vi. 9, the most probable are (i) that they were the

inhabitants of Libertum, a town in the proconsular province of Africa, a bishop of which place is mentioned in the Council of Carthage, A.D. 411; (ii) that they were Jews, who having been taken prisoners by Pompeius and other Roman generals during the Syrian wars (see above, p. 109), were reduced to slavery, and being afterwards emancipated returned, either permanently or for a time, to Palestine, and had a synagogue at Jerusalem. Tacitus states (_Ann._ II. 85) that 4000 of the _libertini generis_ (said by Josephus to have been Jews, _Ant._ XVIII. 3. 5) were banished by Tiberius, A.D. 19, to Sardinia, under an edict for the suppression of Egyptian and Jewish mysteries, and they are thought to have found their way to Jerusalem. See Humphry _On the Acts_; Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._; Orellius _in Tac. Annal._ II. 85; Biscoe _On the Acts_, p. 69.

720 ‒ Although the accusations made against Stephen “are represented as the depositions of _false_ witnesses, it does not follow that all they said was a fabrication, but only that they had, on many points, distorted his assertions, with an evil intention. Yet he must, by what he said, have given them some ground for their misrepresentations, for before this time nothing similar had been brought against the publishers of the Gospel; hence we may make use of their allegations to find out what Stephen really said.” Neander’s _Planting_, I. 51; compare Milman, I. 364. “Stephen is the acknowledged forerunner of the Apostle of the Gentiles. He was the first _to look steadfastly to the end of that which is abolished_, to sound the death-knell of the Mosaic ordinances and the temple-worship, and to claim for the Gospel unfettered liberty and universal rights.” Lightfoot _On the Galatians_, p. 281.

721 ‒ See above, p. 169.

722 ‒ Comp. above, p. 268.

723 ‒ See above, p. 293.

724 ‒ It is remarkable how completely St Stephen is the forerunner of St Paul, both in the form and the matter of his defence. (i) His securing the attention of the Jews by adopting the historical method, is exactly what the Apostle did in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia (Acts xiii. 16–22); (ii) His assertion of his attachment to the true principles of the Mosaic religion is exactly what St Paul said to Agrippa (Acts xxvi. 22); (iii) The words used by Stephen of the Temple call to mind those which the Apostle used at Athens (Acts xvii. 24); (iv) When he speaks of the Law as received _by the disposition of angels_ he anticipates the language of Gal. iii. 19; (v) When he declares that the Jews had received the Law and had not kept it, he foreshadows the language of the great Apostle himself, Rom. ii. 17–29: Con. and Howson, I. pp. 69, 70: Mr Humphry also in his _Commentary on the Acts_ compares (a) Acts vii. 44 with Heb. viii. 5; (b) Acts vii. 5–8 with Rom. iv. 10–19; (c) Acts vii. 60 with 2 Tim. iv. 16.

725 ‒ Con. and Howson, I. 69.

726 ‒ On this period of the life of Moses, see _Class-Book of O. T. History_, pp. 81, 82, and note.

727 ‒ On this period of Israel’s history, see _Class-Book of O. T. History_, pp. 178, 179.

728 ‒ Remphan (Acts vii. 43) and Chiun (Amos v. 26) appear to be the names of two idols worshipped by the Israelites in the wilderness, akin probably to _Ken_ and _Rempu_, two Egyptian divinities; see Article _Remphan_, in Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._

729 ‒ Comp. Isai. lxvi. 1, 2; Jer. xxiii. 24.

730 ‒ Con. and Howson, I. 69.

731 ‒ Neander’s _Planting_, I. 54.

732 ‒ Διεπρίοντο ταῖς καρδίαις αὐτῶν (Acts vii. 54).

733 ‒ One of the only three passages in the N. T. where the title _Son of Man_ is applied to the Redeemer by any save Himself; the two others being Rev. i. 13; xiv. 14.

734 ‒ “In other places (Eph. i. 20; Col. iii. 1; Heb. i. 3, viii. 1, x. 12, xii. 2) He is represented as _sitting_ at the right hand of the Father――here alone he is said to be standing. It is as if (according to Chrysostom’s beautiful thought) He had risen from His throne, to succour His persecuted servant, and to receive Him unto Himself.” Con. and Howson, I. 71.

735 ‒ “It was sentence and execution all at once; an act of violence without regular judicial examination,” Neander’s _Planting_, I. 55. “It was a savage and disorderly condemnation,” Con. and Howson, I. 71.

736 ‒ Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._

737 ‒ Probably the class of Hellenists and proselytes to which he belonged, οἷ εὐσεβεῖς. Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._

738 ‒ “This persecution must have been more severe and extensive than the former; for by the manner in which Stephen entered into conflict with Pharisaism, he had roused to hostilities against the teachers of the new doctrine the sect of the Pharisees, who had the most credit with the common people (see above, p. 117), and were powerful and active, and ready to leave no means untried to attain their object whatever it might be,” Neander’s _Planting_, I. 56.

739 ‒ C. and H., I. 75.

740 ‒ _Ibid._

741 ‒ Ἀναιρουμένων τε ἀυτῶν κατήνεγκα ψῆφον (Acts xxvi. 10), _vote_, not _voice_, as in our Version.

