NUMBERS, HOURS, AND YEARS
or Sept. A.D. 56; and the year in which the vision took place would be, on the Asia Minor and N. Syrian system, the year ending in autumn A.D. 48, on the S$. Syrian system the year ending in spring A.D. 44, on the Roman system A.D. 43 (see § ili. 7).
4. In Ac 20° it is said that the deputation going to Jerusalem tarried seven daysat Troas. As they sailed away from Troas on Monday morning, they must have arrived there on the preceding Tues- day before sunset. The journey from Philippi to Troas occupied five days, and therefore began on the Friday preceding. ‘The five days’ journey, doubtless, included one day’s travel on Friday to Neapolis,* on Saturday they sailed for Troas, and, after a slow voyage (Ac 16"), they arrived prob- ably early on Tuesday. These dates may be regarded as practically certain. Now it seems also practically certain that St. Paul started as soon as the days of Unleavened Bread were ended, for he was eager to be in Jerusalem in time for the Feast of Pentecost. In order to reach Jerusalem he was dependent on the uncertain chance of ships ;+ he had already been in Philippi for some time, and there was no special need for him to prolong his stay for a single day after the Feast was ended. Every consideration shows that he was bound to delay only for the festival season in Philippi, and to start immediately after. That is certainly the plain intention of the writer of Acts.
The long detention in Troas, waiting for a pas- sage towards Syria, and the second shorter deten- tion in Miletus, show how uncertain was the course of a ship, and prove that St. Paul could not afford to spend any time in Philippi after the feast was ended. On the other hand, when he had reached Czesarea, and had only a land journey along a good road, on which the rate and time could be reckoned with confidence, he was able to wait several days, and go up to Jerusalem just before Pentecost.
Thus we reach the conclusion that, in the year in which St. Paul went up to Jerusalem, Passover began on a Thursday at sunset, and the days of Unleavened Bread came to an end on the following Thursday at sunset. From this it has been inferred (Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller, p. 289) that the journey was made in the year A.D. 57; and the discussions which have taken place on the point seem to the present writer only to have established this result more clearly.‘
5. There is much difficulty in St. Paul’s words, Ac 2441 «It is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship at Jerusalem.’ The reckoning seems to show that it wasa little more than twelve days. St. Paul reached Jerusalem after a journey, pre- sumably after sunset, so that, though it was only next morning that he called on St. James, yet in the reckoning both events fall in the first day. Then we seem, at first sight, to have the following list of days and events :—
Ist day. Arrival after sunset ; next morning.
visit to St. James
Qnd ,, First day of Purification, Ac 21°8, 8rd.,, second ,, Bs ACHR ee Ln ass 3 5th ,, Fourth ,, ne
* No long detention is to be expected at Neapolis, where, doubtless, ships were to be found sailing for Troas every day (see above, p. 400, also pp. 384, 389); but still a certain amount of time must have been lost there. J
+ There were no pilgrim-ships (such as might have been got before Passover) sailing direct; and, even after a ship was found, its voyage might be broken at harbours on the way; see above, p. 400. f
t Divergent views are stated by Mr. Turner, above, vol. i. p. 420, by Prof. Bacon in Expositor (1898, i. 123; 1899, ii. 351, 412; 1900, ii. 1). The latter argues on the false assumption that the strict and narrow Judaic practice of the later reaction against Roman and Christian science obtained also in the early years of the Imperial period.
NUMBERS, HOURS, AND YEARS 475
6th day. Fifth day of Purification.
PiGhieeen er Lt) els, 5 8th ,, Seventh ,, Se eeeAce 2 Ler rioti St. Paul’s speech. 9th ,, Council, Ac 22”, Dream by night, 23". 10th Conspiracy, 231”. » \ Journey to Antipatris begins before sunset, 23°, | Journey to Antipatris continues by llth ,, + night. | Arrival in Cesarea before sunset, 23°, 12th ,, Detention in Cesarea, 2nd day, 241. 13th ” »” ” 2 3rd 2” 14th 39 o> oe] 29 4th 39 15th , j 5 Dilan) seurlals
5) > 29
This list seems to show that fifteen days at the least had elapsed between St. Paul’s arrival in Jerusalem and the day when he declared that not more than twelve days had passed since he went up to Jerusalem.
The explanation probably lies in Ac 21% ‘when the seven days (of purification} were about to be completed.’ + In the above list this is understood as implying that the seventh day had arrived ; but it may, perhaps, be taken as merely in:plying ‘the seven days of purification were more than half finished, and the men were now coming near the end of the period.’ This seems quite consistent with the fifth day, and in that case St. Paul would be speaking on the thirteenth day since his entry into Jerusalem; and we may understand the peculiar expression ‘not more than twelve days’ as meaning ‘the thirteenth day is not yet com- pleted and past’: this form of expression shows distinct analogy with the case quoted above from Tacitus (Hist. 1. 19 and 48). :