Acts

8:26-40

3. The gospel reaches Judea and Samaria, 6:8-9:31

vi] Philip and the Ethiopian

Following the stoning of Stephen, the Hellenist Jews escape the ensuing persecution in Jerusalem and begin the work of extending the gospel. In chapter 8 Luke focuses on Philip, one of the deacons. His ministry in Samaria produces such spectacular results that the apostles send Peter and John to investigate. In this passage Luke describes Philip's encounter with an Ethiopian eunuch, a man who is not a Jew, but who is interested in the Jewish faith. Confronted with the gospel, the eunuch believes, is baptized and continues on his way.

The placement by Luke of this story in his account of the movement of the gospel from Jerusalem to the center of the world (Rome) and beyond and of its movement from Jew to Gentile, is quite interesting. The Jew to Gentile movement is certainly evidenced in this story, but the account of the conversion of Cornelius which follows seems to be a backward step. Cornelius is a god-fearer whereas we are unsure of the status of the eunuch. It seems unlikely that he is a proselyte. Luke has not held back on the miraculous elements in this story and so he obviously views it with some importance. In an organizational sense the story is best kept with Phillip's Samarian ministry and since the eunuch continues on his way back to Ethiopia the weight of Luke's account will fall on Peter and his dealings with Cornelius. So, what we have here in both this story and the account of Cornelius' conversion, is the first step in the gospel's movement from the Jews to the Gentiles. Both the eunuch and Cornelius are men interested in the Jewish faith, standing on the fringe, as it were, of God's long-promised blessing to the world.

anasthqi (anisthmi) aor. imp. "-" get up [and go toward south]. "Get yourself ready", TEV.

meshmbrian (a) "south" - The word literally means "midday", but for a person in Palestine it can indicate the position of the sun at midday, namely "south". So, the instruction is either go south on the road that is in the desert, ie. the desert road, or go at midday on the desert road. Either way the instruction is making sure Philip gets to meet the Ethiopian.

auth estin erhmoV "the desert [road]" - this is desert. This may be a reference to the road or to Gaza: the road through the desert, as NIV, or Gaza in the desert, or even the old Gaza now deserted (destroyed), "the town is now deserted", Knox.

anastaV (anisthmi) aor. part. "So" - having arisen [we went]. The aorist indicating punctiliar action and participle is either attendant circumstance expressing action accompanying the main verb "he went", or consecutive, expressing result, "so he got up and went on his way", Moffatt. Philip immediately responds to the angel's directive.

Aiqioy "Ethiopian" - Nubian.

eunoucoV "eunuch" - He may have been a poselyte, but more likely a god-fearer, because full religious privileges were not bestowed upon eunuchs, Deut 23:1. This restriction may well have been lifted by now following the promise in Isaiah 56:3ff. There is, of course, the possibility that he was not castrated, for the word was used generally for a trusted high official in the court of a king.

basilisshV (a) "queen" - The Nubian kings were regarded as children of the sun, divine, and so secular duties were carried out by the queen mother who bore the title Candace. The "eunuch" therefore worked for the queen mother in the treasury, "her chancellor of the exchequer", Barclay.

proskunhswn (proskunew) fut. part. "to worship" - worshipping. The participle probably expresses purpose; "he had visited Jerusalem in order to worship the God of Israel." The use of the word here may imply a pilgrimage, cf. 24:11; "he had been to Jerusalem on a pilgrimage", REB.

hn upostrefwn imperf. verb to-be + pres. part. "on his way home" - he was returning. A periphrastic imperfect, although Barrett says it is best treated as a descriptive rather than a periphrastic construction, "he was on his way back", Barrett.

epi + gen. "in" - upon, on.

aJrmatoV (aJrma) "chariot" - wagon. Not necessarily a chariot, but a wheeled wagon of some sort.

eipen (legw) de to pneuma "the spirit told" - and said the Spirit. The initial message was from an angel, but now the Spirit instructs Philip. Some commentators draw a distinction between the two, but Luke seems to be using the terms interchangeably. Technically one might say, the Spirit speaks through the angel.

proselqe (prosercomai) aor. imp. "go to" - "Approach".

kollhqhti (kollaw) aor. pas. imp. "stay near" - join to, keep company, keep near, bind close together. The two imperatives, "approach" and "join to" are best simplified; "go and join the carriage", Barclay.

