VII.-16. "And laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought." We find at Josh. xxiv. 32. that Jacob bought this sepulchre. We may therefore conclude with Beza that the nominative Abraham was, by some busy transcriber, written in the margin, and which, afterwards, found its way into the

text.

VIII.

14. "They sent unto them Peter and John." It is observable, that as Peter was sent on this errand by the other apostles, they had no notion of his being their head or superior.—Ostervald.

VIII.-30. "And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?" In Palestine, when persons are reading, privately, in a book, they usually go on, reading aloud with a kind of singing voice, moving their heads and bodies in time, and making a monotonous cadence at regular intervals, thus giving emphasis; although not such an emphasis, pliant to the sense, as would please an English ear. Very often they seem to read without perceiving the sense; and to be pleased with themselves, merely because they can go through the mechanical art of reading in any way. This practice may enable us to understand how it was that Philip should hear at what passage in Isaiah the Ethiopian eunuch was reading, before he was invited to come up and sit with him in the chariot.— Horne's Introduction, vol. iii. page 468.

IX.—15. “A chosen vessel." This is spoken after the propriety of the Hebrews, with whom a thing or person that is made use of to some excellent purpose, is not only styled a vessel, but to denote yet further the worth of it, is called a vessel of desire, which is of the like signification with a vessel of choice.-Edwards's Style of Sacred Scripture.

IX.-25. "And let him down by the wall in a basket.” The preposition by, i. e. by the side, or by the way of, is, in the original, the same as is used at St. Luke v. 19. where it is

rendered incorrectly through, intimating that the tiling or roof was broken through, as stated in our translation of St. Mark ii. 4. On which passage, see the remarks in this work.

IX. 31. "Then had the churches rest throughout all Judæa," &c. That we may not mistake the cause of this rest, or peace, the following historical circumstance extracted from Mr. Horne's Introduction, vol. ii. page 517. may prove useful. "If we advert to the political circumstances of the Jewish nation at that time, we shall find the true cause of this rest. The emperor Caligula had ordered his statue to be erected in the temple at Jerusalem; and, in pursuance of his mandate, Petronius, the president of Syria, was on his march with an army for that purpose. Filled with consternation, the Jews met him in vast multitudes in the vicinity of Ptolemais or Acre, and ultimately prevailed on him to abandon his design. It was this persecution of the Jews by the Romans, that the sacred writer had in view, which diverted the Jews from persecuting the christians."

IX. 36. "Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas." As she was a Jewess, who spoke nothing but Greek, she was called by the former name among the Jews, and by the latter among the Greeks; for, in both languages, the two names signify the same thing, namely, a roe or fawn.-Ostervald.

IX. 37. "Whom, when they had washed." When the principle of life was extinguished, the first funeral office among the Jews was to close the eyes of the deceased. This was done by the nearest of kin, who gave the parting kiss to the lifeless corpse. Thus it was promised to Jacob when he took his journey into Egpt, that Joseph should put his hands upon his eyes. Gen. xlvi. 4; and accordingly we read that, when Jacob expired, Joseph fell upon his face and kissed him, Gen. 1. i. The next office was the ablution of the

corpse. Thus, when Tabitha died, it is said, that they washed her body and laid it in an upper chamber, Acts ix. 37. This rite was common both to the Greeks and Romans, in whose writings it is frequently mentioned. In Egypt it is still the custom to wash the dead body several times with rain water.-Horne's Introduction, vol. iii. page 502.

X.-15. "Call not thou common." The original is do not thou pollute, or make common. The passage, therefore, according to the present received rendering, forms a good comment on those passages where an action is said to be done, when it is only declared, permitted, or foretold that it shall be done. See the following passages: Lev. xiii. 3. Ezek. xiii. 22. Gen. xli. 13. Jer. iv. 10. Ezek. xiii. 19. Jer. i. 10. Ezek. xx. 25. 26. Hos. vi. 5. Matt. xv. 11. Matt. xvi. 19. John xx. 23. Matt. vi. 13. The reader will do well to bear in mind that, although in most translations, many circumstances peculiar to an original are frequently disregarded or differently turned to suit the genius of the language into which it is translated, yet the translators of the English Bible have not generally observed this; and consequently the mere English reader often finds himself puzzled. Such however, have this comfortable reflection, that instances of this nature are generally critical, or speculative, and do not, therefore, intrinsicly concern the salvation of the soul.

