Paul addresses the people, and THE ACTS. gives an account of himself, CHAPTER XXII. Paul, in his address to the people, gives an account of his birth and education, 1-3. His prejudices against Christianity, 4—5. and of his miraculous conversion, and call to the apostleship, 6-21. The Jews hearing him say, that God had sent him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, become exceedingly outrageous, and clamour for his life, 22, 23. The chief captain orders him to be examined by scourging; but he, pleading his privilege as a Roman citizen, escapes the torture, 24-29. The next day the chief captain brings Paul before the chief priests and their council, 30. NOTES ON CHAP. XXII. Verse 1. Men brethren, and fathers] A Hebrew form of expression for brethren and fathers: for two classes only are addressed. See the note on chap. vii. 2. Hear ye my defence] Mou Tys aroдoyas, this apology of mine; in this sense the word apology was anciently understood hence the Apologies of the primitive Fathers, i. e. their defences of the Christian religion. And this is its proper literal meaning: but it is now used only as implying an excuse for improper conduct. That this is an abuse of the term, requires no proof. Verse 2, When they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue] He had probably been traduced by the Jews of Asia, as a mere Gentile, distinguished only by his virulence against the Jewish religion; which virulence proceeded from his malice and ignorance. Verse 3. I am verily a man which am a Jew] A periphrasis for, I am really a Jew: and his mentioning this, adds weight to the conjecture in the preceding note. He shews that he could not be ignorant of the Jewish religion; as he had the best instructor in it, which Jerusalem could produce. Yet brought up, &c.] Bp. Pearce proposes that this verse should be thus read and translated: but brought up in this city; instructed at the feet of Gamaliel, according to the most exact manner, being exceedingly zealous for the law of our fathers, as ye all are this day. Born in Tarsus] See the notes on chap. ix. 11. & xxi. 39. Feet of Gamaliel] See a full account of this man in the note on chap. v. 34. It has been generally supposed that the phrase brought up ut the fect, is a reference to the Jewish custom, viz. that the disciples of the rabbins sat on low seats, or on the grouud, whilst the rabbin himself occupied a lofty chair. But we rather learn from Jewish authority, that the disciples of the rabbins stood before their teachers, as Vitringa has proved in his treatise De Synag. Vet. lib. i. p. 1. cap. 7. Kypke, therefore, contends that rapa res nodas at the feet, means the same as λv near, or before, which is not an unfrequent mode of speech among both sacred and profane writers. Thus in chap. iv. 35, 37, chap. v. 2. ετίθουν παρα τους πόδας Twy añosowy, they laid it at the apostles' fect, means only, they brought it to the apostles. So in 3 Maccab. iv. 7. maęz Todas nôŋ tov dôŋv opwvTES HEIμLEVOV, they saw death already lying at their feet; that is, as the Syriac translator has properly rendered it, they saw death immediately before them. So Themistius, Or. 27. p. 341. who adds the term by which the phrase is explained, 851 xxl mayσlo del Tw duvaμary εςι και πλήσιον αει δυναμένῳ aptave, ante pedes id semper et prope est, illi qui accipere potest. Also Lucian De Conscr. Hist. p. 669, ων παρα πόδας O EXEуX. The refutation of which is at hand. The same kind of form occurs in the Hebrew, Exod. xi. 8. All the people that are at thy feet, ha beraglaica, i. e. who are with thee, under thy command, 2 Sam. xv. 16. And the king went out, and all his household beraglaiv, at his feet; that is, with him, in his company. See Kypke. According to the perfect manner] That is, according to that strict interpretation of the law; and especially the traditions of the Elders, for which the Pharisees were remark n 7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why perse-will, and see " that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. cutest thou me ? able. That it is Pharisaism that the apostle has in view, when he says he was taught according ançıblar to the most exact manner, is evident; and hence, in chap. xxvi. 5. he calls Pharisaism anpile5arry, the most exact system: and under it, he was zealous towards God; scrupulously exact in every part of his duty, accompanying this with reverence to the Supreme Being, and deep concern for his honour and glory. Verse 4. I persecuted this way] Taury Thy odov; this doctrine, this way of worshipping God, and arriving at a state of blessedness. See on chap. ix. 2. Verse 6-13. As I made my journey, &c.] See the whole of this account, and all the particular circumstances, considered at large in the notes on chap. ix. 1, &c. and the obser vations at the conclusion of that chapter. Verse 14. And see that Just One] The Lord Jesus, called the Just One, in opposition to the Jews, who crucified him as a malefactor: see the note on chap. vii. 52. This is an additional proof that Jesus Christ did actually appear unto Saul of Tarsus. Verse 15. Thou shalt be his witness unto all] Thou Binding and delivering into prisons] See on chap. viii. 3.