Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 8:39
And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
39. the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip ] Just as Obadiah expected Elijah would be caught away while he himself went on his errand to Ahab (1Ki 18:12). Compare the language of Ezekiel (Act 3:12; Act 3:14, Act 8:3, &c.), “So the spirit lifted me up and took me away.”
that [and] the eunuch saw him no more ] This marvellous removal of Philip would confirm the eunuch and his companions in their faith. They would recognize that he who had been sent unto them was a man of God.
and he went on his way rejoicing ] The Greek says “for he went, &c.,” and thus gives the reason why Philip was seen no more of the eunuch. He did not go back, like the sons of the prophets at Jericho, who went to seek Elijah, but being filled with joy at the new light which God had sent to him, felt no anxiety for the messenger by whom God had sent it, but an assurance that he was cared for by the hand which had sent him forth.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Out of the water – ek. This preposition stands opposed to eis, into; and as that may mean to, so this may mean From; if that means into, this means here out of.
The Spirit of the Lord – See Act 8:29. The Spirit had suggested to Philip to go to meet the eunuch, and the same Spirit, now that he had fulfilled the design of his going there, directed his departure.
Caught away – This phrase has been usually understood of a forcible or miraculous removal of Philip to some other place. Some have even supposed that he was borne through the air by an angel (see even Doddridge). To such foolish interpretations have many expositors been led. The meaning is, clearly, that the Spirit, who had directed Philip to go near the eunuch, now removed him in a similar manner. That this is the meaning is clear:
(1) Because it accounts for all that occurred. It is not wise to suppose the existence of a miracle except where the effect cannot otherwise be accounted for, and except where there is a plain statement that there was a miracle.
(2) The word caught away herpasen does not imply that there was a miracle. The word properly means to seize and bear away anything violently, without the consent of the owner, as robbers and plunderers do. Then it signifies to remove anything in a forcible manner; to make use of strength or power to remove it, Act 23:10; Mat 13:19; Joh 10:28; 2Co 12:2, 2Co 12:4, etc. In no case does it ever denote that a miracle is performed. And all that can be signified here is, that the Spirit strongly admonished Philip to go to some other place; that he so forcibly or vividly suggested the duty to his mind as to tear him away, as it were, from the society of the eunuch. He had been deeply interested in the case. He would have found pleasure in continuing the journey with him. But the strong convictions of duty urged by the Holy Spirit impelled him, as it were, to break off this new and interesting acquaintanceship, and to go to some other place. The purpose for which he was sent, to instruct and baptize the eunuch, was accomplished, and now he was called to some other field of labor. A similar instance of interpretation has been considered in the notes on Mat 4:5.
And he went on his way rejoicing – His mind was enlightened on a perplexing passage of Scripture. He was satisfied respecting the Messiah. He was baptized; and he experienced what all feel who embrace the Saviour and are baptized – joy. It was joy resulting from the fact that he was reconciled to God; and a joy the natural effect of having done his duty promptly in making a profession of religion. If we wish happiness if we would avoid clouds and gloom, we should do our duty at once. If we delay until tomorrow what we ought to do today, we may expect to be troubled with melancholy thoughts. If we find peace, it will be in doing promptly just what God requires at our hands. This is the last that we hear of this man. Some have supposed that he carried the gospel to Ethiopia, and preached it there. But there is strong evidence to believe that the gospel was not preached there successfully until about the year 330 a.d., when it was introduced by Frumentius, sent to Abyssinia for that purpose by Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria. From this narrative we may learn:
- That God often prepares the mind to receive the truth.
(2)That this takes place sometimes with the great and the noble, as well as the poor and obscure.
(3)That we should study the Scriptures. This is the way in which God usually directs the mind in the truths of religion.
(4)That they who read the Bible with candor and care may expect that God will, in some mode, guide them into the truth. It will often be in a way which they least expect; but they need not be afraid of being left to darkness or error.
(5)That we should be ready at all times to speak to sinners. God often prepares their minds, as he did that of the eunuch, to receive the truth.
(6)That we should not be afraid of the great, he rich, or of strangers. God often prepares their minds to receive the truth; and we may find a man willing to hear of the Saviour where we least expected it.
(7)That we should do our duty in this respect, as Philip did, promptly. We should not delay or hesitate, but should at once do that which we believe to be in accordance with the will of God. See Psa 119:60.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 39. The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip] Perhaps this means no more than that the Holy Spirit suggested to the mind of Philip that he should withdraw abruptly from the eunuch, and thus leave him to pursue his journey, reflecting on the important incidents which had taken place. Some suppose that the angel of the Lord, and the Spirit of the Lord, are the same person throughout this chapter. There is a remarkable reading in the Codex Alexandrinus which exists thus in two lines:-
The Spirit of the Lord fell upon the eunuch:
.