742 ‒ Lightfoot _On the Galatians_, p. 282. For the Jewish feeling respecting the Samaritans, see above, pp. 121, 122.

743 ‒ Κατελθὼν εἰς πόλιν τῆς Σαμαρείας (Acts viii. 5) = _to a city of Samaria_, perhaps Sychar, comp. Jn. iv. 5, and if so, the readiness of the people to receive Philip is easily accounted for.

744 ‒ See above, p. 169.

745 ‒ A native of Gittim (Justin Martyr’s _Apol._ I. 26), a village of Samaria. Educated probably at Alexandria, he had there become acquainted with the tenets of the Gnostic school (Clement, _Hom._ II. 22), and had acquired a great reputation as a magician. He was one of those who at this period, according both to Greek and Roman testimonies, travelled about in numbers, and partly as soothsayers, astrologers, and interpreters of dreams, partly as jugglers, excited attention and received general regard. See Dollinger’s _Gentile and Jew_, II. 198, 199; C. and H., I. 140.

746 ‒ Our version omits the word καλουμένη, and so renders the verse imperfectly. “The Samaritans describe the angels as δυναμεῖς, _i.e._ uncreated influences proceeding from God. But to distinguish Simon from such an order of beings they added the words _which is called great_, meaning thereby the source of all power, in other words, the Supreme Deity――according to Simon’s own expression, quoted by Jerome on Mtt. xxiv. 5, _Ego sum Sermo Dei, Ego sum Speciosus, Ego Paracletus, Ego omnia Dei_.” Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._

747 ‒ The last time this Apostle is mentioned in the Acts; he is only once more mentioned (except in Revelation) as having been present in Jerusalem at St Paul’s visit, Gal. ii. 9.

748 ‒ Neander’s _Planting_, I. 62.

749 ‒ Neander’s _Planting_, I. 63.

750 ‒ The subsequent history of Simon Magus is involved in much perplexity. Early ecclesiastical historians represent him as the pertinacious foe of the Apostle Peter, encountering him at Cæsarea on the sea, and subsequently at Rome, which latter place he visited either (i) in the reign of Claudius (Justin Martyr, _Apol._ I. 26. 56), or (ii) in the reign of Nero. His success in the imperial city is said to have been so great that he was deified, and a statue was erected in his honour, with the inscription _Simoni Deo Sancto_. For various accounts of his death, see Burton’s _Bampton Lectures_, and Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._ Some identify him with a Simon, a native of Cyprus, whom Josephus (_Ant._ XX. 7. 2) mentions as a friend of Felix, the Roman Procurator of Palestine, and as having persuaded Drusilla, sister of Herod Agrippa, to marry him: see Neander’s _Planting_, I. 63, and note; Alford on Acts viii.

751 ‒ Contrast this with Lk. ix. 52; see above, p. 229.

752 ‒ See _Class-Book of O. T. History_, pp. 259, 262.

753 ‒ See Robinson’s _Bibl. Res._ II. 514.

754 ‒ Some apply this word to the city of Gaza, in the sense that it was destroyed and uninhabited, or that it was unfortified. But this is extremely improbable. Though often destroyed in the wars, the city had been restored.

755 ‒ That is from the high land to the south of Egypt, and now comprehending Nubia, Cordofan, and Abyssinia, whose religious and commercial capital was the island of Meröe. Candace was not a personal name, but, like Pharaoh of the older and Ptolemy of the later Egyptian kings, the regular title of the queens of Ethiopia (Meröe). Lechler _in loc._ The eunuch was probably a proselyte of the Gate.

756 ‒ The Easterns usually go on reading aloud, with a kind of singing voice, moving their heads and bodies in tune, and making a monotonous cadence at regular intervals. Kitto’s _Bibl. Illust._ VIII. 95.

757 ‒ See above, p. 11.

758 ‒ Verse 37 in the received Version is wanting in the Codd. A. B. C. G. H., the Sinaitic MS., more than 60 cursive MSS., and several versions. It is omitted by Lachmann, Tischendorf, Alford, and others.

759 ‒ Robinson would place the scene of the baptism at _Wady-el-Hasy_, between Eleutheropolis and Gaza, not far from the old sites of Lachish and Eglon. _Bibl. Res._ II. 514.

760 ‒ See _Class-Book of O. T. History_, 254, 263, 272. Taken by Judas Maccabæus (1 Macc. v. 68) and destroyed by Jonathan (1 Macc. x. 84), it had been rebuilt by Gabinius (Jos. _Ant._ XIV. 5. 3; _B. J._ I. 7. 7), and bequeathed by Herod to his sister Salome: see above, p. 146.

761 ‒ Ekron, Jamnia, Joppa, Apollonia, perhaps Lydda.

762 ‒ For the foundation of which, see above, pp. 91, 92. On the undesigned coincidence between the mention of Philip here and afterwards in Acts xxi. 8, 9, see Birks’ _Horæ Apostolicæ_, pp. 322, 323.

763 ‒ See Xen. _Anab._ I. 2. 23.

764 ‒ Cæsar, _Bell. Alex._ Cap. LXVI.

765 ‒ The privileges of an _urbs libera_ consisted in (a) being governed by its own magistrates, (b) being exempted from the occupation of a Roman garrison, and from taxes. Its citizens did not necessarily possess the freedom of Rome.

