The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 2 — Section 245

Bald In hil defenoe (a.,ro/vryovµlw,v): oh. with the ready wit which chBrocterized him, llXiv. 10, note. The Law , .. the temple, and with a knowledge of the rights whieh , . C111ear. The ncoueations againet him the Lez Julia, in addition to other lows, {ell under these three heads (eh. xxiv. 5): conferred on him os a Romon citizen, he be was the ringleader of an unlawful sect: Immediately added, I appea.I unto C11111e.r. ho had profaned the temple; and he had Ver. 12.-Tlwu IIIUt for had thouf A.V. stirred up lneurreotion agciinet the govern- and, oa far os pnnctne.tion is concerned, T.R. ment among the Jews. 'fhe ooousa.tion1 The council. Not the members of the So.n- were false under every bead. hedrim who were present, bnt bia own COIi· Ver. 9.-DeBiring to gain fa'IJour tllilh tlui •iliarii,'.or as•uroru, o.s they were called, in Jew, for willing to do the JewB a pleaBure, Greek 1r&p,8po1, with whom the Roman A.V. To go.in fe.vour, etc. (see above, oh. governor advised before giving jodgment. xxiv. 2i, note), It woe not unnatural the.t Unto Cll!sar ahalt thou go. In like manner, Festus, ignore.nt ns he still was of Jewish Pliny (quoted by Kuinoel) says of certain me.lice and bigotry and violence, in the ce.se Christians who had appealed to Crese.r, that, of Pe.ul, and anxious to conciliate e. people "because they were Roman citizens, he had eo difficult to ~ovcm as the J ewe hod shower! tbonght it right to send them to Rome for themselves to be, should make the propose.I. trial"(' Epist.,' x. 97). Festns, though, mo.y- In doing 80 he still insisted that the trial be, rather startled by Paul's appeal. was should be before him. :Before me ; b,' perhaps not sorry to be thus rid of a difficult lµov, o.s eh, xxiiL 30 and :xxvi. 2; brl aov case, and e.t the same time to leave the Jews "before thee," viz. King Agrippa in the lost under the impression tha& he himself we.a case, and Felix in the former. The expres- willing to seud the prisoner for trio.I to sion is somewhat ambiguous, and may Jernsiµem, had it been possible. merely mean that Festue would be present Ver. 13.-Now when certain days were in the oourt to ensure fair play, while the passed for and after certain days, A. V. ; Sanhedrim judged Paul according to their Agrippa the lcina and Bernice arrfoed at for La.w, and so Paul seems, by his answer, to King Agrippa and Bernice came unto, A.V.; hove understood it. and saluted for to solute, A.V. e.nd T.B. Ver. 10.-But Pa!Jl, said for then said Paul, Agrippa the king. Herod Agrippa II., son A.V.; I am standing for I stand, A.V.; of Herod Agrippa L (eh. xii.), and conse- before for at, A.V.; t/wu al.so for thou, A.V. quently brother of Drusilla (eh. :x::i:iv. 2!). I am standing before C111se.r's judgment-seat He was only seventeen at his father's death, Oarw~ ,lµ,). The judgment-eeot of the and 80 not considered by Claudius a ao.fe procurator, who ministered judgment in person to entrust his father's large dominions Cmsor's nnme o.nd by his authority, we.a to. But he gave him Cholcis, and afterwards, rightly co.lied " C111sar's judgment-see.t." As i'n exchange for it, otbe~ dominions. It w~ a Romo.n citizen, Paul hod a right to be he who made Ismael the son of Phabi tried there, and not before the Sanhcdri.m. high priest, and who built the palace e.t The pretcnco that he had offended against Jeruso.lem which overlooked the temple, the Jewish Le.w, and therefore ought to be e.ud gave great offence to the J ewe. He WWJ tried by the Jewish court, woe a fe.lse one, the lost of the Herods, and reigned e.bove oa Festus well knew; for he ho.d the reoord fifty yeom. :Bernioe we.a his sister, but was of the preceding trial before him. thought to be living in an incestuous inter- Ver. 11.-If then I am a tDrong-doer for course with him. She hod been the wife of for if I be an offender, A.V. and T.R.; and her uncle Herod, Prince of Cholcis ; and on for or, A.V.; if none of those things is true his death lived with her brother. She then for if there be none of these things, A. V. ; can for a while become the wife of Polemo, King give me up for may deli'IJer me, A.V. I of Cicilio, but soon returned to Herod refuse not ; ob 1rapa1roiiµa1. Here only in Agrippa. She afterwords beco.me the mis- the Acts, and three times in Luke :xiv. tress of Vesposio.n and of Titus in succes- Elsewhere, four times in the pastoral Epistles, sion (Alford). And so.luted; a.O',raa&µ,vo,, nnd twice in Hebrews. Frequent in olo.ssi- which reading Meyer and Alford both retain. col Greek. No me.n oe.n give me up (xapl- The reading of the B.T. is a.rnra.aczµ•vo,. U O'ao'8a,); o.s ver. 16, "to hand over as a is quite in oooordonce with the position of a mo.tter of oomplo.isonce," St. Paul sow at dependent king, that he should oome e.nd once the de.nger he wns in from Festus's in- pay his respects to the new Romo.n ~overnor clination to curry favour with the Jews. at Cmsn.ree.. With his usual fearlessness, therefore, e.nd Ver.14.-.d, they tarried for when they hall perhaps with the so.me quiokness of temper been, A.V.: laid for declared, A.V.; oaae for whioh mode him ooll Au o.nios "a whited cause, A.V.; before for unto, A.V.; a prisoner w~ll," he said, "No mo.n (not even the for in bonds, A.V, lllany days (,rJ\•ious m1µ:hty Romo.n governor) may ma.ke me over .;,,.lpa.,). Not necm..;a:.ily many, but ns eh. to them o.t their request, to please them," nnd xiuv. 17 (margin). "BOmc," or "lltivero.I.~  THE ACTS OF THE APOSTL EB. [orr. x::r.v, 1-27,