04050
 \\When Simon saw\\ (\\Idn de ho Simn\\). This participle (second aorist
 active of \\hora\\) shows plainly that those who received the gift
 of the Holy Spirit spoke with tongues. Simon now saw power
 transferred to others. Hence he was determined to get this new
 power. \\He offered them money\\ (\\prosnegken chrmata\\). Second
 aorist active indicative of \\prospher\\. He took Peter to be like
 himself, a mountebank performer who would sell his tricks for
 enough money. Trafficking in things sacred like ecclesiastical
 preferments in England is called "Simony" because of this offer
 of Simon.

04051
 \\Me also\\ (\\kamoi\\). This is the whole point with this charlatan. He
 wants the power to pass on "this power." His notion of "The Holy
 Spirit" was on this low level. He regarded spiritual functions as
 a marketable commodity. Money "can buy diamonds, but not wisdom,
 or sympathy, or faith, or holiness" (Furneaux).

04052
 \\Perish with thee\\ (\\sun soi ei eis apleian\\). Literally, Be with
 thee for destruction. Optative for a future wish. The use of \\eis\\
 with the accusative in the predicate is especially common in the
 LXX. The wish reveals Peter's indignation at the base offer of
 Simon. Peter was no grafter to accept money for spiritual power.
 He spurned the temptation. The natural meaning of Peter's
 language is that Simon was on the road to destruction. It is a
 warning and almost a curse on him, though verse
 # 22
 shows that there was still room for repentance. \\To obtain\\
 (\\ktsthai\\). To acquire. Usual meaning of the present tense
 (infinitive middle) of \\ktaomai\\.

04053
 \\Lot\\ (\\klros\\). Same idea as "part" (\\meris\\), only as a figure.
 \\Matter\\ (\\logoi\\). Literally, word or subject (as in
 # Lu 1:4; Ac 15:6
 the power of communicating the Holy Spirit. This use of \\logos\\ is
 in the ancient Greek. \\Straight\\ (\\eutheia\\). Quotation from
 # Ps 78:37
 Originally a mathematically straight line as in
 # Ac 9:11
 then moral rectitude as here.

04054
 \\Wickedness\\ (\\kakias\\). Only here in Luke's writings, though old
 word and in LXX (cf.
 # 1Pe 2:1,16
 \\If perhaps\\ (\\ei ara\\). _Si forte_. This idiom, though with the
 future indicative and so a condition of the first class
 (determined as fulfilled), yet minimizes the chance of
 forgiveness as in
 # Mr 11:13
 Peter may have thought that his sin was close to the unpardonable
 sin
 # Mt 12:31
 but he does not close the door of hope. \\The thought\\ (\\h epinoia\\).
 Old Greek word from \\epinoe\\, to think upon, and so purpose. Only
 here in the N.T.

04055
 \\That thou art\\ (\\se onta\\). Participle in indirect discourse after
 \\hor\\ (I see). \\In the gall of bitterness\\ (\\eis choln pikrias\\). Old
 word from \\cholas\\ either from \\che\\, to pour, or \\chlo\\,
 yellowish green, bile or gall. In the N.T. only in
 # Mt 27:34
 and here. In LXX in sense of wormwood as well as bile. See
 # De 29:18; 32:32; La 3:15; Job 16:14
 "Gall and bitterness" in
 # De 29:18
 Here the gall is described by the genitive \\pikrias\\ as consisting
 in "bitterness." In
 # Heb 12:15
 "a root of bitterness," a bitter root. This word \\pikria\\ in the
 N.T. only here and
 # Heb 12:15; Ro 3:14; Eph 4:31
 The "bond of iniquity" (\\sundesmon adikias\\) is from
 # Isa 58:6
 Paul uses this word of peace
 # Eph 4:3
 of love
 # Col 3:14
 of the body
 # Col 2:19
 Peter describes Simon's offer as poison and a chain.

04056
 \\Pray ye for me\\ (\\Dethte humeis huper emou\\). Emphasis on \\humeis\\
 (you). First aorist passive imperative. Simon is thoroughly
 frightened by Peter's words, but shows no sign of personal
 repentance or change of heart. He wants to escape the penalty for
 his sin and hopes that Peter can avert it. Peter had clearly
 diagnosed his case. He was an unconverted man in spite of his
 profession of faith and baptism. There is no evidence that he
 ever changed his life at all. \\Which\\ (\\hn\\). Genitive by attraction
 of the accusative relative \\ha\\ to case of the unexpressed
 antecedent \\toutn\\ (of those things), a common Greek idiom.

04057
 \\They therefore\\ (\\hoi men oun\\). Demonstrative \\hoi\\ with \\men\\ (no
 following \\de\\) and the inferential \\oun\\ (therefore) as often in
 Acts
 # 1:6
 etc.). \\Returned\\ (\\hupestrephon\\). Imperfect active picturing the
 joyful journey of preaching (\\euggelizonto\\, imperfect middle) to
 the Samaritan villages. Peter and John now carried on the work of
 Philip to the Samaritans. This issue was closed.

04058
 \\Toward the South\\ (\\kata mesmbrian\\). Old word from \\mesos\\ and
 \\hmera\\, midday or noon as in
 # Ac 22:16
 the only other example in the N.T. That may be the idea here
 also, though "towards the South" gets support from the use of
 \\kata liba\\ in
 # Ac 27:12
 \\The same is desert\\ (\\haut estin ermos\\). Probably a parenthetical
 remark by Luke to give an idea of the way. One of the ways
 actually goes through a desert. Gaza itself was a strong city
 that resisted Alexander the Great five months. It was destroyed
 by the Romans after war broke out with the Jews.

