glorification of the name-the name whose confession and announcement was always the highest and the holiest solicitude of the apostles: either the name Jesus, as last mentioned, in which they were forbidden to speak; or rather the sacred name Christ, or Messiah, for the confession of which they suffered. 'Ariμao0ñvai-to suffer shame. The allusion is to the scourging; a punishment regarded by the Romans as so shameful, that it was forbidden to be inflicted on a Roman citizen; and among the Jews was also looked upon as disgraceful. It is called by Josephus Tμwpía aloxíorn-" the most shameful punishment." Ver. 42. Πασάν τε ἡμέραν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ—and every day in the temple. The Sanhedrim could not in the meantime interpose its authority to check the preaching of the apostles; and hence they preached for some time longer unmolested in the temple. Kar' olxov-from house to house. A contrast to "in the temple." It refers to the private assemblies of the Christians in various houses, in different parts of Jerusalem. See note to ch. ii. 46. Evayyeλióμevoi Tòv XρiσTÒV 'Inooûv—preaching Jesus the Christ; that is, they announced that Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified, was the Messiah. SECTION XI. THE ELECTION OF THE SEVEN.-ACTS VI. 1-7. 1 Now in those days, when the disciples became numerous, there arose a murmuring of the Hellenists against the Hebrews, because their widows were overlooked in the daily ministration. 2 Then the twelve, having called the multitude of the disciples together, said, It is not agreeable that we should forsake the word of God, and serve tables. 3 Therefore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men of good report, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint over this business. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer, and to the ministration of the word. 5 And the saying pleased the whole multitude: and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch; 6 Whom they set before the apostles: and having prayed, they laid their hands upon them. 7 And the word of God increased; and the number of disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly and a great multitude of the priests became obedient to the faith. : CRITICAL NOTES. Ver. 3. 'Ayiou after ПIveúμatos is wanting in B, D, §, and is omitted by Griesbach, Lachmann, and Tischendorf. It is, however, contained in A, C, E, H. KаTαotýσooμev, A, C, D, E, , is to be preferred to κaтaστnowμev. Ver. 7. 'Iepéwv is decidedly to be preferred to the weakly attested reading 'Iovdalwv, which, however, is found in the Sinaitic codex, and in the Syriac. EXEGETICAL REMARKS. Ver. 1. 4è-but. A contrast to the prosperous condition of the church mentioned at the close of the preceding paragraph. The enemies of the church-the Sadducean party— were for a time rendered inactive. External hostility had in a measure ceased; but (dè) a new evil arose within the church —an internal dissension. 'Ev Taîs ημépais TaÚTais—in those days. The time here adverted to is the period when the apostles were preaching unmolested in the temple. As the passage appears to be introductory to the history of Stephen, it was probably not long before his martyrdom; consequently in the year 35 or 36.1 IIXn0vvóvтwv тŵν μаðηтwv-when the disciples became numerous. The more the church increased in numbers, the greater the diversity of its members, and the more liable did it become to internal dissensions. 'EXλnvioTwv-the Hellenists. This word is derived from EXλnview, to hellenize, "to speak Greek," and translated in our version Grecians. The persons here called Hellenists are evidently those who were converted to Christianity from the Jewish religion; for as yet the gospel was not preached to the Gentiles. The word in the New Testament for the Gentiles among the Greeks is "EXλnves, translated in our version Greeks. Some (Beza, Salmasius, Lardner, Pearson) suppose that by the Hellenists are meant, not Jews by birth, but proselytes from among the Gentiles. The chief argument for this opinion is derived from Acts xi. 19, 20, where the Hellenists are distinguished from the Jews; but in that passage the reading 'EXλnviorás is doubtful. Besides, it is extremely improbable that there should be at this time in the church of Jerusalem any large number of Jewish proselytes. The Hellenists, then, are here contrasted with the Hebrews as regards language. As the Hebrews are those Jews who spoke the Hebrew language, or rather that dialect of it then current, the Aramaic the Palestinian Jews; so the Hellenists are those Jews who, residing chiefly in foreign parts, had lost the use of their