Lover of God, a Christian, probably a Roman, to whom Luke dedicated both his Gospel and the Acts of the Apostles. Nothing beyond this is known of him. From the fact that Luke applies to him the title most excellent, the same title Paul uses in addressing Felix and Festus, it has been concluded that Theophilus was a person of rank, perhaps a Roman officer (Henneke). John was Jesus cousin. He was to prepare a way for the messiah by baptizing people into repentance. He is only mentioned in Acts in passing.
He had been murdered by King Herod years before. He is the suffering servant, the messiah. He is God in flesh. He is the main focal point of the book of Acts. His name meant rock or stone.
He was the brother mof Andrew. He was a fisherman called by Jesus into his early ministry. He is well known by his 3 time denial. He was one of Jesus favorite disciples. He became the leader of the chosen twelve. He was one of the few to witness Jarius daughters resurrection, and the transfiguration.
After Pentecost, his ministry appeared in three stages: 1. Leader of activities in Jerusalem. 2. He opened the door to gentiles with the conversion of Cornelius. 3.
He and his wife started the Zenana missionary. 4. He became a martyr and was crucified upside down (Henneke). Peter was a quick, perceptive, and impulsive man, given to bursts of enthusiasm-and depression.
He recognized his own unworthiness of his Lords faith in him. Peter was the first one to declare Jesus as Christ. He raised Dorcus from the dead, and performed many other miracles. The transition form Judaism to the full acceptance of Christs teaching was not easy of Peter.
He was strong and stubborn before the notion that Samaritans and Gentiles could be Christians without first becoming Jews and circumcised. A direct vision was required to make him understand that the Lords saving work was performed for all who would believe in him. Once convinced, however, he tried to stand with Paul on the question of admitting Gentiles to the church (Alexander). He was the younger brother of James, and an apostle.
He was known as the disciple whom Jesus loved. He was a native of Galilee. His parents were cousins of Jesus. He was a fisherman by trade. He was in the inner cabinet of three.
He is mentioned in Acts as at the appearance on Pentecost (Henneke). James is best known as the brother of John. He and John were called the Sons of Thunder. He was a fisherman who left all to follow Christ.
He became one of Christ’s most beloved apostles. He was present at the transfiguration. His mother asked that he be given a place of power in Christ’s kingdom. He went with Christ to the garden of Gethsemane before the crucifixion. He was present at Christ’s death.
Jesus allowed only Peter, John, and James to be present at the healing of Jarius’ daughter. He and John wanted fire from heaven to punish the Samaritans. James was one of the first to give his life for Christ (Henneke). Brother of Simon Peter and an apostle. He was a follower of John the Baptist. It is suggested that he became the patron-saint of Russia (Lockyer).
He was an apostle but not much was known of him after that. The apostle who was given the name the doubter (Alexander). He is one of the twelve. He was also known as Nathaniel and a suggested writer of a gospel (Alexander).
A tax collector before he became a disciple. He was also known as Levi (Smith). He was the son of Alphaeus. He was known as the little or the less, probably because of his small stature, or because he was young. His brother was Joses. He was one of the twelve (Lockyer).
One of the twelve. An interesting thing about him was that even after he became a follower of Christ he did not cease being known as a zealot (Smith). One of the twelve, not to be confused with Judas Iscariot. Son of Simon (John 6:71; 13:2, 26), surnamed Iscariot. His name is uniformly the last in the list of the apostles, as given in the synoptic Gospels.
The evil of his nature probably gradually unfolded itself till “Satan entered into him” (John 13:27), and he betrayed our Lord (18:3). Afterwards he owned his sin with “an exceeding bitter cry,” and cast the money he had received as the wages of his iniquity down on the floor of the sanctuary, and “departed and went and hanged himself” (Matt. 27:5). He perished in his guilt, and “went unto his own place” (Acts 1:25).
The statement in Acts 1:18 that he “fell headlong and burst asunder in the midst, and all his bowels gushed out,” is in no way contrary to that in Matt. 27:5. The suicide first hanged himself, perhaps over the valley of Hinnom, “and the rope giving way, or the branch to which he hung breaking, he fell down headlong on his face, and was crushed and mangled on the rocky pavement below.” (Easton) Surnamed Joseph; also called Justus. He was one of those who “companied with the apostles all the time that the Lord Jesus went out and in among them” , and was one of the candidates for the place of Judas.
(Lockyer) The apostles agreed that the vacancy in the number twelve created by Judas suicide should be filled. They decided, further, that one of those who had been with Jesus from the beginning should be chosen. Two men were nominated Barsabbas and Matthias. After prayers for guidance, lots were cast and the lot fell to Matthias who was then enrolled with the eleven. Nothing else is recorded about him, he is not mentioned again (Alexander). Mentioning of the Old Testament prophet.
He was the high priest A.D. 7-14. In A.D. 25 Caiaphis, who had married the daughter of Annas, was raised to that office, and probably Annas was now made president of the Sanhedrim, or deputy or coadjutor of the high priest, and thus was also called high priest along with Caiaphis. By the Mosaic law the high-priesthood was held for life (Num. 3:10); and although Annas had been deposed by the Roman procurator, the Jews may still have regarded him as legally the high priest.
The Lord was first brought before Annas, and after a brief questioning of him was sent to Caiaphis, when some members of the Sanhedrim had met, and the first trial of Jesus took place. This examination of Jesus before Annas is recorded only by John. Annas was president of the Sanhedrim before which Peter and John were brought (Easton). He was the High Priest and was the son-in-law of Annas.
A relative of Annas the high priest, present when Peter and John were examined before the Sanhedrim. His given name was Joses or Joseph. He was a Levite. He was from Cyprus. A cousin of John Mark. He was also referred to as an apostle.
His character is revealed in the name given to him by the apostles, Barnabas, “son of encouragement”. “When he came and had seen the grace of God, he was glad, and encouraged them all that with purpose of heart they should continue with the Lord” (Acts 11:23). “For he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” (Acts 11:24). When Christians in Jerusalem were in need, he sold his land and brought the money to the apostles.
When Paul tried to join himself to the Jerusalem Christians, they were afraid of him. Barnabas took Paul to the apostles so Paul could tell his story. He and Paul were entrusted with the relief sent to the brethren in Judea during a famine. He refused the worship of the people of Lystra. He was involved in hypocrisy along with Peter and others with respect to the treatment of the Gentiles in Antioch.
