7—i1.
κρίνεσθαι ] ἐπ᾽ Καίσαρος” ἑστώ 4 ‘
κησα, ὡς καὶ σὺ κάλλιον ἐπιγινώσκεις
ἑστώς εἰμι, οὗ µε δεῖ κρίνεσθαι.
493
ἐμοῦ; το. etre δὲ 6 Παῦλος, ᾿Επὶ τοῦ βήματος
Ιουδαίους οὐδὲν ὃ ἠδί-
11. εἰ pev* γὰρ ἀδικῷ καὶ
ἄξιον θανάτου πέπραχά τι, οὗ παραιτοῦμαι τὸ ἀποθανεῖν: εἰ δὲ
ide 3 4. a af 35 , δύ > a ουοεν εστιν WY OUTOL κατηγορουσι μου, ουοεις με υναται αυὗτοις
1 For κρινεσθαι ΝΑΒΟΕ, so Tisch., W.H., Weiss, Wendt, Blass, Hilg. read
κριθηναι.
9
ὃν has εστως at commencement of verse, B has it in both places, Tisch., W.H.,
Weiss, Blass, Wendt place it at commencement. ὃ For ηδικησα (Τ.Ε. Lach.) SB have ηδικηκα, so Tisch., W.H., Weiss, Wendt,
Blass.
4 For yap SABCE«r. 61 read ουν, so Tisch., W.H., Weiss, Wendt, Hilg. but
[Blass].
Sanhedrim would judge, whilst Festus would ratify their judgment or not as seemed good to him, as Pilate had acted in the case of Christ. On the other hand it is possible that Festus may have been quite sincere in his proposal: his words at least showed that in his judgment there was no case against Paul of a political nature, and he may have thought that religious questions could be best decided before the Sanhedrim in Jerusalem, whilst he could guarantee a safe-conduct for Paul as a Roman citizen.
Ver. 1ο. ἑστώς εἶμι: “I am stand- ing,”’ used rhetorically, Blass, Gram., p. 198; on the position of έστ. see critical note.—Kaioapos : because the procurator was the representative of Czsar: ‘‘ que acta gestaque sunt a procuratore Cesaris sic ab eo comprobantur, atque si a Cesare ipso gesta sint,” Ulpian, Digest., Ἱ., 19, 1.—8et: because a Roman citizen, no need to suppose that the word has re- ference here to any divine intimation.— ουδ... : “to Jews have I done no wrong,” the omission of the article in translation makes Paul’s denial more forcible and comprehensive ; for ἀδικεῖν with οὐδέν and the double accusative cf. Luke x. 19.—@s καὶ σὺ κάλλιον ἐπιγ.: “as thou also art getting to know better,’’ Rendall (see also Page and Weiss): this rendering, it is said, saves lus from the ungracious and unjust retort which A. and R.V. ascribe to Paul? But ver. 18 seems to show us by the confes- sion of Festus himself that the Apostle might fairly have imputed to him a keeping back of his better and fairer judgment, whilst in the expression χαρίσασθαι, ver. I1, there seems to be an intimation that the Apostle felt that Festus might make him a victim. Zdéckler sees in the comparative “'α gentle reproach,’’ as if
St. Paul would intimate to Festus that he really knew better than his question (ver. 9) would imply.
Ver. 11. εἰ μὲν yap, see critical note, “if then (οὖν) I am a wrongdoer,” referring to his standing before Czsar’s judgment-seat, and not to the ἠδίκησα. in νετ. Το.---ἀδικεῖν: only here absolutely in N.T.; the verb occurs five times in Acts, once in Luke’s Gospel, and once in St. Matthew, but not elsewhere in the Gospels (Friedrich, p. 23).---ἄξιον θαν., i.¢., according to Roman law.— ov παραιτοῦμαι τὸ ἀποθανεῖν: non re- cuso, Vulgate, so Blass; the verb is only used here in Acts, but it occurs three times in St. Luke’s Gospel, three times in Hebrews, once in Mark xv. 6, W.H. —In the present passage, and in 1 Tim. ἵνισ, ν. IX, 2 Tim. G23, (Tit. iii: 10, Heb. xii. 25 (twice), the word is rendered “‘refuse,” Κ.Υ. text; but in Luke xiv. 18, 1ο, the word is rendered ‘‘to make excuse’’; ‘‘excused’’: Jos., Ant., vii., 8, 2; but in each case the Greek verb literally means ‘to beg off from,” and the Latin deprecor might well express the verb both here and in Luke xiv., .ο., cf. Esth. iv. 8 in the sense of supplicating, and for the sense as above 2 Macc. ii. 31, 3 Macc. vi. 27; see also Grimm sub v. for different shades of meaning. In Jos., Vita, 29, we have the phrase θανεῖν ov παραιτοῦμαι: upon which Krenkel insists as an instance of dependence upon Josephus, but not only is the phrase here somewhat different verbally, οὐ παραι. τὸ ἀποθ., the article expressing more emphatically, as Bengel says, id ipsum agt; but cf. the instances quoted by Wetstein of the use of similar phrases in Greek, and of the Latin deprecor, ε.ρ., Dion. Hal., A.V., 29. τὸν μὲν οὖν θάνατον ... οὐ wapatrodpar. See