Acts 28:15

Appii forum; a place about one and fifty miles, or seventeen leagues, from Rome; so called from Appius Claudius, who made a way from Rome thither, called from his name: The Appian Way; and had his statue there set up; which is the reason why it is called thus: for the Romans did call those places fora, were such statues were placed. (The concourse to see those statues might bring them to become markets). The three taverns; as that was a place of resort for the buying and selling of other commodities, so this for the affording of necessary provision; a little town, hence so called, about three and thirty miles, or eleven leagues, from Rome. So that some came a greater, some a lesser way to meet with Paul, and show their respect unto him. These brethren are thought to have been converted by such as at the day of Pentecost were present when those miracles were wrought, Acts 2:10 , it being expressly said, that there were strangers from Rome. Took courage; God moving so many not to be ashamed of his bonds.

Acts 28:15 . Οἱ ἀδελφοὶ , the brethren ) Christians.— ἀπάντησιν , to meet us) Offices of kindness towards foreigners are implied in προπέμπειν , ἀπαντᾶν , to escort on the way, and to go to meet .— ἄχρις , even to ) He met with some in Appii Forum, others afterwards at the Three Taverns.— εὐχαριστήσας , having given thanks ) for having obtained his wish, to see Rome: ch. Acts 19:21 ; Romans 1:11 , “For I long to see you;” Acts 15:23 .— ἔκαβε θάρσος , took courage ) actively. He saw that Christ is even at Rome. There was not always the same degree of confident energy even in Paul. He already forgets the troubles of his journey. Ammonius says that θράσος is an unreasonable impulse ; but θράσος , a rational impulse .

{9} And from thence, when the brethren heard of us, they came to meet us as far as {e} Appii forum, and The three taverns: whom when Paul saw, he thanked God, and took courage. (9) God never allows his own to be afflicted beyond their strength. (e) Appius was a paved road made by Appius the blind, with the help of his soldiers, long and broad, and it ran out towards the sea, and there were three taverns on it.

15. And from thence, when the brethren—of Rome heard of us—by letter from Puteoli, and probably by the same conveyance which took Julius' announcement of his arrival. they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum—a town forty-one miles from Rome. and the Three Taverns—thirty miles from Rome. Thus they came to greet the apostle in two parties, one stopping short at the nearer, the other going on to the more distant place. whom when Paul saw, he thanked God—for such a welcome. How sensitive he was to such Christian affection all his Epistles show (Ro 1:9, &c.). and took courage—his long-cherished purpose to "see Rome" (Ac 19:21), there to proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ, and the divine pledge that in this he should be gratified (Ac 23:11), being now about to be auspiciously realized.

Verse 15. - The brethren, when, etc., came for when the brethren , etc., they came , A.V.; The Market of Appius for Appii forum , A.V. The brethren, when they heard of us . During the seven days' stay at Putcoli, the news of the arrival of the illustrious confessors reached the Church at Rome. The writer of that wonderful Epistle which they had received some three years before, and in which he had expressed his earnest desire to visit them, and his hope that he should come to them in the fullness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ ( Romans 1:11, 12, 15 ; Romans 15:22, 24, 28-32 ), was now almost at their gates as a prisoner of state, and they would soon see him face to face. They naturally determined to go and meet him, to honor him as an apostle, and show their love to him as a brother. The younger and more active would go as far as Appii Forum, "a village on the Via Appia, forty-three miles from Rome" (Meyer). The rest only came as far as The Three Taverns , ten miles nearer to Rome. Alford quotes a passage from Cicero's letters to Atticus (it. 10), in which he mentions both "Appii Forum" and the "Tres Tabernae;" and refers to Josephus ('Ant. Jud.,' 17. 12:1) for a similar account of Jews at Rome, who, on hearing of the arrival of the pretended Alexander at Puteoli, went out in a body to meet him ( πᾶν τὸ Ιουδαίων πλῆθος ὑπαντιάζοντες ἐξῄεσαν ).

He also quotes from Suetonius the passage in which he tells us that, on Caligula's return from Germany, "populi Romans sexum, aetatem, ordinem omnem, usque ad Vicesimum lapidem effadisse se" ('Calig.,' c. 4). Appii Forum was not far from the coast, and was a great place for sailors and innkeepers (Horace, 'Sat.,' 1:5, 3). The Via Appia was made by Appius Claudius, B.C. 442 . It led from the Ports Capena in Rome through the Pontino marshes to Capua. Acts 28:15

