8—11.
Μακεδονίαν βοήθησον ὑμῖν.
343
10.1 ὡς δὲ τὸ ὅραμα εἶδεν, εὐθέως
ἐζητήσαμεν ἐξελθεῖν εἰς τὴν Μακεδονίαν, συμβιβάζοντες ὅτι προσ-
κέκληται ἡμᾶς 6 Κύριος εὐαγγελίσασθαι αὐτούς.
II. ᾿Αναχθέντες
οὖν ἀπὸ τῆς Τρωάδος, εὐθυδρομήσαμεν εἰς Σαµοθράκην, τῇ τε
1D, Sah. read διεγερθεις ουν διηγησατο το οραµα ηµιν, and D continues και ενοησαµεν οτν προσκεκληται ηµας ο κ. εναγγελισασθαι τους εν TH Μακεδονια, so Blass in β, and Hilg. Wendt (1899) refers to Corssen, wv. s., and regards addition
as simply elaboration of the vision.
here in agreement with Renan, identifies this man with St. Luke, S¢. Paul, pp. 202, 203. But it can scarcely be said that anything in the narrative justifies this identification. Ramsay asks: Was Luke already a Christian, or had he come under the influence of Christianity through meeting Paul at Troas? and he himself evidently sympathises entirely with the former view. The probability, however, of previous intercourse between Luke and Paul has given rise to some interest- ing conjectures—possibly they may have met in student days when Luke studied as a medical student in the university (as we may call it) of Tarsus; in the passage before us the succeeding words in ver. 10 lead to the natural inference that Luke too was a preacher of the Gospel, and had already done the work of an Evan- gelist. Ramsay admits that the meeting with Luke at Troas may have been sought by Paul on the ground of the former’s professional skill, p. 205. He further maintains that Paul could not have known that the man was a Mace- donian unless he had been personally known to him, but surely the man’s own words sufficiently implied it (Knaben- bauer), even if we do not agree with Blass, ix loco, that Paul must have re- cognised a Macedonian by his dress, At all events it is quite unnecessary with Grotius (so Bede) to suppose that re- ference is made to the angel of Mace- donia, “‘angelus Macedoniam curans,”’ Dan, x. 12. On the importance of this verse in the ‘‘ We”’ sections see Introduc- tion: Ramsay, p. 200, Blass, Proleg., p. x.
Ver. 10. εἰς Μ.: It is easy to under- stand St. Paul’s eagerness to follow the vision after he had been twice hindered in his purpose, although it may well be that neither he nor St. Luke regarded the journey from Troas to Philippi as a pas- sage from one continent to another con- tinent—Macedonia and Asia were two provinces of the Roman empire, Ramsay, p. 199. But in the good Providence of Him Who sees with larger other eyes
than ours St. Paul’s first European Church was now founded, although perhaps it is venturesome to say that the Gospel was now first preached on the continent of Europe, as the good tidings may have reached Rome through the Jews and proselytes who heard St. Peter on the day of Pentecost, cf. Acts ii. 9; see McGiffert’s remarks, pp. 235, 236, on the providential guidance of St. Paul at this juncture, and Lightfoot, Biblical Essays ‘‘ The Churches of Macedonia”’. —ovpBiBdlovres, see on ix. 22.
Ver. 11. ἀναχθέντες, see on xiii. 13. ---εὐθυδρομήσαμεν : only in Acts here and in xxi. 1, nowhere else in N.T., not in LXX or Apocrypha but used by Philo, cf. St. Luke’s true Greek feeling for the sea, Ramsay, p. 205. Strabo used εὐθύδρομος, p. 45, and elsewhere St. Luke’s language may point to the influence of the great geographer; see Plumptre’s Introduction to St. Luke’s οβΡε].--Σαµοθράκην: an island of the Egean sea on the Thracian coast about half-way between Troas and Neapolis, but with adverse winds or calms the voyage from Philippi to Troas takes five days, xx. 6. Samothracia, with the ex- ception of Mount Athos, was the highest point in this part of the A®gean, and would have been a familiar landmark for every Greek sailor, see C. and H., pp. 220, 221.—NedmoAww: modern Cavallo, the harbour of Philippi, lying some miles further north: Thracian, but after Ves- pasian reckoned as Macedonian; op- posite Thasos, C. and H., p. 221; Renan, Saint Paul, p. 130.--- τῇ τε ἐπιούσῃ, sc., ἡμέρᾳ, cf. xx. 15, xxi. 18, with ἡμέρᾳ added, vii. 26, xxiii. 11, so too in classical Greek, Polyb., Jos. ; in N.T., phrase only found in Acts: mark the exact note of time.