Matt. 23, 4. 5 Amos. 9. 11.

Verse 3. "Phenice."-Phoenicia, certainly, in this place.

22. “Judas, surnamed Barsabas.”—Many have thought that this person is the same with "Joseph, called Barsabas” (ch. i. 23), who was a candidate with Matthias for the apostleship. But it is more generally believed that he was the brother of this person. We can ourselves see no evidence on the subject: but the latter notion, which makes Joseph and Judas brothers, because their surnames are the same, is by no means satisfactory to ourselves. Indeed, we think this similarity a good reason why they should not be brothers. Surnames, among the Jews, were not family names, nor do we ever read of two persons of a family having the same surname. Such names, always significant, were imposed on individuals, to distinguish them from the numerous persons whose first name was the same as theirs: and to give the same name to two sons, would, to a considerable extent, have marred this object.

"Silas."-In some of his epistles, St. Paul calls the beloved companion of his journey by the name of Silvanus; whence it is reasonably inferred that the name denotes the same person who is here called Silas. This last name is then of course understood as a contraction of Silvanus, which was a very common name among the Romans. It would appear from ch. xvi. 37, that Silas was a Roman citizen as well as Paul.

29. "Abstain from meats offered to idols."-The heathen, like the Jews, ate the flesh of their sacrifices, after the appointed portions had been given to the priest. The Jews were, however, obliged to eat their sacrifices, with their families or friends, within a given time, and if they had more than they could thus dispose of, they gave the residue to the poor: but the heathen, who were under no such restriction, often salted and laid up the remnant for future use, or even gave it to the butchers to sell in the shambles. The Jews abhorred to eat flesh which had been offered to an idol, regarding it as a sort of participation in an act of idolatry.

"From blood, and from things strangled."— See the notes on Gen. ix. 4; Levit. xix. 26. The word rendered to "strangled" (TT) is applicable to all animals which are slain without effusion of blood; and which were forbidden the Jews, and even to Noah, but were not rejected by the heathen. Blood also was used by them in every possible form. They drank it fresh on various solemn occasions: they drank it as nourishment, in a liquid state, mixed with flour or oatmeal; or when mixed with other food, in a solid state, as in our black-pudding, which was an article not unknown to the ancients: or, lastly, they ate the meat with the blood-that is, with the blood not properly, or not at all, extracted from the meat.

THEN came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, 'named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:

2 Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. 3 Him would Paul have to go forth with him and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.

4 And as they went through the cities, they delivered them the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders which were at Jerusalem.

5 And so were the churches established in the faith, and increased in number daily. 6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,

7 After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.

8 And they passing by Mysia came down

to Troas.

9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the Gospel unto them.

11 Therefore loosing from Troas, we came with a straight course to Samothracia, and the next day to Neapolis;

12 And from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, and a colony and we were in that city abiding certain days.

13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.

14 And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

15 And when she was baptized, and her houshold, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: Or, the first. • Or, of Python.

17 The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us. the way of salvation.

18 And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

19¶ And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the 'marketplace unto the rulers,

20 And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city,

21 And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.

22 And the multitude rose up together against them and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them.

23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely :

24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.

25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

26 And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed.

:

