should be offered for every
one of them.

25 thyself also walkest orderly, keeping the law. But
as touching the (ientiles who have believed, we
'wrote, giving judgment that they should keep
themselves from things sacrificed to idols, and from
blood, and from what is strangled, and from forni-

2t', cation. Then Paul "took the men, and the next
day purifying himself with them went into the
temple, declaring the fulfilment of the days of puri-
fication, until the ofi'ering was offered for every one
of them.

a Ob. 15 : 20, 29 i oh. 24 : 18... .« Nnm. 6 : 13.

Or, enjoined Many ancient authorities read lent... .2 Or, took tht nun Ote
n«xt day, and purifying hlnuelf, etc.

25. As touching, etc. But (as we ar.e
both aware) in regard to the Gentiles who
have believed, etc. — We — i. e. the apostles
and Christians at Jerusalem, for the adoption
of the decree was properly their act (comp. 15 :
22), and not that of Paul and the other delegates
from Antiocli, who submitted to them the ques-
tion which the decree settled (is : i). The object
of the reminiscent remark in this verse was to
obviate any scruple that Paul might feel lest
the proposed measure should interfere with the
liberty of the Gentile converts. — Save only,
etc. (See the note on 15 : 20.)

36, Took refers to his connecting himself
with the men (v. 24), while purifying himself
defines the nature of the connection. The
next day — i. e. on the following day after his
interview with James, and the third since his
arrival at Jerusalem (v. is). — With them be-
longs certainly to purifying himself (see v.
24), and perhaps to entered into — not, in the
latter case, necessarily because he now took
them to the temple in order to absolve them
at once from their vow (Cony, and Hws.), but
because it may have been important that they
should be present when he declared his inten-
tion to assume their expenses. — To signify,
etc. — i. e. announcing — viz. to the priests (into
the temple suggests the pereons) — the com-
pletion (lit. filling out) of the days of the
purification. In other words, making known
the interval (viz. seven days) between this dec-
laration and the end of the vow and the bring-
ing of the necessary oflferings. So essentially
Stier, Kuinoel, De Wette, Meyer, Wordsworth,
and others. The, before purification, de-
fines the purification as that referred to in puri-
fying himself with them ; hence that of
those associated in the act, not that of the men
merely, and not that of Paul merely (both mis-
takes have been made). The convenience of
the priests may have required this notification
to enable them to prepare for the concluding
ceremony at the temple. Others (as Wiesl.)
explain accomplishment of the actual ex-
piration of the days during which the men's
vow was to continue. Sucli a view leaves no

time for the apostle's partnership with them,
and thus conflicts both with purifying him-
self with them, and with found me puri-
fied in the temple, in 24 : 18. The apostle's
arrest (t. 27) was subsequent to his present ap-
pearance in the temple, and at the time of the
arrest, as we see from the words just quoted, he
was still observing his part of the vow. — Until
that an offering — rather until the offering
(known as necessary) — was brought. This
clause depends naturally on announcing, etc.,
and, as it formed a part of the notice which Paul
gave in the temple (hence oralio directa), would
have naturally the subjunctive (untU it shordd
he brought, as in 23 : 12, 21 ; 25 : 21), instead
of the indicative. It may be an instance, as
Meyer suggests, in which the direct form of
the announcement glides over into the past
of the narrative. (See K., Ausfh. Gr., g 846.)
Some carry back the clause to entered into
the temple as elliptical : went into tlie temple
and stayed there untU the offering was brought.
In that case we must pass over the nearer point
of connection for a remoter one, and must even
insert the word in the text which renders that
connection possible. Further, it is improbable
that Paul lodged two or three days in the tem-
ple ; and yet, as he speaks of himself as there
on the day of the riot, in order to bring the
final offerings (24 : is), it would follow, on this
view of the subject, that he had remained there
from his first repairing to the temple till that
time. The true emphasis of for every one
lies in the fact that Paul was to be answerable
for tlie expenses of the offering of each one, not
(as Cony, and Hws.) that he would remain in
the temple until each one's offering was pre-
sented. [If the course of Paul in following the
advice of James is called in question as incon-
sistent with his reHgious principles, and there-
fore immoral, it may be answered — (1) That he
had all along conceded to Jewish Christians a
right to observe the Mosaic law, and had recog-
nized the fact that Peter, James, and John were
as truly entrusted with the apostleship for the
circumcision as he himself was with the apos-
tleship for the uncircumcision (q»i. 2:7). (2)

252

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXI.

27 And when the seven days were almost ended,
•the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw hini in
the temple, stirred up all the people, and 'laid hands
on him,

•28 Crying out. Men of Israel, help: This is the man,
'that teacheth ail men everv where against the people,
and the law, aud this place: and further brought
Greeks also into the temple, and bath polluted tliis
holy place.

27 And when the seven days were almost completed,
the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the tem-

gle, stirred up all the multitude, and laid hands on
im, crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the
man, that teacheth all men everywhere against the

{)eople, and the law, and this place: and moreover
le brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath

acta. 2«: 18 lob. 26 : 21....ccb. 24 : 5, 6.

This concession, since he was himself a Jew,
might now be openly made by joining with
Christian Jews in a ceremony of the law, pro-
vided his motive in so doing was not likely to
be misunderstood. And we may assume that
at this time any misunderstanding of it would
be very improbable, since his teaching as to
Gentile converts was well known. He had in-
sisted with emphasis upon the fact that observ-
ing the law of Moses was not a means of sal-
vation and must not be required of Gentile
Christians; he might, therefore, now safely
show that he did not condemn his Jewish
brethren for observing the law of their fathers,
though doing this was not a means of salva-
tion. (3) This expression of fellowship with
them, while they were walking by the light
which thov had received, would, it was hoped,
win their good-will and perhaps diminish the
bitter enmity which burned against him in
the hearts of unbelieving Jews. Thus, with-
out sacrificing an iota of Christian principle,
he consented to live as a Jew with the Jews
that he might lead them into the truth. —
A. H.]

27-30. PAUL IS SEIZED BY THE JEWS
AND DRAGGED FROM THE TEMPLE.

37. And when the seven days, etc., or now
as the seven days, were about to be com«
pleted — i. e. in all probability the seven days
announced to the priests as the limit to which
the vow of the Nazarites would extend, and as
the period, also, of the apostle's partnership in
that consecration. This is the readiest explana-
tion, and the one to which most critics assent
(Bng., Kuin., Olsh., Mey., De Wet., Alf).
Neander's idea is that their vow embraced only
seven days in all, and that Paul joined them on
the last of these days. Against that construc-
tion stands the inference from which have a
vow on them, in v. 23, that the vow had been
resting on them for a considerable time before
the apostle's connection with them, and also
that that they may shave their heads (v. 24) would
signify very little, if the ceremony was to take
place at the expiration of a single week. —
Wieseler (p. 105) has revived the opinion of
some of the older interpreters — viz. that the

seven days were those observed as the feast
of Pentecost. His arguments are mainly two
— first, as obviating an objection that this
meaning suggests itself readily enough after
the information (20 : le) that Paul was hastening
to keep the Pentecost at Jerusalem; and sec-
ondly, that the reckoning of the twelve days
between his arrival there and his subsequent
trial at Ccesarea demands this explanation.
Conybeare and Howson adopt the same view.
But the article before seven days recalls quite
irresistibly the days of the purification just spoken
of, and the twelve days mentioned in 24 : 11
may be computed in different ways (see note
there), and hence, though compatible with that
theory, do not establish it. Above all, the as-
sumption that the Jews observed Pentecost as
a hebdomadal festival is too uncertain to be
made the basis of an explanation. The law of
its institution prescribed but one day, though
the later Jews, it would seem, added a second.
(Win., JRealw., i. p. 243.)— The Jews which
were of Asia — lit. the Jews from Asia; i.e.
the province of that name, where Paul had resid-
ed so long (20 : 31). Some of them may have been
from Ephesus, who would recognize Trophimus
(v. 29) as a fellow-townsman. The Jews here,
the authors of this riot, were not believers, and
hence not of the class of Jews whom the apostle
expected to conciliate.

28. Help — i. e. to apprehend him, or to
wreak vengeance on him.— And further, etc.,
a7id further also. (Comp. 2 : 26.) It is one of
Luke's peculiar phrases. — Greeks may be the
plural of the class or category, because what
Paul had done in the case of one he might be
said, in point of principle, to have done for
many; or it may have been an exaggeration
for the purpose of increasing the tumult.—
Into the temple— I. e. the part of it inter-
dicted to foreigners. The outer court or en-
closure was called the Court of the Gentiles,
and could be entered by them without profana-
tion. The second court, or that of the Israel-
ites, was surrounded with marble pillars, on
which, as Philo states, was inscribed, in Latin
and Greek, " On penalty of death, let no for-
eigner go farther."

Ch. XXL]

THE ACTS.

253

29 (For they had seen before with him in the city
•Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that
Paul had brought Into the temple.)

30 And *all the city was moved, and the people ran
together : and they took Paul, and drew him out of
the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.

31 And as they went about to Icill him, tidings came
unto the chief captain of the baud, that all Jerusalem
was in an uproar.

.^'2 «VVho immediately took soldiers and centurions,
and ran down unto them: and when they saw the
chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of
Paul.

3:t Then the chief captain came near, and took him,
and ''commanded /lim to be bound with two chains ;
and demanded who be was, and what be bad done.

29 defiled this holy place. For they bad before seen
with him in the city Trophimus the Kphesian,
whom they supposed that Paul had brought into

30 the temple. And all the city was moved, and the
people ran together: and they laid hold on Paul,
and dragged him out of the temple: and straight-

31 way the doors were shut. And as they were seek-
ing to kill him, tidings came up to the ichief cap-
tain of the 'band, that all Jerusalem was in

32 confusion. And forthwith he took soldiers and
centurions, and ran down upon them : and they,
when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers,

33 left off beating Paul. Then the chief captain came
near, and laid hold on him, and commanded him to
be bound with two chains; and inquired who he

aoh. 30: 4. ...6 Ob. 26:21.

.e Ob. 23 : 37 ; 24 : T d ver. II ; cb. 20 : 23. 1 Or, mOUary trihunt Or. ekUUxrch : and M

tbroughout this book.... 2 Or, cohort

29. Had seen before* on some previoua oc-
casion, or possibly had seen away, at a distance
(Mej'.). [In his fourth ed. Meyer adopts the
temporal sense, translating thus : "For there were
people who had before (before they saw the apos-
tle in the temple, v.2t) seen Trophimus with him.^'
— A. H.] In this compound the preposition
refers elsewhere to the future (out of question
here) or to space, not to past time (R. and P.,
Lex.). The retrospective sense lies so near to
the use of before (n-pi), and occurs so readily
here, that we need not scruple to admit it. — For
Trophimus, see on 20 : 4. He was a foreigner
(Ephesian), and not a Jew from Ephesus. —
When they supposed — were supposing — etc.
They had seen Trophimus in the city with him,
and from that rushed to the conclusion that he
had brought Greeks into the temple. " Zelotae
piUantes" says Bengel, "ssepe errant" [" Zealots,
in supposing, often err"].

30. Drew him, etc., or dragged him, out
of the temple, so as not to pollute it with
blood (Olsh., Mey., De Wet.). They had deter-
mined already to kill him. Bengel conjectures
(whom Bmg. follows) that they wished to pre-
vent him from taking refuge at the altar. But
the Mosaic law restricted the right of asylum
to those who had been guilty of accidental
murder. (See Ex. 21 : 13, 14.)— The doors (of
the second court) were closed, probably by
the Levites, who had the care of the temple.
(See the note on 4 : 1.) They may have feared
that the crowd would return or some new dis-
turbance arise.

31-40. THE ROMAN COMMANDER RES-
CUES PAUL FROM THE HANDS OF THE
JEWS.

31. And as they went about, etc., or now
while they are seeking, to kill him. They
were beating him for that purpose. (See v. 32.)
But, as the onset had been sudden and they were
not furnished with weapons, some delay inter- |
veued. It was nothing, in all human appear- 1

ance, but that momentary delay that saved now
the life of the apostle. The Roman officer had
time to appear and snatch him from impending
death. — Tidings came, etc., a report went
up, to the chiliarch of the cohort. (See
his name in 23 : 26.) It was but the work of a
moment to convey to him the information. He
had his station in the Castle of Antonia, which
was on a rock or hill at the north-west angle
of the temple-area. The tower at the south-
east corner of the castle " was seventy cubits
high, and overlooked the whole temple with
its courts. The fortress communicated with
the northern and western porticos of the tem-
ple-area and had flights of stairs descending
into both, by which the garrison could at any
time enter the court of the temple and prevent
tumults" (Bibl. Res., i. p. 432). During the
festivals it was customary to keep the trooja
in readiness to suppress the riots which were so
liable to occur at such times. (Comp. on 10 :
37, and see Jos., Antt., 20. 5. 3 ; Bell. Jud., 5. 5. 8.)
— The Turkish garrison stands at present very
nearly on the site of the old castle. The trav-
eller obtains his best view of the Court of the
Harem, or mosque of Omar, the ancient tem-
ple-area, from the roof of this garrison.

32. Centurions, each with his proper com-
plement of men, The chiliarch ordered out a
force sufficiently large to intimidate all opposi-
tion.— Ran down unto — better upon — them.
To that despatch Paul was indebted for his
escape. Note also immediately. This verb
corresponds to went up, in v. 31. — Now when
they saw the chiliarch, etc. They knew
the consequences too well to run the risk of a
collision with the Roman troops. (See on 19 :
24.)

33. To be bound with two chains — t. e.
to have his arms fastened to two soldiers, one
on each side of him. The mode was described
in the note on 12 : 6. — Who he was— lit. who
he might be, since his name and rank were

254

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXI.

31 And some cried one thing, some another, among
the multitude : and when he could not know the cer-
tainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be car-
ried into the castle.

3.') And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that
he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the
people.

36 For the multitude of the people followed after,
crying, <"Away with him.

37 And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said
unto the chief captain. May I speak unto thee? Who
said, Canst thou speak Greek ?

38 'Art not thou that Kgvptian, which before these
days madest an uproar, and leddest out into tlie wil-
derness four thousand men that were murderers?

34 was, and what he had done. And some shouted
one thing, some another, among the crowd: and
when he could not know the certainty for the up-
roar, he commanded him to be brought into the

35 castle. And when he came upon the stairs, so it
was, that he was borne of the soldiers for the vio-

36 lence of the crowd ; for the multitude of the people
followed after, crying out, Awav with him.

37 And as Paul was about to be brought into the cas-
tle, he saith unto the chief captain. May I say some-
thing unto thee? And he said. Dost thou know

38 Greek ? Art thou not then the Egyptian, who be-
fore tiiese days stirred up to sedition and led out
into the wilderness the four thousand men of the

a Luke 23: 18; John 19: 15; oh. 22 : 22....& See cb. 5 : 36.

uncertain. — And what he has done. The

form of the inquiry presupposes that he had
committed some crime. (W. § 41. 4. c.) He
put the question to the crowd, as the respon-
sive clamor shows in the next verse.

34. Into the castle^ rather (tUo the garrison
or barracks; not the castle as a whole (E. V.),
but the part of it assigned to the soldiers.

35. Upon the stairs which led up to the
castle. On arriving here the crowd pressed on
Paul, so as to awaken the fear of some outrage
or treachery. Some think that he was lifted
off his feet by the throng, and then taken and
carried up ^he stairs. — So it was, or it hap>
pened, that he was borne (in their arms or
on their shoulders) by the soldiers. It
happened is not superfluous. Was borne
alone would have pointed out less distinctly
the peril of his situation, as evinced by their
adopting such a precaution.

36. Now was heard again the shout which
thirty years before surrounded the pr£etorium
of Pilate, "Away with him, away with him "
(Cony, and Hws.). Away with (atpt) is im-
perative present, because followed after (im-
perf ) represents the cry as a continued one.
(See 22 : 22. Comp. away with (ipov), in John
19 : 15, where the aorist precedes.)

37. Canst thou speak Greek? — lit. dost
thou know Greek? The adverb stands in the
place of the object (comp. outw, in 20 : 13), and
to speak is not to be supplied (Kuin.). (Comp.
those understanding Syriac, in Xen., Cyr., 7. 5.
31, and in Latin Grxce nescire. Mey., De Wet.)

38. Art not thou, etc., more precisely, Art
thou not therefore the Egyptian? — i.e. as I
supposed. The negative particle here used (ovie)
indicates an affirmative answer with reference
to the speaker's former state of mind. ( W. § 57.
3.) The commander, on being addressed in
Greek, concludes that he is mistaken ; for it
was notorious (it would seem) that the Egyp-
tian was unable to speak that language. He
could not have drawn that inference solely

from his Egyptian origin, for the Greek was
now spoken more or less in almost every coun-
try.— Of this Egyptian impostor Josephus has
given two different accounts, which need to be
reconciled with each other as well as with Luke.
In his Bell. Jud. (2. 13. 5) he relates that a juggler
(yoj/t), whom he also denominates the Egyp-
tian, having procured for himself the reputa-
tion of a prophet, led a great multitude of
about thirty thousand men out of the desert
to the Mount of Olives, and promised tliem
that the walls of Jerusalem would fall down
at his command ; but Felix fell upon them, the
Egj'ptian fled with a small number — lit. with a
few. Most of his followers were slain or taken
prisoners, and the rest of the crowd (to XoiTrbf
■TtX^doi) dispersed. In his Antt. (20. 7. 6; he
wrote this work later than his Jewish War) he
states that this Egyptian came to Jerusalem,
that he persuaded the populace to go out with
him to the Mount of Olives, where he would
exhibit to them the wonder before mentioned ;
and then he speaks of the attack of Felix, and
in that connection says merely that four hun-
dred of the Egyptian's people were slain and
two hundred were taken captive, without any
further addition. " Here, now," says Tholuck
{Glaubwiirdigkeit, p. 169), "Josephus has in all
appearance contradicted himself in the most
glaring manner ; for in one case the Egyptian
brings the people from the desert to the ilount
of Olives, in the other from Jerusalem ; in the
one case the greater part of thirty thousand
people are slain or taken prisoners, in the other
the number of the slain amounts to only four
hundred — that of the prisoners to only two
hundred. This example serves to illustrate
an important rule of criticism, so often viola-
ted by sceptical writers in relation to the Bible,
and that is that, if the general credibility of
an historian be acknowledged, we are bound
to reconcile an apparent difference by interpre-
tation or combination. The application of this
principle here enables us to view the matter

Ch. XXII.]

THE ACTS.

255

39 But Paul said, "I am a man which am a Jew of
Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city:
and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto tne
people.

40 And when he had given him license, Paul stood
on the stairs, and Reckoned with the hand unto the
people. And when there was made a great silence, he
spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying,

39 Assassins ? But Paul said, I am a .Tew, of Tarsus in
Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city : and I beseech

40 thee, give me leave to speak unto the people. And
when he had given him leave, Paul, standing on
the stairs, beckoned with the hand unto the people;
and when there was made a great silence, he spake
unto them in the Hebrew language, sayiug.

EN, 'brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence
which I make now unto you.

CHAPTER XXII.

1 Brethren and fathers, hear ye the defence which
I now make unto you.

aeb. » : II ; 22 : 3....ft ob. 12 : n....eoh. T : 2.

thus. The man had at first a band of sicani,
and a rabble had also attached themselves to
him; these people he leaves behind on the
Mount of Olives, and leads thither out of Je-
rusalem an additional crowd ; so that the entire
multitude might amount to about thirty thou-
sand men. As usually happens in such cases,
curiosity merely had drawn together most of
them. Only a smaller company belonged to
the train of his followers, and among these
were the sicarii; the attack of the Romans
was directed properly against these, of whom
Felix slew four hundred, and made two hun-
dred prisoners. With a small number — i. e.
with the four thousand of whom Luke speaks — he
escaped into the desert ; the remaining mass —
i. e. the multitude of which the first passage of
Josephus speaks — dispersed. In this or in a
similar way the Jewish historian may be rec-
onciled with himself and with the writer of
the Acts." — Into the desert — viz. between
Egypt and Palestine, as he came from that di-
rection.— The four thousand. The event
was so recent that the precise number was
still known. The same Felix was Procurator
of Judea at this time. (See 23 : 24.) — Marder-
ers, sicarii, assassins, a Latinism. They received
their name from the Roman sica, a curved dag-
ger adapted by its form to be concealed beneath
the clothes; they could use it for striking a
fatal blow in a crowd without being observed.

39. I am a man, etc., as analyzed by Meyer,
contains two clauses : I am indeed (^ef) not
the Egyptian, but a Jew from Tarsus. And
{a), below, can hardly be antithetic. — Cilicia
depends on city; not in apposition with an
implied genitive in of Tarsus (E. V.). — No
meaUf not unnoted. On the contrary, says
Josephus (Antt., 1. 6. 1), the most important
city of all Cilicia. Many of the coins of
Tarsus bear the title of Autononums and Me-
tropolis. (See on 9 : 30.)

40. Paul stood, etc. " What nobler spec-
tacle," exclaims Chrysostom, " than that of
Paul at this moment ! There he stands, bound

with two chains, ready to make his defence to
the people. The Roman commander sits by
to enforce order by his presence. An enraged
populace look up to him from below. Yet in
the midst of so many dangers, how self-pos-
sessed is he, how tranquil !" In the Hebrew
tongue — lit. dialect ; i. e. in the Syro-Chaldaic
or Aramaean, as in John 5:2; 19 : 13. (See
on 6 : 1.) In that language, if he was not more
intelligible to most of his hearers, he could at
least "speak more directly to the hearts of
the people."

1-21. PAUL'S SPEECH ON THE STAIRS
OF THE CASTLE.

1. As we examined Luke's account of Paul's
conversion (9 : i-is) in connection with this ad-
dress, it will be sufficient, for the most part, to
refer the student to the notes there, so far as
the two narratives coincide. I subjoin Mr.
Humphry's introductory paragraph : " Though
the subject-matter of this speech has been re-
lated before, it assumes here a fresh interest
from the manner in which it is adapted to the
occasion and the audience. The apostle is sus-
pected of disaffection to the Mosaic law. In
order to refute this charge, he addresses them
in Hebrew ; he dwells on his Jewish education
and on his early zeal for the law ; he shows how
at his conversion he was guided by Ananias, a
man devout according to the law, and of good
report among the Jews at Damascus, and how
he subsequently worshipped in the temple at
Jerusalem. So far they li.sten to him ; but he
no sooner touches on the promulgation of
the gospel among the heathen (t.2i) than
he is interrupted, and his fate would probably
have been the same as Stephen's, had he not
been under the protection of the Roman cap-
tain."— For brethren and fathers, see on
7 : 2. Some of the rulers mingled with the
crowd, whom Paul knew personally or recog-
nized by some badge of office. Here too (1 : le)
men is complimentary and belongs with that

256

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXIL

2 (And when they beard that he spake in the He-
brew tongue to them, they kept the more silence : and
he saith,)

3 "1 am verily a man whirh am a Jew, born in Tar-
sus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city, *at
the feet of <t;amaliel, and taught ''according to the per-
fect manner of the law of the fathers, and was 'zealous
toward (jod, /as ye all are this day.

4 'And I persecuted this way unto the death, bind-
ing and delivering unto prisons both men and women.

.1 As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and
*a!l the estate of the elders: 'from whom also I re-
ceived letters unto the brethren, and went to Damas-
cus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jeru-
salem, for to be punished.

6 And *it came to pass, that, as I made my journey,

2 And when they heard that he spake unto them in
the Hebrew language, they were the more quiet : and
he saith,

3 I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought
up in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed
according to the strict manner of the law of our
fathers, being zealous for God, even as ye all are

4 this day : and I persecuted this Way unto the death,
binding and delivering into prisons both men and

5 women. As also the high priest doth bear me wit-
ness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom
also I received letters unto the brethren, and jour-
neyed to Damascus, to bring them also that were
there unto Jerusalem in bonds, for to be punished.

6 And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey,

• oh. SI:S*; 1 Cor. 11:22; PUl. S :5....& Deat. 33:3; 2 Kings 1:38; Luke 10 : 39....coh. 5 : Si....(f ch. 26 : S....ech. 21 : 20; Oal.
l:U..../Rom. 10 : 2....y ch. 8 : 3; 28:8, 10, 11; Phil. 3:6; 1 Tim. 1 : 13....A Lnlie 22:66; ch. « : 6....ich. 9 : 2; 26: 10, 12....
t ch. 9 : 3 ; 26 : 12, 13.

force to both nouns. — The pronoun my (^ov)
depends, not on hear (iKovaare ; comp. 1 : 4),

but on defence (airoXoyiat).

3. The common rule would place verily {niv)
after the participle (yeytvyinxivoi, born). [But
the best editors reject this particle (verily) as
an addition to the text of Luke. The sense is
perfect without it, and the MSS. K A B D E and
others do not have it. — A. H.] It stands out of
its place now and then in the best writers. (W.
§ 61. 5.) The opposition lies, evidently, between
Paul's foreign birth and his education at Jeru-
salem. — In, or of, Cilicia depends, not on
city, understood, but on Tarsus under the
rule of possession. (W. ? 30. 2.) — Critics point
this sentence differently. Many of the older
commentators, whom Meyer follows, place the
comma after Gamaliel, instead of city, so as
to bring a participle at the head of the several
clauses. This division promotes the rhythm at
the expense of the sense. The comma should
be put, undoubtedly, after city (Grsb., Lchm.,
De Wet.). Tischendorf follows this punctua-
tion in his second edition [and in his eighth].
At the feet of Gamaliel is appropriate to
taught {irtiraiStvuivoi), but uot to brought up
(avaTe^pofiiievo^), the latter having respect to his
physical growth or progress to manhood ; the
fomjer, to his professional training. Having
been brought up in this city forbids the
supposition that Paul was an adult when he
went to reside at Jerusalem. (Comp., also, 26 :
4.) He must have removed thither from Tar-
sus in his boyhood or early youth. It is sur-
prising that Eichhom and Hemsen should
maintain, in opposition to such evidence, that
Paul did not enter the school of Gamaliel until
the thirtieth year of his age. (See note on 7 :
58.) To be taught at one's feet was a proverbial
expression among the Jews, founded on the fact
that in their schools the teachers, whether they
stood or sat, occupied a higher place than the

pupils, (tichottg., Hor. Hebr., p. 477.) Ac-
cording to the perfect manner = after the
most straitest sect, in 26 : 5. Paul had been
a Pharisee, and in his zeal for Judaism had sur-
passed all the adherents of that sect who had
been students with him under Gamaliel. (See
Gal. 1 : 13.) — The paternal law (woTpwov voftov)

= law of the fathers (vd/xov r!av naTipiov).

(Comp. Ta> narpwio de<fi, in 24 : 14.) — Toward
God — lit. of God. The genitive (deoO) is Uke
the genitive in 21 : 20.

4. This way (i9 : 23) stands concisely for
those of this way. (Comp. 9 : 2.) — Unto the
death, rather unto death. Not the aim merely
(Grot., Mey.), but result, of his persecution.
The facts in the case justify the strongest
sense of the expression. (See v. 20 and 26 :
10.) — Both men and women. (See on
8 : 2.)

5. As also the high priest doth bear me
witness, or testifies ( = is witness), for me
— I. e. the high priest at that time (see on 9 :
1), who was known to be still living. Some
construe the verb incorrectly as future. — Unto
the brethren = to the synagogues, in 9 : 2
— i. e. unto the Jewish rulers of the synagogue,
whom Paul recognizes as brethren (as in v. 1)
to show that he was not hostile to his country-
men or alienated from them (21:28). (Comp.
Rom. 9 : 1, sq.) Was journeying, not went
(E. V.).— To bring, etc.— lit. in order to
bring also those there ; lit. thither, because
the speaker's mind passes from where he is to
them. Not the emigrants thither (Mey., Alf ),
since the Jews had resided there too long to be
viewed in that light. — For to be punished,
or, that they might be punished — viz. by
imprisonment (v.*; 8:3), by stripes (». i9;26:u),
or by death (r. 4 ; s : 1).

6. And it came to pass, etc., or but it
happened to me as I journeyed (the parti-
ciple as imperfect) that, etc.— To me jonr-

Ch. XXII.]

THE ACTS.

25T

and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, sud-
denly there shone from heaven a great light round
about me.

7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying
unto me, Saul, 8aul, why persecutest thou me?

8 And I answered. Who art thou. Lord? And he
said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou per-
secutest.

9 And "they that were with me saw indeed the light,
and were afraid ; but they heard not the voice of him
that spake to me.

10 And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord
said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus ; and there-
it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed
for thee to do.

11 And when I could not see for the glory of that
light, being led by the hand of them that were with
me, 1 came into Damascus.

12 And 'one Ananias, a devout man according to the
law, 'having a good report of all the '*Jews which dwelt
there,

13 Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me,
Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour
I looked up upon him.

and drew nigh unto Damascus, about noon, sud-
denly there slione from heaven a great light round

7 about me. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a
voice saying unto nie, Saul, Saul, why persecutest

8 thou me? And 1 answered. Who art thou. Lord?
And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom

9 thou persecutest. And they that were with me be-
held indeed ihe light, but they heard not the voice

10 of him that .spake to me. And 1 said. What shall I
do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and
go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of

11 all things which are appointed for thee to do. And
when 1 could not see lor the glory of that light, be-
ing led by the hand of them that were with me, I

12 came into Damascus. And one Ananias, a devout
man according to the law, well reported of by all

13 the Jews that dwelt there, came unto me, and stand-
ing by me said unto me. Brother Saul, receive thy
sight. And in that very hour I 'looked up on him.

a Dan. 10: T; oh. >-. 7....ftoh.»: 17....eob. 10: 22.... d 1 Tim. 8 : 7.-

-I Or, received my tight and looked upon him.

neying is not an instance of the dative abso-
lute, but depends on it happened. (Comp. v.
17. W. g 31. 2. R. 2.)— About mid-day. (See on
9:3.) That he should have had such a vision
(a great light) at such an hour made it the
more impossible that he should be deceived. —
For irepi, in TrepicuTTpd^ai, repeated before ii^i, see
on 3 : 2.

7. The first aorist termination (en-eaa), which
is changed in some copies to the second aorist
(eir«<roi'), is an Alexandrian form. (Comp. Gal.
5:4. W. ? 13. 1. a.) Transcribers have prob-
ably altered this termination to the second
aorist in some other passages, as John 6 : 10 ;
Heb. 3 : 17 ; Rev. 7 : 11. For the same form in
the classics, see K. § 154. R. 2 ; B. ? 114.

9. They that were with me = the men
that journeyed Avith him* in 9 : 7. (Comp.
26 : 14.) So those might be described who hap)-
pened to be travelling with Saul in the same
caravan ; but the common view is more correct
— that they are the men who accompanied him
as his assistants. He would need the aid of
others to enable him to convey his prisoners in
safety to Jerusalem (v.s). — But they heard
not) rather but the voice of him who
spoke to me they understood not. For
this translation, see the remarks on 9 : 7.

11. And when, etc., or as now, I saw
not — t. e. anything ; here only without an object.
—For the glory, etc.— lit. from the glory,
splendor — of that light, which was " above the
brightness of the sun." (See 26 : 13.) "The
history (9 : 9) mentions simply the fact of his
' blindness, but the apostle states its cause, as an
eye-witness would naturally do" (Birks, p. 328).'

12. Religious {tvatprji) is the authorized
word, not devout (evAa/3^«). [According to evi-
dence now accessible, the latter instead of the
former is the authorized word. Thus eulabes is
given by K B H L P, and is received into the
text by all the late editors, while eusebes is found
in but one uncial codex, E, and is therefore re-
jected.— A. H.] " The historian (9 : 10) calls An-
anias a disciple ; but the apostle ' a devout man
according to the law, having a good report of
all the Jews who dwelt there.' Such a descrii>-
tion was admirably suited to his immediate
object — to conciliate his audience in every law-
ful way. How consistent it was with the other
account appears from 21 : 20, in the words of
James : ' Thou seest, brother, how many thou-
sands of Jews then are who believe, and they
are all zealous of the law ' " (Birks, p. 329).- That
dwelt — i. e. in Dama.scus.

13. And stood, or standing near, in
order to place his hands upon him. (Comp.
9 : 17.) — The recapitulation here omits tho
vision to Ananias, related so fully in the his-
tory. (Comp. 9 : 10, sq.) The circumstances
of that event were unimportant to the apostle'.^
defence, and would have made his commission
to the Gentiles needlessly prominent at this
stage of his address.— Receive thy sight — lit.
look up and see; and so in the next clause,
I looked up upon him. We are to think
of Paul as sitting there blind, and Ananias
as standing before him (Mey.). The verb
does not vary its meaning, but suggests in the
first instance what it asserts in the second.
The involved idea prevails over the direct one
in such a use as that in 9 : 12.

1 Hotce Apostulicat, by the Rev. T. K. Birks, late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge (London, 1860).
17

258

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXII.

14 And he said, "The God of our fathers 'hath
ehosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and
•see ■'that Just One, and 'shouldest hear the voice of
his mouth.

15 /For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of
rtrhat thou hast seen and heard.

16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be bap-
tized, *and wash away thy sins, ■calling on the name
•f the Lord.

14 And he said, The God of our fathers hath appointed
thee to know his will, and to see the Righteous One,

15 and to hear a voice from his mouth. For thou shalt
be a witness for him uuto all men of what thou hast

IR seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou ? arise,
and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on

a eh. 3:13; 5: SO.... I eh. 9: 15; 26: I6....cl Cor. 9:1; 15 : 8....(i oh. 3 : 14; 7 : 52....e 1 Cor. 11 : 23 ; Qal. 1:11.
23:11. ...ffcb.4:20; 26 : 16....keh. 2 : 38; Heb. 10 : 22....icb. 9 : U; Rom. 10 : 13.

./oh.

14. The God of oar fathers is another of
" those conciliatory touches which mark a real
discourse." — Hath chosen thee* etc., or ap-
pointed (destined, as in 3 : 20) thee, to know

his will, not as to the way of saving men (t. e.
counsel, in 20 : 27), but as to what he was to do
and suffer in his future sphere of labor. (Comp.
9 : 15, 16.) — And to see. (See the last remark
on 9 : 7.) — That Just One, or the Just One, as
in 3 : 14 ; 7 : 52.

15. For thou shalt be his witness, or
a witness for him, unto all men. This is the
reason why Christ had revealed himself to
Paul. (Comp. Gal. 1 : 16.) All men takes the
place of Gentiles and kings and the chil-
dren of Israel, in 9 : 15. The more guarded
phraseology here evinces the tact of the speaker.
Paul would keep back for the present the of-
fensive unto Gentiles, which, when uttered at
length (v. 2i), was the last word the bigoted
Jews would bear from him.— The idea of our
English " martyr " was not attached to witness
(fuiprvp or fiaftrui) till a later period. We see the
word in its progress to that signification in v. 20
and Rev. 17 : 6. Toward the close of the second
century it had become so honorable a title that
the Christians at Lyons who had been con-
demned to suffer torture or death, fearful that
they might waver in the moment of extremity,
refused to be called " martyrs." " This name,"
said they, "properly belongs only to the true
and faithful Witness, the Prince of life, or at
least only to those whose testimony Christ has
sealed by their constancy to the end. We are
but poor, humble confessors — i. e. omoAoyoi."
(Euseb., Hist., 5. 2.) — Of which (iv) instead
of which (a), required by the verb, arises from
the suppressed those things {iKtivwv) after wit-
ness. [Tlie full expression would therefore be
of those th ings which thou hast seen and heard. The
English what represents both the demonstrative
and relative — viz. that which or those things which
— and so gives the implied as well as the ex-
pressed meaning of the Greek. — A. H.]

16. Arise stands opposed to tarriest thou
— t. e. without delay. (See on 9 : 18.) — Be bap-
tized, or, with a stricter adherence to the

form, have thyself baptized (De Wet.).
One of the uses of the middle is to express
an act which a person procures another to
perform for him. (W. §38. 3; K. 250. R.
2.) This is the only instance in which the
verb occtrs in this voice with reference to
Christian baptism. In the analogous case
(i Cbr. 10 : 2) the reading is middle or passive
[with a considerable predominance of author-
ity in favor of the passive. — A. H.]. — And
wash (bathe) away thy sins. This clause
states a result of the baptism in language de-
rived from the nature of that ordinance. It
answers to for the remission of sins, in 2 :
38 — i. e. submit to the rite in order to be for-
given. In both passages baptism is represented
as having this importance or efficacy, because
it is the sign of the repentance and faith which
are the conditions of salvation. (Comp. ye are
washed, in 1 Cor. 6 : 11.) [Baptism represents the
new or spiritual birth by which the subject of
it enters on a life of trust in Christ and peace
with God, or, more exactly, by which he has
entered upon this new life. For this entrance
upon the new life must, in the order of time,
precede the ritual act by which it is voluntarily
confessed. Hence, as a matter of fact, every
proper subject of baptism is already a believer
in Christ, regenerate, forgiven, cleansed, and
baptism simply bears witness, by a solemn
emblematic rite, of that which has been done
for and by the candidate in his spiritual rela-
tions to God. " When any declaration or ser-
vice is the appointed means of professing faith
or obedience, making such profession or per-
forming such service is said to secure the bless-
ings which are promised to the faith thereby
professed" (Hodge). The spiritual facts are
pictured, as it were, and so acknowledged, by
the significant ordinance prescribed by the
Lord. — A. H.] The sort of outward washing
expressed by this verb has been noticed on
16 : 33. Hence, there can be no question as
to the mode of baptism in this instance; for
if it be maintained that baptisai is uncertain in
its meaning, a definition is added in apolousai
which removes the doubt.— Calling on the

Ch. XXII.]

THE ACTS.

259

17 And "it came to pass, that, when I was come again
to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was
in a trance ;

18 And 'saw him saying unto me, "Make haste, and
get thee quickly out of Jerusalem : for they will not
receive thy testimony concerning nie.

19 And I said, I>ord, ''they know that I imprisoned
and *beat in every synagogue them that believed on
thee:

20 /And when the blond of thy martyr Stephen was
shed, I also was standing by, and ^consenting unto his^
death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.

21 And he said unto me, Depart: *for 1 will send
thee far hence unto the Gentiles.

22 And they gave him audience unto this word, and
then lifted up their voices, and said, 'Away with such
n fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that *he should
live.

17 his name. And it came to pass, that, when I had
returned to Jerusalem, and while I prayed in the

18 temple, I fell into a trance, and saw him raying
unto me. Make haste, and get thee quickly out of
Jerusalem : because they will not receive of thee

19 testimony concerning me. And 1 said. Lord, they
themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in

20 every svnagogue them that believed on thee : and
when tne blood of Stephen thy witness was shed, I
also was standing by, and consenting, and keeping

21 the garments of them that slew him. And he said
unto me. Depart: for I will send thee forth far
hence unto the Gentiles.

22 And they gave him audience unto this word ; and
they lifted up their voice, and said. Away with such
a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that ha

aoh. »:26; 2 Cor. 12 : 2....» rer. 14....oUaU. 10: 14.... d ver. 4; oh. 8:3..

Rom. 1 : 32 A cb. 9 : 1& ; 13 : 2, 46, 47 ; 18 : 6 ; 26 : 17 ; Bom. 1 : 6 ; 11 : 13 ;

2 Tim. 1 : 11 icb. 21 : 36....ii:cb. 25 : 24.

..eHatt. 10:I7..../ch. 7:58....a Luke 11: 48; eb. 8:1)
15 : 16; Oal. 1 : 15, 16; 2:7, 8; Eph. 3 : 7, 8; 1 Tim. 2 : 7;

name of the Lord« or on his name. His name
supplies essentially the place of in, or upon,
the name of Jesus Christ, in 2 : 38. (See

the note on that clause.) The Lord after
name has much less support than his. The
pronoun can refer only to Christ. (Comp. on
9 : 14.)

17. For this journey to Jerusalem, see on 9 :
10. — It happened (iyivtro) governs to me
(moi), as in v. 6. — In while I prayed the con-
struction changes to the genitive absolute. On
account of this intervening clause, the accus-
ative (fie) accompanies was (yei'/o-.Jat), though
happened, or came to pass {iy^vtTo), has the
same logical subject. (See on 15 : 23. W. § 44.
3.) — On trance, or ecstasy, see 10 : 10. Some,
as Schott, Wieseler, and others, would identify
this "ecstasy" with the vision to which Paul
alludes in 2 Cor. 12 : 2, and would establish by
this coincidence the date of the composition of
that Epistle. But as the apostle had so many
similar revelations in the course of his life, and
as the character of this vision is so unlike that
described in 2 Cor. 12 : 2, the conjecture that
they are the same must be pronounced vague
and improbable.

18. Quickly accords with Gal. 1 : 18. On
this first visit Paul remained at Jerusalem but
fifteen days, and received this command, prob-
ably, on one of the last of them. In that pas-
sage of the Epistle the apostle says nothing
respecting this vision in the temple, as it was
sufficient for his object to mention the reason
for this journey thither and the brevity of his
stay. — For, or because, they (viz. his uncon-
verted countrymen) will not receive thy tes-
timony— i. e. although he should continue to
declare it to them. (See the note on 9 : 30.)

19. I said, etc. The apostle states the rea-
son here why he supposed Jerusalem to be his
proper field of labor. His history as a con-

verted blasphemer and persecutor was noto-
rious in that city; the testimony of such a
man might be expected to have more weight
among those who had witnessed the change in
his character than among those to whom his
previous life was unknown.

20. Of thy witness, not martyr (E. V.).
(See on v. 15.) — I also, or then (see on 1 : iO),
I myself. — In respect to consenting, see the
note on 8 : 1. Unto his death the critical
editions of the text omit or put in brackets.
It is probably an addition from 8 : 1. — On kept,
etc. (^uAa<r<r<oi', K. T. A.), See 7 : 58.

21. Depart is present, because he was to
obey at once. He proceeded to Syria and Ci-
licia (9 : 30 and Gal. 1 : 21), and remained there three
or four years before his arrival at Antioch. (See
on 9 : 30.) As he was ordered to leave Jerusa-
lem because God would send him to the Gen-
tiles, we may infer (though this is not the com-
mon opinion) that he preached to heathen as
well as Jews during his sojourn in those re-
gions. (See note on 13 : 3.) — " Paul relates this
vision to show," as Alford remarks, " that his
own inclination and praj'^er had been that he
miglit preach the gospel to his own people, but that
it was by the imperative command of the Lord
himself that he went to the Gentiles."

22-29. PAUL PLEADS HIS ROMAN CIT-
IZENSHIP, AND ESCAPES THE TORTURE.

22. Gave him audience, continued to hear.
— Unto this word — viz. that God would send
him to the heathen. — Away with (alpt) is
present, because it was a repeated cry. (See on
21 : 37.)— For the article with such a one, the
one such as he, see on 19 : 25. — For it was
not fit he should live, imperfect, because he
had forfeited life long ago. (W. ?41.2.) Mej'er
refers the past tense to the chiliarch's interfe-
rence : he ought not to have rescued the man,
but should have left him to his fate. Some

260

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXIL

23 And as they cried out, and cast off Iheir clothes,
and threw dust into the air,

l!4 The chief captain commanded him to be brought
into the castle, and bade that he should be examined
by scourging; that he might know wherefore tliey
cried so against him.

25 And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said
unto the centurion that stood by, "Is it lawful for you
to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?

26 When the centurion heard thai, he went and told

23 should live. And as they cried out, and threw off

24 their garments, and cast dust into the air, the chief
captain commanded him to be brought into the
castle, bidding that he should be examined by
scourging, that he might know for what cause they

25 so shouted against him. And when they had tied
him up 'with the thongs, I'aul said unto the cen-
turion that stood by. Is it lawful for you to scourge

26a man that is a Komau, and uncondemned? And

-1 Or, /or

copyists, stumbling, apparently, at the imper-
fect, wrote is not fit {^Ka^Kov or (cai>^K«i).

23. The Greek translated cast off their
clothes means, not throwing off their garments
as a preparation for stoning Paul (Grot., Mey.)
— for he was now in the custody of the Roman
captain — ^but throwing them up, tossing them
about, as a manifestation and an effect of their
incontroUable rage. Their casting dust into
the air was an act of tiie same character.
This mode of demonstrating their feelings was
suited, also, to inflame the populace still more,
and to impress the tribune with the necessity
of conceding something to their demands. Sir
John Chardin, as quoted by Harmer,i says that
it is common for the peasants in Persia, when
they have a complaint to lay before their gov-
ernors, to repair to them by hundreds or a
tliousand at once ; they place themselves near
the gate of the palace, where they suppose they
are most likely to be seen and heard, and there
set up a horrid outcry, rend their garments, and
throw dust into the air, at the same time de-
manding justice.

24. Commanded him, etc. It is not sur-
prising that the chiliarch gave this order. He
had been unable to follow Paul's address, on
account of his ignorance of the language ; and,
witnessing now this renewed outburst of rage,
he concludes that the prisoner must have given
occasion for it by some flagrant offence, and de-
termines, therefore, to extort a confession from
him. — And bade, or directing, that he should
be examined by scourges. The plural re-
fers to the blows or lashes of the scourge. It
was proposed to torture him into an acknow-
leflgment of his supposed crime. — That he
might know, ascertain. — They cried so
against him, better were so crying out
against him, not cried (E. V.).

25. And as they bound him with thongs
has received two different explanations. Some, as
De Wette, Meyer, Robinson, render But as they
(sc. the soldiers ; see on v. 29) stretched him forth
for the thongs — i. e. for the scourge, which con-
sisted sometimes of two or more lashes or cords.

They placed the apostle in an upright posture,
so as to expose him more fully to the blows, or
caused him to lean forward, in order to receive
them more effectually. The stripes, it will bo
remembered, were inflicted on the naked back.
(See 16 : 22.) Others translate they stretched him
forth with the thongs, against a block or pillar —
i. e. bound him to it with them — preparatory to
his being scourged. The article in this case
would designate the thongs as those which it
was customary to use on such occasions.
Bottger (Schauplalz, pp. 3-6), who advocates the
view last stated, deduces a strong confirmation
of it from v. 29. It is said that the chiliarch
feared when he ascertained that Paul was a
Roman citizen, because he had bound him ; but
that fear could not relate to the command in
21 : 33, for he kept Paul in chains until the
next day (v. so), and Felix left him still in that
condition at the expiration of his term of office
(24 : 27). It was uot Contrary to the Roman laws
for a magistrate to bind a criminal or suspected
person for safekeeping, although he was known
to be a Roman citizen ; and hence it is difficult
to see what can be meant by had bound, in v.
29, unless it be the binding connected with the
scourging to which the commander had ordered
Paul to be subjected. That was an outrage
which was not to come near the person of a
Roman even after condemnation ; the inflic-
tion of it, on the part of a judge or magistrate,
exposed him to the severest penalty. (Wdsth.
concurs in this view.) Several critics (e. g.
Kuin., Olsh.) render the verb (irpoireivav) de-
livered, consigned — i. e. to the scourge — which
is too vague for so specific a term. — Unto the
centurion standing there, etc., having
charge of the inquisition. It was the custom
of tlie Romans to commit the execution of
such punishments to that class of officers.
(Comp. Mark 15 : 39.)— And (that too) un-
condemned, without previous trial. (See on
16 : 37.)

26. The word rendered take heed in the
English Version, Griesbach and others omit,
after decisive authorities. It was added, ap-

* ObserveUions, vol. iv. p. 203.

Ch. XXII.]

THE ACTS.

261

the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest :
for this man is a Roman.

27 Then the chief captain came, and said unto him,
Tell me, art thou a Roman ? He said. Yea.

28 And the chief captain answered. With a great
sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said. But 1
was free born.

29 Then straightway they departed from him which
should have examined him: and the chief captain
also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman,
and because he had bound him.

when the centurion heard it, he went to the chief
captain, and told him, saying, What art thou about

27 to do ? for this man is a Roman. And the chief
captain came, and said unto him. Tell me, art thou

28 a Roman ? And he said. Yea. And tlie chief cap-
tain answered, With a great sum obtained I this
citizenship. And Paul said. Rut I am a Rmmin

29 bom. They then who were about to examine him
straightway departed from him : and the chief cap-
tain also was afraid, when he knew that he was a
Roman, and because he bad bound him.

parently, to give more point to the caution. —
For this man is a Roman. It may excite
surprise that the centurion believed Paul's word
so readily. We have the explanation of this in
the fact that a false claim of this nature was eas-
ily exposed and liable to be punished with death.
(Suet., Olaud., c. 25.) It was almost an unprece-
dented thing that any one was so foolhardy as
to assert the privilege without being entitled to it.

27. Tell me, etc. He asks the question,
not from any doubt of Paul's veracity, but in
order to have the report confirmed from his
own lips, and at the same time to elicit an ex-
planation of so unexpected a fact. The inquiry
indicates his surprise that a man in Paul's situ-
ation should possess a privilege which he him-
self had procured at such expense.

28. With a great sum, /or a great sum. It
has been inferred from this circumstance, and
from his name, that Lysias was a Greek. It
was very common under the emperors to ob-
tain the rights of citizenship in this way.
Havercamp says, in a note on Josephus {Antt.,
1. p. 712), that a great many Jews in Asia
Minor were Roman citizens at this time who
had purchased that rank. It did not always
require great wealth to procure it. A few years
earlier than this, in the reign of Claudius, " the
rights of Roman citizenship were sold by Mes-
salina and the freedmen with shameless indif-
ference to any purchaser, and it was currently
said that the Roman civitas {Diet, of Antt., s. v.)
might be purchased for two cracked drinking-
cups." — Also [not represented in the Eng. Ver.]
connects the fact of his freedom with its origin.
— I was free-born, or / was born a Roman —
t. e. he had inherited his rights as a Roman
citizen. In what way the family of Paul ac-
quired this distinction is unknown. Many of
the older commentators assert that Tarsus en-
joyed the full privileges of citizenship, and that
Paul possessed them as a native of Tarsus. But
that opinion (advanced still in some recent
works) is certainly erroneous. The passages in
the ancient writers which were supposed to con-
firm it are found to be inconclusive ; they prove

that the Romans freed the inhabitants of Tar-
sus from taxation, allowed them to use their
own laws, and declared their city the metropolis
of Cilicia, but they afiford no proof that the Ro-
mans conferred on them the birthright of Ro-
man citizenship. Indeed, the opinion to that
effect, could it be established, so far from sup-
porting Luke's credibility, would bring it into
question ; for it is difficult to believe that the
chiliarch, after being told that Paul was a citi-
zen of Tarsus (21 : 39), would have ordered him
to be scourged, without any further inquiry as
to his rank. It only remains, therefore, that
Paul's father or some one of his ancestors must
have obtained Roman citizenship in some one
of the different ways in which foreigners could
obtain that privilege. It was conferred often aa
a reward for fidelity to the Roman interest or
for distinguished military services ; it could be
purchased, as was mentioned above ; or it could
be acquired by manumission, which, when ex-
ecuted with certain forms, secured the full im-
munities of freedom to the emancipated. In
which of these modes the family of Paul be-
came free can only be conjectured. Some adopt
one supposition; some, another. Nothing is
certain beyond the iact that Paul inherited his
citizenship.

29. Which should have examined him
are soldiers who aided the centurion (».26).
Luke does not mention the command of Lysias
which caused them to desist so promptly. —
After he knew, or having ascertained,
that he is a Roman. "Ilia vox et implo-
ratio, ' Civis Romanus sum,' quae sa;pe multis,
in ultimis terris, opem inter barbaros et salutem
tulit " [" That voice and outcry, ' I am a Roman
citizen,' which often to many in the most dis-
tant lands among barbarians has brought help
and safety "!,' proved itself effectual also in this
instance. — Because he had bound him.
Those who understand this of his having
ordered him to be chained, in 21 : 33, must
suppose that his present fear was very tran-
sient. Loosed, in v. 30, shows that Paul was
kept in chains during the night.

> Cic. in Verr. Act., 2. 6. 67.

262

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXIII.

30 On the morrow, because he would have known
the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews,
he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the
chief priests aud all their council to appear, and
brought Paul down, and set him before them.

30 But on the morrow, desiring to know the cer-
tainty, wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he
loosed him, and commanded the chief priests and
all the council to come together, and brought Paul
down, and set him before them.

CHAPTER XXIII.

AND Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said. Men
attd brethren, 'I have lived in all good conscience
before (iod until this day.

2 And the high priest Ananias commanded them that
stood by him 'to smite him on the mouth.

1 And Paul, looking stedfastly on the council, said.
Brethren, I have lived before God in all good con-

2 science until this day. And the high priest Ananias
commanded them tfiat stood by him to smite him

a ch. 24:16; 1 Cor. 4:4; 2 Cor. 1:12; 4:2; 2 Tim. 1:3; Ueb. 13 : 18....i 1 Klnga 22 : 24; Jer. 20:2; John 18 : 22.

30. PAUL IS EXAMINED BEFORE THE
SANHEDRIM.

30. For the use of the article (t6) before the
interrogative clause, see on v. 21. — Wherefore
he was accused of the Jews, or why he is
accused on the part of the Jews, not directly
or formally, but, in point of fact, by their perse-
cution of him, their clamor for his death. On
the part of (napa) is a more exact preposition for
this sense (W. § 47. p. 327) than by (uwd), which
has taken its place in some manuscripts, [vwo
is sustained by superior manuscript testimony,
N A B C E, and is given in all the late critical
editions of the Greek Testament. The action
of the Jews was virtually an accusation made
by them against Paul. The dii)lomatic evi-
dence need not be overruled. — A. H.] Some
have joined of, or from, the Jews with to
know the certainty, etc., as if it could not fol-
low a passive verb. — From his bands, after
loosed, expands the idea, and was added to
the text probably for that purpose. It is des-
titute of critical support.— Having brought
down Paul, from his prison in the castle (see
on 21 : 31) to the lower place where the San-
hedrim assembled. According to Jewish tra-
dition, that body transferred its sittings at
length from Gazith, an apartment in the inner
temple (see on 6 : 13), to a room on Mount
Zion, near the bridge over the Tyropceon. It
was here, probably, that the Council met at this
time; for Lysias and his soldiers would not
have presumed to enter the sacred part of the
temple. The Romans conceded to the Jews
the right of putting any foreigner to death who
passed the forbidden limits. (Comp. on 21 : 28.
See Lewin, ii. p. 672.^)

1-10. PAUL'S SPEECH BEFORE THE
JEWISH COUNCIL.
1. In, better with, all good conscience,

DT, more strictly, consciousness — i. e. of integrity

and sincerity. (See on 20 : 21.) — I have lived
unto God — i. e. for his service and glory ; da-
tive of the object. (See Rom. 14 : 18 ; Gal. 2 :
19.) The "crb refers to his conduct in all re-
spects, not specially to his political or civil rela-
tions. (Comp. let your manner of life he worthy
of the gospel (Rev. Ver.), in Phil. 1 : 27.)— Until,
or ninto, this day, from the time that he be-
came a Christian. As his conduct before his
defection from Judaism was not in question
now, he had no occasion to speak of that part
of his life, though he could claim in some sense
to have acted conscientiously even then. (See
26 : 9.)

2. The high priest Ananias. This An-
anias is to be distinguished from the Annas, or
Ananus, of whom we read in 4 : 6, Luke 3 : 2,
and John 18 : 13. He is unquestionably, says
Winer {Realw., i. p. 57), the son of Nebedaeus,
who obtained the office of high priest, under
the Procurator Tiberius Alexander, in the year
A. D. 48, and was the immediate successor of
Camydus, or Camithus (Jos., Antt., 20. 5. 2).
He filled this office also under the Procurator
Cumanus, but, having been implicated in a
dispute between the Jews and the Samaritans,
he was sent by the Syrian propraetor to Rome,
in A. D. 52, in order to defend himself before the
Emperor Claudius. The subsequent history of
Ananias is obscure. He either lost his office in
consequence of this jouniey, or, which is more
probable (Jos., Antt., 20. 6. 3), he was acquitted,
and continued to officiate as high priest until he
was superseded by Ismael, son of Phabi, just
before the departure of Felix from Judea. In
the latter case, says the same writer, he was the
actual high priest at the time of the occurrence
related here, and is called high priest on that
account, and not because he had formerly held
the office or because he occupied it during a
vacancy.— Those who stood near to him,
not members of the Council or spectators, but
the servants in attendance. (See on 4 : 1.) — To
strike his mouth. The mouth must be shut

> The JA/e and Epistles of St. Paul, by Thomas Lewin of Trinity College, Oxford (1851).

Ch. XXIII.]

THE ACTS.

263

3 Then said Paul unto him, God sliall smite thee,
Ikou whited wall : for sittest thou to judge me after the
law, and ocommandest me to be smitten contrary to
the law?

4 And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's
high priest?

5 Then said Paul, >I wist not, brethren, that he was
the high priest : for it is written, 'Thou shalt not speak
evil of the ruler of thy people.

3 on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, God shall
smite thee, thou whited wall : and sittest thou to
judge me according to the law, and commandest me

4 to be smitten contrary to the law ? And they that

5 stood by said, Hevilest thou God's high priest? And
Paul said, 1 knew not, brethren, that he was high

priest - for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil

a Lev. 19: 35; Deut. 2&: 1, 2; John 7 :&I....teh. 24: IT o Ex. 22 : 28; Ecclea. 10: 20; 2 Pet. 2-10; Jade 8.

that uttered such a declaration. It was not to
be endured that a man arraigned there as an
apostate from the religion of his fathers should
assert his innocence. This mode of enjoining
silence is practised in the East at the present
day. "As soon as the ambassador came," says
a traveller in Persia, " he punished the principal
offenders by causing them to be beaten before
him ; and those who had spoken their minds too
freely he smote upon the mouth with a shoe."
He relates another instance : " ' Call the Fer-
asches,' exclaimed the king ; ' let them beat the
culprits until they die.' The Ferasches ap-
peared and beat them violently, and when
they attempted to say anything in their de-
fence, they were struck on the mouth." *

3. God shall smite thee. The apostle
declares in terms suggested by the outrage that
God would punish the author of the brutal in-
sult ; he does not imprecate vengeance on him
or predict that he would die by violence. As
Ananias was killed by an assassin (Jos., Bell.
Jrid., 2. 17. 9), some have supposed Paul's lan-
guage to prefigure such an end. — Thou whited
wall — i. e. hypocrite, because, as stated in the
next clause, he did one thing while he pro-
fessed another. For the origin of the expres-
sion, see Matt. 23 : 27. The Jews painted their
sepulchres white, so as not to defile themselves
by coming unexpectedly in contact with them ;
hence they were fair to the eye, while they were
full of inward corruption. (Jahn's ArchasoL,
§207.) — For sittest thou, etc. — lit. and dost
thou sit? etc. (The verb is a later form for
Kd&ri(rai. Lob., Ad Phryn, p. 358.) And con-
forms here to its use in questions designed to
bring out the inconsistency of another's views
or conduct. (Comp. Mark 4 : 13 ; Luke 10 : 29.
K. §321. R. 1.)— To Judge, etc. Judging me
according to the law states what was true
of him in theory; transgressing the law,
what was true in point of fact.

5. I did not know, at the moment, bear
in mind (Bng., Wetst., Kuin., Olsh., Wdsth.).
(Comp. the use of this verb in Eph. 6:8; Col.
3 : 34.) Some understand that Paul did not know
— was ignorant— that Ananias was now the high

priest, a possible ignorance, certainly, since he
had been absent from the country so long, and
the high priest was changed so frequently at
that period. On the contrary, if the high
priest presided on such occasions or wore an
official dress, Paul could tell at a glance who
that dignitary was, from his position or his
costume. But this view is liable to another
objection : it renders the apostle's apology for
his remark irrelevant, since he must have per-
ceived, from the presence of Ananias, that he
was at least one of the rulers of the people, and
entitled to respect on account of his station.
[A few interpreters (including Alford and Far-
rar) have thought it possible to account for
Paul's language on this occasion by assuming
that his eyesight was so imperfect as to prevent
his recognizing persons at a little distance from
himself. In support of this hypothesis, they
refer — (1) to his total blindness, occasioned by
the intense light which shone from heaven at
the time of his conversion (9 : s), and to the
probability that his eyes did not fully recover
from the effect of that light. But his sight was
restored by miracle (9 is), and therefore, we
naturally infer, fully restored. (2) To his
noteworthy habit of looking very earnestly at
the persons whom lie was about to address
(13 : 9; 14 : 9; 23 : i) — a habit which may have been
due to imperfect vision. Yet this habit is so
natural, and so often observed in public speak-
ers, that it cannot be trusted as a proof of im-
paired sight. (3) To his words in Gal. 4 : 15 :
" For I bear you witness, that, if possible, ye
would have plucked out your eyes and given
them to me." But Alford, after examination,
remarks : " The inference, then, of any ocular
disease from these words themselves seems to
me precarious." (4) To the possibility that
acute ophthalmia may have been " the thorn in
his flesh" from which Paul sought relief in
vain ( J Cor. ij : T, 8) . (The ablest argument for
this view is in The Life and Work of St. Paul,
by Canon Farrar, vol. i. Excursus X.) But,
whatever may be thought of Paul's thorn in
the flesh, the view that the apostle made no
mistake in this instance, but continued to speak

1 Morier's Second Journey through Ftrtia, pp. 8^ 94.

264

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXIII.

6 But when Paul perceived that the one part were
Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the
council, Men and brethren, «I am a I'harisee, the son
of a l^harisee : 'of the hopie and resurrection of the
dead 1 am called in question.

7 And when he had so said, there arose a dissension
between the I^harisees and the Sadducees: and the
multitude was divided.

8 'VoT the Sadducees say that there is no resurrec-
tion, neither augel, nor spirit but the Pharisees con-
Cess both.

6 of a ruler of thy people. But when Paul perceived
that the one part were Sadducees, and the other
Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Brethren, 1
am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees: touching the
hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in

7 Question. And when he had so said, there arose a
dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees:

8 and the assembly was divided. Kor the Sadducees
say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor

aoh. 26:»; FbU.S :&....& oh. 24: 15, 31; 36:6; 28 : 10. . . .e Matt. 32 : 23 ; Hark 12: 18; Luke 20 : 2T.

m a spirit and tone of holy indignation, seems
to be the best chie to an interpretation of his
language. — A. H.] Others think that Paul
spoke ironically, meaning that he did not
know or acknowledge such a man as high
priest (Mey., Bmg.). The sarcasm so covertly
expressed would not have been readily under-
stood, and the appeal to Scripture in that state
of mind becomes unmeaning, not to say ir-
reverent.— For it is written connects itself
with an implied thought Otherwise I shotdd
not have so spoken, for it is written — viz
in Ex. 22: 28. The passage applies to any
civil magistrate, as well as to the high priest.
Paul admits that he had been thrown off his
guard; the insult had touched him to the
quick, ?rd he had spoken rashly. But what
can surpass the grace with which he recovered
his self-possession, the frankness with which
he acknowledged his error ? If his conduct in
yielding to the momentary impulse was not
that of Christ himself under a similar provoca-
tion (John 18 : 22, 23), Certainly the manner in which
he atoned for his fault was Christlike.

6. But when Paul perceived, etc. Nean-
der: " In order to secure the voice of the ma-
jority among his judges, Paul availed himself
of a measure for promoting the triumph of the
truth which has been oftener employed against
it — the divide et impera in a good sense : in order
to produce a division in the assembly, he ad-
dressed himself to the interest for the truth
which a great part of his judges acknowledged,
and by which they really approached nearer to
him than the smaller number of those who
denied it. He could say with truth that he
stood there on trial because he had testified of
the hope of Israel and of the resurrection of
the dead ; for he had preached Jesus as the
One through whom this hope was to be ful-
filled. This declaration had the effect of unit-
ing the Pharisees present in his favor, and of
involving them in a violent dispute with the
Sadducees. The fonner could find no fault
with him. If he said that the spirit of a de-
ceased person or that an angel had appeared
to him, no one could impute that to him as a

crime; what he meant by this, and whether
what he alleged was true or not, they did not
trouble themselves to decide." — Of the hope,
etc., strictly for hope's sake and (that) a
resurrection of the dead (Mey,, De Wet.)
— i. e. by hendiadys, the hope of the resurrection
(Kuin., Olsh.). The first mode of stating it
analyzes the grammatical figure.

7. There arose a dissension, difference
of views respecting Paul's case. (See on 15 : 2.)
— As the effect of this difference, the multi-
tude was divided, took opposite sides.

8. That there is no resurrection, nor
angel or t^pirit. (See Mark 12 : 18.) Nor
(/t>}6<) adds a second denial to the first, while
or (fx^T«) expands this denial into its parts.
(See W. § 55. 6.) [It should, however, be re-
marked that Lach., Tsch., Treg., West, and
Hort, and the Anglo-Am. Revisers adopt the
reading ji^re — nijTe = neither — nor. This text is
supported by X A B C E. — A. H.] Josephus
confinns this statement as to the belief of the
Sadducees. In one place {BeU. Jud., 2. 8. 14)
he says that " the Sadducees reject the perma-
nence or existence of the soul after death, and
the rewards and punishments of an invisible
world;" and in another place {Antt., 18. 1.4),
that " the Sadducees hold that the souls of men
perish with their bodies." The Talmudists
and other Jewish writers make the same rep-
resentation.— Confess both — i. e. according
to the above analysis, a resurrection and the
reality of spiritual existences, whether angels
or the souls of the departed. Josephus be-
longed to the sect of the Pharisees, and he rep-
resents their opinion to have been " that souls
have an immortal vigor, and are destined to be
rewarded or punished in another state accord-
ing to the life here, as it has been one of virtue
or vice , that the good will be permitted to live
again (i. e. in another body on the earth), and
that the wicked will be consigned to an eternal
prison " (Antt., 18. 1. 3). " There was a variety
of opinions concerning the resurrection," says
Biscoe, " among the Pharisees or traditionary
Jews. In this account of it, which resembles
the heathen idea of transmigration, Josephus,

Ch. XXIII.]

THE ACTS.

265

9 And there arose a great cry : and the scribes thai
were of the I'harisees' part arose, and strove, saying,
"We find no evil in this man : but *if a spirit or an
angel hath spoken to him, <let us not fignt against
God.

10 And when there arose a great dissension, the
chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been
pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to
go down, and to take him by force from among them,
and to bring At'nt into the castle.

11 And "'the night following the Lord stood by him,
and said. Be of good cheer, Paul : for as thou hast tes-
tified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness
also at Rome.

12 And when it was day, "certain of the Jews banded
together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying
that they would neither eat nor drink till they had
killed Paul.

9 spirit: but the Pharisees confess both. And there
arose a great clamor : and some of the scribes of the
Pharisees' part stood up, and strove, saying. We find

-^ no evil in tnis man : and what if a spirit hath spoken

10 to him, or an angel 7 And when there arose a great
dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should
be torn in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers
to godowu and take him by force from among them,
and bring him into the castle.

tl And the night following the Lord stood by him,
and said, Be of good cheer : for as thou hast testified
concerning me at Jerusalem, so must thou bear wit-
ness also at Home.

12 And when it was day, the Jews banded together,
and bound themselves under a curse, saying that
they would neither eat nor drink till they had

aob. 35:25; 28 : 81. ...6 eh. 2] : 7, IT, 18... .eoh. 5 : 39.. ..deb. 18 : 9; 2T : 3S, 34....aTeri. 21, 80; eh. 25:8.

as I apprehend, has given us that which comes
nearest to his own belief, or which he was in-
clined to have the Greek philosophers under-
stand to be his own. For he is accused by
learned men — and certainly not without rea-
son— of sometimes accommodating the Jewish
revelation to the sentiments of the heathen, or
bringing it as near to what was taught by them
as might be."

9. The scribes, etc., the scribes of the
party of the Pharisees, contended, dis-
puted violently. They appear as the champions
of their party, because they were the men of
learning and accustomed to such debates. —
But if a spirit spoke to him, or an an>
gel. Undoubtedly, a designed aposiopesis. A
significant gesture or look toward the Saddu-
cees expressed what was left unsaid — that is
not an impossible thing, the matter then as-
sumes importance, or something to that effect.
(See W. ? 64. II.) For other examples of apo-
siopesis, see Luke 19 : 42 and 22 : 42. Some
maintain that the sentence is incomplete, be-
cause the remainder was unheard amid the
tumult that now ensued. The common text
supplies let us not fight against God as the
apodosis ; but the testimonies require us to re-
ject that addition. It was suggested, probably,
by fighting against Qod, in 5 : 39.

10. Lest Paul, etc., strictly lest Paul
should be pulled in pieces by them, as
the parties struggled to obtain possession of
him, their object being, on the one side, to
protect him ; and on the other, to maltreat or
kill him. — The soldiers, or the soldiery,
some of the troops stationed in the castle. (See
V. 27.) — Observe the collateral and (re) before
to bring (iyeiv), since the rescue and the con- j
veyance to the garrison are parts of the same !
order. [Paul's stratagem — if it may be so called '
— was perfectly right ; for he was in the presence I
of men who knew, or ought to have known, ;

the substance of Christian doctrine, and he
simply called their attention to a fundamental
part of that doctrine. He reminded the mem-
bers of the Great Council that in proceeding
against him they were assailing a bold defender
of truth which many of them held to be of
vital importance. This it was proper for the
Pharisees to consider before they gave their
voice against the accused. And if it was a
matter which they ought to consider, it was
one which he might fitly press upon their at-
tention. If reflection led them to oppose the
other members of the Sanhedrim, and thus to
prevent a criminal act, so much the better for
him and for them. The words of Paul in v. 6
should be compared with 1 Cor. 15 : 12-20, where
the apostle assigns its place to the doctrine of
the resurrection. If he could write thus to
Christians, why could he not speak in a sim-
ilar strain to the adversaries of Christ? —
A. H.]

11-15. A CONSPIRACY OF THE JEWS
TO SLAY PAUL.

11. The Lord — i. e. Christ. — Be of good
cheer, be courageous still. The tense is
present. Though he had not b^un to de-
spond, he was on the eve of trials which
would expose him to that danger. — Paul
is (naCA«), in the T. R., which the E. V. retains,
to be struck out. — Unto Jerusalem and unto
Rome involve an ellipsis like that noticed on
8 : 40. — Must, or is necessary, because such
was the purpose of God. (Comp. 27 : 24.) Paul
had long cherished a desire to see Rome (i» : 21 ;
Rom. 1 : is), but, as far as we know, he was now
assured for the first time that such was to be
his destiny.

12. Banded together, having formed a
combination (Mey., Rob.), which conspir>
acy, in v. 13, defines more precisely. — The
Jews, since this party of them manifested
the Jewish spirit. (See the last remark on 4

266

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXIII.

IS And they were more than forty which had made
this conspiracy.

14 And they came to the chief priests and elders,
and said, We have bound ourselves under a great
curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain
Paul.

15 Now therefore ye with the council signify to the
chief captain that he brine him down unto you to-
morrow, as though ye would enquire something more
perfectly concerning him : and we, or ever he come
near, are ready to kill him.

16 And when Paul's sister's son heard of their lying
in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told
Paul.

17 Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him,
and said. Bring this young man unto the chief cap-
tain : for be hath a certain thing to tell him.

18 So he took him, and brought him to the chief

13 killed Paul. And they were more than forty who

14 made this conspiracy. And they came to the chief
priests and the elders, and said, We have bound our-
selves under a great curse, to taste nothing until we

15 have killed Paul. Kow therefore do ye with the
council signify to the chief captain that he bring
him down unto you, as though ye would judge of
his case more exactly : and we, or ever he come

16 near, are ready to slay him. But Paul's sister's son
heard of their lying in wait, 'and he came and en-

17 tered into the castle, and told Paul. And Paul
called unto him one of the centurions, and said.
Bring this young man unto the chief captain : for

18 he hath something to tell him. So he took him.

1 Or, having come in upon tbem, and he erUered etc.

1.) Certain of the Jews is an unapproved
reading.

14. The chief priests and the elders —

i. e. those of these classes who were hostile to
Paul, the Sadducee members of the Council
(Mey., De Wet.). This limitation suggests itself
without remark, after the occurrence which has
just been related. — We have bound our-
selves, etc. — lit. we cursed ourselves. The
expression points to some definite ratification
of the atrocious oath. The reflexive of the
third pp'^on (see v. 12) may follow a subject
of the first or second person. (K. g 303. 8 ;
B. § 127. n. 5.)

15. With the council — namely, the San-
hedrim ; i. e. in the name of that body, as if it was
their united request. — To-morrow has been
added to the text in some copies, because it oc-
curs in V. 20. — More perfectly, or more ex-
actly, than on the former trial. — Or ever he
come near, or before he has come near —
i. e. to the place of assembly. Their plan was to
kill him on the way. (See v. 21.)— To kill de-
pends on ready as a genitive construction. (W.
§ 44. 4.) — It would be difficult to credit the ac-
count of such a proceeding, had Luke related
it of any other people than the Jews. Here, as
Lardner suggests ( Credibility, i. p. 224), are more
than forty men who enter into a conspiracy to
take away Paul's life in a clandestine manner,
and they make no scruple to declare it to the
Council, relying upon their approbation. It is
clearly implied that these teachers of religion,
these professed guardians of the law, gave their
assent to the proposal ; they had nothing to ob-
ject, either to so infamous a design or to the
use of such means for accomplishing it. But,
out of place as such a passage would be in any
other history, it relates a transaction in perfect
hirmony with the Jewish opinions and prac-
tices of that age. A single testimony will illus-
trate this. Philo, in speaking of the course to

be pursued toward a Jew who forsakes the wor-
ship of the true God, lays down the following
principle : " It is highly proper that all who
have a zeal for virtue should have a right to
punish with their own hands, without delay,
those who are guilty of this crime ; not carry-
ing them before a court of judicature or the
Council, or, in short, before any magistrate, but
they should indulge the abhorrence of evil, the
love of God, which they entertain, by inflicting
immediate punishment on such impious apos-
tates, regarding themselves for the time as all
things — senators, judges, proetors, sergeants, ac-
cusers, witnesses, the laws, the people ; so that,
hindered by nothing, they may without fear
and with all promptitude espouse the cause of
piety." Josephus mentions a similar combi-
nation against the life of Herod, into which a
party of the Jews entered on account of the re-
ligious innovations which they charged him
with introducing (Antt., 15. 8. 1-4).

16-«2. THE PLOT IS DISCLOSED TO
THE ROMAN COMMANDER.

16. Paul's sister's son, better the son
of Paul's sister. Whether the family of
this sister resided at Jerusalem, or the nephew
only, does not appear from the narrative. His
anxiety for the safety of Paul may have arisen
from a stronger interest than that prompted by
their relationship to each other. (See the note
on 9 : 30.) He was not a bigoted Jew, at all
events ; for in that case he would have allowed
no tie of blood, no natural affection, to interfere
with the supposed claims of his religion. —
Having entered into the castle, whence
it appears that his friends, as afterward at
Ceesarea (24 : 23), had free access to him. Lysias
may have been the more indulgent, because he
would atone for his fault in having bound a Ro-
man citizen. — Their lying in wait — lit. the
ambush, which the Jews were preparing.

18. The prisoner shows that Paul was still

Ch. XXIII.]

TB.W ACTS.

ffi/

267

captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called m^ unto
kirn, and prayed me to bring this young man unto
thee, who hath something to say unto tnee.

19 Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and
went vnlh him aside privately, and asked him, What is
that thou hast to tell me?

•20 And he said, "The Jews have agreed to desire thee
that thou wouldst bring down Paul to-morrow into the
council, as though they would enquire somewhat of
him more perfectly.

21 But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in
wait for him of them more than forty men, which have
bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither
eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are
they ready, looking for a promise from thee.

22 So the chief captain then let the young man de-

Eart, and charged him. See thou tell no man that thou
ast shewed these things to me.

23 And he called unto him two centurions, saying,
Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Csesarea, and
horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hun-
dred, at the third hour of the night,

24 And provide thfm beasts, that they may set Paul
on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor.

25 And he wrote a letter after this manner:

and brought him to the chief captain, and saith,

Paul the prisoner called nie unto him, and asked

-^ine to bring this young man unto thee, who hath

19 something to say to thee. And the chief captain
took him by the hand, and going aside asked him

20 privately. What is that thou hast to tell me? And
he said. The Jews have agreed to ask thee to bring
down Paul to-morrow unto the council, as though
thou wouldest inquire somewhat more exactly con-

21 cerning him. Do not thou therefore yield unto
them : for there lie in wait for him of them more
than forty men, who have bound themselves under
a curse, neither to eat nor to drink till they have
slain him : and now are they ready, looking for the

22 promise from thee. So the chief captain let the
young man go, charging him, Tell no man that

23 thou hast signified tnese things to me. And he
called unto him two of the centurions, and said,
Make ready two hundred soldiers to go as far as
Csesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and
spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the

24 night : and lie bade them provide beasts, that they
might set I'aul thereon, and bring him safe unto

25 Felix the governor. And he wrote a letter after
this form;

bound — i. e. by a chain to the arm of a soldier.
— Who hath — t. e. since he has — something
to say to thee. (Comp for he hath, etc., in
V. 17.)

21. Lie in wait, which they were doing,
inasmuch as their plot was already so mature.
(Comp. making an ambush, in 25 : 3.) — Forty —
t. e. men, as in v. 13. — Are ready — i. e. to kill
him. (Comp. V. 15.) — Looking for, or await-
ing, the (expected) promise from thee.
The word translated promise (inayytKU) has
this constant sense in the New Testament.

22. Note the change to the direct style in
that thou hast showed these things to
me. (W. ?63. II. 1. Comp. Luke 5: 14.) The
opposite change occurs in v. 24.

23-30. THE LETTER OP LYSIAS TO
FELIX.

23. Two centurions, more exactly some
two or three of the centurions ; not one or
two (Cony, and Hws.), from the nature of the
expression, and because less than two would
be an inadequate command for so large a force.
Though it is not said expressly, the inference is
that these officers were to take charge of the
expedition, as well as prepare for it. The pro-
noun (tis, o certain one, some one) joined with
numerals renders them indefinite. (Comp.
some two of his disciples, in Luke 7 : 19. W.
g 25. 2. b : K. g 303. 4.)— Soldiers, who, as
they are distinguished from the other two
classes named, must be the ordinary, heavy-
armed legionaries. — Spearmen (««fioAo/3ov«) oc-
curs only here and in two obscure writers of
the Iron Age. " Its meaning," says De Wette,
" is a riddle." The proposed explanations are
these : side-guards, military lictors who guarded

prisoners, so called from their taking the right-
hand side (Suid., Bez., Kuin.) ; lancers (Vulg.,
E. v.), a species of light-armed troops (Mey.),
since they are mentioned once in connection
with archers and peltasts. Codex A reads spear-
men, jaculantes deztra (Syr.). (See De Wette's
note here.) — At the, or from the, third hour —
i. e. nine o'clock with us, it being implied that
they were to march at that hour, as well as be
ready.

24. And to provide, etc., and that they
should provide beasts of burden, as two
or more would be needed for relays or for
the transportation of baggage. The discourse
changes at this point from the direct to the in-
direct. (Comp. on 19 : 27.) — That they may
set, or that having mounted Paul (on one
of them) they might convey him in safety
unto Felix. Through (««£) m the verb refers
to the intermediate space, not to the dangers
through which they were to pass. (Comp. 18 :
27 ; 27 : 44 ; 1 Pet 3 : 20.)— Felix was the Pro-
curator of Judea, having received this office
from the Emperor Claudius, probably in the
autumn of a. d. 52 (Win., Ang., Mey.). He
was originally a slave, was a man of energy
and talents, but avaricious, cruel, and licen-
tious. Tacitus (Hist., 5. 9) has drawn his cha-
racter in a single line : " Per omnem ssevitiam
ac libidinem jus regium servili ingenio exer-
cuit" [" With all cruelty and lust he exercised
the royal power in the spirit of a slave "]. (See
further on 24: 3-24.)

25. Wrote — lit. writing — belongs to the
subject of said (E. V. saying), in v. 23. — After
this manner, or containing this outline,
draught — t. e. a letter to this effect. The Roman

268

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXIIL

26 Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent goyernor
Felix sendelk greeting.

27 'This man was taken of the Jews, and should
have been killed of them : then came I with an army,
and rescued him, having understood that he was a
Roman.

28 'And when I would have known the cause where-
fore they accused him, I brought him forth into their
council :

29 Whom I perceived to be accused «of questions of
their law, ''but to have nothing laid to his charge
worthy of death or of bonds.

30 And 'when it was told me how that the Jews laid
wait for the man, I seut straightway to thee, and /gave
commandment to his accusers also to say before thee
what lh«y had against him. Farewell.

31 Then the soldiers, as it wa.s commanded them,
took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris.

26 Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor

27 Felix, greeting. This man was seized by the Jews,
and was about to be slain of them, when I came
upon them with the soldiers, and rescued him, hav-

28 ing learned that he was a Roman. And desiring to
know the cause wherefore they accused him, 'I

29 brought him down unto their council: whom I
found to be accused about questions of their law,
but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of

30 death or of bonds. And when it was shewn to me
that there would be a plot Against the man, I sent
him to thee forthwith, charging his accusers also to
speak against him before thee.^

31 So the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took

I oh. 21 . 33; 24 : 7 I ch. 22: 30 e ch. 18: 15; 2a : 19 d eh. 26:31 ever. 20..../ cb. 24 : 8; 25 : 6. 1 Some ancient sn-

tXioriliea omW, I brought Mm dovm unto their counctU. ...2 Man; ancient aathorities read a^aiTUt tAemanon (Aet'r part.... 3 Many an-
cient authorities add FarewM,

law required that a subordinate ofl&cer, in send-
ing a pnsoner to the proper magistrate for trial,
should draw up a written statement of the case.
The technical name of such a communication
was elogium.

26. Most excellent is an honorary epithet.
(See on 1 : 1.) — Governor stands in the New
Testament for the more specific procurator (ivi-
rponoi). (C!omp. Matt. 27 : 2.) — Greeting.
(C!omp. the last remark on 15 : 23.)

27. This man is the object of rescued,
which him repeats, on account of the distance |
of the noun from the verb. (Comp of these, j
TovTwv, in 1 : 22.) — On the point of being
killed, not should have been (E. V.).—
With an army, rather with the military.
(See v. 10.)— Having learned that he is a
Roman, which is stated as a reason why
Lysias was so prompt to rescue him. It was
not until after he had taken Paul into his cus-
tody that he ascertained his rank ; but, as was
not unnatural, he wished to gain as much
credit as possible in the eyes of his superior.
This deviation from truth, says Meyer, testifies
to the genuineness of the letter. Some resolve
having learned into and I learned, as if he learned
the fact that Paul was a Roman citizen after his
apprehension. The Greek of the New Testa-
ment affords no instance of such a use of the
participle. (See W. ? 46. 2.) Luke with his
inquisitive habits (see his Gospel, i : i) would
find an opportunity to copy the letter during
his abode of two years at Csesarea.

28. Would have known, rather wishing
to know, or ascertain {yvavat and imyvSivai
are both found), the crime (not charge), of
which, at this stage of the affair, Paul was sup-
posed to be guilty. The weaker sense of this
noun (Cony, and Hws.) makes accused repe-
titious.— Wherefore — lit. on account of
which — they were accusing him, not

formally, but by their continued outcry, as
Luke has related. — I brought him down, in

person, as he must be present to gain the de-
sired information. (See on 22 : 30.)

29. Of, or concerning, questions of
their law. (See the note on 18 : 15.) — As
death and bonds denoted the highest and
lowest penalties of the law, the idea is that
Paul had no crime alleged against him that
required his detention or punishment (Bottg.).
Every Roman magistrate before whom the
apostle is brought declares him innocent.

30. The writer falls out of his construction
here. He says a plot having been told me {uriw-
tJetVijs) at the beginning of the sentence, as if
he would have added that was about to be (t^s
ntWovmis), but in the progress of ihe thought
adds the infinitive (/i«'aa«ii'), as if he had com-
menced with tfiey having told me that a plot

(lJ.riwa-avTUV . , . iiri^ovXriv) was obout tO be. The

idea of the thing disclosed gives place to that
of the persons who disclose it. (W. § 63.
I.) [Alexander attempts a literal translation
of the Greek as follows : "BtU a plot against the
man having been reported to me, (as) about (or
that it was about) to be (attempted) by the Jews.^'
By the Jews is to be removed from the text (see
below), and it will then read in the simplest
version : But a plot . . . (as) about to be — i. e.
carried into effect. — A. H.] By the Jews,
after about to be, the recent editors omit
(Tsch., De Wet., Mey.). — I sent, since the fu-
ture act would be past on the reception of the
letter. (Comp. Phil. 2 : 28 ; Philem. 11. W.
g 41. 5. 2.) — Before thee. ["A peculiar phrase
appropriated to judicial hearing, as in Matt. 28 :
14 " (Alexander).]

31-35. PAUL IS SENT TO FELIX AT
C^SAREA.

31. Took — lit. having taken — up answers
to having mminted Paul, in v. 24. — By night.

Ch. XXIII.]

ACTS.

269

32 On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with
him, and returned to the castle:

33 Who, when they came to Ceesarea, and delivered
the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before
him.

34 And when the governor had read the letter, he
asked of what province he was. And when he un-
derstood that he was of <»Cilicia ;

S5 *I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers

^Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris. But
on the morrow they left the horsemen to go with

33 him, and returned to the castle: and they, when
they came to Csesarea, and delivered the letter to

34 the governor, presented Paul also before him. And
when he had read it, he atiked of what province he
was; and when he understood that he was of Cilicia,

35 1 will hear thee fully, said he, when thine accusers

aeb. 21 : 39....» oh. 21 : 1, 10; 25 : 16.

rather during the night, which would in-
clude the hours from nine o'clock p. m. (v. 23)
to six A. M. — Unto Antipatris, which was
about thirty-eight miles from Jerusalem, on
the route to Csesarea. It was built by Herod
the Great, on the site of a place called Caphar
Saba, and was named by him Antipatris, in
honor of his father Antipater. (See Jos., Antt.,
16. 5. 2 ; BeU. Jud., 1. 21. 9.) The modem Kefr
Saba, about ten miles from Lud, the ancient
Lydda, stands, no doubt, on the same spot.*
It is an instance like Ptolemais (21 : 1), in which
the original name regained its sway on the de-
cline of the power which imposed the foreign
name. The Romans had two military roads
from Jerusalem to Antipatris, a more southerly
one by the way of Gibeon and Beth-horon, and
a more northerly one by way of Gophna (Bibl.
Res., ii. p. 138). If Paul's escort took the latter
as the more direct course, they would arrive at
Gophna about midnight, and at daybreak would
reach the last line of hills which overlook the
plain of Sharon. Antipatris lay on a slight
eminence at a little distance from the base of
these hills. To perform this journey in the
time allowed would require them to proceed at
the rate of about four miles an hour. As those
who conducted Paul had a good road (traces of
the old Roman pavement are still visible), they
could accomplish a forced march of that extent
in nine hours. Strabo says that an army, under
ordinary circumstances, could march from two
hundred and fifty to three hundred stadia in a
day — i. e. an average of about thirty miles.
Forbiger {JIandb. der Oeog., p. 551) gives a table
of the various distances of a day's journey
among the ancients. Some understand the
words to mean that they brought him by night,
in distinction from the day; in which case.

they could have occupied two nights on the
road. It is suggested that the escort may have
proceeded to Nicopolis the first night, which was
twenty-two Roman miles from Jerusalem, and,
remaining there the next day, have arrived at
Antipatris the night following. Biscoe, Meyer,'
Kuinoel, and others adopt this opinion. In
this case on the morrow, in v. 32, must de-
note the morrow after the arrival at Antipatris
on the second night, instead of the morrow after
leaving Jerusalem, as the text would more ob-
viously suggest. If it be thought necessary,
we may consider during the night as apply-
ing only to the greater part of the journey. It
would be correct to speak of the journey, in
general terms, as a journey by night, although
it occupied two or three hours of the follow-
ing day. This view, which Winer maintains
{Realw., i. p. 65), allows us to assign twelve
hours to the march, and the rate of travelling
would then be a little more than three miles
the hour.

32. They left the horsemen, etc. The
remaining distance to Csesarea was not more
than twenty-five miles. They were now so far
from the scene of danger that they could with
safety reduce the escort. Whether they had
orders to do this or acted on their own dis-
cretion we are not told. They commenced
their return to Jerusalem on the morrow, but
after so hurried a march would travel leis-
urely, and may have occupied two days on
the way.

34, The governor appears in the common
text without sufficient reason. — He asked — lit.
having asked — from what province he is.
He makes the inquiry, perhaps, becau.se the
letter stated that Paul was a Roman citizen.

35. I will hear thee fully. Observe

> See the account of a visit to Kefr S4ba by the late Dr. Smith, in the Bibliotheca Sacra, 1843, p. 478, sq. : " It
is a Muslim village, of considerable size, and wholly like the most common villages of the plain, being built
entirely of mud. We saw but one stone building, which was apparently a mosque, but without a minaret. No
old ruins, nor the least relic of antiquity, did we anywhere discover. A well by which we stopped, a few rods
east of the houses, exhibits more signs of careful workmanship than anything else. It is walled with hewn
stone, and is fifty-seven feet deep to the water. The village stands upon a slight circular eminence near the
western hills, from which it is actually separated, however, by a branch of the plain." Raumer (Palastina,
p. 132, 3d ed.) and Ritter (Erdkunde, xvi. p. 571) suppose Antipatris to have been at this place.

* J. A. O. Meyer, in his Versuch einer Verlheidigung und Erl&uterung der Qtschichie Jetu und der Apostel out
Griechischen und R6mischen Profarucribenten (p. 461).

270

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXIV.

are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in
•Herod's judgment ball.

also are come : and he commanded him to be kept
in Herod's 'palace.

CHAPTER XXIV.

AND after *five days 'Ananias the high priest de-
scended with the eldtrs, and with a certain orator
named TertuUus, who informed the governor against
Paul.

2 And when he was called forth, TertuUus began to
accuse him, saying, Seeing that by thee we enjoy great
quietuess, and that very worthy deeds are done unto
tnis nation by thy providence,

3 We accept U always, and in all places, most noble
Felix, with all thankfulness.

1 And after five days the high priest Ananias came
down with certain elders, and with an orator, one
■Tertullus; and they informed the governor against

2 Paul. And when be was called, TertuUus began to
accuse him, saying.

Seeing that by thee we enjoy much peace, and

that by thy providence evils are corrected for this

'6 nation, we accept it in all ways and in aU places,

a Matt. 27 : Z7 i ch. 21:27 ech. 23:2, 30, 35; 25:2.-

-1 6r. Pratorium.

the compound verb (fiioocou<ro/*<u'). The expres-
sion exhibits a singular conformity to the
processes of Roman law. The rule was, Qui
cum elogio (see on v. 25) mittwUur, ex integro
audiendi sunt [" Those who are sent with
an elogium must be fully heard"]. The gov-
ernor of a province was not to give implicit
credit to the document with which a prisoner
was sent to him; he must institute an inde-
pendent examination of the case for himself.
(See Bottger, Beitrage, u. s, w., ii. p. 8.) — In
Herod's judgment hall, in the prxtorium of
Herod — i. e. in the palace built by him at Cse-
sarea, and now occupied as the residence of the
Roman pi ocurators. Paul was confined in some
apartment of this edifice, or within its precincts.
(See Win,, Realw., ii. p. 324.)

1-9. TERTULLUS ACCUSES PAUL BE-
FORE FELIX.

1. As to Ananias, see on 23 : 2. — And, or
now, after five days — i. e. in popular usage on
the fifth since Paul's departure from Jerusalem
(Kuin., Mey., De. Wet.), not since his capture
there or since his arrival at Csesarea. The es-
cape from the Jewish conspiracy is nearest to
the mind here after what has been related ; and
further, according to Roman usage, a case re-
ferred like this should be tried on the third
day, or as soon after that as might be possible.
(Comp. 25 : 17. See Bottger, ii. p. 9.) The
reckoning in v. 11 admits of this decision. —
With the elders — i. e. the Sanhedrists, repre-
sented by some of their number, {rwav, " some
of," is a gloss.) — Orator TertuUus. As the
people in the provinces were not acquainted
with the forms of Roman law, they employed
advocates to plead for them before the public
tribunals. TertuUus was one of this class of
men, and may have been a Roman or a Greek.
It is not certain that " the proceedings before

Felix were conducted in Latin. In ancient
times the Romans had attempted to enforce
the tise of Latin in all law-courts, but the ex-
periment failed. Under the emperors trials
were permitted in Greek, even in Rome itself,
as well in the Senate as in the forum ; and it is
unlikely that greater strictness should have
been observed in a distant province" (Lewin,
ii. p. 684). — Informed the governor against
Paul, lodged their complaint. "The begin-
ning of any judicial action," says Geib, " con-
sisted in the formal declaration on the part of
the accuser that he wished to prosecute a par-
ticular person on account of a certain crime." i

2. And when he (Paul) was called forth
— lit. he having been called [there is nothing
answering to forth in the Greek text. — A. H.],
after information of the case had been given
(informed, v. i), but before the charges against
him were produced. The Roman law secured
that privilege to the accused. (See 25 : 16.)
Nothing could be more unstudied than this
conformity to the judicial rule. — Began, or
proceeded, to accuse. TertjuUus insisted
on three charges — viz. sedition (a mover of
sedition), heresy (a ringleader of the sect
of the Nazarenes), and profanation of the
temple (who also hath gone about to pro-
fane the temple). (See on vv. 5, 6.)

3. In this verse [which in the original be-
gins with the speech of TertuUus, Seeing,
etc., E. V. — A. H.] the participial clause forms
the object of we accept. (Comp. Itliank God
that I speak with tongues more than you all, in
1 Cor. 14 : 18. W. § 46. 1. a.) Translate thai
we eiyoy much peace through thee, and
(the benefit of) many (sc. noWCtv) excellent
deeds performed for this nation bry thy
prudence, Ave acknowledge, with all
gratitude. Most critics transfer the idea of
much to worthy deeds (De Wet, Mey.,
Rob.), which term refers to the general meas-
ures of his administration. [According to the

1 Oetchichte det Komischen Oriminal-procuiU, p. 115.

Ch. xxivo

THE ACTS.

271

4 Notwithstanding, that I be not further tedious
unto thee, I pra^ thee that thou wouldest hear us of
thy clemency a lew words.

5 "For we have found this man a pestilent fellow,
and a mover of sedition among all the Jews through-
out the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the
Nazarenes :

6 'Who also hath gone about to profane the temple:
whom we took, and would «have judged according to
our law.

7 ''But the chief captain Lysias came upon us, and
with great violence took him away out of our hands.

8 Commanding his accusers to come unto thee: by
examining of whom thyself mayest take knowledge
of all these things, whereof we accuse him.

9 And the Jews also assented, saying that these
things were so.

4 most excellent Felix, with all thankfulness. But,
that I be not further tedious unto thee, I intreat

5 thee to hear us of thy clemency a few words. For
we have found this man a pestilent fellow, and a
mover of insurrections among all the Jews through-
out 'the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the

6 Nazarenes : who moreover assayed to profane the

8 temple : on whom also we laid hold :* from whom
thou wilt be able, by examining him thyself, to take
knowledge of all these thin^, whereof we accuse

9 him. And the Jews also joined in the charge,
affirming that these things -were so.

a Luke 23: 2; ch. 6 : 1 J ; 16:20: 17 : 6 ; 21 :28; 1 Pet. 2 : 12, 15....iich. 21 : 28. ...e John 18:31....d ch. 21 : 33....ecb. 23:30.

1 Or. the inhabited earth 2 Some ancient authoritiea insert and we tcotUd have judged him according to our law. 7 But tk< chirf

captain Lgeiat came, and with great violence took him away out of our hands, 8 commanding hi* accruert to come before thee.

text now generally accepted, a word meaning
reforms should be substituted here. — A. H.] The
speaker employs the first person plural, because
he identifies himself with his clients. — Always
and in all places some join with are done :
both in every way and everywhere (Rob.) ; others
with we accept) or acknowledge, and render
both always and everywhere, not merely now and
here (De Wet., Mey.). The first is the surer
sense of the Greek (irivni). The best editora
write this word without iota subscript. (W.
§5.4.6.) — The language of Tertullus is that
of gross flattery. History ascribes to Felix a
very diflferent character. Both Josephus and
Tacitus represent him as one of the most cor-
rupt and oppressive rulers ever sent by the
Romans into Judea. He deserved some praise
for the vigor with which he suppressed the
bands of robbers by which the country had
been infested. The compliment had that basis,
but no more.

4. Notwithstanding, etc., but that I may
not hinder, weary, thee too much, I will be
brief — t. e. in what he proposes to advance.
Further, or too much, refers, not to the few
words of his preamble (Mey.), as if that was
beginning to be tedious, but to his subsequent
plea. — Wouldst hear, etc. — lit. to hear us
briefly, where the adverb qualifies the verb. It
is unnecessary to supply 0601*^ to speak after us.

5. The sentence is irregular. We should have
expected we took him at the beginning of the
apodasis (v. e) ; but, instead of that, the writer
says whom also, influenced, apparently, by
who also in the clause which precedes. (W.
H6.2.) — For, or namely: the case is as follows.
(Comp. 1 : 20.) — A pestilent fellow — lit. pest,
like our use of the word. — A mover, etc., ex-
citing disturbance unto all the Jews — i. e.
among them and to their detriment. The latter
idea occasions the use of the dative. The charge
is that he set the Jews at variance with one an-

other, not that he excited them to rebel against
the Romans. — Nazarenes occurs here only as
a term of reproach (Olsh.). (See on 2 : 22.)

6. Who also hath gone about, or at«
tempted, etc. (See 21 : 28.)— The entire passage,
and would have judged to by examining,
etc. (vT. 6-8), is of doubtful authority. It is re-
jected by Griesbach, Bengel, Mill, Lachmann,
Tischendorf, De Wette, and others. Manu-
scripts of the first class omit the words, and
others contain them with different variations.
" If they are genuine," says Meyer, " it is diffi-
cult to see why any one should have left them
out; for and would have judged according
to our law would be no more offensive in the
mouth of the advocate who speaks in the name
of his client than the preceding we took. The
indirect complaint against Lysias, in v. 7, was
entirely natural to the relation of the Jews to
this tribune, who had twice protected Paul
against them." It is urged for the words that
their insertion answers no apparent object, and
that they may have been dropped accidentally
(Wdsth.). — We would, simply we wished
to, judge, etc. We obtain a very different
view of their design from 21 : 31 ; 26 : 21.

7. In the words with much violence Ter-
tullus misstates the fact. The Jews released Paul
without any struggle on the appearance of Lysias.
(See 21 : 32.)— Before thee. (See on 23 : 30.)

8. Of whom would refer to Paul, if we ex-
clude the uncertain text which precedes, but
more naturally to Lysias, if we retain it.
(Comp. V. 22.) — By examining may be used
of any judicial examination. It is impossible
to think here of a trial by torture, since both
Paul and Lysias were exempt from it in virtue
of their rank as Roman citizens. It was illegal,
at all events, to have recourse to this measure.
(See Conybeare and Howson's note, ii. p. 322.)

9. And the Jews also assented, or as>
sailed him, at the same time — viz. by as<

272

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXIV.

10 Then Paul, after that the governor had beckoned
unto him to speak, answered, Forasmuch as I know
that thou hast been of many years a judge unto this
nation, I do the more cheerfully answer for myself:

11 I^cause that thou mayest understand, that there
are yet but twelve days since I weut up to Jerusalem
"for to worship.

12 *And they neither found me in the temple dis-
puting with any man, neither raising up the people,
neither in the synagogues, nor in the city :

10 And when the governor had beckoned unto him
to speak, Paul answered.

Forasmuch as I know that thou hast been of many
years a judge unto this nation, I do cheerfully make

11 my defence : seeing that thou canst take knowledge,
that it is not more than twelve days since I went up

12 to worship at Jerusalem : and neither in the temple
did they hnd me disputing with any man or stirring
up a crowd, nor in the synagogues, nor in the city.

I ver. 17 ; eh. 21 : 26.. ..6 oh. 25 : 8; 28 : 11.

serting that the charges were true. This is a
better reading than assented {<ntve^evTo), agreed,
though we have that word in 23 : 20.

10-23. PAUL'S DEFENCE BEFORE FE-
LIX.

10. Of many years^ or since many years.
As Felix became procurator probably in a. d.
62 (see on v. 24), he had been in office six or
seven years, which was comparatively a long
time at this period, when the provincial mag-
istrates were changed so rapidly. Some of
them exceeded that term of service, but a great-
er number of them fell short of it. Before his
own appointment as procurator he had also
governed Samaria for some years, under Cu-
manus, his predecessor. (See Herz., EncyM.,
iv. p. 354.) Nation depends on judge as dat.
comm., judge for this nation^ since the re-
lation existed ideally for their benefit. (B.
g 133. 2. h ; W. § 31. 2.) Paul avoids the usual
people, and says nation, because he is speaking
to a foreigner. (See also v. 17.) — More cheer-
fully (T. R.), or cheerfully (Tsch.) ; the for-
mer more correct, since the comparative, as
less obvious, was liable to be displaced. [Yet,
while this is true, the weight of evidence from
manuscripts is so much in favor of cheerfully —
viz. X A B E with many important cursives,
against H L P — that all the editors, Lach.,
Tsch., Treg., "West, and Hort, the Anglo-Am.
Revisers, accept it. — A. H.]

11. Mayest understand, better since yon
are able to know — i. e. by inquiry, or (Tsch.)
[also Lach., Treg., West, and Hort, and Re-
visers] to ascertain {imyvioviu). Paul adds this as
another reason why he was encouraged to re-
ply. The subject lay within a narrow compass.
Felix could easily ascertain how the prisoner
had been employed during the time in which
he was said to have committed the crimes laid
to his charge. — The common text inserts than
before twelve [ = not more than twelve days], which
the later editions omit. (See on 4 : 22.) The
best mode of reckoning the twelve days is
the following : First, the day of the arrival at
Jerusalem (21:17); second, the interview with
James (21 : is) ; third, the assumption of the vow

(21 : 26) ; fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh, the
vow continued, which was to have been kept
seven days (being interrupted on the fifth) ;
eighth, Paul before the Sanhedrim (22 : 30 ; 23 :
1-10) ; ninth, the plot of the Jews and the jour-
ney by iiight to Antipatris (23 : 12, si) ; tenth,
eleventh, twelfth, and thirteenth, the days at
Csesarea (21:1), on the last of which the trial
was then taking place. The number of com-
plete days, therefore, would be twelve, the day
in progress at the time of speaking not being
counted. The Jive days mentioned in v. 1, above,
agree with this computation, if, as suggested
there, we reckon the day of leaving Jerusalem
as the first of the five, and that of the arrival
at Cajsarea as the last. So, essentially, Wetstein,
Anger, Meyer, De Wette, and others. Some, as
Kuinoel, Olshausen, would exclude the days
spent at Caesarea, and extend the time assigned
to the continuation of the vow. But there
are . . . since I (note the tense) evidently
represents the days as reaching up to the pres-
ent time. According to Wieseler's hypothesis,
that Paul was apprehended on the second day
of the vow, the seven days in 21 : 27, form no
part of the series. He distributes the time
as follows : Two days on the journey from Cae-
sarea to Jerusalem (21 : 15) ; third, interview with
James ; fourth {Pentecost), seizure of Paul in the
temple ; fifth, the session of the Sanhedrim ;
sixth, the departure by night to Caesarea;
seventh, the arrival at Csesarea; twelfth (five
days after that), the journej' of Ananias
from Jerusalem (24 : 1) ; and thirteenth, his
arrival at Caesarea and the trial of Paul. —
From which = since {a.<j> ;}?) is abbreviated
for from the day which (a77b t^s iiiJifpai ^s). — For
to worship, or in order to worship — i. e. in
the temple, which was an object entirely dif-
ferent from that imputed to him. For this use
of the future participle, see B. g 144. 3.

12. The grammatical analysis here requires
attention. The first neither extends to peo-
ple, and or (not nor) connects merely the par-
ticipial clauses (disputing, etc., and raising
up, etc.), not found expressed with that verb
repeated. Before the second and third neither

Ch. XXIV.]

E ^TS.

273

13 Neither can they prove the things whereof they
now accuse me.

14 But this I confess unto thee, that after "the way
which they call heresy, so worship I the Hiod of my
fathers, believing all things which are written in "the
law and in the prophets :

15 And ■'have hope toward God, which they them-
selves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of
the dead, both ot the just and unjust.

16 And /herein do I exercise myselt to have always
a conscience void of offence toward Uod, and toward
men.

17 Now after man^ years «I came to bring alms to
my nation, and offennga.

13 Neither can they prove to thee the things whereof

14 they now accuse me. But this I confess unto tliee,
that after the Way which they call 'a sect, so serve
I the (iod of our fathers, believing all things which
are according to the law, and which are written in

15 the prophets: having hope toward (iod, which these
also themselves 'look for, that there shall be a resur-

IGrectiou both of the just and unjust. Herein do I
also exercise myself to have a conscience void of

17 ofl'ence toward God and men alway. Now after
some years 1 came to bring alms to my nation, and

a See Amoa 8 : 14; ch. 9 : 2....6 2 Tim. 1:3 ech. 26 : 22; 28 : 23 d ch. 23 : 6; 26 : 6, T ; 28 : 20.... « Dan. 12 : 2 ; John S:

28, 29..../ch. 23 : 1 ; oh. U : 29, 30 ; 20 : 16; Rom. 15 : 25; 2 Cor. 8:*; Oal. 2: 10. 1 Or, A«re«y 2 Or, accept

we are to insert again found . . . people ; so

that both acts — the having disputed and the
having excited a tumult — are denied with refer-
ence to the temple, the synagogues, and the
city. — The disputing was not in itself censur-
able, but in this instance he could urge that he
had not even had any religious discussion dur-
ing the few days in question. — In the syn-
agoguesy at Jerusalem, where they were
numerous. (See on 6 : 9.) — In — i. e. through-
out— the city, up and down the streets (Alf.),
not excluding disputing, but referring espe-
cially to raising up the people.

14. Having replied to what was falsely al-
leged, he states now (W adversative) what was
true in the case. — That after, etc., that ac-
cording to, (those of) the way (9:2; 19:»,etc.)

which (not in which) they call a sect (aZpcaii',
with a shade of reproach) so (i. e. after their
mode) I worship, etc. This appears to me
more simple than to make so prospective : so
— viz. by believing all things, etc. (Mey., De Wet.).
— In the law — i. e. throughout the law, in
all the books of Moses. (See on 13 : 15.)

15. And have hope, or having a hope,
in reference to God — i. e. founded on him,
since his word and his promise furnish the only
basis of such a hope. — Which also, etc.,
which also these themselves entertain,
that it is appointed there shall be (see on
10 : 28) a resurrection of the dead, etc.
These themselves are the Jews present, viewed
as representatives of the nation. Hence most
of his accusers here were Pharisees, and the
breach between them and the Sadducees (23 : 7)
had been speedily repaired. The dead (vtKpStv),
in T. R., lacks the requisite support (Lchm.,
Tsch.). Both of, etc., not only of the just
(those accepted as such by faith), but of the un-
just. The resurrection of the wicked, in order
to be punished, is as clearly taught here as that
of the righteous, to be rewarded. The apostle
represents this hope as the prevalent Jewish
faith. (Comp. 26 : 7.) " The Sadducees," says

Biscoe (p. 68), " were so few in number that
they were not worthy of his notice by way of
exception. Josephus expressly tells us 'that
they were a few men only of the chief of the
nation ' {Antt., 18. 1. 4) ; that they prevailed
only with the rich to embrace their senti-
ments, and that the common people were all
on the side of the Pharisees {ib., 13. 10. 6)."

16. Herein, rather therefore (comp. John
16 : 30) — i. e. in anticipation of such a day. —
Also I myself, as well as others who exem-
plify the proper effect of this doctrine. It is
impossible, the apostle would argue, that he
should entertain such a pei-suasion and yet be
guilty of the crimes imputed to him. — Exer-
cise, strive, exert myself. — Void of offence —
that is, blameless ; lit. not made to stumble,
preserved from it, and hence unoffended. The
term is passive here, as in Phil. 1 : 10, but active
in 1 Cor. 10 : 32.

17, The defence here (Now {Si) metabatic)
goes back to the specification in v. 6. — After
several years — i. e. of absence. It was now
A. D. 58 or 59. He had made his last visit to
Jerusalem in the year a. d. 54 or 55. — To bring
alms, or in order to bring alms, which he
had collected in the churches of Macedonia and
Achaia for the relief of the believers at Jeru-
salem. (See Rom. 15 : 25, 26 ; 1 Cor. 16 : 1-4 ;
2 Cor. 8 : 1-4.) This allusion is very abrupt.
It is the first and only intimation contained in
the Acts that Paul had been taking up contri-
butions on so extensive a plan. The manner
in which the Epistles supply this deficiency, as
Paley has shown, furnishes an incontestable
proof of the credibility of the New Testament
writers. — Offerings depends loosely on to
bring: and while there I was making, or
would have made, offerings; which, after the
information in 21 : 26, we naturally understand
of those that he engaged to bring in behalf of
the Nazarites. They are not the oblations which
were made during the feast of Pentecost, since
no connection would exist then between of-

274

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXIV.

18 "Whereupon certain Jews from Asia found me
purified in tne temple, neither with multitude, nor
with tumult.

19 »Who ought to have been here before thee, and
object, if they had ought against me.

20 Or else let these same here say, if they have found
any evil doing in me, while I stood before the council,

21 Except it be for this one voice, that 1 cried stand-
ing among them, "Touching the resurrection of the
dead I am called in question by you this day.

22 And when Felix heard the.se things, having more
perfect knowledge of that way, he deferred them, and
said. When <*Lysias the chief captain shall come down,
I will know the uttermost of your matter.

18 offerings : 'amidst which they found me purified in
the temple, with no crowd, nor yet witn tumult :

19 but there were certain .lews from Asia — who ought to
have been here before thee, and to make accusation,

20 if they had aught against me. Or else let these men
themselves say what wrongdoing they found, wheu

21 I stood before the council, except it be for this one
voice, that I cried standing among them. Touching
the resurrection of the dead I am called in ques-
tion before you this day.

22 But Felix, having more exact knowledge concern-
ing the Way, deferred them, saying, When Lysias
the chief captain shall come down, 1 will determine

a cb. 21 : 26, 27 ; 26 : 21 6 eh. 23 : 30; 25 : 16.... e eh. 23 : 6; 28: 20....<iTer. 1. 1 Or, in presenting vhick

ferings and the purification spoken of in the
next verse.

18. Whereupon, rather in which, the

business of the offerings. For this use of
the pronoun, comp. 26 : 12. — They (sc. the
Jews) found me purified as a Nazarite in
the temple. Purified must have this sense
here, since it points baclc so evidently to 21 : 24,
26. — Neither with, etc., not with, a mob,
as Tertullus had given out (v. 5), but conduct-
ing himself altogether peaceably. — He now re-
torts this charge of a riot upon the true authors
of it. — But certain Jews from Asia. It is
they who excited a tumult, not I. The verb
could be omitted (a true picture of the speak-
er's earnestness), because it suggests itself so
readily from tumult, and because the details
of the affair have been related at such length
(21 :27). The common text omits but (5«'), and
makes certain Jews the subject of found.
This is incorrect, as but (fi«) must be retained.
Our English translation is founded on the omis-
sion of this particle. [The Revised Version (see
above) represents correctly the Greek text as in-
terpreted by Dr. Hackett. — A. H.]

19. Who ought, etc., whom it became, to be
present, imperfect, because they should have
been there already (comp. uatJ^fcev in 22 : 22).
The instigators of the riot were the persons to
testify how it arose. — If they had aught, bet-
ter if they might have anything, a possi-
bility purely subjective, and hence optative.

30. Or, etc. (since the proper witnesses are
not here), let these themselves (see vv. 1,
15) say what crime they found. With if
(«t) in the T. R. we must read if they found any,
etc. (E. V.) ; but if is unauthorized.

21. Except it be, etc., no other offence than
(that) concerning this one expression.
The sentence is framed as if some other offence
had preceded (Mey., De Wet.). The Sadduceea
might object to his avowal of a belief in the
resurrection, but the rest of his countrymen
would esteem that a merit, and not a crime.
[The meaning of Paul's confession is: " If they

can find fault with me for any definite action
that was wrong, it can be for no other than my
language about the resurrection of the dead;
for that language did occasion a fierce debate
and great disorder." Thus, Paul frankly ad-
mits that he had uttered a sentiment which
led to strife, but he evidently believes that
Felix knows how to estimate that language
aright. Is it possible that he had forgotten his
prediction of God's judgment on the high
priest, especially if he had seen it to be an ill-
advised word, and had been moved to apolo-
gize for it on the spot? — A. H.]— That I
cried, correctly (^s l/cpofo) which I cried, an
attracted genitive, instead of the accusative,
which this verb would properly take as hav-
ing a kindred sense. In Matt 27 : 50 and Mark
1 : 26 voice (0««^) after the same verb denotes
the instrument of speech, not, as here, what
was spoken. (See W. § 24. 1.)

22. Them — viz. both parties, like your,
just below. — Having more perfect know-
ledge, etc., strictly knowing the things in
regard to the way (the Christian sect) more
accurately — i. e. than to give a decision
against Paul (comp. 25 : 10) or than the com-
plaint against him had taken for granted.
"Since Felix," says Meyer, "had been al-
ready procurator more than six years, and
Christianity had spread itself, not only in all
parts of Judea, but in Csesarea itself, it is natu-
ral that he should have had a more cosrect
knowledge of this religion than the Sanhedrists
on this occasion had sought to give him ; hence
he did not condemn the accused, but left the
matter in suspense." Other explanations of
the comparative are the following : knowing the
case more accurately — t. e. as the result of the
present trial (which would have been a reason
for deciding it, instead of deferring it) ; knowing
it mare accurately than to postpone it — i. e. (a
remark of Luke) Felix should have acquitted
Paul at once (which brings a severe reflection
on his conduct into too close connection with
the account of his lenity in the next verse) ;

Ch. XXIV.]

T9E ^CTS

275

23 And he commanded a centurion to keep Paul,
ind to let Am have liberty, and "that he should forbid
none of his acquaintance to minister or come unto
faim.

24 And after certain days, when Felix came with
his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for
Paul, and heard him concerning the faitn in Christ.

25 And as he rea-soned of righteousness, temperance,
and Judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered.
Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient
season, I will call for thee.

23 your matter. And he (^ve order to the centurion
that he should be kept in charge, and should have
indulgence; and not to forbid auy of bis friends to
minister unto him.

24 But after certain days, Felix came with Drusilla,
'his wife, who was a Jewess, and sent for Paul, and
heard him concerning the faith in Christ Jesus.

25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, and Heniper-
ance, and the judgment to come, Felix was terrified,
and answered, (jo thy way for this time; and when
I have a convenient season, I will call thee unto me.

aob. 27:Si tt:16.-

-1 Or. M( otmw</'e....2 Or, tOf-amtrol

and finally, knowing the case more exactly — i. e.
( joined with what follows) when I thus know
it, after hearing the testimony of Lysias, judg-
ment shall be given. This last sense is out of
the question, because it disregards utterly the
order of the words, as well as the proper mean-
ing of the fallowing verb (Siayvaiffoiuu), I will
know fully, not will decide.

23. The (not a), before centnrioii) desig-
nates the centurion as the one who had charge
of Paul, and perhaps other prisoners (see 27 : 1 ;
28 : 16), whether he belonged to Csesarea or
had come from Jerusalem. This officer is not
necessarily the one who had conducted the
troops from Antipatris (2S:sj), in distinction
from the one who returned, since the admits of
the other explanation, and since some two, in
23 : 32, leaves the number indefinite. Hence,
as the article does not identify the centurion,
the inference to that efifect (Blunt,' p. 323, and
Birks, p. 344) is not to be urged as a proof of
the verity of the history. — To keep Paul [ac-
cording to the best authorities, him, not Paul],
not middle, to keep him (E. V.), but thatheshoidd
be kept as a prisoner, be guarded. — And should
have respite, or alleviation — i. e. be treated
with indulgence, and not subjected to a severe
captivity. One of the favors which he received
is mentioned in the next clause. — ^The gram-
matical subject changes before should forbid,
of which and (k<u ; note ri between the other
verbs) admonishes the reader. — Serve him,
minister to his wants. — Or come unto him is
doubtful, and may be borrowed from 10 : 28.

24-27. PAUL TESTIFIES BEFORE FE-
LIX AND DRUSILLA.

24. Came — lit. having come, not to Cse-
sarea, after a temporary absence, but to the place
of audience. (Comp. 5 : 22; 25 : 23.)— With
Drusilla, his wife, being a Jewess, which
would imply that she still adhered to the Jew-
ish religion. This Drusilla was a younger
daughter of Agrippa I., who was mentioned in
12 : 1, sq., and a sister of Agrippa II., who is
mentioned in 25 : 13. We turn to Josephus

{Antt., 20. 7. 1, sq.) and read the following ac-
count of her: "Agrippa gave his sister Drusilla
in marriage to Azizus, King of the Emesenes,
who had consented to be circumcised for the
sake of the alliance. But this marriage of
Drusilla with Azizus was dissolved in a short
time after this manner. When Felix was pro-
curator for Judea he saw her, and, being capti-
vated by her beauty, persuaded her to desert her
husband, transgress the laws of her country,
and marry himself." "Here," as Paley ob-
serves, " the public station of Felix, the name
of his wife, and the circumstance of her re-
ligion, all appear in perfect conformity with
the sacred writer." The fate of this woman
was singular. She had a son by Felix, and
both the mother and the son were among those
who lost their lives by the eruption of Mount
Vesuvius in a. d. 79. — Luke does not inform us
why Felix summoned Paul to this conference.
We may infer, from the presence of Drusilla,
that it was on her account. In all probability,
it was to afford her an opportunity to see and
hear so noted a leader of the Christian sect.

25. Of righteousness, or concerning
justice, which the conduct of Felix had so
outraged. Tacitus {Ann., 12. 54) draws this
picture of him as a magistrate : " Relying upon
the influence of his brother at court, the in-
famous Pallas, this man acted as if he had a
license to commit every crime with impunity."
— And temperance— t. e. self-control, es-
pecially continence, chastity. Here we have
another and double proof of the apostle's cour-
age. At the side of Felix was sitting a victim
of his libertinism, an adulteress, as Paul dis-
coursed of immorality and a judgment to
come. The woman's resentment was to be
feared as well as that of the man. It was the
implacable Herodias, and not Herod, who de-
manded the head of John the Baptist. — Trem-
bled— lit. having become alarmed. — For
this time, or as to what is now, for the
present (Kyp., De Wet., Mey.). The construc-
tion is that of an adverbial accusative. (K.

> Unduigned Ooincidencu in On WritingM qf the Old and New TutamenU, by Rev. J. J. Blunt, London, 1847.

276

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXV.

26 He hoped also that "money should have been
^ven him of Paul, that he might loose him : where-
lore he seut for him the ofteuer, and communed with
him.

27 But after two years Porcius Festus came into
Felix' room : and Felix, 'willing to shew the Jews a
pleasure, left Paul bound.

26 He hoped withal that money would be given him of
Paul : wherefore also he sent for him the oftener,

27 and communed with him. But when two years
were fulfilled, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Fes-
tus; and desiring to gain favor with the Jews, Felix
left Paul in bonds.

CHAPTER XXV.

Now when Festus was come into the province, after
three days he ascended from Casarea to Jerusalem.
2 "Then the hi^h priest and the chief of the Jews
informed him against Paul, and besought him,

1 Festus therefore, 'having come into the province,
after three days went up to Jerusalem from Csesarea.

2 And the chief priests and the principal men of the
Jews informed him against Paul ; and they besought

aEz. 23:8....&Ez. 23: 2; ch. 12:3; 35 : 9, U....eoh. 24: 1 ; ver. 15.-

-1 Or, having entered upon hie province

§ 279. R. 10.) — Place a comma or colon, not a
period, at the end of the verse.

26. Hoped also, better at the same
time also (that he gave this answer) hoping.
The participle connects itself with answered
(comp. 23 : 25), and is not to be taken as a
finite verb. — That money will be given to
him by Paul — i. e. as an inducement to re-
lease him. — That he might loose him (E.
V.) suggests a correct idea, but is not genuine.
Felix had conceived the hope that his prisoner
would pay liberally for his freedom. He may
have supposed him to have ample resources at
his command. He knew that his friends were
numerou.-, and had been informed (see v. 17)
that they were not too poor or too selfish to
assist one another.

27. But after two years, or two years
now having been completed — {. e. since
Paul's imprisonment at Csesarea. — Porcins
Festns, etc., rather Felix received Porcius
Festus as successor. Luke wrote first, or
we might suspect him of having copied Jose-
phus, who says, but Porcius Festus was sent as a
stuxessor to Felix {Antt., 20. 8. 9). As to the
year in which this change in the procurator-
ship took place, see Introduction, g 6. 4. — ^Will-
ing to show, etc., rather and wishing to
lay up favor for himself with the Jews,
to make himself popular among them, which
was the more important at this time, as they
had a right to follow him to Rome and com-
plain of his administration, if they were dis-
satisfied with it. His policy was imsuccessful.
(See Introduction, §6.4.) An act like this on leav-
ing such an office was not uncommon. Thus,
Albinus, another corrupt Procurator of Judea,
having heard that Gessius Florus had been ajv
pointed to succeed him, liberated most of the
state prisoners at Jerusalem, in order to conciliate
the Jews.— Left Paul bound, or left Paul
behind chained, still a prisoner, instead of
setting him at liberty. I correct my former
note here in view of Conybeare and Howson's
suggestion. As we are not to infer from respite

(avetTiv, not liberty), in 24 : 23, that Paul was
freed from his chains, bound does not mean
that he was rebound after a temporary release.
Wieseler (p. 380) has shown that the custodia
libera was granted only to persons of rank ; and
hence Paul could not have enjoyed that favor,
as is proved, also, by his subjection to the sur-
veillance of the centurion. Meyer has changed
the note in his last edition to agree with this
view. According to De Wette, Felix loaded
Paul again with the chains which he had re-
moved. Lange (ii. p. 326) speaks of the cus-
todia libera as exchanged now for the custodia
miiitaris.

1-5. FESTUS REFUSES TO BRING PAUL

TO JERUSALEM.

1. Now, therefore, since he was the suc-
cessor of Felix. — " The new procurator," says
Mr. Lewin (ii. p. 699), " had a straightforward
honesty about him which forms a strong con-
trast to the mean rascality of his predecessor.
He certainly did not do all the justice that he
might have done ; but, allowing somewhat for
the natural desire to ingratiate himself with the
people of his government, his conduct, on the
whole, was exemplary, and his firmness in re-
sisting the unjust demands of the Jews cannot
fail to elicit our admiration." — After three
days — i. e. on the third, which allows him one
day for rest between his arrival at Csesarea and
his departure for Jerusalem.

2. If the high priest (T. R.) be correct, this
high priest must have been Ismael, son of Phabi,
who succeeded Ananias (Jos., A7itt., 20. 8. 8).
Two years have elapsed since the trial before
Felix (24 : 1, »«.), at which Ananias was so active.
Instead of the singular, some read the high
priests (Lchm., Tsch.), which was introduced,
probably, to agree with v. 15 (De "Wet., Alf.).
[The plural is now also approved by Treg.,
West, and Hort, Anglo- Am. Revisers, and is
justified by preponderating evidence — e. g.
K A B C E L, Syr. and Cop. Versions.— A. H.]

Ch. XXV.]

rHE ACTS.

277

3 And desired favor against him, that he would send
for him to Jerusalem, "laying wait in the way to kill
him.

4 But Festus answered, that Paul should be kept at
Csesarea, and that he himself would depart shortly
IhU/ier.

6 Let them therefore, said he, which among you are
able, go down with me, and accuse this man, Hf there
be any wickedness in him.

6 And when he had tarried among them more than
ten days, he went down unto Csesarea ; and the next
day sitting on the judgment seat commanded Paul to
be brought.

7 And when he was come, the Jews which came
down from Jerusalem stood round about, «and laid
many and grievous complaints against Paul, which
they could not prove.

8 While he answered for himself, ''Neither against
the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor
yet against Csesar, have I offended any thing at all.

9 But Festus, 'willing to do the Jews a pleasure,
answered Paul, and said, /Wilt thou go up to Jerusa-
lem, and there be judged of these things before me?

3 him. asking favor against him, that he would send
for nlm to Jerusalem ; laying a plot to kill him on

4 the way. Howbeit Festus auswered. that Paul was
kept in charge at C.esarca, and that ne hini.sc-lf was

5 about to depart Ihilher shortly, het them therefore,
saith he, who are of power among you, go down
with me, and if there is anything amiss in the
man, let them accuse him.

6 And when he had tarried among them not more
than eight or ten days, he went down unto C)a;sarea ;
and on the morrow he sat on the judgment seat,

7 and commanded Paul to be brought. And when he
was come, the Jews who had come down from Jeru-
salem stood round about him, bringing against him
many and grievous charges, which they could not

8 prove ; whfie Paul said in his defence. Neither
against the law of the Jews, nor against the tem-

9 pie, nor against Caisar, have 1 sinned at all. But
Festus, desiring to ^ain favor with the Jews, an-
swered Paul, and said. Wilt thou go up to Jerusa-
lem, and there be judged of these things before me?

a Ob. 2S:11, 15....teh. 18:14; Tor. 18.

..cUark 15:3; Luke 23:3, 10; oh. 24:5, 13....(lch.
21:27..../ ver. 20.

6:13; 34:11; 38: 17....«ob.

— The chief) etc., the first men, are the chief
priests and the elders in v. 15, except that the
high priest mentioned separately here would
be one of the high priests there. [But it
should be plural here as well as there.] Be-
sought, as imperfect, shows their importu-
nity.

3. And desired) etc. — lit. asking for them-
selves a favor against him; viz. that he
would send for him^etc. — Laying wait — i.e.
making an ambush, arranging for it. (See 23 : 21.)
They anticipated no obstacle to their plan, and
may have already hired their assassins and
pointed out to them the cave or rock whence
they were to rush forth upon their victim.
(Comp. the note on y. 16.)

4. Answered — viz. to their second request.
(See note on v. 16.) — That Paul was kept
as a prisoner at (lit. unto) Csesarea, as the
Jews were aware ; and hence, as the governor
was about to proceed thither, it would be more
convenient to have the trial at that place. The
English Version — viz. that Paul should be
kept — conveys the idea of a too peremptory
refusal. So decided a tone would have given
needless offence. Was kept {rriptla&ai ) announces
a fact rather than a purpose. — UtUo (»£«) Csesarea
(more correct than in with the dative) opposes
tacitly Ills being kept back unto Csesarea to his
removal thence ; not unlike unto Asia, in 19 :
22.

5. Which among you are able— lit. the
powerful among you, your chief men, not
those who are able, who may find it easy or pos-
sible to x>erform the journey (Calv., Grot., E. V.).
Their attendance at the trial was imperative,
and the magistrate would not speak as if they
were to consult their convenience merely in

such a matter. Kuinoel has shown that the
powerful of Jews was common among the Jews
as a designation of their rulers. (See Jos., Bell.
Jud., 1. 12. 4 ; 2. 14. 8 and elsewhere. Comp.
also 1 Cor. 1 : 26 and Rev. 6 : 15.) Conybeare
and Howson, after Meyer, render those who are
competent, are authorized to act as prosecutors,
but without offering any proof of that absolute
use of the term. — Said {<t>ri<ri) should stand be-
fore among you (ev v/xlv), not after it (T. R.).

6-12. PAUL APPEALS FROM FESTUS
TO C^SAR.

6. Had tarried , etc. — lit., having now spent —
not more than eight or ten days — i. e. hav-
ing returned speedily, as he had intimated
(shortly, in v. 4). Instead of not more than
eight or ten (Grsb., Tsch., Mey.), as above, the
received text (and so E. V.) reads more than
ten days, as if Festus {S4, adversative, but) had
not fulfilled his word (v. 4). — The next day =
on the morrow, in v. 17.

7. Stood round about, stood around, him,
not the tribunal (Kuin.). (Comp. against whom
when the accusers stood up, in v. 18.) — Most manu-
scripts omit against Paul after complaints.
Tischendorf writes laid against ((coTo<<>«poiTes) ;
but others defend the simple participle (<t>ipov
ret). — The heavy charges (complaints), as
the defence of the apostle shows (v. s), were
heresy, impiety, and treason. (Comp. 24 :
5:6.)

9. And there be judged — lit. there to be
judged (viz. by the Sanhedrim) — before me ;
i. e. in his presence, while he should preside
(Mey., De Wet., Wiesl.), and perhaps confirm
or reject the decision. There are two views as
to the import of this proposal. One is that
Festus intended merely to transfer the trial

278

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXV.

10 Then said Paul, I stand at Csesar's judgment seat,
■where I ought to be judged : to the Jews have I done
no wrong, as thou very well knowest.

11 "For if I be an offender, or have committed any
thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die : but if there
be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no
man may deliver me unto them. 'I appeal unto Csesar.

12 Then Festus, when he had couferred with the
council, answered. Hast thou appealed uuto Caesar?
unto Ciesar shalt thou go.

13 And after certain days king Agrippa and Bernice
came unto Csesarea to salute Festus.

10 But Paul said, I am standing before Caesar's judg-
ment-seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews
have I done no wrong, as thou also very well know-

11 est. If then I am a wrong-doer, and have commit-
ted any thing worthy of death, 1 refuse not to die :
but if none of those things is true, whereof these
accuse me, no man can "give me up unto them. I

12 appeal unto Caesar. Then Festus, when he had
couferred with the council, answered. Thou hast
appealed unto Caesar : unto Caesar shalt thou go.

13 Now when certain days were passed, Agrippa the
king and Bernice arrived at Caesarea, ^and saluted

aver. 3&; ch. 18:14; 23:29; 26 : 31....i cb. 26:32; 28: 19. lOr. grant me by favor : and so in ver. 16.

taluted

.2 Or, Itaving

from Caesarea to Jerusalem, and the other is
that he wished to change the jurisdiction in
the case — to surrender Paul to the Jews and
allow them to decide whether he was innocent
or guilty. The explanation last stated agrees
best with the intimations of the context. The
reply of the apostle (/ stand, etc., in v. 10),
and the fact that he proceeds at once to place
himself beyond the power of Festus, would
appear to show that he regarded the question
(Wilt thou, etc.) as tantamount to being de-
prived of his rights as a Roman citizen.

10. I staud at, etc., or before the tribu-
nal of Caesar am I standing, am under
Roman jurisdiction, since Festus was the rep-
resentative of the emperor. The answer of
Festus, Unto Caesar hast thou appealed, unto Csesar
shalt thou go (v. ii), is founded on the apostle's
subsequent I appeal unto Caesar, and is not
proof (Wdsth.) that Paul viewed himself as
"already standing in his own resolve before
Caesar's judgment-seat." Where I ought to
be judged (present), to be having my trial —
as matter of right (Set), not because it is God's
will. (Comp. V. 24 and 24 : 19).— As thou
very well knowest, or rather as also thou
perceivest better — i. e. than to make such a
proposal. (Comp. 24 : 22. W. § 34. 4.) Such a
comparative is very convenient as suggesting
something which it might be less courteous to
express (Wdsth.). After hearing the charges
against Paul, and his reply to them, Festus
knew that the prisoner was entitled to be set
free, instead of giving him up to a tribunal
where his accusers were to be his judges. The
temporizing Roman confesses in v. 18 that Paul
was right in imputing to him such a violation
of his convictions.

11. If I be an offender, or if therefore
I am unjust, guilty — i. e. in consequence of
past wrong-doing. The verb expresses here the
result of an act, instead of the act itself. (See
W. § 40, 2. c.) For, in the common text, is
incorrect. The clause is illative with reference
to the assumption (». 9) that the Jews might
find him guilty. Some combine the present

and past in d5«c«S {am unjust), and render if 1
have done and am doing wrong. (See K. § 255.
R. 1.) — Worthy of death defines the degree
of guilt. If it was such that he deserved to
die, he was willing to die. — If there is noth-
ing of what (Gr.) =if there is none of these
things which.

12. When he had conferred, etc., having
spoken with the council — i. e. the assessors or
judges {napfSpoi, coimliarii), who assisted him
at the trial. It was customary for the procon-
sul, or his substitute, to choose a number of
men whose office it was to aid him in the ad-
ministration of justice. The proconsul him-
self presided, but was bound to consult his as-
sessors, and to decide in accordance with the
views of the majority. (See Geib's Geschichte,
p. 243, sq.) The subject of consultation in this
instance, doubtless, was whether the appeal
should be allowed or refused. Writers on
Roman law inform us that the provincial
magistrates had a certain discretionary power
in this respect. An appeal to the emperor was
not granted in every case. It was necessary to
consider the nature of the accusation, and also
the amount of evidence which supported it.
Some offences were held to be so enormous as
to exclude the exercise of this right; and when
the crime was not of this character, the evi-
dence of guilt might be so palpable as to de-
mand an immediate and final decision. — Thou
hast appealed unto Caesar is declarative
(not a question, as in E. V.), and repeats Paul's
last word before the consultation, for the pur-
pose of attaching to it the verdict. — Unto Cae-
sar shalt thou go, be sent, announces the
ready conclusion in regard to the present ap-
peal. I perceive no severity in this answer
(Bug.), beyond that of the abrupt official form.
The prisoner is told that the government would
carrj' out his appeal and take measures to con-
vey him to Rome. (See on 27 : 1.)

13-22. FESTUS CONFERS WITH AGRIP-
PA CONCERNING PAUL.

13. And after, etc. — lit. certain days be-
ing past, since the appeal. Agrippa the

Ch. XXV.]

rHE ACTS.

14 And when they had been there mttnj days. Festus
declared Paul's cause unto the king, saying, "There is
a certain man left in bonds by Felix :

15 »About whom, when I was at Jerusalem, the chief

firiests and the elders of the Jews informed me, desir-
Dg to have judgment against him.

16 •To whom I answered, It is not the manner of the
Romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which
is accused have the accusers face to face, and have li-
cense to answer for himself concerning the crime laid
against him.

17 Therefore, when they were come hither, ■'without
any delay on the morrow I sat on the judgment seat,
And commanded the man to be brought forth.

14 Festus. And as they tarried there many days, Fe»>
tus laid Paul's case before the king, saying. There is

15 a certain man left a prisoner by ]-'elix : about whom,
when I was at Jerusalem, the chief priests and the
elders of the Jews informed me, asking for sentence

16 against him. To whom I answered, that it is not
the custom of the Romans to give up any man, be-
fore that the accused have the accusers face to face,
and have had opportunity to make his defence con-

17 cerning the matter laid against him. When there-
fore thev were come togetner here, I made no delay,
but on the next day sat down on the judgment-seat,

aoh. 2i:tl....b Ten. 3, S.,..eYen. 4, 5 d ver. 6.

king. This Agrippa was a son of the Agrtppa
whose tragical end has been related in 12 : 20-
24. At his father's death, as hje was considered
too young to succeed him on the throne, Judea
waa committed again to the government of
procurators. He passed his early life at Rome.
In A. D. 50, on the death of Herod, his uncle,
he received the sovereignty of Chalcis, and in
A. D. 53 the dominions of Philip and Lysanias
(Luke s : i), at which time he assumed the title of
king. In the year A. d. 55, Nero added to his
possessions a part of GalUee, and Perea. He
died, after a reign of nearly fifty years, in a. d.
100. It will be observed that, although Luke
in this passage styles Agrippa a king, he does
not style him King of Judea; whereas, in
speaking of his father (w :!,»?.), he not only
applies to him this title, but mentions an in-
stance of his exercise of the regal power at
Jerusalem. The facts stated above show how
perfectly this distinction conforms to the cir-
cumstances of the case. — Bernice was the
eldest daughter of Agrippa I., and a sister of
Drusilla (24 : J4). She was noted for her beauty
and her profligacy. Luke's accuracy in intro-
ducing her at this stage of the history is worthy
of remark. After a brief marriage with her
first husband she became the wife of Herod,
her uncle, King of Chalcis, and on his death
remained for a time with Agrippa, her brother.
She was suspected of living with him in a
criminal manner. Her third marriage, with
Polemon, King of CSlicia, she soon dissolved,
and returned to her brother not long before the
death of the Emperor Claudius. She could
have been with Agrippa, therefore, in the
time of Festus, as Luke represents in our
narrative. Her subsequent connection with
Vespasian and Titus made her name familiar
to the Roman writers. Several of them, as
Tacitus, Suetonius, and Juvenal, either men-
tion her expressly or allude to her. — To salute
— in order to salute— Festas. It was their
visit of congratulation. Agrippa, being a vas-

sal of the Romans, came to pay his respects to
this new representative of the power on which
he was dependent.

15. Informed — i. e. judicially, brought accu-
sation. (Comp. V. 2 ; 24 : 1.) — Asking for them-
selves justice against him. The idea of con-
demnation lies in against hinv^ not in justice
or judgment. Tischendorf decides against cori'
demnation {KaraSUriv). [In his 8th ed. Tsch.
gives this word, meaning condemnation, and
Lach., Treg., West, and Hort, the Anglo-Am.
Revisers, with X A B C and many cursives. —
A. H.]

16. In V. 3 the request of the Jews was that
Paul might be brought to Jerusalem ; and in
that case the accusers and the accused would
have met face to face. Hence the reply of Fes-
tus here, in order to warrant his objection, must
relate to a different proposal — viz. that he would
condemn Paul at once (see v. 24) and in his
absence. On his declaring that as a Roman
magistrate he could not be guilty of such in-
justice, the Jews, as it would seem, changed
their tactics. If it was so that the parties must
confront each other, they asked then that he
would summon the prisoner to Jerusalem and
have him tried there. But this second request
was a mere pretence. They knew the weak-
ness of their cause too well to await the result
of a trial, and wanted only to secure an oppor-
tunity to waylay and kill the apostle on the
road. The two proposals may have been made
at different times, so that in the interval they
could have begun the ambuscade (as intimated
in V. 3), believing that, though baffled in the
first attempt, they could not fail in the second.
— It is not the manner, etc., better that it
is not a custom, for Romans, if it was for
Jews. The article (E. V.) obscures the opposi-
tion.— Man (as generic) declares the rule to be
universal. The claim to this impartiality was
a human right in the eye of the Roman law. —
To die, after man (T. R., and hence E. Y.), is
unapproved.

280

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXV.

18 Against whom when the accusers stood up, they
brought none accusation of such things as 1 supposed:

19 "Hut had certain questions against him or their
own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead,
whom I'aul affirmed to be alive.

2U And because I doubted of such manner of ques-
tions, I asked him whether he would go to Jerusalem,
and there be judged of these matters.

21 But when Paul had appealed to be reserved unto
the hearing of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept
till I might send him to Csesar.

22 Then *Agrippa said unto Festus, I would also
hear the man myself. To-morrow, said he, thou shalt
hear him.

23 And on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and
Bernice, with great pomp, and was entered into the
place of hearing, with the chief captains, and principal
men of the city, at Festus' commandment Paul was
brought forth.

24 And Festus said. King Agrippa, and all men which
are here present with us, ye see this man, about whom
'all the multitude of the Jews have dealt with me, both

18 and commanded the man to be brought. Concern-
ing whom, when the accusers stood up, they brought

19 no charge of such evil things as I supposed: but had
certain questions against him of their own 'religion,
and of one Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul affirmed

20 to be alive. And I, being perplexed how to inquire
concerning these things, asked whether he would go
to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters.

21 But when Paul had appealed to be kept for the
decision of Hhe emperor, I commanded him to be

22 kept till I should send him to Caesar. And Agrippa
said unto Festus, I also ^ould wish to hear the man
myself. To-morrow, saith he, thou shalt hear him.

23 So on the morrow, when Agrippa was come, and
Bernice, with great pomp, and they were entered
into the place of hearing, with the chief captains,
and the principal men of the city, at the command

24 of Festus Paul was brought in. And Festus saith,
King Agrippa, and all men who are here present
with us, ye behold this man, about whom all the

acb. 18 : 15; 23 : 29. ..,& Seech. 9 : 15 c vers. 2, 3, 7. 1 Or, iuperstitUm...,% Or. the Augiutm 3 Or, wattciMhing

18. Against whom — lit. around whom —

belongs to stood up (comp.v.7),not to brought.
The antecedent of whom (oC) is man, not the
remoter judgment- seat. Charge {aiTiav —
that is, tov'tuix, of those things). — Which {Sjv = a
by attraction) I was suspecting — i. e. some
capital offence, as treason, murder, or the like.

19. Concerning their own religion, not
sxiperstition. (Comp. the note on more religious,
not too superstitious, in 17 : 22.) Agrippa was
known to be a zealous Jew, and Festus would
not have been so uncourteous as to describe his
faith by an offensive term. Own {ISCat) refers,
not to the subordinate whom, his own — viz.
Paul's — but to accusers, the leading subject.
— Concerning a certain Jesus, etc. As to
Luke's candor in recording this contemptuous
remark, see note on 18 : 15.

20. Doubted, or perplexed, uncertain, as
Festus may have said with truth, but could
not honestly assign as the motive for his pro-
posal. (See v. 9, above.) — In regard to the
dispute concerning this one — viz. Jesus
(v. 19) — not this matter, as if it were neuter. But
the best reading is concerning these things — viz. in
relation to their religion and the resurrection
of Jesus.

21. But when Paul appealed, etc. — lit.
but Paul having appealed (and so de-
manded)— that he should be kept in Ro-
man custody, instead of being tried at Jerusa-
lem.—With a view to the examination of
Augustus. The Senate conferred this title on
Octavius in the first instance, but it was given
also to his successors. — I commanded that
he should still be kept (infinitive present)
at Csesarea. In should be kept, just before,
the time is entirely subordinate to the act. —
Until I shall send him (T. B.), but the surer

word is shall send up {avantiJitfiu. Lchm., Tsch.,
Mey.). (Comp. Luke 23 : 7, 11.) Festus would
intimate that he was waiting only until a vessel
should sail for Italy.

22. I would also, or I myself also could
wish — i. e. were it possible. The Greeks em-
ployed the imperfect indicative to express a
present wish which the speaker regarded, or
out of courtesy affected to regard, as one that
could not be realized. (Comp. Rom. 9:3; Gal.
4 : 20. W. HI- 2 ; S. § 138. 3 ; K. g 259. R. 6.)
It is less correct to understand the wish as one
long entertained.

23-27. PAUL IS BROUGHT BEFORE
AGRIPPA.

23. With great — lit. much — pomp, dis-
play, which consisted partly in their personal
decorations (comp. 12 : 21), and partly in the
retinue which attended them. — Unto the
place of audience, which the article rep-
resents as the customary one (Olsh.), or as the
one to which they repaired on this occasion
(Mey.). — With the chief captains — lit. the
chiliarchs, the commanders of the cohorts
stationed at Cfesarea, which were five in num-
ber (Jos., Bell. Jud., 3. 4. 2). (Comp. the note
on 27 : 1.)

24. The procurator could say all the mul-
titude of the Jews, because he had reason
to know that the Jewish rulers (w. 2, 15) who
had demanded the death of Paul represented
the popular feeling. Meyer suggests that a
crowd may have gone with them to the pro-
curator and enforced their aj^plication by clam-
oring for the same object. — Dealt with me,
or interceded (in its bad sense here) with
me, against him. A genitive or dative may
follow this verb. — (Some manuscripts read zen
autdn {iriv ainov), and others avidn zen {avrov irjv) r

Ch. XXVI.]

THE ACTS.

281

at Jerusalem, and also here, crying that he ought "not
to live any longer.

25 But when I found that »he had committed noth-
ing worthy of death, «and that he himself hath ap-
pealed to Augustus, I have determined to send him.

26 Of whom I have no certain thing to write unto
. Wherefore I have brought him forth before

my lord,

you, and specially before thee, O king Agrippa, that,~-^

after examination had, I might have somewhat to

write.

27 For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a
prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid
against him.

multitude of the Jews made suit to me, both at Je-
rusalem and here, crying that he ought not to live

25 any longer. But I found that he had committed
nothing worthy of death : and as he himself ap-
pealed to >the emperor I determined to send him.

26 Uf whom I have no certain thing to write unto my
lord. Wherefore I have brought him forth before
you, and specially before thee, king Agrippa, that,
after examination had, I may have somewhat to

27 write. For it seemeth to me unreasonable, in send-
ing a prisoner, not withal to signify the charges
against him.

THEN Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted to
speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth the
hand, and answered for himself:

CHAPTER XXVI.

1 And Agrippa said unto Paul, Thou art permitted
to speak for thyself. Then Paul stretched forth his
hand, and made his defence :

a oh. 22:21 & ch. 23:9,29; 26 : 81.... e vers. 11, 12.-

-1 Or. (Aa Augtutu*.

and so, in the next verse, some read thanatou
auton {^avdrov avrov), and others autmt thanatou
{avTov ^avdrov). Such transpositions, which
have no effect on the sense, show how unim-
portant are many of the various readings of
the sacred text.)— Crying against him, etc.
(See on v. 15.)— Not any longer (fxrjKe'Ti). A
qualification like this in a negative sentence
requires a compound containing the negative
(m^ or ovk) which precedes. (K. § 318. 6 ; B.
§ 148. 6.) — I have determined, rather I de-
cided— viz. at the time of the trial when he
appealed. The perfect (E. V.) is less accurate
than the aorist tense.

26. Of whom, etc., or concerning whom,
I have nothing sure, definite, to write to
the sovereign. In such cases of appeal it
was necessary to transmit to the emperor a
written account of the offence charged as hav-
ing been committed, and also of all the judi-
cial proceedings that may have taken place in
relation to it. Documents of this description
were called apostoli, or literal dimissorix. — Lord
is the Greek for dominus. The writer's accuracy
should be remarked here. It would have been
a mistake to have applied this term to the em-
peror a few years earlier than this. Neither
Augustus nor Tiberius would allow himself to
be called dominus, because it implied the rela-
tion of master and slave. The appellation had
now come into use as one of the imperial titles.
— I may have what (future) I shall write,
not what to vfrite (E. V.). Some repeat certain
after somewhat (Mey.), which is not neces-
sary. Meyer leaves out the ellipsis in his new
edition.

27. For it seemeth unreasonable, or
it appears to me absard. It was illegal
too ; but Festus thinks of the act as being a
violation, not so much of the law as of the
propriety which dictated the law. — To send,

etc., or better that any one (De Wet.) send-
ing a prisoner should not also signify
the charges (not crimes) against him. Some
would make one sending the subject of should
signify, without any ellipsis. (K. § 238. R. 2. e.)
Some supply I as the subject. It is more forci-
ble in such a case to state the general rule or
principle which controls the particular instance,
Josephus {Bell. Jud., 2. 14. 1) describes Festus
as a reasonable man, who was not destitute of
a regard for justice and the laws, and who ap-
proved himself to such of the Jews as were
willing to submit to any foreign rule. What
Luke relates of him shows him to be worthy
of this encomium.

1-23. PAUL'S SPEECH BEFORE AGRIP-
PA.

1. This speech of the apostle is similar to
that which he delivered on the stairs of the
castle (22 : 1, sq.). Thc main topic is the same in
each — viz. the wonderful circumstances of his
conversion; but in this instance he recounts
them, not so much for the purpose of asserting
his personal innocence as of vindicating the
divine origin of his commission and the truth
of the message proclaimed by him. So far from
admitting that he had been unfaithful to Juda-
ism, he claims that his Christian faith realized
the true idea of the religion taught in the Old
Testament. On the former occasion "he ad-
dressed the infuriated populace and made his
defence against the chaises with which he was
hotly pressed — of profaning the temple and
apostatizing from the Mosaic law. He now
passes by these accusations, and, addressing
himself to a more intelligent and dispassionate
hearer, he takes the highest ground, and holds
himself up as the apostle and messenger of
God. With this view, therefore, he paints in

282

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVI.

2 I think niyseir happy, king Agrippa, because I shall
answer for myself this day before thee touching all
the things whereof 1 am accused of the Jews:

3 Especially because I know thee to be expert in all
customs and questions which are among the Jews :
wherefore I beseech thee to hear me patiently.

4 My manner of life from my youth, which was at
the first among mine own nation at Jerusalem, know
all the Jews;

5 Which knew me from the beginning, if they would
testify, that after "the most straitest sect of our religion
I lived a Pharisee.

2 I think myself happy, king Agrippa, that T am to
make my defence before thee this day touching all
the things whereof I am accused by the Jews:

3 ^especially because thou art expert in all customs
and questions which are among the Jews: where-

4 fore I beseech thee to hear me patientl;^ . My
manner of life then from my youth up, which was
from the beginning among mine own nation, and

5 at Jerusalem, know all the Jews ; having knowledge
of me from the first, if they be willing to testity,
how that after the straitest sect of our religion

aob.22:S; 23:8; 31:I&,21; Pbil. 3 : 5.-

l Or, ieeatue thou art 4tpeeian]/ expert

more striking colors the awful scene of his
conversion, and repeats more minutely that
heavenly call which was impossible for him to
disobey (v. i9), and in obeying which, though
he incurred the displeasure of his countrymen
(t. si), he continued to receive the divine sup-
port (v. 22)" {Humphry, p. 192). — Thou art
permitted to speak, etc. It is Agrippa who
gives the permission to speak, because, as he
was the guest on this occasion, and a king, he
presides by right of courtesy. (Comp. 21 : 40.)
— Stretched forth — lit. having stretched
forth — the hand is the same as beckoned
with the hand, in 13 : 16 (comp. 21 : 40)
and in 19 : 33. The gesture was the more
courteous, because the attention asked for
was certain, from the known curiosity of
the hearers. On the arm which Paul raised
hung one of the chains to which he alludes
in V. 29.

2. Of the Jews, simply by Jews, without
the article (comp. 22 : 30), because he would
represent the accusation as purely Jewish in its
character. The best manuscripts omit the be-
fore the proper name. — King. For Agrippa's
claim to the title, see on 25 : 13. — Some copies
place shall answer after happy ; others, after
before thee. The first is the best position,
because it secures a stronger emphasis to the
pronoun (Grsb., Tsch.). — The object of I have
thought is the same as the subject, but the lat-
ter, which is more prominent, controls the case
of shall (liiWuiv). This verb is perfect, have
thought, not think (E. V.). Paul distin-
guishes the tenses in Phil. 3:7, 8.

3. Especially, rendered namely in the older
versions (Tynd., Cran., Gen.), states why Paul
was so eminently fortunate, not how much
Agrippa knew.— Since thou art expert— lit.
a knower. The accusative is anacoluthic, in-
stead of the genitive (Mey., Win., Rob.). (W.
2 32. 7.) Some explain it as an instance of the
accusative absolute ; but we have no clear ex-
ample of that construction in the New Testa-

ment. Eyes, in Eph. 1 : 18, has been cited as
an example of it, but stands really in apposi-
tion with ^irit, or depends on may give. Beza's
unauthorized knowing (whence because I know,
in E. V.) obviates the irregularity. The Rab-
binic writers* speak of Agrippa as having ex-
celled in a knowledge of the law. As the tra-
dition which they follow could not have flowed
from this passage, it confirms the representation
here by an unexpected agreement. — Among
Jews (not the Jews), of whom we are led to
think as existing in different places. (W. § 53.
d.)— Therefore (6i6). In the presence of such
a judge he proposes to speak at length, and re-
quests a patient hearing.

4. Therefore (oiv) — i. e. encouraged thus, he
will proceed. [This word is not represented in
the Common English Version. — A. H.] The
apostle enters here on his defence. — From nry
youth. (See on 22 : 3.) — At first, rather
from the beginning, refers to the same
period of his life, but marks it more strongly
as an early period. It will be observed that,
while the apostle repeats this idea in the suc-
cessive clauses, he brings forward in each case
a new circumstance in connection with it. He
states, first, how long the Jews had known him ;
secondly, where they had known him so long
(among mine own nation and in Jern>
salem); and thirdly, what (that after the
strictest sect, etc.) they had known of him
so long and in that place.

5. Which knew me from the beginning,
rather knowing me before — i. e. the present
time. — If they would be willing to testify,
as he had not the confidence in their honesty to
expect. — That according to the strictest
sect, in regard both to doctrine and manner
of life. (See 22 : 3.) Josephus describes this
peculiarity of the Pharisees in similar lan-
guage : " A sect that seem to be more religious
than others, and to interpret the laws more
strictly" {BeJl. Jud., 1. 5. 2). That reaches
back to know (».♦).

1 Sepp gives the testimonies in bis Dcu Leben Oiristi, vol. It. p. 138.

Ch. XXVI.]

rHE ACTS.

283

6 'And now I stand and am judged for the hope of
*the promise made of God unto our fathers:

7 Unto which promise «our twelve tribes, instantly
serving God ''day and night, 'hope to come. For
which hope's sake, king Agrippa, I am accused of
the Jews.

8 Why should it be thought a thing incredible with
you, that God should raise the dead?

9 /I verily thought with myself, that I ought to do
many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Naz-
areth.

10 'Which thing I also did in Jerusalem : and many

6 1 lived a Pharisee. And now T stand here to be
judged for the hope of the promise made of God

7 unto our fathers; unto whicn promise our twelve
tribes, earnestly serving God night and day, hope to

— attain. And concerning this hope I am accused bv

8 the Jews, O king I Why is it judged incredible with

9 you, if God doth raise the dead ? I verily thought
with myself, that I ought to do many things con-

lOtrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And this

• oh. 23: 6.. ..6 Gen. 3:15; » : 18 ; 28 : 4; 49 : 10 ; Dent. 18:15; 2 Sam. 7:12; Pi. 132:11; In. 4:2;T:U; 9 :S; 40:10; Jer. 23:5;

33:14, IS, 16; Eiek. 34:23; 37 :24; Dan. 9:24; Hie. 7 : 20; cb. 13 :32; Rom. 15:8; Tit. 3: lS....e JamM 1:1 d Lake 2 :37;

IThesi. 3:10; 1 Tim. 5 : 5....ePtaU. 3 : 11..../ Joho 18 : 2; 1 Tim. 1 : lS....0oh. 8 : 3; Oal. 1:13.

6. And now compares his present with his
former position. If his rigor as a Pharisee had
been a merit in the eyes of the Jews, his hope
as a Christian was merely that of the true
Israel, and should as little be imputed to him
as a crime. — Of the promise — i. e. of a Mes-
siah— made unto our fathers (Kuin., Olsh.,
De Wet., Mey.). The same expression occurs
in Paul's discourse at Antioch (i3 :;32), where it
is said that God fulfilled tlie promise, or showed
it to be fulfilled, by raising up Jesus from the
dead. (See the note on that passage. Comp.
28 : 20.) — Unto which — viz. the promise, its
accomplishment. This is the natural antece-
dent, and not the remoter hope. — The word
{SioitKa4>v\ov) translated twelve tribes ( = raU
iiaStKo. 0uAais, in Jamcs 1 : 1) exists only here,
but is formed, after the analogy of other com-
pounds, from the Greek numeral twelve (StiStKa).
The Jewish nation consisted of those who were
descended from the twelve tribes; which fact
justifies the expression historically, though the
twelve tribes had now lost their separate exist-
ence.— Instantly — i. e. (if tKTtvfia) with earn-
estness. (See on without ceasing (exrei^t),
in 12 : 5.) The noun is a later Grecism. (Lob.,
Phryn., p. 311.) Such forms help us to fix the
age of the New-Testament writings. Wor-
shipping night and day. This was a phrase
which denoted habitual worship, especially as
connected with fasting and prayer. (See Luke
1:75; 2:37; 18 : 1; lTh^s.5 : 17; lTim.5 : 5.)

7. For which hope's sake, or concern-
ing which hope, I am accused. The apos-
tle means to say that he was accused of main-
taining that this hope of a Messiah had been
accomplished in Jesus, and had been accom-
plished in him because God raised him from
the dead. The presence of the latter idea in
the mind of the apostle leads to the interroga-
tion in the next verse. — Agrippa, after king,
has decisive evidence against it. — Of the
Jews — lit. by Jews — is reserved to the end
of the sentence, in order to state more strongly
the inconsistency of such an accusation from

such a source. Here, too, the article (B. V.)
weakens the sense and is incorrect.

8. What ? or Why ? (n) is printed in some
editions as a separate question : What ? Is it
judged incredible ? Other editions connect
the interrogative with the verb: Why is it
judged incredible? Griesbach, Kuinoel,
De Wette, Conybeare and Howson, and others
prefer the first mode; Knapp, Hahn, Meyer,
Tischendorf, and others prefer the second mode.
The latter appears to me more agreeable to the
calm energy of the apostle's manner. (" It is
decisive agfiinst the other view," says Meyer in
his last edition, " that «' alone was not so used ;
the expression would be For what f What then T
or What now f " The examples of n as inter-
rogative in Rom. 3 : 3, 9; 6 : 15, and Phil. 1 : 18
agree with this criticism.) — With you extends
the inquiry to all who were present. The
speaker uses the singular number when he
addresses Agrippa personally. (See vv. 2, 3,
27.) — If God raises the dead, where if is
not for that, but presents the assertion as one
that the sceptic might controvert. — Raises
(iytipti) is present, because it expresses a cha-
racteristic act. The resurrection of Jesus was
past, but illustrated a permanent attribute or
power on the part of God.

9. This verse is illative, with reference to the
preceding question. — I verily, rather I indeed
therefore — i. e. in consequence of a spirit
of incredulity, like that of others. Seemed
to myself, thought. The pronoun opposes his
own to another and higher judgment. This
same act in which Paul gloried at the time ap-
peared to him as the crime of his life after he
became a Christian. In 1 Cor. 15 : 9 he declares
that he " was the least of the apostles, that he
was not meet to be called an apostle, because
he persecuted the church of God." — To the
name, or against the name of Jesus.
(Comp. wi>69, in Luke 23 : 12.)— Many things
contrary — t. e. many things hostile.

10. Which thing (5) refers to the collective
idea — in many things hostile, etc. — Also connects

284

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVI.

of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received
authority "from the chief priests ; and when they were
put to death, I gave mv voice against therm.

U *And I punished them oft in every synagogue,
and compelled them to blaspheme ; and being exceed-
kigly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto
strange cities.

I also did in Jerusalem : and I both shut up many
of the saints in prisons, having received authority
from the chief priests, and when they were put to
11 death, I gave my vote against them. And punish-
ing them oftentimes in all the synagogues, I strove
to make them blaspheme ; and being exceedingly
mad against them, I persecuted them even unto

a oh. 9 : U, 21 ; 22 : 5....6 oh. 22 : 19.

did with thought. — And many, etc., adds
the facts in ilhistration of what was stated in
general terms. — The saints is no doubt a
chosen word here. It does not occur in Luke's
account of the apostle's conversion (9 : 1, »?.).
Paul himself avoids it in his speech to the
Jews (22:4,»?.), who Were so sensitive in regard
to any claim of merit in behalf of the Chris-
tians. " But here, before Agrippa, where there
was no such need of caution, the apostle in-
dulges his own feelings by giving them a title
of honor which aggravates his own guilt"
{Birks, p. 327). — I, emphatic. The imprisoning
was the speaker's act. — The common text omits
in before prisons, I shut up unto prisons,
which would be an instance of the local dative
sometimes found after verbs compounded with
Kara. (See Bemli., Synt., p. 243.) But Gries-
bach, Tischendorf, and others allege good au-
thority for reading i»i prisons, which would be
the ordinary construction. (Comp. Luke 3 :
20.) — From the chief priests. (See the note
on 9 : 2.) — And as they (which refers to saints
as a class, not to all those imprisoned) were
put to death, I brought, or cast, my vote
against them — i. e. encouraged, approved, the
act (Bng., Kuin., De Wet., Mey.). (Comp. coti-
senting, in 22 : 20.) Some insist on the literal
sense of the phrase, and infer from it that Paul
was a member of the Sanhedrim and voted
with the other judges to put the Christians to
death. But the Jews required, as a general
rule, that those who held this office should be
men of years ; and Paul, at the time of Ste-
phen's martyrdom, could hardly have attained
the proper age. It is said too, on the authority
of the later Jewish writers, that one of the
necessary qualifications for being chosen into
the Sanhedrim was that a man should be the
father of a family, because he who is a parent
may be expected to be merciful — a relation
which, from the absence of any allusion to it
in the apostle's writings, we have every reason
to believe that he never sustained. The ex-
pression itself affords but slight proof that Paul
was a voter in the Sanhedrim. Psepfws («>(^(<)ov),
a stone used as a ballot, like our " suffrage,"
signified also opinion, assent, and accompanied
various verbs, as to place and to cast down, as

meaning to think, judge, sanction, with a fig-
urative allusion to the act of voting. Plato
uses the term often in that sense. (See R. and
P., Lex., p. 2576.) — Them agrees with the inti-
mation of other passages (s : s ; 9 : 1 ; 22 : 4) that
Stephen was not the only victim whose blood
was shed at this time.

11. Punished them, etc., or and punish-
ing them often throughout all the syna-
gogues, in the different places where he pur-
sued his work of persecution, (See 22 : 19.)
"The chief rulers of the synagogues," says
Biscoe (p. 81), "being also the judges of the
people in many cases, especially those which
regarded religion (comp. on 9 : 2), chose to give
sentence against offenders and see their sentence
executed in the synagogue. Persons were al-
ways scourged in the presence of the judges
(Vitr., De Syimg. Vett., p. 177). For, punish-
ment being designed ' in terrorem,' what more
likely to strike the mind with awe and deter
men from falling into the like errors than to
have it executed in their religious assemblies
and in the face of the congregation ? Our Lord
foretold that his disciples should be scourged in
the synagogues (Matt. 10 : it ; 23 : 34) ; and we learn
here that Paul was an instrument in fulfilling
this prediction, having beaten them that be-
lieved in every synagogue." — I compelled;
rather I was constraining them (i. e. urged
them by threats and torture) to blaspheme —
viz. Jesus or the gospel. (Comp. 13 : 45 ; James
2 : 7.) The imperfect states the object, not the
result, of the act. That, among the many who
suffered this violence, every one preserved his
fidelity, it would be unreasonable to affirm.
We learn from Pliny's letter to Trajan (Lib. X.
97) that heathen persecutors applied the same
test which Saul adopted for the purpose of as-
certaining who were truly Christians: "Pro-
positus est libellus sine auctore, multorum
nomina continens. Qui negabant esse se Chris-
tianos aut fuisse, cum praeeunte me deos appel-
larent et imagini fuse (quam propter hoc jus-
seram cum simulacris numinuin adferri) ture ac
vino supplicarent, prseterea maledicerent Christo
— quorum nihil posse cogi dicuntur qui suiU revera
Christiani — dimittendos esse putavi " ["An
anonymous note was presented, containing the

Ch. XXVI.]

THE ACTS.

285

12 •Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority
aud commission from the chief priests,

13 At midday, O kini,', I saw in the way a light from
heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round
about me and them which journeyed with me.

1 » And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard
a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew
tongue, tjaul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is bard
for tliee to kick against the pricks.

15 And I said, Who art thou. Lord? And he said, I
am Jesus whom thou persecutest.

16 But rise, aud stand upon thy feet : for I have ap-
peared unto thee for this purpose. Ho make thee a
minister and a witness both of these things which
thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I
will appear unto thee;

12 foreign cities. 'Whereupon as I journeyed to Damas-
cus with the authority and commis^sion of the chief

13 priests, at midday, O king, 1 saw on the way a U^ht
from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shin-
ing round about me and them that journeyed with

14 me. And when we were all fallen to the earth,
I heard a voice saying unto me in the Hebrew
language, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it

15 is hard for thee to kick against 'the goad. Aud I
said. Who art thou, Lord? Aud the lx>rd said, I am

16 Jesus whom thou persecutest. But arise, and stand
upon thy feet: for to this end have I appeared unto
thee, to appoint thee a minister and a witness both
of the things "wherein thou hast seen me, aud of

a eh, 9:8; tt:6....6 oh. 22:16.-

. .3 Man; ancient anthorities read vhieh thmt

names of many. Those who denied that they
were or had been Christians, when, after my ex-
ample, they called on the gods and made suppli-
cation with incense and wine to thy statue (which
for this cause I liad commanded to be brought
with the images of the gods) — noneofwhich'things,
it is said, can those who are really Christians he com-
pelled to do—1 dismissed." — A. H.]. — Even
nnto, etc., or as far as even unto, the for-
eign cities, as those would be called which were
outof Judea. Among these Luke and Paul single
out Damascus, because a train of such events
followed the apostle's expedition to that city.

12. Whereupon — lit. in which also, while
intent on this object. (Comp. in which, in 24 :
18.) Also, so common in Luke after the rela-
tive, some of the best copies omit here. — Au-
thority and commission (i^ovaiat and eircrpo-
n^t) strengthen each other; he had ample
power to execute his commission.

13« At midday (int.tpa'S fi^a-ir);). {" ii4cti vnipa,

pro meridie communis dialecti est, at nioov
riiiipat, aut litiniiiPpU (22 : 6) elegantiora." * See
Lob., Ad Phn/n., p. 55.) — In the way = along
the way (Mey., Rob.), not on the way (DeWet.).
— For me, after shining round about, see
on 9 : 3. — For those journeying with me,
see on 22 : 9.

14. And when, etc.— lit. and we all hav-
ing fallen down upou the earth, from the
effect of terror, not as an act of reverence.
(Comp. 9:4; 22 : 17.) In regard to the alleged
inconsistency between this statement and stood
tpeechless. in 9 : 7, see the note on that passage.
—It is hard for thee to kick against the
pricks, or goads. [The original text has no
article before goads. — A. H.] The meaning is
that his opposition to the cause and will of
Christ must be unavailing; the continuance
of it would only bring injury and ruin on him-
self. Wetstein has produced examples of this
proverb from both Greek and Latin writers.

(Euripides {Bacch., v. 791) applies it as here:

^fioviJifvoi irpb; xivrpa AaxTt'^oi/uii, ^yrirbt i>v &f<^.

Terence {Phorm., 1. 2. 27) employs it thus : " Nam
qufe inscitia est, Advorsum simulum calces?"
Plautus ( True, 4. 2. 55) has it in this form :
"Si stimulos pugnis csedis, manibus plus do-
let.") The Scholiast on Find. {Pyth., 2. 173)
explains the origin of the expression: "The
figure is from oxen. For those that are un-
trained in farm-work, when goaded by the
ploughman, kick the goad, and are beaten the
more." The same or a similar proverb must
have been current among the Hebrews, thougli
this is the only instance of it found in the
Scriptures. The common plough in the East
at present has but one handle. The same per-
son, armed with a goad six or eight feet long,
holds the plough and drives his team at the
same time. As the driver follows the oxen,
therefore, instead of being at their side as with
us, and applies the goad from that position, a
refractory animal of course would kick against
the sharp iron when pierced with it. In early
times the Greeks and Romans used a plough of
the like construction.

16. For this purpose prepares the mind
for what tollows. (See on 9 : 21.)— For shows
that the command to arise was equivalent to
assuring him that he had no occasion for such
alarm (v. u) ; the object of tlie vision was to
summon him to a new and exalted sphere ol
effort. — To appoint thee as a minister, call
him to his destined work. The antecedent pur-
pose must be sought in the nature of the act,
rather than in the verb. (See on 3 : ^.)—
Understand of those things {rovntv), after wit*
ness, as the attracting antecedent of which
(ftii'). — Stv T« h4>^<Toy.ai am. is an unusual construc-
tion. The best solution is that S>¥ stands for a
as a sort of explanatory accusative (K. ^ 279.
7.) : as to which, or (= 8c' o), oti account of which
(Mey.), / will appear unto thee. (See W. ? 39. 3.

1 [The apostle uses here a mor« common form for midday, while in ch. 22 : 6 he employs one more elegant.]

286

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVI.

17 Delivering thee from the people, and Jrom, the
Gentiles, ounto whom now I send thee,

18 *To open their eyes, and to turn Ihem from dark-
ness to light, aiid from the power of Satan unto God,
^that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and •inher-
itance among them which are /sanctified by faith that
is in me.

19 Whereupon. O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient
unto the heavenly vision :

2U liut fshewed first unto them of Damascus, and at
Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judsa, and

17 the things wherein I will appear unto thee ; deliy«
ering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles,

18 unto whom I send tnee, to open their eyes, ithat
they may turn from darkness to light, and from the
power of Satan unto God, that they may receive
remission of sins and an inheritance among them

19 that are sanctified by faith in me. Wherefore, O
king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heav-

20 enly vision : but declared both to them of Damascus
first, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coun-

a cb. Z2:21....& In. 35:5; 42: T; Luke 1 : 79; John 8 : 12 ; 2 Cor. i:4; Eph. 1 : 18; 1 Tbess. 5:5 e 2 Cor. 6:14; Eph. 4: 18;

5:8; Col. 1: 13; 1 Pet. 2 : 9, 25.... d Luke 1 : 77....e Eph. 1 : 11 ; Col. 1 : 12..../cb 20 : S2....aoh. » : 20, 22, 29 : 11 : 26 : aad chaps.
13 ; 14 ; IS ; 17 ; 18 ; 19 ; 20 ; 21. 1 Or, U> turn (Aem

1.) Many commentators assign an active sense
to the verb : whkh I will cause thee to see or know.
This use of the verb has no warrant either in
classic or Hellenistic Greek. [Westcott and
Hort, with the Anglo-Am. Revisers, adopt a
reading, supported by B C* and the Syriac Ver-
sions, which may be translated as follows : both
of the things wherein thou hast seen me (the pronoun
lit being added to the received text), and of the
things wherein I will appear unto thee. Rejecting
the pronoun, the Bible Union revision and the
translation of Davidson agree in the following
version : both of the things which thou sawest, and
of the things in which I will appear to thee. It is
diflBcult to decide upon the text, and the mean-
ing is not essentially changed by the reception
or rejection of the pronoun. — A. H.]

17. Delivering thee from the people —
i. e. of the Jews (see on 10 : 2) — and the Gen-
tiles = heathen. For this sense of the partici-
ple, see 7 : 10 ; 12 : 11 ; 23 : 27. Such a promise
was conditional, from the nature of the case.
It pledged to him the security which he needed
for the accomplishment of his work until his
work was done. Some render the words («f<w-
povfievoi <re) Selecting thee, so as to find here
the idea of a chosen vessel, in 9 : 15 (Kuin., Hnr.,
Rob., Cony, and Hws.). This interpretation
would suit from, the people, but, as De Wette and
Meyer remark, it is inappropriate to from the
heathen. Paul was not one of the heathen, and
could not be said to be chosen from them. —
Unto whom refers to both the nouns which
precede. — The correct text inserts I (emphatic)
before thee, and omits now. — I send is pres-
ent, because his ministry is to b^n at once.

18. It is important to observe the relation of
the different clauses to each other. To open
their eyes states the object of send. — That
they may turn derives its subject from their.
The verb is intransitive (see v. 20 ; 14 : 15), not
active, in order to turn them (E. V.). This clause
states the designed effect of the illumination
which they should receive. — That they may
obtain forgiveness of sins expresses the
direct object of the second infinitive and the

ultimate object of the first. — For an inher-
itance among the sanctified, see the note
on 20 : 32. — By faith on me our English
translators and some others join with sanc-
tified ; but the words specify, evidently, the
condition by which believers obtain the pardon
of sin and an interest in the heavenly inher-
itance. Which are sanctified is added
merely to indicate the spiritual nature of the
inheritance.

19. Whereupon — lit. whence, according-
ly ; i. e. having been so instructed, and in such
a manner. — I was not = I proved not dis-
obedient affirms the alacrity of his response
to the call more strongly than if the mode of
expression had been positive, instead of nega-
tive. Disobedient attaches itself to the per-
sonal idea of vision, and demands that ele-
ment in the meaning of the word. The service
required of him, and so promptly rendered,
evidently was that he should preach the gospel
to Jews and Gentiles (r. n). It is impossible to
reconcile such intimations with the idea tiiat the
apostle after this remained for years inactive in
Arabia, or spent the time there in silent medi-
tation and the gradual enlargement of his views
of the Christian system. I cannot agree with
Dr. Davidson that " Paul was not a preacher of
the gospel in Arabia, but went through a pro-
cess of training there, for the purpose of preach-
ing it." (See his Introduction, ii. p. 80.) — The
heavenly vision, manifestation of the Sa-
viour's person. (Comp. Luke 1 : 22; 24 : 23;
2 Cor. 12 : 1. See the note on 9 : 7.)

20. To those in Damascus first, as stated
in 9 : 20 and implied in Gal. 1 : 17. — Jerusa-
lem with in repeated, in Jerusaiem ; hardly
unto as a direct dative (Mey.). [The best au-
thorized text reads and also Jerusalem. — A. H.]
— And unto {i. e. with a union of the local
idea with the personal, the inhabitants of) all
the region of Judea. (Comp. told it in the
city, in Luke 8 : 34.) Meyer extends them
from the other clause into this: and unto thosi
throughout all the region. But in his last edition
he gives up this analysis and approves the other.

Ch. XXVI.]

THE ACTS.

287

then to the Gentiles, that ther should repent and turn
to God, and do 'works meet for repentance.

21 For these causes 'the Jews caught me in the tem-
ple, and went about to kill me.

22 Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue
unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, say-
ing none other things than those ^which the prophets
and ''.Moses did -say should come :

2;j 'That Christshould suffer, a»«i/that he should be
the first that should rise from the dead, and 'should
shew light unto the people, and to the Gentiles.

try of JudKa, and also to the Gentiles, that they
should repent and turn to God, doing works worthy
^t'of 'repentance. For this cause the Jews seized me
22 in the temple, and assayed to kill me. Having
therefore obtained the help that is from God, 1
stand unto this day testifying both to small and
great, saying nothing but what the prophets and
2;iiMoses did say should come; sjiow that the Christ
*must suffer, and '■'how that he first by the resurrec-
tion of the dead should proclaim light both to the
people and to the Gentiles.

I Matt. S: 8 6 ob. 31 : 30, 31 e Luke 24:27, U; ch. 24 : U ; 28 : 23 ; Rom. 3 : 3l....<l John 5 : 4<....< Luke 24: 26, 4<..../I

Cor. 15:20; Col. 1:18; Bev. 1 :&.... 0 Luke 2:32. 1 Or, their repentanet....t Or, if Or, wAeCker 3 Or, it rukject to

ivffering

—The apostle during his labors in Syria and
Oilicia, after his first visit to Jerusalem, was as
yet unknown in person to the churches of
Judea. (See Gal. 1 : 22.) Hence he must have
preached there, as intimated in that passage, at
a later period. He could have done so when he
went thither at the time of the famine (see on
11 : 30) or while he was at Jerusalem between
his first and second mission to the heathen
(18:22). — Works meet for repentance — i.e.
deeds worthy of repentance, such as
showed that they were changed in heart and
life. Zeller charges that Paul would not have
spoken so, because his doctrine was that of
justification by faith alone. The answer is
that in Paul's system good works are the neces-
sary evidence of such faith, and, further, that
by faith that is in me, above (v. i8), shows
that he adhered fully on this occasion to his
well-known doctrinal view. — And do, or do-
ing, deserts the case of Gentiles [dat.], and
agrees with they (aurov's) as the suppressed sub-
ject of the verbs.

22. Having therefore obtained assist-
ance from God, since, exposed to such dan-
gers in the fulfilment of his ministry {went about
to kill me, in v. 21), he must otherwise have per-
ished. The assistance was an inference (oSi')
from his present safety. — Testifying to both
small and great {Rev. n-.w; is : i6; 19 : 5), not
young and old (s : 10). The phrase admits either
sense, but the more obvious distinction here is
that of rank, not of age. The grace of God is
impartial; the apostle declared it without re-
spect of persons. It is uncertain whether this
{marturomenos) is the correct participle, or the
received marturoumenos. The latter would
mean attested, approved, both by small and great
(Bretsch., Mey.). (Ctomp. 6 : 3 ; 10 : 22 ; 16 : 2.)
It is objected that the sense with the latter read-
ing is impossible, because Paul was so notori-
ously despised and persecuted by Jews and
heathen (Alf.). But the meaning might be
that, though not openly approved, he had re-
ceived that verdict at the bar of their con-

sciences ; he had not failed to commend himself
and his doctrine to every man's better judg-
ment. The avowal would imply no more than
Paul affirms to be true of all who preach faith-
fully the system of truth which he preached.
(See 2 Cor. 4:2.) Some render marturournenoi
as middle, bearing witness, instead of passive, but
confessedly without any example of that use.
Knapp, Hahn, Tischendorf, Baumgarten, and
others approve of marturomenos. It has no less
support than the other word, and affords an
easier explanation. [Rather, far more support ;
for this participle is also accepted by Griesb.,
Lach., Treg., West, and Hort, and the Anglo-
Am. Revisers. Moreover, it rests upon such
codices as N A B H L P, while the other read-
ing {iiaprvpovnevof) has but One good uncial, E,
in its favor. The case is therefore very clear.
—A. H.]

23. This part of the sentence attaches itself
to saying rather than to which should
come. If the Messiah can suffer (passi-
bilU in Vulg.), not so much as a possibility of
his nature as one of the conditions of his office
— i. e. would be appointed or allowed to suffer,
and so could be subject to infirmity, pain,
death. (Verbals in rot express possibility and
correspond to Latin adjectives in ills. B. g 102.
N. 2.) The apostle, as I understand, approaches
the question on the Jewish side of it, not on the
Christian ; and that was whether the Messiah,
being such as many of the Jews expected, cotdd
suffer, not whether he must suffer, in order to
fulfil the Scriptures. If presents the points as
questions which he was wont to discuss. Many
of the Jews overlooked or denied the suffering
character of the Messiah, and stumbled fatally
at the gospel because (their stumbling-block) it
required them to accept a crucified Redeemer.
(Some make €4 = on, that — t. e. the sign of a
moderated assertion.) — The Christ, the
Messiah as such ; not a personal name here.
— The first that should rise from the
dead = the first-bom from the dead, in Col. 1 :
18. If Moses and the prophets foretold that

288

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVI.

24 And as he thus spake for hiiuselt, Festus said with
a loud voice, l^aul, "thou art beside thyself; much
learning doth make thee mad.

25 But he said, I am not mad, most noble Festus ; but
speak forth the words of truth and soberness.

26 For the king knoweth of these things, before
whom also I speak freely : for I am persuaded that
none of these things are hidden from him ; for this
thing was not done in a corner.

27 King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I
know that thou believest.

28 Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou per-
suadest me to be a Christian.

24 And as he thus made his defence, Festus saith
with a loud voice, Paul, thou art mad ; thy much

25 learning doth turn thee to madness. But Paul
saith, I am not mad, most excellent Festus; but

26 speak forth words of truth and soberness. For the
king knoweth of these things, unto whom also 1
speak freelj' : for I am persuaded that none of these
things is hidden from him ; for this hath not been

27 done in a corner. King Agrippa, believest thou the

28 prophets? I know that thou believest. And Agrip-
pa said unto Paul, ^With but little persuasion thou

a 1 iOnga 9 : II ; JobnlO:aO; 1 Cor. 1:23; 2 :1S, U; 4:10.-

-1 Or, <n a liUte time

the Messiah would suffer, die, and rise from
the dead, it followed that Jesus was the prom-
ised Saviour of men and the Author of eternal
life to those who believe on him. The apodosis
(should show light, etc.) depends logically
on the protasis {if the Christ can suffer, etc.).

24-29. THE ANSWER OF PAUL TO
FESTUS.

24. Thus — lit. these things — refers more
especially to the words last spoken (Mey.), and
not in the same degree to the entire speech (De
Wet.). The idea of a resurrection, which ex-
cited the ridicule of the Athenians (it : 32), ap-
peared equally absurd to the Roman Festus,
and he oould listen with patience no longer.
It is evident that these things, in v. 26, has
reference to should rise from the dead, in v. 23 ;
and the intermediate these things would not be
Ukely to turn the mind to a different subject.
— The participle rendered spake for himself
may be present, because Feetus interposed be-
fore Paul had finished his defence (Mey.). —
Lond voice. (See on 14 : 10.) The "loud
voice" was the effect of his surprise and as-
tonishment.— Thou art mad, which he says
earnestly, not in jest (Olsh.), because it really
appeared to him that Paul was acting under an
infatuation which could spring only from in-
sanity (Neand., Mey., De Wet.). Bengel:
" Videbat Festus, naturam non agere in Paulo ;
gratiam non vidit" ["Festus saw that nature
was not working in Paul; grace he did not
see"]. — [The words translated much learn-
ing] (ra iroAAa ypaiJ.ii.aTa) admit of twO SenSeS :
the many writings which thou readest (Kuin.,
Mey., Cony, and Hws.), or the much learning
which thou hast or art reputed to have (Neand.,
De Wet., Alf). The latter is the more natural
idea (as Meyer now holds), and may have been
suggested to the mind of Festus from his hav-
ing heard that Paul was distinguished among
the Jews for his scholarship. It is less probable
that he was led to make the remark because he
was struck with the evidence of superior know-
iedge evinced in Paul's address. It was able

and eloquent, but would not be characterized
as learned in any very strict sense of the
term.

25. I am not mad, etc. This reply of Paul
is unsurpassed as a model of Christian courtesy
and self-command. Doddridge takes occasion
to say here that " if great and good men who
meet with rude and insolent treatment in the
defence of the gospel would learn to behave
with such moderation, it would be a great ac-
cession of strength to the Christian cause." —
Most noble = most excellent, as in 23 : 26.
— Of truth, as opposed, not to falsehood (his
veracity was not impeached), but to the fancies,
hallucinations, of a disordered intellect. — So-
berness is the opposite of mania — i. e. a sound
mind.

26. For the king knows well concern-
ing these things — viz. the death and resur-
rection of Christ. The apostle is assured that
Agrippa has heard of the events connected
with the origin of Christianity, and could not
deny that they were supported by evidence too
credible to make it reproachful to a man's un-
derstanding to admit the reality of the facts. —
Before whom — lit. unto whom also (t. e.
while he has this knowledge and on that ac-
count)— I speak boldly, without fear of con-
tradiction.— In a corner, secretly (litotes) ; on
the contrary, at Jerusalem, the capital of the
nation. The expression was current in this
sense (Wetst.). — This thing = these things,
just before. The plural views the circum-
stances in detail; the singular, as a whole.
(See the note on 5:5.)

27. Believest thou, etc. As Agrippa pro-
fessed to believe the Scriptures which foretold
that the Messiah would rise from the dead, he
was bound to admit that there was nothing ir-
rational or improbable in the apostle's testi-
mony concerning an event which accom-
plished that prophecy.

28. Almost, etc., or in a little time (at
this rate), yon persuade me to become a
Christian (Wetst., Raph., Kuin., Neand., De

Ch. XXVI.]

THE ACTS.

289

29 And Paul said, *I would to God, that not odIt
thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both
almost, and altogether such as I am, except these
bonds.

30 And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up,
and the goveruor, and Bernice, and they that sat with
them:

31 And when they were gone aside, they talked be-
tween themselves, saying, ^This man doeth nothing
worthy of death or of bonds.

29 wouldest fain make me a Christian. And Paul said,
I would to God, that "whether with little or with
much, not thou only, but also all that hear me this
day, might become such as I am, except these
bonds.

30 And the king rose up, and the governor, and

31 Bernice, and they that sat with them : and when
they bad withdrawn, they spake one to another,
saying. This man doeth nothing worthy of death or

alCor.T:T....toh.2S:9,W; S5:lfi.-

-1 Or, both M little and in grtat, i. «., in all reipeeU.

Wet., Rob.). It was not uncommon in Greek
to omit time (xp^fof) after this adjective. Wet-
stein, Raphel {Annott., ii. p. 188), and others have
produced decisive examples of this ellipsis. By
taking in little (if 6\iy<f) as quantitative, instead
of temporal, Meyer brings out this sense from
the expression : With little — i. e. trouble, effort —
you persuade tne to become a Christian ; in other
words (said sarcastically), You appeal to me as
if you thought me an easy convert to your faith.
This would be, no doubt, the correct explana-
tion, if, with Meyer, Tischendorf, and others,
we adopt in great (iv f*eyaA<j>) as the correct read-
■ ing in Paul's reply, instead of in mxich (iv rroWif) ;
but the testimony for the common text out-
weighs that against it (Neand., De Wet.). [As
the evidence is now reported, this does not ap-
pear to be the case. Lach., Tsch., Treg., West,
and Hort, and Angk>-Am. Revisers agree in
accepting iv ixtyaK<f, in great, as the true text.
In this they are supported by X A B, the three
most important uncials, and by the Vul., Syr.,
and Cop. Versions. — A. H.] It is held, at pres-
ent, to be unphilological to translate in little,
almost (Bez., Grot., E. V.). The Greek for that
sense would have been of little (oAiyov), it needs

little {oKiyov ill), Or by little (nap, oAiyov). The

translation of the Common Version appears first
in the Geneva Version. Tyndale and Cranmer
render : " Somewhat thou bringest me in mind
for to become a Christian." Agrippa ap'
pears to have been moved by the apostle's
earnest manner, but attempts to conceal his
emotion under the form of a jest.

39, I could pray to God — i. e. if I obeyed
the impulse of my own heart, though it may
be unavailing. (For iv with the optative, see
W. § 41. 1. b ; B. g 139. m. 15.)— Both almost,
and altogether, rather both in a little and
in much time. We may paraphrase the idea
tlms : " I could wish that you might become a
Christian in a short time, as you say ; and if not
in a short time, in a long time. I should rejoice
in such an event, could it ever take place,
whether it were sooner or later." If we read
in great {iv liryiXif) [as the evidence — see above
—requires. — A. H.], the words would then
19

mean whether by little effort or by great, whether
he was to be converted with ease or difficulty.
— Except these chains, which were hanging
upon his arms as he made his defence. (See
note on 12 : 6.) Though separated from his
keepers, he must wear still the badges of his
condition. Hess writes (ii. p. 459) as if the
soldiers were present and Paul was bound to
them. Some have taken the language as figu-
rative : except this state of captivity. The literal
sense is not inconsistent with an occasional
Roman usage. Tacitus mentions the following
scene aa having occurred in the Roman Senate
{Ann., 4. 28) : " Reus pater, accusator filius (no-
men utrique Vibius Serenus), in senatum in-
ducti sunt. Ab exilio retractus et tum catena
vinctus, orante filio. At contra reus nihil in-
fracto animo, obversus in filium quaiere vincla,
vocare ultores deos," etc. ["A fiither the ac-
cused, his son the accuser (the name of each
was Vibius Serenus), were led into the Senate.
He had been brought back from exile and then
was bound with a chain, the son arguing against
him. On the other hand, the accused, his spirit
in no degree shaken, turned toward his son,
shook his chain, and called on the gods as his
avengers"].

30-32. AGRIPPA PRONOUNCES PAUL
INNOCENT.

30. The best authorities read rose up with-
out and when he had thus spoken.— The
is repeated before king and governor, be-
cause they are the titles of different persons.
— Those who sat with them are the mili-
tary officers and magistrates who are men-
tioned in 25 : 23. The parties are named as
rising and leaving the hall in the order of
their rank.

31. And when, etc., or and having re-
tired, withdrawn from the place of audieni-e
(see 25 : 23), not apart simply in the same room.
— Talked with one another. The object of
the conference was to ascertain Agrippa's opin-
ion in regarti to the merits of the case. For
nothing worthy of death, etc., see on 23 : 29.
— Does nothing, in that he holds such opin-
ions, pursues such a course. (See W. § 40. 2. c.)

290

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVII.

32 Then said A^ippa unto Festus, This man might
have been set at liberty, "if he had not appealed unto
Ceesar.

32 of bonds. And Agrippa said unto Festus, This man
might have been set at liberty, if he had not ap-
pealed unto Csesar.

CHAPTER XXVII.

AND when 'it was determined that we should sail
into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other
prisoners unto one named Julius, a centurion of Au-
gustus' baud.

1 And when it was determined that we should sail
for Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other
prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the

a ch. 25 : II. . . .6 ch. 25 : 12, 2S.

It is not an instance of the present for the per-
fect (Kuin.).

32. Could have been (not covld he) re-
leased— i. e. at any previous time since his
apprehension, before his appeal to Csesar. It
will be seen that both verbs are in the past
tense. As the appeal has been accepted, it
could not be withdrawn, even with the consent
of the parties. The procurator had now lost the
control of the case, and had no more pow^er to
acquit the prisoner than to condemn him
(Bottg., Grot.). — One effect of Agrippa's de-
cision may have been that Festus modified his
report, and commended Paul to the clemency
of the court at Rome. (See on 28 : 16.)

1-5. PAUL EMBARKS AT C.SSAREA
FOR ROME, AND PROCEEDS AS FAR AS
MYRA.

1. When, or as^ presents it was deter-
mined as immediately antecedent to deliv-
ered.— Was determined relates to the time
of departure, not to the original purpose that
Paul should be sent. (See 25 ; 21.)— That we
should sail (toO oirowAeri') is a lax use of the
telic infinitive, the conception being that the de-
cision took place with a view to the sailing. (W.
2 44. 4. b.) — We includes the historian as one of
the party ; last used in 21 : 18. — Proceeded to
deliver (imperfect as related to was deter-
mined), or delivered, as a series of acts. The
plural subject of the verb refers to those who
acted in this case under the command of the
procurator. — Other — i. e. additional — prison-
ers, not different in character from Paul (viz.
heathen), as Meyer supposes. (Luke uses that
term and aWoi indiscriminately. See 15 : 35 ;
17 : 34.) — The statement here that not only
Paul, but certain other prisoners, were sent by
the same ship into Italy, implies, as Paley re-
marks, after Lardner, that the sending of per-
sons from Judea to be tried at Rome was a

common practice. Josephus confirms this in-
timation by a variety of instances. Among
others, he mentions the following, which is
the more pertinent, as it took place about this
time. "Felix," he says {Life, g 3), "for some
slight offence, hound and sent to Rome several
priests of his acquaintance, honorable and good
men, to answer for themselves to Caesar." — Of
Augustus' band, or of the Augustan co-
hort. It is well established that several legions
in the Roman army, certainly the second, third,
and eighth, bore the above designation. No
ancient writer, however, mentions that any
one of these was stationed in the East. Some
critics suppose, notwithstanding the absence
of any notice to this effect, that such may have
been the fact, and that one of the cohorts be-
longing to this legion, and distinguished by
the same name, had its quarters at Csesarea.
The more approved opinion is that it was an
independent cohort assigned to that particular
service, and known as the Augustan or im-
perial, because, with reference to its relation to
the procurator, it corresponded in some sense
to the emperor's life-guard at Rome.* It may
have taken the place of the Italian cohort,
which was mentioned in 10 ; 1, or very possi-
bly, as Meyer suggests, may have been identi-
cal with it. The two names are not inconsist-
ent with this latter opinion. Augustan may
have been the honorary appellation of the
cohort, while it was called Italian by the peo-
ple, because it consisted chiefly of Italians or
Romans. The other four cohorts at Ctesarea,
as stated by Josephus {Antt., 20. 8. 7 ; 19. 9. 2.\
were composed principally of Csesareans, or
Samaritans. Hence, again, some explain the
words as meaning Sebastenean or Samaritan co-
hort, since the city of Samaria bore also the
Greek name Sebaste, in honor of the Emperor
Augustus. But in that case, as Winer {Reaiw.,
ii. p. 338), De Wette, Meyer, and others decide,
we should have expected Sehastene, instead of
Sebastes, or an adjective equivalent in sense,

1 Such exceptions to the general system occur under every military establishment. Speaking of that of
England at a certain period, Mr. Macaulay says that " a troop of dragoons, which did not form part of any
regiment, waa stationed near Berwick, for the purpose of keeping the peace among the moss-troopers of the
border."

Ch. XXVII.]

THE ACTS.

291

2 And entering into a ship of Adramyttium, we
launched, meaning to sail by the coasts of Asia; one
•Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalouica, being
with us.

2 Augustan >band. And embarking in a ship of
Adramyttium, which was about to sail unto the
places on the coast of Asia, we put to sea, Aris-
tarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, being with

formed like Italian, in 10 : 1. Wieseler (p. 391)
has proposed anotlier view of the expression.
It appears that Nero organized a body-guard
which he denominated Augustani (Suet., Ner.,
20. 25) or Augustiani (Tac, Ann., 14. 15). The
critic just named thinks that Julius may have
been a centurion in that cohort, whose sta-
tion of course was at Rome, and that, having
been sent to the East for the execution of
some public service, he was now returning to
Italy with these prisoners under his charge.
But that guard, as Wieseler himself mentions,
was organized in the year a. d. 60; and, ac-
cording to his own plan of chronology in the
Acts, it was in that very year that Paul was
sent from Csesarea to Rome. This coincidence
in point of time leaves room for a possibility
that the centurion may have left his post of
duty thus early, but it encumbers the supposi-
tion with a strong improbability. Conybeare
and Howson admit the force of this objection.
The Roman discipline, says Meyer, would have
given the procurator no claim to the service of
such an officer.

2. A ship, or a vessel, of Adramyttium ,
which was a seaport of Mysia, on the eastern
shore of the -^gean Sea, opposite to Lesbos. It
was on a bay of the same name, and was then
a flourishing city. Pliny speaks of it as one of
the most considerable towns in that vicinity.
No antiquities have been found here except a
few coins. — Some critics prefer which {i. e. the
vessel) was about to sail to the common meaning
to sail (Grsb., Mey., Tsch.), though it is doubt-
ful whether the latter should be relinquished
(De Wet.). [Besides the critical editors men-
tioned by Dr. Hackett, we must now add Treg.,
West, and Hort, and the Anglo- Am. Revisers,
as accepting the former reading — viz. which was
about to sail, etc. It is supported by the best MSS.
—e. gr. K A B.— A. H.]— To sail the places
along (the coast of) Asia — i. e. touch at them
here and there on the way to their port. This
intransitive verb may govern an accusative, after

the analogy of to go a way {noptvta^ai. bS6v) and
the like. (K. 279. R. 5. See Kriig., Or., g 46.
6. 3.) Some regard places as the place whitlier
(Win., De Wet.), which confounds the inci-
dental delays with the end of the voyage. A
few copies [but these the oldest and best. —
A. H.] have unto (tU) after to sail {vKtlv), which
was inserted, no doubt, to render the construc-
tion easier. As Myra was one of the places
where the ship stopped, Asia here may denote
Asia Minor. Luke's prevalent use of the term
restricts it to the western countries washed by
the .ZEgean. — It would ^pear that they em-
barked in this Adramyttian ship because they
had no opportunity at this time to sail directly
from Csesarea to Italy. "The vessel was evi-
dently bound for her own port, and her course
from Csesarea thither necessarily led her close
past the principal seaports of Asia. Now, this
is also the course which a ship would take in
making a voyage from Syria to Italy; they
would, therefore, be so far on their voyage
when they reached the coast of Asia, and in
the great commercial marts on that coast they
could not fail to find an opportunity for pro-
ceeding to their ulterior destination."* The
opportunity which they expected presented
itself at Myra (▼•«). — Aristarchus. This is
the Aristarchus named in 19 : 29 ; 20 : 4. Our
English translators speak of him, very strange-
ly, as " one Aristarchus," as if he were otherwise
unknown. That he accompanied Paul to Rome
appears also from Philem. 24 ; Col. 4 : 10, which
Epistles the apostle wrote while in that city. In
the latter passage he terms Aristarchus feUow-
prisoner, which, if taken literally, would lead
us to suppose that he too had been apprehended
and was now sent as a prisoner to Rome. But
in Philem. 24 he is called merely fellow-laborer,
and hence it is more probable that he went with
the apostle of his own accord, and that he re-
ceived the other appellation merely as a com-
mendatory one, because by such devotion to
him he had thus made Paul's captivity as it

> 27i« Voj/age and Shipwreck of St. Paul, etc., by James Smith, Esq., of Jordanhill, F. R. S., etc. (London, 1848
and 1856.) I have availed myself freely of the illustrations of this valuable treatise in the commentary on
this chapter and the next. No work has appeared for a long time that has thrown so much light upon any
equal portion of the Scriptures. The author is entirely justified in expressing his belief that the searching
examination to which he has subjected the narrative has furnished a new and distinct argument for establish-
ing the authenticity of the Acts. It would occasion too much repetition to quote this work in a formal manner.
I am Indebted to Mr. Smith fur nearly all the quotations Arom English travellers, and for most of the explanft>
tions which involve a knowledge of nautical matters.

292

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVIL

3 And the next day we touched at Sidon. And Julius
•courteously entreated Paul, and gave hint liberty to go
uuto his friends to refresh himself.

4 And when we had launched from thence, we
sailed under Cyprus, because the winds were con-
trary.

3 us. And the next day we touched at Sidon : and
Julius treated Paul kindly, and ^ave him leave to

4 go unto his friends and irefresh himself. And put-
ting to sea from thence, we sailed under the lee of

a oh. 24 : 23 : 18 : 16.-

-1 Qr. receive attention.

were his own. This is the general opinion of
critics. We have every reason to suppose that
Luke also went as the voluntary companion of
the apostle.

3. We landed at Sidon, the modern Saida.
This city had anciently one of the finest harbors
in the East, and was celebrated at this time for
its wealth and commerce. It was the rival of
Tyre. (See 21 : 3.) The vessel stopped here,
perhaps, for purposes of trade. They must have
sailed quite near to the shore, and the views on
land which passed under their notice were —
first, the mountains of Samaria in the back-
ground ; then the bold front of Carmel ; the
city of Ptolemais, with the adjacent plain of
Esdraelon ; the hills about Nazareth ; i and per-
haps the heads of Gilboa and Tabor, the white
cliffs of Cape Blanco or Ras el-Abiad, Tyre with
its crowded port, and the southern ridges of
Lebanon. — Saida is now the seat of a flourish-
ing mission from this country, with an outpost
at Hasbeiya, near the foot of Mount Hermon.
— The distance from Csesarea to Sidon was sixty-
seven geographical miles. As they performed
the voyage in a single day, they must have had
a favorable wind. The prevailing winds now
in that part of the Mediterranean, at the period
of the year then arrived, are the westerly ; ^ and
such a wind would have served their purpose.
The coast-line between the two places bears
north-north-east. The season of the year at
which Paul commenced the voyage is known
from V. 9. It must have been near the close of
summer or early in September. — Courteously
entreated. It is interesting to observe that
the centurion manifested the same friendly dis-
position toward the apostle throughout the voy-
age. (See V. 43; 28 : 16.) It is not impossible
that he had been present on some of the occa-
sions when Paul defended himself before his
judges (see 24 : 1 ; 25 : 23), and that he was not
only convinced of his prisoner's innocence, but

had been led to feel a personal interest in his
character and fortunes. — His friends, or the

friends, believers, in that place. Sidon was a
Phoenician city ; and, as we learn from 11 : 19,
the gospel had been preached in Phoenicia at an
early period. (See on 21 : 4.) The narrative
presupposes that Paul had informed the cen-
turion that there were Christians here. — (iropev-
deVra agrees with the suppressed subject of
Tvxtlv. Comp. 26 : 20. K. § 307. R. 2. It is
corrected in some manuscripts to wopeudevri,
agreeing with avT<p, implied after eirerpei/^e.)

4. We sailed under Cyprus because the
winds were contrary. It is evident from the
next verse that they left this island on the left
hand and passed to the north of it, instead of
going to the south, which would have been
their direct course in proceeding from Sidon to
Proconsular Asia. The reason assigned for this
is that the winds were adverse to them. Such
would have been the effect of the westerly
winds, which, as before stated, prevail on that
coast at this season, and which had favored
their progress hitherto. It may be supposed,
therefore, that, these winds still continuing,
they kept on their northern course after leav-
ing Sidon, instead of turning toward the west
or north-west, as they would have done under
favorable circumstances. It is entirely consist-
ent with this view that they are said to have
saiied under Cyprus, if we adopt the meaning of
this expression which some of the ablest au-
thorities attach to it. Wetstein has stated what
appears to be the true explanation, as follows :
" Ubi navis vento contrario cogitur a recto
cursu decedere, ita ut tunc insula sit inter-
posita inter ventum et navem, dicitur fern
infra insulam " [" When a ship is forced by a
contrary wind to depart from its proper course,
so that an island may then be interposed between
the wind and the ship, it is said to be carried under
(infra) the island." — A. H.]. {Nov. Test., ii. p.

1 From Neby Ismail, on the hill behind Nazareth, I could see distinctly Mount Carmel, with its foot running
out into the sea, the entire sweep of the bay from Carmel to Akka, the plain of Akka and the town itself, with
glimpses of the Mediterranean at other points up and down the coast between the opening hills. It is not cer-
tain that Tabor can be made out at sea, though the sea can be distinguished as a blue line along the edge of the
horizon from the summit of Tabor.

* An English naval ofiBcer, at sea near Alexandria under date of July 4, 1798, writes thus : " The wind con-
tinues to the westward. I am sorry to find it almost as prevailing as the trade-winds." Again, on the 19th of
the next month, he says : " We have just gained sight of Cyprus, nearly the track we followed six weeks ago, N
tnTariably do the westerly winds prevail at this season."

Ch. XXVII.]

THE ACTS.

293

5 And when we had sailed over the sea of Cilicia and
Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia.

6 And there the centurion found a ship of Alexan-
dria sailing into Italy ; and he put us therein.

5 Cyprus, because the winds were contrary. And
when we had sailed across the sea whion is off
Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a citt/

6 of Lycia. And tnere the centurion found a ship
of Alexandria sailing for Italy ; and be put us

637). According to this opinion, vn-o ( = infra)
in the verb affirms merely that the ship was on
that side of the island from which the wind was
blowing — i. e. to use a sea phrase, on the lee-
side. It decides nothing of itself with respect
to their vicinity to the island, though, from the
nature of the case, it would not be natural to
speak of sailing under a land, or being on the lee
of it, unless the land was somewhere near,
rather than remote. In this instance they
passed within sight of Cyprus, since that isl-
and was visible from the Syrian coast. (See
the note on 13 : 4.) Many commentators, on
the other hand, rendered the expression we
sailed near Cyprus — as it were, under its project-
ing shore. In this case they must have had a
different wind from that supposed above, in
order to enable them to cross from the coast
of Palestine to that of Cyprus; but, having
gained that position, they must then have
gone around to the north of that island, in
accordance precisely with the other represen-
tation.

5. The sea of, or better the sea along,
Cilicia and Pamphylia — i. e. the coast of
those countries. The Cilician Sea extended so
far south as to include even Cyprus. That pass
the Greeks called also Aulon Oilicium} The
Pamphylian Sea lay directly west of the Ci-
lician. Luke says nothing of any delay in
these seas, and the presumption is that the
voyage here was a prosperous one. This
agrees perfectly with what would be expected
under that coast at that season of the year.
Instead of the westerly winds which had been
opposed to them since their departure from
Sidon, they would be favored now by a land-
breeze* which prevails there during the sum-
mer months, as well as by a current which con-

stantly runs to the westward along the coast
of Asia Minor.' Their object in standing so
far to the north was no doubt to take advantage
of these circumstances, which were well known
to ancient mariners. — Myra ... of Lycia.
Myra was in the the south Lycia, two or three
miles from the coast (Forbg., Handb., ii. p. 256).
The vicinity abounds still in magnificent ruins,
though some of them, especially the rock-
tombs, denote a later age than that of the
apostle.* The ancient port of Myra was An-
driaca, which was identified by Captain Beau-
fort at the bay of Andraki, *' where the boats
trading with the district still anchor, or find
shelter in a deep river opening into it."

6-12. INCIDENTS OF THE VOYAGE
FROM MYRA TO CRETE.

6. An Alexandrian ship about sailing.
The participle describes a proximate future, as
in 21 : 2, 3, etc. This ship was bound directly
for Italy, having a cargo of wheat, as we learn
from V. 38. (See the note there.) Egypt at
this time, it is well known, was one of the
granaries of Rome, and the vessels employed
for the transportation of com from that coun-
try were equal in size to the largest merchant-
vessels of modem times. Hence this ship was
able to accommodate the centurion and his nu-
merous party, in addition to its own crew and
lading. Josephus states {Life, § 3) that the ship
in which he was wrecked in his voyage to Italy
contained six hundred persons. Myra was al-
most due north from Alexandria, and it is not
improbable that the same westerly winds which
forced the Adramyttian ship to the east of Cy-
prus drove the Alexandrian ship to Myra. The
usual course from Alexandria to Italy was by
the south of Crete ; but when this was imprac-
ticable, vessels sailing from that port were ac-

1 HofiVnaiin's Griechenland und die Griechen, vol. 11. p. 1385.

* M. de Pag6s, a French navigator, who was making a voyage from Syria to Marseilles, took the same course,
for which he assigns also the reason which Influenced, probably, the commander of Paul's ship. "The winds
from the west," he says—" and consequently contrary — which prevail in these places in the summer forced ua
to run to the north. We made for the coast of Caramania (Cilicia), in order to meet the northerly winds, and
which we found accordingly."

' " From Syria to the Archipelago, there is a constant current to the westward " (Beaufort's Descriplicn of the
South Ooast of Atia Minor, p. 39). Pocock found this current running so strong between Rhodes and the conti*
nent that it broke into the cabin windows even iu calm weather {Description of the East, vol. ii. p. 236).

* " The village of Dembra (the Turkish name of the modern Myra) occupies a small part of the site of the
ancient city of Myra. The acropolis crowns the bold precipice above. We commenced the ascent to the acrop-
olis, at first exceedingly difiScult until we found an ancient road cut out of the rock, with steps leading to the
summit. The walls of the acropolis are entirely built of small stones with mortar. We saw no remains of any
more substantially or solidly built structures ; but it is evidently the hill alluded to by Strabo, upon which ' Myra
is said to have been situated ' " (Spratt and Forbes, vol. i. p. 132).

294

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVIL

7 And when we had sailed slowly many days, and
scarce were come over against Cnidus, the wind not
suffering us, we sailed under Crete, over against Sal-
mone;

7 therein. And when we had sailed slowly many
days, and were come with difficulty over against
Cnidus, the wind not 'further suffering us, we sailed

1 Or, tuffering u« to get there

customed to stand to the north till they reached
the coast of Asia Minor, and then proceed to
Italy through the southern part of the ^gean.
(See the proofs of this statement in Wetstein.)
The Alexandrian ship was not, therefore, out
of her course at Myra, even if she had no call
to touch there for the purposes of commerce.
It may be added that "the land-breeze on the
Cilician coast appears to be quite local, and
consequently might enable Paul's ship to reach
Myra, although the prevalent wind did not ad-
mit of the ships in that harbor proceeding on
their voyage." — This vessel must have reached
Myra in August or early in September, accord-
ing to v. 9, below. That an Alexandrian wheat
ship now should have been here, just at this
time, suggests a coincidence which may be
worth pointing out. At the present day the
active shipping season at Alexandria com-
mences about the 1st of August. The rise of
the Nile is then so far advanced that the pro-
duce of the interior can be brought to that
city, where it is shipped at once and sent to
different parts of Europe. At the beginning
of August in 1852, as I saw it stated in the cir-
cular of a commercial house at Alexandria,
there were twelve vessels then taking on board
grain cargoes, just received from Upper Egypt.
Thus it appears that the Alexandrian ship men-
tioned by Luke may have left Egypt not only
after the grain harvest of the year had been gath-
ered (it is ripe at the end of March), but just at the
time when cargoes, or the earliest cargoes of that
kind, could be obtained there ; and, further, that
the ship would have had, after this, just about the
time requisite for reaching Myra when Paul's
ship arrived at the same place. — He put us on
board of it {ivffiCpa(Tev, etc., avoxnautica). It will
be noticed that Luke employs such terms with
great frequency and with singular precision.
He uses, for example, not less than thirteen
different verbs which agree in this — that they
mark in some way the progression of the ship,
but which differ inasmuch as they indicate its
distance from the land, rate of movement, di-
rection of the wind, or some such circumstance.
With the exception of three of them, they are
all nautical expressions.

7. And when we had sailed slowly
many days. The distance from Myra to
Cnidus is not more than a hundred and thirty
geographical miles. They occupied, therefore,
"many days" in going a distance which with
a decidedly fair wind they could have gone in
a single day. We must conclude from this
that they were retarded by an unfavorable
wind. Such a wind would have been one from
the north-west, and it is precisely such a wind,
as we learn from the Sailing Directions for the
Mediterranean, that prevails in that part of the
Archipelago during the summer months. Ac-
cording to Pliny, it begins in August and blows
for forty days. Sailing-vessels almost invari-
ably experience more or less delay in proceed-
ing to the west in this part of the Mediterra-
nean at that season of the year. But with
north-west winds, says Mr. Smith, the ship
could work up from Myra to Cnidus, because,
until she reached that point, she had the ad-
vantage of a weather shore, under the lee of
which she would have smooth water, and, as
formerly mentioned, a westerly current ; but it
would be slowly and with difficulty. Scarce
= with difficulty refers, evidently, to this la-
borious progress, and not (E. V.) to the fact
of their having advanced barely so far. —
Cnidus. Cnidus was the name both of a
peninsula on the Carian coast, between Cos on
the north and Rhodes on the south, and of a
town on the Triopian promontory which
formed the end of this peninsula. It is the
town that is intended here. It was situated
partly on the mainland and partly on an island,
with which it was connected by a causeway,
on each side of which was an artificial harbor
(Forbg., Hand., ii. p. 221). "The small one,"
says Captain Beaufort, " has still a narrow en-
trance between high piers, and was evidently
a closed basin for triremes. The southern and
largest port is formed by two transverse moles ;
these noble works were carried into the sea at
the depth of nearly a hundred feet. One of
them is almost perfect; the other, which is
more exposed to the south-west swell, can only
be seen under water." i — The wind not per-
mitting us unto it — i. e. to approach Cnidus,

1 Oaramania ; or, A Brit} Description of the South Cocut of Aria Minor, p. 76 : " Few places bear more incontest-
able proofs of former magnificence. The whole area of the city is one promiscuous mass of ruins, among which
<nay be traced streets and gateways, porticos and theatres."

Ch. XXVII.]

THE ACTS.

295

8 And, hardly passing it, came unto a place which
is called The fair havens ; uigh whereunto was the city
of Lasea.

9 Now when much time was spent, and when sailing
was now dangerous, '■because the fast was now already
past, l^aul admonished Ihem,

8 under the lee of Crete, over against Salmone ; and
with difficulty coasting along it we came unto a cer-
tain place called Fair llavens ; nigh whereunto was
the city of Lasea.

9 And when much time was spent, and the voyage
was now dangerous, because the Fast was now al-

• Lev. 2S : 2T, 28.

to take shelter in the harbor there, which would
have been their first preference. They adopted,
therefore, the only other alternative which was
left to them. Tlie word rendered to permit
(irpo<T«a«) does not occur in the classics. In this
the preposition (>rp6s) cannot well mean further,
as some allege, since they would have had no
motive to continue the voyage in that direc-
tion, even if the weather had not opposed it.*
We sailed under (i. e. to the leeward of)
Crete against Salmone, a promontory
which forms the eastern extremity of that
island and bears still the same name. An in-
spection of the map will show that their course
hither from Cnidus must liave been nearly
south. The wind drove them in this direc-
tion. It has been said that they avoided the
northern side of Crete, because it furnished no
good ports ; but such is not the fact. Soudra
and Longa Spina are excellent harbors on that
side of the island. Having passed around
Salmone, they would find a north-west wind
as much opposed to them in navigating to the
westward as it had been between Myra and
Cnidus; but, on the other hand, they would
have for a time a similar advantage : the south
side of Crete is a weather shore, and with a
north-west wind they could advance along the
coast until they reached that part of it which
turns decidedly toward the north. Here they
would be obliged to seek a harbor and wait
until the wind changed. The course of move-
ment indicated by Luke tallies exactly with
these conditions.

8. And with difficulty coasting along it
— viz. Crete, not Salmone, since the former,
though not so near, is the principal word. Be-
sides, Salmone was not so much an extended
shore as a single point, and, at all events, did
not extend so far as the place where they
stopped. This participle is a nautical word. —
Unto a certain place called Fair Ha-
vens. No ancient writer mentions this har-
bor, but no one doubts that it is identical with

the place known still under the same name,
on the south of Crete, a few miles to the east
of Cape Matala. This harbor consists of an
open roadstead, or rather two roadsteads con-
tiguous to each other, which may account for
the plural designation. It is adapted, also, by
its situation, to afford the shelter in north-west
winds which the anchorage mentioned by Luke
afforded to Paul's vessel. Nautical authorities
assure us that this place is the farthest point to
which an ancient ship could have attained with
north-westerly winds, because here the land
turns suddenly to the nortli. — Nigh where-
unto = near to which was the city Lasea.
The vicinity of this place appears to be men-
tioned because it was better known than Fair
Havens. In the first edition I wrote that all
trace of Lasea was supposed to be lost. Since
then an English traveller in Crete reports that
the name is applied by the natives to the site
of an ancient town on the coast, about five
miles east of Fair Havens. Two white pillars,
masses of masonry, and other ruins occur on
the spot.* Here near {iyyv<:) governs which
(m) as an adverb. Was incorporates the notice
with the history without excluding the present.
(Comp. 17 : 21, 23. K. ? 256. 4. a.)

9. Now when much time, or, lit., now a
long time having elapsed — i. e. since the
embarkation at Csesarea. The expression is to
be taken in a relative sense. On leaving Pales-
tine they expected to reach Italy before the ar-
rival of the stormy season, and would have
accomplished their object had it not been for
unforeseen delaj's. — And Avhen the sailing,
etc., or the navigation, being now unsafe
— i. e. at this particular period of the year.
(jtAoo* is a later Greek form for irAoC. W. ? 8.
2. b; S. ? 22. 2.)— Because also the fast
was now past. Also adds this clause to
the one immediately preceding, in order to fix
more precisely the limits of tlie already there
by informing us how far the season was ad-
vanced. (See W. ? 53. 3. c.)— The fast denotes

^ Mr. Smith supposes that the winds did not permit their proceeding on their course, and in his second edition
(p. 76) urges against me the authority of Admiral Penrose as maintaining the same view. It is not claimed that
the Greek word is at all decisive, but that the nautical reason demands their interpretation. It does not become
me to urge my opinion on such a point in opposition to that of experienced navigators. One would say as a
critic that it povtuivToi; in such proximity to leoro riji/ Kvi&ov would have naturally the same local direction.

* Mr. Smith inserts an interesting account of this discovery (p. 262) in his edition of 1856.

296

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVIl.

10 And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this
Toyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only
of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.

11 Nevertheless the centurion believed the master
and the owner of the ship, more than those things
which were spoken by Paul.

12 And because the haven was not commodious to

10 ready gone by, Paul admonished them, and said
unto them. Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will
be with injury and much loss, not only of the

11 lading and the ship, but also of our lives. But
the centurion gave more heed to the master and
to the owner of the ship, than to those things which

12 were spoken by Paul. And because the haven was

the fast by pre-eminence (kot cfox^f), which the
Jews observed on the great day of expiation,
which fell on the 10th of the month Tisri,
about the time of the autumnal equinox. (See
Lev. 16 : 29 ; 23 : 27. Jahn's ArchseoL, g 357.)
Philo also says that no prudent man thought
of putting to sea after this season of the year.
The Greeks and Romans considered the period
of safe navigation as closing in October and
recommencing about the middle of March.
Luke's familiarity with the Jewish designa-
tions of time rendered it entirely natural for
him to describe the progress of the year in this
manner. It was not on account of the storms,
merely, that ancient mariners dreaded so much
a voyage in winter, but because the rains pre-
vailed then, and the clouds obscured the sun
and stars, on which they were so dependent for
the direction of their course. (See the note on
T. 20.) — Admonished, or exhorted, them — viz.
to remain here and not continue the voyage. It
is not stated in so many words that this was his
object, but it may be inferred from the argu-
ment which he employs, and from the repre-
sentation in the next two verses, that they re-
newed the voyage in opposition to his advice.
(See also v. 21.)