He contended with Paul over taking John Mark on a second journey. This contention “became so sharp that they parted from one another” (Acts 15:39). He was willing to preach the gospel without charge that he might not be a burden (1 Cor. 9:4-18) (Henneke) Because of need, the disciples had all things in common. Those who owned property sold it and brought the proceeds to the apostles for distribution (Acts 4:32-37).
Ananias and his wife, Sapphira, sold a possession but kept back part of the proceeds. Peter confronted Ananias, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself” (vs. 3)? Before Ananias sold the possession, it belonged to him. After he sold the possession, the money belonged to him. In bringing a portion and implying that it was all, he had lied to the Holy Spirit. Ananias fell down and died.
carry you out” (Henneke). Gamaliel was a Pharisee, a member of the Council, who persuaded its members to take less drastic action toward the apostles with respect to their refusal to quit preaching the gospel He reminded them of past seditions that had failed. He suggested that if these apostles were teaching truth, they would be fighting against God. If it were not, the movement would die out. As a result of this argument, the apostles were only beaten and then released.
When Paul was on trial, he testified that Gamaliel was his teacher. He was one of the most highly respected rabbis of the first century (Henneke). A Jew of Damascus, to whose house Ananias was sent. The street called “Straight” in which it was situated is identified with the modern “street of bazaars,” where is still pointed out the so-called “house of Judas. (Easton) He was one of the seven set apart as deacons. He is named after Stephen.
He preached in Samaria. It was his work which was completed here after his departure by Peter and John, who went down from Jerusalem to bestow the Holy Spirit upon them by the laying on of hands. He converted an Ethiopian Eunuch. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied (Alexander). He was one of the seven deacons appointed in the apostolic church. Nothing further is known of him (Alexander).
He was one of the seven deacons appointed in the apostolic church. Nothing further is known of him (Alexander). He was one of the seven deacons appointed in the apostolic church. Nothing further is known of him (Alexander). He was a proselyte of Antioch, one of the seven deacons.
Nothing further is known of him (Alexander). He was one of the seven deacons, who became a preacher of the gospel. He was the first Christian martyr. His personal character and history are recorded in Acts “He fell asleep” with a prayer for his persecutors on his lips.
A devout men carried him to his grave. It was at the feet of the young Pharisee, Saul of Tarsus that those who stoned him laid their clothes before they began their cruel work. The scene which Saul then witnessed and the words he heard appear to have made a deep and lasting impression on his mind. The speech of Stephen before the Jewish ruler is the first apology for the universalism of the gospel as a message to the Gentiles as well as the Jews.
It is the longest speech contained in the Acts, a place of prominence being given to it as a defense (Easton). Mentioned from Old Testament to show how God has worked outside of Jewish Boundaries. He was the father of all Jews. Mentioned from Old Testament to show how God has worked outside of Jewish Boundaries. He was a son of Abraham Mentioned from Old Testament to show how God has worked outside of Jewish Boundaries.
He was a son of Abraham Mentioned from Old Testament to show how God has worked outside of Jewish Boundaries. He was the son of Jacob, and second in charge in Egypt. Mentioned from Old Testament to show how God has worked outside of Jewish Boundaries. He was the ruler during Josephs time Mentioned from Old Testament to show how God has worked outside of Jewish Boundaries. He was the leader of the exiled Jews in Egypt.
Mentioned from Old Testament to show how God has worked outside of Jewish Boundaries. He was ruler during Moses time. Mentioned from Old Testament to show how God has worked outside of Jewish Boundaries. He took over after Moses passed away. Mentioned from Old Testament to show how God has worked outside of Jewish Boundaries.
He was the wise son of King David. Nearly all the original materials for the life of Paul are contained in the Acts of the Apostles and in the Pauline epistles. Paul was born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia. (It is not improbable that he was born between A.D.
0 and A.D. 5.) Up to the time of his going forth as an avowed preacher of Christ to the Gentiles, the apostle was known by the name of Saul. This was the Jewish name which he received from his Jewish parents. But though a Hebrew of the Hebrews, he was born in a Gentile city.
Of his parents we know nothing, except that his father was of the tribe of Benjamin, (Philippians 3:5;) and a Pharisee, that Paul had acquired by some means the Roman franchise (“I was free born,” and that he was settled in Tarsus. At Tarsus he must have learned to use the Greek language with freedom and mastery in both speaking and writing. At Tarsus also he learned that trade of “tent-maker,” at which he afterward occasionally wrought with his own hands. There was a goat’s- hair cloth called cilicium manufactured in Cilicia, and largely used for tents, Saul’s trade was probably that of making tents of this hair cloth. When St.
Paul makes his defense before his countrymen at Jerusalem… he tells them that, though born in Tarsus he had been “brought up” in Jerusalem. He must therefore, have been yet a boy when was removed, in all probability for the sake of his education, to the holy city of his fathers. He learned, he says, at the feet of Gamaliel.” He who was to resist so stoutly the usurpation of the law had for his teacher one of the most eminent of all the doctors of the law. Saul was yet “a young man,” when the Church experienced that sudden expansion which was connected with the ordaining of the seven appointed to serve tables, and with the special power and inspiration of Stephen. Among those who disputed with Stephen were some “of them of Cilicia.” We naturally think of Saul as having been one of these, when we find him afterward keeping the clothes of those suborned witnesses who, according to the law, (Deuteronomy 17:7) were the first to cast stones at Stephen.
“Saul,” says the sacred writer significantly “was consenting unto his death.” Saul’s conversion. A.D. 37. –The persecutor was to be converted.
Having undertaken to follow up the believers “unto strange cities.” Saul naturally turned his thoughts to Damascus. What befell him as he journeyed thither is related in detail three times in the Acts, first by the historian in his own person, then in the two addresses made by St. Paul at Jerusalem and before Agrippa. St.
Luke’s statement is to be read in where, however, the words “it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks,” included in the English version, ought to be omitted (as is done in the Revised Version). The sudden light from heaven, the voice of Jesus speaking with authority to his persecutor. Saul struck to the ground, blinded, overcome; the three-days suspense; the coming of Ananias as a messenger of the Lord and Saul’s baptism, –these were the leading features at the great event, and in these we must look for the chief significance of the conversion. It was in Damascus that he was received into the church by Ananias, and here to the astonishment of all his hearers, he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, declaring him to be the Son of God. The narrative in the Acts tells us simply that he was occupied in this work, with increasing vigor, for “many days,” up to the time when imminent danger drove him from Damascus.