04059
 \\A eunuch of great authority\\ (\\eunouchos dunasts\\). Eunuchs were
 often employed by oriental rulers in high posts. _Dynasty_ comes
 from this old word \\dunasts\\ used of princes in
 # Lu 1:52
 and of God in
 # 1Ti 6:15
 Eunuchs were not allowed to be Jews in the full sense
 # De 23:1
 but only proselytes of the gate. But Christianity is spreading to
 Samaritans and to eunuchs. \\Candace\\ (\\Kandaks\\). Not a personal
 name, but like Pharaoh and Ptolemy, the title of the queens of
 Ethiopia. This eunuch apparently brought the gospel to Ethiopia.
 \\Treasure\\ (\\gazs\\). Persian word, common in late Greek and Latin
 for the royal treasure, here only in the N.T. \\For to worship\\
 (\\proskunsn\\). Future active participle expressing purpose, a
 common idiom in the ancient Greek, but rare in the N.T.
 (Robertson, _Grammar_, p. 1128).

04060
 \\Was reading\\ (\\aneginsken\\). Imperfect active descriptive, not
 periphrastic like the two preceding verbs (was returning and
 sitting). He was reading aloud as Philip "heard him reading"
 (\\kousen auton anaginskontos\\), a common practice among
 orientals. He had probably purchased this roll of Isaiah in
 Jerusalem and was reading the LXX Greek text. See imperfect again
 in verse
 # 32

04061
 \\Join thyself\\ (\\kollthti\\). See this vivid word (be glued to,
 first aorist passive imperative) already in
 # 5:13; Lu 10:11; 15:15
 Philip probably jumped on the running board on the side of the
 chariot.

04062
 \\Understandest thou what thou readest?\\ (\\Ara ge ginskeis ha\\
 \\anaginskeis?\\) The interrogative particle \\ara\\ and the intensive
 particle \\ge\\ indicate doubt on Philip's part. The play
 (\\paranomasia\\) upon the words in the Greek is very neat: \\Do you\\
 \\know what you know again (read)?\\ The verb for read (\\anaginsko\\)
 means to know the letters again, recognize, read. The famous
 comment of Julian about the Christian writings is often quoted:
 \\Anegnn, egnn, kategnn\\ (I read, I understood, I condemned). The
 keen retort was: \\Anegns, all'ouk egns, ei gar egns, ouk an\\
 \\kategns\\ (You read, but did not understand; for if you had
 understood, you would not have condemned).

04063
 \\How can I, except some one shall guide me?\\ (\\Ps gar an dunaimn\\
 \\ean me tis hodgsei me?\\). This is a mixed condition, the
 conclusion coming first belongs to the fourth class (undetermined
 with less likelihood of being determined) with \\an\\ and the
 optative, but the condition (\\ean\\, instead of the usual \\ei\\, and
 the future indicative) is of the first class (determined or
 fulfilled. Robertson, _Grammar_, p. 1022), a common enough
 phenomenon in the _Koin_. The eunuch felt the need of some one
 to guide (\\hodge\\ from \\hodgos\\, guide, and that from \\hodos\\,
 way, and \\hegeomai\\, to lead).

04064
 \\The place\\ (\\he perioch\\). See the verb \\periechei\\ so used in
 # 1Pe 2:6
 The word is used either of the section as in Codex A before the
 beginning of Mark or the contents of a passage. He was here
 reading one particular passage
 # Isa 53:7
 The quotation is from the LXX which has some variations from the
 Hebrew.

04065
 \\Was taken away\\ (\\rth\\). First aorist passive indicative of \\air\\,
 to take away. It is not clear what the meaning is here either in
 the Hebrew or the LXX. Knowling suggests that the idea is that
 justice was withheld, done away with, in his death, as it
 certainly was in the death of Christ.

04066
 \\Of whom\\ (\\peri tinos\\). Concerning whom, a pertinent inquiry surely
 and one that troubles many critics today.

04067
 \\Beginning from this scripture\\ (\\arxamenos apo ts graphs tauts\\).
 As a text. Philip needed no better opening than this Messianic
 passage in Isaiah. \\Preached unto him Jesus\\ (\\euggelisato auti\\
 \\ton Isoun\\). Philip had no doubt about the Messianic meaning and
 he knew that Jesus was the Messiah. There are scholars who do not
 find Jesus in the Old Testament at all, but Jesus himself did
 # Lu 24:27
 as Philip does here. Scientific study of the Old Testament
 (historical research) misses its mark if it fails to find Christ
 the Center of all history. The knowledge of the individual
 prophet is not always clear, but after events throw a backward
 light that illumines it all
 # 1Pe 1:11; 2Pe 1:19-21

04068
 \\What doth hinder me to be baptized?\\ (\\Ti kluei me baptisthnai?\\).
 Evidently Philip had said something about baptism following faith
 and conversion. Verse
 # 37
 is not a genuine part of Acts, a western addition. Later
 baptismal liturgies had it.