But the angel of the Lord snatched away Philip. This reading is found in several other MSS. and in some versions. Many think that the Spirit or angel of God carried off Philip in some such manner as the Apocrypha represents the transportation of Habakkuk, who was taken up by the hair of the head, and carried from Judea to Babylon! For such an interposition there was no need. When Philip had baptized the eunuch, the Spirit of God showed him that it was not the will of God that he should accompany the eunuch to Meroe, but, on the contrary, that he should hasten away to Ashdod; as God had in that, and the neighbouring places, work sufficient to employ him in.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Philip was suddenly and extraordinarily taken away from the eunuchs sight and company, that thereby the eunuch might be the more assured of the truth of those things which had been taught by him. The rejoicing was the effect of his faith; being now justified, he had peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, Rom 5:1.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
39, 40. the Spirit of the Lordcaught away PhilipTo deny [as MEYER,OLSHAUSEN, BLOOMFIELD]the miraculous nature of Philip’s disappearance, is vain. It standsout on the face of the words, as just a repetition of what we read ofthe ancient prophets, in 1Ki 18:12;2Ki 2:16. And the same word (asBENGEL remarks) isemployed to express a similar idea in 2Co 12:2;2Co 12:4; 1Th 4:17.
the eunuch saw him nomorenor, perhaps, for very joy, cared to see him [BENGEL].
and he went on his wayrejoicingHe had found Christ, and the key to the Scriptures;his soul was set free, and his discipleship sealed; he had lost histeacher, but gained what was infinitely better: He felt himself a newman, and “his joy was full.” Tradition says he was thefirst preacher of the Gospel in Ethiopia; and how, indeed, could hechoose but “tell what the Lord had done for his soul?” Yetthere is no certainty as to any historical connection between hislabors and the introduction of Christianity into that country.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And when they were come up out of the water,…. Which is another circumstance, showing that baptism was then performed by immersion; with this compare Mt 3:16 and so it is said of the high priest, when he washed himself on the day of atonement,
, “he went down and dipped, and came up” m; and so any other person that was obliged to dipping on any account,
, “went down and dipped, and came up” n. And again it is said o, it happened to a servant maid of Rabbi,
, “that she dipped herself and came up”.
The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip; as soon as the ordinance was over; so that the eunuch had no opportunity of rewarding him for his instructions and labour; and this might be done on purpose to show that he had no mercenary end in joining himself to his chariot; and this sudden rapture and disappearance might be a confirmation to the eunuch that this whole affair was of God. The Spirit of the Lord took up Philip, just as he is said to lift up Ezekiel, between earth and heaven, Eze 8:3 and carried him above the earth as far as Azotus. The Alexandrian copy, and one of Beza’s, and some others, read the words thus, “the holy Spirit fall upon the eunuch, but the angel of the Lord caught away Philip”; the same angel, it may be, that bid him go toward the south:
that the eunuch saw him no more; neither at that time, nor perhaps ever after; for one went one way, and another way:
and he went on his way; towards Ethiopia; and, as the Ethiopic version reads, “into his own country”; which is one reason why he saw Philip no more: however, he went thither
rejoicing, as he had great reason to do; being blessed with the saving knowledge of Christ, and true faith in the Son of God, and admitted to the holy ordinance of baptism; having first received the baptism of the Spirit, or having the grace of the Spirit bestowed on him, and implanted in him: and, according to some copies just now mentioned, after his baptism the Spirit fell on him in an extraordinary manner, and that without imposition of hands; so that, upon the whole, he had great reason to rejoice.
m Misna Yoma, c. 3. sect. 4. 6. & 7. sect. 3. 4. n T. Bab. Ceritot, fol. 13. 1. o T. Bab. Nidda, fol. 66. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Out of the water ( ). Not from the edge of the water, but up out of the water as in Mr 1:10.
Caught away (). Suddenly and miraculously, for , like the Latin rapio, means to carry off. Cf. 2Cor 12:2; 1Thess 4:17.
Went on his way (). Kept on going, imperfect active.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Caught away. Suddenly and miraculously.
And he went, etc. [ ] . A mistranslation. Rev., rightly, “for he went.” A reason is given for the eunuch ‘s seeing Philip no more. He did not stop nor take another road to seek him, but went on his way.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And when they were come up out of the water,” (hote de anebesan ek tou hudatos) “Then when they came up out of the watering place,” out of the oasis where Philip had immersed the eunuch, buried him beneath the water and raised him up again, as a testimony that he was committing his life of service to the living Christ, to walk and work in the newness of life, Rom 6:4-5; Eph 2:10.
2) “The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip,” (pneuma kuriou herpasen ton Philippon) “The Spirit of the Lord (Master) seized (suddenly caught away) Philip,” as 1Ki 18:12; 2Ki 2:16; Eze 3:12; Eze 3:14, drew Philip away from, to leave the eunuch to go on his way home, immediately to witness in Ethiopia and to the queen’s household, as the saved Gadarene, a former demoniac was called to do, Luk 8:38-39.
