Albert Barnes Commentary Acts 21:8

"And on the morrow we departed, and came unto Caesarea: and entering into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven, we abode with him." — Acts 21:8 (ASV)

We that were of Paul's company. From this it would appear that they had been attended up to this point by some persons who were going only to Ptolemais. This clause, however, is missing in many manuscripts and has been omitted by Bengel, Griesbach, Knapp, and others as spurious. It is also missing in the Syriac and the Vulgate.

To Caesarea. See Barnes on Acts 8:40.

Into the house of Philip. One of the seven deacons (Acts 6:5). After his conversation with the eunuch of Ethiopia, he went to Caesarea and probably resided there.

The evangelist. This word properly means one who announces good news. In the New Testament, it is applied to a preacher of the gospel or one who declares the glad tidings of salvation. It occurs in only two other places: Ephesians 4:11 and 2 Timothy 4:5. The precise rank of those who bore this title in the early Christian church cannot, perhaps, be determined.

It is evident, however, that it is used to denote the office of preaching the gospel. And as this title is applied to Philip, and not to any other of the seven deacons, it would seem probable that he had been entrusted with a special commission to preach, and that preaching did not pertain to him as a deacon and does not properly belong to that office. The business of a deacon was to take care of the poor members of the church (Acts 6:1–6). The office of preaching was distinct from this, though, as in this case, it might be conferred on the same individual.