SECTION XV.

PLANTING OF THE CHURCH IN SAMARIA.-ACTS VIII. 1-13.

1 And Saul was consenting to his death. And there arose at that time a great persecution against the church which was in Jerusalem; and they were all dispersed through the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men buried Stephen, and made great mourning over him. 3 But Saul laid waste the church, entering in from house to house, and dragging away both men and women, committed them to prison. 4 They therefore who were dispersed went about preaching the word. 5 And Philip having gone down to a city of Samaria, preached the Christ to them. 6 And the people with one accord gave heed to the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the signs which he did. 7 For from many who had unclean spirits these came out, crying with a loud voice and many paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city. 9 But a certain man, Simon by name, formerly practised sorcery in that city, and astonished the nation of Samaria, saying that he was some great one: 10 To whom they gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the power of God, which is called Great. 11 And to him they gave heed, because for a long time they had been astonished by his sorceries. 12 But when they believed Philip preaching concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 And Simon also himself believed and being baptized, he continued with Philip; and beholding the miracles and signs which were done, he was astonished.

CRITICAL NOTES.

Ver. 5. The article Tv before Tóv occurs in A, B, 8, but is considered an addition in order to designate the city Samaria. It is omitted in C, D, E, H, and erased by Tischendorf, Meyer, and De Wette. Ver. 7. Πολλῶν is only found in H, but is retained by Griesbach, Tischendorf, De Wette, and Meyer, as being the more probable reading. IIoλoí, found in A, B, C, E, s, is supposed to have been

a correction to correspond with the latter clause of the verse. 'EğńpxovTO is the reading of A, B, C, D, E, &, and is preferred by Tischendorf to eńpxero, the reading of H. Ver. 10. Ἡ καλουμένη before μεγάλη is attested by A, B, C, D, E, s, and is inserted by all the recent critics. Ver. 12. Tá before Tepi is wanting in A, B, C, D, E, §, and is accordingly omitted by Lachmann and Tischendorf. Ver. 13. Meryaλas is wanting in two uncial мss., G, H, and is regarded as an interpolation by Tischendorf and Meyer. Great variations also occur in the position of the words. The reading which Tischendorf adopts is, δυνάμεις καὶ σημεῖα γινόμενα.

EXEGETICAL REMARKS.

Ver. 1. Σαῦλος δὲ ἦν συνευδοκῶν τῇ ἀναιρέσει αὐτοῦ-And Saul was consenting to his death. This sentence has been considered by Tischendorf and Hackett as forming the conclusion of the account of Stephen's martyrdom; but it rather appears to be introductory to the account of the general persecution which now follows. Zvvevdokov, not assenting, but consenting-taking an active part, joining with those who put Stephen to death. "When the blood of Thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting to his death" (Acts xxii. 20, where the same words are repeated by Paul himself). 'Avaipéoei, a stronger term than death, perhaps murder. 'Eyéveto dè èv èkelvy tỷ μépa—and there arose on that day. Most critics (Lechler, Meyer, De Wette) take these words literally, and suppose that on the same day on which Stephen was slain, a general persecution against the church commenced. The martyrdom of Stephen was but the prelude to the onslaught upon the Christians.1 The multitude, having tasted blood, became ferocious. There is

1 This would especially be the case if, as some suppose, the death of Stephen involved a legal decision that Christianity was blasphemy, and therefore a capital offence: it could not then be professed without danger to life. This would follow even supposing the Sanhedrim, in passing sentence against Stephen, had exceeded its powers.

nothing improbable in this view of the subject. However, as all that is here mentioned concerning the dispersion of the disciples could hardly have occurred on a single day, the words are probably to be taken indefinitely-" at that time" (English version). It is true that, in general, the phrase is limited to the particular day; but occasionally it admits of a wider signification (see John xiv. 20, xvi. 23, 26). Alwypos μéyas-a great persecution. This was an important crisis in the history of the church. The people of Israel, once favourable, had now become decidedly hostile. The Pharisees, formerly neutral, were now united with the Sadducees in hatred to the Christians. The prudent counsels of Gamaliel no longer exerted a restraining influence; and the Roman government does not appear to have interfered for the protection of the Christians. Perhaps, as has already been hinted, this persecution occurred during the vacancy of the Roman procuratorship, after the deposition of Pilate, and before the arrival of the new procurator Marullus; and that advantage of this was taken by the Jews. Пlávтes dè SieσTáρnoav-and they were all dispersed. It is improbable, and indeed at variance with the mention made soon after of the church at Jerusalem (ch. ix. 26), that all the Christians, with the sole exception of the apostles, were dispersed. Accordingly, Bengel restricts Távтes to the teachers; and Baur, Zeller, De Wette, and Renan, to the Hellenistic Christians. Baumgarten supposes that the dispersion refers to an assembly of Christians who were then met together. He thinks that the rabble, returning from the murder of Stephen, burst in upon that assembly, and dispersed it; and that the dispersion through the regions of Judea and Samaria was subsequent. "The assembly," he observes, "were all scattered abroad, the apostles as well as the rest; but as for the dispersion into the regions of Judea and Samaria, there were many among the dispersed who were not driven to these quarters, and especially the apostles." He accordingly limits πάντες διεσπάρησαν to those disciples who were then assembled. But this limitation is not suggested by the text; 1 Baumgarten's Apostolic History, vol. i. pp. 169, 170.