3) “And the eunuch saw him no more: (kai ouk eiden auton ouketi ho eunouchos) “And the eunuch saw him no more at all:” Such is often the experience of obedient missionaries and evangelists who do the work of God, witness faithfully in an area, and are urged on by the Spirit to other labors, to see the saved no more until the great homecoming day, Psa 126:5-6; Joh 4:34-38; 1Co 15:58; Gal 6:9.
4) “And he went on his way rejoicing,” (eporeute gar ten hodon autou chairon) “For he then went on his way or journey rejoicing,” As there is “joy in heaven” over one sinner that repenteth, so is there joy in the heart of the believer and the one who did the witnessing, a three-fold area of rejoicing: 1) In heaven, 2) In the believer, and 3) In the one who has faithfully witnessed – – a) Luk 15:7; Luk 15:10; b) 1Jn 4:13; Rom 5:5; Rom 8:16; Joh 16:24; c) Psa 126:5-6; Luk 10:17; Luk 10:20; Luk 15:32; Php_4:4.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
39. When they were come up. To the end Luke may at length conclude his speech concerning the eunuch, he saith that Philip was caught away out of his sight. And that was of no small weight to confirm him, forasmuch as he saw that that man was sent unto him by God like to an angel, and that he vanished away before he could offer him any reward for all his pains; whence he might gather that it was no gainful insinuation, seeing that he was vanished away before he had one halfpenny given him. Whereas Philip had no reward at the eunuch’s hand, let the servants of Christ learn hereby to serve him freely, or rather let them so serve men for nothing that they hope for a reward from heaven. The Lord granteth leave, indeed, to the ministers of the gospel to receive a reward at their hands whom they teach, (1Co 9:9,) but he forbiddeth them therewithal to be hirelings which labor for lucre’s sake, (Joh 10:12.) For this must be the mark whereat they must shoot, to gain the men themselves to God.
Rejoicing. Faith and the knowledge of God bring forth this fruit always of themselves. For what truer matter of joy can be invented than when the Lord doth not only set open unto us the treasures of his mercy, but poureth out his heart into us, (that I may so speak,) and giveth us himself in his Son, that we may want nothing to perfect felicity? The heavens begin to look clear, and the earth beginneth to be quiet then; the conscience being then delivered from the doleful and horrible feelings of God’s wrath, being loosed from the tyranny of Satan, escaping out of the darkness of death, beholdeth the light of life. Therefore it is a solemn thing amongst the prophets to exhort us to be joyful and to triumph, so often as they are about to speak of the kingdom of Christ. But because those men whose minds are possessed with the vain joys of the world, cannot lift up themselves unto this spiritual joy, let us learn to despise the world and all vain delights thereof, that Christ may make us merry indeed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(39) The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip.Human feeling would have naturally led the teacher to continue his work, and to accompany the convert with a view to further instruction; but an impulse so strong and irresistible that it was felt to be from the Spirit of the Lord led Philip to an abrupt and immediate departure. He was literally snatched away from his companion. So understood, the history presents a striking parallel to the Spirit hindering St. Paul from going in this or that direction in Act. 16:6-7. Many commentators have, however, taken the words in a yet more literal and material sense, as stating that Philip was caught up into the air and carried out of sight, and compare the cases of Elijah (1Ki. 18:12; 2Ki. 2:11), Ezekiel (Eze. 3:12; Eze. 3:14), and St. Paul (2Co. 12:2; 2Co. 12:4). In the last two cases, however, the language of the writer implies a spiritual rather than a bodily transport, and the case of Elijah, in 1Ki. 18:12, admits of an explanation like that which has now been offered in the case of Philip. The use of the same verb in 2Co. 12:2; 2Co. 12:4, suggests the thought that here also there was a suspension of the normal activity of consciousness. As St. Bernard walked by the Lake of Geneva, and knew not that he was near it, so Philip rushed away, as drawn on he knew not whither, as in a state of ecstasy; and so, in informing St. Luke of what passed (it is obvious that the report must, in the first instance, have come from him), could give no other account of his journeying than that he was found at Azotus.
Went on his way rejoicing.A remarkable various-reading runs: The Holy Spirit fell on the eunuch, and an angel of the Lord caught away Philip; but it does not appear to be more than a conjectural emendation. Joy at the new-found truth prevailed, we must believe, over any sorrow at the disappearance of the preacher. Eusebius (Hist. ii. 1) speaks of him as returning to his native country, and there preaching the knowledge of the God of the universe and the life-giving abode of the Saviour with men, and so fulfilling the words that Ethiopia should stretch forth her hands unto God (Psa. 68:31); but it does not appear that he was acquainted with any historical facts. It is, perhaps, not without significance in connection with this history, that the Ethiopian Church has been throughout its history the most strongly Jewish in its worship and tone of thought of all Christian communities (Stanley, Eastern Church, p. 12).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, and the eunuch saw him no more, for he went on his way rejoicing.’
