The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 2 — Section 58

ae coextonalve with the ho.bitnble globe (see eqnivalent. The object of going to the era., vcr. 31; eh. xix. 20; xi. 28, nolo). se~enteen miles from Derceo., 'II as to to.ke Ver. 7.-Act for do, A.V. Received; l.11. s~1p for Athens. This be piobo.bly <licl as the woru ~,ro6lxoµa, al ways means "re- 01tl,er at Py<lno. or at Dium. Silas a;:.d ceived 11e o. guest (Luko x. 38; xix. 6: 11 Timothy. Whcthor Timothy left Philippi Jo.a. ii. 25, eto.). Hence the substantive with St. Paul, or whether, as is not im- ~,ro6ox-l/, o.n enterlo.inment or reception. probable, he jnined him at Thessalonic.c, 'l'ho icsinuo.tion is tho.t, by harbouring these . cannot be decide,!. Anylcow Paul now kft seditious men, Jason hod made himself a Sil:is o.nd Timothy to watch ~ver the Thes- po.rtner iu their sedition. That there is salonian converts. another king, eto. (comp. John xix. 12, 15). Yer. 15.-But for and, A.V.; M far "" Ver. 8.-Multitude for people, A.V. (-rbv for unto (i!ws), A.V.; Timothy for Timotheus, ~xl\ov, not 6ijµov). A.V.; t~at they should come for for l.o come, Ver. 9.-l'rom for of,A.V.; the rest for of A.V. Tney that conducted, etc. (o/ 1ea0,- the other, A.V. The rest, or others, are of u.-!411.-.s). The verb 1ea.8iun11,., in its primQry course the " certain brethren II of ver. 6. sense, means to" place any one" in a given Ver. IO.-Beraia for Berea, A.V.; when spot; and thence secondarily, to "conduct" they ioere come for coming, A.V. :Herma. In or "escort" any ono to a place. to "set him the thfrcl division of Macedonia, 11bout sixty down" at such a place. So Homer(' Odyssey,' miles from Thessalonica; its modern name xiii. 2:Jcl) uses the word of transportiri:; any is Verria. Went into the synagogue. No one by ship to this or that town ( quoted by amount of ill usage from the Jews coul,l lllcyer). There is uo indication in the wore! weaken St. Paul's love for "his brethren, of St. Paul's defect of eight or infirmity. his kinsmen according to the flesh" (Rom. Receiving a co=andment, etc. \Ve learn ix. 3); and no amount of cknger or suffering here that St. Paul sent e. message to Silas could check his zeal in preaching the gospel and Timothy to join him at Athens n.~ of Christ, quickly as possible, and at ver. 16 that he Ver.11.-Nowthesefor these, A.V,; examin- waited at Athens for them. From 1 Thess. ing for and searched, A. V. ; these for those, iii. 1, 2, we lee.m that he sent Timothy from A.V. Note the immense advo.ntage which Athens back to Thessalonico.; and from I the preo.chers and the hearers had in the Thess. iii. 6 we learn that Timothv en.me to previous 1..iowledge of the Scriptures gained St. Paul at Corinth (where the Epi;tle to the by the Berceans in the synagogue. Note. Thessalonians was written) from Thessc.- nlso tho mutual light shed by the Old and lonica. We also learn from 1 Thess. i. 1 New Testaments tho one upon the other. that Silas and Timothy were both with hiru Yer. 12.-Many . .. therefore for therefore nt Corinth when he wrote the Epistle, and many, A.V.; the Greek women of honoul'ahle from eh. xviii. 5 th11t they had both come estate for honourable women which were to Col'inth from Macedonia, some weeks Greeks, A.V. Honourable; ,~ux11µ&11w11, as after Paul himself had Leen n.t Cori.nth ( eh. oh. xiii. 50, where it is coupled with .-ovs xvi ii. 4, 5). All these statements harmonize ,rp,I,.-ous .,-;js ,r&l\•ws (see ver. 4; comp. Mark perfectly (as Paley has shown) on the sup- xv. 43). Meyer thinks that it is meant that position that Silas e.nd Timothy did join St. the men were Greeks too; but this is un- Paul at Athens; that for the reasons given certain. Tho only Bercean convert "·hose in 1 Thess. iii., when he WllS unable to name we know is Sopater (eh. xx. 4), or return to Thessalonica himself, o.s ho much Sosipater, who is probably the same (Rom. wished, he sent Timothy back to Thessa- xvi. 21). If so, he was apparently a Jew, lonica, and Sil11S probably to Bercea; and whose Hebrew name mo.y ho.ve been Abis!iua. tho.t Silas and Timothy came to:;ether from Ver. 13.-Proclaimed for preached, A.V.; Mo.cedonia to Corinth, where St. Paul had lleram also for Berea, A.V.; likewise for also, gone alone; where it mn.y be note,!, as an- A.V.; stirring up and troubling the multi- other undesigned coinciclcnce, that whereas tudes for and stirred up the people, A.V. the First Epistle to theThessalonians implies and T.R. that Silas did not go to Thessalonica (1 Tlless. Ver. 14.-Fortli for aioay, A.V.; as far a, iii. 2), eh. xviii. 5 does not say thnt Silas for as it were (iiws for C:.r), A.V. e.nd T.R.; and 'l'imothy came from Thessalonica, but 11nd for but, A.V. and 'l'.R.; Timothy for from 1llacedonia. The inaccuracy supposed Ti1110theus, A.V. As far as to the sea. by Meyer (on this verse) is purely imn~inn.ry. If the roe.cling of the T.R. is right, C:.s Ch. xviii. 5 docs not say that Silas anu mcrnly indicates the direction. Literally, Timothy "only joined Paul o.t Corinth," but C:.r_ e,rl, 1<,.,-.A,, means "with the thought of merely relo.tes some change in St. Paul's gomg to the sea," but thence, by a com- procedw-e consequent upon their joining mon usllge, it describes tho action without him o.t Corinth. Alford (on this verse), in reference to the thought. The English saying that Paul sent 'l'il\lothy from Bercea, phrllse, "tliey wade for the sea," is nearly not from Athens, is guiued by Lis own idea  THE .AOTS OF THE APOSTLES. [on. xrn. 1-34-.