766 ‒ C. and H., I. 44. He was a young man at the time of the martyrdom of Stephen.

767 ‒ Either (i) after the name of his father, or (ii) as being a name of traditional celebrity in the tribe of Benjamin, or (iii) “as intended to denote (in conformity with the Hebrew derivation of the word) that he was a son who had long been desired, the firstborn of his parents, the child of prayer.” C. and H., I. 41.

768 ‒ Paulus, a diminutive of _Pauxillus_, is a Roman name, so are _Junia_ and _Lucius_; those he calls his kinsmen, Rom. xvi. 7, 11, 21; the others are Greek.

769 ‒ “Great numbers of Jews were made slaves during the Civil Wars, and then manumitted. A slave manumitted with due formalities became a Roman citizen. Thus it is natural to suppose that the Apostle, with other Cilician Jews, may have been like Horace (_Sat._ I. vi. 45) _libertino patre natus_.” C. and H., I. 45, n.; Lewin’s _Life of St Paul_, I. 4.

770 ‒ For allusions to it, see Acts xviii. 3; xx. 34; 1 Cor. iv. 12; 1 Thess. ii. 9; 2 Thess. iii. 8.

771 ‒ C. and H., I. 38. “It is observed that when St Paul quotes from the Old Testament, his quotations are from the LXX; and that, not only when he cites its very words, but when (as is often the case) he quotes it from memory.”

772 ‒ Probably during the supremacy of one of the four governors who preceded Pontius Pilate, i.e. between A.D. 6 and A.D. 25. See above, pp. 149, 150.

773 ‒ For notices of Gamaliel, see above, p. 360, and note.

774 ‒ “St Paul seems to have belonged to the extreme party of the Pharisees (Acts xii. 3, xxiii. 7, xxvi. 5; Phil. iii. 5, 6) whose pride it was to call themselves ‘zealots of the law, zealots of God.’ To this party also had belonged Simon, one of the Twelve, thence surnamed _the zealot_, ζηλωτής, or Καναναῖος.” Lightfoot _On the Galatians_, 1. 14. See above, p. 187.

775 ‒ Such as that of Hagar and Sarah in Gal. iv. 21, where see Lightfoot’s notes.

776 ‒ Hence in his address to the Athenians (Acts xvii. 28) he could quote from the Cilician poet Aratus,

Τοῦ γὰρ καὶ γένος ἐσμέν;

to the refined Corinthians (1 Cor. xv. 33) from the _Thais_ of Menander,

Φθείρουσιν ἤθη χρήσθ᾽ ὁμιλίαι κακαί;

he could rebuke the Cretans (Titus i. 12) from the poet Epimenides,

Κρῆτες ἀεὶ ψεῦσται, κακὰ θηρία, γαστέρες ἀργαί.

777 ‒ On the authority of the Sanhedrin over Jews in foreign cities, see above, p. 108, note. Damascus since its capture by Pompeius (see above, p. 67) had been under Roman rule, and belonged to the province of Syria. Many Jews had settled in it since the times of the Seleucidæ (comp. Jos. _B. J._ I. 2. 25; II. 20. 2), hence there was more than one synagogue there (comp. πρὸς τὰς συναγωγάς, Acts ix. 2). If A.D. 36 was the date of the conversion of St Paul, Caiaphas was the high-priest, and the year would coincide with the deposition of Pilate by Vitellius prefect of Syria (see above, p. 307, note); if, as some think, it took place in A.D. 37, the high-priest was either Jonathan, one of the sons of Annas, and brother-in-law of Caiaphas, whom Vitellius, on the occasion of his visit to Jerusalem at the feast of the Passover in this year, appointed to the office in place of Caiaphas (Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 4. 3), or Theophilus his brother, whom he exalted to the pontificate during his second visit at Pentecost (Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 5. 3). In the same year, A.D. 37, Tiberius died, March 16 (Tac. _Ann._ VI. 50), and was succeeded by Caligula.

778 ‒ Probably near Scythopolis: see C. and H., I. 82: this route would follow the later Roman itinerary.

779 ‒ The distance was about 136 miles, and Saul and his company may have performed the journey, like the modern caravans, in about 6 days, C. and H., I. 81; comp. Lewin, I. 54.

780 ‒ Stanley’s _S. and P._, p. 410.

781 ‒ Compare (i) Jn. xii. 28, and note above, p. 273; (ii) Acts ii. 12, 13; (iii) Dan. x. 7, and see Baumgarten’s _Apostolic History_, I. 210. _Audiebant vocem solam, non vocem cum verbis_, Bengel.

782 ‒ As the language uttered was the same, the sacred language of Palestine, which the Son of Man had used on earth, so also was the figurative allusion to which it gave expression like the parables He had so often delivered. As the ox rebels in vain against the long sharp-pointed goad (see _Class-Book of O. T. History_, p. 237, note) of its master, and as all its struggles do nought but increase its distress, so did the Apostle vainly struggle against the power of His grace. C. and H., I. 88.

