The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (157 page)

21:13 even to die:
Already aware that suffering awaits him (20:23), Paul has prepared himself to wear the martyr's crown. Even the affections of his friends could not overpower his sense of mission or dissuade him from traveling to Jerusalem. Paul preferred martyrdom over further ministry; see Phil 1:19-26. 
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21:17 Jerusalem:
The final destination of Paul's third missionary tour, where he arrived about
A.D.
58. So far as we know, this is the last time the apostle ever set foot in the city. 
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21:18 James:
The acknowledged leader of the Jerusalem Church since the departure of Peter (12:17). That Luke surrounds him with a body of elders instead of the apostles suggests the original Twelve had left the city by this time for mission fields beyond Israel (Lk 24:47).
See note on Acts 12:17
. 
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21:20 many thousands:
Luke has already noted how the evangelization of Israel met with great success in the earliest days (2:41; 4:4; 6:7). 
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21:21 forsake Moses:
Rumors had reached Jerusalem that Paul forbade Jewish Christians to observe the religious traditions of Judaism. James takes this report to be false and urges Paul to make a public display of his reverence for the customs of Moses. From the perspective of Acts, only the Gentiles were exempt from circumcision and other ceremonies of the Torah (15:1-11), although hints are given that the Temple and its Mosaic rituals will pass away even for the Jews in due time (6:14; 10:9-16). • According to the Council of Florence in 1442, circumcision and other rites of the Mosaic Law could still be observed in the earliest days of the Church, so long as no one considered them necessary requirements for salvation. 
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21:23 under a vow:
A temporary Nazirite vow of abstinence from wine, cutting the hair, and physical contact with corpses (Num 6:1-12). The completion of the vow involved a week of purification, a ritual shaving of the head, and a sacrificial offering of animals and food in the Temple (Num 6:13-21). Paul had completed a similar vow in 18:18. 
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21:25 sent a letter:
The epistle issued years earlier by the Jerusalem Council (15:23-29).
See note on Acts 15:20
. 
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21:27 Jews from Asia:
Pilgrims in Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost. Presumably they recognized Paul from his years of missionary work in Ephesus, the leading city of the Roman province of Asia (20:16). 
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21:28 against . . . the law and this place:
The charge that Paul was slandering both the Torah and the Temple is reminiscent of the accusations against Stephen in 6:13.
Greeks into the temple:
An unthinkable violation of Temple law. Gentiles were permitted to gather and worship in the outermost court of the sanctuary, but they were absolutely forbidden to penetrate into the inner courts, where the people of Israel alone had privilege of access. Separating the inner courts and the outer court was a partition wall with plaques posted near its gates that threatened death for Gentile trespassers. Luke contends that Paul was innocent of the charge—his Greek friend "Trophimus" was seen in the city, not the inner precincts of the Temple (21:29). 
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21:31 tribune of the cohort:
Claudius Lysias, a commander of 600 or more Roman soldiers (23:26). They were stationed in a tower connected to the northwest corner of the Temple called the Fortress Antonia. Stairway access to the Temple platform enabled the Roman military to maintain order during Jewish festivals, when the courts were overflowing with pilgrims. 
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21:33 arrested him:
Roman intervention saved Paul from the assaults of the Jewish mob, who would have beaten him to death for supposedly defiling the Temple (21:28). 
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21:36 Away with him!:
Reminiscent of the crowd's rejection of Jesus in Lk 23:18. 
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21:37 you know Greek?:
As soon as Paul addressed him in fluent Greek, the tribune suspected he was the Egyptian insurrectionist who had led a revolt in Israel a few years earlier. According to one report, this false prophet had gathered his followers on the summit of the Mount of Olives with the intention of charging Jerusalem and wresting the city from the Romans. Although the uprising had been crushed, the prophet had somehow escaped without a trace. 
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21:38 the Assassins:
Jewish revolutionaries known as "dagger men" (Lat.
sicarii
). 
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21:40 the Hebrew language:
Probably Aramaic, a language closely related to Hebrew that was widely spoken in Palestine. 
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22:1-21
The first of four defense speeches delivered by Paul in Acts. Later he addresses the governor Felix (24:1021), the governor Festus (25:8), and King Agrippa II (26:123). Here, before the restless Jerusalem mob, Paul stresses his Jewish upbringing and his former antagonism toward Christianity, hoping to show that only a miracle like the Resurrection could have changed the course of his entire life and mission so drastically. In the end, the attentiveness of the crowd turns back to anger when Paul mentions his mission to the Gentiles (22:21-22). 
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22:3 I am a Jew:
Paul tries to ease the tension with autobiographical details. Not only is he a son of Israel by birth, but he was raised in Jerusalem and educated in the orthodox traditions of Judaism under the renowned Gamali-el the Elder (Gal 1:14).
See note on Acts 5:34
.
Tarsus:
A popular commercial and intellectual center in Asia Minor (modern Turkey).
See note on Acts 9:30
. 
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22:4 this Way:
A code name for the early Christian movement.