04069
04070
04071
 \\Out of the water\\ (\\ek tou hudatos\\). Not from the edge of the
 water, but up out of the water as in
 # Mr 1:10
 \\Caught away\\ (\\hrpasen\\). Suddenly and miraculously, for \\harpaz\\,
 like the Latin _rapio_, means to carry off. Cf.
 # 2Co 12:2; 1Th 4:17
 \\Went on his way\\ (\\eporeueto\\). Kept on going, imperfect active.

04072
 \\He preached the gospel\\ (\\euggelizeto\\). Imperfect middle
 describing the evangelistic tour of Philip "till he came to
 Caesarea" (\\hes tou elthein auton\\, genitive articular infinitive
 with the preposition \\hes\\ and the accusative of general
 reference) where he made his home and headquarters thereafter
 # Ac 21:28
 and was known as the Evangelist.

04073
 \\Yet\\ (\\eti\\). As if some time elapsed between the death of Stephen
 as is naturally implied by the progressive persecution described
 in
 # 8:3
 The zeal of Saul the persecutor increased with success. \\Breathing\\
 \\threatening and slaughter\\ (\\enpnen apeils kai phonou\\). Present
 active participle of old and common verb. Not "breathing out,"
 but "breathing in" (inhaling) as in Aeschylus and Plato or
 "breathing on" (from Homer on). The partitive genitive of
 \\apeils\\ and \\phonou\\ means that threatening and slaughter had come
 to be the very breath that Saul breathed, like a warhorse who
 sniffed the smell of battle. He breathed on the remaining
 disciples the murder that he had already breathed in from the
 death of the others. He exhaled what he inhaled. Jacob had said
 that "Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf"
 # Ge 49:27
 This greatest son of Benjamin was fulfilling this prophecy
 (Furneaux). The taste of blood in the death of Stephen was
 pleasing to young Saul
 # 8:1
 and now he revelled in the slaughter of the saints both men and
 women. In
 # 26:11
 Luke quotes Paul as saying that he was "exceedingly mad against
 them."

04074
 \\Asked\\ (\\itsato\\). First aorist middle indicative, the indirect
 middle, asked for himself (as a favour to himself). Felten notes
 that "Saul as a Pharisee makes request of a Sadducee" (the high
 priest) either Caiaphas if before A.D. 35, but if in 36 Jonathan,
 son of Caiaphas or if in 37 Theophilus, another son of Caiaphas.
 \\Letters\\ (\\epistolas\\). Julius Ceasar and Augustus had granted the
 high priest and Sanhedrin jurisdiction over Jews in foreign
 cities, but this central ecclesiastical authority was not always
 recognized in every local community outside of Judea. Paul says
 that he received his authority to go to Damascus from the priests
 # Acts 26:10
 and "the estate of the elders"
 # 22:5
 that is the Sanhedrin. \\To Damascus\\ (\\eis Damaskon\\). As if no
 disciples of importance (outside the apostles in Jerusalem) were
 left in Judea. Damascus at this time may have been under the rule
 of Aretas of Arabia (tributary to Rome) as it certainly was a
 couple of years later when Saul escaped in a basket
 # 2Co 11:32
 This old city is the most enduring in the history of the world
 (Knowling). It is some 150 miles Northeast from Jerusalem and
 watered by the river Abana from Anti-Lebanon. Here the Jews were
 strong in numbers (10,000 butchered by Nero later) and here some
 disciples had found refuge from Saul's persecution in Judea and
 still worshipped in the synagogues. Paul's language in
 # Ac 26:11
 seems to mean that Damascus is merely one of other "foreign
 cities" to which he carried the persecution. \\If he found\\ (\\ean\\
 \\heuri\\). Third class condition with aorist subjunctive retained
 after secondary tense (asked). \\The Way\\ (\\ts hodou\\). A common
 method in the Acts for describing Christianity as the Way of
 life, absolutely as also in
 # 19:9,23; 22:4; 24:14,22
 or the way of salvation
 # 16:17
 or the way of the Lord
 # 18:25
 It is a Jewish definition of life as in
 # Isa 40:3
 "the way of the Lord,"
 # Ps 1:6
 "the way of the righteous," "the way of the wicked." Jesus called
 himself "the way"
 # Joh 14:6
 the only way to the Father. The so-called Epistle of Barnabas
 presents the Two Ways. The North American Indians call
 Christianity the Jesus Road. \\That he might bring them bound\\
 (\\hops dedemenous agagi\\). Final clause with \\hops\\ (less common
 than \\hina\\) and aorist (effective) subjunctive (\\agagi\\,
 reduplicated aorist of \\ag\\, common verb) and perfect passive
 participle (\\dedemenous\\) of \\de\\, in a state of sheer helplessness
 like his other victims both men and women. Three times
 # 8:3; 9:2; 22:4
 this fact of persecuting women is mentioned as a special blot in
 Paul's cruelty (the third time by Paul himself) and one of the
 items in his being chief of sinners
 # 1Ti 1:15