10. I perceive, have reason to think. This
verb expresses a judgment which he had formed
in view of what they had already experienced,
as well as the probabilities of the case, looking
at the future. The revelation which he after-
ward received respecting their fate he announces
in very different terms. (See v. 23.) He may
be understood as declaring his own personal
conviction that if they now ventured to sea
again the ship would certainly be wrecked, and
that among so many some of them at least
would lose their lives. None lost their lives,
in fact, and hence Paul could not speak as
a prophet here. The apostles were not infalli-
ble, except in their sphere as religious teachers.
— In that with hurt, etc., we have [in the
original] a union of two different modes of
expression. The sentence begins as if this
▼oyage will be was to follow, but on reach-
ing that verb the construction changes to the
infinitive with its subject, as if that had not

preceded. (See W. § 63. 2. c.) Such variations
are so common, even in the best writers, that
they are hardly to be reckoned as anacoluthic. —
With violence (lit. insolence — i. e. of the
winds and waves) and much loss. The sec-
ond noun states an effect of the first, which is
applied here in a sort of poetic way, like our
"sport" or "riot" of the elements. Kuinoel
quotes keeping off the heat and the violence from,
the rains, in Josephus (Antt., 3. 6. 4), as showing
this sense. Horace has the same idea in his
"ventis debes ludibrium" {Od., 1. 11. 14). To
render the words injury and loss does violence
to the first of them and makes them tautologi-
cal. Some have relied for this meaning on
Pindar (Pyth., i. 140) ; but the poet is speaking,
says Professor V6mel,i not of a shipwreck, but
a sea-fight, and insolence is used there in its
strictest sense. Meyer understands it of the
rashness, the presumption, which they would
evince in committing themselves again to the
deep. If we assume that meaning here, we are
to retain it naturally in v. 21 ; and it would be
there a term of reproach, which we should not
expect the apostle to employ in such an ad-
dress.

11. The centurion. In regard to the ter-
mination, see on 10 : 1. — The master, or the
steersman, whose authority in ancient ships
corresponded very nearly with that of the cap-
tain in our vessels. — The owner, to whom the
ship belonged. The proprietor, instead of char-
tering his vessel to another, frequently went
himself in her, and received as his share of the
profit the money paid for carrying merchandise
and passengers. The owners of the cargo hired
the captain and the mariners. — Those things
spoken by Paul changes the object of the
verb (believed) from that of a person to a thing.
(Comp. 26 : 20.)

12. Not commodious, or not well situ-
ated, inconvenient. The harbor deserved its
name, undoubtedly (see v. 8), for many pur-
poses, but in the judgment of those to whose
opinion it was most natural that the centurion
should defer it was not considered a desirable
place for wintering («rpov irapaxciM<un'av). The
question was not whether they should attempt

' Of the Gymnasium at Frankfort-on-the-Main.
ehapter of the Acts, with some critical remarks.

In his Programmt for 1S50 he inserts a translation of this

Ch. XXVII.]

THE ACTS.

297

winter in, the more part advised to depart thence also,
if by any means they might attain to Phenice, and <A«re
to winter ; which is an haven of Crete, and lietb toward
the south-west and north-west.

not commodious to winter in, the more part advised
to nut to sea from thence, if by any means they
could reacli Phcjenix^ and winter there ; which is a
haven of Crete, loolcing i north-east and south-east.

1 Or. doton th« $outh-veit wind ajut down tht north-wett vind.

to proceed to Italy during the present season,
but whether they should remain here in prefer-
ence to seeking some other harbor where they
might hope to be more secure. In this choice
of evils, the advice of Paul was that they should
remain here; and the event justified his dis-
cemment.^— The more party or the mtyor-
ity. Their situation had become so critical
that a general consultation was held as to what
should be done. — Thence also, or also from
there, as they had sailed previously from other
places. (See vv. 4, 6 ; iKtl&€v (Lchm.) is less
correct.) — Unto Phcenix, which must have
been a town and harbor in the south of Crete,
a little to the west of Fair Havens. (Comp. on
V. 13.) The palm trees in that region are sup-
posed to have given occasion to the name.
Strabo mentions a harbor with this name on
the south of Crete, and Ptolemy mentions a
town called Phoenix, with a port which he
terms Phoenicus. On the contrary, Stephanus
Byzantinus calls the town Phoenicus, which
Hierocles, again, calls Phoenice. (See Hoffm.,
Griechenland, ii. p. 1334.) The best way to har-
monize these notices is to suppose that the
different names were at times applied promis-
cuously to the town and the harbor. It is
uncertain with what modern port we are to
identify the ancient Phoenix. Anapolis, Lutro
(unless the places differ merely as town and
harbor), Sphakia, Franco Castello, Phineka,
have each been supposed to be that port. — If
by any means they might be able, etc.
Those who advise the step consider it perilous.
— A harbor looking toward Lips and
toward Corns — t. e. tlie points from which
the winds so called blew ; viz. tlie south-west
and the north-west. The intermediate point
between these winds is west, so that the harbor
would have faced in that direction, while the
opposite shores receded from each other toward
tlie south and north. This mode of employ-
ing the names of the winds is a constant usage
in the ancient writers to designate, as we say.

the points of the compass. Such is the general
view of the meaning of this expression, and
there can be no doubt of its correctness. — Mr.
Smith (p. 80) maintains that the Phoenix of
Luke is the present Lutro. That harbor, how-
ever, opens to the east. To reconcile Luke's
statement with this circumstance, he under-
stands toward Lips and toward Corns to mean
axxording to the direction in which those winds
blew, and not, as is generally supposed, whence
they blew. " Now this is exactly the descrip-
tion of Lutro, which looks or is open to the
east; but, having an island in front which
shelters it, it has two entrances — one looking
to the north-east, which is Kara \ipa, and the
other to the south-east, Kara XHpov." But it is
unsafe to give up the common interpretation
for the sake of such a coincidence ; it rests upon
a usage of the Greek too well established to
justify such a departure from it. This mode
of explaining toward Lips {xara Aipa) involves, I
think, two incongruities : first, it assigns oppo-
site senses to the same term — viz. south-west as
the name of a wind, and iwrth-east as the name
of a quarter of the heavens ; and secondly, it
destroys the force of looking, which implies,
certainly, that the wind and the harbor con-
fronted each other, and not that they were
turned from each other. Mr. Smith adduces
according to wave and wind from Herodotus (4.
110) ; but the expression is not parallel as re-
gards either the preposition or the noun. The
preposition denotes there conformity of motion,
and not of situation where the objects are at
rest, and wind does not belong to the class of
proper names, like Lips and Corus, which the
Greeks employed in such geographical designa-
tions. "There is a passage in Arrian," he says,
" still more apposite to this point. In his Peri-
plus of the Euxine, he tells us that, when navi-
gating the south coast of that sea toward the
east, he observed during a calm a cloud sud-
denly arise, which was driven before the east
wind. Here there can be no mistake; tlie

' Paul's dissent from the general opinion baa appeared to some very singular ; for the bay at Fair Havens,
open to nearly one-half of the compass, was ill adapted, it was thought, to furnish a permanent shelter. But
recent and more exact observations establish the interesting fact that "Fair Havens is so well protected by
islands and reefs that, though not equal to Lutro, it must be a very fair winter harbor; and that, considering
the suddenness, the frequency, and the violence with which gales of northerly wind spring up, and the
certainly that if such a gale sprung up in the passage from Fair Havens to Lutro (Phcenix), the ship must be
driven off to sea, the prudence of the advice given by the master and owner was extremely questionable, and
that the advice given by St, Paul may possibly be supported even on nautical grounds" (Smith, p. 88, 1856).

298

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVII.

13 And when the south wind blew softly, supposing
that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence,
they sailed close by Crete.

14 But not long after there arose against it a tem-
pestuous wind, called Euroclydon.

13 And when the south wind blew softly, supposing
that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed

14 anchor and sailed along Crete, close in shore. But
after no long time there beat down from it a tem-

cloud must have been driven to the west."
But to translate toward the east {Kar tvpov) in
that manner assumes the point in dispute.
The context presents no reason why we
should not adopt the ordinary sense of such
phrases — viz. toward the east; i. e. the cloud ap-
peared in that quarter. In this expression,
therefore, Eurus would denote the point from
which the east wind blows, and not whither.'
[In his last ed. Meyer refers to the discussion
of Dr. Hackett and adheres to his view ; but,
as will be noticed, the Revisers appear to have
been convinced that the view of Mr. Smith is
correct. — A. H.]

13-16. A STORM RAGES, AND DRIVES
THE VESSEL TO CLAUDE.

13. And when, etc., now when a south
Avind blew moderately. After passing Cape
Matala, the extreme southern point of Crete,
and only four or five miles to the west of Fair
Havens, the coast turns suddenly to the north ;
and henc*, for the rest of the way up to Phoe-
nix, a south wind was as favorable a one as
they could desire.— Supposing that, etc., or
thinking to have gained their purpose,
regarding it as already secured. It was some-

what le-ss than forty miles from Fair Havens
to Phoenix. With a southern breeze, therefore,
they could expect to reach their destination in
a few hours. — Loosing thence, more correct-
ly iMving weighed — i. e. anchor. — They coasted
along Crete nearer — sc. than usual ; i. e. quite
near. This clause, as we see from the next
verse, describes their progress immediately af-
ter their anchorage at Fair Havens. It applies,
therefore, to the first few miles of their course.
During this distance, as has been suggested al-
ready, the coast continues to stretch toward the
west; and it was not until they had turned
Cape Matala that they would have the full
benefit of the southern breeze which had
sprung up. With such a wind they would be
able just to weather that point, provided they
kept near to the shore. We have, therefore, a
perfectly natural explanation of their proceed-
ing in the manner that Luke has stated.

14. Not long after, strictly after not
long, shortly. (Comp. 28 : 6.) The tempest,
therefore, came upon them before they had ad-
vanced far from their recent anchorage. They
were still much nearer to that place than they
were to Phoenix. It is important to observe

1 The writer published some remarks on Mr. Smith's explanation of Kara. At'/3a koL Kara. Xiapov in the
Bibliotheca Sacra, 1850, p. 751. Mr. Smith has had the kindness to address to me a letter, stating some additional
facts ascertained since the publication of his work on JTte Voyage and Shipwrack of Paul. In this letter he
reaffirms his view of the expression referred to, and calls my attention again to the passage in Arrian as
conclusive in support of his position. A distinguished Hellenist (Professor Felton of the university at
Cambridge) has favored me with the following remarks on that passage : " It is true that the cloud of which
Arrian speaks was borne toward the west ; but that is not expressed by Kar eipov, but must be inferred from
the circumstances of the case. The course of the voyage they were making was eastward ; after a calm, during
which they used their oars alone, ' suddenly a cloud springing up broke out nearly east of us'(o(/»'aj v€<j>f\ri
inavaaraaa ef eppayTj Kar eipov fj.a\i<rTa), and brought upon them a violent wind. The wind, of course, was an
easterly wind, because it made their further progress toward the east slow and difficult. But the navigator in
the phrase Kar' tvpov is speaking of the direction in which he saw the cloud, not in which the cloud was
moving. If he had been simply describing the direction in which the cloud was moving, as Herodotus is
describing the motion of the ship (and not the direction in which the ship is seen from another point\ then
(toT evpov would mean unlh the Eurus or before the Eurus. ... If a person is floating on the wind, or driven by
the wind, if he is in motion according to the wind, then, of course, his direction is determined by that of the
wind. But if he is at rest and looking according to the wind, he is looking where the wind is the most
prominent object— that is, he is facing the wind, as Arrian's crew were facing the cloud and the wind, and not
turning his back upon it." As this question has excited some interest, it may be well to mention how it is
viewed in works published since the preceding note was written. Humphry (18-54) says (p. 202) that Mr. Smith's
passages are not quite conclu.sive as to /SAeirovTa Kara Ai'pa. He supposes Phcenix to be the modern Phineka,
which opens to the west, and thus adopts the common explanation of the phrase. Alford (1852) agrees with
Smith that Kara. Aipa and similar combinations denote whither, and not whence, the winds blow, but intimates a
purpose to fortify his ground against objections in a future edition. Conybeare and Howson (ii. p. 400) would
admit an instance of that usage in Jos., Antt. 15. 9. 6 {sic), but say that the other alleged proofs are untenable
or ambiguous. They mediate between the two opinions by suggesting that the point of view (fiXevovra) is from
the sea, and not the land ; so that Kara ACPa would have its usual meaning and yet the harbor open toward the
east, like Lutro. Wordsworth (p. 120) has a copious note on this question. He reviews the arguments on both
sides, and sums up with the result that we should " not abandon the ancient interpretation," or, at all events
should "suspend our decision till we have more complete topographical details for forming it."

Ch. XXVIL]

THE ACTS.

299

15 And when the ship was caught, and could not | 15 pestuous wind, which is called Euraquilo : and
bear up into the wind, we let her drive. when the ship was caught, and could not face the

this fact, because it shows what course the ship
took in going from Crete to Claude. — There
arose, etc.— lit. a typhonic wind struck
against it ; i. e. the ship. — Struck may imply
itself, or be intransitive. Luke employs it — lit.
her — because the mental antecedent is a/iy? (fem.),
which actually occurs in v. 41, though his ordi-
nary word is vessel (neut.). It would be quite
accidental which of the terms would shape the
pronoun at this moment, as they were both so
familiar. (See W. §47. 5, k.) Against ((cara)
takes the genitive, because the wind was un-
friendly, hostile, as in the Attic phrase to smite
the head (Bernh., Synt., p. 238). Some critics,
as Kuinoel, De Wette, Meyer, refer it to Crete,
and render drove i:s or the ship against it. Sim-
ilar is the Geneva Version : " There arose
agaynste Candie a stormye wynd out of the
north-east." But how can we understand it
in this way, when we are told in the next verse
that they yielded to the force of the wind and
were driven by it toward Claude, which is
south-west from Fair Havens ? We must dis-
card that view, unless we suppose that the
wind in the course of a few minutes blew
from precisely opposite quarters. Luther re-
fers it to purpose (v. is) : struck against it, defeat-
ed their purpose. Tyndale lived for a time with
the German Reformer at Wittenberg, and took
his translation, perhaps, from that source:
" Anone after ther arose agaynste their pur-
pose a flawe of wynd out of the north-easte."
The Greek expression is awkward for such an
idea, and is unsupported by proper examples.
Some recent commentators refer it, as before, to
the island, but vary the preposition : struck
down from it — viz. Crete ; i. e. from its moun-
tains, its lofty shores (Alf , Cony, and Hws.,
Hmph., Wdsth.). The preposition admits con-
fessedly of this sense ; but does the verb ? Was
jt used of winds, unless the object struck was
added or implied after it? And if the striking
was in the writer's mind here and led to the
choice of this particular verb, how can Kar ovt^
(i. c. the ship) fail to be this object? It is ques-
tionable whether " to strike down," as said of
a wind, and " to blow, come, rush down," are
convertible terms, and, unless they are so, arose
in Matt. 8 : 24, descended in Matt. 7 : 25, and
ariseth (R. V.) in Mark 4 : 37 do not bear spe-
cially on the case. In the Greek Thesaurus

(Paris ed., ii. p. 90) it is said of the verb
(PaWtiv) : " It is used in the sense of striking
of the sun, of light, of a voice, of any sound
whatsoever, approaching a body." It occurs
of winds in II., 23, 217, but with the accusative
of the object struck.^ Typhonic describes the
wind with reference to the whirling of the
clouds occasioned by the meeting of opposite
currents of the air. Pliny (2 : 48), in speaking
of sudden blasts, says that they cause a vortex
which is called " typhoon," and Aulus Gellius
(19 : 1) mentions certain figures or appearances
of the clouds in violent tempests which it was
customary to call "typhoons." This term is
intended to give us an idea of the fury of the
gale ; and its name — EipoxvAwv, as the word
should most probably be written — denotes the
point from which it came ; i. e. Euroaquilo, as
in the Vulgate, a north-east wind. This reading
occurs in A and B, wliich are two of the oldest
manuscripts, and in some other authorities.
It is approved by Grotius, Mill, Bengel, Bent-
ley, De Wette, and others. Lachmann inserts it
in his edition of the text [as also Tsch., Treg.,
West, and Hort, and the Anglo-Am. Revisers.
Tsch. adduces for this reading N A B*'^ in his
8th ed.— A. H.]. This word, says Green (p.ll7),
" which simply Grecizes Euroaquilo, demands the
preference among the various shapes of the
name." The internal evidence favors that
form of the word. A north-east storm accounts
most perfectly for the course of the ship, and
for the means employed to control it, men-
tioned or intimated in the sequel of the narra-
tive. (The other principal readings are Evpo-
kKvSiov (T. R., Tsch.2), compounded of dpo^ and
KkvSmv, Eurus ftuctus excitans, or, as De Wette
thinks more correct, fluctus Euro excitatus ; and
EvpvKAv'Sui', from tvpvv and Kkutuv, broad wave.)
It appears, therefore, that the gentle southern
breeze with which they started changed sud-
denly to a violent north or north-east wind.
Such a sudden change is a very common oc-
currence in those seas. An English naval of-
ficer, in his Remarks on the Archijyelago, says :
" It is always safe to anchor under the lee of
an island with a northern wind, as it dies away
gradually ; but it would be extremely danger-
ous with southerly winds, as they almost inva-
riably shift to a violent northerly wind."
15. Being seized, caught by the wind. —

> This criticism may not be useless if it should serve to elicit further inquiry before discarding the common
view. My means do not allow me to treat the subject more fully at present.

[But Tsch. changed his opinion and adopted Evpa«cvAwi>. See statement in brackets above.— A. H.]

300

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVII.

16 And running under a certain Island which is
called Clauda, we had much work to come by the
boat:

17 Which when they had taken up, they used helps,
undergirding the ship ; and, fearing lest they should

16 wind, we gave way to it, and were driven. And
running under the lee of a small island called
>Cauda, we were able, with diflBculty, to secure the

17 boat : and when they had hoisted it up, they used
helps, under-girding the ship; and, fearing lest

1 Many ancient autboritiea read Clauda.

To look in the face^ withstand. It is said
that the ancients often painted an eye on each
side of the prow of their ships. It may not be
easy to determine whether the personification
implied in this mode of speaking arose from
that practice, or whether the practice arose from
the personification.— Giving up, the vessel to
the wind. Some supply oursdves as the object
of the participle, in anticipation of the next
verb. The idea is the same in both cases. — We
were borne, not hither and thither, but at
the mercy of the wind, the direction of which
we know from the next verse.

16. Running under a certain small isl-
and called Claude. This island Ptolemy
calls Claudos. It bears now the name of Gozzo.
As the gale commenced blowing soon after the
departure from Fair Havens, the ship, in order
to jeach Claude, must have been driven to the
south-west. Their course, had they been near
Phoenix at the commencement of the storm,
would have been due south. The effect which
the wind produced shows what the direction of
the wind was; it must have been from the
north or north-east, which agrees, as we have
seen, with the probable import of the name
which Luke has employed to designate the
wind. Running under implies, first, that
they went before the wind (see on 16 : 11) ; and
secondly, according to the view suggested on
V. 4, that they passed Claude, so as to have the
wind between them and that island — that is,
since the direction of the wind has been already
determined, they went to the south-east of it
instead of the north. That they approached
near to the island at the same time may be
inferred from their being able to accomplish the
object mentioned in the next clause. Others in-
fer their vicinity to the island from the preposi-
tion, which they take to mean under the coast ;
but, as in the other case, they suppose that this
was the southern coast, from the direction in
which such a wind must have driven the ship.
— We had much work, or we were able
with difficulty, to secure the boat. Luke
includes himself, perhaps not from sympathy
merely, but because he took part in this labor.
The preservation of the boat was important, as
affording the last means of escape. (See v. 30.)
They may have begun already to have forebod-
ings of the result. Those expert in maritime

affairs say that while a vessel is scudding be-
fore a strong gale her boat cannot be taken on
board or lashed to the side of the vessel (see on
V. 32) without extreme danger. Hence it is
probable that when on the southern side of
Claude they were sheltered somewhat against
the storm, and were able to arrest the progress
of the ship sufficiently to enable them to ac-
complish this object. Yet the sea even here
was still apparently so tempestuous as to render
this a difficult operation. It may have added
to the difficulty that the boat having been towed
more than twenty miles through a raging sea
could hardly fail to have been filled with water.
They had omitted this precaution at the outset,
because the weather was mild and they had ex-
pected to be at sea but a few hours. It will be
observed that Luke has not stated why they
found it so difficult to secure the boat. We are
left to conjecture the reasons.

17-20. THEY UNDERGIRD AND LIGHT-
EN THE SHIP, BUT DESPAIR OF SAFETY.

17. They used helps — i. e. ropes, chains,
and the like — for the purpose specified in the
next clause; viz. that of undergirding the
ship. Most scholars take this view of the
meaning, and it is doubtless the correct one.
De Wette would extend helps so as to include
other similar expedients : they used helps, of
which undergirding the ship was an example.
Helps cannot denote the services of the pas-
sengers, as some have said; for we have no
such limiting term annexed as that sense of
the expression would require. The " helps "
here are the hypozomata (inroici/noTo), which He-
sychius defines as " cables binding ships round
the middle." It is probable that ships were oc-
casionally undergirded with planks; but that
could only be done in the harbor, and was a dif-
ferent thing from performing the process at sea.
But how, the question arises next, were the
cables applied so as to accomplish the proposed
object ? Falconer, in his Marine Dictionary, de-
scribes the mode of undergirding ships, as prac-
tised in modem navigation, in the following
terms : " To frap a ship {ceintrer un vaisseau) is
to pass four or five turns of a large cable-laid
rope round the hull or frame of a ship to
support her in a great storm or otherwise,
when it is apprehended that she is not strong
enough to resist the violent eflforts of the sea.

XXVII.]

THE

AC5T8.

301

fall Into the quicksands,
driven.

strake

sail,

and

80 were

they should be cast

upon the Syrtis

they lowered the

This expedient, however, is rarely put in prac-
tice." In ancient times it was not uncommon
to resort to this process. The larger ships on
their more extended voyages carried with them
hypozomata or ropes for undergirding, so as to
be prepared for any emergency which might
require them. The Attic arsenals kept a sup-
ply of them always on hand for public use.
This mode of strengthening a ship at sea,
although not adopted so often as it was an-
ciently, is not unknown in the experience of
modern navigators. In 1815, Mr. Henry Hart-
ley was employed to pilot the Russian fleet from
England to the Baltic. One of the ships under
his escort, the Jupiter, was frapped round the
middle by three or four turns of a steam-cable.
Sir George Back, on his return from his Arctic
voyage in 1837, was forced, in consequence of
the shattered and leaking condition of his ship,
to undergird her. The Albion, a British frigate,
in 1846 encountered a hurricane on her voyage
from India, and was under the necessity of
frapping her hull together to prevent her from
sinking. To these more recent instances many
others of an earlier date might be added.^ The
common representation in regard to the ancient
mode of applying the hypozomata to a ship
makes it different from the modern usage.
Boeckh's view is the one followed in most of
the recent works. According to his investiga-
tions, the ropes, instead of being passed under
the bottom and fastened on deck, "ran in a
horizontal direction around the ship from the
stern to the prow. They ran round the vessel
in several circles, and at certain distances from
one another. The length of these tormenta, as
they are called in Latin, varied accordingly as
they ran around the higher or lower part of
the ship, the latter being naturally shorter than
the former. Their number varied according to
the size of the ship." * Mr. Smith, in his I>i3-
tertation on the Ships of the Ancients (p. 173, sq.),
controverts the foregoing opinion, as being
founded on a misapprehension of the passages
in the ancient writers which have been sup-
posed to prove it. He maintains that the

cables, instead of being applied lengthways,
were drawn around the middle at right angles
to the ship, and not parallel to it.^ The other
mode, he says, " must have been as impractica>
ble as it would have been unavailing for the
purpose of strengthening the ship." Luke
states a fact siniply in relation to this matter ;
he does not describe the mode. The question,
therefore, is one of archaeological interest
merely ; it does not affect the writer's accuracy.
— Lest they should fall into, etc., lest
they should be stranded upon the Syr-
tis. Tlie verb literally means to fall out — i. e.
from the sea or deep water upon the land or
rocks. (Comp. vv. 26, 29.) Syrtis Major is here
meant, which was on the coast of Africa, south-
west from Crete. Tliis gulf was an object of
great dread to mariners, on account of its dan-
gerous shoals. The other Syrtis was too far to
the west to have been the one to which they
would feel exposed in their present situation.
Some have taken Syrtis to denote a sand-bank
near Claude ; but, as any such bank there must
have been comparatively unknown, the writer
with that allusion would more naturally have
left out the article. — Strake sail, or having
lowered the sail. The word rendered sail
{trxevoi) is indefinite, and may be applied to
almost any of the ship's appurtenances, as
sails, masts, anchors, and the like. Many have
supposed it to refer here to the mast, or, if
there was more than one in this case, to the
principal mast ; but it would seem to put that
supposition out of the question that, accord-
ing to all probability, the masts of the larger
sailing-ships among the ancients were not
movable, like those of the smaller vessels, but
were fixed in their position, and would re-
quire to be cut away — a mode of removal
which the accompanying participle shows
could not have been adopted in the present
instance. The surprising opinion of some,
that [the part here referred to] is the anchor,
is contradicted by the following so were
driven. Of the other applications of the word,
the only one which the circumstances of the

' Some suppose that Horace alludes to this practice in Od., 1. 14. 6 : " Sine funibus Vlx durare carinoe Posslnt
Imperiosius jT^quor." I was once explaining this passage to a college class according to that view, when one
of the members who had been at sea stated that he himself had assisted in such an operation on board a vessel
approaching our own coast.

« This is quoted from the Dictionary of Oreek and Roman AntiouUiei, Art. " Ships." The account rests on
Boeckh's authority. The writer of the article on " Navis " in Pauly's Real-Encyktopddie der etasHschen Alter-
thumstvissenscha/l follows the same authority.

*Tbe mode of executing this manoeuvre, as I am informed, or at least one mode, is to sink the ropes over the
prow, and then draw them toward the middle of the ship, fastening the ends on deck.

302

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVII.

18 And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest,
the next day they ligbteued the ship;

18 gear, and so were driven. And as we labored
exceedingly with the storm, the next day they

ship at this juncture naturally suggest is that
it refers to the sail. It is not certain how we
are to take the article here. It leads us to
think most directly, perhaps, of the large,
square sail which was attached to the principal
mast. The ancients had vessels with one, two,
and three masts.i The would then point out
that sail by way of eminence. The presump-
tion is that if the ship carried other sails, as
cannot well be doubted, they had taken them
down before this ; and now, having lowered
the only one which they had continued to use,
they let the vessel "scud under bare poles."
This is the general view of the meaning. It
would follow from this that the wind must
have changed its direction before they were
wrecked on Melita; for some thirteen days
elapsed before that event, during which the
storm continued to rage, and within that time,
had they been constantly driven before a north-
east wind, they must have realized their fear of
being stranded on the African coast. — But an
eastern gale in the Levant, at this season of the
year, is apt to be lasting ; the wind maintains
itself, though with unequal violence, for a con-
siderable time in the same quarter. Profes-
sor Newman of the London University states
the following fact* in his own experience : " We
sailed from Larnica, in Cyprus, in a small Ne-
apolitan ship with a Turkish crew on the 2d of
December, 1830. We were bound for Latika,
in Syria, the course almost due east, but were
driven back and forced to take refuge in the
port of Famagousta, the ancient Salamis. Here
we remained wind-bound for days. Owing to
our frequent remonstrances, the captain sailed
three times, but was always driven back, and
once after encountering very heavy seas and no
small danger. It was finally the 1st of January,
if my memory does not deceive me, when we
reached the Syrian coast." It was probably
such a gale which Paul's ship encountered —
that is, a series of gales from the east, but not a
constant hurricane ; for the seamen were able
to anchor and to let down their boat, and a part
of the crew to attempt to escape in it to the
shore. If, then, we assume that the wind blew
from the same point during the continuance of
the storm, we must suppose that they adopted
some precaution against being driven upon the
African coast, which Luke does not mention,

although his narrative may imply it. The only
such precaution, according to the opinion of
nautical men, which they could have adopted
in their circumstances, was to lie-to — i. e. turn
the head of the vessel as near to the wind as
possible, and at the same time keep as much
sail spread as they could carry in so severe a
gale. For this purpose they would need the
principal sail ; and the sail lowered is most
likely to have been the sail above it — i. e. the
topsail, or supparum, as the Romans termed it.
By the adoption of these means they would
avoid the shore on which they were so fearful
of being cast, and drift in the direction of the
island on which they were finally wrecked.
The, according to this supposition, would refer
to the sail as definite in the conceptions of the
writer, or as presumptively well known to the
reader. — So were driven, thus (i. e. with the
ship undergirded, and with the mainsail low-
ered, or, it may be, with the topsail lowered and
the stormsail set) they were borne on at the
mercy of the elements. Here closes the account
of the first fearful day.

18. And we, etc., now we being vio-
lently tempest-tossed. — On the follow-
ing day — i. e. after their attempt to reach the
port of Phoenix. The night brought to them
no relief The return of day disclosed to them
new dangers. The precaution of undergirding
had accomplished less than they hoped. It was
evident that the ship must be lightened or foun-
der at sea. Their next step, therefore, was to
try the effect of this measure. — Lightened the
ship, proceeded to throw overboard, is
one of the sea-phrases which Julius Pollux
mentions as used by the ancients to denote the
lightening of a ship at sea. The noun omits
the article, because they cast out only a part of
what the vessel contained. We are not told
what it was that they sacrificed at this time ;
it may have been their supernumerary spars
and rigging, and some of the heavier and more
accessible articles of merchandise with which
the ship was laden. It appears from v. 38 that
the bulk of the cargo consisted of wheat, and
they reserved that until the last. The seamen
in the vessel in which Jonah embarked had
recourse to the same expedient. "There was a
mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was
like to be broken. Then the mariners were

1 See Pauly's RecU-EncyklopSdie der clcusischen AUerlhumnoiuenschafl, vol. v. p. 463,
* Mentioned in Mr. Smith's letter alluded to on p. 297.

Ch. XXVIL]

THE ACTS.

303

19 And the third day «we cast out with our own
hands the tackling of the ship.

20 And when neither sun nor stars in many days ap-
peared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that
we should be saved was then taken away.

19 began to throw the freight overboard ; and the third
day they cast out with their own hands the >tack-

20 ling of the ship. And when neither sun nor stars
shone upon us for many days, and no small tempest
lay on ut, all hope ttiat we should be saved was now

a JoD. 1 : 5.-

-1 Or, fumitwn

afraid, and cried every man unto his god, and
cast forth the wares that were in the ship into
the sea, to ligliten it of them " (jon. i : *, 5).

19. The third day arrives, and tlie storm
has not abated. They are obliged to lighten
the ship still more. This renewed necessity
appears to indicate that the ship was in a leak-
ing condition, and that the danger from this
cause was becoming more and more imminent.
It was one of the great perils to which ancient
vessels were exposed. Their style of architec-
ture was inferior to that of modern vessels;
they were soon shattered in a storm, " sprang
leaks " more easily, and had fewer means for
repairing the injury. " In the accounts of ship-
wrecks that have come down to us from an-
cient times, the loss of the ship must in a great
number of instances be ascribed to this cause.
Josephus tells us that on his voyage to Italy
the ship sunk in the midst of the Adriatic Sea

(^amia&ivTiK yap rifiiov ToO itXoiov Kara fiioov rbv

'ASpiav). He and some of his companions saved
themselves by swimming ; the ship, therefore,
did not go down during the gale, but in conse-
quence of the damage she sustained during its
continuance. One of St. Paul's shipwrecks must
have taken place under the same circumstances ;
for he tells us, A day and a night I have been in
the deep (2 Cor. n : 25), supported, no doubt, on
spars or fragments of the wreck. In Virgil's
description of the casualties of the ships of
^neas, some are driven on rocks; others, on
quicksands ; but

' laxis laterum compagibus omnes
Ae«ip{unt inimicum imbrem, remisque fatiscunt.' >

The fact that the ships of the ancients were
provided with hypozonuUa, or cables ready fitted
for undergirding, as a necessary part of their
stores, proves how liable they were to such cas-
ualties." It is easy to see, therefore, what must
have been the fate of Paul's ship had they not
discovered land so providentially : she must
have foundered at sea and all on board have
perished. — We cast out with oar hands
the farnitnre of the ship, such as tables,
beds, chests, and the like (Mey., De Wet., Lng.,
Alf, Wdsth.). The self-inflicted loss in this
case (avT($x<*p««), which affected so much the

personal convenience of each one, showed how
urgent was the danger. Yet furniture* or
tackling (vKtvi^v), is a very doubtful word.
Some understand it of the masts, yards, sails,
and other equipments of the ship similar to
these. With this interpretation, we must re-
gard the term as applying to that class of ob-
jects in a general way ; for we see from v. 29
that they retained at least some of their anchors,
and from v. 44 that at the last moment they
had boards and spars at command to assist
them in reaching the shore. According to
some, again, as Wetstein, Kuinoel, Winer, it
denotes the baggage of the passengers. With
our own hands is more significant with that
sense, but ship, as genitive of the container,
tlie baggage on board the skip, is very harsh.
The expression means, says Smith, " the main-
yard, an immense spar, probably as long as
the ship, and which would require the united
efforts of passengers and crew to launch over-
board. The relief which a ship would thus ex-
perience would be of the same kind as in a
modem ship when the guns are thrown over-
board."— Some read we cast out ; some, they
cast out. Tischendorf retains the former, as in
T. R. [Not in his 8th ed., which gives the
third person plural of the verb, as do Treg.,
West, and Hort, the Anglo-Am. Revisers, ac-
cording to preponderating evidence. — A. H.]
Meyer is too positive that the first person be-
trays its origin in unth our own hands (ovT<Jx«ip<«).
[The critical note in Meyer's last ed. reads:
" They cast out, approved by Griesb., adopted
by Lach. and Bom., after A B C X, min. vulg.
The recepta is we cast out. As this might just
as easily be inserted on account of ovTox«tp<«, as
the third pi. on account of citoioOkto, the pre-
ponderance of witnesses has alone to decide,
and that in favor of the third person." Yet in
his note on the verse he still says : " With our
own hands gives to the description a sad vivid-
ness," etc. — A. H.]

20. Now neither sun nor stars shining
upon us for many days, and a storm not
slight pressing upon us. Observe the force
of the compounds. The absence of the sun
and stars increased their danger, since it de-
prived them of their only means of observa-

1 ["The Joints of their sides being loosed, all the ships receive the hostile flood and gape with chinks."]

304

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVII.

21 But after lone abstinence, Paul stood forth in the
midst of them, and said. Sirs, ye should have heark-
ened unto me. and not have loosed from Crete, and to
have gained tnis harm and loss.

22 And now 1 exhort you to be of good cheer : for
there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but
of the ship.

23 'h'OT there stood by me this night the angel of
God, whose 1 am, and *whom 1 serve,

24 Saying, Fear not, Paul ; thou must be brought be-

21 taken away. And when they had been long with-
out food, then Paul stood forth in the midst of
them, and said. Sirs, ye should have hearkened
unto me, and not have set sail from Crete, and have

22 gotten this injury and loss. And now I exhort you
to be of good cheer : for there shall be no loss of

23 life among you, but only of the ship, for there
stood by me this night an angel of the God whose

241 am, whom also I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul;

aoh. 23:11....6bai>. 6:16; Rom. 1:9; 2 Tim. 1 : 3.

tion. The Greeks and Romans, in the most
improved state of navigation among them, were
reluctant to venture out to sea beyond the sight
of land. During the day they kept the high
lands on shore, or some island, in view, to
direct them, and at night depended, for the
same purpose, on the position, the rising and
setting, of different stars (Diet, of Antt., Art.
"Ship"). The many or several days include,
probably, the three days which have been
mentioned, but how many of the eleven days
which followed (». 27) before the final disaster
is uncertain. We do not know how long the
interval was between Paul's address and that
event. The expression would be inappropriate,
however, unless it comprehended the greater
part of them. — Then — i. e. for the future, thence-
forth (Aoiirdi-). They relinquish now their last
hope of escape ; destruction seemed to be in-
BAitable. In their condition they must have
felt that their only resource was to run the
vessel ashore. But the state of the weather
rendered it impossible for them to distinguish
in what direction the shore lay ; and thus they
were unable to make the only further eflfort for
their preservation which was left to them. In
judging of the dangers which menaced them,
we must take into account the state of the ves-
sel, as well as the violence of the storm. The
verb rendered was taken aAvay means was
utterly taken away. — Of being saved depends
on hope as a genitive construction. (Corap.
14 : 9.)

21-26. THE APOSTLE CHEERS THEM
WITH THE HOPE OF DELIVERANCE.

21. Long abstinence denotes much absti-
nence as to time and degree — i. e. both long-
continued and severe, but not entire. (See on
V. 33.) This abstinence was not owing to their
want of provisions (see v. 33), but was the ef-
fect— in part, at least — of their fears and dejec-
tion of mind (see vs. 22, 36) ; and in part, also,
of the difficulty of preparing food under such
circumstances, and of the constant requisition
made upon them for labor. "The hardships
which the crew endured during a gale of such
continuance, and their exhaustion from labor

at the pumps, and hunger, may be imagined,
but are not described." — You ought (past, as a
violated duty), having obeyed me, because
the counsel was wise, not authoritative as from
an apostle. — And not to have set sail. The
verb {avayc^cu) IS present, because they were
still at sea. Note the aorist which follows. —
Paul recalls to mind their former mistake in
disregarding his advice, not to reproach them,
but in order to show his claim to their confi-
dence with reference to the present communi-
cation. (iJ.iv is unattended here by any respond-
ing Sf). — And to have escaped — lit. gained
— this violence and loss. (See on v. 10.)
Lucrari was used in the same manner. An
evil shunned is a gain as well as a good secured.
As violence refers to something actually suffered,
it cannot mean harm to their persons (Cony,
and Hws.) ; for the exemption from such in-
jury, of which Paul assures them in the next
verse, and still more emphatically in v. 34, ap-
plies, undoubtedly, to the whole voyage.

22. But of the ship. There shall be no
loss except of the ship. This limitation
qualifies, not the entire clause which precedes,
but only there shall be no loss, which we
are to repeat before the words here. Only
[it-ovov) would have marked the connection
more p^eciselJ^ (See W. § 66. 1. e.) As to
the rest, compare the remarks on / perceive, in
V. 10.

23. Stood by me. Whether the angel ap-
peared to the apostle in a vision or a dream, the
mode of statement does not enable us to decide.
(See on 16 : 9.) — This night, just passed, or
that which was pa.ssing. Most think it prob-
able that Paul did not communicate the revela-
tion to those in the ship until the return of
day. — Whose I am, to whom I belong as his
property ; in other words, whose servant I am.
— Whom also I worship, to whom I offer
religious service and homage. This verb refers
to external acts of worship, and not to religious
life in general, except as the latter may be a
concomitant of the former.

24. Thou must be brought, etc., or thou
must stand, before Caesar. (See on 23 : 11.)

Ch. XXVIL]

THE ACTS.

305

lore Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that
lail with thee.

25 Wherefore, sirs, be of g:ood cheer : »for I believe
3od, that it shall be even as it was told me.

26 Howbeit 'we must be cast upon a certain island.

27 But when the fourteenth night was come, as we
were driven up and down in Adria, about midnight
the shipmen deemed that they drew near to some
country ;

thou must stand before Caesar: and lo, God hath

25 granted thee all them that sail with thee. Where-
fore, sirs, be of good cheer : for I believe God, that
it shall be even so as it hath been spoken unto me.

26 Howbeit we must be cast upon a certain island.

27 But when the fourteenth night was come, as we
were driven to and fro in the sea o/ Adria, about
midnight the sailors surmised that they were draw«

• Luke 1 : 46; Bom. 4 : 20, 21 ; 1 Tim. 1 : U....I eh. 18 : 1.

To remind the apostle of this still unfulfilled
purpose of God was the same thing as to assure
him that he would escape the present danger. —
God has given to thee all those who sail
with thee. They should be preserved for his
sake. No one supposes the declaration here to
affirm less than this. Many think that it im-
plies also that Paul had prayed for the safety
of those in the ship with him, and that he re-
ceives now the assurance that his prayer in
their behalf has prevailed. " For I hope," says
Paul in Philem. 22, " that through your prayers
I shall be given unto you." Such is the view of
Calv., Bng., Olsh., De Wet., Lange, and others.
Bengel remarks here : " Facilius multi mali cum
paucis piis servantur, quam unus pius cum
multis reis perit. Navi huic similis mundus "
[" More easy is it that many of the wicked are
saved with one pious man than that one pious
man perishes with many of the guilty. The
world is like this ship "].

25. I believe, etc. It is evident from v. 32
that the apostle had acquired a strong ascend-
ency over the minds of the passengers in the
ship, if not of the others. He could very prop-
perly, therefore, urge his own confidence in God
as a reason (for) why they should dismiss their
fears (be of good cheer) — so far, at least, as
the preservation of their lives was concerned.

26. Upon a certain island — i. e. upon
some island. More than this was not re-
vealed to him. Paul was as ignorant of the
name of the place where they were wrecked
as the rest of them. (See v. 39.) — Howbeit
( = bvi) (5<) opposes what they must suffer to
what they would escape. — Must in such a
communication may represent the event as
not merely certain, but certain because it was
fixed by the divine purpose. — Be cast away.
(See the remark on v. 17.)

27-32. THE DISCOVERY OF LAND, AND
THE FRUSTRATED ATTEMPT OF THE
MARINERS TO DESERT THE SHIP.

27. The fourteenth night, since their de-
parture from Fair Havens. — As we were borne }
through (sc. the waters; comp. v. 5) in the |
Adriatic. They may have been driven hither i
and thither or onward in one direction ; the :
participle is indefinite. Mr. Smith's calculation !

assumes a uniform drift toward Melita. It has
been said that the modern Malta lies too far
south to be embraced in the sea so designated.
The statement is erroneous. In its restricted
sense the Adriatic was the sea between Italy
and Greece, but in a wider sense it compre-
hended also the Ionian Sea around Sicily, near
which was Melita. (Forbg., Handb., ii. p. 19 ;
Win., Recdw., i. p. 23.) The later Greek and
Roman writers, as Biscoe has shown, gave the
name to the entire sea as far south as Africa.
— The shipmen, etc., the mariners sus-
pected that some land was approaching
them. As Mr. Smith remarks, Luke uses here
the graphic language of seamen, to whom the
ship is the principal object, whilst the land
rises and sinks, nears and recedes. The nar-
rator does not state on what ground they sus-
pected their vicinity to the land. It was, no
doubt, the noise of the breakers. This is usu-
ally the first notice of their danger which
mariners have in coming upon a coast in a
dark night. This circumstance furnishes rea-
son for believing that the traditionary scene of
the shipwreck is the actual one. It is impos-
sible to enter St. Paul's Bay from the east with-
out passing near the point of Koura ; and while
the land there, as navigators inform us, is too
low to be seen in a stormy night, the breakers
can be heard at a considerable distance, and in
a north-easterly gale are so violent as to form
on charts the distinctive feature of that head-
land. On the 10th of August, 1810, the British
frigate Lively fell upon these breakers in a dark
night, and was lost. The quartermaster, who
first observed them, stated in his evidence at
the court-martial that at the distance of a
quarter of a mile the land could not be seen,
but that he saw the surf on the shore. — The
distance from Claude to the point of Koura
is four hundred seventy-six and six-tenths
miles. Luke's narrative allows a fraction over
thirteen days for the performance of this voy-
age. It must have occupied a day, or the greater
part of a day, to have reached Claude after they
left Fair Havens. (See vv. 13-16.) According
to the judgment of experienced seamen, " the
mean rate of drift of a ship circumstanced like
that of Paul " (i. e. working its way in such a

306

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVIL

28 And sounded, and found il twenty fathoms : and
when they had gone a little further, they sounded
again, and found it fifteen fathoms.

29 Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon
rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and
wished for the day.

28ing near to some country- and they sounded, and
found twenty fathoms : and after a little space, they

29 sounded again, and found fifteen fathoms. And
fearing lest haply we should be cast ashore on rocky
ground, they let go four anchors from the stern, and

direction in a gale of moderate severity, against
a north-east wind) would be thirty-six and a
half miles in twenty-four hours. " Hence, ac-
cording to these calculations," says Mr. Smith
(p. 122, sq.), " a ship starting late in the evening
from Claude would, by midnight on the four-
teenth, be less than three miles from the en-
trance of St. Paul's Bay. I admit that a coin-
cidence so very close as this is, is to a certain
extent accidental ; but it is an accident which
could not have happened had there been any
great inaccuracy on the part of the author of
the narrative with regard to the numerous in-
cidents upon which the calculations are found-
ed, or had the ship been wrecked anywhere but
at Malta."

28. And when they had gone a little
further. There was but a short distance, it
will be observed, between the two soundings ;
and the rate of decrease in the depth of the
water— \'z. first twenty fathoms, and then
fifteen — is such as would not be found to exist
on every coast. It is said that a vessel approach-
ing Malta from the same direction finds the
same soundings at the present day. — The Greek
word meaning fathom (opyvia, from bpeyu, to
ttretch) signifies "the extension of the hands
with the breadth of the breast" {Etym.
Magn.).

29. Upon rocks — lit. upon rough — i. e.
rocky — pl-aces. Their apprehension arose, not
from what they saw, but from what they had
reason to fear in a dark night on an unknown
coast. The alarm was well founded; for " the
fifteen-fathom depth here is as nearly as possible
a quarter of a mile only from the shore, which
is girt with mural precipices, and upon which
the sea must have been breaking with great
violence." — They cast, etc., or having cast,
out four anchors from the stern. "To
anchor successfully in a gale of wind on a lee-
shore requires holding-ground of extraordinary
tenacity. In St. Paul's Bay, the traditionary
locality of the shipwreck, the anchorage is thus
described in the Sailing Directimis : "The har-
bor of St. Paul is open to easterly and north-
east winds. It is, notwithstanding, safe for
small ships, the ground generally being very
good; and while the cables hold there is no
danger, as the anchors will never start.' " The
ancient vessels did not carry, in general, so

large anchors as those which we employ ; and
hence they had often a greater number. Ath-
enseus mentions a ship which had eight iron
anchors. Paul's sliip, as we see from the next
verse, had other anchors besides those which
were dropped from the stern. One object of
anchoring in that way was to arrest the prog-
ress of the ship more speedily. No time was
to be lost, as they knew not that they might
not founder the next moment upon the shoals
where the breakers were dashing. Had they
anchored by the bow, we are told, there was
reason for apprehending that the vessel would
swing round and strike upon the rocks. The
ancient ships were so constructed that they
could anchor readily by the prow or the stem,
as circumstances might require. Another ad-
vantage of the course here taken was that the
head of the vessel was turned toward the land,
which was their best position for running her
ashore. That purpose they had, no doubt,
formed alreadj\ " By cutting away the an-
chors (ras a.yKvpa% TrepieAdi'Ttj), loOSlng the bauds

of the rudders (oveVres ra? ^evKTTjpios), and hoist-
ing the artanon {iirapavT^^ rbv apTiiJ.ova) — all of

which could be done simultaneously — the ship
was immediately under command, and could
be directed with precision to any part of the
shore which offered any prospect of safety." —
The English ships-of-war were anchored by
the stern in the battle of Copenhagen, and
rendered very effective service in that posi-
tion. Conybeare and Howson mention the
singular fact that Lord Nelson stated af-
ter the battle that he was led to adopt that
plan because he had just been reading this
twenty-seventh chapter of the Acts.— They
wished for day, or, lit., desired that day
might come. The remark is full of signifi-
cance. In the darkness of the night they
could not tell the full extent of the dangers
which surrounded them. They must have
longed for returning day on that account. In
the mean time it must have been difficult to
preserve a vessel which had been so long tem-
pest-tossed from sinking. Their only chance of
escape was to strand the ship as soon as the
light enabled them to select a place which ad-
mitted of it. It is evident that every moment's
delay must have been one of fearful suspense,
as well as of peril, to them.

Ch. XXVII.]

THE ACTS.

307

80 And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the
ship, when they had let down the boat into the sea,
under color as though they would have cast anchors
out of the foreship,

31 Paul said to the centurion and to the soldiers,
Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.

32 Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and
let her fall off.

33 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought
tfiem all to take meat, saying, This day is the fourteenth
day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having
taken nothing.

34 Wherefore I pray you to take .lome meat: for this
is for your health: for "there shall not an hair fall
from the head of any of you.

30 iwished for the day. And as the sailors were seek-
ing to flee out of the ship, and had lowered the boat
into the sea, under color as though they would

31 lay out anchors from the foreship, Paul said to the
centurion and to the soldiers. Except these abide in

32 the .ship, ye cannot be saved. Then the soldiers cut
away the ropes of the boat, and let her fall oir.

33 And while the day was coming on, Paul besought
them all to take some food, saying. This day is the
fourteenth day that ye wait and continue fasting,

34 having taken nothing. Wherefore I beseech you
to take some food : for this is for your safety : for
there shall not a hair perish from the bead of any

a 1 KlDgi 1 : 53 ; Matt. 10 : SO ; Lake 12 : 7 ; 11 : 18. 1 Or, praged

30. And as the shipmen, etc. This un-
generous attempt of the seamen to escape con-
firms the remark before made — that the ship
was probably in so shattered a state as to ren-
der it uncertain whether it could outride the
storm until morning. They may have had an-
other motive for the act. The shore might
prove to be one on which they could not drive
the vessel with any hope of safety, and they
may have deemed it more prudent to trust
themselves to the boat than to remain and
await the issue of that uncertainty. — When
they had let down, etc., having lowered
down, the boat, which they had previously
hoisted on board. (See vv. 16, 17.) — Out of
the foreship, or from the prow, since it
was nearer thence to the shore, and [it] was there
only that they could pretend to need anchors,
the stern being already secure. — Cast an-
chors, not to cast out (E. V.), but stretch
out, anchors. The idea of extending the
cables runs into that of carrying out and
dropping the anchors. Favored by the dark-
ness, and under color of the pretext assumed,
they would have accomplished their object,
had not Paul's watchful eye penetrated their
design.

31. Said to the centurion, etc. Paul ad-
dressed himself to the centurion and the
soldiers, because the officers of the ship were
implicated in the plot, or, in consequence of
the general desertion, had no longer any power
to enforce their orders. The soldiers are those
who had charge of the different prisoners (t. i),
subject, probably, to the command of the cen-
turion who had the particular care of the apos-
tle.—These, viz. the mariners.— Ye, or you,
cannot be saved. The pronoun is emphatic.
The soldiers were destitute of the skill which
the management of the ship required. It could
not be brought successfully to land without the
help of the mariners. This remark of Paul
proves that the plan to abandon the vessel was

not confined to a portion of the crew, but was
a general one.

32. Cut off the ropes of the boat, which
fastened it to the vessel ; not those by which
they were lowering it, as that was already done
(t. so). The short sword of the soldiers fur-
nished a ready instrument for the summary
blow. — Let her— I.e. the boat — or let it, fall off
(t. e. from the side of the vessel), go adrift. The
next billow may have swamped the frail craft.

33-35. PAUL ASSURES THEM AGAIN
THAT THEIR LIVES WOULD BE SAVED.

33. And Avhile the day, etc., or now un-
til it should be day— i. e. in the interval be-
tween the midnight mentioned in v. 27 and the
subsequent morning. — This day is apposition-
al in sense with day in the first clause. — Tar-
ried— lit. waiting — for the cessation of the
storm (De Wet.). — And continued fasting,
rather ye continue fasting, where the adjec-
tive supplies the place of a participle. ( W. § 45.
4.) — Having taken nothing, adequate to their
proper nourishment, no regular food, during all
this time. (See v. 21.) "Appian," says Dod-
dridge, "speaks of an army which for twenty
days together had neither food nor sleep; by
which he must mean that they neither made full
meals nor slept whole nights together. The same
interpretation must be given to this phrase." The
apostle's language could not be mistaken by those
to whom it was addressed. (Comp. v. 21.)

34. For this (viz. that they should partake
of food) is important for your preserva-
tion. (For irpd« {from) with this sense, see W.
?47. 5. f.) [" For your deliverance, strictly, is on
the side, as it were, of your deliverance." —
A. H.] They would have to submit to much
fatigue and labor before they reached the shore,
and needed, therefore, to recruit their strength.
—For there shall not a hair fall, etc. This
was a proverbial expression, employed to con-
vey an assurance of entire .safety. (See 1 Kings
1 : 52 ; Luke 21 : 18.)

308

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVII.

35 And when he had thus spoken, he took bread,
and "gave thanks to God in presence of them all : and
when he had broken it, he began to eat.

36 Then were they all of good cheer, and they also
took so7))e meat.

37 And we were in all in the ship two hundred three-
score and sixteen 'souls.

38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened
the ship, and cast out the wheat into the sea.

35 of you. And when he had said this, and had taken
bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all :

36 and he brake it, and began to eat. Then were thev
all of good cheer, and themselves also took food.

37 And we were in all in the ship two hundred three-

38 score and sixteen souls. And when they had eaten
enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the

1 1 Sam. 9: 13; Uatt. 15:36; Mark 8: 6; Joho 6 : II ; 1 Tim. 4 : S, 4....6 ch. 2 : 41 ; T:U; Rom. IS : 1 ; I Pet. 3: 20.

35. Bread. This word, by a Hebraistic
usage, often signifies food in the New Testa-
ment ; but broken, which follows, appears to
exclude that sense here. Yet the present meal
had, no doubt, its other accompaniments, the
bread only being mentioned because that, ac-
cording to the Hebrew custom, was broken and
distributed among the guests after the giving of
thanks. The apostle performed on this occa-
sion the usual office of the head of a Hebrew
family. Olshausen expresses the fanciful opin-
ion— as it seems to me — that the Christians
among them regarded this act as commemora-
tive of the Lord's Supper, though the others
did not understand Paul's design. The lan-
guage employed here, it is true, more frequent-
ly describes that ordinance, but it is used also
of an ordinary meal. (See Luke 24 : 30.)

36-38. THEY PARTAKE OF FOOD AND
AGAIN LIGHTEN THE SHIP.

36. Then, etc. — lit. having— all now be-
come cheerful. It is not accidental that the
writer makes this remark in connection with
they took some meat. In their despair they
had lost their inclination to eat ; but the return
of hope brought with it a keener sense of their
wants, and they could now think of satisfying
their hunger. (See on vv. 21, 33.) — They
also themselves as well as he. The apostle
had set them the example (began to eat), and
they all followed it.

37. The emphatic all, in v. 36, leads the
writer to specify the number. — All the souls
together. For this adverbial use of all (n-a?),
see the note on 19 : 7. For this use of souls,
see on 2 : 41. — Two hundred and seventy-
six. The number of persons on board shows
that the vessel must have been one of the
larger size. In the reign of Commodus one of
the Alexandrian wheat-ships was driven by
stress of weather into the Piraeus, and excited
great curiosity on the part of the Athenians.
Lucian visited this vessel, and has laid the
scene of one of his Dialogues (nXolov r) tixai) on
board of her. From the information furnished
by him it has been estimated that the keel of
this ship was about one hundred feet in length,
and that she would measure between eleven
and twelve hundred tons. Her dimensions.

therefore, although inferior to those of many
modern vessels, " were quite equal to those of
the largest class of modern merchantmen."
Luke's ship was engaged in the same commerce
(being, to use Lucian's language, 07ie of the skips
transporting grain from Egypt into Italy) ; and we
have no reason to be surprised at her contain-
ing such a number of men. (See further on
V. 6.)

38. Lightened the ship. Among the
nautical terms of Julius Pollux we find to
lighten the ship. (See on v. 18.) Luke states
merely the fact that they lightened the ship again
(it is the third time), but gives no explanation
of it. The object may have been to diminish
the depth of water which the ship drew, so as
to enable them to approach nearer to the shore
before striking. It has been conjectured, also,
that the vessel may have been leaking so fast
that the measure was necessary, in order to
keep her from sinking. — Casting out the
Avheat, or grain, corn, since the term has
frequently that wider sense. As suggested on v.
18, we are to understand here that they threw
into the sea the grain which constituted the
cargo, or the bulk of the cargo, wliich the ship
carried. The fact that the ship belonged to
Alexandria is presumptive proof that she was
loaded with grain, since that was the principal
commodity exported from Egypt to Italy. The
explicit notice here that they lightened the
ship by throwing the grain into the sea har-
monizes with that presumption and tends to
confirm it. Some have thought that wheat
may denote the ship's provisions ; but these
would have consisted of various different arti-
cles, and would not naturally be described by
so specific a term as this. The connection,
which has been said to favor the opinion last
stated, agrees equally well with the other.
Having their hopes revived by the spectacle
of Paul's undisturbed serenity and by his an-
imating address, and being reinvigorated after so
long a fast by the food of which they had par-
taken, they were now in a condition both of
mind and body to address themselves to the
labors which their safety required. This view,
therefore, places their lightening of the ship in
a perfectly natural connection with the circum-

Ch. XXVII.]

THE ACTS.

309

39 And when it was day, they knew not the land:
but they discovered a certain creek with a shore, into
the which they were minded, if it were possible, to
thrust ill the ship.

40 And when they had taken up the anchors, they
committed thenaelvea unto the sea, and loosed the rud-

39 wheat into the sea. And when it was day, they
knew not the land: but they perceived a certain
bay with a beach, and they took counsel whether

40 they could 'drive the ship ufion it. And casting oiT
the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same

I Some ancient authorities read briny the *Mp ta/e to $kore.

stances related just before. In addition to this,
as Hemsen urges, their remaining stock of pro-
visions, after so protracted a voyage, must have
been already so reduced that it could have had
little or no effect on the ship whether they were
thrown away or retained. — Mr. Blunt (p. 326)
has very properly called attention to the man-
ner in which the narrative discloses to us the
nature of the ship's cargo. In the fifth verse
we are informed that the vessel " into which
the centurion removed Paul and the other
prisoners at Myra belonged to Alexandria and
was sailing into Italy. Prom the tenth verse we
learn that it was a merchant-vessel, for mention
is made of its lading, but the nature of the lad-
ing is not directly stated. In this verse, at a dis-
tance of some tliirty verses from the last, we find,
by the merest chance, of what its cargo consisted.
The freight was naturally enough kept till it
could be kept no longer, and then we discover for
the first time that it was wheat, — the very article
which such vessels were accustomed to carry
from Egypt to Italy. These notices, so detached
from each other, tell a continuous story, but it
is not perceived till they are brought together.
The circumstances drop out one by one in the
course of the narrative, unarranged, unpre-
meditated, thoroughly incidental ; so that the
chapter might be read twenty times and their
agreement with one another and with con-
temporary history be still overlooked."

39-44. THE SHIPWRECK.— THOSE ON
BOARD ESCAPE TO THE SHORE BY
SWIMMING, OR ON FRAGMENTS OP THE
VESSEL.

39. They knew not, or they recognized
not, the land within view. The day has
dawned, and they could now distinguish it.
It has appeared to some surprising that none
of those on board should have known a place
with which those at least who were accustomed
to the sea might be expected to have been so
well acquainted. The answer is that the scene
of the shipwreck was remote from the principal
harbor, and, as those who have been on the
spot testify, distinguished by no marked feature
which would render it known even to a native,

if he came unexpectedly upon it. The bay so
justly known as St. Paul's Bay is at the north-
west extremity of the island, and is formed by
the main shore on the south, and the island of
Salmonetta on the north. It extends from east
to west, two miles long and one broad at the
entrance, and at the inner end is nearly land-
locked on three sides. It is several miles north
of Valetta, the famous rock-bound harbor of
Malta.^ They perceived a certain inlet,
creek, having a sftore, one open or smooth (see
on 21 : 5), on which they could run the ship
with a hope of saving their lives. " Luke uses
here the correct hydrographical term." The
remark implies that the coast generally was
unsafe for such an attempt. The present con-
formation of the coast on that side of Malta
confirms Luke's accuracy in this particular.
The shore there presents an unbroken chain
of rocks, interrupted at only two points. —
Into which they determined, if they
could, to thrust forth (i. e. from the sea),
to drive asltore, the ship. (Por i(i»rai, from
€{u>,><(u, see W. § 15 ; K. g 165. 7.) The wind must
have forced them to the west side of the bay,
which is rocky, but has two creeks. One of
these, Mestara Valley, has a shore. The other
has no longer a sandy beach, but must have
had one formerly, which has evidently been
worn away by the action of the sea. The ves-
sel grounded {r.*i) before they reached the
point on shore at which they aimed, though
they may have entered the creek.

40. And when, etc., may be translated
and having entirely cut away the anchors
they abandoned them unto the sea. On
this force of the preposition in the Greek parti-
ciple {irtpitKovTtt), comp. was taken away (trepip-
P«rTo), in v. 20. It has been referred to the posi-
tion of the anchors as being around the ship ;
but they had all been dropped fi"om the stem
(t. »), and, as the strain would be mainly in one
direction, they would not be likely to be found
on different sides of the vessel. Our English
translators followed the Vulgate in their inac-
curate version of this clause. — At the same
time having nnfastened the bands of the

' Smith's chart of St. Paul's Bay Is copied In Conybeare and Howson, with the necessary explanations. I had
the gratification of a hurried visit to this locality on my way to Alexandria. It appeared to me to fulfil every
condition of the narrative as the scene of the apostle's shipwreck.

310

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVIL

ier bands, and hoised up the mainsail to the wind, and
made toward shore.

41 And falling into a place where two seas met, "they
ran the ship aground ; and the forepart stuck fast, and
remained uumoveable. but the hinder part was broken
with the violence of the waves.

time loosing the bands of the rudders ; and hoisting
up the foresail to the wind, they made for the beach.
41 But lighting upon a place where two seas met, they
ran the vessel aground ; and the foreship struck and
remained unmoveable, but the stern began to break

a 1 Cor. U : 25.

rudders. Most of the ancient vessels were
furnished with two rudders. No sea-going ves-
sel had less than two, although small boats and
river-craft, such as those on the Nile, were some-
times steered by one. The rudders (mffiaAia) were
more like oars or paddles than our modern
helm. They were attached to the stem, one on
each quarter, distinguished as the right and the
left rudder. In the larger ships the extremities
of the rudders were joined by a pole, which was
moved by one man and kept the rudders always
parallel. (See Diet, of Antt., Art. " Gubemacu-
lum.") When a vessel was anchored by the
stem, as was the case here, it would be neces-
sary to lift the rudders out of the water and to
secure them by bands. These bands it would
be necessary to unfasten when the ship was
again got under weigh, (ovevrcs is the second
aorist participle in the active from avir)ii.i.. K.
§ 180. See on 16 : 26.)— Having hoisted the
foresail to the wind. The word rendered
foresail (apTitiuiv) has been taken by different
writers as the name of almost every sail which
a vessel carries — e. g. mainsail, topsail, jib, etc.
We have no ancient definition of the term
which throws any certain light upon its
meaning. It passed into some of the modem
languages, where it is variously applied, but oc-
curs in no ancient Greek author out of Luke's
account of this voyage. Most commentators,
without any attempt to substantiate their opin-
ion, put it down as the " mainsail." The nauti-
cal argument is said to be in favor of the fore-
sail— i. e. the sail attached to the mast nearest
the prow, or, if there was but one mast, fixed
to a spar or yard near the prow. "As the an-
cients depended for speed chiefly upon one
principal sail, an appendage or additional sail
at the bow of the ship was required for the
purpose of directing the vessel when in the act
of putting about ; for, although there could be
no difficulty in bringing the ship's head to the
wind with the great sail alone, a small sail at
the bow would be indispensable for making her
'pay off' — that is, bringing her head round;
otherwise, she would acquire stem-way, and
thereby endanger the rudders, if not the ship
itself." The vessels on coins and in other an-

cient representations exhibit a sail of this de-
scription. With this sail raised, it is said that
a ship situated like that of Paul would move
toward the shore with more precision and ve-
locity than with any other. " A sailor will at
once see that the foresail was the best possible
sail that could be set under the circumstances."
41. And having fallen into a place hav-
ing two seas. This has been supposed by
many commentators to have been a concealed
shoal or sand-bank, formed by the action of
two opposite currents. In the course of time
such a bank, as is frequently the case at the
mouth of rivers or near the shore, may have
been worn away ; ^ so that the absence of any
such obstruction there at the present time de-
cides nothing against that supposition. It has
also been understood to have been a tongue of
land or promontory, against the shores of which
the sea beat strongly from opposite quarters. It
is not stated that any projection exists there
now to which Luke's description, if explained
in that manner, would apply. Mr. Smith is
of the opinion that a place having two seas
may refer to the channel, not more than a hun-
dred yards in breadth, which separates the small
island Salraonetta from Malta, and which might
very properly be called a place where " two seas
meet," on account of the communication which
it forms between the sea in the interior of the
bay and the sea outside. He would place the
scene of the shipwreck near that channel, and,
according to the representation on his map, a
little to the north of the place to which tradi-
tion has generally assigned it. The creek near
here, at present without a beach (see v. 39), may
be the one which they attempted to enter. —
The final shock now ensues. And the prow,
sticking fast, remained immovable, but
the stern was broken by the violence of
the waves. "This is a remarkable circum-
stance, which, but for the peculiar nature of
the bottom of St. Paul's Bay, it would be diffi-
cult to account for. The rocks of Malta dis-
integrate into extremely minute particles of
sand and clay, which when acted upon by the
currents or surface agitation form a deposit of
tenacious clay, but in still water, where these

For examples of this, see Lyell's PrincipUt of Geology, p. 285, sq. (8th ed., 1850).

Ch. XXVII.]

THE ACTS.

311

42 And the soldiers' counsel was to kill the prison-
ers, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.

43 But the centurion, willing to save I'aul, kept them
from their purpose ; and commanded that they which
could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and
get to land :

42 up by the violence of the tmves. And the soldiers'
counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them

43 should swim out, and escape. But the centurion,
desiring to save Paul, stayed them from their pur-
pose: and commanded that those who could swim
should cast themselves overboard, and get first to

causes do not act, mud is formed ; but it is only
in the creeks where are no currents, and at such
a depth as to be undisturbed by the waves, that
the mud occurs. In Captain Smyth's chart of
the bay the nearest soundings to the mud indi-
cate a depth of about three fathoms, which is
about what a large ship would draw. A ship,
therefore, impelled by the force of a gale into a

infinitive. (W. g 44. 8 ; 8. g 162. 3. 2.) Meyer,
after Fritsche, never admits this use, but insists
on that {Iva) as telic even here. — Of the rigor
with which those were liable to be punished
who were charged with the custody of prison-
ers, if the latter escaped from them in any way,
we have had proof in 12 : 19 and 16 : 27.
43. It will be recollected that, according to

BAY OF ST. PAUL FROM THE SOUTH.

creek with a bottom such as has been described,
would strike a bottom of mud, into which the
fore-part would fix itself and be held fast,
whilst the stem was exposed to the force of
the waves.'' — Meyer defends of the waves
(riv KvnaTuv) with good reasou against Tischen-
dorf and others.

42. It is the soldiers who initiate this scheme,
since they only, and not the mariners, were in-
terested in the fate of the prisoners. — Counsel^
better, plan, resolution, not counsel merely.
(Comp. purpose, below.) — To kill=that they
shonld kill the prisoners defines plan, and
circumscribes the declarative or supplementary

the Roman custom, each of the prisoners was
chained to a particular soldier, who was his
keeper. As to the relation of these soldiers
to the centurion, see on v. 31. — Kept, or re-
strained, them from their purpose. Thus
it happened again (see v. 24) that Paul's com-
panions were indebted to their connection witli
him for the preservation of their lives. And
connects this clause with the next, because of
their co-ordinate relation to willing.— The par-
ticiple {airoppiifiavTat) translated '*cast them-
selves " has a reciprocal sense. — Get, etc. —
lit. to go forth, not from the ship, which is
the force of frotn {aw6) in the participle just

312

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVIII.

44 And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken
piecM of the ship. And so it came to pass, 'that they
escaped all safe to laud.

44 the land : and the rest, some on planks, and some on
olher things from the ship. And so it came to pass,
that they all escaped safe to the land.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

AND when they were escaped, then they knew that
Hhe island was called Melita.
2 And the 'barbarous people shewed us no little
kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us

1 And when we were escaped, then we knew that

2 the island was called 'Melita. And the barbarians
showed us no common kindness : for they kindled a

aver. 12....tch. 27:26.... c Bom. 1:14; 1 Cor. li : 11 ; Col. 3:11..

-I Some ancient mnthoriliea read Melitent.

before, but from the sea (apon, or to, the

land) eirt Tiiv yyiv).

44. The rest is the subject of to go forth
(E. V. get), repeated from the preceding clause.
— Upon boards, such, probably, as were in
use about the ship, but not parts of it, which
would confound this clause with the next. —
Upon some of the pieces from the ship,
which they themselves tore away or which the
surge had broken off. Most critics distinguish
the two expressions in this manner. Kuinoel
renders hoards (aoKiViv) tables. A few understand
that term of the permanent parts of the vessel,
and some of the pieces from the ship {nviov iiro toC
wKoiov) of such things as seats, barrels, and the
like, which were floating away from the wreck.
But articles of this description they would be
likely to have lost or to have thrown into the
sea before this time. — So, thus — i. e. in the
two ways that have been mentioned. — Es-
caped safe — lit. were saved. This was not
the first peril of the kind from which the
apostle had been delivered. In 2 Cor. 11 :
25 he says, "Thrice I suffered shipwreck, a
night and a day have I spent in the deep;"
and he recorded that statement several years
before the present disaster. [Meyer says : " This
shipwreck was at least the fourth (2 Cor. 11 ; 25)
which Paul suffered." He also remarks:
" Hackett treats chap, xxvii. with special care,
having made use of many accounts of travels
and notes of navigation." — A. H.]

1-10. THEIR ABODE DURING THE WIN-
TER AT MELITA.
1. They knew = they ascertained (by

intercourse, probably, with the inhabitants)
that the island is called Melita. That
this was the modern Malta cannot well be
doubted. An island with the same name, now
Meleda, lies up the Adriatic, on the coast of
Dalmatia, which some have maintained to be
the one where Paul was wrecked. Bryant de-
fended that opinion. It is advocated still in
Valpy's Notes on the New Testament. The argu-

ment for that opinion founded on the name
Adriatic has been already refuted in the re-
marks on 27 : 27. It has also been alleged for
it that no poisonous serpents are found at pres-
ent on Malta. Mr. Smith mentions Coleridge
{Table Talk, p. 185) as urging that difficulty.
The more populous and cultivated state of the
island accounts for the disappearance of such
reptiles. Naturalists inform us that these ani-
mals become extinct or disappear as the abo-
riginal forests of a country are cleared up, or
as the soil is otherwise brought under cultiva-
tion. (See note on v. 3.) It would be difficult
to find a surface of equal extent in so artificial
a state as that of Malta at the present day. The
positive reasons for the common belief as to the
place of the shipwreck are — that the traditional
evidence sustains it ; that Malta lies in the track
of a vessel driven by a north-east wind ; that
the reputed locality of the wreck agrees with
Luke's account ; that the Alexandrian ship in
which they re-embarked would very naturally
winter there, but not at Meleda ; and that the
subsequent course of the voyage to Puteoli is
that which a vessel would pursue in going from
Malta, but not from the other place. Malta is
sixty miles from Cape Passero, the southern
point of Sicily, and two hundred miles from
the African coast. It is farther from the main
land than any other island in the Mediterra-
nean. It is seventeen miles in length, nine
miles in its greatest breath, and sixty miles in
circumference. It is nearly equidistant between
the two ends of the Mediterranean. Its highest
point is said to be six hundred feet above the
level of the sea.

2. And the barbarous people. The in-
habitants are called barbarians with reference
to their language — which was not that either
of the Greeks or Romans — not because they
were rude and degraded. It is strange that
Coleridge should say that the Melitaeans can-
not be meant here, because they were highly
civilized. These islanders belonged to the
Phoenician race and spoke a Semitic dialect,
most probably the Punic — t. e. the Phoenician
as spoken by the people of Carthage. "The

Ch. XXVIII.]

THE ACTS.

313

every one, because of the present rain, and because
of the cold.

3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks,
and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the
heat, and fastened on bis hand.

fire, and received us all, because of the present rain,
3 and because of the cold. But when Paul had gath-
ered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the hre, a
viper came out iby reason of the heat, and fastened

1 Or, from the heat

Hebrew language," in its widest extent, says
Hupfeld, "was the language, not merely of
the Hebrews, but of the other nations that
inhabited Canaan^ or Palxstina, especially of
the Phoenicians, so renowned as a commercial
people in the ancient world, and of the Car-
thaginians descended from them. This is
proved especially by the proper names of the
Canaanites in the Bible, and of the Phoenicians
and Carthaginians in the classic writers, which
are all formed in the Hebrew manner, and
also by the remains of the Phoenician and the
Punic language on Phoenician monuments
and in the classics, so far as these have been
as yet decipliered." ' The Greeks and Romans
who settled on the island at different times
never introduced to any great extent their lan-
guage or customs. — No little = no ordinary. (See
on 19 : 11.) — Received to themselves, or to
their regard. (Comp. Rora. 14 : 1 ; De Wet.),
not to their fire (Mey.). [In his last ed. Meyer
agrees with Dr. Hackett. — A. H.] — On ac-
count of the rain which came upon us
(De Wet., Rob.); the present rain (Wetst., E.
v.). They would suffer the more from this
inclement weather after so much exposure
and fatigue. This remark in regard to the
rain and cold disproves the assumption of
some critics that it was a sirocco wind — i. e.
from the soutli-east — which Paul's ship en-
countered. That wind does not continue to
blow more than two or three days, and is
hot and sultry even as late as the month of
November.

3, And when Paul, etc.— lit. now Paul
— having collected a great number (a
heap) of dry sticks, such as would nat-
urally be found among the rocks around the
shore. — A viper (ixiiva). The Greeks applied
this term to that reptile in distinction from

other serpents, as is evident from Aristotle
(Lib. I. c. 6) : " The other serpents produce
eggs ; the echidna only is viviparous." Vipers
are the only viviparous serpents in Europe. It
was remarked above that the viper is unknown
in Malta at the present day. "No person,"
says Mr. Smith, " who has studied the changes
which the operations of man have produced
on the fauna (animals) of any country will be
surprised that a particular species of reptiles
should have disappeared from that of Malta.
My friend the Rev. Mr. Landsborough, in his
interesting excursions in Arran, has repeatedly
noticed the gradual disappearance of the viper
from that island since it has become more fre-
quented. Mr. Lyell,* in quoting the travels of
Spix and Martins in Brazil, observes: 'They
speak of the dangers to which they were ex-
posed from the jaguar, the poisonous serpents,
crocodiles, scorpions, centipedes, and spiders.
But with the increasing population and cul-
tivation of the country, say these naturalists,
these evils will gradually diminish ; when the
inhabitants have cut down the woods, drained
the marshes, made roads in all directions, and
founded villages and towns, man will by de-
grees triumph over the rank vegetation and
the noxious animals.' " — Out of, or from, the
heat, the effect of it (De Wet.), or (less appro-
priate to the noun, from the place of it, as ex-
plained by Winer (g 47. 5. b.) and others. But
the best manuscripts read on-o (Lchm., Tsch.,
Mey.), and the sense then is (comp. 20 : 9 ;
Luke 19 : 3) on account of the heat. The viper
had evidently been taken up among the sticks
which Paul had gathered; and, as may be
inferred from laid on the fire, had been
thrown with them into the fire. This latter
supposition is required by the local sense of
out of the heat, and is entirely consistent with

1 It has been frequently asserted that the ancient Punic is the basis of the language spoken by the native
Maltese of the present day. That opinion is incorrect. Malta, at the time of the Saracen irruption, was over-
run by Arabs, from whom the common people of the island derive their origin. The dialect spoken by them
is a corrupt Arabic, agreeing essentially with that of the Moors, but intermixed to a greater extent with words
from the Italian, Spanish, and other European languages. The Maltese language approaches so nearly to the
Arabic that the islanders are readily understood in all the ports of Africa and Syria. Gesenius first inves-
tigated thoroughly this dialect in his Versuch iiber du- itiallesUche Sprache, etc. (Leipzig, 1810). He has given the
results of this investigation in his article on " Arabien " in Ersch and Gruber's EncyklopUdie. In his History of
the Hebrew Language he remarks that, although the ancestral pride of the Maltese themselves may dispose
them to trace back their language to the old Punic, yet it contains nothing which is not explained far more
naturally out of the modern Arabic than as the product of so ancient a tongue.

* Principle.^ of Geology (7th ed.), p. 655.

314

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVIII.

4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast
hane on his hand, they said among themselves, No
doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath
escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.

6 And he shook oif the beast into the fire, and 'felt
no harm.

6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen,
or fallen down dead suddenly : but after they had
looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him,
they changed their minds, and 'said that he was a god.

7 In the same quarters were possessions of the

4 on his hand. And when the barbarians saw the
beast hanging from his hand, they said one to an-
other, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom,
though he hath escaped from the sea, yet Justice

5 hath not suffered to live. Howbeit he shook off the

6 beast into the fire, and took no harm. But they
expected that he would have swollen, or fallen
down dead suddenly : but when they were long
in expectation, and beheld nothing amiss come
to him, they changed their minds, and said that
he was a god.

7 Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands

a Mark 16 : 18 ; Luke 10 : 19. . . .6 ch. U : II.

the causal sense. The viper was probably in
a torpid state, and was suddenly restored to
activity by the heat. It was now cold, in con-
sequence both of the storm and the lateness of
the season (v. 2) ; and such reptiles become tor-
pid as soon as the temperature falls sensibly
below the mean temperature of the place
which they inhabit. Vipers, too, lurk in
rocky places, and that is the character of the
region where the incident occurred. They are
accustomed, also, to dart at their enemies,
sometimes several feet at a bound ; and hence
the one mentioned here could have reached
the hand of Paul as he stood in the vicinity
of the fire.i Instead of having come forth

(iieMovira, T. R.), the more descriptive SieieMoiaa

(Tsch, M'^y.) represents the viper as having
come forth (from the fire) through the sticks
among which it was taken up. — Fastened
itself, in the sense of the middle. This
reflexive use of the active occurs only here,
which accounts for the middle form, as read
in some copies.

4. Now as the barbarians saw the ani-
mal hanging from his hand, to wliich it
clung by the mouth. Aristotle also uses animal
i&ripiov) of the viper. That it was " venomous "
(E. V.) results, not from this mode of designa-
tion, but from echidna. Luke does not say ex-
pressly that Paul was bitten, but the nature of
the reptile, the leap, the clinging to his hand,
leave us to infer that with almost entire cer-
tainty. Those who stood near and witnessed
the occurrence supposed, evidently, that such
was the fact. That he should have escaped
being bitten under such circumstances would
have been hardly less miraculous than that the
ordinary effect of the poison should have been
counteracted. We seem to be justified, accord-
ing to either view, in regarding his preservation
as a fulfilment of the promise of Christ in Mark
16 : 17, 18. On the form of the participle
{xpeiJLaiJLtvov), see K. § 179. 5. — This man is a
murderer. They perceived from his chain,

perhaps, or some other indication, that Paul
was a prisoner. The attack of the viper proved
to them that he must have committed some
atrocious crime. Murderer points, not to a
specific offence, but to the class of offenders to
which they supposed he might belong. — Jus-
tice suffered not to live. Observe the past
tense. They considered his doom as sealed.
Vengeance, in their view, had already smitten
his victim.

5. Suffered no evil. This statement agrees
with the supposition either that he had not
been bitten or that the poison had produced no
effect upon him.

6. When he should have swollen, or
that he would be inflamed (lit. burn),
since inflammation is attended with heat. —
Or that he would suddenly fall down
dead. Sudden collapse and death ensue often
from the bite of serpents. Shakespeare speaks
as a naturalist when he says of the asp-bitten
Cleopatra,

" Trembling she stood, and on the sudden dropped."

— No harm — lit. nothing bad, injurious; in
a moral sense in Luke 23 : 41. — Changed may
take after it their mind or omit it. — That he
was a god. Bengel : "Aut latro, inquiunt, aut
deus; sic modo tauri, modo lapides (u : 13, 19).
Datur tertium: honw Dei" ["Either a robber,
or a god ; thus now bullocks, now stones (14 :
13, 19). There is a third : man o/God." — A. H.].

7. Around that place, the one where they
were wrecked. Tradition places the residence
of Publius at Citta Vecchia, the Medina of the
Saracens, which, though in the centre of Malta,
is but a few miles from the coast. (See on v. 1.)
— There can be no doubt that Publius is
called the first (or chief) of the island be-
cause he was the Roman governor. Melita
was first conquered by the Romans during the
Punic wars, and in the time of Cicero (4 Ver.
c. 18) was annexed to the prsetorship of Sicily.
The praetor of that island would naturally have

1 For the information in this note concerning the habits of the viper, I am indebted chiefly to Professot
Agasaiz of Cambridge.

Ch. XXVIII.]

THE ACTS.

315

chief maa of the island, whose name was Publius;
who received us, and lodged us three days courteously.

8 And it came to pass, that the father of Fublius lay
sick of a fever and of a bloody llux : to whom Paul en-
tered in, and "prayed, and 'laid his hands upon him,
and healed him.

9 So when this was done, others also, which had dis-
eases in the island, came, and were healed :

10 Who also honored us with many 'honors ; and
when we departed, they laded u< with such things as
were necessary.

belonging to the chief man of the island, named Pub-
lius ; who received us, and entertained us three davs

8 courteously. And it was so, that the father of Pub-
lius lay sick of fever and dysentery : unto whom
Paul entered in, and prayed, and laying his hands

9 oil him healed him. And when this was done, the
rest also who had diseases in the island came, and

10 were cured: who also honored us with many hon-
ors; and when we sailed, they put on board such
things as we needed.

a Jamea 6 : li, IS.... & Hark 8 : 5; T :S2; 16:18; Luke 4: 40; cb. 18:11, 13; 1 Cor. 12 : 9, 28....e Uatt. 15 : 8; 1 Tim. 5 : IT.

a legate or deputy at this place. The title first
(irpuTos), under which he is mentioned here,
has been justly cited by apologetic writers, as
Tholuck, Ebrard, Krabbe, Baumgarten, Lard-
ner, Paley, Couybeare and Howson, as a strik-
ing proof of Luke's accuracy. No other ancient
writer happens to have given his official desig-
nation ; but two inscriptions, one in Greek and
the other in Latin, have been discovered in
Malta, in which we meet with the same title
employed by Luke in this passage.^ It is im-
possible to believe that Publius or any other
single individual would be called the first man
in the island, except by way of official emi-
nence. It will be observed that the father of
Publius was still living, and during his lifetime
he would naturally have taken precedence of
the son, had the distinction in this case been
one which belonged to the family.* — Lodged^
or better entertained^ ns — viz. Luke, Paul,
Aristarchus (2t : 2), and no doubt the noble-
hearted Julius; not the entire two hundred
and seventy -six (Bmg.), as so indiscriminate a
hospitality would be uncalled for and without
any sufficient motive.

8, Sick of a fever — lit. of fevers. The

plural has been supposed to describe the fever
with reference to its recurrent attacks or par-
oxysms. This is one of those expressions in
Luke's writings that have been supposed to
indicate his professional training as a phy-
sician. (See also 12 : 23 ; 13 : 11 ; and espe-
cially the comparison {His sweat was as it were
great drops of blood failing down, etc.) in his
Gospel (22:44).) It is correct to attach to them
that significancy. No other writer of the New
Testament exhibits this sort of technical pre-
cision in speaking of diseases. The disorder
with which the father of Publius was affected
was dysentery combined with fever. It was
formerly asserted that a dry cUmate like that
of Malta would not produce such a disorder,
but we have now the testimony of physicians
resident in that island that it is by no means
uncommon there at the present day.

10. Who also, on their part — i. e. while
they came and were healed of their maladies.
— Honored us (viz. Paul and his companions)
with many honors, courtesies. They were
entertained with a generous hospitality, and

1 " The one in Greek is supposed to form a votive inscription by a Roman knight, named Aulus Castricius, ' first
of the Melitans' (Trpwrot Me'AiTattai'), to the emperor. The Latin inscription on the pedestal of a column was
discovered at Citta Vecchia, in excavating the foundation of the Casa del Magistrato, in 1747."

3 I have allowed this note to remain as it stood in the other edition, as it represents the general opinion
of scholars respecting the official rank of Publius. Yet it is possible that they have erred in assigning this
precise import to the title. I insert, with thanks for the suggestion, the following criticism of President
Woolsey on this point: "The best information which we can obtain respecting the situation of Malta at the
time of Paul's visit renders it doubtful, to say the least, whether the interpreters are in the right as it regards
the station of Publius. In a Greek inscription of an earlier date we find mention made of two persons holding
the office of aretion or magistrate in the island. A later inscription of the times of the emperors may be
translated as follows : ' Lucius Pudens, son of Claudius, of the tribe Quirina, a Roman eques, first [n-pwrot, aa
in Acts] and patron of the Meliteans, after being magistrate and having held the post of flamen to Augustus,
erected this.' Here it appears that the person named was still chief man of the island, although his magistracy
had expired. From this inscription and others in Latin found at Gozzo, it is probable that the inhabitants
of both islands had received the privilege of Roman citizenship and were enrolled in the tribe Quirina. The
magistracy was, no doubt, that of the Duumvirs, the usual municipal chief officers. The other titles correspond
with titles to be met with on marbles relating to towns in Italy. Thus the title of chief corresponds to that
of prineeps in the colony of Pisa, and is probably no more a name of office than the title of patron. For no
such officer is known to have existed in the colonies or in the municipia, and the prineeps colonia of Pisa is
mentioned at a time when it Is said that, owing to a contention between candidates, there were no magis-
trates."

The difference does not affect the value of the alleged proof of the narrator's accuracy ; for in either case the
term is a Roman title, and is applied by Luke to a person who bears it at the right time and in the right
place. Indeed, the appellation of prince or patron would be more striking than that of magistrate, inasmuch as
the range of its application is narrower, and a writer who was not stating the truth would be more liable to
introduce it under circumstances that would render it inadmissible.

316

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVIIl.

11 And after three months we departed in a ship of
Alexandria, which had wintered in the isle, whose sign
was Castor and I'ollux.

12 And landing at Syracuse, we tarried there three
days.

13 And from thence we fetched a compass, and came
to Rhegium : and after one day the south wind blew,
and we came the next day to Puteoli :

11 And after three months we set sail in a ship of
Alexandria, which had wintered in the island,

12 whose sign was 'The Twin Brothers. And touch-
13ing at Syracuse, we tarried there three days. And

from thence we 'made a circuit, and arrived at Rhe-
gium: and after one day a south wind sprang up,

1 Or. Dioteuri 2 Some ancient autboritiei read cut loose.

distinguished by marks of special regard and
kindness. Some render the Greek word (Tt^a«j)
rewards or presents ; but the next clause appears
to limit their reception of the favors in ques-
tion to the time of their departure and to the
relief of their necessary wants. It is certain
that they did not even tlien accept the gifts
which were proffered to them as a reward for
their services; for that would have been at
variance with the command of Christ in
Matt. 10 : 8.

11-16. PROSECUTION OF THE JOUR-
NEY TO ROME.

11. After three months. The three months
are the time that they remained on the island.
They were probably the months of November,
December, and January. The season may have
admitted of their putting to sea earlier than
usual. The arrival at Melita could not have
been later than October, for a brief interval
only lay between the fast (27 : 9) and the begin-
ning of the storm (27:27). — In a ship which
had wintered there. Luke does not state
why this vessel had wintered here. It is a
circumstance which shows the consistency of
the narrative. The storm which occasioned
the wreck of Paul's vessel had delayed this
one so long that it was necessary, on reach-
ing Melita, to suspend the voyage until spring.
This vessel had been during the winter at Va-
letta, which must always have been the prin-
cipal harbor of Malta. — With the sign Dios-
curi, or distinguished by Dioscuri — i. e.
having images of Castor and Pollux painted or
carved on the prow, from which images the
vessel may have been named. This use of
figure-heads on ancient ships was very com-
mon. (See Diet, of Antt., Art. "Insigne.")
Castor and Pollux were the favorite gods of
seamen, the winds and waves being supposed
to be specially subject to their control. It is of
them that Horace says {Od., 1. 12. 27-32; see,
also, Od., 1. 3. 2) :

" Quorum simul alba nautis

Stella refulsit,
Defluit saxis agitatus humor ;
Concidunt venti, fugiuntque nubes,
Et minax (quod sic voluere) ponto

Unda recumbit." *

The sign {■napa(njnu) may be a noun or an ad-
jective. The former appears to have been most
common in this application. The other con-
struction is easier as regards the dative, and is
preferred by De Wette.

12. At Syracuse. This city, the capital of
Sicily, on the south-eastern coast of that island,
was about eighty miles north from Melita. It
was built partly on the adjacent island of Or-
tygia, and from that circumstance, or, as others
say, because it included at length several vil-
lages, may have received its plural name. The
modern Siracusa, or Siragossa, occupies only
a part of the ancient city — viz. Ortygia (Forbg.).
— We tarried. They may have stopped here
for trade, or in the hope of a better wind.

13. Fetched a compass — lit. having
come around) or about. The sense of the
preposition it is impossible to determine with
certainty. One supposition is that it refers to
their frequent alteration of the ship's course ;
in other words, to their tacking, because the
wind was unfavorable. So Smith, Conybeare
and Howson, and others explain the word. Mr.
Lewin thinks that " as the wind was westerly,
and they were under the shelter of the high
mountainous range of Etna, they were obliged
to stand out to sea, in order to fill their sails,
and so come to Rhegium by a circuitous
sweep."'' Another view is that they were
compelled by the wind to follow closely the
sinuosities of the coast, to proceed circuitously.
De Wette says — which is much less probable —
that they may have gone around Sicily, or the
southern extremity of Italy. — Unto Rhegium,
now Reggio, which was an Italian seaport op-
posite to the north-eastern point of Sicily. Here

1 [" As soon as their propitious star has shone out upon the mariners, the heaving water flows down from the
rocks, the winds fall, the clouds flee away, and the threatening wave (for so have they willed) sinks down upon
the sea."]

* " I was informed by a friend many years ago that when he made the voyage himself from Syracuse to Rhe-
gium, the vessel in which he sailed took a similar circuit, for a similar reason " (Lewin, ii. p. 736).

Ch. XXVIII.]

THE ACTS.

317

they remained a day, when the wind, which had
been adverse since their leaving Syracuse, be-
came fair, and they resumed the voyage. The
steamers between Naples and Malta touch at
Messina, and Reggio appears in full view on
the Italian side. If Paul passed here in Feb-

nals is classical. (K. g 264. 3. b.)— To Pateoli.
Pateoli, now Pozzuoli, was eight miles north-
west from Neapolis, the modem Naples. It de-
rived its name from the springs ( putei) which
abound there, or from the odor of the watera
(o putendo)} Its earlier Greek name was Di-

THE MOLE OF PUTEOLI.

ruary (v. 11, above), the mountains on the
island and on the main land were still cov-
ered with snow, and presented to the eye a
dreary aspect. — A south wind having arisen
on them. (Comp. the compound participle in
V. 2 and in 27 : 20. The dative of the person is
often expressed after eiri with this force. See
Herod., 8. 13.) — On the second day. (Comp.
John 11 : 39.) This adverbial use of the ordi-

kairarcheia. It was the jirinoipal port south ol
Rome. Nearly all the Alexandrian and a great
part of the Spanish trade with Italy was
brought hither. The seventy-seventh Letter
of Seneca gives a lively description of the in-
terest which the arrival of the corn-ships from
Egypt was accustomed to excite among the in-
habitants of that time. A mole with twenty-
five arches stretched itself into the sea at the

1 Ai examples, travellers will recollect the Grotto del Cane near Cunue, and the Baths of Nero at Baia.

318

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVIII.

entrance of this bay, alongside of which the
vessels as they arrived cast anchor for the de-
livery of their freight and passengers. Thirteen
of the piers which upheld this immense struc-
ture show their forms still above the water, and
point out to us as it were the very footsteps of
the apostle as he passed from the ship to the
land. — The voyage from Rhegium to Puteoli,
which the Castor and Pollux accomplished in
less than two days, was about one hundred

mentions several voyages which would be con-
sidered very good in modem times. He says
that the prefects Galerius and Babilius arrived
at Alexandria, the former on the seventh, the
latter on the sixth, day after leaving the Straits
of Messina. He states, also, that passages were
made, under favorable circumstances, from the
Straits of Hercules to Ostia, in seven days ; from
the nearest port of Spain, in four; from the
province of Narbonne, in three; and from

ROUTE OF PAUL ALONG THE VIA APPIA FROM PUTEOLI TO ROME.

and eighty miles. The passage, therefore, was
a rapid one, but, as examples of the ancient
rate of sailing show, not unprecedented. He-
rodotus states that a ship could sail seven hun-
dred stadia in a day and six hundred in a night
— i. e. thirteen hundred in twenty-four hours —
which would be at the rate of about one hun-
dred and fifty English miles a day. Strabo
says that a voyage could be made from Sammo-
nium to Egypt in four days, reckoning the dis-
tance at five thousand stadia, or about five hun-
dred and seventy-three miles. This would be
sailing one hundred and forty-three miles in
twenty-four hours, or six miles an hour. Pliny

Africa, in two. Probably the most rapid run
mentioned by any ancient writer is that of
Arrian, in his Periplus of the Euxine, who says
that " they got under way about daybreak," and
that by midday they had come more than five
hundred stadia — that is, more than fifty geo-
graphical miles, which is at least eight miles
an hour.i The mean of the foregoing exam-
ples is seven miles an hour ; and if we suppose
that the Castor and Pollux sailed at that rate,
the passage would have required only about
twenty-six hours. This result agrees perfectly
with Luke's account; for he states that they
left Rhegium on one day and arrived at Puteoli

1 1 have relied for these statements partly on Forbiger, and partly on Bisooe and Smith.

Ch. XXVIII.]

THE ACTS.

319

14 Where we found brethren, and were desired to
tarry with them seven days : and so we went toward
Kome. ^ , ,

15 And from thence, when the brethren heard of us,
they came to meet us as far as Appii forum, and The
three taverns : whom when Paul saw, he thanked God,
and took courage.

16 And when we came to Rome, the centurion de-
livered the prisoners to the captain of the guard : but

14 and on the second day we came to Puteoli : where
we found brethren, and were intreated to tarry
with them seven days: and so we came to Kome.

15 And from thence the brethren, when they heard of
us, came to meet us as far as The Market of Appius,
and The Three Taverns : whom when Paul saw, be
thanked God, and took courage.

16 And when we entered into Kome, iPaul was suf

1 Some ancient aatboriUe* insert the centurion delivertd tht prUonert to the captain of the pratorian guard: but.

on the next. Their course, it will be observed,
was nearly due north, and they were favored
with a south wind.

14. With (lit. upon) them. (Comp. 21 : 4.)
The local idea blends itself with the personal.
(See W. § 48. c.)— Seven days, or a week. (See
on 20 : 6.) They had an opportunity to spend
a Sabbath with the Christians there. The cen-
turion granted this delay, not improbably, in
order to gratify the wishes of Paul. After such
events the prisoner would have a power over
his keeper well nigh unbounded. In the mean
time, the news of the apostle's arrival would
travel to Rome, and thus prepare the way for
what we read in the next verse. — And so, after
the interval thus spent, we went unto Rome,
not came, unless the remark be proleptic. The
incidents in v. 15 occur on the way thither. On
leaving Puteoli, Julius and his party would pro-
ceed naturally to Capua, about twelve miles,
the nearest point for intersecting the Appian
Way. The distance from Capua to Rome by
this road was about one hundred and twenty-
five miles.'

15. Two companies of the Christians at Rome
went forth to meet the apostle, but separately
and at different times. Hence the advanced
party reached Appii Forum, about forty miles
from Rome, before Paul appeared; the later
party met him at Tres Tabernse (E. V. Three
Taverns), which was thirty miles from Rome
{Itiner. Antonin.). Other estimates (Itiner. Hi-
eros.) place Appii Forum a few miles nearer to
Rome. This town was named from Appius
Claudius Cfecus, who built the Appian Way.
It lay on the northern border of the Pontine
Marshes, at the end of the canal which ex-
tended thither from a point a few miles above
Anxur or Terracina. Horace {Sat., 1. 5. 4)
speaks of Appii Forum as " full of boatmen,"
who were engaged in forwarding passengers
over this canal, a distance of twenty miles.
The Appian Way ran near the canal, and it
would depend on circumstances unknown to

us whether the centurion travelled in one mode
or the other. Strabo mentions that night-trav-
ellers (as in the case of Horace) usually pre-
ferred the boat. The present Locanda di Foro
Appio, a wretched inn, marks, probably, the
site of Appii Forum. It is almost the only
human shelter in the midst of a solitude en-
livened once by incessant commerce and travel.
— Three Taverns, as appears from one of
Cicero's letters to Atticus (2 : 12), must have been
near where the cross-road from Antium fell into
the Appian Way. It is thought to have been
not far from the modern Cistema, the bulk of
which lies on the traveller's left in going from
Rome to Naples, under the shadow of the
Volscian hills. — Whom Paul seeing gave
thanks to God and took courage. He
may have met a few of the Roman Christians
in foreign lands, but was a stranger to nearly
all of them except in name, and would ap-
proach the city with the natural anxiety of one
who had yet to learn what feelings they enter-
tained toward him. Such a cordial reception,
such impatience to see him and welcome him
to their hearts, would scatter all his doubts and
thrill his bosom with gratitude and joy. The
church at Rome contained heathen converts as
well as Jewish. The apostle of the Gentiles
would see a special cause for encouragement
and thanksgiving in the presence of such wit-
nesses of the success of the gospel in the great
metropolis.

16. As Paul travelled on the Appian Way, he
must have entered Rome through the Capenian
Gate, not far from the modem Porta San Se-
bastiano. — The centurion delivered the
prisoners to the commander of the camp
— i. e. the praetorian camp, where the emperor's
body-guard was quartered. (See Phil. 1 : 13.)
This camp, or garrison, had been built by Se-
janus, the favorite of Tiberius, in the vicinity
of the Porta Nomentaiia (Win.). The exact spot
is known to be that within the projection at
the north-east corner of the present city wall.

1 Conybeare and Howson's map of this journey to the city will enable the reader to follow the apostle's course
very distinctly. [It gives the Campanian or Consular road from Puteoli to Capua. Lewin (Life and EpistUi oj
Paul, whose map is given) thinks he went by the coast road flrom Gums to Sinuessa, and there struck the Ap<
pUn Way.]

320 THE

ACTS. [Ch. XXVIII.

■Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier
that kept him.

fered to abide by himself with the soldier that
guarded him.

a ch. 24 : 25 ; 21 : 3.

Nearly all critics at present, as Olshausen,
Anger, De Wette, Meyer, Wieseler, suppose
this officer — i. e. the prasfectus prietorio — to be
meant here. The prisoners who were sent to
Rome from the provinces were committed to his
custody. There is a difference of opinion in re-
gard to the article. The command of the prae-
torian guard was originally divided between

sole prefect at that time, and he urges the ex-
pression as a reason for assigning the apostle's
arrival to a. d. 62. or the year preceding. It is
very possible that this view is the correct one.
It w^ould furnish a striking coincidence between
Luke's narrative and the history of the times.
Yet, in speaking of the prefect, the writer may
have meant the one who acted in this particular

FIFTH MILE OF THE VIA APPIA, BESTOEKD.

two prefects ; but during the reign of Claudius,
Burrus Afranius, a distinguished Roman gen-
eral, was appointed sole prsefectxis prsetorio, and
retained this office as late, certainly, as the be-
ginning of A. D. 62. On his death the command
was committed again to two prefects, as it had
been at first ; and this continued to be the ar-
rangement until a late period of the empire.
The time of Paul's arrival at Rome could not
have been far from a. d. 62, as admits of being
shown by an independent calculation. (See
Introd., § 6. 5.) Wieseler (p. 86) supposes the
commander of the camp to refer to Burrus, as
1 [This clause is now omitted by

case, the one who took into his charge the pris-
oners whom the centurion transferred to him,
whether he was sole prefect or had a colleague
with him. (Conip. 24 : 23.) De Wette assents
to Meyer in this explanation of the article.
The expression, as so understood, does not af-
firm that there was but one prefect, or deny it.*
—But Paul was suffered— lit. but it was
permitted to Paul [i. e. by the prefect to
whom he had been consigned) — to dwell by
himself, instead of being confined with the
other prisoners. This was a favor which the
Roman laws often granted to those who were
the best editon.— A. H.]

Ch. XXVIIL]

THE ACTS.

321

17 And it came to pass, that after three days Paul
called the chief uf the Jews together: and when they
were come together, he said unto them. Men awl
brethren, "though I have committed nothing against
the people, or customs of our fathers, yet 'was I deliv-
ered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the
Romans.

18 Who, 'when they had examined me, would have
let mf go, because there was no cause of death in me.

19 But when the Jews .spake against it, •'1 was con-
strained to appeal untoCiesar; not that I had ought
to accuse my nation of.

20 I'or this cause therefore have I called for you, to
see yoH, and to speak with you : because that <for the
hope of Israel I am bound with /this chain.

17 And it came to pass, that after tliree days he
called together Hhose that were the chief of the
Jews: and when they were come together, he said
unto them, I, brethren, though 1 had done nothing
against the i>eople, or tlie customs of our fathers,
yet was delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the

1>^ hands of the Romans: who, when they had exam-
ined me, desired to set me at liberty, because there

19 was no cause of death in me. But when the Jews
spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto
Ca:sar ; not that I had aught to accuse my nation of.

•JO For tliis cau.se therefore did I ^intreatyou to see
and to speak with me; for l>ecause of the hope of

• oh. 31:11, IS; S5: 8....6eli. U:SS....eeta. 23:34; 34:10; 35:8; •i6:3l....d eta. 25:ll....eeb. 26:6, T..../eh. 26:29; Kph.

il:l;4:l;6:20; 3 Tim. 1: 16; 3:9; Philem. 10, IS I Or, tho$e that were 0/ the Jew* fint 2 Or, ecM for you, to §ee and (•

epeak with you

not suspected of any very serious offence. The
centurion, who had already shown himself so
friendly to the apostle, may have interceded for
him, or the terms in which Festus had reported
the case (see on 26 : 32) may have conciliated
the prefect. In the use of this liberty, Paul re-
paired first to the house of some friend (t. 23),
and afterward rented an apartment for his own
use (t. so). — With the soldier who guarded
hint) and to whom he was fastened by a chain.
Different soldiers relieved each other in the per-
formance of this office. Hence, as Paul states
in Phil, i : 13, he became in the course of time
personally known to a great number of the
prietorian soldiers, and through them to their
comrades. The notoriety which he thus ac-
quired served to make his character as a pris-
oner for the sake of the gospel more widely
known, and thus to aid him in his efforts to
extend the knowledge of Christ. To this re-
sult the apostle refers in Phil. 1 : 12, sq.

17-23. PAUL HAS AN INTERVIEW
WITH THE CHIEF MEN OF THE JEWS
AT ROME.

17. After three days, on the third from
his arrival. (Comp. 25:1.) The apostle's un-
tiring activity is manifest to the last. — The
Jews are the unbelieving Jews, not the Jew-
ish Christians. Their first men would be the
rulers of the synagogue, or would include
them. — Against (ivavrlov) governs the dative
here, as in 1 Thess. 2 : 15. (Comp. 26 : 9.)—
Though I have committed, better though
I had done. — From Jerusalem, whence
he had been sent to Ciesarea. — Into the hands
of the Romans— viz. Felix and Festus, who
represented their countrymen. The remark
applies to them, as is evident from examined,
in the next verse.

19. Spake against, or objecting, describes
very mildly the opposition of the Jews to the
apostle's acquittal. Brethren, the people,
21

our fathers, Israel, which follow so rapid-
ly breathe the same conciliatory spirit. Such
expressions show how self-forgetting Paul
was, how ready to acknowledge what was
common to his opponents and himself. — I
was compelled to appeal unto Caesar,
as his only resort, in order to save himself
from assassination or judicial murder. (Comp.
25 : 9, s9.)--Not that I had, or not as hav-
ing (t. e. because I had) anything (as the
motive for this appeal) to charge against
my nation — viz. before the emperor. The
apostle would repel a suspicion which he
supposed it not unnatural for the Roman
Jews to entertain, or possibly would deny
an imputation with which the Jews in Pales-
tine had actually aspersed him (Wiesl.). Paul
says my nation (f^fovs mow), and not people
(see Aa^ above), because the word Caesar, just
before, distinguishes the Romans and the Jews
from each other.

20. On this account therefore — viz. that
his feelings toward the Jews were so friendly. —
I called, invited, you that I might see you.
Some supply me as the object of to see [i. e.
called you to see me'], which destroys the unity
of the sentence. — For on account of the
hope of Israel — i. c. the hope of a Messiah
which the nation entertaineil. (Comp. 26 : 6.)
This clause is co-ordinate with the one which
precedes. It states an additional reason why
he had sought the present interview. — I am
compassed with this chain, have my arm
bound with it. So, also, when the apostle
wrote in Phil. 4:4," Rejoice in the Lord
always ; and, again, I .say, Rejoice," he was
manacled as a felon, and was liable at any
moment to be condemned to the wild beasts
or the block. The construction is similar to
that of the accusative alter passive verbs.
(Comp. t» compassed vrUh infirmity — iripi«<trai
iLix^ivti<w — in Heb. 5 : 2.)

r,22

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVIII.

21 And they said unto him, We neither received
letters out of Judaea concerninK thee, neither any of
the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of
thee.

22 But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest :
for as concerning this sect, we know that everywhere
•it is spoken against.

21 Israel I am bound with this chain. And they said
unto him, We neither received letters from Jiidsea
concerning thee, nor did any of the brethren come

22 hither and report or speak any harm of thee. But
we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for
as concerning this sect, it is known to us that every-
where it is spoken against.

a Luke S : M; eh. M : S, U; 1 Pet. 3 : II ; 4 : 14.

21. We received neither letters, etc. This
statement refers to their having received no of-
ficial information, either written or oral, in re-
gard to the circumstances under which Paul
had been sent to Rome. Some have supposed
the Jews to be insincere in this declaration, as
if it was improbable that they should have been
uninformed in regard to so important an event.
But we have no sufficient reason for calling in
question their veracity. The Palestine Jews
could hardly have foreseen the issue to which
the case was so suddenly brought, and hence,
before the apostle's appeal, would have deemed
it unnecessary to apprise the Jews at Rome of
the progress of the trial. It is barely possible
that they could have forwarded intelligence
since the appeal had taken place. Paul de-
parted for Italy evidently soon after he had ap-
pealed, and must have availed himself of one
of the last opportunities for such a voyage
which the season of the year allowed. Hav-
ing spent the winter at Melita, he had proceed-
ed to Rome at the earliest moment in the
spring; so that in the ordinary course of
things he must have arrived there in advance
of any ship that might have left Palestine after
the reopening of navigation. — Repeat from
Jadea after that came. — Any one of the
brethren, of our countrymen — i. e. as a spe-
cial messenger, as a complainant,

22. But (though in the absence of such in-
formation we offer no complaint) we deem it
proper (Mey., Rob.) to hear from thee.
(Comp. 15 : 38.) The verb may also mean we
desire (De Wet., E. V.), but is less common in
that sense. — For concerning this sect, of
which Paul was known to be an adherent;
and, as that circumstance (for) was not in his
favor, they intimate that he was bound to vin-
dicate himself from the reproach of such a
connection. The Jews, it will be observed, in
their reply to the apostle, abstain from any al-
lusion to the Christians at Rome ; indeed, they
might have expressed themselves in the same
manner had no church existed there at this
time, or had they been entirely ignorant of its

existence. To understand them, however, as
affirming that they had heard of the sect only
by report, that they possessed no personal
knowledge of any who were connected with
it, is certainly unauthorized. Baur^ proceeds
on this false assumption, and then represents
the passage as inconsistent with the Epistle to
the Romans, which was written several years
before this, and exhibits to us a flourishing
church in the Roman metropolis. Zeller says
the same thing. The peculiarity in the case is
not by any means that the Jews denied that
they were acquainted with those who held the
Christian faith, but that they avoided so care-
fully any reference to the fact ; what they knew
was matter of general notoriety (everywhere
it is spoken against) ; they decline the re-
sponsibility of asserting anything on the
ground of their own personal knowledge.
Various explanations have been given of this
reserve on the part of the Jews. Olshausen's
hypothesis is that the opposition between the
Jewish Christians and the Jews had become
such, before Claudius banished the latter from
Rome, as to separate them entirely from each
other, and consequently that the Christians
there remained, in fact, unknown to the Jews
who returned to Rome after the decree of ban-
ishment ceased to be in force. This view is
improbable, and has found no supporters. The
opinion of many of the older critics, to which
Tholuck* also has returned, is that the chief
of the Jews affected to be thus ignorant in
regard to the Roman Christians — that they
wished to deceive the apostle, and uttered a
direct falsehood when they told him that they
had received no information concerning him
from the Palestine Jews. The best account of
this peculiarity, it appears to me, is that which
Philippi has suggested in his recent commen-
tary on the Epistle to the Romans.' The situa-
tion of the Jews at Rome, after their recent
banishment by Claudius, was still critical and
insecure. It was very important for them to
avoid the displeasure of the government — to
abstain from any act or attitude that would

1 Paulut, der ApotUl, sein Leben und Wirken, seine Briefe und seine Lehre, p. 368, sq.

* Oommentar zum Brieve Pauli an die Romer (1842), p. 14.

» Oammenlar iiber den Brief Pauli an die RQmer, von Friedrich A. Philippi (1848), p. xt.

Ch. XXVIII.]

THE ACTS.

323

23 And when they had appointed him a day, there
came many to hiiu into his lodging; "to whom he ex-
pounded and testitied the Icingdom of God, persuading
them concerning Jesus, ^both out of the law of Moses,
and out of the prophets, from morning till evening.

24 And <some believed the things which were spoken,
and some believed not.

25 And when they agreed not among themselves,
thev departed, after that i'aul had spoken one word,
Well spake the Holy (ihost by E^aias the prophet unto
our fathers,

26 Saying, ''Co unto tliis people, and say. Hearing ye
shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye
shall see, and not perceive:

27 l-'or the heart of this people is waxed gross, and
their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have
they closed ; lest they should see with their eyes, and

23 And when they had appointed him a day, they
came to him into his lodging in great number; to
whom he expounded the vKilier, testifying the king-
dom of God, and persuading them concerning .le-
sus, both from the law of Moses and from the propii-

24ets, from morning till eveiiing. And some believed
the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved.

25 And when they agreed not among themselves, thev
departed, after that I'aul had spoken one word. Well
spake the Holy Spirit through Isaiah the prophet

26 unto your fathers, saying,

(io tliou unto this people, and say.

By hearing ye shall bear, and shall in no wise

understand ;
At:d seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise

perceive :

27 For this people's heart is waxed gross,
And their ears are dull of hearing.
And their eyes they have closed;

Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes,

• Lake M:1T; oh. IT: 8; 19: 8.... 6 Bee on oh. 26 : 6, 22....ech. U : 4; 17: i; l\>:9....d In. S:»; Jer. &:21; Kiek. 12:1;
UMt. IS : II, 1& ; Hark i : 12 ; Luke 8 : 10 ; John 12 : 40 ; Bom. 11:8.

revive the old charge against them of being
quarrelsome or factious. They saw that Paul
was regarded with evident favor by the Roman
officers; they had heard from him that the
procurator would have acquitted him, but the
obstinate Jews had compelled him to appeal to
Caesar. Having had no intelligence from Judea,
they might fear that their countrymen there had
gone too far, and had placed it in the power of
Paul to use the circumstance to the disadvan-
tage of the Jewish cause at Rome. Hence they
considered it advisable for the present to con-
ciliate the apostle, to treat him mildly, to keep
out of sight their own relations to the Chris-
tian sect. They say what was true. No special
and express information had been forwarded
to them respecting his person and the occur-
rence mentioned by him, and they knew that
the sect had everywhere an evil name. But
they suppress their own view in regard to the
Christian faith as something they do not con-
sider it necessary and expedient to avow, and,
out of fear of the Roman magistrates, would
draw as little attention as possible to their hos-
tile position toward the Christians.

23-29. HIS SECOND INTERVIEW WITH
THE JEWS.

23. And when they had appointed, etc.,
or now having appointed for him a day, at
his own suggestion, perhaps, since by leaving it
to them to designate the time he would be more
sure of their presence. — Unto his lodging. \
The term implies (Hesych.) that it was a place
where he was entertained as a guest (comp.
Philem. 22) ; and those critics are right who
distinguish it from the "hired house" men-
tioned in V. 30. The apostle, at first, as would
be natural, was received into some one of the
Christian families at Rome; but after a time,
for the sake of greater convenience or inde-

pendence, he removed to apartments which
would be more entirely subject to liis own
control. That Aquila (Bom. i6:s) became his
host again, as he had been at Corinth (is : s),
is not impossible. — Many, strictly more than
on the former occasion. — And persuading
them of the things concerning Jesus.
For the double accusative, see on 19 : 8. Here,
too, the act of the participle refers to the speak-
er's aim or object, without including the result.
It may be inferred from what follows that the
greater part of those whom Paul addressed
withstood his efforts to win them to the truth.
(Comp. V. 25.)

24. Some (oi ixiv) and some (« Si) distribute
the Jews into opposite parties. The proportion
which the convinced bore to the unbelieving
we must gather from the drift of the narra-
tive.

25. Agreed not, etc. — lit. and being dis-
cordant among one another. This variance
they may be supposed to have evinced by an
open declaration of their different views, by
the expression of dissent and objection on the
part of those who disbelieved. — After that
Paul, or Paul having said one word, at
the time of their departure (De Wet.), not as
the occasion of it (Mey.). It wjis one final,
significant word, as opposed to many words.
(Comp. Luke 20 : 3.) — Through Isaiah.
(See on 2 : 16.)

26. Saying— viz. Isa. 6 : 9, sq., cited accord-
ing to the Seventy. The passage is quoted also
in Matt. 13 : 14, sq., and John 12 : 40.— For the
Hebraistic hearing ye shall hear, see the
note on 4 : 17. — And shall not understand
(ou nil tnivriT*) may express the future result
with more certainty than the future indica-
tive. (See on 13 :41.) — For seeing ye shall
see {^Kiwovrtf ^\i<ii*Tt), see on 7 : 34.

324

THE ACTS.

[Ch. XXVIIL

hear with Iheir ears, and understand with their heart,
and should be converted, and I should heal them.

28 IJe it known therefore unto you, that the salva-
tion of (lod is sent "unto tlie Cientiles, and i/iut they
will hear it.

29 And when he had said these words, the Jews de-
parted, and had great reasoning amon^ themselves.

30 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired
house, and received all that came in unto him,

31 'Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching
those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ,
with all confidence, uo man forbidding him.

And hear with their ears,

And understand with their heart,

And should turn again.

And 1 should heal them.
28 Be it known therefore unto you, that this salvtt-
tlon of (iod is sent unto the Gentiles: they will also
hear.'

30 And he abode two whole years in his own hired
dwelling, and received all that went in unto him,

31 preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the
things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all
boldness, none forbidding him.

a Matt. 21:41, 43; ch. 13:46, 47; 18:6; W : 21 ; 26:17, 18; Rom. 11 : 11....& ch. 4:31; Eph. 6 : 19. 1 Some ancient

authorities insert ver. 29 And tehen he had *aid thae wordt, the Jews departed, having much dieputing among thenueUie*.

28. Therefore — i, e. since they are so hard-
ened and incorrigible. — That to the Gentiles
the salvation was sent — i. e. by God, in the
coming of the apostle to Rome. — They (em-
phatic), although they are heathen. — Also will
hear it — viz. the message of this salvation.
The object of the verb is implied in was sent
(aneo-ToAT);. — Also (<c<u') connects the reception
with the offer of the gospel. — Our eyes trace
here the last words in Luke's record which fell
from the lips of Paul. It is remarkable that
they are precisely such words. The apostle of
the Gentiles points again to his commission to
preach to all nations, and declares that the
heathen, to whom he was sent, shall accept
the Saviour whom the Jews disowned.

29. This verse in the common text repeats
what has been said in the eighteenth verse.
It appears to be not genuine. Its principal
witnesses are G H, the Ethiopic, and some of
the later Fathers. It is wanting in A B E, the
Syriac, and the best Latin authorities. Lead-
ing critics, as Mill, Lachmann, Tischendorf,
Green, reject the verse. [Also West, and Hort,
Treg., and the Anglo-Am. Revisers. — A. H.]

30. 31. THE CONDITION OF THE APOS-
TLE DURING HIS CAPTIVITY.

30. Dwelt — lit. remained two whole
years ; i. e. in the state mentioned, with the
evident implication that at the end of that
time his condition changed. Some critics deny

the correctness of this inference, but the better
opinion affirms it. Had the apostle been still
in confinement, the writer would have em-
ployed more naturally the present tense or the
perfect {remains or has remained), instead of the
aorist. The reader's conclusion is that the two
years completed the term of the apostle's cap-
tivity, and that when Luke penned the sen-
tence the prisoner was either at liberty or else
was no longer living. Lekebusch (p. 415) pro-
nounces this view an inevitable one. (See on
next verse.) — The two whole years would
bring the narrative down to a. d. 64. Some
months lay between the commencement of
this year and the outbreak of Nero's persecu-
tion. (See Introd., p. 27.) — In his own hired
house — i. e. hired at his own expense. In the
bosom of a Christian church, the apostle could
not have been destitute of the means of pro-
viding for such an expense. We leam also,
from Phil. 4 : 14, 18, that during this captivity
Paul received supplies from the church at
Philippi. — Received, in its special sense,
received gladly, because it afforded him
such joy to preach the gospel. (Comp. 15 : 4 ;
18:27.)

31. Teaching— f. e. them. The construc-
tion is similar to that in v. 23. — Without
molestation, on the part of the Roman Gov-
ernment.i According to the Roman laws, a
citizen under arrest, in ordinary cases, could

1 Agrippa I. was imprisoned in early life at Rome. The account of his captivity confirms so entirely Luke's
account of the manner in which Paul was treated as a Roman prisoner (so unlike our modern usages) that it
may not be amiss to mention some of the circumstances. We obtain the information from Josephus (Antt., 18.
6. .5, sq.). Agrippa, on being arrested, was committed to Macro, the praetorian prefect, and confined in the prae-
torian camp. lie was there kept under a guard of soldiers, to one of whom he was chained icalled his <TvvhtT6<;).
A particular centurion had the oversight of the prisoner and the soldiers who guarded him. But the condition
of those confined in this manner depended very much on the character of those who had the immediate
chart'e of them. The soldiers who watched Agrippa treated him at first with great severity. Hence, Antonia,
a sister-in-law of Tiberius and a friend of Agrippa, interceded with Macro and induced him to appoint a guard
known to be of a milder disposition. The situation of Agrippa was now improved. His friends, who had been
excluded from him, were permitted to visit him and to supply his necessary wants. (Comp. 24 : 23.) But dur-
ing this time, about six months, he was still confined in the prsetorian camp. On the death of Tiberius the
mode of his captivity was changed again. Caligula ordered him to be removed from the praetorium to the
house which he had occupied before he was bound. Here he was still guarded as a prisoner, but was subject to
BO much less restraint that his condition was one of comparative liberty. His captivity, in this last form of it,
was doubtless like that of Paul during the two years that he " dwelt in bis own hired house" at Rome.

Ch. XXVIII.]

THE ACTS.

325

give security or bail, and thus enjoy his per-
sonal liberty until he was brought to trial. The
freedom granted to Paul was so ample that one
might almost suppose that he was permitted to
exercise that right ; but it is rendered certain by
Phil. 1 : 13, 16 that he continued to be guarded
by a Roman soldier. — Among the friends with
Paul during this confinement who have been
mentioned in our narrative were Luke, Tim-
othy, Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, and Tychi-
cus. The interruption of his personal inter-
course with the churches caused the apostle to
address them by letter, and thus the restraint
on his liberty proved the means of opening to
him a sphere of activity which has given him
access to all nations, which makes him the con-
temporary of every age. As nearly all critics
allow, he wrote during this captivity his Epistles
to the Ephesians, the Colossians, the Philip-
pians, and Philemon. — It must suffice to allude
merely to the subsequent history of the great
apostle. I cannot hesitate to agree with those
who believe that Paul, on being brought to
trial under his appeal to the emperor, was ac-
quitted, and, casting aside his chains, went
forth to labor again for the spread of the gos-
pel. We see from his letters written while he
was a captive that he was expecting to regain
his liberty. (See, for example, Phil. 1 : 25 ; 2 :
23, 24; Philem. 22.) Even if Paul entertained
this belief as a matter of judgment merely, and
not in the exercise of a faith warranted by a
special revelation, we must allow, at all events,
that he had good means for forming a correct
opinion of his prospects, and should be sup-
posed, therefore, to have realized his hope, and
not to have been condemned contrary to such
manifest intimations of a different result. The
journeys and labors indicated in the Pastoral
Epistles make the supposition of an interval
between a first and second imprisonment im-
portant, if not indispensable, as a means of
reconciling Luke's account with this part of
the apostle's correspondence. The facts men-
tioned in the letters to Titus and Timothy have
no natural place in the portion of Paul's history
recorded in the Acts. The style too and the
circle of ideas in these Epistles indicate a later
period in the life of the writer and in the prog-
ress of the churches than that of the conclusion
of Luke's narrative. Finally, the historical

testimony, as derived from the earliest sources,
asserts a second Roman captivity in the most
explicit manner. Clemens, the disciple and
companion of Paul, affirms that the apostle,
before his martyrdom, travelled " to the bound-
ary of the West" — an expression which the
Roman writers in that age applied to the trans-
Alpine countries ; and the Canon of Muratori
(a. d. 170) represents " a journey into Spain "
as a well-known event in Paul's history. Euse-
bius states the common belief of the early
churches in these words: "After defending
himself successfully it is currently reported
that the apostle again went forth to proclaim
the gospel, and afterward came to Rome a
second time and was martyred under Nero." —
Hints in the Epistles and traditions supply all
that is known or conjectured respecting this
last stage of the apostle's ministry. It is sup-
posed that on being liberated (writers do not
agree as to the precise order) he visited again
parts of Asia Minor and Greece ; went to Crete
and founded, or more probably strengthened,
the churches there ; made his long-contemplated
journey to Spain ; wrote his First Epistle to
Timothy and his Epistle to Titus ; after several
years of effective labor was apprehended again
as a leader of the Christian sect ; was brought
a second time as a prisoner of Christ to Rome ;
was tried there, and condemned to suffer death.
His Roman citizenship exempted him from the
ignominy of crucifixion, and hence, according
to the universal tradition, he was beheaded by
the axe of the lictor. The same testimony
places his martyrdom in the year a. d. 68, the
last year of Nero's reign. It was in the daily
expectation of this event that he wrote the last
of his Epistles, the Second to Timothy. It is
in that Epistle — written as the aged servant of
Christ looked back to his trials all surmounted,
forward to the hour when he should soon " be
for ever with the Lord," yet amid his own joy
still mindful of the welfare of others — that we
hear his exultant voice : " I am now ready to
be offered, and the time of my departure is at
hand. I have fought a good fight, I have fin-
ished my course, I have kept the faith. Hence-
forth there is laid up for me a crown of right-
eousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge,
shall give me at that day ; and not to me only,
but unto all them also that love his appearing."

ABBREVIATIONS.

NAMES OF WRITERS ABBREVIATED IN THE NOTES.

The works of those referred to in the following list are mostly commentaries, and may be
presumed to be well known. The titles of some of those which are less common have been
given at the foot of the page where they occur for the first time.

All

Ang

Bez

Blmf. . . . .

Bmg

Bng

Bottg. . . . .
Bretsch. . . .

Brud

Calv. . . . .

Chryst

Cony, and Hws.
DeWet. . . .

Doddr

Ebr

Forbg

Frtz

Gesen

Grot

Grsb

Hems

Heng. . . . .
Herz. . . . .
Hesych. . . .
Hmph

Alford.

Anger.

Beza.

Bloomfield.

Baumgarten.

Bengel.

Bottger.

Bretschneider.

Bruder.

Calvin.

Chrysostom.

Conybeare and Howson.

De Wette.

Doddridge.

Ebrard.

Forbiger.

Fritzsche.

Gesenius.

Grotius.

Griesbach.

Hemsen.

Hengstenberg.

Herzog.

HesychiuB.

Humphry.

Hnr

Kriig. . . . .

Kuin

Kyp

Lchm

Light

Lng

Mey

Neand

Olsh

Raph

Rob

Schottg. . . .

Str

Suid

Thol

Treg

Tsch

Vitr

Wdsth

West, and Hort.

Wetst

Whl. . . .

Wiesl

Win

Heinrichs.

Kruger.

Kuinoel.

Kypke.

Lachmann.

Lightfoot.

Lange.

Meyer.

Neander.

Olshausen.

Raphael.

Robinson.

Schottgen.

Stier.

Suidafl.

Tholuck.

Tregelles.

Tischendorf.

Vitringa.

Wordsworth.

Westcott and HorL

Wetstein.

Wahl.

Wieseler.

Winer.

OTHER ABBREVIATIONa

Cranm Cranmer's Version of N. T.

E. V Common English Version.

Genv Geneva Version.

Tynd Tyndale's Version.

T. R Received Greek Text.

Vulg Vulgate N. Testament.

Wicl Wiclif's Version.

327

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

VIEWS.

FASS

MoTTNT OF Olives 34

Place of Stoning 105

Ruins op Colonnade op Samabia 108

C.£SABEA 116

Damascus, Straight Street 120

Tarsus 124

Exterior op supposed House op Simon 129

Eastern Housetop 129

Neapolis 184

In the Stocks 189

Thessalonica 194

Athens 198

Areopagus, Athens 203

Corinth and Acbocorinthus 210

Assos, FROM THE Sea 235

Mitylene 236

Miletus, View of Theatre in Ancient 237

Bay of St. Paul, from the South 811

Puteolt, Mole op 317

Via Appia, Fifth Mile of, Restored 820

MAPS.

Eastern Portion of thb Mediterranean, with the Countries Adjacent,

Illustrating the Apostolic History Frontispiece.

Route of Paul along the Via Appia prom Puteoli to Rome 318

329

INDEX I.

TO THE HISTORY.

CHAP.

VKBSE

1-3

4,5

6-11

12-14

15-22

23-26

1-4

5-13

14-36

37-42

43-47

III.

1-10

11-26

IV.

1-4

5-7

8-12

13-18

19-22

23-31

32-37

1-11

12-16

17-25

26-28

29-32

34-39

40-42

VI.

1-7

8-15

vn.

1-63

1-16

••

17-46

47-63

64-60

VIII

1-3

PAOK

Relation of the Acts to the Gospel of Luke 29

Promise of the Saviour to send the Spirit 31

His last Interview with the Disciples, and his Ascension 32

Return of the Disciples to Jerusalem 34

Address of Peter on the Choice of a new Apostle 36

Appointment of Matthias as an Apostle 39

Descent of the Holy Spirit 41

Impression of the Miracle on the Multitude 43

The Discourse of Peter 46

Effect of the Discourse in the Conversion of Three Thousand 53

Benevolence of the First Christians ; their Joy, their Increase 55

Healing of the Lame Man by Peter and John 67

Testimony of Peter after the Miracle 59

The Imprisonment of Peter and John 65

Their Arraignment before the Sanhedrim 66

Testimony of Peter before the Council 67

Decision of the Sanhedrim 69

The Answer of Peter and John 70

The Apostles return to the Disciples, and unite with them in Prayer and Praise. 71

The Believers are of one Mind, and have all Things common 72

The Falsehood of Ananias and Sapphira, and their Death 74

The Apostles still preach, and confirm their Testimony by Miracles .... 77

Renewed Imprisonment of the Apostles, and their Escape 78

They are arrested again, and brought before the Council 80

The Answer of Peter, and its Effect 80

The Advice of Gamaliel 81

The Apostles suffer joyfully for Christ, and depart to preach him anew ... 84

Appointment of Alms-Distributers in the Church at Jerusalem 86

The Zeal of Stephen, and his Violent Apprehension 87

Discourse of Stephen before the Sanhedrim 89

History of the Patriarchs, or Age of the Promises 90

Age of Moses, or the Jews under the Law 96

Period of the Temple and the Prophets 103

The Death of Stephen 104

The Burial of Stephen 106

331

332

INDEX I.

PAGE

The Gospel is preached in Samaria 107

Simon the Sorcerer, and his Professed Belief 108

Peter and John are sent to Samaria 109

The Hypocrisy of Simon, and its Exposure . 110

Conversion of the Ethiopian 112

Baptism of the Eunuch 115

Christ appears to Saul on the Way to Damascus 117

Ananias is sent to Saul, and baptizes him 120

Labors of Paul at Damascus 122

The Flight of Paul from Damascus 122

Paul returns to Jerusalem, and goes thence to Tarsus 123

Peter preaches at Lydda, and heals a Paralytic 125

Peter visits Joppa 126

Vision of Cornelius the Centurion 127

The Vision of Peter 129

The Messengers arrive at Joppa 130

Peter proceeds to Caesarea 131

The Address of Peter 134

Cornelius and others receive the Spirit, and are baptized 136

Peter justifies himself at Jerusalem for his Visit to Cornelius 137

The Gospel is preached at Antioch 139

Paul arrives at Antioch, and labors there 140

Barnabas and Saul are sent with Alms to Jerusalem 141

Renewed Persecution at Jerusalem, and Death of James 142

The Imprisonment of Peter 143

Miraculous Liberation of Peter 144

Peter repairs to the House of Mary, where some of the Believers had assem-
bled for Prayer 145

Trial and Execution of the Soldiers 146

Death of Herod Agrippa at Csesarea 147

Barnabas and Saul return to Antioch 148

Barnabas and Saul are sent to preach to the Heathen 148

The Journey to Cyprus, and its Results 150

They proceed to Perga, and thence to Antioch in Pisidia 153

Discourse of Paul at Antioch 155

They preach a second Time at Antioch 161

They are persecuted, and depart to Iconium 163

They preach at Iconium, but are persecuted, and flee to Lystra 163

Paul heals a Lame Man at Lystra 165

Speech of Paul to the Lystrians 167

They proceed to Derbe, and then retrace their Way to Antioch in Syria . . 168

Paul and Barnabas are sent as Del^ates to Jerusalem 171

Speech of Peter in the Assembly 173

Speech of the Apostle James 175

They appoint Messengers to the Churches, and send a Letter by them ... 177

Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch 178

Paul and Barnabas resume their Work in different Fields of Labor .... 179

Paul and Silas revisit the Churches and deliver the Decrees 181

They prosecute their Journey to Troas 182

Paul and his Associates arrive in Europe, and preach at Philippi 183

CHAP.

VEBSB

vm.

4-8

9-13

14-17

18-24

25-35

36-40

IX.

1-9

10-18

19-22

23-25

26-30

31-35

36-43

9-16

17-22

23-33

34-43

44-48

XI.

1-18

19-24

25,26

27-30

XII.

1,2

3-5

6-11

12-17

18,19

20-24

xm.

1-3

4-12

13-15

16-41

42-49

50-52

XIV.

1-7

8-13

14-18

19-28

XV.

1-5

6-12

13-21

22-29

30-35

36-41

XVI.

1-5

6-10

11-15

INDEX I. 333

PAOK

Healing of a Demoniac Woman 187

Imprisonment of Paul and Silas 188

An Earthquake shakes the Prison 190

Conversion of the Jailer and liis Family 190

They are set at Liberty, and depart from Philippi 192

They proceed to Thessalonica, and preach there 194

The Jews accuse Paul and Silas before the Magistrates 195

Paul and Silas proceed to Berea 196

Paul advances to Athens 197

How he was affected by the Idolatry at Athens 197

Paul repairs to Mars' Hill to explain his Doctrine 200

Speech of Paul on Mars' Hill 202

Paul is interrupted, and leaves the Assembly 209

Arrival of Paul at Corinth, and his Labors there 210

Paul is arraigned before Gallio 213

Paul proceeds by the Way of Ephesus and Csesarea to Jerusalem, and

thence to Antioch 215

Departure of Paul on his third Missionary -Tour 217

Apollos comes to Ephesus, and is more fully instructed in the Gospel . . 217

Paul comes to Ephesus, and rebaptizes certain Disciples of John 218

Paul preaches at Ephesus, and confirms the Word by Miracles 220

The Defeat of certain Jewish Exorcists 221

Many are converted, and confess their Sins 222

The Apostle proposes to leave Ephesus 223

Demetrius excites a Tumult at Ephesus 224

The Mob seize two of Paul's Companions and rush to the Theatre .... 225
Speech of the City Recorder, who quells the Uproar and disperees the

Multitude 227

Paul proceeds a second Time to Greece, and returns from there to Troas . 229

Paul preaches at Troas, and administers the Sacrament 232

They prosecute the Journey to Miletus 234

Address of Paul to the Ephesian Elders at Miletus 237

He prays with the Elders, and embarks again 243

They continue the Voyage to Tyre 244

From Tyre they proceed to Ptolemais, and thence to Csesarea and Jerusalem. 246

Paul assumes a Vow to conciliate the Jewish Believers 248

He is seized by the Jews, and dragged from the Temple 252

The Roman Commander rescues Paul from the Hands of the Jews .... 253

Paul's Speech on the Stairs of the Castle 255

He pleads his Roman Citizenship, and escapes the Torture 259

He is examined before the Sanhedrim 262

Paul's Speech before the Jewish Council 262

A Conspiracy of the Jews to slay Paul 265

The Plot is made known to the Roman Commander 266

The Letter of Lysias to Felix 267

Paul is sent to Felix at Caesarea 268

Tertullus accuses Paul before Felix 270

Paul's Defence before Felix 272

Paul testifies before Felix and Drusilla 275

Festus refuses to bring Paul to Jenisalem 276

CHAP.

XVI.

XVII.

XVIII.

XIX.

XX.

XXI.

XXII.

XXIII.

XXIV.

XXV.

VERSE

16-18
19-24
25-29
30-34
35-40
iHt
5-9
10-13
14,15
16-18
19-21
22-31
32-34
1-11
12-17
18-22

23
24-28
1-7
8-12
13-17
18-20
21,22
23-27
28-34
35-40

1-6

7-12

13-16

17-35

36-38

1-6

7-16

17-26

27-30

31-40

1-21

22-29

1-10

11-15

16-22

23-30

31-35

1-9

10-23

24-27

1-6

334

INDEX I.

PAGE

Paul appeals from Festiis to Csesar 277

Festus confers with Agrippa concerning Paul 278

Paul is brought before Agrippa 280

Paul's Speech before Agrippa 281

Answer of Paul to Festus 288

Agrippa pronounces Paul Innocent 289

Paul embarks at Csesarea for Rome, and proceeds as far as Myra 290

Incidents of the Voyage from Myra to Crete 293

A Storm rages, and drives the Vessel to Claude 298

They undergird and lighten the Ship, but despair of Safety 300

The Apostle cheers them with the Hope of Deliverance 304

The Discovery of Land, and the frustrated Attempt of the Mariners to

desert the Ship 305

Paul assures them again that their Lives would be saved 307

They partake of Food and again lighten the Ship 308

The Shipwreck. Those on Board escape to the Shore 309

Their Abode during the "Winter at Melita 312

Prosecution of the Journey to Rome 316

Paul meets with the Chief Men of the Jews at Rome 321

His second Interview with the Jews 323

Condition of the Apostle during his Captivity 324

CHAP.

VEBSB

XXV.

6-12

13-22

23-27

XXVI.

1-23

24-29

30-32

XXVII,

. 1-5

6-12

13-16

17-20

21-26

27-32

■1

33-35

36-38

39-44

XXVIII

. 1-10

11-16

17-22

23-29

•»

30,31

INDEX II.

TO THE NOTES.

Abbot, Ezra, On the Reading " Church of God,"
241.

Abraham not the oldest son of Terah, 92.

Aceldama, 38.

Achaia, how applied by Luke, 210, 213 ; inter-
changed with Hellas, 231.

Acre, orAkka, formerly Ptolemais, and more an-
ciently Accho, 246.

Acropolis of Athens and of Corinth, 210.

Acts of the Apostles, by whom written, 13, sq. ;
authenticity of the book, 16, sq. ; its object
and plan, 18 ; when and where written, 19 ;
why closed so abruptly, 19 ; its relation to
Luke's Grospel, 29.

Adramyttium, its situation and its present state,
291.

Adriatic, how extensively applied, 305.

Agahus, 141, 247.

Agrippa I., year of his death, 21 ; his family,
143; his character, 143; circumstances of
his death, 147, sq. ; account of his im-
prisonment at Rome, 324.

Agrippa II., his history, 278, sq. ; object of his
visit to Cajsarea, 279 ; turns off Paul's ap-
peal with a jest, 288.

Ain Ilaniyey, Philip's fountain, 115.

Akerman, Numismatic Illustrations, 128, 197.

Akka, 246.

Alexander, of whom the apologist, 226.

Alexandrian corn-ships, 317.

Alnvt-distribiUers, cause of their appointment,
85; not called deacons, 86.

Amphipolis, on the military road through the
north of Greece, 194.

Ananias, nature of his crime, 75 ; why punished
with such severity, 76.

Ananias (high priest) to be distinguished from
Annas, 262; was the actual high priest,
262.

Andriaca, port of Myra, 293.

Angels, import of their address in 1 : 11 obscure,
33, sq. ; gave the law, 104 ; were supposed
to be the guardians of men, 145.

Annas (the high priest), 66, 78.

Anointing, its import as a symbol, 71.

Antioch in Syria, by whom built, the seat of
missionary operations, 139 ; its harbor, 150 ;
visited by Paul four times, 216.

Antioch in Pisidia, on the central table-land of
Asia Minor, 154 ; discourse of Paul in the
synagogue, 155, sq. ; may have been visited
on Paul's second missionary-tour, 182.

Antipatris, supposed to be the modern Kefr Saba,
269 ; night-journey thither, 269.

Antonia, castle of, 253 ; Paul's speech from the
stairs, 255.

Aorht, peculiar form, 49; mistranslated often,
70, 99, 281 ; epistolary use, 268.

Apollonia, on the way from Philippi to Thessa-
lonica, 194.

Apollos at Ephesus, 217 ; his talents, 217 ; at
Corinth, 218.

Aposiopesis, instances of, 265.

Apostates, how treated by the Jews, 263, 266.

Apostles, what was necessary to their office, 30,
33 ; main point of their testimony, 39 ; not
limited to twelve, 40; were not ignorant
that the gospel was to be preached to the
heathen, 54 ; miracles through the, 55 ; re-
linquished the Jewish rites by degrees, 57 ;
acknowledged a higher law than that of
men, 70, 80, 189, sq. ; did not insist on a
community of goods, 75 ; in Jerusalem
during the persecution, 107 ; were empow-
ered to confer the Spirit, 110; aimed in
their missionary policy to secure the chief
towns, 182, 210 ; how far they were infal-
lible, 296.

Appeal, judicial, how limited, 278.

335

336

INDEX II.

Appian Way, 319.

Appii Forum, 319.

Appointed unto life, 162.

Aquila, where he was converted, 210 ; his fre-
quent change of residence, 210 ; why men-
tioned after Priscilla, 215; his connection
with ApoUoa, 218.

Aramxan, 38, 255.

Aratus, a poet, 208.

AreopagiLs, in what part of Athens, 200 ; Paul
not tried before the court of this name, 200,
sq. ; outline of his speech there, 202, sq.

Aretas took possession of Damascus, 20; as-
sisted the Jews to capture Paul, 123.

Aristarchus accompanied Paul to Jerusalem,
231 ; in what sense his " fellow-prisoner,"
291.

Arrian, the Periplus of, 297, 298.

Artemis. See Diana.

Artemon, what sail intended, 310 ; its eflfect on
a vessel, 310.

Article, with proper names, 30 ; before partitives,
78 ; Middleton's rule, 110 ; force of, 65, 137,
275, 320; disregarded in E. V., 126, 137;
for the pronoun, 208 ; wrong in E. V., 282,
283.

Ashdod, its present site, 116.

Asia, how much it included, in the Acts, 221 ;
rapid extension of the gospel there, 221 ;
may denote Asia Minor, 291.

Asiarchs, their office, and occasion of their
friendship for Paul, 226.

Assembly, lawful, 228.

Assos, its situation, 234 ; why Paul went thither
on foot, 234.

Astrology among the Orientals, 151.

Athens, how far from Berea, 197 ; extent of its
idolatry, 198 ; had but one agora, 199 ; cha-
racter of its inhabitants, 199, sq. ; origin of
its altar "to an unknown god," 204, sq.;
visited by the apostle but once, 210.

Attaleia, distance from Perga, 154; its site de-
scribed by Beaufort, 171.

Augustan cohort, 290.

Azotus, the ancient Ashdod, 116.

Bdhr's Symbolik, 71.

Baptism administered in the name of Christ,
53; that of Cornelius and other heathen,
137; that of Lydia and her household,
186 ; infant, 187 ; how it was performed in
the jail at Philippi, 191 ; words relating to,
191 ; how that of John differed from that
of the apostles, 218; was repeated in the
case of certain disciples at Ephesus, 219,
sq. ; mode of, 258 ; was the sign of re-
pentance and faith, 258; proselyte, 45.

Barbarian, how applied, 312.

Barnabas, signification of his name, 73 ; his in-
fluence at Jerusalem, 123; his interview
with Paul at Tarsus, 140 ; accompanies the
apostle in his first missionary-tour, 149;
in what sense called an apostle, 164 ; why
he was called Jupiter at Lystra, 166 ; went
as a delegate to Jerusalem, 171, sq. ; his dis-
agreement with Paul, and their subsequent
relations to each other, 180 ; the letter as-
cribed to him not genuine, 180.

Basket, 123.

Bailis, swimming, 191 ; of Nero, 317.

Baumgarten, his theory of the design of the
Acts, 29.

Bengel, quoted, 305.

Berea, its distance from Thessalonica, on what
river, present name, 196.

Bernice, facts in her history, 279.

Bethany, the scene of the ascension, 34.

Beth-horon, 269.

Bethzur, fountain there, 115.

Birks, his Horse Apostolicae, 257.

Biscoe on the Acts, 95.

Bishops, the same as presbyters, 170.

Bithynia not entered by Paul, 182 ; the persecu-
tion there under Trajan, 284.

Blasphemy, 88.

Blunt, his Undesigned Coincidences, etc., 275.

Boeckh on the mode of undergirding ancient
ships, 300.

Body with which Christ arose, 31, 119.

Bolingbroke, remark of, 114.

Breaking of Bread, 55.

Brethren, in what sense, 121 ; how constructed,
157 ; conciliatory use, 60, 98, 256, 321.

Burial, hastened in the East, 76.

Burrus, prefect at Rome, 320.

Buitmann on the meaning and use of Xva, 50.

CsEsar, appeals to, 278.

Caesarea, its importance in Jewish history, 116 ,

the seaport of Judea, 216 ; how often Paul

was there, 246.
Calf, why worshipped by the Hebrews, 101.
Canal through the Pontine Marshes, 319.
Candace, mentioned in the classics, 113; the

name of a dynasty, 113.
Candor of the sacred writers, 135, 226, 280.
Canon of Muratori, 325.
Capenian Gale, 319.
Captain of the temple, 65.
Captivity, Paul's second, at Rome, 326.
Capua, how far from Rome, 319.
Caramania, 294.
Carriage, sense of, in N. T., 248.

INDEX II.

337

Castor and PoUux, name of a ship, 316, 318.

Cayster, a river, 216.

Cemetery, signification of the word, 106; first
used by Christians, 106.

Oenchrese, 215.

Centurions always mentioned favorably, 128.

Chains, how fastened to prisoners, 144.

Chaldeans, land of the, 91.

Charran, in Mesopotamia, 91.

Chios (now Scio), an island in the .£gean, 235.

Chrestus, an instigator of the Jews at Rome,
210, sq.

Christ made his resurrrection certain to his dis-
ciples, 30; the "brethren" of, 35; was om-
niscient, 39 ; in what capacity he reigns as
Mediator, 52 ; miracles were wrought in his
name, 58, 68, 127 ; is the author of natural
and spiritual life, 60 ; his final coming de-
scribed as near, because near to a true Chris-
tian consciousness, 61, sq. ; was worshipped
by the first disciples, 106, 121, 132 ; is the
final Judge of men, 136, 209 ; fulfilled the
prophecies, 156, 194 ; was destined to suffer,
287.

Christians, origin and import of the name,
141.

Chronology, why that of the Acts still diflacult,
20 ; dates that may be established, 21, sq. ;
computed by the Jews in different ways,
93 ; on what principle we are to judge of
the accuracy of chronological designations,
155, sq.

Chryses, priest of Apollo, prayer of, 206.

Chrysostom, 255.

Church, biblical uses of the word, 100 ; Meyer
on the unity of the, 125.

Church-officers, election of, 169.

Cicero, his letters, 216.

Cilicia, why named always after Syria, 125;
tent-making a common trade in, 211 ; sea
of, 293.

Circumcision, covenant of the, 93.

Citizenship, Roman, immunities which it secured,
192 ; seldom claimed falsely, 261 ; how ac-
quired by foreigners, 261.

Citta Vecchia, in Malta, 314.

Claude, now Gozzo, 300 ; distance from the point
of Koura, 305.

Claudius, the famine in his reign, 141, sq. ; his
banishment of the Jews, 210; restored
Achaia to the Senate, 213.

Clemens, his letter, 325.

CZergry, origin of the term, 36.

Climate in Palestine, 79.

Onidus, name of a town and a peninsula, 294 ;
ruins which exist there, 294.

Coincidences between the Acts and the Epistles,
22

164, 168, 177, 223, 230, 239, 240, 241, 242,
259, 273 ; between the Acts and Josephus,
83, 91, 104, 132, 143, 147, 264, 271, 275, 276,
290 ; between the Acts and Philo, 91, 104,
266; between the Acts and the classical
writers, 113, 152, 186, 192, 198, 202, 204, 210,
213, 221, 275, 281, 289.

Coins still extant : of Cyprus, 152 ; of Philippi,
185; of Berea, 197; of Ephesus, 227, 228;
of Tarsus, 255 ; of Adramyttium, 291.

Coleridge, his singular opinion, 312.

Colonnade at Damascus, 120.

Colosse, whether visited by Paul, 182.

Coming, final, of Christ, 34, 62 ; when expected,
63.

Communion, when first used of the Lord's Sup>-
per, 55.

Community of goods in the first church, 56,
73.

Conder's Tent-Work in Palestine, 105.

Conspiracy against Paul, 265.

Copenhagen, battle of, 306.

Corinth, how far distant from Athens, 210 ; how
long Paul remained there, 213 ; made a sec-
ond journey thither which is not recorded,
229 ; his third journey, 231.

Corinthians, Epistles to, 223, 230.

Cornelius not a Jewish proselyte, 128; nature
of the homage which he offered to Peter,
131 ; time of his conversion, 138 ; in what
sense he was the first convert from heathen-
ism, 173.

Cos, or Co, its situation, 244 ; why now called
Stanchio, 244.

Council, Jewish. See Sanhedrim.

Council at Jerusalem, 173.

Council of Trent, decree of, 220.

Crete, 295 ; has good harbors on the north side,
295.

Crispus, Bishop of M^rm, 212.

Cumse, 317, 319.

Curtiss, Samuel Ives, Jr., on the Levitical priests,
74.

Custodia libera, 276.

Cydnus, a river, 125.

Cyprus visited by Paul on his first tour, 150;
traversed by a good road, 151 ; governed
by a proconsul, 152 ; left to the windward
on Paul's voyage to Rome, 292.

Oyrene, 44.

Damascus, its situation, 117; labors of Paul

there, 122.
David, his tomb, 51; was inspired, 52; would

build the temple, 103.
Davidson, his Introduction to the New Testa-

338

INDEX II.

ment cited, 14, 16, 96, 286 ; his Lectures on
Biblical Criticism, 241.

Day commenced early in the East, 79.

Deacons, 86. See Alms-distributers.

Death as viewed by Christians, 106.

Dembra, modem name of Myra, 293.

Demetrius, his occupation, 224 ; his artful speech,
225.

Demons, their testimony to Christ, 108.

Derbe, near the base of the Black Mountain,
165; remarkable ruins still found there,
165; why not mentioned in the Second
Epistle to Timothy, 168; why named be-
fore Lystra, 181.

Diana, use made of her shrines, 224 ; her tem-
ple in Paul's time, 225; how extensively
worshipped, 225, sq. ; repeating her name a
religious act, 227 ; tradition as to the origin
of her image, 228.

Dioscuri, an image and a name, 316.

Diospolitans, an Egyptian dynasty, 96.

Dominus, its Roman use, 281.

Drachm, Attic, its value, 222.

Drusilla, her family, and facts in her history,
275.

Dmt thrown into the air, 260.

Duumviri, 188, 315.

Egyptian impostor referred to by Lysias, 254;
how Luke's account of him may be recon-
ciled with that of Josephus, 254, sq.

Egyptian history obscure, 96.

Elam, or Elamais, where situated, 44.

Elders, Christian. See Presbyters.

Elders, Jewish, 66, 79, 88.

Elymas, the Magian, introduced so as to present
a true picture of the times, 151 ; origin of
his name, 152.

Ephesus, Paul's first visit there, 216 ; his return,
218; the theatre at, 225; residence of the
proconsul, 228 ; Wood's discoveries at, 229.

Epicureans, the "minute philosophers of their
day," 199; their principles, 199.

Epistles of Paul, when and where written : those
which he sent from Rome, 25, 325 ; the First
and Second to the Thessalonians, 215 ; that
to the Galatians, 220 ; the First to the Cor-
inthians, 223 ; the Second to the Corinth-
ians, 230 ; that to the Romans, 231.

Erastus, 224.

Esdud, 116.

Ethiopia, of what country the name, 113 ; the
gospel preached there at an early period,
116.

Ethiopian eunuch, his country and rank, 113;
why he was reading the prophecies, 113;

traditional scene of his baptism, 115; his

reputed name, 116.
Eucharist, how observed, 55.
Eunuch, where baptized, 115.
Eurodydon, EuroaquUo, 299.
Eutychus, whether restored to life, 234.
Evangelist, application of this term, 246.
Exorcism at Ephesus, 221.

Faith an act of divine power, 60, 218 ; its puri-
fying efl&cacy, 174; the condition of par-
don, 286 ; repentance and good works, the
evidence of, 287.

Fair Havens, on the south of Crete, 295; the
Council held there, 296.

Famine foretold by Agabus, 141; how exten-
sive, and when it occurred, 141, sq.

Fasting as a Christian exercise, 149.

Fdix, when recalled from office, 22 ; his charac-
ter, 267, 271 ; how long he was procurator,
272 ; sought a bribe from Paul, 276.

FeUon, Prof., his opinion on a passage in Arrian,
298.

Ferasches, their office, 263.

Festus, when appointed procurator, 22 ; his cha-
racter, 276 ; why he wished to send Paul to
Jerusalem, 277 ; why he conferred with his
council, 278 ; Luke describes him in accord-
ance with history, 281.

Foreknowledge of God as related to his purpose,
49, 285.

Forgiveness of sins, 53.

Qaius, different persons of this name, 226, 231.

Qalaiia not visited on Paul's first mission, 165 ;
how bounded, 182; when the gospel was
first preached there, 182; why named be-
fore Phrygia, 217.

Galatians, Epistle to, 220.

Qall, of what the figure, 111.

Qallio, his character correctly drawn, 213 ; car-
ried his impartiality too far, 214.

Gamaliel, how described in the Talmud, 82;
alleged anachronism in his speech, 82, sq. ;
singular character of his advice, 84.

Gangas, a stream near Philippi, 185.

Garlands used in sacrifice, 166.

Garrison, Roman, at Jerusalem, 253; Turkish,
253 ; at Rome, 319.

Gate, the Beautiful, its situation, 57, sq. ; Cape-
nian, through which Paul entered Rome,
319 ; Nomentana, near the prefect's camp,
319 ; San Sebastiano, 319.

Gates, Cilician, 169.

Ga^a, when destroyed by the Romans, 112 ; the
roads which lead thither, 112.

INDEX II.

339

Oazith, hall of council, 262.

Oehenna, how understood by the Jews, 40.

Oeib on Roman law, 270.

Oenitive of relationship, 36.

Oentiles, their acceptance of the gospel foretold
by the prophets, 53, 175.

Gesenius, his view of the Maltese language, 313.

Oi/t of tongues, how conferred on the day of
Pentecost, 41; object of the endowment,
42 ; the miracle unquestionable, 43 ; why
described so concisely, 137.

Goad, 285.

Gophna, 269.

Gospel, universality of its design, 134; first
preached to the heathen, 139; character-
ized as a system of grace, 162 ; why sub-
verted by the Jewish attachment to cir-
cumcision, 172.

Gozzo, an island, 300.

Green, his Developed Criticism, 72.

Greek language used with great purity by
Luke, 15 ; spoken extensively in Palestine,
90 ; furnished a medium of intercourse be-
tween different nations, 166, 254.

Grenna, ancient Cyrene, 44.

Grotto del Cane, 317.

Hades personified, 50.

Haliacmon, a river at whose mouth Paul em-
barked for Athens, 197.

Harvest, when ripe in Egypt, 294.

Hauran, east of the Jordan, 117.

Heathen described as those " afar off," 53 ; have
sufficient light to create obligation, 167, 207 ;
acknowledged blindly the existence of God,
205 ; have no excuse for their idolatry, 207 ;
must repent to be prepared for the judg-
ment, 208.

Heathenism, its immorality, 176.

Hebraisms, 33, 39, 62, 64, 75, 81, 97, 99, 121, 175,
etc.

Hebrew language, Hupfeld on the, 313.

Hebrews, Epistle to, 25.

Hebron, whether confounded by Stephen with
Sychem, 95.

Hellenists, how distinguished from Greeks, 85,
139; why Paul labored specially for them,
124.

Herod Antipas, his war with Aretas, 20; his
exile on the banks of the Rhone, 149.

Hess, his History of the Apostles, 44.

Holy Spirit, why expressed often without the
article, 30; baptism in the, 32; inspired
those who wrote the Scriptures, 36; de-
scent of the, 41; "filled with" the, 42;
his agency characteristic of the New Econ-

omy, 47 ; bestowed on the apostles, 72, 74 ;
resisted by the Jews, 103; in what sense
unknown to John's disciples, 219 ; qualified
religious teachers for their office, 181, 240 ;
peculiar sphere of, in Acts, 183.

Horace quoted, 247, 301, 316.

Horeb, why interchanged with "Sinai" as an
equivalent designation, 98.

House to house, worshipping from, 56, 84.

Housetop, 129.

Humiliation of Christ, 114.

Humphry, his Commentary on the Acts, 29.

Hupfeld on the prevalence of the Hebrew lan-
guage, 313.

Iconium, now far from Antioch, 163 ; described
by Leake, 163.

Illiterate in the Jewish sense, 69.

Illyricum, when visited by Paul, 230.

Imperative, dehortatory use, 106, 130.

Impluvium in ancient houses, 191.

Indich, name of the eunuch, 116.

Infant baptism founded on no sure proof-text
in N. T., 186 ; opinion of scholars concern-
ing, 186, sq. ; confessed to be not scriptural,
186.

Infinitive, as used with the article, 58 ; not pleo-
nastic, 58 ; how constructed, 231.

Inscriptions that corroborate Luke's history-
one given by Gruter, 128 ; one found at
Thyatira, 186; two in Malta, 315.

Italian cohort, why so named, 128; why sta-
tioned at Caesarea, 128; may be identicr'
with the Augustan, 290.

Jacob, where buried, 95; the number of hi^

family on his descent into Egypt, 94; hi;

bridge over the Jordan, 117.
Jailer at Philippi, how we may view the civ

curastances of his conversion, 190.
James the Elder, 143.
James the Younger, pastor at Jerusalem, l-iG.

249 ; his advice to Paul, 250.
Jerusalem, destruction of, a type, 48 ; how often

visited by Paul after his conversion, 216.

248 ; why supposed to be his proper fid:'.

of labor, 259.
Jest, that of Agrippa, 289.
Jews desired to die at Jerusalem, 43 ; could n<j :

inflict capital punishment, 104 ; numercuj

in Cj'prus, 151; way in whicli they inti,).-

gated the heathen against the Christians.

163, 164 ; enjoyed religious toleration, 18S.

214 ; expelled from Rome, 210 ; were hatoci

by the Greeks, 214 ; held that the end jr- '

340

INDEX IL

fies the means, 266 ; their singular reserve
in the interview with Paul at Rome, 322.

Jod, his prophecy (3 : 1-5) explained, 46.

John the Baptist, his disciples, 219 ; his confessed
inferiority to Christ, 157 ; nature of his bap-
tism, 218, 219 ; by whom slain, 275.

Joppa, how far from Lydda, 12G; its present
name, 126.

Josephus, his account of Drusilla, 275 ; his ship-
wreck in the Adriatic, 303.

Judas the Galilean, the place of his birth, 83 ;
ground of his opposition to the Roman
Government, 83.

Judas the traitor, his end well known at Jeru-
salem, 36 ; no inconsistency in the different
accounts of his death, 37.

Judgment, day of, 62 ; to be universal, 136, 209 ;
for the righteous and the wicked, 273 ; moral
effect of looking for, 273.

Julius, his kindness to Paul, 292.

Justin Martyr, his testimony concerning the Sab-
bath, 233.

Kefr Sdba, the supposed site of Antipatris, 269.

Kikries, ancient Cenchrese, 215.

Kingdom of God, sense of the phrase, 169, 240.

Kingdom, of Christ as Mediator temporary, 53.

Kirchhofer, his work on the New Testament
Canon, 13.

Kishon, river near Carrael, 246.

Knobel, his Volkertafel, 91.

Konieh, the ancient Iconium, 163.

Koura, a point at the entrance of St. Paul's
Bay, 305; tne scene of a modem ship-
wreck, 305.

Kurtz, his article on " The Angel of the Lord,"
98.

Laity denied the cup by Catholics, 65.

Lange, his Leben Jesu, 232.

Lasea, its site identified, 295.

Latin not used in the courts, 270.

Latinisms in the Greek of the New Testament,
141, 221, 255.

Law, the higher, 80.

Laying on of hands, its significance, 86.

Levites as a temple-guard, 65 ; their right of
property, 74.

Lewin, his Life and Epistles of Paul, 262.

Liberality of the first Christians, 56 ; of the be-
lievers at Antioch for those in Judea, 142 ;
true rule of, 142.

Libertines, who they were, 87.

Libya, 44.

Lictors ("Serjeants"), 192.

Lie-to, a sea-phrase, 302.

Lightfoot, Canon, on " lawful assemblies " at
Ephesus, 228.

Lord, meaning and uses of the title, 106.

Lot, 36, 40.

Lucian, his account of the ship driven into the
Piraeus, 308.

Lud, or Lid, ancient Lydda, 126.

Luke, the writer of the Acts, 13 ; peculiarities
of his style, 14 ; sketch of his life, 15 ; value
of his testimony as a physician, 15 ; ex-
amples of his accuracy as a historian, 128,
143, 152, 188, 195, 198, 213, 270, 273 ; has not
shown himself ignorant of Jewish customs.
132; his first connection with Paul, 183;
writes as an eye-witness, 189, 233, 245;
abounds in the use of nautical terms, 294 ;
traces of his medical profession, 315.

Luthard, his review of Meyer, 156.

Lutro, perhaps Phoenix in Crete, 297.

Lycaonia, its extent, 164.

Lycaonian dialect, what is known of it, 166.

Lydda, modern Lud, or Lid, 126.

Lydia, her name, 186 ; members of her house-
hold, 186.

Lysias, why he favored Paul, 266, 268 ; his letter,
268 ; his misrepresentation, 268.

Lystra, its bearing from Iconium, 165 ; its exact
position not fixed, 165.

MaxxLulay quoted, 290.

Macedonia, how applied by the Greeks, 184 ; its
Roman signification, 211.

Macro, the prefect, 324.

Madiam, or Midian, where situated, 98.

Malta, 312.

Maltese language, 313.

Manaen, in what sense "brought up with
Herod," 149.

Marches, how rapidly performed by ancient
armies, 269.

Mark, his relationship to Barnabas, 148; in
what capacity he attended Paul, 151; his
abrupt return from the mission, 154; re-
gained the apostle's confidence, 180.

Markets the resort of loungers, 195 ; courts held
in them, 195, 228.

Martyr, how distinguished in sense from witness,
258.

Mdrubah, a stream near which Philip may hare
met the Ethiopian, 115.

Matala, cape of, 298.

Matthias, his appointment as an apostle, 40, 85.

Media, 44.

Medina, 314.

Meleda not the island where Paul was wrecked,
312.

INDEX II.

341

Mdita, why not recognized by the mariners,
309 ; the island where Paul was wrecked,
312; its extent, 312 ; annexed to the praetor-
ship of Sicily, 314.

Mestara Valley, 309.

Meyer on the unity of the Church, 125 ; mis-
translated, 79.

Middle voice, how u.sed, 258.

Miletian speech attested as genuine, 243.

MiletxJLS, how far from Ephesus, 236 ; address of
Paul there to the Ephesian elders, 237 ; how
far from the sea, 244.

Milton, 208, 244.

Ministered, New-Testament meaning of, 149.

Miracles, how designated, and import of the
term, 49; through the apostles, 55; what
rendered those at Ephesus remarkable, 221.

Mitylene, 235.

Mohamtnednn monks, 227.

Mole at Pozzuoli, 317.

Moloch, how to be understood in Stephen's
speech, 101.

Morier, his Travels, 263.

Moses, how a mediator like Christ, 63 ; his age,
98 ; his eloquence, 97 ; how regarded by
Stephen, 100.

Mosque of Omar, 253.

Movers, his explanation of Remphan, 101.

Myra, its situation, the ruins found there, 293.

Name of the Lord, meaning of, 48, 53.

Names used among the Jews, 152 ; of places,
permanent, 244.

Navigation, in what part of the year commenced
and closed by the ancients, 294, 296 ; how
regulated at a distance from the land,
303, sq.

Nazarene, how applied to Christ, 49, 58, 68.

NazarUes, rules to which they were subject,
215, 250 ; their expenses defrayed often by
others, 250.

Nazoraeans, 219.

Neander on the election to church offices, 169 ;
on the legal " yoke," 174 ; on infant bap-
tism, 187.

Neapolis, whether Paul landed there, 184.

Neby Dauid, a mosque, 51 ; that of Ismail, view
ft-om, 292.

Negatives not confounded, 119.

Nelson, Lord, 306.

Nicopolis, 269.

Numerals, indefinite use of, 267.

Obedience to God the first law, 80.
Olivet, origin of the name, 34.

Omissions in the Acts show the history to be in-
dependent of the Epistles, 189.

Oracles abolished, 244.

Ordination of Timothy, 181.

Oriental Oustoms : laying gifts at the feet of kings,
73; imposition of hands, 86; uncovering
the feet, 99; shaking off the dust of the
feet, 163 ; rending the garments, 167 ; throw-
ing dust into the air, 260 ; silence enjoined
by striking on the mouth, 262, sq.

Orontes connected Antioch with the sea, 150.

Ortygia, 316.

Overseer same as bishop, 237.

Paley on the apostles' testimony to the resur-
rection of Christ, 135 ; on Luke's accuracy,
143 ; on the historic agreement of the Acts
and the Epistles, 164 ; his comparison of
Acts 19 : 21 with Rom. 1 : 11, 14, 223.

Pamphylia, 44 ; sea of, 293.

Paphos, what place of this name intended,
151.

Paronomasia, a striking case, 113.

Participle, past, with a past verb, 246.

Parthia, its boundaries, 44.

Pastoral Epistles, when written, 325.

Patara, 244.

Paul, year of his conversion, 20 ; how old then,
106 ; early life and training, 106 ; how long
he remained in Arabia, 122 ; his first jour-
ney to Jerusalem, 123; mode of his jour-
ney from Caesarea to Tarsus, 125 ; how long
he remained in Syria and Cilicia, 125 ; why
he says nothing of his alms-visit to Jeru-
salem, 142 ; in what year he made his sec-
ond journey to Jerusalem, 148; why his
name was changed from Saul to Paul, 152 ;
encountered " perils of rivers " and " perils
of robbers " in the Pisidian highlands, 154 ;
how long he was absent on his first mis-
sion, 171 ; his relation to Barnabas after
their separation, 180 ; year in which he de-
parted on his second mission, 180 ; on what
principle he circumcised Timothy, 181 ;
why he neglected to plead his Roman citi-
zenship at Philippi, 192; whether he was
tried before the court of the Areopagus,
200, sq. ; why he did not revisit Athens,
210 ; the trade at which he wrought, 211 ;
his vow at Cenchrece, 215 ; how long he was
absent on his second tour, 216 ; his mode
of preaching at Ephesus, 228 ; his unrecord-
ed visit to Corinth, 229; characteristic of
him that he refers so often to his own ex-
ample, 238 ; duration of his third mission-
ary-tour, 248 ; his attempt to conciliate the

342

INDEX II.

Jewish believers justifiable, 249, 251 ; at
what age he entered the school of Gamaliel,
256; his zeal as a Pharisee, 256; how he
acquired his Roman citizenship, 261 ; his
eyesight, 263 ; noble-minded confession of
his error, 264 ; how he viewed his persecu-
tion of the church, 283 ; his politic appeal,
265 ; was not a member of the Sanhedrim,
284 ; when he preached in Judea, 286 ; man-
ner in which he replied to the charge of
insanity, 288 ; his judgment vindicated, 297 ;
his calmness amid the tempest, 304 ; his
ascendency over others, 305, 319 ; how he
felt on approaching Rome, 319; how he
became known to the praetorians, 321 ; his
last words recorded by Luke, 324 ; his con-
dition while he was a prisoner at Rome,
324; his companions at that time, 325;
whether he was released, 325; his subse-
quent labors, 325 ; his joy in the prospect
of death, 325.

Pausanias, 204.

Pentecost, of what commemorative, 41 ; how
long it continued, 252.

Perga, Paul's course thither, 154; its site de-
scribed by Sir C. Fellows, 154.

Peter, an affinity between his speeches and his
Epistles, 17 ; filled with the Holy Spirit, 67 ;
why he represented the pardon of Simon
as doubtful, 111 ; had not the ordinary
Jewish prejudices, 127 ; how he regarded
the homage of Cornelius, 132; devolved
baptism on his assistants, 137 ; maimer in
which he was chained, 144 ; his journey to
Rome, 146 ; posture in which he was cru-
cified, 146 ; in what sense he first preached
to the heathen, 173 ; his last recorded act,
175 ; at what time he arrived at Antioch,
217.

Peutinger's Tables, 151.

Pfanncr's Systema Theologise Gentilis Puri-
oris, 204.

Pharaoh, his policy toward the Hebrews, 96.

Pharisees, their opinions, 264 ; represented as
strict by Josephus, 282.

Philip, in what city of Samaria he preached,
108; his residence at Cajsarea, 116; why he
was called an evangelist, 246.

Philippi, its port, 184; its rank as a city, 184;
few Jews resided there, 186 ; why its mag-
istrates were called praetors, 188 ; character
of the church there, 193.

Philippi, Prof., his mode of accounting for the
silence of the Jews in regard to the Roman
Christians, 322.

Philippians, Epistle to, 325.

Philo on the punishment of apostate Jews, 266.

Philostratus quoted, 204.

Phineka, 298.

Phoenicia, how extensive, 139.

Phoenix, its situation, 297 ; direction in which
its harbor opened, 297 ; Mr. Smith's view,
298.

Phrygia, how bounded, 44 ; little known, 182.

Place of Prayer, 185.

Hiny, his letters, 221, 284.

Plough used in the East, 285.

Plumplre on the preposition " els," 116.

Politarchs accurately used, 195.

Pools around Jerusalem, 54.

Porta Nomentana, 319 ; San Sebastiano, 319.

Portress among the Jews, 145.

Possession, deinouiac, distinguished from ordi-
nary disease, 78, 108.

Patterns Field, its situation, 38.

Pozzuoli, 317.

Pisetorium at Caesarea, 270 ; at Rome, 319.

Prayer, at what hours offered by the Jews, 46,
57; was addressed to Christ by the first
disciples, 39, 121 ; a part of the preacher's
work, 86 ; whether uttered in concert, 71 ;
the attitude in which it was offered, 243 ;
was the means of saving Paul's compan-
ions in the ship, 305.

Preaching the word, 107.

Precipices south of Jerusalem, 37.

Preposition "en," 32; "eis," 116.

Presbyters, how elected, 169 ; Neander's view,
169; origin of the term, 170; same as
bishops, 170 ; their functions, 170.

Priests divided into classes, 65 ; distinguished
from Levites, 74 ; many converted, 87.

Prisoners, in what manner they were chained,
144 ; were subject to different degrees of
rigor, 275, 276, 280; sometimes wore their
chains when on trial, 289 ; were often sent
to Rome from the provinces, 290 ; were
committed to the praetorian prefect, 324.

Proconsuls, how distinguished from propraetors,
152.

Prodigies, how precursors of calamity, 48.

Prophesying, Scripture sense of, 47.

Prophets, sons of the, 64 ; how related to teach-
ers, 148.

Proseuche at Philippi, 185.

Proselytes, different classes of, 45; initiatory
ceremonies, 45.

Proselyte baptism, 45 ; conveniences for, in Jeru-
salem, 54,

Protestants, their view of the gospel, 87.

Proverbs, examples of, 256, 285, 307.

Provinces divided into imperial and senatorian,
152.

Pso/jjur explained : (69 : 25), 38 ; (109 : 8), 38 ; (16:

INDEX II.

343

8-11), 50; (118 : 22), 68 ; (2 : 1, 2), 71 ; why

the second Psalm is called the first, 158.
Ptolemais, situation and modern name, 246.
PiMxus, his title confinned by inscriptions

lately found, 315: a question as to his

rank, 315.
Purpose of God in saving men, 175.
PiUeoli, its situation, 317; entry-port of the

wheat-ships, 317.

Quaternion, 143.

QiuUuorviri, where found, 188.

Queen, Candace, 113 ; of Adiabene, 142.

Qui facit, etc., a law-phrase, 37.

Quii-ina, a Roman tribe, 315.

Quotations from the Old Testament, how applied
sometimes in the New, 38 ; with what de-
gree of verbal accuracy made, 46, 63, sq.,
102, 160, sq., 175; why conformed to the
Septuagint, 175.

Ras-d-Abiad, a cape, 292.

Readings, various, occur in the Acts, 44, 64, 115,
118, 179, 240, 247, 271, 299 ; many of them
unimportant, 281.

Recorder at Ephesus, 227; his speech adroit,
229.

Redemption effected chiefly by the death of
Christ, 241.

Refreshing, times of, 61.

Remphan, 101.

Repent, 61.

Repentance a divine gift, 81, 139, 186; required
of those who received baptism, 156.

Reservoirs, how used in the East, 54.

Restoration, what intended by, 63.

Resurrection, that of Christ ascertained confi-
dently by his disciples, 30; proved the
Saviour's mission, 39 ; denied by the Sad-
ducees, 65 ; excited the ridicule of the Athe-
nians, 209 ; an article of the Jewish belief,
264; view of Josephus, 264; effect of the
belief of, on the mind of Paul, 273.

Reuss, his Histoire de la Th^ologie, 183.

Revcaler, under the ancient dispensation, iden-
tical with the Logos, 98.

Revelation, important law of, 42.

Rhegium, now Reggio, 316 ; distance to Puteoli,
318.

Rheims translation, whence made, 228.

Rhodes, 244 ; journey thither from Beirut, 245.

Road between Bethlehem and Hebron, 115.

Roads from Jerusalem to Gaza, 112.

Robinson, his description of Mars' Hill, 200;
of the castle of Antonia, 253.

Roofs, how built, 129.
Romans, Epistle to, 231.
Rudders in ancient vessels, 310.

Sabbath, Christian, traces of its observance in
the New Testament, 233 ; rests on apostolic
institution, 233.

Sacrifices, their typical import, 57.

Sadducees, their principles, 65, 264.

Salamis, the scenery there, 151 .

Salmone, the eastern promontory of Crete, 295.

Salmonetta, an island in St. Paul's Bay, 309.

Salvation gratuitous, 172.

Samaria, 108, 109.

Samaritan Codex, its critical value, 92.

Samothrace, 183.

Sandal, 99.

Sanhedrim, its organization, 66 ; its proceedings
public, 69 ; place of session, 88 ; different
modes of designation, 71, 117 ; extent of
its power, 117; qualification of its mem-
bers, 284.

Saron, 126.

Satalia, site of ancient Attaleia, 171.

Schneider, Rev. B., extract from his journal,
246.

Scio, ancient Chios, 235.

Scorpion a peculiar scourge, 84.

Scribes, the Jewish scholars, 66, 88, 265.

Sect, various applications of the word, 78.

Seleucia, the great seaport of northern Syria, 150 ;
appearance of the country from the bay,
150.

Seneca, 317.

Sepp, his Leben Jesu, 123, 282.

Sergius Paidus, his office, 152 ; his title confirmed
as correct, 152.

Servant, a title of the Messiah, 59.

Shekinah, what it was, 91.

Ships, ancient, their size, 293, 308; how they
were undergirded, 300; were easily shat-
tered, 303 ; could anchor by the stern, 306 ;
were steered with two rudders, 310; de-
pended for .speed chiefly on one sail, 310 ;
had figure-heads, 316; how rapidly they
could sail, 318.

Shipwreck, scene of Paul's, 310.

Sicarii, 255.

Sidon, its harbor, its distance from Csesarea,
292.

Simon the Magian, character of his pretensions,
109 ; exposure of his hypocrisy, 110 ; whether
identical with a certain other Simon, 111.

Simony, how the word arose, 110.

Sinai. See Horeb.

Smith, E., his visit to Antipatris, 269.

344

INDEX II.

Smith, J., his work on The Voyage and Ship-
wreck of St. Paul, 291, 297.

Socrates, 80.

Solomon's Porch, why so called, 59.

Sonnlag, his explanation of the difficulty in
regard to Theudas, 82.

Spain, Paul's journey to, 325.

Spirit. See IMjj Spirit.

Sprait and Forbes quoted, 244.

St. PauFs Bay described, 309; place of the
apostle's shipwreck, 310.

St. Philip's Fountain, 115.

Stephanas, his family, 187.

Stephen, his doctrines, 88 ; nature of the accusa-
tion against him, 88 ; analysis of his speech,
89: Neander's analysis, 89; that of Luger
and Baur, 90; was probably a Hellenist,
90 ; diiiiculties in his discourse examined,
92, 93, 94, 95, 101 ; the " Place of Stoning,"
105; his dying prayer, 106; not the only
witness whose blood was shed, 284.

Stier on the discourses of the apostles, 66.

Stocks, 189.

(Sfoics, the tendency of their philosophy, 199.

Straight, the street so called, 120.

Striking, as said of winds, 299.

Stuart, Prof., his interpretation of the sixteenth
Psalm 50; his view of Christ as Mediator,
52.

Sun, darkening of, a prophetic symbol, 48.

Synagogues, how numerous at Jerusalem, 87 ;
their officers, 117 ; punishment inflicted in
them, 284.

Syracuse, how far from Melita, 316.

Tabor, sea visible there, 292.

Tarsus, its literary eminence, 125 ; its political
importance, 255 ; did not possess the rights \
of Roman citizenship, 261.

Tea d-IIasy, 115.

Temple, how its services were performed, 65;
its destruction foretold by Stephen, 88;
constructed so as to shadow forth spiritual
truths, 102; regarded with excessive ven-
eration by the Jews, 103 ; portion of it in-
terdicted to foreigners, 252.

Temple-sweeper, 227.

Terracina, 319.

Tertullus, his gross flattery, 271.

Testament, Old, as divided by the Jews, 154.

Theatres used among the Greeks for public
business, 147, 225.

Theophilus a representative of those for whom
Luke wrote, 18 ; his rank and country, 29.

Thessalonians, Epistles to, 215.

Thessalonica, its distance from Philippi, 194 ; re-

sult of Paul's labors there, 195, sg. ; how
long he remained, 196.

Theudas, why not mentioned by Josephus, 82 ;
may have been referred to under a diiferent
name, 82.

Tholuck on the influence of heathenism, 176 ;
on Paul's speeches as compared with his
Epistles, 237 ; on Paul's appeals to his ex-
emplary life, 238 ; his mode of reconciling
Luke's account of the Egyptian impostor
with that of Josephus, 254.

Tliomson's The Land and the Book, 115.

Timothy was a native of Lystra, 181 ; why re-
quired to be circumcised, 181 ; whether he
rejoined Paul at Athens, 197 ; why he was
sent from Ephesus into Macedonia, 223;
could not have written any part of the
Acts, 232 ; Epistles to, 325.

Titus, Epistle to, 325.

Toleration granted by the Romans to the Jews,
262.

Traditions among the Jews sanctioned as true :
in regard to Abraham's first call, 92 ; in
regard to the tomb of the patriarchs, 95 ; in
regard to the age of Moses, 98 ; the giving
of the law by the agency of angels, 104 ;
the length of Saul's reign, 156.

IVes Tabei-nee, 319.

Troas correctly distinguished from Mysia, 183.

Trogyllium, name of a town or an island, 235.

Tyndale at Wittenberg, 299.

Tyre, the emporium of Phcenicia, 245 ; its ruins
beneath the sea, 245 ; the gospel preached
there at an early period, 245, sq.

Tyro2}oeon, 262.

Undergirding of vessels, how performed, 300.

Unity of the human race asserted by Paul,
206.

Unknown God at Athens, 204.

Upper room, its use, 35, 127, 233.

Ur of the Chaldees, 91.

Urfa, a modern city, 91.

Usher, his chronology, 92.

Valetta, 316.

Validity of the choice of Matthias as an apostle,

40.
Valpy, Notes on N. T., 312.
Vengeance not imprecated on Simon by the

apostles, 110.
Verbals in His, 287.
Via Appia, 319.
View from the Acropolis at Corinth, 210; of

ruins at Tyre, 245 ; from Nazareth, 292-
Vintage, time of, in Palestine, 45.

INDEX II.

345

Viper, why extinct in Malta, 312 ; its habits,

314.
Virgil on the dangers of the sea, 303.
Vizier, Joseph's office in Egypt, 94.
Volsdan Hills, 319.
Vomel, his translation of the twenty-seventh

chapter, 296.
Vow, whether that mentioned in 18 : 18 was

Paul's or Aquila's, 215 ; how long that of

a Nazarite continued, 250.
Voyages, how rapidly made in ancient times,

318.

W.
Wady Sarar, 115.
Wailing, Oriental mode of, 107.
Wakh, his Dissertationes, etc., 69.
Way, Appian, 319.
Way, those of the, 118, 273.
Westcott and Hort, The New Testament in

Greek, 241.
Wetstein quoted, 292.
Wiclif, source of his translation, 228.
Wieseler, his view of the duration of Pentecost,

252; his mode of reckoning the twelve

days, 272.
Windows, how made in Eastern houses, 123;

233.
Winds which prevailed in the Mediterranean

near the end of summer, 292 ; which blow

off the land on the coast of Cilicia, 293 ; as

denoting points of the compass, 297 ; change

suddenly from the south to the north, 299 ;

those from the east apt to be lasting, 302 ;

at what rate they would drive a ship situ-
ated like that of Paul on the voyage to
Rome, 305.

Wine, "new," or "sweet," 45.

Winer on the use of the article, 30 ; limits as-
signed by him to Proconsular Asia, 44 ; on
the inscription to an " unknown god," 204;
his opinion of the night-journey to Anti-
patris, 269.

Witness, inward, of the Spirit, 81.

Women, heathen, converts to Judaism, 163.

Wood, J. T., F. A. S., quoted, 229.

Wonders and signs, 48.

Woolsey, President, suggestions of, 195, 315.

Wordsworth, his Notes on the Acts, 140.

Worship began at dawn in the temple, 79 ; na-
ture of Sabaism, 101 ; that of the temple
emblematical, 102 ; performed at the river-
side by the Jews, 185.

Year of Paul's conversion, 20.

Yoke, Jewish, 174.

Young man, as said of Saul, 105.

ZaMans held that John was the Messiah, 219.

Zealots unknown as a sect till after the time of
Christ, 35 ; designated those in the church
who contended for Jewish rites, 249.

Zeal of Paul as a Pharisee, 256.

Zeller, nature of his objections, 67.

Zion, Mount, a burial-place, 51.

COMMENTARY

ON THE

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

ALBERT N. ARNOLD, D. D.,

AND

REV. D. B. FORD.

PHILADELPHIA:

AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY,
1420 Chestkut Street.

Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1889, by the

AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY,

in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at "Washington.

PREFACE.

When Dr. Arnold's manuscript exposition of Romans — which by reason of ill health
he could not amplify to the extent desired — was placed in my hands by the general editor,
with the request that I would duplicate its pages, I undertook the task with very great
hesitancy, yet with this encouraging thought that, however unimportant might be my
contributions, I could not, with the excellent work of my now lamented friend included,
make a really poor commentary. In endeavoring to fill out and complete a work so well
elaborated, I have not been specially ambitious to display original authorship, but have
frequently quoted from some of the ablest commentators and other writers, and I trust
that not a few of my readers will unite with me in thanking the Giver of every good gift
that other men, in their studies and writings, have labored on this the profoundest treat-
ise of inspiration, and that we have entered into their labor. The additions, whether
original or selected, which I have made to Dr. Arnold's commentary, are either enclosed
in square brackets in the body of the text, or else are inserted as foot notes, with the
initial of my name attached. And now, having finished my moiety of the work, I can
only commend our united labor to the God of all power and grace, that he may make it the
means of promoting his truth and glory, of establishing believers in the faith of the
gospel, and even of winning some to embrace "the righteousness of God which is
through faith of Jesus Christ. ' '

DAVID B. FORD.

Hanover^ Mom.

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE
APOSTLE TO THE ROMANS.

I. ORIGIN OF THE CHURCH AT ROME.

We have no certain means of knowing at what precise time Christianity first gained a
footing at Rome. It would seem, however, to have been many years before the date of
the apostle's letter to the disciples there. They were then a numerous body (1 : 7), too
numerous, apparently, to assemble conveniently or safely in one place, and therefore dis-
tributed into several companies. (16 : 5, 14, 15.) Some of them had long been disciples of
Christ (16 : 3, 4 compared with Acts 18 : 2 ; 16 : 5, 6, 7, 12), their faith was already
spoken of throughout the whole world (1 : 8; 16 : 19), and Paul had for many years
been intending to visit them. (1 : IS ; 15 : 23.) All these indications point to a numerous
church, of no recent origin. [Thus a Christian church may have been planted thers
before it was at Philippi.]

We read of visitors or sojourners from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, at Jerusalem
on the day of Pentecost. (Acts 2 : 10.) It is very probable that some among these were
converted at that time, and soon after returned to Rome, and thus became the nucleus
around which was afterward gathered the church to which Paul wrote. [As Fritzsche
says : "They left Rome as Jews and returned as Christians."]

Had any one of the apostles been the founder of the church in Rome, we should proba-
bly have had, in the Book of Acts or in the Epistle itself, some intimation of this fact.
The later tradition, which attributes to Peter the planting of the Christian faith in this
metropolis of the world, is not only unsupported by any historical evidence, but is bur-
dened with very serious difficulties. Jerome says ("De viris illustribus. " Ch. I.) that
Peter went to Rome in the second year of Claudius, A. D. 42, to confute Simon Magus,
and that he was bishop there for twenty-five years. But we know that he was imprisoned
in Jerusalem by Herod Agrippa in the fourth year of Claudius ; that he was there at the
Council (Acts 15 : 7, seq.), in the tenth year of Claudius — at which time, probably, the
agreement mentioned in Gal. 2 : 9 was made among the apostles, that Peter, James, and
John should devote their labors chiefly to the Jews, and Paul and Barnabas to the Gen-
tiles ; — that he was at Antioch with Paul and Barnabas, between the years a. d. 50 and
A. D. 55 (Gal. 2 : 11-13); that he wrote his First Epistle from Babylon (1 Peter 5 : 13) ;
probably A. D. 63 or 64, possibly seven or eight years earlier. It is not likely that there
would have been no mention of Peter in the salutations in Rom. 16, if he had been at
that time in Rome ; nor that he would have been passed over in silence if he had been
there with Paul when the latter wrote his five epistles from that city (Ephesians, Philip-
pians, Colossians, Philemon, 2 Timothy). Thus it appears that Peter is mentioned in
the New Testament on four different occasions between the years A. D. 42 and A. D. 67,
each time as being far from Rome ; and that no mention is made of him on six diffierent
occasions within the same period when he would naturally have been mentioned by Paul
if he had been in Rome. In fact, there is scarcely any period of half a dozen years,
during all these twenty-five, when he could have resided continuously at Rome,

8 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

consistently with the historical notices of him in the New Testament. [Paul's invariable
rule " not to build upon another man's foundation " nor to " glory in another's province
in regard to things made ready to his hand," is alone suflBcient to prove that Peter was
not the founder of the church in Rome — a fact which many Roman Catholic writers freely
acknowledge. Meyer remarks that "our Epistle — since Peter cannot have been there
before it was written — is a. fact destructive of the historical basis of the Papacy in so far as
this is made to rest on the founding of the Roman Church and the exercise of its episco-
pate by that apostle. ' ' This, of course, does not disprove the possibility that Peter may
in after years have come to Rome and labored there in the gospel (without, however, found-
ing any particular church), and that he there finally suflPered martyrdom. Bishop Lightfoot
even conjectures that both apostles may at some time have been together in Rome, that
they exchanged once more the hands of fellowship, that they gathered, or preached to, two
separate, though not necessarily antagonistic communities (traces of whose origin he finds
in Phil. 1 : 15-18 ; Col. 4 : 11), and that this basis of fact " possibly underlies the tradi-
tion that St. Peter and St. Paul were joint founders of the Roman Church, and may
explain the discrepancies in the lists of the early bishops." (See his " St. Paul and the
Three," p. 337, in his "Commentary on Galatians.") But it is marvelous that this
separation, if it ever existed, was so soon composed, for Bishop Lightfoot concedes that
"at the close of the first century we see no more traces of a twofold church," all the
Christian communities being united under the presiding eldership of Clement, and that
we never hear of it afterward. On the contrary, Ignatius of Antioch and Dionysius of
Corinth, both of whom wrote letters to Rome, and Hegesippus, who visited Rome, all of
whom lived in the second century, assert or imply in their writings the unity and ortho-
doxy of the Roman Christians. To the frequent boast of Papists that they belong to
that church which was the first and which will be last, we may simply reply that the Jeru'
salem Church was the^rs^ church of Christ on earth. If priority of age is anything, we
should prefer to be a Jerusalem Catholic rather than a Roman Catholic. We are aware
that some adherents of this church now disclaim the term "Roman." But if Rome with
its hierarchy were sunk by some earthquake's shock, as it yet may be, the high and
special claim of this church would at once be rendered null and void.]

Neither is it probable that the church at Rome owed its origin to any other apostle.
There is no intimation of this kind in the New Testament ; and we know that Paul made
it his rule not to build on another man's foundation. (Rom. 15 : 20 ; compare 2 Cor. 10 :
14-16.) He speaks of the Romans as belonging to his field of labor (1 : 13-15), and
from the salutations in chap. 16, it appears that, although he had not yet visited them,
many of them had been intimately connected with him. (16 : 3-9, 11, 13.) While,
therefore, there is every probability that the church at Rome was not founded by the
direct labors of any apostle, it seems to have been more closely connected in its early
history with the labors of Paul than with those of any of the rest. [We may therefore
say of Paul, that he was, directly or indirectly, the founder of all the historic churches of
Asia Minor and of Europe.]

II. COMPOSITION OF THE CHURCH IN ROME.

The view generally held is, that the Gentile element predominated in the early Roman
Church. It is plain that there was a very considerable Jewish element. (2 : 17-29 ; 3 : 1-4,
9-21 ; 4 : 1 ; 7 : 1-4 ; and chapters 9-11). There was a large population of Jews in Rome.
Pompey brought many captives thither from Judea ; and these had greatly multiplied in

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 9

the course of a century. Josephus speaks of eight thousand as attaching themselves to
an embassy which appealed to Augustus. ( ' ' Antiq. , ' ' xvii. 11,1.) This emperor assigned
to them for their residence a district beyond the Tiber. About the time when Paul wrote
his epistle, Seneca complains that many Romans had embraced the Jewish religion (he
uses the expression " victi victoribus leges dederunt — the conquered have given laws to
the conquerors." — Augustine, "De Civitate Dei," Lib. vi., ch. 11), and Juvenal scoffs
at Judaizing Romans (Sat. xiv., v. 96-104). Still, the Jews formed but a comparatively
insignificant portion of the population of the great capital of the world ; ^ and it seems
most probable that a church which had existed so long, and become so widely known,
must have been mostly made up of Gentile converts. The tenor of the Epistle confirms
this. It is as the apostle of the Gentiles that Paul writes them. (1 : 5, 6, 13 ; 9 : 3, 4;
10 : 1 ; 11 : 13, 14, 22, 23, 25, 30, 31 ; 15 : 15, 16.) ["From the description of most of the
persons named in chap. 16, from the express approval given to the doctrine in which the
Romans had been instructed, (6 : 17 ; 16 : 17), and even from the fact of the composition
of the letter itself, inasmuch as not one of the now extant letters of the apostle is directed
to a non-Pauline church, we may with certainty infer that Pauline Christianity was pre-
ponderant in Rome ; and from this it is a further necessary inference that a very import-
ant part of the Roman Church consisted of Gentile Christians.^ ^ (Meyer.) These Gen-
tile believers, however, may have been Jewish proselytes before they became Christians,
and so the church of Rome may have been ' ' primarily, at least, one of the churches of the
circumcision." (Plumptre.) Similar is the view of Jowett, who describes the Roman
Church as of " Gentile origin and Jewish character." And this view is not inconsistent
with the generally Pauline character of their doctrine, since a majority of them may have
come from Greece and Asia Minor, and may have been some of Paul's earUest converts in
those countries.]

It seems most likely, on the whole, that the Gentile element formed the majority :
but these Gentile believers were probably in large part of Greek, rather than of Roman
origin. The names mentioned in the salutations are largely Greek. The earliest Latin
versions of the New Testament were made for use in the provinces rather than at Rome ;
the names of the early bishops are more generally Greek than Latin ; and the earliest
literature of the Roman Church was in Greek. (Justin Martyr, Clement, Caius, Hip-
polytus, etc.).

in. AUTHENTICITY OF THE EPISTLE.

The proof that the Apostle Paul wrote this Epistle is such as to satisfy every unpre-
judiced inquirer. It bears his name. It has been received as his without question from
the earliest times. Its language and style agree with those of his other undoubted
epistles. It presents many striking coincidences, as to matters of fact, with other parts
of the New Testament. Compare 15 : 25-31 with Acts 20 : 2, 3 ; 24 : 17 ; 1 Cor. 16 : 1,
4 ; 2 Cor. 8 : 1-4 ; 9 : 2. Also, 16 : 21-23 with Acts 20 : 4 ; and 16 : 3, seq. with Acts
18 : 2, 18-26 ; 1 Cor. 16 : 19, seq.

In fine, it is no exaggeration to say, that there is no ancient writing of which the
authorship is more certain than that of this Epistle. Even Baur questions the last two

1 Gibbon, in chapter xxxi., says: " We may fairly estimate the inhabitants of Rome at twelve hundred thou-
sand." Conybeare and Howson and Canon Farrar put theirs at "more than two millions." According to Dr.
Schaff, the Jews in Rome itself " numbered from twenty to thirty thousand souls, had seven synagogues and
three cemeteries." — (F.)

10 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO TPIE ROMANS.

chapters only. [For resemblances between this Epistle and other epistles of Paul, espe-
cially that to the Galatians, see Lightfoot's "Commentary on the Galatians," pp. 44-48 ;
and for " Undesigned Coincidences," see Paley's " Horse Paulinae," chapter H.]

IV. THE PLACE FROM WHICH THE EPISTLE WAS SENT.

Three names in the salutations very distinctly point to Corinth as the place where this
Epistle was written.

1. We learn from 16 : 23 that the apostle was the guest of Gaius when he wrote it ;
and this Gaius was one of the converts baptized by Paul at Corinth. (1 Cor. 1: 14.)
Identity of persons is not, indeed, certainly inferred from identity of names, especially
when the name is a very common one. But in connection with other known circum-
stances, the identity of the persons is in this case a very safe inference. What more
natural, than that the apostle should be entertained by one of the very few Corinthians
whom he had baptized with his own hands.

2. Pliebe, who is commended to the Roman disciples (16 : 1), and who seems to have
been the bearer of the Epistle, was a member, very probably a deaconess, of the church
at Cenchrea, the Eastern port of Corinth.

3. Erastus, designated as the chamberlain, or treasurer, of the city (16 : 23), is men-
tioned in 2 Tim. 4 : 20, in connection with Corinth. See also Acts 19 : 21, 22.

We may consider it settled, therefore, that the Epistle to the Romans was written
from Corinth. (The confirmation furnished by the subscription is of little account, as the
subscriptions were added at a later date, and some of them are unquestionably false. )

V. DATE OF THE EPISTLE.
Paul's first missionary tour was confined to Asia Minor. (Acts 13: 4, 14.) On his
second tour (Acts 15 : 36 ; 18 : 21), he visited Corinth, and remained there at least a year
and a half (Acts 18 : 11-15.) At this time he became acquainted with Aquila and
Priscilla, and labored with them in their common handiwork, as well as in the work of the
gospel. (Acts 18 : 2, 3.) But the Epistle to the Romans could not have been written at
this time ; for, when it was written, Aquila and Priscilla were in Rome. (16 : 3-5). No
subsequent visit of Paul to Corinth is expressly mentioned in Acts ; but he intimates, in
2 Cor. 13 : 1, that he had already visited them tiaice ; and we know that on his third
missionary tour (Acts 18 : 23 ; 21 : 8), he spent three months in Greece. (20 : 2, 3). He
would not be likely to omit visiting that city of Greece, which was, in a Christian point
of view, the most important of all. At this time, Sopater, Gaius, Timothy, and proba-
bly Erastus, were with him, (Acts 20 : 4, seq. ; 19 : 21, 22.) Now all these were with him
when he wrote to tbe Romans. (16 : 21, 23.) Paul's plans at this time, as described in
the Acts and in the Epistles to the Corinthians, agree exactly with those indicated in this
Epistle. He was about to go to Jerusalem (Acts 20 : 22), to carry thither the contribu-
tions which had been gathered by the Christians of Macedonia and Achaia for the relief
of their brethren in Judea (Acts 24: 17; 1 Cor. 16: 2-4; 2 Cor. 8 : 6-11), intending,
after he had done this, to visit Rome, (Acts 19 : 21.) All these circumstances agree
with what he writes to the Romans in 15 : 23-28.^ It is quite certain, therefore, that this

1 The faet that no mention is made of this charitable collection in the Epistle to the Galatians, while it is
mentioned in other letters of this group (1, 2, Corinthians, Romans) is urged by Bishop Wordsworth in proof
that the Epistles to theCorinthians were written subsequently to that to the Galatians, especially as its mention,
had it been then undertaken, would have been exceedingly appropriate to the design of this Epistle, and could
hardly hare failed to find place in it.— (F.)

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 11

Epistle was written during the time which Paul spent in Corinth, while engaged in his
third missionary journey.

It remains to fix, as nearly as we can, the date of that visit. We will take, as the
surest and most convenient starting point, A. D. 52, the date of the decree of Claudius,
banishing the Jews from Rome. See Hackett on Acts, notes on 18 : 2. Aquila and
Priscilla had already reached Corinth after that decree, and Paul dwelt there with them
at least a year and a half He could hardly have left Corinth before the spring of A. D.
64. Embarking from Cenchrea, he sailed for Syria (Acts 18 : 18), by way of Ephesvis,
Cesarea, and Jerusalem. At Ephesus he made but a short stay, spending probably one
Sabbath with his countrymen there (Acts 18 : 9), and leaving Aquila and Priscilla there.
Proceeding thence to Cesarea, and landing there, he went up to Jerusalem, and saluted
the church, and probably spent the Passover with them (Acts 18: 21, 22) ; after which
he went down to Antioch, and "spent some time there " (Acts 18 : 23) before he set out
on his third missionary tour.

It must have been as late as the autumn of A. D. 54, perhaps the spring of A. D. 55,
when he started on this journey. He went through Galatia and Phrygia to Ephesus (Acta
18: 23; 19: 1-4), where he spent about two and a half years. (Acts 19: 8, three
months; ver. 10, two years; ver. 21, 22, a season. All these periods seem to be distinct
and successive.) He could not have left Ephesus earlier than the spring of A. D. 57.
He spent the ensuing summer in Macedonia and Achaia (Acts 20 : 1-6), and probably at
this time proceeded as far west as Illjricum (15 : 19) — for it is hardly possible to find any
earlier place for that journey — before he came into Greece. (Acts 20 : 3.) His abode
there of three months (Acts 20 : 3) could hardly have begun much before the close of
A. D. 57, and would consequently end in the early part of A. D. 58. When he left
Corinth, the winter was past, for he purposed at first to go by sea (Acts 20 : 3) ; yet the
spring could not have been far advanced, for he hoped to be at Jerusalem at the Feast of
Pentecost in May. (Acts 20 : 16.)

The Epistle to the Romans was therefore probably written in the early part of A. D. 58.

According to the chronology of Conybeare and Howson, Paul was taken from Cesarea
to be carried as a prisoner to Rome, in August, A. D. 60. (Vol. II., p. 543 Scribner's
ed.)' He had been a prisoner at Cesarea for two years. (Acts 24 : 27.) Allowing five or
six months for the previous journey from Corinth to Jerusalem, and the occurrences at
the latter place before he was removed to Cesarea (Acts 20 : 3 ; 23 : 35), we have a very
satisfactory corroboration of our previous calculation. Two years and five months,
reckoned backward from August, A. D. 60, would bring us to March A. D. 58.

VI. OCCASION OF WRITING THE EPISTLE.

[The Epistle to the Romans was not written, like those to the Corinthians and the
Galatians, to correct local abuses and errors ; but for the most part it is encyclical, or
catholic, in its nature, and would be well adapted to the needs of any church existing in the
apostle's time. For in the churches of that age there were, to a greater or less degree,
Judaizing tendencies on the one hand, and Hellenizing or paganizing tendencies on the

1 Paul would then arrive ai Rome in the spring of a. d. 61, the seventh year of Nero's reign, and the twenty-
fourth of his life. The great fire at Rome, and the consequent persecution of Christians occurred a. d. 64, and
hence were probably subsequent to Paul's release from imprisonment. It is now commonly supposed that after
a brief second imprisonment he was beheaded on the Ostian Way, in the year 66 or 67. Nero committed
suicide A. D 68.— (F.)

12 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

other ; and we cannot suppose the Roman Church formed an exception in this respect
(14 : 12 ; 16 : 17.) During the third missionary tour of the apostle, he wrote the first
four epistles of the New Testament, that to the Romans being the last written. A short
time before inditing this letter, he had, with much anguish of heart, written to the
paganizing Corinthians, and to the Judaizing Galatians. As some of them doubted or
denied that he was an apostle, he felt obliged in these letters to assert and prove his
divine call to the apostleship ; but his principal endeavor was to win back his erring
brethren from their disorders and immoralities, and from their vain trusting in the ritTial
ceremonies of Judaism, those "weak and beggarly rudiments," to seek salvation in which
was, to him, hke seeking the Uving among the dead. And now, in a calmer frame of
mind, he sits down to write out for the benefit of his brethren in the world's capital whom
he intended speedily to visit, and from whom he would fain secure a favorable reception
for himself, and for the gospel which he preached, the substance of that which had so
recently and so intensely occupied his mind, to wit : "The position of the Christian in
reference to the Law, and of the relations of Judaism to Heathenism, and of both to
Christianity." (Farrar.) He had preached the gospel of grace in the principal cities of
the East, and he would naturally wish to do the same in the imperial city, of whose
church he may have heard much from the lips of Aquila and Priscilla, ^ among whose
members he had many personal friends, and in whose welfare he felt the deepest interest.
But he knew the dangers which would attend his journey to Jerusalem, as well as the
common uncertainties of life, and thus he who had oftentimes been hindered hitherto
(1 : 13 ; 15 : 22) might again be prevented from orally communicating the gospel to his
Roman brethren. "Besides," as Grodet remarks, "should he arrive at Rome safe and
sound, he had too much tact to think of putting the members of such a church, as it were,
on the catechumen's bench. In these circumstances how natural the idea of filling up, by
means of writing, the blank which Providence had permitted, and of giving, in an
epistolary treatise addressed to the church, the Christian instruction which it had missed,
and which was indispensable to the solidity of its faith." At this time also, as Paul was
about to depart for the East to carry the offerings of Gentiles to the poor saints in Jeru-
salem, Phebe, a deaconess in the neighboring church of Cenchrea, was, as is commonly
supposed, about to sail in an opposite direction for the Empire's capital city, which Paul
said he "must see." (Acts 19: 21.) And this her journey Romeward furnished, of
course, a convenient opportunity of sending the letter. In this way, apparently,
originated " The Epistle of Paul to the Romans," which is characterized by Dr. Schaff
as " the epistle of the epistles," by Dr. Meyer, as " the grandest and richest in contents
of all the apostle's letters," * and by Coleridge, as "the most profound work in existence."]

Vn. LANGUAGE IN WHICH THE EPISTLE WAS WRITTEN.

[It might be supposed that Paul, when writing to the Romans, would, if he were
able, use the Latin tongue, since the letter was not only addressed to Roman residents,

1 De Wette and Meyer versus Hemsen, Hug, Olshausen, Neander, Wieseler, Farrar, and Plumptre, hold that
these were Paul's converts at Corinth, and were not members of the Roman Church. It will be recollected that
Paul abode with these two disciples at Corinth for the space of at least one year and six months.— (F.)

2 The last literary work of Dr. Meyer (died June 21st, 1873) was the preface (written March, 1873) to the
English edition of his "Commentary on Romans." And it is an interesting circumstance that the words
inscribed on his tombstone are taken from this Epistle: 14 : 8 : " Whether we live, we live unto the Lord ; and
whether we die, we die unto the Lord ; whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's."— (F.)

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 13

but was written by an amanueDsis who bore a Latin name. ' But it must be remembered
that the Greek language had at this time become well-nigh universal, "It was," says
Gibbon, " almost impossible, in any province, to find a Roman subject of a liberal educa-
tion who was at once a stranger to the Greek and to the Latin language." As vouchers
for this general acquaintance with Greek on the part of the Romans, Tholuck, in Chapter
3, of his "Introduction," cites Tacitus, Ovid, Martial, Juvenal, and Suetonius. It is,
moreover, a singular circumstance, yet " nothing is more certain than that the Church of
Rome was at this time a Greek, and not a Latin Church." See Smith's "Bible Dic-
tionary," p. 2746, also II. of this Introduction. "The literary language at Rome," says
Godet, "was Greek. This is established by the numerous Greek inscriptions in the
Catacombs, by the use of the Greek language in the letter of Ignatius to the Church of
Rome, in the writings of Justin Martyr composed at Rome, and in those of Irenaeus
composed in Gaul," as also in those of Hippolytus, Bishop of Ostia, the seaport of Rome.
"The early bishops and divines of Rome were Greeks by descent or education, or both.
Pope Cornelius addressed the churches in the Hellenic language in the middle of the third
century. The Apostle's Creed, even in the Roman form, was originally composed in
Greek. The Roman Liturgy (ascribed to Clement of Rome) was Greek. The inscrip-
tions in the oldest catacombs, and the epitaphs of the popes down to the middle of the
third century, are Greek." (SchaflP.) We may add that most of the manuscripts discov-
ered in the ruins of Herculaneum appear to have been written in Greek. Milman, in his
"Latin Christianity," says: "The Church of Rome, and most, if not all, the churches
of the West were, if we may so speak, Greek religious colonies. ' ' Tarsus also, where
Paul was born, was of Greek origin, and was celebrated for its Greek schools and learning.
The geographer Strabo (born about 60 B. c.) says that in its zeal for learning and phil-
osophy it excelled even Athens and Alexandria. Paul "doubtless spoke Greek from
childhood" (Tholuck), and we do not suppose that he utterly discarded Greek study in
Jerusalem, His liberal-minded teacher, "Rabban Gamliel," favored Greek study, and,
according to the Talmud, knew Greek Uterature better than any other doctor of the law.
"A thousand students were in the academy of my grandsire," said a descendant of
GumaUel, "five hundred of whom studied the Greek" ; and the Talmud maintains that
Paul "had always a Grecian poem on his lips." Indeed, Dr. Isaac M. Wise, President
of the Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati (from whose writings we have made these last
extracts) says, in his "History of the Hebrews' Second Commonwealth," p. 307, that
"in the academy at Jerusalem he (Paul) was noted as paying more attention to Greek
poetry and infidel books than to his studies" ! From Acts 21 : 37 we are assured that

I That Paul must have had considerable acquaintance with the Latin language, if not at the time this Epistlo
was written, at least some years afterward, is nost certain. The Latin dialect would, of course, naturally
extend itself wherever the Roman Government was established, and this had at that time become almost
universal. This language was stamped on the national coins ; it was used in trade, in public edicts, in legal
proceedings. Paul always was a subject of the Roman Government, was born in a Roman " free city," and
passed his life in Roman colonies and provinces. In every country of his residence he could have seen Roman
soldiers, centurions, chiliarchs, or military tribunes (Acts 21 : 31), praetors and lictors (Acts 16 : 20, 35), procon-
suls and procurators, or "governors." (Acta 13: 7; 23: 24.) Latin was used to some extent in Palestine and in
Jerusalem. It was one of the three languages which were inscribed, not only on the inner separating wall of
the Court of the Gentiles, forbidding any foreigner to go within the sanctuary on pain of death (Josephus'
"Antiquities," xv., xi., 6 ; " Wars," vi., ii., 4), but also on the Saviour's cross. The word Christian, though first
expressed in Greek letters, was yet put in a Latinized form. And when we further consider that Paul, as is
commonly believed, was chained to a Roman soldier during his two yeirs' imprisonment in Cesarea and
his two years' imprisonment at Rome, to say nothing of his long-protracted sea voyage, we must conclude that
the apostle in his last years was familiarly acquainted with Latin.— (F.)

14 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

Paul could speak Greek. He certainly quoted several times from the Greek poets (Acts
17 : 28 : 1 Cor. 15 : 33; Titus 1 : 12), and with some of them — as when he refers his
Athenian audience to certain (rives) of their own poets (to wit, Aratus and Cleanthes) — he
seems to have had more than a hearsay acquaintance. We have spoken of Greek as a
current language among the ancients.' The Old Testament Apocrypha was written
mainly in Greek (only Ecclesiasticus and 1 Maccabees were originally written in modern
Hebrew), and the Old Testament was translated, not into Aramaic, or modern Hebrew,
but into Greek, and it was this version of the Seventy which the New Testament writers
mainly used. Noticeable also is the fact that the Epistle to the Hebrews and James'
Epistle to the Jews of the "Dispersion" were written, not in Aramaic, but in Greek.
The Greek dialect, too, seems to have been almost as common in Palestine as the
vernacular Aramaic. Indeed, Dr. Roberts, author of the "Companion to the Revised
Version," endeavors to show in his "Discussions on the Gospels" that Christ and the
apostles spoke mostly in Greek, and only occasionally in Aramaic. Of course, he would
decide that all the Gospels and other New Testament Scriptures were originally spoken or
written in Greek. Similarly, S. G. Green, in his "Grammar of the Greek Testament" :
"It was the Greek of the Septuagint, in all probability, our Lord and his apostles
generally spoke. The dialect of Galilee was not a corrupt Hebrew, but a provincial
Greek." Josephus, a Jewish priest, who lived in the time of the apostles, wrote his
" Wars " and "Antiquities " in Greek, though he states that he composed the first-named
work originally in Hebrew for the benefit of the " Upper Barbarians." That the Greek
people or language had penetrated even into barbarian regions is evident from Seneca's
query : "What is the meaning of Greek cities in barbarous countries, and the Macedo-
nian language among Indians and Persians?" For the general prevalence of the Greek
language, especially in Palestine in the time of Christ, see Hug's "Introduction to the
New Testament," pp. 326-340 ; Dr. Schafi"'s " Companion to the Greek Testament," p.
7; Prof Hadley's article on the "Language of the New Testament," and B. F. West-
cott's article on the New Testament, in Smith's "Bible Dictionary," pp. 1590, 2139;
also articles on the "Language of Palestine in the Age of Christ and the Apostles," in
the April and July numbers of the "Biblical Repository " for 1831.]

VIII. THE OBJECT OF THE EPISTLE.

The main object which the apostle had in view in writing this Epistle is nowhere
formally stated ; but it may be inferred from the Introduction, and from the contents of
the Epistle. In the Introduction he expresses his earnest desire to visit the disciples at
Rome, in order to contribute something to their confirmation and spiritual comfort.
(1 : 11, 12.) Doubtless he had the same end in view in writing to them ; and he seeks
to attain this end by unfolding the way of justification and salvation through faith in
Christ. The object of his letter, then, is to present such an exhibition of the way of
justification and salvation through faith in Christ, as would be adapted to comfort and
confirm the disciples at Rome. The Epistle might well take its title from the sixteenth
verse of the first chapter : ' ' The Gospel the Power of God unto Salvation to every one
that believeth" ; and the manner in which the apostle treats this subject is adapted to

1 Paul evidently needed not to be specially endowed with the gift of tongues, as Wordsworth supposes, in order
to obey his Lord's last command, since a knowledge of Greek and Hebrew alone would enable him to preach
intelligibly in almost all parts of the civilized world.— (F.)

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 15

promote the spiritual confirmation and comfort of all who devoutly study this Epistle.
May the readers of the following notes find them helpful toward that happy result.
Pawtuxet, R. I. ALBERT N. ARNOLD.

[On the 11th day of October, 1883, the writer of the above lines ceased from hb
earthly toils, and entered into rest. Yet his labors for Christ were not felt by him to be
irksome, and those especially which were spent in the study of this noble Epistle were
manifestly to him an exceeding pleasure and delight. In a letter, dated January 7, 1882,
he thus writes : " I heartily wish that you may have as much enjoyment in the perform-
ance of your work as I had in the performance of mine. And may the blessing of our
common Master rest upon our joint work to the glory of his name and the benefit of hia
people." We are glad to be assured, but are not surprised to learn, that in his last days
the comfort of the Scriptures, and especially of the great doctrines of grace, did not fail
him. The old theology, which was his soul's food in life, was his abundant support in
his last days. On hearing, shortly before his death, of the apparently approaching end
of a greatly endeared classmate and friend, Thomas D. Andtrson, D. D., he said : " Mine
is an abundant entrance. Tell him (speaking his friend's name) that we shall soon' meet
above, sinners saved by sovereign grace — sovereign, redeeming grace." "And this,"
says the narrator. Dr. J, C. Stockbridge, "he kept repeating over and over, as if he
would gather up all he wished to say, of what was profoundest and dearest in his religious
faith, and concentrate it upon that which was the very heart and substance of his creed,
'sovereign, redeeming grace.' " If, since the days of the apostles, there have lived any
Christian men whose kindliness and guilelessness of spirit, whose blamelessness of life,
and whose diligence in Christian labor, could furnish a ground of acceptance with God,
one of those meu, in my opinion, was Albert Nicholas Arnold. And yet, had it been
suggested to him from without, or from within, that he could properly place this reliance
upon the righteousness of his character and the goodness of his varied and abundant
works, laboring as he had done, so assiduously as a preacher and pastor, a missionary, a
theological instructor and writer, the thought, we believe, would have been repelled by
him with as emphatic a "God forbid" as was ever uttered by the Apostle Paul.
Yet no one was more careftil than he to maintain good works, both as a fruit and evidence
of his love for Christ and of his faith in him. May the readers of these lines, by a deep
consciousness of their lost condition by nature, and by a rich experience of the "sovereign,
redeeming grace " of the gospel, be made to feel that we need no other or better theology
than that which is so plainly set forth in the writings of this blessed apostle, and which
our beloved and now lamented friend sought to embody in these pages.]

ANALYSIS OF THE EPISTLE.

Part I. — Introduction. (1 : 1-15.) (a) Salutatory. (Ver. 1-7.) (6) Conciliatory.
(Ver. 8-15.)

Part U.— Doctrinal, (1 : 16-11 : 36.)

1 1. All Mankind in a Sinful and Condemned State, and therefore in Need
OF the Salvation which the Gospel Reveals. (1 : 16-3 : 20.) The subject opened.
(1 : 16, 17.)

1 It was " soon," the 19th of the ensuing December, that the beloved Anderson, a man of kindred spirit with
Arnold, followed him to the land of rest. What a world of darkness they hare left for what a world of light !
Gladly would we exchange, for just their first moment's experience in bliss, all the theology of all the schools
of earth.— (F.)

16 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

I. The general sinfulness of men proved. (1 : 18-2 : 29.)

A. In the case of the Gentiles. (1 : 18-22.) God has made known his displeasure

against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. (Ver. 18.) The Gentiles are
both ungodly (ver. 19-23) and unrighteous. (Ver. 24-32.)

B. In the case of the Jews. (2 : 1-29.) Those who practice the same sins which they

condemn in others are equally inexcusable (2 : 1), for God's judgment will be
impartial (ver. 2-5), and justly most severe against those who have the most
light. (Ver. 6-16.) Neither the possession of the law (ver. 17-24), nor the
covenant of circumcision (ver. 25-29), wiD exempt them from condemnation.
n. Objections stated and answered. (3 : 1-8.) Objection 1. The Jew has no advan-
tage over the Gentile. (Ver. 1.) Answer : The possession of God's word is a
great advantage. (Ver. 2.) Objection 2. God's faithfuhaess obliges him to
show favor to the Jews, notwithstanding their unfaithftilness. (Ver. 3.)
Answer : God's faithfulness must not be questioned, however unfaithful men
maybe. (Ver. 4.) Objection 3. It would be unjust in God to. punish those
whose sins are the occasion of displaying his righteousness. (Ver. 5, 7.)
Answer : The principle which this objection assumes leads to conclusions man-
ifestly false and impious ; as,

(a) That God cannot righteously judge and punish any. (Ver. 6)
(6) That it is lawftd to do evil that good may come. (Ver. 8. )
III. The charge of universal sinfulness renewed, and confirmed by proofe from Scrip-
ture. (Ver. 9-20.)
22. The Way op Justification and Salvation Through Faith in Christ.
(3:21-5:21.)
I. The gospel method of justification described, as being —

A. In its nature^

(1) Conditioned not on works, but on faith. (3 : 21, 22.)

(2) Available for all mankind. (Ver. 22.)

(3) Needed by all. (Ver. 22, 23.)

(4) Entirely gratuitous. (Ver. 24. )

B. As having, for its ground, the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ. (Ver. 24, 25. )
C For its direct object, the reconciliation of God's righteousness with man's salva-
tion. (Ver. 25, 26.)

D. For its indirect results,

(1) The exclusion of all boasting. (Ver. 27, 28.)