27 And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled.

28 But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. 29 Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas,

30 And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

31 And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.

32 And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.

33 And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.

34 And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.

35 And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants, saying, Let those men go.

36 And the keeper of the prison told this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go peace.

in

37 But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily; but let them come themselves and fetch us out.

38 And the serjeants told these words. unto the magistrates: and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.

39 And they came and besought them, and brought them out, and desired them to depart out of the city.

40 And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.

5 Or, court. 62 Cor. 11. 25. 1 Thess. 2. 2. 7 Verse 14.

Verse 6. "Phrygia. This was the name of a very large central province of Asia Minor. It had Cappadocia on the east; and Galatia on the north-east; Mysia, Lydia, and Caria on the west; Lycaonia, Pisidia, and Lycia on the south; and Bithynia on the north. Its boundaries, however, differed greatly in different ages. On the name of Phrygia, and the origin of the Phrygians, very different opinions have been entertained, which it is not necessary to state in this place. However, they claimed to be the most ancient people in the world; and we are told that this claim was admitted by the Egyptians, who, though boastful of their own antiquity, were content with the second place. Like the other countries of Asia Minor which were distinguished as provinces under the Roman empire, Phrygia is first historically known as a kingdom, which ultimately became a province of the Lydian monarchy, and continued such until Croesus, king of Lydia, was conquered by Cyrus of Persia, who added the Lydian kingdom to his empire. After that, Phrygia, like all the rest of the country, became successively subject to the Greeks, the Romans, and the Turks, who still hold it in possession. Phrygia was in ancient times greatly celebrated for its fertility; the soil being particularly favourable for the production of all kinds of grain in abundance. It was also well stocked with cattle, in consequence of its large plains and rich pastures. It was for the most part a plain country, covered with a deep and rich soil, and watered by numerous small rivers. One extensive portion of the country, however, called Burnt Phrygia (Pevyia xexavusvn), was of a volcanic character, and afforded bitumen and other combustibles. Now, under the Moslem yoke, great part of the country lies uncultivated. The principal cities of Phrygia were,-Apamea, the metropolis; Laodicea, the seat of one of "the seven churches" mentioned in the Apocalypse; Hierapolis, noted for its mineral waters; Gordium, once the seat of Gordias, king of Phrygia, memorable for the Gordian knot; Colosse, to the church in which St. Paul addressed one of his epistles; Sipylus, anciently the residence of king Tantalus; and Synada, noted for its quarries, which supplied a marble much used in ancient statuary.

"Galatia."—This was another important province of Asia Minor, but not more than half as large as Phrygia, within the limits defined in the preceding note. It had Pontus on the east. Phrygia on the west, Cappadocia and part of Phrygia on the south, and Paphlagonia and Bithynia on the north. The country derived its name from one of three colonies of Gauls, which, in the year 279 B.C., left their overstocked country in search of new habitations. This colony (the two others being defeated and slaughtered in Illyricum and Greece) marched into Thrace, and took possession of Byzantium and the northern coasts of the Propontis and the Thracian Chersonnesus. They were soon after invited into Asia by Nicomedes, king of Bithynia; and he, in consideration of the service which they rendered him in his wars, assigned them this province for a settlement; and from them, and the former Greek inhabitants with whom they were mingled, it acquired the names of Gallo-Grecia and Galatia. To the Christian church, founded by himself in this country, Paul wrote his epistle to the Galatians. The principal towns of the province were Ancyra, Tavium, and Pessinus; none of which are mentioned in Scripture.

"Asia."-Here it will be observed that "Asia" is employed in a very limited sense, distinguishing it from Phrygia, Galatia, Bithynia, and Mysia. This renders necessary an addition to the note on ch. vi. 9, respecting Asia Minor. We have there intimated the gradual extension of the term from its first provincial sense. We will now state the further senses in which the term "Asia" was employed. First. there was Asia, in the large sense, as denoting all that was known of the East. A comparatively small-but, to the ancients, well known-part of this, being Asia Minor, was also called Asia. And of this restricted Asia, a portion also was called Asia; and, when distinction was required, was distinguished as Asia Proper. This portion of Asia Minor, comprehended the provinces of Phrygia, Mysia, Caria, Lydia, Folia, and Ionia. But this is not the Asia of the text, which excludes at least Phrygia and Mysia: we must therefore find it in the Lydian Asia, which was part of Asia Proper, and which comprehended the territories of Lydia, Æolia, and Ionia, in which, therefore, we understand that Paul and Silas were forbidden to preach. It is in this very restricted sense also that St. John uses the term in addressing "the seven churches which are in Asia" (Rev. i. ¡1), all the churches which he enumerates being comprehended within the limits of Lydian Asia.