04075
 \\As he journeyed\\ (\\en ti poreuesthai\\). Luke's common idiom for a
 temporal clause (in the journeying), \\en\\ with the locative
 articular middle infinitive. \\Drew nigh\\ (\\eggizein\\). Present active
 infinitive, was drawing nigh. \\Shone round about him\\ (\\auton\\
 \\peristrapsen\\). First aorist (ingressive) active indicative of
 \\periastrapt\\, late compound verb common in LXX and Byzantine
 writers, here and
 # 22:6
 alone in the N.T. "A light from heaven suddenly flashed around
 him." It was like a flash of lightning. Paul uses the same verb
 in
 # 22:5
 but in
 # 26:13
 he employs \\perilampsan\\ (shining around). There are numerous
 variations in the historical narrative of Saul's conversion in
 # 9:3-18
 and Luke's report of Paul's two addresses, one on the steps of
 the Tower of Antonia facing the murderous mob
 # 22:6-16
 the other before Festus and Agrippa
 # 26:12-20
 A great deal of capital has been made of these variations to the
 discredit of Luke as a writer as if he should have made Paul's
 two speeches conform at every point with his own narrative. This
 objection has no weight except for those who hold that Luke
 composed Paul's speeches freely as some Greek writers used to do.
 But, if Luke had notes of Paul's speeches or help from Paul
 himself, he naturally preserved the form of the two addresses
 without trying to make them agree with each other in all details
 or with his own narrative in chapter 9. Luke evidently attached
 great importance to the story of Saul's conversion as the turning
 point not simply in the career of the man, but an epoch in the
 history of apostolic Christianity. In broad outline and in all
 essentials the three accounts agree and testify to the
 truthfulness of the account of the conversion of Saul. It is
 impossible to overestimate the worth to the student of
 Christianity of this event from every angle because we have in
 Paul's Epistles his own emphasis on the actual appearance of
 Jesus to him as the fact that changed his whole life
 # 1Co 15:8; Ga 1:16
 The variations that appear in the three accounts do not mar the
 story, when rightly understood, as we shall see. Here, for
 instance, Luke simply mentions "a light from heaven," while in
 # 22:6
 Paul calls it "a great (\\hikanon\\) light" "about noon" and in
 # 26:13
 "above the brightness of the sun," as it would have to be "at
 midday" with the sun shining.

04076
 \\He fell upon the earth\\ (\\pesn epi tn gn\\). Second aorist active
 participle. So in
 # 22:7
 Paul says: "I fell unto the ground" (\\epesa eis to edaphos\\) using
 an old word rather than the common \\gn\\. In
 # 26:14
 Paul states that "we were all fallen to the earth" (\\pantn\\
 \\katapesontn hmn eis tn gn\\, genitive absolute construction).
 But here in verse
 # 7
 "the men that journeyed with him stood speechless" (\\histkeisan\\
 \\eneoi\\). But surely the points of time are different. In
 # 26:14
 Paul refers to the first appearance of the vision when all fell
 to the earth. Here in verse
 # 7
 Luke refers to what occurred after the vision when both Saul and
 the men had risen from the ground. \\Saul, Saul\\ (\\Saoul, Saoul\\). The
 Hebrew form occurs also in
 # 22:7; 26:14
 where it is expressly stated that the voice was in the Hebrew
 (Aramaic) tongue as also in
 # 9:17
 (Ananias). Deissmann (_Bible Studies_, p. 316) terms this use of
 \\Saoul\\ "the historian's sense of liturgical rhythm." For the
 repetition of names by Jesus note
 # Lu 10:41
 (Martha, Martha),
 # Lu 22:31
 (Simon, Simon). \\Me\\ (\\me\\). In persecuting the disciples, Saul was
 persecuting Jesus, as the words of Jesus in verse
 # 5
 made plain. Christ had already spoken of the mystic union between
 himself and his followers
 # Mt 10:40; 25:40,45; Joh 15:1-5
 The proverb (Pindar) that Jesus quotes to Saul about kicking
 against the goad is genuine in
 # 26:14
 but not here.

04077
 \\Lord\\ (\\kurie\\). It is open to question if \\kurie\\ should not here be
 translated "Sir" as in
 # 16:30
 and in
 # Mt 21:29,30; Joh 5:7; 12:21; 20:15
 and should be so in
 # Joh 9:36
 It is hardly likely that at this stage Saul recognized Jesus as
 Lord, though he does so greet him in
 # 22:10
 "What shall I do, Lord?" Saul may have recognized the vision as
 from God as Cornelius says "Lord" in
 # 10:4
 Saul surrendered instantly as Thomas did
 # Joh 20:28
 and as little Samuel
 # 1Sa 3:9
 This surrender of the will to Christ was the conversion of Saul.
 He saw a real Person, the Risen Christ, to whom he surrendered
 his life. On this point he never wavered for a moment to the end.

04078
 The best MSS. do not have "trembling and astonished," and "What
 wilt thou have me to do, Lord?" The Textus Receptus put these
 words in here without the authority of a Greek codex. See
 # 22:10
 above for the genuine text. \\It shall be told thee\\ (\\lalthsetai\\).
 Future passive indicative of \\lale\\. It is hardly likely that Luke
 records all that Jesus said to Saul, but more was to come on his
 arrival in Damascus. Saul had received all that he could bear
 just now
 # Joh 16:12
 \\What\\ (\\hoti\\). Rare in _Koin_ use of this indefinite neuter
 relative in an indirect question, the only example in the N.T.
 (Robertson, _Grammar_, p. 731). Human agents like Ananias can
 finish what Jesus by supernatural manifestation has here begun in
 Saul.

