ο εᾷι
Ποντικὸν τῷ Ὑένει, προσφάτως ἐληλυθότα ἀπὸ τῆς Ιταλίας, καὶ Πρίσκιλλαν γυναῖκα αὐτοῦ, διὰ τὸ διατεταχέναι Κλαύδιον χωρίζεσθαι
1 Instead of Π. γνναικα avrov Syr. Harcl. mg., Flor., Gig., Blass in β read συν Π. γνναικι αυτου, and Flor. adds ησπασατο αντους, so Blass in B. After avrous Syr. Harcl. mg., Flor., so Blass in B, add οντοι δε εξηλθον απο της Ρωμης (urbe
Flor.), (Blass brackets απο της P. after Ἰουδαιους). insert after Ῥωμης ot και κατωκησαν εις την Αχαιαν (Blass in B brackets ot).
D, Syr. Harcl. mg., Flor.
δια-
τεταχεναι ΝΜ«ΑΒΗ, Chrys., so Lach., W.H., Weiss, Wendt, following Τ.Ε. ;
τεταχεναι ἂν ΠΕΙ Ρ, so Tisch. W.H., R.V., Weiss, Wendt, Blass.
(Farrar, η. s., p. 556). To this infamous notoriety not only the cosmopolitanism of the city contributed, but the open con- secration of shameless impurity in its temple service of Venus, see Ramsay, “Corinth,” Hastings’ B.D.; C. and H., small edition, p. 324 ff.; McGiffert, Apostolic Age, p. 262, and notes below.
Ver. 2. ᾿Ακύλαν, cf. νετ. 18, Rom. xvi. 3, 1 Cor. xvi. 19, 2 Tim. iv. 19: the Latin Aguila in its Greek form; the name may have been assumed, as often the case, in place of the Jewish name. It is altogether unreasonable to suppose that Luke made a mistake and that this Aquila’s name was Pontius Aquila, which he bore as a freedman of the Gens Pontia, a distinguished member of which was called by the same two names, Pontius Aquila, Cic., Ad Fam., x., 33; Suet., Ful. σας., 78. The fact that another Aquila, who is famous as giving us the earliest version A.D. of the Ο.Τ. in Greek, is also described as from Pontus goes far to show that there is nothing improbable in St. Luke’s statement (Schirer, Fewish People, div. ii., vol. Π., Ρ. 226, E.T.). The name, moreover, was also a slave name (Ramsay, p. 269), as a freedman of Maecenas was called (C. Cilnius) Aquila. But it is probable that as the greater part of the Jews in Rome were freed- men, Aquila may also have belonged to this class, see Schirer, 1. s., p. 234, and also further, Sanday and Headlam, Romans, p. xxvii., 418 ; Lightfoot, Philip- pians, p. 173.---τῷ γένει: ‘ by race,” R.V., cf. iv. 36, of Barnabas, and xviii. 24, of Apollos; the word need not mean more than this.—’lov8aioy : The word has been pressed sometimes to indicate that Aquila was still unconverted to Christianity. Bat the fact that he is called a Jew may simply refer to the notice which follows “that all Jews,” etc. Whether Aquila was a Christian before he met St. Paul is very difficult to determine. He is not spoken of as a disciple, and similarity of employment rather than of Christian be-
απο instead of εκ in NABDEL, Vulg., Tisch.
lief may account for the Apostle’s inter- course with him and Priscilla, Zahn, Einleitung, i., 189. But the suspicion with which most of his countrymen re- garded St. Paul rather indicates that Aquila and Priscilla must at least have had some leanings towards the new faith, or they would scarcely have received him into their lodgings. It is quite pos- sible that, as at the great Pentecost Jews from Rome had been present, cf. ii. 10, Christianity may have been carried by this means to the imperial city, and that such tidings may have predisposed Aquila and Priscilla to listen to St. Paul’s teaching, even if they were not Christians when they first met him. If they were converted, as has been supposed, by St. Paul at Corinth, it is strange that no mention is made of their conversion. That they were Christians when St. Paul left them at Ephesus seems to be beyond a doubt. Renan describes them as already Chris- tians when they met the Apostle, so too Hilgenfeld, on the ground that their conversion by St. Paul could scarcely have been passed over, see further “ Aquila,” B.D.?, and Hastings’ B.D.; Wendt, in loco, Lightfoot, Phil., pp. 16 and 17, Hort, Rom. and Ephes., p. 9.— προσφάτως: here only, lit., lately slaughtered or killed; hence recent, fresh; Latin, recens (Grimm). In LXX, Deut. xxiv. 5, Ezek. xi. 3, Jud. iv. 3, 5, 2 Macc. xiv. 36, so too in Polybius, Westcott on Heb. x. 20 πρόσφατος re- gards all derivations from σφάω (σφάζω) φάω (pévw) φάω (pypl) as unsatisfactory. ---Πρίσκιλλαν: in Epistles, Rom. xvi. 3, 1 Cor. xvi. 19, 2 Tim. iv. 9, Prisca, R.V., W.H., Priscilla, perhaps the diminutive, cf. Lucilla, Domitilla. Probably St. Luke used the language of conversation, in which the diminutive forms were usually employed, St. Paul, p. 268. On Bezan text see critical note, Ramsay, u. s., and Church in the Roman Empire, p. 158. In vv, 18 and 26 we have Priscilla men- tioned before her husband, and so by