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Stephen disputes with the

A. M. cir. 4035.
A. D. cir. 31.

CHAP. VI.

b

Libertines, Cyrenians, &c.

A. D. cir. 31.

8 ¶ And Stephen, full of faith and which is called the synagogue of the A.M.cir.4035. An. Olymp. power, did great wonders and mira- ' Libertines, and Cyrenians, and Alex- An. Olymp. cir. CCII. 3. cles among the people. andrians, and of them of Cilicia and cir. cci. 3. 9 Then there arose certain of the synagogue, of Asia, disputing with Stephen.

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sion. 1. The grace of Christ Jesus can save even a murderous Jewish priest: his death is a grand atonement for all crimes, and for the worst of sinners. 2. In the twenty-four courses of priests, there was not a multitude merely, but multitudes: indeed the number of ecclesiastics at Jerusalem was enormous. A great company out of these might be converted, and yet multitudes be left behind.

publicam non latet conscientiam. Unity is there: all the world knows it. From these two passages it appears, that there was in Lybia a town or district called Libertina, whose inhabitants bore the name of AbECTIVOL Libertines, when Christianity prevailed there. They had an episcopal see among them, and the above mentioned Victor was their bishop at the council of Carthage, in the reign of the Emperor Honorius. And from hence it seems probable that the town or district, and the people, existed in the time of which Luke is here speaking. They were Jews (no doubt), and came up as the Cyrenian and Alexandrian Jews did, to bring their offerings to Jerusalem, and to worship God in the temple there. Cunaus, in his Rep. Hebr. ii. 23. says, that the

Verse 8. Stephen, full of faith and power] Instead of faith, TisEws; "xapiros grace, is the reading of ABD. several others, the Syriac of Erpen, the Coptic, Armenian, Vulgate, and some of the Fathers. This reading Griesbach has admitted into the text. Some MSS. join both readings. Stephen was full of faith, gave unlimited credence to the promises of his Lord: he was full of grace; receiving the ful-Jews who lived in Alexandria and Lybia, and all other Jews filment of those promises, he enjoyed much of the unction of the Divine Spirit; and much of the favour of his God; and in consequence, he was full of power, duvaμews, of the divine energy, by which he was enabled to work great wonders and miracles among the people.

Verse 9. The synagogue-of the Libertines, &c.] That Jews and proselytes from various countries had now come up to Jerusalem to bring offerings, and to attend the feast of pentecost, we have already seen, chap. ii. The persons mentioned here, were foreign Jews, who appear to have had a synagogue peculiar to themselves at Jerusalem, in which they were accustomed to worship when they came to the public festivals.

Various opinions have been entertained concerning the Libertines mentioned here: Bp. Pearce's view of the subject appears to me to be the most correct.

who lived out of the Holy Land, except those of Babylon and its neighbourhood, were held in great contempt by the Jews who inhabited Jerusalem and Judea; partly on account of their quitting their proper country, and partly on account of their using the Greek language, and being quite ignorant of the other. For these reasons it seems probable. that the Libertines, Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, had a separate synagogue (as perhaps the Cilicians and those of Asia had); the Jews of Jerusalem not suffering them to be present in their synagogues, or they not choosing to perform their public service in synagogues where a language was used, which they did not understand."

It is supposed also, that these synagogues had theological, if not philosophical schools attached to them; and that it was the disciples or scholars of these schools who came forward to dispute with Stephen; and were enraged, because they were confounded. For it is not an uncommon custom with those who have a bad cause, which can neither stand the test of scripture nor reason, to endeavour to support it by physical, when logical force has failed; and thus

