x ch. xxvi. 21. people, and z ch. xx. 4. : a Ꮓ laid hands on him, 28 crying out, Men of This is the man, y that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place. 29 For they had seen before with him in the city Trophimus an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the a ch xxvi. 21. 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 kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. bch. xxii. 27: 32 b Who 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. 33 Then e ver. 1. ch. the chief captain came near, and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done. 34 And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude: and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle. 35 And when he came upon the stairs, so it was, that he was borne of A render, were seeking. xxiv. 7. XX. 23. 28. that against Stephen, ch. vi. 13. thus be in the custody of two soldiers. The literally accurate rendering of The camp or barracks attached to the stairs] The steps leading up into the r d Luke xxiii. 15. ch. xxii. 22. the soldiers for the violence of the people. 36 For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, d Away 18. John xix. 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 Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers? 39 But Paul said, eu I am a man which ech.ix. 11: am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people. 40 And when he had given him licence, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the fch. xii. 17. people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying, xxii. 3. XXII. 1 [ Men,] a brethren, and fathers, hear ye my ach. vii. 2. render, crowd. trender, those four. 8 render, Thou art not then. a render, I indeed. ▾ render, a citizen of no mean city in Cilicia. Xomit: see on ch. i. 16. and left two pair of stairs, which served for a passage to the soldiers into the temple: for when the Romans were masters of Jerusalem, there were guards posted still upon that quarter to prevent seditions upon their public festivals and meetings. For as the temple commanded the city, so Antonia the temple." (L'Estrange.) 38. that Egyptian] The inference of the tribune was not, as in Bengel, “He speaks Greek, therefore he is an Egyptian," but the very contrary to this. His being able to speak Greek is a proof to Lysias that he is not that Egyptian.- This Egyptian is mentioned by Josephus, who says that he persuaded the people to follow him to the Mount of Olives, whence he would by a word throw down the walls of Jerusalem. This Felix heard of, and sent soldiers to stop his folly, who slew four hundred of his followers, and took two hundred alive. He himself, however, escaped. In another place, he says of the same person, that he collected about 30,000 deluded persons, and brought them out of the wilderness to the Mount of Olives, and that a battle took place, in which most of his followers were killed or taken prisoners. It is obvious that the numerical accounts in Josephus are inconsistent with our text, and with one another. This latter being the case, we may well leave them out of the question. At different times of his rebellion, his number of followers would be variously estimated; and the tribune ་ worth. mur implying not the Egyptian, but.' b ch. xxi. 39. Phil. iii. 5. c Deut. xxxiii. 3.2 Kings iv. 38. defence which I make now unto you. 2 And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they e с 2 Cor. xi. 22. kept the more silence: and he saith, 3 b I am [ verily] a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous towards God, as ye all are this day. 4 h And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding xxv. 9, 101 and delivering into prisons both men and women. Luke x. 39. d ch. v. 34. e ch. xxvi. 5. fch. xxi. 10. Gal. i. 14. g 2. Rom.x.. h ch. viii. 3: Phil. 6. 1 Tim. i. 13. ch. iv. 5. k ch. ix. 2: xxvi. 10, 12. 1 ch. ix. 3: f 5 As i Luke xxii. 66. also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: k from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be xxvi. 12, 13. punished. 6 And 1it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was a come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly 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, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. 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, I came into Damascus. z render, of. m Dan. x. 7. ch. ix. 7. y omit. b a render, coming. m bomitted by most of our oldest authorities. legitimate limits) to avoid offence and conciliate his hearers. Proofs of this will appear as we go on. 3.] On Gamaliel see note, ch. v. 34.-The expression "at the feet of Gamaliel" (see ch. iv. 35, note) indicates that the rabbi sat on an elevated seat and the scholars on the ground or on benches, literally at his feet. according to the perfect manner (the art. omitted aft. a prep.), the strict acceptation, of the law of the fathers; so in ch. xxvi. 5, i. e. “the straitest sect of our religion;" -i. e. as a Pharisee. as ye all are this day] Not meaning in the same way as YE all are this day' (but now in another way) but as ye all are this day: 'I had the same zealous character (not excluding his still retaining it) which you all shew n ch. ix. 17. o ch. 22. 12 And "one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, "having a good report of all the P Jews which dwelt there, T. iii. 7. 13 came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. 14 And he said, The God of our fathers ach. iii. 13: hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and "shouldest hear the voice of his xv. 8. mouth. 15 x For thou shalt be his witness unto all men с v. 30. r ch. ix. 15: xxvi. 16. s1 Cor. ix. 1: t ch. iii. 14: vii. 52. u 1 Cor. xi. 23. Gal. i. 12. x ch. xxiii. 11. y ch. iv. 20: xxvi. 16. z ch. ii. 38. Heb. x. 22. ch. ix. 14. beh. ix. 26. Rom. x. 13. 2 Cor. xii. 2. c ver. 14. ofy what thou hast seen and heard. 16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, a calling on the name of the Lord. 17 And it came a 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, d Make haste, and get thee & Matt. x. 14. quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy 19 And I said, Lord, they ever.. testimony concerning me. know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue Matt. x. 17. them that believed on thee; 20 and when the blood of g ch. vii. 58. thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them chvi.. f C read, with all our oldest authorities, his name. tian is not here mentioned,-and "having calling on his name] i. e. the name e 4. ch. h Luke xi. 48. Rom. i. 32. of Jesus, "that Just One." Paul carefully avoids mentioning to the Jews this Name, except where it is unavoidable, as in ver. 8: so again he says, I saw him, ver. 18. 17.] viz. as related ch. ix. 26-31, where nothing of this vision, or its having been the cause of his leaving Jerusalem, is hinted. 20. 19.] The probable account of this answer is, that Paul thought his former great zeal against Christ, contrasted with his present zeal for Him, would make a deep impression on the Jews in Jerusalem: or, perhaps, he wishes by his earnest preaching of Jesus as the Christ among them, to undo the mischief of which he before was the agent, and therefore alleges his former zeal and his consenting to Stephen's death as reasons why he should remain in Jerusalem. thy martyr] So A. V., following Beza: the Vulgate, and Erasmus, thy witness,' which is the primary meaning of the word martyr in Greek. "The Apostle may have here used the word (speaking in Hebrew) in its strict primary sense; for a view of Christ in His glory was vouchsafed to Stephen, and it was by bearing witness of that manifestation that he hastened his death (ch. vii. 55 ff.). The present meaning of the word martyr did, i ch. ix. 15: xiii. 2, 46, 47: that slew him. 21 And he said unto me, Depart: for I 22 And they xviii. 6: xxvi. will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles. 17. Rom. i. 5: xi. 13: XV. 16: ii. 7, 8. 1 Tim. ii. 7. 2 Tim. 11 k ch. xxi. 36. 1 ch. xxv. 24. 16. Gal. i. 15. gave him audience unto this a word, and then lifted up Eph. iii. 7,8. their voices, and said, kAway with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live. 23 And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air, 24 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 they cried so against him. 25 And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, m Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? 26 When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, h 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, m ch. xvi. 87. d render, saying. frender, shook. h read, with all our oldest authorities, however, become attached to it at a very render, was. 8 render, the thongs. What art thou about to do? "The nations of the earth have no living ing, he ought to have been put to death long 25.] Literally, while they were binding him down with the thongs. The position of the prisoner was, bent forward, and tied with a sort of gear made of leather to an inclined post. the centurion] This was the ordinary officer-standing by to superintend the punishment. On |