0'" etc.-It is in allusion to the same expression that he says a little further on, 'Idou kardia kai yuxh.
0' Behold, the Saviour also speaks by the Spirit. And hear what it is that they my, `Lord, the God Who by the mouth of David,
0'" etc.
3 i. e. the epi to auto is not local, but moral, the union of all believers in one heart and soul: q. d. "Do not object that it is impossible for all believers to be together now."
4 The Catena has preserved the true reading, tewj, for which A. C. N. have ate wj, B. F. D. ate. E. substitutes uioi.
5 A. b.c. N. twn 'Apostolwn. ora to atufon. !Idwmen loipon anwqen ta eirhmena. Kai twn 'Apostolwn thn filosofian. The clause ora to arufon is to be restored to its place after the second twn 'Apostolwn, as in the modern text, ora twn 'A. to a. kai rhn f.
6 Against the Arians, who from such texts as Matt. xii. 28, inferred the inferiority of the Son, Chrys. says, "Observe, the Father Himself is here said to speak by the Holy Ghost." This is lost in the modern text, which substitutes Swthr for Pathr. The text is given in our mss. with these variations. Comp. note a. A. C. Despota o Qeoj (o Cat.) tou patroj hmwn (o N.) dia Pn. 'A stomatoj D. B. Desp. o Q. twn patrwn hmwn o dia Pn. 'A dia stom. D. E. F. D. Desp. o Q. o dia stom. D. omitting dia Pn. 'A., but recognizing this clause in the comment. "Observe how they say nothing idle, but speak of His power only: or rather, just as Christ said to the Jews, If I by the Spirit of God do speak, so these also say, `By the Holy Ghost.
7 In the mss. this clause of v. 27, with the following comment, ora pwz, k. t. l. is set in the midst of the comment on v. 29: viz. before the sentence which (in the old text) also begins with ora pwj. It is certainly misplaced there. See note 5.-Diairousi to paqoj seems to refer to the mention of Herod and Pontius Pilate.
8 o epitreyaj, o kai egkalwn kai eij peraj agagwn. The meaning seems to be, that though permitting, He calls to account, and though holding men responsible, yet brought it to pass. The modern text omits o kai erkalwn, and adds eirgasw at the end.
9 to auto legein thn dunamin kai boulhn. i. e. "hand" means "power," and "hand" (or, power) and "purpose," or, "will" here make one notion, "Thy will which is also power," for to Thee to will is to prevail: not two notions, for we do not say that power determines, but only the will.-The Edd. however, adopt from E. rhn xeira for to auto, which spoils the sense. "By the hand he means the power and the purpose."-Below, b.c. have oti rh xeiri dietatten (A. omits the clause), we retain from E. F. D. diepratten.-Oecum. "The hand and the counsel mean the same thing: for where there is power, there is no need of counsel. What Thou didst order from the beginning is done."
10 Here the mss. insert, $On exisaj, fhsin. #Ora pwj, k. t. l. "Observe how, even in prayer, they circumstantially describe the Passion, and refer all to God" etc. And then: "Observe how they ask all," etc. See note 2.-Here for the latter ora or oraj pwj of the old text, E. has eidej pwj.
11 Edd. kai eij parrhsian pleiona aleifwn, as the conclusion of the preceding sentence before the (omitted) text. "And anointing them (as wrestlers) unto greater boldness." Then, "For since it was the beginning (of their work), they besought also a sensible sign in order that they might be believed (proj to pisteuqhnai autouj, but after this, etc.). Great was the encouragement they thus received from their prayer. And with good reason they crave the grace of signs, for they had no other means," etc.
12 'Epei tote cenwj gegonen. Kai gar ote estaurwqh, esaleuqh h gh. Edd. 'Epi de tou swthriou paqouj cenwj kai para fusin gegone: kai gar tote pasa esaleuqh h gh. "But at the Passion of our Saviour it happened in an unusual manner and preternaturally: for then all the earth was shaken." Instead of the next sentence, "And the Lord Himself," etc. E. has, "to the intent the power of Him that was crucified should everywhere be known, and that the Sufferer was God, and not simply man. But further: although it was a token of wrath, yet was it of His wrath against the adversaries," etc., but Edd. follow the old text here.
