Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 13

Now there were in the church that was at Antioch.—The fullness of detail in this narrative suggests the inference that the writer was himself at Antioch at this period.

Certain prophets and teachers.—The two were not necessarily identical, though the higher gift of prophecy commonly included the lower gift of teaching. The former implies a more direct message from God, coming from the Holy Ghost; the latter a more systematic instruction, in which reason and reflection played their part.

Simeon that was called Niger.—The name seems to indicate the dark complexion of Africa; but nothing more is known of him. The epithet was given to him, probably, to distinguish him from the many others of the same name, possibly, in particular, from Simon of Cyrene. (See Note on Acts 11:20.)

Lucius of Cyrene.—Probably one of the company of men of Cyprus and Cyrene (Acts 11:20) who had been among the first evangelists of Antioch. On the ground that Cyrene was famous for its School of Medicine, some writers have identified him with the author of the Acts, but the two names Lucius and Lucas are radically distinct, the latter being contracted for Lucanus.

Manaen, who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch.—Literally, the foster-brother of Herod. Here we enter on a name that has historical associations of some interest. In the early youth of Herod the Great, his future greatness had been foretold by an Essene prophet of the name of Menahem or Manaen (Jos. Ant. xv. 10, § 5).

When the prediction was fulfilled, he sought to show honour to the prophet. The identity of name makes it probable that the man who now meets us was the son, or grandson, of the Essene, and that Herod had had him brought up with Antipas as a mark of his favour.

Both Antipas and Archelaus were educated at Rome, and Manaen may therefore have accompanied them there. By what steps he was led to believe in Jesus as the Christ, we can only conjecture; but it seems probable that the austere type of life, so closely resembling that of the Essenes, which was presented by the Baptist, may have impressed him, as he was living in the court of his early companion, and that, through him, he may have been led to the higher truth, and, in due time, after the Day of Pentecost, have become a sharer in the prophetic gift. The fact that Herod the Great had adorned the city of Antioch with a long and stately colonnade may, perhaps, have given him a certain degree of influence there.

And Saul.—The position of Saul’s name at the end of the list seems to indicate that it was copied from one which had been made before he had become the most prominent of the whole company of the prophets.

As they ministered to the Lord.—The verb so translated (leitourgein) is commonly used, both in the Septuagint and in the New Testament, of the ministry of the priests and Levites in the Temple (Luke 1:23; Hebrews 8:6; Hebrews 9:21). In Hebrews 1:14, the corresponding adjective is used to distinguish the ministry of worship from that of service to man. When Paul uses it figuratively of himself (Romans 15:16), it is in connection with the idea of a sacrifice or oblation.

In later ecclesiastical language, it was connected specially with the celebration of the Supper of the Lord, and the order for that service was, strictly speaking, the “Liturgy” of the Church. It would, perhaps, be too much to say that the word necessarily conveys that meaning here; but it is, at least, probable that a solemn meeting, such as is here described, would end in the “breaking of bread,” and that, up to that point, those who were so engaged would naturally be fasting.

The Holy Ghost said.—The mode of communication we may believe to have been, as in Acts 20:23, through the lips of the prophets, speaking as by a sudden burst of simultaneous inspiration. (Compare 1 Timothy 1:18.)

Separate me Barnabas and Saul.—In the Greek a particle follows the imperative, which has no exact equivalent in English (the illative “then” being, perhaps, the nearest), but which seems to indicate that the command given was in answer to a prayer, and that it was to be acted on at once. The verb implies that they were to be set apart for a new work. Up to this time they had been among the prophets and teachers of the Church. Now they were to receive a solemn visible mission, following on the inspired utterances, as those had followed on personal intimations, consecrating them to the work of the Apostleship to the Gentiles.

And when they had fasted and prayed.—The repetition of the words that had been used in Acts 13:2 seems to imply that the fast was prolonged until the laying-on of hands had been completed. The new command called for that intensity of spiritual life of which fasting was more or less the normal condition.

And laid their hands on them.—See Note on Acts 6:6. This was, as before, the formal act by which the Church attested its acceptance of the divine mission of those on whom hands were laid, and implored for them the divine blessing.

Being sent forth by the Holy Ghost.—The words may be only a summing up of the result of the previous facts, but looking to Acts 16:6-7, it seems more probable that they refer to a fresh revelation, following what we should call the “ordination” or “consecration” of the Apostles, and guiding them regarding the direction of their journey.

Departed unto Seleucia.—The town was situated at the mouth of the Orontes, about sixteen miles from Antioch, and served as the port for that city. It had been built by, and named after, Seleucus Nicator.

Thence they sailed to Cyprus.—The population of the island was largely Greek, and the name of the chief town at the east end recalled the history or the legend of a colony under Teucer, the son of Telamon, from the Salamis of the Saronic gulf. It recognized Aphrodite, or Venus, as its patron goddess, Paphos being the chief center of her worship, which there, as elsewhere, was conspicuous for the licentiousness of the harlot-priestesses of her temple. The copper-mines (the metal Cuprum took its name from the island), and its nearness to Syria, had probably attracted a considerable Jewish population, among whom the gospel had been preached by the evangelists of Acts 11:19.

An interesting inscription—the date of which is, however, uncertain, and may be of the second or third century after Christ—given in M. de Cesnola’s Cyprus (page 422), as found at Golgoi in that island, shows a yearning for something higher than the polytheism of Greece:

YOU, THE ONE GOD,
THE GREATEST, THE MOST GLORIOUS NAME,
HELP US ALL, WE BESEECH YOU.

At the foot of the inscription there is the name HELIOS, the Sun, and we may probably see in it a trace of that adoption of the worship of Mithras, or the sun, as the visible symbol of Deity. This worship, first becoming known to the Romans in the time of Pompeius, led to the general reception of the Dies Solis (= Sunday) as the first day of the Roman week. It even, in the case of Constantine, mingled with the earlier stages of his progress towards the faith of Christ (See Note on Acts 17:23).

The narrative that follows implies that the prudence or discernment that distinguished the proconsul may well have shown itself in such a recognition of the unity of the Godhead. It is also noteworthy that M. de Cesnola (Cyprus, page 425) discovered at Soli, in the same island, another inscription bearing the name of Paulus the Proconsul, who may, perhaps, be identified with the Sergius Paulus of this narrative.

When they were at Salamis.—The city was, as stated above, at the east end of Cyprus. The mention of “synagogues” implies a considerable Jewish population, and to these the Apostles, following the general rule announced in Acts 13:46, naturally, first, turned.

They had also John to their minister.—The noun so rendered is not that commonly used for the “deacons” or “ministers” of the Church, but implies instead personal assistance. It is probable, however, that he was employed in baptizing converts, and, where a church was founded, in preparing for the Supper of the Lord. Looking to the later work of Mark, it would hardly, perhaps, be too much to say that he was, more than any other disciple, the courier of the Apostolic Church.