Ver. 12. συστροφήν, xix. 40.—davebe- µάτισαν ἑαντούς: literally ‘they placed themselves under an anathema,” {.., declared themselves liable to the direst punishments of God unless, etc. In N.T. the verb is only used in this passage, cf.
470
µήτε Φαγεῖν µήτε πιεῖν ἕως οὗ ἀποκτείνωσι τὸν Maddov: 13. ἦσαν
δὲ πλείους τεσσαράκοντα οἱ ταύτην τὴν συνωµοσίαν 1 πεποιηκότες: 14. οἵτινες προσελθόντες τοῖς ἀρχιερεῦσι” καὶ τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις εἶπον, ᾿Αναθέµατι ἀνεθεματίσαμεν ἑαυτούς, μηδενὸς γεύσασθαι 3 ἕως
οὗ ἀποκτείνωμεν τὸν Παῦλον.
15. νῦν οὖν ὑμεῖς ἐμφανίσατε τῷ
Χιλιάρχῳ σὺν τῷ συνεδρίῳ, ὅπως * αὔριον αὐτὸν καταγάγῃ πρὸς Spas,
ὡς µέλλοντας διαγινώσκειν ἀκριβέστερον τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ : ἡμεῖς δέ,
1 Instead of πεποι. SABCE have ποιησαµενοι, so R.V. and authorities above, except Blass in B text, εαντους αναθεµατισαντες, following Flor.
3 Blass in B brackets και τοις πρεσβ. Lucif. ‘“‘recte ut videtur’’ (Blass). 5 After γευσ. Blass in β (Flor., Gig.) adds καθολου. 4 ανριον om. ΝΑΒΟΕ. 18, 36, 61, verss., and authorities above, so Hilg. S{ABE
61 have εις, so R.V. and as above.
14, 21, and once by St. Mark, xiv. 71, cf. the use of the verb in LXX, Josh. vi. 21, © Macc-.v..5. 10 Nod. the moun ἀνάθεμα is only found in Luke and Paul, see Lightfoot on Gal. i. 8, Sanday and Headlam on Rom. ix. 3. For instances of similar bindings by oath, Jos., Vita, liii., and a similar combination of ten men to murder Herod, Ant., xv., 8, 3, 4. Of whom the band consisted we are not told, although probably Ananias would not have scrupled to employ the Sicarii, Jos., Ant., ix. 2. The conspirators seem to have affected to be Sadducees, ver. 14, but Edersheim evidently holds that they were Pharisees, and he points out that the latter as a fraternity or “ guild,” or some of their kindred guilds, would have furnished material at hand for such a band of conspirators, Fewish Social Life, p. 227 Π.--πεποι. see critical note, ἕως οὗ, cf. Matt. v. 25, xiii. 33, John ix. 18; Burton, p. 128.
Ver. 14. Tots apx., cf. iv. 23, see critical note on reading in B (Blass).— ἀναθέματι ἀνεθεμ.: ‘ we have bound our- selves under a great curse,” thus repre- senting the emphatic Hebrew idiom, cf. v. 28, and for the same phrase cf. Deut. xiii. 15, xx. 17. The conspirators may have been instigated by the knowledge that the Sanhedrim could no longer inflict capital punishment, and from despair of Obtaining the sanction of the Roman authorities for violence against Paul. It is quite certain that sentence of death must at all events be ratified by the pro- curator. Another serious restriction of the Jewish powers lay in the fact that the Roman authorities could step in at any moment and take the initiative, as in the case of Paul. Moreover the incidents
before us illustrate the strange fact that even the chiliarch of the Roman force stationed in Jerusalem seems to be able to summon the Sanhedrim for the purpose of submitting to it any question upon which the Jewish law had to be learnt, cf. xxii. 30, Schiirer, Fewish People, div. ii., vol. i., p. 188 ff., with which, however, should be compared O. Holtzmann, Neutest. Zeitgeschichte, pp. 175, 176.— γεύσασθαι: “to taste nothing,” R.V. ‘‘ Hoc certe tam preposterum concilium nunquam probassent sacerdotes, si qua in illis fuisset gutta pii rectique affectus, imo sensus humani,” Calvin. Edersheim quotes a curious illustration of the rash vow before us, which shows how easily absolution from its consequences could be obtained, Fewish Social Life, p. 229, J. Lightfoot, Hor. Heb.
Ver. 15. viv οὖν: only in Acts in N.T., where it occurs four times, frequent in ΤΧΧ.---ἐμφανίσατε: “signify” in A. and R.V.; this rendering apparently conveys a wrong idea, for it implies that the Council had the authority, whereas this lay with the Roman officer, cf. xxiv. I, XXV. 2,-15. In Xx Esthersm νο 2 Macc. ili. 7, xi. 29.—o bv τῷ συν.: with the whole Council, including both those who had previously inclined to favour Paul as well as his opponents; the for- mer could not object to the pretext that further inquiries were to be made into Paul’s position, especially when the Sadducees urged such an inquiry.— ὅπως, Burton, p. 87.—as µέλλοντας;: this use of ὡς with the participle expressing the pretext alleged by another, often im Luke, cf. Luke xvi. 1, xxiii. 14, Acts xxiii. 20, xxvii. 30, Viteau, Le Grec du N.T., p. 189 (1893), but we may also