|| shalt proclaim Christ crucified, both to Jews and Gentiles. ix. 2. Verse 16. Arise and be baptized] Take now the profession of Christ's faith most solemnly upon thee, by being baptized in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Wash away thy sins, &c.] Let this washing of thy body represent to thee the washing away of thy sins; and know that this washing away of sin can be received only by invoking the name of the Lord. Verse 17. When I was come again to Jerusalem] It is The people become furious, A. M. cir. 4064. a A. D. cir. 60. 18 And saw him saying unto me, send thee far hence unto the Gen- A.M. cir. 4064. Make haste, and get thee quickly tiles. cir. CCIX. 4. out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. d 19 And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: 20 And when the blood 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. g 22 And they gave him audience cir. CCIX. 4. unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, "Away 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 21 And he said unto me, Depart: for I will wherefore they cried so against him. Ver. 14.- Matt. 10. 14. ver. 4. Matt. 10. 17. ch. 7. 58.- Luke 11. 48. ch. 8. 1. Rom, 1. 32. ch. 9. 15. & 13. 2, 46, 47. & 18. 6. & 26. 17. Rom. 1. 5. & 11.¦13. & 15. 16. likely that he refers to the first journey to Jerusalem, about three years after his conversion, chap. ix. 25, 26. and Gal. i. 18. I was in a trance] This circumstance is not mentioned || any where else, unless it be that to which himself refers in 2 Cor. xii. 2-4. when he conceived himself transported to the third heaven; and if the case be the same, the appearance of Jesus Christ to him, and the command given, are circumstances related only in this place. Gal. 1. 15, 16. & 2. 7, 8. Eph. 3. 7, 8. 1 Tim. 2. 7. 2 Tim. 1. 11.ch. 21. 36. ch. 25. 24. glorious they may be, they have no glory comparatively, by reason of that glory which excelleth. Next to Jesus Christ, St. Paul is the glory of the Christian church. Jesus is the foundation; Paul, the master-builder. Verse 22. They gave him audience unto this word] Namely, that God had sent him to the Gentiles: not that they refused to preach the law to the Gentiles, and make them proselytes; for this they were fond of doing, so that our Lord says, they compassed sea and land to make a prose lyte: but they understood the apostle as stating, that God had rejected them, and called the Gentiles to be his peculiar Verse 19. I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue] This shews what an active instrument Saul of Tarsus was, in the hands of this persecuting priesthood; and how very gene-people, in their place; and this they could not bear. rally the followers of Christ were persecuted, and how difficult it was at this time to profess Christianity. Verse 20. When the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed] || See on chap. vii. 58. viii. 1. All these things Paul alledged as reasons why he could not expect to be received by the Christians; for how could they suppose that such a persecu tor could be converted? Away with such a fellow] According to the law of Moses, he who attempted to seduce the people to any strange worship, was to be stoned, Deut. xiii. 15. The Jews wished to insinuate that the apostle was guilty of this crime, and that therefore he should be stoned, or put to death. Verse 23. Cast off their clothes] Bp. Pearce supposes, that shaking their upper garments, is all that is meant here; and that it was an ancient custom for men to do so, when highly pleased, or greatly irritated: but it is likely, that some of them were now actually throwing off their clothes, in order to prepare to stone Paul. Threw dust into the air] In sign of contempt, and by way of execration. Shimei acted so in order to express his contempt of David, 2 Sam. xvi. 13. where it is said, he cursed Verse 21. I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.] This was the particular appointment of St. Paul: he was the Apostle of the Gentiles; for though he preached frequently to the Jews; yet, to preach the gospel to the Gentiles, and to write for the conversion and establishment of the Gentile world, were his peculiar destination. Hence we find him and his companions travelling every where; through Judea, Phænicia, Arabia, Syria, Cilicia, Pisidia, Lycaonia, Pam-him as he went, and threw stones at him; or, as the margin, phylia, Galatia, Phrygia, Macedonia, Greece, Asia, the Isles of the Mediterranean Sea, the Isles of the Egean Sea, Italy; and some add Spain, and even Britain. This was se diocese of this primitive bishop: none of the apostles travelled, none preached, none laboured as this man; and, we may add, none