The baptism completed it is made clear here that Philip was seen as having fully accomplished his mission. He was ‘snatched away’ by the Spirit. This need not mean on the instant of leaving the water, but certainly soon afterwards. The verb is used in the New Testament to signify ‘take by force’, ‘snatch away’, sometimes ‘take up’ (into heaven) It certainly forcibly indicates that Philip’s work was complete. He was no longer needed. The eunuch must now be left in God’s hands. Many therefore read it as a miraculous removal. But it need not necessarily signify a miracle, and thus others see it as signifying a forcible impression of the Spirit that made him go on his way immediately. But either way a life had been transformed and the eunuch went on his way rejoicing. Note again the connection of the work of the Spirit with rejoicing. Here was the evidence of the genuineness of his experience.
‘When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip.’ This may well be intended deliberately to imply that the Spirit was first present with them in the water. The suggestion may be that the Spirit had come on them both in the water, and that once they reached dry land the Spirit then constrained Philip to be immediately on his way, his task completed, (or it may even possibly mean ‘snatched him away’ as He had once with Ezekiel), while He sent the eunuch on his way rejoicing. That the snatching away follows the pattern of Ezekiel might be seen as supported by the unusual phrase ‘Spirit of the Lord’ with its Old Testament connotations, rather than ‘Holy Spirit’. (One ancient manuscript, A, reads, ‘the Holy Spirit fell on the eunuch, but the angel of the Lord caught away Philip’, but that is probably rather an interpretation. It does, however, demonstrate how the passage was early interpreted).
‘Went on his way rejoicing.’ Rejoicing is constantly an evidence of the work of the Spirit and this was intended to demonstrate that the Ethiopian Minister of Finance was truly converted and full of the Spirit. He had, of course, a solid background of knowing God’s Law, he had his copy of Isaiah, and may well also have had more Old Testament scrolls, and he had been given a thorough grounding in how those applied to Jesus the Messiah. And equally importantly he had the Holy Spirit with him, and would almost certainly find in Nubia other believers who had been converted on trips to Jerusalem. We are undoubtedly intended to gather that he would go back to his synagogue and his people with the new message, and the word would spread in Nubia.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Act 8:39. The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, The Alexandrian manuscript, and several other ancient copies, read, The Holy Spirit fell upon the eunuch; but the angel of the Lord caught away Philip, &c. See Act 8:26. This, I doubt not, was the case; and hence we learn, that as soon as they were come up from the water, the Holy Spirit descended upon the eunuch immediately from heaven, and without the imposition of Philip’s hands. Probably the effusion was attended with a visible glory, like cloven tongues, or pointed flames of fire; for that external symbol seems always to have accompanied the pouring down of the Holy Spirit in his miraculous gifts. Though the eunuch thereby received some spiritual gifts, or miraculous powers, or both, yet this effusion of the Spirit was not in order to prepare the way for his reception into the Christian church, which was the case with Cornelius and his company, who were the first-fruits of the Gentiles; for then it ought to have been conferred on him before baptism; whereas the eunuch was a proselyte of righteousness, and therefore Philip made no scruple of baptizing him as soon as ever he professed the Christian faith, as knowing the rule in that case, Exo 12:49 namely, one law shall be unto him that is home-born, that is, a Jew by birth as well as religion, and to the stranger who sojourns among you; for so it plainly appears from the foregoing verse to be the circumcised proselyte, or proselyte of righteousness, and not of the gate. But as Philip was only an evangelist,no apostleat hand,the eunuch going directly into a distant country, and God, unwilling that he should go without the extraordinary attestation which was so commonly afforded to the Christians of that primitive age, and yet resolved not to break in upon the common method, which was to communicate the Holy Spirit by the hands of no other men than the apostles only:for these reasons God seems to have poured the Holy Spirit upon him by an immediate effusion; and hereby this illustrious convert had the Spirit conferred in the most honourable manner, and in the way in which the highest and best gifts used to be bestowed. Presently after this signal evidence had been granted to the eunuch, an angel of the Lord caught away Philip; perhaps by a rapture through the air, in the sight of the eunuch and his attendants. See 1Ki 18:12. 2Ki 2:16. Eze 3:14. And, after he was removed beyond their utmost ken, the eunuch saw him no more; nor did he search after, or follow the evangelist: he was satisfied that it was the will of God that they should be so separated, and therefore he pursued his journey to Ethiopia, greatly rejoicing at what had happened. For he was not only convinced of the truth of Christianity himself, but he had such gifts and powers as enabled him to instruct and convince others also; and accordingly he is said to have planted the gospel in Ethiopia, where there was a flourishing church, as most of the ancient histories of the country assure us: and as the apostles Bartholomew, Matthew, and Matthias preached the gospel there, it is not only an additional proof that he had paved the way for them; but as so many apostles were sent into those parts, it is a strong presumption in favour of the success of his ministry. See Euseb. Hist. Eccles. lib. 2: chap. 1:
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Act 8:39-40 . Luke relates an involuntary removal [232] of Philip effected by the Spirit of God ( ). Comp. 2Co 12:2 ; 2Co 12:4 ; 1Th 4:17 ; Eze 3:14 ; 1Ki 18:12 ; 2Ki 2:16 ; also what happened with Habakkuk in Bel and the Dragon, 33. He now had to apply himself to further work, after the design of the Spirit (Act 8:29 ) had been attained in the case of the Ethiopian. The Spirit snatched him away (comp. Joh 6:15 ), in which act not only the impulse and the impelling power , but also the mode , is conceived of as miraculous as a sudden unseen transportation as far as Ashdod, Act 8:40 . The sudden and quick hurrying away which took place on the impulse of the Spirit (Kuinoel, Olshausen, comp. also Lange, apost. Zeitalt. II. p. 113) is the historical element in the case, to which tradition (and how easily this was suggested by the O. T. conception in 1Ki 18:12 ; 2Ki 2:16 ) annexed, in addition to the miraculous operative cause, also the miraculous mode of the event. But to go even beyond this admission, and to allow merely the country and person of the converted Ethiopian to pass as historical (Zeller), is wholly without warrant with such an operation of angel and Spirit as the narrative contains, when viewed in connection with the super-sensuous causal domain of N. T. facts in general.
