Now there were in the Church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers. One so brought up would continue to be attached to the royal household, and Manaen may have adopted the life and the principles of those with whom he lived. Spitta would identify him with Simon of Cyrene, Matthew 27:32, but the epithet Niger may have been given to distinguish him from others of the same name, and possibly from the Simon to whom Spitta refers.— λούκιος ὁ κ.: Zöckler describes as “quite absurd” the attempt to identify him with Luke of the Acts. "Commentary on Acts 13:1". God indeed has had from the first those in all ranks who served Him--Moses, Obadiah, Daniel, and the “saints in Caesar’s household.” As now, so it has ever been, those with the same advantages make a different use of them. “As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted.” As they were going on in their ministry. 1. Συμεὼν ὁ καλούμενος Νίγερ, Simeon that was called Niger. They wanted to know something, and as they were inquiring the Holy Ghost spake. Paul, the apostle. Not inexperienced or young, but the kind the Holy Ghost requires to send out--the very Barnabas and the very Saul. Simeon that was called Niger; this Simeon is thus distinguished from Simon Peter, and from Simon the Canaanite, this name of Niger being given him by the Romans. It is probable that those mentioned here as prophets were the same persons as the teachers. Herod was vicious and debauched in private life; haughty, cruel, and tyrannical in his government, and was the murderer of the Baptist. [Note: E.g, John Wenham, "The Identification of Luke ," Evangelical Quarterly63:1 (1991):32-38.] 4. Barnabas (cf. When Herod the Great was a boy, an Essene of this name, believed to possess prophetic gifts, met him as he went to school, and reading, perhaps, in his features the signs of an insatiable ambition and an indomitable will, hailed him as “king of the Jews.” He stood in somewhat the same relation to him that Ahijah did to Jeroboam. All rights reserved. "Commentary on Acts 13:1". Others have proposed to identify him with the Lucius of Romans 16:21.— ΄αναήν: of the three names, as distinct from Barnabas and Paul, Blass says ignoti reliqui, and we cannot say more than this. This is quite logical, in fact; for from this chapter until the end of it, Acts presents the missionary efforts of the inimitable Paul. Indeed chaps, 13 and 14 form an independent and self-contained memoir from an Antiochean point of view. "Abbott's Illustrated New Testament". ; Fausset, A. R.; Brown, David. A prophet was an inspired teacher, not necessarily one who predicted the future, but one who spoke God's message by inspiration. But what calls for special notice, as showing the tendency of the Baptist’s teaching, is the fact that he is found at Antioch, not at Jerusalem. See Matthew 14:1. On the ground that Cyrene was famous for its School of Medicine, some writers have identified him with the author of the Acts, but the two names Lucius and Lucas are radically distinct, the latter being contracted for Lucanus. Greek. [1] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1937), p. 833. If Christian history has scarcely done justice to this great memory, it is because the name of Barnabas was overshadowed by one far greater. How, then, can we understand God? Alford objects that it is improbable that Paul would call the same man at one time Lucius, and at another Lucas. Compiled & Edited by BST & Crosswalk Staff, Compiled & Edited by BibleStudyTools Staff, California - Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Certain prophets - See the notes on Acts 11:27. We'll send you an email with steps on how to reset your password. He may have acquiesced in the king’s incestuous marriage, but we can estimate the effect which the teaching of the Baptist must have had upon him. "Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers". ”, Which had been brought up with ( σύντροφος ). 3. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/wen/acts-13.html. BibliographyMcGarvey, J. W. "Commentary on Acts 13:1". "Mark Dunagan Commentaries on the Bible". Luke the evangelist, on the contrary, was a Gentile. Charles Schribner's Sons. one brother and not with the other. https:https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cal/acts-13.html. One of the first members of the little band of believers who were gathered at Jerusalem, he was distinguished in the earliest days of the faith by his generous gift to the brethren (Acts 4:36-37). Here we enter on a name that has historical associations of some interest. Those prophets, doubtless, soon returned to Jerusalem.