"It is commonly thought, that by this name is meant the sons of such Jews as had been slaves, and obtained their freedom by the favour of their masters: but it is to be observed, that with these Libertines, the Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, are here joined, as having one and the same syna"Prove their doctrine orthodox, gogue for their public worship. And it being known that "By apostolic blows and knocks." the Cyrenians (ch. ii. 10.) lived in Lybia, and the Alexan- In the reign of Queen Mary, when popery prevailed in this drians in the neighbourhood of it; it is most natural to look country, and the simplest women who had read the Bible for the Libertines too in that part of the world. Accord- were an overmatch for the greatest of the popish doctors; as ingly we find Suidas, in his Lexicon, saying, upon the word they had neither scripture nor reason to allege, they burned ACEPTIVO, that it is ovoμa Tou oves, the name of a people. them alive, and thus terminated a controversy which they And in Gest. Collationis Carthagini habitæ inter Catholicos were unable to maintain. The same cause will ever produce et Donatistas; published with Optatus's works, Paris, 1679, the same effect: the Libertines, Cicilians, Cyrenians, and (No. 201. and p. 57) we have these words: Victor episcopus Alexandrians, pursued this course: Stephen confounded them Ecclesiæ Catholicæ LIBERTINENSIS dixit, Unitas est illic;|| by Scripture and reason; and they beat his brains out with

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a Luke 21. 15. ch. 5. 39. See Exod. 12. Isai. 34. 17.- - 1 Kings 21. 10, 13. Matt. 26. 59, 60.—————a ch. 25. 8.—a Dan. 9. 26.—e Or, rites.

stones! This was the most effectual way to silence a dispu- to conduct it, who thus made themselves one with the beasts tant, whose wisdom they could not resist. In the same way of the people, whom they collected; and then, all together, were the Protestants treated, when by Scripture and reason without law or form of justice, rushed on the good man, they had shewn the absurdity and wickedness of that anti-seized him, and brought him to a council, who, though christian system, which the fire and the sword were brought they sat in the seat of judgment, were ready for every evil forth to establish. These persecutors professed great concern work. at first for the souls of those whom they variously tortured, and at last burned: but their tender mercies were cruel, and when they gave up the body to the flames, they most heartily consigned the soul to Satan. Scires e sanguine natos: their conduct proclaimed their genealogy.

Verse 10. They were not able to resist the wisdom, &c.] He was wise, well exercised, and experienced in divine things; and, as appears by his defence, in the following chapter, well versed in the Jewish history. The spirit by which he spake, was the Holy Spirit, and its power was irresistible. They were obliged either to yield to its teachings, or were confounded by its truth. Several MSS. add to this verse, because he reproved them with boldness, they could not resist the truth. This reading is not genuine, though it exists (but in different forms) in some good MSS.

Verse 11. Then they suborned men] Trabaho they made under-hand work; got associated to themselves profligate persons, who for money would swear any thing.

Blasphemous words against Moses, and against God.] This was the most deadly charge they could bring against him. We have already seen, Matt. ix. 4. that blasphemy, when against GOD, signifies speaking impiously of his nature, attributes, or works; and when against men, it signifies speaking injuriously of their character, blasting their reputation, &c. These false witnesses came to prove that he had blasphemed Moses, by representing him as an impostor, or the like; and GOD, by either denying his being, his providence, the justice of his government, &c.

Verse 12. And they] The Libertines, &c. mentioned before, stirred up the people; raised a mob against him; and, to assist and countenance the mob, got the elders and scribes

Verse 13. Against this holy place] The temple, that it shall be destroyed.

And the law] That it cannot give life, nor save from death. It is very likely that they had heard him speak words to this amount, which were all as true as the Spirit from which they proceeded; but they gave them a very false colouring, as we see in the succeeding verse.

Verse 15. Saw his face, as it had been the face of an angel.] Sayings like this are frequent among the Jewish writers, who represent God as distinguishing ́eminent men, by causing a glory to shine from their faces. Rabbi Gedalia said, that "when Moses and Aaron came before Pharaoh, they appeared like those angels which minister before the face of the Lord: for their stature appeared greater, and the splendour of their face was like the sun, and their eyes like the wheels of the sun; their beard like clusters of grapes, and their words like thunder and lightning; and that through fear of them, those who were present fell to the earth."

The like is said of Moses, in Debarim Rabba, fol. 75. that "when Sammael (Satan) came to Moses, the splendour of his face was like the sun; and himself resembled an angel of God." The Reader may find several similar sayings in Schoettgen.