04079
 \\That journeyed with him\\ (\\hoi sunodeuontes auti\\). Not in the
 older Greek, but in the _Koin_, with the associative
 instrumental. \\Speechless\\ (\\eneoi\\). Mute. Only here in N.T., though
 old word. \\Hearing the voice, but beholding no man\\ (\\akouontes men\\
 \\ts phns, mdena de therountes\\). Two present active
 participles in contrast (\\men, de\\). In
 # 22:9
 Paul says that the men "beheld the light" (\\to men phs\\
 \\etheasanto\\), but evidently did not discern the person. Paul also
 says there, "but they heard not the voice of him that spake to
 me" (\\tn de phnn ouk kousan tou lalountos moi\\). Instead of
 this being a flat contradiction of what Luke says in
 # 9:7
 it is natural to take it as being likewise (as with the "light"
 and "no one") a distinction between the "sound" (original sense
 of \\phn\\ as in
 # Joh 3:8
 and the separate words spoken. It so happens that \\akou\\ is used
 either with the accusative (the extent of the hearing) or the
 genitive (the specifying). It is possible that such a distinction
 here coincides with the two senses of \\phn\\. They heard the sound
 # 9:7
 but did not understand the words
 # 22:9
 However, this distinction in case with \\akou\\, though possible and
 even probable here, is by no means a necessary one for in
 # Joh 3:8
 where \\phnn\\ undoubtedly means "sound" the accusative occurs as
 Luke uses \\kousen phnn\\ about Saul in
 # Ac 9:4
 Besides in
 # 22:7
 Paul uses \\kousa phns\\ about himself, but \\kousa phnn\\ about
 himself in
 # 76:14
 interchangeably.

04080
 \\He saw nothing\\ (\\ouden eblepen\\). Imperfect active indicative, was
 seeing nothing. "The glory of that light"
 # 22:11
 when he saw Jesus had blinded his eyes now wide open
 (\\aneigmenn\\, perfect passive participle of \\anoig\\ with double
 reduplication). The blindness was proof that something had
 happened to him and that it was no hallucination that he had seen
 the Risen Christ. Saul arose after the others were on their feet.
 \\They led him by the hand\\ (\\cheiraggountes\\). From \\cheiraggos\\
 (\\cheir\\, hand and \\ag\\, to lead). Only here in the N.T., but in LXX
 and late writers though not in the old Greek. It was a pathetic
 picture to see the masterful Saul, victorious persecutor and
 conqueror of the disciples, now helpless as a child.

04081
 \\Not seeing\\ (\\m blepn\\). The usual negative \\m\\ of the participle.
 It was a crisis for Saul, this sudden blindness for three days
 (\\hmeras treis\\, accusative of extent of time). Later
 # Ga 4:15
 Paul has an affection of the eyes which may have been caused by
 this experience on the road to Damascus or at least his eyes may
 have been predisposed by it to weakness in the glare of the
 Syrian sun in the land where today so much eye trouble exists. He
 neither ate nor drank anything, for his appetite had gone as
 often happens in a crisis of the soul. These must have been days
 of terrible stress and strain.

04082
 \\Ananias\\ (\\Hananias\\). Name common enough (cf.
 # 5:1
 for another Ananias) and means "Jehovah is gracious." _Nomen et
 omen_ (Knowling). This Ananias had the respect of both Jews and
 Christians in Damascus
 # 22:12
 \\In a vision\\ (\\en horamati\\). Zeller and others scout the idea of
 the historicity of this vision as supernatural. Even Furneaux
 holds that "it is a characteristic of the Jewish Christian
 sources to point out the Providential ordering of events by the
 literary device of a vision," as "in the early chapters of
 Matthew's and Luke's Gospels." He is content with this "beautiful
 expression of the belief" with no interest in the actual facts.
 But that is plain illusion, not to say delusion, and makes both
 Paul and Luke deceived by the story of Ananias
 # 9:10-18; 22:12-16,26
 One MS. of the old Latin Version does omit the vision to Ananias
 and that is basis enough for those who deny the supernatural
 aspects of Christianity.

04083
 \\To the street\\ (\\epi tn rhumn\\).
 See note on "Lu 14:21"
 A run way (from \\rhe\\, to run) between the houses. So were the
 narrow lanes or alleys called streets and finally in later Greek
 the word is applied to streets even when broad. \\Straight\\
 (\\eutheian\\). Most of the city lanes were crooked like the streets
 of Boston (old cow-paths, people say), but this one still runs
 "in a direct line from the eastern to the western gate of the
 city" (Vincent). Since the ancients usually rebuilt on the same
 sites, it is probable that the line of the street of that name
 today is the same, though the actual level has been much raised.
 Hence the identification of the house of Ananias and the house of
 Judas are very precarious.

04084
 \\Coming in and laying\\ (\\eiselthonta kai epithenta\\). Second aorist
 (ingressive) active participles picturing the punctiliar act as a
 sort of indirect discourse after verbs of sensation (Robertson,
 _Grammar_, pp. 1040-2). Some ancient documents do not have "in a
 vision" here. \\Receive his sight\\ (\\anablepsei\\). First aorist active
 subjunctive with \\hops\\ (purpose). See again as in
 # 9:17

04085
 \\How much evil\\ (\\hosa kaka\\). How many evil things. Saul's
 reputation
 # 26:10
 as a persecutor had preceded him. \\To thy saints\\ (\\tois hagiois\\).
 Dative of disadvantage. "Used here for the first time as a name
 for the Christians" (Knowling), but it came to be the common and
 normal (Hackett) term for followers of Christ
 # 9:32,41; 26:10; 1Co 1:2
 etc.). This common word is from \\to hagos\\, religious awe or
 reverence and is applied to God's name
 # Lu 1:49
 God's temple
 # Mt 24:15
 God's people as set apart for God
 # Lu 1:70; 2:23; Ro 1:7
 etc.). Ananias in his ignorance saw in Saul only the man with an
 evil reputation while Jesus saw in Saul the man transformed by
 grace to be a messenger of mercy.

