1007 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Was returning,.... From Jerusalem, having finished the parts of divine worship he came to perform; and it is remarkable, that though he must doubtless have heard of Jesus of Nazareth, and what had passed in Jerusalem lately, and of his apostles, yet heard them not; or however, was not converted by them, nor believed in Jesus; his conversion being...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then the Spirit said unto Philip,.... Not the angel, a ministering Spirit, as in Acts 8:26 but the Holy Spirit, as the Syriac and Ethiopic versions read, the same with the Spirit of the Lord, Acts 8:39 who spoke unto him, either by an articulative voice, such as was the Bath Kol among the Jews; or inwardly, by a secret impulse upon him, he...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Philip ran thither to him,.... Being very ready to obey the divine order, and hoping he might be an instrument of doing some good, which might issue in the glory of God, and the welfare of men: and heard him read the prophet Esaias; that is, "the Book of Isaiah the Prophet"; as before; and so the Ethiopic and Arabic versions read here, as...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he said, how can I, except some man should guide me?.... Which shows that he was of an excellent spirit and temper; since instead of answering in a haughty and disdainful manner, as great men are too apt to do; and instead of charging Philip with, impertinence and insolence, in interrupting him whilst reading, and putting such a question to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
The place of the Scripture which he read was this,.... Or the paragraph or section of Scripture; that part of it in which he was reading was Isaiah 53:7 which shows, that by this time the Scriptures were divided into sections, chapters, and verses; whereas the Jews say the whole law at first was but one verse (t). He was led as a sheep to the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
In his humiliation his judgment was taken away,.... The humiliation, or low estate of Christ, lay in his assumption of human nature, with the weaknesses and imperfections of it; in the meanness of his parentage and education; in the sorrows he endured from his cradle to his cross; in his last conflict with Satan in the garden; in his being...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the eunuch answered Philip, and said,.... After he had read the passage out, and Philip had put the question to him, whether he understood it; and after he had taken him up into his chariot to sit with him, and instruct him: I pray thee, of whom speakest the prophet this? being desirous of knowing who was the subject of this famous prophecy:...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Then Philip opened his mouth,.... With freedom and boldness, and spoke clearly and distinctly, and expounded the passage to him. This is a phrase frequently used in Jewish writings, especially in the book of Zohar (e), when they give an account of this or the other Rabbi interpreting any place of Scripture; as for instance, R. Eleazar פתח,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And as they went on their way,.... In the road from Jerusalem to Gaza; Philip preaching, and the eunuch hearing, and conversing in a religious and spiritual way together; and Beza says in one exemplar it is added, "conferring one with another"; about the person and office of Christ, the doctrines of the Gospel, and the ordinances of it; as appears...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest,.... Intimating, that if he did not believe, he had no right to that ordinance; though he was a proselyte to the Jewish religion, a serious and devout man, and was employed in a religious way, when Philip came up to him, and was very desirous of being instructed in the knowledge...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he commanded the chariot to stand still,.... That is, the eunuch ordered his chariot driver to stop; for to him it better agrees to give this order than to Philip; though otherwise the words are so placed, that it would be difficult to say who gave the command. And they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
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 Matthew 3:16 and so it is said of the high priest, when he washed himself on the day of atonement, ירד וטבל עלה, "he went down and dipped, and came up" (m); and so any other person that was obliged...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
But Philip was found at Azotus,.... The same with the Ashdod of the Philistines, famous for the temple of Dagon, 1 Samuel 5:1 where the Septuagint call it Azotus, as here: and so it is called in the Apocrypha: "Howbeit all the hindmost of them were slain with the sword: for they pursued them unto Gazera, and unto the plains of Idumea, and Azotus,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And Saul yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter,.... The historian having given an account of the dispersion of all the preachers of the Gospel at Jerusalem, excepting the apostles, and of their success in other parts, especially of Philip's, returns to the history of Saul; who, not satisfied with the murder of Stephen, and with the havoc he...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And desired of him letters to Damascus,.... Damascus was the head or metropolis of Syria, Isaiah 7:8 And so Pliny (z) calls it Damascus of Syria: it was a very ancient city; it was in the times of Abraham; his servant Eliezer is said to be of it, Genesis 15:2 and some say it was built by him the said Eliezer; though Josephus (a) makes Uz, a...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus,.... Some say it was a mile from Damascus: though, no mention is made of his obtaining letters from the high priest, only of his desiring them; yet there is no doubt but they were granted him; the design of the historian, under a divine direction, being to give an account of the temper and disposition of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he fell to the earth,.... Not being able to bear the light, and still less the divine glory and majesty which he perceived was present; and therefore, in great confusion, amazement, and fear, he fell with his face to the ground, and lay there prostrate and so did also those that were with him, Acts 26:14 and heard a voice, saying unto him,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he said, who art thou, Lord?.... For he knew not whether it was God, or an angel, or who it was that spake to him; he knew not Christ by his form or voice, as Stephen did, when he saw him standing at the right hand of God; he was in a state of ignorance, and knew neither the person, nor voice of Christ, and yet his heart was so far softened...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he trembling and astonished,.... At the light and voice, and appearance of Christ, and especially at the words last spoken; he was now pricked to the heart, and filled with a sense of sin, and loaded with guilt, and had dreadful apprehensions of his state and condition, on account of his past wickedness, and the present course of sin he was...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And the men which journeyed with him,.... Out of respect to him, to keep him company; or rather to assist him in his designs: stood speechless: astonished and amazed, they had not power to speak one word, nor to rise from the ground, and move one step forward; they were as if they were thunderstruck, and fastened to the earth; for this standing is...