Acts 22:3

Act 22:3-5. I am verily a Jew, &c. — This defence answers all that is objected, Act 21:28. But he speaks closely and nervously, in a few words, because the time was short; born in Tarsus, yet brought up in this city — For my parents were so warmly attached to their religion, and so desirous that I might be well instructed in it, that they sent me to be educated here; at the feet of Gamaliel — That celebrated teacher. See note on Act 5:34. The phrase of being brought up at his feet, plainly alludes to the posture in which the scholars were usually placed, sitting on low seats, or upon mats, on the floor, at the feet of their masters, whose seats were raised to a considerable height. Taught according to the perfect manner of the law — Or, accurately instructed in the law: which learned education was once, doubtless, the matter of his boasting and confidence; but, not being sanctified, it made his bonds strong, and furnished him with numerous arguments against the gospel. Yet, when the grace of God had changed his heart, and turned his accomplishments into another channel, he was the fitter instrument to serve God’s wise and merciful purposes, in the defence and propagation of Christianity. And I persecuted this way — With the same zeal that ye do now; binding both men and women — Who professed and practised it, without any regard to sex, age, or quality. How much better was his condition now he was bound himself! The high-priest doth bear me witness — Is able to testify; and all the estate of the elders — All the other members of the sanhedrim; from whom also I received letters unto the brethren — The Jews (for this title was not peculiar to the Christians) empowering me to act against those for whom I have now so great a regard. And went to Damascus, &c. — See note on c Act 9:1-2.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

22:3 under Gamaliel: See study note on 5:34.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Act 22:3. Ἐγω, I) By this defence the cry is refuted of which ch. Act 21:28 treated. For the weightiest reasons, and in a peculiar way, Paul speaks so much as he does concerning himself in this passage and ch. Act 26:4-5. Comp. 1Pe 2:9.—μὲν, indeed) There follows δὲ but, in Act 22:6.—ἀνὴρ, a man) This speech has a singular degree of ἐνάργεια and distinctness.—παρὰ τοὺς πόδας, at the feet) Again in turn, the teacher is said to be from the head [a capite, at or on the head] of his disciple: 2Ki 2:3, “The Lord will take away thy master from thy head to-day.” The teacher sits: the disciple sits in a lower place, or else stands; sometimes disciples even prostrated themselves.—ἀκρίβειαν, the truth, the accurate or perfect manner) the choice (carefully sought out) mode of teaching, peculiar to the Pharisees: ch. Act 26:5.—ζηλωτὴς τοῦ Θεοῦ, zealous towards God) ζηλωτὴς is a word intermediate between a good and bad sense: ζηλωτὴς Θεοῦ, one zealous towards God, is used as ζῆλος Θεοῦ, a zeal of God, or a zeal towards God, Rom 10:2. Both passages have some degree of Mimesis [allusion to the language or sentiments of another, whom we are refuting]: for the Jews thought, that they gave honour to God in proportion as they detracted (derogated) from Jesus Christ.—καθὼς, even as) A conciliatory argument.—ὑμεῖς, ye) ch. Act 21:28; Act 21:36.

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

Act 22:3 . γεγενν . ἐν Τ ., see above p. 202. ἀνατεθ . δὲ : although by birth a foreign Jew, yet brought up in Jerusalem, and so belonging to his hearers. It was important for the Apostle to emphasise this, as his close association with Jerusalem had a significant bearing on his future life. The comma best after Γαμ ., so that each clause begins with a participle, but Weiss places comma after ταύτῃ (so De Wette, Hackett). Probably Paul went to Jerusalem not later than thirteen, possibly at eleven, for his training as a teacher of the law. ἀνατεθ .: only in Luke, cf. Act 7:20-21 , Luk 4:16 (W.H [365] margin), “educated,” so in classical Greek, 4Ma 10:2 ; 4Ma 11:15 , but in latter passage AR τραφ . In Wis 7:4 we have ἐν σπαργάνοις ἀνετράφην (A ἀνεστρ .). παρὰ τοὺς πόδας : the more usual attitude for teacher and taught according to the N.T. and the Talmud; according to later Talmudic tradition the sitting on the ground was not customary until after the death of Gamaliel I., J. Lightfoot, Hor. Heb. , on Luk 2:46 ; cf. also Schürer, Jewish People , div. ii., vol. 1, p. 326, E.T., and Taylor, Sayings of the Jewish Fathers , pp. 14, 15, 2nd edit.; even if the later tradition was true, the scholar standing would still be at the feet of his teacher on his raised seat. κατὰ ἀκρίβειαν : noun only here in N.T., but cf. Act 26:5 , “according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers,” R.V., and so practically A.V. For a comment on the words cf. Jos., Ant. , xvii., 2, 4, Vita , 38, and B.J. , ii., 8, 18. φαρισαῖοι οἱ δοκοῦντες μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἐξηγεῖσθαι τὰ νόμιμα : Edersheim, Jesus the Messiah , ii., 314, note on ἀκρίβεια as used by Josephus and St. Paul, Schürer, Jewish People , div. ii., vol. ii., p. 54. E.T. Whether therefore τοῦ πατ . νόμου ( 3Ma 1:23 ) included anything besides the Mosaic law or not, the words before us at least refer to the strictness upon which the Pharisees prided themselves in the observance of the law. In Gal 1:14 St. Paul speaks of being a zealot of the traditions handed down from his fathers, πατρικῶν , where the traditions are apparently distinguished from the written law, Jos., Ant. , xiii., 16, 2, and 10, 6; but the “oral law” which the scribes developed was apparently equally binding with the written Thorah in the eyes of the Pharisees, Schürer, Jewish People , div. ii., vol. ii., pp. 10, 11, E.T., but cf. also Lightfoot, u. s. The word πατρῴου would appeal to the hearts of the people, who loved the Thorah as the chief good, but St. Chrysostom’s words are also to be remembered: “all this seems indeed to be spoken on their side, but in fact it told against them, since he, knowing the law, forsook it” Hom. , xlvii. ζηλωτὴς ὑπάρ . τοῦ Θεοῦ : St. Paul might have called himself a zealot of the law, or a zealot of God (Lightfoot, u. s. ), cf. Mal 4:2Mal 4:2 , ζηλ . τῶν νόμων , sued of Phinehas, 4Ma 18:12 . καθὼς πάντες … σήμερον : he recognises that their present zeal was a zeal for God, as his own had been, ἀλλ ̓ οὐ κατʼ ἐπίγνωσιν , Rom 10:2 : argumentum concilians , Bengel.

[365] Westcott and Hort’s The New Testament in Greek: Critical Text and Notes.

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

That is, his daily hearer: the reason of this speech is this: for that they which teach, sit commonly in the higher place speaking to their scholars which sit upon forms beneath: and therefore he saith, at the feet of Gamaliel.

Paul making a short declaration of his former life, proveth both his vocation and doctrine to be of God.

