Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 23:33
Who, when they came to Caesarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.
33. who, when they came to Cesarea ] The Rev. Ver. breaks up the relative into a conjunction and a personal pronoun. “And they, when, &c.” This makes the reference to the horsemen more clear.
and delivered the epistle [ letter ] to the governor ] It is not easy to see what led the A. V. to give “epistle” here and “letter” for the same word in Act 23:25. Sometimes rhythm may account for such a variation, but that is not the case here.
presented Paul also ] If the letter as given above be a copy of the original, the prisoner was not mentioned in it by name, but the soldiers would merely declare that this was the man that had been committed to their charge.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 33. Who] That is, the seventy horsemen mentioned above.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Caesarea; Caesarea Stratonis, as it was called, to difference it from the other.
They presented Paul, as being their charge, whom they had safely kept, and now delivered according to appointment.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
Who, when they came to Caesarea,…. The seventy horsemen:
and delivered the epistle to the governor; to Felix, governor of Judea, who was now at Caesarea; namely, the letter which Claudius Lysias, the chief captain, sent to him; the form and contents of which are before given:
these presented Paul also before him; concerning whom, and whose affairs, the letter was.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
And they (). Which very ones, the cavalry, the horsemen of verse 31.
Delivered (). Second aorist active participle of , old verb to give up, to hand over, here only in the N.T.
Presented Paul also ( ). First aorist active (transitive, not second aorist intransitive) indicative of , common verb to present or place beside. What would Paul’s friends in Caesarea (Philip and his daughters) think of the prophecy of Agabus now so quickly come true.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Caesarea. Twenty – six miles from Antipatris.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Who when they came to Caesarea,” (oitines eiselthontes eis ten kaesareian) “Who having entered into Caesarea,” when the 70 horsemen, (men of the cavalry) had brought Paul safely to Caesarea, headquarters of the Roman Governor or procurator, Felix of Judea. It was a distance of about twenty-five more miles on from Antipatris.
2) “And delivered the epistle to the governor,” (kai anadontes ten epistolen to hegemoni) “And they handed the letter over to the governor,” the letter that Claudius Lysias, chief captain of the Jerusalem Guard, had sent as a legal statement relating to Paul, the prisoner, Act 23:25-30.
3) “Presented Paul also before him.” (parestesan kai, ton Paulon auto) “And presented Paul also to him,” to his custody or care, until the charges against him might be properly disposed.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
3.
IN CAESAREA. Act. 23:33Act. 27:1.
a.
Paul is brought before Felix the governor. Act. 23:33-35.
Act. 23:33
and they, when they came to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, presented Paul also before him.
Act. 23:34
And when he had read it, he asked of what province he was; and when he understood that he was of Cilicia,
Act. 23:35
I will hear thee fully, said he, when thine accusers also are come: and he commanded him to be kept in Herods palace.
Act. 23:33-35 Coming into the beautiful city of Caesarea, the party went immediately to the governors house. Audience was soon obtained and they stood still while Felix read the letter. There was only one point of import missing in the letter.
Of what province art thou? asked the governor.
Tarsus in Cilicia was evidently the reply of Paul. Why ask this question? Well, it was customary to judge a man either at the place of his birth or where the crime was committed. Felix knew where the supposed crime had occurred. He evidently asked this question to complete the picture in his mind or to secure an opportunity for relieving himself of the responsibility of judgment if he could not decide the case.
I will hear you when your accusers are also come. Directing his remarks to the soldiers standing near by, Felix said: Keep him in the Praetorium.
This was no ordinary prison but was one built by Herod in the palace. It was to house those of royal position and here acted as a place of detention.
887.
Why inquire as to the province of Paul?
888.
In what type of prison was Paul placed?
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
33 Who, when they came to Caesarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.
Ver. 33. Presented Paul also before him ] And so was fulfilled in him that of our Saviour, Mat 10:18 . See Trapp on “ Mat 10:18 “ Neither was he more afraid of Felix, than Moses and Micaiah were to stand before Pharaoh and Ahab, when once they had seen God in his majesty. Animo magno nihil magnum. With a great soul, nothing is great. (Seneca.)
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Act 23:33 . : “and they when they ” R.V., sc. . : not elsewhere in N.T., or in LXX in this sense, of delivering a letter. Zahn, following Hobart, sees in the phrase . a phrase characteristic of a medical man, since Hippocrates, Epis. , 1275, uses the verb instead of or of a messenger delivering a letter, and thus shows a leaning common to the Greek medical writers of employing a verb already familiar to them in a professional way; but it must be remembered that both Polybius and Plutarch use the verb in a similar sense.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
when they came = having entered.
delivered = having delivered. Greek. anadidomi. Only here.
epistle. Same as letter, Act 23:25.
before = to.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
[33. , to Cesarea) Pauls stay in this metropolis afforded great help to the cause of the Gospel. Nevertheless he was himself placed in the midst of Gentiles and strangers in this place.-V. g.]
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
delivered: Act 23:25-30
presented: Act 28:16
Reciprocal: Mat 10:18 – be Act 8:40 – Caesarea Act 10:1 – in Act 15:30 – delivered Act 23:24 – Felix Act 24:11 – but Act 28:17 – was
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
3
Act 23:33. Upon arrival, the horsemen presented Paul to the governor, and also delivered the epistle that was sent by the chief captain.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
See notes on verse 31
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Paul’s introduction to Felix 23:33-35
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The governor (procurator) of Judea at this time was Antonius Felix (A.D. 52-59). [Note: Cf. Bruce, "Chronological Questions . . .," pp. 284-87; David W. J. Gill, "Acts and Roman Policy in Judaea," in The Book of Acts in Its First Century Setting; Vol. 4: The Book of Acts in Its Palestinian Setting, pp. 21-25.] Pontius Pilate occupied this office from A.D. 26-36. Felix had a reputation for being a harsh ruler who had risen from a lowly background. The Roman historian Tacitus described him as follows.
". . . Antonius Felix, practiced every kind of cruelty and lust, wielding the power of [a] king with all the instincts of a slave." [Note: Tacitus, The Histories, 5:9.]
He was apparently a freed man, someone who had been a bondsman but had received his freedom from an authoritative Roman who in this case was Emperor Claudius’ mother, Antonia. He was the first slave ever to become the governor of a Roman province. [Note: Barclay, p. 184.] Felix rose to power as a result of his influential brother, his self-serving political maneuvering, and his three calculating marriages. He normally dealt very severely with Jews, especially the dagger-men, the terrorists who sought to overthrow Roman rule by assassinating key Romans and pro-Roman Jews (cf. Act 21:38).
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
3. Ministry in Caesarea 23:33-26:32
Paul’s ministry in Caesarea was from prison. Luke devoted about three chapters to Paul’s ministry in Caesarea primarily to reemphasize the legality of Christianity as various Roman officials scrutinized it and to repeat major themes in Paul’s addresses.