From the Epistle to the Galatians, (Galatians 1:17,18) we learn that the many days were at least a good part of “three years.” A.D. 37- 40, and that Saul, not thinking it necessary to procure authority to teach from the apostles that were before him, went after his conversion to Arabia, and returned from thence to us. We know nothing whatever of this visit to Arabia; but upon his departure from Damascus we are again on a historical ground, and have the double evidence of St. Luke in the Acts of the apostle in his Second Epistle the Corinthians. According to the former, the Jews lay in wait for Saul, intending to kill him, and watched the gates of the city that he might not escape from them.
Knowing this, the disciples took him by night and let him down in a basket from the wall. Having escaped from Damascus, Saul betook himself to Jerusalem (A.D. 40), and there “assayed to join himself to the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and believed not he was a disciple.” Barnabas’ introduction removed the fears of the apostles, and Saul “was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem.” But it is not strange that the former persecutor was soon singled out from the other believers as the object of a murderous hostility. He was, therefore, again urged to flee; and by way of Caesarea betook himself to his native city, Tarsus. Barnabas was sent on a special mission to Antioch.
As the work grew under his hands, he felt the need of help, went himself to Tarsus to seek Saul, and succeeded in bringing him to Antioch. There they labored together unremittingly for a whole year.” All this time Saul was subordinate to Barnabas. Antioch was in constant communication with Cilicia, with Cyprus, with all the neighboring countries. The Church was pregnant with a great movement, and time of her delivery was at hand. Something of direct expectation seems to be implied in what is said of the leaders of the Church at Antioch, that they were “ministering to the Lord and fasting,” when the Holy Ghost spoke to them: “Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.” Everything was done with orderly gravity in the sending forth of the two missionaries. Their brethren after fasting and prayer laid their hands on them, and so they departed.
The first missionary journey. A.D. 45- As soon as Barnabas and Saul reached Cyprus they began to “announce the word of God,” but at first they delivered their message in the synagogues of the Jews only. When they had gone through the island, from Salamis to Paphos, they were called upon to explain their doctrine to an eminent Gentile, Sergius Paulus, the proconsul, who was converted. Saul’s name was now changed to Paul, and he began to take precedence of Barnabas. From Paphos “Paul and his company” set sail for the mainland, and arrived at Perga in Pamphylia.
Here the heart of their companion John failed him, and he returned to Jerusalem. From Perga they traveled on to a place obscure in secular history, but most memorable in the history of the Kingdom of Christ –Antioch in Pisidia. Rejected by the Jews, they became bold and outspoken, and turned from them to the Gentiles. At Antioch now, as in every city afterward, the unbelieving Jews used their influence with their own adherents among the Gentiles to persuade the authorities or the populace to persecute the apostles and to drive them from the place. Paul and Barnabas now traveled on to Iconium where the occurrences at Antioch were repeated, and from thence to the Lycaonian country which contained the cities Lystra and Derbe. Here they had to deal with uncivilized heathen.
At Lystra the healing of a cripple took place. Thereupon these pagans took the apostles for gods, calling Barnabas, who was of the more imposing presence, Jupiter, and Paul, who was the chief speaker, Mercurius. Although the people of Lystra had been so ready to worship Paul and Barnabas, the repulse of their idolatrous instincts appears to have provoked them, and they allowed themselves to be persuaded into hostility be Jews who came from Antioch and Iconium, so that they attacked Paul with stones, and thought they had killed him. He recovered, however as the disciples were standing around him, and went again into the city. The next day he left it with Barnabas, and went to Derbe, and thence they returned once more to Lystra, and so to Iconium and Antioch. In order to establish the churches after their departure they solemnly appointed “elders” in every city.
Then they came down to the coast, and from Attalia, they sailed; home to Antioch in Syria, where they related the successes which had been granted to them, and especially the opening of the door of faith to the Gentiles.” And so the first missionary journey ended. The council at Jerusalem. –Upon that missionary journey follows most naturally the next important scene which the historian sets before us –the council held at Jerusalem to determine the relations of Gentile believers to the law of Moses. Second missionary journey.
A.D. 50-54. –The most resolute courage, indeed, was required for the work to which St. Paul was now publicly pledged. He would not associate with himself in that work one who had already shown a want of constancy. This was the occasion of what must have been a most painful difference between him and his comrade in the faith and in past perils, Barnabas.
Silas, or Silvanus, becomes now a chief companion of the apostle. The two went together through Syria and Cilicia, visiting the churches, and so came to Derbe and Lystra. Here they find Timotheus, who had become a disciple on the former visit of the apostle. Him St. Paul took and circumcised.
St. Luke now steps rapidly over a considerable space of the apostle’s life and labors. “They went throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia.” At this time St. Paul was founding “the churches of Galatia.” He himself gives some hints of the circumstances of his preaching in that region, of the reception he met with, and of the ardent though unstable character of the people. (Galatians 4:13-15) Having gone through Phrygia and Galatia, he intended to visit, the western coast; but “they were forbidden by the Holy Ghost to preach the “word” there. Then, being on the borders of Mysia, they thought of going back to the northeast into Bithynia; but again the Spirit of Jesus “suffered them not,” so they passed by Mysia and came down to Troas.
St. Paul saw in a vision a man, of Macedonia, who besought him, saying, “Come over into Macedonia and help us.” The vision was at once accepted as a heavenly intimation; the help wanted, by the Macedonians was believed to be the preaching of the gospel. It is at this point that the historian, speaking of St. Paul’s company, substitutes “we” for “they.” He says nothing of himself we can only infer that St. Luke, to whatever country he belonged, became a companion of St. Paul at Troas.
The party thus reinforced, immediately set sail from Troas, touched at Samothrace, then landed on the continent at Neapolis, and thence journeyed to Philippi. The first convert in Macedonia was Lydia, an Asiatic woman, at Philippi. At Philippi Paul and Silas were arrested, beaten and put in prison, having cast out the spirit of divination from a female slave who had brought her masters much gain by her power. This cruel wrong was to be the occasion of a signal appearance of the God of righteousness and deliverance.
The narrative tells of the earthquake, the jailer’s terror, his conversion and baptism. In the morning the magistrates sent word to the prison that the men might be let go; but Paul denounced plainly their unlawful acts, informing them moreover that those whom they had beaten and imprisoned without trial; were Roman citizens. The magistrates, in great alarm, saw the necessity of humbling themselves. They came and begged them to leave the city.
Paul and Silas consented to do so, and, after paying a visit to “the brethren” in the house of Lydia, they departed. Leaving Luke and perhaps Timothy for a short time at Philippi, Paul and Silas traveled through Amphipolis and Apollonia and stopped again at Thessalonica. Here again, as in Pisidian Antioch, the envy of the Jews was excited, and the mob assaulted the house of Jason with whom Paul and Silas were staying as guests, and, not finding them, dragged Jason himself and some other brethren before the magistrates. After these signs of danger the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night. They next came to Berea.
Here they found the Jews more noble than those at Thessalonica had been. Accordingly they gained many converts, both Jews and Greeks; but the Jews of Thessalonica, hearing of it, sent emissaries to stir up the people, and it was thought best that Paul should himself leave the city whilst Silas and Timothy remained-behind. Some of the brethren went with St. Paul as far as Athens, where they left him carrying back a request to Silas and Timothy that they would speedily join him.
Here the apostle delivered that wonderful discourse reported in He gained but few converts at Athens, and soon took his departure and went to Corinth. He was testifying with unusual effort and anxiety when Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia and joined him. Their arrival was the occasion of the writing of the First Epistle to the Thessalonians. The two epistles to the Thessalonians–and these alone–belong to the present missionary journey. They were written from Corinth A.D.
52, 53. When Silas and Timotheus came to Corinth, St. Paul was testifying to the Jews with great earnestness, but with little success. Corinth was the chief city of the province of Achaia, and the residence of the proconsul. During St. Paul stay the proconsul office was held by Gallio, a brother of the philosopher Seneca.
Before him the apostle was summoned by his Jewish enemies, who hoped to bring the Roman authority to bear upon him as an innovator in religion. But Gallio perceived at once, before Paul could “open his mouth” to defend himself, that the movement was due to Jewish prejudice, and refused to go into the question. Then a singular scene occurred. The Corinthian spectators, either favoring Paul or actuated only by anger against the Jews, seized on the principal person of those who had brought the charge, and beat him before the judgment-seat. Gallio left these religious quarrels to settle themselves. The apostle therefore, was not allowed to be “hurt,” and remained some time longer at Corinth unmolested.
Having been the instrument of accomplishing this work, Paul departed for Jerusalem, wishing to attend a festival there. Before leaving Greece, he cut off his hair at Cenchreae, in fulfillment of a vow. Paul paid a visit to the synagogue at Ephesus, but would not stay. Leaving Ephesus, he sailed to Caesarea, and from thence went up to Jerusalem, spring, A.D.
54, and “saluted the church.” It is argued, from considerations founded on the suspension of navigation during the winter months, that the festival was probably the Pentecost. From Jerusalem the apostle went almost immediately down to Antioch, thus returning to the same place from which he had started with Silas. Third missionary journey, including the stay at Ephesus. A.D.
54-58. The great epistles which belong to this period, those to the Galatians, Corinthians and Romans, show how the “Judaizing” question exercised at this time the apostle’s mind. St. Paul “spent some time” at Antioch, and during this stay as we are inclined to believe, his collision with St. Peter (Galatians 2:11-14) took place.
When he left Antioch, he “went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples,” and giving orders concerning the collection for the saints. (1 Corinthians 18:1) It is probable that the Epistle to the Galatians was written soon after this visit–A.D. 56-57. This letter was in all probability sent from Ephesus. This was the goal of the apostle’s journeyings through Asia Minor. He came down to Ephesus from the upper districts of Phrygia.
Here he entered upon his usual work. He went into the synagogue, and for three months he spoke openly, disputing and persuading concerning “the kingdom of God.” At the end of this time the obstinacy and opposition of some of the Jews led him to give up frequenting the synagogue and he established the believers as a separate society meeting “in the school of Tyrannus.” This continued for two years. During this time many things occurred of which the historian of the Acts chooses two examples, the triumph over magical arts and the great disturbance raised by the silversmiths who made shrines Diana –among which we are to note further the writing of the First Epistle to the Corinth A.D. 57. Before leaving Ephesus Paul went into Macedonia, where he met Titus, who brought him news of the state of the Corinthian church.
Thereupon he wrote the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, A.D. 57, and sent it by the hands of Titus and two other brethren to Corinth. After writing this epistle, St. Paul traveled throughout Macedonia, perhaps to the borders of Illyricum, (Romans 15:19) and then went to Corinth. The narrative in the Acts tells us that “when he had gone over those parts (Macedonia), and had given them much exhortation he came into Greece, and there abode three months.” There is only one incident which we can connect with this visit to Greece, but that is a very important one–the writing of his Epistle to the Romans, A.D. 58.
That this was written at this time from Corinth appears from passages in the epistle itself and has never been doubted. The letter is a substitute for the personal visit which he had longed “for many years” to pay. Before his departure from Corinth, St. Paul was joined again by St. Luke, as we infer from the change in the narrative from the third to the first person.
He was bent on making a journey to Jerusalem, for a special purpose and within a limited time. With this view he was intending to go by sea to Syria. But he was made aware of some plot of the Jews for his destruction, to be carried out through this voyage; and he determined to evade their malice by changing his route. Several brethren were associated with him in this expedition, the bearers no doubt, of the collections made in all the churches for the poor at Jerusalem. These were sent on by sea, and probably the money with them, to Troas, where they were to await Paul. He, accompanied by Luke, went northward through Macedonia.
Whilst the vessel which conveyed the rest of the party sailed from Troas to Assos, Paul gained some time by making the journey by land. At Assos he went on board again. Coasting along by Mitylene, Chios, Samos and Trogyllium, they arrived at Miletus. At Miletus, however there was time to send to Ephesus, and the elders of the church were invited to come down to him there. This meeting is made the occasion for recording another characteristic and representative address of St. Paul.
The course of the voyage from Miletas was by Coos and Rhodes to Patara, and from Patara in another vessel past Cyprus to Tyre. Here Paul and his company spent seven days. From Tyre they sailed to Ptolemais, where they spent one day, and from Ptolemais proceeded, apparently by land, to Caesarea. They now “tarried many days” at Caesarea.
During this interval the prophet Agabus, came down from Jerusalem, and crowned the previous intimations of danger with a prediction expressively delivered. At this stage a final effort was made to dissuade Paul from going up to Jerusalem, by the Christians of Caesarea and by his travelling companions. After a while they went up to Jerusalem and were gladly received by the brethren. This is St.
Paul’s fifth an last visit to Jerusalem. St. Paul’s imprisonment: Jerusalem. Spring, A.D. 58. –He who was thus conducted into Jerusalem by a company of anxious friends had become by this time a man of considerable fame among his countrymen.
He was widely known as one who had taught with pre-eminent boldness that a way into God’s favor was opened to the Gentiles, and that this way did not lie through the door of the Jewish law. He had thus roused against himself the bitter enmity of that unfathomable Jewish pride which was almost us strong in some of those who had professed the faith of Jesus as in their unconverted brethren. He was now approaching a crisis in the long struggle, and the shadow of it has been made to rest upon his mind throughout his journey to Jerusalem. He came “ready to die for the name of the Lord Jesus,” but he came expressly to prove himself a faithful Jew and this purpose is shown at every point of the history. Certain Jews from “Asia,” who had come up for the Pentecostal feast, and who had a personal knowledge of Paul, saw him in the temple.
They set upon him at once, and stirred up the people against him. There was instantly a great commotion; Paul was dragged out of the temple, the doors of which were immediately shut, and the people having him in their hands, were going to kill him. Paul was rescued from the violence of the multitude by the Roman officer, who made him his own prisoner, causing him to be chained to two soldiers, and then proceeded to inquire who he was and what he had done. The inquiry only elicited confused outcries, and the “chief captain” seems to have imagined that the apostle might perhaps be a certain Egyptian pretender who recently stirred up a considerable rising of the people.
The account In the tells us with graphic touches how St. Paul obtained leave and opportunity to address the people in a discourse which is related at length. Until the hated word of a mission to the Gentiles had been spoken, the Jews had listened to the speaker. “Away with such a fellow from the earth,” the multitude now shouted; “it is not fit that he should live.” The Roman commander seeing the tumult that arose might well conclude that St. Paul had committed some heinous offence; and carrying him off, he gave orders that he should be forced by scourging to confess his crime. Again the apostle took advantage of his Roman citizenship to protect himself from such an outrage.
The chief captain set him free from bonds, but on the next day called together the chief priests and the Sanhedrin, and brought Paul as a prisoner before them. On the next day a conspiracy was formed which the historian relates with a singular fullness of detail. More than forty of the Jews bound themselves under a curse neither to eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. The plot was discovered, and St. Paul was hurried away from Jerusalem. The chief captain, Claudius Lysias determined to send him to Caesarea to Felix, the governor or procurator of Judea.
He therefor put him in charge of a strong guard of soldiers, who took him by night as far as Antipatris. From thence a smaller detachment conveyed him to Caesarea, where they delivered up their prisoner into the hands of the governor. Imprisonment at Caesarea. A.D.
58-60. –St. Paul was henceforth to the end of the period embraced in the Acts, if not to the end of his life, in Roman custody. This custody was in fact a protection to him, without which he would have fallen a victim to the animosity of the Jews. He seems to have been treated throughout with humanity and consideration.
The governor before whom he was now to be tried, according to Tacitus and Josephus, was a mean and dissolute tyrant. After hearing St, Paul’s accusers and the apostle’s defense, Felix made an excuse for putting off the matter, and gave orders that the prisoner should be treated with indulgence and that his friends should be allowed free access to him. After a while he heard him again. St.
Paul remained in custody until Felix left the province. The unprincipled governor had good reason to seek to ingratiate himself with the Jews; and to please them, be handed over Paul, as an untried prisoner, to his successor, Festus. Upon his arrival in the province, Festus went up without delay from Caesarea to Jerusalem, and the leading Jews seized the opportunity of asking that Paul might be brought up there for trial intending to assassinate him by the way. But Festus would not comply with their request, He invited them to follow him on his speedy return to Caesarea, and a trial took place there, closely resembling that before Felix.
“They had certain questions against him,” Festus says to Agrippa, “of their own superstition (or religion), and of one Jesus, who was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. And being puzzled for my part as to such inquiries, I asked him whether he would go to Jerusalem to be tried there.” This proposal, not a very likely one to be accepted, was the occasion of St. Paul’s appeal to Caesar. The appeal having been allowed, Festus reflected that he must send with the prisoner a report of “the crimes laid against him.” He therefore took advantage of an opportunity which offered itself in a few days to seek some help in the matter. The Jewish prince Agrippa arrived with his sister Bernice on a visit to the new governor.
To him Festus communicated his perplexity. Agrippa expressed a desire to hear Paul himself. Accordingly Paul conducted his defense before the king; and when it was concluded Festus and Agrippa, and their companions, consulted together, and came to the conclusion that the accused was guilty of nothing that deserved death or imprisonment. “Agrippa’s final answer to the inquiry of Festus was, “This man might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar.” The voyage to Rome and shipwreck. Autumn, A.D. 60.
–No formal trial of St. Paul had yet taken place. After a while arrangements were made to carry “Paul and certain other prisoners,” in the custody of a centurion named Julius, into Italy; and amongst the company, whether by favor or from any other reason, we find the historian of the Acts, who in chapters 27 and 28 gives a graphic description of the voyage to Rome and the shipwreck on the Island of Melita or Malta. After a three-months stay in Malta the soldiers and their prisoners left in an Alexandria ship for Italy. They touched at Syracuse, where they stayed three days, and at Rhegium, from which place they were carried with a fair wind to Puteoli, where they left their ship and the sea. At Puteoli they found “brethren,” for it was an important place and especially a chief port for the traffic between Alexandria and Rome; and by these brethren they were exhorted to stay a while with them.
Permission seems to have been granted by the centurion; and whilst they were spending seven days at Puteoli news of the apostle’s arrival was sent to Rome. (Spring, A.D. 61.) First imprisonment of St. Paul at Rome. A.D.