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

Paul here gives such an account of himself as might serve not only to satisfy the chief captain that he was not that Egyptian he took him to be, but the Jews also that he was not that enemy to their church and nation, to their law and temple, they took him to be, and that what he did in preaching Christ, and particularly in preaching him to the Gentiles, he did by a divine commission. He here gives them to understand,

I. What his extraction and education were. 1. That he was one of their own nation, of the stock of Israel, of the seed of Abraham, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, not of any obscure family, or a renegado of some other nation: "No, I am verily a man who is a Jew, anēr Ioudaios - a Jewish man; I am a man, and therefore ought not to be treated as a beast; a man who is a Jew, not a barbarian; I am a sincere friend to your nation, for I am one of it, and should defile my own nest if I should unjustly derogate from the honour of your law and your temple." 2. That he was born in a creditable reputable place, in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, and was by his birth a freeman of that city. He was not born in servitude, as some of the Jews of the dispersion, it is likely, were; but he was a gentleman born, and perhaps could produce his certificate of his freedom in that ancient and honourable city. This was, indeed, but a small matter to make any boast of, and yet it was needful to be mentioned at this time to those who insolently trampled upon him, as if he were to be ranked with the children of fools, yea, the children of base men, Job 30:8. 3. That he had a learned and liberal education. He was not only a Jew, and a gentleman, but a scholar. He was brought up in Jerusalem, the principal seat of the Jewish learning, and at the feet of Gamaliel, whom they all knew to be an eminent doctor of the Jewish law, of which Paul was designed to be himself a teacher; and therefore he could not be ignorant of their law, nor be thought to slight it because he did not know it. His parents had brought him very young to this city, designing him for a Pharisee; and some think his being brought up at the feet of Gamaliel intimates, not only that he was one of his pupils, but that he was, above any other, diligent and constant in attending his lectures, observant of him, and obsequious to him, in all he said, as Mary, that sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 4. That he was in his early days a very forward and eminent professor of the Jews' religion; his studies and learning were all directed that way. So far was he from being principled in his youth with any disaffection to the religious usages of the Jews that there was not a young man among them who had a greater and more entire veneration for them than he had, was more strict in observing them himself, or more hot in enforcing them upon others. (1.) He was an intelligent professor of their religion, and had a clear head. He minded his business at Gamaliel's feet, and was there taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers. What departures he had made from the law were not owing to any confused or mistaken notions of it, for he understood it to a nicety, kata akribeian - according to the most accurate and exact method. He was not trained up in the principles of the latitudinarians, had nothing in him of a Sadducee, but was of that sect that was most studious in the law, kept most close to it, and, to make it more strict than it was, added to it the traditions of the elders, the law of the fathers, the law which was given to them, and which they gave to their children, and so it was handed down to us. Paul had as great a value for antiquity, and tradition, and the authority of the church, as any of them had; and there was never a Jew of them all that understood his religion better than Paul did, or could better give an account of it or a reason for it. (2.) He was an active professor of their religion, and had a warm heart: I was zealous towards God, as you all are this day. Many that are very well skilled in the theory of religion are willing to leave the practice of it to others, but Paul was as much a zealot as a rabbi. He was zealous against every thing that the law prohibited, and for every thing that the law enjoined; and this was zeal towards God, because he thought it was for the honour of God and the service of his interests; and here he compliments his hearers with a candid and charitable opinion of them, that they all were this day zealous towards God; he bears them record (Rom 10:2), that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. In hating him, and casting him out, they said, Let the Lord be glorified (Isa 66:5), and, though this did by no means justify their rage, yet it enabled those that prayed, Father, forgive them, to plead, as Christ did, For they know not what they do. And when Paul owns that he had been zealous for God in the law of Moses, as they were this day, he intimates his hope that they might be zealous for God, in Christ, as he was this day.

II. What a fiery furious persecutor he had been of the Christian religion in the beginning of his time, Act 22:4, Act 22:5. He mentions this to make it the more plainly and evidently to appear that the change which was wrought upon him, when he was converted to the Christian faith, was purely the effect of a divine power; for he was so far from having any previous inclinations to it, or favourable opinions of it, that immediately before that sudden change was wrought in him he had the utmost antipathy imaginable to Christianity, and was filled with rage against it to the last degree. And perhaps he mentions it to justify God in his present trouble; how unrighteous soever those were that persecuted him, God was righteous, who permitted them to do it, for time was when he was a persecutor; and he may have a further view in it to invite and encourage those people to repent, for he himself had been a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and yet obtained mercy. Let us view Paul's picture of himself when he was a persecutor. 1. He hated Christianity with a mortal enmity: I persecuted this way unto the death, that is, "Those that walked in this way I aimed, if possible, to be the death of." He breathed out slaughter against them, Act 9:1. When they were put to death, he gave his voice against them, Act 26:10. Nay, he persecuted not only those that walked in this way, but the way itself, Christianity, which was branded as a byway, a sect; he aimed to persecute this to the death, to be the ruin of this religion. He persecuted it to the death, that is, he could have been willing himself to die in his opposition to Christianity, so some understand it. He would contentedly have lost his life, and would have thought it well laid out, in defence of the laws and traditions of the fathers. 2. He did all he could to frighten people from this way, and out of it, by binding and delivering into prison both men and women; he filled the jails with Christians. Now that he himself was bound, he lays a particular stress upon this part of his charge against himself, that he had bound the Christians, and carried them to prison; he likewise reflects upon it with a special regret that he had imprisoned not only the men, but the women, the weaker sex, who ought to be treated with particular tenderness and compassion. 3. He was employed by the great sanhedrim, the high priest, and all the estate of the elders, as an agent for them, in suppressing this new sect; so much had he already signalized himself for his zeal against it, Act 22:5. The high priest can witness for him that he was ready to be employed in any service against the Christians. When they heard that many of the Jews at Damascus had embraced the Christian faith, to deter others from doing the like they resolved to proceed against them with the utmost severity, and could not think of a fitter person to be employed in that business, nor one more likely to go through with it, than Paul. They therefore sent him, and letters by him, to the Jews at Damascus, here called the brethren, because they all descended from one common stock, and were of one family in religion too, ordering them to be assisting to Paul in seizing those among them that had turned Christians, and bringing them up prisoners to Jerusalem, in order to their being punished as deserters from the faith and worship of the God of Israel; and so might either be compelled to retract, or be put to death for a terror to others. Thus did Saul make havoc of the church, and was in a fair way, if he had gone on awhile, to ruin it, and root it out. "Such a one," says Paul, "I was at first, just such as you now are. I know the heart of a persecutor, and therefore pity you, and pray that you may know the heart of a convert, as God soon made me to do. And who was I that I could withstand God?"

