Lectionary Calendar
Tuesday, April 29th, 2025
the Second Week after Easter
Attention!
Tired of seeing ads while studying? Now you can enjoy an "Ads Free" version of the site for as little as 10¢ a day and support a great cause!
Click here to learn more!

Read the Bible

Shqip Bible

Veprat e Apostujve 23:6

Pali, pra, duke ditur se një pjesë ishte nga saducenj dhe tjetra nga farisenj, i thirri sinedrit: ''Vëllezër, unë jam farise, bir farisenjsh; për shkak të shpresës dhe të ringjalljes të së vdekurve unë po gjykohem''.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Court;   Defense;   Diplomacy;   Hope;   Paul;   Pharisees;   Prudence;   Resurrection;   Tact;   Thompson Chain Reference - Discretion;   Pharisees;   Prudence-Rashness;   Sects, Jewish;   Tact;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Hope;   Pharisees, the;   Prudence;   Resurrection, the;   Sadducees, the;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Sadducees;   Bridgeway Bible Dictionary - Paul;   Pharisees;   Resurrection;   Sanhedrin;   Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Hope;   Paul the Apostle;   Pharisees;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Ordination;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Paul;   Pharisees;   Sadducees;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Gamaliel;   Hell;   Paul;   Pharisees;   Sadducees;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Future Hope;   Sanhedrin;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Caesarea;   Hope;   Paul the Apostle;   Resurrection;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Acts of the Apostles (2);   Brethren;   Chief Priests ;   Eschatology;   Fast, the ;   Gamaliel ;   Hope;   Pharisees;   Resurrection;   Sanhedrin (2);   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Pharisees;   Sanhedrin or Sanhedrim;   1910 New Catholic Dictionary - paul, saint evangelist;   People's Dictionary of the Bible - Claudius;   Sadducees;   Smith Bible Dictionary - Paul;   Sad'ducees;   Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary - Metempsychosis;   Resurrection;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Eschatology of the Old Testament (with Apocryphal and Apocalyptic Writings);   Hope;   Maccabees, Books of;   Question;   Resurrection;   Sanhedrin;  

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

Paul: Matthew 10:16

I am: Acts 26:5, Philippians 3:5

of the hope: Acts 24:15, Acts 24:21, Acts 26:6-8, Acts 28:20

Reciprocal: Psalms 55:9 - divide Jeremiah 38:27 - and he told Matthew 3:7 - the Pharisees Matthew 16:1 - Sadducees Matthew 22:23 - the Sadducees Mark 12:18 - say Luke 18:10 - a Pharisee Luke 20:27 - the Sadducees John 11:24 - I know Acts 1:16 - Men Acts 4:1 - the Sadducees Acts 5:17 - all Acts 22:1 - brethren Acts 22:3 - taught Acts 23:1 - earnestly Acts 23:29 - questions Philippians 3:11 - attain Colossians 1:5 - the hope Hebrews 6:2 - resurrection Hebrews 11:35 - that they

Gill's Notes on the Bible

But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees,.... That is, that one part of the sanhedrim consisted of Sadducees, which was often the case; sometimes the high priest was of this sect, as Ananias probably was, and sometimes the greater part of the sanhedrim were Sadducees, and even sometimes the whole;

:-, but this sanhedrim were only part of them Sadducees:

and the other Pharisees; of both these sects, :-.

he cried out in the council; with a loud voice, that he might be heard by all:

men and brethren, I am a Pharisee; he was not only brought up in that sect from his youth, and lived according to it before his conversion, but he was still a Pharisee; wherefore he does not say, I "was", but I "am" a Pharisee; for whatever distinguished the Pharisee from the Sadducee, whether in principle, or in practice, and manner of living, which agreed with Christianity, the apostle still retained; as the belief of the immortality of the soul, the resurrection of the dead, and a future state, and strict holiness of life and conversation.

The son of a Pharisee; the Alexandrian copy, and some others, and the Vulgate Latin version, read in the plural number, "the son of Pharisees"; his father and his mother were both Pharisees; for there were women Pharisees w, as well as men; so that he was a Pharisee of the Pharisees, as well as an Hebrew of the Hebrews; and this is said to show that he was by education of that sect.

Of the hope and resurrection of the dead, I am called in question; that is, either for the hope of the resurrection of the dead, Acts 24:15 or for professing the hope of eternal life, and happiness in a future state, and the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, when the soul and body will be reunited, and enjoy endless felicity together: not that these were the particular things now charged upon him, and for which he was now trying and judging; but that these were the ground and foundation of the hatred and persecution of him, because he preached the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and the resurrection of men through him, and that there was hope of eternal life and salvation by him. And in this the apostle showed the prudence and wisdom of the serpent, along with the innocence of the dove, hereby to divide the assembly, and free himself from them; and it was but just and right; for since they would not hear him about to make a fair and open defence of his cause, but ordered him to be smitten on the mouth, it was but justice to throw them into confusion, and save himself.

w Misna Sota, c. 3. sect. 4.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But when Paul perceived - Probably by his former acquaintance with the men who composed the council. As he had been brought up in Jerusalem, and had been before acquainted with the Sanhedrin Acts 9:2, he would have an acquaintance, doubtless, with the character of most of those present, though he had been absent from them for fourteen years, Galatians 2:1.

The one part ... - That the council was divided into two parts, Pharisees and Sadducees. This was commonly the case, though it was uncertain which had the majority. In regard to the opinions of these two sects, see the notes on Matthew 3:7.