61-63. –On their arrival at Rome the centurion delivered up his prisoners into the proper custody that of the praetorian prefect. Paul was at once treated with special consideration and was allowed to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him. He was now therefore free “to preach the gospel to them that were at Rome also;” and proceeded without delay to act upon his rule – -“to the Jews first,” But as of old, the reception of his message by the Jews was not favorable.
He turned, therefore, again to the Gentiles, and for two years he dwelt in his own hired house. These are the last words of the Acts. But St. Paul’s career is not abruptly closed. Before he himself fades out of our sight in the twilight of ecclesiastical tradition, we have letters written by himself which contribute some particulars to his biography.
Period of the later epistles. –To that imprisonment to which St. Luke has introduced us — the imprisonment which lasted for such a tedious time, though tempered by much indulgence –belongs the noble group of letters to Philemon, to the Colossians, to the Ephesians and to the Philippians. The three former of these were written at one time, and sent by the same messengers. Whether that to the Philippians was written before or after these we cannot determine; but the tone of it seems to imply that a crisis was approaching, and therefore it is commonly regarded us the latest of the four. In this epistle St.
Paul twice expresses a confident hope that before long he may be able to visit the Philippians in person. (Philemon 1:25; Philemon 2:24) Whether this hope was fulfilled or not has been the occasion of much controversy. According to the general opinion the apostle was liberated from imprisonment at the end of two years, having been acquitted by Nero A.D. 63, and left Rome soon after writing the letter to the Philippians.
He spent some time in visits to Greece, Asia Minor and Spain, and during the latter part of this time wrote the letters (first epistles) to Timothy and Titus from Macedonia, A.D. 65. After these were written he was apprehended again and sent to Rome. Second imprisonment at Rome. A.D.
65-67. –The apostle appears now to have been treated not as an honorable state prisoner but as a felon, (2 Timothy) but he was allowed to write the second letter to Timothy, A.D. 67. For what remains we have the concurrent testimony of ecclesiastical antiquity that he was beheaded at Rome, by Nero in the great persecutions of the Christians by that emperor, A.D.
67 (Smith). The persecution of the church in Jerusalem sent disciples everywhere preaching the word. Phillip went to Samaria where he preached and performed miracles. Multitudes believed and were baptized. Simon practiced sorcery or “magic” for a living. He was held in great esteem by the people.
However, at the preaching and miracles of Philip, he believed and was baptized. Peter and John came so that the new Christians could receive the Holy Spirit. Simon tried to purchase the gift of God and was rebuked by Peter (Henneke). He was an Ethiopian Nobleman.
Philip was sent to an area of desert outside of Jerusalem by an angel. There he met the Ethiopian nobleman who had been to Jerusalem to worship. He was reading from Isaiah as he traveled. Philip was directed by the Spirit to overtake the chariot. He then proceeded to use the passage in Isaiah to preach Jesus Christ.
The Ethiopian requested to be baptized. Philip heard his confession of faith and then baptized him. Philip was taken away by the Spirit of the Lord. The nobleman went on his way rejoicing (Henneke).
A Christian at Damascus. He became Paul’s instructor; but when or by what means he himself became a Christian we have no information. He was “a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt” at Damascus (Lockyer). The Centurion-at the time the events in Acts chapter 10 occurred, the Roman army of occupation in Judea consisted of 5 cohorts, containing a total of approximately 3,400 men. A typical cohort consisted of 600 men. The Italian cohort of which Cornelius was a centurion was composed of Romans.
The other four cohorts were composed mainly of Samaritans and Syrian Greeks. In Acts 27:1, it is mentioned that Julius was a centurion in the Augustan cohort also stationed at Caeserea. In Acts 23:18, Claudius Lysias is named as the commander of the large cohort (1000 men) stationed at Jerusalem. Cornelius- His name meant “of a horn” and was that of a distinguished Roman family.
Cornelius may, therefore, have been a man of political importance. Cornelius was… A. Devout B. Feared God with his household C.
Benevolent D. Prayerful E. Well spoken of by the entire Jewish nation F. A soldier (Henneke) Agabus was a New Testament Prophet. This was the first mention of the gift of prophecy among the disciples. He foretold a famine which would occur throughout the world.
The brethren in Antioch believed Agabus and prepared for the famine. They even sent relief to Judea even though the famine was to include them. The famine occurred during the time of Claudius Caesar. He foretold Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem. The brethren did not want Paul to go to Jerusalem.
Paul was determined to go anyway. “The will of the Lord be done.” (Henneke) The fourth Roman emperor. He succeeded Caligula (A.D. 41). Though in general he treated the Jews, especially those in Asia and Egypt, with great indulgence, yet about the middle of his reign (A.D.
49) he banished them all from Rome (Acts 18:2). In this edict the Christians were included, as being, as was supposed, a sect of Jews. The Jews, however soon again returned to Rome. During the reign of this emperor, several persecutions of the Christians by the Jews took place in the dominions of Herod Agrippa, in one of which the apostle James was “killed” (12:2).
