17. Beckoning (xataceicas). Lit., having shaken downward with his hand, in order to bespeak silence and attention. It was a familiar gesture of Paul. See ch. xxi. 40; xxvi. 1.
says, ‘‘ When he saw that our actions had life,” etc., going on to enumerate various details, ‘‘He, seeing all this (radra mdvra cvvidév).” Compare, also, Acts xiv. 6.
Cu. XII] THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 511
19. Examined (dvaxpivas). See on Luke xxiii. 14; and com- pare ch. iv. 9.
Put to death (araySjva). Lit., led away; i.e., to execution. A technical phrase like the Latin ducere. Compare Matt. xxvii. 31.
Abode (d:étpi8ev). Originally, to rub away, or consume ; hence, of time, to spend.
20. Highly displeased (Supowaydv). Originally, to fight desperately : but as there is no record of any war of Herod with the Tyrians and Sidonians, the word is to be taken in the sense of the A. V. Only here in New Testament.
Chamberlain (tov emi tod Kovrdvos). Lit., the one over the bedchamber.
21. Set (rax7q). Appointed. Only here in New Testament. What the festival was, is uncertain. According to some, it was in honor of the emperor’s safe return from Britain. Others think it was to celebrate the birthday of Claudius ;. others that it was the festival of the Quinquennalia, observed in honor of Augustus, and dating from the taking of Alexandria, when the month Sextilis received the name of the Emperor—August.
Arrayed (évévcdpevos). More literally, having arrayed him-
self.
Royal apparel. Josephus says he was clothed in a robe en- tirely made of silver.
Throne. See onch. vii.5. The elevated seat or throne-like box in the theatre, set apart for the king, from which he might look at the games or address the assembly.
Made an oration (édnunyoper). Only here in New Testa- ment. The word is used especially of a popular harangue
512 WORD STUDIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. (Cu. XII.
(Siyu0s, the commons). “At Jerusalem Agrippa enacted the Jew, with solemn gait and tragic countenance, amidst general acclamation; but at Caesarea he allowed the more genial part of a Greek to be imposed on him. It was at a festival in this Hellenic capital, after an harangue he had addressed to the populace, that they shouted, “It is the voice of a god and not of aman ” (Merivale, ‘‘ History of the Romans under the Empire”).
22. The people (dfpuos). The assembled people.
A god. As most of the assembly were heathen, the word does not refer to the Supreme Being, but is to be taken in the pagan sense—a god.
23. An angel of the Lord smote him. An interesting par- allel is furnished by the story of Alp Arslan, a Turkish prince of the eleventh century. ‘The Turkish prince bequeathed a dying admonition to the pride of kings. ‘In my youth,’ said Alp Arslan, ‘I was advised by a sage to humble myself before God; to distrust my own strength; and never to despise the most contemptible foe. Ihave neglected these lessons, and my neglect has been deservedly punished. Yesterday, as from an eminence, I beheld the numbers, the discipline, and the spirit of my armies; the earth seemed to tremble under my feet, and I said in my heart, surely thou art the king of the world, the greatest and most invincible of warriors. These armies are no longer mine; and, in the confidence of my personal strength, I now fall by the hand of an assassin’” (Gibbon, “‘ Decline and Fall”).
Eaten of worms (cxwAnxo8pwros). Only here in New Tes- tament. Of Pheretima, queen of Cyrene, distinguished for her cruelties, Herodotus says: “Nor did Pheretima herself end her days happily. For on her return to Egypt from Libya, directly after taking vengeance on the people of Barca, she was overtaken by a most horrid death. Her body swarmed with worms, which ate her flesh while she was still alive ” (iv., 205). The term, as applied to disease in the human body, does not