783 ‒ “The present participle marks the continuity of the effort, while the genitive expresses the _mechanical_ side of hearing, the impression of sound, and not the apprehension of the meaning as a whole. On the other hand, St Paul says (Acts xxii. 9), _The men who were with me saw the light; but heard not the voice of Him that spake to me_ (τὴν δὲ φωνὴν οὐκ ἤκουσαν τοῦ λαλοῦντός μοι): to them the voice was no articulate utterance of that Saviour who was speaking to, or rather talking with, St Paul.” Westcott. On the difference between ἀκούω with the _gen._ and _acc._, see Viner’s _Gr. Gram._ XXX. 7, Vol. I. 210, E. T.

784 ‒ Generally identified with the “Street of Bazaars,” a long, wide thoroughfare, penetrating from the southern gate into the heart of the city which, as in all the Syro-Greek and Syro-Roman towns, it intersects in a straight line. Stanley’s _S. and P._, p. 412.

785 ‒ In reference to the three accounts of the Conversion we notice (i) _the general agreement_ with regard to the outward details of the narrative: the occasion, the commission, the place, the time, the light, the company, are the same in all; but (ii) each account contains some peculiar details, and these varieties prove that the descriptions are free and independent, that they are not studied and servile; “they do not echo each other’s words, they tell each its own story; there is none of that elaborate guarding and fencing of expressions, none of that careful reconciliation of statement with statement, which every court of justice regards with strong suspicion as a sure indication of design and falsehood.” Vaughan, _Church of Jerusalem_, II. 7; Westcott’s _Characteristics of the Gospel Miracles_, p. 120; Birks’ _Horæ Apostoliæ_, pp. 324–328.

786 ‒ “A veil of thick darkness hangs over St Paul’s visit to Arabia. Of the scenes among which he moved, of the thoughts and occupations which engaged him while there, of all the circumstances of a crisis which must have shaped the whole tenour of his after life, absolutely nothing is known. _Immediately_, says St Paul, _I went away into Arabia_. The historian passes over the incident without a mention. It is a mysterious pause. A moment of suspense in the Apostle’s history, a breathless calm which ushers in the tumultuous storm of his active missionary life.” Lightfoot on Gal. i. 17.

787 ‒ See the words of Justin, _Dial. c. Tryph._ p. 305 A, quoted by Lightfoot, and C. and H., I. pp. 117, 118. This, however, appears improbable, for (i) it gives to the term _Arabia_ an extension which does not seem to have been common; (ii) it distinguishes the Arabia of the first chapters of Galatians from the Arabia of the fourth; (iii) it deprives this visit of a significance which, on a more probable hypothesis, it possesses in relation to this crisis of St Paul’s life. But if it was the Sinaitic peninsula then his visit becomes full of meaning; here, “where Moses had received the tables of the Law amid fire and tempest and thick darkness, where Elijah, the typical prophet, listened to the voice of God, and sped forth refreshed on his mission of righteousness, in the fulness of time St Paul, the greatest preacher of Him of whom both the law and the prophets spoke, was strengthened and sanctified for his great work, was taught the breadth as well as the depth of the riches of God’s wisdom, and transformed from the champion of a bigoted and narrow tradition into the large-hearted Apostle of the Gentiles.” Lightfoot, _in loc._

788 ‒ Ellicott on Gal. i. 18.

789 ‒ For the origin of the ill-feeling between Aretas and Herod Antipas, see above, p. 168. In the battle between them the army of Antipas was utterly routed (Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 5. 3), and Antipas appealed to Tiberius for assistance. On this Vitellius, the prefect of Syria, was commissioned to march against Aretas, and take him dead or alive. But on his march Vitellius heard of the death of Tiberius, March 16, A.D. 37, and abandoned the expedition. The position of affairs was now reversed. Antipas was banished to Lyons; Herod Agrippa received his kingdom from Claudius; and in A.D. 38 it appears probable that Caligula granted Damascus to Aretas. See C. and H., I. 97, 98; Art. in Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._; Milman, I. 372.

790 ‒ This word is used to denote (i) the governor of a dependent district (1 Macc. xiv. 47; Jos. _Ant._ XVII. 11. 4); (ii) a magistrate or consul allowed to Jewish residents living under their own laws in Alexandria and other cities (Jos. _Ant._ XIV. 7. 3).

791 ‒ C. and H., I. 98.

792 ‒ To visit _Cephas_: ἱστορῆσαι is somewhat emphatic. _A word used_, says Chrysostom, by _those who go to see great and famous cities_. It is generally said of things and places, less commonly, as here, of persons: Lightfoot, _in loc._ and Ellicott on Gal. i. 18.

793 ‒ See Lightfoot’s note _in loc._, and Excursus on _St Paul’s first visit to Jerusalem_. In Acts ix. 23 the time is said to have been _many days_, but compare 1 Kings ii. 38, 39, where _many days_ is used to denote a space of _three years_: Paley’s _Horæ Paulinæ_.

794 ‒ See above, p. 356, n.

795 ‒ “The Apostle James is named three times in the Epistle to the Galatians, but only here with this distinctive title. The history supplies a full key. This visit is evidently the same as in Acts ix. 26–30, while the one in the next chapter was much later, at or near the time of the Council, Acts xv. Hence the first was before the death of James the son of Zebedee, and the other long after it. A distinctive addition to the name was thus as natural in the one case, as it would be superfluous and even suspicious in the other.” The same distinction is observed in the book of Acts. In the earlier part the two Apostles of this name are distinguished, _the brother of John_, or _the son of Alphæus_. But after the elder James was martyred, the other is three times called _James_ simply, without any addition. This minute propriety is too delicate and refined to be easily accounted for, except by the fact that Luke and Paul were contemporary with the events they record.” Birks’ _Horæ Apostolicæ_, pp. 197, 198.