He died A.D. 54 (Smith). Herod Agrippa I was the grandson of Herod the Great. Secular history records that while living in Rome, he became a favorite of Emperor Caligula who gave him a kingdom subsequently enlarged by Claudius to include all of Palestine. Apparently, to please the Jews, he joined his government to the persecution of the church. Herod the persecutor. He had the apostle James beheaded. This occurred about ten years after the death of Jesus. He then arrested and imprisoned Peter under heavy guard. The church prayed fervently for Peter. Unknown to the soldiers, an angel led Peter from the prison. This caused no small disturbance among the soldiers. Peter presented himself to the brethren and departed to another place. Herod ordered the execution of the soldiers. The death of Herod. At Caesarea, Herod celebrated a festival in honor of Emperor Claudius. He addressed the people (clad in a garment fashioned of silver-Josephus). The people exclaimed that “he is a god.” An angel struck him because he did not give God the glory. He was eaten by worms and died. Josephus wrote that this death took five days (Henneke). First mentioned in Acts 12:12 where saints had gathered in the home of John Mark’s mother. They were praying for Peter who had been imprisoned by Herod. Peter was released miraculously and Herod died soon thereafter. John Mark saw the power of God in the defeat of Herod and the spread of the Church. He Joined Barnabas and Saul in their ministry. He was present at the conversion of the proconsul in Salamis and the defeat of Elymas the sorcerer. John went with Paul as far as Pamphylia, but then left the group to return to Jerusalem. Later, Paul and Barnabas disagreed over whether to take John Mark with them. Mark went with Barnabas to Cyprus. However, Paul tells the Church at Colossae to welcome John Mark (Col. 4:10). John Mark became a useful worker for the Lord (2 Tim. 4:11; Phil. 24; 1 Pet. 5:13). He is the author of the book of Mark. He was Barnabas cousin (Henneke). Same as Barnabas whom traveled with Paul. He was also seen as a prophet. A devout Jew, inspired by the Holy Ghost, who met the parents of our Lord in the temple, took him in his arms, and gave thanks for what he saw and knew of Jesus. (Luke 2:25-35;) There was a Simeon who succeeded his father Hillel as president of the Sanhedrin about A.D. 13, and whose son Gamaliel was the Pharisee at whose feet St. Paul was brought up. It has been conjectured that he may be the Simeon of St. Luke (Smith). A Christian teacher at Antioch (Acts 13:1), and Paul’s kinsman (Rom. 16:21). His name is Latin, but his birthplace seems to indicate that he was one of the Jews of Cyrene, in North Africa (Smith). He was one of the teachers and prophets in the church at Antioch at the time of the appointment of Saul and Barnabas as missionaries to the heathen. He is said to have been brought up with Herod Antipas. He was probably his foster-brother (Smith). Also known as Elymas was a magician, a Jewish false prophet, whose name was Bar-Jesus. Elymas opposed Barnabas and Saul seeking to turn Sergius Paulus from the faith. Paul rebuked him and struck him with temporary blindness. This is the only recorded miracle wrought by an apostle to the injury of a person. Paul said that he was: Full of guile and fraud. A son of the devil. An enemy of righteousness. A perverter of the right ways of the Lord (Henneke). Roman proconsul of Cyprus at Paphos. A man of understanding. Sought to hear the word of God from Barnabas and Saul. Believed after Paul struck Elymas with blindness for hindering the gospel. Saul now called Paul (a name which he used thereafter) Paul now recognized as the dominant member of his company (Henneke). From the Old Testament, he was Solomons son. They were a religious party or school among the Jews at the time of Christ, so called from perishin, the Aramaic form of the Hebrew word perushim, “separated.” The chief sects among the Jews were the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Essenes, who may be described respectively as the Formalists, the Freethinkers and the Puritans. A knowledge of the opinions and practices of the Pharisees at the time of Christ is of great importance for entering deeply into the genius of the Christian religion. A cursory perusal of the Gospels is sufficient to show that Christ’s teaching was in some respects thoroughly antagonistic to theirs. He denounced them in the bitterest language; see (Matthew 15:7,8; Matthew 23:5,13,14,15,23; Mark 7:6; Luke 11:42-44;) and compare (Mark 7:1-5; Mark 11:29; Mark 12:19,20; Luke 6:28,37-42;) To understand the Pharisees is by contrast an aid toward understanding the spirit of uncorrupted Christianity. (Henneke) Silas is first seen as a messenger for the church in Jerusalem. He and Judas were prophets and they stayed to strengthen the saints in Antioch. He was also a Roman citizen. When Paul and Barnabas disagreed over John Mark, Paul took Silas with him to Syria and Cilicia. Paul and Silas stayed with Lydia in Phillipi where Silas was arrested along with Paul. They preached to the Phillipian Jailer and his family. Silas went with Paul to Thessalonica where there was trouble with the envious Jews. They were sent away by night to Berea. When the Jews followed them to stir up trouble, Silas and Timothy stayed while Paul went on to Athens. Silas and Timothy caught up with Paul in Corinth. Silas continued to serve the Lord and the apostles (2 Cor. 1:19; 1 Thes. 1:1; 2 Thes. 1:1; 1 Pet. 5:12) (Henneke). A Christian teacher, surnamed Barsabas. He was sent from Jerusalem to Antioch along with Paul and Barnabas with the decision of the council. He was a “prophet” and a “chief man among the brethren.” (Easton) A man form Lystra whose mother is Unice. He had a greek father but became a traveler with Paul. He was circumcised by Paul. Luke appears to have been with Jesus during His ministry. He wrote the books of Luke and Acts. Luke records the travels of Paul as an eyewitness. He was with Paul on the trip to Macedonia. Luke was also with Paul on his return to Troas. He accompanied Paul to Miletus and on to Jerusalem. Luke traveled with Paul to Rome and suffered through the same shipwreck. He remained in Rome while Paul was in prison. For a time he was Paul’s only companion. Luke was a physician. He was also an excellent writer and historian (Henneke). He is called the Thessalonian, entertained Paul and Silas, and was in consequence attacked by the Jewish mob. (A.D. 48.) He is probably the same as the Jason mentioned in (Romans 16:21;) It is conjectured that Jason and Secundus, were the same. A member of the Athenina supreme court at Athens who became a Christian. He was a tent maker. His wife was Pricilla. Paul stayed at his house in Corinth because his house was next to the synagogue. He was the ruler of the Jewish Synagogue and one the few mentioned to as being personally baptized by Paul. The Roman Proconsul of Achia, the elder brother of Seneca, described by Seneca as a man of extreme amiability of character. He was a Jew of Alexandria. He was knowledgeable about the scriptures and taught at the synagogue in Ephesus “teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John” Taught the way of God “more accurately” by Priscilla and Aquila. Went to Greece to teach Strengthened the church in Corinth (I Cor. 3:6). Some brethren in Corinth set up an Apollos faction (I Cor. 3:4-7). Reluctant to return to Corinth from Ephesus (I Cor. 16-12. Commended by Paul to Titus (Titus 3:13) (Henneke). One of the attendants of St. Paul at Ephesus, who with Timothy was sent forward into Macedonia. (A.D. 51.) He is probably the same with Erastus who is again mentioned in the salutations to Timothy. (Smith) A silversmith in