III. In what manner he was converted and made what he now was. It was not from any natural or external causes; he did not change his religion from an affectation of novelty, for he was then as well affected to antiquity as he used to be; nor did it arise from discontent because he was disappointed in his preferment, for he was now, more than ever, in the way of preferment in the Jewish church; much less could it arise from covetousness, or ambition, or any hope of mending his fortune in the world by turning Christian, for it was to expose himself to all manner of disgrace and trouble; nor had he any conversation with the apostles or any other Christians, by whose subtlety and sophistry he might be thought to have been wheedled into this change. No, it was the Lord's doing, and the circumstances of the doing of it were enough to justify him in the change, to all those who believe there is a supernatural power; and none can condemn him for it, without reflecting upon that divine energy by which he was herein overruled. He relates the story of his conversion here very particularly, as we had it before (ch. 9), aiming to show that it was purely the act of God. 1. He was a fully bent upon persecuting the Christians just before Christ arrested him as ever. He made his journey, and was come nigh to Damascus (Act 22:6), and had no other thought than to execute the cruel design he was sent upon; he was not conscious of the least compassionate relentings towards the poor Christians, but still represented them to himself as heretics, schismatics, and dangerous enemies both to church and state. 2. It was a light from heaven that first startled him, a great light, which shone suddenly round about him, and the Jews knew that God is light, and his angels angels of light, and that such a light as this shining at noon, and therefore exceeding that of the sun, must be from God. Had it shone in upon him into some private room, there might have been a cheat in it, but it shone upon him in the open road, at high noon, and so strongly that it struck him to the ground (Act 22:7), and all that were with him, Act 26:14. They could not deny but that surely the Lord was in this light. 3. It was a voice from heaven that first begat in him awful thoughts of Jesus Christ, of whom before he had had nothing but hateful spiteful thoughts. The voice called to him by name, to distinguish him from those that journeyed with him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And when he asked, Who art thou, Lord? it was answered, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest, Act 22:8. By which it appeared that this Jesus of Nazareth, whom they also were now persecuting, was one that spoke from heaven, and they knew it was dangerous resisting one that did so, Heb 12:25. 4. Lest it should be objected, "How came this light and voice to work such a change upon him, and not upon those that journeyed with him?" (though, it is very probable, it had a good effect upon them, and that they thereupon became Christians), he observes that his fellow travellers saw indeed the light, and were afraid they should be consumed with fire from heaven, their own consciences, perhaps, now telling them that the way they were in was not good, but like Balaam's when he was going to curse Israel, and therefore they might expect to meet an angel with a flaming glittering sword; but, though the light made them afraid, they heard not the voice of him that spoke to Paul, that is, they did not distinctly hear the words. Now faith comes by hearing, and therefore that change was now presently wrought upon him that heard the words, and heard them directed to himself, which was not wrought upon those who only saw the light; and yet it might afterwards be wrought upon them too. 5. He assures them that when he was thus startled he referred himself entirely to a divine guidance; he did not hereupon presently cry out, "Well, I will be a Christian," but, "What shall I do, Lord? Let the same voice from heaven that has stopped me in the wrong way guide me into the right way, Act 22:10. Lord, tell me what I shall do, and I will do it." And immediately he had directions to go to Damascus, and there he should hear further from him that now spoke to him: "No more needs to be said from heaven, there it shall be told thee, by a man like thyself, in the name of him that now speaks to thee, all things which are appointed for thee to do." The extraordinary ways of divine revelation, by visions, and voices, and the appearance of angels, were designed, both in the Old Testament and in the New, only to introduce and establish the ordinary method by the scriptures and a standing ministry, and therefore were generally superseded when these were settled. The angel did not preach to Cornelius himself, but bade him send for Peter; so the voice here tells not Paul what he shall do, but bids him go to Damascus, and there it shall be told him. 6. As a demonstration of the greatness of that light which fastened upon him, he tells them of the immediate effect it had upon his eye-sight (Act 22:11): I could not see for the glory of that light. It struck him blind for the present. Nimium sensibile laedit sensum - Its radiance dazzled him. Condemned sinners are struck blind, as the Sodomites and Egyptians were, by the power of darkness, and it is a lasting blindness, like that of the unbelieving Jews; but convinced sinners are struck blind, as Paul here was, not by darkness, but by light: they are for the present brought to be at a loss within themselves, but it is in order to their being enlightened, as the putting of clay upon the eyes of the blind man was the designed method of his cure. Those that were with Paul had not the light so directly darted into their faces as Paul had unto his, and therefore they were not blinded, as he was; yet, considering the issue, who would not rather have chosen his lot than theirs? They, having their sight, led Paul by the hand into the city. Paul, being a Pharisee, was proud of his spiritual eyesight. The Pharisees said, Are we blind also? Joh 9:40. Nay, they were confident that they themselves were guides to the blind, and lights to those that were in darkness, Rom 2:19. Now Paul was thus struck with bodily blindness to make him sensible of his spiritual blindness, and his mistake concerning himself, when he was alive without the law, Rom 7:9.

IV. How he was confirmed in the change he had made, and further directed what he should do, by Ananias who lived at Damascus.

Observe, 1. The character here given of Ananias. He was not a man that was any way prejudiced against the Jewish nation or religion, but was himself a devout man according to the law; if not a Jew by birth, yet one that had been proselyted to the Jewish religion, and therefore called a devout man, and thence advanced further to the faith of Christ; and he conducted himself so well that he had a good report of all the Jews that dwelt at Damascus. This was the first Christian that Paul had any friendly communication with, and it was not likely that he should instil into him any such notions as they suspected him to espouse, injurious to the law or to this holy place.

2. The cure immediately wrought by him upon Paul's eyes, which miracle was to confirm Ananias's mission to Paul, and to ratify all that he should afterwards say to him. He came to him (Act 22:13); and, to assure him that he came to him from Christ (the very same who had torn and would heal him, had smitten, but would bind him up, had taken away his sight, but would restore it again, with advantage), he stood by him, and said, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. Power went along with this word, and the same hour, immediately, he recovered his sight, and looked up upon him, ready to receive from him the instructions sent by him.

3. The declaration which Ananias makes to him of the favour, the peculiar favour, which the Lord Jesus designed him above any other.

(1.) In the present manifestation of himself to him (Act 22:14): The God of our fathers has chosen thee. This powerful call is the result of a particular choice; his calling God the God of our fathers intimates that Ananias was himself a Jew by birth, that observed the law of the fathers, and lived upon the promise made unto the fathers; and he gives a reason why he said Brother Saul, when he speaks of God as the God of our fathers: This God of our fathers has chosen thee that thou shouldst, [1.] Know his will, the will of his precept that is to be done by thee, the will of his providence that is to be done concerning thee. He hath chosen thee that thou shouldst know it in a more peculiar manner; not of man nor by man, but immediately by the revelation of Christ, Gal 1:1, Gal 1:12. Those whom God hath chosen he hath chosen to know his will, and to do it. [2.] That thou shouldst see that Just One, and shouldst hear the voice of his mouth, and so shouldst know his will immediately from himself. This was what Paul was, in a particular manner, chosen to above others; it was a distinguishing favour, that he should see Christ here upon earth after his ascension into heaven. Stephen saw him standing at the right hand of God, but Paul saw him standing at his right hand. This honour none had but Paul. Stephen saw him, but we do not find that he heard the voice of his mouth, as Paul did, who says, he was last of all seen of me, as of one born out of due time, Co1 15:8. Christ is here called that Just One; for he is Jesus Christ the righteous, and suffered wrongfully. Observe, Those whom God has chosen to know his will must have an eye to Christ, and must see him, and hear the voice of his mouth; for it is by him that God has made known his will, his good-will to us, and he has said, Hear you him.

(2.) In the after-manifestation of himself by him to others (Act 22:15): "Thou shalt be his witness, not only a monument of his grace, as a pillar may be, but a witness viva voce - by word of mouth; thou shalt publish his gospel, as that which thou hast experienced the power of, and been delivered into, the mould of; thou shalt be his witness unto all men, Gentiles as well as Jews, of what thou hast seen and heard, now at the very first." And finding Paul so particularly relating the manner of his conversation in his apologies for himself, here and ch. 26, we have reason to think that he frequently related the same narrative in his preaching for the conversion of others; he told them what God had done for his soul, to encourage them to hope that he would do something for their souls.