See note on Acts 9:2
. 
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22:6-16
The first retelling of Paul's Damascus road conversion since its occurrence in 9:1-19. The second comes later, in 26:12-18. 
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22:14 the Just One:
Or, "the Righteous One". It is also a title for Jesus in 3:14 and 7:52. 
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22:16 be baptized:
Baptism signifies on the body what it accomplishes in the soul—the washing away of human sin. The visible water is coupled with the audible word of the minister, who calls upon the saving name of Christ (2:38; Eph 5:26). 
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22:17 returned to Jerusalem:
After his nighttime escape from Damascus (9:23-26).
a trance:
A mystical encounter with God. As with Peter's experience in 10:10, the state of spiritual ecstasy can be a means for divine communication. 
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22:24 scourging:
The Roman scourge was made of leather strips tipped with bone or metal fragments designed to tear open the skin. Flogging injuries could be crippling or even fatal. 
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22:25 Roman citizen:
Citizenship could be purchased with money, inherited through the family, or conferred by the empire as a gift for outstanding service and patriotism. Among other things, Roman citizens were exempt from the scourge as a torturous means of examination. This civil privilege protected Paul from unreasonable punishment and guaranteed him a fair judicial inquiry. 
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22:30 all the council:
The Sanhedrin, the supreme court of Judaism.
See note on Mk 14:55
. 
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23:1 all good conscience:
Even during his days as a persecutor of the Church, Paul was convinced he was doing the right thing (26:9). Only afterward was he given the grace to see how wrong he had been (1 Cor 15:9-10). 
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23:2 Ananias:
The son of Nedebaeus, high priest from
A.D.
47 to 59. He was a notoriously greedy and violent man, so disliked by the Jews that they assassinated him at the start of the Jewish War with Rome in
A.D.
66. He is not the high priest Annas mentioned in 4:6 or the Ananias who baptized Paul in 9:17-18. 
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23:5 You shall not speak evil:
Paul apologizes to the court with a quotation from Ex 22:28. • The prohibition comes from the Book of the Covenant, a body of case law given to Israel at Mt. Sinai (Ex 21-23). Paul made it clear that he holds himself to this law, although it remains unclear why he did not recognize the high priest. 
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23:6 Sadducees . . . Pharisees:
Two religious movements that emerged in Israel around the second century
B.C.
They were united on certain Jewish issues but deeply divided over others. The Pharisees, for instance, believed in the resurrection of the body, the unseen existence of angels and demons, and the hope of an afterlife, but the Sadducees denied all this and more (23:8). As a matter of strategy, Paul revealed his association with the Pharisees to generate partisan disputes and split the sympathy of the court. See essays:
Who Are the Pharisees?
at Mk 2 and
Who Are the Sadducees?
at Mk 12. 
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23:11 the Lord stood by:
The risen Christ spoke to Paul several times after their initial encounter near Damascus (9:36; 18:9; 22:17-18).
witness also at Rome:
Sets the stage for the final movement of Acts, where Paul appeals his case to Caesar (25:12) and journeys by ship to the imperial capital in Italy (28:14). 
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23:12 bound themselves by an oath:
Or "anathematized themselves". Essentially more than 40 fanatical Jews invoked a curse upon themselves should they consume any food or drink before murdering Paul (Mk 14:71). Whether or not these men starved themselves to death is unknown; it is certain only that Paul slipped through their hands unharmed. 
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23:16 the son of Paul's sister:
A nephew of Paul informs the tribune of the plot to ambush the apostle and take his life. This is the only mention of Paul's biological relatives in the NT. 
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23:23 two of the centurions:
Roman military commanders, each in charge of 100 soldiers.
the third hour:
About 9
P.M.
 
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23:24 mounts for Paul:
The tribune took seriously the alleged conspiracy against Paul's life. Accountable for the welfare of the Roman citizen in his custody, he organized a military escort of infantry and cavalry to extricate Paul from Jerusalem under cover of darkness. He was to be taken on horseback 60 miles northwest to Caesarea, the provincial capital of Judea and the headquarters of the Roman procurator.
Felix the governor:
Antonius Felix, the Roman procurator of Judea from
A.D.
52 to 59. History remembers him as a barbarous and immoral ruler. 
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23:25-30
It was customary for a subordinate (tribune) to send a written explanation to his superior (procurator) about the transference of a prisoner. As told by the tribune, the facts of the story are rearranged to cover up his own mistakes: he did not learn of Paul's citizenship when he rescued the apostle from the angry crowd (23:27), but only when he was about to have him scourged (22:24-29). 
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23:29 nothing deserving death:
Recalls the verdict of innocence given to Jesus in Lk 23:15. 
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23:31 Antipatris:
A military post near the halfway point between Jerusalem and Caesarea. 
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23:35 Herod's praetorium:
A Caesarean palace built by the late Herod the Great (d. 4/1
B.C.
). It served as the official residence of the procurator. Other praetoria mentioned in the NT were located in Rome (Phil 1:13) and Jerusalem (Jn 18:28). 
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