It appears that the light and power of God which dwelt in his soul, shone through his face; and God gave them this proof of the falsity of the testimony which was now before them for as the face of Stephen now shone as the face of Moses did when he came down from the Mount, it was the fullest proof that he had neither spoken blasphemous words, either against Moses or God; else this splendour of heaven had not rested upon him.

He is summoned before the council

CHAP. VII. '

to answer for himself.

The history of the apostolic church is a series of wonders. | overthrow it. overthrow it. Is it possible to look at this, without seeing Every thing that could prevent such a church from being the mighty hand of God in the whole! He permits devils established, or could overthrow it when established, is and wicked men to work, to avail themselves of all their brought to bear against it. The instruments employed in its advantages; yet counterworks all their plots and designs, erection and defence, had neither might nor power, but what turns their weapons against themselves, and promotes his came immediately from God. They work, and God works cause by the very means that were used to destroy it. How with them the church is founded and built up, and its ad- true is the saying, there is neither might nor counsel against versaries, with every advantage in their favour, cannot the Lord.

CHAPTER VII.

Stephen being permitted to answer for himself relative to the charge of blasphemy brought against him by his accusers, gives a circumstantial relation of the call of Abraham, when he dwelt in Mesopotamia, in Charran, &c. 1—8. The history of Jacob and Joseph, 9-17. The persecution of their fathers in Egypt, 18, 19. The history of Moses and his acts till the Exodus from Egypt, 20-37. The rebellion and idolatry of the Israelites in the wilderness, 38-43. The erection of the tabernacle of witness, which continued till the time of David, 44-46. Of the temple built by Solomon for that God, who cannot be confined to temples built by hands, 47-50. Being probably interrupted in the prosecution of his discourse, he urges home the charge of rebellion against God, persecution of his prophets, the murder of Christ, and neglect of their own law, against them, 51-53. They are filled with indignation, and proceed to violence, 54. He sees the glory of God, and Christ at the right hand of the Father; and declares the glorious vision, 55, 56. They rush upon him, drag him out of the city, and stone him, 57, 58. He invokes the Lord Jesus, prays for his murderers, and expires, 59, 60. HEN said the high priest, Are || and fathers, hearken; The God of these things so? glory appeared unto our

A.M.cir. 4095.
A. D. cir. 31.
An. Olymp.
cir. CCII. 3.

TH

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father

2 And he said, Men, brethren, Abraham, when he was in Mesopo

a Ch. 6. 13, 13.- John 9. 22. ch. 22. 1.

NOTES ON CHAP. VII.

Verse 1. Are these things so?] Hast thou predicted the destruction of the temple? And hast thou said that Jesus of Nazareth shall change our customs, abolish our religious rites and temple-service? Hast thou spoken these blasphemous things against Moses, and against God? Here was some colour of justice; for Stephen was permitted to defend himself. And in order to do this, he thought it best to enter into a detail of their history from the commencement of their nation; and thus shew how kindly God had dealt with them, and how ungraciously they and their fathers had requited Him. And all this naturally led him to the conclusion, that God could no longer bear with a people, the cup of whose iniquity had been long overflowing; and therefore they might expect to find wrath, without mixture of mercy.

But how could St. Luke get all this circumstantial account? 1. He might have been present, and heard the whole; or, more probably, he had the account from St. Paul, whose companion he was, and who was certainly present when St. Stephen was judged and stoned, for he was

Gen. 11. 27, 28. & 12. 1-3.

A.

M.cir. 4035.

A. D. cir. 31.

An. Olymp.

cir. CCII. 3.

consenting to his death, and kept the clothes of them who stoned him. See chap. vii. 58. viii. 1. and xxii. 20.

Verse 2. Men, brethren, and fathers] Rather, brethren and fathers, for avopes should not be translated separately from adexpo. Literally it is men-brethren, a very usual form in Greek; for every person knows that avopes Avalo and avopes Пepoat should not be translated men-Athenians and men-Persians, but simply Athenians and Persians. See Acts xvii. 22. So in Luke ii. 15. aviρwmol molμEVES should be translated shepherds, not men-shepherds. And aspuños Bartheus, Matt. xviii. 23. should not be translated man-king, but king, simply. By translating as we do, men, brethren, and fathers, and putting a comma after men, we make Stephen address three classes, when in fact there were but two, the elders and scribes, whom he addressed as fathers; and the common people, whom he calls brethren. See Bp. Pearce, and see chap. viii. 27.