4. The counsel and encouragement he gave him to join himself to the Lord Jesus by baptism (Act 22:16): Arise, and be baptized, He had in his circumcision been given up to God, but he must now by baptism be given up to God in Christ - must embrace the Christian religion and the privileges of it, in submission to the precepts of it. This must now be done immediately upon his conversion, and so was added to his circumcision: but to the seed of the faithful it comes in the room of it; for it is, as that was to Abraham and his believing seed, a seal of the righteousness which is by faith. (1.) The great gospel privilege which by baptism we have sealed to us is the remission of sins: Be baptized and wash away thy sins; that is, "Receive the comfort of the pardon of thy sins in the through Jesus Christ and lay hold of his righteousness for that purpose, and receive power against sin for the mortifying of thy corruption;" for our being washed includes our being both justified and sanctified, Co1 6:11. Be baptized, and rest not in the sign, but make sure of the thing signified, the putting away of the filth of sin. (2.) The great gospel duty which by our baptism we are bound to is to call on the name of the Lord, the Lord Jesus; to acknowledge him to be our Lord and our God, and to apply to him accordingly; to give honour to him, to put all our petitions in his hand. To call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord (Son of David, have mercy on us) is the periphrasis of a Christian, Co1 1:2. We must wash away our sins, calling on the name of the Lord; that is, we must seek for the pardon of our sins in Christ's name, and in dependence on him and his righteousness. In prayer, we must not any longer call God the God of Abraham, but the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in him our Father; in every prayer, our eye must be to Christ. (3.) We must do this quickly. Why tarriest thou? Our covenanting with God in Christ is needful work, that must not be deferred. The case is so plain that it is needless to deliberate; and the hazard so great that it is folly to delay. Why should not that be done at the present time that must be done some time, or we are undone?

V. How he was commissioned to go and preach the gospel to the Gentiles. This was the great thing for which they were so angry at him, and therefore it was requisite he should for this, in a special manner, produce a divine warrant; and here he does it. This commission he did not receive presently upon his conversion, for this was at Jerusalem, whither he did not go till three years after, or more (Gal 1:18); and whether it was then, or afterwards, that he had this vision here spoken of, we are not certain. But, to reconcile them, if possible, to his preaching the gospel among the Gentiles, he tells them, 1. That he received his orders to do it when he was at prayer, begging of God to appoint him his work and to show him the course he should steer; and (which was a circumstance that would have some weight with those he was now speaking to) he was at prayer in the temple, which was to be called a house of prayer for all people; not only in which all people should pray, but in which all people should be prayed for. Now as Paul's praying in the temple was an evidence, contrary to their malicious suggestion, that he had a veneration for the temple, though he did not make an idol of it as they did; so God's giving him this commission there in the temple was an evidence that the sending him to the Gentiles would be no prejudice to the temple, unless the Jews by their infidelity made it so. Now it would be a great satisfaction to Paul afterwards, in the execution of this commission, to reflect upon it that he received it when he was at prayer. 2. He received it in a vision. He fell into a trance (Act 22:17), his external senses, for the present, locked up; he was in an ecstasy, as when he was caught up into the third heaven, and was not at that time sensible whether he was in the body or out of the body. In this trance he saw Jesus Christ, not with the eyes of his body, as at his conversion, but represented to the eye of his mind (Act 22:18): I saw him saying unto me. Our eye must be upon Christ when we are receiving the law from his mouth; and we must not only hear him speak, but see him speaking to us. 3. Before Christ gave him a commission to go to the Gentiles, he told him it was to no purpose for him to think of doing any good at Jerusalem; so that they must not blame him, but themselves, if he be sent to the Gentiles. Paul came to Jerusalem full of hopes that, by the grace of God, he might be instrumental to bring those to the faith of Christ who had stood it out against the ministry of the other apostles; and perhaps this was what he was now praying for, that he, having had his education at Jerusalem and being well known there, might be employed in gathering the children of Jerusalem to Christ that were not yet gathered, which he thought he had particular advantages for doing of. But Christ crosses the measures he had laid: "Make haste," says he, "and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem;" for, though thou thinkest thyself more likely to work upon them than others, thou wilt find they are more prejudiced against thee than against any other, and therefore "will not receive thy testimony concerning me." As God knows before who will receive the gospel, so he knows who will reject it. 4. Paul, notwithstanding this, renewed his petition that he might be employed at Jerusalem, because they knew, better than any did, what he had been before his conversion, and therefore must ascribe so great a change in him to the power of almighty grace, and consequently give the greater regard to his testimony; thus he reasoned, both with himself and with the Lord, and thought he reasoned justly (Act 22:19, Act 22:20): "Lord," says he, "they know that I was once of their mind, that I was as bitter an enemy as any of them to such as believed on thee, that I irritated the civil power against them, and imprisoned them, and turned the edge of the spiritual power against them too, and beat them in every synagogue." And therefore they will not impute my preaching Christ to education nor to any prepossession in his favour (as they do that of other ministers), but will the more readily regard what I say because they know I have myself been one of them: particularly in Stephen's case; they know that when he was stoned I was standing by, I was aiding and abetting and consenting to his death, and in token of this kept the clothes of those that stoned him. Now "Lord," says he, "if I appear among them, preaching the doctrine that Stephen preached and suffered for, they will no doubt receive my testimony." "No," says Christ to him, "they will not; but will be more exasperated against thee as a deserter fRom. than against others whom they look upon only as strangers to, their constitution." 5. Paul's petition for a warrant to preach the gospel at Jerusalem is overruled, and he has peremptory orders to go among the Gentiles (Act 22:21): Depart, for I will send thee far hence, unto the Gentiles. Note, God often gives gracious answers to the prayers of his people, not in the thing itself that they pray for, but in something better. Abraham prays, O that Ishmael may live before thee; and God hears him for Isaac. So Paul here prays that he may be an instrument of converting souls at Jerusalem: "No," says Christ, "but thou shalt be employed among the Gentiles, and more shall be the children of the desolate than those of the married wife." It is God that appoints his labourers both their day and their place, and it is fit they should acquiesce in his appointment, though it may cross their own inclinations. Paul hankers after Jerusalem: to be a preacher there was the summit of his ambition; but Christ designs him greater preferment. He shall not enter into other men's labours (as the other apostles did, Joh 4:38), but shall break up new ground, and preach the gospel where Christ was not named, Rom 15:20. So often does Providence contrive better for us than we for ourselves; to the guidance of that we must therefore refer ourselves. He shall choose our inheritance for us. Observe, Paul shall not go to preach among the Gentiles without a commission: I will send thee. And, if Christ send him, his Spirit will go along with him, he will stand by him, will carry him on, and bear him out, and give him to see the fruit of his labours. Let not Paul set his heart upon Jerusalem, for he must be sent far hence; his call must be quite another way, and his work of another kind. And it might be a mitigation of the offence of this to the Jews that he did not set up a Gentile church in the neighbouring nations; others did this in their immediate vicinity; he was sent to places at a distance, a vast way off, where what he did could not be thought an annoyance to them.

Now, if they would lay all this together, surely they would see that they had no reason to be angry with Paul for preaching among the Gentiles, or construe it as an act of ill-will to his own nation, for he was compelled to it, contrary to his own mind, by an overruling command from heaven.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

a Jew of Tarsus, brought up in this city, at the feet--(See on Luk 10:39).

of Gamaliel--(See on Act 5:34); a fact of great importance in the apostle's history, standing in the same relation to his future career as Moses' education in the Egyptian court to the work for which he was destined.

the perfect manner of the law of the fathers--the strictest form of traditional Judaism.

zealous--"a zealot."

toward God as ye all are this day--his own former murderous zeal against the disciples of the Lord Jesus being merely reflected in their present treatment of himself.

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 3. I am verily a man which am a Jew] A periphrasis for, I am really a Jew: and his mentioning this adds weight to the conjecture in the preceding note. He shows that he could not be ignorant of the Jewish religion, as he had had the best instructer in it which Jerusalem could produce.