. . .] he obtained no further sight of Philip, for he made no halt, nor did he take another road in order to seek again him who was removed from him, but he went on his way with joy , namely, over the salvation obtained in Christ (comp. Act 16:34 ). He knew that the object of his meeting with Philip was accomplished.
] He was found removed to Ashdod . Winer, pp. 387, 572 [E. T. 516, 769]; Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 287 [E. T. 333]. Transported thither, he again became visible. Comp. Act 21:13 ; Est 1:5 ; Xen. Anab. iii. 4. 13 : , 2Ma 1:33 .
(Herod. ii. 157; Diod. xix. 85; in Strabo, xvi. 29, p. 759; oxytone [233] ), , Jos 13:3 , 1Sa 5:5 , was a Philistine city, the seat of a prince; after its destruction by Jonathan rebuilt by Gabinius (Joseph. Antt. xiv. 5. 3), 270 stadia to the north of Gaza, to the west of Jerusalem, now as a village named Esdud (Volney, Travels , II. p. 251; Robinson, II. p. 629). See Ruetschi in Herzog’s Encykl. II. p. 556.
is the celebrated . (so called in honour of Augustus), built by Herod I. on the site of the Castellum Stratonis , the residency of the Roman procurators, on the Mediterranean, sixty-eight miles north-west of Jerusalem; it became the abode of Philip; see Act 21:8 . He thus journeyed northward from Ashdod, perhaps through Ekron, Ramah, Joppa, and the plain of Sharon. There is no reason to regard the notice as prophetic, and to assume that Philip, at the time of the conversion of Cornelius, Act 10:1 ff., was not yet in Caesarea (Schleiermacher, Lekebusch, Laurent), seeing that Cornelius is by special divine revelation directed to Peter, and therefore has no occasion to betake himself to Philip.
[232] The excellent Bengel strangely remarks: that one or other of the apostles may have gone even to America “pari trajectu.”
[233] Incorrectly; see Lipsius, grammat. Unters. p. 30.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
39 And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing.
Ver. 39. Went on his way rejoicing ] Bernard, for a certain time after his conversion, remained, as it were, deprived of his senses, by the excessive consolations he had from God. Cyprian confesseth to Donatus, his friend, that before his conversion he thought it was impossible for him to change his manners, and to find such comfort as now he did in a Christian life. He beginneth thus, Accipe quod sentitur antequam discitur. Augustine saith the same of himself (Confess. vi. 12.)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
39. . . . . . ] The reading, ‘ the Spirit fell on the Eunuch, and an angel of the Lord caught away Philip ,’ is curious, and has probably arisen from a desire to conform the results of the eunuch’s baptism to the usual method of the divine procedure, and the snatching away of Philip to his commission, Act 8:26 . But the Spirit did not fall on the Samaritans after baptism by Philip.
The text clearly relates a supernatural disappearance of Philip: compare , 4 Kings Act 2:16 ; no interpretation (as Eichhorn, Kuin., Olsh., Meyer) of his being suddenly hurried away by the prompting of the Spirit, will satisfy the analogy of the above-cited passage, and of (see below) a parallel one in Luke’s own Gospel. The of ref. John, which Meyer cites to justify his view, tells in my mind the other way; the fear was lest the multitude should come and carry Him off to make Him a King: and in the reff. I have therefore marked the two as bearing the same meaning.
] Not ‘never saw him from that day,’ though (see below) that meaning may be indirectly included: but as Luk 24:31 , , and as in the strictly parallel words of 4 Kings Act 2:12 , , after the going up of Elijah. These last words in my view decide the question, that the departure of Philip was miraculous.