796 ‒ On the brevity of this visit, see Paley’s _Horæ Paulinæ_.

797 ‒ Some have thought this was Cæsarea Philippi (see above, p. 218), “but the words κατήγαγον, ἐξαπέστειλαν, imply a sea-port and an embarcation, and Cæsarea, without any addition to distinguish it, is always the principal city of the name.” Lightfoot, _in loc._: see also Birks’ _Horæ Apost._ 199.

798 ‒ Probably he now founded those churches greeted in the Apostolic decree, Acts xv. 23, 41. Perhaps “in his own family some of those Christian _kinsmen_ (Rom. xvi.) whose names are handed down to us, possibly his _sister_ and his _sister’s son_ (Acts xxiii. 16, 23) were by his exertions gathered into the fold of Christ.” C. and H., I. 104.

799 ‒ St Paul’s words here, _Syria_ and _Cilicia_, are probably not intended to _describe the order_ in which he visited the two countries. Cilicia had geographically a greater affinity with Syria than with Asia Minor. The less important country is here named after the more important. Lightfoot on Gal. i. 21; C. and H., I. 103.

800 ‒ As distinguished from that of Jerusalem, whence “he was hurried off to Cæsarea, and there embarking left the shores of Palestine. The other churches of Judæa therefore had no opportunity of knowing him. Judæa is here distinguished from Jerusalem, as Italy is frequently distinguished from Rome, _e.g._ probably Hebr. xiii. 24.” Lightfoot, _in loc._

801 ‒ Note the force of ἀκούοντες ἦσαν in Gal. i. 23 = _they kept hearing_, just as ἤμην ἀγνοούμενος = _I continued personally unknown_.

802 ‒ Milman’s _History of Christianity_, I. 373.

803 ‒ See above, p. 307, note.

804 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 6. 10.

805 ‒ See above, p. 383, note.

806 ‒ See above, p. 383, note.

807 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 6. 10. Herod Agrippa, the son of Aristobulus and Berenice, and grandson of Herod the Great, was born A.U.C. 743, and was brought up at Rome with Claudius and Drusus, and on the death of the latter was banished by Tiberius, A.D. 31, as recalling his memory by his presence. Retiring to Malatha in Idumæa (Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 6. 2), he was appointed ædile of Tiberias, and five years afterwards was readmitted to the court of the Emperor at Capreæ, and became the intimate friend of Caius (Caligula), but for an imprudent speech was thrown into prison. Merivale’s _Romans under the Empire_, VI. 11.

808 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 6. 10. His arrival in Palestine with royal pomp excited the bitterest jealousy of Herodias the wife of Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee. She would not rest till her husband also had obtained a royal title, and in an unlucky hour he repaired with her to Rome to solicit it from Caligula (Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 7. 2). But Agrippa was beforehand with them, outbid his rival in bribery, and accused him of intrigues with Sejanus, and Caligula banished both the tetrarch and his wife to Lyons in Gaul, A.D. 39.

809 ‒ Merivale, VI. 45. For an account of the indignities endured by the Jews of Alexandria, see Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 8. 1, 2; Milman, _History of the Jews_, II. 133–139.

810 ‒ “Josephus, _Ant_ XVIII. 8. 9, states that Caligula at one moment yielded to Agrippa, and rescinded his orders to Petronius; but on hearing of the resistance the Jews were prepared to make, repeated them more vehemently than ever. The last missive, however, did not reach Petronius till after the news had arrived of the tyrant’s death.” Merivale, VI. 50, n.

811 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIX. 1. 11.

812 ‒ The modern Lidd or Ludd stands in the great maritime plain of Sharon (see _Class-Book of O. T. History_, p. 30), and when covered with its crops of corn, reminds the traveller of the rich wheat-fields of our own Lincolnshire: Robinson, _Bibl. Res._, III. 145. Thomson, _The Land and the Book_. It received its name Diospolis in the reign of Hadrian, in A.D. 136.

813 ‒ Tabitha is the Aramaic, Dorcas the Greek form, both meaning _a gazelle_: Δορκάς is used in the LXX. as the rendering of ‏עְבִי‎ in Deut. xii. 15, 22; 2 Sam. ii. 18; Prov. vi. 5. We find the name also in Jos. _B. J._ IV. 3. 5.

814 ‒ See above, p. 201.

815 ‒ Like Elisha, 2 Kings iv. 33.

816 ‒ See above, p. 147, n.

817 ‒ As distinct from the legionary soldiers, and hence called the _Italian cohort_. “As in the army of modern Austria, the soldiers were drawn from different countries and spoke different languages.” C. and H., I. 113.

818 ‒ “There is scarcely any room to doubt that he belonged to the class of _Proselytes of the Gate_ (see above, p. 118, n.). Nor can we infer the contrary from the circumstances that Peter and the stricter Jewish Christians looked on Cornelius as an unclean person, and in many respects the same as an heathen. The Proselytes of the Gate were certainly permitted to attend the synagogue worship ... yet the Jews who adopted the stricter maxims of the Pharisees, placed all the uncircumcised in the class of the unclean, and avoided living and eating with such persons as defiling.” Neander’s _Planting_, I. 68.

