Acts 26:24

Acts 26:24 . And as he thus spake for himself — And was making his defence; Festus — Astonished, it seems, to hear him represent this despised gospel of Jesus of Nazareth as a matter of such high and universal concern, and designed to be the means of illuminating both Jews and Gentiles, and thinking the vision he had related, as introductory to that assertion, quite an incredible story; said, with a loud voice — Which reached the whole auditory; Paul, thou art beside thyself — To talk of men’s rising from the dead! and of a Jew’s enlightening, not only his own nation, but the polite and learned Greeks and Romans! Nay, Festus, it is thou that art beside thyself; that strikest quite wide of the mark. And no wonder: he saw that nature did not act in Paul; but the grace that acted in him he did not see. And therefore he took all this ardour, which animated the apostle, for a mere start of learned phrensy. Much learning doth make thee mad — Πολλα σε γραμματα εις μανιαν περιτρεπει , much study drives thee to madness. Perhaps he might know that Paul, in his present confinement, spent a great deal of time in reading; and this was the most decent turn that could be given to such a mad charge. Doubtless, Paul had a great deal more to say in defence of the gospel which he preached, and for the honour of it, and to recommend it to the good opinion of his noble audience.

He had just fallen upon a subject that was the life of the cause in which he was engaged, the death and resurrection of Jesus: and here he was in his element, his soul was animated, his mouth was opened toward them, and his heart enlarged: and it is a thousand pities that he should have been interrupted, as he now was, and not permitted to say all he designed.

Thou art beside thyself; this was the opinion of Festus concerning Paul, and such is the opinion of carnal and worldly men concerning such as are truly godly; as the prophet who came to Jehu was counted a mad fellow, 2 Kings 9:11 , and the friends of our Saviour thought him to be beside himself, Mark 3:21 . And it cannot be otherwise; for good men and bad men have quite different apprehensions concerning most things; and what one calls good, the other accounts evil; and what is wisdom to the one, is madness to the other. Much learning doth make thee mad; much study many times increasing melancholy, which a sedentary and thoughtful life is most exposed unto. Paul is reckoned to have been skilful in the Hebrew, Syriac, Greek, and Latin tongues; to have been well read in the poets; and certainly he was an excellent orator, as appears all along in his defence he made for his doctrine, and his life: but there was yet somewhat more than all this; Festus might feel a more than ordinary effect from Paul’s words, and not knowing of the Spirit by which he spake did attribute it to his learning, or madness, or to any thing but the true cause of it.

Acts 26:24 . Μαίνῃ Παῦλε , thou art mad, Paul ) It is thou, Festus, who art mad. Festus saw that it is not nature which acts in Paul: he was not capable of seeing grace: wherefore he supposes that it was a Jewish kind of enthusiastic phrensy, of the same kind as was that among the Gentiles, according to their own fables. He does not ascribe to Paul habitual madness, but a particular act and feeling of madness then: comp. ch. Acts 12:15 .— γράμματα , learning ) Festus accounts the apostle’s ardour as the effect of overmuch learning [Pedantry].

24. Festus said with a loud voice—surprised and bewildered. Paul, thou art beside thyself, much learning doth make thee mad—"is turning thy head." The union of flowing Greek, deep acquaintance with the sacred writings of his nation, reference to a resurrection and other doctrines to a Roman utterly unintelligible, and, above all, lofty religious earnestness, so strange to the cultivated, cold-hearted skeptics of that day—may account for this sudden exclamation.

Verse 24. - Made his defense for spake for himself , A.V. ( ἀπολογουμένου , as ver. 2); saith for said , A.V.; mad for beside thyself , A.V.; thy much for much , A.V.; turn thee to madness for make thee mad , A.V. With a loud voice . Another detail, betraying the eyewitness of the scene described. Thou art mad ( μαίνῃ ); Acts 12:15 ; John 10:20 ; 1 Corinthians 14:23 . Much learning ( τὰ πολλά γράμματα ). So John 7:15 , "How knoweth this man letters ( γράμματα )?" is equivalent to Whence hath this man this wisdom? ( Matthew 13:54 ). And ἀγράμματος ιν Acts 4:13 is "unlearned." The excited interruption by Festus shows that he was unable to accept the truths enunciated by the apostle. The ideas of fulfilled prophecy, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of a crucified Jew giving light to the great Roman world, were" foolishness unto him," because he lacked spiritual discernment. He thought the apostle's glowing words must be the outcome of a disordered mind. Turn thee to madness ( εἰς μανίαν περιτρέπει ). The word μανία (mania) occurs only here in the New Testament. But it is the technical name in medical writers for the disease of μανία , mania, and is also common in classical writers. The verb for "doth turn" ( περιτρέπει ) is also peculiar to St. Luke, being found only in this place.

