Ver. 12. ἐν ὁράματι, see critical notes. ---ἄνδρα *A. ὀνόμ.: the words would certainly indicate, as Wendt points out (seventh edition, not eighth), that Saul was previously unacquainted with Ana- nias. Jesus communicates the contents of the vision, and speaks as it were frorn the standpoint of Saul (see Felten’s note, p. ΤΟ0).---ἐπιθέντα κ.τ.λ., see above On Vill, 17.
236
ὅπως ἀναβλέψη.
13. ἀπεκρίθη δὲ 6 ᾽Ανανίας, Κύριε, dxyKoa? ἀπὸ
πολλῶν περὶ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τούτου, ὅσα κακὰ ἐποίησε τοῖς ἁγίοις σου
ἐν ἹἹερουσαλήμ: 14. καὶ ὧδε ἔχει ἐξουσίαν παρὰ τῶν ἀρχιερέων,
δῆσαι πάντας τοὺς ἐπικαλουμένου: τὸ ὄνομά σου.
15. Εἶπε δὲ πρὸς
«πι ς , , cr ~ 3 al 3 ‘ κά a αὐτὸν ὁ Κύριος, Πορεύου, οτι σκεύος ἐκλογῆς μοι ἐστιν ουτος, TOU
βαστάσαι τὸ ὄνομά µου ἐνώπιον” ἐθνῶν καὶ βασιλέων, υἱῶν τε Ισραήλ.
2 ακηκοα HLP, Chrys.; ηκουσα ΜΑΒΟΕ, so Tisch., W.H., R.V., Blass, Weiss,
Wendt, Hilg.
2εθνων, but art. των prefixed in BC*, so Lach., R.V. (W.H.), Weiss, Wendt (probably); but twv apparently does not suit the context.
Ver. 13. Ananias naturally hesitates to go to a man who had undoubtedly inflicted harm upon the Christians, and had come to Damascus with the same intent. But there is nothing inconsistent in the fact that Ananias should not be acquainted with Saul personally, whilst he knew of his persecuting zeal.—rois ἁγίοις σου: used here for the first time as a name for the Christians ; cf. vv. 32, 41, xxvi. 10. Every Israelite was ἅγιος by the mere fact of his membership in the holy Ecclesia of Israel, and Ananias, himself a Jew, does not hesitate to em- ploy the same term of the members of the Christian Ecclesia (see Hort, Ecclesia, pp. 56, 57, and Grimm, sub v., 2). Its use has therefore a deep signi- ficance: ‘* Christus habet sanctos, ut suos: ergo est Deus,” says Bengel. The force of the words can be more fully appreciated in connection with the signi- ficance of the phrase in ver. 14, Tots ἐπικ. τὸ ὄνομάσον. In xxvi. 1ο it is noticeable that the word occurs on St. Paul’s own lips as he stood before Agrippa “in the bitterness of his self-accusation for his acts of persecution, probably in intentional re- petition of Ananias’s language respecting those same acts of his. It was a phrase that was likely to burn itself into his memory on that occasion.” And so we find St. Paul addressing at least six of his Epistles to those who were “ called to be Saints,” indicating that every Christian as such had this high calling. If Chris- tians individually had realised it, the prophetic vision of the Psalms of Solomon (xvii. 36) would have been fulfilled in the early Church of Christ: ὅτι πάντες ἅγιοι, καὶ βασιλεὺς αὐτῶν Χριστὸς Κύριος (see Ryle and James’ edition, Ρ. 141).—év ‘lep. belongs to ἐποίησε, and so points back to viii. 3, and to Saul as the soul of the persecu- tion which broke out in Jerusalem, cf.
Paul’s own language before Agrippa, xxvi. 1Ο.
Ver. 14. ὧδε hic et huc (Blass), ver. 21- ---τοὺς ἐπικ. τὸ ὄνομά σον-- ποίθ the re, peated pronoun and compare 1 Cor, i. 2s where ἐπικ. is closely joined with ἅγιοι. and on the whole phrase see above ii. 21
Ver. 15. σκεὂος ἐκλογῆς, cf. St. Paul’s own language in Gal. i. 15, genitive of quality; common Hebraistic mode of expression (cf. viii. 23) = ἐκλεκτόν, see Blass, Gram., p. 96; cf. Luke xvi. 8, xviii. 6, etc. For σκεΌος similarly used see Jer. xxii. 28, Hosea vii. 8, and Schéttgen, Hore Hebraice, in loco ; and in Ni. Rom iwix.' 22; 23) ν "πες ντ, Grimm and Blass both compare ox. de homine in Polyb., xili., 5, 7; xV., 25, I. Vas electionis; the words are written over what is said .o be St. Paul’s tomb in the church dedicated to him near the city of Rome.—rot βαστάσαι, geni- tive of purpose; verb as used here con- tinues the metaphor of oxetos; may mean simply to bear, to carry, or it may denote to bear as a burden; cf. 2 Kings xviii. 14, Ecclus. vi. 25 ; cf. Luke xiv. 27, Acts xv. 10, Rom. xv. 1, etc.—é6vav καὶ βασιλέων — ἐθν., placed first because Saul’s special mission is thus indicated. --βασιλ., cf. xxvi. 12, 2 Tim. i. 16; also before the governors of Cyprus, Achaia, Judza.—viov τε Ἰ., see critical notes above, again the closely connecting τε, all three nouns being comprehended under the one article t@v—the Apostle’s work was to include, not to exclude, his brethren according to the flesh, whilst mission to the Gentiles is always em- phasised ; cf. xxii. 15 and 21, xxvi. 17; cf. Rom. i. 13, 14.