benefit he had received was due. Paul, however, interprets the inscription to prove that men were searching after God though they knew Him not.

Whom therefore ye worship. The relative pronoun in Greek is neuter, so the R.V. renders, "What therefore ye worship in ignorance."

24. dwelleth not in temples. An echo from Stephen's speech, to which Paul must have listened (vii. 47-50).

26. he made of one blood all nations. The best MSS. omit the word "blood." This verse must have appealed strongly to the Stoics, who laid great stress on the unity of human nature.

hath determined the times before appointed. R.V., "having determined their appointed seasons." (see n. on xiv. 16, 17).

28. in him we live and move. Another sentiment which must have won the approval of the Stoics.

certain even of your own poets. The quotation is taken from a poem of Aratus of Soli in Cilicia (flourished about 270 B.C.). It appears also in a slightly different form in Cleanthes' (300220 B.C.) famous hymn to Zeus. The use of this quotation shows Paul's intimate acquaintance with the literature of Stoicism.

30. And the times winked at. R.V. "The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked.' This view of the Divine forbearance appears also in Paul's Epistles; cf. Rom. iii. 25.

32. when they heard of the resurrection. The opposition probably came from the Epicureans. The idea of a future life was accepted by many of the Stoics. There is no doubt, however, that on the whole Paul's speech missed fire. He made very

little impression on his audience, and as a result of his comparative failure he seems to have changed his methods when he reached Corinth. Compare 1 Cor. ii. 1-4.

34. the Areopagite. I.e., a member of the court of Areopagus.

Acts xviii. I-II.

PAUL AT CORINTH.

After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to 2 Corinth; and found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla ; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart 3 from Rome :) and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for 4 by their occupation they were tentmakers. And he

reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded 5. the Jews and the Greeks. And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, 6 and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the 7 Gentiles. And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man's house, named Justus, one that worshipped 8 God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians 9 hearing believed, and were baptized. Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but 10 speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much II people in this city. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

After leaving Athens, Paul proceeded to Corinth, where he made a stay of eighteen months. Luke gives us very little information about the work at Corinth-though we know from the Epistles that it marked an epoch in Paul's life.

1. Corinth. A most important city, situated on the Isthmus of Corinth, with harbours facing both seas. It was the commercial centre of the ancient world. Corinth was renowned for its abundant wealth, and infamous by reason of its "abysmal vice.” It was one of the most cosmopolitan cities of the time, and its population was of a very mixed character. It has been described as a city of "dazzling social contrasts." Nowhere, probably, was there such a wide gulf between rich and poor, except perhaps at Rome and Alexandria.

2. a certain Jew named Aquila. Aquila and Priscilla play an important part in Paul's life. After helping him in his work at Corinth, they accompanied him to Ephesus, where they remained some time (xviii. 24–28; cf. 1 Cor. xvi. 19). They afterwards returned to Rome (Rom. xvi. 3, 4). Eight years later they are found again at Ephesus (2 Tim. iv. 19). At one time they risked their lives on Paul's behalf (Rom. xvi. 4). The fact that Priscilla's name is generally mentioned first has led many scholars to the conclusion that she was the more important of the two. There are some indications that she held a very important position at Rome. (1) There is a church on the Aventine which bears the name of St. Prisca, and which dates back to the fourth century. (2) In the Acts of the Martyrs it is stated that the martyr Pudens was the son of Prisca, and a bronze medal bearing the name of Pudens has been dug up in the garden

belonging to the church. (3) One of the oldest catacombs in Rome bears the name of the " cœmeterium Priscilla," and inscriptions have been found in it in which the names of Acilius (Aquila) and Priscilla are linked together. On the basis of this evidence, Dr. Hort suggests that Prisca was a member of a distinguished Roman family, and that when she married the Jew Aquila she lost caste amongst her own friends, though she subsequently obtained a very high position in the Roman Church. Harnack thinks that the Epistle to the Hebrews was the work of Priscilla. Whether Aquila and Priscilla were Christians before they met Paul at Corinth must be left an open question.

Pontus. A province on the north of Asia Minor and east of Bithynia.

Claudius. See n. on xi. 28.

Luke's statement with regard to the edict is confirmed by the Latin historian Suetonius.

3. he was of the same craft (R.V., "trade"). Every Jew was bound to learn a trade, and Paul was taught the trade of tent-making-a handicraft which was commonly practised in Cilicia. For references to Paul's work at his trade see xx. 34; 1 Thess. ii. 9; 2 Thess. iii. 8.

5. pressed in spirit. The translation of the true Text is, was constrained by the word," "absorbed in preaching." Probably we should translate, "After the arrival of Silas and Timothy, Paul became absorbed in his message." Hitherto

he had been distracted by anxiety about Thessalonica; the report of Timothy had reassured him and left him free to devote himself to the work at Corinth. For Paul's own account of the effect of Timothy's message see 1 Thess. iii. 5-10.

6. I will go to the Gentiles. I.e., the Gentiles at Corinth. Cf. xiii. 46.

7. named Justus. R.V., "Titus Justus."

8. Crispus. Paul mentions Crispus in 1 Cor. 1-14 as one of the few persons whom he had personally baptized.

9. Then spake the Lord to Paul, etc. Paul had been so often hindered in his work that it is no wonder that he was discouraged and needed the stimulus of a new vision. The persecution which he suffered at Philippi, Thessalonica, and Athens, and which threatened him at Corinth, must have filled him with misgiving; cf. 1 Cor. ii. 3.

Acts xviii. 12-17.

THE TRIAL BEFORE GALLIO.

12 And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him 13 to the judgment seat, saying, This fellow persuadeth men 14 to worship God contrary to the law. And when Paul was

now about to open his mouth, Gallio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, 15 reason would that I should bear with you: but if it be a

question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to 16 it; for I will be no judge of such matters. And he drave 17 them from the judgment seat. Then all the Greeks took

Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Gallio cared for none of those things.

The hostility of the Jews to Paul's work at Corinth came to a head at last, and they summoned