13 A. b.c. omit the text: D. F. Edd. insert from v. 33, 34. "And great grace was upon them all, neither was there any among them that lacked:" E. "And with great power, etc. and great grace," etc. Tou pragmatoj h dunamij, i. e. of the having all things common, as below, p. 163. C. has pneumatoj, which Saville adopts.
14 The innovator, mistaking the meaning of to deuteron (viz the reference to ch. ii. 44), has, Saying above (v. 32), Neither said any of them, etc., and here (v. 34), "Neither was there any among them that lacked." So Edd.
15 The strong expressions of Chrys. concerning the community of goods at Jerusalem are quite different from the guarded and limiting statements of most modern commentators who seem bent upon showing that it was only a case of remarkable liberality, e.g. Hackett in loco: "Common in the use of their property, not necessarily in their possession of it." Our author's statements agree better with the New Test. notices on the subject. The main facts are these. (1) There was a real and general community of property. The statements in Acts on this point are clear and strong: kai elxon apanta koina (ii. 44); They were selling and distributing their real and personal property-ta kthmata kai taj uparceij (ii. 45). Nor did any one say that anything of his possessions was his own, all hn autoij apanta koina, (iv. 32); "As many as (osoi) were possessors of lands or houses," sold them, brought the money and distribution was made to the needs of each (iv. 34, 35). This is more than distinguished liberality or mere prevailing willingness to give. (2) This peculiar phenomenon was connected with the habit of living together as a group or family, on the part of the Jerusalem Christians (i. 13; ii. 42-44). It was an evidence that they were peculiarly one in heart and soul, that no mere. her of this closely-knit community was allowed to suffer while others could supply him (iv. 32-34). (3) The arrangement was purely voluntary. There was no law or demand in the case. Ananias and Sapphira (v. 1-11) were not punished for contributing to the common treasury only a part of the price of the land but as verse 4 clearly shows, for falsely presenting it as the whole. Yet the fact that they wished to have it thought that they had brought all seems to show that to bring all was customary and expected. (4) This community of goods was both local and temporary. It seems to have been confined to Jerusalem. There is no allusion to it in the Epistles. It sprang out of the ardor of brotherly love in the early years of the Christian community at Jerusalem and in view of the special needs of many of its members. The special poverty of the church at Jerusalem which made contributions from other churches necessary, may have resulted in part, as Meyer suggests, from the working of this plan. (5) The custom can hardly be explained apart from the expectation of the nearness of the Parousia. In the Thessalonian church all labor for self-support was upon the point of ceasing for the same reason. 1 Thess. iii, 10, sq.-G.
16 eiz poson iouywn ariqmon sunteinei; The word here used perplexed the scribes of later times when it had become obsolete, and N. has ioulwn, B. iouggwn, C. oggwn (sic), only A. ex cart. iougwn. The innovator substitutes migadwn and suntelei. The meaning is, At what number of juga is our city assessed to the imperial tributes? Justinian Novell. xvii. c. 8. prescribes that the imperial praktorej, exactores, shall be compelled to insert in their returns (apoxai) the exact quantity "of zygocephala or juga or jugalia or whatever else be the term used in different localities:" to poson twn zugokefalwn h io ugwn h iougaliwn, h opwj dhpote an auta kata xwpan kaloien. See Du Fresne Gloss. s. vv. It seems that each holding of land was rated or assessed at so many juga or yokes of oxen; moreover the term jugum is equivalent to a measure of land, as Varro remarks that land is measured in some places by juga, in others by jugera.
17 i. e. People now are more afraid of this (the cenobiticals way of life, than they are of launching into the sea of this world's temptations: whereas if we had made trial of this, we should boldly venture upon the practice so happily adopted by the first Christians. (tou pragmatoj as above, p. 73, note 3.)
18 'Ean odw probainwmen. B. unnecessarily inserts taurh, which Ben. adopts. "Si hac via progrediamur." 9Odw probainein (or odw badizein) is a common phrase in St. Chrys. Applied to persons, it means "to be fairly started and getting on:" to things, "to be in train," as in Hom. i. odw kai ta alla proubainen, "the rest would follow in course."