He cried out ... - The reasons why Paul resolved to take advantage of their difference of opinion were, probably:

(1) That he saw that it was impossible to expect justice at their hands, and he therefore regarded it as prudent and proper to consult his own safety. He saw, from the conduct of Ananias, and from the spirit manifested Acts 23:4, that they, like the other Jews, had prejudged the case, and were driven on by blind rage and fury.

(2) His object was to show his innocence to the chief captain. To ascertain that was the purpose for which he had been arraigned. Yet that, perhaps, could be most directly and satisfactorily shown by bringing out, as he knew he could do, the real spirit which actuated the whole council, as a spirit of party strife, contention, and persecution. Knowing, therefore, how sensitive they were on the subject of the resurrection, he seems to have resolved to do what he would not have done had they been disposed to hear him according to the rules of justice - to abandon the direct argument for his defense, and to enlist a large part, perhaps a majority of the council, in his favor. Whatever may be thought of the propriety of this course, it cannot be denied that it was a masterstroke of policy, and that it evinced a profound knowledge of human nature.

I am a Pharisee - That is, I was of that sect among the Jews. I was born a Pharisee, and I ever continued while a Jew to be of that sect. In the main he agreed with them still. He did not mean to deny that he was a Christian, but that, so far as the Pharisees differed from the Sadducees, he was with the former. He agreed with them, not with the Sadducees, in regard to the doctrine of the resurrection, and the existence of angels and spirits.

The son of a Pharisee - What was the name of his father is not known. But the meaning is, simply, that he was entitled to all the immunities and privileges of a Pharisee. He had, from his birth, belonged to that sect, nor had he ever departed from the great cardinal doctrine which distinguished that sect - the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. Compare Philippians 3:5.

Of the hope and resurrection of the dead - That is, of the hope that the dead will be raised. This is the real point of the opposition to me.

I am called in question - Greek: I am judged; that is, I am persecuted, or brought to trial. Orobio charges this upon Paul as an artful manner of declining persecution, unworthy the character of an upright and honest man. Chubb, a British Deist of the seventeenth century, charges it upon Paul as an act of gross “dissimulation, as designed to conceal the true ground of all the troubles that he had brought upon himself, and as designed to deceive and impose upon the Jews.” He affirms also that “Paul probably invented this pretended charge against himself to draw over a party of the unbelieving Jews unto him.” See Chubb’s Posthumous Works, vol. ii. p. 238. Now, in reply to this, we may observe:

(1) That there is not the least evidence that Paul denied that he had been, or was then, a Christian. An attempt to deny this, after all that they knew of him, would have been vain; and there is not the slightest hint that he attempted it.

(2) The doctrine of the resurrection of the dead was the main and leading doctrine which he had insisted on, and which had been to him the cause of much of his persecution. See Acts 17:31-32; 1 Corinthians 15:0; Acts 13:34; Acts 26:6-7, Acts 26:23, Acts 26:25.

(3) Paul defended this by an argument which he deemed invincible; and which constituted, in fact, the principal evidence of its truth - the fact that the Lord Jesus had been raised. That fact had fully confirmed the doctrine of the Pharisees that the dead would rise. As Paul had everywhere proclaimed the fact that Jesus had been raised up, and as this had been the occasion of his being opposed, it was true that he had been persecuted on account of that doctrine.

(4) The real ground of the opposition Which the Sadducees made to him, and of their opposition to his doctrine, was the additional zeal with which he urged this doctrine, and the additional argument which he brought for the resurrection of the dead. Perhaps the cause of the opposition of this great party among the Jews the Sadducees - to Christianity, was the strong confirmation which the resurrection of Christ gave to the doctrine which they so much hated - the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. It thus gave a triumph to their opponents among the Pharisees, and Paul, as a leading and zealous advocate of that doctrine, would excite their special hatred.

(5) All that Paul said, therefore, was strictly true. It was because he advocated this doctrine that he was opposed. That there were other causes of opposition to him might be true also; but still this was the main and prominent cause of the hostility.

(6) With great propriety, therefore, he might address the Pharisees and say, “Brethren, the doctrine which has distinguished you from the Sadducees is at stake. The doctrine which is at the foundation of all our hopes - the resurrection of the dead; the doctrine of our fathers, of the Scriptures, of our sect, is in danger. Of that doctrine I have been the advocate. I have never denied it. I have everywhere defended it, and have devoted myself to the work of putting it on an imperishable basis among the Jews and the Gentiles. For my zeal in that I have been opposed. I have excited the ridicule of the Gentile and the hatred of the Sadducee. I have thus been persecuted and arraigned; and for my zeal in urging the argument in defense of it which I have deemed most irrefragable the resurrection of the Messiah - I have been arraigned, and now cast myself on your protection against the mad zeal of the enemies of the doctrine of our fathers.” Not only, therefore, was this an act of policy and prudence in Paul, but what he affirmed was strictly true, and the effect was as he had anticipated.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Acts 23:6. I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee — Instead of φαρισαιου, of a Pharisee, ABC, some others, with the Syriac and Vulgate, have φαρισαιων, of the Pharisees; which, if acknowledged to be the genuine reading, would alter the sense thus, I am a Pharisee, and a disciple of the Pharisees, for so the word son is frequently understood.

Of the hope and resurrection — Concerning the hope of the resurrection, the και, and, being here redundant; indeed, it is omitted by the Syriac, all the Arabic, and AEthiopic. St. Paul had preached the resurrection of the dead, on the foundation and evidence of the resurrection of Christ. For this, he and the apostles were, some time before, imprisoned by the high priest and elders, Acts 4:1-3; Acts 5:17, because they preached, THROUGH JESUS, the resurrection of the dead. This they could not bear; for, if Jesus Christ rose from the dead, their malice and wickedness, in putting him to death, were incontrovertibly established.


 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile