That they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk after the customs. 22 What is it therefore? the multitude must needs come together: for they will hear that thou art come. 23 Do therefore this that we say to thee: We have four men which have a vow on them; 24 Them take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges had forbidden the Jews from following their own predilections in reference to themselves. He himself conformed in every proper way to the prejudices of his Jewish brethren. He behaved as a Jew (1 Cor. ix; 20) to gain them. He solemnized the feasts, attending them at Jerusalem, (Acts xviii, 21) as at the present time; circumcised Timothy out of respect to the same views; and now complied with their customs in reference to the law of vows. Walk after the customs] Follow religious practices. 22. What is it therefore?] What is it, therefore, best to do? The multitude must needs come together] That is, the multitude of Jewish Christians, now in Jerusalem, hearing of your arrival, will eagerly come to hear about this matter, whether true or false; they will flock together upon the first annunciation of your coming. 23. Do therefore] Rather a request than a command. We have four men which have a vow on them] Probably a vow of Nazariteship. It appears to have been customary among the Jews to make vows unto the Lord upon extraordinary occasions, and the vow of the Nazarite was commonly chosen. This was a voluntary vow, by which the subjects devoted themselves peculiarly to the service of God, spending at least thirty days in extraordinary devotions. They abstained from wine; let their hair grow; gave themselves up to prayer, until they offered the sacrifice upon their release from the vow. At this time they presented an oblation of some value to the Lord, their hair was shorn by the priest, and put into the fire under the altar. (See Num. vi.) 24. T'hem take, and purify thyself with them, and be at charges] We are informed by Josephus, and other Jewish writers, that it was considered an act of commendable piety, even when bound by no vow, to practice the abstemious habits of the Nazarites with those who had undertaken a vow, and to bear the whole, or a part of the expenses of the concluding sacrifices. Paul was, therefore, requested, in order to show that as a Jew he did not consider it sinful, although unim. portant, still to conform to the precepts of the ceremonial law, to purify himself, to follow the ceremonial direction of those under the vow, and be at charges with them, be at the expense of their sacrifices. with them, that they may shave their heads: and all may know that those things whereof they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the law. 25 As touching the Gentiles which believe, we have written and concluded that they observe no such thing, save only that they keep themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from strangled, and from fornication. 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them, entered into the temple, to signify the accomplishment of the days of purification, until that an offering should be offered for every one of them. 27 And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews, which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him. 28 Crying out, Men of Israel, help. This is the man that teacheth all men everywhere against the people, and the law, These appear to have been poor men unable to purchase the necessary offerings, and waiting for some one to relieve them from their vow, by meeting the expense. The charges of these four persons would be the price of eight lambs, four rams, together with oil, flour, &c. (See Num. vi, 14, 15.) That they may shave their heads] This could not be done until the offering was made; this signifying their release from the vow. And all may know, &c.] That it may be evident that the report is untrue, that the stories amount to nothing, and thus, as a Jew, you still conform to the requirements of the law, and keep its precepts. 25. As touching] Concerning. We have written] (See Acts xv, 20, &c.) 26. To signify the accomplishment] He went into the temple to give information to the priests how long before the vows would be ended, and the sacrifices offered, (see Num. vi,) that due preparations might be made. The period appears to have been a week, that Paul bore the vow with them, they having been under its obligations for some time previous. 27. The Jews which were of Asia] Of proconsular Asia, where Paul had labored so extensively, and was so well known. These Jews had come up to the feast; they had become peculiarly imbittered against Paul by his success in obtaining converts, and by their frequent collisions. Stirred up] Roused, excited. 28. Help] Come to our aid in apprehending this person. This is the man that teacheth all men everywhere against the people] Prejudiced the Gentiles against the Jewish nation. A most malicious slander; for they themselves had roused the Gentiles against Paul and the and this place and further, brought Greeks also into the temple; and hath polluted this holy place. 29 (For they had seen before with him in the city, Trophimus, an Ephesian, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.) 