prosdramwn (prostrecw) aor. part. "[Philip] ran up to the chariot" - having run out, run to. The participle is probably temporal, as NIV; "When Phillip ran up he heard him reading ....", Moffatt.

hkousen (akouw) aor. "heard" - heard. As was the practice up till recent times, people read aloud, or at least mouthed the words.

ara - A particle introducing a question which expects neither a positive nor negative answer, or possibly more positive than negative.

ge - An enclitic which serves to emphasize the particle and introduce doubt, so Moule. "Do you really / do you indeed have any idea about what you are reading?"

an + opt. "[how can I]" - [how indeed/then might I be able]. Indicates that the sentence is contingent on the previous statement and is very stylish.

ean mh + fut. ind. "unless [someone explains]" - unless. An aorist subjunctive would normally be required to follow this particle so as to form the protasis of conditional sentence, 3rd class. Barrett notes that the fut. ind. and aor. subj. sound the same. Although, following the optative it is possible that it introduces the reasoning associated with the answer. "How can I unless I have someone to guide me", Phillips.

oJdhghsei (oJdhgew) fut. ind. "explains" - will instruct, guide, show the way

parekalesen (parakalew) aor. + inf. "he invited" - he asked / exhorted, urged, [to sit with him]. Here with the complementary infinitive, "asked", therefore "invited".

anabanta (anabainw) aor. part. "to come up" - having come up [to sit]. The participle is describing the action involved in Peter's sitting with the eunuch, as such it is an attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the infinitive "to sit" which serves to form a dependent statement / indirect speech of exhorting; "he invited Philip to ride along in the carriage with him."

hJ perioch "this passage" - The eunuch was obviously reading the LXX, the Greek Old Testament, as Luke's quote is from this version and not the Hebrew version of Isaiah 53:7-8. Probably the whole of the servant song, Isaiah 52/53 was being read and Luke summarizes the salient verses. The eunuch's question concerns the one who suffers without complaint?

hcqh (agw) aor. pas. "led" - lead. "Being led away", not "taken away."

tou keirontoV (keirw) aor. part. "the shearer" - the one having cut the hair off, sheared. The participle serves as a substantive.

afwnoV adj. "silent" - without sound, dumb, speechless. "He was as silent as a lamb whose wool is being cut of, and he did not say a word", CEV.

hrqh (airw) aor. pas. "deprived" - was taken away - [in his humiliation his judgment] was lifted up, take away. "Fair judgment was denied him", NJB.

hJ krisiV (iV ewV) "justice" - the judgment, decision [of him]. Not an easy idea to express, possibly "he has no redress", REB, although the denial of justice, as NIV, seems best.

dihghsetai (dihgeomai) fut. "speak" - will tell, relate, narrate.

thn genean autou "his descendants" - the generation of him. Possibly referring to his contemporary generation, so AV, but most likely making the point that because of his death he has no descendants, as NIV. "How can he have children if his life is snatched away?", CEV.

oJti "for" - that. Here causal; "he has no descendants because."

airetai "(airw) pres. pas. "was taken from" - is taken up. Probably best in the sense of his life being "taken away", ie. "killed", although "taken up to glory", as in the ascension, is possible.

apokriqeiV (apokrinomai) aor. pas. part. "-" - [the eunuch] having answered [Philip said] - Presumably responding to an unexpressed question by Philip as to whether the eunuch understands what he has read. Best ignored - ie. a redundant participle.

anoixaV de o FilippoV to stoma autou "then Philip" - and Philip having opened the mouth of him. Obviously, this descriptive phrase can be left untranslated.

arxamenoV (arcw) aor. part. "began" - having begun [from this scripture]. Attendant circumstance participle expressing action accompanying the main verb "preached". Obviously, he starts from the scripture being read by the eunuch.

euhggelisato (euanggelizw) aor. "told him" - he communicated a message, communicated important news, preached [to him]. Meanings such as "bring good news", "preach good tidings" reads a meaning back into the word which it originally did not carry. The messenger from the battle front announces important news, either good or bad. Literally, "communicated to him Jesus", "told him important information about Jesus", or given the context, "explained how Jesus has fulfilled the Isaiah passage."

wJV "as" - while. Temporal.

eporeuonto (poreuomai) imperf. "they traveled" - they were going. "As they were going along the road", CEV.