was so greatly owned of God. The Epistles of Peter, John, James, and Jude, are great and excellent; but when compared with those of Paul, however he dusted him with dust. Their throwing dust in the air, was also expressive of extraordinary rage and vindictive malice. The apostle being guarded by the Roman soldiers, was out of the power of the mob; and their throwing dust in the air, not only shewed their rage, but also their vexation, that they could not get the apostle into their power. Verse 24. Examined by scourging] As the chief captain did not understand the Hebrew language, he was ignorant of the charge brought against Paul, and ignorant also of the defence" that, for the affection which the people of Tarsus bare to which the apostle had made; and as he saw that they grew more and more outrageous, he supposed that Paul must have given them the highest provocation; and therefore he determined to put him to the torture, in order to find out the nature of his crime. The practice of putting people to the rack, in order to make them confess, has, to the disgrace of human nature, existed in all countries. Verse 25. And as they bound him, &c.] They were going to tie him to a post, that they might scourge him. Is it lawful, &c.] The Roman law absolutely forbad the binding of a Roman citizen. See the note on chap. xvi. 37. Verse 28. With a great sum obtained I this freedom.] So it appears that the freedom, even of Rome, might be purchased; and that it was sold at a very high price. || Julius Cæsar, and afterwards to Augustus, the latter caused their city to be called Juliopolis." The Greek text is as follows-αὐτῷ προφίλως τω Καίσαρι προτέρω, και δι εκεινον τῳ δευτερῳ ὁι Ταρσεις είχαν, ωςε και Ιουλιοπολιν σφας απ' auтou μeтovoμaσi. To which I add, that PHILO, de Virt. Vol. II. p. 587. Edit. Mang. makes Agrippa say to Caligula, φίλων ενίων πατρίδας όλας της Ρωμαϊκής ηξίωσας πολιτείας. you have made whole countries, to which your friends belong, to be citizens of Rome. See the note on chap. xxi. 39. These testimonies are of weight sufficient to shew that Paul, by being born at Tarsus, might have been free-born, and a RoSee Bp. Pearce, on Acts xvi. 37. man. Verse 29. After he knew that he was a Roman] Ho who was going to scourge him, durst not proceed to the torture, when Paul declared himself to be a Roman. A passage from Cicero, Orat. pro. Verr. Act. ii. lib. v. 64. throws the fullest light on this place-Ille, quisquis erat, quem tu in crucem rapiebas, qui tibi esset ignotus, cum civem se Romanum esse diceret, apud te Prætorem, si non effugium, ne moram quidem mortis mentione atque usurpatione civitatis assequi potuit. "Whosoever he might be whom thou wert hurrying to the rack, were he even unknown to thee, if he said that he was a Roman citizen, he would necessarily obtain from thee the Prætor, by the simple mention of Rome, if not an escape, yet at least a delay of his punishment." The whole of the sixty-fourth and sixty-fifth sections of this oration, which speak so pointedly on this subject, are worthy of consideration. Of this privilege, he further says, Ib. in cap. lvii. Illa vox et exclamatio Civis Romanus sum, quæ sæpe multis in ultimis terris opem inter barbaros et salutem tulit, &c.—That exclamation, I am a Roman citizen, which oftentimes has brought assistance and safety, even among barbarians, in the remotest parts of the earth, &c. But I was free born.] It has been generally believed that the inhabitants of Tarsus, born in that city, had the same rights and privileges as Roman citizens, in consequence of a charter or grant from Julius Cæsar. Calmet disputes this, because Tarsus was a free not a colonial city; and he supposes that Paul's father might have been rewarded with the freedom of Rome for some military services; and that it was in consequence of this that Paul was born free. But, that the city of Tarsus had such privileges, appears extremely probable. In chap. xxi. 39. Paul says he was born at Tarsus in Cilicia, and in this chap. ver. 28. he says he was free-born; and at ver. 26. he calls himself a Roman; as he does also chap. xvi. 37. From whence it has been concluded, with every show of reason, that Tarsus, though no Roman colony, yet had this privilege granted to it, that its natives should || be citizens of Rome. PLINY, in Hist. Nat. lib. v. 27. tells || us that Tarsus was a free city. And APPIAN, De Bello Civil. lib. v. p. 1077. Ed. Tolli, says that Anthony, Taposas EXEUĴEÇOUS & FIBI, xai ateλeis popwv, made the people of Tarsus free, and discharged them from paying tribute. DIO CASSIUS, lib. xlvii. p. 508. Edit. Reimar: further tells us, Adeo || p. 445. Edit. Bryan.) says, concerning the behaviour of the Casari priori, et ejus gratia ctiam posteriori, favebat Tar- pirates, when they had taken any Roman prisoner, Exsivo de senses, ut urbem suam pro Tarso, JULIOPOLIN, vocaverint : ην υβρισικότατον κ. τ. λ. what was the most contumelious was PLUTARCH likewise, in his Life of Pompey, (Vol. III. The chief captain orders the A.M.cir. 4064. 