Ephesus who made silver models for the Diana Temple, he incited the mob against Paul (Lockyer). A Macedonian, Paul’s fellow-traveler, and his host at Corinth when he wrote his Epistle to the Romans. He with his household were baptized by Paul. During a heathen outbreak against Paul at Ephesus the mob seized Gaius and Aristarchus because they could not find Paul, and rushed with them into the theatre (Easton). One of Pauls travel companions. He had been imprisoned with him (Lockyer). Was not a man. Sorry but I did not want to retype it all. A fellow traveler with Paul in Berea. He is said to have Noble background. He accompanied Paul from Macedonia to Asia Minor. A christen in Asia Minor who traveled with Paul at times. He was falsely accused of entering the gates to the temple with Paul, he was not aloud in because he was a gentile. A Christian of Jerusalem with whom Paul lodged . He was apparently a native of Cyprus, like Barnabas, and was well known to the Christians of Caesarea. He was an “old disciple” he had become a Christian in the beginning of the formation of the Church in Jerusalem (Lockyer). He was a Greek who, having obtained by purchase the privilege of Roman citizenship, took the name of Claudius (Smith). The high priest before whom Paul was brought in the procuratorship of Felix. He was so enraged at Paul’s noble declaration, “I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day,” that he commanded one of his attendants to smite him on the mouth. Smarting under this unprovoked insult, Paul quickly replied, “God shall smite thee, thou whited wall.” Being reminded that Ananias was the high priest, to whose office all respect was to be paid, he answered, “I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest” (Acts 23:5). This expression has occasioned some difficulty, as it is scarcely probable that Paul should have been ignorant of so public a fact. The expression may mean (a) that Paul had at the moment overlooked the honour due to the high priest; or (b), as others think, that Paul spoke ironically, as if he had said, “The high priest breaking the law! God’s high priest a tyrant and a lawbreaker! I see a man in white robes, and have heard his voice, but surely it cannot, it ought not to be, the voice of the high priest.” (c) Others think that from defect of sight Paul could not observe that the speaker was the high priest. In all this, however, it may be explained, Paul, with all his excellency, comes short of the example of his divine Master, who, when he was reviled, reviled not again (Easton). The Roman governor of Palestine who succeeded Pilate in that position (Caesarea was the Roman capitol of Judea). He was married to Drusilla, the daughter of Herod Agrippa I. Josephus records that he had taken Drusilla from another man and was living in adultery. Tacitus, a historian of the day, recorded that Felix exercised his authority with every kind of cruelty and lust. Paul was sent as a prisoner from Claudius Lysias to Felix. Jews of Jerusalem went to Felix to present their case against Paul. Tertullus was brought forth as an attorney against Paul. Paul was accused of being a troublemaker with three charges. He was accused of exciting the Jews to insurrection. He was accused of being a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. He was accused of attempting to profane the temple. Paul answered each charge. He had only come to Jerusalem 12 days earlier and had been in prison for 5 days. That was hardly enough time to start an insurrection. He confessed to be following Jesus the Nazarene and claimed to believe in the law and the prophets, to hoping for a resurrection, and to living a conscientious life. He stated that he was obeying the law when found in the temple, not profaning it. Those witnesses who found him in the temple had not been called to testify. Felix kept Paul in prison but allowed him visitors. Paul had the opportunity to preach to Felix and Drusilla. He reasoned with them of righteousness, temperance, and the judgment to come. Felix trembled at Paul’s preaching but chose to wait for a convenient season. Felix hoped to receive money in order to release Paul. Secular history records that Felix was removed from office after accusations of the mishandling of his position (Henneke). A modification of “Tertius;” a Roman advocate, whom the Jews employed to state their case against Paul in the presence of Felix. The charges he adduced against the apostle were, “First, that he created disturbances among the Romans throughout the empire, an offence against the Roman government (crimen majestatis). Secondly, that he was a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes; disturbed the Jews in the exercise of their religion, guaranteed by the state; introduced new gods, a thing prohibited by the Romans. And thirdly, that he attempted to profane the temple, a crime which the Jews were permitted to punish.” (Lockyer) He succeeded Felix as governor of Palestine. The Jews renewed their case against Paul with the new governor. The Jews brought charges against Paul which they could not prove. Paul pleaded his innocence to their charges. Paul should have been released since he was not proven guilty of any crime. However, Festus wanted to please the Jews, and he asked if Paul would be willing to be tried in Jerusalem. Paul knew he stood a better chance of justice before Caesar than before the Sanhedrein, so he appealed to Caesar. Under Roman law, when a citizen appealed to Caesar, all proceedings stopped, and he and his accusers were sent to Rome. Festus discussed Paul’s case with King Agrippa (Henneke). The emperor of the Roman territory. This was Herod Agrippa II. He was the son of Herod Agrippa I who killed the apostle James. He was the nephew of Herod Antipas who killed John the Baptist and mocked Jesus during His trial. He was the great grandson of Herod the Great who killed the children of Bethlehem after Jesus was born. Josephus recorded that Caesar had entrusted Agrippa with the oversight of religious affairs in Jerusalem since he knew the Jewish religion very well. He was about 31 years old when he heard Paul’s case. Festus wanted Agrippa to help him with a letter to Caesar stating why Paul was being sent, so Agrippa wanted to hear Paul’s case. Paul spoke before Agrippa, Bernice, Festus, and other important people. Paul spent his youth as a strict Pharisee. At that time he was convinced he should do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. He imprisoned Christians and even consented to their death. He said the appearance of Jesus to him on the road to Damascus is what changed his life. Paul did not disobey Jesus’ instructions but began preaching that people should repent and turn to God. He said he was arrested for teaching what Moses and the prophets had taught, that Jesus would suffer and be raised to give light to all. Festus thought Paul was mad when he spoke of the resurrection, but Paul said he was speaking the truth. Agrippa said that with a little persuasion, Paul might have made him a Christian. Paul desired that all would become Christians. Festus and Agrippa agreed that Paul had done nothing worthy of death (Henneke). The centurion of “Augustus’ band,” to whose charge St. Paul was delivered when he was sent prisoner from Caesarea to Rome. The Lead man on the island Malta where Paul had shipwrecked. Bibliography: Bibliography Website http://users.aol.com/mgv658/mwbmenu.htm Karl Hennecke. Smith Bible Dictionary. 1992. Website http://biblestudytools.net/Dictionaries/EastonBibleDictionary/ Easton Bible Dictionary. 1993. Lockyer, Herbert. All the Men of the Bible. Zondervan. Grand Rapids. 1958. Alexander, George. The Handbook of Biblical Personalities. Seabury Press. New York. 1962.