It is used by Plato, but specially by medical writers, as is also the substantive formed from it, περιτροπή , spoken of the "turn" taken by a disease, and the simple verb τρέπει and τρέπεται : e.g. ἔτρεψε γνώμην ἐς μανίην : ἐς σκυθρωππὸν ἡ μανίη τρέπεται : τοῖς μαινομένοισι ἄλλοτε μὲν ἐς ὀῤγὴν ἄλλοτε δὲ ἐς θυμηδίαν (mirth) ἡγνώμη τρέπεται , etc. (Hobart, p. 468). Acts 26:24

Acts 26:24 . While he was thus speaking in his defence, Festus said with a loud voice ( μεγ . τῇ φωνῇ , see on Acts 14:10 ), Thou art mad, Paul! ταῦτα is to be referred to the whole defence (as to ἀπολογ . τι , see on Luke 12:11 ), now interrupted by Festus (observe the present participle), but in which certainly the words spoken last ( οὐδὲν ἐκτὸς κ . τ . λ .) were most unpalatable to the cold-hearted statesman, and at length raised his impatience to the point of breaking out aloud. His profane mind remained unaffected by the holy inspiration of the strange speaker, and took his utterances as the whims of a mind perverted by much study from the equilibrium of a sound understanding. His μαίνῃ ! was indignant earnestness; with all the more earnestness and bitterness he expressed the idea of eccentricity by this hyperbolical μαίνῃ , the more he now saw his hope of being enlightened as to the true state of matters grievously disappointed. Comp. Soph. O. R. 1300: τίς σʼ , ὦ τλῆμον , προσέβη μανία ! That solicitude of the procurator ( Acts 25:26 ), which naturally governed his tone of mind, was much too anxious and serious for a jest , such as Olshausen takes it to be. Nor does μεγάλῃ τῇ φωνῇ suit this, on which Chrysostom already correctly remarks: οὕτω ην κ . ὀργῆς ἡ φωνή . The explanation, thou art an enthusiast ! is nothing but a mistaken softening of the expression. So Kuhn (in Wolf), Majus ( Obss . IV. p. 11 ff.), Loesner, Schleusner, Dindorf.

However the furor propheticus may be nourished by plunging into πολλὰ γράμματα , the μαίνῃ in this sense is far less suited to the indignation of the annoyed Roman; and that Paul regarded himself as declared by him to be a madman , is evident from Acts 26:25 —( ἀληθείας κ . σωφροσ .). τὰ πολλά σε γράμματα )] multae literae (Vulgate), the much knowledge, learning , with which thou busiest thyself. See on John 7:15 . Not: the many books , which thou readest (Heinrichs, Kuinoel, Hildebrand), for, if so, we cannot see why the most naturally occurring word, βιβλία or βίβλοι , should not have been used. The separation of πολλά from γράμ . by the interposition of σε puts the emphasis on πολλά . Bengel correctly adds: “Videbat Festus, naturam non agere in Paulo; gratiam non vidit.”

24–32 . Interruption by Festus. Appeal to Agrippa. Consultation and decision 24 Festus said with a loud voice ] Probably what had last fallen from Paul seemed to him little better than lunatic ravings. The Gospel of the Cross did appear as “foolishness” to the Gentile world. And this Gospel he had just heard in all its fulness: that the Christ by suffering of death and rising to life again should be the source of true enlightenment both to Jews and Gentiles. Paul, thou art beside thyself [ R. V. mad]. As the same word is taken up in the following verse, it is better that it should be rendered alike in both places. much learning doth make thee mad ] Lit. (with R. V. ) “doth turn thee to madness.” But there is nothing gained by construing thus, and much is lost in English vigour. “Much learning” is literally “the many writings.” As in John 7:15 , where the same word is rendered “letters,” it may mean study and learning generally. But it seems better to take it of those writings (viz. the Old Testament) to which Paul had been appealing. For as a religious literature no nation, not even the polished Greeks, had anything to place in comparison with the Sacred Books of the Jews.