04086
 \\Hath authority\\ (\\echei exousian\\). Probably Ananias had received
 letters from the Christians left in Jerusalem warning him of the
 coming of Saul. The protest of Ananias to Jesus against any
 dealing with Saul is a fine illustration of our own narrow
 ignorance in our rebellious moods against the will of God.

04087
 \\A chosen vessel\\ (\\skeuos eklogs\\). A vessel of choice or
 selection. The genitive of quality is common in the Hebrew, as in
 the vernacular _Koin_. Jesus chose Saul before Saul chose Jesus.
 He felt of himself that he was an earthen vessel
 # 2Co 4:7
 unworthy of so great a treasure. It was a great message that
 Ananias had to bear to Saul. He told it in his own way
 # 9:17; 22:14
 and in
 # 26:16
 Paul blends the message of Jesus to Ananias with that to him as
 one. \\Before the Gentiles\\ (\\enpion tn ethnn\\). This was the chief
 element in the call of Saul. He was to be an apostle to the
 Gentiles
 # Eph 3:6-12

04088
 \\I will shew\\ (\\hupodeix\\). Beforehand as a warning as in
 # Lu 3:7
 and from time to time. \\He must suffer\\ (\\dei auton pathein\\).
 Constative aorist active infinitive (\\pathein\\, from \\pasch\\)
 covering the whole career of Saul. Suffering is one element in
 the call that Saul receives. He will learn "how many things"
 (\\hosa\\) are included in this list by degrees and by experience. A
 glance at
 # 2Co 10-12
 will show one the fulfilment of this prophecy. But it was the
 "gift" of Christ to Paul to go on suffering (\\paschein\\, present
 infinitive,
 # Php 1:39

04089
 \\Laying his hands on him\\ (\\epitheis ep' auton tas cheiras\\). As in
 the vision Saul saw (verse
 # 12
 \\Brother Saul\\ (\\Saoul adelphe\\). All suspicion has vanished and
 Ananias takes Saul to his heart as a brother in Christ. It was a
 gracious word to Saul now under suspicion on both sides. \\The\\
 \\Lord, even Jesus\\ (\\ho kurios, Isous\\). Undoubted use of \\kurios\\ as
 Lord and applied to Jesus. \\Who appeared\\ (\\ho ophtheis\\). First
 aorist passive participle of \\hora\\, was seen as in
 # 26:16
 and with the dative also (\\soi\\). \\Thou camest\\ (\\rchou\\). Imperfect
 indicative middle, "thou wert coming." \\Be filled with the Holy\\
 \\Spirit\\ (\\plstheis pneumatos hagiou\\). This enduement of special
 power he will need as an apostle (Hackett) and as promised by
 Jesus
 # 1:8; Ga 2:7

04090
 \\Fell off\\ (\\apepesan\\). Second aorist active indicative (note--an
 ending like first aorist) of \\apopipt\\, old verb, but here alone
 in the N.T. \\As if it were scales\\ (\\hs lepides\\). Chiefly late word
 (LXX) from \\lep\\, to peel, and only here in the N.T. See Tobit
 11:13, "The white film peeled from his eyes" (\\elepisth\\). Luke
 does not say that actual "scales" fell from the eyes of Saul, but
 that it felt that way to him as his sight returned, "as if"
 (\\hs\\). Medical writers use the word \\lepis\\ for pieces of the skin
 that fall off (Hobart, _Medical Language of St. Luke_, p. 39).
 Luke may have heard Paul tell of this vivid experience. \\Was\\
 \\baptized\\ (\\ebaptisth\\). First aorist passive indicative.
 Apparently by Ananias
 # 22:16
 as a symbol of the new life in Christ already begun, possibly in
 the pool in the house of Judas as today water is plentiful in
 Damascus or in Abana or Pharpar (Furneaux), better than all the
 waters of Israel according to Naaman
 # 2Ki 5:12

04091
 \\Was strengthened\\ (\\enischuth\\). First aorist passive indicative of
 \\enischu\\, to receive strength (\\ischus\\), comparatively late verb
 and here only in the N.T. save
 # Lu 22:43
 where it is doubtful. Poor verse division. This clause belongs in
 sense to verse
 # 18
 \\Some days\\ (\\hmeras tinas\\). An indefinite period, probably not
 long, the early period in Damascus before Saul left for Arabia
 # Ga 1:13-24

04092
 \\He proclaimed Jesus\\ (\\ekrussen ton Isoun\\). Imperfect indicative,
 inchoative, began to preach. Jesus, not Christ, is the correct
 text here. He did this first preaching in the Jewish synagogues,
 a habit of his life when possible, and following the example of
 Jesus. \\That he is the Son of God\\ (\\hoti houtos estin ho huios tou\\
 \\theou\\). This is Paul's platform as a Christian preacher, one that
 he always occupied to the very end. It was a complete reversal of
 his previous position. Jesus had turned him completely around. It
 is the conclusion that Saul now drew from the vision of the Risen
 Christ and the message through Ananias. By "the Son of God" Saul
 means the Messiah of promise and hope, the Messianic sense of the
 Baptist
 # Joh 1:34
 and of Nathanael
 # Joh 1:49
 for Saul is now proclaiming his faith in Jesus in the very
 synagogues where he had meant to arrest those who professed their
 faith in him. Peter laid emphasis on the Resurrection of Jesus as
 a glorious fact and proclaimed Jesus as Lord and Christ. Paul
 boldly calls Jesus the Son of God with full acknowledgment of his
 deity from the very start. Thomas had come to this place slowly
 # Joh 20:28
 Saul begins with this truth and never leaves it. With this faith
 he can shake the world. There is no power in any other preaching.