819 ‒ Neander’s _Planting_, I. 69.

820 ‒ Comp. the flat roof of the house of Rahab at Jericho, _Class-Book of O. T. History_, p. 202; of the house of Samuel at Ramah, _ibid._ p. 280.

821 ‒ “Overlooking the waves of the Western Sea, the Sea of Greece and Rome――the sea of the isles of the Gentiles.” See Keble’s _Christian Year, Monday in Easter Week_. Stanley’s _Apost. Age_, p. 93.

822 ‒ It appears doubtful whether δεδεμένον καὶ are genuine in Acts x. 11: they are omitted by Lachmann and Tischendorf, retained but doubtfully by Alford: they are wanting in the Vulgate, which translates _quatuor initiis submitti de cælo_. “At all events these four corners are not unimportant. As they corresponded with the four quarters of the heavens, they conveyed an intimation that men from the north and south, the east and west (comp. Mtt. viii. 11; Lk. xiii. 29), would appear as clean before God, or be called to a participation of His kingdom.” Neander’s _Planting_, I. 72, n.

823 ‒ See _Class-Book of O. T. History_, p. 156.

824 ‒ Vaughan, II. 66.

825 ‒ Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._ Art. _Peter_.

826 ‒ “The more rigid Jews looked with jealousy even on the circumcised proselytes; the terms of admission were made as difficult and repulsive as possible; on the imperfect they looked with still greater suspicion, and were rather jealous of communicating their exclusive privileges than eager to extend the influence of their opinions.” Milman, _Hist. Christ._ I. 382, n. “An opprobrious proverb coupled proselytes with the vilest profligates, as hindering the coming of the Messiah (Lightfoot, _Hor. Heb._ in Mtt. xxiii. 15). It became a recognised maxim that no wise man would trust a proselyte even to the twenty-fourth generation.” Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._ The belief in the necessity of circumcision for the full admission of proselytes is illustrated by the compulsory circumcision of the Idumæans by John Hyrcanus and of the Ituræans by Aristobulus (see above, pp. 59, 61, 146 n.).

827 ‒ “As a loyal and believing Hebrew Peter could not have contemplated the removal of Gentile disqualifications without a distinct assurance that the enactments of the law which concerned them were abrogated by the Divine legislator. The vision could not therefore have been the product of a subjective impression. It was, strictly speaking, objective, presented to his mind by an external influence. Yet the intimation in the state of trance did not at once overcome his reluctance. It was not _till his consciousness was fully restored_, and he had well considered the meaning of the vision, that he learned that the distinction between cleanness and uncleanness in outward things belonged to a temporary dispensation.” Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._, Art. _Peter_.

828 ‒ See above, p. 373.

829 ‒ For its foundation, see above, p. 10, and notes.

830 ‒ Perhaps Mnason was one of the number, see Acts xxi. 16.

831 ‒ C. and H., I. 118.

832 ‒ “In the Acts, and in their own letters, we find them designating themselves as _brethren, disciples, believers, saints_ (Acts xv. 23, ix. 26, v. 14, ix. 32; Rom. xv. 25; Col. i. 2, &c.). Only in two places (Acts xxvi. 28, 1 Pet. iv. 16) do we find the term _Christians_; and in both instances it is implied to be a term used by those who are without.” C. and H., I. 117, and notes; Humphry’s _Comm.on the Acts_.

833 ‒ Or Galilæans. This last was the contemptuous name by which the Emperor Julian afterwards enacted that they should be called. Humphry’s _Comm._

834 ‒ Neander’s _Planting_, I. 99.

835 ‒ Comp. Tac. _Ann._ XV. 44, quos _vulgus_ Christianos appellabat: they were sometimes miscalled _Chrestiani_; Tertull. _Apol._ III.

836 ‒ Their office did not always or necessarily include that of predicting future events. Compare the remarks on the O. T. Prophets, _Class-Book of O. T. History_, pp. 276, 277. More generally it indicated extraordinary powers of exposition of the Divine Word.

837 ‒ Tac. _Ann._ XII. 13; Jos. _Ant._ III. 15. 3, XX. 2. 5.

838 ‒ Four local famines are mentioned during the reign of Claudius, (1) in his first and second year, A.D. 41, 42, at Rome; (2) in his fourth year, A.D. 44, in Judæa; (3) in his ninth year, A.D. 49, in Greece; (4) in his eleventh year, A.D. 51, at Rome.

839 ‒ In this verse occurs the first mention of the Christian πρεσβύτεροι, rendered in the Vulgate _seniores_, in the E. V. _elders_. In Acts xx. 28 they are termed ἐπίσκοποι; the last expression pointing to their office, the former to their age and character. For the ancient Jewish Elders, see Numb. xi. 16, and _Class-Book of Old Testament History_, p. 170.

840 ‒ Merivale’s _Romans under the Empire_, VI. 102.

841 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIX. 5. 1; _B. J._ II. 11. 5. Merivale, VI. 115.

