The Pulpit Commentary — Acts — Volume 1 — Section 405

22 2f, 81, 82: Epb. Iv. 11. See also note ~ignify "Divine eeTvice," without specify- on' oh. Iv. 26). •reaohera (B,Sd,rna"-o•) are mg th~ particular office, whether prayer, or coupled with prophets, as hero, in 1 Cor. p_reachmg, or Holy Communirm, or orrlina- xii. 28, 29; Eph. iv. 11. The teacher, t10n, or any other part of the worship of would 11ppea.r to differ from the prophets Ood. lte cle.ssice.l use we.e to designat~ in thot they were not urnlcr the ccsta.tio o.ny offic~ performed by e.n inrlividual for influence of the Holy Spirit, and did not the public good. Hence in the New Testa- utter exhorrotions or prophecies in a poetio ment its application to Church alms (2 Cor. etrrdn, but were expounders of Christian Ix. 12), to gifts for the support of the truth, under the teaching of the Spirit. ministry (Phil. ii. 30), to the office of Whot they spoke was called a 6,B..x1i (1 Cor. magistrates (Rom. xiii. 6), etc. The re- xiv. 26), and their function was B,Bau1<a"-lcz, stricted ap_plication. of the term """°vP"'l[o; as Rom. xii. 7, where 6,6.. u1<a"-I" is reckoned to the service ased m the celebration of the among the xapluµa-rcz, the gifts of the Holy E~cbarist was of much later growth, as is • Ghost. It wu forbidden to women to evident from Chrysostom explainin.,. the teach (616du1<Et11: 1 Tim. ii. 12), though word here of preaching. " What ~eans they might prophesy (eh. xxi. 9). It is ministering? Preaching" (Hom. xxvii.). thought by Meyer, Alford, and others that It seems to ha,e arisen from the fact that the position of the pa.rticles -r• attaching the first forms of prayer were those com- the two following names to Barnabas in the posed for the office of the Holy Communion. first place, and one name following to This passage, therefore, doea not give the Manaen in the second, indicates that Bar- slighteat support to fasting Communion. nabas, Symeon, and Lucius were prophets, What was the exact occaaion of the service and Manaen and Saul teachers. Lucius and fast here spoken of it ia impossible to has by some been falsely identified with say. The Holy Ghost said, etc. This is the St. Luke. The foster-brother; u6v-rpo,Por origin of the question in the Ordination of may equally mean a foster-brother, one Dea.cons, "Do you trust that you are in- nursed at the same time at the same breast, wardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take which would indicate that Manaen's mother upon you this office?" Separate me (a.cpopi- was wet-nurse to Herod the tetrarch ; or a u...,.). The act of s~paration, or ordination, playmate, which would indicate that he had would be by the laying on of the handa or been Bodalia to Herod. It is only found Symeon and Lucius a.nd i\Ianaen, as Chl'y- here in the New Testament, but is used by sostom says (at least of the two last named), Xenophou, Plutarch, eto., and in 1 Mace. in the presence of the whole Church, but i. 7; 2 MIICO. ix. 29. In this chapter and the separation by the Holy Ghost, at least onwards the scene of the great drama of as regards Saul (6 li.tpopiuas µ,), had been Christianity is transferred from Jerusalem from his mother's womb (Gal. i. 15). Ob- to Antioch. The first part, which has serve, too, the «a"-luru of Gal. i. 15, and hitherto been played by Pet.er and John the 11pou«l«Jo..11µcu here. This is another and James, is now taken up by Barnabas instance of the very close resemblance and Saul, soon, however, to be olaseed as between parts of the Acts and the Epistle Paul and Bamabe.B.. to the Galatians, which looks as if St. Paul Ver. 2.-.A.nd a, for a,, A.V. They was writing it about the ee.me time os he ministered ; i.e. not, as Meyer explains it, was giving to St. Luke the details of his the whole Church, but the prophets and own history (see eh. viii. 19, note). The teachers, doubtless at an e.ssembly of the ordination was to the apostolate (Chl'yeos- Church. The word AE1-ro11r,roona11,, here tom). Barnabas and Saul are never called rendered "they ministered ' (from which apostles till after their ordination or conse- the word" Liturgy" ia derived), signifies any cration (oh. xiv. 14). solemn ministration or holy service. In Ver. 8.-Then for and, A.V. It does not the Old Testament the LXX. use it as the follow that the laying on of hands was on rendering of n:,!(', to minister (often with the the same day. On the contrary, the mention addition" to God," or" to the Lord"), whiob of the fasting again in this verse makes ie a general word applying to the ministra- it impossible so to understand it. Doubt- tions of priests and Levites (Exod. xx:viii. less, on receiving this intimation of the 35; Numb. viii, 26, eto.). Hence its use in Spirit, they fixed a day for the ordination, Heh. x.11 {!lee too Luke i. 23; Heh. ix. 21). and prepared for it by fasting and prayer. Joshua too 11 called Moses' minister (n:,t;ir.;i) The ember days of the Church before in Josh. i. 1, eto., and the angels are called ordinations are in accordance with this A•1-ro11p')'11<11 11v•6µa-r", "ministering spirits" precedent of Holy Scripture. With this (Heh. i. 14). JUBt as the Church trans- departure of Barnabas and Saul commenc,•s timed from the Jewish congregation eo the second and main part of the Acts of tl· e many other words and thi111~~. so l\lso the apostles. QBII of the words A•1-ro11n·l11, ,\1,-ru,•p~•"'• to Ver. i.- Went d01an to for depa.-ted unto 4CTB, 2D  4.02 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. [OR, XIII, 1-112,