[00:00:00] Hello listeners, welcome to my podcast. We will continue from yesterday, Acts, a Commentary by E. M Blaiklock, M.A. Proceeding from the bottom of page 109, additional notes. Acts 11.1 The preeminence of Barnabas is implied by the order of the names in this and the following verse.
[00:00:25] It occurs again in verse 7, but in verse 13 the phrase is, Paul and his company. And in Greek such a phrase implies the preeminence of the person named. Acts 13.5 Bruce remarks that John Mark may have accompanied the party as a duly authorized catechist. He was, of course, a nephew of Barnabas, Colossians 4.10.
[00:00:55] But Paul, at this stage, may have been eager to have the services of a first-hand witness of the Lord's Passion. Mark's Gospel may have been taking shape at the time. Acts 13.8 Acts 13.21
[00:01:11] No completely satisfactory explanation of the name Elemas, or Etymas, or Etoimas, of other misses, and how it comes to be the interpretation of the sorcerer's name can be given. Ingenious suggestions will be found in the Greek commentaries and elsewhere, but it may be simplest to regard our knowledge of Cypriot Greek as incomplete. Acts 13.21 Acts 13.21 Acts 13.21
[00:01:39] Saul's forty years are not mentioned in the Old Testament. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, Book 4, Chapter 14, Verse 9, mentions twenty years, and the total, in any case, may include the judgeship of Samuel. Ishbosheth was forty years of age when he was placed on the throne by Abner, 2 Samuel 2, Verse 10, and this fact suggests a considerable reign for Saul.
[00:02:09] Acts 13, Verse 48 Extreme Calvinism has sought a foothold in this verse, but in so doing takes insufficient notice of context or language. Note 1. The Jews had already judged themselves unworthy. 46 They had, in other words, exercised their will and made their choice.
[00:02:34] Turning to the Gentiles, the apostles found faith among those who had ranged themselves for eternal life. 2. The verb, as the translation given immediately above suggests, is middle. Middle and passive coincide in this tense, and thus implies some personal action. The metaphor is military. The Gentiles had set themselves in place, by faith, for eternal life.
[00:03:04] Ordained, of course, in the A.V. translation, is not necessarily indicative of a Calvinistic bias. In John 25, Verse 16, it translates, placed. See also, Psalm 8, Verse 3, and Psalm 9, Verses 1-3.
[00:03:23] The inconsequence which has been sometimes felt in these verses has led to numerous adjustments, including one ancient recasting of verse 2 and Moffat's characteristic transposition of verses 2 and 3. The critical note by R.J. Knolling, opposite to page 302, collects the evidence and hazards the defence of the traditional order and text. Knolling writes,
[00:03:52] As the text stands, it is quite possible to suppose that the effect of the preaching in the synagogue would be twofold, verse 2 thus answering to the last applause of verse 1, and that the disciples continued to speak boldly, encouraged by success on the one hand, and undeterred by opposition on the other, the consequence being that the division of the city was further intensified, Acts 14, Verse 2.
[00:04:21] It is evident that the missionaries did not understand what the Lycaonians were saying in their native speech, a dialect akin to Gaelic, according to Saint Jerome, as one might expect in Galatia, and that they realised that blasphemy was afoot only when they discovered that sacrifice was being prepared in their honour. In bilingual Asia Minor, the people at large had understood the visitors' Greek.
[00:04:48] The mysterious gift of tongues was evidently not a miraculous proficiency in unknown languages. Thanks for listening. Tomorrow we will go to Acts 8 and the Jerusalem Conference. See the moment. ... ... ...