Yet brought up, c.] Bp. Pearce proposes that this verse should be thus read and translated: but brought up in this city instructed at the feet of Gamaliel, according to the most exact manner, being exceedingly zealous for the law of our fathers, as ye all are this day.

Born in Tarsus] See Clarke on Ac 9:11; and See Clarke on Ac 21:39.

Feet of Gamaliel] See a full account of this man in Clarke's note on "Ac 5:34".

It has been generally supposed that the phrase, brought up at the feet, is a reference to the Jewish custom, viz. that the disciples of the rabbins sat on low seats, or on the ground, whilst the rabbin himself occupied a lofty chair. But we rather learn, from Jewish authority, that the disciples of the rabbins stood before their teachers, as Vitringa has proved in his treatise De Synag. Vet. lib. i. p. 1, cap. 7. Kypke, therefore, contends that παρα τους ποδας, at the feet, means the same as πλησιον, near, or before, which is not an unfrequent mode of speech among both sacred and profane writers. Thus, in Ac 4:35; Ac 4:37; Ac 5:2, ετιθουν παρα τους ποδας των αποϚολων, they laid it at the apostles' feet, means only, they brought it to the apostles. So in 2 Macc. iv. 7, παρα ποδας ηδη τον ᾁδην ὁρωντες κειμενον, they saw death already lying at their feet; that is, as the Syriac translator has properly rendered it, they saw death immediately before them. So Themistius, Or. 27, p. 341, who adds the term by which the phrase is explained, εϚι και πλησιον αει τῳ δυναμενω λαμβανειν, ante pedes id temper et prope est, illi qui accipere potest. Also Lucian, De Conser. Hist. p. 669, ὡν παρα ποδας οἱ ελεγχοι. The refutation of which is at hand. The same kind of form occurs in the Hebrew, Ex 11:8: All the people that are at thy feet, ברגליך beragleica, i.e. who are with thee, under thy command, Acts 22:2; Acts 15:16. And the king went out, and all his household, ברגליו beraglaiv, at his feet; that is, with him, in his company. See Kypke. The phrase is used in the same sense among the Hindoos: I learned this at my father's feet-instead of, I learned it of my father. I was taught at the feet of such a teacher-my teacher's feet say so; meaning, simply, such and such persons taught me.

According to the perfect manner] That is, according to that strict interpretation of the law, and especially the traditions of the elders, for which the Pharisees were remarkable. That it is Pharisaism that the apostle has in view, when he says he was taught according to, ακριβειαν, the most extinct manner, is evident; and hence, in Ac 26:5, he calls Pharisaism ακριβεστατην, the most exact system; and, under it, he was zealous towards God; scrupulously exact in every part of his duty, accompanying this with reverence to the supreme Being, and deep concern for his honour and glory.

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

3. I am a Jew. As all things were out of order at that day among the Jews, many rogues and vagabonds, to the end they might have some shroud for their wickedness, did falsely boast that they were Jews. Therefore, to the end Paul may acquit himself of this suspicion, he beginneth at his birth; that done, he declareth that he was known in Jerusalem, because he was brought up there of [from] a child; though this latter thing seemeth to be spoken not only for certainty’s sake, but because it skilled much that this should also be known how well he had been instructed.

There is nothing more bold to cause trouble than unlearned men. And at that day the government of the Church was so decayed, that religion was not only subject to sects, but also miserably mangled and torn in pieces. Therefore, Paul nameth his master, lest any man may think that he had not been nousled up in learning, and therefore had he forsaken the worship of the fathers; as many men, who are not trained up in learning, forget their nature and grow out of kind. But Paul saith chiefly that he was well taught in the law, that the Jews may understand that it was not through ignorance (as it falleth out oftentimes) that he causeth such ado, and doth counterfeit their monsters.

It is to be doubted whether this be that Gamaliel of whom mention is made before, (Acts 5:34). Scholars are said to sit at their masters’ feet, because forasmuch as they be not as yet of strong and sound judgment, they must bring such modesty and aptness to be taught, that they must make all their senses subject to their masters, and must depend upon their mouth. So Mary is said to sit at Jesus’ feet (Luke 10:39) when she giveth ear to his doctrine. But and if such reverence be due to earthly masters, how much more ought we to prostrate ourselves before the feet of Christ, that we may give ear to him when he teacheth us out of his heavenly throne? This speech doth also put boys and young men in remembrance of their duty, that they be not stout nor stubborn, or that they be not puffed nor lifted up against their masters through some foolish confidence, but that they suffer themselves quietly and gently to be framed by them.

Taught in the law of the fathers. The old interpreter doth translate it word for word, taught according to the truth of the fathers’ law, saving that ἀκρίβεια is rather a perfect way than truth. Notwithstanding the question is, What he meaneth by this perfect way, seeing all of them had one and the same form of the law? He seemeth to me to distinguish that purer form of knowledge wherein he had been trained up from the common instruction, which did more disagree with the true and natural meaning of the law. And although the law of the Lord was then corrupt by many additions, even among the best doctors, yet because religion was altogether there corrupt among many, Paul doth for good causes boast, that he was both well and also diligently instructed in the law of the fathers; or (which is all one) exactly or perfectly, lest any man should think that he had gotten only some small smattering, as if he were one of the common sort.

But because many who are well taught are, notwithstanding, full stuffed with Epicurish contempt of God, he declareth that he was zealous toward God; as if he should say, that the serious study of godliness was annexed to doctrine, so that he meant not to daily in holy things, as profane men do of set purpose confound all things.

But because this his zeal was altogether rash, he maketh himself like to the other Jews for that time. Notwithstanding, this may be taken in good part, that he did long ago no less worship God from his heart than they did then.

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.

(3) Brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel.—His education may have begun shortly after he became a child of the Law, at the age of twelve. (See Note on Luk_2:42.) He, too, had sat in the midst of the doctors, hearing and asking questions. The Rabbis sat in a high chair, and their scholars on the ground, and so they were literally at their master’s feet.

Taught according to the perfect manner . .—The two last words are expressed in the Greek by a single noun, meaning “accuracy,” exactness. In the “most straitest sect of our religion,” of Act_26:5, we have the corresponding adjective.

Was zealous toward God.—The Apostle (see Note on Act_21:20) claims their sympathy as having at one time shared all their dearest convictions. There is, perhaps, a touch of higher enthusiasm in the Apostle’s language. He was a zealot for God: they were zealots for the Law.

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

3. I am verily a man which am a Jew] The word rendered verily is omitted in the oldest MSS. The Rev. Ver. has “I am a Jew,” and this renders the original fully enough. Cp. note on verse I above. These first words of the Apostle would correct many wrong impressions among the crowd, for we may be sure that many, beside the Chief Captain, had the notion that St Paul was one of those foreign desperadoes with which Judæa abounded at this time.

born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia] Better, “born in Tarsus of Cilicia” with the Rev. Ver. On Tarsus see note on Act_6:9.

brought up in this city] St Paul means not that from his infancy he had lived in Jerusalem, but that, when he had reached an age fitted for it, he was sent from home to be educated under Gamaliel. The verb is used in this sense in classical Greek. On Gamaliel, see note on Act_5:34.

at the feet] (Cp. Luk_10:39.) The most usual position of teacher and pupils at the time of St Paul was that both should sit, the former on a higher level than the latter. For the evidence on this matter from the Talmud, see Taylor, Pirke Aboth, pp. 28, 29.

and taught [instructed] according to the perfect [strict] manner of the law of the [our] fathers, and was [being] zealous, &c.] For an account by the Apostle himself of his Jewish birth, education, and character, cf. Php_3:5-6. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, and his language shews how learned he was in all that concerned his own people. He makes frequent allusions to Jewish customs, laws, and festivals, and reckons his time by the Jewish calendar. He was also a Pharisee, and none of his contemporaries surpassed him while but few equalled him in strictness of legal observance.

as ye all are] The Apostle wishes to put himself in an acceptable light before them, and for that reason explains that he was, like themselves, a zealous observer of the law.