] refers to what follows ( . .). Philip was found at Azotus: if the eunuch had gone that way , he might have met with him again: but he did not, for he went from the fountain on his own way , which did not lead through Azotus.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 8:39 . . : although the expression is simply . the reference is evidently to the same divine power as in Act 8:29 , and cannot be explained as meaning an inward impulse of the Evangelist, or as denoting a hurricane or storm of wind (as even Nsgen and Stier supposed). The article is omitted before . in Luk 4:18 , so also in LXX, Isa 61:1 , and we cannot therefore conclude anything from its omission here. , abripuit , the disappearance, as the context shows, was regarded as supernatural, cf. LXX, 1Ki 18:12 , 2Ki 2:16 (Eze 3:14 , Hebrew only ). Thus Hilgen feld recognises not only a likeness here to the O.T. passages quoted, but that a miraculous transference of Philip to another place is implied. No doubt, as Hilgenfeld points out, may mean wind , Joh 3:8 , but this by no means justifies exclusion of all reference here to the Holy Spirit. No doubt we may see with Blass a likeness in the language of the narrative to the O.T. passages just cited, and St. Luke’s informants may have been the daughters of Philip, who were themselves (see Blass, in loco ); but there is no reason why he should not have heard the narrative from St. Philip himself, and the rendering by ventus is not satisfactory, although Blass fully recognises that Philip departed by the same divine impulse as that by which he had come. Holtzmann endorses the reference to the O.T. passages above, but specially draws attention to the parallel which he supposes in Bel and the Dragon, Act 8:34 ff. But this passage should be contrasted rather than compared with the simple narrative of the text, so free from any fantastic embellishment, while plainly implying a supernatural element; cf. for the verb , 1Th 4:17 , 2Co 12:2 ; 2Co 12:4 (a reference to which as explaining Philip’s withdrawal is not to the point, since the narrative cannot imply that Philip was ), Rev 12:5 , used of a snatching or taking up due to divine agency, cf. Wis 4:11 , where it is said of Enoch . Both in classical Greek and in the LXX the word implies forcible or sudden seizure (Joh 6:15 ). . . . If these two clauses are closely connected as by R.V., they do not simply state that the eunuch went on his own way (Rendall), (in contrast with Philip who went his way), rejoicing in the good news which he had heard, and in the baptism which he had received; and R.V. punctuation surely need not prevent the disappearance of Philip from being viewed as mysterious, even if the words do not imply this. Moreover may rather emphasise the fact that the eunuch went his way, which he would not have done had he seen Philip, but would perhaps have followed him who had thus enlightened his path (so Weiss, in loco , reading emphatic: see also St. Chrysostom’s comment in loco ). : “the fruit of the Spirit is joy,” Gal 5:22 (the word at the end of a clause is characteristic of Luke; Luk 15:5 ; Luk 19:6 , see Vogel, p. 45). Eusebius describes the eunuch, to whom he gives the name of Indich, as the first preacher to his countrymen of the tidings of great joy, and on the possible reception in the earliest Christian times of the Gospel message in the island of Mero at least, see “Ethiopian Church,” Dict. of Christ. Biog. , ii., 234 (Smith & Wace). In the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch men have seen the first fulfilment of the ancient prophecy, Psa 68:31 (Luckock, Footprints of the Apostles as traced by St Luke , i., 219, and C. and H., p. 66).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Out of. Greek. ek. App-104.
saw. Greek. eidon. App-133.
no more. Greek. ouk ouketi, a double negative.
and = for. Supply ellipsis, taught by the Spirit, he needed him not.
went on his way = went his way.
rejoicing. Compare Act 8:8.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
39. . . . . .] The reading, the Spirit fell on the Eunuch, and an angel of the Lord caught away Philip, is curious, and has probably arisen from a desire to conform the results of the eunuchs baptism to the usual method of the divine procedure, and the snatching away of Philip to his commission, Act 8:26. But the Spirit did not fall on the Samaritans after baptism by Philip.
The text clearly relates a supernatural disappearance of Philip: compare , 4 Kings Act 2:16; no interpretation (as Eichhorn, Kuin., Olsh., Meyer) of his being suddenly hurried away by the prompting of the Spirit, will satisfy the analogy of the above-cited passage, and of (see below) a parallel one in Lukes own Gospel. The of ref. John, which Meyer cites to justify his view, tells in my mind the other way; the fear was lest the multitude should come and carry Him off to make Him a King: and in the reff. I have therefore marked the two as bearing the same meaning.
] Not never saw him from that day, though (see below) that meaning may be indirectly included:-but as Luk 24:31, , and as in the strictly parallel words of 4 Kings Act 2:12, ,-after the going up of Elijah. These last words in my view decide the question, that the departure of Philip was miraculous.
] refers to what follows (. .). Philip was found at Azotus: if the eunuch had gone that way, he might have met with him again: but he did not, for he went from the fountain on his own way, which did not lead through Azotus.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 8:39. , caught away) with miraculous velocity, without any action or exertion on the part of Philip, to a distance; as was needed in a pathless region. Such things often happened to the prophets: 1Ki 18:12; 2Ki 2:16. The same verb occurs, 2Co 12:2; 2Co 12:4; 1Th 4:17. By this very mode of departure the faith of the Eunuch was confirmed. By a like mode of transit one or two apostles might (may) have reached even America, if no other way was open to them.-) in the strict sense, for. He did not see, nor did he anxiously care to see, Philip more, by reason of joy. He who has obtained the Scripture and Christ can now dispense with a human guide. We do not read of the imposition of hands on the Eunuch.-[, rejoicing) To a soul disposed aright, what an amount of good can be vouchsafed at one and the same time!-V. g.]
