Ver. 23. εἰσὶν ἡμῖν, cf. xviii. το. The four men certainly seem to have been members of the Church at Jerusalem, i.¢., Jewish Christians.—evy jv ἔχοντες: a temporary Nazirite vow, Num. vi. 1 ff. The length of time was optional, but thirty days. seems to have been the shortest time, Jos., B.f., ii., 15, 1.— ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτῶν, see critical note, the Nazi- rite vow lies upon them as an unfulfilled obligation. If we read ad’ it would mean him to affirm that the vow had been taken by them of their own will, on their own initiation, cf. Luke xii. 57, 2 Cor. iii. 5, John v. 19, 30, etc., see further Grimm-Thayer, sub v. ἀπό, ii., 2 d, aa; and Rendall, in loco. Blass however renders ἐφ᾽ ‘‘ quia votum in se teceperunt,”” so that it is difficult to distinguish very definitely.
Ver. 24. παραλαβὼν, cf. νετ. 26, xv. 3g (xvi. 33): take in a friendly way, associate thyself with them as a companion.— ἁγνίσθητι σὺν αὐτοῖς: the advice is characteristic of the Apostle who had lived as St. James had lived, Eusebius, H.E., ii., 23, and it certainly seems to demand that St. Paul should place him-
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45ο
αὐτὸς τὸν νόµον φυλάσσων.
25. περὶ δὲ τῶν πεπιστευκότων ἐθνῶν
ἡμεῖς ) ἐπεστείλαμεν, κρίναντες μηδὲν τοιοῦτον τηρεῖν αὐτούς, εἰ μὴ
φυλάσσεσθαι αὐτοὺς τό τε εἰδωλόθυτον καὶ τὸ αἷμα καὶ πνικτὸν καὶ
πορνείαν. 26. Τότε ὁ Παῦλος παραλαβὼν τοὺς ἄνδρας, TH” ἐχομένη ἡμέρᾳ σὺν αὐτοῖς ἁγνισθεὶς εἰσῃει εἰς τὸ ἱερόν, διαγγέλλων τὴν ἐκπλήρωσιν τῶν ἡμερῶν τοῦ ἁγνισμοῦ, ἕως οὗ προσηνέχθη ὑπὲρ ἑνὸς
1 επεστειλαµεν ΝΑΟΕΗΙ.Ρ, Vulg., Syr. Pesh., Sah., Chrys., Tisch., W.H. marg., R.V. text, Weiss (cf. xv. 20); απεστειλαµεν BD 49, Syr. H., Arm., W.H. text,
R.V. marg., Wendt, Blass; see Wendt, p. 346 (1899).
After εθνων D, Gig., Sah.
add ουδεν εχουσι λεγειν προσ σε" ηµεις yap, SO Blass in β, Hilgenfeld, Zw. Th.,
p. 382 (1896).
The words in Τ.Κ. (after κριναντες) µηδεν . . . ει µη are supported
by DCEHLP, Gig., Syr. H., Chrys., so Meyer, Alford, Blass, but om. SAB 13, 81, Vulg., Syr. Pesh., Sah., Boh., Tisch., W.H., R.V., Wendt, Weiss (Codex D, p. 103),
και πνικτον om. D, Gig., Sah., Jer., Aug.
Σεχομενῃ, D has επιουσΤῃ ; for ews ov D has οπως, but not Blass.
self on a level with the four men and take upon himself the Nazirite vow, cf. Num. vi. 3. The σὺν αὐτοῖς can hardly be explained otherwise. But how far the obligation of the vow extended in such a case is not clear (Edersheim, Temple and its Services, p. 326), and the time specified does not seem to allow for the commencement and completion of a vow on the part of the Apostle, although we cannot satisfactorily explain such expressions as the one before us, cf. ἡγνισμένον, xxiv. 18, on the supposition that St. Paul only associated himself with the company of the four votaries and incurred the expenses of their sacrifices. Dr. Hort suggests that the Apostle may have been himself about to offer sacrifices in the Temple in con- nection with some previous vow, or that in connection with the Gentile offerings which he had brought to Jerusalem and safely delivered (as it would seem) he may have proposed to offer a solemn peace- offering in the Temple, cf. καὶ προσφοράς, xxiv. 17, and Rom. xv. 16, fudaistic Chris- tianity, pp. 109, 110; on the verb ἁγνίζω see also Hort’s First Epistle of St. Peter, Ρ. δ7.--δαπάνησον ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς: ‘be at charges for them,” R.V., spend money upon them. It was considered a meri- torious act thus to defray the expenses of their sacrifices for poor Nazirites; Jose- phus, Ant., xix., 6, 1, how King Agrippa on his arrival at Jerusalem acted thus with a view to conciliate popular favour, Edersheim, 1. s., p. 326, Renan, Saint Paul, Ῥ. 519, Kypke, Observ., ii., 113; cf. Mishna, Nazir, ii., J. Weiss supposed that the money would have been furnished out of the contributions brought by Paul, and that such em-