7. "Mysia.”—This province was at the north-western extremity of Asia Minor, having Bithynia and Phrygia on the east, the Mediterranean and Hellespont on the west and north-west, Lydia on the south, and the Propontis on the south. It is of great classical and historical fame, being the scene of the Iliad, and of the battle of the Granicus (a river that rises in Mount Ida, and falls into the Propontis), in which the Persians sustained a signal overthrow from Alexander. The rivers and mountains of this province are all of classic renown. Herodotus (i. 94) says that the people of Mysia were of Lydian descent. They seem to have been once a warlike people; but at the present date, and before, they they had greatly degenerated, and were looked upon as the most contemptible and insignificant people upon earth; insomuch, that Ultimus Mysorum, "the last of the Mysians," was a popular expression of the most intense and insulting scorn of the person to whom it was applied. They were prone to tears, and on that account were much employed by the Greeks as hired mourners, to weep and lament at funerals. Their country was rich and fertile; and in this respect they were thought by the ancients the most happily situated of all the Asiatics. Their principal towns were Pergamus, Adramyttium, Cæsarea, New Troy, Abydos, and Lampsacus. Some of these, being mentioned hereafter, will again come under our notice.

Bithynia."―This important province of Asia Minor extended along the shore of the Euxine Sea, the Bosphorus, and part of the Propontis; having Paphlagonia on the east, Mysia on the west, and Phrygia and Galatia on the south. This country was originally occupied by various tribes, or nations, differing in their language, customs, and manners, and each under its own king. The territory had thus as many kingdoms as tribes of people. All these petty sovereignties were, however, gradually reduced by one of their number, the king of the Bithynians, who afterwards gave their name to the whole country. The kingdom thus formed was in the end conquered by Croesus, king of Lydia, and went, with the rest of his dominions, to the Persians, &c., as mentioned in the note on Phrygia. In contained the cities of Nicæa, or Nice, and Chalcedon, both celebrated in ecclesiastical history for the Councils held in them. The other important towns were Myrlæa (otherwise Apamea); Nicomedia, the capital of Bithynia, where the Roman emperors resided when the affairs of their own empire.called them into Asia; Heraclea, once the seat of a republic of some note, but at the present time a colony of Rome; Prusa, still an important town, and which was the capital of the Turkish sultans before they established themselves in Europe; and Libyssa, noted for the death of Hannibal. None of these places are mentioned in Scripture; but the first epistle of St. Peter is addressed to the Hebrew Christians who were dispersed through this and the neighbouring provinces.

8. "Trous."-Troas was the name of a district in Mysia, being the westernmost portion of that province; or, in other words, being that part of it which projects westward some thirty miles beyond the general line of the coast. In this part of Mysia stood the ancient Troy, and the general scene of the Iliad. The city of Troas, mentioned in the text, was built by Lysimachus, one of the successors of Alexander (by whom it had been begun), and was called, after him, Alexandria; and to distinguish it from Alexandria in Egypt, and other places of the same name, Alexandria Troas. It stood by the sea-side, and was supposed to be about four miles distant from the site of ancient Troy. It was, as we find it in the sacred history, a frequent point of embarkation to Greece from Asia Minor.

11. "Samothracia.”—This is a small island in the Ægean Sea, on the direct course from Troas to Macedonia. It is about thirty miles in circumference, and twenty-four miles from the opposite coast of Thrace; from its proximity to which, as well as to distinguish it from another ísland called Samos, it received the addition of "Thrace" or "Thracia." It still retains its ancient name in the modified form of Samotraki. The island was in ancient times famous for its religious rites and mysteries, and was hence also called the Holy Island.