04093
 \\Were amazed\\ (\\existanto\\). Imperfect middle indicative of \\existmi\\.
 They continued to stand out of themselves in astonishment at this
 violent reversal in Saul the persecutor. \\Made havock\\ (\\porthsas\\).
 First aorist active participle of \\porthe\\, to lay waste, an old
 verb, but only here and
 # Ga 1:13,23
 by Paul, an interesting coincidence. It is the old proverb about
 Saul among the prophets
 # 1Sa 10:12
 revived with a new meaning (Furneaux). \\Had come\\ (\\elluthei\\). Past
 perfect indicative active. \\Might bring\\ (\\agagi\\). Second aorist
 (effective) active subjunctive of \\ag\\ with \\hina\\ (purpose). \\Bound\\
 (\\dedemenous\\). Perfect passive participle of \\de\\. Interesting
 tenses.

04094
 \\Increased the more\\ (\\mllon enedunamouto\\). Imperfect passive
 indicative of \\endunamo\\, to receive power (late verb),
 progressive increase in strength as opposition grew. Saul's
 recantation stirred controversy and Saul grew in power. See also
 Paul in
 # Php 4:13; 1Ti 1:12; 2Ti 2:1; 4:17; Ro 4:20
 Christ, the dynamo of spiritual energy, was now pouring power
 # Ac 1:8
 into Paul who is already filled with the Holy Spirit
 # Ac 9:17
 \\Confounded\\ (\\sunechunnen\\). Imperfect active indicative of
 \\sunchunn\\ (late form of \\sunche\\, to pour together, commingle,
 make confusion. The more Saul preached, the more the Jews were
 confused. \\Proving\\ (\\sunbibazn\\). Present active participle of
 \\sunbibaz\\, old verb to make go together, to coalesce, to knit
 together. It is the very word that Luke will use in
 # 16:10
 of the conclusion reached at Troas concerning the vision of Paul.
 Here Saul took the various items in the life of Jesus of Nazareth
 and found in them the proof that he was in reality "the Messiah"
 (\\ho Christos\\). This method of argument Paul continued to use with
 the Jews
 # Ac 17:3
 It was irresistible argument and spread consternation among the
 Jews. It was the most powerful piece of artillery in the Jewish
 camp that was suddenly turned round upon them. It is probable
 that at this juncture Saul went into Arabia for several years
 # Ga 1:12-24
 Luke makes no mention of this important event, but he leaves
 ample room for it at this point.

04095
 \\When many days were fulfilled\\ (\\Hs eplrounto hmerai hikanai\\).
 Imperfect passive indicative of \\plro\\, old and common verb, were
 in process of being fulfilled. How "many" (considerable, \\hikanai\\,
 common word for a long period) Luke does not say nor does he say
 that Saul spent all of this period in Damascus, as we know from
 # Ga 1:16-18
 was not the case. Paul there states definitely that he went away
 from Damascus to Arabia and returned there before going back to
 Jerusalem and that the whole period was about "three years" which
 need not mean three full years, but at least portions of three.
 Most of the three years was probably spent in Arabia because of
 the two explosions in Damascus (before his departure and on his
 return) and because he was unknown in Jerusalem as a Christian on
 his arrival there. It cannot be argued from the frequent lacunae
 in the Acts that Luke tells all that was true or that he knew. He
 had his own methods and aims as every historian has. We are at
 perfect liberty to supplement the narrative in the Acts with
 items from Paul's Epistles. So we must assume the return of Saul
 from Arabia at this juncture, between verses
 # 22,23
 when Saul resumed his preaching in the Jewish synagogues with
 renewed energy and grasp after the period of mature reflection
 and readjustment in Arabia. \\Took counsel together\\
 (\\sunebouleusanto\\). First aorist (effective) middle indicative of
 \\sunbouleu\\, old and common verb for counselling (\\bouleu\\)
 together (\\sun\\). Things had reached a climax. It was worse than
 before he left for Arabia. Paul was now seeing the fulfilment of
 the prophecy of Jesus about him
 # 9:16
 \\To kill him\\ (\\anelein auton\\). Second aorist (effective) active
 infinitive of \\anaire\\, to take up, to make away with, to kill
 # Lu 23:32; Ac 12:1
 etc.). The infinitive expresses purpose here as is done in verse
 # 24
 by \\hops\\ and the aorist active subjunctive of the same verb
 (\\anelsin\\). Saul now knew what Stephen had suffered at his hands
 as his own life was in peril in the Jewish quarter of Damascus.
 It was a picture of his old self. He may even have been scourged
 here
 # 2Co 11:24

04096
 \\Plot\\ (\\epiboul\\). Old word for a plan (\\boul\\) against (\\epi\\)
 one. In the N.T. only in Acts
 # 9:24; 20:3,19; 23:30
 \\They watched\\ (\\paretrounto\\). Imperfect middle indicative of
 \\paratre\\, common verb in late Greek for watching beside (\\para\\)
 or insidiously or on the sly as in
 # Lu 6:7
 they kept on watching by day and night to kill him. In
 # 2Co 11:32
 Paul says that the Ethnarch of Aretas "kept guard" (\\ephrourei\\,
 imperfect active of \\phroure\\) to seize him. Probably the Jews
 obtained the consent of the Ethnarch and had him appoint some of
 them as guards or watchers at the gate of the city.