The God of glory appeared, &c.] As Stephen was now vindicating himself from the false charges brought against him, he shews that he had uttered no blasphemy, either against

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That his seed should sojourn in a strange land; and that they should bring them into bondage, and entreat them evil four hundred years. 7 And the nation to whom they shall be in bondage will I judge, said God: and after that shall they come forth, and serve me in this place.

5 And he gave him none inheritance in it, no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he pro- 8 And he gave him the covenant of circummised that he would give it to him for a posses-cision: and so Abraham begat Isaac, and cir

Gen. 12. 1.- Gen. 11. 31. & 12. 4, 5.— Gen. 12. 7. & 13. 15. & 15. a Gen. 15. 13, 16.3, 18. & 17. 8. & 26. 3.

- Exod. 12. 40. Gal. 3. 17.- Exod. 3. 12. Gen. 17. 9, 10, 11. Gen. 21. 2, 3, 4.

God, Moses, or the temple; but states, that his accusers, and the Jews in general, were guilty of the faults with which they charged him. That they had from the beginning rejected and despised Moses, and had always violated his laws. He proceeds to state that there is no blasphemy in saying that the temple shall be destroyed: they had been without a temple till the days of David; nor does God ever confine himself to temples built by hands, seeing he fills both heaven and earth; that Jesus is the prophet of whom Moses spoke ; and whom they had persecuted, condemned, and at last put to death; that they were wicked and uncircumcised in heart and in ears; and always resisted the Holy Ghost as their fathers did. This is the substance of St. Stephen's defence as far as he was permitted to make it: a defence which they could not confute; containing charges which they most glaringly illustrated and confirmed, by adding the murder of this faithful disciple, to that of his all glorious master.

Was in Mesopotamia] In that part of it where Ur of the Chaldees was situated, near to Babel, and among the rivers (Tigris and Euphrates) which gave the name of Mesopotamia to the country. See the note on Gen. xi. 31.

Before he dwelt in Charran] This is called Haran in our translation of Gen. xi. 31; this place also belonged to Mesopotamia, as well as Ur, but is placed west of it, on the maps. It seems most probable that Abraham had two calls, one in Ur and the other in Haran. He left Ur, at the first call, and came to Haran; he left Haran at the second call, and came into the promised land. See these things more particularly stated in the notes on Gen. xii. 1.

Verse 4. When his father was dead] See the note on Gen. xi. 26.

Verse 5. Gave him none inheritance] Both Abraham and Jacob had small parcels of land in Canaan; but they had them by purchase, not by God's gift; for as Abraham was

obliged to buy a burying place in Canaan Gen xxiii. it is obvious he had no inheritance there.

And to his seed after him] See Gen. xii. 7. and xiii. 15. and the note there.

Verse 6. That his seed should sojourn in a strange land] See Gen. xv. 13, 14.

Four hundred years.] Moses says, Exod. xii. 40. that the sojourning of the children of Israel in Egypt-was 430 years. See the note there. St. PAUL has the same number, Gal. iii. 17. and so has Josephus Ant. lib. ii. cap. 1. sect. 9. in Bell. lib. v. cap. 9. sect. 4. St. Stephen uses the round number of 400, leaving out the odd tens, a thing very common not only in the sacred writers, but in all others, those alone excepted, who write professedly on chronological matters.

Verse 7. Will I judge] Kpivw eyw. I will punish, for in this sense the Greek word is frequently taken. "When" says Bp. Pearce, "a malefactor is brought before a judge; the judge does three things: 1. he tries or judges him; 2. he then gives his judgment or sentence; and 3. he puts the law in execution, and punishes him. Hence xpvw at different times, signifies each of these things; and the sense of the word is to be determined by the context. Here it signifies to punish, as xpia is used for punishment, in Rom. xiii. 2. 1 Cor. xi. 29. compared with ver. 30, 31." The Egyptians to whom the Israelites were in bondage, were punished by the ten plagues described Exod. vii, viii, ix, x, xi, xii.