"Neapolis."-This was a sea-port of Edonis, a district of Macedonia, bordering on Thrace; or rather, being in that part of Macedonia, east of the river Strymon, which formerly belonged to Thrace. Hence Pliny assigns the district of Edonis, as well as Neapolis and Philippi, to Thrace rather than to Macedonia. Neapolis was a place of little note. 12. "Philippi."-This town derived its name from Philip (the father of Alexander), by whom it was rebuilt, and made a frontier town against the Thracians. Its original name was Datos. It was also called Crenides, from the numerous fountains of wholesome water in the neighbourhood. It is historically renowned for two famous battles fought in its vicinity: the first between Cæsar and Pompey; and the other between Antony and Augustus, on the one side, against Brutus and Cassius on the other. But to the Christian it has the more important distinction of being the first town on the continent of Europe in which the Gospel was preached. Some ruins of this ancient town are still in existence. "The chief city of that part of Macedonia." This passage, which has greatly exercised the ingenuity of critics and commentators, may, more correctly, be thus rendered,-Philippi, a city of the first part of Macedonia, or of Macedonia Prima. This is an instance of minute accuracy, which shows that the author of the Acts of the Apostles actually lived and wrote at that time. The province of Macedonia, it is well known, had undergone various changes, and had

been divided into various portions, and particularly four, while under the Roman government. There are extant many medals of the first province, or Macedonia Prima, mostly of silver, with the inscription MAKEAONON ПPOTHE, or the first part of Macedonia; which confirm the accuracy of Luke, and at the same show his attention to the minutest particulars." (Horne's Introduction,' vol. i. p. 196.)

“A colony.”—“ By using the term xoλ (which was originally a Latin word, colonia), instead of the corresponding Greek word aronia, Luke plainly intimates that it was a Roman colony; which the 21st verse clearly proves it to have been. And though the critics were a long time puzzled to find any express mention of it as such, yet some coins have been discovered, in which it is recorded under this character, particularly one, which explicitly states that Julius Cæsar himself bestowed the dignity and privileges of a colony on the city of Philippi, which were afterwards confirmed and augmented by Augustus. This medal corroborates the character given to the city by St. Luke, and proves that it had been a colony for many years, though no author or historian but himself, whose writings have reached us, has men tioned it under that character." (Horne's 'Introduction,' vol. i. p. 196.)

14. "A seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira."-Thyatira was a city of Lydia in Asia Minor, which, being the seat of one of the "seven churches," will be duly noticed under Rev. ii. 18. But, to show the minute accuracy of Luke, it should here be noticed, that, among the ruins of Thyatira, an inscription has been found, which was originally made by the corporation of dyers (it concludes with the words OI BAÞEIΣ,—the dyers) in honour of Antonius Claudius Alphenus, a distinguished man in the reign of Caracalla. Hence we learn that the art and trade of dyeing purple were carried on in that city. See Horne, as above.

22. "Rent off their clothes."-When persons were ordered to be scourged, it was customary for those who were to inflict the punishment, to pull off their clothes with violence, not minding even if they were torn in the operation. This seems to have been also customary among the Jews themselves. (Mish. Macrot.' c. 12. 3.)

"To beat them."-With rods, as the original term imports, and as was the mode in which this punishment was administered by the Romans.

37. "Being Romans."-As to the sense in which Paul was a Roman citizen, and the immunities which he enjoyed in that character, we must refer to the notes on ch. xxii. 25, &c. It may here suffice to observe that the magistrates had, by their conduct in this matter, violated three important laws, the infraction of which was in general treated with so much severity by the Roman government, that these colonial magistrates had ample cause for the alarm with which they received the apostle's message. 1. In punishing them without trial they had violated the law, which strictly forbade any citizen to be punished unheard. 2. They had also infringed the Valerian law, which forbade that any Roman citizen should be bound. And, 3. they had acted against the Sempronian or Porcian law, which exempted a citizen from being punished with rods.

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews:

2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures,

3 Opening and alledging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.

4 And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.

5 But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. 6 And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have

turned the world upside down are come hither also;

7 Whom Jason hath received: and these all do contrary to the decrees of Cæsar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus.

8 And they troubled the people and the rulers of the city, when they heard these things.

9 And when they had taken security of Jason, and of the other, they let them go.

10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were

So.

12 Therefore many of them believed; also of honourable women which were Greeks, and of men, not a few.

13 But when the Jews of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul at Berea, they came thither also, and stirred up the people.

14 And then immediately the brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to the sea: but Silas and Timotheus abode there still.

15 And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens: and receiving a com