XII.-4. "Four quaternions of soldiers." Namely, sixteen, consisting of four in each party, who were to relieve each other by turns.-Ostervald.

XII. -6. "Bound with two chains." See an account of this at the remarks on Acts xxi. 33.

XII.-10. "Iron gate." Among different ways of securing their gates, one was by plating them over with thick iron. Pitts tells us that Algiers has five gates, and some of these have two, others three gates within them, some of them plated over with thick iron. After this manner the place

where St. Peter was imprisoned seems to have been secured. When they were past the first and second ward, they came unto the iron gate, &c.-See Burder's Oriental Customs, vol. i. page 341.

XII.- -19. &c. "And he went down from Judæa to Cesarea, and there abode." "He went to the city Cesarea. Here he celebrated shows in honor of Cæsar. On the second day of the shows, early in the morning, he came into the theatre, dressed in a robe of silver, of most curious workmanship. The rays of the rising sun reflected from such a splendid garb, gave him a majestic and awful appearance. They called him a god, and entreated him to be propitious unto them, saying; hitherto we have respected you as a man; but now we acknowledge you to be more than mortal. He neither reproved these persons, nor rejected the impious flattery. Immediately after this, he was seized with pains in his bowels, extremely violent at the very first. He was carried therefore with all haste to his palace. These pains continually tormenting him, he expired in five days' time." Josephus, Antiq. lib. xix. c. viii. sect. 2.

XIII. 15. "The rulers of the synagogue sent untò them." In foreign countries where places of worship were established, when strangers, who were Jews, arrived at such towns and went to offer their devotions, it was usual for the presidents of the synagogue, after the appointed portion out of the law and the prophets was read, to send a servant to them, and in a very respectful manner to request that if they could impart any thing that might contribute to the religious instruction and edification of the audience, they would deliver it.-Horne's Introduction, vol. iii. page 248.

XIII.- -48. "As many as were ordained to eternal life believed." If we attend to the original, together with the context and scope of the sacred historian, who is relating the effects or consequences of the preaching of the gospel to the

Gentiles, the verse would read thus: As many as were disposed for eternal life, believed.-See Horne, vol. ii. page 689. See also Acts xx. 13.

XIV. 11. "The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men." It was a common notion among the heathens, that the gods often appeared in the form of men: hence we find Cicero endeavouring to prove that the gods must be of human shape, because they never appeared in any other form.-Ostervald.

XIV. 21. "Had taught many." The original is, had made many disciples.

XIV. -27.

--

66

Opened the door of faith to the Gentiles." In the Ottoman empire, at this day, when a call or new levy of Janisaries is made, it is said to be the opening of a door for Janisaries.-See Ostervald. Cicero says, amicitiæ fores aperiuntur.

XV.-20. "And from fornication." As this chapter pertains to things of a ceremonial nature, the above expression may refer to some offence of that kind. At Hebrews xii. 16. Esau is called a fornicator, probably, because he took wives from among the Canaanitish women. As to the "things strangled and blood," together with other circumstances frequently named in scripture, it may be observed generally, that many things were forbidden under the Jewish œconomy, not because they were of themselves wrong, but because they might prove so in their consequences.

XV.

39.

"And the contention was so sharp between them, that they departed asunder one from the other." We learn from Col. iv. 10, 11. that Paul was reconciled to Barnabas, and speaks of him in terms of comfort.

XVI.- 1. "But his father was a Greek." The law, says Grotius, forbade the Jewish males to marry with a woman not subject to the law, but forbade not a Jewess to marry with a Gentile, as Esther did with Ahasuerus.