Ver. 39. ὑμῖν γὰρ: the promise was made to the very men who had invoked upon themselves and upon their children, St. Matt. xxvii. 25, the blood of the Crucified. See Psalms of Solomon, viii., 39 (Ryle and James’ edition, p. 88).—
92
ἂν προσκαλέσηται Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς ἡμῶν.
40. ἑτέροις τε λόγοις
πλείοσι διεμαρτύρετο καὶ παρεκάλει λέγων, Σώθητε ἀπὸ τῆς γενεᾶς
τῆς σκολιᾶς ταύτης.
41. Οἱ μὲν οὖν ἀσμένως 1 ἀποδεξάμενοι τὸν
1 ασµενως EP, Syrr. (Pesh. and Harcl.), Arm., Chrys.; but om. by ABCD 61,
Vulg., Sah., Boh., Aeth., Clem., so Tisch., W.H., R.V., Weiss, Wendt.
For απο-
δεξαµενοι D substitutes πιστενσαντες, and Syr. Harcl. mg., Aug. add και πιστευ-
σαγτες.
πᾶσι τοῖς εἷς μακράν: no occasion with Wendt and others to limit the words to the Jews of the Diaspora. It must not be forgotten that the Apostles were not surprised that the Gentiles should be admitted to the Christian Church, but only that they should be admitted with- out conforming to the rite of circum- cision. If we compare iii. 26, and Ephes. 1i. 13, 17 (cf. Rom. x. 13), it would seem that no restriction of race was placed upon the declaration of the Gospel message, provided that it was made to the Jew first (as was always Paul’s custom), Hilgenfeld interprets the words as referring beyond all doubt to the Gen- tiles, since ὑμῖν . . « ὑμῶν had already expressed the Diaspora Jews. But he contends that as ver. 26 plainly intimates that the address was delivered only to Israelites, the words in question are added by ‘the author to Theophilus”. He therefore places them in brackets. Jiingst in the same way thinks it well to refer them to the Redactor, and Feine refers them to Luke himself as Reviser. Weiss sees in the words an allusion to an O.T. passage which could only have been applied at first to the calling of the Gen- tiles, but which (in the connection in which it is here placed by the narrator) must be referred to the Jews of the Diaspora. It may well have been that (as in Holtzmann’s view) St. Peter’s audi- ence only thought of the Jews of the Diaspora, but we can see in his words a wider and a deeper meaning, cf. Isaiah ν. 26, and cf. also Isaiah ii. 2, Zech. vi. 15. Among the older commentators Oecumenius and Theophylact referred the words to the Gentiles.—8covus ἂν προσκαλέσηται Κύριος 6 Θεὸς ἡμῶν. Wendt presses the ἡμῶν to favour his view that St. Peter thinks only of the Jews and not of the Gentiles, since he speaks of ‘‘our God,” but Blass catches the meaning much better in his com- ment: "ἡμῶν Israelitarum, qui idem gentesadsevocat”. This gives the true force of προσκαλ., ‘shall call unto him” (so R.V.). Oecumenius also comments -on the words as revealing the true peni-
(Harris sees a Montanist addition, necessity of faith for baptism.)
tence and charity of Peter, ψυχἠ γὰρ ὅταν ἑαυτὴν καταδικάσῃ, οὐκ ἔτι Φφθονεῖν δύναται.
Ver. 40. ἑτέροις τε λόγοις πλείοσιν τε (not δὲ), as so frequent in Acts; “inducit que similia cognataque sunt, δέ diversa,” Blass, in loco, and Gram- matik des N.G., p. 258.—8vepaptupato: the translation ‘testified,’ both in A. and R.V., hardly gives the full form of the word. Its frequent use in the LXX in the sense of protesting solemnly, cf. Deut. iv. 26, viii. 19, t Sam. viii. 9, Zech. iii. 7 (6), seems more in accordance with St. Peter’s words, who here as elsewhere (x. 42, xliii. 5, xx. 21) was not simply acting as a witness μαρτυρεῖν, but was also protesting against the false views ot those he was addressing. It must not, however, be forgotten that in other passages in the LXX the verb may mean to bear witness (see Hatch and Redpath, sub v.). In the N.T., as Wendt notes, it is used by St. Paul in the former sense of protesting solemnly in 1 Tim. v. 21, 2 Tim. ii. 14, iv. 1. With this Mr. Page rightly compares its use in Acts xx. 23 (cf. also v. 20, paprvpopat), and Luke xvi. 28. So too in classical writers.— παρεκάλει: the imperfect suggests the continuous exhortation which followed upon the Apostles’ solemn protest (Weiss, in Ιοεο).----τῆς γενεᾶς τῆς σκολιᾶς ταύτης: the adjective is used to describe the rebellious Israelites in the wilderness, LXX, Deut. xxxii. 5 (and Ps. Ixxvii. 8), a description used in part by our Lord Himself, Matt. xvii. 17, Luke ix. 41, and wholly by St. Paul, Phil. ii. 15. The correct translation ‘‘crooked,” R.V. (which A.V. has in Luke iii. 5, Phil. ii. 15), signifies perversity in turning oft from the truth, whilst the A.V. ‘“un- toward” (so Tyndale) signifies rather backwardness in coming to the truth (Humphry, Commentary on R. V.), Hort, Fudaistic Christianity, pp. 41, 42.