kata thn oJdon "along the road" - on the way. "As they travelled on", Moffatt. uJdwr (wr atoV) "water" - Unstated as to a pool, stream etc. So, is this the desert road? The Wadi el Hasi north of Gaza is often identified as the source of the water, but this is only a guess.

kwluei (kwluw) "[why] shouldn't" - prevents, debars, hinders, forbids [me to be baptized]. What objection can be raised; "is there any reason why I shouldn't be baptized?", Barclay.

baptisqhnai (baptizw) aor. pas. inf. "be baptized" - [what prevents me] to be immersed, dipped. The infinitive is complementary, completing the sense of the verb "prevents". Presumably the me "me", accusative, functions as the subject of the infinitive. Obviously Peter has covered the necessary response to the gospel of "repent and be baptized" 2:38 - turn to Jesus and express this outwardly in water immersion/dipping.

This verse is found in the Western text, but probably dates from the 2nd century. "And Philip said, 'If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.' And he answered and said, 'I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God'", AV.

ekeleusen (keleuw) aor. "ordered" - he commanded.

sthnai (iJsthmi) aor. inf. "to stop" - to stand. Infinitive, following a verb of command, forms a dependent statement of comanding, indirect speech, "he commanded that he stop the chariot". "He ordered the carriage to halt", Barclay.

eiV "into" - to, into. Naturally, "to the water's edge" or "into/in the body of the water", is determined by our support for a baptism of either splashing, or full immersion. Jesus probably doesn't mind either, especially as he never baptized anyone with water!

ebaptisen (baptizw) aor. "Philip baptized [him]" - he baptized. The agent, "Philip", is often added for clarity.

anebhsan (anabainw) aor. "they came up" - they came up, rose up, advanced [from, out of]. Posing the same problem as above: "when they left the pool/wadi/well...", or "when they came up out of the pool/wadi/well..."

pneuma kuriou "the Spirit of the Lord" - spirit/wind of lord. Following the Canon of Apollonius the fact that both nouns are anarthrous (without an article) does not negate a translation with definite articles. That Philip was whisked away by "the wind of the Lord" has been suggested, but rarely accepted.

hJrpasen (aJrpazw) aor. "suddenly took [Philip] away" - sized, snatched, carried off.... by force. The aorist's punctiliar action further emphasizing the immediacy of "snatch away", so NIV. The Western text says an angel took him away, trying to explain the miraculous sense conveyed by the words. Of course, Philip's departure may not have been miraculous, just immediate; "the Spirit of the Lord hurried Philip away", Goodspeed.

gar "-" - [the eunuch didn't seem any longer] for [for he (the eunuch) was going the way rejoicing]. Clearly there is an ellipsis here. "The eunuch saw no more of Philip, for he, unlike Philip, was not supernaturally removed but simply continued his journey. He did so rejoicing", Barrett.

cairwn (cairw) "rejoicing" - rejoicing. Joy overtakes the eunuch indicating the reception of the Spirit, although there is no record of the Spirit falling on him and particularly no reference of him having spoken in tongues. It is possible that the bestowal of the Spirit (the Spirit's outward manifestation in power evidenced in the gift of tongues?), is at this time, seen as an apostolic responsibility. It is more likely that Luke does not want to disturb the theological movement of the gospel from the Jews to the Gentiles, which move finds its focus in the conversion of Cornelius and his reception of the Spirit with the outward evidence of tongues. Of course, Luke my be treating the Ethiopian as a proselyte, but this is unlikely. Whatever the case, it is an interesting omission on the part of Luke. It obviously disturbed the editors of the Western text since they add that while the angel of the Lord whisked Philip away, the Spirit fell on the Ethiopian.

euJreqh (euJriskw) aor. pas. "appeared" - was found. Sometimes with the meaning "surprise", and possibly a Semitism for "he came", although the evidence is limited. "Appeared" reflects the miraculous, but the point is he was off preaching the gospel after the conversion of the eunuch and so "was found in (not blown to!) Azotus."

euhggelizeto (euaggilizw) imperf. "preaching the gospel" - he was preaching, communicating. The imperfect expressing continued action. He was obviously communicating the gospel, although what he communicated is not stated.

eJwV tou elqein "until he reached [Caesarea]" - until he came [to Caesarea]. Articular infinitive following hews forming a temporal clause, as NIV. A dynamic equivalent can make better sense, "he went from town to town, all the way to Caesarea, telling people about Jesus", CEV.

Acts Introduction

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