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.

I am verily a man which am a Jew,.... By birth, a thorough genuine one; an Hebrew of the Hebrews, both by father and mother side, both parents being Jews, and so a true descendant from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob:

born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia; See Gill on Act 21:39.

yet brought up in this city; the city of Jerusalem; though Tarsus was the place of his birth, he had his education at Jerusalem:

at the feet of Gamaliel; of whom see Act 5:34 it was the custom of scholars among the Jews, to sit at the feet of their masters, when instructed by them; see Deu 33:3 hence that saying of Jose ben Joezer (a);

"let thy house be an house of resort for the wise men, and be thou dusting thyself, , "with the dust of their feet":''

which by one of their commentators (b) is interpreted two ways, either

"as if it was said that thou shouldst walk after them; for he that walks raises the dust with his feet, and he that goes after him is filled with the dust which he raises with his feet; or else that thou shouldst sit at their feet upon the ground, for so it was usual, that the master sat upon a bench, and the scholars sat at his feet upon the floor.''

This latter sense is commonly understood, and adapted to the passage here, as illustrating it; though it may be, that the sense may only be this, that the apostle boarded in Gamaliel's house, ate at his table, and familiarly conversed with him; which he modestly expresses by being brought up at his feet, who was a man that was had in great reverence with the Jews; and this sense seems the rather to be the sense of the passage, since his learning is expressed in the next clause; and since; till after Gamaliel's time, it was not usual for scholars to sit when they learned; for the tradition is (c), that

"from the times of Moses to Rabban Gamaliel, they (the scholars) did not learn the law but standing; after Rabban Gamaliel died, sickness came into the world, and they learned the law sitting; and hence it is said, that after Rabban Gamaliel died, the glory of the law ceased.''

It follows,

and taught according to the perfect law of the fathers; not the law which the Jewish fathers received from Moses, though Paul was instructed in this, but in the oral law, the "Misna", or traditions of the elders, in which he greatly profited, and exceeded others, Gal 1:14.

And was zealous towards God; or "a zealot of God"; one of those who were called "Kanaim", or zealots; who in their great zeal for the glory of God, took away the lives of men, when they found them guilty of what they judged a capital crime; see Mat 10:4. The Vulgate Latin version reads, "zealous of the law"; both written and oral, the law of Moses, and the traditions of the fathers:

as ye all are this day; having a zeal for God, and the law, but not according to knowledge.

(a) Misn. Pirke Abot, c. 1. sect. 4. (b) Bartenora in Misn. Piske Abot, c. 1. sect. 4. (c) T. Bab. Megilla, fol. 21. 1. Vid. Misn. Sota, c. 9. sect. 15.

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

3 I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.

Ver. 3. At the feet of Gamaliel] Among the Jews, the Rabbi sat, termed יושב or the sitter the scholar was called מהבלק or one that lies along in the dust, a token of the scholar’s humility, subjecting himself even to the feet of his teacher, as here, and Luk 10:39; 2Ki 2:5. Knowest thou not that the Lord will take thy master from thine head? A phrase taken from their manner of sitting in the schools. This, same custom (saith one) it is thought St Paul laboured to bring into the Christian Church, 1Co 14:6. (Godw. Antiq. Heb.)

And was zealous toward God] With a blind zeal, which is no better than mettle in a blind horse than fire on the chimney top, than the devil in the demoniac, which threw him into the fire sometimes, and sometimes into the water.

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.

Born in Tarsus - See the notes on Act 9:11.

Brought up in this city - In Jerusalem, sent there for the advantage of more perfect instruction in the Law.

At the feet of Gamaliel - As a scholar or disciple of Gamaliel. The phrase to sit at the feet of one is expressive of the condition of a disciple or learner. Compare Deu 33:3; Luk 10:39. It is probable that the expression arose from the fact that the learners occupied a lower place or seat than the teacher. On the character and rank of Gamaliel, see the notes on Act 5:34. Paul mentions his having been instructed in this manner in order to show that he was entitled to the full privileges of a Jew, and that he had had every opportunity to become fully acquainted with the nature of the Law.

According to the perfect manner - κατὰ ἀκρίβειαν kata akribeian . By strict diligence or exact care; or in the utmost rigor and severity of that instruction. No pains were Spared to make him understand and practice the Law of Moses.

The law of the fathers - The law of our fathers; that is, the law which they received and handed down to us. Paul was a Pharisee, and the law in which he had been taught was not only the written Law of Moses, but the traditional law which had been handed down from former times. See the notes on Mat 3:6.

And was zealous toward God - Gal 1:14. He had a constant burning zeal for God and His Law, which was expressed not only by scrupulous adherence to its forms, but by persecuting all who opposed it, Act 22:4-5.

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

The scholars sat much below their master; and the nearest the master were such as had made the greatest proficiency. (Philo de Essenis)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

At the feet; the apostle alludes unto the posture that the disciples of any rabbi, or teacher, in those times did use; the master sitting in some high or elevated place, did teach his scholars, who sat at his feet on the ground; and as they grew in knowledge, were advanced to sit nearer to their master: Deu 33:3. Abraham is thus said to be called to God’s foot, Isa 41:2; and Mary sat at our Saviour’s feet, Luk 10:39.

Of Gamaliel; the same Gamaliel who made that moderating speech in the apostle’s behalf, Act 5:34.

The perfect manner of the law; this perfect manner of the law is Pharisaism, in which the apostle was brought up, and before his conversion made a profession of, Phi 3:5. Not that the apostle reckoned upon any perfection in this profession; but because, as Act 26:5, it was the most strait sect of their religion, observing a great deal of punctuality and accurateness, making what they called a hedge about the law.

Of the fathers; not observing only the law, which was given by God to their fathers by the hand of Moses; but the traditions of their fathers he was exceeding zealous in; as Gal 1:14.

Zealous toward God; or, as some copies read, zealous toward the law; both in the same sense. His zeal for the law was sincere, not out of by-ends, but out of his love to God, though it was not according to knowledge, Rom 10:2. It was truly according unto what he knew or believed, but it was not according to true knowledge.

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

3. Nearly every term is emphatic. Verily a Jew, this city, Gamaliel, perfect, law, fathers, all are points of a preeminent instance.