native Hebrew, and spoke the Greek language the Hellenistic Jews. So Erasmus, Lightfoot, Grotius, Bengel, Kuincel, Winer, Wieseler, Olshausen, Meyer, De Wette, Stier, and Wordsworth. Thus the distinction was not one of nationality, but of language. Both parties were Jewish Christians. The one party were chiefly 1 On the supposition that St. Paul's conversion occurred about the year 37. Jews resident in Palestine, and the other party were the Jews of the dispersion, including also the proselytes from among the Greeks who had become Christians. The word 'Exηviors occurs only two, or at the most three, times in Scripture, and that in the Acts of the Apostles. Here the Hellenists are distinguished from the Hebrews in respect to language. In Acts ix. 29 it is said that Paul, on his first visit to Jerusalem after his conversion, disputed with the Hellenists. Being himself a Jew of Tarsus, he expected to find more sympathy with them than with the more rigid Palestinian Jews. In Acts xi. 20 it is said that those who were scattered abroad came to Antioch and preached the gospel to the Jews only; but that some of them addressed the Hellenists. Modern critics, however, are in favour of the reading "Exλnvas, the Greeks. It is probable, as Meyer observes, that as the acquaintance of the Greek Jews with foreign culture tended to lessen and overcome the Jewish narrowness of spirit, many of them would be the more inclined to embrace Christianity. Still, as in Jerusalem they were few in comparison with the native Jews, they must at this time have formed the minority in the Christian church. Οτι παρεθεωροῦντο ἐν τῇ διακονίᾳ, etc.—because their widows were overlooked in the daily ministration. Some (Olshausen, Lekebusch) suppose that the widows are put by synecdoche for all poor and needy persons." But this is an unnecessary supposition. They are mentioned just because it was the real or supposed neglect of them that was the occasion of the discontent. Kalnμepivn, formed from κaľ nμéρav, is only found here in the New Testament, but occurs in Plutarch and the later Greek writers. The ministration here referred to is the distribution either of food or money among the poorer members of the church. We are not informed whether the complaint of the Hellenistic Christians concerning the neglect of their widows was well founded; but it would seem, from the change in the arrangements, and the institution of a separate body of men 1 Meyer's Apostelgeschichte, p. 133. 2 Lekebusch's Apostelgeschichte, p. 93. to manage the distribution of the charities, that there was some ground for it. We are not, however, to suppose that this neglect was intentional, arising from the self-conceit or positive ill-will of the Palestinian Christians (Meyer). We may conceive that for some time the apostles themselves had managed the distribution; but as the number of the disciples increased, they felt constrained to depute this business to others, in order that they might devote themselves more entirely to the ministry of the word: and thus, either from the neglect of the persons entrusted with this matter, or from the want of some regular plan, or from the increasing number of converts from among the poor, or perhaps from the natural jealousy between the two parties, this murmuring arose, and the complaint was made to the apostles by the Hellenistic Christians that their widows were neglected in the daily ministration (Rothe, Neander). We have here the account of the first dissension within the church. Hitherto the disciples had been of one heart and one mind, but now this unity was broken. The dispute was between the Palestinian and the Greek Jews. There was a natural jealousy between these two parties. The Palestinian Jews prided themselves upon their pure nationality, and looked upon the Greek Jews as their inferiors. They were also much more bigoted in their attachment to Jewish notions; whereas the Greek Jews, by their intercourse with foreigners, had attained to a certain laxity of opinion. The fact that both parties were Christians, although it would undoubtedly moderate, yet did not destroy, their prejudices. In this dissension may perhaps be discerned the germ of those future dissensions which arose when the Judaizing Christians disturbed the peace of the church, and which at length, in the age after the apostles, resulted in the separation of the Hebraistic (Ebionitish) and Greek elements (Baur, Meyer, De Wette). Ver. 2. Τὸ πλῆθος τῶν μαθητῶν—the multitude of the disciples. The complaint of the Hellenistic Christians being brought before the apostles, they summoned a general meeting of the disciples. Lightfoot supposes that by the multi |