COXSOLATIOX
CONSPIRACY, PLOT
243
of the ' veil ' or ' curtain ' wliich Avas removed as the sacrificial blood was carried into the Holy of Holies. eyKaivi^u ' includes the motive of leading into life ' I'von Soden, Hcbrderbrief^, p. 64). Probably the literal idea of ei'o-oSos { = ' entrance to a house') is also symbolically present (cf. Neh 3^ [LXX]). The ' liouse ' in this case is the Church, the new Temple (cf. irappTjcriav) in 10^®, and its use in 3" and 4^® is opposed to the attitude of the depdirwv (3^). The feast of tyKalvia (Jn 10") was instituted by Judas Maccabfeus (164 B.C.) in memory of the cleansing of the Temple from the pollution of Antiochus Epiphanes (1 Mac 4^^).
LiTERATURB. — In addition to the references in the course of tlie article, see R. W^. Dale, The Jewish Temple and the Christian Church, 1902, pp. 144 ff., 231 fif.; F. Paget, The Spiiit of Discipline, 1903, p. 191 fif. ; J. B. Mozley, University Sennms, 1900, p. 244 ff. ; artt. «.». in DCG (Tasker), HDB (Hastings), and ERJi (Feltoe). R. H, STKACHAN,
CONSOLATION.— See Comfort.
CONSPIRACY, PLOT.— The Gr. word translated
'conspiracy' (crvvoo/xoala) occurs only once in the NT (Ac 23"'3), but the thing for which it stands is uiuch more frequent. In the OT the correspond- ing word (i^Pi^) is fairly common, as also is the cognate verb i-i'Q ' to make a conspiracy,' lit. ' to bind.' a-vvcj/xoffia means, literally, the mutual tak- ing of an oatli, and its etymological equivalent in Latin is coniuratio. Of this we have no strict equivalent in English, for 'conjure' means some- tliing quite difi'erent ; ' conspiracy ' is the working equivalent.
( 1 ) The a-ww/xoaia of Ac 23'^ was entered into bj' ' more than forty' Jews with the object of killing St. Paul. To this end they tried to induce the ' chief captain ' to bring him once more before the Sanhedrin — which had already entered upon his trial — that tliey might ' judge of his case more exactly.' Along the route the conspirators were to be lying in wait, and St. Paul would not reach the council-chamber alive. The scheme was frus- trated by the vigilance and the intei'vention of 'Paul's sister's son' (v.^^'-). The 'chief captain' at once decided to send his prisoner to Cajsarea under guard, and by night. This narrative is of special importance here for two reasons : (n) v.^" states that the conspiracy was the sole reason why St. Paul was sent to the governor Felix at C;^sarea ; and the consequences of that step extend to the end of the Acts. ^Yith this turning-point in the life of St. Paul, however, two other crises should be compared : (a) the earlier one described in Ac 2021-22 ((.f £p|j 31 . fj-on^ ^c 22-- onwards there might be said to be one chain of events leading to the prison house at Rome) ; (^) the later one de- scribed in Ac 25"'-i- 26^- (the appeal to Ciesar). (b) In 23^° the ' conspiracy ' is spoken of as a ' plot ' (i.e. a-vvoj/jLoaia is practically identified with iin^ovXri), and thus the NT passages which speak of an iiri- ^ovk-f} (all referring to St. Paul) are brought within the scope of this article.
(2) The most important of these passages is Ac 20'^, where the Apostle speaks of the trials and temptations (Treipaa/xoi) which befell him by the plots (ewt^ovXai) of the Jews at Ephesus. They seem to have been many and grievous (cf. the 'tears,' v.^^); notorious ('Ye yourselves know,' v.^^) ; and probably additional to the opposition mentioned in Ac ig^ ('speaking evil of the Way before the multitude '), and the troublesome com- petition of the 'strolling Jews, exorcists,' in IQ^^f. . certainly additional to the stirring up of disturbance by the ' comlnne ' of Gentile idol-makers (19-^f-)- H so, the fact that these many and grievous plots are not mentioned in ch. 19 shows how many there niay have been elsewhere, which are likewise un- nientioned. Others do find mention in 9--» 20^
where the Gr. is again iiri^ovXri. Another instance occurs in 25^, where ' lay wait ' (KV) = ividpav iroieiv, with which compare iv^Spa (ambush) in 23^*^ and iveSpeieiv in 23^^.
(3) It is still necessary to mention at least three other conspiracies : (a) the trial of Stephen (Ac 6-7) turns on a plot which reveals numerous and close resemblances to the case of Jesus. In fair debate his opponents are silenced (6'") ; then false wit- nesses are ' suborned ' (vv.^^^'^) ; the people also are 'stirred up' (v.^-) ; and one of the accusations relates to threats directed against the ' holy place' (vv.13-14; ef. Mk 14^8). This plot is the more important because Saul is declared to have been present at Stephen's martyrdom, to have agreed with it, and to have kept the clothes of those who threw the stones (Ac 7*" 8* 22-") ; and he was very likely one of the worshippers at the Cilician syna- gogue in Jerusalem, mentioned in 6**. This martjT- dom was probably one of the chief factors in impressing Saul, against his will, with some vague, and for a time unrecognized, feeling for the possible Divinitj- of the Church and faith of Jesus (note