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

A Jew for verily a man which am a Jew, A.V. and T.R.; of Cilicia for a city in Cilicia, A.V; but for yet, A.V.; instructed for and taught, A.V.; strict for perfect, A.V.; our for the, A.V.; being for and was, A.V.; for for towards, A.V.; even as for as, A.V. Born in Tarsus, etc. (Act_21:39) St. Paul was evidently proud of his native city, "the famous capital of a Roman province," watered by the "swift stream of the Cydnus," and looked down upon by the snowy summits of Mount Taurus; "a center of busy commercial enterprise and political power;" "a free city, libera ct immunis" (Farrar, "Life of St. Paul," vol. 1: Ac 2?). St. Paul"s express assertion that he was "born at Tarsus" directly refutes the tradition handed down by St. Jerome that he was horn at Giscala, and carried thence to Tarsus by his parents when Giscala was taken by the Romans (Farrar, ibid.). Brought up; ajnateqrammenov, a classical word, only found in the New Testament in the Acts. (Act_7:20, Act_7:21, and here) It is found also in RAPC Wis 7:4. It implies early education. At the feet of. The scholar sits or stands humbly beneath the raised seat of the teacher. (comp. Luk_10:39) The stop is rightly placed after Gamalihl. Some, however, put the stop after tauth, and connect para toudav Gamalihl with pepaideumenov. Gamaliel. (see Ac 4, 5:3, note) Instructed according to the strict manner of the Law of our fathers; comp. mou Gal_1:14, "I profited in the Jews" religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers," where for tou patrwou no) we read twn patrikwn mou paradosewn, . Under the patrwov nomov Paul probably included the traditions, as well as the written Law, which the Pharisees so rigidly observed. (comp. thn Act_26:5, where the ajkribesta) airesinthv hJmeterav qrhskeiav corresponds with the ajkribeian tou patrwou nomou. The strict manner; kataan, found only here in the New Testament; but a word of repeated use in this sense in Ecclesiasticus and Wisdom, and also, with the adjective ajkribhv and the adverb ajkribwv, much used by medical writers. jAkribesterov and ajkribestatov are used by St. Luke only, (Act_18:26 Act_23:15, 20 24:22 26:5) and ajkribwv six times to three in the rest of the New Testament. Zealous for God (zhlwthv tou Qeou); see Act_21:20, note.

HOMILIES BY R. TUCK

The sincerity of St. Paul"s Judaism.

am verily a man which am a Jew." This remarkable speech was addressed to a particular audience, under particular circumstances, and it was precisely adapted to that audience. It took careful account of their knowledge and of their prejudices. It was conciliatory in tone, but firm to the truth and manly in spirit. It is impossible for us to admire too highly the calmness and the self-command of the apostle under such perilous circumstances. Instances may be given from political life of the power of a skilful orator to sway an excited mob, such as that of Lamartine in times of the French Revolution. The introduction of this homily should deal with

(1) the scene;

(2) the audience;

(3) the orator.

1. The scene. Dean Plumptre has the following suggestive note: position was one which raised him (St. Paul) above the people, and the characteristic gesture commanded instant attention. And he spoke, not as they expected, in the Greek, which belonged to one who fraternized with the Gentiles, but in the Hebrew, or Aramaic, which he had studied at the feet of Gamaliel. It was a strange scene for that Feast of Pentecost. The face and form of the speaker may have been seen from time to time by some during his passing visits to Jerusalem; but there must have been many who had not heard him take part in public action since the day when, twenty-five years before, he had kept the garments of those who were stoning Stephen. And now he was there, accused of the selfsame crimes, making his defense before a crowd as wild and frenzied as that of which he had then been the leader.

2. The audience. Notice that it was largely composed of foreign Jews, who were present at the feast; and that those foreign Jews were often more intensely bigoted than the Jerusalem Jews, they would certainly have more knowledge of St. Paul, and more personally antagonistic feelings against him. Some of them had recognized him, and raised the excitement which nearly led to his death. Show how utterly unreasonable such a mob becomes; no appeal can be made to their intelligence; usually they can only be dispersed by force, or their excitement must be allowed to spend itself and wear itself out.

3. The orator; a weak, frail man, with a personal presence which men called contemptible, but with the natural gift for swaying an audience. As soon as he spoke men were hushed to listen, as they always are when the born orator stands before them. Perhaps St. Paul"s gifts as a writer have filled our thought, so that we have not duly recognized what a splendid "command of men" he had in his great gift of speech. The point which he sought to impress on his audience on this occasion was the "sincerity of his Judaism." That was the thing impugned. He was declared to be such an unworthy Jew that he had defiled the temple by bringing an Ephesian Gentile into it. The proper answer was a full declaration of his honest and complete loyalty to Judaism. This he made

I BY ADDRESSING THEM IN THE HEBREW TONGUE. Not in Gentile Greek. It might be that he did this simply because they understood it better, but it may have been also because, as the language showed him to be a countryman of their own, they were disposed to think him less guilty than the Asian Jews had represented him to be" (F. Bungener). "One who spoke in Hebrew was not likely to blaspheme the sacred Hebrew books.

II BY ASSURING THEM OF HIS LIFELONG LOYALTY TO HEBREW PRINCIPLES. His birth was unquestionably Jewish. His education was most distinctly Jewish; for he was even educated at Jerusalem, and by their most honored teacher. His Judaism was so sincere and so intense that he had been the most active and energetic persecutor of the Nazarenes. And Ananias, the well-known devout Jew, had brought God"s commands to him (ver. 12).

III BY AFFIRMING THAT, IF HE SEEMED TO HAVE TAKEN A NEW LINE, HE HAD ONLY OBEYED JEHOVAH, THE GOD OF THEIR HEBREW FATHERS. This is the point of St. Paul"s advance. Jehovah had appeared to him, had given him special directions, and, as a loyal Jew, he could only obey those directions. Jehovah had shown him that Jesus was Messiah. Jehovah had sent him forth on his mission among the Gentiles. He had never dishonored Judaism, never broken with it. He was still the same "born Jew" as ever (ver. 14). R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

I am verily - This defense answers all that is objected, chap. xxi, 28. As there, so here also mention is made of the person of Paul, ver. 3, of the people and the law, ver. 3, 5, 12; of the temple, ver. 17; of teaching all men, ver. 15-17, 21; and of the truth of his doctrine, ver. 6. But he speaks closely and nervously, in few words, because the time was short. But brought up at the feet of Gamaliel - The scholars usually sat on low seats, or upon mats on the floor, at the feet of their masters, whose seats were raised to a considerable height. Accurately instructed - The learned education which Paul had received was once no doubt the matter of his boasting and confidence. Unsanctified learning made his bonds strong, and furnished him with numerous arguments against the Gospel. Yet when the grace of God had changed his heart, and turned his accomplishments into another channel, he was the fitter instrument to serve God's wise and merciful purposes, in the defense and propagation of Christianity.

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

3-16. (3) " And he said, I myself am a Jew; born in Tarsus of Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated according to the strictest doctrine of the law of our fathers, and was zealous toward God as you all are this day. (4) I persecuted this way, even to death; binding and delivering into prisons both men and women; (5) as the high priest and the whole body of the elders are my witnesses: from whom, also, I received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring those who were there bound to Jerusalem, that they might be punished. (6) But it came to pass, as I journeyed and was drawing near to Damascus, about noon, a great light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. (7) I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? (8) And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? He said to me, I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you persecute. (9) Now, they who were with me saw the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him who spoke to me. (10) And I said, Lord, what shall I do? And the Lord said to me, Arise, and go into Damascus, and there it shall be told thee concerning all things which are appointed for thee to do. (11) And, as I could not see for the glory of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and went into Damascus. (12) And one Ananias, a pious man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who dwelt there, (13) came to me, and stood, and said to me, Brother Saul, look up. And that moment I looked up upon him. (14) And he said, The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his will, and to see the Just One, and to hear the voice of his mouth. (15) For you shall be a witness for him to all men, of what you have seen and heard. (16) And now, why do you tarry? Arise, and be immersed, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. " Such portions of this speech as are necessary to the full understanding of Paul's conversion, we have considered in commenting on the ninth chapter. The words of Ananias, "Arise and be immersed," probably demand a moment's additional notice, on account of the use which has been made of them by many pedobaptist writers and speakers of an inferior grade. It is urged that the words should be rendered, "Standing up, be baptized;" and that they indicate that Paul was baptized on the spot, without leaving the house. We might admit the rendering without granting the conclusion; for the command to be baptized required him to do whatever was necessary to that act. If the act was immersion, it required him to go where it could be performed, however great the distance, and the words are entirely consistent with that idea. If he was to be immersed, he must, of necessity, arise from his prostrate or sitting position for that purpose. If he was to be sprinkled, he might as well have remained, as candidates for that ceremony now commonly do, upon his knees.