30 And all the city was moved, and the people ran together: and they took Paul and drew him out of the temple. And forthwith the doors were shut. 31 And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar; 32 Who immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them. And when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul. disciples of Christ; thus reiterating the reports that had been previously sent to Jerusalem concerning him. And the law] The law of Moses. Paul had manifested the utmost respect for this, teaching it everywhere-first of all in the synagogues. And this place] The temple and its services. Brought Greeks also into the temple] He with his companions were in the court of the Israelites; and no Gentile was permitted to enter here. On the column separating the two courts were inscriptions in Greek and Latin forbidding foreigners to enter into the sanctuary; the penalty was death. Their presence was considered a pollution. They had seen Trophimus, an Ephesian, with Paul in the city; and they imagined, or affected to believe, that Paul had brought him into the holy place out of disrespect. Nothing could have incensed the Jews more than this charge. They were too anxious to find some cause against him to examine very closely the truth of the accusation. 30. Drew him out of the temple] Probably intending to kill him, and seeking to avoid polluting the sanctuary with blood. And the doors were shut] This may have been done by the priests and Levites to free themselves from any responsibility in the violence of the multitude, or to avoid pollution, or to prevent the apostle's rushing back into the temple, and claiming the protection of the sanctuary. The Jews, regarding it as a sacred spot, would not kill a person there. 1 Kings i, 50, 51; ii, 28–31. 31. Went about] Sought means, made preparations. Chief captain of the band] This officer appears to have been the tribune who held the chief military command in the city; such an officer, with a large detachment, being stationed in Jerusalem, and near the temple, to overawe the inflamed multitude, and allay their strifes, especially at the time of the feasts. 33 Then the chief captain came near and took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains: and demanded who he was, and what he had done. 34 And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude: and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle. 35 And when he came upon the stairs, so it was that he was borne of the soldiers, for the violence of the people. 36 For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him. 37 And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek? 38 Art not thou that Egyptian, which before these days madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers? 33. Bound with two chains] Thinking he might be a violent man, and also to satisfy the Jews that he should not escape. 34. To be carried into the castle] The castle of Antonia, where the Roman garrison was stationed. It overlooked the temple, and was connected with it by a private entrance, over a flight of stairs, into the portico. 35. Upon the stairs] Of the castle. Borne of the soldiers] Lifted upon their shoulders, so as to be defended from the impetuous attacks of the Jews. 37. Canst thou speak Greek?] Claudius Lysias, who was the tribune, was not a Roman, as appears by his name, and what he afterward says of himself. Acts xxii, 25. He was a Greek, and was surprised to be addressed in his native language by one whom he supposed to be a Jew or an Egyptian. 38. Art not thou that Egyptian] Josephus gives an account of this affair, which transpired about two years before the time of Paul's arrest. He was an Egyptian Jew, and came into Judea, giving out that he was a prophet. He collected thirty thousand deluded people around his standard in the desert, and persuaded them to follow him to the Mount of Olives, where they should see the walls of Jerusalem fall down at his command, so that they might easily enter and take the city. Felix, the Roman governor at this time, marched out against them, and easily routed the undisciplined band: four hundred were killed, and two hundred taken prisoners; but the impostor escaped. As he was still alive, Lysias supposed he had again entered the city, and raised the commotion in the temple. That were murderers?] Assassins, banditti. The impostor's company may have 39 But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, ɑ city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and I beseech thee suffer me to speak unto the people. 40 And when he had given him license, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying, been largely composed of such characters, as they were, in these terrible times, very prevalent in the mountains and deserts round Jerusalem. 39. Tarsus] (See Acts ix, 11, 30; xi, 25.) 40. Spake-in the Hebrew tongue] What was then called Hebrew. The Syro-Chaldee language, then spoken by the Jews of Palestine. CHAPTER XXII. 1. Paul's defense upon the castle stairs. 22. His address interrupted by the enraged multitude. 24. He is carried into the castle, and would have been scourged had he not claimed his privilege as a Roman citizen. MEN, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense which I make now unto you. 2 (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,) 3 I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, 1. My defense] Against the charges that had been made-that he had spoken against the Jewish nation, the law of Moses, and the temple. He proceeds to show that his early education, and life since, had been in strict conformity to the law; and then relates the circumstances attending his conversion to Christianity. 2. Spake in the Hebrew tongue] (See Acts xxi, 40.) As Paul had spent most of his time out of Palestine, and as his accusers were Hellenistic Jews, they may have supposed that he also was a Hellenist. This language the Jews held in contempt, while they were exceedingly attached to their own vernacular Hebrew; therefore, when they heard Paul speak in their native tongue, they were agreeably surprised, and gave him greater attention. 3. Brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel] In the Jewish schools the pupils sat upon mats or low stools, while the master sat upon an elevated seat above them. The expression is equivalent to that we employ when we say, he was educated under Gamaliel. (See |