Acts 18:26

Act 18:26. Ἤρξατο, he began) To him who hath it shall be given.—ἀκούσαντες, having heard) They thus distinguished what was wanting in him.—ἐξέθεντο, expounded) by private instruction. He who knows Jesus Christ, can teach those powerful in the Scripture; and the latter are readily taught by the former.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act_18:26. Τέ] to which δέ afterwards corresponds, see Winer, p. 409 [E. T. 548]; Kühner, ad Xen. Anab. v. 5. 8.

ἤρξατο] beginning of the παῤῥησ. ἐν τῇ συναγ. Immediately afterwards Aquila and Priscilla, who had temporarily settled in Ephesus (Act_18:18 f.), and had heard him speakfrom which they could not but learn what he lackedtook him to themselves for private instruction.

τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ ὁδόν] the same as τὴν ὁδὸν τ. Κυρίου, Act_18:25, inasmuch as the whole work of Christ is the work of God. That, also, Christian baptism was administered to Apollos by Aquila, is neither to be assumed as self-evident (Erasmus, Grotius, and others), nor is it to be arbitrarily added, with Olshausen, that he first received the Holy Spirit at Corinth by Paul (?). Ewald correctly remarks: there could be no mention of a new baptism in the case of a man already, in a spiritual sense, moved deeply enough. See on Act_19:5. The Holy Spirit had already taken up His abode in his fervent spirit,a relation which could only be furthered by the instruction of Aquila and Priscilla.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Act 18:26 . παῤῥησιάζεσθαι , see above on p. 242; whatever was the exact form of the belief of Apollos, he had at all events the courage of his convictions. ἀκούσαντες showing that Priscilla and Aquila had not separated themselves from their fellow-countrymen. προσελάβοντο , cf. Act 17:5 , i.e. , for instruction in private. ἀκριβέστερον : on its use by St. Luke see above on Act 18:25 . The word is used by Dioscorides in his preface to his De Materia Medica : see Weiss-Meyer’s Kommentar on Luk 1:1 , and Vogel, p. 17, as an instance of medical language. ἐξέθεντο : we are not told whether he was baptised, but Act 19:5 makes it probable that he was; see Zöckler’s note. “Qui Jesum Christum novit, potentes in Scriptura docere potest,” Bengel, and Vogel u. s.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The way that leadeth to God.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

speak boldly in the synagogue, whom when Aquila and Priscilla heard--joying to observe the extent of Scripture knowledge and evangelical truth which he displayed, and the fervency, courage, and eloquence with which he preached the truth.

they took him unto them--privately.

and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly--opening up those truths, to him as yet unknown, on which the Spirit had shed such glorious light. (In what appears to be the true reading of this verse, Priscilla is put before Aquila, as in Act 18:18 [see on Act 18:18]; she being probably the more intelligent and devoted of the two). One cannot but observe how providential it was that this couple should have been left at Ephesus when Paul sailed thence for Syria; and no doubt it was chiefly to pave the way for the better understanding of this episode that the fact is expressly mentioned by the historian in Act 18:19. We see here also an example of not only lay agency (as it is called), but female agency of the highest kind and with the most admirable fruit. Nor can one help admiring the humility and teachableness of so gifted a teacher in sitting at the feet of a Christian woman and her husband.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 26. They took him unto them] This eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, who was even a public teacher, was not ashamed to be indebted to the instructions of a Christian woman, in matters that not only concerned his own salvation, but also the work of the ministry, in which he was engaged. It is disgraceful to a man to be ignorant, when he may acquire wisdom; but it is no disgrace to acquire wisdom from the meanest person or thing. The adage is good: Despise not advice, even of the meanest: the gaggling of geese preserved the Roman state.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

26. Whom, when Priscilla. By this it appeareth how far Priscilla and Aquila were from the love of themselves, and from envying another man’s virtue, in that they deliver those things familiarly and privately to an eloquent man, which he may afterward utter publicly. They excelled not in the same grace wherein he did excel, and, peradventure, they might have been despised in the congregation. Moreover, they most diligently help him, whom they see better furnished as well with eloquence as the use of the Scripture; so that they keep silence, and he alone is heard.

Again, this was no small modesty which was in Apollos, in that he doth suffer himself to be taught and instructed not only in [by] an handy-craftsman, but also by a woman. He was mighty in the Scripture, and did surpass them; but as touching the accomplishment of the kingdom of Christ, those do polish and trim him who might seem to be scarce fit ministers. Also, we see that at that time women were not so ignorant of the word of God as the Papists will have them; forasmuch as we see that one of. the chief teachers of the Church was instructed by a woman. Notwithstanding, we must remember that Priscilla did execute this function of teaching at home in her own house, that she might not overthrow the order prescribed by God and nature.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(26) Whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard . . .—Many of the best MSS. put Priscilla’s name first, as in Act_18:18. The fact mentioned is interesting as showing (1) that Aquila and his wife continued to attend the services of the synagogue, and (2) that Apollos appeared there, as St. Paul had done, in the character of a Rabbi who had a message to deliver, and was therefore allowed, or, it may be, requested (as in Act_13:15), to address the people.

And expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.—Better, as maintaining the right relation of the comparative to the positive adverb of the previous verse, more accurately. The prominence given to Priscilla in this instruction implies that she was a woman of more than ordinary culture, a student of the older Scriptures, able, with a prophetic insight, to help even the disciple of Philo to understand them better than he had done before. It follows of necessity that “the way of God” which they “expounded” to him was the gospel as they had learnt it from St. Paul, perhaps as they had learnt it, at an earlier stage, from the lips of Stephen or his followers. (See Note on Act_18:2.) It would include, to put the matter somewhat technically, the doctrines of salvation by grace, and justification by faith, and the gift of the Spirit, and union with Christ through baptism and the Supper of the Lord. It would seem to follow almost necessarily, as in the case of the twelve disciples in the next chapter (Act_19:1-6), that Apollos, who had before known only the baptism of John, was now baptised into “the name of the Lord Jesus.”

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue] For the Jews were not all ready to listen to announcements of the approach of the Messiah. The speaker must be prepared with arguments as well as courage who dwelt on this theme, about which the Jews had been deluded by many impostors.

But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him] This is the commencement of a new sentence in the original, and the oldest texts put the name of the wife before that of her husband as in Act_18:18. By joining her in this marked way with Aquila in the communications with Apollos, the historian indicates that she was a woman of great power and zeal among the Christians. It has been suggested that she was perhaps a born Jewess and her husband not so, which might account for the prominence given in several places to her name. It may be noted here, as so often, that Aquila and his wife, like the other Judæo-Christians, still attended the worship of the synagogue.

they took him unto them] He would be much more in sympathy with them than with the Jewish congregation. He was prepared to accept the Messiah, but did not yet understand that Jesus was He.

and expounded unto him the way of God more carefully] The adverb here is the same as in the previous verse, and the use of it seems to shew that the studies of Aquila and his wife in the Scriptures had been of the same earnest kind as those of Apollos. By the “way of God” we must understand God’s further working out of the Old Testament prediction in the closing events of the life of Jesus, and in the gift of the Holy Ghost. That Joel’s prophecy, quoted by St Peter on the day of Pentecost (Act_2:16), had been thus fulfilled, was new learning for the eloquent Alexandrian. As also the newly appointed means of grace in baptism and the breaking of bread, with the promise of salvation to faith in Christ. These also may be included as part of the “way of God,” being means whereby men are brought nearer to Him.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For he mightily convinced the Jews,.... His reasoning was so strong and nervous, his arguments so weighty and powerful, and the passages he produced out of the Old Testament so full and pertinent, that the Jews were not able to stand against him; they could not object to the texts of Scripture he urged, nor to the sense he gave of them, nor answer the arguments founded upon them; he was an overmatch for them; they were refuted by him over and over, and were confounded to the last degree:

and that publicly, in their synagogue, before all the people; which increased their shame and confusion; and was the means of spreading the Gospel, of bringing others to the faith of it, and of establishing them in it, who had already received it: showing by the Scriptures; of the Old Testament, which the Jews received and acknowledged as the word of God:

that Jesus was Christ; or that Christ, that Messiah, which these Scriptures spoke of, whom God had promised, and the church of God expected; and which was the main thing in controversy between the Jews and the Christians, as it still is.

Next: Acts Chapter 19

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.

Ver. 26. And expounded unto him] A humble man will be glad to learn of the meanest that is. "A little child shall lead him," Isa 11:6. One man may, for counsel, be a God to another, as Moses was to Aaron.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And expounded - Explained.

The way of God - Gave him full and ample instructions respecting the Messiah as having already come, and respecting the nature of his work.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

If we allow Priscilla to have contributed towards the instruction of Apollos, as doubtless we may, it is certain it was only in private discourse; which being joined with a meek and humble behaviour, might be very effectual for the conversion of souls, 1Pe 3:1,2. Thus Timothy was indebted for his knowledge in the things of God to his mother and grandmother, 2Ti 1:5. But otherwise it is not lawful for a woman to teach, 1Ti 2:11,12.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

26. Began—Opened his ministry in Ephesus after he came.

Expounded… more perfectly—The Greek word for diligently in Act_18:25 more properly signifies accurately. The same Greek word here is used in the comparative. But if Apollos preached accurately at first, how could he be taught to preach more accurately? The first accuracy, we suppose, was the proper accuracy of a Johnite; than which the accuracy of a Christian was more accurate.