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.

but educated in this city at the feet of Gamaliel

This can be stated in active form. AT: "but I was a student of rabbi Gamaliel here in Jerusalem" (See: Active or Passive)

at the feet of Gamaliel

Here "feet" stands for the place where a student would sit while learning from a teacher. AT: "by Gamaliel" (See: Metonymy)

Gamaliel

Gamaliel was one of the most prominent teachers of the Jewish law. See how you translated this name in Acts 5:34.

I was instructed according to the strict ways of the law of our fathers

This can be stated in active form. AT: "He instructed me how to carefully obey every law of our forefathers" or "The instruction I received followed the exact details of the law of our forefathers" (See: Active or Passive)

law of our fathers

"law of our ancestors." This refers to the law that God gave to the people of Israel through Moses.

I am zealous for God

"I am completely dedicated to obeying God" or "I am passionate about my service to God"

just as all of you are today

"in the same way all of you are today." Paul compares himself with the crowd.

I persecuted this Way

Here "this Way" represents the people who belonged to the group called "the Way." AT: "I persecuted the people who belonged to this Way" (See: Metonymy)

this Way

This was a term used to refer to Christianity. See how you translated "the Way" in Acts 9:2.

to the death

The word "death" can be translated with the verb "kill" or "die." AT: "and I looked for ways to kill them" or "and I even caused them to die" (See: Abstract Nouns)

binding up and delivering them to prison both men and women

"tying up both men and women and taking them to prison"

can bear witness

"can testify" or "can tell you"

I received letters from them

"The high priests and elders gave me letters"

for the brothers in Damascus

Here "brothers" refers to "fellow Jews."

to bring them back in bonds to Jerusalem

"They ordered me to bind with chains those of the Way and bring them back to Jerusalem"

in order for them to be punished

This can be stated in active form. AT: "in order that they may receive punishment" or "in order that the Jewish authorities could punish them" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

Jew

Tarsus

Cilicia

instruct

law

ancestor

zeal

God

persecute

die

prison

high priest

elder

testimony

brother

Damascus

bind

Jerusalem

punish

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

3. ἐγώ εἰμι ἀνὴρ Ἰουδαῖος, I am a Jew. These first words of the Apostle would correct many wrong impressions among the crowd, for we may be sure that many, beside the chief captain, had the notion that St Paul was one of those foreign desperadoes with which Judæa abounded at this time.

γεγεννημένος ἐν Ταρσῷ τῆν Κιλικίας, born in Tarsus of Cilicia. On Tarsus, cf. note on Act 6:9.

ἀνατεθραμμένος δὲ ἐν τῇ πόλει ταύτῃ, but brought up in this city. St Paul means not that from his infancy he had lived in Jerusalem, but that, when he had reached an age fitted for it, he was sent from home to be educated under Gamaliel. The verb is used in this sense in classical Greek. On Gamaliel, see note on Act 5:34.

παρὰ τοὺς πόδας, at the feet. The most usual position of teacher and pupils at the time of St Paul was that both should sit, the former on a higher level than the latter. For the evidence on this matter from the Talmud, see Taylor Pirke Aboth, pp. 28, 29.

πεπαιδευμένος κατὰ ἀκρίβειαν τοῦ πατρῴου νόμου, ζηλωτὴς ὑπάρχων, instructed according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous, &c. For an account by the Apostle himself of his Jewish birth, education, and character, cf. Php 3:5-6. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, and his language shews how learned he was in all that concerned his own people. He makes frequent allusions to Jewish customs, laws, and festivals, and reckons his time by the Jewish calendar. He was also a Pharisee, and none of his contemporaries surpassed him, while but few equalled him, in strictness of legal observance.

καθὼς πάντες ὑμεῖς ἐστε, as ye all are. The Apostle, who never puts himself in peril when no good end is to be served by it, wishes to set himself in an acceptable light before his audience. This is his reason for explaining that he, like themselves, had been a zealous observer of the law.

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.

3.] De Wette and others would place the comma after ταύτῃ, so to make the two clauses, beginning with γέγ. and ἀνατ., exactly correspond. But (not to insist, with Meyer, on the reason that a new circumstance is introduced with each participle) it is surely better, as the rule of the sentence seems to be to place the participles before the words which qualify them, to take ἐν τῇ πόλει ταύτῃ παρὰ τ. π. Γ., all as the qualification of ἀνατεθραμμένος, and punctuate, as commonly done, after Γαμαλιήλ.

On Gamaliel, see note, ch. 5:34.

The expression παρὰ τ. πόδ. (see ch. 4:35, note) indicates that the rabbi sat on an elevated seat and the scholars on the ground or on benches, literally at his feet.

κατὰ ἀκρ.] (The art. omitted aft. a prep.) According to the strict acceptation of the law of my fathers; = κατὰ τὴν ἀκριβεστάτην αἵρεσιν τῆς ἡμετέρας θρησκείας, ch. 26:5;—i.e. as a Pharisee. So Jos. B. J. ii. 8. 18, Φαρισαῖοι … οἱ δοκοῦντες μετὰ ἀκριβείας ἐξηγεῖσθαι τὰ νόμιμα.

Some of the older Commentators make τοῦ πατρῴου νόμου governed by πεπαιδ., and take κατὰ ἀκρίβ. adverbially: which would give a very vapid sense, the accuracy and carefulness of his education having been already implied in παρὰ τ. π. Γαμαλιήλ.

καθὼς …] Not meaning ‘in the same way as ye are all this day’ (but now in another way): but as ye all are this day: ‘I had the same zealous character (not excluding his still retaining it) which you all shew to-day.’ A conciliatory comparison.

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

At the feet. Referring to the Jewish custom of the pupils sitting on benches or on the floor, while the teacher occupied an elevated platform. Gamaliel. One of the seven Rabbis to whom the Jews gave the title Rabban. Rab, "teacher," was the lowest degree; Rabbi, "my teacher," the next higher. and Rabban, "our teacher," the highest. Gamaliel was a liberal Pharisee. "As Aquinas among the schoolmen was called Doctor Angelicus, and Bonaventura Doctor Seraphicus, so Gamaliel was called the Beauty of the Law. He had no antipathy to the Greek learning. Candor and wisdom seem to have been features of his character" (Conybeare and Howson). See ch. Act 5:34 sq.

Instructed [πεπαιδευμενος] . See on chastise, Luk 23:16.

According to the perfect manner [κατα ακριβειαν] . Lit., according to the strictness. See on perfect understanding, Luk 1:3; and diligently, Act 18:25. Compare, also, Act 18:26; Act 26:5.

Zealous [ζηλωτης] . Or a zealot. On the word as a title, see on Mr 3:18.

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