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
were: Mat 3:16, Mar 1:10,*Gr.
the Spirit: 1Ki 18:12, 2Ki 2:16, Eze 3:12-14, Eze 8:3, Eze 11:24, 2Co 12:2-4
and he: Act 8:8, Act 13:52, Act 16:34, Psa 119:14, Psa 119:111, Isa 35:1, Isa 35:2, Isa 55:12, Isa 55:13, Isa 61:10, Isa 66:13, Isa 66:14, Mat 13:44, Rom 5:2, Rom 15:10-13, Phi 3:3, Phi 4:4, Jam 1:9, Jam 1:10, Jam 4:16
Reciprocal: Eze 11:1 – the spirit Eze 37:1 – carried Eze 43:5 – the spirit Mat 4:1 – of the spirit Mar 9:8 – General Luk 4:1 – and was Joh 8:59 – but 1Th 4:17 – caught Rev 17:3 – he carried Rev 21:10 – he carried
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
THE JOYS OF LIFE
And he went on his way rejoicing.
Act 8:39
There must have been some very strong reasons why the eunuch should pursue his way down to Ethiopia that day rejoicingly. He was in the ecstasy of the delight of the first discovery of truththat strange, that delicious sensation! He had just dedicated himself solemnly to God, and he had found that resting place, a fixed heart. He had received the grace of holy baptism, and the Holy Ghost, the spring of all life and joy, was in his soul; and within him and about him everything danced and sung like a new creation. He had the sweet peace of the sense of the forgiveness of all his sinsthe deepest, the most incommunicable of all happinesses. That wonderful Person, whom Philip had just been revealing to him in the fifty-third of Isaiahwas now his own felt, precious Saviour. His heart was soft, and tender, and full of love. He carried with him a presence, which is the very light of life, and before which all shadows fly away, and every obstacle becomes a thing of nought. And beyond the country to which he was travelling, there was another country, a new home. It was now opening to his view; it seemed but a step, and he would be there. These are the true joys of life, and he who has them is independent of the outer world. I do not wonder that he went on his way rejoicing. And for you I am very anxious that you should go on your way rejoicing.
I. We do everything best when we are happy.We pray best, we praise best, we work best, we bear best.
II. Joy is a great means of santification.It is a fount of kindness. It helps very much to conquer temper.
III. It adorns religion, and makes it winning to those around us.
IV. It is like heaven; and a happy God looks down and sees His own reflection in a happy child.
V. It is right.It is a command. I know no other command which is so reiterated, Rejoice; and again I say, Rejoice.
VI. We have so many things to make us happy.
Rev. James Vaughan.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
9
Act 8:39. Come up out of the water gives emphasis to the comments in the preceding verse on the necessity of going down into the water. Into and out of are opposite terms, and agree with the necessary movements in performing baptism. However, the purpose for the statement is to inform the reader that no supernatural act was done until the baptismal service was concluded. Philip had to make his way into this territory in whatever manner was available, but now that the object of his journey was accomplished, the Spirit of the Lord used some means of snatching him away suddenly out of the eunuch’s sight; but he went on his way rejoicing in his new relation to the Lord.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 8:39. The Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip. These words clearly relate a supernatural disappearance of Philip. We possess instances of a similar miraculous rapture, in the history of Elijah (1Ki 18:12; 2Ki 2:11), in the writings of Ezekiel, where we read on several occasions that the Spirit lifted him up and took him away (see Eze 3:12). On one occasion the Spirit put forth the form of a hand and took him by a lock of his head, and lifted him up between earth and heaven, and brought him in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the inner gate. The Greek word translated caught away is the same as that employed by St. Paul, where he speaks of his rapture into the third heaven and into Paradisecaught up to the third heaven, caught up into Paradise, where he heard the unspeakable words (2Co 12:2; 2Co 12:4). The same remarkable word is used (1Th 4:17) in the description of the Lords second Advent, after the resurrection of the dead in Christ: We which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.