Acts 28:15 . Οί ἀδελφοί ] Considering the largeness which we must assume the church at Rome to have attained, according to Romans 16:3 ff., probably a numerous representation of it is to be conceived as present. ἡμῖν ] appropriating dative of the pronoun. See Bernhardy, p. 98. Comp. John 12:13 . Matthew 8:34 ; Jdt 5:4 . ἄχρις Ἀππίου φ . κ . Τριῶν ταβ .] καί : and , respectively. Luke narrates from the standpoint of the travellers. These came first to Forum Appii , a village on the Via Appia, 43 miles from Rome, and then to Tres-tabernae (Three-booths), an inn ten miles nearer to Rome; in both places they were received by the brethren (who thus went to meet them in two detachments). As they had tarried seven days at Puteoli, the Roman Christians might have obtained information timeously enough in order to come so far to meet them with the speed of love and reverence. εὐχαρ . τ . Θεῷ ἔλαβε θάρσος ] How natural was it that Paul, to whom Rome , this ἐπιτομὴ τῆς οἰκουμένης (Athen. Deipnos . i. 20), had for so long been in view as a longed-for goal of his labours ( Acts 19:21 , Acts 23:11 ; Romans 1:9 ff.), should now, at the sight of the brethren , who had thus from Rome carried their love forth to meet him, glow with gratitude to God, and in this elevated feeling receive confidence as to the development of his fate and as to his new sphere of work!

According to Baumgarten, it is true, he saw at the same time in the Roman church, not founded by any apostle, “the identity and continuity” of the Pentecostal church —of all which the text contains not a hint, as, indeed, such a fancy as to the founding of the church is by no means justified by the circumstances of the case being unknown to us.

15 . when the brethren heard of us ] Between Puteoli and Rome there was constant communication, and the seven days of the Apostle’s sojourn in the port were amply sufficient to make the whole Christian body in Rome aware of his arrival in Italy and of the time when he would set out towards the city. they came to meet us ] If it were quite certain that the sixteenth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans was part of the letter which was sent to that Church we might make sure of the names of some who would be of the party which started from Rome to welcome St Paul on his arrival in Italy. Aquila and Priscilla, Epænetus; Andronicus and Junias, who are both spoken of as having been formerly fellow-prisoners with the Apostle; Rufus, Herodion and Apelles, who are mentioned there in terms of the greatest affection, could hardly have failed to be among the company at Appii Forum. But the whole closing chapter of the Epistle to the Romans appears to apply better to some Asiatic Church, probably Ephesus, than to Rome, and so it is unsafe to conclude that the Christians there mentioned were those who now met St Paul and cheered him on his way. as far as Appii forum ] [ R. V. the Market of Appius] The name ‘Forum’ seems to have been given by the Romans to places such as we should now call Borough-towns. The town here mentioned was situated on the Appian Way, the great road from Rome to Brundusium.

Both road and town owed their name to the famous Appius Claudius, the Roman Censor, and this town is mentioned by Horace as crowded with sailors, and abounding in tavernkeepers of bad character ( Sat . i. 5. 4). It was distant rather more than forty miles from Rome, and as the Appian Way was only one of two ways by which travellers could go from Appii Forum to the Imperial City, it was natural that the deputation from Rome should halt here and wait for the Apostle’s arrival. The three taverns ] The name “ Tabernæ ” had in Latin a much wider signification than the English “Taverns” and was applied to any shop whatever, not as the English word to one where refreshments are sold. The site of this place has not been identified, but it is said to have been about ten miles nearer to Rome than Appii Forum; and the body of Christians who came as far as this had perhaps set out from Rome later than their brethren. The whole distance from Puteoli to Rome was about 140 miles. “Tres Tabernæ” is placed 33 miles from Rome. he thanked God, and took courage ] When thinking and writing about his coming to Rome, Paul had never thought that his first visit to it would be as a prisoner. He had hoped ( Romans 1:11-12 ) to come as the bearer of some spiritual blessing, and to be comforted himself by the faith of the Roman brethren. How different was the event from what he had pictured.

(15) And from thence, when the brethren heard of us . . .—Better, the brethren having heard about us. The seven days at Puteoli had given ample time for the news of the Apostle’s arrival to reach the disciples at Rome. Among these “brethren” were many, we may believe, of those whom he had known at Corinth, and to whom he had sent messages of greeting in Romans 16 : Aquila and Epænetus, Andronicus and Junias, Herodion, and those of the household of Narcissus. Most of these were Jews by birth, of the libertini or freed-man class. All had probably read or heard the Epistle to the Romans. They were yearning, some for the presence of the friend whom they had known seven years before at Corinth, some for a glimpse of one whom, though they had not known him, they had learnt to love. It is clear, from the salutations sent to Aquila and Priscilla and the rest in Romans 16, that the decree of Claudius banishing the Jews from Rome had been rescinded or allowed to lapse. The influence of Poppæa, now dominant at Rome, was probably in their favour, and secured their protection. Herself a proselyte to Judaism, after the fashion of her class she would extend her protection to the Jews of Rome, as she did, about the same time, to those of Jerusalem. (See Note on Acts 26:32 .) They came to meet us.—The practice of going some miles from the city to meet one whom men delighted to honour was a common one.