Aquila and Priscilla unfolded to Apollos the wonderful fact of a Messiah already come. They gave him the history of the incarnation, the miracles, the crucifixion, the resurrection, the ascension, the pentecostal affusion, and the commission to convert the world. This pupil was soon superior to his teachers. Aquila and Priscilla remained at Ephesus long enough to salute Paul on his return to that city, and to have him send their salutations thence to the Church at Corinth in the first epistle, (1Co_16:19.) The faithful pair had a “Church in their house.” Afterward, (Rom_16:3,) residing at Rome, they are greeted by the apostle himself as having been ready to sacrifice their lives to his, as worthy the thanks of all the Gentile Churches, and as still possessing a “Church in their house.” Again they return to Ephesus, and are again greeted by the great apostle. (2Ti_4:19.) This is their last New Testament record; but tradition reports their martyrdom by the axe.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

He spake - Privately; and taught publicly. Probably he returned to live at Alexandria, soon after he had been baptized by John; and so had no opportunity of being fully acquainted with the doctrines of the Gospel, as delivered by Christ and his apostles. And explained to him the way of God more perfectly - He who knows Christ, is able to instruct even those that are mighty in the Scriptures.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

26. While Apollos, the most eloquent preacher in the world, having come from Africa by way of the Mediterranean to Ephesus, the metropolis of Western Asia, is holding the multitude spell-bound by his inimitable oratory, Aquila and Priscilla, an humble layman and his wife, having been wonderfully sanctified while associated with Paul in tent-making and evangelistic work in Corinth, perceive by spiritual discernment (1Co 12:10) [reading the preacher like a book] that he is yet alien to the glorious experience of Christian perfection. Therefore taking him home with them they “expounded unto him the way more perfectly,” thus honored by the Holy Ghost to lead this humble brother, so wonderfully enriched with the rare gift of native eloquence, into the glorious experience of entire sanctification, thus leading him forward out of the Johanic into the Pentecostal dispensation of grace, and thus congenializing him to the grand open field of the Pauline churches.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

See notes on verse 24

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

26. Πρίσκιλλα καὶ Ἀκύλας with אABE. Vulg. ‘Priscilla et Aquila.’

τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ θεοῦ with אAB. Vulg. has ‘viam Domini.’

26. οὗτός τε ἤρξατο παρρησιάζεσθαι ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ, and this man began to speak boldly in the synagogue. The verb παρρησιάζεσθαι has been frequently used of the boldness of the disciples (cf. Act 9:27; Act 9:29, Act 14:3, &c.). Here too was the same spirit and the same need of it. For the Jews were not all ready to listen to announcements of the approach of the Messiah. The speaker must be prepared with arguments as well as courage who dwelt on this theme, about which the Jews had been deluded by many impostors.

ἀκούσαντες δὲ αὐτοῦ Πρίσκιλλα καὶ Ἀκύλας, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him. Here as in other places (see above on 18) the name of the wife precedes that of her husband. By joining her in this marked way with Aquila in the communications with Apollos, the historian indicates that she was a woman of great power and zeal among the Christians. It has been suggested that she was perhaps a born Jewess and her husband not so, which might account for the prominence given in several places to her name. It may be noted here, as so often, that Aquila and his wife, like the other Judæo-Christians, still attended the worship of the synagogue.

προσελάβοντο αὐτόν, they took him unto them. He would be much more in sympathy with them than with many of the Jewish congregation. He was prepared to accept the Messiah, but did not yet understand that Jesus was He. Priscilla and Aquila must have been persons of some mark to be warranted in taking Apollos thus to their company.

καὶ ἀκριβέστερον … τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ θεοῦ, and expounded unto him the way of God more carefully. For the adverb cf. the previous verse. The use of the same word in both verses seems to shew that the studies of Aquila and his wife in the Scriptures had been of the same earnest kind as those of Apollos. By the ‘way of God’ we must understand God’s further working out of the Old Testament prediction in the closing events of the life of Jesus, and in the gift of the Holy Ghost. That Joel’s prophecy, quoted by St Peter on the day of Pentecost (Act 2:16), had been thus fulfilled, was new learning for the eloquent Alexandrian. As also the newly-appointed means of grace in baptism and the breaking of bread, with the promise of salvation through faith in Christ. These also may be included as part of the ‘way of God,’ being means whereby men are brought nearer to Him.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26. ἀκριβέστερον] The former accuracy was only in facts: this is the still more expanded accuracy of doctrine. That was merely τὰ περὶ τοῦ Ἰησοῦ, as He lived and ministered on earth: this included also the promise of the Spirit, and its performance.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

More perfectly [ακριβεστερον] . The comparative of the same word. More accurately.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.