on the contrary, the words κατὰ τὰς χώρας τῆς Ἰουδαίας καὶ Σαμαρείας are directly connected with διεσπάρησαν. It is best to understand Távтes as a hyperbolical expression (Meyer, Lechler),—not that all Christians, with the sole exception of the apostles, but that very many of them, had to fly from Jerusalem: multi (Kuinol). For a similar use of távτes, see Matt. iii. 5, Mark i. 33. IIXǹv Tŵv åπOσTóλwv—except the apostles. Whilst other Christians took their flight from Jerusalem, the apostles remained: they were preserved by the providence of God in the centre of the persecution. We might indeed have expected that they would have been the first to be attacked; but perhaps some portion of that veneration with which the people formerly regarded them (Acts v. 13) still remained: as yet, they did not venture to attack them. The apostles regarded Jerusalem as their post of duty; perhaps, as Meyer supposes, they held that the centre of the old theocracy was to be the centre of the new. Jerusalem was still to them the holy city, the future capital of the Messianic kingdom. According to an ancient tradition, the apostles were commanded by our Lord to remain for twelve years in Jerusalem. Thus Apollonius, who wrote in the second century, states that it was handed down by tradition, that our Saviour commanded His disciples not to depart from Jerusalem for twelve years (Eusebius, Hist. Eccl. v. 18). And the same tradition is recorded in the apocryphal work entitled The Preaching of Peter: "The Lord said to His apostles, If any one therefore of Israel repent, and through my name be willing to believe in God, his sins shall be forgiven him. After twelve years, go ye out into the world, lest any say, We have not heard."

Ver. 2. "Avdpes evλaßeîs — devout men. It is disputed whether these "devout men were Christians, or Jews favourably disposed to Christianity, but who had not openly avowed themselves. Some (Heinrichs, Ewald, De Wette) suppose that they were Christians who showed this mark of respect to the first martyr of their faith. Others (Kuincel, Meyer, Baumgarten, Olshausen, Lange, Stier, Lechler) sup

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pose that they were religious Jews secretly inclined to Christianity, who had now the courage to declare their respect for the martyred Stephen; as Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus buried Christ. It is argued that ävdpes evλaßeîs is the phrase employed to denote devout Jews who were not Christians (Acts ii. 5). The only exception to this remark is Ananias, who, according to the probable reading of the text, is called amp evλaßns (Acts xxii. 12). Further, it is suggested that, in consequence of the outbreak of the persecution, the Christians would have been hindered from burying Stephen; and if not, that Luke would have designated them more distinctly by the word "disciples," "believers," or "brethren." Upon the whole, the probability is, that the devout men here mentioned were friends and admirers of Stephen, who had not openly avowed themselves to be Christians. The simple statement of Luke concerning the burial of Stephen has been expanded into an elaborate legend. Four hundred years after this, Gamaliel appeared in a vision to Lucius, a presbyter of the church of Jerusalem, and informed him where the body of Stephen lay. The high priest had designed that the corpse should be devoured by beasts of prey; but Gamaliel rescued it, and buried it at his own villa at Caphar Gamala, twenty miles from Jerusalem. All the apostles attended the funeral, and the mourning lasted forty days. Gamaliel himself, and Nicodemus, were afterwards buried in the same grave. The relics of Stephen, thus miraculously discovered, were brought to Jerusalem, and authenticated by the many miracles wrought by them among the people. They were afterwards buried at the supposed scene of his martyrdom, and a magnificent church was erected over them by the Empress Eudoxia in 460. (See Conybeare and Howson; Smith's Dictionary, art. Stephen.)

Ver. 3. 'ExvuaiveTo— laid waste, made havoc of, raged like some furious beast of prey. Kaтà TOÙS OIKOUS—from house to house. Saul was the first inquisitor. In this persecution he was without doubt supported by the authority of the Sanhedrim: access was afforded him into the houses of private individuals, and the public prison was at his command.