04097
 \\Through the wall\\ (\\dia tou teichous\\). Paul in
 # 2Co 11:33
 explains \\dia tou teichous\\ as being \\dia thuridos\\ (through a
 window) which opened into the house on the inside of the wall as
 is true today in Damascus as Hackett saw there. See
 # Jos 2:15
 (cf.
 # 1Sa 19:12
 for the way that Rahab let out the spies "by a cord through the
 window." \\Lowering him\\ (\\auton chalasantes\\). First aorist active
 participle of \\chala\\, old and common verb in a nautical sense
 # Ac 27:17,30
 as well as otherwise as here. Same verb used by Paul of this
 experience
 # 2Co 11:33
 \\In a basket\\ (\\en sphuridi\\). The word used when the four thousand
 were fed
 # Mr 8:8; Mt 15:37
 A large basket plaited of reeds and distinguished in
 # Mr 8:19
 # Mt 16:9
 from the smaller \\kophinos\\. Paul uses \\sargan\\, a basket made of
 ropes. This escape by night by the help of the men whom he had
 come to destroy was a shameful memory to Paul
 # 2Co 11:33
 Wendt thinks that the coincidences in language here prove that
 Luke had read II Corinthians. That, of course, is quite possible.

04098
 \\He assayed\\ (\\epeirazen\\). Imperfect active of conative action. \\To\\
 \\join himself\\ (\\kollasthai\\). Present middle (direct) infinitive of
 conative action again. Same word \\kolla\\ in
 # Lu 15:15; Ac 10:28
 See note on "Mt 19:5"
  for discussion. \\Were all afraid of him\\ (\\pantes ephobounto\\
 \\auton\\). They were fearing him. Imperfect middle picturing the
 state of mind of the disciples who had vivid recollections of his
 conduct when last here. What memories Saul had on this return
 journey to Jerusalem after three years. He had left a conquering
 hero of Pharisaism. He returns distrusted by the disciples and
 regarded by the Pharisees as a renegade and a turncoat. He made
 no effort to get in touch with the Sanhedrin who had sent him to
 Damascus. He had escaped the plots of the Jews in Damascus only
 to find himself the object of suspicion by the disciples in
 Jerusalem who had no proof of his sincerity in his alleged
 conversion. \\Not believing\\ (\\m pisteuontes\\). They had probably
 heard of his conversion, but they frankly disbelieved the reports
 and regarded him as a hypocrite or a spy in a new role to ruin
 them. \\Was\\ (\\estin\\). The present tense is here retained in indirect
 discourse according to the common Greek idiom.

04099
 \\Took him\\ (\\epilabomenos\\). Second aorist middle (indirect)
 participle of \\epilamban\\, common verb to lay hold of. Barnabas
 saw the situation and took Saul to himself and listened to his
 story and believed it. It is to the credit of Barnabas that he
 had the insight and the courage to stand by Saul at the crucial
 moment in his life when the evidence seemed to be against him. It
 is a pleasing hypothesis that this influential disciple from
 Cyprus had gone to the University of Tarsus where he met Saul. If
 so, he would know more of him than those who only knew his record
 as a persecutor of Christians. That fact Barnabas knew also, but
 he was convinced that Jesus had changed the heart of Saul and he
 used his great influence
 # Ac 4:36; 11:22
 to win the favour of the apostles, Peter in particular
 # Ga 1:19
 and James the half-brother of Jesus. The other apostles were
 probably out of the city as Paul says that he did not see them.
 \\To the apostles\\ (\\pros tous apostolous\\). Both Barnabas and James
 are termed apostles in the general sense, though not belonging to
 the twelve, as Paul did not, though himself later a real apostle.
 So Barnabas introduced Saul to Peter and vouched for his story,
 declared it fully (\\digsato\\, in detail) including Saul's vision
 of Jesus (\\eiden ton kurion\\) as the vital thing and Christ's
 message to Saul (\\elalsen auti\\) and Saul's bold preaching
 (\\parrsiasato\\, first aorist middle indicative of \\parrsiaz\\ from
 \\pan--rsia\\ telling it all as in
 # Ac 2:29
 Peter was convinced and Saul was his guest for two weeks
 # Ga 1:18
 with delightful fellowship (\\historsai\\). He had really come to
 Jerusalem mainly "to visit" (to see) Peter, but not to receive a
 commission from him. He had that from the Lord
 # Ga 1:1
 Both Peter and James could tell Saul of their special experiences
 with the Risen Christ. Furneaux thinks that Peter was himself
 staying at the home of Mary the mother of John Mark
 # Ac 12:12
 who was a cousin of Barnabas
 # Col 4:10
 This is quite possible. At any rate Saul is now taken into the
 inner circle of the disciples in Jerusalem.
