Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 8:40

"But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached the gospel to all the cities, till he came to Caesarea." — Acts 8:40 (ASV)

Philip was found at Azotus.—The city so named, the Ashdod of the Old Testament, was, like Gaza, one of the cities of the Philistines, about three miles from the sea, and halfway between Gaza and Joppa. Like Gaza, its history was chiefly marked by successive sieges: by Tartan, the Assyrian General in 716 B.C. (Isaiah 20:1); by Psammetichus in 630 B.C. (Herodotus ii. 157); and by the Maccabees . It was restored by the Roman general Gabinius in 55 B.C. In remoter times, it had been one of the headquarters of the worship of Dagon (1 Samuel 5:5).

The old name lingers in the modern Esdud, but the city has sunk into a decayed village. The narrative suggests the thought that here also Philip continued his work as an evangelist. Philistia was, as of old, to be joined with Ethiopia in furnishing the city of God with converts who should be written among the people (Psalms 87:4).

He preached in all the cities.—The route which Philip would naturally take on this journey led through Lydda and Joppa, and we may probably trace the effect of his labours in the appearance in Acts 9:32; Acts 9:36, of organised and apparently flourishing Christian societies in both these towns.

Till he came to Cæsarea.—The historical importance of the city, lying on the line of the great road from Tyre to Egypt, dates, as its name shows, from the Roman period. As described by Strabo, it was known only as Strato’s Tower, with a landing place for ships. It rose to magnificence, however, under Herod the Great, who built theatres, amphitheatres, and temples, and constructed a harbour as large as the Piræus at Athens.

In honour of his imperial patron, he named it Cæsarea Sebaste (the latter word meaning Augusta) (Josephus, Ant. xvi. 5, § 1). It became, after the deposition of Archelaus, the official residence of the Roman Procurator and, as the sequel shows, was prominent in the early history of the Church. Tacitus (Hist. ii. 79) speaks of it as the chief city—the caput—of Judea.

It appears from Acts 21:8 that Philip took up his abode there and made it the headquarters of his work as an evangelist. In ecclesiastical history, it became famous as the scene for a time of the labours of the great Origen and as the home of the historian-bishop Eusebius.