842 ‒ See above, p. 393, n.; Jos. _Ant._ XIX. 6. 1.

843 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIX. 6. 1; 7. 3. Comp. Acts xxi. 23.

844 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIX. 6. 3. He exercised, however, his supreme authority by continually displacing the high-priest. Having deposed Theophilus, son of Annas (see above, p. 382, n.), he substituted Simon son of Boethus (Jos. _Ant._ XIX. 6. 2); he then offered the pontificate to Jonathan son of Annas (Jos. _Ant._ XIX. 6. 4), and on his declining it, bestowed it upon his brother Matthias; in A.D. 43 he deposed Matthias, and appointed Elionæus, son of the Simon mentioned above, to the post (Jos. _Ant._ XIX. 8. 1).

845 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIX. 7. 2. The prefect of Syria, however, compelled him to desist.

846 ‒ Milman, _Hist. Christ._ I. 374.

847 ‒ See above, p. 257.

848 ‒ “The popular feeling, which from Pentecost till Stephen’s death was in favour of the Gospel, now set in in the contrary direction.” Humphry’s _Comm._

849 ‒ “One quaternion for each watch of the night; of the four men forming the quaternion, two were stationed before the door (Acts xii. 6), and to two the Apostle was chained according to the Roman custom.” Veget. _Res Milit._ III. 8, quoted in Humphry’s _Comm._

850 ‒ Comp. Col.iv. 10. Thus while the brother gave up his land and brought its value into the common treasury of the Church, the sister gave up her house for the use of the early Christians. Peter seems to have been on terms of intimacy with her, and this is confirmed by 1 Pet. v. 13.

851 ‒ Ὑπὲρ τῆς ἐκείνου (Claudius) σωτηρίας, Jos. _Ant._ XIX. 8. 2. Compare the language of Philo, _Leg._ 45, alluding to Caligula’s safe return from Gaul, quoted in Lewin’s _Fasti Sacri_, p. 280. Another opinion is that the festival was held in honour of the birthday of Claudius, August 1.

852 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIX. 8. 2.

853 ‒ See above, p. 92.

854 ‒ See the quotation from Kenrick’s _Phœnicia_, in _Class-Book of O. T. History_, p. 355, and comp. Ezek. xxvii. 17; 1 Kings v. 9; Ezra iii. 7.

855 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIX. 8. 2. Δευτέρᾳ δὲ τῶν θεωριῶν ἡμέρᾳ στολὴν ἐνδυσάμενος ἐξ ἀργύρου πεποιημένην πᾶσαν ... παρῆλθεν εἰς τὸ θέατρον ἀρχομένης ἡμέρας.

856 ‒ Luke _the physician_ is more accurate than Josephus in his description of the disease that caused the death of Agrippa. Comp. the deaths of Antiochus Epiphanes, above, p. 38, and of Herod the Great, above, pp. 104, 105.

857 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIX. 8. 2, i.e. from A.D. 37 to A.D. 44.

858 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIX. 9. 1; Milman, _Hist. of the Jews_, II. 161. The unexpected death of Herod Agrippa “seems to have unhinged the plans of the Roman government. So important a charge as the sovereignty of Palestine could be intrusted only to a tried servant of the Emperor; and even Agrippa had given cause of jealousy by the relation he had cultivated with the princes of the frontier. None of his family merited to succeed him. His brother Herod was allowed to continue in the obscure dignity of his petty chiefdom, and his son Agrippa, already resident as a hostage at Rome, was retained there in honourable custody; while the dominions of the great Idumæan reverted once more to the control of the prefect of Syria, and acquiesced, with a few uneasy murmurs, in its full incorporation with the empire.” Merivale, VI. 116, 117. Cassius Longinus was now appointed, A.D. 44, to the presidency of Syria, while Cuspius Fadus was sent out as governor of Judæa. Jos. _Ant._ XIX. 9. 2; XX. 1. 1.

859 ‒ Lightfoot _On the Galatians_, p. 285.

860 ‒ He was the son of that Mary, a person of some means and influence, to whose house Peter went after his miraculous release from prison (Acts xii. 12). He was probably, therefore, born at Jerusalem, and is by some identified with the “young man” mentioned in Mk. xiv. 51, 52. Hence he was the nephew of Barnabas (Col. iv. 10), and had possibly been converted by St Peter (1 Peter, v. 13).

861 ‒ Nothing further is known of this Simeon. His first name shews that he was a Jew by birth, his second, that, as in other cases, he took another name as more convenient for intercourse with foreigners.

862 ‒ By some identified with the kinsman or fellow-tribesman of St Paul, mentioned in Rom. xvi. 21.

863 ‒ Manaen = _consoler_, the same name as that of the 16th king of Israel (2 K. xv. 14–22).

