Acts 23:27

23:25-35 God has instruments for every work. The natural abilities and moral virtues of the heathens often have been employed to protect his persecuted servants. Even the men of the world can discern between the conscientious conduct of upright believers, and the zeal of false professors, though they disregard or understand not their doctrinal principles. All hearts are in God's hand, and those are blessed who put their trust in him, and commit their ways unto him.

He represents Paul’s case fairly and indifferently, God overruling his heart and pen; but withal, he conceals his binding of him, and instead thereof magnifies his care of him, being a Roman; and probably being touched with a sense of his fault, he represents Paul’s case the better.

Acts 23:27 . Τὸν ἄνδρα , the person, the man ) So he calls him by way of honour, and again in Acts 23:30 .— ἐξειλόμην , I rescued ) Lysias is silent as to the scourging: ch. Acts 22:24 . Festus employs the same artifice: ch. Acts 25:20 ; Acts 25:25 .— μαθὼν , having learnt or understood ) He did not learn it previously (to his coming with his army and laying hold on Paul), but subsequently.

Verse 27. - Seized by for taken of , A.V.; was about to be slain for should have been killed , A.V.; when I came for then came I , A.V.; upon them with the soldiers for with an army , A.V.; learned for understood , A.V. The soldiers ( τὸστράτευμα , as ver. 10). The army of the A.V. is out of place. Having learned , etc. Lysias departs here from strict truth, wishing, no doubt, to set off his zeal in defense of a Roman citizen, and also to anticipate any unfavorable report that Paul might give as to his threatened scourging.) Acts 23:27

27 . This man was taken of the Jews ] The verb implies a seizure or arrest. It is used ( Matthew 26:55 ; Mark 14:48 ) of the party of men who came to seize our Lord, and ( Acts 12:3 ) of Herod Agrippa’s arrest of St Peter. It is to be noted that the chief captain employs the word for man , which in the original implies respect, no doubt because he was presently about to mention that he was a Roman citizen. The same distinction exists in Latin as in Greek, so that the original may have been in either language. There can be little doubt that Roman officers at this time were familiar enough with Greek to write in it, if need were. and should have been killed of them ] The Rev. Ver. modifies the obsolescent English, and reads “was about to be slain of them.” The chief captain does not give a very exact report of what had happened. He says nothing about the strife between the two religious parties; perhaps he did not understand its nature and cause. then came I with an army, and rescued him ] Rev. Ver. “ when I came upon them with the soldiers, and , &c.” This must refer rather to the first rescue from the mob in the Temple-precincts ( Acts 21:32 ). There is no word said of what happened afterwards, the binding with two chains, and the intention of scourging the prisoner. having understood [ R.

V. learned ] that he was a Roman ] The chief captain put this in such wise as to claim credit for interference on behalf of a Roman citizen, and in so doing omits to state that it was only when Paul was about to be scourged and protested against it, that he was discovered to be a citizen of Rome by birth.

Acts 23:27-30 . See Acts 21:30-34 , Acts 22:26-27 ; Acts 22:30 , Acts 23:1 ff., Acts 23:19 ff. συλληφθ .] without the article: after he had been seized. Observe, that Lysias uses not τὸν ἄνθρωπον , but with a certain respect, and that not only for the Roman citizen, but also for the person of his prisoner, τ . ἄνδρα . ἐξειλόμην αὐτὸν , μαθὼν ὅτι Ῥωμ . ἐστι ] contains a cunning falsification of the state of the facts, Acts 21:31-34 and Acts 22:25 ff.; for Acts 23:28 comp. with Acts 22:30 proves that the tribune did not mean the second rescue of the apostle, Acts 23:10 . Therefore the remark of Grotius is entirely mistaken, that μαθών denotes “nullum certum tempus” but merely καὶ ἔμαθον generally;[152] and so is Beza’s proposal to put a stop after ΑὐΤΌΝ , and then to read: ΜΑΘῺΝ ΔῈ ὍΤΙ Κ.Τ.Λ.ΑὐΤΌΝ ] Compare on this resumption after a long intervening sentence, Plat. Rep. p. 398 A; and see, moreover, Matthiae, § 472; Winer, p. 139 f. [E. T. 184]. Acts 23:30 . μηνυθείσης … ἔσεσθαι ] The hurried letter-writer has mixed up two constructions: (1) ΜΗΝΥΘΕΊΣΗς ΔΈ ΜΟΙ ἘΠΙΒΟΥΛῆς Τῆς ΜΕΛΛΟΎΣΗς ἜΣΕΣΘΑΙ , and (2) ΜΗΝΥΘΈΝΤΟς (comp. Polyaen. ii. 14. 1) ΔΈ ΜΟΙ ἘΠΙΒΟΥΛῊΝ ΜΈΛΛΕΙΝ ἜΣΕΣΘΑΙ. See Grotius in loc .; Fritzsche, Conjectur. I. p. 39 f.; Winer, p. 528 [E. T. 710]. Similar blendings are also found in the classics; Bornemann, ad Xen. Anab. iv. 4. 18.

As to the import of μηνύειν , see on Luke 20:37 . [152] Nor does it mean, as Otto suggests: “on which occasion ( in consequence of which ) I learned.” The Vulgate, Erasmus, and Calvin correctly render: cognito , comp. Php 2:19 . Beza also correctly renders by edoctus , with the remark: “Dissimulat ergo tribunis id, de quo reprehendi jure potuisset.” Castalio anticipated the misinterpretation of Grotius and Otto: “eripui ac Romanum esse didici.” And so also Luther. The μαθὼν ὅτι κ . τ . λ . is nothing else than ἐπιγνοὺς ἵτι Ῥωμαῖός ἐστι , Acts 22:29 . Comp. Acts 16:38 .

(27) Then came I with an army. —Better, with my troops. The chief captain ingeniously colours his statement so as to claim credit for having rescued a Roman citizen, though, as a matter of fact, he did not discover that he was a citizen until he was on the point of scourging him without a trial. That fact, of course, is passed over without a word.