(2) The display of God's impartial mercy to both Jews and Gentiles. (Ver. 29, 30. )

(3) The confirmation, not the subversion, of the law. (Ver. 31.)

n. That the above method of justification is in harmony with the teachings of Scrip-
ture is shown by the examples of Abraham and David. (4 : 1-25. )

(1) Abraham was justified, not by works, but by faith. (Ver. 1-5.)

(2) David teaches that justification is not of merit, but of grace. (Ver. 6-8. )

(3) Circumcision is not indispensable to justification ; for Abraham was justified

before he was circumcised. (Ver. 9-12.)

(4) The law is not the ground of justification ; for Abraham, who was justified,

not by the law, but by faith, is in this respect the pattern of all who are
justified, both Jews and Gentiles. (Ver. 13-17.) This illustrious pattern
is more fully described and commended. (Ver. 18-25.)

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 17

III. The happy results of the gospel way of justification, both to the individual
believer, and to the race at large. (5 : 1-21. )

A. As it respects the individual believer, the results are :

(1) Peace with God, including free access to him. (Ver. 1, 2.)

(2) Joyful hope of future glory. (Ver. 2.)

(3) Afl3ictions made subservient to the confirmation of our hope. (Ver. 3, 4.)

(4) The certainty of this hope.

(a) For God has already given us his Spirit. (Ver. 5.)

(6) He has already shown the fullness of his love to us, by giving his Son to
die for us while we were yet sinners. (Ver. 6-8.)

(c) By thus beginning the work of our salvation while we were enemies, he
has given the surest pledge that he will complete it now that we are
reconciled to him (ver. 9, 10), so that we have a present and abound-
ing joy. (Ver. 11.)

B. As it respects the race at large, the benefits ot the gospel way of justification

are illustrated by a comparison between Adam and Christ. (Ver. 12-21.)
(a) The resemblance between the two cases. (Ver. 12-14.)
(6) The differences stated under several aspects. (Ver. 15-17.)
(c) Recapitulation of the whole, showing how men are regarded and treated
in consequence of their connection with Adam and Christ respectively.
(Ver. 18, 19.) As the law discloses and even aggravates, the triumphs
of sin, reigning in death, so the gospel displays the superior triumphs
of grace, reigning unto life, through Jesus Christ. (Ver. 20, 21.)
\ 3. This Way of Justification Favorable to Holiness. (6 : 1-8 : 39.)
Proposition I. Gratuitous justification does not lead to sinful Uving. (6 : 1-23. )
(a) The objection stated. (Ver. 1.)
(6) Its validity denied. (Ver. 2.)
(c) The grounds of that denial. (Ver. 3-23. )

I. The justified believer, agreeably to the very import of his baptism, is brought
into such a connection and comformity with Christ as dying and rising to a new life, that
he cannot continue in the old life of sin. (Ver. 3-6.) As Christ's death on account of sin
is never to be repeated (ver. 7-10), so the believer must regard his own separation from sin
as final. (Ver. 11-14.)

II. The very fact that he is not under the law, but under grace, forbids that sin
should have dominion over him. (Ver. 14, 15.) For his relation to the law and to grace
is like the relation of a servant to his master : Before justification, he is a servant of sin,
under an influence which secures his obedience to evil ; after justification, he is a servant
of righteousness, under an influence which secures his obedience to good. (Ver. 16-20.)
The former service results in death, the latter in eternal life ; and the knowledge of these
opposite consequences is a still farther security for his continued fidelity to his new
Master. (Ver. 21-23.)

Proposition II. So long as men remain under the law, they continue under the
power of sin. (7 : 1-25.)
(a) The believer's relation to the law may be illustrated by the case of mar-
riage. (Ver. 1-6.) As the wife is freed from her conjugal obligations
by the death of her husband, so that she is afterward at liberty to be
married to another man (ver. 1-3) ; so we are freed from our connection

18 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

with the law, that we may enter into a new connection with Christ.
(Ver. 4.) The fruit of that first connection was sin. (Ver. 5.) The
fruit of this second connection is holiness. (Ver. 6.)

(6) The law has no power to convert a sinner, or to make a bad man good ;
this illustrated by Paul's own experience before his conversion (ver.
7-13), (the eflFect of the law is to make sin known (ver. 7), and also to
excite it to greater activity (ver. 8-11), so that, while the law is good
(ver. 12), it becomes the occasion of manifesting more fully the exceed-
ing sinfulness of sin.) (Ver. 13.)

(c) The law has no power to sanctify a saint, or to make a good man better : this
illustrated by Paul's own experience after his conversion. (Ver. 14-24. )
(Even the renewed man, who assents to the excellence of the law, and
desires and purposes to fulfill its requirements, finds that the remains of
indwelling sin often prove too strong for his good resolutions (ver. 14-23) ;
so that, as long as he looks to the law, he gets no effectual help or
comfort in his strivings after holiness. (Ver. 24.) Hence the conclusion,
that if we are ever to be freed from the dominion of sin, it must be by
becoming connected with Christ. (Ver. 25. )
Proposition III. Grace accomplishes what the law could not accomplish. (8 : 1-17.)

(a) (irace furnishes not only a justifying righteousness (ver. 1), but also a
regenerating and sanctifjdng power. (Ver. 2.) The way in which this
is done briefly explained. (Ver. 3, 4.)

(6) Sanctification is the indispensable evidence of justification. (Ver. 5-17.)
The justified will certainly walk in newness of life, because :

(1) Their inward moral disposition is thoroughly changed. (Ver. 5-8.)

(2) The Spirit of God dwells in and actuates them. (Ver. 9-13.)

(3) They are children of God, not only by a formal adoption on his part, but

also by a filial spirit on theirs. (Ver. 14-17.)
Proposition IV. The sufferings which believers undergo in this life are not incon-
sistent with their being fully justified and accepted of God.
(Ver. 17-30.)
(a) For they suffer with Christ, that they may be glorified with him. (Ver. 17.)
(6) There is an immeasurable disproportion between the present sufferings
and the future glory. (Ver. 18.) The greatness of that future glory is
seen :

(1) In the unconscious longing for its coming which pervades all nature. (Ver.

19-22.)

(2) In the conscious longing of believers, notwithstanding the happiness which

they enjoy in the present foretaste of it. (Ver. 23-25.)
(c) Suitable spiritual supports are afforded them while these sufferings con-
tinue. (Ver. 26, 27.)
{d) They are assured that all these sufferings are working for their good.
(Ver. 28-30.)
Proposition V. The certainty of the salvation of believers is established. (Ver.
31-39.) They for whose salvation (ver. 31) God has given his
Son, and for whom the Son (ver. 32, 33) of God has died and
risen from the dead (ver. 34), can never be separated from the

INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 19

love of either by any vicissitudes of the present life (ver.
35-37), or by any other events or agencies whatsoever. (Ver.
38, 39.)
24- The Rejection op the Jews. (9 : 1-11 : 36.)

(a) The fact of their rejection, though very lamentable (ver. 1-5), is not
inconsistent with God's truth and justice : not with his truths because
the blessings which they fail to secure were never promised indiscrimi-
nately to all the natural seed of Abraham (ver. 6-13) ; not with his
justice^ because —

(1) These blessings are God's free gifts, bestowed according to his sovereign

pleasure. (Ver. 14-18.)

(2) The unbelieving Jews only receive the righteous recompense of their willful

sin. (Ver. 19-24.)

(3) Indeed, their rejection is plainly foretold by their own prophets. (Ver. 25-29.)

In fine, the Gentiles obtain righteousness through faith in Christ, and the
Jews fail to obtain it because of unbelief (Ver. 30-33. ) Thus it appears
__^__Jiiat:

(6) The cav^e of the failure of the Jews to attain justification (for which
failure the apostle again expresses his sorrow) (10 : 12) is, that they
persist in seeking justification in their own false way, instead of seeking
it in God's true way. (Ver. 3-11.) Justification is attainable on pre-
cisely the same terms by Jews and Gentiles. (Ver. 12-13.) Therefore
the gospel ought to be preached to all nations. (Ver. 14, 15.) All this
is confirmed by the testimony of the Scriptures. (Ver. 16-21.)
(c) There is a limit to this rejection, both as to persons, and as to time.
(Chap. 11.)

I. As to persons, it is not total, for Paul himself (ver. 1), and many others among
the Jews (ver. 2-5), have obtained justification through free grace (ver. 6), though the
greater part of the nation has been rejected (ver. 7), as their own Scriptures had fore-
told. (Ver. 8-10.)

II. As to time, it is not final; but God designs, by this temporary rejection of the
Jews, to facilitate the conversion of the Gentiles. (Ver. 11-16.) The Gentiles are
admonished not to glory over the Jews, as if their advantage over them was due to any
merit of their own. (Ver. 17-22.) So soon as the Jews turn from their unbelief, God
is able and willing to save them. (Ver. 23, 24.) Nay, more; he has positively determined
that they shall at last turn and be saved. (Ver. 25-32.) In all this, his unsearchable
wisdom is gloriously displayed. (Ver. 33-36. )

Part III. — Practical. (12: 1-15: 13.) (a) General Precepts, applicable to all.
(12: 1-13 : 14.) (h) Special Directions in regard to the treatment of those who are weak
and over-scrupulous. (14 : 1-15 : 13. )
(a) General Precepts.

(1) Exhortation to entire consecration to God. (12 : 1.) This results in a prac-

tical conformity to his will (ver. 2), and in humility. (Ver. 3.)

(2) Duties to the church (ver. 4-8), and to the brethren. (Ver. 9-}3.)

(3) Duties to the world, and especially to enemies. (Ver. 14-21.)

(4) Duties to rulers. (13 : 1-7.)

(5) The duty of love to all men. (Ver. 8-10.)

20 INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

(6) All these duties enforced by the consideration that salvation is near. (Ver.
11-14.)
(b) Special Directions in regard to the treatment of brethren whose consciences are
weak and are over-scrupulous. (14 : 1-15 : 13.)

I. The Christian who regards the Jewish restrictions as to days and meats as still
binding is to be received without disputations. (14 : 1, 2.)

(a) Because this weakness does not hinder his acceptance with God. (Ver. 3, 4. )
(6) Because he is conscientious in it, (Ver. 5-9. )

II. Those who, throiigh better knowledge, are free from such scruples, must not so
use their freedom as to lead their weaker brethren into sin. (Ver. 1 3. )

(a) Because, though the use of this liberty is not wrong in itself, yet it is a

breach of charity to use it to the injury of a brother. (Ver. 14, 15.)

(b) Because such a course brings religion into reproach. (Ver. 16.)

(Ver. 17, 18.)
{d) Because it is inconsistent with the obligation to promote the peace of the
church, and the edification of the brethren. (Ver. 19.) They there-
fore who know that the eating of certain meats is not sinful, must not
use their liberty in such a way as to entice others who have not this
knowledge to do the same thing in violation of their consciences. (Ver.
20-23.) They must rather bear the infirmities, and seek the edification
of the weak. (15 : 1, 2. ) Thus they must imitate the self-denying
example of Christ. (Ver. 3-7.) For Christ, agreeably to the predic-
tions of the prophets, has received both Jews and Gentiles, and united
them into one body. (Ver. 8-13.)
Part IV. —Personal ( 1 5 : 1 4-1 6 : 23. )

(1) As to his own relations and feelings toward them. (15 : 14-33.) The apostle

declares his confidence in them. (Ver. 14.) He justifies the freedom with
which he has addressed them. (Ver. 15.) This he does on the ground of
his ofl&ce as the apostle of the Gentiles. (Ver. 16-21.) He expresses his
hope of visiting them soon. (Ver. 22-29.) He asks their prayers in his
behalf (Ver. 30-33.)

(2) After bespeaking their Christian hospitality and kind oflSces for Phebe, a

servant of the church, at Cenchrea (and probably the bearer of the
Epistle) (16 : 1, 2), he sends his salutations to various members of the
church. (Ver. 3-16.)

(3) He warns them against those who cause divisions. (Ver. 17-20.)

(4) He adds salutations from Christian friends who were with him. (Ver. 21-23.)
Part V.— Conclusion. (16 : 24-27.)

(1) Benediction. (Ver. 24.) (2.) Doxology — embodying a brief summary of
gospel doctrine. (Ver. 25-27.)

PAUL'S EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.

)AUL, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to he an apos-
, tie, separated unto the gospel of Ctod.

CHAPTER I.

Paul, a 1 servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an

1 Or. hondttrvant.

Part I. (Ch. 1:1-16.) Introduction.

(a) Salutatory. (Ver. 1-7.)

1. Paul. It was the custom of the ancients
to place the name of the writer of a letter at
the beginning of the letter instead of at the
end. We have many examples of this in
the Greek and Latin classics. [With this
name, a verb "writes" (ypo^w), or "greeting"
(xa«p«ii') or, in full, gives greeting, as in 2 John
10, 11) Rev. Ver. (A^yet x-'P""). is properly un-
derstood ; but in all the epistles of the New
Testament, save that of James, the name of
the writer, when expressed in the salutation,
stands independently. "Here the substance
of the verb {xaiptiv) appears in the following
grace to you, etc., as an independent sentence,
and invocation of blessing of richer fullness."
(Philippi.) On the New Testament use of
this verb, see ver. 7.] The writer of this
Epistle is called by his Hebrew name, Saul,
until after his conversion. The name Paul is
found about one hundred and sixty times in
the New Testament — about one hundred and
thirty times in the Acts, nearly thirty times
in his own epistles, including the salutation in
all the thirteen, and once it is mentioned by
Peter, (speurs: is.) It is first introduced at
Acts 13: 9, and the name Saul, which has
been used more than twenty times before, is
never used afterward, except in four or five
places, where the apostle recounts the words
addressed to him by Jesus, and by Ananias,
at the time of his conversion, (acum. 7, is;
28: li.) Some have supposed that the name
Paul was assumed by the apostle out of respect
to Sergius Paulus. But though the change
from Saul to Paul is first mentioned in con-
nection with the account of the conversion of
this Roman proconsul, it is more probable
that both names were borne by him from the
beginning. It was no uncommon thing in
that age for Jews, especially such as associated
much with foreigners, to be known among

their own countrymen by their Hebrew name,
and among foreigners by a different name;
and the fact that the apostle was born in a
foreign city, and inherited the rights of a
Roman citizen (acu 22:2s), makes it probable
that both names belonged to him from early
life. And on this supposition, the change
from the Hebrew to the Roman name is ap-
priately made by Luke just at the point where
he begins directly to speak of Paul's labors in
his chosen and recognized sphere as the "apos-
tle of the Gentiles." Compare Dr. Hackett's
note on Acts 13 : 19.

[In the Talmud, Paul, as certain Jewish
writers aflSrm, is called "Acher" — that is,
"Another" ; and one modern rabbi supposes
he was so called because he went under an
assumed name, or was virtually anonymous.
Perhaps the name was given to him as one
belonging to another and different faith, and
was thus nearly equivalent to heterodox or
heretic. Or possibly it was applied to Paul
even more contemptuously, just as the ancient
rabbis, unwilling to speak the name pig,
called it "the other thing." If any one
wishes to see how far modern rationalistic
Judaism can caricature the noblest of lives
and of characters, let him look at the account
given of Paul, and other apostles of Jesus
Christ, in the "Origin of Christianity," and
in the "History of the Hebrews' Second
Commonwealth," by Dr. Isaac M. Wise.
We may add that this " Acher," according
to the Talmud, was a married man, and that
he left daughters.]

A servant of Jesas Christ. The word
here translated 'servant' is the same that is
properly translated slave in classic Greek. Its
use here is indicative of humility, but not of
servility. The more absolutely submissive a
man is to Jesus Christ, the more surely is he
free from bondage to man. "To serve God is
true liberty," says Augustine. So also for

ROMANS.

[Ch. I

substance says the Scripture. See Ps. 116: 16;
119: 45; John 8: 36.^ Paul gives himself this
title only here, and, in connection with Timo-
thy, in Phil. 1 : 1. Elsewhere in the beginning
of his epistles he styles himself simply an
apostle of Jesus Christ.

The use of the two names 'Jesus Christ' is
connected with some important peculiarities
in the original manuscripts of the New Testa-
ment. In the first place, one of the names is
often omitted in the best manuscripts, where
our English version has them both. In the
second place, the order of the two names is
often inverted. This inversion is often repre-
sented in the English ; always, indeed, where
the Greek manuscripts are uniform ; but they
often differ among themselves. The omissions
and inversions consitute a large number of the
so-called "various readings " in the New Tes-
tament manuscripts. Those are obviously of
very little importance. Other peculiarities in
the use of the two are more important. Among
these are the various proportions in which the
two are used in different parts of the New
Testament. In the gospels the name Jesus is
used between five hundred and six hundred
times. The word Christ is used in the gospels
about fifty times in connection with the name
Jesus, and about as many times by itself. It is
usually accompanied by the article in Greek,
and is manifestly used as a descriptive desig-
nation, and not as a simple proper name.
Jesus, the Christ, the Anointed, the Messiah —
the two latter words having the same mean-
ing, in English and Hebrew, that the former
has in Greek. In the Acts our Saviour is
commonly called simply Jesus (about fifty

times), the word Christ being added about
fifteen times, and this last word being found
by itself scarcely more than a half a dozen
times. In the epistles, the two words are
found together nearly two hundred times,'
the name Jesus alone less than twenty times;
but the word Christ, now in the lapse of
time come to be used, according to a general
law of language, no longer as a descriptive
appellation, but simply as a proper name, is
found by itself about two hundred and thirty
times. Such a progress in the use of the word
from a descriptive to a proper name, can only
be accounted for by the fact that the epistles
were written at a later date than the gospels,
or, at least, as representing a later date in the
use of language ; for the gospels represent a
use of language from thirty to fifty years
earlier than their composition. On this basis
— namely, that the appellation Christ, from be-
ing always a descriptive designation in the gos-
pels, has come to be commonly a proper name
in the epistles — an ingenious refutation of Dr.
David F. Strauss' "Life of Christ" has been
published by Dr. O. T. Dobbin. Dr. Strauss
assumed that the epistles were written before
the gospels assumed their present form [so
Dr. Weiss in his " Biblical Theology "], and
this assumption is a fundamental principle of
his whole mythical theory of the origin of the
gospels. Dr. Dobbin's work is entitled "Ten-
tamen Anti-Straussianum : the Antiquity of
the Gospels asserted on Philological Grounds
in Refutation of the Mythic Scheme of Dr.
David Frederick Strauss: an Argument."
London, 1845, 8vo, pp. 113. Of this work
Allibone, in his "Dictionary of Authors,"

1 Many writers designate Paul as " the slave of the
Lord Jesus Christ," hut as this term carries with it the
idea of enforced and degrading bondage (similarly to
the Greek, avSpairoSov), it is better to employ the word
found in the margin of the Revised Version— namely,
bondservant. As in the Old Testament, the title,
" servant of Jehovah," is generally applied to officially
distinguished personages, so it is thought by some that
in the New Testament the " servant of Christ" is one
who is officially appointed to some special service. It
is evident, however, that in Paul's estimation all true
Christians are servants of the Lord Jesus. (Rom.
14 : 18 ; 1 Cor. 7 : 22 ; Eph. 6:6; Col. .3 : 24.) The Chris-
tian service of Paul, faith in Chri.ot and love for
him as a Saviour, was ever accompanied with obedi-
ence to him as Lord. (See, for example, his beginning
and ending of this Epistle with the words : obedience
of faith.) And how great was the change from his ,

being a raving and murderous persecutor of Christians
to his becoming a willing bondservant of Jesus Christ.
For some twenty years the apostle had now been en-
gaged in Christ's service — a service which had brought
him much of trial and suffering. Even at the com-
mencement of it his divine Master had to announce to
him how many things he must suffer for his name's
sake. (Acts 9: 16.) He had at this time undergone all
those trials and afflictions which are enumerated in
2 Cor. 11 : 24-33, that " Iliad of Woes." At the time of
writing this Epistle he was bearing in his body the
deep brand-marks of his service to Christ (Gal. 6: 17),
and Hoon after this, and for many ypars, he was to be
" a prisoner of Christ Jesus," bound with chains, not to
a granite wall, where he might have some privacy and
be alone with God, but to some, perhaps, rough and un-
feeling Roman soldier— an intolerable bondage.— (F.)

Ch. I.]

ROMANS.

vol. I, p. 507, quotes the following opinions :
" A work in no common degree acute, learned,
eloquent, and — what is rarer still in a region
so often traversed— original." "Complete,
conclusive, and unanswerable." "It leaves
Dr. Strauss without a loophole whereby to
escape, and establishes most unanswerably
the antiquity of the gospels."

[The titles which Paul gives himself in his
several salutations are quite varied. In 1 and
2 Thessalonians we have simply "Paul" ; in
Philemon, "a prisoner of Jesus Christ" ; in
Philippians, he calls himself and Timotheus
"servants of Jesus Christ" ; in Titus, "a ser-
vant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ" ;
in 1 Corinthians, "called an apostle of Jesus
Christ, through the will of God " ; in 2 Corin-
thians, Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Timothy, "an
apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God" ;
in 1 Timothy, "anapostleof Christ Jesus bythe
commandment of God our Saviour and Lord
Jesus Christ, which is our hope" ; andinGala-
tians, " an apostle, not of men, neither by man,
buL by Jesus Christ, and God the Father." An
interesting paper, Bishop Ellicott says, might
be written on these peculiarities of designa-
tion. In 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colos-
sians and Philemon, Timothy is associated with
Paul in the greetings; in 1 and 2 Thessalo-
nians, Silvanus and Timothy; in 1 Corin-
thians, Sosthenes; and in Galatians, "all the
brethren who are with me." Though Timo-
thy was present when Paul wrote to the
Romans, yet he only sends his salutation at
the end of the Epistle.] Called to be an
apostle. The former title is more general ;
this more specific and official. The words 'to
be,' supplied by the translators, might well
be omitted, as they are in many recent ver-
sions. [There is some force, however, in what
the "Five Clergymen" say, in their revised
translation of the Romans, that, "'called an
apostle' is too like 'named an apostle'; o
called apostle seems to indicate that there are
some apostles not called." We think the
Common Version here cannot be bettered.]
Apostles are special officers in the Christian
Church, whose principal functions are to be
eye-witnesses of the resurrection of Christ

(Luke 24: 48; Acts 1: SI, 22; 1 Cor. 9: l), authorita-
tive teachers of his doctrines and commands

(John 16: 13; 1 Cor. 14:37; 2 Peters: 2), founders of hls

churches under him the Supreme Founder

(Matt. 16:16; 1 Cor. S: 10; Kpb. 2: 20; Kcr, 21 ; 14), and

possessors and dispensers of miraculous gifts.

(Matt. 10: 8; ACU 8: 14-17; 19: 6.) And In Order tO

exercise these functions legitimately, one must
have a special and direct call from Christ.
He must be a called apostle. "The sudden
call of the persecuting Saul to the apostleship
of the Gentiles corresponds to the sudden call
of the Gentiles to Christianity, just as the
gradual instruction of the Jewish apostles
accords with the long training of the Jewish
nation for the gospel." (Schaff.) [The term
apostle (occurring seventy-nine times in the
New Testament, chiefly in the writings of
Luke and Paul) literally signifies one that is
sent, and is used in its simple unofficial sense
in 2 Cor. 8: 23, Phil. 2: 25 of the "messen-
gers ' ' of the churches. It seems to be applied
in an official sense to others than the twelve
(1 Cor. 15:7), certainly to Barnabas, though as
a companion of Paul (Acm4:4, u); to James,
the Lord's brother (g»i. i: is), who was prob-
ably not one of the twelve (see Bishop Light-
foot's discussion of " Tlie Name and Office of
an Apostle," in his "Commentary on Gala-
tians," pp. 92-l(X)) ; perhaps to Sylvanus and
Timothy, as associated with Paul (iThesi. 2: e),
and to Andronicus and Junias, as some think.
(Rom. 16:7.) In 2 Cor. 11: 5; 12: 11, Paul
speaks ironically of certain literally " super-
eminent apostles," and in 2 Cor. 11 : 13 of
"false apostles."^ In the case of Paul the
term is used, as Alford says, "in its higher
and peculiar meaning in which the Twelve
bore the title." Like them, he had seen the
risen Jesus (icor. 9:i), and had been called
more directly than Matthias was by the Lord
himself. The call to the apostleship, however,
is generally in Paul's writings represented as
proceeding from God the Father (aom. is: is; i
Cor. 15: 10; Eph. 3: 2), through the Lord Jesus.
(Rom. 1 : 5.) In Gal. 1 : 1 he received it " through
Jesus Christ and God tlie Father." Our
Saviour, in Matt. 22: 14, makes a wide dis-
tinction between called (invited) and chosen
(kAijtoi and «Ae«Toi) ; but in Paul's case the call-
ing was effectual, its idea brfng akin, as De
Wette suggests, to that of election. The call-
ing, considered as distinct from the choice, took
place in time, while the choice was from
t'ternity. Compare Gal. 1: 15; 2 Thess. 2:
13, 14. The apostle was not called to fill the
place of Judas, to which Matthias had been

ROMANS.

[Ch. I.

2 (Which he had promised afore by his prophets in 2 apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which he
le holv Hf^rlntures.^ Dromised afore Ithroush his »ronh(>t.R in t.hA hnlv

the holy Scriptures.)

promised afore i through his prophets in the holy

1 Or, iy.

mistakenly elected, nor to fill the place of
James, John's brother, who had been killed
with the sword. His call was a special one,
and wholly independent of that of the twelve.
Their apostolate had Palestine and the twelve
tribes of the Dispersion mainly in view. Paul
was chosen to be the apostle to the Gentiles.
Our Saviour, in Acts 9 : 15, calls him "a vessel
of election," (Revised Version, margin), and
so he speaks of himself as called of God to
the apostleship. In thus ascribing his aposto-
late, not to his own choice or merits, but to the
power and will of God, he, at the very outset,
strikes, as it were, the keynote of the whole
Epistle. Converted and called in the manner
he was, he could not but ascribe all his salva-
tion to the good pleasure and sovereign grace
of God. With his experience "he knew not
how,'" as Olshausen says, " topreach anything
save the grace of God in Christ." To be an
" Arminian " or to talk like an " Arminian "
was for him an utter impossibility.]

Separated unto the gospel of God.
Compare Acts 9: 15: Gal. 1: 15. The pur-
pose for which Paul was thus set apart was
the formal and official announcement to men
of God's glad tidings. [" Set apart to preach
the gospel." (Noyes.) Verbs derived from
horos (Spo«), a boundary or line of separation,
are of frequent use in the New Testament.
' Of God' is not the genitive objective, gospel
concerning God, but subjective — the gospel of
which God is the author or giver. (De Wette. )
Both nouns are destitute of the article. The
first, or governing noun, generally accompa-
nied with the article, is made sufficiently
definite by the genitive or noun which follows
— God^s (one and only) Gospel ; and gramma-
rians tell us where one noun is without the
article the other frequently is so, "on the
principle of correlation." Similar examples
of nouns without the article are found in ver.
16, 17, 18, and elsewhere. The above cited
passages in Acts and Galatians show us that
Paul was separated unto the gospel both before
and after his conversion. Perhaps the setting
apart of which he here speaks occurred at
the time of his conversion, when the Lord
virtually appointed him to be an apostle to
the Gentiles in the words, "Unto whom I

send thee." (Act»M: i7;»i»om: ji.) As the term
Pharisee denotes one who is separated or set
apart, it may be, from the mass of men to the
special keeping of the law and the traditions,
so some have thought that Paul would here
represent himself, by way of contrast, as sepa-
rated unto the gospel; but there is no evidence
that he here alludes to this matter. This
'gospel of God' (see 15: 16; 1 Thess. 2: 2,
8, 9; 1 Peter, 4: 17) is elswhere called "the

gospel of Christ" (IS: 19; Oal. l: 7: Phll. l: 27); "the

gospel of the kingdom" (uatt. 4:23); "the
gospel of the grace of God." (acu, 20 : 24) ;
"the gospel of peace" («pii.6: 15) ; and "the
gospel of your salvation." (Eph. i:i3.) Twice
in this Epistle and once elsewhere, the apostle
speaks of it as "my gospel."]

2. Which he had promised afore by his
prophets. ["Not only the four great and
twelve minor prophets are meant, nor the
order of prophets in general, commencing
with Samuel (Acts3:24), but all men by whom
prophecies concerning Christ are found re-
corded in the Old Testament Scriptures.
Even Moses and David belong to these
prophets." (Philippi.) See Acts 28: 23;
Luke 24: 27, 44. Alford thinks the expres-
sion is "used in the strictest sense. Moses
gave the law; the prophets proclaimed the
gospel.^' The verb employed here signifies
to promise aforehand rather than to pre-
announce, though some, as Stuart and Phil-
ippi, decide for this latter.] This is one of the
many passages which show the intimate con-
nection between the Old Testament and the
New. The gospel is in the Old Testament;
according to the pithy saying of Augustine,
"the New Testament is veiled in the Old;
the Old Testament is unveiled in the New."
"Novum Testametitum in Vetere latet ; Vetus
Testamentum in Novo patet." For specimens
of passages of similar import, compare Acts
10: 43; 26: 22, 23 ; 1 Peter 1: 10, 11. It was
especially important to keep this connection
before the minds of the Jewish converts,
"lest," as Chrysostom remarks, "any one
should think he was introducing some novel
doctrine." In the holy Scriptures. The
epithet 'holy' is ascribed to the Scriptures
only here and 2 Tim. 3: 15. [The literal

Ch. I.]

ROMANS.

3 Concerning bis Son Jesns Christ our Lord, wliicb
was made of the seed of David according to the flesh ;

3 scriptures, concerning his Son, who was bom of

4 the seed of David according to the flesh, who was

translation of the latter passage is sacred
writings.] In 16: 26 and Matt. 26: 66, we
have "the Scriptures of the prophets," or
''the prophetic Scriptures," as the Greek
reads, and in Matt. 26: 56, "the Scriptures of
the prophets." Elsewhere the word trans-
lated Scripture is used without any qualifying
adjective. It is used ahout fifty times in the
New Testament, about thirty times in the
singular, and twenty in the plural, always
accompanied in the Greek text by the definite
article, except in three or four places, where
it is made definite by some qualifying adjec-
tive or descriptive phrase, as in John 19: 37;
Rom. 16: 26; 2 Tim. 3: 16; 2 Peter 1: 20.
[Here the noun has no article, but is suffi-
ciently defined by the adjective 'holy';
hence, "the holy Scriptures." (De Wette.)
By Meyer's rendering: "In holy writings"
— that is, in such writings as are holy (as espe-
cially the prophetic), the kind of Scriptures
is specially characterized. Regarded in the
light of a proper name, it may either retain
or dispense with the article, just as we speak
of Scripture or the Scripture.] Whether in
the singular or in the plural, whether with the
article or without, it is never used in the New
Testament of any writings but those which
were recognized by the Jews as inspired. It
is directly applied, of course, only to the Old
Testament writings ; but indirectly and con-
structively it may be applied to the New.

3. Concerning his Son. [Some commen-
tators quite naturally join this phrase to gospel
in ver. 1, making ver. 2 parenthetical. The
greater number, we think, connect it with the
verb 'promised.' The idea is essentially the
same in either case. "The personal object of
the ancient promises is the Son of God."
(Hodge.) The name Jesns Christ oor Lord
which follows the word 'Son ' in our Common
Version, properly belongs at the end of ver.
4. We may notice here how early and how
often in the apostle's letters the words ' Christ'
and 'gospel' are mentioned. He could not
write long, we might almost say, on any sub-
ject, without referring to that "name which
is above every name." An illustration of
this is found in 2 Cor. 8: 9-15, where, in in-
culcating the duty or "grace" of giving, he
must refer to the example of him who "though

he was rich, yet for your sakes became poor,"
and in closing the discussion of that topic
(»: 15), he is led by the thought of the pre-
ciousness of our poor earthly gifts, to lift his
heart in gratitude to God for "his unspeaka-
ble gift," the gift of "his own Son." (Bom.8: sj.)
See Ellicott's "Notes on Ephesians," es-
pecially chapter 2, verse 7, in regard to Paul's
frequent repetition of this "only name." In
this respect Paul differs widely from James,
the Lord's brother, who, though calling him-
self "a servantof the Lord Jesus Christ," yet
mentions this name expressly but twice in his
epistle, and "the gospel" not once. Both
writers were inspired of God, but the men
were different, or the bent of their minds
was different. Paul being himself no advocate
of a "dead faith," would not, we suppose,
object to a single sentiment in James, but
would heartily endorse each one. Yet Paul,
if we may express our feelings in the language
of hyperbole, could no more write the Epistle
of James, than he could create a world.]

Which was made. The distinction be-
tween 'was' and 'was made' (yiVojiot, to
become) is finely illustrated by comparing
John 1: 1, 2, with John 1: 14. The expres-
sion 'was made' here implies that his human
nature began to be, when he was " made of a
woman." (Gai. «:«.) The phrase according
to the flesh does not mean that his human
nature was limited to bis flesh — that is, to his
body; but the expression is used here, as in
John 1: 14, and often elsewhere, to signify
the whole human nature, "body, soul, and
spirit," of which the outward, visible taber-
nacle of the flesh is the concrete representa-
tion to our senses. (Alford.) [On the limit-
ing phrase, 'according to the flesh,' Dr.
Hodge thus remarks: "It obviously implie»
the superhuman character of Jesus. Were
he a mere man, it had been enough to say
that he was of the seed of David ; but as he is
more than man, it was necessary to limit bis
descent from David to his human nature."
The same phrase is used in 4: 1, in reference
to Abraham, where (connected with the verb
hath found) it denotes, according to Godet,
"human activity in its state of isolation from
the influence of God," and is probably equiva-
lent to "his own labor," or "from works," of

ROMANS.

[Ch. I.

ver. 2. It is used of the relation which Paul
sustained to the Jews (s: 3) when he calls them
his kinsmen by race or nationality. Again,
in 8: 4 we read of those who walk according
to the flesh and according to the spirit, where
'according to tlie flesh' (Kara. aapKa) seems
nearly equivalent to tiie "law of sin in the
members." But none of these senses is ap-
plicable to the phrase 'according to the flesh '
when used in the case of Christ, which is to
be interpreted rather in the light of such ex-
pressions as: "The word became flesh";
"was manifested in the flesh"; " has come
in the flesh " ; "made in the likeness of men " ;
"made of a woman," etc. See John 1: 14;
1 Tim. 3:16; 1 John 4: 2; Phil. 2: 7 ; Gal.
4: 4.]

The seed of David, rather than of Abra-
ham, as an intimation of his kingly char-
acter, and in allusion to such passages in
the Old Testament as Ps. 89. Compare Matt.
1 : 1 ; 2 Tim. 2: 8. [Meyer supposes that Jesus'
descent from the seed of David must be traced
through the paternal or male line, and hence,
though holding that Jesus was the Son of God
and that Paul's Son of God "is conceived in a
metaphysical sense, as he who had proceeded
out of the essence of the father, like him in
substance," he at the same time denies to the
Saviour a virgin birth, giving no credence to
the later embellished accounts (as he would
regard them) in Matthew and Luke which
assert it, and affirms that Paul nowhere, not
even in Rom. 8: ?>; Gal. 4: 4, indicates the

view of a supernatural generation of the
bodily nature of Jesus. But if Mary sprang
from the "seed of David," it is senseless to
deny that Jesus was born of David's seed.*
Besides, as Philippi says: "To concede to the
apostle the conception of the metaphysical
divine Sonship and to deny to him faith in the
birth of God's Son of the virgin, is to impute
to him a conception dogmatically inconceiva-
ble." Godet thus remarks on this subject:
"But would this supposition (of an unmiracu-
lous birth) be consistent, on the one hand,
with the idea which the apostle forms of Jesus'
aiso^M^e holiness ; on the other, with his doc-
trine of the transmission of sin to the whole
human race? He speaks of Jesus as 'sent in
the likeness of sinful flesh,' as one 'who knew
no sin,' and ascribes to him the part of an
expiatory victim, which excludes the barest
idea of a minimum of sin. And yet accord-
ing to him all Adam's descendants participate
in the heritage of sin. How reconcile these
propositions, if his view is that Jesus descends
from David and from Adam, absolutely in
the same sense as the other descendants of
Adam or David? Paul thus necessarily held
the miraculous birth, and that so much the
more, as the fact is conspicuously related in
the Gospel of Luke, his companion in work.
A contradiction between these two fellow-
laborers on this is inadmissible.* It is there-
fore through the intervention of Mary alone,
that Jesus, according to Paul" s view, descended
from David. And such also is the meaning

1 Rabbi Wise (in his " History of the Hebrews' Second
Commonwealth," pp. 245, 258) with great unwisdom
makes Jesus deny his own Davidian descent (Luke 20:
41 ; compare Matt. 22 : 42, 43), in the very gospels which
most explicitly assert it ! That Jesus was of the line
of David is a fact abundantly affirmed by himself and
his apostles, and this claim, if false, should have been
disproved by Paul's own teacher, Gamaliel, himself, as
the rabbis affirm, a descendant of David, and by other
Jews of that age, all of whom, in accordance with their
sacred Scriptures (Ps. 89: 36; 132: 11,12; Jar. 23: 5),
expected their promised Messiah to be of the seed of
David. (Matt. 22: 42: John 7: 42.) " That Jesus," says
De Wette, on Matt. 1 : 17, " was actually of the race
of David is plain from the account of Hegesippus in
Eusebius' ' Ecclesiastiacal History,' III, 20, that the
grandsons of Judas, his brother, were, as the posterity
of David, summoned before the Emperor Domitian."
(See further in Notes to Geikie's " Life of Christ," chap-
ter VIII ; also Farrar's "Early Days of Christianity,"
chapter XI, and Broadus on " Matthew," pp. 2, 6.) The

Jews have ceased looking for a Messiah, yet to come from
the lineage of David and from the tribe of Judah. TTieir
tribal descent is now lost forever, and thus no future (pre-
tended) Messiah from among the Jews can prove his
descent from the " house and family of David." The
Jews, indeed, make one exception as to the loss of their
tribal descent, and maintain that tribal distinction is
still preserved by the descendants of Levi. If this be
so, yet God has taken from them their especial duty,
and they have now no religious rites of divine appoint-
ment to perform. — (F.)

* Luke was Paul's almost constant companion for
some ten or twelve years (see Prof. Bliss' " Commentary
on Luke," p. 10), and his sole faithful attendant during
the apostle's last days ; " only Luke is with me," 2 Tim-
4 : 11. Must not the evangelist, who " traced the course
of all things accurately from the very first," and the
writer of our Epistle have often conversed on all the
more important matters relating to our Lord's earthly
history?— (F.)

Ch. I.]

ROMANS.

4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, ac-
cording to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection
from the dead :

1 declared to be the Son of God » with power, accord-

ingto the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the

5 dead ; even Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom w«

1 Or. determined 2 Or, <n.

of the genealogy of Jesus in Luke's Gospel."
See also Neander's "Life of Christ," p. 19, on
our Lord's Davidian descent, and p. 16, on
the silence of John and of Paul in regard to
the miraculous conception.]

4. Declared — literally, defined, nearly
equivalent to demonstrated, and contrasted
with 'was made,' to show how different he
really was from what he seemed to be to the
superficial view of men. [This word, "de-
clared," occurring in seven other places in
the New Testament (Like tt- m; aoh 2.- 23; lO: 42;

11: 29; 17: 26,31; Heb.4: 7) is here, in the vicW of

most commentators, equivalent to designated,
or instated; Chalmers says: "determinately
marked out." It must not be taken in the
sense, destined to become som.ething (Meyer
against Hofmann) ; for Christ was the Son of
God before the foundation of the world. The
two predicates — 'was made,' and 'was de-
clared'— both refer to his Son, here regarded
as the entire person of Jesus. (DeWette. )]
With (literally, in) power. This qualifying
clause may be connected directly with the
immediately preceding words, and the sense
will then be, defined by his resurrection to be
the Son of God with power, in contrast with
his seeming weakness as a mere man. So
Stuart, [Schaff, Philippi, and Dorner also,
who says that " previously, therefore, he was
not Son of God in power, although he was
Son."] Or the words may be connected with
the word ' declared,' and so they would indi-
cate the strength of the proof of his divine
Sonship — "declared mightily," as the Ge-
nevan Version has it. This interpretation
seems, from Acts 4: 33, to be admissible, in
spite of the assertion of Stuart, that this word
is used only of actual power, and not of logical
force. In the passages referred to above, it
seems to be used in a similar sense with our

word power, in such expressions as a powerful
argument, powerful conviction, etc. So Al-
ford, Meyer, [Olshausen, DeWette, Godet,
Hodge. For the adverbial use of this word,
see Col. 1 : 29 ; 2 Thess. 1 : 11.] According
to the Spirit of holiness. The reference
here is not to the Holy Spirit, as a divine
person, distinct from the Son [Wordsworth
and Forbes], but to Christ himself, in his
spiritual, holy, divine nature, as distinguished
from his lower nature, as the seed of David.
"The divine side of Christ's nature, with the
essential characteristic of holiness." (Lange.)
See a similar use of the word 'spirit' [as con-
trasted with the 'flesh' of Christ] in 1 Tim.
3: 16; 1 Peter 3: 18. Compare John 4: 24.

[This word 'holiness' (ayioavyri, not iyCaviUt,

sanctification) occurs also in 2 Cor. 7 : 1 ; 1
Thess. 3: 13, and is here the "genitive of
characterizing quality " — i. e., it characterizes
the spirit of Christ. De Wette defines this
spirit of holiness as the ''^spiritual side of the
life of Christ, yet with the attribute of holi-
ness," etc., for which definition Dr. Schaff (in
Lange, as above quoted) would substitute the
divine side of Christ's person with the essential
characteristic of holiness. Prof. Shedd, in
his "Commentary on Romans," says: "The
spirit that constituted Christ's rational soul in
distinction from his animal soul was from the
seed of David; but the pneuma (spirit) here
attributed to Christ was something in re-
spect to which he was not of the seed of
David." Perhaps we can do no better than
to adopt the interpretation of Philippi, to
wit: " The spirit of holiness is the higher,
heavenly, divine nature of Christ, according
to which, or in which, he is the Son of God."*
In reference to Paul's use of these correlative
terms, 'according to the flesh,' 'according to
the spirit,' Prof Jowett thus remarks : "An-

t Oodet, however, thinks that by the phrase, ' spirit
of holiness,' Paul would denote the "action displayed on
Christ by the Holy Spirit during his earthly existence."
And Prof. Stuart regards the expression, ' according to
the Spirit,' etc., not as antithetic to the phrase, 'ac-
cording to the flesh,' but as referring to his dispensing
the Holy Spirit after his resurrection. But we must
regard these parallel phrases a> evidently antithetic;

and, as Dr. Gifford observes, necessarily representing
constituent parts of Christ's own being. Scripture
thus appears to give two principal reasons why Jesus
is called the Son of God: 1, because of his miraculous
conception ; 2, in a higher sense, because of his holy
spiritual nature in his pre-existing state. — Prof. W. S.
Tyler, in " Bib. Sac.," October, 1865.— (F.)

ROMANS.

[Ch. I.

tithesis is a favorite figure in the writings of
St. Paul, almost (may we not say?) the form
in which he conceives the gospel itself. There
are times before, and times after, a first Adam
and a second Adam, the law and faith, the
flesh and the spirit, the old man and the new
man, death, life, burial, resurrection ; the
identity and difference of the believer and
his Lord. ' All things are double, one against
the other.' "]

By the resurrection from the dead.
Christ's resurrection from the dead was a
powerful demonstration of his divine Son-
ship. In reply to the objection that Lazarus
and several others were raised from the dead,
the peculiar circumstances of Christ's resur-
rection are to be noted. 1. His death and
resurrection were predicted in the Old Testa-
ment (Ps. 16: 9-u; 110:1,4; isa. 53: 7-12), and repeat-
edly foretold by himself. (Matt. 16: 21 ; 17:
22, 23; John 10: 17, 18, and in more than a
dozen other places. ) 2. Jesus raised himself
from the dead. (John 2 : 19-22.) 1 3. Jesus rose,
not like Lazarus, to a second term of mortal
life, but to die no more. (Rom. 6: 9.) 4. Jesus'
human nature was glorified after his resurrec-
tion. (John 12 : 23, 2* : Acts 17 : 31.) These peculiari-
ties separate the resurrection of Jesus widely
from all former instances of restoration to life.
[A very literal translation of this phrase,
which does not elsewhere occur, would be:
out of resurrection of {the) dead. In phrases
similar to this the Greek article is almost
invariably in the New Testament omitted
from the word dead. The preposition («)
denotes the "source out o/ which convincing
evidence flows." (Winer, 367. ) We should
have expected here, "by his (or the) resur-
rection, from the dead." Some supply this
preposition (« or An-o) as in the example
quoted by Bengel from Herodotus (avavTavrei
fiaOplov') ; literally, rising of seats, meaning, of
course, rising from the seats. The article and
preposition seem to be omitted here to make
Lhe idea of resurrection as general as possible,
embracing that of Christ and " of others as
involved in his" (R. D. C. Robbins), or "that
resurrection of which Christ is the first

fruits." (Principal Sanday.) Winer regards
the expression, the resurrection of the dead,
as taken "absolutely and generically, al-
though consummated only in a single indi-
vidual." Paul, in Eph. 1: 19, 20, speaks of
the resurrection of Christ as effected by the
"working of the strength of the might of
God" — that is, by the divine omnipotence.
The meaning, then, of the clause before us is,
in substance, that God, by his omnipotence,
instated in the sight of angels and men Jesus
Christ, as (in accordance with his higher
nature) the Son of God, by effecting his res-
urrection from the dead. What accrued to
Christ by his resurrection was, as Meyer says,
" not the full reality (see 8:3; Gal. 4 : 4), but
the full efficiency of the Son of God," since he
was now raised above the limitations of his
kenosis, or self-emptying, and was shown to
be Lord of all. Through the force of this
potent demonstration of his divine Sonship,
even a 'doubting Thomas' was led to say to
Christ and of him : ' My Lord and my God.'
Of the resurrection of our Lord from the
dead, Paul had an assured conviction, and he
makes the fact of this resurrection not only a
proof of Christ's divine Sonship, but the
ground of his own salvation. Hence, the im-
portance which in his view the resurrection
of Christ has in our Christian faith and hope
can hardly be described in words. See 1 Cor.
15: 17. In Paul's discourse to the Athenians
(Acts 17: 31), he affirms that God hath instated
or designated the man Christ Jesus to be the
Judge of the world, whereof a sufficient as-
surance unto all men is the fact that "God
hath raised him from the dead." The full
name, Jesus Christ our Lord, on which the
apostle loves to dwell, is here in apposition
with the preceding 'Son of God,' and serves
to introduce the statement which follows.
The name Jesus is personal, while Christ is
official. "The Son of David and Son of God
is thus finally described by three well-known
titles: 'Jesus,' which identifies him as the
crucified Saviour; 'Christ,' the promised
Messiah, and ' our Lord,' the exalted King, to
whom 'all power is given in heaven and in

iPaul, in 1 Thess. 4: 14, speaks of Christ's dying and
rising as if both acts were of his own choice and power.
See John 2: 19; also John 10: 18, where, however,
Christ says : " This commandment I received from my
Father." The usual representation of the Scriptures is

that God raised Jesus from the dead. Acts 2 : 32 ; 3 : 15,
26; 4: 10; 5:30; 10:40; 13: 30,33; 17: 31; Bom.8: 11;
1 Cor. 15: 15; 2 Cor. 4: 14; Col. 2: 12; 1 Thess. 1: 10; 1
Peter 1 : 21 ; Fritzsche on Rom. 1:4; see, however, Elli-
cotton Col. 2: 13.— (F.)

Ch.L]

ROMANS.

5 By whom we haye received grace and apostleRhip,
for obedience to the faith among all nations, lor his
name :

received grace and apostleship, unto obedience >of
faith among all the nations, lor his nume's sake :

1 Or, to att/aUh.

earth.'" (Dr. Gifford, in "Bible Commen-
tary.") Here 'our Lord' (or Master) may
also refer to the relation which Paul and
other Christian believers sustained to him as
servants. Prof. Stuart states in his "Com-
mentary" that "Paul gives to Christ, ex-
clusively, the title of Lord in more than two
hundred and fifteen instances." See notes on
10: 12.]

5. By whom we have received. [The
preposition (Sii) with the genitive (through)
denotes the instrumental or immediate agency,
while a different preposition {vv6) would de-
note the primary and remote agency. In
this overflowing salutation, as Meyer terms it,
Paul must again recur to the grace of his high
calling of God in and through Jesus Christ.
Compare 15 : 16, also Eph. 3:8. " Unto me who
am less than the least of all saints is this
grace given, that I should preach among the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ."]
The indefinite past 'received' is better here
than the perfect ' have received.' To whom
does the plural ' we' refer? Not to those to
whom he writes; for they had not received
the apostleship. Not to Paul's companions,
regarded as joining with him in addressing
the Roman disciples; for neither had they
received the apostleship, nor is there any men-
tion of such in the beginning of this Epistle,
as there is some of Paul's letters, ocor. i:i;

2 Cor. 1:1; Phil. 1 : 1 ; Col. 1 : 1 ; 1 Thesa. 1 : I ; 2 Thess. 1 : 1.)

The ' we ' may refer to the apostles as a class ;
or it may refer to Paul alone, and the clause,
among all nations, favors this latter view.
That the apostle did not regard it as improper
thus to use the plural, when referring only to
himself, appears from 3: 9, "wjehave before

proved, etc." ('^ Cor. l: 8-H; 7: 5-8; Qal. 1: 8, 9.)

Grace and apostleship, [not grace of
apostleship, but] the common grace of God,
by which he was called, converted, sanctified,
and sustained; and, in addition to this, the
special grace by which he was called to be the
apostle of the Gentiles. The former is re-
ferred to in 1 Cor. 15: 10, and the latter in
Eph. 3: 8. For obedience to the faith
among all nations. This may be the geni-
tive of apposition, for the Greek reads "obe-

dience of faith" [meaning, according to
Philippi, Godet, Hodge, the obedience which
consists of faith]. Faith is obedience, because
it is commanded; or it may be the genitive of
subject; (or {&ith produces obedience [Stuart].
Or the genitive may be taken in a broader
sense [as by Meyer, DeWette], in which it is
nearly equivalent to the dative, denoting that
to which obedience is rendered, as in the ex-
pression, "obedience of Christ." (2 cor. lO: s.)
Our translators have not hesitated to treat the
genitive in such cases as a dative. See Acts
22: 3, Revised Version. "Zealous /or God."
[See also 1 Peter 1 : 22, Revised Version, obe-
dience to the truth, compared with Rom. 10:
16, "They obeyed not (rendered not obe-
dience to) the gospel," and especially Ucu 6:7)
"were obedient to the faith." The preposi-
tion before obedience («i«) has in such connec-
tions the general meaning: with reference to;
here it means for the promoting of. The
word "obedience" is destitute of the article,
but is made definite by the noun in the genitive
which follows ; and this latter noun, as belong-
ing to the class of general abstract terms
which commonly do not take the article, is
also without it. * Faith,' the important
word of this Epistle, denotes, according
to DeWette, not. a doctrinal system, but
"the new salvation which consists in faith as
opposed to works." Meyer also remarks that
"faith," in the New Testament, "is always
subjective, though often, as in the present in-
stance, conceived of objectively as a power."
Yet see Hodge's comments on Rom. 12: 6.
'Among all the nations,' or Gentiles, the word
being used in both senses. Here the latter is pre-
ferable, as the apostolate of Paul had special
reference to the Gentiles, (ii: is; is: u.) The
word occurs fifty-five times in Paul's epistles,
and is generally rendered Gentiles.] For his
name. [DeWette and Godet refer this phrase
to the whole preceding part of this verse.
Others more properly connect it with the
words, 'obedience of faith.' During many
long years of trial and persecution Paul
sought to promote this sacred obedience
among the Gentile nations, not for his own
glory, but for the name and sake of Christ

ROMANS.

[Ch. I.

6 Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus I
Christ :

7 To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be j

6 among whom are ye also, called to be Jesus Christ's :

7 to all that are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be

Nothing will so help us to live and suflFer for the
gospel, or to perform any unpleasant duty, as
the thought that we are doing it for that blessed
name. Compare 2 Cor. 12: 10.] All was for
glory of his name: grace comes by him;
apostles testify of him ; saving faith has him
for its object. In the name of Christ is
summed up all that he was, did, and suffered.
Compare Acts 5: 41; 9: 16; 15: 26; 21: 13;
1 Thess. 1 : 12.

6. Among whom. The relative 'whom'
refers to ' all nations ' in the preceding verse,
and so appropriately introduces the direct
address to the Roman disciples in the follow-
ing verse: they were a part of the 'all nations' —
that is, they were mainly Gentiles ('nations'
and 'Gentiles' being but different translations
of the same Greek word), and so belonged
properly to Paul's jurisdiction as the Apostle
of the Gentiles. (Gai.i:9.) [DeWette and Meyer
(versus Ruckert, Fritzsche, Philippi, Lange,
Godet, and the Revised Version) reject the
comma after the 'ye' and render: Among
whom, ye also are called, or, the called ones.
So also Alford, who says: "The assertion,
'among whom are ye,' is flat and unmean-
ing."] The called of Jesus Christ. Not
merely called by Jesus Christ, but "Jesus
Christ's called ones." The calling here is not
the general external call, as in Matt. 20 : 1 ;
22: 14; but the personal, internal, effectual
call, the call that is responded to in obedience,
as always in the epistles, and Revelation.
Compare 8: 28, 80; 1 Cor. 1: 24; Jude 1 ; Rev.
17 : 14. [The rendering, called by Jesus Christ,
(adopted by Alford, Godet, Shedd,) is gram-
matically admissible. See "beloved of (by)
God" in the next verse. Rutin Paul's type
of doctrine, the calling generally proceeds

from God the Father. (8 : so ; 9 : 24 ; Oal. l : 15 ; l Cor.
1 : 9 ; 7 : 15, 17 ; 1 Thess. 2 : 12 ; 2 Thess. 2 : 14 ; 2 Tim. 1 : 9.)

Hence, with DeWette, Meyer, Philippi, we
would regard the genitive as possessive, and
the called ones as belonging to Christ, or, as
above: "Jesus Christ's called ones." Such
are called, as below, "to be saints," called in
hope, in peace, in sanctification, for freedom,
into the fellowship of Christ, and unto life

eternal. (^ph. 4: 4; l Cor. 7: 15; 1 TheSB. 4 : 7; Gal. 5 : 13 ;
1 Cor. 1 : 9 ; 1 Tim. 6 : 12.) See Ellicott OD Eph. 4 : 4. ]

7. To all that be in Rome. Connect this
verse immediately with ver. 1. [As no verb
of greeting is expressed, we may make 'all
that be in Rome' denote simply the receivers
of the letter, just as the name Paul indicates
the writer. One MS. (G.) of the ninth cen-
tury, omits here, and in ver. 15, the words 'in
Rome,' but "this quite isolated omission,"
says Meyer, "is of no critical weight." He
supposes that some church sought, by omitting
those words, to adapt the letter to their own
particular church use in public reading. The
most ancient superscription of the Epistle is
in A B C simply : to the Romans. No more
appropriate soteriological letter could now be
sent "to the Romans" than this.] To all the
beloved of God that are in Rome would be a
less ambiguous order of the words. The
Epistle is not addressed to alliha,t are in Rome,
but to all the saints there. Paul's earlier
epistles are addressed expressly to the churches

(l Thess. 1 : 1 ; 2 Thess. 1 : 1 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 1 ; 2 Cor. 1:1; Gal. 1:2.);

the later, to the saints. (Rom. i: 7; Eph. i: i; rwi.
1: 1; Coi.i: 1.) "They were not called," says
Augustine, "in consequence of their being
holy; but they were made holy in conse-
quence of their being called." [Called to be
saints. The words called ((cXTjToi) and church
(e»cKA7)<7io) are etymologically related, and both
signify, those who are, by God's grace, called
out from the world or mass of mankind to
become saints, sanctified in Christ Jesus, or
specially consecrated to his service. Those
who are professedly devoted to God are in the
New Testament called saints, whether in-
wardly sanctified by the Holy Spirit or not.
For different meanings of the word saint, see
Ellicott's "Commentary on Ephesians," 1: 1.
Bishop Lightfoot (on "Philippians," p. 13)
gives rather a gloomy picture of the w?i-organ-
ized condition of the Roman saints. He speaks
of them as "a heterogeneous mass, with diverse
feelings and sympathies (?), with no well-de-
fined organization." Meyer aflSrms that "the
'beloved of God in Rome, etc.,' are the church,
and it is to the churches that Paul has written,
where he does not write to specified persons."
The Epistle to the Philippians is addressed
likewise to "saints," yet these had their
"overseers and deacons." And we read of

Ch. I ]

ROMANS.

saints : Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

churches in individual houses, not only in the
letters to the Colossians and Philemon, but
in that to the Corinthians.]

Grace to you and peace, the divine
favor, and the happiness resulting from that
favor. [So EUicott : " Charts expresses God's
(undeserved) love toward man; eirine, the
state of peace and blessedness which results
from it." Charis, or grace, according to
Prof. Cremer, has respect to sin, and "gives
prominence to the freeness and unconditional-
ness of God's love," thus differing from eleos,
or mercy, which is a fellow-feeling with
wretchedness and misery. "The charis of
God ... is extended to men as they are
guilty, his eleos as they are miserable."
(Trench; "New Testament Synonyms.")
The prayer that grace and peace from heaven
may rest on the Roman saints, coming as it
does from the affectionate, sympathizing heart
of Paul, certainly represents more than the
"general epistolary chairein," the wish of
joy or prosperity. Conybeare and Howson
happily allude to "the combination of the
Oriental peace {shalom) with the Greek grace
or joy (the Latin gaudere) in the opening salu-
tations of all St. Paul's epistles," as "pro-
claiming . . . the perpetual union of the Jew,
the Greek, and the Roman." With the
nouns grace, peace, the verb may be, or, as in
the Epistles of Peter and Jude, be multiplied,
is to be understood.] This form of salutation
is peculiar to the New Testament. It is found
in all Paul's epistles, with the addition of
"mercy" in 1 and 2 Timothy, and, accord-
ing to many manuscripts, in Titus. The com-
mon classical form (xat>i»') translated "greet-
ing," is used only three times in the New
Testament, Acts 15: 23; 23; 26; James 1: 1,
and in one of these three instances, it is found
in the letter of a Roman magistrate. In the
other two instances, it may be regarded as a
peculiarity of the style of James, as he seems
to have presided at the conference in Jerusa-
lem from which the apostolical circular, in
Acts 15: 23-29, emanated.

[From God our Father and (from) the
liord Jesus Christ. Meyer says: "God is
never called our and Christ's Father" to-
gether (compare 2 Tim. 1: 2; Titus 1: 4);
yet this was Erasmus's rendering. God is our

Father by virtue of the "adoption" we have
received through and in Christ, (s: is.) This
whole formula: ^^ Grace . . . Christ," is ex-
actly reproduced in the Epistles to the Corin-
thians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon.
In Galatians it is "God the Father and our
Lord Jesus Christ," and the same in 2 Thessa-
lonians, save that the 'our' isomitted. In the
letters to Timothy we have "grace, mercy,
peace, from God the Father and Christ Jesus
our Lord." And similarly in Titus (Revised
Version), save that mercy is omitted, and
Jesus is called our Saviour. In Colossians it
simplyreads, "from God our Father," while in
1 Thessalonians, we have merely: "Grace to
you and peace." Thus, according to the revi-
sion text, in eleven out of thirteen of Paul's
epistles, the names of God the Father, and of
Christ, are associated equally together as the
source of "grace, mercy, and peace" to peni-
tent and believing sinners, and "this associa-
tion," to use the words of Dr. Hodge, "of the
Father and Christ as equally the object of
prayer and the source of spiritual blessings,
is a conclusive proof that Paul regarded
Christ as truly God." Meyer, on the other
hand, says that "the formal equalization of
God and Christ cannot be so certainly used as
a proof of the divine nature of Christ — which,
however, is otherwise firmly enough main-
tained by Paul — since the different predicates
(Father and Lord) imply the different con-
ceptions of the principal and mediate cause."
But no creature, certainly, can be equally as-
sociated with God in any real communication
of grace and peace to sinners. Among the
teachers, sages, and saints of earth who lived
prior to the time of Christ, and whom some
writers are inclined to place nearly or quite
on a level with the Saviour, stand pre-emi-
nently the names of the "divine" and "god-
like" Socrates, Plato, and Seneca. But (and
may the almost blasphemous supposition be
pardoned), could either of their poor names,
or the names of any of our modern philoso-
phic or poetic sages, or of our literary demi-
gods, be well substituted here for that of the
Lord Jesus Christ?]

The salutatory portion of the Introduction
to the Epistle ends here. It is remarkable
for having so many doctrinal clauses, paren-

ROMANS.

[Ch. I.

8 First, I thank mj God through Jesus Christ for
you all, that your faith is spokeu of throughout the
whole world.

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for
you all, ithat your faith is proclaimed throughout

9 the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I

1 Or, &eeaiMe.

thetically introduced. There is, however,
something of a kindred character in the in-
troductions to Galatians, Titus, and, still more
noticeably, in the introduction to Hebrews.

How full of Christ this introduction is ! He
is mentioned four times by name, besides two
or three other distinct references, in these
seven verses. ["We ask, as we read the sen-
tence, whether any one has ever compressed
more thoughts into fewer words, and whether
any letter was ever written which swept so
vast an horizon in its few opening lines ? " —
Farrar.]

(b) Conciliatory. (Ver. 8-15.)

8. First. This word naturally creates the
expectation of a corresponding second, if not
of a further numerical designation of particu-
lars. But such further enumeration is not
necessarily implied in it, and does not always
follow. See similar instances in 3 : 2, where
the same Greek word is translated, "chiefly" ;
Actsl: 1, where it is translated, "former";
1 Cor. 11: 18; 1 Tim. 2: 1, translated "first
of all." It is not necessary to assume, as
Meyer does, that "something further was
meant to be subjoined, but amidst the ideas
that now crowd upon him, he abandons this
design." Sometimes the word may denote
merely that the particular mentioned is the
most important of all, as in Matt. 6: 33.' I
thank my God through Jesns Christ.
Paul generally begins his epistles with some
expressions of thankfulness. 1 Cor. 1: 4;
Phil. 1 : 3 ; Col. 1 : 3 ; 1 Thess. 1 : 2 ; 2 Thess.
1:3; Philemon 4; compare Eph. 1 : 16. The
letter to the Galatians forms a significant ex-
ception. Those to Timothy and Titus are
exceptions also, for a different reason, prob-
ably because intimacy of friendship, and
fullness of confidence made such a formal
expression superfluous.' ' My God.' This
appropriation of God, by faith, hope, and
love, is one of the most sure characteristics,
and one of the most blessed experiences, of
the child of God. (P8.63:i.) The expression

occurs often in the Psalms, and in the epis-
tles, but is found only once (except as used by
the Saviour) in the gospels. (John 20:28.)
Luther used to say that he thanked God
for the little words in the Bible, such as my,
thy, and our. [The apostle, it will be noticed,
does not praise or thank his Roman brethren
for their faith, but God is thanked for it, as be-
ing a divine gift; and, as Dr. Gifford (Bible,
or "Speaker's Commentary") remarks, he
seemingly "regards their faith as a gift to
himself."] As all God's favors come to
us through Christ, so all our responsive ac-
knowledgments of gratitude should return to

God through him. (Col, 3; 17; Eph. 5: 2O; Heb. 13:15.)

No man cometh to the Father, even in thanks-
giving, but by him. ["All our services need
to be cleansed and hallowed by passing
through the hands of our most holy and
undefiled High Priest." (Barrow.) Meyer,
(and, similarly, DeWette, Alford, and Phil-
ippi) regards Christ not only as the mediating
presenter of the thanksgiving, but also as the
mediating causal agent of the faith for which
Paul gives thanks.] For you ail. [The
common text has, in behalf of (iirip'), while
the revisers read, concerning (wepO you all.]
This is a high encomium ; but some reproofs
and admonitions in later portions of the
Epistle show that the word "all" must not
be pressed with too strict an emphasis. That
your faith. [Prof. Cremer says: "The New
Testament conception of faith includes three
main elements, mutually connected and req-
uisite, though, according to circumstances,
sometimes one, and sometimes another may
be more prominent — namely, (1) a fully
convinced acknowledgment of the revelation
of grace; (2) a self-surrendering /eZ^ot^sAip
(adhesion); (3) a fully-assured and unswerv-
ing trust (and with this, at the same time,
hope) in the God of salvation, or in Christ.''
See Ellicott on Gal. 1: 23; Lightfoot on Gal.,
page 154, also notes on ver. 5. Faith, sub-
jectively considered, "as the inward experi-

1 Alford (and so Stuart) finds the contrasting thought I fruitfulness." Godet finds a virtual secondly in ver.
in the thirteenth verse, whose Si corresponds with our | 10, but this reference does not seem so natural. — (F.)
(npioTov fiiv) : "Ye indeed are prospering in the *Still, in 1 Tim. 1 : 12 ; 2 Tim. 1: 3, he has thanks to
faith, but (de) I still am anxious/ur<A«i to advance that j give (\apiv «X")-— (F.)]

Ch. I.]

ROMANS.

9 For God is my witness, whom I serve with my
spirit in the gospel of bis Son, tliat without ceasing I
make mention of you always in my prayers ;

serve in my spirit in the gospel of his Son, how un-

ence of belief, and trust in Christ" (Boise),
must ever have a doctrinal basis on which to
rest.] Spoken of throughout the whole
world. This was the ground of his thanks-
giving. The verb here used is in several
places translated "preached." (acui: 2; is: 5,
s8; 17: 3, IS; Col. 1: is.) It implics that their faith
was spoken 0/ frequently and emphatically as
a remarkable thing, worthy to be announced
everywhere. [In the Revised Version the
verb is generally rendered proclaim. The
faith in Christ was, of course, proclaimed by
believers unto believers in the way of com-
mendation. Unbelievers might say that this
sect of which the Roman Christians formed a
part, was "everywhere spoken against." For
the "Judgments of early Pagan writers on
Christianitj'," see notes on ver. 16.] 'Through-
out the whole world.' While it cannot be
denied that there is an element of hyperbole
here (as in 10: 18; Col. 1 : 6; 1 Thess. 1: 8),
yet the expression shows how very widely the
gospel had already been preached, less than
thirty years after our Lord's ascension. The
Roman Empire was commonly spoken of as
the whole world — " orbis terrarum " — com-
pare Luke 2 : 1 ; and we know that the gospel
had already been preached in most of its chief
cities, as Jerusalem, Antioch, Smyrna, Ephe-
sus, Thessalonica, Corinth, Athens, and Rome.
Compare 15: 19. It is important to observe the
all-wise providence of God, in this rapid and
wide diffusion of the gospel during the apos-
tolic age. Starting from Jerusalem, the centre
of revealed religion, it had already reached
Rome, the centre of the political world; from
Jerusalem, the city of dispersion, to Rome,
the city of aggregation.

9. For God is my witness. [This exam-
ple of Paul shows that the name of God may
be appealed to on solemn and proper occa-
sions, but will not justify light and thought-
less swearing — the swearing of common con-
versation.] This solemn appeal to God is not
uncommon in Paul's episUss. (« cor. i : is ; 11 : .11 :
a»i. 1 : 20; Phil. 1 : 8 ; I TheM. J: %.\ Like the formal
oath, it partakes of the nature of worship.
As he (by the use of 'for,' etc.) appeals to his
prayers in proof of his thankfulness, so he
appeals to God in proof of his prayers. No

one but God could know how unceasingly he
prayed for them. The occasion fully justified
this solemnity. It is important that those
whom we wish to benefit should be fully per-
suaded of our interest in them, and our
prayers for them. Paul here teaches us, by
example, our duty to be thankful to God for
the faith of distant heathen converts, and to
pray for them. Whom I serve. [Compare
Acts 27: 23, "Whose I am and whom I
serve."] The word here translated 'serve'
(AaTp«v'«, latreuo) imports a sacred religious
service, in distinction from ordinary, regular
serving, for which the Greek language has a
more generic word. The generic word
(SovAeueii') is used in Matt. 6: 24; Luke 15: 29;
Rom. 6: 6, and about twenty other places,
while this word appropriated to religious ser-
vice is used, besides this passage, in Matt.
4: 10; Luke 2: 37; Acts 26: 7, and about a
score of other places. The clause, with (in)
my spirit (compare 2 Tim. 1: 3) marks the
living, inner sphere, and the following clause,
in the gospel of his Son, the outward
sphere of his sacred service. [Alford says:
" The serving Qod in his spirit was a guaran-
tee that the oath just taken was no mere form,
but a solemn and earnest appeal of his spirit."
And Umbreit, as quoted by Alford, remarks
that the apostle, by the use of this verb
(Aarptuw) "means that he is an intelligent,
true priest of his God, not in the temple, but
in his spirit, not at the altar, but at the gospel
of his Son." There is another word («p)j<r«ia),
found in Acts 26: 5; Col. 2: 18; James 1:
26, 27, which denotes an external, ceremonial
religious service. Another term, (Acirovpyia),
whence comes our word liturgy, is used of
public religious service, both of Jews and
Christians (Heb. 10 : u: acu is: j), and of other
kinds of (public) service. (Rom. is: n. eto.)
Sehazomai (cepifojiai), to worship, in ver. 25,
denotes a devotional reverence. Proskuneo
(wpoffKuvew), to do homage, does not occur in
this letter, but often in the gospels. Acts, and
Revelation. Latreuo, literally, to serve for
hire, and hence voluntarily, is thus an appro-
priate word to denote religious service. ' His
Son' is commonly regarded either as genitive
objective, gospel concerning his Son, or sub.

ROMANS.

[Ch.I.

10 Making request, if by any means now at length I
might have a prosperous jouruey by the will of God to
oome unto you.

11 For 1 loug to see you, that I may impart unto you
some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established ;

ceasingly I wnke mention of you, always in my

10 prayers making request, if by any means now at
length I may be prospered i by the will of God to

11 come unto you. For 1 long to see you, that I may

jective, gospel made known by his Son. Per-
haps we may name it the genitive of the con-
tents or subject matter, denoting thus the
gospel of which Christ is the subject and the
substance.] The two words translated that
without ceasing [so DeWette] might more
exactly be rendered, 'how unceasingly.'
They refer not merely to the fact, but to the
degree, of his constancy in prayer for them.
[For a like construction, see 2 Tim. 1 : 3.]
I make mention of you always in my
prayers. — Paul affirms with equal emphasis
in other epistles his constant prayers for the
disciples to whom he wrote. (Kph. i: i6: Phu. i:
3,4; Col. 1: 3,9; 1 The-s. 1 : 2.) [See also notes on 15:
30. The word 'mention,' without the verb,
signifies 'remembrance' (compare Phil. 1:3;
1 Thess. 3: 6), and can, we think, be used in
tbut signification here : for example, make
remembrance of you, or call you to mind.
The verb, though in the middle voice, is here
simply active ; yet see Winer, 256. The
Greek preposition (ini) may here signify 'on
occasion of,' hence 'at' or 'in' my prayers.]

10. Making request, etc. In accordance
with the order of the words in the original,
and to avoid the tautology of ' unceasingly '
and 'always' qualifying the same word, it
would be well to join this latter adverb with
'making request.' The tenth verse then
begins: 'Always in my prayers making re-
quest,' etc. 1

If by any means now at length. The
whole form of expression in this verse is very
significant and characteristic, intimating his
earnest desire to visit the Roman disciples,
with the emphatic recognition of probable
hindrance.", suggested, or at least confirmed, by
actual experience (compare ver. 13, also 15:
22), and ending by submitting the whole mat-
ter to the will of God. [Paul at this time was
in fearful straits — so dark and uncertain was
the prospect before him (Acts. 20:22; B<.m. 15, 30, .?i ) ;

and in God alone to whom he could make
appeal and prayer was his help and hope.]
This single verb translated I might have a
prosperous journey has commonly the sec-
ondary and more general sense, "to be pros-
pered," without any specific reference to the
original idea of a journey. [Perhaps, for-
warded, or furthered, may be the intermediate
link between the literal and the tropical sig-
nification. The parting wish for the living
and the dead among the Greeks is expressed
by this word, meaning farewell.] So our
words welfare and farewell, of similar ety-
mology to the Greek word here used, have
dropped the original idea of a journey, ex-
pressed by the syllable fare. Meyer trans-
lates the word here by an expression equiva-
lent to "I shall have the good fortune."
The reasons for preferring the more general
secondary sense to the stricter etymological
one are, that the apostle had not yet set out on
his journey ; and, which has the greater force,
the fact that in the three other places in which
the same word is used in the New Testament,
the meaning seems to be simply " to be pros-
pered," without any reference to a journey.

(1 Cor. 16; 2; S John 2, twice.) [By (in) the Will of

God to come unto you. He bases his hoped-
for prospering in his homeward journey in the
will of God to whom, as Philippi remarks,
" All the pious subordinate their wills" in all
their proposed undertakings and in all their
prayers. See 15 : 32 ; also Acts 18 : 21 ; 1 Cor.
4 : 19 ; 16 : 7 ; James 4 : 15. 'To come ' depends
on the verb prospered.]

11. He now gives the reason why he prayed
for them so constantly.

For I long to see you. He did not merely
desire or wish to see them : he longed for that
privilege ; the word is emphatic. Compare
2 Cor. 9: 14; Phil. 1:8; 2:26; 1 Thess. 3:
6: 2 Tim. 1:4. In the last two passages the
Greek word is the same, though translated

'The word for prayers (wpo<rtvxri) is a sacred word, ! always addressed to God, ' entreaty ' may be addressed
rare in profane authors, and according to Fritzsche, dif- ■ to God or man. See Trench's "New Testament Syn-
fers from (icTjo-is) entreaty arising from a sense of need, I onyms," p. 189. — (F.)
aa precatio from rogatio. In other words, ' prayer ' is 1

Ch.L]

ROMANS.

12 That is, that I may be comforted together with
you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye

12 may be established ; that is, that I with you may

be comforted in you, each of us by the other's faith,

differently. The word 'see' is used here in a
comprehensive sense, as often in our common
speech, meaning to visit and converse with:
indeed the word visit means primarily "to
see." [Nearly ayear before writing this letter,
while laboringin Ephesus, Paul, after express-
ing his purpose to pass through Macedonia
and Achaia to Jerusalem, then says : " After
I have been there, I must also see Kome."
(aoui9:2i.) The motive for his wishing to see
the city of the Caesars, the metropolis and
mistress of the world, is indicated below. It
was not to see its marble temples and palaces,
its theatres, aqueducts, baths, and fountains, its
columns and statues and triumphal arches,
but to " preach the gospel," to advance the
spiritual interests of his brethren, to strengthen
them in the faith, and also — that he might
have fruit among the Roman people as among
other Gentiles — to win, if possible, the wor-
shipers of Mars and Jupiter, of Bacchus and
Venus, to the service of Christ.] That I
may impart unto you some spiritual gift.
Probably the reference is not to miraculous
gifts in particular, but to spiritual benefit of
whatever kind. Hisdesire tosee them was not
for the gratification of curiosity, nor to receive
attention, kindness, and honor from them,
nor from any other selfish or secular motive;
it was a benevolent desire; he wished to do
them good spiritually. The three words ' some
spiritual gift' are separated from each other
in the original, in such a way as to make each
more prominent, and to give a peculiar deli-

cacy and grace to the expression, which cannot
be fully exhibited in English. His language
does not imply that they were destitute of spir-
itual gifts, or particularly lacking in respect
to them, but only that they had not all which
it was possible and desirable for them to have;
and there was, moreover, an indirect compli-
ment to them in the implied assumption that
nothing would be more grateful to them than
an increase of spiritual gifts.i To the end
ye may be established. Neither does this
imply any special weakness or wavering on
their part. All Christians need to be estab-
lished— that is, to have their faith, hope and
love, and all their graces confirmed and in-
creased. Observe he does not say " that I may
establish you," but 'that ye may be estab-
lished.' There is no arrogant assumption, no
appearance of desiring to make his own agency
prominent.*

12. That is. [Compare 7: 18.] As if he
wished to guard against any possible suspicion
of assuming that the benefit was to be all on
one side, he occupying the superior position
of H giver, and they the humbler position of
receivers, he adds 'that is,' or, by this I mean
to say, that I may be comforted.' This
verb is of very frequent occurrence in the
New Testament ; and is rendered most com-
monly, beseech, comfort, exhort. Neither of
these English words fully expresses its mean-
ing; but the word comfort, in its original,
etymological sense (from the Latin "con"
and " fortis" ) comes perhaps nearest to being

1 From the supposed force of (jirra) in composition.
Dr. Schaff renders the verb share with you. But this
idea of mutual benefit is, we think, first introduced in
the next verse. Had the verb been followed by the
genitive of the thing, as is usual in the classics, the
above rendering, perhaps, would be more plausible.
But Winer, p. 198, says, in reference to this passage,
and to 1 Thess. 2 : 8, that Paul could not have used the
genitive after this verb, for " he did not purpose to com-
inimicate a portion of (from) a spiritual gift, or a
portion of (from) the gospel." The verb is found
elsewliere only in 12: 8; Luke 8: 11; Eph. 4: 28; 1
Thess. 2:8. On nvtv/MaTiKhv (spiritual), as generally
referring to the Holy Spirit, see Ellicott on Eph. 1 : 3.
The \ipi.aii.a is distinguished from ^wpoc as being a
gracious gift. Any thing imparted by the Spirit
through God's free grace, is a spiritual xiftivixa.. — (F.)

■The construction here, ct«i with the infinitive, ex-

pressive of purpose (similarly to toC with the infinitive),
is rather a favorite with Paul, occurring some seven-
teen times in this Epistle. See at ver. 20. His predilec-
tion for this is, according to Buttmann (" Grammar of
the New Testament." pp. 236, 264, 266), similar to that
of the Apostle John for Iva., in order that, the same
occurring in his gospel nearly one hundred and fifty
times, and in his epistles twenty-five times. The
student will notice that the infinitive hero, as gener-
ally throughout the New Testament, is followed by its
subject.— (F.)

'The accusative-subject of the infinitive. m< or «V<
(me), is here, according to a general rule, omitted, since
the subject of the infinitive Is the same as that of the
leading verb. Notice also, as in ver. 22, and in many
other places, how, in case of the suppressed accusative,
the qualifying words are subjoined in the nominative.
The verb is used only here as s compound. — (F.)

ROMANS.

[Ch. I.

13 Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren,
that oltentiuies 1 purposed to come unto you, (but was

13 both yours and mine. And I would not have you
ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes 1 purposed t«
come unto you (and was hindered hitherto), that I

equivalent. The corresponding abstract noun
is translated by the words "exhortation,"
"consolation," "comfort"; and the corres-
ponding personal noun (irapaKXTjTos) when ap-
plied to the Holy Spirit, is translated "the
Conifortt-r' (JohnU: le, 26; is: 26; i6: 7j, and once,
when applied to Christ, "Advocate." (uohn
3:1.) The radical idea seems to be to comfort,
or strengthen, by encouraging, as one is com-
forted and strengthened to meet difficulties
and trials by having anotlier catied to his side,
to cheer and help him. There is a peculiar
delicate courtesy and condescension in the
last two verses characteristic of Paul. He
seems to wish to put himself on a level with
those to whom he writes. [The iniinitive
here employed is by De Wette made to de-
pend on the verb ' establislied.' Others regard
it as parallel with to see (iieli'). This last is the
view of Meyer, who says : " The delicate turn
which he gives to the matter is this: 'to see
you in order that /,' etc., means nothing more
than ' to he quickened along with you and
among you.' " The Bible Union renders this
whole clause as follows : " That is, to be com-
forted together among you, by each others
faith, both yours and mine." Tlie mutual
faith is not faith in each other, but that faith
which was common to both — faith of you as
well as of me. "The arrangement of these
words (the emphatic position of you — setting
them before himself) bespeaks the delicacy
and fine feeling of the apostle." (Philippi.)
"There is a truth underlying the apostle's
courtesj', which is not mere compliment. The
most advanced Christian will receive some-
thing from the humblest." (Principal San-
day.)]

13. Now I would not have you igno-
rant. [The 'now' (Se) is continuative and
"slightly oppositive." not strongly so as in
but. It naturally follows the thought that
Paul had for many years so strongly desired
to see the Roman Christians, and yet had
stayed away all that time.] This expression
[which generally introduces something new
and important] is an illustration of that figure
of speech (meiosis), which is the opposite of

hyperbole, or exaggeration. Here less is said
than is meant, and the phrase is equivalent to
"I wish you to know." Often this is more
forcible than the opposite figure. In that,
reflection teaches us to abate something from
the full meaning of the words; in this, reflec-
tion leads us to add something to the strict
sense of the words. The eflTect of the expres-
sion here, as in 11:25; 1 Cor. 10: 1; 12: l;2Cor.
1: 8; 1 Thess. 4: 13, is to lay an additional
stress on the accompanying communication.
Brethren. This is the first time that this
word is found in the epistles. The most com-
mon designations of Christians in the New
Testament are "disciples," "saints," "breth-
ren" ; but these difi"erent terms are found in
very diflferent ^7'o/)or-^zo?is in difierent parts of
the New Testament. The following table
shows this very plainlj' :

Gospels. Acts. Epistles.

Disciples 230 times. 30 times. 0 times.

Saints 0 (i) " 4(2)" 55 "

Brethren 15 " 30 " 190 " about.

This difiTerence suggests several instructive
reflections : one of these certainly is the im-
portance attached in the Scriptures to the
organization of the church. Of these three
terms, "brethren" is the one that points most
distinctly to the union of Christians in one
family of God, one bodj- of Christ, which is

the church. (Eph. 2: 19 ; 1 Tim. 3: 15; Eph. 5: 23; 5:30;

Col. 1:24.) Oftentimes I purposed to come
unto you. In 15: 23 he tells them that he
had cherished this purpose " for many years,"
[and in the same chapter he further makes
known that he intended Spain, and not Rome,
to be the Western terminus, and principal
scene of hi? missionary labors]. The apostles
were sometimes guided in their purposes and
movements by immediate divine direction,
as we learn from Acts 10: 20; 16: 6, 7;
but not commonly: in ordinary cases, they
formed their purposes, and laid their plans
according to human sagacity, like other pious
men, praying, of course, for divine guidance;
and they were liable to be disappointed and
hindered, just like other men. [Prof Stuart
thinks we maj' infer from this that "the apos-

1 Matt. 27 : 52 is thought by some to refer to Old Testament saints.
>9: 13, 32,41; 26: 10.

Ch. I.]

ROMANS.

let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you
also, even as amoug other Uentiles.

14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Bar-
barians ; both to ttie wise, aud to the unwise.

might have some fruit in you also, even as in the

14 reist of the Cit-ntiles. 1 am debtor both to Ureeks aud

to Barbariuus, both to the wise aud to the fuolibh.

ties were (not) uniformly inspired in all which
they purposed, said, or did."] But was let
hitherto. What the nature of the letting,
or hindrance, was we are not told. Very
likely it was the more urgent call for his
labors in nearer places, where Christ was
less known, to which he alludes in 15: 20-23;
or it may have been some express divine prolii-
hitioii, as in 16: 7; or even some hindrance
from an altogether opposite source, as in 1
Thess. 2: 18. Hitherto, The original word
here used everywhere else in the New Testa-
ment refers to place; here, only to time.
That I might have some fruit. [On the
occasional use of the subjunctive (here, prop-
erly, m.ay have) after a verb in the past tense,
"to denote an action still continuing, either
in itself, or in its results," see Winer, 287.
This usage is quite frequent in this Epistle,
the subjunctive taking the place of the classic
optative, which mood has entirely disappeared
from modern Greek. In ver. 11 we have the
subjunctive after the present tense, the more
usual, or, at least, the more natural, construc-
tion. The word 'some' (nva) is here em-
phatic* Most uncials locate it before the
noun, which is not its usual order in the New
Testament.] This 'fruit' may mean either
the conversion of sinners, or the advance-
ment of saints in holiness and Christian
activity. The word is used in both applica-
tions. For the first, see John 4: 35, 36; 15:
16; for the second. Matt. 13: 23; Kom. 6:
22 ; Col. 1 : 6. The latter sense is here pre-
ferred as being the more frequent, and agree-
ing better with ver. 11, 12. The last clause
intimates that his hope of having some fruit
at Rome was founded upon his experience
elsewhere. [This clause is connected, in
thought, with the one preceding the last.
As previously, so here, the idea is implied
that the benefit of Paul's labors among the

Komans was not to be wholly theirs. He
desires 'fruit' as his "joy and rejoicing," and
he modestly uses the word 'some.' In the
New Testament, the word ' fruit' is generally
used in a good sense. I:^ven as (I also have
fruit) among other Gentiles. Meyer .says:
" There was present to the apostle's mind the
twofold conception, ' Among you also, as
among,' and, 'Among you, as also among.' "
The Roman Christians generally are here re-
garded as being formerly Gentiles, or heathen.
This fact is clearly indicated in other pas-
sages of the Epistle, especially in the eleventh
chapter.]

-^4. Paul considers himself a debtor to all
classes of men" not on account of any favors
which he had received from them ; for he
received little else than abuse and persecu-
tion ; but in view of that law of Christian
stewardship and responsibility by virtue of
which every man — and pre-eminently every
Christian — is bound to communicate to others
every good thing which he possesses, in pro-
portion to their need, and his own ability;
and the greater his advantage over others, in
respect to natural ability, and acquired knowl-
edge, and providential favor?, and gifts of
grace, the greater his debt to them. Very
few men, if any, owe their fellowmen as
much as Paul did ; and very few indeed, if
any, feel the debt so profoundly, or discharge
it so fully. If all who are more highly favored
than their fellows had the spirit of Paul in
this respect, we should not hear so much of
the prejudice of the ignorant again.«t the edu-
cated, nor would there be any manifestation
of the far m.ore inexcusable prejudice of the
educated against the ignorant. Of the epi-
thets which Paul applies to his creditors, the
first two relate to national distinctions, the
last two to personal distinctions.* He re-
garded himself as owing a debt to men of all

1 See the different accent of rCva in the "lehal fruit"
of 6: 21.— (F.)

> Tc xai, not only to the Greeks, but aUo to the bar-
barians, the last member being probably the more
emphatic. See Prof. Thayer's " Lexicon."— (F.)

' At Corinth and Athens Paul would especially meet
with the professedly " wise," but the "unwise "he would
•neounter everywhere. This last word (irwfrow) is

used in five other passages, Luke 24: 25: GaL 3: 1,3;
1 Tim. 6:9; Titus 3: 3, and is in the Revised Version
everywhere rendered foolish. This refers not so much
to natural dullness of intellect as to an " insufficient
appllcition " of it. (Ellicott on GalatiansS: 1.) Of
other kindred words, o^p«f . " a strong term." seems to
refer to senselessness, and do-iii-erot to slowness of un-
derstanding. Compare Luke 12 : 20; Mark?: 18. Trench

ROMANS.

[Ch. I.

15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the I 15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the
gospel to you that are at Home also. I 16 gospel to you also that are in Kome. For I am not

races, and of all degrees of culture. He who
so regards himself has the highest qualifica-
tion for doing good unto all men, as he has
opportunity. (Gai. 6:io.) [It was the apostle's
wish, and it had been made his duty, to preach
the gospel in Pagan Rome. Christ, the apos-
tle's Lord and Master, had died for all; and
to preach this gospel to Greeks and barbarians
was the stewardship which was entrusted to
him. It was for this he had been "set apart."
From the Grecian standpoint, even the
Iluujans would be styled "barbarians" — a
U'A-m which properly embraced all non -Greek-
speaking nations. But the Romans, in their
pride, and with their general Grecian culture,
regarded all nations as barbarous except the
Greeks and themselves. Paul certainly would
not class the Romans, to whom he was writing,
with barbarians, much less, with the unwise.
"He reckons as Greek those to whom he is
writing in Greek." (Bengel.) The two words
denote all Gentiles, all mankind indeed, with
the exception of the Jews. In Jesus Christ
there is neither Jew nor Greek, barbarian nor
Scythian. (Coi.s: ii.)]i

15. So, as much as in me is. [There
are sevefrST' QlflrSrerirrehaenngs of this clause
but they do not materially affect the sense.
"The on-my-part inclination" is preferred by
Meyer ; " So far as it concerns me there is an
inclination," etc., is favored by De Wette.
The as-for-me is "chosen out of a feeling of
dependence mi a higher will." (Meyer.)] I

am ready to preach the gospel to yoo
that are at Rome also. 'So,'— tKat'is^m
afcofdance with this view of our indebted-
ness, 'As much as in me is, I am ready.' Tht,
expression indicates his modesty, perhaps with
a thought of probable hindrance. The word
' ready ' not merely denies any reluctance,
but aflarms a positive forwardness. The
same word is translated "willing" in Matt.
26: 41, and "ready" in the corresponding
passage of Mark (14: 38). The correspond-
ing noun is translated "forwardness of mind,"
"readiness ')f mind," etc., in 2 Cor. 9: 2; Acts
17 : 11 ; 2 Cor. 8 : 11, 12, 19. ' To preach the
gospel to you that are at Rome also.' The origi-
nal is much briefer — "to preach the gospel "
being expressed by a single word — literally,
"evangelize." [This term^ does not imply
that Paul's preaching was to have reference
solely to the unconverted, whether of Jews or
Gentiles. The Roman Christians would need
the gospel as it would be preached by the apos-
tle. To you (the called saints) that are in
Rome also. " Although you belong to the wise,
this causes me no scruples as one who is
debtor to the wise." (Philippi.) As a debtor
to the Gentiles, Paul would feel himself to be
under special obligation to preach the gos-
pel in Rome, the capital city of the Gentile
world. Let us be thankful that some three
years after this he was permitted to preach the
gospel in Rome, though under different cir-
cumstances from those he expected. He went

remarks that " while the otrvvero* need not be more than
intellectually deticient; in the ai-oirro? there is always
a moral fault lying behind the intellectual." With
Christ (and the same is true of Paul), "distinctions
of race, intervals of ages, types of civilization, de-
grees of mental culture, are as nothing." — Liddon's
" Bampton Lectures on our Lord's Divinity," p. 8.— (F.)
1 Prof. Max Muller, in Lecture IV., p. 128, of his
" Lectures on the .'^cience of Language," thus remarks:
" Not till that word ' barbarian ' was struck out of the
dictionary of mankind, and replaced by ' brother,' can
we look even for the first beginnings of our science (of
language). This change was effected by Christianity.
It was Christianity which first broke down the barriers
between Jew and Gentile, between Greek and barbar-
ian, between the white and the black. Humanity is a
word which you look for in vain in Plato or Aristotle;
the idea of mankind as one family, as the children of
one God, is an idea of Christian growth; and the
•cience of mankind, and of the languages of mankind is

a science which, without Christianity, would never
have sprung into life. When people had been taught
to look upon all men as brethren, then, and then only,
did the variety of human speech present itself as a
problem that called for a solution in the eyes of
thoughtful observers ; and I therefore date the real
beginning of the science of language from the first
day of Pentecost."— (F.)

* Ellicott says the verb evangelize " is used in the New
Testament, both in the active (Rev. 10: 7), passive (Gal.
1:11; Heb. 4 : 6, and elsewhere), and middle. In the
last form its constructions are singularly varied : it is
used (a) absolutely, Rom. 15 : 20 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 17 ; (6) with a
dative of person, Rom. 1 : 15; (c) with an accusative of
person, Acts 16: 10 ; 1 Peter 1 : 12 ; (d) with an accusa-
tive of thing, Rom. 10: 15; Gal. 1: 23; (e) with an
accusative of o^rson and thing, Acts 13: 32; and lastly
(/)— the most common construction — with a dative of
person and accusative of thing, Luke 1 : 19, and ela©-
where." — (F.)

Ch. I.]

ROMANS.

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ : for
it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that
believeth ; to the Jew first, and also to the Ureelc.

ashamed of the gospel : for it is the power of God
unto salvation to every one that believeth ; to the

there and preached there as Christ's ambassa-
dor, but "an ambassador in bonds." (Eph.6:20.)
This, however, did not greatly hinder his
evangelistic work in that place. " His bonds
becarae manifest in Christ in the whole Pro-
toriuin," yea, even in the " household of
Caesar." (Phii. i: is; t-. 22.) To the Jews he tes-
tified the kingdom of God, and persuaded
them concerning Jesus, both from the law of
Moses and from the prophets, and for two
whole years he, not now a servant only, but a
chained prisoner of Christ Jesus, "received
ail tha; went in unto him, preaching the king-
dom of God, etc., with all confidence."] So
the apDstle closes this second portion of his
Introduction to the Epistle. It is eminently
adapted to conciliate the good will of the
Roman disciples, being replete with modesty,
kindness, and proof of his unfeigned regard
for them. The first clause of the succeeding
verse may be regarded as the hinge, on which
the discourse turns from what is introductory
to the main subject of the Epistle, compre-
hensively expressed in the second clause.
Part II. Doctrinal. (Ch. 1 : 16-11: 36.)
[Of this section Dr. Shedd gives the follow-
ing brief analysis: ^Necessity of gratuitous
justification, 1-3: 20; Nature of gratuitous
justification, 3: 21-4: 25; Effects of gratui-
tous justification, 5: 1-8: 39; Application of
gratuitous justification, 9: 1-11: 36.' Dr.
Gilford, in the "Bible Commentary," states
it thus: "(a) The theme, 1: 16, 17; (6) The
universal need of righteousness, 1: 18-3: 20;
(c) The universality of righteousness by faith,
3: 21-5: 21; (d) The sanctification of the be-
liever, 6: 1-8: 39; (e) The doctrine reconciled
with Jewish unbelief, 9: 1-11: 36." Mr.
Beet's synopsis is: "(1) All are guilty; (2)
Justification and its results, 3: 21-5: 21 ; (3)
The new life in Christ, 6: 1-8: 39; (4) Har-
mony of the Old and the New, 9: 1-11 : 36."

1 The first four MSS. referred to (commonly called the
Sinaitic, the Alexandrine, the Vatican, and the Codex
of Ephraem), contain the Gospels and the Epistles— D,
or Codex Bezae containing only the Gospels and the
Acta. It should be remembered that D E F G and
other MSS. of the Epistles are not the Gospel uncial.s,
and are, most of them, considerably later. For a brief
description of the oldest and most important MSS., 1 New Testament," etc.— (F.)
see General Introduction, p. 36, seq, of the "Com-'

De Wette furnishes this analysis: "Right-
eousness through faith, 1: 18-5: 21; Moral
eflTects of justification, 6: 1-8: 39; Appendix:
Lamentation, Explanation, and Consolation
concerning the exclusion of a great part of
the Jews from the Christian .salvation, 9: 1-
11: 36." Olshausen's analysis is as follows:
"Sinfulness of the human race, 1: 18-3: 20;
The new way of salvation by Christ, 3: 21-
6:11; The vicarious office of Chri.st, 5 : 12-7 :
6; Stages of the development of individuals
and of the universe, 7: 7-8: 39; Relation of the
Jews and Gentiles to the new way of salva-
tion, 9: 1-11: 36.]

16. For I am not ashamed of the gospel
of Christ : for, etc. The first ' for ' introduces
the reason why he had long desired to preach
the gospel at Rome; the second 'for' intro-
duces the reason why he was not ashamed of
it. "I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ." This affirmation was perhaps sug-
gested by his mention of ''the wise" in ver. 14,
and by the peculiar position of the Romans,
as citizens of the great capital which proudly
styled itself "The Mistress of the World," very
likely with a tacit remembrance, also, of the
ill usage which he had received in other popu-
lous and highly civilized cities, as Corinth,
Athens, Thessaloiiica, and Ephesus. The
words 'of Christ' are wanting in the oldest
MSS. [N A B C D« G]. > and are rejected by
most critical editors. They are not necessary
to the sense, as there is, properl3' speaking, no
other gospel, (oai. ::6, 7.) ["Not ashamed of
the gospel." Mark the boldness of the apostle.
"In truth," says Chalmers, "it is often a
higher effort and evidence of intrepidity to
front di.egrnce than it is to front danger.
There is many a man who would march up to
the cannons mouth for the honor of his
country, yet would not face the laugh of his
companions for the honor of his Saviour."

mentary on Matthew." See, al.io, Dr. Mitchell'i
" Critical Handbook," p. 73 ; Pr. Schaff's " Con»-
panion of the Greek Test.ament," p. |03; G. E. Mer-
rill's "Story of the Manuscripts"; Smith's "Bible
I>iotionary," Art. New Testament, by B. F. West cot I ;
Scrivener's " Introduction to the Criticism of the New
Testament "; W.irfield's "Textual Criticism of the

ROMANS.

[Ch. I.

We have in Paul's assertion, 'I am not
ashamed,' a figure of speech by which less is
said than is meant. Instead of not being
ashamed of the gospel, he gloried in it, and in
the suflFering endured for its sake. (Coi. i:2*.)
Most gladly, as he tells the Corinthians, would
he spend and be spent for their souls (acor.
11: 15), and to the Philippians he says: "If I
am poured out (as a drink offering) upon the
sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and
rejoice with you all." (Rev. vor., 2: n.) It did re-
quire great courage in Paul to preach the
gospel of the cross to the then heathen world,
even as it requires some courage in Christian
ministers, and especially Christian mission-
aries, now. Paul knew from sad experience
that the heathen priests and idol worshipers
everywhere would oppose and ridicule the
gospel of the crucified Galilean, would scout
the idea of giving up their gods and their
time-honored religion, their sacrifices, their
festivals, and their pageantry, to become the
followers of a Jew who had suffered an igno-
minious death, and the adherents of a new
religion which had neither temples, nor altars,
nor statue, nor showy ceremonials. The
city where Paul wrote this letter abounded in
"wise" men, or seekers after wisdom — men
of culture and of "advanced thought," to
whom the word of the cross which he preached
was foolishness, (i c.>r. i : is.) Of the cultured
Athenians, some mocked at Paul as being
worse, we suppose, than a "babbler" when
he began to speak to them of the risen Gali-
lean. (Act! 17: 18, 32.) What cared they, to use
Festus' language in part, about "one Jesus,"
a Jew who was put to death for his crimes,
whom Paul aiBrmed to be alive? (acu 25: 19.)
To the Jew at Kome. as to the Jews every-
where, nothing was more abhorrent than the
thought of a crucified Nazarene Messiah.
And what could the religion of this Jesus,
who was crucified as a malefactor with thecoii-
sentof the Procurator Pilate, be to the Roman
race generally, save what it was to Suetonius,
Tacitus, and Pliny, a wretched, destructive,
depraved, and immoderate superstition?'
What sustained Paul in the preaching of

Christ crucified amid all these discourage-
ments, we learn from the following clause.^
For it is the power of God unto 8alva>
tion. Christ himself is called the power of
God in 1 Cor. 1 : 24. Here ' the gospel ' is so
named, and in 1 Cor. 1: 18, "the preaching
of the cross," which is only another name for
the gospel. Efficient divine power resides in
Christ; the gospel, or the preaching of the
cross, is the medium through which he exerts
his divine power, to the salvation of them that
believe. [This is no new teaching of the apos-
tle. In his first recorded sermon, preached at
Antioch in Pisidia, on his first missionary
journey, w«i hear him proclaiming remission
of sins through Christ, and justification for
all believers. (Act. 13 : as. 39.) Of course, in the
apostle's view, this belief or faith — both words
being etymologically related and denoting
the same thing — is something more than mere
intellectual belief. It is a confiding trust of
the heart, and it works through love.] God's
power is often terrible in nature and in provi-
dence, but in the gospel it is his .saving
power. What an encouragement this is to
the weak human agents that proclaim this
gospel! [Paul elsewhere (1 cor. is: 1,2) speaks
of "the gospel through which ye are saved,"
and James (1:21) of the "implanted word
which is able to save your souls." (Revised
Version.) It is a salvation from sin, from the
wrath of God, from death, and from perdition,
partially realized in the present (i.akei9: 9), but
fully completed only in the future. See 8:
24: 1 Thess. 5:8; Heb. 1: 14; 2 Tim. 2: 10;
4:18; 1 Peter 1 : 5 ; 1 Cor. 15: 1, 2. And all
this the gospel of Christ, which is the "mighty
arm of God rescuing the world from perdi-
tion and bringing it salvation" (Godet), is
able to secure. And it is this divine and sav-
ing gospel, and not worldly wisdom, phil-
osophy, or science, which the ministers of
Christ should preach without fear and without
shame, even in this age of boasted culture and
liberal thought, of skepticism and scoffing
unbelief. Let no one be ashamed of that
gospel which speaks to our guilty, polluted
souls of God's pardoning love and of his

1 Superstitio — "malefica," "exitiabilis," " prava," j Appendix to Josephus"; Dr. Mitchell's " Handbook,''
"inimodica" See references to early heathen testi- 1 p. 17; Farrar's "Life of Paul," Kxcursus XV; Giese-
mony in "Biblical Repository" for January, 1838; ler's "Ecclesiastical History," 33; Rawlinson's "His-
" Christian Keview" for January, 1859; "German j torical Evidences," and all works which treat especially
Selections," p. 459; Dissertation III, of " Whiston'g of the evidences of Christianity. — (F.)

Ch. I.]

ROMANS.

17 For therein Is the rlghteouBness of God revealed I 17 Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is rp-

I vealed a righteousness of God from faith unto faith:

sanctifying grace — the two greatest mercies a
lost sinner can ask for or think of. To the
natural man this gospel may seem a weak
and foolish thing— the things of the Spirit
being foolishness unto him. Yet it is the
power and the wisdom of the Almighty and
All-wise, the foolishness of whom, to use the
sublime language of the apostle, is wiser than
men, and the weakness of whom is stronger
than men. (icor. i:25.) Paul had experienced
the saving power of this gospel, and this expe-
rience gave him a conviction of its reality,
efficacy, and worth, which sustained him in
preaching it even to a gainsaying world.
Christ was to him peculiarly the power of
God, for he had seen him and had received
him, not as the lowly Nazarene in the days
of his humiliation, but in his exaltation and
glory, at the sight of which even Christ's
bosom disciple, John, fell at his feet as dead.
What we as Christians need, especially those
of us who have been "separated unto the
gospel of God,'' is to rely, not on our learn-
ing and culture, not on the rareness and rich-
ness of our style, or on our depth of thought—
the excel lenc3' of our words, or of our wis-
dom, which we may well imagine to be fool-
ishness with God — but on the omnipotence of
our exalted Redeemer and on the divine
power of gospel truth made efficacious by the
Holy Spirit. "Without the Spirit's aid to
bless the truth and give it power, it were as
much in vain for the minister of the gospel to
preach to those who are dead in trespasses and
in sins as for him to go into the burying
ground and bid the sleeping dead rise from
their graves. If we can testify to this divine
power from our own experience, and if we
can preach this truth in a plain, earnest,
tender, sympHthizing manner, we may hope,
through God's blessing, to see the gospel's
^;!vving efficacy in the conversion of sinners.]
There is a special propriety in Paul's empha-
sizing the power of the gospel in writing to
the Romans, as there is in his emphasizing
wisdom also in writing to the Greeks, (i Cor. i :
M-J«) Alford well remarks, that this clause

comprehends the subject, and might not in-
aptly form the title of the Epistle : ' The
Gospel is the Power of God unto Salvation
to Every One that Believeth.' [Philippi gives
the theme of the Epistle in these words: The
righteousness which avails before God comes
to all men from faith only, and only this
righteousness of faith has salvation or life for
its result] The universality implied in ' every
one' in opposition to Jewish exclusiveness
(1:13. J: zo), the condition necessitated in the
limiting clause, that believeth [in opposition
to Jewish legalism] (3-. ii-s: n), and 'the power
of God' acting 'unto salvation' (s: u-s: S9),
are the great subjects treated of in the first
half of the Epistle. Observe how the limita-
tion in respect to character is set over against
the unive7-sality as to all national and external
distinctions. So it is generally in the New
Testament, and emphatically in that remark-
abja passage which has been called "the
gospel >B miniature." (John3:i6.) To the
Je«r first, and also to the Greek.' 'To
the Jew ' first in order by divine appointment,
and first in claim by divine promise ; but with
no other precedence or pre-eminence. Com-
pare 3: 1, 2, 9, and John 4: 22. 'The Greek'
is here put comprehensively for the Gentile.
Greek was the prevailing language of the
Gentile world in those parts adjacent, and
mo.st familiar to the Jews. Indeed, the very
word here used is translated "Gentile" in
about one-third of the places where it occurs.
See John 7: 35, twice; Rom. 2:9, 10; 3: 9; 1
Cor. 10:32; 12: 13. [A single Gentile must be
denoted by the word "Greek," as the singular
of " Gentiles " (ethnos) is not used of an indi-
vidual. "Greeks" also mightdenote individ-
ual Gentiles, while "Gentiles" proper would
be used of a cla.ss collectively.]

17. For therein is the rifrhteonsness of
God revealed. [For similar phraseology,
see Ps. 98: 2; in the Septuagint, Ps. 97: 2.]
Tor' illustrates and confirms the statement
of ver. 16. The gospel is the power of God
unto salvation, because it reveals 'the right-
eousness of God.' Hence the importance of

1 These terras " embrace all nations, from the Jewish . rer. 14. Meyer says they " denote the equality of what
standpoint, .is Greeks and Barbarians (ver. 14) do from | is added."— (F.)
the Grecian." (De Wette.) On the force of re cat, see I

ROMANS.

[Ch. I.

understanding aright what is meant by this
expression ; it is, more than any other single
expression, the key to this Epistle, and, in fact,
to the whole gospel as a saving power. What,
then, are we to understand here by 'the right-
eousness of God'?^ 1. It plainly does not
denote the divine righteousness as a personal
attribute of God, as it does in James 1: 20;
Rom. 3 : 5, 25, 26. It is not this which makes
the gospel a saving divine power; nor is it
this which is spoken of in Hab. 2:4. It is
not this to which the description in the con-
text, and in other parts of this Epistle, is
applicable. The righteousness here referred
to is a gift from God to men. See 5: 17;
Phil. 3:9. It is conditioned on faith. [As
here indicated, it flows from faith.] This
condition is variously expressed.* It is evi-
dent that men, then, not God, are the subjects
of whom this righteousness is predicated.

2. It plainly is not the moral rectitude in
man which the law of God requires: for it is
not by the law, Gal. 2: 21 («iA) ; 3: 21 («),
[or in the law, Phil. 3 : 6] but without the law,
Rom. 3: 21 (x^pis) ; whereas the moral recti-
tude which God requires does consist precisely
in conformitj' to his law ; his law is the stand-
ard by which it is measured. Again, this
righteousness is described as not being our
own, but broadly contrasted with our own
righteousness, which is by the law. (Eom. »:3032;

10: 3.5,6; Gal. 2 : 16; Phil. 3 : 9.)

3. It is, then, the righteousness of God, as
proceeding from him, and accepted by him
(j: 13; 3: 20; Ghi. 3: u) ; and it is also no less truly
the righteousness of the believing man, as
provided for him, given to him, and condi-
tioned on his faith. In short, it is very nearly

equivalent to justification. [Winer notices
two interpretations of this phrase: that of
Luther (which Philippi approves) : the right-
eousness which avails before God (Bom.2: is; s:
20; Gal. 3: u), and "the righteousness which
God imparts." He deems both appropriate
in their right connections, but prefers the
latter. Dr. Hodge says : " The gospel reveals
a righteousness which God gives and which
heapproves." DeWettesays: "God justifies
for Christ's sake, on condition of faith in him
as mediator; the result of his justification is
righteousness from faith, and, because he im-
parts this freely, it is righteousness of God
(genitive subjective) or, as in Phil. 3: 9, from
God." Both nouns are without the article,
yet the one is made sufllciently definite by the
other. It is God's righteousness which is
being revealed in ani by the gospel. This
righteousness, which comes from God through
faith, and which is indeed a "gift" of God to
us (5: n), in virtue of which we, though
guilty in ourselves, are justified by God and
shall stand acquitted in the judgment as
righteous, is opposed to a righteousness which
is originated by ourselves, which is our own,
which is derived not from faith and through
grace, but "from works" and "from law."

(Phil. 3:9; Rom. 10:3: 11:6; Gal. 2 : 16 ; 3:21.) The right-

eousness, then, which God imparts and ap-
proves, consists chiefly in faith or trust in the
Redeemer, and with this faith are joined both
love and obedience; but our obedience and
love and faith are all imperfect, and even
faith itself can be counted as righteousness
only " according to grace."] '

4. This explanation of the expression is
further confirmed by the usage of the verb

1 The expression occurs twelve times in the New
Testament (includiDg several instances of "Aw right-
eousness," where the pronoun plainly refers to God) •
nine times in Paii»'s epistles (eight times in Romans,
five times in chapter third) — namely, Matt. 6: 33;
Rom. 1: 17; 3: 5, 21, 22, 2.5, 26; 10: 3, twice; 2 Cor-
5: 21; James 1: 20; 2 Peter 1: 1. [" RighUousness
(iucaio<Tvvij) occurs in the New Testament ninety-two
times, and is always so rendered in the Common Ver-
sion ; hUnuK eighty-one times, and is rendered righteous
forty times.jMii thirty-five times, right five times, meet
once; tucaiuiia occurs ten times, and is rendered right-
eousnesi four times, justification once, judgment once,
and in the plural, ordinances three Wvaaft, judgments
once; ii-Kaimovt wxun twice, and is rendered jt«/i/ica-
rton." (Prof Boise's " Notes on Romans.")]— (F.)

*It is expressed sometimes simply by the genitive
case, as in 4: 11, 13; sometimes by various prepositions
in the original, as « 9: 30; 10: 6; 5io3: 22; Phil. 3: 9;
(caTo Heb. 11: 7; iifi Phil 3:9. It is well to mark
with what fullness and emphasis this condition is
expressed, particularly in 3 : 22 ; Phil. 3 : 9.— (F.)

3 '-The gospel makes known both the accomplished
work of redemption itself and the means whereby man
appropriates the redemption — namely, faith in Christ
which, imputed to him as righteousness (4 : 5), causes
man to be regarded and treated by God out of grace
and gratuitously (3 : 24) as righteous, so that he, like
one who has perfectly obeyed the law, is certain
of the Messianic bliss destined for the righteous."
(Meyer.)— (F.)

Ch. I.]

ROMANS.

from faith to faith : as it is written, The just shall live
by faith.

as it is written, But the righteous shall live from
faith.

to justify, or make righteous, in such pas-
sages as 3: 26; 8:33; Gal. 3: 11. ["The verb
to justify (4i«atdoi) occurs forty times in the
New Testament, twenty-seven times in Paul's
epistles. . . . It denotes an act of jurisdiction
— the pronouncing of a sentence, not the in-
fusion of a quality. . . . There is, to my
knowledge, no passage in the New Testament,
and only two or three in the Septuagint where
this verb means to make just, or lead to right-
eousness." (SchafF.) " Dikaioun, even as
used by Paul, denotes nothing else than the
judicial act of God whereby man is pro-
nounced free from guilt and punishment, and
is thus recognized or represented as dikaios,
righteous." (Cremer.) " ZJiAaioMn is not only
negative, to acquit, but also positive, to de-
clare righteous, but never to make righteous."
(DeWette.) It is to be noticed that 'to justify'
implies something more than to pardon. A
pardoned criminal is never said to be justified.
Indeed, our earthly courts know nothing
about justifying one who has been guilty.
"Pardon and justification, therefore, are es-
sentially different. The one is the remission
of punishment, the other is a declaration that
no ground for the infliction of punishment
exists." (Hodge.)]

Compare, further, Schaff's elaborate and
admirable note on 3: 24, in Lange's Commen-
tary. Also the following from Meyer and De
Wette. " Rightness with God — the relation of
being right into which man is put by God (i e.,
by an act of God declaring him righteous)."
(Meyer.) "Justification is properly after the
old Protestant theologians to be taken in a
f<)rensic sense — that is, imputatively. . , . All
interpretations which overlook the fact of im-
putation are erroneous." (DeWette.)

Therein is revealed. ' Therein '—that is,
in the gospel. This righteousness was indeed
foreshadowed in the Old Testament, but not
revealed, unveiled, until gospel times. The
present tense denotes a continual unfolding
of this righteousness in the pages of the New
Testament [or by the preachinj; of the apos-
tles. (A. H.)] From faith to faith. There
are many ingenious ways of explaining this
phrase, such as faith in the Old Testament
first, then in the New; from lower degrees of
faith to higher, etc. ; but they are all too

elaborate and over nice. [Meyer seems to
favor the last view, and refers in support of it
to 2 Cor. 2: 16. "from life unto life," etc.
Uis statement is that " the revelation spoken
of proceeds from faith, and is designed to pro-
duce faith." But the idea of an advance in
faith seems somewhat irrelevant to the apos-
tle's argument. The majority of commenta-
tors interpret it in the light of 3: 22, and
regard this righteousness which comes from
faith, as also a gift to faith, or to believers.
"This righteousness proceeds from faith, and
belongs to faith." (Kipley. ) De Wette,
Meyer and Alford versus Philippi and others,
connect/rom/ai^A witli the verb is revealed,
rather than with righteousness; yet see 10: 6,
"the righteousness which is from faith";
also 3: 22; Phil. 3: 9, "the righteousness of
God through faith," and "the righteousness
from God upon faith." This view is given
substantially in Godet's rendering: God's
righteousness is revealed (as being) from
faith.] It is better perhaps to regard the
whole expression as simply intensive, without
attempting too minute an analysis of it. It is
all of faith, "from stem to stern" (prora et
puppis), as Bengel says, in his own terse and
pithy way. [According to Pauline usage,
faith per se is not righteousness in us, for if so,
our righteousness would be very imperfect;
nor is it represented as meritorious. We are
justified by grace through faith, but never is
it said that we are justified on account of faith.
We are justified gratuitously (3; 24), and our
faith is reckoned for righteousness only in the
way of grace. " It is the grace of God which
leads him to justify any. Even faith in Christ
has no virtue in itself As an affection or act
of the soul, it is inferior to love; and neither
of them is half as steady or fervid as it ought
to be. As strongly as possible, therefore, does
Paul assert that justification is an act of free
grace to the sinner on the purt of God. Hence,
faith does not justify as being in itself right-
eousness, obedience, a germ of righteousness,
or an equivalent for obedience, but as a total
renunciation of all claim to personal righteous-
ness and a sole reliance upon Christ for accept-
ance with God. ' The glory of faith is that its
utter emptiness opens to receive consummate
good.'" Hovey"s "Manual of Systematic

ROMANS.

[Ch. I.

Theology," pp. 266, 268.] As it is written,
The just shall live by faith. The quo-
tation from Hub. 2 : 4 is repeated in Gal.
3: 11 and Heb. 10: 38. By a slight trans-
position the passage might be made to read,
the just (or justiHed) by faith — shall live.
And this way of connecting tiie words might
seem to give them additional pertinency in
the present case ; but when we examine the
original passage, as it is found in the Old Tes-
tament, such an arrangement of the words,
taouyli adopted by Meyer and Winer, seems
hardly consistent with the Hebrew text. [As
it is written. Literally, as It has been writ-
ten (and remains so). While there are no
quotations from the Old Testament in First
and Second Thessalonians, Philippians, Colos-
sians (the letters to these churches being " in-
tended in the main for Gentile Christians" —
Farrar), they are very abundant in this Epistle,
and are chiefly introduced (nineteen times)
by the above formula. Farrar says: " There
are about two hundred and seventy-eight
quotations from the Old Testament in the
New. Of these, fifty-three are identical in
the Hebrcv, Septuagint, and New Testament.
In ten the Septuagint is correctly altered; in
seventy-six it is altered incorrectly — i. c, into
greater divergence from the Hebrew: in
thirty-seven it is accepted where it differs
from the Hebrew, in ninety-nine all three
differ, and there are three doubtful allusions."
See also Dr. Schaff's "Companion to the
Greek Testament," page 24. In Dr. S. David-
son's "Sacred Hermeneutics," two hundred
and fifty-five quotations are given in Hebrew,
in the Greek of the Septuagint and of the
New Testament, and in English. Prof Stuart
reckons up five hundred and three quotations
and allusions, and remarks that even this list
"is for from comprehending all of this nature
which the New Testament contains. The
truth is, there is not a page, nor even a para-
graph of any considerable length, belonging
to the New Testament, which does not bear

the impress of the Old Testament upon it."
Davidson finds fifty-one quotations in the
Epistle to the Romans; Stuart gives fifty-
eight quotations and allusions, while others
put the number still higher. The largest
number we have seen, if we mistake not, is
given on pages 180 and 181 of Westcott and
Hort's "Introduction to the New Testament
in Greek." Paul, according to Dr. Schaff,
"usually agrees with the Septuagint, except
when he freely quotes from memory, or adapts
the text to his argument."' Sometimes we
have Moses saith, or Isaiah saith, or the Scrip-
ture saith, but never the especial gospel for-
mula—"that it might be fulfilled." The New
Testament writers and our divine Saviour him-
self found, it must be conceded, more of Christ
and the gospel in the Old Testament than we
should naturally have expected to find, and
this shows us that the Old Testament was
divinely designed to prefigure and illustrate
the l>)ew. (See in "Christian Review," for
April, 1856, an article by the writer, entitled,
" Christ in the Old Testament.") " This retro-
spective use of the Old Testament," says
Olshausen, "is rather to be derived from that
Scriptural, fundamental view of it, which
supposes that in it all the germs of the New
Testament are already really contained, and
that, therefore, the New Testament is only
the fulfilling of the Old." Similarly, Elli-
cott: "This typical or allegorical interpreta-
tion is neither arbitrary nor of mere Rabbini-
cal origin " [Rabbinisch-typischer Interpreta-
tionsweise. — Meyer], "but is to be referred to
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit under which
the apostle gives the literal meaning of the
words their fuller and deeper application."
The Hebrew of the passage quoted reads,
" The just by his faithfulness shall live " ; the
Septuagint Version, "The just shall live by
my faith " ; while the author of the Epistle
to the Hebrews has it, according to the Re-
vised Version, " My righteous one shall live
by faith." ^ As the faith of the righteous one

1 See also " Quotations in the New Testament," by C.
H. Toy, T). D., 1884, for an exhaustive catalogue of the
citations and references in the New Testament. — \. H.

2 Ai<ato?, just or righteous, " an adjective lying be
tween the verb (Stitaioco, to justify) and the substantive
(jiKaioo-uKi), righteousness), and taking its color, more
or less in different instances, from either. It is to be
observed that we do not possess in English a family of

I cognate, native words to express these Greek words,
j but are obliged to render the verb by the Latin deriva-
tive ji/.^'i/?/, while the kindred adjective and substantive
I are translated by the Saxon righteous and righteousness.
.\ parallel difficulty arises in the case of the words
iriffTts and m<7Ttvii>. rendered by the Latin /ai7A and the
Saxon believe."—" The Five Clergymen."— (F.)

Ch. I.]

ROMANS.

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,
wao hold the truth in unrighteousness;

18 For 1 the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.

in Habakkuk may be his trustworthiness, or
"faith which may be relied on, not the faith
which relies," so some (as Farrar) would
regard this quotation as little more than an
accommodation of the literal truth to the
subject in hand. Yet there is, as Bishop
Lightfoot remarks (on Gal. 3 : 11, and page
155), "a close moral affinity between trust-
worthiness and trustfulness" or faith, the
former at times approaching "near to the
active sense; for constancy under temptation
or danger, with an Israelite, could only spring
from reliance on Jehovah." Delitzsch, as
quoted by Philippi, affirms that " the apostle
brings nothing to this passage that it does not
contain. All that he does is to set its meaning
— that the life of the righteous comes from
faith — in the light of the New Testament."
And Meyer says: "This faithfulness in the
prophet's sense and the faith in the Christian
sense have the same fundamental idea — trust-
ful self-surrender to God." It was this pass-
age of divine truth which brought light and
peace to the mind of Luther, and gave him to
the cause of the Reformation. In these last
two verses we have a concise answer — which
only the Holy Spirit could give— to that most
momentous question : " How can man be just
with God?"']

—48. For the wrath of God is revealed from
heaven. ["An exordium terrible as light-
ning." fMelancthon.) Under the general divis-
ion : "All are guilty," Mr. Beet gives the
following sub-divisions: "For God is angry
with all sin (1 : i8-32) ; without respect of persons
(2: 111) ; of this the giving of the law is no
disproof (2: 12.2*); nor is the rite of circumcision
(2: 25-29) ; yet the Jcws have real advantages
(3: 1.9) ; but are condemned by their own law.

(3: 10-20.)"] The gospel way of justification by
faith in Christ is man's only hope; 'for,'
where there is no faith, there is no revelation
of the righteousness of God, but a revelation
of 'the wrath of God' instead. [According
to Godet, the transition from ver. 17, indicated
by /or is this: '" There is a revelation of right-
eousness by the gospel, because there is a rev-
elation of wrath on the whole world." Simi-
larly De Wette: "The righteousness of God
(by which we are justified) presupposes God's
wrath against sinners, or the unworthiness of
men." The verb here, as in the preceding
verse, is in the present tense, which denotes
something constant or habitual, and is em-
phatic by position. "Generally," says Ktih-
ner, "both the first and last place in a sen-
tence is considered emphatic, when words
stand there which, according to the usual
arrangement, would have a difierent posi-
tion."] The same phrase, ' is revealed,' is
used here as in the preceding verse : but
whilst the medium of revelation in the pre-
ceding case is limited to the gospel by the
expression, 'therein,' here there is a more
comprehensive revelation, not only in the gos-
pel, but also in man's moral nature, and in
divine providence. [Compare vcr. 24, seq.;
also 2: 5.] In what sense is wrath ascribed to
God? There is not in him any violent pertur-
bation of feeling, such as usually accompanies
wrath in man ; but a real, unchangeable,
intense displeasure against sin, having a neces-
sary connection with his love, and his approval
of righteousness. " If God is not angry with
the ungodly and unrighteous, neither can he
have any pleasure in the pious and the right-
eous; for in regard to things of an opposite
nature, he must be affi^cted by both or by

1 " If we had retained ouroriglnal righteousness, jus-
tice itself would have justified us; but, having sinned,
the question,' How shall man be justified with God?'
is too difficult for created wisdom to solve. Whatever
delight the Creator takes in honorinc and rewarding
righteousness, there is none loft in this apostate world
for him to honor or reward. ' All have sinned and
oome short of the glf^ry of God.' If any child of Adam,
therefore, be now accepted and rewarded as righteous,
it must be on entirely different ground from that of his
own righteousness. What ground this could be God

I only knew." (A. Fuller.) This writer further notices
how justification in the sight of God must differ from
justification among men. Justification in human courts
supposes a man to have been innocent rather than
guilty, but ju.stification by grace supposes the man to
be guilty, and to have need of pardon. This pardon
removes the curse, while justification confers the bless-
ing of eternal life, and both are, through abounding
grace in Jesus Christ, secured to those who in them-
selres are only deserving of death.— (F.)

ROMANS.

[Ch. I.

neither.' (Lactantius.) Compare Ps. 11: 5-7;
45: 6, 7. 'Is revealed from heaven.' It
enters into men's minds as a persuasion which
results, not from their own wills, but from a
rfivine constitution of things. It is involuntary
and ineffaceable. It is not the offspring of a
distempered fancy, nor an invention of crafty
priests or crafty kings, that they may excite
men's fears, and so manage them the more
easily for their own advantage: but it is re-
vealed from heaven, from the abode of infin-
ite wisdom and love. That is the place whence
this stern doctrine of divine retribution orig-
inates. The wrath that condemns comes down
from above upon men just as truly as the
righteousne.es that justifies. [This wrath,
according to Philippi, "denotes an inner de-
termination of the divine nature itself, the
inwardly energetic antagonism and repellant
force of his holiness in relation to human sin,
which divine affection, indeed, finds its ex-
pression in the infiiction of punishment." Our
merciful Saviour, who came from heaven,
himself spoke of the wrath of God as abiding
on the unbeliever. 'From heaven' is this
wrath revealed, because there "the Lord hath
prepared his throne," and thence "his judg-
ments go forth as lightning." See "Bible
Commentary." De Wette and Meyer suppose
this revelation of wrath 'from heaven ' con-
sists in visible punishments and judgments
inflicted on transgressors. Philippi, on the I
other hand, asserts that what is revealed by
God or from heaven "always refers in the
New Testament to an extraordinary revela-
tion through miraculous acts, through the
words of prophets and apostles, or inwardly
through the Spirit of God." The verb in the
present tense is, in his view, used for the
future, and this revelation of wrath will take
place in "the day of wrath and revelation of i
the righteous judgment of God." (2: 5.) Yet
we muf^t say that God's wrath, in some form
or other, has always been manifested against
all ungodliness and iniquity.] Against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.
The order of the words is significant. Against
'ungodliness' first. The whole development of

the argument in the remainder of this chapter
emphasizes this order. It is, moreover, in ac-
cordance with the whole tenor of Scripture.
Compare Matt. 6: 33; 22: 36-40. Note the
comprehensiveness of the expression : against
every kind and every degree, both of irre-
ligion and immorality. How little do men in
general regard the mere absence of a religious
reverence for God as justly exposing them to
his wrath ! [By the use of the term ' men,' the
correlative of ' God,' the apostle would indicate
"the audacity oi ih\s God-opposing conduct."
(Meyer.) How holy is our God, and how
hateful to him is sin that man's ungodliness
and unrighteousness, his "sins against the
first and the second table" (Philippi), should
call forth from him, whose name and nature
is love, a revelation of his wrath and of his
righteous judgment ! We may remark that,
in this chapter generally, special reference is
had to the Gentiles, and not until the next
chapter do the Jews come under considera-
tion. Even the Gentiles repress the truth in
unrighteousness and are conscious of deserving
the wrath of God.] Who hold the truth in
unrighteousness. The compound verb here
used means not simply to hold, but to hold
fast, as in Luke 8: 15 (translated keep); 1
Thess. 5: 21 ; Heb. 3: 6. 14; 10: 23, or to hold
back, hold down, repress, as in Luke 4: 42
(translated stayed); Rom. 7: 6 (translated
held) ; Philem. 13 (translated retained). This
last sense is the only appropriate one here:
men hold down, as in the Revised Version,
repress religious truth by living 'in unright-
eousness.' Their practical unrighteousness
reacts upon the inward man, blinding the
understanding, hardening the heart, stupefy-
ing the conscience. That this is the true
meaning of the word, here translated hold is
recognized by the best translators and com-
mentators.' [Bengel: "Truth in the mind
strives and urges, but man impedes it." The
Bible Commentary observes here the contrast
that the power unto salvation is for "every
one that believeth " ; the wrath is against them
"that hold down the truth in unrighteous-
ness."]

1 Of the earlier English versions, Wickliffe, Tyndale, I have retain (ritengono, retiennent) ; the Bible Society's
Cranmer, and the Genevan ha.ve withhold ; the Rhetn- French has ruppress (suppriment) ; Luther's German
ish has detain; Alford, hold back; the Vulgate and hasaufhalten [to Atn<2«rj.
Beca, detinent ; Diodati's Italian and DeLacy's French |

Ch. I.]

ROMANS.

19 Because that which may be known of God is 19 who > hinder the truth in unrighteousness; because

manifest in them ; for Uod bath shewed il unto them.

20 For the invisible things of him from the creation
of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the

that which may be known ol Ciod is manifest in

2U them; for (iod manife»ied it unto them. For the

invisible things of him since the creation of the

world are clearly seen, being perceived through the

1 Or, hold the truth.

19. Because. The connection of the thought
is this: this charge which I bring against
them is just; 'because' it is true; first, that
they have the elementary knowledge of the
truth (proved in ver. 19, 20), and, secondly,
that they so pervert it (proved in ver. 21-28).
The argument of ver. 18 to 20, though com-
pressed, is very clear and conclusive. [Meyer
and others see in this because the reason
why God's wrath comes upon wicked men.]
That which may be known of God — that
is, whatever may be learned about God
from nature and providence, apart from
revelation. [According to Meyer, De Wette,
and others, ■yi-wcrToi', which in the classics most
frequently means knowable, does not occur in
this sense in the New Testament, the LXX.,
or the Apocrypha, but signifies that which
is actually known (yv<o76v). All that might
be known of God was not manifest in the
heathen ; but they did know, even apart from
revelation, of a Creator, and of his everlasting
power and divinity, (aou u : n r n : 27.) The
heavens declared to them God's power and
glory, but no inspired word revealed to them
his will and grace. Godet, however, thinks
the manifestation of that which is known is
a "startling tautology." According to the
teaching of this passage, it is plain that agnos-
ticism cannot be justified even in the heathen.]
Is manifest in them. Not merely among
them, or to them, but in them — that is, in
their hearts and consciences. This agrees
with the following verse, and also with 2: 16.
For God hatli shewed it unto them. It is
manifest in them ; for jGod manifested it to
them. The Common Version fails to exhibit
the intimate connection between the verb in
this clause, and the adjective in the preceding
clause. The indefinite pa.st tense is preferable
to the perfect here — 'manifested,' to 'hath
shewn,' or 'hath manifested.' God so framed
the earth and man at the creation as to bear
witness to himself. Compare Acts 14: 17;
17: 26, 27. ["He left not himself without
witness." " By saying that Qod manifested
it, he means that man was created to be a

spectator of this formed world, and that eyes
were given him, that he might, by looking
on so fair a picture, be led up to the Author
himself." (Calvin.) If Paul, in this passage,
had referred to an original revelation, as some
have supposed, he would probably have used
the word revealed.]

20. For the invisible things of him.
[The adjective vn&y mean unseen, or, that
which cannot be seen (by the outward eye),
invisible.'^ These invisible things are his un-
seen attributes and perfections [especially his
everlasting power and divinity. With this
passage, compare "Wisdom of Solomon,"
chap. 18.] From the creation of the
world. 'From' is here to be understood
in a temporal sense, equivalent to "ever
since." To understand it as referring to the
medium of that knowledge of God attributed
to the heathen would be to make this and the
following clause aflirm the same thing, con-
trary to the very condensed style of the
apostle in these verses. [Dr. Gifford, how-
ever, thinks the one clause may refer to the
source of knowledge, the other to the method
of its derivation.] Are clearly seen — liter-
ally, are looked down upon, looked at, ob-
served, being understood by the things
that are made. [Paul, as in the passages
above cited, advanced similar ideas at Lystra
and at Athens.] There is a verbal contradic-
tion here, even more manifestly in the original
than in our translation [to see what is unseen,
or invisible, a figure of speech called oxy-
moron'] ; but it is easily explained. Invisible
things cannot, of course, be clearly seen, in
the literal sense of the words. But they are
clearly seen by the exercise of the mind upon
the things that are made, which is precisely
what the apostle here afliirms [in the use of
the word perceived]. The things that are
made strike the senses; the inference from
them of a Divine Power strikes the consider-
ing mind. So Cicero says: Deum non vides
— tamen agnosois ex operibus ejus. "Tusc.
Disp." 1 : 29. " Thou dost not see (Jod ; yet
thou knowest him from his works." Even

ROMANS.

[Ch.I.

things that are made, even his eternal power and God-
head ; so that they are without excuse :

things that are made, even his ererlaating power
and divinity; ^that they may be without excuse:

1 Or, m that Ikeg art.

(literally, both) his eternal power and
(eternal) Godhead. These are 'the invisible
things of him.' His 'power' is the thought
that first and most impressively strikes the
considering mind on the contemplation of
his works. ["Eternal, and Almighty, have
always been recognized epithets of the Crea-
tor."' (Alford.)] But, it may be asked, How
can his 'eternal' power be inferred from the
things that are made? They were not made
from eternity. The apostle here assumes
that the human mind is so constituted as to
reject the idea that such power could ever
have been acquired, such skill ever learned :
he who has such power and skill must always
have had it. [Possibly, too, their feeling of
dependence, as well as the apparent depend-
ence of all things begun, changing, and tran-
sient, may have led them to think of a Being
independent, unchanging, eternal. Some,
however, suppose that God, in addition to the
light of nature, made to primeval man a
special revelation of himself as Creator of all
things. In some way or other, the Gentiles
began with monotheism — they knew God
(yer. 2i),and in this matter they, though ignor-
ant of our many natural sciences, and our
modern scientific discoveries and inventions,
differed widely from some of our " scientists,"
who, by means of the telescope and microscope,
see everywhere, and in every thing through-
out God's vast creation, so much of power,
wisdom, order, beauty, adaptation, design,
perfection — that they become "agnostics" who
do not know much, or anything, about the be-
ingofan Almighty Creator, that Infinite Mind,
which could alone plan and conserve such a
universe as this. " Heathenism," says Meyer,
"is not the primeval religion, from which
man might gradually have risen to the knowl-
edge of the true God ; but is, on the contrary,
the result of a falling away from the known
original revelation of the true God in his
works."] Under the term, "Godhead" [prop-
erly, divinity (etionj?) not Godhead, or deity
(fleoTT)?), which dwells in Christ, see Col. 2: 9],
the apostle comprehends whatever else of the
divine perfections, besides eternal power, can
be learned from the works of creation and

providence. The adjective "eternal" [not
aiiifMK, properly rendered, eternal; but itSioi,
everlasting, from a«i', always, occurring also
in Jude 6] is to be regarded as qualifying
tliis word "Godhead," as well as the word
■■power" [the adjective not being repeated,
since the nouns are of the same gender. For
the same reason, the first noun only has the
article. (Winer 527, 128.) (On rt — icai, see
at ver. 14.)] So that they are without
excuse. [The construction here, the prepo-
sition into, or unto (««), with the infinitive
and article, generally, if not universally,
telic, denotes not a result (so that), but a pur-
pose, in order that, and it is so regarded by
Meyer (and Godet) in this place, his idea
being that this seeing or perception of the
divine attributes through his works, was so
ordained, or purposely established, that sin-
ning men should have no excuse. Lange
regards this view as a predestinating men for
guilt (not neces.sarily so, however), and with
most commentators, sees here but a simple
result. Yet what is Dr. Schaff's " (intended)
result" but the divine purpose? The right
view is very happily stated by Dr. Gifford :
''God's purpose was to leave nothing undone
on his part, the omission of which might give
men an excuse for sin." A similar construc-
tion occurs in 1: 11; 3: 26; 4: 11; 16: 18;
6: 12; 7: 4, 5: 8: 29; 11: 11; 12: 2, 3; 15:
8, 13, 16. Meyer contends that all these infin-
itives have a telic force. Others deny this
force of the preposition to or unto (tli) before
an infinitive present. See Prof. Thayer's
"Lexicon,'' p. 185.] Facts correspond with
the apostle's statements throughout these
verses. The heathen have more light than
they are willing to improve. Their responsi-
bility is measured by the light which they
have opportunity to enjoy, and not by thwt
which they choose to appropriate. Many tes-
timonies might easilj' be adduced, to prove
that they have more light than they are
willing to improve, and that they know them-
selves to be inexcusable. Take the following as
a single specimen. Eev. A. W. Murray, after
nearly forty years of extensive observation in
the island world of Polynesia, says: "I have

Ch. I.]

ROMANS.

21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified
him not as God, neitluT were thankful; but became
vain in their imagiuatious, aud their foolish heart was
darkened.

21 because that, knowing God, they gloritiud him not
as God, neither gave thanks; but bicauie vain in
their reasonings, aud their seuseluss heart waa

never found, in all my wanderings among
savage tribes, any who had not some idea of
a future life, and of beings superior to them-
selves, to whom they owed some sort of hom-
age, and whom they feared, and sought in some
way to propitiate. If the entire absence of
all religious belief is to be found anywhere
among the human family, I know of no place
so likely as among the aborigines of Australia.
There man has sunk about as low as he can
sink ; yet. among some of the tribes there is
a distinct belief in a future life and a Supreme
Being."' One of the most forcible exhibitions
of the inexcusableness of the heathen may
be found in an excellent little tract, published
many years ago by our veteran Burman mis-
sionary, Dr. Edward A. Stevens, entitled :
"Are the Heathen in a Perishing Condition?"
He shows that they themselves resent, as an
insult to their understanding, the apology
sometimes made for them, that the poor,
simple creatures know no better. [On the fate
of such heathen, see notes on 2: 12; 10: 14.
We here would simply remark that if the
heathen who have sinned though "without
law," have no excuse, then they may be
judged and condemned by our Lord and
Saviour, and we must regard as false the
dictum of the New Theology, or Progressive
Orthodoxy, that all "those who are to stand
before Christ as a Judge must first hear of him
as a Saviour."] Note what an emphatic en-
dorsement of the cosmological argument for
the existence of God is contained in the above
verses.

Observe, also, what a broad foundation is
here laid for the science of Natural Theology
—and that, too, in the midst of an argu-
ment evincing the value and necessity of a ! places nearly synonymou* with falsehood, cr

Pitiably blind and ignorant must those persons
be who can discern, in all this universe, no
intelligent force, no sign of an Infinite Mind.]
'Z\. The word because shows that this verse
is designed to confirm and expand the thought
expressed in the last clause of the preceding
verse — to illustrate still further the inexcusa-
bleness of the heathen. When they knew
God {WiQT&Wy , having known God\ refers to vur.
19 ; it does not refer to that saving knowledge
of God spoken of in such passages as Jer.
9 : 24; John 17 : 3, 26. They gloriAed him
not as God ["according to the measure of
his divine quality."— MeyerJ, neither were
thankful — more literally, neither gave thanks.
[Because of this the apostle asserts that they
are without excuse, even while ignorant of the
"historic Christ" or of God's amazing love
in him.] The first clause relates to the adora-
tion of the divine perfections in general ; the
second, to the acknowledgment of him as the
Giver of every good. Bengel thus distin-
guishes them : " We ought to give thanks on
account of his benefits ; to glorify him, on ac-
count of his own perfections." They did
neither. But became vain in their imagi-
nations. [They turned their thoughts to
that which is vain and empty, because in
turning away from God they lost the highest
object of their thouprht. See Weiss' "Bibli-
cal Theology of the New Testament," vol. I,
p. 354.] The word translated 'became vain ' is
not used elsewhere in the New Testament
[nor is it found in the Greek authors], but is
used about half a dozen times in the Greek
translation of the Old Testament, commonly
called the Septuagint. In the language of the
Old Testament, the word vanity is in many

divine revelation. [Meyer notices " how com-
pletely in our passage the transcendental
relation of God to the world — the negation of
all identity of the two— lies at the foundation
of the apostle's view. It does not exclude the
immanence of God in the world, but it ex-
c\\xdif>si\\\ pantheism.'' Dr. Schaff says : "The
book of nature is, as Basil calls it, ti paideute-
rion theognosias, a school of the general knowl-
edge of God ; and there is no nation on earth
which is entirely destitute of this knowledge."

sin in general, and especially idolatry. See
Deut. 32: 21; 2 Kings 17: 15, 16. Compnrf
also Acts 14 : 15. The word here translnftd
'imaginations' (elsewhere 'thoughts,' 'rea-
sonings') is generally in the New Testament
used in an unfavorable sense. See Matt. 15:
19 ; Mark 7 : 21 ; Luke G : 8 ; 9 : 46. 47. [Com-
pare Rom. 14: 1; 1 Cor. 3: 20; 2 Cor. 10: 5;
Phil. 2: 14; 1 Tim. 2: 8.] .4nd their foolish
heart was darkened. [The apostle in Eph.
4: 17-19 describes the Gentiles in much the

ROMANS.

[Ch. I.

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became | 22 darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they

fools.

•ja And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God
into an image made like to corruptible man, and to
birds, and fourfuuted beasts, and creeping things.

23 became fools, and changed the glory of the incor-
ruptible (iod for the likeness of an image of cor-
ruptible man, and of birds, and fourfooted beasts,
and creeping things.

same language as he employs here, character-
izing them as being vain, depraved, darkened,
ignorant in their minds, and as hardened in
their hearts, as being alienated from the life of
God and past feeling, morally and spiritually
dead. The term 'foolish,' as used here, is
akin to imdiscerning ; implying a guilty mis-
use or non-use of the understanding. (See first
note to ver. 14. ) That their hearts had become
thus wanting in understanding is implied in
their becoming vain in their reasonings. Some
of the thoughts, and even of the words which
Paul uses in this description of the Gentiles,
are found in the "Wisdom of Solomon,"
chapters 13 and 14.] The word 'heart,' in
our common English speech, usually denotes
the seat of the affections, in distinction from
the intellect. But the use of the Greek word
in the New Testament, and in the classical
writers, and of the corresponding Hebrew
word in the Old Testament, is not so limited,
but includfs the whole inner man, intellect as
well as affections. See Matt. 13: 15; 15: 19;
2 Cor. 3:15; 4:6. Hence no particular stress
is to be put on the word 'heart' in such pas-
sages as Ps. 14 : 1 ; 53 : 1 ; Kom. 10 : 9, 10. So
also the word usually translated "mind"
sometimes includes the affections and desires,
as in Eph. 2: 3. Thus the heathen, forsaking
the truth, became vain in their imaginations,
and forsaking the light, became darkened in
their hearts. According to the Scripture [and
to the teachings of history], the primeval re-
ligion was neither polytheism nor nature-
worship. If those who have only the light of
nature are inexcusable for not glorifying God,
nor being thankful, how much greater is the
guilt of those who, with all the additional
light of the gospel, still do not glorify him as
God, and are not thankful for his manifold
mercies.

22. Professing themselves to be wise,
they became fools. Affirming that they
were wise [while ignorant of the "ignorance
that was in them"], they became foolish.
Their foolishness was only made more co'i-

spicuous by their pretensions to wisdom. This
was eminently illustrated in the case of
the so-called sophists among the Greeks,
though it is hardly probable that the apostle
had any specific reference to them. ["The
foolishness of God is wiser than men," how-
ever much of wisdom they may arrogate to
themselves. For a similar use of the word
rendered 'professing,' see Acts 24: 9; 25: 19
(and Rev. 2 : 2, according to our Textus Kecep-
tus). For the construction, see note on ver. 12.
The description here given of the professedly
wise is not wholly inapplicable to some of our
modern scientists.]

23. The sense of this verse would be justly,
though in the first part of the verse less liter-
ally, expressed by the following paraphrase:
and substituted for the glorious incorruptible
God an image of the likeness of corruptible
man, etc. [Compare this language with Ps.
106: 20.] The Greeks and Romans worshiped
for the most part representations of their false
gods under the human form; but the Egyp-
tians, and other still ruder nations, worshiped
birds, as the ibis, or stork ; four-footed beasts,
as Apis, the sacred ox, the dog, and the cat;
and even reptiles, or creeping things, as the
crocodile, and the serpent. [The term incor-
ruptible, as applied to God, occurs elsewhere
only in 1 Tim. 1 : 17, an important text in the
history of the elder Edwards' religious expe-
rience. As to its distinction from the term
immortal, see Trench's "S3'nonyms," p. 254.
It is found elsewhere in 1 Cor. 9: 25; 15: 52;
1 Peter 1:4, 23; 3: 4. The noun occurs in
Rom. 2: 7; 1 Cor. 15: 42, 50, 53, 54; Eph. 6:
24; 2 Tim. 1: 10; Titus 2: 7. The heathen,
instead of glorifying the Creator, worshiped
him, if at all, as a created being — "for it is
only such a being that can find its likeness in
these images" (Weiss); thus degrading this
incorruptible One "rwHhe likeness of an image
(likeness consisting in an image) of corrupti-
ble man, and of birds, and of quadrupeds, and
of reptiles." Meyer makes "birds," etc., in
the same construction with man — i. «., de-

1 On the force of this in, as " to change something In | the exchange is effected. The in of price is similar."
gold," Winer thus remarks: " It is either an ahbrevi- j This construction is commonly termed Hebraistic,
ated expression, or 'gold' is conceived as that in which | Meyer, however, regards the en as instrumental. — (F.)

Ch. L]

ROMANS.

24 Wherefore God also ^ave them up to uncleanness, I 24 Wherefore God gave them up in the lusts of their
through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour hearts unto uncleauness, that their bodies should be
their own bodies between themselves: | 25 dishonoured among themselves: for that they ex-

pendent on image. The Egyptian worship of
animals had at that time in part become do-
mesticated in Rome, according to Tholuck
and Lange.]

24. Here follows a description and enume-
ration of the vices which illustrate the 'un-
righteousness' spoken of in ver. 18, as the
preceding verses 21-23 illustrate the 'ungodli-
ness' there mentioned. Wherefore. The
apostle lays stress on the logical connec-
tion between their ungodliness and their un-
righteousness— between their abandonment of
God by idolatry, and God's abandonment of
them to the unrestrained indulgence of un-
natural lusts and every degrading vice and
evil passion. The latter was the logical con-
sequence, the actual result, and the just retri-
bution of the former. Not content with the
emphatic affirmation of this connection by
the word ' wherefore ' at the beginning of ver.
24, he reiterates it in ver. 26, " for this cause,''
and echoes it again in ver. 28, "and even as."
He seems to wish to impress the thought
deeply that the primal error, the first step in
the downward course, was the abandonment
of God as the sole object of worship; that the
stream of vice has its source in ungodliness;
that irreligion is the root of immorality. [See
Miiller's "Christian Doctrine of Sin," vol. I,
p. 131 ; II, 470, Pulsford's Translation.] The
converse would seem to follow — that there can
be no true and complete morality which is
not rooted in religion, in reverential regard
for God. God also gave them up to un-
cleanness. That little word 'also' is not
without significance ; it seems to intimate that
God's retributive abandonment of them cor-
responded, in proportion and progress, to
their impious abandonment of him. [This,
however, is omitted in the Revised Version.]
He 'gave them up*; this expresses, on the
one hand, something more than mere permis-
sion, and, on the other hand, something less
than positive impulse toward any of these
abominations. ["It is at least a judicial

abandonment" (Hodge), and is akin to what
is implied in our Saviour's utterance, John 9:
39: "For judgment came I into this world
that . . . they who (profess to) see might be-
come blind."] The same idea is expressed
elsewhere, both in the Old Testament and in
the New. See Ps. 81 : 12; Isa. 6: 10; Mark
4 : 12 ; Acts 7 : 42 ; Rom. 9 : 18. All this takes
place, at the same time, through (literally
in) the lusts of their own hearts. [Epi-
thumia, denoting, generally, evil desire (al-
ways so in the plural) is rendered lust in 6 :
12; 7:7; 13: 14, and concupiscence in 7: 8.
The verb occurs in 7: 7; 13: 9, in connection
with the tenth commandment.] This expres-
sion, in the lusts, not only specifies the de-
partment of their being in which this dis-
honor took place, but also intimates that they
were perfectly voluntary ; while God deliv-
ered them up to this uncleanness, they went
into it in full accordance with the inclinations
of their own hearts. [In Eph. 4 : 19, we read
that the Gentiles "gave themselves up to las-
civiousness," and this twofold representation
of divine and human agency is but a repeti-
tion of God's hardening Pharaoh's heart and
of Pharaoh's hardening his own heart. " He
gives himself up," says Meyer, "while he is
given up by God to that tragic nexus of moral
destiny; and he becomes no machine of sin,
but possesses at every moment the capacity of
repentance, which the very reaction resulting
from the feeling of the most terrible misery
of sin — punished through sin — is designed to
produce." In this penal retribution for
man's apostasy, we see the beginnings of the
manifestation of "God's wrath."] To tlis-
honour their own bodies between them-
selves. This verse might be read more in
accordance with the order of the words in the
original Greek — "Wherefore God gave them
up, in the lusts of their own hearts, to the
uncleanness of their own bodies being dis-
honored among them." ' The reading tliem
is better sustained by the manuscripts than

1 The form of the verb, being in the infinitive (either i others. Yet this infinitive clause is by many (Tholuck
middle or passive) with toC, usually denotes purpose Fritrsche, De Wette, Meyer) regarded as a noun in
(compare?: 3; Acts 26: 18; 1 Cor. 10: 13; Heb. 10: 7i, the genitive case of apposition, after the word un-
and this is expressed in the Revised Version, and is cleanness (Winer, 326; Buttmann, 2G8), the clause thus
alao favored, rightly, we think, by Philippi, Godet, and | showing in what the uncleanness consisted.— (F.)

ROMANS.

[Ch. I.

25 Who chauged the truth of God into a lie, and
worshipped aud served the creatuie more than the
Creator, who is bk-ssed lor ever. Aaieu.

changed the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped
aad served the creature rather than the Creator, who
is blessed ' lor ever. Amen.

I Ur. unto the aget.

the reading themselves;^ among is more exact
than between, and the change in these two
expressions favors the passive sense of the verb
to dishonor, the form of which is ambiguous,
admitting either the active or the passive
sense, but with a presumption, apart from the
above considerations, in favor of the latter.
The expression "among them" is equivalent
to "in their common intercourse." ["The
most terrible misery of sin'' is that sin leads
to sin, and this too in the way of a descent
from bad to worse. In the words of Schiller,
quoted by Schalf—

This is the very curse of evil deed,
That of new evil it becomes the seed.*

And when one enters upon an evil course,
he knows not to what depths of degradation
he may be led. His language at first may be,
" Is thy servant a dog that he should do this
great thing?" and he ends with doing that
which the very beasts would be ashamed to
do. Thus, self-destroyed and lost in vileness,
he may say with Mokanna, in the "Veiled
Prophet of Khorassen" :

Here,judge if hell, with all its power to damn,
Can add one curse to the foul thing I am.

And what a degradation is this, that those
who were formed for God and who " knew
God" and truth and duty, should, under this
law of development, of moral seed-sowing
and harvesting, be so far given over to dis-
eased appetites or vile passions, that their
noblest faculty, the sovereign power of will —
that which they have "in superior distinction
from the beast" — becomes subservient to their
lusts and the means of sinking themselves
lower than the brutes.]
25. Who changed the truth of God into

a lie. The word translated ' who' is not the
simple relative pronoun, but a compound
which [like the Latin, quippe qui] often inti-
mates a reason for what precedes, "as being
such who," or 'because they were such as."
[Buttmann, however, supposes that this form
in the later language lost some of its original
force.] 'Changed the truth of God into a
lie' — equivalent to "exchanged the true God
for a false," as in ver. 23. [Philo, speaking
of the Israelites making the golden calf, says:
""What a lie they subsituted for how great a
reality! " "The truth of God," says Weiss,
"stands for the true nature of God." The
word "changed" here is stronger in form
than the "changed" of ver. 23, and conse-
quently has a stronger meaning, equivalent to
exchanged. The preposition 'into,' accompa-
nying the word lie, denotes "the element in
which the change subsisted." (Alford.) See
also on ver. 23.] And worshipped and
served. The former verb [primarily mean-
ing "to be afraid of," occurring only here, in
form a passive deponent, and usually followed
by the accusative] signifies inward reverence,
and the latter outward acts of homage, as
sacrifices, prayers, etc. [See notes on ver. 9,
and compare Matt. 4: 10; Luke 2: 37.] The
creature is put for created and material
things in general. More than the Creator
— beside, or in preference to, the Creator, im-
plying exclusion [''instead of the Creator." —
Winer], for the Creator allows no rival.
Who is blessed forever. Amen.* This
doxology forcibly indicates the apostle's pious
horror at such a dishonor put upon God, and
sets their sin in a j^tronger light. For similar
examples of abrupt doxology in the midst of
a sentence, see 2 Cor. 11 : 31 ; Gal. 1:5. It

t Our Textus Receptus has the reflexive, iavroU (them-
selves), the reading ofD***EGKL. The older uncials
X A B C D * have avroU, them. The Revisers have this
latter form, yet render it as reflexive. The contracted
form of the reflexive (iavroU) would be avroU, but
these contracted forms of the third person are sup-
posed not to occur in the New Testament. See Butt-
mann, p. 111. Yet Westcott and Hort have this form,
aiiToU, in ver. 27. Meyer thinks the reflexive forms
were frequently neglected by the copyists, and so would
read the reflexive here, as in ver. 27.— (F.)

*Das eben ist der Fluch der bosen That
Das sie, fortzeugeud, imnier Boses muss geb^ren. (F.)
'" God is blessed unto the ages," even though men
may dishonor and degrade him. Chrysostom says that
it was not to avenge himself that God gave them up,
for he suffered nothing— i. e., he is forever blessed.
Alford states that the verbal adjective here employed
(eirAoyijTos, blessed') is commonly used of God, but the
participle (euAoyijfievov) oftener of man. See, however,
euXoyijTot in Thayer's Lexicon, and notes on 9 : 5. — (F.)

Ch. I.]

ROMANS.

26 For this cause God gave thein up unto vile affec-
tions: for eveu their women did bliaiige the natural
use into that which is against nature :

27 And likewiiie also the lucn, leaviag the natural
use of the woiuau, burned iu their lust one toward
another; men with men working that which is uu-

26 For this cause God gave them up unto ^ vile pas-
sions: for their women changed the natural Ubc into

27 that which is against nature : auU likewise also the
men, leaving the natural use of tlie woman, burned
in their lust one toward another, men with men

1 Gr. peutiont of dithonour.

gave a shock to the apostle's mind to think
that men should be so infatuated as to turn
away from the Creator to the creature, and
led him to seek relief in a devout doxology.
The idolatry of the heathen in our day ought
to produce similar effects in the hearts of all
Christians.

26. For this cause. So the apostle re-
affirms what he had asserted in the beginning
of ver. 24, the connection between their un-
godly idolatries and their unnatural vices.
Is it not a legitimate inference from what is
here so emphatically insisted on, that as
departure from God brought on all this degra-
dation, so return to God is the only effectual
cure? And is it not a fair applicati' n of this
principle, that the elevation of the degraded
communities and nations is to be expected and
sought, not from commerce, civilization, secu-
lar education, or any other appliance of this
nature, but chiefly from Christian missions —
the faithful and persevering promulgation of
the gospel amone them ? This, while it brings
them back to God, will bring with it all other
and secondary means of social, mental, moral,
and material progress. God gave them up
unto vile affections. Compare Eph. 4: 19.
They are there said to "have given themselves
over unto lasciviousness, to work all unclean-
ness with greediness." The same verb is used
in both cases. God gave them up; they gave
themselves up; there is no real contradiction :
God gave them up, in the lusts of their own
hearts, ver. 24: this last clause brings the
two forms of statement into harmony. [On
this verb, to give up, the same which occurs
in ver. 24, Meyer thus remarks: "It ex-
presses the real active abandoning on the part |

of God," which, moreover, "is quite in keep-
ing with the universal agency of God, in his
physical and moral government of the world,
without, however, making God appear as the
author of sin, which, on the contrary, has its
root in the lusts of the heart." This retribu-
tive abandoning is akin to the "judicial in-
fatuation " implied in God's sending to those
who received not the love of the truth "a

working of delusion." (2 Thes». 2: 11, Ecr.Ver.)]

' Vile affections,' disgraceful affections, or dis-
honorable passions, literally, "passions of
dishonor." The word 'vile' here used in our
common translation, is ambiguous. It has
generally in the Scriptures, as almost always
in our common speech at the present day, the
sense of moral un worthiness. So also in 1 Sara.
3: 13. But in other places, it expresses only
the want of value, which is the primitive sense
of the word. So in 1 Sam. 15: 9. It is nearly
akin to "humble" in 2 Sam. 6: 22, and in
Phil. 8: 21, "our vile body "—literally, "the
body of our humility," contrasted in the con-
text with "the glorious body" which we are
to receive at the coming of our Lord. For
even their women. The prevalence of un-
natural vice even among women, indicated,
more forcibly than anj'thing else, the depth
of degradation and pollution into which man-
kind had sunk.*

27. In this and the preceding verse, the
apostle uses, instead of the words ordinarily
translated "men" and "women,'" the words
meaning "males" and "females," and so
translated in Matt. 19: 4; Mark 10: 6. and
Gal. 3: 28.» Working that which is nn-
seemly. [More literally, working out, or
perpetrating the (well-known) indecency.]

' Te yap, for indeed, occurs a^ain at 7 : 7. If, however,
T« is retained in the next verse, these correlatives
equivalent to both . . . and, would signify that the
females as well as the maiea *»6re thus guilty. The
word xtif. (xp^o-ii') is to be supplied after the article rnv
in the last clause. — (F.)

* The first word for males is a later form for apa-nt^.
which occurs twice in this verse (below), and generally
in the New Testament. Some important MSS. have
here the older and more usual word, and there seems to

be no reason for using two different forms in the same
verse. Burned, etc. The verb being a compound is
equivalent to burned out, and since it is passive in form
it may be passively rendered : were fired or xrtre infiamed.
The two clasiies of males are more particularly char-
acterized in 1 Cor, 6: 9, as apctviKolrat and ^oAcucoi
Bengel says that "in stigmatizing sins we must often
call a spade a spade." Yet no one can accuse the apos-
tle of giving an unduly minute or indelicate descrip-
tion of the abominations of pagan sensuality.— (F.)

ROMANS.

[Ch. I.

seemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense
01' their error which was meet.

working unseemliness, and receiving in tbemselTea
that recumpeuse ol' their error which was due.

Receiving ... that recompense of their
error which was meet. If by their 'error'
is meant their unnatural lusts, then the ' rec-
ompense' must be understood to mean the
physical and moral consequences of such
vices — bodily disease and pain, impotence
and premature decay, mental imbecility, and
corruption of the heart, conscience, and imagi-
nation— in a word, the defilement and debase-
ment of the whole man. But if the 'error'
means the forsaking of God, then the ' meet
recompense'' will be those unnatural vices
themselves, or, rather, their being abandoned
of God to commit them. This last explana-
tion accords best with the term error, which
means literally, "wandering," and so is very
suitable to express their wandering from God,
while it seems loo mild a term to be applied
to their abominable and unnatural sensual
lusts; and this explanation, too, is precisely
in agreement with the entire context.

In proof of the commonness of these un-
natural vices among the ancient heathen, Dr.
Tholuck has accumulated abundant evidence
out of their own testimonies. See "Biblical
Repository," Vol. II, 1832, January number,
pp. 80-123; April number, pp. 246-290; July
number, pp. 441-494. Martial goes so far as
to say, " No one is so tenderly modest as to
fear being detected in their commission."
[Dr. Dollinger, in his "Heidenthum and
Judenthum," says (as quoted by Dr. Schaff
in Lange) that "among the Greeks the vice
of pederasty showed itself with all the symp-
toms of a great national disease, like a moral
miasma. It revealed itself as a feeling which
worked with more strength and energy than
the love of woman among other peoples; it
was more immoderate, more passionate in its
outbreaks. It was characterized by frantic
jealousy, unbounded devotion, sensual ardor,
tender dalliance, nightly lingering before the
door of the loved one — in fact, everything
that belongs to the caricature of natural,
sexual love. Even the sternest moralists were
in the highest degree indulgent in their judg-
ment of the practice — at times more than in-

dulgent; they treated it rather as a pleasant
joke, and tolerated the companionship of the
guilty. In the entire literature of the pre-
Christian period, there is scarcely a writer to be
found who declared himself decidedly against
it. Rather was the whole society infected
with it, and they breathed in the miasma with
the air."] The apostle refers to the females
first, probably as the most glaring proof of
the general depravity, on the principle that
"the corruption of the best things is the
worst of all corruption" (corruptio optimi
pessim.a). The degrading vices are still so
common among the heathen, that modern
missionaries have been accused by them of
forging this account, and it has sometimes
been found difficult to convince them that so
accurate a picture of their morals was painted
so long ago. Hence, we see why the apostle
refers so particularly to practices so disgust-
ing: they were very comm^on among the
heathen ; they were intimately connected
with the rites of idolatry, especially with
the worship of Venus; and they were pecu-
liarly illustrative of the depth of degradation
into which the human race had plunged.
Contrast this true picture with false represen-
tations often made of the comparative inno-
cence and simplicity of the heathen. ["Those
who know what Greek and Roman poets have
written on the vices of their countrymen can
best appreciate the grave and modest sim-
plicity of the apostle's language." ("Bible
Commentary.") But Paul needed not to read
any Greek or Roman books, in order to know
and to describe the unbridled licentiousness
of his age. Farrar, on this point, thus re-
marks: "A Jew in a heathen city needed no
books to reveal to him the ' depths of Satan.'
In this respect, how startling a revelation to
the modern world was the indisputable evi-
dence of the ruins of Pompeii! Who would
have expected to find the infamies of the
Dead Sea cities paraded with such infinite
shamelessness in every street of a little pro-
vincial town? "What innocent snow could
ever hide the guilty front of a life so unspeak-

1 Literally: "Receiving in themselves the recom- I <em." See Trench on "New Testament Synonyms,"
pense of their error which it was necessary" (tore- p. 392. For the reflexive pronoun, in themselves, West-
ceive). " '04>«iX«t, nolat ohligationem ; iti, necessita- \ rott and Hort have the contracted form aurois. — (F.)

Ch. I.]

ROMANS.

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in
their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate
mind, to do ibuse thingti which are not convenient ;

And even as tbcy > refused to have God in their
knowledge, God gave them up unio a rcprot>at«
mind, to do those things which are not fittiug ;

1 Or. did not approve.

ably abominable? Could anything short of
the earthquake have eiigulphed it, or of the
volcano have burned it up? And if Pompeii
was like this, we may judge, from the works
of Aristophanes and Athenaeus, of Juvenal
and Martial, of Petronius and Apuleius, of
Strato and Meleager — which maybe regarded
as the ' pieces justificatives' of St. Paul's esti-
mate of heathendom — what Tarsus and Ephe-
sus, what Corinth and Miletus were likely to
have been," Corinth, the city where Paul
wrote this letter, had a reputation pre-emi-
nent above all other cities for its unblushing
licentiousness, and he had but to open his
eyes to see it. "A thousand [female] Hiero-
douloi were consecrated to the service of im-
purity in the infamous temple of Aphrodite
Pandemos." A "Corinthian girl" was but
another name for harlot, and to "Corinthian-
ize" meant to practice whoredom. (See
Smith's "Greek and Koman Antiq.," Art.
Hetaerae.) "In that age," says Meyer (acuis:
»>.), "fornication was reckoned among the
adiaphora, a thing morally indifferent."
Paul, indeed, was writing to the Komans,
but could the great city of Kome be much
purer in its morals than the "little provincial
town" near by?

It is true, as Dr. Schaff remarks, that " the
history of Christian countries often presents
a similar picture of moral corruption, with
the exception of those unnatural vices de-
scribed in ver. 26, 27, which have almost dis-
appeared, or greatly diminished within the
pale of civilization. . . . But there remains
this radical difference: the heathen corrup-
tions were produced and sanctioned by the
heathen mythology and idolatry, while Chris-
tian nations are corrupt in spite of, and in
direct opposition to, Christianity, which raises
the highest standard of virtue, and acts con-
tinually on the world as a purifying and
sanctifying power."]

28. A third recurrence to what has been so
plainly said in ver. 24 and 26. They did not
like to retain God in their knowledge.
[The word for 'knowledge' is a compound,
meaning "full knowledge," or "clear discern-
ment." Meyer says their (simple) knowledge

of God derived from the revelation of nature
(rer. 21.), ought to havc been brought, by cul-
tivation, to this full knowledge — a pen-
etrating and living knowledge of God (Eph. i:
17; 1 Cor. 13:12.); but instead of this being the
case, tliey had become "Gentiles who know
not God."] We are here reminded again
that they had voluntarily and wickedly
quenched divine light which God had pro-
vided for them. (v»r. 18-21.) God gave them
over to a reprobate mind. The retributive
abandonment of them by God is here a third
time noted. In ver. 24 and 26, it was to un
cleanness or impurity, and to shameless pas-
sions ; here it is to a reprobate mind. There
is an etymological relation between this word
reprobate and the verb 'did not like,' in the
first clause of the verse, which does not at all
appear in our translation. On the supposi-
tion that the apostle designed to have it noted,
translators and commentators have made
various ingenious endeavors to express it in
English. Alford's expedient is perhaps as
satisfactory and as little forced as any : "Be-
cause they reprobated the knowledge of God,
God gave them over to a reprobate mind."
[As Alford omits certain Greek words in his
rendering, we give this quite literal transla-
tion which preserves the paronomasia, and
pretty clearly expresses the sense: "As they
did not approve to have God in full knowl-
edge, God gave them up unto an unapproved
mind" — that is, a mind rejected of him, like
worthless coin that will not bear the test.
The verb means to test, to prove, to apjirove.
The adjective, occurring in seven other jilaces,
is, by the Revised Version, rendered rejected
in 1 Cor. 9: 27; Heb. 6: 8, and reprobate in
Titusl:16;2Tim.3: 8; 2 Cor. 13: o.G, 7.] To
do those things which are not convenient.
[Another instance of the fi£:;uro mrlosis, where
less is said than is meant. The verb in the
present tense denotes an habitual doing.] The
word 'convenient' here is equivalent t«> " be-
coming," not agreeable to the nature and
duties of man. In the same sensp, the .«ame
word [with a different prefix] is used in Eph.
5: 4; Philem. 8; Col. 3: 18 (translated "fit").
The sense in which we now commonly use

ROMANS.

[Ch. I.

29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication,
wickeduess, covetousness, maliciousness ; full of envy,
murder, debate, deceit, malignity ; whisperers,

30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boast-
ers, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness,
coveiousness, maliciousness ; full of envy, murder,

30 strife, deceit, malignity ; whisperers, backbiters,
1 hateful to God, insolent, haughty, boastful, invent-

1 Or, Aa(er« of Ood.

the word 'convenient' is expressed by an
entirely different word, as in Mark 6: 21; 1
Cor. 16: 12. »

29-31. Being filled with all nnright-
eousn«ss. [The participle 'filled' agrees
with 'them' in ver. 28, the understood subject
of the infinitive, 'to do.' Under the general
head of ' unrighteousness,' Meyer places the
vices of the following list as species.] A dark
catalogue, and the darkest thing about it is
its truthfulness. We will not dwell upon
each separate charge in this divine indictment
of sinful human nature, nor attempt by min-
ute analysis to make out an orderly arrange-
ment, which apparently was not aimed at by
the writer. ["The accidental order of the
arrangement intimates that all sins which
can ever occur to one's mind are mutually
related. It is, as it were, the opening of a
sackful of sins, when it is all accident how the
single grains fall out." (Philippi.)] Let some
general criticisms suffice. The second, and
last but one, in this list, 'fornication' and
'implacable,' are omitted in the best manu-
scripts. In several places, the precise order
is uncertain, being different in different man-
uscripts. The change in ver. 29 of 'being
filled' to 'full' seems to be made for the sake
of variety, and not on account of any differ-
ence in the sense: as the former expression
requires to be followed by "with," and the
latter by "of" in English, so the correspond-
ing Greek words require a change in the form
of the words that follow. This prevents an
unpleasant repetition of the same grammati-
cal forms.' The words (aSiKt'a and novripCa.) trans-
lated unrighteousness and wickedness, in
ver. 29, differ in this respect, that the latter has
a more active and energetic quality, which

would not be satisfied with depriving others of
their due, but would delight in doing them as
much harm as possible. A somewhat similar
distinction seems to exist between the words
translated maliciousness (xoxia) and malig-
nity {KaKoy\6tia) in the Same verse ; the former is
simply "badness," while the latter carries
with it the notion of an obstinate perversity
in evil.' The word translated debate («pt«),
in the same verse, is commonly translated
' strife ' or 'contention ' ; ' debate ' only here and
in 2 Cor. 12: 20. [On the word 'deceit' («dAot,
literally, a bait), Tholuck quotes Juvenal's
"Quid Romse faciam? Mentiri nescio" —
" What can I do at Rome ? I know not how
to lie." The word Avhisperers, in contrast
with ((caToAaAous) backbiters, or, rather, open
calumniators, denotes secret maligners or
slanderers, or simply tale bearers. Some de-
scendants of this tribe, and of other tribes
mentioned, remain on earth until this day.]
There has been much dispute about the
sense of the compound word translated
haters of God in ver. 30; the presumption,
from its composition and accentuation, is
strongly in favor of the passive sense, hate-
ful to Ood. Alford says "it is never
found in an active sense, but always in a
passive." Yet the active sense is here so
much more appropriate to the context, the
passive would put the word so out of due rela-
tion to the whole catalogue, that there is
much reason for regarding our common trans-
lation as giving the correct sense; and indeed
this active sense does not lack the authority of
later Greek grammarians and commentators,
as Suidas and (Ecumenius of the tenth cen-
tury. The three following words, translated
despiteful, proud, boasters, are well dis.

lOn the distinction between ' ii'v (caS^KovTa, " the
genus of that which is unseemly") and {ovk avrjKtv)
(Eph. 5: 4), both of which may be rendered not seemly,
see Meyer on this passage. In later Greek, however,
the dependent negative (fj-'r)) seems at times to usurp
the place of the direct negative (ov or ovk). This not
liking to have God in one's knowledge has been not
only the occasion of unseemly deeds in all ages, but is
really the source of all the deistical infidel literature

which has been written against the Bible. "A bad
life," as the infidel and profligate Earl of Bochester
acknowledged when he came to himself, "is the only
grand objection to this book." — (F.)

s The word fieo-rovs, full of, filled full, is akin to our
stuffed, as from a surfeit in eating. — (F.)

• Aristotle defines it as " the disposition to take every-
thing in the worst sense."

Ch. I.]

ROMANS.

31 Without understanding, covenant-breakers, with-
out natural ailectioii, implacable, unmerciful :

32 Who, knowing the judgment of God, that they

31 ors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without
uudersitauding, covenant-breakers, without natural

32 aifection, unuierciiul : who, knowing the ordiuauce
of God, that they who practise such things are

tinguished by Archbishop Trench in this
triple paraphrase, "insolent and injurious in
acta, proud in thoughts, boastful in words."
Four of the above terms are the same that are
used by Paul in 2 Tim. 3: 23, to describe the
predicted corruption of the Church — namely,
'boasters,' 'proud,' 'disobedient to parents,'
' without natural affection.' [A proof of this
want of "natural affection" is found in the
unnatural infanticide practiced to such an in-
conceivable extent by many ancient and
modern pagan nations. Some pairs of words
in the above list seem to be brought together
through similarity of sound, as {<t>e6vov, <t)6vov,
icvvrrovt, i.<Tvv0iTovt) envy, murder, senseless,
faithless. For similar lists of vices, see 2 Cor.
12: 20; Gal. 5: 19; Eph. 5: 3; 1 Tim. 1: 9;
2 Tim. 3: 2. Some nine or ten of the sins
enumerated here are expressly referred to in
these lists. And all these vices and all the
corruption indicated in these dark catalogues
result, in the apostle's view, from dishonoring
God, and from being unthankful for his mer-
cies.] We add one more remark only, in
regard to the division of the verses. It does
not seem very happy, in several respects,
particularly in disregarding the changes of
syntax in the original. The word ' whisperers,'
for instance, which is the first of a series of
personal nouns, following a list of abstract
terms, is very awkwardly separated from the
word 'backbiters,' to which it has so close a
relation, both in form and in sense. Ver. 29
should end with the word 'malignity,' and
ver. 30 begin with the word 'backbiters.'
The arrangement would also be more fully
correspondent with the change of form in the
original, if ver. 29 were divided into two, the
first ending with 'maliciousness,' the last of
the words that are construed with the parti-
ciple followed by 'with,' and the second be-
ginning with the adjective 'full.' [We may
here properly ask if the apostle does not, in
this description of the Gentile world, himself
slander the Gentiles? Did every Greek and
Roman man and woman with whom he met
bear such a character as he here depicts?
Would he deny to each and all of them any
»nd every good trait? Could he deny some-

thing akin to "natural affection" even to the
Maltese "barbarians'" who showed to him and
to his shipwrecked companions "no common
kindness"? We think not. In the next
chapter, ver. 14, 26, he implies that some
Gentiles, at least, might "do by nature the
things of the law." He evidently speaks of
Gentiles as a class, and he no more slanders
them than does the brother of the Gallio who
befriended him, the moralist Seneca, the
tutor of Nero, when he says: "All is full of
crime and vice; there is more committed than
can be healed by punishment. A monstrous
prize contest of wickedness is going on. The
desire to sin increases, and shame decreases
day by day. . . . Vice is no longer practiced
secretly, but in open view. Vileness gains in
every street and in every breast to such an
extent that innocence has become not only
rare, but has ceased to exist." Paul's descrip-
tion, moreover, is written from that divine
standpoint which sees adultery in a look and
murder in a thought, and which looks on
the secret intents and desires of the hearts.
Written history, full of crimes as it is, is a
spotless sheet compared with the unwritten
history of the thoughts and inclinations of
men's hearts.]

32. Who knowing the jadgment of God.
The same compound relative which begins
ver. 25 begins this also: thei/, being such as
knoiv the judgment of Ood. ' The judgment of
God ' is here equivalent to " the righteous sen-
tence of God." " His judgments" may mean
either the judgments which he executes with
his Iiand, or the judgments which he declares
with his mouth. The former sense is much
the most common in our ordinary speech ; the
latter is quite as common in the Scriptures,
much more so in the Book of Psalms, and
pre-eminently in Psalm 119. Here too the
sense is nearer the Inttor than the former
— that is, it means the judgments which he
forms as to human conduct, though we can-
not properly say in this instance the judg-
ments of his mouth, because the persons here
referred to are not supposed to know his re-
vealed law. They know the judgment of God
therefore by the law written in their own con-

ROMANS.

[Ch. I.

which commit such things are worthy of death, not
only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do
tbeui.

worthy of death, not only do the same, but alaft
consent with them that practise them.

sciences, (t-.u.ib.) [The participle being a
compound means that they fully knew, were
perfectly aware of, the judgment of God.
Degraded and sunk in vice as they were, their
consciences were not so hardened and dead
but that they clearly recognized the voice of
duty and acknowledged the demerit of trans-
gression— "their conscience bearing witness
therewith, their thoughts one with another
accusing or else excusing." The barbarians
of Melita had clear ideas of justice and of the
ill desert of wrong doing. (Acts as: 4.) ] That
they which commit such things. [Alford
finds in this clause God's righteous sentence.]
The word here translated 'commit' is the
same as that translated 'do' at the end of the
verse. The word translated 'do' in the previ-
ous clause is a diflFerent word. Both are very
common in this Epistle, and in the New Tes-
tament generally. It will help to put the
English reader more nearly on a level with
the intelligent reader of the original, if we
distinguish between these words by translat-
ing the former practice and the latter do.
This verse will then read, "Who knowing
the judgment of God, that they which prac-
tice such things are worthy of death, not only
do the same, but have pleasure in those who
practice them." [The verb whence our "prac-
tice" is derived (jrpo«r<r) seems to denote a
habit and facility of doing, while the verb "to
do" (7roi«'«) refers rather to single acts per-
formed often, with some degree of effort or
diflSculty.^] We shall adhere to this distinc-
tion wherever these words occur in this Epis-
tle. It is to be regretted that the translators
of the Common Version did not adopt this
rule; but they tell us in their preface that
they studiously avoided this "servile uni-
formity," as they style it. In doing so, they
often mislead the English reader, and render
a concordance of the English Bible of much
less value than it would have been had they
adhered more strictly to this wholesome rule
of uniformity in rendering the same Greek
word into English. Are worthy of death.
It is well to note the use of the word 'death'
in this first instance of its occurrence in this
Epistle. It defines itself here as being that of

which transgressors of God's law are worthy
— in other words, as synonymous with the
desert and penalty of sin. Compare 5 : 12-17,
and particularly 6: 23. [As the poets of
Pagan antiquity dwelt much upon the pun-
ishments inflicted in hades, the invisible
world, so death to these heathen minds is sup-
posed by most to have reference to the pun-
ishment of sin beyond the grave. "Death, in
the sense of punishment in the other world."
(Boise.) Any infliction of physical death is,
of course, out of the question. Query: If the
modern heathen, like the ancient, are " worthy
of death," can it be supposed that God is
under obligation to provide for them a future
probation?] Not only do the same, but
have pleasure in them that do (practice)
them. [In the Koman Presbyter Clement's
first letter to the Corinthians (ch. le), written
in the last part of the first century, we find a
virtual quotation from these last four verses.
Clement's reference to the "blessed Paul the
apostle," his writings, his sufi"erings, and his
preaching, "both in the east and in the west"
— "even to the limit of the west" — is a very
important proof of the genuineness of Paul's
epistles.] 'Have pleasure in' — that is, ap-
prove The same word is rendered "allow"
in Luke 11: 48, and "consent unto" in Acts
8: 1 and 22: 20. [In this last reference Paul
charges himself with this aggravated degree
of guilt in consenting to the murder of Ste-
phen.] The form of expression in the last
two clauses of this verse, not only — but also
(the "also" is in the original, though it does
not appear in the English) implies that the ap-
proval of such acts in others argues a greater
degree of depravity than the doing of them
ourselves. Men may do such things, under
stress of temptation, without approving them.
But when they deliberately and without being
under temptation approve of them in others,
this indicates a more profound moral corrup-
tion. Our judgment of other men's actions is
usually more unbiased, and therefore more
indicative of settled moral character than our
judgment of our own. [It would seem as if a
man might be wicked enough in himself, and
be satisfied with his own wickedness, without

1 See more fully under iro4«i«, in Thayer's " Lexicon." — (F.)

Ch. II.]

ROMANS.

CHAPTER II.

THEREFORE thou art inexcusable, O man, whoso-
ever thou art that judgest : for wherein thou judgest
another, thou condemuest thyself; for thou that judg-
est doest the same things.

1 Wherefore thou art without excuse, O man, wlio-
soever thou art that judgest: for wherein tlioujudg-
est 1 another, thou condeuinest thysL-lf ; for thou that

2 judgest dost practise the same things. ^And we

1 Or. (*< other 3 llau; uioient aaiboriilM remd For.

seeking to injure others or enticing them to
commit sin, or rejoicing in the sins which
they have committed. The apostle, in this
passage and elsewhere, seems to indicate that
there is a progress in wickedness as well as a
growth in grace; that this progress is ever
downward, and that it has in itself no re-
straining power. Sin does not cure itself.]

Ch. 2 : The apostle now proceeds to show
that the Jews are under the same condemna-
tion as the Gentiles; but he introduces this
unwelcome topic skillfully, using general
terms at first, without expressly naming the
Jews. Some commentators refer the first half
of this chapter to the Gentiles, either to their
philosophers, their magistrates, or the better
sort of people among them, in distinction
from the baser multitude described in the
previous chapter. But the context, and espe-
cially in ver. 4, 5, 11, is decidedly in favor of
referring it to the Jews.

[Godet thus introduces the thought of this
chapter: "In the midst of this flood of pollu-
tions and iniquities which Gentile society pre-
sents to view, the apostle sees one who, like a
judge from the height of his tribunal, sends a
stern look over the corrupt mass, condemning
the evil which reigns in it, and applauding
the wrath of God which punishes it. It is
this new personage whom he apostrophizes in
the following word."]

1. Therefore (Sib, literally, on which ac-
count, wherefore) refers to the previous verse.
They who approve such things are worthy of
death; but the Jews might say : "We disap-
prove and denounce these sins of the Gen-
tiles." 'Therefore,' the apostle might retort,
you are surely inexcusable for committing
the same. [Meyer makes this 'therefore'
take a retrospective glance over the whole of
the last chapter after ver. 17, with a particu-
lar reference to the 'inexcusable' of ver. 20,
and gives the idea in these words: "Before
the mirror of this Gentile life of sin all excuse
vanishes from thee, O man, who judgest, for

this mirror reflects thine own conduct, which
thou thyself therefore condemnest by thy
judgment. A deeply tragic de te narratur,
into which the proud Jewish consciousness
sees itself all of a sudden transferred."] The
word here translated 'inexcusable' is pre-
cisely the same as that translated "without
excuse" in 1 : 20. Both should be translated
alike. In the Bible Union Version both are
translated "without excuse"; this is an im-
provement upon the Common Version, but
'inexcusable' would be better still as being
nearer to the original in form, and just as
near, at least, in sense. O man, whosoever
thou art that judgest. [This 'O man' is
made to bear the name Jew in ver. 17. Butt-
mann remarks ("Grammar," p. 140) that the
interjection does not occur so often in the
New Testament with the vocative as it does in
classic Greek, and that it "generally has an
emphatic character, and so contains rather an
exclamation than a simple address."] Using
the second person singular here instead of the
third plural, as in the previous chapter, Paul
seems to imagine one of his own countrymen
present and condemning the sins of the Gen-
tiles. This gives great vivacity to his dis-
course. Yet he purposely uses the indefinite
expression, ' whosoever thou art,' not ready
yet to call out the Jew by name. [Bishop
Wordsworth says, Paul uses 'man' instead of
Jew, because "the proposition is one of uni-
versal application, and because he would ap-
proach the Jew with gentleness, and not
exasperate and alienate him by any abrupt
denunciation." "Whosoever thou art, even
if thou art a Jew." (Fritz«che.)] For where-
in thou judgest another. [' Wherein,'
"in the matter in which." (Alford.)] Tl>f.
other would be more literal than 'another' —
that is, the other party, hinting at the Jewish
habit of separating themselves in thought
from the Gentiles, almost as if they belonged
to a difllerent species. For thou that judi;-
est doest the same things. [Paul here
suddenly brings homo to the Jew Nathan's
accusation to David: "Thou art the man,"

ROMANS.

[Ch. II.

2 But we are sure that the judgment of Gou is accord-
ing to truth against them which commit such things.

3 And ihiukest thou this, O man, that judgest them
which do such things, and doest the same, that thou
shalt escape the judgment of God?

know that the judgment of God is according to truth

3 against them that practise such things. And reckon-

est thou this, U man, who judgest them that practise

such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt

'Thou that judgest' has a "reproachful em-
phasis." (Meyer.) The Jew, and especially
the Pharisee, regarded the word "sinners"
as but another name for Gentiles (Gai. 2:i5),
and characteristically judged them as being
the abandoned of God. Philippi says that
"this passion on the part of the Jews for con-
demning others gives the apostle an excellent
vantage ground for the judgment he has to
pass upon them.'j Practlcest, or dost prac-
tice, which last is more agreeable to the ear,
would be preferable to 'doest,' according to
the principle laid down in the notes on the
last verse of Chapter I. The apostle asserts
the fact that the Jews (while reprovingly
judging the Gentiles for their misdeeds) prac-
tice 'the same things' (raauTa), and leaves it
to the conscience of the person addressed.
That the Jewish nation was at this time very
corrupt, and that many of the worst vices of
the heathen were common among them, is
manifest from the testimonies of Josephus and
the Rabbins, as well as from the New Testa-
ment. They may have been comparatively
free from idolatry in its most literal form ;
but they were just as truly transgressors of
the moral law of God, and so virtually prac-
ticed the same things as the Gentiles. The
principle of the apostles argument com-
mends itself to common sense; Cicero states
it substantially in these words: "All things
which you blame in another, you are bound
to avoid yourself." ("Oration against Ver-
res,"5.)

2. Bat we are sure — we know, that is,
everyone knows: our own nature assents to
the proposition. ["Paul thus implies the
tacit concurrence of tlie Jew in this sen-
tence of condemnation." (Boise.)] The read-
ing "for" in place of 'but' has the better
support from the manuscripts. [Retaining
the 'but' of our common and revised text, we
should have this meaning : "you may judge
falsely and hypocritically, 'but' the judg-
ment of God is according to truth."] The

emphasis of the statement seems to belong to
the latter clause of the verse — the judgment
of God is against them that practice such
things, and this judgment is according to the
truth of the case, without any partiality ; ac-
cording to facts and character, without regard
to the distinction between Jew and Gentile, or
to any external difference. ["The judgment
of God, unlike the inconsistent judgment of
man in ver. 1, is directed according to truth
against the doers of evil." ("Bible Commen-
tary.") For "commit" read ^practice' as in
the Revised Version.]

3. And thiukest thon this, [But thinkest
thou, etc. — i. e., though thou knowest that
God'sjudgment is according to truth] O man,
that judgest them which do (practice)
such things. The question here, as often in
Paul's epistles, and indeed in argumentative
and rhetorical discourse generall3% is equiva-
lent to an emphatic negative. [The word
translated do (npdacrio), which has already
occurred thrice in this chapter, is rightly ren-
dered practice in the Revised Version, and is
thus distinguished from doest (iroiiv) in the
next clause.] That thou shalt escape.
'Thou' is emphatic: its very presence in the
original shows this ; for the forms of the verb,
in Greek, as in many other languages, suffi-
ciently determine the number and person, so
that the pronoun is not needed, except when
there is some reason for emphasizing it.^ " If
others cannot escape your judgment, do you
think that you can escape God's?" — Calvin.
[This utterance of the apostle sounds like the
voice of one crying in the wilderness, calling
to repentance those self-righteous ones who,
while pronouncing a condemnatory judgment
on others, felt themselves secure as being the
children of Abraham, and therefore exempt
from the judgment of God. "According to
the Jewish conceit, only the Gentiles were to
be judged, whereas all Israel were to share in
the Messianic kingdom as its native children,
Matt. 8: 12." (Meyer.)]

t Buttmaiui,in his "Grammar of the New Testament I nouns were frequently employed where no reason of
Greek," sees in the language of the New Testament a importance is obvious," and refers to this passage as an
greater departure from classic usage than Winer was example (with others), but, as it seems to us, without
inclined to acknowledge, and thinks " the personal pro- 1 due reason.— (F.)

Ch. II.]

ROMANS.

4 Or despisest thou tbe riches of his goodness and
forbearance and lougsuxt'ering; not knowing thai the
goodness of (iod leadetli thee to repentance ?

4 escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the
riches of his gooduess and forhearaucu and loiigsuf-
feriug, not kuuwiugthat the goodness of Ood leadcth

5 thee to repentance? but alter thy hardness and im-

4. Or despisest thou, etc. The force of
the disjunctive conjunction [here drawing
attention to a new question]^ may perhaps be
explained in this way: Do you imagine,
without any pretense of reason, that you shall
escape God's judgment? or, ["in case thou
hast not this conceit" (Meyer)], do you base
your hope of escape from future retribution
on the forbearance of God hitherto? If so,
that is a flagrant abuse of that forbearance,
which is in effect despising it, under pretense of
honoring it.* The riches of his goodness,
etc. 'Riches,' as synonymous with abun-
dance and greatness, is a very common ex-
pression with the apostle. (9: 23; U: 33; Eph. 1 : 7;

J; 4,7; 3: 16; Col. 1 : 27.) 'His goodncss,' his kind-
ness expressed in bestowing favors and with-
holding punishment.* Forbearance and
long suffering. [Paul speaks of the "wrath
of God," but these words show us that he
is "slow to wrath." By the repetition of the
connective 'and,' as also by the repeated use
of the article (equivalent in the last two
instances to the pronoun his), the apostle
seems desirous to dwell upon and to empha-
size the merciful attributes of God. Most
expositors regard the forbearance and the
long-suffering as explanatory of the goodness,
as if it read: 'Even of his forbearance and
his long-suffering'; but it seems most natural
to regard them as having the same regimen
as goodness — i. e., in the genitive case, after
riches.] The former word expresses his slow-
ness to inflict punishment; the latter, his
slowness to take offense. The former, as the
actual result, proceeds from the latter, as the
abiding inward cause. The former, moreover,
seems to hint— so, perhaps, does the latter,
though somewhat less obviously, at the limit,
which may not be passed. God holds back
his vengeance for a while; he suffers long,
but not forever. They who think they may
continue to live in sin with impunity, because
they have been so long unpunished, may

fancy that they are magnifying God's good-
ness; but in reality they are vilifying it,
abusing his forbearance, despising his long
suffering, by their contemptuous unconcern
as to the holy purpose of it. Compare 2
Peter 3: 9. [Trench, defining 'long-suffering'
(ij.axpoOvii.ia) and 'endurance' (vnotiovri) , says
the former will be found to express patience
in regard to persons, the latter in respect of
things; and that of these two, "only 'long-
suffering' is an attribute of God."] Not
knowing. Not knowing to any practical
purpose — a guilty ignorance. Tliey might
know it, and ought to know it. Iieadeth
thee to repentance. ["Objectively spoken."
(DeWette.) God's forbearance and mercies
despised lead to indiflerence in a life of sin
and to a treasuring up of wrath rather than
to repentance. Paul in his preaching incul-
cated "repentance toward God," as well as
" faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." (aou

20: 21; »l.o 17: 30; 26; 20.) Yct in the CpistlcS he

uses the noun only here and in 2 Cor. 7: 9,
10; 2 Tim. 2: *25, and the verb " repent" only
once, 2 Cor. 12: 21— faith, rather than repent-
ance, being the predominant word in the
epistles. Eilicott, however, remarks that he
partially replaces these words b^* reconcile,
reconciliation, etc.] The form of the verb
docs not necessarily express the full accom-
plishment of the result, but the design and
tendency, a leading toward this ref?ult, which
is often felt, where it is not yielded to, but
even consciously resisted. ["God's leading is
as real as man's resistance to being led."
(Gifford.)] This would be better expressed
in our language, with equal fidelity to the
original, by the form, "is leading thee."
[Paul teaches that God in his benignity
wishes none to be lost, but would have all
men to be saved, to come to repentance, and
to the acknowledging of the truth. Com-
pare 1 Tim. 2: 4. Yet men living under
the full blaze of gospel light reject the

' Some make thequesiion end with repentance, others | object being "conceived as operating upon the feeling
with God in the next verse, while Alford thinks "the j subject — consequently, as the point from which the

enquiry loses itself in the digressive clauses following,
and nowhere comes pointedly to an end.'' — (F.)

* This as a verb of /««iin^ (hence, caring for, contemn-
ing, admiring) is usually followed by the genitive, the

feeling proceeds." — Winer, 204. — (F.)

'Trench call this xpi^tottj? (goodness or benignity)
a "beautiful word," and it occurs in the New Testament
only in the writings of Paul.— (F.)

ROMANS.

[Ch. II.

5 But, after thy hardness and impenitent heart,
treasurcst up uuto thyself wrath against the day of
wrath and revelaiiuu of the righteous judgment of
(iod;

penitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath in the

day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judg-

6 uient of (jod ; who will render to every man accord-

truth, and choose not to repent nor to be
saved.]

5. But, after thy hardness — that is, ac-
cording to thy hardness, agreeable to its na-
ture, and proportioned to its degree. "When
thou are neither softened by kindness, nor
subdued by fear, what can be harder than
thou art?" (Theophylact.) And impeni-
tent heart. This word impenitent is found
only here. [What sinners should especially
dread in their deferring of repentance is the
hardening process of sin, by which repent-
ance becomes at last an impossibility. Fritz-
sche and Philippi understand the word ' im-
penitent' to mean in this place not only
unrepentant, but incapable of repentance.
The epithet is placed before the noun to give
it a slight emphasis. (Winer, p. 524. )] Treas-
urest up unto thyself wrath. The expres-
sion to 'treasure up' is generally applied to
something good and valuable, or at least so
regarded ; but is sometimes used of evil
things, bot!i in the New Testament and in
other writings. The noun is so used in Luke
6: 45. 'Treasurest up' here is heapest up,
the idea of abundance, not that of quality,
being predominant. [This treasuring up ot
wrath contrasts sadly with the riches of God's
goodness; but according to Paul's representa-
tion it is the sinner (and not God) who is
heaping up for himself this fearful treasure.
"What thou layest up, a little every day,
thou wilt find a mass hereafter." (Augustine.)]
Against the day of wrath— literally, in the
day of wrath, to be signally manifested, to
break out, in the day of wrath. [In refer-
ence to this "day," compare ver. 16. It
stands without the article, but is suflSciently
defined by the nouns in the genitive which
follow it. The omission of the article is some-
times owing to the use of a preposition (Winer,
126), and sometimes the article is omitted on
the common principle of "correlation," by
which " if the governing noun is without the
article, the governed will be equally so"
(Ellicott), and vice versa. Compare 2 Cor.
6: 2; Eph. 4: 30; Phil. 1: 6. Some few man-

uscripts, versions, and Fathers have an and
after revelation.] And revelation of the
righteous judgment of God. 'Righteous
judgment' is expressed here by a single com-
pound word, not elsewhere found.' The day
referred to will be a day of completed redemp-
tion to the godly; a day of wrath to the un-
godly. See how closely these two opposite
contemporaneous results are brought together
in 2 Thess. 1 : (>-10. God's abused goodness is
thus made the occasion of just the opposite
results to those which it was intended to pro-
duce. [This "day of revelation " (airoKoAui/iis)
has probable reference to the revelation of our
Lord Jesus Christ from heaven. See 1 Cor.
1 : 7 ; 2 Thess. 1 : 7 ; 1 Peter 1 : 7, 13 ; 4 : 13.
In other epistles the apostle speaks of the
"future appearing ' (cn-Kjxii'eio) or "manifes-
tation" of Christ (see 2 Thess. 2: 8; 1 Tim. 6:
14; 2 Tim. 1: 10; 4: 1, 8; Titus 2: 13); or of
his "coming" or "presence" (napovaia). See
1 Cor. 15: 23; 1 Thess. 2: 19; 3: 13; 4: 15; 5:
23; 2 Thess. 2: 1, 8; see also Matt. 24: 3, 27,
37, 39; James 5: 7, 8; 2 Peter 1: 16; 3: 4, 12;
1 John 2 : 28." But in this Epistle he does not
expressly mention the coming or day of the
Lord, though in 13: 12 he aflSrms that "the
day is at hand." Olshausen supposes that at
the date of this Epistle Paul had changed his
views as to the near coming of Christ, and
that he no longer expected to live until his
Lord's return. But in nearly all his later
letters there is expressed more or less of this
expectation. "Our Lord cometh" (iiapaviOa).
Even in 2 Timothy, when the time of his de-
parture had come, he speaks, as with his dying
breath, of the day and the appearing of the
Lord, of being preserved unto his heavenly
kingdom, and he classes himself with those
who have loved and who still love his appear-
ing. 2 Tim. 1: 12; 4: 1, 8, 18; compare 1
Tim. 6: 14. Surely in this representation we
can find no evidence of mistaken or changed
views. And in his earlier epistles, though he
says, as in 1 Thess. 4 : 15, " We which are alive
and remain unto the coming of the Lord,"
yet in 1 Corinthians, which was written but a

iFor other newly-constructed words in the New Testament, see Winer, p. 25. — (F.)

« The word nopovaia occurs elsewhere in 1 Cor. 16 : 17 ; 2 Cor. 7 : 6, 7 ; 10 : 10 ; Phil. 1 : 26 ; 2 : 12 ; 2 Thess. 2 : 9.— (F.)

Ch. II.]

ROMANS.

6 Who will render to every man according to bis 7 ing to hia works : to them that by > patience in well-
seds:

deeds :

1 Or, 4tea<l/a$tneu.

short time previous to our Epistle, and in which
he speaks repeatedly of the coming nnd the
day of Christ, and affirms, " We all shall not
sleep," etc., closing indeed with inariin-atha;
he nevertheless says: "God hath both raised
up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his
own power. 1 Cor. 16: 14; compare 2 Cor. 4:
14. Thus nothing decisive can be determined
from the use of "us" and "we" in this con-
nection. Whatever Paul may have thought
of the day and revelation of Christ, he could
say: "He which hath begun a good work in
you will perform it until the day of Jesus
Christ" ; could spoak of waiting for a Sav-
iour; could say, "The Lord is at hand," and
yet could talk of life's uncertainty and of his
departure, as we do of ours, and of his hoping
to attain unto the (blessed) resurrection from
the dead. (Phu. 1:6,20-23; 3: 11,20; 4:5.) It is as-
tonishing to see how ready some are to speak
of the apostle's mistaken view of tliis subject,
and of his finding out his mistake. EUicott,
on the phrase, 'day of Christ Jesus,' thus
remarks: "That St. Paul in these words
assumes the nearness of the coming of the
Lord cannot be positively asserted. ... It
may be fairly said that he is here (pui. i:6),
using language which has not so much a mere
historical as a general and practical refer-
ence; the day of Christ, whether far or near,
is the decisive day to each individual; it is
practically cuincident with the day of his
death, and becomes, when addressed to the
individual, an exaltation ind amplification of
that term. Death, indeed, as has been well
remarked by Bishop Reynolds, is dwelt upon
but little in the New Testament; it is to the
resurrection and to the dnv of Christ that the
eyes of the believer are directed." See at 13:
12 for further remarks on this subject.]

G. Who will render to every man ac-
cording to his deeds. [The same words
are found in Prov. 24: 12. The compound
verb here used means, to give in full.] Observe
that the apostle is here expounding the law,
not the gospel. Yet it is equally true, under
the gospel, that God's judgmentwill beaccord-
ing to each man's deeds, though the saved will
not be saved by [or on the ground of] their

works. (Uatt. 16: 27; 25: 31-46; t Cor. 5: 10; Gal. 6: 7,8;
Eph.6: 8; Rev. 2 : 23; 22: 12.) The rightCOUS wiU be

rewarded according to their works, as justified
and accepted servants of the Lord ; the wicked
will be punished according to their works, as
impenitent transgressors of his holy law. "It
is a weak inference," says Calvin, "to con-
clude anything to be merit, because it is re-
warded." [De Wettesays: " Paul speaks here
not from a Christian but from a legal stand-
point." Similarly Bengel, Tholuck, Hodge,
and others. Butif we lookupon tiiisrewarding
of believers according to their works as being
a reward of grace, we see no necessity for re-
garding this standard of God's judgment as
determined from a legal standpoint. " In the
reward there is a certain retrospect to the
work done, but no proportion between them,
except such as may have been established by
the free appointment of the Giver, and the
only claim which it justifies is upon his prom-
ise." (Trench on "the Parable of the Labor-
ers in the Vineyard.") It is important to
notice that Paul nowhere says we are saved
and rewarded for the merit of our works, not
even propter Jidem, on account of, or on the
ground of our faith. " Not from works of
righteousness which we have done," and not
"according to debt," are we saved and re-
warded. Yet God is pleased graciously to
reward the works of believers, works which
are "the practical evidence and measure of
their faith." "But this equivalent," says
Dr. Weiss, " is not to be regarded in the rigid
judicial sense as an external balancing of
wages and service. , . , It is grace which
presents the reward and enables one to attain
it." The awards to the righteous and the
wicked are not only diflTerent, but are given
on diflferent principles. The retributive reward
of unbelievers will be not only according to
their works, but because of, or on the ground of
their works. It will be an award of debt, of
wages due to sin. To the righteous the award
of eternal life will be bj- gift of grace, yet
according to their works of righteousness.
And this eternal life will be to some more than
it will be to others, even according to their
works, and according to the measure of their

ROMANS.

[Ch. II.

7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing
seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal
life:

doing seek for glory and honour and incorruption,
8 eternal life: but unto them that are factious, and

capacities. If any think it selfish and mer-
cenary for believers to look unto the future
recompense of reward we would answer in
the words of St. Bernard : " True love is not
mercenary, although a reward follows it."
Dr. Thomas Playfere, Professor of Divinity
at Cambringe (1600), a strong Calvinist, thus
speaks on this point: " If ye be loving chil-
dren indeed, though there were no hell to
fear, no heaven to hope for, no torments to
dread, no rewards to expect, yet ye will obey
your good Father and be the sorrowfuUest
creatures in the world if you have but once
displeased him, only for the mere love ye bear
towards him, and for the unspeakable love he
hath showed towards you."]*

7. [To bring out the full force of the Greek
(the iniv, in this verse, which corresponds with
8«', of ver. 8), we may render: To them,
on the one hand, who, etc.]. Patient con-
tinuance [or, stedfastness, as in the margin
of the Kevised Version] is expressed in the
Greek by one word, translated simply "pa-
tience" in about thirty places, "patient wait-
ing" in 2 Thess. 3: 5, and "enduring" in 2
Cor. 1:6. It differs from our word "patience,"
in having a more active, energetic sense, which
is not badly paraphrased here by the expres-
sion "patient continuance," but might be more
briefly rendered by the single word "con-
stancy," here and in many other places.
Here, "constancy in good works." Compare
Luke 8: 15. It is only another form of the
same radical word, which is translated "to
endure," in the expression, "he thatendureth
to the end," in Matt. 10: 22, and in nearly a
dozen other places. Seek for glory and
honour and immortality. The word 'glory'
first occurs here in this sense, as something
which man is to seek as his chief and eternal
good. It is defined by Webster ("S3'ntax and
Synonyms of the New Testament," p. 205) as
" the future state of acknowledged perfection

which God designs for man." In this com-
prehensive sense it seems to be used here, and
in many other places of this Epistle, as in ver.
10 of this chapter, 3: 23; 5: 2; 8: 18; 9: 23.
These three terms may be taken as a compre-
hensive description of the future salvation
[two of these elements being in ver. 10, ex-
presslj' combined in the "eternal life"], in
these three aspects or elements of it, the
' glory ' of perfected character [compare Matt.
13: 43]; the 'honour' connected with it, as

tiie prize of victory (l Cor. 9: 25; PhU.S: U; JTlm. •!:
8; James 1: 12; 1 Peter 5 : 4), the reigning witll Clirlst

(8: 17; 2 Tim. 2 : 12); and its imperishableness

(l Cor. 15; 52; 1 I'eter 1 : t : Rev. 21 : i). [This 'immor-
tality,' or 'incorruption' rather (compare 2
Tim. 1: 10; also 1 Cor. 15: 42, 52, 53, 54),
being one of glory and blessedness, is not
antithetical to annihilation or non-existence.
Besides, we have no occasion for seeking an
endless existence, for this is ours as an in-
alienable possession. As Haley in his "Dis-
crepancies of the Bible" remarks: "The
Greek word used here is not 'immortality'
(aSavaaia), but ' incorruption ' (ai}>iap<Tia, trans-
lated ' sincerity- ' in Eph. 6: 24), and points to
that exemption from moral corruption which
saints are seeking here and which they will
fully attain in heaven." This word as we
suppose denotes not being, but a state of being,
an unending state of glory and honor, and
implies, of course, an endless existence. The
adjective from it is applied not only to risen
saints, but to God, in Kom. 1 : 23; 1 Tim. 1:
17.] The seeking here implies deliberate
choice {{-nd i\ct\ve effort. Eternal life. This
is what God will render (ver. e) to those who
earnestly seek it by. or, in 'constancy of well
doing.' [The epithet "eternal," (oiwi'io?),
occurring in the ISew Testament seventy-one
times according to Bruder, is applied to "life"
forty-four times.'' It is somewhat singular that
the Greek 'eternal' should be derived from

iSo sang Francis Xavier —

" O deus, ego amo Tc,

Nef amo Te, ut salves nie,
Aut quia non amantes Te
.S;terno punis igne."

My God I love thee — not hecauso
I hope for heaven thereby,

Nor because tho.<=e who love thee not
Must burn eternally.
See further in No. 333 of the Baptist Hymnal.— fF.)
* Some make it, mistakenly we think, forty-six. In
1 Tim. 6: 19, Westcott and Hort give as the most ap-
proved text ovTus instead of aioowo?. It is connected
with fire, judgment, destruction, six times: with glory
three times ; with inheritance twice ; and once each

Ch. II.]

ROMANS.

8 But uuto them that are contentious, and do not I
obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation
and wrath, |

obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, s/iall
9 be wrath and iuUiguation, tribulation and auguisii,

a word meaning "age" (aiwi'), the same as
the Latin 'eternal' from aetas {aevum, aiiuv)
age, yet both the Greek and the Latin words
(aiwi'tos and ceternus) properly signify eternal,
and the one no more signifies a^'C-tes^in^'than
does the other. It is only when this word
refers to "punishment" and "destruction"
that men have a motive to give a qualitative
character, or to make it mean, lasting for an
age. This unending life (i<»ri) is something
more than existence, is more than outward
earthly life or living (/Sioj) ; it is life in the
highest sense, "the truly life." (iTim.6:i».)
This eternal life is elsewhere in the New Tes-
tament contrasted with judgment (Jobn5:24),
with corruption (Q»i. «: s), with perishing

(John 3: 16; 10: 28), with death (Rom. 6: 23), with

God's abiding wrath (John 3: 36), and with eter-
nal punishment. (Matt.25:46.) Compare " eter-
nal de.struction " in 2 Thess. 1:9. It consists
in knowing God and keeping his commands,
in knowing his Son, believing in him, and re-
ceiving him. This life is in his Son, and if
we have him, we have life. We have the
beginning of it here along with our animal
and earthly life, and it abides within us, and

will never grow old. (John6: 47; UohnS: is) It

is the gift of God to his adopted children — their
incorruptible, unfading inheritance. Who
are we or what have we done that we should
be heirs of such an inheritance?]

8. But unto them that are conten-
tious. The word translated 'contentious'
means rather, "self-seeking": instead of
being derived, as our translators seem to have
supposed, from the word commonly trans-
lated "strife," it comes rather from a word
which means "a hired laborer," and suggests
the idea of a mercenary spirit. The persons
to whom this epithet is applied, instead of
seeking "glory, honor, and immortality,"
seek their own sordid ends. [Such persons
generally cause factions, intrigues, and the
noun is taken by some in this sense. The
literal rendering is : to those from faction —
that is, those who belong to it, or, as Fritzsche
says, those who are derived from it, who

"have it as a parent." The like construction
is found in Acts 10: 4o; Gal. 3: 7, those from
circumcision, those from faith. See Winer,
? 51, d. Corresponding with this, we have
elsewhere the phrase, 'sons or children of dis-
obedience,' etc.; see Eph. 2: 2. The word
for faction or partisanship occurs elsewhere
only in 2 Cor. 12: 20; Gal. 5: 20: Phil. 1:
16; 2: 3; James 8: 14, 16; see Ellicott on
Gal. 5: 20.] And do not obey the truth.
Gospel truth is not merely to be believed, but
to be obeyed : it is very practical, and a mere
intellectual assent to it, without correspond-
ing affections and actions, is of no value in
the sight of God. And they who do not obey
the truth will be sure to obey unrighteous-
ness. There can be no neutrality here. [The
word for 'obey not' denotes that this disobedi-
ence springs from unbelief. 'Truth' is in
the dative of reference or of the more remote
object; thej' were disobedient in respect to
'the truth.' The word translated "truth"
(oAijOeia) by its etymology denotes that which
is unconcealed, manifest, open, hence the
converse of that which is merely apparent, or
false and hypocritical. Truth involves right-
eousness, and is opposed to 'unrighteousness'
(iSiKi'a). Hence we have in the Scriptures the
righteousness of truth, and the deceit of un-
righteousness. (Eph. 4: 24; 2 Thess. 2: 10.)]. In-
dignation and wrath. These words, so
closely allied in meaning, are coupled together
in two other places in Paul's epistles. (Kph. 4.
31; Col, 3: 8.) They oftcn occur separately, and
both are commonly translated 'wrath,' but
each is once translated 'indignation,' one here,
and the other in Rev. 14: 10. The one here
translated 'wrath' (opyrj) seems to refer more
to the inward feeling, the one translated 'in-
dignation' (Ov/xot) to the outward manifesta-
tion ; one is the heat of the fire, the other the
bursting forth of the flame; one of the old
Greek grammarians says, that the first is last-
ing, the second transitorj-. Both are repeat-
edly used in the expression, "the wrath of
God." [In the revised text the order of the
two nouns is reversed, and the rendering is

with gospel, covenant, thing^s unseen, new and abiding
relation of Onesimus, Spirit, God, consolation, home in
the heaTens, Christ's kingdom, redemption, salvation,

purpo.se, sin, and with the word power in a doxol(ty
(See " Bible Commentary " on 2 Thessalonians, p. 7-i.S.)—
(F.)

ROMANS.

[Ch. II.

9 Tribulation and anguish, upon everr soul of man I upon every soul of man that worketh evil, of tlie
that doeth evil; of the Jew lirst, and also of the 10 Jew first, and also of the Greek; but glory and
Ueutile ; I

made to correspond.] There is an irregular-
ity in the grammaticiil construction here.
The words 'indignation and wrath' appear
to be governed, like the words 'eternal life'
in the preceding verse, by the verb ' will ren-
der.' In ver. 6 that undoubtedly expresses
the true sense; but as the words 'indignation
and wrath' are in the nominative case in the
Greek, it is necessary to supply the verb in
the passive form, "indignation and wrath
shall be rendered^ The words at the begin-
ning of the next verse are also in the nomi-
native case, and so equally require a change
in the verb. [Perhaps the apostle avoided
saying: God will render anguish, etc., in
order to indicate that these punishments are
not altogether direct and positive inflictions
from the hand of God, but that they may
come upon the sinner in accordance with the
nature and laws of his own being, or in ac-
cordance with the "constitution and course of
nature." Compare 9: 22, and Schaff's note
in Lange, p. 98. The change of construction
gives at least variet3' and vivacity to the style.]

9. Tribulation and anguish (shall be or
shall come). These two words are joined to-
gether again in 8: 35, and 2 Cor. 6: 4. [See,
also. Is!i. 8: 22; 30: 6; LXX.]> [Instead of
these terms we might have expected "eternal
destruction" (sThess. i: 9) as the correlative of
"eternal life." As the apostle makes the re-
ward of the righteous — glory, honor, and life
— to be eternal, so, if we keep his "eternal
destruction" in view, we must regard this
wrath and this tribulation as likewise eternal.

At least, no one can say that it would be
un-Pau line to regard these as eternal. Some
persons, I know, are trying to cherish an
"eternal hope" for all the ungodly who are
living and have ever lived on earth, and in-
deed, for all the rebel host throughout crea-
tion. They trustingly hope that there will be
no everlasting schism in God's universe, but
that as all began in unit3% and harmony, so
all will end in harmony and peace. A most
pleasing anticipation surely, and it only needs
some scriptural foundation to warrant it. The

great trouble which lies in the way of accept-
ing restoration ist and universalistic views is,
that if we shorten or do away with the "eter-
nal punishment," we must shorten or do away
with the "eternal life."] Upon every soul
of man — that is, upon every single man.
The 'soul' is not to be emphasized here, as
if it were intended to specify that part of our
nature as the sphere of the 'tribulation and
anguish ' ; but the expression stands for the
whole man, as in 13: 1. [Winer, Me^'er, and
others, think some reference is had to the
soul as that part of man which feels pain,
thus making the phrase nearly equivalent to
every soul of man, or, soul of every man.
Mehring, as quoted by Philippi, observes that
the justification of the phrase lies in the fact
that the soul, as the sole subject of feeling, is
the real man. The soul is the vital principle
in man, "the sphere of the will and affections,
and the true centre of the personality." As
distinguished from the spirit, it has special
reference to our animal and sensuous nature.
See note on Luke 1 : 46, 47.] That doeth
evil. The word translated 'doeth' here is
different from both the words distinguished in
1: 32, and 2: 1, and may be more exactly
translated "worketh," as it is in the following
verse. So it will be translated wherever we
meet it throughout the Epistle. [Its meaning
as a compound is probably a little stronger
than the simple verb, work. Perhaps it is
nearly equivalent to our work out, accom-
plish, or bring to pass. ' Evil,' literally "the
evil;" so, "the good," in the next verse.
The neuter adjective with the article is thus
often used as an abstract noun.] In chapter
7 we shall find all three of these words, "do,
practice, work," in intimate connection. Of
the Jew first, and also of the Gentile.
Inl: 16, it is the "blessing" which isto come
to the Jew 'first' ; so also in the next verse.
Here it is the penal retribution. ' First' dties
not mean "especially" here; for although
that would be in accordance with the
just rule laid down by our Lord in Luke 12:
47, 48, it would not agree so well with tlie

'The latter, as the stronger term, is always put last.
The former (SAii^is) is pressure from t^l7Aot/^the latter
(oT«TOX"P"*i literally, j<rai<nMi of room, which allows no

I way of turning or escaping) is pressure from within.
\ Compare 2 Cur. 4 : 8, ^At^d/xecoi, pressed on every side,
but not <TTfi'o\u}povn€voi.. — (F.)

Ch. II.]

ROMANS.

10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that
worketh good ; to the Jew first, ana also to theCieiUile:

11 For theie is uo respect oC persons with Uod.

12 For as uiaiiy as have siuneid without law shall also

honour and peace to every man that worketh good,
11 to the Jew first, and also lo the Greek: lor ihcra
VI is uo respect of pt;r:-oiis with God. For as niauy

as 1 have sinned wiihout law shall also perish with-

1 Gr. titmtd.

frequent use of the expression without the
word 'first.' The Jew as having precedence
in privileges, naturally takes precedence in
the order of judgment. He is always named
first, except in Col. 3: 11. The word for
'Gentile' in this and in the following verse,
is, by the Revised Version, literally rendered
Greek.

10. But glory, honour, and peace [will
be rendered]. Instead of "immortality"
(incorruption) here, we have 'peace,' the
other two words being the same as in ver. 7.
These are what God "will render" (ver. s) to
these two classes of men respectively. In
their fullness, they will be realized only in
the future world, according to the intimation
in vor. 16. But many beginnings and fore-
tastes of them, in both cases, are experienced
in the present life, particularly in the case of
the threatened evils. Much tribulation and
anguish herald the coming wrath; and if but
little of the glory and honor appear here
(iJohn3:2), the peace, at least, though not
perfect nor uninterrupted, is real, and beyond
all price.

11. For there is no respect of persons
with God. [This 'respect of persons' (n-poo-w-
ir»A7n;<i'a, or, in some critical editions, irpo<rM-
voXri^tjiia) is a New Testament word, yet derived
from Old Testament phraseology. See Lev.
19: 15; Dcut. 10: 17; 2 Chron. 19: 7; Job U:
19; Mai. 2: 9; also Luke 20: 21; Matt. 22:
16; Acts 10: 34; Gal. 2: 6. It occurs else-
where, in Paul's writings, only in Eph. 6: 9;
Col. 3: 25. Compare James 2: 1 (9). Similar
phraseology and a like idea are found in
Ecclesiasticus, or Wisdom of Sirach 35: 12, 13.
(Lxx 33: 14 16.) Compare Wisdom of Solomon
6: 7. Prof. Shedd remarks that there "can
be no partiality in the exercise of mercy, be-
cause there cannot be an obligation or claim
of any kind in this case. . . . But there may
be partiality in the administration of jun-
tice."] This verse states the principle of im-
partiality on which God will deal with Jews
and Gentiles, in accordance with the .state-
ments in ver. 9 and 10, and in opposition to
the fund fancy of the Jews that they had as

Jews, irrespective of their personal charac-
ters, a sort of monopoly of the divine favor.
The doctrine that God is no respecter of per-
sons is not to be understood in such a way as
to limit his sovereignty ; he dealeth with his
creatures according to his good pleasure, giv-
ing to some much greater favors than to
others; but he shows no capricious partiality,
always, in his final judgment, holding an
even balance between responsibilities and
privileges, without regard to merely facti-
tious distinctions. So it is that the succeed-
ing context teaches us to understand the often
misunderstood and often abused principle so
emphatically affirmed in this verse. Com-
pare Acts 10: 34, 35. Men are justified by
faith, not by works; they will be judged ac-
cording to their works, without any partiality
[judged "according to truth," ver. 2.]

12. For as many as have sinned. [Liter-
ally, sinned — "spoken from the standpoint of
the time of the judgment." (Meyer.;] Wo
have now an expansion and illustration of the
principle laid down in the preceding ver.*e.
God is impartial, 'for' he will judge men
according to the light which they enjoy [or
might and should have possessed]. Without
law here can only mean without the written
law, the law of Moses. If any were abso-
lutely without law, they would be absolutely
without sin ; " for where no law is, there is no
transgression." (4: i5.) The expression ' with-
out law' is used (ac'jectively) in the same
sense in 1 Cor. 9: 21 (four times). The word
also in the second clause shows the corre-
sponding relation between the verbs 'have
sinned' and shall perish [i. «., they shall
'also perish without law.' "Their punish-
ment shall be assigned without reference to
the written law." (Hodge.)] This perishing
.s the opposite of ".salvation" (i: i«), of "shall
live" (I: 17), of "eternal life" («; 7). of
"glorj'," etc. (»: 10.) Compare John 3; 15:
1 Cor. 1 : 18. It is the natural, and jn.ot, and
necessary consequence of unpardoned sin.
[The perishing of men without law, signifies,
according to Dr. Hodge, that "their puni-^h-
ment shall be assigned without reference to

ROMANS.