864 ‒ Σύντροφος, Vulgate _collactaneus_ = ὁμογάλακτος, _foster-brother_, i.e. Manaen’s mother (or the woman who reared him) was also Herod’s nurse. Others would interpret the word as = _comrade, associate, educated with_, according to a not unusual custom of associating other children with the sons of persons of rank, to share their amusements and excite them to emulation. Comp. Xen. _Cyrop._ I. 3. 14, and the passages cited in Wetstein on Acts xiii. 1. The Herod alluded to was probably Herod Antipas, who beheaded John the Baptist, and if so, Manaen could hardly have been altogether unacquainted with the circumstances of the Redeemer’s life. Josephus (_Ant._ XV. 10. 5) mentions a Manaen, an Essene, who foretold to Herod the Great his future elevation to royal dignity, and who was held by him in high esteem. He may therefore have been the father of the companion of his children, Antipas and Archelaus, who were educated at Rome: Comp. Jos. _Ant._ XVII. 1. 3, Ἀρχέλαος δὲ καὶ Ἀντίπας ἐπὶ Ῥώμης παρά τινι ἰδιώτῃ τροφὰς εἶχον.

865 ‒ The sea-port and fortress of Antioch, and connected with it by the river Orontes. Seleucus had named his metropolis after his father (see above, p. 10), and the maritime fortress after himself. It became a place of great importance, and was made a _free city_ by Pompey for its bold resistance to Tigranes. See Smith’s _Dict. Geog._

866 ‒ See above, p. 356, n. Cyprus was (1) near; (2) contained the nucleus of a church; (3) was the birthplace of Barnabas; (4) contained many Jews.

867 ‒ A city on the eastern coast of Cyprus, said to have been founded by Teucer (Hor. _Od._ I. 7. 29). The farming of the copper-mines of the island to Herod (Jos. _Ant._ XVI. 4. 5), as also the wine, flax, and honey which it yielded, probably increased the numbers attracted by its harbour and trade. On the revolt of the Jews in the reign of Trajan, when the populous city became a desert, see Milman, _Hist. Jews_, III. 111, 112.

868 ‒ Notorious for the worship of Venus or Aphrodite, fabled here to have risen from the sea (Hom. _Od._ VIII. 362), whose temple was at “Old Paphos,” while the harbour and chief town were at “New Paphos,” a little distance off. Titus made a pilgrimage to the shrine (Tac. _Hist._ II. 2. 3).

869 ‒ On the provinces and the difference between the proconsul and proprætor, see above, p. 147, n. Cyprus originally was an imperial province, but it was afterwards transferred to the Senate. See Lardner’s _Credibility of the Gospel History_, I. 32, &c.: for an engraving of a Cyprian coin of the reign of Claudius, see C. and H., I. 147.

870 ‒ See above, p. 374. On the influx of Eastern sorcerers, astrologers, and soothsayers into Rome, and their influence, see Hor. _Od._ I. 11. 2; Cic. _Div._ II. 42–47; Juv. VI. 562, XIV. 248. Marius always kept in his camp a Syrian prophetess; Pompeius, Crassus, Cæsar, were all addicted to Oriental astrology; the picture of Tiberius surrounded by his “Chaldæan herd” (Juv. _Sat._ X. 93) is well known. See C. and H., I. 141, and notes.

871 ‒ After this his old name Saul never recurs in the New Testament. “It was an ancient conjecture that the change was made to commemorate the conversion of the Proconsul: this may have been the _occasion_; but the _reason_ probably was to make the name more familiar to Roman ears.” Humphry’s _Comm. on the Acts_. That the Apostle probably had both in his childhood is stated above, p. 380, and possibly “the name Paulus came from some connection of his ancestors (perhaps as manumitted slaves) with some member of the Roman family of the Æmilian Pauli” (C. and H., I. 146). It can hardly be believed to be accidental that the Gentile name rises to the surface at the moment when St Paul visibly enters on his office as the Apostle of the Gentiles.

872 ‒ Founded by _Attalus_ Philadelphus, as a port for the trade between Egypt and Syria. It has lasted till the present day, and is now called _Satalia_.

873 ‒ It will be remembered that St Paul had already preached the word in Cilicia (see above, p. 380); he probably now wished to extend it among the contiguous districts.

874 ‒ An important city of Pamphylia, situated on the river Cestrus, as Tarsus on the Cydnus, celebrated for the worship of Artemis (Diana), Cic. _Verr._ I. 20.

875 ‒ On the perils of _robbers_ and _rivers_ incident to the Pisidian Highlands, see C. and H., I. 154, 155. Some think he wished to join Peter and those Apostles who were preaching in Palestine. We shall find him not unwilling to accompany the Apostles on a second missionary journey (Acts xv. 37).

876 ‒ See above, p. 10, and notes. Its site was discovered by Arundell in 1833, at _Valobatch_, six hours distant from _Akshar_.

877 ‒ The peculiarities of the constitution of a Roman _colonia_ will be treated of when we come to Philippi.

878 ‒ For a description of the synagogue service, see above, pp. 111, 112.

879 ‒ Comp. above, p. 368.

880 ‒ On the duration here assigned to this period see Wordsworth’s note _in loc._; Humphry’s _Comm. on the Acts_; Biscoe’s _History of the Acts_.

881 ‒ Compare the importance attached to these appearances by the Apostle in 1 Cor. xv. 1–12.

882 ‒ Ps. ii. 7, LXX; Isai. lv. 3, LXX; Ps. xvi. 10, LXX trans.

883 ‒ Compare this address with those of Peter in Acts ii. 27, &c. and x. 30–43, above, pp. 351, 2. In both the chief stress is laid on the Saviour’s resurrection (comp. Acts i. 22, iv. 33). We can hardly fail to observe in Acts