He went on his way rejoicing. The sudden disappearance of Philip seemed to the Ethiopian eunuch a miraculous assurance that the message and instruction he had received was indeed from heaven, and thus strengthened, went on his way rejoicing. There is a tradition that this minister of Candace, whose name was Judich, preached the Gospel on his return to Ethiopia with great success, and that his royal mistress was among his converts; but we possess no certain records of the conversion of any number of the Ethiopians until the time of Frumentius in the reign of Constantine (fourth century).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Act 8:39. And when they were come up out of the water Or, from the water, as may be properly rendered; the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip Namely, in a miraculous manner, probably transporting him, part of the way at least, through the air; a thing which seems to have happened with respect to some of the prophets. See 1Ki 18:12; 2Ki 2:16; Eze 3:14. That the eunuch saw him no more This fact is as surprising as the other parts of the story. One would have expected that the eunuch should either have stayed with Philip, or have taken him along with him into his own country, especially as it seems he might have been spared in these parts of Palestine, where there were so many apostles, evangelists, and other teachers of Christianity; and his ministry was much needed in Ethiopia, where, at this time, there were none; and where, recommended by a person so high in power as the eunuch was, he might probably have been remarkably useful in converting the Ethiopians to the faith of the gospel. But God ordered it otherwise, and took away Philip so suddenly as not even to give him time to address an exhortation to the eunuch after his baptism, as it is probable he intended to do. His sudden departure, however, in so miraculous a way, was sufficient to make up the want of that exhortation, especially if we suppose that he was caught up and carried through the air in the eunuchs sight. It may not be improper to observe here, that the Alexandrian MS., and several other old copies, read it, , , The Holy Spirit fell upon the eunuch, but an angel of the Lord snatched away Philip: and certainly it is not improbable that God should communicate a large measure of his Spirit, and even some extraordinary gifts thereof, to such a person going into a country where the gospel was entirely unknown, and should thereby furnish him for the great work of preaching it there. And he went on his way rejoicing His heart being full of thankfulness, that he had been favoured with the privilege of so important an interview with such a divinely-commissioned teacher, and highly-favoured servant of Christ, and that, after having received the gospel from his lips, he had seen such a miraculous confirmation of its truth in his sudden removal from his sight; a fact to which all his attendants were witnesses. He rejoiced also, 1st, That he himself was united to Christ, had an interest in him, and was thereby made a child of God, and an heir of eternal felicity and glory: and, 2d, That he had such good tidings to bring to his countrymen, and a prospect of bringing them also, by virtue of his interest among them, into fellowship with Christ; for he returned, not only a Christian, but a minister. And Eusebius assures us, (Ecclesiastes Hist., lib. 2. cap. 1,) that he planted a flourishing church in Ethiopia, a fact in which all the most ancient histories of that country agree.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
See notes on verse 38
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
39. And when they came up out of the water. . . That translation sounds favorable to immersion. I now give you another, which is equally correct:
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 39
Caught away Philip; led or induced him to go away. That is, he immediately withdrew, under the guidance of the Spirit.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
The Holy Spirit directed Philip to the eunuch (Act 8:29), and He led him away from him (Act 8:39). Luke stressed the Spirit’s leadership in this evangelism of the first Gentile convert in Acts (Mat 12:18). God had prepared both Philip (Act 8:29) and the eunuch (Act 8:30) for their especially important conversation.
Luke described the Lord leading Philip away from the eunuch very dramatically. Perhaps the Spirit jerked Philip out of the wagon physically (cf. 1Ki 18:12; 2Ki 2:16). [Note: Kent, p. 82.] More likely, I think, this description reflects the Lord’s immediate direction to another place where He wanted Phillip to serve next.
"Philip’s behavior in this incident is reminiscent of that of Elijah, following impulses which he recognizes as divine prompting, appearing in unexpected places, and disappearing equally unexpectedly. It has also often been noted that there are curious correspondences between Zephaniah 2-3 and this passage-among other similarities Gaza, Ethiopia and Azotus are mentioned in both." [Note: Neil, p. 123.]
"There is a contrast between Simon Magus and this Ethiopian treasurer which recalls the contrast between Gehazi and the stranger Naaman who was baptized in the Jordan." [Note: Rackham, p. 120.]
The eunuch rejoiced in his new faith (cf. Act 2:46-47; Act 8:8; Act 16:34). Presumably he returned home and became one of the earliest Gentile witnesses and missionaries in Africa. This is what happened according to early Christian tradition. [Note: See Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 3:12:8-10.]
Philip proceeded up the coast north, probably along the international highway, to Azotus (Ashdod) and farther on to Caesarea. He preached the gospel in all the intermediate cities. About 20 years later we find him living in Caesarea (Act 21:8). In the Roman world the average distance that people would travel in one day on land was about 20 miles. [Note: Robert Jewett, A Chronology of Paul’s Life, p. 138.]
Philip was the first Jewish Christian in Acts to evangelize a Gentile who lived at what the first readers of this book regarded as the uttermost part of the earth (cf. Act 1:8).
"The conviction that the Ethiopians lived at the ends of the earth is well documented in ancient literature." [Note: Tannehill, 2:109. See Homer, The Odyssey 1.23; Herodotus 3.25, 3.114; Strabo, Geography 1.1.6, 1.2.24.]
The very first Christians were Jews (Act 2:1 to Act 8:4). Then Samaritans became Christians (Act 8:5-25). Now a Gentile who was a Jewish proselyte or near-proselyte entered the church. Probably all these converts thought of themselves now as simply religious Jews who believed that Jesus was the Messiah. Only later did they learn that what God was doing was not just creating a group of believers in Jesus within Judaism, a faithful remnant, but a whole new entity, namely, the Christian church (cf. Ephesians 2-3).