Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - Acts 22:17 - 22:17

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Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - Acts 22:17 - 22:17


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17. ὑποστρέψαντι εἰς Ἱερουσαλήμ, when I had returned to Jerusalem. This refers to that visit of the Apostle recorded in Act 9:26 seqq. We learn from Gal 1:18 that three years had elapsed between the conversion of Saul and this visit to Jerusalem, which period is supposed to have been consumed in Arabia (cf. Gal 1:17). The preaching of Saul at Jerusalem we are told in the Acts roused the anger of the Greek-speaking Jews, and that in consequence of their attempts against Saul the Christian congregation sent him away first to Cæsarea and then to Tarsus.

The double construction of the participle first in the dative after ἐγένετο and then in the genitive absolute is noteworthy. But there is a degree of difference in the sense ‘after my return’ and ‘while I was praying.’

προσευχομένου μου ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ, while I prayed in the Temple. It is worthy of note how often in this address St Paul incidentally expresses himself in such wise as to conciliate the crowd. His visit to the Temple for the purpose of prayer was at once a proof that he was not likely to despise Jewish ordinances and religious observances.

γενέσθαι με ἐν ἐκστάσει, I fell into a trance. This was the occasion of one of those ‘visions and revelations of the Lord’ of which St Paul speaks to the Corinthians (2Co 12:1) and with which, from his conversion onwards, he was many times instructed and comforted.

The infinitive, as here, after ἐγένετο is common in St Luke. The present example is however more noteworthy, because it is of the form ἐγένετό μοι … γενέσθαι με.