foot ■aye, " Ho wne 11ttracted th Hher by a The obief priests. The plural seeme to 1pirit 111,in to thnt whioh formerly had mark how the high priesthood e.t this period drivon Elijah to the same region. Standing was passed from one to another. Caiaplie.s, on the threshold of the new covenant, he Anna.a, JoMthan, e.nd Theophilus would all wu.e anllioue to look upon the birthplace of be included under thEJ term. tho old; thot, dwelling for 11, while in seclu- Ver. 22.;-~The Christ for very Christ, A.V. sion in tho presenoo of the mount that The repetition or the phrase 3-r, o'ii-rrfr lrr-rw burned with fire, he might ponder over (vere. 20 al:!d 22) is remarkable. As already the tmn~ient glories of tho ministration of observed, 1t presnpposea the mention of donth, ond apprehend its real purpose in Jesus, of whom it Is thus predicated that he relation to tho more glorious covenant which is both " the Son of God" e.nd " the Christ" WOB now to supplnnt it." llis journey to (comp. eh. ii. 32, 36; iv. 11, etc.). Observe Arabia need not necessarily have occupied the incidental proof of the general expecta- more than two or three months. It seems tion of the Jews that Christ shou1d come certain that he did not preach there, because in this description of the apostolfo preachina- he says ( eh. xxvi. 20), "I declared to them as directed to the one point that Jesus of 11,t Damascus first," eto. (eee another coinci- Nazareth was the Christ. denoe between the Acts e.nd the Epistle to Ver. 23.- When for after fhat, A.V.; took the Gala tinn.s in oh. xiii. 2, note). counsel together for took counsel, A.V. The Ver. 20.-In the synaaogues he proclaimed phrase many days is quite el.1stic enough Jesus for he preached Christ in the synagogues, to comprehen<1 whatever time remained to A.V. and T.Il.. The preponderance of make up the three years (Gal. i. 18) which manuscript authority, and the 61101'-" of ver. St. Paul tells us intervened between bis 21, and the 8-r, o~-ror /{1'-r111 6 Xp1{1'-r&r of ver. conversion and bis visit to Jerusalem (see 22, seem conclusive in fovour of Jesus rather ver. 43; ob. xvili.18; mvii 7; xiv. 3). tho.n Ghrist. As regards the expression Luke frequently uses /1<a11or for "many" straightway, we must understand it as de- (Luke vii. 11; viii. 27; =iii 8). So in scriptive of Saul's action upon his return Hebrew, o•~:, o•i;i;, many de.ye, is applied to from Arabia. ls it possible that St. Luke uses considerable portions of time. In 1 Kings it with the same meaning as he may have ii. 38, 39, it is applied to three years. heard St. Paul use it in when speaking of Ver. 24. -Their plot ( bri/3ovll.-/i) became his Damascus preaching, in the Bame sense knoion for their laying await tDas kncwn, as St. Paul actually does speak in Gal. i.17, A.V.; to Saul for of Saul, A.V.; the gates viz. 11s expressing that he did not wait for also for the gates, A. V. and T.R.; that they authority from the apostles, but at once, might for to, A. V. ; 11, colon instead of full fresh from the Divine call, and having a point at end of verse. direot commission from Christ himself, Ver. 25.-But for then, .A. V, ; hi, disciples entered upon his apostolic ministry? If the for the disciples, A.V. and T.R.; through for Epistle to the Galatians was written A.D. 58, by, A.V.; lowering him in for in, .A.V. lt would be just about the time that St. Lowering hlm, etc. The .A. V. gives the Luke joined St. Paul, and might be com- sense freely; and combining the verb ,ca8ij,ca.,1 menoing to oolleot materials for his history. with the participle xal\.a{l'a11-res, translates Bo that the phrase in the Galatians and both by the one word "let him down." the pbro.se in this twentieth verse might The by of the A.V. seems preferable to the really be the expression of one thought through of the R.V., as through suggests committed to poper by St. Paul on the one the idea, whicb cannot be int~nded, of hand, and uttered in the ear of Luke on me.king a hole in the wall. The escape of the other. It is a confirmation of this view the spies from Jericho, as desoribed in Josh. that in 2 Corinthians, written about the ii. 15, was exaoUy in the same we.y, except same time, there is also an account of Saul's that they had only II rope to descend by, escape from Damascus. In the synagogues; whereas St. Paul had II rope-basket. In. the very synagogues (ver. 2) to whioh the the description of bis elClape given by St. letters of the high priest were addressed, Paul to the Corinthians (2 Cor. Jti.. 33), be empowering him to arrest either man or uses the same word for " let down " woman who oalled upon the Name of Jesus, ( lxal\.d{l'lhw), tells us he was let down " by and bring them 118 prisoners to Jerusalem the wall," R.V. liu\ -roii -rdxovs, with the to be tried before the Sanhedrim. No additional particular that he got out through wonder they were o.mazed. the window, 11,a 8vpllior, and that it was Ver. 21.-.A.nd for but, A.V.: that in Jeru- 11 {l'ap-yd.,,11, 11 basket made of ropes (which ealem mad~ havoo of for that destroyed them describes the kind of basket somewhat more (which called on this Name) in Jerusalem, accurately than the t1-.rvpCs here used) in A, V, ; and he had come hither fur this intent which be was !t,t down (see note on ver. lor and came hither fur that intent, A,V,, 20). The passage in 2 Corinthians givea @.l'eren tiy i,tofpcd; ~fure foi vnta, A. V, 1lll a further QJ.\eresting acco~t of 11.ow the 286 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. [011. IX. 1-43,
JeW1 went about to BOOOmplish their purpose 11eem11, pass fltleen days o.a his guest (Gal. i. of ldJ.ling PRnl. It eeems the.t at this time, 18); and while there, did a.lso see Jo.mes either in revolt e.g&inet the Romans or by the Lord's brother. The other apostles permission of Caligula (it is not known wero probably absent from Jerusalem dnl"iug certainly 'l'l"hich), a certai.:i Aretns, or thnt fortnight: but BarnBbas did, it 8ecm~. H11reth, King of Arabia Petrea, included at a Church assembly, in the presence of Damascus in his dominions for a time, i.e. James nnd, no doubt, the elders of the thron~h the reigns of Caligula a.nd Claudius. Church, give the 11,Stonishing narrative of He nppninted an ethna.rch, who was doubt- 8aul's conversion. This removed their less R Jew, to rule the l!\rge J cwi.sh popu- suspicions and their fears, and he was freely, lation according to their LBw, and who was duriug the rest of his brief stay, a<lmitted the rea<ly tool of the unbelieving Jews, a.s a brother to their assemblies, e,nd took u8ing his power as governor to have the part in preaching the gospel in the syna- gates kept day and night so as to prevent gogues. 1