[Ch. II.

perish without law ; and as many as have sinned in the
law shall be judged by the law ;

out law : and as many as have sinned under law
13 shall be judged by law ; for not the bearers of the

the law." The apostle in his writings recog-
nizes two classes, the saved and the perishing
or lost. But when he speaks of those who
" are perishing," as in 1 Cor. 1 : 18; 2 Cor. 2:
15: 4: 3; 2 Thess. 2: 10, he does not imply
thattheirsouls are gradually losing theirbeing
and sinking into non-eiistence. Even the
"eternal destruction" of 2 Thess. 1 : 9 is
not annihilation, but is rather an abiding
alienation from God, a banishment away from
the presence ot the Lord and from the glory
of his power. "Alienation from God," saj's
Calvin, " is eternal death." Haley says, that
the "mortal soulists " or annihilationists
would, from their favorite proof texts, "prove
too wiMcA, and so prove nothing. For they
would prove that the Messiah was annihilated
at liis crucifixion, that the righteous are anni-
hilated at death, that after the Israelites had an-
nihilated themselves, there was still 'help' for
them with all manner of similar absurdities."
Does our Saviour assert that a prophet could
not be annihilated except at Jerusalem ? Are
we to in<"er that the lost coin had gone out of
existence? or that the substance of the per-
ished wine bottles had ceased to be? After the
prodigal had returned, could the father truly
say that he had been annihilated or had lost
his conscious existence? Is foimd, moreover,
the proper correlative of "annihilated " ? Our
Saviour says that he came to seek and to save,
not that which could bo called lost by way of
anticipation, but that which was already lost.
A sinner can become lost to himself, to society,
to usefulness, happiness, peace, God, and
heaven, and still retain a conscious existence.
These are for him a sadiler loss than annihi-
lation. Paul assert* the fact that the Gentiles
sinned against the light of nature and the law
written in their hearts, sinned "without ex-
cuse," and are " worthy of death." Even if
favored with God's revealed will, men often
choose not to repent, but harden their hearts
in iniquity and heap up for themselves a
treasure of wrsith which they must experience
in the day of wrath. Had the apostle been an
advanced thinker of the more liberal school,
this of course would have been the proper
place for him to hint at the probability of a
future probation for the henthen, and for
others who do not have a fair chance in this

life for a decisive probation — the probability
or certainty that before any man shall meet
Christ as a judge (see. ver. 16) he will first
have heard of him as a Saviour. But all this
he has strangely neglected to do. Meyer sees
no mitigation in the punishment of these per-
sons without law — that is, Gentile evil doers,
so long as they must perish. Our passage is
indeed an echo of the truth ; "the soul thatsin-
neth, it shall die," but surely condemnation
will be proportioned to light resisted, and
perishing maj' be to one more than it is to
another. The teachings of the New Testa-
ment on the subject of retribution do not
shock our ideas of strictest justice, but make
responsibility and guilt proportionate to light
and advantage, and plainly reveal the fact of
different degrees of retributive punishment.

(Matt. 10 : 15 ; 11 : 21-24 ; 12 : 41, 42 ; Luke 12 : 47. 48.) "What

can be more consonant with our ideas of right
and justice than our Saviour's teachings in
regard to the manj'^ stripes and the few ? His
rule of accountability is infinitely better than
any suppositions of ours as to what constitutes
a fair probation. Indeed, an exact decision
touching this point lies utterly bej'ond our
power. If any were disposed to do so, they
could easily construct a plausible argument
showing that none of us have a "fair chance"
in this life when an eternity is at stake —
placed here, as it were, but a moment, in a
world of darkness and temptation, with our
almost ungovernable appetites and passions
clamoring ever for indulgence, and the penal-
ties of future retribution so far out of our
sight and beyond the possibility of adequate
conception. Reasoning in this way, we can
well nigh get rid of everj' rule of felt duty
and every measure of felt responsibility, and
instead of a'.ting as though a fair moral pro-
bation were granted to any of us we should
be led to adopt the Epicurean motto: " Let us
eat and drink, for to-morrow we die." Cer-
tainly, then, a "greater condemnation," a
"sorer punishment" will be theirs who sin
under the law, and who will be judged by the
law than will fall to those who sin without the
law and will perish without the Ihw. Would
it not be best then to withhold light and
knowledge from the comparatively ignorant
heathen ? Our answer, to say nothing of our

Ch. II.]

ROMANS.

13 (For not the hearers of the law are just before
God, but the doers of the law sbail be justified.

law are i just before God. but the doers of the law
14 shall be 'justified: (for wheu Geuiiles who have not

1 Or, righteouM 2 Or, accounted rigMeou4.

Saviours command, is this, that we may with-
hold these blessings from them when we would
have our light and our advantages less than
they are. See notes on 3 : 2.] Those who have
sinned in the law — that is, the Jews who
have the law of Moses. [In the verb we have
the Greek historical aorist: 'sinned.' The
word 'law' is here without the article, it
being to the Jew nearly equivalent to a proper
name which "does not require the article,"
though as the established sign of definiteness
it is often joined to such names. (Winer's
"New Testament Grammar," p. 112.) In
this Epistle 'law' (•'omos), occurs thirty-four
times without the article and thirty-five with
it ; in Galatians, twenty times without it and
ten times with it.] Shall be judged by the
law. Thus God's judgment of both Gentiles
and Jews will be impartial, according to the
light which each has enjoyed. [Philippi re-
marks that the " Gentiles as sinners perish,
Jews as sinners are judged," and by this
judgment, which is here equivalent to con-
demnation, " perhaps an aggravation of pun-
ishment is indicated." The word law being
in the last two instances destitute of the arti-
cle, is hence regarded by some as not referring
to " the law " of Moses, but to law in general.
It is sometimes rendered a law, but even the
Gentiles sinned against a law, that which
was written in their hearts. To render a
Greek noun that has no article by the indefi-
nite article a (see Canterbury Revision) is
often quite as misleading as to render it by
the definite article, the. The word law often
occurs in this Epistle without the article, and
evidently denotes in general the revealed law
of God, the law of Moses. So Ellicott, Alford,
Winer, and others. Bishop Lightfoot, how-
ever, says: " The written law, the Old Testa-
ment, is always "the law" (o v6nov). The
same word " without the article is law con-
sidered as a principle, exemplified no doubt
chiefly and signally in the Mosaic law, but
very much wider than this in its application."
See Appendix in the Introduction of "The
Bible Commentary," where this matter is
fully discussed.]

13. [The Common Version begins a paren-
thesis with this verse ; the American Revised

Version, with the next verse; the Canterbury
Revision omits the brackets altogether.] The
for at the beginning of this verse assigns a
reason for the latter half of ver. 12. The
Jews have the written law, but the possession
of it does not justify them; 'for,' etc. The
hearers of the law are spoken of, rather
than the readers of it, because in those an-
cient times, in the scarcity of books, the law
became known to the people chiefly by the
public hearing of it in the synagogues, rather
than by the private reading of it at home.
Compare Acts 15: 21. ["The substantive
(hearers) brings out more forcibly than the
participial form (those hearing) would have
done the characteristic feature : those whose
business is hearing." (Meyer.) Critical edi-
tors omit the article before 'law' here, and in
the next sentence, while the governing nouns
in both places have the article. Compare ver.
27. This shows that in the use of the article
the principle of "correlation" referred to in
ver. 6 does not always hold. Ate just before
God — accounted righteous in his sight or
presence; "the idea of locality suggested by
the preposition being still retained in that of
judgment at a tribunal." (Ellicott.)] Shall
be justified. This verb occurs here for the
first time in this Epistle. Taken in connec-
tion with the preceding clause, 'are just
before God,' it affords important help in
explaining the sense of the word 'righteous-
ness.' See notes on 1: 17. To 'be justified'
is to be exempt from condemnation, and ac-
quitted in the divine judgment, so as to stand
in favor with God and to enjoy the security
and the blessings resulting from that favor.
[With the last part of this verse compare 10:
5; Deut. 27: 2G; Lev. 18: 5. 'Justified,' as
Dr. Gilford remarks, cannot here mean par-
doned, since the doer of the law has nothing
to be pardoned for; nor can it mean made
just, for he is just already by the supposition.
It is the exact contrary to being "con-
demned." As no one can be justified by
doing the law, Prof Turner would give to
this justified the meaning of accepted. But
these two ideas virtually imply each other,
and the Greek language has specific terms to
express the idea of acceptance. " There i.* no

ROMANS.

[Cn. II.

14 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law,
do by nature the things contained in the law, these,
having not the law, are a law unto themselves:

the law do by nature the things of the law, these, not
15 having the law, are a law unto themselves ; in that

conflict here with the doctrine of justitication
by faith. The apostle cites an axiom in
ethics — namely, that perfect personal obedi-
ence will be recognized and rewarded by that
impartial Judge who is no respecter of per-
sons, and that nothing short of this will be.
That any man will actually appear before
this tribunal with such an obedience is neither
affirmed nor denied in the mere statement of
the principle. The solution of this question
must be sought elsewhere in the Epistle."
(Shedd.)]

14. For when the Gentiles. Here the
'for' assigns a reason for the latter part of
ver. 13. [Philippi and Godet make the 'for'
substantiate the first part of ver. 13, and sup-
pose that Paul, as a proof that mere hearers
of the law are not justified, adduces the fact
that unbelieving Gentiles are hearers of a law.
This sense is appropriate enough, but I do
not see how it can be derived from the text.
It certainly requires no such supposition as
that made by the apostle: when Gentiles rfo
by nature the things of the law.] It would
be better to omit the definite article before the
word 'Gentiles.' It is not expressed in the
original, and the indefinite character of the
supposition is better expressed without it:
' When any Gentiles, if any ever do, for they
as a class certainly do not,' etc. [So Fritz-
sche, Meyer, and others. But De Wette and
Philippi think the word is sufficiently definite
in itself, and may, without the article, be
referred to the entire Gentile world. See
3: 29; 11: 13; 15: 10, 12; 1 Cor. 1 : 23. A
noun also may dispense with the article when
joined, as here and in 9 : 30, by an article to a
limiting attributive. (Winer, p. 139; Butt-
mann, 92.] Do by natnre— that is, by natu-
ral instinct, judgment, and reason ["the
moral prompting of conscience left to itself."
(Meyer)], without any such formal standard
of duty as the Jews have; corresponding to
'without law' in the preceding verse. The
things contained in the law — that is, the
things which the law prescribes; when they
do the things commanded, without a definite
knowledge of the commandment. [These
having not the law. The pronoun 'these,'
though referring to a neuter noun, Gentiles,

is by a constructio ad sensum put in the mas-
culine; the word 'law,' though without the
article in the Greek, evidently refers to the
revealed will of God. The possession of this
law is here emphatically denied. In the
former clause, 'having not the law,' the em-
phasis rests more upon the substantive — that
is, the possession of the law is denied. By the
use of the subjective negative (m^), the ab-
sence of law on the part of the Gentiles is
represented as a supposition, as something
existing not so much in fact as in thought.]
Are a law unto themselves. This expres-
sion is sufficiently explained by the following
verse. [Since 'a law' may be just or unjust,
God's law or man's law, Alford would make
even this 'law' definite, thus: 'are (so far)
the law to themselves.' The connection and
thought of this verse are quite variously ex-
plained. The apostle affirms that the Gen-
tiles have, as Farrar states it, "a natural law
written on their hearts, and sufficiently clear
to secure, at the Day of Judgment, their ac-
quittal or condemnation," and, what is some-
what surprising, he even supposes that they
or some of them do by nature perform the
things of the (written) law, and in ver. 26, 27,
he goes so far as to say: "If the uncircum-
cision (the Gentiles) keep the ordinances of
the law," and "if they fulfil the law." Now
they have not the written law, and the apos-
tle is far from supposing that they perform
all the " works of the law," but he does seem
to imply that some of them do perform cer-
tain things of the law — that is, avoid murder,
adultery, etc. ; and he brings forward this
fact here, though in a delicate and somewhat
secret way, as being condemnatory ("shall
judge thee," ver. 27) of those persons, the
Jews, "who with the letter (of the law) and
circumcision are yet transgressors of the law."
Meyer's view of this verse is that "Paul de-
sires simply to establish the regulative prin-
ciple of justification through law in the case
of the Gentiles." Prof. Stuart says "that
the apostle is only laying down or illustrating
a principle here, not relating a historical fact.
. . . The writer means to say neither more
nor less, than that the Gentiles may have the
same kind of claims to be actually justified

Ch. II..]

ROMANS.

16 Which elhew the work of the law written in their I
hearts, their conscieuce also bearing witness, and their \

before God as the Jews; but, as the sequel
shows most fully, neither Jew nor Gentile
has any claim at all to justification, since both
have violated the law under which they have
lived." " It is remarkable," says Dr. Gifford,
"that St. Paul here uses the exact words of
Aristotle, who says, concerning men of emi-
nent virtue and wisdom : 'Against such there
is no law, for themselves are a law.' " The first
clause is found in Gal. 5: 23.]

15. We have at the beginning of this verse
the same compound relative spoken of in 1 : 25,
with the force of a reason. Which shew —
"since they are such as show." [They 'shew'
openly, by their action— doing the things of
the law. (Ver. 14, so De "Wette, Meyer, Phil-
ippi, etc.) Others: by the testimony of their
conscience.] The work of the law. They
show the operation of the law ; they show
that what the law does is done in them ; the
law distinguishes between what is right and
what is wrong [it commands and forbids] ;
tills work is shown to be done in them. How
it is done is immediately explained. Written
in their hearts. They have a moral nature
(v^r. u), which necessitates the recognition of
right and wrong in actions. [This injunctive
and interdicting work of the law written in
men's hearts is generally spoken of as the un-
written law of God, but is here named written,
in allusion to the law which was written on
tablets of stone. For a like figure, see 2 Cor.
3: 3. Philippi says: "The works of the law
are written in their hearts in so far as they
confess in their hearts an obligation to do
tliem." Paul "obviously means by this term
the voice of God in the conscience" (Olshau-
sen), and for this reason, perhaps, a change is
made from the plural (hearts) to the singular
(conscience). Prof. Boise calls attention to
the frequent use in the New Testament of the
verbal adjective (here ypanrhv, written) instead
of the aorist or perfect passsive participle.]

they shew the work of the law written in their
hearts, their conscience bearing witness therewith,

Their conscience also bearing witness.

Tiie force of the word 'also' here is not very
apparent. It is an attempt to express in Eng-
lish what is expressed in Greek by a preposi-
tion [awK, with] combined with the participle
" bearing witness," giving it the force of "co-
witnessing," and so seeming to imply some
other testimony, with which that of conscience
is co-ordinate and concurrent. What is that
other testimony V The testimony of the actual
fact, says Meyer— that is, the work of the law
is shown to be written in their hearts by their
actually doing the things contained in the
law (ver. 14) ; and then the testimony of their
conscience 'also' confirms the same fact, by
the accusing or excusing verdict which they
pass upon the actions of themselves and one
another. This is very intelligible; and if it
were certain (as Meyer aflirms) that this pre-
fix syllable requires some such definite witness
to be predicated, apart from that of conscience,
no better explanation need be sought. But is
it so certain that this prefix to the participle
requires us to seek some other definite witness
than that of conscience? The simple verb
"to witness," in Greek, is never used in con-
nection with the word conscience. The only
other place where the two occur together in
the New Testament is 9: 1, and there, as here,
the participle has the prefix preposition. In-
deed, the same prefix {<rvv) is also the first
syllable of the Greek word for "conscience.''
And the corresponding syllable, con, begins
the class of words, both in Latin and English,
that express this inward witness of our nature,
as "conscience, co7i.<ciousness." Is there not
in these agreeing compounds, in different lan-
guages, an intimation that this common syl-
lable expresses only the union and harmony
of all the faculties of our deeper and better
nature in this inward witness? If this is the
true explanation, the word also should be
omitted, both here and in 9 : 1.* And their

» On the force of this participle, Alford, siniilarlj to
De Wette, thus remarks : " Confirming by its testimony,
the <Tvv signifying the ngreement of the witness with
the deed [i.e., with their (loiritj the things of the law],
perhaps, also, the vvv may be partly induced by the (rvv
in <Tu»'fiJi}3-f<<Jt, conscience, referring to the reflective
process in whicli a niai) confors, so to speak, with him-

self." Volkmar, as quoted by Godet, says : " Their
conscience bears testimony beciiics the moral act itself,
which already demonstrated the presence of the divine
law." Philippi supposes that what their (reflective)
conscience bears witness lo is, that the work of the Inw
is written on their hearts, though he confesses that ihe
conscience aiUecederu is this law in the heart.— (F.)

ROMANS.

[Ch. 11.

tliinights the uieau while accusing or else excusing one
auuther;)

Itj lu ilie day when God shall judge the secrets of
men by Jesus Christ according to uiy gospel.

and Uheir -thoughts one with another accusing or
16 else excusing them;) in the day wlien God ^shall
judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel, by
Jesus Christ.

1 Or, their thoughts acciuing or eUe excusing tbeui one uiith another 2 Or, reatonings 3 OT,judgeth.

thoughts the mean while accusing or
else excusing one another. The single
word translated 'in the mean while,' is usu-
ally translated "between," and is closely con-
nected with the word translated ' one another.'
This seems the true connection from the posi-
tion of the words [see Matt. 18 : 15], although
the 'one another' might be regularly enough
governed by the participles 'accusing and
excusing.' The word which we translate
"between" (jitrafu) seems, however, to require
an object more than the participles do. It is
invariably followed by an object which it gov-
erns (seven times;, except when it is used as
a noun, John 4 : 31 {meanwhile)^ or as an
adjective, Acts 13 : 42 (next). According to
this view of the connection, the last part of
this verse might better be translated — and
their thoughts beticeen [or among) one another
accusing, or even excusing. [Meyer and Lange
regard the one another as referring not to
thoughts but to the Gentiles — i. e., their
thoughts are busy in approving or condemn-
ing the actions of their fellow-men. It seems
most natural to regard the reciprocal pronoun
here as reflexive, referring to thoughts or
judgments — the judging and the strife being
internal — while the participles may be taken
as used absolutely, without any object ex-
pressed. A passage parallel to this is found
in Philo: "That conviction wliich is the in-
nate inhabitant of every soul, like an accuser,
censures, charges, and upbraids; and again,
as a judge, teaches, admonishes, and exhorts
to repentance." "This judical process," says
Dr. Schaff, " which takes place here in every
man's heart, is a forerunnerof the great judg-
ment at the end of the world." Did we but
realize the terrible power of a thoroughly

enlightened and awakened conscience, con-
joined with a restored and perfect memory,
each one would be moved to say :

That to sit alone with my conscience
Will be judgment enough for me. i]

The word translated 'else' would be more
exactly translated even; it seems designed to
intimate, what is undoubtedly true in the case
of the persons referred to, that the thoughts
have more frequent occasion to accuse than to
excuse; that the former is the rule, the latter
the exception.

16. [In the day. The word 'day' is with-
out the article, yet is virtually defined by the
clause which follows. AVestcott and Hort,
however, prefix the relative pronoun: inwhat
day. We notice also that they prefer the
present tense of the verb, judge. Where va-
rious readings occur, these critics, as in the
case before us, frequently adopt the marginal
reading of the Revised Version, and make
the Revisers' text their secondary reading.]
Almost all commentators perceive a necessity
for inclosing the two or three preceding verses
in parentheses. For the accusing and ex-
cusing office of conscience does not date from
the Day of Judgment, however it may be
intensified then. But there is a difference of
opinion as to the extent of the parenthetic
portion, some including three verses (is-is),
and others only two (u, is). The former view
seems preferable, for this ver. 16 does not con-
nect immediately with ver. 13 so appropriately
as with ver. 12. The statement in ver. 13
seems much too limited, while that of ver. 12
is much more comprehensive. [Some, as
Lachmann and Meyer, inclosing ver. 14, 1-5,
in parentheses, erroneously connect this judg-

1 The terrible state of a remorseful conscience is well
depicted in the lines from Byron's " Giaour" :

The mind that broods o'er guilty woes

Is like the scorpion girt by fire.

So writhes the mind Remorse hath riven,

Unfit for e.arth, undooraed for heaven,

Darkness above, despair beneath,

Around it flame, within it death.
And in the tragedy of "Manfred," the same poet says
that not even

The innate tortures of that deep despair
Which is remorse without the fear of hell,
But all in all sufficient in itself,
Would make a hell of heaven^Kjan exorcise
I From out the unbounded soul the quick sense
\ Of its own sins, wrongs, sufferance, and revenge
j Upon itself; there is no further pang
I Can deal that justice on the self-condemned
He deals on his own soul.— (F.)

Ch. II.]

ROMANS.

17 Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the
aw, uud makest thy boast of Uod, |

17 But if thou bearest the name of a Jew, and retttest

merit day with the 'shall be justified' of ver.
13. But no doers of the law will as such 'be
justified' on that day. Winer says rightly,
as we think, that shall judge glances back at
'shall be judged,' of ver. 12. So De Wette
and others. AUbrd goes back to tlie passage
ending with ver. 10. Hofmann and Lango
make this judging, accusing, or excusing day
to be whenever Paul's gospel was preached to
them, and translate, "when God judges,"
etc., not 'shall judge.' But Meyer says:
'"The expressions in ver. 16 are so entirely
those formally used to denote the last judg-
ment . . . that nothing else could occur to
any reader than the conception of that judg-
ment, which, moreover, has been present to the
mind since ver. 2, and from which even 'ac-
cording to my gospel' does not draw away
the attention." Philippi connects this verse
with the preceding, and thus explains the con-
nection. The witness of conscience, spoken
of in ver. 15, referred to moral conduct in the
present life. But as the apostle was describ-
ing it, the thought was borne vividly in upon
his mind in the way indicated, how this would
manifest itself most decisively in the general
judgment. On this account he passes on to
the latter without so much as indicating the
change in the course of thought by varying
the phraseology, as by: and this esvecially.]
The secrets of men. The secret actions,
thoughts, designs, and motives. (Kocies. iz: u.)
Not only things concealed from others, but
things only partially known to ourselves, will
God bring into judgment. Compare 1 Cor.
4: 4, 5. [How fearful must this judgment be
to any man, however outwardly moral, if all
the hidden deeps of life and all the secret
purposes and desires of his heart shall be thus
brought to light, especially if this judging
shall bo attended with exposure. Men in this
world generally dread exposure of their
crimes far more than thej' do the crimes them-
selves, and the avoidance of this exposure is a
frequent cause of suicide. But there will be
no such escape in the world to come.] By
Jesus Christ. [These words point decisively
to the final judgment.] That Jesus Christ is
the appointed Judge of men is very plainly,
repeatedly, and emphatically aflBrmed in the
Scriptures. See Matt. 25: 31-46; John 5: 22,

27; Acts 10: 42; 17: 31; 1 Cor. 4: 5; 2 Cor. 5:
10. According to my gospel. The refer-
ence ('my gospel') is not specifically to the
Gospel of Luke, as was supposed by several of
the ancient Fathers [Origen, Eusebius, Je-
rome], an early tradition having represented
this gospel as written under Paul's supervis-
ion, and especially sanctioned by his ap-
proval ; but rather the gospel which he
preached, in common with the other apostles.
He uses a similar expression in 16: 25; 2 Tim.
2:8. Compare also 1 Cor. 15: 1. [He who
was "separated unto the gospel of God " and
who speaks in 1 Tim. 1 : 11 of the "gospel
which was committed to my trust," could
well say, 'my gospel.']

The doctrine of a future judgment is an
important part of the gospel, and as such is to
be preached faithfully,solemnly,and tenderly.
It is, moreover, a reasonable ground for en-
forcing the duty of repentance, and is so rep-
resented by this same apostle in Acts 17 : 31,
and perhaps also in 2 Cor. 5: 11, though the
sense of the expression in this last passage —
"the terror of the Lord" — admits a different
interpretation. ["Thus in ver. 14-16, St.
Paul shows that the principle stated in ver.
13 is a fact universal, and that the formal
distinction between Gentile and Jew, ver. 12,
does not involve any essential difference be-
tween them in reference to the divine judg-
ment." (Gifford.) No one, mcthinks, can fail
to perceive how irrefutably antagonistic all
this teaching of the apostle is to the notion of
a future probation for "some heathen."]

17-20. The apostle having made his grad-
ual and cautious approach to the Jew, as the
hawk, after wheeling awhile above his victim,
suddenly pounces down upon him, now singles
him out by name. These four verses are too
closely connected in one description to be sepa-
rated without disadvantage. The word trans-
lated behold is, in the best manuscripts and in
most critical editions, divided into two words
(ei Si), which would be translated " but if," or
"if now": the hypothetical sentences thus
introduced extend through these four verses.
Thou art called a Jew. ["Thou hast a
title (Jew) in addition to (iwi) that which
other men possess." (Wordsworth.) De
Wette and Meyer regard the verb as simply

ROMANS.

[Cei. II.

18 And knowest his will, and approvest the things
that are more excellent, being iusiructed out of the
law ;

18 upon 1 the law, and glorie^t in God, and knowest
2 his will, and ^approvest the things that are excel-

19 lent, being instructed out of the law, and art coufi-

1 Or, a {aw 2 Or, the Will 3 Or, dott diitinguUh the thingt that difer.

meaning "named." See Gen. 4:17, 25, 26;
LXX. Thtj word Jew, etymologically, means
praised, from Judah, the tribe in which llie
national and theocratic hopes of the Hebrews
were centred. The virtue attached to this
name may be seen from Gal. 2 : 14, 15 ; Rev. 2 :
9. Meyer says: "The 'but' (5e) and the em-
phatic 'thou' are to be explained from the
conception of the contrast, which the conduct
of the Jews showed, to the proposition that
only the doers of the law shall be justified."]
To bear the name of Jew was, in their estima-
tion, a great honor. The following clauses
explain, in great part, why it was so. And
restest in the law [or, upo7i law]. The
Jew rested in the law in a twofold .sense: his
mind rested in it as a sure and ultimate rule
of righteousness, in contrast with the uncer-
tain and conflicting speculations of heathen
philosophers and moralists; and hishope relied
upon it [or upon his possession and knowledge
of it] as the ground of his acceptance with
God. In the former view he was right: in
the latter he was wrong. And makest thy
boast of God. Literally, ^ boastest in God.'^
[It will be noticed that all the particulars here
enumerated, in which the Jew prided himself,
are in themselves right and good. It was well
to bear the name of a Jew, to rest upon the
law, to glory in God, to know his will, etc.]
While all other nations worshiped them that
"by nature are no gods" (Gal. 4:8), the Jew
prided himself on having the knowledge of
the one true God. And knowest his will.
The pronoun 'his' is not distinctly expressed,
and knowest the will is the literal translation
[the article being sometimes used as virtually
equivalent to the pronoun]. The omission of
the pronoun causes no obscurity, but may
rather be regarded as adding force, inasmuch
as it assumes that all doubt as to whose will is
meant is precluded by the nature of the case.
And approvest the things that are more
excellent. This expressi'>n might be trans-
lated : and triest [distinguishest, or, as margin.

by American Revisers, "dost distinguish"]
the things that differ [with special reference
to discriminating between right and wrong,
truth and error], without doing any violence
to either the verb or the participle (diflTering
or excelling). [The Revised Version (Eng-
lish Revisers) has protest the things that diff'er
in the margin, and a similar interpretation is
adopted by Be Wette, Philippi, Godet, Al-
ford, Stuart, Shedd.] But the common trans-
lation [favored by Meyer, Jowett, GiflTord,
Turner, Noyes, Hodge, Boise] seems more
suitable to the context, both here and in Phil.
1 : 10, where the same expression occurs, and
agrees better with the ordinary uses of both
the verb from which the participle is derived
{Siaipipeiv • see Matt. 6: 26, "are better"; 10:
31, "are of more value" ; 12: 12, "is better"),
and of the corresponding adjective (St(i(^opos),2
see Heb. 1:4; 8:6). Being instructed [con-
tinuously] out of the law. This clause ex-
plains the preceding. It was not by their
superior natural shrewdness, or their superior
moral uprightness, that they approved of
what was excellent; but because they had in
the law a divine rule of judgment. The pres-
ent tense of the participle here, 'being in-
structed,' seems designed to intimate, not that
they had been instructed in youth, once for
all, but that they were continually receiving
instruction, through the weekly reading and
expounding of the law in the synagogue.
The word translated 'instructed' is emphatic.
It is the word from which our "catechise" is
derived [and properly denotes oral instruc-
tion]. Observe its use in Luke 1:4; Acts
18: 25: Gal. 6: 6 (twice). ["We may hence
infer," says the elder Jonathan Edwards,
"that no degree of speculative knowledge of
things of religion is any certain sign of saving
grace," and that a man may have "more
knowledge of this sort than hundreds of true
saints of an ordinary education and most di-
vines, yet all is no certain evidence of any
degree of saving grace in the heart." He also

1 On the ending of this verb, which is one of the
original uncontracted forms of the second person
singular, passive and middle, and which occurs also in
ver. 23: U : 18, the reader is referred to Winer, p. 76.

Ill its common contracted form it would be written

(cauxo.— (F.)

2 The participle is used only in the two passages,
Rom. 2: 18; Phil. 1: 10.

Ch. II.]

ROMANS.

19 And art coufideiit that thou thyself art a guide uf
the blind, a light of theui which are iu darkness,

20 All instructor of ihe foolish, a leaclier of babes,
which host the form of knowledge and of the truth lu
the law.

21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest
thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not
steal, dost thou steal ?

dent that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a

20 light of them that are in darkness, > a corrector of
the foolishj a teacher of babes, having in the law

21 the form ol knowle<lge and of the trutli ; thou there-
fore that teachest another, teachest thou not thyself 7

1 Or, an inttruclor.

remarks that "the devil has undoubtedly a
great degree of speculative knowledge in di-
vinity, having been, as it were, educated in
the best divinity school in the universe," and
that " it is not to be supposed that any mortal
man, whether godly or ungodly, has an equal
degree of speculative knowledge with the
devil." See his Sermon XXVIII on "True
Grace."] And art coafident, etc. [The
word for 'and' is not "the more emphatic
and closer connective (<tai), but the adjunc-
tive (t«), and indicates that what follows is
dependent on or flows from what precedes."
(Winer, 434.)] In ver. 17, 18, we have four
or five particulars denoting the advantages
which the Jew claimed for himself; and in
ver. 19, 20, as many particulars denoting his
superiority to the Gentile. ["And first he
takes the poor Gentile by the hand, as one
does a blind man, offering to guide him ; then
he opens his eyes, dissipating his darkness b^'
the light of revelation; then he rears him as
one would bring up a person yet without rea-
son; finally, when through all this care he
has come to the stage of a little child (vijwtos,
who cannot speak, a term used by the Jews to |
designate proselytes), he initiates him into
the full knowledge of the truth by becoming
his teacher." (Godet.) In Matt. 15: 14, our
Lord upbraids the Pharisees as being blind
leaders of the blind.] Observe how the arro-
gance of the Jew is set forth in the form of
expression, 'art confident that thou thyself,'
etc. It is probable that these very titles were
assumed by the Jewish Rabbis and Pharisees.
Indeed, Qrotius mentions a work by Maimo-
nidcs, of which the Rabbinic title, translated
into Greek, would correspond precisely with
the words here rendered: an instructor of
the foolish. Which hast [literally, having,
agreeing with thyself] the form of knowl-
edge and of the truth in the law. The

•In ver. 17 and 18 we have five particulars, express-
ing what the Jew claimed for himself; and in ver. 19
and 20 we have likewi-;e five particulars, expressing his
relation to the Gentiles and the pre-«minence over

word here translated ' form ' [ii6fKt>u<ny] is used
only in one other place in the New Testa-
ment. In 2 Tim. 3:5, it is used to mark the
form in distinction from the reality: "having
a form of godliness, but denying the power
thereof." Here, however, the word does not
seem to be used in the same superficial sense
[but rather marks the reality, the substance
with the form, as does tiie word form (fiop<^q)
in Phil. 2: 6, 7. Weiss, in his " Biblical The-
ology," vol. 1, p. 319, says that the Jews pos-
sessed a ^^ copied rejjresentation of the truth
in the Old Testament law."] It was an em-
bodiment of true knowledge, a real rule of
right, which the apostle did not intend to dis-
parage. Is it a mere fancy that in these verses
(17-20) the apostle uses a certain grandilo-
quence, not unsuitable to the arrogant preten-
sions which he is describing?' Having thus
far shown how much the Jews made of the
theory of religion, he now proceeds to show
how little regard they paid to the practice of
it. And he does this with great energy of
expression, and in what seems to be a tone of
indignant surprise.

21, 22. Thou therefore. ["At length
the apostle turns to strike." (Jowett.)] The
'therefore' marks the turn of the sentence
after the h\'pothetical clauses commencing
with ver. 17. [The thought of these clauses
and of this 'therefore.' etc., seems to be this:
thou, being all this, or rather, professing all
this, how is it, then, that your conduct is such
as it is — that is, the reverse of all your pro-
fessions? This contradiction between profes-
sion and practice on the part of the Jews
corresponds to that of the Gentiles (i:m), of
whom the apostle says: "Professing them-
selves to be wise, they became fools," and
acted accordingly.] There is much force in
these interrogative sentences. The first is of a
general nature— teachest thou not thyself?

them ; and to make the correspondence between the
two pairs of verses more complete and noticeal)Ie, the
Inst of the five pnrticulars is in each case expressed in
tho original Urcek br a participle.

ROMANS.

[Ch. II.

22 Thou that sayest a man should not comiuit adul-
tery, dost tbou commit adultery? thou thai abhorrest
idols, dost thou commit sacrilege ?

•23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through
breaking the law dishonourest thou God ?

tbou that preachest a mau should not steal, dost

22 thou steal? tbou that sayesi a man should not com-
mit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? tbou that

23 abhorrest idols, dost thou rob temples? thou who
gloriest in ^ the law, through thy transgression of

1 Or, a taw.

This is followed by three specific questions —
or ciiarges, we might call them, in the form
of questions — each weightier than the preced-
ing. {Theft, adultery, sacrilege. "Thou sin-
nest most grievously against thy neighbor,
thyself, God. Paul had shown to the Gentiles
that tlieir sins were first against God, next
against themselves, next against others. He
now inverts the order, for sins against God
are very openly practiced among the Gentiles,
but not by the Jew." (Bengal.) The infini-
tive clauses — not to steal, not to commit adul-
tery— depend upon the Greek participles,
which have here the force of command. The
participles and verbs are all in the present
tense, denoting present and continuous ac-
tion.] The first two are very plain ; the third
may require a few words of bxplanation.
Although the Jews, in the earlier periods of
their history, were often reproved for their
participation in the idolatrous practices of the
heathen around and among them, yet after
their return from their captivity in Babylon
they seem to have been characterized gener-
ally by their intense abhorrence of idols.
[Hence the apostle does not say : " Dost thou
worship idols?" We may remark that the
word for abhorrest indicates that the idols
were regarded as abominable things, alike
polluted and polluting.] Josephus relates a
striking proof of this abhorrence. When they
understood that Pilate had ordered the mili-
tary standards, adorned with portraits of the
emperors, to be brought to Jerusalem, multi-
tudes of them rushed to his palace in Csesarea,
and, disregarding alike his commands and his
threats, declared their readiness to die rather
than suffer their city to be so desecrated.
("Antiq.," XVIII, 3, 1; "Wars," 11,9, 2,
and 3.) Dost thou commit sacrilege?
[This is the marginal reading of the Revised
Version. Jowett, in order to bring out the
implied opposition, renders thus : " Dost thou
who abhorrest idols rob the idol temples?"
And this contrast is favored by most exposi-

tors.] Two questions arise here. Were the
Jews guilty of profaning the heathen temples ?
Would the apostle account it sacrilege if they
did so? As to the first question, it seems not
unlikely that, either in the wantonness of
their fanaticism or in their greed for the costly
offerings with which idol temples were often
adorned, they sometimes did this. An ex-
press prohibition of the latter form of profana-
tion of heathen temples, in Deut. 7 : 25, shows
that they were at least in danger of doing
this.i [See also Josephus' "Antiq.," IV, 8,
10. Some, appealing to Mai. 1 : 8-14; 3:8-10;
"Antiq.," XVIII, 3, 5, suppose that the rob-
bery of that which belonged to, or was due to,
God's temple is alluded to; but this view does
not harmonize with the context.] As to the
second question, it does not seem altogether
improbable, especially in view of the prohi-
bition just referred to, that the apostle might
apply the word sacrilege to such a robbery.
The case would then be as if he had said:
"You profess to abhor idols, but you have no
objectiDn to making gain by doing what ex-
poses you to the charge (on the part of the
heathen) of sacrilege." [We should not nat-
urally have supposed that the Jews were
specially guilty of the sins enumerated, yet
there is considerable evidence to substantiate
the apostle's charges. Compare Matt. 19:8;
23:13-25; James 4: 4-13; 5:1-6. The Jews
themselves confess to the commonness of
adultery in those times, even to the doing
away of the ordeal of jealousy. (Farrar.)
We suppose their wickedness was greatly
augmented in the j'ears immediately subse-
quent, especially during the Roman war.
Josephus certainly sets it forth in a fearful
light. See his "Wars," V, 9, 4; 10, 5; 13, 6.]
23,24. Thou that makest thy boast i
of the law (literally, in the law), through
breaking the law dishonourest thou
God? [Inconsistently with thy professions,
thou dishonorest God by violating his law.
Meyer does not read this verse as a question,

1 Meyer thinks " it may justly be inferred from Acts I
19 : 37 that robbery of temples actually occurred among
the Jews,"

«The verb Kavxaaai, (see ver. 17), is the original uncon-
tracted form of second person singular, passire, indic-
ative middle.— (F.)

Ch. II.]

ROMANS.

24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the
Gentiles through you, as it is written.

25 For circumcision verily proflieth, if thou keep the
law : but if thuu be a breaker of the law, thy circum-
cision is made uncircumcision.

26 Therefore, if the uucircumcision keep the right-

24 the law dishonourest thou God ? For the name of
God is blasphemed amoug the Gentiles becauae of

25 you, eveu as ii is written. For circumcisiou indeed
profiteth, if thou be a doer of the law : but il thou
be a transgressor of the law, th^ circumcision is

26 become uucircumcision. If tbereiore the uncircum-

but finds in it un answer to "the four questions
of reproachful astonishment."] For the
name of God is blasphemed among the
Gentiles through you {on account of you).
[Wlio can doubt that the name of God is now
blasphemed in heathen lands because of the
wickednsss of men who profess to be Chris-
tians?] As it is written. Paul, in the above
quotation, has in mind either Isa. 52: 5, or
Ezek. 36 : 22. According to the Greek trans-
lation of the Old Testament [which here adds
among the Oentiles to the original Hebrew],
the former reference seems most probable;
according to the English, the latter. [It may
be added that the meaning of the passage in
Ezekiel is pertinent, while that of the passage
in Isaiah is not so, according to a very proba-
ble interpretation of the original. For it is
clearly the Jews who are rebuked in Ezekiel,
while it is the Gentiles who seem to be re-
buked in Isaiah. But the passage of Isaiah
is obscure. See Alexander on the passage.
(A. H.) ] [Paul by the use of for, which is
his own word, appropriates a passage of Scrip-
ture as his own. "Hence as it is written is
placed at the end, as is never done in the case
of express quotations of Scripture. The his-
torical senseof the passage is not here regarded,
since Paul has not quoted it as a fulfilled
prophecy, though otherwise with propriety in
the sense of 3: 19." (Meyer.) ]

25. [The conjunction for corroborates the
foregoing reasoning — that is, in the same way
circumcision, etc. (Alford.)] Circumci-
sion verily profiteth, if thou keep (dost
practice) the law ; but if thou be a breaker
(transgressor) of the law, thy circumci-
sion is made uucircumcision.' The apos-
tle now meets the false dependence of the
Jew upon his circumcision. It was a saying
of the Rabbins, "a circumcised man does not
go to hell." [" All the circumcised have part

in the world to come." "But for circumci-
sion, heaven and earth could not exist." "So
great is circumcision, that thirteen covenants
were made concerning it." The word 'cir-
cumcision' is now for the first time mentioned,
and it must have been a grievous thing to a
Jew to have it, under any circumstauceb, put
on a level with 'uncircumcision' which, in
the words of Tholuck, signifies "the state of
exclusion from a near connection with God."
Thus to slight circumcision, the ordinance
of God, the sign of God's covenant people,
what could this be to a Jew of that day, but
a dethronement of Jehovah, a contemptuous
repudiation of his revealed will. " Is it not,"
he might ask, "by this covenant of circum-
cision that we become or are recognized as
God's peculiar people, his adopted children;
and if you repudiate this covenant, do you
not make us orphans indeed? An uncir-
cumcised Gentile equal in God's sight to one
of his chosen people! Perish the thought!"
We need not wonder that, to the Jew, un-
taught by the Spirit in regard to Abrahams
faith and the true circumcision, the gospel
which Paul preached should be a stumbling
block.] The apostle's argument is, "inas-
much as your vile conduct shocks even the
Gentiles, your claim to God's favor on the
ground of your circumcision is outlawed ;
for the benefit of the sign of the covenant is
conditioned on the fulfillment of the covenant
on your part; and you have not fulfilled it."
The latter part of the verse is the emphatic
part, on which the argument hinges. The
topic which the apostle here touches, he re-
sumes, and treats more fully, in the fourth
chapter, ver. 9-12.

26, 27. Therefore if the uncircumcis-
ion keep,* etc. The general sense of these
verses is very plain ; the sign is quite subordi-
nate to the tiling signified; compliance with

1 Literally, has hf come, but the perfect tense after
subjunctives with iav, expressing objective possibility,
is equivalent to a present. See 7 : 2, Winer, 203. — (F.)

*In the subjunctive with eov there is an "assump-
tion of objective possibility, where experience will de-
cide whether or not it is real." (Winer, 291.) With this

construction there is always implied a $ed dubUo, 1
doubt. For the frequent classic usage, «i with the op-
tative, the New Testament has for tho most part sub-
stituted «t with the indicative, or iiy with the subjunc-
tive See Buttmann, pp. 220-224.— {F.)

ROMANS.

[Ch. II.

eousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcisiou be
couuied fur circumcision?
21 And shall uot uncircumcision which is by nature,

cision keep the ordinances oi the law, shall not his

27 UDCircumcisioD be reckoned lor circuuicision 7 and

shall not the uucircuiucision which is by nature, if

the moral conditions of the covenant is the
essential thing; without this, the rite that
seals it has no value. [The word for keep is
in the present tense, and properly means to
guard habitually.'^ The righteousness of
the law means here the righteous moral pre-
cepts of the law; the word is not the same
tliut is so often used in this Epistle, but a con-
crete derivative from it, or rather from the
priiiiilive adjective "righteous," and is in the
plural number righteousnenses. Ver. 2o and 26
may be thus briefly paraphrased: "If thou
art a breaker of the law, circumcision is no
profit; if thou art a keeper of the law, uncir-
cumcision is no damage." This was a hard
saying for the Jew. [And we cannot wonder
if the Jew, unenlightened by the Spirit of
God, and ignorant of the circumcision of the
heart, should indignantly respond: "You
make an impossible supposition. You speak
of tlie 'uncircumcision' — i. e., the uncircum-
cised or Gentiles — as keeping the righteous
appointmentsor ordinances of the law. Why,
the chiefest ordinance of the law is circum-
cision itself!"] In what sense they are sup-
posed by the apostle to keep the requirements
of the law, we shall notice presently. Shall
not his uncircumcision be counted for
circumcision? See Peter's statement in
Acts 10: 35. [Olshausen supposes that in this
phrase, 'counted,' or reckoned, 'for circum-
cision,' "there is evidently an allusion to the
'counted for righteousness' in 4: 3; that
which they have not is imputed to them as if
they had it." He further says: "The ground
of this imputation is this, that though they
have not indeed the sign, they have instead
of it the germ of that reality which the sign
represents, . . . and therefore they may not
untruly be regarded as such as have the sign
also." Ellicott remarks that "the verb [\oyi-
^o/Liat, to account or reckon] is rather a favorite
word with St. Paul, being used in his epistles
twenty-nine times (excluding quotations),
and twice only (Mark 11 : 31 is very doubtful)
in the rest of the New Testament." This
verb, commonly regarded as "deponent," is
yet frequently used, as here and in 4: 5, in a
passive sense. Buttmann thinks this phrase-
ology: to be reckoned as («««) is "borrowed

from the language of the LXX and a depart-
ure from classic usage." The Hebrew has
the same idiom : to be reckoned for or to be
reckoned as. Compare in the Hebrew Job
41: 24 (23); Lam. 4:2; Num. 18: 27; Isa.
40: 15, with the Septuagint renderings.] The
word 'not' is wanting in the Greek at the
beginning of ver. 27. It was inserted by the
English translators in order to show that the
interrogative form of ver. 26 is continued to
the end of this verse — very properly inserted,
if the question be really continued. But
in the judgment of Meyer, Lange, Alford,
and others, the interrogation should end
with ver. 25, and this verse be understood
affirmatively. It is not very easy, nor very
important to decide, as the question relates
only to the form of the sentence, and not to
the substance of the thought. On the one
hand, the omission of the negative in such a
case is unusual, and this favors the view of
Meyer; but, on the other hand, the conjunc-
tion "and" and the position (in the Greek)
of the verb "judge" favor the continuation
of the interrogative form. And to this last
we incline, with Olshausen, Lachmann, Ew-
ald, etc. In what sense the uncircumcision
which is by nature ["he who remains in his
natural state of uncircumcision'' (Alford)]
shall judge the circumcised transgressor, is
explained by such passages as Matt. 12:41,
42; Heb. 11:7. [Thus, "not only shall the
Gentile take the place of the Jew, but shall
condemn him." (Jowett.) "Tliose whom
thou jadgest shall in turn judge thee at the
day of judgment, ver. 16." (Bengel.) "We
pity the Gentiles," says Doddridge, "and we
have reason to do it, for they are lamentably
blind and dissolute ; but let us take heed lest
those appearances of virtue which are to be
found among some of them condemn us who,
with the letter of the law and the gospel and
with the solemn tokens of a covenant relation
to God, transgress his precepts and violate our
ensagenients to him, .so turning the means of
goodness and hnppiness into the occasion of
more aggravated guilt and misery." Will
not the virtues of many unconverted men and
non-professing Christians, and of many Chris-
tians whom we call lyievangelical, condemn

Ch. ii.]

ROMANS.

if it fulfil the law, jud^e thee, who by the letter and
circumcision dost transgi^ss the law ?

28 l-'or he is not a Jew, whicli is one outwardly ;
neither w that circumcision, which is outward in llie
flef h :

2!) But he w a Jew. which is one Inwardly ; and cir-
cumcision is that of tne heart, in the spirit, and not in
the letter ; whose praise U not of men, but of God.

it fulfil the liiw. jud^e thee, who with the letter and

28 circumcision art u irausgressor of the law? For he
is not a Jew, m no is one ouiuunlly ; nciilier is that

29 circumcision, which is uutwurd in the fle^h : but he
is a Jew, who is one inwardly; and circumcision is
that of the heart, in the smrit, not in the letter;
whose praise is not of men, but of Uod.

some of us who, as being dead to sin, self, and
the world, have been buried with Christ by
baptism into death? "The unbaptized be-
liever shall condemn the baptized unbe-
liever." Outward baptism is profitable, and
it is a duty, but avails nothing without true
repentance, and faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ. To regard, as many do, the external
ordinance as regenerating and saving, is to
look for salvation in "works of righteousness
which we have done." Peter himself denies
that outward baptism "saves."] By the
letter and circumcision. If we substitute
through'^ for 'by,' the meaning will be more
readily explained. It was not by means of
the letter and circumcision that the Jew
transgressed the law; but these are regarded
lis obstacles, or restraints, through which, as
through a hedge by which God had graciously
surrounded him, he broke, in his obstinate
propensity to sin. With the letter and cir-
cumcision, in spite of the letter and circum-
cision, he transgresses the law. "None need
be anxious," says Calvin, "about the wor-
shipers to whom Paul here alludes (in the
former part of this verse), for it is impossible
to find them." [The apostle, in ver. 14, makes
a like supposition in regard to the Gentiles as
here in regard to the "uncircumcision."
Only liere the thing supposed is for the time
conceived to be a fact, otherwise the article
(17) after uncircumcision would at least not be
wanting. So Alford : '"^Fulfilling {i\s \i does,
!is we have supposed) the law." Of course,
the natural uncircumcision who had not the
liiw of Moses could not literally keep its ordi-
nances, and it required some courage on the
part of Paul to make this affirmation, or sup-
position, rather, in the presence, as it were,
of an opposing "Jew." Their obedience to
the law could manifestly be only virtual and
relative. As Meyer saj-s: This observance
of the Mosaic legal precepts or ordinances,
"in point of fact, takes place when the Gen-
tile obeys the moral law of nature." Godet,

however, and Philippi, in part, hold that the
"uncircumcision" who "fulfill the law" are
converted, though uncircumcised. Gentile
Christians. But there are no persons who
absolutely fulfill the law, least of all the
"uncircumcision which is by nature." Such
uncircumcision as this, which, moreover, is
destitute of the "letter" of the law, cannot
refer to Christian believers, nor even to "those
fearing God," the uncircumcised, yet, half-
Judaized Gentiles, the proselytes of the gate.
Acts 10: 2, 22; 13:16, 26.]

28, 29. For he is not a Jew, etc. The
expression here is very elliptical, but the
sense is very plain. [Dr. Schaff thus fills out
the ellipses, substantially in the manner of De
Wette : for not the outward (.Jew) is a (true)
Jew, neither is the outward fleshly* (circum-
cision) a (true) circumcision, but the inward
Jew (is a Jew) and circumcision of the heart,
etc. (is circumcision). Meyer gives the last
part thus: "But he is a Jew, who is so in
secret and circumcision of the heart (is) in
the spirit, not in the letter." As circumcision
is without the article, some give this render-
ing: "and there is a circumcision of the
heart," etc. In this passage, however, the
Common Version, as Dr. SchaflT says, "can
scarcely be improved." In Phil. 3: 3 Paul
says: We are the (true) circumcision who
serve (or worship) by the Spirit of God, and
glory in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence
in the flesh. What a debt of gratitude we
owe to Paul under God for a gospel of lib-
erty!] The existence and importance of a
spiritual element in the Old Testament Dis-
pensation is strongly emphasized, first in a
negative form (»•■'• .i«), and secondly in a posi-
tive form (»er- m). See similar contrasts be-
tween the spirit and the letter in 7: 6 and 2
Cor. 3: 6. In the spirit. Some understand
by 'spirit' here the spirit of man; others, the
Spirit of God. [Meyer, Philippi. Godet,
Hodge: 'in' meaning by the Holy Spirit.^
The passages above cited seem to favor the

' ilk with the genitive properly meux» through, and here "denotes the attendant circumsiauces." (Boise. —;F. I

ROMANS.

[Ch. ni.

CHAPTER III.

WHAT advantage th^n hath the Jew ? or what profit
« there of circumcision ?
■i Much every way : chiefly because that unto them
were couimitted the oracles of God.

1 What advantage then hath the Jew? or what is

2 the profit of circumcision? Much every way: first
of all, that they were intrusted with the orucles of

reference to 'spirit' in the abstract, as distin-
guished from letter, to the idea, as distin-
guished from the form. [In spirit here seems
properly antithetical to in flesh of ver. 28.]
Spiritual circumcision [or circumcision of the
heart] is often referred to in the Old Testa-
ment. See Lev. 26 : 41 ; Deut. 10 : 16 ; 30 : 6 ;
Jer. 4: 4; 9: 26; Ezek. 44: 9. Compare Acts
7:51; Phil. 3:3; Col. 2:11. Whose praise,
etc. The relative pronoun is here of uncer-
tain gender. It is probably masculine, refer-
ring to the word Jew [so most commentators] ;
but so far as the form is concerned, it might
be neuter, referring to the whole preceding
sentence. So Meyer understands it. But the
word 'praise' favors the more limited and
personal reference. [The Jew sought out-
ward praise, the approval of men. (John i. u;
12:43.) God, who seeth in secret, alone can
clearly recognize the inward circumcision,
and his praise, compared with that of man, is
above all price. The word ' praise' may have
some reference to the meaning of " Jew," the
praised one. " The Jew who is one inwardly,
he is the Jew who has praise — i. e., this is true
Judaism." (Bengel.) Godet refers to the
"remarkable parallelism" existing between
this whole passage and the declaration of
Jesus, Matt. 8: 11, 12: "Many shall come
from the east and the west . . . but the sons
of the kingdom," etc.] This passage suggests
a serious admonition to those who are only
nominally Christians, but strangers to the
spiritual life. If mere external conformity
and use of ordinances did not suffice to con-
stitute a true Israelite, how much less does
mere profession — the strictest observance of
ceremonial and the liveliest zeal for ortho-
doxy—suffice to constitute a true Christian.
It is just the essential thing which they lack.

Ch. 3: [In Chnpter I is demonstrated the
sinfulness of the Gentiles, and in Chapter II
the similarly sinful state of the Jews. This
third chapter shows that alike to Gentiles and
to Jews, both being under condemnation.

notwithstanding the external advantages of
the latter, there is but one method of justifi-
cation— namely, that which is through faith
in Jesus Christ set forth as a sacrifice for sin.
We may give as the more important theme
of this chapter : The only possible justification
for mankind, sinful and condemned, is by
grace through faith in Christ Jesus.] The
preceding views (chapter 2) would naturally
meet with objections in the mind of the Jew.
The sum of these objections is comprehended
in the inquiries of the first verse. What ad-
vantage has the Jew above the Gentile?
What profit is there in circumcision? The
objections are such as a Jew would naturally
raise ; but they are to be conceived as raised
by the apostle himself, and not as if in actual
dialogue with a Jewish objector.

1. What advanta§:e then. [Literally :
" What, then (under this condition of things),
is the advantage of the Jew^' — namely, above
that of the Gentile? Ellicott characterizes
'then' (or therefore, ovv) as "collective and
retrospective."]^ Here are two questions; but
the difference is more in form than in sub-
stance. All would be expressed in this :
"What advantage has the circumcised Jew
above the uncircumcised Gentile?" What
the apostle has been saying in chapter 2, espe-
cially in ver. 26-29, obviously suggests this
inquiry. He seems to have placed Gentile
and Jew substantially on the same level be-
fore God, a view very offensive to Jewish
pride. "If true Judaism and true circum-
cision be merely spiritual, what is the profit
of external Judaism and ceremonial circum-
cision?" (Alford.)

2. Much every way: chiefly, because
that unto them were committed the ora-
cles of God. We have here the apostle's
answer to the objection raised by the inquiries
of the first verse. In strictness of construction,
the answer is adjusted to the^rs^ form of the
question only, for the word 'much' agrees in
gender with the word 'advantage' and not
with the word 'profit,' and very properly, as

1 Crosby— in his Greek Grammar, g 328— derives ouv, from iov, a dialectic form of 3>v, the present participle
of the verb to be, loeaning*: it being so. — (F.)

Ch. III.]

ROMANS.

this is the main question. There were many
advantages, the apostle answers, or, more ex-
actly, there was much advantage in every
respect; but the chief advantage of all was
the possession of 'the oracles of God,' the
written law. Some of the other advantages
are enumerated in 2 : 17-20, and in 9 : 4, 5; but
in both those enumerations 'the oracles of
(iod' under the name of "the law" have a
prominent place. Compare also Ps. 147:19,
20. Notice how emphatically the apostle here
affirms the divine inspiration of the Old Test-
ament. [The word 'chiefly' doubtless ex-
presses the idea of the apostle, though his
viords, first of all (Revised Version), natur-
ally indicate a secondly, which, however, as
in 1 : 8, is omitted. The usual explanation of
this omission is that the apostle loses the gram-
matical sequence of thought by dwelling so
long on the first member (Buttmann, 365);
but see notes on 1 : 8. Godet thinks the pre-
ceding words, 'every way,' suggest this idea:
"I might mention many things under this
head, but I shall confine myself to one, which
is in the front rank;" and adds: "This form
of expression, far from indicating that he
purposes to mention others, shows, on the
contrary, why he will not mention them.
They all flow from that which he proceeds to
indicate." Perhaps this asseveration of the
apostle is slightly apologetic, as going to show
that he does not disparage the written law of
Jehovah.] The words 'unto them' are not
found in the original ; they seem to be neces-
sary, only because the translators misunder-
stood the construction of the verb, which they
rendered 'were committed.' The tmnslation
should be: "They loere entrusted with the
oracles of God." The verb is passive in form,
and when it is derived from the active sense
"to believe," as it is in 2 Thess. 1 : 10 and 1
Tim. 3: 16, it is passive in sense; but in the
more common case, in which it is derived
from the active sense "to entrust" [something
to some one], it is invariably followed by the

accusative of the object entrusted. An ex-
amination of the original in the following
passages, the only places besides the one under
examination where the passive form is found,
makes this conclusion very plain : 1 Cor. 9 :
17; Gal. 2:7; 1 Thess. 2:4; 1 Tim. 1 : 11 ;
Titus 1:3.* All the older versions led the
way in this misconstruction of the verb. ' The
oracles (A<}yta) of God.'* The same word is
applied to the Old Testament Scriptures in
Acts 7 : 38; Heb. 5 : 12: 1 Peter 4 : 11. It is a
great 'advantage' to possess the Holy Scrip-
tures. It was so to those who had only the
Old Testament ; how much more to those who
have both the Old Testament and the New.
Yet how many neglect to improve this chief
advantage which they have over the heathen.
The Lord has himself here decided the im-
portant question, whether or not it is a bless-
ing for the heathen to have the Scriptures and
the knowledge of the way of salvation. True,
those who reject the ofl'er of salvation, and
prefer darkness rather than light, will meet a
much severer doom than if they had remained
in ignorance; and these are usually the ma-
jority. Still, the possession of the gospel, the
having of the opportunity to be saved, is a
priceless benefit. So God regards the matter,
and he here shows that he so regards it. He
virtually shows that he so regards it by com-
manding us to make known the gospel to
every creature; but he expressly declares that
he so judges by pronouncing the possession of
the Scriptures the chief advantage of the Jew
over the Gentile. This text ought to silence
forever the objection to missionary enterprise,
so often advanced, that we do but increase the
final condemnation of the heathen, in the
majority of cases, by sending them the gospel.
Indeed, this way of reasoning, if it were fairly
applied, would prove quite too much ; it would
arrest the progress of evangelization alto-
gether, at home and abroad. It would forbid
us to make known the gospel to our country-
men, our neighbors, our own children, even.

1 See furiher in Winer, pp. 229, 260. Buttmann (pp.
152, 189) makes this to be akin to tlie so-called Greek
accusative, or accusative of limitation. Compare Heb.
2 : 17 : " Faithful (as to, in) things pertaining to God." —
(F.)

* The word, while emb'-acing all the sacred writings
of the Old Covenant, may have special reference in this
nlace to the prophetic statements or promises concern-

ing the Messiah which are found in the Old Testament.
The form of the word is thought by Bengel and Philippi
to be a diminutive, having thus a nferenceto oracular
brevity. According fo Meyer, KoyiUa would l)e the
diminutive form. "Adyiof is usetl both in classical and
Hellenistic Greek, chiefly of utterances of the Deity."—
Philippi.— (F.)

ROMANS.

[Ch. III.

3 For what if soiue did not believe? shall their un-
belief make the laith of God without etl'ect ? j

4 Uod forbid : yea, let (iod be true, but every man a
liar; as it is written, That thou mightest be justified

3 God. For what if some were without faith? shall
their want of faith make of none eilect the faithful-

4 ness of ijod? > God forbid: yea, let God be found
true, but every man u liar; as it is written.

I Or. B* it not to : and so eUewbere.

lest we should only aggravate their final con-
demnation.'
3. For what if some did not believe?

A second objection is here presented. The
resemblance of the three principal words in
this verse is partially lost in the translation.
Alford [following De Wette] preserves it in
this way : " For what if some were unfaithful
[to the covenant], shall their unfaithfulnes
nullify the faithfulness of God?" [Dr. Hodge
puts this language in the mouth of a Jew,
relying for security on his covenant relation
to Abraham : " ' What if we were unfaithful,'
says the Jew, 'does that invalidate the faith-
fulness of God ? Has he not promised to be a
God to Abraham and his seed?'" But this
does not well suit the connection. The diso-
bedience, or rather disbelief, doubtless has
reference to these inestimable 'oracles,' which,
as being God's word, will not fail of fulfill-
ment. Meyer and Godet think Paul has here
in mind the disbelief of the Jews in the Mes-
siahship of Jesus: others make their unbelief
relate to their pre-Christian history.] The
case is mildly stated in the first clause:
'What if some did not believe?' It might
have been put more strongly, as it is by Isaiah
(53:1), and by the author of the Epistle to the
Hebrews (3:i6). I think this verse from He-
brews should be translated : "For w;Ao having
heard, did provoke? But did not all those
who came out of Egypt hy Moses?"* But
we may suppose that Paul purposely avoided,
as a Jewish objector would be likely to do,
stating the case in its full severity. [Yet
"many are onl^' some when they are not the
whole." Compare 11 : 17.] The substance of
the objection here brought forward is: "Will
God fail to fulfill his promises because men

1 We can imagine that Paul, under circumstances
like those in which many of our modern missionaries
have been placed, would have felt it to be a part of his
apostolic or missionary duty to set up schools, instruct
the people, translate the Bible, superintend its printing,
distribution, etc., so that all the people might possess
and be able to read the inestimable ' oracles of (Jod.' But
how different his situation from that of many of our
missionaries! He had no new language to learn, much
less had he any to create or put into written form.
With the knowledge of Hebrew and Greek, he could

fail to fulfill their engagements?" [Some
separate the first two words from the rest and
render them : " For what?" or," What then?
If some did not believe," etc. There is a
difl^erence of idea between unbelieving and
unfaithful or untrue. Meyer and Philippi
take the words here in the sense of belief or
unbelief, denying that the word for unbelief
ever signifies unfaithfulness in the New Test-
ament. The sense of the passage would then
be: 'Shall their unbelief destroy the trust-
worthiness or truthfulness of God so that he
should not keep his promises?' This ren-
dering seems to accord best with the Pauline
use of the word faith or belief. Others would
give this translation as most appropriate:
'Shall their unfaithfulness nullify the faith-
fulness of God?' and adduce in support of
their view such passages as 2 Tim. 2:13;
Luke 12:46; Kev. 21:8.]

4. God forbid. This expression, which
occurs thirteen times in Paul's epistles and
only once elsewhere in the New Testament
(Luke 20:16), does not Contain the name of God
in the original, but means simply " Let it not
be" [or, as the apostle uses it, something like:
Perish the thought! Dr. Kiggs, however,
in his "Suggested Modifications of the Re-
vised Version," thinks the phrase "by no
means" would be an adequate rendering.]
It were better to adhere to the above stricter
translation, or to render it, as the revisers of
the Bible Union and some others [Noyes]
have done, "far be it." Here, too, our trans-
lators followed all their English predecessors.
[Let God be (regarded as) true. God is
' true ' (oAijSijs = verax) because he cannot lie :
he is 'true' (aATj^ii/os = verws) as opposed to
false Gods or idols. This 'true' (compare

preach understand! ngly in almost every part of the
then known world. The people to whom he preached
were not simple-minded or infantile in understanding,
but were the most highly educated and cultured. — (F.)

2 We may here remark concerning this translation
that TcVes, if its second letter have the acute accent, is
an interrogative pronoun ; if it is otherwise accented,
or stands as an enclitic without any accent, it is the
simple indefinite pronoun, as above. Compare the
TiKi of 1 : 13 with riva of 6 : 21. — (F.)

Ch. III.]

ROMANS.

in tby sayingR, and niightest overcome when thou art
judged.

5 But if our unrighteousness commend the righteous-
ness of (iod, what shall we say? h Ciod unrighteous
who takeih vengeance? (I speak as a man.)

6 God forbid: for then how shall God Judge the
world ?

That thou mightest be Justified in tby words,
And mightest prevail when thou comest into
Judgmeui.

5 But if our unrighteousness commendetb the right-
eousness of GoUj what shall we say ? Is God un-
righteous who visiteth with wrath? (I speak after

6 the manner of men.) God forbid: for then bow

7 shall God Judge the world ? > But if the truth of

1 Many ancient autborltlea read /or.

"God who cannot lie," Titus 1 : 2) favors the
interpretation truthful or trustworthy of the
last verse.] The apostle indignantly repels
the supposition that God should be untrue;
sooner let that be admitted which David said
in his haste: "All men are liars." (p». ii6: u.)
[Though it is doubtful whether Paul had this
Psalm expressly in mind, since he proceeds
immediately to quote from another.] And
he very appropriately quotes the words in
which David confesses himself a sinner, and
ascribes righteousness and truth to God.
(p>. 51:4.) That thou mightest overcome
when thou art judged. {In order that thou
niayest, etc.]' The language 'That thou
mightest overcome,' etc., seems to be borrowed
from legal matters— at least it is such as is
commonly used in such cases. [The transla-
tion of Noyes is as follows : " That thou may-
est be justified in thy words and mayest over-
come when thou art arraigned." This is an
exactly literal quotation from the LXX,
which, as Meyer concedes, "does not yield
any essential difference of sense from the idea
of the original text." If the last verb should
be rendered — as by Meyer, Ewald, Philippi,
and the Revised Version — activel}', "when
thou judgest." it would correspond more
nearly to the Hebrew original.]

5. A third objection, arising from the wa}'
in which the previous one was answered.
[Especial reference seems here to be had to
the latter part of the preceding verse, where
it is implied that God can turn man's sinful
act to his own glory, the exhibition of his
righteousness.] So far from God's taking

advantage of man's unfaithfulness to fail in
fulfilling his promises, his veracity appears
the more conspicuous in contrast with man's
unfaithfulness. Compare the terms 'unright-
eousness' and 'righteousness' in this verse
with the unfaithfulness and faithfulness [or
unbelief and trustworthiness] of ver. 3. If,
then [as is actually the case], our unright-
eousness thus commends [or sets forth] by
contrast the righteousness of God, shall we
say that God is unrighteous in taking [more
literally, who brings upon us] vengeance?
that he cannot righteously punish the sin
which gives occasion to the fuller exhibition
of his righteousness ?> I speak as a man.
I speak as men are wont to speak. This clause
seems to be inserted apologetically, as if there
were a kind of irreverence in the very suppo-
sition of any possible unrighteouness in God.
Yet men do very often ascribe unrighteous-
ness to God on suppositions that are true ; so
the apostle may well say: 'I speak as a man.'
[De Wette on this phrase says: "I speak as
men speak who often inconsiderately judge
of God." Bishop Lightfoot notices that this
expression is found only in the group of
epistles to which this belongs — to wit: Corin-
thians and Galatians.]

6. God forbid : for then how shall God
judge the world?* The certainty that God
m^Z judge the world is assumed, as something
that the Jewish objector admitted, and so the
apostle might legitimately argue that any
supposition incompatible with that admitted
truth is thereby proved to be false. ["Paul
assumes that only the righteous One can judge

1 Instead of the subjunctive after 6ir«?, some MSS.
'X A D) have the future indicative, which, like the
use of if after oirws, occurs but rarely in the New
Testament. (Buttmann, 214, 234.)— (F.)

« ' What shall we say,' or infer, occurs seven times in
this Epistle (4:1; 6:1; 7:7; 8:31; 9 : 14, 30), and is
found in none other of Paul's letters. Except in 7 : 31 ;
9:30, it introduces a false conclusion. "The wrath"
(as in Revised Version) is that retributive wrath of
God already spoken of (1 : 18 ; 2 : 5, 8). '• This ques-
tion," says Meyer, " is so put that, as in ver. 3, a nega-

tive answer is expected." For the particle (/«>j\ when
used as the .«ign of a question, always supposes an
answer in the negative. See 9 : 20; 11 : 1; Winer, p.
511. Some writers think there are occasional excep-
tions to this rule. — (F.)

"The normal force of the word here rendered 'for
then' may be seen by supplying an ellipsis, thus: Far
be it, since (in that case) how shall GoU judge the
world? Buttmann (233, yet see 359) renders it by
"for," simply: "For how shall God Judge the world"
(if he be unrighteous) ?— (F.)

ROMANS.

[Ch. 111.

7 For if the truth of God hath more abounded
through my lie unto his glory; why yet am I also
judged as a siuiier?

8 And not rather, (as we be slanderously reported,

God through my lie abounded unto his glory, why

8 am I also still judged as a sinner? and wny not (as

we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm that

the world." (Weiss.) Some, however, re-
gard this as assuming the ver^' thing to be
proved, and affirm that it is no more certain
that the Judge of the world must be just than
that God is just. (Hodge.) But it is a very
natural assumption, for, "Shall not the judge
of all the earth do right?" It seems likewise
to be taken for granted that in God's judg-
ment of the world of sinners there must be
the infliction of wrath. The conscience of
the transgressor acknowledges his desert of
wrath, and even the righteousness of the
Heavenly Father in inflicting it. Eight rea-
son would concede at once that God, though
our Heavenly Father, has a right to visit with
wrath where it would be improper for an
earthly parent to do so. On this point, some
men in their reasonings have made a mistake.
In remembering the "fatherhood of God,"
they have forgotten his rightful and infinite
sovereignty. Even Farrar acknowledges that
"We may not push the truths of the finite
and the temporal into the regions of the infi-
nite and eternal."] The supposition that he
could not righteously punish the unrighteous-
ness which commended his righteousness,
would be incompatible with his being the
Judge of the world, for all unrighteousness
of man is, or may be, the occasion of showing
God's righteousness more conspicuously, and
so there would be nothing left for him to judge
and punish. The argument from the greater
to the less, from the general to the particular,
here, is the same in principle as in Matt. 6 : 25,
and in 1 Cor. 6:2. [Hodge speaks of it as a
reductio ad absurdum.] "Intellectual difficul-
ties in religion are best met by moral axioms.
It may sound plausible to say : ' If man's sin
contributes ultimately to God's justification,
God cannot justly punish it;' but conscience,
ever a safer guide than the intellect, echoes
tiie language of revelation, which declares the
coming judgment, and that judgment presup-
poses that sin can be, and will be, justly pun-
ished. The method of Scripture is to state
each of two apparently conflicting principles
{e.g., God's grace and man's responsibility)

singly and separately, and leave conscience,
rather than intellect, to reconcile and adjust
them." (Dr. Vaughan.) The expression
' God forbid ' is explained under ver. 4.

7. This verse seems to be substantially but
a restatement of the objection in ver. 5, but
in the statement the form is changed in sev-
eral particulars. The identity of the objectiim
for substance is confirmed by the same intro-
ductory phrase in both. For if.i The differ-
ences of form are: 1. In ver. 5, first clause,
man's unrighteousness is the subject and
God's righteousness the object (grammatically
speaking) ; while, in ver. 7, God's truth ["in
fulfilling his promises" (Boise)] is the sub-
ject and man's falsehood the object. 2. In
ver. 5, first clause, the generic terms, right-
eousness and unrighteousness, are used; in
ver. 7, the more specific terms, truth and false-
hood, are substituted, suggested, doubtless, by
ver. 4. 3. In ver. 5, second clause, the ques-
tion is: Can God justly punish man? In ver.
7, the question is: Can man be justly pun-
ished? And this reversing of the difficulty
from the divine side, or standpoint, to the
human is emphasized by the use of the per-
sonal pronoun, I also. [The full force of this
last clause is something like this: "Why am
even I who in my lie have contributed to God's
glory, still judged of God as a sinner?" The
sinner is ever desirous to justify himself, even
though he has to charge God foolishly and
wickedly in doing so. " If there is evil in the
world, who is responsible for it but God him-
self? And if my sin is God's glory, why is
he angry with me, and why should not I be
rewarded rather than punished?" Of course,
he is not sincere in this self-defense, for lie
knows that in his transgression he did not
intend God's glory.]

8. The answer to this modified form of the
third objection is made somewhat obscure by
the elliptical character of the verse. Yet the
difficulty pertains rather to the precise gram-
matical construction of the sentence than to
the nature of the argument. The insertion of
two little words will help to develop the sense :

i"But," rather than 'for,' is the better sustained by quite as much evidence as " but." Yet the author-
reading in ver. 7. — (F.) [It seems to me that, accord- ity, as furnished by manuscripts, versions, and patristic
ing to Tischendorf's eighth edition, 'for' is sustained | citations, is pretty evenly balanced. — A. H.]

Ch. III.]

ROMANS.

"And why not rather say," etc.? Wh}' not
speak out the full thought which lurks in this
objection? [In reference to this construction,
see Winer, p. G28. Instead of let us do evil,
etc., introduced as a quotation, and dependent
on we say, we should naturally have expected
a question similar in form to the preceding,
the two questions reading thus: Why yet
am I also judged as a sinner? And why
should not I do evil, etc. ? If we supply the
word say, as some do, the construction be-
comes quite regular, thus: And why not say,
as some aflSrm that we say, 'let us do evil,'
etc.? Observe the change from the singular
— "I," of ver. 7 — to the plural of this verse.
The simple outline of the objector's thought
seems to be this: "If my unbelief, unright-
eousness, untruth, contribute to God's glory,
' why yet am I also judged as a sinner ; ' and
why should I not persevere in doing (what is
called) evil that God's glory may be further
enhanced ; and why should not I be rewarded
rather than punished therefor?" Whose
damnation (.judgment) is just is Paul's only
answer to those who hold such abominable
doctrine. " Syllogistically stated," says Far-
rar, "the existence of evil might be held to
demonstrate either the weakness or cruelty of
God, but such syllogisms, without the faintest
attempt to answer them, are flung aside as
valueless and irrelevant by the faith and con-
science of mankind. The mere statement of
some objections is their most effective refuta-
tion. . . . However logically correct, they are
so morally repulsive, so spiritually false, that
silence is the only answer of which they are
worthy." But is it not a little singular that
"advanced" objectorsof our time will hardly
allow the existence of any "evils" in this
universe until you suggest to them the exist-
ence of an Almighty and all-wise One, who
is able to control these evils and to educe good
out of them ? Yet, apart from the idea of a
gracious and all-wise Providence, our ills
would be evils indeed and well-nigh unbear-
able. We need in this world the sustaining
thought which alone supported the Saviour;
"The cup which my Father hath given me,
shall I not drink it?"] It is not very strange
that those high views of the divine sover-
eignty, which Paul sets forth in this Epistle,

should be malignantly misrepresented, as he
says they were, and as, in fact, they still are.
But he puts the brand of his severest reproba-
tion upon the Jesuitical principle: 'Let us do
evil, that good may come.' They who profess
such a pernicious doctrine, he says [not those
who so slander us], are justly condemned,
whose condemnation, judgment [perhaps re-
ferring to their being 'judged as sinners'], is
just.

Notice the different ways in which these
three objections are answered. The first
(verses 1, 2) by a direct and specific assertion;
the second (verses 3, 4) by an indignant repu-
diation of the objector's inference (a more
specific reply being reserved to 9: 6-13); the
third (verses 5-8) by showing that the princi-
ple of the objection is at variance with ad-
mitted truth, and shocking to the moral sense,
and so refutes itself. The review of these
verses suggests several reflections: 1. It is
legitimate to argue from our intuitive moral
perceptions. 2. The doctrine which never
provokes from perverse men such objections
as these must be different from the doctrine
which Paul preached. 3. The habit of object-
ing against the principles of the divine gov-
ernment, and the doctrines of the divine
word, is no new thing. Christians need not
be surprised nor perplexed when they meet
with such objections. Most of the objections
are only old ones revived — the very same in
substance that the first promulgators of Chris-
tianity had to encounter. If they could meet
them calmly and confidently, how little ought
they to disturb us ! 4. The way in which the
apostle meets these objections may afford us
instruction. There are three fundamental
truths against which objections and cavils,
however plausible, are not entitljed to any
weight. These are, (a) God's truth and
righteousness; come what will, these are
never to be questioned. (A) The future judg-
ment; this is one of the surest doctrines of
revelation, and one which meets an answering
echo in the conscience of man. (<•) Tiie
essential quality of moral actions; anj' doc-
trine or sentiment that shocks our fundamen-
tal moral perceptions must be rejected at
once as coming from the father of lies.' [It
will doubtless be urged by the objectors to the

1 The " Memoirs and Ckinfessions of Reinhard "
(born 1753, died 1812, court preacher at Dresden froni

1792) records an interesting illustration of the efficacy
of settled moral principles in giving the mind a firm

ROMANS.

[Ch. III.

and as some aflSrni that we say,) Let us do evil, that
good may come? whose damnation is just.
9 What theu? are we better than they f No, in no

we say), Let us do evil, that good may come?
whose condemnation is just.
9 What then ? are we belter than they 7 No, in no

doctrine of "eternal punishment," that it
perfectly "shocks" their moral sense, and
that, therefore, there can never be in this uni-
verse of a God of love anything so utterly
shocking as an individual suffering consciously
to all eternity, even though this suffering be
mental and in consequence of personal trans-
gressions. We freely confess that the idea of
an eternity of suffering is shocking to our
natural feelings, and so is the bodily and
mental anguish which men suffer in this
world. We could not for an instant endure
the sight of the collective amount of suffering
which exists every moment in the earth.
" Syllogistically stated," as Farrar says, "the
existence of evil might be held to demonstrate
either the weakness or the cruelty of God,"
that is, when regard is had to but one set of
facts. From one point of view, no man liv-
ing can explain a solitary groan, a single tear,
in all this universe of God. And in a uni-
verse of chance neither this nor anything
else can be explained. Still, all reflecting
persons, with scarcely an exception, unite in
declaring that God is good, though it is
through his arrangement of causes and means
and under his permission, that all this earthly
suffering takes place. Nor would they per-
haps be shocked at the idea of God's permit-
ting a man to live forever on the earth, sin-
ning and suffering in the manner he does
now. So also an apostle, while not ignorant
certainly of the pain and wretchedness ex-
perienced in this world of sin and death — a
world which our limited wisdom and good-
ness would not care to create nor will to exist
—could yet unhesitatingly affirm that "God
is love!" Truly there is, notwithstanding
such an inconceivable amount of human
misery, abundant evidence of the goodness of

God, and hence the idea of such a degree of
suffering in this world of sin, where yet God's
power and providence have absolute control,
and can also educe good out of evil, does not
"shock our fundamental moral conceptions."
Why may we not, during the eternity that is
before us, cherish these same views of the
goodness of God, and of his moral govern-
ment, even though sin should be allowed to
exist forever and as "eternal sin" (Mark 3:
29, Revised Version) to be eternally punished?
Certainly our merciful Saviour could not
have spoken of "eternal punishment" in the
way he did— *in contrast with "eternal life" —
unless those words of fearful import were
true. But it is in view of such teachings as
these that, as in the apostle's time so nowa-
days, men who do not realize that it is not for
"such poor creatures as we" fully to under-
stand all parts of an "infinite scheme" (But-
ler), are disposed to charge God with unright-
eousness.]

Having answered these objections, the apos-
tle now returns to the point where he left off
at the end of chapter 2. The Jews have great
privileges and outward advantages; but in
regard to justification before God, they stand
on the same footing with the Gentiles.

9. What then ? What is the result of the
foregoing discussion ? Are we better than
they? That is, "we Jews, than they Gen-
tiles?" "He addresses the Jews in the third
person, 'when he claims a pre-eminence for
them (verse 1), but joins himself with them
in the first person now, in denying their
superior merit." (Calvin.) The verb trans-
lated, "are we better?" is variously ex-
plained. It does not occur elsewhere in the
New Testament. Literally, it would be trans-
lated, do we hold ourselves before? Probably

anchor, when assailed by a tempest of doubts and
questionings. He was professor of both philosophy and
theology in the University of Wittemberg, and re-
quired to lecture in both sciences, at a time when his own
views were very unsettled. The striking of the clock
which called him to the lecture room often found him
walking his chamber with tears, engaged !n earnest
prayer to God, that he would not suffer him to say any-
thing detrimental to religion and morality. Of his
state of mind at this time he thus writes: "Notwith-
standing the uncertainty, however, in which all my
knowledge, even that which I had considered as rest-

ing upon a solid basis, was about this time involved,
two principles remained by me unshaken : first, never
to permit myself to indulge in any explanation in
philosophy which did violence to my moral feelings;
and second, never to assert anything in theology which
was at variance with the obvious declarations of the
Bible." Letter 7, p. 49. This little book, consisting of
letters to a friend, giving an account of his education,
was translated by Oliver A. Taylor, Resident Licentiate
at Andover, Mass., and published in Boston, in 18-32. It
is an admirable help to students in theology. I fear it
is now out of print.

Ch. III.]

ROMANS.

wise : for we have before proved both Jews and Gen-
tilQ^, that they are all under sin ;

10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not
one:

11 There is none thut understandeth, there is none
that seekeih after God.

12 They are all gone out of the way, they are
together become unprotitable; there is none that doeth
good, no, not one.

the meaning is, "have we any excuse?"—
anything to hold before ourselves as apretext?
[So Meyer. The 'what,' however, cannot be
joined to the verb, as this would require noth-
ing (ov&€v), instead of no, for an answer. The
Canterbury Revision has this rendering: "are
we in worse case than they ? " and in the mar-
gin: "do we have any advantage?" or, "do
we excel?" Godet renders it: "are we
sheltered?" Beet: "are we shielding our-
selves?" The verb here "clearly cannot be
passive, " according toWiner,though elsewhere
in this form it is.generally so used. It occurs
only here in the New Testament.] The words
' than they ' are not in the original ; and if we
have rightly apprehended the meaning of the
verb, they are not needed. No, in no wise.
[Literally — not entirely. Instead of this order
of words we should have expected the reverse,
as in 1 Cor. 16: 12. For the position of the
negative here, which some regard as mis-
placed, see Winer, 554. "The Jew would
say : altogether, but Paul contradicts him."
(Bengel. ) Morison, as quoted by Godet, thinks
it enough to make a pause after not in reading,
thus: no, absolutely, or no, certainly. Winer
also remarks that "a half comma [after not]
would at once remove all ambiguity." He
supposes that the meaning " was probably in-
dicated by the mode of utterance." Buttmann
(pp. 381, 121) thinks that, according to New
Testament usage, the position of the negative
with the word meaning every or all («•«) is
oftentimes a matter of indifference.] The
apostle answers the question here in just the
opposite way to his answer of the question in
verse 1. There, it was a question of compar-
ative privileges and opportunities, in which
the Jew had great advantages over the Gen-
tile; here, it is a question of comparative
standing before God in respect to justification,
and in this the Jew had no advantage at all.
For we have before proved both Jews and

wise: for we before laid to the charge both of

10 Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin; as
it is written.

There is none right«ou8, no, not one ;

11 There is none that understandeth,
There is none that seeketh afier God ;

12 They have all turned aside, they are together

become unprotitable ;
There is none that doeth good, no, not so much
as one:

Gentiles. ['For' cqnfirms the preceding

negation. The word ' proved ' seems to have
the force of a legal indictment: we have pre-
viously accused or charged Jews as well as
Greeks as being all under sin, and we regard
the accusation as good as proved. By the use
of 'we,' he perhaps associates Christian be-
lievers with himself in this judgment, though
it may be simply the plural of authorship. As
in 1 : 6; 2: 9, 10, so here, the apostle mentions
the Jew before the Greek.] He had proved
this in respect to the Gentiles in 1 : 18-32; and
in respect to the Jews in chapter 2. Under
sin signifies to be under its power, and con-
sequently liable to its penalty. i This charge,
which he has already proved by describing
their character and actions in his own words,
he now proceeds to confirm by citing the
words of the Old Testament.

10-18. [" The passages quoted describe the
moral corruption of the times of David and
the prophets, but indirectl3' of all times, since
human nature is essentially the same always
and everywhere." (Schaff. ) "That com-
plaint (of David and Isaiah) describes men as
God looking down from heaven finds them,
not as his grace makes them." (Bengel.)]
The words immediately following as it is
written, to the end of ver. 10, seem to be an
epitome, in the apostle's own words, of the
substance of what follows. The remainder to
the end of ver. 18 is quoted almost literally,
according to the Septuagint, from various
places in the Psalms, and the prophecies of
Isaiah. [Ver. 10-12 from Ps. 14: 1-3; ver. 13
from Ps. 5: 9; 140: 3; ver. 14 from Ps. 10: 7;
ver. 15-17 from Isa. 59: 7, 8; ver. 18 from Ps.
36: 1. There is none that understand-
eth, etc. — literally, he that understandeth is
not (or, does not exvft). There is none that
seeketh after God, etc. There is none
righteous, etc. In the same Psalm (14),
from which apparently this is quoted, we

1 See the expressions : under law, under a curse, un-
der grace, etc. All these nouns are in the accusative
case, the dative after vird, which would here seem to

be quite as appropriate, not occurring in the New Te»-
tament. — (F.)

ROMANS.

[Ch. III.

13 Their throat « an open sepulchre; with their
tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is
under their lips:

14 Whose mouth m full of cursing and bitterness :

15 Their feet are swift to shed blood:

16 Destruction and misery are in their ways:

17 And the way of peace have they not known:

18 There is no "fear of God before their eyes.

19 Now we know that what things soever the law

13 Their throat is an open sepulchre:

With their tongues they have used deceit :
The poison of asps is under their lips :

14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:

15 Their feet are swift to shed blood ;

16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;

17 And the way of peace have they not known:

18 There is no "fear of tiod before their eyes.

19 Now we know that what things soever the law

read of the generation of the righteous, and
of the poor whose refuge is Jehovah. Yet
there is no real inconsistency in these diverse
representations. " In the deep inner sense
wliich St. Paul gives to the passage, 'the
generation of the righteous' would be the first
to acknowledge that they form no exception
to the universal sinfulness asserted in the
opening versos of the Psalm." (" Bible Com-
mentary.")] Their throat is an open (lit-
erally, opetied) sepulchre. [This thirteenth
verse agrees wholly with the Septuagint.]
Some understand the first clause as referring
to the insatiable destructiveness of the grave;
[" It is death to some one whenever they open
their mouths." (Grimm)] ; others as represent-
ing the nauseous and poisonous odor that
issues from a newly-opened sepulchre. The
latter reference agrees better with the partici-
ple opened, and gives a sense more distinct
from what follows in ver. 15-17. Calumny is
a pestiferous vice. [Meyer finds the compari-
son in the point that " when the godless have
opened their throats for lying and corrupting
discourse, it is just as if a grave stood opened
(observe the perfect) to which the corpse
ought to be consigned for decay and destruc-
tion. So certainly and unavoidably corrup-
ting is their discourse." It requires, as it
would seem, more than one verse to describe
the sins of throat, tongue, lips, and mouth.
How much misery they bring to the world
when they are under the dominion of sin !
A hasty word ; how easily it is spoken even by
a Christian believer! Yet how it grieves the
Holy Spirit, and how it grieves his own spirit,
and perchance the spirit of a fellow mortal, a
fellow Christian.

Oh \ many a shaft at random sent,
Finds mark the archer little meant.]

With their tongues they have used de-
ceit. [Habitually used it (imperfect tense) ;
and we may still exclaim: O thou deceitful
tongue!] The poison of asps is under
their lips. [In the expression (Ps. 10: 7)
"under his tongue is mischief" most inter-

preters, according to Hcngstenberg, take the
metaphor " from the poison of serpents which
is concealed under the teeth [in upper lip], and
from thence is pressed out as mentioned in
Ps. 140: 3, 'Adder's poison is under their
lips.'"] "Behind the cunning of falsehood
there is deadly malice." (Lange. ) Their feet
are swift to shed blood. They commit
murder on the slightest provocation. De-
struction [literally, a breaking together or
crushing^ and misery are in iheir ways.
They spread destruction and misery in their
ways, wherever they go. And the way of
peace have they not known. They know
not [nor wish to know] how to live peacefully,
[or walk in the way of peace, " the way that
leads to peace." (Schaff.)] The way of peace
is one of happiness and safety, free from the
'destruction and misery' of the sinner's
' ways.' No fear of God. This corresponds
with the 'no seeking after God' in ver. 11.
How refreshing b^' way of contrast to think
of one saj'ing: "Whom have I in heaven
but thee, and there is none upon earth that I
desire beside thee! " This dark catalogue of
divine testimonies to human depravity is not
without orderly arrangement. Ver. 10-12
emphatically affirm the universality of human
sinfulness; ver. 13, 14, relate to sins of the
tongue; ver. 15-17, to sins in action, especially
sins of violence ; ver. 18 assigns the inward sin-
ful cause of all these vicious habits. They are
traceable to the absence of pious reverence for
God. Notice hovv this agrees with the repre-
sentation in 1 : 24-31.

19. Now we know. It is self-evident to
all, it agrees with common sense. [The verb
is literally have seen, but, used as in the pres-
ent tense, signifies to know.] The law — that
is, the Jewish law, not in a restricted sense
(for these quotations are not from the Penta-
teuch, but from the Psalms and prophets\ but
in a broad sense equivalent to tl.e Old Testa-
ment Scriptures. In this broad sense 'the
law ' is often used. See John 10: 34; 12: 34;
15: 25; 1 Cor. 14: 21, etc. [It is generally
supposed that the Scriptures took thus the

Cfi. III.]

ROMANS.

Baitb, it saith to them who are under the law: that
every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may
become guilty before God.

2U Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no
flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law it the
knowledge of sin.

saith, it speaketh to them that are under the law ;
that every mouth may be stopi.ed, and all the world
20 may be brought under the judgment of God : becau&e
•by *the works of the law shall no flesh be 'justi-
fied in his sight: fur ^through the law Cornell* the
knowledge of sin.

1 Gr. out of 2 Or, vorkt of lav 3 Or, accounted rigkteou* 4 Or. through la».

name law from this, their more important
part. Besides, the entire Scriptures, as Heng-
stenberg remarks, have a normal, or regu-
lative character. The reference to the law
here is apparently for the purpose of showing
to the Jews that they, as well as the Gentiles,
are under sin. " How this solemnly emphatic
'whatsoever' heaps upon the Jews the divine
sentence of ' guilty,' and cuts off from them
every refuge, as if this or that declaration did
not apply to, or concern them ! " (Meyer.)]
It saith to them who are under the law.
It speaks would be more exact. The two
verbs [Ae-yei" and \a\tlv, see AoAio, Matt. 26: 73],
"to say" and "to speak," are generally dis-
tinguished in translation, and should be
always. Whatever the law says, it is speak-
ing [utters its voice] to them who are under
the law ; they are certainly and most directly
addressed, though not always exclusively. In
the law vfou]d be a more literal translation:
in it as their sphere of life. [Compare 2 : 12.]
That every month may be stopped. Com-
pare this clause with ver. 9. [For the figure
of stopping one's mouth, here, literally: that
every mouth may be hedged, see Job 5: 16;
Ps. 107: 42.] The conclusion seems, to a
superficial view, broader than the premises;
for the im.m.ediate context relates to the Jews
alone. But the argument holds good ; for the
case of the Gentiles, before shown to be guilty,
is now taken in, agreeably to what is said in
ver. 9; and so all the world becomes guilty
before God.] May become accountable to
God. (Gifford.) "The word "guilty," or
"subject to the judgment of God," as in the
marginal reading of the Common Version,
occurs only here. Sin and redemption alike
put us all on a level before God.]

20. Thereforeby deeds of the law there
shall no flesh be justified in his sight.
Because would be the more exact translation
of the first word.' The apostle regards the
more general conclusion arrived at here as
necessitating what he had said in ver. 19

['that every mouth may be stopped,' etc.]
not, as 'therefore' would imply, as a conclu-
sion from that verse. Not by the deeds of the
Jewish law, but by works of law, in the broad-
est sense — broad enough to cover the conclu-
sion, all the world. For an explanation of
the meaning of the verb, to be justifi. d, see
the notes on 1: 17. [Paul's language here is
similar to that in Ps. 143: 2: "Enter not
into judgment with thy servant, for in thy
sight shall no man living be justified." The
apostle adds, 'by the deeds of the law,' and
substitutes for living the word ' flesh,' as de-
noting men in their weakness and sin. The
same assertion is found in Gal. 2 : 16. On the
import of the term 'justified,' Dr. Hodge
thus remarks: "It would be utterly unmean-
ing to say that 'no flesh shall he pardoned by
the works of the law,' or that 'no man shall
be sanctified b3' the deeds of the law.' " The
construction is Hebraistic, the literal rendering
being, 'not shall be justified every flesh.' By
this idiom, non-justification is predicated of
every, or all flesh; or, as we should say, no
flesh or no man will be justified. In our
idiom, the idea implied would be that some
flesh, or some men, would be justified by
legal works. The 'deeds (or works) of the
law,' have no reference to the ceremonial, as
distinguished from the moral law ; for the
Scriptures make no sharp distinction of this
kind — such distinction being what may be
termed an "afterthought of theology." Be-
sides, these works here are used in contrast,
not with other works, but with faith. It
refers rather to the moral law; for the apos-
tle immediately adds that by the law is
the knowledge of sin. And in 7: 7 he
avers that he "had not known sin except
through the law" (Revised Version); "had
not known coveting, except the (moral) law —
the tenth commandment — had said. Thou shall
not covet." But do these works of law em-
brace in this connection what are elsewhere
styled good works, and excellent works

*"8w5ti occurs twenty-two times in the New Testament, and is everywhere causal, unless we give it an
Illative meaning here.'' — Boise. — (F.)

ROMANS.

[Cu. III.

(«>o iya8a, ««Ai, 2 : 7 ; 2 CoF. 9:8; Eph. 2 : 10 ;
Col. 1: 10; Titus 2: 7, 14; 3: 8, 14), or "works
of grace" ? The law, indeed, does not pro-
duce these good works ; but are they not such
as the law requires? If ' works of law ' are
taken in this last sense, then it would follow
that we cannot be justified even by, on account
of, our good works. And this is the invariable
teaching of the Scriptures. Nowhere is it
said that we are justified and saved on the
ground of works, or of faith even, but we
are justified gratuitously, by grace, through
faith, through Christ, and in his blood.
A salvation which is gratuitous, and by
grace is not a salvation on the ground
of works, whether ' works of law,' or ' works'
generally, or 'works of righteousness' ; and
so it excludes all "boasting." (3:24,27,28:11:

6; Eph. 2: 8, 9; 2 Tim. 1: 9; Titus 3: 5, 7.) The Chris-
tian's "good works" are poor and imperfect,
his tears of penitence, even, leaving a stain.
They will not stand the test of the judgment
for a moment. They all need washing in
atoning blood. We therefore adopt the view
which Philippi, in a lengthy discussion, ad-
vocates, in the third (not the first or second)
edition of his commentary, that works of law
are all works required by God's law, and in
harmony with it, which, whether they are
merely outward works of the unregenerate,
or trulj' good works of the regenerate, do not
justify before God, because they are a conse-
quent of justification, and not a constituent
element of it, and because in no case are they
a perfect fulfillment of the law. ' Shall be
justified.' "The future here is ethical — that
is, it indicates not so much mere futurity
as moral possibility, and with not (ou), in
not any flesh, something that neither can,
nor will ever happen." (Ellicott on Gal. 2:
16.) Winer, on this clause, says: "This is a
rule which will hold true in the world."
Some, however, refer the future tense of the
verb to "the judgment of the great day."]
For through law is knowledge of sin.
["The law brings only the knowledge of
sin" (De Wette), and of course its works
cannot bring justification to the guilty. " Life
and death proceed not from the same foun-
tain." (Calvin.) The word for knowledge
is a compound, and signifies full knowledge,
clear discernment or realization. Seel: 28;
10 : 2. Watts very truly says ;

In vain we ask God's righteous law

To justify us now,
Since to convince and to condemn

Is all the law can do.

Further on we shall see that the law, by virtue
of its condemnatory and prohibitory nature,
occasions the calling forth of the passions of
sin and the abounding of trespasses and thus
the working out of wrath. (7': 5; 5:20; 4: 15.)]
This is a very comprehensive declaration.
The very idea of sin comes from the previous
idea of law, as a rule of action, of which sin
is a violation ; all true knowledge of the
nature of sin comes through the precept of
the law : all correct estimate of the evil of
sin comes through the penalty of the law :
all just sense of personal sinfulness comes
through the application of the law.

In this passage, (Ter. 9-20,) the apostle aims a
death blow at all the self-righteousness and
self-complacency of sinful men. He proves,
by divine testimonies, the universal depravity
of human nature. He shows the corruption
of our nature, in its trunk and in its root. He
proves the impossibility of justification by
works. He virtually asserts that to be justi-
fied by our works is neither more nor less
than to be justified by our sins: for all the
acts of a man, prior to his being justified
freely by grace through faith, are compre-
hended in these two classes — acts of disobedi-
ence to the law of God, and acts of imperfect
obedience. The first are positive sins, the
last are sins by defect — that is, they are sins,
by as much as they fall short of perfect obedi-
ence. By which set of performances, then,
is he to be justified? Not certainly by his
positive transgressions, for these are the very
deeds for which he is justly condemned. Can
he be justified any more by his imperfect
obedience — that is, by his sins of defect? This
would be to suppose them no longer sins.
Nay, we may go further, and say this would
be to suppose an actual merit in his lesser sins
suflicient to atone for the demerit of his
greater sins. To such absurdities does the
idea of justification by works lead. The
whole question is closed forever by this di-
vine sentence — " cursed is every one that con-
tinueth not in all things which are written in
the book of the law, to do them." (oai. s: 10.)

21. The apostle has hitherto been showing
the need of that "righteousness of God,"

Ch. III.]

21 But DOW the righteousuesR of God without the
law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the
prophets ;

ROMANS.

21 But DOW apart from the law a righteousoess of God
hath beeo manifested, being wituessed by the law

which was indispensable, and yet unattainable
by the law. He now begins a new division
of his subject, the object of which is to show
how that indispensable righteousness can be
attained. [Under the general head of justifi-
cation and its results (s.- 21-5: 21) Beet gives this
analysis: "Justification through faith and
through Christ (3 : si-m) ; by which all boasting
is .shut out (3:27-30); but, as the case of Abra-
ham proves, the law is established (s: 31-4:17) ;
description of Abraham's faith (4:18-25); we
have now a well-grounded hope (5:i-ii); and
the curse of Adam is reversed (5:im9); the
law was given to prepare for this (5:20-21)."
We have now come to a section which Farrar
says contains the very quintessence of Pauline
theology, "and is one of the fullest and
weightiest passages in all his writings." Its
very words seem freighted with thought of
highest moment. In these modern times men
may not feel much interest in a discussion
about law, faith, justification, etc. ; but the.se
with the apostle were matters of gospel or no
gospel, of life or death, of salvation or perdi-
tion. What an almost infinite solemnity of
meaning there is in his words addressed to the
Galatians: "I do not set aside the grace of
God : for if there be righteousness through
law, then Christ died without cause" — died
for nothing. (Gal. 2 : 21 ; Bible Union Ver-
sion.) And with what yearnings of heart he
regarded these same Galatians as they were
severing themselves from Christ and falling
away from his grace. With similar feelings,
perhaps, he has now taken a survey of the
Gentile and Jewish world and sees them all
alienated from the life of God, all under the
power of sin, all exposed to God's judgment.
And now to the Gentiles who are yet not so
far lost in sin but that they clearly recognize
God's just sentence and their desert of death,
and to the Jews who may perchance have
been brought by the law to the full knowledge
of their sins, Paul proceeds to make known a
righteousness of God which will be theirs
through faith, and a way of justification
through the redemption of Christ which will
secure to them the life eternal. But how can

we rightly understand or fitly explain those
things into which angels desire to look?]

But now the righteousness of God, etc.
[Luther thus renders : " But now is revealed,
without the assistance of the law, the right-
eousness which avails before God."] Now
{wvi) is used here, not probably as an adverb
of time [as it would be in classic Greek], but
rather in a logical way, "as the case now
stands"— that is, the attainment of righteous-
ness by law being plainly out of the question.'
Yet it is also true in a temporal sense, since
this new way of righteousness is now for the
first time fully revealed, so that there is a
coincidence of the two senses in which this
adverb is used ; but the sense above explained
is the predominant one, that of time is subor-
dinate. See a similar use of the adverb now
in 7 : 17 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 20 ; Heb. 8 : 6, etc. With-
out the law. Apart from law [or, without
its co-operation. (DeWette.) And, accord-
ing to this author, the antithesis of this would
be: "Through the facts of the new revela-
tion" has God's righteousness been mani-
fested.*] These words are made emphatic in
the original by their occupying the first place
in the sentence. Some regard them as quali-
fying the phrase, 'righteousness of God';
others as qualifying the verb, 'is manifested.'
The sense is not materially different, but the
position of the words in the original would
rather suggest that they are not to be exclu-
sively connected with either. This whole
matter (the righteousness itself and its mani-
festation) is out of the sphere of law, utterly
excludes all merit of works. The expression
is manifested) or, more exactly, has been
manifested — the present of completed action
(Meyer) — rather than "is revealed" (i:"), is
eminently suitable here. It is no new thing,
so far as God is concerned, nor y»t wholly
new to man, as the following words imply,
but newly 'manifested,' with an emphasis
upon that word. ["Having previously been
hidden in God's counsels, it has now been
made manifest in historical reality, in the
person of Jesus Christ. . . . The manifesta-
tion, in fact, is complete; the revelation in

1 In this sense the Greek writers would use vvv. — (F.) I room) conveys more than ivtv, the idea of separateness.
' The word for v>ithoul (x<"P'fi e.'kia to x^P^S place or ' — (F.)

ROMANS.

[Ch. III.

22 Even the righteousness of God w/Uch is by faith
of Jesus Christ uutoall and upon all them that believe;
for there is no diU'erence :

22 and the prophets; even the righteousness of God
through faitn I in Jesus Christ uuto all ^them that

23 believe ; for there is no distinction ; for all ^ have

1 Or, 0/ 'I Someaucieut authorities add and upon all 3 Gr. tinned.

the gospel Still goes on." (Gilford.)] Being
witnessed by the law and the prophets.

By the law, as in Gen. 49:10; Deut. 18:15,
etc. By the prophets, as in Isa. 63; Jer. 23:
6, etc. [The phrase 'the law and the prophets'

is of frequent occurrence (Matt.5: 17; 7:12: 22:40;

Acts 28: 23), and denotcs in general the Old Test-
ament Svriptures. The gospel of gratuitous
justification is shown by this reference to the
Old Testament to be not an invention of Paul.]
The present participle indicates a continuous,
permanent manifestation in the abiding
Scriptures. Compare 1 : 2.

22. Even the righteousness of God, etc.
[The word for 'even' (6«) has generally a
(^lightly oppositive force, and here, perhaps,
introduces a contrast to the law of the last
verse. Thus, though this righteousness is
witnessed by the law, it is not gained by
means of the law or by means of works, but
by means of faith of {in) Jesus Christ.] Ob-
serve with what painstaking fullness the
apostle shows us that this righteousness of
God is conditioned on taith. ["Faith is at
once the soul's highest exercise of freedom,
its lowliest 'confession of sin,' and the only
homage it can render to God." (GifFord.)]
He repeats the expression 'the righteousness
of God' in order to bring in this explanation,
by faith, or through faith, of Jesus Christ,
and then subjoins: [Which is] unto all them
that believe. [A still fuller form which the
apostle sometimes uses (as in ver. 24: Eph.
2:8) would be: "The righteousness of God
which is by grace through faith," etc., grace
being the objective, instrumental cause of
salvation, faith the subjective medium by
which it is received — grace imparting, faith
receiving. See Ellicott on Eph. 2:8. Since
'righteousness' has no article in the original,
the feminine article after the word 'God' is
naturally dispensed with. Its omission also

here and in similar cases gives a more com-
plete unity to the conception. (Winer, 135.)
On 'righteousness of God,' see comments on
1:17. The meaning of this 'righteousness'
(fiiKatoo-iiiT)) is indicated by the "being justified
freely by his grace," etc. (ver. 24.) "This
righteousness," says Godet, "is granted to
faith, not assuredly because of any merit
inherent in it, for this would be to fall back
on works — the very thing which the New
Dispensation wishes to exclude — but because
of the object of faitli. Therefore it is that this
object is expressly mentioned — Jesus Christ."
"The person of Christ in its unity and totality
('Jesus Christ') is the proper redemptive
object of faith." (Donier. )] The difference
between the expres-^ions unto all and upon
all is commonly thus explained: Offered
'unto all,' and actually available to, or resting
upon all them that believe. According to
this explanation, 'all them that believe' is to
be connected with the latter preposition,
'upon,' only, and not with the former, 'unto.'
This would be tolerably satisfactory if the
reading of the original were certainly genu-
ine; but thousjh defended by Meyer, the
words 'and upon all' are rejected, or marked
as doubtful, by most recent critics.^ This, of
course, forestalls all need of the above ex-
planation and leaves no place for it. For
there is no difference. There is no distinc-
tion of Jew and Gentile, or of any other kind,
among men, as to the 7iecrf of justification or
th&way to be justified. Whatever difference
there may be as to the degree of sinfulness
and blameworthiness, all are under the same
condemnation by the law, and shut up to the
same only hope of justification by the gospel.
The Pharisee and the publican, the openly
vicious and the comparatively moral, are
alike lost if they look to the law, and may be
alike saved if they look to Christ in faith.

1 The addition of the second clause is designated by
Westcott and Hort as "Western and Syrian" (their
" Syrian " being nearly equivalent to Constantinopoli-
tan, or the text of Chrysostom, a native and, for sev-
eral years, a preacher of Antioch, in Syria, and, to my
mind, one very good authority), and is regarded by
them as one of those "conflate" or combined and,
hence, fuller readings which are characteristic of our

Textus Receptus, and which are generally discarded in
their edition of the Greek Testament, as also in the
Revised Version. Meyer retains the second clause and
would connect believing with each " all." Prof. Jowett
says that, " Of the two prepositions, eis represents the
more internal and spiritual relation of the gospel to the
individual soul, as en-t, its outward connection, with
mankind collectively." — (F.)

Ch. III.]

ROMANS.

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory
of God ;

24 Being justified fretly by his grace through the
redemption that is in Christ Jesus :

24 sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; being
justified freely by his grace through tlie redemption

25 that is in Christ Jesus: whom God set forth ifo bt

1 Or, to be propitiatort.

This is a hard saying to the self-righteous;
but it is just as certainly true as that "there
is none other name under heaven given among
men whereby we must be saved." (Act«4:i2.)
"If you do not regard yourself as wholly un-
done under the law, you will keep out from
your mind the whole clearness and comfort
of the gospel." (Chalmers.)

'Z3. For all have sinned, and come
short — or, fall short (Revised Version) — of
the glory of God. There is a seeming inac-
curacy here in the tense of the second verb.
It appears to be in the perfect tense, like the
first verb, but is really in ihe present. There
is no reason for supposing that the translators
intended to mislead tlie English reader; the
translation is not incorrect, though almost
invariably misunderstood. The misunder-
standing would have been effectually pre-
vented had they inserted the auxiliary do
before the second verb : All have sinned, and
do come short of the glory of Ood is the pre-
cise form in which the apostle states the case,
at least so far as the tense of the second verb
is concerned. * The verb 'sinned' would be
quite as accurately rendered without the
' iiave,' as referring to an indefinite past act.
According to the most common use of the
Greek tense here employed, the sins of man-
kind are here represented As "gathered into
one act, regarded as prior to the manifestation
of the righteousness." (Webster.) The sin-
ning is represented as a fact that occurred in
past time, the coming short of the glory of
God as the present and abiding consequence.
[Tiio historical aorist, 'sinned' — according to
Bengel, Olsliausen, Wordsworth, Shedd — re-
fers, primarily at least, to the fall of our race
in Adam, which is the prolific source of all
depravity and all sin. See 5: 12. Prof. Shedd
saj's: "It is the one original sin of apostasy,
more than any particular transgre-ssions that
flow from it, that puts the Jew and Gentile
upon the same footing, so that there is 'no
difference' between them."] What is meant

by coming short of the glory of God? Here
we have a great variety of explanations, some
of them depending upon the view taken of
tiie sense of the verb, and some upon the
meaning assigned to the phrase, 'the glory of
God.' As to the meaning of the verb, we
remark that it does not mean to lose some-
thing once possessed, but to fail of gaining
something once attainable. This excludes
such explanations as that of Olshausen, to lose
"the image of God in which man was cre-
ated." The most pertinent text, perhaps, to
illustrate the meaning of the verb here, is
Heb. 4:1. As to the sense of the expression,
'the glory of God,' see the notes on 2:7.
[Most expositors, we think, regard this phrase
as nearly equivalent to the praise of God,
" the glory that cometh from the only God."
(Revised Version. John 5 : 44; 12: 43.) But
Meyer says: "The glory of God cannot, in
reality, be anything essentially different from
the righteousness of God, and cannot be
merely future."]

24. Being justified. ["Suddenly thus is
opened a more pleasant .scene." (Bengel.)]
This participle must agree grammatically with
'all' of ver. 23. Butare 'all' actuallyjustified?
No; the present participle here used does not
imply that : it is the customary form of stating
a general truth or principle without affirming
the universality of the fact. It describes, with
what follows, the only mode of justification
in the case of all who are justified ; the justi-
fication of men is going on in this way and in
no other. The apostle is careful not to use
the perfect participle, as Luke does in 18: 14,
or the indefinite past, as he himself does in
5:1 of this Epistle, where it would be more
exactly translated: "Having been justified."
Either of these forms would represent the
justification as an accomplished fact, and it
is justly so represented in both the passages
referred to; but the present participle does
not so represent it, and in the passage under
consideration it could not be truly so repre-

1 This verb — signifying, literally, lo be behind, hence,
to fall short, to lack — is properly followed, as here, by
the genitive, the " whence case," the genitive of pro-

ceeding from, of separation, and removal. The verb,
being in the middle voice, is supposed by some to indi-
cate a felt need. Compare Luke lo : 14. — (F.)

ROMANS.

[Ch. III.

25 Whom God bath set forth to be a propitiation | a propitiation, through faith, in his blood, to shew

sented. [Winer says: "The apostle conceived
the connection thus — and come short of the
ghiry of God, in that (since) they are justified
freely, etc. ; the latter is proof of the former."
And Godet paraphrases as follows: "Being
consequently justi&ed, as we have just declared
(ver. 21, 22), freely, etc."] Dr. SchafT has a
full and admirable note on the meaning of
the verb "to justify " in Lange's commentary
on this verse. [On the verb to justify, see
notes on 1 : 17; also Dr. Hovey's "Manual of
Theology," p. 264, seq. ; and his "God with
Us," pp. 114, 252. To justify, as defined by
Prof Cremer, is: "By a judicial decision to
free from guilt, . . . and to represent as right-
eous." Almost every word here used in con-
nection with "justified" shows that this term
does not mean made righteous or sanctified.]
Freely by his grace. These two qualifying
terms, though intimately related, are not
identical. The first denotes the entire free-
ness of justification, "without money and
without price"; the second, the divine be-
nignity, which is the source of that free gift.
Again, the second might be true without the
first. It would be a favor, an act of grace, on
God's part, to grant to men justification on
some easy and indulgent terms, though not
as an absolutely free gift. [See 6 : 17, gift of
righteousness, and Eph. 2 : 8, the gift of God.
If it is without cost to us, it was not so to the
Giver. The word translated ' freely ' {Smpedv} —
or, better, gratuitously — is found elsewhere in
Matt. 10:8; John 15:25; 2 Cor. 11:7; Gal.
2:21; 2 Thess. 3 : 8; Rev. 21:6; 22:17.
'Grace' here "is emphasized precisely as di-
vine, opposed to all human co-operation."
(Meyer.) On the antithesis of grace to any
reward of work or to debt, see 4:4; 11 : 6.
Compare Titus 3 : 5. Some persons, chiefly
of the hyper-Calvinistic Antinomian School,
have held that Christ, by his redemption, has
fully paid the debt of sinners, so that they,
if belonging to the number of the elect, are
freed from desert of punishment, and can
demand deliverance from death as a right,
thus making crimes transferable, like debts.
But we, as lost sinners, must ever seek this
deliverance as an act of grace, such deliver-
ance being through Christ's redemption, ren-
dered consistent with justice, but not required
by it. (Fuller.)] Through the redemption

(airoAvrpoKTit) that is in Christ Jesns. 'Ee-

demption ' [a word which supposes the truth
of ver. 9, that we are "all under sin" or in
bondage to sin] is deliverance effected by
paying a ransom. Compare 1 Cor. 1 : 30. See
also Eph. 1:7; Col. 1 : 14, in both which places
redemption is defined as "the forgiveness of
sins," and in the former with the addition,
"through his blood." (In the latter passage
this qualification is omitted in the best editions
of the original text.) Compare also the word
"ransom" (AvrpoO in Matt. 20:28; Mark 10:
45; (oi^tAvrpov) 1 Tim. 2:6; and the noun
"redemption" (Aurpwcrit) in Heb. 9:12; and
the verb " to redeem " in Titus 2: 14; 1 Peter
1 : 18. [See also such kindred words as bought,
purchased, etc., 1 Cor. 6:20; 7:23; Gal. 3:
13 ; Rev. 5:9; also Acts 20 : 28. The pur-
chase price paid, we may say, to the holiness
of the infinitely holy and righteous Lawgiver
and Judge was the ' ' precious blood ' ' of Jesus.
See ver. 25 ; Eph. 1 : 7 ; 1 Peter 1 : 18, 19; 2 :
24; Rev. 5:9. Compare Matt. 20 : 28; 1 Tim.
2:6. This 'redemption,' which is in or rests
in Christ, is to be considered as the objective,
and faith as the subjective, medium of justifi-
cation. (Philippi.) The redemption is from
the curse, from sin, from death, and from
Satan. "Every mode of conception which
refers redemption and forgiveness of sins, not
to a real atonement through the death of
Christ, but, subjectively, to the dying and
reviving with him, guaranteed and produced
by that death, .... is opposed to the New
Testament, a mixing up of justification and
sanctification." (Meyer.) " Here is a foun-
dation for the satisfaction theory of Anselm,
but not for its grossly anthropopathic execu-
tion." (De "Wette.)] The two verses follow-
ing explain how this redemption was effected.
25. Whom God hath set forth. [Middle
voice: set forth for himself, for the exhibi-
tion or demonstration of his righteousness.
(Winer, p. 254.) Godet remarks that "it
is God himself who, according to this
passage, is to be regarded as the author of the
whole work of redemption. The salvation of
the world is not therefore wrested from him, as
is sometimes represented bj^ the mediation of
Christ." Compare 1 John 4: 10: 2 Cor. 5 :
18; John 3: 16.] God set Christ forth, or
exhibited him to men historically by his in-

Ch III.]

ROMANS.

through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness | his righteousness, because of the passing over of the

carnation. Compare Gal. 4: 4.* God (the
Father) set forth for himself and before the
world or universe, Christ Jesus the crucified,
slain as a sacrifice for sins. To be a pro-
pitiation. The word for propitiation [used in
the Septuagint for the mercy-seat, or propitia-
tory cover for the ark of the covenant] (iAo<n^-
pt.ov) is in form a verbal adjective, signifying
propitiatory, and implying some such word
as sacrifice, or offering, understood, with
which it agrees. In the only other two cases
where the word 'propitiation' is used in our
English Bible, 1 John 2: 2; 4: 10, the Greek
word (IkcuTnot) is a noun from the same root as
the verbal adjective used here; and in both
the above passages it is applied to Christ. The
only defensible translation of the word here is
' propitiation ' or ' propitiatory sacrifice.' The
representation of Christ as an expiatory sacri-
fice for sin pervades the New Testament. He
is said to have "given himself as an oflTering
and a sacrifice," Eph. 5: 2, compare Heb. 10:
12; he is "our Passover, sacrificed for us," 1
Cor. 5: 7; he is "Lamb of God," John 1: 29,
36; 1 Peter 1 : 19; Kev. 5: 6-9. This last title
of Lamb is given to him nearly thirty times
in the book of Revelation alone. [ The word
propitiation' here denotes that which pro-
pitiates God or his justice. See Dr. Hovey's
"Manual of Theology," 210, seq., also his
"God with Us," 114, seq., 252, seq. Godet,
speaking against the false idea that propitia-
tion is intended to originate a sentiment which
did not exist in God before, says: "What it
produces is such a change in the relation be-
tween God and the creature, that God can
henceforth display toward sinful man one
of the elements of his nature rather than
another." And he approvingly quotes Gess
as saying: "Divine love manifests itself in
the gift of the Son, that it m.ay be able after-
ward to diffuse itself in the heart by the gift
of the Spirit." In the love of God there is, as
he says: "(1), The love which precedes the
propitiation and which determines to effect it;
and (2), Love such that it can display itself
when once the propitiation is effected."]
Through faith in his blood. The precise

connection of these two clauses with each
other, and with the preceding context, espt-ci-
ally with the words 'propitiation' and 'set
forth,' has given rise to some discussion. Ac-
cording to the common punctuation of the
English, the two expressions would seem to
have the most direct and intimate connection
with each other, 'in his blood' being the ob-
ject on which faith is exercised. In that case,
we must understand by his blood that ex-
piation for sin which he effected by the shed-
ding of his blood. In no other sense can
'faith in his blood' be an efficacious means
of propitiation for sin. But the lack of any
Scripture warrant for the expression 'faith
in the blood of Christ ' is a strong objection to
insisting on so close a relation between these
two clauses. It is better to connect the clause
'in his blood' with the verb 'set forth,' and
the clause ' through faith ' with the noun ' pro-
pitiation ' — whom Ood set forth in his blood,
as a propitiation through faith [so Meyer] ;
or, which is but slightly different without so
distinctly separating the verb and the noun,
' propitiation,' to join these two clauses with
both, making the 'blood' — that is, the sacrifi-
cial death of Christ — the ground of the propiti-
atory virtue of his redemptive work and faith,
exercised by the sinner, the condition of its
propitiatory efficacy. To declare his right-
eousness, etc. Here it is necessary to make
more important changes than are often re-
quired in our English translation, so excellent
as a whole. '"To declare his righteousness,"
literally, 'for manifestation* of his righteous-
ness,'— that is, his judicial righteousness, or
justice, as explained in the last part of the
next verse. [This retributive righteousness
or justice of God (defined by the phrase in
the next verse: that he might be righteous,
or just) is of course different from that right-
eousness of God through faith which has been
manifested without the law.

Ver. 21 speaks of the manifestation of God's
justifying righteousness, this verse speaks of
the exhibition of his judicial righteousness
The reason for this exhibition is given under
two aspects, the first stated being, perhaps, the

1 [This is true ; but there seems to be no reference to
the incarnation in (liis verse. It is Christ Jesus whom
Qod is here affirmed to have set forth as a propitiation
in his blood, or death, and not the eternal Word whom

he exhibited to men by means of the incarnation.—
[A. H.]

' ifitiiiv, whence our indication, see Eph. 2 : 7, for an
I equivalent phrase. — (F.)

ROMANS.

[Ch. III.

for the remission of sins that are past, through the
forbearance of God ;
26 To declare, / say, at this time his righteousness: j

2G sins done aforetime, in the forbearance of God; for
the shewing, J say, of bis righteousness at this

more subordinate one.] For the remission.

The word (a(^«<ris) usually translated ' remission'
(or, in several places, forgiveness,) occurs
seventeen times in the New Testament, but it
is not used in this place. Instead of the ordi-
nary word (o<^eo-is), the apostle uses another
word (wapeais) which is found nowhere else in
the Greek Testament, and which bears the
same relation to the usual word that our word
prsetermission, or passing over, bears to remis-
sion. We can hardly suppose that he would
have used a different word only here, unless
he had designed to express a different sense.
[Sins that are past, or formerly committed
— that is, prior to the atoning death of Christ.] ^
Through (literally, in) the forbearance of
God. This word ' forbearance ' confirms the
correction just made in the word 'remission.'
To pass over sin is the work of 'forbearance' ;
to remit sin is the work of grace. We would
translate and explain the latter part of this
verse as follows: "For manifestation of his
righteousness on account of (or in respect to)
the passing over of past sins, in the forbear-
ance of God." During the past ages, God
had not executed the judgment upon the sins
of men which his righteousness had threat-
ened, and seemed to demand ; but had in
his forbearance passed over, and seemingly
ignored them. This made necessary some
manifestation of his righteousness in this re-
spect. (How could he righteously so pass by
the sins of men ? The setting forth of Christ
as a propitiatory sacrifice answers this.) [God
might have exhibited his righteousness or
justice by visiting upon sinners his deserved
wrath, the penalty of death ; but this through
his love for man he did not do. Yet thereby
his justice seemed to be set aside or impaired.

and hence he "spared not his own Son but
gave him up for us all." Says Andrew Fuller:
"If the question were. Why did God give his
Son to die for sinners rather than leave them
to perish in their sins? the answer would be.
Because he loved them. But if the question
be, Why did he give his Son to be an atone-
ment for sinners rather than save them with-
out one? the answer would be, Because he
loved righteousness and hated iniquity."
Similarly Julius Miiller: "To maintain the
authority of the divine government in view
of innumerable sins left unpunished (rrapeo-is),
it was necessary that God in establishing a
new kingdom of love and grace should mani-
fest his justice in the expiatory death of its
founder and king." It is almost needless to
say that such an exhibition as this of God's
justice (and of his mercy, too, in behalf of
sinners), and such a setting forth of Christ as
a propitiatory covering and sacrifice for the
sins of men, which Meyer calls "the epoch
and turning point in the world's history,"
will not be lost and will never be repeated.
Calvary witnessed the finishing of man's re-
demption ; and never again will Christ be
called from heaven to make atonement for
sin. Godet says : " The righteousness of God
once revealed in the sacrifice of the cross, this
demonstration remains. Whatever happens,
nothing can again efface it from the historj'
of the world, nor from the conscience of man-
kind. Henceforth no illusion i.« possible; all
sin must be pardoned — or judged." *

26. To declare, etc. — [literalh', for the
manifestation of, as in the previous verse.
Some (Alford, Schaff) think that Paul would
by the use of the article in this and not in the
former verse distinguish this 'manifestation'

1 Prof Stuart remarks that if Jesus died only as a
martyr to the truth, and his death had no vicarious in-
fluence, it could not avail for the forgiveness of sins
(or the praetermission of sins) committed in the early
ages— (F.)

2 In illustration of the gracious efficacy of this verse
we adduce the religious experience of the poet Cowper.
After walking up and down his room in an almost
despairing state of mind he at length seated himself by
a window and opened a Bible which happened to be
there, if perchance he might find some consolation.
"The passage which met my eye was the twenty-fifth

verse of the third chapter of Romans. On reading it
I immediately received power to believe. The rays of
the Sun of Righteousness fell on me in all their full-
ness; I saw the complete sutficiency of the expiation
which Christ had wrought for my pardon and entire
justification. In an instant I believed and received

the peace of the gospel If the arm of the

Almighty had not supported me, I believe I should
have been overwhelmed with gratitude and joy. My
eyes filled with tears, transports choked my utterance.
I could only look to heaven in silent fear, overflowing
with Jove and wonder." — (F.)

Ch. III.]

ROMANS.

that be might be just, and the Justifier of biiu which
beli^vetb in Jesus.

present season : that he might himself be 'Just, and
the ijustifier of him that >hatb I'aiih sin Jesus

ISeeeb. U. IS, marein 2Qr.Uo//aUh 3 Or. o/.

from the other as being " the fuller and ulti-
mate object." Meyer thinks the former is
here resumed and made prominent, in order
to emphasize the historical element (in this
present time) not previously mentioned, and
to bring into full view the end that was designed
by God ("that he might be just") in the
propitiation. In Godet's view, the "mani-
festation" is repeated to show what is the
object to be gained in the future.] What in
the previous verse was expressed in a some-
what incidental way, and with reference rather
to his righteousness in not immediately and
fully punishing sin, now comes out more em-
phatically with reference to his righteousness
in forgiving sin. Note how emphatically the
apostle declares that the "righteousness" of
God is manifested by the vicarious sacrifice
of Christ — the very thing which men ofton
object to, as unrighteous in God. At this
time. These words are contrasted not so
much with the phrase "in the forbearance
of God," as if that expression referred speci-
ally to the time of God's forbearance, as with
the phrase "the sins that are past." The
passing over of transgressions in times past,
and the remission of sins now, both require to
be reconciled with the righteousness of God.
"The time of Christ is a time of critical deci-
sion, when the praetermission, the passing
over, of sins, is at an end, and men must
either accept the full remission of sins, or
expose themselves to the judgment of a right-
eous God." (Schaff.) Many passages might
be referred to as illustrating the same idea.
See, for example, Luke 2: 34,35; Acts 17 :
30, 31; Heb. 9: 15. [That- in order that,
indicates the purpose, the "intended result"
(Meyer), of setting forth Christ as a propitia-
tory sacrifice through faith in his blood.]
Might be just, and the justifier. Just and
justifying is the more literal translation ;
just in justifying; that his justice might be
exercised and manifested even in the act of
forgiving and accepting the sinful as righteous
on their believing in Jesus. This last clause
of the verse explains especially the object of
the manifestation, but also truly and compre-
hensively of all that precedes, from the begin-
ning of ver. 25. "This is the keystone, the

final aim of the whole affirmation : that he
might be just and justifying the believer."
(Meyer.) [If God could be really just (Paul
uses the word meaning to be, not the word
meaning to become, nearly equivalent to be
manifested or regarded as just, see ver. 4) and
could justify and save sinners apart from the
obedience and sacrifice of a substitute, how is
it that his own Son, the Son of liis love, in
human fiesh was made to bear our iniquities
and was bruised for our oflTences? Just and
justifying the ungodly I ""We have here the
greatest paradox of the gospel ; for in the
law, God is seen as just and condemning; in
the gospel, he is seen as being just himself and
justifying the sinner." (Bengel.) This "sin-
ner," however, is a penitent believer, one —
literally, that is of faith of (in) Jesus. The
uncials F G of the ninth century omit the
name Jesus, while other copies vary the read-
ing. Meyer, judging it to be a repetition from
ver. 22, thinks it should be omitted, "not-
withstanding the preponderating testimony in
its favor."] Compare this whole passage with
the Socinian idea of atonement as operating
only manward. [Bishop Butler, in cautious
but weighty language, states that "the doc-
trine of the gospel appears to be, not only that
he taught the efficacy of repentance, but ren-
dered it of the efficacy which it is by what he
did and sufl^ered for us, that he obtained for us
the benefit of having our repentance accepted
unto eternal life ; not only that he revealed
to sinners that they were in a capacity of sal-
vation, and how they might obtain it, but,
moreover, that he put them into this capacity
of salvation by what he did and suflTered for
them." Dr. Hovey says: "This passage
(Rom. 3 : 24-26) sccms to liavc becu Written for the
very purpose of rendering forever vain and
futile any attempt to limit the efficacy of the
Atonement to its moral influence over men."
See his "God with Us," pp. 100-155.] This
is a standard passage, on the doctrine of
atonement. Olshausen calls this passage " the
Acropolis of the Christian faith." "There is
perhaps no single passage in the book of in-
spiration," says Chalmers, "which reveals in
a way so formal and authoritative ns the one
before us the path of transition by which a

ROMANS.

[Ch. III.

27 Where U boasting then? It is excluded. By
what law ? of works? Nay ; but by the law of faith.

28 Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by
faith without the deeds of the law.

27 Where then is the glorying? It is excluded. By
what manner of law ? of works ? Nay : but by a law

28 of faith, i We reckon therefore that a man is justi-

1 HaQ7 ancient authorities read For to« reckon.

sinner passes from a state of wrath to a state
of acceptance. There is no passage, to which
if we would only bring the docility and com-
pliance of childhood, that is more fitted to
guide and to turn an inquiring sinner into the
way of peace."

On the relation of this passage to what fol-
lows, to the end of chapter 4, Alford remarks:
"Jewish boasting is altogether removed by
this truth ; not, however, by making void the
law, not by degrading Abraham from his
pre-eminence ; but by establishing the law,
and showing that Abraham was really justi-
fied by faith, and is the father of the faithful."
He now goes on to show, in the following
verse, that this way of gratuitous justification,
while it lays the firm foundation for the high-
est assurance, is also adapted to beget the
deepest humility. "When the hope of salva-
tion rests on works, it can have no rational
assurance. The man that is at all conscious
of his great sinfulness — in other words, the
man that has any real knowledge of himself,
must be otten troubled with misgivings, and
harassing doubts and fears, so long as his
hope of acceptance with God depends in any
degree upon his own performances. There is
no room, in his creed, for an intelligent confi-
dence of his final salvation. But when
Christ's perfect work of propitiation, and not
his owti imperfect and inconstant works of
obediencfc, is the sole foundation on which he
rests, he has a hope which is an anchor of his
soul, sure and steadfast; and his conscious-
ness of his many sins, and of the imperfec-
tion of his best acts of obedience, does not
form any bar to his joyful assurance of salva-
tion. So admirably, in the gospel scheme,
are humility and assurance reconciled and
c )mbined!

27. [Where is (in the Greek the, equiva-
lent, perhaps, to owr) boasting then? 'Then'
signifies an inference or conclusion drawn
from the preceding passage. Are the state-
ments in that passage the invention of the
author's genius, the mere figment of his brain?
or are they plain, sober, infinitely important
truths? and do they furnish to our minds a

solid foundation for safe inference? There is
no middle view which we can take of this
matter. The apostle's inference from the
asserted truths is that all 'boasting' on the
part of sinners is excluded, or, in the words
of Theodoret : " it no longer has room."] The
^^ boasting'^ of the Jews "was excluded"
once and forever, when God set forth his Son
as a propitiation. The verb here is in the
indefinite past tense ; but this is one of the
cases where it may most suitably be repre-
sented in English by the perfect : has been
excluded. The contrast in the following
words: By what law? [literally: through
what kind of law ?] is not between the law
and the gospel, as two dispensations ; but the
word 'law ' seems to be used here in what is
sometimes called a rhetorical sense, nearly
equivalent to the word " principle,"or " rule ":
by what principle? Of works? nay,
but by the law (principle) of faith. The
word 'law' seems to be used in the like
sense in 7: 21, 23, 25; 8: 2, etc. [For a man
to believe in Christ who died that sinners
might, through faith in him, be justified and
saved, is to confess himself guilty and lost,
and that his hope is not in himself but in the
mercy of God. By the gospel man is thus
both exalted and abased — exalted as to his
nature, but abased as a sinner. From Jew
and Gentile alike all glorying is excluded.
Each one is asked : who maketh thee to differ?
Each believer is assured that even his salva-
tion through faith is a gift of God, and is not
of himself or of his works, lest he should
glory. The gospel teaches no Parkerian doc-
trine of self-sufficiency, but that a Christian's
sufficiency is from God, and that if he glories
he must glory in the Lord, (i Cor. i : 29, 31 ; 2 Cor

S: 5; Eph.2: 8.9.)]

38. Therefore we conclude (in Revised
Version, reckon). [The Revisers retain this
'therefore,' which here marks a second infer-
ence of the apostle.] Instead of 'therefore,'
the reading for [adopted by Westcott and
Hort] is preferable. For we reckon instead
of being a oonclusioii from what goes before
is rather a reason for what goes before [a con-

Ch. III.]

ROMANS.

29 Is he the God of the Jews only? U he not also of
the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentik-s also:

30 Seeing U is one God, which shall justify the cir-
cumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through laith.

fled by faith apart from > the works of the law.

29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is he not Ute

30 God of Gentiles also? Yea, of Gentiles also: if so
be that God is one, and he shall justify the circum-
cision <by faith, and the uncircumcision ^thruueb
faith. *

1 Or, viorlet of law 2 Or. out of 3 Or, through the/aith.

firmation of the statement that faith excludes
boasting.] Without the deeds of the law.

This does not mean that a man, without the
deeds of the law, is justified by faith ; but it
means, as it reads, that a man is justified by
faith, without tiie deeds of the hiw— that is,
that the deeds of the law contribute nothing
toward his justification. The statement, in-
terpreted fairly by the common laws of lan-
guage, is not liable to the construction that a
man who is justified by faith is under no obli-
gation to perform the deeds of the law; but
it would perhaps gain some additional secur-
ity against such a misconstruction by being
translated, " for we reckon that a man is justi-
fied by faith, apart from (x^pi's) works of law."
The same truth is stated, with emphatic reit-
eration, in Gal. 2 : 16. [This reckoning here
seems to denote a fixed and final decision.
On the word 'man' Chrysostom thus re-
marks: "He says not 'Jew,' nor 'he that is
under law' ; but having enlarged the area of
his argument and opened the doors of salva-
tion to the world, he says, 'man,' using the
name common to the nature." We scarcely
need say that the faith of which Paul speaks
so much as being essential to salvation was
no "dead" faith, but operative, "working
through love," and bringing forth all the
fruits of righteousness. If we are justified by
faith solely, we are not justified by a faith
which is or remains solitary. Justification is
apart from works, but faith is not. Were it
otherwise, faith would ibe inoperative, dead —
in fact, no faith at all. Paul's faith was a
di-eply seated, a deeply earnest, an intensely
active and operative principle, moving his
whole being toward Christ and Christian
duty. With his whole heart, as we believe,
lie would have subscribed to the truth of F.
W. Robertson's statement that " Faith alone
•iistilies; but not the faith which is alone,"
i.dding simply this, that the faith last spoken
of did not deserve the name of faith. The
Confession of Faith adopted by our Puritan
Fathers at a synod held at Cambridge, 1648,

declares that "Faith thus receiving and rest-
ing on Christ and his righteousness is the
alone instrument of justification ; yet it is
not alone in the person justified, but is ever
accompanied with all other saving graces,
and is no dead faith, but worketh by love."
According to Paul's doctrinal scheme, be-
lievers are created in Christ Jesus for good
works, and are to be zealous of good works ;
and he exhorts them to be careful to maintain
good works, and to be rich in good works.

(Eph. 2: 10; Titus 2 ; 14 ; S:U; lTim.«:18.) Nor did

the faith which Luther advocated ignore
good works. He says: "It is as impossible
to separate works from faith as to separate
heat and light from fire." Yet much abuse
was heaped upon him by his opponents for
his translation of this verse: "So now we
hold that a man is justified, without the
works of the law, only through faith" (allein
durch den Glauben — sola fide, whence comes
the epithet, Solifidians). The meaning is in
the text, but a translation did not require its
express statement.]

'Z9, 30. Is he the God of the Jews only?
is he not also of the Gentiles? [This
query is designed to confirm the principle,
stated in the last verse, that no man is justified
by works of the law. The Gentiles have no
such law as the Jews, and if one is justified
before God only by works of law, then is God
the God of the Jews only. Seeing it is one
God, or, as rendered in the Revised Version,
" If so be that God is one." This supposes a
unity of dispensation. See Ellicott on Gal.
2:5. The words 'Jews' and 'Gentiles' are
without the article in the original, since, aa
proper names, the Greek does not require it.]
The circumcision — and uncircumcision
— that is the Jews and the Gentiles. Shall
justify. The future is used here, not
with reference to the day of judgment,
but by a common idiom of most lan-
guages, to express a permanent purpose, oi
habit. The difference between the expres
sions by faith (or, more literally, from faiths

100

ROMANS.

[Ch. III.

31 Do we then make void the law through faith? God I 31 Do we then make i the law of none effect ^ through
forbid : yea, we establish the law. | faith? God forbid: nay, we establish the law.

1 Or, laa 2 Or, through the/aith.

and through [the) faith,'^ does not seem to have
any doctrinal significance. In ver. 28, faith
stands in the Greek text without any preposi-
tion, but in a form which indicates that it is
the instrumental cause, the ''sine qua non,^'
of justification— the three forms of expression
are equivalent. [It is not unnatural for
writers to vary the choice of nearly synony-
mous words merely for the sake of variety,
and this appears to have been often the case
with Paul. See Winer, § 50. De Wette,
however, makes the /row denote the objective
ground, and through, the subjective medium.
In the one case justification is represented, as
a result of faith, or resulting from faith, and
in the other as resulting by means of faith —
faith being thus represented as a source and as
a means. (Winer, p. 411.) Some have con-
jectured that from more appropriately refers
to the Jews, members of the Commonwealth
of Israel, while through relates to the admis-
sion of Gentile strangers. Yet from, is used
of Gentiles. (9: so; cai. 3: 8.) Calviu finds in
this interchange of prepositions a delicate
irony: "If any one wishes to have a diflPer-
ence made between the Gentile and the Jew,
let him take this — that the one obtains right-
eousness by faith, and the other through
faith," which, in our opinion, would be some-
thing like a "quip, or merry turn," which
Cowper said could not be found in Paul's
writings.]

31. Do we then make void the law
through faith? [This law, according to De
Wette (and Meyer), is "the Mosaic law which
demands works." The word "make void"
(/caTopye'ti), the root of which is a — epyos, not work-
ing, inoperative, hence, powerless) is a favorite
with Paul, being used in his epistles twenty-
five times, and found only twice elsewhere.
See also comments on 6: 6. For some other
specially Pauline words and phrases, see notes
on Acts 20: 35. Paul's doctrine of a right-
eousness apart from law, a justification apart
from works (see ver. 21, 28), would naturally
give rise to the idea that he nullified the law
through faith.] The statement we estab-
lish the law admits of two explanations. 1.

We establish or confirm the law by the fore-
going doctrine of faith as the indispensable
condition of justification, because this doc-
trine efifectually secures the fulfillment of the
law. This truth, constantly aflSrmed or as-
sumed in the Scriptures, is formally and
elaborately proved in chapters 6, 7 and 8 of
this Epistle. 2. We establish, or confirm the
law, by our doctrine of justification by faith,
because this way of justification agrees with
the teaching of the law — that is, of the Old
Testament. ["The principle of justifying
faith is pointed out in the law itself." (De
Wette.) "Justification by the grace of God
through faith is already taught in the law."
(Meyer. )] This has already been intimated in
ver. 21, " witnessed by the law and the proph-
ets;" and this the apostle immediately pro-
ceeds to show, in the next chapter, from the
instances of Abraham and David. We con-
clude, therefore, that this latter explanation,
as being more in agreement with the context,
is what the apostle means by we establish
the law. [In illustration of the truth of the
apostle's assertion. Bishop Wordsworth ad-
duces the following considerations — namely,
the doctrine of justification is grounded on
the testimony of the law that all are under
sin ; the sacrifice of Christ on the cross was
pre-announced by the passover and other sac-
rifices of the law; the law reveals God as a
just Judge who needs an adequate propitia-
tion for sin ; the death of Christ is such a
propitiation ; Christ has by his perfect obedi-
ence to the law, both in doing and suflfering,
established its moral dignity, etc., etc. Ac-
cording to Godet, Paul has shown that the
teaciiing opposite to his would overturn the
law "by keeping up the vainglory of man
which the law was meant to destroy, and by
violating monotheism on which it is based."
Calvin says: "Where there is a coming to
Christ there is first found in him the perfect
righteousness of the law, which becomes ours
hy imputation, and then there is sanctification,
by which our hearts are prepared to keep the
law, which, indeed, is imperfectly done — but
there is an aiming at the work. Similar is

1 The article before the second faith, Prof. Boise says, I mentioned, and that the faith was the same in each
' seems to point to the fact that the word had just been I case."— (F.)

Ch. IV.]

ROMANS.

101

CHAPTER IV.

WHAT shall we say then that Abraham our father,
as pertaining to the flesh, hath found?
2 For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath
wktrtttf to glory ; but not before Uod.

1 What then shall we say > that Abraham, Our fore-

2 father < hath found according to the flesh? For if
Abraham was Justified '* by works, he hath whereof

1 Some anoieni autlioritle* read of Ahra^an, our fort/athtr according to tktfietk t 2,0r, according to thefittk, hath found t

3 Gr. out of.

the case with ceremonies. . . . Viewed in
themselves they are vain and shadowy images,
and then only do they attain anything real
and solid, when their end is regarded. In
this, then, consists their chief confirmation
when they have obtained their accomplish-
ment in Christ."] The expression God for-
bid is explained in the note on ver. 4.

Ch. 4 : [Justification by faith through
grace, illustrated by examples from the Old
Testament Scriptures.]

1. What shall we say then. What, then,
if such be the way of justification, shall we
say of the righteous men who lived under the
Old Testament Dispensation ? "What has our
forefather Abraham gained by the fleshly rite
if justification is by faith? [De Wette gives
this paraphrase : What, now (if, as ye Jews
suppose, all depends upon works of law), .shall
we say that Abraham has obtained (namely,
for his justification) according to the flesh?
The Jews evidently supposed that Abraham
obtained from his works justification before
God, and hence had cause for glorying before
God and man. The apostle, in what follows,
seems to concede that if Abraham obtained
from his own labor aught for justification,
he had in this some ground for glorying, but
denies that the justification thus supposedly
obtained furnished any ground of glorying
before God, and thus, in effect, denies that he
was justified by works. Dr. Hodge thinks
this chapter would have opened dilferently if
the establishing of the law consisted merely
in showing that the Old Testament Scriptures,
by the examples of Abraham and David,
taught the faith method of justification, or
justification by grace.] The words as per-
taining to the flesh should probably be
connected with the verb hath found rather
than with the words our father (or, our
forefather, as it is in the most ancient manu-
scripts). These words, 'as pertaining to the
flesh,' would seem superfluous and unmeaning
when connected [as in the Canterbury Re-

vision] with Abraham, but have a very per-
tinent sense as connected with the verb.
'Hath found' is the more literal, but hath
gained expresses the idea more clearly, and is
justified by the use of the same verb in Heb.
9:12, where it is translated "obtained."
[The meaning of the Greek expression trans-
lated 'as pertaining to the flesh' would be
represented more exactly in this place by the
phrase, "by way of the flesh," or, "in virtue
of the flesh." Compare Matt. 19:3; 1 Cop.
3 : 10 ; 2 Thess. 1 : 12 ; 2 Tim. 1:9; Rom, 4 :
16. And ' the flesh ' is here used as equivalent
to the natural man, who works by and for
himself, and as the antithesis of grace and the
spirit of God. "What, then, shall we say
that Abraham attained by virtue of the
flesh ? " (A. H.)] [Westcott and Hort, and
the English Revisers in the margin, omit the
verb ' hath found.' It should, without doubt,
be retained, as the for of the next sentence
seems to refer to it or to its answer.]

3. For if Abraham were justified by
works, he hath whereof to glory. There
is an appearance of inexactness, or want of
perfect congruity, in the use of the tensea
here, which does not belong to the original.
'If he wjcre justified by works, he would have
whereof to glory' (or ground of boasting),
would be the more exact and regular con-
struction ; or, ' if he was justified by works,
he has whereof to glory.' This last is, in fact,
the precise form of the original sentence.
[Prof. Stuart thinks the use of the present
instead of the imperfect («Tx« with av) "shows
a design on the part of the writer to say, not
only that Abraham would have had ground
of glorying, in case of perfect obedience, but
that the same would have continued down to
the then present time."] We naturally expect
here an answer to the question of the preced-
ing verse, but the apostle seems to have re-
garded the true answer, "nothing at all" (so
far as relates to justification), as so plain that
it did not need to be stated. The 'for' assumes
this answer : Abraham certainly gained no

102

ROMANS.

[Ch. IV.

3 For what saith the Scripture 7 Abraham believed
God, aud it was counted unto hiiu for righteousness.

3 to ^lory : but not toward God. For what saith the
scripture? And Abraham believed God, and it was

advantage in respect to his justification, by
circumcision or any other work, 'for,' if he
had, he would have ground of boasting before
God, which he has not. [Godet thinks this
verse gives the reason for putting the above
question. The phrase 'by works' throws
light on the phrase, 'pertaining to the flesh.'
These 'works' pertain to the flesh, since they
proceed not from the spirit or the spiritual
element of faith. The reference to circum-
cision is excluded by the plural ' works.' (De
Wette.)]

• Whereof to glory.' The noun so translated
is only another form of the same word trans-
lated boasting in chapter 3 : 27. There the act
of boasting is meant; here it is matter of
boasting, or something to boast of. The apos-
tle carefully observes the nice distinction be-
tween the two forms of the word. [The final
clause but not before God is regarded by
interpreters as one of special diflSculty. It is
understood by the Greek expositors — Chrys-
ostom, (Ecumenius, Theophylact, and Theo-
doret — as meaning that if Abraham had per-
formed all the good works required by the
law, he would have had ground for glorying
in himself or in his own righteousness, but not
in respect to God or what God had done for
him. This interpretation is adopted by Meyer
and Tholuck, but opposed by Philippi, on the
ground that "this was precisely what the
Jews maintained." But did the Jews main-
tain this? Did they not think themselves to
be the favorites of heaven, and believe that
God had given them the law by which they
might work out their own salvation? Did
they not think that they had ground for
boasting in respect to God, even though they
supposed themselves to be justified by works?
Just this Paul denies. If Abraham was jus-
tified by works, he has ground for boasting in
respect to himself, but not in respect to God.
(A. H.)] [Meyer, as above intimated, fol-
lows the interpretation of the Greek exposi-
tors, thus: "Assuming that Abraham has
been justified by works, he has cause for
boasting— namely, that he has attained right-
eousness through his actions; but he has not
this ground of boasting with respect to God
(as if his justification were the divine act),
since, in the case supposed, it is not God to

whom he owes the justification, but, on the
contrary, he has himself earned it." The Five
Clergymen put a period after boasting, and
give this rendering; ' But he hath none before
God: for what saith the Scripture?']

3. For what saith the Scripture?
[The interrogative form gives force and vigor
to the passage cited, (lo.- s; ii: 4.) The 'for'
here confirms the last clause of ver. 2. That
he has no ground to boast is certain; 'for'
the Scripture says, etc. The passage here
quoted is found in Gen. 15 : 6. The Scrip-
ture says that faith, and not works, was
counted to Abraham for righteousness. This
passage (found for substance in 1 Mace.
2 : 52) is cited almost verbatim from the
Septuagint. See also Gal. 3: 6. In the
Hebrew it reads: 'And he (Jehovah) counted
it to him for righteousnes.' Even in Abra-
ham's believing God, asMej'er remarks, Paul
has rightly discerned nothing substantially
different from the Christian faith, since his
faith had reference to the divine promise, and
indeed, to the promise which he recognized as
that which embraced in it the future Messiah.
(jobn8;56.) "Faith," says Philippi, "does
not justify man before God on account of its
subjective character, a view which must be
described as falling back to the legal stand-
point, but it justifies man only on account of
its object and import, which is no other than
Christ, or God's forgiving grace in Christ.
Even Abraham knew and in faith embraced
the promise of this grace (see John 8 : 56),
and this faith was reckoned to him for right-
eousness." " It (faith) means believing, not,
however, as a virtuous exercise of the mind,
which God consented to accept instead of per-
fect obedience, but as having respect to the
promised Messiah, and so to his righteousness
as the ground of acceptance." (Andrew
Fuller.)

"The meaning of the phrase: counted for
righteousness, or to accept and treat as right-
eous, is here very plain. It signifies gratui-
tous or unmerited justification on the grounds
already explained. By the apostle's own
explanation in the context, this justification
is one which is 'according to grace' ("r. 24)
and 'apart from works.' (ver. s). While
faith, or belief, then, is absolutely necessary

Ch. IV.]

ROMANS.

103

4 Now to him that worketh is the reward not reck*
oned of grace, but of debt.

6 But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him
that justitieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for
rigliteousness.

4 reckoned unto him for righteousness. Now to him
that worketh, the reward is not reckoned as of

5 grace, but as of debt. But to him that worketh not,
but believeth ou him that Justifietb the ungodly, his

in order to prepare a man to become the
proper subject of the gratuitous justification
which the gospel proffers; while without faith
he cannot be justified ; yet faith is not in any
legal sense the meritorious ground of justifi-
cation, nor does the promise attached to it
imply a reward of merit, but only of grace."
(Prof. Stuart.)] Abraham showed his faith
in God by leaving his own country at God's
command ; by believing God's promise, that he
should have a numerous posterity, when the
child of promise was not born, though he was
about a hundred years old ; and by giving that
promised child as a sacrifice at the command
of God. Compare Heb. 11: 8, 9, 12, 17-19.
The apostle selects the second of the above
instances for particular development in the
context, (ver.i7-.22); and, indeed, this was the
exemplification of Abraham's faith specially
referred to in the passage of Genesis, which
he quotes. It was counted unto him for
righteousness: 'it' — that is, his believing
God, his faith. ["If the gospel of St.
Matthew fitly opens the whole evangelical
record by connecting it with the former Scrip-
tures, so also for the same reason does this
great Epistle open the doctrinal series: for
what the one does in respect of fact the other
does in respect of doctrine, justifying through-
out the intimation with which it opens, that
the gospel will here be treated as that ' which
God had promised before by his prophets in
the Holy Scriptures.' In the constant refer-
ences and in the whole line of argument, we
see the illustrious genealogy and lineal descent
of the Christian doctrine of justification by
faith, traced, like that of Jesus himself, from
Abraham and David, and vindicated by the
witness of the Law and the Prophets ; so that we
enter on the final exposition of the truth with
a settled sense that in all the successive stages
of its revelation the truth has still been one."
(Bernard's "Progress of Doctrine in the New
Testament," p. 167.) DeWette says : "When
the apostle in this way unites the climax of
religious development with the historical

point of beginning — for the developing series
commenced with Abraham — he gives evidence
of great historical insight."]

4. To confirm what he had already said
in regard to Abraham's justification, he
now shows that faith excludes works, as a
ground of justification, inasmuch as they
proceed from antagonistic principles, the for-
mer coming under the principle of grace
[favor freely shown to the undeserving], and
the latter under the principle of merit. It is
no favor to give a man what he has earned
or deserved. Now to him that worketh
[Luther: "is occupied with workc"] — that is,
to him that earns wages by work. [The sup-
position here is that he does his work per-
fectly.] Is the reward not reckoned ot
grace (that is, as a favor) but of (or, is paid
as a) debt. ['The reward' ; as the noun has
here the article, it is equivalent to the de-
served reward. The word for debt is used by
Paul only here. There is a sense in which it
could be said that God would not owe us any-
thing, even if we had done all "the things
that were commanded." (taken, lo.) It is be-
cause we are all undeserving, and can strictly
claim nothing as a debt, that God in his
sovereignty can justly give to the one hour
laborer the same as to him who has borne the
burden and heat of the day. (Matt.jo: i2.)» "The
merit of a creature before the Creator is pac-
tional. It is founded upon a promise or
covenant, and not upon the original relation
between the finite and the Infinite." (Shedd.)]

5. But to him that worketh not— that
is, that does not earn anything by working
[does not merit anything by full and perfect
obedience, consequently, does not work for
hire or reward. "By 'working not,' the
apostle did not mean a wicked inaction, but
a renunciation of works as the ground of
acceptance with God." (A. Fuller.)' The
ungodly [literally, 'the non-worshiper,' but
used here in a more general sense], the nat-
ural state of all men, even Abraham not
excepted. Compare 5:6. It is utterly im-

1 Trench remarks that this parable of the laborers in the vineyard " might justly be entitled: On the nature
of rewards in the kingdom of God — the whole finding an instructive commentary in Rom. 4: 1-4." — (F.)
* The »iK)stIe, referring here to a tupposed class, uses the subjective negative f-^.

104

ROMANS.

[Ch. IV.

possible to combine faith and works, grace
and merit, as joint and co-ordinate conditions
of salvation. They will not amalgamate.
Compare 11 : 6. On the Komish (or any
other) theory of justification by inwrought
righteousness, there can be no intelligent
ground oi assurance of salvation for any man
in this world. [On the word 'ungodly,'
Meyer thus remarks: "It is not even to be
weakened as equivalent to unrighteous, but
has been purposely selected (compare 5: 6)
in order to set forth the saving power of faith
by as strong a contrast as possible to ' him
that justifieth.' " The 'justifieth' explains
the 'righteousness' which God imparts to
the penitent believer. When God justifies
an ungodly man, he does not justify his
ungodly deeds, but he forgives him, being
penitent, acquits him of deserved punish-
ment, and restores him to favor. Though
"justification respects a man as ungodly"
(Edwards), yet it cannot be truly said that
God justifies the ungodly man as such or re-
maining such, only so far as a penitent be-
liever may in himself ever be regarded as sin-
ful and deserving of condemnation. Jehovah
will not justify the wicked (ex. 23: 7) — that is,
those who are determinedly such. Fuller
says : "Saving faith, or faith that worketh by
love, is necessary to justification, not as being
the ground of our acceptance with God, not
as a virtue of which justification is the re-
ward, but as that without which we could
not be united to a living Redeemer." And
again: "Faith justifies not in respect of the
act of believing, but of the righteousness on
which it terminates." Prof. Stuart rightly
enough remarks that "in all cases of logizo-
mai (to reckon or impute) as applied to
Abraham's faith, or that of others who follow
his example, it is only his or their own faith
which is counted for righteousness." But
may we not find a gratuitous imputation in
Abraham's case and in ours, in that a faith
which viewed subjectively was not in the
sight of God a perfect righteousness, was yet
through grace and on account of the object
of faith accepted for righteousness? Even
the Christian's faith, which is in essence only
the renunciation of all merit, and is but im-

perfect at best, is not in itself meritorious;
and if this faith is reckoned for righteousness
the objective ground of such gracious impu-
tation is the righteousness of Christ. See
Mej'er's note on 4: 4, 6.*

"It is not in any wise on account of any
excellency or value there is in faith that it
appears in the sight of God a meet thing that
he that believes should have this benefit of
Christ assigned to him, but purely from the
relation faith has to the person in whom this
benefit is to be had, or as it unites to that
Mediator in and by whom we are justified.'
(Edwards' "Justification by Faith Alone.")
It is said that the parallel between Abraham
and the Christian believer is not complete,
faith being imputed to Abraham for right-
eousness; while Christ's righteousness — or, as
Canon Evans of the "Bible Commentary"
(1 Cor. 1:30) would havc it, the "righteousness
of God the Father"— is imputed to the peni-
tent sinner by faith. Again, if the righteous-
ness of God is '■'■by faith," then faith itself
cannot be that righteousness. We answer
that this faith, nevertheless, can through
grace, and in view of Christ's merits, be reck-
oned for righteousness. And if faith in Christ
as a condition (not the ground) of justification
makes us righteous in God's sight, it is no
contradiction to say that faith is reckoned to us
for righteousness, and that this righteousness
becomes ours through faith. Though "the
Bible never says 'faith justifies' " (Schafl^"), yet
we have the substantial equivalent of this, not
only in the phrase, justified by faith, but in
the expression, faith is reckoned for righteous-
ness, which means that we are regarded and
treated as righteous through faith in the Ke-
deemer. See in 4:5, 6, 9, 11, the frequent
interchange of the expression, the imputation
of faith for righteousness, and the imputation
of righteousness to the believer. To reckon
one's faith for righteousness is but another
expression for imputing righteousness accord-
ing to grace and without works (4:5,6, le); and
the imputing of Christ's righteousness to the
believer simply denotes that "his perfect obe-
dience is reckoned to our account, so that we
have the benefit of it as though we performed
it ourselves." (Edwards.) The faith which

1 In Meyer's opinion, it is our subjective faith which I always remains the meritorious cause to which we are
is imputed for righteousness, yet "The merit of Christ I indebted for the imputation of our faith." — (F.)

Ch. IV.]

ROMANS.

105

is reckoned for righteousness unites us to
Christ, puts us, as it were, in Christ, God's
well-beloved Son, so that God looks upon us,
not as in our naked selves, but as in Christ,
and thus regards us as sons and as righteous
in and on account of Christ's righteousness.
Philippi says: "The imputation of faith is
of itself identical with the imputation of right-
eousness by grace. With Paul faith is always
in the act of justification, the opposite of works
and the correlative notion to grace. (ii:6.)
Hence, with good reason, the evangelical
church has explained the expression, 'faith is
reckoned as righteousness' — seeing that this is
done by grace for the sake of Christ's right-
eouness — as equivalent to the proposition :
'Christ's righteousness is reckoned to the
believer as righteousness.' " Christ thus be-
comes the end or aim of the law for righteous-
ness to the b«liever, and in him we become
the righteousness of God. But the Scriptures
do not in explicit phrase speak of imputing
Christ's righteousness to the believer, and
probably nearly all that is meant by this
expression is that we, believing and trusting
in him, are justified and saved through and
on the ground of the merits of his righteous-
ness. "Imputed righteousness is Christ's
righteousness in the sense that it is the fruit
and purchase of his work in the flesh."
(Quotation in "Bible Commentary.") Of
course, the righteousness of Christ cannot be
actually communicJited to us. It is, as Tuck-
ney remarks, "proper to himself, and is as
inseparable from him and as incommunicable
to others as any other attribute of a thing or
its essence itself." "When Christ was made
sin for us, he suffered for our transgressions,
and was himself treated as a transgressor, but
was not himself a sinner. He died the just
for the unjust. "Debts are transferable, but
crimes are not." (A. Fuller.) So by our
union with Christ, and by virtue of his right-
eousness, we, though imperfect, are accepted
as righteous. In Christ "we are ' made right-
eousness,' as if we had not sinned at all."
(Chiirnock.) "The righteousness is still in

Christ, not in us, even when we are made
partakers of the benefit of it." (Bunyan.)
"Obedience itself may be and is imputed,
while its effects only are imparled and conse-
quently received." (A. Fuller.)' Inregardto
the question, whether the Scriptures impute
that to a person which he himself does not
possess, we will quote Prof. Cremer's remarks
relating to the justification of Abraham. In
the expression 'to impute for,' etc., as here
used, "the actual fact," he says, "is not
taken into account; the opposite rather is as-
sumed, and according to this is the relation-
ship or treatment regulated. That is trans-
ferred to the subject in question and imputed
to him, which in and for itself does not belong
to him; .... something is imputed to the
person per substitutionem. The object in
question supplies the place of that for which
it answers; it is substituted for it. That this
is the apostle's thought is clear from Rom. 4:
4, where the imputing of ver. 3 is distinctly
described as imputing according to grace.*
If this were not an imputing according to
grace, a reckoning by substitution, the state-
ment at the end should have been : His right-
eousness was imputed, etc. But faith is now
put in the place of righteousness. Compare
ver. 6, 'to whom God imputeth the righteous-
ness without works,' which, according to ver.
8, denotes the forgiveness of sins. Thus this
imputing by substitution, or according to
grace, is a technical term for the justifying
act of God." Similarly, Dr. "Weiss: "God
reserves it to himself to appoint a condition
under which he justifies the sinner. This con-
dition is faith. . . . Accordingly, the act of
justification can also be described as that faith
is reckoned b3' God as righteousness. This is
a pure act of divine grace, for whatever faith
may be, it is by no means righteousness in the
original sense (in the sense of fulfilling the
law), and God, accordingly, out of grace
reckons something for righteousness which is
not righteousness in itself, and on the ground
of which he did not, therefore, need to jus-
tify."]

1 See Andrew Fuller's " Three Conversations [between
•Peter, Jamns, and John' (Booth, Fuller, and Ryland)]
on Imputation, Substitution, and Particular Redemp-
tion."—(F.)

« As Prof. Shedd remarks: We nerer read of sin

being imputed to men Rratuitously, by wiiy of favor,
without works, or according to God's good pleasure.
"The imputation of sin, both original and actual, is
according to dfbt only." So elcrual life is a free giA, but
eternal death is " wages."— (F.)

106

ROMANS.

[Ch. IV.

6 Even as David also describeih the blessedness of
the niau, unto whom (iod iuiputeth righteousness with-
out wurLs,

7 Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are for-
given, and whose sins are covered.

6 Blessed ii the man to whom the Lord will not
impute sin.

6 faith is reckoned for righteousness. Even as David
also pronouncetb blessing upon the man, unto whom
Uod reckoneth righteousness apart from worKs,

7 Saying,

Blessed are they whose iniauities are forgiven,
And whose sins are covereu.

8 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not

reckon sin.

6. Even as David also. The case of

Duvid, too, though not strictly co-ordinate
with thiit of Abraham, as there is no mention
made of faith, is pertinent in this respect, that
Duvid speaks oifree remission, which is tanta-
mount to justification; for there is no nega-
tive and neutral position midway between
condemnation and justification. ["The appeal
to David next after Abraham was peculiarly
apposite, because Christ was and was called
a Son of David, and to David next to Abra-
ham the most definite promise of the Messiah
had been given." (Philippi.)] Describeih
ttie blessedness of the man. More liter-
ally, speaks, or pronounces, the felicitation of
the man. ["Even as David also declareth
the man blessed." ("The Five Clergymen.")]
The verb here used hardly means to describe:
it is the word commonly translated "to say,"
the same that is used in ver. 3 : " what saith
the Scripture." Neither is the noun used
here the one properly equivalent to our word
"blessedness"; instead of being derived di-
rectly from the adjective so often translated
"blessed" or "happy," it is derived from it
indirectly, through an intermediate verb,
which means "to felicitate," or "pronounce
happy." This is the verb which in Luke 1 :
48 is translated "to call blessed," and in
James 5: 11 "to count happ3'." These are
the only places in the New Testament where
it is used; and the noun here translated
'blessedness,' like the English word, is used
in only one other place besides ver. 6 and 9
of this chapter — namely, in Gal. 4: 15. The
meaning, then, is not to describe the blessed-
ness, but to utter or pronounce the felicita-
tion, or the happiness; and this is precisely
what David does in the passage quoted. Unto
whom God imputeth righteousness with-
out works. This imputation of 'righteous-

ness without works' [that is, without the merit
of works], though not expressed in the passage
quoted, is clearly implied; for free forgive-
ness, and non-imputation of sin, is gratuitous
justification. [Paul has nowhere used the
precise phrase : God imputes to us the right-
eousness of Christ apart from works, but it
amounts to the same thing when he speaks of
the righteousness of God which shall be ours
through faith in Jesus Christ; when he
asserts that we are justified gratuitously and
by grace through the redemption which is in
Christ Jesus; that "justification of life" is
through the righteous act and obedience of
the second Adam; that our faith in Christ,
through which we are justified, is imputed to
us for righteousness; that Christ is the end of
the law for righteousness; that he is made
unto us righteousness; and that we become
the righteousness of God in him. See 1 Cor.
1: 30; 2 Cor. 5: 21. Meyer gives this as the
equivalent of the last two references — namely,
"by means of faith we, through the death of
Christ, have been justified before God," and
"In his atoning death our justification is
grounded." This we may regard as imputed
righteousness.]

7, 8. Blessed are they, etc. [More liter-
ally: happy (are they) whose iniquities
are (were) forgiven, and whose sins
are (were) covered.] The forgiveness is
here represented as prior to and causative of
the happiness experienced.^ These expres-
sions are found in Ps. 32: 1, 2. Our English
translation of the Psalm agrees more exactly
with the Hebrew than the version of the
Seventy here [exactly] quoted does, in that
it employs, like the Hebrew, three different
words to express sin. In this triple felicita-
tion, sin is viewed as a wrong against God
(transgression) which needs to be forgiven.

1 The Revised Version renders both verbs in the
present tense, as though they were gnomic aorists.
The intensive double negative, ov fii}, is generally used,
as here, with the subjunctive aorist, and regularly re-

fers to the future, to what in no wise will or should take
place. (Winer, p. 505.) The Greek subjunctive has in
itself a look toward the future. — (F.)

Ch. IV.]

ROMANS.

107

9 Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision
only, or upon the uncirciiiucision also? for we say that
faith was reckoned to Abrahaui for righteousness.

10 How was it then reckoned? when he was in cir-
cumcision, or in uncircunicision? Not in circumci-
sion, but in uncircunicision.

11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal

9 Is this blessing then pronounced upon the circuui-
ci8ion,or upon the uncircumcision also? for we say,
To Abraham his faith was reckoned for righteuus-

10 neas. How then was it reckoned? when he was in
circumcision, or in uncircunicision ? Not in circum-

11 cision, but in uncircunicision: and he rectiived the
sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of

as a loathsome thing (sin) which needs to be
covered,^ and as a crime (iniquity) which
needs to bo avenged unless some satisfaction
is rendered to justice; or, to express substan-
tially the same distinctions more briefly, sin
is represented as an oflfense against Gods
majesty, his purity, and his justice. This
confirmation of the law through faith (s: si),
in ver. 1-8, derives peculiar force from the
character of the two persons whom the apos-
tle selects as illustrations. Abraham was the
great progenitor of their race, whom they
proudly called their father, and on whom
their own Scriptures had bestowed the pecu-
liar honor of being styled 'the friend of God.'
(achron. 20: 7! isa. «: 8.) Compare Jamcs 2: 23.
David was their mighty king, the most dis-
tinguished ancestor and type of the Messiah,
the man after God's own heart, (isam. i3: u.)
Compare Acts 13: 22. If these two most re-
nowned of their ancestors, who had so much
to glory of, renounced all pretense of merit
by works, and were justified before God
solely by faith, what higher confirmation of
the apostle's doctrine could beneeded? Surely
they could not claim to surpass these worthies
in merit, nor hope to succeed where these
liad failed. [In these words of David we
have, as Godet remarks, the negative side of
justification, the evil which it removes; while
in regard to Abraham it was only the positive
side which was under treatment, the blessing
it confers. Thus it is that the two passages
complete one another.]

9. Cometh this blessedness (or, felici-
tation) then, etc. [An inference from ver.
3-9 in the form of an inquiry.] The apostle
blends the two examples intimately together,
and with good reasons, for Abraham was un-
questionably included in the blessing pro-
nounced by David, and David was no less
unquestionably included among those justified
by faith apart from works. Yet as the case
of Abraham was best adapted to the apostle's
purpose, partly on account of the form of

expression here again quoted, and partly on
account of the date of his circumcision, he
selects the example of Abraham for fuller
development in what follows. It will be ob-
served that the words 'cometh' and 'only'
are supplied by the translators. The simple
verb is might answer instead of the first [but
the "is pronounced" of the Revised Version
is still better; see ver. 6], and the second is
clearly implied in the word 'also' after 'un-
circumcision.' For we say. This expression
implies an affirmative answer to the last clause
of the question — "yes, upon the uncircum-
cision, also" — as is fully expressed in the
similar case in 3 : 29. Thus the 'for' intro-
duces the proof of that implied affirmative.
[We say that faith. The article is connected
with 'faith' in the Greek, and is here equiva-
lent to his faith.]

10. How was it then reckoned? In
what condition, then, was he when it was
so reckoned, circumcised or uncircumcised?
From Gen. 15:6; 16:1-4, 16, it appears that
Abraham was said to have been justified by
faith some months, at least, before the birth
of Ishmael, and that he was eighty-six years
old when Ishmael was born ; and from Gen.
17 : 24, that he was ninety-nine years old when
he was circumcised. His "faith was reckoned
to him for righteousness," therefore at least
thirteen or fourteen years ["perhaps as much
as twenty-five" (Alford)] before he received
the sign of circumcision. ["Circumcision was
so little the ground of justification that it was
rather the consequence of it." (De Wette.)
"Abraham's righteousness through faith was
attained when as yet there was no distinction
between circumcised and uncircumcised, and
to this mode of becoming just before God,
independent of external conditions, Christi-
anity, by its righteousness from faith, leads
back again and continues it." (Meyer.)]

11. The sign of circumcision. This is
what is called the genitive of apposition, when
two words thus connected by 'of relate to

1 In the Old Testament God is often spoken of as
cm'ering sins, but this (quotation) is the only instance
mentioned in the New Testament. Augustine says:

"If God covered sJns he was unwilling to observe
thrni, and if unwilling to obserre be was unwilling
to punish."— (F.)

108

ROMANS.

[Ch. IV.

of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being | the faith which he had while he was in uncircumci-

the same thing: He received circumcision as
a sign. See other examples of the same nature
in 2 Cor. 1 : 22 ; 5:5; Eph. 6 : 14, etc. [Meyer
thinks that with this sense the word 'sign'
should have the article. His interpretation
is: "A sign which took place through cir-
cumcision," the genitive defining the sign
more precisely. Winer and De Wette regard
it as simply genitive of apposition, like the
phrase : Cities of Sodom and Gomorrah.
(2 Peter 2: 6.) On the abscnce of the article be-
fore the word 'sign,' see 2:6.] A seal of
the righteousness of the faith. Setting
the seal to a document is the final act of its
confirmation. So circumcision is represented
as a token or seal of God's covenant with
Abraham. (Qen. n : ii.) [The word seal in con-
nection with circumcision is used by Paul
alone, and only in this place. In Genesis,
circumcision is called the token of the cove-
nant between God and Abraham. Regarded
as a "seal," it seems designed to certify the
reality and worth of Abraham's faith-right-
eousness. It has nothing to do directly with
attesting or confirming the righteousness of
the faith of any other individual. If every
circumcised Jew who has lived from the days
of Abraham until the present time were desti-
tute of the righteousness of faith, still the sign
they bore in their flesh would be a "seal of
the righteousness of the faith which Abraham
had while he was in uncircumcision." Dr.
Hodge says that "all the Jews were professors
of the true religion, and constituted the visible
church, in which, by divine appointment,
their children were included. This is the
broad and enduring basis of infant church
membership." "We grant that this argument
from circumcision will ever be the principal
one for infant baptism. But how silent the
apostle is as to the virtual transference of this
chief rite of Judaism into the pale of Christi-
anity ! "Was it because of the severity of his
contest with Jewish legalism, which special]}'
centred itself around this rite? Yet how
easily he might have allayed — certainly to a
great extent — the animosities and prejudices
of these zealots for circumcision had he at
once and plainly assured them that infant
baptism, by divine appointment, was to take
the place of circumcision. Let us consider.

for a moment, how in this country infant
baptism (of females as well as males) would
be paralleled with Jewish circumcision.
First, and most essential of all, we must
have an eminently pious forefather — a right-
eous, national founder. We have a Wash-
ington, who was, at least, remarkable for his
unselfishness and his integrity, willing to be-
come an humble, private citizen after winning
the laurels of a great conqueror, which would
seemingly entitle him to become the nation's
perpetual dictator. God, for his great integ-
rity, makes a special covenant with him and
with his people, assuring him that he should
be the father of a mighty nation, and that
He would be in a special manner a God to
him and to them forever. In token of this
covenant, he bids Washington baptize him-
self, and all the children he might have, and
all his slaves, and also gives command that
henceforth every infant born in the nation
should be baptized on the eighth day after
its birth, and that every immigrant who
wished to become an American citizen
should also be baptized ; and, finally, that
every unbaptized person throughout the land
in all coming generations should be cut off
from his (or her) people. This would be cir-
cumcision-baptism, and our duty as parents
in this matter would be very plain. In this
kind of baptism we have a "seal" (an invisi-
ble one, however) of the rightness of the in-
tegritj' of Washington before he was baptized,
and every citizen of this country, though he
be a traitor at heart, yet bears this (invisible)
seal of the uprightness of Washington. But
is such a national church (?) as this the model
for a church of Christ? See further on this
subject, chapter 26 of the writer's "Studies
on Baptism;" also Dr. Arnold's excellent
remarks in Appendix A of this volume.]
Which he had yet being uncircumcised.
The pronoun 'which' here (standing for the
equally ambiguous Greek article) may refer
to either of the words 'faith 'or 'righteous-
ness.' The former reference is the more
natural, and seems to be confirmed by the
intimate connection between faith and uncir-
cumcision in the following clause, and also in
the next verse. But if the pronoun (or, in
Greek, the article) be referred to the word

Ch. IV.]

ROMANS.

109

oncircumcised : that he might be the father of all them
that believe, though they be not circumcised; that
righteousness luiKht be imputed unto them also:

12 And the latlier of circumcision to them who are
not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the
steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which /«
had being yel uucircumcised.

sion : that be might be the father of all them that be-
lieve, though tbey be in uucircumcision, that right-

12 eousuess might be reckoned unto tbem ; and the
father of circumcision to them who not only are of
the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of
that faith of our father Abraham which he had iu

13 uncircumcision. For not i through the law was the

1 Or, through late.

'righteousness,' which Alford prefers, as more
relevant to the apostle's argument, then the
article before the word ' faith ' should be can-
celed, and we should read : A seal of the
righteousness of faith [equivalent here to
faith righteousness] which he had yet being
uncircumcised. The former construction (de-
fended by De Wette and Meyer) is, however,
preferred. That he might be the father,
etc. [In order that he might be, etc. The
present infinitive, in order to be, or, to his
being, is best rendered by the auxiliary
'might,' though the present, 'may be' would
well express its force. Prof. Boise remarks
that the placing the subject directly after the
infinitive instead of before it is especially
frequent in the New Testament. (Ecumenius
observes that "as those in uncircumcision
have not Abraham for their father, for the
sole reason that he believed in an uncircum-
cised state, unless they are also imitators of
his faith, so neither without this condition
shall they of the circumcision have him for
their father from the mere circumstance of
his having been circumcised."] The fact that
Abraham was declared to be justified by faith
before he was circumcised gives believing
Gentiles an equal title with believing Jews to
be called his children, and to inherit, as his
spiritual heirs, justification by faith. [The
full force of the original is: Abraham received
this sign and seal, in order that (by divine
arrangement and purpose) he might be the
father of all who believe through (in a state
of) uncircumcision. Compare 2 : 27. The
final 'that' is probably to be connected with
believing, thus: Of all them who are believ-
ing, ... in order that righteousness might
be reckoned unto them. The spiritual father-
hood of Abraham is referred to by John the
Baptist and by Christ himself (M»ti. s:9; LnkeS:
8: j..hn8:39.) The wholc life of this "father of
belipvors," says Tholuck, "displayed an ex-
traordinary strength of faith. . . . On account
• •f this persevering faith, he is highly extolled

i even among the Jews (1 Mace. 2 : 52), 'Philo
de Abrahamo.' "]

12. And {that he might be, is to be supplied
from ver. 11) the father of circntncision
(not to all the circumcised, but only) to them
who are not of the circumcision only, but
who also walk in the steps of that faith of
our father Abraham, which he had being
yet uncircumcised. All seems plain here;
but there is a grammatical diflBculty in the
original, arising from the article preceding the
participle in the clause translated, 'but who
also walk,' etc. We should be obliged, in strict
accuracy, to translate as follows : to them who
are not of the circumcision only, but also to
them who walk, etc. Some meet this diflSculty
by saying that Paul wrote inaccurately here
through negligence, others by supposing that
the text has been corrupted in transcribing,
of which there is no documentary evidence.
We leave the difliculty with only this remark,
that there is no reasonable doubt that our
English translation expresses with substantial
accuracy, the apostle's thought.* [Godet
thinks to avoid the difficulty by rendering
the first article (toU) as a pronoun, and the
second as a definite article — thus : those who
are not only of the circumcision, but who
are also, at the same time the (individuals)'
or the walkers, etc. The application of the
term walking to moral conduct is quite a pecu-
liarity with Paul. See notes on 6 : 4. ' Steps'
is in the dative of norm, or rule. (Buttmann :
manner.) Literally, it reads: those walking
in (or by) the footsteps of the in-uneireum^i-
sion-faith of our father Abraham. " Hence."
says Godet, " it follows that it is not, properly
speaking, for the Gentile believers to enter by
the gate of the Jews, but for Jewish believers
to enter by the gate of the Gentiles." "If
these apostolic propositions," says Dr. J. B.
Thomas, in his "Mould of Doctrines," p. 82,
"be not seen at once clearly to obliterate the
foundations of the national, the hereditary,
and the sacramental theories of the church, it

> See Appendix A.

ROMANS.

[Ch. IV.

13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the
world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the
law, but through the righteousness of faith.

14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is
made void, and the promise made of none effect.

15 Because the law worketh wrath : for where no law
is, there is no transgression.

promise to Abraham or to his seed, that he should
be heir of the world, but through the righteous-

14 ne.ss of faith. For if they who are of the law be
heirs, faith is made void, and the promise is made

15 of none effect; for the law worketh wrath; but

would be vain to seek further to elaborate or
emphasize them."]

13. If those who believe are Abraham's
seed, then his promised inheritance is theirs.
The promise, that he should be the heir
of the world. "We do not read any explicit
promise of this sort, as given either to Abra-
ham or to his seed. For 'the heir of the
world ' is too broad an expression to be limited
to the land of Canaan ; and, besides this, the
land of Canaan was never promised to be-
lieving Oentiles, who are here plainly reck-
oned as the seed of Abraham. How, then, are
Abraham and his seed the promised heirs of
the world? It was promised to Abraham,
that his seed should be as the stars of heaven
(Gen. 15: 5) ; that he should be a father of many
nations (Gen. it:5); that in him and in his
seed all nations should be blessed (Gen. 12: s;
18:18); believers in Christ are his seed (Rom.
4:11; Gal. 3:29); and they shall possess all
nations, and shall inherit the world (Dan. 7:
27; Matt. 5: 5, 1 Cor. 3: 22); again, Christ is pre-
eminently the seed of Abraham (Gai. 3: is);
he shall possess all the world (ps. 2: 7, s; Dan.
7:U;Eev. 11: 15). The promise will be verified,
therefore, both figuratively and explicitly,
in the dominion of all nations given to be-
lievers; and literally and explicitly in the
dominion of the world given to Christ. The
expression ' heir of the worid ' derives pecu-
liar emphasis from the fact that among the
Hebrews things received by inheritance
were alone inalionahle; hence the frequency
with which any firm and perpetual posses-
sion is called an inheritance. [The promise
— namely, that Abraham should be heir of
the world was not through the law— that
is, it came not through the medium of the
law, nor did it rest on the law as its ground.
But the promise, like the inheritance, was
a gift of grace (Gai.3:i8), and it was made
to Abraham through (the medium of) the
righteousness of faith. The declaration of

Abraham's righteousness through faith is re-
corded in Gen. 15: 6, but the promise in sub-
stance was made to him previously, and was
renewed after this time. He had the right-
eousness of faith before its declaration was
made.^ Philippi thinks that by the use of
present tense the inheritance of the world is
represented as a present possession to Abra-
ham.]

14. He here makes the supposition which
was denied in ver. 13, and shows that its con-^
sequence would be of such a nature as to
confirm that denial. If they which {who)
are of the law. [On the force of this of, see
2: 8.] If they who rely upon their works
are heirs, the covenant of faith is made void,
is broken ; faith Acs been emptied of its signifi-
cance, and the promise has been virtually
abolished. If the heirship is by merit, it can
dispense with faith and promise. The apos-
tle uses here very fit and forcible words.
[How the promise is made of none eflFect is
told, as De Wette and others think, in the
next verse — to wit, "the law which produces
wrath excludes grace, and therewith the
promise." "With the word promise the
apostle always associates the notion of the
spontaneous,Mnconditioned promise of grace."
(Philippi.) The inheritance through prom-
ise was bestowed graciously, as a free gift.
(Gal. 3: 18.) If inheritance is by the law, then,
as Godet says, " it is all over at a stroke both
with faith and with the promise; with faith,
that is to say, with the hope of that final her-
itage, since the realization of that expectation
would be bound to a condition which sinful
man could not execute, the fulfillment of the
law, and since faith would thus be deprived
of its object; and next, with the promise
itself; for, an impossible condition being
attached to it, it would thereby be paralyzed
in its effects."]

15. Because the law worketh wrath.
The propriety of the reasoning — 'because,' or

1 The neuter article which heads the clause, 'that he pare ver. in, IS), thus giving the verb greater promi-
should be the heir,' does not properly belong to the j nence. The clause stands in apposition with j)ro»ni*«.
clause as a whole, as in 8 : 26, but to the infinitive (com- | — (F.)

Ch. IV.]

ROMANS.

Ill

16 Therefore it U of faith, that it might be bv grace ;
to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed ;
not to that only which is of the law, but to that also
which is of the faitii of Abraham ; who is the father
of us all,

where there is no law, neither is tlieru trans^reKsion.
16 For tliis cause it is of faith, thai a may be actoruiiig
to grace; to the end that the promise may be sure
to all the seed ; not to that onlv which is or the law,
but to that also which is of the faith of Al)rabam,

rather/or — is seen in the natural antithesis
between promise and law; the one founded
on grace, and the other on justice, the one
giving freely, and the other exacting sternly;
80 that they mutually exclude each other as
grounds of inheritance. 'The law worketh
wrath.' [Of course, then, it cannot confer
the inheritance of promise. The law worketh
out wrath through its transgression, and hence
this wrath is not that of man against God,
but that of God visited upon man on account
of his transgressions.]! For where no law
is. [But, instead of 'for,' is the reading
adopted by Lachmann, Tischendorf, and Tre-
gelles, according to preponderating evidence.
The verse will then read: " But where there
is no law, neither is there transgression."
— A. H.] There is no transgression.
["Namely, which excites the wrath of God,
tlie Lawgiver." (Meyer.)] We need not say,
with Bezn, "the reading ought to be, 'where
law is, there transgression is' " ; but we may
say that this negative axiom implies, in this
connection, the corresponding positive. If
there were no law, there could be no trans-
gression; but there is transgression, as all
men know, and so the law may be said to
work wrath, which is inseparably linked to
transgression. [Elsewhere the apostle de-
scribes how sin as a principle {avoiiia) is aug-
mented into "transgression" by the law,
which is the "power of sin." The wrath of
God, as stated in 1: 18, seq., is due to the
offenses even of the Gentiles who have not
the law, but much more heavily must it rest
upon those who transgress God's revealed
will. "Thus," says Philippi, "the divine
wrath and the punishment («cdAacris) annexed
thereto, has its differences of degree."]

16. Therefore of faith. ['Therefore'
(aia TouTo), on account of. This usually has ref-
erence to something preceding, here to ver.
14, 15, because not from law, therefore from
grace. Alford, however, seems to refer it to
a reason which follows.] "What is the subject
here? What is by faith? The inheritance

seems to be the must natural subject. That
it might [through the divine purpose] be by
grace — which it could not be if of works.
['Grace' here denies the meritoriousness, not
only of works, but of faith. If believing in
Christ, or faith in Christ, is in any sense a
work or exercise of the human mind and
heart, it is here denied to be the meritorious
cause, or ground, of our justification. "Faith,"
says Calvin, "we compare to a vessel; for,
unless we come empty with the mouth of our
soul open to implore tlie grace of Christ, we
cannot receive Christ. Whence it may be in-
ferred that we do not detract from Christ the
power of justifying, when we teach that faith
receives him before it receives his righteous-
ness. Nevertheless, I cannot admit . . . that
faith is Christ; as though an earthen vessel
were a treasure because gold is concealed in
it. For fuith, although intrinsically it is of
no dignity or value, justifies us by an appli-
cation of Christ just as a vessel full of money
constitutes a man rich."] To the end the
promise might be sure to all the seed.
[The apostle here indicates the purpose of
divine grace. In Paul's view, as Olshauscn
remarks, "Everything which depends upon
the decision, faithfulness, and constancy of
such an irresolute and wavering being as man
is extremely uncertain. . . . The blessedness
of the man is certain, only because God has
promised it and firmly intends it, and he
only who believes in this decided will of God
has this salvation also wrought in him."]
The emphatic words here are 'sure,' in con-
trast with made void of ver. 14, and 'all,' as
explained in the following words: not only
to Jews, but also to Gentiles, not only to the
seed in the natural sense, but also to the seed
in the spiritual sense. [Abraham is therefore
the spiritual father of all who are spiritually
circumcised, of all who are Jews inwardly —
that is, of all true believers, (s: »; Phii.s: s.)
Chri.«t is the true seed of Abraham to whom
the promises were made, the seed through
whom all nati<ms of the earth should be

> fX^pa, enmity (against God), is ascribed by Paul to I toward man. Seel: 18; 2: 5, 8; 3:5; 6:9; 9:22; Eph.
guilty men, but never opT^, wrath (towards God). This. '2: 3; 5: 6- Col. 3: 6; 1 Thess.!: 10; 2: 16; 6: 9, etc—
however, is often predicated of God in his relation (F.)

112

ROMANS.

[Ch. IV.

17 (At! it is « ritlen, I have made thee a father of many
nations,) Ijefore him wtiom he believed, eien Uod, who
quickeueih the dead, and calletb those things which be
not as though they were:

18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might

17 who is the father of us all (as it is written, A father
of many nations have 1 maae thee) before Lim whom
he believed, even God, who quickeneth the d«ad,
and calleth the things that are not, u.\ though they

18 were. Who in hope believed against hope, to the

blessed, and we, by believing in Christ, and
by virtue of a living fellowship with him,
thus become sons of Abraham and heirs
according to promise.]

17. (As it is written, I have made thee
a father of many nations.' This paren-
thesis confirms the last clause of ver. 16 by
quoting Gen. 17: 5 [exactly after the LXX],
and so quoting it as to imply not only a com-
parison, or analogy, between the natural pos-
terity, composed of many nations, and the
spiritual posterity, composed of all believers ;
but so as to imply that the prophecy was
directly applicable to the latter. ' I have
made thee' [or, have appointed thee]. He
was already, in God's sight, a 'father of
many nations,' though not, in point of fact,
until long after. Before him whom he
believed. This clause is to be connected
directly with the closing words of ver. 16,
' who is the father of us all.' ["A vivid reali-
zation," says Meyer, "of the believing patri-
arch as if he were standing there as father of
us all before the face of God." Some, as
Bengel, Philippi, Godet, think this before,
etc., should be connected with a verb in the
past tense, and not with 'is father,' etc.,
which refers to the time of Paul's writing.
Philippi supplies: and as such he was ap-
pointed, or, and thus he stood there, etc.,
deriving these phrases from the preceding
verb: 'I have made.' Our Common and
Revised Versions regard the relative as in the
genitive by attraction to the case of its ante-
cedent, but this attraction in the New Testa-
.ment occurs only with verbs that govern the
accusative, and to believe (nia-Ttvm) is not fol-
lowed by the accusative of person. Hence
"Winer, Meyer, Philippi resolve this phrase
thus: before God (before) whom, in whose
sight, he believed. "In this verb the faith
of Abraham is again made prominent, in
order to intimate afresh how this alone medi-
ated the true spiritual and universal father-
hood of Abraham." (Philippi.)] Whoqnick-

eneth the dead. In allusion to the advanced
age of Abraham and Sarah. Compare ver.
19 [and still primarily referring, we think, to
the literal dead, as a "standing characteristic
of the divine omnipotence." Compare Deut.
32 : 39 ; 1 Sam. 2:6; Wisd. of Sol. 16 : 13 ; John
6 : 21 ; 2 Cor. 1 : 9 ; 1 Tim. 6 : 13,"etc. Meyer :
" 'Who quickeneth the dead and calleth the
non-existent as though it were,' and certainly,
therefore, can quicken the decayed powers of
procreation and dispose of generations not yet
in existence."] And calleth those things
which be not as though they were. That
is, Isaac, and Abraham's posterity in general.
[Meyer translates and comments thus: "'who
utters his disposing decree over that which
does not exist, equally as over the existing.'
What a lofty expression of all-commanding
power! And how thoroughly in harmony
with the then position of Abraham ! For, as
he stood before God and believed (oen. i5:6),
God had just shown him the stars of heaven
with the promise : 'so shall thy seed be.' So
that God hereby issued his potent summons
(so shall it be) to something that was not (the
seed of Abraham) as though it had been."
Alford makes this calling to mean speaking
of. (9: 7.) Philippi, like Meyer, regards it as
equivalent to issuing commands.]* The re-
mainder of the chapter is devoted to an enco-
mium on Abraham, the father and pattern of
believers.

18. Who against hope [where there was
nothing to hope for (De Wette)] believed in
hope [on the ground of hope]. Who hope-
fully believed in God, contrary to all human
hope. Pious trust in God shines brightest
when all human hope is quenched. [Chrys-
ostom : " Past hope of man, in hope of God."
Bengel: "He believed in the hope of the
promise against the hope of reason." Mej-er :
"Abraham's faith was opposed to hope in its
objective reference, and yet not despairing,
but rather based on hope in its subjective
reference— a significant oxj'moron."] That

1 The Greek has ort as a part of the quotation. As a
cansal conjunction it might be rendered, /(»• I have
made thee, etc.— (F.)

* De Wette and others, taking wt in the sense of (U,

rpfer it to God's creative power. The force of the sub-
jective negative iJ-rt is thus expressed by Godet: "He
calls as being in existence what he knows himself to be
non-existent.' '— (F.)

Ch. IV.]

ROMANS.

113

become the father of manT nations, according to that
which waa spoken, So shall thy seed be.

19 And being nut weak in faith, he considered not
his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred
years old, neither yel the deadness of Sarah's womb :

end that he might become a father of many nations,
according to that which had been spoken, So shall
19 thy seed be. And without being weakened in faith
he considered his own body > now as good as dead (he
being about a hundred years old), and the deadness

1 tlaoy anoient authorities omit now.

he might become the father of many
nations. [The Greek word for father has
here no article, and the Revised Version is
therefore correct, 'a father.'] These words,
alike in the original and in the English,
admit of two interpretations. They may
mean (a), he believed that he should become,
which makes his becoming the fatherof many
nations the direct object of his faith, the thing
which he believed ; or they may mean (6), he
believed, in order that he might become, his
believing was a necessary condition of his be-
coming. This last sense of the words is pre-
ferred, as being the more natural construction
of the expression in the original text. The
first view, however, is advocated by Stu-
art, and several able German commentators
[among whom we may mention De Wette].
It is not to be understood, however, that
Abraham believed because he knew that his
believing was an indispensable condition of
his becoming the father of many nations: in
order that, always implies an intelligent de-
sign on the part of the Divine Disposer [see
on 3; 4, and Winer p. 458], but does not
necessarily imply a conscious purpose on the
part of the human actor ; and this distinction
is of great importance to the right under-
standing of many clauses which are intro-
duced by the formula, "in order that," or
some equivalent expression. In reference to
the ambiguity here, so exactly the same in
the original Greek and in the English trans-
lation, it is not out of place to remark, that it
is a rare excellence in a translation when it
can successfully transfer a doubtful meaning
from one language to another. This remark
applies, of course, only to passages where, in
the judgment of competent scholars, there is
a real uncertainty in the meaning of the orig-
inal. In every other case, an ambiguity in a
translation is a serious defect. The last clause
of Heb. 5: 7 presents another instance of a
happy transference of an ambiguity from the
Greek to the English, although there is per-
haps less real doubt as to the true meaning of
the original there than there is here. So
shall thy seed be — that is, as the context in

Gen. 15: 6 more fully expresses, as numerous,
or rather innumerable, as the stars of heaven.
"And he brought him forth abroad, and said,
Look now toward heaven, and tell (that is,
count) the stars if thou be able to number
them; and he said unto him: So shall thy
seed be." [Paul, according to Calvin, "de-
signedly adduced this quotation incomplete,
in order to stimulate us to read the Scrip-
tures."]

19. Being not weak in faith. [The force
of the clause maybe expressed thus : because
he was not weak, etc.] By a figure of speech,
which is the opposite of hyperbole or "exag-
geration," the apostle here says less than
he might truly have said. He might truly
have said, "being exceedingly strong," in-
stead of saying, "being not weak." But this
way of speaking which he here uses is often
more forcible than the opposite figure, as this
excites the imagination to fill out the con-
tracted idea, while the opposite figure tempts
the critical faculty to abate something from
the magnified expression. It would be well
for enthusiastic speakers and writers to bear
this principle in mind. That Abraham's
faith, instead of being weak, was remarkably
strong, is shown by the fact that he con-
sidered not his own body now dead, but
believed God's promise, in spite of that con-
sideration— that is, though he was well aware
of the natural obstacle, in the bodily condition
of both himself and his wife, he did not regard
that circumstance as any valid objection to
the fulfillment of God's promise, that he
should have a numerous oifspring. When he
was about a hundred years old. [Ben-
gel remarks that after Shem we read of no
one one hundred years old who begat chil-
dren. (Oen- II.) He also says that Abraham'.*
renewed bodily vigor remained even with his
marriage with Keturah.] It appears from
Gen. 18: 1, that Abraham was ninety-nine
years old when the Lord renewed to him, for
the Inst time before its fulfillment, the promise
of a son by Sarah, who was then ninety years
old (»»f- 1'), and from ver. 21 it would seem
that Isaac was born just a year from that

114

ROMANS.

[Ch. IV.

20 He staggered not at the promise of God through
unbelief: but was strong in faltli, giving glory to God;

21 And being fully persuaded, tiiat wliat he had
promised, be was able abo to perform.

20 of Sarah's womb : yea, loolsiug unto the promise of
God, be wavered not through unbelief, but waxed

21 strong throu<'h faith, giving glory to Ood, and being
fully assured that, what he had promised, he was

time. So far as the record goes, it would
appear that Abraham was just a hundred
years old, and Sarah ninety-one, when Isaac
was born. But Paul did not think necessary
to be more exact, and so he says "about an hun-
dred years old." Besides, he is not speaking
of the precise time of Isaac's birth, but of the
age of Abraham when he showed his strong
faith by believing God's promise that a son
should be born of Sarah a year from that
time. [It should be remarked still further,
that according to the highest critical authori-
ties, the word not should be omitted after the
word considered.^ Thus : And being not weak
in faith, he considered his own body now dead,
when he was about an hundred years old,
and the deadness of Sarah's womb. (ver. 20)
But staggered not, etc. He took into earnest
consideration the natural impossibility of off-
spring in such a case, but his faith in the
promise of God was not thereby shaken.
Some editors omit the word now before dead,
and the sense is not injured by the omission ;
moreover, the insertion of it can be more
readily explained than its omission, if it was
a part of the original text. — A. H.]

20. He staggered not [literally — was not
divided. The verb is passive in form, but may
be used as in the middle voice.] He wavered
not at the promise [or, with respect to the
promise; — the Revisers' rendering does not
here closely follow their text] through unbe-
lief—that is, wavered not as he would have
done if he had been weak in faith; but was
strong in faith [literally, made strong, or
was instrengthened. Paul himself was thus
"instrengthened' at many times, and in his
last hours especially, by the presence of his
Saviour. (2Tim. <: n.)] Giving glory to God.
He gave glory to God, by confiding so im-
plicitly in his truth and almighty power.
But the expression naturally suggests the
thought of some oral expression of adoration
and thankfulness, some devout doxology.

There is no record of any such act; but it
seems highly probable that the patriarch
would not fail, on such an occasion, to give
verbal utterance to his devout and grateful
emotions.

21. And being fully persuaded. [This
and the preceding participle are in the past
tense, their action being contemporaneous
with the verb was strengthened.] The parti-
ciple translated being fully persuaded [from a
verb meaning to bring full measure] is very
emphatic. It is from the same verb that is
translated in the same way in 14 : 5. What an
inestimable advantage it would be, not only
to every Christian, but to every man enlight-
ened by divine revelation, if he was fully
persuaded that what God has promised he is
able and determined also to perform! And
how unreasonable and sinful it is to entertain
any doubt or misgiving about the fulfillment
of anything which God has promised, how-
ever difficult or impossible it may seem to our
human conceptions! [The verb promised,
etymologically signifying to proclaim (in the
way of promise), is here in the perfect passive
form with middle signification. The proper
rendering of this clause, ' what he hath prom-
ised he is able also to do,' makes this declara-
tion applicable for all time. Parens says:
"Doubt has two arguments: Will God. do this,
and can God do this? Faith has likewise two
arguments : God will do this because he has
promised, and he can do it because he is
omnipotent." Concerning the faith of Abra-
ham in his many trials and in his great trial,
see Heb. 11 : 8, 17. Have not we the same
reason for confiding fully in God's promises
as our spiritual father Abraham had? And
cannot we yield the same implicit trust? We
love to be trusted, to have our word believed.
May we not reverently say that God loves to
be trusted and believed ? Certainly we honor
him when we confide in his word, his power,
and his grace.]

1 The not is wanting in K A B C and some cursives
and early versions, but is retained as a part of the
genuine text by such critics as Fritzsche, De Wette,
and Meyer. The latter says: " This omission • . .1
manifestly arose from incorrectly having regard here
to Gen. 17 : 17." Philippi, Lange, Alford, also favor the

retention of the negative. Buttmann, on the other
hand, discards the not, and supplies in thought a i^iv
(indeed) to the verb, 'considered,' to which the follow-
ing 8e {'buC staggered not,' etc.) is made to correspond.
-(F.)

Ch. IV.]

ROMANS.

116

22 And therefore it was imputed to him for right-
eousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it
was imputed to him ;

24 Uut for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we
believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the
dead ;

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised
again for our justiftcution.

23. And therefore [literally, 'wherefore
also'] — that is, because his faith in God was
so complete and admirable [amid the strong-
est temptations to disbelieve]. The apostle
pow repeats the expression : It [that is, his be-
lieving] was imputed unto him, with a
view of making the application to believers
as the spiritual posterity of Abraham. [For
righteousness. This for^ as Meyer says,
does not denote that faith has justification
merely " in its train," or that its leads finally
into righteousness, but the meaning of the
expression is that faith is accounted, immedi-
ately and directly, as righteousness.]

23f 24. Now it was not written. We
have here one of those instances of the nice-
ties of Greek syntax, which cannot easily be
fully exhibited in a translation. The formula
"as it is written" occurs very often in the
New Testament, in introducing passages from
the Old. In such cases the verb is in the
perfect tense, while here it is in what is called
the aorist. The perfect always has a reference
to the present time, describing the action as
past indeed, but also as abiding in its perma-
nent consequences; while the aorist simply
describes the action as finished in some past
time. The difference may be sufficiently rep-
resented in English by the expressions: "It
stands written,"' and "it was written."
Hence the propriety of the use of the perfect
in the ordinary cases of quotation from the
Old Testament, where the Scripture quoted is
conceived of as a permanent record, without
any particular reference to the time or act of
writing it; and hence, also, the propriety of
the aorist tense in this instance, where the act
of writing is emphasized. This distinction is
dwelt upon particularly here, because this
aorist form is very rare in cases where the
inspired writings are referred to. Tlie only
other instances in mind are 15 : 4 and 1 Cor.
10 : 11, in both which places, as here, the

22 able also to perform. Wherefore also it was reck-

23 oiied unto him for righteousness. Isow it was uoi
written for his sake alone, that it was reckoned uuto

24 him, but for our sake also, unto whum it sh.iU be
reckoned, who believe on him that raised Jc-sud

23 our Lord from the dead, who wan delivered up for
our trespasses, and was raised for our justilicatiou.

object is to fix the attention on the act of
writing. The unparalleled fullness and nicety
of the Greek language in expressing gram-
matical relations, of which the passage under
consideration is an instance, is one of many
reasons why the Christian teacher should,
when practicable, make himself familiarly
acquainted with the original language in
which the New Testament is written. For
his sake alone. Not merely for tlie purpose
of a historical affirmation and appreciation
of Abraham's faith. But for us also, to
whom it shall be imputed. [The ahall is
a separate verb in the original, and denotes
something more than mere futurity, even the
certainty and continuous accomplishment of
the divine purpose.*] Such passages as this
furnish a warrant for a sober and cautious
generalization from the historical narratives
of the Old Testament. See, as above, 15 : 4,
and 1 Cor. 10: 11 ; also 1 Cor. 9: 10. If we
believe on him that raised up Jesus our
Lord from the dead. God is here repre-
sented as the object of our faith, in order to
make the parallel with Abraham more com-
plete, (ver. 17.) ["We who belicve on the
same God on whom Abraham believed, but
who appears to us in a peculiar relation as
finisher of the work of redemption." (Tho-
luck. ) This raising of Jesus from the dead
seems here to be purposely referred to as
being a specially great and gracious exercise
of Omnipotence (we may well trust such a
Being), and because of its importance as an
essential element in man's full redemption.]

25. [Gifford: "The apostle thus returns
to the main point of his subject (»"), 'bring-
ing in the cross into the midst.' (Chrysostom)."
Hodge: "This verse is a comprehensive state-
ment of the gospel." Delivered — given up
to death. Compare 8: 32; Eph. 5: 2. 25; Isa.
63: 1*2. See the touching particularity of the
apostle's language in Gal. 2: 20, where ho

,1 Luther has used precisely this expression in his
German translation, " esstebet geschrieben," "it ttand*
written."

* The word Koyi^oiiax — to count, reckon, or impute —
is used here for the oleventh time in this chapter. — (F.)

116

ROMANS.

[Ch. IV.

says of Christ: "Who loved me and gave
himself for mc." If Christ died for all, why
may not every reader of these lines adopt this
same language?] The preposition [fiia, which
with the accusative "denotes either the mov-
ing or the final cause." (Boise.)] is the same
in both clauses, in the Greek as well as in the
English. Yet, while the same preposition is
suitable for both clauses, it is evident that the
relation of his being delivered up, to our
offenses is not precisely the same as the rela-
tion of his being raised again, to our justifi-
cation. He was delivered up, because we had
offended; he was raised again, that we rnig ht
6c justified; he was delivered, on account of
our offenses; he was raised again, in order
to our justification. [As we are said to be
justified on the ground of Christ's obedi-
ence and in his blood, so some, as Bishop
Horsley in former times, and Godet in our
own, have given the preposition the same
meaning in both places; thus Godet: "In the
same way as Jesus died for our offenses [com-
mitted]— that is, our (merited) condemnation,
he was raised because of our (accomplished)
justification. Our sin had killed him, our jus-
tification [accomplished] raised him again."
He interprets 1 Cor. 15: 17, "If Jesus be not
risen ye are yet in your sins" in a similar
manner: "So long as (your) security is in
prison, (your) debt is not paid; the immedi-
ate effect of payment would be his liberation."
But would not his non-resurrection show that
he died as one of us sinners, and that man
therefore has no Saviour? Meyer's view is as
follows: "The resurrection of the sacrificed
One was required to produce in man the faith
through which alone the objective fact of the
atoning offering of Jesus could have the effect
of justifying subjectively, because Christ is the
propitiation (Uacmjpioi') through faith." Al-
ford's view is quite similar. Ellicott, on the
"powerof Christ's resurrection," says: "The
resurrection of Christ has at least four spirit-
ual eflBcacies — namely: (a) as quickening our
souls, Eph. 2: 5; (b) as confirming the hope
of our resurrection, Rom, 8:1; (c) as assuring
us of our present justification, Rom. A:'2A:,'2Ai
(d) as securing our final justification, our
triumph over death, and participation in his

glory, 2 Cor. 4: 10, seq. Col. 3: 4."] This
noun justification ["The establishment of a
man as just by acquittal from guilt." (Cre-
mer.)] is used only three times in our English
New Testament — here, and in the 16th and
18th verse of the following chapter.* ["When
the prison door," says Chalmers, "is opened
to a criminal, and that by the very authority
which lodged him there, it evinces that the
debt of his transgression has been rendered,
and that he now stands acquitted of all its
penalties. It was not for his own, but for our
offenses, that Jesus was delivered unto the
death, and that his body was consigned to the
imprisonment of the grave. And when an
angel descended from heaven and rolled back
the great stone from the door of the sepulchre,
this speaks that the justice of God is satisfied,
that the ransom of our iniquities has been
paid, that Christ has rendered a full discharge
of all that debt for which he undertook as the
great surety between God and the sinners who
believe in him." Dr. Schaff says: "Without
the resurrection, the death of Christ would be
of no avail, and his grave would be the grave
of all our hopes, as the apostle clearly says.
(1 Cor. 15: 17.) A gospcl of a dead Saviour would
be a miserable failure and delusion. ... It is
by the fact of the resurrection that Christ's
death was shown to be the death of the inno-
cent and righteous One for foreign guilt, and
that it was accepted by God as a full satisfac-
tion for the sins of the world." Dr. W^eiss
saj's: "For Paul the special significance of
the resurrection must be this, that it proves
that the death of Christ was not the death of
the sinner. . . . Accordingly, the assurance
that God cannot condemn us is owing prima-
rily, it is true, to the death of Christ, but still
more to his resurrection and exaltation to
God's right hand, inasmuch as these first
prove that his death was the death of the
Mediator of salvation, who has redeemed us
from condemnation. . . . The objective atone-
ment was accomplished by means of the death
of Christ, but the appropriation of it in justifi-
cation is only possible if we believe in the
saving significance of his death, and we can
attain to faith in that only if it is sealed by
means of the resurrection."]

iltcorrespondsexactly with theGreek word SKC(u'<ii<rii, j actly with theGreek word Siicoiio^a, for which itstanjls
of which it is a translation, here and in 5 : 18, the only in 5 : 16, which is elsewhere translated " righteousness."
two places where that word is found ; not quite so ex- [

Ch. v.]

ROMANa

117

CHAPTEK V.

THEREFORE being justified by faith, we have peace I
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ : |

1 Being therefore Justified > by faith, < we have peace

2 with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; through

1 Or. out of 2 Man7 anoieot kothorltiea read let U4 hav«.

Observe, that the way of justification before
God was substantially the same before Christ,
as it is now, the same for Abraham and David,
as it is for us.

The apostle here introduces what he follows
in the next four chapters (s-s), "dea<A, as
connected with ain, and life, as connected
with righteousness." (Alford.) [Others, as
Godet, Gifford, Turner, think that the subject
of sanctification is not introduced until the
sixth chapter.]

Ch. S : In this chapter the apostle treats of
the happy results of the gospel way of justifi-
cation, both to the individual believer (rer. i-ii),
and to the race at large, (ver. ij-21.) [Perhaps
as a general title to the chapter we might
have something like this: Justification
through Christ contrasted with condemnation
through Adam. The more special subject of
the first eleven verses is the certainty of final
salvation for justified believers. (Godet.)]

1. Therefore. The last half of this verse
is an inference from the preceding section.
(3:21.) Being justified by faith; or, more
exactly, having been justified by faith, for it
is important to make the distinction here be-
tween the past participle, which represents
justification as a completed act, and the present
participle used in 3 : 24, which represents jus-
tification as in process, conditioned on hypo-
thetical faith. This difference, which is de-
clared by the tense of the original participle,
is also confirmed by the concluding part of
the verse. Observe how closely 'having been
justified' follows 'justification' in 4:25. This
is liable to be overlooked on account of
the division of the chapters. [For 'justified
by faith,' Noyes has "accepted as righteous
through faith." That our faith, subjectively
considered, is not the ground or meritorious
cause of our justification is affirmed in the
"Formula Concordise": "Faith does not
justify because it is so good a work or so dis-
tinguished a virtue, but because, in the prom-
ise of the gospel, it apprehends and embraces
the merit of Christ."] We have peace with
God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The

' peace with God ' here spoken of is not to be
confounded with "the peace of God" men-
tioned in Phil. 4:7; Col. 3 : 15. [In this last
place the Revision has "peace of Christ."]
This peace with God [literally, in relation to
Ood] is the new and friendly relation which
has taken the place of the former estrange-
ment, and enmity, and exposure to wrath,
[a relation of peace with God, which has
been mediated 'through our Lord Jesus
Christ.'] That 'peace of God' is an inward
feeling. To some extent they mutually imply
each other. The new relation is the ground
and source of the new feeling, without which
the feeling, if in any sense possible, would be
only a delusion. [This 'peace of God,' as
Calvin remarks, "the Pharisee has not, who
swells with false confidence in his own works;
nor the stupid sinner who is not disquieted,
being inebriated with the sweetness of his
vices; for though neither of these seems to
have a manifest disquietude as he has who is
smitten with a consciousness of sin, yet, as
they really do not approach the tribunal of
God, they have no reconciliation with him."]
There is an important and somewhat difficult
question here in regard to the true reading
of the original. Instead of 'we have,' some
manuscripts [K*AB*CDKL] read let us
have. [This subjunctive form 'let,' etc., is
the rendering of the Canterbury Rovision,
and so of the verb rejoice in ver. 2, 3, though
the latter verb, either indicative or subjunc-
tive in form, cannot as subjunctive be well
associated with the direct negative (ou). If
the subjunctive here could be taken in a con-
cessive sense — "we may have peace," etc. — it
would give a very appropriate meaning; but
such a use of the Greek subjunctive. Dr. Schaff
says, is "somewhat doubtful." Alford adopts
the hortatory rendering : ' Let us have peace,'
and says: "This is the only admissible sense
of the first person subjunctive in an affirma-
tive sentence like the present." Yet he doubta
whether this was the original reading.] The
difference between the two forms of the Greek
verb is only in a single letter; there was
probably no difference in the common pro-

118

ROMANS.

[Ch. V.

2 By whom also we have access by faith into this
grace wherein wc stand, and rejoice in hope of the
glory of (iod.

3 And not onlj^ so, but we glory in tribulations also ;
knowing that tribulation worlceth patience ;

whom also we have had our access iby faith into

this grace wherein we stand; and ^ we * rejoice in

3 hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but

1 Sume ancient autboritles omit by/aith 2 Or, let ut rejoice 3 Or. glory.

nunciation of the two forms, and there is
abundant evidence in the manuscripts that
the two letters were often interchanged. The
external evidence — from extant manuscripts,
translations, and patristic citations — is strongly
in favor of the latter form, 'let us have,' the
five oldest manuscripts agreeing in presenting
that form. On the other hand, the simple
indicative form, 'we have,' is what seems
most suitable in the connection of thought.
In such a case, the latter argument, which
belongs to what is called internal evidence,
must be very strong indeed to outweigh a
decided preponderance of external evidence
in the opposite scale. Meyer [and so De
Wette] thinks that in the present case the
internal evidence must prevail over the exter-
nal, and therefore reads, with the common
English Version, 'we have peace with God.'
We feel constrained, however, in spite of this
high authority, and in spite of the confessed
logical difficulty, to yield to the force of ex-
ternal testimony, and read, "let us have peace
with God." [If logical coherence and clear-
ness must in this case yield to external evi-
dence, we may conceive of the apostle as say-
ing: Since we have been justified by faith,
let us have, let us possess, peace with God.
At the time when we first trusted in Christ,
we 'received the reconciliation.' (ver.n.) Let
us have this relation of peace as a priceless
treasure, and glory in all that it offers us.
(A. H.)] This peace with God is the first
of the blessings which the justified believer
enjoys.

2, By whom also we have access.
[Literally, have had introduction, etc., this
past tense showing that the introduction,
"not our coming, but Christ's bringing," is
prior to peace with God. (Gifford.)] We
have through Christ obtained the introduc-
tion [see Eph. 2:18; 3:12; compare 1 Peter
3 : 18] into this grace (of justification), and

having been so introduced, we abide and stand
fast in it; and looking forward from this firm
standing ground, we rejoice (or make our
boast) in the expectation of something better
still, even the glorious state of perfection
which God has in store for us. (See notes on
2:7.) [We rejoice. That is, boast or glory
"in anew and true manner. Compare 3: 27."
(Bengel.) Our glorying rests upon hope as its
foundation. Some expositors, by making in<o
(ets) mean in, would read, 'through faith in
this grace,' and thus refer the 'access' of this
verse (compare Eph. 8 : 12, where this word
is used independently) to our approach
through Christ to the Father (Eph.2ii8); but
this, as De Wette says, is "wholly inadmissi-
ble," and in part (faith in this grace) is here
"wholly senseless." The verb stand is per-
fect in form but present in meaning.] This
joy in the hope of future glory [see 8: 18; 2
Cor. 4 : 17 ; Col. 1 : 27 ; 1 Thess. 2 : 12 ; Titus
2 : 13] is the second blessing of the individual
believer, and is intimately connected with
that assured position in which he stands as
fully forgiven and perfectly justified.

3, 4. And not only so. [Tholuck ("Stu-
dien und Kritiken," Vol. VIII, pp. 390, 391)
finds in Paul's style of thinking and writing
an image of the tide where one wave overtops
another; the frequently recurring not only so
(ov iJi6vov St) is the beat or swelling of the wave.
See ver. 11 ; 8 : 23 ; 9 : 10. Prof. Stuart thinks
the repetition of the phrase here corresponds
with our first, second, third, in English.] A
third blessed prerogative of the justified be-
liever is that afiiictions are made subservient
to the confirmation of his hope. We not only
rejoice in hope of future good, but we also
rejoice or make our boast^ in present troubles;
not merely in the midst of them, and in spite
of them, but actually in them, or on account
of them, as the context implies; and this is in
accordance both with Scripture precept and

' The Canterbury Revision has here, as in the pre- | any other, and is usually so rendered in the Revised

ceding verse, let ut rejoice, a rendering which our
American Revisers have properly discarded. This
verb, meaning to exult or triumph, is in the Common
Version oftener rendered by the word glory than by

Version. This Pauline word, as we may call it, occurs
some thirty-six times in his epistles and only twice
elsewhere— to wit, in James 1:9; 4 : 16.— (F.)

Ch. v.]

ROMANS.

119

4 And patience, experience ; and experience, hope :

5 And uo])e niaketa nut ashamed ; because the love
of God is shed ubruad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost wiiich is given unto us.

1 we also * rejoice in our tribulations: knowing that

4 tribulation worketh ' patience; and > patience, pro-

5 bation ; and probation, hope : and hope putteth not
to shanie ; because the love of Uod bath been shed
abroad in our hearts through the Holy Spirit which

I Or, I<t iu aUo r^oiee 2 Or. glotTi S Or, «<«4^at(nM«.

with recorded Christian experience. See
Matt. 5:10-12; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 4:13,
14; 2 Cor. 12:9, 10. [One thing which en-
abled the apostle to glory in his tribulations
(literally, the tribulations) was the conscious-
ness that he was suffering for Christ. We all
have a suflSciency of trials and afflictions, but
we fail to rejoice in them, or to be supported
under them, as we should be, through the
suspicion that they may have been sent to us,
not for our love to Christ, but on account of
our unfaithfulness or misdeeds.] Knowing
that. Because we know that. Tribulation
worketh [out] patience. Endurance, as
less passive than patience, would better ex-
press the apostle's thought. See notes on 2: 7.
[The word literally means a remaining under,
a bearing up under, the position of one who
does not fretfully strive to throw off a burden,
but, as Trench says, "under a great siege of
trials bears up and does not lose heart or
courage."] 'Tribulation' commonly works
impatience in unbelievers, and sometimes in
believers also. But in such cases, God's usual
method is to add affliction to affliction, until
the impatient soul is subdued under their
weight and learns to be calmly submissive.
Here the constancy and firmness of the be-
liever under afflictions is assumed. "We have
in this statement, therefore, a good practical
test by which to try our state. And patience,
experience. Endurance works [first, a prov-
ing or testing, then] approval. The word here
translated experience [used only by Paul] is
the same that is translated 'proof in 2 Cor.
2:9; 18 : 3 ; Phil. 2 : 22. [In this last text,
"Ye know the proof" of Timothy, Ellicott
regards this "proof" as equivalent to "tried
character." James 1 : 12 is closely related to
our passage both in thoughts and words:
" Blessed is the man who endureth temptation
(affliction), for when he is tried, he shall re-
ceive the crown of life," the object of his
hope.] And experience, hope. "When we
have endured trouble, and the endurance has
resulted favorably, it is inevitable that this
proving of ourselves should strengthen and I

brighten our hope. The hope that is born of
faith takes on a new and more robust char-
acter when it has been confirmed by the
experience of trial well endured.

Now, the apostle goes on to show the cer-
tainty of this hope as a fourth particular in
the blessed results of this way of salvation to
the individual believer.