30 On the morrow, because hemanded the chief priests and all their An. Olymp. would have known the certainty council to appear; and brought Paul cir. CCIX. 4. wherefore he was accused of the down, and set him before them. Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and com a Ch. 21. 34. & 23. 10, 28. & 25. 26. this; when any of those whom they had made captives, cried out, Pupalos ɛival, THAT HE WAS A ROMAN, and told them his name, they pretended to be surprised, and be in a fright,|| and smote upon their thighs, and fell down (on their knees) to him, beseeching him to pardon them! It is no wonder then that the torturer desisted, when Paul cried out that he was a Roman; and that the chief captain was alarmed, because he had bound him. b Matt. 26. 3, 59. & 27. 1, 2, 12. Psal. 125. 3. 1. In his address to the council, Paul asserts that he is a Jew, born of and among Jews; and that he had a regular Jewish education: and he takes care to observe, that he had early imbibed all the prejudices peculiar to his countrymen; and had given the fullest proof of this in his persecution of the Christians. Thus, his assertions, concerning the unprofitableness of the legal ceremonies, could neither be attributed to ignorance nor indifference. Had a Gentile, no matter how learned or eminent, taught thus, his whole teaching would have been attributed to ignorance, prejudice, and envy. God therefore, in his endless mercy, made use of a most eminent, learned, and bigotted Jew, to demonstrate the nullity of the whole Jewish system, and shew the necessity of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Verse 30. He-commanded-all their council to appear] Instead of Exe, to come, which we translate to appear; ouvexlew, to assemble, or meet together, is the reading of ACE. nearly twenty others; the Ethiopic, Arabic, Vulgate, Chrysostom, and Theophylact; this reading Griesbach has received into the text and it is most probably the true one: as the chief captain wished to know the certainty of the matter, he desired the Jewish council, or Sanhedrin, to assemble, and examine the business thoroughly, that he might know of what the apostle was accused; as the law would not permit him to proceed against a Roman in any judicial way, but on the clearest evidence: and as he understood that the cause of their enmity was something that concerned their religion; he considered the Sanhedrin to be the most proper judge, and therefore commanded them to assemble; and there is no doubt that himself, and a sufficient number of soldiers, took care to attend, as the person of Paul could not be safe in the hands of persons so prejudiced, unprincipled, and enraged. This chapter should end with the twenty-ninth verse, and ndus the following should begin with the thirtieth; this is the most natural division, and is followed by some of the most correct editions of the original text. 2. At the close of this chapter, Dr. Dodd has the following judicious remark:-"As unrighteous as it was in the Roman officer, on this popular clamour, to attempt putting this holy apostle to the torture; so reasonable was St. Paul's plea as a Roman citizen, to decline that suffering. It is a prudence worthy the imitation of the bravest of men, not to throw themselves into unnecessary difficulties. True courage widely differs from rash and heedless temerity; nor are we under any obligation as Christians, to give up our civil privileges, which ought to be esteemed as the gifts of God, to every insolent and turbulent invader. In a thousand circumstances, gratitude to God, and duty to men, will oblige us to insist upon them; and a generous concern for those who may come after us, should engage us to labour to transmit them to posterity improved rather than impaired." This should be an article in the creed of every genuine Briton. CHAPTER XXIII. Paul defending himself before the high priest, he commands him to be smitten on the mouth, 1,2. Paul sharply reproves him, and being reproached for this by one of the attendants, accounts for his conduct, 3-5. Seeing that the assembly was composed of Pharisees and Sadducees, and that he could expect no justice from his "judges, he asserts that it was for his belief in the resurrection, that he was called in question; on which the Pharisees declare in his favour, 6-9. A great dissension arises, and the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should be pulled to pieces, brings him into the castle, 10. He is comforted by a dream, 11. More than forty persons conspire his death, 12-15. Paul's sister's son, hearing of it, informs the captain of the guard, 16-22. He sends Paul by night, under a strong escort of horse and foot, to Cæsarea, to Felix; and with him a letter, stating the circumstances of the case, 23-33. They arrive at Cæsarea, and Felix promises him a hearing when his accusers shall come down, 34, 35. |