Verse 8. He gave him the covenant of circumcision] That is, he instituted the rite of circumcision, as a sign of that covenant which he had made with him and his posterity. See Gen. xvii. 10, &c.

And so Abraham begat Isaac] Kaι ourws and thus, in this covenant, he begat Isaac: and as a proof that he was born under this covenant, was a true son of Abraham and inheritor of the promises, he circumcised him the eighth day: and this

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rite being observed in the family of Isaac, Jacob and his twelve sons were born under the covenant; and thus their descendants the twelve tribes, being born under the same covenant, and practising the same rite, were, by the ordinance of God, legal inheritors of the promised land, and all the secular and spiritual advantages connected with it.

Verse 9. And the patriarchs] The twelve sons of Jacob thus called, because each was chief or head of his respective family or tribe.

field of Machpelah before Mamre. And in Josh. xxiv. 32. and Exod. xiii. 19. it is said that the bones of Joseph were carried out of Egypt by the Israelites, and buried in Shechem, which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem. As for the eleven brethren of Joseph, we are told by Josephus, Ant. lib. ii. cap. 8. sect. 2. that they were buried in Hebron, where their father had been buried. But since the books of the Old Testament say nothing about this, the authority of Stephen (or of Luke here) for their being buried Moved with envy] Zyλwoares; we translate o vari-in Sychem, is at least as good as that of Josephus for their ously-zeal, or fervent affection, whether its object be good being buried in Hebron." Bp. Pearce. or bad, is its general meaning; and how signifies to be indignant, envious, &c. See the note on chap. v. 17. The brethren of Joseph hearing of his dreams, and understanding them to portend his future advancement, filled with envy, (within Sychem. As Sychem belonged to the Samaritans, prowhich no ordinary portion of malice was associated,) sold Joseph into the land of Egypt, hoping by this means to prevent his future grandeur: but God, from whom the portents came, was with him; and made their envy, the direct means of accomplishing the great design.

We have the uniform consent of the Jewish writers that all the patriarchs were brought out of Egypt, and buried in Canaan, but none, except Stephen, mentions their being buried

bably the Jews thought it too great an honour for that people to possess the bones of the patriarchs; and therefore have carefully avoided making any mention of it. This is Dr. Lightfoot's conjecture; and it is as probable as any other. That Abraham bought for a sum of money] Two ac

Abraham of the cave and field of Ephron, which was in the field of Machpelah: this purchase was made from the children of Heth, Gen. xxiii. 3, 10, 17. 2. The purchase made

Verse 10. Gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pha-counts seem here to be confounded; 1. the purchase made by raoh] God gave him much wisdom, in consequence of which, he had favour with the king of Egypt. See the whole of this remarkable history explained at large, Gen. xli-xlv. Verse 14. Threescore and fifteen souls.] There are seve-by Jacob from the sons of Hamor or Emmor, of a sepulchre ral difficulties here, which it is hoped the Reader will find satisfactorily removed in the note on Gen. xlvi. 20. It is well known that in Gen. xlvi. and in Deut. x. 22. their number is said to be threescore and ten; but Stephen quotes from the Septuagint, which adds five persons to the account, which are not in the Hebrew text. Machir, Gilead, Sutelaam, Taham, and Edem; but see the note referred to above.

Verse 16. And were carried over into Sychem] "It is said, Gen. 1. 13. that Jacob was buried in the cave of the

in which the bones of Joseph were laid; this was in Sychem or Shechem, Gen. xxxiii. 19. Josh. xxiv. 32. The word Abraham therefore, in this place, is certainly a mistake; and the word Jacob, which some have supplied is doubtless more proper. Bp. Pearce supposes that Luke originally wrote i wryσato Tiμns apyupiou, which he bought for a sum of money: i. e. which Jacob bought, who is the last person of the singular number, spoken of in the preceding verse. Those who saw that the word wvyoaro bought, had no nominative case

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