5. And hope maketh not ashamed.
[Literally, the hope, which some regard as
equivalent to this hope, but so the apostle did
not write it. Abstract nouns in Greek, more
frequently than in English, take the article,
so that we cannot be sure of its having here
any special emphasis. Yet it may refer to
the hope just mentioned.] And our hope
shames (us) not, by disappointing and mock-
ing us ["the hope will be reality " (Bengel) ;
"its issue in salvation most certain." (Cal-
vin.)], because the love of God (to us) is
shed abroad in our hearts. [Paul, in after
years, in this very city of Rome to which he
is now writing, had this same hope which
maketh not ashamed even in the prospect of
martyrdom, or, at least, in a state of uncer-
tainty whether life or death lay before him.
See Phil. 1 : 20. If we have the sense of God's
love shed abroad in our hearts by the indwell-
ing Holy Spirit, our Christian hope will never
shame us; on the contrary, it will afford us
the highest confidence and greatest glorying.
A sense of God's love will also create in our
hearts a love to God in return, (i John«:i9.)]
The expression 'the love of God' may mean
either God's love to us or our love to God.
There is nothing in the form of expression in
either the Greek or the Engli.sh to show which
of the two meanings it has in any particular
passage. It is certainly used in both senses in
the Scriptures. It clearly means God's love
to us in 8:39; 2 Cor. 13:14; and it just as
clearly means our love to God in Luke 11 :
42; John 5:42: 1 John3:17; 6:8. Hence
its meaning must be determined in each case
by the connected words and the course of
thought. In this case, the connection seems
to require us to understand by it God's love

120

ROMANS.

[Ch. V.

6 For when we were yet without strength, in due 6 was given unto us. For while we were yet weak, in
time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 due season Christ died for the ungodly. For scarce-

toward us, though some commentators, ancient
as well as modern, have taken it in the other
sense. But the expresssion 'shed abroad in
our hearts,' or, as it might be quite literally
rendered, poured forth [or, poured out}, as
well as the general course of thought, points
rather to God's love toward us. [Compare
ver. 8, and see Winer, p. 185. Prof. Cremer
remarks that "in the Pauline writings the
relation of men to God is only once expressed
by the substantive love (oyamj) — viz., 2 Thess.
3:5," and that in other instances where love
is followed by the genitive it expresses the
love of God or of Christ to us. He says : " It
is contrary alike to Christian experience and
to St. Paul's chain of thought, here and else-
where, to make the certainty of Christian
hope rest upon love to God existing in the
heart." His definition of the word for love
(iyamj), a word not found in the profane
writers nor in Philo or Josephus — "a word
born within the bosom of revealed religion "
(Trench)— is this: "It denotes the love which
chooses its object with decision of will, so that
it becomes self-denying or compassionate de-
votion to and for the same." "Classical
Greek," ho says, "knows nothing of the use
of this word (iyairav) to designate compassion-
ating love or the love that freely chooses its
object." Another verb {^iiKtlv) denotes the
love of natural inclination, affection, friend-
ship (Latin, amare), while this verb corre-
sponds to the Latin word diligere.] The verb
'is shed abroad,' or 'is poured forth,' implies
an abundant communication or expansion of
God's love in our hearts. The same verb is
used in Acts 2:17,18; 10:45; Titus 3 : 6, to
express the plenteous effusion of the Holy
Spirit. ["The love of God did not descend
upon us as dew in drops, but as a stream has
it poured forth itself into our hearts." (Phil-
ippi.) The heart, says Ellicott, "is prop-
erly the imaginary seat of the soul, and thence
the seat and centre of the moral life viewed
on the side of the affections." What greater
blessing can we desire than that the indwell-
ing Holy Spirit may continually and in rich
abundance shed abroad in our hearts God's
love and love to God in return? "Like an
overflowing stream in a thirsty land, so is the
rich flood of divine love poured out and shed

abroad in the heart." (Gifford.)] By the
Holy Ghost. The Holy Spirit is here repre-
sented as displaying, expanding to the view
of the soul God's love. This agrees with our
Lord's words in John 16 : 14. It has been a
subject of much critical discussion whether it
is proper to speak of the Holy Spirit as acting
upon the truth or only upon the mind and
heart of man. Apart from all metaphysical
niceties, this passage, and the one referred to
above, seem to show that it is allowable to
speak of the Spirit as acting upon the truth.
[Is it said in either of these passages that the
Holy Spirit acts upon the truth? Is anything
more affirmed in John 16 : 14 than this, that
the Holy Spirit would reveal Christ by means
of the truth to the disciples? And is not that
working with the truth rather than acting
upon the truth? So, too, the words of Paul
may imply that the Holy Spirit makes use of
truth in pouring forth the love of God in
believing hearts, inasmuch as we cannot see
how he could otherwise reveal that love to
their hearts; but does this imply any action
of the Spirit on the truth itself? May not
his action be altogether on the heart, either
directly or by means of the truth? We are
unable to see anything favorable to the view
expressed by Dr. Arnold in either of these
passages. (A. H.)] Which is given (more
strictly, was given) nnto ns. When was this
giving of the Spirit unto us? On the day of
Pentecost, say various commentators But to
refer it to the time of each individual's regen-
eration seems more suitable, especially as it is
Paul who says this, for he certainly did not
receive the gift on the day of Pentecost.
[According to Paul's teaching, the Holy Spirit
is not only given to us at particular times, but
dwells within us, in our hearts, as an abiding,
sanctifying presence, so that our bodies are
his temples. " Know ye not that your body
is a temple of the-in-you Holy Spirit?" 1
Cor. 6 : 19 ; compare Gal. 4:6; 1 Cor. 3 : 16 ;
2 Cor. 1 : 22; 6 : 16. Meyer remarks that the
divine love shed abroad by the Spirit in be-
lieving hearts "is to them, like the Spirit
himself, the earnest of the hoped-for glory."
See 2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5."]

6. The for, with which this verse is intro-
duced, indicates that what follows is a signal

Ch. v.]

ROMANS.

121

proof of that love of God to us which is shed
abroad in our hearts by the Spirit. When
we were yet without strength. When we
were impotent, powerless for good. [Dr. Gif-
ford supposes a contrast here to the believer's
present state, as strong in hope, etc.] The
term ' without strength ' is explained by the
stronger terms 'ungodly' and 'sinners.'
(ver. 8.) [We are weak to do right, but strong
to do wrong; strong to sin, but weak to resist.
The special helplessness referred to here is
man's inability to redeem himself or put him-
self into a salvable state. He can make no
atonement for his sin nor deliver himself from
its power. "This inability to help ourselves
is a fact," says Prof. Boise, "which the philo-
sophical and religious systems of Asia and
Greece had failed to recognize or suitably to
emphasize." The text of the Revision has
two 'yets,' which occasion some difficulty,
though the sense of the passage is entirely
clear. Some render the first (in) besides or
worcorer (like en it; see Heb. 11 : 36). Others
think the repetition was for the sake of em-
phasis, and should be but once rendered.
Meyer rejects the latter yet (in.) as ungenu-
ine.] The adjective here translated 'without
strength' is the same which is translated
'sick' in Matt. 26:39, 43, 44; Luke 10:9;
Acts 5 : 15, 16. Holiness is the healthy, strong
condition of the human soul. In doe time
Christ died. There was a due time, a suit-
able season, for Christ to die. There was a
long, providential preparation, a remarkable
concurrence of many conditions, before "the
fulness of time" for God to "send forth his
Son " had come. What man could do to help
himself— by experience of the evil of sin, by
civil laws and religious rites, by philosophy,
by the help of divine laws and tj'pical sacri-
fices— must first be shown. And then a select
nation must be prepared by centuries of dis-
cipline to comprehend the new doctrines;
time must be allowed for the human race to
grow out of the fabulous into the historic age,
so that the proofs of the facts connected with
the advent of the Son of God could be ade-
quately established ; a language, more copious
and precise than any earlier one, must be de-
veloped ; a government, wider and stronger
than the world had before seen, must be con-

solidated, to favor unwittingly, even while it
wickedly opposed, the dissemination of the
gospel; and then, when all this protracted,
complex, wonderful preparation was com-
pleted, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.
[Philippi regards this 'due time' (xara jcotpov)
as meaning "at the appointed time." Of
course, the two views really imply each other.
Meyer remarks — with, perhaps, too great re-
striction of view — that the death of Jesus for
the ungodly took place at the proper season,
because, had it not taken place then, they
would, instead of the divine grace, have expe-
rienced the final righteous outbreak of divine
wrath, seeing that the time of the "passing
over" (3:s5) and of the "forbearance" of God
had come to an end. Compare the idea of
the "fulness of the times" in Eph. 1:10;
Gal. 4 : 4. Dr. Schaff, speaking of the fitness
of time, race, country, as concerns the world's
Saviour, says: "We cannot conceive of his
advent at the time of Noah or Abraham, or in
China, or among the savage tribes of America.
History is a unit, and a gradual unfolding of
a divine plan of infinite wisdom. Christ is
the turning-point and centre of history, the
end of the old and the beginning of the new
humanity; a truth which is confessed, wit-
tingly or unwittingly, by every date from
A. D. throughout the civilized world." For
the ungodly. The word 'ungodly' is with-
out the article in the original, as referring,
not to a class, but to all mankind.] It was
for the benefit of the ungodly, that he might
open for them a way out of their ungodliness
into the favor of God. [The 'for' in this
clause, like our English for, may signify 'in-
stead of,' or 'for the benefit of,' but usually
has the latter signification. It seemingly ex-
presses, more fully than 'instead of'(aKTl), the
love and compassion of Christ. Dr. Gifford,
in the "Bible (Speaker's) Commentary," says:
"It would be enough to say that Christ
died 'in our stead' (iyrX), if his death had
been unconscious, unwilling, or accidental."
"Strictly speaking," says Ellicott, "/or (uwip),
in its ethical sense, retains some trace of its
local meaning, 'bending over to protect,' and
thus points more immediately to the action
than to the object or circumstance from which
the action is supposed to spring." * Philippi

» " The latter relation," says Ellicott, " is more cor- i be more naturally used with the thing, ' ulns,' vwip with
rectly defined by ircpl [coneeminff,/or]. wept will thus I the person, ' sinners,' and this, with a few ezception«

122

ROMANS.

[Ch. V.

7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die : yet
peradventure for a good man some would even dare to
die.

ly for a righteous man will one die: for peradven-
ture for the good man some one would even dare to

remarks that "one may die for and yet not
instead of another, as the death that I submit
to on another's behalf . . . does not always
assume that he must have died if I had not
died. Still, this will usually be the case, and
with respect to Christ it was the case, his death
being, as we know, from other sources, a vicari-
ous, sacrificial death. Compare on 3 : 24. The
phrases 'Christ died for us,' 'gave himself

up for us ; (Bom. 8 : 32 ; 14 : 16 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 13 ; 2 Cor. & : 14 ; Epb.
5 : 2 ; 1 Them. 5 : 10 ; 1 Tim. 2:6; Titus 2 : 14), therefore CX-

press the compassionate love of Christ's vica-
rious, sacrificial death, so that in the for the
instead of is assumed or rather included.
Compare Steiger on 1 Peter 3 : 18." Prof.
Cremer says: "We must particularly keep
in view the representation of death as a puni-
tive sentence when mention is made of the
death of Christ." And after referring to the
Pauline expressions, dying to and with, he
adds: "Bearing all this in mind, it is also
clear how the matter stands with reference to
Christ's dying for the ungodly, which, if it
does not actually express the substitutionary
import of Christ's death (compare Sia, 1 Cor.
8:11), has meaning only upon the principle
of this substitutionary import." Meyer states
that Paul "has certainly regarded the death
of Jesus as an act furnishing the satisfactio
vicaria, as is clear from the fact that this
bloody death was accounted by him as an
expiatory sacrifice (3 : 25 ; Eph. 5:2; compare
ivri\vTpov in 1 Tim. 2 : 6), but in no passage
has he expressed the substitutionary relation
by the usual preposition " (ow). Our Saviour
himself expresses this most clearly in Matt.
20 : 28 ; Mark 10 : 45, where he speaks of giving

his life a ransom for {ivrX) many. 'Christ
died for the ungodly,' not only for the
weak, but for the wicked. The fact that the
death of Christ for sins and in behalf of sin-
ners is made so prominent in the New Testa-
ment Scriptures shows that he came into the
world, not so much to be a teacher of men,
or an example for men, as to become a pro-
pitiatory sacrifice for their sins. Not but
that Jesus may be denominated the "Great
Teacher," since he laid down certain great
principles to guide men's thoughts and lives;
yet he did not enter into the minutiae of Chris-
tian instruction so fully as did the Apostle
Paul.]

7. For. If we supply some such thought
as this (which very naturally suggests itself),
'this was wonderful love indeed,' the 'for'
will have its explanation. Scarcely. This
infrequent word expresses the great difficulty
of the case, as we might say, 'it would be
very hard to find a man who would do this.'
The only other place where it has the same
English translation is the remarkable passage
in 1 Peter 4 : 18 (which, by the way, is quoted
verbatim from the Greek of the LXX in
Prov. 11:31). But the same Greek word is
found in Acts 14 : 18, there translated scarce,
and also three times in Acts 27 : In ver. 7
(translated scarce), in ver. 8 (translated
hardly), and in ver. 16, where the last clause
may be rendered, "we could scarcely become
masters of the boat." For a righteous man
will one die. 'A righteous man' is con-
trasted with 'the ungodly' of the preceding
verse. Hardly on behalf of a just man will
any one die.i Yet peradventure for a good

(for example, 1 Cor. 15 : 3; Heb. 5:3), appears to be the
usage of the New Testament." [In Heb. 5 : 3, the Re-
vision text has not vitip but »«pV ijiapruli'. Among
other exceptions he might have referred to Gal. 1:4;
Heb. 5:1; 7 : 27; 10 : 12.] He further says that i"r«p in
its ethical sense has principally and primarily the
meaning in behalf of, or for the good of, especially in
doctrinal passages where the atoning death of Christ
is alluded to— for example, 2 Cor. 5 : 21 ; yet there are
doctrinal passages, as Gal. 3 : 13 (compare Philem. 13),
where it may admit the second meaning {imtead of)
united with the first, though never exclvaively. See his
commentary on Gal. 1:4; 3:13; also Winer, p. 383,
where he says "virep is nearly equivalent to avrX,
instead of."— <F.)

1 Buttmann (p. 218) thinks that Greek writers would
probably have used, instead of this future, the optative
mood with 5.v : ' Scarcely would any one die.' But this
mood in the later Greek fell gradually into disuse, and
modern Greek has given it up entirely. In the Kew Tes-
tament, as a dependent mood, it is almost completely
ignored, as it occurs but a few times, and only in the
writings of Luke. In Paul's writings the subjunctive is
always used, even after the so-called historical tenses,
the imperfect, aorist, and pluperfect. Winer thinks
this latter mood was at times purposely employed to
" denote an action still continuing, either in itself or in
its results, or one frequently recurring;" and Butt-
mann says it is " especially suited to the expression of
a purpose striving to become actual."— (F.)

Ch. v.]

ROMANS.

123

8. But God comiueDdeth his lore toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

8 die. But Ood commendeth bis own love toward as,
in that, while we were yet dinners, Christ died for

man some would even dare to die. The

little word {yap) translated 'yet' is the same
which is translated 'for' in the beginning of
the verse and in hundreds of other places in
the New Testament. The most satisfactory
explanation of its being used here is to regard
the passage as elliptical, some such expression
as this being supplied in thought, "but I do
not insist upon this," and then the 'for' in
place of 'yet' will be suitable. [Concerning
the three /or« in this and the preceding verse,
Winer thus remarks: "The first /or simply
refers to the fact which attested the love of
God (ver. 6, Christ's dying for the ungodly);
the second explains, a contrario, how death
(of the innocent) for the guilty evinces trans-
cendent love; the third substantiates the
remark, 'scarcely for a righteous man,' etc.]
In behalf of the good man perhaps some one
even ventures to die. The verb translated
'would dare' is in the indicative mood, and
is properly translated dares or ventures.
Observe the distinction between 'a righteous
man' and 'a good man.' 'A righteous
man' is just to others; 'a good man' is
beneficent to others. That this sense of the
word good belongs to the Greek adjective here
used is confirmed by Matt. 20 : 15, where it
plainly has that sense, and also by the article,
which emphasizes the distinction between a
righteous man and a good man, and, finally,
by the nature of the case; for it is much less
difficult to believe that some one would be
willing to die for the beneficent man, to whom
he was bound by the tie of gratitude for some
great favor, than that he would die for ajust
man, who had merely rfindered to him his
due. [There being nothing in the original
corresponding to the word man, 'the good'
has been by some taken absolutely for that
which is good, as by Godet, and in the margin
of the Canterbury Revision, while Julius
Miiller refers it to God who alone is good.
The contrasted words 'ungodly,' 'sinners,'
etc., show that just and good refer to persons,
while no one certainly would die for an ab-
straction. Meyer, strange to say, allows no
essential difference of idea in these two words.
Instead of righteous, the Syriac, singularly
enough, reads unrighteous, which reading, in
Fritzscbe's opinion, makes very good sense —

a sense, we should say, which hardly required
expressing. Wordsworth, in illustration of
one's willingness to die for a benefactor or for
the sake of friendship, refers to the story of
Orestes and Py lades, Alcestis and Admetus.]
For some* we should here read 'some one,'
for the pronoun is in the singular number;
whereas 'some,' without the 'one,' when used
of persons is properly plural.

8. [The word 'God' is wanting in the im-
portant Vatican MS. B, and in other copies its
position varies, for which reasons it is rejected
by Alford, though the word 'he,' supplied by
Alford, is made to refer to God. There seems
to be, however, no sufficient grounds to doubt
its genuineness.] Commendeth. Makes
manifest, and magnifies, as in 3 : 15. [This
verb, primarily, means to set or place to-
gether; hence in later use it becomes nearly
equivalent to prove, establish, or evince. Be-
sides the places referred to, it occurs else-
where in this Epistle only in 16:1, where it
means to bring together (as friends), hence to
commend. The present tense is used here to
denote an always existing, ever-present truth.]
His love. His own love, so the original reads,
to distinguish it emphatically from the human
love referred to in the previous verse [per-
haps, also, to contrast it with our want of love
and goodness. See 1 John 4 : 10: " Herein is
love, not that we loved God, but that he loved
us.] Yet, in contrast with the now of the
next verse. Sinners, corresponding with
'ungodly' and 'without strength' (»«'•«),
and contrasted with 'righteous' and 'good.'
(Ver. 7.) "God showcd his own love, in that
Christ died for us; therefore he loved Christ
as himself " (Bengel.) Or, therefore Christ
is God; both inferences are equally valid.
[If we compare this verse with 3 : 25, we see
that the propitiatory offering of Christ was
the means of exhibiting God's righteousness,
and, at the same time, was also an expression
of God's love. Paul does not here represent
God the Father as all justice and Christ as all
love, but shows us rather that God's love for
sinful men was the same as Christ's. Godet
observes that "this parallel has no meaning
except as the sacrifice of Christ is to God the
sacrifice of himself " Christ has "died for us
sinners,'' and therefore we may be saved from

124

ROMANS.

[Ch. V.

9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood,
we shall be saved from wrath through him.

10 For if, when we were enemies, we were recon-
ciled to God by the death of his Son ; much more,
being reconciled, we shall be saved by bis life.

9 US. Much more then, being now justified iby his

blood, shall we be saved from the wrath of God

10 through him. For if, while we were enemies, we

were reconciled to God through the death of his

Sod, much more, being reconciled, shall we be

wrath through him, and in none other is there
salvation. (Acti4:i2.) Abundant provision is
thus made for our salvation, yet we may die
of starvation though food is heaped up all
around us.]

9. Much more then. If he died for us
while we were yet sinners, much more then
will he save us now that we have been made
righteous through his death. If he made so
great a sacrifice to begin a work, much more
will he add that completion, without which
this costly beginning will be of no effect.
Justified by [literally, having been justified
in] his blood is a very strong expression. It
certainly cannot import less than that his
vicarious death was indispensable to our justi-
fication. Saved from wrath. Literally,
saved from the wrath, which was our con-
fessed desert and our otherwise inevitable
doom. [Christ's precious blood— in other
words, his atoning death or "his accomplished
and offered sacrifice" (Cremer) — is here rep-
resented as the source or ground of the sin-
ner's justification. Meyer remarks that "faith
as the recipient (XrivriKov) of justification is
understood as a matter of course (ver.i), but is
not mentioned here, because only what has
been accomplished by God through Christ is
taken into consideration."]

10. For if. ['For' assigns a special reason
for the certainty of our salvation.] When
we Avere enemies. [Prof. Boise remarks
that the word for public enemies (woAejiioi)
"so common in classic Greek is not found in
the New Testament."] In what sense is the
word 'enemies' to be taken here? In the
active sense, those who are opposed to God?
or in the passive sense, those to whom God is
opposed? The former is unquestionably the
sense in which the word occurs most fre-
quently in the Scriptures. But it certainly
occurs also in the latter sense. Perhaps 11 :
28, and 2 Thess. 3 : 15, are the clearest in-
stances. Here the passive sense, obnoxious to
the divine displeasure, is required ; for two
reasons: 1. Because it is God's righteous oppo-
sition to us, rather than our unrighteous oppo-
sition to him, which is directly removed by

the blood of his Son; and, 2. Because it is the
forensic, or judicial relation to God, not the
moral — justification, not sanctification — of
which the apostle is here treating. The best
critical expositors are agreed in ascribing this
sense to the word. Let the names of De
Wette, Alford, Meyer, Schaff, sufice. [We
add the names of Tholuck, Fritzsche, Phil-
ippi, Weiss, Gifford, and Godet. The latter
says: " The enmity must above all belong to
him to whom wrath is attributed; and the
blood of Christ, through which we have been
justified, did not flow in the first place to
work a change in our dispositions Godward,
but to bring about a change in God's conduct
toward us. Otherwise this bloody death would
have to be called a demonstration of love and
not of righteousness." On this subject of the
influence of the atonement Godward, see Dr.
Hovey's "God with Us," pp. 100-165, "Man-
ual of Theology," 207, seq.] Reconciled to
God by the death of his Son [or, recon-
ciled with Ood — that is, restored to his favor].
While reconciliation, much more than enmity,
may as a general rule be assumed to be mutual,
the prominent idea here undoubtedly is, not
the giving up of our hostility to God, but the
restoration of his favor to us. This follows
from what was said on the previous clause.
[Dr. Hovey thus paraphrases this verse: "For
if, when we were the objects of God's wrath
(like rebels whom the king counts as enemies),
we were put in a condition to receive his
favor, by the death of his Son, how much
more, having been put in that condition, shall
we be saved in his life." See also Weiss'
" Biblical Theology," Vol. I, p. 428.] Much
more. ["An argument a fortiori. If the
greater benefit has been bestowed, the less
will not be withheld. If Christ has died for
his enemies, he will surely save his friends."
(Hodge.) " When one has done the m,ost for
his enemies, he does not refuse the least to his
friends." (Godet.) How much God has
done for his enemies may be gathered from the
words: 'death of his Son.'] Bein? recon-
ciled (more exactly, having been reconciled),
we shall be saved by his life. It is now

Ch. v.]

ROMANS.

125

11 And not only lo, but we also joy in God through I 11 saved i by his life ; and not onlv so, * but we also re>
our Liord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received Joice in Uod through our Lord Jesus Christ, through
the atonement. | whom we have now received the reconciliation.

1 Or. in. :i Or. but alto glorglng.

assumed, that the subjective reconciliation,
the removal of our opposition to God, has
also taken place ; but no stress is laid on that
assumption. 'By his life' — literally, in hia
life [in vital union with his life (Schaff) ; in
the fact that he lives and intercedes. (Boise.)
"Justification," says Godet, "rests only on
faith in the death of Christ. Sanotification
flows from the life of Christ by the work of
the Holy Spirit." Compare John 14: 19,
"Because I live ye shall live also." Prof.
Stuart remarks that this passage (»«'• 8-io)
"seems to be more direct, in respect to the
perseverance of the saints, than almost any
other passage in the Scriptures"]. The close
relation in which he placed himself to us, by
dying for our sins, carries with it our being
associated with him in his resurrection life.
This topic is treated more fully in the next
chapter.

We may regard the whole work of Christ as
a Saviour, for us and in us, beginning with
his vicarious propitiation for our sins, pro-
ceeding with our justification, and culminating
in our salvation, as virtually comprehended
in our reconciliation, with this distinction be-
tween the expressions we were reconciled and
having been reconciled, in ver. 10, that whereas
in the former expression the first step in the
process, propitiation, is most prominent, in
the latter expression, by a very natural pro-
gress in the thought, the second step, justifica-
tion, is most prominent.

Recurring now to ver. 5, which was intro-
duced by the remark that the apostle is now
to set forth, as a fourth prerogative of the
justified believer, the certainty of his hope,
we have this course of thought in the devel-
opment of that subject. God has already
shown the fullness of his love to us by giving
his Spirit (vw-s), by giving his Son to die for
us while we were yet sinners (»er.«-8), and by
having thus begun the work of our salvation
when we were enemies, he has given the
surest pledge that he will complete it now
that we are reconciled to him. (v*r. b, lo.) And
now to sum up all in & fifth blessing, we boast

ourselves in God, having received, through
Christ, this wonderful reconciliation with him.
11. It is very plain that the apostle would
have us regard what he speaks of in this verse
as distinct from, and added to, all the forego-
ing. The introductory words — and not only
so, but we also — manifestly imply this. »
[But we also joy in God. Literally, but
also glorying. With this participle most
commentators supply the present tense of the
verb to be. The words imply not only that
we are saved; but that we have a joyous
consciousness of our salvation. See Winer,
p. 351.] And indeed this boasting in a God
reconciled to us is something more than
peace with God (tw.s) ; something more than
boasting in the hope of future glory (ver. j);
something more than boasting in tribulations
(ver. 3, *) ; something diflferent from the assured
certainty of our Christian hope, (ver.s-io.) It
is a higher experience than any of these, even
that of which the Psalmist speaks, in Ps. 34 :
2; 44:8. Have now received the atone-
ment. The word 'atonement' is used no-
where else in our New Testament. The
Greek word (KOToAAayJi), to which it here corre-
sponds, is, however, used in two other places,
in 11 : 15 and in 2 Cor. 4 : 18, 19, in which it is
more suitably translated reconciling or recon-
ciliation. We say this last is the more suit-
able translation, inasmuch as the word atone-
ment has acquired in theological language a
fixed, technical sense, which does not corre-
spond with the sense of the Greek word here
used. [Paul in 3 : 25 spoke of Christ, set forth
in his blood, as our propitiation, and he often
uses the word for redemption (oiroA>»Tpca<r««) ; but
the most proper word for atonement (iAa<r>i<5«)
is employed not by him but by the disciple
of love. See 1 John 2:2; 4:10. Compare,
also, the corresponding verb (lAa<r«o>*at) in Heb.
2 : 17.] The noun here used is closely con-
nected both in form and meaning with the
verb translated reconciled in ver. 10. [The
fact that we receive rather than make or give
reconciliation shows the reconcilement to be in
God's mind or disposition rather than in ours.

1 The Si and oAAa, corresponding to the German aber and Mndem, may thus be rendered : Not only to,
however, but alto, etc.

126

ROMANS.

[Ch. V.

At least, its primary reference is to the new
relation which God sustains to us. Prof.
Cremer, after referring to some doubtful pas-
sages, says: "But Rom. 5:11 is decidedly
opposed to the supposition that either a change
of feeling on the part of man, brought about
by the divine redemption, is referred to, or
an alteration in his relation to God to be
accomplished by man himself. It is God who
forms the relation between himself and hu-
manity anew; the part of humanity is to
accept this reinstatement. . . . God estab-
lishes a relationship of peace between him and
us by doing away with that which made him
our adversary (avTiSucos), which directed his
anger against us. . . . Thus reconciliation
denotes the New Testamenfc divine and saving
act of redemption (iTroAurpwo-is), in so far as
God himself, by his taking upon himself and
providing an atonement, establishes that rela-
tionship of peace with mankind which the
demands of his justice had hitherto pre-
vented." SoDeWette: "We must think of
this reconciliation as the removal of the wrath
of God, ver. 9." And in this view nearly all
commentators of note coincide "Nor is it
any contradiction that while God's anger
rested on mankind, his love instituted a
scheme of reconciliation, because the enmity
falls only on sin; the love, on the other hand,
regards sinners." (Philippi.) "Since this
enmity of God is only directed against man
as a sinner, it naturally does not exclude
grace which seeks to remove the cause of this
enmity and thereby to render reconciliation
possible." (Weiss, I, 429.) The verb used

here ((taToAAotro-u) occurs six times. (5:10;lCor.

7 : 11 ; 2 Cor. 5 : 18, 19, 20.) Another related word
(JioAAacrcTw) is found once (Matt. 5:24), "first be
reconciled to thy brother." In this case it is
the injured or offended brother of thine who
is really to become reconciled, and this ex-
ample, with that of 1 Sam. 29 : 4 in the Septu-
agint (see Josephus' "Antiquities," V, 2, 8),
shows us that in the expression ' we were
reconciled to (or with) God,' God may be
regarded as the party who was at enmity,
whose wrath, through the expiation of Christ,
has been removed, so that we may be received

into his favor. And this view is still further
confirmed by the general representation of
Scripture, that our reconciliation and justifi-
cation are effected by the sufferings, the death,
the blood of Christ, as a sacrifice for the sins
of the world. Still, the "Christian reconcili-
ation," as Trench remarks in his "Synonyms
of the New Testament," "has two sides," the
second and subordinate one being our recon-
ciliation toward God, "the daily deposition,
under the operation of the Holy Spirit, of the
enmity of the old man toward God. 2 Cor.
5 : 20; compare 1 Cor. 7 : 11. All attempts to
make this secondary to be indeed the primary
meaning and intention of the word, rest not
on an unprejudiced exegesis, but on a fore-
gone determination to get rid of the reality
of God's anger against the sinner." Accord-
ingly, our hymn revisers, who have substi-
tuted "To God I'm reconciled" for "My
God is reconciled," have made a "secondary
meaning of the word" to usurp the place of
the primary. For Scripture teaches us that
God when he reconciled all things to himself
through Jesus Christ, through the expiation
he made for our sins on the cross, by virtue
of which expiation the guilty who deserve to
die may be justified and thus saved from de-
served wrath (rer. 9), set up a relationship of
peace not before existing (Cremer) ; and that
Christ, by his propitiation and by his perfect
obdience rendered to the will of God, has
effected conditions of peace between God
and the sinner, whereby he now comes and
"preaches peace" to a guilty world. "Recon-
ciliation," says Meyer, "has taken place oA-
jectively through the death of Christ, but is
realized subjectively only when men become
believers, whereby the reconciliation becomes
appropriated to them." Compare 2 Cor. 5:
18-20; Col. 1:20-22; Eph. 2:16, 17; 1 John
4:10. In the examples from Ephesians and
Colossians another word (o7ro(coTaAAd(r<7co) is
used. Both sides of the Christian reconcilia-
tion are, w^e suppose, presented to view in 2
Cor. 5 : 18-20 ; Col. 1 : 20-22. ] »

The apostle has now completed his account
of the individual W^SiSmgs, secured to the be-
liever by the gospel way of justification ; and

1 On the connection of lAacrKo/uai (to make or be pro-
pitious) with reconciliation on the part of God, see
Cremer's " Biblico-Theological Lexicon," Article kotoA-
Aawa-w ; ou the deep meaning of iAcurfuk (propitiation

or atonement), see Trench's "Synonyms," p. 292; and
on this general subject, Dr. Hovey's " God with Us," pp.
114, 255.

Ch. v.]

ROMANS.

127

12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin ; and so death passed upon all
men, for that all have sinned :

12 Therefore, as through one man sin entered into
the world, and death through sin; and so deatii

from this point to the end of the chapter he
treats of the way in which the human race is
affected by this newly revealed method of
justification. This is one of the most important,
and one of the most difficult sections of the
epistle. [The subject of which this section
treats is in itself one of utmost difficulty,
having to do with the "stubborn, terrible fact
of the universal dominion of sin and death
over the entire race." (Schaff.) Alford gives
to this section (ver. 12-19) the following title:
"Tlije bringing in of reconciliation and life by
Christ in its analogy tp the bringing in of sin
and death by Adam." Godet very happily
introduces the topic which follows in these
words: "After thus expounding in a first
section (i: is-s: 20) universal condemnation, in
a second section (s: 21-5: 11) universal justifica-
tion, there remains nothing more for the apos-
tle to do than to compare these two vast dis-
pensations by bringing together their two
points of departure. Such is the subject of
the third section which closes this funda-
mental part." Dr. Schaff gives very full
notes on these verses in his edition of Lange's
"Commentary," also a special section enti-
tled: "Historical Statements on the Differ-
ent Theories of Original Sin and Imputa-
tion."* "We may here observe that to Paul
alone of all New Testament writers, was it
given to set forth the doctrine of our race con-
nection with Adam's transgression, a doctrine
nevertheless quite plainly intimated in the Old
Testament. Yet "like a skillful physician
the apostle goes not only to the root and foun-
tainhead of the evil, but also to the root and
fountainhead of the cure." (Dr. Schaff.)]

12. Wherefore (or, more properly, there-
fore) connects what follows as a conclusion
from ver. 11, especially with the last clause,
wiiich may be regarded as a summary of the
preceding verses of this chapter. [Since recon-
ciliation contains an allusion to wrath, and so
to condemnation as well as justification, the
connection may be thus conceived, as by Go-
det: "Since, condemned as we all were, we

have found reconciliation in Christ, there is
therefore between our relation to him and
our relation to the head of natural humanity
the following resemblance."] Beconciliation
through Christ is now to be presented in a
more general aspect^ as affecting the destiny
of the whole race, and in a new form, as illus-
trated by a comparison between Adam and
Christ, or, more precisely, between the con-
sequences to the race of its relation to each.
As by one man sin entered into the world.
['As.' This seems to begin a comparison, but
we find no corresponding so in what follows.
A simple and direct apodosis of the compari-
son would probably have run thus: So also
by one man righteousness entered into the
world and through righteousness life likewise
entered. Tholuck, Philippi, Meyer find the
second member of the comparison virtually
in ver. 14, which speaks of Christ as the anti-
type of Adam. Most expositors find it in-
cluded in ver. 18, where the whole subject is
resumed and completed. As the word as does
not always require a so (compare Matt. 25:
14), some regard this as as introducing the
second member of the comparison in some
such improbable way as this: "Therefore
stands Christ in a similar relation to mankind
as Adam through whom sin and death entered
intothe world" (DeWette), or, "therefore we
received and appropriated the reconciliation
through Christ in the same manner as by one
man," etc. (Lange and, similarly, Alford.)
See Dr. Arnold's remarks further on.] The
occasion on which this comparison is intro-
duced accounts for the mention of Adam only,
without any allusion to Eve. The design of
the apostle is "to compare the One man who^
as the bringer of salvation, has become the
beginner of the new humanity with the one
man who, as beginner of the old humanity,
became so destructive, in which collective
reference the woman recedes into the back-
ground." (Meyer.) Three reasons for the
omission of Eve's name are given by Bengel :
1. Adam had received the commandment

1 These terms are, we believe, now commonly distin- I in, and directly occasioned by, the sin of Adam, while
guished from each other — or at least may be properly original sin has reference to the natural proclivity of
distinguished— in this way: imputed sin has reference the human heart to evil.— (F.)
to the condemnation and death of our race as grounded j

128

ROMANS.

[Ch. V.

(apparently before the creation of Eve, Gen.
2: 16, 17). 2. He was the head, not only of
his race, but also of Eve. 3. If Adam had not
obeyed his wife, only one would have sinned.
(Sin would have ended where it began, with
Eve.) [Dr. Shedd, however, would include
both Adam and Eve under the general term
man (ovflpwiro?), as in Gen. 5:2, "God called
their name Adam," or man. Fritzsche adopts
the first of Bengel's reasons, and thus finds an
excuse for Eve but none for Adam, making
her offense relate rather to the matter of time
and his to the matter of guilt. In this going
back to Adam, our Epistle, as many exposi-
tors have noticed, is strikingly distinguished
from the Epistle to the Galatians. "In the
latter," as Godet says, " where Paul is attack-
ing Judeo-Christianity, his argument starts
from the theocratic history, from Abraham.
In the former, which expounds the relation
of the gospel to human nature, Jewish and
Gentile, the argument starts from general
history, from Adam, the father of all man-
kind. From the very beginning of the Epistle
the standpoint is universal."] The New Testa-
ment plainly confirms the account in Genesis,
by recognizing Eve as the first transgressor,
in the only two passages where she is named —
2 Cor. 11 : 3; ITim. 2:13. Adam is mentioned
in the following places: Luke 3: 38; Kom.5:
14, twice ; 1 Cor. 15 : 22, 45 ; 1 Tim, 2 : 13, 14 ;
Jude 14. Sin, not merely in the sense of
actual transgression, but sin as a ruling power
or principle. Throughout the whole section
'sin' is carefully distinguished from both
"transgression" (y<r.u) and "offence." (ver.
15, 16, IT, 18, 20.) It is personified and represented
as an active power. Neither of the other two
words above named could be so represented
with equal propriety. Entered into the
world — that is, into this human world [the
world of humanit3', which by Paul was re-
garded as then existing]. The account of its
entrance into this world shows plainly that it
had entered into the universe before. And
death by sin. [Literally, and through sin,
death likewise entered. In Meyer's opinion,
"that Adam was created immortal our pas-
sage does not aflSrm, and 1 Cor. 15 : 47 contains
the opposite." He further says: "If Adam
had not sinned, ... he would have become

immortal through eating of the tree of life in
Paradise. As he has sinned, however, the
consequence thereof necessarily was 'death,'
not only for himself, seeing that he had to
leave Paradise, but for all his posterity like-
wise. From this consequence, which the sin
of Adam had for all, it results . . . that the
fall of Adam was the collective fall of the
entire race, in so far as in fact all forfeited
Paradise and herewith incurred death." Paul
in this section seeks not so much the origin of
sin as that of death. (Godet.) Hence, one
chief thing which we look for in this discus-
sion is an explanation of the fact of death.]
' By sin ' — that is, 'through sin,' as the means,
and on account of sin, as its appointed pen-
alty. "What are we to understand by 'death'
in this passage? Primarily, it means physi-
cal death, the separation of the soul from the
body. Whatever else it may include, it m,ust
include this, otherwise there would be no pro-
priety in using the word, and we may be sure
the word would not have been used had the
plain, literal sense of the word/ormerf no part
of its meaning here. And this is confirmed
by ver. 14. But certainly something more
than physical death is included in the word
in this connection. In Gen. 2 : 17, we read
that God said to Adam, "in the day that thou
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." Adam
did not suffer physical death on the very daj-
of his transgression. But he did suffer spirit-
ual death, for sin is the separation of the soul
from God, the fountain of life. And this
spiritual death, unless some remedial agency
comes in, naturally leads to, and culminates
in, eternal death. See how sin and death are
habitually connected in the Scriptures, (oen.

2:17; Eiek. 18:4; Kom. 6 : 16, 21, 23 ; 7:10,11; 8 : IS.) The

death of the body is the palpable, representa-
tive test fact around which our reasonings
naturally gather.i ["In order," says Prof.
Cremer, "to the clear perception and under-
standing of . . . the New Testament use of
this word (death), we must hold fast and
abide by the fact that death, as the punish-
ment pronounced by God upon sin, has a
punitive significance. . . . Death, therefore,
is a very comprehensive term, denoting all
the punitive consequences of sin. . . . Hence
we find that, according to the context, the

1 See Appendix B.

Ch. v.]

ROMANS.

129

reference is either (a) to death as the objec-
tive sentence and punishment appointed for
man, or (6) to death as the state in which
man is as condemned through sin." We sup-
pose its chief reference here is to physical
death, the death which reigned from Adam
to Moses, (ver. u.) See 1 Cor. 15 : 21. Meyer
and Godet refer to this solely. The sin of
Eden as causative of our fall and death is
referred to in the Apocrypha (2 E«drM t : 48) :
"O thou Adam, what hast thou done? for
though it was thou that sinned, thou art not
fallen alone, but we all that come of thee; "
also Ecchis. 25 : 24: "Of the woman came the
beginning of sin, and through her we all die; "
and compare Wisd. 2 : 24. De Wette says :
" No exegete can doubt that Paul teaches the
extension both of sin and death from Adam
to mankind."] And so death passed upon
all men. 'And so' — that is, in agreement
with, and by reason of, this connection be-
tween sin and death. 'Passed upon all men.'
We have the same verb here which in the
first clause is translated entered, but with a
diflFerent preposition. The more exact repre-
sentation of the original would be given by
translating the two clauses thus: "Sin came
into the world;" "death came through" to
all men. The representation would thus be
made perfectly correspondent to the original,
if what we call the pre-positions could really
be jore-posed or ^re-fixed, as they are in the
Greek, instead of being post-posed, as the
idiom of our language requires them to be.
We cannot say, as the Greeks did, "sin into-
came the world," and death " through-came
to all men." [This declaration, 'and so death
passed through unto all men,' supposes the
fact stated in the next clause, 'that all sinned'
— that is, either collectively in Adam or as in-
dividuals or both. Pfleiderer, as quoted by
Weiss, ' maintains that there is a double reason
assigned for death passing unto all ; namely,
the sin of Adam and the sin of all, and that
this is explicable only on the assumption
that the sin of Adam was as such already the
sin of all.' If we explain this passage by
the nearly parallel statement of ver. 15, "the
many died," etc., it would appear that death
was made to extend to all men, not primarily

and solely by reason of their individual
offenses, but by "the trespass of the one."
Even Prof. Stuart acknowledges that the
'and so' of this clause intimates that "both
the sins of men and their condemnation stand
connected in some way or other with the first
offense by Adam." De Wette remarks that
this passing through of death upon all men
differs from its entering into the world "as
going from house to house differs from entering
into a town."]* For that ail have sinned.
The original expression which our translators
rendered ' for that' has been variously under-
stood— "in whom," or " in which man" [^^in
whom, all have sinned"], say Origen, Augus-
tine, Beza, Vulgate, Wycliffe; "on the suppo-
sition that," "in as far as," says Bothe [so
Julius Miiller] ; but our translators were
doubtless correct in saying 'for that' [which
is nearly equivalent to 'because'; compare
2 Cor. 6 : 4]. We may expand this a little
by saying "upon the occasion that," which
would be a very close adherence to the origi-
nal, and which would be equivalent to the
still more expanded form, "on the ground of
the fact that" all sinned. The most exact
parallel in form, sense, and translation is 2
Cor. 6 : 14. Life was suspended on a certain
condition — obedience; death was suspended
on a certain condition — disobedience. All
disobeyed, in consequence of which death,
the original penalty of disobedience, came
through to all men. 'All sinned' is more
exact than 'all have sinned.' The verb here
is in the same tense as the two preceding
verbs, and there is no more reason why this
should be translated 'have sinned' than why
they should be translated 'has entered' and
'has passed.' But how are we to understand
the expression 'all sinned'? Four different
answers to this question may be briefly no-
ticed :

1. All have actually and personally sinned:

2. All have become corrupt and sinful :

3. All did actually sin in Adam :

4. All virtually sinned in Adam, as the
head of the human race, and the introducer
of sin, which passes through to all.

1. The first view [advocated by Tholuck,
De Wette, Fritzsche, Reuss, Lange, Barnes,

1 " (t« with persons is not simply equivalent to rpdc (to), but inrolTea the idea of mingling with and associ-
ation." (Ellicott.)— (F.)

130

ROMANS.

[Ch.V.

Stuart, Kipley,] is inconsistent with the proper
force of the tense of the verb, which properly
signifies, noidosin, nor Aave sinned, nov are ac-
customed to sin ; but simply sinned : their sin
is regarded as one act in some definite past time.
[The connection of the "all sinned" in 3:
23, whether it exclude all reference to the
primal sin or not, is wholly different from the
"sinned" in this passage.] This first view is
also inconsistent with the design of the pass-
age, which is to show that Adam's sin, and
not our own apart from his, is the cause of
death. It is inconsistent with ver. 13, 14,
which are intended to prove what is here
asserted : but they do not prove that all have
actually sinned, but rather the reverse. It is
inconsistent with the analogy between Adam
and Christ. There would not be, according
to this view, that resemblance between the
way in which we become sinners through
Adam, and the way in which we become
righteous through Christ, which is affirmed in
ver. 19. [Dr. Hodge says: "It would make
the apostle teach that as all men die because
they personally sin, so all men live because
they are personally and inherently righteous.
This is contrary, not only to this whole pass-
age, but to all Piiul's teaching, and to the
whole gospel." We think the stanza of
Spengler, quoted by Miiller in his " Christian
Doctrine of Sin," to be doctrinally far more
Pauline :

As now we all by foreign guilt

In Adam are reviled,
Therefore we all by foreign grace

In Christ are reconcUed.]

It is inconsistent with the facts of the case. It
is not true that all die because all have actually
and personally sinned. Death is more exten-
sive than personal transgression. This Paul
himself declares in ver. 14. Infants die,
though they have not personally sinned.

2. The second view [advocated by Mel-
ancthon, Calvin, Prof. Turner] is also incon-
sistent with the meaning of the word, and
with the nature of the comparison. The verb
does not mean to become corrupt and sinful,
but simply to sin. [Alford blends the first
and second view together, making the sin to
be "both original and actual : in the seed, as
planted in the nature by the sin of our fore-
father, and in the fruity as developed by each

conscious responsible individual in his own
practice."]

3. The 'third view [Haldane's, Edwards',
Shedd's,] is regarded as simply inconceivable.
The appeal to Heb. 7 : 9, 10, does not avail to
make it conceivable, for the writer there takes
pains to apprise us that he is not using lan-
guage in a literal sense : " As I may so say"
is a not uncommon phrase in the classics, in
introducing a highly figurative expression,
but is found nowhere else in the New Testa-
ment.

4. We are therefore shut up to this fourth
sense of the expression, that all virtually
sinned in the sin of Adam, who was the source,
and then indeed, with Eve, was the whole of
the human race. This interpretation is de-
manded by the context : by ver. 13 and 14,
which contain the proof of what is here
asserted ; by ver. 15-19, which assume this
meaning as proved ; and by ver. 18, 19, which
complete the comparison between Adam and
Christ in accordance with this view. [Ver.
12 may be properly explained by the plainer
and fuller assertions of ver. 15-19, since these
assertions rest on this verse as a foundation.
Notice the ' for if in ver. 15, 17, ' so then ' in
ver. 18, 'for as' in ver. 19.] And it is con-
firmed, finally, by such passages as 1 Cor. 15:
22, and 2 Cor. 5 : 14, which should be trans-
lated, "having judged this, that one died for
all, therefore they all died." [Some inter-
pret the phrase, ' for that all sinned,' as mean-
ing that they sinned putatively or represen-
tatively ; "in other words, they were regarded
and treated as sinners on account of Adam's
sin." (Hodge.) To this view it is commonly
objected that we did not elect Adam to be our
agent or representative (yet God might have
appointed him as such), and it does not appear
that he consciously acted as such. Dr. Schaff
says that Prof. Hodge " by rejecting the real-
istic theory of a participation of Adam's pos-
terity in his fall, loses the basis for a just
imputation, andresolvesit intoa legal fiction."
Only a sinful and guilty being can be the
subject of the displeasure of a holy and right-
eous God. " We do not object." he says, "to
the doctrine of imputation in itself, but simply
to that form of it which ignores or denies the
vital nature of our connection with Adam
and with Christ, as plainly taught in this
whole section. Adam is our natural repre-

Ch. v.]

ROxMANS.

131

sentative, de facto as well as de jure. He is
the root of humanity and his fall affected the
stock and every branch, by the inherent law
of organic life union. . . . The human race
is not a sand heap, but an organic unity ; and
only on the ground of such a vital unity, as
distinct from a mechanical or merely federal
unity, can we understand and defend the doc-
trine of original sin, the imputation of Adam's
sin, and of Christ's righteousness." The elder
Edwards, who could not think of any con-
demnation without personal ill-desert, carried
the notion of our personal identity with Adam
so far as to say that his sin was "truly and
properly " ours, and therefore God imputes it
to us. If, however, we as individuals actually
sinned in Adam, there would be no need of
imputing his sin to us, since we should have
sin of our own to answer for. Dr. Schaff", it
will be seen, adopts the realistic Augustinian
imputation theory which finds perhaps its
truest expression in the familiar couplet of the
old New England Primer:

In Adam's fall,
We sinned all.

And this, indeed, is the view of many of the

more distinguished modern commentators, as
Olshausen, Meyer, Piiilippi, Godet, Bishop
Wordsworth, the "Speaker's Commentary,"
Ellicott's "New Testament Commentary,"
etc. This view well accords with the tenses of
the verbs: "All sinned," and "death passed
through upon ail men " — that is, at a definite
time in the past, and, as we think, harmonizes
with the drift of the apostle's argument, and
best explains the universal natural depravity
of mankind.* But how can Dr. Schaff", with
others holding similar views, say that this
verb to sin "means real, actual sinning,"
and yet add that "all men sinned in Adam, no^
indeed personally by conscious, actual trans-
gressions, but virtually or potentially" 1
Volumes, perhaps, have been written on these
two words : all sinned (ird»^«t yitiaprov),' espe-
cially on how this 'all sinned' is connected
with the phrase 'the one that sinned' (ivbf
a/xopT)j<roi'Tos), and volumes more we fear will
have to be written before tliat definition will
be found which will to all persons and in all
respects be satisfactory. The truth is, as Prof.
Boise remarks, the howoi this matter "is not
discussed by the apostle." One thing, how-
ever, seems to be certain, namely, that the

1 Prof. Stuart does not see anything which specially
needs to be accounted for in the fact that all the de-
scendants of Adam sin since he himself sinned who
was created upright. He says, for substance, that aa,
according to Edwards, our race had a more favorable
probation in Adam than we should have in propria per-
sona, and yet he fell, it is therefore nothing wonderful
that all his descendants fall, even though created up-
right and pure. But this, I think, dues not follow. A
strong mau has an advantage in his strength, yet we
conceive it possible that he might fall where a weaker
man might stand. That a strong man fell simply shows
that all others way fall, but does not prove that they
certainly will. Edwards says that " an effect's happen-
ing once will not prove any fixed propensity or perma-
nent influence." On the other hand, "a stated effect
requires a stated cause," and in support of this postu-
late he adduces this illustration among others: "If
such a case should happen that a person through the
deceitful persuasions of a pretended friend, once takes
an unwholesome and poisonous draught of a liquor he
had no inclination to before; but after be has once
taken of it, he be observed to act as one that has an
insatiable, incurable thirst after more of the same" —
so that he does and will indulge incessantly in the
practice of drinking — "could it be said with good
reason that a fixed propensity can no more be argued
from his consequent common practice than from his
first draught?" And he thinks it would be "weak

arguing " in an objector to say, " Do ymi tell me how it
came to pass that he was guilty of that sin the first
time, without a fixed inclination, and I will tell you
how he is guilty of it so generally without a fixed incli-
nation." One thing is certain, that theologians of
every age and of every school, save the Pelagian and
Socinian, have traced man's innate depravity to the sin
of our first parents. "Whosoever," says Augustine,
" contends that human nature in any age does not need
the second Adam as a physician on the ground that it
has not been vitiated in the first Adam, does not fall
into an error which may be held without injury to the
rule of faith, but by that very rule by which we are
constituted Christians is convicted of being an enemy
to the grace of God."— (F.)

» The " Five Clergymen " render this verb: rrere tin-
ners, since this phrase " covers every sort of sin." Prof.
J. R. Boise, in his notes on Koman.s, seems inclined to
regard all the verbs of this ver.«e as in the gnomic or
iterative aorist, expressing as in the present tense a
general truth or what is habitual. But the account
here given of Adam, of his offense, and of its chiefest
consequence, is manifestly historic, and it involves here
a manifest incongniity to say: Through .Adam sin
enters into the world, etc. Besides, the use of this aorist
in the New Testament is quite uncertain, and though
aflirmed by Buttmann, p. 201, is altogether denied by
Winer, p. 277.— (F.)

132

ROMANS.

[Ch. V.

apostle's argument requires us to keep two
personages especially in view, who did not
stand alone or act as private persons, but, as
Melancthon states it, "merited" for others,
yet "contrary things," and that as justifica-
tion and salvation are conferred upon us on
the ground of the obedience and righteous-
ness of the second Adam, so condemnation
and death have been visited upon us, upon
our whole race, on the ground of the trans-
gression of the first Adam. The apostle does
not assert that Adam's transgression is the
sole cause of the sinner's condemnation, nor
does he ignore individual sins. He aflBrms
that before the law was given "sin was in the
world," and he speaks of our "many oflfences,"
and in a previous chapter declares that "they
who sinned without law shall perish without
law." Yet he does teach that the sin of Adam
is the primal and direct cause of human de-
pravity, sin, and death, and that in this respect
he i.s a type of the last Adam from whom
come directly our justification, life, and peace.
" By one man (see especially in ver. 15, 17,
the simjjle dative of means ) sin entered and
death by sin." "The judgment came of one
unto condemnation." "Through one tres-
pass it came unto all men to condemnation,"
which is here the same as saying that all men
were condemned through the one trespass of
Adam. Compare ver. 16, "the judgment was
from one [one offense], unto condemnation."
If we deny that this "one offence" is to us
the ground of condemnation, we must also
deny that Christ's righteousness is the ground
of our justification. To assert that individual
sins are the sole cause of man's condemnation
and doath would completely nullify the apos-
tle's argument, and would be as false to Scrip-
ture as it to fact. Of what actual sins are
irresponsible persons, infants, and children
unborn, personally guilty that they should
suff"er the penalty of death*? Their only sin
for which they die — for there is no death with-
out sin — is the imputed sin of Adam, unless
it be, as some suppose (Origen, in olden
times, Julius Miiller, President Beecher),
their individual sin in a previous state. That
the apostle should ignore the fact that this
very large part of our race suffer death is an
impossibility, for he asserts that death through
sin has passed through upon all men, and he
expressly traces the death of all to the sin of

all, and hence this large class of dying per-
sons must be put among the "all" who sinned.
Nor will it do to interpret 'for that' as mean-
ing in so far as, unless it be to express per-
haps "different degrees of guilt and death"
(Lange), because there must be a sin of all
which is the cause of death to all. The
apostle's argument, then, and we deem it irre-
futable, is manifestly this : that there is a
resemblance between the headship of Adam
and of Christ, and that as by the trespass or
transgression of Adam all men, even apart
from their individual sins, are condemned and
visited with death, so by the obedience of
Christ, the second Adam, all who receive his
grace are freely justified and crowned with
everlasting blessedness apart from any inher-
ent goodness or merit of their own. In the
light of this argument, the phrase 'for that
all sinned' must be interpreted. In 2 Cor. 5;
14, an "analogous though not parallel pass-
age" (Godet), Paul asserts that because "one
(Christ) died in behalf of all (or, instead of
all) therefore all died." In like manner it
may at least be said that as Adam sinned for
all, to the disadvantage and condemnation of
all, so they "all sinned." "The death of
Christ was legally and eflPectively our death,
and the sin of Adam was legally &nd effect-
ively our sin." (Hodge.) "The apostle there-
fore represents the sin of mankind as object-
ively wrapped up in Adam, precisely as he
contemplates the righteousness of mankind as
objectively wrapped up in Christ." (Philippi.)
Forbes wishes to find in this phrase an impar-
tation as well as an imputation of sin, and
this perhaps can be done. There is undenia-
bly a sense in which we as a r&ce fell in Adam
(dowenotrightly speak of our "fallen race" ?),
and there is a sense in which we as a race sinned
in and through Adam, and so were put in the
category of sinners. And this, we think, is
the meaning of ver. 19, where Paul asserts
that tJirough the disobedience of one man, in
which we all shared as a race, the mmiy —
that is, the whole race of mankind were con-
stituted, set down in the place of, sinners, and
are consequently treated as sinners. 01s-
hausen, speaking of our being constituted
sinners through Adam's oflTense, says: "Not
the personal transgressions of individual men,
but the disobedience of Adam was alone the
foundation of all being sinners, and just so the

Ch. v.]

ROMANS.

133

reverse" — that is, in regard to our justifica-
tion, solely through the obedience of Christ.
He then adds: "No expression can be im-
agined by which Paul could have more dis-
tinctly defined ver. 12 and 16, and protected
his meaning from erroneous conceptions ; if,
notwithstanding, he has not succeeded in
preventing them, the cause of the failure can
only at last be found in the heart's resistance
to this doctrine, bringing, as it does, to nothing
all man's self-sufficiency, a resistance which
even unconsciously asserts itself while inter-
preting such passages."]

We must always bear in mind that death
means more than the mere separation of soul
and body, but that all which it means is so
connected with this literal sense, that this last
may be taken as a representative fact : where
this is found, the rest will follow, without
some extraordinary and superhuman inter-
vention. Natural death is a part of the pen-
alty ; and so far the penalty goes into actual
effect.

"The death of the soul," says Augustine,
" takes place when God leaves it, as the death
of the body takes place when the soul leaves
it: it is then the death of both, that is, of the
whole man, when a soul forsaken of God for-
sakes the body." (" De Civitate Dei," xiii, c.
1.) " Mors igitur animae fit, cum eam deserit
Deus : sicut corporis, cum id deserit anima.
Ergo utriusque rei, id est, totius hominis mors
est, cum anima a Deo deserta deserit corpus."

Bengel calls attention to the arrangement of
the four clauses in this verse :

Sin entered Jnto the world,
And death through sin ;
Death passed through to all men,
For that all sinned ;

and adds this remark: "Sin precedes death ;
but the universality of death is known before
the universality of sin: and the clauses are
conformed to this order."

There is still one more point to be considered
in this verse, before we pass to the next.
Looking at the verse as a whole, it is evi-
dently grammatically incomplete. Three
ways are proposed of supplying what is neces-
sary to its completeness.

(a) To supply at the beginning, or, rather,
after* wherefore' {therefore) "it was" — [that
is, our justification was by one man, as through

one man came our sin and condemnation],
thus making all that follows the second mem-
ber of the comparison, technically called the
apodosis, instead of the first, the protasis.
Alford takes this view, and refers to Matt. 25 :
14, for a similar use of the word translated as,
without any preceding protasis. [The there-
fore, at the beginning of our passage, indicat-
ing a new starting point, forbids such a close
grammatical connection with the preceding
passage. ]

(b) Others regard this as the protasis, and
find the apodosis in a later clause of the same
verse, some in the clause immediately follow-
ing, so being supplied, and being changed
to also: as by one man sin entered into the
world, so also death by sin; and some in the
next clause, and so being changed to so also.

(c) Others find the apodosis in a subsequent
verse; some in the expression, who is the
figure of him that was to com,e in ver. 14 ; and
some in the latter half of ver. 18, even so, etc.

All these except the last would be gram-
matically irregular, the last under (6) pre-
eminently so. We prefer the last under (c).
Had the comparison been completed, in regu-
lar form with its proper connection [Winer,
569] and without any parenthesis or digres-
sion, we suppose ver. 12 would have read on
this wise : therefore, as by one man sin entered,
etc., even so by one man righteousness entered
into the world, and life by righteousness. And
this is virtually the way in which it is com-
pleted in ver. 18, the terras being somewhat
changed, to accord with the interposed verses.
To this view the principal objections are, that
the matter contained in ver. 13-17 is too long
and too important to be treated as a parenthe-
sis : and also that ver. 18 seems to be a reca-
pitulation rather than a resumption. Neither
of these objections seems insuperable: in fact,
the last seems of very little weight; for it
would be quite natural, in recapitulating to
resume the regular grammatical or rhetorical
form of the sentence. It is confessedly a case
of peculiar difficulty ; but this way of mak-
ing out the connection seems to us to be en-
cumbered with less serious difficulties than
any other.

13, 14. It is generally agreed that these
verses are designed to prove [or explain] the
statement of ver. 12, that death passed upon
all men on account of sin. What is the nature

134

ROMANS.

[Ch. V.

13 (For until the law sin was in the world : but sin is
not imputed when there is no law.

13 passed unto all men, for that all sinned:— for until
the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed

14 when there is no law. Nevertheless death reigned

of the proof? The infliction of penal evils
implies the violation of law. The violation
of the law of Moses will not account for the
universality of death, for men died before
that law was given. The violation of the law
of nature will not account for the universality
of death, for those die who have never vio-
lated that law. Death is more extensive than
the violation of the law of Moses; it is more
extensive than the violation of the law of
nature. It is co-extensive with our connec-
tion with Adam. Here is a universal effect.
Here are three causes proposed to account for
that effect : Two of these causes are less exten-
sive than the effect, the third is precisely co-
extensive with the effect, and the effect is
precisely what was foretold as the sure conse-
quence of that particular cause. It follows,
therefore, that men are subject to death on
account of the sin of Adam.

For until the law. For prior to the law,
and up to the time of the law. [This is further
explained by the phrase — from Adam to
Moses. The word law in the original has no
article, yet it must have special reference to
the law. The Jews knew only of one law,
that of Moses, and hence "law" to them was
the same as "the law." So "world" in the
following clause is destitute of the article, it
being noticed "by Winer under the general
head of " words which denote objects, of
which there is but one in existence, and
which, therefore, approximate closely to
proper names." Especially are such words
found without the article "when, in connec-
tion with prepositions, etc., they form phrases
of frequent occurrence."] Sin was in the
world. [Continuously. The imperfect tense
is used to express simultaneity, duration, non-
completion. (EUicott. )] There was sin in
the world. This is proved by the fact that
death, the consequence of sin, was all this
time in the world. But sin is not imputed
when there is no law. Sin is not reckoned
as sin when there is no law. [It is not reck-
oned for punishment, or is not punished as
transgression. (Meyer.)] The word trans-
lated imputed here is different in form (though
the difference is not radical, both being de-
rived from the same root) from that which is

usually so translated. The same form is not
found elsewhere, except in Philem. (ver. le.)
Some have inferred from this that the word
here used means, is noi fully or strictly reck-
oned, in the absence of express law. But this
requires that the word law should be restricted
to express or written law, a restriction not
called for, and, in our view, not consistent
with a right view of the apcstle's argument.
[" Not put into the account for punishment"
is Dr. Shedd's view. But surely the apostle
has repeatedly and plainly asserted that the
wrath of God will be visited upon the Gen-
tiles, who have not the law, but who yet are
fully aware that for their sins they are deserv-
ing of death. Paul in the last chapter (Ter. 15)
affirmed that "where there is no law neither
is there transgression." And his meaning in
our passage must be that sin, in the absence
of God's revealed will, is not reckoned or
punished as transgression. It may be, as the
Apostle John calls it, 'lawlessness' (avo^t'a),
but not 'a transgression of law' (iropo^ao-u
voy-ov). Yet death reigned from Adam to
Moses, and if death was visited upon the
people who lived during that time solely on
account of their individual offenses, then their
sin certainly was imputed to them. To get
rid of this contradiction, Tholuck, Miiller,
Stuart, and others say that sin is not imputed
by men where there is no law, and the idea
then would be — though men in a state of na-
ture, and in the absence of law, "make but
little account of sin" (Stuart), yet in God's
sight they do sin, and their sin, as such, is
visited with death. But against this man-
imputation view of sin, I would observe (a)
that in the Scriptures, generally, God, and not
man, is the one who imputes or does not im-
pute sin; (6) that even Pagans, without any
revelation, have recognized themselves as sin-
ners (compare 1 : 32; 2 : 15), and the Jews, as
we know, regarded the heathen Gentiles as
pre-eminent sinners; and (c) that sinning
men "make but little account" of sin whether
committed before or after Moses, whether
without law or with law. A better interpre-
tation, and one quite as helpful to their view,
would be something like this: Since prior to
the time of Moses sin was in the world and

Ch. v.]

ROMANS.

135

14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses,
even over them that had not sinned after the simili-
tude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him
that was to come.

from Adam unto Moses, even over them that had

not sinned after the likeness of Adam's transgre»-

15 sion, who is a figure of him that was to come. But

death reigned during all that period, therefore
though men were then destitute of the re-
vealed will or law of God they yet sinned
against some law, the law written in their
hearts, for sin is not imputed and visited with
death in the absence of all law. This view,
which is adopted for substance by many in-
terpreters, has some truth in it, but it makes
a distinction, not apparent in the text, be-
tween the law (viiiov) of one line and the equi-
pollent law of the line following. Both mean
the same thing and are to be treated alike;
and hence we are not to supply and empha-
size an adjective, as we did above, before the
second law. Not even the word no, which is
inserted in our versions, is found in the origi-
nal text. Supplying, as we may, the article
to each law, we have this literal rendering:
For until the law sin was in the world, but sin
is not taken into account, there not being the
law, or, where the law is not; and this mani-
festly correct rendering is wholly antagonistic
to the above view. This view, moreover,
neglects the strong adversative force of the
Greek conjunction (ixka, but, or, neverthe-
less, death reigned, etc.), and does not ac-
cord with the drift, as we apprehend it, of the
apostle's argument.] Nevertheless death
reigned from Adam to Moses. 'Never-
theless'—that is, although sin is not imputed
when there is no law, yet the fact was that
'death reigned,' was not only in the world,
but exercised a dominion which none could
resist, and from which none were exempt.
[Nevertheless or but "introduces an appa-
rently contradictory phenomenon, confront-
ing the sin is not imputed, etc. ; one, however,
which just proves that men have died, not
through their own special sin, but through
the sin of Adam, which w£is put to their
account." (Meyer.) Death reigned in the
world during a period when there was no
law, which expressly threatened death as the
penalty of transgression.] ' From Adam to
Moses,' corresponding to the expression at
the beginning of the verse— «n<i^ the law—
from Adam, the first transgressor, to Moses,
the first lawgiver. Even over them that
had not sinned after the similitude of
Adam's transgression. Does this mean

"even over those who did not commit actual
transgression, as Adam did?" or, "even over
those who did not violate an express precept,
as Adam did ?" If the latter, it was equally
true of all those who lived between Adam and
Moses; if the former, it was true only of a
part, a certain class, of those who lived be-
tween Adam and Moses — that is, of those who
died in infancy. [Meyer, Lange, and Hodge
think that two classes are here indicated,
though the former two find here no reference
made to infants. But most commentators
recognize but one class and find no intended
reference to infants. "Children are included,
but not specially intended." (Schafif.)] Now
the form of the expression intimates that the
words following 'even' designate a certain
part of those who lived between Adam and
Moses, over whom it might less have been
expected that death would reign, than over
the rest. What class could this be except
those infants over whom death reigned? But
it may be objected that if inftints are intended,
there is no reason for the limitation 'from
Adam to Moses,' inasmuch as death's reign
over infants was in nowise aflected by the giv-
ing of the law. We answer, that 1 imitation was
not made in direct connection with the refer-
ence to infants. It was the writer's immediate
purpose to show that death was not the con-
sequence of the violation of the law of Moses.
The proof of this was, that death reigned be-
fore the law of Moses was given, and having
made that necessary limitation here — when
he adds, incidentally, 'even over them,' etc.
— he did not think it necessary expressly to
remove that limitation ; it was no longer neces-
sary, to be sure. The statement was equally
true of infants without that limitation; but
the argument is not vitiated by allowing that
no longer necessary limitation to remain.
Besides, as Meyor has observed, the word
'even' necessarily assumes a class of sinners
before Moses, whose sin was after the simili-
tude of Adam's transgression," and this ex-
cludes the idea that the distinction emphasized
by even is between those who had violated a
specific command and those who had not.
Moreover, this distinction is much less import-
ant than that between those who have com-

136

ROMANS.

[Ch. V.

mitted actual sin and those who have not, and
therefore it is highly improbable that the
former distinction would be emphasized and
the latter altogether ignored. Finally, it
seems to us simply incredible that in such a
discussion as this so prominent and significant
a factor as the death of infants should be un-
noticed. Our principal reason for laying so
much stress on this particular question is that
the reference to infants is denied by so many
commentators of note. [Notwithstanding Dr.
Arnold's exceedingly able argument in de-
fense of a reference to infants in this verse
(see Appendix B), we are still inclined to
hesitate, and, on the whole, are disposed to
adopt Meyer's interpretation of these difficult
verses. (i3, h.) His view, with which that of
Philippi and Godet is substantially accordant,
is: "If the death of men after Adam had
been caused by their own sin, then in the
case of all those who died during the period
from Adam till the law, the sin which they
committed must have been already reckoned
to them as transgression of the law, just as
Adam's sin was the transgression of the posi-
tive divine command, and as such brought
upon him death. But this is inconceivable,
because the law was not then in existence."
It was, therefore, on account of the Adamic
transgression that death reigned from Adam
to Moses, not only over those individuals, like
Noah, to whom special commands were given,
but even over those who sinned only against
the law written in their hearts — that is, those
who did not sin after the likeness of Adam's
transgression. Philippi, Gifford, Turner, Go-
det differ from Meyer's interpretation chiefly
in this, that they think the apostle here refers
only to one class, the whole human species
living and dying between Adam and Moses.
Edwards, Hodge, Shedd, and some other im-
putationists, with Dr. Arnold, make this latter
clause refer to infants ; but this seems unten-
able for several reasons : (a) We naturally
infer that those who did not sin after the like-
ness of Adam's transgression did actually sin
some other way. (6) If infants literally sinned
in Adam, then we should naturally suppose
that their transgression was just like Adam's.
And this is what Prof Shedd, by an almost
unexampled subtlety of hypercriticism, de-
duces from this clause. These persons, he
says, did not commit a sin resembling or

similar to Adam's, therefore they committed
the same identical sin ! (c) There is no
special reason for referring to infants who
lived in the period from Adam to Moses,
since these were no more ignorant of law or
innocent of personal transgression than those
living at any other period of the world, (d)
If the apostle had wished to single out or
except a certain class (infants), he would
naturally have specified them by name, which
he could easily have done, and would not
naturally have adopted a seemingly very
blind method of doing so. (c) Not only is
this class not mentioned by name, but no
clear intimation is given that this class is
specially had in view. (/) There is no cer-
tainty that the apostle intended to distinguish
two classes of persons (as adults and infants)
existing in the period between Adam and
Moses over whom death reigned, (g) Had
he wished thus sharply to distinguish them,
he probably would have said something like
this: Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam
to Moses, not only over adult persons who
sinned merely against the light of nature, but
even over infants and unborn children who
never had done anything either good or bad.
(A) The sinning or not sinning in the likeness
of Adam's transgression can more easily be
predicated of such adult persons than it can
of irresponsible infants. Yet we do not think
that this large class of mankind are ignored
in the apostle's argument. They are, in our
view, embraced in the propositions — ''death
passed through upon all men," and "for that
all sinned." As dying ones they cannot here
be left out of consideration, for, as Meyer
states it, "the question here is the connection
between the sin of all and the dying of all."]
Who is the figure of him that was to
come* [Literally, a type of the coming one,
spoken from a pre-Christian point of view.
Fritzsche, De Wette, Alford, make this refer
to Christ's final coming.] 'That was to come,'
or, the one about to be — that is, the Messiah.
In this brief clause, the analogy between
Adam and Christ, which is the key of this
whole section (ver. 12-21), is first explicitly stated.
[Meyer's interpretation of ver. 13, 14 is in
substance nearly as follows: Since in the ab-
sence of law there is no imputation of personal
transgression, therefore the death which befell
those who did not, as Adam, sin against a

Ch. v.]

ROMANS.

137

15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift : for
if tlirougli tlie offence of one manr be dead, inucli
more ttie grace of God, and tlie gift by grace, which is
by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

not as the trespass, so also it the free gift. For if by
the trespass oi the one the many dira, much more
did the grace of Uod, and the gift by the grace of the
one man, Jesus Christ, abound unto the many.

positive law could not be derived from their
individual sin committed before the law was
given. Consequently, death in their case was
caused, not by individual sins, but by the sin
of Adam, who in this respect is a type of
Christ; for as the sin of Adam, and not their
self-originated sin, brought death to all, so
tlie obedience of Christ, and not their own
virtue, brought life to all. This view does
not necessarily imply that sinners of the class
referred to were not also condemned and
punished for their own individual sins. Thus
Bengel says: "It is not denied that death is
the wages of any sin whatever, but it is proved
that the first cause of death was the first sin."]
The following verses specify the differences,
rather than the resemblances, between the
objects compared. The resemblance implied
in this word ' figure' (literally, type) may be
summarily stated in the following formula,
which, however, necessarily involves the most
important points of difference : As Adam, the
first man, communicated a degenerate human
nature to all his natural offspring, so Christ,
the new man, communicates a regenerate
divine nature (2 Peter lu) to all his spiritual
offspring. This statement is still further ex-
panded by Carpzov, so as to embrace the sub-
stance of what is contained in ver. 12-19, thus :

1. The first Adam is the one man, the head
and corrupter of the human race. (ver. 12.)
So Christ, the last Adam (icor. 15: «), he too
is the one man, but God-man, the restorer of
the human race. (ver. 15, it.)

2. The first Adam brought in sin, guilt,
death, (ver. 12, is.) The last Adam procures the
grace of God, righteousness, life. (ver. 1518.)

3. The one, by his transgression, brought
guilt upon all men. (ver. 15, is, 19.) The other
by his righteousness, brings back reconcilia-
tion to all who by faith lay hold on his merit.

(Ver. 17.)

4. The first Adam sinned unto condemna-
tion. (Ver. 16.) The last Adam, by his right-
eousness, brings us blessing unto life eternal.^

(Ver. 18.)

[Though our heritage from Adam is one of
woe, yet we have this to be thankful for, that
through the first Adam we have the Second.
"O felix culpa quae talem et tantum meruit
habere Redemptorem." "O fortunate offense
which deserved to have such and so great a
Redeemer." "I willingly consent," says Chal-
mers, "to have the guilt of Adam charged
upon me, if, along with it, the overpassing
righteousness of Christ shall be reckoned to
me." (ver. 15.) The connection of thought
here is this : Adam, as a type, indeed resem-
bles Christ, but there is this difference, etc.
The design of the apostle leads him, as has
been intimated, to emphasize the differences
rather than the resemblances between the
type and the antitype. Prof Boise remarks
that the logical order of a sentence would
be so as, but Paul pursues the chronological
order, mentioning the fall first; compare ver.
16.] But not as the offence, so also is
the free gift. [Better: the gift of grace.]
That is, not in all respects. What follows in
this verse explains this. There was a similar
relation of cau-se and consequence in the two
cases; but both were of an opposite nature.
' The offence ' — that is, the act of transgression,
which brought in death — the fall, as the same
word is translated in 11 : 11, 12. [It is derived
from a verb which means, to fall aside.] It is
commonly translated trespass (wherever that
English word occurs as a noun), sometimes

sin (Bph. 1: 7; 2: 5: Col. 2: 13), OUCe, fault (0«1.«: l);

offense only in the last verse of the preceding
chapter, and in ver. 15 (tioice), 16, 17, 18, 20,
of this. ' The free gift.' This word is not the
direct antithesis to offense or fall ; but having
in mind chiefly the consequence of the offense

1 1. Primus Adamus est ille cT« at^pwirof, ille unus,
generis caput humani et depravator. (Ver. 12.) Ita
Christus o eo-xaro? 'ASd/x (1 Cor. 15 : 45), et ipse est unus
ille, sed ©eovflptturos, generis humani instaurator. (Ver.
15, 17.)

2. Prior Adamus peccatum, reatum, mortem infert.
(Ver. 12, 18.) Posterior gratiam Dei, justitiun, vitam
comparat (Ver. 15, 18.)

3. Ille, per unum delictum, reatum inducit ad omnes
homines. (Ver. 15, 18. 19.) Hie, per unam justitiam,
reconciliationem recuperet omnium hominum, ejus
merituni fide complectcntium. (Ver. 17.)

4. Adamus primus peccat ad condemnationem. (Ver.
16.) Adamus novissimus sua nos Juq^tia felicitat ad
▼itam eternam. (Ver. 18.)

138

ROMANS.

[Ch. V.

— namely, condemnation, the apostle uses the
word which comprehensively expresses the
proper antithesis to that consequence, and
which is explained by the terms, grace and gift,
with their adjuncts, in this and the two follow-
ing verses. For if through the offence of
[the] one many be dead. The many died,
rather than ' many be dead,' is the exact
translation of the original. The meaning
of not a few passages is obscured, or altered,
by the frequent mistranslation of the verb to
die. See 2 Cor. 5: 14, where the verb trans-
lated "were dead" is precisely identical with
that translated "died" in the same verse,
except the difference of one letter, to mark
the change from the singular number to the
plural.i See also Gal. 2 : 21. It is an entirely
different expression in the original (vexpos),
which is correctly translated, to be dead, in
such passages as Luke 15: 24, 32; Rom. 7:8;
8: 10; Eph. 2: 1, 5; Col. 2: 13; James 2: 17;
Rev. 1: 18; 2: 8; 3: 1. ["The death of
the many is described here as the direct con-
sequence of the trespass of the one." (Phi-
lippi.) Prof. Stuart also concedes that "Adam
did by his offense cause death to come on all
without exception," that "all have been in-
troduced to sin and death by Adam," and
that "the disobedience of Adam was a cause
or ground why all men became sinners and
therefore come into a state of condemnation."
The many (used here in contrast with the
one) — that is, all mankind died by means of
Adam's offense, and they died at the same
time that death passed through unto all men,
and that was the time of Adam's transgression,
in which all mankind were involved. We
became in Adam a fallen, sinful, dying race.
"The question," says Olshausen, "how in
Adam all who were not yet in existence could
sin with him [or how all could die in him]
has diiBculty in it only so long as the isolation
of individuals is maintained."] Much more.
[The presupposition on which this conclusion
rests is that God would rather allow his good-
ness to prevail, than his severity. (Meyer.)]

This phrase is to be understood here in a logi-
cal, rather than in a quantitative sense — with
m,uch m,ore reason, rather than in a much
greater degree. The difference indicated in
the first clause of this verse seems to be rather
one of kind than of degree (Alford takes
the contrary view) ; yet the idea of degree
cannot be altogether excluded from the 'much
more' in any of these three verses (15, 16, 17).
It seems, however, more prominent in the
next verse than in this. Here we regard the
contrast as chiefly between the kind, or nature,
of the consequences of the acts of the type
(ver. u) and of the antitype: on the one hand,
death, on the other, a gracious and abounding
gift. ["The word abound is doubtless an
echo of Paul's own blessed experience."
(Meyer.) A simple antithesis of the first
clause would be, as Philippi observes : much
more by the gracious gift of the One shall the
many live. But Paul wishes to expand and
emphasize the idea of the 'gift' (xapKr/aa) and
of its abounding through Jesus Christ. The
grace abounding, says Dr. Gifford, "did not
restore in the same form that which had been
lost in Adam, but bestowed far more in new
and better gifts."] The English reader might
be in doubt, whether the relative ' which '
refers to the word 'gift,' or to the word 'grace':
the question would be only a grammatical
one, the sense being substantially the same;
but it is perfectly clear in the original, that
the reference is to the latter word ; and the
clause might be translated, both more liter-
ally and less ambiguously, the gift by (or in)
the grace of the one man. [Bengel calls the
two articles which stand after 'grace,' nervo-
sissimi, " most forcible." Their force perhaps
can be fully expressed thus: by the grace
(namely) by that of the one man, etc. De
Wette, Fritzsche, and Meyer, versus Lange,
Philippi, Godet, connect this clause, not with
the noun gift, but with the verb abound,
which seems to us incorrect. The points of
contrast in this verse are — the trespass of the
one (Adam) with its result, death, as our

1 " If one died for all then they all died" — that is, they
died in Christ's dying. The same principle holds sub-
stantially true of the sinning and dying of the first
Adam. These acts on the part of Adaiu were virtually
the acts of the race. Dr. Gifford (in the Bible Com-
mentary) says : "The apostle's whole reasoning rests
on these two principles : (1) Sin is the cause of death :

(2) By virtue of the unity of mankind, sin and death
are both transmitted from one to all. Thus the sin of
the many and the death of the many are included in
the sin of the one and the death of the one, and there
at their common source the connection between sin and
death is fixed once for all." — (F.)

Ch. v.]

ROMANS.

139

16 And not as it was hj one that sinned, so is the
rift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation,
But the free gilt is of many offences unto Justification.

17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one ;

16 And not as through one that sinned, «o is the gift: for
thejudgmerit came ofonc unto condemnation, but tlie
free gift came of many tresnasses unto i justification.

17 For if, by the tretipass uf the one, death reigned
througn the one; much more shall they thai re.

1 Or. an act of righteoutnt*!.

heritage of woe on the one hand, and on the
other, the grace of God and the gift of right-
eousness (ver. 17) abounding to us through the
grace of the one man Jesus Christ, who loved
us and gave himself to be the propitiation for
our sins.]

Now follows mention of a difference in
degree: the evil consequences of one trespass
come upon us from Adam ; but the evil con-
sequences of many trespasses are taken away
by Christ.

16. And not as it was by one that
sinned. [The codices D E F G and the Vul-
gate read 'one sin ' instead of 'one that sinned,'
which Meyer rejects as a "gloss." De Wette
and Alford fill out the sentence thus: "not
as that which originated, or took place,
through one," etc. Meyer does not supply
anything.] The preposition 'by,' occurring
twice in this verse, represents two different
prepositions in the Greek, the second of which
[tic, denoting source 'out of which some-
thing issues] is the same that is translated 'of
in the last clause. Hence the more exact rep-
resentation of the original would be: "And
not as it was through one that sinned, so is the
gift: forthe judgment was from (or, of) one to
condemnation, but the free gift is from (or, of)
many offences unto justification." [Dr. Hodge
says that "Judgment unto condemnation is a
sentence of condemnation, and the free gift
unto justification is gratuitous justification."
Godet prefers, instead of ' many offences,' the
rendering: 'offences of many,' but in this I
think he stands alone.] After the second
'one' the word offense should be supplied.
This is plain from the way in which the sen-
tence is completed. [De Wette, Meyer, Phi-
lippi, Godet, Alford, looking backward to
'one that sinned,' rather than forward, would
supply, properly we think, the word man or
sinner after the second 'one.' Indeed, Philippi
and others regard all the ones in this whole
section as masculine, even those in ver. 18.
The word rendered "justification" (Sucotufia)
differs from the word occurring in ver. 18; 4:
25, which has this special meaning. It properly

denotes a righteous or justifying act or a justi-
fying sentence, "a justifying judgment."
(Weiss.) It occurs elsewhere in ver. 18; 1:
32; 2: 26; 8: 4; Heb. 9: 1; Rev. 15: 4;
19 : 8; Luke 1 : 6. Here it is the antithesis of
condemnation, and in ver. 18 of trespass. Aris-
totle defines it as the amendment or reparation
of an unjust act. Dr. Schaff makes it mean
in both these verses, "<Ae righteous deed —
that is, the perfect obedience of Christ."
Meyer and Godet regard it as a sentence of
justification in both places. De Wette and
Philippi and our Revised Version give it dif-
ferent senses in the two passages. This con-
demnation and justification, as we see from
ver. 18, embraces "all men." The second
difference here indicated between the influ-
ence of Adam and of Christ is that of con-
demnation and justification. (De Wette. )]

How clearly the one sin of Adam, rather
than the many sins that originated from it, is
here made the ground of condemnation. The
whole contrast turns upon that point.

The next verse brings to view a third differ-
ence, both of kind and degree: we had no
voluntary part in the sin of Adam ; but
voluntarily receive the grace of Christ: we
might well expect, therefore, that the good
which comes to us from the latter should out-
weigh the evil which comes to us from the
former.

17. For if by one man's offence death
reigned by one. [Each of the ones in this
verse should have the article as in the Revised
Version.] There is nothing in the first clause
of this verse which needs explanation or com-
ment. It simply reaffirms the causal connec-
tion between the sin of the first man and th«
reign of death over all men. The abundance
of grace corresponds with the 'grace of God'
that 'abounded' [and 'the gift of righteous-
ness' with the 'gift by (Christ's) grace'] of ver.
15. Compare also John 10: 10. [This verse
contrasts chiefly the reigning of death through
Adam and the reigning of life through Christ
Godet thus give.s the scope of the argument
here presented: "For this terrible reign of

140

ROMANS.

[Ch. V.

much more they which receive abundance of grace
and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by
one, Jesus Christ.)

ceive the abu ndance of grace and i of the gift of right-
eousness reign in life through the one, even Jesus

I Some ancient authorities omit o/ the gift.

death, established on the weak foundation of
a single sin and a single sinner, may serve as
a measure to establish the greater certainty of
the reign of life which will come to light
among the justified by the freely accepted
gift of God." On the verb 'reigned' Bengel
thus remarks: "The word in the preterite
looks back from the economy of grace to that
of sin, as presently ' shall reign,' in the future,
looks forward from the economy of sin to that
of grace and eternal life; so ver. 19." Calvin
in noticing the difference of these two reigns
says : " The benefit of Christ does not come
to all men, while Adam has involved his
whole race in condemnation ; and the reason
of this is indeed evident; for as the curse we
derive from Adam is conveyed to us by nature,
it is no wonder that it includes the whole
mass; but that we may come into participa-
tion of the grace of Christ, we must be in-
grafted in him by faith. Hence, in order to
partake of the miserable inheritance of sin it
is enough for thee to be a man, for it dwells
in flesh and blood ; but in order to enjoy the
righteousness of Christ it is necessary for thee
to be a believer, for a participation of him is
attained only by faith." Of all the fallen
children of Adam, it is only they which re-
ceive the abundance of grace that shall
reign in life.] The principal question in
regard to the complex sentence which forms
the latter part of this verse is, which are the
emphatic clauses ? Is the emphasis on 'they
which receive,' or on 'shall reign,' or on 'in
life ' ? There is no apparent reason for special
emphasis upon the word 'life' : it is required
as the antithesis of the word 'death' in the
first clause. Nor can 'shall reign' well be
made more emphatic in the latter part of the
verse, than ' reigned ' was in the former part.
But 'they which receive' introduces a new
element. The position of the word in the
Greek indicates emphasis: 'they which re-
ceive' is expressed by the article and the
present participle, equivalent, as nearly as the
idioms of the two languages admit, to 'those
receiving ' [the participle denoting a con-
tinued process. ( Alford.) ] ; while the words
'abundance of grace and of the gift of right-

eousness,' being placed between the article
and the participle, in a manner peculiar to
the Greek language, the result, apparently
designed, is to bring the participle as near as
possible to the words, 'shall reign in life.'
Again, the use of the present participle, in-
stead of the past 'they who receive,' instead
of 'they who received,' or 'who have received,'
by making the participle more nearly equiva-
lent to a substantive, as if he had said, the
receivers of, etc. And finally, the fact that
the construction of the sentence is changed,
seemingly in order to bring the participle into
this prominence confirms our view of its
emphatic character : for the comparison which
began with 'by one man's offence death
reigned ' would naturally and regularly have
ended 'by one man's grace and righteous-
ness life shall reign,' or in some similar way,
if the apostle had not had a special reason for
making the personal receivers reign in life,
instead of saying life shall reign. [De Wette
remarks that this form of expression was
chosen to make prominent "the idea of free
personality." On the distinction between life
(iotiq), whose proper antithesis is death, and the
life which we live (^t'os) — that is, its means or
manner, see Trench's "Synonyms," p. 91.
Meyer says the words Jesus Christ "are
added as if in triumph, in contradistinction
to the unnamed but well-known one who occa-
sioned the reign of death. Finally, we should
not fail to notice how in this passage the glance
proceeds from the state of grace (receiving),
backward to the state of wrath (reigned), and
forward to the state of glory (shall reign)."
Philippi says: "As to this reigning of be-
lievers in eternal life, which is an inheriting,
a being glorified, a reigning with Christ,
compare 8: 17; 1 Cor. 4: 8; 6: 2, 3; 2 Tim.

2: 12; Kev. 20: 4; 22:5 Christ atoned

for many sins, and not merely abolished death,
but planted life in its stead." "Far more,"
says Chrysostom, "than what we owed was
paid by Christ, as much more as the immea-
surable ocean exceeds a drop. Doubt not,
therefore, O man, when beholding such a
treasure of blessings, nor ask how the old
spark of death and of sin has been extin-

Ch. v.]

ROMANS.

141

18 Therefore, as by the offence of one judgvusnt eame
upon all men to condemnation ; even so bv the right-
eousness of one the free gijt came upon all men unto
Justiflcaiiou of life.

18 Christ. So then as through one trespass the judg-
ment came unto all men to condemnation ; even ho
through one act of righteousness the free gift came

19 unto all men to justification of life. For as through

guished, seeing that such a sea of the gift of
grace has been poured upon it."]

The precise relation of these three verses to
each other is, however, a question of no little
difficulty, in regard to which the ablest com-
mentators are by no means agreed. Alford
makes ver. 15 point out a difference oi degree,
fixing the stress upon 'much more,' taken
quantitively ; ver. 16, a difference in Ainrf, em-
phasizing the words condemnation and right-
eousness; and ver, 17, a second difference in
kind between 'death' and 'life.' Lange
says ver. 16 compares things, ver. 17, persons.
Again, some regard ver. 17 as a mere amplifi-
cation of ver. 15, the words 'offence,' 'gift,'
and 'grace' being prominent in both. [The
word 'gift' is wanting in B 49, but this is not
sufficient to cast any serious doubt on its
genuineness. Note how this righteousness of
God through faith, whereby we receive the
divine acquittal, is called a ' gift.' Compare
Phil. 3 : 9, the righteousness from God upon
faith.]

The two following verses are a condensed
summary of the results of the parallel between
Adam and Christ; but here, again, we meet
with different explanations of the relation of
the two to each other.

18. Therefore. [Accordingly then, or, so
then (hinc igitur), a frequent expression with
the apostle, and placed first in the sentence
contrary to classical usage. Some critics
state that the first word {apa.) refers rather
to the internal cause, the second (oSi') more
to the external.* The ones of this verse,
though commonly regarded as masculine, are
properly neuter, and are rightly rendered in
the Revised Version.] Here we have, accord-
ing to the view presented at the close of the
comments on ver. 12, the second member of
the comparison begun in that verse. The
substance of the first member is repeated, in
the changed terms demanded by the inter-

vening statements, and then the regular for-
mula, even so, introduces what virtually
completes the comparison there begun, the
precise terms being changed to conform to
the restatement of the first member of the
comparison in this verse. The elliptical form
in which the last part of each member is
stated requires the supply of some such nomi-
natives as judgment came and the free gift
came. These particular expressions are bor-
rowed from ver. 16. [De Wette and Meyer
simply supply : It happened or came. ] There
is a twofold ambiguity in the expression
translated by the offence of one, by the
righteousness of one; the more simple and
natural translation would be — by one offence,
by one righteousness. The latter translation
is recommended by its greater simplicity and
by the absence of the article in Greek,' and
is liable to no objection sufficient to counter-
balance these arguments. [The condemnation
is to "death," with whatever this may in-
clude. The righteousness (autoMUfia) here, in
contrast with the trespass or fall of Adam, is
supposed to differ in meaning from its use in
ver. 16, where it is opposed to condemnation.
It probably is here equivalent to the one
obedient, righteous act of Christ (in death).
Meyer and Godet, however, give it the same
meaning in both places — a justifying sentence
or judgment on the part of God on the ground
of Christ's sacrificial death. We think it
should be referred to Christ who stands over
against the one that sinned, and should be
explained by the exactly paralled ''^obedience
of the One " in the following verse. It seems
to denote the ground of the believer's justifi-
cation so far as this depends on the active
obedience of Christ.] The difficulty arising
from the second 'all men,' seeming to make
the justification as universal as the condemna-
tion, is met by recalling the 'they which re-
ceive,' etc., of ver. 17. The only reason why

1 Or, as Prof. Boise puts it : opo, a conclusion from
what precedes; oiv, a resumption of the sentence which
was begun in ver. 12. We may here observe that opa,
with a different accent, is used as an interrogative par-
ticle.—(F.)

* Wherever in this section the word one occurs, with-

out any accompanying word to define it, if it refers to
& person, it is preceded by the article (ver. 15, 17 thrice,
19) ; in ver. 12, 16, the place of the article is supplied by
the word man in the first and by the words that tinned
in the second.

142 ROMi>

lNS. [Ch. V.

19. For as by one man's disobedience many were |

the one man's disobedience the many were made

the former is not as universal as the latter is
because some do not receive it. Compare
notes on 3 : 24. Unto justification of life.

Justification leading to and resulting in eter-
nal life. [As the apostle seems to say that
'the many' and 'the all' who are condemned
in Adam are the same 'many' and the same
'all' who are justified and saved in Christ,
we are sometimes asked why "all" does not
mean "all" in the one case as well as in the
other? The answer generally given is that
the apostle here represents the objective suffi-
ciency of the atonement, and that it did not
belong to the scope of the passage to dwell on
its subjective eflacacy. "His only object," says
Meyer, "was to set forth the all-embracing,
blessed objective consequence of the one justi-
cation (St-Kaiuna) in contrast to the all-destruc-
tive, objective consequence of the one trespass.
Hence, just as little can anything be deduced
from our passage as from 11 : 32 in favor of a
final restoration." Yet the apostle does limit
the many and the all who are through Christ's
grace justified unto eternal life to those who
^^ receive the abundance of grace and of the
gift of righteousness."^ By the apostle's
scheme of doctrine all men, as a matter of
fact, are divided into two classes, the one
class under the headship of Adam and the
other under the headship of Christ, and by
the same scheme it is everywhere supposed
that as all those who are reckoned in the first
Adam do actually pattern after him, the sin-
ning one, so all those who are enrolled in
Christ and are justified in him do actually
pattern after the righteous One. If, now, it
can be shown that the many and the all who
are by nature and of necessity in the line of
the first Adam, where is condemnation, sin,
and death, do actually betake themselves to
Christ and transfer themselves through divine
grace to the line of the second Adam, do act-
ually repent of their "many trespasses" and
experience God's pardoning love, do actually

receive of the fullness of Christ's grace and
righteousness, and do actually pattern after
the Great Exemplar, then, and not other-
wise, will the salvation of all men be clearly
proved. Besides, the apostle elsewhere speaks
of the resurrection of the unjust as well as of
the just, of those who perish as well as of those
who are saved, and of those "whose end is
perdition" and "who shall suffer punishment,
even eternal destruction from the presence of
the Lord and from the glory of his power."
A few words in regard to the future condition
of those dying in infancy. We scarcely need
an apostle to tell us that a condemnation and
death has been visited upon them on account
of sin not their own ; hence on account of
Adam's transgression. A part of this penalty
they, in common with us all, must suffer.
The great trouble respecting their case has
reference to the evil that is in their hearts —
their native depravity, their "original sin."
"With the elder Hodge, " we believe that the
grace which is in Christ Jesus secures the
salvation of all who have no personal sins to
answer for." And the ground of our belief
is the assurance that Christ who died for our
fallen race, who is a propitiation for the sins
of the whole world, who died for all, and who
tasted death for every one, has not necessarily
died in vain for any one of Adam's descend-
ants. To suppose that our dying infants can
have no Saviour, and no participancy in his
salvation, but are necessarily debarred from
the benefits of Christ's death, is to antagonize
and overthrow the glorious gospel of the
blessed God.'' Of one thing we are absolutely
certain, that our offspring, early called from
earth, have no deeds done in the body to
answer for, and hence will not be condemned
for actual sin in the "judgment of the great
day." For further discussion of these topics,
see Dr. Arnold's remarks in Appendix B.]

19. For as by [the] one man's disobe-
dience [the] many were made sinners.

1 Prof. Boise, making the statements of ver. 18 assume
the form of general truths, gives this comment: "The
judgment enters into the midst of all men, leading
them with certainty into condemnation, if no deliverer,
no Saviour appears. The free gift enters into the
midst of all men, leading them into justification of life,
if they receive the abundance of the grace and of the

gift of righteousness. Alas, that so many forget or

reject this condition ! " — (F.)
2 Hence we deem the couplet (of Robert Robinson 7)

to be dogmatically correct as relating to infants:
They die for Adam sinned,
They live for Jesus died. — (F.)

Ch. v.]

ROMANS.

143

made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many
be made righteous.

sinners, even so through the obedience of the one

Much depends in this verse on the right
understanding of the verb translated 'were
made' and 'shall be made.' Dr. Hodge
makes the remarkable statement that this
verb "never in the New Testament means
to make, in the sense of effecting or causing a
person or thing to be in its character or nature
other than it was before." It is a sufficient
refutation of this statement to refer to a few
places out of the more than a score in which

it is used. (Matt. 24 : «8, « ; 25 : Jl, 23 ; Acts T : 10, 27, S6 ;

Heb. 7:28; 2 Peter 1:8.) Several of the earlier trans-
lators put 'became' instead of 'were made,'
but 'shall be made' in the latter place where
it occurs. To constitute, to appoint, are the
most common meanings of the verb. On the
twofold use of the word 'many' (properly
'the many,' for it has the article in both
places), Alford has this criticism : "In order
to make the comparison more strict, the all
who have been made sinners are weakened to
the indefinite the many, and many [Alford
refers to such passages as Matt. 26 : 28 ; Mark
10:45] who sball be made righteous are en-
larged to the indefinite the m,any. Thus a
common term of quantity is found for both,
the one extending to its largest numerical
interpretation, the other restricted to its
smallest." This criticism is very objection-
able. It does not agree with the twofold all
of the preceding verse. It makes an inco-
herent use of the article. It is too great a
refinement of criticism to attribute to Paul.
And the last statement, restricting the many
that shall be made righteous to its smallest
numerical interpretation, is rebuked by Rev.
7 : 9 and a multitude of similar passages.
Much better is Dr. J. Brown's comment on
these verses : " In fine, on the one hand, there
is a multitude of men of every description,
condemned and dying, entirely on account
of the one fault of the one man Adam;
and, on the other, a multitude of men of every
description, justified and living, entirely on
account of the one man Jesus Christ." [May
not Alford's 'the one' mean 'the latter"!]
What is the relation of ver. 18 and 19 to each
other? Is it that ver. 18 mainly compares
things and ver. 19 mainly compares persons f
Is it that ver. 18 shows how men are regarded
by God on account of their respective con-

nections with Adam and Christ, and ver. 19
shows how they are treated by him on account
of those respective connections? Or is it
rather that ver. 18 is to be interpreted from a
forensic point of view and ver. 19 from a
moral point of view? In other words, does
ver. 18 relate to justification and ver. 19 to
sanetificationt A comparison of the terms
of the two verses seems favorable to this last
view. On the one hand, we have 'offence'
and 'condemnation,' 'righteousness' and
'justification,' abstract and legal terms; on
the other, 'disobedience' and 'obedience,'
'made sinners' and 'made righteous,' moral
and practical terms. It might, perhaps, be
added that the future tense of the verb, 'shall
be made' righteous, agrees well with this in-
terpretation, as sending the thoughts forward
to the future perfected righteousness of the
saints; but it must in fairness be owned that
the use of the future — 'shall reign in life,' in
ver. 17 — weakens the force of that considera-
tion. The fact that the proposed interpreta-
tion of ver. 19 introduces the subject of sanc-
tiflcation in chapter 5, whereas it is generally
held that it does not come in until the begin-
ning of chapter 6, is of little weight; for the
difference is only of two verses, and the divi-
sion of the chapters has no such authority that
we may not disregard or change it whenever
there is good reason, as there sometimes un-
questionably is, for doing so. [Prof. Cremer
says: " This verb denotes an actual appoint-
ment or setting down in a definite place. . . .
The choice of the expression in Rom. 5 : 19
rather arose partly from its not being simply
the moral quality that is referred to, but,
above all, the thence resulting situation of
those who are sinners (compare ver 18, which
serves as a foundation for ver. 19), partly
from regard to the influence exercised from
another quarter, especially to the idea of jus-
tification," etc. "As our union with Adam,"
says Dr. Gifford, "made us all participators
in the effects of his transgression, and thereby
constituted us sinners, so union with Ciirist,
who is our righteousness, is that which con-
stitutes us essentially and formally [not in-
herently] righteous." The ideas of inherent
sin and inherent righteousness belong, he
says, to the following chapter. Both Philippi

144

ROMANS.

[Ch. V.

and Meyer interpret the verb as meaning — to
set down as, or, put in the category of. "The
many," says Meyer," "were put actually in
the category of sinners, because, namely, they
sinned in and with the fall of Adam. Thus
through the disobedience of the one man,
because all had part in it, has the position of
all become that of sinners. The consequence
of this — that they were subjected to punish-
ment, were treated as sinners, and the like —
is not here expressly included, but after the
foregoing is obvious of itself." Further on
he says: "Shall be placed in the category of
the righteous. . . . Thus the obedience of
the One has caused that at the judgment the
many shall by God's sentence enter into the
category of the righteous, as the disobedience
of the one had caused the many to enter the
opposite. In both cases the meritorious cause
is the objective act of the two heads of the
race (the sin of Adam — the death of Christ),
to whom belong the many on both sides;
while the subjective, mediating cause is the
individual relation to those acts (communion
in Adam's fall — faith)." Lange calls this
"Augustinian dogmatics." Meyer would
seem to be wrong in one thing, for believers
are put in the category of the righteous long
before th'^y reach the judgment. They are
constituted or established as righteous as soon
as faith in Christ is imputed to them for right-
eousness. In Dr. Schaff's view, "the many
were made sinners either by virtual partici-
pation in the fall of Adam or by actual prac-
tice, by repeating, as it were, the fall of Adam
in their sinful conduct. Both interpretations
are perfectly grammatical and do not exclude
each other." Dr. Hodge discards this "idea
of a mysterious identity of Adam and his
race," yet seems to acknowledge it in part
when he says "that in virtue of the union,
representative and natural, between Adam
and his posterity, his sin is the ground of
their condemnation — that is, of their subjec-
tion to penal evils." In his view, we are
"constituted sinners in a legal or forensic
sense;" in other words, we are "regarded
and treated" as sinners because of the sin
of Adam, our appointed head and repre-
sentative, the sin of Adam being thus "the
judicial ground of the condemnation of his
race." An imputation of this kind, which
consists in putative sinning. Dr. Schaff calls

a "legal fiction." Alford thinks the kind of
sin spoken of in this passage is "both original
and actual," and furthermore says: "In
Christ and united to him a man is made
righteous, not by a fiction or imputation only
of Christ's righteousness, but by a real and
living spiritual union with a righteous Head
as a righteous member." Prof. Stuart's view
is that "men through the disobedience of
Adam did become or were constituted actual
sinners." Similarly to De Wette, he holds
the sin and the righteousness of this passage
to be wholly personal, a view which makes
condemnation and death to be solely the
result of individual transgression. But this
sentiment is no less contradictory to the truth
of facts than it is antagonistic to some of the
apostle's statements and to his general argu-
ment. In the phrase 'shall be made right-
eous,' "the future of the verb is used as in
3 : 20, because justification is to be conceived
as an act not yet come to an end, but continu-
ing in the future." (Philippi.) The 'for'
with which this verse begins shows that this
verse is explanatory and corroborative of the
preceding, while the 'as' («<r»rep, not «os as in
the last verse) not only resumes the compari-
son but indicates it in a more precise manner
— for just as, etc. We therefore conceive that
the verses are altogether too closely united to
allow the expression of such different views
(the forensic and the ethical) as Dr. Arnold
and many others here find. " The word right-
eous," says Godet, "is applied as the sense
of this whole part requires to imputed right-
eousness." Prof. Cremer, as we have seen,
explains constituted righteous by the 'justifi-
cation' (SiKoi'wo-is) of the preceding verse. He
also says that " 'to justify' {SiKaiovv), as used
by Paul, denotes nothing else than the judicial
act of God whereby man is pronounced free
from guilt and punishment and is thus recog-
nized or represented as righteous," In 2 : 13,
the words "righteous before God" are par-
ailed with the verb "shall be justified." So
this clause, "shall be set down as righteous,"
"cannot mean that by the obedience of one
the many shall be made holy." (Hodge.) In
regard to the obedience of Christ, some, like
Meyer, refer it to the death of Christ, which
was pre-eminently his obedience to the will
of the Father (pwi. 2:8; Heb. 5:8), while others
refer it to his "collective life obedience," not

Ch. v.]

ROMANS.

145

20 Moreover the law entered, that the offence might
abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much
more abound :

20 shall the many be made righteous. And > the law
came in beside, that the trespass might abound ; but
where sin abounded, grace did abound more ezceed-

excluding, of course, his obedience unto death.
The emphasis which the Scriptures place on
the obedience of Christ to the will of God
plainly shows us that the atonement of Christ
had primarily a Godward efficacy. How
thankful we may well be that the Saviour's
obedience was so different from that of any
who thereby have been constituted righteous!
Had he lived, though but for one moment, so
imperfect, so unholy, as we are, our salvation
must have been impossible, for we never could
have heard of that obedience and that right-
eousness which shall justify many.]

20. ["The apostle briefly notices what the
Mosaic law has contributed to this condition "
(De Wette), or, "What position does the
law occupy in the religious history of man-
kind." (Boise.)] Moreover. Besides the
fact of many being made sinners, and as a
transition point to the result of many being
made righteous. The law — that is, the law
of Moses. [Here, as in ver. 13, the word law
is without the article, and yet must have the
specific reference indicated. Prof. Cremer
says: "The article is usually wanting in
places where stress is not laid upon its his-
torical impress or outward form, but upon the
conception itself; not upon the law which
God gave, but upon law as given by Ood, and
as therefore the only one that is or can be.
So especially in passages where law (vi/xos) is
used alternately with and without the article."
As a word of definite import it can, like a
proper name, dispense with the article.]
Entered. Literally, came in besides. The
verb is the same as that translated entered in
ver. 12, with an additional preposition pre-
fixed, signifying beside. The two things
mentioned in ver, 19 do not form a complete
account of God's dealings with men ; the law
came in besides. [According to Meyer: the
law came in alongside of the sin which had
already entered.] It is true, that the law had
been mentioned before, in ver. 13 : but it is
left out of view from that point, and is referred
to again now, in a new connection, and for a
new purpose. That the offence might |
abonnd. [In order that the trespass (of
Adam?) might be multiplied; or, aa Dr. Gif-

ford puts it, in order "that sin which already
existed, however dormant or unrecognized,
might take the definite form of active trespass
or transgression of a known law."] It is
sometimes needful to stimulate or develop
the disease to a certain degree, in order to pre-
pare for the more effectual application of the
remedy. Compare 7: 8, and notes. [The
law not only brings sin to consciousness but
calls forth evil desire and occasions trans-
gression. See 4: 15. "Without the law,"
says De Wette, " there is no Christ. If now
the manifestation of Christ was without doubt
a worthy purpose of God, need we refuse to
recognize even in the activity of the law a
divine purpose?" Calvin says: "It was
needful that men's ruin should be more fully
discovered to them, in order that a passage
might be opened for the favor of God. They
were, indeed, shipwrecked before the law was
given ; as, however, they seemed to themselves
to swim while in their destruction, they were
thrust down into the deep that their deliver-
ance might appear more evident whence they
emerge beyond all human expectation."

And therefore Law was given them to evince
Their natural pravity, by stirring up
Sin against Law to fight; that when they see
Law can discover sin, but not remove,
Save by those shadowy expiations weak,
The blood of bulls and goats, they may conclude
Some blood more precious must be paid for man.

—(Milton.)]

Bat where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. [De Wette here as-
signs to 'where' (o{) the very rare meaning
of when.'\ 'But' this (namely, the making
of the offense to abound) was not God's ulti-
m,ate end in bringing in the law ; for 'where
sin abounded, grace did much more abound.'
The word 'offence' is dropped, and the word
'sin ' put in its place, as being a more generic
term, and a more suitable antithesis to 'grace.'
The word translated 'abound' in the last part
of the verse is not the same as that so trans-
lated in the former part, 'that the offence
might abound.' Both words are commonly
translated as here, though the one used in the
last part of the verse much more frequently

146

ROMANS.

[Ch. V.

'21 That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so I 21 ingly : that, as sin reigned in death, even so might
might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. | through Jesus Christ our Lord.

than the other. It is diflScult to make a distinc-
tion between these two words throughout in
translation. The Greek language is so copious
in nice distinctions of words, that it is impossible
to use a different and equally suitable English
equivalent— copious as our own tongue is — for
every different Greek word. [Philippi makes
the latter verb, in its simple form, stronger in
meaning than the former, its more (vtpiaaov)
denoting absolute abundance, while the more
(ttAsoi') of the former verb denotes only com-
parative abundance.] In the case of the two
words here represented by abound, the one
used in the former part of the verse might be
translated m,ultiply, or increase. Both these
words are regularly used as the equivalents of
Greek verbs different from those here used,
and from each other. So difficult — nay, so
impracticable — is it, to conform invariably
and uniformly, to one of the soundest and
most important rules of faithful translation.
' Did much more abound. ' [This superabound-
ing of grace has, of course, no reference to
the number of individuals saved. All have
sinned and no more than all can by grace be
saved. On this superabounding grace to be
experienced by penitent believers, Chalmers
saj's: "It is likely enough that the apostle
may have had in his mind the state of the
redeemed when they are made to reign in life
by Jesus Christ — as contrasted with what the
state of man would have been had Adam per-
sisted in innocency,"] This 'much more' is
expressed by prefixing a preposition to the
verb 'abound' — grace did superabound. On
this expression Bengal has one of his pithy
epigrammatic notes: "He who conquers
the conqueror of another is a third, superior
to either: Sin conquered man; grace con-
quered sin : therefore grace is the supreme
power." *

21. That [in order that] even as sin hath
reigned — better, sin reigned — because the
standing point of the sentence is the perfected
reign of grace and righteousness hereafter.
[Observe how sin is personified and repre-
sented as reigning like a king. How mighty
has been its reign and how fearful the results!]

Unto death — literally, in death ; death was
the central act in which sin reigned, the arena
of its triumph. ["Reigned in virtue of
death." (Meyer.)] It is one of the com-
monest defects of our English Bible that it
does not distinguish accurately enough be-
tween the Greek prepositions corresponding
with in and unto. This fault is remedied in
most of the newer revisions, as that of Dr.
Noyes, and of the Bible Union, [and of the
more recent Canterbury Revision]. Even so
might grace reign — so also grace may reign.
[Sin has reigned, death has reigned, grace will
reign.] Through righteousness — by means
of righteousness — that is, the righteousness of
Christ, as in the preceding verses : not in
righteousness, as it might have been, if the
reference had been mainly to our being made
personally righteous. Unto eternal life.
[Dr. Hodge, in his comments on the closing
part of this chapter, thus remarks : ' ' That the
benefits of redemption shall far outweigh the
evils of the fall, is here clearly asserted."
And one point given by him as confirmatory
of this view is, that " The number of the saved
will doubtless greatly exceed the number of
the lost. Since the half of mankind die in
infancy, and, according to the Protestant
doctrine, are heirs of salvation, and since in
the future state of the church the knowledge
of the Lord is to cover the earth, we have
reason to believe that the lost will bear to the
saved no greater proportion than the inmates
of a prison do to the mass of the community."]
Through our Lord Jesus Christ. " The
last word in this section is Jesus Christ our
Lord, the one glorious solution of the Adamic
fall and the dark problem of sin. Adam dis-
appears, and Christ alone remains master of
the field of battle, having slain the tyrants,
Sin and Death." (Schaff.) "AVho can rise
from the perusal and contemplation of this
wondrous passage, full of such profound views
and pregnant meanings, with all its variously
complicated yet beautifully discriminated
relations and interlacements of members and
thoughts, without an overpowering admira-
tion and irresistible conviction of the super-

1 " "Victi Tictorem vincens, tertius utroque melioi est.
gratiae vis maxima."

Hominem yicit peccatum ; peccatum ricit gratia: ergo

Ch. VI.]

ROMANS.

147

CHAPTER VI.

WHAT shall we say then ? Shall we continue in sin,
that grace may abuund 7
2 Uod forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin,
live any longer therein ?

1 What shall we say then? Shall-we continue in sin,

2 that grace may abound 7 God forbid. We who died,

human wisdom that must have dictated even
its minutest detail ! " (Forbes.)*

Ch. 6 : The gospel adequate to pro-
cure THE SANCTIFICATION OF MAN.

[With the last chapter, Paul, as is thought
by many, completes his strictly doctrinal
statement, and now for a time devotes his
attention in main part to drawing inferences,
making explanations, answering objections,
and the like. The apostle, however, has much
new and important doctrinal matter yet to be
presented. He now proceeds to consider the
"moral effects of justification" (De Wette),
and in this chapter shows that justification by
faith is incompatible with living in sin.] This
and the two following chapters treat specially
of sanctification, and show that the way of
justification by free grace through faith, in-
stead of affording license to sin, is more favor-
able to holiness than any system of justifica-
tion by works could possibly be. In the first
verse, the objection, that if grace abounds in
consequence of sin, we may sin, in order that
grace may abound, is stated in the form of a
question ; in the second verse, the question is
answered in the negative, the validity of the
question is denied; the remainder of the chap-
ter is occupied in explaining the grounds of
that denial, under these two heads: 1. The
justified believer, agreeably to the very im-
port of his baptism, is brought into such a
connection and conformity with Christ, as
dying and rising to a new life, that he cannot

continue in the old life of sin. (ver.s-u.) 2.
The very fact that he is not under the law,
but under grace, forbids that sin should have
dominion over him, for his relation to the
law and to grace is like that of a servant to
his master ; before justification he is a servant
of sin, under an influence which secures his
obedience to evil ; after justification he is a
servant of righteousness, under an influence
which secures his obedience to good. (ver. i«-m.)

1. What shall we say then? The form
of expression, what then shall we say f is used
by Paul to introduce some objection or diflB-
culty, as at 3 : 6 and 4 : 1. The diflBculty here
is suggested by what he had said in the last
two verses of the preceding chapter, especially
in the last clause of ver. 20. That clause
might seem to imply that license to sin was
afforded by the apostle's doctrine of a free
forgiveness and justification, or, at least, that
the motives to a holy life were somewhat
weakened. It is the object of this chapter
and the two following to show that, in fact,
just the reverse of this is true. Shall we
continue (or, may we persist) in sin? The
verb is in the subjunctive, not in the indica-
tive future, according to the best manuscripts,
in what the Greek grammarians call the de-
liberative subjunctive, answering to the poten-
tial in English.*

2. God forbid — let it not be, or, far be
it — used of what is contrary to reverence or
precluded by some acknowledged fact or
truth. See note on 3 : 4. Both are true here ;

1 General note in regard to the use of the word life
{(uv) in the New Testament. This word iiarj is used in
the New Testament 135 times. (By John 66 times; by
Paul 38 times ; 14 times in the Epistle to the Romans.)
It has the adjectiye aiwi'iot, eternal, connected with it
46 times (23 times by John ; 12 times by Paul.) [Or 44.
See notes on oi<ii'io«, eternal, on 2 : 7,9. 'Ai5uk 1 : 20, and
aliavotv (of the ages), Eph. 3: 11 ; 1 Tim: 1: 17, are like-
wise rendered eternal, but these are not used in con-
nection with iiar). According to the Common Version
the phrase, eternal life, occurs ten times in Paul's epis-
tles. The reading, however, in 1 Tim. 6 : 19 is doubtful.
The phrase is also found in one of Paul's discourses.
Acts 13.] It refers clearly to natural life only not more
than half a score of times. (Luke 1 : 75 [omitted in the

Revision]; 16; 25; Acts 8: 33; 17: 25; Rom. 8: 38;
1 Cor. 15: 19; Phil. 1 : 20 ; 1 "Hm. 4:8; James 4: 14.)
In three or four places its use is general or uncertain.
(Luke 12: 15, Rom. 6: 4; 11: 15.) We see therefore
that the word relates to eternal life in about 123 out of
135 times, or in ten cases out of eleven.

* Prof. Boise remarks that the first person plural
subjunctive is much more frequently hortatory flet us)
than deliberative. In the third person the indicative
future of questions is more fk-equent than the subjunc-
tive. (Winer, 285.) This continuing in a certain state
or course, Ellicott says, "is a tropical use of the verb
peculiar to St. Paul. The preposition «iri [In composi-
tion] appears to denote rest at a place and hints at a
more protracted sUy." (Col. 1 : 23 ; Phil. 1 : 24.)— (F.)

148

ROMANS.

[Ch. VI.

3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized
into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?

3 to sin, how shall we any longer live therein ? Or are
ye ignorant that all we who were baptized into

4 Christ Jesus were baptized into his death ? We were

the precluding fact is immediately specified.
How shall we, that are dead to sin?

How shall we, being such as died to sin ?
Here we have again the compound relative,
with its suggestion of a reason noticed at 1 : 25.
Died instead of 'are dead.' See on 5:15.
[Possibly the tense of the verb has special
reference to the time of baptism when in and
by that ordinance a solemn profession of
deadness to sin and to the world was made.
In that act the world lost sight of us and we
lost sight of the world. Godet, speaking of
the "mirage of absolute deliverance," says
that " if ever a believer could enter into the
sphere of absolute holiness, a new fall, like
that of Adam, would be needed to remove
him from it;" and that this "death to sin is
not an absolute cessation of sin at any moment
whatever, but an absolute breaking of the
will with it, a state no doubt, but a state of the
will, which continues only so long as it keeps
itself under the control of faith in Christ's
death for sin." Our death to sin is very dif-
ferent from a death of sin. Still, we may well
be thankful that there is a divine power that
can help our feeble and uncertain wills. Alas
for us were it otherwise!] Liive any longer
therein? Still live in it? [Would that all
Christians who by and in their baptism pro-
fessed deadness to sin might ever keep this
verse in their minds, yea, bind it as a phylac-
tery to their hearts and strive to carry out
its teaching into consistent, daily practice !
"Lavish and liberal," says Chalmers, "as
the gospel is of its forgiveness of the past, it
has no toleration either for the purpose or for
the practices of sin in the future."] Mac-
Knight says here, and on ver. 10, 11, "died
by sin," and he adds this comment: "The
common translation, how shall we that are
dead to sin live any longer therein ? is absurd,

for a person's living in sin who is dead to it is
evidently a contradiction in terms." What
he complains of as the fault of the expression
is just its excellence. The apostle wished to
show that it was a contradiction in terms.
But the dying to sin is figurative, the living
in sin literal, but both equally real. If a
commentator has not some other qualifications
besides a critical knowledge of grammar and
logic, these qualifications will be a hindrance
to him in interpreting such passages as "to
know the loveof Christ which passeth knowl-
edge," "less than the least of all saints" —
literally, "leaster than all saints." [Compare
Milton's "And in the lowest deep a lower
deep."] Even Dr. Campbell, with all his
learning and good sense, could dilute "Lord,
I believe; help thou mine unbelief," into
" Lord, I believe; supply thou the defects of
my faith 1 " Where was the cunning rheto-
rician ?

3. Know ye not {are ye ignorant would
be more literal), that so many of us as
were baptized into Jesus Christ? This
is a very literal translation of the apostle's
words, and yet it seems to suggest something
which those words do not — namely, that only
Apart of those addressed "were baptized into
Jesus Christ." To avoid this misunderstand-
ing, the words might be translated— not less
faithfully, if somewhat less literally — all we
who were baptized into Jesus Christ. ["By
baptism into Christ we are initiated into a par-
ticipation of Christ." (Calvin.) See similar
examples in 1 Cor. 1 : 13; 10 : 2. "Baptism
contains an avowal of our belonging to him
[Christ] as our Master, of our union with him
as our Head." (Ripley.)i " It is of course
obvious that the idea of the baptism of chil-
dren was wholly foreign to this view of the
apostle." (Meyer.) "If St. Paul's language

• " BarrTt'^eii/ eis (literally, to baptize into) never means
anything else than to baptize in reference to, in respect to,
and the more special definitions of its import are fur-
nished simply by the context. On into Christ Jesus;
compare Acts 2:38; 8:16; 19:5. Undoubtedly the
name 'Jesus' was named in baptizing. But the con-
ception of becoming immersed into Christ is to be set
aside and is not to be supported by the figurative
expression in Gal. 3: 27. The mystic character of our
passage is not produced by so vague a sensuous con-

ception, which, moreover, has all the passages against
it in which Painiitiv is coupled with name (Matt. 28 : 19 ;
Acts 2 : 38 ; 10 : 48 ; 19 : 5 ; 1 Cor. ] : 13), but is based on
the ethical consciousness of that intimate appertaining
to Christ into which baptism translates its recipients."
(Meyer.) As unto seems to express this belonging to
better than into, we should prefer to use the former
word before what have been sometimes termed the
ideal elements of baptism. — (F.)

Ch. VI.]

ROMANS.

149

1 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into
death: that like aa Christ was raised up from the dead
by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk
in newness of life.

buried therefore with him through baptism into

death : that like as Christ was raised from the dead

through the glory of the Father, so we also might

5 walk In newuess of life. For ii we have become

seems exaggerated, it is because we who were
baptized as unconscious infants can hardly
realize what baptism was to the adult believer
in the apostolic age." ("Speaker's Commen-
tary.")] We were baptized into union, par-
ticipation, conformity with Christ, and that
in respect to his death. " The rite of immer-
sion in the baptismal water, and egress from
it, was used as a symbol of breaking off all
connection with the previous vicious life and
giving ourselves to a new and purer one."
(Bloomfield.)

4. Therefore. [Because we are dead, have
been put to death through the body of Christ.
(t:4.) Our burial by baptism has reference
to a death already experienced. Baptism, as
Godet remarks, is thus not a figure of dying,
but a consequence, an external proof of death.]
The word 'therefore' assumes that the ques-
tion of the preceding verse admits of but one
answer: "Yes, we know this;" or, rather, to
suit the more exact form of the original ques-
tion, as above suggested, " No, we are not
ignorant of this" : you admit, then, that we
are buried with him by baptism into
death. The verb, as in the previous verse, is
in the past tense, and ought to be translated
— we were buried with him: this makes the
reference to the act and the time of bap-
tism more prominent, than the present, 'are
buried' : besides, the present is hardly appro-
priate to describe a transient act, like baptism.
'By baptism into death': by means of our
baptism into his death. Compare Col. 2 : 12.
[Meyer says: "In reality this burial with
Christ is not a moral fact distinct from the
having died with him .... but it sets forth
the fullness and completeness of the relation,
of which the recipient, in accordance with the
form of baptism, so far as the latter takes
place through sinking down and rising up
(xarajvo-it and ava£\i<rl.i), becomes conscious suc-
cessively. The recipient— thus Paul figur-
atively represented the process — is conscious,
(a) in the baptism generally : now am I
entering into fellowship with the death of

Christ; (6) in the immersion in particular :
now am I becoming buried ■with Christ; (c)
and then in the emergence : now I rise to
the new life with Christ. Compare on Col.
2: 12."

Lange speaks of being " buried in death,"
but the phrase in ver. 3, ^^ baptized into
death," shows that into death must here be
connected with baptism. The absence of the
article after baptism gives more unity to the
conception, making the baptism into death
as a single idea. "Buried into death," says
De Wette, "if not nonsense is a pleonasm."
We are not buried in order to die, we are
buried with Christ by or in baptism because
we are dead, and baptism (immersion) repre-
sents not only our death but burial. The
death unto which we are baptized is left in-
definite in this verse (the article also being
probably generic), so that it " might be
applied at once to his (Christ's) death and
ours included in his." (Godet.) Meyer also
says : " It is not specially the death of Christ
which is again meant, as if ' his ' were again
annexed, but the description is generalized in
a way that could not be misunderstood. Who-
soever, namely, has been baptized unto the
death of Christ, has in fact thereby received
baptism unto death; that is, such a baptism
that, taken away by it from his previous
vital activity, he has become one belonging to
death, one who has fallen under its sway."] ^
That like as Christ was raised up from
the dead — in order that, as Christ was raised
from the dead. By the glory of the Father
— glory and power (compare 1 Cor. 6: 14) are
cognate ideas, as referred to God ; see Col. 1 :
11, " according to his glorious power." Even
so we also should walk in newness of
life. [On the use of the subjunctive (literally :
in order that we may walk — that is, continu-
ously) after a verb in the past tense (were
buried), see note to 5: 7. The word 'walk,'
as used of moral conduct, occurs some thirty-
three times in Paul's epistles.] 'Should
walk in newness of life': that is, in a new

1 Bairrio'fia. The termination (fio) in Greek nouns,
generally denotes effect or state rather than act. But
this rule is not invariable (see, for example, y<>'>^m<> in
the Lexicons), and the frequency of this termination

is a peculiarity of the later Greek. There are two
forms of this word in Latin (baptisma and baptismus),
but they are used indiscriminately. Evidently a bap-
tizing into death supposes some action.— (F.)

150

ROMANS.

[Ch. VI.

state, of which the characteristic is life.
["Not the life that is lived day by day {fiw),
but the life which liveth in us (f<u^)." (" Bible
Commentary.") See Col. 3 : 3, 4. "Ye died
and your life . . . Christ our life." Had the
apostle said " in a new life," the idea of new-
ness would have been less prominent. Com-
pare 2 Cor. 5: 17. De "Wette says, "The
truth of the figure rests upon the fact that the
resurrection of Jesus, as every resurrection,
is not simply something physical, but also
moral." "When you hear mention made of
a new life,^' says Chrysostom, "be sure that
implies a great change and diversity. For
myself, I forthwith burst into tears and groans
when I reflect what strictness Paul demands
of us, and to what indolence we have given
ourselves up, relapsing after baptism into our
previous old age, returning to Egypt and
hankering after the garlic, though we have
tasted the manna."] There are two Greek
adjectives which are alike translated new in
our English Testament, but there is a very
plain distinction between them. The most
convenient passage to illustrate that distinc-
tion is the one in which our Lord speaks of
the new wine, and the new bottles and the old.

(Matt. 9: 17; Mark 2: 22; Luke 5 : 37,38,39.) The adjec-
tive new (i-eot) applied to the wine means 're-
cently made, new as to age.' The adjective
new (Kaivds) applied to the bottles means ''new
as to quality, unused, unworn.' No matter
how long ago the bottles were made, if they
have not been used, if they have not lost their
elasticity by having wine fermented in them,
ihey are still " new bottles." Now the word
'newness' in the passage before us is derived
from the latter of these two adjectives; so
that the term 'newness of life,' does not refer
to the recent beginning of the life (however
truly it might be called new on that account),
but to the changed quality or character of
the life : it is a new kind of life that they are
to walk in who have been ' baptized into Jesus
Christ.' [This walking 'in newness of life'
is used here as the antithesis of were buried
and the correlative of was raised. The idea
of a rising or being raised in baptism which
is implied very plainly here and in the next
verse, is, in Col. 2: 12, explicitly stated: we
were buried with Christ in the (our) baptism
and we were raised with Christ in the baptism.
The Greek for baptism (/SairTMrMa) does not, in

itself, any more than immersion, denote or ab-
solutely require an emergence, yet both allow
of it (in the same manner as burial allows of a
resurrection), and the baptismal or immer-
sion ordinance requires it, as otherwise we
could not thereafter be taught to observe all
the Saviour's commands, nor could we hence-
forth in this world " walk in newness of
life."]

Note the teaching of this passage as to the
meaning as well as the act of baptism. It
implies in all cases a saving union with Christ
[representing and] obliging to a new and
holy life. [It is maintained by some that as
no mention is made of the element water in
these verses, therefore the baptism into Christ
and the burial with Christ is wholly internal
and spiritual and has no reference to the out-
ward act. But granting the first part of this
inference to be true, the second does not fol-
low, for the spiritual may derive its imagery
from the outward and literal. We maintain,
however, the literalness of the baptism and
the burial (by immersion), not of course ex-
cluding from them a spiritual import. In the
first place, the phrases into repentance, into
name, into Christ, into his death, do not rep-
resent proper baptismal elements. To sprinkle
or to immerse a person or a people into a per-
son or into a name is an incongruous figure,
an impossible transaction. To be baptized
unto a person or unto his name denotes an
intimate appertaining to, a belonging to, that
person as his disciples or followers. The wide
distinction which some make between baptiz-
ing into a person and into his name is not war-
ranted in the Scriptures. They both denote
substantially the same thing — as, " baptized
unto Moses," "baptized in {into) the name of
Paul" (thereby becoming followers of Moses
or followers of Paul), and as Christian writers
generally regard this latter baptism (into a
name) as external, so they may and should
regard the former as external. Moreover, as
John's baptism "unto repentance " was com-
patible with an outward ordinance, an im-
mersion in water, so a baptism into Christ and
into his death need not preclude such an ordi-
nance. When we read in our religious jour-
nals that such and such persons were baptized
into such a church or into its fellowship, does
any one suppose the "church" or the "fel-
lowship" to be a proper baptismal element or

Ch.

VI.]

ROMANS.

151

5 For if we

have been planted together

in the like- 1 > united

with

him

by the likeness of his death, we

I Or, united icilh (*• liJkme** . . . with the Ukeneti.

that it precludes a baptism into water? But
if baptism into the name of Christ and into
Christ is external, then the burial effected by
that baptism is likewise external. Confirma-
tory of this view is the remarkable fact that
the Scriptures never speak of a burial with
Christ save in connection with baptism.
When the apostle addressed all who in Rome
had given themselves up to Christ by and in
baptism, the Christians there could not have
naturally thought of anything else save their
outward baptism in water into or unto the
name of the Lord Jesus. Furthermore, to
suppose that their baptism here referred to
was wholly internal and spiritual is to sup-
pose that all the baptized believers in Rome
were spiritually conformed to Christ and
wholly dead to sin, a circumstance which
probably was not true, and which, if true,
neither Paul nor any being on earth could
"know." By their baptism they became
professedly and engagedly dead to sin, and
hence Paul subsequently counsels them not
to "obey the lusts" of their mortal bodies,
but to ^Weckon themselves dead indeed to
sin," and to "yield themselves to God as if
alive from the dead." In like manner he
writes to the Colossians who had been buried
with Christ in the baptism (Coi. 2:12, Revised vor-
»ion): "If then ye were raised together with
Christ, seek the things that are above." If
their baptism was inward and spiritual, how
is it that they were not " dead with Christ
from the rudiments of the world" but were
still "subject to [carnal] ordinances?" Had
"all" the Corinthian Christians been spiritu-
ally and really baptized "into one body,"
their carnal "strifes" and "divisions" would
not have been so flagrant and abundant.
And had the Galatian Christians been spiritu-
ally baptized "intoChrist," they would "all"
indeed have been "one" in Christ Jesus, and
we never should have heard of their removal
to "another gospel." Yet all these baptisms

have been claimed as internal and spiritual.
Of course, no outward rite could prove abso-
lute deadness to sin, nor was such a proof
necessary for the apostle's argument. It was
enough for him to assure his Roman brethren
that the initial, solemn baptismal rite, to
which they had publicly submitted, imported
deadness to sin, and that hence they could
not consistently "continue in sin." Nor is
burial in baptism proved to be spiritual from
the assertion in Col. 2:12, "ye were raised
through the faith," since if the literal rising
were to "newness of life," it may well be said
to be effected through faith in the power of
God. The objection that the pagan Romans
did not then bury but burnt their dead (how
was it with the people of Colossse?) does not
deserve a moment's consideration. Christ our
blessed Lord "was buried" (so Paul affirms
in 1 Cor. 16 : 4, though some writers, who hold
this baptism to be a spiritual sprinkling, deny
his literal burial), and he was also raised, and
we, by our baptismal or immersion rite, are
conjoined with him both in an outward and
in a spiritual manner in the likeness of his
death and in the likeness of his resurrection.^
This immersion-burial theory is no modem
(Baptist) fancy, but was held by the whole
Christian Church in early times, and since
then by Luther, Zwingle, Beza, Bullinger,
Tyndale, Cranmer, the authors of the "As-
sembly's Notations" (most of whom were
members of the "Westminster Assembly), by
Adam Clarke and MacKnight, and even by
Baxter, and "Wesley, and Doddridge. For
further views on this subject, see Dr. Arnold's
remarks in Appendix C, also the writer's
"Studies on Baptism."]

5. For if. These little words imply that
what follows in this verse is but the legitimate
consequence of what is stated in the first clause
of the preceding verse, or, to vary the form
of the connection, that which is affirmed in
the second clause as the definite design of the

I It will be noticed that the words ' death ' and ' dead '
are here used in contrast with the idea of resurrection,
and so are closely connected with the idea of burial.
Thus Tertullian says : " By an image we die in baptism,
but we truly iHse in the flesh, as did also Christ." This
ruwrgimui, or rising, is antithetic to the idea of a burial

implied in his morimur in baplitmate. Hence he calls
baptism a tt/mbolum nwrtis, a likeness of death. We
doubt whether he would find an image of death in
sprinkling. Had the apostle said, buried with Christ
in the sprinkling, would not erery one hare felt an
inoongraity in the figure?— (F.)

152

ROMANS.

[Ch. VI.

ness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of Ms
resurrection :
6 Knowiug this, that our old man is crucified with

6 shall be also by the likeness of his resurrection ; know-
ing this, that our old man was crucified with him.

proposition affirmed in the first clause is in
this verse affirmed as the sure result of the
truth of that proposition. We have been
planted together. The single word which
is translated 'planted together' is a difficult
word to translate into English. It is used
nowhere else in the New Testament. It im-
plies a vital, organic union, such as was fabled
to exist in the case of the Centaur, which was,
according to that fable, a union of the two
natures of the man and the horse. Grown
together would be as nearly a literal transla-
tion as can well be given. The translation
'planted together' no doubt originated in a
mistaken view of the etymology of the word,
and is particularly incongruous with the last
part of the verse. To be 'planted together'
in the likeness of his 'resurrection' would,
indeed, be a very inapt figure of speech.
"If we have become united," as the Bible
Union Revision has it, is too vague and weak.
If we have become vitally conjoined expresses
the true idea, but is something of a paraphrase ;
in the likeness of his death, as our baptism
imports, the resemblance will not end here,
but [the strong adversative, oAAa] we shall
be also — that is, vitally conjoined (with the
likeness) of his resurrection, [The Revised
Version inserts the word 'him' after 'united
with,' and this, perhaps, gives the correct
idea (Godet), though De Wette, Meyer, Al-
ford, Philippi, and many others are opposed
to the insertion. To be vitally conjoined to
Christ in the likeness of his resurrection is
equivalent to walking in "newness of life."
(ver. 4.) The future tense, shall be conjoined,
denotes that which will always take place.
Dr. Noyes gives this ad sensum, rendering:
" For if we have been made completely like
him in his death, we shall be made like him
in his resurrection also."] The words brack-
eted (italicised in the Common Version) are
required to complete the sense.^ See similar
elliptical constructions in Matt. 5:20; John
5 : 36 ; Heb. 12 : 24. [It has been objected to
the immersion-burial theory that it makes
two ordinances represent mainly the same
thing — namely, the death of Christ, omitting

all reference to the work of the Spirit. But
this is quite a mistake. The theory in ques-
tion makes the baptismal rite to symbolize
not only the death or burial of Christ, but his
resurrection ; not only our dying with him,
but our rising with him henceforth to walk
in newness of life. If, now, our immersion
in water may denote, much better than a
slight sprinkling, an entire cleansing from
sin and a rising to a new life, it certainly may
well symbolize the "washing of regeneration
and the renewing of the Holy Spirit."]

6. What in the preceding verses is pre-
sented as a matter of doctrine is here pre-
sented as a matter of experience. Knowing
this— because we know this, because we shall
remember and feel this. That our old man
is crncified with him. ' Our old man ' :
the adjective old [jroAoib?, Latin vetus, not
apxaloi, ancient, priscus] is the same that is
used in reference to the wine bottles in our
Lord's figure : see note on newness of life,
ver. 4. It relates to character, not to age.
When age is referred to, a different Greek
adjective (TrpeirpuTrjs) is used, as in Luke 1 :
18; Titus 2:2; Philem. 9. [Paul here first
makes mention of ' the old man ' (opposed to
the "new man." (Eph.*.- 24; Coi.s: lo) ; or, in
one view, to the "inward man" (t: J2; Eph.
3:16)), by which he means, as Meyer says,
" our personality in its entire sinful condition
before regeneration." (John s: 3.) Compare
Eph. 4: 22; Col. 3: 9. The idea is Christian
and not Jewish.] 'Is crucified with him' :
rather, 'was,' since the verb is in the past
tense. [Meyer thinks the verb, was crucified,
refers to the time "when we were baptized,
and thereby transplanted into the fellowship
of death." Lange calls this " rather a super-
ficial view," and thinks our crucifixion took
place potentially when Christ for us was
nailed to the cross. Compare 7: 4. But though
the apostle does not affirm that "we" were
crucified in the baptism, yet we see not why
the death represented by that baptism may
not be termed a crucifixion of the old man
and an abolishing or bringing to nought of
the body of sin. 'Crucified': "How inter-

1 So Meyer versus De Wette and others, who make the I govern the genitive. Compare 8 : 29 ; Buttmann, p. 169.
adjective here, though compounded with avv, directly I — (F.)

Ch. VI.]

ROMANS.

153

him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that I
henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.

that the body of sin might be done away, that bo we

7 should no longer be in bondage to sin; for he that

8 bath died is > justified from sin. But if we died with

esting and impressive it is to regard the Chris-
tian as, in respect to his former inclination,
undergoing a death, a crucifixion in company
with his Lord!" (Ripley.) "The image
of the Christian, as one with Christ, is still
carried on. Man falls asunder into two parts,
corresponding to the two divisions of Christ's
life, and leaves one of those parts hanging
upon the cross." (Jowett.) Compare Gal.
2: 20. "I have been crucified with Christ."]
That the body of sin. The body which
belongs to and serves sin: compare ver. 12,
13 ; 7 : 23, 24 ; 8 : 13 ; or, perhaps, sin person-
ified, as having a body. See Col. 2 : 11. [Sin
uses and even rules the body, but the princi-
ple of "sin lies not in the body or flesh even,
but in the will." (DeWette.) Of course, the
body is not to be rendered inactive (apyos),
only so far as the service of sin is concerned.
Philippi, Hodge, Stuart, suppose sin to be
here personified. The metaphor in crucified
is more perfectly carried out by using the
term body. (Boise.) ] Might be destroyed.
The verb translated ' might be destroyed ' is
one very frequently used by Paul, and vari-
ously translated in diflferent places. It is the
same which is translated make vnthout effect,
and make of none effect, in 3: 3 (see notes),
and 4: 14, destroy, in 1 Cor. 6: 13; 15: 26;
2 Thess. 2:8; Heb. 2: 14; and abolish, in 2
Cor. 3: 13; Eph. 2: 15: 2 Tim. 1: 10. It is
used between twenty-five and thirty times,
but only once out of Paul's epistles (Luke
13: 7, translated, eumbereth), unless Heb. 2:
14 be a second exception. That henceforth
we should not serve sin. That we should
no longer serve sin : that the body should no
longer be the slave, under the dominion of
sin.i

As Christ's death on account of sin was
never to be repeated (rer. t-io), go the believer

should regard his own separation from sin as

final. (Ver. 11.14.)

7. For he that is dead is freed from
sin. A literal translation of this verse would
be, ' he that died has been justified from sin' ;
see note on 6 : 16. [Godet says : " is of right
freed from sin." The more exact idea of the
apostle, we think, is this; that one who has
died with Christ and put oflf the body of sin,
has been freed from sin's condemning power.]
The verb which we translate ' has been justi-
fied' is used about forty times in the New
Testament (thirteen times in this Epistle) and
is uniformly translated to justify in every
other place.* Christ may properly be said to
have \i^Qn justified from sin when, after having
died on account of sin, he was raised to the
right hand of God, "separated (so should the
translation be) from sinners, and made higher
than the heavens." (Heb.7:26.) Compare also
John 16 : 8, 10. [The suggestion of Dr.
Arnold that this verse relates to Christ has
much in its favor, but as it is adopted by very
few if any other commentators, it seems proper
to mention two or three current interpreta-
tions. 1. It is supposed to be a general and
popular statement, to the effect that, when a
man is dead, he is no longer held to the law
which he previously broke— a kind of legal
maxim; 'having died he has been justified
(acquitted) from sin.' And this legal maxim
is used to illustrate the state of one who, at
regeneration, died to the law and its penalty,
and entered into a new life. 2. 'He that is
dead is freed from sin,' because by death he is
freed from the body which is the seat of sin.
This, according to Philippi and Schaff, is
Meyer's view and must be rejected, because
it "rests upon an anthropology as unbiblical
as it is un-Pauline." 3. 'He that is dead to
sin is freed from the slavery of sin.' "It

1 The infinitive sentence, ' that we should not serve
sin,' may, in Winer's opinion, be regarded as a noun
in the genitive, dependent on the verb, might be de-
stroyed, as being a verb which denotes separation. Butt-
mann makes its verbal nature and force more promi-
nent, and regards it as an independent telic clause as
if it began with Iva or oirws. " The application here
made of the special kind of death suffered by our

Saviour to the spiritual death of the old man is the
more emphatic inasmuch us the former is peculiarly
accompanied with pain, and resembles the way in
which the love of sin is actually extinguished in the
Christian." (Tholuck.)— (F.)

iRev. 22: 11 is not regarded as an exception, be-
cause this verb is not regarded as the true reading ia
that place.

154

ROMANS.

[Ch. VI.

8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we
fiball also live with him:

9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead
dicth no more ; death hath no more dominion over
bini.

lU For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in
that he liveth, he liveth unto God.

Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him ;

9 knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth

no more ; death no more hath dominion over him.

10 For ^ the death that he died, he died unto sin ' once :

1 Otfinthat 2 Gr. once /or oU.

follows naturally from what precedes that
here is meant the inner, spiritual death, carried
into effect in believing fellowship with Christ's
death, by which, as by death in general, all
former relations and connections are dissolved,
and therefore the connection with sin, which
thus loses its old authority and power over
man. But if man is absolved from sin, he
ought not again to hold converse with it"
(Philippi, and similarly Bengel, Olshausen,
De Wette, Tholuck, and others). But the
verb used signifies " has been justified or ac-
quitted, not has been freed — that is, set free
from the penalty rather than the power of
sin. 4. ' He that is dead with Christ ' — that
is, brought in connection with his atoning
death, ' is freed from guilt and punishment of
sin by justification.' (So Scott, Mac Knight,
Hodge.) This seems to be the best view, if
the verse does not refer to Christ. (A. H.) ]
8. Now if we be dead (or, died) with
Christ (compare 2 Cor. 5: 14, Revised Ver-
sion, "one died for all, therefore all died").
[This dying with Christ (to sin, compare ver.
10, 11 ) serves to explain the preceding verse :
'he that hath died is justified from sin' (Re-
vised Version) — that is, sin cannot be his con-
demnation.] We believe that we shall also
live with him.i [Compare 2 Tim. 2: 11.]
This is not merely an exhortation— ' we ought,'
not merely a prediction — *we shall,' but a
matter of experience — 'we believe that we
shall' participate in his new and deathless
life, as we have participated in his death.
This involves, of course, an ultimate partici-
pation in his heavenly life in glory, [a being

forever with the Lord, which seems to be
Paul's idea of heaven. (iThesi.*: n.) ] But
we are not to infer, from the future tense,
'shall live with him,' that this glorified life is
principally intended; for the future tense is
to be understood, as in in ver. 5, of the new
Christian life on earth, as explained in ver. 6,
11-13, [or as Meyer terms it, "the ethical
participation in the new everlasting life of
Christ."]

9. Knowing (because we know) that Christ
being (having been) raised from the dead
dieth no more. He died, not that he might
remain dead, but that he might be forever
superior to death. 2 And so we, who died to
sin once for all, must not again come under its
dominion. Death hath no more dominion
over him. It seemed to have a transient
dominion over him, but really it never had.

(John 10: 17, 18; 2 : 19: Matt. 26: 53 ; Acts 2: U.) [In the

last clause, 'him,' in the genitive, is governed
by the verb, on the principle that verbs of
ruling take the genitive as the case of depend-
ence. The verb, derived from a noun, could
be resolved thus: death is lord of him no
longer. Compare 7: 1; 14: 9.]

10. For in that he died. There is a
peculiar and unusual ellipsis in the Greek
of this verse. Literally translated it would
read — what he died and what he liveth.^ Our
translators, to make it more intelligible, in-
serted the preposition in and changed the
relative into the demonstrative. In a similar
case — I think the only similar one (oai. 2:20) —
they supplied the ellipsis in a different way,
by inserting a noun corresponding to the verb

1 Ivv (with), as distinguished from fieri, indicates a
more intimate union, coherence rather than co-exist-
ence. (Winer, 391.) " Siiv with dative, in company
with ; y-fTo. with genitive, participating with." (Boise.)
-(F.)

* Paul elsewhere speaks of Christ as " the first born
from the dead," the " first fruits of them that slept."
Col. 1 : 18 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 20. Ellicott on the former pass-
age says : " Others had been translated or had risen to
die again. He had risen with glorified humanity to
die no more ; hence he is not called simplj ' the first

that rose,' but with a note of generation, "first born
from the dead." Query : Will any one dare to afB^rm
that Christ was unconscious while he "slept" in the
tomb, and that during all that time the world had vir-
tually no Saviour ? Manifestly, his sleeping in death
was compatible with the enjoyment of the Paradise of
bliss. (Luke 23: 43.)— (F.)

* This would be called the cognate accusative, In-
stead of this we may, as Prof. Boise remarks, regard
the relative as in the accusative of specification, equiva-
lent as to tohat, a» to the fact that,—{F.)

Ch. VI.]

ROMANS.

155

11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselyes to be dead
iudeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus
Christ our Lord.

but ithe life that be liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Even so reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto
sin, but alive unto God in Christ Jesus.

in place of the relative — "Me life which I
now live" (for what I now live). Conform-
ing the passage now before us with the one
in Galatians, which seems to us the better
way of supplying the ellipsis, :we should read
—for the death that he died, he died unto
sin once ; but the life that he liveth, he
liveth unto God. The 'for' gives the jaroo/
of the preceding: Christ dieth no more; death
hath no more dominion over him; 'for' he
died to sin once for all, and lives unto God
and with God among the immortals where
they die no more. (Luke 20 : 36; Rev. 21:*.) 'He
died unto sin' — that is, he had no more to do
with it, either as tempting and persecuting
him, or as annoying and grieving him by its
hateful presence. Both the expressions 'he
died unto sin,' ' he liveth unto God' seem to
be used on account of the analogy ; they are
strictly applicable to us, only in a qualified
sense to Christ. [" It may in a certain degree
be affirmed that upon this earth our Saviour
lived both to us and to his God, inasmuch as
it was for our sakes that he lived in a certain
connection with evil, sin, death, and Satan.
This connection is now dissolved, and God is
the only scope of his life." (Justinianus, as
quoted by Tholuek.) Olshausen observes on
this passage that "Christ died once for sin —
that Is, to extirpate it; and lives eternally
for God — that is, to further righteousness."
Philippi and Godet would make our Lord's
dying to sin refer to his expiating and de-
stroying it by his death. Meyer says: "He
died to its power,'^ and in a similar way we
are to deem ourselves dead to it. (ver. 11.)]
' Onee.' It is important to notice the import of
the word ; it means here once for all. It is
opposed, not only to any actual repetition of
his bloody sacrifice on the cross, but also to
any virtual repetition of it in the mass, which
professes, though an unbloody sacrifice, to
have a like propitiatory efficacy. The same
adverb is used in Heb. 10 : 10, where it is

translated "once for all." This expression is,
however, liable to be misunderstood, as M for
all meant for all persons, in distinction from
the limitation of the design of his death to
some persons ; whereas it means for a^^ time,
in distinction from any repetition of his death.
And 07ice has the same meaning in Heb. 7 : 27;
9 : 12, where, as in the verse under considera-
tion, the explanatory /or all was not added by
the translators. The original expression is
precisely the same in all these four places.
[It may be well for the reader to compare
Jude (ver. 3) with the passages cited by Dr.
Arnold, for "the faith which was once deliv-
ered to the saints" really means "the faith
which was delivered once for all to the saints,"
and this description of "the faith" appears to
forbid the hope of any further revelation of
Christian truth. See note on this passage.
(A. H.)]

11. Likewise* So also — that is, conform-
ably to Christ — reckon ye (imperative)
yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin
(immovable by it, insensible to it),' but alive
(or, living, full of energy and power) unto
God through (rather, in) Jesus Christ our
Lord — that is, by virtue of your union with
him [or, as Winer has it, "in soul-nourishing
fellowship with Christ." Meyer joins the
words in Christ Jesus to both clauses, dead
and living, De Wette only to the latter. The
most important MSS. omit the words 'to be'
and 'our Lord.'] Not his mediatorship, but
his headship, is the prominent thought here.a
[In regard to this mystical union of believers
with and in Christ, the Apostles John and
Paul are both at one. According to their
teachings, ** believers are in Christ, so as to
be partakers in all that he does, and has, and
is. They died with him, and rose with him,
and live with him, and in him are seated in
heavenly places. "When the eye of God looks
on them, they are found in Christ, and there
is no condemnation to those that are in him,

1 Chalmers gives even to these phrases a " forensic
meaning." Only as we are in Christ, and clothed with
his righteousness and filled with his Spirit, can we
truly reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God.
How forceful the figure — dead to sin ! We have all seen

how insensible is the dead body to all that is going on
around it. It is moved by no tears or waitings of grief,
no voice of afiiection, no music of earth, no thunders of
the sky. It is dead to the world. — (F.)
» See Appendix C.

156

ROMANS.

[Ch. VI.

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body,
that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of
unrighteousness unto sin : but yield yourselves unto

12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body,

13 that ye should obey the lusts thereof: neither present
your members unto sin as i instruments of unright-
eousness ; but present yourselves unto God, as alive

1 Or, weapon*.

and they are righteous in his righteousness
and loved with the love which rests on him,
and are sons of God in his sonship and heirs
with him of his inheritance, and are soon to
be glorified with hira in his glory." (Ber-
nard's "Progress of Doctrine," p. 181. )*
Paul's watchwords are "through Christ,"
"in Christ," "for Christ," "with Christ."]

"We should die as truly to sin as he died
for sin, and live as truly unto God as he lives
withGod..'' (Adam Clarke.) Compare Gal.
2:19; 1 Peter 2 : 24.

12. Let not sin therefore reign [continue
to reign, the verb being in the present tense].
Observe how sin is personified here as reign-
ing and being obeyed. This shows that it is
regarded as a principle, and not merely as an
act., for an act, whether external or internal,
whether mechanical or mental, could not
consistently be so personified. 'Sin,' as the
word is used here and in the following chap-
ter, has been well defined as "a want of con-
formity to the law of God, whether in act,
habit, or state." (Inconvenientia cum lege
divina aut actus, aut habitus, aut status.) ' Let
not sin therefore reign,' since it has been de-
posed. ["He does not say, let not the flesh
live, neither act, but let not sin reign. . . .
And surely it would be absurd for those who
are bound for the kingdom of heaven to take
sin for a queen and to choose to be her captives
when called to reign along with Christ."
(Chrysostom.)] In your mortal body.
Why does he add 'mortal' here? To keep
in view the connection between sin and death,
partly, perhaps, as an enforcement of the
exhortation, because the remembrance of the
deadly consequence of sin would be a pow-
erful dissuasive from it, but principally on

account of the antithesis, the life with Christ,
which is exempt from death. [This mortal
body, or body of sin and death, itself made
mortal by reason of sin (called in Col. 2 : 11
and elsewhere "body of the sins of flesh"),
being "organized flesh" (Cremer), is related
to sin by the flesh composing it and by the
soul inhabiting it, and is consequently subject
to death as the penalty of sin. Yet even this
body may be made a temple of the indwelling
Holy Spirit. (icor.6:i9.) Tholuck observes
that the adjective mortal "is doubtless added
— as Chrysostom, Grotius, and others remark
— to encourage the Christian, by pointing his
thoughts to that never-ending glory into
which this frail tabernacle shall one day be
transformed."] That ye should obey it in
the lusts thereof. [This is the reading of
K A B C * and early versions, while D E F G
read it alone.] The last word ('thereof')
refers to the body. A large part of sin con-
sists in, or arises from, yielding to the desires
and appetites of the body. "The bodily appe-
tites are the fuel; sin is the fire." (Bengel.)
[The gratifying of our sensual appetites and
desires yields a certain sort of pleasure, but
sin's pleasures are full often followed by tears,
and

Sin's froth that foams for an hour,
Leaves dregs that are tasted for years.]

13. Neither yield ye your members.*

[TheEevisers, by connecting 'sin' with 'mem-
bers,' vary the order of the original but give
clearness to its meaning.] ' Nor render your
members unto sin ' (as a soldier renders his
service to his commander or a subject to his
sovereign) as instruments (literally, weap-
ons) of unrighteousness (for the promotion
of unrighteousness) ; but yield yourselves

1 Bernard thus beautifully describes the progress of
doctrine on this one line from the gospels to the epis-
tles: " In the Gospels we have stood like men who watch
the rising of some great edifice, and who grow familiar
with the outline and details of Its exterior aspect. In
the preaching of the Acts, we have seen the doors
thrown open and joined the men who flock into it as
their refuge and their home. In the Epistles we are
actually within it, sheltered by its roof, encompassed

by its walls ; we pass, as it were, from chamber to
chamber, beholding the extent of its internal arrange-
ments and the abundance of all things provided for our
use. We are here ' in Christ Jesus'" (p. 182).^(F.)

* On the use of the negative it-ri with imperatives
rather than ov, see Winer, § 55. And as to the usage
of correlative particles, observe how fi-rfii here follows
fiij as oui< follows ov in 2 : 28. — (F.)

Ch. VI.]

ROMANS.

157

God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your
members as instruments oi righteousness unto Gou.

14 For sin shall not have dominion over you : for ye
are not under the law, but under grace.

15 What then 7 shall we sin, oecause we are not
under the law, but under grace? God forbid.

from the dead, and your members a> i instruments

14 of righteousness unto God. Fur sin shall nut have
dominion over you : for ye are not under law, but
under grace.

15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under

16 law, but under grace ? God forbid. Know ye not, that

1 Or, weapon*.

to God, as those that are alive from the
dead, and your members as instruments
of righteousness unto God. Compare 12:1.
[The reflexive pronoun translated 'yourselves'
is properly in the third person, but is here and
elsewhere used for the second. 'Alive from
the dead.' Meyer regards these dead as those
who died with Christ to sin. Prof. Cremer
also explains the term as used here by a refer-
ence to ver. 8, 10, 11, and thinks that the
Greek word for 'dead' (^wpos) is never to be
understood of "spiritual death," but that it
signifies rather "the state of those whose life
is appointed to death as the punishment of
sin." In his view, "dead (in) trespasses and
sins" would mean — doomed to death by rea-
son of trespasses, dead through your trespasses,
as in the Kevised Version, Eph. 2:1; Col.
2:13. Philippi and Godet, with most com-
mentators, think of these 'dead' as the dead
in sin. There certainly does not appear to
be any proper resurrection change in passing
from a death to sin to a living unto God, since
these are virtually identical. The "Bible
Commentary" gives the force of the present
and aorist tenses thus: "Do not go on putting
your members at sin's disposal, but once for
all present (i^ : i) yourselves both body and
soul unto God."' The word rendered 'instru-
ments' (favored by DeWette) always means
weapons in the New Testament. (Meyer.)
Tliey are, properly, military weapons of the
heavier sort. Boise: " Present your members
as heavy armor of righteousness to God."

The apostle depicts life as a contest and fight
whether for sin or righteousness. " St. Paul,"
says Bishop Wordsworth, "loves military
metaphors." 'Righteousness' (Sucauxrvim)) re-
garded as "conformity to the standard" is
here very properly opposed to 'sin' (o/xopria),
which is a missing of the mark. (Cremer.) A
failing to hit the mark. (Thayer.)]

14. This verse seems to be of the nature of
an assurance [in which there lies a very sweet
consolation (Melanchthon)], confirming (for)
the possibility of the surrender to God com-
manded above. At the same time it serves as
a transition to the new phase of the argument,
presented in the verses that follow. See analy-
sis at the beginning of the chapter. [Have
dominion. Death no longer lords it over
Christ, and sin shall no longer lord it over
you. It shall not be your master, for ye are
not in bondage to the law, which is the power
of sin, but ye are subject to grace, are under
the control of grace. " Grace not only washes
away sins, but keeps us from sinning."]

15. What then shall we say? (compare
ver. 1) or 'what then' is the inference? May we
sin, subjunctive aorist [denoting some special
act of sin rather than a habit of sinning], not
future indicative, is the true reading. See on
ver. 1. How does this verse differ from ver. 1 ?
There it is May we persist in sin, in order
that grace may abound ? Here it is May we
feel at liberty to sin, because we are not under
the law, but under grace? The first is a
question of positive and permanent action.
The second is an appeal to the Christian's
moral sense. The answer to both is the same:
let it not be. The inference is indignantly repu-
diated. [" "We are not only not to ' continue in
sin,' buteverysingleactofsinistobeavoided."
(Boise.) The grace of our God must not
be turned into lasciviousness. " We were
freed from the law not that we might hand
over the sovereignty to the fiesh, but that we
might henceforth live unto God and fulfill his
will, only no longer on the ground of the
outer requirement of the law, but at the inner
instigation of the Spirit. Materially nothing
else is to be aimed at by means of the latter
than the former; for the love which the Spirit
works is the fulfilling of the law." (Weiss on

1 Winer (p. 313) says: "The present imperative de-
notes an action already begun and to be continued, or
one that is permanent and frequently recurring," while
the aorist imperative "denotes an action that is either
transient and instantaneous or to be undertaken but

once. . . . The aorist imperative is in general more
forcible and stringent than the present." Gramma-
rians tell us that the aorist, though a past tense, rarely
denotes past time except in the indicative and parti-
ciple.—(F.)

158

ROMANS.

[Ch. VI.

16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves
servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey :
whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto right-
eousness?

17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of
sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of
doctrine which was delivered you.

to whom ye present yourselves as i servants unto obe-
dience, his 1 servants ye are whom ye obey ; whether
of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteous-
17 nesa ? But thanks be to God, 2 that, whereas ye were
1 servants of sin ye became obedient from the heart
to that *form of teaching whereunto ye were deliv-

1 Or. bondservants 2 Or, that ye were

iutye became 3 Or, pattern.

Paul's doctrine of "Freedom from the Law.")]
" With the ungodly, not to be under the law
means, not to be afraid to do whatever we
please, and to be under grace means to be
safe from damnation." (Beza.)

16. KnoAV ye not. This is an appeal to
common sense, [and hence the question re-
quires no expressed answer. In negative inter-
rogative sentences with not {ov), an affirmative
answer is presumed.] Ye are the servants
either of God or of sin ; there is no third sup-
position. The yielding of ourselves servants
for obedience to anyone implies the serving —
the being in reality the servants of — such per-
son. The former is the practical fact ; the latter
is the inevitable conclusion. Whether (serv-
ants) of sin unto death, or of obedience
(to God) nnto righteousness. The slave of
one man cannot be obedient to another man.
The slave must serve his own master.^ The
preposition 'unto' — here, 'unto death'; 'unto
righteousness,' marks result of service without
implying intention or aim. Life, instead of
' righteousness,' would be the more exact anti-
thesis to ' death ' : but righteousness best suits
the apostle's course of thought here: Tholuck
cites parallel passages from Socrates and
Seneca. ['Death' (flavaTos), the opposite of
righteousness (which has "eternal life" for
its result), does not denote annihilation, nor
does it here refer exclusively or mainly to
physical death, this being not in all cases the
result of individual sin. According to De
Wette, it is, generally, the misery of sin, or
more specifically, estrangement from the true
life. In the light of ver. 21, 23, it must, we
think, be regarded as the opposite of life
eternal. Meyer versus De "Wette, Philippi,
Lange, Godet, and others, does not regard this

'righteousness' as moral righteousness (as in
ver. 13), but, in the light of a final result and
in antithesis to death, as the sentence of justi-
fication which will be awarded in the judg-
ment. Some, as Alford, take 'righteousness,'
and so 'death,' in its most general sense.]

17. Here the dilemma stated above is solved
for them by an appeal to fact. And this is
done in the form of a thanksgiving to God.
We are not to understand the thanksgiving,
however, as having reference only, or princi-
pally to the first clause, ye were the serv-
ants of siUf or even equally to both clauses :
but the thanksgiving has emphatic reference
to the second clause, which, however, presup-
poses the first, and could not have existed
without it. ' Ye were,' is emphatic, the
emphasis falling on the tense of the verb,
[which implies that the bondage is a thing of
the past; compare Ilium fuit.] The sense of
the verse would be substantially preserved, if
the first clause were expressed hypothetically,
though ye were, or participially, having been.
[This is substantially the view of Winer (p.
630) in opposition to Fritzsche, Meyer, Phil-
ippi, and others, who lay stress on the past
tense of the verb (compare 1 Cor. 6: 11;
Eph. 5: 8) in the manner indicated above.* A
similar phraseology, connected, as here, with
thanksgiving to God, is found in our Lord's
words in Matt. 11 : 25.] Ye have obeyed,
etc. This sentence loses not a little of its
significance from a change in our Common
Version of the grammatical relations of the
words. The latter verb as well as the former
is in the second person. Ve have obeyed from
the heart that form, [probably the anti-Juda-
istic type] of teaching hito which ye were de-
livered.^ 'Ye were delivered,' by your own

' " Ye cannot serve God and Mammon." Philippi,
defining the force of rot in ^oi says : ' ' ^toi . . . j),
either only, this or that, tertium non datur." This par-
ticle is found only here in the New Testament. — (F.)

2 A ft-iv after the verb ' were,' in contrast with the
following i« (but), might here have naturally been ex-
pected, but is probably dispensed wit* because of the
stress mentioned. — (F.)

'On the grammatical construction of this sentence,
see Winer, pp. 164, 261. The verb obey, which is usually
followed by the dative, here has the accusative, owing,
perhaps, to the attraction of the antecedent (itself in
the relative clause) to the case of the relative, which is
the reverse of the usual rule. In the LXX, however,
this verb sometimes takes the simple accusative.— (F.)

Ch. VI.]

ROMANS.

159

18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the
servauts of righteousnesa.

19 I speak after the manner of men because of the
Infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your
members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto

18 ered ; and being made free from sin, ye became ' "ierr-

19 ants of righteousuess. I speak after the mauner of
men because of the infirmity of your flesh : for as ye
presented your members cu servants to uccleuuiiess
and to iniquity unto iniquity, even so now preaenl

1 Or. btndt»rvant*.

free act, and with gladness of heart, as plastic
material, to be shaped and moulded by this
doctrine. [With this type of doctrine (which
Dr. J. B. Thomas in his " Mould of Doctrine "
refers especially to baptism) compare the form
of knowledge, 2: 20. If Paul could say:
"thanks be to God," because the Soman
Christians had received and obeyed the right
form of gospel teaching, surely the type of
teaching which we receive and obey or which
religious teachers impart to others cannot be
a matter of indifference. In studying or teach-
ing God's word, how appropriate the prayer
that we may be saved from all fatal or hurtful
error, and be guided into all necessary truth 1
And in view of the darkness in us and around
us, and of our dependence on divine illumi-
nation, no words of supplication can be more
relevant than those of Young and of Milton:

Teach my best reason, reason.

What in me is dark,
Illumine ; what is low, raise and support.]

18. Being then made free from sin, etc.
[Better: biit having been freed from sin, ye
were m,ade servants to righteousness. There
is no middle ground. The passive forms of
participle and verb indicate divine agency or
co-operation, and so in ver. 22.] Ye were
freed from the service of sin, that ye might
enter a new and better service — the service of
righteousness. Yet this is truly a service as
well as the other : ye were enslaved, or, ye
became enslaved, to righteousness, the verb
might be rendered. [Free, yet slaves : for a
similar paradox, see 1 Cor. 7: 22. "If human
action," says Prof. Cremer, "in sin (oftoprta)
misses its divine standard or goal, we can un-

derstand why 'conformity to the standard'
{iiKdiotruvy)) appears, especially in the Epistle
to the Bomans, as its opposite."]

19. After the manner of men. I speak
in accordance with the human, fleshly nature
and relationship of men— according to "what
or howmanorhurnan nature is, what is peculiar
to it." (Cremer.) Compare 3: 6. There is a
difference of opinion in regard to the first
part of this verse. Those who refer it to the
words immediately preceding, regard it as a
sort of apology for the expression, ' ye were
enslaved to righteousness.' As if he had said,
"the servant of righteousness is no slave;
God's service is our only true freedom (pi. ii«:

16; 119: 45; Matt. II : SO; John 8: 32, S4,36; IJohn 5 : S) ; but

I use this word to set the contrast more plainly
before you. Both are equally a service, so far
as certainty of obedience is concerned, though
in other respects they differ widely : and I
use this word also in condescension to the
weakness of your flesh ; for because of that
weakness it seems, and in part is, a bondage."
Others refer these words to what follows,
and see in them a sort of apology for, or
protest against, the low view of their obliga-
tions which he presents, in only requiring
them to be as faithful in the service of right-
eousness as they had before been in the service
of sin, whereas they ought to aim at a great
deal more than this.' The former explana-
tion is preferable ; and it is a serious objection
to the latter, that it assumes a false meaning
in the words as and even so, which do not
imply equality of degree, but only sitnilarity
of fact. For as ye have yielded your
members servants to uncleanness (i^ins
against your own persons), and to iniquity

1 If we were anywhere nearly as active and persever-
ing in the service of God as we were in the service of
sin, we should expect with more confidence than we
can now, the plaudit : " Well done, good and faithful
servants." Instead of calling ourselves even "unprofit-
able servants," doing our whole duty to God, It some-
times seems that we should hardly be called servants at
all. And what shall we say of those whose only striv-
ing is to resist the light and influence of the gospel in
their service of sin 7 who make it their life's business,

seemingly, to find some excuse for their rejection ot
Christ and his service? Let them be assured that there
is no good reason why they should not love and serve
the Saviour, and that if they will strive but half as
hard to be saved as to be lost, they will make their sal-
vation sure. In regard to this " weaknessof the flesh,"
some refer it to intellectual weakness (DeWette, Meyer,
Philippi), others to moral weakness (Godet), or weak-
ness of spiritual apprehension (D. Brown). — (F.)

160

ROMANS.

[Ch. VI.

iniquity ; even so now yield your members servants to
righteousness utito holiness.

20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were
free from righteousness.

21 What iruit had ye theu in those things whereof
ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is
death.

your members (u servants to righteousness unto

20 sanctification. For when ye were i servants of sin,

21 ye were Iree in regard of righteousness. What fruit
then had ye at that time in the things whereof ye
are now ashamed? for the end of those tblngB ia

1 Or. bondtervantt.

(sins against God and your neighbor) unto
iniquity (from one iniquity unto another),
even so now yield [at once and completely,
imperative aorist] your members servants
to righteousness unto Iioliness. [The
word rendered iniquity, is properly lawless-
ness, that "state of moral license which either
knows not, or regards not, law, and in which
the essence of sin abides." (iJohn3:4.) (Elli-
cott.) ' C/nto Ao^tness' denoting result. This
word, (ayiaoTfio*, not oycwcrvnj as in 1 : 4, also
2 Cor. 7 : 1 ; 1 Thess. 3: 13), is in the Revised
Version everywhere rendered "sanctifica-
tion," while Meyer asserts that in the New
Testament, "it is always holiness, not sancti-
fication."]^ The word twice translated 'serv-
ants' (or, slaves) has an adjective form, being
in the neuter gender, and agreeing in both
cases with the word 'members.' Everywhere
else it is a noun.

20. For introduces the motive for comply-
ing with the closing exhortation of the pre-
ceding verse. When ye were the servants
of sin. In your former unconverted state.
This is a true characterization of all the unre-
generate: in various forms and in various
degrees, they are all mastered by sin. Ye
were free from righteousness. ["Miser-
able freedom ! "] Ye were free in respect to
righteousness : in point of right, bound to be
righteous; but in point of fact, independent
of its demands, and devoted to the service of
the opposite master — sin.* ' Ye were free from

righteousness ' does not mean, ye were with-
out any righteousness — wholly sinful; but, ye
felt no obligation to be righteous, ye enjoyed
your liberty in sin, without restraint. Whether
or not there is any real benefit, or satisfying
enjoyment in that freedom, we learn from the
next verse.

21. What fruit had ye then. [Tholuck
gives the connection of this verse with the
preceding as follows: "While engaged in
the service of sin, you possessed, it is true, the
advantage of standing entirely out of all sub-
jection to righteousness, but let us look to
what is to be the final result." The verb is
in the imperfect tense: what fruit were ye
having.]* 'Then' is not an adverb of time
here, but of reasoning; as when we say,
"Well, then," in introducing some question.
[The text, however, has another word {t6t«)
meaning then, or, at that time — namely, when
ye were the servants of sin.] 'Fruit' — that
is, benefit, advantageous result, or, result in
general, whether good or bad. As this verse
is commonly pointed, the question seems not
to be answered ; yet the last clause of the verse
assumes that an unfavorable answer has been
given, and assigns a reason for that answer.
If we divide the first half of the verse, making
the question end with the word, 'then,' and
regarding the next clause as the answer, we
shall get a different but very appropriate and
forcible sense, thus: what fruit then had ye at
that time? (fruit) whereof ye are now

1 Bengel arranges by degrees, thus: ayiaanit, ayuo-
trvvTi, ayi6Ti)s, " sanctification," " sanctity," " holiness."
The last two are predicated especially of Deity, the
first cannot be, as it, by usage, implies the taint and
stain of sin. Holiness in man is properly the result of
a sanctifying process, or of sanctification, taken in its
usual active sense. Our complete sanctification is holi-
ness. The word oyiao-jtos (exclusively a Biblical term)
occurs eight times in Paul's epistles, Rom. 6 : 19, 22 ;
1 Cor. 1: 30; 1 Thess. 4: 3,4,7; 2 Tbess. 2: 13; 1 Tim.
2: 15; also in Heb. 12: 14; 1 Peter 1 : 2. Prof. Cremer
notes three places where the word is used in a passive
signification, meaning holiness — to wit, Rom. 6: 19, 22;
1 Cor. 1 : 30 : ayiorrii (holiness) occurs only in Heb. 12 :

10. " Holiness is the moral quality to be acquired, but
'sanctification' (oyio<r/tio«) includes the sanctifying
act or process, as well as its result." " Bible Commen-
tary."—(F.)

^ 'EAeuflepov, from €Ktv$(pS>, i. q., ipxofiai, literally
means, " free to go." The dative, which in classic Greek
never follows the adjective ' free,' denotes, according to
Cremer, the " moral relation of subjective surrender,"
similarly as in the expression, 'servants to unclean-
ness,' etc., in the last verse. It may be called the dative
of respect or reference. — (F.)

» Notice diflTerence of accent between this rCva (icfuU
fruit) and the nva {some trmt) of 1 : 13.— (F.)

Ch. VI.]

ROMANS.

161

22 But now being made free from sin, aud become
servants to God, ye liave your fruit unto holiness, and
the end everlasting life.

22 death. But now being made tree from sin, and be-
come servants to God, ye have your fruit unto sancti-

23 flcation, and the end eternal life. For the wages of

ashamed. For the end of those things
is death.^ The reasons in favor of this method
of dividing and punctuating the verse are : that
it supplies the answer to the question, which the
last clause of the verse seems to require ; that it
does not require to be supplemented by the
words 'in those things,' in the first clause of the
verse, to wh ich there is nothing answering in the
Greek ; that it furnishes, without these supple-
mental words, a suitable antecedent (in the
plural relative) to the those things of the last
clause ; that it better agrees with the sense of
the preposition, with the relative, of which, or
for which, rendered 'whereof in Common
Version ; that it gives to the words, ' whereof
ye are now ashamed,' which otherwise seem
but an incidental observation, not particularly
relevant, a special pertinence and force; in
fine, that it makes the relation of the three
clauses more plain and pertinent: the first
asks a question, the second answers it, the
third gives a reason for the answer. But
Meyer* objects, that this view is opposed to
" the antithesis in ver. 22, where the having of
fruit, and not its quality, is opposed to the
preceding": but is not the quality expressed
in the words, unto holiness, and do not these
form a very suitable antithesis to fruit 'of
which ye are ashamed ' ? Again he objects, that
the relative 'which' isp^Mra^,whereas the word
^ fruit' is singular: but this can hardly be
regarded as a serious objection, inasmuch as
the word 'fruit is a noun of multitude : again

he objects, that the word 'fruit' [in Paul's
writings] has always a good sense, and that
Paul negatives the evil sense, in Eph. 6: 11,
by calling " the works of darkness unfruit-
ful" : but for proof that the word may be
used in an evil sense, see Matt. 7: 17-19; 12:
33 ; Rom. 7 : 6. There are suflSciently re-
spectable authorities, ancient and modern, on
both sides : withMeyer and the Common [also
the Revised] Version agree Chrysostom, Beza,
Calvin, Grotius, Wetstein, Bengel, Fritzsche,
Winer [Hodge, Stuart, Shedd, Westcott and
Hort, etc.] But in favor of the other view,
are Theodoret, Erasmus, Melanchthon, Tho-
luck, De Wette, Olshausen, [Philippi, Godet,]
Ewald, Tischendorf, etc., etc.

22. But now. The 'now' is rather logical
than temporal, yet in this case both senses
coincide. [This phrase (vui-l Si), expressive of
strong contrast, occurs eighteen times in Paul's
epistles. In the classics it is always used in
a temporal sense.] Being (or, having been)
made free from sin ; not having been made
sinless, but having been emancipated from
the bondage of sin.* Become servants of
God (or, having been enslaved to Ood; com-
pare ver. 18), or, 'having bound yourselves
to the service of God.' Ye have your fruit
unto holiness {or, swnctification),\n contrast
to ver. 21, with emphasis upon have and holi'
ness. [Ye (no longer fruitless) "have your
fruit in the direction of holiness." (Godet.)
Less literally, Noyes: "Ye have holiness as

iWedo not, then, as some vainly imagine, receive
the full punishment of sin as we go along. " Destruc-
tion " lies at the end of the broad road. " The end of
those things is death." " The end of whom is perdi-
tion." The death which sin deserves and incurs is an
essential unity, manifesting itself, however, in diverse
forms. It is death to the body ; death to holiness and
true happiness ; death to eternal life in Christ. It is
death physical, spiritual, eternal, the counterpart of the
eternal life. De Wette says • " It is certain that here
and in ver. 16, the idea of mere physical death does not
suffice." On the bringing forth of fruit unto death,
see ver. 5 of the next chapter. — (F.)

* Meyer's own explanation of the passage is this:
What fruit, now, had ye then of things over which ye are
now ashamed — that is, ye had then no fruit, no moral
gain, etc., and the proof thereof is : for the final result
of those things is death. What leads at last to death
could bring you no moral gain. — (F.)

3 Freed both from its curse and from its reigning
power. When it is said of Christians that they are free
from sin, and that they "cannot sin," we must regard
such expressions as relating to the general character
of the actions of the regenerate. Bengel, after Gataker,
compares the regenerate to the magnetic needle — quce
polum petit; facile dimovetur, sed semper polum repetit.
" The needle seeks the pole, is easily turned away, but
always seeks it again." " The apostle does not expect
from the Christian at once the total eradication of
every sinful propensity in the heart, although that
certainly is the ultimate end at which he aims, but for
the present, that the ungodly inclinations shall merely
not be lords of his inward life." (Tholuck.) Yet what
Christian would not rejoice to be in such subjection to
God anu righteousness that he shall have no unholy
desires ; yea, that he shall attain to the non posse peo-
care — that is, "find it impossible to sin." Compare
lJohn3:9.— (F.)

162

ROMANS.

[Ch. Vll.

23 For the wages of sin is death ; but the gift of God
U eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

sin is death ; but the free gift of Ood is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord.

CHAPTER VII.

KNOW ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that
know the law,) how that the law hath dominion
over a man as long as be liveth?

1 Or are ye ignorant, brethren (for I speak to men
that know >the law), how that the law hath do-

the fruit."] It is a great blessing, not a hard
yoke, to have a holy character. And the
end [ye have as the end] everlasting Iife«

The present fruit, holiness; the future con-
summation, life eternal. [We have in this
verse, remarkable for its depth and compre-
hensiveness, a miniature sketch of the entire
history of a redeemed man, beginning, impli-
edly, with his bondage to sin while in a state
of nature, and ending with the award of the
life eternal. What great and blessed things
»re here spoken of, too great for our finite
comprehension, and for us lost sinners almost
too good to be true! We can only say:
Blessed deliverance! blessed service! blessed
fruit! blessed reward!]

23. For. This verse confirms the preced-
ing, and all the more forcibly on account of
the preliminary reference to the evil from
which we are delivered. The wages of sin.
Compare ver. 16, where sin is represented as
a ruler or master, employing servants and
paying them wages. The word translated
'wages'* was used to designate the pay of a
soldier as our word rations is. It is used in
this restricted sense in Luke 3 :14. In 1 Cor.
9 : 7 it is translated charges. In 2 Cor. 11 : 8
it is in the singular number. These four
places are the only ones where it is used in
the New Testament. Is death. Not merely
physical death, but the opposite of life eternal.
[Godet says: "This term (death), according
to the apostle, does not seem to denote the
annihilation of the sinner. To pay any one
is not to put him out of existence. It is rather
to make him feel the painful consequence of
his sin — to make him reap in the form of cor-
ruption what he has sowed in the form of
sin."] But the (gracious) gift of God.
The penalty of sin is called wages, earned.

and well deserved ; but the fruit of righteous-
ness is not a deserved reward, but the free
gift of God's sovereign grace. Is eternal
life. Not merely unending existence, but
the highest form of life, consummate bliss,
without alloy and without end. Through
Jesus Christ our Lord. Literally, in Christ
Jesus our Lord. The apostle says: "Your
life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ,
who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also
appear with him in glory." (coi.3:3,4.) We
have not this precious treasure in earthen
vessels (a cor. 4:7), where it would be very inse-
cure, but in his almighty hand, where it is
safe forever more. ["The doctrine of sanc-
tification in this chapter, and that of justi-
fication in chapter 5, both end in the same
triumphant conclusion." ("Bible Commen-
tary.")]

Ch. 7 : [Freedom from condemnation and
the law of sin and death to be found only in
Christ, to whom, as if by marriage, we are
united (t: i-s: i).* Many give as the purport
of ver. 14-25, "the utter insuflBciency of the
law to produce sanctification," or "the law
powerless to enable the regenerate man to
overcome sin." According to Philippi, Paul
has pictured in 7: 14-8: 11, "two aspects of
the life of the regenerate man." Olshausen,
with a different view of this chapter, sees in
ver, 7-24, "the development of the individual
until his experience of redemption."] The
relation of the believer to the law is now rep-
sented under a new figure — that of marriage.
This is, in fact, a further illustration of the
proposition laid down in 6 : 14.

1. Know ye not, brethren ? [Literally :
Or are ye ignorant, brethren? The 'or'
naturally relates to what immediately pre-

1 'Oijiuvia, vile verbum. (Erasmus.) — (F.)
* It may be said that we, if regenerate, are already in
Christ, and consequently should find this freedom from
condemnation in ourselves. Yet nothing hinders the
regenerate man from considering himself, apart from
what he is in Christ. So Hofmann and Delitzsch.

Philippi calls this " an empty abstraction." Yet nothing
is more common than for the Christian to think and to
tell, in the way of contrast, what he is and deserves in
himself, and what he is and hopes for "in Christ."
-(F.)

Ch. VII.]

ROMANS.

163

2 For the woman which hath a husband is bound by
the law to her husband as long as he liveth ; but if the

minion over a man for so long a time as he liveth?

2 For the woman that hath a husband is bouud by

law to the husband while he liveih ; but if the hus-

cedes ; yet most expositors refer it back to 6 :
14, " Ye are not under law but under grace."
Do ye not know that ye are freed from sub-
jection to the law, as a source and rule of
justification, 'orare ye ignorant,' etc.? Meyer,
however, refers the 'or' to the last-named
affirmation — that concerning God's gift —
" which affirmation could not be truth, if the
Christian were not free from the law, and did
not belong to the risen Christ instead."] The
word 'brethren' is used here, not in the
national, but in the Christian sense, as in 1 :
13. We are not to regard Paul as addressing
here the Jewish Christians in particular, but
all the beloved of God in Kome (i = i), whether
Jews or Gentiles. For I speak to them
that know the law. This is not to be under-
stood partitively, as if he meant to say, ' I
address myself now to those of you who are
versed in the law ' ; but he addresses himself
to them collectively. [" I am speaking to men
acquainted with the law." (Alford.)] Not
only were Jewish Christians and the Gentile
proselytes acquainted with the law of Moses,
but the Romans generally were a civilized
people, and eminently a people who under-
stood laws. How that the law hath domin-
ion over a man as long as he liveth? [On
the genitive case following the verb, ' have
dominion,' see notes on 6: 9. As the subject
«f ' liveth ' is not expressed, some supply ' law '
rather than ' he,' thus : so long as the law is
in force. But this does not accord so well
with ver. 4. The last verb is an irregular
contract, either indicative or subjunctive in
form, but indicative in meaning. (Boise.)
Philippi, somewhat strangely, interprets this
' liveth ' ethically, "as long as a man lives his
old natural life of sin."] The apostle's subse-
quent argument relates only to the Mosaic
law ; but the affirmation here made is equally
true in generv>,l.

2. Fur the woman which hath a hus-
band [literally, the woman subject to a hus-
band]. This example seems to be chosen,
among many others in which death dissolves
n legal obligation, for the purpose of repre-
senting the union between Christ and the
believer under the figure of the closest and
tenderest of all human relations — that of

husband and wife. This comparison is repeat-
edly used, both in the Old Testament and in

the New. (it*. M: 6; 62: S; Jer. 3: U; si: 32; Uu>es2:
19; John 3: 29; 2Cor.U: 2; Rev. 19:7; 21: 9; 22: 17.1 [Paul

here chooses the example of the wife, because
Christ is to be the second husband. (Godet.) ]
A peculiarity of the illustration in the present
case, which has caused needless perplexity to
some, is the fact that, in the matter designed
to be illustrated here, the party which dies,
and not the survivor, is the one released from
the bond. [The proper antithesis would be:
the husband being dead, the wife is free to
marry another, so the law being dead ye are
free to be married to Christ. But Paul, wish-
ing perhaps to avoid the phrase, the Law being
dead, which would be so oflTensive to Jewish
ears, says: " Ye were rendered dead to the
law," which of course implies that the law
has for such persons become dead. Meyer
says: "The semblance of inappropriateness
vanishes on considering 'ye also' of ver. 4,
from which it is plain that Paul in his illus-
tration follows the view that the death of the
husband implies in a metaphorical sense (by
virtue of the union of the two spouses in one
person), the death of the woman also as re-
spected her married relation, and consequently
her release from the law, in so far as it had
bound heras a married wife to herhusbund."]
The apostle, in using this illustration, would
fix our attention to the one point, that death
dissolves obligation in both cases. He does
not undertake to point out either agreement
or disagreement, in other respects. Is bound
[or, as Winer puts it: accordingly belongs}
by the law to her husband as long as
he liveth. [The right of procuring divorce
belonged to the husband (Deut.24: i,«eq.), which
implies "the law" that the woman was bound
to her husband during his life.] Some have
supposed that the apostle takes the illustration
from the case of the wife, rather than of the
husband, because it was then so easy and so
common, both among Jews and Gentiles, for
the husband to get release before death. It
was a sure sign of moral degeneracy, and a
fruitful cause of increasing it: how much
more is it both, when, as in so many modern
and so-called Christian communities, it is

164

ROMANS.

[Ch. VIL

husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of h^r
hasband.

3 So then if, while /ter husband liveth,shebe married
to another man, she shall be called au adulteress: but
if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so
that she is no adulteress, though she be married to
another man.

4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead
to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be

band die, she is discharged from the law of the

3 husband. So then if, while the husband livetb, she
be joined to another mau, she shall be called an
adulteress: but if the husband die, she is free from
the law, so that she is no adulteress, though she be

4 joined to another man. Wherefore, my orethren,
ye also were made dead to the law through the body

almost equally common, and equally easy for
either party to obtain a legal release for causes
comparatively trivial. But if the husband
be dead [or, better, may have died], she is
loosed — that is, has been set free and remains
so (perfect tense), ^ from the law of her (lit-
erally, the) husband — the law which defines
her relation to her husband. [Philippi says:
"We should have expected, the law of her
husband is annulled (3: si) and she is free.
But in energetic phraseology the notion of
abrogation is transferred to the person," and
we have this pregnant construction: she is
annulled (and made free) from the law.
"The apostle thus gives expression to the
thouglit lying at the basis of his argument,
that with the decease of the husband the wife
also has ceased to exist as respects her legal
connection with him. She is still existent,
but no longer bound to the law [which deter-
mines the relation of the wife to the hus-
band] to wliich she died with the death of the
husband."]

3. So then, or, accordingly therefore : the
coupling of these two logical particles is a
peculiarity of Paul's style, occurring twelve
times in his epistles [see 5 : 18, note]. If»
while her husband liveth, she be married
to another man (more literally: she become
(vfife) to another husband), she shall be called
an adulteress. [The verb here is in the
future of established rule. It primarily meant
to transact business, then to give response or
decision. In later usage it signified to do
business under a certain name or title, hence
to be named or called. Godet remarks that
"a large number of our family names are
names of some trade."] But if her hus-
band be dead (better: if the husband have
died), she is free from that law ; so that
she is no adulteress* though she be
married to another man. The last clause
may be rendered more literally, thus : (for)
having become (wife) to another husband.

[Meyer translates the last clause but one, " in
order that she be not an adulteress," adding
this explanation — "that is the purpose, in-
volved in the divine legal ordinance, of her
freedom from the law." The form of expres-
sion is certainly favorable to this idea of
purpose, if it is not positively decisive. On
the infinitive clause in the genitive, indicating
purpose, see Winer, 324, 325. As a genitive
assigning cause or reason, it depends on the
statement, ' she is free,' etc.]

4. Wherefore, or, so that. [So then, or
accordingly, as in Lange. Beginning a
new clause with a finite verb, the con-
junction (ware) has the sense of wherefore,
therefore. (Winer, 301.) See also Buttmann,
243. The word seems to denote an actual
or natural sequence of fact more than a
mere logical inference.] We have here an
inference both from the general principle
(ver. 1) and from the particular illustration,
(ver. 2, 3.) My brethren, ye also, as well as
in the case used for illustration, are become
dead to the law — rather, were put to death
in respect to the law. [And are thus "quite
like this wife who is dead (as a wife) through
her husband's death, and who thus has the
right to marry again. ... As the new hus-
band is a dead and risen Christ, the wife must
necessarily be represented as dead (through
the death of her first husband, the law) that
she may be in a position to be united to Christ
as one risen again. It is a marriage, as it
were, beyond the tomb." (Godet.)] The
verb is in the past tense and passive voice.
It is the same verb that is translated "to put
to death" in Matt. 26:59; 27:1; Markl4:55;
1 Peter 3 : 18; and "kill" in Kom. 8:36; 2
Cor. 6 : 9. Perhaps the apostle preferred this
stronger expression {0avaT6<n) instead of the

common one (inoOvriaKio') "to die" (Eom. 6:8, etc.),

as conveying a more distinct allusion to the
violent death of Christ. He might have said,
'the law is dead to you,' but this, besides

1 On the force of the perfect tense aa denoting the present when it follows the subjunctive of objectire
possibility, see 2 : 25, and Winer, 293.— (F.)

Ch. VIL]

ROMANS.

165

married to another, even to him who is raised from the
dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.
5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins.

of Christ; that ye should be ioined to another, even

to him who was raised from the dead, that we might

6 bring forth iruit unto God. For wlien we were in

the flesh, the ^sinfui passions, which were through

1 Or. pauion* of tint.

being more offensive to the Jews, would not
have agreed so well with the representation
in the previous chapter. There we are said
to die to sin. The argument here may be
presented in a sort of tabular form, thus:

Death dissolves legal obligation :

Death has dissolved the legal obligation between bus-
band and wife ;

Therefore the wife is at liberty to be married to
another.

Death has dissolved the legal obligation between the
law and us ;

Therefore we are at liberty to form another union.

There the survivor is released ; here the one that dies.

By (or through) the body of Christ— that
is, by the crucifixion of Christ's body. [Com-
pare Col. 1 : 22 ; Heb. 10 : 5, 10 ; 1 Peter 2 : 24;
also 2 Cor. 6 : 14. " If one died for all, then
all died." Here and in the previous chapter
the mystical union of the believer with Christ
is everywhere brought to view or presupposed.
"We are crucified with Christ, we die with
Christ, we are buried with Christ, we rise
with Christ, we live and reign with Christ,
etc.] That ye should be married to
another. Not incorrect as to sense, though
a more exact rendering would be : That ye
might become (wife) to another, to him who
is raised from the dead. [Compare Gal.
2:19: "Through the law I died to the law,
that I might live unto God."] That we
should (or might) bring forth fruit unto
God. The kind of fruit which we are to
bring forth is specified in Gal. 5 : 22, 23. [The
idea of fruit-bearing may here have some
reference to the marriage relation. Yet the
figure of bringing forth fruit is used, inde-
pendently of such relation, quite commonly in
the Scriptures. The final aim of our having
been made dead to the law, and of our be-
coming wedded to Christ, is that we may live
with and for the risen Saviour a new and
holy fruit-bearing life.] Observe the change
from the second person in the first two verbs
to i\\e first person in the last. "As the argu-
ment advances, the language of the apostle
becomes com.municative, so that he includes

himself with his readers." (Meyer.) Com-
pare 8 : 15.
5. For when we were in the flesh.

[We should naturally have expected here,
'when we were under the law.' But the
expression 'in the flesh' supposes the legal
state prior to death with Christ.] This verse
shows the need there was of a radical change,
and confirms the last clause of the preceding
verse. When we were in our carnal, unre-
generate state (8:8,9), which was, as the next
verse intimates, a state of subjection to exter-
nal rites and carnal commandments. (Q>i.4:9;
Heb. 9: 10.) "Tobe in the flesh is to be endowed
only with the gifts of nature, while the pecu-
liar grace is wanting, which God condescends
to bestow on his own elect." (Calvin.) [The
word translated ' flesh ' ^ is of frequent occur-
rence in Paul's writings, and is found twenty-
four times in this Epistle. It naturally de-
notes that which is weak and perishable, but
is often used in the ethical sense of unclean,
sinful. In 8 : 3 it is called the " flesh of sin,"
not because it is the source of sin or because
it is essentially sinful, but because it has, in a
special manner, been taken possession of and
controlled by sin. Prof. Cremer says it signi-
fies "the sinful condition of human nature in
and according to its bodily manifestation."
A glance at Gal. 5 : 19, " works of the flesh,"
shows that envying, enmity, wrath, are as
much the fruit of the flesh, according to Paul's
use of this term, as are the sensual acts of
fornication, uncleanness, etc. According to
2 Cor. 10 : 2, 3, we may walk in the flesh, and
yet not according to the flesh. As Christians,
we must war with the flesh as long as we live,
but not war according to the flesh.]

Observe the distinct notation of time, 'when
we were.' The motions of sins. Literally,
'the passions of sins,' not merely sinful pas-
sions, but passions which are the occasions of,
the excitements to, actual sins. [Alford has
"strivings" of sins, "incitements" to sins;
the Bible Union Version, "emotions of sins."
The word (vaOrinaTa) is usually rendered suffer-
ings or aflflictions. Gal. 5 : 24, in our Common

I 2ap(, in distinction from tpiat, denotes living flesh and includes ihe idea of organism.— (F.)

166

ROMANS.

[Ch. VII.

which were by the law, did woric in our members to
bring forth fruit unto death.
6 but now we are delivered from the law, that being

the law, wrought in our members to bring forth

6 fruit unto death. But now we have been discliarged

from the law, having died to that wherein we were

Version, reads: "Have crucified the flesh
with the affections and lusts;" in the Re-
vised Version, "passions and lusts." It is a
stronger word than desire, coveting, or lust
(cTTieufiia), yet both may be regarded as sinful
and both lead to sins. Thus the law not only
produces a knowledge of sins, but is, in one
sense, causative of sins. Adam Clarke, how-
ever, says that "the law is only the means of
disclosing our sinful propensity, not of pro-
ducing it. As a bright beam of the sun intro-
duced into a room shows millions of motes in
all directions — but these were not introduced
by the light, but were there before ... so
the evil propensity was in the heart before,
but there was not light sufficient to discover
it." Paul, however, goes further than this,
and makes the law, by its prohibitory, re-
straining power, the innocent means of excit-
ing to activity the dormant sinful passions.
See ver, 8.] Which were by the law.
"Which emotions were by means of the law,
were provoked by the law's prohibition.
"The strength of sin is the law." (i cor.i5:56.)
[See ver. 8; also 5:20, "that the trespass
might abound." The law has been repre-
sented as a Zugel, a Spiegel, and a Riegel, or
a bridle, a mirror, and a bar. We naturally
resist restraint. Nitimur in vetitum semper,
eupimusque negata : " We always strive after
that which is forbidden, and desire that which
is denied." The reason why transgressors are
not more conscious of their transgressions,
and why their enmity against God is not often
felt and shown, is that God leaves them, in a
measure, to their own chosen ways, and does
not exercise his full restrictive power. If
God, to use the thought of another, should
stretch a chain across the road to hinder the
progress of one violating the Sabbath, the
man would soon become conscious of wrath-
ful feelings against his Maker.] Did work
in our members — that is, wrought, or were
active, in our members [thus making these
members weapons of iniquity. 6:13; com-
pare Col. 3 : 5]. The verb so translated, though

passive in form (or rather middle in the New
Testament), is always active in sense, (oai.
5:6; James 5: 16.) [It has, according to EUicott,
"a persistent and effective character." The
middle form of this verb is, in Paul's writings,
always used of non-personal action. (Winer,
258.)] To bring forth fruit unto death.
That we should bring forth fruit, or, to the
bringing forth of fruit. 'Unto death' does
not mean unto death as the final result, how-
ever true that sense might be ; but death is
personified as the antithesis to God at the end
of ver. 4. That was fruit for God — God's
fruit; this is fruit for death — death's fruit.
[How vain, then, to look to the law for life or
help when it only threatens with a curse, and,
apart from Christ's grace, works only for and
unto death. "That man that overtook you,"
said Christian, "was Moses. He spareth
none, neither knoweth he how to show mercy
to those that transgress the law." ("Pil-
grim's Progress.")]

6. But now, in distinction from the
'when' at the beginning of ver. 5. We are
(have been) delivered from the law. [That
the law here referred to is the moral and not
the ceremonial law is evident from the use of
this word in the next verse, and in others
which follow. We have been discharged
from the law, not as as rule of duty, but as
a ground or direct means of justification.
"By the revelation and gift of grace, man's
relation to the law as a criminal is done
away." (Cremer.) "We are freed from
the law when God emancipates us from its
rigid exactions and curse, and endues us with
his Spirit, through whom we walk in his
ways." (Calvin.)] The indefinite past tense
of the Greek here requires the perfect in
English, as in 11 ;30, 31, and often — always
indeed — where it has connected with it an
adverb of present time.^ That being dead
wherein we were held. The participle
translated 'being dead' is, according to the
correct text, in the plural number, agreeing
with 'we,' and not in the singular, agreeing

1 We have this verb in ver. 3, and often elsewhere.
See notes on 3 : 31 ; 6:6. Ellicott, on Col. 1 : 21, remarks
that " in this union of the emphatic particle of abso-
lutely present time with the aorist, the aorist is not

equivalent to a present or perfect, but marks with the
proper force of the tense that the action followed a
given event and is now done with." Still, we can do
no better than to render it aa perfect.— (F.)

Ch. VII.]

ROMANS.

167

dead wherein we were held ; that we should serve in
newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God
forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law : for
I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou
sbalt not covet.

holden ; so that we serve in newness of the spirit,
and not in oldness of the letter.

7 What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God for-
bid. Howbeit, I bad not known sin, except through
1 the law: for I had not known > coveting, except the

8 law had said, Thou shalt not * covet : but sin, finding

1 Or, taw 2 Or, liMt.

with 'that'— to wit, the law; and the true
sense is, we having died to that in which we
were held — namely, the law. The difference
between the two forms of the word in Greek
is only a difference of a single vowel, e (*)
instead of o (o). This change is required alike
by external and internal evidence. The plural
form is required by the consistency of the
representation. See ver. 4, and 6:2, 8, 11.
[The verb 'held' (or, held down) occurs in
1:18.] That we should serve. 'So that
we serve,' not 'should' serve. The inference
is stated as a matter of fact, not merely as an
obligation. In newness of spirit, and not
in the oldness of the letter. [Luther:
"In the new nature of the Spirit, and not in
the old nature of the letter." Compare the
like form of expression in 6:4.]* In the new
life of the Spirit, and not in the old life of the
letter; in a new and hearty spiritual obedi-
ence, and not in the old and servile literal
conformity. ["The Spirit— that is, the Holy
Spirit of God, who originates and penetrates
the Christian life— the first mention of the
Spirit so much spoken of in chapter 8."
(Alford.) So De Wette, Meyer, Philippi,
Godet, Hodge, Riddle. As a proper name, it
stands without the article. "The letter," says
De Wette, "is the Mosaic law, after which, as
an outward norm, the moral life of the Jews
should be regulated." Compare 2 Cor. 3 :
6, 7: "The ministration of death in letters,
written and engraven in stones;" "the letter
killeth." Calvin says: "Before our will is
formed according to the will of God by the
Holy Spirit, we have in the law nothing but
the outward letter, which, indeed, bridles our
external actions, but does not in the least
restrain the fury of our lusts. And he (Paul)

ascribes 'newness' to the Spirit because it
succeeds the old man, as the letter is called
'old' because it perishes through the Spirit."
For a like use of the word ' newness,' see 6 : 4.]
That the new and hearty spiritual service was
a service of God, and the old and literal ser-
vice a service of sin, was so self-evident that
no further definition was needed. When the
life of a professed Christian contradicts this
representation, it is no longer the Christian
life.

The effect of the law is to make sin known
(ver. 7) and to excite it to greater activity
(Ter.sii), so that, while the law is good (»«■. w),
it becomes the occasion of manifesting more
fully the exceeding sinfulness of sin. (ver. ij.)

7. What shall we say then? Compare
4:1; 6:1. Is the law sin? A question
suggested by ver. 5: "The motions of sins
which were by the law." As the subject is
abstract, an abstract predicate was suitable.
He might have said: Is the law sinful? but
that would have been less forcible. [This
question relates to the law as being itself sinful
rather than as being simply causative of sin.]
God forbid. No; the law is not sin ; that is
not what I meant to say; but I did not know
sin, etc.* Except the law. I did not under-
stand the essential nature and comprehensive-
ness of sin [its power and enormity] except
by the law. Nay {for indeed, t« yap), I had
not known lust — coveteousness (as sin) — ex-
cept the law had said. Thou shalt not
covet.* [Note the use of the prohibitory
future, 'Thou shalt not covet,' instead of the
imperative. This legal (Old Testament) idiom
"views the command as already obeyed in
the future, and is, therefore, more command-
ing in tone than the imperative." (Philippi.)]

1 The negative i^n rather than oG is used in telic sen-
tences, and with the infinitive after wore, denoting
consequence, though this consequence be a matter of
fact. It is admitted here because the contrasted noun
is negatived and not the verb. (Buttmann, 349.)— (F.)

1 With ay the rendering would be : I should not have
known (such a thing as) sin. Here the apostle repre-
sents it more as an actual occurrence.— (F.)

» The word n**'", though pluperfect in form, is used
for the imperfect, and its literal rendering here would
be: / teas not Inuncing, or, supplying av, I should not
have knoum. On the frequent omission of av in the
apodosis in later Greek, especially with the imperfect
tense, see Winer, 305.— (F.)

168

ROMANS.

[Ch. VII.

8 But sin, taking occasion bv
wrought in me all manner of
without the law sin uas dead.

the commandment,
concupiscence. For

occasion, wrought in me through the commandment
all manner of i coveting : for apart from > the law sin

1 Or, ItMt i Or, law.

' Lust,' or coveteousness [with the article, '*the
desire after whatever is forbidden" (Meyer)],
here includes all unlawful desire, whatever
be the object. "I should not have recognized
such desire as sin if the law had not forbidden
it." ["What the law forbids us to covet
(Exod. 20 : 17; Deut. 5 : 21) was no concern
of the apostle here, looking to the universality
of his representation." (Meyer.) Two dif-
ferent verbs, meaning know, are used in this
verse (to wit, yivMCKta and olSa). The former
denotes, generally, a more intimate knowl-
edge, a fuller understanding, than the latter,
which means rather to know about something,
to be aware of some fact. "Ginosko (the
former), while it includes oida (the latter),
contains also much more; piercing through
circumstantial knowledge, it reaches to the
discernment of the inner nature, of character,
of moral qualities, habits, temper, affections.
It signifies appreciation or experimental ac-
quaintance, whether good or bad, such as
exists between intimate friends or inveterate
foes." (" Bible Commentary.") According
to Prof. Cremer, the former implies an active
^'personal relation between the person know-
ing and the object known,"' whereas in the
use of the latter the object of knowledge "has
simply come within the sphere of perception,
within the knower's circle of vision." The
former (yivaifficw), therefore, is naturally used
of Christian knowledge, the saving knowledge
of God, of Christ, of truth and salvation.
Though Paul here uses the pronoun, 'I,' he
at the same time speaks representatively for
others.] Observe how jealously the apostle
guards against any disparagement of the law,
both here and in ver. 12, 13.

8. But sin. The 'but' is explained by the
emphatic negation in the preceding verse:
No, indeed, the law is not sin ; but (it is true)
that 'sin,' taking occasion [start, or im-
pulse, hence "more than mere opportunity "
(Alford)] — that is, finding the wherewith to
attack me. [Sin is here, as in ver. 11, per-
sonified as an enemy.] It will be observed
that the punctuation is changed in this verse,
and the phrase 'by the commandment' is
separated from 'taking occasion' [with which

Olshausen and Philippi would connect it] and
joined with the following clause. There are
two reasons for this change [favored by De
Wette, Meyer Godet, and most expositors]:
In the first place, the preposition by (Sm) is
not the one which would be used after 'taking
occasion,' if those two clauses had been in-
tended to be so connected, but the preposition
from («(c) would have been used ; in the sec-
ond place, the last clause of ver. 11, ' and by
it slew me,' shows the true connection of 'by
the commandment' with the following verb.
[See also ver. 13.] Wrought in me all
manner of concupiscence ; rather, coveting
(Kevised Version) — that is, of unlawful desire.
[This word {imeviJ.Ca') is once used by our
Saviour of holy desire. (Luke 22:15.) See also
Gal. 5:17: "The Spirit lusteth against the
flesh."] Our common translation, by using
such different words — lust, covet, concupis-
cence— in these two verses, loses much of the
force of the apostle's language. The Bible
Union Kevision [as also the Canterbury Re-
vision] avoids this fault. For without (or,
apart from) the law sin was dead— that
is, inoperative, inactive, comparatively. Is,
rather than 'was,' should be supplied here;
the aflirmation is a general maxim. [This
death of sin must be regarded as relative
and not as absolute. In this death-state "sin
cannot mature in its root; it cannot come
to transgression.^' (Lange.) "The inward
discord is not yet awakened." (De Wette.)
"As a rapidly-flowing stream rolls calmly on
so long as no object checks it, but foams and
roars so soon as any hindrance stops it, just
as calmly does the sinful element hold its
course through the man so long as he does
not stem it, but if he would realize the divine
commandment, he begins to feel the force of
the element of whose dominion he had as yet
no suspicion." (Olshausen.) The law, com-
ing home to the conscience in all its spiritu-
ality and power, and making known the guilt
and condemnation attendant on its willful
violation, may well be called "the strength
of sin." (1 Cor. 15:56.) Meyer regards ' without
the law ' as utter absence, or utter ignorance,
of the law, but this meaning ill accords with

Ch. VIL]

ROMANS.

169

9 For I was alive without the law once: but wboo |
the commandment came, sin revired, and I died. |

9 it dead. And I was alire apart from > the law once:
but when the commandment came, sin revived, and

1 Or, low.

the next verse.] What can the word 'sin'
denote, at the beginning and end of this verse
but the principle of sin, depravity, indwelling
sin?

9. For. The Greek particle at the begin-
ning of this verse would be better translated,
noiv ; 'for,' of the Common Version, is too
strong, ' and,' of the Bible Union Revision,
is too weak. Now I was alive (or, was liv-
ing; note the force of the imperfect tense)
without the law once— better, apart from
the law formerly. The law was to me (though
a familiar object from my youth) an external,
distant, object ; it had not come home to me
[in all its breadth and spirituality and con-
demning ^oyiev]. When was this form,erly f
Not in some imaginary period of primeval or
youthful innocence and piety (Origen, Augus-
tine, Meyer, De Wette, Godet, and others),
but, as explained below, before 'the command-
ment came ' to the heart and conscience " with
a convincing power and light." ' I was liv-
ing' expresses activity, in contrast with 'dead,'
at the end of the preceding verse. It ex-
presses also the enjoyment of life, compara-
tive peace, hopefulness, and security — security
in its more appropriate sense, freedom from
care, not from danger. [Melanchthon speaks
of three states : of security, of being under
the law, and of regeneration ; and thinks the
first state was the one here described by Paul.
Philippi would place Paul's Pharisaic period
in the second status, or would in a measure
combine the first two together. This life-state
apart from the law has no reference to child-
hood. It can better be predicated of the self-
righteous, who are living at ease, whose con-
sciences are at rest, and who are satisfied with
themselves — like the young ruler, for example,
who said: "All these things have I observed
from my youth up; what lack I yet?" Saul
the Pharisee, too, was thus alive when he
could say of himself, in accordance with ordi-
nary human judgment: "Touching the right-
eousness which is in the law, found blameless."
Sec Phil. 3: 6, Revised Version.] But when
the commandment came — to me person-
ally, as a living power. (Heb.4:i».) Sin re-
vived, and I died. [Not simply revived as
from a state of dormancy, but sprang into life

as from a state of death. Stuart renders:
" gathered new life " ; Meyer: "came to life
again" (resumed its proper living nature),
which, in his view, is its sole meaning through-
out the New Testament.] Before, / was alive,
and sin was, to appearance, dead. Now the
case is reversed : Sin cam.e to life, but I died.
Sin sprang into life and activity, aroused by
the prohibitory commandment. But I died ;
I lost that comfortable, hopeful, self-compla-
cency, which was my life before. If ' I was
living' means "I was enjoying a sort of
peace, security, and hopefulness," then 'I
died' must mean "I fell into trouble, alarm,
and despondency.'' "The death of sin is a
man's life, and the life of sin his death."
(Calvin.) How little men know of the sin
that is in them, till the commandment comes I
Preaching should be adapted to bring the
commandment home to the unconverted. [' I
died,' according to Prof. Turner, "expresses
a consciousness of being condemned, and in a
state of moral and penal death." Meyer
regards this dying as the incurring of eternal
death. Hence in his view, the person who
was alive without the law had not incurred
this death. Prof. Stuart thinks the phrase
' I was alive ' denotes that the subject was
comparatively inactive in sin, or was not des-
perate in sin, and explains it by the Saviours
words: "If I had not come and spoken to
them, they had not had sin." So, in his view,
' I died ' signifies that the man came " under
the active and predominating power and pen-
alty of sin." To the common interpretation,
"I once deemed myself spiritually alive, but
when I came under conviction by the law, a
sense of sin revived and I was brought to
deem myself spiritually dead," he makes
this objection, that this bringing a sinner
under real and true conviction as to his des-
perate spiritual condition, would be to him
the means of life, rather than of death, as is
stated in the next verse. To affirm that the
law " ruins sinners by bringing them under a
sense of their guilt and condemnation," would,
he says, be "a singular conclusion." But the
apostle, in this representation, would seem to
regard the law as the only Saviour, the only
source of life and help and hope. And on

170

ROMANS.

[Ch. VII.

10 And the commandraent, which was ordained to
life, I found to be unto death.

11 For sin, talwing occasion by the commandment,
deceived me, and by it slew me.

12 Wberetore the law is holy, and the commandment
holy, and just, and good.

10 I died ; and the commandment, which teas unto life,

11 this I found to be unto death: for sin, fiuding occa-
sion, through the commandment beguiled me, and

12 through it slew me. So that the law is holy, and
the commandment holy, and righteous, and good.

this supposition to be " slain by the law " (see
ver. 11), to come to a vivid consciousness of
condemnation, of desert of eternal death, and
of the inability of the law to effect his deliv-
erance, would be to him death indeed, were
there no Christ by whom he could be made
alive. And now that a Saviour is provided,
and the gospel's offers made known, does not
the convicted, burdened, lost sinner, who in
his darkness and guilt cannot find the way of
life, and who cries out in anguish for days or
weeks or months, it may be, " What shall I
do to be saved?" experience something of
the misery of the lost, something of the pains
of eternal death?]

10. And so, not something new and addi-
tional, but the same truth stated with change
of grammatical subject: The command-
ment, which was ordained to life (better,
for life — that is, "meant for life, and tending to
life), I foand to be nnto death ; or, ' this
was found to be to me for death.' This is the
literal translation of Paul's language. See
the proof that the commandment was meant
for life in Lev. 18: 5; Deut. 5: 33. [The
Common Version omits the emphatic this
(ounj, not >j aimj, the Same) very commandment
was found, or proved by personal experience,
to be for death. The very disappointment
which the earnest soul of Paul felt, when he
found the law in which he trusted for life was
only the means of death, must have been to
him as death itself.]

11. The for explains how that came to pass
which the preceding verse affirms. For sin,
taking [having taken] occasion. On the
punctuation of this verse, and the connection
of the clauses, see note on ver. 8. By the
commandment, deceived me, and by it
(or that) slew me. ["Slain by the law."
Compare 2 Cor. 3: 6. "The letter killeth."
Every one made alive by Christ must first be
slain by the law — must lie at the Saviour's
feet as dead. When the commandment came
home to the apostle's heart and conscience in
all its obligatory and condemnatory power,
sin gathered new life; it revived and he died.
So whenever this law work takes place in

the sinner's soul, the Spirit discovers to him
the plague, the desperate depravity of his
heart, his carnal hopes are slain, and his mind
is filled with darkness, anguish, and despair.
In such a state as this he suffers, as we may
suppose, the very torments of hell.] Com-
pare 'I died.' (Ver. 9.) There seems to bean
allusion here to the fall of our first parents :
indeed, the verb translated ' deceived ' is pre-
cisely the same as is found in the Greek trans-
lation of Gen. 3: 13, where the English reads
'beguiled.' Compare 2 Cor. 11: 3; 1 Tim.
2: 14. There, as here, there was both a de-
ceiving and a slaying ; and both by means of
(or through the intervention of) the com-
mandment. Sin used the commandment to
make that appear desirable to me which was
really pernicious. [This would be the natural
result of a prohibitory commandment, espe-
cially since "we always strive for the for-
bidden, and desire that which is denied."]
Sin is always a deceiver. (Heb. 3:i3.) It always
promises more pleasure and advantage than
it gives. (Gen. 3:5, 6.) And the command-
ment which forbids it becomes the occasion of
increasing the deception; because it makes
the seeming good greater beforehand by the
prohibition, and the real evil greater after-
ward by the penalty.

12. Wherefore— better, so that, since it
was not the law that was the efficient cause of
sin, but my own perversely sinful disposition,
taking occasion from the law; the law is
holy, and the commandment holy — in its
source and nature, and just, in its precepts
and penalty, and good, in its design. Observe
how conclusively the question of ver. 7 is
answered : the law, so far from being sin is
wholly and emphatically the opposite. [The
antithetic but (Si) corresponding to the 'in-
deed' (jitV), is unexpressed, but is virtually
contained in the next verse : The law 'indeed'
is good (morally excellent, or perhaps bene-
ficial, compare the 'righteous' and 'good' of
5 : 7), biit sin misuses it in working out death to
me by that (law) which is good. (Winer, 575. )
The commandment here characterized doubt-
less has special reference to that mentioned in

Ch. VII.]

ROMANS.

171

13 Was then that which is good made death unto me?
God furbid. But siD, that it uiigbt appear sin, working
death in uie by that whicli is good; that sin by the
coQimauduieat might become exceeding sinful.

13 Did then that which is good become death unto
me? God forbid, but sin, that it might be sliewn
tu be sin, by worlcing death to me through that
which is good; — that through the commandment

14 sin might become exceeding sinful. For we know

ver. 7, ' Thou shalt not covet.' " "Were the
law unjust in its requirements or its penalties,
it were no merit in Jesus that he died to honor
it, and to deliver us from its curse. Nor were
it any mercy in God to grant us pardon for
its transgression. As it is, we must subscribe
to the justice of God in our condemnation."
(Fuller.) Chalmers, speaking of the good-
ness of the law, not as a means of justification,
but as a rule of moral conduct, says; "You
may not be able to purchase the king's favor
with gold ; but he may grant you his favor,
and, when he requires your appearance before
him, it is still in gold he may require you to
be invested. And thus of the law. It is not
by your own righteous conformity thereto
that you purchase God's favor, for this has
been already purchased by the pure gold of
the Saviour's righteousness, and is presented
to all who believe on him. But still it is with
your own personal righteousness that you
must be gilded and adorned. It is not the
price wherewith you have bought heaven, but
it is the attire in which you must enter it."]

13. Was then that which is good made
death unto me? The Revised Version is
more exact : ^^Did then that which is good be-
come death unto me" ? * ' Death,' the abstract,
as 'sin.' (ver. 7.) Here, as there, the effect
for the cause : is the law the cause of sin ? has
that which is good become to me the cause of
death ? that is, the efficient, responsible cause.
God forbid I far be it! But sin has becometo
me the cause of death : in order that it might
appear !«in, in order that it might be seen in
its true malignity. [He does not say : that it
might be sin, since sin had a prior existence.]
The word 'appear' is here emphatic. This
manifestation of the evil nature and bitter
consequence of sin, in turning that which is
good into an occasion of death [the very
worst of perversions], working death in (to)
me by that which is good— was definitely
ordained by God (' in order that'), as a neces-
sary preparation for redemption. That (in
order that), a still further and more ultimate
divine purpose, sin by (m.eansof) the com-

mandment might become exceeding sin-
ful. The word translated 'exceeding' — that
is, 'in overmeasure' [compare 1 Cor. 12: 31;
2 Cor. 1: 8; 4: 17; Gal. 1: 13], is the word
hyperbole, the technical rhetorical terra for
exaggeration in speech. It might well be ren-
dered beyond measure. 'Exceeding' sinful
may have been strong enough at the time our
own translators used it ; but it has been so toned
down by frequent use, that it seems too tame
now. The word translated 'sinful ' is usually
a noun, and as such is translated sinner more
than forty times; but here, and in three other

places (Matt. 8: 38; Luke 5: 8; M: 7), it is UScd &B SO

adjective. Theophylact, one of the Greek
commentators, uses this illustration: "Just
as a disorder, when it has become worse, may
be said to display, by means of the healing
art, its malignity, as not being removed even
by that."

With ver. 14 begins a section, in respect to
which there has been a radical difference of
opinion among the ablest commentators, from
very ancient times. Does it describe the
experience of a regenerate or of an unregen*
erate man? There is no question that the
preceding section (Ter.7is), applies to the unre-
generate. And very many able commenta-
tors, both among the ancients and among the
moderns, maintain that it is an unregenerate
experience still which is described to the end
of the chapter. It will suffice to mention the
names of Theodoret, Julius Miiller, Neander,
Tholuck, Ewald, and Meyer. [We may add
the names of Bengel, Hahn, Hengstenberg,
Nitzscb, Kaekert, De Wette, Stier, Kahnis,
Godet, Olshausen, Wordsworth, Turner, Rid-
dle, Schaff, JStuart. Olshausen and Turner
would make ver. *2o begin a new experience
and new chapter. Many of the writers named
suppose that Paul's description has reference
to the unregenerate, not as in a state of secur-
ity, but as an awakened sinner. The " Bible
Commentary" says: inter regenerandum, dur-
ing the process of regeneration. Of the writers
above named, Meyer is perhaps the most
determined opponent of the view maintained

» Instead of the perfect tense, the oldest MSS. J< A B C D E give the terb in the sorist, iyiytro.—(F.)

