at once that this bird was the messenger of ill tidings, and fell into sorrow. A severe pain arose also in his belly of a most violent character. Looking upon his friends, he said, 'I whom you call a god am commanded to depart from this life. Providence thus reproves the lying words which you have just uttered to me.' When he had said this, his pain became violent, and he was carried into the palace. . . . And when he had been quite worn out by the pain in his belly for five days, he departed this life, being in the fifty-fourth year of his age.”1 It will be observed that Luke and Josephus are in essential agreement, though the resemblances are not sufficiently minute to warrant the conclusion that the former borrowed his account from the latter. The main differences between the two accounts are (1) Josephus says nothing about the occasion of the visit to Cæsarea; (2) Luke gives the impression that Agrippa's death happened immediately; Josephus, on the other hand, states that an interval of five days elapsed.

20. Tyre and Sidon were important ports in Phoenicia. We have no evidence as to the character of the dispute between these cities and Agrippa.

Blastus the king's chamberlain. The name seems to imply that Blastus was a Roman. His designation shows that he was a court official in charge of the king's sleeping apartments.

desired peace. This phrase does not imply that a state of war existed. They were anxious simply that the dispute should be ended.

nourished by the king's country. Tyre and Sidon depended upon Palestine for (1) their supply

1 This description has been abbreviated somewhat in places by the omission of non-essential phrases.

of food, (2) their commerce. Agrippa had probably penalised these cities by diverting commerce to other ports and stopping the food supply.

21. in royal apparel. The garment of silver mentioned by Josephus.

23. eaten of worms. This is not inconsistent with the account in Josephus. The same fate befell Antiochus (2 Macc. ix. 5) and Herod the Great (Josephus, Antiquities, xvii. 6. 5).

Acts xii. 25-xiii. 3.

THE ORDINATION OF SAUL AND BARNABAS FOR MISSIONARY WORK.

25 And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem, when they had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, I whose surname was Mark. Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with 2 Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called 3 them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away.

This short but momentous paragraph takes us back again with Paul and Barnabas to Antioch. It follows immediately upon xi. 30, the account of Agrippa's persecution being a digression. It relates how, through the inspiration of the Spirit, the Church at Antioch was led to consecrate Saul and Barnabas for wider missionary work, and so it forms an introduction to the third part of Acts,

which describes the carrying of the gospel to "the ends of the earth" (see i. 8).

The best

25. returned from Jerusalem. MSS. read "returned to Jerusalem," but it seems clear that the sense of the passage (which follows on xi. 30) requires "from Jerusalem,"-unless, indeed, we take the phrase with the next clause, " when they had fulfilled their ministry at Jerusalem."

John Mark. The son of Mary (xii. 12) and cousin of Barnabas (Col. iv. 10). He accompanied Saul and Barnabas on the first missionary journey (xiii. 5), but left them after they departed from Cyprus (xiii. 13), and returned to Jerusalem. Owing to his desertion, Paul refused to take him on the second missionary tour (xv. 37-39).

xiii. 1. prophets and teachers.

See n. on xi. 27. Nothing is known about Niger or Lucius. They may possibly have been the original founders of the Church at Antioch (see xi. 20).

Manaen which had been, etc. R.V., "Manaen the foster-brother of Herod the tetrarch." The Greek word simply indicates that Manaen had been brought up at the court with Herod Antipas. Josephus tells us of a certain Manaen who had won the favour of Herod the Great, and became a member of his court. The Manaen of Antioch may have been his son or grandson, and this would explain why he should have been selected as the playmate and companion of Herod Antipas. We know of at least one lady connected with Herod's court who became a Christian, viz., Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and it may have been through her influence that Manaen was converted.

Herod the tetrarch = Herod Antipas, who is so

often mentioned in the Gospels. When Herod the Great died in 4 B.C., his kingdom was divided into four divisions or tetrarchies, and Herod Antipas was made tetrarch (= ruler of a fourth part) of Galilee and Samaria.

2. the Holy Ghost said. Once again Luke lays emphasis on the agency of the Spirit (see n. on viii. 17, x. 44). The greatest step that had been taken by the Church is ascribed directly to the inspiration of the Holy Ghost.

Separate me Barnabas and Saul. Saul and Barnabas had been in Antioch for a year (xi. 26). The claims of the city were very great, but there were even higher claims upon them than the needs of Antioch-the claims of the pagan world. It was a tremendous sacrifice for the Church of Antioch to let them go, but the sacrifice was amply justified by the results of the mission.

3. they laid hands on them. This was done in token of the fact that the Church dedicated them to missionary work. The rite conferred no gift or grace (see n. on vi. 6). Some ancient MSS., to which Sir W. Ramsay attaches great importance, read here "they all laid hands on them," indicating that the dedication was the act of the whole Church, and not merely of the prophets,

Acts xiii. 4-12.

THE MISSION TO CYPRUS.

4 So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. 5 And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of

God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also 6 John to their minister. And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false 7 prophet, a Jew, whose name was Bar-jesus: which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to 8 hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer, (for so is his name by interpretation,) withstood them, seeking to 9 turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his 10 eyes on him, and said, O full of all subtilty and all

mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of II the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead 12 him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

There were at least three reasons why Cyprus was chosen as the first field for missionary work: (1) some efforts on a small scale had already been commenced there by refugees from Jerusalem (xi. 19); (2) Barnabas was a native of Cyprus (iv. 36); (3) some of the founders of the Church at Antioch had come from Cyprus (xi. 20). Luke confines his narrative to two incidents: (a) the conversion of the governor of the island, Sergius Paulus; (b) the silencing of Elymas the sorcerer.

4. Seleucia. The port of Antioch, a town of considerable commercial importance.

5. Salamis. An important seaport town situated on the eastern coast of the island.

in the synagogues of the Jews. There were