Ver. 25. Ὑενομ. ὁμοθυμαδόν: “ having come to one accord,” “‘einmutig gewor- den,” Weiss: ὁμοθ., though frequent in Acts, see i. 14, only here with γεν. For the form of the phrase as_indi- cating mutual deliberation on the part of the Church collectively see “' Council,” Dict. of Chr. Ant.,i., {74.-- ἐκλεξ. ἄνδρας: ‘to choose out men and send them unto you,” R.V., whether we read accusative or dative see critical note, and ¢f. ver. 22.--ἀγαπητοῖς: very frequent in St. Paul’s Epistles; used three times by St. James in his Epistle, twice by St. Peter in his First Epistle, four times in the Second, cf. iii. 15, where the word is used by St. Peter of St. Paul, ten times by St. John: it was therefore a very natural word to occur in the letter, and we may compare it with the right hand of fellowship given by the three Apostles just named to Barnabas and Paul, Gal. li. 9.—B. καὶ Π.: this order because In Jerusalem Church; see above on ver. 12. Meyer, Bleek, Nosgen, Wendt, all note its truthful significance,
Ver. 26. παραδεδωκόσι τὰς Ww. α.: “‘hazarded their lives,” A. and R.V.; so in classical Greek, and in LXX, Dan. iii. 28 (95). The sufferings of the mission-
328
ἀγαπητοῖς ἡμῶν Βαρνάβα καὶ Παύλῳ, 26. ἀνθρώποις παραδεδωκόσι τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ.ὶ
, 27. ἀπεστάλκαμεν οὖν ᾿Ιούδαν καὶ Σίλαν, καὶ αὐτοὺς διὰ λόγου
ἀπαγγέλλοντας τὰ αὐτά.
28. ἔδοξε γὰρ τῷ “Ayiw Πνεύματι καὶ
ἡμῖν, μηδὲν πλέον ἐπιτίθεσθαι ὑμῖν βάρος πλὴν τῶν ἐπάναγκες
1 At end of verse, DE 137, Syr. Harcl. mg. add εις παντα πειρασµον, so Blass in B, Hilg. Harris, Four Lectures, etc., pp. 85, 86, describes this as the best example extant of a Syriac assimilation in the text of Acts ; παραδεδωκασιν in D, ambiguous, but in Sirach, ii., 1, Syriac had rendered “thou hast surrendered thy soul to all temptations”’ (ετοιµασον την ψυχην σον εις πειρασµον, LXX); gloss added here for
clearness.
aries in their first journey were evidently well known, and appeal was fittingly made to them in recognition of their self- sacrifice, and in proof of their sincerity.
Ver. 27. “I. καὶ Σ. καὶ αὐτοὺς: “who themselves also shall tell you the same things by word of mouth,” R.V. Judas and Silas were sent to confirm personally the contents of the letter, as they could speak with authority as representing the Church at Jerusalem, while Barnabas and Saul alone would be regarded as already committed to the conciliatory side (Alford). The present participle, as the writer thinks of Judas and Silas as actually present with the letter at its reception, cf. ἀπεστάλκαμεν, “we have sent” by a common idiom, and also xxi. 16; Blass compares Thuc., vii., 26, ἔπεμψαν ἀγγέλλοντας, Gram., p. 194.— τὰ αὐτὰ: not the same things as Barna- bas and Paul had preached, but, as διὰ A. intimates, the same things as the letter contained, see critical notes.
Ver. 28. ἔδοξε γὰρ τῷ ‘A. Π. καὶ ἡμῖν: “causa principalis’’ and ‘‘causa minis- terialis’”’ of the decree. The words of Hooker exactly describe the meaning and purpose of the words, E. P., iii., 1Ο, 2, cf. viii., 6, 7, and cf. St. Chrysos- tom’s words, Hom., xxxiii., “πο making themselves equal to Him [1.ε., the Holy Ghost]}they are not so mad—the one to the Holy Ghost, that they may not deem it to be of man; the other to us, that they may be taught that they also themselves admit the Gentiles, although themselves being in circumcision’. On other suggested but improbable meanings see Alford’s and Wendt’s notes. The words became a kind of general formula in the decrees of Councils and Synods, cf. the phrase commonly prefixed to Councils: Sancto Spiritu suggerente (Dict. Chr. Ant., i., 483). On this classical construction of ἔδοξε τῷ with the infinitive see Nestle’s note, Expository