172 ROMANS. [Ce. VII.

14 For we know that the law is spiritual : but I am
carnal, sold under sin.

that the law is spiritual : but I am carnal, sold under

in this commentary.] On the other hand, it
has seemed to many scholars, that the change
of tense in the verbs, from the past to the
present, in ver. 14 and onward, indicates a
different date and phase of religious experi-
ence from the preceding, and that what is
said from this point is rightly interpreted as
the experience of a regenerate man. This
view is defended by Jerome, Augustine (both
of whom, however, originally held the opposite
view), Melanchthon, Calvin, Beza, Krum-
macher, Delitzsch, Luthardt, and others.
[Among these "others," we may mention the
names of Luther, Chalmers, Brown, Haldane,
Forbes, Philippi, Umbreit, Hofmann, Tho-
masius, Alford (substantially), Hodge, Shedd,
Barnes, Boise. Accordingto Augustine's state-
ment, his change of views was owing to the
writings of "Hilary, Gregory, Ambrose, and
other holy and known doctors of the church,"
and thus was not due simply to his "warm
dispute" with Pelagius. And Prof. Stuart's
statement that " Augustine was the first who
suggests the idea that this passage must be
applied to Christian experience" would ap-
pear to be incorrect.] This view is adopted
by the writer of these notes. For a fuller
discussion of this difficult question, see Ap-
pendix D.

It should be here remembered, however,
that those who adopt this view do not by any
means regard these verses as designed to de-
scribe the normal experience of the Christian
life,^ but only that phase of it which comes to
view, when the regenerate man allows himself
to regard mainly his relations to the moral
law, instead of looking to Christ as his surety
and his righteousness. They believe that, as
it was the design of the previous section (^er. t-is)
to show how powerless the law is to convert a
sinner, so it is the design of this section (ver.
1*25) to show that the law is equally power-
less to enable the regenerate man to over-
come sin.

[The apostle in this section (yer. u.25) repre-
sents the Christian as looking on and in him-

self, and comparing his thoughts and deed£
with those which the perfect law of God re-
quires. Hence the most advanced Christian,
tried by this perfect standard, w^ill be, and will
feel himself to be, condemned and lost. His
language will be : " With my mind I myself
do indeed serve the law of God, but with the
flesh the law of sin, and only in Christ Jesus
is there freedom from condemnation." See
ver. 25, and 8: 1. From this point of view we
may say, not only that " the law is powerless
to enable the regenerate man to overcome sin,"
but that grace will not so sanctify our natures
that we shall not need to be sheltered in Christ,
in order to be justified and saved. Through
Jesus Christ, who is "the Lord, our righteous-
ness," do we give thanks to God for our deliver-
ance both from condemnation and from the
reigning power of sin. Philippi says that in the
two passages (7: k-k; 8: 111) "are pictured the
two aspects ever appearing in mutual connec-
tion, of one and the same spiritual status, so
that the regenerate man, according as his
glance is directed to the one or the other
aspect, is able to affirm both of himself at
every moment; as well what is said in 7 : 23
as what is said in 8 : 2. Hence also ever rises
from his heart with equal truth the twofold
cry, as well : ' Oh, wretched man,' as ' I thank
God.'"]

14. For Ave know. The 'for' is explana-
tory of the relative positions of sin and the
law [and introduces, virtually, a proof of the
intrinsic excellence of the law as drawn from
Christian experience. None but the regen-
erate have this kind and degree of knowl-
edge]. ' We know,' it is with us an understood
and acknowledged principle, as in 2 : 2 ; 3 : 19.
That the law is spiritual, as being from
God, who is spirit, and as requiring of men
spiritual purity. [It being spiritual in its
nature also concerns itself not merely with
outward acts, but with "the thoughts and
intents of the heart." Its language is : Thou
shalt not covet, shalt not indulge in "inordi-
nate desires and sinful aflfections." "Civil

1 Yet Philippi says that even the " normal condition "
will allow the carnal principle to break out in word and
deed, and come to open manifestation, though these
will only be moments of ignorance, feebleness, and
rashness, to which the innermost will of man refuses

its assent, with which he stands in no alliance, and to
which he does not yield an unregretted and undisputed
dominion. In this connection, compare £ph. 4: 22;
Col. 3: 5; Heb. 12: 1.— (F.)

Ch. VII ]

ROMANS.

178

law judj;es but the act. . . . Only the re-
vealed Nomos, just because it is spiritual,
judges even the evil desire and inclination
itself." (Philippi.)] Bat I am carnal.
There are two Greek adjectives, both derived
from the Greek noun, meaning fleah ((rapO,
and differing in form only by a single letter
and the position of the accent, yet differing
widely in sense; one is aarkinos (aapKH'ot), the
other aarkikoa (cropKuctk). The first means,
properly, "consisting of the material, sarx,"
fleshy [or "fleshen," as Farrarhas it] (Latin,
carneus, from came, flesh) ; the second means
"partaking of the quality, sarx," fleshy
(Latin, carnalis). The first is, without dis-
pute, the word used in 2 Cor. 3:3, "not in
tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the
heart." The second is no less certainly the
word used in Rom. 15 : 27 ; 1 Cor. 9 : 11. It is
not strange that words so nearly alike in form
should sometimes be confounded with each
other in manuscripts. Out of about a dozen
places where one or the other occurs, there
are five places where the readings of different
manuscripts are divided between the two, and
there is only the one place, already cited
(scor. s:s), where all the manuscripts unite on
the former of the two words. In the passage
now before us, while the text used by our
translators had the latter of these words, the
best critical editions, following the oldest
manuscripts [K A B C D E F G], now have the
former. And the same is true of 1 Cor. 3 : 1
and Heb. 7 : 16. Meyer [and so Alford] re-
gards the word sarkinos as the stronger of the
two [but Trench and Farrar as the weaker]
in this connection, and derives from it, as
such, a special argument against the applica-
tion of it to the regenerate. [He says: "This
is the Pauline expression of 'that which is
born of the flesh is flesh.' " (JohQ3:6.) He also
maintains, as a very strong argument in favor
of his view, that the work of the Spirit, so
often referred to in the next chapter, is not
mentioned in this entire section (only in ver.
6), and the flesh is here represented, not as
warring against the Spirit, as is the case with
the regenerate (Q»i.5:i7), but only against the
person's own weak mind or inner man. There
would be much force in this argument if
the person in question was represented as a
psychical or natural man, for such have not
the Spirit and cannot receive the things of

the Spirit. But the inner man here spoken
of has rather the character of the new man
than of the old or natural man. Does not this
person, in bis mind or inner man, discern
and approve (see 1 : 28; 2 : 18; 14 : 22) what is
the good and acceptable and perfect will of
God? But this is precisely the characteristic
of the renewed mind. (>* = »•) "To suppose
that the unrenewed in mind can have the
gracious purpose, will, and feelings mentioned
in this passage, is to suppose that something
besides flesh is born of the flesh." (Philippi.)
If hatred of sin, delighting in God, and the
fixed will to do right are to be looked upon
as fruits of the flesh (Gai.5:M) and not of the
Spirit, we must utterly despair of understand-
ing the Pauline theology.] But it is just this
form of the word (vifuavot), according to the
best authorities, which is applied in 1 Cor. 3: 1
to those whom Paul there addresses as breth'
ren, and expressly recognizes as being in
Christ, though but babes in him. [Thus a
Christian may, in one sense, be carnal op
ratherfleshen, but not carnally minded. Com-
pare also Heb. 7 : 16, where the commandment
is called fleshen and is not degraded by the
word ((TopKiKOf) carnal.] Sold under sin.
[Literally, having been sold to sin, and re-
maining still under bondage to it or under
its power. From ver. 22-25, we learn that
this man, along with the enforced, unwilling
service which he in his lower nature renders
to sin, also serves with his mind the law of
God; yea, even delights in that law and
wishes to do only that which is good. He
detests any service to sin, and exclaims: "It
is no longer I that do it." Blessed, methinks,
is any person who can truly say this, even
though he himself may cry out at times: "O
wretched man that I am 1 "] This expression,
'sold under sin,' is the most difiScult one in
this whole passage to reconcile with the appli-
cation of it to the regenerate. Feeling the
full force of the objection, I yet cannot regard
it as suflBcient to negative the force of all the
considerations in favor of applying this part
of the passage to the regenerate. These con-
siderations are presented more fully in the
Appendix already referred to. [In order to
interpret rightly the above expression, we
must know to whom it relates. "We might
conceive of some decplj'-dyed transgressor,
awakened, like Judas, to a regretful conscious-

174

ROMANS.

[Ch. VII

ness of his damning iniquity, heaping upon
himself "sins infinite upon infinite, infinite
upon infinite;" but these words were, as a
matter of fact, the confession of the elder
Edwards, the holiest man, perhaps, of modern
Christendom. And in this style of self-re-
proach and abasement the saints of God have
ever been wont to express their sense of short-
comings and unworthiness. Delitzsch remarks
that the spiritually-minded man feels most
acutely and profoundly that he has still in
himself a carnal nature, and cannot ransom
himself entirely from the power of sin, and
by the very fact of his accusing himself in
daily repentance &s Jleshen, he shows himself
to be, as to the fundamental tendency of his
personality, spiritual. Prof. Stuart maintains
that the phraseology of this chapter can, with
perhaps some slight modification, be applied
either to the regenerate or unregenerate, and
he would modify those expressions which
seemingly imply the existence of grace in the
heart. We maintain, with Dr. Arnold (see
Appendix referred to), that if any of these
expressions of the apostle are to be modified,
it should be those which charge himself with
Bin. "We also maintain that many of these
expressions, even when modified, cannot be
applied to an unregenerate person without
antagonizing and overthrowing all of Paul's
teaching in regard to man's lost and guilty
state by nature. We think that Paul himself
has sufficiently modified his own statements
when he distinguishes his Jleshen self (me —
that is, my flesh), which hinders him from
doing what he would and forces him to do
what he hates, and which is under bondage to
sin, from his proper self, his mind, his inner
man, which hates sin, and has delight in God
and serves his law. We hold that the v/hole
bent of his mind is toward God, and that,
instead of succumbing to sin "in every in-
stance of contest," as Prof. Stuart maintains,
his real self, his mind or inner man, never in
any instance jnelds to sin. Any such yield-
ing must be predicated of his fleshen self, or
his complex self. " It is no longer I that do
it." Is such a dividing up of the human or
Christian self a contradiction and a riddle?
What is man in his "best state" but a con-
tradiction and a riddle? I wonder how any
Christian, conversant with his own heart, can
qusation the applicability to himself of the

apostle's description of the "remainders" of
the sinful principle or habit in our fleshen
natures. "There have been endless discus-
sions," says Farrar, "as to whether Paul is
speaking of himself or of others; whether he
has in view the regenerate or the unregen-
erate man. Let even good men look into
their own hearts and answer." De Wette, on
ver. 25, says: That "in the man who is born
again no serving the law of sin through the
flesh can find place." I grant that the real
"I myself" of the Christian cannot be said to
serve the law of sin — certainly not as a full
description of his heart and life. But if the
regenerate have not a fleshen self, which does
in a measure, or does at times, serve the law
of sin, we must think there is not a single
regenerate man on earth. But let us see what
is not ascribed to the person here represented.
He is not described as being a psychical or
natural man, who has not the Spirit and re-
ceives not the things of the Spirit of God.
(judei9; 1 Cor. 2:14.) He is not Said to livc or
walk according to the flesh, or to fulfill the
lust of the flesh. His mind is not vain, de-
filed, reprobate (Eph. * : it ; Titus 1 : 15 ; Eom. 1 : 28) ; a

mind of the flesh (coi. 2:i8); a carnal mind
which is enmity against God. (Rom.8:7.) In-
stead of hating God, he hates only sin, and
his will is to serve God. ' ' The real ego of the
man is presented before us, on the one hand,
entirely separate from sin and opposed to it,
and, on the other, harmoniously united and
bound up with the spiritual law of God. But
manifestly only the ruling, not the inferior,
part of man's nature can be described as the
real ego." (Philippi.) Of course, we do not
read that he is in a state of condemnation,
and that the wrath of God is abiding on him.
Let us also look at the next chapter, where the
man (now certainly the regenerated Paul)
has been released, as is commonly supposed,
from his former miserable dualism, has ob-
tained deliverance from the law of sin and of
death, and has experienced "sanctification."
But we find even here that his deliverance
is still incomplete, that his groaning is not
wholly a thing of the past. The flesh still
presents its claims (ver. 12) ; he is compassed
with infirmity (ver. 26); has not fully realized
the great salvation, is saved in hope (ver. 24).
the body is not fully redeemed from the
bondage of sin, and, though he has the first

Ch. VII.]

ROMANS.

175

fruits of the Spirit, the groaning within him-
self continues (Ter. as); yea, a groaning at times
too deep and great for utterance in words,
(ver. M.) It is marvelous how this eighth
chapter is contrasted by some persons with
the seventh, as exhibiting a perfectly sancti-
fied believer. Elsewhere, Paul speaks of the
Christian life as an agonistic strife, a warfare,
and we have every reason to suppose that he
had the same contest with flesh and sin that
we have. He could say to the Galatians
(5:17), from his own experience, that the flesh
lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit
against the flesh, and that these are contrary
the one to the other, thus hindering him from
doing the things that he would. A short time
before writing this letter to the Romans, he
tells his Corinthian brethren of his groaning,
in common with other Christians, under the
weight of the fleshly tabernacle (2Cor.5:4), and
in 1 Cor. 9 : 27, we see him both as a combatant
and a herald in the Christian race, bufi'eting
or bruising his own body, beating it black
and blue, and bringing it into subjection.
We suppose that Paul, with all his trials
within and without, was in general a joyful
Christian, trusting wholly in Christ, walking
in the Spirit, and yielding but rarely, if ever,
to the inordinate demands of the lower nature.
Yet any hindrance which the law in his mem-
bers interposed to his desired obedience to the
law of the Spirit would be deemed by him a
heavy bondage. And may we not suppose
that there were times in his religious experi-
ence, as in ours, of special temptation and
depression, when his heart became, as it were,
a battle ground where Christ and Satan strove
for the ma.^tery. Our Saviour, we know, was
led from the joys of his baptism to the sore
temptation of the desert. Thus in this world
seasons of unusual mental or spiritual eleva-
tion are often followed by a corresponding
depression. And we have sometimes imag-
ined that Paul, soon after his conversion and
baptism, was led or driven by the Spirit into
the wilderness of Arabia, and that there he
sat literally at the foot of Sinai and listened
with anguish of soul to its condemning thun-
der; that there, in good measure, took place
the great revulsion of his views and feelings
in regard to the law and its chiefest ordi-
nances; that there he learned fully to un-Jew
himself, as it were, so that we never think of

him as being a Jew; and that there, in fine,
he learned that only "in Christ'' is there
justification, redemption, and eternal life for
a lost sinner. Certain it is that many Chris-
tians virtually pass a considerable part of
their lives near this awful burning mount,
with one eye, indeed, directed to Calvary, a
look which saves them from despair. " Every
Christian," says Delitzsch, "is compelled to
confirm what the apostle here says from his
own personal experience." And Dr. Schaff,
who regards this passage as descriptive of a
state of awakening, says: "Thus much, how-
ever, must be conceded to the Augustinian
view that this contest is repeated in a modified
form in the regenerate. So long as they are
in the flesh, the old life of Adam rules beside
the new life in Christ. Temptations from the
world, assaults of Satan, disturb; not unfre-
quently sin overcomes, and the believer, feel-
ing deeply and painfully his own helplessness,
turns in penitence to Christ's grace, to be the
victor at last."

There are certain special objections of con-
siderable apparent force which are urged
against the view we have taken. Those men-
tioned by Godet are in substance chiefly as
follows: that in this chapter there is no
marked and obvious point of transition, indi-
cating the profound change from the Phari-
saic state to the state of grace, no such sharp
contrast in the description of these two states
as there is in the delineation of chapter 7 and
that of chapter 8, but all proceeds, as it were,
on the same level, and the difference between
Pharisee and Christian is much less marked
than that between Christian and Christian;
that Paul in ver. 14-25 has avoided all mention
of the Spirit's aid, and made use only of terms
denoting the natural faculties of the human
soul, as mind, etc. ; and in general that our
view flnds in the gospel a more burdensome
law than that of Sinai itself Still, if the
statements advanced in this commentary here
and elsewhere can be substantiated, these
objections will go for nothing or be so ex-
plained as to lose their importance. As some
of these objections will be noticed further on,
we will here simply say, 1. That the gospel
furnishes no exemption from a persistent,
bitter contest and struggle against Satan, self,
and the world: and that the roost devoted
Christian, if he knows bis own heart, will

176

ROMANS.

15 For that which I do, I allow not: for what 1
would, that du I nut ; but what I hate, that do 1.

16 If then I do that which I would not, I consent
unto the law that it i.i good.

17 Now then ii is no more I that do it, but sin that
dwelletb in nie.

[Ch. VII.

15 sin. For that which I ' do I know not: for not
what I would, that do 1 practise: but what I hate,

16 that I do. But if what I would not, that I do, I

17 consent unto the law that it is good. So now it is no
luore I that ^ do it, but sin which dwelleth in me.

confess perpetual shortcomings in thought,
word, and life, as also frequent failures and
defeats: 2. That there is, as we have seen, no
such sharp contrast in the description of man's
present spiritual state in chapters 7 and 8, as
is sometimes supposed: 3. Thatif it was Paul's
design to show that by the law of works,
whether legal or gracious, no flesh could be
justified and saved, then there would natur-
ally be a certain uniformity of thought and
style in the discussion of the theme: And 4.
That we can find quite plainly indicated in
this chapter the end of the legal and the
beginning of the gracious state, it being a
well understood matter that when the sinner
is slain by the law and is left at Christ's feet
as dead (ver. n-is), he is made alive by the
Lord and Giver of life.]

15. The struggle here begins between the
two dispositions within, not merely with the
law without. [How great is the evil of sin
which has wrought such deep-seated schism
and discord in the soul, and which leads even
the regenerate and redeemed man within him-
self to groan and sigh, and even to exclaim
at times: "0 wretched man that I am!"
And how blinded are they who do not feel
this desperate depravity of their hearts!] For
introduces the proof of the last clause, 'sold
under sin.' That which I do, I allow not.
Know is better than 'allow,' not only as being
more literal, but because the not allowing
what is performed is implied in the next
clauses, and still further, because 'I know
not ' expresses just that perturbed state of
mind which seems designed to be expressed,
as we sometimes say, "I do not know how I
came to do it." ["The regenerate man sins
not consciously and willingly. . . . His better
ego knows nothing of this act of his sinful
nature. From this it certainly folloms, of
course, that this higher self does not acknowl-
edge and approve such an act." (Philippi.)]
The second for introduces the explanation of
the way in which that which is afl5rmed in the
preceding clause came to pass. For what I
would, that do I not ; but what I hate,

that I do. The Greek might be rendered
thus : For not what I wish, that do I practise ;
but what I hate, this I do. [The negative (ov),
placed at the beginning partly perhaps for
the sake of emphasis, properly negatives, as
in ver. 19, not the nearer but the remoter
verb, thus : ' for what I would, that do I not.'
What he, the better self, wills and hates is
specified below as good and evil. The verb to
will or wish (WAo>) is here regarded by Godet,
Alford, and others, as simply expressive of
desire, or what one would like. It is doubt-
less sometimes used with this sense. Ellicott
saj's : " The distinction that boulomai (^ouAo/ioi)
is confined to the inclination, ethelo {f0e\<o or
WAm) to that kind of wish in which there lies
a purpose OT design does not seem generally
applicable to the New Testament (see Matt.
1: 19), and probably not always in classical
Greek." The will, however, is here as ener-
getic as the hate, and is a result of the divine
inworking. See Phil. 2: 13. Compare what
is said on 9: 19, respecting the use of these
verbs.]

16. If then I do that which I would
not, I consent unto the law that it is
good. This may be translated : But if what
I do not wish this I do, I agree with the law that
it is good. The law and my wish tend the same
way. [Good — kalos (koAos) — morally beauti-
ful and excellent. Prof. Cremer says: "It is
related to agathos (iyaeds), good, as the appear-
ance to the essence. ... It is not merely what
is morally good and right, but also what
recommends itself by its outward appear-
ance."] "The assent of a man, given to the
law against himself, is an illustrious trait of
true religion, a powerful testimony for God."'
(Bengel.)

17. NoAV and no more denote a logical,
not a chronological sequence. Comjiare A^er.
20, and 11 : 6. Now then it is no loyiger I that
perform it. See Kevised Version. [A very
few expositors take one or both the adverbs
in a temporal sense, pointing back to a time
in which it was otherwi.se with the speaker.
So Hofmann : but now no longer do I perform

Ch. VII.]

ROMANS.

177

18 For I know that in me (that is, in mj flesh,)
dwelleth no good thing: lor to will is present with me ;
but how to perform tliat which is good I tind not.

18 For I know that in me, that is, in mj flesh, dwell-
eth no good thing : for to will is present with me

it, etc., which is the literal rendering. The /,
expressed in the Greelt, is strongly emphatic]
The / here is equivalent to the inward man of
ver. 22. The apostle does not mean to deny
responsibility : but his language, in both this
and the preceding verse, implies that his per-
sonality as a whole does not consent to sin.
God has planted the passions in our nature;
but ho has also given us the inward man to
control them. [" He can pay no higher tribute
to the dignity of the Christian's position than
when he says: Itisnot /that sin." (Philippi.)
With this, the true and real /, he proceeds at
once to contrast the lower and fleshen " me"
in which sin dwells and in which good does
not dwell. Yet in the spirit of true Christian
penitence and humility he does not care, when
speaking of his sin, to say that this "nie" in
which sin has its home is only "my flesh."
He makes this express distinction only when,
as in the next verse, he would not ignore the
grace of God which was in him.] But sin
that dwelleth in me [whence the phrase "in-
dwelling sin." Indeed, the uncials N B have
the compound participle, indwelling]. "Sin
has taken up its abode in me as an unlawful
settler." (Olshausen.) This is not said as an
exculpation; but to exhibit the power of in-
dwelling sin. It is not only consistent with
acknowledgment of responsibility, but is
always united with self-condemnation and
penitence. [Dr. Hodge remarks that "this doc-
trine of sin as indwelling is irreconcilable with
the assumption that sin consists exclusively in
acts of the will, or even, in the widest sense
of the term, in voluntary action. An indwel-
ing act is a solecism. Sin in this, as in so
many other places of Scripture, is presented
&.% an abiding state of the mind, a disposi-
tion, or principle, manifesting itself in acts."
Thomas Scott says, that this "energetic lan-
guage" of the apostle "seems to have re-
sulted from the extraordinary degree of St.
Paul's sanctification, and the depth of his
self-abasement and hatred of sin ; and the
reason of our not readily understanding him
seems to be, because we are so far beneath

him in holiness, humility, acquaintance with
the spirituality of God's law, and the evil of
our own hearts."]

18. For I know [from personal experience]
introduces the explanation of the clause last
preceding, 'sin that dwelleth in me.' That
in me dwelleth— better, that there dwells not
in me: the me is here explained to mean the
lower carnal self, that is, in my flesh.
[This fleshen self supposes here the existence
of the correlative pneumatic ego, a spiritual
self] Perhaps this explanation is added be-
cause of the opposite use of /, in the preceding
verse, for the better self Be that as it may,
the very limitation of the denial of anything
good, argues that the writer does not intend
to represent himself as wholly unregenerate.
And this is confirmed by the following clause,
which is given, with its negative counterpart
appended, as the proof from experience, of
the absence of anything good in the lower
nature. [On Paul's use of the term Jlesh, see
notes on 2: 5. "Doubtless," says Tholuck,
"the corporeal system is the organ through
which many sins are executed, and doubtless
also it too often prevails over the spiritual
interests to the prejudice of the individual.
Still we must take into consideration thut per
se that system cannot be evil : moreover, that
it does not necessarily occasion inordinate
desires, some discord in the spiritual part
always needing to precede, before such a pre-
ponderance of the bodily appetites can take
place. Not the flesh, but the mind of the
flesh is evil." Still he acknowledges that
flesh, according to the usua loquendi of the
New Testament, denotes, in contrast with
spirit, " human nature as weak and impotent
to good." Dr. Weiss regards it (as used in
the specially doctrinal epistles) as the "ex-
pression for the natural human being in its
specific distinction from God "("Bib. Theol.",
Vol. I., p. 343), but we think, with Neander,
that in the Pauline system it generally denotes
human nature in its state of estrangement
from the divine life.]' For to will [the
good] is present with me, or to me [it is

iDr. Weiss thinks the meaning of (vap() sarx is
somewhat changed in the later epistles (e. g , those of
the imprisooraent), where it specially denotes " human

nature untouched by grace in general, and in this sense
it is the seat of sin." A subject, certainly, may be
differently or more fully developed in one epistle than

178

ROMANS.

[Ch. VII.

19 For the good that I would, I do not : but the evil
which I would not, that I do.

20 Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that
do it, but sin that dwelleth in uie.

19 but to ido that which is good is not. For the good
■which I would I do not: but the evil which I would

20 not, that I practise. But if what I would not, that I
do, it is no more I that i do it, but sin which dwell-

at hand, lies in my power (De Wette) ] ;
bat how to perforin that which is good I
find not. The verb 'I find' is wanting in the
oldest manuscripts [NAB C]. The abrupt
negative "not" or no, without any verb, is
peculiarly appropriate and forcible. [This
reading is adopted by the principal editors,
Lachmann, Tischendorf, Tregelles, Westcott
and Hort, but is not favored by Fritzsche, De
Wette, Meyer.]

19. For introduces the proof of the pre-
ceding negation. The good that I would,
I do not : and the alternative follows : but
the evil which I would not, that I do.
With more literal exactness this verse may be
rendered thus : For the good which I will, I
do not ; but the evil which I do not will, this I
practise. [This does not imply that the per-
son described never does anything that is
good, but — as we are all obliged to confess in
prayer and song of ourselves — that sin is
mixed with all he does. We may remark
that even Pagans recognized in themselves a
higher and a lower nature, and the contrariety
of the two; and though their "better self"
had little of that love of God and his law, or
of that hatred of sin and self-loathing on
account of sin, which were felt by the "inner
man," as described by the apostle, yet they
expressed this dualism and self-contradiction
of their natures in terms very similar to those
used by the apostle. The following passages
are most frequently quoted by commentators.
"For clearly I have two souls," in Zeno-
phon's "Cyrop.," VI. 1. "For when the
sinner wills not to sin but to do right, it is
evident that what he wills he does not, and
what he does not will he does." (Epictetus,
'Encheirid.," II. 26.)

Aliudque cupido, Mens aliud suadet:
Video meliora proboque, deteriora sequor.

"Desirepersuadesone way, the mind another;
I see and approve the better, I f(.llow the
worse." (Ovid's " Metaniorph.," VII.. 16-

18.) The last part of this quotation has been
versified as follows:

I see the right and I approve it too,

I hate the wrong and yet the wrong pursue.

On the doing of evil by a regenerate man,
Philippi thus remarks: "Even when the life
of the regenerate man is holy and governed
by the Spirit, the uninterrupted, persistent
(or, the repressed and intermittent) sinful
emotions of the heart may very well be de-
scribed as a doing of evil that is not desired.
To this is to be added that these very emotions
never remain absolutely within, but, even
apart from the manifold sins of ignorance,
weakness, and unwatchfulness, in which they
manifest themselves, leave their hindering or
polluting influence on the best acts of the
regenerated one, and thus envelop even his
brightest experiences, as it were, with a veil
of earthliness."]

20. He comes back now to the conclusion
aflBrmed in ver. 17, having traced the process
of proof step by step. Now if, etc. Trans-
late : If, now, what I do not will, this I do, it
is no longer I that perform it : the perform-
ance is no longer the act of my true self, but
of sin that dwelleth in me. It is the sin prin-
ciple in me, rather than my inward man, my
real self, that performs the evil. Such a state-
ment as this, separated from its connection, is
easily perverted to an Antinomian and pro-
fane use. But to separate it from its connec-
tion is to pervert it. In its connection it is no
immoral apology for sin, but a humiliating
confession of sin. [Only he who has striven
with all his powers, as if for and with his life,
against sin (Heb. 12:4), and still finds its re-
mainders within him, can truly say: It is no
longer I that perform it]

In the next three verses we have a summary
of the results of ver. 14-20.

21. 1 find then a law (literally, the law),
meaning this rule or principle; for the sense
of the word law here and in ver. 23, 25, last

in another, but to suppose that Paul's views, on this or
any other subject had materially changed, is virtually
to deny that he was a divinely inspired teacher. And
Dr. Weiss' method of examining separately the writings

of a certain class or period, while useful in many
respects, tends nevertheless to ignore the comprehen-
sive character and unity of divine revelation. — (F.)

Ch. VII.]

ROMANS.

179

21 I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil
is present with lue.

22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward
man :

2;i But I see another luw in my uietubers, warring
against the law of my mind, and bringing me into
captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.

1 Or, in retard o/ (*« low 1 Or. with. . .

21 eUi in me. I find then >the law, that, to me who
TI would do good, evil is present. For I delight *ia

23 the law of God after the inward man: but 1 see a
ditl'erent law in my members, warring against the
law of my mind, and* bringing me into captivity

24 3 under the law oi sin which is in my members. 0

.i Or. in. U%aj sooirat aatborhira rtad to.

clause, see note on 3 : 27. That, when I
would do good — literally, that to me wishing
to do the good, the evil is present to me. [In-
terpreters differ greatly in their explanations
of this verse. Meyer thinks "the law" here
is the law of Moses, and this view seems to be
hinted at in the marginal translation of the
Revised Version. He would also connect the
law with the participle willing : To me willing
the law in order to do good. This interpreta-
tion has been called "forced" and "harsh."
Others have made the law the object of the
verb to do, and have put "the good" in appo-
sition with the law. Many commentators
have this literal rendering: "I find, there-
fore, for me who am desirous of doing the
good, the rule that evil lies by me," and make
this rule equivalent to the other or different
law in the members, (ver. 23.) The verb whence
comes the participle wishing (0<\u ) com-
monly denotes in the classics to will, but in
the New Testament often has the meaning
of to wish or to desire. See note on ver. 15.
In Phil. 2 : 13, Paul ascribes the will or desire
(to do good) to God's eflScient working. The
reader will observe that throughout this pas-
sage there is no willing of what is evil.]

In the next two verses the apostle presents
again the inward conflict in both its elements,
but with a stronger statement of the better
side than in ver. 16, and a weaker statement
of the worse side than in ver. 14.

22. I delight in [literally, rejoice with]
the law of God is stronger than I consent to
the law that it is good. (ver. is.) [Does not
the P.-almist speak of the blessedness of the
man "whose delight is in the law of the
Lord"? The two parts of this verse show
that mind and heart are both on the side of
God.] The inward man corresponds to the /
of ver. 17, 20, but is more emphatic. Buth
parts of this verse, as compared with the pre-
ceding (ver. 16-21), indicate a moral progress.
[The following is the substance of Prof. Cre-
mer's remarks on the "inner man" (see 2
Cor. 4 : 16 ; Eph. 3 : 16 ; and compare 1 Peter

3 : 3, 4) : " The inner man denotes not in gen-
eral the inner distinctive character of the man,
but the inner spiritual and divine nature of
the man in its antagonism to the flesh. It
embraces that which, according to various
aspects, is designated by the words mind,
spirit, heart, in such wise, however, that the
reference to the spirit predominates. . . . As
it is the inner man which experiences [daily]
renewal {2 cor. i: le), strengtheningbytiie Spirit

(Eph. 3:16; compare Luke 1 : 80), and tO which bclongS

the approval of a life devoted to God i Rom. 7 : n),
we are warranted in regarding it as synonym
for pueum,a, spirit, as used in Matt. 6:8;
Bom. 8 : 10, and, indeed, in such a manner
that inner man denotes the spirit as reflected
in the mind or self-consciousness. This ac-
cordingly decides the question whether the
expression applies to the regenerate or the
unregenerate man. In the sense in which
both possess the spirit, the inner man may be
applied to both. By means of this expression,
this spirit is defined as the proper true man,
after deducting that which is visible to the
fleshly eye." Paul thus speaks thrice of the
inner man, and in every instance it is the
regenerate man. The daily renovation of the
inward man is but the contrast of the decaj'ing
of the fleshly tabernacle, and Paul could just
as well pray that the new man might be
strengthened with power as that the inward
man might be. According to Philippi, Paul
"chose this expression, inner man, rather
than new or spiritual man, because he wished
just to show that sin is a foreign power to the
believer, bringing him into bondage against
his will. This he does by showing how his
real ego, the innermost ground and core of
his desire and being, is free from sin. Thus
there was here no occasion whatever for de-
scribing this innermost ground and core as
expressly spiritual. Rather, on the contrary,
since in the apostle's teaching it is self-evident
. . . that only that which is created in man
through the Sprit can be in sympathy with
the spiritual law, the only thing of import-

180

ROMANS.

[Ch. VII.

24 O wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me I wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me out
from the body of this death ? | 25 of i the body of this death ? 2 1 thank God through

1 Or, thii bod]) of death '/ Many ancient authorltiea read But thanktbe to God.

ance was to describe this desire of the spirit
in man as his real ego, his real inward man."]

23. But I see [observe as a spectator]
another (that is, a different) law — not merely
another numerically, but a different gener-
ically — in my members, having its seat in
the body, not in the inward man, warring
against the law of my mind, which is in
full sympathy with the law of God (ver. 22),
and bringing me into captivity to (or
under) the law of sin which is in my
members. [The apostle here mentions four
laws, but they are not all essentially different,
the law in the members being equivalent to
the law of sin, etc. The mind (or voOs), whose
law harmonizes with that of God, denotes in
the New Testament especially the organ of
moral thinking and knowing, the moral rea-
son, and is nearly equivalent to the reflective
or moral consciousness. (Cremer. ) In this
chapter it is used antithetically to flesh, and
is equivalent to the inner man. The apostle
does not here aflSrm that his real self is taken
captive to the law of sin. On the contrary,
his mind serves the law of God. "In the
redeemed man," says Philippi, "sin has with-
drawn from the centre of personality to the
circumference of elementary nature." "It is
no more I that do it," etc. The taken captive
is, 1 iterally, ' ' taken by th e spear ' ' — th at is, with
force and against one's will, "/n the law" is
thereadingof X B D F Kand several cursives.]

24. [Wretched, the adjective, is found else-
where in Rev. 3 : 17, the noun in Rom. 3 : 16 ;
James 5 : 1, and the verb in James 4:9.] This
lamentation, wretched man that I am ! [he
does not here choose to call \\\msQ\f guilty'] is
not inconsistent with the idea of moral pro-
gress aflirmed above. He is now looking back
over the whole struggle ; the nearer one comes
to freedom, the more galling is the sense of
remaining bondage. Who shall {will) de-
liver me? etc. [In all languages a question
is often used to denote a wish. Winer —
wrongly in part, we think — here regards it as
denoting "perplexity and conscious helpless-
ness."] This question is an expression of in-
tense desire, but not of despair, for the answer
is near at hand. [It is not the prayer of an

awakened sinner, appealing to God's mercy
for a new heart, pardon of sin, and deliver-
ance from eternal death. Paul well knew
who was his Deliverer, and he feels no need
of mentioning his name. "The cry is uttered,"
as De Wette observes, "in full consciousness
of the deliverance which Christ has effected,
and as leading to the expression of thanks
which follow." (Alford.) "He asks not by
whom he was to be delivered, as one in doubt,
like unbelievers who understand not that
there is but one real Deliverer, but it is the
voice of one panting, and almost fainting,
because he does not receive immediate help,
as he longs for." (Calvin.) In Meyer's
opinion, "such sighing is merely the opera-
tion of the so-called gratia prceveniens.^']
Grammatically, 'this' might agree with
'body,' but to connect it with 'death' is
preferable. [So "Winer: "As the apostle had
already said much of death (ver. 10, seq. ), he
might naturally refer to it as this death.]
This is not an expression of positive desire to
die. If the word 'body' is to be referred at
all to the human body in a literal sense, it is
only as the usurped seat of sin. Some have
supposed a reference in this expression to the
custom of chaining a criminal to a dead body,
and so leaving him to drag out a miserable,
lingering existence in this loathsome com-
panionship ; a very certain and cruel custom
[see Virgil's "^neid," VIII, 485, seq.]; a
very forcible figure of speech, but a very
doubtful interpretation. [Body of death,
which is subject to and belongs to death.
(Gifford.) "The body by which I am en-
slaved to this deadly power of sin." "With
the apostle any bondage to the flesh was so
far forth a bondage to the law of sin and
death. Meyer gives this interpretation :
""Who shall deliver me out of bondage under
the law of sin into moral freedon;, in which
my body shall no longer serve as the seat of
this shameful death? Hodge regards 'body'
here as equivalent to a weight or burden. In
the "Wisdom of Solomon (9:io) we read that
"the corruptible body presseth down the soul
and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down
the much musing mind."]

Ch. VII.]

ROMANS.

181

25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So {
then with the mind I myself serve the law of God ; but
with the flesh the law or sin.

Jesus Christ our Lord. So then I of myself with the
mind, indeed, serve the law of God; but with the
flesh the law of sin.

25. I thank God [or, thanks be to God,
the MSS. here varying in their testimony.
The uncials D E have — the grace of Qod (will
deliver, etc.), which in this connection is very
tame]. Through Jesns Christ our Lord.
An indirect, but substantial and emphatic
answer to the question, or rather wail, of the
preceding verse. [In the fullness of his deep
emotion he does not explicitly state for what
he gives thanks. But any one can under-
stand that it is the longed-for deliverance
from condemnation (»: >). and from the reign-
ing power of sin and death. Meyer suys:
"There is not a change of person but of
scene." But in his view the person of the
last verse was unredeemed and out of Christ;
now the same man is in Christ; and yet,
again, he is simply the man himself and
out of Christ. Olshausen, Lange, Hofmann,
Wordsworth, find in this verse the beginning
of a gracious experience.] He has found the
longed-for Deliverer in Christ, but he ad-
dresses his thanksgiving to God, as the primal
source of the mercy that provided the Deliv-
erer. Compare 1 Cor. 16:67; Eph. 5:20;
Col. 3 : 17. [Not only is thanksgiving offered
in the name of Christ, but it is implied that
the deliverance has been obtained through
him (so Godet; see Noyes' translation, and
De Wette on 1 : 8), and therefore the apostle
would not hesitate to say: Jesus Christ is my
Deliverer from this body of sin and death.]
So then implies a summing up of the con-
tents of ver. 14-24. I myself. [I Paul, " for
my own person." (Meyer.) Some prefer:
" I, in my real self," which makes good sense,
only we have to suppose, as I think we may.
that this full subject is not to be repeated in
the next clause.] With the mind serve the
law of Godt but with the flesh the law
of sin. [Nothing can be more self-evident
than that the latter halfof this verse presents,
in the words of Prof Stuart, "a summary of
the whole preceding representation." To this
statement Prof Turner— who, with Stuart,
regards the preceding representation as that
of an un regenerate man — demurs, and says,
that to make the phrase 'serve the law of
God' "denote nothing more than the full
acquiescence of the mind as under the influ-

ence of reason and conscience, is harsh. To
serve is to obey, to do the commands of, and
will not bear such a modified signification."
This is strong confirmation of the correctness
of our interpretation.] The apostle closes this
remarkable account of the conflict of good
and evil in human nature with an emphatic
profession of the willingness of the spirit to
serve the law of God, and a confession of the
weaknessof the flesh. (M«tt.M;4.) [Something
more, we think, is expressed here than the
" willingness of the spirit to serve the law of
God." It is affirmed that the real self, the
proper man, does actually serve the law of
God (which is more than any unregenerate
man ever did), and this is sufficient to show
that the regenerate man is not here repre-
sented as having "nothing but an impotent
and fruitless will to do what is good, along
with a constant performing of what is evil."
That a declaration of a present twofold ser-
vice on the part of the apostle — that of the
law of God with his mind and that of the law
of sin with his flesh — should follow the thanks-
giving for deliverance is especially a puzzle
to those who maintain the view which is
opposed to our own. Some would enclose the
first clause of the verse in parenthesis and
regard the space it occupies as a blank. By
some it is looked upon as a gloss, taken in
from the margin, and misplaced at that.
And some have gone so far as to suppose a
transposition of the two main parts of the
verse. Others (Alford, Olshausen, Lange,
Turner) find here a thoroughly new religious
experience, and would connect this verse with
the next chapter. Touching the division of
chapters, we agree with Philippi, who thinks
"the seventh chapter would conclude better
with 8:11." Certainly the "I myself" is
Paul the speaker, and the tense of the verb
denotes his present experience and condition.
The "I of myself," found in the American
Revised Version, is by Forbes deemed "per-
haps admissible in this sense only: 'I in my-
self, notwithstanding whatever progress in
righteousness the Spirit of Christ may havft
wrought in me or will work in this life, am
still most imperfect; with my mind, indeed,
I serve the law of God, but with my flesh the

182

ROMANS.

[Ch. VIIL

CHAPTER VIII.

fpHERE is therefore now no condemnation to tbeni
■* which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the
flesh, but after the Spirit.

1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them

2 that are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit

law of sin, and tried by the law could not
be justified, but would come under condem-
nation, if viewed in myself and not in Christ
Jesus.' " "So vast a difference is there be-
iwixt a Christian taken in himself and in
Chfist." (Leighton.) Meyer contends that
the view we have advocated would logically
require a transposition of the last clauses,
thus: "So, then, I myself with the flesh do,
indeed, serve the law of sin, but with the
mind the law of God." But against this, we
may say, that the design of Paul in this chap-
ter leads him to emphasize the power of the
law of sin in our fleshen selves — to show, in
other words, that "the best obedience of our
hands" fails to fulfill the law's demands, and
that the holiness of the regenerate, being thus
imperfect, cannot free him from condemna-
tion. We may properly notice that, as in ver.
23, where Paul speaks of becoming captive to
the law of sin, he limits this law, as he does
not elsewhere, to that which exists in his
members; so here, where he speaks of serving
the law of sin, he limits this service, as he
does not elsewhere (see 6:6, 20, etc.), to the
flesh alone. "We remark still further, that
this unwilling service of the law of sin with
the flesh, merely, is a vastly different thing
from a man's walking willingly and willfully,
and with his entire being, "after the flesh."]

Ch. 8: ["The chapter beginning with no
condemnation and ending with no sepa-
ration." "We may give as its purport: the
present and future blessedness of the justified
in Christ in its especial connection with the
work of the Spirit, or, in general terms: "the
happy condition of the man in Christ"
(Meyer), or "the security of believers."
(Hodge.) De Wette gives the following as
the general analysis of this chapter : " (a) Ver.
1-4. Free from condemnation is the redeemed
man who lives in the Spirit, (b) Ver. 5-17.
This spiritual life leads him to the life of
blessedness, to adoption as God's child, and
to participancy in the glory of Christ, (c)
Ver. 18-30. This future glory of Christians is
assured by a universal longing, by a hope

verified in steadfastness and prayer, and by a
firm trust, (d) Ver. 31-39. Thus the Chris-
tian has nothing more to fear, but everything
to hope for; he cannot be separated from the
love of God in Christ." Olshausen makes 7 :
25-8: 17 treat of the experience of redemp-
tion until the perfection of the individual life ;
and 8: 18-39, of the perfection of the whole
creation with the children of God. Godet
gives as the theme of this chapter: The work
of the Holy Spirit in the justified believer —
(a) The victory of the Holy Spirit over sin
and death, 1-11 ; (b) Freed from sin and
death, the Christian becomes son and heir,
12-17 ; (c) Completion of the plan of salva-
tion, notwithstanding the miseries of our
present condition, 18-30; (d) Hymn of the
assurance of salvation, 31-39. Meyer says it
is only with the beginning of this chapter
that "the new scene opens of which the cry
of thanksgiving (7:25) was only a previous
glimpse, broken off again by the ' so then I
myself.'" Per contra: "The apostle now
presents to us the life of the regenerate man
under its other aspect." (Philippi.) These
two aspects of the Christian's experience cor-
respond, in a manner, to the two states of the
unregenerate above depicted — namely, that
of carnal security and that of conviction of
sin.]

Grace accomplishes what the law could not
accomplish, agreeably to 6: 14; 7: 6 and 8:
1-17. (a) Grace furnishes not only a justify-
ing righteousness ('^er-i); but also a regener-
ating and sanctifj'ing power (ver. 2); (b) the
way in which this is done is briefly explained.
(Ver. 3,4.)

1. Therefore now marks an inference from
7: 25, first clause. [So Fritzsche, Philippi. Al-
ford and Lange connect this freedom from
condemnation with the serving the law of God
with the mind and delighting in that law,
since a person thus serving is supposed to be
"in Christ Jesus." Meyer connects this verse
with the immediately preceding, 'I myself,'
regarded as unregenerate and out of Christ,
in contrast with the renewed now found in
Christ. But the holiest believer on earth, if

Ch. VIIL]

ROMANS.

183

viewed apart from Christ, could not escape
condemnation or stand in the judgment for a
moment. Nothing, wo think, will so much
surprise us when ushered into the light of
et«rnity, compared with which the blaze of
the midday sun is well nigh perfect darkness,
as the sight and sense of our imperfections
and sins. Bengel, Godet, and Stuart go back as
far as to 7 : 6 for the connection. Haldane and
Hodge regard this inference as the legitimate
conclusion of all that Paul had previously
established. The 'therefore now' of this verse
decidedly favors the view we have taken of
chapter 7. It shows that the idea of con-
demnation in ourselves and of justification in
Christ alone has not been absent from the
apostle's mind ; and hence we may regard
this verse as a key to the right interpretation
of the preceding chapter, from which in fact
it should not have been separated.] ' Now ' is
temporal and emphatic ; ' now ' that a deliver-
ance has been effected, 7 : 24, 25, first clause.
[Philippi, regarding 'now' as logical, finds
this idea: "now from this it follows that on
those who are in Christ Jesus no condemna-
tion falls, for in him they have freedom from
sin and death."] No condemnation— that
is, no sentence of condemnation, as in 5: 16,
18. To them which are in Christ Jesus.
[Condemnation rests upon the sinner every-
where else than ' in Christ.' In him who bore
our curse we find a shelter where no bolt of
wrath can fall on our guilty heads. "The
man," says Olshausen, "is not free from con-
demnation on account of his subjective condi-
tion, but for the sake of the objective work of
Christ which he lays hold of in faith." In
the lack of complete holiness we shall need
for our justification to be "found in Christ,"
and to have a personal interest in his all-per-
fect righteousness. If the whole of this chap-
ter were like two or three verses at the begin-
ning taken by themselves, we then might
imagine that "the redeemed man is entirely
freed from the law of sin." (Meyer.) Butthis
is far from being the case, and this complete
deliverance from bondage by the teaching of

this very chapter, will not be effected until
the future redemption and glorification of
these our bodies of sin and death. Much of
chapter 8, as a certain writer remarks, hai
regard to the conflict with sin and infirmity.]
That vital spiritual union with Christ which
results from a living faith in him, and which
secures our justification and salvation is vari-
ously expressed ; sometimes as here we are
said to be 'in Christ,' sometimes Christ is said
to be in us (Coi. i; «), sometimes we are said to
have put on Cbrist. (o»i.3:27.) These and
other similar expressions (Jofcaii: s; Kph. j: it, ««.)
all point to the one blessed reality of a true
union between Christ and his people. [Com-
pare Rom. 6 : 11 ; 16 : 7 ; 1 Cor. 1 : 30 ; 15 :
18; Gal. 3: 28; Eph. 2: 13; Phil. 3: 9; Col.
2: 6, etc' " The churches are in Christ, the
persons are in Christ. They are found in
Christ and preserved in Christ. They are
saved and sanctified in Christ, are rooted,
built up, and made perfect in Christ. Their
ways are ways that be in Christ, their conver-
sation is a good conversation in Christ, their
faith, hope, love, joy, their whole life is in
Christ Finally, this character of exist-
ence is not changed by that which changes all
besides. Those who have entered on il depart,
but they die in the Lord, they sleep in Jesus,
they are the dead in Christ; and when he
shall appear, they will appear; and when he
comes, God shall bring them with him, and
they shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ."
(Bernard's " Progress of Christian Doctrine.")]
The remaining clauses of this verse, as read
in our Common Version — "who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit'' — are not
supported by the oldest and best manuscripts
[K B C D* F G.], and are justly omitted by
Alford, Noyes, the Bible Union, and most
critical editors of the Greek text. They were
doubtless, copied by some ancient scribe, with
good intention, but not with good judgment,
from ver. 4, where they are unquestionably
genuine. Here they are introduced prema-
turely. [For other instances in this Epistle
where the "oldest and best manuscripts"

1 The phrase: "in Christ" is almost exclusively
Pauline, it being found elsewhere only in 1 Peter 5: 14 ;
:;: 16. John, however, often uses equivalent terms. The
expression " in the Lord," occurring over forty times,
is found outside of Paul's writings only in Rev. 14 : 13.
I'rof. Cremer gives some fifty examples of " in Christ "

where "a peculiar union of the Christian tubjret with
the I^rd is treated of," and fifteen other instances " in
which the blessings of redemption, God's saving pur-
pose, etc., are represented nbjectivtty as all included in
Christ"— Christ being " iu the fullest sense the ipA«re
in which both the subject and object exist." — (F.)

184

ROMANS.

[Ch. VIII.

2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus
hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of
3 sin and of death. For what the law could not do,

give a briefer reading, see 3: 22; 6: 11; 9:
28; 10: 15; 11: 6; 13: 9; 14: 6, 21; 15: 24.
The Revisers, in common with all the more
recent critical editors, have, in general, re-
garded the briefer readings as the original
and genuine ones, and so have given their
preference to the oldest MSS., though few in
number (especially to K B., that is, the Sina-
itic and the Vatican), rather than to the later
and more numerous MSS. which support our
Textus Receptus.]

2. For introduces the reason why there is
no condemnation. The law in its broad
rhetorical sense, as in 3: 27 : 7: 23, etc. [Dr.
Hodge makes this 'law of the Spirit,' etc.,
equivalent to the gospel which frees us from
the law and from condemnation. And he
gives the following as the meaning of this
verse in connection with the preceding :
"There is no condemnation to those who are
in Christ, tecause they have been freed in
him by the gospel of the life-giving Spirit,
from that law which, although good in itself,
is, through our corruption, the source of sin
and death." Prof. Turner, while adopting a
different view, yet says that " The whole
clause may denote the gospel as a spiritual
and life-communicating system." Still this
does not seem to be the most natural interpre-
tation of these words, ' the law of the Spirit
of life,' and yet if we make this verse refer
only to inward sanctification, we simply assert
by means of the 'for' which assigns a reason
for the affirmation of the verse preceding,
that our freedom from condemnation, or our
justification, depends upon our subjective
righteousness, a view which clearly antago-
nizes the whole scheme of the gospel of grace.
In this dilemma. Prof. Riddle would give to
the 'no condemnation' a wider reference,
' having indeed a reference to the justifying
act already past, but meaning rather, the
continuance in a state of justification, culmi-
nating in final acquittal and glory." Hence
he adopts in the main Calvin's interpretation
of this verse : "The power of the life-giving
Spirit delivered me in Christ Jesus (in virtue
of union to him the fulfiller of the law and
the deliverer from the law) from the law of
sin and death." The connection of this verse
with the immediately preceding and succeed-

ing shows conclusively that the idea of a
justifying righteousness is still in the apostle's
thought, but that in this idea that of a sancti-
fying righteousness is included. In conso-
nance with this view. Dr. Hodge well remarks
that "Justification is not on account of, or on
the ground of, sanctification, but it is in order
to it ; and therefore the two are inseparable.
The justified are always sanctified. And,
therefore, so far as the meaning is concerned,
there is no objection to saying, that the con-
demnation of sin of which the apostle here
speaks [next verse], includes the idea of its
extirpation or destruction as a necessary con-
sequence."] Of the Spirit of life— not the
Holy Spirit ; for the word law would not be
so suitable, if that were the sense; but the
principle, or power, of spiritual life — the
counterpart of "the law of sin and death,"
both abstract terms, and therefore furnishing
an additional reason why the antithetical
'spirit of life ' should not be explained as re-
ferring to the personal Spirit. [Many com-
mentators, however, as Tholuck, Gifford,
De Wette, Meyer, Philippi, Godet, Lange,
Alford, do adopt this reference, regarding
the Spirit as the Lord and giver of life. Com-
pare 2 Cor. 3 : 6. The Spirit quickeneth or
maketh alive. Taking the word in this sense
we make this law, rule, or governing power
within us to be the fruit of the Spirit. " The
Spirit of life is that by which the spiritual
life is effected in believers," (Tholuck), "the
active and animating principle of Christian
life." (Ellicott.)] In Christ Jesus. Christ
Jesus is the Lord and Giver of spiritual life:
it resides in him, and is dispensed by him.
(John 1:4.) [Most cxpositors, wc think, con-
nect the words in Christ Jesus with the verb.
See Winer (p. 137), De Wette, Philippi. In
Christ Jesus we are freed from condemnation.
In Christ Jesus we are freed by the Spirit of
life from the law, the reigning power, of sin
and of death.] Hath made me free. [Com-
pare 6: 20-22]: the indefinite past would be
more appropriate, freed me, referring to the
time of conversion. ["Here Paul speaks of
himself for the last time as representing all
believers." (Philippi.)] From the law of
sin and death — [that is, from theircondemn-
ing and controlling power. The dying re-

Ch. VIIL]

ROMANS.

185

3 For what the law could not do, in that it was weak
through the flesh, Uod Bendine hiaown Son in the lilce-
ness of siuful flesh, aud for sin, condemned sin in the
flesh:

> in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sendine

his own Son in the likeness of 'siuful flesh *ana

4 for bin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the *or-

1 Or, wftcrain I Qr./tttkof tin S Or, ciul oj anoftring/orrtn 4 Or, r««ii<rnMnl.

mainders of sin were still left to molest and
weary him. (Shedd.) Some commentators
regard the freeing here spoken of as being a
deliverance from condemnation rather than
from the dominion of sin and death. In sup-
port of this view they adduce the connection
of this verse with the preceding and following,
the use of the past tense of the verb, and the
consonance of this idea with the apostle's
general and leading train of thought. We
should wish to blend the two views together.
And we think there is no insuperable difficulty
in supposing that the apostle's teaching in
these first four verses is this, that by virtue of
our Lord's condemning sin in the flesh, and
through the power of the Spirit of life, we
are freed in Christ Jesus, both from con-
demnation and from the reigning power of
sin. And truly such a declaration as this,
which speaks to our sin-burdened souls of
deliverance from condemnation and from the
dominion of sin, may well be deemed by us
as a gospel above all price.] The ' law ' is not
that of Moses which would not be so de-
scribed; but, as above, the power or dominion
of sin and death. Compare 7 : 23, 26. [Sin
and death, closely connected as cause and
efl'ect. The nouns being of dissimilar gender,
each has the article.]

3. For — explanatory of ver. 2, showing
the method of that liberation. What the law
could not do — literally, the impossibility of
the law, or the thing impossible to the law.i
"What this impossible thing of the law was is
explained by what follows; but he first shows
why this yet unexplained thing was impossible
to the law ; in that [because] it (the law)
was weak through the flesh. The flesh
was the medium through which the law
wrought, and having to act through this
medium, it proved too weak [to conquer sin
or free from condemnation. It was weak and
continued so : imperfect tense. *' Paul clear-
ly affirms," says Calvin, "that our sins were
expiated by the death of Christ, because it

was impossible for the law to confer righteous-
ness upon us." On this weakness of the law,
which is but the weakness of our flesh, our
helplessness under the bondage and curse of
sin, see Gal. 3: 21; Heb. 7: 18.] By 'the
flesh ' we are to understand human nature in
its unregenerate state, as in 7 : 6, 18. God
(did, by) sending his own Son. ["Just as
by ' his own ' (compare ver. 82), the filial
relation of Christ is described as a metaphys-
ical one, so by 'sending,' etc., Christ's per-
sonality is described as a pre-existent one.
Compare Gal. 4:4; John 10: 36; 17: 3, etc."
(Philippi. ) "The pre-existence and metaphys-
ical sonship of Christ are implied." (Meyer. ) ]
The next two clauses explain the hoio of this
sending, in the likeness of sinful flesh ;
the proximate why of it, and for sin ; aud
the last clause the ultimate purpose of it — to
do that important thing which the law could
not do, which now at last is plainly deduced
to be this, condemned sin in the flesh.
Observe that God sent his own Son ' in the
likeness of sinful flesh' — [literally, 'flesh of
sin '] not in sinful flesh, but in the likeness of
it. Christ was sent into the world in the out>
ward appearance of a sinful man, subject to
all the conditions of sinful humanity, except
sin itself. (Heb. 4:15.) [Christ came "in the
flesh," not, as Marcion held, in the likeness
of it. We bear "the flesh of sin," Christ bore
only its likeness, which likeness implies his
sinlessness. " He had a nature like to that
of sinful men. but himself had not a sinful
nature." (De Wette.) Tertul Man says: "In
putting on our flesh he made it his own ; in
making it his own, he made it sinless." His
fleshly or human nature so far resembled ours
that he could be and was "tempted in all
points like as we are, yet without sin." So
the Divine One was made or appeared "in
the likeness of men." (Pbii.j:7.) Meyer finds
in these verses (». ») a decisive negative answer
to the question whether the Son of God would
have appeared as man had man not become

1 This may be regarded as in the accusatire, either j apposition with the principal sentence following. So
absolute (Olshausen), or after a verb (did) understood, Huttmann, Winer, D« Wett«, Meyer, Philippi, Godet.
but more probably it is in the nominative absolute, in i — (F.)

186

ROMANS.

[Ch. VIII.

4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

dinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who
5 walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. For

sinful.] And for sin — it was ' sin ' that made
his coming necessary. r'Sin' was the special
name of the sin-offering in the Old Testament,
and many (Calvin, Hodge, and others) give
it this sense here. (See marginal reference to
the Revised Version; the Canterbury Revi-
sion transposes text and margin.) But the
expression: 'for — that is, concerning sin,'
seems to have a more general reference —
namely, that the sending of the Son of God
into this world had respect to sin — that is, to
its condemnation and extirpation.] The ulti-
mate object of God's sending his Son is now
expressed in the words 'condemned sin in
the flesh' — what is the meaning of this, and
how did he do it? He condemned sin by
breaking its power, by robbing it of its domin-
ion, which is a very practical condemnation
of it; and he did this ' in the flesh,' in that
very human nature in which sin had always
before so easily triumphed: the sphere of its
many and long-repeated victories was now at
last made the sphere of its signal and decisive
defeat: yes, decisive defeat; for not for him-
self alone did Christ condemn sin ; but his
victory over it insured, as the next verse goes
on to state, the final victory over it on the
part of all his people. In fine, this important
verse may be paraphrased as follows: "For
God, by sending his own Son into the world,
in the likeness of sinful flesh (but not in the
reality, so far as sin is concerned), and for sin
(the existence of sin being the occasion for
sending him), did what it was impossible for
the law to do — namely, broke the power of sin,
and so convicted and condemned it as a usurper
and a tyrant, and did this in the very nature
through whose weakness that usurpation and
and tyranny had been so long maintained."
[Similarly the "Bible Commentary": "He
' condemned sin i n the flesh ' as having no right-
ful place or power there, condemned it as an

enemy to be by his help conquered and cast
out." De Wette says: " Thus instead of sin's
bringing condemnation to us as hitherto, it is
itself now condemned and has lost its power."
" God accomplished the judgment of con-
demnation pronounced against sin, and he
did this in sin's appropriate sphere, viz., in
the flesh." (Cremer.) The law could con-
demn sin in one sense, but could not put sin
to death, nor save the guilty. "Christ's holy
life was a living condemnation of sin" (Godet),
but his expiatory death, wherein he bore our
sins, and curse, was its principal and final con-
demnation.^ Milton very happily versifies
the Pauline theology on this point in Para-
dise Lost, XII. , 388, where he speaks of Christ's
joining "Manhood to Godhead," and of his
"coming in the flesh,

To a reproachful life and cursed death."]

4. That — in order that, the purpose for
which God 'condemned sin in the flesh' —
the righteousness of the law — the right-
eous requirement of the law — might be ful-
filled in us — really, now; perfectly, by-and-
by. [The word 'righteousness' (fiocat'cujio) oc-
curs here for the last time in this Epistle.
Compare 1:32; 2:26; 5:16,18. Most modern
commentators think this term, in order to
suit the context, must be here referred solely
to the work of sanctification. But the right-
eous demand of the law requires, not only
perfect obedience, but punishment for trans-
j gression. See 1 : 32. As in 5 : 16 'righteous-
ness' (Sotat'wfio) is opposed to condemnation,
so there is a similar antithesis here. Compare
the verb 'condemned' with its related 'con-
demnation ' in ver. 1. That the apostle here
has reference to justification as well as to
moral renewal is also evident from the passive
form of the verb and from the preposition :
' might be fulfilled in us ; ' not that we might

1 Prof. Shedd thus makes condemned equivalent to
" vicariously punished" — God thus condemning sin in
the body or person of Christ. Many refer this con-
demnation of sin to the removal of sinfulness rather
than to the expiation of guilt, because Paul does not
say : in his flesh, and because he here treats of sancti-
fication rather than of justification. Yet Paul never
In his scheme of doctrine widely separates a sanctify-
ing from a jijstifying righteousness. And, again: in

what way can sin be extirpated other than by the
death of Christ and by the intercession of a crucified
and risen Saviour ? " God by the death of his Son, so
condemned sin, as by this very (expiatory) condemna-
tion to destroy it." (Philippi.) Of course, this view
does not set aside the fact that the incarnation itself of
the spotless Son of God was a virtual condemnation of
sin in the flesh. — (F.)

Ch. VIIL]

ROMANS.

187

5 For tbey that are after the flesh do mind the things
of the flesh ; but they that are after the Spirit, the
things of the Spirit.

they that are after the flesh do mind the things of
the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the

fulfill, or even that it might be fulfilled by
us. To suppose that any man, though re-
newed in mind, can perfectly obey all the
demands of the law so as thereby to free
himself thenceforth from condemnation and
secure acquittal at the judgment, is to make
nonsense of much which the apustle thus
far has written. "The interpretation which
makes the apostle say that we are delivered
from the law by the work of Christ, in order
that the complete obedience which the law
demands might be rendered by us, supposes
what all Scripture and experience contra-
dicts." (Hodge.) "Only because we are
justified in Christ does the sin perpetually
cleaving to us no longer come into account.
Only thus can the holy acts, which are the
fruits of God's Spirit in those who are right-
eous in Christ, be called a fulfilling of the
law." (Philippi.) "Christ is the end of the
law for righteousness to every one that be-
lieveth." The Christian, indeed, must have
personal and real righteousness, in order to
be accepted of God in the judgment, or to
fulfill his high calling here. We were freed
from the law and have become united to
Christ, not that we may indulge in sin, — God
forbid! — but that we may bring forth fruit
unto God. (':*•) Yet while we strive with
all possible earnestness for a sanctified life,
we would not dare to present such a life as
the ground of our justification.] Who walk
[being such persons as walk, etc., the article
with the participle defining a class] not after
the flesh, but after the Spirit, whose con-
duct and course of life are regulated, not ac-
cording to the promptings of the nntural man,
but according to the dictates of the Holy
Spirit. "When the soul is wedded to the
Spirit, the flesh follows, like the handmaid
who follows the wedded mistress to her hus-
band's home, being thenceforward no longer
the servant of the soul, but of the Spirit."
(Tertullian. ) [See Gal. 5 : 16, 18, where Spirit,
also without the article, denotes the Holy
Spirit.* Dr. Hodge remarks that this "second

clause of the verse is specially pertinent if the
first treats of justification, [showing that] the
benefits of Christ's death are experienced only
by those who walk not after the flesh. . . .
In the other view of the passage, the latter
clause is altogether unnecessary. Why should
Paul say that Christ died in order that they
should be holy who are holy?"]

Introductivn to Ver. 5-17. — Justification is,
indeed, necessary to the existence of sanctifi-
cation, but snnctification is equally necessary
to the evidence of justification. [A gospel
which should speak of a justification that
favored indulgence in sin would be at once
despoiled of all glory. They who are justified
in Christ are also renewed in heart, and would
not desire to live in sin, even if they could be
permitted to do so.] The justified will cer-
tainly walk in newness of life:

(a) Because their inward moral disposition
is thoroughly changed, (ver. 5-8.)

5. The for is explanatory of the last clause
of ver. 4 [showing that and why there is no
agreement between the two methods of walk-
ing there spoken of]. They that are after
the flesh. Compare John 3 : 6. [Such are
wholly fleshen (aapicH'oi), even their minds are
of flesh, possessed and ruled by the flesh.
(Col. 2:18.)] Do mind the things of the
flesh. They think of, care for, strive after
[WiclifT: "savor"], ' the things of the flesh '—
that is, its objects of desire. But they that
are after the Spirit (do mind) the things
of the Spirit. Their aims and objects of
desire are spiritual. [The Canterbury Re-
vision refers the word 'Spirit' — occurring in
this verse, in ver. 6, 13, and the first in ver. 9
— to the human spirit. It is sometimes difll-
cult to determine whether, in certain cases,
this word denotes the human spirit or the
divine, especially as in regenerate persons the
human is supposed to be acted upon by, or
even conjoined with, the divine. The spirit of
man, the highest part of his nature, is defined
by Cremer as "the divine life principle," or
"the principle of the God-related life," and

> In a telic clause or Terse like this, introduced by
'that' — in order that (Ivo), nothing is stated to have
actually occurred, and hence the subjective negative
Ml) is used rather than ov. The same is true in impera-

tive and subjunctive clauses. Mn, however, is regularly
used with articled participles which refer to a supposed
genus or class, as in 4 : 5 ; 14 : '22.— (V.)

188

ROMANS.

[Ch. VIII.

6 For to be carnally minded it death; but to be
spiritually minded is life and peace.

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God:
for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed
can be.

6 things of the Spirit. For the mind of the flesh is
death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace:

7 because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God :
for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed

by EUicott as "the seat of the inworking
powers of grace." Prof. Riddle, in Lange's
"BibleWork," also speaks of it as "the point
of contact with divine influences." As con-
nected with man's body and soul, the psy-
chical or natural man, it needs cleansing and
sanctification — in other words, needs to be
divinely spiritualized. In ver. 10, the spirit,
as opposed to 'body,' seems to denote "our
spirit." (ver. 16.) In other instances it may
be indeed regarded as the human spirit, yet
as renewed and pervaded by the Holy Spirit.
Meyer, however, contends that "it never
means, not even in contrast to flesh, the 're-
newed spiritual nature' (Philippi), but the
sanctifying divine principle itself objectively
and distinct from the human spirit." Yet in
ver. 10 he makes 'spirit,' in contrast with
'body,' refer to the human spirit.]

6. The spiritual man cannot mind the
things of the flesh, for to be carnally
minded, to have the thoughts, cares, and
aims occupied with the things of the flesh, is
death — is spiritual death, and tends to, and
ends in, eternal death. ["The minding of
the flesh" (nearly equivalent to purpose of
the flesh) in the marginal reference of our
Common Version very well expresses the
sense of the original. Rev. J. Owen, in Cal-
vin's "Commentary," says that "minded-
ness," the abstract of minding, would be more
correct. Some commentators use the expres-
sion— striving of the flesh. On pages 232, seq.,
of Lange's "Commentary on Romans" will
be found an excursus on the Biblical terms —
body, flesh, soul, and spirit.] But to be
spiritually minded [properly, the mind of
Ihe Spirit, the animus or disposition which
the Spirit gives]. To be spiritually minded is
to have the thoughts, cares, and aims occupied
with the things of the Spirit, with the truths
and hopes that he inspires, the blessings that
he confers, the dispositions that he produces.
Is life and peace. Peace is added to
strengthen the argument. Says John Howe :
"Life and peace in conjunction, not raging
life, not stupid peace, but a placid, peaceful
life, and a vital, vigorous rest and peace. It
is not the life of a fury, nor the peace of a

stone; it is a life that hath peace in it, and
peace that hath life in it." Observe how life
and death are defined in this verse : Life, ac-
cording to this apostolical definition, is some-
thing more than mere animated existence;
death is something more than the separation
of soul and body, something diffierent from
the mere negation of conscious existence,
or annihilation. The Scriptures cannot be
rightly interpreted if these apostolic defini-
tions of life and death are ignored. [There
is, indeed, a blissful peace in spiritual mind-
edness, but the ground of any true and abid-
ing peace must be found outside of ourselves,
not in any inward perfection, but in a con-
sciousness of our good estate in Christ. In
Christ alone can our souls find their only true
resting place. "Our heart is restless till it
rests in thee." (Augustine.) Only as we are
justified by faith can we be freed from con-
demnation ; only as we are justified by faith
can we have peace with God or in our own
souls. De Wette says it is "wholly false " to
mix up in this passage the doctrine of justi-
fication, even when freedom from condem-
nation is spoken of If so, then farewell
to peace. "How," asks Olshausen, "can an
exposition of the Christian religious develop-
ment be possible unless the doctrines of satis-
faction and justification form the turning
points in it?"]

The next verse is an illustration and con-
firmation of the first part of ver. 6.

7. Because the carnal mind. This shows
the reason why ' the carnal mind ' — the mind
of the flesh — is death, because it is enmity
against God [who is the Giver of life]. This
is a very strong statement ; it arraigns as at
enmity with God every unregenerate man
and woman. For this carnal mind, as the
connection plainly shows, is predicated of all
who have not been born of the Spirit, and
not merely of those who are grosser sinners,
exceptionally sensual and polluted. Compare
ver. 9. The apostle immediately brings for-
ward a plain, practical proof of this grave
charge. For it is not subject to the law
of God. It does not submit itself to that
divine rule of life which is the practical ex-

Ch. VIII]

ROMANS.

189

8 So then ther thai are in the flesh cannot please
God.

9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so
be that the Spirit of Uod dwell in you. Now if any
man have not the Spirit of Christ, be is none of his.

8 can it be: and tbey that are in the flesh cannot

9 please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the
Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in
you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ,

pression of friendship with God. Neither
indeed can be [without directly contradict-
ing its nature]. "In just so far as it (the
carnal mind) exists, it evidently does not sub-
mit itself to the law of God; and in so far as
it has passed away and departed from a man,
it does not at all exist, so that even thus it is
not subject." (QScumenius.) If one should
object that the argument proves too much, —
for even the regenerate, spiritual man does
not always and perfectly obey the law of
God, — the answer is, that this is accounted for
only by the truth of the proposition. The
reason why the new man's obedience is not
uniform and perfect, is the fact that [while
sin does not reign in his mortal body, yet]
the remains of the old nature still cling to
him; so that the objection, in fact, confirms
the proposition. "How can snow be warmed?"
asks Augustine. "By making it cease to be
snow," he replies. [Compare Paul's descrip-
tion here of those persons whose being and
walk are conformed to the flesh, whose very
minds are of flesh, and which, as being wholly
carnal, are at enmity with God and will not
submit to his law, with the description which he
gives in the last part of chapter 7 of that one
(himself), who though with his fleah serving
the law of sin, yet with his mind serves the
law of God and delights in that law after the
inward man. Cannot any one see the vast
difl'erence? Meyer, indeed, says that ^' After
conversion the flesh with its striving is ethic-
ally dead," and he refers to 6 : 6, seq. ; also to
Gal. 6 : 24 : "They that are Christ's have cru-
cified the flesh with its passions and lusts."
This verse has sometimes caused us to trem-
ble, yet our hope has strengthened itself in
this thought — namely, that the crucifixion of
the flesh may denote a lingering death.]

8. So then should rather be translated
and; it (W) is continuative [and "slightly
oppositive "] rather than conclusive} By the
phrase they that are in the flesh we are

to understand not they that are in the body,
but they that are carnally minded (»er.a, i),
and that walk after the flesh, (ver. «.) [In
the flesh denotes "the ethical life-element in
which they subsist, and which is the oppo-
site of being in the Spirit, and in Christ."
(Meyer.)] They cannot please God; since
their disposition, their mind is enmity toward
him, their persons cannot be pleasing to him.
[Augustine condensed: Not they who are
in the body, but they who trust in the flesh
and follow the lusts of the flesh, cannot please
God. What! did not the holy patriarchs,
prophets, martyrs, please him ? They carried
the flesh, but were not carried by it. Not
they who live in this world, but they who live
a life of carnal pleasure in this world, they
cannot please God.]
(b) The Spirit of God dwells in and actuates

them. (Ver.9.13.)

9. But ye [ye on the other hand. (Meyer.)]
are not in the flesh— that is, not carnally
minded; but in the Spirit — that is, spir-
itually minded; if so be that the Spirit
of God dwell in you [has in you a per-
manent home]. The indwelling of the Spirit
of God is what makes the difference be-
tween the carnally minded and the spirit-
ually minded. See 1 Cor. 3: 16; 6: 19; 2
Tim. 1: 14.] [Meyer refers the first "Spirit"
to the Holy Spirit, not, with Philippi, to a
"spiritual nature." The 'if so be,' if indeed,
does not imply any real doubt, yet, according
to Meyer, "it conveys an indirect incitement
to self-examination." 'Dwell' in you must
not be diluted to dwelleth among you. See
1 Cor. 6: 19; Gal. 4: 6. But can there be
in the regenerate indwelling sin and the in-
dwelling Spirit? Most certainly. Yet the
Spirit inhabits, rules, and fills the inner or
real man, while sin dwells rather in the fleshen
self. And thus it is that the " flesh lusteth
against the Spirit and the Spirit against the
flesh, that ye may not do the things that ye

1 This little particle (^0 occurs six times in this and
the three following verses. Its exact force, according to
Ellicott, "is never simply connective, and it never loses
all shades of its true oppositive character." It often
"implies a further consideration of the subject under

another aspect." In translating it we have to choose
between such words as but, moreover, now, and, ete,
In this verse, Paul, by means of M "passes fh>m
'enmity toward God' to the other aspect of the matter,
' cannot please God.' " (Winer.) — (F.)

190

ROMANS.

[Ch. VIII.

10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because 10 he is none of his. And if Christ is in you, the body
of sin ; but the spirit is life because of righteousness. is dead because of sin ; but the spirit is life because

would." Rev.Ver. Gal. 6: 17; comp. Rom. 7: 19,
"the good which I would I do not."] Now
if any man (one) have not. [On the use of
the direct negative after the conditional 'if,'
(the 'not' qualifying simply the verb 'have'),
see Winer 477, Buttmann 345, 347 ; compare
also 11: 21.] The Spirit of Christ here is
the same as the Spirit of God in the preceding
clause. The two expressions are equivalent
and interchangeable. Compare [Acts 16: 7,
in Revised Version] Gal. 4:6; Phil. 1 : 19;
1 Peter 1 : 11. [To have in us the Spirit
which belongs to Christ, and which he can
impart, as with his breath (John 20:22), is the
sameas to have Christ himself, (ver.io; Kph.s:i7.)
Paul here speaks of the Spirit of Christ be-
cause he would make prominent the Christian
characteristics of believers. "The Spirit of
God, the Spirit of Christ, an illustrious testi-
mony concerning the Holy Trinity." (Ben-
gel.)] This passage is sometimes used in the
sense — 'if any man have not a Christlike
spirit, he is none of his' — a sound. Scriptural
sentiment; for the object of the Spirit of
Christ dwelling in us is to make our spirits
like to Christ's; but it is the personal Spirit
of Christ that is here meant, and not a dispo-
sition like Christ's. He — rather, This man.
There is an emphasis in the pronoun used
here not adequately represented by the un em-
phatic 'he.' Is none of his — that is, he does
not belong to Christ, and will not be owned
by him at last.

The illustration of the second part of ver. 6
is now taken up, in contrast to the foregoing.

10. And if Christ be in you is the same
as 'if the Spirit of God dwells in you.'
["The indwelling of Christ . . . is the result
of the working of the Holy Spirit on the one
side and the subjective reception of man
(through faith, Eph. 3: 17) on the other."
(Ellicott.)] The body is dead — surely
doomed to die — because (on account) of sin.
See ch. 5 : 12. But the spirit is life— has
life [wrapped up in itself], and shall have
eternal life, because (on account) of right-
eousness— that righteousness which is al-
ready implanted, and which will be perfected.
['Dead' (veicpds) is often used, says Prof. Cre-
mer, "to denote the state of men still living,
and we may understand it of the state of

those whose life is appointed to death as the
punishment of sin." The death referred to
in this verse is physical — the death of the
body, not a death to sin, nor a rendering
inactive of the "body of sin," as in 6: 6.
Prof. Stuart regards it as the mortifying of
our carnal passions, the crucifixion of the
flesh. But is sin the ground or cause of this
death, as righteousness is the cause or ground
of life? The Revisers failed to bring out the
strong contrast here implied by "indeed"
iiitv) and "but" (5«). It is true, the apostle
would say, that the body is dead, is subject to
death, must die by reason of sin, but the spirit
is life, etc. Even the believer's body partakes
of death, is already in a death condition, is a
"living corpse," on account of his own sin
and on account of his race connection with
Adam. In Adam all died and all die. And
as the primal ground of bodily death is Adam' s
sin, so the primal ground of our Spirit's
eternal life of blessedness is Christ's right-
eousness, and not our own. (Godet.) "The
eternal life is based on the justification that
has taken place for Christ's sake, and is appro-
priated by faith. . . . The moral righteous-
ness of life, because never perfect, can never
be the ground of 'the life.' " (Meyer.) "The
ground of life is, and remains alone, the
righteousness imputed to faith, from which
issues the righteousness of life, or spiritual
disposition by which faith is attested and
maintained. . . . To refer righteousness in
this verse to the righteousness of faith is not
inconsistent with referring 'spirit' to the
human spirit become pneumatic. For the
first thing the human spirit does when re-
newed by the Spirit of God, is by faith to lay
hold on the righteousness of Christ and the
eternal life which that righteousness secures."
(Philippi.)] The words 'body' and 'spirit'
here are to be understood, literally, of the
human body and human spirit: for (a) the
change from the word 'flesh' (ver. 5») to the
word 'body,' is presumptive evidence of the
literal sense; (i) the expressions, ' on account
of sin' and 'on account of righteousness,'
require this sense — not (dead) "to sin," or
'fn respect to sin,' as in 6: 2, 11 ; (c) the fol-
lowing verse decisively confirms this sense, so
far as the word 'body' is concerned, and

Cii. VJII.]

ROMANS.

191

11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from
the dead dwell io you, he that raised up Christ from
the dead shall also quicken your mortal oodles by his
Spirit that dwelleth lu you.

11 of ricrhteousness. But if the Spirit of bim that
raised up Jesus ft-oni the dead dwelleth in you. he
that raised up Christ Jesus troin the dead shall
quicken also your oiorial bodies > through his Spirit
tliat dwelleth in you.

1 Manj tnoieat antboritlw rtad bietnut of.

indirectly confirms the same in respect to the
antithetical term 'spirit.' [It was Andrew
Fuller's dying request that Dr. Ryland
should preach his funeral sermon from this
text.]

11. ["According to ver 10, there was still
left one power of death, that over the body.
Paul now disposes of this also." (Meyer.)
" According to the present verse, death is to
be vanquished by a gradual process, and fin-
ally to be swallowed up in life." (Philippi.)
"The divine life becomes through the Holy
Spirit not only a quality of the human spirit:
it becomes its nature in such wise that it can
diffuse itself through the whole person, from
the spirit to the soul and body." (Godet.)
To the natural eye and sense, the grave is a
dark-looking place, and would seem to be the
sad end of our being ; and with such natural
views and feelings, we are tempted to say:
For what nothingness hast thou created all
the sons of men. (ph-w: «.) But the apostle
never appears to have had a doubt — certainly
he has never expressed a doubt — respecting
our survival of the tomb. He discusses at
large in one of his epistles the nature of the
resurrection body, but never the question :
"Dues death end all ? "] Bui if the Spirit
of him that raised up [literally, awakened]
Jesus from the dead dwell in you. We
have here the previous supposition, with an
important addition, 'of him that raised up
Jesus from the dead'— an addition which is
of vital importance in the apostle's argument,
as if he had said, ' this Spirit is powerful over
death, and makes you partakers of Christ's
resurrection ; you have in you the same power
which caused Christ to rise.' ['Raised up
Jesus' . . . 'raised up Christ.' "The name
Jesus refers to himself, the name Christ to
us." (Bengel.) Hofmann remarks that the
personal resurrection of Jesus merely assures
us that God can raise us, but his resurrection,
regarded as that of the Christ, assures us that

he unll do so actually. Godet notices the ap-
propriateness of the term awakening (as if
from sleep) applied to Christ, and the term
quickening, used of our mortal bodies, de-
cayed and dissolved in dust. According to
Alford, Paul does not say shall raise our
mortal bodies, "because it is not merely the
resurrection of the body which is in the apos-
tle's view." Prof Stuart regards this quick-
ening of the body as wholly spiritual, making
the body "a willing instrument of righteous-
ness." And the principal reason for his view
is that the bodies of the wicked, as well as the
righteous, will be raised up at the last day.
This is true ; but the wicked will not attain
unto the blessed resurrection of the just, their
bodies will not be like the spiritual, heavenly
bodies of the glorified, and will not be con-
formed to the body of Christ's glory. Cer-
tainly the resurrection of the body must be
here the chief reference. And when this
quickening takes place, the body will no more
be called dead, or even mortal, since it will
be no more a body of sin. The apostle's lan-
guage supposes that all those whom he ad-
dresses would die before the personal coming
of Christ, and therefore he did not regard this
coming as something to happen within the
lifetime of that generation. Compare 14 : 8.]
By his Spirit that dwelleth in yon; or,
according to a different reading of the original
text, on account of his •Spirit which dwells in
you. The two readings of the Greek text
stand nearly on an equality in respect to the
support which they have from ancient manu-
scripts, quotations, and versions. The read-
ing on account of his Spirit seems to me to
have strong internal evidence in its favor: 1,
as being the more difficult reading, according
to the well-known rule of Bengel^ \ 2, on
account of the emphatic way in which the
indwelling of the Spirit is expressed (ri
ivoiKovv, in place of oi««r, ver. 9, 11); 3, as
yielding a verj- pertinent and striking sense.

1 We have often thought of this " rule" when cor- I editors do not •ccq>t this rule without many qualific»-
recting proof sheets, for printers, at least, are very apt tions.
to make more difficult readings. But, of course, critical

192

ROMANS.

[Ch. VIII.

12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not .to the
flesh, to live after the flesn.

13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if
ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body,
ye shall five.

12 So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh,

13 to live after the flesh: for if ye live after the flesh,
ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death

for it suggests this important and interesting
thought — that it would be derogatory to the
dignity of the Divine Spirit, that the bodies
which have been honored as the habitations
of that Divine Guest sliould be suffered to
become the irreclaimable victims of corrup-
tion. ["Such a body God will treat as he has
treated that of his own Son." (Godet.) ]
Finally, this reading is adopted, in their
critical editions and translations, by such
scholars as Mill, Bengel, Alford, Meyer,
Noyes, and the Bible Union Revisers. [The
reading of our Common and of the Revised
Version is supported by some of the oldest
Uncial manuscripts x A C, and is favored by
Lachmann, Tischendorf (8), Westcott and
Hort, De "Wette. This reading was opposed
by the Macedonian heretics, who denied the
personality and divinity' of the Holy Spirit.]
Webster gives the following paraphrase of
ver. 10, 11 : " But if Christ is in you, while
the body is dead (inevitably subject to death)
owing to sin, the spirit is life (a living princi-
ple of action) owing to righteousness; if,
however, the Spirit of him who raised up
Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he who
raised up Christ from the dead shall also make
alive (shall renovate) your mortal bodies,
owing to his Spirit, which dwelleth in you."
12. Therefore (inference from the preced-
ing verse) brethern, we are debtors (a
positive assertion, defined afterward only on
its negative side) not to the flesh, to live
after the flesh — in order that we should live
after the flesh, i/such a relation existed. [So
De Wette, Meyer, Philippi, and others. But
Winer (p. 326) would treat this infinitive
clause in the genitive as he does that in 1 : 24
— making it depend on the word ' debtors,' in
conformity to the regular phrase, to be a
debtor of any one (or thing)]. ^ The corre-
sponding positive side of the assertion, as
deduced from ver. 11, would be, " we are
debtors to the Spirit, to live after the Spirit";
and so, for substance, the relation is com-
pleted in the last clause of ver. 13. [Tlie flesh

has done us no service that we who belong to
Christ should live for it, or according to its
dictates. It is the Spirit of life which is the
source of our present spiritual life, without
whose influence also we have no spiritual
activity, peace, or joy, and it is the ground of
our resurrection life. We should, therefore,
live to the Spirit, and our lives should be
controlled by the Spirit. The flesh, says
Meyer, "has not deserved well of us!"]
Chrysostom's comment on this verse is as
follows: "We are debtors to the flesh in
many respects, but not in this. We owe it
nourishment, care, rest, healing when sick,
and ten thousand other services. In order,
therefore, that you may not suppose, when
he says, ' we are not debtors to the flesh,' that
he means by this to abolish or forbid such
services, he explains himself, saying, 'to live
after the flesh ' — that is, we must not make
the flesh the controller of our lives."

13. For if ye live after the flesh, ye
shall (will) die. If, to repeat Chrysostom's
phrase, ye make the flesh the controller of
your lives, ye will die — that will be the suit-
able and certain end of your course. The
death here referred to is what (Ecumenius
calls "the undying death in hell." This
sense is confirmed by the antithetic ye shall
live of the following clause. [The 'shall ' here
is a separate verb, denoting that which is
about to be and necessarily will be. The
inevitable result of carnal living is death in
its comprehensive sense. We must undergo
physical death even if we do not live after
the flesh. Meyer refers it only to eternal
death, "the deathless death in Gehenna."
According to Philippi, "death, as the conse-
quence of sill, denotes the undivided idea of
divine penal judgment, consisting in every
kind of physical and spiritual misery. . . .
Here, above all, is meant spiritual and present,
yet withal the bodily an4 the future death."
We do not see in this declaration of the apos-
tle, as Philippi does, ^' a. dictum probans for
the possibility of apostasy, the so-called amis-

iBut Buttmann (p. 267) says: "The infinitive with i it depends merely outwardly upon a substantive in the
Tov retains its entire verbal nature and force, so that ' leading clause." (F.)]

Ch. VIII.]

ROMANS.

193

14 For as many aa are led by the Spirit of God, they I 14 the > deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many
are the sons of God. | as are led by the Spirit of God, these are son* of

1 Or. dolnfi.

aibilitas gratice."] But if ye through the
Spirit [not in the human spirit (Philippi),
but by] the Holy Spirit, do mortify, ^u^ to

death [more literally, are putting to death ;
compare Col. 3:5; Gal. 6 : 24], the deeds of
the body, the practices of the body, ye shall
live [in the full and highest sense], not 'ye
will live,' as a natural consequence, as in the
former case, 'ye will die,' but 'ye shall live,'
as an assured gift from God, promised by his
apostle. This distinction between the two
futures is warranted by the difference of form
in the original.*

A third reason why the justified will cer-
tainly walk in newness of life is now added:

(c) They are children of God, not only by
a formal adoption on his part, but also by a
filial spirit on theirs, (ver. i*\i.)

14. For introduces the ground of the assur-
ance contained in 'ye shall live.' For a test,
by which we may know whether or not we
are led by the Spirit of God, see Gal. 5:
22, 23. [To be 'led by the Spirit of God,'
though in the passive voice, " is not to be
understood of the influence of a foreign power,
giving as it were its impulse from without, but
it is to be considered as the element of life, as
deciding the tone of character and being, so
that the Spirit of God generates also, where
he works, a higher heavenly consciousness, a
man of God,"a son of God." (Olshausen.)
In view of Scripture representation, here and
elsewhere, no one of us can think too highly
of our dependence on the Holy Spirit for our
present and eternal salvation. And how
blessed are they who are led not by worldly
principle, not by personal ambition, not by
carnal desire, not by self-will, or by what is
self-pleasing even, but by the unerring Spirit.

It may be noted that in Gal. 5: 18 we have
this same construction, to be led by the Spirit,
yet 'Spirit' (nvtina) there is wholly undefined
and is even destitute of the article. Both
there and here the Spirit is in the dative case
of agency after a passive verb.] They are
the sons of God — these, and only these.
The expression 'sons of God' includes these
three ideas: 1. Likeness to God. 2. Objecta
of God's fatherly love. 3. Heirs of God's
inheritance. The expressions 'sons of God'
and "children of God," though so nearly
related as to be, in some connections inter-
changeable (Bom. 8: 14,16, 19. ji), are not to be re-
garded as identical. According to Olshausen,
the word son (,vi6t) expresses more definitely
than the word child " the developed conscious-
ness" of adoption. Alford says that the word
son "implies a more mature and conscious
member of God's family." It may be added,
that while the word children emphasizes the
natural and legal relations of origin and heir-
ship, the word sons emphasizes the moral and
spiritual relations of likeness and reciprocal
affection. [The word for child (riKvov), in
some instances, seems to be used as a term of
special endearment. Paul speaks of children
of God in ver. 16, 21 ; 9: 8; Phil. 2: 16.
John uses this expression invariably, while
the Synoptic Gospels have only "Son of God."
Christ is always called "Son," never, "child"
of God.] But however the precise difference
may be defined, the words should be distin-
guished in translation. This is not uniformly
done in our common English Version. The
word which properly means sons is translated
children in at least six instances (>i»".S: »■«:

Luke'iO: 36, twice; Bom. 8: 26; Oal. S: 26) ; while the WOrd

which properly means children is translated

1 The " practices " of the body are here, as in CoL 3 : 9,
regarded as evil. Indeed, the npaftit of the New Testa-
ment, like our practices, generally have an evil signifl-
cation, a striking comment on our wontedness to do
evil. This word in the plural is used by Paul only in
these two places. Some MSS., D E F G, have flesh here
instead of body, which would seem to be a correction,
aa sin is not so often predicated of the body as of the
flesli. The flesh, however, in its widest signiflcation,
makes use of the body as the instrument of sin, and so

it becomes a body of sin and death. " The body, as the
external basis of human nature which has become sin-
ful, the orgunized irapf, is consequently subject to death
as the penally of sin, and draws down the soul with it
into the same doom unless the two be separated by the
renewal of the spirit, the divine principle of the soul,
in which case the body itself shall be Anally exempted
from the penalty and made a spiritual body." (Cremer.)
-(F.)

194

ROMANS.

[Ch. VIII.

15 Foi ye have not received the spirit of bondage
agaiu to (ear ; but ye have received the Spirit of adop-
tion, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

15 God. For ye received not the spirit of bondage
again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adop-

16 tion, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit

sons a score of times or more,* and in one
place is translated daughters, (i Peter s: 6.)

15. An appeal to their conscious experience.
For ye have not received — that is, when ye
became Christians— the spirit of bondage,
[a slavish spirit. Compare Gal. 6: 1; 1 Cor.
4: 21, "a spirit of love and meekness" — that
is, a spirit whose characteristic was love and
meekness. In opposition to Meyer and Godet,
most expositors take this spirit of bondage in
a wholly subjective sense. Ellicott gives this
rule: "Where the Spirit is mentioned in
connection with giving, it is better to refer it
directly to the personal Holy Spirit. . . Where,
however, as in 1 Cor. 4: 21; Gal. 6: 1, the
connection is different, the spirit may be re-
ferred immediately to the human spirit, though
even then ultim,ately to the Holy Spirit as the
in working power." Mej^er, on the other
hand, says: "This mysticism is not in har-
mony with the New Testament, which always
distinguishes clearly and specifically between
the Holy Spirit and the human spirit as in
ver. 16."] Meyer thus renders this verse:
" For ye received not (when the Holy Spirit
was communicated to you) a spirit such as is
the regulating power in the state of slavery
. . . but a spirit which in the state of adoption
is the ruling principle." The word 'again,'
does not imply that they had ever before
' received ' a spirit of bondage, but only that
they had formerly been in bondage : the word
'again' is connected with 'bondage' only, not
with 'received'; to fear — in order that ye
should be afraid. These last two words, ' to
fear,' are not to be intimately connected with
'bondage,' as if 'fear' were the hard master
that held them in bondage ; but fear is repre-
sented as the result of their bondage. [Meyer,
and so De Wette, Philippi, and Godet, con-
nects 'again' with 'fear,' thus: "in order
that ye should once more (as under the law
working wrath) be afraid." "The spirit of
bondage (leading) back into fear." ("Five
Clergymen".)] Bnt ye have received the
Spirit of adoption — the spirit that charac-
terizes dutiful children, a spirit of filial con-

fidence, in contrast with the former spirit of
bondage, (cai. 4:4-6.) Whereby we cry. [In
which, or whom (compare Eph. 6: 18), we
cry aloud with boldness and confidence. Paul
wishes to join himself with this cry. Accord-
ing to Gal. 4 : 6, it is the Spirit of Christ in
our hearts which cries 'Abba, Father,' and so
we may from this point of view regard the
spirit of adoption as something objective and
as correspondent to this Spirit of Christ.
Godet says : " It is impossible not to see in the
Spirit of adoption the Spirit of God himself."
Many commentators take the Spirit {irvtvina)
of this verse as referring to God's Spirit, who
works not bondage but adoption — thus put-
ting these two nouns in the genitive of the
effect.'\ Abba, Father. 'Abba' [from which
our abbot is derived] is the later Hebrew word
for 'Father.' The word is used only three
times in the New Testament, twice by Paul,
here, and in Gal. 4: 6, and once by our Lord,
as recorded by Mark 14: 36. There is a
peculiar significance in thus uniting the Old
Testament name appropriated to express the
divine Fatherhood of God toward his people

(ISB. 63 : 16 ; Jer. 3 : 19 ; 31 : 9 ; Hose* 11 : l), with the NcW

Testament name, in which, through the adop-
tion in Christ, the relationship is fully realized,
(johni: 12.) [The Hominativc is often used by
the Greeks for the vocative in address, but the
use of the article with such nominative is
rather a peculiarity of the New Testament.
The repetition of the words may be regarded
as the outburst of that filial affection which
one who was by nature a child of wrath may
naturally feel toward the great Creator who
has graciously adopted him as his child. The
word ' adoption ' in the New Testament (ver. is,

23; 9: 4; Gal. 4: 5; Eph. 1: .")) dcnotCS the TCCeiving

into the relationship of children, and never
the simple relation of sonship. Prof. Cremer,
however, thinks the idea of "the relation-
ship of children, based upon adoption, ... is
perhaps to be admitted" here. There is at
least this difference between adoption and son-
ship, the former implies the latter, but the
latter does not necessarily imply the former.

1 Matt. 9: 2; 21: 28,totc<r; Mark 2: 5; 13: 12 (trans-
lated childrenin same verse); Luke 2: 48; 15: 31; 16:
26; John 1: 12; 1 Cor. 4: 14,17; Phil. 2: 15,22; 1 Tim.

1: 2,18; 2 Tim. 1: 2; 2: 1; Titus 1: 4; Philem. 10; 1
John 3: 1, 2 = 21 times.

Ch. VIII.]

ROMANS.

195

16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, I
that we are the children of God.

himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we *n

This 'adoption' supposes that by nature we
are not God's own children and we cannot be
regarded as true sons, nor can we truly say
'Our Father,' or 'Abba, Father,' until by
adoption God shall look upon us as being in
Christ, his own well-beloved Son.]

16. [The absence of any connecting particle
servos to indicate the commencement of a
new subject. (Buttmann, 403; see 9:1; 10:
1; 13:1.)] The Spirit itself— that is, the
Holy Spirit. [Some have rendered this the
same Spirit, but this would require a different
form in the original. The word for Spirit
being neuter, the pronoun is likewise neuter,
while the Canterbury Revision renders it as
masculine, and our American Revised Ver-
sion, inconsistently, both masculine and neu-
ter. See ver. 16, 26. We cannot properly
attribute sex to the Deity, but we naturally
prefer when speaking of God, who yet is
Spirit, a masculine pronoun as more clearly
indicative of personality. The Bible Union
Version renders literally — the Spirit itself.
The New Testament uses both it and he of
the Holy Spirit, the latter, we think, only
when a masculine noun referring to the Spirit
immediately precedes or follows.] Beareth
witness with our spirit (compare Rom. 5 :
5; 2 Cor. 1:22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13, 14; 4:30;
1 John 3 : 24; 4 : 13), that we are the chil-
dren of God.* The Spirit itself co-witnesseth
with our spirit that we are children of God
would be a very literal translation of this
verse. ["The word children emphasizes the
heartiness of the filial feeling." (Lange. )
Meyer says: "Paul distinguishes from the
subjective self-consciousness, /am the child
of God, the therewith accordant testimony of
the objective Holy Spirit, thou art the child
of God 1 The latter is the yea to the former,
and thus it comes that we cry the Abba in
the Spirit. Our older theologians (see espe-
cially Calovius) have rightly used our passage
as a proof of the assurance of grace. . . .
At the same time, it is also a clear proof
against all pantheistic confusion of the divine
and human spirit and consciousness, and no
less against the assertion that Paul ascribes to

man, not a human spirit, but only the divine
Spirit become subjective." De Wetle (and
Alford, who oftentimes closely follows De
Wettc), disregarding the preposition in com-
position, renders the verb, "bears witness to
our spirit." The Spirit of God dwelling in
the hearts of his adopted sons may very prop-
erly be said to co-witness with their spirits
that they are God's children. On the wit-
nessing and sealing work of the Spirit, see 2
Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13; 4:30; 1 John 3 : 24;
4 : 13; 6 : 7-11.] This co-witness of the Spirit
of God with our spirit, whereby we are as-
sured that we are children of God, is a very
important and blessed reality. At the same
time, it must be confessed that unless care is
used to surround it with scriptural safeguards
of interpretation, it is very liable to be abused,
to the encouragement of pretensions that are
presumptuous and self-deceptive. The Spirit
of God in the inspired word plainly witnesses
or testifies what are the characteristic affec-
tions, dispositions, and habits of the children
of God. See Gal. 5 : 22, 23, and other kindred
passages. Our human spirit witnesses or testi-
fies in our consciousness, through faithful
self-examination, what our own affections,
dispositions, and habits are. When the testi-
monies or witnesses of these two spirits, the
divine and the human, are placed alongside
of each other, there will be manifest agree-
ment or manifest disagreement. If the for-
mer, it may truly be said that the Spirit
of God co-witne.sseth with our spirit that we
are children of God. The joint witness of
these two is a rational, and no less an evan-
gelical, ground of Christian assurance. I do
not venture to say that this is the whole ac-
count of the matter, but I think it is an intel-
ligible account, and, as far as it goes, a true
and safe account of a mutter, in regard to
which misunderstanding is very common, and
sometimes very mischievous. [To avoid self-
deception, and to be saved from fanaticism,
we should always test the supposed witnessing
of the Spirit in our hearts by its witnessing
"in the inspired word."]
17. Heirship [already hinted at in 4 : 13, 14]

I NouDs in Greek following the predicate verb, to be, I meaning children (rc'icfa) does not require the article
are frequently without the article; but here the word ' either in Greek or English. — (F.)

196

ROMANS.

[Ch. VIII.

17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and
joint heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with
lUm, that we may be also glorified together.

18 l-'or I reclion that the sufferings of this present
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us.

17 children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs
of God, and joint-heirs with Christ ; if so be that
we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified
with him.

18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present
time are not worthy to be compared with the glory

follows necessarily from childship. And if
[we are] children, [we are] then heirs.
'Children' is naturally said here rather than
sons, because the word is taken up from the
preceding verse. Perhaps, also, this word may
be preferred in both these verses as being more
comprehensive, including both sexes equally.
Besides, it is the more appropriate word in
this connection, as being more distinctly the
ground of heirship, which is descent, not moral
likeness or filial feeling. It ought to be noted,
however, that the word son is used in a similar
connection, in Gal. 4 : 7. Heirs of God.
Compare 1 Cor. 3 : 21-23. Truth, holiness, and
bliss are infinite in God, and the same blessed
trio, though finite, are ultimately full in his
children. How much of outward dignity may
be included in this heirship, who can tell?
especially when it is added, and joint heirs
with [literally, o/] Christ. Compare John
17:22; Col. 3:4; Kev. 3 : 21. [Some suppose
that the apostle in this representation has in
his mind the Koman law of inheritance, which
differed from the Jewish. According to the
latter, the eldest son received a double share,
while adopted children' were excluded from
heirship, and even one's own daughters, unless
there were no sons, the daughters receiving
only a marriage portion. Under the Koman
law, sons and daughters and adopted children
shared alike. We, through the grace of God
and by virtue of our adoption, share the same
as our "elder brother" who is "heir of all
things" (Heb. 1:2), while in ourselves we de-
serve only wrath. Children of human parent-
age are not always heirs in this world, nor do
they ahvays inherit great possessions. But
the case is different with the children of God.
The idea of being a son and heir of God and
joint heir with Christ beggars all description,
and we may well say, "Who can tell?" We
often speak or read of wealthy persons as
dying rich. But he alone can be said to die
rich who, though poor in this world's goods,
is yet rich in faith and heir of God's ever-
lasting kingdom.] The sufferings which be-

lievers undergo in this life are not inconsistent
with their being fully justified and accepted
of God. (n-30.) For— (a) Tiiey suffer with
Christ that they may be glorified with him.
(Ver. 17, last two clauses.) If so be that we
suffer with him, that we may be also
glorified together. ( Phu. s : lo, n ; v Tim. 2 : ii, 12. )
[The particle — usually meaning that, or, in
order that {Iva) — here expresses necessary re-
sult. (Winer.) It is only through a fellow-
ship or participation in Christ's sufferings that
we can have participancy in his resurrection
and glory. We desire the glory, but natur-
ally dread the sufferings. " If," says Philippi,
" God has promised to the doing and suffering
of his children, — not, indeed, heaven itself,
but a special reward in heaven, — this is not
a reward duly earned and merited from a
righteous Judge, but unmerited reward from
a gracious Father's goodness."] (6) There is
an immeasurable disproportion between the
present suffering and the future glory.

18. For I reckon. I myself have em-
braced this course, being convinced that, etc.
[This reckoning "really contains both I know
and am persuaded." (Meyer.) "The word
implies a careful estimate, no hasty, super-
ficial reckoning." (Boise.) "I have added
up the items of suffering on the one side of
the account and the grace and glory on the
other, and, having made the calculation, I
now strike the balance and declare the result.
On St. Paul's peculiar qualification for making
this estimate [as to the future glory], see on
2 Cor. 12:4." (Wordsworth.) On the apos-
tle's acquaintance, previous to the writing of
this letter, with the sufferings of this present
time, see 2 Cor. 11 : 23-33. Yet he deems these
sufferings, when contrasted with an eternal
weight of glory, to be but a light and mo-
mentary affliction. (2 cor. 4 : u.)] That the
sufferings of this present time [point of
time] are not worthy to be compared
Avith the glory which shall be revealed
in us [which shall come upon us («i« ^pias) from
without. (Meyer.) " The glory not merely

lit is doubtful, however, whether the Jews were 1 writings (8 : 15 ; 9:4; Gal. 4:5; Eph. 1 : 5), there is no
acquuiiitcd with any proper adoption. Save in Paul's I vio9e<rta, adoption, in all the Holy Scriptures. — (F.)

Ch. VIIL]

ROMANS.

197

19 For the earnest expectation of the creature wait- I 19 which 8hall be rerealed to us-ward. For the earnest
eth for the manifestation of the sons of Qod. | expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing

appearing to us, passing before our eyes, but
entering into ua, so that we share it, are trans-
formed into the same glory." (Boise.) Prof.
Boise, we may add, generally seeks to make
this preposition express some degree of within-
ness]. This 'glory' is the future state of ac-
knowledged perfection which God designs for
men, as in 2 : 7 [compare 1 Peter 6 : 4]. 'Shall
be revealed' [not immediately, but in the
future] in contrast with this present time.
[This contrast of future glory with present
sufferings is strongly expressed by the em-
phatic position of the word translated ' which
shall be revealed' at the beginning of the
clause.] See the same thought, expressed
with even greater emphasis, in 2 Cor. 4 : 17.
The like thought is beautifully expanded by
Bernard, as quoted by Tholuck, "Commentary
on Romans," Vol. II., p. 86, Clark's English
edition : "Non sunt condignse passiones hujus
temporis ad praeteritam culpam, quae remitti-
tur, ad prsesentem consolationis gratiam, quae
immittitur, ad futuram gloriam quae promit-
titur." "The sufferings of the present time
are not worthy to be compared with the past
guilt which is remitted, with the present grace
of consolation which is immitted, with the
future glory which is ^jromitted." Let the
barbarous literalness of the English be par-
doned. It is necessary, in order to show the
peculiarity of the Latin.

The greatness of that future glory is seen,
(a) in the longing desire for its coming which
pervades all nature (»er. i9-w) ; (ft) in the simi-
lar desire of believers, notwithstanding the
happiness which they enjoy in the present
foretastes of that glory, (ver. 23-25.)

19. For introduces the proof of the tran-
scendent nature of this glory, [or as De Wette
and Meyer think, of the "certainty of that
future manifestation." The present unsatisfied
longing of the whole creation supposes a better
state in which this longing will be satisfied.]
The earnest expectation — the word so
translated is a very expressive one, used only
here and in Phil. 1 : 20. It is borrowed from
that upward and forward movement of the

head which is the natural attitude of eager
expectancy. [Godet defines it as "awaiting
with the head raised and the eye fixed on
that point of the horizon from which the ex-
pected object is to come." See also Ellicott
on Phil. 1 : 20. According to De "Wette and
Meyer, it ia a waiting expectation rather than
an anxious one.] Of the creature — or, bet-
ter, as translated in ver. 22, of the creation.
This word is very variously explained. We
simply remark here, that we understand by
it all animate and inanimate nature, as dis-
tinguished from mankind, referring to Ap-
pendix E, for the vindication of this sense of
the word. [This interpretation is adopted by
most commentators,' and yet we feel a diffi-
culty in thus excluding mankind from this
groaning creation. "We know that the ground
was cursed for man's sake, and though we
call this earth beautiful and fair, it is yet sin-
cursed.

Some flowrets of Eden (we) still inherit,
But the trail of the serpent is over them all.

"We may suppose that this world was made a
world of death, and that animals from the
very first — ages though it be before man was
created — were endowed with decaying mortal
bodies, on account of sinning and dying man.
It may be deemed fitting that a world in-
habited by sinful mortals should partake of
unrest, decay, dissolution. "We may deem
that earthquakes, tornadoes, thunder-tem-
pests, and other like fearful and destructive
natural phenomena belong properly to a
world or world-system of disharmony and
sin. "We are told indeed that lightning, for
example, purifies the air and is therefore a
blessing. Yes ; but we are glad to think that
the air of heaven will need no purifying.
"We also may hold it fitting that this material
creation, this earth, steeped as it has been
with man's pollution, tears, and blood, should
be burned up, renovated, and made a "new
earth." But how can man be excluded from
the "whole creation"? As Forbes says:
"Omit man — the animating centre of the

1 Substantially by De Wette, Meyer, Philippi, Godet,
Alford, Hodge, Boise, and others. Some, as Dr. Ripley,
think especially of sentient irrational creation, or

animals; Augustine and Turretine of men not yet be
lievers, while some, as Chrysostom, CmlTin, and FritB>
sche, think only of inanimate creation. — (F.)

198

ROMANS.

[Ch. VIIL

whole — and with what propriety could we
speak of the creation or creature being made
subject willingly or ' not willingly to vanity ' ?
hoping for deliverance ? waiting ' for the mani-
festation of the sons of God ? ' " That we now
sin willingly and willfully is no proof that the
subjection of our race to vanity, decay, and
death was of our choice. And cannot an
' earnest expectation ' be better predicated
even of wicked men, in their present state of
disquietude and wretchedness, groaning under
the burden of sin and longing in their inmost
souls for something better,* than of the brute
and material creation ? Besides, does not the
apostle's statement suppose that the creation
eventually is to share, not only in some general
deliverance at the revelation of the sons of
God, but is to share the same deliverance
which these experience, and is to be intro-
duced even "into the liberty of the glory of
the children of God"? The apostle else-
where says that the fullness of the Gentiles
should be brought in and all Israel should be
saved, and hence he can assert, generally,
that the creation (of mankind) shall be freed
from the bondage of corruption, and shall
enjoy the liberty of the glory of God's chil-
dren. Dr. Gifford, who defines the word
translated 'creature' as "the irrational crea-
tion, animate and inanimate," yet says that
"Mankind, therefore, so far as they fulfill their
proper destiny, in accordance with the great
promise, 'in thy seed shall all the nations of
the earth be blessed,' are all included among
'the sons of God.' " And the phrase "our-
selves also, which have the first fruits of the
Spirit^' (ver. 23), naturally implies a contrast,
not so much with material creation, stone and
earth, or with brute creation, as with human
kind who even in their rebellion against God
do bitterly experience the unrest and misery
of sin, as also the vanity of all earthly things.
"The creation was made subject to vanity,"
and the heart language of every worldling
since the days of fallen Adam is "vanity of
vanities! all is vanity." "The whole crea-
tion" in Mark 16: 15 (compare Col. 1: 23
and Ellicott thereon) to whom the gospel
should be preached, is mankind in general,
and so if the whole creation here refers to

mankind generally this does not hinder the
distinguishing a part (those who have the
first fruits of the Spirit) from the whole.
" Where is the impropiety," asks Forbes, "in
drawing a distinction between creation (in-
cluding all mankind) as a whole, and those
who, from their privileges and hopes, might
be supposed exempted from the sufferings and
distress common to all others ? ' ' Prof. Stuart
on ver. 22, 23, says : " Not only have mankind
in all ages down to the present hour been in
a frail and suffering state, but even we," etc.
"The whole human race has sighed and sor-
rowed together, until the present time. . . .
But suppose now that the natural world is
here represented as sighing and sorrowing
. . . because it waited for its renovation, . . .
was this a thing so familiar to all that the
apostle could appeal to it by saying: we
know" ? Prof. Stuart thus refers "the crea-
tion" to mankind generally, as also Prof.
Turner, and in this interpretation they essen-
tially follow Augustine, J. Lightfoot, Tur-
retin, etc. Some few (as Albert Barnes) refer
it to Christians collectively. Olshausen, on
the other hand, holds that the apostle extends
his look over the whole creation inclusive of
man, or at least of mankind out of Christian-
ity. This also seems to be the view of Lange,
Forbes, and Schaff. The latter says: "The
whole creation rational as well as irrational,
not yet redeemed, but needing and capable of
redemption, here opposed to the new creation
in Christ and in the regenerate. The children
of God appear, on the one side, as the first
fruits of the new creation, and the remaining
creatures on the other, as consciously or un-
consciously longing after the same redemp-
tion and renewal. This explanation seems to
be the most correct one. It most satisfactorily
accounts for the expressions: expectation,
waiting, groaning, not willingly, and, the
whole creation." While favorably inclined
to this view, we must yet think that the apostle
has the creature man chiefly in mind, other-
wise he could not speak as he has without
qualification of creation's sharing in the future
glory of God's children.] Waiteth for the
manifestation [in glor^' — literally, the apoc-
alypse] of the sons of God. 'Awaits the

1 Even a heathen Cicero could exclaim : " Oh, glorious i assemblage of spirits, and quit this troubled and pol-
day ! when I shall depart to that divine company and | luted scene." (De Senectute, ch. xxiii.)--(F.)

Ch. VIII.]

ROMANS.

199

20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not
willingly, but by reason of bim wbo batb subjected the
tame in bope ;

20 of the sons of God. For tbe creation was subjected
to Tanity, not of its own will, but by reason of bim

21 wbo subjected it, > in bope that tbe creation itself

1 Or, in hop* ; t«eau« tA« ertation. Me.

revelation' (the same verb and the same
noun are used in 1 Cor. 1 : 7 of the mani-
festation, or revelation — there translated com-
inj?— of our Lord Jesus Christ. Compare 1
John 3: 2.) [The verb^ denotes the receiving
of something out of the hands of one who
extends it toward us from afar. (Godet.)
Respecting this manifestation of the sons of
God with Christ in glory, see Col. 3: 4.]

20, 21. The ground of this longing. For
the creature was made sabject to vanity
— that is, to instability, liability to change and
decay. [Meyer says this 'vanity,' nothing-
ness, "indicates here the empty — (that is, as
having lost its primitive purport, which it had
by creation) quality of being, to which 'the
creation' (all nature) was changed from its
original perfection. . . . The reference [as
by De Wette] to an original 'vanity' intro-
duced even by the act of creation is histori-
cally inappropriate (o«n- i: si), and contrary
to 'not willingly,' etc., which supposes a
previous state not subject to vanity." Accord-
ing to Forbes, the expression : 'made subject
to vanity,' " would seem specially to point to
the doom pronounced on man: 'Dust thou
art and unto dust shalt thou return,' and
which is embodied in the very name of its
first victim (Abel = vanity)." Professors
Stuart and Turner refer this vanity to the
frail, decaying, dying state of man. The
apostle speaks of it further on as "the bondage
of corruption." The noun occurs elsewhere
in Eph. 4: 17; 2 Peter 2: 18. Trench remarks
that this word is altogether strange to profane
Greek (though the adjective form is used),
and that the "heathen world was itself too
deeply and hopelessly sunken in 'vanity' to
be fully alive to the fact that it was sunken in
it at all." If this 'vanitj'' be referred to the
irrational creation, then we say with M. Reuss,
" Everywhere our eyes meet images of death

and decay ; the scourge of barrenness, the
fury of the elements, the destructive instincts
of beasts, the very laws which govern vegeta-
tion, everything gives nature a sombre hue."]
Not willingly — all these three expressions,
' was made subject' (passive), 'vanity' (not
sin), 'not willingly' (without any fault
[choice?] on its own part), confirm our inter-
pretation of the word ' creation ' ; for they are
not such expressions as would naturally be
predicated of a free, intelligent, responsible,
moral being, whose misery was the result of
his own guilty choice of evil in preference to
good. ' Was made subject to vanity,' When?
At the fall of man. (o*n.s: n. i».) But by
reason of him — but on account of him ; the
antithesis of ' not willingly ' — who hath 8ub>
jected the same— that is, God: the subject
is assumed as well known ; if it were any
other than God, some explanation would be
needed. [Yet some, as Chrysostom, Tholuck,
suppose Adam is here referred to, while Ham-
mond suggests the name of Satan, the prince
of this world, and Godet hesitates between
these two interpretations.*] In— [literally :
upon] hope — it was not to a hopeless, un-
limited doom, that the creation was made
subject: the explanation immediately follows.
['Was subjected to vanity' . . . 'upon (or,
in) hope.' "Surely this expression must
compel us to see that tnan is he whom the
apostle hitherto, down to ver. '22, has princi-
pally in his mind. . . . Man in general, we
say ; for what else prepared the innumerable
multitudes of the heathen, converted by the
preaching of the apostles, to listen to the
gospel, but the sickening experience they had
had of the vanity to which they were left,
and the bitter fruits they had reaped from
sin ? Shut out here, as the prevalent inter-
pretation does, the Gentiles and the great
body of the unconverted,' and what a strange

1 'Air«(cS«x*'''<"i compounded of the verb Sixofiai, to r«-
ceiir, and two prepositions — avo from, «, otil of.

2 Winer refers this subjection to the " will and com-
mand of God" — {Sia with tbe accusative)— yet is of
opinion that Paul intentionally avoided using iia with
the genitive (equivalent to God subjected it), as " Adam's

sin was tbe proper and direct cause of the ' vanity.' **
-(F.)

» Tbe groaning of the "unconverted" and their
sighing, involuntary and unconscious though it be, for
something better, is well expressed by the misanthropic
Byron C Childe Harold's Pilgrimage," IV., CXXVI.):

200

KOMANS.

[Ch. VIII.

21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered
from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty
of the children of God.

22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth
and travaileth in pain together until now.

also shall be delivered from the bondage of corrup-
tion into the liberty of the glory of the children of

22 God. For we Icnow that the whole creation groaneth

23 and travaileth in pain i together until now. And

omission is attributed to St. Paul I . . . The
na^Mroi, wa^criaZ world isbroughtintomarked
prominence, but the world of perishing men
is left out! " (Forbes)] Because [in the Re-
vised Version, that, expressing not the reason
of the hope but its substance] the creature
itself also— this expression (especially the
words itself &r\di also) intimates a descending
from the more to the less noble, which accords
with what follows — shall be delivered from
the bondage of corruption (and admitted)
into the glorious liberty of the children
of God. ["The /reedom [from decay and
death] is described as consisting in, belonging
to, being one component part of, the glorified
state of the children of God." (Alford.) So
corruption is in the genitive of apposition,
indicating that the bondage consists in cor-
ruption. It is obvious to remark that general
expressions relating to the restoration or
future glorification of the creation or of all
things (jcor. 5: 19; Eph. 1: 10; Col. I: 2o), are Some-
times to be limited, as is evident from such
passages as Matt. 17: 11, "Elijah indeed
cometh, and shall restore all things." Revised
Version.] There seems to be here a pregnant
intimation, that the inanimate and irrational
creation is to participate, in some unexplained
way, and in such degree as its nature allows,
in the future glory of God's redeemed people.
"We shall find this intimation confirmed in
the following verse. [In accordance with this
view is the remark of Bengel : " Misfortunes
have accrued to the creature from sin ; repa-
ration will accrue to the creature from the
glory of the sons of God." In Godet's view
the inanimate and irrational creation will
participate not in the glory, but only in the
liberty of the glory of God's children. But
as their bondage was corruption, so the free-
dom into which they will be introduced will
consist in their participation in the glory of

the children of God. Whatever this creation
is, it will be glorified in the same manner as
the children of God will be glorified, and this
supposes that the creation chiefly referred to,
or "mankind in general," will yet become
children and heirs of God. Even Meyer
concedes that the creation will participate in
a glory like that of God's children.]

22. For introduces the proof of what is
aflSrmed in ver. 21. 'For' the groaning and
travailing in which all nature unites cannot
be without a meaning and an aim. It pre-
supposes and heralds a coming deliverance,
and so we know that such a deliverance is
predestined. [So Meyer, while, in De "Wette's
view, Paul would prove the aflSrmation of ver.
19, 20 by appealing to a generally conceded
truth.] The whole creation groaneth
and travaileth in pain together. All the
parts of this complex creation unite (this is
the meaning of 'together') in this sad utter-
ance. A bold and impressive figure of speech.
That last verb, 'travaileth,' suggests, as do
other prophetic Scriptures, the birth [with its
attendant suflTering] of a new creation. See
Isa. 65:17; 66:22; Matt. 19:28; Acts 3: 21;
2 Peter 3: 13; Rev. 21:1,5. Until now. This
expression strengthens our interpretation, for
it would not be appropriate if referred to the
sufferings of Christians; it points too far back
to a state of things that has long existed.
[The connection of earth's sorrows and of
earth's redemption with 'the whole creation,'
if taken in a literal sense, lies beyond our
present comprehension. In our finiteness,
who can understand and explain the universe?
Compared with this illimitable universe, this
world is less than a speck of dust, and we that
creep upon earth's surface are as nothing.
It seems to us almost like vanit}', and like
acting the part of the fly in the stage coach,
to suppose that our little selves are of much

Our life is a false nature — 'tis not in

The harmony of things — this hard decree,

This uneradicable taint of sin,

This boundless Upas, this all-l>lasting tree,

Whose root is earth, whose leaves and branches be

The skies which rain their plagues on man like dew,
Disease, death, bondage, all the woes we see,
And worse, the woes we see not, which throb through
The immedicable soul, with heart-aches ever new.

-(F.)

Ch. VIII.]

ROMANS.

201

23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have
the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan
within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to vnt, the
redemption of our body.

not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first-
fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves i^oan within
ourselves, waiting for our adoption, to tcU, the re-

consequence in the universe, or that the uni-
verse is so much affected by our misdeeds and
sufferings, and by what our Saviour has done
and will do for us in the matter of our re-
demption. What is man that the infinite
Creator and the whole creation should be
mindful of him or interested in him? Yet
the Scriptures lead us to believe that the in-
terest of creation is centred around, and that,
to some extent, its welfare is dependent upon,
the one great event for the created universe;
namely, the redemption of this earth by the
Lord of Glory, together with the eternal glori-
fication of the redeemed. See especially Col.
1:20; Eph. 1 : 10.» In Chalmers' "Astro-
nomical Discourses," our readers will find
much interesting speculation on a supposed
connection of earth's redemption with the
interests of the universe. See also Andrew
Fuller's "The Gospel its own Witness," Part
II., Chapter v.]

23. And not only they, but ourselves
also, which have, etc. (literally, having) —
that is, not only does the whole creation groan
and travail together. It will be observed that
the word 'they' is not in the original. ["The
text here (ver. 23) is in inextricable confusion,
but the sense very little affected." (Alford.)
Some readings seem to make a distinction
between those having the Spirit and 'our-
selves.' According to Meyer, "The participle
having, without the article, is fatal to every
reference to subjects of two sorts."] 'But
ourselves also,' — that is. Christians, — which
have the firstfruits of the Spirit. 'First-
fruits,' in distinction from subsequent gifts of
the Spirit to later Christians, because it was a
special privilege of the earliest Christians to
receive that Spirit first. But this does not
imply anything in the quality of the gift
^'uperior to that communication of the Spirit
which all Christians shared in common.

[Some — as Bengal, Winer, Godet— regard the
Spirit as in the genitive of apposition (as in
the phrase : earnest of the Spirit), making the
Spirit equivalent to the first fruits of God's
gracious gifts. Usage, however, seems to re-
quire the genitive partitive, "as is involved
in the very meaning of first fruits. Compare
16 : 6 ; 1 Cor. 15 : 20; 16 : 15; James 1 : 18."
(Meyer.) But we need not suppose, as Dr.
Arnold and many others — Olshausen, Meyer,
Gifford, Turner — have done, that the apostle
has reference here to the reception of the
Spirit by the ^^ earliest Christians," but may
rather regard — with Tholuck, Philippi, and
others — this first fruits (iwapxv) of the Spirit as
the^rs</»ariof a subsequent "full harvest of
spiritual blessings." The gift of the Spirit is
here regarded as an earnest or pledge of the
fullness of the Spirit's blessings which is yet
to be imparted. Compare Eph. 1:14; 2 Cor.
1 : 22.] Groan within ourselves. Not
groaning before men, but in the recesses of
our own hearts, known only to God. ["The
reader will not fail to recognize in this pas-
sage the very lamentation that is uttered else-
where: 'O wretched man that I ami who
shall deliver me from the body of this
death?'" (Chalmers.) Compare the groan-
ing utterances of 2 Cor. 5 : 2, 4, penned but a
short time before writing this Epistle. In the
reflexive pronoun rendered 'ourselves,' the
third person plural is used for the first. This
interchange of the third person for the first
and second persons plural is a somewhat fre-
quent usage in the New Testament, and is
found in Greek authors. (Winer, 150.)]
Waiting for ["expecting in full "(Boise)] the
adoption* [in its full manifestation], to wit,
the redemption of our body. The eman-
cipation [not from our body, but] of our body
from the defects and disadvantages of its
earthly condition ["from sufferings and sins,

1 Kllicott, on Col. 1 : 20, thus remarks : "How the rec-
onciliation of Christ affects the spiritual world, . . .
we know not and dare not speculate. This, however,
we may fearlessly assert, — that the efficacy of the sacri-
fice of the Eternal Son is infinite and limitless, that it
extends to all things in earth and heaven, and that it
is the blessed medium by which, between Ood and his

creatures, whether angelical, human, animate, or inani-
mate, peace is wrought." — iF.)

* D F G omit the word ' adoption,' which, perhaps,
was reganled as already possessed, and hence was inap-
propriate here. The article is probably omitted on ac-
count of its " connection with an apposition" (Winer),
or "on account of it« preceding its verb for emphasis'
sake." (Alford.)— (F.)

202

KOMANS.

[Ch. VIII.

24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen
is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet
hope for ?

25 Hut if we hope for that we see not, then do we
with patience wait for it.

24 demption of our body. For i in hope were we saved :
but hope that is seen is not hope : 2 for who » bopeth

25 for that which he seeth ? But if we hope for that
which we see not, then do we with * patience wait
for it.

I Or, by 2 Many ancieot authorities TtaA for what a man teeth, why doth ht yet hope fort 3 Some ancient authorities read

awaiteth 4 Or, ttedfaetnett.

from Satan and from death"] at the resurrec-
tion, and its transformation into the likeness
of Christ's glorious body, will be the crown-
ing act of our redemption and the crowning
proof of our adoption. (1 cor. 15:26, 54.) ["Be-
loved, now are we children of God (that is,
have received the adoption), and it is not yet
made manifest what we shall be. We know,
that if he shall be manifested we shall be like

him" (1 John 3:2, Eevised Version), and the bodlcS

of our humiliation shall be fashioned anew so
as to be conformed to the body of his glory.
(Phil. 3: 21.) The Scriptures regard it as no light
matter that our bodies have been made instru-
ments of sin and have been subjected to dis-
ease, decay, death, and corruption. Some per-
sons speak lightly of death, but the Scriptures
never do this, neither can we when we feel
at all the solemnity of so great and so untried
a change, coming home to us personally and
taking us, as it were, all to pieces; when,
moreover, we realize how deep and universal
is the dread of death or "dread of something
after death," or when we think of the physical
pains and mental agonies, the sad changes
and disappointments, the tie sunderings and
the tears, which are the accompaniments of
death. To the true believer, death has, in-
deed, lost its chiefest sting, and it will be to
him a gain. Still, death is sent upon all men
as a punishment for sin, and is in itself a fear-
ful and dreaded enemy. And there is enough
of the bitterness of death remaining even to
the Christian, for it still to be regarded as
an enemy. And so, in one sense, the poet's
words are true :

Not all the preaching since Adam
Has made Death other than Death.

How glorious will it be when we shall have
passed safely beyond its power; yea, when
Death itself, the last enemy, shall be brought
to nought, and our bodies shall be fully and
forever redeemed from the bondage of Satan
and from the effects of sin !]

24. For we are saved by hope. 'For'
points to the ground of their awaiting the
adoption — namely, that its full consummation

is yet in the future, and therefore an object of
expectation : For in hope we were made par-
takers of salvation [and "by hope the Chris-
tian can even now regard himself as saved."
(Weiss.)] The verb is in the past tense.
"Hope is, in fact, faith in its prospective atti-
tude." (Tholuck.) (Heb.ii:i.) [The Canter-
bury Revision retains the by of our Common
Version. "The dative, not of the means, but
of the manner." (Bengel.) That is, we were
saved, not by hope, but in hope. "In gen-
eral," says Meyer, "Paul specifically distin-
guishes faith and hope, while he always bases
salvation only on faith."] But hope that is
seen [that is, whose object is before our eyes
and within our grasp] is not hope. For
what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope
for? The nature of hope involves our pa-
tiently waiting for the good hoped for.
'"■With vision, hope is needless." (Bengel.)
The little word translated 'yet' (literally:
and, also, even), when connected — as here —
with an interrogative, conveys a sense of the
utter superfluity of the thing. [The Revisers'
text, it will be seen, reads somewhat differ-
ently.]

25. But if we hope for that we see not.
[The verb 'see not,' as also 'seeth' in the pre-
ceding verse, is made emphatic in the original
by its position at the head of the clause.]
Then do we with patience Avait for it.
'Patience,' or endurance, is the state in which
and through which this waiting takes place.
[The verb 'wait' refers back to the participle
'waiting' in ver. 23.] The preposition trans-
lated ' with ' is more usually and more exactly
translated through; the conception seems to
be of a local character, in accordance with
the most literal primitive sense of the word
through, the time of waiting being regarded
as an intervening space between the first ex-
pectation and the full fruition of the object
hoped for. Compare note on 2 : 27. [See also
Heb. 12 : 1 : Let us through patience run the
race set before us. Winer makes these ex-
pressions refer to "the state of mind in which
one does something," thus retaining some

Ch. VIII.]

ROMANS.

203

26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities:
for we Icuow not what we should pray for as we ought :

26 And in lilce manner the Spirit also helpeth our
infirmity: fur we know not how to pray as we

idea of instrumentality. The present tense
of these verbs denotes that which is continued
or habitual, — we hope, or are hoping; we
wait for it, or "we continue expecting it in
full." (Boise.)]

26, J7.)

26. "The progress of thought is simple.
If we hope for that we see not, then the matter
stands with us (1) on the footing that we
with patience wait, but likewise (2) on the
footing that the Spirit helps us. The likewise
introduces a symmetrical corresponding rela-
tion, which is added, on the divine side, to our
waiting." (Meyer.) ["As the apostle had
passed from the groaning of universal nature
to that of the children of God, he now rises
from the latter to that of the Holy Spirit him-
self." (Godet.)] Likewise the (Holy) Spirit
also helpeth our infirmities (joins his ac-
tivity with our weakness) in waiting for final
redemption. The absence of adequate power
in ourselves for this patient waiting is plainly
implied.* Alford: "The Spirit helps our
weakness, — helps us who are weak." The
singular, infirmity, is doubtless the correct
reading, being supported by the uncials XA
BCD. For we know not [literally,/or tfie
what we should pray as it is proper, we know
not. The neuter artic^le at the head of this
clause gives it a "substantival character," and
renders it more prominent. (Winer, 109.)
On the use of the interrogative subjunctive,
sec Winer, 299.] 'For' assigns the reason
why the Spirit intercedes. As we ought.
"According to the present and ever-varying
needs" would be a good paraphrase for the
brief but comprehensive Greek phrase. Illus-
trations of the truth of the proposition here
.stated are abundant. For example: Abra-
ham interceding for Sodom (Oen. i8:m-s3) ;
Moses for permission to enter Canaan (Dent.

t-.nti) ; Paul for the removal of the thorn in
the flesh (a cor. u : s. ») ; Augustine's mother,
that her son might not go to Rome (yet his
going there led to his going to Milan, where
he was converted). It was a saying of Py-
thagoras, that "men ought not to pray for
themselves on account of their not knowing
what is expedient for them." [The soul of
our Redeemer, as we read in John 12 : 27, was
once troubled or perplexed in regard to the
definite object which should be prayed for.
Yet whatever his desired petition might have
been, he was always enabled to add: "Father,
glorify thy name," and "Not my will but
thine be done." Should not every right
prayer be accompanied by these words?
Certainly the Spirit 'helpeth' our infirmity,
and though it is not here supposed that he
gives us words to speak, yet it is possible that
he may at times "indite" our petitions and
give us assurance that they will be fully an-
swered. Yet I think that these cases are of
rare occurrence, and that the Christian is
seldom assured by the Spirit that the bringing
to pass of his will would be best for him or
for others, or would be the most for God's
glory, and that his prayers will thus be an-
swered to the letter. We know of no test
that will enable us uniformly to distinguish
between the Spirit's assurance and mere self-
assurance. We do know that many most
devoted Christians have been deceived on this
point. They have firmly believed, they have
had full assurance, yet God has not answered
their prayers in the way and form desired.
How much better to leave the answer of our
petitions with God, who, knowing what is
best, will do for us what is best! Indeed, it
would seem to be supremely selfish for the
believer to desire that his will should always
be regarded in heaven, or to feel that his
prayers (save as he says, "Thy will be done")
must always be answered to the very letter.]*

* "The vert)," says Godet, " is one of those admirable
words easily formed by the Greek language: A<tfi^o-
vt<r9ai (middle), to take a burden on oneself; (tvv, with
some one; avri, in his place. So: To share a burden
with one with the view of easing him. Compare Luke
10:40. . . . The Spirit supports us in the buur when
we are ready to faint." — (F.)

« Never were more or (perhaps) truer prayers offered
up throughout Christendom for the life of any man

than for that of the late President Garfield. But prayer
did not save him. And yet many Christians were fully
persuaded that in answer to so much earnest praying
his life would be spared, and some went so far as to
assert that his recovery might properly be regarded as
a fair prayer test in contrast to that suggested by Prof,
Tyndall. But did not such persons take too much lor
granted ; namely, that his recovery from the assassin's
shot would be for his own highest good, for the greatest

204

ROMANS.

[Ch. VIII.

but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us witli
groanings wliich cannot be uttered.

27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what
ii the luind of the Spirit, because he maketh interces-
sion for the saints according to the wili of God.

_ ought; but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for

27 wi with groanings which cannot be uttered; and
he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the
mind of the Spirit, i because he maketh intercession

28 for the saints according to the will of God. And we

1 Or, that.

Bat the Spirit itself. Plainly the Holy
Spirit, and so confirmatory of the same appli-
cation of the same phrase in ver. 16. Maketh
intercession for us [another compound of
three words] i with groanings which can-
not be uttered. The words ' for us ' have
not sufficient manuscript support. These un-
uttered groanings,^ though traceable to the
Holy Spirit, take place within our hearts,
agreeably to ver. 23 ( ' groan within ourselves ' ).
Compare "joy unspeakable" in 1 Peter 1 : 8,
where the opposite emotion is characterized
by an adjective, differing very slightly in the
original from the one used here. Bengel re-
marks: "On both sides believers have those
who groan with them and make common
cause with them ; below them the whole crea-
tion (ver. 22), above them the Spirit." Wick-
liffe's version of this passage is a quaint speci-
men of the English of his day: "The Spirit
axeth for us with sorwinge, that moun not be
telde out." [The Spirit as another "Helper"
or "Advocate" — Common and also Kevisod
Version, "Comforter" — (JohnUrie) intercedes
with God for us, and "uses the human organ
for his sighing, as he likewise does elsewhere
for his speaking. Matt. 10:20; see also on
Gal. 4:6." (Meyer.) " The Holy Spirit . . .
himself pleads in our pra3'ers, raising us to
higher and holier desires than we can express
in words, which can only find utterance in
sighings and aspirations." (Alford.) 01s-
hausen, Lange, Stuart, Hodge, and others,
take this intercessory groaning, in the manner
of Augustine, in a subjective sense, regarding
it as our groaning incited by the Holy Spirit.

Many, however, refer this groaning to the
intercession of the objective Holy Spirit
dwelling in us. This interceding of the Spirit
of God in us, with groanings for God's help
in our behalf, is something we cannot compre-
hend, but in one point of view it seems akin
to the suffering and intercession of our divine
Lord, if not in us, yet in the flesh, "for us
men and for our salvation." Philippi says:
"To suppose a sighing of the Spirit himself
without mediation of man's spirit, is alike
without meaning and Biblical analogy. . . ,
In the intimate marriage of God's Spirit with
man's spirit, an incarnation of the former, as
it were, takes place. The distinction between
the intercession of the Spirit and the interces-
sion of Christ is chiefly to be found in this, —
that Christ intercedes without us, in and by
himself, but the Spirit in and by us; Christ
by the prevalence of his own merit, the Spirit
on tbe ground of the merit of Christ."]

27. And (now) he that searcheth the
hearts — this is an Old Testament description

of God (l Sam. 16 : 7 ; 1 Kings 8 : 39 ; Ps. 7 : 9 ; Prov. 15 : 11 ;

jer. 11: 20; 17: 9, 10), and Specially appropriate
here, because it is in the lieart that the ' un-
uttered groanings' take place. Compare Gal.
4: 6. Knoweth what is the mind of the
Spirit— that is, of the Holy Spirit, as is re-
quired alike by the connection and by the
usage in ver. 6, 7. Because he maketh
intercession, etc. [Philippi gives this para-
phrase: "As the Searcher of hearts, God
knows what is the mind of the Spirit ; and he
knows it also because the Spirit intercedes for
the saints in a way agreeable to God; " simi-

good of the nation, and for the special glory of God?
And did not some in their prayers fail to add : " Never-
theless, not my will but thine be done "? But did all
those prayers wholly fail of an answer? We think
not. The particular blessings (as we deemed them)
which were asked for were denied, but equivalent bless-
ings were doubtless sent, or will be sent, in their stead,
just as in the case of Paul's prayer for the removal of
the thorn in his flesh. See 2 Cor. 12 : 7-9, and compare
Rom. 1:10; 15 : 31, 32 ; see also notes on 15 : 32. Quite
apt are the words of Shakespeare on this point :
We, ignorant of ourselves,
Beg often our own harms, which the wise Powers

Deny us for our good. So find we profit
By losing of our prayers.

—"Ant. and Cleop.," Act II., Scene I.— (F.)

1 The compounds of iiirep — over, in behalf of, beyond
(Latin : super)— are nearly all found in Paul's epistles.
See ver. 37.— (F,)

2 iAoArjTcs is by most commentators rendered inex-
pressible— that is, "groans which cannot be expressed
in words." (Noyes.) — (F.)

* p6in]na (the result of thinking), thought, purpose^
meaning, occurs four times and only in this Epistle. —
(F.)

Ch, VIII.]

ROMANS.

205

28 And we know that all things work together for I
good to them that love God, to them who are the called
according to his purpose.

know that to them that love Qoi < all thinn work

together for good, even to them that are called ao-

29 cording to hu purpose. For whom he foreknew,

1 Bomi) anolcut ftuthoritlei read aod worketk all tkingt wUk tlumfor gocd.

larly De Wette and Alford.] According to
the will of God — literally, according to Ood.
The idea is fully and correctly expressed in
our version, though the words, 'the will,' do
not stand in the original. [Winer objects to
the expression interceding ' according to the
will of God,' because "of the Spirit no differ-
ent intercession can be thought of." Hence he
interprets the phrase (Kara Ot'ov) 'toward God,'
'before God.' But this seems somewhat
strained, and to make the apostle here simply
to afl5rm that the Searcher of hearts knows that
the Spirit intercedes before him for saints is,
in the words of Dr. Hodge, "making the
verse say comparatively little."] For (the)
saints — that is, for holy persons, instead of
'for us' as in ver. 26 [Common Version].

28. And [or, moreover} we know— not
merely by divine promise, but by present
consciousness : to them that love (iod —
this is no unusual way of designating true

Christians. (l Cor. 2:9; 8:3; Junes 1: IS.) The

emphatic position of these words, in the orig-
inal Greek, intimates that this assurance is the
peculiar privilege of those that possess this
character.! That [a new motive for ' patience,'
ver. 25] all things work together for good
— ' all things,' with special reference to suffer-
ings, afflictions, persecutions, calamities, etc.,
' work together,' are conspiring harmonious-
ly ; [Westcott and Hort adopt here the read-
ing of A B given in the margin of the Revised
Version, "God worketh all things with them
for good"; and Pauline usage would cer-
tainly favor the use here of a personal subject;
see Buttmann, 193.] 'For good'— to a good
result; for a benevolent and happy end: our

sanctification and perfection.* [Compare 1
Cor. 3 : 21, 22. How great the consolation to
feel that our sorest afflictions can be put
among the 'all things' which will contribute
to our good. Indeed, so comprehensive ia
this unlimited 'all things' that some include
in it all that transpires under the universal
government and providence of God, and
Augustine went so far as to make the sins of
believers conducive to their welfare — making
them "more humble and docile"; but this
consideration is evidently foreign to the apos-
tle's line of thought Still there is this truth
in Augustine's view — namely, that the sorrows
which our sins have brought upon us can be
sanctified for our good. Only as we love God
and have been called according to his pur-
pose, can we truly say :

Blessed be God for all,

For all things here below :
For every loss and every cross

To my advantage grow.]

To them who are the called according
to his purpose. [" Who called us with a
holy calling, not according to our works" —
actual or foreseen, not primarily by our own
act and will — "but according to his own pur-
pose and grace which was given us in Christ
Jesus before times eternal." (« Tim. i : », aer. ver.)
The word 'purpose' (irp<*e<rit) save in one in-
stance (sTim. 3: 10) is in Paul's writings always
used of God's "eternal purpose." Compare 9 :
11; Eph.l: (9), 11; 3: 11. This calling of God,
connected as it is with his immutable purpose,
"the purpose of the ages" (see Eph. 3: 11,
Kevised Version, margin), and "according to

1 <* 'Ayatfav denotes love as a direction of the will, dili-
gere. . . . ♦tAeti' (denoting the love of affection, friend-
ship) is never used of the love of men toward God (but
see 1 Cor. 16: 22). Ix)ve to God or our neighbor as a
command is unheard of in the profane writers; this
love again is always expressed by ayaiiiv." [And Prof.
Jowett says : " No Greek or Roman ever had the con-
sciousness of love toward his god."] ' ' 'Ayairit' and never
^iA«ti' is used of h)ve toward our enemies. . . . The
range of ♦tA«i»' is wider than that of aya^av, but ayixvav
stand* all the higher «bove ♦tAeif on account of its
moral- import." '"A-y^mi, a word formed perhaps by
the LXX. as a companion to ayawiv, and wholly un-

known in the classics, became in New Testament lan-
guage the distinctive designation of holy and divine
love, while the Greeks knew only ip-^, ^Uia, and
aropyri." (Cremer.) See also notes on 6: 5. 'Ayawar
occurs some 142 times in the New Testament, ^tA<ir
25 times.— (F.)

* It was an ingenious and exhaustive textual divi-
sion of his subject which a certain preacher made in
discoursing from I his text on " The Providence of Ood."
Itisl. Universal— " all things." 2. Operative— " work."
3. Harmonious — "together." 4. Benevolent — " for
good." 5. Special—** to them that love God."

206

ROMANS.

[Ch. VIII.

29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predesti-
nate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he
might be the firstborn among many brethren.

he also foreordained to be conformed to the image
of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among

election" (Eom.»:ii) which was "before the
foundation of the world" (Eph. i; 4), even "the
purpose of him who worketh all things after
the counsel of his own will " (Bpi>. i : 11), cannot
of course be made in vain. To what or for
what great things we are called of God may be
seen in 1 Cor. 1: 9; 1 Thess. 2: 12; 2 Thess.
2: 14; 1 Tim. 6: 12; 1 Peter 5: 10. Obviously
those who love God have in their heavenly
calling additional evidence that all things
will contribute to their good.] Thus another
characteristic of true Christians is added : not
only do they love God ; they are also 'called
according to his purpose' : the former is the
effect and proof of the latter. It is quite in
accordance with the style of Scripture and of
common life to put that first which is tangible,
practical, phenomenal, and then that which is
back of it, and the cause of it, and so logically
precedent. See 10: 9; 2 Thess. 2: 13, etc.
["As this purpose antedates creation, it must
be from and in himself alone, for, 'with
whom took he counsel ? ' Before the creation
it must obviously have been for the Creator
alone to determine what orders of being to
create, and whatindividuals, with whatcapaci-
ties to endue each, in what relations and cir-
cumstances to place him, and what issues to
bring about in regard to him. The objects to
be subserved by the existence of each and to
be effected by the divine administration
toward him, depended on God's sovereign
pleasure." (Ripley.)]

29. For — this verse and the following em-
phatically confirm ver. 28, showing that the
divine ' purpose,' advancing by regular steps
to its fulfillment, leads 'the called' surely to
glory : whom he did foreknow, he also
did predestinate (or, foreordained). [The
word 'predestinate' is derived from the Y\i\-
gnte prcedestinavit, through the Bishop's Bible
and Rheims Version. The phrase ''before
ordeyned" occurs in Wickliffe's Version.]
Foreknowledge and foreordination must, ac-
cording to the structure of the context, be
regarded as successive steps in the carrying
out of thf Pternsil 'purpose.' We may con-
ceive of God as exercising his omniscience in
surveying men, and selecting, on principles
and for reasons known only to himself, but

dictated by his consummate wisdom and good-
ness, whom he would ordain to eternal life.
And so the foreknowledge may be conceived
of as distinct from the foreordination, and
logically antecedent to it. [The word fore-
know— containing " the idea of decision as
well as foreknowledge" (Boise) — occurs five
times in the New Testament. In two places

(AcU 26: 5; 2 Peter 3: 17), it signifies prCVioUS

knowledge on the part of men. In the other
instances, here, and 11 : 2, and 1 Peter 1: 20,
it denotes the foreknowledge which existed in
God "before the foundation of the world"
(compare Rev. 17 : 8), and which, as here
represented, was the ground of his predestina-
tion. The noun, foreknowledge, occurs but
twice (acu 2 : 23 ; 1 Peter 1 : 2), and is associated with
the determinate counsel and election of God.
The divine foreknowledge, as many think,
denotes not simplj' prescience, but an appro-
bation or choice from beforehand. " To fore-
know," says Cremer, "is 'to unite oneself
before with some one,' compare Rom. 11 : 2.
' God has not cast away his people with whom
he had joined himself — that is, before this
union was historically realized." On our pass-
age he says : "The context suggests the union
of the divine foreknowledge with the divine
pu rpose. As th is latter word denotes God' s sav-
ing decree preceding and forming the founda-
tion of its temporal realization, so to foreknow
denotes the divine knowing as already present
in the divine decree before its manifestation
in historv, ... so that to foreknow corre-
sponds with the choosing before the foundation
of the world, which in Eph. 1 : 4 precedes [?]
the foreordination just as foreknow does here.
Foreknowing, however, essentially includes
a self-determining on God's part to this fellow-
ship (whom God had beforehand entered into
fellowship with), whereas the choosing merely
expresses a determining directed to the objects
of the fellowship." Meyer and others ignore
any approving beforehand or any appropriat-
ing cognizance in the signification of this
word, and make it mean simplj' to know before-
hand; "He foreknew them ; namely, as those
who should one day, in the way of the divine
plan of salvation, be conformed to the image
of his Son," or as Godet (with a less degree

Ch. VIII.]

ROMANS.

207

of Paulinism) has it: "whom God knew,
beforehand as certain to believe." The mere
logical faculty would be well content with
this aflSrmation, that God foreknew those
whom he had purposed to save. "It is evi-
dent on the one hand," says Dr. Hodge, "that
foreknowledge {nft6yvu<Tit) expresses something
more than the prescience of which all men
and all events are the objects, and, on the
other, something different from the predesti-
nation expressed by the following word. . . .
The foreknowledge, therefore, expresses the
act of cognition or recognition, the fixing, so
to speak, the mind upon, which involves the
idea of selection." And this selection or
choice is based not on any foreseen meritorious
act of those chosen, but on the good pleasure
and purpose of the chooser. " Far be it from
us," says Augustine, "to ascribe the choice
to the clay instead of the potter." Our Lord
may say to all his disciples: "Ye did not
choose me, but I chose you," (Johnis: le, R«Ti»ed
Version), and Paul's query : " Who maketh
thee to differ? " can only be answered in one
way. That this election or choice does not
depend on God's foreknowledge of our faith
or goodness is also evident from the declara-
tion of the same apostle, that we were chosen
in Christ "before the foundation of the world
thai we should be holy." See Eph. 1 : 4.
" The divine foreknowledge," says Dr. Weiss,
" is certainly not a foreknowledge of faith
which he himself produces, but of a recep-
tivity by which he alone can and will work
faith." This writer does not state how this
"receptivity" was foreknown. In the passage
before us foreknowledge precedes the divine
predestination, and so, in the phrase: "elect
according to the foreknowledge of God"
0 Peter 1: 2), the foreknowledge sccms to precede
the election. Yet many theologians make
God's foreknowledge to depend upon his
decree. "If God foresees events, he must
have predetermined them." (Hale.) "God
could not foreknow that things would be,
unless he had decreed they should be." (Ed-
wards.) " The foundation of the__;fejekac)wl-
edge of an event ai^ceHalnTy^ture is God's
deOTCgjH^^iideltTulureT^CA. A.Tlodge.)
Omniscience certainly cannot foreknow a
IhTng which is contingent, which may be or
may not be. There must be an absolute cer-
tal»ty-«a^totbe^ existence of any future evenly'

C4Jiioug^ this sure event may be and is coupled
with free, voluntary, responsible, action. We
may purpose and determine to build a house
_|Br8ucjbL& time aii.(L place, but we cannot fore-
know the existence of that house, unless its
existence is certain, and we in some way
are made sure of its certainty. God's fore-
knowledge is of course different from ours.
With him there is properly no lapse of time,
no succession, no before it atbr ; his knowl-
edge is present, immetlialr, complete, yet it
cannot dispense with this certainty. And in
"reference to human events happening in time
we must speak as the Scriptures do, of God's
/orcknowing. But his foreknowledge and his
predetermination are in fact co-ordinjite an^
eternal. He cannot decree anything without
knowing about that thing, and he cannot fore-
know anything without decreeing it. Fore-
knowledge and foreordination involve each'
'Other. Foreknowledge in itself may not
cause the certainty of future events, but it is
a jproo/ that those events must be certain.
Prof Stuart says that divine foreknowledge
necessitates "the conclusion that certainty
must exist, by the divine purpose and counsel,
in regard to the called— a certainty not merely
that they will be saved provided they believe
and obey and persevere in so doing, but a
certainty that 'the called according to his
purpose' will be brought to believe, obey, and
persevere, and will therefore obtain salvation ;
for such is the manifest tenor of the whole
passage."] But this foreknowing must not be
explained as merely the foreknowledgeof their
future repentance and faith ; for this would
make their repentance and faith the cause,
and not, as they truly are, the coTisequence, of
their foreordinat'on. See 1 Cor. 4 : 7. [The
verb foreordained (irpoopiiu) , nearly equiva-
lent, etymologically, to our predetermine, is
found six times in the New Testament (Aeu«:

28; Rom. 8: 29, 30 ; 1 Cor. 2 ; 7; Eph. 1 : S, U), and in CVCry

instance is rendered foreordained in the Re-
vised Version. As used by Paul, it denotes
the divine predestination of individual be-
lievers to adoption as sons, to conformity with
Christ, and to eternal glory. And according
to apostolic teaching this predetermining of
individuals to salvation took place "before
the ages" and "before the foundation of the
world" (compare 1 Cor. 2: 7; Eph. 1:4;
Rev. 17 : 8), and is based simply on the eter-

208

ROMANS.

[Ch. VIII.

nal purpose of God and the good pleasure of
his will. In Acts 4 : 28 we are taught that
the evil deeds of Christ's murderers were
connected with the divine predetermination.
But in all of Paul's writings, while he ascribes
the highest sovereignty to God, and affirms
that the potter has power over the clay from
the same lump to make vessels unto honor
and vessels unto dishonor, and that God hath
mercy on whom he will and whom he will he
hardeneth, he yet very carefully abstains
from saying that God himself has fitted any
vessel of wrath unto destruction, or that he
has predestinated any, according to his good
pleasure, unto perdition. The divine decrees
are, indeed, a "subject of itself rather intri-
cate" (Calvin), and are a stumbling-block
and an offense to many. Still, to our logical
understanding no conclusion seems more
legitimate and true than this, that God "ac-
cording to the counsel of his will . . . hath
foreordained whatsoever comes to pass." i For
this is but saying that the divine and almighty
Architect, when he purposed creation, had
a full and perfect plan of all things, and that
the existing state of things fully accords with
his original plan. "We pray, indeed, "Thy
will be done on earth," implying that it is not
done at present (compare 1 Tim. 2 : 4 ; 2 Peter
3:9); and yet we must at the same time ac-
knowledge that God's eternal purpose can in
no instance fail of accomplishment, and that
even now his determinate counsel, his formed
purpose or decretive will, is done on earth,
otherwise we make him an ignorant or dis-

appointed weakling like ourselves.* It may
seem to us that predestination on the part of
God is inconsistent with human freedom, yet
both are reconcilable because both are true,
though it is impossible for us, with our present
limitations and in our present state of dark-
ness and obscurity, fully to show their com-
patibility. We should,therefore,deny neither,
but firmly and boldly maintain both, even as
Peter and the other apostles do in Acts 2 : 23;
4 : 27, 28; compare 3 : 17, 18. " Him being
delivered up by the determinate counsel and
foreknowledge of God, ye by the hand of
lawless men did crucify and slay." (Acts2:23,
Revised Version.) " Both Herod and Pontius Pilate
with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
were gathered together, to do whatsoever thy
hand and thy counsel foreordained to come

to pass." (Acts 4 : 27, 28, Revised Version.) Compare

Matt. 18 : 7. We may properly add that some,
as Godet and Philippi, are of the opinion that
had Paul sought to resolve "the speculative
question between God's eternal plan and the
freedom of human determinations," he would
have done so "by means of the fact affirmed
by him of divine foreknowledge." These
writers consequently hold to a predestination
which is not absolute, but which is based on
foreknowledge of faith. And Godet goes so far
as to imply that this foreseen faith which fur-
nishes the ground for a predestination to glory
(he ignores any predestination to faith) must
not be a divine creation, but of human origi-
nation. But to our mind little aid comes from
any view we can take of foreknowledge, since

1 We may even say, in general terms, that God's sov-
ereign, eternal, purpose covers the actions and the
destiny of wicked and lost men. Thus Olshausen,
while discarding the idea of God's willing evil as evil,
or his working evil in the hearts of men, or his pre-
destinating the evil to evil, yet aflSrms it to be " impos-
sible to exclude evil, viewed as a phenomenon, from
the divine operations." All theists must admit that
evil takes place under God's permissive decree, or, at
least, that he permits evil to exist, and some such view
as this seems most accordant with the spirit and gen-
eral tenor of the Scriptures; compare 9: 22, "endured
with much long suffering." Yet the Supralapsarlan
predestinationist denies that this view has any great
advantage over his own, since any one is naturally held
responsible for permitting an evil if he could have pre-
vented it. Nor can the permission theory dispute the
fact that the Omniscient God created those who he
foreknew would certainly be lost. In Calvin's view,
God predestinated all mankind in the person of Adam

to corruption, which involved them in condemnation
and eternal death, and he frankly confesses this to be
a decretum horribile — an awful decree — (the word horrv-
bile being used by Calvin, not in our sense of horrible,
but as something fearful or terrible, just as Luther, in
his baptismal prayer, speaks of God's " horrible judg-
ment " in his destroying the wicked world with the
flood). Furthermore, from a Sublapsarian point of
view, he held that God by an absolute decree of grace
elected some from this massa perdiiionis to eternal life
and reprobated (with less exercise of power) others to
eternal damnation. Augustine, we believe, never advo-
cated a predestination to eternal death, and most theo-
logians have been content to say that God passed by or
left the vessels of wrath to bear the just consequences
of their sins.— (F.)

* On the secret and revealed or disposing and precep-
tive will of God, see Edwards' " Works," Vol. II., pp.
161-164, 513-516, 546.— (F.)

Ch. VIII.]

ROMANS.

209

we can think of nothing which God could
foreknow save only that which he had deter-
mined to create. The view that God's "/ore-
seeing is seeing — knowing what shall be is
knowing what to him already is" (Godet) —
is, perhaps, as satisfactory to our minds as
any. Our own view, however, mainly accords
with the following remarks of Alford: "It
may suffice to say that, on the one hand,
Scripture bears constant testimony to the fact
that all believers are chosen and called by
God, their whole spiritual life— in its origin,
progress, and completion — being from him;
while, on the other hand, its testimony is no
less precise that he willeth all to be saved, and
that none shall perish except by willful rejec-
tion of the truth. So that, on the one side,
God'8 sovereignty, on the other, man's
FREE vciLL, is plainly declared to us. To
receive, believe, and act on both these is our
duty and our wisdom. They belong, as truths,
no less to natural than to revealed religion,
and every one who believes in a God must
acknowledge both. But all attempts to bridge
over the gulf between the two are futile in the
present imperfect condition of man." The
following is the view of Prof. Kiddle: "That
the word means foreordained, predestinated,
is certain ; that it is here applied to individuals
is obvious; that it implies a pre-terrestrial act
of the Divine Mind is in accordance with the
current of thought in the chapter, the Scrip-
tural conception of God's purpose, and the
use of the word in other passages. It is only
one side of the truth, indeed, but the other
side is not more firmly established by ignoring
this. The only reconciliation of the difficulty
is in practical Christian experience, and Paul
is addressing himself to this throughout."
Some deny that Paul in this discussion teaches
the dogma of a decretum absolutum, which de-
termined from all eternity that only a certain
number shall certainly be saved, since his
design in this passage is simply to show that
all who are called according to God's purpose
will never be separated from his love, and
that as God is for them, all things, even afflic-
tions and tribulations, will be made to con-
tribute to their good. This is, indeed, his
design, but his argumentation implies this at
least, — that all who are justified and saved in
Christ are called according to God's purpose,
and were foreknown from eternity as his, and

were predestinated to be conformed to the
image of his Son. And no one can suppose
the apostle to have held that any of the incor-
rigibly impenitent were thus foreknown or
predestinated or called. Yet all men are sin-
cerely invited by the gospel message; all, we
may believe, are to some extent moved by the
Spirit; and hence all who refuse to obey are
"without excuse."] To be conformed to
the image of his Son. [Compare 2 Cor.
3 : 18. The adjective (<rv>i^op^) 'conformed'
occurs elsewhere only in Phil. 3 : 21, where it
is followed, not as here by the genitive, but
by the dative, and the reference is to the body
of Christ's glory. In Phil. 3 : 10, a related
verb speaks of conformity to Christ's death.
In our passage, the conformity of the predes-
tinate to the great Exemplar is both physical
and spiritual. The divine predestination has
always a gracious purpose. We are elect
unto obedience ; we were chosen that we
should be holy, (i Peter i :2; Kph.i:«.) Only the
obedient and the holy can have any assurance
of their heavenly calling. Have we not reason
to fear that many professing Christians — so
faint is their resemblance to Christ here— will
never bear the glorious image of the Son of
God?] The verb 'to be' is omitted in the
Greek, perhaps on account of its being re-
quired in the next clause. The conformity
here mentioned is to be perfected at the com-
ing of Christ, according to 1 John 3 : 2. The
word 'image' is not superfluous; Christ is
the model, the pattern of glorified humanity.
That he might be the firstborn [in ordet
that, denoting the final aim, as regards Christ,
of the predestinating] among many breth-
ren— that is, that many might be conformed
to his image, and so by grace be made worthy
to be called his brethren. ["The object of
the Christian scheme is that Christ may not
stand alone in the isolated glory of his pre-
existence, but that he may be surrounded by
a numerous brotherhood fashioned after his
likeness as he is in the likeness of God."
(Principal Sanday, in Ellicott's "New Testa-
ment Commentary.") The term 'firstborn'
denotes both priority and pre-eminence. It
is this pasf age which authorizes us to speak of
Christ as our Elder Brother.]

30. Moreover, whom he did predesti-
nate, them he also called, [Some regard
the verb 'called,' as also other verbs which

210

ROMANS.

[Ch. VIII.

30 Moreover, whom he did predestimate, them be also
called: and whom he called, them he also justified:
and whom be justified, them he also glorified.

31 What shall we then say to these things 7 If God
)e for us, who can be against us?

30 many brethren : and whom he foreordained, them
he also called : and whom he called, them he also
justified: and whom he justified, them he also glori-
fied.

31 What then shall we say to' these things? If God

32 is for us, who is against us? He that spared not his

follow, especially the last in the verse, as the
past tense used for the present, and expressive
of what is customary. A better view is that
everthing connected with this divine economy
of saving grace is so certain that, though
future, it may be regarded as good as accom-
plished.] The calling here, as generally in
the epistles, is not a mere outward invitation,
or offer of salvation, but an inward calling,
made effectual by the Holy Spirit And
whomi he called, them he also justified.
This shows conclusively by what kind of a
calling it was. ["Though by choosing his
people the Lord has adopted them as his chil-
dren, yet we see that they enter not on so
great a blessing till they are called." (Cal-
vin.) "Effectual calling," says Edwards, "is
the proper execution of election." Godet sup-
poses that all men who hear the gospel have
"an outward call by the word and an inward
call by grace," and that "all are alike seri-
ously called. Only it happens that some con-
sent to yield to the call and others refuse."
We imagine that this happening has some-
thing to do with the divine purpose. If all
depended upon the human will, it might hap-
pen that none of the invited ones would be
found among the heavenly guests.] And
whom he justified [in a forensic sense op-
posed to condemned], them he also glori-
fied. ["Whom God predestinated before the
world, he called from the world, justified in
the world, and will glorify after the world."
Godetsays that had Paul designed "to explain
the order of salvation in all its elements, divine
and human, he would have put faith between

calling and justification, and holiness between
justification and glorification."] This last
step in the process, though referring to what
is yet future, is expressed, like the preceding
steps, in the past tense, to show that these
processes are all linked together in an indis-
soluble chain, so that where one is found the
rest are sure to be found also ; and the con-
summation is as sure as if it was already a
matter of history.'

Conclusion as to the certainty of the salva-
tion of Christians, ver. 31-39 : Their salvation
is certain (ver. 3i), because God has given his
Son (ver. 32, 33), and the Son of God has died
and risen from the dead (ver. 34), and therefore
they can never be separated from the love of
either by any vicissitudes of the present life
(ver. 36, 37), or by any other agencies or events
whatsoever, (ver. 38, 39.)

31. What shall we then say to these
things? "What, indeed, can the hesitating
or discouraged soul find to say in view of
such an array of the merciful acts of God's
love [his predestinating, calling, justifying,
glorifying purpose] as the apostle here pre-
sents? What but this: If God be (is) for
us, who can be (is) against us? ["The
inspired faith of the apostle, leaving all earthly
things far down below his feet, reflects itself
in the sublimity of the language." (Philippi.)
"'What shall we then say' is used here,"
says Tholuck, "contrary to the apostle's cus-
tom, in a conclusion which has not a doubtful
character." Ver. 30 of the next chapter also
introduces a correct conclusion. Compare, on
the other hand, 3: 5; 4:1; 6:1; 7:7; 9:14.]

1 This golden chain, to which no links are wanting,
reaches from eteruity to eternity — "from everlasting
in predestination to everlasting in beatification." (St.
Bernard.) On the connection of these links, Arch-
bishop Leigbton (on Peter) appropriately remarks that
" Effectual calling is inseparably tied to this eternal
foreknowledge or election on the one side and to salva-
tion on the other. These two links of the chain are up
in heaven in God's own band, but this middle one is
let down to earth into the hearts of his children, and
they laying hold on it have sure hold on the other two,
lor no power can sever them." "Before the divine

intuition," says Tholuck, " which is independent of
time, fallen humanity appears from all eternity, not
only as redeemed, but likewise as enjoying the fruits
of redemption and as exalted to glory." " No one,"
says Chalmers, " can read in the book of God's decrees
that he has been predestined unto glory, but all may
read in the book of his declarations what be the marks
of those who travel thitherward. These he can com-
pare with the book of his own character and experi-
ence, and he can count upon his own special destina-
tion to an eternity of bliss only in as far, and in no
farther than, as he is sanctified." — (F.)

Ch. VIII.]

ROMANS.

211

32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered
him up for us all, how shall he not with bim also freely
give us all things.

33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of Uod's
elect? /< i* God that jusiitieth.

34 Who is he that coudemneth? /( ii Christ that
died, vea rather, that is risun again, who is even at the
right hand of Uod, who also maketh intercession for us.

own Son, but delivered bim up for ue all, bow shall
he not also with him freely give us all thint;^?

33 Who shall lay anything to the charge of UuU's

34 elect? i It is Uod that justitieth ; who hi be that
cundemneth ? * It is CbriHt Ji-sus that died, yea
rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the
right band- of God, who also maketn intercession

lOr, akaUOoithatJutti/Uthr S Or, ShaU Chrttt J4*ut that dUd,

32. He that [(&« y«) he who indeed — that
is, inasmuch as he, or being such an one as
he] spared not his own Son. ['Spared' is
an expressive word, denoting God's great
sacrifice in giving up his only begotten Son —
"the Son of his love." Compare in LXX.,
Gen. 22: 12. "God, so to speak, did violence
to his paternallove." (Bengel.)'] He surely,
seeing he did not even spare his own Son
(compare ver. 3, also John 3: 16; 6: 18),
but delivered him up — (that is, to death)
(compare 4: 25; Matt. 10 : 21)— for us all
(the extent of this expression, so far as this
particular pa-ssage is concerned, is defined by
the us of the next clause), how shall he not
with him also freely give us all things?
— that is, all things pertaining to life and god-
liness. (2P«teri:s.) " For to give us all
things with him is less than to deliver up
him to death for our sake." (Ambrosiaster.)
[An argument from the greater to the less.
God's eternal purpose to save, and the giving
up to death of his own Son to effect that sal-
vation, is a sufficient proof that he is " for
us" and that he will withhold "no good
thing."]

33. Who shall lay any thing, etc. Who
shall bring an accusation against God's elect?
[This verb, to accuse, is elsewhere followed
by the simple dative.* The elect or chosen
ones of God, some of whom certainly must
be found in our Christian churches, have
plenty of accusers in this world. Indeed,
many of the so-called " world's people" live
on the faults, real or imagined, of God's pro-
fessed children — a most miserable diet! — and

some of them by their talk and action would
seem to think that if they could take an im-
perfect minister and a few delinquent church
members with them to the bar of God it
would go all right with them in the judgment.
No doubt God's true people are faulty enough.
Indeed, their own hearts and consciences are
their swiftest and loudest accusers. But if
God will justify the sincerely penitent be-
liever as being found in Christ, all accusations
of the ungodly will be in vain, availing nothing
either against the believer or for themselves
at the bar of judgment where each one shall
give account of himself alone. See 14: 12.]
The impossibility of any charge against God's
elect that should hinder his purpose to give
them all things, is implied in the question ;
and is indirectly asserted in the next clause:
for the Judge himself, before whom the accu-
sation would have to be presented, has already
pronounced them acquitted. God is the one
who justifies. [Compare this and the follow-
ing verse with Isa. 50: 7-9.]

34. Who is he that condemnetht [or,
shall condemn, according to Westcott and
Hort and the Canterbury Revision. Prof.
Cremer makes this * condemneth ' to mean
not only to pronounce condemnation, but to
execute it as a judge.] The first clause in
this verse seems naturally to connect itself
with the last clause of the preceding: but at
this point there is a transition from God to
Christ. As it is impossible that any accusa-
tion should frustrate the divine purpose to
save them on God's part, so it is equally im-
possible on Christ's part. It is Christ thnt

1 " There is," says Chalmers, " an academic theology |
which would divest God of all sensibility, which would i
make of him a being devoid of all emotion and all ten-
derness, which concedes to him power and wisdom and
a sort of cold and clear and faultless morality, but
which would denude him of all those fond and father-
ly regards that so endear an earthly parent to the
children who have sprung from bim. ... I fear that
such representations as these bava done mischief in I
ChrisUanity."— <F.) I

* Winer says that the use of prepositions with cases
instead of cases alone, is a "general characteristic of
(antique) simplicity," and especially accords with the
"graphic and explicit phraseology of Orientals." Accord-
ingly, " we find that in the New Testament, agreeably
lo the Eastern idiom and sometimes in direct imitation
of it, prepositions are frequently employed where in
classic Greek the simple cases would have sufficed
eTen in prose."— (*"•)

212

ROMANS.

[Ch. Vlll.

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
thatl tribulation, or distress, or persecutiou, or faniine,
or nakedness, or peril, or sword V

35 for us. Who shall separate us from the love lof
Christ ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution,

1 Boiue ancient authorities read of God.

diedi etc. Christ Jesus (for that seems to be
the correct reading) is he who died, yea, rather
that rose [' was raised' ; the Revisers' text has
from the dead (« vtKpiiv), the reading of X A Cj.
Who is even at the right hand of God —
[literally: "znthe right hand " (place), the
place of power and honor, the throne of deity.
Compare Eph. 1: 20; Rev. 3: 21: 22: 1],
(the word 'even' here is of doubtful genuine-
ness). Who also maketh intercession {in-
tercedes) for us. [The same verb occurs at
ver. 27; 11: 2 (at 8: 26 in a compounded
form), also Acts 25: 24; Heb. 7: 25. The
apostle has previously affirmed that Christ
was delivered up for our offenses and was
raised for our justification. And now, while
virtually everywhere present by his Spirit, he
is yet exalted at God's right hand in heaven
itself, there as our Paraclete to intercede for
us — the exaltation showing his ability, and
the intercession showing his willingness to
save. (Bengel.) As De Wette says: "All
the points of Christ's redemptive work from
his death to his still enduring intercession are
adduced in one series as grounds for refuting
the above question.'' Well may the apostle
ask: "Who shall separate us from the love
of Christ" ?] De Wette, Alford, and other
critical editors, make each clause in ver. 33,
34, interrogative [as in the margin of the
Revised Version and in accordance with the
structure of ver. 35]. But it is better to regard
only the first clause in each verse as inter-
rogative, and the succeeding clauses as in-
direct answers to the interrogatories [as is
done in Dr. Noyes' translation and in our
Common Version. This punctuation is also
adopted by Fritzsche, Philippi, Lange, Godet,
Hodge, Stuart, and others]. The structure of
ver. 34, particularly, is such as hardly to
admit of its being divided into four or five
separate questions, or regarded, after the first
clause, as one compound interrogatory. [The
text of the Revised Version, and of the Bible

Union gives still another mode of pointing,
which is substantially that of Meyer and
Gifford, only they would somewhat closely
join the beginning of ver. 35 with ver. 34,
thus: " Christ is he that died, . . . who shall
separate us from the love of Christ?"]

The particular niode in which Christ inter-
cedes for us at the right hand of God, whether
directly and orally, or only by his presence
there, is nowhere explained. [Meyer says
this intercession must be conceived as vocal
and oral "because it is made by the glorified
God-man." This intercession, he further re-
marks, "is the continuous bringing to bear of
his work of atonement completed by his
' propitiation ' on the part of Christ in his
glory with the Father ; which we are to con-
ceive of as real and — in virtue of the glorified
corporeity of the exalted Christ, as also in
virtue of the subordination in which he, even
as occupant of the same throne, stands to
the Father — as a request properly so-called
through which the 'continuus quasi vigor'
(Gerhard) of redemption takes place. Com-
pare John 14: 16." Whatever the necessity
of this intercession, it is not to be found in
the fact that God the Father is all justice
and the Son all love, for the love of God
and of Christ for sinners is here represented
as the same. Still as God manifests his
mercy only in and through the incarnate
Redeemer, so he, apart from Christ, may be
regarded as the impersonation of justice, yea
as "a consuming fire." Justice demands the
sinner's death and even the penitent believer
is by this intercession shown to be both weak
and unworthy, and in himself deserving of
condemnation.]

35. Who shall separate us from the
love of Christ? [Meyer finds a virtual
answer to this question in the preceding state-
ment : Christ is he that has died, etc., he will
never cease to love.] AVe might expect the
neuter, what, rather than 'who,' here; since

1 Mr. Spurgeon on one occasion, as reported to the ! treated to open his arms, etc., and said, suiting his

writer by a friend who was present, adduced a very
touching illustration of Christ's love and his readiness
to receive the coming sinner. While quoting a hymn
kc stopped short at the lines wherein Christ waa en-

gestures to the words: "This is all a mistake. The
Saviour's arms are open ; they were always open; the$
were nailed wide open on the crow."— (F.)

Ch. VIII.]

ROMANS.

213

36 As it Is written, For thy sake we are killed all the
day long; we are accounted as bbeep for the blaughter.

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than con-
querors through hitu tliat loved us.

38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life,

36 or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword T Even
as it is written,

For thy sake we are killed all the day long;
We were accounted as slieep for tlie slaughter.

37 Nay, in all iliese things we are wore than conquerors

38 through him that lured us. For 1 am persuaded, that

the enumeration that follows is not o{ persona,
but of states and things : but no one of the
things enumerated is of the neuter gender in
tlie Greek language ; a circumstance which
materially weakens the force of Calvin's
otherwise appropriate comment: "tlie mas-
culine pronoun 'who' has a secret, emphatic
sense. We can engage in combat with as
many champions as there are different kinds
of temptations." [The form of this pronoun
is the same for both genders.]

"What are we to understand by ' the love of
Christ' here? Is it our love to Christ? oris
it Christ's love to us? The nature of the
things mentioned, as having apparently a
tendency to lead us to forsake Christ, rather
than to lead Christ to forsake us, might seem
to favor the former view : but the demands
of the argument, the language of ver. 38, 39,
and especially the last clause of ver. 37, are
decisive in favor of the latter sense. [Hence
in all the trials and afflictions which can be
laid upon Christ's chosen ones, they may yet
be assured of his unceasing love. Not till
Christ forgets the garden and the cross will
he forget to love those for whom he died and
whom he has redeemed. And nothing can
happen to us in this universe of God which
will prevent us from sharing in the love of
him who with the gift of his own Son will
freely give us all things besides. Barnes re-
gards the genitive as objective, our love for
Christ ; and so do Lange and Forbes in part.
Calvin, Riickert, De Wette, make the love of
Christ to mean our sense of his love, but this
is not expressed in the text.] Observe how
climacteric the enumeration is, ending with
sword as the instrument and emblem of the
death penalty ["the instrument of St. Paul's
own future martyrdom." (Wordsworth.)
On the words, tribulation and distress, see
notes on 2: 9.]

But these trials are nothing new ; they are
only what befell God's saints of old. (Htb. ii :

SC-S8.)

36. As it is written. (ri.«4: n.) Por thy
sake we are killed (or, put to death) all
the day long [continuously, as indicated by
the present tense and the specification of
time: all the day through]. We are daily and
hourly exposing ourselves to death. [De
Wette : " many of us fall each day as an offer-
ing of our faith."] This citation is specially
pertinent as following the word 'sword,' the
extreme peril, with which the preceding list
closes. We are [literally : were] acconnted
(reckoned) as sheep for the slaughter, [lit-
erally: sAccpo/a^oM^A<er. Stuart: "slaughter-
sheep." "There is," says Perowne, "this
remarkable difference between the tone of the
Psalmist and the tone of the apostle. The
former cannot understand the chastening, and
complains that God's heavy hand has been
laid without cause upon his people; the latter
can rejoice in persecution also, and exclaim:
'Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors.' "]

37. Nay, in all these things. But [as
opposed to a suppressed negative answer] ' in
all these things' (enumerated in ver. 35). We
are more than conquerors. We are over
victorious, or, as Luther says, "we far over-
come.'" Through him [Christ, as in ver. 35;
compare Rev. 1 : 5] that loved us. It is he
that helps us and enables us to gain this more
than victory. [Our Almighty Saviour's power
and love will make even our adversaries to
fight on our side.]

38,39. For I am persuaded. 'I have
adopted and still retain the conviction;' to
analyze, and express the full sense of, the
perfect tense of the original verb. He now
takes up and amplifies the 'more than con-
querors.' That neither death, nor life,* —

1 Ellicott remarks that "the apostle seems to have
had a marked predilection" for compounds with iintp
(over, beyond). Compare 5:20; 2 Cor. 7:4; 11 : 5;
Phil. 2 : 9 ; 2 Thess. 1 : 3 ; 1 Tim. 1 : 14. " It is notice-
able that iivfp occurs nearly thrice as many times in St.
Paul's epistles and the Epistle to the Hebrews, as in the

rest of the New Testament, and that, with a few excep-
tions (Mark 7 : 37 ; Luke 6 : 38, etc.), the compounds of
iinip are all found in St. Paul's epistles." A few of the
less important uncials, D E F G, here read it* with the
accusative: On account of him who loved us. — (F.)
» ovrc, ovT( (neither, nor), unlike avW, ovM (Me 9 : 16;

214

ROMANS.

[Ch. VIII.

nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things
present, nor things to come,

3y Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which
is in Christ Jesus our L.ord.

neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor deptb, nor any other i creature, shall
be able to separate us from the love of God, which is
in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Or, creation.

the two most general states in which men can
possibly be. Death is put first, perhaps on
account of ver. 36. The order is reversed in
1 Cor. 3:22. Nor angels, nor principali-
ties. By angels must be understood good
angels, because the word is never used of evil
angels without some explanatory addition.
See Matt. 25 : 41 ; 2 Cor. 12 : 7 ; 2 Peter 2:4;
Jude 6. [Some think that 1 Cor. 6:3; Heb.
2:16, are exceptions.] That an attempt on
the part of good angels to separate Christians
from the love of God, though not possible to
be believed is allowable to be conceived, in
a hypothetical way is proved by Gal. 1 : 8.
There are some other passages of Scripture
which show that some things which can never
occur as facts may lawfully be stated as sup-
positions, and even argued from as such.
(Heb. 6:4-6.) The 'principalities' here men-
tioned are doubtless some orders of celestial
beings. The same might be said of the word
'powers,' if this were its proper place; but
there is convincing evidence that its true
position is after the two following clauses,
between 'things to come' and 'height,' and
therefore it is doubtful whether it refers to
personal powers or to powerful influences or
tendencies. "We may observe here," says
Calvin, "how vile all things ought to appear
in our sight when compared to the glory of
God, since we are allowed to abase even angels
for the purpose of asserting his truth." Nor
things present [perfect participle from ewV-
nj^ii], nor things to come. Compare 1 Cor.
3:22. NorpoAvers. Besides the very strongly
preponderating te.stimony of manuscripts,
translations, and citations in favor of the
position of the word 'powers' after 'things to
come,' the structure of the whole passage is
an incidental corroboration. We have first
two pairs, — 'death' and 'life,' 'angels' and
'principalities;' and then two triplets, —
'thing present,' 'things to come,' and 'pow-
ers;' 'height,' 'depth,' and 'any other crea-
ture; 'and in each of the last two clauses the

1 Thess. 2 : 3), may be used, as here, without any ante-
cedent simple negative. The same is true of fi>)T«, fujre
as compared with ij-vS^. See 6 : 12; 14 : 21. Godet re-

antithetical pair is followed by a third par-
ticular of a more general character, — ' pow-
ers,' 'any other creature.' Nor height, nor
depth. Nothing above us, nothing below us.
Many ingenious and elaborate conceits of
learned commentators in interpreting these
words might be cited, such as "heights of
bliss and depths of misery," "heights of pre-
sumptuous speculation and depths of sin,"
"high hopes of honor and profound fears of
disgrace," etc., etc. ; but the natural simplicity
of such an enthusiastic utterance as this is
incompatible with such artificial methods.
Nor any other creature, or, created thing.
A broad expression, comprehending whatever
is not included in the preceding enumeration.
[It would seem that the above enumeration
of visible and invisible beings and powers
throughout the universe, including all changes
of time and all distances of space, might em-
brace all things which the mind could con-
ceive of as being able to separate us from
God's love; but lest anything might suppos-
edly be omitted from this category, the apostle
adds this all-comprehensive statement — 'nor
any other creature,' not anything else, differ-
ing (erepa) from thcsc, which has been (or
which may be) created. "Well may we in-
quire : Who shall unclasp those everlasting
arms that are about us? Or: What shall
cause us to despond or faint?" (N. Colver,
" Lectures on Komans.") " Yet it should be
remembered that sin can do what all the
tribulations of earth cannot ; it can separate
us from God." (Philippi.) " God having once
determined the reception of true Christians
into his kingdom, all that he brings upon them,
even tribulation itself, can be no hindrance
in the way of that, provided only the Chris-
tian does not injure himself" (Tholuck.)]
Shall be able to separate us from the
love of God, which is in Christ Jesas our
Lord. [Hence the safety of Christ's sheep
though in the midst of wolves. Compare
John 10:28, 29.] "The love of Christ is

marks that " the adversaries who rise before the apos-
tle's view seem to advance in pairs." — (F.)

Ch. IX.]

ROMANS.

215

nothing else than the love of God himself,
which has its seat in Christ. God is the origi-
nating fountain, Christ the constant organ
and rnediiitiiig channel of one and tlie same
love." (Meyer.) In ver. 31-33 God is the
subject; at ver. 34 the subject is changed to
Christ. And now in ver. 39 it is again the
love of God, but "the love of God in Christ
Jesus our Lord." This transition from God
to Christ and back again, so common in
the Scriptures, is among the strongest proofs
of the absolute Deity of our Lord Jesus
Christ.

On this whole passage Erasmus exclaims:
" What did Cicero ever say more eloquent
than this?" [On the way and order of sal-
vation thus far marked out by the apostle,
Godet, in his chapter of "Conclusions," thus
remarks: "The first gift of grace which the
gospel offers to man is, according to Paul, the
gift of his justification, without any other con-
dition than that which every one may fulfill
at once — faith. This first act done, man is
free from his guilt in relation to his God; no
cloud any longer troubles his relation to him;
peace takes the place of the inward unrest;
and in this state of inward tranquillity there
maybe sown the fruit of righteousness — sanc-
tification. The reconciled man becomes open
to the communication of the Divine Spirit.
As naturally as this guest must withdraw from
a condemned heart, so necessarily does he
come to dwell in the man whom nothing any
longer separates from God, and he realizes
within him Christ's life and death in the
measure in which this life and death have
been apprehended by his faith. Finally, to
him who walks in this way, there opens up in
the distance a new gift, the renewing of his
body and the inheritance of glory, through
his complete transformation into the likeness
of the glorified Christ. What clearer, what
simpler, what at once more really divine and
human, than this order of salvation traced by
the apostle! And what a seal has not the
experience of ages impressed on this expo-
sition contained in the first eight chapters of
our Epistle I Let not him who desires to see
such a work accomplished within himself, or
who proposes to carrj' it out in others, — eman-
cipation from guilt and victory over sin, —
take to the task in any other way, if he would
not miserably fail I "]

Ch. 0 : [The principal aim of this chapter
is to show that God makes no account of
human claims founded on a merely carnal
descent from Abraham. According to Phil-
ippi, it shows that out of the elect nation
there is an election of grace, and that " not
the natural but the spiritual seed of Abraham
is destined to inherit the promise." Tholuck
says: "We have to specify as the doctrinal
import of 9: 1-29 : God has the right to admit
into the Messianic kingdom without regard
to human claims; of 9 : 80-10: 21: if Israel
was not admitted, the fault lies in \is unwill-
ingness to submit to the way marked out by
God ; of chapter 11 : the hardness which God
in consequence of this brought upon Israel
turns, however, to good, in that it helped on
the admission of the Gentiles; and in the end
the mass of the Jews shall obtain admission
into God's kingdom." See also the general
analysis of this and the two following chap-
ters at 1 : 15. J

The discussion which occupies this chapter
and the two following was made necessary
especially on account of the views of two
classes of persons: 1. The unbelieving Jews,
who regarded Paul as an enemy to the nation,
and a traitor to the religion of his forefathers :
2. The believing Jews, who could not easily
reconcile the unbelief and rejection of their
countrymen with the promises of the Old
Testament. Compare 3: 3. [In this section
(altogether too important to be termed, as by
De "Wette, an "Appendix") wherein the
apostle considers the hardening and falling
away of the Jews, and God's choice of the
Gentiles, giving them thus, in the words
of Schaff, "an outline of a philosophy of
church history," he expounds at some length
the doctrines of the divine sovereignty and of
election. Hence this discussion, which con-
tains some things hard to be understood and
harder to be received, "seems," as Olshausen
remarks, " like the sixth chapter of St. John,
calculated for the express purpose of sifting
the Church of Christ." Philippi, in explain-
ing the reason for this discussion, says: "Sal-
vation was originally designed for every one
that believeth, 'the Jew first.' But the result
hitherto seemed to stand in express contrast
with this design, and so far from corroborat-
ing the Jew first, rather gave the impression
that God bad broken the promise given to hU

216

ROMANS.

[Ch. IX.

CHAPTEK IX.

I SAY the truth in Christ, I lie not, mj conscience I 1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience
also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, | 2 bearing witness with me in the Holy Spirit, that I

covenant people and rejected his chosen nation
of Israel." According to Godet, Paul's pur-
pose was to solve "the greatest enigma of
history : the rejection of the elect people." ^

1. I say the troth in Christ. [Buttmann
remarks that the absence cf a connective par-
ticle, as at the beginning of this verse, serves
to indicate the commencement of a new sub-
ject. See also 10: 1; 13: 1. Meyer says that
the sorrow of which the apostle proceeds to
speak "might be deemed incredible after the
joyous triumph which had just been exhibited.
Hence the extremely urgent asseveration with
which he begins: ' Truth I speak in Christ, I
lie not.' "] This double sanction of the truth
which he was about to utter, first positively
and then negatively, implies not only his own
full assurance of its truth, but his persuasion
of the importance of the like assurance on the
part of his readers, with a suggestion of the
possible lack of such assurance on their part.
The tone of triumphant joy with which the
preceding chapter closes, though in no wise
inconsistent with the very opposite emotion
which he is about to express, yet by the con-
trast greatly adds to the significance of his
emphatic and twofold asseveration. And the
solemnity of this asseveration is confirmed, on
the positive side, by the addition, 'in Christ,'
and on the negative, by the addition, my
conscience also bearing me witness —
[giving testimony with me — with my feelings

of assurance, or with my declaration] in the
Holy Ghost. As if he had said, "I make
no hasty or extravagant assertion : I speak
the sober truth, as a Christian, and my con-
science, enlightened by the Holy Spirit, bears
me witness." So much pains does the apostle
take to assure those to whom he has been
obliged to declare unwelcome truths, of his
tender regard for them. [The phrase, ' in
Christ,' expresses "entire intimacy of most
real fellowship," — defining here, according to
Ellicott, "the element or sphere in which the
declaration is made." So Winer, p. 390,
^^ speak the truth in Christ (as one living in
Christ)." Compare 2 Cor. 2: 17; Eph. 4:
17; 1 Thess. 4: 1, etc. " By thus sinking his
own personality, the solemnity of the apostle's
declaration is greatly enhanced." See Elli-
cott on Eph. 4 : 17. Some regard the phrase
in the light of an oath, but this would require
the preposition commonly used in such cases
(wpos) with the genitive, unless a verb or
adjective were expressed. On the co-wit-
nessing of the apostle's conscience 'in the
Holy Spirit,' Meyer thus remarks: "Paul
knows that the witness of his conscience is
not outside the Spirit that fills him, but in
that Spirit." "The distinction between his
own declaration and that of his conscience
means that he has proved his feelings in re-
gard to his people by the light of conscience
and of the Spirit of God." (Lange.)]

1 The apostle need not, in solving this " enigma,"
have occupied so many pages, nor brought forward so
prominently the sovereign power and elective purpose
of God had he believed in the semi-omnipotence and
arbitrariness of man's free will. It was indeed strange
that the Jews generally should have rejected the Mes-
siah .Tesus, who was himself a Jew according to the
flesh, and that the Gentiles should so readily have re-
ceived a salvation which was " from the Jews." But
all the apostle needed to say, on the above supposition,
was that, through the self-determining, indomitable
power of the will, the Jews for various reasons, and yet
against all reason, obstinately refused to receive the
Son of David as their king, and what would be the
final result of this rejection, neither he nor indeed the
(so-called) Omniscient One himself, was at all able to
tell. This, of course, would be placing man first and
Qod last, or rather leaving him and his plan and pur-

pose (or indeed, any plan and purpose) in man's history
out of view. What some men mean by the will's free
self-determination, or the power of contrary choice,
would render any " philosophy of history " impossible.
While, however, we hold that man's will cannot create
motives ad libitum, or act against all motives, we do
believe that it can color motives and give tbem force
and value. Yea, that motives are rather internal than
external to the mind, and that they have too often been
regarded as outward mechanical forces, acting upon the
will as though it were a merely passive agent. It seems
to us that in Edwards' " Dissertation on the Freedom
of the Will," motive is, at times, too much regarded as
something objective to, and separate from the will, or
the soul willing. The will is an active agent, giving
force and color to motives, and choosing from among
motives, and is not determined or moved, like the
hands of a clock, simply by external forces. — (F.)

Ch. IX.]

ROMANS.

217

2 That I have great heayinesa and continual sorrow
in mv heart.

3 I- or I could wish that myself were accursed from
Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the
flesh:

hare great aorrow and unceasing pain in my bearL

3 For I could > wish tliat I niyseli were anatbema

from Christ for my brethren's salce, my kinsmen

1 Or, pror-

2. That I have great heaviness and
continual sorrow. Ofthese two words trans-
lated 'heaviness' and 'sorrow,' the former is
the word usually rendered sorrow (eleven
times), while the latter is a stronger term,
which occurs only here and in 1 Tim. 6: 10,
and is translated "anguish" byAlford, Noyes,
and the Bible Union. It was not enough to
say that he had 'sorrow,' pain (\vnri), but he
must add, 'anguish' (63vi^) ; nor was that
enough, but he must say great sorrow and
continual anguish. And then he must add
what is much more wonderful still. [Accord-
ing to Paul's teachings. Christians should
always be joyful and rejoicing, and the apos-
tle himself was doubtless, not a jovial, but a
joyful and happy Christian — rejoicing in the
Lord greatly and always. But we see that
the happiness he felt in Christ's service was
compatible with unceasing heart anguish for
the conversion of his fellowmen. Yea, the
more fully he experienced the blessedness of
his heavenl3' calling in Christ Jesus, the
deeper, it would seem, was his sorrow over
the unbelief and impenitence of his country-
men. Yet, notwitstanding all his heart
anguish for souls, we cannot suppose that he
ever for an instant felt that he had greater
love for sinners, or was more anxious for
their conversion, than God himself who, in
one sense, had power to convert the whole
race of Israel in a moment. Nay, his soul
would have shuddered at the blasphemous
thought, even while he might be unable to
explain God's forbearing to work this change
in the hearts of men. For he knew the love
of God to our lost race, in that he "spared
not his own Son"; he knew that the love of
Christ for perishing sinners surpassed all
human knowledge ; and, however great the
mystery, he yet knew that the anxiety of his

own heart was caused by the Spirit of God
in him, making intercession for Israel with
groanings too great for utterance in words.
We sometimes have great sorrow of heart on
account of disappointments, losses, afflictions,
death, or calamities worse than death, but
very few Christians, we fear, have any such
anguish as the apostle felt for the conversion
of sinners. Compare 2 Cor. 12: 15.]

3. Accursed from Christ — literally, ana-
thema from Christ, implying separation from
Christ as a Saviour, and involving the alter-
native of perdition. [For the use of the term
'anathema,' see Lev. 27: 28, 29, in the LXX.,
and compare Acts 23: 14; 1 Cor. 12: 3; 16:
22; Gal. 1: 8, 9.] But did Paul really wish
this? He does not say so. He says, ' I could
wish ' : I could, if it were lawful ; I could, if
it were possible ; I could, if the realization of
such a wish could procure the salvation of my
countrymen.' No one is competent to inter-
pret, or even to understand, this expression of
Paul, except in so far as he is capable of
entering by sympathy into Paul's inmost
experience, his ardent patriotism, his fervent
desire for the salvation of men. To bring to
the explanation of such an utterance as this
a calm, critical disposition, with whatever
amount of exegetical learning, is to bring an
utter disqualification to apprehend its true
meaning. Tholuck was aware of this, when
he said, " The objections against this expres-
sion all arise from a cool way of contemplating
it, which altogether forgets what a loving
heart, in the fervor of its passion, is capable
of uttering." Bengel was aware of this, when
he wrote, " if the soul be not far advanced, it
is incapable of comprehending this, even as a
little child is incapable of comprehending the
courage of warlike heroes." Michaelis was
unable to comprehend this, and so he calls it

> The literal rendering of this verb in the imperfect
indicative is: ' I was wishing, or praying'— that is, if
the thing wished for were possible. The act is repre-
sented as unfinished, an obstacle intervening. (Alford.)
Hence the verb ('»"'X^M1>') is here quasi-optative and
signifies: ' I could wish,' etc But this is to be distin-
guished from Tivxitii)!' with ay, for this would probably

mean : I could wish (but I will not). In Acts 26: 29 we
have this verb in the optative mood with at>, meaning :
I could u!uh — that is, if the wish were allowable (Butt-
mann, 217), or, if I obeyed the impulse of my own
heart, though it may be unavailing. (HacketU) See
Winer, 30.'^, 283, and for examples similar to the above,
AcU 25 : 22 ; Gal. 4: aO.-<F.)

218

ROMANS.

[Ch. IX.

4 Who are Israelites: to whom pertainelh the adop-
tion, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving
of the law, and the service of God, and the promises ;

4 according to the flesh: who are Israelites; whose
is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants,
and the giving of the law, and the service of God,

"a fanatic prayer." We must notice the
emphasis witli which he specifies himself here
— an emphasis not adequately represented in
the Common Version : I myself in contrast
with my brethren [themselves underacurse],
my kinsmen according to the flesh ^ — and
with this additional thought, '' even I myself ,
whom you suppose to be so ill affected toward
you' [or, / myself, to whom the love and
presence of Christ would be a heaven for-
ever.]^ Then he proceeds to mention other
reasons, besides their natural kinship, for his
glowing affection for them — namely, their
peculiar national privileges and historic
glories.

[The above prayer of the apostle is kindred
in spirit to that of Moses, when he said : " but
if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book."
(Exod.32: 32.) In this prayer a Hopkins could
find a text for "disinterested benevolence,"
and would infer that if a religious person
"could know that God designed, for his own
glory and the general good, to cast him into
endless destruction, this would not make him
cease to approve of his character. He would
continue to be a friend of God and to be
pleased with his moral perfections." See
quotation and comments in Lange. In our
view a "friend of God" could not suffer the
"eternal destruction," which will be the final
doom of those who know not God and obey
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (iThess. i:

8, 9, Revised Version.) Evcn if it Were pOSSible that

the apostle could be accursed and separated
from the enjoyment of Christ forever, though
his loss and suffering on this account would
be unspeakably great, we do not suppose that
he would have exactly all the feelings and
suffer precisely all the misery of the lost, who
willfully and through enmity reject Christ.
Only One could be made a curse for us, and
we cannot believe that he, our blessed Saviour,
could have actually experienced all the emo-
tions and all the sufferings of the ungodly in
the world of woe. Who can suppose that
either our Lord, or his chiefest apostle, in
consenting to become anathema for sinners,

was chargeable with the greatest of all absur-
dities "a holy willingness to be unholy"?
The love which could lead Paul to wish under
a certain supposition to be devoted to de-
struction or everlasting severance from Christ
for (not necessarily, in place of) his Jewish
kinsmen, fiowed only from his love to Jesus,
and would of itself, as Prof Riddle remarks,
"change hell to heaven." Olshausen, we
observe, takes the preposition (vWp, for, to the
advantage of) in the sense of, instead of(avri),
and, though in his views inclined somewhat
to restorationism, yet remarks: "The whole
passage loses its meaning and its deep earnest-
ness if we suppose that Paul was really aware
that every single individual of the Jewish
nation, indeed all mankind, would in the end
be blessed. These words, therefore, indirectly
contain a strong proof of his conviction that
there is a state of eternal damnation, as 2
Thess. 1: 8, 9, expressly declares."]

4. Who is here the compound relative.
See 1 : 25. Israelites. This was their most
sacred and honorable name. The name Israel
was given to Jacob by God himself on a
memorable occasion. (Oen. S2 : 28.) And the
name derived from it, which he prayed to
have named upon the two sons of Joseph
(Gen. 48:16), was the most distinguished of the
titles by which his posterity were designated.
See John 1 : 47 ; Rom. 11 : 1 ; 2 Cor. 11 : 22.
Next, after this heaven-bestowed name, the
apostle mentions six of their peculiar and
sacred distinctions as a people. To whom
pertainelh — or, more briefly and literally,
whose (are) — the adoption — that is, in a
national sense, in distinction from all other

peoples (Exod. i : 22, 23 ; Deut. It : 1 ; 32 : 6; Isa. 1:2; Jer.

ii:9); a great privilege, but not to be com-
pared to the personal adoption, the preroga-
tire of believers in Christ. And the glory.
This probably refers to the bright cloud which,
as a symbol of Jehovah's presence, went be-
fore them when they went up out of Egypt
(Exod. 13:21), abode upon Mount Sinai (Exod.
24:16), and afterward rested on the tabernacle
(Exod. 40:34, 35) [and at timcs on the mercy seat

1 " Christ was made a curse for us because we were
his kinsmen." (Bengel.) — (F.)
* " Subject of the infinitive, / myself, same as that of

the finite verb : hence in the nominative " (Boise) rather
than in the accusative. — (F.)

Ch. IX.]

ROMANS.

219

5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning
the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for-
ever. Amen.

5 and the promises ; whose are the fathers, and of
whom is Christ as concerning the flesh, > who is over

6 all, God blessed * for e?er. Amen. But it u not as

1 Or,;l««k : k< teho i» ovtr tM, Qod, bt Mtt»td/or *wr 1 Gr. wUo th* agti.

of the ark (Ler. n:2)]. This is what the Kab-
bins call the Shekinah, a word derived from
the Hebrew verb wliich means to settle down
or rest upon, as the cloud did upon the taber-
nacle. And the covenants [called in £ph.
2:12, the covenants of promise]. The plural
form of this word, which is unusual, probably
refers to the various renewals of the gracious
engagement which God made first with Abra-
ham (Gen. 15:18; 17:2, 4, 7-10), and afterward re-
newed to Isaac (Gen. M:J4), tO JaCOb (Gen. 28:

>3. 14), and to the whole people (Kxod. 24:7, s).
[The codices B D E F G, with the Vulgate and
several Fathers, read — the covenant, which,
however, is adopted by no critical editors save
Lachmann.] And the giving of the law.
This refers to the transactions at Mount Sinai,
recorded with such particularity in Exodus,
chapters 19-23. [Some— as De Wette, Fritz-
sche, and others — make this law-giving equiv-
alent to the law itself or its contents. But the
giving of the law was to the Jews a greater
honor than its mere possession, since it might
have been received by them from other na-
tions.] And the service of God. The
words 'of God' are not in the original, but
the word translated 'service' is suflBciently
definite of itself, referring always to religious
service, and including here the entire system
of national worship as prescribed by the Lord
and performed in the tabernacle and in the
temple. [Compare Heb. 9:1. The "Five
Clergymen" render it: Service of the sanct-
uary.] And the promises. [See 15:8.]
No doubt the Messianic 'promises,' or those
which relate to Christ and his kingdom, are
especially meant." [" ' Promises' (ivayytxitu) is
intentionally put at the end, in order that
now, — after mention of the fathers to whom,
in the first instance, the promises were given,
— the Promised One himself may follow."
(Meyer.)]
5. The fathers. This term is especially

applied to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (xsod.

I:l»,15; «:5; Aeu J:1S; J : w), but is nOt tO be limited

to them exclusively any more than the term
patriarch, (aou j : »; 7 : a, 9.) Of whom— that
is, of the Jews. The word ' whom' refers, not
to the word ' fathers,' but back to the general
subject of the preceding description, the same
as the word ' who ' at the beginning of ver. 4.
As concerning the flesh Christ came.
As to his human nature, which plainly im-
plies that he had also a higher nature, how
much higher the apostle immediately tells us
in the most decisive terms t Who is over ali«
God blessed for ever. [Or, ' Who is God
over all.' This last rendering is equally ad-
missible as the other, and is preferred by
Meyeri — that is, in case the sentence must be
referred to Christ. Some, however, who hold
that Christ is Lord of all, and that God, with-
out the article ie*6t), may be applied to him,
as here and in John 1 : 1, as well as in John
1 : 18, according to some of the oldest and best
manuscripts, yet hesitate to say that he is
' God over all.' But ' God ' (o*6t), though with-
out the article, is often used in the New
Testament to denote the Supreme Deity, and
certainly the religion of the Bible knows no
secondary, minor God. Hence, if Christ be
God at all, he must be 'God over all.' "The
absence of the article," says Philippi, "proves
nothing, its use being here impossible, because
God (o*6t) is predicate, and the design is simply
to afiSrm the deity of Christ {Otov tlvat). No
doubt we might say, our God, Jesus Christ
[using the article], but not, Christ is (o Not)
the God, because he, whose Godhead is meant
to be asserted, cannot be described as 'the
God' already known."] This emphatic asser-
tion of the supreme deity of our Lord seems
too plain to admit of controversy. The only
way in which its force can with any plausi-
bility be evaded is by placing a period imme-
diately before this clause, thus separating it

I This distinguished commentator, whose " grammati-
cal accuracy and logical keenness" Biblical scholars will
ever delight to acknowledge, and into whose exegetical
labors tbej will not fail to enter, held that Christ, in
accordance with Scripture teaching, bad an eternal pre-
existent and God-equal being and nature; that in tiim

dwells the divine essence nndivided and in its whole
Aillness, yet that abtoluie deity belongs only to the
Father. Hence he l>elieved in a subordination Trinity.
But would it not appear from this rppreseniation aa
though some one had contradicted himaelf T — (F.)

220

ROMANS.

[Ch. IX.

from the name of Christ and making it a
simple doxology to God the Father — "blessed
forever be God, who is over all." The clauses
are divided in this way by Lachmann, Tisch-
endorf, and Meyer ; * not, however, with the
view of weakening the proof of Christ's divine
nature, but on the ground that Paul never
expressly applies the name God to Christ.
But conceding for the moment the truth of
that assertion, why should not Paul make
such direct application of the term in one ease
only, as Meyer admits that John has done in
the first verse of his Gospel ? But we do not
admit that this is the only instance in which
Paul applies the term 'God' to Christ. On
the contrary, we maintain that he calls Christ
'God' expressly in Titus 1:3 and 2:13, and
by fair implication also in Phil. 2 : 6 and Col.
2:9. In fact, the whole tenor of the passage,
interpreted as a doxology to Christ as God,
agrees with Paul's way of introducing abrupt
doxologies. See Kom. 1 : 25 ; 2 Cor. 11 : 31 ;
2 Tim. 4 : 18. Meyer admits that this last is
an undoubted instance of a doxology to
Christ. We adhere to the simplest and most
natural punctuation and explanation of the
verse, therefore, and regard it as a direct
aflBrmation of the Godhead of Christ, parallel
with John 1 : 1 and 20 : 28. The still more
artificial punctuation, advocated by Erasmus
and followed by Locke and Clarke, which
places a period after the word 'all,' seems
hardly to require any further notice. [The
neuter article (t6) before 'according to the
flesh' {Kara (TapKa) puts the phrasc in the ac-
cusative case, akin, perhaps, to the accusative
of limitation or closer specification. (Butt-
mann, 152; Winer, 230.) See also 12:18.
Alford sees in its use here an implication that

Christ was not entirely sprung from the Jews,
but that he had a higher nature. Meyer also
says that "such prepositional definitions with
the accusative of the article certainly denote
a complete contrast, which is either expressly
stated, as in 12 : 6, or may be self-evident from
the context, as 1:15; 12:18." If the whole
clause after the word ' flesh ' is a doxology to
God the Father, the masculine article (6)
belongs to ' God ' (Wos). Compare 1 Cor. 3 : 7.
And a literal translation of the whole would
be: "The existing over-all God (be) blessed
unto the ages ! " "The existing" (6«lv), if H
be referred to Christ, leaves 'God' (Oe'os) with-
out the article, and is equivalent to 'who is'
(6s e<TTi), or, according to Bishop Wordsworth,
"who is existing." These same words are
translated 'which is,' or, 'who is,' in John 1:
18 ; 3 : 13 ; 2 Cor. 11 : 31 ; and ' who was ' in
John 12 : 17. Indeed, in 2 Cor. 11 : 31 we have
not only the same construction, but, for the
most part, the very words of our clause, and
the passage is rendered: "God the Father
. . . who is blessed unto the ages! " (Revised
Version, margin.) So that both here and in
Rom. 1 : 25, the only two places besides our
passage where Paul uses the phrase "blessed
unto the ages! " the reference is to a preced-
ing subject. Since, therefore, there is no
transition particle (like Si in 1 Tim. 1 : 17) to
indicate a change of subject in our passage,
and since the participle, 'being' or 'existing'
(<5^), appears somewhat superfluous and awk-
ward if a doxology to God be supposed here,
we naturally and necessarily, grammar and
usage being taken into account, refer the
whole clause to the preceding subject —
Christ.2 It is objected that elsewhere in the
genuinely apostolical writings we do not find

1 See foot-note, page 219.

* In the Appendix to the " Introduction of the Greek
Kew Testament," by Westcott and Hort, the former re-
marks that " the juxtaposition of 6 Xpitrros and o S>v
seems to make a change of subject improbable." Dr.
Weiss, in his " Biblical Theology of the New Testa-
ment," Vol. L, p. 393, says that " the explanation which
is most natural, and most in conformity with the lan-
guage and the context, is that which makes it refer to
Christ, and not to God." But Alford, with much more
boldness, affirms that the rendering given by our Com-
mon and Revised Versions is " not only that most
agreeable to the usage of the apostle, but the only one
admissible by (he rules of grammar and arrangement."
Another reason for referring this clause to Christ is

that, if this be a doxology to God the Father, the word
'blessed' (euAoyijTd? or eiAoyij/ieVos), where no copula
is expressed (compare 3 Kings 10:9; 2 Chron. 9:8; Job
1 : 21 ; Ps. 112 : 2, Septuagint Version, where the copula
is used), should, by the invariable usage of the LXX.
and of the New Testament, occupy the first place. See
with €vAoyT)Tos, Luke 1 : 68 ; 2 Cor. 1:3; Eph. 1 : 3 ; 1
Peter 1:3; and with ev\oyi)/[t«Vos, Matt. 21 : 9 ; 23 : 39 ;
Mark 11:9; Luke 13 : 35 ; 19 : 38, etc. Liddon, in bis
Bampton Lectures, a most excellent treatise on " Our
Lord's Supreme Divinity," says: "There are about
forty places in the Old Testament, and five in the New,
in which the formula of doxology occurs, and in every
case the arrangement is the same : Blessed be the God,
etc. — in other words, the predicate 'blessed' always

Ch. IX.]

ROMANS.

221

any doxology to Christ in the usual form.
Both De Wette and Meyer concede that 2
Tim. 4: 18 has such a doxology, "but this,"
says Meyer. " is just one of the traces of post-
apostolical composition." And so the doxolo-
gies to Christ found in Heb. 13:21; 2 Peter
3:18; Rev. 1:6; 6 : 12, etc., rest under the
same ban of discredit. Meyer also denies that
the doxologies in Rom. 16 : 27 ; 1 Peter 4 : 11,
refer to Christ; but denial is not always proof
Even if it be conceded that formal doxologies
to Christ are wanting in Paul's epistles, no
one, we suppose, would account for this want
on the ground that the apostle could not
conscientiously ascribe praise and glory and
blessing to his adorable Redeemer. Besides,
as Dr. Gifford in the "Bible Commentary"
remarks, Meyer's objection is "wide of the
mark," inasmuch as the clause before us, if
applied to Christ, "is not a doxology at all,"
but is a simple assertion respecting the subject
of the sentence in a manner wholly similar
to 1:25; 2 Cor. 11:31, the only two places
besides this in Paul's writings where the
expression 'blessed unto the ages' (Revised
Version, margin) is found. Were it a doubt-
ful matter, also, whether Paul has elsewhere
given the name of God to the Lord and
Saviour of the New Testament, yet, as Philippi
remarks, " he describes him indirectly as God,
and therefore in any case thought of him as
God, even if he did not call him so directly.
For to whom belong divine attributes — like
eternity (Coi. i : is, n) ; omnipresence (Kph. i:i3;
4:10); and grace (Bom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3, etc.) ; divine
works, like the creation and preservation of
the world (coi. i:i6, n) ; and the dispensing of
judgment (»Cor. 5:io; 2 The«». 1 : 710) ; and divine
worship (Bom. 10: 13; Phil. 2: 10, 11) — is himsclf God."
On the question whether the naming of Christ
as God would not be inconsistent with Pauline
usage, Prof. Cremer observes in substance

that the transition from the Son of God to
God is a very easy one (Johnio:M.»8), and that
Paul, who never speaks of Christ as the Son
of man, should call him man (itib.i:5; Bom.6:
liieto.), might likewise appear to be an incon-
sistency. But as "the man, Christ Jesus," i*
inferred from "the Son of man," so with
equal justice we might infer the "God,
Christ," from the "Son of God." Paul, in
common with the earliest Christian disciples,
worshiped Christ as divine, as One equal with
God, in whom dwelt all the fullness of deity,
or the divine essence, bodily, and was accus-
tomed to direct prayer and supplication to
him as One able to forgive and save. See
Acts 22:16, 19; 2 Cor. 12:8, 9. Compare
Rom. 10:12; Acts 2:21; 7:59; 9:14.21; 1
Cor. 1 : 2; 2 Tim. 2 : 22. (See further at 10 :
12.) In the light, therefore, of Scripture
teaching, we need not hesitate to afSrni that
Christ is both Lord of all and God over all,
and is blessed forevermore. Meyer concedes
that the language of our text, as far as the
construction of words is concerned, may be
applied to Christ, and it is a noteworthy fact
that all the Fathers of the early Church —
Irenaeus, Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian, Hip-
polytus, Athanasius,* Basil, Gregory of Nyssa,
Ambrose, Epiphanius, Chrysostom, Theodore
of Mopsuestia, Cyril of Alexandria, Theodo-
ret, Theophylact, Jerome, Augustine, (Ecu-
menius, etc. — did apply it to Christ. Of the
modern Germans who advocate the same view,
Meyer mentions " Michaelis, Koppe, Tholuck
Flatt, Klee, Usteri, Benecke, Olshausen, Niel-
sen, Reithmayer, Maier, Beck, Philippi, Bis-
ping, Gess, Krummacher, Jatho, Hahn, Tho-
masius, Ebrard, Ritschl, Hofmann, Weiss,
Delitzsch, and others.'' Fritzsche, Winer,
Ewald, and many others take the opposite
view.
Two other principal points in favor of the

precedes the subject." Ps. 68 : 19 (Septuaglnt Version,
67 : 19) seems to be an exception. Yet the text here is
probably corrupt, there being nothing in the Hebrew
to correspond with the first " blessed." Perhaps the
copula "is," rather than the imperative, should be
understood here. Farrar and others, however, think
it likely that Paul may have had the doxology of this
Psalm in mind, and they find in this additional evi-
dence that in our passage he calls Christ blessed, since
in Eph. 4 : 8 he quotes the immediately preceding verse
and applicK it directly to Christ. It is, indee<l, objected
that *v\oyv6t ia nowhere else applied to Christ, but

only (vAoyvM'i'ot, as in Matt. 21 : 9 ; 23 : 39, and parallel
passages, quoted above. But there is no essential differ-
ence in the meaning of the words, and in the Old Testa-
ment (LXX.) we find evAoyijM'Vot as applied to God (1
Chron. 16 : 36 ; 2 Chron. 9:8; Erek. 3 : 12), and evAoyiTTOt
applied to man (versus EUlicott on Eph. 1:3; see Deut.
7 : 14 ; Ruth 2 : 20 ; 1 Sam. 15 : 13), and all these examples
have the same Hebrew word in the original.— (F.)

1 Meyer is mistaken, we think, when he says: "In
the Arian controversies our passage was not made us*
of," for Athanasius, the so-called "father of ortbo*
doxy," did thus use it. — (F.)

222

ROMANS.

[Ch. IX.

"ecclesiastical interpretation" of this passage
remain to be noticed. I. A doxology to God
the Father is here wholly inappropriate.
Paul, indeed, mentions several blessings en-
joyed by the Jews, yet he does not expressly
specify them as gifts from God, and it was the
thought of their being neglected or abused
which now filled his soul with anguish. Who
would expect from the apostle, in such a state
of mind as this, an outburst of gratitude to
God in view of his abused mercies? The
proper place for a heartfelt doxology is just
where Paul puts it — namely, at the end of the
eleventh chapter, where he leaves the elder
brother, the self-righteous Jewish legalist, and
the younger brother, the Gentile prodigal,
both lovingly reunited in their heavenly
Father's house. On the otlier hand, an as-
cription of praise to Christ is here especially
suitable, in view of "his being set at nought by
the Jews, and is exactly in the line of Paul's
method, as indicated in 1 : 25, where, in con-
trast with the dishonor heaped upon God by
the Gentiles, the affirmation is made that he
'is blessed for ever.' Dorner, in defense of
this, "the most probable exposition," says:
"A doxology to God would not fit in with the
anguish at Israel's rejection, to which Paul
gives utterance in ver. 1-5; on the other hand,
the words, referred to Christ, whom Israel
rejected in spite of his dignity, give a reason
for this anguish. The continuation also of the
sentence (ver. 6) with the conjunction (5«) does
not suit a doxology to God, but to Christ."
("System of Christian Doctrine," Vol. III.,
p. 175.) II. We should naturally expect, as an
antithesis to ' as to the flesh ' ((carA o-apita), some
reference (as in 1 : 3, 4, and elsewhere in the
Scriptures) to the higher nature of Christ;^
while, on the contrary, a doxology to God,
besides being particularly unsuited to the con-
text, would, as De Wette acknowledges, put
Christ almost wholly into the shade. Indeed,

we may say with Philippi that the phrase
' according to the flesh ' (<taTo aapiea) is intro-
duced merely for the sake of the following con-
trast: 'Who is God over all.'* De Wette, who
rejects the usual interpretation, thus sums up
his views of this passage : " I especially hesi-
tate at this, that [by viewing the whole clause
as a doxology to God] not only nothing fol-
lows which, serving as a counterpoise to ' ac-
cording to the flesh' (icoTa aapKa), sets forth
Christ in his higher nature, but, as if to place
him directly in the shade, God is designated
as the One who is over all, without any special
reason for such designation." After mention-
ing Erasmus' proposal to put a period after
'all,' as in Codex 71, he adds: "We have here,
to be sure, the desired contrast, since Christ
would be described as One who is over all
(namely, the patriarchs), yet for the following
doxology to God there certainly appears to
be but very little reason ; the absence of the
article before the word God is surprising, and
one would expect more justly than before that
blessed (evAoyijro*) should precede. . . . Since
no explanation wholly satisfies, another read-
ing were desirable." But as concerns this
passage there is no variation in the manu-
scripts, and we are satisfied with the reading
as it is.]

The apostle now proceeds to vindicate God's
truth and justice in the rejection of the Jews.

6. The first clause is elliptical : the com-
plete expression of the verse would be: 'the
case is not as though the word of God — (that
is, the promise of special blessing to Abraham
and his seed, of which the chief part was sal-
vation through the Messiah), hath taken no
effect, or in other words, failed of its fulfill-
ment.' [Others fill out the ellipsis thus: (I
say) not such a thing as that the word of God
has come to nought. The verb strictly means
to fall from, hence to fall down or through —
that is, fail of accomplishment.] It seemed

1 It has been objected that as it is we have no direct
contrast to ' according to the flesh' {Kara o-apxa), but
that a proper antithesis would require according to the
Spirit ((cara irvevfia), as in 1 : 4, or, according to his God-
head {Kara fleonjTa ; compare Col. 2 : 9) — the whole read-
ing something like this : " Of whom is Christ as respects
the flesh, but who as respects his spiritual and higher
nature, or his essential deity, is God over all." But the
contrast here employed is just as expressive and appro-
n.riate as a direct and formal antithesis would have
oeen.— (F.)

2 This author has quite a full exposition of the text,
and a defense of the ecclesiastical doctrine based, in
some measure, upon it. For a brief summary ot the
"Scriptural Evidence of the Deity of Christ," see an
article by the writer in the " Bibliotheca Sacra" for
July, I860. Since that paper was written, new manu-
scripts have been discovered, and it must nov be
conceded that early textual authority establishes the
reading who instead of God in 1 Tim. 3 : 16. Philippi,
however, still favors the reading of the Common Vei-
sion.— (F.)

Ch. IX.]

ROMANS.

223

6 Not as thougb the word of God bath taken none
eflTect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel :

7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham,
are they all children: but. In Isaac shall thy seed be
called.

8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh,
these are not the children of (iod ; but the children of
the promise are counted for the seed.

7 though the word of God bath come to nought. For
they are not all Israel that are of Israel : neither,
because they are Abraham's seed, are they all chil-

8 dren: but, In Isaac shall thy secu l>e calU-d. 'I'hat
is, it is not the children of the flesh that are children
of God ; but .the children of the promise are reck-

to the Jews generally that the word of God
had come to nought, because they had not
received the blessings which they understood
to be promised : but the apostle shows them
that they had misunderstood the promise, that
it was not made to all the posterity of Abra-
ham, but only to a selected portion of them,
whom God owned as children of Abraham in
a spiritual sense, [those, in other words, who
are Jews "inwardly" (»=»), who are the
Israel of God (g«i.«:I8), rather than Israel
after the flesh. Dr. Weiss supposes the promise
was given to the nation of the Jews, and not
to all the individuals composing it. "We see
here that carnal descent, though from seed of
divine promise, does of itself avail nothing].
For they are not all Israel — that is, true
Israelites in God's esteem — which are of
Israel— that is, who are the natural posterity
of Jacob.

