Acts 23:32

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.

On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him,.... That is, the two hundred soldiers, and the two hundred spearmen, who were all on foot, left the seventy horsemen to conduct Paul to Caesarea; for being come to Antipatris, all danger from the Jews was over: and returned to the castle; the castle Antonia in Jerusalem, from whence they set out.

32 . On the morrow ] The original has a conjunction which the Rev. Ver. represents by “But.” These men would return to Jerusalem again on the day of the intended plot. they left the horsemen to go with him ] Now that they were far away from Jerusalem and in no fear of a surprise, seventy horsemen were guard enough for the remainder of the way. But it may give us some idea of the dangerous state of the country at the time when we consider that the chief captain thought it needful to send with this one prisoner a guard of 470 soldiers. We may also form some idea of what the garrison in Jerusalem must have been when so many men could be detached at a moment’s notice. and returned to the castle ] Apparently coming back as quickly as it was possible for them to do so. As the road was one much travelled they were probably able to obtain a change of horses here and there.

Acts 23:32 . τῇ δὲ ἐπ .: not necessarily the morrow after they left Jerusalem, but the morrow after they arrived at Antipatris. In this interpretation διὰ νυκτὸς might be taken to mean by night in distinction to by day , so that they may have occupied two nights on the road, see Hackett’s note, in loco .— ἐάσαντες , Lucan, see Acts 27:32 ; Acts 27:40 ; Acts 28:4 .— εἰς τὴν παρεμβολήν , here “to the castle” A. and R.V., the barracks in Antonia.— ὑπέστρεψαν , Lucan (Friedrich, p. 8), cf. Acts 1:12 .

Acts 23:31-34 . Antipatris, on the road from Jerusalem to Caesarea, built by Herod I., and named after his father Antipater, was 26 miles (thus 5 1/5 geographical miles) distant from Caesarea. See Robinson, III. p. 257 ff.; Ritter, Erdk. XVI. p. 571. διὰ τῆς νυκτός ] as in Acts 17:10 . Inexact statement a potiori ; for, considering the great distance between Jerusalem and Antipatris (about 8 geographical miles), and as they did not set out from Jerusalem before nine in the evening ( Acts 23:25 ), besides the night a part of the following forenoon must have been spent on the journey to Antipatris, which must, moreover, be conceived of as a very hurried one; yet the following night is not, with Kuinoel (against Acts 23:32 ), to be included. Acts 23:32 . ἐάσαντες κ . τ . λ .] thus from their own foresight (because such a strong force was unnecessary at the distance which they had reached, and might be required in case of an uproar at Jerusalem), not according to the literal command of the tribune, Acts 23:23 . τοὺς ἱππεῖς ] not also the δεξιολάβους , whom they took back with them, as may be concluded from their not being mentioned. Acts 23:33 . οἵτινες ] “ad remotius nomen , secus atque expectaveris refertur,” Ellendt, Lex. Soph . II. p. 368. καὶ τ . Παῦλ .] simul et Paulum. Acts 23:34 .

There accordingly results the following calculation:— I. Day of arrival in Jerusalem, Acts 21:15-17 . II. Meeting with James, Acts 21:18 ff. III. Undertaking of the Nazarite vow and offerings, Acts 21:26 . IV. V. The seven days’ time of offering broken off by the arrest, Acts 21:27 . VI. VII. Arrest of the apostle, Acts 21:27 ff. VIII. Paul before the Sanhedrim, Acts 22:30 , Acts 23:1-10 . IX. Jewish conspiracy and its disclosure, Acts 23:12 ff. On the same day Paul, before midnight, is brought away from Jerusalem, Acts 23:23 ; Acts 23:31 . X. Μετὰ δὲ πέντε ἡμέρας κ . τ . λ ., Acts 24:1 . XI. XII. XIII. The current day. It further serves to justify this calculation: (1) that it sufficiently agrees with the vague statement in Acts 21:27 : ὡς δὲ ἔμελλον αἱ ἑπτὰ ἡμέραι συντελεῖσθαι , to place the arrest on the fifth day of that week; (2) that, as terminus a quo for μετὰ πέντε ἡμέρας , Acts 24:1 , the ninth day may not only be assumed generally (because the immediately preceding section of the narrative, Acts 23:31 ff., commences with the departure of Paul from Jerusalem), but is also specially indicated by the connection , inasmuch as this μετὰ πέντε ἡμέρ . so corresponds to the τῇ δὲ ἐπαύριον , Acts 23:32 , that there is presented for both statements of time one and the same point of commencement, namely, the day on which the convoy (after nine in the evening) left Jerusalem.