Ver. 29. εὐξαίμην ἄν: on the optative with av, Burton, p. 80, Blass, Gram., p. 202, Viteau, Le Grec du N.T., p. 40
3a
514
30.) Καὶ ταῦτα εἰπόντος αὐτοῦ, ἀνέστη 6 βασιλεὺς καὶ 6 ἡγεμών, ἤ τε Βερνίκη, καὶ οἱ συγκαθήµενοι αὐτοῖς, 31. καὶ ἀναχωρήσαντες ἐλάλουν πρὸς ἀλλήλους λέγοντες, Ὅτι οὐδὲν θανάτου ἄξιον” ἢ δεσμῶν
/ ς ἄνθ a πρασσει ο ανγνρωπος OUTOS.
32. ᾿Αγρίππας δὲ τῷ Φήστῳ ἔφη,
᾽Απολελύσθαι ἐδύνατο 6 ἄνθρωπος οὗτος, εἰ μὴ ὃ ἐπεκέκλητο Καίσαρα.
1 και ταυτα ειπ. αυτον HLP (137), Syr. H., Flor., so Blass in B text, and Hilg. ;
but otherwise unsupported, R.V. omit.
2 After αξιον Wendt is inclined to retain with Tisch. and W.H. marg. τι, so NA 13, 31, 40, 61, 68, Vulg., Boh. ; BHLP om., so T.R., Lach., W.H., Weiss, Blass,
Hilg.
3 ewex., but AL; Blass επικ., but in β text Blass has επεκ., so NBHP, etc.
(1893); with dative only here in N.T.— καὶ ἐν dX. καὶ ἐν pey.: “whether with little or with much,’ R.V. See critical note and ver. 28, z.e., with little or much trouble, and cost.—o7pepov: to be joined not with γενέσθαι (as Chrysostom, Ben- gel), but with τοὺς ἀκούοντάς μον.--οὐ µόνον, Burton, pp. 183, 184, μὴ µόνον with infinitive only in Gal. iv. 1δ.---τοιούτους ὁποῖος κἀγώ εἰμι, he does not repeat the word “Christian,” which perhaps he would not recognise (Blass): “tales qualis ego sum, sive Chr. appellare vis, sive alio vel contemptiore nomine”’, γενέσθαι - ες eipe: “might become such as I am,” R.V., thus giving the difference between yév. and εἶμι; by whatever name he might be called, the Apostle knew what he actually was (1 Cor. ix. 9). --παρεκτὸς τῶν δεσμῶν τούτων; not figurative but literal; although the plural may be used rhetorically (Weiss), cf. Tac., Ann., iv., 28. παρεκτὸς: Matt. v. 32, xix. 9 (see W.H.) (2 Cor. xi. 28, adv.), Didaché, vi., 1, Test., xii., Patr., Zab., 1; “suavissima ἐπιθεραπεία et ex- ceptio,” Bengel. Faith and Hope— of these the Apostle had spoken, and his closing words reveal a Love which sought not its own, was not easily pro- voked, and took no account of evil: “totum responsum et urbanissimum et Christiano nomine dignissimum,”’ Blass.
Ver. 30. καὶ ταῦτα εἰπόντος αὐτοῦ: it these words are not retained, see criti- cal note, their omission seems to make the rising up more abrupt (subito consurgit, Blass), and probably this is the meaning of the passage, although the order of rank is maintained in leaving the cham- ber. For the vividness of the whole nar- rative see Zéckler and Wendt, and ef. McGiffert, Apostolic Age, Ῥ. 355.-- ἀνέστη, Lucan, see on avaxwp. Suet., Nero, 15; cf. xxiii. I9, and note on XXV. I2.
Ver. 31. πράσσει, present tense: “‘ agit de vite instituto ’’ (Grotius, Blass).
Ver. 32. ἐδύνατο: a true affirmative imperfect of verbs denoting obligation or possibility, when used to affirm that a certain thing could or should have been done under the circumstances narrated ; therefore not correct to speak of an omitted av, since the past necessity was not hypothetical or contrary to fact, but actual, Burton, p. 14, but cf. Simcox, Language of the N.T., p. 114; cf. xxiv. IQ, XXvli. 21.—et μὴ ἐπεκ. Καίσαρα: the appeal had been made and accepted and Paul must be sent to Rome, but doubtless the decision of Agrippa would have great weight with Festus, and would greatly modify the letter which he would send to Rome with the prisoner (see above, p. 499), and we may thus account for the treatment of Paul on his arrival in the capital, xxviii. 16. The circumstance that the innocence of Paul is thus established at the mouth of various personages, and now by Agrippa, himself a Jew, as well as by Festus, a Roman, has been made the ground of objection to the narrative by Baur, Zeller, Overbeck, Weizsacker, Schmiedel. But whilst we may frankly admit that St. Luke no doubt purposely introduced these varied testimonies to Paul’s inno- cence, this is no proof of the incorrectness of his statements (Wendt, Matthias). If we grant, as St. Luke affirms, that the primary cause of the Apostle’s imprison- ment was the fanatical rage of the Jews against him as a despiser and enemy of the national religion, it is quite conceiv- able that those who were called to inquire into the matter without such enmity and prejudice should receive a strong impres- sion of his innocence, and should give expression to their impressions. Qn the other hand, the description in Acts en- ables us to see. how Paul, in spite of