7. Neither, because they are the seed
of Abraham. [Notice how '^ neither^ (ovW)
is preceded by the direct simple negative (ov).
Beginning with the previous sentence, we may
give this literal rendering of the whole pas-
sage: "For not all who are of Israel (are)
these Israel, neither, because they are Abra-
ham's seed (are) all children " (of Abraham)
— that is, in a true, spiritual sense. The pride
and boast of the Jews was: "We have
Abraham to our father." (mhu-S: »; LukeS: 8;
john8:39.)] 'The sccd of Abraham' in this
verse corresponds with 'of Israel,' of the
preceding verse ["Israel after the flesh"
(1 Cor. 10: 18)], and both are to be understood,
literally, of the natural posterity of Abraham
and Jacob, or Israel ; and so, on the other
hand, the term 'children' in this verse cor-
responds with ' Israel' of the preceding; and
both are to be understood, figuratively, of the
spiritual posterity of Abraham — that is, of
those " who walk in the steps of the faith of
our father Abraham." See Rom. 4: 12; Gal.
3 : 9, 29; and John 8 : 37, 89. [By these expres-
sions the apostle indicates the possibility of a
rejection of a part of the Jews, that people
who felt themselves to be "the children of

the kingdom."] The quotation in the last
clause of this verse — but. In Isaac shall thy
seed be called ["a seed shall be called for
thee"] — is taken quite literally from Gen. 21 :
12 [without the formula of quotation, as
being a well-known saying], and decisively
confirms the previous assertion, that God
never meant to be understood as promising
the covenant blessings to all Abraham's pos-
terity, but only to those in the line of Isaac
[the child by virtue of promise], thus exclud-
ing, not only Ishmael and his posterity, as in
the context of the passage just referred to,
but equally the six sons of Keturah afterward
born to him, and their descendants. (Q«n. is:
i.>) ["The seed subsisting in Isaac shall
be called thy seed." (De Wette.) "Thy
oflTspring shall be reckoned from Isaac."
(Noyes.) Meyer and Philippi give this as
the apostle's meaning : "The person of Isaac
shall be regarded as the true seed or real
descendant." " In thus adducing the cas« of
Isaac and Ishmael the apostle certainly did
not decide on the eternal state of either of
them; yet the subject which he thus illus-
trated— namely, a remnant of believers among
an unbelieving nation — must refer not to out-
ward advantages and disadvantages, but to
eternal salvation or damnation." (Scott.)]

8. That is, [which signifies. They which
are the children of the flesh, etc. This
sentence, literally translated, reads thus:
"Not the children of the flesh (are) these the
children of God." In other words, the chil-
dren of the flesh are not thereby the children
of God, even though they may have Abraham
for their father]. Ishmael was the child of
Abraham in a natural and usual way ; Isaac
in an unusual way, by virtue of an extra-
ordinary promise of God. See Gal. 4: 28.
The first was a child of the flesh ; the second
was a child of promise. And, as owing his
birth to a special divine interposition, Isaac
was a fit representative and type of all the
children of God. See John 1 : 12, 13. [Chil-
dren of the promise — that is, "begotten by
virtue of the divine promise ' (Meyer), not

224

ROMANS.

[Ch. IX.

9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I
come, and Sarah shall have a son.

10 And not only this; but when Rebecca also bad
conceived by one, even by our father Isaac,

11 (For the children being not yet born, neither
having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God
according to election might stand, not of works, but of
him that calleth ;)

9 oned for a seed. For this is a word of promise.
According to this season will I come, and Sarah

10 shall have a sou. And not only so: but Rebecca
also having conceived by one, even by our father

11 Isaac — for the children being not yet born, neither
having done anything good or bad, that the purpose
of God according to election might stand, not of

as Noyes has it: "children to whom the
promise is made." "The children of the
promise" are "those whom God gives to
Abraham by spiritual generation. . . . They
who interpret 'the children of promise' to
mean those who by faith embrace the promise,
say indeed what is fact, but do not speak with
suitable precision, for the apostle in this place
does not distinguish the children of Abraham
from others by their faith as known, but he
discourses concerning the primary cause — that
is, the fountain of their faith itself, namely,
the eternal purpose of gratuitous election."
(Beza.)] Are counted for the seed: arc
esteemed by God as the seed of Abraham in
the highest and truest sense. Compare notes
on 3 : 1-6.

9. For this is the word of promise [or,
' The word of promise is this''\ would be a
very literal translation of the first clause of
this verse. [Alford: " For this word was (one)
of promise."] It is a specific proof of the last
clause of the preceding verse. The quotation
which follows expresses the sense of Gen. 18:
10, 14. At this time means 'at this season,
next year ; ' [in the Hebrew : According to
the living time — that is, "'at the reviving sea-
son, when this season revives, returns again,
after passing away with the departing year."
(Conant.) Gesenius makes this reviving time
to be the coming spring. The clause: And
Sarah shall have a son— Tb Sarah shall
be a son — retains the form of the Hebrew,
from which the Septuagint in Gen. 18: 10
varies].

10. And not only this. [We now advance
from a word of divine promise to a word of
divine appointment. (Meyer.)] It will be ob-
served that the word ' this' is supplied by the
translators. The expression in the original is
elliptical, and the grammatical construction
irregular, the name Kebecca being in the nom-
inative without any verb ; and the sentence
being resumed in ver. 12, after the parenthesis
of ver. 11, in the altered form, it was said to her .
[Many regard this nominative as absolute, and
see in the sentence an anacoluthon, a changed

and unfinished construction. Noyes, Godet,
and the Bible Union, seem to avoid this by
translating: 'but when Kebecca also had
conceived.' It would seem to be an "ener-
getic breviloquence," as though Paul would
say : ' not only is such the case with regard to
Sarah, but there is Rebecca also.'] The ellipsis
may be supplied thus: 'and not only was
there a divine word of sovereign discrimina-
tion to Abraham, between his two sons, and
in eflfect to Sarah likewise (see Gen. 18 : 13-16),
but Rebecca also had a similar divine mes-
sage.' [So in substance, "Winer, De Wette,
Meyer. Philippi opposes this on the ground
that the promise of ver. 9 was not given to
Sarah, but to Abraham, and also that the
saying of God in ver. 12 was to Rebecca no
word of joromtse.] But when Rebecca also
had conceived (twin sons) by one, even
by our father Isaac. The phrase 'by one'
seems to be suggested by the difference be-
tween this case and the for^mer. In that case,
there were two mothers, one a bond woman,
and the other a free ; but in this case, there
was but one mother, and but one father, which
makes the sovereign limitation of the chosen
posterity of Abraham to one of the twin sons
the more significant, and this example there-
fore stronger than the former.

11. This verse completely overthrows the
doctrine of the pre-existence of souls: the
children being not yet born, and, of course,
neither having done any good or evil.
[Instead of 'evil ' (kokov) the Revised text has
bad (<l>avkov, found in X A B), which properly
signifies light or worthless, good-for-nothing,
hence, with a moral reference, bad or ill,
(compare this with our word "naughty"),
and means a little less than wicked. They were
not guilty of personal, voluntary transgres-
sions, yet, as belonging to Adam's fallen race,
the J- both had natures inclined to sin. "As
regards original sin, both children were alike,
and as regards actual sin, neither had any."
(Augustine.) Neither birth nor works gave
them any claim.] The purpose of God
according to election, or, 'the elective

Ch. IX.]

ROMANS.

225

purpose of God,' is a very definite and strong
expression. Might stand [properly, may
stand, denoting permanence] ; this word is
the opposite of that which in ver. 6 is trans-
lated ' hath taken none effect.' [This sen-
tence in construction and thought would
properly follow the first phrase of the next
verse.] Not of works [properly defines 'pur-
pose.' Some make it dependent on 'may
stand.' The positive negative (owk) is here
used, since it is not immediately connected
with ' that ' (tva) or the verb]. But of him
that calleth. The absolute sovereignty of
the divine election in the bestowment of
spiritual blessings, irrespective of human
works, performed or foreseen, could hardly
be affirmed in stronger terms. [" The thought
of an unconditional election of grace is here
distinctly expressed, and the idea that ' not of
works ' excludes indeed all present merit, but
not the future which God has foreseen, is
wholly vain." (De Wette.) Besides, the
works of Jacob, if foreseen, could not have
furnished ground for his election, for his
works were very nearly as ill as Esau's. Nor
were the descendants of Jacob chosen to be
God's peculiar people because of their worthi-
ness, as Moses frequently reminded them.
See Deut. 9 : 5. The purpose of God to bless
Jacob was not, then, based on the merit of
foreseen good workss or on the ground of any
human claim, but was made according to
God's free, yet not arbitrary, choice. "The
purpose," says Philippi, "is described as made
according to election, or determined by elec-
tion, linked to election, in opposition to an
indiscriminate, universal saving decree, hav-
ing reference to the whole human race, or to
a definite class of men." Similarly Meyer:
"The purpose would have been no purpose
according to election, if God had resolved to
bless all without exception." The apostle,
moreover, while denying that God's elective
purpose is based on foreseen works, does not
affirm that it depends on foreseen faith.
Instead of saying " not from works but from
faith," or on account of faith, he simply adds:
but from him that calleth. And in 2 Tim.
1 : 9, Revised Version, he tells us that God's
saving call is "not according to our works,
but according to his own purpose and grace,
which was given us in Christ Jesus before
times eternal." Compare Eph. 1 : 11; 3: 11.

Godet aflSrms that faith " cannot be a merit,
since faith consists precisely in renouncing all
merit," and hence tliut faith foreseen, unlike
works foreseen, though a moral condition of
election, would impose no obligation on God.
To this, we reply, that if God's elective pur-
pose from eternity is made to depend upon
the foreseen faith of individuals, then God,
even though no obligation be imposed on him,
is yet no longer a sovereign disposer of grace,
nor does he take the initiative in one's salva-
tion. A faith which conditions a person's
election, especially if not based on grace,
should be begotten by that person ; and if
faith is originated by man, little is left for
election or predestination to do. But Holy
Scripture, instead of asserting that God's pur-
pose according to election is grounded on any
man's work or faith, explicitly declares that
faith and repentance and obedience and sal-
vation are the result of God's elective purpose.
See 8: 29; Eph. 2:8,10; Phil. 2: 13;2The88.
2: 13 ; 2 Tim. 2: 25; 1 Peter 1 : 2, etc. Truly,
as Augustine says: "God does not choose us
because we believe, but that we may believe."
Even the Arminian Remonstrants, in the
third and fourth "points" of their contro-
versy with Calvinism, affirm, "that true faith
cannot proceed from the exercise of our natural
faculties and powers, or from the force and
operation of free will, since man, in conse-
quence of his natural corruption, is incapable
of thinking or doing any good thing; " and,
"that this divine grace or energy of the Holy
Ghost, which heals the disorders of a corrupt
nature, begins, advances, and brings to per-
fection everything that can be called good in
man, and that, consequently, all good works,
without exception, are to be attributed to God
alone and to the operation of his grace." It
would do no harm if some of the diluted Cal-
vinism of our day was tinctured with a little
more of such Arminianism as this. Such
views as these are antagonistic to the doctrine
that God's elective purpose to save is condi-
tioned on man's foreseen faith. Albert Barnes
says, that the purpose of God "is not. a pur-
pose formed because he sees anything in the
individuals as a ground for his choice, but for
some reason which he has not explained and
which in the Scripture is simply called /JMr;>ose
and good pleasure." Such evidently was the
apostle's view of God's purpose according to

226

ROMANS.

[Ch. IX.

12 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the I 12 works, but of him that calleth, it was said unto her,
younger. I

election ; otherwise it would not have called
forth what Calvin terms the "impure bark-
ings " of those who, on account of such elec-
tion, charged God with injustice. See ver. 14.
Augustine, in controversy with the Pelagian
idea, that God elects men because of their fore-
seen goodness, says : "Who but must wonder
that this most ingenious sense should escape
the apostle? For after proposing what was
calculated to excite astonishment respecting
those children unborn, he started to himself,
by way of objection, the following question :
' What then, is there unrighteousness with
God ? ' It was the place for him to answer, that
God foresaw the merits of each of them. Yet
he says nothing of this, but resorts to the de-
crees and mercy of God.' "

It is to be noticed, however, that in all
Paul's writings there is no plainly specified
election or predestination to eternal death.
Calvin, who approached, perhaps, too near
the precipice, concerning which Augustine
said "Beware!" inferred the verity of an
"eternal reprobation," and the mere logical
faculty may, from one point of view, deem
this inference to be unavoidable. But from
the apostle's most explicit utterances, we learn
that those whom God wills to blind and harden
are incorrigible sinners, that those to whom
he willeth to show mercy are, of course, lost
and guilty, and that his election is of grace,
and has reference, therefore, to the undeserv-
ing. The elect bear the name "vessels of
mercy,''' which shows that they, like the vessels
of wrath, are taken from a common " mass
of perdition"; and if the former are saved, it
is because oi gratuitoiis election ; if the latter
are reprobated, it is because of their sins. All
are alike undeserving, and hence God can,
without partiality, have mercy on whom he
will, can reject or pass by whom he will, and
it is ours only to say: "Even so, Father, for
so it seemed good in thy sight." For some
further views on this general subject, see re-
marks on 8 : 29. To the question whether
God's elective purpose regarding Jacob and
Esau had reference to their temporal con-
dition or to their eternal state, we should an-
swer that, according to the apostle's repre-
sentation, it had primary reference to their
temporal state, and not so much to them as

individuals as to their descendants. Paul cer-
tainly does not affirm in the next verse that
Jacob was elected to eternal salvation and
that Esau was reprobated to eternal death,
but the elder shall serve the younger.
Yet even the elder did not personally serve
the younger, but, on the contrary, we read
that Jacob, in consequence of his supplant-
ings, was obliged to humble himself to
the earth as a servant before his brother,
and to say: "My lord, Esau!" The one
however, was elected to peculiar external ad-
vantages and to theocratic gracious privileges,
to the use and enjoyment of which the other
was not chosen, while still the other was not
left entirely destitute of divine favor and
blessing. Isaac was elected to a pre-eminence
over Ishmael, and Jacob to a pre-eminence
over Esau, yet, as Philippi observes, "even
Ishmael is not left without promise (Gen. is-, lo;
17:20), and is preserved by divine providence.
(Gen. 21 : 17, »eq.) Esau also reccives his blessing
(Gen. 27:39, seq.), while the life of Isaac and Jacob
is fertile in peculiar trials and sorrows. And
the posterity of Ishmael and Esau are, finally,
in admission into the Messianic kingdom in
accordance with the universal prophetic prom-
ises, to obtain a share in the loftiest preroga-
tive of the chosen people." Yet in our view
God's elective purpose, as set forth in the
Scriptures, does not generally have reference
to peoples and to their enjo^'ment of external
privileges. That Paul in this Epistle makes
divine election to be individual, gracious, and
saving, is most clearly manifest. See ver. 23 ;
8:29; 11:5. And the apostle could well show
this while explaining the temporary rejection
of God's people, Israel, and without digressing
to write a set treatise on election and repro-
bation. Thus, from the example of Jacob
and Esau, Prof. Stuart derives this lesson:
"If God did, according to election, make such
distinctions among the legitimate and proper
children of Isaac, the 'son of promise,' then
the same God may choose, call, justify, and
glorify those who are 'called' in respect to
the heavenly inheritance. If it is not unjust
or improper in one case to distribute favors
'according to his purpose,' then it is not in
another." Dr. Shedd gives his views on these
points as follows: "The theocratic election

Ch. IX.]

ROMANS.

227

13 As it ts written, Jacob have I loved, but E^u have
I hated.

14 What shall we say then? I* there UDrigbteouH-
nes3 with God ? God forbid.

15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom
I will have mercy, and 1 will have compassion on
whom I will have compassion.

i:s The elder shall serre the younger. Even as it is
written, Jacob I loved, but E-saul baled.

14 What shall we say, then? Is there unrighteous-

15 ness with Gud? God forbid. For he sailh to
Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy,
and I will have compassion on whom I have com*

of Isaac and Jacob illustrates the spiritual
election of individuals ; and the theocratic
reprobation of Ishmuel and Esau illustrates
the spiritual reprobation of individuals. . . .
The question arises whether the theocratic
corresponded with the individual election and
reprobation in the cases of Jacob and Esau
themselves. The fact that each was a typical
personage favors the aflSrmative, because the
symbolical is most naturally homogeneous
with that which it symbolizes. It would be
unnatural to set forth a spiritually elect per-
son as the type of the reprobated class, and
vice versa. And the history of Esau shows
that his sinful self-will was not overcome by
the electing compassion of God. Esau re-
nounced the religion of Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, in which he had been educated, and
to which he might still have adhered, even
though he had, by the divine will, lost his
primogeniture, and lapsed into idolatry with
his descendants. He falls, therefore, into
the same class with the apostate Jews, and
though 'of Israel' was yet not Israel."
(v«r.«.) But we do not feel called upon to
settle the eternal state of these individuals.]

13. The passage here cited [in confirmation
of the preceding] is written in Mai. 1 : 2, 3.
We must beware of weakening too much the
expression Esau have I hated^ since the
descendants of Esau, to whom the language is
particularly applied by Malachi, are described
as "the people against whom the Lord hath
indignation forever." (ver. ♦.) [We read in
the Wisdom of Solomon (n ; «) : " Thou lovest
all things and abhorrest nothing which thou
hast made, for never wouldst thou have made
anything, if thou hadst hated it." Certainly
the "philanthropy" of God (TUuiSti) would
not allow him to hate absolutely and in a
human manner any human being, even
though sinful. We may suppose that he
loved Esau personally with the love of com-
passion, while he could not have loved Jacob
with entire complacency. Those who think
that "hate" in Scripture usage sometimes
means to love less, refer to such passages as

Gen. 29 : 30, 31 ; Luke 14 : 26, compared with
Matt. 10 : 37, etc., where a less degree of love,
compared with a greater, is termed hatred.
The expression is anthropopathic, and refers
not so much to the emotion as to the effect
(Philippi.) InSirach33:ll,12, wefind a like
declaration of the unequal distribution of
God's gifts among men. Of course, any with-
holding of divine favors might seem an act of
hatred. It often is an act of judgment against
sinners. Haldane affirms that Esau, even be-
fore his birth, deserved God's hatred, because
he sinned in Adam; but surely his Adamic
transgression was not greater than that of
Jacob.]

To this doctrine, that God chooses one and
rejects another athis mere good pleasure, there
are two objections urged: I. That it is unjust
(vct. i«.) Answer 1. God c/aims this preroga-
tive, (ver. 15, 16.) Answer 2. He exercises it
(ver. 17, 18.) II. That it destroys human re-
sponsibility, (ver. 19.) Answer 1. The objec-
tion is irreverent, (ver. m, »i.) Answer 2.
God only treats the rejected as they deserve,
and the accepted better than they deserve
(rer.M-24); and neither of these is unjust.

14. Paul here states, in the form of a ques-
tion, an objection which he sees likely to arise
in the reader's mind from what has just been
said (ver. u-is); and before giving any specific
answer to that objection, indignantly repels,
as he does elsewhere (s:<.5: oai.-iiiii), any asper-
sion upon the character of God. Let it not
be! [The negative particle (mi) in this ques-
tion supposes a negative answer.]

15. For he saith to Moses. The 'for'
here assigns the reason why the apostle so
emphatically repudiates any possible ascrip-
tion of unrighteousness to God; 'for' he
explicitly announces to Mosos, as an axiom
which he would liave all men understand,
that he is sovereign and self-moved in the
distribution of his favors; that his mercy is
pure mercy, and his compassion pure com-
passion, and that he owes no apology to any
man for the manner in which he exercises his
benevolence. 1 will have mercy on whom

228

ROMANS.

[Ch. IX.

16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him I 16 passion. So then it is not of him that willetb, nor
tliat runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. of him that runueth, but of God that hath mercy.

17 For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for | 17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, For this very

I will have mercy, etc. The citation is
from Exod. 33 : 19 [closely following the Sep-
tuagint, even to the rendering of the tenses.
(The Hebrew is: / have mercy on whom I will
have mercy. The Revised Version gives the
Septuagint rendering.) This utterance of
Jehovah to Moses is "to be understood in a
causal sense as expressing the reason why
Moses' request was granted — namely, that it
•was an act of unconditional grace and com-
passion on the part of God, to which no man,
not even Moses, could lay any just claim."
(Keil and Delitzsch.) "If to Moses God's
favor was absolutely free and unmerited, how
much more to others!" ("Bible Commen-
tary.")] The two verbs here used have the
same general sense, but the latter is the
stronger expression [denoting a greater degree
of pity, equivalent to "bewailing sympathy."
(Meyer.)]' The twofold expression is very
emphatic, and intimates that God would have
men understand, once for all, that he is not
to be challenged to give an account of his
reasons for showing favor to some men and
not to others. ["No man may deal with God
as if he were his creditor." (Bengel.)] It
would be well for cavilers to remember this.
The manner in which the apostle meets the
objection here admonishes us that the surest
way to determine what God's character allows
him to do is to consult the Scriptures which
are his word. [" Paul considers it enough to
check vile barkings by the testimonies of
Scripture." (Calvin.)]

16. So then it is not [in the power] of
him that willeth. [Noyes: "Itdependeth
not on him that willeth."] What is the
unexpressed subject of this sentence? That
which is implied in the preceding verses, the
mercy and compassion of God, or, more ex-
actly, the obtaining of those divine favors and
blessings which proceed from his mercy and
compassion. Are we to conclude, then, that
the willing and the running avail nothing?
No, certainly not, for this would be to con-
tradict the gracious promises of our Lord.

(llatt.7:7,8; John5:40; Rev. 22 : 17, etc.) The apOStoliC

exhortation is: "So run that ye may obtain."
(1 Cor. 9:24, 26.) [Scc also Phil. 3 : 14 ; 2 Tim.
4: 7.] But the meaning is, that the will and
the power to run so as to obtain are themselves
from God (pmi. 2:13), so that, in the ultimate
analysis of the matter, it all depends upon
God who showeth mercy. His gracious and
sovereign will is before, and behind, and be-
neath all human willing and running. ["The
human striving is, indeed, necessary, but it
ever remains dependent." (DeWette.) To
will and to run in our own strength is vain,
nor can any human willing or working lay
God under obligations or furnish a ground of
justification. "The mercy of God," says Dr.
Eipley, "is not a result of a person's own will
or desire for it, as the originating or procuring
cause. . . . The apostle here denies the meri-
torious character of such desires and efforts,
as if they would constitute a claim for the
blessings. Not to man's desert, but to God's
will and unmerited mercy, must blessings be
traced." The Jews both willed and ran earn-
estly and sought eagerly after a law of right-
eousness, but "they stumbled." It is singular
that some, like Chrysostom, put the utterance
of this verse into the mouth of an opponent
instead of regarding it as the apostle's own
inference.] To suppose any special reference
to Abraham's willing in favor of Ishmael, or
Isaac's in favor of Esau, or to Esau's running
to hunt venison for his father, as if these
historic facts had suggested the form of the
expression, is to narrow and limit the words
unduly. They undoubtedly are borrowed
from the Grecian games, to which Paul so
often refers in his epistles. (1 Cor. 9:24-26; Gat 2:2;
5;-; Phil. 2:16.) [" Obscrvc that in the exercise
of this sovereign choice God is here spoken of
as having m.ercy.'^ (Boise.)]

17. For the Scripture saith unto Pha*
raoh. ['For' denotes a consequence c con-
trario, drawn from the preceding statement.]
' The Scripture ' is here identified with its
divine author, as in Gal. 3 : 8, 22 ; 4 : 30. The

1 Compare Avtttj and oSvvri in ver. 2 for a correspond- | indicating the freedom of the divine choice. This par-

ing advance of emphasis. The particle an (av) belongs
to the relative rather than to the verb (Buttmann,217),
making it equivalent to "whomsoever," and thereby

tide is, as here, commonly used in the New Testament
with the subjunctive. — (F.)

Ch. IX]

ROMANS.

229

this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might
shew HIT power in thee, and that my nunie might be
declared tnoughout ail the earth.

purpose did I raise thee up, that I might shew in

thee my power, and that my name might lie iiub-

18 lished abroad in all the earth. So then he bath

quotation is from Exod. 9 : 16. [The article
with Pharaoh denotes the dative case and
probably was not meant to particularize "the
Pharaoh who lived in the time of Moses."
(Bengel.) Compare the Moses in ver. 16.
The Greek has a word (ot«), before the quota-
tion, which is not translated. It is here, as
frequently, merely the sign of quotation. It
is worthy of remark that Pharaoh was not
thus spoken to till after he or his land had
been visited with six plagues.] The words
Have I raised thee up are not to be under-
stood specifically, of raising up to the throne,
much less of raising up from sickness, as in
James 6 : 15 (where only the context gives
the verb this peculiar sense) ; but in a general
sense. ' I have given thee thy place in his-
tory,' as the verb is used in Matt. 11 : 11 ; 24:
11 ; John 7 : 52, etc. This general sense alone
suits the context, and the apostle's argument.
[This verb is used about seventy times in the
Septuagint. " In none of these cases does it
mean to create, to produce, to raise up, in the
sense of bringing into being." (Stuart.)
Hence Beza's rendering : feci ut existeres, " I
have caused thee to exist," would seem to be
inadmissible. The Hebrew verb, "I caused
thee to stand," is rather loosely rendered in
the Septuagint, "on account of this thou wast
preserved." Yet this in sense is akin to Isaac
Leeser's version: "I allowed thee to remain,"
and to Dr. Gifford's in the " Bible Commen-
tary," "I spared and upheld thee." These
renderings convey the idea that the continu-
ing of Pharaoh's life of rebellion was the
means of magnifying the name and power of
Jehovah. Meyergives this paraphrase: "Thy
whole historical appearance has been brought
about by me, in order that," etc. De Wette's
rendering, favored by Prof Stuart, " I have
incited thee to resistance," seems to be an
addition to the text.] This is an illustration
on the darker side ; and it is a vindication of

> The Terb ' shew forth ' occurs eleven times in the
New Testament, but only in Paul's writings and in the
Epistle to the Hebrews. It is in the middle voice (with
transitive signification) and probably has a slight sub-
jective reference. Thus: show forth /or myself, or, on
my account. Hence the pronoun ' my ' is not redundant.
The apostle substitutes for the strength (^luxvy) of the

God's justice, on the assumed axiom that
what he declares his purpose to do and actually
does is right. There can be no higher proof
that a thing is righteous than that Ood does it.
That I might shew my power in thee —
that is, by thy signal overthrow at the Red
Sea.' And that my name might be de-
elated throughout all the earth. The
word translated ' declared ' is an emphatic
word, implying a thorough publication of
God's righteous severity in Pharaoh's destruc-
tion. We have a record in Josh. 2: 9-11 of
the effect which the report of God's judgment
on Pharaoh had on the inhabitants of Jericho.
[Compare also Exod. 15: 14, seq.] Meyer
and Tholuck cite Greek and Roman authors
of later times who refer to these things ; the
dispersion of the Jews scattered the famous
tidings far and wide among the nations; the
Koran helped to spread the story wherever it
went; and the Scriptures are fast publishing
it literally ' throughout all the earth.' So it
is that God's ' name,' his power and justice
in the overthrow of the proud and hardened
oppressor of his people, is gradually and at
last universally made known throughout the
whole world. ["God might have caused Pha-
raoh to be born in a cabin, where his proud
obstinacy would have been displayed with no
less self-will, but without any notable histori-
cal consequence. On the other hand, he
might have placed on the throne of Egypt at
that time a weak, easy-going man, who would
have yielded at the first shock. What would
have happened? Pharaoh in his obscure posi-
tion would not have been less arrogant and
perverse, but Israel would have gone forth
from Egypt without eclat. No plagues one
upon another, no Red Sea miraculously
crossed, no Egyptian army destroj-ed ; noth-
ing of all that made so deep a furrow in the
Israelitish conscience, and which remained
for the elect people the immovable founda-

LXX.the more general term power (iucoMir), also oww*
— that, to the end l/tat—for lya — that, the latter commonly
referring to the more direct, the former to the more
remote or secondary purpose. The 'wo verbs in the
subjunctive, by which mood continuance of action or
result is noted, might be rendered by the auxiliary,
niny.— (F.)

230

ROMANS.

[Ch. IX.

18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have
nercy, aud whom he will he hardeneth.

mercy on whom he will, and whom he will he har-
deneth.

tion of their relation to Jehovah. And there-
after also no influence produced on the sur-
rounding nations. The entire history would
have taken another direction." (Godet.)]

18. Therefore hath he mercy on whom
he will have mercy. [The ' whom ' [ov) of
this clause, or the one on ' whom ' God wills
to show 'mercy,' is not what the anti-supra-
lapsarians call a "nonentity," nor is he a
pure and innocent being, but an actually ex-
isting guilty and undeserving transgressor;
otherwise God could show him no mercy.
And it is precisely the same class of persons
whom God, for reasons sufficient to himself,
willeth to harden. The last clause of the
verse: And whom he will he hardeneth —
may well be read by sinful men with "bated
breath," and feelings of awe.] In the account
of God's dealings with Pharaoh in Exodus,
we have these three modes of expression —
"the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart":
Exod. 4: 21; 7: 3; 9: 12; 10: 1, 20, 27; 11:
10; 14: 4, 8; "Pharaoh hardened his heart" :
Exod. 8: 15, 32 (in Heb. 8: 11, 28); 9: 34;
" Pharaoh's heart was hardened " [remained
hardened]: Exod. 7: 13, 14, 22; 8: 19 [in
Heb. 8 : 15] ; 9 : 7, 35. No doubt all these
three expressions refer to the same fact, but it
does not follow that they all have the same
meaning, nor are we at libertj' to weaken the
force of the first, and most frequent, by sub-
stituting for it, 'the Lord suffered Pharaoh to
harden his heart.' The language itself, and
the way in which Paul uses the illustration,
imply something more than a mere passive
permission on the part of God. The one
point which must be guarded is, that God
never solicits men to evil, and then punishes
them for yielding to the solicitation. James
1 : 13 decisively negatives that idea. We will
not undertake to explain precisely how God
rightfully may, and sometimes actually does
harden a man's heart (for the case of Pharaoh
can hardly be considered a solitary one) ; but
we will rather rest content with enforcing the
Psalmist's solemn admonition, "Stand in awe
and sin not." (*= <•) [The first two examples

and the last but one of the first series of texts
cited above are prophecies: 'will harden.'
Omitting the two former, we may notice that
it is said of Pharaoh seven times eitherthat he
hardened his heart, or that his heart remained
hard, before it is affirmed, in 9: 12, that Jeho-
vah hardened him. " And even after that,"
as Godet says, as if a remnant of liberty still
remained to him, it is said for a last time
that "he hardened himself" (»: 34), or " re-
mained hardened." (9:35.) This is an instance
of a man's giving himself up, and of God's
giving him up, "to work iniquity." "When
God hardens a man," says Charnock, "he
only leaves him to his stony heart." Tholuck
observes that — "In the case before us the
divine agency must be limited to the fact
that God brought about those circumstances
which make a heart disposed to evil still
harder. That God did thus to Pharaoh is
shown by history. That such is the only
sense in which it is said that God hardened
Pharaoh is evinced by the fact of its being
declared in the context that Pharaoh hardened
himself.'''' Compare with this the exhortation
of Ps. 95 : 8 ; Heb. 3 : 8, 15, " harden not your
hearts." The Scriptures which speak of God's
hardening the heart of Pharaoh, at the same
time blame him for his pride and self-will
(Exod. 9: 17; 10: 3, 4), while Pharaoh on his part
makes frequent confession of sin. (Exod. 9: 27;
10: 16,17.) We must hold to the truth of the
apostle's statement, even though we think,
with Philippi and Godet, that a different view
would have been presented had Paul not been
combating Pharisaic pretension and arro-
gance. Al ford says: " Whatever difficulty
there lies in this assertion that God hardeneth
whom he will, lies also in the daily course of
his providence, in which we see this harden-
ing process going on in the case of the pros-
perous ungodly man." The conjecture of
some that 'hardeneth' here means to treat
harshly, in supposed accordance with Job
39 : 16, where the ostrich is spoken of as
hardening her young, is scarcely worthy of
notice.] ^

1 We are sorry to see that the vom, Strausse (of the
ostrich) of Philippi's commentary on this passage, is,
probably from mere inadvertence, converted into a

proper name in the generally excellent translation of
this excellent work. — (F.)

Ch. IX.]

ROMANS.

231

19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Wtar doth be yet find I
fault? For who bath resisted his will?

19 Thou wilt itLj then unto me, Whjr doth he etill

19. [Thun wilt say then unto me — not:
what shall we say then ? The sharp answer
which follows shows that the apostle has as
his opponent, not a modest inquirer, but an
insolent antagonist. So Philippi, who thinks
that Paul has an arrogant Jew before him in
the whole of the present exposition.] Why
doth he yet find fault? ['Yet' — that
is, after he has hardened me, or "after he
has taken away freedom and accountability
through his purpose to harden." (De Wette.)
How can he blame me for disobedience?
' ' Why am I still judged as a sinner ? " Meyer,
seemingly against the context, regards the
question as tragic rather than impious, "the
expression of human weakness in presence of
the divine decree of hardening." Who is
able to resist the fixed purpose of the Almighty?
Compare Acts 11 : 17.] Who hath resisted
(or, resists, the perfect being used as present)
his will ? If it is God's will to harden a man,
since his will cannot be successfully resisted,
how can he Jiame hardened sinners? This is
a common objection to the view of God's
sovereignty which Paul has presented. It is
important and instructive to note how he
meets this cavil.

[This verse shows us that other minds than
ours have been troubled with the unfathom-
able mysteries of God's creation and moral
government. Paul himself stood face to face

with ail the deep, dark problems of the uni-
verse, and we do not suppose that even his mind
was so far supernaturally enlightened as to be
able to solve them. His language in 1 Cor.
13: 12 (Revised Version) is: "Now we see
in a mirror, darkly" (margin, "Greek, in a
riddle"); and we may well believe that the
universe had for him its insoluble enigmas.
In a coming chapter we shall see how he
speaks of the " unsearchable judgments" and
the "untraceable ways" of God. The verse
before us presents a problem of exceeding
diflBculty.' We are held blamable for dis-
obedience to God, and yet how is it possible
for a weak and dependent creature to resist
and thwart the will of the Omnipotent? Yet
we do in this world resist and disobey his law,
or revealed will, continually, otherwise all
men would at once come to repentance (» : et*
s:») and to a full knowledge of the truth
(i Tim. 3: ♦), and we should not have been
taught to pray: "Thy will (e«Ai)>*a) be done
on earth as in heaven." A different word,
however, is used for 'will' in our passage —
(namely, ^ouAtj^xa) which here seems to denote
his determinate, predetermining, immutable
counsel (or /JouA^ ; see Acts 2 : 23 ; 4 : 28 ;
Heb. 6: 17), which cannot be thwarted or
withstood ; and how can a frail creature of
earth resist "the counsel of his will " ? (BovAJik
ToO OtKriiiaTot avrov, Eph. 1 : 11.*) Hcncc from

I " The great and perhaps ever insoluble problem
still remains— namely, the ability of a created being to
act contrary to the will of God— how God came to
create a being with power to withstand him, the
Almighty One." (Olshausen.) But if we cannot with-
stand or transgress, but do perfeetly fulfill his decretive
will, his eternal puriwse, how can we be held blamable
for transgression? We have here for certain a "plausi-
ble and formidable objection " (Hodge), and the apos-
tle seeks rather to strike the objector dumb by rebuking
his irreverent spirit, than to solve fully the speculative
difficulty. We can see that there is in the objection a
spirit of disobedifnce and rebellion, we can feel that
there is some perversion or insufficient statement of the
truth, but the logical faculty finds it a hard task to
clear the question of all difficulty. " This is indeed,"
says Dr. SchatT, " one of the greatest and most difficult
problems, which can never be fully solved froiu the
standpoint of earthly knowledge. Only after the
accomplished victory over evil, can the deep, dark
enigma of evil, which forms the main difficulty of the
problem, be solved."— (F.)

* A similar thought is expressed in 2 Chron. 20: 6;
Job 9 : 19 (LXX.) ; Wisdom of Solomon 12 : 12. e«Aii» and
^ovAofLtot are both employed by way of contrast in
Matt. 1 : 19, the former, according to classic usage,
generally denoting a volition ; the latter, an inclination
or propensity of the mind. [Here the reverse seems
to me to be the fact. (A. H.) ] BouAo^<u, to have in
thought, to intend, is never used of brutes, while in
Homer it is always used when speaking of the gods,
since their wish is equivalent to effect. (Robinson, l.id-
dell and Scott.) We may say that it is God's present
fiovKniia (using the term in the weaker sense of detirr)
that none should perish, but that all men should come
to repentance (2 Peter 3 : 9), and that it is his WAi|m«,
or will, that all men should be saved and come to a
full knowledge of the truth. (1 Tim. 2: 4.) Yet this his
desire and will surely <lo not come to pass in thii
world ; but we can hardly say that either of these is
his established, immutable counsel or purpose; other-
wise this universal re|>entance and attainment of the
truth would have already taken place. Prof. Turner
seems inclined to think that even Ood'a purpoae may

232

ROMANS.

[Ch. IX.

20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against
God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed
it, Why hast thou made me thus?

21 Ilath not the potter power over the clay, of the

20 find fault? For who withstandeth his will? Nay
but, 0 man, who art thou that repliest against Grod?
Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it,

21 Why didst thou make me thus? Or hath not the

this view of the matter, the rebellious sinner
is tempted to reply against God with very
great freedom of language, and to say: "I
am not to blame for resisting God's eternal
purpose concerning me, since such resistance
on my part is an impossibility;" or, "I do
not resist God, for in hardening myself I have
done nothing but obey him." Objections
similar to the above are noticed by James
(1:13) and by the Son of Sirach (Kcoies. i5: 11,12),
and are rebutted by a direct denial. While
therefore we cannot entirely remove the
speculative difficulty attending this subject,
we can tell the sinner that he is not sincere in
making this objection ; that he is offering it
as a mere make-shift; that he knows God
does not make him sin ; that he is opposed to
God and does disobey and resist God's will;
and that he does this of his free choice ; that
he does not intend to obey, but he intends
evil and makes this wickedness himself; that
his alleged obedience is all a farce, and cannot
be deemed by himself genuine, hearty, or
meritorious. God by his providence may
indeed give shape to the evil, and by his infi-
nite power and wisdom cause it to promote
his glory, and yet may rightfully punish the
sinner for his intended transgression.]

20. Nay but, O man, etc. "When the ob-
jector becomes too bold and irreverent, Paul
rebukes his impiety before making any other
reply to his objection. It does not become
the creature to dispute with the Creator or to
call him to account. [Nor will Jehovah upon
compulsion give any account of his matters.
Instead of the ' nay but,' we might properly
read — yea rather (Luke 11:28), or, indeed, with a
slight touch of irony. Through the inversion
of words in the interrogative clause, a frequent
usage in the New Testament, the 'thou' is
rendered emphatic. The 'O man' is inserted
to denote his inferiority and impotence as

contrasted with the Almighty. It has been
said that this replying against God by so weak
a creature as man shows that he has a free
will, or, at least, that he can use his tongue
very freely. If the sinner is rebellious against
God and chooses to use his freedom, he can
find much wherewith to reply against God.
He would bring God down below the level of
his creatures and make him responsible, as it
w-ere, for all that is ill in the universe. ' Nay
but, O man,' thou art too weak and ignorant
and insignificant to put on such airs of supe-
riority and to contend so haughtily with God.
Shall the thing formed say, etc. The
Greek particle (/ttrj) supposes a negative an-
swer. The application of the term 'thing
formed ' (nKdcrna) to man is warranted by Gen.
2:7; Ps. 103 : 14— Septuagint Version (102 : u),
'he knoweth our frame' (nKdvua) — and 1 Tim.
2:13. In the Wisdom of Solomon (t:i),
Adam is called the ^protoplast.' The query
seems to have reference, not to an original
creation (as of clay with its properties), but
to the making or fashioning of that which
already exists. Dr. Hodge says: "It is to be
borne in mind that Paul does not here speak
of the right of God over his creatures as crea-
tures, but as sinful creatures, as he himself
clearly intimates in the next verse. It is the
cavil of a sinful creature against his Creator
that he is answering." Hence the question,
as Dr. Shedd remarks, "is not, Why hast thou
made me a sinner? but. Why hast thou left
me in sin ? " So if we apply this language to
the Jewish people whom God formed into a
nation, their query would be: "Why hast
thou withheld thy mercy from thy people
Israel, and why dost thou show thy favor to
the Gentiles? Why hast thou rejected or
passed by thy covenant people and adopted
the uncircumcised heathen?"]
21. Hath not the potter power over the

fail of accomplishment. If this be so, then the eternal
blessedness of the saints is not secure, and heaven itself
may be lost out of God's universe. Dr. Shedd says:
" The distinction between the will of desire and the
will of decree is illustrated in the human sphere by
the difference between inclination and volition. A
man frequently opposes the inclination of his will by a
volition of his will. He decides to do what he is dis-

inclined to do." In a similar way some speak of a
principal or antecedent will and a consequent will.
The " Bible Commentary " says : " When efle'Aoj (or 6e\io}
and PovAo/ixoi are distinguished, the former means the
simple, spontaneous will, the latter the conscious and
deliberate purpose." See further on OeAw and /Sou'Aofiat,
notes to 7 : 15, also a long discussion under fle'Au in
Thayer's Lexicon. — (F.)

Ch. IX.]

ROMANS.

233

lame lump to make one Teasel anto honour, and another I
unto dishonour?

potter a right orer the clay, from the same lump to
make one part a vessei unto honour, and another

clay, etc. ['Or' should precede 'hath,' sis in
the Beviscd Version. " It introduces a fresh
ground of rebuke." (Alford.) 'Over the
clay' (mjAoO) is here separated from its gov-
erning substantive, 'power,' owing, perhaps,
to the joining together of words of similar or
related import.] This figure is found repeat-
edly in the prophets. See Isa. 29:16; 45:9;
64:8; Jer. 18 : 6 [also Job 10 :8, 9; Wisd. of
Sol. 15 : 7 ; Ecclus. 3.3 : 18 (36 : 13, LXX.) ; 38 :
29, 30]. The comparison must not be pressed
too far. It is just as impossible for man to
have just cause to complain against God as
it is for the clay to have cause to complain
against the potter, but not for the same reason.
In the case of the clay and the potter, the
fault-finding is forbidden by the nature of the
clay; in the case of man and his Maker, it
is forbidden by the character of the Maker.
The nature of the substance wrought upon
forbids complaint in the former case; the
character of the Being who works and none
can hinder forbids it in the latter case. The
authority of the worker is just as absolute in
the one case as in the other; but, on the other
hand, it is just as certain — nay, even more
certain — that God will not treat creatures
made in his own image as insensate clay, as
that the potter will not treat the clay as if it
were rational and moral and capable of know-
ing when it was ill-used. Having thus boldly
rebuked the irreverence of the objector, Paul
takes up the case more calmly and vindicates
the justice of God's dealing with men. [As
"the potter does not make the clay but digs
it" (Bengel), so the reference here is not to
an original creation of the clay. The lump
with which the potter has to do is the clay
with its natural properties, moistened and
prepared for moulding. So the lump of hu-
manity is humanity with its natural proneness
to evil. "The words 'I will have mercy on
whom I have mercy' imply that all deserved
wrath, so that the lump of clay in the hands
of the potter must refer to men already exist-
ing in God's foreknowledge as fallen crea-
tures." (Scott.)* Thepotter has "authority"

or "right" (i(ov<Tia) over the clay— not merely
physical strength {ioxvt or aUroMn) — to make
of one part a vessel unto honor (for honorable
u.se) and of another a vessel unto dishonor.
Compare 2 Tim. 2 : 20. None of these vessels
are worthless, but all have some use, otherwise
the apostle would not in this connection intro
duce the words 'unto' («t), 'willing' (fcAir),
and 'that' (iva). The clay in its inferiority
cannot question the potter, but toe may say
that no potter has a right to spend his time
and energies in making useless vessels, and
no wise potter will make vessels merely for
the sake of destroying them. But he may
make from the same lump some vessels for
honorable and some for ignoble use. These
vessels are not necessarily identical with the
vessels of mercy and of wrath named below.
"The work of the skillful potter," saysGodet,
"is not the emblem of an arbitrary use of
strength, but, on the contrary, of a deliberate
and intelligent employment of the matter at
his disposal." If we apply this figure of the
clay to fallen humanity, then the lump may
represent both Jews and Gentiles (rer. j4), and
the apostle teaches us that the Jews could not
demand of God that they should be made
vessels unto honor and the Gentiles should be
made vessels unto dishonor. Of the lump
even of Jewish humanity God may make
vessels unto dishonor. In determining which
vessels to make, he does not act arbitrarily or
without reason, for his attributes always act
in harmony, and his power is ever the servant
of his goodness, justice, and wisdom. Paul
certainly would not regard it as a complete
description of man to say that he is a lump of
clay; but when one makes high pretensions,
puts on airs, talks of merit, and lays claims,
then the apostle would take down his pride
and feeling of self-sufficiency by assuring him
that he is but clay in the hands of the potter.
Let us be thankful that God can take us from
the lump and mass of perdition and mould us
into vessels of glory. We are not a mere clod
of inert and senseless clay; but it would be
well for us to resign ourselves submissively

J "The same lump.' Notice the position of the article. I ilte{f. On the"one part" and " another " (of the Se-
lf it came after avrov, the phrase would mean the lump I vised Version), see Winer, p. 105.

234

ROMANS.

[Ch. IX.

22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to
make his power known, endured with much longsuffer-
ing the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction :

23 And that he might make known the riches of his
glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore pre-
pared unto glory,

22 unto dishonour? What if God, i willing to shew
his wrath, and to make his power known, endured
with much longsuffering vessels of wrath fitted unto

23 destruction ; < and that he might make known the
riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy, which be

1 Or, although Killing 'i Some ancient aatboritles omit and.

into the hands of God, as clay in the hands of
a potter, that he may mould us (how easily!)
into vessels of honor.]

22, 23. [What (or, but) if, etc., seems to
introduce the answer to the objector's ques-
tion. De Wette thinks that Paul in these
verses had special reference to the Egyptians
and the Israelites' in Egypt. But, as Godet
says, Paul has done with Pharaoh long ago.
Philippi, however, supposes at least a side
glance at Pharaoh.] There is some diflSculty
in the construction here, arising partly from
its irregularity, and partly from the brevity
and incompleteness of the expression. The
following paraphrase may help to the right
understanding of the sense : ' What ground
of objection is there, or what fault can be
found with the divine procedure [whatadverse
reply shall we make to God? (tbf. 20)], if God,
while purposing (0eKC>v^ wishing) to show his
just severity and Almighty power upon those
who deserved his displeasure, and were alto-
gether fitted for perdition, yet endured them
with much long-suffering before he inflicted
punishment upon them ; and, on the other
hand, purposed to show [what if God willed
to make known?] his rich and glorious mercy
to those who were to be partakers of his com-
passion, and whom he had already prepared
for salvation?' Surely there is nothing to
complain of in alT this. [While the margin of
the American Kevised Version — with Meyer,
Philippi, Godet, and others — .supplies an al-
though before the participle 'willing,' thus
giving emphasis to the long-suffering, De
Wette prefixes since or because, and says that
God bore with Pharaoh, and did not at once
annihilate him, in order the more to show his
wrath and his power in him. Some (Meyer,
Philippi, Godet) regard this as a strange kind
of long-suffering, the design of which, accord-

ing to Weiss, was "to lead them to repent-
ance." Yet the words referring to Pharaoh,
'for this very purpose have I raised thee up,'
"make it certain that when St. Paul writes,
'God, willing to show,' he means, because he
willed." ("Bible Commentary.") And cer-
tainly sinners can abuse God's long-suffering
to the enhancing of their condemnation.
Winer, De Wette, and Meyer regard the
phrase that he might make known as
directly dependent on the verb endured,
giving this idea: "He endured these vessels
of wrath, not only (or, as Meyer would have
it, notwithstanding his desire) to show his
wrath and make his power known, but also
(by delaying punishment) to make known
the riches of his glory," etc. Others — like
Philippi, Godet, Stuart— would supply another
if willing (« 0eKiav) at the beginning of ver. 23,
and regard 'that he might make known' as
equivalent to and co-ordinate with the infini-
tive 'to make known' (yvupiaat.) of the pre-
ceding verse. The former give this render-
ing: "What if God, willing to make known
the riches of his glory (called us)," for which
parenthetic clause Paul substitutes ' whom he
hath called.' Prof. Stuart would supply :
Had mercy on us, or, made known his rich
grace toward us, etc.]*

Observe that he speaks of the vessels of
wrath as fitted to destruction, and of the
vessels of mercy which he had afore pre-
pared unto glory. God's agency in the case
of these last is direct, positive, effective. And
who these are he tells us in the next verse.
[De Wette, Meyer, Philippi, Alford, Stuart,
think this fitting for destruction is effected,
according to the apostle's representation, by
the agency of God. But Paul certainly avoids
making such express representation, and we
therefore may refrain from so doing. Dr.

• Our own preference also would be to supply some
form of e«A<o, but as although willing would in this case
be inadmissible, we must so regard it in the former.
To ivvarov {power) corresponds with &vvaii.>.v, ver. 17.
See aZvvarov, 8 : 3. The word ' vessels ' in both verses
is destitute of the article, but it may be inserted in the

translation, especially in the latter instance. The rela-
tive ' which ' in our Common Version (properly iBhom^,
though referring to a neuter noun, 'vessels,' is here
masculine, either by a constructio ad sensum, or, more
probably by attraction to the following ^mo«, us.— (F.)

Ch. IX.]

ROMANS.

235

24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews
only, but also of the Gentiles?

26 As lie saith also in Osee, I will call them m^ peo-
ple, wbich were not luy people ; and her beloved, which
was not beloved.

24 afore prepared unto slorjr, even us, whom he also
called, not frura the Jews onlv, but also from the

25 Gentiles? As he saith also In ilosea,

I will call that my people wbich was not my people;
And her beloved, wbo waa not beloved.

Gifford says that "both factors, God's proba-
tionary judgments and man's perverse will,
conduce to the result, and it is the result only
that is here expressed." Still, had this been
spoken of as a divine result, we could only
say, that as God hardened Pharaoh when he
hardened himself, so he fits men for perdition
when they are fitting themselves for it. The
Gentiles, as we learn in 1 : 24, 26, 28, gave
themselves up to iniquity, and God gave them
up to a reprobate mind. That sinners do fit
themselves as vessels destined for wrath is
most plainly afiSrmed in the Scriptures. See
2 : 4; 1 Thess. 2 : 16, seq. And certainly God
would not eflSciently, and could not of his
"good pleasure," prepare the vessels of wrath
which are so displeasing to him. As Olshau-
sen says: "The bearing with much long-suf-
fering will not accord with the prominence
thus given to the divine activity. There is
something not only discordant but absolutely
contradictory in the idea that God endures
with much long-suflTering what he has himself
prepared." Four striking differences of rep-
resentation are thus noticed by Godet: "I.
The preposition npi (beforehand) is wanting
in the participle (fitted). Compare ver. 22.
II. There the passive form instead of the
active used here. (ver. 2s.) III. Here the
aorist referring to the eternal act, as in 8 : 29,
instead of the perfect (ver. w), which denotes
the present fact. IV. Here the verb prepare,
which indicates the beginning of the develop-
ment, instead of that of ver. 22, which indi-
cates result. These four differences are not
accidental, and leave no doubt as to the apos-
tle's view." To t&ke ftted here in the sense
of fit is unwarrantable. We remark, that as
these vessels of mercy are actually existing
sinners who, though penitent, have by their
sins made themselves objects of divine pity
and have received divine grace, and as the
vessels of wrath are actually existing sinners
who, by their persistent wickedness, have
made themselves objects of the divine dis-
pleasure (to whom, however, God does not
wish to show the riches of his wrath), so the
apostle has not here spoken of God's original
creating act or purpose in either case.]

24. Even us, whom he hath called, etc.
[See Eph. 2 : 10.] See also the analysis at the
close of ver. 13. Two things are made plain
in the preceding passage: 1. That the election
here spoken of is to eternal life, and not
merely to outward privileges. 2. That it is
sovereign and absolute, and not based on the
ground of foreseen choice or merit on the part
of man. ['The vessels of mercy' (election)
spoken of in the last verse are here explained
as meaning 'us whom he hath called.' In-
stead of which, referring to its antecedent,
vessels, we have the masculine pronoun
'whom,' agreeing, by attraction, with 'us'
(titnat) in the subordinate clause. According
to the teaching of 8 : 29, 30, the called ones here
are those, not only from the Jews, but also
from the Gentiles, whom God foreknew and
predestined to be his. As we understand these
three last verses, the reasoning of the apostle
is virtually this: What if God has willed to
pass by the great mass of unbelieving and
rebellious Jews and to call his elect ones
principally from the Gentiles, who shall find
fault with God for so doing? Calvin well
remarks that " the grace of God is not so con-
fined to the Jewish people that it cannot flow
forth to other nations and to the whole world,
nor is it so obligated to the Jews that it must
reach all the sons of Abraham according to
the flesh without exception." These elect
Gentiles are Christ's "other sheep" which
are not of the Jewish fold (Joun io:i«), and that
God should call them to be his people, and
should gather them within the Messianic fold,
is, as the apostle goes on to show, but a fulfill-
ment of the Old Testament prophecies.]

The remainder of this chapter is taken up
with confirming the foregoing doctrine by
testimonies from the prophets.

25, 26. As he saith also in Osee, etc.
Both the quotations are from Hosea, the first
from 2: 23, the second from 1 : 10 [in the He-
brew, 2 : 25]. They were originally said of the
apostate [and heathenized] tribes of Israel,
but are applicable to the Gentiles as well.
[The first quotation varies somewhat both
from the Hebrew and the Septuagint. The
negatived substantives not my people and

236

ROMANS.

[Ch. IX.

26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where
it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there
shall they be called the children of the living God.

27 Esalas also crieth concerning Israel, Though the
number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the
sea, a remnant shall be saved :

28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in
righteousness: because a short work will the Lord
make upon the earth.

29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of

26 And it shall be, that in the place where it was said
unto them, Ye are not my people.

There shall they be called sons of the living God.

27 And Isaiah crieth concerning Israel, If the number
of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea,

28 it is the remnant that shall be saved: for the Lord
will execute his word upon the earth, finishing it

29 and cutting it short. And, as Isaiah hatn said before.

not beloved are, in the original, represented
to be the names of two of Hosea's children,
which names were given them to symbolize
the rejection of the liouse of Israel. "I will
no more have mercy upon the house of Israel,
. . . but I will have mercy upon the house
of Judah." Yet God's mercy was not to be
withheld forever. "For in the place," etc.
The same passage is cited in 1 Peter 2:10.]
The use of the feminine pronoun in the last
part of ver. 25 is explained by the figurative
representation, so common in the prophets, of
the Jewish people as the spouse of God, and
their forsaking of him as conjugal infidelity.
The place where it was said unto them.
Ye are not my people probably refers, not
to any specific place, as Palestine, but, in
general, wheresoever their apostasy from God
has been known and spoken of, there shall
also their recovery be known and spoken of.

27, 28. The two preceding verses, from
Hosea's prophecies, show that those were to be
included among the people of God who had
heretofore been regarded as aliens; the two
verses now before us show, from the prophe-
cies of Isaiah, that the Jews, as such, were
not to be included among his people in the
coming time. Thus ver. 25, 26 are a commen-
tary on the last clause of ver. 24, 'but also of
the Gentiles,' and ver. 27, 28 on the clause
immediately preceding, ' not of the Jews only.'
[Esaias also. Meyer, regarding the word
(ie) translated 'also' as antithetic, says it
"leads over to another prophet," and para-
phrases thus: " But Isaiah, what do we hear
^rom him? We hear the cry respecting Is-
rael," etc., instead of Hosea, speaking of the
Gentiles.] Crieth concerning Israel. This
verb indicates a loud and impassioned utter-
ance. Compare John 1 : 15; 7:28,37; 12:44;
Acts 23 : 6; 24 : 21 [vir«> in the sense of irepi,
concerning]. A remnant [vn-dAei/x/ia in the
Revised text, virokifiiia in Westcott and Hort]
— that is, only a remnant shall be saved [in
the Hebrew shall return, as from exile], the

mass of the people being rejected. The Eab-
bins have this saying: "Of six hundred thou-
sand persons but two came to Canaan ; so shall
it be in the days of the Messiah." The quo-
tation is from Isa. 10 : 22, 23 [and is slightly
abbreviated from the LXX., which varies
considerably from the original Hebrew.
Meyer says: "The Seventy did not under-
stand these words and translated them incor-
rectly," yet that Paul "felt no scruple in
abiding by their translation, with a few unim-
portant deviations, since the sense is not less
suitable than that of the original." The
language of Isaiah is commonly supposed to
have reference to a political deliverance of a
remnant of Israel, which by Paul is regarded
as a symbol of moral deliverance, the salva-
tion of an elect seed. Compare 11 : 5. The
fate of Sodom and Gomorrah has reference to
something worse than a mere temporal and
political overthrow]. The passage may be
rendered : For he is finishing and abridging
the word in [punitive] righteousness, because
an abridged word [a word of swift judgment]
will the Lord make on the earth. But there
is a briefer reading of the original, which is
adopted by Lachmann, Tischendorf, Westcott
and Hort, and the Revisers, according to
which the translation would be: The Lord
will perform his word upon the earth, finish-
ing it and cutting it short. The idea is, that
the Lord will execute speedy and summary
judgment, according to his word.

29. Esaias said before — that is, in a pre-
ceding part of his prophecies; so the word
seems to be used in Gal. 1 : 9. [Tholuck, De
Wette, Meyer, Philippi, and Godet prefer
' foretold ' (compare 2 Peter 3 : 2), since mere
priority of place in writing is an unimportant
matter.] These words here cited are found in
chapter 1 : 9 [and are cited verbatim from the
LXX.]. The Lord of Sabaoth. The word
'Sabaoth' [one of the few words which Paul,
following the Seventy, left untranslated ; see
"maranatha," 1 Cor. 16:22] means 'hosts'

Ch. IX.]

ROMANS.

237

Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and
been made like unto Gomorrah.

30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles,
which followed not alter righteousness, have attaiuea
to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of
faith.

31 But Israel, which followed after the law of right-
eousness, bath not attained to the law of righteousness.

Except the I>ord of Sabaoth had left us a seed.
We had become as Sodom, and had l>een mad* like
unto (ioniorrab.

30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, who
followed not after righteouineas, attained to riebt-
eousuess, even the righteousneM which is of faith:

31 but Israel, following after a law of righteousness,

or 'armies.' It is used only here and in
James 6 : 4 in the New Testament; but the
expressions "God of hosts'' and "Lord of
hosts," where the same Hebrew word is used,
are frequent in the Old Testament, and repre-
sent God as a great king, having mighty armies
under his command. We had been as Sod«
oma. "Unless the Lord had left us a rem-
nant, as a seed, to preserve us alive, we should
have been utterly destroyed, like the cities of
the plain." [On this verse Scott makes the
following "practical observations": "Even
among the vast number of professing Chris-
tians it is to be feared that but a remnant will
be saved." Does the parable of the virgins
make it probable that only one-half of Christ's
disciples will be found truly "wise"? Would
it be surprising that out of every twelve
gospel ministers one should be finally lost?
"Many will say to me in that day," etc. See
Matt. 7 : 22. The fate and destiny of nations,
as well as individuals, is in the hands of God,
and we may well fear that he has not done
dealing in righteousness with us as a people.
Let us hope and pray that the Lord will leave
to us also a seed of true believers to preserve
our land from becoming as Sodom and Go-
morrah.]

The apostle now proceeds to state the con-
clusion to which his argument has thus far
brought him. [He now also proceeds to ex-
press fully what he has hitherto referred to
cursorily — namely, the reception of the Gen-
tiles and the exclusion of the Jews.]

30. That the Gentiles, etc. Some regard
this as a question, thus: " "What shall we say
to the fact that," or, "shall we say that," etc.
It seems properly to be an answer to what
shall we say then? ['Gentiles' is without
the article, signifying, according to Meyer
(versus De Wette), not a class, but some of a
class.] Which followed [were following]
not after righteousness. Who were not,
as the Jews were, definitely seeking right-
eousness by their own legal works. Have
attained, etc. — not being hindered, as the '

Jews were, by trusting to a false theory, have
believed in Christ, and so obtained the right-
eousness of faith. [Some regard ' righteous-
ness ' here, and in some other places, as
equivalentto justification. Itamounts, indeed,
nearly to the same thing, and yet the word
used (iutouxniio)) does not properly signify jiuli-
fication. As Dr. Hodge says: "It means
■righteousness, the possession of which secures
justification. Justification is a declarative act
of God ; righteousness is the ground on which
that declaration i.s made." The figure used
in this verse is that of the race course. Com-
pare ' follow after ' (Su^Ku) and 'apprehend'
(jtoToAoM/Sai^) in Phil. 3: 12. The former verb
means to pursue, and when with hostile intent,
to persecute. Have attained to (laid hold
on) righteousness (not that of works), but
even the righteousness which is of (pro-
ceeds from) faith — without protracted and
painful endeavor, like the man who found a
treasure in the field when he was not seeking
it (Godet.) Such righteousness as this, thus
far in the world's history, has been laid hold
on only by individual believers, not by na-
tions as a whole.]

31. But Israel, which followed (liter^
ally, following) after, etc. The (a) law of
righteousness — not here the righteousness
of the law, but a law imparting righteousness,
a justifying law. [The second 'righteousness'
(in our Common Version) is wanting in nearly
all the older manuscripts, and is omitted in
the Revised Version, but seems quite neces-
sary. The apostle frankly concedes that the
Jews eagerly sought after a justifying right-
eousness, and this testimony is abundantly
confirmed by the writings of the New Testa-
ment, of Josephus, of the Targums, etc. In-
deed, Paul himself knew something about
this earnest pursuit, from personal experience.
The verb 'attain,' primarily meant, to come
first or before another, to anticipate; see 1
The.ss. 4: 15. This verse serves as a comment
on ver. 16: "Not of him that runneth."]
They who had not been seeking righteousneM

238

ROMANS.

[Ch. IX.

32 Wherefore ? Because they sought it not by faith,
but as it were by thp works of the law. For they
stumbled at that stumblingstone ;

33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Zion a stum-
blingstoDe and rock of oU'ence: and whosoever be-
lieveih on him shall not be ashamed.

32 did not arrive at that law. Wherefore ? ' Because
they sought it not by faith, but as it were by works.

33 They stumbled at the stone of stumbling ; even as
it is written,

Behold, I lay in Zion a stone of stumbling and a

rock of ofl'ence :
And he that believeth on * him shall not be put to

shame.

1 Or, Becatue, doing it not by faith, but tu U were by teorkt, they ttumbled 2 Or, it.

found it; and they who were seeking failed
to find. An anomaly which calls for expla-
nation : the explanation is at hand.

32. Wherefore? Why was this failure
of the Jews? For what reason did they fail
to attain what they sought? ["The Five
Clergymen" give this rendering: Where-
fore f Because (following after it) not by
faith, but as by the works of the law, they
stumbled, etc. See margin of the Revised
Version.] It was because they sought it not
by faith, but as if it were attainable by the
works of the law. ['By faith' denotes the
objective standard, as from works, the purely
imaginary. (Winer.) The Revision omits
the word 'law,' which is wanting in X* A B
F G, the Vulgate and several Fathers.] The
verb 'sought' which is not in the original, is
rightly supplied from ver. 31, where, how-
ever, it is translated 'followed after.' For
[wanting in K*ABD*FG] they stumbled
at that stumblingstone, of which the
prophet Isaiah speaks. [The 'stumbling'
keeps up the figure of the race. Why does
not Paul say : They stumbled at or because
of God's eternal decree? Instead of this, he
here seems to forget all that he has just said
about predestination and hardening, and now
speaks only of human activity and blame-
worthiness, doing this, too, as though he were
not flatly contradicting himself 1 ' Alford
spoke truly when he said: "We shall find
free will asserted strongly enough for all edi-
fying purposes by this apostle when the time
comes." Our natural preference, of course,
would be to have the two views combined and
reconciled. They are at least closely united
in Acts 13 : 46-48, a passage which states the
results of Paul's first recorded sermon : "See-
ing ye judge yourselves unworthy of eternal

life .... and as many as were ordained to
eternal life believed." This does not read as
though foreordination and liberty of choice
were, as has been thousands of times declared,
incompatible and contradictory.]

The last clause of this verse might well
have been joined to the following.

33. As it is written, etc. The apostle
here joins two passages. (i»a. 28: i6; »■. u.)
Christ was laid in Zion for "a precious corner
stone, a sure foundation," according to the
former of these two passages ; but he becomes,
according to the latter, a stumblingstone
and rock of offence to those who reject him
in their unbelief. [The apostle does not in
this verse follow the Seventy. "Instead of
giving to the stone the laudatory epithets
applied in Isa. 28: 16, he gives, out of Isa. 8:
14, the well-known adjuncts of 'stumbling'
and 'offence' and then returns to 28: 16."
(Davidson.) Paul wishes to tell here what
Christ is to unbelievers. Compare Luke 20:
17, 18. Both passages are quoted in 1 Peter
2: 6, seq.) The 'offence,' is properly the trap-
stick which holds the bait, and which, when
touched, springs the trap: hence a snare laid
for an enemy, and, with a moral reference,
any cause of falling. The 'every one' (ira«)
is omitted from the Revision text, but all
manuscripts give it in 10 : 11. The preposi-
tion («jri) with 'believe' denotes reliance on.
See notes on 3: 25. The Hebrew for 'shall
be ashamed' is to 'flee away,' as in terror.
Paul here follows the Seventy.]

This last section (ver. 20-33) teaches us that
the attempt, through a false theory, to make
ourselves righteous in a way of our own, may
be a greater hindrance to our salvation, than
open wickedness and vice ; and herein it
agrees with our Lord's saying in Matt. 21 : 31.

1 " Paul would have agreed better with himself if he j only the " moral self-determii.ation and spontaneity "
had been a pupil of Aristotle instead of Gamaliel." | of man, a creature in a universe created and governed
(Fritzsche.) But truth demanded the presentation of by the eternal. Almighty, and Omniscient One, who
both views, whether he could reconcile them or not. could have held that to be a correct representation ?
Had he merely presented one side and brought to view I — (F.)

Ch. X.]

ROMANS.

239

CHAPTER X.

BRETHREN, my heart's desire and prayer to God for
Israel is, that they might be saved.
2 For I bear iheiu record that they have a teal of
God, but not according to knowledge.

1 Brethren, my heart's > desire and my supplicatioc

2 to God ii for them, that tbev may be saved. For I
bear them witness that they nave a ceal fur God, but

1 Or. f »e<l pUantr*.

Ch. 10 : f* Israel's Guilt" (Olshausen), or,
more fully : The rejection of the Jews is owing
to their unbelief.]

The subject introduced in the last four verses
of the preceding chapter — namely, the failure
of the Jews to attain to righteousness, and the
reason of that failure, is continued in this
chapter, after the apostle has expressed his
earnest desire for their salvation, and his
appreciation of their religious zeal, as he had
previously expressed his appreciation of their
distinguished privileges. (»: «. 5.)

1. Brethren. This word might be regarded
as addressed, in a national sense, to the unbe-
lieving Jews, and so regarded, it would agree
with many precedents in the use of the word

by Paul (Acts 13: 26, 38; 22: i; 23: 1,6; 28: 17; Rom. 9: S),

and would be an example of his kind feelings
toward them ; but in this connection, as a
direct address, it is more suitably referred to
those Christian readers to whom the Epistle is
addressed. Still, its occurrence here, where
it is not called for to complete the sense, is
naturally explained by the strong emotion
which the subject referred to always excited
in the mind of the apostle, and of which we
have a signal example in the beginning of the
previous chapter. The word translated desire
is an emphatic word, expressive of earnest,
benevolent desire, and is usually translated
"good will," or "good pleasure." (LakeJ: u;

Bpb. 1: S, »; Phil. 1: IS; 2: 13; 2 Theai. 1: II. )1 [And

prayer to God— literally. And the prayer to
Ood. The article before prayer is equivalent
to the personal pronoun my. The word for
prayer («<>)<ri«) has the force of entreaty arising
from a sense of want. Like our petition, it
may be addressed to men, while the more
usual word for prayer (irp^<rcvxij) has a sacred
character, and "is always prayer to God."
(Trench.)] For Israel. For them seems
to be the true reading. The persons referred
to bad been so recently mentioned, and were
so prominent in the apostle's mind, that the

pronoun was sufficiently plain. That they
might be saved— literally, /or salvation, the
pronoun "their" being understood. [The
apostle obviously felt the salvation of men to
be an infinitely important matter, or he
would not have sought for it with that inten-
sity of desire, amounting even to an unceasing
anguish of heart, which led him, to whom
Christ was more than all the universe besides,
to wish that he might be "anathema" from
his Saviour, provided this could but secure
their salvation. But we somewhat demur at
Bengel's observation that "Paul would' not
thus have prayed bad they been absolutely
reprobated." For Paul has reference here to
whole peoples, and has nothing to do with
the fate of particular individuals. The repro-
bation of these does not argue the rejection
of the nation. Besides, as Dr. Shedd remarks :
"The Christian, in his ignorance of the divine
purpose, must pray for all, in order to pray
for any." Must we not think the apostle's
interest in the spiritual welfare of the Jews
was something wonderful and Christ-like,
considering all the trouble and harm he had
experienced from their opposition, their plots,
and their lying in wait?]

2. For introduces the reason why he thus
sympathizes with their efforts, though misdi-
rected. They have a zeal of God. In
such connections as this, 'of is used where
we should say /or, as "zealous of the law"
(Aoti2i: 20), "zealous of the traditions of my
fathers" (o»i.i:u), "the zeal of thine house"
(John 2: n). The Jews, as a people, were zeal-
ous religionists, but not according to
knowledge. They had zeal enough, if it
had been rightly informed and directed, to
secure their salvation. [Their zeal was not
such as results from full knowledge. " When
Paul says, 'I bear them witness.' he seems to
be alluding to his conduct of other days, and
to say: I knowsomethingof it— of thatzeal! "
(Godet) This, their zeal for God and bis

'The M*", untranslated, has no corresponding 8i I heart's good will, etc., is for one thing, while they have
(but), yet this is virtually contained in ver. 3. My ' been seeking anotner.-(F.)

240

ROMANS.

[Ch. X.

3 For thev, being ignorant of God's righteousness,
and going about to establish their own righteousness,
have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness
of God.

4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness
to every one that believeth.

3 not according to knowledge. For being ignorant of
God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their
own, they did not subject themselves to the right-

4 eousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law
unto righteousness to every one that believeth.

law, is amply witnessed by Philo and Jo-
sephus. See Tholuck's "Commentary." So
our Saviour, in Matt. 23 : 15, speaks of their
zeal in making proselytes. The Pharisees
were the orthodox Jews of their day, and had
a reputation for pre-eminent sanctity. And
probably no word our Lord ever spoke was
so astounding as that utterance of his in
Matt. 5: 20: "Except your righteousness
shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes
and Pharisees 1 " Flacius, as quoted in Bengel,
says: "The Jews had, and have, a zeal with-
out knowledge; we, on the contrary, alas!
have knowledge without zeal."*] Religious
indifference is always inexcusable, but relig-
ious zeal, when ill-informed and misdirected,
may be just as disastrous in its results, so false
and dangerous is the maxim that "it matters
little what a man's belief is, if he is only sin-
cere." The apostle immediately proceeds to
point out what their mistake was ; and it was
no uncommon one.

3. [For they being ignorant. ' For '
shows their lack of clear apprehension. Al-
ford's rendering, not recognizing, implies that
they were not absolutely lacking of informa-
tion.] The expressions God's righteous-
ness and 'the righteousness of God' mean
God's way of making sinful men righteous, and
accepting them as such according to the fuller
explanation of this term given in the notes on
1: 17. [So Winer: "The righteousness of
God denotes righteousness which God imparts;
compare Phil. 3: 9, ' The righteousness from
God.'"] Going about. This is an old En-
glish expression which means, simply, "seek-
ing," or "endeavoring." The Greek verb,
which means to seek, is repeatedly translated

as above. (John 7 : 19, 20; Acta 21 : 31.) Their OAVH

righteousness. A righteousness devised
and wrought by themselves, the fruit of their
own works. Compare Phil. 3 : 9. Have not
submitted themselves unto the right-
eousness of God. This 'righteousness of
God ' is not only something offered to us as a
free gift, but also something required of us as
a divine obligation. Not to submit to it, not

to comply with God's ordinance, by a personal
and practical acceptance of it, which always
involves the discarding of our own righteous-
ness, is not only an inexcusable mistake, but
a fatal sin. [The Greek means, "Did not sub-
mit, or subject, themselves." Alford, however,
renders it, "were not subjected." It is used
in the same sense in 8 : 20. To submit to
God's righteousness supposes some self-denial
on the part of those who would set up their
own righteousness, some humbling of natural
pride and feeling of self-sufficiency ; supposes,
consequently, a deep sense of one's need, ill
desert, and lost condition. But to receive
Christ, the end of the law for righteousness, is
the only way in which the righteous require-
ment of the law can be fulfilled in us. Yet
thousands on thousands of zealous religionists
are at this very moment seeking, making it,
as it were, their occupation to establish their
own righteousness, which is but self-right-
eousness, and altogether imperfect; and, as a
ground of justification, utterly worthless in
the sight of God. Paul shows us here, and
throughout this chapter, that the casting away
of the Jews was owing to their own fault, their
unbelief. They did not submit to the right-
eousness of God ; they did not obey the gospel
(ver. k) ; they thrust from themselves the word
of God, and judged themselves unworthy of
eternal life. Having done this, they are
given up of God to hardness of heart. But
the next chapter shows us that the casting
away, or rejection, of the Jewish people was
to be but temporary, while, at the same time,
God would overrule it to a blessed result, the
opening of the door of faith to the Gentiles.]
4. Christ is the end of the law — is the
object at which the law aimed. The law, if
obeyed, would result in our becoming right-
eous before God, enjoying his favor, and
securing eternal happiness. This is its end
and aim. But having been once disobeyed,
it becomes forever incapable of bringing us
to this end. But Christ comes in and infalli-
bly secures these results for all who believe in
him. He is, therefore, to all such, 'the end

^ The word {^Aov is a media vox, a word used in both a good and a bad sense. Compare 13 : 13. — (F.)

CH.X.]

ROMANS.

241

5 For Moses describeth the rigbteousuesa which is
of the law, That the man which doelh (hose things
shall live by them.

6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh

6 For Moses writeth that the man that doeth the

righteousness which is of the law shall lire thereby.

6 But the righteousness which is of faith saith thus,

of the law for righteousness.' The proof of
this immediately follows. ["The righteous-
ness at which the law aims is accomplished
in Christ." (Farrar.) This interpretation,
favored by Alford and Stuart, certainly seems
the most natural, and accords with the use
of the word in "the end of the command-
ment," in 1 Tim. 1 : 5. Yet most modern
interpreters use this word in the sense of end-
ing, or termination. The validity of the law
has come to an end in Christ as it respects
righteousness. For righteousness — either
for the securing of righteousness, or, more
generally, as it relates to righteousness.]

5. For Moses describeth, etc. See Lev.
18: 5. Paul could quote no higher human
authority as to the true end of the law than
that of Moses, through whom the law was
given. [The 'for' introduces the proof of the
impossibility of securing eternal life by one's
own righteousness, or the righteousness of the
law. The Greek text literally reads thus:
" Moses writeth (concerning) the righteousness
of the law " (compare John 1 : 45) — literally,
" Concerning whom Moses wrote," etc. That
the man which doeth those things shall
live by them. The Revisers' text (that the
man who has done the righteousness which is
of the law) adopts a diflFerent collocation of
the words, and, instead of ' by (in) them,' has
'in it,' or ' thereby,' referring to righteousness.
These words are again quoted in part in Gal.
8 : 12, "The man that doeth them shall live
in them." As Paul was unacquainted with
the results of modern Biblical (destructive)
criticism, he must be excused for ascribing to
Moses the authorship of Leviticus.] 'The
man whicli doeth those things' — tliat is, who
obeys those "statutes" and "judgments"
mentioned in the same verse in Leviticus —
•shall live by them,' shall obtain the true
life, the favor of God, and eternal happiness.
This shows what is meant by ' the end of the
law.' The man who obeys it, universally,
perfectly, constantly, shall be saved, or, rather,
shall be safe. But there is no such man (ecci.
T: JO), and the man who comes short of this,
in any particular, is justly condemned. (o»i.

S; 10.)

This fifth verse describes the nature of the
righteousness of the law ; the next four verses
contrast with this the righteousness of faith,
the sixth and seventh negatively, and the
eighth and ninth positively.

6, 7. [Bat the righteousness which is
of faith. Dr. Hodge defines this righteous-
ness as that which is received by faith. He
maintains that "the righteousness which con-
sists in faith or which flows from faith is our
own righteousnefts." But this is not necessa-
rily the case, and in the apostle's teaching, as
wehaveseen, faith is counted as righteousness.]
Speaketh on this wise. The quotation is
from Deut. 30: 11, 12, with a running com-
mentary by the apostle, adapting it to the
facts of the Christian Dispensation. [In the
passage quoted, Moses primarily is speaking of
the commandment, or law, of God, and it is
not asserted that he is describing the right-
eousness of faith. But Paul, personifying
this righteousness, puts the words of Moses
into its mouth as being more appropriately
uttered by it than by the law. And, as Godet
remarks, "There was a piquancy in thus
replying to Moses by Moses, and in showing
that what the lawgiver had written was still
more true of the gospel than of the law."
Paul evidently here clothes his thought in
Old Testament phraseology, which originally
had reference to another subject, altering such
phraseology and adapting it to the subject in
hand. Observe, in proof of this, his frequent
'that is.' A notable instance of such appro-
priation and adaptation may be seen in ver.
18. The apostle does not say or imply that
the original passage had "a fundamental
Messianic reference" (Philippi)or that Moses
uttered these words as a typical prophetic
description of the righteousness of faith. Yet
he might well regard thc.«e words as specially
applicable to faith in him who is the end of
the law, and to the commandment to believe
in him. (Alford.)] The language of the
righteousness of faith does not make salvation
to depend upon our perfect compliance with
a set of rules, many and various, through our
whole lives ; but its conditions are simple and
few. We are not required to begin at the

242

ROMANS.

[Ch. X.

on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend
into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down/rom above:)

7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to
bring up Christ again from the dead.)

8 But what saitn it? The word is nigh thee, even in
thy mouth, and in thy heart : that if, the word of faith,
which we preach ;

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord

Say not in thy heart. Who shall ascend into heaven ?

7 (that is, to bring Christ down :) or, Who shall de-
scend into the abyss? (that is, to bring Christ up

8 from the dead.) But what saith it ? The word is
nigh thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is,

9 the word of faith, which we preach : i because if
thou shalt ^ confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord,

1 Or, tkat 2 Some ancient autboritiea read con/eu tke tmrd with thy mouth, that Jtnu \a Lord.

beginning — to go up to heaven in search of a
Saviour, to beg him to come down and help
us; nor to begin in the middle — to go down
to the grave, and induce him to finish his
begun work, by rising from the dead ; but the
work is all wrought out for us, "ordered in
all things and sure" (2Sam, 23:5), a complete
and finished salvation, waiting only for the
act of faith on our part to make it effectual.
Unasked and unsought, a Saviour has come
down from heaven, died for our sins, risen for
our justification, ascended to heaven, where he
ever lives to intercede for us. Now follows
the positive part of this blessed contrast to
the righteousness of the law. [We need not,
as some have done, regard the question Who
shall ascend into heaven? as the inquiry
of unbelief, as if the incarnation of Christ
had not taken place and was an impossi-
bility. Paul would simply affirm that
we need do no great or impossible thing,
that a salvation is already provided and
brought home to each individual, and that
there is no need of waiting; a Saviour has
come, has died, has arisen. Nor need we sup-
pose that the query has reference to a doubt
whether Christ is now seated at the right
hand of God in heaven. For this view would
ill harmonize with the question which follows,
if interpreted on the same principle, who
shall descend into the deep? The con-
fession of ver. 9 in regard to the resurrection
shows that no doubt is here expressed as to
the fact of Christ's death or of his descent to
hades. This last query in the original Hebrew
and in the Septuagint reads thus: ' Who will
go over the sea for us,' but Paul changed
' beyond the sea' into ' the deep,' in order to
secure a more direct contrast to heaven, and
to denote the place of the dead, whither Christ
descended and whence he rose.]
8, 9. Bat what saith it? It saith : The

word is nigh' thee, etc. Moses saw the true
righteousness, not as a distant and difficult
thing, far off in heaven, or in the abyss, or
across the sea, but as a thing that was near
and simple. And the prophets had many
glimpses of it as something far simpler, and,
at the same time, far more radical than ritual
observances: witness Isa. 1: 11-20; 58: 3-9,
and notably the words in which Micah records
the answer of Balaam to the questions of
Balak, King of Moab. (6:5-8.) "If you
should not wish to cross your threshold," says
Chrysostom, "you have it in your power to
be saved while sitting at home; for the means
of salvation are in thy mouth and in thy
heart" — in thy mouth to confess, and in thy
heart to believe. [To the words, 'in thy
mouth and in thy heart,' the Septuagint adds :
'and in thy hands.' " In these words, Moses
had in a sense, without suspecting it, given the
exact formula of the righteousness of faith."
(Godet. ) In this representation by the apos-
tle we have, according to Philippi, "a holy
and charming play of God's Spirit on the
words of the Lord." The word of faith—
the word which "forms the substratum and
object of faith" (Alford), or the word con-
cerning faith (Noyes), or, which points to
faith. (Boise.) This word of faith which
we (Christian ministers, or I, Paul,) pro-
claim may be regarded as the " word of God,"
or, as in the Kevision text, the word of Christ.'\
If thon shalt confess " with (literally, in)
thy month the Lord Jesus. [The Kevised
Version margin gives here a slightly different
reading, which Westcott and Hort have in-
serted in their text. The first word of the
verse (Sri) if rendered 'that,' would indicate
that this verse forms the substance of what is
preached; if rendered 'for' or 'because'
(Meyer, Philippi), it shows that this verse
was intended to justify the application of

1 The word «yyvs (nigh), properly an adverb, is here
used, like some other adverbs, as a preposition, followed
by <rov (thee), what we may call the genitive of place ;
compare 13 : 11.— (F.)

2 The aorist subjunctive, ' if thou shouldst confess,'
is, in conditional sentences, nearly equivalent to the
future.— (F.)

Ch. X.]

ROMANS.

243

Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart niau believeih unto righteous-
ness; and with the mouth confession is mt^e unto
salvation.

11 For the Scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on
him shall not be ashamed.

12 For there is no difference between the Jew and

and shalt believe in thy heart that God raised him

10 frnm the dead, thou shalt be saved: for with ihe
heart man believeth unto rl);hteousneiu ; and with

11 tbe mouth confession i.i made unto salvation. For
the scripturu saith. Whosoever bt^lieveth on him

12 shall not be put to shame. For there is no distinc-
tion between Jew and Greek : for tbe same Lord is

the Mosaic declaration to the preaching
of faith.] Confession of Christ as Lord
with the mouth will, if sincere, infallibly
be accompanied by the other required forms
of confession ; and so this specific form of
confession stands here as an appropriate rep-
resentative of the outward and practical con-
fession of Christ in general, according to 1
Cor. 12:3; and such confession is a condition
of salvation, according to our Lord's own
words. (M»tt. 10:32, *to.) So, also, a hearty be-
lief of the resurrection of Christ is suitably
put for all that it implies — bis atoning death

(l Cor. 15:17, 18), his divinO Sonship (Bom. 1:4; 1

John 4: 15), and, in general, the truth of all his
teachings, his works, and his claims, for his
resurrection is the divine seal and attestation
of all these. "The heart requires the help of
the mouth," says Theophylact," for then faith
shows forth and many are benefited; but the
mouth also needs the heart, for many confess
Christ in hypocrisy." [No one but he who
has felt himself to be a lost sinner, and has
thus felt the need of an Almighty Saviour,
can truly confess Jesus as Lord, for "no man
can say, Jesus is Lord but in the Holy Spirit."
(i Cor. 12:3.) In the writings of the apostles,
the term Lord generally "serves to charac-
terize either his pre-mundane or post-mun-
dane existence, and therefore points him out
either as Son of God or the exalted Son of
man." (Philippi.)] Confession with the
mouth is here mentioned before belief in the
heart, agreeably to the ordinary method in
common conversation, and in Scripture, of
putting in the foreground what is outward
and phenomenal, and afterward what is ab-
stract and inward, though logically precedent.

(John 3 : 5; 1 Peur 1 : i; 2 Peter 1 : 10.) But this VPry

common and popular order of speaking gives
place to the logical order in the next verse.
[Perhaps, also, the mouth confession was men-
tioned first to correspond with the position of
' mouth ' in the Mosaic dictum of ver. 8. This
rhetorical order of the words mouth, heart,
has been frequently adduced to illustrate the
meaning of the phraee " born of water and the

Spirit." There is a sense, however, in which
mouth comes beford heart, but there is no
sense in which water (regarded as the water
of baptism) precedes the birth from the Spirit.
Thou shalt be saved. The result of such
confessing faith corresponds with 'shall live'
of ver. 6.]

10. [For is confirmatory of the preceding
statement. Believeth unto righteousness.
To believe unto righteousness is a believing
which obtains righteousness, and to this faith
of the heart must be added the confession
of the mouth, in order to a full salvation.]
There is here a change of construction in the
English of the two clauses, but in the Greek
both verbs are impersonal, and a verj' literal
translation would be: "For with the heart it
is believed unto righteousness, and with the
mouth it is confessed unto salvation; " or, less
literally, but more in conformity with English
idiom: "With the heart faith is exercised
unto righteousness, and with the mouth con-
fession is made unto salvation." The con-
fession of Christ is indispensable, for without
it the evidence of justifying faith in the heart
is incomplete. This is confirmed by another
Scriptural citation.

11. The Scripture saith. This passage—
from Isaiah 28 : 16, quoted also before at 9 : 88
— closely accords with the Septuagint Version.
The Hebrew reads : " He that believeth shall
not make haste." The meaning is the same —
"shall have no cause of shame, or fear, or
flight." [The apostle adds "every one" (»«),
"a monosyllable more precious than the whole
world" (Bengel), which is found neither in
the Hebrew nor the Septuagint; but this form
is found in Joel 2:3 (»&), and is quoted in
ver. 13. The idea of universality is conveyed
by the indefinite participle. On this Hebra-
istic idiom, every one, connected with a nega-
tived verb, see 3 : 20.]

12. 13. There is no difference— as to
faith being the condition of righteousness or
justification— between the Jew and the
Greek. There is no distinction between Jew
and Gentile as to the way of justification.

244

ROMANS.

[Ch. X.

the Greek : for the same Lord over all is rich unto all
that call upon bim.

13 For whosever shall call upon the name of the
Lord shall be saved.

Lord of all, and is rich unto all that call upon him :

13 for, Whosoever shall call upou the name of the

14 Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on

For the same Lord over all is rich, etc.
[This clause may be rendered : For the same
ia Lord of (or, over) all (men), being rich unto
all, etc. Meyer gives it: "The Lord of all is
one and the same." Alford prefers the usual
rendering. Compare 1 Cor. 12 : 5, 6. Mark
how often Paul here uses the confirmatory
'for' — five times in ver. 10-13.] This 'Lord
over all ' is the Lord Jesus Christ, as the con-
text, both preceding (ver. 9) and following (ver.
14. 15), very plainly shows. [So Tholuck, Kiick-
ert, De Wette, Philippi, Fritzsche, Hofmann,
and others.] But the Lord mentioned by the
prophet Joel (2:32) is Jehovah (that is the
word in the Hebrew). Thus it appears that
Jesus Christ is "Lord over all" (compare
Acts 10 : 36) [and " God over all ; " see 9 : 5],
and is identified with the Jehovah of the Old
Testament. ["Jehovah, but used here of
Christ beyond a doubt, as the next verse
show.s. There is hardly a stronger proof, or
one more irrefragable by those who deny the
Godhead of our blessed Lord, of the unhesi-
tating application to him by the apostle of the
name and attributes of Jehovah." (Alford.)
For other examples where Jehovah and the
Lord Christ are convertible terms, see next
verse as compared with Joel 3:5; 14 : 10, 11,
with Isa. 45:23 (compare 2 Cor. 5:10; Phil.
2 : 11) ; 1 Cor. 10 : 4, 9, with Exod. 17 : 2, 7 ;
Eph. 4 : 8, with Ps. 68 : 18, etc. On the use of
' Lord ' (icvpios) in the New Testament, Prof.
Stuart, in "Biblical Kepository," 1831, p. 770,
states, as the result of his investigation, "that
in nearly all (about two hundred and forty)
of the two hundred and forty-six instances in
which Lord (icupc'o?) is used by Paul to desig-
nate Christ or God, independently of quota-
tions from the Old Testament, it is applied to
Christ." (The Epistle to the Hebrews is here
included among Paul's writings.) See also
notes on Acts 7 : 59. Some men even now,
with Origen of olden time, hesitate to address
our Saviour, ' Lord over all,' in prayer; but
once his disciples were known as "callers on
the name of Christ," and this, too, before the
name "Christians" was given them. See ex-
amples quoted under 9:5, to which many
others might be added. Meyer says: "The

calling upon Christ is not the worshiping
absolutely." But this idea, as Philippi says,
using one of Meyer's phrases, is "arbitrarily
imported." Has Jehovah revoked his own
word and given his glory to another? Or
did these saints forget the divine command :
"Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God and
him only shalt thou serve?" How true is
the saying of Athanasius, that "we need a
Kedeemer who is our Lord by nature, in order
that we may not by redemption again become
the slaves of an idol."] The Lord is rich
unto all that call upon him. The Jew
need not grudge the Gentile his share in the
riches: there is enough for all. ["'Kich'
and liberal, whom no multitude of believers,
however great, can exhaust, who never is
compelled to retrench." (Bengel.) Who-
soever shall call. Literally : For every one
whosoever may or shall call, etc. Name of
the Lord represents what is revealed respect-
ing the character and office work of our Sa-
viour. See Hackett's "Acts," 2:38. Mark
how all-embracing is the offer and possibility
of salvation !]

In the remaining part of this chapter the
apostle shows that the rejection of the Jews
was their own fault, the consequence of their
inexcusable unbelief [for "Israel hath not
wanted preachers of this doctrine of salva-
tion." (Tholuck.)]

14, 15. These two verses are introductory
to what follows, to the end of the chapter.
They point out what preceding conditions are
indispensable to that saving invocation of the
name of the Lord spoken of in ver. 13, in-
dispensable alike to Jews and Gentiles, and so
they form a suitable connection between the
verses that precede and those that follow.
[Even if, as some suppose, these are the words
of a Jewish objector, excusing his people by
alleging that the gospel had not been preached
to them, even from this point of view these
verses are to be regarded as setting forth
essential truths. "No invocation without
faith, no faith without hearing, no hearing
without preaching, no preaching without
sending." (Godet. ) It seems to be an una-
voidable inference from these verses, and

Ch. X.]

ROMANS.

24o

14 How then shall they call on him in whom they I him in whom they have not bel'eTed? and bowkbali
have not believed? and how shall tbey believe in bim tber believe in him whom they have not beard'
of whom tbey have not beard? and how shall tbey US and how shall th«y bear without a oreacher? and
bear without a preacher 7 | - i».v«»aKw ■ •««

others immediately preceding (»•>»), that there
is no salvation for the heathen apart from
their hearing and believing in the gospel.
The teaching of our Epistle, indeed, supposes
that the heathen, even in the absence of the
gospel, have a probation in this life, they being
a law unto themselves. And Peter goes so far
as to say (aou 10:35) that "in every nation ho
that feareth God and worketh righteousness
is acceptable to him." Yet this same apostle,
in ver. 43 of the same chapter, plainly implies
that this supposed righteous Gentile must be-
lieve in Christ, in order to receive remission
of sins. If any heathen should fully and
always obey the inner, unwritten law, he
would be saved, we may trust, on the ground
of his merits who died for all. If they fail —
a8,we suppose, all do — to live up to the measure
of light and knowledge which they possess or
could have gained, they will doubtless suffer
"stripes," whether "few" or "many" we
leave to the Judge of all the earth, who will
do right. We believe there are different de-
grees of happiness even in the heavenly state,
and there may be as many degrees of unhap-
piness or misery in the world of the lost as
there are in this world of sin and suffering.
One thing is certain, that the Scriptures are
silent as the grave touching any second or
future probation for mankind between death
and the judgment.' On the contrary, they
almost everywhere express or imply the very
contrary of this. And to my mind the great

1 This assertion as a general proposition will bold
strictly true, even though it be conceded that, as a
wholly exceptional instance, Christ did in his disem-
bodied state go to " Hades " (the invisible world), and
did there make proclamation of some kind to the im-
prisoned spirits of those who in the time of Noah were
disobedient. (1 Peter 3: 19.) There are those who think
that Peter's statement to this effect is plain and unde-
niable, but the passage, standing confessedly alone in
the Scriptures, must at least be deemed too unique and
uncertain to warrant the general inference which some
would derive from it. No one can tell how or why these
particular persons were singled out in Hades and
preached to exclusively, or what this preaching or
proclamation was, or what was its effect. Besides, it is
maintained by some of our best Greek scholars that the
aorist participle (disobedient), without the article, marks
the date or occasion of the preaching, thus showing

change of death supposes an equally great
change in the relation which we, as account-
able beings, sustain to God. Thus no warrant
from Scripture or reason, or from our knowl-
edge of heathenism in any age or country,
will justify us in hoping that for many of the
unevangelized heathen there will be a full
salvation. Still, if God sees in any heathen
the controlling power of a right faith and
spirit, I know not why the redemption of
Christ may not be as available for him as for
those of like faith and spirit who lived before
his coming.] How then (since calling on
the name of the Lord is the means of salva-
tion) shall they (or, can they) call on him
[avToi', him, understood] in whom they have
not believed? Belief must precede invoca-
tion. [If we believe in Christ as our Lord
and Saviour, we cannot but invoke him in
prayer, for no one can be a Saviour of sinners
whom we cannot call upon to save. Even
when we ask anything in his name, we are
graciously assured from his own lips that he
will do it. (John li: is. u.)] And how shall
they (or, can they) believe in him of whom
they have not heard? Hearing must pre-
cede belief. [In these sentences, the Greek
particle might be rendered but instead of nmf.
The Revised Version omits of before whom,
and rightly so, if Christ may be regarded as
speaking through his preachers.*] And how
shall they (or, can they) hear without a
preacher? A message must be proclaimed

that this proclamation was made to them when onoe
they were disobedient upon the earth. See Dr. Hovey's
" Biblical Eschatology," p. 99; also Dr. N. M. Williams'
" Commentary on Peter." Evidently the spirits of men
who were once so " disobedient " that the mercy of God
could not suffer them to live, and whom he subsequently
confined " in prison " for punishment, are not the kind
for whose benefit the speculations of some theologians
would provide a future probation. Our Saviour's own
words, for certain, give no warrant for the belief that
he descended into any Hades ;>ruon, but rather that he
returned unto the Father who sent him — that he went
to " Paradise." And the Scriptures, in general, plainly
teach us that " aAer death " cometb, not probation, but
' judgment."— (F.)

* On the use of the genitive and accusative (see Eph.
4:21) after the verb to hear, see Winer, p. 179; Butt-
mann, 166.— (F.)

246

ROMANS.

[Ch. X.

15 Aud how shall Ihey preach, except they be Rent?
as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that
preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of
good things!

16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For
Esaias saitb, Lord, who hath believed our report?

bow shall they preach, except they be sent? even as
it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them
that bring iglaU tidings of good things!

But they did not all hearken to the ^glad tidings.
For Isaiah said. Lord, who hath believed our re-

1 Or, a gotpel 2 Or, gotpel.

in order to be heard. ["The gospel does not
fall like rain from the clouds, but is brought
by the hands of men wherever it is sent from
above." (Calvin.) The word which is to be
proclaimed is Christ's (ver. n, Revised version), and
its preachers are sent by him.*] And how
shall they preach, except they be sent?
A message necessarily implies a messenger.
If, then, God has ordained that men should
be saved by believing on Christ, he must have
intended that Christ should be made known
to them as a Saviour; if he has ordained the
end, he must have ordained the means. Two
practical observations are in place here. The
first is — that the confession of Christ (ver. 9, lo)
and the calling upon his name (ti r. 12, 13) must
be a sincere, heart-prompted confession and
calling, and not a merely lip-service; this is
implied, of course, in all cases where the Scrip-
tures make saving results to depend upon any
such oral utterance or outward act. The sec-
ond observation is — that though the questions
in these two verses are applied, in the verses
that follow, as the apostle's argument here
requires, particularly to the Jews, they form,
by legitimate generalization, a valid and
forcible argument, at all times, for sending
preachers of the gospel to the heathen, and to
all who are in ignorance or in error. As it is
written, How beautiful are the feet, etc.
— that is, how welcome and pleasant is the
coming of those who bring glad tidings ! This
quotation is from Isa. 52 : 7 [and follows the
Hebrew rather than the Septuagint. The
latter, in fact, wholly mistakes the meaning,
and renders: "I am present as an hour (of
bloom or beauty) upon the mountains." On
'beautiful' (upalot, from a>pa, hour). Trench
remarks that every living thing has its hour
or period of grace and beauty when it is love-
liest and best; hence this adjective came first
to mean timely and then beautiful. The
apostle omits "upon the mountains" as not
appropriate to his purpose. Modern Greek.

it is said, retains this same figure of speech,
and the wish that one may be well-footed is
that he may be the bearer of good news]. The
expression borrows its form, probably, from
the case of the messengers who came to Zion
across the intervening mountains, announcing
the speedy return of the captives from Baby-
lon. But the words had from the beginning
a reference to the glad tidings of the Messianic
salvation, as the connection in which the
prophet Isaiah introduces them plainly shows,
and as even the Rabbinical interpreters per-
ceived ; so that it is in their real sense, and
not merely in the way of accommodation, that
the apostle here quotes them. Preach the
gospel of peace. This clause is omitted by
Lachmann and Tischendorf [also by Westcott
and Hort], as not being found in the best
manuscripts of the New Testament, though
undoubtedly genuine in Isaiah. The only
doubt is, whether Paul quoted so fully from
Isaiah's prophecy. [Meyer, De Wette, Phil-
ippi, Godet, regard the omission as an error
of the copyists.]

16. But [though the glad tidings were thus,
supposedly, proclaimed] they have not all
obeyed the gospel — better, they did not
hearken to the good news. This is what the
apostle affirms in regard to the Jews in the
time of Isaiah, in respect to the good news of
the Messiah to come ; and what he hints, and
might truly affirm, in regard to the Jews in
his own time, in respect to the good news of
the Messiah already come. In both cases,
but especially in the last, he might have truly
said that nearly all, or the great majority dis-
believed ; but he contents himself with saying,
in effect, not all believed, thus courteously
softening an unwelcome truth, instead of
pressing it to its utmost extent. In fact, the
language which he quotes from Isa. 63: 1,
implies that there were but few who believed
the prophet's report of the good news. [Per-
haps the 'all' spoken of here contains some

1 On the frequent use of x"^'* (apart from, without) in the New Testament, and its distinction from •Si'*",
see Ellicott on Eph. 2 : 12.— (F.)

Ch. X.]

ROMANS.

24'

17 So then faith conwAh by hearing, and bearing by
the word of God.

18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily,
their sound went into all the earth, and their words
unto the ends of the world.

17 port? So belief romelh of hearing, and hearing bv

18 the word of Christ. Hut I say, bid tbey not hear'r
Yea. verily,

Iheir sound went out into all the earth,
And their words unto the ends of > the world.

1 Or. CJk« intuMud tartfe.

allusion to what the 'all' should have done
according to ver. 11-13. (De Wette.) The
word Lord is found in the LXX, but not in
the Hebrew.']

17. This verse is a conclusion from the pre-
ceding, confirming also what was said in ver.
14, 15. The word translated 'hearing' (mo^)
is the same which in the preceding verse is
translated 'report.' It means in both cases,
" that which is heard " ; and when an inspired
prophet or apostle is the speaker, that which
is heard is the " word of God," agreeably to 1
Thess. 2: 13. [The text of Tischendorf (8).
Westcottand Hort, and of the Revisers, reads,
"the word of Christ." Mr. Beet, in order to
preserve the spirit of the original, gives this
rendering: " Who has believed what we have
heard? Therefore, faith comes from some-
thing heard, and that which is heard comes
through the word of Christ." The following,
perhaps, gives the meaning quite as well :
Who hath believed our preaching? Accord-
ingly, faith (belief) comes from preaching,
and preaching comes through the word of
Christ; in other words, the proclaimed mes-
sage is given by command of Christ (Meyer),
or, more probably, is contained in the word
of Christ. (Cremer.)]

18. Surely the Jews cannot excuse their
unbelief on the ground that they have not
heard the gospel, for it has been preached
without any restriction to both Jews and
Gentiles, and, in fact, so widely, that the
voice of the preachers may well be said,
according to the Psalmist's description of the
silent testimony of God's works, to have
"gone forth into all the earth," * etc. This

seems, at first view, a bold hyperbole; but it
is hardly more than what is elsewhere said
in more literal language. See Col. 1 : 6, 23.
The restricted national dispensation had given
place to the proclamation of a universal gospel
for all nations, the boundaries of Judaism had
been overleaped, the Saviour of the world
had issued his proclamation to every creature
(Mark 16: 15), in all nations (miu-m: i»), and his
obedient servants had begun the work of
preaching the word everywhere (aous: 4; R«a.
15: 19), and that universal work so well be-
gun, and, indeed, already so far advanced,
is to go on without cessation until all
the ends of the world shall remember and
turn to the Lord. (••. m:»7.) [Yet, no one,
we think, can suppose that by the words,
"their sound" (or line) the Psalmist meant
the sound of the gospel from the lips of its
preachers. Paul here "simply uses Scrip-
tural language to express his own ideas, as is
done involuntarily almost by every preacher
in every sermon." (Hodge.) Al ford, however,
does not see here any mere accommodation of
language, but thinks that as the psalm is
"a comparison of the sun and glory of the
heavens with the word of God," so Paul took
this text in its context, and followed up the
comparison of the psalm.]

19. Nor can the Jew excuse himself on the
ground that the nation was taken by surprise,
without any previous intimation of God's
purpose to give the Messianic salvation to the
Gentiles; for both Moses and Isaiah bad dis-
tinctly declared this, and the latter had pre-
dicted the unbelief and disobedience of the
people of Israel, and the Lord's reproval of

I The student will notice that the first verb and the
last noun of this verse are both derived from o«ov«»,
to hear.— (F.)

sOf the two negatives in the clause, 'did they not
hear,' the latter, oii<c, according to Winer, belongs to
the verb of the sentence, and the former alone is inter-
rogatory, as, did they fail to hear ? The answer would
then be: nay rather, assuredly not. In this case, the
answer would negative the not hearing, as the answer
in ver. 19 would negative the not knowing. Winer

remarks that in interrogative sentences with my.
" the speaker always has his eye on a negative answer."
Buttmann, however (p. 248), supposes the negatives of
our text require, like the Latin nonnr, an affirmative
answer. The statement of Winer's is probably correct.
Yet, according to our idiom, or usage, the proper, or, at
least, the natural answer to this query, did they not
hear? would be (if we borrow the corrective idea of
MCfovry*), " Yes, they did hear ; and more than this
wa3 true in regard to this matter."— <F.)

248

ROMANS.

[Ch. X.

19 But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses
saitb, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are
no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.

2u But Esaias is very bold, and saitb, I was found of
them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto
them that asked not after me.

21 But to Israel he saith, All day long I have
stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gain-
saying people.

19 But I sav, Did Israel not know ? First Moses saith,

I will provoke you to jealousy with that which

is no nation.
With a nation void of understanding will I

anger you.

20 And Isaiah is very bold, and saith,

I was found of them that sought me not '
I became manifest unto them that asked not of
me.

21 But as to Israel he saith. All the day long did I
spread out my hands unto a disobedient and gain-
saying people.

them for it. Did not Israel know? » [The
emphasis on the word ' Israel' (in the Revised
Text) indicates not a little surprise at their
supposed ignorance. Meyer finds in this
query "a further possible exculpation for the
Jews."] First Moses saith. Moses was
the first to say this, so early were they dis-
tinctly apprised of God's purpose. I will
provoke you to jealousy by them that are
no people, (oeut. 32: 21.) The connection in
which this passage occurs is very significant:
"As you have provoked me to anger by your
idolatries, I will provoke you to jealousy by
transferring your abused privileges to those
who have heretofore not been acknowledged
as my people"; and by a foolish nation
will I anger you. " I will make you angry
by preferring to you a nation whom you de-
spise as foolish, in contrast with your boasted
wisdom." Compare 2: 17-20. "All other
nations were as inferior to the Jews in reli-
gious knowledge as all other nations were to
the Greeks in human culture." (Vaughan,
apiid Webster, p. 243. )*

20. But Esaias is very bold and saith.
This passage is found in Isaiah 66: 1, the
clauses being transposed by the apostle. It

was a bold saying indeed, and especially so in
view of what follows, in which the disobedient
and contradictory spirit of the Jews is put iu
contrast to the more docile temper of the
Gentiles.*

31. But to Israel — that is, with reference
to Israel. The passage here quoted imme-
diately follows that which is quoted in the
preceding verse, and both are spoken by the
Lord in reply to the prophet's intercession in
behalf of the people in the preceding chapter.
All day long, he says, with patient long
sufiTering, I have stretched forth my hands
(in remonstrance and invitation) to a diso>
bedient and gainsaying people. Instead
of ' disobedient and gainsaying,' the Hebrew
has "rebellious people" ['gainsaying' being
added by the LXX.]. ' Disobedient and gain-
saying' is the apostolic equivalent of the
prophet's word "rebellious." 'Disobedient'
was not enough. In addition to their nega-
tive non-compliance with the Lord's com-
mands, they are represented as contradicting
him to his face, like one who says: "I will
not," when commanded to do some particular
thing. For that is the meaning of 'gainsay-
ing'— saying again, or, against what is com-

1 This question, with the negative, fi>i, is equivalent
to: was Israel ignorant of this? and hence requires a
negative answer. See note on the preceding verse. — (F.)

* Epi, with the dative, is here over, on account of, a
no-nation, not against, as the " Five Clergymen " and
Alford render it ; for in this sense the accusative would
be more suitable. These negatived substantives occur
only in Old Testament quotations. The Common Ver-
sion preserves the distinction between people and
nation which is found in the Hebrew, but which is
neglected by the Seventy, and by Paul.— (F.)

3 The 5e, above, marks the transition to another
prophet. According to Winer, Meyer, and others, the
prophet (in the name of God) not only speaks out
boldly, but he makes bold and says, so that the idea of
the first verb is not made subordinate. With the pas-
sive ('was found ') we have quite frequently, especially
in the perfect and aorist, the dative of agency, instead
of the genitive with vvo. But Winer remarks that the

dative in such a case " denotes the person not by whom
something has been done, but to whom what has been
done belongs." Here the finding which belonged to
them is equivalent to a finding by them. Thus, to
become known to a person is to become known by him.
Some manuscripts, however, have ^v (in) before the
dative. Trench, in his "Synonyms," states that
epwTao), the Latin rogare, implies that the one asking
stands on a footing of equality or familiarity with him
from whom the boon is asked ; while aiTew, the Latin
peto, is the " constant word for the seeking of the in-
ferior from the superior." This view is combated by
Prof. Cremer, and others. See, also, Thayer's " Lexi-
con," sub voce, and compare 1 John 5: 16, and the use
of iirtfxoTaio above. According to Meyer, this passage
historically refers to the Jews ; but Paul sees in them,
since they had become idolatrous and heathenish, a
typical representation of the Gentiles. Others think
the primary reference is to the Gentiles.— (F.)

Ch. XI.]

ROMANS.

249

CHAPTER XI.

I SAY then. Hath God cast away his people? God
forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of tne seed of
Abraham, 0/ the tribe of Benjamin.

'I God hath not cast away his people which he fore-
knew. Wot ye not what the Scriptures saith of Elias?

1 I sar then, Did God cast off his people? God for-
bid. For I also am an Israelite, ofthe seed of Abr»-

2 ham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God did not cast
off his people whom he foreknew. Or know ye not

manded, answering back. [Godet finds an
illustration of this in the Book of Malacbi :
"And ye say I" From the above repre-
sentation, "it is clear," as the last-named
commentator says, "that the apostle in no
wise puts the rejection of Israel to the account
of an unconditional, divine decree, but that
he ascribes the cause of it to Israel them-
selves." And Bengel remarks that the doc-
trine of a double will of God, of good pleasure,
and of sealing, is here shown to be absurd.
The denial, however, of a revealed and secret
will on the part of God, in other words, what
God desires in itself considered, and what he
purposes to do on the whole (H. B. Smith), is
not unattended with difficulty. See Edwards'
"Freedom of the Will," Part IV., § IX.,
IV.; also Vol. II., pp. 161, 162, 613-516.
With reference to Israel as a whole, it must
be said that there was a reflection, or cast-
ing away (avoPoXrj, u: 15) of them on the part
of God ; but this verse shows why and in
what spirit it was done. God has no pleasure
in the death of the wicked, yet who will say
that the transgressor's death is wholly con-
trary to the determinate counsel of God, the
counsel of his will ? What Christian believer
is willing to confess, with the ancient Pagan
Greeks, that some things happen not only
with the will of God, but against his will, or
fixed purpose?]

We may now thus sum up the contents of
the last part of this chapter, (ver is-ai.) After
having shown, in a general way, that because
faith cometh by hearing the divine word, it
was necessary that the gospel should be
preached to all (»"• 1*-"), he shows, specially,
that the heavenly truths had been preached
both to all the Gentiles (»«■ is), and also to the
Jews ("'i'), but with unequal success; for
many of the Gentiles have believed (»«. »),
while the Jews, for the most part, remained
obdurate (»er. ji).

The way is now prepared for a more favor-
able view of the ultimate purpose of God in
regard to the Jewish people.

Ch. 11 : [The temporary casting away of
the Jews, the source of highest good both to
the Gentiles and to the Jewish race.]

The apostle now turns to a more hopeful
aspect of the destiny of the Jewish nation ;
their rejection is neither total (tw. iio) nor
final. (v»r. U.S6.) It is limited both as to j}«r>
sons and as to time.

1. I say then. Hath God cast away his
people? [A question of the apostle's origina-
tion. Compare the more frequent: "What
then shall we say?"] This form of expres-
sion, 'I say then,' introduces, interrogatively,
a false inference which might be drawn from
the closing verses ofthe previous chapter, but
introduces it only in order to refute it. It is
implicitly refuted, as Bengel well says, in the
very statement of it, for he still calls them his
people. But it is more explicitly refuted by
the fact immediately referred to, that the
apostle himself was [no mere proselyte to
Judaism, but] an Israelite, and a representa-
tive of many other believing Israelites. So
he rejects the false inference with emphatic
earnestness: God forbid— let not such a thing
be. For 1 also am not only an Israelite
(see note on 9:4), but ofthe tribe of Benja-
min, one of the two royal tribes of Israel
(1 Sun. 10 : », « ; Aet« \i : »i), the tribe SO closely asso-
ciated with the tribe of Judah, and, after the
return from the exile, almost identified with
it. (Kir«4:i; 10:9.) So the Very man who has
been saying these seemingly hard things
against the Jews is himself a Hebrew of the
Hebrews (pui. 8: 5), and thus a fit representative
of the saved remnant [himself a living proof
that God had not thrust away all Israel. If
the truth of the supposition were conceded,
then, as Alford says, "it would exclude from
God's kingdom the writer himself"].

2. The inference which he had refuted in
the first v«rse, by citing an example which
proved it false, he now directly denies, and
adds a new refutation of it. Which he fore-
knew—which he selected as the chosen nation.
[Prof Cremer: "God has not cast away bis

250

ROMANS.

[Ch. XL

bow he maketb intercession to God against Israel,
saying,

3 Liord, tbey have killed tbf propbets, and digged
down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek
my life.

4 But what saith the answer of God unto him ? I
hare reserved to myself seven thousand men, who
have not bowed the knee to t^e image of Baal.

what the scripture saith ' of Elijah ? how he pleadeth
3 with God agaiDst Israel, Lord, they have killed thy

?ropbets, they have digged down thine altars: and
am left alone, and they seek my life. But what
saith the answer of God unto him? I have left for
myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed

people with whom he had before joined him-
self—that is, before this union was historically
realized." Such a supposition would contra-
dict the "immutability of his counsel." Mark
the use of the direct negative in a positive
statement.] We must not limit the expression
'his people,' here, to the elect Christian people
of God found among the Jews, for this would
make the question of ver. 1 self-contradictory,
and the negation of this verse a mere truism.
Wot (or, know) ye not [introduces another
proof that God had not wholly cast off his
people] what the Scripture saith of Elias?
A literal translation would be: Saith in Elias,
in the story of Elias. Compare Mark 12 : 26.
He maketh intercession to God {pleads
with God) against Israel. This is the only
passage in Scripture where the word interces-
sion has an unfavorable meaning, or is coupled
with the preposition ' against.' [Yet see Acts
25 : 24. The verb, primarily, means to meet
with, and with this the idea of making request
or supplication is closely related.] This plea
or protest of Elijah is found in 1 Kings 19 : 14
[and is quoted somewhat freely from the
Septuagint. (sKingsi9:u.) The word saying
which precedes Lord in our Common Version
is found only in two MSS.

3. They have killed thy prophets, and
digged down thine altars. The verbs are
in a past, not in the perfect, tense: They slew
thy prophets ; they utterly overthrew (or,
razed to the ground) thine altars. I am (or,
was) left alone, etc. These altars were prob-
ably those on the high places]. These words
were spoken in the times of Ahaz and Jeze-
bel, when the prophet had fled into the wilder-
ness to save his life, which Jezebel had sworn
to take before another day should pass.
(1 Kingg 19 : 2.) [The Greek word for ' life ' — cor-
responding to the word used in the Hebrew —
sometimes, as here, refers to the life of the
body (compare Matt. 6 : 25), but often has
reference to that part of man which can live
apart from the body (compare Matt. 10:28),
and is in our versions more frequently trans-

lated soul than 'life.'] Elijah seems to have
been literally 'left alone' as a true prophet
of the Lord, and in his dejection he may have
fancied himself the only true servant of God
in the land. But the case was far from being
as bad as that.

4. The sad complaint of Elijah, ' I am left
alone,' was very probably uttered under an
exaggerated view of the prevalence of evil, as
was that of the Hebrew Psalmist, when he
said in his haste: "All men are liars"
(p«. 116:11); but the Lord both reproved and
encouraged him by the manner in which he
responded to this doleful complaint. The
answer of God nnto him, or the response
from the divine oracle, as the word (found
nowhere else in the New Testament, though
the verb occurs several times ; see 7 : 3) might
be freely paraphrased, was this : I have re-
served to myself— that is, I have kept faithful
to myself and free from the prevalent idolatry^
not merely one solitary prophet, but seven
thousand men, who have not bowed the
knee to the image of Baal. [This citation
follows the Hebrew far more closely than it
does the LXX. 'To myself is an addition
of the apostle.] It will be observed that the
words 'the image of are supplied by the
translators; the original has merely, 'who
have not bowed the knee to Baal.' The reason
why the translators thought it necessary to add
these apparently superfluous words undoubt-
edly was, that they found in the original Greek
the feminine article prefixed to the name Baal,
and believing that Baal, the sun god of the
Phoenicians, was always regarded as a male
divinity, and finding the masculine article in
the LXX. in the passage which is here quoted,
[though in other places the feminine is used],
they supposed that the word 'image,' or some
similar noun of the feminine gender in Greek,
must be understood. There is reason to be-
lieve, however, that this fabulous divinity was
regarded by its worshipers as combining both
genders, and therefore it is better to omit the
words in italics, as has been done by most

Ch. XI.]

ROMANS.

251

6 Even bo then at this present time also there ia a
remnant according to the election of grace.

6 And if by grace, then is it no more of worlcs : oth-
erwise grace is no more grace. But if il be of works,
then is it no more grace : otlwrwise woric is no more
work.

7 What then? Israel hath not obtained that which
he seeketh for ; but the election bath obtained it, and
the rest were blinded.

5 the knee to Baal. Even so then at this present time
also there is a remnant according to the tlectiou of

6 grace. But if it is by grace, it in no more uf worka:

7 otherwise grace is no more grace. What then? That
wliicb Israel seeketh fur, tliat be obtained nut ; but
the election obtained it, and the rest were hardened :

recent revisers of the English Bible, and read
simply : Who bowed not the knee to Baal.
[The singular, 'knee,' denotes a collective
number considered as a single conception.
(Philippi.) The number 'seven thousand,'
is, perhaps, not to be taken with strict literal-
ness. Seven is commonly regarded as the
covenant number, or the number of complete-
ness.]

5. Even so then [in correspondence with
this historical precedent. An "analogical in-
ference"]. The cases compared were very
similar. Instead of the rejection of all save
one, as Elijah in the earlier case and Paul in
the later, there were seven thousand in Eli-
jah's time, and "many thousands" of Jews
in Paul's time (acuji:2o), who were faithful
worshipers of God and believers in Christ;
yet in both cases these thousands were but a
remnant, a small minority, in comparison
with the great mass of idolaters and unbe-
lievers, and it was only through the gracious,
divine election that this remnant was saved
from the general corruption. [Paul's lan-
guage here, literally rendered, is; Thus, there-
fore, also in the now time there has become
(and still exists) a rem,nant. According to
the election of grace means in virtue of, or,
in consequence of, an election made through
grace. In this elect remnant, gathered out
from an elect nation, we have an election
within an election, an election of individuals
to eternal life, who belonged to a people whom
God elected to the privileges of grf.ce. The
election spoken of here is regarded from a
sublapsarian point of view— that is, it supposes
the gratuitously elected persons were guilty
and undeserving sinners.]

6. And if by grace, then is it no more
of works : otherwise grace is no more
grace. [The apostle must here rest his argu-
ment a moment to give again the distinguish-

ing characteristic of this all-important 'grace.'
The verse may be thus paraphrased : But (or,
now) if this remnant has been selected and
reserved through grace, it is no longer on
account of the merit of works, since (other-
wise) grace would cease' to show itself as
grace. A purely gratuitous election will not
allow any merit of works to be mixed up with
this grace.] The apostle, not satisfied with
having attributed the existence of even a
remnant from the general wreck 'to the elec-
tion of grace,' reiterates the statement in a
negative form, and amplifies it, because it was
so important to convince the Jews, who were
bent on seeking salvation by works, that there
was no hope in that direction, and that grace
and works, as grounds of salvation, were an-
tagonistic in their very nature, so that there
could be no compromise between them, or
amalgam of the one with the other. To im-
agine any such combination would be to sup-
pose one or the other to change its very nature.
Yet this is just what many men are still trying
to do, depending mainly upon their own works
for acceptance with God, but, after all, ac-
knowledging their need of divine mercj'.
The last half of this verse, Bnt if it be of
works, etc., is rejected as spurious by some
editors, though found in the Vatican manu-
script, one of the oldest and best, to say the
least* But the doubt is practically of little
importance, since it is merely a question of
the more or less expansion of what is clearly
expressed in the former part of the verse.

7. What then shall we conclude? [What
is to be inferred from the two (or five) preced-
ing verses? We infer the reason why Israel has
failed to obtain righteousness: because they,
unlike the elect remnant, sought to obtain
it by means of works. The verb for seek is a
compound, meaning to seek after, and thus,
to seek for zealously. Election in this verse

I Present indicatives after iwl (slnoe) are asuaUy
rendered as subjunctives. (Winer, 283.)— (F.)

s Yet this manuscript (B), on which textual critics
have so greatly depended, and which is characterized

by Westcott and Hort as "iwatral," or nnmixed and
independent, furnishes bore a curious reading by its
subetiiuting the word 'grace' for the last ' work.'— <F0

252

ROMANS.

[Ch. XI

8 (According as it is written, God hath given them
the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see,
and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare,
and a trap, and a stumblingblock, and a recompense
unto them :

10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not
see, and bow down their back alway.

8 according as it is written, God gave them a spirit of
stupor, eyes that they should not see, and ears that

9 they should not hear, unto this very day. And
David saith.

Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, ,
And a stumblingblock, and a recompense iinto

them :
10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not

see.
And bow thou down their back alway.

is used for the elect.'] Paul's conclusion is
that ' Israel did not find that which he is
seeking' — namely, righteousness (9; si), or jus-
tification ; but the election hath obtained
it, and the rest were blinded — or, rather,
were hardened.^ The apostle seems here to be
preparing the way for what he has to say of a
more favorable nature respecting 'the rest.'

8. Two passages are here combined —
namely, Isa. 29 : 10 ; Deut. 29 : 4 (3) (com-
pare Isa. 6: 9, 10), and quoted freely from
the LXX. The spirit of slnmber, or of
stupefaction, such as is produced by a heavy
blow or an intoxicating draught. [Eyes that
they should not see. Philippi hasit : "eyes
of not seeing, or blind eyes," an incorrect ren-
dering; see ver. 10. The substance of this
verse is found in Matt. 13 : 14 ; John 12 : 40 ;
Acts 28 : 26. The words ' unto this day ' are
a part of the quotation. They occur as Paul's
words in 2 Cor. 3: 14, where he aflBrms that
the minds of the children of Israel were
blinded, and that a vail is on their hearts.]

9. And David saith. Another similar
prediction of the divine judgment upon the
Jews from Ps. 69 : 22, undoubtedly having a
typical reference to the Messiah. The quota-
tion begins with the figure of sudden calamity
overtaking those who are feasting [at the ban-
queting table] in fancied security, and then
passes to that of animals caught in a snare or
trap (literally, a chase), and ends, still figur-

atively, but with another change, by the
representation of a people suffering, as a just
recompense for their sins, a judicial blindness
and abandonment to be oppressed and crushed
by haughty victors. [While Paul aflSrms that
^ David saith,' Meyer and others deny that
David is the author of the psalm. ' ' If Meyer
is correct in his opinion, then the word ' David '
would be used as a title of the entire collec-
tion of the Psalms. . . . But it is by no means
certain that he is correct in his opinion."
(Boise.) Possibly some of the last verses
may have been a later edition. " Of all the
psalms, the sixty-ninth is most frequently
quoted in the New Testament, along with Ps.
22, as a prediction of Christ's sufferings."
(Philippi.) In this quotation, Paul "follows
the LXX, with some variations." The word
for trap, or chase, is introduced here from
Ps. 35: 8 in the LXX. Stumblingblock.
See note on 9 : 33.* The Hebrew original, as
now pointed, has no word for 'recompense,'
and instead of "bow thou down their back
always," has, as in our Common and Revised
Versions: "and make their loins continually
to shake." But what shall we say as to the
propriety of Christians indulging in such im-
precations as these? The editor of Calvin's
"Commentary on Romans" says that "no
one is allowed to curse individuals, except he
be inspired so as to know who those are who
are given up by God to final judgment, which

1 There is a difference of only one letter in Greek
between these two words, <7n)p0^<rav and iiru>pu>0ri<Tav.
The passive form of this verb, together with the follow-
ing context (see, also, 9: 18), indicates that this ' hard-
ening' took place through the agency of God; so most
expositors. Calvin, on this verse, rather contrary to
his usual method, argues for the supralapsarian view
of a reprobation by God before the foundation of the
world, while acknowledging that the passages here
cited by Paul are adverse to such a view. He says :
" They reason absurdly who, whenever a word is said
of the proximate causes, strive, by bringing forward
these, to cover the first which is hid from our view, as
though God had not, before the fall of Adam, freely
determined to do what seemed good to him, with respect

to the whole human race." This inference of Calvin
is a very natural — it may be an unavoidable— conclu-
sion of the mere logical faculty,exercising itself simply
on one line of facts ; but it is confessedly a going be-
yond the reasoning of the apostle here, and generally
throughout this Epistle. The Scriptures, as a whole,
plainly teach that God efficaciously blinds and hardens
men only as a judicial penalty or punishment for their
disobedience and unbelief. — (F.)

2 The accusatives, with the preposition «i5, are here
equivalent to nominatives. This construction may be
regarded as Hebraistic. So in the phrase, " counted
(etj) for righteousness," faith is not regarded as some-
thing resulting in righteousness, but at righteousness
itself.— (F.)

Ch. XI.]

ROMANS.

253

11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should
fall? God forbid: but tuM^ through their fall salva-
tion is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to
Jealousy.

12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world,
and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gen-
tiles; how much more their fulness?

11 I say then. Did they stumble that they migbt fall?
God forbid : but by their > lull italvalion U cunu; unto

12 the Gentiles, for to provoke them t<> icaluusr. Now
if their fall is the riches of the worlJ, and their leas
the riches of the Ueutiles ; how much more their

1 Or, truptut.

may be supposed to have been the case with
the Psalmist and with St. Paul." Paul, how-
ever, does not wish these imprecations, but
only quotes them in evidence of God's rejec-
tion of the Jewish people. We should say,
moreover, that Christians are to bless, except
when divinely commissioned to curse.]

11. From this point begins the second por-
tion of the chapter, showing that the rejection
of the Jews is not ^nai, but that God designs,
by means of it, to facilitate the salvation of
the Gentiles (Teriiie), who are admonished
not to glory over the Jews ("w). Have they
stumbled) etc. — better. Did they stumble, in
order that they should fall? [that is, utterly
and forever lie prostrate? The word trip
might here be substituted for ' stumble.' The
proper word for stumble occurs at 9: 32.
'That' (ifa) indicates the final purpose of the
divine judicial government. (Lange.) The
God forbid occurs here for the tenth and last
time in this Epistle. In Galatians it occurs
three times, in First Corinthians once.] The
stumbling of the Jews was not to result
in a final and fatal fall. Far from it ; but
through their fall {offense, as the same word
is translated six times in chapter 6 of this Epis-
tle) salvation is come unto the Gentiles.'
The emphatic sense in which the verb ' fall '
is here used, makes it unsuitable that its cor-
responding noun (wTWM*, or irrio-i*) should be
used to express that stumbling which is con-
trasted with the 'fall.' The word here used
is translated 'fall' in our Common Version
only in this and the following verse. It was
not a complete and final ' fall ' on their part,
because it was not a complete and final casting
away on God's part. Besides facilitating the
conversion of the Gentiles, it had the further

design and effect, through their conversion,
to provoke them (that is, the Jews) to jeal-
ousy [in other words, " to make them jealous
of the Gentiles as having obtained blessings
which the Jews regarded as peculiarly theirs;
and thus to excite in them a desire to obtain
the same blessings for themselves." (Ripley.)
Noyeshasit: excite them to emulation.] Of
the two results mentioned, the first was the
more immediate; the second the ultimate.
This latter result will doubtless be realized
hereafter on a much larger scale than it yet
has been. The unbelief of the Jews was a
benefit to the Gentiles in several ways. It
made it evident that God did the Jews no
injustice in turning to offer to the Gentiles
those blessings which the Jews had rejected.
See Matt. 21 : 43 ; Acte 13 : 46. [" Lo we turn
to the Gentiles," not only willingly, but of
necessity. (aou.i8:«; m:m.)] It left the apostles
more free, and, at the same time, more willing
to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. It de-
prived the Jews of the power to insist on
bringing the Gentiles under the yoke of the
Mosaic laws, as they would have done if they
had been in the majority, and as some of
them, though in the minority, attempted to

do. (Acul5:l.)

12. Now if the fall of them be the riches
of the worldf etc. Meyer calls this "an ar-
gument from the happy effect of a worse cause
to the still happier effect of a better cause."
If their stumbling has been the means of en-
riching the Gentile world with the blessing of
salvation, how much greater the blessing
which will result from their fulness, their
general recovery, or "their numerous en-
trance into God's kingdom."*

13, 14. These verses seem as if designed to

iThe word for 'fall,' rendered tretpau in the Revis-
ion, literally means a falling aside. Chrysostom remarks
that "as Paul bad greatly run the Jews down, ana
strung accusation upon accusation, bringing forward
prophet after prophet, crying out against them, — Isaiah,
Elijah, Moses, David, and Hosea, — and that not once or
twice, but frequently ; so now, lest he might plunge
them in despair, and, on the other hand, that he migbt

not lift the believing Gentiles into arraganoe, be again
consoles the Jews, saying, that by their fall salvation
is come to the Gentiles." In this conversion of tb«
Gentiles we have an instance of the last becoming
first.— (F.)

*The word wX^frntta (fUUness) is found eighleen'tlmM
ill the New Testament, and in some connections is a
very important doctrinal term. See CoL 2 : 9, etc. £U^

254

ROMANS.

[Ch. XI.

13 For I speak to you GentileSj inasmuch as I am
the apostle of the Geutiles, I magnify mine office:

14 If by any meaus I may provolce to emulation
them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.

15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling
of the world, what shall the receiving oj them be, but
life from the dead ?

13 fulness? But I speak to y«u that are Gentiles.
Inasmuch then as I am an apostle of Geutiles, I

14 glorify my ministry: if by any means 1 may pro-
voke to jealousy t/iem that are my flesh, and may

15 save some of them. For if the casliug away of them
w the reconcilingof the world, what shall the receiv-

16 ing of them be, but life from the dead? And if the

forestall some such thought as this in the
minds of his Gentile readers. In writing to
us (for the most part) Gentiles — ["observe,"
says Meyer, "that Paul does not write 'to
the Gentiles which are among you ' " ; com-
pare, also, ver. 14, my (not our) flesh] — why
do you express so much interest in the Jews,
and devote so large a space in your letter to
their condition and prospects ? To which his
answer is: "I do not forget that I am the
apostle of the Gentiles — indeed, I am honor-
ing my oflice as such in this way of speaking.
I cannot do you a greater service than by
doing my utmost for the conversion of my
own people ; for, great as is the blessing which
you obtain through their rejection, a much
greater will result through their recovery."
Provoke to emulation. Compare 'provoke
to jealousy' (ver. n »ndio: 19) ; the original word
is the same in all three cases.^ Might save
some of them. Their salvation is here attri-
buted to the human agency through which it
is brought about, as in 1 Tim. 4: 16; 1 Cor.
7: 16; 9: 22, without derogating in the least
from what is so emphatically asserted else-
where of the divine will as the only eflScient
cause of salvation. See John 1: 13, 14; Eph.
2: 8-10."

15. The idea of ver. 12 is here repeated in
still more forcible language. [For assigns a
motive for ver. 13, 14. The word for casting
away occurs elsewhere only in Acts 27 : 22.
Philippi understands it of the loss which God's
kingdom has sustained in their case, and

which is to be made up by the fullness of the
Gentiles. It seems, however, to denote rejec-
tion as being antithetical to reception. The
thought thus would be: If the partial and
temporary casting away of the Jews (their
loss or diminution) is the means of the Gentile
world's reconciliation with God — that is, their
'riches.' (ver. 12.) On this reconcilation, see
Eph. 2 : 11-22. To this day the Jews are a
scattered and despised — in fact, a God-rejected
people. They have lost their pre-eminence as
the people of God. And this accords with our
Lord's prediction in Matt. 21 : 43 : "The king-
dom of God shall be taken away from you."
But there is to be a reception, a taking of
them back again. And what will the in-
gathering of these stiff-necked and inveterate
enemies of Christ within the Christian fold be
to the world but life from the dead? The
Jewish race has thus, as a "burning bush"
which is never consumed, been "miraculously
preserved for some important action in the
concluding chapter of the history of Christi-
anity." (Schaff.)] The expression life from
the dead is taken, by most of the early inter-
preters (Origen, Chrysostom) and by many of
the modern (De Wette, Meyer, etc.), in a
literal sense, with the idea that the recovery
of the Jews will be speedily followed by the
general resurrection and the final judgment.
But this would be a sense of the words 'life
from the dead ' which would not be in accord-
ance with Scriptural usage, and would not be
sanctioned by either the preceding or the fol-

cottsays: " Lexically considered, it has three possible
meanings — one active (a) implendi actio, fulfilling; and
two passive (6) id quod impletum est, that which is filled,
Eph. 1 : 23, and the more common (c) id quo res impletur,
that by which anything is filled, which, again, often
passes into the neutral and derivative (d) affluentia,
abundantia (or fullness), especially in connection with
abstract genitives." Compare 15: 29; Gal. 4: 4; Eph.
3: 19.— (F.)

^ It is in this clause that some find a suppressed 6i
(but), corresponding to the y-iv above. Inasmuch as,
or, in BO far as I indeed am the apostle of the Gentiles,
I glorify my oflSce (preaching zealously to the Gentiles),
hut in this I have the benefit of the Jews in view (I will
thus render the Jews emulous). Yet this view does

not necessarily exclude the idea of the benefit which
would ultimately inure to the Geutiles from the restor-
ation of the Jews. Buttmann thinks the m<>' in this
connection is not corresponsive, but, blended with the
oCf, is a particle of transition. — (F.)

*In the particle, tlirm^ {if by any means), which pre-
cedes the last two verbs, and which introduces the
more remote result of his Gentile ministry, " the idea
of an attempt is conveyed, which may or may not be
successful." (Ellicott.) Buttmann thinks the clause
is dependent on a verb like see, understood. On the
use of the indicative future after t/ (generally rendered
may or might), see Winer, 300. The iheni, in idea, refers
to ' my flesh.'— (F.)

Ch. XI.]

ROMANS.

255

16 For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump U also holy : I
and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and
thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among
them, and with them partakest of the root and fiitnesa
of the olive tree ; |

firstfruit is holy, so is the lump: and if the root is
17 holy, so are the branches. But if some of the
branches were broken off, and thou, U-ins a wild
olive, wast grafted in among them, and dldat be-
come partaker with them > of the root of the fatness

1 Uaoj UMl«Dt anUioritle* read o/ (*• root mid tf Ih* frntnt*.

lowing context. But the ultimate restoration
of the Jews to the favor of God seems here to
be implied, as it is more positively still a little
further on. [It was Paul's modest hope to bo
the means of saving only 'some' Jews and
Gentiles in his lifetime (v«r. uj icor. »:m), and
we cannot suppose that he at this time ex-
pected to live to see the great mass of the
Gentile and Jewish world converted to God,
or that the blessed resurrection life, "setting
in with the advent" (wapouo-ia) (Meyer), would
happen in a few months or years. Why, on
this supposition, as Godet asks, use the expres-
sion life instead of the usual " resurrection " ?
And why omit the article before the word ' life '
and not say, as usual, the life, eternal life?
The truth is, 'life' is often used in the sense
of highest felicity or blessedness (i Then.s:8),
and 'life from the dead' is often taken in a
spiritual sense. (« : is ; Luke is : 24, si, eto.) Paul
thus felt — and so may we feel — that the con-
version of Israel to Christ would be a blessed
resurrection life to the world. Compare Ezek.
87:1-11.]

16. For if the firstfruit be iioly, the
lump is al80 holy : and if the root be
holy, so are the branches. [The student
will notice that in the Common Version the
verbs 'be,' 'is' and 'are' have been supplied,
because they are omitted in the Greek. This
omission is quite frequent in Paul's writings.]
Observe the propriety of the terms here and
their correspondence. 'The firstfruit' refers
[not to the Passover sheaf offering (or, omer
offering), nor to the Pentecostal two wave
loaves (Lev. 23:10, 17), but as connected with the
'lump,' the mixed and kneaded dough] to the
hearve offering to the Lord, of a cake made
from the firstofthe dough (Num. 15: i»-2i), whereby
the whole 'lump' was regarded as consecrated.
'The root' refers to the patriarchal progeni-
tors of the race, to Abraham especially, in
whom 'the branches'— that is, his natural
posterity — were regarded as consecrated to

God. Compare ver. 28. That the holiness
here attributed to the 'lump' and to the
'branches,' by virtue of th«ir connection with
the 'firstfruit' and the 'root' respectively,
was not a moral holiness, such as accompanies
salvation, is plain from abundant testimonies
of Scripture, such as Matt. 3:9; John 8 : 88,
89; Rom. 2:29; and from the context in this
very chapter. In the carrying out of the
second figure — the first, that of the dough, not
being followed up at all — the unbelieving de-
scendants of Abraham — that is, those of them
who had persistently rejected Christ — are
styled branches broken off. (▼•»• ", i», ».) And
yet there is a fitness in referring to the holi-
ness of 'the root' in introducing the assurance
of the final restoration of Israel to God's favor
through faith. Holiness is habitually attrib-
uted in the Scriptures to that which has been
consecrated to God, though it may be some
inanimate object, incapable of possessing any
moral quality. So when God shall restore
Israel to his favor through their individual
repentance and faith, he will but reassert his
claim to that which was all along his own, by
the right of an ancient and solemn consecra-
tion.

17, 18. [And if— better, Ju< t/. If notwith-
standing this consecration of Abraham's race
to God, some of the branches were spiritually
severed from the parent trunk.] Some.
More than this was actually true. Most, not
all, of the branches were broken off, but the
apostle speaks in a way less offensive to the
Jew and better adapted to check the Gentile's
pride. And thou. Here the apostle addresses
himself directly to the believing Gentile.
Compare 8:3. A wild olive tree. A whole
is here put for a part, a tree for a shoot; or,
perhaps the word should be regarded as an
adjective rather than a noun, in which case
the proper translation would be simply wild
olive. Wert graflfed in amonf them—
among the branches not broken off.' Par-

1 Some Christian writers, by making the good olive
tree, into which the iM'lieving Gentiles are grafted,
iynonymoufl with the Mosaic national theocracy (whose

constitution and character we considered in notes on
4: 11), have inferred that the so-cslled Jewish Church
and the Christian Church are identical, and that the

256

ROMANS.

[Ch. XL

18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou
boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

19 Thou wilt say then. The branches were broken
oflf, that I might be grafted in.

20 Well ; because of unbelief they were broken off,
and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but
fear:

18 of the olive tree; glory not over the branches: but
if thou gloriest. it is not thou that bearest the root,

19 but the root tnee. Thou wilt say then. Branches

20 were broken off^ that I might be grafted in. Well :
by their unbelief they were broken off, and thou
standest by thy faith. Be not highminded, but fear :

takest (better, didst become partakers) of the
root and fatness of the olive tree. [" The

'root' is a figure of fellowship; the 'fatness,'
of the blessing connected with it." (De
Wette.) The fatness of the olive is a Scrip-
tural symbol of the Holy Spirit's gracious
influences. The Revised Version reads, "root
of the fatness," which must refer to the rich-
ness of the root, or the root as "the source of
fatness." (Alford,)] The natural process of
grafting is designed not to make the graft
partaker of the nature of the tree, but to make
the fruit partaker of the nature of the graft.
The apostle reverses this, not through igno-
rance, but in order to make the illustration
suit the fact illustrated. And he might do
this the more allowably, as he does not speak
directly of fruit, but of life and growth, in
which respects the tree does communicate to
the graft, and not the graft to the tree. [Any
grafting may be said to be "contrary to na-
ture" (ver. 2*), but with us it is contrary both
to nature and to practice to graft a wild scio'n
into a good stock. In the East, however, the
scion of the oleaster, or wild olive, is, as we
are told, sometimes grafted in the good olive,
in order to invigorate the tree. Yet the pur-
pose of Paul in the use of this figure does not
necessarily infer any reference to this custom.

Indeed, such a reference would, as Alford
says, "completely stultify the illustration,"
the point of which is the benefit received
rather than conferred by the graft. Boast
not [thou) against the branches— namely,
those which were broken off.] After the
clause but if thou boast we may easily fill
out the ellipsis by supplying the word remem-
ber, or some similar word. [On the ending
of the verb, see at 2 : 17. The pronoun with
'not' in the next sentence is highly emphatic:
Not thou the root bearest.]

19. Thou wilt say then, in justification
of thy boasting. [The Revised Version has
simply 'branches;' taken indefinitely, 'some'
branches, as in ver. 17. Nearly all the uncial
MSS. omit the article.] In the last clause of
this verse the pronoun I is emphatic, and
betrays a disposition to boast.

20. Well [or, very well. Our simple word
' well ' is far from being as emphatic as the
original. (Boise.)] The fact is granted, and
when the reason of it is considered, it suggests
a new argument against boasting, a new ad-
monition against highmindedness. This verse
shows that the branches broken off represent
only those who had actually disbelieved the
gospel, and not those to whom it had not yet
been fairly preached. Of these, there were

ordinances of Judaism are simply changed in form by
their introduction into Christianity, but remain the
same in substance, and are still to be administered in
accordance with their primitive rule. We may grant
without hesitation, that the spiritual Israel and the
Christian Israel are substantially the same, so that
when Christ's "other sheep" are brought in from
among the Gentiles (John 10 : 16) there will be but " one
flock and one shepherd." But to infer from this that
the ordinances of Christianity are similar in character
and import to those of Judaism, and are to be similarly
administered, is to put a strain upon the argument
which it cannot bear. One may, perhaps, say, with
Godet, that, in Paul's view, "the believers of Israel are
the nucleus round which are grouped the converts from
among the Gentiles ; " yet it must not be forgotten that
this "Israel" had first to be converted to Christ and
the gospel. " Otherwise," as the same writer remarks,
"the gospel would have been Judaized, believing Gen-
tilea would have been required to become proselytes of

Israel, and this would have been an end of salvation
for the world and of the world for salvation." In this
sense, as Meyer says, " Israel does not take in the
church but the church takes in Israel," and hence the
apostle speaks of the receiving of the believing Jews
virtually into the Christian fold. It was the effort of
the apostle's life " to disentangle the cause of the gospel
from that of Judaism," and in his zeal to effect this he
showed, on one occasion, no more regard for the chiefest
of the Mosaic ordinances than to cry out: " Beware of
the concision." (Phil. 3:2.) OurSaviour, also, was too
wise to endeavor to patch up with new cloth the old
garment of the worn-out past or to put the new wine of
the gospel into the old skin bottles of Judaism. Listen,
also, to Peter's discourse on the day of Pentecost:
" Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name
of Jesus Christ." Was not this a new voice to be heard
in Israel ? And did it not more than intimate a new
economy in the kingdom of grace? — (F.)

Ch. XL]

ROMANS.

257

21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take
heed lest he also spare not thee.

22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of
God : on them which fell, severity ; but toward thee,
goodness, if thou continue in Am goodness: otherwise
thou also shalt be cut off.

21 for if God spared not the natural branches, neither

22 will he spare thee. Heboid then ibe eoudnesii and
severity of God: toward theiu that fell, sereritT ;
but toward thee, God's goodness, if thou conilnue id
his goodness : otherwise thou also staalt be cut off.

not a few who would yet believe and be num-
bered among the saved remnant. [The words
for unbelief and faith are in the so-called
instrumental dative, which is generally trans-
lated by or through. The word standest in
our text is used antithetically to falling (i«'«),
though some refer it to the standing as of a
branch upon the olive tree. Paul, it will be
noticed, forgets here to say that these Jews
were broken oft* from the stock of the spiritual
Israel and cast away by reason of the absolute
decree of Jehovah; but, on the contrary, he
charges their rejection solely to their own
fault— their want of faith. Nor did these
Jews ever think of charging their want of
faith to God's decree of reprobation. And
yet this unbelief of theirs was connected with
a divine purpose.] Be not highminded)
but fear. The 'fear' which the Gentile be-
liever is here admonished to cherish is opposed
not so much to confidence, as to presumption
and careless living. [The present imperative
(as in the case of the last two verbs) denotes
"an action already begun and to be con-
tinued, or one that is permanent and fre-
quently recurring." (Winer.) For example:
'Be not highminded' (as thou now art). So
in 1*2: 20: "If thine enemy hunger, feed
him" (constantly in such a case). "It is a
characteristic," says Philippi, "of the differ-
ence between the ethics of the ancient world
and of Christianity, that a Greek uses 'high-
minded' in a good sense and 'humble-
minded' in a bad sense."]

21. [If, here equivalent to since, hence the
use of the direct negative in the original.]
Take heed. These words are supplied by
the translators, it being necessary to supply
some such words to express the sense of the
original completely, as in ver. 18, where,
however, our translators have left the mani-
fest ellipsis to be filled out by the reader,
instead of doing the work for him, as they
have done here. [Lest— omitted by the Re-
visers, is usually followed by the subjunctive,
and serves here to soften what otherwise would

be a menace into a simple warning. I fear,
or, it is to be feared, lest he unit not spare
even thee. (Winer, 474.) With the Revisers'
text no words need be supplied.]

22, Behold therefore the goodness and
severity of God.* Both 'gootlness' and 'se-
verity' on the part of God are seen in very
close connection in his dealings with the Jews
and the Gentiles, in the beginning of the
gospel history. On them which fell from
their high privileges through unbelief, as
the branch falls to the ground when severed
from the tree, severity; but toward thee*
goodness. [According to the Revisers' text
we should have this rendering: upon them
that fell severity is shown, or, there is severity
— the nominative form being used rather than
the objective. The word for ' severity ' raeatu
literally, a cutting off, and carries out the
figure of the branches broken off and falling
from the tree. It occurs nowhere else in the
New Testament. The word 'goodness' (in
the Revision: "toward thee, God's goodness")
primarily denotes usefulness, servieeabieness.]
The Gentile believer is here directly addressed
as in each of the five preceding verses. If
thou continue in (literally, abide upon) his
goodness — if thou continue in that state of
faith into which his goodness has brought
thee, and on thy continuance in which his favor
depends. (Aeuisris.) [Otherwise thou also
Shalt be cut off. 'Thou also,' thou Gentile
as well as the Jew. "The future passive, ' thou
shalt be cut off' (by striking or smiting)
abruptly closes the sentence, like the stroke of
the axe cutting down the proud branch."
(Godet.) Some find in the latter part of this
verse a proof text for the possibility of an
individual's falling from grace. But the
apostle here is speaking of the people collect-
ively and not of particular individuals. And
Dr. Hodge goes so far to afl3rm that "there is
nothing in this (hypothetical) language incon-
sistent with the doctrine of the final persever-
ance of believers, even supposing the passage
to refer to individuals."] These last five verses

1 ' Behold ' (U*), imperative second sorist of liSoi>, sometimes a mora exclamation (John 19 : 14), here gorema
(he accusative.— (F.)

258

ROMANS.

[Ch. XL

23 And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief,
shall be graS°ed in : for God is able to graff them in
again.

21 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is

23 And they also, if they continue not in their unbe-
lief, shall be grafted in : for God is able to graft them

24 in again. For if thou wast cut out of that which is

are marked by repeated and emphatic warn-
ings to Gentile believers against falling from
a state of favor with God, as the Jews had
fallen, after the same example of unbelief.
And the warning is equally appropriate, and
equally needful, to believers at the present
time.

23. And they also.* The restoration of
the Jews is here represented hypothetically,
as something which God is perfectly able to
accomplish. If the cause of their rejection is
removed, if they do not persist in their unbe-
lief, the only hindrance to their restoration
will be taken away. The association of will-
ingness with power is intimated in such
passages as Rom. 14 : 4 ; 16 : 25 ; 2 Cor. 9:8;
Eph. 3: 20; Heb. 7: 25; 11: 19; Jude 24.
[For God is able. The position of the
Greek adjective for ' able ' at the beginning
of the sentence gives it great stress. We
cannot suppose that Paul here represents
the power of God as waiting for unbelieving
Jews to give up their unbelief, for on this
supposition there would be, as De Wette
states it, no need for the exercise of the divine
omnipotence. This last-named commentator
further says, that "the apostle here obscurely
include > in the grafting in, also the removal
of their unbelief and the awakening of faith,
and these especially he looks for from above."
Until this day, alas, the same thick veil of
prejudice and unbelief lies on their hearts,
and though God has destroyed their temple
and their altars, has abolished their priest-
hood, and the law on which it and all the
Levitical rites were founded, has blotted out

their tribal distinctions and scattered their
people all over the earth, and though very
many of tliem liave now become advanced
rationalists, denying the miracles and the
historic verity of the Old Testament, they yet,
as a general thing, cling to a few of the
ancient ceremonials, and still keep up their
wonted isolation from all the rest of man-
kind.* But God is able to graft them in.
To the apostle, not only at the time of writing
this Epistle, but especially in after years, in
this very city of Rome, when he sought to
persuade the Jews concerning Jesus from
morning till evening, while some believed
and others disbelieved, and they could come
to no agreement among themselves, this must
have been his sole encouraging and sustain-
ing thought, ' God is able to grafF them in.'
God is already bringing the world together as
neighbors and to a common brotherhood, and,
bj' his power, the remnant of Israel will yet
be brought to Christ, where there is neither
Jew nor Greek, and so all Israel shall be
saved.]

24. Paul now proceeds a step further, and
argues from the nature of the case that there
is a presumption in favor of God's doing that
which he certainly has power to do in this mat-
ter! [The for introducing additional evidence
for their future re-ingrafting.] And from this
point to the end of ver. 32, he more distinctly
aflBrms, by virtue of his prophetic gift, the
divine purpose that Israel shall be restored.
The course of thought in these verses is thus
traced by Dr. Hackett. "Not only is God
able and willing to receive the Jews again, if

' Kol, Si, the former connects, the latter slightly con-
trasts. Grafting them ' again ' (unless we take ndXtv
in the sense of back) supposes a prior grafting which in
their case did not take place. The meaning is : " again
to unite them to the stock— namely, by ingrafting."
(Winer.)— (F.)

* If any Christian brother wishes to abjure Christian-
ity and become a strict orthodox Jew, and thus virtu-
ally eschew his relation to a common humanity, it will
be needful for him, among other things, to acquire a
sufficient knowledge of Hebrew, in order that he may
pronounce Israel's confession of faith and read the
prayers, to submit to circumcision as performed by the
" Mohel," to immerse himself in water, to adopt a new

name, to observe the Levitical dietary laws, to abstain
from intermarriage with other creeds, to commence the
Sabbath Friday afternoon, half an hour before sunset,
and generally to attend to the observances of the syna-
gogue, of Jewish festival days, Jewish marriage, Jewish
burial, etc. Thus doing he will become a Jew, and we
may say, a Pharisee, one separated not only from Christ,
but virtually from the common brotherhood of man.
The reformed Jews are disposed to loosen some of these
obligations, while those of the radical reform party are
ready to give up, not only this non-intermarriage, but
even the Sabbath and circumcision, the two funda-
mental principles of Judaism— (F.)

Ch. XI.]

ROxMANS.

259

wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature
into a good olive tree; how much more nball these,
which be the natural branches, be gratl'eU Into their
own olive tree?

25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignor-
ant of this mystery, lest ye should be wibe in your own
conceits, that bliudness In |>art is happened to Israel,
until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

by nature a wild olive tree, and wast grafted con-
trary to nature into a good olive tree: how much
more hhall these, wiiicli are the natural brancht*, b«
grafted into their own olive tree?
25 Fur I would not, bri-tliren, have you ignorant of
this mystery, lest ye be wise in your own conceits,
that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel, uotil

they will repent, but he distinctly announces
his purpose to secure their repentance and
consequent restoration to his favor: the time
of this event being when many Gentiles shall
have been converted (ver. m) ; the means of it,
the effect this will have to remind the Jews of
their duty (ver. si); and the pledge of it, the
declarations of Scripture (ver. 26, «), and the
unalterable faithfulness of God to his purposes
and promises." (ver. 27, ».) [The expression
contrary to nature probably refers to the
grafting process in general, considered as an
artificial proceeding. If it meant, contrary
to thy (wild) nature, the pronoun, or at least
the article, would have been prefixed to 'na-
ture.' These, which be the natural
branches are represented as having been
'broken off,' yet it would be pressing the
figure too far to suppose that, in the apostle's
mind, such dissevered branches could be
engrafted. The disbelieving Jews are here
simply regarded as branches which originally
and by nature belonged to the good and holy
olive tree "whose root the patriarchs are"
(Meyer), and hence this is their own olive
tree.]

25, 26. [For introduces a corroboration
that they shall be grafted in, which is de-
rived from divine revelation. Compare with
this Eph. 3: 3-6.] I would not, brethren,
that ye should be ignorant of this mys-
tery is used to announce some important
and authoritative declaration of divine truth

(1 Cor. 10: 1; 1 Then. 4 : 13); or SOmC faCtS in hisown

history not previously known to his readers.
(1 : 13; 2 Cor. 1 : 8.) The word ' mystcry ' is applied
— 1. To such matters of fact as are inaccessible
to reason, and can only be known through
divine revelation. («: 2i; icor. 2; iio; gph. i: ». lo;

3: 4-8; 8: 19; Col. 1: 28, 27.) 2. To SUCh matters aS

are patent facts, but the process of which can-
not be entirely taken by the reason, (i cor.is:2;

li: 2; Epb. &: 32; 1 Tim. 3: 9, 16.) 3. To matters which

are no mystery in themselves, but by their

figurative import. (Mui. I2: it; MkrH l: ll; LakeS:
10; »The»i. 2: 7: B«v. 1: 20; 17: &.) (Tholuck. ) The

first definition applies here. That peculiar
character of the gospel which placed the Gen-
tiles on the same level with the Jews was in
direct opposition to the strongest expectations
and prejudices of the Jewish people, and next
to the offense of the cross was i>erhapii the
strongest obstacle in the way of their embrac-
ing Christianity. Compare the parable of the
prodigal son, Luke 15: 25-30. "The calling
of the Jews was a mystery, the conversion of
the Jews is so still." (Bengei.) [The word
'mystery' is in the accusative case after the
verb ' to be ignorant of {ayvotlv), nearly equiv-
alent to /ail to perceive. On this word ' mys-
tery,' De Wette says: "The apo:<tle here
speaks as a prophet." A Scripture mystery
or secret which cannot in general be under-
stood without a revelation is not that of
classical antiquity, a something m^-sterious in
itself, comprehensible only to the initiated,
and to be concealed from the profane ( Me^'er; ;
nor is it on the other hand an altogether un-
intelligible, incomprehensible revealed truth
or doctrine.] Lest ye should be wise in
your own conceits. [Literally, that ye
may not be wise with yourselves} ] Conipnre
Prov. 26 : 12, 16. " Lest ye should Uke to
yourselves credit for superior wisdom above
the Jews, in that ye have acknowledged and
accepted Jesus as the Son of God." Blind-
ness (or rather, hardness) in part — this hard-
ness extending only to a part of the nation
through a_par<of their history — is happened
to Israel. [The article i^ u.«ed with ' Israel'
to indicate the case. Calvin interprets 'in
part' of a partial hardening, but see 'some'
in ver. 17.] The fulness of the Gentiles
can hardly mean less than the whole number
of the Gentile nations. So the word ' fulnei's '
is used in ver. 12, of the Jews as interpreted

> The MSS. A B have tn yourselves. Notice how the
third person (themselves) is here used for the second.
Winer interprets wapa with the dative: " 6</"or« your-

selves (as Judges), in your own estimation, In your i

eye8."-(F.)

260

ROMANS.

[Ch. XI.

26 And so all Israel shall be saved : as it is written
There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall
turn awaj ungodliness from Jacob:

27 For this us my covenant unto them, when I shall
take away their sins.

26 the fulness of the Gentiles be come in ; and so all
Israel shall be saved : even as it is written,

There shall couie out of Zion the Deliverer;
He shall turn away > ungodliness from Jacob:

27 And this is * my covenant unto them,
When I shall take away their sins.

1 Gr. ungodlinettet 2 Or. the covenant from me.

by ver. 26.' Be come in — that is, into the
kingdom of God where the writer and his
readers already were. And so, in the man-
ner, order, and time indicated, all Israel
shall be saved — that is, the literal Israel, in
the collective sense of the word, all the pos-
terity of Jacob. That the word is to be taken
in this sense and not in the sense of the spirit-
ual Israel, including the Gentiles, is fairly
inferred from the sharp distinction between
Jews and Gentiles observed throughout this
whole section ; see 9: 24, 30, 31 ; 10: 12, 19-21;
11 : 11, 12, 18, and especially in the immediate
context, ver. 17, 31. [In our view Paul teaches
that when the great mass or multitude of the
Gentiles shall have accepted a Jewish Saviour
and a salvation which is from the Jews, and
shall have entered into the Messianic king-
dom, then the Jews themselves, 'provoked to
emulation,' will be ashamed to hold out longer
in their opposition and exclusiveness, and
Israel as a whole, perhaps "the whole nation
which shall then be in existence" (Prof.
Turner), will accept of Jesus as their Messiah,
and the unspeakably blessed influence of their
reception within the Christian fold will extend
all over the Gentile world, (ver. 12, is.) « But
there is no necessity for supposing that every
single individual Jew then living will be con-
verted to Christ. As Alford says: "'All

Israel shall be saved,' Israel as a nation, not
individuals ; nor is there the slightest ground
for the notion of the universal restoration"
(awoitoTaoTOMrit) of all the Jews who ever lived —
the outcast sons of the kingdom and Judas
himself not excepted. We may also add that
the apostle is wholly silent as to any restora-
tion of the Jews to Palestine (maintained by
Delitzsch, Ebrard, and many others), or as to
any future personal reign of Christ on David's
throne at Jerusalem. "Nowhere," says De
Wette (1 Thess. 4 : 17) " is there in Paul's writings
acleartraceof an earthly kingdom of Christ."]
As it is written in Isa. 59: 20, 21. The
passage is quoted neither literally nor fully.
Our Old Testament has "to Zion " [the LXX.,
"on account of Zion"] instead of out ol
Sion,* and "unto them that turn from trans-
gression in Jacob " instead of (the Septuagint
rendering) shall turn away ungodliness
(literally, ungodlinesses) from Jacob. In
both cases the English of the Old Testament
is closer to the Hebrew. [This verse brings
the Jew to a truly joyful outlook after a long
dark way of rejection and hardening.]

27. For this is my covenant unto them
[literally, the covenant (proceeding) /rom me]
when I shall take away their sins. The
first clause is a continuation (not a completion)
of the quotation begun in the preceding verse

1 This is the view of commentators generally. But
Philippi and a few others regard this irAijpcD/ia or full-
ness as a supplement from the Gentiles which shall
fill up a deiiciency in Israel arising from the unbeliev-
ing Jews ; just as if Paul had written : until Israel's
irAiipufia from the Gentiles have come in. But this
seems rather far fetched and does not accord with the
general usage of the word. — (F.)

2 Many of the Reformers thought that the great body
of the Jews — so stiff-necked and hard-hearted were
they — would never be converted, not even when the
fullness of the Gentiles had come in. Luther, in his
conviction of their depravity, asserted that " a Jewish
heart is as hard as stock, stone, iron, or devil, which
can in no way be moved." And Calvin interpreted ' all
Israel ' to mean the spiritual Israel gathered from both
Jews and Gentiles. Beza seems to have been more
hopeful of their conversion. Bengel, Olshausen, and
now Philippi (in his Appendix to the Third Eklition)

regard ' all Israel ' as the remnant according to the
election of grace — in other words, the elect and believ-
ing Jews. But Meyer sees no • mystery ' in this view,
and certainly it does not seem much for Paul to say
that the elect Jews will be saved. See 2 Cor. 3 : 14-16,
where Paul speaks of the vail lying on the Jewish
heart, which, upon their turning to the Lord, shall be
taken away. — (F.)

3 "St. Paul probably had in his mind such passages
as Ps. 14 : 7, where ' out of Zion ' is found." (Olshausen.)
Compare Ps. 53: 6; 110: 2 in LXX. "Zion is the centre
and capital of the theocracy, but the Messiah must first
take up his abode there before he can issue from it."
(Sanday.) The Hebrew signifies lo Zion or for, with re-
spect to, Zion, and so " even Paul's translation, ' from
Zion,' although it seems completely to reverse the
sense, is not so wholly inconsistent with it as has some-
times been pretended." (J. A. Alexander.) — (F.)

Ch. XL]

ROMANS.

261

28 As concerning the eo8pel,//i'!^ar«eueii]ie)i for your
sakes : but as toucuiog tne election, they are beloved for
the fatliers' sakes.

29 For the gifts and calling of God are without re-
pentance.

30 For as je in times past have not believed God,
yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:

31 Even so have these also now not believed, that
through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

28 As touching the gospel, they are eneiuies for your
sake : but as touching the election, they are beloved

29 for the fathers' sake. For the gifts and the calling
80 of God are ■ without repentance. For as ye in time

past were disobedient to (iod, but now have obtained

31 mercv by their disobedience. even so have these also
now Deen disobedient, that Dy the mercy shewn to

32 you they also may now obtain mercy. For God bath

I Or. iMt rvnud •/.

[compare Jer. 31 : 81, seq. ; LXX. 88: 81] ; the
second clause is from Isa. 27 : 9 [see Septua-
gintVei^ion]. Putting both passages together,
and adding what is omitted from the first, we
have, as the fulfillment or consummation of
God's covenant with Israel, conversion from
ungodliness and remission of sin. [Meyer,
Philippi, and De Wette likewise refer the
'this' to what follows. The latter thus ex-
plains the passage : " In this consists my cove-
nant with them that I shall have taken away
their sins."]

28. As concerning the gospel* they are
enemies for your sakes. As rejecters of
the gospel, they are displeasing to God and
exposed to his just wrath ; his enemies, not
in the active sense of being opposed to him,
but in the passive sense of being those to
whom he is opposed. That this is the true
explanation of the word 'enemies' appears
from the preceding context (rer. 7, 8,15,2*), and
still more from the contrasted word ' beloved '
in this same verse. They were excluded from
God's favor by the rejection of the gospel, in
order that all its blessings might come to you
Gentiles. [Hence they may be said to be
God's enemies, or that God treated them as
enemies, not only on account of their rejection
of the gospel, but also because of, or for the
sake of its acceptance by the Gentiles. Of
course, God may justly hate the sinner as
such, or his sinful character and life, while
he loves "the man created in his image, and
for whom his Son died." (Godet.)] But as
touching the election, the choice of them
by God as his own people, beloved for the
fathers' sakes. Not for the merita of the

fathers [compare Deut 9 : 6, seq. ], but because
of the 'covenant' made with Abraham, re-
newed to Isaac and Jacob, and destined to
have at last, as above shown, a glorious con-
summation. [Meyer interprets the election
here as meaning the elect remnant.]

29. For the gifts and calling of God
[gracious gifts, in general; and God's calling
of the Jews to be his people, and thus to a
glorious destination, in particular. The 'for'
introduces a confirmation of the latter half of
the preceding verse.] Without repentance
means, simply, "unrepented of" on his part.
["The word is emphatic by position, and de-
notes the unchangeableness of the divine
purpose." (Shedd.) Obviously this same
principle holds true of all God's special gifts
of grace to individual believers.' "While the
apostle at other times makes the participation
in the Abrahamic promises dependent on
faith, he here hopes everj'thing from God's
mercy, as in ver. 23, of his omnipotence."
(De Wette.)]

30, 31. These verses end by showing how
God's unrepented purpose of mercy toward
the Jewish nation is ultimately to have its ful-
fillment ; and therefore they are appropriately
introduced by for. As ye (Gentiles) in times
past have not believed (or, as in Revised
Version, were disobedient to) God, yet have
now obtained mercy through their unbe>
lief (or, disobedience), even so have these
also now not believed (disobeyed, or, become
disobedient) in order that through your
mercy (the mercy which you have received)
they also may obtain mercy. Being at
last moved to seek it by beholding the bless-

' On the ' calling ' of God, especially as It relates to
individuals. Trench ("Notes on the Parables") has the
following: " icoAeii' (to call), like the Latin t-oeare, is the
technical word for inviting to a feast. It is also the
word which St. Paul uses to express the union of an
outward word-bidding and an inward Spirit-drawing,
whereby God seeks to bring men into his kingdom.
The answering word in St. .Tohn is iKtviiv, to draw.

(John 6: 44 ; 12: 32.) This attraction or bidding— oat-
ward by the word, in wan! by the Spirit— la the 'holy
calling (2 Tim. 1: 9), 'calling of God' (Rom. 11 : 29>,
'heavenly calling' (lieb. 3: 1), 'high calling' (Phil.
3: 14);— which last is not the calling /o a height, but
the calling/rom a height ; not as we have it, the ' Ugh
calling,' but the ' calling/rom on high.' "— (F.)

262

ROMANS.

[Ch. XI.

32 For God hath concluded them all In unbelief, that
he might have mercy upon all.

33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and
knowledge of Uod! how unsearchable are his judg-
ments, aud his ways past finding out!

shut up all unto disobedience, that he might have
mercy upon all.

33 O the depth! of the riches* both of the wisdom
and the knowledge of God! how unsearchable are

34 his judgments, aud his ways past tracing out I For

1 Or, o/tht riches and the wUdom, etc 2 Or, both of wisdom, etc.

ings which it brings to you, according to what
is said in ver. 14.^ There is an analogy be-
tween the past and present conduct of God
toward the Gentiles, and his present and
future conduct toward the Jews. The apostle
contrasts the former state of the Gentiles
(disobedience through unbelief) with their
present state (gracious salvation through
faith), and the present state of the Jews
(disobedience through unbelief) with their
future state (gracious salvation through faith.)
He compares the past state of the Gentiles
with the present state of the Jews, and the
present state of the Gentiles with the future
state of the Jews. (J. Brown.)

32. For God hath concluded — literally,
shtitup [together, as in a prison, compare Gal.
3: 22, Revised Version, "The Scripture shut up
all thingsunder sin." Instead of all (men), the
MSS. D E have here all things, a reading prob-
ably derived from the text in Galatians. Upon
all — literally, the all ; the article may refer to
Jews and Gentiles collectively, of whom men-
tion has been made.] " Note this prime say-
ing, which condemns all the world and man's
righteou-ness, and alone exalts God's mercy
to be obtained through faith." (Luther.)
All, whether Jews or Gentiles, are alike shut
up in disobedience; all are alike dependent
on God's mercy. God's gracious act is as
universal in its design and adaptation as
man's sin. Whether or not men will accept
it, this is a question o? fact ; see 1 Tim. 2:4;
2 Peter 3 : 9 ; 1 John 2 : 2. [Paul, in Gal. 3 :
22, shows that those who are thus shut up
unto disobedience and under sin, will never
experience the benefit of God's mercy, and
will, consequently, ever remain in prison and
in bondage, unless they become believers in
Christ. " This contingency (whether men
will accept God's mercy or not) is not here in
view, but simply God's act itself." (Alford.)

"The universal restoration (airoKaTaoraats) is
not to be based on our passage." (Meyer.)
We are only taught that the time is coming
on the earth when God's mercy shall reach
all nations and classes of men, when Jew and
Gentile, the elder and the younger brother,
will once more be gathered together in their
Father's house, and when mankind in gen-
eral will receive the salvation of God. "The
apostle had begun this vast exposition of sal-
vation with the fact of universal condemnation;
he closes it with that of universal mercy. What
could remain to him thereafter but to strike
the hymn of adoration and praise?" (Go-
det. )] In view of the unsearchable wisdom
of God displayed in all his dealings with both
Jew and Gentile, the apostle breaks out into
an admiring apostrophe, and so closes the
argumentative part of the Epistle.

33. O the depth of the riches! ["In-
exhaustible fullness." Bengel remarks that
"Paul, in chapter 9, had been sailing, as it
were, on a strait ; he is now on the ocean."] As
the words riches, wisdom, and knowledge
are all in the same case, we may regard them
as all co-ordinate and alike dependent on the
word depth — ' depth ' of riches, ' depth ' of
wisdom, etc. ; or, as our translators have
done, make only the first of the three, ' riches,'
directly depend on the word 'depth,' and the
other two dependent on 'riches.' The differ-
ence in sense is unimportant, but the latter
way of connecting the words is preferable,
since the word 'riches,' when applied in a
figurative sense to God, seems rather to de-
mand, and commonly to have some defining
adjunct — as, riches of his goodness (2:«), of

his glory (9:23; Eph. 3: 16), of his graCC (Eph. 1:7:

2:7), etc. The word translated unsearchable
is used only here, though the same English
word is used in Eph. 3 : 8 to translate the
word here rendered past finding out. The

' In the beginning of the verse, the «« (also) of our
Common text denotes that the Gentiles, as well as the
Jews, had their period of rebellion. It is, however,

'Their disobedience' served, of course, merely as an
'occasion ' of the Gentiles obtaining mercy. The posi-
tion of ' your mercy ' before 'i-va {in order that) is som«>

omitted by the Revisers. On the use of a particle de- what singular, yet is probably for the sake of emphasis
noting present time with the aorist or past tense (were i — (F.)
now compassionated or shown mercy), see notes on 7 : 6. |

Ch. XI.]

ROMANS.

263

34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or
who halh been liis counsellor?

35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be
recompensed unto him again?

36 For of hiui, and through him, and to him, are all
things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who
35 hath t>een his counsellor? or who hath Aral given to

him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again?
86 For of him, and through him, and unto him, are all

things. To him be the glory > fur ever. Amen.

1 Or. uHlo th* Of M.

original adjectives are in both cases eminently
appropriate to the nouns which they qualify.
His judgments— that is, his decrees or pur-
poses [especially his "hardening judgments"
(Philippi)] are 'unsearchable,' or inscrutable,
and his ways, or methods of procedure, are
•past finding (or, tracing) out,' but infinitely
easy for God to reveal them when he sees fit.
[The judgments and the ways of God are
indeed a "vasty deep," and even when re-
vealed cannot be fully comprehended by our
finite minds. But while they are declared to
be thus unsearchable, it may be well to recol-
lect that Paul speaks of other things which
are likewise past our comprehension — namely,
God's "unspeakable gift" of a Saviour, "the
unsearchable riches of Christ," and "the peace
of God which passeth all understanding." See
2 Cor. 9: 15; Eph. 3: 8; Phil. 4: 7.]

34. These questions are quoted from Isa.
40 : 13, 14. Compare also 1 Cor. 2 : 16 [where
the former clause is again quoted. A similar
thought is also expressed in Wisdom of Solo-
mon 9 : 13]. The first question may have
special reference to God's knowledge, and the
second to his wisdom ; and so this verse con-
firms so much of the preceding, the interro-
gations being equivalent, as often, to a strong
aflBrmation that no one has known his mind
or has become his counselor; hence the intro-
ductory for. ["Many talk," says Bengel," as
if they were not only the Lord's counselors,
but also his inquisitors, his patrons, or his
judges. Scripture everywhere rests in this —
that the Lord hath willed, and said, and done.
It does not unfold the reasons of things, gen-
eral or special. Respecting things too high
for our infant conceptions, it refers us to
eternity, (i cor.u : 9,iwq.)"]

35. This is a manifest reference to Job 41 :
11 ["according to the Hebrew («>:»), not ac-
cording to the LXX., whose translation is
quite erroneous" (Meyer)]. Who hath first
given to him? Who hath anticipated him,
been beforehand with him in giving, so as to
be entitled to any recompense? So as to place
him under any obligation ? Thus these three

questions (T(r.t4, s5) fitly correspond to the three
attributes mentioned in ver. 33: Who hath
been his counsellor f— to wisdom. Who
hath known?— to knowledge. Who hath
given ? — to riches. [" This verse specifies the
depth of the riefies of God." (Bengel.)]

36. For of him. [The thought is: Ho
one has done or can do this, 'for,' etc.] AH
things are ' of him ' (or, from him) in their
origin ; through him, as to their subsistence
and disposal ; and to him (or, for him) u
their end. " God is the basis of all that exists;
for from him all took its rise. God is the
means of all that exists ; for he directs all that
exists to its destination. God is the end of all
that exists; for in him alone all the creature*
rest. It is from God that man derives his
being; to God must he return if he would
truly be; through God must he be led to
God ; and thus God's mercy is the beginning,
the middle, and the end." (Tholuck.) [Com-
pare Col. 1 : 16, where Paul afiSrms that all
things were created in Christ, — as the causal
element of their existence (Ellicott), — all
things were created through him, and all
things were created for him. If the Son had
not been God, such an interchange of im-
portant relations, as Ellicott well remarks,
would never had seemed possible. In the
doxology, we supply after glory some form
of the verb to be. Perhaps the Greek form
which is used in expressing a wish (here, may
there be) is most appropriate in this connec-
tion.]

The close of this verse reminds us of a saying
of the Emperor Marcus Antoninus; but how
much more sublime as well as more true is the
apostle's doxology than the Stoic's apostrophe
to nature: "All is from thee; all is in thee;
all is for thee." To God, and not to nature
[and 'not unto us'], be glory for ever, unf of Ac
ages. Amen. Thus the apostle devoutly closes
the chapter and the formal argument of this
Epistle. [And what but the strongest mental
powers, enlightened and sustained by the
Holy Spirit, could have kept the apostle's
thought throughout all these chapters and

264

ROMANS.

[Ch. XII.

CHAPTER XII.

BESEECH you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of I
God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, |

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies
of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,

verses — without the least sign of breaking
down, sinking, or weakening — up to the lofty
" height of this great argument ! " ']

III. Practical. (Ch. 12-15: 13.)
Ch. 12 : [Exhortations touching the more
nrivate and general duties of Christians.
"The chapter stands unrivalled as a spon-
taneous sketch of the fairest graces which can
adorn the Christian life." (Farrar.) The
subject of the following chapters is the "Z/t/e
of the justified believer." It was no come
down for the apostle to break off from the
high arguing of a didactic treatise, and to
inculcate the common duties which flow from
the Christian faith, and which become the
Christian life.* The apostle, as Godet ob-
serves, commencing this section with Christian
consecration, then speaks of the Christian life
in its two spheres of activity, treating in this
chapter of the religious sphere, and in the
next, of the civil sphere. Renan supposes
that this and the two following chapters,
though written by Paul, did not originally
form a part of the genuine Epistle to the
Romans; but his arguments or fancies are
well answered by Godet.]

It is customary with Paul to close his epis-
tles with a series of practical exhortations,
not always very closely connected with the
preceding doctrinal discussion, but always

very pertinent to the circumstances of those
to whom the epistle is addressed.

1. [I beseech, or, exhort, with the related
idea of comforting or encouraging. Compare
Eph. 4: 1; IThess. 4: 1. "Moses commands,
the apostle exhorts." (Bengel.) This word
is used above fifty times in Paul's epistles.]
The word therefore connects the exhortation
to entire consecration to God with the pre-
ceding course of thought, not merely in the
closing verses of the preceding chapter, nor
even in that chapter as a whole, but in the
entire doctrinal discussion of the foregoing
chapters. By {through) the mercies of God
— in view of, and as a consequence of those
divine mercies which have been so fully set
forth in the body of the Epistle. [The tender
— literally, wailing — compassions of God are
here presented as a motive (Sia) to thankful
obedience and entire consecration. Cannot
the same appeal be made to our grateful feel-
ings in view of God's compassionate mercies
by us so constantly experienced ? Note how
Paul, after writing of God's "wrath," and
of his "hardening" sinners, and giving them
the spirit of stupor, can yet speak so freely
and unhesitatingly of the mercies of God.
Compare 2 Cor. 1 : 3, where God is called
"theFather of mercies."] That ye present
your bodies. Your entire selves [present at
once, and once for all (aorist tense), 'your
bodies,' in this verse, 'your minds,' in the

1 In connection with this chapter, we would call
attention to the remarkable religious movement which
is now going on among the Jews in South Russia, under
the leadership of Joseph Rabinowitz, a lawyer by pro-
fession, but now a baptized Christian believer. After
visiting Jerusalem, and witnessing the desolation of
Zion and the sad state of his own people, the last
chapter of the Hebrew Bible (2 Chron. 36: 14-16) came
forcibly to his mind, and he was led to ask : " Can there
be no ' remedy ' ? " This remedy he soon found in the
gospel of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, and this
gospel he is now proclaiming to his " kinsmen according
to the flesh." He proposes to organize a new sect, to be
called Israelites of the New Covenant, and many Jews
have already expressed a desire to join this Christian
brotherhood. In a recent communication, he says: "By
the help of God I placed the blessing, the New Testa-
ment, in many Jewish houses, and thousands of Israel-
ites trust for salvation in the blessed blood of the Lord

Jesus Christ, who was crucified outside the gate of
Jerusalem, to make an end of sin and to bring in ever-
lasting righteousness." We may remark that the He-
brew translation of the New Testament, by Delitzsch, is
having a wonderful sale, and is exerting a remarkable
influence among the Jews in Eastern Russia, and even
in far-distant Siberia.— (F.)

*"No one felt more deeply than Paul that it requires
great principles to secure our faithfulness in little
duties, and that every duty, however apparently insig-
nificant, acquires a real grandeur when it is regarded
in the light of those principles from which its fulfill-
ment springs." (Farrar.) "Holy George Herbert,"
speaking, in his " Elixir," of doing all unto God, and
for his sake, says :

" A servant with this clause

Makes drudgery divine ;
Who sweeps a room as for thy laws

Makes that and the action fine." — (F.)

Ch. XII.]

ROMANS.

265

holy^ acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye

I acceptable to God, uhieh it your * spiritual 'serrice.
2 And be not fashioned according to this < world: but

1 Or. wtU-pUtuing 1 Or. htlcngtng to Ih* ruuon I Or, tnnkip 4 0r, af*.

next (Meyer) — thus, a whole burnt offering,
to be wholly consumed for God on his altar.
The term 'bodies' may be taken in a literal
sense, since their presentation to God may be
a service of the mind, a rational service.
Some think the word was chosen as having
reference to the metaphor of sacrifice, and to
the body regarded as the seat of sin. 01s-
huusen thinks the word ' bodies ' is used here
to indicate that sanctification should extend
to the lowest power of human nature ] A
living sacrifice— not only in distinction from
the sacrifice of dead bodies, which the law for-
bade, and of slain bodies, which the law
required, but in the sense of a perpetual sac-
rifice to be continually renewed. Holy. The
Levitical sacrifices were required to be with-
out natural or physical blemish ; here, of
course, the reference is to moral purity.'

[This, and the following verb, should probably
be put in the infinitive in the same regimen as
'present' This verb occurs also in 1 Peter
1 : 14. In the use of this verb, Dr. Schaff
sees a special adaptation to the changing and
transitory /a«Aion of this world. Compare 1
Cor. 7 : 31. " The fashion (»x^m«) of this world
passeth away." See, also, the rendering of
the Revised Version, "be not fashioned."]
By this world we understand the whole
world of the ungodly as contrasted with the
disciples of Christ. ['This world,' orage(«xii'),
is commonly defined as the temporary order
of things in which sin predominate, to which
the "age to come," the kingdom of God, or
the holy state of things founded by Christ, is
the exact contrast. In accordance with Scrip-
ture teaching, ages have already transpired,
and in view of what is past, Paul speaks of

Acceptable unto God. God requires of us living in "the ends of the ages.'' (» cor. lo: n.)
now no sacrifice of slain beasts; but the unre- | But he also speaks of "ages which are corn-
served consecration of our persons to him in ing" (Kph.j: 7) ; and "such expressions," says
holy living is acceptable, well pleasing to Ellicott, "deserve especial notice, as they
him. [This term is frequently used by Paul, incidentally prove how very ill founded is the
and except in Titus 2: 9, always in relation to | popular opinion adopted by Meyer and others,
God or to Christ. Compare 1 Peter 2: 6, that St. Paul believed the Advent of the Lord

"spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God."]
Your reasonable service. The consecra-
tion of our bodies to God is an act of our
minds; it is a rational (Aoyucot), or spiritual
service. It is to be performed in a way suitable
to the nature of man as a rational being, suit-
able to the nature of God as a spiritual being.*

to be close at hand."] Wearetoavoid worldly
conformity, not by any oddity of dress or
manners, but by an inward transformation
resulting in a knowledge, approval, and prac-
tice of that which God wills. We have in
this verse an evil to be avoided, a remedy
to be applied, and the happy results of

The word here translated 'service,' always j applying it. [Would that Christians and
refers to sacred or religious, never to merely churches in this age of worldly conformity
common or secular service. It corresponds might heed this warning voice of the apostle,

to our word service when the adjective divine
is prefixed to it.
'Z. And be not conformed to this world.

and thus be saved from an "evil" which, per-
haps more than any other, is eating out their
spiritual life and power, and which thus mars

'This term, «yio«, holy (occurring in the classics,
while its many New Testament derivatives are un-
known), "is the rarest of five synonyms, — i«po«, o<xu)t,
irtiivo^, oyw,— which the Greeks had to express the
idea of holiness, so far, at least, as they knew such an
idea. In Biblical Greek ... It is the only word by
which the bihiical conception of holiness is expressed,
. . . whereas the most frequently occurring word In
classical Greek, itpot, is almost completely excluded
from Scripture use." (Cremer.)— (F.)

'Compare 1 Peter 2: 2, where he speaks of Ao-y«6«,

rational, or spiritual milk, "milk which nourishes tbo
soul." (Grimm.) Clement of Alexandria speaks of
logical medicines (medicines for the mind), logical
food, logical water, logical baptism. "Aoyt«ot, pertain-
ing to, and approved by, the rea-wn." (Boise.) Prof.
Cremer thinks it implies reasonable meditation or
reflection in contrast with outward, thoughtless cere-
mony. This 'rational worship' is grammatically in
apposition to the sentence, 'present your bodiea,'
etc.— (F.)

266

ROMANS.

[Ch. XIL

transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may
prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will
of liod.

3 Kor I say, through the grace given unto me, to
every man that is among you, not to think of himself
more highly than be ought to think; but to think
soberly, according as God oath dealt to every man the
measure of faith.

be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove what is i the good and - acceptable
and perfect will of God.

3 For I say, through the grace that was given me^ to
every man that is among you, not to think of him-
self more highly than he ought to think ; but so to
think as to think soberly, according as God hath

4 dealt to each man a measure of faith. For even as

1 Or, t\t will 0/ God, even the thing which i< good and acceptable and perfect 2 Or. weU-pUating.

their influence for good, making them to appear
so unlike the followers of the meek and lowly
Saviour. Would that Christian men might lay
aside all pernicious habits and wordly ostenta-
tion, and that Christian women might hang
a portion of their jewelry and needless orna-
ment on the Saviour's rugged, bleeding cross.
This "vain glory of life" is unbecoming to a
Christian, is, in many respects, pernicious in
its influence, and must be oflTensive in the sight
of our Heavenly Father. The apostle, in his
earnestness, could not be content with a merely
negative command, and hence he adds, be ye
transformed — literally, metamorphosed, a
term used of Christ's transfiguration. See,
also, 2 Cor. 3: 18.] This does not imply that
the persons addressed were as yet unregenerate,
but only that their inward renewal, which had
been distinctly professed in their baptism, was
to be progressive, and to manifest its reality
and power by a growing conformity to the
will of God. [This transformation, equivalent
to Christ's being formed in us (Gai. 4:i9), he
tells them is secured through the renewing of
your mind, which, as impaired and darkened
by sin, has become a reprobate (or " unap-
proved) mind" (i: vs), or, "mind of the flesh."
(Col. 2: 18.) This renewing is effected by the
Holy Spirit (Bph. 4: 23; Titus 3: 5) ; and here again
we have divine activity and human dependence
and co-operation brought to view. The three
adjectives, the first of which alone has the
article on account of the general unity of their
meaning, are to be used substantively (as in
the margin of the Revised Version) unless we
would assert the truism that God is well pleased
with his own will.]

3. After the exhortation to entire consecra-
tion to God, the apostle enjoins the cultiva-
tion of particular graces and the practice of
particular duties, beginning with humility
[as, perhaps, the most important]. For serves

to confirm the general exhortation of ver. 2,
by a special requirement. (Meyer.) I say,
through the grace given unto me, as an

apostle to exhort and guide the church. [I
exhort you, not in my own name or by mine
own authority (the apostle himself thus set-
ting an example of humility), but in virtue
of, or by means of, the grace which was
bestowed upon me.] To every man that is
among you — a strong statement of the indi-
vidual application of the admonition. [This
would have applied to Peter himself had he
been in Kome, but had thisbeen so, Paul would
nothavethus written, or indeed would not have
written at all. (Lange. ) It would do no
harm, however, if the church dignitaries now
at Rome should heed this message of the
apostle.] To think soberly. There is dan-
ger of our being puff'ed up with pride on
account of God's gifts, whether ordinary or
extraordinary. [There is a play upon words
here in the original, which is thus brought
outby Alford: "Not to be high minded above
what he ought to be minded, but to be so
minded as to be sober minded." This last
term is specially employed by the Greeks to
denote self-regulation or self-control.^] Ac-
cording as God hath dealt to every man
the measure of faith. God has distributed
his gifts and graces in diff"erent measure, accord-
ing to his own wisdom. It belongs to Chris-
tian wisdom and humility to estimate our-
selves accordingly, neither disparaging his
gifts and our consequent responsibilities, nor
overestimatine them in our self-conceit.
["The emphatic position of each one ('every
man') (placed in the original before the as)
gives prominence to the idea of diversity be-
tween one man and another." (i Cor.3: s; t: n.)
(" Biblical Commentary.") "We may describe
faith as being the subjective principle of Chris-
tian endeavor, as divine grace is the objective.

1 The word irapa translated above, " means beside the
mark or aim, and consequently (as the context may
determine) sometimes above, as here, and sometimes
below, as 2 Cor. 11 : 24." (Winer.) Aet (it is fit) denotes

necessity, and, as used here, moral obligation ; ^poi'«t>',
to feel or regard in mind, is often used by Paul, especially
in his later letters. The same injunction is repeated
substantially in ver. 16, ' mind not high things.'— (F.)

Ch. XIL]

ROMANS.

267

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all
members hare not the same office :

5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and
every one members one of another.

6 Having then gifts ditfering according to the grace
that is given to us, whether prophecy, let um prophety
according to the proportion of faitn ;

we have many members in one body, and all the

5 members have not the same office: so we, who are
many, are one body in ihrist, and severally meni-

6 btTB one of anothi-r. And having gifts differing
according to the grace that was given to um, whether
prophecy, let u* yroufifty according to the proportion

7 of our faith; or ministry, /e< us give ouridvet tooUp

This measure of faith which each one has is a
gift of grace. (v«r. s.)]

4,5. [For "elucidates the fact that God
apportions variously to various persons, be-
cause the Christian community is like a body
with many members having various duties"
(Alford), thus furnishing a motive for giving
heed to the exhortation. If all the members
of Christ's body have not the same function
or office, yet each one, the obscurest as well
as the most prominent, has a work to do, and
the humblest member, if faithful even in
little things, will in no wise lose his reward.
Members one of another. We are such
only as we are members of the body of Christ,
he being "the common element in which the
union consists." '] See the same figure of the
Christian community as one body developed
still more fully by the apostle in 1 Cor. 12 : 12-
27 ; compare also Eph. 4 : 11-16. It is a beau-
tiful spectacle when a Christian church sets
itself earnestly to realize this apostolic idea.
Many a church now reputed feeble, and re-
garding itself so, would be surprised to find
how strong it is, if it should truly grasp and
carry out this idea. [Of the aphorism : "Di-
versity without unity is disorder, unity without
diversity is death," the former member is most
certainly true. Could the members of our
churches, while each should be doing his own
special work, yet feel and act as a band of
loving, sympathizing brethren, thinking less
of ourselves and more of our fellow members
(Pbii. 2: s,«), more of Christ and his suffering
cause, and willing to sacrifice for the sake of
that cause, not only of our wealth or of our
poverty, but, perchance, a little of our self-
importance, self-will, and obstinacy (wherein
we have to strive so hard to be conscientious).,
there would be left, as a source of weakness
and reproach, but little of variance, dishar-
mony, and strife. The Church of Christ would
be a mighty power if her enemies could say

now as they did in earliest times: "Behold
how these Christians love one another! "]

6«8. Having then gifts differing ac>
cording to the grace that is given to us,

etc. This is a rich and beautiful passage, some-
what elliptical, requiring supplementary words
of the translators, and irregular in its gram-
matical construction, yet not obscure. [A few
expositors, without supplying different verbs,
render somewhat as follows : we are one body,
etc., while having differing gifts, thaving)
prophecy, (having) ministry, etc. But this ren-
dering ignores the disjunctive particle at the be-
ginning of ver. 6, and also the fact that many of
the following terms, such as simplicity, dili-
gence, cheerfulness, denote neither the mea-
sure in which the gracious gift is given, nor the
sphere in which it is exercised, but the way
and manner in which it should be exercised.
(Philippi.) Oodet supplies but one brief sen-
tence at the beginning, as follows: 'Having
then gifts' . . . let us exercise them, etc.
Whether prophecy— not here the foretelling
of future events, but "an immediate occasional
inspiration, leading the recipient to deliver, as
the mouth of Ood, the particular communica-
tion which he had received, whether de-
signed for instruction, exhortation, or comfort"
(Hodge.) The gift as thus defined would seem
specially to belong to the age of the a{K>stlefl.
On the extraordinary gifts of that age, see
1 Cor. 12 : 4-10. According to the propor-
tion of faith ; or, measure of (our) faith ;
see ver. 3, and the Revised Version. ' Faith '
here is rightly regarded as subjective, equiva-
lent to personal confidence in God or trust in
Christ; not 'faith,' referring to doctrine. Thus
there is no reference here to what is called the
"analogy of faith," although Wordsworth,
Philippi, and Hodge contend for this view.]
For one to speak in the proportion of faith is
to speak in his prophecy only what God re-
veals to his faith, without adding any of his

1 On the force of the neuter article ri in the Revision
text, see at 9 : 6. The preposition Kara, which should
properly be followed by the accusative, serves here
merely as an adverb. For limilar examples, see Mark

14: 19; John 8: 9; Rev. 21: 21. The phrase regarded
as a noun in the " accusative of specification " is thus
rendered by Meyer .- " But in what concerns the indi-
Tidual relation " (we are members one of another).— (F.)

268

ROMANS.

[Cii. XII.

7 Or ministry, lei us wail on our ministering; or he
that teacbetb, on teaching;

8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation : he that giv-
eth, lei him do il with simplicity ; he that ruleth, with
diligence ; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

9 Lrl love be without dissimulation. Abhor that
which is evil • cleave to that which is good.

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly
love ; in honour preferring one another ;

8 minlstrr ; or he that teacbetb, to bis teaching ; or he
that exnorteth, to bis exhorting: he that gi vet h, /e<
him do it with ' liberality ; he that ruleth, with dili-

fence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness,
.et love be without hypocrisy. Abhor that which is

10 evil: cleave to that which is good. In love of the
bretnren be tenderly affection^ one to another ; in

11 honour preferring one another; in diligence not

1 Qr. tinglenett.

own inferences or conjectures. The word for
ministering, or, serving, is the same which
gives name to the deacon's oflBce in Phil. 1:1;
1 Tim. 3: 8, 12; compare also 1 Cor. 12: 5;
Eph. 4: 12; hut is probahly used here in a
more comprehensive sense, to include various
forms of service. [Or he that teacheth* etc.
If Paul had not changed the construction he
would have written, or teaching ; or exhorta-
tion ; or giving, etc. He, however, retains the
word 'whether' as if the construction was
unchanged. The original word for exhort (see
ver. 1, where it is translated "beseech") "com-
bines the ideas of exhorting, and comforting,
and encouraging." (Grimm.) It differs from
teaching, in that it is rather directed to the
feelings, while the latter is directed more to the
understanding of the hearers. (Ellicott.) ] He
that giveth, let him do it with simplicity.
This latter word is the same which is translated
liberality and bounti/ulness in 2 Cor. 8:2;
9 : 11. [This word, rendered by Prof Boise,
"frank liberality" (used here with reference
not to official distribution, but to personal im-
parting or giving), is found only in Paul's
writings (seven times)^ and, according to Elli-
cott, "marks that openness {ankou, to spread
out so that there are no folds) and sincerity of
heart which repudiates duplicity in thought or
action." Alford prefers the idea of open-
handedness or liberality ; compare also the use
of the abverb in connection with God's giving,
James 1 : 5. He that ruleth — he that presides
over others in the church (compare govern-
ments, 1 Cor. 12 : 28), and possibly in the house-
hold—let such a one rule with diligence, or
zeal. Most expositors think church overseers
are here referred to, though, as Alford says , they
seem to be brought in rather " low down in the
list." Godet thinks that church oflBcers have
been already referred to under the term minis-
istry.] With cheerfulness. The word used

here (iXoponn-i) is a particularly significant one,
which occurs nowhere else in the New Testa-
ment. It might be translated : with hilarity.
The corresponding adjective is used only in
2 Cor. 9: 7, where we read that "God loveth
a cheerful giver."

9-21. ["Exhortations for all without dis-
tinction, headed by love I" (Meyer.)] Let
love be [the imperative, being understood]
without dissimulation, or, unfeigned, as
the same Greek adjective is translated in 2 Cor.
6: 6; 1 Tim. 1: 5; 2 Tim. 1: 5; 1 Peter 1 : 22
("without hypocrisy" in James 3: 17; com-
pare 1 John 3 : 18). It is the part of unfeigned
love to others to hate the evil that mars the
imperfect characters of those whom we never-
theless sincerely love, and to attach ourselves
to, and encourage the good that there is in
them. This is loving them wisely, "for their
good, to edification." (Rom. i5:2.) [The present
participles indicate that we should habitually
abhor that which is evil wherever or in
whomsoever it exits, and cleave ('attach' —
literally, "glue" ourselves) to that which is
good, wherever manifested.^ Here and in
Luke 6 : 45, the form of the article shows the
noun to be neuter ; but as used in the Scrip-
tures with the article, it generally has reference
to persons, and it is mainly for this reason that
the Lord's prayer in the Revision is made to
speak of "the evil one."]

10. Be kindly affectioned one to
another with brotherly love. The word
translated ' kindly affectioned ' has for its root
a word appropriated to designate that natural
affection which exists between blood relations,
and is here fitly employed to express that spirit-
ual relationship which binds together the chil-
dren of the same Heavenly Father by a tie
stronger than that of blood [and makes them
brothers and sisters, one family in Christ. The
word for 'brotherly love' {<f>i\aSt\<l>ia, occurring

* Of the two words frequently rendered 'evil,' n-onjpo?,
the one here employed, and Koxdf , Trench says : " In
wovTipit the positive activity of evil comes far more

decidedly out than in Koxoi." A man may be KaK6i, evil
or wicked in himself, but one who is voyj)p6t ia an eTil*
worker, a corrupter of others. — (F.)

Ch. XII.]

ROMANS.

269

11 Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving { 12 slothful: fenrent in spirit; serving Uhe Lord; re-

the Lord ;

12 Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; con-
tinuing instant in prayer ;

13 Distributing to the necessity of saints ; given to
hospitality.

Joicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing

13 stedfastly in prayer; communicating to the neot*-

14 sities of the salnu ; ' given to hospitaluy. Bleat them

1 Some anoienl aotborltlaa rtmd (A* opportunUf 1 Or. fwrtuinf.

elsewhere in 1 Thess. 4:9; Heb. 13 : 1 ; 1 Peter
1 : 22; 2 Peter 1 : 7) is placed first in the Greek,
as in the Revised Version, because of emphasis.
The same is true of all the leading nouns which
follow down to ver. 14, and most of them might
well hold their prominent place in a transla-
tion. Many of these nouns are in the so-called
dative of reference or respect.] In honour
preferring one another — or, more exactly,
"preceding one another," "going before one
another in giving honor," and so setting an
attractive example. Compare Phil. 2 : 8.

11. Not slothful in business. This clause
is very commonly understood as enjoining
diligence in secular affairs; but this is not in
accordance with the usage of the original word,
which is translated 'business' only in this pas-
sage, usually "diligence," as in ver. 8 of this
chapter, and in 2 Cor. 8:7; Heb. 6:11; 2 Peter
1:5; Jude 3. Not slack in diligence, or, not
remiss in zeal, would be a fitter translation.
The exhortation [compare the similar one in
Eccl. 9 : 10] is in harmony with the whole con-
text, in which strictly religious duties are
enjoined. The service of the Lord should be
prosecuted with a sustained zeal and a spirit
glowing with sacred fervor. [Fervent in
spirit — in spirit be fervent, or, boiling. Com-
pare Acts 18 : 25. This is the opposite of being
sluggish in diligence.* Serving the Lord.
Instead of this, Meyer and Lange, with the
uncials D * F G, read : Serving the time. It
would be equivalent to taking the circum-
stances into consideration, regulating oneself
by them. (Cremer.) The principal letters in
the words for Lord and time are the same, so
that the words, if abbreviated, could be easily
mistaken. The weight of manuscript authority
and of internal probability is in favor of the
usual reading. De Wette well says: "The
Christian should improve the time and oppor-
tunity {rhv Kaipiv), but not Serve it"]

12. Rejoicing in hope; patient in trib-
ulation, etc. In the first clause, the adjunct
expresses the ground of the rejoicing [thus, in

virtue of hope, be joyful] ; in the second, the
state in which the patience is to be exercised
[amid tribulation, be steadfast] ; and in the
third, the habit to which the instancy or tire-
less perseverance is to be applied [in prayer,
earnestly persevering]. In reference to this
last, compare Acts 1:14; 2 : 42 ; 6:4; Col. 4 : 2.
13. Distributing^ to the necessity (neces-
sities) of saints ; given to hospitality.
Both these kindred duties were made more
obligatory by the circumstances of those primi-
tive times when Christians were so often subject
to spoliation of goods and to persecutions.
How well the early disciples obeyed this first
admonition we learn from Acts 4: 34, 35; 11:
27-30; Kom. 15 : 25-27 ; 2 Cor. 8:1-4; 9 : 1, 2.
The nature of the duty enjoined in the second
admonition is shown, by the term used, to be
something very diflferent from that sumptuous
entertainment of one's personal friends which
is now commonly called ' hospitality.' It is
rather the manifestation of our loving care
for the stranger guest. [Instead of ' commu-
nicating' to the necessities of the saints, as in
the Revised Version, we prefer, with many
others, to take the participle intransitively;
thus: Participating in, sharing, their neces-
sities— that is, making them to be as our own.
A few manuscripts read remembrances instead
of necessities, but this, according to Westcott
and Hort, is "probably a clerical error, due
to the hasty reading of an ill-written MS."
'Given to hospitality '—more literally, pursu-
ing hospitality. The verb from which this
participle is derived is commonly used in the
sense of persecute, as in the next vers*. Godet
says the term pursuing "shows that we are
not to confine ourselves to according hospitality
when it is asked, but that we should even seek
opportunities of exercising it" The duties of
beneficence and of hospitality are often enjoined
in the Scriptures. Compare 1 Tim. 3:2; 6: 18;
Titus 1:8; Heb. 13 : 12 ; 1 Peter 4 : 9. From
saints and strangers Paul now comet to perse*
cutors. ]

1 " How much was Paul himself in this matter, with | seq. : Phil. 4 ; 12, IS ; 1 Cor. 4 : 11, aeq. ; 8 : 18 ; Acta 30 :
all his fervor of spirit, a shining model ! 1. Cor. 9 : 19, 1 36 ; 16 : 3." (Meyer.)— <F.)

270

ROMANS.

[Ch. XII.

14 Bless tbem vbich persecute you : bless, and curse
not.

15 Rejoice with tbem ibat do rejoice, and weep witb
tbem thai weep.

16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind
not high things, but condescend to men of low estate.
Be not wise in your own conceits.

17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide
things honest in the sight of all men.

15 that persecute you ; bless, and curse not. Rejoice
with them that rejoice; weep with tbem that weep.

16 Be of the same mind one toward another. Set not
your mind on high things, but i condescend to
* things that are lowly. Be not wise in your own

17 conceits. Render to no man evil for evil. Take
thought for things honourable in the sight of all

1 Gr. b» carried auay with 2 Or, them.

14. Bless them which persecute you.

This seems to be a quotation from the Sermon

on the Mount. (Matt. &: U; Luke 6: 28.) Paul

doubtless had knowledge of this injunction of
our Lord, though he may hardly yet have read
it in the gospels of Matthew and Luke. [The
Revisers omit the passage from Matthew's Gos-
pel. 'Bless' (tvKoytlrt) in the classics means
merely to speak well of. And curse not.
Only those may curse whom God has commis-
sioned to imprecate his judgment on transgres-
sors. To love and pray for and forgive our
enemies and persecutors, or those whom we
deem to be such, is a hard task for imperfectly
sanctified human nature. One thought, how-
ever, may help us thus to feel and act — the
thought that, if Christ were as quick to take
oflFense and as slow to forgive as we are, none
of us could be saved. The present tense of
these verbs denotes an ever present duty.]

15. Rejoice with them that do rejoice,
and weep with them that weep. Chrysos-
tom remarks on this verse that it requires a
more generous spirit to obey the first admoni-
tion than the second, since nature inclines us to
weep when we see others weeping ; but in the
opposite case envy is apt to arise and make it
difficult for us sincerely to rejoice with them.
[In the New Testament, as in classic Greek,
the infinitive' is sometimes used imperatively.
(See Phil. 3 : 16. ) Some, as Buttmann, would
supply here a verb (fi«i), meaning "it is neces-
sary," or "I exhort" as in ver. 1. "The ex-
hortation of this verse is most important in our
intercourse with our fellow-men, and implies
the fullest human sympathy. How needful to
a pastor!" (Boise.)]

16. Be of the same mind one toward
another. [After participles, imperatives, and
infinitives, we now come back again to parti-
ciples. The verb be ye is supposed to be
understood. The meaning is (Be ye) think-
ing, having in mind, the same thing, etc.]

The word used here refers to the aflTections and
feelings rather than to intellectual beliefs.
Mind not high things, but condescend to
men of low estate. The words rendered
' high things ' and ' men of low estate ' are
both adjectives. The first is certainly neuter,
and is therefore properly translated. The sec-
ond is an ambiguous form, which may be
either masculine or neuter. [It is by usage
generally masculine, though many here regard
it, from its antithesis to high things, as neuter.]
But the participle connected with it, and trans-
lated 'condescend,' favors the masculine sense
of the adjective. It suggests the idea of leav-
ing the path we were intending to walk in, in
order to go along with another [and is gener-
ally used in a bad sense. (Gal. 2:13; 2Peter3:lT.)

The word ' condescend ' savors a little too
much of pride. Be companions with the lowly
would be a better rendering. The apostle
would thus have no abominable caste distinc-
tions among Christians. With the ancient
Greeks humility was not a virtue, and the
Greek word for humble or low (rairtivoi) was
used in an ill sense. Plato says humble (rawt-
iVos) and servile, and even Philo, according to
Prof Cremer, uses this word in a bad sense.
Yet we believe that a few Greeks sometimes
employ this word as meaning lowly rather
than low or mean. Humility in the Scriptures
is opposed to all self-righteousness, and that
man is humble who takes a low estimate of
himself— " esteems himself small before God
and men." Be not wise in your own con-
ceits— literally, do not become wise with
yourselves, in your own estimation merely ;
similar to 11: 25; see also Prov. 3: 7. The
self-conceit which the apostle condemns is
greatly opposed to Christian harmony and
union.]

17. [Recompense to no man evil for
evil.i 'Evil for evil.' While Ellicott (on 1
Thess. 5: 15) justifies the "usual and correct

> The participles in these virtually Imperative sentences require the negative form, ii^itit (no one) rather than
ov««ij.— (F.)

Ch. XIL]

ROMANS.

271

18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live 18 men. If it he poaaible, as raiicli an in you lieth beat

peaceably with all men.

19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather
give place unto wrath: for it is written. Vengeance if
mine ; I will repay, saith the Ix>rd.

20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him : if be
thirst, give him drink : for in so doing thou shalt heap
coals ofnre on his bead.

19 peace with all men. Avenge nut yourselves, beloved,
but give place unto 'the wrath ct^ God; tor it la
written, Venxcauce bcloiiKL-ili unto me; I will r<x.-<im-

20 pense, saith the Lord. Hut if thine enemy hunger,
reed him ; if he thirst, give him to driuk : fur iu lu

statement that Christianity was the first defin-
itely to forbid the returning evil for evil," he
does not deny that " individual instances of
the recognition of this precept may be found in
heathenism." Certainly Socrates, in "Crito,"
speaks against the retaliation of injuries. Pro-
vide things honest (as Paul himself did in
2 Cor. 8: 21), have a care for, "have regard
to" (Noyes); found elsewhere only in 2 Cor.
8: 21; 1 Tim. 5: 8. This is virtually a quota-
tion fron Prov. 3 : 4, Septuagint. If the mem-
bers of our churches obeyed this instruction,
' ' those that are without ' ' would have to provide
for their famishing souls some other kind of
diet than "the faults of Christians."] The
word 'honest,' in the Scriptures, always has
the meaning of honorable, according to the
sense of the Latin word from which it is de-
rived. It is opposed to what is unbecoming,
rather than to what is unjust and unfair.

18. Live peaceably with all men — that
is, do not disturb others, and do not be dis-
turbed by them. The first is wholly in our
own power, the second is not ; hence the quali-
fication, if it be possible, as much as
lieth in you.' ["Even those who are most
quiet and peaceable, yet if they serve God
faithfully, are often made 'men of strife.' We
can but ' follow peace ' ; have the making only
of one side of the bargain, and, therefore, can
but, 'as much as in us lies,' live peaceably."
(Matthew Henry.)— A. H.]

19. Dearly beloved. "The more diflBcult
the duty, the more affectionate the address."
(Tholuck.) [Avenge not yourselves. As
injury may be more than an ill or evil, so
avenging oneself is more than repaying evil
for evil.*] Give place unto wrath. Allow
room for God's anger; do not interfere with
the divine prerogative by taking vengeance
into your own bands. Other interpretations i

are advocated, but this best suits the last part
of the verse, and best explains the use of the
Greek article with the word wrath — [liternlly,
unto the wrath (that is, of God), so most com-
mentators. We think, however, that the force
of the article cannot be pressed here. Cora-
pare with this Ecclus. 38 : 12, " give place to the
physician"; Lukel4: 9, "give this man place";
also Eph. 4: 27, "neither give place to the
devil." According to the usage of Paul, the
word wrath is generally applied to God. If
the reference here be to men's wrath, then, in
accordance with the idiom of the above pas-
sages, we should naturally expect the exhorta-
tion would be, give no place to wrath, which
would indeed be equivalent to giving it a wide
berth, or having nothing to do with it Some,
after the analogy of the Latin phrase of similar
import, dare irce spatium, would give to the
word ' place ' the idea of temporal space, thus
counseling delay to the exercise of wrath ; but
this appears to us hardly admissible. ] For it
is written, in Deut 82: 85. The same pas-
sage is quoted also in Heb. 10 : 30. [The quo-
tation follows the Hebrew more nearly than
it does the LXX. The words saith the
Lord are added by Paul for the sake of
emphasis.] It has often been said that belief
in a God who takes vengeance tends to make
men revengeful. This passage teaches exactly
the contrary. See, also, the next verse.

20. Therefore, if thine enemy hunger,
feed him, etc. [' But if,' according to another
reading. ' Feed him ' (present tense) — literally,
by morsels or, from hand, and continually,
see 11: 20.] For in so doing (or, by so
doing) you will make him very uncomfortable,
until he finds relief by coming to a better
mind, which he will be likely soon to do under
such treatment [The general idea, probably,
is this: By showing this kindness you will

> The limitation (as to) tehat it from you, what in you
lies, what depends upon you, is what might be termed
the accusative of closer specification, or the accusative
of synecdoche. See ver. 6; 15: 17; Heb. 2: 17; 5:1.
The idea of the apostle is: Be at peace with all men if '

they will let you. The verb, be at peace, la fband da^
where in Mark 9: 50; 2 Cor. IS: 11 ; 2 TbcM. S: 18.— <F.)
* Note here how the reflexive pronoun (tbeaiadvei) b
used for the second penon. — (F)

272

ROMANS.

[Ch. XIII.

21 Be not OTercome of evil, but overcome evil with I 21 doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. Be
good. I not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.

CHAPTER XIII.

LET every soul be subject unto the higher powers.
For there is no power but of God : the powers that
be are ordained of (Jod.

2 Whosoever therefore resisteth the ijower, resisteth
the ordinance of Ood : and they that resist shall receive
to themselves damnation.

1 Let every soul be in subjection to the higher
powers : for there is no power but of God ; ana the

2 powers that be are ordained of God. Therefore he
that resisteth the power, withstandetb the ordinance
of God: and they that withstand shall receive to

most effectually subdue him. This whole
verse seems to be a very Christian precept, yet
it is taken, word for word, from the Old Tes-
tament. See Prov. 25: 21, 22, Septuagint.
Wordsworth says "the Holy Spirit, by the
hand of St. Paul, has indited here a chapter
of Christian Proverbs."]

21. Be not overcome of {by) evil, but
overcome evil with good — [literally, in
the good — namely, which thou shalt show
thy enemy.] A fit condensation and close of
this subject. [Erasmus, speaking of this chaj)-
ter, says : " No song can be sweeter."]

Ch. 13 : Political and Social Duties — Sub-
jection to Those in Authority. [The Jews, who
in accordance with Deut. 17 : 15 were to have
"no stranger" set over them as king, were
everywhere restive under Roman rule, and
even in Rome were not wholly submissive to
authority. A short time previous to Paul's
writing this letter, Claudius, the emperor, as
both Suetonius and Luke inform us, expelled
the Jews from Rome on account of their con-
stant tumults (tumultuantes). And these may
have been Jewish Christians, since their leader
or instigator bore the name of Chrestus, which,
according to Tertullian, was the usual way of
pronouncing Christus or Christ. But in this
early period the Roman authorities would
scarcely recognize the distinctions between
Jews and Jewish Christians. Gentile Chris-
tians also may naturally have felt that it would
not be an unrighteous thing to resist or even
plot against such a wicked and idolatrous gov-
ernment as that of Rome. Hence it was in
the interest of all parties that Paul counselled
obedience to rulers. Yet the principle incul-

cated holds good everywhere, since Christians
everywhere are citizens of an earthly kingdom
as well as of a heavenly kingdom, and they
have duties to perform to the one as well as to
the other. And in the beginning of Christi-
anity it was of the utmost importance that
Christians should, if possible, win by their
well doing the favor of the higher powers.]

1. The exhortation is emphatic, every sonl,
yet in distinction from the higher powers.
The powers that be, not the powers that
were before the last change ; this simplifies the
duty of allegiance. [In passing from the con-
sideration of the duties of spiritual to those of
civil life, the apostle would indicate that Church
and State are not identical, but are distinct,
yet not antagonistic, and by his use of the
phrase 'every soul' (properly a Hebraism for
every person) would show, according to Godet,
that a duty is involved which is naturally in-
cumbent on every human being, an obligation
not specially of the spiritual life, but of the
psychical life which is the common domain
of mankind. Be subject — literally, subject
itself. The Revisers' rendering, "be in sub-
jection to," gives the force of the present tense.
'The higher powers,' authorities set over us.
The word 'power' here denotes rightful au-
thority, and this is from God as its source, and
all established authorities, Rome's imperial
throne included, have been appointed by God.
Literally : There exists not authority except by
God.^ Critical editors omit 'powers' in the
last clause, and give the word ' God ' without
the article. With this verse compare Titus 3 :
1; 1 Peter 2: 13.]

2. Whosoever therefore resisteth the
power. [The authority which is here sup-
posed to be accordant with the standard of

J Observe that iariv^ being emphatic, is not made an
enclitic, as in ver. 3, 4, but has its accent simply thrown
back on the penult. The Revisers have by (\)ir6) in
both places, yet render, as in our Common Version, ' of
God.' De Wette and Meyer prefer /rem (aito) in the
first clause. The fundamental signification of avtf,

according to Buttmann, is departure from the exterior
of an object, while vn6 in general designates the more
remote internal causal relation. Hence, av6 commonly
designates the more remote and general, while vvo and
cK the more immediate and special cause or origin.— (F.)

Ch. XIII.]

ROMANS.

273

3 For rulers are not a terror to good workii, but to the
evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do
that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the
same :

4 For he is the minister of God to thee for eood. But
if thou do that which is evil, be afraid ; for he beareth
not the sword in vain : for he is the minister of Ood, a
revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. |

5 tbemselTea Judgment For ruler* are not •.terror t«
the good work, but to the evil. And wouldmt tboa
have no fear of the power? do that which ix good,

4 and thou shall have praise from the same: for * lie is
a minister of <iod to the« for good. But if thou d*
that which is evil be afraid ; for > he l)earelb not tb«
sword in vain : ror > he is a minister of God, an

6 avenger for wrath to him that doeth evlL Wh«r»-

right. And they that resist— literally (Com-
mon Version), have resisted. Jowett thus
brings out the adversative sense of the particle
translated 'and': but (whatever they may
think) they that oppose, etc.] What kind of
'damnation' (upt'Ma, judgment) is here meant
is explained by the next verse — punishment
from God, through his minister, the magis-
trate.'

3. [For rulers are not a terror to the
good work. So the Revised Version, which
follows here the reading ofKBAD*FYP.
Paul could hardly have made this unqualified
assertion of rulers had the infamous Nero then
begun his persecutions. The apostle, however,
has ideal rulers chiefly in mind. " He is speak-
ing of what may fairly be expected to be the
case." (Wordsworth.) Wilt thou then not
be afraid of the power (or, Dost thou wish
not to fear the authority f) do that which is
good (present imperative — do it as a constant
practice), and thou shalt have praise of
the same (from it, or, the authority). As
Paul does not here suppose rulers to be tyrants,
so he does not teach us what they who live
under an insupportable tyranny are to do.
But we know that he would counsel us to obey
God and the "higher law," rather than the
civil power, which should bid us violate the
divine law. And how, under the teaching of
Paul, could rulers blame their subjects for
insubordination, if they themselves are a terror
to good work, and not to evil ? Still, we agree,
in the main, with Alford, when he says: " Even
where law is hard and unreasonable, not dis-
obedience, but legitimate protest, is the duty
of the Christian." It is sometimes a duty to
suffer wrongfully, (i p««r»: i»; i cor.«:7.)] This
is wholesome doctrine for subjects, and no less
wholesome reading for rulers. The afwstle's
assertion is, in general, true as a matter of fact,
even of corrupt and oppressive governments.
The Roman government had actually been a
protection to Paul himself on several occasions :

In the case of Gallio at Corinth (A«t«ii: ii-it),
the town clerk at Ephesus (»: i6-«i), Claudiui
Lysias at Jerusalem («: »i-»; tt: j4-»: n: it«),
Festus at Csesarea (» : i»). [See Farrar's "Life
of St Paul," pp. 828, 503, 504. Godet says:
" Never has any power whatever laid down a»
a principle the punishment of good and the
reward of evil; for thereby it would be its
own destroyer."]

4. For he (t^, the authority) is the min-
ister of God. [The word for minister (&cice»«(,
deacon) is thought to be derived from a verb
meaning <o run — hence, a messenger or servant
Would the apostle call the vile and carnal
Nero "a minister, an oflBcer of God, a repre-
sentative of divine authority"? (Renan.) We
think not, certainly not a worthy representa-
tive. And we think that no words could more
effectually shake the throne of iniquity which
Nero subsequently occupied than Paul's de-
scription of that authority which is God-
ordained, which is his minister for good, and
which is a terror, not to good work, but to
evil. He beareth — or, weareth, denoting
habitual practice. To bear, or wear rather,
implies a constant repetition of the simple
action of the verb. The sword — or, sabre,
spoken of, was a bent one, in opposition to the
straight sword. As individuals, we have not
the power or right to inflict capital punishment;
and it may be a question whether, in strictness
of speech, we have power to confer it; but it
belongs to the God-ordained authority which
is over us. Paul, on one occasion, affirmed
that "if he had committed anything worthy
of death, he refU-sed not to die" (at the hands
of the civil magistracy). Calvin calls this a
remarkable passage for proving the jus gladii
(the right of the sword). A revenger to exe-
cute wrath, or, better, as in Revised Version,
" An avenger for wrath, or punishment,"
upon him that doeth (or, practices) the
evil. 'Avongor' occurs elsewhere only in
1 Thess. 4: 6. Godet thinks the 'wrath' is

1 The reflexive ' themselves ' Is In the so-called dativra I two verse* the firequent use of riowm and Its
incomnwdi, or dative of disadvantage. Notice In theae I pounds.— (F.)

274

EOMANS.

[Ch. XIII.

5 Wherefore ye must needs be subject, not only for
wrath, but also for conscience' sake.

6 For, for this cause pay ye tribute also : for they are
God's ministers, attending continually upon this very
thing.

fore ye must needs be in subjection, not only because

6 of the wrath, but also for conscience sake. For, for

this cause ye pay tribute also; for they are ministers

of God's service, attending continually upon this

God's wrath, which the magistrate, the repre-
sentative of God, is bound to execute upon
evil doers.]

The last clause is the antithesis of the first.
The duty of a good ruler equally includes
both. The ' sword ' is the symbol of the power
of life and death.

5. Wherefore ye most needs be subject,
etc.* Not only as a prudent policy, but also as
a religious duty. [Not only on account of the
magistrate's wrath, but on account of one's own
conscience. (Meyer. ) Compare 1 Peter 2 : 13 :
" Be subject ... for the Lord's sake." "It is
self-evident," says Philippi, " that a Christian
is never at liberty actually to co-operate in
wrong even on the demand of authority. (Acta
4:19; 5 :M.) If he obcys authority for God's
Bake, he cannot obey it in opposition to God."
Whether, if called to obey under such circum-
stances, a Christian should actively rebel, or
cheerfully submit to wrong-sufferingand quietly
pay the penalty of disobedience, is a question
on which judgment and conscience must decide.
Philippi says : ' ' Let him never actively rebel. ' '
Alford and Godet would not apparently counsel
rebellion, but the former remarks that ' ' even
the parental power does not extend to things
unlawful. If the civil power commands us to
violate the law of God, we must obey God be-
fore man." And Godet says: " For the very
reason that the State governs in God's name,
when it comes to order something contrary to
God's law, there is nothing else to be done than
to make it feel the contradiction between its
conduct and its commission." He further as-
serts "that the submission required by Paul . . .
does not at all exclude protestation in word and
even resistance in deed, provided that to this
latter there be joined the calm acceptance of
the punishment inflicted." In this our free
country we may, both as citizens and as Chris-
tians, adopt the motto : " Kesistance to tyrants
is obedience to God," and also to law in its best
and highest sense. "Whenever man com-
mands us to do anything that God forbids, or
forbids us to do anything that God commands,
we cannot and must not obey ; for in such cases

as these, in obeying man we should be disobey-
ing God." (Wordsworth.) See Dr. Hovey's
"Manual of Theology and Ethics," pp. 411,
415.]

It is to be noted, that the above precepts and
principles were written to the disciples at Rome
at a time when their rulers were notoriously
corrupt and tyrannical, just after the reign of
Tiberius, Caligula, and Claudius, and during
the reign of the infamous Nero. While they
certainly aflbrd no express warrant for rebel-
lion, even against the most cruel and unjust
government, they are not to be quoted as an
express sanction of "the right divine of kings
to govern wrong." It is easy to see what evils
would hiive resulted from any explicit sanction
in the Scriptures of the right of revolution.
The letter seems severe, and to allow no excep-
tion ; just as in the case of parents and children
(Col. 3: 20), husbands and wives (Bph. 5:2s,2*), mas-
ters and servants. (Col. 3:22.) In all these cases,
the letter of Christianity is modified by the
spirit, and the two combined admirably adjust
the balance, making our divine religion alike
conservative &ndi progressive, alike the firmest
supporter of order and the truest promoter of
freedom. Note: That if rebellion or revolu-
tion is ever justifiable, it is plain that the sub-
ject, and not the ruler, must be the judge, in
each particular case, both of its lawfulness and
of its expediency.

6. The words pay ye tribute may be
either in the indicative mood, afiirming the
fact, or in the imperative, enjoining the duty :
and there is precisely the same ambiguity in
the Greek as in the English : but it is better to
regard the verb as indicative [' ye pay tribute ';
so De Wette, Meyer, and others], thus making
the familiar fact of paying taxes a confirma-
tion of the necessity affirmed in the preceding
verse ( ' for' ), corroborated, moreover, ( ' for this
cause') by the additional consideration that
they give their whole time to this divinely
sanctioned ministry of government — attend-
ing continually (see 12: 12) upon this very
thing. [ ' This very thing ' is not the collection
of taxes, as Olshausen, Philippi, and Noyes

1 Some MSS. (D E F G) omit the word necessity (' must I present text the copula ' is ' must be supplied: There ii
needs be') and read the verb as imperative. In our I a necessity to submit one's sell — (F.)

Ch. XIIL]

ROMANS.

275

7 Render therefore to all their dues : tribute to whom
tribute it due ; custom to whom custom ; fear to whom
fear : honour to whom honour.

8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for
he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

verjr thine. Render to all their due«: tribute to
whom tririute U due ; custom lo whom custom ; fear
to whom fear; honour to whom honour.

Owe no man any thing, save to love one another:
for he that loveth > hia neighbour hath fulfilled Mbe

1 Gr. tiMothtT.

.t Or. law.

suppose, but the nobler and higher fUnction of
government, indicated in the preceding verses.
It is from this point of view that rulers are
said to be ministers of God in behalf of the
people. Paul in 15 : 16 calls himself a minis-
ter of Jesus Christ for the Gentiles. The word
in the Greek denotes a public minister. It
occurs elsewhere only in Phil. 2 : 25 ; Heb. 1 :
7; 8: 2.]

7. [Therefore is omitted in the oldest manu-
scripts. Render, pay fully, to all in authority
their dues: tribute to whom tribute is
due. Both nouns being in the accusative case,
we must render literally thus : ' pay ftilly the
tribute to him (claiming) the tribute.' Nothing
was so grievous and offensive to the Jews as
this paying of tribute to a foreign power. A
"publican" or tax gatherer for Rome would
be a despised and hated person apart from his
extortions.] The distinction between 'tribute'
and ' custom ' is, that the former denotes taxes
on persons and lands, and the latter taxes [cus-
toms, duties] on goods or merchandise. The
word ' fear' may be referred more particularly
to higher magistrates, and to those having more
direct authority over us ; and the word ' honour '
to all who are invested with oflSce. There is a
sense in which all men are to be honored, as
God's creatures, and our fellow creatures (i Peter
»: ") ; but, over and above this, magistrates are
entitled to be honored for their office. This is
to be rendered to them as their due. It is a
sad and inexcusable disregard of this apostolic
injunction, when persons make less conscience
of defrauding the government than of defraud-
ing a neighbor. TertuUian says ("Apologet.,"
XLII.), to the honor of the early Christian.s,
that what the Eomans lost by the Christians
refusing to bestow gifts on their temples, they
gained by their conscientious payment of taxes.
[Even our Saviour, as a loyal citizen ot a
heavenly and of an earthly kingdom, not only
paid the temple tax (so most think) which was
demanded of him («»»• " = "), but his counsel
was : render in full to Caesar the tribute and
everything else which belongs to Ca»ar. (>i»tt. i-i

1 " The article," Winer says, " ia put before the infini-
tive (here before ayavav, to love), when it is desired to

1721 : Luk* M : a, Mq.) It ig notlceable, however, that
wliile Paul characterizes even the civil power*
of heathendom as ordained of God, and urges
upon Christians the performance of their duties
to these powers, he yet counsels his fellow-di6-
ciples to settle their own disputes among them-
selves and not bring them before the heathen
tribunals, (i Cor. 6: is.)] It is to be noted that
no particular form of government is alluded
to here. Nothing is said about the king: the
terms are all general ; the ' higher jwwers ; '
'rulers;' 'God's ministers.' \\, xs governmeni,
not any particular form of government, that
the Scriptures represent as of divine authority.

Love to all men enjoined. Ver. 8-10.

[" From the duty of submission to the State,
Paul passes to that of justice in private rela-
tions" (Godet), and he again introduces the
subject of love, since love is an " indispensable
auxiliary of justice."

8. Owe no man any thing, bat to love
one another. This may be literally rendered :
Owe to no one nothing, except the loving one
another. The two subjective negative terms in
this clause, both producing in the original but
a single strengthened negation, show the verb
'owe' to be in the imperative mood.'] Leave
no debt undischarged, except "the undying
debt of love" (Bengel), "which you must al-
ways owe, because this alone holds the debtor
even aft«r it has been discharged." (Augus-
tine.) [" He loves not truly who loves for the
purpose of ceasing from loving." (Philippi.)
He that loveth another. (Revised Version,
margin, the other.) The last word was chosen
with reference to the preceding 'one another.'
Hath fulfilled, " the perfect tense pointing to
a completed and permanent act" (ElUcotL)
Law is without the article in the original, yet
that the Mosaic law is meant is evident from
the following verse. Paul in Gal. 5: 14 says
that "all the law (hath been and) is ftilfilled
in one word : Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself." See in Matt. 22: 39 what our Sav-
iour says re.specting this commandment to love
our neighbor.] "The expression 'Aillilled' de-

make it a suhatAiitiTe, and thus givo it gmt«r fttma^
nenoe."— (F.)

276

ROMANS.

[Ch. XIII.

9 For this. Thou shall not commit adultery, Thou
shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal. Thou shall not bear
false witness. Thou shalt not covet ; and if there be any-
other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this
saying, namely, Thou shall love thy neighbour as thy-
self.

10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore
love is the fulfilling of the law.

11 And that, knowing the lime, that now t< is high
time to awake out of sleep : for now is our salvation
nearer than when we believed.

9 law. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery,
Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt
not covet, and if there be any other commandment, it
is summed up in this word, namely. Thou shall love

10 thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his
neighbour: love therefore is the fulfilment of i the
law.

11 And this, knowing the season, that now it is high
time for you to awake out of sleep : for now is * sal-
vation nearer to us than when we first believed.

I Or, law 2 Or, our lalvation nearer than when, etc.

notes more than a simple performance ; it adds
a completeness to the performance." (Web-
ster and Wilkinson.) [" In and with the loving
there has taken place what the Mosaic law pre-
scribes in respect of duties toward one's neigh-
bor, inasmuch as he who loves does not commit
adultery, does not kill, does not steal, does not
covet," etc. (Meyer.)]

9. [For this. See 8 : 26. The neuter arti-
cle in Greek makes all the commands which
follow as one substantive, which is properly in
the same construction as ' any other command-
ment'— that is, subject of the verb 'is compre-
hended.' Comprehended in this saying —
literally, united in one head., summed up in
this word. See Eph. 1 : 10. Thou shalt love.
This command, quoted from Lev. 19: 18, is
also virtually made into a substantive by the
neuter article {iv tc3, equivalent to namely),
which, however, is wanting in some manu-
scripts. As thyself. This shows that there
may be a love of self which is proper, and
which is far removed from selfishness.'] The
ninth commandment, 'Thou shalt not bear
false witness,' is omitted in the best manu-
scripts. If there be any other command-
ment is as much as to say, " Whatsoever other
(different) commandment there may be." [In
the order of commandments here quoted, the
sixth follows the seventh, but see the same
order in Luke 18: 20 and in one manuscript
copy of the Septuagint. Probably Paul (and
•o Philo) followed copies of the Seventy, which
had this order.]

10. liove worketh no ill to his neigh-
bour. [We have here a summation, in a
negative form, of the preceding negative com-
mands. The word for ' neighbour ' {vk-nctov) is
properly an adverb, but is converted into a
noun by the use of the article. If this law of
Christian love should control the hearts and

lives of men, what a blessed change would at
once be produced in the state of society ! A
carrying out of the golden rule into universal
practice would be an infallible cure for all our
labor troubles and social evils.] Therefore
love is the fulfilling of the law. Love
becomes the fulfilling of the law by abstaining
from all that the law forbids. [The good which
love would do for our fellow-men is understood
as a matter of course. And where there is true
love for men, there will necessarily be love to
God, and an obeying of the commands of the
First Table. But this love of which Paul
speaks is an ideal love, and not that imperfect
love which exists among men, and which can
never be a ground of justification.]

General exhortation to a Christian life, en-
forced by the consideration that the day of
trial is near its close.

11. And that — And this, let us do this,
referring to ver. 8. Knowing the time. Let
the knowledge and consideration of the time
[special season, or opportunity] be an additional
enforcement of the admonition to discharge all
our obligations and to cultivate love. It is
high time to awake [or, be aroused at once
from sleep. Compare Matt. 25 : 5. The Bible
Union renders it passively : ' Already were
awaked.' The word for 'high time' is simply
' hour,' and with this some connect the adverb
'already,' rather than with the verb.*] Time
to arouse ourselves from torpor to a more active
and watchful way of living — language which
may have been suggested by our Lord's words
in Matt. 24 : 42 ; Mark 13 : 33 ; Luke 21 : 28-36.
For now is our salvation nearer than
when we believed. The reference is to the
beginning of our faith (when we became be-
lievers), and to the end or consummation of
our salvation. [Meyer, De Wette, and Phil-
ippi render: "now is salvation nearer to us."

lOn the use of the third person {iavrov), for the second (aeovrov, which some MSS. actually exhibit), compare
12 : 19 ; John 12:8; 18 : 34. In Rom. 8 : 23, the third person is used for the first— (F.)
« The uncials N * A B C P have you instead of tw.— (F.)

Ch. XIII.]

ROMANS.

277

12 The night is far spent, the day is at band : let us
therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put
on the armour of light.

12 The night is far spent, and the day is hand: letna
therefore cast off tne works of darkncM, and let us

Compare 10: 18: "The word is nigh thee."
But Alford, with an eye to Luke 21 : 28, prefers
the rendering of our Common Version. This
salvation, according to Prof. Stuart, is "the
spiritual salvation which believers were to ex-
perience when transferred to the world of
everlasting life and glory."]

12. The night is far spent [has far ad-
vanced. The want of connection here "adds
vivacity to the expression." (Boise.) The
metaphor of night and day in the first part of
the verse is carried over into the second. As
when we wake from sleep we lay aside the
garments of the night and put on the day
dress, so we should put off the works belonging
to darkness, and put on the weapons (A D E
read ' works ' ) appropriate to the day. In Eph.
6 : 11, 13, we are exhorted to put on the panoply
of God, the whole armor which God has pro-
vided for every part of the Christian's person,
except his back ; for, as Bunyan remarks: "The
Christian has no armor for his back." The
figure of putting on clothing, or enduing^ one's
self, is a favorite one with Paul, and the Chris-
tian life is by him very frequently represented
as a warfare. Compare 2 Cor. 10: 4; Eph. 6:
11, seq. ; 1 Thess. 5: 8, etc.]

Commentators differ very much in regard to
what is meant by the night and the day in this
verse. Some refer these words to the night of
adversity and Jewish persecution, and the day
of deliverance from this, consequent upon the
destruction of Jerusalem, and the breaking up
of Judaism as a political and persecuting power.
But it does not appear that the condition of
Christians in Rome was much affected by this
event, nor does there seem to be any allusion
to it in the context. Another view is, that the
night designates the period before Christ's
second coming, as a time of imperfection and
calamity ; and the day the time of deliverance,
prosperity, and happiness, beginning with his
second advent. This view is held chiefly by
those who believe that Paul, and the apostles
generally, expected that Christ would come
again in their own lifetime, or, at least, within
a very short time — a view which we regard as
derogatory to their inspiration, inconsistent
with his express teachings, and at variance with

other intimations of Scripture. See Matt 26 :
36; 2 Thess. 2:1-8; 2 Tim. 4:6-8; 2 Peter
1 : 18-16. [This view is also that of Meyer,
who holds 'the night' to be this age, the time
before the advent (wapewia), and 'the day' to
be the coming age, soon to be ushered in and
bringing salvation. De Wette thinks 'the
day ' corresponds to salvation, the period of
purity, perfection, and blessedness, which is to
be introduced by the coming of Christ, while
'the night' is "the imperfect, sinful condition
of this earthly life." Similarly, Godet, Phil-
ippi, and most interpreters.] Others under-
stand by 'the night' this mortal life, as being
to each one a perio<l of comparative ignorance
and trouble, and by ' the day ' the time of each
Christian's deliverance IVom the body by death
and entrance into the immortal life of knowl-
edge, happiness, and holiness. But this view,
though the language, taken by itself, might
easily bear this sense, seems to disconnect this
verse too much from the preceding, which
seems to require a reference to some change in
the state of things in this present life, of which
they had more definite knowledge than they
can be supposed to have had in regard to the
time of their departure out of this world. [Yet
Godet asks: "Is not death for the individual
what the advent (wapowia) is for the church
as a whole — meeting with the Lord?" And
Philippi remarks that, "as resp)ects the indi-
vidual, death is equivalent to his coming to
salvation, the resurrection from the dead equiv-
alent to salvation coming to him."] Another
view, which I regard as less objectionable than
either of the foregoing, and, on the whole, to
be preferred, is that which refers 'the night'
to the season of pagan ignorance, immorality,
and wretchedness, in which the Romans had
formerly been living; and 'the day' to the
season of Christian knowledge, purity, and
happiness, which had begun to dawn upon
them, and which was destined to grow brighter
and brighter. We must remember that they
were living in the transition period, when the
lightof Christianity was struggling successfully
with the darkness of pagan idolatry ; and al-
though the overthrow of Paganism, and the
formal establishment of Christianity under

1 The Terb here used is iytvm, (o ptU on.— (F.)

278

ROMANS.

[Ch. XIIL

Constantine, was yet nearly three centuries in
the future, and was not, on other accounts,
such an event as an inspired apostle, if he fore-
saw it, could contemplate with unmingled joy,
yet the growing progress of Christianity and
decline of Paganism, which at last made that
formal change possible, was matter of encour-
agement and rejoicing to every Christian ; and
this moral revolution, as we learn from the
writings of Tertullian and other early Chris-
tians, had made signal progress and greatly
changed the moral condition of the Koman
Empire long before the days of Constantine.
As to the great event of our Lord's advent, it
is cei*tain —

1. That the apostles did not know when
Christ would come the second time.

2. That his coming is always drawing nearer.

3. That it may be considered as near at any
time, in comparison with the eternity preced-
ing and the eternity following it.

[Most commentators hold this ' day ' (of sal-
vation), of which Paul here speaks, to be our
Lord's personal second advent. Some charge
the apostle with advancing mistaken views on
this subject in nearly all his epistles. Olshau-
sen supposes that at the date of this letter he
had ceased to entertain such views. It seems
to me a matter of certainty that, if he had been
mistaken, he lived long enough to find out his
mistake, and would have been honest enough
to make open acknowledgment of the same.
Yet this he never did, and it does not seem
proper in us to be the first to charge him with
error. Others think the apostle never had
definite convictions as to this matter, and that,
as the day and the hour had never been re-
vealed to him, so, though he may have had
some expectations of our Lord's speedy return,
perchance during his own lifetime, yet he never
fully and explicitly declared himself on this
point. But I think his language touching this
matter has a positiveness and explicitness which
do not belong to mere conjecture, and that, if
he erred at all, he erred greatly, and has ex-
pressly declared that to be a fact which events
have proved to be utterly false. In our view,
the Scriptures speak of several different com-
ings or manifestations of Christ. The first, as
we may name it, is his coming and manifesta-
tion to his disciples by the Paraclete, or Helper
— that is, the Holy Spirit. (John u : is, 21, 23, 28 ; 16 :
w, ».) The second is his coming to receive his

disciples, "at the termination of their labors
on earth " (Ripley), unto himself in his Father's
house. (John H : 3.) The verb " come " is here in
the present tense, denoting a continuous com-
ing, as if to take individuals to himself. It
was in this way that he received the spirit
of the first Christian martyr, Stephen, and
this is the only way in which he has come to
his disciples, in order to take them to himself,
from that day to this. If the departure of
Christians from this life is to be with Christ,
and if their being absent from the body is to
be at home with the Lord, then surely they
are not obliged to wait until Christ's final com-
ing at the Judgment Day, and the bringing in
of the blessed resurrection state, before he will
receive them to himself! The third we may
mention is the coming of the Son of man in his
kingdom, or the coming of his kingdom, which
indeed is the only advent of which our Saviour
spoke. This coming is said to be on and in the
clouds of heaven, with great power and glory,
with attendant angels and with a great sound
of a trumpet. And one purpose of this com-
ing was to gather together his elect from the
four winds, or in other words to effect the de-
liverance or " redemption" of his people. The
time of this coming is fixed beyond dispute.
If we believe the Saviour' words, we must be-
lieve that it happened before the generation in
which he lived had passed away, and that
"some" whom our Saviour addressed lived to
see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.

(Matt. 24 : 34 ; 16 : 28 ; 10 : 23 ; 26 : 64.) Whether this COm-

ing had reference solely to the destruction of
Jerusalem and the abrogation of the Jewish
economy, with the consequent setting up of the
world-wide Messianic kingdom, or whether,
including this, it also took in the events which
transpired at and subsequent to the Day of
Pentecost, we need not now endeavor to deter-
mine. We would only remark that the com-
ings of Christ, now referred to, were imper-
sonal, and that as the first mentioned was an
actual experience of the apostle, so the remain-
ing two might be looked for by him as being
at any time literally near at hand. The apos-
tle in 2 Thess. 2: 3-8 seems to speak of a spe-
cial apostasy which should happen in the
future, a revelation and coming of the lawless
one, the man of sin, the son of perdition, com-
monly regarded as Anti-Christ, whom the
Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his

Ch. XIII.]

ROMANS.

279

mouth and bring to nought by the manifesta-
tion of his coming. And as the occasion and
purpose of this coming seem to be special and
limited, so many (as Edwards, David Brown,
and others) regard this as a special and imper-
sonal coming of Christ, and hence different
from his second personal advent, his final com-
ing, which is to bring an end to this age and
this Dispensation of Grace, to change the liv-
ing, to raise the just and unjust dead, to judge
the world of mankind, and to take all his ran-
somed ones " in clouds," " into the air," up to
heaven, to be with him forever. The question
now is, did Paul affirm or expect that this sec-
ond personal coming of Christ would or might
happen in his own lifetime? To this question
we say, emphatically. No. When he says to the
Corinthians, literally, "We all shall not sleep,
such scholars as Winer and Meyer do, indeed^
suppose it necessarily equivalent to saying:
" None of us who are now living are going to
die; we shall all live to the time of the advent,
and then shall be changed." There is, how-
ever, no necessity, even in the expression itself,
for this interpretation. See Buttmann, p. 121.
Besides, Paul elsewhere in his Epistles to the
Corinthians speaks of himself and others as
living and dying and being raised from the
dead, just as we do of ourselves. See 1 Cor.
6: 14; 11: 30; 15:31; 2 Cor. 4: 14; 1: 8, etc.
De Wette well says in substance that an exe-
gete may charge the apostle with a false
prophecy, but not with one that contradicts
himself. The expressions: "We who are
alive and remain," " Wis shall all be changed,"
etc., therefore prove nothing on this point, or
at least are more than counterbalanced by the
many repeated affirmations and intimations
that death would befall himself and his read-
ers, and that their mortal bodies would be
quickened (see 8: 11) and they be raised up
with Jesus and through his power. Com-
pare with notes on 2: 6. See how after
a few verses more (u:t, 8) he speaks to the
Boman disciples of living and dying, as their
common lot, in precisely the same manner as
we do. Compare Phil. 1: 20; 2: 17; 2 Cor.
7 : 3. We have also noticed some of the great
events which, according to this apostle, are to
occur before the "end" : the bringing in of
the fullness or the great mass of the Gentiles,
the conversion of all Israel, the consequent
general awakening of the Gentile world to a

new spiritual life — life iVom the dead— and
then, perhaps, the "falling away," and the
'perilous times,' etc. Surely this apostle did
not imagine that all this would happen in a
few months or years. According to the theory
which some advocate, we should suppose the
" men of Galilee," or Christ's apostles and dis-
ciples, who stood looking up into heaven to
catch a glimpse of their ascended Lord, were
assured that they should see this Jesus coming
in like manner as they beheld him going into
heaven. (Aetii:u.) But instead of this, one
of these Galilean men, not many days after-
ward, declared that the heaven must receive
(and retain) this Jesus " until the times of res-
toration of all things," until "primeval order,
purity, and happiness" shall be re-established
throughout the earth. Many expressions in
Paul's last letter (^Tim.), at the date of whose
writing the time of the apostle's departure by
a violent death had come, would, if found in
his earlier epistles, be thought by some to in-
dicate his expectation of living to see bis
Lord's return. We refer to such expressions
as loving Christ's appearing, giving charge by
his appearing and kingdom, being saved unto
his heavenly kingdom, his giving to Paul the
crown of righteousness at that day, and his
guarding the apostle's deposit against that day,
etc. Now the indefinite "day" of our verse,
unlike "that day," of which he speaks to
Timothy, is not connected with any appearing,
advent, or revelation of our Lord. Throughout
this Epistle the apostle is wholly silent in regard
to these things, and we doubt whether the
Roman Christians were so familiar with the
idea of Christ's speedy coming in the flesh that
they would readily connect this undefined day
with that event ' The day ' of this chapter is
connected by its context with the doing of
one's duty as citizens and members of society,
the duty of obeying magistrates, paying trib-
ute, honoring and loving all men, walking
becomingly in the world, and mortifying the
deeds of the flesh. The saints in Rome knew
that they, in common with mankind in general,
were entering upon a bright "day of Christian
knowledge, puritj*, and happiness. ' ' They also
knew that life was but a vapor, and that (he
day of "their deliverance from this present
evil world, and introduction into the purity
and blessedness of heaven" (Hodge), was at
hand, and that in this sense (which many sup-

280

ROMANS.

[Ch. XIII.

13 Let us walk honestly, as in the daj ; not in rioting
and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness,
not in strife and envying :

14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not
provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

13 put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as
in the day ; not in revelling and drunkenness, not
in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and

14 jealousy. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and
make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts
thereof.

pose to be the right one) their salvation was
nearer than when they first believed. There
are those, however, who believe that the apostle
and other New Testament writers, while labor-
ing under no mistaken view, may at times have
referred even to Christ's second personal com-
ing as being near, since it was practically coin-
cident with the day of death (Ellicott), since
it was always near to their feelings and con-
sciousness (Hackett), since it was, and is, near,
as compared with ages past, and since it was,
and is, the next great event and glorious con-
summation of God's eternal plan of redemp-
tion.]

13. Let us walk. [With ethical reference,
nearly equivalent to live. This verb, like the
two immediately preceding, is in the so-called
hortatory subjunctive.] The word translated
'honestly' [from an adjective which means
we'll formed, graceful, becoming], is the same
that is translated "decently" in 1 Cor. 14: 40.
It means 'becomingly,' in a manner suited to
the purity and dignity of the Christian profes-
sion. [As in the day — in the full light of
day, when one avoids unbecoming behavior.
There is here a latent reference to a previous
walking in darkness.] Not in rioting and
drunkenness, etc. These words explain the
works of darkness named in the preceding
verse. Three classes of such works are men-
tioned— intemperance, impurity, and discord ;
and each is described by two words.' The
word translated 'rioting' ('reveling,' see Gal.
5: 21, and 1 Peter 4: 3) refers to such disor-
derly carousing as characterized the festivals
of Bacchus. [Godet says : ' ' The works of
night are enumerated in pairs: First, sensu-
ality in the forms of eating and drinking;
then impurity, those of brutal libertinism and
wanton lightness; finally, the passions which
break out either in personal disputes or party
quaiTels. This last term seems to me to ex-
press the meaning of the word (i^Aos) in this
passage better than the translation, jealousy,
or envy." Meyer contends tor jealousy as the
proper meaning of this last term; Fritzsche
and Philippi for wrath or anger. The first

four words (rendered by Prof. Boise, "ca-
rousals, intoxications, licentious acts, debauch-
eries") are in the plural number, which here
"denotes the various expressions, evidences,
outbreaks, concrete manifestations, generally,
of the quality expressed by the singular."
Other, and more extended lists of the works
of darkness, or of the flesh, are given in Gal.
5: 19; 2 Cor. 12: 20, 21.]

14. But pnt ye on the Lord Jesus Christ.
[The putting on, or clothing ourselves with,
another person, " is a strong expression, denot-
ing the complete assumption of the nature, etc.,
of another" (Ellicott); in other words, the
most intimate spiritual union and appropriation,
such as is indicated by our baptism into Christ.
(Gal. 3: 27.) If in the sight of God we bear the
name and person of Christ we are reckoned
more in him than in ourselves. (Calvin.) This
command of the apostle, to put on Christ, is
addressed to those who had already clothed
themselves with Christ in baptism.] "Christ
put on man in nature and condition : man
should put on Christ in disposition and charac-
ter. He became partaker of our physical nature.
"We should become partakers of his moral na-
ture. Christ put on man, that man might put
on Christ." (J. Brown.) This is the robe, not
of justification, but of sanctification or personal
holiness.

"The robe of righteousness which Christ
gives us is a medicated robe, which cures the
sores which it covers, which heals while it
hides." (Alexander de Stourdza.) This word,
put on, is elsewhere used with reference to the
moral disposition of our Lord, and the Christian
virtues and graces. See Gal. 3: 27; Eph. 4:
24; Col. 3: 10, 12; 1 Peter 5: 5. Make not
provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts
thereof. Take not any forethought for the
flesh (for corrupt human nature) to fulfill its
lusts ; [literally, with reference to lusts. Noyes
gives this rendering : "Think not about satisfy-
ing the lusts of the flesh." ' Flesh ' and ' lusts'
are in the original made emphatic by position.
The flesh here is not regarded as that which is
wholly impure and which should be "cruci-

1 All these words are in the dative of manner.— (F.)

Ch. XIV.]

ROMANS.

281

CHAPTER XIV.

IM that is weak in the fUth receive ye, but not to I
doubtful disputations. |

1 But him that la weak in Ctlth receiTe ye, ydnot U

fled " (0*1. 5: M) ; and hence the apostle does not
absolutely forbid all care for the flesh. We
may provide for the flesh, but not for the excit-
ing and gratifying of its lusts. We owe a duty
to our bodies which, though the seat of unlawful
desires, are yet consecrated to God as temples
of his Spirit, and consequently we owe a duty
to the flesh, the living material of which these
bodies are composed.] This passage, beginning
with ver. 11, was the means of awakening
Augustine, and of his conversion from a dis-
solute to a holy life :

["I flung myself down, how, J know not,
under a certain fig-tree, giving free course to
my tears, and the streams of mine eyes gushed
out, an acceptable sacrifice unto thee. ... I
sent up these sorrowful cries : ' How long, how
long? To-morrow, and to-morrow? Why
not now ? Why is there not this hour an end
to mine uncleanness ? '

" I was saying these things and weeping in
the most bitter contrition of my heart, when,
lo, I heard the voice, as of a boy or girl, I
know not which, coming from a neighboring
house, chanting, and oft repeating, ' toUe, lege ;
tolle lege,' 'take up and read, take up and
read.' Immediately my countenance was
changed and I began most earnestly to consider
whether it was usual for children in any kind
of game to sing such words: nor could I
remember ever to have heard the like. So
restraining the torrent of my tears, I rose up,
interpreting it no other way than as a com-
mand to me from heaven to open the book and
to read the first chapter I should light upon.
.... I grasped, opened (the volume of the
apostles), and in silence read that paragraph on
which my eyes first fell,—' Not in rioting and
drunkenness, not in chambering and wanton-
ness, not in strife and envying, but put ye on
the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision
for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof No
further would I read, nor did I need; for
instantly, as the sentence ended — by a light, as
it were, of security inftised into my heart — all
the gloom of doubt vanished away." (Augus-
tine's "Confessions," VIII. 12, 28, 29.)]

Ch. 14 : Duties toward Christian brethren,
especially toward those who are weak and
overscrupulous. [" Behavior as to things mor-
ally indifferent" (Olshausen.) "A practical
application of the law of love." (Godet)]

1. Him that is weak in the faith.i One
who is weak in the faith is not so fully con-
firmed in the gospel doctrine [or, " in moral
conviction and feeling" (De Wette)] as to be
free from all Jewish scruples in regard to dis-
tinctions of days and meats. Aside from the
Jewish rules in regard to the prohibition of
certain kinds of animal food, some Jewish
Christians had scruples about eating meat or
drinking wine at all in foreign lands, fearing
lest they should incur defilement by eating or
drinking what had been offered to idols. So
they practiced a conscientious asceticism.
Compare Dan. 1:8. [Also 1 Cor. 8:7; 10:
25, seq. ; Acts 15 : 29. Pharisaic scrupulosity
in regard to defilement is noticed in Mark 7:4;
Acts 10 : 28. The question of meats and drinks,
and ceremonial defilement and observance
of days, must often have agitated the early
churches. Compare with passages already
cited, Col. 2 : 16-23 ; 1 Tim. 4:3; Heb. 9 : 10;
18 : 9. These matters, and especially the ques-
tion of the use or non-use of the Mosaic ordi-
nances, shook the Apostolic Church to it« very
foundations, and never since has the stability
of the Church of Christ been threatened by
questions so difldcult and momentous. Who
can tell how much the Christian Church owes
to the influence of the Apostle Paul in settling
these important matters ? Who can tell how
changed the history of the church would have
been if Saul of Tarsus had never been "sepa-
rated unto the gospel of God"?] Receive
ye — or, take to your hearts in brotherly fel-
lowship— bat not to doubtful disputations^
not to discrimination of thoughts, or to dispute
about his scruples ["not unto discussions of
opinions." (Boise.) Note here that the im-
perative, as usual, is accompanied by the sub-
jective negative in the original.] A different
class of persons is here had in view fhim those
Judaizers opposed in the Epistle to the Gala-

1 A maaculine noun or participle in the singular, with
tne article, often denotes a whole class. Possibly the
participle here used does not denote so permanent a

weakness as the adjective would have done. The traa-
sitional H (but), leading over from a general to a special
case, is not noticed in our Common Yeraion.— {F-}

282

ROMANS.

[Ch. XIV.

2 For one believetb that be may eat all things:
another, who is weak, eateth herbs.

3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not;
and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth ;
for God hath receivetl him.

4 Who art thou that judgest another man's servant ?
to his own master he .standeth or falletb ; yea, be shall
be holden up : for God is able to make him stand.

2 1 doubtAil disputations. One man bath faith to eat

3 all things : but he that is weak eateth herbs. Let
not him that eateth set at nought him that eateth
not ; and let not him that eateth not judge him that

4 eateth : for God bath received him. Who art thou
that judgest the * servant of another? to his own lord
he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be made to
stand ; for the Lord hath power to make him stand.

1 Or, for deeUion* of doubf 2 Or. Iioiuehold-iervant.

tians, and also from the ascetics rebuked in
Col. 2 : 20-23. [Compare 1 Tim. 4:3. It is
"we who are strong" who ought to bear the
infirmities of the weak (i5:J)i and refrain from
disputatious criticisms of our weaker brethren.
The word ' thoughts ' is, at least with adjuncts,
always used in an ill sense in the New Testa-
ment. See 1 : 21.]

2. For one [the 'strong'] believeth that
he may eat (hath faith to eat) all things
(even such things as are considered by some
unclean) : another, who is weak, etc.^ This
verse explains what is meant by ' weak in the
faith ' in ver. 1. One who is clear and settled
in his persuasions has confidence to eat any-
thing eatable, whether 'flesh' or anything
'not unclean of itself that is set before him.
Another, who is timid and scrupulous, confines
himself to a vegetable diet. [It is stated in
Josephus' "Life," f 3, that certain Jewish
priests, imprisoned at Rome, not forgetful of
piety toward God, " subsisted on figs and nuts."
And Jewish Christians at Rome would natur-
ally have like conscientious scruples in regard
to eating anything which was "common or
unclean," or, in fact, anything prepared by
Gentile hands. Compare Dan. 1 : 8-16 ; Tobit
1 : 10-12. The apostle, who reckons himself
among the 'strong,' treats these weaker, yet
conscientious brethren, with great mildness,
since they had not relaxed their hold on Christ,
and hence proceeds next to "recommend mu-
tual forbearance, on the principle that each one
serves the Lord according to his own convic-
tion." (De Wette.) Paul's counsel here by
no means warrants a church to receive as a
Christian brother and fellow-member one whose
religious faith or practice is seriously defective.]

3. Let not him that eateth, etc. Note
how well chosen the words are. The eater, in
his own convictions, would be in danger of
despising [literally, setting at nought] the ab-

stainer as weakminded ; the abstainer, cautious
and timid, would be in danger of condemning
the eater as too bold.* Note, also, how the
apostle incidentally sides with the eater in the
last clause, for the pronoun ' him ' grammatic-
ally refers to the eater, though applicable, so
far as the truth is concerned, to the abstainer
also. The same thing may be observed in the
next verse, where the same pronoun has the
same grammatical reference. For God hath
received him — hath accepted and acknowl-
edged him as his true servant.

4. Who art thon that jndgest another
man's servant? It is none of thy business to
pass a condemnatory judgment on another's
servant. [Away with such " presumptuous in-
termeddling ! ' ' The ' thou ' by its position is
very emphatic. This household servant (see
margin of Revised Version) was, in many cases,
regarded as a member of the family. The par-
ticiple (one judging) stands here, as often in
the New Testament, in place of a relative
clause.] To his own master — that is, to
Christ, as appears from ver. 7, 8. [This ' mas-
ter ' is the ' another ' of the preceding sentence.
To this master alone does it belong to acquit or
condemn his servant. And how comforting
is the thought, when we perchance hear of
alleged inconsistencies or misconduct of a pro-
fessed servant of Christ, and feel it impossible
to know and rightly judge all the circumstances
of the case, that we are not to be his judge, but
that to his own Master he standeth or falleth.]
Standeth or falleth — that is, stands in or falls
from his position as an accepted Christian, with-
out any direct reference to the final judgment.
God is able to make him stand. Willing-
ness seems to be implied in this affirmation of
ability, as in 11 : 23. [The Revision text has
here the adjective ' able ' instead of the verb,
and reads : The Lord is able, etc. He is able
to support the (strong) believer whom the weak

1 Instead of a corresponding another (o< Si), as in ver.
6, we have here the article with the participle— literallf,
he who it wetUt. — (F.)

* The phrase, the novr^ating one, refers to a suypoted
class ; hence the negative /i^.— (F.)

Ch. XIV.]

ROMANS.

283

5 One man esteemeth one day above another: another
esteenieth every day alike. Let every man be fully per-
suaded in his own mind.

5 One man eateemeth one day above another: another
esteemeth every day alike. Let each man be fully

one judges. Perhaps, however, the judging is
here, as a general term, predicated of the strong
us well as the weak.] The apostle now passes
to another point, on which the difference of the
strong and weak required the application of
the same principles of mutual forbearance and
charity.

5. One man (the weak) esteemeth one
day above another, etc. — [literally, judgetK
day beyond day, not alternate days, as would
be the meaning in the classics, but one day
more holy than another, while another es-
teemeth (judgeth) every day (holy). On
the use of the relative instead of the article,
for 'one' and 'another,' see 9: 21.] The word
alike is not expressed in the Greek, but this,
or some similar expression, is needed in Eng-
lish to make the sense plain. One man regards
the Jewish festival days as more sacred than
other days; another man makes no such dis-
crimination. Let every one act on this subject
according to his own settled conviction. [From
Paul's language here, and in Gal. 4: 10; Col.
2: 16, some, as Alford, have inferred that the

apostle regarded all days as alike common, and
that "Sabbatical obligation to keep any day,
whether seventh or first, was not recognized in
apostolic times." I conceive it, however, an
impossibility that a converted, believing Jew,
of that age, in the absence of any express, au-
thoritative repealing act, could come to regard
his historical sacred Sabbath, "the Sabbath of
Jehovah," as a common day, and its observ-
ance as a matter of indifference. The weekly
Sabbath of the Jews was distinguished from
all other of their festival days in that its name
was written by the finger of God in the fourth
commandment, and we, as Christian believers,
must at least recognize in that command some
essential fundamental principle that is binding
on us and on all God's rational creatures. The
Sabbath was made for man and therefore for
Christians, and we believe that for Christians
there remain the ten commandments and that
for them there remains, in a literal sense, a
Sabbatismos, the keeping of a Sabbath.' Elli-
cott says: "The assertion of Alford cannot be
substantiated. The Sabbath of the Jews, as

1 It is objected by some that we do not observe the
command of God if we Iteep the first day of the week
instead of the seventh. But the command says nothing
about the seventh day of the toeek, much less does it en-
join on us the keeping of the seventh day of the week
as the week is now reckoned. Little is said about the
week during the long Patriarchal Dispensation of
twenty-five hundred years, and nothing is Said directly
of the Sabbath till we reach the time of Moses. There
is no certain evidence that among the ancient nations
which adopted the weekly division of time, the days of
the week everywhere corresponded to each other, nor is
there any proof that the weeks and the Sabbaths have
come down to us from man's creation in regular succe»-
sion and order. No one can now tell for certain which
is the exact memorial day of God's seventh day rest.
The command is, Remember the day of rest to keep it
holy, and we certainly remember it on the Lord's Day.
We are next commanded to labor six days, and thL^ we
do, or should do, it being as much of a command as any
other. And after six days of toil we are commanded to
rest on the seventh, or keep it as " a Sabbath," and this
command we obey to the letter. The mere calling of
our Christian Sabbath or Sunday the ftrti day of the
week does not in the least militate against or affect the
strictest, most literal observance of the fourth com-
mandment. And we cannot conceive it to be a crime if
the Sabbatarian, having observed as sacred the forenoon
of his Saturday Sabl)ath on the east side of the day line
in the Pacific Ocean,sbould just remove a hair's breadth

and finish his Sabbath observance by keeping the after-
noon of Sunday, the so-called first day of the week, on
the west side of the line. But granting that the sacred
day has been changed, have the great body of Christiana
thereby become violators of God's command ? No on«
will claim that the Sabbath law, as given and enforced
by Moses, is binding in its literal exactness. Even the
strictest Sabbatarian obeys it, but in part and only ao
far as he thinks it accordant with the Christian system
and spirit. The only question which on this subject di-
vides Christian believers is, bow much of the Sabbath
law of the older dispensation shall we, under the teacl>-
ings and example of Christ, transfer to the new? The
Sabbath was made for man, for all men, at all tim««, and
everywhere. Hence, there b something in the Sabbath
commandment which has a perpetual and universal
binding force, some essential principle which can and
should, always and everywhere, by all classes of men,
by travelers abroad as well as by dwellers at home, l>e
carried out into practice. This fundamental and uni-
versal principle is that a seventh part of oar time should
be weekly and statedly kept as specially sacred to Jeho-
vah. We contend therefore that Christians who sacredly
observe the first day of the week, the resurrection day
of our Lord, as their Sabbath, and as the memorial day
both of finished creation and finished redemption, ar«
not chargeable with violating the fourth command-
ment, but that tbey do keep it, if not with the dowit
literalism, yet most certainly Id spirit and tubiUnofc-'
(F.)

284

ROMANS.

[Ch. XiV

6 He that regardeth the day, regardeth U unto the
Lord ; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord
he dolh not regard i^ He that cateth, eateth to the
Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that cateth not,
to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.

7 For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth
to himself.

8 For whether we live, we live unto the Lord ; and
whether we die, we die unto the Lord : whether we live
therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.

6 assured in his own mind. He that regardeth the
day, regardeth it unto the Lord : and he that eateth.
eateth unto the Ix)rd, for he giveth God thanks; and
he that eateth not, unto the Lord he eateth not, and

7 giveth God thanks. For none of us liveth to himself,

8 and none dieth to himself. For whether we live, we
live unto the Lord; or whether we die, we die unto
the Lord : whether we live therefore, or die, we are

involving other than mere national reminis-
cences (with Deut 5: 15 contrast Exod. 20: 11)
was a shadow of the Lord's Day. That a
weekly seventh part of our time should be spe-
cially given up to God rests on considerations
as old as creation, and that that seventh portion
of the week should be the Jirst day rests on
apostolical and pe^rhaps inferentially (as the
Lord's appearances on that day seem to show)
divine usage and appointment."' The verb
fully persuaded we have had in 4: 21. The
apostle is here speaking of things in them-
selves morally indifferent. Though one of the
'strong,' he does not command the weaker
brethren to eat all things, or to esteem all days
alike, but he leaves these adiaphora, or things
indifferent, to each man's judgment and con-
science. Yet if a weak brother is convinced
that he ought not to eat anything common or
unclean, and is grieved and made to stumble
at the conduct of the strong brother who deems
nothing to be unclean in itself, then this strong
one, as we shall see, is counselled to yield a
point of indifference out of regard to the con-
victions of the weaker brother, that he may
not for the mere matter of food destroy him for
whom Christ died. See in 1 Cor. 6: 12; 9: 22;
10: 23, how Paul exemplified his own precept.]
6. The second clause of this verse — he that
regardeth not the day, etc. — is undoubtedly
spurious. It has very slender support from the
manuscripts (none from the oldest), and how-
ever true that may be which it affirms, it ought
not to be regarded as a genuine part of Paul's
letter. [He that eateth not (that is, of cer-
tain kinds of food), to the Lord he eateth
not, and giveth God thanks (that is, for
those kinds of food which he does eat). It is
" for the Lord that he refrains from the eating
(of flesh), persuaded that this abstinence tends
to serve the interest of Christ." (Meyer.)]*

There is no reason to regard what is said in
these two verses, the fifth and the sixth, as
having any reference to the first day of the
week. We know that the practice of the
earlier Christians differed as to the observance
of the festival days of the Jews. "We have no
evidence that any Christians, in the days of
the apostles, neglected to observe the first day
of the week as the festival of Christ's resur-
rection. The word Sabbath, in Col. 2: 16, and,
in fact, wherever it is used in the New Testa-
ment, refers to the Jewish Sabbath, the seventh
day of the week. The first day of the week is
never called by that name. The latter part of
this verse establishes the fact, attested also by
other evidence, that the primitive Christians
were accustomed to give thanks to God at their
daily meals. [For Scripture examples, see
Matt. 15: 36; 26: 26; Acts 27: 35; 1 Cor. 10:
30; 11: 24; 1 Tim. 4: 4. Paul, however, may
not here refer exclusively to the giving of
thanks at table. ] It would be well if all Chris-
tians at the present day would observe this
good custom, as well as follow the wise and
conciliatory counsels of the apostle in regard
to censuring one another for differences in things
neither obligatory nor sinful. The apostle now
proceeds to give good reasons why we should
neither judge nor despise one another on ac-
account of such differences.

7, 8. These verses contain a reason why we
should not, in judging the conduct of our
fellow-disciples, follow our natural impulses,
but practice self-control, and subordinate all
our conduct to the will and glory of Christ,
whose we are, whether living or dying. [For
none of us liveth to himself, etc. This is
true, indeed, of our human relationship. Every
one, no matter how low his standing, or isolated
in society, exerts some infiuence, and must
exert some influence for good or evil over

1 For passages where the "first day of the week" is | 11, 15; also the Article Pentecost, note b, in Smith's

expressly mentioned, see Matt. 28: 1 ; Mark 16: 29; Luke
24: 1; John 20: 19(26); Acts 20: 7; 1 Cor. 16:2. Some
have supposed the Pentecostal outpouring of the Spirit
occurred also on the first day of the week. See Lev. 23:

" Bible Dictionary."— (F.)

2 Note here the use in the original of the two different
negatives (Mh, oiic).— (F.)

Ch. XIV.]

ROMANS.

285

9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and
revived, that he might be I»rd both of the dead and
living.

10 But why dost thou judge thy brother ? or why dost
thou set at nought thy brother? fur we shall all stand
before the judgment seat of Christ.

11 For it is written, ^« 1 live, saith the Lord, every

9 the Lord's. For to this end Christ died, and lived
again, that he might be I/Ord of both the dead and

10 the living. But thou, why du«t thou judge thy
brother? or thou again, why dottt thou set at uougbt
thy brother? fur we ithall all stand before tbejudg-

11 meot-aeat of Uod. Fur it is written,

others. But the apostle here has especially
our divine relationship in mind, and asserts
that we are the Lord's, and are living, not for
ourselves, but for his service and glory. Our
whole earthly existence, our life and death
even, is a service for our sole Lord and Master.
" Neither life nor death can make us cease to
be his." (Jowett.) And how comforting the
thought that, while we cannot do many things,
or any great things, for God, we can serve him
in little things in all our daily acts, when we
toil with our minds or toil with our hands, and
earn our bread with the sweat of our brow —
yea, "whether we eat or drink, or whatever
we do," we can do all to the glory of God I If
we live, or if we die, we belong to Christ, and
serve him. The reader may perhaps recollect
that the words of this last verse form the in-
scription on Meyer's tombstone.] Dr. Malan,
in one of his excellent tracts, speaks of death
as an act of the Christian, his last earthly
act of obedience to his Divine Master. He
does not have his spirit torn from him against
his will and in spite of his resistance, but he
yields up his spirit at the divine summons, as
did Christ himself. (Luke »:«.)»

0. For to this end Christ both died, etc.
The words 'and rose' should be omitted, as
not belonging to the original text, according to
the testimony of the best manuscripts. They
add nothing to what is expressed by the other
words of the passage. [Omit, also, 'both,' and
read: Christ died and revived, or became
alive. "The aorist often denotes the entrance
into a state or condition." (Boise.) To this
end refers to the final clause of the verse.
The dead and living. The order of these
words, the reverse of the usual one, is made to
correspond with the preceding verbs, died and
lived. "Christ's dominion over the dead re-
futes the notion of the insensibility of the soul
while the body is in the grave." (Bengel.)

Qod is not the God of the non-existent, nor of
the unconscious dead, but of the living ; for
all live (not merely exist) unto him. (L«k*M:n.)
And so the apostle says, " whether we wake or
sleep," whether we live or die, "we should
live together with (or united with) him."
(1 Th»M. 6: 10.) Paul thus plainly teaches us that
death places the Christian with Christ (com-
pare 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1 : 23) ; and so he may
well call death a gain. (pmi. i:ii.) Tet the
Christian may not experience the fUllest bless-
edness until after the resurrrection and the
judgment]

10, 11. The main subject is now resumed
from ver. 3, and two cogent reasons are given
why we should not judge nor despise our
brother : First, because he is our brother, and
second, because God will judge him. [The
Revised Version gives the force of the original,
which shows that the questions are directed to
different individuals — the first one to the weaker
in faith, the second to the stronger. We shall
all stand. Those who judge and set at nought,
and those who are judged and are set at nought
" Note how decisive is the testimony of such
passages against any limitation of the univer-
sality of the final judgment" (Meyer.)] The
jadgment seat of Christ. [This reading is
defended by Tholuck, De Wette, and Phil-
ippi.] It should, however, be, the judgment
seat of Qod. The reading of all the best manu-
scripts puts this matter beyond question. And
it is just as unquestionable that in 2 Cor. 5: 10,
" we must all appear before the judgment seat
of Christ," is the true and undisputed reading.
(Compare Matt. 25: 31.) These passages are
not contradictory. They are both combined
and reconciled in Rom. 2 : 16. [Christ, as the
glorified Son of man, will sit in judgment as
God' s representative. ]

11. For it is written in Isa. 45 : 23. This lan-
guage, which is here represented as spoken by

I According to John 21 ; 19, we can glorify God even
by the manner or kind of our death. Several MSS.
give the Indicative, rather than the subjunctive, form
after «ai' («' — ar), if, or, whether: but that mood, after
this particle, Is exceedingly rare. Prof Boise, after
calling attention to the oft-recurring ri of ver. 8,

" uniting the clausea in closer logical oonnectlon," then
says: "Our union with Christ in life and death, and
bis entire ownership, could hardly be ezpreased in
stronger language. Not« tb« emphatic rtfNtlUoo of tb*
word Lord-"— (F')

286

ROMANS.

[Ch. XIV.

knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to
God.

12 So then every one of us shall give account of him-
self to God.

13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more:
but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock
or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.

As I live, saith the Lord, to me every knee shall

bow,
And every tongue shall > confess to God.

12 So then each one of us shall give account of himself
to God.

13 Let us not therefore judge one another any more:
but judge ye this rather, that no man put a stum-
bling-block in his brother's way, or an occasion of

1 Or, give praUt.

the Lord (Jehovah, in the Hebrew of Isaiah,
see ver. 19, 21, 25), is plainly applied to Christ in
Phil. 2: 10, 11, thus agreeing with 2 Cor. 5:
10, and also other passages of inspired Scripture,
in representing Christ as the final Judge of
men, and identifying him with the supreme
Jehovah of the Old Testament. [The original
of the quotation has: "I have sworn by my-
self," instead of, ' as I live,' " and, every tongue
shall swear," instead of, 'shall confess.' Paul
here varies both from the Hebrew and most
copies of the LXX. The words "saith the
Lord " are added by himself. With the use of
that (oTi) after solemn asseverations, a verb like
aver is understood. The verb ' confess ' is
used in James 5 : 16 of confession of sins, but
here it denotes to render praise, or to do
homage, whether it comes from the heart or
not. As is shown in the next verse, each one's
giving an account of himself to God is a con-
fession made to him. So in Phil. 2 : 10, 11, we
are taught that in the name of Jesus every
knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord. Yet this does not
prove the truth of universal salvation. All the
enemies of Christ, his betrayers, his earthly
judges, — Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate, — his mur-
derers, will give account of themselves at
Christ's judgment seat, and by this act alone
they will confess that he is Lord, and will thus
do homage in and to his name.]

12. So then every one of us shall give
account of himself to God. The context,
both preceding and succeeding, seems to re-
quire a distinct emphasis on the words 'of
himself,' with an almost equal stress on the last
words, 'to God.' [Looking at the verse itself
'every (or, each) one' («(cao-Tos) would be the
emphatic word. But does not every one of
these words have a fearful emphasis for us
sinners? In this world we are sometimes lost
in a crowd or overlooked, but nothing of this
kind will happen there when each one of us
will give account of himself A very few
manuscripts, including, however, the Vatican

B, omit the words 'then' and 'to God,' and
have the verb in a compound form, but the
Revisers abide by the well-established reading
of the Common text.] Every man's account
will be personal, between himself and God
alone, as the Judge. And this consideration,
in both its aspects, should rebuke and restrain
our severe judgments of one another.

The apostle now proceeds to amplify his ad-
monition of the strong [since these are not
always so inwardly and strongly bound by
their convictions as the weak], not to use their
Christian liberty in such a way as to damage
their weaker brethren.

13. Let us not therefore judge [present
tense, continue in the habit of judging ; but if
you must judge, judge this rather — that is,
let this be your judgment. 'This' refers to
the following clause: that no man put a
stumblingblock or an occasion to fall,
etc. Notice how the infinitive is made a sub-
stantive by its prefixed article, and compare
2 Cor. 2: 1.] The word 'judge' here, in the
second instance, seems to be used nearly in the
sense of resolve. The same Greek word is
translated "determine" in Acts 3: 13; 20:
16 ; 25 : 25, and three or four other places, and
"decree" in 1 Cor. 7: 37. The two words
translated 'stumblingblock' and 'occasion to
fall ' difier very little in sense. Each is more
than once translated by the same words, ' stum-
blingblock,' 'offence,' and they are joined
together in 9 : 33 ; 1 Peter 2 : 8, as well as in this
passage. They are applied to any act or course
of conduct which tends to provoke others to sin.
[Some regard the former (stone or block of
wood) as the larger obstacle against which one
would be very likely to fall, and the latter
(trap or trapstick) as a smaller and more hidden
obstacle which might occasion his fall or hinder
his progress. The word for trap {<TKavSa\ov, see
9: 33; 11: 9; 16: 17) is found twenty-five
times in the LXX. and fifteen times in the
New Testament, but seldom occurs in Greek
profane writers.]

Ch. XIV.]

ROMANS.

287

14 I know, and am persuaded by the Ix>rd Jesus, that
there it nothing unclean of iteelf: but to him that
esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him t7 u unclean.

15 But if thy brother be grieved with thu meat, now
walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy
meat, for whuui Christ died.

16 Let not then your good be eril spoken of:

14 falling. I know, and am penoaded in tb« Lord
Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself: save that to
him who account«th anything to be unclean, to him

15 it is unclean. For if bt^UM- of meat thy brother it
grieved, thou walkest no longer in love. I>estruy not

16 with thy meat him fur wboiu t'hri.st di«d. Let not

17 then your good be evil spoken of: for the kingdom

14. I know, and am persuaded, has tho

appearance of an anti-climax, and would really
be such were the latter verb separated from
its accompanying words by the Lord Jesus —
[literally, in the Lord Jesus, in conscious fel-
lowship with him]. This adjunct imparts a
sacredness to his persuasion which raises it
above the simjjle ' I know.' There is nothing
unclean of itself.* Is not this virtually an
aflBrmation that the Mosaic prohibitions in
regard to particular kinds of meats had
no foundation or reason in the nature of the
meats themselves? Compare Acts 10 : 28;
1 Tim. 4: 3, 4. The apostle here declares his
theoretical agreement with those who did not
regard the Mosaic distinctions of meats as any
longer binding; and this declaration adds
emphasis to his injunctions to those whom he
recognizes as having a right view of their
liberty, not to use it in such a way as to give
offence or to present temptation to their weaker
brethren. For that which he and those whom
he is admonishing knew to be in itself lawful
for them would defile the conscience of the
weaker brethren if they should eat the same
meats without the same convictions. The prin-
ciple is an important one. Men are not always
doing right when they act according to their
consciences, for conscience is not the ultimate
standard of right, since it may be only par-
tially enlightened. But men are always guilty
when they act contrary to their consciences,
when they do what they do not believe to be
right. Paul was conscientious in persecuting
Christians before his conversion (aoumis), but
this did not make his conduct right as he him-
self came fully to understand afterward, (i cor.
li: 9.) There was nothing morally defiling in
eating meats that had once been forbidden to

the Jews, but [«> m^i forming an exception to
the nothing unclean] they would defile the
conscience of him whu should eat them, believ-
ing them to be still forbidden.

15. But if thy brother be grieved. [In-
stead of 'but,' the Revised Version has /or.
For if on account of meat (or, food) 'thy
brother be gfrieved. ' The thought of this verse,
with this rendering, seems closely connected
with ver. 18.] ' Be grieved' — be not only dis-
pleased for the moment, but led by thy exam-
ple to do that on account of which he wil.
afterward be grieved with himself. Walkest
thou not charitably— literally, walkest not
according to love, actest in a way which due
love to thy brother forbids. [Such love as this
" worketh no ill to his neighbor." The apostle
here sets forth a very high and heavenly mo-
rality.] Destroy not him. " Do not pursue
a course which tends, by leading him into sin,
to destroy his soul, and which will, at least, de-
stroy his peace." Bengel's note on the last
clause of this verse is very pertinent and force-
ftil : " Do not make more account of bis meat
than Christ did of his life." [Similarly, Al-
ford: "Ruining, ... by a mkal of thine, a
brother for whom Christ died!" See 1 Cor.
8 : 11. Notwithstanding the conative force of
the present tense (do not attempt to destroy),
Paul would here seem to teach that a person
may perish for whom Christ died. But this
does not prove that any one whom he purposed
to save will ever fatally apostatize and finally
perish.]

16. Let not then your good be evil
spoken of. Their libertj' in regard to dis-
tinction of meats was a good thing, but there
was need of caution in the use of it, lest it
should become an occasion of division among

> Literally : Common through itself. Three important
MS.S. X B C, have here the full form «awTou (of itself),
while other MSS. have a shorter form. Alford prefers the
contracted form of the reflexive, outoC, while Meyer
adopts the personal avroC of the neuter gender. Some,
regarding it as masculine, have referred this last form to
Christ ; through Aim there is no longer anything unclean.
The older MSS. do not give the breathings, and most
critical editors of the New Testament do not give any

contracted forms of the reflexive pronoun in the third
person. Both of the above verba, M know' and 'am
persuaded,' are perfect in form. On *I know '(•!<«),
see 7 : 7. Philippi thinks that the apostle here specially
exhorts the strong, becau.«o thi'ir numbers were proba-
bly preponderant in the Koman Church, and their in-
i fluence over the weak was more to be feared than tta*
influence of the latter on the fbnuer.— <F.)

288

ROMANS.

[Ch. XIV.

17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink ;
but righteousness^ and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.

18 tor he that in thet>e things serveth Christ is accept-
able to God, and approved of men.

19 Let us thereiore follow after the things which
make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify
another.

20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things
indeed are pure ; but it is evil for that man who eateth
with o£fence.

of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness

18 and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. For he that
herein serveth Christ is well-plea-sing to God, and

19 approved of men. So then > let us follow after things
which make for peace, and things whereby we may

20 edify one another. Overthrow not for meat's sake
the work of God. All things indeed are clean ; how-
beit it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.

1 Uany anoient autborltiei read we follow.

brethren, and so a reproach to the Church of
Christ. It surely was not worth while to run
so great a risk. ['Your good,' according to
Meyer, is the kingdom of God ; with Philippi,
it is the gospel; with De Wette, it is your
strong faith. Let not your strength of faith,
by reason of strife and schism, be calumniously
spoken of by the heathen or unbelievers. The
uncials D E F G read — "our good."]

17. The kingdom of God is not meat
and drink — or, true religion does not consist
in such external observances as eating and
drinking, but that kingdom is within you (Luke
18 : 21), and consists in righteousness, rectitude
of character, inward peace, and joy in the
Holy Ghost (or Spirit), the Holy Spirit being
the source of true religious peace and joy. [If
regard be had to our relation to God, then this
'kingdom of God' (here mentioned for the first
time in this Epistle) would consist, as De Wette
states it, in "righteousness in its full sense,
including justification," as also in our peace
toward God as well as in inward peace. In
Meyer's view, this kingdom of God is not an
earthly moral kingdom, but the future Messi-
anic kingdom, to be ushered in at the second
coming of Christ — a sadly distorted view of the
reign of Christ in and among the children of
men.]

18. For he that in these things serveth
Christ. He who cultivates the three great
Christian graces just mentioned will not only
be acceptable to (or, please) God and secure
his favor, but will also be approved of men
[will be able to stand their testing], and be
secure against having his good evil spoken of.
(Ter. 16.) [Instead of ' these things,' most manu-
scripts have the reading of the Revised text,
this, which, grammatically, refers to the
'Spirit,' or to the phrase 'joy in the Holy
Ghost' ; or possibly it might express, as Alford
states it, "the aggregate of the three"— that is,
righteousness, peace, and joy. But most ex-

positors, disregarding the preponderating evi-
dence of the MSS., prefer the plural, these.
referring to the three great moral elements just
mentioned. These, if taken in their Scriptural
sense, are to be viewed doctrinally as well as
ethicallj', else we should be obliged to regard a
just, peaceful, cheerftil man as a true Christian.
(Hodge.) The elements, the great gifts and
graces which constitute the essence of God's
kingdom, are not of earth or of self, but of God,
and are, indeed, the fruits of the Spirit.]

19. Let us therefore follow after [let us
eagerly pursue (the word for persecute) the
things which make for peace, or, things
of peace — that is, which belong to and tend to
peace. With the second clause, some less im-
portant manuscripts supply the verb: Let us
guard or keep]. To edify is, literally, to build
up. Both the individual Christian and the
church at large are represented as a building,
and the improving and perfecting of character
in either is called edifying or building up.
This verse is a practical exhortation suggested
by the two preceding verses.

20. For meat. On account of meat (or
food). The Christian is called the work of
God — sometimes simply (Kph. 2:io) ; sometimes
under the figure of a field to be tilled ; more
frequently under the figure of a house or tem-
ple to be built, (i cor. 3:9; 6:i9.) In harmony
with this figure, the word here translated de-
stroy (different from the word so translated in
ver. 15) means to pull down or take to pieces,
being the antithesis of edifying in ver. 19.
[The singular number, 'destroy' thou 'not'
(strive thou not to destroy, present tense), re-
fers back to ver. 15, 16.] All things indeed
are pure. All kinds of food are lawful to be
eaten, being clean in themselves (see ver. 14,
and compare 1 Tim. 4 : 3, 4), but it is wrong for
him, or there is evil to him, who may eat in
such a way as to give offense to his brother, or
to cause him to do anything contrary to his

Ch. XIV .]

ROMANS.

289

21 It is good neither to eath flesh, nor to drink wine,
nor any thing whereby thy brother stiirableth, or is
offended, or is made weak.

22 Hast thou faith? have it to tby8e)f before God.
Happy is he that condemneth not bimseli in that thing
which he alloweth.

23 And he that doubteth is damned if he eat. because
he eatetU not of faith : for whatsoever it not oi faith is
«in.

21 It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to d*

22 any thing whereby thy brother stuuibleth. ' The
faith which thou hatil have thou to thvttelf beforeGod.
Happy is he thai judgeih not himself in that which

23 he ^approveth. But he that doubteth is condemned
if be eat, because he eateth not of faith ; and wbatso<
soever is not of faith is sin. 3

1 lluij ancient muthorides add orU ojftndtd, or U vtak 2 Or, putttth to thi tut S Maaj authoritiei, Mm* aoeisot, loMrt

liere, cb. xri. 25-27.

conscience.' [The immediately preceding and
succeeding verses have reference to the strong,
and so here the man who eatewi through offense
(so as to be an occasion of crumbling) is the
strong in faith. So De Wette, Alford. Others,
less correctl.v, interpret it, in the light of ver.
14, of the weak brother who, in eating, offends
his own conscience.]

21. It is good. In opposition to what is
evil or wrong, (ver. 20.) Neither to eat
flesh. [The word here used for flesh denotes
slain flesh, in contrast with the ordinary word
for living flesh. On the order of the negatives,
see at 8: 38. The two verbs after stumbleth
are omitted in the Revision, but are found in
B D F L, Vulgate, and should not be con-
demned. Nor (to do) anything whereby,
etc. Compare 1 Cor. 8 ; 13. We have here a
most important principle of action — to wit, a
regard to our influence, which will often enable
us to decide as to the right or wrong of things
in themselves, possibly indifferent or innocent.
So far as ourselves are concerned, we may
safely and rightly indulge in certain practices
or habits ; but when we know or suspect that
such indulgence is hurtful in its influence on
others, it then becomes a sin against God and
man. Under this rule of action we may deter-
mine the rightfulness or the moral impropriety
of participating in the so-called "worldly"
(perhaps in themselves often innocent) amuse-
ments of our times. There are certain habits
indulged in by some Christians, even by some
Christian ministers, which we cannot place
among the things morally indifferent and

1 The word but, corresponding to the preceding ^ev
(indeed), is stronger than Si, and makes this clause
"more strongly prominent." — (F.)

* The Revisers insert a which in the first clause, and
give a slightly different rendering without altering the
meaning. For the word 'thyself they have aavrhv,
the contracted form of <r«ovT6;'. In the last sentence of
the verse, m, with the participle, judging (in Common
Version, 'condemneth'), refers to a supposed genus.
Happy is the strong one who judges not himself, or is

innocent. In all these matters, we do well
"not to please ourselves," but to follow that
truly Christ-like principle which Paul himself
both inculcated and practiced. "Whether
therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye
do, do all to the glory of God."]

22, Hast thou faith — or, a full persuasion
that there is no sin in eating certain meats
which thy brother regards as forbidden ? Keep
that persuasion to thyself; let it be between
thee and thy God ; do not parade it before thy
brother in such a way as to shock his weak
prejudices and tempt him to sin ; be content
with the happiness of acting consistently with
thy principles, and be not over anxious to make
thy brother see and act as thou doest.«

23. And he that doubteth. [See 4: 20,
the only place in the Epistle where this word
occurs. The word in the last verse, translated
judgeth {ki>Ivuv) in the Revised Version, occurs
twice in this, compounded with different prep-
ositions. The last compounded form is in the
perfect has been (and is) condemned, lies under
condemnation.] He is condemned who eats
what he doubts his right to eat, because of that
doubt; for [rather, but, introducing an axiom.
(Alford)], whatever a man does while doubting
whether he has a right to do it, that is sin.
This is the same principle which is expressed
in ver. 14. The passage does not mean what
Augustine inferred from it, that the best actions
of unbelievers are only "shining sins." Yet
there is an important moral principle here.
In every moral act there are two important
elements to be considered — the act itself, and

liable to no self-Judgment (Meyer) in pursuing that
course which he approves after examination and testing.
An Apocryphal addition to Luke 6: 4 (found in MS. D),
is adduced by Olshausen as " very highly Instructive for
the understanding of this passage." It is there told
that Jesus saw a man working on the Sabbath, and said
to him: "If thou knowest what thou doest, thou art
blessed ; but if thou knowest not, thou art accursed,
and a transgressor of the law." — (F.)

590

ROMANS.

[Ch. XV.

CHAPTER XV.

E then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities j
of the weak, and not to please ourselves. |

1 Now we that are strong ought to bear the infirm-

2 ities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let

the state of the actor" s conscience. In order
that an act may be wholly right, it must be
right in both these respects; but in order to be
wrong, it need be faulty in only one of them.
This principle is pithily expressed in the Latin
maxim : " Bonum non oritur, nisi ex omnibus
causis integris: malum ex quovis defectu" —
"the right is produced only by the perfection
of all its parts ; the wrong by a defect in any
single part." It would be easy to quote from
uninspired, and even Pagan moralists, senti-
ments more or less parallel to this of Paul.
Pliny says (Epistle 1:18): "Quod dubitas, ne
feceris" — "what you are in doubt about you
must not do." Cicero less tersely says : " Bene
praecipiunt, qui vetant quicquam agere, quod
dubitas an aequum sit an iniquum" ("De
Officiis" 1 : 9) — "They teach well who forbid
us to do anything about which we are not sure
whether it is just or unjust." There is a Rab-
binical maxim which coincides more closely
still with the language of Paul: "Quicquid
utrum licitum sit an illicitum tu nescis, id tibi
illicitum est" — "Concerning whatever thing
you do not know, whether it is lawful or un-
lawful, that thing is unlawful /or yow." That
was an excellent resolution of Jonathan Ed-
wards, expressed with the precision of a meta-
physician, as well as formed with the piety of a
saint: " Resolved never to do any action about
the lawfulness of which I am so doubtful at the
time that I resolve to inquire afterward, unless
I am equally doubtful whether it is lawful to
omit it." [The preceding note merits deep
consideration ; for the language of Paul in this
verse has been often misunderstood— :/irs<, by
assuming that "faith" here means "trust in
Christ," and secondly, by assuming that what-
soever is " of faith " is holy, because whatsoever
is "notof faith" is sinful. The word "faith"
signifies in this place belief or conviction —
namely, belief or conviction that a given
act is lawful and right before God ; and the
teaching of the apostle, as explained above,
is clearly this — that it is sinful for any Chris-
tian to perform an act which he does not fully
believe to be right, but not that it is sinful
for him to perform an act without trust in
Christ (though this is doubtless true), and still

less, that every act which is performed with
trust in Christ is, therefore, sinless. Trust in
Christ does not render a man holy in heart and
life ; it is rather a confession that he is not holy.
But the word 'faith,' as Dr. Arnold clearly
shows, does not here mean trust in Christ. —
(A. H.)]

[In some manuscripts, but not the most im-
portant, the final doxology (i6: 25-27) occurs here
after ver. 23. Some suppose that this verse
ended a church section, or lesson for public
reading, and the doxology was appended to
form a suitable close. Certainly the doxology,
" now to him that is of power to stablish you,"
comes in appropriately here, where the weak
in faith are spoken of. But, as Westcott and
Hort affirm, "the cause of its insertion here
cannot be known with certainty." Only a
very few skeptical writers have doubted the
genuineness of the two chapters which follow.]

Ch. 15 : Continuation of the subject of chap-
ter 14 to ver. 13 ["Christ an example of bear-
ing with the weak." (Olshausen.) Thence to
ver. 33 are personal explanations, embracing
an apology, ver. 14-21, and notice of journeys,
ver. 22-33.]

1. We then that are strong ought to
bear the infirmities of the weak. Observe
that here, as in 14 : 4, the apostle takes the part
of the 'strong' as being theoretically right,
and thus adds to the strength of his plea for
the weak. The word translated ' infirmities '
is not used elsewhere in the New Testament,
but is derived from the word rendered ' weak,'
as in 14 : 4. [The verb ' ought ' is strongly em-
phatic by position, standing at the opening of
the sentence. The words for 'strong' and
■ weak' correspond in form to our able and tin-
able. We who are able to carrj' the infirmities
of the weak (unable) ought so to do. "We are
not only to bear with their weaknesses, but to
carry them as if our own — a requirement which
necessitates the putting of ourselves in the place
of the weak. The apostle also counselled the
Galatian Christians, "Bear 3'e one another's
burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ."
(Gal. 6:2.) No Christian can so dissociate him-
self ft"om others that he can live for himself

'JH.

XV.]

ROMANS.

291

2 Let everyone of us please Aw neighbour for his
good to edification.

3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is
written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee
fell on me.

4 Kor whatsoever things were written aforetime were
written for our learning, that we through patience and
comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.

each one of us please his neighbour for that which is

3 good, unto edifying. For Christ also pleased not him-
self; but, as it is written. The reproaches of Ibem

4 that reproached thee fell uiwn me. F'or whatsoever
thing:^ were written aforetime were written for our

alone. And in all our relations of responsi-
bility, in all our life's plans, and in all our
actions, the ought idea should, as in our text,
have the foremost, the emphatic place.] And
not to please ourselves. [This pleasing of
one's self seems, it must be confessed, to be in
general the guiding principle of human action.
Observe the use of the dependent negative
here in contrast with the use of the direct nega-
tive in the narrative sentence of ver. 3, ' pleased
not himself.' Notice also the third person of
the reflexive pronoun as here used for the first.]
This clause points out the root of those rash
judgments and alienations of feeling among
brethren, which the apostle is earnestly en-
deavoring to forestall. It is the want of that
self-denying love, of which our Lord himself
was the bright example (ver. s), and which
Paul also exemplified in an eminent degree.

(l Cor. 8: 13; 9: 22; 10:33.) We shoW OUr Strength,

not by despising, but by tolerating, the infirmi-
ties of the weak, and our knowledge and en-
larged views \>y bearing with the ignorance
and narrow prejudices of others. [" Both par-
ties are to receive each other in brotherly love
(IS: 7), without the stronger subjecting the scru-
ples of the weaker to his criticism. But the
stronger has thus a special duty of love to dis-
charge, for to him alone is the matter in dis-
pute a matter of indifference." (Weiss.)]

2. Let everyone of us please his neigh-
bour for his good to edification. We have
here an excellent rule of Christian charity,
well guarded. The wish to please our neigh-
bor is a praiseworthy feeling, but we are to
indulge it according to these two rules, namely,
in ways which are right in the sight of God,
and which tend to our neighbor's 'edification'
— his building up in righteousness and Chris-
tian character. [' Edification ' is a species under
the genus, <7oorf. (Bengel.) Of the two prepo-
sitions in the original, the former seems to de-
note the more immediate, the latter the more
ultimate purpose or result of the action. See
Ellicott on Eph. 4: 12. The word for 'neigh-
bor ' is an adverb, and properly means the one
(being) near. Observe that there is a wrong

way of pleasing our neighbors as well as a
right one. See Gal. 1 : 10; 1 Thess. 2:4. We
must please him or strive to please him, only
as it will be for his good, only, too, in obedi-
ence to the divine will.]

3. The exhortations in the two preceding
verses are now enforced by the example of
Christ. For even Christ, though so much
above the strongest of us, pleased not him-
self; but [the reverse of this is true. This is
the great constraining motive for like action in
us. Observe here the use of the objective neg-
ative where a fact is stated. The word Christ,
standing in such a connection as this, is gener-
ally used by Paul as a proper name and with-
out the article. Yet again in ver. 7 it has the
article, and so in 1 Cor. 1: 13; 10: 4; 11: 3,
etc., in all which cases it is used in the nomina-
tive. As it is written, in Ps. 69: 9. Winer
remarks that the apostle, instead of saying, but
to please God, he submitted to the most cruel
reproaches, changes the construction by pro-
ceeding with a quotation from the Old Testa-
ment. The quotation is verbatim from the
LXX. 68 : 9. Those that reproached thee.
Owing to its connection with a verb in the past
tense, the present participle, those reproaching
thee, may be rendered as in the past tense
'Thee' here refers to God. Though Christ in
one sense pleased not himself ("otherwise he
would have abstained from taking these sufi'er-
ings on himself; compare Heb. 12: 2, 3; Phil.
2: 6-8." Meyer), yet he was pleased to obey
the will of God and to say, " Lo I come."
(Heb. 10: 7; compare Matt. 20: 28; John 4:
34.)] For the benefit and salvation of men
Christ willingly suflTered reproach from the
enemies of God. The Messianic character of
the psalm quoted from is evident from John 2:
17; 15:2.5; 19:28; Acts 1:20.

4. For whatsoever things. [Westcott
and Hort read: "All things whatsoever."
"The apostle both justifies the above citation
and prepares the way for the subject to be next
introduced." (Alford.) We see here the value
which such inspired writers as Paul placed on
all the Old Testament Scriptures.] Were

292

ROMANS.

[Ch. XV.

5 N w the God of patience and consolation grant you
to be likeuiinded one toward another according to
Christ .lesus:

6 That ye jnay with one mind and one mouth glorify
God, even the I-'ather of our Lord Jesus Christ.

7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also
received us, to the glory of God.

learning, that through i patience and through com-

5 fort of the scriptures we might have hope. Kow the
God of 1 patience and of comfort grant you to be of
the same mind one with another according to Christ

6 Jesus : that with one accord ye may with one mouth
glorify the ^Ood and Father of our Lord Jesus

7 Christ. Wherefore receive ye one another, even as

8 Christ also received *you, to the glory of God. For

1 Or, «(e<^<M(ne« 2 Or, God and the Father 3 Some ancieot authorities read ut.

written for our learning (or, instruction)
that we through patience and comfort of
the Scriptures might have hope. This was
the general object of all, and more specifically,
with reference to the present subject, to con-
tribute to our patience and comfort. The
Scriptures teach us 'patience' in bearing the
infirmities of others, and give us 'comfort'
under the slight inconvenience which it may
cost us to bear them ; and in general ' the
Scriptures' are the source of 'patience and
comfort' by their precepts, their examples,
their promises, and by the 'hope' of eternal
life. [The comfort of the Scriptures is thus
allied, not with apathy, but with endurance.
The connection of these two words in the fol-
lowing verse indicates a similar close connec-
tion here — that is, they are both to be connected
with 'the Scriptures.' The genitive is that of
source or authorship. The ' hope ' which we
may have is commonly regarded as the Chris-
tian's special hope, the hope of glory. {5:12.)
There are but two things we can carry away
with us when we leave this world : the one is
the hope we may have in Jesus of forgiveness
and of the life eternal ; the other is the heavy
burden of unrepented and unforgiven sin.]

5, 6. The apostle, recognizing God as the
source of patience and consolation (com-
fort), as ' the Scriptures ' are the means, prays
that he may grant them harmony of feeling
to be like minded [to mind the same things,
as in 12 : 16] among themselves (which, rather
than exact unanimity of opinion, is the mean-
ing of 'like minded' here), according to (the
will and example of) Christ Jesus, our per-
fect pattern ; so that they, with one accord or
unanimously, with (literally, in) one mind
and one mouth (with one inward spirit and
one outward utterance) may glorify God,
even the Father (or, the God and Father)
of our Lord Jesus Christ. A touching
prayer, or, rather, devout wish, with which to
seal and enforce the preceding admonitions.
[How strongly the Saviour desired the oneness
of his people may be seen in John 17 : 21. De

"Wette and Meyer prefer the rendering, ' even
the Father,' which is found in our Common
Version, though the rendering of the Revised
Version, the Ood and Father, is theologically
and grammatically admissible. See Eph. 1 :
17, also Matt. 27: 46; John 20: 17.]

7. Wherefore, on which account — namely,
that the wish just expressed may be accom-
plished. Receive ye one another [or,
rather, take to yourselves (implying more active
effort) as Christian brethren, see 14: 1] both
Jewish and Gentile believers, both the strong
in faith and the weak. As Christ also re-
ceived us (or, you). 'As' maybe equivalent
to since here, and so be referred to the fact
that Christ received us as a reason why we
should receive on6 another [compare 14: 3,
' for God hath received him '] ; or it may refer
to the manner in which Christ received us, as
the rule to teach us how we should receive
another. The word is commonly taken in the
former sense in this passage ; but the manner
in which the word ' also ' is connected with it —
the two being, in fact, joined together, making
one compound word in the Greek — would jus-
tify the translation, even as Christ also received
us, which would seem rather to suggest the way
of receiving, as well as the reason for it. We
must receive those whom Christ receives, be-
cause he receives them, and as he receives
them. We must not set any limits to our
brotherlj' love, which Christ has not set; and
and we must not make any conditions of church
membership which he has not made ; nor must
we ignore, or neglect to insist upon any that he
has made. The glory of God was his end
in forming the rules of his kingdom ; and the
glorifymg God, as in ver. 9, should be ours in
putting those rules in practice. We may sum
up all in these three fundamental principles :

1. Christ is the only King and Lawgiver in
his church. 2. The Scriptures are the only
binding rule of faith and practice for his people
in religious matters. 3. God's glory .should be
the supreme end in all Christian action, whether
private or ecclesiastical.

Ch. XV.]

ROMANS.

293

8 Now I gay that Jesus Christ was a minister of the
circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the
promises miuie unto the fathers:

9 And that the Gentiles nii^ht glorify God for his
mercy ; as it is written, For tins cause I will confess to
thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name.

10 And again he saitn, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his
people.

U And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and
iaud him, all ye people.

I say, that Christ habh been made a minister of the
circumcision for the truth of God, that he might
9 contirm the promises <7iie« unto the fathers, and that
the Gentiles might glorify God for bis mercy ; as it is
written,

Therefore will I i give praise unto thee among

the Gentiles,
And sing unto thy name.

10 And again he saith.

Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.

11 And again.

Praise the TyOrd, all ve Gentiles ;
And let all the peoples p'raise him.

1 Or, eon/tt*.

8, 9. By the quotations in the ninth and
three following verses, the apostle proves that
God's purpose from the beginning was to com-
prehend both Jews and Gentiles in the wide
embrace of his mercy, through the Messiah ;
and so he adds confirmation to the force of his
exhortation to them to receive one another,
and to the assurance that their doing so will
redound to the glory of God. [Now I say.
Instead of this phrase, most MSS. read for,
which denotes a reason for the exhortation just
given. Meyer renders : ^^ I mean, namely,"
thus making what follows to be explanatory
of the preceding.] A minister of the cir-
cumcision. The apostle shoves his Jewish
brethren that he was not unmindful of a certain
temporal priority of claim on their part, to the
blessings of the Messianic kingdom, according
to such passages as Matt. 16 : 26 ; Luke 24 : 47 ;
John 4 : 22. [The word minister, or servant
(fiioKovos), whence our deacon, occurs elsewhere
in this Epistle. See 13: 4 (twice) and 16: 1.
Our Saviour said that he came to minister unto
{SioLKovrirrai) by giving his life a ransom for
many. (Matt. 20: 28.) But his earthly service
was mainly for the circumcision, the Jews, the
lost sheep of the house of Israel. Possibly the
apostle may have made this concession to the
Jews in order to humble the pride of the
'strong' Gentile Christians. (De Wette.)
Was — the verb in the original is in the per-
fect, meaning, literally, has become, and de-
notes a past event, but still continuing in its
effects.] For the truth of God — that is,
to establish it by fulfilling the Messianic proph-
ecies or promises made unto the fathers.
And that the Gentiles might glorify God
for his mercy [as the Jews for his truthful-
ness, his fidelity to his promises. Noyes makes
the verb 'glorify' dependent on 'I say,' and
gives this rendering: "(I say) that the Gentiles
glorified God for his mercy." More probably

this verb is co-ordinate with the verb confirm,
and thus the glorifying God by the Gentiles is
represented as "the remote design of Christ's
becoming a minister of the circumcision."
Meyer says: "The connection of the Jewish
Christians with Christ appears as the fulfill-
ment of their theocratic claim ; but that of the
Gentile Christians as the enjoyment of grace,
a distinction so set forth . . . designedly and
ingeniously, in order to suggest to the Gentile
Christians greater esteem for their weaker
Jewish brethren."] It is true that there were
promises of salvation for the Gentiles in the
Old Testament, and that some of these prom-
ises were addressed directly to the Gentiles, as
was true of the implied promises in ver. 10,
11 ; yet, as the prophets spoke and wrote im-
mediately and chiefly to and for the Jews, the
truth of God could not be said to be pledged
to the former as directly and fully as to the
latter. There was a formal covenant in the
latter case, which there was not in the former;
and this distinction is often recognized in the
Scriptures as it is here. The quotation in ver.
9 is from Ps. 18 : 49 [and, save the omission of
the word Lord, exactly accords with the
LXX.] The words are put into the mouth of
the Psalmist; but David here speaks as a type
of Christ. [Philippi supposes the person offer-
ing praise may be " any messenger of salvation
to the Gentile world."]

10, II, 12. And again he saith, or, it
saith — that is, the Scripture [which is feasily
understood from the words 'it is written' in
the preceding verse]. Rejoice, ye Gentiles,
with his people. These words are from
Deut. 32:43 [and exactly follow the LXX.].
In the original Hebrew, as the English inti-
mates by italics, there is nothing (save in one
MS., Codex 146) to answer to the preposition
'with.' Literally it reads: " Rejoice, ye Gen-
tiles, his people." Rejoice, ye nations, for you,

294

ROMANS.

[Ch. XV,

12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of
Jesse, and he that, shall rise to reign over the Gentiles ;
in bini shall the Gentiles trust.

13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and
peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through
the power of the Holy Ghost.

14 And I myself also am persuaded of you, my

12 And again, Isaiah saith.

There shall be the root of Jesse,

And he that ariseth to rule over the Gentiles ;

On him shall the Gentiles hope.

13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace
in believing, that ye may abound in hope, in the
power of the Holy Spirit.

14 And 1 myself also am persuaded of you, my brethren,

too, have become his people. And again — in
still another place. This is from Ps. 117 : 1
[and nearly accords with the LXX., 116:1].
A double exhortation to praise the Lord, ad-
dressed first to all nations, and secondly, to all
peoples (for this word is in the plural number
as well as the other). The two verbs differ in
the Hebrew, as well as in the English, like the
two nouns ; but in both cases and in both lan-
guages they are substantially synonymous, the
duplication being for the sake of emphasis and
the difference for the sake of variety. [The
verbs, though the same in the Greek (save that
the latter is a compound), are in different
tenses, the present and the aorist (the latter in
the Kevision being in the third person impera-
tive instead of the second), yet the distinction
in the meaning of these tenses seems here to be
disregarded.] And again, Esaias saith.
This is from Isa. 11 : 10 [and accords mainly
with the LXX., while it varies considerably
from the Hebrew. Davidson says: "The
apostle, as in many other places, gives the
sense v/ithout the exact words"]. A root of
Jesse means here an offspring of Jesse, or a
root shoot, as David was, and through David
the Messiah, who was to reign over Jews and
Gentiles with a wider and more permanent
reign than David's was; and in him [literally,
on whom, as a foundation] shall the Gentiles
trust) or hope, as it should be rendered here,
to agree with the corresponding noun in the
next verse. ["The Gentiles formerly had no
hope. See Eph.2:12." (Bengel.)] It should
be noticed that in these confirmatory citations
[adduced one after another as with deepest
emotion] the apostle quotes from the law
(ver. 10), the prophets (ver. 12), and the Psalms
(ver. 9, u), thus bringing into the service of his
argument all the parts of the threefold division
of the Old Testament common among the
Jews, and recognized by our Lord in Luke
24:44. [Query: Is there for Christian teach-
ers and preachers any better way of viewing
and of using the Old Testament Scriptures
than that which Christ and his apostles prac-
ticed? See ver. 4.]

13. Now the God of hope. [Now may the

God who gives the hope of eternal glory, fill
you with all (with highest, with all possible)
joy and peace in believing— without which
'believing,' or faith, there could be no joy or
peace, and without which joy and peace, faith
would be fruitless (Meyer) — in ord^r that ye
may abound in hope, through (in virtue
of) the power of the Holy Ghost, who
dwell eth and worketh in you. "What large
provision God — the God of constancy, of con-
solation, and of hope — has made that we, in the
midst of earthly cares and sorrows, and with
all our inward trials, may yet have hope and
peace and joy — have them, too, in their highest
measure, and have them in us continually, even
as a well of water springing up, overflowing, and
refreshing the soul unto everlasting life! It is
a characteristic of Paul that he insists so much
upon the Christian's abounding in grace and
in every good work, and nothing could be
more characteristically Pauline than this entire
passage. (Boise.)] This verse forms an ap-
propriate and beautiful close to the practical
and hortatory part of the Epistle. The devout
wish which Paul expresses is rich in the bless-
ings of religious experience. Notice in respect
to these blessings the excellence of their nature,
the fullness of their measure, and the divine
perfection of their source. How extravagant
this wish would be if addressed to any but
regenerate persons ! What do any others know
of fullness of joy and peace in believing, and of
the power of the Holy Ghost?
IV. Personal. (Ch. 15 : 14-16 : 23.)
The fourth division of the Epistle we have
named Personal, because in it the apostle indi-
cates the motives and feelings that prompted
him to write, (is : 14-33.) In the first place, he
excuses his boldness, (ver. 14-16.)

14, And I myself. ["Notwithstanding
my exhortations." (De Wette.) Also am
persuaded. Compare 8:38; 14:14. The
particle translated 'and' is transitional, " lead-
ing over to the concluding portion of the
Epistle." (Meyer.)] This emphatic assertion
of his own persuasion in regard to their Chris-

Ch. XV.]

ROMANS.

295

Irethren, that ye also are full of goodness, filled with all
Iniowledge, able also to admouish one another.

15 Nevertheless, brethren, I have written the more
bddly unto you in some sort, as putting you in mind,
because of the grace that is given to me or liod,

16 That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to
the (Jentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the
offering u» of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being
sanctified oy the Holy Ghost.

that ye Tourselves are full of goodness, filled with all

15 knowledge, able also to admonish one another. But
1 write the more boldly unto you in some measure,
as putting you again in remembrance, because of the

16 grace that was given me of (iod, that I should be a
minister of Christ Jesus unto the Gentiles, ' minister-
ing the gospel of God, that the offering up of the
Gentiles might be made acceptable, being sanctified

1 Or. minittering in taerifice.

tian character may, perhaps, have tacit refer-
ence to the high reputation which they enjoyed
in the general judgment of mankind. See 1 : 8.
The expressions full of goodness, filled with
all knowledge, are not to he taken in their
highest possible sense, hut in a sober sense,
sincere, and without flattery, and so taken they
are a strong commendation of the disciples at
Rome. The apostle evidently regarded them,
as a whole, as persons of great Christian excel-
lence, and there is no reason why we should
regard them otherwise. Able also to ad-
monish one another, and therefore not
standing in special need of admonition from
me or from others. Observe the qualifications
needed for mutual admonition — large attain-
ments in goodness and knowledge. [It requires
quite as much wisdom and grace to give ad-
monition properly as to receive it. ]

15. I have written [properly, / wrote.
Some regard this as the "epistolary aorist,"
the past tense being used by the writer instead
of the present, because to the receiver the time
of writing would be as past. Others think the
past tense was employed here, because the
Epistle was regarded as brought to a con-
clusion. The more boldly — "than from
your Christian attainment was necessary."
(Winer.)] The expression in some sort —
literally, in part — qualifies the words have writ-
ten the more boldly, and intimates that the
boldness with which he has written (notwith-
standing his good opinion of them, neverthe-
less) was limited to certain^ar^s of the Epistle ;
such, perhaps, as 6 : 12-19 ; 11 : 17-25 ; 13 : 14.
Putting you in mind, recalling to your
memory, not as if I was giving some ideas or
instructions of which you were altogether igno-
rant. Because of the grace — my apostolic
office was the ground and reason of my boldness.
[In 12: 3, we have: "through (by means of ) the
grace.]" We have here an admirable combi-
nation of humility, courtesy, and dignity. [The
grace referred to was given to Paul from God,
through the mediate agency of Christ. (•= &•)

By reason of this abundant grace conferred on
the apostle, and from the fact that he spoke and
wrote "by revelation of Jesus Christ" (i6: m;
Gal. 1: 12; Eph. s: 2, 3), his Epistlcs are to be re-
ceived as something higher than merely human
compositions, even as a message from God, or
'gospel of God.' If our advanced thinkers
have had more revealed to them from heaven,
and if they have more of God-given grace than
Paul had, his utterances may well be made to
give place to their improved theologic formu-
las, or, nebulous platitudes.]

16. That I should be the minister of
Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. This explains
what he means by the grace given to him of
God. It was the favor of being called to be
the apostle of the Gentiles. He elsewhere
speaks very emphatically of this calling as a
signal favor from God. (Epb. s:8.) The words
translated minister and m,inistering {Xnrovpyiv
and Upovpyovvra.), though not having the same
etymological relation to each other which the
English words have, are yet alike in this, that
both are based on the figurative representation
of a priestly service. [On the word minister,
one who ministers or serves in a public capacity,
see 13 : 6. The verb occurs in 15 : 27 ; Acts
13: 2; Heb. 10: 11. The word for 'minister-
ing' occurs only here. This sacrifical service
is not to make an offering of the gospel, but to
do holy service in the gospel, by means of
which the offering (of the Gentiles) is pre-
pared. (Cremer.) What an honor God con-
ferred on the persecuting Saul of Tarsus, that
he should be appointed an apostle and a priest
to the Gentile world to prepare and present
them as an offering to the Lord Jesus Christ!]
This is believed to be the only passage where a
word implying a priestly character or action
is used, even figuratively, in reference to an
apostle. The New Testament carefully abstains
from applying the word priest to an apostle or
preacher of the gospel. Christ is the Priest of
the New Dispensation ; he alone offers sacrifice
in the strict sense of the word. (H«b. 8: s.) The

296

ROMANS.

[Ch. XV.

17 I have therefore whereof I may glory through |
Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to God.

18 For I will not dare to spealc of any of those things
which Christ hath not wrought bv me, to make the
Gentiles ol)edient, by word ana deed,

19 Through mighty signs and wonders, by the power*j

17 bv the Holy Spirit. I have therefore my glorying Ij

18 Christ Jesus In things pertaining to God. For I wil
not dare to speak of any ' things save those whith
Christ wrought through me. for the obedience of the

19 Gentiles, by word ana deed, in the power of siyns
and wonders, in the power of * the Holy Spirit ; so

1 Or. of (ko«e tkingt which Chritt wrought not through i

.2 Many ancient autborltirs read the Spirit of Qod. One reads tht Sfirit

offering np of the Gentiles. This is what
is called by the grammarians the genitive of
apposition. The Gentiles are the offering. [This
'offering up,' or, simply, offering (irpo<r*opa),
'of the Gentiles,' properly denotes a bloodless
sacrifice. Paul's priestly service in preaching
to the Gentiles was in order that the offering
of the Gentiles might be well-pleasing, being
sanctified in the element of the Holy Spirit's
influence. This last clause " forms an anti-
thesis to the external consecration of the Old
Testament sacrifices." (Philippi.) In 12 : 1,
all Christians are, as priests, exhorted to offer
a sacrifice to God, even their own bodies.]

In ver. 17-22, the apostle declares the extent
and result of his apostolic labors.

17. [Therefore draws an inference from
ver. 15, 16, which speak of his divinely ap-
pointed ministry to the Gentiles, I have
whereof I may glory^ literally, the glory-
ing, equivalent to my glorying, as in the Re-
vised Version. Yet this glorying was not in
himself, but in Christ Jesus.] His glorying was
no selfish or vain boasting, but in those things
which pertain to God — that is, in his office
and ministry; and in the way in which,
through Jesus Christ, he had fulfilled his
apostolical commission he might well glory as
he does in 1 Cor. 15 : 10, being careful, how-
ever, to give all the credit to the grace of
God.'

18. The apostle was very careful not to
appropriate to himself the credit of what
others had wrought. He preferred pioneer
work (ver. 20, 21), that he might not build on
another man's foundation, or seem to boast of
things made ready to his hand by others. (2 cor.
10: 12-17.) He intimates, in the passage last re-
ferred to, that some professed servants of Christ
were not equally scrupulous in this regard.
[There seem to be two principal views which
have guided expositors in the interpretation of
this passage. One is that Paul by emphasizing
the personal pronoun («i «mov, or, through me) or

the verb 'wrought,' contrasts himself with
others, and his actual labors with those which
others had professedly performed, and that he
wishes to take no credit for labors which he,
with Christ's help, had not actually performed.
Another and preferable view (which, in har-
mony with the preceding verses, emphasizes
' Christ' rather than 'me') is, that Paul con-
trasts himself with Christ, and that he will
take no credit to his labors save only as they
are wrought by Christ. So far as the words
are concerned, they will allow still another
thought (favored by Godet) — namely, that
almost everything had been wrought by Christ
through Paul for the conversion of the Gen-
tiles ; he could hardlj' mention anything which
had not been done. The relative ' which '
stands for of those things which.'\ To make
the Gentiles obedient— [literally, for the
obedience of the Gentiles.] This was his aim,
and it was largely successful ; but while their
actual obedience, in every case, was not neces-
sary to the peace of his conscience, it was
necessary to the full joy of his heart. His duty
might be fulfilled without this, but not his
desire. By word and deed. These words
are to be connected with the clause: 'which
Christ hath not wrought,' etc. Christ wrought
through the apostle, to the conversion of the
Gentiles, by deeds as well as by words. From
this point the sentence is completed as if it
had been begun in an affirmative and not in
a negative form. [The two negatives, occur-
ring in two different clauses blended by at-
traction, are yet equivalent to an affirmative.
(Winer, 498.)]

19. Through mighty signs and won-
ders. [Better, in the power of signs and won-
ders.'] The miraculous signs and wonders
which Christ wrought by Paul [and which
may be placed under the category of 'deed']
not only served as a proof of his apostleship
(2 Cor. 12: 12), but also tended effectually to make
the Gentiles obedient. See Acts 13 : 9-12. But

1 In the phrase: 'things which pertain to God' (for j synecdoche, called by Buttmann, p. 152, the accusative
like phraseology, see Heb. 2 : 17 ; 5 : 1) we have what is | of limitation. See on 12 : 18. — (F.)
sometimes termed the Greek accusative, or accusative of

Ch. XV.]

ROMANS.

297

of the Spirit of God ; so that from Jerusalem, and round
about unto Illyricum, I have fullf preached the gospel
of Christ.

20 Yea, so have I strived to preach the gosoel, not
vrhere Christ was named, lest I should bulla upon
another man's foundation :

that from Jerusalem, and round about even unto

lllyricura, I have 'fully preached the gospel of

20 Christ ; yea, * making it my aim so to preach tne go»-

pel, not where Chiist was already named, that I

1 Gr. ful/Mtd 2 Or. hting ambitiou*.

it was the power of the Spirit of God [or the
Holy Spirit, as in the Revision] that wrought
most effectually to this end. Indeed, without
this, the ' mighty signs and wonders ' would not
have brought a single Gentile soul to the sav-
ing obedience of faith. [Of these two forms
of miracles, "the 'sign' includes more an ob-
iective, the 'wonder' more a subjective refer-
ence." (Philippi) The latter word, derived
from a verb signifying to watch, is primarily
"a sign claiming the observation, the wonder
of men." It is never found alone in the N.ew
Testament. In 2 Cor. 12 : 12, Paul speaks to
these very Corinthians in whose city he is now
writing of the signs, wonders, and powers per-
formed through him among them as signs of
his apostleship. See Acts 14 : 3 ; 15 : 12 ; 16 :
16, seq. ; 19 : 11 ; 20: 10, where mention is made
of miracles wrought by the hands of Paul.]
So that from Jerusalem, and round about
[literally, and in a circuit round, in the re-
gions surrounding Jerusalem]. He takes Jeru-
salem and its environs as his starting point, as
that was the place where the other apostles,
according to the Lord's direction (Lake 24: 47),
began their work, and where he himself first
joined their fellowship (Acta 9: 26-28), although he
had before this preached at Damascus (Acts 9:
19-22), and probably also in Arabia. (Gai. i-. 17.)
Unto Illyricum. This was a district lying
along the eastern coast of the Adriatic. We
have no mention in the Acts of Paul's preach-
ing in that country ; but we know, from Acts
20 : 1-3, that he traversed Macedonia, which
was adjacent to Illyricum, a short time before
he wrote this Epistle ; and he probably at that
time crossed the boundary and preached in
Illyricum. He mentions this as the western
limit, at that time, of his evangelical labors.
From Jerusalem, a curve northerly and west-
erly to Illyricum, would be a distance of not
far from fourteen hundred miles in length.
[" Upon the southeast terminus a quo follows
the northwest termiiiua ad quetn." (Philippi.)
In 2 Tim. 4 : 10 we read of Titus going to Dal-

matia, a part of the Roman province of Illyri-
cum, where Paul himself had probably la-
bored (ACU20: 2), and whither he himself may
have sent Titus.] I have fully preached
[literally, fulfilled, the gospel of Christ, in
its spirit and purpose, by preaching. Meyer:
Brought to fulfillment— that is, spread the gos-
pel abroad everywhere. Compare Col. 1: 25;
Acts 12: 25. The gospel of Christ had been
proclaimed in the most important places
throughout this extensive circuit. The word
' Christ' in Paul's writings generally takes the
article when dependent as here upon a pre-
ceding word. Were the apostle again on earth,
could he not find a ' place ' (▼«. 23) and a neces-
sity, too, in this same vast region for once more
preaching 'the gospel of Christ' in its native
simplicity, purity, and power? Were he per-
mitted to do so, he would, methinks, tell these
peoples, as he did the Galatians : " Ye observe
days and months and times and years. I am
afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you
labor in vain." (Gai. 4: 10, 11.) Little did he im-
agine that after the lapse of eighteen centuries
a few Christian people from this then unknown
Western world would go to labor in those same
regions as missionaries of the cross of Christ.]

20. Yea, so — that is, according to the rule
mentioned in the remainder of the verse.
Have I strived — literally, making it a point
of hxynor} The verb translated 'strived' is
used in only two other places: 2 Cor. 6: 9
(translated "labor"), and 1 Thess. 4: 11 (trans-
lated "study"). Comparing the three pas-
sages, we are led to infer that the apostle's idea
of true honor in Christian service was this,
that he was ambitious, as we might, without
much license, translate the word, to do the
most unostentatious, the most needful, the most
laborious, the most self-denying work for
Christ. The church would have great peace,
and the whole world would soon have the gos-
pel, if all ministers of Christ had this spirit.
Not [this introduces the negative specification
of the so, as the following but (ver. 21) introduces

> Instead of this participle agreeing with m« in ver. 19, several niaiuiscripts have the finite verb, which, however,
la commonly regarded as a correction. — (F.)

298

ROMANS.

[Ch. XV.

21 But as it is written. To whom be was not spoken
of, they shall see : and they that have not heard shall
understand.

21 For which cause also I have been much hindered
from coming to you.

23 But now having no more place in these parts, and
having a great desire these many years to come unto
you;

24 Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will
come to you : for I trust to see you in my journey, and

might not build upon another man's foundation;

21 but, as it is written.

They shall see, to whom no tidings of him
came.

And tney who have not heard shall under-
stand.

22 Wherefore also I was hindered these many times

23 from coming to you : but now, having no more any
place in these regions, and having these many years

24 a longing to come unio you, whensoever I go unto
Spain (for I hope to see you in my journey, and to

the positive. (De Wette.)] where Christ was
named, or where the gospel had been already
preached. He preferred to do strictly pioneer
missionary work in regions destitute of the
gospel, and where the necessity was the most
urgent, rather than build upon another
man's foundation. [Dr. Gifford remarks
that " Paul's letters to the Colossians and Lao-
diceans (among whom he had not labored at
the time of writing to them) are sufficient
proof that in writing to the Church at Rome
he was not transgressing his rule to avoid build-
ing on another man's foundation." It seems
almost needless to say that the apostle, in avoid-
ing a field thus partially cultivated, had no self-
ish or unworthy motive.]

21. Having in the latter part of the previous
verse described negatively the rule by which
he was governed in selecting the field of his
evangelistic labors, Paul now describes it posi-
tively by a quotation from Isa. 52: 15, taken
quite literally from the LXX. [To whom he
was not spoken of— literally, toivhom it was
not announced concerning him. The last two
words, rightly filling out the sense, are not in
the original Hebrew, but in the LXX. They
shall understand. The verb means to send
together, here, "to bring the outward object
into connection with the inward sense." (Lid-
dell and Scott.)]

22. For which cause— that is, on account
of the above rule of choosing my field of labor
[or, as De Wette states it: "because I had
enough to do from Jerusalem to Illyricum "].
I have been much hindered, or, many times
hindered. Compare 1 : 13. [Some MSS. here
read "often," as in 1: 13. The rendering of
the Vulgate, plerumque, for the most part,
supposes that Paul had other hindrances. The
imperfect tense of the verb denotes in itself a
continuous hindrance. The verb, denoting
separation, is naturally followed by the geni-
tive (here the genitive infinitive) as the case of
departure or separation. Farrar notices that
several expressions in this chapter are closely

analogous to some in the first chapter.] From
coming to you, to whom I knew the gospel
had been successfully preached. [Yet the fact
that the Roman Church was founded by others
was not the hindrance referred to, for this still
remained. What hindered the apostle was his
abundant labors in founding churches in desti-
tute places in the East.]

23. Having no more place in these
parts — having fully preached the gospel in
the regions east of this, I regard my apostolic
work in these parts as finished. [The whole
statement shows that the hindrances referred
to were now removed. According to Meyer,
one motive which induced Paul now to visit
Rome and the West, was the nearness of the
coming of the Lord, which the apostle expected
to behold in the flesh, but which could not take
place, as the apostle himself has taught us, till
the fullness of the Gentiles was brought in, and
all Israel were saved! Who can think it pos-
sible that the apostle had such great expecta-
tions?] Having a great desire (a longing,
it might well be translated) these many
years to come unto you. It was about four
years since Paul had met at Corinth Aquila
and Priscilla, then lately come from Rome
(acui8:i-3); and although what he had heard
from them during the time of his intimate
connection with them (Acts is : 3), doubtless in-
creased his interest in the church at Rome,
and his great desire to visit them (Acts i9: 21), we
need not suppose that this was the first knowl-
edge he had received of them. Probably he
would hardly have spoken of his desire to visit
them, as one which he had cherished for many
years, if it had not been of longer date than
that.

24. [The most important MSS. omit I will
come to you, and retain the for; and this
reading, though somewhat difficult and broken,
is adopted by Westcott and Hort, and by the
Revisers. Godet and Meyer drop the 'for,'
thus making it all smooth reading. Whenso-
ever {as soon as, see 1 Cor. 11: 34; Phil. 2:

Ch. XV.]

ROMANS.

299

to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I
be somewhat filled with your company.

25 But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the
saints.

be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first
in some measure I shall have been satisfied with

25 your company), — but now, / say, I go unto Jerusalem,

26 ministering unto the saints. For it hath been the

23) I take my journey into Spain, I will
come to you.] Whether the apostle ever
made this journey to Spain cannot be possibly
determined.* If he did, it must have been at
a later period than that at which the Acts of
the Apostles ends. There is much reason to
think that between the time of the imprison-
ment at Rome, mentioned in the last chapter
of Acts, and his martyrdom in that city, he
was liberated, traveled in the Eastern parts,
and wrote the First Epistle to Timothy, and
the Epistle to Titus, after these things; and
then was a second time imprisoned in Rome,
where he wrote his Second Epistle to Timothy
shortly before his martyrdom. This view is
ably presented and defended in an appendix
at the close of the second volume of the v/ork
on the " Life and Epistles of Paul," by Cony-
beare and Howson. But if the certainty of
this release and second imprisonment could be
made out, it would not carry with it the cer-
tainty that the apostle made his intended visit
to Spain during that intervening period be-
tween his two imprisonments. The early tra-
dition is too vague and scanty to be the basis
of an intelligent belief. Probably this part of
the apostle's plan of his own life and labors
was never realized. And to be brought on
my way thitherward by you. Frobably
he was accustomed, in his missionary travels,
to be escorted on his way, for a greater or less
distance, by some of the brethren whom he
was leaving (see Acts 15 : 3 ; 17 : 14, 15 ; 20 :
38; 21: 6, 16 [compare 1 Cor. 16: 6; 2 Cor.
1 : 16]), and he was hoping to receive the same
courtesy from them on his way to Spain. If
first I be somewhat filled with your com-
pany. The word 'company' is not in the

original Greek, but it is well supplied by the
translators, being, in fact, implied, and requi-
site to complete the sense. [The last clause,
literally rendered, \s: If I may first in part
be made full of you — satisfied with your com-
pany—"not so much as I might wish, but as
much as circumstances will permit." (Gro-
tius.) The delicacy of the apostle in all this
representation is genuine and consummate.
Prof. Boise, in his notes on this passage, says :
" It is a common experience in this world that
we cannot see enough of those whom we love.
Yonder there will be no more parting 1 " Yet
very precious and blessed to us in our frequent
earthly farewells, is the sentiment once ad-
dressed to the venerable missionary. Dr. Wil-
liam G. Schauffler, by Maria Dorothea, the
Christian Archduchess of Austria, on occasion
of his leave-taking, that "Christians never
see each other for the last time."] Paul was
evidently looking forward to a short sojourn
with the Roman brethren which would partly
(somewhat) satisfy his wishes; but only in
part, on account of its shortness. How differ-
ent was the fact from his expectation! He
dwelt two whole years among them bound
with a chain. (Acts 28: 20, so.)

25. But now — before I can indulge my
cherished longing to visit you. [This is men-
tioned as a hindrance to any immediate visit
These words, ' but now,' which seem to connect
back with going to Spain, etc., occur also in
the beginning of ver. 23.] I go (am going) to
Jerusalem [his fifth journey thither, see Acts
9:26; 11:30; 15:4; 18:21.] To minister
(literally, ministering, present participle; the
journey was a part of the ministering) unto
the saints. ["Only they would that we

1 The most important evidence in favor of the apostle's
visit to Spain is the testimony of Clement, the third
bishop of Rome, supposed by many to be the Clement
mentioned in Phil. 4:3. In his first letter to the Cor-
inthians, Clement writes as follows: " Paul received the
prize of endurance, having borne chains seven times,
having been banished, stoned, and having become a
herald in the East and in the West, teaching the whole
world; and having come to the limit of the West;
and having witnessed (as a martyr) before rulers, he
was thus released from the world, and went unto the
holy place." It is commonly and truly supposed that
Clement, living at Rome, could not speak of that citj

or region as "the limit of the West." Muratori's
"Fragment on the Canon," written about a. d. 170,
makes mention of the "journey of Paul, setting forth
from the city (of Rome?) for Spain." Jerome, who
spent his early years in Rome, speaks of Paul as having
been set free by Nero that he might preach the gospel
"also in the regions of the West." Chrysostom and
Theodoret assert that the apostle went to Spain after
his imprisonment at Rome, and Irenseus refers to
churches in Spain as being somewhat ancient in his
times. Spania is another form of Hispania, usually
called Iberia.— {¥.)

300

ROMANS.

[Ch. XV.

26 For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia
to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which
are at Jerusalem.

27 Jt hath pleased them verily , and their debtors they
are. For if the Gentiles have been made partalcers of
their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto
them in carnal things.

28 When therefore I have performed this, and have
sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain.

good pleasure of ^facedonia and Achaia to make a
certain contribution for the poor among the saints

27 that are at Jerusalem. Yea, it hath been their good
pleasure; and their debtors they are. For ir the
Gentiles have been made partalcei-s of their spiritual
things, they owe it lo them also to minister unto

28 them in carnal things. When therefore I have
accomplished this, and have sealed to them this fruit,

should remember the poor, which very thing
I was also zealous to do." (oai. 2:io.) Paul
had once before, in company with Barnabas,
carried relief unto the brethren that dwelt in
Judea. (Acts 11: 30.)] In reference to ttiio pro-
posed journey and ministering, compare Acts
19:21; 20:22; 24: 17; 1 Cor. 16: 1; 2 Cor.
8:1-6; 9: 1. Such coincidences as these, of
which we have many striking instances in the
New Testament, not only throw light on the
date of the epistles, but being evidently un-
studied, are among the strongest evidences of
historic truth. See Paley's "Horae Paulinas."
36. [For it hath pleased them, etc. — liter-
ally, for Macedonia and Achaia were pleased,
or, thought it good. Instead of Achaia, we have
in Acts 20 : 2, Hellas, tiie more usual classic term
for Greece. In his letters to the Corinthians (1
Cor. 16 : 1 ; 2 Cor. 9 : 2, and in this place), Paul,
as Bengel remarks, " proposes th« Galatians as
as an example to the Corinthians, the Corin-
thians to the Macedonians, and the Corinthians
and Macedonians to the Romans. Great is the
power of examples." Some have surmised
that Paul is here giving a gentle hint to the
Eomans that a contribution from them would
be acceptable, but this is altogether improbable.
The earnest yet most delicate manner which
he uses when seeking a contribution may be
seen in 2 Cor., chapters 8 and 9. Query : Was
it one motive of the apostle, in dwelling so long
on this subject in his letter to the Corinthians,
to stop their dissensions and divisions by enlist-
ing their thoughts and energies in this chari-
table work? The word for contribution
properly means a sharing of, or participation
in, anything. It is frequently rendered fel-
lowship, and it is the word which stands for
the "communion " (that is, a partaking) of the
body and blood of Christ, (i Cor. io:i6.) Com-
pare also 2 Cor. 13:14: "The communion of
the Holy Ghost." A fellowship or sharing in
the necessities of others naturally finds its out-
ward expression in the taking up of a collection

for them or making a contribution. The verb
meaning to share in, sometimes rendered to
distribute or communicate, occurs in the next
verse and in 12 : 13. Paul speaks somewhat
slightingly of the contribution as 'a certain,'
because any amount of material gifts conferred
would to him appear small in comparison with
the spiritual blessings received.] For the
poor saints — literally, poor of the saints,
implying that they were not all poor, and also
implying that the alleged community of goods
in the church at Jerusalem, if any such thing,
in the proper sense of the words, had ever ex-
isted there, had ceased to exist before this.

27, It hath pleased them verily [better,
for they were pleased to do so]. They have
done it voluntarily, yet they have done only
their duty, for their debtors they are.
Having received from the Jewish believers in
Jerusalem such great spiritual blessings, they
are under obligation to supply, according to
their ability, the temporal necessities of their
Jewish brethren. [The word for 'debtors' is
derived from a verb meaning ought, it is a
duty.^ The apostle regards this ministering to
the bodily necessities of the saints as a priestly
service for Christ and as truly a religious ser-
vice as the preaching of the gospel of God.
See in ver. 16, and compare Acts 13 : 2. This
is but one text out of many which makes it the
duty of those who are taught in the word to
communicate unto him that teacheth in "car-
nal things" and in "all good things." (Q»i.6:

6 ; 1 Cor. 9 : 11, 13, 14 ; 1 Tim. 5 : 17, 18.)]

28. When therefore I have performed
this, and have sealed to them this fruit —

have made this contribution ['this fruit' of the
faith and love of the Gentiles (Alford)] securely
theirs, by actually delivering it into their
hands— I AVill come by you [thi-ough you,
through your city. Compare 2 Cor. 1 : 16.
The verb is sometimes used in the sense of
coming back]. I will visit you on my way to
Spain. See notes on ver. 24. ["Would a

I Verbs of sharing usually govern the genitive (see Heb. 2: 14), but the verb here eigaitjiag to participate in
is followed by the dative, as in 12 : 13.— (F.)

Ch. XV.]

ROMANS.

301

29 And I am sure that, when I come unto 70U, I shall
couie in the fulness of the blestting of the gospel of
Christ.

30 Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus
Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye
strive together v^ith me in t/uur pt&yers to (ioa for me;

31 That I may be delivered from them that do not
believe in Judea; and that my service which I have tor
Jerusalem may be accepted of the saints ;

32 That I may come unto you with Joy by the will of
God, and may with you be refreshed.

29 I will BO on by you unto Spain. And I know that,
when Icome unto jou, I shall come in the fulness of
the blessing of Christ.

30 Now I beseech you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus
Christ, and by the love of the Spirit, that ye strive
together with me in your prayers to God for me;

31 that I may be delivered from them that are dis-
obedient in Judtea, and l/iat my ministration which /
have for Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints ;

32 that I may come unto you in joy through the will of

forger, writing in the apostle's name in the
second century, have made him pen a plan of
the future so different from the way in which
things raally came to pass?" (Godet.)]

29. And I am sure that, when I come,
etc. The apostle's assurance on this subject
[his bringing with him such abundance of
spiritual blessing from Christ] was founded,
not only on his conscious desire and purpose
to do them good, but also, doubtless, on the
remembrance of his experience in other
churches that he had visited. ["Not many
men would venture to speak so emphatically,
but Paul was always perfectly frank in ex-
pressing what he felt." (Boise.)] Of the
gospel. These words should be omitted, as
lacking in the best manuscripts. In the full-
ness of the blessing of Christ is the true read-
ing. This result, which he refers to in other
words in 1 : 11, 12, was doubtless realized
when he did at last visit them, though his
expectation may not have been realized in
regard to his journey to Spain.

30. Now I beseech you, brethren, for
the Lord Jesus Christ's sake [I exhort
you through the Lord Jesus Christ (a tender
appeal to the Christian's heart), and for (or,
by) the love of the Spirit (that love which is
poured forth in the hearts of believers by the
Holy Spirit), that ye strive together with
me, — strive earnestly, wrestle together (as in
the games), — in your prayers to God for
me. Ben gel says that "Paul is the only
apostle who asks the prayers of believers for
himself." In nearly all his epistles (see 2 Cor.
1:11; Eph. 6:19; Phil. 1 : 19; Col. 4:3; 1
Thess. 6 : 25; 2 Thess. 3:1; Philem. 22) 1 he
entreats the prayers and supplications of his
brethren in his behalf. Surely he must have
thought that the "supplication of a righteous
man availeth much." And if such a man as

he — inspired of God, endowed to work mira-
cles, strong in faith, and gifted with mental
endowments of the highest order — felt the need
of the prayers of his brethren, how much more
deeply may we feel the need of striving to-
gether, with and for one another, in prayer to
God I More especially should they who are
'separated unto the gospel of God' have the
earnest and constant — yea, the wrestling pray-
ers of God's people]. Paul's manner is pecu-
liarly earnest and solemn here. He not only
asks their prayers, but asks them to ' strive ' in
prayer, and this, not only ' for the Lord Jesus
Christ's sake,' which is no unusual expression
with him, but also ' for the love of the Spirit,'
an unprecedented and remarkable phrase,
meaning that love of which the Holy Spirit is
the author. See Gal. 5 : 22; Col. 1 : 8. This
peculiar earnestness and solemnity finds its
explanation in the following verse,

31. That I may be delivered, etc. He
knew how bitter was the hatred of the unbe-
lieving Jews toward him since his conversion
(Acts 22: 22), and with what suspicion he was re-
garded by the believers in Jerusalem [the Jew-
ish saints, " all zealots for the law "] ; see Acts
20: 22, 23; 21 : 10-14, 20, 21 ; so that, although
he was going to the latter on an errand of benefi-
cence, he had reason to fear that his service
. . . for Jerusalem ["my ministration*
which is for Jerusalem"] might not be ac-
cepted ; and the result showed that his forebod-
ings were not without reason. See Acts 21-23.

32. That I may come unto you with
joy. This is the third object for which he
asks them to strive in prayer for him. It was
most intimately connected with the preceding
two. If the first (first half of ver. 31) was not
granted, he could not come unto them at all ;
if the second (last half of ver. 31) was not
granted, he could not come with joy. He

1 Those who hold to the Pauline authorship of the
'' Hebrews " would cite 13 : 18 of that epistle. In most
of his letters he assures his readers of his supplications
on their behalf. See Rom. 1 : 9 ; 2 Cor. 13 : 7-9 ; Eph. 1 :

16; Phil. 1 : 4, 9; Col. 1 : 3, 9 ; 1 Thess. 1 : 2 (8 : 10) ; 2
Thess. 1:11; 2 Tim. 1:3; Philem. 4, etc.— (F.)

>For 'ministration,' certain MSS. have the explana-
tory, gift-bringing. — (F.)

302

ROMANS.

[Ch. XV.

Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen.

33 God, and together with you find rest,
of peace be with you all. Amen.

Now the God

hoped to be refreshed [that he might find
rest for himself, after his many toils and dan-
gers] by his Christian intercourse with them.
[In many respects the apostle's prayer and the
prayers of his brethren for him were not liter-
ally answered. He was indeed' delivered' out
of the hands of the Jews, but this deliverance
was into two years' imprisonment in Caesarea,
to be followed by a wearisomely protracted sea-
voyage, with its attendant shipwreck, and this
again by a two years' imprisonment in bonds
at Rome. Instead of this he hoped soon to
visit Rome, to be prospered on his journey
thither, to be filled and refreshed with their
company for a brief period, and then to be
sent forward by them to Spain as the chief seat
and scene of his labors. He did indeed 'see
Rome ; he did go there, we must suppose, ' in
the fullness of the blessing of Christ,' and not
wholly without 'joy.' He did, doubtless, im-
part to the believers there 'some spiritual gift,'
and though an ambassador of Christ in chains,
he yet had, as we have seen at 1 : 15, large
opportunities for preaching the gospel in the
world's capital, and he doubtless reaped there
'some fruit,' even as he had done among the
rest of the Gentiles. Still his prayers were not
fully answered. What then? Did Paul ac-
cuse himself, or were there any in his day to
accuse him of "want of faith" as the reason
his prayers were not answered to the letter?
Far enough from this. Paul indeed prayed
that he might be 'prospered' in his journey
toward Rome, and that he 'mightcomein joy ' ;
but his true prayer was that he might be pros-
pered in the will of Ood (i: lo), and that he
might come through the will of Ood (or, as
several MSS. read : through the will of Christ
Jesus). But it was God's will that Paul should
visit Rome as a prisoner in chains, and it was
the will and counsel of his Lord and Saviour
that he should suffer still other things "for his
name's sake." (acu9:16.) But did not Paul,
after all, make a mistake when he compro-
mised with those law-zealous saints in Jeru-
salem? We have sometimes thought that he
did so. But who knows best? Suppose that
Paul, after stopping a few days in Judaea, had
set out for Rome, and that after a prosperous
journey thither and a short period of rest in
that place, he had gone to Spain, and that he

had always had his liberty, never seeing the
inside of a prison's walls, would this have been
best for the world and the Church of Christ?
Should we not have sadly missed his prison
experience? And what could we have done
without those prison letters of his, some of
them, it may be, written with his own chained
right hand? Is not "Paul, a prisoner of
Christ Jesus," vastly better for the world than
Paul with any other epithet? Was not Bun-
yan in prison a thousand times better for the
cause of Christ than a Bunyan at liberty? If
these things are so, then we may say that
the prayers of Paul, whose meat and drink it
was to do and suffer for the cause and glory of
his Saviour, and according to his will, were an-
swered— not answered, indeed, according to
the plan he had marked out, but in a way
which divine wisdom saw best. And who can
tell us any better way ? But it may be asked,
whether God may not by his Spirit instruct
the believer's mind, lead him to see just what
to pray for, and give him the faith which will
receive the exact answer desired? Certainly,
he may do so; and some of the promises made
by Christ specially, perhaps, to his more imme-
diate disciples, and certain passages in one or
two of the epistles have a look in this direc-
tion. But we do not think that God does this
now, save in exceptional cases, nor do we think
that even in these cases he invariably permits
the praying man to know beforehand that his
prayer will be answered to the very letter. It
seems to me that if such faith and knowledge
were given to any man, they would have been
given to the apostle Paul. But they were cer-
tainly withholden from him when he prayed
for the removal of the "thorn in the flesh"
(2 Cor. 12:7), and for a speedy and prosperous
journey to Rome and to Spain.]

33. Now the God of peace be with you
all. [A prayer naturally called forth by the
thought of this world's unrest. Thankful we
may well be to the God of grace and peace
that, amid earthly toils and troubles, we may
have "the inward peace of conscience, the fra-
ternal peace of friendship, the heavenly peace
of glory." (Lyra.)] This appears to be the
end of the Epistle. It would be a very appro-
priate ending, especially in view of the last
three chapters. It is supposed by some that

Cii. XVL]

ROMANS.

303

CHAPTER XVI.

ICOMMEKD unto you Pbebe our sister, which is a
servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:
2 That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints,
and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath
need of you : for she hath been a succourer of many,
and of myself also.

1 I commend unto you Phebe our sister, who is r

2 > servant of the church that is at Cenchrea;: that y«
receive her in the Ix)rd, worthily of the saints, and
that ye assist her in whatsoever matter she may
have need of you : for she herself also bath been m
succourer of many, and of mine own self.

1 Or, d«aeone<f.

the apostle penned this benediction as the ter-
mination of his letter, but not finding an oppor-
tunity to send it to Rome as soon as he ex-
pected, afterward added the salutations and
other contents of chapter 16. If this supposi-
tion were true, we might be well thankful for
the wise providence that caused the detention.

Ch. 16 : [ Commendation, Salutations,
Warning, Salutations of his Companions,
Doxology. ]

The personal salutations in this chapter are
important:

1. As evidences of the truth of Christianity.
The mention of so many names and circum-
stances excludes all idea of forgery or fiction.
But if the writing is authentic, the facts must
be true.

2. As showing the personal character of the
apostle. He was altogether and intensely
human and social in his affections and sympa-
thies. On this account these personal notices
are worthy of the pen of inspiration.

3. As showing how social affections are sanc-
tified by religion.

4. As showing how prominent a part was
taken by women in the early diffusing of
Christianity. Of the twenty-eight persons
here named, eight, at least, perhaps nine, were
women. And besides these there were doubt-
less some other women included in the house-
holds and churches named. [The names of
these women are Phebe, Priscilla, Mary,
Junia (?), Tryphena, Tryphosa, Persis, and
Julia. Paul also salutes the mother of Rufus
and the sister of Nereus, without giving their
names. It was no unimportant part which
women performed in the early history of
Christianity.]

1. I commend unto you Phebe, etc.
[On the meaning of the verb commend, see
notes on 5: 8. 'Phebe.' This is one of the

names of the goddess Diana. Some others
mentioned below — Nereus, Hermes (Hermas),
are named after heathen divinities.] Which
is a servant. The original word is the same
which is translated "deacon " in Phil. 1:1;
1 Tim. 3: 8, 12. The word is used thirty
times in the New Testament, and is translated
" minister " or " servant," except in the three
places above noted. She may have been one
of those women set apart in the early church
to perform certain needful services to their
own sex. We know that such a class existed
as early as the time of Trajan and Pliny, less
than half a century after the date of this
Epistle;* and many commentators think that
1 Tim. 3 : 11 refers to this class of persons,
and should be translated " the women " (that
is, who perform to their own sex similar offices
to those which the deacons perform for men),
and not "their wives," the word "their"
being supplied by the translators. This view
is somewhat favored by the use of the parti-
ciple in Greek, expressed in English by the
relative clause 'which is,' before the word
'servant' Cenchrea was the port of Cor-
inth on the East, eight or nine miles from the
city.

3. He exhorts them to receive her reli-
giously (as one who is) in the Lord, as
becometh saints — in the way in which you,
as Christians, ought to receive a fellow-Chris-
tian. And that ye (may) assist her. She
was deserving of this by many titles, — as a
woman, as a Christian, and as a helper, or
protectress of many, — and it was especially fit
that Paul should ask this on her behalf, be-
cause he had himself received kindness at her
hands. [In whatsoever business she hath
need of yon. Taking the antecedent, 'busi-
ness,' out of the relative clause, we might
have this construction : assist her in any busi-
ness in which she may have need of you.

> Pliny the younger, when Governor of the Province I called deaconesses, that he might find out the truth
of Bythinia (died about a. d. 117), wrote to the Emperor in regard to this new " superstition," afterward termed
Tr^an that he thought it necessary to torture two Chris- | by him " pravam et immodicam," depraved and extrav*-
tian women " qua ministry dicebantur," who were [ gant. — (F.)

304

ROMANS.

[Ch. XVL

3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ I
Jesus :

4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks:
unto whom not only I give thanlis, but also all the
churches of the Gentiles. 1

For she hath been, etc. The Common
Version, by omitting also (««*), fails to bring
out the full idea of the original. Paul would
say : Do you assist her, ' for she ' (or, this
one), too (on her part), has assisted many.']
This language not only favors the supposition
that she was a deaconess, but seems to imply
that she was a person of some property and
social position. [" Phebe may have rendered
service to St. Paul at Cenchrea on the occa-
sion mentioned in Acts 18 : 18. His vow seems
to point to a deliverance from danger or
sickness." (" Biblical Commentary.") This
Christian woman also rendered a most im-
portant service to the Christian Church, in
bearing (if the subscription to our Common
Version is true) this Epistle, a precious treas-
ure, safely to the saints that were in Rome.]
3, 4. [Priscilla is the diminutive of Prisca,
and this latter is the better-attested form in
the manuscripts. Aquila (the Greek form,
Aquilas, would better distinguish his sex)
and Priscilla were Roman names, it being
"common for Jews to assume such names out
of Palestine." (Hackett.) Other Latin names
mentioned here are Amplias (Ampliatus),
Urbanus, Junia, Rufus, and Julia. All the
rest are names of Greek origin. Juvenal
called Rome a "Greek city." The name of
the wife, Priscilla, is generally mentioned
first perhaps on account of her " preponderant
Christian activity " (Meyer), or, "relative su-
periority." (Hackett.) None of the persons
whose names now follow, save, perhaps, that
of Rufus, are elsewhere mentioned in the New
Testament.] These persons [having been ex-
pelled from Rome as Jews, under Claudius]
were at Corinth with Paul (acu is: j), after-
ward at Ephesus (Actsis: 26), where they still
were when Paul wrote his first letter to the
Corinthians (i cor. i6: 19), now at Rome, and
later, still again at Ephesus. [The objection

3 Salute Prisca and Aquila my fellow-workers in

4 Christ Jesus, who for my life laid down their own
necks; unto whom not only I give thanks, but also

5 all the churches of the Gentiles: and mlule the

of Renan, that this is "too nomadic a life,"
is well answered by Bishop Lightfoot. See
"Biblical Commentary," p. 28.] When, and
where, and ho w they had risked their own lives
to save his, we are not informed ; but we have
the proof that he was grateful for it, and so,
with good reason, were all the churches of
the Gentiles. [Who (since they, oItims)
laid down their own necks — not literally,
but as if under the executioner's axe. This,
probably, was at Ephesus, where the apostle
fought with men as with wild beasts, and
had the sentence of death within himself, and
despaired even of life. Aquila was a fellow-
worker with Paul in tent making ; but both
he and Priscilla were fellow-workers with
him in Christ Jesus. " Labor for the gospel
lives and moves ' in Christ ' as its very ele-
ment." (Meyer.) How much a devoted lay-
brother, an earnest Christian sister in the
church, can do, in sustaining and encour-
aging the gospel minister, and in helping on
the cause of Christ ! Virtually they are
preachers of the gospel, though themselves
never occupying the "sacred desk."]

5. It seems to have been no uncommon
thing for brethren who had convenient dwell-
ings for the purpose to open their houses for the
assemblies of Christian worshipers ; and such
assemblies are repeatedly called "churches,"
though probably not fully in the technical
sense of that word. In a large city like
Rome, such a custom must have been an
important convenience. See ver. 14, 15 ; Col.
4: 15; Philem. 2. [According to 1 Cor. 16:
19, these two disciples, prior to this, had
opened their house in Ephesus for such
assemblies. "It is probable," says Dr.
Hodge, "that from his occupation as tent
maker, he had better accommodations for the
meetings of the church than most other
Christians." Some regard "the church in

1 The student will notice that in the iropao-T^re and
arpoo-Too-ic of the original, there is a slight paronomasia-
Instead of the demonstrative ovttj {this one) of our Textus
Receptus, the Revisers have the intensive pronoun
avnj, she herself, or, simply, she, as this pronoun is com-
monly supposed to have a weakened force in the New
Testament, tltough Winer thinks " it never occurs with-

out a certain emphasis." These pronouns are to be
distinguished from the contracted forms, avrji (for
iavTJj), to herself, and avnj (for r) ainj), the same. But
these, and like contract forms of pronouns, are not now
supposed to occur, or, at least but rarely, in the New
Testament.— (F.)

Ch. XVI.]

ROMANS.

305

5 Likewise areet the church that is in their bouse.
Salute my well beloved Epenetus, who is the first fruits
of Acbaia unto Christ.

6 Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us.

7 Salute Anuroiiicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and ray
fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles,
who also were in Christ before me.

8 Greet Amullas, my beloved in the Lord.

9 Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and Stachys
my beloved.

church that is in their house. Salute Eptenetus my
beloved, who is the flrstfruits of Asia unto Christ.

6 Salute Mary, who bestowed much labour on you.

7 Salute Andronicus aud ijunias, my kinsmen, and
my fcllow-prisoueni, who are of note among the apos-

8 ties, who also have Deen in Christ before me. Salute

9 Ampliatus my beloved in the Lord. Salute Urbanua
our fellow-worker in Christ, and Stachys my beloved.

1 Or, Junia.

their house " as the Christian members of the
family; but this seems improbable. Justin
Martyr spealcs of Christians assembling at
his house, when he was at Rome, for pur-
poses of instruction. See Alford.] Instead
of Achaia, we should read "Asia," on the
authority of the best manuscripts. [This
' Asia ' is Proconsular, or lesser Asia, on the
western coast of Asia Minor. In 1 Cor. 16 :
15, it is stated that the house of Stephanas
was the first fruits of Achaia ; so that if Achaia
was here the genuine reading, we might rea-
sonably suppose that Epenetus belonged to
this 'house,' or, at least, that he was one of
the earliest converts in that country.]

6. Greet Mary, Avho. [The compound
relative here has the force of: for she, or, since
she. See notes on 1 : 25, and for similar com-
pounds in this chapter, see ver. 4, 7, 12.] Who
this person was and where she bestowed her
much labour or toil on us — that is, on Paul
and his fellow-laborers (or, according to the
more approved reading on "you" — that is, on
the disciples at Rome), must remain unknown
to us. The pronouns, 'you' and 'us' differ in
Greek only by a single vowel, and the pro-
nunciation of these two vowels was very simi-
lar (in the modern Greek, precisely identical) ;
so that they would be very easily confounded
with each other, especially in copying from
dictation. The manuscripts show that these
pronouns were often interchanged. [The name
' Mary ' (Hebrew, Miriam) indicates her Jew-
ish descent. No doubt 'us' instead of 'you'
was the original reading, as "elsewhere the
apostle always brings out prominently the
relations of the persons saluted to his own
labors." (Lange.) The aorist tense of the
verb possibly indicates that she performed no
long-continued but some special act of service.
Paul mentions four females in this chapter
who labored or toiled much in the Lord.]

7. Whether the nominative of lounian is
Junius, a man, or Junia, a woman, is uncer-

tain. If the latter, as Chrysostom thought,
with whom some modern commentators agree,
she was probably the wife, or perhaps the
sister, of Andronicus. But the prevalent opin-
ion is that the name is of the masculine gender.
My kinsmen— not merely in the national, but
in the more personal sense. [Six persons in
this chapter are called by Paul, his kinsmen.]
My fellow prisoners — where and when can
only be conjectured. Clement of Rome says
that Paul was seven times in prison; compare
2 Cor. 11 : 23, " in prisons more abundantly."
Of note among the apostles. Honorably
known by the apostles, is all the expression
necessarily involves ; not that they themselves
were reckoned as apostles. Who also were
in Christ before me ["entered the fellow-
ship of Christ" (Meyer.) Alford says: "In
the use of the perfect there is a mixed con-
struction— ' who have been longer than me,'
and,' who w;erc before me.' "] Paul was not the
Jirat among the kindred to which he belonged,
to believe in Christ. It is generally thought
that Paul's conversion took place about three
or four years after the crucifixion of Christ.
[Paul elsewhere confesses himself to be " the
least of the apostles," and here he says he
wiis not the first of his kindred to become a
Christian. Possibly the two persons named
were converted at the Pentecost and were the
real founders of the Roman Church. A few
manuscripts make the who (by the use of »«)
refer to the apostles, a mistaken reference.]
8, 9. Greet Amplias. This is an abbre-
viation for Ampliatus, which is the form as
found in several of the oldest manuscripts.
[In like manner, Lucas was contracted from
Lucanus, Silas from Silvanus, etc.] My be-
loved in the Lord — whom I love as a Chris-
tian. Urbane is the name of a man and not
of a woman, as the form of the name in Eng-
lish might seem to intimate. Our helper in
Christ. This Urbanus or Urban, seems to
have rendered some assistance to the Roman

306

ROMANS.

[Ch. XVI.

10 Salute Appelles approved in Christ. Salute them
which are of Aristobulus' household.

11 Salute Herodion mj kinsman. Greet them that be
of the hotuehold of Narcissus, which are in the Lord.

10 Salute Apelles the approved in Christ. Salute them
who are of the household of Aristobulus. Salute

11 Herodion my kinsman. Salute them of the Aou^eAo/d

disciples as well as to Paul — our fellow worker.
And Stachys my beloved. In this instance,
he does not add : ' in the Lord,' as he does in
most cases ; yet doubtless ' Stachys ' was also
a disciple and was loved, like the rest, with
Christian affection. [Ampliatus, Urbanus,
Stachys, Apelles, Tryphena, Tryphosa, Rufus,
Hermes, Patrobas (or, Patrobius), Hermas,
Philologus, Julia, Nereus, "are found in the
sepulchral inscriptions on the Appian way, as
the names of persons connected with ' Caesar's
household,' and contemporary with St. Paul."
("Biblical Commentary.") Some of these
names were very common in that age and coun-
try, others were comparatively rare. " At all
events," says Bishop Lightfoot, "this investi-
gation (of names) will not have been useless,
if it has shown that the names and allusions
at the close of the Roman Epistle are in keep-
ing with the circumstances of the metropolis
in St. Paul's day ; for thus it will have sup-
plied an answer to two forms of objection ; the
one denying the genuineness of the last two
chapters of this letter, and the other, allowing
their genuineness, but detaching the saluta-
tions from the rest, and assigning them to
another Epistle." Dr. GifFord in the " Bibli-
cal Commentary," supposes these salutations
belonged to a second letter to the Romans.
But this and other suppositions which have
been made, create more diflBculty than they
remove. The constant intercourse between
Rome and the East, and Paul's protracted
labors in all the latter region— giving him
large opportunities for becoming acquainted
with brethren from Rome or brethren visiting
Rome — furnish sufficient explanation of the
many salutations which he sends to the Roman
Church.]

10. Of all those named, from the fifth verse
to the tenth inclusive, nothing is known except
what is here recorded. Apelles must not be
confounded, as he has been by some of the
ancients and by Grotius among the moderns,
with ApoUos mentioned in Acts 18: 24; 19: 1,
and in several other places. [When Horace
("Sat." 1, v., 1(X)), speaking of some supersti-
tion, says : " The Jew Apella may believe this,
not I," he seems to make this name stand for a

typal Jew.] Approved in Christ— a Chris-
tian, proved by trial. Aristobulus' house-
hold— them which belong to Aristobulus.
The word household is not in the original.
[Yet the original shows us that not all the
dependents of Aristobulus were saluted, but
only some of them — namely, those, as we
must suppose, who were ' in Christ.' The same
holds true of the household of Narcissus in the
next verse as is there expressly stated.] Why
is no salutation sent to Aristobulus himself?
Because he was no Christian, answers Meyer,
unless he had previously died, in which case
he may have been a Christian. But why may
he not have been a Christian still living, but
known by Paul to have been at this time
absent from Rome? There is room for a sup-
position, not less plausible than either of those
named by Meyer, and much more interesting
and not destitute of some historical support.
Rev. John Williams (1811-1861), in his "Ec-
clesiastical Antiquities of Cymry," says : "Ar-
wystli, a man of Italy," is mentioned in the
"Welsh Genealogies of the Saints," as one of
four Christian missionaries, who accompanied
Bran, the first Welsh Christian (converted
while a captive in Rome) on his return to his
native country. This Arwystli is supposed to
be the same person as Aristobulus, mentioned
in Paul's Epistle to the Romans. The forma-
tion of the name from the Greek would be in
perfect accordance with the analogy of the
Welsh language. But what adds the greatest
support to this hypothesis is the fact that in
the Greek menology Aristobulus is said to
have been ordained by Paul as a bishop for the
Britons. In this case the Greeks and the
Welsh are witnesses wholly independent of
each other, so that collusion is out of the ques-
tion. See " Bibliotheca Sacra," October, 1875,
pp. 656, 657. [There was also an Aristobulus,
grandson of Herod the Great, who lived at
Rome and was an intimate friend of Claudius.
Some have supposed that his household (slaves)
may have been bequeathed by him to the em-
peror, and that these may have formed a part
of 'Caesar's household.' (rhii.4;22.)]

11. Of Herodion [a name formed from
Herod, like Caesarion from Csesar], the kins-

Ch. XVI.]

ROMANS.

307

12 Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labour in the
Lord. Salute the beloved Pefsis, which laboured much
in the Lord.

13 Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother
and mine.

14 .Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hennas, Patrobas,
Hermes, and the brethren whicn are with them.

15 Salute Philologus, and Julia. Nereus, and his
sister, and Olympas, and all the saints which are with
them.

12 of Narcissus, who are in the Lord. Salute Tryphicna
and Tryphosa, who labour in the Lord. Salute Per-
xi? the oelovcd, who laboured much in the l^rd.

Vi Salute Rufus the chosen in the I.ord, and bis mother

14 and mine. Salute Asyncritus, Pblegon, Hermes,
Patrobas, Hermas. and 'the brethren that are with

15 them. Salute Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his
sister, and Olympas, and all the saints that are with

man of Paul, we know nothing further. Nar-
cissus^ a freedman and favorite of Claudius,
say Grotius, Michaelis, and Neander; but this
Narcissus was executed in the beginning of
Nero's reign — about A. D. 55. (Tacitus "An-
nal." 13: 1.) But his family may have been
designated, as they are here, after his death.
It is more probable, however, that this was
another Narcissus, a favorite of Nero, put to
death afterward by Galba.

12. Tryphena and Tryphosa were prob-
ably sisters. Meyer conjectures that these and
the beloved Persis were deaconesses. The
first two are described as laboring in the Lord
by a present participle [while their names de-
note those who live voluptuously]. The last
is mentioned as having toiled much, by a verb
in the past tense. Perhaps she was unable
now to work, through illness or age. [The
name ' Persis ' was probably derived from the
country of Persia, just as Lydia denotes a
Lydian, etc. Commentators note the delicacy
of the apostle in here employing 'the' and
not my before ' beloved,' the ' my beloved '
being seemly only when referring to men, as
in ver. 6, 8, 9. The apostle's frequent com-
mendation of females who abounded in their
Christian labors, toiling not only much, but,
as the verb implies, laboriously, makes it evi-
dent that he would not restrict them from the
most abundant Christian activity.]

13. This Rufus may have been the one
mentioned in Mark 15: 21 ; but the name was
a common one. Chosen [literally, elect] in
the Lord. As this might, in a general sense,
be said of everj' Christian, the special appli-
cation of it to Kufus implies peculiar excel-
lence—a choice Christian. And his mother
and mine. 'His,' naturally ; 'mine,' by her
motherly care and my filial respect and grati-
tude. If the suggestion above, in regard to
' Rufus,' is correct, his mother was the wife of
that Simon who bore the Saviour's cross.
We know nothing of the time or manner in
which she had shown motherly kindness to
the apostle; but there is a grateful emphasis

[the pronoun 'mine' being emphatic by form
and position], and a graceful delicacy in the
way in which he here acknowledges the obli-
gation. [" Let us remark, in closing, the ex-
quisite delicacy and courtesy which guide the
apostle in those distinguishing epithets with
which he accompanies the names of the ser-
vants or handmaids of Christ, whom he men-
tions. Each of those descriptive titles is, as it
were, the rough draft of the new name which
those persons shall bear in glory." (Godet.)]
14, 15. These ten persons [perhaps less noted
than the preceding, since they have no hono-
rary epithets] are grouped into two equal com-
panies, other unnamed persons being added to
each company and embraced in the common
salutation — in the first case under the designa-
tion brethren, in the second case with the
title saints. These were probably persons
accustomed to meet with those named for re-
ligious worship. Compare ver. 5. The Her-
mas mentioned in ver. 14 was not, as Origen
believed, the author of the book called the
"Shepherd of Hermas," in the collection at-
tributed to the "Apostolical Fathers"; for
that book belongs to a later age, and was prob-
ably written by another Hermas, brother of
Pius I., Bishop of Rome, about the year 150.
[Winer thinks that Hermas is probably a con-
traction for Hermodoros, as Olympas for
Olumpiodorus.] It is uncertain whether the
loulian of ver. 15 was a man (Julias) or a
woman (Julia). If the latter, she was proba-
bly the wife of Philologus, and this is rendered
somewhat more probable by the mention of
Nereus, and his sister immediately afler.
[This closes the apostle's personal greetings.
That Peter's name does not appear in this long
catalogue shows that he was not then in Rome,
otherwise he would have been saluted first of
all. It is pleasant to think, and it certainly is
highly probable, that some of these beloved
Roman saints, whose names have now passed
under review, formed a part of the two bands
who, some three years later, went out on the
Appian way— the one thirty miles to the TVes

308

ROMANS.

[Ch. XVI.

16 Salute one another with a holjr kiss. The churches
of Christ salute you.

17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which
cause divisions and oflFences contrary to the doctrine
which ye have learned ; and avoid them.

16 them. Salute one another with a holy kiss. All the
churches of Christ salute you.

17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them that are
causing the divisions and occasions of stumbling,
contrary to the ^doctrine which ye learned: ana

1 Or, teaching.

Tabernce, and the other forty miles to the
Appii Forum, to meet this their beloved apos-
tle, now coming to them as Christ's "ambas-
sador in chains." No wonder that at such an
exhibition of Christian sympathy and love the
apostle "thanked God and took courage," and
that here at length his soul was filled with
"joy," and his tired spirit found "rest."]

16. [The greetings which Paul has to offer
from him,self ha'ing concluded, he now desires
that his readers should exchange greetings
with one another. (Meyer.)] The salutation
with a kiss was a common custom, as it still is
among many Oriental nations, with m.en as
well as women, like hand-shaking with us.
Compare Matt. 26 : 49 ; Mark 14 ; 45 ; Luke 7 :
45; 15:20; Acts 20:37. See similar injunc-
tions in 1 Cor. 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:12; 1 Thess.
5 : 26 ; 1 Peter 5 : 14. With (in) a holy kiss.
[The preposition is commonly supposed to be
used either of accompaniment or of instru-
ment. It properly marks the kiss as that in
which the salutation consisted.] It was an
early custom, as we learn from Justin Martyr,
Tertullian, and the so-called "Apostolical
Constitutions," at the close of the prayer
before the Lord's Supper, for the disciples to
exchange this salutation [the osculum. pads of
Tertullian] with one another, men with men,
and women with women. As a general cus-
tom, it was probably early laid aside. Some
small sections of the church still retain it.
Paul calls it ' holy ' because it was an expres-
sion of the holy Christian fellowship of love.
The churches of Christ salute you. It
was no secret that Paul wished and intended
to visit Kome. See Acts 19 : 21. And per-
haps it was widely known among the churches
that he was writing to the disciples there about
this time, in which case it would be natural
for them to send their Christian greeting
through him. [We may also say that Paul
knew, by his intercourse with the churches,
that they were minded to send their love to
the brethren that were in Rome.] The word
all is prefixed to 'the churches' by Tischen-
dorf [Westcott and Hort, and the Revisers],

and this reading is well sustained. At the
close of these salutations, the apostle inserts a
solemn warning against those erroneous teach-
ers who cause divisions, (ver. 17-20.)

17. I beseech you. An expression denot-
ing the importance of the admonition and
Paul's earnestness in it. Mark them which
cause {the) divisions and offences — or,
watch them, closely. [These may include both
Judaizing teachers and Gentile converts, per-
haps the latter especially, as being more nat-
urally inclined to Epicurean sensualism, or
serving their own belly. We think, with most
expositors, that "Paul is not here speaking
against such as already were actually making
divisions in Rome." On the contrary, he
commends in highest terms their faith and
their obedience. Ver. 19 ; see 1 : 8. Paul,
writing from Corinth, where the church had
been so distracted by parties, might very nat-
urally give such counsel to any church. 'The
divisions ' refer to such as were well known to
the readers — divisions "which at that time
arose in so many quarters in Pauline churches
and might readily threaten the Romans also."
(Meyer.) At a later period, these divisions
may have actually commenced at Rome. See
Phil. 1 : 16-17 ; 3:18.] Contrary to the
doctrine which ye have learned. [This
"'doctrine' must have been what we call
Pauline, the pure gospel doctrine of Christ."]
Heresy and schism are closely connected.
False doctrine cannot be preached among
those knowing and loving the truth without
causing divisions and oflTenses, and those who
seek, from ambitious and selfish motives, to
make divisions and "to draw away disciples
after them," are wont to devise some new and
false doctrine as a means of accomplishing
their object. (Aeu20:so.) Avoid them. He
does not say "confute them" [or, hold a
public discussion with them (Boise)], but turn
away from them. " Bow ye away from them,"
is Wicliffe's translation of the expression.
Compare 2 Thess. 3 : 6 ; 1 Tim. 6:5; Titus 3 : 10.
[Tischendorf, and Westcott and Hort have the
present tense — turn ye ever away from them.}

Ch. XVI.]

ROMANS.

309

18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus
Christ, but their own belly ; and by good words and fair
speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

19 For your obedience is come abroad unto all men.
I am glad therefore on your behalf: but yet I would
have you wise unto that which is good, and simple con-
cerning evil.

20 And the Grod of peace shall bruise iSatan under
your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ
be with you. Amen.

21 Timotheus my work fellow, and Lucius, and Jason,
and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.

18 turn away ft-om them. For they that are such serve
not our Lord (.'hrist, but their own belly ; and by
their smooth and fair speech they l>eg[uile the hearts

19 of the innocents. For your obedince is come abroad
unto all men. I rejoice therefore over you : but I
would have you wise unto that which is good, and

20 simple unto that which is evil. And the God of
peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.

21 Timothy my fellow-worker saluteth you; and

18, i9. [For they that are Ruch — liter-
ally,/or <Ac such persona.] These makers of
divisions and offenses, however fair and fine
their pretensions and speeches might be, were
not sincerely serving Christ, but rather serving
their own sensual and selfish ends. And the
aim of all their kind and plausible words is
only to deceive those innocent ones who, being
without guile themselves, are slow to suspect
it in others.* But I do not expect that you
will be so easily deceived, for your obedi>
ence (to the gospel) is come abroad onto
all men. Respecting you, therefore, I have
confidence and joy. Now my wish concern-
ing you is that you may be wise unto (in
reference to) that which is good, and sim-
ple concerning evil, pure from all admix-
ture with it. The word here translated ' sim-
ple' [that which is without foreign admixture,
hence in a "true and natural condition"
(Trench)] is the same which is translated
harmless in Phil, 2 : 15 and in Matt. 10 : 16.
[" Be wise as serpents and harmless as doves."
It requires, methinks, great prudence and
grace to blend this serpent-wisdom and dove-
harmlessness together. Meyer sees in this
verse "a delicate combination of warning
with the expression of firm confidence."]

20. The God of peace ["the God of
whom peace is a characterizing attribute"
(Ellicott)], so named in contrast with the
makers of divisions. Shall brnise Satan,
whose servants and emissaries these authors of
strifes and offenses are. [We are taught here
and elsewhere in the Scriptures that it is not
the Virgin Mary who shall bruise the serpent's
bead, as the Decree on the Immaculate Con-

ception (enacted December 8th, 1854) declares,
but the 'God of peace,' or he who is the seed
of the woman, the Son of Mary and the Son of
God. A very few authorities have here the verb
in the optative mood : May the God of peace
crush Satan, etc.] Under your feet shortly.
Your conflict shall not be long; your victory
shall be speedy and complete. [This ' shortly,'
according to Godet, denotes, not the nearness
of the event, but the celerity or quickness with
which it shall be accomplished.] There is an
apparent allusion here to Gen. 3 : 16. Every
triumph of the Christian or of the church over
the disturbers of their peace is a part and proof
of Christ's victory over Satan. The brief dox-
ology which follows seems again to close the
Epistle. But the apostle has still some salu-
tations to add and a more formal doxology to
follow. This apparently broken and renewed
conclusion is a characteristic of this Epistle
[as also of several other of his letters. See
Phil. 4 : 20, seq. ; 2 Thess. 3 : 16, seq. ; 1 Tim.
6 : 16, seq. ; 2 Tim. 4 : 18, seq.]

21. Timothy's name is joined with Paul's in
the superscription of five of his letters. See 2
Cor. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1 : 1 ; 1 Thess. 1 : 1 ; 2
Thess. 1 : 1. [On Timothy's long and intimate
acquaintance with Paul, see Farrar's "Life
of St. Paul," page 260.] But he may not
have been with the apostle when this Epistle
was begun, or the apostle may have had some
other good rea.son for not inserting his name
at the beginning. [According to Meyer,
"Paul deemed it suitable to appear with his
Epistle before the Roman Church, to which
he was still so strange, in all his unique and
undivided apostolical authority." Lucius

1 In the MSS. D E F G, the word rendered ' fair
speeches ' (most frequently translated hlesting) is want-
ing, being omitted, according to Meyer, " through the
homoeoteleuton," or mistake arising from similar end-
ings of connected words. The for in ver. 19 seems to
assign a reason for the above exhortation, their obedi-
ence to the faith furnishing a ground of confidence that
tbej will beed the exhortation. The you in the phrase,

therof-you-obedienee, is thought by some to be empbatio
as contrasted with the simple. Buttmann (p. 117) says
that this intermediate position of the pronoun is pecu-
liar to the style of Paul. Its regular position would be
before the article or after the substantive, save whe»
some adjective or adverbial Ilmitatiou stands between
them.— (F.)

310

ROMANS.

[Ch. XVI.

22 I Tertius, who wrote thU epistle, salute you in the
Lord.

23 Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, salutetb
you. Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you,
and Quartus a brother.

24 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Amen.

22 Lucius and Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen. I
Tertius, i who write the epistle, sialute you in the

23 Lord. Gaius my host, and of the whole church,
saluteth you. Erastus the treasurer of the city
salutetb you, and Quartus the brother.*

1 Or, wAo write the epistle in the Lord, «alu(e you 2 Some aneieot antborities iniert here rer. 'U, The grace of our Lord Jetu*

Christ be with you all. Amen, and omit tbe like words in ver. 20.

is probably "Lucius of Cyrene," mentioned
in Acts 13 : 1 ; certainly not Luke tbe evan-
gelist, whose name is spelt differently [Loukas,
Lucas, or Lucanus], and who is never called
Paul's kinsman. [Jason, a Graecised name
for Jesus, " perhaps identical with Jason of
Thessalonica." (Philippi.) See Acts 17: 5,
seq.] Sosipater is probably the same who
i§ mentioned as a Berean, his name being
abbreviated to "Sopater," in Acts 20: 4.

22. I Tertius, who wrote this epistle,
salute yon in the Lord. The name, 'Ter-
tius,' is a Eoman name; and probably this
man, who is not mentioned elsewhere, was a
Roman. The apostle was accustomed to em-
ploy an amanuensis, writing only the closing
salutation with his own hand. See 1 Cor.
16: 21; Col. 4: 18; 2 Thess. 3: 17. It was
appropriate that a Roman scribe Should be
selected to write this epistle at Paul's dicta-
tion. That he should use the first person in
sending his own salutation, if not quite regu-
lar, was quite natural. ["It would have been
altogether unseemly for Paul to send the
salutation from Tertius as from a third per-
son, while the latter himself wrote it down."
(Philippi.) Meyer supposes that the Roman
Christians might be acquainted with Tertius,
who was probably an Italian ; but it seems to
me that the amanuensis of such a letter to
such a people, would naturally feel interested
in them, even though not personally ac-
quainted.]

23. Gaius (in Latin, Caius) is probably
the same whom Paul baptized (i cor. i: u), and
may be the same with the one mentioned in
Acts 20: 4 (Gaius of Derbe) ; but the name
is so common that we cannot be sure of the
identity. See Acts 19: 29; 3 John 1. Mine
host. His house was Paul's home while this
Epistle was penned [as that of Aquila, and,
perhaps, of Justus, had been on a previous
occasion. (•*«« is: i-t.) This word means guest
as well as host] And of the whole church.
The most natural interpretation of these words

is, that the church was accustomed to hold its
meetings in Gaius' house ; or they may mean,
as Meyer suggests, that in consequence of his
having the apostle for a guest, his house was
the frequent resort of the Corinthian disciples
in general. Erastus, the chamberlain of
the city— or the city treasurer (of the city of
Corinth), commonly identified with the one
mentioned in Acts 19: 22, and 2 Tim. 4: 20;
but the person mentioned in these two places
seems to have been one of Paul's traveling
assistants, which could hardly be reconciled
with his holding the oflice here ascribed to
him. It is possible, to be sure, that he may
have afterward laid down that ofiBce to join
Paul in his evangelical journeys and labors,
and be described here as having held it, or,
perhaps, as still holding it at the time the
Epistle was written ; but the name was not so
unusual as to require this somewhat forced
supposition. At any rate, this case would be
rather an exceptional one among the disciples,
according to what the apostle writes to the
Corinthians (i Cor. i : 26) : [" Not many mighty."
Bengel remarks that " the faith of a most in-
fluential man must have been a source of joy
to the Romans."] Quartus, a brother, is
described by no more particular designation ;
but whether personally known or not to the
disciples in Rome, he wished to join with those
mentioned above in sending to them his broth-
erly greeting. [Comparatively unknown and
insignificant he may have been, yet his Chris-
tian faith, in connection with but a possibly
accidental and momentary interview with the
apostle, has gained for his name what many
seek and will not secure — an earthly immor-
tality. Dr. Hackett, however, thinks that his
being entitled the brother (not 'a brother,' as
in our Common Version) "implies that he
was well known to the Roman Christians."]

V. Conclusion. (Ver. 24-27.)

(a) Benediction.

24. This verse is not found in the four oldest
manuscripts, k A B C. It is probably copied

Ch. XVI.]

ROMANS.

311

25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you accord-
ing to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery, which was
kept secret since the world l)egan,

26 But now is made manifest, and by the Scriptures
of the prophets, according to the commandment of the
everlasting Ood, made l^nown to all nations for the
obedience of faitn :

25 iNow to him that is able to stablish you accord-
ing to my gos{>el and the preaching of Jesus Christ,
according to the revelation of the mystery which

26 hath been kept in silence through times eternal, but
now is manifested, and ^by the scriptures of the
prophets, according to the commandment of the
eternal 6od, is made known unto all the nations

1 Some anoieat aathoritlei omit rer. 25-27. Compare the end of oh. zIt 3 Or. tkrough.

from ver. 20, and well omitted by critical
editors generally. [It is defended, however,
by Meyer and Fritzsche.]

(i) Doxology.

25-27. [With this doxology compare the
benediction of Jude (ver. u, 25), which strongly
resembles this in some points. "Asa final,
complete conclusion, we have now this dox-
ology, rich in contents, deep in feeling (per-
haps added by the apostle's own hand), in
which the leading ideas contained in the
whole Epistle . . . now further receive, in the
fullest unison of inspired piety, their concen-
trated outburst for the ultimate true consecra-
tion of the whole. . . . Hence, it can by no
means appear strange that such a doxology
has obtained the character of overflowing full-
ness from the whole recollection of what had
been written." (Meyer.)'] [To him that is
of power to stablish you. The ability of
God to establish them was a doctrine much
insisted on in the apostle's manner of preach-
ing the gospel, and (to define the same thing
in other words) in his preaching of Christ.
[Meyer remarks that the above description of
God "corresponds to the entire scope of the
Epistle." A chief design of Paul's intended
visit to the Koman Christians, was that they
might be "established." (i:n.) According
to {in conformity with) my gospel, which is
nothing else than Christ's own preaching
through me (DeWette, Meyer), or, that preach-
ing of which Christ is the subject. (Philippi,
Godet.) According to the revelation.
' Revelation ' has no article, because the follow-
ing noun has none, and is itself preceded by a

preposition. The word is put by Meyer in the
same construction as 'gospel ' and ' preaching'
— that is, dependent on the verb 'stablish.'
We prefer with Alford and Godet to connect
it with the preceding substantives as being
explanatory of them, so that the idea of the
whole would be : this my gospel which is but
the preaching of which Christ is the sum and
substance, is in accordance with a revelation
of a mystery or secret, kept in silence. Since
the world began, or, as in the Revised Ver-
sion, through times eternal. This mystery
must embrace the whole matter of human re-
demption, which, of course, would include
the bestowment of the blessings of the gospel
on the Gentiles, as in Eph. 3: 6. If, as Godet
remarks, Paul's preaching of Christ was 'ac-
cording to the revelation,' then we have in
this Epistle not simply a creation of his power-
ful understanding, deserving our admiration,
but the thought of God, deserving and de-
manding our faith, Compare Gal. 1: 11, 12;
Eph. 3:2-4; 1 Thess. 4: 8. The times eternal,
commonly explained by the phrases, "from
the foundation of the world," or "from the
ages and from the generations" (compare Col.
1 : 26; Eph. 3: 9), have here substantially the
same meaning as/rom eternity.* But now, in
contrast with 'times eternal,' is made mani-
fest, or has been manifested. And by {by
means of) the Scriptures of the prophets,
or the prophetic Scriptures. According to
(in consequence of, or in accordance with)
the commandmentof the everlasting God
(who alone, as Meyer says, "could dispose of
times eternal and of the present"), has been

> The important MSB. K B C D • E, and most of the
early versions, locate the doxology here, at the end of
the Epistle ; L, and nearly all the cursives, at the end
of chapter 14 ; while A P, and some cursives, have it in
both places. Commentators, almost without exception,
defend the genuineness of its present position. See
note, end of chapter 14.— (F.)

* We do not suppose that the phrase ' eternal times ' in
itself strictly denotes eternity, since the expression, be-
fore eternal times, occurs more than once in Paul's writ-
ings. (2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 1 : 2), and because the word

'times' of itself excludes the idea of absolute eternity.
Yet Ellicott remarks tbat the phrase, b^ore times eter*
nal, seems obviously to mean "from all eternity"—
" times, in a word, which reach from eternity." " Eter-
nal times," says Wordsworth, " are times which extend
back till there was no time." GifiTord : " Times reaching
back to eternity." Prof Grimm: " Without beginning."
From this point of view the expressions, /rom limes eter-
nal and from eternity, would be virtually equivalent. —
(F.)

312

ROMANS.

[Ch. XVI.

27 To God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ
for ever. Amen.

27 unto obedience > of faith ; to the only wise God,
through Jesus Christ, *to whom be the glory » for
ever. Amen.

1 Or, to the/aith 2 Some anoiCDt aatborities omit to whom 8 Qr. unto the aget.

made known to all nations (or Gentile peo-
ples) for {in order to produce) the obedience
of faith) or obedience to the faith. To God
only (or, absolutely) wise ; so called because
the Infinite Disposer of all things requires
wisdom as well as power. Be glory through
Jesus Christ for ever. The Revised Ver-
sion translates: "To the only wise God,
through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for
ever. Amen," and adds in the margin,
"Some ancient authorities omit to whom."
The ' whom ' properly refers to Christ, and to
him glory should be given ' for ever,' or unto
the ages. By putting a semicolon after Christ,
the " Five Clergymen " in their Revision make
the ' whom ' to refer to God, but for this refer-
ence we properly need not to whom, but, as in
Eph. 3:20 21, to him. If the relative is retained
and treated as a relative, there would seem to
be need of a verb to be supplied to the clauses :
'to him who is able,' 'to God only wise.' In
Acts 20: 32, Olshausen and Gorlet find a fitting
word in connection with precisely similar
phraseology, to wit: "I commend you to
God . . . who is able to build you up," etc.
The only serious objection to this supply is
that it robs this passage of its evidently doxo-
logical form and character, while the chief
subject of this section confessedly is God
rather than Christ. Philippi also refers the
doxology to Christ, but in another manner.
"The apostle," he says, ''meant to utter a
doxology to the power and wisdom of God the
Father; but inasmuch as this wisdom was
manifested in Jesus Christ, and he was thus
the medium by which the divine wisdom was

revealed, the apostle transfers the doxology to
him, and thus in blessing the Mediator and
Revealer of the divine wisdom, blesses indi-
rectly this God of wisdom, himself manifested
in Christ." This really seems to cover the
whole intent of the apostle as manifested in
this passage. Since, however, the passage is
diversely interpreted even by so-called ortho-
dox expositors, it seems to me that we do well
not to rely upon this as an indisputable proof
text. For similar doxologies to Christ, see
references at 9: 15.] The 'mystery' of God's
great plan for saving men of all nations,
though implicitly intimated by the prophets,
was so little understood by the Jews generally
[a " vail " lying upon their hearts, so that they
could not look steadfastly on the end of that
which was being done away], and so entirely
unknown to the Gentiles that it may well be
said to have been kept secret since the world
began, until by the commandment of the ever-
lasting God it was made manifest by the
preaching of the gospel, so explaining and
supplementing the Scriptures of the prophets
as to make it known to all nations for the obe-
dience of faith. Thus the apostle interweaves
into this more extended concluding doxology
a compendium of the subject of the whole
Epistle and of his design in writing it, and so
brings his work to a fit close by ascribing to
God only wise, glory through Jesus
Christ for ever. Amen. ["And," says
Bengel, "let every believing reader say,
Amen," to which we would add : Let God be
praised for giving to the world " The Epistlk
OF Paul to the Romans." i]

1 Godet, in the conclusion of his " Commentary," no-
tices in so happy a manner two characteristic points of
this Epistle, that we cannot withhold his remarks from
our readers. He says : " The first point is the penetrat-
ing logic, the sure sweep of vision, which the apostle
shows in the discussion of the dififerent subjects which
he takes up. Not an exaggeration, not a digression.
The hot conflict which he had been maintaining in the
previous years with the partisans of the legal system
might have predisposed him to go beyond the limit of
truth on some points in estimating Judaism. The in-
cline was slippery ; of this we may easily convince our-
aelves by seeing into what errors it carried the authors
of the so-called Epistle of Barnabas and of the letter to

Diognetus, and finally Marcion. And yet these men
had guides before them — Paul's writings and the Epistle
to the Hebrews — which might have helped them to weigh
their judgments. Paul had none but himself; he was
under the influence of the strong reaction against the
law into which his sudden change had thrown him, and
of the violent resentment which must have been pro-
duced in him by the injustice and hatred of bis Judaiz-
ing adversaries. And yet he moves, without wavering
for an instant, on the straight line of truth, exhibiting
the divinity of the Ancient Dispensation, and at the
same time its profound contrast to the New, so that the
result of his exposition is a complete view both of th«
difference and of the harmony between the two econo-

Ch. XVI.]

ROMANS.

313

mies of salvation. And the same is the case, as we have
seen, in all the questions which he touches. In matters
where we still detect our modern writers, even the most
sagacious and Christian, flagrantly guilty of exaggera-
tion to the right or to the left, we discover in the aixMtle's
view a fullness of truth which constantly excludes error.
The second feature which strikes us in his writing is the
perfect calmness with which he seems to handle truth.
He does not seelc it : he has it. Compare the Epistle to
the Romans with Pascal's ' Thoughts,' and the distance
will be seen between the apostle and the thinker of gen-
ius. It is also evident that the apostle himself draws
his life from the faith which he preaches. He has faith
in his faith, as one cannot have in his thought, for the
very simple reason that this faith is not his discovery,
but the gift of God. . . .

"And let us not forget that the experience of ages has
spoken. It has put its seal to the conviction, which the
apostle bore within him, that In hit gotptl he was giving

to the world, not his own thought, but that of God.
For history shows that m truly powerful and healthy
Christianity has never developed except on the way of
salvation traced by St. Paul.

"The New Testament contains two writings which
admirably complete one another— the Epistle to the
Romans and the Fourth Goepe). The one [the Gospel]
presents for our contemplation the object of faith in ita
grander and perfect I)eauty ; the union of man with
God realized in One, in order to be at length realized
through him in all. The other initiates us into the
means of apprehending the salvation thus realized in
one for all, and of appropriating it — the act of faith.
There, the ideal realized, shining as on a celestial sum-
mit; here, the arduous pathway by which sinful man
may succeed in reaching it. I<et the church constantly
possess herself of the Christ of John by means of the
faith of Paul, and she will be preserved, not from perse-
cution, but from a more terrible enemy, death." — (F.)

APPENDIXES.

APPENDIX A, TO CHAPTER 4: 11, PAGE 109.

This passage is sometimes used aa an argument for Infant Baptism; and the words
"sign" and "seal" are applied to the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, as if they
were the proper key words with which to open the doctrine of the " Christian Sacraments," as
they are often called. They are so used in that excellent little volume, " The Way of Life,"
written by Dr. Charles Hodge, and published by the American Sunday School Union, That
the words "sign " and "seal," in this passage, were not designed, and are not happily adapted
for such a use, may be very easily shown. In the first place, there is nothing in the connection
to indicate that Paul had in his mind any thought of Baptism or the Lord's Supper when he
wrote this passage. In the second place, what is here said of circumcision is true of that rite
only in the case of Abraham, and not at all of his posterity. It was indeed to him, what it was
not at all to them personally, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being
uneircumcised. Since, then, these words would be unsuitable and untrue as an account of
circumcision when applied to the posterity of Abraham, how much more are they unsuitable
and untrue as an account of baptism when applied to the children of Christian believers.

But still farther, while we do not allow that the argument from circumcision to baptism
has any legitimate warrant from Scripture, it may not be amiss to show how easily, on the
admission of a Scriptural analogy between the Jewish and the Christian rites, the argument
might be turned in a different direction. Dr. Hodge has this remark in his commentary on
Rom. 4: 11: "All the Jews were professors of the true religion, and constituted the visible
church, in which, by divine appointment, their children were included. This is the broad and
enduring basis of infant church-membership." Let us examine this "broad and enduring
basis," in the light of the following brief catechism.

CIRCUMCISION AND BAPTISM.

Q. Did the covenant which God made with Abraham and with his seed include both
temporal and spiritual blessings ?

A. It did.

Q. What were the temporal blessings promised in that covenant ?

A. That his seed should be multiplied exceedingly, that they should possess the land of
Canaan, and that they should be peculiarly the objects of God's providential care and blessing.
(Gen, 18: 1-8.)

Q, What are the spiritual blessings promised in that covenant ?

A, Justification by faith, and the promise of the Holy Spirit, in which are sommarilj
included all the blessings of salvation, (Bom. 4:11; Gal. 3 : 14.)

Q. To whom do the temporal blessings of the covenant belong ?

A, To the natural seed of Abraham.

Q. To whom do the spiritual blessings of the covenant belong?

A. To the spiritual seed of Abraham.

816

316 APPENDIXES.

Q. What rite did Grod appoint, as a token of participation in the temporal blessings of the
covenant ?

A. Circumcision.

Q. What rite has God appointed, as a token of participation in the spiritual blessings of
the covenant ?

A. Baptism.

Q. Who then ought to receive the rite of circumcision ?

A. The natural seed of Abraham.

Q. Who then ought to receive the rite of baptism ?

A. The spiritual seed of Abraham.

Q. Who are the spiritual seed of Abraham ?

A. Believers in Jesus Christ. (Rom. 4 : 11, 12, 16 ; Gal. 3 : 7, 29.)

APPENDIX B, TO CHAPTER 5 : 12-21, PAGE 128.

GENERAL AND CONNECTED VIEW OP ROMANS 5: 12-21.

The consideration of the blessings which we enjoy in consequence of being justified by
faith naturally suggests the opposite evils under which we were before suffering (" reconciled,"
"reconciliation," ver. 10, 11); and especially the consideration that all these blessings come to
us (as so repeatedly noted in the preceding verses, 1, 2, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11) through one man, forcibly
suggests the thought of that other one man, through whom those evils came upon us. It is the
design of the latter part of this chapter to illustrate the excellent benefits of justification by
faith in Christ in the light of this comparison between our first parent, whose sin brought upon
us misery and condemnation, and Christ, who confers upon us righteousness and life. In other
words, the apostle here traces both sin and salvation to their personal sources and compares them
in these sources.

12. The completely expressed sense here would be, *' as by one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin, so also by one man came righteousness, and life by righteousness." And
the sense is so completed in substance in ver. 18, but in a form of statement modified by what
more immediately precedes. Under the word death, I understand the apostle to include here, not
only the death of the body, but all the evils of that condition to which our bodies and souls are
subjected or exposed, here and hereafter, by reason of sin — all the consequences, in this life and in
the life to come, of the loss of the divine favor, and the withholding of the Divine Spirit ; the op-
posite, in a word, of all that is included in the word life in ver. 17, 18, 21. Augustine says " the
soul dies when God forsakes it, just as the body dies when the soul forsakes it ; and it is death
in both respects, or the death of the whole man, when a soul forsaken of God forsakes the
body." The death of the body is the palpable, practical, representative, test fact, around which
our reasonings naturally gather. Of the group of connected evils comprehended in the penalty
of sin, natural death is the most obvious, the most readily and universally noticed. Hence it is
eminently suitable to represent and give name to the whole. And in some parts of the apostle's
argument, this concrete fact is no doubt the prominent element. In a similar way the word
life — which in its literal and lowest sense of animated existence is the substratum on which all
other good that can be enjoyed by men must rest — represents and gives name to the whole.

This death is said to have passed through to all men because all sinned. Death and sin
are co-extensive : death is universal because sin is universal. Wherever the effect is seen there
the cause is proved to exist. The least that *<(>' <f ("for that") can fairly mean is, "on the
assumed condition that all sinned." This is equivalent to saying, "on the ground that all
sinned." Calling it an assumption, or a presupposition, will not affect the logical connection so
distinctly affirmed.

APPENDIXES. 317

13, 14. These verses contain the proof of what is affirmed in ver. 12. Before the law of
Moses was given, the same effects of sin were no less manifest than afterward. But sin is not
imputed when there is no law. If men had been under iw law during all this time, they would
not have been treated as transgressors. But the well-known faxt is, that men were just as much
subject to death before Moses as afterward. And even those who had not actually sinned (or,
sinned in the same manner) as Adam did were no less subject to it than others ; that is to say,
infants died, as well as adult sinners. Hence it is plain that these suffered the consequences of
sin, neither on account of the violation of the law of Moses, nor on account of the violation of
the law of nature. On account of what, then, did they suffer these consequences of sin?
Answer: on account of the disobedience of that one mo.n, by whom, according to ver. 12, sin
came into the world, and passed through to all men. " Since sin came into the world as an
abnormal ethical principle, death came into the world with it as an abnormal physiological
principle. Therefore the propagation of the abnormal principle of death presupposes the
propagation of the abnormal principle of sin, in the actual sinning of all." (Lange on " Romans,"
p. 180.) While God will judge men impartially, and "render to every man according to his
works," >et in respect to certain general principles and conditions of our being, he deals with
his creature man as a race, he regards humanity as a unit. Meyer justly remarks, that the
view that the death of individuals is the result of their personal sins, would vitiate and even
contradict the whole parallel between Adam and Christ. (Vol. I., p. 248.)

A different explanation may be given of the expression " even over those who had not
sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression " — namely, that it refers merely to those
who had not violated an express precept, as Adam did. Thb explanation seems to me liable to
the following objections :

1. The distinction seems too unimportant. The heathen, according to the apostle, sin
against sufficient light to make them inexcusable. (Ch. 1 : 20.)

2. The form of expression seems to discriminate between a certain class of those between
Adam and Moses, and the rest : it seems to imply that death reigned over a particular class,
over whom it had apparently less right to reign than over those generally who lived before Moses.

3. The explanation objected to makes Paul say less than the truth of the case required.

4. It makes him say less in his proof, in ver. 14, than he had said in his proposition, in ver.
12, and so makes his argument inconclusive ; for infants are certainly included in the clause,
" and so death passed through to all men."

6. It represents him as passing over in silence the most difficult feature in the case, and so
renders his argument defective at the most important point. The case of those who die in
infancy seems naturally to come up here, and to require notice. It seems scarcely credible that
they should be entirely ignored in an argument of this nature. (See the distinction between
children and adults distinctly recognized in 9: 11 ; also Jonah 4: 11 ; Deut. 1 : 39; Isa. 7: 16.)

6. It seems to be introducing a superfluous distinction, of which no use is made in the
apostle's argument.

7. It seems to be raising an objection, without answering it. For those who are represented,
according to this interpretation, as less guilty, are represented as suffering the same consequence
of sin as the more guilty, who have violated an express precept. Death reigns alike over all.
This objection is valid, of course, only in so far as death is here understood in its more limited
sense.

8. It requires a somewhat forced limitation of the expression, " sin is not imputed when
there is no law" (ver. 13), and then seems to contradict this limitation in the next verse, by
the statement that those to whom sin was not imputed (comparatively), because they have not
the law (of Moses) suffered just the same consequences of sin as those did to whom sin was
imputed (fully), because they had the law of Moses.

318 APPENDIXES.

On the supposition that this clause refers to infants, it does not necessarily decide their
future condition. The fact that they suffer the death of the body on account of sin no more
necessitates the inference of their future condemnation, than the fact that believers in Christ
suffer the same evil necessitates Iheir final condemnation. The whole race suffers this conse-
quence of sin. Infants suffer less in death than believers in Christ. Since they are not, in
this respect, treated worse than believers in this world, we have no ground, so far as this
argument is concerned, to conclude that they will be condemned in the world to come. Of
course, death must be taken in its more limited sense in this part of the apostle's argument ; for
here he is reasoning from knovon and obvious facts — from such of the evils consequent upon sin
as are observed and experienced in this world. Yet the other connected evils would naturally
follow, unless arrested by some special divine arrangement. Whether there would have been
any remedy provided against the future consequences of sin in the case of infants, if there had
not been any provided for adults, is a question which we may prudently leave undecided.

tn the close of ver. 14, the apostle tella us that Adam was a type of Christ. He was the
head and representative of the race of human sinners, as Christ is the Head and Kepresentative
of the race of saints. These are the two groups into which the apostle divides mankind. It is
important to keep this in mind in the interpretation of the following verses. The three follow-
ing verses qualify this typical resemblance, or explain its negative side, by showing the points
of difference.

It is not easy to discern the precise points of difference which the apostle intends to
emphasize in these three verses. They all illustrate this general statement, that the stream of
blessings which flows to the race from Christ as a source (more strictly to those of our race who
receive the abundance of grace, etc.), surpasses the stream of ills which flows to us from Adam.
We gain in Christ more than we lost in Adam. But what specific aspect of this general truth
is expressed in each of these verses ? A careful examination of the words and forms of expres-
sion in each verse may help us to decide this question.

In ver. 15, the emphasis seems to be placed on the positive blessings, over and above the
mere deliverance from penalty, which we gain in Christ. The contrast seems to be chiefly
expressed by the words "grace," "gift," and "abounded," in opposition to "died." The latter
is much more than neutralized by the former. In ver, 16, the point of emphasis seems to be
the one trespass of Adam and the many personal trespasses which are cancelled in Christ.
While we suffer from our connection with Adam the penalty of one transgression, we obtain
from our connection with Christ the forgiveness of many transgressions.

It is important to note here, that ihe apostle is careful to make a distinction between the
consequences of our own actual voluntary sins, and the evil which comes upon us solely or
inevitably on account of Adam's sin. He seems in this to intimate :

1. That the consequences of our own many voluntary transgressions are much more seriouA
than any consequences in which Adam's one transgression alone would have involved us.

2. That nevertheless Adam's one transgression does bring evils upon us, irrespective of any
personal transgressions of our own.

3. The noting of this distinction between the direct and the indirect effects of Adam's sin, or,
in other words, between the effects which are independent of our own will and action, and those
in which our own will and action are concurrent and intensifying causes, goes to confirm our inter-
pretation of the second clause of ver. 14, and to justify the application of that clause to those
who suffer only such effects of Adam's sin as ensue without any co-operation on the part of his
descendants. And this allusion to the distinction between the evils brought upon us by Adam's
sin and the just penalty of our own many voluntary transgressions naturally introduces and
helps to explain the precise emphasis of ver. 17. For here the emphasis seems to lie in the
words " who receive abundance of grace," etc. ; and the specific contrast seems to be between the

APPENDIXES. 319

voluntariness of those who enjoy the benefits of Christ's righteousness, and the involuntariness of
our participation in the consequences of Adam's sin (involuntariness, so far as the direct and
unavoidable consequences are concerned). In support of this view it may be said :

1. That the use of the present participle, instead of the aorist, favors this interpretation.
For while the aorist, oi ka^vrvi, would simply mean " they who received the abundance of
grace," the present, oi AoMiSoKoiT*?, is more nearly equivalent to " the receivers of the abundance
of grace," it has more of a substantive character, and is more naturally suggestive of a class of
persons who are distinguished by this peculiarity, that they are the receivers, the accepters, of an
offered benefit.

2. The collocation of the words seems intended to make the participle emphatic : it is not

oi KanPivovre^ riiv ntf><.<T(rti<w, etC. \ but oi rnv wtpi<r<rtiav r^ x'^P^^o* ""■ ^^ Supfa« r^s Sucaiovvinif Kait-fiajntv-

T««, the participle {receiving) being reserved to an emphatic position near the following verb.

3. The change in the subject of the verb, from things to persons, from i«if (life), the
appropriate contrast to Wkoto* (death) above, to oi KanfiavovrK (those receiving). This change is
the more noticeable from the fact that the same verb is used in the contrasted clauses, thus : as
the antithesis of death reigned we have, not life reigned, but those receiving, etc., shall reign in
life. Notice also the position of in life (immediately before the verb in the Greek), as if it
occurred to the writer that life belonged to the verb by right of rhetorical propriety, but over-
ruled by a higher consideration. As it might be anticipated from the benevolence of God
that he would make the good overbalance the evil, so this just anticipation is neatly confirmed
by the additional circumstance that our connection with the source of evil was involuntary,
while our connection with the source of good is voluntary. K this is the true explanation of
this verse, it shows very explicitly between what parties the comparison is made throughout this
section — namely, those on the one hand who are connected with Adam by natural birth, that

■ is, all mankind, and those on the other hand who are connected with Christ by spiritual birth,
that is, all believers.

In ver. 18, the apostle returns to what he had begun to state, but left unfinished, at ver. 12.
What he there began to state was, that as sin and death came into the world through one man,
Adam, and passed through from him to all his natural descendants, so righteousness and life
came by one man, Christ, and passed through to all his spiritual posterity. He now completes
the statement by adding the omitted part in verses 18, 19, carrying out the full parallel between
Adam and Ciirist, in ver. 18, so far as relates to death on the one hand and life on the other;
and in ver. 19, so far as relates to sin on the one hand and righteousness on the other. There
seem to have been two interruptions in the apostle's argument, the first including verses 13 and
14, where he turns somewhat aside from his main course of thought to prove the statement
contained in the last part of ver. 12, " for that all sinned " ; and the second including verses 15
to 17, in which he pauses to qualify and limit the last clause of ver. 14, " who is the figure of
him that was to come."

The principal difficulty in this view lies in the second " all." We must either

1. Take the whole in an unlimited sense, and admit alike universal justification and oni-
versal salvation ; or,

2. Qualify the expression "justification of life," and regard it as having some lower sense,
not implying the actual salvation of the justified ; or,

3. Limit the sense of the word " all," and regard it as not absolutely including all mankind.
I adopt the last view, for the following reasons :

1. It is more agreeable to Scriptural and general usage to limit this word, than to limit the
descriptive phrase "justification of life."

2. Adam and Christ, throughout this passage, are represented each as the head of a certain
class : but that class does not consist in each case entirely of the same individuals. Adam's

320 APPENDIXES.

"all" is equivalent to all the children of men: Christ's "all" is equivalent to all the children
of God : Adam's " all " includes all who are born of the flesh ; Christ's " all " includes all who
are born of the Spirit. Each imparts what belongs to himself to cdl that are his ; — Adam, his
sin and death ; Christ, his righteousness and life.

3. In the previous verse, the blessings which flow from Christ are distinctly limited to
those who voluntarily receive his abundant grace.

The " all " in the last case, then, are all who are actually connected with Christ by regen-
eration and faith ; and in fact, numerically, these constitute " a great multitude which no man
can number, out of every nation and kindred and people and tongue, who" will "have washed
their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." (Rev. 7 : 9, 14.)

19. As ver. 18 completes the parallel begun in verse 12 between Adam and Christ so far
as the opposites death and life are concerned, so this verse completes the parallel so far as the
opposites sin and righteousness are concerned. The use of the same terms "the many" to
designate the two parties is to be explained in the same manner as the use of "all men " in both
cases in ver. 18.

But here the question arises whether sin and righteousness are to be understood in the
legal and forensic sense, or in the moral and practical sense ; or, which is substantially the
same thing, whether this last verse has reference to justification or to sanctification. The com-
mentators generally refer it to the former, adopting various methods of explaining the relation
between this verse and the preceding. I prefer to regard it as referring to sanctification, taking
the terms " sin " and " righteousness " in their ethical rather than in their judicial sense. The
very terms themselves, as contrasted with those in ver. 18, seem to point very distinctly to this
interpretation. In the former verse we have "ofience" and "condemnation" on the one hand,
and " righteousness " and "justification " on the other, three out of the four distinctively forensic
terms, and the fourth readily admitting the forensic sense. In the latter verse the terms are, on
the one hand, " disobedience " and " sinners," and on the other " obedience " and " righteous,"
all naturally having the ethical sense, though the last is often used also in the forensic sense.
Besides, the verb Ka6i<rrriiti, " I constitute," which is used in both members of the comparison,
denotes the actuxd fact, and not the legal relation. The word naturally points to what men are
actually constituted or made, not to what they are legally regarded as being. If it be objected
that they are not actually made righteous at once, but gradually and progressively, while they
are made sinners at once by their own first sin, if not by Adam's, we answer, that the apostle
has carefully provided for this objection by putting the verb in the past tense in the one case
and in the future tense in the other. They "were constituted sinners," they "shall be consti-
tuted righteous." Their perfect justification secures their ultimate perfect sanctification.

This explanation introduces the subject of sanctification a few verses earlier than the
common analysis. It is generally regarded as introduced at the beginning of chapter 6. But
our interpretation makes chapter 5: 19 give at least an anticipatory hint of the coming topic.

20. But the two great antithetical facts heretofore spoken of do not express the whole
truth in regard to the matter in hand. The law of Moses "came in besides" {irapti.<njKetv) —
besides the fact of many being made sinners, and as a transition point to the other result of
many being made righteous. This third term in God's dealings with men was introduced in
order that transgression might multiply. The law caused transgression to multiply, partly by
enlarging the rule of duty (4: 15), and partly by provoking the propensity to sin (7: 8). But
the ultimate end which God had in view in thus introducing the law was, not that sin might
multiply, but that grace might superabound through this very increase of transgression.

21. In other words, and finally, that as sin reigned in death, so grace might reign, by
means of righteousness, unto life eternal, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

One serious logical difficulty which some have felt in regard to this whole representation

APPENDIXES. 321

apart from the objections already noticed is, that according to the apostle's argument it would
seem tliat believers ought to be delivered from natural death. To tliis it may be answered :

1. Christ himself had to undergo death. If the believer were exempted from it, he woul
be less conformed to his pattern.

2. This world is the theatre in which Christ's redeeming work is progressively accomplished.
Pardon and justification are instantaneous and complete; but sanctification is gradual and life-
long. So death will ultimately be abolished by Christ. (1 Cor. 15: 26.)

3. The triumpli of grace in the believer's experience is even more illustrious by giving
him peace in death, and victory in yielding to it, than it would be in exempting him from it.
Death is now become one of the " all things " that " work together for good " to tl»e believer.
Instead of being all his lifetime in bondage to the fear of death (Heb. 2: 15), he accepts death
as one of the crosses which Christ's grace makes welcome, in one respect the most welcome of
all, because the last. How much the religion of Christ would lose, if it were despoiled of the
glory in which it shines around the bedside of the dying saint ! Higher considerations, then,
than any seeming demands of logical consistency stand opj)Osed to the believer's exemption
from the sentence of natural death. If Christ's conquest over death had abolished it once for
all, that would have been one decisive victory. As the case now stands, Christ's victory over
death is reproduce<l and multipled at every triumphant departure of a believing soul, and death
is thus sentenced to the mortification of innumerable defeats, culminating at last in his utter
overthrow and annihilation.

APPENDIX C, TO ROMANS 6: 1-14, PAGE 155.

The reference which the apostle makes to baptism in the first few verses of this chapter is
'in some parts rendered obscure by his brief and elliptical manner of expression. But the
general object and the emphatic points of the comparison are sufficiently plain.

The things to be observed here, as the hinges of the apostle's argument, and the key to the
explanations of the particular expressions are the following:

1. A death and a new life, in a spiritxud sense — a dying to sin, and a living anew to God ;
compared to

2. A death and a new life in a literal sense — the death of Christ, and his post-resurrection
life ; and illustrated by

3. A death and a new life in a symbolical sense — the submersion and emersion of the
Christian in baptism.

Or, to express the same thing in a slightly altered form :

1. The dying to sin, and the rising to a new and holy life, which is realized in the Chris-
tian's spiritual experience, is compared to

2. The literal dying and rising again of Christ, and represented by

3. The symbolical burial and resurrection of baptism.

Christ died and lived again ; he was buried and he arose from the tomb. He died to sin,
in-ismuch as his death terminated that connection with sin which he had voluntarily assumed,
and which caused all the sufferings of his earthly life, and finally his death on the cross. He
lives unto God, inasmuch as he has returned to dwell in the bosom of the Father, in the glory
which he had with the Father before the world was.

Believers are conformed to and conjoined with ((ruji^wTot) Christ in his death to sin and new
life to God, inasmuch as they too have renounced sin, and separated themselves from it, so that
it has now no more to do with them, nor they with it (rightfully) than a dead body has with
the affairs of living men. They are alive unto God, inasmuch as they have devoteil tiieir lives
to him, and are walking with him in a new life of filial obedience, intercourse., and confidence.

322 APPENDIXES.

This conformity of l)elievers to Christ is set forth in their baptism, which in the outward
act resembles and represents his burial and resurrection, and, in its spiritual import, typifies and
declares their dyinc? to sin and living anew to God.

This comparison forcibly illustrates the importance of Scriptural baptism, and the evil that
results from any change, either in the subjects or in the act. When any but professed believers
in Christ are the svhjects, baptism ceases to have the spiritual significance which the Scriptures
ascribe to it. When the act is anything else than immersion, it ceases to have the symbolical
fitness which belongs to its proper form. And when it loses both these, how much of its validity
or sacredness remains ?

As to the form in which baptism was administered in apostolical times, and as a general
rule for twelve or thirteen centuries, the testimony of the most learned commentators, church
historians, and antiquarians is very uniform and emphatic. The few that we give below as a
specimen are copied from a recent work, entitled " The Act of Baptism," by Henry S. Burrage,
published by the American Baptist Publication Society.

" This passage (Rom 6 : 4) cannot be understood unless it be borne in mind that the primi-
tive baptism was by immersion." (Conybeare and Howson, "Life and Epistles of St. Paul,"
vol. II., p. 169.)

" There seems to be no reason to doubt that both here (Col, 2:12) and in Eom. 6 : 4, there
is an allusion to the katadusis and anadusis [the sinking down and rising up] in baptism."
(Bishop Ellicott, " Com. on Colossians," p. 166.)

" Baptism is the grave of the old man and the birth of the new. As he sinks beneath the
baptismal waters the believer buries there all his corrupt affections and past sins; as he
emerges thence he rises regenerate, quickened to new hopes and a new life. . . . Thus baptism
is an image of his participation both in the death and resurrection of Christ. . . . For this two-
fold image as it presents itself to St. Paul, see especially Eom. 6 : 3, et. seq." (Canon Lightfoot,
"On Colossians," ch. 2: 12.)

" As to the outward mode of administration of the ordinance, immersion, and not sprink-
ling, was unquestionably the original normal form. This is shown by the very meaning of the
Greek words baptizo, baptisma, baptismos, used to designate the rite." (Schaff, " History of
the Apostolic Church," vol. II., p. 256.)

" Baptism, which was the sign of admission into the church, was administered by immer-
sion." (Pressens^, "Early Years of Christianity," p. 374.)

" There can be no question that the original form of baptism, the very meaning of the
word, was complete immersion in the deep baptismal waters, and that for at least four centuries
any other form was either unknown or regarded, unless in the case of dangerous illness, as an
exceptional, almost a monstrous case." (Stanley, "History of the Eastern Church," p. 117.)

"Baptism was originally administered by immersion." (Guericke, "Church History," vol.
I., p. 100.)

" The ceremony of immersion (the oldest form of baptism) was performed in the name of
the three Persons of the Trinity." (Waddington, " Church History," p. 27.)

" The Baptists are, in fact, from the Protestant standpoint, unassailable ; since for their
demand of baptism by submersion they have the clear Bible text, and the authority of the
church and of her testimony is regarded by neither party." (Dr. Dollinger, " Kirche and
Kirclien," p. 337.)

" The testimony (that immersion was the primitive act of baptism) is ample and decisive.
No matter of church history is clearer. The evidence is all one way, and all church historians
of any repute agree in accepting it. It is a point on which ancient, mediaeval, and modern
historians alike, Catholic and Protestant, Lutheran and Calvinistic, have no controversy. And
the simple reason for this unanimity is that the statements of the early Fathers are so clear,

APPENDIXES, 323

and the light shed upon these statements from the early customs of the church is so conclusive,
that no historian who cares for his reputation would dare to deny it, and no historian who is
worthy of the name would wish to." (L. L. Paine, d. d. (Cbngregationalist), Professor of
Church History in the Theological Seminary at Bangor, Maine. — " Christian Mirror," Aug.
3, 1875.)

[" All commentators of note (except Stoart and Hodge) expressly admit or take it for
granted that in this verse. . . . the ancient prevailing mode of baptism by immersion and
emersion is implied as giving additional force to the idea of the going down of the old, and the
rising up of the new man." (Dr. Schaff, in Lange's " Commentary on Romans.")

Among these " commentators of note " who have thus expressed their opinion, we may
mention, besides those already quoted, the names of Ruckert, Fritzsche, Tholuck, De Wette,
Meyer, Ebrard, Lange, Chalmers, Webster and Wilkinson, Alford, Philippi, and Godet, the last
three somewhat cautiously.]

Similar testimonies and admissions might easily be largely multiplied ; but there is no need ;
these few among the more recent will suffice.

APPENDIX D, TO ROMANS 7: 7-25, PAGE 172.

Few passages are more contested than this. The two principal points are :

1. Whether the experience described in verses 14-25 is that of a regenerate man, or of an
unregenerate man. It is generally admitted that verses 7-13 describe the experience of an
unregenerate man.

2. Whether the apostle is here describing his own experience, or only uses the first person
by way of accommodation, and for greater vivacity of representation.

A. In respect to the first question, the history of the two interpretations is briefly as follows:
The earlier interpreters, down to the time of Augustine, uniformly [generally] explained the
whole section as descriptive of the experience of a man not yet regenerated. Augustine himself
at first followed this interpretation, but he afterward adopted and advocated the view that verses
14-25 are to be regarded as the experience of a renewed man. The earlier interpretation was
followed by all the Reformers who leaned to Arminian views of doctrine, and by a few who did
not. (Erasmus, Faustus Socinus, Raphelius, Arminius, Episcopius, Limborch, Clericus, Turretin,
Bucer.') Among more recent interpreters, the same view has been maintained by A. H. Francke*
Bengel, Gottfried Arnold, Zinzendorf, Reinhard, Storr and Flatt, Knapp, etc. ; and in our own
times by Stier, Tholuck, Ruckert, De Wette, Meyer, Lange, and Stuart. Some of these held the
above view with some modification. Tholuck, for example, says that verses 14-25 describe the
experience of a legalist, zealously concerned about his sanctification and partially influenced by
the Spirit of God.

On the other hand, the later view of Augustine was followed by Anselm, Thomas Aquinas,
and Cornelius a Lapide, among the scholastic divines ; by Luther, Melancthon, Calvin, and Beza,
among the Reformers ; by Spener, Buddaeus, and Koppe, in later times ; and it has been adopted
in our own day by Philippi, Alford, Barnes, Hodge, Haldane, Forbes, Dr. John Brown, and
others.

Besides these two radically different views, there are several interpreters of note wlio take
an intermediate and somewhat complex view. Olshausen says Paul, in verses 14-24, "immedi-
ately describes the state of man before regeneration, since his purpose is to set forth coherently
the whole course of development; in the consciousness, however, that phenomena entirely
similar present themselves within the regenerate man, he makes the description applicable to
the regenerate also. The opinion, therefore, on the otie side, that the apostle immediaUly and

1 The last two did not lean toward Arminian views.

324 APPENDIXES.

directly intends the regenerate, and on the other the a-ssertion, that in the *'egenerate man nothing
answering to the picture in verses 14-24 can be found, are alike entirely erroneous. The dis-
tinction between the conflict and the fall of the unregenerate, and the conflict and fall of the
regenerate, remains, notwithstanding the subjective feeling of their near affinity, objectively so
great (as at verses 24, 25 will be proved), that anxiety lest the view proposed should strip
regeneration of its essential character must appear evidently unfounded."

Alford's theory seems still more artificial and complicated. " From verses 7-1 3 inclusive,"
he says, " is historical, and the I (<yi») there is the historical self under the working of conviction
of sin and showing the work of the law; in other words, the carnal self in the transition state,
under the first motions toward God generated by the law, which the law could never have per-
fected. Then at ver. 14 Paul, according to a habit very common with him, keeps hold of the
carnal self, and still having it in view transfers himself into his present position, altering the past
tense into the present, still, however, meaning by I (tyi>) in ver. 14, ' my flesh.' But having passed
into the present tense, he immediately mingles with this mere action of the law upon the natu-
ral conscience the motions of the will toward God, which are in conflict with the motions toward
sin in the members. And hence arises an apparent verbal confusion." On ver. 14, " Hitherto
has been historical ; now the apostle passes to the present time, keeping hold yet of the carnal
I («yw) of former days, whose remnants are still energizing in the new man." Does not this last
clause take away all necessity for his complex theory?

Peter tells us that there are some things in the epistles of Paul which are hard to be
understood. (2 Peter 3 : 16.) This statement is certainly applicable to the seventh chapter of
the Epistle to the Bomans. The principal difficulty in determining whether the section included
between verses 14 and 24 is intended to describe the experience of a man before his conversion,
or afterward, arises from the fact that some of the expressions used seem to rise above the expe-
rience of any unregenerate person, while other expressions seem to fall below the experience of
the Christian. The principal expressions of this nature on both sides are the following : [" I
hate" evil (ver. 15)] ; "I consent unto the law" (ver. 16) ; "to will is present with me" (ver.
18) ; " when I would do good " (ver. 21) ; [' I delight in the law of God " (ver. 22)] ; " with the
mind I myself serve the law of God " (ver. 25). Can these expressions be referred to any but a
regenerate man ? Again : " But I am carnal, sold under sin " (ver. 14) ; " what I hate, that do
I" (ver. 15); "in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing" (ver. 18); "but how to
perform that which is good I find not" (ver. 18); "the evil which I would not, that I do"
(ver. 19) ; "evil is present with me" (ver. 21) ; " I see another law in my members . . . bring-
ing me into captivity to the law of sin " (ver. 23) ; " but with the flesh the law of sin " (ver. 25).
Can these expressions be referred to one who is justified and regenerate?

These are the difficulties between which we have to choose. My own opinion is that the
language in these verses is intended to show how powerless the law is to enable even a regenerate
and justified person to overcome sin. I suppose the conflict here described is just what would be
the experience of every Christian, if he should look only to his legal relations, what is in fact a
common experience with Christians, in just so far as they do regard themselves in their relation
to the law, apart from their relation to Christ. It is some presumption in favor of this view
that Christian readers have very generally thought that they found one aspect of their own
experience described here. The common Christian instinct, if we may be allowed the expres-
sion, speaks in favor of this interpretation. We regard this, not as conclusive, but as a consider-
ation of no little weight.

The change in the tenses of the verb, at and after ver. 14, so uniformly observed, points to a
transition to a new form of religious experience, bearing such a relation to the writer's present
feelings as the former verses did not. Between verses 7 and 13 inclusive, there are thirteen
instances of the use of the verb and participle in narration, all in the past tense. Between

APPENDIXES. 325

verses 14 and 25 inclusive there are twenty-six instances of the use of the finite verb, and six of
the participle, all in the present tense. This change of tenses, from the past to the present, so
suddenly made and so uniformly preserved, is of great significance, and requires to be accounted
for in our interpretation of the passage. Those who deny that the experience of the regenerate
is described in these last verses are obliged to admit that the forms of expression used by the
apostle are just such as he would naturally use to describe his pre»etit experience at the time of
writing. But Tholuck says, in reply to this, that " what is said from ver. 14 onward, with
respect to the contest with the law, is just what was already said in the previous context; nor,
considering the lively manner of describing which St. Paul has, is the circumstance that thence-
forward verbs present are used by any means extraordinary." (Vol. II., p. 21, Clark's "Theo.,"
Library Ed.) Is not this treating too lightly so important a change in the language of the
apostle? Is it true that there is no difference in the two parts of the description? In the first
part he says: " Sin wrought in me all manner of concupiscence " (ver. 8) ; " sin slew me" (ver.
11); it "wrought death in me" (ver. 13). Does not this go beyond the expressions, "I am
carnal, sold under sin"? And what is there in the former verses in any degree answering to
such expressions as these : " I consent unto the law ; I delight in the law of God after the inward
man"; "I would do good"; "I hate the evil that I do"; "I serve the law of God with the
mind " ? Prof. Kendrick says, in a note to Olshausen, Vol. IV., p. 19 : "I think the ground of
the apostle's change of tense lies in the vixddness of his conception, which naturally leads him to
realize and depict the scene as if now actually passing within him. Besides, the point at which
he passes from the past to the present is where, having occasion to state a universal truth, * the
law is spiritual,' and hence to use the present tense he naturally employs the present in the
answering clause." This does not seem to me a satisfactory account of so marked a syntactical
change.

Again, Stuart objects, that " the person represented in these verses succumbs to sin in every
instance of contest." (" Excursus " VII., p. 467.) " An incessant and irreconcilable opposition
is represented (ver. 14) as existing between the law of God and the person here described.''
(Page 465.) I think this is saying too much. Would the apostle say, " It is no more I that do
it, but sin that dwelleth in me " ; "I delight in the law of God after the inner man " ; would he
think it necessary to make the explanation, " I know that in mCj thxit is in my flesh, dwelleth no
good thing " ; could he say, " With my mind I serve the law of God," if he intended to describe
an experience in which the victory is always on the side of sin? This last expression cannot be
referred to a later stage of experience, on account of the clause which immediately follows —
" but with the flesh the law of sin." Is not, in fact, the statement in ver. 25 the key to the
interpretation of the passage? The law which the mind serves is what determines the character of
the man ; and so I think the apostle here affirms, that the habitual service of the mind was ren-
dered to the law of God, while at the same time the remains of the sinAil nature habitually
interfered with the perfection of this service, and frequently drew him into acts that belonged
rather to the service of sin. It seems to me that there is not only a difference between the two
sections as a whole, but a perceptible progress of experience for the better in the latter sections.
Thus the " I consent unto the law," of ver. 16, becomes " I delight in the law," in ver. 22. And
the " I," the word which denotes the entire personality, is more decidedly and permanently on
the side of good in the latter verses than in the fornier. C!ompare, for instance, the " I " of
verses 21-23 with that of verses 14-16.

If now we are compelled, in order to avoid an irreconcilable contradiction, to understand
some of the stronger terras which the apostle uses in a modified sense, in other words, to admit
that there is something of allowable hyperbole in his language, which class of terms shall we feel
most at liberty so to modify, those in which he describes the action of the higher principle, or
those in which he describes the action of the lower ? Which would he be most likely to set

326 APPENDIXES.

forth in the natural exaggeration of strongly excited feeling, the workings of good in himself, or
the workings of evil ? To my mind, the latter seems altogether the more probable. He felt
sin to be a grief, a burden, and a thraldom ; and its influence over him in any degree seemed to
him an intolerable usurpation. It would then be natural for him to set forth with something of
hyperbole the evil that remains in the regenerate, and unnatural for him to exaggerate in like
manner the better motions and inclinations that are sometimes felt by the unregenerate. What-
ever may be thought of the state of mind which the apostle intended to describe here, there can
be no doubt as to the state of his own mind when he wrote the description. He was then a con-
verted person, all his sympathies were on the better side, and he r^arded sin as loathsome and
hateful.

(b) The question whether or not Paixl is here describing his own personal experience is less
essential than the former to a right understanding of his language. Still it is worthy of some
consideration.

Most of those who deny the reference to the regenerate in ver. 14-25, also deny that Paul
means to describe his own experience in either the former (ver. 7-13), or the latter portion
(ver. 14-25).

The apostle's abundant use of the first person in this section is certainly a very strong argu-
ment for believing that he wishes to be understood as describing his own case. He does indeed
speak, in 1 Cor. 4 : 6, of transferring to himself and ApoUos in a figure, or by way of illustra-
tion, what was of more general application ; and various other instances of this are cited by
Tholuck, in support of the view that he does the same here. But these instances have little in
common with the passage under consideration. They consist only of brief expressions, in which
he puts himself for the moment in the place of another. (ICor. 6: 12; 10: 29,30; 13: 11,
12 ; Gal. 2: 18.) To do this is quite common with most writers. But it is a very different thing
to carry on such a representation through the greater part of a chapter. In truth the frequency
and emphasis with which he uses the first person is quite remarkable. From verse 7 to 25,
inclusive, he uses the verb in the first person singular no less than twenty-seven times, the
oblique cases of the pronoun of the first person seventeen times, and the nominative case "ego"
eight times, seven times with the verb and once with the pronoun (avros) added. In these last
cases the use is of course emphatic. Thus the pronoun of the first person is used twenty-four
times in these nineteen verses, six or seven times with marked emphasis. I doubt whether
another passage of equal extent can be found in the New Testament, where the personal pronoun
of the first person singular is used so abundantly. There is throughout an appearance of reality,
and not of allegory.

It is obvious to remark, that the view here taken goes to confirm our previous view of the
application of ver. 14-25 to the regenerate. This confirmation is very strong, when viewed in
connection with the change of tenses from ver. 14, onward.

But if we have reason to regard this whole passage as descriptive of the apostle's own experi-
ence, the question arises, at what period of his life was this experience realized ? So far as it is
the experience of an unregenerate person — that is, so far as it is recorded in ver. 7-13 — we may
suppose that its culminating epoch was during those three days of blindness and fasting, which
followed the first appearance of the Lord to him, and preceded his baptism. It is very com-
monly assumed, that his radical conversion took place at the moment of that appearance ; but
the only evidence of this is the question which he asked, apparently expressive of a spirit of
obedience, "What shall I do. Lord?" (Acts 22: 10.) (The words in 9: 6 are interpolated.) On
the other hand, he seems to have remained at least three days without comfort, and so far as the
record states without prayer. (Acts 9 : 11.) [Dr. Arnold, it will be perceived, does not abso-
lutely deny the fact of Paul's praying during this time, and we see not how he could possibly
keep firom prayer. And if he was not then filled with the Spirit, certainly the Spirit was

APPENDIXES. 327

operating in his mind and heart, giving him inward light, and instructing him in the great
truths of that theology which he afterward preached. That he was at this time a praying man
seems evident from our Lord's first words to Ananias concerning him before his outward eyes
were opened : "Behold, he prayeth," and from the fact that Ananias on visiting him immedi-
ately addressed him as a Christian "brother."] It was not until the visit of Ananias that he
recovered his sight, that he was filled with the Holy Ghost (ver. 17), that he was ready to be
baptized. (Ver. 18.) He does not seem to have had any spiritual relief until then. Without
supposing, then, that he had never experienced before any part of that which he describes so
graphically in ver. 7-9, we can hardly find any other time in his life to which that strongly
marked conflict can be so reasonably assigned. Certainly it was not until then that he could
say, " I died." As to the second part of this experience, which we suppose to be described in
verses 14-24, that may have continued through the whole of his Christian life, in proportion
as he compared himself with the standard of legal requirement ; but would be less and less real
to him, as indeed it seems to be here represented, in proportion as his spirit was imbued more and
more with the doctrine of grace. Those whom we must allow to be Christians do find, or think
they find, much in their own experience which answers to what the apostle here says. They
would find nothing of this kind, if they were perfect in faith, and love, and holiness. They
would find nothing else but this, if they looked only toward the law and its requirements. In
fact, their actual experience is made up of the alternation and mixture of the distressing sense
of remaining and often prevailing sin, and the happy assurance of free pardon, full justification,
and ultimate perfect sanctification in Christ.

We are not to suppose that the apostle's experience was of a wholly difierent type in this
respect from that of truly regenerate persons in the present day and in every age. The
different states of religious experience described in ch. 7: 14-25 and ch. 8 : 1-4, are not to be
regarded as altogether different historical stages in the apostle's religious life, so that ch. 7 : 14-
25 describes his whole experience at one time, and ch. 8 : 1-4, his whole experience at another
and later period of his Christian course ; but the two descriptions are rather to be regarded as
representing his experience in different attitudes of mind, which partly alternated with each
other, and were partly commingled throughout his Christian life,

I cannot forbear to refer, as in the main agreeing with and confirming the interpretation of
this difficult passage here given, to a very able and exhaustive article, by Rev. W. N. Clark^ in
the "Baptist Quarterly," for October, 1875, pp. 385-411.

APPENDIX E, TO ROMANS 8: 19-23, PAGE 197.

The meaning of the word translated 'creature,' or 'creation' (<cTi<r«). This word occurs In
the New Testament nineteen times : Mark 10:6; 13 : 19 ; 16 : 15 ; Rom. 1 : 20, 25 ; 8:19, 20, 21,
22, 39; 2Cor.5: 17; Gal. 6: 15; Col. 1: 15, 23; Heb.4: 13; 9: 11; 1 Peter 2: 13; 2 Peter 3:
4; Rev. 3: 14.

Ic our common English version it is translated "creature" eleven times, "creation" six
times (Mark 6 : 10 ; 13 : 9 ; Rom. 1 : 20 ; 8 : 22 ; 2 Peter 3:4; Rev. 3 : 14), and once it is trans-
lated "building" (Heb. 9 : 11), and once "ordinance" (1 Peter 2 : 13). Four of these passages
belong to the place under consideration, leaving fifteen others from which to determine its pre-
vailing sense. It is used to express the act of creating only in Rom. 1 : 20. Elsewhere it
always stands for that which is created, either for the creation as a whole, or for some particular
created thing, or for some class or classes of created things. Twice it is used with the adjective
" new," to designate the ' new creation,' or the ' new creature.' (2 Cor. 5 : 17 ; Gal. 6 : 15.) In
1 Peter 2 : 13, with the epithet ' human ' it has the sense of human ' ordinance ' or * institution ' ;
and in Mark 16 : 15 it can only refer to mankind. In the remaining ten instances it has the

328 APPENDIXES.

general sense of * creation,' or that which is created, not necessarily including more than this
world in the majority of cases. In Col. 1 : 23 it is referred by Robinson and Tholuck to man-
kind ; but the Greek preposition " in " (ei/), and the explanatory adjunct " which is under hea-
ven," seem rather to require that it be understood here in a local sense. *' In all creation which
is under heaven " is Alford's translation.

The sense is disputed in Col. 1 : 15 and Rev. 3 : 14, some understanding it in these two
places to refer to the ' new creation ' ; but if we take the word " firstborn " in the first of these
passages in the sense of 'heir' or 'inheritor' (a sense justified by the use of the word in Deut.
21 : 16), and understand the word "beginning" in the second passage in the sense of 'first prin-
ciple,' or ' primal source,' all doctrinal difficulty will be avoided, and the word ((CTtVis) will have
its usual sense in both these places.

The usual meaning of this word, then, in the New Testament clearly is the creation, not
necessarily extending beyond this world, and not excluding mankind. It is not applied to
human creatures exclusively, except in Mark 16 : 15 ; nor does it appear that it is ever applied
to Christians exclusively, without the addition of the epithet " new."

On the whole, then, the demands of the context in relation to this word seem to be best
answered by defining it as including the inanimate and irrational creation, so far as relates to
this world. This sense corresponds with the ordinary use of the word, except in excluding
mankind — ^for which exclusion the passage itself furnishes the reason. But can the inanimate
and irrational creation be said to groan and travail in pain, and to hope for deliverance in con-
nection with the manifestation of the sons of God ? Certainly not, if we insist on taking these
expressions in a strictly literal sense. But if we compare this language with the representations
of the Old Testament prophets, and of the Apocalypse, in regard to the renovation of the earth
in connection with the consummation of the Messiah's kingdom, we shall find nothing but what
is in keeping with those Scriptural representations. The earth was cursed on account of Adam's
sin (Gen. 3 : 17, 18) ; it is to be delivered from the curse in connection with man's deliverance
from sin. So much of it as is capable of feeling actually suffers under the bondage of corrup-
tion (the liability to pain and death), and under the abuse and wrongs inflicted by wicked and
cruel men. Since these evils are real and heavy, since they are undeserved, since they are of
long continuance, and since God has promised deliverance from them, the brute creation may
fitly be represented as groaning under these evils, and longing for the promised deliverance.
And since inanimate nature is also under the curse on account of sin ; since it also suffers abuse,
perversion, and distortion in various ways from man's folly, improvidence, and wickedness ; and
since it is also to be delivered from these evils — it, too, may well be represented as sharing in
the groaning and the travail, in the longing and the hope.

As to the certainty of this future deliverance, all our knowledge must be derived from divine
revelation. The skeptical scientist may scoff at the idea of such a change in the natural world
on moral grounds ; but he will never be able to prove that the material and brute creation did
not lose much by man's fall into sin, and will not gain much by man's recovery to holiness. The
renovation of the physical world at the advent of the Messiah was a dogma of the Rabbins, as
may be seen from the passages cited by Tholuck and other commentators. They found the germ
of their doctrine on this subject in such passages as Isa. 9 : 6-9 ; 65 : 17-25 ; Ezek. 34 : 25-27 ;
Hosea 2 : 18-23. We have corresponding intimations in the New Testament, for the most part
brief and suggestive merely, as Matt. 19: 28; Acts 3: 21 ; 2 Peter 3: 13; but sometimes more
explicit and circumstantial, though in highly figurative language, as in Rev. 21.

THK UBR ARY
IMVl KSIl V OF C Al IFORNIA

SHiitii Karhara

THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE
STAMPED BELOW.

lOOM 11/86 Series 9482

SOUTHERN REGIONAL ^J?"*";;■,Ii*,irlV|!lnl

A 001 004 716 5

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